Scars

by DarkHououmon

Ever since their formation, the Dino Squad have always managed to keep Veloci in the dark about their secret. But what would happen if he did find out? And what if he was far more capable than they initially thought? Despite what fairy tales may say, the bad guys don't always lose...

13. Aftermath

"Are you sure he's all right?" Jack asked cautiously to Moynihan.

He and his wife were relieved when they saw the SUV pull up beside the lighthouse. They were starting to worry about the team and wondered if something had happened to them. They were gone for some time. Jack had tried to call Moynihan again, but couldn't bring himself to fully dial the number for fear he would get that one person again. He was still angry about what happened, but he did his best to hide his feelings. His wife was concerned about him, but agreed to not bring it up again. When the door opened up, she was the first one to get up and move towards the group to ask about Caruso. Moynihan and the others had said he was all right, but they wouldn't say anymore.

Both Jack and Amanda were suspicious of this claim. They were not doubting that Caruso would have been all right. The team hadn't said or did anything that would have make them think that anyway. But something must have happened. They did seem hesitate to tell them more when they asked the first time. They just remained quiet and say that they'll find out when Fiona and Caruso come inside, and then try to find something else to talk about. Max was recently sent out to fetch Fiona and Caruso so they should be expecting to see Caruso within a few minutes.

Once again Jack's question was ignored. Moynihan looked at him, wanting to answer his question but hesitating to do so. She really did want to tell them what happened, but she feared that if she told them now, they might overreact. But she was even dreading bringing in Caruso in the current state that he was in. She had specifically told the other students to not say a word until Caruso came in and to answer any question that Caruso's parents ask them unless they were out of line or too accusatory. In this case, she would answer for them and try and keep the couple from chewing anyone's heads off.

She looked towards the door, waiting for it to open up. Max was only gone for about five minutes, so he should be back very soon. It didn't take that long to walk out to the SUV and fetch two people, did it? She looked back towards Jack and flinched as she saw that he was glaring at her now, looking very annoyed that she had ignored his question yet again. She breathed in deep and exhaled, feeling guilty about purposely ignoring him. She opened up her mouth to say something, but no words came. She wasn't really sure what to say to him. She wanted to say something to reassure him, something to make him and his wife feel better. The only thing that she thought she could say was say that Caruso hadn't suffered any fatal injuries. But then they might inquire on what injuries he does have, and that was a topic that Moynihan wished she could avoid talking about with them, but she knew she would have to once Max came back with Fiona and Caruso.

Jack's voice snapped her from her thoughts. "Why are you ignoring me?" He asked angrily. "I've asked this before, so did my wife, and we were both ignored, And not just by you, but by your students as well. What's the big secret?" He asked, arms up in the air as he looked around the room, also addressing the students as well. "You tell us that Caruso is all right, but if we asked what happened to him or ask if he really was all right, you all refuse to answer us!"

Amanda stepped up to agree with her husband. "Yeah! What's going on? Are you guys hiding something from us?" She asked in an accusatory tone of voice, hands on her hips and her foot tapping impatiently on the ground. "We're his parents! We have the right to know!"

"I'm sorry..." Joanne Moynihan said, holding up her hand to silence Amanda Caruso. "We did not mean to upset you. It's...it's just that..."

"It's just that... what?" Jack asked.

Moynihan let out a soft sigh. "It is true that he's all right...but..." She swallowed hard as she prepared to tell them what happened. She was not going to enjoy this, but she didn't want to further upset Caruso's parents by withholding this information. They were right. They did have the right to know, being Irwin's parents and all. "I don't think you're going to like what I'm about to tell you, but..."

Much to her relief, her sentence was stopped abruptly when the door to the lighthouse swung open and Max called out, "Okay, I'm back!" He quickly pushed a door stop towards the door and wedged it so that it would stay open. He appeared to be holding something with one harm. It was hard to make out, but as he moved inside, it soon became apparent what he was actually holding, and he wasn't the only one hanging onto it. Fiona was helping him as well.

They almost hesitated coming inside the lighthouse. They considered stopping, taking their time. But what kind of friends would they be if they did that? They knew Caruso really wanted to see his parents again. He hadn't seen them since he left his house in such a hurry that Saturday morning. And they knew his parents have waited all this time to see him again. They couldn't back down now. They tried to ignore the fear eating away at their stomachs as they moved forward.

Fiona and Max walked inside the lighthouse. In between them stood Caruso. He was being supported by the two teens, who each had a grip on one of his arms and held him up. He looked as if he had a limp as he walked forward and his face sometimes, briefly, contorted in pain. Even supported by Fiona and Max, it was a challenge for him to just walk. And he couldn't scream in pain. The cuts on his face prevented him from doing so. His head was turned towards the ground, as if he was afraid to see the expression on everyone's faces, especially his parents.

Just what were they going to think when they saw him? He wished he could run away. He wanted to get away from here and hide, to never let his parents see him like this. He loved them too much to distress them with what had happened to him. But he was in too much pain and too weak to try and struggle free. And he didn't want to let his parents down, nor his friends. He wanted to please them and make them happy. He didn't want them to feel sad because of what happened to him. He still wanted the comfort and the reassurance from them, but he didn't want to see them suffer mentally when they saw him in this condition. He wanted desperately for things to be back to the way that they were before. But somehow, he knew that things would never be exactly the same ever again.

Amanda and Jack turned towards the door to see their son for the first time since that fateful Saturday morning. Their hearts raced as they prepared for the worst, minds racing like a speeding train. They could not have prepared themselves for what they were faced with as they saw Irwin Caruso coming into the lighthouse, supported by two of his friends. Jack stifled a gasp, his body going stiff as his eyes widened in shock. He tried his best not to react, to be strong for both his mother and his own son. But the sight before him made it almost impossible for him to keep himself from screaming in shock and fear.

Irwin Caruso's body was covered in bruises, cuts, and dried dark blood. He had multiple cuts on his body, the most noticeable being the one that snaked along his arm. They could see multiple bruises on his body, as well as some scorch marks where the bridle burned him. But the worst of wall was his head. It was full of deep gashes where the bridle cut him, especially on the lips and cheeks. There was a lot of dried blood on the top of his head where Victor delivered his last blow. The bleeding must have recently stopped because they could still see some redness to them and it looked sticky. There were cuts along his forehead as well, though they were almost completely covered up by the blood coming from the wound on the top of his head.

Amanda couldn't control herself as she started to break down at the sight of her son in such a horrible condition. Her lower lip started to quiver uncontrollably. She felt a river of tears flow from her face as she started to cry. She moved slowly towards her son, reaching out towards him multiple times, but lowering her hand every time, worried that this was just an illusion. Part of her wished that it was, not wanting to see her son like this. But the other part of her hoped that this was for real. She didn't want to be disappointed again. She continued to move towards Irwin, her husband walking slowly behind her, ready to offer emotional support of she needed it. When she got within a couple feet from Irwin, she reached out again. As she did so, Irwin tried to smile at her, and she almost sobbed as she saw his face contort into pain as he attempted to smile.

"Irwin..." Amanda whispered in a soft, shaky voice as she gently touched his cheek, careful not to cause him pain. What had that monster done to her son? She could see the pain in his eyes, the emotional trauma he must have been through. She moved her hand from his cheek and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Fiona and Max immediately released Caruso and moved away to give them some space and let the family reunite.

"M-Mom..." Caruso managed to say through his pain. "I-I-It's good to s-see you again..."

"My baby...what's happened to you..." Amanda said, not able to stop the tears from flowing down her reddened face. But she was not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"N-Nothing...I-I'm fine...really I am..." Caruso lied, trying to make his mother feel better. But he knew it wasn't working after he felt his mother tighten her grip slightly on him.

"Don't lie to me, Irwin...please..." Amanda whispered softly as she continued to hug him. She didn't notice her husband coming up right behind her, standing only about a foot away. "I'm your mother...I know when you are lying..."

Caruso gulped as his mother said that. It made him start to feel a little guilty about attempting to lie to her. He could feel his stomach tie up in a knot. He contemplated telling her the truth. He wanted to tell her everything that had happened. But seeing her like this, and now seeing his dad staring down at him with that expression of pain on his face, he was not sure if he could bring himself to tell them. He didn't want them to be more hurt than they already were. What kind of son would he be if he just made his own parents' already saddened mood even worse?

But then, what kind of son would he be if he just lied to them and tried to tell them everything was all right? They could see, as plain as day, that he was lying. He couldn't hide the injuries on his body that he received from Victor. He couldn't hide the pain that was constantly overwhelming him, especially in his mouth. He could not hide the blood stains that covered his clothes and body. His parents could see that very clearly, he knew. But even though he knew he could not lie, he still was hesitant to tell them everything Victor did to him. How were they going to react?

There were multiple ways he could think of that they could do, and not one of them was good. There was two things that stuck to his mind that he feared the most, and hoped they wouldn't go for either reaction. They could go nuts and try to go after Victor themselves. They might become so angry at what he's done to him, and he couldn't blame them if they did either, and try to take matters into their own hands. Caruso didn't want to see his parents risking their life seeking revenge for him. And what could they get done anyway? They might be able to sue Victor, but they had no proof tying him to Caruso's injuries. And Victor could always come up with something to say to make himself look innocent. Who are people going to believe? A powerful billionaire or a young couple they don't know? Caruso gritted his teeth, knowing what the answer was.

And then there was the other option that they might try. They could try to protect Caruso themselves, and take him off the squad. While this option would not put his parents in as much danger as the first, Caruso himself would feel more vulnerable. He does not think that his parents wouldn't be able to protect him, but he felt safer with his friends. He knew that, like his parents, they would do anything to protect him from danger, and after what happened to him, they would try harder next time to keep him safe. Despite what happened, he still loved being on the team, and he still cared about his friends. He didn't want to get separated from them. He hoped his parents wouldn't see his friends as failures and try to remove him from the team.

"M-Mom...I..." Irwin said, trying to say something to comfort his mother, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He closed his mouth, wincing slightly in pain as he put pressure on the cuts on the corners of his mouth.

"I-I was so worried about you..Irwin..." Amanda said, not able to stop herself from crying. She was about to continue talking when she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She gave a sideways glance at her husband, who was standing right next to her now, his hand firmly gripping her shoulder. "Jack..." She whispered before turning her head away to hide her tear-stained face.

Jack stared at Amanda, unsure of what to say or do. He turned to Irwin and was horrified by his condition. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't tear his gaze away from the boy. His eyes slowly scanned the boy's body, taking note of all the cuts and bruises and scorches that covered his skin. He looked at Irwin almost helplessly, looking like he really wanted to help but was not sure how to go about it. He finally managed to move his gaze away from Irwin and back onto his wife. He reached out towards his wife and gently stroked her hair with his hand, trying his best to help her calm down. But she just continued to sob, her body shaking a little with every cry.

