Metal Imbalance
Disclaimer: Dinosaur King is owned by Sunrise, Shout Factory, 4kidsTV, and any other company I missed. I own nothing
"Talking"
"Thinking"
"Flashback"
DK
In the control room of the D-Lab's sanctuary, Max looked at all the cards in the slots. "Hey, Rex, come here and check this out." Max called out. "Can you believe how many cards we have? Eighty four! Ha, ha!" He looked up and saw that the lab looked almost abandoned. "Hello? Rex? Zoe? Rhysa?" Looking through the window, into the sanctuary, he noticed how none of the Dinosaurs were there as well. "Where'd everybody go?"
"Max." He heard a voice call out to him.
"Hello?" Max asked as he quickly turned around. When he did, he noticed Terry, Chomp, and the other chibi Dinosaurs standing across the room. Even Brontikens was there. "Guys? What's going on?" Instead of getting a response, Dinosaurs started moving away like they were in a car that was driving away. "Hey, where are you going? Wait for me!" As the brunette started chasing after them, the D-Lab vanished and was replaced by a void. "I can't keep up! Slow down, you guys! Wait!"
Suddenly, the void opened up and revealed a fern covered plain. Max looked around and saw Dinosaurs as far as the eye can see. He saw a Seismosaurus watch a herd of Parasaurolophus run past it. He saw two Acrocanthosaurus lying down next to each other. He saw a herd of Styracosaurus grazing. He saw a lone Saltasaurus graze as a pack of Deinonychus ran past it. He saw a group of Pachycephalosaurus sparring while a herd of Amargasaurus went to get a drink. He saw Pteranodons fly overhead and showing him even more Dinosaurs. Max's eyes widened like a little kid in a candy store. "Ho, ho, ha, ha, ha! This is awesome!" He exclaimed.
But the mood quickly changed as the sky turned a dark red and familiar many voices started repeating the words. "Save us, save us, save us."
"Huh?" Max looked around frantically as he tried to figure out where the voices came from. "Wait!"
Out of nowhere, a large herd of Dinosaurs started surrounding him. "Please, you're our only hope. Will you please save us?" They asked him.
That's when it happened, several meteors started falling from the sky and crashing into the earth. Max's eyes widened in horror as he knew that this had to have been what the extinction of the Dinosaurs was like. Things were only made even more horrific when he saw his dinosaur friends getting covered in flames. "Oh, no!" He cried as he was starting to get pulled back. "Terry! Chomp! Ace! Tank! Spiny! Paris! Stiggy! Stigga! Dread! Tracker! Brontina! Giganto! No, don't go!" But the void closed just as the largest meteor of all slammed right on top of the twelve Dinosaurs, killing them instantly. "No!"
(Intro Theme)
"Max Taylor. Hello?" A voice called out to him. "Would you like to join us?"
"Terry? Chomp?" He groaned as he lifted his head from his arms and realised that he fell asleep in his classroom again. "Huh?" He looked up and saw Michelle looking down at him sternly.
"Chomp?" She repeated, not clearly hearing him say Terry. "Is that your answer to my question, I wonder? Or were you asleep and dreaming of chomping on burgers? This is class time, not sleepy time!" Michelle said, making the class laugh. Rex gave off an embarrassed chuckle while Zoe just frowned in disappointment, Rhysa on the other hand looked at him with concern.
DK
"So you finally managed to bring me some more Hybro Metal ore." Dr.N said as he inspected the large boulder his minions had brought him.
"Yes." Cursula replied, struggling to stand and using a stick to support herself. "And I hope you realise how hard we had to work to get it." She stated, recalling the hellish mission to obtain said boulder. "First of all, we travelled to the South Pole, which, by the way, is not a warm place. Why didn't you tell me it was so cold? I would've mittens!" She growled, remembering how cold the cave they found the boulder was in especially. "We found the rock, loaded it up, and discovered that Tred never filled up the gas tank." She hissed at the short man.
"I barely had enough money for a sandwich." Tred added.
"For days, we slogged through the frozen tundra." Slander continued. "The snow caused all the Hybro Droids to short circuit, so we had to carry them, the ship, and the boulder back here."
"And we were forced to sleep on the icy ground, it was awful!" Louisa cried.
"Turn off the waterworks." Dr.N told her, not even fazed by their story.
"Huh? I still can't feel my toes!" Cursula yelled at him.
"And I was so cold I thought my nose was gonna fall off!" Louisa retorted.
"And the sandwich wasn't even good." Tred added.
"But look at how much Hybro Metal we brought you." Slander reminded the doctor.
"Yeah, it's a nice boulder, all right, but like your brains, it's much smaller than it looks from the outside." Dr.N told him.
"Was that comparison really necessary?" Tred asked.
Dr.N ignored him. "Once we condense it down, it won't be half of what we need!"
"What?! Are you kidding?!" Cursula exclaimed.
"We need enough Hybro Metal to coat the entire reactor core, or the generator won't work!" Dr.N explained as Armatus entered the room. "Let's find out just how much your lousy rock has in it. Armatus, use your tail and shatter this thing!"
"Yes, sir, Doctor sir!!" Armatus responded as he swung his tail and collided with the boulder. When the tail made contact, a large crack formed in the centre and the rock split in two.
