The group reached the front of the way into Sync City, and hid. They look up to see no guards at the gate. Very suspicious. It's like the enemy is practically inviting our heroes to come in.
"Could be a trap, guys." Roman said suspiciously, tipping his hat up a bit. "And we need to sprang it."
"Well, come on!" KickinChicken laughed as he approached the gate. "They are expecting us. Let's get in an' show 'em what for..."
Suddenly stomping noises are heard, making the group yelp as a white dragon foot appeared, stopping KickinChicken from getting in. They gasped as a huge dragon clad in icy armor appeared in the way, smirking wickedly.
"Oh, hey, it's a snow dragon!" Drakus exclaimed. "What do you want?"
"I'm ready to stomp ya!" The dragon laughed as he sent out a blast of endothermic fire onto the group, who dodged.
"Whoa, whoa, hey!" Ian exclaimed as him, Anthony and Cyn dodged the flames in time.
"Why are you attacking us?!" Reimu exclaimed, teleporting while dodging the flames like mad.
"Simple. The boss is free, and now we're taking back what's ours. What a man to do, eh?" The dragon remarked, smirking.
"Ours?" Kanade asked, arching an eyebrow. She yelped as another snow dragon flew down and sent down more endothermic flames onto the heroes.
"I see you, descendant of Saiai Hakurei!" The dragon roared, spotting Reimu in fury. "Gems are fine, but ending your bloodline will be an extra bonus!"
"Oh great!" Garie exclaimed as she dodged the flames. "Your ancestor just had to tick off the dragons."
"What's next? A big huge hydra will show up, wanting a meal?" Furina asked in amusement. Suddenly a foot landed near the archon, almost crushing him. The gang turns to see a huge snow hydra roaring.
"Good one, love." Neo remarked to Furina sarcastically. "Now we have three monstrous assholes chasing us!"
"Not bad for an afternoon."
"Let's get ready to rumble!" Forester exclaimed wickedly, as the Shadow Hunters watch the unexpected monsters appearing, preparing to take down the intruders.
"Let's get ready to rumble!" Forester exclaimed wickedly as the Shadow Hunters watch the monsters appearing, preparing to take down the intruders, not knowing that their true master sent them.
"I love a good monster fight!" Bobo remarked, mouth full of popcorn.
Of course, as per usual, as the bots sat down to watch the squad take care of the snow dragons, Gypsy turned to the others.
"You know, it's not quite as bad, just staying around in the background." Gypsy said.
"I don't blame ya." Crow said as he sipped on a cup of lemonade. "Though it's weird seeing it from a different angle."
"Well, at least we're managing something..." Tom said, as he was pulling out a small invention. "Say, does this Mind-Controlled Guitar still work?"
"Hmmm... may as well be worth a shot. Hook me up on it." Crow said, as Tom started to do so.
As if on cue, a loud guitar strum was heard. The snow dragons instantly turned to see Tom, Crow, Gypsy and Cambot all strapped in with an electrical guitar attached to hands.
"Okay, let's give them a taste of sound!" Gypsy said as she closed her eye... as the guitar started to strum with the mechanical hands, causing musical notes to get summoned to beat down the snow dragons.
"Drum solo!" Tom called, as drum sounds were heard, joining in on beating up the snow dragons.
"Trumpet, tuba, horn!" Crow called, as horn sounds came out of the guitar, the musical notes strangling the life out of the snow dragons.
"And last, but most certainly not least... FULL POWER BAND!" A voice called as the musical instruments beat down the dragons as they were tossed all the way to the side.
Kanade smiled as she laughed. "I'm impressed. You guys actually did something for once!"
"Well, what can we say? We've been riffing in the background for far too long. It's time we took a step in." Tom said.
"Anna!" Akko inhaled sharply, composing herself and pretending the maid didn't just help mop the floor with snow dragons. "How are you doing? You look...moisturized," she said, noticing the lack of wrinkles and the now purple hair. "Did ya get some work done?"
"I have been seeing a Doctor, and he's administered a rather...unorthodox treatment," said the now younger head maid.
"Shot in the dark: Was it vampire DNA?"
"It was a spa day, a deep tissue massage, and a face mask...of Heliotropium and vampire DNA."
"If you wanted one of those, you could have just asked me," Akko said, smiling to hide her surprise. Sucy, on the other hand, was more straightforward.
"Anna. I sincerely hope you are not double crossing us because you know first hand what happens to traitors," she said, her eyes blank.
"Are you talking about the unmarked graves in the courtyard?" Lotte asked. "Which are now currently all uprooted…"
"You mean the people we buried alive?" Akko asked.
"You what?" Lugnut asked, surprised at such revelations.
"Well, come on, we better get going to the gates!" Neo said as the gates opened and the others went in and entered Sync City.
"Okay... looks like they got past the first obstacle..." Forrester said as he was holding the Shard of Mephisto. "Now... we just need a new plan."
"Don't worry, Clay! The dodos we hired have it covered." Jack said. "Just give me a second, I got to powder my nose."
"Fine." Clayton rolled his eyes as he put down the Shard of Mephisto for a mere moment. Of course, as soon as both their backs were turned, a portal appeared out of nowhere as a hand grabbed that element and replaced it with another shard. None of them noticed as Clayton groaned. "Just hurry up... we have some more negotiations to make with Leah..."
Meanwhile, at the place where the shards are, a portal opened as a demonic voice was heard, "Step one, completed. Now for step two, my escape..."
A frigid hand came out as it dragged out a large draconic being that resembles a quadrupedal wyvern with piscine features. It had a wide, fish-like head with two bovine-like horns behind its eyes, two hooked growths facing downwards on its top lip and exposed razor-sharp teeth that point straight. Its body was covered in shiny black scales and fish-like gills adorn its neck. Most of its body was covered in dark blue overlapping plates resembling that of a pangolin with some missing from its arms and underbelly. It had two, large, dark red wings that resemble the fins of a flying fish and four-fingered hands that are positioned at the end of the arm part of the wing. It had a skinny, muscular physique and its hindlimbs were much shorter and stubbier than its forelimbs. The end of its tail is covered by forward-facing needle-like spines, terminating in a four-pronged pincer-like claw. On its chest was a second mouth, with tendrils resembling the nasal appendages of a star-nosed mole on it, while the tips of each of these tendrils glowed blue. "Now... to wait... and while I'm waiting, I'll prepare for the duel of whose ideals will win the day..."
Meanwhile, back with the squad, they started to walk around as Vader sighed. "I can't believe how close we are to being done with this farce."
"I know it!" Opal said. "I thought this would last six chapters."
"Maybe it was a little shorter than we thought." Tom Servo said.