Amanda looked up at her husband again, her tears making her face so moist that the light in the room reflected off of it and almost lit up her face. She wanted to wipe them away, but she feared letting go of her son. She tried to say something to Jack, but she stopped when she felt his finger wiping away the tears on her face. "Oh Jack..." She finally managed to say.

"Amanda..." Jack replied in a comforting tone of voice, hoping to calm down his wife. He cupped her chin gently and tilted her head up a little. He wanted to say something to make her feel better, but he was at a loss of words. He didn't like to see her crying like this. When he managed to come up with something to say, he whispered softly, "Please don't cry..."

"I-I can't help it..." Amanda said in a shaky voice, closing her eyes and feeling the moistness of her tears as they trickled from her eyes and down her cheeks. She could feel her nose stuff up as the tears kept coming. She managed to bring herself to release one arm from Irwin and wipe away the tears that stung her face and eyes. "..with what happened to Irwin..."

"I know...I know..." Jack said comfortingly as he wrapped his arms around both his wife and his son and pulling them close to him. He was careful not to hug too tightly because of Irwin's injuries. He did his best not to cry himself. It was hurting him to see his wife in such distress and his son in such condition. He loved them both dearly. He could feel his heart ache as he saw them this way. He believed he had to be the strong one, to be the one shoulder they could lean on for comfort. Many thoughts were running through his mind now, trying to figure out just what they should do next. What course of action should he take?

One thing that he knew he wanted to do was get even with Victor for what he's done. Nobody hurts his son like this and gets away with it! Jack wanted to be sure that Victor regrets every second he spent with Irwin was his hostage. He wanted to beat down Victor himself and give him all the injuries that Irwin had on his body. But he knew that, if he did that, regardless if Victor's convicted or not, he himself would be in trouble as well. He knew he would have to refrain from hurting Victor if he were to see him, but he also knew it was not going to be easy for him. The very thought of Victor made his stomach knot up as the feelings of anger overcame him.

He knew what his wife would want though. She would want them to sue Victor for all that he's got. But would that be a wise choice? It did not seem any smarter than attacking Victor head on. The guy was still a powerful billionaire, even if he was just pretending to be a human. He had a lot of people on his side, and a lot of supporters from around the world. If they were to accuse Victor of something, he could easily get a great attorney and find him not guilty. They wouldn't win a case in court with Victor. There was just no way. And even if they prove him guilty, then what? Victor might seek revenge on them. He might capture them all and hurt them, or even worse, kill them. No, he did not want to take that chance.

Amanda herself was also thinking as well. She was thinking about Irwin and how they might protect him in the future. She feared so much for his safety and well being. He was back at home, well the lighthouse, but she felt that he was still in danger. Victor might come back for him. Although she cannot be too sure about this, she didn't want to take that chance. She wanted to do something to make sure he stayed safe. She had one idea in mind. But though she knew her son would not like it, she felt it had to be done. She didn't believe he was safe here anymore.

Amanda turned her head so that she was facing Irwin the best that she could. He looked at her like he was expecting her to say something. And she could see a slight tinge of fear in his eyes, like he was dreading what she was going to tell him. This caused her to hesitate in her statement for a few seconds, wondering if she should really go through with it. She snapped back to reality, telling herself she had no choice. "Caruso...I think it's time you left the Dino Squad."

Caruso's eyes widened and he felt a sharp pain in his heart. There was a similar reaction among the Dino Squad as well. This was the very statement they were all dreading to hear. It was what they hoped Caruso's parents would never consider. Caruso looked at his mom in shock, his lower jaw trembling as he tried to come up with something to say. He could only manage a slow shaking of the head. He wanted to back away from her, but she and his father held on too firmly.

Fiona put a hand to her mouth as she gasped sharply at what Caruso's mother had said. She couldn't mean that, could she? It had to be a misunderstanding, or perhaps just her being so desperate that she said the first thing on her mind. Yes, that had to be it. There's no way she could be serious about removing Caruso off the team, could she? She looked up at Moynihan. "She..she can't be serious...could she?" She asked carefully.

Moynihan looked at Fiona, and let out a sigh. "I'm afraid she probably is... She truly sounds serious."

"But..she can't take him off the team! She just..can't..." Fiona said urgently.

"I'm afraid she can..." Moynihan replied, turning her head away. "She's his mother."

"S-Still, isn't there anything we can..." Fiona tried to ask, but she couldn't think of how to finish her question without sounding stupid or selfish. She immediately shut her mouth and got quiet. She looked out towards Caruso, who was staring back at her. He had the same look on his face as she did, which was the look of fear. He wasn't afraid that his parents were going to hurt him. He was afraid that he might not see his friends again. Fiona didn't like the idea of not having him around anymore, but she wasn't sure what she could do to keep his mother from going through with this decision.

Jack was a little surprised by what his wife said, but he was almost expecting it. He knew how worried she was and her saying something like this was probably the result of all that stress that she had experienced. Jack understood why she would think of making such a decision, but he wasn't completely for it. Part of him wanted to take Irwin away. After all, just being on this team had made him a target for Victor since day one. But on the other hand, these kids could probably protect him better than they could, even though they had failed to save him from being captured before. But he felt that they had tried their best and he knew they felt terrible for failing his son.

Irwin slowly shook his head, trying to pull away from his mother despite the fact that he could barely stand without support. "N-No...please... I don't wanna leave..." He begged his mother, hoping that she would change her mind.

"I'm sorry...but it's the only choice we have." Amanda said solemnly.

"What do you mean?" Irwin said, shaking his head a little faster. "Of course there's another choice! Th-There's got to b-be!"

"I'm sorry, Irwin...But my mind's made up." Amanda said, gripping her son a little harder so that he wouldn't run away. She saw the way he walked in here. He couldn't possibly be able to walk on his own. She didn't want him to hurt himself more than he already was. And besides, she wasn't sure if this Dino Squad team could protect him. After all, their failure resulted in him getting this way in the first place. "It's obvious your friends can't provide the adequate protection that you'll need if that..madman tries anything again."

Max's eyes widened when Amanda made that statement. Was she accusing them of being too weak and too inefficient to protect their own friend? He started to feel angry and upset that Caruso's mother would think that way about them. It's not that they didn't care. They had tried their best to save Caruso that Saturday morning. If it weren't for that Oscura character, they would have succeeded. "What are you talking about? We can protect him from Victor!"

"Like how you protected him a few days ago?" Amanda asked almost coyly, and immediately regretting it. She didn't mean to sound so cold to the boy.

"...we tried our best." Fiona spoke up, taking a step forward. "We can't begin to tell you how guilty we felt when we weren't able to save him. We tried...we really did try..."

Amanda sighed softly, closing her eyes. "I'm..sorry. I didn't mean to sound cold." She looked towards her son once more, and started to feel bad as he stared back at her with an expression of emotional pain. "Please..understand..Irwin..I-I only want what is best for you."

"By s-s-separating me from my f-friends...?" Irwin asked. "H-How is that b-best for me...?"

As Irwin started to struggle a little more in his mother's grasp, she tightened her grip a little bit and tried to hold him still. As she did this, her husband released her, unsure of what to do now. He looked over at Moynihan and then back at his wife and watched her try to hold Irwin still. But the more she tried to hold him, the more urgently he struggled. Why was he struggling? He resisted the urge to slap himself in the face. Of course he was struggling. He didn't want to leave his friends. But he would have to leave the building sooner or later. He couldn't possibly live here. It was not his home.

After finally working up the strength to say something, Buzz lifted up a finger in the air to try and get attention. He cleared his throat and started to speak. "Are you sure taking him away from us is a good idea?" He winced when Caruso's mother shot him a look. He gulped. "W-Well..I didn't mean to..." Buzz stammered nervously. "It's just that...I don't think it is a smart idea for him to..lose the protection he has with us."

"What protection?" Amanda said coldly, although she did not intend to sound like that. Nonetheless, her glare towards Buzz hardened slightly as she added to her statement, "You all tried your best to save him and you still failed. Frankly, I don't see a difference whether he stays with you or if he leaves. He isn't safe either way."

"But..." Buzz started to say. But someone silenced him by placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Moynihan, who was looking at him sympathetically, then turned to Amanda.

"I must suggest that you reconsider your decision, Mrs. Caruso." Moynihan said in a firm but gentle voice. She knew she couldn't force the woman to do what she doesn't want to, but she could at least try and get her to reconsider taking Caruso off the team. Moynihan knew that the boy would be more vulnerable if he were to leave this group. "Taking him off the team at this time is a huge risk, I'm afraid, what with Victor still at large..."

"Is he truly safer on this team?" Amanda asked, her expression softening a little bit. She did feel guilty with how she spoke to Buzz. "Are you certain?"

"I can't be one hundred percent certain." Moynihan said, adjusting the glasses on her face. "But what I am certain of is that if Victor were to come after Irwin again, or if something does occur, he would be safer with us because we would be capable of protecting him. Should he leave the team, well, what if something happens and you, his parents, aren't able to save him? What if a mutantsaur attacks?"

Amanda narrowed her eyes dangerously. She felt Moynihan was accusing her and her husband of being incompetent to protect their only son. What did she know anyway? She wasn't the kid's mother! What would she know about protecting an offspring? Where did she come from, telling them that they won't be able to protect Irwin from some kind of monster? They would find a way. She knew that, if they worked together, she and her husband could fend off any mutantsaur that would dare come close to her son. She wanted to walk over to Moynihan and give her a piece of her mind, but when she saw the look on her son's face, her own expression softened up a bit. But when she looked back at Moynihan again, she couldn't help but glare once more, still feeling angry with the old woman.

Upon seeing the hardened expression on Amanda's face, Moynihan closed her eyes and looked away. She understood the woman's frustration. She just wanted to protect her son after all. But Joanne wished that Amanda would listen to reason. Her intentions were noble, but she and her husband just aren't capable to fend off mutantsaurs, and they especially would not be able to fight Victor or his henchmen. Thinking again, Joanne realized there was a way for them to protect Caruso from mutantsaurs, but it would involve using weaponry. Joanne had forbidden her students from harming the mutants, and she expected the same with the parents who know their secret. Hurting the mutantsaurs would only create more problems. Joanne had forbidden weaponry not only because she cared about life in general, but there was another reason, one that she had not told anyone.

While primordial ooze does die off after the host is killed, there is still a chance that it would be scavenged by predators, looking to satisfy their appetite with a little carrion, before the ooze died off completely. If the primordial ooze was ingested, it would transform the creature as it would if it made contact with the skin, and it would be harder to get rid of. The primordial ooze would be centered in the stomach rather under the skin. She had developed a weapon of sorts to deal with this, but she regarded it as too dangerous and had it locked away somewhere. She had hoped she never would have to use it, and she didn't want Amanda doing something that would force her to use that weapon. Perhaps she should just explain this to Amanda. Perhaps it would help her understand why she cannot harm the mutantsaurs.

"Look..." Moynihan spoke up, although her voice was still soft. "I know how you probably feel right now, but..."

