Last time on Explorers of Prehistory…

Tiny Isle has sunk beneath the waves, killing hundreds on innocent lives. Our heroes have been cast off into a hostile sea, struggling to survive. Venom, Aero, Cotton and Kiara are floating alone at sea, waiting for rescue to appear. But what happens when the cold solitude of the sea is more inviting than their rescuers?

Find out now!

And today's special thanks goes to… PhantoMNiGHT321 for his/her awesome OC! Thanks a lot, and thanks for all the reviews you gave me!

Everything was cold, dark, and uncomfortable. The wooden floor felt rotted away, the mat felt like it was stuffed with rocks, and the air was musty and barely breathable, filled with rotting wood and brine. The constant rocking let Venom know he was on a boat.

Venom slowly cracked open an eye. The room he was in was dark, dismal, and disgusting. To make matters worse, there was a thick, metal grate guarding the door.

"A prison…" he muttered, unhappily. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire."

"Megh…"

Venom turned to see Kiara. The Persian was trapped in the same cell he was. He could faintly see Aero and Cotton in the other cell. Aero was picking herself off the floor and Cotton was shaking like a leaf in the corner.

"Oww…" Kiara said. "What happened?" she said, shaking herself. She sniffed her paw. "Ugh!" she said. "My fur smells like sea salt." She began to lick her fur clean.

"Is your fur all you can think about!" snapped Aero. "We're trapped in a dungeon!"

"I can see that, two heads!" snapped Kiara. "But I'd rather not smell bad, even if we are in a cell." She spared as second to glare at her cell mate. Venom looked a bit woozy. Taking him out now would be soooo easy…

She sighed. It wasn't any fun if there wasn't any challenge. That's why she and Shade had followed those kids around, even when they had stolen that diamond. She could shred him now, but she might need his help to get out of this place. Wherever it was…

The room gently began to rock back and forth, surprising the captives. Salty fur and a shaking room?

It all came together.

"We're on a boat," said Kiara, looking around.

"W-what?" stammered Cotton, paling. "You mean those things that ride on… water?"

"What other kind of boat is there?" snapped Venom.

Cotton fell silent.

"Don't be so mean!" snapped Aero. "She's just a kid!"

Venom growled, but said nothing in return.

Kiara sighed. "Instead of focusing on arguing, why don't you focus on getting us out of here!" She began to rattle the bars. Despite being rusted, they were still quite strong. "Darn it..."

"Move it," snarled Venom. "I'll break them." He wrapped his powerful coils around the bars and squeezed as hard as he could. But the strong, metal pipes held fast.

"Gee, you sure showed us Gramps," said Aero, sarcastically.

Venom shot the girl a glare. "Let's see you do a better job!" he snapped.

Aero stuck her tongue out at the snake.

Before the two could argue, Cotton asked, "Why are we in these cells? We didn't do anything wrong!"

Venom shook his head. "Who knows? My best bet is that we're on a slavers ship. We'll probably be sold at a gladiator pit or something like that."

"What?" Cotton said. "Is that true?"

"No, no!" said Aero. "Gramps is just being too negative as usual!"

Kiara seemed to mull it over. "Hmm. Like anyone would sell someone as beautiful as me as a gladiator!"

Venom shook his head. "No, only males are sold as gladiators. Females tend to be sold for..." He turned away awkwardly and coughed. "...Alternative purposes..."

Aero and Kiara turned red. Cotton, being young, didn't get it. "You take that back!" snapped Aero.

"I can't take back reality!" retorted Venom. "Although I don't think you have to worry! Who'd buy someone who looks like you!"

Kiara began to pull at the bars again. "Just shut up and help me break these!" she snapped. "I'm not anyone's merchandise!"

Aero grabbed her own bars and began to shake them and gnaw at them. "Ugh!" she spat. "These taste awful!"

"They are in a prison," noted Venom. "I doubt our wellbeing is on their list of priorities..."