Both ends began to fall down, including one that was falling on top of Dr.N. "Uh-oh. Ah-aaah!"
The quartet gasped as Dr.N looked like he was about to be crushed. "Dr.N!" Cursula exclaimed.
"Agh, this is nothing!" The doctor assured them as he stopped the boulder from landing on top of him. "I-I used to be an aerobics instructor!" He grunted as he continued holding the rock back, getting red as he did so. Suddenly, his back felt like it just snapped in two. "Aah!" He screamed as he fell to the ground. "There goes my back." He muttered as the rock resumed its falling.
"Oh that's gotta hurt!" Louisa winced.
The quartet gasped again as it looked like Dr.N was about to meet his end. "I'll save you, Dr.N!" Tred said as he quickly pressed a button and made the group descend to the lower level while the boulder stayed on the top.
"Oh, that hurt." Dr.N groaned in pain.
"Are you alright?" The quartet asked as they ran over to him. "What can I do to help, Doctor?" Cursula asked as she picked him up bridal style.
"Well, for starters, get off my beard!"
DK
"All right, kids, that's it for today." Michelle told her class. "Now, don't forget about our big field trip tomorrow! Everyone needs to bring a sack lunch with them. And no homework for tonight."
"Yay!" The students cheered.
"Hee, hee!" Michelle giggled as she began to leave the room, but failed to walk properly and tripped. "Whoa!" She exclaimed before and face planted into the door. "See you guys next fall. He, he." She said sheepishly before leaving, making the students groan in annoyance at their teacher for the probably millionth time.
"So you dreamt that we all asked you for help?" Terry asked as the D-Team walked home.
"Yeah, just like they did before." Max said as they all, minus Ace, Paris, Tank, Spiny, Tracker, Brontina and Giganto recalled hearing the voices.
"Save us. Save us. Save us. Save us."
"We are protecting them, from the Hybro Gang." Zoe reminded them.
"Yeah, I know that. But is beating them up, turning them into cards, and putting them in an oversized room for months really the same as saving them?" Max asked her.
"Well, I suppose you have a point there." Zoe admitted. "But you saw how everyone reacts when a new Dinosaur appears. If we let them all run free, they'd be hunted down like Wild Animals and sent who knows where. And keeping them in cards forever just seems cruel. This is as best as things can get for them."
"I wonder if this message you're talking about wasn't meant as protection from the Hybro Gang, but rather from extinction." Ace wondered.
"It is thought that Dinosaurs might have sensed the asteroid coming before it hit." Rex said. "And we do know that the stones have something to do with allowing Dinosaurs to communicate with humans. Maybe that has something to do with their origin."
"Well, my Cousins did say that while observing some of the others last night, that they've been wondering out of all the Dinosaurs, why were they chosen." Rhysa said. "I'm now starting to think these voices are really trying to tell us that we're saving the Dinosaurs from extinction."
"Are you two suggesting that we can change what happened millions of years ago? Get real, Rex and you too Rhysa. That's impossible. Not to mention, if we could stop the extinction from happening, then humans would never evolve and we'd cease to exist." Zoe reminded them.
"But then you couldn't stop the extinction. Which, in turn, would allow you to evolve. But then, you'd stop the extinction and never evolve. But then you'd- why does my brain hurt?" Spiny asked.
"I sure wish there was somebody who had the answers." Max said. Right when he said that, a capsule rolled down a snowy hill in an unknown location before getting covered in snow again.
"I sure wish we could have some more answers." Rhysa said, looking at the sky. "It always seems that we're left with more questions than answers."
DK
Back at Zeta Point, Dr.N winced in pain from the ice that was put on his back to help with the pain. The doctor had his pyjamas on, complete with the usual little bows braided all over his beard, and was bed ridden until his thrown out back had healed. Louisa, Slander and Cursula looked down at the doctor with looks of pity. "You really should start off with the smaller rocks before you lift the big ones." Slander told him.
"Good idea. Like the ones in your heads!" Dr.N yelled at them. "What's happening to my Hybro Metal?"
"Almost done." Cursula assured him. "Seth, Dr.Wu and Tred have been refining it down to its core."
"Okay, we're done refining!" Tred said as he entered the room. "So combined with what we got last time, here's how much Hybro Metal we have now." He said proudly as he showed them the ore, which was in the form of a purple, shiny sphere that was about the size of a baseball.
"That's all there was in that giant rock?" Cursula asked as she took a closer look, almost about to cry.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Louisa cried. "We went through all that trouble for that small amount of Hybro Metal!"
"That should be plenty." Slander assured her. "Right, Dr.N?"
"Of course not!" Dr.N responded. "Even if it was enough, it isn't ready to use in the reactor! There are too many impurities! We need to distil it down to 100% pure Hybro Metal!"
"Let's do it, then!" Cursula said.
"If it was that easy, I'd have done it already!" Dr.N yelled at her. "To refine the Hybro Metal, we need to convert Dinomond into terra-energy using our reactor, but we can't use the reactor because we don't have refined Hybro Metal, and we can't get the Hybro Metal refined because we don't have a working generator!" He screamed.
"Uh, did you get that?" Cursula asked her teammates.
