A.N. Alright everyone. Here's the start of the next rescue. Off to the Eocene! We don't own anything, including the OC's that will be mentioned here, except for the ones we created. This chapter is a little short, but don't worry, the next one will make up for it.

Soundtrack: Beneath the Sea by Derek and Brandon Fiechter/Oceanic Realm by Derek and Brandon Fiechter

In the African morning in the middle of their Safari Cabin Base, the Crew's current headquarters, Hazel was busy looking over nautical charts and plotting a course for their next adventure. She'll be the first to admit, the sea was not her bailiwick; never mind the ancient Eocene seas. Ask her any facts about the Mesozoic era, she'll be a walking encyclopedia. Any prehistoric times after that, and Hazel would be almost as clueless as the average person. However, she was glad to have at least one person she could thoroughly rely on. Walking in with a few files was Chris, who was meeting her to plan the Park's next rescue.

"How does it feel to plan to rescue something that doesn't have scales, Hazel?" Chris facetiously asked.

Hazel gave a stiff toothy smile, saying, "Our next rescue will probably be one of our most ambitious yet, Chris Sinclair! We are rescuing a Basilo—"

"CUT!"

Both young Keeper and Leader slumped forward, one part relief, another part embarrassment. Just beyond the two, set up near the Cabin's kitchen were a plethora of men and women wielding boom mics, lamps for atmosphere, and a score of other things. However, at the center of it all, was the unflinching lens of the camera and behind it was Prehistoric Park's Cameraman and director: Cameron Flash. And he did not look happy.

"Hazel, for god's sake, ease up on that smile! Any wider and the Joker will have the SECOND creepiest smile in all of history. And please don't use Sinclair's full name, this is a casual scene not a courtroom trial!" The frustrated cameraman then rounded at said rookie Keeper. "Sinclair! Don't just stride in like that! Slow it down. And can you PLEASE not mumble your lines?! The microphone can barely pick you up!"

Hazel rubbed her head in frustration.

Ever since the Park got a steady income, Nigel's plan was always to relaunch his old documentary series that followed his adventures throughout time to rescue prehistoric creatures from extinction. He of course plans to star in a few episodes, but the senior leader saw this as an opportunity to revamp the entire premise of his show. Instead of strictly being about educational purposes, most of the episodes would follow a spunky young woman and her talking pterosaur partner, along with said young woman's friends with their talking prehistoric partners. If it wasn't abundantly clear, Hazel and her friends were the focus of the new season of the show. Nigel decided that it would pull more of a younger audience if the "main characters" were young as well. Now if only she could emulate her mentor and the Senior Crew's "off the cuff" acting confidence when they too were in front of the camera.

"How does Nigel do it? This acting thing is way tougher than I thought," Hazel grumbled. Cameron turned to Chris.

"Ok, let's restart the scene from Sinclair's entrance. Hazel, back to those maps." At the cameraman's orders, both Keeper and Leader resumed their poise and waited for further prompting. "Alright, take 12. Now action!"

Chris shuffled the files in his grasp and took his line from the top. "How's it feel to plan on rescuing something that doesn't have scales, Veran?"

At the rookie keeper's slight deviation from his lines, Cameron merely frowned. However, since Chris' delivery was more relaxed and natural, he decided to let it slide and continue filming. Now it was Hazel's turn to recite her part. She too noticed the slight change in script and was initially nervous but was calmed when Sinclair subtly gave her a reassuring thumbs up. With a deep breath she continued.

"This next rescue will probably be one of our greatest one's yet Chris. It's not every day someone gets to rescue a Basil-saurus—" Hazel caught her blunder almost immediately as she bit her tongue, but the damage was done already.

The set crew groaned at the young woman's slip of the tongue. Cameron just looked frustrated as he covered his face with his hands. Chris explicitly gave a hearty laugh at the floundering Leader's misfortune.

"Hazel—!"

"I'm sorry Cameron, I panicked!" Hazel shot back, red in the face from embarrassment and frustration of the multiple takes. "I'm so nervous in front of the camera. Just thinking people are going to watch this is making me freak the hell out!"

"How about we call it here?" Chris asked as he set down his files. "I know this is part of the "charm of the show", but can't we reshoot this later? We still need to put together the rest of the ship's supplies for the rescue."

"Fine… We'll call it here," Cameron groaned, obliging the rookie Keeper as he too felt drained. "We'll get the shot later, but you two better shape up for the scene!"

Chris gave a sarcastic salute. "Yes sir."

As the camera crew broke down their setup for the day, Hazel and Chris walked out of the cabin and towards the main area of the Park. Sensing the young woman's lingering embarrassment, the rookie Keeper wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, it's fine. Acting isn't for everyone," Chris reassured. "Besides, that whole "researching" thing that we're doing is just for the camera. I already gathered all the information we're going to need for trip.``

"I guess that's true." Hazel said.