Before anything else could be said, there was a loud clanking sound of a door unlocking. A trio of footsteps began to descend the stairs to the brig.

"Speak of the devil..." muttered Kiara as their captors come into view.

There were three of them. The first was a large, red Clawdaunt. The Water Type snapped his claws together as he leered at the prisoners. "Well, well!" he said in a deep, grating voice. "Looks like the landlubbers are awake!"

The second, was a small, female Espeon. She looked at the prisoners closely, examining them. "My, my," she muttered to herself. "Is this all you could find?"

The Clawdaunt chuckled. "Sorry, ma'am. All we could find. Not ta worry, dough. These'll make fine slaves."

The Espeon looked Venom up in down, who in turned glared down at her. "I suppose they'll do," she said. "This ugly one looks like a fighter... Perhaps he'll be of more use on the front lines, though I doubt he'd be any match for even the lowliest Umbreon warrior."

"What about this one?" asked another voice.

A male Mawile was staring at a very offended looking Aero, a sick smile on his face. "She doesn't look like she'd be any use in the battle, and too delicate to be in the mines. Do you suppose I could..."

The Cladaunt bonked him on the head with his claw. "Keep yer mouth shut, Jaws!" he snapped. "We can talk... business later."

"I suppose we could," the Espeon said, shking her head. "None of the rest appear to be good fighters. I can't think of any use for them other than profit."

"You take that back!" snapped Kiara.

"Har har!" the Clawdaunt laughed curely. "The kitty 'as claws, does she?"

"Why don't you come in here and let me show them to you!" snapped Kiara.

The Espeon looked unimpressed. "Control your property, if you'd please, Captain." She sighed. "I'll take the Arbok and the Persian. The others are of no use to me."

"'Coure, 'course!" said the Captain. "Let's head to my office, and we can talk business."

"Wait!" shouted Aero. "If you want Gramps, you can take him, but let us go!"

The Clawdaunt laughed cruelly. "Sorry, girly! Yer're too valuble teh lose, y'know? Jaws might want teh buy ya!"

"Oh, I do," said Jaws, casting his eyes over Aero again.

Aero made a rude hand gesture at the Mawile, earning laughs from him and his Captain.

"W-who are you?" asked a terrified Cotton.

"Us?" asked the Captain. "We be the Dark Claws Pirates! Rulers of the seven seas, and now allies with the Espeon Empire!"

"Ah," said Venom. "I've heard of that madness."

"Madness?" asked the Espeon. "What madness? We are simply striking a blow against those who conspired against us! Those treacerous, thieving Umbreon!"

Venom rolled his eyes. "It's a disgrace and a shame," he said. "Fighting a species so close to your own."

The Espeon snarled. "Laugh while you can, reptile," she snapped. "You won't be so funny on the front lines!" She whirled around. "Captain, let us discuss your fee!"

"Teh my office, then," said Captain. "Come along, Jaws. Give yer girlfriend some space."

Jaws begrudgingly followed the Captain and the Espeon out of the jail. The door slammed shut, leaving the prisoners alone the in dark and cold.

"Well," Venom remarked, "that went splendidly. By the way, thanks for trying to sell me out, runt."

"You're very welcome," Aero replied.

"Well, great," Kiara said. She began to tug at the bars again. "This is just dandy!" she screamed as the bars refused to give way.

"Oh, shut up!" snapped Venom. "You're being pitiful."

"You're one to talk!" retorted Aero from the other cell. "They're just sending you to fight! Who knows what they're planning to do with us?"

Venom rolled his eyes. "Freaking out won't solve anything, you moron!" he snapped. "Be quiet. I'll think of a way to escape..."

"Oh, joy!" said Aero. "Rejoice, everyone! Venom the saviour has come from the heavens to save us all from evil! Now we'll be safe!" she spat.

Kiara looked at Venom, amused. "She's your friend?" she asked.