"No, not a word." Slander answered.
"I was only following half of what he was saying." Louisa said.
"I will not tolerate this!" Dr.N screamed as he started to sit up. "Why are you four so inept?! What good is having underlings if they can't get me what I want?! And now I can't even give you the thrashing you deserve because I've gone and thrown out my back! Agh!" When he placed his fist on the table in front of him, a large amount of pain jolted through his back and he collapsed on the bed.
"What can we do, Dr.N?" Cursula asked, not wanting to make the doctor even more angry.
"You can track down a source of terra-energy and bring back this Hybro Metal 100% pure." The doctor ordered them as he weakly handed them the ore.
"Yes, sir!"
DK
The next day, the D-Team has their field trip to an ironworks. "I love field trips! Isn't this exciting?" Michelle exclaimed. "It's not everyday you get to see a real ironworks in action!" The class looked over a railing and saw a large furnace full of molten metal. "The temperature of that white-hot molten metal down there can reach more than 2,000 degrees!"
"Like hot lava, huh?" Zoe whispered to her friends, including Amy.
"So it must've been just like that when the Earth first formed, right?" Amy asked.
"Yeah, and I'll bet it was probably like this when the Dinosaurs went extinct." Max answered, trying to not break down. But as he stared into the metal, he kept picturing all the Dinosaurs being consumed by the flames before he watched his own Dinosaur friends get killed in front of him.
"Huh?" The others asked as they noticed a tear slipping out of the corner of Max's eye. "Is there something wrong?" Amy asked.
"Remember how he fell asleep in class yesterday?" Zoe reminded her. Amy nodded. "Well, he had a dream about the Dinosaurs asking for help, and it ended with them all getting killed by the asteroid."
Amy's eyes widened. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like to see Hanna's life end right before her eyes in such a violent manner. "Oh, Max, I'm so sorry." She said as she quietly hugged him.
"Thanks, Amy." Max replied as he sniffed and gave a weak smile.
DK
"Ow, it hurts!" Dr.N cried as he still laid in bed.
"Since you're in pain, I made your favourite meal." Helga said as she came into the room and placed a tray in front of Dr.N before removing the top. "Leg of mystery meat."
"Sometimes you're almost human, Helga." Dr.N said with a weak smile before grabbing the meat and tried to tear off a chunk. But the meat seemed to refuse to allow itself to be eaten and the chunk would not tear off no matter how hard Dr.N pulled. Eventually, all the struggling caused pain to resurface on his back and he winced again.
"Is there a problem?" Helga asked as she started leaving the room.
"What's the mystery part, old shoe leather?" Dr.N asked sarcastically.
"If the meal is not up to your standards, Doctor, then you don't have to eat it." The maid told him before leaving."
"But I'm hungry!" Dr.N whined before the lights flickered for a second. "What was that? Was Slander using his hair dryer on ten again?"
"That's Seth." Helga answered. "He's in your laboratory doing experiments using lots of electricity."
"Electricity?" Dr.N repeated.
Said experiments were actually the Velociraptors. They were covered completely in small, barely noticeable, almost fur-like feathers, except for the claws, feet, and face. They were mostly light brown, with white markings going all across the back like half rings, as well as white feathers near their feet and claws. The trio were currently roaring in agony as electricity was forced into the large test tube they were in by Seth, one of them even covering his head to stop the pain.
As this happened, Seth quietly watched and typed things onto the keyboard that was connected to the tube. "Seth, what are you up to in there?" Dr.N asked as his face appeared on a nearby screen. "I didn't give you any assignments."
"I wanted to run some tests on this card that I found." Seth replied. "It wasn't finished, so I figured I should complete the process."
"What card?" Dr.N asked before noticing the Raptors in the tube. "Those are Velociraptors! Where in blazes did you get that Dinosaur?"
"I stumbled upon it while I was in Australia." Seth replied with a smirk. "Good thing I did, or they'd never see the light of another day."
"You found a Dinosaur Card and didn't report it to me?" Dr.N asked in shock. "And just what kind of experiments are you doing?"
Before Seth could respond, he heard a cracking noise. "Ohh." Looking back at the tube, one of the Velociraptors glowed blue, the other glowed yellow, and the leader glowed red before the three joined up together and the three glows formed a triangle shape. Seth and Dr.N covered their eyes as the blinding light died down and a card came out of the slot. This card was special, not just because its front was a normal Dinosaur Card and its back like a Move Card, but because it was shaped as a triangle. Seth picked up the card and examined it. "Hmm. So this is what happens when you combine elements." He thought with a smirk.
"Hmm, a card? But why a triangle shape?" Dr.N asked.
DK
Back with the field trip, the class were all back outside near the buses when Michelle stopped them. "Now, the part of the field trip we've all been waiting for! I hope you packed something tasty for lunch like the mayonnaise and banana sandwich I brought!" Michelle said as she reached into her bag before realising there was no such object inside. "Hey, where'd it go? Don't tell me! I think some criminal must've stolen my lunch!"
"If they did, they're gonna be sorry when they bite it." Max said to his friends. Even he was starting to get annoyed by Michelle's attitude.
"I think she just forgot it." Zoe said.
"Yeah or it fell out somewhere." Rhysa said.