Since the Basilosaurus rescue was Chris' suggestion, he was the one who had to research, fill out all the paperwork, prepare all the equipment, and gather a rescue team to assist him. Hazel remembered when she officially requested her rescue of the Allosaurus trio from the Jurassic. That paperwork made her want to pull her hair out.

Chris frowned when he saw his young friend deep in thought. "Hazel, what's up? What's on your mind?"

"It's just… really hitting me, you know?" Hazel responded before continuing. "Before I went on rescue missions, Nigel was the one in front of the camera and planning all of the adventures. Now I'm the new face of Prehistoric Park? It's bizarre…"

"That just means Nigel trusts in the direction that you'll lead the Park's show. You know, classic 'next generation' stuff," Chris said with a smile.

"I just feel I should make everything perfect," Hazel confessed before looking down in self-contempt. "But we know how well I do in situations like that if our trip to Alaska was any indication."

Chris shook Hazel a bit to snap her out of her funk as he momentarily halted their trek. "Hey, hey! Enough of that. No dour moods from you! The fact that you want to put your best foot forward is fine. Don't be the best 'Nigel Marven' on the camera. Just be the best 'Hazel Veran'."

"And if I don't know how to do that?" Hazel sarcastically asked.

Sinclair smirked. "Won't it be interesting to find out then?"

They both shared a small laugh before they lulled into a comfortable silence and resumed their walk. Hazel could hardly believe that mere months ago, both herself and Chris (along with the rest of her Crew) hated each other and couldn't stand to be in each other's presence. Now, it was like they were old time friends, family even. As Hazel was reminiscing on how fortunate her life turned out, Chris gained a devious look as he changed the topic of their conversation.

"So… any luck with lover-boy Daniel?"

"W-What?!"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Come on, Veran. At this point, all of our friends are talking about it. So, any progress?"

"Zilch so far," Hazel groused. "It's been a few days now and he hasn't let me have a conversation with him. I get that we're busy, but you'd think we'd have at least some overlap on our days off."

"Oof, that's unlucky."

"I know! With him dodging me, me 'fake planning' our scene to the past, AND the fact that we're going to travel the open ocean is stressing me the hell out!" Hazel complained with a small shout at the end. She could deal with the two former problems with ease, the fact that they are traveling on the ancient sea was not entirely comfortable for the young woman. Considering what happened to her late father when he went out on the seas, Hazel's fear was founded on that single event, which made her avoid going into waters where she couldn't see the bottom of the seafloor.

Almost catching on immediately, Chris gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "No need to worry. I wouldn't have asked you to come along if I didn't plan for everyone's strengths and weaknesses. I charted our path to go through a chain of islands and sandbars, sticking close to the shallows, maybe the deepest being 50 feet max.

"Trust me, this will barely be a mission and more of a tropical boating trip. Picture it, a bright sunny day, slight breeze in the air, white sand beaches, and whatever passes for palm trees in the Eocene period. There are worse places to have a day at." Chris then went in for the proverbial kill. "Plus, I'd imagine that this could be the perfect setting for a certain Keeper to confess their romantic feelings for another certain Park Leader."

With a pitch that sound, how could the young woman say no? 'I suppose I can do with a day in the sun…' Hazel thought.

Satisfied with the answer, the future park leader platonically leaned into Chris' shoulder. "And when were you such a romantic, Mr. Sinclair?"

"I aim to please," Chris quipped. "Now come on. We have some last-minute stuff to gather before we cast off tomorrow."

Both close friends walked off to the Park's equipment area to get ready for their next adventure, failing to see a familiar scowling secret agent who overheard the latter part of their conversation and witnessed their "Lovey-Dovey" act with each other.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With Chris helming this adventure, Hazel had precious little to officially pack for the rescue back in her room near the employee barrack; she really had to get the rest of her things into her new room at the Safari Cabin. He already requested to use the Park's 26-meter ship, the Time Mariner. Interestingly enough, Prehistoric Park used to have a modest 24-meter ship named, The Ancient Mariner, but from what Hazel remembered, it had gotten torn apart by a pod of Mosasaurs when the ship drifted too close to their breeding ground. The young Leader was just glad that Nigel and the Crew accompanying him escaped with their lives unscathed.

The Time Mariner was going to be crewed by a handful of Keepers who specialized in marine biology and other nautical skill sets. The most noteworthy members on the ship were Amanda Raynor and Asami Ania. Chris brought them along to further specialize in their marine area of the park, the other crew members were chosen for their sailing expertise. Hazel was surprised that Chris picked his crew so quickly, but he always did have a knack for organizing groups best suited to jobs. Even more unusual was his inclusion of his four little Protoceratops charges. They sported small life vests designed for small dogs. The Rookie Keeper would have rather left the quadruplets out of this mainly oceanic rescue, but the way the new direction of the "Prehistoric Park Show" was going, that wasn't possible. Chris had the character of "doting father figure" for the four "fictional" dinosaur younglings, so he had to bring them along to stick to his perceived character. It wasn't something he was used to, literal public displays of affection, but it didn't really detract from how he usually was like.

