"On three. One, two, THREE!"

As the last number was spoken, the gathered mix of officers and (for lack of better term) special operatives threw the giant fish overboard, directly above the anomaly. Moments later, the fish swam through, followed by the giant eurypterid when it too was released from containment. Underwater ROVs confirmed that both creatures had gone through the anomaly, effectively ending the immediate threat.

"So," asked one of the newer recruits, "how long do we need to watch this for?"

Wyatt was about to answer that question when the light below them suddenly started flickering. A few moments later, it vanished entirely.

"…Well," began a flummoxed Wyatt, "I'd say 'until it closes', but obviously that is a moot point now. That being said, I've seen ones that have reopened, so permanent monitoring might be a requirement."

Nodding, the newbie turned to Madeline, who had finally arrived after many delays. "Your opinion, Ms. FBI and CIA liaison?"

"One, why are you talking like that, and two, he's the expert, listen to him."

"Okay. And I just felt like that."

"Talk like that again, and there will be a reprimand."

"…Understood, ma'am."

"Good, let's wrap this up and clear out."

"YES MA'AM!"

XXXXX

Hours later, Madeline found herself once again in her FBI office, reviewing a new set of files. Most were relatively mundane, though there was one report of people experiencing strange headaches after near death experiences, after which they seemed to act like different people. Miraculously, many of these people had made recoveries from mental or physical conditions that had no cure or treatment, or by all rights should have killed them. As interesting as that was, though, Madeline had no time to focus on that field – she had other tasks to attend to, and thus reluctantly passed the job on to another investigator. Maybe if she hadn't been involved in this anomaly business, she'd follow up this investigation instead.

Briefly, she wondered how this choice would affect history – when one was involved in the time travel business, this possibility came into focus more often. But the wonder soon passed, and Madeline instead found herself focusing on one of the mail room staff, who had walked up to her desk, letter in hand.

"…Why am I receiving a letter? What is it and how important is this?"

"It's a department transfer notice, ma'am – apparently, those above us have decided that your business deserves a different oversight from what you've done before."

"…I see. Well, let me have my letter, then."

Moments later, the letter was in her hands, the envelope swiftly torn open, and the mail person had left, leaving her alone to read the notice.

XxXxX

Assistant Director Griffin, nee Locke

Thank you for your detailed reports regarding these temporal magnetic anomalies. Though your team's actions in containing these, shall we say, time portals, leaves room for improvement, your efforts to conceal their existence from the public is exemplar. That being said, in the interest of ensuring your operations run smoothly, you are being transferred from the FBI and CIA to our oversight. You will retain your current positions with the FBI and CIA, but future mission reports and budget requests will be sent to our group. Additionally, it is expected that in several months' time (we are currently undergoing office renovations and do not wish to hold meetings elsewhere), you will be required to bring your team to a meeting at our headquarters – the address is 34 Thomas Street, New York City, New York. I will arrange a date once the situation is less hectic for myself.

Best regards,

Valerie Kyle, Investigations Sector, Federal Bureau of Control

XxXxX

….Wait, so this was where she sent her letters now?

Also, who the fuck was the Federal Bureau of Control?

XxXxX

Thompson House

"You finished packing for the trip, Ai?" asked Wyatt.

"Yes, my love. You know it won't be a long stay. I'm just checking up on our children and our…special investment. I trust Mr. Marven, but some of the things there are outside his field of expertise."

"I could always go with you-"

"No – you have to schedule a meeting with Cross Photonics. I am not needed for that. And even if Madeline was able to ensure you had a place in this anomaly mess, both of us still need to manage our professional lives lest our secrets be revealed. So please, let me handle this."

The Thompson patriarch opened his mouth to object, but soon closed it – his wife was right. "Alright. Have a nice trip."

"Thanks. Want a souvenir?"

"How about an abelisaur scale?"

"The park doesn't have any yet."

"Darn. Raptor feather?"

"Will do."

Any further words were cut off when the couple embraced and shared a passionate kiss.

XxXxX

Path to Coalescence Part 5 of ? complete

XxXxX

Epilogue

The Rhizodus crawled around the bottom of the water hole, burying itself in the greenery, waiting for prey to come in range.

Such was a story that had repeated itself across many days, but this time, there was a difference.

Floating nearby, watching it with a strange thing in hand, was a human.

The rhizodont didn't know much about the bipeds, only that they lived on land and had thrown it back through the great light when it tried to eat them. It had assumed that this had been the last it would seem of them, but days later, another group of bipeds had come and fished it out of the water along with others of its kind, and several other critters, including the Hibberopterus the other bipeds had thrown through the light.

The fish had fought hard at first, but the bipeds had pulled him in and taken him to a strange land, where he knew nothing of the native creatures, and had barely even seen some of them.

Then he had been shoved into a foreign pond and given a supply of fish that was always replenished at roughly the same time each day.

…The giant fish could live with this.

AN: And so episode 4 comes to a close.

So, yeah, next episode will be a direct crossover (of sorts) between this story and the other set in the same universe - Prehistoric Park: Returned from Extinction. We'll be seeing Ai meeting her kids and handle Wyatt's, ahem, secret project.

Just so you all know, I am going to soft reboot the Prehistoric Park based on feedback from someone I trust, both to improve it and bring it in line with what I have in mind for this story. The next chapter of PP:RTE will be the final one before the reboot, and will be the Paradox Chapter from the park staff's point of view (yes, this includes her kids).

The meaning of Path to Coalescence will be revealed in time.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!