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...

33. Turned

Max hissed at her and took a few steps towards the Troodon. He let out a roar and was about to attack when he felt his legs start to wobble. He staggered forward, but regained his footing. He lifted up his head and shook it, trying to shake off the sickening feeling that was starting to well up inside of him. He knew what was happening. He knew that Oscura's poison was getting to him. But he couldn't let that happen. He must fight it! He tried to get at Oscura again, but his head started to hurt him, pounding in his head like some huge hammer hitting against his head. He let out a groan, his eyelids feeling so heavy that he couldn't keep them open. After a couple seconds, he found himself falling to the ground with a loud thud. 'What is..happening to me...?'

Oscura walked up to him. 'You know what's happening to you. I've done the same thing to you before.' She got within about three feet of Max and lowered her head slightly. 'How could you forget? Or are you really that stupid?'

Max opened his jaws, showing his teeth. 'Why don't you..get a little closer..you little..brat..'

Oscura pulled her head back and laughed. 'You're in no position to be telling me what to do..' She lowered her head, her mouth close to Max's head. 'Or do you want me to bite you again? Another bite, you will definitely die...'

'Back off!' Fiona shouted. She managed to get away from Kista and was now barreling down onto Oscura. She clamped her long jaws on the Troodon's small body and lifted her into the air.

'Put me down, you pathetic excuse for a crocodile rip-off!' Oscura hissed, thrashing wildly in Fiona's jaws.

But the Spinosaurus refused to let go and instead clamped down harder. Oscura let out a screech of pain, but didn't stop struggling. Fiona narrowed her eyes. 'You had best watch it, Troodon. I'm the bigger opponent here.'

Oscura bared her teeth evilly. 'Yes, that's right... And the bigger they are...' Oscura suddenly launched her head forward, sinking her teeth deep into Fiona's snout. The Spinosaurus screeched in pain and released Oscura. The Troodon quickly go back onto her feet and glanced up at Fiona. 'The harder they fall!'

Max weakly lifted his head up and stared at Fiona. His eyes were wide with horror at what had just happened. 'Fiona..no...' He whispered softly before he collapsed his head onto the ground, his strength being zapped away by the bacteria in his bloodstream.

Fiona wobbled from side to side, struggling to keep her footing. She shook her head, and then glanced down at Oscura. She wasn't going to allow this minor setback keep her from fighting the Troodon. She had to make sure she didn't get her filthy jaws on Caruso, Buzz, Rodger, or Moynihan. Fiona started to rush towards Oscura, who just stood there, watching her with a smirk on her face. Fiona's speed rapidly decreased as a pounding headache started to overwhelm her. She gripped her head, groaning in pain. 'N-No...I mustn't give in...' Fiona told herself, lifting her head up, teeth clenched tightly. If she failed to do anything about Oscura now, then they were in big trouble.

'You can't fight it..' Oscura said coldly. 'Within a few seconds, you'll be just like your friend here. But let me tell you what I'm willing to do.' Oscura took a couple steps towards the shaky Spinosaurus. 'Once you fall down, I'll let your friend live a little longer...' Fiona looked over at Oscura, tilting her head slightly to show that she was confused. Oscura chuckled. 'You're probably wondering why I am going to let him live a little longer. Well it's simple, Spinosaurus. I am going to let him watch you die first...'

Fiona's eyes widened. 'You're not going to kill me...' She said sternly, opening her jaws and showing her teeth threateningly. 'I-I won't give you that opportunity...' She took a step forward, but suddenly a wave of dizziness came over her. She let out a cry of pain as she fell to the ground a couple feet away from Oscura. Fiona lifted her head up, teeth clenched. But she felt herself fall back into the ground. She was feeling a lot like how she was when she was bitten by that spider. But this felt even worse. She glanced up helplessly as Oscura started to approach her slowly.

Oscura stood a couple inches from Fiona's mouth, confident that Fiona was feeling too sick to try to bite her even from this short distance. To show how brave she was, Oscura lifted up a foot and placed it square on Fiona's muzzle, between her nostrils. 'Are you ready to die..?' Oscura asked her, narrowing her eyes. Fiona hissed at her, but didn't respond, and instead closed her eyes. Oscura blinked, slightly disappointed that she wasn't going to get at least a small struggle from the Spinosaurus. But she shrugged her shoulders. No matter, at least she would get her job done. She opened her jaws again and prepared to bite Fiona...

'FIONA! NO!' Caruso screamed, now back onto his feet from suffering another blow from Peter. He forgot all about the Apatosaurus as he made a mad dash towards Fiona. He saw Oscura lowering her head towards the girl. His eyes widened in horror. He had to stop Oscura before she got her filthy teeth into Fiona. He mustered as much strength as he could and went as fast as he could, baring his teeth in determination. He could feel Peter's heavy footsteps behind him and immediately thought of an idea. Smirking, he narrowed his eyes and waited for the right moment to make his move. Once he was in the right position, he immediately moved out of the way at the last second, positioning his front half above Fiona and bellowed at the red-skinned dinosaur.

Oscura hissed and took a couple steps back. 'So..have you come to watch?' Oscura asked, baring her teeth. Suddenly she felt heavy foot steps rapidly approaching. She looked up and saw Peter's large leg coming right for her. Before she could react, the thick leg slammed into her and she grabbed on tightly. She screeched in fear as she felt herself moving forward had a rapid pace. It all happened within seconds, but to Oscura, it felt more like a few minutes.

While this was happening, Caruso turned his head towards Fiona, gently nudging her with his muzzle. 'Come on, Fiona..we've got to get out of here!'

Fiona tried to get up, but fell back down again. 'I..I don't think I can, Caruso..'

'You've got to try!' Caruso looked over at Max, who was just a few feet away. 'Max! Can you get up either?'

Max attempted to get up, but found himself falling back down again. He let out a soft moan. 'I'm sorry, Caruso. I can't either..I-It's Oscura's fault.. She bit us..she bit both of us...'

Caruso's eyes went wide. If Fiona and Max didn't get somewhere safe soon, they would be easy prey for Victor and his minions. He had to think of something. Something did come to his mind, but he wasn't sure how well it would work. If he could just carry them to safety, maybe they would have a chance. Caruso lowered his body close to the ground and looked at Fiona. 'Change back to human form.' He looked at Max. 'You too, Max. I'll carry you two to safety.'

'But..where would you take us?' Fiona asked. 'There isn't any..safe place around here..'

'Are you suggesting I should just leave you guys here while those monsters come to kill you?' Caruso asked, lifting his head slightly into the air.

Max shook his head weakly. 'N-No..I don't think that's what she means. There is no safe place to take us, Caruso.' Max coughed a couple times. 'You're better off fighting them...'

'But..what if I get hurt too?' Caruso asked in a worried tone. 'That is why I wanted to get you guys out of here. I-I don't want...'

'Caruso, it's all right.. we...' Suddenly Fiona's eyes flew open wide. 'CARUSO! LOOK OUT!'

'Huh... AAAAAHH!' Caruso screamed in pain as he felt Kista's powerful jaws clamp down around his leg, the same one that Victor had injured earlier.

'I'VE GOT YOU NOW!' Kista pushed Caruso into the ground, blood pouring the leg as she bit down almost hard enough to crack the bone. She released Caruso, but kept her foot on his body, pinning him down. 'Now I am going to finish when I came here to do! Congratulations, kid, you were a challenge to get rid of.. But now playtime is over!'

* * *

'Let me go, you big oaf!' Oscura hollered up at the large Apatosaurus.

'Well gee..sorry...' Peter said, rolling his eyes. After Oscura had grabbed onto him, he had continued to run forward, despite knowing that he had missed his target entirely. Due to his massive bulk, he would need a lot more room to turn around. He saw a clearing up ahead and moved quickly towards it. He was annoyed with Oscura, who continued to complain to him about not listening to her. Stepping on her was so tempting right now, but he had to restrain himself. Victor would have his head if he were to do something like that.

'When are you going to stop and let me go?' Oscura dug her claws in deeper into the skin. She wanted to let go and drop down, but she was afraid that Peter's big foot would crush her underneath his weight. The dizzying sight of seeing the ground coming up at her swiftly, then shrinking just as quickly, and repeating itself was starting to get to her. She looked away and closed her eyes, waiting for Peter to stop moving.

Peter saw this and rolled his eyes. How pathetic, he thought. The Troodon could handle any punishment Victor tossed at her. She could even handle the missions he'd send her on. But she couldn't handle something like this? He shook his head slowly. 'Oh calm down, Oscura. I'm almost at the clearing.' Sure enough, within about a minute, Peter reached the clearing. It was small, only slightly bigger than the space he was running through. But it was enough to allow him to turn around without hitting any of the large trees around him. He stopped briefly to allow Oscura to slide off of his foot. Once the Troodon got away from him, Peter turned his attention back to Caruso.

Oscura looked herself over and swooshed her long tail from side to side. 'Well finally! Do you know how long it's going to take to get your rancid smell off of my body?' She sniffed herself and grimaced. She couldn't understand how predators were able to get so close to a sauropod. Or maybe it was just Peter. She shook her head and snorted, trying to get the horrible smell out of her nostrils.

'Quit your complaining.' Peter said, giving her a sideways glance.

'Whatever..' Oscura said before making a mad dash towards where the battle was going on.

Peter just looked at her and shook his head in disgust. Other than being able to turn into a dinosaur, he couldn't really understand what Victor saw in that girl. He started to run after her, although a bit more slowly than her due to his massive bulk. But then he stopped suddenly. Why was he going over there? Kista already had Caruso taken care of. And Oscura already bit Fiona and Max, so they were out of the picture now. That only left the Pteranodon and the Styracosaurus. He heard a loud screech and noticed Buzz flying overhead, heading straight for Victor. Peter started to move quickly to stop him, but then saw who he was looking for: Rodger.

'You...' Peter said, narrowing his eyes angrily. The Styracosaurus was also charging straight towards the scene, although he was aiming for Kista. At long last, Peter finally had a chance to get even with that meddling kid for making such a fool out of him! Without hesitation, he ran as fast as he could towards Kista to try to intercept Rodger.

* * *

"Terri!" Nevina called out to her daughter. Terri was rushing towards the Dino SUV, which was still parked near the back of the lighthouse. Terri wasn't old enough to drive and it shocked Nevina to see her youngest daughter rush towards the vehicle. When Terri didn't stop when she called her, Nevina rushed forward to try to catch up to Terri. "Stop, Terri! Stop right now!"

This time, Terri did stop. She barely had enough time to turn around before her mother seized her in her arms. "Mom! What are you doing?" She asked, trying to wriggle her way free.

But Nevina didn't let go. She held onto Terri tighter and looked at her in the eyes. "Terri, where do you think you're going? You can't drive!"

"I know that, mom!" Terri said

"Then why were you running towards the Dino SUV?" Nevina asked, glancing over at the vehicle, which was only a couple feet away. She wasn't sure if the doors were unlocked or not. And would Terri even know where the keys were?

"I was running over here to unlock the Dino SUV." Terri said, producing a pair of keys from her pocket. Nevina's eyes widened slightly and opened her mouth to say something. Terri had a guess at what her mom was going to ask her. "Before you even ask, these were on the table."

