Dinosaur King-Adventures with the Ancients

by HunterHQ

The adventures of the D Team and the day they met with their very first dinosaur, Chomp, was made possible thanks to the efforts of Rex's own parents. Follow as we dive into the prehistoric prologue of Dinosaur King, with the Ancients' adventures in the past and the events that lead up to where the story we all know began.

5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5-Destinies determined

"Ugh!" Cretacia cried out clenching her stomach while gritting her teeth tensely as she tried to endure the throbbing wrenching pain inside her stomach. Jonathan watched nearby waiting to see if he could help her should an emergency happen.

It was then her husband burst into the room panicking, "Cretacia! What's wrong!?" Ancient cried out worried for his wife, assuming it to be food poisoning.

What she said next made his heart skip a beat, "It's the baby sweetheart! I'm afraid it's going to come soon!" She said with a smile despite the pain she was going through.

Ancient couldn't believe his ears at his wife's words, "How soon!?" He exclaimed as his heart raced out of control, being a scientist he prepared for all sorts of risky scenarios in the past but this was one he had no idea how to respond or react.

Cretacia then smiled and replied, "Why….really soon!" She cried out with joy. After all her past events of mood swings, cravings and morning sicknesses it was soon about to be a thing of the past, all her past difficulties would soon be over and be replaced with joyous celebration after enduring and overcoming them at last.

Ancient felt his knees buckle as he fell down to them, almost gasping for air as his heart palpitated overwhelmed with emotion and excitement, "I…I don't believe it…..it's finally time…." Speechless beyond belief he pretty much forgot all his pent up anger at Dr Z and Seth today, now they really had something to celebrate!

Cretacia soon felt a nudge from inside her stomach which Ancient noticed as well, "Did you just feel that big kick!?" Cretacia cheered joyfully as her husband followed in sharing her happiness.

"He's gonna be a football player." Ancient joked, naturally they would never force their son down a certain path, they felt his dream was his to follow and whatever he chooses they would support him to the end, "What do you think we should call him Cretacia?" He then asked.

"Hmm…." Thinking to herself long and hard, she snapped her fingers as she came up with the ideal name perfect for their beloved son, "How about Rex?" She suggested.

Ancient blinked his eyes surprised, "Rex?" At first he wasn't too on board with said name since he felt it was a common name people would call their pet dogs.

She then moved in to take her husband's hand, "Why not? I'd say it fits just fine since we are in the time of the dinosaurs." She smiled hopeful that Ancient would accept it.

"Rex….." As Ancient thought about it long and hard, he soon found it al too fitting as he nodded accepting it wholeheartedly, "It's perfect." He said as he placed a hand upon Cretacia's belly, feeling almost as though the baby's hand was placing his own hand back, as though father and son were bonding for the first time before being born. "And I want to leave a legacy for him one he can grow up in a world among dinosaurs, a world we've helped make for all to enjoy." He said confident more than ever on what he must do and why, for everyone's futures.

"Oh honey…." Cretacia smiled as she hugged him back lovingly.

As the couple embraced their moment once more, Ancient made a firm decision knowing what had to be done, "That settles it, we will have to go home to the future and put our project on temporary hold." As important as their work was their own future mattered just as much as that of the dinosaurs.

Cretacia nodded, "I agree, all that matters now is that our son is born safely." Hopefully there was enough of what they've accomplished to make do, along with a chance to learn from what they've done so far. From said experiences and mistakes so far they can learn to do better next time they recommence this.

"I'll make the announcement right now to the whole crew." said Jonathan knowing what had to be done as he headed over to the intercoms to make an important announcement, one which would no doubt be pleasing to everyone.

(Meanwhile)

"ATTENTION EVERYONE ON BOARD! DR CRETACIA WILL BE GIVING BIRTH TO OUR SON VERY SOON! THEREFORE TO ENSURE HER SAFETY AS WELL AS THAT OF THE BABY WE WILL BE RETURNING BACK TO THE FUTURE SO SHE WILL BE IN THE BEST POSSIBLE CARE! THEREFORE PLEASE GET READY TO THE SAFETY PODS FOR WE WILL BE TAKING OFF WITHIN THE HOUR!"

Upon hearing the announcement made, Rod and Laura's faces brightened up with excitement as they looked to one another.

"You hear that Laura!?"

"Yeah! We can finally go home to see mom and dad!" They cheered together jumping up and down with excitement at long last. They enjoyed their work helping the Ancients and their grandfather with their research and rounding up dinosaurs but after a while it started to feel like work. Now at long last they could go home, a vacation away from their vacation.

"Yippee!"

Unfortunately not all of the crew shared their sentiment. In his lab Seth narrowed his eyes angrily seeing this could throw a wrench into his plans if it continued. For now he'd have to wait for the right opportunity…an opportunity that would come very soon.

Back in his own room Dr Z and his team got word of the announcement too, and while Ursula, Zander and Ed were pumped up and ready to go home at long last, "We are not going to return!" Dr Z yelled out in anger which surprised his assistants at his unexpected statement.

"We're not?" Ursula asked sounding shocked at this. A sentiment shared by Ed and Zander. While they always supported him despite his fanatical ideas and big risks, this time around they were beginning to question him and his sanity for making such a thoughtless decision.

"No! This spells trouble for us! Ancient wants to return to the future just so he can kick me off of the team!" Dr Z grunted as he paced about the room, given the last conversation he had with Dr Ancient he just knew this would be the perfect cover up and opportunity its to get rid of him without a doubt….and if that happened, his dreams and efforts would have been for nothing!

To the trio they wondered if the trouble was meant for them all or just him alone, "Apparently we're not the only ones who find him annoying and distasteful." Zander whispered to his friends.

Unfortunately Dr Z was still within earshot and he took offence immediately, "Excuse me! What was that!?" he growled surprising them.

"WAAH!"

Suddenly he brightened up, "I've got it!" His dark mind soon cooked up a terrible idea that would spell trouble for the entire group, "We can't get back, if the time machine is broken!"

The Trio stared and blinked their eyes with mouths agape, worried about this, there were times before he came up with crackpot ideas that blew up in their faces but this time around…..it truly did worry them.

"Dr Z….you don't actually mean you'll-" Ursula pointed weakly at him, still trying to process his words.