With the last of her bags packed away, Hazel was… moderately comfortable in grabbing the Eocene oceans by the horns. She even got dressed into an attire that was more suitable for the mission; an athletic purple tank top with dark blue shorts made of the same material and dark blue water shoes. If she was getting wet, she might as well dress up for it. Now all that was left was her unresolved feelings about a mister Daniel Rimbauer. She intensely planned for this encounter nearly as vigorously as a Rescue. She was normally confident in herself, but she was a nervous wreck. The last time she had boy problems was when she was in high school, and she'd rather not relive those cringe moments. But thanks to Chris for picking the setting, she can hopefully ease into the conversation of her feelings in a sunny and tropical setting. If she stays focused on this upcoming confession, then she can ignore the fact that she will be traveling over open water.

"Ready to go, Flia?" Hazel asked as she zipped up her backpack.

"Ready as I'll ever be" The pterosaur said as she took a last-minute drink from a nearby water bowl, like an over-sized bird drinking from a birdbath. "Even after all these years, I just love flying over the ocean, the smell of salt on the winds, the spray of seawater on my wings, all the fish I can eat. It'll be like a homecoming."

With Flia's description of her love of the sea, just put Hazel further in unease. However, she pushed it to the back of her mind and readied her partner's saddle. Just as both girls got ready, Hazel's phone chimed in, prompting her to check it.

~ "All supplies ready. Pulling up anchor in 30. Make way to ship ASAP."

Chris's group texted all the rescuers who volunteered for the trip. While it wasn't how she personally would have alerted her rescue team, she let it slide. Now that Hazel thought of it, she never put a team of humans together for such a niche rescue for an aquatic creature. Chris probably had more experience with this since his last impromptu rescue of the oceanic Residents of the Marine area. Both girls saddled up and launched into the air, heading straight to the Park's boat dock. As the girls soared through the air, they coincidentally glided side by side with Aeros and his rider Daniel. The man wore a white T-shirt of the same material as hers along with light brown swimming trunks. She couldn't quite make out his shoes, but if she had to guess, they were sandals. Hazel tried to look calm and collected, but internally, the young leader was freaking out.

'Crap, crap, crap! Why did Flia fly us so close?!' Hazel internally screamed before she schooled her features and took a breath. 'Ok, calm down. You got this. You've survived dinosaur attacks and a practical lightning bolt to your brain. You can talk to a boy! Just say something.'

Hazel gave a stiff smile. "Hey Daniel Rimbauer!"

'Nailed it!'

"Greetings to you too, Aeros." Flia chimed in, either not noticing or not mentioning her partner's odd behavior.

The striped male Pteranodon nodded. "Hey yourself you two."

While Aeros was being his usual friendly self, the young Keeper was uncharacteristically quiet and just offering a curt nod. Hazel noticed the small scowl on his face and panicked a bit.

'Shit! He's annoyed! Did I do something to offend him? What do I do?!'

"So… you two ready for the trip to the Eocene?" Hazel asked, fishing for a less frigid response from the man.

"Yeah, I'm excited! Never thought I'd be soaring another time's skies." Aeros exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Just stick with us," Flia responded. "We're practically pros at traversing any sky by now."

Hazel was glad that Flia and Aeros were so animatedly talking about the trip. It gave her a good excuse to talk to her crush. The young leader shifted her attention back to the stoic man.

"How about you Daniel? Are you ready for the trip?"

"Me and Aeros are prepared enough." Was the young man's curt response.

While it wasn't exactly the warm atmosphere she was looking for, Hazel understood his reason for his stoicism; or at least she thinks so. This would be one of the few eras where she wasn't as knowledgeable about. And everyone was afraid of the unknown. The young woman guessed that Daniel was just psyching himself up. Hazel shifted to her side to prompt Flia to glide closer to Aeros. She reached over and placed a reassuring hand on his arm, the silent man's arm tensing as she did.

"Don't worry too much about the trip. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know too much information about the Eocene, but we can get through this together!" Hazel cheered, which earned her a very small smile. "Even if I'm not a pro at this era, Chris has done his research and I'm sure he'll help us out in a pinch!"

Strangely, Daniel scowled again and just nodded before he prompted Aeros to zoom forward, his partner complying. It hurt that she was dismissed, but just sighed and followed suit, refocusing on the task at hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The two flight duos arrived just in time to assist the last-minute loading of cargo for the Time Mariner. It was Asami and Amanda that oversaw the loading of cargo for this trip, Chris having delegated it to the two young ladies, but that didn't stop Hazel from lending a hand and loading on a few crates. It was a much-needed distraction from the sheer awkwardness that followed her and Daniel's mid flight conversation. He just clammed up and was silent the whole flight over. His silence was even noticed by Flia and his partner Aeros, who tried to reignite the conversation, but utterly fell flat. She was worried about it somehow being her fault, but Flia gave her the comfort that it might just be nerves acting up. This was one of the few aquatic rescues for the park and Hazel could count the number of times they needed a ship on two hands with fingers to spare.

