RED ROCK CANYON
23 MILES WEST OF LAS VEGAS
The sounds of cicadas buzzing filled the desert air as the sun beat down on the hot sand down below. Joining the cicadas was the sound of a shovel being struck into dirt before removing it, the sounds of someone digging. Out in the middle of the desert was a lone black SUV with tinted windows, with the driver and passenger behind it where one person was standing in a ditch shoveling dirt and sand out, and another stood watch and supervised. There also was a third person lying in front of the second person.
It doesn't take a genius to realize what these two were doing.
The guy supervising the guy digging a hole was currently smoking a joint, weed rolled up with the end lit up. The man himself looked like a generic cholo, with a gray unbuttoned shirt saved for the button near his neck, baggy black shorts with long white socks and sandals. The man had short black hair along with a mustache and short chin beard along with a black bandana wrapped around his forehead.
"Hey," the man says in a Mexican accent. "what's this I hear about you working for some business suit wearing gringo?" he asks the person digging the hole.
Said person revealed themselves to be Nick Roscoe, whom stood up to wipe some sweat off of his forehead, planting the shovel on the ground afterwards. "He's the county supervisor." Nick answers. "Big Bear introduced me to him. Now I'm selling Bear's stuff to him and his guys now for extra cash. I don't like him one bit, 8-Ball. He's a shady ass dude. You know I don't like getting into politics."
The second man now formally known as 8-Ball handed Nick the joint to which the young man gladly took, taking in a fat hit before handing it back to its original owner. "Yeah, I hear ya." 8-Ball replies. "Hey, give me a hand with this guy, will ya?" 8-Ball asks his colleague as said colleague blew out a puff of smoke.
"Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaah." Nick replies in a laid back tone before exiting the ditch. "I mean, why'd he kill Petey, anyway? He was a pretty cool dude."
8-Ball shrugged in response. "I dunno. Something about money." he replies as he takes another hit from his joint.
"What? Was he hoarding?" Nick asks as approaches Petey's body.
8-Ball momentarily bent forward to grab Petey's body before standing back up to face his friend. "Naw, he was spending too much money." he says as he grabs Petey's shoulders. "A little too much. That's why he had to go."
"Ooooooooooh, I get it now." Nick says as he grabs Petey's ankles.
The two then lifted and carried Petey's body towards the ditch. "Yeah," 8-Ball continues. "he was making too much money to the point where the IRS and the DEA got involved. Started spendin' his money on Rolex and Rolls-Royce." 8-Ball dropped his end of Petey's body to grab his joint that he was carrying in his mouth, taking another hit from it. "You know I heard Big Bear is buying guns from the Snakebacks?"
Nick dropped Petey's legs in practical shock, gawking at his friend with a bewildered expression. "The Snakebacks?" he clarifies.
"Yeah." 8-Ball confirms as he hands his joint to Nick.
"Get the fuck outta here. He hates the Snakebacks." Nick exclaims in shock as he takes the joint.
"I know." 8-Ball agrees. "That's what I said to Michael, but he said he needed the guns." Nick and 8-Ball then kicked Petey's body in the ditch. "Adios, hermano. So, with Petey gone, we're gonna have to find someone else to start sellin'. And if he starts acting dumb and spending all his money in one place-"
"Heh, we dig another hole." Nick finishes as he hands 8-Ball his joint back.
"Exactly, holmes." 8-Ball confirms as Nick grabs the shovel beside him. "Hey, did you hear about Johnny around the corner?"
"Naw, what?" Nick asks, turning back to his friend.
"He turned trans. You believe that shit, ese?" 8-Ball chuckles.
Nick stabbed the dirt with the shovel before looking up in the sky, performing the sign of the cross motion over his body. "Ah, mother of Christ almighty. I've seen everything." Nick chuckles as he performs the cross for dramatic comedy.
"Pendejo." 8-Ball mumbles as he takes a hit from his joint.
Nick continued to bury the ditch full of the dirt and sand until he felt the shovel strike something underneath the dirt and sand. "What's this?" he mumbles as he turns around to the pile of dirt and sand. He sifted through it before finally retrieving what his shovel hit, which was a dinosaur card capsule, buried underneath the soil. "An egg?"
"Cheapest egg I ever seen, holmes." 8-Ball comments before taking another hit from his joint.
The dinosaur egg capsule suddenly broke as two cards fell from it, landing in the ditch below. Nick tossed the egg capsule carelessly before entering the ditch to see what the cards were that fell out. They were both Grass elements, and the dinosaur on the first card was a Camptosaurus. Now, Nick had no idea what this dinosaur was, but one thing he did know was that this was no doubt one of the cards the Grand Master was looking for.
"Hey, give me a second will ya?" Nick asks his friend.
"Sure." 8-Ball replies as he walks away.
Nick meanwhile grabbed out a burner cell phone before dialing a number and placing the phone next to his ear, the other end ringing. Finally, someone answered.
"What?" Jericho's voice was heard on the other end.
"Yo, it's me." Nick says. "I think uh… I think I found what we're all looking for."
*Seven Nation Army Glitch Mob Remix plays…*
I'm gonna fight 'em off
MAX TAYLOR
A seven nation army couldn't hold me back
REX OWEN
They're gonna rip it off
ZOE DRAKE
Takin' their time right behind my back
URSULA, ZANDER, ED, DR. Z
And the message comin' from my eyes
Says, "Leave it alone"
FRANCIS
*beat drop; epic part*
*Terry roars viciously at an opponent; Spiny slams his tail against a pillar, completely obliterating it; Chomp rams through several vehicles with his horns*
Yeah!
*Paris fires out Emerald Garden; Tank smashes through a wall and roars; Ace steps on a muddy puddle and roars into the air*
*the D-Team and the Alpha Gang are standing on mountain side cliff with their chibi dinos standing either on their shoulder or beside them; Francis is shown kneeling down as a chibi Pachycephalosarus stands idly next to him; Max, with a scowl on his face, aims his DinoShot as his hair flows through the wind*
A seven nation army couldn't hold me back!
Dinosaur King: Prehistoric Peril
Yeah!
Onboard the crashed Backland, Max had asked Dr. Z if he could have Chomp 'superized' as the crazed doctor calls it, and to his surprise, Dr. Z was alright with it. "So how do you work this thing?" Max asks the crazed doctor whom was busy with other things.
Other things such as performing an open brain surgery on Ed, and he was fully awake but under a lot of pain killers. Also, Dr. Z has no practice with surgery. "You stick the card in the slot and close the top." Dr. Z replies as he messes around with Ed's brain, smart enough to use gloves. "Then press the red button and it'll do the rest. I Dr. Z-guarantee that your dino will be much stronger than before."
"Will it hurt Chomp?" Max asks the crazed doctor in a worried tone.
"Of course not, numbskull. He's in the card, he won't feel a thing. Now if you don't have any more questions, I'm trying to perform brain surgery here!"
"Should I be awake for this?" Ed asks the doctor, under a lot of pain medicine.
Dr. Ancient suddenly walked into the room with a clipboard in his hands before noticing his colleague. "Dr. Z! What're you doing?!" he yells at the mad doctor in utter shock.
"Ed wanted to go to a hypnotist to try and forget his 12th birthday." Dr. Z begins to explain. "But I told him that hypnotism doesn't work. I tried it. Woke up in an alley with my wallet missing. So I decided to help him by scooping the part of the brain that houses that memory out of his head."
"That's not- That's not how it works you senile old man!" Dr. Ancient continues to yell at Dr. Z.
"Hey! Who's the one with the dinosaur head?! I have gained more knowledge than you have in your whole career just by combining me and the Calamosaurus together. I know what I'm doing!" Dr. Z argues.
"Yeah, but dinosaurs didn't have to perform brain surgery!"
"Ah, whatever. It shouldn't be that hard. Brain surgery isn't actually an exact science."
"Yes! It is! It very much is!" Dr. Ancient retorts. "Worst of all you're getting blood everywhere! You're gonna end up killing Ed!"
"Wouldn't be the first time." Dr. Z mumbles as he sticks a spoon into Ed's brain.
Max opted to ignore the two men bicker as he inserted Chomp's card into the Alpha Superizer, closing the top down before pressing the button. A white flash emitted from the marine before the top suddenly lifted up, revealing Chomp's card underneath with a new look on him. "Alright!" Max exclaims in excitement as he grabs Chomp's new card.
Dr. Z suddenly closed the skin flaps of Ed's head before sewing them shut, dropping a piece of Ed's brain in a small glass jar. "Alright, Ed. Have you finally forgotten about your 12th birthday?" Dr. Z asks the fat man.
"No, but I have no idea how to do common chemistry now." Ed replies in a worrisome tone.
"That's normal." Dr. Z reveals with lidded eyes. "Screw it! It's close enough." Dr. Z dismisses everything before getting off his stool he was using to perform surgery on Ed. "Who knew brain surgery was an exact science?"
"I did! That's what I said!" Dr. Ancient yells at the crazed doctor.
"Balderdash!" Dr. Z yells back as he throws a bloody towel on the floor. "You said no such thing! You'd think I'd remember something as important as that! Plus, who are you anyway?"