"Not even if she was the last living creature on the planet," retorted Venom, ignoring the rude hand gesture from Aero. "Give me some time," he said. "I'll think of something."

"Like what?" Cotton asked, pacing her cell. "We're all gonna die!"

"Be quiet!" snapped Venom.

Before another word could be said, the door that led down to the brig swung open for a split second. Something round sailed through the air, striking the bars of Aero and Cotton's cell, before plopping to the ground with a CLACK.

"What was that?" asked Kiara, confused.

Aero picked the object up. "It's a piece of paper, wrapped around a rock!" she said, surprised. She quickly unwrapped the paper from the rock, and read the message on it.

"What does it say?" asked Venom.

"It says 'Midnight - be ready'," said Aero, reading the message.

"Someone wants to help us out?" asked Cotton, hopefully.

"Either that or they want to get our hopes up to torture us," Kiara said, grimly.

Venom growled. "Well, it's not like we have anywhere to go," he said. "For now, all we can do is get ready."

"Get ready for what?" asked Cotton.

"Get ready for when the pirates come back!" Venom hissed. "If they want us, we'll make sure that they don't get us without a fight!"

An hour passed, and then two. The dismal situation hadn't changed in the slightest. The four Pokemon were sitting in the brig, cold and alone. The only sound they could hear was their own breathing, and the sound of pirates making merry up above. The only light came from the cracks in the doorway, and the small, barred windows on their cells, which also were too strong to break free from. The stars were distant and small, so even they didn't provide much comfort. All they could do was wait to see if they were going to die or live.

Not fun at all.

Venom was staring out of the window, Kiara was busy grooming herself, and Aero was comforting Cotton and herself.

"We're all gonna be okay," Aero told the Ratatta. "Just wait, okay? We'll be fine."

"Hmph," Venom growled, his eyes glued to the sky.

"So, do you think the message was right?" asked Kiara.

"I hope so," Aero said. "The thought of being anywhere near the Jaws freak makes my skin crawl!"

"Hmph," Venom muttered again. One could practically see the gears in his head turning, as he thought about their situation.

"...Kiara?" asked Cotton timidly. "What was the Espeon talking about? About a clan war?"

Kiara made a disgusted mrow before replying. "The Umbreon and Espeon tribes have gone to war on the mainland. They're out to kill each other, I hear, and it's tearing the mainland apart."

Venom gave a dry laugh. "Morons."

"But why are they fighting?" asked Cotton.

Kiara shrugged. "Who knows? The Umbreon blame the Espeon, and the Espeon blame the Umbreon! No one knows why they're fighting."

"They're fighting because they're idiots," Venom said, his eyes still on the stars.

"What are you even looking at?" asked Aero, raising an eyebrow. "You've had your eyes glued to the sky ever since those morons left!"

"I'm looking at the stars," Venom said. "The Sepent in the Stars."

"What's that?" asked Kiara.

Venom didn't look at the Persian. "It's a star formation," he said, pointing out of the window. "It looks like a massive snake Pokemon. My father... when I was a boy, he told me that the Serpent was gatekeeper of the paradise for Snake Pokemon, like Ekans, Arbok, Seviper, Dratini, Dragonair, Dratini, Dunsparce, Snivy, Servine and Serperior. It's a great grassy field with massive rivers, big enough for everyone, endless supplies of food, and with enough basking rocks for everyone." He paused as he stared at the stars, which one could make into the shape of a serpent.

Kiara laughed. "That's your idea of paradise?"

Venom glared at the Persian. "And where do annoying cats go when they die?" he asked, drily.

"Probably a great, endless pile of treasure," said Kiara, whimsically.

"What good is money when you're dead?" Venom asked, rolling his eyes.

Kiara glared in return. "Maybe you could lighten up!" she snapped. "After all, we need to think of a way to escape, not wonder about what the afterlife is like!"

Venom ignored the Persian and kept his eyes on the stars.

Cotton sniffled loudly.

Aero sighed. "It's okay... Gramps is just overreacting."