A purely evil grin spread across his face in response, "Oh I do!" He sneered deviously before wagging his finger playfully, "And don't you worry, being the genius I am, I can fix the time machine anytime as easily as I break it!" He boldly proclaimed, "All I'll do is simply remove a few needed components and hide them somewhere Ancient would never look hehehe!" He chuckled darkly which made the alpha trio gulp nervously as they sweated upon hearing what he was planning to do, and this time wasn't kidding for he knew exactly what he wanted to do….and that worried them beyond imagining. Especially when he looked towards them all, "Of course you'll help me of course won't you?"

To his surprise, instead of saluting him and obeying without question, they looked to one another instead, "Umm…."

His grin suddenly faded and he scowled, "What's that supposed to mean!?"

Quickly the 3 of them huddled together and began to discuss quietly amongst themselves, this time making sure not to speak out loud to be overheard this time.

Whisper Whisper

"What are you 3 stooges doing over there?" Feeling offended at being excluded from their talk, as well as being ignored, Dr Z turned red and gritted his teeth angered, "I demand an answer now! You working with me or not!?" She screamed his head off jumping up and down while flailing out his fists.

Having realised they couldn't put off answering the doctor any longer, the 3 of them turned towards their foster father, "Dr Z….."

"This really isn't easy to say….." Ursula and Zander first started with rather heavy hearts and conflicted looks, "For all our years of following you loyally no matter the situations you put us in."

"We've always obeyed and stuck by you and your decisions…..even if they weren't always the best." Ed ended after them.

Dr Z then smirked, "Hehe, yes you did and I'm always grateful to you lot for that loyalty." he chuckled proudly with appreciation.

They grimaced painfully, not wanting to destroy said pride and appreciation he had in them….but there was no other way to do this as they prepared themselves mentally for what had to be done, "That's why…..we never thought we'd ever say this but….." In unison they took a deep breath before letting all out.

"We can't do it!"

"No way no how!"

"Not a chance!"

Upon hearing their words, Dr Z's arms felt limp and he turned almost pale, "Excuse….me?" The emotion of shock and betrayal rushed through him, Ancient was one thing but to be betrayed by the very 3 who he raised since childhood, he couldn't believe his ears.

The trio looked to one another conflicted and downcast but they had made their choice, "Well, our own personal safeties aside….." Ursula began, "For you to not consider everyone else on board like Dr Ancient, Cretacia and their baby who hasn't even been born into the world yet." She said uneasily.

"Above all Rod and Laura!" Zander cried, "I can't believe you'd choose your own selfish dream over your own grandkids who haven't had dreams of their own yet!"

"It's just not right! It's crossing the line!" Ed protested loudly. Never in a million years they thought they'd ever care for them after all the teasing and pranks they suffered from them, but nevertheless they were the family of their adoptive older brother so they knew it would devastate him if his kids weren't to return home safely, "No way we'd let you risk the whole crew's safety like that!" Ed concluded as he along with Zander and Ursula began to turn around to walk away from Dr Z, with heavy pained hearts. It took everything they had to stand up to and refuse Dr Z after all his years of raising and abusing them, but they need it had to be done.

As they began to leave, Dr Z's eyes widened and he stood there speechlessly. Desperately trying to process everything he began to worry and panic, as the idea of his own kids possibly sending him to a retirement home and telling on him to everyone else! All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind till eventually, he clenched his fists in anger and gritted his teeth, "Then you leave me no choice…." He hissed seeing they made their decision and so had he, reaching under his bed he grabbed a pair of lightning rods and sparked them to max level! "Apparently if you want something done right you've got to do it yourself….." He thought to himself as he charged at them! Right as they turned around hearing the buzzing electricity-

BZZT!

"WAAAAAAAH!" They screamed in pain and panic a the electricity from the rods shocked them out cold and they smoked black with swirlies in their eyes!

"That'll keep you clods out for a while, and hopefully you won't remember a thing." Dr Z threw away the rods after being done with them. At that point, a trio of Alpha droids marched into the room in an orderly fashion before taking each of the Alpha trio with them, "Now sleep it off you three, I'd say you earned yourselves a good break for all your hard work." He said as the droids carried his men off to the time pods to keep them from interfering and out of trouble. As they left, Dr Z gritted his teeth painfully feeling a slight regret deep down in his heart, and to some extent he was proud of them standing up for themselves for once. However, desperate times called for desperate measures and it was too late for him to turn back now as he made his way to the Time machine room on the lower floors. "Ehehehe! And-" He held up wrench ready to do his work, only to suddenly be stopped by a hand from nowhere! "Hey!"

He widened his eyes in alarm seeing Seth had been the one who stopped him! Dr Ancient's own assistant! Did he somehow know he was coming here and came to stop him!?

To his surprise, "They'll know you were responsible that way." Seth calmly whispered to him instead of knocking him out.

"Ah….so?" Dr Z's heart raced fearing he was gonna get told, but stared in surprise as Seth instead made his way to the console and began keying into it. In seconds suddenly an alarm rang through the halls as Seth deleted records of his hacking along with the camera feeds of this meeting along with something most essential for the time drive…..

ALERT! SYSTEM FAILURE! ALERT! SYSTEM FAILURE! CONTROL DATA HAS BEEN DELETED!

"Oh! Seth!" Dr Z gasped and smiled with joy, realising this was beginning of a beautiful partnership between them, finally he had someone truly reliable and trustworthy in his eyes unlike his 3 assistants.

Unbeknowst to him as Seth smiled back to him, he only saw Dr Z as his unwitting pawn and scapegoat…..

(Moments later)

It didn't take long for the Ancients to get the warning message appear on screen at the control room and needless to say they were all caught off guard and not in a good way! "What!? Deleted!?" Ancient gasped widening his eyes in alarm.

"Impossible!" Jonathan shared an expression that mirrored his master, stepping back in disbelief.

"This….can't be…." Cretacia lowered her head as a very deep depressed frown appeared on her face, now she feared not only her safety but that of her unborn son too.

As that happened, Rod and Laura both felt their hopes smashed too, "Dr Ancient?" Laura tugged at his sleeve as he looked down to her, "Does this mean that….we….can't go home now?" Ancient couldn't answer her and looked away painfully. It was then that tears began to well up in Laura's eyes before she had to cover them and cry out in sadness, "No….mom…dad….why?" She wept heavily as Rod, feeling just as devastated as she was, tried to comfort her best he could as he patted her on the back.