Dr. Ancient let out a loud sigh before giving himself a massive facepalm, having to deal with Dr. Z's senile insanity once more like every other day.
"Hey, Dr. Z, do you mind if Rex and Zoe can use this machine too?" Max asks the crazed doctor.
"Huh? Oh, sure kid. Whatever." Dr. Z lazily brushes off, much to Max's excitement.
"Yes! I gotta call Rex and Zoe!" Max exclaims as he runs out of the room.
Ed meanwhile was showing staring up in space, a trance-like expression on his face like he smoked too many doobies. "You alright, Ed?" Dr. Ancient asks the portly man.
"Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out if we have five members of the Alpha Gang or seven now that you hired Frankie." Ed replies, facing the crazed doctor.
"Math." Dr. Z suddenly says. "He forgot how to do common math. I guess I scooped that part of his brain instead. Eh, oh well. Nothing I can do. Now time to dispose of Ed's grotesque gray matter. Terry! Come on out! I have a snack for you!"
THE GRAND MASTER'S NEW SAFE HOUSE - UNKNOWN LOCATION
After his first base got raided and destroyed by both the D-Team and Black Eagle, the Grand Master was forced to retreat to his secondary location, which is currently in an unknown city of an unknown country. Inside said hideout, Jericho marched during his patrol of the safe house, his leather boots clicking on the ground as he passed two of the men he was in charge of. The two waved a friendly hand to Jericho while he nodded his head in return before the three went off on their separate way. The hallway ambience was joined by a new sound that was Jericho's phone, ringing in his pocket. The Australian man quickly grabbed his phone from his pocket and took a look at the caller, groaning in annoyance as he dramatically rolled his eyes.
"I swear, this wanker…" Jericho mumbles before answering his phone. "What?" he asks in an angry tone.
"Yo, it's me." Nick's voice was heard over the phone.
"Yeah, I know it's you. I recognized the area code. What do you want?"
"I think I found one of those dinosaur card things the big man has been wanting."
Jericho silently grew a startled expression in response. "You sure?" he asks him.
"It has a grass symbol on the back. I'm positive."
"Alright. I'll go tell Seth. You just make sure the card doesn't get lost."
Over in Las Vegas, Nick was shown sitting on a baggy leather couch, resting his feet on the table while he was watching television. "Yeah, no. Don't worry. I won't let it out of my sight, dude." Nick replies before setting down his phone on the table after turning on the speaker. "This thing is safe from my hands." he stated as he grabbed his rainbow colored bong as well as a lighter.
"Yeah, forgive me if I don't trust you." Jericho says as Nick lit the bong's bowl before inhaling the smoke inside it, the bubbles popping rapidly inside the base, before taking the bowl out from the bong and inhaling the rest of the smoke. "When it comes to the four of us, I trust you the least because you're just some young thug making stupid mistakes."
Nick blew out a puff of smoke in the air. "Yeah, don't forget who was the one who illegally traveled across multiple countries to get to Costa Rica just so I could get a dinosaur card I never got. Thanks for knocking me out and shoving me in a secret compartment in the plane by the way, asshole."
"Wanker."
"Anyway, consider this card as a replacement I never got. So why don't you come all the way over here to get the card because I ain't leaving Vegas for your ass, yo."
"Alright, already! Like a bloody woman. The mouth doesn't stop."
"Eat my ass, buddy." Nick angrily retorts before lighting his bong once more.
"I'll let Seth know and we'll be there eventually. I'll see you then… wanker."
With that, the Australian hung up while Nick blew out another puff of smoke into the air. "What a dick." he mumbles.
"Yo, Doc!" shouts 8-Ball's voice from outside. "Come out here. You're gonna wanna see this."
Nick quickly up and exited the house, heading out into the backyard where 8-Ball was shown digging a small hole. "Wassup, 8-Ball?" Nick asks as he enters the backyard.
"Yo, check out what I just dug up, holmes." 8-Ball replies, pointing to the small hole he made. "I forgot I buried some kush about three weeks ago so the DEA wouldn't find them. You think they're still good?"
"I dunno. Check, man." Nick replies.
8-Ball grabbed a baggy filled all the way with marijuana, opening the pack and taking a quick smell, growing a disgusted expression on his face. "Aw, man. These gone bad, bro." 8-Ball says in a disgusted tone.
"Great. You wasted at least an ounce of dope, 8-Ball. Nice one." Nick mocks his friend.
"Yeah, how 'bout you have a whiff, ese!" 8-Ball exclaims as he waves the bag in front of Nick's nose.
Nick, of course, took one smell from it and reacted in disgust. "Yo, get that thing away from me, man!" he exclaims as he pushes the bag out of 8-Ball's hand.
Unfortunately, when he did, not only did he knock the open bag back into the hole, he had also accidentally dropped the Camptosaurus card and it's move card as well. The two cards landed on top of 8-Ball's old weed buds, which surprisingly activated the cards as the two quickly emitted a green glare, momentarily blinding the two men as a full grown Camptosaurus suddenly stood in the hole, knocking the two men away. The Camptosaurus roared out in surprise while Nick and 8-Ball screamed in utter horror, quickly running back into the house while the Camptosaurus began to examine it's surroundings.
"Wat da fuck is that, holmes?!" 8-Ball frantically asks his friend.
"It's a dinosaur!" Nick loudly reveals.
"Aren't those extinct?!"
The Camptosaurus suddenly burst through the wooden gate, heading out into the next yard before heading to the street behind 8-Ball's house, the sounds of screams and cars honking followed by tire screeches were heard shortly afterwards. Nick and 8-Ball just watched as the scene unfold, safely behind 8-Ball's sliding glass door, the two meeting each other in a glance shortly afterwards.
"What the fuck was in that weed, man?" 8-Ball asks his friend, whom in return continued to gawk shockingly at the spot where the dinosaur appeared.
"So tell me again why Dr. Z hired you?" Rex asked Francis after arriving at the Backland.
Max had called both Rex and Zoe about the Alpha Superizer and within the next twenty minutes, they arrived where coincidentally the rest of the Alpha Gang showed up, along with their new recruit.
"We have a deal going. I do this for him and in return he… uh, ya know. He just does his part." Francis vaguely answers, as if he didn't want to reveal that information.
"Huh?" Rex asks with a raised brow.
Down below, Spiny was sniffing Ace's butt, much to the chagrin of the chibi Carnotaurus, whom growled at the Spinosaurus. Paris suddenly came from behind and chomped down on Spiny's neck before dragging him away like a mother taking her puppy.
"It's best if you just leave it as that." Francis tells the blonde.
"Okay?"
"How are you liking it so far, Francis?" Zoe asks her crush with a smile.
Francis smiled back. "It's pretty… unique. I mean, I can get used to it." he replies.
"Good luck dealing with Dr. Z." Zoe giggles as she flirts with him.
Off to the side where the Alpha Superizer was, Max was shown growling at this sight, brimming with jealousy. "Who said my name?! I want answers, now!" Dr. Z and Bartholomew loudly yell as they peak their head from behind a corner.
"There's our fearless leader!" the Alpha Trio cheer simultaneously.
"Quiet down, you dimwits!" the old doctor yells back.
"Okay…" the trio sadly replied as they hung their heads low.
Dr. Z suddenly turned to Max. "Hey, kid." he says to him. "You almost done with my Alpha Superizer yet? Because I need it to upgrade Frankie's Pachycephalosaurus!"
"His name is Pachy." Francis states to remind the doctor.
"Whatever. You know what I mean. That dinosaur was created by fusing it with a move card, making it super powerful! One of my best creations yet! So imagine just how powerful he would be if we Superized him! Nyahahahahahahahaha!" Dr. Z maniacally laughs out loud.
"Naw, I'm good." Francis declines the offer.
"WHAAAAAAAT?!" Dr. Z loudly yells in utter shock. "How could you decline this offer?! It's a one of a kind!"
"I dunno. I just think Pachy's fine the way he is. Ain't that right, Pachy?" Francis asks the chibi Pachycephalosaurus below him.
In response, Pachy head butted Francis right in the gut, causing him to yelp in pain and fall to his knees, grabbing his gut in major discomfort.
"I think he punctured something." Francis wheezes out.
"Yeah, give me a second, Dr. Z." Max says to the crazed doctor. "Zoe! Rex! Hurry up!"
"We're coming Max. Hold your horses." Zoe annoying grumbles as she and Rex approach Max.
The two turned their dinosaurs into cards before handing them to Max, whom grabbed Zoe's card first. He placed it in the little slot where the card went and turned the machine on, a white low emitting from the slot before a DING! went off, indicating it was done. Max repeated this process with Rex, handing back their cards afterwards. The two didn't get a chance to even summon their dinosaurs back into their chibi forms as a hologram of the map of USA appeared in the middle of the room, a blinking green dot near the bottom of Nevada.
"A new dinosaur?" Zoe wonders aloud.
"Looks like it's in Las Vegas." Rex identifies.
"Perfect!" Dr. Z loudly yells. "Alpha Gang! Line up! You have a new mission!"