Before Rex could add his thoughts, he noticed something flying over the factory. "Hey, what is that?"
"I don't know, but it looks like trouble." Rhysa said.
"Huh?" The rest of the class looked up and saw an aircraft stopping above the factory.
The aircraft, in fact, belonged to the Hybro Gang. They were looking all over the place for a spot to purify the Hybro Metal. "What about this spot?" Tred suggested as he put the machine on park.
"An iron refinery? That's fine." Cursula replied in a bored tone. "Slander, go ahead and drop in the Hybro Droids to take over the place."
"Roger that." Slander said before he pulled the levers he was operating.
The hatch opened up and several Hybro Droids, being led by D.R.O.I.D, started landing all over the place. "All right, troops, invade the place." D.R.O.I.D commanded the other droids.
"Invade, invade, invade." The Hybro Droids repeated as they started scattering all over the place.
"Little robot, janitors!" Michelle gushed, completely oblivious to the situation.
"Oh, no!" Max said as he recognised the robots.
"Michelle, we need to get out of here!" Rex told the teacher.
"Leave? Why?" Michelle asked.
"Invade and conquer. Invade and conquer." The Hybro Droids said as they started chasing workers out.
Michelle clearly saw that this wasn't some stage show anymore. "All right, field trip's over, kids! But don't panic, we'll be fine!" She assured the class.
"Okay!"
"Let's get out of here!" She exclaimed as she started leading the class to safety.
The D-Team watched as the aircraft started to descend into the factory, knocking over a large pipe in the process. "I wonder what the Hybro Gang is up to this time." Max said.
"I don't know, but wherever those clowns go, trouble follows." Rhysa said.
"Let's see." Rex said before they started to go back to the building.
"Zoe!" The pinkette stopped when she saw Amy running towards her. "Zoe, what should I do?"
"Help the others to safety and wait for us." Zoe told her friend. "If we don't come out in an hour, call my sister and Rhysa's Cousins and tell them to send over as many Dinosaurs as they can." She instructed Amy before running back to her friends.
DK
Once inside the factory, the D-Team called out their Dinos in mini-form and continued to hunt down the Hybro Gang. "So, where do you think those Hybro Gang guys went?" Terry asked as he sniffed the place.
"I'll bet they're headed for the furnace." Zoe suggested before they ran to where the furnace was.
When they made it to the room, they crouched down behind some crates and slowly crawled around before poking their heads out to see the Hybro Gang disembarking from their ship. "Aha!" Max quietly exclaimed. "I wonder what they're doing here."
"And what are we supposed to do with this thing now, throw it in the furnace?" Cursula asked her teammates, unaware they were being spied on.
"You're the leader. You tell us." Slander responded.
"Yeah, you're supposed to know." Tred added.
"And as your leader, I'm asking you to figure this out!" Cursula yelled at them, angered by their smart-ass comments. "I have more important issues to solve!"
"And just what are these most important issues you have that need solving?" Louisa inquired.
"What are they arguing about?" Zoe whispered.
"I don't know, but it must have something to do with the metal ball the old lady's holding in her hand." Max said before realising his slip up. "Oh!"
Something Cursula heard clearly. "Hmm? I heard that! Who's over there!" She yelled before running over to the crates and finding no one there. "Ugh! Hmm, that's strange."
"W-what's the matter?" Slander asked, a little shocked by her freakout.
"Yeah." Tred added as they walked over to her.
"I could have sworn I heard someone call me old lady." Cursula answered.
"I didn't hear anything." Tred said.
"When it comes to insults, my hearing's 20/20." Cursula said as she crouched down and looked around. "Hmm."
"You're probably hearing things." Louisa said.
She continued on looking until she was face to face with Chomp. "Hello there!" Chomp beamed before biting her on the nose.
"Aah! Let go of my nose, you little monster! Ah!" Cursula screamed as she tried to pull him off.
In their struggle, she accidentally dropped the ore and it rolled right over to Max's feet. "Lose something?" Max mocked them as he picked it up.
"The brat has the Hybro Metal!" Slander gasped.
"Come on, Chomp!" Max said as Chomp let go of Cursula and they both ran away.
"Huh? Don't let them get away!" Cursula ordered, covering her possibly bleeding nose. "Do something, D.R.O.I.D!"
"Roger that! Capture the brats and get the Hybro Metal back!" D.R.O.I.D ordered his troops.
"Catch brats, catch brats, catch brats." The Droids repeated before running after Max and Chomp.
"Come on, Max, we got to go, now!" Zoe said as Max ran up the stairs the rest of the D-Team was on.
"Coming!" Max said as he caught up with them and made a run for it.
"Time to give these Droids the slip!" Rhysa said.
DK
"What?! Zoe, Rex, Max and Rhysa didn't make it back to the bus?!" Michelle exclaimed when she noticed she was four heads short.
"I'm sure they're fine, Michelle." Amy assured her. "They're tougher than they look."
But Michelle wasn't listening to a word she said. "Ooh! All of you stay here! I'll be back as soon as I find them!" She told her class before running off the bus, ignoring the protests of her students. "Those poor kids, probably huddled somewhere in terror, waiting for me to come and save them." Michelle thought as she ran past the screaming workers and into the factory.
