There is something missing from this world.

The amazing creatures that time has left behind.

But what if we could bring them back?

What if extinction…didn't have to be forever.

We're going back in time on a safari with a difference, as wildlife adventurer Nigel Marvin plunges into prehistory to rescue animals on the brink of extinction. His plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present…and give them a second chance.

Now, for the first time in park history, Nigel leaves it to apprentice Tristan to travel back seventy-five million years to rescue one of the most famous of all dinosaurs – the swift footed Velociraptor, along with the many desert creatures that shared its home!

Welcome to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary.

Welcome, to Prehistoric Kingdom!

XxXxX

With three successful rescues, phase two of prehistoric park is off to a wonderous start. From a pack of Carnotaurus to herds of Paraceratherium and Tapinocephalus, the new residents are settling in just fine. Now, though, Nigel wants to turn his attention to a more familiar creature.

Standing just outside of a rocky exhibit, Nigel carefully lowered the crane arm, releasing the meat as quickly as he could, then hastily moved the machine out of the exhibit. Moments later, the reason for his haste became obvious – a pair of feathered creatures fell upon the turkey carcass, tearing into it with ravenous hunger. At first glance, they looked vaguely like birds, but soon one would notice the differences – they had long, stiff tails. Their maws had lips and teeth. Their wings clearly had claws at the end of them. Last but not least, on the second toe of each of their feet was a large, sickle shaped claw, which they used to secure their 'prey' as they feasted. A short distance away, smaller, fluffier version of the feathered predators hid behind a rock, waiting for the duo to finish eating or throw a morsel their way.

"Well aren't they beautiful. It might be hard for some to believe, but these magnificent creatures are Velociraptor. Jurassic Park would tell you that they were six foot tall scaly hunters, but as you can see here, they're really more like six foot-long clawed turkeys. Dangerous, yes, but also very beautiful. I rescued two juveniles alongside a pair of Protoceratops on a research mission, and they've grown up quite nicely. Now, though, I think the park is ready for a whole pack of these magnificent animals."

XxXxX

In a nearby exhibit, Tristan and Michelle were looking over the other creatures Nigel had brought back from his research mission.

Michelle glanced at the sand-colored, spotted ceratopsians before her. "….Let me get this straight – there's apparently three different color morphs of this species, but Nigel only brought back a pair of juveniles with the sand colors and dark frill-edge?"

"Yes. Though, obviously, they aren't the only ones at the park now."

The ten decently sized dino-lambs (if Protoceratops were the sheep of the Cretaceous, then their offspring could be called lambs!) wandering around the exhibit verified that statement.

"I noticed. So, this is gonna be your first mission on your own, right?"

"Our first mission – Nigel's planning to have more trainees for bringing back prehistoric life, so he wants to make sure I can work with others. Until he decides who those other apprentices will be, you're stuck with me since you're part of park security."

"I remember. So, did you get everything packed?"

"All set. Even packed for a sandstorm."

"Then let's get going."

XxXxX

"So, this is it," said Ai. "Time for you to prove to Nigel what you've learned."

"So it seems."

The duo was at the park's holding pens, ready to make the plunge into the past. Gathered to see them off were Ai, Tristan's siblings, Trevor, and the security team Michelle had been assigned to.

"Good luck, sis."

Sean rolled his eyes. "So corny. Can't say that it isn't warranted, though."

Elise smiled. "Well, I know both of you can do this, so make us proud."

"Keep your wits about you," said the local head of security, Stefan. "You've done well in all of your training, so I know you can excel here."

"I've taught you everything I can," was all Nigel said. "This is where we see how well my teaching was."

The duo were practically blushing. "Thanks."

Moments later, the portal whirred to life. It wasn't long before they were through it.

XxXxX

To rescue the last of the Velociraptors, Tristan and Michelle will have to travel back seventy five million years to what is now Mongolia. Even back then, Mongolia was a desert, but quite a bit warmer than it usually is today. Hopefully, the duo can make it home without becoming one of the many treasures hidden in the sand!