As she was getting lost in her own head, someone bumped into her shoulders. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the concerned face of Chris Sinclair looking her over.

"Hey Veran, you ok? You're kinda spacing there." Chris commented.

"I'm good Chris. Just a little… distracted," The young Leader confessed. The rookie Keeper was worried and leaned forward in secret.

"Are you going to be ok on the water?" Chris whispered in concern. "I can make up a reason for you to stay behind at the last minute. We have more than enough crew to do this."

Hazel perked up and waved off his fears. "No, it's not that. I've psyched myself up enough to at least make it through this trip." The young woman bit her lip before continuing. "It's just… I think I hit a snag with… Daniel."

"Oh… I see." The young man paused before chuckling. "This is just… Wow!"

"What's so funny?" Hazel scowled as she playfully shoved his shoulder.

"I've seen you bravely stare down hungry predators and literally run face first into fires. But you get cold feet talking to a boy!" Chris snorted.

"I'm serious about this Chris! What if I make things worse with him?" Hazel complained.

"Look, Hazel," the young man pulled the woman off to the side. "As a member of the male species, I can confidently say that we all have thick skin, so most awkward encounters just slide right off us like water on a duck's back. Plus, a good-looking girl like yourself, Daniel, would be lucky to have a chance with you, Veran."

Hazel chuckled as she arched her brow. "Oh? A 'good-looking girl'? Have something to confess to Mr. Sinclair?"

Trying to stifle a snort, Chris attempted to keep a straight face as he said, "You caught me, Hazel. You make me lose it! Ever since Alaska when we tumbled in the snow and you were on top of me!"

Recalling the two's near fatal skirmish when she was admittedly sternly controlling, Hazel decided to play along as dramatically draped on Chris' shoulder.

"Oh Chris, I knew it! Who knew that rolling around in the snow with you would get your attention!"

"My attention? I know your sister isn't the only one who was 'admiring' my physique." Chris taunted as he flexed one of his impressively large biceps making Hazel playfully swoon. Both shared a laugh before Chris gathered up one last crate of supplies. "Now enough awkwardness, Ms. Veran. We're on the clock and have actual work to do now."

"Yes sir, captain sir!" Hazel sarcastically saluted with a giggle. Both young leaders traded more jokes and jabs at each other, completely content in each other's company, Hazel's worries being set to the wayside for the time being. While the cargo was being loaded, Daniel witnessed them getting awfully familiar with each other and openly flirting hard with each other. Just seeing them like that burned him up inside with envy. With a scowl, Daniel returned to his post, practically counting down the days for the end of this place and all of the woes that came with it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Setting himself up behind the steering wheel, Chris overlooked the ship he would be captaining for the remainder of the mission. It was similar to the Park's old ship, the Ancient Mariner. However, a new inclusion was a glass bottom, which provided an easy access view beneath the waves and practically made the ship part submarine. This worked out great for impromptu observations and provided unique underwater shots from the relative safety of the ship. The glass was several inches thick and took inspiration from both glass-bottom tour boats and submarine designs for both looks of a standard glass-bottom boat and the strength of a submarine's hull and curved glass. Chris wasn't exactly an expert, but what it boiled down to is that the crew can see out from the reinforced glass and was well protected from any ancient creatures that got too "friendly" with their ship. Regaining focus, Chris picked up the radio from the side of the wheel's console to connect to the Marine area's dockworkers.

"This is the Time Mariner prepped and ready to cast off, dockmaster." The rookie Keeper requested.

"This is Marina Dock, inputting temporal destination now," the dockmaster replied. A few moments later, the familiar temporal rift tore open. "We did a quick recon of the era and the weather is clear and seas are calm. Should be smooth sailing for you and your crewmates."

Chris smiled as he started the ship's engine. "Thanks for the recon Marina Dock. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Happy hunting and stay safe out there Time Mariner. We don't need to lose another ship to another gang of sea monsters!" the dockmaster joked.

"We will. Thanks, dockmaster." Chris then shifted his attention to his assembled crew. "Alright boys and girls! Raise anchor and let's get underway!"

