Chapter Nine

I didn't know where I was running to, there was nowhere to go. As soon as the flames were smothered, the blob would begin infecting all life on this prehistoric gem of a world.

All I could do was delay then inevitable. So I ran. I ran and I ran, and I didn't look back. And I felt miserable.

I had just abandoned the man I loved, to be absorbed by a hideous monster. I had just abandoned two aliens that I considered to be my friends. I had just abandoned two of the most loyal pets I had ever had.

I should be back there, I thought. I should be fighting alongside them.

Instead, I was running. I had jumped over the trenches that had been our "quarantine", and now I was just running through the forest. Let me tell you, wolves can run all day, and never get tired.

I finally came to a stream, where a trio of Parasaurolophus was casually drinking from, and plucking fruits and plants from the treetops by standing on their hind legs.

I began pacing back and forth on the steam banks. I couldn't believe that I had done that. That I had run away like that. I couldn't believe I had just abandoned my friends like that. I couldn't believe that I had abandoned Jason like that.

I was so ashamed, and terrified.

The Parasaurolophus began making a low noise that described my feelings perfectly.

I wasn't much of a praying person, despite my dad being a pastor. It's not that I didn't believe…It's just that I felt…stupid…Praying for things. Like I thought that God had better things to do than answer my prayers. Which I know my dad would say that that was silly, but it's just how I felt.

(God,) I sobbed, feeling like this time it was worth praying for. (Please help me…I need a miracle.)

I slumped down to the ground. As far as I was concerned, this was it. I didn't even care if I got trapped in the wolf morph. In fact…I very nearly gave into the wolf's instincts right then and there. The depression was a powerful drug.

The only problem was my morph. My morph was not a true wolf. Not 100%. I was part dog. And that little bit of dog in me was not going to let me give in. It wanted me to hope. To fight back. That's what you did for those you love. You fight.

(With what?!) I demanded. (How can I possibly fight the One? I have nothing left!)

At that moment, a large carnivorous dinosaur surged out of the forest on the other side of the stream. It was maybe 20 feet long, and built rather like Jason's tyrannosaur morph…But smaller. It was blood red, and had a large rhino-like horn sticking out of the tip of it's nose.

Its hands were longer than the big rex, compared to it's body, and it had four grasping claws. It charged at the trio of Parasaurolophus.

The lead Parasaurolophus turned and defiantly surged towards the predator. It let out a low call, like someone blowing over a coke bottle indefinitely, and suddenly, sparks ignited.

I leapt to my four feet in shock. A stream of blue and white flames had surged out of the Parasaurolophus's nostrils, striking the hungry predator and burning him. It launched itself into the stream, desperately trying to put out the flames.

(Holy crap!) I said. (They really do that?!)

There's even a bizarre, totally out-there, theory that I heard once, that the chambers contain flammable chemicals, and that the crest allowed Parasaurolophus to breath fire as a deterrent to predators. Jason had said. Like an oversized version of the bombardier beetle.

That one's probably not true.

(A dinosaur that breathes fire,) I said, still stunned.

There was a pause as the Parasaurolophus went back to picking up fruit from the nearby trees.

(A dinosaur…) I reveled. (That breath's fire…)

A plan was now forming rapidly in my head, and I quickly began demorphing. Because you can't acquire DNA while you're in morph.

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I was running back now. Back towards the blob. Back towards the flames. I could hear their struggles. Their saurian cries of pain.

I burst out of the bushes in human form. Looking at the massive blob that had pinned my friends. In the few minutes that I had been away, Jason and Menderash had switched morphs. I guess they didn't want to die as Deinonychus, because now both of them were in their 'combat morphs'. Not that the Tyrannosaur or the Stegosaur was having any luck escaping the blob's clutches either.

Muk-Luk had about six or seven tentacles grabbing his armor, trying to pry it apart, to get the plant inside.

(Emily!) Jason yelled. (What are you doing back here?! I told you to save yourself!)

"I'd rather save you, Jason," I said. "You didn't actually think that I was going to leave you behind, did you?"