"Laura….." He tried to be reassuring but there was no way he could see any bright side to this at all.

Cretacia almost shed a tear of her own, knowing they must have been devastated to be separated from their parents, "Rod…Laura….we're very sorry…." She apologised wishing there was something that could be done but she had no answer. Now all of them were trapped in the Cretaceous with no way back…..and who knows when the dinosaurs' own extinction may come too, this was a situation more dire than anything they had encountered before.

"My deepest apologies…." Was all Jonathan could say in response lowering his head with regret.

Meanwhile Ancient placed a hand to his chin in deep serious thought as he tried to process how on this could happen, "It can't be a coincidence….not now…." There was no way data could delete itself, since the ship was encoded with all kinds of firewalls to make it immune to viruses….so the only way it could be done if it was manually deleted, by someone who knew how to bypass his security encryptions. No way could it possibly be Dr Z given as smart as he was his skill with computers left much to be desired let alone machines….Which left only one suspect, one who had been under his tutelage and at his side for so long…But he had no proof right now and couldn't simply go to him without a plan. Plus if Seth planned behind his back so long maybe he'd see this coming as well.

Overhearing his words and seeing how tense he looked, "Dear? Is something on your mind?" Cretacia asked him concerned, as Rod and Laura looked up as well.

Ancient took a deep breath knowing he had to voice this out, for everyone's sakes, "Oh Cretacia….." He sighed heavily turning to face her along with the Alpha gang children, "There's something I need to tell-" Just as he was about to tell her the truth-

"Argh!" Suddenly a sharp streak of pain rushed through every fibre of Cretacia's body, forcing her to fall to her knees as she clenched her stomach in agony!

Everyone gasped in alarm, "AH!"

"What's wrong!?"

"Are you okay Dr Cretacia!?" Rod and Laura cried out in alarm and worry.

Nothing could prepare any of them for what she was about to say next, "I think….the baby's coming!" She screamed out in pain but with a hint of joy mixed in.

"GAH!" Rod and Laura gasped with mouths agape.

"NOW!?" Ancient turned almost pale, he had just been brought the news of the baby coming very soon, but for it to be now of all times he did not see it coming!

"My goodness!" Jonathan exclaimed as every diode in his circuits was trying to process this scenario and determine the right course of action, but there was no way he could come to a logical solution in this situation that was far from optimal, with little medical equipment available to them and all.

Everyone else reached the same conclusion and were beginning to panic, "Wh…What do we do!?" Ancient looked frantically around sweating crazy.

"I…I'll get some towels! And some water!" Laura stuttered as she and Rod both scrambled for the door!

"I'll call Helga!" As they opened the door they felt a big whoosh rush in front of them!

Standing before them was none other than Helga! "Never fear for I am here!" She bellowed loudly, appear with what they needed in her arms which included several towels and a basin!

"WAH!" They all exclaimed in surprise at her unexpected, sudden but impeccable arrival timing.

Rod pointed out rather weakly, "H…How did you-"

He was quickly interrupted as Helga yelled out, "Never mind that!" She cried grabbing hold of Rod and Laura before bringing them both out the door! "Now out you both go! I must concentrate!"

"WAH!" They cried as they were brought out against their will before she shut the door behind them.

"G….Guess all we can do now is wait….." Was all Rod could say while Laura nodded. The next half an hour or so, they remained at the door, not willing to leave their friends in this critical time just in case they could help. They were so focused on the moment they didn't think to contact Dr Z or the others to be on standby. Then again it was unlikely they'd be of help in this case so all they could do was put their faith in Helga and Jonathan's hands.

"Stay calm Dr Cretacia!" Jonathan's voice spoke out behind the door.

"Hold my hand dear!" Cretacia pleaded which was soon followed by Ancient yelping in pain!

"OW! That's hard…."

"Jonathan! Get me some hot water now!" Helga suddenly bellowed with urgency.

"On the double!" The male android's voice called out in response and soon the sounds of water splashing could be heard not long after.

Rod and Laura stood in place, their hearts pounding, praying for everything to be alright and that they'd have enough on hand to work with, "Well, guess there's nothing we can do about it now but wait…." Rod gulped hard.

"Wish we could help though." Laura sighed worried.

"Oh honey I'm scared…." Cretacia's exhausted and pained voice soon echoed from the room.

"It'll be fine….." Ancient's kind and reassuring voice followed after her, "Yeah, just take some breaths and calm down…."

"Thank you….AAAAH!" Cretacia suddenly screamed in pain just as she tried to do as her husband said.

"Cretacia!" He cried out worried.

"Steady her Dr Ancient!" Helga ordered, and the sounds of water splashing could be heard at the other end.

Hearing all the voices from behind the door yet unable to do anything about it nor know what was truly going on, all Rod and Laura could do was sweat anxiously, pace back and forth or bite their nails in anxiety…..it was like waiting for the results for an exam but ten times as worse….Soon all began to still and quiet down….followed by an unfamiliar cry.

"WAAAAH!"

"AH!" Rod and Laura's eyes widened, knowing that sound could only come from an infant!

A few moments later just as they were about to knock on the door, it then opened and Helga appeared from inside, "You may come in now." She said calmly wiping her brow with a towel, as Rod and Laura quickly rushed in! There they found the baby boy just born into the world of dinosaurs, nestled calmly in Cretacia's arms while wrapped in a warm blanket, with short blond hair and a happy smile on his face. The floors also having just been wiped dry and sprayed clean courtesy of both Helga and Jonathan together.

Quickly the 2 kids gathered around the young boy with bright smiles on their faces, "Aww….He's cute…." Laura cooed as she went in to playfully poke his face which made him giggle at the tickle.

He was almost like a little brother to them.

"Yeah….." Rod smiled in agreement, the moment was enough to make them forget about their problems just now.

Cretacia looked upon her healthy son with teary eyes and pride, at first she was really worried she wouldn't be able to deliver with the mediocre equipment they had on hand. But fortunately and thankfully Helga and Jonathan had and were enough to make this miracle happen.

It was then, Ancient walked over to his wife and son, carrying a prized ornament from his collection, "Honey, I think it's time we give this to our son Rex." He said holding it out to Cretacia to which she nodded with approval.

"Yes." She said as Ancient placed it around his newborn son's neck which made him brighten up with joy, "It suits you perfectly doesn't it Rex?" She smiled seeing he already he had taken a liking to it.

