Sorry about the hiatus, was on vacation. But now I'm back!

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There is something missing from this world. The amazing creatures that time has left behind. But what if we could bring them back?

What if Extinction... didn't have to be forever?

We're going on a Safari with a difference as wildlife adventurer Nigel Marvin plunges into prehistory to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction.

His plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present, and give them a second chance.

This time, Nigel goes back 1.8 million years to rescue one of the largest tortoises ever, but face two dangerous predators along the way.

Welcome to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary.

Welcome... to Prehistoric Park!

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With many successful rescues under its belt, Prehistoric Park is well on its way to earning its title of the Ultimate Wildlife Sanctuary. From ferocious tyrannosaurs to cuddly oreodonts and some of the largest arthropods to ever live, Prehistoric Park is filled with spectacular animals.

Nigel, however, believes that one group is underrepresented.

Rather than examining some pictures in his den, Nigel is out in the park, watching group of Galapagos Giant Tortoises. When one of them looks at him, he offers it a piece of lettuce, which the turtle greedily devours.

"Ah, now these tortoises here, they are some of nature's great survivors: their kind, the turtles, evolved in the Jurassic and have survived relatively unchanged to this day. You can find them on all continents except Antartica, as well as in the oceans. Unfortunately, giant turtles like these are very rare now, because of hunting by humans. One day, I hope to see dozens of different tortoises and turltes living in Prehistoric Park, but for now, I've got one particular genus I want brought back."

Nigel is quick to take out a picture of colossal tortoise drinking from a lake. Another picture shows that the tortoise is over a meter in height.

"This is Hesperotestudo, the western tortoise. It roamed North America from the Miocene until the Pleistocene, where humans would ultimately wipe it out. I'm planning to go back 1.8 million years to rescue some of them for Prehistoric Park.

While the park has plenty of aquatic turtles to work with, tortoises are a rarity in the park right now. A few of these giants would be excellent additions to Prehistoric Park.

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While Nigel readies the last of the preparations for this mission, the rest of the away team is dealing with the park's tyrannosaurs

At T. rex hill, the away team is busy helping Bob clean out the remains of the rexes' last meal. While they normally eat all of the carcass, a few of the bones occasionally slip away, which the team needs to recover before pests arrive. As Suzanne needed to give the rexes their monthly checkup, the team has been able to complete their goal relatively unmolested. With that done, they've had to work on cleaning up the other remains of the rexes' meal: their droppings.

After shoveling a couple wheelbarrows of dinosaur crap, Bob leaves to make sure they are sent to the park's compost heap, giving the team time to talk about personal matters... as well as something that has been eating away at all of them for some time.

"So," begins Elise," any ideas about the strange set of pillars we saw yesterday?"

"Not really," remarks Vera.

"Me neither," replies Alice.

"...well, actually, I have one" remarks Tristan.

"...You do?" asks Tai.

"Yeah. Look, dad told me that their used to be people on this island, but he said that they left when he started building the park. According to him, they did so willingly. Now, given what we've seen so far, I'm pretty sure that some of them didn't leave."

"Great, now we have to deal with angry natives," remarks an exasperated Sean.

"I'm not so sure they're angry at us," remarks Tristan.

Everyone stares at him, confused.

"Look, if they were angry, the probably would have tried to sabotage the park a while ago. They're be broken fences, dead animals, maybe a staff member would disappear once a month, but none of that has happened. So I'm inclined to believe that, at the very least, they aren't angry at us."

"...fair enough. So, what next?" asks Lucas.

"How about we just ask Nigel about them?" offers Violet. "We already agreed to do that yesterday, did we not?"

"...that we did," replies Tristan. "But after the next mission, okay? No sooner, no later, no excpetions."

"AGREED!"

Just as they find themselves in agreement, the group hears the call for the away team, informing them that it is time to part ways for now.

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Nigel's plan is to go back 1.8 million years to rescue several of the giant tortoises in what is now Arizona. While the turtles weren't on their last legs yet, it ensures that he won't have to deal with any Paleo-Indians, something he wishes to avoid after rescuing Martha. Of course, this doesn't take into account any other predators.

The time portal deposits the team into a dry desert. Familiar plants, mostly in the form of cacti, dot the landscape, turning the otherwise tan environment a myriad set of green and yellow, with the occasional tinge of blue from a small pond. Overhead, birds of all kinds fly around, be they songs birds, wrens, hawks, or even the odd vulture. All are looking for food.

"Nice to be home," mutters Aiden, with the rest of his siblings snickering in agreement: this hot, dry land is far more preferable to them than the muggy, humid environment of the park. Or, well, most of it. How it manages to have a desert AND a tundra area in it continues to confuse the siblings to no end.

Returning to reality, the team begins their search for the western tortoise, carefully watching for signs of movement. Any sign of movement is watched with earnest, but these mostly turn out to be loose rocks sent rolling by the wind. In the event that they are not, the animal turns out to be one that still roams these deserts today, be they wolves, deer or peccaries.

Needless to say, this isn't exactly heartening news for the team, and after an hour, the heat forces them to take a break and seek shelter underneath some trees. While most of the team settles on portable stools, Nigel, Sean and Elise find some comfortable stumps to sit on, Aiden find a nice long to sit on, and Tristan makes himself comfortable between two very large rocks.

Two very large and smooth rocks...

"Well, this isn't looking good," remarks Aileen. "You'd think that, given reptiles like heat, we'd have seen our quarry by now, wouldn't we?"

"True, but don't forget that even reptiles can't operate in certain heats. They need shade from time to time as well."

"...Fair enough, but that doesn't really help us right now.

"Well, maybe if we just rest for a little bit, then get moving again, they might show up," says Tai.

"Maybe," agrees Tristan, before he tries to move himself into a better position on the rocks...

Only for the rocks to start shaking, causing Tristan to yelp in surprise.

Then, to the astonishment of everyone, the rocks seem to sprout legs and start walking, taking a bewildered Tristan with them.

It seems the team has already found their quarry. And it looks like said quarry is trying to capture one of them.

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An: Read, review and vote on the poll. Also, check out my deviantart, because I've started posting art for this story up there. The link is on my profile.

This is Flameal15k, signing off.