XxXxX

The first thing Michelle noted when they arrived in the Cretaceous Mongolia was the heat – it reminded her of the Hsanda Gol, but far drier.

But that paled in comparison to the second thing she noticed – this land was empty. Whereas the Hsanda Gol had been mostly dry but rocky land, with scrub often visible, this land was a sea of sand, only broken up by the occasional patch of trees or rock formation. She could make out a canyon in the distance, but it was quite far away, and there were only dunes between them. There weren't any clouds in the sky either – only a distant mass of sand that was rapidly dissipating. Sandstorms didn't last long in reality. The only signs of life were a set of shapes slowly ambling across a far-off dune, and she only saw them with binoculars.

Pulling out a water bottle and taking a swig, Michelle turned to her exe. "You ready for a long hike?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

XxXxX

Back at the park, some of the 'guests' were getting acquainted with the staff.

"So," asked Trevor, "you're my sister's boss?"

The two duo were sitting by a pond, watching as a pair of divers surfaced, one carrying a strange, otter-like creature in her arms. "Got him, boss!"

"Nice work, Soleil."

The woman merely nodded in response. "Beats my days with the police."

"You ever going to tell us what that was like?"

Soleil shrugged. "Only if the boss tells us what he did before coming here."

Stefan sighed. "One day, but not today."

Trevor cleared his throat. "So, uh, is this your first big challenge since my sister got here?"

"Don't really think this counts as big – this guy, an Amphicynodon, isn't really a challenge to capture. He might be on the line to seals, but he's not even half as scary as a small one. The Coelophysis break out more often than this guy has, seeing how he's our first runaway from his group."

"I see. What do you think of my sister?"

"As a person, or as a teammate?"

"Both."

"Well, firstly, as a teammate she's very attentive to detail, quick to assess a situation, and generally a great team-player. As a person, she's nice. Oh, and sorry, but may I ask you a question or two?"

"Shoot."

"Alright – so, your sister used to date Ai's eldest son, right?"

"Correct."

"And they've broken up twice, right?"

"Bingo."

"Well, then, here's my question: how'd they break up the first time? I mean, she made it clear enough that their second breakup was because of the only incident that involved a fatality at this park – and no I am not telling you how that happened – but no one's told us how they separated the first time."

Trevor sighed. "Oh, that. Look, I really don't know the details there either – all I know is that something happened a few years ago that left Tristan with some issues. My best guess, he got lost in a bad part of town, maybe saw a crime, and got some mental scars from it. Though I don't know how that's related to him having nightmares of being hunted by men riding robot bugs."

All eyes fell upon Trevor. "He was nightmares of what?" asked Soleil.

"Yeah, I don't understand them either. All I do know is that it hurt his interests in sci-fi and cyberpunk."

Soleil and her fellow diver shared a look. "Did he get therapy for that?" asked the other diver, Devan.

"Yeah, eventually – it sounded like Ai and Wyatt were trying to be very sure that whoever talked stuff over with Tristan would adhere to confidentiality. Guess they didn't want a scandal to occur."

The security trio wondered how exactly such a "scandal" would affect a well known rollercoaster developer and zoo manager – neither of which were positions that would seem adversely affected by admittance to having a child undergoing therapy – but kept their mouths shut. "So," said Stefan, "his other exe is coming over today?"

"Can we please not talk about her? It's not that I have anything bad to say about her, but I think my sister's the one you should ask about Emilia."

"Fair enough."

XxXxX

Back in Prehistoric Mongolia, it seemed that Tristan and Michelle had gotten a lucky break.

The duo had been crossing the dunes for half an hour, trying to pursue the retreating shapes. So far, though, they'd barely caught up. But as they were cresting another dune, their fortunes had finally turned – visible on the far side of the dune were a set of two-toed tracks, made by an animal no larger than a turkey. Instantly, their attention had centered on the footprints, and they followed the footsteps with renewed vigor. True, there were only a single set of tracks to follow, but this was the desert – animals were already rare. To get even a single rescue would be an achievement.