Nevina was confused. They all had seen the tables inside the lighthouse and they don't recall ever seeing a pair of keys anywhere. "Well, I didn't see them..." Nevina said, eyeing the keys.

Terri smiled faintly. "That's because you didn't look." Terri looked over at the Dino SUV. Did she really need to be the one to unlock it. She looked back at her mom. She glanced at the keys briefly before tossing them to her mother.

Nevina quickly caught the keys and looked at them. "Why are you giving me the keys?"

"Well, someone needs to drive." Terri said, shrugging her shoulders. "And as you said, I can't be the one to do it. I don't know how to drive."

Nevina glanced at her daughter and then back at the keys. She then looked at the Dino SUV. While she could drive herself, she usually lets her husband do it. She looked behind her and saw her husband standing in the doorway of the lighthouse. He was looking at her and Terri, wondering what is going on. "Hey, dear? Can you come over here, please?"

"Sure thing!" Bryant quickly made his way towards his wife and youngest daughter. When he reached them, he asked, "What is it?" Nevina tossed him the keys. "Why are you giving me these?" Bryant asked, staring at the keys in confusion. He hadn't seen them before, but he knew that they didn't belong to their car. And he was certain it didn't belong to the Mr. Caruso or his wife.

"They're the keys to the Dino SUV." Nevina said. "We need someone to drive it."

Bryant was confused. "But..why? We aren't going anywhere..."

Terri spoke up. "But, dad, we have to get to Boston!"

"What?" Bryant said, his eyes widened in shock. Had Terri lost her mind? They couldn't go to Raptor Dyne. They were ill-equipped, even with the Chiller and Spiller on their side. He and the others had discussed this and they had decided it was too dangerous to go to Raptor Dyne. But Terri was persistent. She really wanted to do something to help her sister and her friends. While Bryant admired this trait, it also made him feel very worried about her. What if something were to go wrong and they, themselves, were captured? And besides, the kids could take care of themselves, couldn't they? They could all turn into powerful dinosaurs anytime they wanted to. "It's too dangerous to go Boston. Didn't you listen to what me and the other grown-ups were saying?"

Terri narrowed her eyes. She didn't like being treated like a little kid. This is the same way the Dino Squad treated her when she first started hanging around the lighthouse. But then again, their behavior towards her was justified. She can't transform and they just didn't want her to get hurt. But now she must do something to help them and she wasn't going to let her parents stop her. "I know it's dangerous, dad. But it's just as dangerous to not do anything. If Victor gets DNA from those kids, he could create an army of perfect dinosaurs!"

Bryant's eyes widened slightly. He hadn't thought of that. He looked back at the keys, feeling like he should do something. But at the same time, he still felt a pang of doubt. What if they made the situation even worse for the Dino Squad? They could have gotten away, couldn't they? Besides, they had fought with Victor several times in the past and always won. What would make this situation any worse? "I know what you're feeling, sweetie..but..." Bryant closed his eyes and lowered his head. "..I just don't think we're cut out for this mission."

"What? Why not?" Terri asked him. This didn't sound like the father she knew. What happened to the father she knew who looked at a mutant mole without breaking a sweat? What happened to the father she knew who watched Fiona transform into a Spinosaurus for the first time and didn't scream?

"I'm sorry, dear." Bryant said, feeling regretful. "It's just too dangerous. I can't risk losing the rest of my family to Dr. Veloci."

"But what about Fiona?" Nevina asked, taking a step towards her husband. "Don't you want to do something to save her? She's in Boston, probably fighting Victor as we speak. Don't you want to try to save her?"

Bryant nodded his head. "Well, yeah, but..."

"Then let's go." A voice sounded out behind Bryant. He turned around to see Jack and Amanda walking towards him. It was Jack who had spoken up. He and his wife walked towards the Flagstaffs, looking determined. Jack glanced at Terri and then back at Bryant. "Our kids are in danger." Jack said, his voice filled with seriousness. "As their parents, we have to do something to help them. They might really need our help this time."

"But they can take care of it..can't they?" Bryant asked.

"Do you really want to take that chance?" Amanda asked, eyes narrowing deeply.

Bryant didn't answer her. Instead, his expression slowly changed to that of slight horror, realizing that what Amanda had said to him was true. Did he really want to take that chance? Bryant glanced down at the keys. He closed his eyes tightly and tilted his head slightly to the side. His grip on the keys tightened as he tried to think of what to do. After several moments, he looked at his family and the Carusos. He took in a deep breath and said, "...okay, let's go."

* * *

Rodger let out a loud bellow as he felt something thick and heavy strike him at the side. He was taken by complete surprise. His mind was focused on getting Kista away from Caruso. That was his big mistake. He should have kept an eye out for other dangers. Kista wasn't the only one he should worry about. But instead, he got so caught up in saving Caruso that he had failed to see Peter rushing towards him. And by the time he would have realized what was happening, it was too late. Peter, out of fury, struck him with his tail and knocked the Styracosaurus aside, smashing him into a tree, which proceeded to snap, but fell backwards rather than on top of the Styracosaur. Rodger shook his head and got back onto his feet. He immediately recognized Peter and bellowed at him and lowered his head. He immediately charged towards the Apatosaurus, hoping to drive his horns into Peter's other front leg. But Peter wasn't going to let that happen. He struck out forward with his long neck. Although his teeth were not as strong as Rodger's beak, he still bit down into Rodger's front leg.

Rodger lifted his head and roared in pain. He tried to use his other front leg to push the mouth off, but his body design didn't permit this kind of movement. Instead, Rodger turned his head towards Peter's head. It was within striking distance. Rodger opened up his sharp beak and struck out towards Peter. His beak clamped around the top of Peter's head. Using his mouth like a pair of scissors, Rodger was able to cut a deep gash across the top of Peter's head, close to his eyes. Peter's eyes widened in pain, but he didn't let go of Rodger. Instead, he bit down as hard as he could, although his jaws weren't strong enough to crack the bone. Flexing the muscles in his neck, he lifted Rodger straight up into the air by his front leg. He continued to lift Rodger up until he couldn't lift him any higher. Then he proceeded to slam Rodger into the ground at full force. A loud bellow rang out as Rodger impacted the ground, mud flying into the air. Peter took a step back to see what damage he had caused.

Rodger was laying on his side, his mouth part way open as he tried to gasp for air. His eyes were closed, but slowly fluttered open, a faint glow coming from his eyes. There was no blood, but some bruising started to develop, particularly on the leg Peter had just bitten. Rodger's thick skin protected him from having Peter's peg-like teeth cut it, but Peter had still managed to bruise him pretty badly. Rodger could have sworn he heard some vertebrates crack as well, but he might have been just hearing things, or perhaps he had crushed some rocks beneath him with his massive weight. He was almost completely covered in mud, although there was a clear outline around him. Anyone who was looking in his direction would know what he was. Rodger groaned in pain and tried to get back up. But when he put weight onto his front leg, the one that Peter had bitten, he cried out in pain and slid back down into the mud. Groaning, Rodger weakly lifted up his head, glancing up at Peter.

'Why...?' Rodger asked, although he had a feeling he knew the answer already.

Peter lowered his head slightly. 'You should know very well why, little boy.' Peter took a step forward. 'You are going to pay for making a fool of me! Stating the Chiller..or Spiller..or whatever they were called.. were actually a threat!' He chuckled darkly, pleased to see Rodger in pain. This is what he was hoping to see. Perhaps now, the boy would not dare pull such a dirty trick on him ever again. 'How does it feel, Styracosaurus? How does it feel to go through the pain I did when you kids defeated me..?' Rodger didn't answer and instead frowned and looked away. Peter glared back, baring his teeth. He moved a little closer. He turned to the side, lifting his tail. 'HOW DOES IT FEEL?!' He hollered at him, striking Rodger again with his tail.

Rodger screamed in pain as he was tossed across the air again by the powerful tail. When he landed in the ground again, he shook his head, trying to get the mud off of his face. He looked up at Peter. 'You're...you're just a coward...'

Peter's eyes widened in anger. 'What?! What did you just call me?'

'Coward...' Rodger repeated. '..and I..I stand by it.. You choose to attack me because I'm smaller and weaker than you are... That was a coward's move..'

Peter growled and let out a heavy bellow, feeling the vibrations of his own voice move throughout the ground beneath him. 'I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S A COWARD!' With that, he charged straight for Rodger.

Moynihan noticed what was going on. She was horrified to see Rodger laying in the mud, struggling to get up, while a large sauropod was thundering down his way. The mud provided little traction, causing his feet to constantly slip from underneath him, causing him to fall back into the mud. The sauropod would likely have the same difficulty, but being larger, the mud wasn't as deep for him as it was for Rodger. Moynihan took a quick glance over at Victor, who was walking her way slowly, teeth bared. Moynihan looked back over at Rodger. Despite her fears of transforming, she had to do something to help Rodger. "Don't worry, Rodger! I'm coming!" She started to make a run for it, but Victor moved faster, and stopped her before she had the chance.

'Oh no you don't!' Victor struck her hard with one of his hands, striking her in the back of her head. Moynihan's eyes flew open in pain as she was struck forward. She crashed into the ground, landing on her stomach. She tried to get up, but fell back down. Victor slowly approached her from behind. He placed his foot on top of her, keeping her pinned down. Moynihan struggled to turn her head to look at her opponent. Victor lowered his head. 'Do you really think I would allow you to foil my plans again, Joanne?'

Moynihan narrowed her eyes. "I'm just as strong as you are, Victor."

Victor chuckled. 'Only if you are in dino mode. And I will not permit you to transform. Not yet..' He lifted up his hand again and hit Moynihan on top of her head. Moynihan tensed up only momentarily before falling limp on the ground, her eyes closed. Satisfied that she was knocked out, Victor stepped off of her and proceeded to grab her shoulder with his teeth. He lifted her up off the ground and then tossed her away like a rag doll. 'That is what you get for ever considering going traitor on me, Joanne..' He said coldly.

Suddenly a loud squawk filled his head, causing Victor to flinch in pain and pull his head back in surprise. He looked up and saw Buzz, in dino mode, swooping down in his direction. Victor's eyes widened only slightly, but he quickly moved out of the way, allowing Buzz to slash nothing but air with his beak. But the Pteranodon wasn't finished yet. He quickly circled around and came back for Victor, letting out another loud squawk. Victor narrowed his eyes and lifted up his claws threateningly. When Buzz was nearly within striking distance, Victor leaped into the air, snapping his jaws at the Pteranodon. But Buzz saw this coming and quickly pulled up, Victor missing him by a couple inches. Then Buzz quickly swooped around for another go, and this time managed to strike Victor with his beak, causing the raptor to fall into the ground. But Buzz had lost sight of him quickly.