Cotton shook her head. "It's not me... It's Cinder."

"Cinder?" asked Aero. "Who is Cinder?"

"He's a Growlithe I know... And my best friend," answered Cotton. "I'm... I'm not sure if he... You know... Made it."

Aero sighed. Great. Cotton had lost her home and her best friend too. "I'm sorry..." she said quietly.

Cotton sniffled. "Now I only have you guys," she said. "My parents were killed by a Seviper when I was just a baby..."

Venom tensed at this but said nothing. His eyes were still in the sky,

"Now, all I have is you... and a snake and cat who don't even like me." Cotton closed her eyes and sniffled again.

Before anything else could be said, the door opened up. Aero's narrowed as he saw it was Jaws, the other Mawile. "Get to the back of the cell," she said to Cotton.

Cotton nodded, and retreated as the Mawile approached.

"What do you want?" Aero snarled, angrily.

Jaws shrugged. "Just want to see how my property is doing," he said, trying to seem innocent.

Aero growled. "I am not your property!" she snapped.

"Once we reach port you will be," said Jaws, happily. "I've already paid the Captain and everything!"

"I don't care if you did! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Aero retorted.

"Touchy little thing, aren't you," purred Jaws, reaching his hand in and stroking Aero's face. "I'll have to change that."

Aero whirled around and sunk her teeth into Jaws' arm. The other Mawile screamed in pain, pulling his arm way. His eyes flashed like fire. "You'll pay for that wench! I'll teach you some respect!"

Before he could do anything, Venom's tail struck his head. He whirled around and glared at the Arbok. "Don't you interfere!" he snapped.

Venom glared back, Kiara joining him. "Why don't you come over here and make me?"

Jaws growled. "Why you-?"

The door to the brig swung open. "Jaws!"

Jaws turned to see the Captain, looking very cross. "I told ya none o' that till we hit the port!" he said, sharply.

Jaws sighed. "Sir, with all due..."

"No all dues!" shouted Captain. "No - hurting - the - merchandise!"

Jaws nodded, glaring at Aero again. "We'll settle this later, dear," he promised, before heading up the stairs.

Captain sighed. "Hey, Rocky!" the Crawdaunt shouted. "Get oveh here!"

A large Rhydon appeared at the doorway. "Head down and make sure no one messes with the merchendise!" said Captain. "Yer on guard duty!"

The Rhyhorn grunted in reply, and walked down the steps, no actual words spoken. He stood in front of Aero and Cotton's cell.

The door slammed shut, and everything went quiet.

Two more hours passed.

Silence reigned in the brig. No one dared speak of escaping with the Rhydon in the room. The crabby looking Rock Type hadn't moved once. He simply stood there, unhappy that he was there. Above deck there had been sounds of celebration. The pirates had had a party earlier, but they had now settled down considerably. Guess they had all gone to sleep.

Kiara sighed as she finished counting down to midnight. She finally reached the bottom and sighed. Midnight, and nothing at all. Joy. Had the letter just been pirates mocking them?

"Midnight," Venom hissed, quietly.

"I know," Kiara growled, unhappily.

"Either he's late..."

"Or he's not coming," finished Kiara, casting a wary eye at the Rhydon.

"Hmm," Venom said.

Kiara was quiet for a minute. "So, uh... They let Cat Pokemon in that heaven place you were blabbing about, right?"

Venom rolled his eyes. "No idea. Do you have a forked tongue?"

Kiara sighed. "Well, here's hoping Persian heaven is better than whatever it is makes you happy."

"Keep that up and I'll kill you myself," Venom grumbled.

The door to the brig opened again. Rocky looked up the stairs to see a tall, lean Sceptile walking down the steps, with two glasses of something in his hands. A long, nasty looking scar was running down the right side of his face, and an eyepatch was over his right eyes. "Hey, Rocky," he said.