Agreeing with the Park's impromptu captain, Asami and Amanda even fully committed to the pirate act and cheering 'Aye Cap'n!', before splitting up to take care of their shipboard duties. As they moved about, Hazel and Flia watched on as the ship's sails unfurled and billowed out to catch the wind as it drifted closer to the time rift before the bow touched the light. The familiar warmth of the rift caressing over them welcomed the ship and a moment later closed behind them, separating them from the present and venturing forth towards the Eocene seas.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mid afternoon, Eocene era…

The area the ship arrived at was less of an island chain and more like glorified sandbars with bits of mangrove trees growing in the salt water. If Hazel was being honest, she was expecting a bit more greenery, like a tropical island resort. However, the glaring difference wasn't the geography or flora, but the exotic ancient creatures that she spotted. While she couldn't name most of them off the top of her head, she recognized a couple standout creatures. A troupe of monkeys swung from the low branches of the mangroves, chittering amongst themselves and pointing at their passing boat. Off the ship's bow, a pod of Dorudon were playing in the water, not unlike modern day dolphins. However, while dolphins generally knew that ships were driven by humans and were used to them to the point that they swim alongside with ships for fun, the ancient Dorudons couldn't make heads or tails of what they were looking at. Hazel caught most of the pod bumping up against the Time Mariner and either tail slapping or attempting to bite at the hull.

"Not that friendly, are they?" Hazel commented as another Dorudon nipped at the ship.

"Seems reasonable enough," Chris commented from the wheel, gaining her attention. "Whales in the modern day have lived alongside humans for a while, so they know the boundaries of what they can and cannot do around humans. That's why you never hear about Orcas tearing into someone in the wild. That's just thousands of years of taught behavior. Our little Dorudon friends are experiencing us for the first time and are testing us out to see if we are a threat or a possible meal."

Sinclair's lecture was one part answering Hazel and the crew's questions on why they were being harassed and another part informing their future viewers of some trivia about ancient and modern whales. Amanda had a small waterproof handheld camcorder and was documenting Chris' impromptu lesson. The young leader had to admit, Chris was way better than her at acting naturally in front of the camera. Shaking out of her thoughts she refocused on Chris' educational section of his camera time.

"… let's just hope these fellas are more on the friendly orca disposition and not the irritating bullying bottlenose dolphin variety," Chris said, seemingly finishing up his lecture. As he focused up on his steering, little Quara pawed at his pant leg.

"Chris, can we get a closer look at the swimming things and swim with them?" the little Protoceratops innocently asked. Chris chuckled and patted her crested head.

"Unfortunately, those Dorudon are a little too big for us. They'll probably try to eat us if they have the chance. And even if they're friendly, we can't hold our breath as long as them, so they might accidentally drown us."

"Aw…" the youngest Proto sister sadly brayed.

"Luckily, we have a work around," Asami piped up, approaching the little dinosaur. "Come with me, little one. We can tour the ship and watch the whales through the underwater observation deck!"

With a cheer, Quara and her sisters followed Asami down below deck. Amanda followed suit, her camera focusing on capturing the excitement of the "fictional baby dinosaurs".

"When you get a second, can you and Amanda take a look at the aquatic Communicator? I want it prepared for when we find the Basilosaurus," The captaining Keeper called out to his younger subordinate, who waved behind her back in confirmation. When the camerawoman and her "actors" were out of the area, Chris physically relaxed.

"Okay everyone, we can take a break from camera work, but stay alert! We have no idea if our target is 5 feet or 500 feet away from us," Chris commanded as he began ordering his crewmates. "Michael, go down to the observation area, you're in charge of sonar and underwater lookout. Megan, Nikki, you two get some people port and starboard for some surface level observations. If so much as an odd tail fluke breaches, I want to know about it. Daniel, prep the shark cage, a pair of wetsuits, and the rafts both wood and inflatable at the rear of the boat. I would rather not want us to get into the water but get it ready just in case."

After several agreements from the crew, they all split off to do their jobs. Daniel lingered a moment long before he too went off. Chris could have sworn he was scowling in his direction. He shook his head clear before Hazel came up alongside him.

"Quite the ship captain, Mr. Sinclair," Hazel complimented. "You sure this isn't a ploy to garner leadership again~?"

The rookie Keeper openly laughed at Hazel's teasing. "I think you know me better than that. Besides, I still have the damn scars from our last 'disagreement'."

"Don't worry, I hear scars are all the rage these days." Hazel taunted.

"That's rich, coming from the girl with boy problems right now." Chris snorted. "But right now, it's time for work. Can't stay out on the water just admiring the scenery forever."

"That's too bad. You could take a picture of this place and put it on a postcard," the young leader sighed whimsically. "'Greetings from the Eocene period! Wish you were here~!' That would be a work of art."

"Well, while you wait for Amanda to hand over her camera, can you get Flia and Aeros into the skies to scout the area out? Just warn them not to glide too close to the water, I don't want to test if a Basilosaurus can breach the water and snag them out of the air."

"Will do captain," Hazel nodded. "So, any specific jobs for me? I don't want to twiddle my thumbs until we find something."

Chris smirked. "Actually, there is something. I think I mismanaged the duties and gave Mr. Rimbauer a bit too much to do. Would you mind 'helping him out'?"