Nobody else said anything as they continued onwards into the HQT as they moved down a hall. Fortunately, there aren't any guards or villains to deal with, so it looks like the gang got a clear run.
The group reached the doors to the top and opened them. Leah and Candice were in a cage, trying to escape.
"Girls!" Candice exclaimed as her former babysittees and their friends rushed into the room.
"Candice, I'm so sorry for this!" Opal exclaimed as the squad worked on trying to open the cages. "Give us a few seconds and we will get you out."
"And then you, Iris and Mallory will lay in bed, screwing and smoking, and maybe Cheri, K-Liz, Scarlet and BellaBritney can join in!" Tom Servo exclaimed happily, making all seven of them blush a bit.
"TOM!" The seven exclaimed.
"Oh shut up!" Some voices exclaim. The group saw the Shadow Hunters in the room, as well as between them, the same Yokai Saiai fought for her first incident. The Frozen King, the Frost Lord, the Snow Kaiser.
Varkionix.
"Hello, Saiai's great-grandchild, remember me?" Varkionix asked as he moved around, his voice almost somber and elegant.
"Oh I remember you, you big prick!" Diablo growled. Varkionix growled as he threw a giant snowball at her, which missed. The demon yelped and dodged. "Oy vey..."
"Give us the shards!" Dawn demanded the squad. "We know you have them!"
"Oh, those little things, yeah, I already drained them of their magic, and now I'm back." Varkionix said. "And now, I shall cleanse this world, and return it to its true beauty of the Ice Age."
"Oh yeah? You want the snow, you gotta fight us for it!" Akko laughed.
"Dream on. I got powers you haven't dreamt of! These mortals..."
"I got a bat!" Bobo laughed as he held up a bat which slipped from his head and hit TV's Frank. "Oops. My bad!"
"That's o...ouch!" TV's Frank groaned as he felt his forehead.
"We won't tell you where the shards are!" Iris exclaimed as she and her friends and the X-Squad prepared to take on the bad guys and the Frozen King. Because let's face it, folks, it's about to happen at this point. "We will get the last one from you all, save Sync City, and get everything back to normal!"
"In that case, it's me against them against you all in a final showdown." Varkionix chuckled. "Let me set the stage."
He created a boom box out of snow, as the music started playing, as the room soon distorted into a road, as if Varkionix teleported them to another dimension, as they heard another voice.
BGM: Undefeatable (Sonic Frontiers)
"Smashing mailboxes is nice and all, but you wanna have some REAL fun?" And soon, the post office blew up. They saw a girl laughing triumphantly after showing her friends how it's done. "And THAT'S how you smash a mailbox!"
"Okay, kid, I like the idea, but how would you like to have some REAl real fun and help us fight Frost boy over here?" Leslie was ready to give the other four girls a major surprise.
Soon, the X-Squad got their weapons out, or transformed.
"Hey girls, wanna help out?" Leslie asked, as the other three soon grinned as Harleen looked even more confused.
Pamela Isley is Poison Ivy, mistress of plants, and hatred of man, using her powers in the hope of returning the world to its former nature-filled glory.
Carol Ferris is Star Sapphire, a violent Violet Lantern who uses the love inside of her to spread terror in others.
Doris Zeul is Giganta, thanks to using her parents' growth chemicals, one of the strongest enemies you will ever face, and uses it to her advantage.
Harleen gasped at this, as well as the squad facing down a giant dragon. "You guys are monster hunters?! Why didn't you say something?!"
Harleen Quinzel is the Jester, the Joker's biggest fangirl, and also completely crazy, using cartoonish gags to make her enemies roll over in pain, preferably with her trusty mallet.
All of the members of this group laughed maniacally, eagerly awaiting what this night will bring to them.
Soon, Varkionix summoned a giant robotic mole colored blue and white, as he teleported them across reality into a pier, and leapt into the mole mecha.
"You must vacate this business or dwelling immediately." One of the Yukinjas attacking the pier said. "You are interfering with our master's agenda. You have ten seconds to comply."
"Oh, yeah?" Supergirl asked daringly. "Well, you got ten seconds to say your prayers."
That was when Varkionix' mech stomped forward.
"Come to have some fun, girls?" asked a voice from inside the metal figure.
"AH-HA!" Batgirl pointed at the logo on the robot's chest. "I knew it! I knew Lex was working with these ninjas! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" She calmed herself down and cleared her throat. "I knew it was Lex."
"Lex? I am not Lex!" The voice from inside the robot snapped, and then the visor opened up revealing the real pilot: Varkionix. "I'm the Frozen King, Varkionix. And all this. This is my plan, not that foppish child. He could never come up with something on this scale."
"What?" Akko asked. "You're telling me that the Frozen King's causing chaos in the Metro section? I don't get it."
"Do I have to spell it out?" Varkionix asked.
"Yeah, you kinda do!" Opal said.
"Before you ask, I learned how much Lex's own sister abhors him, it was easy for me to get her to turn on that brat. I needed her log-in credentials to unleash the demo-bots and demolish all the teen hang-outs in Metropolis. I may not have agreed with her end goal, but that's not what I wanted. I needed her to give the teenagers an excuse to put on the Lexcorp VR goggles, where I installed my own application to make them…replaceable."
Varkionix' mech lightly stomped, and all the teenagers that had the VR goggles on were swapped out for Yukinjas, which immediately ran to the pier.
"Wow. That's quite an excessive plan." Batgirl said.
"And now, for the coup de gras." Varkionix said. "By now, my Yukinjas have already installed more headsets on the other citizens of Sync City, which was formerly called Metropolis, and that was formerly Tristram, allowing them to be swapped for Yukinjas. Now, once all my minions get to the Omni-Core, the heart of the Omniverse, they will deliver it to me. In just a few short hours, the omniverse will become my own personal winter wonderland, and that is my test for you, X-Squad and Superhero Girls: defeat me, and we shall see whose ideals win the day."
"That's at least better than Lena's dumb plan." Supergirl commented.
"Your plan will never work, frosty." Batgirl said. "We teenagers are stronger than you think." Her eyes incidentally caught Bumblebee and Giganta being distracted by a VR goggle set and almost getting replaced by a Yukinja. "Bumblebee! Giganta!"
"That's at least better than Lena's dumb plan." Supergirl commented.
"Goodness! Some of you look like that mercenary Hannah!" Akko laughed. "Still, I can't forgive you for not going all the way."
"Excuse me?" Anna said, her tone notably more irate and young.
"Oh please! You think I didn't check the Netflix account activity?"
Anna froze and her face paled.