It wasn't long before their efforts were rewarded – after five additional minutes of walking, the duo crested a dune. On the other side, they saw it – a turkey sized dinosaur, covered in feathers. The mix of black, grey, white and brown on its body reminded them of a roadrunner, though obviously this creature probably preferred larger fare than what a roadrunner normally consumed. The sickle-claws on its feet, coupled with the relatively slender head, left no doubts as to what this animal was.

"…Velociraptor?" asked Michelle.

"Bingo – head's too slender to be Tsaagan."

The two's minds were already working out a way to catch the raptor, only for it and them to freeze up when they noticed something moving on a nearby dune. Taking out a pair of binoculars, Michelle focused on the object, and couldn't believe her luck – it was another raptor. This one, however, had a browner coat, like the ones back at the park. A look forward on the raptor's path revealed that it was chasing a lizard, and that said lizard was running toward a nearby outcropping of rocks. The raptor almost managed to catch the lizard, only for it to reach the outcropping and climb out of reach.

Undeterred, the raptor jumped on a nearby rock to continue giving chase.

It clearly was expecting the rock to a. move, b. have a beak and frill, or c. be very angry.

As the raptor tumbled back onto the dune, it became apparent that the rock it had climbed was actually a Protoceratops – a male, given the coloration – and it clearly wasn't too happy about having its rest disturbed. Letting out a screech, the primitive ceratopsian charged the raptor, which tried to run away from its foe. Unfortunately for the raptor, its foe had no intention of letting it escape, and quickly bit down on the carnivore's tail, then threw it back toward the rocks. Hastily recovering, the raptor tried to climb to safety, only for the Protoceratops to grab its tail again and throw its foe back onto the sand. Loosing a bellow, the primitive horned dinosaur charged again, managing to strike the raptor in the gut. This time, though, the predator was prepared, and responded by kicking its foe in the neck, where its right sickle claw curled down and impaled the herbivore's throat, while its left leg raked the herbivore's gut. Surprised and in pain, the Protoceratops responded by biting down on the raptor's right hand.

Before any finishing blows could be inflicted, the dune the pair were on suddenly gave way, dragging both creatures to its base, where more oncoming sand buried them. If you were to look now, you would never know that a fight had taken place here.

Tristan could only stare on in silence. As for Michelle?

"….Huh. So that's how the fighting dinosaurs came to be."

XxXxX

The Piscagama watched as the last of the sand settled, leaving no trace of the two dinosaurs the desert had consumed. It occasionally took a few moments to glance at the Estesia hiding in a nearby crag of the outcrop it was basking on, for that predator had a better chance of scaling the rocks to hunt it than a raptor would. Hopefully, it would be safe until it was rested enough to escape again.

It paid only a token glance as a second raptor made its way up the dune after examining the spot where predator and prey had been buried, for the sand was too deep to dig, and the lizard too small to be worth eating.

It paid the same amount of attention to the strange bipedal mammals that also passed by the rocks. Unfortunately, these ones were a bit more of a threat than it had considered.

Several minutes later, the Piscagama and Estesia were learning what the tropics were like.

XxXxX

Back in the present, the staff are facing their first real challenge with the dinocephalians.

Bellows and growls filled the air as the flange-headed herbivores clashed. Standing at the water's edge, the duo would hiss and growl at one another, hoping to make their opponent back down. Should intimidation alone fail to win the day, however, then both animals would charge, causing their heads to collide with tremendous force. The goal here was simple – with the shoreline already a mess of mud, the objective was to either exhaust the opponent or make him slip and fall into the water. Swimming wasn't beyond these herbivores, but it was exhausting, and often the victory would be too exhausted to make another challenge. Occasionally, a bout of face-biting would occur, but it would invariably be a short affair – these herbivores simply did not have the teeth to inflict serious wounds during snout wrestling.

Watching this from behind a viewing glass, Nancy turned her attention to her nearby husband. "How many times have they done this so far?"

"I lost count," admitted Bob. "Reminds me a bit of hippos. The Placerias too. At least these creatures are much cleaner."

"Indeed – don't have to worry about them spreading dung everywhere."

The Styracocephalus males readied to charge again, only for a loud screech to fill the air. Instantly, the herd was on alert, all rivalries forgotten as they tried to figure out the source of the noise. When it appeared that whatever had made the noise had gone quiet, though, they resumed their fighting.