Rod raised an eyebrow at that, "Rex? That's his name?" He muttered unimpressed, "Not my first choice-" Laura suddenly elbowed him and he flinched to see Helga glare menacingly at him, "But I think it's perfect!" He waved his hands in a panic taking back his initial comment.

As the Ancients gathered around their newly born boy, Helga then got the others' attention clapping her hands loudly, "Alright everyone, it's time we give the parents some privacy with their son shall we?" Helga then said as she pushed Rod, Laura and even Jonathan out of the room.

"Aww can't we stay a little longer?" Rod whined as they were forced to leave the room.

"Yeah, I want to play with him a bit more." Laura pouted in response.

"You can do that after you finish your homework." Helga responded shooing them, "Now off you go." She then walked back into the room and quickly gathered up the towels into a huge laundry bag before hoisting it over her shoulder, "While I take this bundle of dirty towels for washing." She grunted making her way to the washroom.

Once she was out of sight, Rod scowled grumpily and folded his arms, "Hmph!" He wasn't done trying to get to know the newest addition of the family yet.

Laura then patted him gently on the shoulder, "Well at least the baby was born just fine." She said looking on the bright side.

"Yeah that's a relief." Rod then sighed seeing at the bright side before looking around realising something was way off, "Say, you noticed it's been awfully quiet?"

It was then Laura began to pick up on his vibes as she looked around curiously realising some of them were missing, "Thought grampa and the others would be here….Strange…." She mused.

"Before coming here I saw Ursula and the others sleeping in the time pods." Helga pointed out as she walked by them once more, having finished unloading all the laundry at the washing room, "As for Dr Z and Seth I haven't a clue." She said before walking onwards to another part of the ship.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes at that unbeknownst to the children, thinking something was up as well.

Rod then shrugged his shoulders unaware of his suspicions, "Huh, guess they got so eager to go home they must have hopped in ahead of us." He muttered.

"Too bad about the time machine…." Laura sighed as she began to remember the reason for their hold up, the birth of Rex was a nice distraction from it but a short lived one, now they were back to square one of being stuck in prehistoric times and unable to return home to where they belong.

With the mood being brought down again, Jonathan decided to take initiative, "I will go to see what happened with the machine, hopefully I can identify the cause of the problem." He said lifting their spirits and hopes a little as he made his way to the engine room to hopefully determine how the data was deleted, and if there was a way to restore it somehow.

After Jonathan left, Laura turned to Rod, "Think we should wake them up?" She asked.

He shook his head in response, "Nah, leave them be, it's way more peaceful that way." He smirked as Laura smiled back agreeing with him.

"Good point." She giggled, think maybe they ought to let them sleep forever even as they went back to their rooms to study.

Meanwhile behind the door to the Ancients' room, Cretacia and Ancient shared a loving moment with their son as they gathered together putting their faces close to baby Rex, as he placed his hands to each of their faces to get a good feel and look at them, imprinting on both his parents as he laughed joyfully, before soon dozing off peacefully. It was truly a loving moment for the Ancient family as they smiled and embraced one another knowing nothing could possibly ruin this occasion….or so they thought.

It was then however that Ancient, almost forgetting what he meant to say to Cretacia earlier, suddenly widened his eyes as he recalled it immediately. He quickly turned serious, feeling bad to ruin this moment for his family but he had no choice under the circumstances. Readying himself, "Cretacia." He called her name.

She blinked her eyes in response to her husband's tone, "Yes dear?" As he walked close to her, she tensed as his expression hardened.

He clenched his fist tightly before taking a breath, hoping Cretacia would be ready for the news he was about to bring her, "There's….something I need to tell you." Uneasily, he whispered into her ear very closely, which made her widen her eyes in horror.

(Meanwhile)

Some time later, the couple secretly summoned Jonathan from the engine room as he quickly made his way back and saluted them both upon arrival.

"Thank you for coming Jonathan, sorry to take you away from your work on the machine." Ancient apologised as their moist trusted servant stood before them.

"It is no problem at all Doctor Ancient, now what was it you needed?" He bowed respectfully to his creator. His eyes then caught sight of Cretacia looking very downcast and worried as she held Rex in her arms still.

"I was just told about…..the horrible things Seth had been doing behind our backs." She cried heavily, choking with tears, "He was manipulating dinosaur dna behind our backs….I just….don't understand why he would do something so horrible….."

Jonathan was taken aback completely by what he had just heard, "What!?" He gasped in disbelief, he knew Dr Z was a trouble maker all this while but Seth, their most trusted assistant was a treacherous snake too!? It was one thing after another today.

"Neither can I….Cretacia…." Ancient stroked her gently on the back before hardening himself to say the rest seeing that she couldn't, "And I just know…..Seth is no doubt responsible for what happened to the time machine. For no one else is capable of breaking through the encryption and security protocols other than him."

Jonathan took a step back and widened his eyes, "Are you serious sir?" Ancient nodded seriously in response, which made Jonathan clench his fists with anger, "If that is true then I shall take care of him myself." He said sternly as he turned around preparing to leave, only for Ancient to grab his shoulder.

"No Jonathan it's too dangerous now. Plus he may expect that….." He said seriously, "Given he had been planning all kinds of vile experiments behind our backs all this while without us knowing. I won't be surprised if he planned for this situation too…." He then gritted his teeth and hissed with regret, "If only I had kept him closer…." It was far too late now and now there was only one option left to them, "Which is why we have to go back home now. As long as Rex is here he and all of us are in grave danger." He and Cretacia eyed Jonathan seriously, "Promise us you will protect him when we aren't able to."

Seeing the anxious and worried looks in both husband and wife's eyes, Jonathan nodded and bowed down swearing on it, "You have my word I shall guard him and you both with my life." He vowed firmly.

"Thank you, it's always reassuring to have you at our side." Cretacia said most gratefully with a wave of relief as well.

Ancient then reached into his pocket and held out a blue computer data chip in the palm of his hand, "Also take this chip." He said placing it upon Jonathan's own hand, "It contains all our research on the stones and dinosaurs that we have gathered so far this whole while. I made sure to download it remotely just now, to make sure Seth doesn't get his hands on to abuse it." He instructed most carefully.

"I will keep it safe in my memory banks." Jonathan nodded as he implanted the chip into a socket which opened up on his arm.