In a flash and in the blink of an eye, the four Alpha Gang members lined up and saluted their leader, Francis including. "Alpha Gang reporting for duty, doctor!" they simultaneously exclaim.
"Wow. He did get used to it." Rex comments on Francis's quick transiting into an Alpha Grunt.
"You four are going to Las Vegas to get that dinosaur! And don't gamble all your money away! If you do, I'll have Terry eat you for lunch! And he hasn't had a decent meal in weeks!"
Just by hearing the threat, the four recoiled in fear before going into a panic as they were trying to calm down and reassure Dr. Z. "No worries, doctor! We'll get it!" Ursula nervously states to her superior.
"Yeah, you can count on us!" Zander adds.
"We'll come back with a new dinosaur card!" Ed as well.
"We won't even have medical bills as well as a bonus!" Francis finalizes.
Dr. Z turned around with an exhausted expression on his face. "Good grief. Now I have to deal with four idiots. Hooray for me." he sarcastically mumbles.
"Quick! To the hangar!" Ursula exclaims as she points to the exit. "Viva Las Vegas!" the four cheered at once before zooming out of the room.
"I can't believe the five of us are going to Vegas!" Ed excitedly exclaims. "Hopefully we won't run into our doppelgängers."
The other three of the new quartet just gave Ed odd looks in response.
"Huh?"
"Five?"
"JUST GET TO IT!" Dr. Z yells at the four.
"Yes, doctor!" the four quickly complied before just as quickly leaving the room.
Dr. Z suddenly turned to the three kids whom were just staring at him. "What're you guys still doing here?" he asks them.
"We don't work for you." Zoe reminds the old man.
"Just leave!"
"We don't feel like it." Max smugly replies with a smart ass grin.
Bartholomew suddenly took control and roared directly into Max's face, spitting out saliva and any remnants of his last meal while blowing hot air directly into his face, blowing his wind back. The roar itself sounded like it came from a monstrous creature from the deepest parts of hell, being sent from the devil himself. After Bartholomew finished roaring, a saliva covered and fear ridden Max shook in place before obliging Dr. Z's orders.
"Y-Yes, sir. We're leaving right now." Max nervously stammers as he, Rex and Zoe - whom were also just as fear ridden - started to walk away.
"Have a good day, doctor!" Zoe yells out just for safety measures.
Dr. Z watched as the three kids quickly left the premises before turning around with a smug grin. "Oh, I love this dino head." he proudly says to himself.
"Your sentiments cannot be returned." Bartholomew replies to his second half. "Put a sock in it, big mouth."
The D-Team eventually made their way to the D-Lab while the Alpha Gang opted to use their own transportation, where Reese had just finished punching in the coordinates. Beside her was Dr. Ancient and Mr. Mills as well, both overseeing the process. "Hi, dad. Hey Mr. Mills." Rex greets the two.
"Nice to see you, son. A good change of sanity and face is just what I needed today." Dr. Ancient tiredly mumbles.
"You guys are heading to Las Vegas, Nevada." Reese informs the three.
"Wait, hold on." Dr. Ancient suddenly speaks. "Don't we know someone in Vegas?"
"Yeah, that Nick Roscoe guy you mentioned before." Max reminds the doctor.
"Name's Nicholas Roscoe. Did 7 out of 10 years at Southern Desert Correctional Facility."
"Oh yeah, I remember now." Dr. Ancient says.
"I know Nick." Mr. Mills reveals. "Back when I used to work for the Grand Master, I used to see Nick along with three other guys. Jericho, Él Matacho, and Ungaro."
"We call them the Four Horsemen." Max reveals with a proud smile.
"Well I call them by different names." Mr. Mills replies before listing the names with his fingers. "Jericho: the Grand Commander. The Grand Master calls his team the Grand Army. Ungaro: the Poacher. Él Matacho: the Smuggler. And finally, Nick Roscoe: the Banker."
"Banker?" Zoe asks with a raised brow.
"Mr. Mills, what do those names mean?" Dr. Ancient asks his assistant.
"It means what they do." he replies. "Jericho is in charge of all those thugs and mercenaries you guys keep dealing with when you get too close to the Grand Master. Just blue collared grunts with guns. Ungaro is in charge of capturing any dinosaurs found in the world. Though his track record still remains at 0 thanks to you guys."
"You're welcome." Max proudly and smugly replies with just as proud and smug grin.
"Él Matacho smuggles in a bunch of rocks along with guns and ammunition for the army. I don't know what the rocks are for though. Sorry." Mr. Mills apologizes.
"No need to apologize, Mr. Mills." Dr. Ancient reassures the man.
"And lastly, Nick is the Banker, meaning he provides the funding of the Grand Master's operations." Mr. Mills finishes.
"How does he do that?" Zoe asks the man.
"By selling drugs."
"Ah."
"You guys better hurry since if that Roscoe guy is in Vegas, he could easily give it to the Grand Master." Reese warns the three.
"Right! Let's go!" Max exclaims as the three run to the teleporter.
When they did, they all pressed the button and teleported out of the D-Lab. "Hope they come back safe." Mr. Mills says aloud.
High above the Pacific Ocean was an Alpha Jet, flown by Zander and Ed while Ursula and Francis sat in the backseat, the greenette filing her nails while Francis watched Twitter videos, quickly swiping up to every new video every few seconds like he was changing the channel.
"Happy 4/20 everyone! This is the Top 13 Stoners of Friday the 13th!"
"What are thoooooooooooooose?"
"Daaaaaaaaaamn, Daniel!"
"Wooooooaaaaaaah! Yankee with no brim!"
"FOOKIN' RAW-"
"How long does it take to fly from Tokyo to Las Vegas?" Francis asks the team.
"I dunno. Couple hours maybe?" Ursula randomly guesses.
"Try 16." Zander mumbles.
"So if it takes 16 hours to fly across the ocean…" Francis then looked out the window to see that they were flying over Santa Monica beach. "then how are we already flying over the beach?"
"Honestly, we have no idea." Ursula replies.
"Yeah, we just kinda go with the flow by now." Zander adds.
"Anything else I should be worried about?" Francis asks the four.
"Well usually Dr. Z's vehicles just crash and burn." Ed asks in a gleeful tone.
Francis however couldn't return the tone. "Oh." he says in a scared tone.
"Look on the bright side, Frankie. We're going to Vegas where you can get rich!" Zander exclaims as he tries to brighten the mood.
"Like that'll ever happen." Ursula begs to differ. "I know you're a gambling addict and all Zander but that doesn't mean you shouldn't drag us into it."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Ed asks her in an angry tone. "You gambled the clothes right off our body when we went to Monaco, remember? If anything, you're the original addict!"
"And we all know the original is the worst because that means they'll just infect other people, like Zander." Francis suddenly asks before glaring at Ursula. "Who's next, Ursula? Are me and Ed next, hmm?"
Ursula sunk in her chair.
"Yeah! Tell us Ursula!" Ed yells at her as he looks back.
She sunk some more.
"I can't believe I got my addiction from you!" Zander exclaims angrily as he too looks behind.
Something that Ursula immediately noticed as a terrified expression took over her face. "And I can't believe you took your eyes off the sky! Look out!" she yells as she points behind them.
The three of them turned around to see that they were flying directly towards a commercial airliner. "AAAAAAAAH!" the three scream as Ed and Zander both swerved out of the way just in time.
"Phew." the quartet all blew a massive sigh of relief. "Look on the bright side. At least we're still in one piece!" Ed exclaims in enthusiasm to try and brighten the mood.
Unfortunately for him, something landed on the Alpha Jet's hood, that something being the corpse of a man who had just been shot. "AAAAAH!" they all scream once more. "Who's dropping bodies?!" Ursula loudly asks.
"God is mad! He hasn't forgiven our sins!" Zander cries out.
"What do we do?!" Francis yells in panic.
"We have to confess our sins to make him stop dropping bodies!" Ed loudly suggests.
"Wait, I don't remember that in the bible." Francis suddenly points out, seizing the terror.
Unfortunately for the four of them, the body got blown into one of the engines, completely destroying it as smoke and fire came from the Alpha Jet now. "Here's our crash and burn, right Eddie?!" Francis yells in horror at the fat man.
"Maybe I should keep my mouth shut!" Ed loudly suggests to himself.
"We'd all appreciate that!" the other three simultaneously shout as the Alpha Jet was shown crashing down towards the small neighborhood below, where it soon made contact.
The D-Kids had finally teleported in the middle of a neighborhood in Las Vegas, immediately taking in the surroundings. Almost instantly they knew that a dinosaur was here, evident by a crashed vehicle that struck a slight pole with its driver getting in an argument with another man. There were numerous people outside, taking photos and videos of the chaos as turned over or crashed cars littered the street. Most of the residents also looked to be young thugs and gangsters, most of them being African-American covered in tattoos and unkempt clothing.
"Oh yeah. There's a dinosaur here." Max confirms upon seeing the sight.
"Well I say we don't go anywhere near those guys. They look like gang members." Rex suggests as the three back up behind a house.
"Yeah. Good idea." Zoe agrees as they hide behind the house.