Naturally, a second screech soon filled the air. This time, the herd dispersed, trying to find whatever animal had screeched at them. But when it seemed once again that the unknown animal was gone, two bulls started to try and intimidate each other.

A third screech filled the air. At last taking the hint, the dueling males stopped their clash entirely, and went back to grazing.

Bob and Nancy stared for a moment, before the latter decided to speak. "You know, I didn't think the Dilophosaurus would help us break this up."

"Eh, maybe we can ask Suzanne about it."

XxXxX

With the cries of the clashing herbivores finally silenced for the moment, Dahlia went back to eating. Now, at least, she had some peace.

As she turned her attention back to more immediate affairs, she found Sidewinder offering her a piece of fish to eat. Not to be outdone, Bright Crest offered her a choice cut of flesh, hoping she would eat his gift first. Before she could choose, however, a growl turned the trio's attention toward the edge of the clearing, where a third male had arrived – Nedry. In his maw was a giant fish – a tuna, not that the Dilophosaurus knew that – which lowered to the ground and offered to them. Then, once he had their attention, he started making rumbling noises and emphasizing his crests – the standard behavior for courtship.

He'd been doing this the last three days.

Naturally, this got a reaction from Bright Crest and Sidewinder, who both hissed at him, with both males also taking the opportunity to rub their necks against hers – an action that both stimulated the female and helped to build mating bonds. But Nedry did not back down, instead beginning to display even more vigorously, though now his mating efforts seemed to be directed solely at the two males. Apparently incensed, the males responded in kind, with all three soon vigorously displaying, making vocalizations and movements that only other Dilophosaurus would understand. Nearby, one of the humans, Cady, watched, trying to figure out what was going on – Suzanne had assigned her the task of learning why these dinosaurs made such vigorous mating displays toward competitive males.

She was about to get her answer.

While it went on for a few minutes, all three males had to stop displaying after a while. From here, Sidewinder and Bright Crest approached Nedry, looking for any signs of weakness. Nedry responded by flashing his crests at both of them, though the sounds he now made were more submissive. It only took them a few seconds to come into biting range, still observing Nedry. Finally, they were face to face, all three now sniffing each other.

Nothing happened for a moment.

Then Sidewinder leaned forward and rubbed his neck along Nedry's. A moment later, Bright Crest did the same.

Dahlia let out a snort as she lowered herself to the ground. At last, the courtship was over.

Female Dilophosaurus did not take a single mate – many often copulated with three males before laying eggs. Many animals did this, as it helped to decrease the risk of other males committing infanticide – if you could not be sure that the offspring you were killing were not your own, then you would have less incentive to eliminate them to secure the success of your own progeny. Naturally, males would prefer that a female focused on raising their young only, and not that of rivals. But for Dilophosaurus, rival was a flexible term, and if three to four males had an interest in a female? Well, there were ways that things could end with everyone happy.

This had been the reason for Nedry's constant mating displays – Dahlia had already accepted him as a prospective mate. The question was whether he could be accepted by Sidewinder and Bright Crest. Today, it seemed that answer was yes.

Speaking of Sidewinder, he had just wandered behind Nedry, who he had continuously rubbed his body against on the way back. Understanding the gesture, Nedry lowered his head and raised his tail. Bonding required quite a bit of physical intimacy, and this would likely be the first of many copulations needed to fully cement Nedry's acceptance. It would also prepare all three males for when it was time to mate with Dahlia.

Said Dilophosaurus was currently watching Cady, who had turned a brilliant shade of red. Was this some kind of threat display?