"Twenty replays of Madoka Magica 3: Rebellion? Binging Sailor Moon? Revolutionary Girl Utena? Even Kill La Kill? Where did you even have time to watch all of that? I could go on."
"You know what I watch. So what?!"
"You said you wanted to go out with no regrets! Well, now you're young with bullshit powers and no longer an old hag who has to take everything seriously."
"Get to the fucking point!"
"CLOTHES SHADOW!"
In the blink of an eye, shadows passed over Anna, causing her to flinch. There was no pain, however. When she opened her eyes and looked down, she gasped. Her top was similar to her original women's suit, tailored to be a dark shade of purple with black accents and a blood-red tie. Her bottom, however, became a white skirt that stopped just above her knees and poofed out just enough. A pair of thin black pants hugged her legs and rested underneath a pair of white heeled boots. When she reached up, she realized that her hair was once again tied up, but in a cute ponytail.
"What...what is this? Why are you doing this?"
"Because this is exactly what you want, and I'm going to give it to you!"
Varkionix finally flew down and shapeshifted, as his Frost Mole went on autopilot. His coat was white and flowed around him graciously, a few buttons and a red belt holding it together. Underneath, he wore a blue dress shirt and white vest. White stockings ran on his thighs before also falling underneath blue heeled boots. Finally, on his head rested a white magician hat, as he gave a rather sorrowful frown.
Anna couldn't believe what she was seeing. Was this how the final battle was going down? An all-out over-the-top Magical Girl battle? Older Anna would have stopped it here, but her younger mind took over. A time before the true nature of the world, of war, of vampire hunting, diminished her dreams and emotions. Her lips curved up in a smile.
"Well then, to whom do I owe this dance against the ice storm?"
Akko beamed before striking a pose. "You battle alongside the Queen of Vampires, Akko Kagari!"
"Come, sisters and strange allies!" Wonder Woman said. "It was on this sacred ground that we became friends and heroes, now, we shall defend it with our lives."
Varkionix chuckled, but it wasn't malicious. "The optimism of youth, the genuine desire for peace…so refreshing. That's the spirit, young ones…" The Frost Mole gave a high-pitched robotic squeal, as Varkionix' cane turned into a demonic sword. "Now, show me that you can back it up with action!"
Anna struck her own pose, her wires forming behind her to accent it.
"Frozen King Varkionix...If anybody will bring you down, it shall be I, Anna C. Dornez, Vampire Hunter Extraordinaire!"
And so, the squad began their fight against Varkionix and his army of Yukinjas.
"Ultra Violets!" Iris ordered right back. "Go wild!"
As the Yukinjas skulked into the pier, squinting at Iris's ultraviolet rays, Cheri, Opal, K-Liz, BellaBrittney and Scarlet exchanged glances.
"I think she means us!" K-Liz stage-whispered.
"Oh, right. Duh!" With a smack to her head, Scarlet spiraled into action. From the front of the first aisle, she bounced into a modern dance barrel jump, twisting her entire body around in midair. Tumbling down the aisle, she precision-kicked the locks of the chests of the Yukinjas, shattering them with her sharply pointed toes. Her black ponytail, glazed a deep purple in Iris's ultraviolet light. She moved so fast the mutants thought they were looking at a sideways cyclone.
"Awesome torque, Scarlet!" Bella cheered her on, as Brittney chuckled. Even though Scarlet still had no idea what that meant, as a Yukinja snuck up on her.
"NO!" Opal thundered, her voice booming through the pier. She hurled a small lightning bolt at the Yukinja, hitting it in the skull. "Yo, Ivy!" Opal said to Poison Ivy. "Freezies. Get a Barrel. Catch them. Now! And you, Sapphire! Wrap up the freezies too!"
Soon, Poison Ivy and Star Sapphire started subduing the Yukinjas.
At first, Cheri tried to count the Yukinjas. But there were too many, and were too freaky to look at for long. An entire Ickipedia of style Tweeks wouldn't help these monsters, she thought, back-skating into the center aisle just as a larger Yukinja came barreling toward her on eight legs. 'Pity I forgot to pack my stiletto-lacrosse stick.'
"Eh?" K-Liz answered.
"Never mind," she said to the cute lizard mutant, ducking beneath the tables as another of Varkionix' frost bolts flashed by. "I need your help!" Out of the corner of her eye, Cheri could see that Scarlet was nearly at the end of her row. But there were two more aisles to go.
"Feeling not so fresh?" Cheri asked aloud.
"I got these!" The lizard mutant said, lifting stink bombs up.
"Here we go!" Cheri skated down the center aisle, opening cages to the left and right. She wasn't as speedy as Scarlet or Opal, but she made due, as K-Liz threw stink bombs left and right.
During the fight, the Yukinjas began to gain ground as they started freezing the pier rides.
"This isn't working!" Green Lantern said, struggling to keep the fair from falling apart.
"There's too many of them!" Batgirl said.
"Tell me about it." Crow said. "I'm surprised all these ninjas haven't been tripping over each other."
"Well, we're working with crazy people," Zatanna said, "And this whole army is being controlled by a dragon."
"Wait… Idea!" skekSil said. "Varkionix! If we beat him, I wager the Yukinjas will follow!"
"Of course." Wonder Woman said. "Six warriors and a band of misfits can't defeat an army, but we can take out the general!"
"Even giant mega robots need power." Batgirl said as she pulled out the blueprints to Lena's suit on her laptop. "If we can jolt the mainframe, we can short it out."
Supergirl looked around until her eyes were fixed on an electric guitar and an amplifier. She went to pick it up. "I got one just like this, shorts out my house all the time. Just turn it up to ten and shred."
Opaline realized the idea in Drakus and Iris' heads forming. She snickered, whipping up her biggest lightning ball yet. "Gimme a onel Gimme a two! Gimme a strike three!" BellaBritney cheered her on with her pompom, both of her personalities excited by the chaos. Opal wound up for the death pitch. "Will this work too?"
"Nice means, you two." Cheri said, "But we'd still have to get it into the motherboard, which is directly inside of that warsuit."
"I'll do it!" Drakus volunteered.
"Dragon child, are you sure?" Diana asked.
"It's crazy, but I've done dumber."
"Great." Kanade handed her captain a chord. "Connect this cable to the CPU in that mole bot, and we'll rig the amp to go past ten. Then, we can plug the other end to the amp and…"
"ZZZZZZ! The dragon's going down!" Powder finished.
Wonder Woman looked to observe the battle. "Green Lantern, get Batgirl as close to Lena as you can. Supergirl, Zatanna, you're with me in fighting more robots. Dragon child, I'm trusting your allies to distract Lena Luthor."
Le Quack laughed. "Don't worry, mademoiselle. If there's one thing this squadron can do, it's send people up le wall."