"We know you will." Ancient nodded in response before looking to the group gathered now, "In the meantime it would be too dangerous to tell anyone about this." He said seriously as Jonathan and Cretacia nodded together, with Rex sleeping soundly unaware of the danger looming, "For now we must do what we can to repair the time machine so we can go home. Only then we can properly deal with Seth."

"I agree." Cretacia said seriously while Jonathan bowed acknowledging his command.

"I will get right to it sir." Before long they all left the room. As the trio along with their infant son made their way to the engine room, they soon encountered Rod and Laura who were then walking out of their bedroom having finished their work and bored out of their minds.

Upon catching sight of them, "Hey!" They both cried getting their attention.

"Where are you all going with baby Rex?" Laura asked curiously.

Trying to put on as strong and calm a face as he could, "Why, we're going to be working to repair the time machine now actually." said Ancient with a warm smile with Jonathan and Cretacia nodding with him, not wanting to cause alarm for the kids.

They both then smiled with revitalised hope once more, "Really!?"

"That's great!" They cheered with joy seeing they could go home for real now. They soon stopped cheering after looking up to the adults with curiosity, "Any idea why it broke in the first place?"

They hesitated for a moment, looking to each other, "We'll be investigating it, that's all I can say." Was all Jonathan could answer them, not wanting to arouse any suspicion and fearing they may be in danger themselves from Seth if he were to get wind of this.

"Oh…." Laura replied hoping for an answer but decided to leave the adults to it, "Really hope nothing happens while we're going home or we'll really be in trouble."

Rod then elbowed her side and glared angrily, "Hey don't jinx it Laura!" He cried making her jump.

"Sorry…." She whimpered twiddling her fingers together.

Handing Rex to Jonathan, Cretacia kneeled down to their level, "Anyways, do get strapped in for we should leave very soon I promise you." She smiled assuringly at them which made them nod back in obedience.

"Okay then…." They wished they could help but the time machine was far above their understanding and expertise so they decided it was best to leave it to the adults for they were the ones who put the machine and the ship together in the first place. "We trust you to get us home." They said to the Ancients and their android butler as they headed for the sleeping pods. Before they continued, they both turned around and bowed respectively to their hosts, "And….thank you for the really awesome trip and experience." They said gratefully.

"Of course Rod and Laura, anytime." Ancient replied feeling grateful for their contribution as well and he looked forward to rewarding them greatly when they got home.

It was then they made their way to the engine room….unaware they were being followed…..

Several hours had passed and the Ancients worked nearly all day trying to restore the data to the time drive while also adding in some improvements and upgrades in the hopes that the Engine couldn't be so easily sabotaged.

Unfortunately their work hadn't gone unnoticed, as Seth and Dr Z peered out from behind some doors having spied on them for some time, "I wish they would stop working so hard on those repairs!" Dr Z muttered in a panic, "Once that time machine is fixed my plans are ruined!" He said in a sad tone fearing that he'd be removed for sure once they make it back.

"There's nothing to worry about doctor, I have a plan." Seth then spoke to him getting Dr Z's attention.

"Yeah?" He asked as Seth leaned into his ear and began whispering carefully.

Jonathan widened his eyes having heard them, but not clearly, only making out that they planned to strike when they least expected it. Shortly after that was done they left. He narrowed his eyes, deciding to keep an eye on them very closely and not wishing to alarm his masters yet, feeling confident he could protect them and Rex just fine.

It was then when Cretacia finished connecting a few last transistors she let out a sigh of relief, "It's done." She smiled proudly at her work as Ancient wiped some sweat from his brow.

He nodded back having finished things at his end as well, "Alright, now to set the time drive back to the future." He said having finished adding in the coordinates and time destination to the navigation systems, "Let's go home." He said as they all left for the time pods.

Jonathan said nothing but kept his senses on alert as they made their way to the pods, to find all of the Alpha gang including Seth and Dr Z in stasis.

"So far so good….." Ancient breathed uneasily, though he felt things should be okay since the sleeping gas would last for several hours so hopefully nothing wrong would happen. "Now for the moment of truth." After that he got into his pod and Jonathan strapped him in, while his wife helped pick up Rex to carry him to his newly customised pod.

"See you soon Rex," Cretacia said to him lovingly as she kissed him on the forehead before resting him inside his pod, "I just know you'll love the future as much as the dinosaur age." She said to him with a warm smile as she and Ancient got themselves strapped in, the sleeping gas entered inside and they dozed off.

With his masters secured, Jonathan headed up to the control deck to program the ship for time warp back home. As before he and Helga did so as they shot through into the time stream and travelled smoothly as they had come before.

It was then Helga stood up from where she was, "I am going to check to organise the cards." She said taking her leave, meanwhile Jonathan keyed in a few commands setting the ship to autopilot before heading inside to check on the sleeping passengers for safety.

Unbeknowst to everyone else, Seth and Dr Z quickly awakened and got themselves out of their pods, having sabotaged their pods in advance to make sure the gas wouldn't work, so they had remained fully conscious the entire time. With Jonathan occupied at the controls, now was their chance to strike! "I still have things to do in the age of the dinosaurs! So if you want to go back you can do so on your own!" He yelled out pressing the button, causing both Ancient and Cretacia to be ejected from the hip itself into the time stream outside!

With his parents dealt with, Seth was about to deal with the helpless baby who was having a nightmare apparently as he cried out fearfully. Right before he could make the innocent baby suffer the same fate, Jonathan barged in at the last second catching him by surprise! "Get your hands off of him!" Jonathan yelled as he grabbed hold of Dr Ancient's treacherous assistant, this time determined to protect Rex and to deal swift justice to him! Part of him regretted not coming back in time for Rex's parents but he couldnetwoprry about that now as he had to focus on dealing with both him and Dr Z!

"Hold onto him Seth!" Dr Z cried out ordering him to keep Jonathan busy as he headed right for Rex's capsule. He grinned sinisterly to himself as he was about to have Rex join his parents in the time stream! However, Jonathan was able to wrestle Seth away by throwing him aside before tackling the mad doctor! Dr Z stumbled and knocked back at the console which held the stones, causing them to separate and to emit a bright rainbow light!

"AHH!" Right after the stones were dislodged and dispersed from the console Seth and Dr Z were shocked to see the massive surge of energy being released which blew them both back and then causing Seth to be knocked out unconscious against the wall!

"ARGH!" he yelled out as the light blinded his eyes as he smacked hard into the back causing him to fall down to the ground out cold!