"So where should we start?" Max asks aloud.
"Well, first off I think we should keep our dinos in their cards for now. Best to be safe from those guys." Rex suggests.
"Then what?" the brunet asks.
"We try to find that dinosaur." Zoe says. "Hopefully when Francis and the others show up, we'll get a better chance at finding it. Remember, Nick is here so don't let him spot you at all, got it?"
"Right." Max and Rex agree.
At that moment, the sounds of a helicopter flying in the distance was heard, prompting the three teens to look up. Just in time to see a helicopter flying right over them, casting a huge shadow on them. "Is that Black Eagle?" Max asks aloud.
"That didn't look military." Rex replies.
"It must be one of the other Horsemen sent by the Grand Master." Zoe theorizes. "That means Nick already found the dinosaur. Not good."
"Wait, that doesn't make sense." Rex suddenly says. "How does the Grand Master know about the dinosaur so fast? They can't teleport so they've probably been flying in that helicopter for several hours now."
"So- So what're you saying?" the pinkette asks her friend.
"I don't know." Rex reveals. "The only logical explanation is if Nick found the card and called it in before it somehow turned into a dinosaur. But even then that's a stretch."
"Have you considered the possibility that the helicopter wasn't one of the Grand Master's and instead could just be some random helicopter that has nothing to do with any of this?" Max asks his blonde friend with an annoyed look.
Rex immediately felt embarrassed at that moment, realizing his friend had a point. "Oh yeah." he sheepishly says as he scratches the back of his head.
Zoe placed her goggles over her head and zoomed towards the helicopter, spying Jericho and Gabbro sitting next to each other. "Bad news. That's Jericho and Gabbro in that helicopter." she tells the two of them.
"Oh great. The Space Pirates?" Max asks in an annoyed tone.
"Wait, can't they fly? Why are they riding a helicopter?" Rex wonders aloud.
"Maybe they're giving their wings a rest?" Zoe theorizes albeit not seriously.
Meanwhile in the helicopter, Jericho and the Space Pirates silently sat together as they were currently flying towards their destination. "I want to get done with this as fast as possible, mates." Jericho tells the pirates on board.
"Yeah, I'm already boiling from the heat. How hot is it here anyway?" Foolscap complains from the other side of the helicopter.
"It's only 59 out here, you wuss." Shear insults her companion with an annoyed expression on her face. "I just don't understand why we can't fly there. I mean, we have wings."
"Need I remind you that the Grand Master's reach is far?" Jericho asks the trio. "He can reach you in places you thought he could never reach!" The trio shuddered in disgust. "Even in your own heads." Their disgusted expressions soon turned to confusion. "I've seen what the Grand Master can do… and it ain't pretty. He's like the devil, except worse. He can warp your mind, control you, do all kinds of screwy voodoo stuff… He can make your nightmares into a living reality. After all…" Jericho then turned to the trio. "if what he says it's true, then he's the reason why there's only three of you."
The Pirates refused to look at Jericho, because they didn't want him to know how scared they were because of how right he was.
"That's why you're comin' with us. He doesn't want to chance you guys flying with your tails tucked, you flyin' space wankers." Jericho finishes with an evil smirk.
The Space Pirates said nothing back in turn, not wanting to make him mad and hypothetically get punished by the Grand Master itself. Before anyone else could say anything, the helicopter started to decrease its elevation before landing in a cul-de-sac-like area filled with low income houses. A few houses behind were the D-Kids, having secretly followed them from below on the streets.
The kids snuck their way to one of the nearest houses in the dead end street, spying Jericho marching his way towards a house with the Space Pirates hovering in tow. Rex motioned his head to the others for them to follow him as he quickly hopped the backyard fence of a house. The other two followed him as they hopped two more fences before arriving at the house where Jericho had walked into. They sat below the open window of the house where Jericho had just met with Nick, the Space Pirates behind the Australian.
"'Ello, Nicky." Jericho greets the young man.
"Yo." Nick replies in a hesitant tone.
"I didn't fly across the world just to have a nice chat with you, Roscoe. Where's the card?"
"Well, you see, funny thing is-"
"You seriously won't believe it, holmes. It turned into a dinosaur!" 8-Ball's voice was heard, at first confusing the D-Kids.
"Nick, who the hell is this, wanker?" Jericho asks the young man.
"Yo, he's cool, alright? This is 8-Ball, best weed dealer you can ever find." Nick replies as he protects his friend.
"I got a bowl loaded up, you guys wanna hit?" 8-Ball asks.
"I am a little bit hungry." Gabbro says as he flies into the room innocently.
Foolscap and Shear immediately followed him as they immediately knew what the Mexican man was talking about. "Gabbro, no!" Shear calls out.
"That's not the type of bowl you think!" Foolscap warns the big alien as they too enter the room with 8-Ball following suit.
As 8-Ball and the Space Pirates left the room, silence loomed over between the two Horsemen, with Nick nervously scratching the back of his head. "Look, uuuuh…" he hesitantly begins. "I swear, I had it as a card, Jericho. I have no idea how it turned into a dinosaur. I swear on my gramma's grave."
"Nevermind that. Where is it?" the Australian asks.
"Halfway to the Golden Nugget? I don't know, man." Nick replies in a slightly panicked tone.
"If the Grand Master hears about this-"
"Forget the Grand Master, dude!" Nick yells at him. "You're starting to sound like Seth! I told you, I don't know! Try looking over the city with your helicopter. I'm sure you can spot it from the sky."
Jericho sighs in annoyance, both at Nick and because he was right. "I should've brought Ungaro along." he angrily mumbles to himself.
"Hey, look, since you're here I need to ask you something." Nick suddenly says. "Seth keeps talking about 'big plans' coming up and he said he'd talk more about it at the next meeting." The D-Kids perked up once they heard this. "When is it?"
"I can't tell ya." Jericho instantly replies, glancing the other way.
"C'mon, what?" Nick could be heard exclaiming. "Why not?"
"I just can't."
"You don't have an idea, do you?'
"So what if I don't?"
"Look, you and I both know we didn't sign up to be the Grand Master's slaves. We were pretty much forced to when Seth came by with that dinosaur of his. Sayin' if we don't join in, it'll eat us." Nick reminds the man.
"I'm only in it for personal reasons, and I ain't about to lose it by ruining my part so what the Grand Master says, goes. You got it?" Jericho firmly replies in a hostile tone.
"That still doesn't explain why you can't tell me when the next meet is." Nick responds.
"Because even if I knew, I was told to keep my mouth shut by the Grand Master himself. And I don't plan on disobeying his orders and ruining me chances at revenge, ya see?"
Nick just waved a dismissive hand in front of his face in response. "Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Whatever." he rudely replies. "Just get the dinosaur, alright? Do what you have to do, just don't get me involved, alright?"
Jericho glared at the young man for a brief before scoffing, nodding his head before calling out his passengers. "Pirates! Let's go!" he calls out.
In the next room over, Foolscap was shown taking a massive hit from a bong before blowing out the smoke, his eyeballs pink as he laid back in his chair. On the couch was 8-Ball and Gabbro while Shear was on the other chair, slouched inside it as she ate from a bag of Cheese Puffs. The entire room was pretty much hotboxed with diluted THC smoke filling up the room.
"They never had this on our planet." Foolscap says in a laid back tone.
"For real? Where'd you come from anyway?" 8-Ball asks the alien.
"We came from, like, this totally wicked planet but it soon became, like, taken over by the foliage so we had to move to one of our many moons." Shear answered. "So, like, 12 moons and those 12 moons combined would be bigger than our actual planet so it was like a major win for us. Anyway, uh, so yeah the plants took over and we lived on the moons now."
"Aw, that's rad. What's your planet and moons called?" 8-Ball asks.
"Our planet is called X'Terria and our 12 moons are called Ishlandur, Dragsooth, Malak, Berylsythe, Icklemar, Penagar, Angtor, Zygoren, Bissthalan, Hydrax, Perisher, and Fayveer."
"Woooooah. That's rad." 8-Ball says in a mellow tone.
"Ugh. I don't feel too good." Gabbro says as he holds back some vomit.
"Ha haaaaa. Gabbro's gonna green out." Foolscap lazily laughs at him.
"I'm smoking weed with three aliens in my living room… I'm livin' with my kind, holmes. Heh heh." 8-Ball giggles during his stoned trance.
"Oi!" Jericho shouts as he pops his head into the room. "Quick blowing smoke ya druggies and get your three asses in the chopper so we can find this fossil!"
"Alright, man. Whatever you say." Shear responds in a laid back tone as she and the other two get up from their seats.
"It's been real, yo. Stop by anytime.' 8-Balls says to the Pirates as they leave the room.
"Oooooooooof this is… this is so new." Foolscap mumbles as tries to ride out the high.
The D-Kids peeked out from behind the wall to see the three Space Pirates and Jericho heading into a helicopter, which quickly took while Nick and 8-Ball stood on the porch. The former of the two suddenly approached a beat up subcompact car. "Where are you going?" 8-Ball asks his friend, whom got in the car.
"To see Big Bear. He needed to see me later today to help him with something." Nick replies as he steps into his car.