"Now, let us do this!" Wonder Woman declared before sending everyone out.
Zatanna and the X-Squad teamed up to distract Lena. In their own special way. Zatanna first multiplied herself to the point where she was all over Lena's mech. Le Quack took on a disguise as he was carried up to Varkionix' window by Starscream.
"Hello, kind monsieur. I am Doctor Le Quack, world-renowned pharmacist. It has come to my attention that you have a bad case of Zatannas?"
"But of course."
"Well, we can't have that now can we?" He then went in and started showing off his (fake) collection of mech medicines, which only lasted for a bit thanks to her realizing there's no such thing as mech medicines.
"Get back here!" Le Quack knew when to fold em and Starscream flew out the window after setting some dynamite to stun her for a bit, which worked. Le Quack can only brag after Zatanna catches him.
"Another grand performance by Le Quack!" The stun ended as the Frost Mole went to grab the two, but luckily, Wonder Woman's lasso, Poison Ivy's vines and Giganta and Supergirl's combined strength kept the mech still, prompting Zatanna and the squad to jump on the mech and attack. Thanks to their combined efforts, Drakus flew in unnoticed. Green Lantern and Star Sapphire, meanwhile, got Cheri and Batgirl close to the mech via a remote-controlled bumper car, which left them time to get the amp ready. Again, right on cue as Drakus connected the plug. She confirmed her readiness after turning the amp up to 11. Right as she was able to connect the amp to the cord, which wasn't long enough, it seems, Varkionix got annoyed, launching everyone except Batgirl off her as she launched into the sky. They were in the endgame now…
"Hey, Supergirl! You ready to rock?!"
"Alright, big boy! Time for a lullaby!" With a shockwave, the electricity moved through the vines, prompting Drakus to think of a last-minute solution: use his tail to connect the short cord, as Opal threw her lightning ball at the Frost Mole. And it worked! As the mech began to shut down, Varkionix chuckled at such audacity, even as he fell down. And with the mech's shutdown came the Yukinjas as well, and the blizzard finally ended. But everyone was concerned about one thing: Drakus fell down, and crashed on the docks, not moving.
"NOOOO!" Lyre and Starscream yelled, as the two dashed up to Drakus, turning him to face them.
"Sir! Sir! Stay with me, sir! DRAKUS!" Lyre yelled.
"I'm not letting my leadership be gained by you dying like this! DON'T DIE ON ME, LORD MEGATRON!" Starscream yelled, as Drakus finally got up, dazed and confused… and had a permanent highlight of deep silver, which didn't go unnoticed by Zee.
"Nice highlight! What's your secret?" Zee asked, as Taeko hugged him.
"Stupid ideas, big payoff." Drakus remarked, as he was then hugged by everyone as Varkionix looked at them with a smile on his face.
"No, it is courage. I guess your ideals won out, X-Squad, your strength, your bonds, outclassed my own powers and skills. And oddly, I'm ok with that. Maybe a part of me didn't want to win? I don't know for sure. But what does it matter. I lost. There should be lots of rejoicing." He muttered softly.
"I wouldn't say that." A warm voice sounded. The squad looked up at the source of the voice. He stood there…was a dragon like Varkionix, but coated in flames that didn't burn the land as he walked. "Hello." He said casually with a wave.
"The Blazing Emperor, Kaizorius!" Reimu and Marisa said in unison.
"Brother…is that really you?" Varkionix asked.
"Yes. I am here." Kaizorius said.
"But…shouldn't you have…gone ahead already?" Varkionix asked.
"Good thing about eternity…it's eternal. I waited for a bit, I waited for you, so that we could face the God Council together." Kaizorius explained.
"But…I am a monster. I went against everything I believed, I was a being of pure anger, spite, I tried to destroy everything. How can I be forgiven?" Varkionix broke down in tears again.
Kaizorius sat down next to him and hugged the Frost Lord. "There is a journey between this world and the next, which all souls must take, to reflect on whom they were and what they did in life. And for everyone, it leads somewhere different. But whatever waits for me, doesn't matter, I'll be by your side to see where it leads you."
"Even if it leads to damnation?" Varkionix asked. "Because you don't deserve it."
"You don't deserve it either. For all the wrong you've done…you are not a monster, you are someone who was hurt by life." Kaizorius assured his brother.
"Tell that to any head honcho we see in the after. They will judge me for all the bad I've done." Varkionix said.
"As well as the good." Kaizorius said.
"Always too optimistic, are you?" Varkionix asked. He has a slight smile, but he seemed tired.
"We promised that it was us against the world, right? I never said it just has to be the world of the humans." Kaizorius said.
"You sap." the Frozen King said dryly, as he got up alongside Kaizorius. "Just walk with me a bit, but don't follow me if we find something bad at the end."
"No promises." Kaizorius joked. He then turned to the X-Squad. "You have grown so much since Blossom City. I am proud to have learned my student calls you his agents, his allies, his friends…His family." Kaizorius said. "I knew he had left the omniverse in good, if chaotic, hands."
"I'll say, I think my mecha can still somehow feel the blows." Varkionix snarked.
"Will you be ok? Will he be ok? It's just…this is all so sudden." Lyre said, wiping her tears.
"But then again, rebirth can also be eternal. We'll see each other again in another life, sooner or later. But before we do, best live this life to the fullest." Kaizorius said.
"No promises, but we'll try." Kande said.
"Guess it's time to move…Let's not dally." Varkionix said, as he felt like it became too awkward for him. "Eternity as eternity may be…would be tacky to just stand there waiting."
"Varkionix…we hope that whatever you find at the end, that you'll be all right." Furina assured.
The Frost Lord sighed. "You're just like him." he pointed his wing at Kaizorius. "Guess that's why Anubis let Drakus take you in. He taught you well. Now don't use this as an excuse to let up. You showed me the power that saved the omniverse, now keep it safe. I would hate it if it was for naught."
"As I enjoy catching up with family…best you do the same with Blackheart." Kaizorius said. "He'll probably have many questions, and there won't be enough time to answer. Enjoy the time you have with them, and the new family and friends you may still make along the way."
"I promise we will live life to the fullest." Drakus said, as he grabbed Lyre, Taeko, Vaizen and Vaati's hands. The squad merely nodded.
"I have no doubts. Now, shall we go, brother?" Kaizorius turned back to Varkionix.
"Just the two of us…just like old times…kind of." Varkionix said, as they flew off into a portal leading to who knows where, as the Shadow Hunters ran off, with Diablo and her siblings going back to the Underworld with their shards in tow.
Later...
After the blizzard cleared up and Sync City returned to a functional normal, the group couldn't be happier at Tom's Diner.