(Was kinda hoping!) Jason said.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily."

I focused my mind on the image of the Parasaurolophus. The changes set in immediately. My body began to bulk up, and my teeth became flat in my mouth. My skin became leathery, and a thick tail sprouted out of my behind. My fingers melted together, becoming something sort of like a hoof.

My toes melted together into powerful feet, while my legs thickened, becoming the powerful hind legs of the Parasaurolophus.

Then my head began to change. My lips hardening into a large flat beak. My hair shrank into my head, and my skull began to stretch. Longer and longer, transforming into the Parasaurolophus crest. It hollowed out, and began to fill with chemical sacks.

(Parasaurolophus?) Jason asked incredulously. (Emily…That's the morph you're planning on saving us with?)

(Yeah,) I said, grinning inwardly.

(You're gonna…Sing the one to death with calls from it's resonance chamber? Or do you have another plan.)

(Something like that,) I said, as the dinosaur's instincts bubbled up underneath my own. It was a bold, confident mind. Parasaurolophus was like a skunk. It didn't need to be afraid, because it's defense mechanism was something that predators didn't like to mess with.

You mess with a skunk once, and you never do it again. You mess with a Parasaurolophus once, and you never do it again.

And like a skunk, the Parasaurolophus's chemical reserves were limited. It didn't have a lot of shots with it's flamethrower, so it used it sparingly. Once I was out, it could take weeks to replenish.

Unless you were an Estreen, who could demorph and remorph and restock the Parasaurolophus's chemicals like that.

I charged. Like the bombardier beetle back on earth, the chemicals were stored in two separate chambers. When I needed to use them, I would unleash them at once. They would ignite when exposed to oxygen, and each other, creating a thin stream of flames, that wouldn't last very long. It was a deterrent, not a true weapon.

The flames would actually ignite a few inches away from my nostrils. It only looked like I was breathing fire. I was really blowing my nose with nasty flammable chemical snot.

I sucked in air…And fired. The sound like air over a coke bottle erupted from my nose…As well as the chemical snot. Flames burst into existence and the stream slammed into the One. The blob burned easily, suddenly retreating from the onslaught of intense heat.

(Holy shit!) Jason exclaimed. (Never in a million…No…Sixty-Five million years, did I think that that theory was the right one! It seemed so…Far fetched.)

(Like you said,) I pointed out. (You can't tell how dangerous a skunk or a porcupine is from its skeleton alone. The true power of those animals doesn't fossilize. These dinosaurs could be holding secret abilities that we couldn't even conceive of, we can't let the One destroy it.)

(Agreed.)

(Jason, I've only got a few shot's left,) I said. (Where do I need to aim my flames?)

(Muk-Luk,) Jason said instantly. (Get some back-up heat from his plasma blaster.)

I turned towards the tentacles binding the mechanical suit containing the alien plant, and fired. Streams of blueish-white flames ignited and cut through the gooey limbs that were binding him.

(I'm out,) I said, as the flames dissipated. My chemical reserves had been exhausted.

(I am not,) Muk-Luk said. His hands morphed into the plasma blasters, and began firing upon the green blob.

I was demorphing as quickly as I could, as Muk-Luk freed Jason and Menderash. George and Martha let out a scream of pain as infection spears stabbed at their shoulders.

And then I was remorphing. Growing. I especially focused on the feeling of the chemical chambers in the dinosaur's crest. I wanted them full. They were among the first things to reform.

As quickly as I was able, I was a Parasaurolophus again, and flames were igniting, incinerating the green blob that was the One. And Muk-Luk fired again and again. Launching blasts of white-hot plasma upon the diseased thing.

Jason was stomping at the gooey blob, and Menderash was hacking at it with his stegosaurus tail. Not as effective as Muk-Luk or myself…But they were slowing it down.

As soon as my chemical reserves were exhausted again, I once more demorphed and remorphed—Which was in and of itself, a different kind of exhausting—but I couldn't stop. We began to herd the One blob into the fire. It hissed and lashed out at us, almost half-heartedly. I think that the One understood that it was beaten, and wasn't even putting up a fight. Which meant that it was probably preparing for our next encounter. Joy.