XxXxX

Back in Cretaceous Mongolia, Tristan and Michelle felt their legs aching – they had followed the raptor for hours, taking only a small break to have lunch, and knew that if they didn't stop soon, their lower limbs would finally give out. Yet luck was once again on their side – cresting the most recent dune had revealed a hidden oasis, with plenty of water to drink and shelter from the sun. A few tiny trees lay scattered near the watering hole, with many smaller plants extending much further around it. With plants came animals – a menagerie of herbivores rested along the shoreline, some gulping on the water, others eating partially submerged plants. Tiny alverazsaurs, almost certainly Shuuvuvia, pecked at logs for termites, while a herd of Protoceratops was further into the scrub, glutting themselves as best they could. Two different varieties of ankylosaurs – Pinacosaurus and Minotaurosaurus – wallowed in what little mud was available, while human sized pterosaurus waded across the shoreline and snatched up any fish they could catch. Largest of all, however, was what looked like a giant version of the Protoceratops, though Tristan and Michelle knew they were not the same animal – this was the giant leptoceratopsid, Udanoceratops.

Tristan glanced at Michelle. "How many animals do you think we can rescue before the sun sets?"

XxXxX

The answer turned out to be 'Not all of them'.

Oh, they had tried. But there were only so many animals they could rescue, especially with a lack of bait on hand. The resident Minotaurosaurus had been easy to enrage into charging at the portal, as had all the crocodilians living in the oasis. Small traps had also netted them a myriad of frogs that had been hiding on the logs and rocks. They'd managed to use some fish to bait through the hungry pterosaurs (who had been immediately tackled and bound by the staff on the other side to prevent them from flying away). They'd even managed to coax a group of robust velociraptorines – Tsaagan, most likely – into entering the present, but sadly the female Velociraptor they had been following was among the many creatures that refused to take the bait.

With the sun now setting, the duo was, reluctantly, forced to call it a night. Hopefully, tomorrow would be better, and they could find the shapes they had seen crossing the desert earlier.

XxXxX

"Uuuuuwwaaaaa!"

Karin and Kaidou couldn't help smirking at Suzume. "Tired?" asked the latter.

"Yes – why did training have to be so hard today?"

Karin indulged in a small laugh. "The Dryptosaurus could be quite demanding."

"I know. But at least I am certified to care for them now."

"Yeah, well, consider yourself lucky," spoke Kaien. "He's the only big predator from Appalachia most of us have worked with."

"Really? What about Exhibit X-1?"

Karin rolled her eyes. "Please, that one's special – it might have been rescued in the same mission as Dryptosaurus, but you only get trained for that one as part of a special class. Kaidou and me were unlucky enough to be out when they were first rescued, and we haven't been able to get a time in to get trained with them."

"Really?" asked Suzume.

"Yeah. Why're you asking?" questioned Kaidou.

Suzume had a blank face for a moment, then smirked. Wordlessly, she pulled out a certification and handed it to her senior coworkers.

What they read next left them feeling profoundly jealous.

XxXxX

Michelle stared down at Tristan, who was snoring peacefully.

She'd woken up with a need to make a prehistoric ladies' room a few minutes ago, but now that she has flushed the waste water from her system, her attention had turned to her exe. Every few minutes, he would twitch in his sleep, causing her to tense.

She remembered the first time he had experienced those nightmares – ones about men riding robotic insects, mechs that ate people, and humans in general being monsters to one-another. She'd never gotten a clear reason on why he suffered them, beyond that vague bit about seeing a crime committed. Just…what had he seen? And why was it so important?

Feeling the wait return to her eyes, Michelle crawled back into her sleeping back and curled up. She could try and figure that out when they weren't in a desert constantly plagued by sandstorms.

XxXxX

Michelle awakened to a roaring sound, but not one belonging to any animal. Instantly on the alert, she searched the tent for her coworker, only to find him missing, and the primary exit open, with a trail of footsteps passing through. Hastily shaking herself off the remaining grips of sleep, Michelle charged outside.

She found Tristan only a short walk away, unharmed but unresponsive. It didn't take a genius to figure out why.

Most people would probably be dumbstruck if they saw a giant sandstorm headed their way.

The storm was not yet upon them, but the roaring winds made it clear that they had only minutes before it reached them. Already, the animals they had seen the previous day were acting up – small fish-eating raptors were staring worriedly at the oncoming storm, panicked Protoceratops and Pinacosaurus huddled together, while previously unseen creatures, namely troodontids and oviraptorids, had all clustered nervously in front of the group. All these creatures knew that something bad was about to happen, but didn't known what to do to escape.

