AN: To those of you who have been following my writing for a while, welcome back. For those of you just joining us, greetings and welcome.
I normally avoid putting author's notes at the beginning of a chapter, but I will make exceptions for the first chapter of a story, and if I want to keep track of what happened between chapters.
Now, the important stuff.
The very first serious story that I ever wrote was a Prehistoric Park fanfic that eventually held the title Prehistoric Park: Returned from Extinction. The first thirty one chapters of that story were retreads of the original six episodes of Prehistoric Park (because after I finished chapter 1, I decided I didn't want to write a whole episode in one post), after which we went to original content. New creatures, original characters, original plots, the like.
I'm not gonna lie, the first few dozen chapters of that story are hard for me to look at, because they are filled with spelling and grammar errors, as well as plots that I think are just plain stupid. But that wasn't what made me decide to end that story. That was something else.
About a hundred or so chapters into my old story, I decided to throw a curveball and have it crossover with another story I was writing. That was a self insert, and while that crossover arc was pretty stupid, I don't really feel bad about writing it. But one of the things I decided while preparing to write up that arc was that I wanted to explore what was happening in the world outside the park, originally just in case I ever brought my self insert back.
Things…really, really snowballed from there.
Regardless of if you are just joining or have been a devoted fan, you'll probably notice that I have a bunch of other stories up. About half of the more recent and consistently updated ones (well, relatively speaking, since I was focusing on the reboot of the Self Insert I just mentioned for the past few months) are part of the shared universe I started with my Prehistoric Park story, which I have decided to title Coalescence. And as I was working on those stories, I looked back at Returned from Extinction, and saw just how much of a mess it was early on. Now, it's too late to reboot that story in full, but some things still need to be changed to fit in better with the canon I established for my series - Prehistoric Park might not interact day to day with the other casts, but its crucial to helping explain the overall metaphysics of the setting.
And so here we are: my soft reboot to the first story I was seriously invested in.
So, a few things to get stated before we start the first chapter:
I am going to have this story divided into roughly plotlines - Nigel rescuing creatures, the staff caring for them, and researchers exploring the nature of the park and the time portal. The latter two plot threads will usually share chapters unless something major is going on, since they're mostly interchangeable.
This story takes place after the events of the original, but with a few rescues mixed and matched, so some creatures that showed up in the original might not appear here.
I'm going to make an effort to include references to the larger mythos right from the get-go, so pay attention to any jokes I make about other settings.
Tying into point three, I am really bad at avoiding crossovers with other settings. I will try to be better, but there is a good chance here that if you see me make a reference to another series, it will appear sometime later in this story unless it is explicitly held as fictional in this setting - Re:creators is not the focus of this story.
Finally, some elaboration on the park: I'm generally going to go with the most accurate and up to date presentation of the animals that we see in this story, so for those of you who have watched Prehistoric Planet, you'll know how some of the animal cast looks. After that, it defaults to the other major basis for this series, Prehistoric Kingdom, the spiritual successor to Prehistoric Park. This will also include any park amenities the staff use.
With all of that said, ENJOY MY WRITING!
XxXxX
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 Marven plunges into prehistory to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction. His plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present, and give them a second chance.
With phase two of the park about to begin, Nigel heads to South America at the very end of the cretaceous to rescue one of its most famous predators, but finds quite a few surprises along the way.
Welcome to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary. Welcome to Prehistoric Kingdom!
XxXxX
It's a very big day at Prehistoric Kingdom. After much preparation, phase two is about to begin. All over, staff are readying the final preparations for new residents.
The rumbling of transport trucks tears one beaked herbivore away from the ferns it is grazing on. Glancing upwards, the Edmontosaurus watches as men and women hastily finish assembling a new fence, though what will live within eludes the dinosaur, which soon turns its attention toward browsing on a nearby tree.
The existing enclosures already house everything from giant bugs to dinosaurs. And now, Nigel wants to bring back even more creatures.
Nigel has already proven that he can keep prehistoric animals here - with biomes ranging from ocean to the South to Mountains in the North and everything inbetween, Nigel has managed to raise the first set of residents, and now sets his eyes on breeding populations.
In the center of the park, the head of staff makes his way to his den, taking a moment to wave at a passing titanosaur, beneath whom a group of sail backed herbivores dig for roots while a group of great horned bison graze nearby.
All that remains is to select the first target for phase two. And Nigel already has a target in mind.