DK
"What kind of card is this?" Dr.N asked as he held the triangular Velociraptor Card in his hands.
"It's a new kind of card I created that combines multiple moves." Seth answered somewhat proudly, though not breaking the monotone.
"One card can have more than one move?" Dr.N asked.
"Yes. It carries two different moves that are both very powerful. I was able to perfect it based on all of your previous research on the subject, Doctor." Seth explained.
"So what you're saying is that this new multiple Move Card is actually the result of my research?" Dr.N asked for clarification.
"I suppose that's one way you could put it, sir." Seth said with a smile.
"Well, now, you shouldn't have done it without my permission, but good work nonetheless." Dr.N said as he went back to looking at the card. "So what can these Raptors do anyway?"
Before Seth could answer, the screen behind him flickered on. "Doctor?" Tred said from the other side.
"Huh? I hope you're calling to tell me you've refined the Hybro Metal." Dr.N threatened.
"Well, we were just about to." Tred started, but Dr.N cut him off.
"Yaa! You numbskull! You better not tell me you let anything happen to that Hybro Metal!" Dr.N screamed at him.
"All right, then I won't." Tred quietly responded, looking away as to not see his boss' angry face.
"I'm guessing that those little runts showed up, and you let them take the Hybro Metal from you?" Dr.N guessed.
"Heh, how did you know?" Tred asked, surprised the doctor got it right on the first guess.
"I just say the worst thing I can think of, and it turns out I'm always right!" Dr.N yelled as he started shaking the screen before his back hurt again. "Ehh-ooh!"
"Don't worry, Dr.N. We'll get that Hybro Metal back." Tred assured him. "N-no matter what it takes."
"Yeah, you'd better, or I'm giving the punishment of you four boneheads to Brontikens!" Dr.N threatened, making Tred's face go pale.
"Okay, thank you." Tred said before hanging up.
"Dumb as a stump." Dr.N commented.
Seth had his back turned this whole time and was listening in on the conversation. "Doctor, perhaps I should go to this ironworks place and supervise the refining of the Hybro Metal."
"Huh? Would you do that?" Dr.N asked, starting to calm down.
"Yes, I'll head out there immediately." Seth responded before he left.
"Just don't lose the Velociraptors or my Hybro Metal!" Dr.N called out to him. "Cursula and the others can't be trusted with new Dinosaurs because of this!"
"And that's why they're dead weight." Seth whispered to himself.
DK
"So, what did he say when you told him?" Cursula asked as Tred came back.
"Well, he wasn't very happy."
"Gee, now there's a surprise. I thought he'd give us a promotion." She said sarcastically before taking a drink Slander got for her.
"So what else did he say?" Louisa asked.
"He said that if we don't get the Hybro Metal back, he's gonna give our punishment to Brontikens! I think he just found out seven new execution methods!" Tred exclaimed.
"That guy seriously needs some help." Slander said. "All that training and destroying dummies can't be healthy."
"Oh, so if we don't get that Metal back, then that means we're doomed!" Louisa gasped.
Cursula took a long sip before crushing her drink. "I'll teach those little thieves a lesson they won't forget!" She declared as molten iron was poured into the furnace behind them. "They've really made me steamed!" She said before they all started coughing on the steam.
DK
"Finding brats, finding brats, finding brats, finding brats..." The Hybro Droids repeated as they ran all over the factory. What they didn't know was that the D-Team was hiding right above them on a tank. "Don't those Droids ever give up?" Max asked as he watched the run past.
"Apparently not." Giganto said.
"Now what?" Paris asked.
"As long as we have this metal, they'll keep chasing us." Rex said as he pulled out the ore.
"They mentioned before that it was Hybro Metal." Max recalled. "I wish I knew what they are gonna use it for."
"Why do we need to keep it from them to begin with?" Spiny asked.
"Because, remember what happened when they stole the metal from the crystal skull?" Chomp reminded him. "The whole temple nearly collapsed on us."
"Not to mention the earthquakes the villagers said they were feeling." Ace added. "This thing is too powerful for them to have."
"So what do we do? Throw it in the furnace?" Rex asked.
"Yeah, throw it in the furnace." Max agreed. "That'll keep their ugly hands off this ore."
"And it would really make them furious!" Dread said.
"Max, Rex, Zoe, Rhysa?" The team looked down and saw Michelle calling out for them. "Where are you?"
"Isn't she the one who left us to die in the caves?" Tank asked.
As Michelle kept looking, she ended up running into Cursula as she turned around the corner. "'Gasp!' I remember you!" Cursula said to Michelle.
"Oh, boy." Louisa, Slander and Tred said as they knew this was about to get ugly.
Michelle seemed to remember her old enemy as well. "I'm not old!" Cursula yelled.
"You're the old lady who stole my lunch!"
"How dare you!" Cursula yelled at Michelle. "When you're old enough to be my mother!"
"That's not true." Tred told her. "I really don't think she'd pass for being your mom."
"Oh, stay out of this!" Cursula responded with a head bash.
"Michelle!" Max called out to her as they climbed down.
"It's not safe here!" Rex warned her.
"Run for it!" Zoe said.
"You have to get out of here now!" Rhysa called.