As the happened, Rex's pod suddenly dislodged from the room too! "Master Rex!" Jonathan cried in alarm as he jumped after baby Rex into the time stream itself! As the entire ship glowed in a bright rainbow light, it soon escaped in the form of a feathered pterosaur, which took off into the time stream further away.

Meanwhile back on the ship things were far "GAH! Seth!" Dr Z gasped in alarm as he ran over to the man whom at the time was the only he trusted more than anyone else, "Wake up! Wake up!" he cried frantically shaking him, hoping he'd awaken so he could save their skins! After a little while and realising his actions weren't getting him anywhere, Dr Z sweated anxiously as he ran out from the hibernation chamber to the control deck above, in the process passing by an unconscious Helga and several toppled over Alpha droids no doubt due to the out of control ship! Seeing no other choice, he took it upon himself to save everyone's lives on the ship….needless to say he was more pressured than he had ever been before and was consumed with immense regrets over what he did. But too late for that as he gritted his teeth, "Urgh! Looks like I'll have to steer this ship myself or else we could crash or worse stranded through time forever!" he said to himself as he took a look over all the controls present, now that the auto pilot system was short-circuiting due to the stones no longer being present it had to be operated manually, which unfortunately wasn't his strong suit.

"Okay but first how do I work all this at once?" he asked himself nervously seeing it was all on him now and that everyone else's lives were now in his incapable hands! Not once had he ever been this pressured as he kept jumping form seat to seat, pressing buttons and pulling on levers randomly hoping for something to happen! His heart raced and he sweated with anxiety as he looked ahead, notice they were speeding up almost too fast and could crash hard at a random point in time! It was at that very moment he took noticed of 2 glowing objects in the very front ahead of him onscreen, "Huh?" On closer inspection he widened his eyes to see they were metal pods, "Those pods…..can it be?" inside them was none other than Dr Ancient and his wife Cretacia! Both of them, his only 2 friends ever, now lying peacefully in their pods as if they were coffins as the pods' hibernation functions put them to rest for safety reasons.

As Dr Z began to rethink what he had done, and realised that he'd be crossing a line if he left them out here with no one to come help them they could even die. As feelings of guilt welled inside him, he clicked is tongue in frustration as he piloted the ship to hover above them, "Tch! I can't believe I'm doing this….." he grunted pressing the ship's tractor beam to suck them both in to safety. With that problem out of the way he had one other course of action to take care of, "Alright, now with that out of the way it's time to turn this ship around!" he cried out before noticing a big red button in front of him, "Ah! Maybe this should do it." he smiled with excitement as he pressed it, only for the entire ship's cargo of dinosaur and move card capsules to be ejected from them and then lost forever within the time stream! Dr Z's heart skipped a beat upon realisation of what he had done, "No! All my precious cards! Come back!" he cried as he began pressing buttons over and over again hoping something would good would happen! Unfortunately that wasn't the case as the consoles suddenly surged with electricity and even began to explode and fume with smoke!

The entire ship shook violently as it put on one final burst of energy with the remaining power it had left before thrusting forth into the first possible time period it could reach! "WAAAAAAHHH!" Dr Z screamed his head off as the entire ship shot ahead into bright light causing him to shield his eyes and collapse on his back! Several hours later….Dr Z began to stir from his out cold nap, as he slowly and groggily came to his senses and sat up from his seat, "Urgh….What happened?" He groaned painfully before pressing a few switches which displayed on the screen that they were now on an island located in the middle of the sea somewhere….any place and any time on Earth now. That aside, he took a sigh of relief seeing they weren't dead at least, "Huh….seems I got us all safely out of there….." He breathed to himself with relief before grinning joyously, "Heh, hooray for me. This should earn me some brownie points from the others for sure." He felt real confident he could come up with a cover story easily, Rod and Laura being kids and his grandchildren would believe in him while the trio were naive idiots.

As for Helga he'd worry about her later, "As for what time….." Keying into his computer and seeing the current time happened to be in the 21st century, very far off from the time he was used to. "Ugh….looks like we're stuck here in this time period for a while…." He groaned before also realising it was due to his bumbling both the stones and the dinosaur cards he and the Ancient's worked so hard to gather for 6 months were now gone, scattered across space and time himself. While part of him was beginning to feel immensely guilty for causing this, he shook his head measuring himself that this was only a setback and not an irreversible disaster, "No biggie….I'm sure I can fix this….somehow…." He gulped swallowing what felt like a rock in his throat, before deciding to head back to the time pods to….brief his family on recent events, knowing he couldn't just leave them in suspended animation forever.

(Meanwhile)

Unfortunately for Dr Z, it was that moment that the pods holding the Alpha gang began to stir and open up as they emerged one by one, beginning with Rod and Laura being young early risers.

"Yawn….Now that was a good nap." Rod stretched out his arms before rubbing his eyes.

Laura blinked her eyes curiously, "We're back already?" She felt the trip was bit fast compared to their first travel, could it be because the Cretaceous was closer to their time period than the jurassic…or something else entirely.

Before long the Alpha trio came out from their pods looking no worse for wear compared to the children, "Urgh….." They all groaned aching all over and their heads throbbing like crazy.

"Why do I feel overcharged yet still rundown?" Zander stumbled about dizzily.

"Me too….I feel like my brain's been fried all over and inside out." Ed cried out in pain as his head throbbed forcing him to use both hands to stabilise himself.

Ursula rubbed her temple feeling immense discomfort all through her body, "Same….Can't remember anything or how we got in." She mumbled looking to her bozo brothers who shrugged their shoulders feeling just as clueless as she was.

Rod grinned sneaking in a cheeky remark, "They must be getting old." He whispered in Laura's ear making her snicker in amusement.

It hasn't gone unnoticed by Ursula's ears as she turned quickly with a hard glare, "Excuse me?" She asked suspiciously, "Did you say something there? You better not be talking about us!" She growled viciously.

Rod and Laura quickly shook their heads, "Nope nothing at all." They said smiling innocently, "Just that-"

Laura suddenly noticed some pods were empty, "Hey, where's Seth and grampa?" She commented as the rest of them looked where she faced to see they were empty indeed.

"Did they get out before us?" Ed mused putting a finger to his chin.

As they looked to the side they widened their eyes in alarm to see the Ancients were ALL missing! "AH! Rex, Cretacia and Ancient are gone!" They cried out.

