The huge placoderm slammed into the shark cage, trying to snap at Nigel. However, in spite of the giant fish's size and momentum, the cage held - there wasn't even a dent like the last time a giant fish had attacked the cage. And the cage was far too strong and too round for the shearing jaws to inflict any meaningful amount of damage. Despite its hunger, the fish seemed to eventually realize this, and backed off. From there, it settled for circling around Nigel, trying to find an opening.

As it did so, Nigel finally had the chance to examine the fish in detail. To his surprise, the fish was a shade of green instead of orange, and a bit smaller than he had expected. Soon enough, though, Nigel realized what he was dealing with.

"I thought this was a Dunkleosteus, but now that I have a better look at it, I've found that I was mistaken. This is actually Dinichthys, another member of the Dunkleosteus family. This one is only know from pieces of the skull, so we had no idea how big it could get, but this one proves they could get just as big as their more well known cousins."

And just like those cousins, Dinichthys will soon be extinct...unless Nigel has something to say about it.

Though not the species he was looking for, the Dinichthys is still a species worth rescuing, and Nigel needs no persuasion to see it brought back to the present, nor does the rest of the team.

And it doesn't take him long to formulate a rescue plan. After all, such a large fish should be easy to catch with an open portal, right?

Thus, carefully, Nigel gives the team advice on where to open the portal so as to take the circling predator to the safety of the present. Of course, complications are inevitable - the water isn't completely clear due to the mxing of fresh and saltwater, allowing the giant fish to momentarily disappear at certain locations and reappear at others. Even more surprisingly, it is joined by three more of its kind, all attracted by the smell of one human.

Nigel's luck eventually takes a turn for the better, though, and the four fish all bunch up in one area, allowing the team to rescue all four.

Above and below the waves, celebration abounds.

Then Vera turned her attention back toward the radar, where there were roughly a dozen new blips...all heading toward the ship.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Back in the present, Michelle was once again at the Dryptosaurus enclosure. Nearby, the female she'd seen at the whale carcass was resting under a tree, eyeing her up.

Cautiously, Michelle rolled out a large, pink ball, and promptly threw it into the pen. The tyrannosaur eyed up the ball for a moment, then headbutted it hard enough to throw the ball out of the exhibit. Michelle barely dived out of the way of the flying pink ball, only to be forced to run again as the tyrannosaur tried to snap at her through the fence posts.

Sighing, Michelle turned to leave - looks like she would need a new peace offering.

XXXXXXXX

"Don't worry, it isn't your fault she doesn't trust you," remarked Suzanne. "Some animals are more trusting than others."

The Head Vet was currently at T. rex hill, where Stan and Sue had joined their offspring and potential dinosaurian in-laws in fighting over a remnant of the whale carcass. The rest of the rexes had already eaten their fill, so the number of competitors was now down to six, but nobody wanted to back down just yet.

"I know," replied Michelle, "but I don't know what she would want as a peace offering! A juicy hunk of meat? Something to scrape her claws against?! Something to chase?! I JUST DON'T KNOW!"

"Well, yelling is not going to achieve anything."

"I know."

"Don't berate yourself too much. Some things just take a while."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Sighing, Michelle turned her attention back to the fighting tyrannosaurs. To her surprise, a seventh tyrant had joined the melee - a bull by the name of Nero. He was the one who had almost killed Sue in the past, and whom Terence an Matilda had exacted vengeance against when he had arrived in the present. He had gotten lucky this time and had managed to snatch a juicy peace of meat whilst the females had been squabbling over one of the ribs. As he walked off, though, he nudged something black and round toward Terence.

After a moment of staring, Terence grabbed the tire in his mouth and shook it around, before throwing it aside and giving a submissive snarl toward the larger male. Nothing had been completely forgiven, but for now, things were alright.

For Michelle, however, an idea had sprouted.

"...Do we have any spare tires?"

"Bob has plenty by the jeep garage."

"Thanks! Be back soon!"

XXXXXXX

Back In The Past, The Mystery Fish Have Arrived...An They Are A Bit Less Threatening Than Expected.

Though the sonar had shown at least a dozen giant fish approaching, Nigel could now see over thirty giant placoderms headed his way. Some were the size of great whites, others grew as large as Dunkelosteus. All of them, though, had one interesting trait: their jaw plates were, for lack of a better word, blunt. Clearly not what one would expect of a giant placoderm.

Nigel, of course, knew exactly what he was looking at.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise. These are Titanichthys, giant, filter feeding placoderms. You could think of them as the blue whales of their time. These are the largest filter feeding animals on the planet at the moment, and they're pretty much immune to predation. Only Dunkleosteus could pose a threat to them, and even then, they' probably focus on attacking juveniles instead of adults."

Of course, a group this big presents a particularly large target for predators, and it is unlikely that they will go unnoticed for long. And that means they're perfect creatures for Nigel to follow.

Nigel quickly signals for the Mariner to follow the fish. At the past the shoal is going, the ship only has to lightly cruise to keep up with them.

Above water, the team is watching the giant filter feeders travel on, occasionally taking glances at the radar to see if any new arrivals decide to show up.

"Do you think that we will see the Dunkleosteus Nigel met on Sea Monsters?" questioned Alice.

"Maybe - he said he put a tracker on her," replied Tristan. "Though I haven't seen any indication that she's nearby."

Unknown to the team, however, said tracker's receiver had started to beep faintly - a sign that the emitter was beginning to get close...

XXXXXXXX

AN: Okay, I'm back!

For those wondering, Dinichthys and Dunkleosteus were once considered to possibly be the same creature. I originally thought that until I looked them up and found that they are considered separate genera. Thus, I included both in this rescue. For reference, if the two were actually the same critter, then I would have titled this chapter 'Terrible Fish'.

So, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!