The Hybro Gang turned around to see the D-Team coming down the stairs towards them. "Let's get our Hybro Metal back!" Slander declared.
"They'll be the ones getting a punishment from Brontikens!" Cursula announced.
"HYBRO SLASH!"
Brontikens rose from the ground as he was summoned, his head crashing through the ceiling and almost crushing everyone as he did so, he himself was unfazed while the Hybro Gang panicked and avoided falling debris. "Oooh!" They shouted while dodging.
"That's a huge Chameleon!" Michelle said, pulling her mouth for some reason, before she fainted from the shock. "Ohh."
Max caught her and tossed her to Rex before getting his Dino Holder. "Let's go, Terry!"
"DINO SLASH! FLAME UP, TYRANNOSAURUS!"
Terry appeared, and ended up crashing into the ceiling as well, though not as unfazed as Brontikens due to his smaller size. He bumped his head on the ceiling really hard and ended up falling to the ground. "Aaah!" He hissed before raising his head up. "This place is too small for a battle. Want to move this somewhere with more room?" The Tyrannosaurus suggested to his opponent.
"Yes, it would make seeing you a lot more easier." Brontikens said before turning away. "Follow me." He said before running off, again ignoring the scraping metal on his neck from his head tearing through the ceiling until it was high enough. Terry followed once he got back onto his feet.
"That's it, Terry!" Max called out before turning to the rest of the team. "Okay, now's our chance to get Michelle out of here.
"Right. Let's go." Rex said before he, Zoe, and their Dinos went the opposite way while Max and Chomp followed Terry.
"Max, wait for me!" Rhysa said, as she and her Dinos followed him.
The two Dinosaurs continued on running until they reached the room where the Hybro Gang docked the aircraft. "Please try not to destroy the aircraft. It'll make things harder." Brontikens warned Terry as he got into position.
"With you, everything's harder." Terry said as he pawed the ground.
Max and Chomp, along with Rhysa, Stiggy, Stigga, Dread, Tracker, Brontina and Giganto caught up to them just as they were about to fight. But, out of nowhere, a small, black jet-like craft landed right on top of the Hybro Gang's craft. "What- what's this?" Max wondered.
"I don't know." Rhysa said.
The Hybro Gang finally caught up and noticed the familiar aircraft. "Huh?" The hatch to the craft opened up, and Seth stood up. "Why is Seth here?" Tred asked his teammates. Neither of them could answer, only that it couldn't be good if Seth was getting involved.
Max walked up to the stranger and recognised him as the mysterious man they saw at Zeta Point. "Who are you?" He asked Seth.
Seth simply looked down and acknowledged the boy and the Triceratops before turning his attention to the battle. The two titans were currently in a headlock, trying to knock the other to the ground to make them vulnerable. "Cursula, throw me your Hybro Scanner, quick!" He commanded her.
"Oh, all right." She responded, deciding best not to question why, as she tossed it to Seth, who caught it with ease.
Terry backed up from Brontikens as it was clear they were getting nowhere. His opponent refused to back up as a sign of dominance. Max opened his Dino Holder and pulled out a Move Card. "Volcano Burst!"
But Seth saw this and quickly pulled out his Velociraptor Card. "Velociraptor, Critical Block!"
The three Raptors suddenly appeared all over Terry: the leader jumping on his back, the yellow one biting on his nose, and the blue one smacking him with his own face when Terry's head was close to the ground. They did this until Terry collapsed and the Move Card stopped activating. And, as fast as they appeared, they were recalled.
"Oh!" Max and Chomp both gasped at the power of the Velociraptors. Even Brontikens was slightly surprised.
"What in the name of Dinosaurs?" Rhysa asked.
"Those were Velociraptors!" Tracker said. "But how'd he get them?"
"I have discovered a way to modify the Velociraptor's life energy and DNA, thereby enabling them the power of multiple Dinosaur elements." Seth explained. "So, you could say I helped them to evolve."
Max heard this and was absolutely livid. "Changing Dinosaurs into fighters isn't evolution! It's evil and cruel!"
"And what would've happened if Dinosaurs lived on and had never become extinct, huh?" Seth asked him. "They might have eventually evolved more than humans have, and established a civilization far more advanced than ours. Sooner or later, a Dinosaur far more powerful than any of these would surely have come into existence. All I've done is assist the natural order!" He shouted at the boy.
"Nothing's natural about it!" Terry roared angrily at him as he got back up. "You have no right to be changing any living Creature to how you see fit!"
"I wouldn't expect you to understand the science." Brontikens told the Tyrannosaurus. He had no idea Seth was working on such a project, like everyone else, and didn't trust him in the slightest. But he did agree with most of the statements Seth was making. They needed dominance if they were to survive. "This is what we need. What we need to reclaim our planet!"
"The earth doesn't just belong to Dinosaurs anymore! Humans and Dinosaurs now both share this planet!" Terry roared in furry.
"Brilliant ideas are always too much for the small of mind. So I'll forgive your little outburst." Seth said to him.
"I'll show you an outburst!" Terry roared as he charged at Brontikens before Max got out a Move Card he borrowed from Zoe.
"Tail Smash!" Terry swung his tail and immediately began hitting Brontikens in the chest. The strength of the Move Card gave his tail much greater force and allowed him to knock Brontikens to the ground.