"How can you possibly know how I feel?!" Amanda snapped suddenly, cutting off Moynihan. "You are a Velociraptor! How could something like you understand how I feel?!"

Moynihan's eyes widened in shock and she took a step back. She opened up her mouth to say something, but couldn't think of a good response at first. But Amanda's statement repeated itself over and over again inside her mind, and Moynihan felt herself become a little frustrated as well. She could not deny that she was a Velociraptor, but sometimes it did bother her, even upset her, to know that many humans think Velociraptors were heartless monsters as they are usually portrayed in movies. She took a step forward.

"Now you listen here." Moynihan said sternly. "I might be a Velociraptor. But that does not mean I don't understand the emotions of humans and what humans can go through. Before you make a stereotypical statement involving my race, try to think about what your race as done!"

The room fell silent. The only sounds anyone could hear was each other's breathing. All eyes were glued on Moynihan, wide with shock, and, in some, fear. Moynihan had never snapped like that before. And she had never spoke about mankind like she had just now. She had not said anything directly. It was what she said indirectly that scared and shocked everyone. Moynihan had said that she loves the human race due to their diversity, even stating she finds the species interesting. She hadn't really said anything negative about humans, although she would like them to find a better way to live that would benefit the planet. But just now, she had just implied that humans were a far more savage race than Velociraptors, which may very well be the case, but she'd never say that deliberately.

Moynihan's harsh breathing, a result of the anger she felt when she made that statement, slowly died down, and she quickly realized what she had just said. Her expression faded immediately, replaced with one of shock and horror. "I-I didn't mean what I said..." She said, looking at everyone in the room. "I was just upset and..."

Max raised a hand and Moynihan turned towards him. "I understand, Professor. This is no different than how I reacted back at the warehouse. You're probably just stressed from all that has happened, aren't you?"

Moynihan nodded. "Correct, Maxwell. But it was not only that." She looked at Amanda. "I got upset when you made that prejudice remark about my species. It felt like you were placing judgment on my species, even though none of you humans have met many Velociraptors. I felt it was very unfair of you to judge raptors in such a manner. But I do deeply apologize for what I said. It was not right." She said in a guilty tone. "I'm sorry."

Amanda was at a loss of words because of the harsh statement Moynihan made. When the old woman spoke up again, Amanda narrowed her eyes and was fighting the urge to punch the woman. She didn't want to listen to Moynihan making any other accusations of her species. Just what was wrong with humans anyway? She admitted that humans had some flaws. They start wars, they sometimes hate each other, they even kill each other just for fun. But Amanda couldn't comprehend how humans could be any worse than Velociraptors. After all, Velociraptors were the cold-hearted monsters of the Cretaceous, running around disemboweling their prey.

Amanda's expression softened up a bit when Moynihan started to apologize for her behavior and explained why she had reacted in such a manner. Amanda started to feel guilty herself, realizing the old woman was right. She shouldn't judge the raptors so harshly based on what she's seen in the movies, especially if she's never met many Velociraptors before. She agreed with what Max said. It was probably just the stress that was making them act this way.

"I'm sorry too." Amanda said, lowering her head a little in shame. "I guess I just..overreacted. I didn't mean to judge your kind like that." She still felt uneasy about Moynihan's species, but she wondered if it was time to let go of the stereotypical facts she'd seen in movies. Moynihan was a Velociraptor herself. She would know about her species, what was true and what was not. But that didn't comfort Amanda too well, knowing that another Velociraptor, Victor Veloci, was out there, and he did this to her son.

Feeling uncomfortable about what just happened, Jack decided to change the subject before another argument would break out. He was a little shaken by what Moynihan said, but he's heard worse before. "So..." He spoke up, cautiously approaching Moynihan. "What do you propose we do?"

Moynihan turned her attention to Jack. She wasn't entirely sure what they were going to do, but she couldn't just refuse to answer. She would have to come up something, and fast. After all, she had insisted that the parents reconsider wanting to take Caruso away. She'd have to come up with a plan about how to protect the boy, one that they would agree with and feel comfortable with. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, she said, "Here's what I had in mind..."

* * *

"I wonder when Victor will arrive..." Michelle asked herself as she leaned against the desk. She was no longer in front of Victor's large monitors. She was sitting at a long table where the scientists would sometimes perform experiments for Victor. She didn't feel comfortable being so close to the tanks with the creatures inside of them, but she couldn't sit near Victor's computers. He might get upset with her, and that's the last thing she wanted to happen, what with him already being angry at her.

She started to wonder again about the Dino Squad. She was worried about the fact that Victor had gone after them. She wondered if they got away from him and if anyone got hurt. The radar continually showed Victor getting dangerously close, and it looked like he made contact several times as well. Michelle had a hard time watching it and had to move away from the monitor. But glancing back over at the monitor now, it looked as if Victor had left the squad alone. While she felt relieved that they probably got away, this meant that Victor must be heading back right now. He could be back any minute, and she was not looking forward to seeing him.

THUD!

Michelle jolted in her seat, stiffened, and lifted up her head as she heard the door suddenly open up. She looked over to see who it was. Upon seeing that it was Victor, she almost fell out of her chair. Victor hadn't looked at her yet. His expression was soft, almost emotionless. He just walked in slowly, heading towards his computers like he always does when he comes in. He glanced up at the monitor, nodding a few times as he looked at the stats and radar being displayed on the large screen. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Michelle. He looked over at her, expression remaining the same. Michelle wasn't sure if she should be relieved or fearful.

Victor, as he approached the teenager, contemplated on what form of punishment he should give her. He had already struck her in the leg earlier and left her a pretty nasty bruise. But he didn't think it was punishment enough, and he told her that. He wanted to think of one more thing to do to her, something worse than merely hitting her. And when he came up with the right punishment, he came into this room to deliver it. He hoped that the consequences that the girl will suffer will teach her a lesson about going against his wishes.

Michelle watched him approach her warily, a cautious look on her face. She clenched her teeth, expecting that, any second, he would grab her and throw her to the ground, or strike her with his claws. But he did neither as he stood next to the chair she was in. She craned her head to look up at him in the eyes. She tried to speak, but her voice failed her. She was too afraid to say anything. Victor seemed to sense her fear, and he just smiled. His smile frightened Michelle, and he knew that well.

"Hello, Michelle." Victor greeted, as if nothing was wrong. But Michelle knew better. She could see the look in his eyes. There was nothing friendly about the way he was looking at her. She could see the anger in his eyes. When Victor leaned in closer, Michelle instinctively moved back, almost falling out of her seat. "That's right..be afraid." Victor taunted in a light voice. Then when he spoke again, it was darker, more menacing. "Because after what you did, you should be lucky I didn't kill you!"

Michelle fell out of her seat this time, landing on her back with a loud thud. Victor just pushed the chair out of the way and stalked over towards the downed girl. "I-I'm sorry!" Michelle cried, holding her arms in front of her in a feeble attempt to protect herself. "I'll never do it again! I swear!"

Victor stood over her, his cold eyes, filled with anger, staring down at her. "You better not! Or next time, I won't hesitate to have you for my lunch break!" He watched the girl shake and shiver in fear on the ground for several seconds and said, "Get up off the ground!" Upon hearing him bark the order, Michelle immediately got off the ground, albeit trembling uncontrollably, and looked up at the mad scientist in fear. "You have greatly disappointed me, Michelle. What you have done jeopardized the mission! You were lucky that the plan still went through!"

Michelle closed her eyes tightly, wincing at every harsh word Victor spoke to her. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...I..."

"Quit your graveling!" Victor snapped. "Oscura had told me that it might be better off if I kill you..." He leaned towards the girl. "And I am starting to wonder if she was right..." He slowly raised a clawed red hand. Michelle's eyes widened and she quickly turned her head away, expecting him to strike her at anytime. But after several seconds and no blow came, she opened up her eyes and cautiously looked up. Victor's expression softened, but only slightly, and he moved his hand away. "..but I've decided to give you one more chance."

Michelle smiled nervously and backed up a little. "Thank you sir! I won't disappoint you this time, I promise!" Thinking that she had been dismissed, she turned around and started to walk away. She wanted to get out of this room as soon as possible, and she was feeling a little hungry. Perhaps a bit of breakfast would do her some good. But she didn't get too far. She suddenly felt something grab her tightly. A red scaly arm wrapped around her neck and pulled her back. She yelped in surprise and tried to look at Victor.

Victor had transformed completely into his Velociraptor form. He towered over the girl, holding her in place with one raptor arm. He lowered his head, positioning it next to Michelle's. He opened up his mouth slightly in a dinosaurian grin. 'I did not tell you that you could leave. I told you that you were going to get more punishment.' He told her in a menacing voice. Michelle started to struggle in his grasp, but he just held in tighter. He was a lot stronger than she was. There was no way she could escape his grasp. 'Struggling will do you no good. Now just hold still, or this will hurt more than it has to.' He warned her.

"What are you going to do to me?" Michelle asked fearfully.

'You'll find out..' Victor said coldly.

He then opened up his jaws, his sharp teeth glinting in the light, saliva dripping from them. He opened his mouth very wide, and he could feel the muscles in his jaw muscles stretching almost to their limit. He bent his neck forward, positioning his snout just above Michelle's shoulder. Hesitating only a second, he moved his head forward swiftly. His jaws slammed shut around her shoulder at lightning speed, the teeth sinking into her skin. He clamped down tightly, grinding his teeth into her flesh, tasting the human's blood as it poured from the wounds. When he could feel this teeth hit bone, he started to twist his head around a little, something he would do when he wanted to tear flesh off of prey. But with Michelle, he did this at a lower rate and with less intensity.

Michelle's eyes snapped open as wide as they could get and she let out a very loud scream. She could feel Victor's teeth grind into her skin, and with every second the pain grew stronger and stronger. She felt tears come to her eyes as the overwhelming pain shot through her body. She struggled a little, but the more she struggled, the worse the pain got, and she feared that if she struggled too hard, she would cause Victor to rip part of her flesh away. She let out another scream of pain when Victor started to twist his head a little more. She wondered how long this was going to last. She felt warm blood stream down her shoulders. She could see some blood already showing up on her shirt and she whimpered.

When Victor felt Michelle had enough, he immediately released her. Michelle ran forward a few steps before stopping and turning around. Her shoulder was shredded, several lacerations appearing across her shoulder where his teeth were. Her shoulder was almost entirely red, the blood soaking her skin and her shirt. Michelle tried to touch her shoulder, but the pain was too much. Just one slight touch, and she had to pull her hand away before she screamed. She looked at Victor with a horrified expression, and it looked like she wanted to ask him why he did that, but was refraining from doing so.

'Quit looking at me like that. You know full well why you received that injury.' Victor said, sneering down at her with his cold raptor eyes. 'I gave you that injury because I felt it was punishment fit for someone like you. I expected better from someone with dinosaur DNA.' He took a step forward and leaned his head so close to Michelle that she could feel his breath hitting against her face. 'May this teach you a lesson...' With that he transformed back into his human self. Without a word, he turned and walked away towards his computer. He flung his hand at her, signaling her that she could leave. Right now he had something else to worry about.