Buzz landed nearby, his feet sinking into the mud. He looked around, trying to see where Victor had landed. Suddenly he heard a screech behind him. He quickly turned his head and saw Victor in mid-jump behind him, mouth split wide open. Buzz, panicking, quickly took to the air, hoping to dodge the Velociraptor. But he felt a sharp pain in his leg as he felt the teeth biting into him, around the same spot where Victor had slashed him weeks ago. Buzz screamed in pain and flapped harder to try to get away. But Victor managed to pull him back down and threw him to the side. Buzz landed on his back, his body now covered in mud. He shook his head and saw Victor jumping towards him, his sickle claws facing forward. Buzz widened in his eyes and quickly scrambled out of the way. As he heard Victor land next to him in a thud, Buzz quickly stood up and opened his wings. Before Victor could attack him again, he took off into the air, flapping as hard as he could to get up into the air as quickly as he could.

Victor watched Buzz take to the air and scowled. He held his hands up again, claws glinting in the moonlight, the rain dripping from them. Victor and the others had forgotten it was still raining. They were so caught up in the fight that they forgot. The ground around them was getting muddier by the second. But despite that, they still fought with each other. The Dino Squad simply wanted to get away and go home, but Victor and his minions were going to make sure they don't get home alive. Victor watched Buzz circle above him. He could tell the Pteranodon was going to be foolish enough to attack him again. Victor narrowed his eyes. He lowered his haunches, poised to pounce, and just waited for the right moment to strike.

Buzz was seeing how Victor was acting. He knew that if he messed this up, Victor could easily attack him. But Buzz felt he didn't have a choice. He had to keep someone at bay to help his friends. As long as he was keeping Victor busy, his friends would have a better chance of escaping. He gulped, feeling as if this was the end for him. But the feeling of knowing that he may be sacrificing himself for a good cause was enough for him to take risks and fight Victor anyway. He mustered up as much courage and strength as he could and dove down straight toward Victor at full speed. Victor raised his claws up, waiting, watching. Buzz flexed the talons on his feet, wanting to dig them into Victor to make him pay for the misery he had put them through. Buzz opened up his mouth, prepared to slice into Victor...

Suddenly, a wave of pain enveloped Buzz before he had time to react. He screeched loudly as he felt the raptor sink his teeth into his wing. He flapped frantically with his free wing, but found himself being pulled into the mud, regardless of his efforts. Once Victor got him on the ground, he proceeded to bite into Buzz's wing membrane, tearing the delicate skin, ignoring Buzz's howls of pain. He shredded first the left wing membrane and then the right. He didn't tear the membrane completely off. Instead, he used his teeth and claws to make several lacerations in the wing to prevent Buzz from taking off into the air again. He then proceeded to clamp his jaws tightly around Buzz's head, threatening to bite hard enough to crack the skull.

'You aren't going anywhere, little one...' Victor said, narrowing his eyes. 'I should kill you right now, but I would take pleasure in knowing Caruso dies first.'

'Leave him alone!' Buzz shouted, despite his current predicament.

Victor released Buzz and lifted up his head. He grinned, baring his sharp teeth the little light that was available. 'Considering your position, Pteranodon, I wouldn't be giving orders, if I were you..'

Buzz opened his beak threateningly. 'I don't care! I'm not going to let you...'

But Victor stopped him before he had the chance to finish. He struck Buzz hard on the head, causing him to smack his head into the mud. Buzz let out a cry of pain as this happened, and then he fell silent save for the several breaths he took in rapidly, painfully. He tried to move his wings, but there was so much damage caused to them, it hurt too much to move them. And even if he did change back, there was still going to be gashes. He was pretty much stuck. He weakly glanced up at Victor, who just smirked at him. 'Now that you're out of the way...' Victor said in a low voice. '..let's see how long your little friend lasts...before he dies..'

Buzz's eyes widened. 'No...' He tried to push himself off the ground, but cried out in pain and fell back into the mud. He could only watch in horror as Victor approached Kista and Caruso. 'No..Caruso...get out of the way..' He called out weakly.

Caruso charged into Kista despite his pain. His body slammed into hers, causing her to stagger back. But Kista wasn't letting up. She smacked her head against him, knocking him back onto the ground. Caruso let out a bellow and got up as quickly as he could. He lowered his front half closer to the ground, his back end raised up. He held his tail high into the air in a threatening manner. He swished it from side to side, getting ready to smack Kista with it. The Tarbosaurus/Tyrannosaurus Rex hybrid watched the tail with a cautious expression. But she wasn't going let something like that stop her from finishing her mission. She charged towards Caruso, but was knocked into the ground by his tail. Roaring in pain and in anger, she scrambled to her feet, just in time before Caruso's feet slammed into the ground.

Kista's eyes widened slightly, realizing Caruso was trying to smash her into the ground. She glared in his direction, opening her jaws to show him her sharp teeth. 'You dare try to smash me? You're such a pathetic child... You still have no idea who you are dealing with...' She advanced on him quickly. Caruso moved in a sideways angle, tail held in striking distance. 'Now you'll see what a true fighter is truly capable of doing...' With that, she charged towards him again.

'Not unless I can stop you first..' Caruso declared. He struck out with his tail again, but this time, Kista moved out of the way before the tail could hit her. Caruso was taken by slight surprise and didn't have enough time to react as Kista attacked him yet again. He bellowed in agony as teeth sank into his neck again, closer to his chest this time. Kista pushed him into the ground with a heavy thud, mud shooting up into the air due to the force of the impact. Then she placed her foot on his side again, keeping him pinned down.

Kista kept her jaws clamped around his neck. She was not going to give him another chance to escape this time. She had been foolish enough to let him go earlier; that is what gave him the chance to strike out at her. But in this position, Caruso's tail would do him no good, and with her jaws clamped around him, he was not going to be able to get up. 'This is the end for you, my little one...' She declared. She slowly started to compress her jaws around his neck.

'No...' Caruso muttered. He quickly thought of an idea on how to get away, but it was risky. Before the jaws could clamp down any closer, he quickly transformed back into his human self. Now much smaller, he managed to slip from Kista's grasp. As the jaws slammed shut where his Stegosaur body once was, Caruso scrambled to get onto his feet, slipping in the mud, and started to run away.

Victor noticed this and let out a loud roar at Kista. 'Don't let him get away!'

Kista lifted up her head and spit out the mud that she had accidentally bitten into. She shook her head, getting the rest of the mud off her muzzle. When she heard Victor's demand, she turned to see Caruso was trying to get away from her. Kista narrowed her eyes. She wasn't going to let her prey get away from her, not this time. She roared loudly and ran towards Caruso. It didn't take her long to catch up to him, just a couple long steps. He hadn't gotten very far, partly due to the mud slow him down. Caruso didn't seem to care that his favorite shoes were getting dirty; he just wanted to get away from here. Caruso looked behind him and saw Kista barreling down on him at full speed. He widened his eyes and let out a scream. He tried to run faster, but he ended up nearly losing his footing in the thick mud.

Kista rushed passed him and then moved in front of him. She lifted up her tail and roared at him. Caruso panicked and tried to get away. But he felt himself slip in the mud and fall down onto his back. He opened up his eyes and glanced up. Kista towered over him, her glowing eyes narrowed as she stared at him intently. The cheetahsaur, which had hung back this whole time, decided to make its move. Victor was telling it to help Kista secure Caruso, so it obeyed. The cheetahsaur hissed, coming up from behind Caruso. The boy saw the mutantsaur and felt his heart start to race. He wanted to transform again, but he was on his back, an uncomfortable position to be in when he was going to turn into a dinosaur with a row of plates going along his spine.

Caruso attempted to get up, but he felt himself being tossed back by the cheetahsaur. It gripped him in its mouth, its saber-shaped teeth missing him just barely, and it threw him to the side. Caruso screamed in pain as he slammed into the ground against some hard rocks that weren't visible due to the mud. He groaned and looked up. The cheetahsaur was heading straight towards him, its mouth wide open. Caruso's eyes widened and he put his arm over his head protectively. Suddenly, Kista, who didn't want the cheetahsaur to have the chance to kill the boy, snatched the creature in her jaws. She lifted it into the air and threw it to the side. She glanced at it momentarily to make sure it wasn't going to get back up. She had slammed it into the ground pretty hard, knocking it out. She could have sworn she heard some of its bones break too. Once she was certain it was out of the picture, she turned her head back towards Caruso.

'I guess this is the end for you, kid.' Kista said softly. She started to approach him slowly, her head lowered as she prepared to attack. 'At least for your sake, you better hope it's the end. We wouldn't want to let you suffer..now do we...?'

"Why..why would you care i-if I s-s-suffer?" Caruso said, his eyes narrowed slightly. "V-Victor sure doesn't..."

'You're right. I don't care.' Kista looked over at Caruso's friends, who were laying on the ground nearby. Peter was also on the ground, having suffered another injury to his other leg. Kista could see blood pouring from the wound where Rodger managed to skewer him. But despite now being disabled for the fight, Peter had managed to disable Rodger himself. The Styracosaurus, although awake, looked too badly hurt to get up. Caruso's other friends were all awake, but too weak to get up. Max and Fiona were looking very sick and Buzz was groaning in pain. 'But..would they want to see you suffer?' She asked, grinning evilly.

Irwin's eyes went wide. "G-G-Guys..." He whispered in a soft voice, a feeling of defeat suddenly washing over him. It felt like his world was caving in on him, and he could sense that his end was coming. His body started to shake violently as he realized that they might not make it out of here alive after all. He tried to get up, but his legs were too shaky from fear, and the mud was too slippery for him now. "No..." Caruso whispered, shaking his head in denial. It couldn't end this way. It just couldn't!

Kista walked slowly towards him. Once she reached him, she lowered her head, putting her muzzle close to his head. Caruso looked up at her with fear-filled eyes. 'There is no use running anymore, kid. You've had your chance. You and your friends.. And you all failed. You must pay the consequences...'

Caruso's lip trembled. "N-No.. You're wrong..."

'Look around you kid.' Kista said, chuckling darkly. 'Do you see any image of hope around you?'

Caruso gulped and looked at each of his friends. They were all looking at him with concerned, sympathetic, even fearful expressions. Fiona tried to get up, but she only slid back down. Her face was slightly reddened because of the fever that had stricken her. Max wasn't looking any better. His face was just as red as Fiona's, and he couldn't even try to get up because his arms were too small. The two were breathing heavily, gasping, as if it was harder for them to take in air. Caruso looked over at Rodger and Buzz. Rodger was covered in dark purple bruises. His body was shaking slightly from pain. He was struggling to keep his eyes open and he tried to get up as well, but lost his footing as he yelped in pain; one of his legs was so badly bruised that he couldn't even move it. Buzz's wings were still bleeding from Victor's attack. The membrane was badly shredded. Buzz couldn't even move them without crying out in pain. He couldn't even lift his head out of the mud because this would require the use of his wings, which he just couldn't move because it hurt him too much.

Caruso felt any feeling of hope start to slip from his fingertips. He didn't have any form of communication with him. He knew his folks wouldn't come here. They didn't even know he was here, and what could they do to help? And Moynihan couldn't help either. She still lay unconscious nearby and he didn't think she would be able to come by in time to safe him. He felt Kista's hot breath against his body as she started to open her mouth. Caruso slowly turned his head to see where Victor was. When he spotted him, Victor was back in human form, probably seeing no use using his raptor form at this point. Victor had a twisted smile on his face. He was looking very satisfied with that was going to happen. He just stood there, smiling darkly as he waited until Kista finished him off. Next to him was Oscura, although she was knocked out because she was attacked by Buzz earlier.