Hazel's heart skipped a beat, understanding immediately what Chris set up specifically for her. On one hand, she wanted to strangle the older man for playing wingman for her. However, she could use whatever help she could get, for she knew she would psych herself out if she was left with her thoughts. With a deep breath, the young woman nodded.

"Will do, thanks Chris… I'll get right on it." Hazel shakily said.

As she was walking away, Chris offered a last parting piece of advice.

"Don't forget to use protection!"

Scratch that, Hazel was definitely going to strangle Sinclair later.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The afternoon sun's rays beat down on the ship, the coastal setting being felt in full force. Luckily, Daniel's duties on the rear of the ship offered a decent amount of shade, which he was thankful for. He was momentarily distracted when the looming shadows of Flia and his partner Aeros darted away from the Time Mariner to locations unknown. Despite stewing in his anger and frustration, he had to admit, he loved the beauty of the Eocene seas and the many tropical islands around them. When his mission was done, he hoped that SAGES would at least let the Park's operations continue, if nothing else than to keep seeing his partner and honestly his closest friend he made while undercover. As he was ruminating, Hazel was taking several deep breaths to prepare herself. She didn't want to look even more like a fool than she already thought she was. Counting to ten, Hazel stepped around the corner she was hiding and approached her brooding crush.

"Hey, Daniel!" Hazel stiffly greeted, "I was sent back by Chris to help you out."

"Thanks…" Daniel stiffly said.

The grin left her as she stammered, "I-I'll get started on one of the rafts then."

With that, the two got to work. It was super awkward for Hazel to just carry on without speaking up to Daniel. She had no idea what the problem was. Did she offend him? Throw away something of his? Steal his food in the break room? That last one probably wasn't the case, but the young leader was practically grasping at straws here.

As she was inflating the inflatable raft, Daniel fastening some screws onto the wooden variant, the whole floor seemed to violently lurch forward. Hazel dropped what she was doing and held the ship's nearby metal railing in a vice grip as she squeezed her eyes shut and began to slowly count backwards from ten. While the ship's sudden movement was an inconvenience, it didn't slow Daniel's progress. However, seeing the normally unflappable rookie Park Leader gripping onto the side of the ship like her life depended on it, Daniel couldn't help but worry.

"Hazel, are you okay?" The agent cautiously asked. Before she could get a word out, both his and Hazel's radios blared to life and Chris' voice chimed in.

"Sorry about that folks. Wind picked up a bit and we accidentally sailed over some whitecaps. All crew, be prepared for sudden lurches in the ship."

With Chris' announcement finished, Hazel gathered herself enough to speak up.

"I just… need a moment," the young woman breathlessly said.

As Daniel observed Hazel recovering, it took him a moment to deduce what was wrong with her.

"Hang on a minute. Do you have thalassophobia?!" Daniel exclaimed, realizing the problem in front of him. "Why the heck are you here if you're afraid of the ocean?!"

"I'M NOT AFRAID!" Hazel snapped. Just then, the ship lurched again from another whitecap, making Hazel grip the guardrail tighter until her knuckles were practically white. A beat passed between them before the young leader caved. "I'm not afraid. I do fine in and around water, and I swim just fine."

Daniel frowned as he continued to press her for information. "That would be aquaphobia, fear of ALL water in general. The response for that is different." Even with his disdain for Hazel now, he couldn't help up to make sure his ally in this current mission was up to par. "Why are you on a mission that clearly makes you uncomfortable?"

There was silence between them for nearly a minute before Hazel found her voice again. "Do you know who the founders of Prehistoric Park are, Daniel?"

"I've read a little of it before I was hired," the secret agent replied, omitting the fact that he was given a detailed dossier about the park and the most prominent employees.

"When I was 13 years old, my dad took a trip on the seas. Some sort of investigative research trip for the Park, I'm not sure." Hazel said as she toyed with a rope in her hands. "He said he would be gone for a few weeks, a month at the very most, but… out of everyone who went on that trip, Nigel was the one who came back. My dad was lost at sea," the young woman sighed as she steeled herself. "Ever since then, I am just so scared when I'm in water where I can't see the bottom. Just not knowing what's there in something I can't see terrifies me to my core."

Daniel could tell this took a lot out of her to openly admit. Even with his conflicting feelings, that didn't mean he was going to be a heartless monster about it. Besides, even being with her now brought up memories of his past, back to a girl he once knew.

Sally was her name. She was a kind, headstrong, young woman who wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed in. Like him, she was a soldier-in-training at the time. She brought out the good in him, and he in her. For a time, they were the best of friends before they became close. Two years of bliss and then…she was called away. He could remember the day when she told him she was deployed. Nine months was what she said was her time range. For nine months, he waited…until he received the news.