Entering his den, Nigel turns his attention to a recognizable fossil: the short, horned skull of a carnivorous dinosaur.
The meat eating bull, Carnotaurus.
XxXxX
"This is probably the most famous very late cretaceous predator after Tyrannosaurus," noted Nigel, "excluding non-dinosaurs, of course. Carnotaurus was one of the last members of the group known as abelisaurs - members of the ceratosaur family, these carnivores were amazingly successful - fossils from them are known everywhere that tyrannosaurs aren't found, and many of them lived at the same time as Carnotaurus, just before the end of the reign of the dinosaurs. Despite having arms stubbier than those of T. rex, they were the dominant predators almost everywhere they were found. Seeing how we already have some T. rex, I don't think having a few of these would hurt."
XxXxX
To rescue the last of the Carnotaurus, Nigel will have to return to the Earth of sixty six million years ago, at the very end of the age of the dinosaurs. This trip will take him to South America, which was only just beginning to separate from Antarctica. Having otherwise been isolated from the rest of the world, this led to an assemblage of fauna unlike anywhere else in the world.
Revving up his jeep, Nigel activated the time portal and drove through.
Hopefully, he hasn't aimed too high for the start of phase two.
XxXxX
Exiting the portal, Nigel finds himself on a fern prairie. To his East lies a forest and then mountains, while to the west is yet more plains and then ocean. In this distance, the unmistakable form of sauropods can be seen, browsing on the edge of the forest. Already, a camp has been erected near a river that leads out into the ocean.
"I've been to the end of the Cretaceous before, but only in North America. Here, we're in a whole new world, and of the creatures you could find there, only hadrosaurs and raptors can be found here. Horned ceratopsians never made it here, while the local armored dinosaurs took a completely different evolutionary turn. All of this led to an environment where Carnotaurus was the apex hunter, and hopefully, we'll be able to rescue a few of its contemporaries before the end comes."
Nigel is far enough away from ground zero that the blast wave is not an immediate concern. But if he remains here when the asteroid strikes, there are other threats he will have to consider.
With the inevitable deadline hanging over his head, Nigel leaves the rest of camp setup to his men - he has creatures to find.
XxXxX
While Nigel handles rescuing creatures in the past, in the present, Head Keeper Bob is busy teaching the newest set of trainees how to handle all of the park's extant residents. And on this occasion, Head Vet Suzanne is also on standby, for this particular animal has some special needs.
Bob watched with a small amount of satisfaction as the last batch of newly arrived keepers gawked at the sight before them.
After all, it wasn't every day when you saw someone giving a medical checkup to a Tyrannosaurus.
The tyrannosaur in question, Jane, was on her side, head cocked so that she could look at the trainees who had gathered outside her exhibit. Atop her exposed belly, a trio of small dinosaurs, alvarezsaurs, ran about, grabbing at ticks that had embedded themselves in her leathery skin. Occasionally, one would chirp at the others, intimidating them into backing away from their companion's chosen feeding spot. The tyrannosaur paid this no mind, only shifting herr attention occasionally to watch as one employee, a boy on the cusp of manhood named Tristan, worked to clean dung out of the enclosure.
"Now, as you can see," began Bob, "some of our residents have very unique needs and care requirements. In some truly extraordinary cases, this includes having other residents help treat them for things like parasites."
Suzanne took that as her cue to interject. "Allowing them to interact with each other will obviously require notifying experienced staff to make sure that incompatible animals or predators and prey end up in the same enclosure, but sometimes, we think it best to let nature take its course. Now, for in-exhibit check ups, we have armored cars with scent repellent, but most observation is handled outside the exhibit."
This conversation went on for a while before the group moved on to the next unit in their training.
XxXxX
Back in the past, Nigel seems to have found a lead on his primary target.
At the edge of a forest, Nigel stands before a set of footprints. Their size and shape limits what creature could make them.
"As you can see, these footprints look very birdlike - three splayed out and pointed toes. Only theropods have these kinds of footprints, and from their size, it can only be one creature - Carnotaurus. But there's something else I've found here that's leaving me a bit puzzled."
Turning his attention toward the edge of the forest, Nigel gestures to one of the trees, where the bark has been heavily slashed up. "These are claw marks, no doubt there. But what made them is something I'm not sure about - there are large raptors in this part of the world, but they aren't big enough to make the scratch marks we're looking at. I'd say they were therizinosaurs, but those aren't known from the southern hemisphere. And while there used to be large carnosaurs in South America, all of them should have gone extinct. So what did this is a mystery."