Though, perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. That is, if they worked fast enough.

XxXxX

The Velociraptor watched as the humans who had followed her for days worked hastily to put two strange-looking stone sticks in the ground. Such behavior was foreign to her, but then, that described humans in their entirety – she had never encountered them before, so any behaviors they displayed were uncharted territory to her. How they made nests, what they ate, how they drank, all of it was new and strange to her.

But right now, she could care less about this – as she wanted was to get away from the oncoming sandstorm. The question, of course, was how? She had nowhere to run, much less hide. Others of her kind had arrived here as well, and though a male with a blue feather crest had examined her – in particular noting how her tail feathers were much whiter than normal – but they were hardly any help getting out.

What did those sticks even do?

….Why was the area between the sticks suddenly so shiny.

And why was the ground shaking?

A glance back revealed the reason, and instantly the female felt the urge to charge forward.

The lights were still strange. But they beat trying to challenge the Earth Shakers and the Tyrants.

XxXxX

From the observation platform, Nigel watched as the mass of dinosaurs surged forward.

The Protoceratops, Velociraptor, and Udanoceratops that came through were not a surprise, nor were the Oviraptorids, Alvarezsaurs, or the raptors that looked a little like waterfowl (Halszkaraptor, most likely). Even the Ankylosaurs barely phased him.

The hadrosaurs and azdharchids were a bit of a surprise, though.

As for the titanosaurs and tyrannosaurs? Yeah, that wasn't expected.

"Guess I'm not the only one who brings back so many creatures when I go on a rescue mission."

Tristan just nodded, as did Michelle. The caged raptor beside them just growled.

"Nice raptor. Have you decided on a name for her?"

The duo looked at the raptor for a moment, trying to decide what would sound best. They had spent most of the day following this Velociraptor, so naming her sounded like a good idea. But what to go with?

Then the duo noticed the raptor's tail. "How about White Tip?" offered Michelle.

"Sounds nice. But don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Do we have time to shower?"

"Yes."

"Then let us bathe first," replied Tristan. "That might help make a good impression on Emilia."

XxXxX

A few minutes later

Yeah, maybe skipping out on a shower wouldn't have done much to alienate Emilia.

Then again, she and her parents, as well as Ai's friend Tiffany, were all staring slack-jawed at the sight of Lauren, one of the new hires alongside Michelle, using a tarp and her own body weight to pin down a Velociraptor with a very-clearly broken arm.

….Why couldn't this induction have gone smoothly?

XxXxX

AN: Velociraptor is now here!

So, here are the species rescued:

Velociraptor mongoliensis: 8 males, 8 females

Protoceratops andrewsi - 30 females, 13 males

Gobisuchus - 3 males, 3 females

Shamosuchus - 4 males, 5 females

Zalambdalestes - 20 individuals of unknown gender

Halzskaraptor - 5 males, 5 females

Minotaurosaurus - 3 males, 3 females

Pinacosaurus - 7 males, 7 females

Udanoceratops - 15 males, 17 females

Shuuvia - 6 males, 6 females

Gobititan temujinenis (undescibed titanosaur) - 10 males, 6 females

Djadochtahadros gracilis(undescribe, primitive hadrosaur) - 6 males, 12 females

Djadochtatyrannus atrox (undescribed tyrannosaur) - 3 males, 3 females

Tsagaan - 2 males, 2 females

Estesia - 3 males, 3 females

Saurornithoides - 4 males, 4 females

Mahakala - 5 females, 5 males

Almas - 1 male, 1 female

Byronosaurus - 8 males, 8 females

Gobivenator - 2 males, 2 females

Citipati - 3 males, 3 females

Oviraptor philoceratops - 10 males, 10 females

Khaan - 5 males, 5 females

Gobidactylus (undescribed azdharchid) - 4 males, 4 females

Indeterminate number of Zalambdalestes, Deltatheridium, Djadochtatherium, Kryptobaatar, Asiatherium, Priscagama, Temujinia, Slavoia, Telmasaurus, and other genera

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!