"Finish him." Victor said, folding up his arms, smiling evilly.

'N-No...' Fiona struggled to get up. 'Please..don't...'

'F-Fiona..it's no use..' Max said sorrowfully. 'There's nothing we can..d-do...'

'There's..got to be...something..' Buzz groaned, struggling to lift his head up despite the pain he was in.

'I-I guess the..guy's got us...' Rodger groaned softly. '..He finally..got us..'

"It...it can't be t-true..." Caruso whispered softly. But there was no denying it. Even his friends were accepting defeat. They couldn't fight anymore. They all had been foolish to think they could get away from Victor this time. They were foolish to have underestimated his capabilities and to think they could outmuscle him. Victor had gotten the upper hand this time. He had made sure that there was no way for them to escape, no loop holes that they could exploit to survive. Caruso felt his lip quiver again as he tried not to cry. Kista didn't even bother to say anything this time. She pinned him down with one of her feet, and then raised her head. She opened her jaws, prepared to strike him. Caruso felt tears of fear and regret stream down his face as he watched teeth coming in at him. He closed his eyes and waited for the blow.

All of a sudden, Kista let out a loud roar of pain and she pulled back from Caruso. The action took both Caruso and Victor by surprise, as well as the Dino Squad. The scream happened so suddenly, so expectantly, they weren't sure what to make of it. At first, it seemed like Kista had hurt herself somehow, perhaps an old injury had reopened. But it soon became clear of the true cause: Michelle. She had rushed forward from where she was standing and had leaped towards Kista, shouting 'No' as she did so. Her teeth had sunk as far as they could into Kista's thick neck, and she clung on as best as she could with her hands. Kista hissed as she turned her neck and tried to bite Michelle. When that didn't work, she shook her body violently from side to side, managing to knock the Guanlong into the ground with a thud.

But Michelle wasn't letting up. She immediately got back up, hissing at Kista angrily. Kista was a little confused as to why Michelle was attacking her. But at this point, she didn't really care. She now perceived Michelle as a threat and she must eliminate her. Michelle should be easy to take care of. She charged forward, snapping her jaws at the small dinosaur. Michelle managed to get away in time and jumped back onto Kista. The white dinosaur roared in anger and frustration as Michelle climbed up her body and bit down into her neck again, tearing at the flesh. She shook her body, forcing Michelle to let go. This time, Kista managed to snatch Michelle in her jaws and started to shake her. The Guanlong howled in pain, and slashed Kista along her jaws, forcing her to let go.

Caruso watched this scene play out in total shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He never would have thought that Michelle would risk her own life to save his. He tried to get up, but still found himself to be in too much pain and too weak to even try. He slid back down, and all he could do was watch. He glanced over at his friends. They, as well, were shocked to see Michelle doing something so brave and courageous. Even Buzz and Rodger looked impressed. Looking harder, Caruso could have sworn he saw regret in their eyes, too, as if they felt back about something, perhaps of how they had treated Michelle in the past. But when Caruso looked over at Victor, he felt his heart start to race.

Victor had a shocked look on his face as well for a little while. He was in total shock that one of his minions, particularly one of his dinosaur morphers, would actually betray him openly like this. He had never suspected Michelle of betrayal. His hands started to shake as a feeling of anger started to come over him. He was trying his best to keep his cool, to keep from losing control. But seeing how close he came to successfully killing the Dino Squad, and for it to be ruined by one of his own, made his blood boil. He slowly clenched a fist, shaking it. He should have listened to Oscura. He should have taken her advice and gotten rid of Michelle before he proceeded with this plan. As he watched Michelle attack Kista, he whispered one thing to himself, making a promise. "You are going to pay for this treachery, Michelle..." He hoped that Kista would finish her off, for her own sake. If Kista failed, Michelle wasn't going to like what he was going to do.

'Stop this nonsense!' Kista shouted. She struck at Michelle with her puny arms, using enough force to strike down the Guanlong. Two long cuts appeared on Michelle's side. She winced in pain as she stood back up, but she wasn't backing down. She rushed towards Kista's leg and bit down hard on the calf. Kista lifted her head and roared in pain before lifting up her foot, balancing her body delicately on two legs as she shook her foot, trying to get Michelle off of her. Once Michelle was forced to let go, Kista wanted to know something. 'Why are you doing this? Why are you fighting for this...this whelp?'

Michelle let out a hiss. 'Because it is the right thing to do!' She declared before lunging back up at Kista. But the white dinosaur was more than prepared for this attack. She quickly turned to the side and struck Michelle with her powerful tail. The black dinosaur slammed into the mud, grunting in agony. But she still drove herself on. Even though she might as well be committing suicide, she didn't stop. 'No matter what..I won't stop.. I'll keep fighting you until my last breath...'

Kista narrowed her eyes. 'That can be arranged...' With that, she bit down onto Michelle's body and lifted her up. She started to bite down, aiming to crush her body. Michelle struggled violently in the dinosaur's mouth. Finally she managed to use her hand to slash across Kista's face, close to her eye. This caused enough pain for Kista to release her. But before Michelle fell down, she quickly grabbed onto Kista's head with her two hands, digging her claws onto both sides of her head. Her stomach was pressed against the front of her jaws, tail dangling in front of the white dinosaur's body. Michelle opened her jaws as wide as she could and bit down on Kista's head. She knew the consequences she may suffer if she failed. But she didn't care, not at this point.

Kista violently shook her head from side to side. It was annoying her how Michelle was continuing to try to actually do her a lot of harm when in reality she was only going to make the situation even worse for herself. Michelle's dinosaur form was pathetic. It wasn't going to do much damage at all. She didn't even bother saying something to Michelle this time. She continued to shake her head from side to side until Michelle wasn't able to hold her grip any longer and let go. Kista wasn't finished though. Before Michelle hit the ground, she snatched her back into her jaws, squeezing tight enough for her teeth to poke through into the skin. She proceeded to slam Michelle into the ground. With the last blow, Kista released Michelle and watched her lay there in pain.

But to Kista's surprise, Michelle still managed to get up. Kista took a step back, completely surprised by this. Despite the injuries, Michelle was still able to find the strength and courage to get back up and back into the fight. Swishing her tail from side to side, Michelle looked up at Kista, baring her sharp teeth at her. 'It's going to take..a lot more than that, to stop me!' She declared before rushing back towards Kista.

'As you wish...' Kista let out a loud roar and rushed towards Michelle to meet her charge. When she got close enough, Michelle lunged into the air, her claws held forward as she prepared to slash into Kista. She was able to keep away from Kista's jaws and her blows reached their mark. Several cuts appeared along Kista's side and back. The white dinosaur roared in pain and quickly turned around as Michelle landed on the mud nearby. Kista charged towards her again, but again, Michelle managed to dodge, running between Kista's legs before she had time to attack. Michelle was using her small size and her greater agility to dodge Kista's advancements. She quickly turned around and jumped onto Kista, landing on her thick tail.

Not caring what part of Kista she attacked, Michelle sank her sharp teeth into the tail, slashing it up with her claws. Kista twisted her body constantly, moving in circles, as she tried to get at the annoying raptor-like dino. But Kista's body didn't allow this kind of flexibility, so instead she slammed her tail continuously into the ground. Michelle's eyes widened in pain every time she hit the ground, but she still held on tightly to the tail, refusing to let go. She clamped her teeth deeper into Kista's tail, drawing more blood. Getting frustrated, Kista slammed her tail against a tree this time. A sharp branch that was jetting out struck deep into Michelle's side. This caused her so much pain that she was forced to let out a loud scream of agony. She fell from Kista's tail and hit the ground in a thud. She glanced up as Kista closed in on her.

'I've had it with you!' Kista said as she charged at Michelle. 'You will pay for your actions, traitor!'

'I regretted them..a long time ago...' Michelle retorted, flinching in pain.

* * *

Bryant gripped onto the wheel as he quickly swerved to get out of another car's way. Traffic wasn't too horrible. It was late at night and most drivers were probably home sleeping. But that didn't mean there weren't still people on the road. Several times, Bryant found himself running through red lights and nearly running into someone because he was in the wrong lane. He usually wouldn't act like this; he was a sensible driver and would obey the laws. But at the moment, his mind was more focused on getting to Fiona as quickly as he could. Boston was a few hours away and the faster they get there, the better. He pushed on the pedal, making the car move even faster.

The other passengers in the car, especially Terri, were frightened by Bryant's somewhat reckless driving, gripping onto their seats as if they were going to get run off the road or something. But they understood why he was acting like this. Because Boston was hours away, by the time they got there, it may be too late to save the children. They had to get there as quickly as possible, even if it meant breaking the law. The only good news about Bryant's reckless driving is that there weren't as many people on the road and it was too dark to really report anything. But there could be a cop anywhere, hiding from sight and waiting for a speeder or other law breaker to come within distance. Nevina had tried to coax her husband into slowing down, telling him about the cops that might suddenly show up if he isn't too careful. But Bryant simply shrugged it off, saying that nothing was going to stop him from doing his best to get to Raptor Dyne as quickly as possible.

Nevina had leaned back in her chair, sighing in frustration. Usually her husband would actually listen to her and consider taking her advice. But this time around, he was mostly ignoring her, wanting to do things his way. This wasn't like him at all. But what could she do? She wasn't the one driving. She let out a soft sigh. She wished she had taken Terri's advice and taken the wheel instead. But then again, her husband probably would have constantly been on her back, commanding her to go faster. Perhaps it was better this way, despite the obvious chances of them getting caught by the police or being reported by one of the drivers on the road.

Terri looked at her father somewhat fearfully. She had never seen him act or drive like this before. He looked so determined and so focused. It scared her. She was so used to his laid-back personality, that something like this seems to just come out of the blue. "Dad's...scaring me..." She said softly. "He's frightening like this..."

Next to her, Amanda managed to slowly nod your head. "I can't disagree with you there."

"I'm sure it's just temporary." Jack was trying to look on the brighter side of things. He was a father just like Bryant was and he understood what it felt like to almost lose a child. After all, he and his wife nearly lost Irwin a couple weeks ago. "Besides, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can get those kids back."

"But can he at least slow down a little?" Amanda said as Bryant turned the steering wheel almost violently to avoid hitting a street sign. "At this rate, we'll probably crash before we reach anywhere near Raptor Dyne."

Bryant narrowed his eyes and growled in anger. He would have turned to look at Amanda, but he had to keep his eyes on the road. So instead, he leaned back and tilted his head slightly to the side to show that he was trying to address Amanda. "Well if you're so worried, why didn't you volunteer to drive, then?!"

"..because this isn't my car..." Amanda fell silent.

Nevina carefully reached out towards her husband and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Settle down, dear. She is just worried for our safety." She hoped that her husband would calm down at least a little. She hated to see him take his anger out on someone else, especially when it wasn't even their fault to begin with.

Bryant looked at Nevina briefly before looking back onto the road. "Our safety?" He said in an almost sarcastic tone. "What about the safety of our daughter? Isn't that more important?"

