Dumbfounded, the team just stared at the new arrival, unable to form a coherent response at what they saw.
….Well, except for Michelle.
"...Oh...my... god…"
Despite being mostly frozen with shock, Tristan felt his eyes rolling at that statement. 'Seriously? that's all that she can say about this?'
For the dinosaurs, however, there was no shock at the...at the...at the dragon's appearance. Instead, they merely began to howl, growl, and hiss at the newcomer, which screeched and roared at them in response. Occasionally, some of the tyrannosaurs would try to attack the strange, feathered reptile, only to be repulsed. At one point, when one animal tried to steal the hadrosaur from beneath the giant flier, it shot flames at the attacker, who only barely avoided the scorching cloud. As this happened, the group heard a low pitched bellow coming from beneath the dragon's feet. It was from the hadrosaur.
It was still alive.
Instantly, the group was shaken out of their shock, and a new objective was agreed upon - rescuing the trapped dinosaur.
Tai, however, had one complaint for the plan. "How are we supposed to get them away from that duckbill long enough for us to send it through the time portal?"
A screech from above turned the group's attention skyward, where eight more fliers were descending. Two joined up with the currently landed one, while the remaining six began harassing the rest of the dinosaurs. Occasionally, one of these six creatures got too close to the three guarding the herbivore, resulting in the resident dragon shooting a gout of flames at the offender. All the while, the team was trying to figure out how to rescue the prehistoric creatures.
"..Okay, I'm going to admit it - I have no idea what to do," noted Tristan. "Nigel, you have anything?"
"Sorry, mate, but I'm stuck - bait will only attract a few of them, and with the one already on the carcass is acting, I don't think we'll be able to get it off the hadrosaur."
Micelle practically growled at this. "So you two have no idea how to get them away that poor dinosaur?"
"Well, none that aren't moronically stupid," retorted Tristan.
"...Well, then I am going with stupid."
"Wait what?"
Michelle declined to respond, and instead grabbed a large rock, took aim, and threw.
The stone sailed through the air, before impacting on the head of the...dragon...that guarded the hadrosaur. It bounced off of the reptile's head, hitting one of the tyrannosaurs on the way down.
Instantly, the two predators turned their attention to Michelle.
"Hey, you stupid lizards! Come and get me!"
Tristan was not amused by this. "You do realize one of them can breath fire, right?"
"...Oops..."
Annoyed, and also somewhat resigned, Tristan merely closed his eyes and started asking the powers that be for mercy. Michelle could only smile uneasily, while Nigel and the others were trying, and failing, to find a way past the dinosaurs into the portal, as the dragon prepared to torch them.
Just as it was about to roast them, though, a whistling noise filled the air. A moment later, an explosion occurred to the right of the dragon, behind some of the Dryptosaurus. As fighting reptiles turned their attention from the fight toward the explosion, another followed it, and then another.
The team, confused by this, looked up at the sky. There, they found hundreds of meteors streaking through the sky, some flying off in the distance, while others were falling toward them. Most noticeable of all, though, was a huge light headed toward the South. Though no one said it, it was obvious what this light was.
It seems that Nigel may have messed up the time for the portal.
As the killer rock sped toward Earth, the dragon moved forward, mesmerized by the sight, and unknowingly freeing the giant hadrosaur beneath it. Seizing its chance, the herbivore stood up and charged into the portal, as did several birds. The dragons and tyrannosaurs, who had briefly resumed their squabbles, stopped for a moment to stare at the herbivore as it disappeared...before charging forward after it. The team was swift to follow. Through the portal charged the tyrannosaurs, the dragons, and the raptors who had been watching the battle, followed by the team. As the last of the humans returned to the present, the meteor impacted, marking the end of the Age of the Dinosaurs. Hundreds of miles away, a small family of tyrannosaurs was being coaxed into another portal to the present, but that story has already been told.
XXXXXXXXXX
Two minutes earlier...