When the last of the blob sizzled out, I began to demorph.

(Wait,) Jason said, turning his head towards George and Martha. (We've gotta…Take care of these two. They were infected. We all got stabbed…But Menderash and I can morph away from the disease…They can't…We have to…Put them out of their misery…)

(Curious,) Muk-Luk said. (They seem to still be…Themselves. Typically infection sets in much faster. Particularly with new DNA…The one enjoys breaking down its victims…)

And then my little grey cells buzzed, and I finally understood yet another mystery.

"Actually," I said, reaching over and gingerly petting George and Martha, who nuzzled my hands like a pair of dogs. "We don't have to kill them. They're going to be just fine."

(They got stabbed by the infection spear,) Jason said. (We saw them…They got pumped full of that virus.)

"Which probably hurt like hell," I said. "But you said you both got stabbed too…How do you feel?"

(Um…Okay, I guess?) Jason said, sounding confused.

"Haven't you figured it out, yet?" I asked.

(Em,) Jason said. (You know I'm no good at mysteries. I can't spot a clue if it's beating me over the head.)

"The dinosaurs don't get sick here," I said. "Disease is an utterly foreign concept. That's why it bugs our predator morphs. Typically, a predator goes for a sick animal…Because it's weak. Because it's easy prey. But there ARE no sick animals here. Not one. Every single animal on Jurassic Planet is completely immune to all disease. The One included. Our Quarantines have been unnecessary. The One could never take this planet, because it cannot infect any of the creatures here."

(How?) Jason asked, dumbfounded.

"The reason we came here," I said. "The Pemalite cure. It's everywhere. All around us. Maybe it's in the water, or the food, or something else, I don't know…But the Pemalite cure is in every living thing on this planet. Nothing can get sick on this world. So the predators are uneasy with sick animals…Because they don't understand what it is that they are smelling…because they have never known disease. Not since this planet was terraformed anyway. Long enough for disease to have been wiped from their genetic memories, anyway."

(We…We have found what we came for?) Menderash said in awe.

"Not yet," I commented, as Jason and Menderash started demorphing. "We found the proof-of-concept. That there is a cure-all for disease here. The animals don't get sick, ever. But we still need the source. Or, at least a way to extract the cure. We haven't found the cure. But we know it's real now. We know it exists."

"That's something, though," Jason said, examining the Deinonychuses closely, who snapped at him in annoyance. The Deinonychuses were subservient to him in the pack order, but they did not like being stared at.

(It is almost unbelievable,) Muk-Luk said. (Nothing…Not one form of life that we have encountered is immune to the Unan Virus. But these creatures…They truly are…)

"Today has been a good day," I said.

Jason suddenly embraced me in a surprise hug that made my heart flitter.

"I thought I lost you today…Thanks for reminding me how badass you are."

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"Emily is right," Erica said. After having examined more than a dozen DNA patterns from around the dome.

"The Pemalite cure-all is present," she said. "In every form of life. In miniscule amounts…But it doesn't need to be much. The compound was designed to work with a species natural immune system. And it's not like there aren't pathogens around here…There's plenty. But they are impotent. This planet is completely disease-free."

"We can't say that for certain," Jason said. "Our sample is to small. But it does stand to reason."

"What about us?" Menderash asked. "We have been consuming plants and animals for food for several weeks now. Is the compound in our systems?"

Erica turned her gaze upon the three of us.

After a moment, she responded.

"No," she said, slightly disappointed. "Whatever the source of the cure is, it hasn't passed into you. At least not through the food you've been eating. It must be introduced into the ecosystem a different way."

"It's in our morphs though." Jason commented. "The tyrannosaur was completely immune."

"That would indicate that the cure is a part of this ecosystem on a genetic level," Erica said. "I'm not even sure how that's possible."

"Whoever built this place is crazy-smart, though," I said. "Because it is incredible."

"All right," Jason said. "We've had an exciting day. And there's still three more ship pieces that will be coming down in the next month that we need to figure out how to deal with. It's clear that we can never repeat our tactics with the One…It learns to fast…But…Now that we know that local life is not in danger of infection…I think that gives us an edge."