Michelle took Victor's signaling as her chance in getting out of here. She turned towards the door and started to make her way towards it. The progress felt very slower for her. And it was increasingly difficult for her to trek towards the door, even though it was only a few feet away, due to the injuries she has. The large bruise on her leg was still very painful to the touch, and she continued to limp. Her shoulder was agonizingly painful as well, preventing her from moving the arm efficiently enough to walk to the best of her ability with the bruise on her leg. She constantly had to fight the urge to cry out in pain. She looked back at Victor, whose gaze was fixated on his scanners. She glared at him, but quickly looked away to avoid being seen with that look. She didn't need another punishment.

As she approached the door and started to reach for it, she heard the sound of the knob turning. She quickly pulled her hand away and tried to back up as best as she could as the door was pushed open. The figure that stepped through was a sight that Michelle had gotten all too familiar with. It was one of Victor's henchmen, dressed up in the same outfit that most of them adorned. They wore a gray outfit with a dinosaur-like helmet. Not one centimeter of skin was seen, and their faces were hidden behind the reddish masks. All of Victor's men looked the same to her, but she knew some of them by voice. When this one spoke, she recognized it as Adam, one of Victor's longest working henchmen, among one of the first to join him.

Michelle wondered why he was here. During this time, his duties were usually done in another part of the building. Adam was in charge of keeping records, organizing them and updating them. Victor often relied on Adam whenever he needed to look back at a past experiment. Adam was not the only one who would keep track of everything, but Adam, working longer than most members, had records that went back to the early days. Some information at this time was vital for some of Victor's recent works. But despite how valuable this man was to Victor's study, he was not usually permitted back in this section, although Adam knew full well what was going on. Michelle couldn't help but glance a cautious look to Victor, wondering what he was going to do if he saw Adam in here.

The man walked passed Michelle, taking slight notice to her injuries, and made his way towards Victor. Michelle walked towards the door way. She wanted to leave, but something was compelling her to stay and watch what was going on. But she didn't want to make herself appear as though she were spying. She exited the room and started to close the door, but carefully left a tiny crack open. She hoped Victor and Adam would not have noticed the door was still open. She peered through the opening, watching as Adam got Victor's attention and the two started to speak to one another. Michelle had to lean in closely to hear exactly what they were saying.

"What is it, Adam?" Victor asked, looking up as he was typing something into his computer. "I'm a bit busy right now."

"Sorry sir." Adam said, standing as straight as he could in a dutiful manner. He sounded a little urgent and almost scared as he spoke. "But this is important. And..I don't think you are going to like it."

Victor arched an eyebrow. "Perfect, just what I need. More bad news." He sighed in a frustrated manner and moved his hands away from the large keyboard. He swerved his chair over to face Adam. Placing his head on his interlocked hands, elbows resting on a leg, he asked Adam, "What is it you need to tell me, Adam?"

"It's Kista, sir. She brought in a..visitor." Adam said in a cautious, careful tone. Victor's eyes started to glow a little bit, and, in an attempt to defend himself, he quickly added, "None of us knew about it until we checked one of the isolated rooms. She must have snuck him in, somehow. We don't know how she was able to get the visitor inside without any of us knowing." But nothing he was saying was lessening Victor's anger. Rather, it was increasing it. Adam could see the sharp teeth in his mouth, and the cat-like pupils in the eyes.

Victor took in several deep breaths to calm himself down. There was no use for him getting angry now. What good was it going to do him anyway? He already got angry at Michelle and had punished her. He was not in the mood to punish someone else. And unlike Michelle, perhaps Kista had a good reason for what she had done. "Who did Kista bring?"

"I don't know his name." Adam said quickly. "But he appears to be some sort of..photographer."

Upon hearing the word photographer, Victor's eyes widened slightly. He wondered if it was the same photographer he had met about a year or so ago. If it was, then he was going to have a serious talking to with Kista for bringing that idiot into his headquarters. He remembered how the photographer claimed to have had a very interesting photograph, one that would prove that some pop star was really a dinosaur. Victor found it hard to believe, but he wanted to see the photograph for himself. But when he bought it from Zoom and looked at it, it was some punk kid blowing raspberries. He had been furious with Zoom. While there was a chance that someone might have switched the CDs, Victor found it highly unlikely anyone had done it way out there in the middle of nowhere. He was hoping he'd seen the last of that photographer. He had been wrong.

"Why did she bring this visitor over here?" Victor asked thoughtfully.

"She said that the visitor wanted to talk to you." Adam said carefully. "He apparently is interested in joining Raptor Dyne."

"Oh really?" Victor asked. This caught his interest. He wondered what kind of services this human, this photographer, could offer him. "And what use would he be?"

"...I honestly don't know. Kista didn't say, and the guy was too frightened to..." Adam started to say.

"What?" Victor cut him off. "Why is he too afraid? What frightened him?" Adam looked at him as if he knew what to say, but was afraid to say it. The look on his face wordlessly told Victor what had happened. Victor groaned softly, slowly shaking his head left and right twice. "Don't tell me she..." Before he could finish his question, Adam answered with a slow nodding of the head. Victor growled angrily and slapped his face with the palm of his hand. "Just great! As if things weren't complicated enough with a stranger here without my permission, Kista had to go do that!" He turned away from Adam and stared at the keyboard. "How can things get any worse?"

"I don't think it can, sir. Anyway what are you going to do about this photographer?" Adam asked carefully. He knew Victor was angry and he knew he had to be cautious around him during this moment. "He already knows about this place, and your secret..."

Victor closed his eyes and started to think about what to do. Currently, he was not really looking for any extra help. He was going to get help soon anyway. He just had to be patient. He didn't want the help of another human. He's got plenty of those already. Humans weren't really all that reliable, but they were numerous. In fact, they were so numerous that nowadays, in order for a new human to be hired, Victor would have to take note of any special qualities they might have, and they have to be very good. He didn't know what he would want to do with a photographer. What good could he possibly be? Why would he need a bunch of photographs?

Part of him just wanted to do away with the photographer. He just wouldn't allow the human to leave and then he'd go down in the room he was at himself. It wasn't hard to slay a human. Their skin was so easily broken, not as thick or strong as dinosaur's. All he'd have to do is cut a neck vein and it would be all over. He could report it as a suicide attempt, perhaps say that the human slit his throat and he just happened to find him. Killing the human would be the easiest path to take, he thought. It would spare him the decision of how to place him in his group or releasing him while forcing him to keep it a secret.

But that could backfire on him. The other part of him didn't want to kill the human. After all, he might be a well known photographer. His death wouldn't be taken that lightly. There might be investigations, and they might find out his death was not fake after all. Victor would risk getting himself sued and he didn't want that, especially now. He was so close to achieving his goal. Perhaps he should permit the human to live. But if he did, just what was he going to do with him? Perhaps he should humor himself and listen to what this human has to say. Maybe he should go down and pay him a visit and get him to tell him why he wants to join and what services he could provide. Who knows? He might have a good idea after all.

But still, he was going to have a word with Kista Bakar after this. She, out of all the people here, should know the rules. No one was allowed to bring in any strangers unless they spoke to him first. Victor had made this rule years ago in order to prevent unwanted visitors in forbidden sections of the building. He made this rule after an incident a few years ago, when one of his client's siblings, who didn't work for him, almost stumbled upon one of the rooms where the primordial ooze was being processed. Kista was pretty good with obeying the rules, so it shocked Victor to learn she had disobeyed this time. For her sake, she'd better have a good excuse.

"...I'll speak to him." Victor said finally, rising up from his chair and turning towards Adam. "Go down to Kista and tell him to bring her little..friend up here." He smirked darkly. "He just may prove useful..."

Adam nodded and saluted Victor in a dutiful way. "Yes sir!" Without hesitation, he turned and walked towards the door.

Michelle's eyes widened a little when she saw Adam walking towards her. She quickly moved out of the way and ran down the corridors. She could hear the door opening behind her and she flinched, expecting him to yell at her and then give chase. Eavesdropping was taken very seriously in this building. Victor made it very clear that only he was allowed to eavesdrop because he was the man in charge. If he caught anyone else doing so, especially around him, he was swift to punish them to make sure they never do it again. He's even once or twice threatened to rip someone's ears off.

To her surprise, however, there was no shouting, no sudden pounding of footsteps, nothing. She stopped in her tracks and turned around. She squinted to try and see the door where she'd just come out of. Adam must have taken another direction. But why? This hallway was, more or less, one way. There was a little hallway close by, but it only led to a bathroom. She blinked a few times and then shrugged it off. She turned her head and continued her way towards the elevator. She felt no need to run anymore. What was the point? No one was chasing her, and Victor was back in his room. She should get to the medical room and treat her wounds anyway.

She opened up the elevator doors, seeing the familiar 'Access Approved' messages flashing on the little screen. And the familiar sound of the doors swooshing open filled her ears. She stepped into the elevator and closed it. The medical room was on the middle floor, so she selected that. As the elevator rumbled to life and started to move, she leaned back against the elevator and started to think about what she was doing.

Was it really worth it to do all this? Should she continue to act like this and work for someone who might kill her as soon as he looked at her? She started to ask herself, over and over, why she was doing this. She told herself it was for the money. But what good was money if, pretty soon, there would be nothing to spend it on? In the end, was it truly all worth it to do this? She sometimes, especially recently, had second thoughts, and wondered if she was better off leaving Raptor Dyne. She chuckled to herself at the thought. Leave Raptor Dyne? She wasn't sure if that was an option. If she left, Victor would surely find someway to force her to keep everything she saw while working for him a secret. And since she would no longer be bound by Victor's rules, she would be fair game to Oscura.

She narrowed her eyes. Just where was that girl, anyway? She hated it when she disappeared like this. She wouldn't know where she was, and then she'd sometimes appear at inconvenient times. And recently, she's worried that Oscura would disobey Victor and try and kill her without his permission. Oscura might have worshiped Victor. She might idolize him and have a crush on him. But Michelle had her doubts that Oscura would always listen to Victor. She knew how much that girl hated her. And she believed that, had the punishment been left up to her, she'd be dead right now. Oscura would probably have her killed just for tying her shoes at the wrong time, or anytime.

When the elevator stopped, the large sliding doors opened up slowly. Michelle stepped outside while looking back at the elevator, thinking about Oscura again. She was wondering if she was hiding on top of the elevator, ready to ambush her when she got the chance. But Michelle soon realized she should have kept her attention towards the front, not the back, because within a few seconds, she bumped into something soft and big. She took a few steps back and looked up to who she had run into.