With the threat of the asteroid quite literally hanging over his head, though, Nigel can't spare any time to figure out what made the claw marks, and after one last look, he packs up and enters the forest.
XxXxX
Another hour passes as Nigel makes his way deeper into the woodland, eyes darting to every opening in the mass of tree trunks, looking for any sign of movement.
In a dense forest like this, animals could be hidden anywhere. Nigel will need to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary, lest he become a meal for one of the region's predators.
"This isn't the best terrain when hunting for Carnotaurus," admitted Nigel. "Carnotaurus is widely considered to be the fastest of all large carnivorous dinosaurs, though speed doesn't translate into maneuverability. If I can spot one before it spots me, I might be able to lose it in this maze of trees, but if it sees me first, I won't have the time to dodge."
Any further discussion, however, is cut off but the sound of something tearing into wood. Gesturing for his camera crew to stop, Nigel focuses his glance at a nearby log. For a moment, nothing happens, but then a strange, armored quadruped emerges - one that looks surprisingly like a crocodile. The creature glances around, failing to notice Nigel, before beginning to claw into the log. Nigel can only smile at the sight.
"Well, this is unexpected - it's an Armadillosuchus. It isn't a dinosaur, but rather a land living variety of crocodile. Crocodiles have actually made the return to fully terrestrial lives many times in history - the last few lived in Australia and New Zealand so recently that early humans would likely have met them, and were probably what drove them to extinction. But here, in South America, they had their heyday - the group showed up in the Middle Jurassic and survived until as recently as eleven million years ago, making them one of the few groups to survive the coming extinction. Of course, this species won't make it through the coming devastation…though this one doesn't seem to be on its own."
Indeed, as Nigel speaks, several more crocodilians emerged from the underbrush, some tearing at the long for grubs and mushrooms, others rooting through the ground for roots. A few were even fighting over what was soon revealed to be the remains of a small hadrosaur, with much hissing and posturing as they tried to assert dominance with one another. Suddenly, however, they all froze as a loud cracking sound filled the air, with Nigel and his camera team following suit moments later. Another cracking sound filled the air, then another, causing the crocodilians to disperse into the undergrowth, the last disappearing just as the source of the noise was revealed.
A gray form meandered through the trees, eventually coming to a halt by the hadrosaur carcass. The front half of the armored body lowered itself until its short snout was able to grip the remains of the leaf eater, which took a few tries to grasp securely. Slowly, the stubby armed, horned carnivore surveyed its surroundings, trying to find any potential challengers for the kill.
Only once it was certain that there were no nearby dangers did the Carnotaurus leave.
Nigle couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the retreating abelisaur.
It seems that things are off to a better start than Nigel's first adventure to the Earth of sixty six million years ago. But while the Carnotaurus marches off to feed in peace, Nigel's attention is elsewhere.
As the ceratosaur vanishes into the vegetation, Nigel hastily started rummaging through his bag. "While Carnotaurus might be my main target, these Armadillosuchus won't be spared by the extinction - herbivorous crocodilians will never show up in the fossil record after this time in prehistory. And that makes them perfect residents for the park."
It's at this moment that Nigel finally finds what he is looking for - a netgun. "First used this in Prehistoric China to capture a quartet of Microraptor. Always bring it now just in case."
Even with these preparations, Nigel is dealing with crocodilians born to run - he'll only have one good shot at the group.
Hastily loading the netgun, Nigel takes aim at the assembled suchians.
Fortunately for Nigel, he's had plenty of practice since his first time using the netgun.
Letting out a deep breath, Nigel pulls the trigger. The net flies through the air, and manages to ensnare a pair of the reptiles. While the pair screeches in shock, the rest scatter into the undergrowth. Wasting no time, the camera crew mobilizes alongside Nigel, working to restrain the duo before they can escape.
It takes them only a few moments to succeed, but their moment of triumph is short lived, as out of the undergrowth emerges another armored form. This one is also a crocodilian, but it is larger than the other two, and the teeth prove that it is not an herbivore.
This creature is a hunter.
Luck strikes again, though, as the creature misjudged its step, and stumbles upon a loose branch. As the creature loses its grip and trips, the team wastes no time retreating back toward where they entered the forest. The hunting crocodile soon recovers, but it has missed its chance - unlike the dinosaurs, its family is cold blooded, and not suited to long chases. Though none of the team notice in their haste to retreat, the predator hisses in defeat, and disappears into the brush, searching for another target.