Vera sighed in exasperation. "What's taking them so long? The portal's been open for about five minutes. Did they get eaten?"
"I don't think so - they're used to dealing with sticky situations. Maybe they're just stuck between a rock and a hard place?"
"They better hurry up then, Marcus, or I'm going to go through and get them."
"As will I."
"Thank you."
The duo stared on for a while longer, waiting for their teammates to return, arms gripping their tranquilizer guns. These weren't normal animal tranquilizers, for the founders of the park had realized they would new a bit more firepower (or ammunition) to deal with some of the residents. Consequently, these rifles looked more like the ones used in Jurassic World, able to fire multiple tranquilizers without needing to be reloaded. No one had needed to use them just yet, but that could change at any time.
Suddenly, another hadrosaur ran through the portal, followed by a mob of animals, some large, some small, all predators. Instantly, the duo got to work and opened fire, occasionally pulling out a pistol version of the tranquilizers for taking on the smaller animals. It wasn't long before most of the beasts were unconscious in their pens.
As the last of the beasts went down, the duo turned their attention back to the portal, where the team had finally returned. As the aperture closed, the duo waved at their teammates, who returned the gesture...at least until something else caught their attention. Confused, the duo turned toward the holding pens, to find that one predator was still alive, and was now staring at the team. Instantly, Marcus and Vera opened fire on it...and realized they were out of tranquilizers.
The creature turned to stare at them for a moment, then spread its...wings?
Vera went wide eyed at the sight. "Is that a...dragon."
"I think so..."
For a moment, nothing happened, other than Vera putting her hand on her head...then her stomach...then her left shoulder...
'She's making the sign of the cross right now?" pondered Marcus. 'That can't be a good sign.'
Then Marcus realized exactly why his friend had made said sign.
The dragon was staring right at them. Then it took a deep breath.
Marcus grabbed Vera and ran out the entrance for the observation platform. A moment later, a gout of flame scorched said platform.
Having seemingly scorched the humans above it, the dragon turned its attention back to the humans on the ground. Hissing at them (unknowingly preventing it from hearing Vera and Marcus leaving to retrieve a fire extinguisher), it readied to attack again...only to be batted to the side as something smashed into it, shattering holding pen fences. Righting itself, the dragon found that it was staring at an almost fully grown female Tyrannosaurus. Perplexed to see such a creature, it initially tried to intimidate it off, but the tyrant reptile refused to back down.
With threats having failed, violence was the only option. Roaring, the dragon shot fire at the dinosaur, only for the predator to side-step its attack. Twice more it repeated this attack, and twice more it was dodged. After the third attack, the dragon refrained from using its flames - if it used up too much of its hydrogen reserves, it would not be able to fly, limiting both its offensive and defensive capabilities. It seemed the tyrannosaur was aware of this, for once the flames stopped, she went on the offensive, snapping her jaws at him, trying to catch him. Usually, she tried to snap at his wings, only going for his head and neck when she found an opening.
The fight could last for over an hour, but the dragon knew it would be best if he could take her down quickly, so he tried a knew tactic. As the rex readied to attack him, he ignited some of his hydrogen stores, then released the products as the female charged. She found herself with a face-full of smoke, which left her disoriented, allowing him to get airborne. He swiftly knocked her over, then scorched her flank, though with hot air rather than flames, for those used less hydrogen than flames. The tyrant dinosaur cried out in pain, before whimpering. She was beaten, though she would likely survive her injuries, and continue to challenge him for food. He could not allow that. Landing, he walking over to her an raised his food, preparing to end this.
A sudden impact on his side sent him hurtling to the right, sparing the tyrant dinosaur. Turning to see what had hit him, the dragon found himself staring at another tyrannosaur, this one a male. Perhaps this was her mate?
…..No, he smelled too similar to her for that to be true. He was most likely her brother.
So another tyrant wished to challenge him to defend his sibling?
Fine, he would beat this one all the same.
XXXXXX
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!