"What good is trying to achieve their safety.." Nevina explained. "..if we disregard our safety and end up killing ourselves before we even reach the destination?"

Bryant's eyes widened slowly. He realized that his wife was right about this. How would he be able to help his daughter if he was lying dead somewhere? How would his reckless driving be of any use to them at this point? This kind of driving is what he would usually scold Fiona for, but now he was doing it himself. What kind of father was he? How could he completely disregard the safety of himself and the others inside the vehicle all because he wanted to get to Raptor Dyne first? Sure, he knew that he had to get there quickly, but if he endangered himself and the others, and perhaps even get themselves killed, how would they be of any help?

Bryant slightly stepped on the brakes to make the car slow down slightly, much to the relief of the passengers. Bryant closed his eyes for a second and then said, "I'm..sorry everyone. I don't know what got over me."

Nevina wrapped her fingers around his arm and gently squeezed it to try to comfort him. "Don't worry about it, Bryant. I understand why you were acting like that. You were just concerned about Fiona. I'm worried about her too..."

"Just as we are worried about Irwin." Jack said softly, trying to show that he held no hard feelings towards Bryant for the way he was driving.

Although still shaken up by the driving herself, Amanda spoke up. "Y-Yeah...no hard feelings or anything."

While this was going on, Terri was glancing at the hand held scanner that she took with her when they got into the car. She was looking at the dinosaur signatures that still flashed on it. They hadn't really moved too far from where she originally detected them. For a while, the dots still moved, although not far from their original position. She guessed that the Dino Squad were caught up in some kind of battle. But then, most of the dots had stopped moving completely. Terri started to fear the worst. Why had they stopped moving? Could it be possible that they were...dead? No, that couldn't be right. Terri shook her head, getting rid of such thoughts the best that she could. There had to be another reason. Perhaps they were just knocked out or something. Yeah, that was probably it.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" Nevina asked, noticing her daughter's pale expression.

"Nothing, mother..." Terri responded, although it was slightly delayed. She leaned back in her chair, waiting for them to reach their destination: Boston, or more specifically, Raptor Dyne.

* * *

Kista roared loudly as Michelle bit into her tail. 'Stop it, you little benevolent! You are only going to make things worse for yourself!' She tried to twist he body around to bite Michelle, but her body's limits prevented her from doing so. Just like before, she found herself slamming the tail into the ground in order to make Michelle let go of her.

'Do..what you..want...' Michelle hissed, biting as hard as she could. 'I am not going to stop fighting you.'

'You would die for someone who isn't even a friend?' Kista glanced down at Caruso, who was watching the fight with fear-filled eyes. Kista chortled softly, finding this situation rather amusing. Michelle wasn't responding, wasn't even looking at her. Perhaps her thoughts were correct. Michelle would indeed sacrifice her life for someone whom she shared no bond with. What a fool, she thought as she slammed her tail into the mud once again. Sacrificing one's life for another they shouldn't even worry about, what a waste of a life. 'You're so pathetic..'

'Giving my life for him isn't weakness!' Michelle snapped angrily.

'You don't even know what weakness is!' Kista responded. She slammed her tail into the ground one more time. Michelle let out a screech as she lost her grip on the tail. Kista approached Michelle and quickly placed her foot onto the black dinosaur's body. Michelle struggled violently under Kista's foot, snapping her jaws wildly in the air, but not able to bite anything but air. Kista lowered her head and opened her massive jaws. A low, guttural growl sounded out as she moved her head closer to Michelle.

* * *

The Dino Squad watched this scene in horror. They hadn't seen anything like this before. A small dinosaur going up against a bigger dinosaur, not caring if she lost her life or not, that was something they hadn't witnessed before. Even after Michelle was slammed into the ground time after time, even after she was slashed over and over again, or bitten by Kista, she continued to get back onto her feet and fought with the hybrid dinosaur. Her body was covered in several cuts and gashes, blood was staining her skin, and yet she still continued to fight. She kept placing herself between Caruso and Kista and refused to allow Kista anywhere near him. Even though she was getting badly injured and that she could lose her life, she continued to fight for Caruso.

The Dino Squad, including Caruso, had just changed back into human form. There was no reason to remain as dinosaurs in their current state. Besides, they wouldn't be any immediate danger. The other villains had been defeated, including Oscura. And the only villain still able to fight was Kista, and Michelle was taking care of her. Victor was too busy fuming in anger at what Michelle was doing to pay attention to the weakened Dino Squad that lay around him. The Dino Squad's clothing was torn and ripped, although still mostly intact. Usually some of them would complain about this, but why should they now? After all, they were more worried about their lives than stupid clothing. Shirts and pants and other stuff can be replaced easily. Lives cannot.

"She's still going for it..." Fiona whispered under her breath. How could Michelle just keep going at it like this? All the injuries on Michelle caused Fiona to shudder. Just how much blood was Michelle losing? Fiona had a feeling that, sooner or later, Michelle was going to get so weak that she won't be able to defend herself. And when that happened, then what? Fiona wanted to get up to help her. She really did, but the fever that plagued her body was keeping her from even trying to just get up off the ground.

Max nodded his head, but didn't respond to Fiona. He glanced over at Rodger and then at Buzz. He remembered how harshly those two had treated Michelle in the past. Memories came back to him how they treated her back at the lighthouse and he felt anger start to rise up inside of him. All those times they accused Michelle of being a liar, to be nothing but trouble, and yet in the end, Michelle was actually going to sacrifice their lives for them. "Do you two still believe that...she's a threat..?" He asked them in a hoarse tone.

Buzz and Rodger looked at Max and flinched at the glare that he was giving them. They then looked over at Michelle and they both felt a pang of guilt tug at them in their stomachs. They realized that Max was right to be angry with them. They couldn't help but feel angry at themselves for not listening to Michelle. They remembered how they had outright threatened Michelle back at the lighthouse. Back then, they would have wanted to see Michelle get hurt, believing that she had deserved it. But now that it was happening, now that Michelle was getting hurt, they regretted ever wishing that kind of fate on her. This was not at all how they imagined it to be.

"I'm sorry, Max.." Rodger managed to say through his pain and guilt. "We..we didn't know that she would..do something like this..." He looked over at Michelle. She had managed to get back onto her feet and was now biting Kista's foot. "I thought she was still with Victor...I mean..she never left..."

"That didn't mean she was still on his side completely." Max said, his eyes narrowed.

Buzz couldn't take his eyes off of Michelle. It amazed him how she could stand all that pain, could take all those blows, and still have the strength and courage to still fight back. He felt a pang of guilt again as he thought back to how harshly he spoke to her, and the horrible thoughts he had concerning her, particularly the thoughts of getting revenge on her. "Even after the way I treated her, she still wanted to help us, including me. She still helped us..." He muttered softly, barely audible.

Max was still able to hear him. He turned his head towards Neil. "Weren't you the one who kept on saying that Michelle couldn't be trusted?"

"Rodger too.." Buzz said sternly, but his expression quickly softened up. He lowered his head, glancing at the ground. "I admit..I was wrong..we were wrong about her.. I didn't know that..." But he couldn't bring himself to say anything after that. After a few moments of silence, he took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry..I'm so sorry.."

Max narrowed his eyes slightly, then cocked one eyebrow. "Am I really the one you should be apologizing to?" He gestured towards Michelle.

Buzz looked over at Michelle, watching her as she continued to fight Kista. Right then, Buzz made his decision. He narrowed his eyes in determination. "You're right, Max... You're absolutely right..." If they made it out of this alive, he was going to have a word with Michelle.

* * *

Michelle let out a loud scream of pain as she felt herself being tossed into the ground yet again. This time, she found it too difficult to stand back up again and she fell back down. Kista narrowed her eyes, waiting for her to make a move. She watched Michelle, expecting her to get back onto her feet and fight back. But this time around, Michelle was just laying there, eyes closed softly. Kista tilted her head, a little confused at first. Had she just killed the black dino? She sniffed the air. No, she could still smell the life on the dinosaur, could still see her breathing. Kista slowly walked up to the dinosaur, lowering her head close to Michelle's body. She sniffed it a few times, and wondered what she should do now. She opened her jaws to bite the dinosaur, but then she paused. She glanced over at Victor, waiting to see what he wanted her to do with the girl.

Victor noticed Kista's confusion and his eyes slowly narrowed further. He pointed a finger roughly in Michelle's direction. "Finish her, Kista." He ordered her.

'As you wish...' Kista glanced back down at the prone body. She started to wonder if it would really be worth it to kill Michelle. She wondered if she would get any real joy out of it. After all, Michelle wasn't much of an opponent, in both human and dinosaur modes. And yet, she knew she had to obey Veloci. She opened her jaws again and prepared to deliver the killing blow to the Guanlong Wucaii.

'Oh no you don't..' Suddenly Michelle's eyes snapped open. Before Kista's jaws could close in around her, Michelle jumped up into the air. She landed on Kista's back and hung on tightly as the white dinosaur started to shake her body violently to get her off of her. Michelle scanned with her eyes to try to find what she was looking for. Once she found it, she opened her jaws as wide as she could and bite down, targeting the back of Kista's head, where her skull connected to her spine. Kista roared in pain and tried to force Michelle off of her. But Michelle refused to let go. She continued to bite down until Kista's eyes suddenly flew open, and then slowly closed. In a few seconds, Kista's body fell to the ground, throwing Michelle a couple feet away because of the force of the impact.

Michelle's body glowed and she shifted back into her human form. She glanced over at Kista. She didn't kill her; she instead just hit a sensitive spot, a pressure point to be specific. She knew about it recently from rumors she heard from some people in Raptor Dyne, who were talking about theories of dinosaurs. She can safely say that these theories turned out to be true. If the theory was right, then Kista should be knocked out for a while. Michelle slowly got up to her feet and began to walk away, believing her mission here to be completed. She headed towards a slight ditch in the ground, likely caused from when the machines came to make the artificial water source. Hoping the mud and rain would cover her scent a little, she quickly jumped down, wincing in pain as she landed in the soft mud.

Victor stood there in total disbelief. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. No one had ever managed to actually knock Kista out during combat. And he didn't think anyone could have known about her one weak spot at the back of her head. Even Victor himself didn't know this until he saw Michelle target that area. He walked over to Kista's body, watching her as she slowly breathed in an out. He placed a hand on her head and gently nudged her to see if she would awaken. But of course she didn't. Victor looked at the Dino Squad teenagers. They cringed slightly, knowing that if he decided to attack them, they wouldn't be able to fight back. But Victor's mind was focused on something else at the moment. He looked back to where Michelle had been and noticed she had disappeared from view.

Veloci scowled, baring his sharp teeth. "Now where did you run off too?" He hissed under his breath. He wasn't going to allow Michelle to get away with this. He wasn't going to allow her another chance to screw up his plans. He moved around Kista towards the spot where he last seen Michelle. He noticed there was muddy tracks in the ground. His eyes narrowed softly. Did Michelle forget about this? There was no attempt to cover up the tracks and they led straight to a dent in the ground caused by the machines that came near Raptor Dyne earlier. Clenching his fist tightly, Victor started to make his way along the tracks, following them to wherever they led.