XxXxX
Only once Nigel has returned to where he found the claw marks does his team rest.
"Well, t-t-that was certainly, huh, a surprise. That was another one of these land crocodiles - notosuchians, that the group's name. The size of that one leaves no doubt, that was a Baurusuchus. I think that one had a scar on its snout - not a surprise, really. Plenty of predators engage in face biting for dominance, though the proper term is snout wrestling. I admit, I've been chased by many predators, and even some crocodile ancestors, but this never gets old."
Catching his breath, Nigel looks over his two captures - while not dinosaurs, they certainly might make for an interesting addition to the park. "Bob shouldn't have too much trouble housing these - I went back to the Chinle Formation to rescue Coelophysis, and brought back some aetosaurs. Not too different in niche compared to these creatures."
Unfortunately for Nigel, though, these will likely be all that he can rescue today - the sun has already begun its descent from the sky, leaving him with little to do except bring his team and their crocodiles back to camp.
Nigel seems to be running things just like his very first mission - for good or for ill.
XxXxX
It is just as the sun reaches the horizon that Nigel returns to camp. Today, though, it seems there is a surprise in store for him.
As expected, the camp has been assembled by the time the team returns. But there is a peculiarity this time - one tent has been torn apart, and was surrounded by a makeshift barricade, with several crewmen observing it, watching for the faintest signs of movement.
It seems there is a camp raider. Of course, for Nigel, this is an opportunity - he's not one to turn down the chance to make a rescue.
Handing off the two crocodilians to the rest of his team, Nigel approaches the tent, a tarp in his arms. As he draws closer, hissing starts to emanate from the tent, until finally, his presence proves too much, and out comes a small, snaggle toothed dinosaur, slightly smaller than his earlier catches. The dinosaur tries to escape, but Nigel is too close, and manages to pin it to the ground. One well tied belt later, and the creature is muzzled and too exhausted to fight back, leaving Nigel laughing once again.
"Well, this is certainly going better than my first time in the Cretaceous. I was expecting to see this here, but it looks like its range was larger than we thought. The snaggle teeth leave no doubt - this is a Noasaurus. They're another type of abelisaur, but they were smaller than Carnotaurus and its kin, and retained longer arms. The only one we know from fossils of a complete skull is Masiakasaurus, and it had a bizarre set of teeth, which I can safely it shares with this beautiful creature." Taking a moment to breath, Nigel gestures to the teeth in question."These teeth aren't meant for biting and tearing, they're meant to grasp. This is an animal that specializes in smaller prey, possibly fish or burrowing animals."
As with all non-avian dinosaurs, this creature would be doomed to die in the aftermath of the asteroid impact. But its attempt to raid the camp has ensured that this specimen, at least, will survive past that point and, if Nigel's luck holds, will contribute to the first generation of its kind born in the modern day.
XxXxX
With all three creatures secured, Nigel is ready to call it a day. But first, he needs to take his newest captures home.
After placing the three archosaurs within his jeep, Nigel sets up the portal. Moments later, he's through, having completed his first rescues of phase two.
On an observation platform by one of the smaller holding pens, Bob cracks a smile as the park's newest residents start to fight over an offering of meat.
"Nice of you to start small," he said to a nearby Nigel while Suzanne and her trainees watched the newcomers with rapt attention. "Saves me a lot of trouble."
"Would've have tried for something bigger, but this is what I managed to bring back. Still, they shouldn't be too hard to care for, should they?"
"You never know. So, going back now?"
"I'm on a deadline - probably about three days like on my first trip back to the Cretaceous."
"Well, don't get too banged up - I ain't planning on going back to the past to do these rescues anytime soon."
XxXxX
Nigel may have already rescued three animals, but as he returns to the Cretaceous, he finds that night has finally fallen, and with it, warning signs are starting to appear. Above him, meteorites illuminate the night sky - heralds of the coming doom. The cosmic deadline he is facing is not one he can negotiate with, and he will need to pick up the pace for this mission.
XxXxX
The next day, Nigel and his team wake up to find an unexpected sight.
Emerging from his tent, Nigel yawns, but when he opens his eyes, he's greeted with a familiar sight - that of long necked sauropods, drinking from the stream before him.
More creatures whose fates teeter in the balance.