"First, things first, though," I said. "I am hungry. Let's have some dinner."

I nodded, and went inside the dome to wash up.

"Exciting day," Erica said behind me as I washed my hands. I jumped in surprise.

"Jeeze" I said. "You scared the crap out of me, Erica. Don't sneak up on a girl."

"You gonna tell Jason about your feelings for him?"

I bristled.

"Probably not," I said. "Ever."

"Emily," she said, sounding annoyed.

"What?" I said. "What do you want from me? Life has become WAY too distracting. We've got dinosaurs…Living dinosaurs, Jason's favorite thing…And he can morph them. We've got evil diseases that can think and try to kill you or Borg you. And oh yeah…Jason owns a freaking planet. That's a big deal, that I don't think has hit him yet."

"Emily," Erica said, her pitch now slightly higher.

"No," I said. "He has enough on his plate. I can't tell him. I can't tell him that I followed him halfway across the galaxy…Left my family behind to go on his fool's errand with you, because I was in love with him. That I tried to tell him the day we met Estreen, but couldn't because of what came in the wake of that. That I've been so desperately, madly in love with my best friend, that sometimes I can't think straight? Is that what you want me to tell him?"

"Yes," Erica said, grinning. "That is exactly what I wanted you to tell him. And you just did."

Her hologram shimmered and suddenly Jason was standing there next to her, his face in utter shock.

My heart stopped beating, and time froze around me.

"You…" He said, still stunned. "You love me?"

"Yes," I confessed, defeated. "I'm just…I couldn't…You're my best…I don't."

Jason suddenly stepped forward, grabbed me, and kissed me. My world came crashing down around me.

It wasn't my first kiss. And it definitely wasn't the best kiss I'd ever had…But at the same time…My heart was going nuts because it was Jason kissing me. After all this time, Jason was finally kissing me.

He broke the kiss and stepped back in surprise, his arms still around me.

"Wow," I said. "You are a lousy kisser."

"Not what I expected to hear," I he said, suddenly looking self-conscious.

"Just means you need practice," I said grabbing him and kissing him again.

"I could get used to that," he admitted, after I broke the kiss again.

"So…" I said, realizing that whatever it was that I had been afraid to tell him was utterly pointless now. "You feel the same way?"

Somewhere, in the irrational part of my brain, I had never, never once considered that Jason might feel the same way about me. Not once. It was bizarre when I analyzed it later. Even obvious…But my mind kept thinking that he would laugh in my face, or be upset that I had somehow ruined our friendship.

"Emiline Jasmine Wu," He said, slowly saying my whole name. "Do you really not know?"

"Know?" I said, suddenly scared again.

"I have been in love with you," he said. "Since you broke my nose."

I blinked at that.

"We were seven!" I said.

"And I knew," Jason said. "I knew it even then. I went home from that picnic, and told my parents that I was gonna marry you. They thought it was cute. Then my dad told me that if I told you that, it might scare you away. Well that was the most terrifying thing that my seven-year old mind could conceive of. So the next day, when I marched up to you…Instead of telling you that I was going to marry you, like seven-year old me had originally planned. I said I was gonna be your best friend. I figured that wasn't nearly so scary."

I processed this information, in shock.

"You…Never said anything?" I said. "Even when I was dating all those boys?"

"Guess, ultimately," Jason said. "When it came down to it, I was more afraid of losing you than anything else. If you were happy than I was."

"But I wasn't," I confessed. "Because they weren't you. Jason Michael Grant…Congratulations. You have me now. I'm all yours."

He kissed me again.

"And it's ABOUT DAMN TIME," Erica said. "Do you two have any idea…Any notion of what this has been like from the outside? You two were so OBVIOUSLY into each other, but both were too scared to say or do anything to ruin your friendship? I just wanted to scream at you."

"Well," Jason said. "I guess….Our friendship is technically ruined now."

"This is better," I said.

I kissed my new boyfriend again, and my heart sang.