"Great hit Terry!" Brontina cheered.
"Finish him off!" Chomp cheered.
"Ultimate Fire!" Terry erupted in flames and charged towards the struggling to get up Brontikens before he struck the Apatosaurus with enough force to send him back into a wall.
"Ohh. Brontikens got beaten." Slander said sadly as the Apatosaurus landed on the ground.
"Again!" Louisa moaned.
"Not quite. For you see, this Move Card has more than one move. Allow me to show you. Final Fury!" Seth announced as he activated the card.
Brontikens gave out a roar of pain, feeling his energy draining, before he collapsed and the Velociraptors appeared from behind him. Using the energy he gave them, the Velociraptors flew towards Terry like they were expendable hands before they each grabbed onto him and raised him up until he hit the ceiling and brought him down until he hit the floor. The attack was too much and Terry was defeated. "Terry, hang on!" Chomp called out as he and Max ran to grab the card.
Brontikens and the Raptors were recalled before Zander grabbed Terry's Card with their Grappling Claw. "Ha! Looking for this?" He mocked as he held out the card.
"Got brats, got brats, got brats." The Hybro Droids repeated as they carried a tied up Rex, Zoe, Michelle, and their Dinos.
"Sorry, Max. They got us before we could use our Dino Holders." Zoe apologised as she struggled.
"They were a bit slippery, but it didn't take too much to get the jump on them." D.R.O.I.D said as he rolled over to them proudly with their Dino Holders in his arms. "This is what you get for hitting me with a stick!"
"You let them go!" Chomp ordered, furious to see Paris tied up.
"Ha, ha, ha!" Cursula laughed. "You're in no position to bargain. So, let's make a deal. If you want to save your friends, and the old lady, give us back the Hybro Metal!"
"Who are you calling old?" Michelle asked drowsily before fainting again.
"I'm assuming we're not a part of this deal?" Ace asked Cursula, already knowing the answer.
"Of course not! Why would we give you away when we have nearly all of your strongest Dinosaurs?" Slander told him.
"Forget it!" Max said as he looked at the ore before he ran up the stairs.
"Stop him!" D.R.O.I.D ordered.
"Not today!" Chomp said before he tackled the pink Hybro Droid to the ground and blocked the way Max went up.
"Droids! Grab them!" Louisa ordered.
"Not today!" Stigga called, as she and the rest of Rhysa's Team tackled the droids to the ground, as Rhysa followed Max and Chomp.
"Now what?" Rex asked, wondering what plan Max had.
"I have no idea." Zoe answered.
Max and Rhysa reached the top of the stairs and ran over to the railing that looked over the furnace. He raised his hand with the ball and held it over the burning metal. "Give me back Terry's Card and let all of my friends go now, or I'll throw this stupid ball of yours into the furnace!" He threatened the Hybro Gang. "And I mean all my friends!" He added to make sure they didn't pull any tricks with his wording.
"And if you summon any of your Hybrids to the scene then we'll definitely drop it in!" Rhysa yelled.
"You wouldn't?" Cursula gasped.
"Yes, he would." Tred replied nervously, not wanting to get punished by Dr.N.
Louisa was horrified but there was nothing she could do. The way up to the furnace was blocked by Rhysa's Dinosaurs and if she summoned any of her Hybrids then they'd drop the Hybro Metal into the furnace. Max and Rhysa clearly had the upper hand.
"Let him throw it in if he wants to." Seth replied, almost laughing.
"Huh?" Everyone was confused by this sudden decision.
"Yes, go ahead and throw it in, and I'll give you back the Tyrannosaurus Card and let all your friends go free. Both humans and Dinosaurs." Seth told Max.
"Yeah? You mean it?" The brunet felt he was telling the truth, but couldn't trust him at the same time.
"That's what you say." Rhysa said. "But can we trust you?"
"Yes. I give you my word." Seth answered.
"Hmm." Max pounded the idea, but knew that the risk was worth the reward. "Okay!" He said before winding his arm back.
"Prepare to throw it in." Rhysa said.
"Max, Rhysa, wait a second!" Rex called out to them, making the brunet stop his throw. "Before he throws it in, I wanna know something. What is that Hybro Metal, and why is it so important to you?" He asked Seth, who was looking at him with a bit of curiosity.
"Yeah, tell us!" Tank added.
"Nothing for you all to worry about at all." Seth assured them. "Hybro Metal is nothing more than a special alloy that we use for our machines and reactor cores. Absolutely nothing to do with our Dinosaurs. Go ahead and throw the ball into the furnace."
"Launch Max!" Rhysa said.
"All right, then. Here goes nothing!" Max said as he gave the ball a hefty chuck and tossed it directly into the furnace.
The Hybro Gang ran over and saw a tiny part of it stick out all the way in the middle. "Ohh." Cursula moaned.
"Not good." Louisa said.
"Do I have to tell Dr.N?" Tred asked fearfully.
"Slander, give the boy back his card." Seth told the tall man.
"What?! You were serious about that?!" Slander asked in shock.
"Yes. I gave him and the girl my word." Seth said as he sat back down.