Daniel grimaced, pushing that awful memory aside. He didn't want to dwell on it further. Before the young man could elaborate further to the young leader, Hazel's radio crackled to life again.

"Veran, you there?" Chris' voice crackled.

Gathering herself, Hazel unclipped her walkie-talkie and brought it up to her mouth. "Yeah Chris, what's up?"

"I think I spotted something off our portside. Might be worth looking into."

"Got it. I'll be up in a minute."

Hazel then turned to Daniel with a sheepish grin. "Well, duty calls. Better see what's happening." The young woman briskly walked to the ship's aft direction towards the wheel. Before she completely turned the corner, Hazel stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Thanks for listening, Daniel. Sorry to dump all of that on you. I guess I'm not as over it as I thought."

"I-It's no problem. Your secret's safe with me," Daniel stammered.

It was a rather personal conversation, but he was more than willing to help. Hazel silently nodded in thanks before walking off. With a heavy sigh, Daniel resumed his duties absentmindedly. He still carried some resentment, but their exchange relieved that weight, if only a little.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chris was looking through a pair of binoculars when Hazel arrived on the stern of the ship. She noticed that many of the crewmates on the ship were on deck scrambling to do their jobs and just standing in the general area, waiting for further orders from the ship captain. Hearing footsteps approaching, the rookie keeper lowered his binoculars and offered them to Hazel, keeping his eyes in the direction he was looking at.

"There's a little sandbar out there with an interesting pair on it," Chris informed.

Taking in the sights, it took Hazel a moment to zero in on the pair in question. Chris was right in saying that the sandbar was small. She was sure she saw playground sandboxes that had more sand on it. Now, the dang thing was shrinking by the minute since the tide was rising. The creatures were both similar in shape, resembling hippopotamuses, being bulky, round and squat. Hazel would have mistaken them for the same species, since they both had short stubby trunks, but she spied a pair of nasal horns on one of them that parted in the middle on top of its trunk. It reminds the young leader of a fat rhino-babirusa hybrid.

"Pop quiz, Veran. You know what those two are? This'll be on the test." Chris teasingly questioned.

"I'm not quite sure… Maybe from the trunks, an ancestral pair of tapirs?" Hazel guessed, unsure of her answer. She really needed to read up on eras after the Mesozoic era.

"Not quite, gonna have to flunk you on that one Veran." This earned Chris a playful shove from the young leader. Said young leader scowled. "These fellas are Moeritherium and Arsinoitherium respectively." The rookie Keeper pointed to each of them, Moerintherium looking more like a traditional tapir while the other had the horns on its snout. "Both species are actually related to elephants, believe it or not. Instead of leaves and grasses, both of these guys forage for seagrasses and other coastal shrubs to graze on."

"Huh, so a pair of hippo-like proto-elephants? That's neat." Hazel offhandedly commented as she took another look at the pair through her binoculars. Once again, Chris' correction on her answer just showed her knowledge stance on megafauna compared to Mesozoic denizens.

"They look like a healthy pair of males, which just brings up more questions," Chris said with a small frown. Hazel returned her attention to him and silently urged him to continue. "Most male animals are territorial, especially elephants."

Hazel understood his line of thinking. Male animals competing for the same resources usually didn't get along, especially males of separate species. "That just begs the question, what is making them share the same sandbar?"

"Especially since both are semiaquatic," Chris added. "I have a guess as to why they are stranded there. Most of the time, these guys would spend most of their time submerged underwater to eat up all of their seagrass, so if they're up on land, they must be avoiding something in the water."

"So, the Basilosaurus must be hunting those two!" Hazel realized.

"That doesn't explain why it's going after these two," Chris said unsurely. "Whales can generally last a while between meals. So, the question is—"

"What is making this one so desperate to chase prey that can get to land and out of its reach?" Hazel finished.

"This is where you come in," Chris regained Hazel's attention. "You take a few crewmates and work your 'Veran magic' and ask what's got those two so spooked."

That seemed reasonable enough. The young woman was more inclined to talk to new species ever since the Communicators made prehistoric translations into trivial matters.

"And afterwards, what's the plan? You are technically in command during this mission."

"If this is your way of asking 'can we keep them?' sure," Chris said with a slight eye roll. "Just ask nicely before you go all knight in shining armor." His teasing was loud enough for the rest of the assembled crew to giggle and chortle under their breath; even Hazel had a nice laugh about it.

"Any recommendations for the rescue party?" the young leader asked as she stowed away her binoculars.

"Amanda is a given, since she will be our camerawoman," Chris immediately answered. He then rattled off a few other crew members who would assist her in this endeavor. Just as Hazel nodded and started to gather the small group together for the rescue, Chris had one more person to add. "Oh, and how about Mr. Rimbauer? He's a crack shot and could get you out of a bind if the proto-elephants get too rowdy."