The trio widened their eyes in alarm, "Say wha!?"

"No way…." Ursula and Zander gasped in disbelief and alarm, only for Ed to ask.

"Say, who's Rex?"

"Oh you didn't know since you were already in the pods when it happened," said Rod as he explained, "Cretacia gave birth to a baby boy before we left."

The trio immediately jumped in surprise, "Huh!?"

"Ancient and Cretacia have a kid now!?" Zander exclaimed grabbing his head and scrunching up his hair in surprise.

"Just how long have we been out!?" Ursula screamed tugging her own hand.

"Never mind that! Look!" Ed pointed at the console not too far from them, showing that only the center stone remained in the ship's engine!

"AH!" The Alpha family widened their eyes further more in alarm, this was one situation they did NOT expect to see the moment they woke up!

"The stones are gone too!"

"Wh….What's going on here!?" Rod and Laura each gasped feeling wave after wave of shock sweeping over them.

A nearby screen lit depicting they were now on an island surrounded with many grassy hills, jungles, swamps and beaches built right on top of their ship.

"Just where are we now!?" Zander cried out pulling his hair unable to comprehend their situation, if this was a nightmare he wanted to wake up now.

"Or when to be precise…." Ed gulped starting to panic.

The doors opened and appearing from it was Dr Z, who widened his eyes, "EEP!" He squealed not expecting that his family would awake before he could wake them himself!

Immediately the others began to swarm to him, "Grampa!"

"Dr Z!" They immediately addressed him upon seeing him, they ran up to him cornering him with a barrage of questions one after the other.

"How come you're out already!?"

"More importantly where's Seth and the Ancients!?"

"What happened!?"

Feeling cornered with faces of worry, anger and confusion, it was clear Dr Z had not way out and it was clear they'd easily recognise when he would be hiding something or even lying about it! Panicking he twiddled his fingers on the verge of revealing the truth, "W…Well you see…."

"I can explain." Seth said as he came in from around the corner getting everyone's attention, having gained consciousness not long ago and remained out of sight till the right moment. "We hit a time temporal vortex in the time stream," He explained calmly as he lowered his head with a frown, "It caused a surge that made our engine overload, as a result it made the stones disperse and the cards scattered across the time stream." He then shook his head with a downcast look, a false one to be precise, "And unfortunately, it caused the Ancients' pods to be dislodged…..with them." He said in a tone feigning sadness, but it was enough to fool everyone present there as mixed expressions of horror and sadness came upon everyone.

"What!?" The trio gasped in alarm turning pale at their situation.

Rod and Laura however took it more personally, as Rod stared with mouth agape, while Laura's knees buckled and she fell down, "That….can't be…." She choked as tears began to build up in his eyes.

"I'm afraid so." Seth frowned shaking his head acting disheartened, before looking towards his accomplice, "Isn't that right Dr Z?"

"Y…Yes! Exactly like that!" Dr Z quickly answered frantically as everyone looked to him, "I saw Jonathan went after them but he vanished too. Luckily my pod and Seth's opened up in time and we managed to steer the ship to crash-land in this time period." he explained.

Zander suddenly exclaimed, "And you left behind Dr Ancient, Cretacia and Jonathan!?"

"How could you be so cruel?" Ed teared up and sobbed into his hands.

Dr Z gritted his teeth angrily in response, "You'd rather all of us get lost in the endless expanding time and space stream!?" He growled before stuttering with some guilt, "I did the best I could….I….did….." Was all he could say in an uneasy tone, given he was the reason this tragedy happened in the first place.

The act however was enough to convince his grandchildren that he at least tried, despite being unaware of the real truth that occurred, "Sorry grampa….." Laura apologised still looking downcast but came to acceptance of their situation.

"At least….we're all okay…." Rod sighed trying to look at the bright side before forcing a smile if it would help lift Dr Z's spirits even a bit, "Thank you grampa." He said moving into hug the old man and Laura joined in.

"O…Of course, I wouldn't want anything to happen to my family would I?" Dr Z stroked the heads of both his grandkids and smiled lightly, though inside he was anxious about lying to them but he had already gone down this path and there was no turning back now.

"Aww he does care…." The Trio cried teary eyed seeing he may not be fully lost yet.

It didn't fully help everyone though, "Still…." Laura then lowered her head feeling her spirit broken, just when things looked up misfortune struck them down once again, "Just how….could this have happened…." What did they or the Ancients ever do to deserve something so cruel and horrible, as she cried out bitter tears, "Now we can't go back home…." The thought of not being able to see her parents again made her lose hope, as Rod patted her gently feeling just as down as her, while the Trio frowned too reeling they won't be able to see their older step brother again….a brother who raised them alongside Dr Z and whom they looked up to most dearly.

Dr Z stroked his children gently in response, "Laura….Rod…." He said in a kind tone, "There there, I know things aren't looking bright now….but I'm sure they will later." He said trying to stay positive though many others weren't convinced.

"Easy for you to say Dr Z." Ursula muttered, "We're stuck in some unknown time, the time machine is busted as you said, the stones are gone and so are the cards! There goes 6 months of hard work down the drain!" She cried out in frustration before stomping her feet in a tantrum.

"Ugh…." Dr Z grimaced seeing their situation was more dark and almost hopeless as they made it out to be….almost….

"We will make this right." Seth suddenly spoke up getting everyone's attention, "We will find the cards and the stones and repair the machine again in honour of Dr Ancient. He wouldn't want us to be stuck blaming one another, he'd want us to move forward otherwise our work would have been wasted." He said firmly to the crew, "You have my word on that."

Rod and Laura then stood up with determined looks, "We'll pitch in anyway we can help too." They said in unison.

"We all will." said Ursula taking initiative, "One way or another we will get back home and get back all the stones and cards for sure."

"We'll help you every step of the way too Dr Z!"

"You can count on us always!" Zander and Ed followed as they stood united together.

"For we are the alpha gang!" The trio chanted and saluted together firmly.

Dr Z grinned proudly and let out joyous laughter, "Ahahaha! That's the spirit! No matter what troubles life throws at us we keep pressing on. That's just how life survived many extinctions before the dinosaurs after all so no way will this bump in the road stop us for long! That I am certain of." He boasted holding up his head high.

"I'll see what systems are still functioning on the ship, hopefully communications work and we could call mayday." Rod volunteered as he began to walk off, only to realise his sister wasn't following him.