"Kista!" Michelle gasped, backing up a little more. The woman stared down at her somewhat coldly, but it didn't look like she was too upset. Michelle had to think of something quick to say, but at the same time try not to sound too suspicious. She didn't want to let Kista know she knew why she was coming down here. "I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and..." She said quickly, but she stopped herself when she saw that Kista was about to speak.

"Do not worry about it." Kista said quickly, raising up her hand to swiftly dismiss the teenager. She moved quickly past her, brushing up against her briefly as she hurried towards the elevator. "I've gotta go now." She was acting as if she was in such a big hurry to get somewhere in time. She stopped only to look over her shoulders and call to someone else. "Come on, Zoom!"

Michelle looked over towards the door at the end of the hallway. She noticed someone else in the hallway, a man, walking at a slower speed. She tilted her head in confusion. There was something odd about his arms. They looked as if they were ripped off. But when the figure got closer, she realized that they were behind his back. She wasn't sure, from this angle, whether or not they were bound or if he had them there by choice. The man had blond hair, almost the same shade as Kista. Michelle realized that this must be the photographer that Adam had brought up with Victor.

The man looked a little scared, particularly when Kista looked over at him. Michelle felt a little sorry for the guy. He probably just found out what he was in for when he wanted to talk to Victor. She couldn't blame him for being afraid of Kista either. That woman could be scary sometimes, despite her unusual habit of using big words where they do not belong. The man looked over at her, taking notice of her. His expression of fear turned into curiosity. Slowly, Zoom opened up his mouth to speak.

"A-Are you...the o-one that..Peter t-told me about? One of them?" Zoom asked, reaching out towards her slightly, as if he were mystified or confused by her. His voice was shaky and stuttering. He was shivering as he was cold. Zoom had never seen this girl before, but he did remember that Peter had told him about two teenagers who were among Victor's ranks. Could this girl be one of them? "Are you..."

"Am I what?" Michelle responded coolly, putting her hands on her hips.

Zoom gulped, a little afraid to finish his question. "Are you...one of them?" He asked again, this time in a calmer, less shaky voice. "A-Are you..one of the dinosaur transformers...? Are you one of the two teenagers...who can turn into dinosaurs?"

Upon hearing that question, Michelle's head snapped back in surprise. He had only just met her now, and already he was asking such a personal and secretive question. She wondered if she should answer him, or just turn and walk away. She looked over at Kista, who simply shrugged at her. Michelle rolled her eyes. Kista wouldn't care if she showed her dinosaur form or not. That was typical of this blond woman. She didn't really care what anyone else does, so long as it does not hinder what she wants to do. Then again, weren't many people like that?

Michelle decided on what she was going to do. The man, Zoom, obviously knew Victor was a dinosaur. And if he already knew that she was a dinosaur, then what was the harm in showing it to him? What was he going to do anyway? Hit her with his camera? Michelle chuckled at the thought. She looked at Zoom straight in the eyes and took a step forward. The man instinctively took a step back, probably worried that she was going to transform and attack him. What was probably frightening him the most is that he does not know exactly what she can turn into, far as she knows.

Michelle gave Zoom a scary smile, a smile that was almost reminiscent of Victor's smirk. She leaned in even closer, and she could tell she was starting to freak Zoom out a little. "..how did you guess...?" She asked coolly. Before Zoom could even think to answer, Michelle closed her eyes and started to glow. Instantly, she shifted into her full Guanlong Wucaii form, holding her head back with her snout pointed to the ceiling. Slowly, she turned her head towards Zoom. She opened up her mouth in a dinosaurian grin, eyes narrowed further. She instantly opened up her mouth and let out a threatening screech just to scare the man, drool dripping from her jaws. Zoom screamed in horror and backed up against the wall, almost falling on the ground as he did so. Michelle chuckled, the laughs coming out more like grunts than laughing sounds. 'Well..you wanted to know...'

"I know you are having fun there, black dino," Kista said, rubbing her forehead. She was sounding a little frustrated. She didn't want to keep Victor waiting for long. "..but Zoom and I have a date with Victor." She got a weird look from both Zoom and Michelle. "You know what I mean! Sheesh!"

'Oh all right...' Michelle said, sounding a little disappointed. She instantly shifted back to her human form and made her way towards the door. She glanced back at Zoom, who eyed her fearfully. She decided to ignore his apprehensive look and continue on towards the door. She opened it up and walked through, leaving Zoom alone with Kista.

Zoom wasn't sure if he should be happy or afraid. He watched her leave, watching the door shut behind her. Had he seen what he just thought he saw? That girl just turned into what looked like some large black and red monster. The jaws were lined with teeth so sharp he thought they could slice through a piece of hair down the middle. And those claws, so wickedly hooked, had frightened him. He wasn't sure to be afraid of the claws more, or the teeth. He couldn't help but wonder one thing. When she turned into a dinosaur, does she gain the dinosaur's savagery, or is her mind still all human?

Kista cut off his train of thought. "Come on, Zoom!" She said loudly. "Victor is waiting! You wanted to speak to him, didn't you?"

"I-I..of course I did..." Zoom said, still a little shaken up by the female teenager.

"Then come along!" Kista snapped. "Or Victor might decide to eat you just for being late!"

"All right, all right!" Zoom said quickly, walking towards Kista with a swift pace. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" He certainly didn't want to see Victor, or Kista, in a foul mood, especially now. As he and Kista stepped into the elevator, many thoughts were racing through his mind. Was he going to get out of this alive? Was Victor going to take his plan seriously? And above all, was he going to be able to get his revenge on this kids..?

* * *

"So..do you understand?" Moynihan asked as she sat back in her chair. She had just gotten finished negotiating with Caruso's parents. She wasn't sure how long it actually took. It might have been just a few minutes or half an hour even, but it felt more like a few hours for her. She was discussing different ideas on how to protect Caruso with Jack and Amanda. Protecting him while he was with his parents was not going to be an easy task, and might prove more difficult than when he was to be with the Dino Squad. Moynihan thought about talking about the weapons she had stashed away in the lighthouse. But she feared questions that the Dino Squad might ask her, since she had kept it a secret for so long. What would they think of her if she told them that she had dangerous weaponry that she never told them about all this time?

Moynihan had made some suggestions to be followed until Caruso was well enough to defend himself. He would need a week or two of healing time. But even if they wait that time, there was no guaranteeing that Irwin was going to be mostly or completely better. He might need more time to heal. She was particularly worried about his mouth. She wasn't sure what to tell his parents about how to treat that. She recommended that they keep him as quiet as possible, as often as possible. It seemed talking increased his pain and might be making it harder for the cuts inside to heal properly. She also said that Caruso should stay home from school until they felt he was ready to come back. Max was assigned to bring in his homework during the days of his absence.

The old woman had made it clear to Jack and Amanda to not hurt any mutantsaurs that might enter their home. She told them that Irwin should have his own set of Chiller and Spiller, as each of the other kids do, so if they do spot a mutantsaur, they were to find those weapons and return the creature back to normal. She also wanted them to tell her about the creature so she could get an idea of Victor's recent activities and such. She advised them to lock their doors at night, although that was probably a no-brainer. When Caruso was not at school or with his friends, she wanted one or both parents with Caruso at all times. At home, one parent or both should remain at home. If they both had to leave, they should take Caruso with them.

And the most important thing she kept on stressing, which she knew was annoying the man and woman, but she knew how important it was, involved what would happen if Victor showed up. Victor was a very dangerous being, more than a match for the two. If Victor were to get in the house, there would not be enough time to attack him. And it would all be in vain, too. Victor has grown wise to human behavior, and he would be able to figure out a trap when he sees one. Even if Jack or Amanda got a hold of a knife and stabbed him, Victor's size would enable him to withstand a simple kitchen knife stabbing and he'd be able to knock them away before they could try again.

Moynihan stressed that, if they saw Victor, they should run away and hide right away. They were not to try and pursue him. They were not to try and fight him. They were not to try and chase him away. They were to run and hide and that's it. Victor's sense of smell, however, would make it difficult for them to hide. It wouldn't be impossible. No matter what Victor might say, the laws of physics still played a role in his body's functions and abilities. If they stayed downwind, they might not be detected by Victor because the scent would be swept away. He might pick it up later, but it just might buy the family precious time to get away.

Moynihan was not sure if Victor was going to go after Caruso or not. But the chase that she had narrowly escaped gave her reason to be cautious. After all, why else would Victor attack them? They couldn't be too cautious, she thought. He had continued to ram into the vehicle, as if he was determined to get something. Although, there weren't many reasons for why Victor would go after Caruso. But of the reasons there could be, each one would be a good reason, at least from Victor's perspective. The biggest reason Joanne could think of is that Victor wants to continue testing on Caruso. She doubted that Victor would want to kill the boy. He had perfect dinosaur DNA and that had attracted Victor's attention, even before he knew the truth of the 'perfect dinosaurs'.

As she waited for the couple's response, Joanne started to think of the plan she had set up for when Caruso was with them. He would be a little more protected, as each of his four friends, along with Moynihan herself, could transform into a dinosaur. And they were all armed with the knowledge of how to fight this enemy. Victor might have the upper hand on them for now, but he would not succeed again. They were going to see to that. Moynihan still has to fix the computers upstairs, but right now she was more concerned about Caruso. She had made it clear to the Dino Squad that, until Caruso's injuries have healed, they were not to leave his side. One of them must stick with him.

She also wanted to be sure that everyone does not neglect their own safety. The last thing she wants to happen is someone else getting captured. If that were to happen, Victor might go to another location. He would not be stupid enough to use the same location again. And where his new location would be might be more heavily guarded. Moynihan was surprised that the hideout he kept Caruso in was not that heavily guarded. It was almost a breeze compared to what she had expected it to be. But then again it was out in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps Victor used more sparse security in order to prevent attention to be drawn to it. After all, for humans, a lot of security meant that something of interest must clearly be in the enclosure. The temptation might have driven some humans into trying to break into the place. Victor surely wouldn't want to have to deal with a bunch of unruly teenagers or nosy adults, now would he?

Jack Caruso thought about what Moynihan had suggested. He pretty much agreed with what she had told them. It made sense, and she knew more about Victor and mutantsaurs than they did. Moynihan hadn't touched up on what to do if one of Victor's henchmen showed up, so he assumed it would follow the same principle as if Victor had turned up, and that is to run and hide. He felt relieved that one of Irwin's friends would be with him at all times while he was away from home. And he knew that he and his wife need not be told to stick by their son while he was at home. It did annoy him a bit when Moynihan kept telling them not to fight Victor. But he understood the urgency in the message. And he couldn't really blame her.

"Yes, I understand." Jack said, finally answering Moynihan's question. But there was something else that was still bothering him, and he was a little surprised, shocked in fact, that Moynihan hadn't brought it up. "How do we treat his wounds? Not the ones in his mouth, but the ones on his body?"

"Yeah..." Amanda said softly. "How?"