"But surely you realise the advantage we'd have if we-"
"Now." Seth said as he gave a cold glare that could kill. "D.R.O.I.D, give the kids back their devices, gather the rest of the Hybro Droids, and get back on board the Hybro Craft." Seth ordered as he tossed Cursula back her Scanner.
"Has he lost it?" Tred asked.
"I think he has." Louisa said.
"I think he's been spending way too much time with Dr.N. But who cares as long as he gets all the blame?" Cursula response. "Give the brats their card and untie them, and let's get out of here."
"All right." Slander said as he used the claw to hand Terry's Card to Max. "Here you go, I guess."
"Great to have you back, Terry." Max said as he took the card and went with Rhysa to untie their friends.
"You'd better be grateful for this." D.R.O.I.D said angrily as he tossed Rex and Zoe their Dino Holders before gathering his troops.
"If you kids know what's good for you, you'll get far away from this building. I'd hate to have another family member severely wounded as well as another relative killed." Seth warned them as his craft started to ascend.
"Why?" Max asked, confused about the last bit, as were his friends.
"Because it's about to blow sky-high!" Seth told them before both Hybro Crafts went through the opening. Finally we have a name for those aircrafts.
As the ore continued to glow in the furnace, the kids recalled their Dinos and worked on freeing Michelle. "Do you think he was serious?" Max asked once the Hybro Gang were gone.
"I don't like the looks of this." Rex replied.
"I think we'd better get out of here now." Rhysa said.
"Michelle?" Zoe said as she gently shook their teacher.
Michelle groaned as she started to wake up. "Huh- oh, dear! There you are! Are you children alright?"
"That's what we should be asking you." Max replied.
"Let's go, guys!" Zoe said as they helped Michelle to her feet and ran out.
When they managed to get out, they noticed the Hybro Crafts going higher and higher into the air. "What are they up to now?" Max asked.
"Nothing good, I'm sure." Zoe said as they continued running to the bus.
"There you are!" Amy greeted them when they returned. "I was just about to call for help!"
"We're fine, Amy." Max assured her. "But we need to take cover."
Up in the air, Seth carefully looked through the hole which the furnace was in. "So what are you planning to do, Seth?" Cursula asked from their ship's communicator.
"Yeah, why'd you let them throw the Hybro Metal into the furnace?" Louisa added.
"Sending a capsule of Dinomond powder into the blast furnace will create immense energy, powerful enough to refine the Hybro Metal into 100% pure form." With the press of a button, a capsule of Dinomond powder was released from the ship and landed right in the furnace. As the powder and the furnace combined, the ships flew as far as possible before the whole factory went white and exploded.
From their bus, the students all held on as the blast shook the whole bus. When the dust cleared, all that was left was a large crater and a 100% pure Hybro Metal. In its pure form, it came off liquid like. A can was lowered from Seth's ship and collected the ore before it flew away. When they were sure it was safe, Michelle opened the bus door and looked at the damage. "Huh? What's this? The whole factory is gone."
The D-Team walked over to the crater and saw absolutely nothing. "Just think, if we hadn't gotten out of there in time..." Max said.
"We'd be dead." Zoe finished.
"You know, guys, we gotta stop them." Rex said.
"And we've gotta save those Velociraptors." Rhysa added.
"And we will." Max declared. This war has just gotten much more serious.
DK
Once he returned to Zeta Point, Seth threw the Velociraptors back into the tube and resumed his experimenting on them. Electricity was sent into the tube, but he also kept adjusting the temperature from extremely hot to extremely cold in no pattern. The Velociraptors screamed as the pain became unbearable. The leader cried as he collapsed to the ground. "Please, no more!" He begged, tears coming out of his eyes.
"But if I stopped then it's possible you'll lose your power, and my hard work. I haven't come this far just to lose everything." Seth told him. "Of course, you three are just the start. The more cards I collect, the more Dinosaurs I'll be able to test."
"Why?! We've done you no wrong!" The Velociraptor cried as he covered his face to block out the pain, but to no avail.
"No, this is simply a case of fascination. As well as some quid pro quo." Seth responded as he crouched down to the Velociraptor's level, almost enjoying watching this ferocious Dinosaur that scared anyone who's seen a Jurassic Park movie broken down to a sobbing mess. "I make you all stronger, and you make me your king."
DK
Once they got back to the D-Lab after telling the others everything that happened, Rhysa pulled out her camera and started recording the Herd, as a picture of the Velociraptors appeared on the screen with the Herd in the background. As the card slid to the side the Herd were in full focus on the camera.
"This time we saw the Triangular Velociraptor Card for the first time! Hopefully we'll rescue those poor Raptors from the Hybro Gang one day, but for now we've rescued 84 Dinosaurs. Not bad."
Next time on Dinosaur King:
Rod: We'll take these if you don't mind
Seth: The sooner you capture the remaining 45 Dinosaurs, the sooner you can return home
Rod: That D-Team won't know what hit 'em
Slander: Whoa! It's a Saurophaganax!
A/N: First chapter of March, and only one more chapter to go before we reach the two original chapters I promised everyone I'd do.
Just need a name for the Kentrosaurus as well as two Move Cards that are from the TCG Cards or the Arcade Game of Dinosaur King.
And plot points are starting to be revealed here. So see you all next time.