"We's living a good life, ehehehe," Pete declared as he started to pile one of everything onto his plate. "We're eatin' real good tonight. Ohhhh, this steak looks like a premium cut. Mistah B must'a really sprung for the high end stuff!"
Ridley skewered a cocktail weenie on a toothpick and dipped it in barbecue sauce. "And he even laid out freshly severed fingers, now that's good!"
Ridley quickly scarfed it down and loaded several more onto his plate. Pete didn't have the heart to tell him that they weren't actually severed fingers being served.
"Here, try the turkey leg!" Pete said, offering one to Ardyn. "It's got this delectable-like sauce on it!"
"Ah, how tasty!" Ardyn declared as he sunk his teeth into it.
"Must you behave as ravenous animals?" Opal groaned, though everyone could see she had a small grin. "It's bad enough that everyone assumes that people like you are gluttonous slobs without you reinforcing the stereotypes."
"Gluttonous slobs?" Ridley asked.
"Hey now, just 'cuz you've got issues don't mean that we're the ones with the problem, see?" Pete replied. "I ain't gonna be talked outta fillin' my belly just because somebody wants to tease me behind my back."
"That's a brave and admirable point of view, Pete," Micha nodded. "Perhaps our friend could learn from ya?"
Opal shook her head. "Perhaps the dumb among us are truly blissful."
"Dat's right, and proud of it!" Pete nodded as he returned to stock-piling food.
"Ah, now this is the good life. Good friends and good chocolate." Iris said.
"I know right? I'm glad to have everything back to normal!" Andrea laughed.
"Blah. Normal's overrated." Babs stated cooly, while slurping a juice drink as everyone looked at her in confusion. "Still, it is great to be at this joint. Also, thanks for letting me and Harleen come along."
"No problem, Babsy." Drakus laughed. "That Pam kid was pretty cool herself."
"And it's about to get even better." Kanade said. "Remember when Diana said she wanted to be at that Sweet Justice place all the time?"
"Yeah." Babs replied.
Ridley twisted the straw dispensing bottle and activated a switch that made the entire table disappear and was replaced by another.
When the squad recovered from their fall, they found that they had landed on a mattress. Drakus proudly expressed his arms all around the saloon.
"Ta-da! It's our own home base, Sinner's Lane!" Drakus said. "Let's just say, Blackheart pulled some strings to make a portal to this place."
"Not bad, Drakky. Nice job." Harleen said.
"You protect the whole of reality from here?" Pam asked. "No bad guy stands a chance!"
"Not with the X-Squad on the case!" Drakus and Babs said.
Prehistoric Park can proudly boast a wide collection of creatures from the Mesozoic era ranging from tiny marsupials to giant sauropods like Diplodocus. However Nigel feels that a certain period is underrepresented at the park…
Blackheart's office stood over a tropical, oxygen rich forest home to one of the small microraptors tearing apart an even smaller lizard on the wooden railing that stopped a possibly clumsy person from plummeting below. When Blackheart walked past the microraptor, it squawked and glided down into its exhibit below. Blackheart eagerly waved the camera over to a board where he had a large map of a landmass. The map boasted a large caption reading: Triassic Earth, 210 million years ago.
"At Prehistoric Park we have many dinosaurs from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods," he explained to Babs, Pam, and Harleen. "We don't though have any from the Triassic period though. In the Triassic period, dinosaurs first appeared, although they never grew to the size of their descendants in the Jurassic and Cretaceous. The Triassic world was even different with all the continents joined together, forming the giant landmass of Pangea, even the atmosphere contained less oxygen; 8% below today's atmosphere. The goal today is to rescue a truly bizarre reptile that lived in Triassic Italy…"
The walkie-talkie lying on his desk started to fizzle and whir as someone was trying to contact him. One of the microraptors that were still in his office shrieked and arched its back to enable the feathered raptor to lift its tail high in the air. Two great red spots formed by pigments on the dinosaur's tail formed two demonic eyes after years of evolution to scare a predator. The inanimate walkie-talkie however proved to be unable to be scared away and the microraptor soon ran off.
"We really should invest in getting some headsets, so the walkie-talkies stop scaring the animals," Blackheart laughed, picking up the walkie-talkie.
"Blackheart," it was his deputy, Maya. "Come quickly to Hell's Creek, Tempus is acting up again."
Tempus is the park's resident Tyrannosaurus waifu. Packed full of hormones, she has been acting out her frustration whenever the opportunity arises.
Blackheart could hear the ear splitting roar of two battling Tyrannosaurs from quite a distance away. It was so loud a quick glance in the Triceratops and Torosaurus enclosure showed the ceratopsian frills turning bright red in colour to deter the unseen carnivore; their tail quills slightly on end in fear. He saw a wave of mist when he arrived at the exhibit. His deputy ran up to him.
"Tempus is squabbling with Mathilda," she groaned, panting red in the face from running "Apparently over who gets to give Emily a carcass."
There are many fossils indicating that Tyrannosaurids like T Rex lived in packs. Unlike with raptors or modern day hunting dogs or lions, they were more of a marriage of convenience…
The origin of the mist became apparent quickly. Robert Muldoon had a large hosepipe which he had poked through gaps in the fence which was shooting a stream of icy, cool water at the two dink girls. Tempus had her head sideways and was grasping the end of Mathilda's nose but she gave a quick jerk and she lost her grip. Both Tyrannosaurs had thin lines of red blood dripping down their face. Tempus started to roar in anger at Mathilda, causing both Babs and Maya to cover their ears. Muldoon, however, sprayed a jet of water at Tempus which hit her square in the face. She turned around to challenge the writhing hose before getting another face full of water before she could roar.
"Blackheart, this can't go on!" Muldoon cried.
"How about they both give Emily the carcass?!" Drakus groaned. "She has two hands!"
"Wait," Kanna said, shy as hell. "No, never mind."
"No, no, go on," Blackheart urged her on. Even a bad idea could help solve the problem of Tempus.
"Wolves sometimes accept new wolves into the pack if they are young. Both Mathilda and Tempus are essentially young Tyrannosaurs. If we put them in gradually with Moses and Lumi the two bigger and older ones might get these two in order. We can then put Terrance and Matilda's chicks with their siblings."
Both Muldoon and Blackheart nodded. It was a stretch but it could work. Meanwhile, Blackheart had to tell Rob about the new park resident. Bob had constructed a coastal exhibit on Isla Sorna with a large sandy beach that turned rocky with giant tide pools in the centre which stretched into the sea. A Plexiglas tank wall in the sea allowed natural current to flood into the exhibit.