* * *

Max struggled to get up, but felt a powerful headache strike him back down. He groaned softly and opened his eyes and watched Victor walk away, disappearing from view. Even though Victor hadn't said a word on what he was going to go, it was no mystery on what he was going to do. Max tried to get back up again, and managed to stand on his feet momentarily before his knees buckled forward and he fell back down. "No..we have to..do something..." He said, his voice filled with concern.

"What..what can we do?" Buzz said, trying to hold himself up on shaky arms before falling back into the mud. "We're too w-weak to do anything..."

"B-But..there has t-to be something we can d-do... We c-can't just..." Caruso started to say. But he didn't need to finish. He could see, from the look in the others' eyes, that they knew he was right.

Rodger slowly pushed himself off the ground. He managed to stand up, but when he took a step, he wobbled violently, nearly falling back down. He held out his arms desperately, trying to keep himself from falling down. Once he managed to balance himself, he tried to take another step forward. He nearly lost his balance again because of how thick the mud was, clinging to his feet and pulling him back down. He tried to take another step, but yelped as a combination of pain and the mud pulled him back to the ground. His chin hit the soft mud with a thud and part of his face became covered in mud. He wiped off his mouth with one of his thick arms, eyes narrowed slightly in disappointment. He looked up back where Victor had disappeared.

"Darn...I can't get up.." Rodger muttered, gripping at the ground angrily.

"Neither can we, Rodger.." Max said, turning his head to face him. "I don't think we..make it in time..."

Fiona now tried to get up. She pushed her body up using her arms and then put her foot out in front of her to try to get a footing. She managed to raise herself up off the ground and stand nearly straight up. She held out her arms to try to provide some balance for herself. She was starting to feel dizzy because of the fever she still had. She coughed a couple times, each cough nearly causing her to fall back down again. She managed to get farther than Rodger did, but eventually, her fever got the better of her and she found herself on her stomach in the mud once more. The rain caused her hair to get in her face, forcing her to keep her eyes closed. She lifted up one of her arms and brushed her hair out of her face. Thunder roared in the background and Fiona could have sworn she could feel its vibrations underneath herself. "What..what are we going to do?" She asked as she closed her eyes softly. "We can't even..g-get up out of the ground.."

Max looked at her helplessly. "I..I don't know, Fiona. I just don't know.." He looked towards the ground, then back at Fiona. "But..we can try to think of something..." Caruso nodded his head sympathetically, glancing at Max and then at Fiona. But he wasn't sure what they could do. He really wanted to do something to stop Victor, but he was too weak and hurt to do anything. They all were. Caruso looked over at where Michelle and Victor disappeared. He realized the chances of them all surviving this were quickly fading away to nothingness. He gulped softly. They were going to need a miracle to survive. All Michelle did was delay the inevitable.

* * *

A few minutes later, Michelle was making her way up a small hill. She felt her feet slip beneath her, but she managed to regain her footing. Each step she took felt like a horrible torture to her. She constantly felt pain in her legs and other parts of her body. She could feel her blood soaking her clothes. It stung her whenever mud touched her. The rain continued to fall on her, hitting her face and skin, washing away the red blood. Her walking was hindered because of the blood she lost and the pain she was in. She nearly fell over a few times, but still managed to keep her footing. She saw there was a tree nearby and immediately made her way towards it. She gabbed onto the tree and leaned up against it. She closed her eyes and began to breathe slowly, letting herself rest before she would try to get more distance between herself and the Dino Squad.

"I-I hope they get away.." Michelle told herself as she started to walk further away. The area she was in now had some trees, but they were spaced apart, and she realized she was heading towards one of the open spaces. She gulped, knowing that she might be walking herself into a trap. But she continued to make her way towards it anyway, knowing that anywhere was better than where the Dino Squad lay. She took a few more shaky steps, constantly feeling her body wobble from side to side as more blood seeped from her body. She reached another tree a couple feet away and leaned up against it. She was about to move on again when she heard something behind her. It sounded like a muddy footfall. She gulped and turned around.

Michelle felt her heart started to race as she saw Victor coming up over the hill, standing not too far from her. His eyes were glowing softly, and she could see his sharp teeth bared. Although it was hard to tell for certain because of the darkness, she saw his hands shaking in rage as he started to walk up to her, moving at a faster pace than he had been a little while ago. Michelle turned around and tried to run, but found herself limping because of her pain. She was moving so slowly, making so little progress, that Victor would reach her very quickly without even having to break into a run. Michelle suddenly felt her leg snag in a root that was uplifted from the ground and she fell down hard. She groaned and started to get back up again, but it was already too late.

"You..." Victor hissed under his breath, venom dripping from each word he spoke as he closed the gap between him and Michelle. When he reached Michelle, she was still trying to stand back up. Without hesitating, he grabbed her by the throat with a partially transformed hand. Michelle grunted in surprise and tried to struggle to get free, but Victor's grip was like a vice. He lifted her up off the ground with little effort, watching her struggles decrease slowly. "You have made a very big mistake!" He shook her with one arm violently before throwing her to the side.

As Victor watched her hit the ground, another realization came to him. His mind went back to when the Dino Squad were still trapped inside Raptor Dyne and chained to the wall. Them getting free was no accident. He realized that Michelle must have been behind it all. She must have freed them. And she was protecting them from his mutantsaurs. This realization made his blood boil, anger sweeping over him like a plague. He clenched his teeth so hard he thought they would pop from their positions. "It was you all along, wasn't it? You were the one who freed the Dino Squad..." He started to walk towards her again. "And it was you who made sure they had a chance to escape!" He reached Michelle's side. His fist shaking, he pulled his foot back and kicked her hard in her side. Michelle screamed as she rolled violently across the floor, hitting against a tree before coming to a stop. She started to groan again, and tried to get up.

"N-No..p-please..." Michelle begged him. She looked up at Victor with fear-filled eyes. "D-Don't..."

"SHUT UP!" Victor shouted. He kicked her again, making her slam back into the tree, this time with more force. Michelle rolled across the ground again, and landed on her back. She opened up her eyes just as Victor pressed his raptor foot against her chest, pushing her roughly into the ground. Michelle's eyes widened and she opened her mouth a little wide to try to breathe. Noticing this, Victor pressed even harder, as if he was trying to suffocate her, but he had something else in mind. "The Dino Squad might get another chance.. but you won't..." With that, Victor raised his now completely transformed raptor hand into the air, positioning it above Michelle's head and neck. "I will make sure that you never ruin another brilliant plan of mine ever again!" He prepared to strike, his claws glinting in the moonlight.

Michelle trembled in fear. "N-No..." She closed her eyes and turned her head way. "Please..don't do it..." But she knew Victor would just ignore her. She kept her eyes closed and waited for the killing blow.

But the killing blow never came.

Michelle opened her eyes to see what was going on. She noticed that Victor's gaze was no longer on her. He was looking at something else, in front of him. His expression had changed as well. He looked surprised, as if he wasn't expecting whatever he was seeing. Michelle craned her head to try to see what Victor was looking at. Although she was seeing an upside down image, she was able to recognize Moynihan, who was in human form. Michelle was surprised too. She thought Moynihan had been knocked out. But here she was, challenging Victor as if she wasn't afraid of anything.

Victor's initial shock disappeared and he couldn't help but smirk at Moynihan. "Why, hello Joanne.. Did you have a good nap?" He asked in a sarcastic tone of voice.

"Shut up!" Moynihan snapped back at him, eyes narrowed dangerously. "You know why I came here." She pointed at Michelle, who still lay at Victor's feet. "Release her. Now."

Victor glanced down at Michelle, who looked back up at him fearfully. He couldn't help but laugh. "How ironic this is..." He looked back over at Moynihan. "This is the same girl who almost killed you by throwing you down some stairs in your light house.." His expression hardened slightly, but the smile was still on his face. "And now you're here, trying to save her? Oh please, Joanne...she's no good to any of us. She betrayed me, she almost killed you. Give me one good reason why I should consider allowing her to live..."

"What you are doing is cruel, Victor!" Moynihan took a few steps forward, her eyes starting to glow faintly. "How can you allow yourself to take the life of a child?!"

"This child, as you call her, is a traitor, Joanne." Victor lowered himself towards Michelle so he could touch her throat with his finger claws gently without hurting her. As he lightly scratched her throat without cutting the skin, his way of showing who was in charge, he smiled evilly at Joanne. "This is what must be done, Joanne, and you know that.."

"No..." Moynihan said, taking a step closer.

All of a sudden, Victor pushed his claws harder against Michelle's neck, drawing some blood. Michelle let out a cry of pain as Victor shouted, "Don't take another step or I'll kill her right now!" Moynihan froze, her eyes widened in horror, and she stopped moving forward. Victor smirked. Moynihan's years of being with the humans had made her too soft. "You're so weak, Joanne... Allowing yourself to stop all because you're afraid for the life of a worthless teenager."

"All life is precious.." Joanne said, narrowing her eyes.

"Then what of the dinosaurs?" Victor asked, baring his teeth as he felt his own anger start to increase again. "What of them? They are life, just like you and me, and yet you had turn your back on them a long time ago..."

"I told you this before, Vic. The dinosaurs died out millions of years ago! They've had their chance!" Moynihan responded. "It would be against nature to try to bring them back!"

"And what of the humans?!" Victor spat angrily. "What about what they are doing to this beautiful planet? Isn't that against nature? Humans don't belong here! They don't even deserve to exist!" As he spoke, his voice filled with more and more resentment. "All their technology, their machinery, everything..they think it makes them powerful. They think it makes them strong. But it doesn't! It is only destroying the planet!"

"Then what about you?" Moynihan asked.

"What do you mean?" Victor cocked an eyebrow.

Moynihan inquired, "What about all the machinery and technology you have made? What about all the damage to the environment you have caused? You say humans are a curse upon this planet, that everything that happened to this world is their fault. But you fail to mention yourself." Moynihan shook her head. "You contribute to environmental changes, the very same the humans are trying to prevent, at least some of them. These changes are hurting the other animals, Vic, not just the humans. In fact, about half of life will be wiped out if it continues on how it is." She took a small step forward. "If anything, you've been causing just as much harm to the environment as the humans. But you know how the humans differ from you, Victor? The humans realize they were wrong and are trying to do something about it. But you refuse to admit you're wrong and don't care of the consequences. You don't care about the environment, only achieving your dream. How are you any better than a human?"
Victor stood there in silence as he listened to Moynihan's speech. This is the sort of thing he would expect from a weakling like herself. He narrowed his eyes again. Moynihan had been blinded by what the humans had told her. She had forgotten what it was like to be a real dinosaur. Not even temporarily blocking her human mind helped her see the light. She would never be able to be converted back to way she should be. The humans had corrupted her too much. There was only one way to free her now. "...you must die too.. I'm sorry, Joanne. I was hoping it was not going to come to this. But I must kill you, too, for the sake of the dinosaurs. They are not safe with the likes of you around." He slightly tightened his grip on Michelle. "As soon as I'm finished with this little traitor, you're going to be next."