"Oh..." Moynihan said, a little surprised herself. She had forgotten to tell them how to do so. She had told them that she wouldn't be able to tell them how to treat the wounds in his mouth. And she had told them that they would probably heal in a few weeks. But she had failed to tell them how to be sure that the wounds heal properly and don't become infected. "When you take him home, rinse out the cuts and gashes with warm water and bandage them up the best that you can. Make sure he takes pain killers and if you have any antibiotics, give him those. It'll help kill any infections he might have gotten. I would also recommend him eating plenty of fruit and vegetables to help speed up the healing process."

"Perhaps we should treat his wounds now." Max said, butting into the conversation. He felt that Caruso could really use the treatment now. He wasn't sure, but he felt like some of the wounds were already very infected. The boy was not able to bandage up any of the wounds he got, and many of the injuries were a few hours old. He wasn't sure if Caruso should wait until he got home to be treated. And Moynihan did have medication and other stuff in the lighthouse that they could use. She was able to treat Rodger's injuries he received from the red Troodon pretty well. So perhaps she could treat Irwin's wounds.

"That is a good suggestion, Maxwell." Moynihan said, feeling impressed that Max made that suggestion. It had completely slipped her mind. "Why don't you go up and get the supplies?"

"Sure." Max said, turning to walk away. He stopped, however, and looked back, feeling a little stupid. He had forgotten to ask her what to get. "What should I get?"

"Get some bandages, surgical tape, aloe, some antibiotics, some..." Moynihan paused, trying to think of what else she needed. She believed there was something else, something that she was missing. But her mind was too full of different thoughts related to recent and current events that she could not think of it. She quickly gave up. "On second thought, just bring in the First Aid kit that I have. It's up in my bedroom. You know where that is, don't you?"

"Yes." Max said, turning towards the stairs and walking towards them. "I'll be down in a few minutes!" With that, he quickly ran up the spiral steps, disappearing onto one of the higher floors.

Irwin Caruso winced a little, still in pain from his injuries. He was laying on the couch. Moynihan had suggested he lay down in order to avoid any further blood loss. It seemed that some of his wounds were still bleeding, and the gravity from standing up would increase the bleeding. Laying down might reduce the amount of bleeding. Rodger had done his best to stop the bleeding, applying pressure to certain spots. He managed to slow the bleeding, but it hadn't completely stopped. Before he laid down, Moynihan had set down a large towel in order to prevent any blood from soaking into her furniture. Moynihan had also given Caruso a blanket as he was feeling a little cold, probably due to the amount of blood that he lost, and probably also from fear. The blanket was relatively light, however, because she didn't want to put too much pressure on his wounds.

Sitting next to him in a chair pulled up to the couch was Fiona. She had barely left his side since they came into the lighthouse. She glanced down at him sympathetically as he continued to twitch and writhe in pain. He was trying to find a comfortable position to lay down, but it just wasn't working for him. She wished she could do something to alleviate the pain, but alas there was nothing she could do except whisper comforting words or gently stroking his hair or face, or even hold his hand.

Fiona felt a shadow cast over her. She nearly jumped, but when she looked up, she saw it was only Buzz. The punk teen was looking just as worried about Caruso as she was. Buzz opened up his mouth to speak. "How is he...?" He asked carefully.

"Still in pain." Fiona said, stating the obvious. "He hadn't stopped writhing like that since he laid down. And it doesn't look like he is going to stop anytime soon..." She closed her eyes, trying to keep her tears from falling. She couldn't help but feel so much mental pain as she watched Caruso in this condition. She wanted to take his pain away. "I hope Max hurries up with that First Aid kit. I don't know how much more he can take."

Buzz nodded, feeling her pain. "I don't think the pain will go away right away. But at least the kit will help speed up the healing process. The pain might go away faster."

"I sure hope so." Fiona said in a pained voice. "It just hurts so much to see him like this."

Buzz wrapped his arms around the girl, realizing that she probably needs a hug to comfort her. "I know..I know.."

Fiona didn't resist the hug. In fact, she welcomed it. She hugged Buzz as she cried, not able to stop herself. She wasn't sure why she was like this. She doesn't recall feeling like this before. She had always thought she was strong. She said in a shaky voice, "I-I don't know why I feel this way..I'm supposed to be strong..."

"You are strong. Just because you cry doesn't make you weak. I believe that it takes a stronger person to cry than to suck it up. Remember that." Buzz said in a comforting tone of voice.

"Thanks..." Fiona whispered softly.

"Don't mention it." Buzz grinned solemnly.

Although he could hear every word being spoken, Caruso kept both his eyes and his mouth shut. He had already been told not to speak a whole lot. And for now, he didn't really want to talk. He was still shaken up by what had happened earlier and the pain in his mouth was still stinging, even though it had been some time since he last spoke. Just lifting his tongue gave him a lot of agonizing pain. The only comfort from it was listening to his friends and family speak, even though they were on touchy, serious topics. Just hearing their voices made him feel a little better. It reassured him that he was no longer in that terrible prison of a place anymore.

He kept his eyes closed because, for some reason, it hurt to have them open. He wondered if it was because of the blow to the head, or the multiple cuts he had on his face. But nonetheless, it didn't hurt so much when his eyes were closed. He would only open them up once every few minutes in order to keep himself from drifting off into sleep. He didn't want to sleep, not now, despite his fatigue from the loss of blood. He tried his best to settle down on the couch, but he was in pain no matter what position he was in. And while he could not see their faces, he could sense that it was hurting his friends and family to see him like this. He started to feel a little guilty, knowing that they were upset because of what happened to him.

He managed to get himself to open up one of his eyes, just a crack, to reveal a blurry image of mixed colors. This only lasted for a fraction of a second. His vision quickly came into sharp focus. He could see Fiona hugging Buzz, probably for comfort. Caruso tried to scan the room the best he could from his position. He could make out three other figures, which he identified as his parents and Moynihan. They looked like they were still talking, but he could just barely make out their speech.

"Do you think that Victor might send one of his men after our son?" Jack asked almost fearfully. He knew Victor had a lot of men on his team and they might all be very formidable in battle.

"I doubt it." Moynihan said. "But it's not completely out of the question. He might send them if he wanted to use stealth. Remember, Victor's men are not going to be wearing their usual outfits, instead wearing disguises. They might look like everyday people, or like officials from different companies or professions. Some of my students have been fooled by their disguises." She recalled the time when Fiona and Caruso were both fooled by two of Victor's men when the pets were sprayed with primordial ooze.

"How would we recognize them?" Amanda asked.

"You probably won't, I'm afraid." Moynihan said, shaking her head, eyes closed. When she opened them up again, she continued, "However, you might have a chance at catching them in a lie by the way they are talking or by the way they are acting. If they stammer too much, if they struggle with what they want to say, if they won't leave you alone, they might be working for Victor. But even then, they might not be. I'm afraid there's no foolproof way of knowing until it's practically too late. I'm sorry."

Jack and Amanda looked at each other, each one with an expression of worry on their faces. If they weren't going to be able to recognize one of Victor's men, could this mean that there was a chance that Victor could get their son again? No, there just had to be a way to distinguish friend from foe. There just had to be! Perhaps keeping the boy away from strangers from a while would work, only permitting him to be around friends. And they didn't think it would be hard to convince their son to follow that rule. The poor kid was probably still scared to death. After that experience, why wouldn't he be?

But even if they enforce that 'no strangers' rule, there might still be a chance at an ambush. Victor could easily find a way to sneak around this, and come in for the capture. He was quite cunning, as he had proven himself over the past few days. He just might come up with a way if he had enough patience. And he doesn't easily give up, unfortunately for them. So what were they going to do now?

"What are we going to do?" Amanda spoke up, her eyes slowly downcast to the ground. If the squad could be so easily fooled by one of Victor's disguises, what hope did they, the parents, have against identifying a possible threat? And if they couldn't identify the threat, they could not protect their son.

"Just be very cautious." Moynihan advised solemnly. "I'm afraid that is all you can do. Mutantsaurs and Victor would be easier to spot. Luckily, Vic does not have many disguises, just his human and Velociraptor form. But he has so many men working for him, I've lost count. Most of their faces are hidden by those masks he makes them wear." It was because of this that Moynihan had not been able to identify many of Victor's men. The red Velociraptor probably knew that she might be spying on him, and thus would disguise his workers so that he still had the element of surprise with him. Although, there might be another reason.

"That is very comforting..." Amanda said sarcastically, eyes narrowed a little.

Jack placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Don't start up again."

"I know..I'm not trying to start anything." Amanda's expression softened up. "I'm just...worried, you know? I mean, if we can't recognize a threat, how would we protect our son from it?"

"We'll do the best we can." Jack said, trying to comfort her. "I promise."

They then heard someone shouting from the stairs. "Okay, Ms. M!" Max said as he quickly descended the staircase, holding a large silver container. There was a large sticker on the top. It was green with a white cross, which was the sign of First Aid. "I got the First Aid kit!" He said as he stepped off of the stairs and made his way towards Moynihan. He held it out to her, and without hesitation, Moynihan grabbed onto the kit.

"Thanks, Max." Moynihan said as she made her way towards Caruso. The boy's eyes were still closed, and she wondered if he was in a deep sleep. She noticed one of his eyes opening up. That proved he was still awake. Good, now she didn't have to wake him up, she thought. Some of the injuries to be treated would require Caruso to move in certain ways. "Kids, you all get over here. I am going to require some assistance." Max, Fiona, Rodger, and Buzz all gathered around closer, awaiting for their next order.

Joanne Moynihan decided to focus on Caruso's oldest injury, which seemed to be the one on his arm. Although she still had her human nose, she could still smell the infection. The skin closest to the wound had turned an ugly dark purple, and the center looked black. There didn't seem to be any signs of bleeding, but the scabbing looked fragile. She felt that this wound should be treated first because it was probably the most infected. It was exposed to open air the longest, and was one of the deepest wounds he had. Very carefully, she lifted up the injured arm, which, luckily for her, was the arm closest to her, near the edge of the couch. She looked towards Rodger. "Rodger, get a small cloth and put a little bit of aloe vera on it."

Rodger obeyed. He opened up the tube of aloe vera and coated the small cloth with some of the gel inside. He knew about aloe's healing properties and understood why Moynihan wanted to use it. There didn't seem to be much they could do for this wound except coat it in aloe and hope it'll heal faster. He handed the cloth over to Moynihan. "Here you go, Ms. M." He said.

"Thanks, Rodger." Moynihan said as she took the cloth from his hand. She inspected the cloth to be sure that there would be enough to coat the long wound on the boy's arm. Still gripping the boy's arm, she said to Caruso, "Okay, Irwin. This might hurt a little bit. But it's for your own good." Caruso's eyes were now open, looking up at her in fear as she lowered the cloth towards his cut. He shut his eyes tightly and looked away. When the cloth and gel made contact with the injury, Caruso cried out in pain, but quickly settled down to allow Moynihan to rub the gel across the wound. Moynihan felt bad about doing this, but it was the only thing she could think of to try and help it heal. She continued to move the cloth from one end of the cut to the other until she felt there was enough aloe on it. She quickly moved the cloth away. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" She got a nasty glare from Caruso.