This caused Hazel to stiffen before she had to practically force her shoulders to relax. She leaned into Chris' ear, disguising it as her reaching for the binoculars again to gather for her supplies. "Not exactly subtle, don't you think?"

"On the off-chance violence breaks out, the shared trauma would give you two common ground," Chris snarked. "It did wonders for our little team back home."

"Don't even start with that," Hazel said with a slight laugh and a shove to his shoulder. She walked off to the rear of the ship towards the rafts, encouraging her new entourage to follow suit. The only one that stalled was Daniel Rimbauer, who had a sour look on his face which made Chris a bit put off by it.

"Something I can help you with, Rimbauer?" Chris asked in uncertainty. It looked like he was about to say something before he huffed and meandered off to rejoin his assigned group.

"What the heck was that about?" The ship captain muttered to himself. He shook his head as he watched the raft launch from the ship and made its way to the stranded animals.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I spy with my little eye, something sand colored."

"I swear to Mami Wata, if the damn thing you picked was sand, I'm going to impale you, shove you into the water and let the Lady Leviathan devour you!"

This was Bana's life now. As an Arsinoitherium, he was searching for lush seagrasses to bulk up in time for mating season; the ladies do like their males with some thickness. He thought he had been fortunate enough to find a large patch near the island chains, but the damn Moeritherium had to get in his way. He actually knew the male; Yuuto was his name. The Hornless one could be considered as a friend, hard not to pass each other since both his and his own species overlap the same territory at times.

Any other time, Bana would have just let Yuuto go and went on his way, but mating season was practically upon him and he needed all the last-minute bulk he could get. Naturally, this led to Bana chasing Yuuto out of the area so he could claim the luscious seagrasses for himself. What he didn't account for was the Leviathan that chased them onto this miserable spit of land. With other Leviathans, Bana and Yuuto would usually wait a few minutes before the great water beasts got bored and swam away. THIS female nearly beached herself to try and devour one of them. They were lucky that the tide was low, but each passing minute, the water rose and nearly devoured any aspect of dry land. This could possibly be his very last moments alive and his Moeritherium acquaintance was making him want to find a swift end, if only to escape his childish games.

"Sorry man! Just trying to lighten the situation," Yuuto huffed as he retreated further from the rising water.

"We are stranded on a sandbar and have no idea if Lady Leviathan is still there. Forgive me if I'm a little irritated."

A beat passed between them as they both tried to see if they could spot the lithe form of the giant whale. Just as Bana was going to risk diving in, Yuuto had to pipe up again.

"Hey Bana! I spy with my eye a weird log with five hairless monkeys on the back of it coming this way!"

"That's it, I'm killing us both!" Bana bellowed.

"No, I'm serious dude! Right in front of you!"

With an irritated snort, Bana had to shift his head to the side to even see what was in front of him. His horns were good for defense, but the fact that they made a blind spot directly in front of him made actually seeing things a hassle; he was lucky his keen nose somewhat overcame that. From what he could make out, his friend wasn't talking out of his butt. Five monkeys were on some sort of hollowed out thing so they could float on the water. They were different from the ones that swung from the trees and lacked any tails. Plus, the fact that they were on the water at all was different. Those tiny creatures stayed in the trees to avoid other things eating them. the fact that these dumb monkeys were on the water with a potential Lady Leviathan lurking somewhere piqued his curiosity just a bit. As the monkeys landed on their little island, both Yuuto and Bana charged up to them cautiously.

"That's far enough, apes!" Bana grunted. "You friendly? We don't need any more problems."

"My name is Hazel," the lead female said, her hands up for some reason. "Me and my group came here to see if you guys need any help."

"Do we need 'help'?" Yuuto scoffed. "Would have been more helpful if you weren't here. Now you monkeys are stuck here with us!"

"We're actually called humans," one of the other 'humans' commented.

"Whatever you're called, I hope you made peace with whatever you believe in," Bana sighed in defeat. "I wager we have a bit before the tides rise up and Lady Leviathan is in reach to eat us."

"I'm guessing this 'Lady Leviathan' is a Basilosaurus?" Hazel asked.

"If that's what you call it, then yes. She's been on our flank since this morning. She REALLY wants to eat us."

"Well, don't we have a deal for you!" the woman exclaimed. After a lengthy explanation of what they are and what they do, the two proto-elephants gave each other unsure looks.

"So, all we have to do is just walk through this Flicker of light and we will be provided for?" Yuuto asked with skepticism.

"Yeah, you guys just need to tell us where we can find the Basilosaurus," the woman said as her team ignited the Time Portal. Just in time too, Bana's keen ears sensed a surge of rushing water that was coming up behind them.

"She's right behind us! Good luck!"

Both Yuuto and Bana sprinted through the portal just as the thunderous roar of the Leviathan echoed through the air. Their hollowed log was punted through the air and was destroyed when it crashed onto the ground. It only affirmed what Bana thought: those monkeys were really dumb!