"With what?"
Nick closed the door but stuck his head out the open window. "I stopped asking what Big Bear needs to do a long time ago. I'll see you later, 8-Ball!" With that, Nick turned on the car and drove out of the driveway, driving the opposite direction where Jericho flew.
"Let's follow the helicopter. It'll find the dinosaur quicker." Max suggests to his friends.
"Right." the two of them say before doing said task.
They quickly got on top of some conveniently placed bicycles and just as quickly rode them out into the street to follow the helicopter.
The Alpha Gang's crash landing could be seen spouting smoke from it as if carelessly laid in a small park in the neighborhood they were in. The four members were currently walking down the street with Zander using his Alpha Scanner to try and find the dinosaur, a harder task to be done than said.
"Come on out, dinosaur. We won't hurt you… much." Ursula calls out in hopes of attracting the dinosaur.
"Didn't you scold me one time for doing that back in Montana?" Ed asks the greenette.
"It's okay if I do it." Ursula retorts back. "And anyway, just where is this dinosaur? How hard is it to find a giant prehistoric lizard walking around town?"
"Maybe it's taking a nap somewhere?" Francis asks as he too searches for the dinosaur.
"Oh yeah? Where? In the subway?"
"I don't think a dinosaur could fit in a subway." Ed innocently answers.
"That was sarcasm, Ed."
"Well, wherever this dinosaur is, it's doing a great job at hiding." Zander says as he was having trouble locating it with his Scanner.
"Maybe it can turn invisible? Who knows? Maybe dinosaurs could camouflage like a chameleon." Francis theorizes aloud.
"Somehow I doubt that." Zander replies.
At that moment, the sounds of screaming were heard in front of the quartet, prompting them to look up to see a stampede of screaming people charging towards them. The stampede screamed in terror as they all trampled over the four members, leaving shoe marks all over their bodies as they laid there in pain.
"Ten minutes in Vegas and we've already crashed and been trampled. I don't like these odds." Ursula mumbles in pain.
"Don't put all your chips on black." Francis mumbles as well.
Their painful moment was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a dinosaur roaring, prompting the four to look up in front of them. There, they saw the Camptosaurus running amuck in the middle of the street as people ran away to drive out of the way to avoid it.
"It's a Camptosaurus!" Zander identifies as the four get up on their feet.
"And by the looks of it, it's not doing so well." Ursula comments.
"You wouldn't be too if you suddenly came from the dinosaur age to modern civilization." Ed replies to the greenette.
"Well, what're you waiting for Frankie? Summon a dinosaur and fight that thing already!" Ursula loudly orders the teen, much to his surprise.
Francis gawked at her in response, suddenly being in the spotlight he wasn't prepared for. "A- Wha- Da- Ba- Me?!" he stammers in shock.
"ALPHA SLASH! ROCK N' ROLL, SAICHANIA!"
As soon as Tank was summoned, the sky turned into a rainbow like color as the two dinosaurs roared at each other, with Tank slowly approaching the other herbivore. The Saichania suddenly lunged forward and head butted the Camptosaurus to the ground, crushing an unoccupied car in the process.
"Go, Tank! Go!" the four cheered for their Saichania.
Tank roared out loudly before rapidly swinging her clubbed tail before striking it directly into the Camptosaurus' gut, earning a painful bellow from it. The Camptosaurus backed up a few feet as it panted in fatigue, it's energy already running low just from that clubbed tail attack. In retaliation, the Camptosaurus suddenly tossed a car with its tail towards Tank, which struck her on the side as the car blew up right in front of her face, knocking her to the ground.
"I hope they guy has car insurance." Zander comments.
"I don't think they cover 'dinosaur'." Francis replies.
The battle was suddenly interrupted when the sound of a helicopter overhead was heard, prompting the four to look up in the sky. "Who's that?" Ursula wonders.
Jericho watched the battle from above while inside the helicopter before turning around to face Foolscap. "Alright, bloke. Send your walkin' fossil down there and get that dinosaur." Jericho orders the lanky alien.
Foolscap however was too busy being high off his rocker to even notice that Jericho was talking to him. "Dude," he says in a stoned tone. "all these people look like ants. They're like running to their anthill or somethin'."
"That's kind of weird but cool at the same time." Shear replies in a stoned tone as well.
"I still don't feel good." Gabbro says in a nauseated state.
"Oi! Lanky blue haired drongo! I'm talkin' to ya!" Jericho shouts at the alien.
"Wha?" Foolscap asks, turning to the man.
"I said send out your dinosaur and clobber that thing down there, wanker!"
"Oh yeah. Whoops. Sorry. Lemme just get this thing out aaaaaaaaaand-" Foolscap says as he installs his Elemental Gauntlet.
"Scolosaurus, time to get to work."
The Scolosaurus landed on the ground after falling from the helicopter, shaking the earth while crushing unoccupied cars on the ground, giving out a loud roar to signal its appearance. "Oh great. Now we have the damn Scolosaurus to deal with." Ursula mumbles in annoyance.
"Alright, Rooter. You heard what he said. Go all out on that dinosaur and kick it's ass, you know?" Foolscap orders his Scolosaurus in the same stoned tone.
The Scolosaurus roared in response before charging directly towards the dinosaur fight, where Tank was shown swinging her clubbed tail at the Camptosaurus whom dodged just in time. The hadrosaur sensed something coming from behind and quickly leapt out of the way in the last second, allowing Rooter the Scolosaurus to crash into Tank, knocking the Saichania to the ground.
"Ah! That Scolosaurus is beating up Tank!" Francis yells out in shock.
"Well don't just stand there, Frankie! Do something!" Ursula orders the teen.
"I'll use a move card! Quakesaber!" Francis yells out as he activates the move card.
Tank roared as she glowed purple before a large crystal grew on the tip of her tail, forming a sort of energized sword. "I think I'll use a move card too. Crystal Crusher." Foolscap says as he activates the move card.
Rooter the Scolosaurus glowed purple before large crystals formed on the side of his body before he started charging towards the other ankylosaur with them. Tank slashed her tail against the crystals which emitted sparks from it, both attacks equally powerful to each their own. The two ankylosaurs continued to attack each other with their respective attacks, both not getting anywhere as they were both in a physical stalemate.
"Alright, this is getting old. Have Tank flipped it on it's back or something." Ursula suggests to the teen.
However, Rooter suddenly beat her to the punch when he swung his tail across Tank's legs, knocking her to the ground while ending both attacks. "Too late." Ed mumbles.
Off the side, the Camptosaurus watched as the two dinosaurs fought each other before suddenly getting an idea, an idea which resulted in the Camptosaurus using it's own move card. The hadrosaur glowed green before summoning three Oviraptors that spawned right behind it, all three of them charging towards their opponents. The two ankylosaurus were busy duking it out when they suddenly heard the chirping of the Oviraptors, pausing their fight to face them.
"Hey, where did those seven Oviraptors come from?" Ed questions aloud.
"Sev- Ed, what is wrong with you?" Ursula asks the fat man.
The three Oviraptors suddenly began to shoot glowing oval shaped objects from their mouths, which were actually large dinosaur eggs, the eggs pelting off of the two dinosaurs as the Oviraptors continuously fired more eggs at the two. The three Oviraptors ran away as the Camptosaurus suddenly rushed in and slammed it's tail right against both ankylosaurs, knocking them to the ground once more. The three Oviraptors once again fired more eggs at the two dinosaurs, dealing more damage than the last time which was enough to send the two back into their cards.
"Hey! That thing just used Egg Attack!" Ursula loudly growls in fuming anger.
"I prefer my eggs sunny side up." Ed comments.
"I like mine scrambled with hot sauce." Francis comments as well.
"Don't just stand there! Get Tank's card back!" Ursula orders Zander, whom was standing there not contributing to anything.
"On my way!"
Meanwhile, Foolscap had used a sort of frog tongue-like object with a sticky end to grab Rooter's card, bringing it back up into the helicopter. "Well, that was a bust." he says before looking down. "Woah. I just realized we're flying right now."
"How much pot did you smoke?" Jericho asks the alien in a bewildered expression. The Camptosaurus along with the three Oviraptors suddenly turned around and ran down the street, crushing or jumping over more cars as they fled the scene. "After them, Felipe!" Jericho shouts to the pilot whom immediately turns around, giving chase to the dinosaur.
Zander picked up Tank's card while the other three joined up with him. "That could've gone better." Zander comments as brings back Tank's card.
"So what now?" Ed suddenly asks.
"Maybe we could get a taxi to follow the dinosaur?" Francis suggests.
Ursula suddenly turned to the side where she immediately spotted their answer. "Aha!" she yells while pointing to said answer. "We can use that!" The three men turned to where she was pointing at, which was just a normal Subaru. "I bet that car has a lot of mileage in it's engine!"
"A Subaru? You know that's a lesbian car, right?" Francis says to the woman.
"You got any better suggestions?!" Ursula yells at the teen. "Now come on before we lose that dinosaur!"
"I don't think it's possible to even lose a dinosaur in a city." Zander comments as he and the other two run after Ursula.