"Y-You've got to be k-kidding me..." Caruso retorted, but immediately regretting it as he recoiled in pain.

Moynihan frowned. Perhaps she should try treating the injuries on his face next. "Please be careful, Irwin. You don't want to hurt yourself even more." She turned to Fiona. "Fiona, could you hand me some dressings for the wound?"

Fiona obeyed, reaching into the kit and grabbing some sterile bandages and surgical tape. She handed them to Moynihan. "Here."

"Thank you." Moynihan took the material from her and turned her attention back towards Caruso. She quickly set to work, wrapping up the wound in the sterile cloth to protect it and to keep the gel from being wiped off his arm. Caruso winced several times in pain, but didn't cry out again, although tears of pain were forming in his eyes. Moynihan wrapped the cloth tightly around the wound, and then took out some surgical tape and put it on the dressing, keeping it in place. She released Caruso's arm, who immediately pulled it back and inspected the arm, and then looked back at her, looking almost grateful.

"Should we treat the wounds on his face next?" Buzz asked, wincing as he looked at the multiple cuts on Irwin's face. Just looking at them made him wince in pain, almost feeling the agony that Caruso had gone through.

"Yes. I was going to do that next." Moynihan said as she put the surgical tape back in Fiona's hand, who promptly put it back inside the kit. This was to keep it as sterile as possible. "But it's going to be trickier than the wound on his arm, I'm afraid."

"How are we going to treat it?" Max asked.

"We're going to need to put some disinfectant on them, to kill the infection that might have settled in." Moynihan explained, pointing towards the kit, signaling one of the children to pick up a bottle of disinfectant from the kit. When they did that, she turned her attention towards the parents. She then addressed them. "The wounds on his face will have to be washed out with warm water and soap. Could one of you two please bring some over to me?"

Without hesitation, Jack started to make his way over to where he thought the kitchen was. He stopped in his tracks, realizing that he had no idea where the kitchen actually was. He looked back at Moynihan for help. "Just..where is the kitchen?" He asked slowly, a confused look on his face. "I don't know where it is."

Rodger smiled softly and walked towards him. "Follow me. I'll take you to the kitchen." He lead the man up the stair case. Caruso's mother followed close behind, wanting to help too.

While they were gone, Moynihan looked towards Max. "Max, could you hand me a couple sterile pads? I am going to try and stop the bleeding." She noticed that Caruso was still bleeding from some of the wounds on his head, especially the one above his eyes. Max didn't waste any time in fetching the sterile pads for Moynihan. She gently picked them up and reached out towards Caruso's head. The boy watched her leaning towards her, pads in hand. "Caruso, I'm going to treat the cuts on your face now. Please be still. This might sting a little." Caruso watched as the pad drew closer and closer to his face. He quickly shut his eyes, waiting for the stinging pain to be felt. As Moynihan pressed the cloth gently against the deep cut just above his eyes, Caruso suddenly stiffened in pain. He screamed in pain and started to struggle on the couch, swiping Moynihan's arm away. He started to kick his feet as the pain started to become unbearable.

"Irwin!" Fiona yelled in surprise, frightened by Caruso's change in behavior. "What are you doing?!" But she got no response from the thrashing teenager. She didn't know what was going on.

But Moynihan did. "He's panicking!" She said urgently. "Hold him still before he hurts himself!" The teens immediately obeyed the order. Max and Buzz both grabbed and held down Caruso's legs while Moynihan and Fiona held down his arms. They were being as gentle as they could while at the same time being firm. They knew the poor kid was in a lot of pain, but if he struggled too much, he was going to just hurt himself more. They had to calm him down. "Irwin, if you continue to struggle, it will only make the pain worse!" Moynihan said in a loud tone of voice, hoping to get through to Caruso.

But Caruso didn't stop struggling. Instead, his struggles just increased. His head tossed rapidly from side to side, eyes shut tightly and his teeth bared and clenched tightly. He constantly tried to pull his arm away, or a leg away, but his friends were holding him too tightly for him to shake free. The pain on his head was starting to drive him mad. He tried to shake a leg free and kick Buzz or Max in the face to get them to let go. He wanted to push Fiona and Moynihan away. But tried as he might, he just wasn't going anywhere.

He looked up at his friends again, eyes wide with pain and fear. There was a slight hint of glow in his eyes, but it was very faint and hardly noticeable. But his pupils were almost completely dilated, the pupils so small they were almost dots. He looked away, continuing to struggle. As the pain continued to overwhelm him, he started to become even more panicked. His mind was starting to play tricks on him. When he looked up at his friends a second time, the image was distorted and blurred in his mind, contorting into something that it was not. Instead of seeing the faces of loved ones, he was starting to see Victor, standing over him, laughing insanely as he gripped him with a scaly red hand. Caruso gasped as he saw this, and screamed again, this time in a mixture of fear and anger.

His struggles suddenly increased. His thrashes became more violent. His pulls and tugs became more urgent, filled with more energy. He was starting to become vocal, uttering moans and groans, and even hisses and growls. His behavior was starting to scare the team. They continued to hold him firmly, hoping he would calm down. But it only made him behave worse. Seeing him glaring at them so hatefully, the lips curled back into a snarl, was scaring them greatly. They couldn't understand why he was acting this way. But they were too afraid to ask, especially when he started to snap towards them. Fortunately they kept too great a distance for his jaws to make contact with their skin. But it still frightened them.

"Caruso! What's wrong with you?" Max snapped, feeling frustrated, scared, and angry all at the same time.

"Stop struggling! We're only trying to help!" Buzz cried out, almost losing his grip on Caruso's leg.

"What's wrong with him, Moynihan?" Fiona asked, terribly frightened by Caruso's erratic and seemingly unexplained anger.

"He's panicking." Moynihan said in a serious tone. "The only thing we can do is let him wear himself out. He'll settle down eventually."

Fiona looked back down at Caruso. He continued to stare at her with those large, hateful eyes. Her lower lip quivered for a few seconds, wondering what could have made Caruso act this way. All they were doing was helping him. He was starting to struggle when Moynihan was trying to help, and that was going to hurt him. So they decided to hold him still to get him to calm down. But that seemed to only make his behavior worse. Why was that? Fiona wondered, briefly, if it had anything to do with what Victor had done to him.

"Let me go!" Caruso yelled loudly, ignoring the pain in his mouth as he spoke harshly to his team mates, whom he is now mistaking for someone else entirely. His friends would not let him go, however. They continued to hold him down, upon Moynihan's request, who didn't want them to let go until he's settled down completely. Caruso's eyes narrowed angrily and he shouted in a harsh tone of voice, "I said let me go...! Or I''ll KILL you!"

The statement sent a wave of shock through everyone. They couldn't believe what they had just heard. They wondered if it was just their minds playing tricks on them, or that they just heard things. But noticing the looks on each other's faces, they hadn't imagined it. Caruso had just threatened them with death. Caruso, one of their closest friends, just threatened them in such a way. The situation was taking a turn for the worse. This was more serious than they had previously thought. They thought he was just reacting to the pain he was feeling. But the root of his behavior might be more psychological than physiological.

But nonetheless, they did not release him, despite his threat. They knew that he had to wear himself out, and they didn't want him to hurt himself doing so. They continued to hold him down, hoping this bizarre and frightening episode would pass very soon. But unfortunately it did not. Caruso's eyes started to glow brightly. The teeth inside his mouth grew larger and started to look more pointed, just like how they were in his Stegosaurus form. Even though they were meant for tearing plant material, they were still formidable in battle, and Caruso was not afraid to use them. The muscles in his legs and arms started to bulge and grow larger and stronger. He yanked his leg free from Buzz's grasp, and then Max's. He quickly kicked them both in the chest, sending them flying back.

Quickly, Irwin shot up in the couch, pulling away from Moynihan and Fiona and then jumping off the couch. Despite the pain, he ran several feet away, and then stopped. He slowly turned back, his eyes still wide, glowing bright yellow. He breathed in slowly and harshly, growling softly and threateningly. "You will never hurt me again..." He said under his breath, his eyes narrowed dangerously. He started to stalk his way towards the group, whom he was seeing as nothing but his worse enemy, Victor. "You hear me, Veloci...? You'll never hurt me again..."

"Caruso..." Fiona whispered, taking a step back. "What's wrong with you?"

"Caruso, stop this!" Max demanded, standing closer to Caruso than the others dared to. He stood straight up, pointing at Caruso and tried to enforce his authority, his leadership, through forceful statements. "I said stop! Do you hear me?!" But Caruso did not listen. He continued to slowly stalk towards the group, baring his sharp teeth. His eyes were still wide and glowing yellow. "Stop! Stop!"

"Begging won't help, Veloci..." Caruso said in an eerie voice, a creepy smile spread across his face. He started to chuckle, but there was nothing humorous about it. The laugh was filled with coldness, sending chills up their spines. "I have you now..." As he spoke, his skin started to take on a bluish hue.

"But we're no Victor!" Buzz shouted, horrified by Caruso's behavior. "Why are you doing this? Come on, don't you recognize us? We aren't your enemies! We're your friends!"

"It's us! Your friends!" Fiona shouted, joining in with Buzz's statement. "Come on...please! Caruso, stop acting like this!" She begged, but Caruso was not effected by her or Buzz's words. He continued to mumble about Veloci and getting him. He acted as if he hadn't heard anything they had said. "What's wrong with him...?"

Moynihan remained standing where she was, frozen in shock by what Caruso was doing. She had never seen him acting like this before, and neither had his friends, and she was certain neither did his parents. She glanced up at the stairs nervously, wondering how they were going to react if they saw their son acting in such a manner. This was so unlike Irwin. There was only one thing she could think of that would contribute to him acting like this. He must be more traumatized about what happened while he was Victor than she previously thought. It must have been horrific for the poor kid for him to be acting like this. Moynihan realized that when she touched his forehead, she must have unintentionally sent him back, mentally, to when Victor must have delivered that blow. Realizing what she had done, she couldn't help but lower her head in shame and guilt.

Max worked up the courage to take a few more steps closer to Caruso. But the closer he got, the more vicious Caruso was starting to look and behave. As Max neared him, Caruso lowered his head and brought his hands forward, arched in a threatening manner. His lips pulled back further and the color of his skin started to darken more. Max wasn't sure why he wasn't transforming right away, but was glad that he hadn't yet. He reached out with one hand, trying to see if he could grab Caruso and try and restrain him before he hurt himself. But as he brought his hand closer, the blue-haired teen growled loudly and then, with a jerk of the head, snapped his jaws shut only centimeters away from Max's fingers. Horrified and frightened, Max screamed, pulling his hand away swiftly. He took a few steps back, putting space between him and Caruso.