"I want…a moment of time to give my condolences to Dr Ancient, Cretacia and Rex…." She said standing at the pods where the Ancient family were supposed to be, now were no more….she at least hoped what they do now would honour their memories now.

"Take as long as you need Laura." Seth said to her before he took the opportunity to sneak away, "I'm going to take a look at the time machine to see what can be done." He said making his way to the engine room to see what he could salvage and repair.

It was then Dr Z began to tiptoe off, needing to address something urgently before anyone else got suspicious, "Right now I have to patch up Helga, now if you'll excuse me." He chuckled sneaking off, leaving only the trio left as they headed off in another hallway.

"Well, guess that leaves us now." Zander commented, "What should we do?" He asked wondering if they could be of use to the crew now.

Ursula however had something else in mind, "I say we get out and make the most of it." She then snickered knowing exactly what she wanted to do, "I'm going to try on my new swimsuit! Never got the chance while we were busy rounding up dinosaurs all those months now is a good time to kick back and make the most of our situation!" She cheered before skipping over to her room to get changed, "No point moping around feeling down after all." She giggled leaving Ed and Zander sweat dropping at her attitude.

"I find that rather inappropriate for this time…."

"Me too…." They both sighed before following after her knowing they couldn't take their eyes off her even for a second.

Meanwhile Dr Z had made his way to a secret storage room on the lower floors, where he had recovered Dr Ancient and Cretacia's pods. He eyed upon them with regret with what he did, "I'm….really sorry it had to come to this….." He sighed clenching his fist hard but now it was too late since he practically ripped their own son away from them and destroyed their hard work because of his own ambitions. Thinking to himself he wondered why he bothered to recover their pods in the first place, "I promise that I'll make this right….one day…." In honour of their old friendship once the time machine is fixed perhaps he would go back in time to right this horrible mistake at some point.

He then shook his head clear deciding not to stray from his path anymore nor let his emotions get in the way of his dream, it was too late he chose this path and he was going to see it through to he end. "Till then the both of you sleep tight." He said pressing a button upon exiting to seal the door behind him to ensure none can enter except him. After that he grinned to himself seeing he had the whole place all to himself at long last, "In the meantime it's time for some redecorating and remodelling! From now on this place will be called Zeta Point! Named after myself naturally! Ahahaha!" He cackled skipping around the room like a kid in the candy store, before noticing something sparkling on the floor, "Hmm?" He blinked surprised and ran up to him, getting closer he smirked upon realising what he found.

"Well well what do we have here?" He said picking up what appeared to be the fire stone and a tyrannosaurus card, no doubt he must have scooped them up when he recovered the Ancients' pods. It was then Dr Z brightened up with hope that his dream may not be totally lost after all, "Heh, guess I'll have to rebuild my dinosaur kingdom from scratch it seems. If that's what I have to do then so be it!" He grinned deviously before looking to Helga nearby who was sparking and staring blankly into space along with several downed droids. "But first thing's first I've got to fix up Helga….somehow….." He muttered, knowing that without her they'd be doomed needing food and expense managements in this new time period. Sure Ancient wasn't around anymore to help him patch up his devices, but he saw this as his big chance to prove he could make do without him.

(Meanwhile)

In his laboratory, Seth grinned to himself most deviously as he believed nothing could get in the way of his plans anymore, "Heh, that fool played his role most well." He thought to himself regarding Dr Z, and when the time came he'd easily use him as the scapegoat he was to take the fall or until them make him owe him big time. "Now with Dr Ancient out of the picture, finally I can complete my work uninterrupted at last." As he began to access Dr Ancient's files deep within the computer, breaking through the encryption once more, he raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Hmm?" In every folder and file he came across in Ancient's top secret logs and records it was all wiped clean! Not even an inch of usable data left inside.

He clicked his tongue realising what had happened, "Tch! Of course….no doubt they must have suspected me from the start….well played…." He hissed knowing that Dr Ancient must have cleared his files and research somehow after their last meeting without knowing. Rarely had he been outwitted and to some extent he found it impressive and also annoying. Nevertheless he also knew that any self respecting scientist could never bring themselves destroy such priceless research that took many months to gather. It was at that point he then knew what was the most logical possibility, "Jonathan….he's the only one Ancient could have entrusted that data too…." And with both him and the stones and cards lost to the time stream he could see there wouldn't be any point in fixing the time machine even if he could somehow manage to, without them his ambitions would never be realised.

Nevertheless, he wouldn't allow this to deter him for long as he keyed in some orders on his console as the droids gathered around to begin repairs such as bringing in tools, parts and salvaging what they could. "No matter, this is merely a minor setback. For now I'll make do the best I can. Fate swung my way so far and it will swing back my way again soon enough." He thought to himself as he clenched his fist and hardened his gaze remembering his goals and to never stray from them, "Very soon it will stay that way as well."

And thus concludes my short story of the Ancients' adventures and leading up to the point when Dinosaur King/Queen would slowly begin. Here I also wanted to highlight why the Alpha trio didn't interfere despite hearing what Dr Z tried to do, so I felt this was mot logical, also for Helga's lack of presence as well during this would like to say she got knocked out during the ship going out of whack at the time.

Looking back plot holes include what happened to Jonathan once he came to and how he managed to do so many job switches on so many different places, how he found the dinosaur cards in Downtown Runaround. Also how Dr Owen raised up Rex and how he along with Max and Zoe grew up together. I don't have enough material to work with so anyone else feel free to explore how that happened.

Replies to reviews

tsukikami02

Yup the Alpha gang were creative and underhanded in how they caught dinosaurs, would like to say without Ancient to fix their gear they had fewer options to work with. I find your story a bit too complicated to easily blend with mine to be honest, so not sure if that's possible. The poor acrocanthosaurus taken from his family unbeknownst to Rod and Laura. I feel Raina could eventually develop it and needing confirmation from Cera.

We also see Baby Rex born and sadly had a tragic beginning but we know it all worked out in the end.

Drew Luczyński

Am sure thanks to Rex the Alpha gang along with Rod and Laura would apologise and make up to the dinosaurs indeed.

.brandy

Sorry about that but I thought of it being the most logical to choose for the situation. How brave to try and protect Ampelosaurus but don't forget Seth is a skilled fighter and dangerous so you'd need strategy against him.