Back with the D-Kids, they continued to ride their bicycles down the street in the neighborhood, which was as low income as possible. Every house looked to have been old, one story houses, dead grass or just sand and waist high chain linked fence. Not only were the houses pretty old and poor, but there were also a lot of sketchy looking men, most of them being African descent with either no shirts or covered in tattoos or both. Needless to say, the kids realized they were in a bad neighborhood.
They were in the gangland.
"I don't like how these guys are looking at us." Zoe says to her friends in a nervous tone.
"Just don't pay attention to them, Zoe." Rex replies.
"Don't even make eye contact with them." Max whispers as all eyes were on them now. "Don't look for trouble and you won't get in trouble. Don't even say a word to them. And keep your eyes and ears open. We're in the wild west."
Before they could go any further, a group of gangsters suddenly blocked their path, prompting them to stop. "Wassup, kids." one of the gangsters asks. Another group suddenly came up from behind the three, successfully blocking and cornering them. "Hey, you got like 20 bucks on ya?"
"Uuuh… N-No." Rex nervously replies.
"Whatchu doin' round here. Don't you know this is Snakeback territory?" another gangster asks them.
"We're uh… We're not from around here." Zoe cautiously replies as she and the other two begin to feel threatened.
"You in the Alphabets, fool."
"Hey! Don't call her a fool!" Max yells at the gangster, surprising his friends.
The gangsters however began chuckling at Max's courage. "Ohoooo. Yo, you gonna let him talk to you like that?" one of the gangsters asks his buddy.
The insulted gangster suddenly grew an angry look before suddenly punching the brunet in the face, knocking him off his bike and onto the ground. "Max!" Rex and Zoe call out.
Max hissed in pain as he grabbed his cheek before the same gangster suddenly kicked him in the gut, causing the teen to groan loudly in pain as he grabbed his stomach. "Yeah! You like that?! Huh?! You like that?!" the gangster taunts as he kicks Max once more.
The other gangsters cheered for their colleague as he continued to kick a downed child with no way of defending himself. Everyone was laughing while Rex and Zoe were being held back by the gangsters while Max continued to be assaulted. By now, Max had lost his breath and was now coughing violently, spitting out some blood from his bruised cheek. The gangsters continued to laugh and cheer while the one gangster continued to kick Max on the ground, whom was close to his limit.
"How bout one for the road?" the gangster asks as he was about to punch Max once more.
Before he could, however, someone grabbed the gangster's shoulder and turned him around before a fist suddenly collided with his face, knocking him to the ground. Everyone turned to his attacker to see the Alpha Gang standing behind them, all with furious looks.
"How about you pick on someone your own size, coward?" Ursula grimly asks the man.
"Hey, who's this old lady?" one of the gangsters asks.
A rick mark suddenly appeared on Ursula's temple upon hearing those two words. "You messed up now." Ed smugly says to the gangsters.
"There are two things I don't like." Ursula starts off in a menacing tone. "One: Being called an old lady. Two: Being called an old lady WHEN I'M HAVING A REALLY BAD DAY!"
In the blink of a second, Ursula suddenly unleashed a violent assault on the gangsters, punching them, kicking them, biting them. She even punched one of them in the crotch while kicking another one in the throat, instantly incapacitating those two. In less than five seconds, all the gangsters were on the ground from Ursula's fiery assault, with one gangster crawling away, specifically the gangster that was beating up Max.
"Ed." Ursula suddenly calls out.
"Yeah?" the portly man asks.
"Sit on him."
"Roger that!"
Ed happily skipped his way to the crawling gangster before suddenly sitting on top of him, his weight crushing him as the gangster was literally fighting for air. "Get off! Get off!" he wheezes.
"Sorry. I can't hear you." Ed sarcastically replies as he pretends not to hear the man's words.
"I… can't… breathe!"
Max rubbed his bruised cheek as his body ached all over, no doubt more bruises underneath his clothing, before Ursula suddenly lowered a helping hand, to which Max gladly took. "Thanks." he thanks the greenette.
"Anytime." Ursula happily replies.
"You alright, Max?" Francis asks the teen with a sympathetic look.
In response, Max glanced away with a slight glare on his face. "Why do you care?" he harshly responds.
Francis watched as Max walked away, confused as to why he was suddenly so hostile with him when he was trying to help him. "You guys showed up just in time." Zoe says to the Alpha Gang.
"Yeah, luckily for us we were driving down the street when we saw you." Ed replies.
"Have you guys found the dinosaur yet?" Rex asks them.
"Yeah," Francis replies. "we battled it but then some guy who kinda looked like Goma except he was blue and tall summoned a Scolosaurus and then a bunch of Oviraptors came out and just started shouting eggs at us."
"Luckily they weren't hard boiled." Zander comments.
"Foolscap." the D-Kids simultaneously reveal. "Do you know what the dinosaur is?"
"It's a Camptosaurus and we almost had it if it weren't for those Oviraptors!" Ursula loudly growls.
"You mean like that one over there?" Max asks, pointing to a direction.
The two teams turned to where he was pointing where they spotted one of the Oviraptors, pecking at the ground as it caught a small lizard, swallowing it whole afterwards. The Oviraptor suddenly noticed the group staring at it, tilting its head in confusion as it stared back at the group. The group did nothing but stood there in silence until Ed suddenly took a step forward, immediately scaring the Oviraptor as it ran away.
"After it!" Max yells as he and the others chase the raptor.
The Oviraptor jumped on and off several cars as it ran down the street, chirping loudly as the two groups followed. After a while of chasing, they rounded the corner only to be met with the Camptosaurus and the other two Oviraptors. "Aah!" they all yell in surprise.
The Camptosaurus turned around and roared at the humans, startled by their appearance before taking off once more. "It's running away!" Ed cries out loudly.
"We won't be able to catch up to it!" Zoe exclaims.
At that moment, the Subaru that the Alpha Gang was driving before suddenly drove up next to them, with Francis in the front seat. "Get in! Hurry!" he calls out to them as they quickly get inside the car. "Hang onto your butts!" With that said, Francis pressed the gas pedal…
…and went in the complete opposite direction because he accidentally set the car to reverse. While reversing, Francis had accidentally ran over the gangsters Ursula had beat up whom were all lying on the ground. "Oh whoops… Eh, not my first time taking a life." he says before putting the car in drive.
"Wait. What?" Max asks the teen about the last part.
He never got his answer due to Francis flooring it down the street, running over the dead gangster once more as they gave chase to the Camptosaurus.
Jericho's helicopter continued to fly high above the Vegas neighborhood, currently still in search of the dinosaur. "How hard is it to find a bloody walkin' fossil around here?" Jericho asks as he searches for the dinosaur.
"I think that weed is wearing off." Foolscap says in his normal tone.
"I've had better." Shear reveals off hand.
"My stomach feels better too." Gabbro says as he rubs his stomach.
At that moment, the sounds of people screaming from below were heard, prompting the four to look down to see the Camptosaurus and the Oviraptors causing chaos down below, stomping on cars or attacking people.. "There it is!" Jericho shouts as he points to the dinosaur. "Winged she-demon! Summon a dinosaur and this time win!"
"Don't tell me what to do." Shear rudely replies while pulling out the Chasmosaurus card.
"Now it's your turn, Chasmosaurus!"
The Chasmosaurus landed on the ground and roared at its opponents, prompting them to roar back as a battlefield appeared in the sky. Luckily for the two teams they were nearby as Francis swerved the Subaru around the corner before stopping, almost tipping the car over in the process. "Still a better driver than Zoe." Max comments as they leave the vehicle.
"I heard that!" Zoe exclaims.
"I think it's time we get out our own dinosaurs now! Time to see if Dr. Z's Superizer really works." Rex says as he grabs Ace's card.
Max and Zoe mimicked his movements. "Right!" they exclaim.
"DINO SLASH!"
"SHOCK 'EM, TRICERATOPS!"
"BLOSSOM FORTH, PARASAUROLOPHUS!"
"CARNOTAURUS, BLOW THEM AWAY!"
Like with the Alpha Gang's dinosaurs, the D-Team's dinosaurs all had different transformations as well, starting with Chomp. For starters, epic heroic music fit for a fearless warrior protecting his home played in the background as a chibi sized Chomp ran across the ground before leaping high in the air where he was struck by lightning. The lightning only granted him energy as his limbs extended before he grew to his adult size, this time with a brand new color scheme like the Alpha dinos. Chomp was now yellow with black lightning bolt patterns across his hide as well as thick black stripes that went across his frill that formed a kind of star. Chomp landed on the ground now full size and roared in the air as lightning struck down from the sky, signaling his introduction.
With Paris' transformation, she ran across a meadow full of flowers before leaping onto a flower pedal before said pedal engulfed her with it's leaves, starting her transformation sequence. While this was happening, music fit for a goddess who uses her healing energy to heal the wounded of the battlefield played in the background. Inside the bulb, her body transformed into her adult form before she suddenly shot out from the flower in a brand new color scheme. Paris now had a dark green hide with light green stripes all across her body while the tip of her back was yellow and her underbelly was tan. Paris landed on the ground and roared high into the air, ready to heal the wounded and help her friends.