Suddenly they heard the sound of heavy footsteps hurrying down the staircase. "What's going on here?!" A masculine voice sounded out, sounding very urgent. It was Jack. Running close behind him was his wife and Rodger. Amanda was holding the soaked cloth, but when she saw what was going on, she almost dropped it from her hands. Jack couldn't believe what he was seeing. It looked like his son was threatening Moynihan and her other students. But why? "What is he doing?"

When the trio reached the floor and got off of the stares, Irwin started to behave even more violently. Feeling further threatened, he started to let out ferocious roars, sounding every bit like they would in dino mode. He looked at everyone in the room with the same wild look in his eyes. His expression softened for no one. His growls and snarls only increased in intensity and frequency. He stopped advancing, but only briefly. He continued to make his way towards the group, taking very slow, deliberate steps. "You won't hurt me..."

"Hurt you?" Amanda asked softly. She handed the cloth to Jack and walked towards the boy. "Come on, Irwin...it's me..." The boy's eyes widened as she reached out towards him, and he cringed back, as if he was expecting a blow.

"No!" Max shouted, remembering what happened when he tried that himself. "Don't do it! He'll try to bite you!"

Amanda shot a glare at Max, offended that he would say such a thing. "He's my son! I'm his mother!" She shouted, eyes glued on the jock. "He wouldn't even think about..." When she turned back towards her son, she was horrified to see that he was in mid-attack. Jaws split wide, if she had not moved her hand away at that time, Irwin would have bitten her. She took several steps back, looking at the boy with an expression of hurt and shock on her face. Why had he done that to her? The idea of her son actually attacking her was too painful for her to bear. She didn't fight back the tears that streamed down her face as she said, "Irwin...why...?"

Jack, horrified by what happened, immediately moved over to his wife and tried to comfort her. "Dear..are you all right?" He asked as he placed an arm around her shoulder.

"Y-Yes..I'm fine..." Amanda said, her voice full of pain. "But..why..did he attack me?"

"I don't know..." Jack said softly, feeling just as lost and confused as she did. "I just don't know..."

Rodger walked up to where Max was and stood next to him. The african-american stared out towards Caruso, studying the expression on the boy's face. What caught his interest were his eyes. There was something very strange about them. It wasn't that they were dinosaur eyes. He had grown familiar with those. It was the way he was looking at them. Caruso's widened eyes had no hint of recognition. He was glaring at them as if he didn't know who they really were. He quickly realized what was going on. Caruso was not recognizing who they were. As the boy cast a dangerous glare on everyone in the room, he wasn't acknowledging them as friends, and perhaps he wasn't even acknowledging them as individuals either. It was like he thought everyone was just one being.

"Why is he acting like this? We're his friends.." Max said, his voice shaking a little. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

"Dude..." Rodger said solemnly. "He doesn't even recognize us... Look at his eyes." He pointed out to Caruso and everyone did as he said. They could see the way the boy was looking at them. His eyes were wide with fear and anger, but there wasn't even the slightest hint of recognition, no comfort, no sense of relief. Whatever he was seeing, it surely wasn't them.

"Then how do we get him to recognize us?" Fiona asked quickly, coming up to Rodger. "How do we let him know that we're his friends?"

"I...don't think we can..." Rodger said, shaking his head.

"But there's got to be something we can do!" Max spoke up.

"We can only wait, I'm afraid..." Rodger said sadly. "I've seen this before, in animals actually. There's nothing you can do to stop it. It has to run its course, no matter how painful it may be to watch."

Irwin Caruso continued to look around the room, feeling frightened beyond belief. His body started to shake and quiver in fear. He took a few steps back, but continued to push himself forward. His eyes, widened as big as they could get, continued to feed him false information. As he looked around the room, all he could see was pitch blackness. There was no ground or ceiling. It was like he was floating in midair. All around him, all he could see was Victor. It looked as if Victor had teleportation powers. He could only see one Victor, but constantly that image would change position, taunting him, laughing at him. Every time one of the group reached out towards him, Caruso's mind was telling him that Victor was reaching out to harm him. Every time they spoke, his mind told him Victor was laughing at him and taunting him as well.

The images of Victor continued to flicker across the blackness of the room that he was seeing. He started to panic even further, his body shaking even more visibly now. He wanted to run away, to get away from here. He did not want to be hurt again. But the boy also wanted to stand and fight. He wanted to make sure that Victor would not hurt him ever again. And as he saw Victor walking slowly towards him, mouth contorted into a wicked smile, Irwin accepted his challenge, walking towards him slowly, fingers still arched as if he was going to strike.

"Victor...you think you've won...?" Irwin said in a haunting, scary voice. "You have another think coming... I'll kill you!"

The person he was advancing on was actually Fiona, who had approached him too quickly, wanting to try again to comfort him and calm him down. But Fiona had gotten too close, and now Caruso quickly advanced on her, his intentions made very clear. Fiona was forced up against a wall, backed into it by Caruso. Fiona pressed he back against the hard wall behind her, looking at Caruso in fear. "Please...stop this..." She begged. "You're scaring me..."

But Caruso did not listen. Instead, upon hearing her request, he laughed coldly. "Now you're begging for your life, Veloci? How does it feel...?" He asked threateningly, eyes narrowing further. "Tell me..HOW DOES IT FEEL?!"

Fiona screamed in fear as Caruso's voice grew loud so quickly, increasing how threatening and scary he was sounding. "Irwin! Stop! Please!" She could easily transform and push him out of the way, but fear was stopping her. She didn't want to hurt him, and she was too frightened anyway to think straight. Going dino was not crossing her mind.

"Never again...will you hurt me..." Caruso spoke softly, almost a harsh whisper.

"Irwin, stop this immediately!" Max demanded, trying again to gain control of the situation. He rushed towards where Caruso had backed Fiona up and placed his hand on Caruso, knowing full well of the risks involved. Caruso's eyes widened, and he stiffened in place. "As your leader, I command you to stop!"

There was a brief silence that lasted only a couple seconds. Suddenly, Irwin shouted, "NEVER AGAIN!" Immediately after he said that, he whirled around quickly. He snapped his jaws at Max once again, narrowly missing again. Max screamed in fright and backed up, horrified about what happened. He quickly turned around to face Fiona, his eyes wide with anger still.

"Please..." Fiona whispered. She took a step forward. To her surprise, Caruso moved back a little, starting to look more frightened than angry. She wondered if he was finally coming out of it, if he finally realized who they actually were. Smiling softly, hoping it would soothe him, Fiona drew a little closer, reaching out towards the boy with one hand. "It's me..Fiona...don't you remember me? You're among friends now..."

But it quickly became all too clear that Caruso was still hallucinating, still in a panicking state of mind. When Fiona's hand got too close, he snapped at her. Fiona quickly pulled her hand back, too scared to cry out. But Caruso was not finished yet. Determined to stop whom he thought was Veloci from reaching out towards him again, he lunged forward. Fiona was slammed against the wall and a sharp pain overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes tightly and screamed in pain.

When she was finished, she slowly opened up her eyes to see what had happened. She was horrified to see what Caruso's jaws had made contact with her skin, digging in deeply. More specifically, he had bitten down on her shoulder, very close to her neck. His Stegosaurus teeth worked their way in through the fabric of her claws and broken through the skin. Caruso bit down harder, determined to tear away flesh. Blood poured quickly from the injury, and both Caruso and Fiona were getting stained with red blood. And while he was biting her, his hands gripped her arms tightly, preventing her from being able to struggle. His nails started to dig into her skin.

Everyone in the room witnessing the incident gasped collectively. Horrified expressions stuck to their faces. Words failed them, no matter how hard they tried. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Caruso had actually bitten Fiona. And it was not an accidental bite too. He was driving his teeth into her purposely, holding her still as he worked his teeth in. He ignored the blood that was starting to stain his lips, face, and shirt. He continued to growl, tasting her blood in his mouth, mixing in with his own.

"C-C-Caruso...?" Fiona whispered under her breath, trying her best to ignore the searing pain in her shoulder. She could feel the long sharp teeth tearing into her muscle, pain increasing in intensity every second. Tears of pain strolled down her face.

Caruso ignored her, just biting even harder and growling. The wild look was still in his eyes. As he bit down, he felt his heart rate slow down. His eyes slowly stopped glowing. The feeling of triumph was relaxing his body. His mind was slowing down, no longer racing. His vision started to come into focus. Images of Victor faded away, replacing with other images, the ones that were actually there. He slowly realized that it was not Victor he was biting into. The person was too small to be Victor. He saw the familiar brown color of Fiona's shirt, and his eyes widened again, this time with no glow in them. He slowly looked up, and saw that it was Fiona he was biting.

Immediately, shaking involuntarily, he released her, letting go of her arms as well. He took a step back, looking at Fiona in horror. Still shaking, he reached out towards her, but she cringed, and he immediately pulled his hand back. He couldn't believe what he just did. And he was even more frightened by what he almost did. He almost killed Fiona, his best friend. His eyes slowly moved to her wound, and he couldn't look away. He assessed the extend of the damage. He could see several red punctures in her skin, blood seeping through. The puncture wounds looked so deep that he thought that, if he had bitten a little harder, Fiona would have lost a lot of flesh from that one place. All around the area, the skin had turned a deep purple. The bruising spread a little onto her neck as well. Caruso was horrified at just how much damage he had caused.

Caruso took another step back, slowly shaking his head in denial. He didn't want to accept this. He just didn't want to. He just could not accept it. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't! He looked at his hands. He could see that they had a little blood on him. He gasped and looked back at Fiona. He had gripped her arms so tightly that it had pierced through her skin. Decorated across both of her upper arms were a series of small, bloody cuts. But what was hurting him the most, mentally, was the expression on Fiona's face. It was a mixture of hurt, shock, and a sense of betrayal. What had he done...?

Fiona slowly looked towards her shoulder, seeing the torn up skin and the blood. Her lower lip quivered as she slowly looked back at Caruso. Even though she knew he didn't mean it, she couldn't help but feel betrayed by him. "Why...?" She asked softly.

"Fiona..." Irwin whispered, his voice filled with pain. He took a step forward, trying his best not to cry as he saw her back up against the wall again. "Fiona...I'm sorry...I'm so very sorry..." Caruso said, trying his best to ignore the pain in his mouth. Without thinking or hesitating, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, careful not to touch her injured shoulder. He didn't know what else to do. Unable to hold back his tears any longer, he started to cry as he hugged her, his tears soaking into her clothing.

"..Irwin...?" Fiona whispered, unsure what to do. The only thing she could think of to do is hugging him back. Moving her shoulder hurt her though, so just simply hugging Caruso caused her pain. But she fought through it anyway, hugging him back to try and comfort him the best that she could. "It's all right..."

"What's wrong with me...?" Caruso whispered under his breath, not letting her go. Fiona was not able to answer him. All she could do was speak comforting words to him and hug him, hoping that he'll stop crying soon. But she wondered the same thing. What was wrong with him?