"So, what's the squad bringing me today?" Rob asked.
"One of the weirdest animals to ever live from the Triassic," Blackheart explained, showing him a photo of a skeleton. It looked like a lizard but with a 3 metre long neck and a two metre long tail. "This is Tanystropheus conspicuus. This strange creature lived on the coast of Triassic Italy and Switzerland, 215 million years ago. They could have used their necks in one of two ways, and I want to see which theory is correct."
Tanystropheus was found in Triassic Italy and Switzerland. Pangea's layout meant that Switzerland and North-East Italy lay on the giant Paleo-Tethys Ocean. For a brief period of time, the strange Tanystropheus hunted fish across the coasts.
A crunch signalled that they had stepped from one of Prehistoric Park's portals to Triassic Italy. A dark blue ocean, the only ocean in the world for millions of years, gently lapped the orange sands of the beach. Ironically the cool ocean before them would be one of the reasons for the downfall of the strange Tanystropheus and fellow sea monsters; gradual erosion broke apart Pangea, disrupting the fragile coastline. A tiny brown pterosaur, most likely Eudimorphodon, flew over the water and skimmed the surface. Drakus stepped out from under the Triassic tree that the portal had opened under and stared out to sea. The sand crunched under his feet with audible cracks. Nearby was a rocky outcrop made of grey rock which was shorter at one end allowing a thin stream of water to slop over.
"Judging by the way the Tanystropheus' shoulders were placed its neck must have been quite stiff. How did it hunt easily?" Chiyo asked. Its teeth shape must have indicated that the Tanystropheus was a fish hunter but with a stiff neck it would make it much harder to catch an agile fish.
"There are two theories. One is that they stood on the side of tidal pools and dipped their head in when the tide was out; they had massive muscles at the back to act as a counterweight for the long neck. A different theory is that when swimming, the long neck lets them sneak up on squid and fish shoals. Both could be plausible!"
With the close proximity of the tide pool, they decided to check the pool for signs of Tanystropheus first. Inside the pool there was no sign of life bar the few pyramid-like limpets and the shimmering crimson red anemone which was nestled in a crevice where the water refused to leave when the tide receded. Immediately, the two started looking for signs of the long necked oddity. It did not take long. Drakus noticed a few claw scratches located in the grooves of the rock.
"Drak, over here!" Neo yelled.
In the sand nearby to the tidal pool were a set of prints deeply embedded in the orange particles. It resembled the print of a five toed lizard, except each toe was widely spaced out to create a large surface area to stop the owner of the prints from sinking in the sand.
"Tanystropheus had five toes," Maya explained, kneeling down to get a closer look. "I think you've found the tracks of a Tanystropheus."
Suddenly, there was a deep rumble that slowly escalated in pitch. Instead of coming from the beach, it came from the small forest; shielding the owner of the sound from prying eyes. It was a dinosaur…
The Triassic period saw the first dinosaurs, ranging from the Eoraptor and Herrerasaurus in Argentina, to Ceolophysis in New Mexico. Of course, Western Europe also saw plenty of early dinosaurs, including carnivores…
The sound was a clear rumble and not a roar which put both of them at ease. Curiosity though took hold of them. Whatever was making the noise was the earliest dinosaur that they had ever encountered. The shade immediately swept over them, as the Triassic trees blocked the beams of the almost alien sun. However, they soon gave way to a wave of green horsetails and ferns which made up a lush clearing full of life. Most of the plants went up to their hips, but they took no notice. Instead, they looked at the six metre long dinosaurs in front of them. They resembled a sauropod, but stood like a hadrosaur with longer hind legs then forelegs. A few of them even were rearing onto their hind legs to browse the nearby trees. Each dinosaur was light blue with a white line riding down from the back of the skull, down the spine and to the tip of the tail.
"Are they an early sauropod?" Peacock asked. Their physiology and how late dinosaurs like Parasaurolophus lived ruled out them being a sort of proto-hadrosaur.
"Indeed they are! A sauropodomorpha, also known as a prosauropod, called Plateosaurus gracilis. These guys and other prosauropods will evolve into giants, ranging from Brachiosaurus, to Paralititan."
Ridley managed to get up close to one female. She gave a low grumble but the large dragon made her uninterested in him, evident by how she continued to take huge chunks out of a horsetail. Her jaws made a slicing and mashing motion as she ate. Maya though had to pull Ridley back who wanted to try and pat the prosauropod.
"I remember them. They can move their jaws better to break down tough vegetation so they don't have to eat gastroliths," Maya said, still pulling on Ridley.
He snapped out of his Plateosaurus induced daze and the squad followed her back to the coast to find a Tanystropheus or two. However, they stopped dead in their tracks. In some dirt nearby, a tree that they had hidden behind when first looking at the prosauropods was a three toed foot of a therapod…
Predatory dinosaurs lived alongside the newly evolved herbivores to exploit the new food source. However, there are other carnivores other than therapod dinosaurs…
A Komodo Dragon sized reptile was sitting on the end of the tidal pool. It was still low tide and the reptile was still too early for it to be refilled. It resembled a crocodile, except lacking the famous armoured scutes that covered a formidable crocodile; this new creature being covered in pink and blue scales that would be found on the bottom of a crocodilian. Its head was less pointed compared to a crocodile, and instead of the blunt crushing teeth of a crocodile, it had smaller more pointed ones, like a gharial. Between each toe of the crocodile creature was a thin line of skin, so this creature could swim better.
"With the paddle-like feet and those sharp needle teeth, I would guess that creature is a fish eater," Bloody Marie commented. The creature turned around and let out a low belly hiss like a crocodile.
"You're right because this guy is a Nothosaurus raabi. They were like Triassic sea lions, at home in the sea and the land. Research on a species in China has shown an inventive hunting technique. Using those paddles, they churned up the sea bed and anything that got swept up they nabbed it with those needle teeth."
"I want to punch that lizard," Antares said very seriously, glaring at the Nothosaurus.
"Why?" CraftyCorn asked him.
"It's looking at me funny."
Indeed, the Nothosaurus seemed to be giving him a particularly smug, taunting glare.
"Antares, you can't punch that dino," Ashley told him. When he gave her an affronted look, she amended her statement. "I mean, you could, obviously, but you probably shouldn't. I think you'd make it try and feast on you and it'd probably be endangered in modern times."
"There's plenty of animals that are sacred on my planet, but we still hunt them," Antares grumbled, crossing his arms. "It would be disrespectful to do otherwise! It would be like we are saying they aren't worth our time. They would take great offense."
The Nothosaurus let out another low hiss as Antares stepped closer to the Triassic sea monster. It swept its tail around trying to knock the Scorpioni off-guard, allowing the reptile to make an escape.