For Ace, he blindly ran towards a raging tornado before he was suddenly picked up by it, music that was fit for a heroic mercenary arriving at the last second to help his friends played in the background. Inside the tornado, Ace spun around rapidly before undergoing his own transformation. The violent wind helped increase his size as his legs had grown to their full size, his yellow horns sprouting to life as well as the many spikes on his back. Ace leaped out of the tornado and landed on the ground, showing off his new color scheme which was light blue with large black stripes around his eyes as well as his underbelly all the way to the sides of his body. Ace let out a loud growl to signal his arrival as he too had joined the fight.
Needless to say, the D-Kids were impressed by their partner's new design. "Awesome!" Max exclaims in awe.
"Paris! You look even more beautiful!" Zoe compliments her dinosaur as she squeals in excitement.
"Looking good, Ace!" Rex says as well.
"Hey! Twerps!" Ursula suddenly yelled. "In case you have forgotten, we have a dinosaur battle to get to! So move it or lose it, ankle biters!"
"Alright, jeez. No need to get pushy." Max says in an annoyed tone. "Chomp! Stop that Chasmosaurus and turn them both into a card!"
"You too Ace!"
"And you too, Paris!"
The three dinosaurs roared in response before charging head first into the battle as more people screamed at the sight of more dinosaurs appearing out of nowhere before running away to safety. The Camptosaurus roared at the Chasmosaurus while the other three dinosaurs arrived, cornering the poor hadrosaur. The Camptosaurus glanced in both directions, realizing that it now had more opponents to deal with, so in response, it glowed green and ordered the Oviraptors to attack everyone once more.
"Look out! It's using Egg Attack!" Ed warns the kids.
"Egg Attack?" Max wonders. He got his answer when the three Oviraptors began firing dozens of large dinosaur eggs towards the enemy dinosaurs, striking the D-Kid's dinosaurs as well as the Chasmosaurus. "Wait, are they hurling their fertilized eggs at us… That's morbid."
"Hey! I lost a leg and that's morbid?!" Ed yells from the side.
"Fair enough." Max agrees.
Shear growled in response. "What're you doing, Dozer?! Don't just stand there! Attack them!" Shear yells to her dinosaur.
In response, the Chasmosaurus, now named Dozer, roared before charging head first towards the Oviraptors and lived to his name as he rammed right through the three like an actual bulldozer. The three Oviraptors went flying in the sky before landing on several cars, smashing them upon impact as the three raptors were turned into a single card. The Camptosaurus roared in response, no longer having a move to attack it's enemies before it was suddenly struck by the Chasmosaurus, knocking it to the ground.
"Chomp! Attack that Chasmosaurus!" Max orders his Triceratops.
Chomp roared in response before charging towards Dozer, whom charged towards him in response, the two getting into a headlock stalemate. "Hey, Gabbro, here's an idea. Help me out!" Shear yells at the red alien.
"No need to get rude with me." Gabbro says in an offended tone as he brings out his Giganotosaurus card.
"I'll just sweep through them all with this! Giganotosaurus!"
Paris and Ace ran towards the Camptosaurus before they were suddenly stopped when Gabbro's Giganotosaurus landed in front of them, giving out a loud, benevolent roar in response, stopping the two in their tracks. Over by the Alpha Gang, Ed quickly hid behind Francis and cowered in fear. "Not him again." he whimpers.
"What's wrong with him?" Francis asks the other two.
"Let's just say that dinosaur is the reason why he has a metal leg." Zander replies.
That was all Francis needed to realize what he meant. "Oh." he says.
Gabbro's Giganotosaurus roared loudly at his opponents as Dozer the Chasmosaurus stood next to him, kicking the dirt like a rhino that was about ready to charge. "Burn them to ashes, Scorch! Flame Fang!" Gabbro shouts as he activates the move card.
Scorch the Giganotosaurus roared loudly as he glowed red before his teeth suddenly became engulfed in fire. The giant dinosaur charged forward and chomped down onto Paris back before unleashing a fiery blast of flames from his mouth that quickly set Paris ablaze.
"Paris!" Zoe cries out to her partner.
"Now it's my turn! Storm Thrust!" Shear exclaims as she activates a move card.
Dozer the Chasmosaurus glowed yellow before leaping high in the sky where thunderclouds formed above. In the clouds, Dozer was suddenly struck by lightning which embedded him with massive energy as he came crashing down as he landed directly on top of Ace, shocking him in his place.
"Go! Gatling Spark!"
Lightning struck down from the sky as two bolts struck Chomp, energizing him as he ran towards Dozer, striking him with his electrified horns before repeatedly and rapidly striking him over and over again in less than a second before finally headbutting him away. Dozer was sent flying as he crashed into a fuel tank truck, completely destroying it as an explosion was set off, sending a massive shockwave that instantly set off numerous car alarms. At that moment, Scorch the Giganotosaurus came from behind the flames, standing on top of the rubble completely unaffected by the fire before charging towards his enemies.
"Mayfly!"
Ace glowed white before stomping his foot on the ground, roaring into the air before charging towards Scorch at breakneck speeds, gaining speed along the way before disappearing right in front of the carnivore. Scorch looked all around to see where his opponent was until he was suddenly pelted from all sides by a speeding Ace in a rapid succession before the Carnotaurus ended his attack.
"Thorn Whip!"
Paris slammed her forelegs on the ground that managed to crack the earth as a large thorny vine emerged from underground where it slapped both Dozer and Scorch in the face, knocking them to the ground. The Camptosaurus backed up once it realized the battle was getting intense and went to turn around, only to be met with the fire from the fuel tanker, cornering it from it's escape.
"Time to end this once and for all!" Gabbro yells as he grabs another move card. "Scorch! Aim at that Camptosaurus! Flare Sword!"
Scorch glowed red before fire was set ablaze in his mouth that quickly took the shape of a trident sword, to which he swung at the herbivore in a mighty force, finally causing the Camptosaurus to return back to it's card. "I'll get that card, thank you!" Foolscap yells as he flies towards the card. Unfortunately for him, Paris had managed to grab his leg and pull him away, stopping him in his tracks. "Hey! Let go of me you dumb dinosaur!"
"Paris! Throw him back into that helicopter!" Zoe orders her dinosaur.
"Uh oh." Foolscap says before he was suddenly flung towards the chopper by Paris. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Foolscap crashed directly into the underneath of the chopper, knocking it a bit as it was thrown off course for a while, prompting the pilot to fight back for control of the air vehicle. "What the bloody blazes was that?!" Jericho asks as he hangs on for dear life.
"Alright, Chomp! Let's finish this! Electric Charge!"
Lightning struck Chomp from above, granting him energy as he roared loudly at his opponents before galloping towards them, forming a ball of electricity in between his horns which he used to strike both Dozer and Scorch at the same time. The two dinosaurs shook as they were electrocuted from the attack before they were sent flying towards the helicopter.
"LOOK OUT!" Shear yells as she points to the two dinosaurs.
But it was too late, the two dinosaurs crashed into the helicopter which caused it to lose any control it had as it crashed towards the ground. Jericho managed to turn on his temporary invincibility forcefield and leaped out of the helicopter in time as the Space Pirates flew out to avoid the crash. The helicopter crash landed on the ground and exploded upon impact as both Dozer and Scorch were turned to their cards. The battlefield disappeared as the D-Team's dinosaurs roared in triumph as well as the two teams, whom all high fived each other.
"Aw yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Max cheers loudly.
"Victory! Victory! Victory! Victory!" the Alpha Gang cheered as well.
Unbeknownst to them however, while they were celebrating their victory, a man suddenly came out from behind a crushed car where he was hiding, watching the three dinosaurs roar in triumph in the sky. He suddenly looked down to see both the Camptosaurus card and the Egg Attack move card lying on the ground, to which he picked them up and quickly examined them. "This should give me enough money for some dope." he mumbles to himself before running away.
The drug addict ran away, going unnoticed by the two teams aside from one member. "Uh, guys." Francis says, trying to stop the celebration.
"Not now, Frankie! I'm sure whatever you have to say isn't as important as my victory." Max egotistically says to the teen.
"Even if it's to tell you that some guy is running away with the dinosaur card?" Francis asks, pointing to the man.
"Huh?" The two teams turned to see the drug addict running down the street with the Camptosaurus card in his hand. "He- Hey! He's stealing that card! A- After him!" Ed yells in a panicked state.
"Aw man." Max depressingly says as he and the other two return their partners into cards. "And I was enjoying this victory as well."
The two teams quickly gave chase and ran down the street, passing by Gabbro and Shear whom picked up their partners' cards as well. "Well, we tried our best." Gabbro says as he tries to remain optimistic.
Jericho suddenly landed next to him. "Too bad it ain't enough for the Grand Master unless we have that card." he says. "Let's head back before we get in any more trouble."
Jericho suddenly twisted his watch-like device and pushed a button, quickly teleporting out of the area as the Space Pirates did the same, leaving Vegas for good.
