The ship followed the migrant shoal diligently, though enough distance was maintained to avoid spooking the giant placoderms. Though it was unlikely they would scare such gigantic filter feeders, better safe than sorry.

Below the waves, many others had decided to tag along with the giant placoderms - small sharks hoping to catch an ailing giant, other placoderms seeking protection, and remora equivalents interested in feasting upon the various parasites inhabiting the titanic fishes' skin.

In the trailing cage, Nigel couldn't help but watch with glee.

"These are a spectacular assortment of species here - all of them attracted to the giant fish that are migrating in search of food. It's such a shame they're so poorly known both by science and by the public - Titanichthys has never really appeared anywhere in fiction, even in documentary work. These creatures are probably the main prey of Dunkleosteus, but sadly, they've been relegated to the ever growing list of species time, and humanity, seems to have forgotten."

As the shoal moved onwards, though, Nigel was still on the lookout for other giant placoderms, especially his target. As time passed, several large placoderms had emerged from the depths, but they had disappeared before Nigel could get a clear look at them. Still, he refused to give up hope - such a large target was not going to go unnoticed for long.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Above the waves, the team was facing a problem Nigel did not have - boredom. With a lack of seabirds or insects to examine, the younger crew had reverted to playing goldfish, then old maid, and then Go! And that hadn't really helped with ennui. At all.

"You think that Nigel will end up finding that same Dunkleosteus that he met on Sea Monsters?" asked Alice.

"I think he said that he has trackers in all of the animals he examined on the show. He even used that to get here," countered Tristan. "That being said, I really hope she comes after us."

"And why is that, of Scion of Saurus?" Lucas.

"Because I'm gonna fall asleep if we try to look for her."

Alice and Lucas both stared for a moment, then laughed...at least until they heard a loud thunk. Turning toward the sound, they were surprised to discover that their friend had passed out.

Before they could react, Tai dumped a small bucket of ice water on his elder sibling, who woke with a start. Wordlessly, he passed his brother a cup of coffee, which the young adult swiftly chugged down. Today was turning into a long day.

XXXXXXXX

Back at the park, Michelle was putting her plan to the test.

On the edge of her exhibit, the female Dryptosaurus ran her claws alongside the rope covered post. It was a strange addition to her enclosure, but one she appreciated nonetheless. It provided her with special spots to mark her territory, as well as easy locations to sharpen her claws. True, the posts had originally been designed for cats, but they had been easy to adapt for such large predators.

As she wore down her talons on the post, the predator could not help but ponder her arrival in this strange new land - her pack had been pursuing duckbills, of which there had been fewer than average. The rising volcanism had gradually destroyed much of the plant life the hadrosaurs had feasted upon, forcing them to migrate or die out. For a time, nodosaurs had been their premier source of sustenance, until a new herd had entered the area and absorbed the remnants of the old ones. For a time, pickings had been good again.

And then the skyfire had come. Meteors had rained from the heavens, taking out many creatures. Her pack was lucky - they had only suffered a few injuries, amongst them burns to her back. The other packs in the area, however, had been decimated. Her pack had actually subsumed the smaller ones, making them the largest and last in the forests. As for prey, they had also been weakened. Once again, the hadrosaurs had become less common. And those that remained were either much stronger or much weaker than normal.

It was on one of these hunts that circumstances had led them to this new land. They had been hunting a large herd of duckbills when the humans had intervened, as had the dragons. The ensuing crazy battle had been interrupted by the even that would have, in another lifetime, spelled an end for all of their kind - a catastrophic meteor impact that marked the end of the age of the dinosaurs. That fate, however, was one they had been spared - a mysterious portal the humans had made had brought them to the modern age, sparing them from extinction.

Much as she wanted to ponder the strange occurrence, though, the female had other concerns - it appeared that the small human from earlier had returned.

Growling, the female predator stomped over to the fence, ready to repel the human. This time, though, the human didn't get too close to her, instead settling for hurling a round black thing into the pen. Confused, the female carnivore examined the object for a moment, before promptly taking a bite at it. Surprisingly, the material did not give - not at all. In fact, when she tried to shake it into pieces, nothing came free.

Briefly, the female predator screeched in annoyance. After a moment of slamming the tire around, though, she felt much happier. Throwing the mix of rubber and metal aside, the carnivore turned toward the human and let out a submissive growl.

Okay, just this once, the offering was accepted.

XXXXXXXXXX

Back in the past, the team was now playing a game of Risk...at least, they were until a nearby machine started going crazy.

"No, I didn't wet the bed," remarked Tristan, having just started from a nap. "...wait, what did I just say?"

"Something about wetting the bed," deadpanned Alice. "Now what is that thing doing?"

Tristan squinted toward the machine, trying to shake off the last vestiges of sleep. "That's...one of the tracking devices Nigel used for his special rescues."

"..Wait, are you saying that-"

"Yep."

XXXXXXXXXX

Beneath the waves, Nigel was looking at the cause for the machine's alarm.

Which, in this case, was a giant, scary looking, orange scaled fish.

A very familiar, giant, scary looking, orange scaled fish...

XXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!