Antares is not only going to wrestle a Nothosaurus for the sake of it. Larger dinosaurs on the land and ichthyosaurs in the sea outcompeted the Nothosaurus.
Laughing gaily, Antares immediately started wrestling with the crocodile-like creature. Under his hands, the Nothosaurus had very cool scales on the blue underbelly. Strong muscles from swimming in the sea against strong ocean currents had made the Nothosaurus strong, allowing it to put up a strong fight against the new irritation as they fell into the sea.
"This is just so beautiful!" Maya cried, with Antares trying to keep his pincers away from the needle teeth which were edging closer and closer whenever they went up for air. "Big sea monsters like Plesiosaurus outcompeted him, and they will be here in the next few million years. It's quite thin though. That's gotta sting!"
One paddled leg had managed to swipe Antares in the stomach, as they fell back into the sea. Mystle saw this as a sign to open the sea portal. A bright swirling light erupted onto the beach right in front of the tide, as the surface of the tide erupted as Antares leapt out of the sea, throwing fifteen Nothosaurs through it. "I am victorious!" He bellowed. "Witness me!"
The new recruits looked on in shock.
Aranea smirked. "Ah, I see my champion has vanquished another beast."
Babs' jaw dropped. "Did you just beat fifteen dinos barehanded?!"
"And I only intended to catch one," Antares insisted. "But then his friends wanted to pick a fight with me, and, well, what kind of warrior would I be if I didn't battle them for their audacity?"
Ridley nodded in approval. "No warrior indeed."
"Yeah, that's pretty normal for us, sometimes Antares will pummel the dinos into submission, and they either get tossed into the park, or carried through." Roman said.
"The Tethys Ocean being formed must be changing sea currents," Maya said, lifting Antares up. "It must be causing the fish to move to new areas."
"Any Tanystropheus here must be starving then!" Drakus replied.
Back in the park, Head Keeper Rob and Head Vet Mackenzie are starting an arduous task of guest-proofing the park under the tutelage of cynical mathematician Ian Malcolm.
"Do the X-Squad often bring back unexpected animals?" Malcolm asked. It seemed to be addressed to Rob and Mackenzie, although he was specifically looking at the vet. Mackenzie gave a weird look.
"Yeah, but Dr Harding can easily do a check-up, and our Deputy Keepers can quickly make a good exhibit for them. Well, it's exciting that we now have a Nothosaurus," Mackenzie replied.
There was a bang and a great mass issued from the gun that Rob was holding. It was a net gun and the target was quickly caught in the mass. It started to coo loudly, even when Mackenzie gently unearthed the writhing bird from the folds of the net. Each of Prehistoric Park's Passenger Pigeons had a little tag on their leg to make tracking easier.
"I still don't know why we have to do this!" Rob complained, placing the pigeon in a box. "When they had full roam of the island, they were fine and dandy."
Passenger Pigeons were famed for travelling huge distances. To accommodate this, it was deemed best to let them have full reign over Isla Nublar and Sorna.
"Yeah, but Dr Harding can easily do a check-up, and our Deputy Keepers can quickly make a good exhibit for them. Well, it's exciting that we now have a Nothosaurus," Mackenzie replied.
Rob nodded in agreement. Ludlow's workers had already provided apt evidence for Malcolm's chaos theory model for the park. Two more Passenger Pigeons landed nearby and started cooing.
"Oi, Rob, you got some birds yet?" someone chuckled. Another of Ludlow's workers had come to pester Bob again. It seemed after Nick's encounter with a Parasaurolophus and opening the holding pens on the squad's previous adventure, along with Drakus feeding Nick to Richard Owen the Megalosaurus as a snack, hadn't taught Ludlow or his workers to leave the animals alone.
"Let me show chaos theory in action," Malcolm said, cooly. "You wouldn't expect me to do this."
Malcom shook the branch that the pigeons were resting on. They instantly flew over the worker's head. He looked displeased as two white streaks now were on his shirt.
"I'm gonna thumb ya you motherf…" Nick started.
A giant roar just echoed around the small wooded area. It was a Tyrannosaurs' roar. Scared, the worker ran away, right off the railing and into Miracle the Megalodon's mouth, but Ian, Rob and Mackenzie knew that the roar indicated that Tempus and Mathilda had met Moses and Lumi. Mackenzie gave the captured pigeon to a nearby keeper so they could go see the Tyrannosaurs. Another roar indicated that they were not happy. Muldoon nodded in acknowledgement of them arriving as he cradled a hosepipe in his hands. Tempus and Mathilda stood at one end while their larger counterparts stood facing them. Tempus roared and went to snap at Moses but stopped halfway when Lumi gave a terrifying bellow, which could have shattered mountains. Mathilda and Tempus flinched before backing off with thunderous steps. The younger Tyrannosaurs stood nearby, now more respectful of what seemed to be the dominant pack members.
"My Christ," Muldoon gasped. "Kanna's plan worked. We might even be able to reintroduce the chicks in a few months." He cheekily pulled out his hip flask and took a huge swig.
"Don't count your chickens yet, Robert, this 'pack' might not last the night," Mackenzie replied, staring icily at the drinking Muldoon.
"Is it a good idea to create a pack of T-Rex?" Ian asked, staring at Tempus, who was grumbling at Lumi, even as she accepted cuddles from the mother.
Meanwhile, back in Triassic Italy, the squad may have found the odd Tanystropheus.
The tide had come in and out, replenishing the tidal pool for any hopeful reptiles. Before anything arrived though, the X-Squad had checked to see how full it was; only a few silver darts of swimming fish occupied the pool. Not nearly enough to feed a Tanystropheus. Thick black thunderclouds roared above threatening to rain thick water droplets down on the ground below.
"I'm scared that a flash flood could come from that storm," Maya said staring deeply at the storm clouds. Throughout the fossil records, dinosaurs like Plateosaurus have been perfectly preserved by flash floods, and Maya didn't fancy her and the X-Squad adding to that record.
Drakus, however, saw another opportunity. A second Nothosaurus had just ambled out the ocean. Each foot was covered by the white foam of the tide. He quickly ran and jumped on the reptile before it realised what had hit it. Maya ran after and opened the portal, sending the writhing monster through before it could struggle too much.
"Guys…" Neo whispered. "Look at the pool!"
A six metre long lizard-like creature was standing on the tidal pool rock. Half of it consisted of a long neck dipped in the tidal pool eagerly looking for food. The long necked lizard was silver in colour with pink speckles covering the back, as if someone had sprayed it with pink sprinkles. Except for the tail; the tail was black. The back end of the lizard-like animal was thicker as if it had more muscles there.