The two teams eventually followed the drug addict to his homestead, quickly figuring out which house was his as they saw him enter it as they rounded the corner. Rex knocked on the door and the two teams waited for a brief moment before the door cracked open, revealing the drug addict behind peering through the crack.
"Who are you?" he asks them.
"We're the owners of the cards you stole." Ursula angrily answers with a scowl.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have any cards." the drug addict lies through his teeth before closing the door.
Unfortunately for him, Zoe placed her shoe in between the door, stopping it from closing. "We saw you take it." she tells him in a stern voice. "Now give us the card or we'll have to do this the hard way."
"Fuck off. I ain't scared of you guys." the drug addict rudely replies.
"Alright, have it your own way." Zoe shrugs before turning to Ursula. "Send out Terry."
"With pleasure." Ursula says as she grabs her scanner.
"Who's Terry?" the drug addict replies. He got his answer when the red Tyrannosaurus suddenly spawned in front of him, roaring directly into his face while covering it with spit. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he screams in utter terror. "OKAY! OKAY! I'LL GIVE YOU THE CARDS! JUST DON'T LET THAT THING EAT ME!"
Ursula then returned Terry back into his card as the two teams barged inside the addict's house, which was surprisingly clean compared to most crackhouses. "Should've just given us the cards. Where are they?" Ursula asks.
"They're uh… They're in the basement. In the old dresser. Top drawer." the addict nervously replies, pointing to the door.
"Of course." Max mumbles in annoyance as they head down into the basement.
The two teams entered the dark basement with Max using his visor's horns to light up the room where they saw the old dresser the drug addict was talking about. Rex opened the top drawer and sure enough, the Camptosaurus and the Egg Attack cards were right there along with old heavily used meth pipes.
"Eugh." Zoe says in disgust as Rex grabs the cards.
"Alright, let's get out of here. I don't want to be here any longer than I should be." Max says as he feels a wave of uncomfortable energy flow through his body.
At that moment, loud knocks were heard from the front door upstairs, momentarily stopping the teams from exiting the basement. Although they couldn't see what was going on, they heard the addict walk to the door before opening it.
"Big Bear? What're you-"
The drug addict's words were suddenly cut off when the sound of someone getting punched was heard followed by someone falling to the floor. "Search everywhere!" a voice presumably owned by Big Bear tells as a second person enters the house.
Then, all hell broke loose. The two teams had no idea what was going on up there until they started hearing the sounds of stuff being thrown around or shredded. Furniture was heard being smashed, glass shattering, cushions being torn. This was followed by the sounds of painful grunting coming from the drug addict as well as the sounds of bones breaking or snapping. With each strike, the two teams flinched when they realized the addict was being brutally beaten while the second person trashed the house.
"Where is it?" the first voice asks.
More furniture could be heard being smashed until the second person could be heard moving into another room where the sounds of dishes being shattered were heard afterwards. Wood was heard breaking as more glass shattered upstairs as the two teams just stood in the darkness of the basement in silence, not wanting to reveal that they were hearing all this. The sounds of more bones snapping were heard as the drug addict yelled in pain.
"Where is it?! WHERE IS IT?!" the first voice yells as he continues to brutally beat the addict up.
The sound of a TV falling and the screen shattering were heard followed by the sound of the oven opening before finally the sounds of the house getting trashed momentarily stopped. "It's not here!" shouts Nick's voice, revealing that he was the second person. A moment passed as more furniture being knocked over as well as glass shattering were heard afterwards. Then, the sound of a gun cocking was heard, instantly making the two team's blood run cold.
"You junkies are all the same." the first voice could be heard upstairs.
*BANG!*
A single loud gunshot was heard as the entire house went silent, the two teams daring to not move a muscle as they didn't want to end up as the next victims. For a while, silence loomed over the house until the sounds of people walking and exiting said house were heard followed by the sounds of a car engine starting up. The engine slowly grew quieter and quieter until it wasn't heard anymore, indicating that the car drove off. The two teams glanced to each other before slowly walking up the basement stairs, reentering the main part of the house to see what the damage was.
When they did, they saw the entire house trashed. Furniture turned over, broken dishes and books all over the floor, torn up cushions with foam everywhere. Even the speakers were taken apart. But the focal point of the mess was the drug addict's dead body lying in the middle of the floor with a bullet hole in his forehead. His face was heavily bruised and had a broken nose as well as broken knee caps, indicating someone had stomped on them. The Alpha Gang gawked horribly at the sight while the D-Kids turned away to avoid looking at the body. This was the most brutal thing they have ever seen ever since they found that dead body in the body bag in the Backland after it was stolen.
"Let's get out of here." Rex grimly says as he leaves the house.
The Alpha Gang turned around and followed Rex shortly afterwards, as did Zoe. The only one who stayed behind was Max, whom couldn't take his eyes off of the trashed place as well as the dead body in front of him. Francis came back into the house and tapped Max's shoulder, grabbing his attention.
"Max." he says, prompting the brunet to turn to him. "Let's go. You don't want this in your life… Trust me."
Max glanced back at the body before turning away, this time leaving only Francis behind alone in the house. Unlike the others, Francis had gotten used to seeing dead bodies who have died in brutal ways, even by his own hands. But he had to admit, this was brutal even for the Russian Mafia's standards. Whoever killed this drug addict was looking for something and judging by the thoroughness of the search, they didn't find it.
Taking one last glance at the house, Francis turned around and left.
The two teams eventually made it back home to Sanjo where they immediately gave the Camptosaurus and Egg Attack cards to Dr. Ancient, whom immediately placed it in its locked cabinet. "I assume my Alpha Superizer helped with your mission today?" Dr. Z asks as he tweaks with a piece of machinery.
"I never thought I'd say this but Dr. Z, your machine rocked!" Max exclaims in excitement. "Chomp kicked ASS out there! Isn't that right, Chomp?"
Down below, a chibi sized Chomp in his new color scheme was busy getting dragged across the ground as he had a tight grip on a chibi Tank, whom ran around the room like a headless chicken. "The Grand Master is still looking for the cards, dad. Even after his hideout got raided." Rex tells his father.
"It's true. They came in by helicopter and now they're using the Space Pirates to do their dirty work for them." Zander explains.
Dr. Ancient rubbed his chin as he pondered on the new information. "It seems that the Grand Master is even more persistent than I originally thought." he says. "Even with his base gone, he still wants these cards for some reason. Mr. Mills, do you perhaps know why he wants these cards?"
Mr. Mills shook his head in response. "I don't have a clue." he replies. "I was only the lab technician of the group. Sensitive information was never passed along to me. The only person who I think knows what the Grand Master's Grand Scheme is is Seth. His right hand man."
"Great." Dr. Ancient mumbles in disappointment.
"Actually, we did hear something about his plans." Zoe reveals, surprising everyone. "When we were in Vegas, we overheard Nick and Jericho talking about 'big plans' coming up. They also mentioned a meeting."
"A meeting?" Zander repeats.
"Did he say where?" Dr. Ancient asks.
Rex shook his head in response. "No, they didn't." he replies. "I don't even think Jericho knows where it's going to be held or when it'll be."
"Ooooooh, that explains it." Mr. Mills suddenly says in realization.
"What? What is it?" Dr. Ancient asks.
"Jericho. Él Matacho. Ungaro. Nick. They NEVER meet up together in person." Mr. Mills explains. "They're always off doing their own separate things. But once every month, the Grand Master sets up a meeting that the Four Horsemen as well as Seth attend. I don't know where but I overheard Seth talking about these meetings. I think that's where they discuss the next part of the Grand Scheme."
"Is it every month?" Rex asks.
"Usually."
"Then our best bet is to somehow infiltrate one of these meetings and spy on them to figure out what they're planning to do." Dr. Ancient suggests.
"Well we can't do anything about it now since we don't have an idea on where or when this meeting is supposed to be held." Ed speaks up.
"I say we cross that bridge when we get there." Dr. Z suggests. "For now we should keep focusing on obtaining more cards so I can become the Dinosaur King- I- I mean uh, stop the Grand Master from doing evil things! Yeah, that's right! I totally meant that! He's lying. He didn't mean that at all. Traitor! I trusted you! That was your first mistake. Your second was granting me sentience."
"Sooner or later, Dr. Z." Dr. Ancient suddenly says, grabbing the mad doctor's attention. "We will find the Grand Master and stop him. And put an end to this once and for all. The Fist. The Grand Master. Both are dangerous enemies on their own and we cannot afford to waste any time… We. Will. Find them." Dr. Ancient uncharacteristically says in a grim tone.
(...i can't really think of anything to say. Nothing witty just that Act 2 of this story is starting to get interesting… Actually, I do have something to say.
SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG IS A BIT-
Act 2 will primarily focus on the D-Team and Alpha Gang [i have yet to think of a single name for those two factions] fighting both the Fist and the Grand Master and stopping their plans rather than obtaining dinosaur cards. That's not to say wild dinosaurs won't appear. They will, just less frequently than Act 1. Like I said, Act 2 will focus on the two teams stopping the two factions' plans on whatever they're planning… I hope everyone is okay with that.
Anyway, that's it for now. See y'all in the next main chapter.
KOKBYE!)