But Moynihan remained unfazed, trying to keep her cool as she tried to talk Victor out of killing Michelle and to try to get him to realize the error of his ways. Although she knew she wasn't going to be successful in getting Victor to change his ways, she knew she had to at least try. "But, Victor... Even though you say that you hate humans, even though you want them gone, you still need them. I hate to say it, Victor, but you need the humans, and you know it as well as I do."

"No I don't!" Victor shouted in denial. "I can go on with my work without the aid of those hairless monkeys!"

Moynihan shook her head. "No..no you can't. And that's because of their technology and their scientific advancements. If it weren't for the humans, there would not be any method to bring back the dinosaurs. Without them, you wouldn't have Raptor Dyne, or the primordial ooze. You would be stuck in a world filled with mammals with no way to change that." Moynihan narrowed her eyes. "So in the end, Victor, no matter what you say, you still need the humans to fulfill your plan. You owe your very dream to them. In a way, humans are your salvation, your key to doing what you want to do: bring back the dinosaurs."

Victor felt his heart start to race. His other hand started to tremble. He knew Moynihan was right, every word that she said. But he wasn't about to admit it. "No! You're wrong!"

"Am I?" Moynihan said, sensing that Victor didn't have much to say to justify his own actions. "And what about what you're doing right now? Do you really think you murdering an innocent child to be justified? Do you really think that you have any right to do this?"

Victor bared his sharp teeth. "Michelle is my employee! I can do whatever I want to her! She knew the consequences for betraying me!"

"You might be her employer, Victor...but that does not give you the right to commit murder!" Moynihan shouted back.

"It is not murder!" Victor shouted. "This is justice! This is how we Velociraptors took care of traitors millions of years ago! It was the only way to deal with members who went against the pack's ways!"

"We were wrong back then, too, Victor." Moynihan said, her tone softening up a little. "Please, Victor..Don't do this. If you kill this child, you will be no better than a human yourself. Humans commit murder, Victor. Do you want to commit murder and be just like what you believe humans are?"

Victor's expression softened a little, as if Moynihan's words were starting to get through to him. But then his expression hardened again. "I am better than a human...and I will prove it to you, Joanne. I will rid the world of this traitor!"

Michelle trembled violently. "P-Please..don't..."

"Shut up, you little traitor..." Victor said, glaring darkly at her. "No one can save you this time!" He looked over at Moynihan as he raised his claws above Michelle's head once more. "Watch this, Joanne. This is what happens to those who go against me!" With that, he turned his attention back to Michelle, his claws raised into the air, poised to strike her.

Michelle's eyes traveled to where Moynihan was. Staring at the old woman with fear-filled eyes, she whispered under her breath, "Please...help me..." Then Victor's hand came down.

"Victor! No!" Without thinking, Moynihan rushed forward as quickly as she could. She closed the gap between herself and Victor quickly, and slammed into him before he could deliver the blow. As Victor fell into the ground, Moynihan immediately positioned herself in front of Michelle in a protective manner. Michelle looked up at Moynihan in shock. She struggled to get up, but couldn't find the strength to get on her feet. Victor got up off the ground and glared at Moynihan, but she remained unfazed. "I told you not to harm her." Moynihan said, her voice low. "I will tell you this only once, Vic. Do not ever come near my children again!"

Victor blinked a few times. He glanced down at Michelle, then at Moynihan. "Your children?" He chuckled, finding it rather amusing that Moynihan would consider the Dino Squad as her kids, even though she never had any children of her own. "And what of her?" He pointed at the brunette which lay behind Moynihan. "How would you regard her as? Your pet?" He chuckled.

Moynihan bared her teeth. "No... When I said 'my children', I was talking about her too."

At this statement, Victor and Michelle's eyes widened in shock, thinking that they had misheard at first. But Moynihan said nothing after that and made no movement to indicate she was mistaken. She really did mean what she said. Moynihan understood why they were confused. She didn't know Michelle very well and she had tried to kill her in the past. But Moynihan felt that she was still responsible for Michelle. After all, if it weren't for this girl, they wouldn't have found Caruso, and she sensed that it was this girl who also helped the Dino Squad escape after they were captured, something she found out when she nearly regained control of herself back at Raptor Dyne. She owed it to Michelle to protect her from Victor Veloci.

Victor wasn't sure if he should laugh or feel insulted by what Moynihan had just said. It infuriated him that she was willing to take in a worthless traitor like that girl in and to call her one of 'her children'. This further backed up his justification for wanting to kill her. Moynihan had integrated with the humans too much. She had adopted their ways. She would never be able to see the truth again, nor would she be able to understand why the dinosaurs should still be the rulers of the planet. He glanced down at Michelle, looking at her in the eyes. Michelle cringed from his gaze, but didn't say anything. Smiling darkly, Victor then shifted his eyes towards Moynihan's and said, "You would actually take in someone like that?" He laughed. "You are something, aren't you, Moynihan? You think you're doing the right thing, but all you are doing is breeding the corruption."

"By protecting an innocent child?!" Moynihan exclaimed.

"By allowing a traitor to live." Victor said. "You know as well as I do if you allow a traitor to live, they could perform another heinous act..or worse, spread their behavior to others."

"That has never been proven, Vic." Moynihan replied. "And besides, if the 'traitor' learns what they did was wrong, they should be given another chance."

Victor shook his head slowly. "That is not how dinosaurs dealt with traitors, and I plan on carrying on their traditions." Victor raised his claws threateningly.

"The dinosaurs lost out to reason and love, Victor!" Moynihan showed her own claws instinctively. "Strength is not true power, Victor. With the ability to reason and make judgments, and the ability to love and form strong bonds, the humans have more 'power' than any dinosaur could ever have!"

"No! You're wrong! Love and reason don't make a true species! Only those who abide by survival of the fittest deserve to live on this planet!" Victor shouted, saliva dripping from his jaws as his anger rose up inside of him. "And you are a fool to think otherwise!"

"The only real fool around here is you, Victor Veloci." Moynihan said, her voice softened up slightly. She lowered her claws a little, but not all the way. "Your own judgment is clouded by the hatred inside of you. You won't let go of the past. You still continue to seek to bring it back, disregarding what might go wrong. I feel sorry for you, Victor, for you are not able to see the benefits of human civilization, nor are you able to see how much power comes from love and reason. In the end, it will all bite you back."

Victor hissed angrily. Unable to take this anymore, he glowed and quickly transformed into his full Velociraptor form. He towered over Moynihan and let out a loud hiss, taking a step towards her. Moynihan's eyes widened and she took a step back. Michelle let out a small whimper, expecting Moynihan to fall on top of her. Realizing this, Moynihan managed to stop herself, but her eyes were still locked on Victor. He opened his jaws wide, hissing loudly at her, saliva dripping from his red jaws. Moynihan didn't want to do it. She was hoping she wouldn't have to resort to it. But she saw there was only one way to save Michelle, herself, and the others. Moynihan's eyes glowed again as her skin rapidly changed to a green tinge. In an instant, she was in her Velociraptor form once again. She kept herself between Michelle and Victor, trying her best not to allow him to get close to her.

Victor narrowed his eyes. 'You will regret this decision, Joanne. I will personally see to it that you regret ever turning your back on your own kind!'

'And I will make sure you never lay a filthy paw on any of my children again!' Joanne declared, raising up her hands in a threatening manner. 'You have a choice to make, Vic. Either you back down now...or fight, and trust me. You will lose...'

Victor laughed. 'On the contrary, Joanne...' Victor started to circle around Moynihan. In an attempt to make sure she was still facing him, Moynihan started to follow his ever move, making sure her body was positioned so that she was looking right at him. 'It is you who is going to fail this battle...'

'We will see about that!' Moynihan shouted. Victor just chuckled. He turned his gaze towards Michelle for a brief second. Moynihan was so busy keeping her eyes focused on him that she failed to realize that he was actually herding her away from Michelle. The two raptors continued to walk in a circle, much like they did when he used the labrador mutantsaurs. Eventually, the two were now on the opposite ends as they were originally, with Victor now standing in front of Michelle.

Noticing Moynihan's shocked expression, Victor couldn't help but smirk. 'Why are you so surprised I outsmarted you this time, Joanne? You should know be better by now...'

Moynihan had quickly realized her mistake, but what could she do about it? She hissed at Victor, hoping to keep him distracted long enough for Michelle to try to get away. 'Get away from her!'

'And what do you plan on doing about it, Joanne?' Victor sneered, baring his teeth. He took a step towards her, attempting to assert his dominance. 'You're weak! You will never be able to save this pathetic girl, or anyone else, from me!'

'You don't have to go though with this, Vic!' Moynihan pleaded. 'You don't have to be a murderer!'

Victor narrowed his eyes. 'And you don't need to be a weakling fool, and yet here we are...' He lifted up his foot, attempting to take a step forward, but suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his leg. He let out a loud screech before looking down. Victor's eyes widened slightly, and then narrowed angrily. 'You...'

'Michelle!' Moynihan called out in shock.

Michelle had transformed her head and jaws partially, just enough so that her skin had started to taken on a blackish color and her teeth had become sharp. She had gathered enough strength to push herself upwards towards Victor's ankle and was now sinking her sharp teeth into it. She glanced up at Victor, her eyes widening as she met his cold stare. But she refused to let go. She bit down as hard as she could, hoping that she would buy Moynihan some time. She could feel some of Victor's blood start to trickle into her mouth, making her taste the salty red liquid. She grimaced, but it wasn't enough to make her let go.

Victor narrowed his eyes. He wasn't going to allow this pathetic girl slow him down for very long. Just how idiotic and desperate did she have to be to bite him, anyway? Given her situation, she shouldn't be trying to do anything else against him. Victor bared his teeth at her. 'You little whelp...!' He lifted up his other foot. 'Let go!' He slammed his foot against Michelle's body. His sickle claw cut deep into her skin, starting from her shoulder and across her back, just above her right arm. Michelle released her grip on Victor as she felt herself being flung back into the ground. She screamed as she felt Victor's sickle claw slash her in the shoulder. Victor turned around, nearly forgetting about Moynihan, and walked up to Michelle. 'I should just kill you now...' Michelle coughed and looked up at him fearfully. Too weak to get up anymore, she just lay there, watching him as he approached her.

Moynihan, furious by what Victor had done to Michelle, suddenly leaped into the air. She landed on Victor, knocking him to the ground. 'LEAVE HER ALONE!' She shouted before slamming her jaws around the back of Victor's neck. Victor screeched in pain and started to struggle underneath her weight. He clawed at the ground frantically, trying to regain his footing. He snapped his jaws wildly from side to side, hoping to land a bite on Moynihan. But it was to no avail. Moynihan stepped off of Victor, but still kept her jaws clamped tightly around the back of his neck. Mustering up as much strength as she could, she threw Victor onto a tree.

Victor screeched again as he slammed into the tree and fell down. He opened his eyes and shook his head. He looked at Moynihan, who, just like before, had positioned herself between him and Michelle. Victor scowled, frustrated that Moynihan had, once again, interrupted him. 'Back off, Joanne. I must get rid of that traitor. She is of no good to you either. Remember, she almost killed you. She doesn't deserve to live.'