"Tanystropheus conspicuus!" Maya whispered in excitement. "Look, it's leaning back, using those thick muscles as a counterweight. The poor thing must be starving!"
Time to enact his plan. Although they wouldn't evolve for millions of years to come, he pulled out a mackerel from his backpack to attract the Tanystropheus. The long necked lizard pulled its head out of the tidal pool and hissed at him. When Drakus got closer and extended his hand, it ran from him and straight into the portal.
Out of all times the squad chose not to bring a boat, this was one of the times where it worked anyway.
The impromptu Nothosaurus exhibit was well built as always. It was built in the same sense as the Tanystropheus exhibit, with it extending from the beach and joining onto a tank in the sea. There was a small rocky outcrop where one of the Nothosaurus were sunbathing.
"When are you going back out?" Rob asked Maya, staring out at the Nothosaurus.
"Now. Although, be ready for a land exhibit; I've seen a herd of Plateosaurus that might need saving."
Rob shook his head. "Ever the hero!"
Armed with a kayak, the X-Squad plan to rescue more of the Tanystropheus, one way or another!
They threw the kayak on the now lumpy sand. Rain from the storm thundered down on the beach like if heaven itself wanted to purge the beach from the face of the planet. The squad got worried; faintly through the trees they could see water rising from a burst riverbank. They managed to get to the forest and fight their way through the ever rising water which was at their ankles. Maya had insisted that they bring the kayak along, just in case…
"Look!" Kanade yelled.
A raging torrent had trapped the Plateosaurus who were roaring in fear. It was saddening to watch such great, docile dinosaurs in so much fear and anxiety. Some of that did not come from the flood though. A large pack of five metre long therapods that were one and a half metres high were wading through the water trying to take chunks from the prosauropod herd. They had a black semi-circular crest on their nose and had pink scales. The therapods also had primitive blue proto-feathers that ran across the back, stomach and arms with large dagger shaped feathers ranging between half a metre and a metre in length erupting from their tails. Instead of biting they were swiping at the Plateosaurus with their muscular arms.
"Liliensternus lilienstern! A primitive coelophysid that hunted using its strong arms over a weak bite!" Maya yelled over the roar of the flood. "If we don't do something fast they will drown with the Plateosaurus!"
The water, now closing in on their hips, forced them into the kayak. Grabbing a branch they started to paddle in front of the trapped herd. Babs opened the portal to the land holding pens, offering the Plateosaurus a second route, which they eagerly took. Not wanting to lose their meal and drown to boot, the Liliensternus pack followed. When the pack and herd were safely through, they managed to paddle to shallower waters so they could get on the beach. Five Tanystropheus were feeding from the tidal pool.
"Some must be females," Maya panted from the strenuous paddling. "Let's catch this one before going for the other one."
Micha crept up to her and opened the portal. Trapped, the Tanystropheus had no choice but into the portal. Micha returned to pick up the kayak with the X-Squad; rain soaked sand squelching under her feet. Immediately, they were at sea with horrid rain drops smashing into the black surface. Something darted below, and Antares decided to take a look. Not wanting to potentially have a bite taken from him, he dived under the water with a waterproof stun baton; a quick electric shock possibly deterring a predator.
"Everyone, I see more Nothosaurs!" he exclaimed through his mask's intercom. They swam gracefully through the water like a modern day sea lion; bending their reptilian bodies in tune with the current. When they weren't performing they swam shaking their shoulders and hips left and right like a crocodile.
"Whoa!" he cried as they quickly surrounded him. Transfixed by their swimming, he didn't notice how close they had come. Taking the initiative, he opened the portal sending all fifty four of them through. Now, all that was left was the Tanystropheus. He found a group of feathery crinoids which stretched like great lumps of kelp from the sandy sea bed towards the promising heights where the sun managed to penetrate. He saw a small reptilian head sticking out from among the feathers of the crinoids. It was amazing! It was another Tanystropheus!
"Shoot, the Tanystropheus is using crinoids as a cover to hunt!" Maya gasped.
Stretching its neck out as it grabbed hold of a crinoid, the Tanystropheus managed to perfectly hide among the crinoids; waiting for an unexpected fish or squid. Just then, it suddenly started to swim up towards the warmth of the sun so Antares opened the portal, sending it through. "What caused it to move suddenly?"
"Wait, there's something in there with you!" Maya cried. Antares saw a black shape behind him and he quickly got back on the kayak just as a pair of jaws tried to clamp down on his legs. Quickly, they went through the portal that Maya had just opened; it was unlikely that a flimsy wooden kayak could withstand the jaws of an unknown monster. They were met by the warmth of Isla Sorna's sun but they quickly jumped off the kayak and onto the side of the aquatic holding pen.
"Those Tanystropheus are amazing!" Rob exclaimed. "You're lucky. Muldoon quite likes those Lilien… What's that?"
Whatever had followed the X-Squad had just burst from the portal. It was a giant ichthyosaur at least ten metres long. However, it lacked a dorsal fin like later ichthyosaurs and was more of a hulking monster than a graceful swimmer. It could swim fast though, as with one flick of its giant tail fluke, it darted forward towards where the kayak was. Inevitably, Maya's fears were right, as the ichthyosaur destroyed the kayak with one bite of its formidable jaws, snapping it into splinters like a matchstick. Frantically, crew members opened a free holding tank and threw in chum attracting the great jawed reptile. As soon as the fluked tail passed through the holding tank door, it was closed, trapping the ichthyosaur.
"Cymbospondylus germanicus! It's one of the largest ichthyosaurs known but the Shastasaurus is larger," Maya explained, awestruck. "She must have attacked the kayak, seeing it as a threat; their teeth were designed to eat ammonites and squid."
"She's massive!" Mystle gasped.
"Cymbospondylus was. Some species come from Nevada, and it was alleged that the silver miners who discovered one in a mine used the massive vertebrae as plates, although I doubt we'll be doing that with this one!"
After sorting out the new giant Cymbospondylus, Prehistoric Park can settle down with some unusual new specimens.
They had fitted a bench, where Hammond was sitting in contently watching the new Tanystropheus. The male, dubbed Diddles, had his long neck dipped in one of the tidal pools created by Rob. Occasionally his head would rise back up with a struggling fish in his jaws. The first female, dubbed Snowy, was deep in the exhibit's depths hiding among the undersea forest of kelp and crinoids. In the distance the roar of the Liliensternus pack could be heard piercing the night. Although top predators in the Triassic period, much larger dinosaurs live on Isla Sorna.
"Garie, I've been thinking of your request," Hammond said out of the blue. "I think the sauropod from Argentina would really dazzle the guests…"