Rocky grunted in reply, giving him a glare.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the Sceptile said. "The boss said to keep people like me out, but hey, I brought you this," he said, holding up the cup. "It's Oran Berry juice, to keep you awake."

Rocky quickly forgot about any order and grabbed the cup, gulping it all down.

The Sceptile laughed. "Figured you'd say that." He cast a quick look over the prisoners. "Heh, what a weak looking bunch."

"Why don't you come in here, and I'll show you weak!" snarled Aero, angrily.

The Sceptile laughed cruelly. "Yeah, yeah, be that way. I'm sure Jaws'll beat that out of you later on!"

"Jaws couldn't beat a rug!" snapped Aero.

The Sceptile chuckled. "She's pretty overconfident, eh?" he asked Rocky. "Not bad for such a runt!"

Aero huffed.

The Sceptile looked over to Venom and Kiar.. "Heh. You're the big scary ones that the Espeons wanna use? Gimme a break."

Kiara snarled back at the Sceptile. "Big talk from the guy who's outside the cage!"

The Sceptile smirked. "Ah, don't be so mean! I'd hate for you to go out and fight and break a nail!" He threw back his head and laughed. Appearently, Rocky thought it was funny too, and joined in, their laughs echoing throughout the cell.

And then, something unexpected happened.

Rocky's eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed. The Sceptile gritted his teeth as he grabbed the Rhydon, setting him gently on the floor. He gave a sigh of relief as the Rhydon touched the deck without a noise. "Phew," he said, surprising the prisoners. "That was a close one." He snatched a set of keys from the Rhydon's belt and made his way to Aero's cell.

"Wha... What?" asked Aero. "Why did you do that?"

The Sceptile rolled his one exposed eyes. "Ah come on, why so surprised. I told you I'd do it. By the way, sorry about being late."

Cotton's eyes lit up. "You're the one who sent the message!" she realized.

"Rightyo," said the Sceptile. "Now be quiet! I don't want anyone waking up." He unlocked the cell door and let the Mawile and Ratatta out.

Cotton stared down at the motionless Rhydon. "Is he...?"

"Dead? Nah, just out cold," replied the Sceptile as he moved to the next cell, freeing Kiara and Venom. "I diced up a Sleep Seed into his drink. Never even noticed it."

"Joy," said Kiara, still miffed about the nails breaking comment. That was nothing to laugh about!

"So," Venom remarked, looking the Sceptile over. "Did you suddenly gain morals, or are you being paid off?"

"Neither," the Sceptile answered. "I'll tell you all about it... once we're off the ship!" He looked around quickly, before pointing to the stairs. "All right, let's go!"

Before they could go anywhere, the door opened. "Rocky?" the voice of the Captain said. "Anything wrong? I thought I head..." The Clawdaunt paused as he looked down to the freed prisoners. "What in blue blazes is goin' on here!" he barked.

"Looks like someone heard you two laughing," Venom remarked.

The Sceptile shrugged. "Whoops."

"Crewman Scarface!" snapped that Captain. "What do ya think yer doin'?"

"I'm freeing these prisoners!" the Sceptile said, taking off his read head band and wrapping it around his neck in a rather professional style. "And my name isn't Scarface," he said, removing his eyepatch.

Captain's eyes widened. "I don't believe it... You have both eyes!"

The Sceptile sweatdropped. "Well, yeah," he said. "But not only that!" He pulled out a round, gold colored badge. "I'm Ace Sceptile of the Dragonite Kingdom Police Force!" he said, shocking all present. "And you are under arrest!"

Holy cow, an update! Wh00t!

Well, kind of a short update, but I can live with it. Anyways, I was happy to be able to add a new OC sooner than I had thought I could! I had to mess with the story in my head, but hey, at least someone gets to see their awesome OC sooner! This chapter would be longer, but it's been a slow week for typing for me, plus I just ate a pepperoni omlette and I want to take a bath and a nap. Oh well.

I swear I'll update sooner than this time! Please review!