'And neither do you, some would say.' Joanne responded, opening her jaws. 'And yet you don't see them trying to get rid of you.'

'That's because humans are pathetic creatures, Joanne. And you should know that better than me because you ARE a human...' Victor said the last word with extreme hatred and disgust. He couldn't even consider Joanne a dinosaur anymore, not after what he's seeing. The humans changed her too much. What happened to the Joanne he once knew? The one that would willingly help him with experiments? That Joanne died a long time ago, he had told himself countless times. 'You're even more pathetic than most of the humans I've met...'

Moynihan hissed angrily. 'Your underestimation of humans will be your downfall, Veloci...'

'As your underestimation of me will be your downfall, Moynihan.' Victor sneered.

* * *

While the two raptors were facing off, Michelle tried to get up. Her arms wobbled as she tried to support her weight on them, and ended up falling back down. She cried out pain as she accidentally hit her injured shoulder. She immediately clutched it with one hand, wincing as she felt a sharp pain, feeling blood seeping from the wound and staining her hands. She felt tears of pain running down her face. She looked back over at Moynihan, who was fighting Victor. She started to tremble in fear. What was going to happen to her if Moynihan had lost the fight? Michelle looked away, lowering her head as she felt her body growing rapidly weaker. She felt her eyes start to flutter, becoming harder and harder to keep open, and she slumped back into the ground, groaning softly. Michelle heard footsteps, and she managed to look up.

Max, who looked like he was still suffering from Oscura's bite, looked down at her with a worried look on his face. "Michelle...?" He whispered softly. All around him stood the other members of the Dino Squad, who all looked equally worried, including Buzz and Rodger. Michelle opened up her mouth and tried to speak to them. But she felt her strength leave her completely and her head collapsed to the ground, her eyes closed.

The Dino Squad stood there in silence. All around them were a mixture of sounds from the storm, the thunder and the rain, and the battle between Moynihan and Victor, their hisses so loud it nearly masked the sound of the storm. But from the team themselves, the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of their own breathing as they looked down at Michelle, who was now unconscious due to blood loss. The team had managed to get on their feet after some encouragements from Caruso and managed to walk up to where Michelle currently was. Upon seeing the condition she was in, they were struck speechless. Memories flooded back to them and they were suddenly reminded of how they felt when they found Caruso on the ground, unconscious. Michelle looked even worse off, having even more injuries and a lot more blood loss in comparison to Caruso. She was going to need help, and fast.

"Is...is she...?" Caruso asked, reaching a hand out towards Michelle as if he thought he was the one who struck her down. He looked over at Max, who had taken another step towards Michelle.

Max knelt down next to Michelle. He gently flipped her over onto her back. He took two fingers and pressed them against her throat, where the jugular was. After a couple moments, he looked up at his team mates and said ,"Don't worry. She's still alive..."

"We have to get her to a hospital." Rodger said, noting the injuries on Michelle's body. "With all that blood that she's losing, she isn't going to last for very long."

"B-But..how are we...going to get her t-to a hospital in time?" Caruso asked, not taking his eyes off the girl.

Buzz decided to volunteer. "I could fly her to a hospital. It would be very easy. And it's late at night so it's not like anyone is going to see me."

"And what of Moynihan?" Fiona glanced over at Moynihan, who was still in combat with Victor Veloci.

"She can take care of herself, Fi." Max said, smiling in Moynihan's direction. "She's a tough fighter. She can handle that rancid reptile." He then glanced down at Michelle, a worried look on his face. "Right now, we should be getting Michelle to a hospital as quickly as we can." He nodded in Buzz's direction. "Buzz, if you would do the honors..?" He held out a hand in Buzz's direction and smiled, a way of trying to encourage Buzz to go for it.

Buzz smiled and saluted Max before letting himself get engulfed by a glow. His body morphed quickly into that of a Pteranodon's. He glanced down at Michelle and suddenly realized a problem. How was he going to hang on to her without hurting her? He looked at his feet. Those sharp claws were going to be a real problem. And Michelle's clothing was pretty torn up so he couldn't use his beak, or risk ruining her clothes further. He looked over at Buzz. 'Umm..how am I going to carry her without making her condition worse?'

"I'll ride with you." Max said. "You carry me, I'll carry Michelle." Buzz nodded his head and waited as Max walked up to Michelle. Being as gentle as he could, he lifted up Michelle into his arms. Buzz took to the air and grabbed Max by the shoulders with his feet before flying up higher and towards the city to reach the nearest hospital.

* * *

While Buzz and Max were taking Michelle to the hospital, Rodger, Caruso, and Fiona looked back over to where Moynihan was fighting Victor. They were impressed with how well she was handling herself. Moynihan and Victor snapped at each other, circled each other to try to find a weak spot. Victor tried to snap his jaws around Moynihan's arm, but she dodged and snapped back, missing his neck by a couple inches. Victor slammed his head into her, knocking her down before jumping into the air, trying to slash her with his sickle claws. But Moynihan was faster, dodging out of the way before he could land a blow. She came up behind him and bit down into his tail. Victor screeched in pain and twisted his body around, trying to bite her.

Suddenly the two were engaged in a continuous moving circle. Victor kept running forward to try to get Moynihan. And Moynihan kept running forward to try to avoid Victor's jaws while still biting into him herself. After a few moments of this, Moynihan released her grip just in time before Victor's jaws nearly slammed into her. She turned around and held up her claws threateningly, hissing a warning at him. Victor understood what the warning meant, even if it wasn't spoken in human language. Moynihan was trying to give him another chance to run. But it wasn't going to work. Victor rushed forward and this time managed to bite into one of Moynihan's arms.

Moynihan screeched in pain as Victor managed to knock her onto her side. Before she could get up again, he got on top of her, putting one of his feet on her to make sure she remained pinned down. His eyes traveled to her legs. He bared his teeth. He remembered when he had broken Moynihan's leg years ago in an attempt to make her come back to him. But that plot didn't work back then, and he knew it wasn't going to work now. So he thought of something different to do to her. He would give her a more permanent reminder of himself. Even if she did win this battle, this little 'gift' would ensure that, no matter what she does, he would still have the last laugh.

'Remember when I broke your leg, Joanne?' Victor asked her, watching her struggling underneath him. He lowered his head towards her leg, opening his jaws close to them. 'You should have joined me back then...'

Moynihan hissed at him, kicking her legs wildly to try to knock him off of her. But it was to no avail. 'That plan would never have worked on me, Vic!'

'I see that now..' Victor just smirked at her. 'So instead of breaking your leg, I have something different in mind...'

'And that is..?' Moynihan inquired.

Victor eyed her leg in an almost hungry manner. 'Ripping the whole leg off!'

Moynihan's eyes went wide at that statement. She tried to move her leg out of the way, but she was too late. Victor's teeth clamped down onto her left leg, the same one that he had broken before. Moynihan howled in pain as Victor bit into the leg as hard as he could as he prepared to twist it. But she knew that this time around, it was going to be much worse. Victor planned on ripping her leg off. She couldn't let him have that opportunity. Moynihan kicked wildly on the ground with her right foot, which was pressed against her side as Victor pushed her into the ground with his foot to secure her. Moynihan lifted up her head and snapped at Victor's leg, which was just out of reach of her jaws. She hissed and laid her head back on the ground, trying to think of what she was going to do.

Victor noticed her attempts to get free. 'You can try all you want to, Joanne. But this is going to end exactly how it did thirty years ago!' He began to pull on the leg, started to twist it at an odd angle to snap the bone once again. 'You are going to lose and I will have the las laugh! Let's see how well you fight against me when you are minus one leg!' He paused for a moment and continued. 'And after I am finished with you, I will go after your precious Dino Squad and finish them off as well!'

Moynihan's eyes went wide again. 'No!' Moynihan lifted her head up once again, looking at Victor, who still had his jaws clamped onto her leg. She wasn't going to allow Victor to come anywhere near those kids, or anyone else she cared about, ever again. She wasn't going to go down like this, not again, not like the last time. She felt anger rise up inside of her, coupled with determination and courage. She started to push her body upwards slowly. Victor attempted to keep her pinned down, but he found himself slowly being pushed upwards as Moynihan slowly rose up off the ground slightly. She reached her head out as far as she could go, pushing her neck to its absolute limit, and managed to bite down onto his leg, the one that was pinning her down.

Victor didn't have time to question how Moynihan managed to read his foot in the position he was in compared to her. He felt her jaws slamming into his leg. He pulled his head back and let out a loud roar of pain as Moynihan pulled on the leg as hard as she could. Victor quickly lost his footing and found himself falling down onto the ground. He hit his head against the ground pretty hard and he closed his eyes momentarily, letting out a soft hiss of frustration. He was going to make sure Moynihan paid for what she did to him now. As he tried to get up, he felt something grab his neck. He opened his eyes and noticed Moynihan's head was uncomfortably close to his field of vision. That's when he realized that Moynihan was biting into his throat. Eyes widening in a panic, Victor started to struggle, shaking his head left and ride as he did so.

Moynihan bit down harder, but not enough to cause any real damage. Her eyes slowly turned to look at him directly in the eyes. 'I will kill you, Victor, if you do not give into my demands...' She hissed at him. She wasn't being serious, of course. She didn't think she could ever really bring herself to kill Victor. Even though she wanted to for the sake of the world, she never could manage to do it. She couldn't figure out why, except it might be because she still had feelings for him and long for the day when he would realize the error of his ways and they could truly be together again. 'So what's it going to be, Victor?'

Victor continued to struggle for a few minutes, but he was at a severe disadvantage. With Moynihan's teeth up against his throat, he couldn't struggle too hard, or bend too much or he would risk driving the teeth further into his neck. Eventually, he gave up struggling and closed his eyes softly. Seeing no other choice, he decided to hear what Moynihan wanted him to do. 'All right then...what do you want me to do?'

'I think you already know that...' Moynihan replied, her eyes narrowing deeply. 'I want you to stay away from Caruso and Michelle. If I catch you anywhere near them, you will have to deal with me. The same goes for the rest of the Dino Squad.' She tightened her grip slightly, placing a foot on top of Victor's side, pushing her sickle claw into the skin. Victor winced in pain but kept his mouth shut. 'Do you understand me...?'

Victor growled under his breath. He didn't want to give into Moynihan, a weakling with a soft heart for humans. Even given the situation he was currently in, he still felt like he shouldn't give into her demands. And yet, if he didn't give into her demands, and she does go through with killing him, then his dream would be all for nothing. He would have be alive in order to achieve his dream. For now, he would have to give in, for the sake of the dinosaurs. He relaxed his body and stopped struggling against Moynihan. 'Okay, I understand. Now will you let me go?'

Moynihan pushed her foot harder against Victor, causing her sickle claw to penetrate his skin. 'Only if you promise to keep your word not to lay a filthy claw on those kids again!' Victor hesitated, narrowing his eyes at her and bared his sharp teeth. Moynihan bit down harder, causing Victor to yelp in pain. 'Answer me!'

Victor growled and closed his eyes. 'All right, fine! I promise I won't touch those pathetic kids again!'