Glancing around reveals that the sauropods are not alone - small herbivores dart between their legs, some resembling ornithopods, others clearly ankylosaurs.
"Well, look at this. Didn't expect to see sauropods so soon. These are clearly titanosaurs, but this isn't like North America, where there's only one species from the group left standing. There's more than a dozen known from South America alone at this time, and I'm not quite sure which one this species is - it could be Saltasaurus, Antarctosaurus, Adamantinasaurus, or another one of those dozen that I don't quite remember. The smaller ones, though, are a bit easier to narrow down - the more bipeds are probably Isisacursor, a member of a group called elasmarians that are only found in the Southern Hemisphere and parts of Europe. As for the ankylosaurs, they're another unexpected sight, because I'm pretty sure that they're Stegouros. The tail is the give away."
Nigel accompanied this by pulling out a picture from his pack, one of an ankylosaur with an oddly fan-shaped tail. "See, Stegouros is part of a group known as parankylosauria, which is only known from South America, Antarctica, and Australia. This animal was only named in 2021, and I'm honestly surprised to see it here, because the species should be long extinct. I guess some managed to cling on, or this is an undiscovered species that descends from the one known in the fossil record."
Nigel stares at them for a few more moments, but eventually, he has to leave - while he would like to rescue these herbivores, he has no method to get them through the portal yet. Perhaps later, he will find a way, but that is not now.
Just as Nigel heads off, one of the titanosaurs smells something and lets out a warning cry before turning to face the nearest treeline. There, watching them, is a strange carnivore, one with a snout too long to be an abelisaur. The creature eyes the herd, trying to find an opening to attack, but comes up short. Letting out an annoyed growl, the carnivore vanishes, but not before carving a claw mark into a nearby tree.
XxXxX
While Nigel treks across South America searching for his target, back in the present, Bob is busy acclimating the new arrivals.
Rushing out of the transport container, the Noasaurus immediately began exploring its new surroundings. It had stayed the night in Suzanne's clinic alongside the land crocodiles so that it could be observed for any signs of medical distress, which had given Bob additional time to prepare for the new arrivals. After Nigel's first mission to Cretaceous Montana had brought back many unexpected arrivals (how had managed to find two Alamosaurus so far north, much less rescue of pair of Mosasaurus?), he'd made sure to prepare for many, many unexpected rescues. Luckily, this creature was small enough that only needed to make a few extra preparations for her - one of which was already in use.
Making her way to a set of ferns and stumps, the female abelisaur paused upon finding a hollow log. While most of the log was inaccessible, being too small for her to fit into, her sense of smell had led her to a hole in the top. There, at the bottom of the depression, lay the carcass of a rat - a mammal that she did not recognize, but nonetheless something she could devour with ease. After taking a moment to judge her plan of attack, she slowly lowered her head into the knot, jaws open and salivating. Her teeth gave her some extra grip that other carnivores lacked, allowing her to grasp at and subsequently retrieve the rat well before other carnivores would have been able to do so. Once her head was free from the log, she vanished behind a rock to feed in peace.
Chuckling at his victory, Bob turned his attention back toward his jeep - time to see how the Armadillosuchus were doing.
XxXxX
Back in the past, Nigel has returned to the forest, hoping to find the Carnotaurus he missed the day before. Already he has found a set of footprints to follow.
Having found a trail to follow, Nigel was devoting all of his attention to finding the creature who had made the tracks, only occasionally looking away to be sure that he wasn't being stalked by another hunter. Having already seen his quarry once, he wanted to bring it back as soon as possible. The ever present threat of the asteroid only intensified this desire.
Said trekking eventually took him to a small clearing in the trees, which Nigel took a moment to survey, only to freeze as something big moved in. This armored, horned form was very similar to the one he had seen earlier, but this one was a reddish brown instead of gray. The horns also seemed slightly more pronounced than on the grey one."
"Looks like we found another Carnotaurus," noted Nigel, who alongside his team had taken cover amid a clump of ferns. "Given the difference in appearance, I'd say this is a different gender than the first one we saw - a male, most likely." As he said that, the carnotaur approached a spot in the clearing, grabbed a piece of plant matter, and deposited it at the edge of the opening. "This one seems particularly interested in keeping this patch of forest clean."
Before Nigel could ask the obvious question of 'why?', the sound of rustling plants filled the air. The male, who had been examining the area for any other plants that were out of place, stood up and focused on the source of the noise - another of its kind, this one the same color as the one Nigel had previously seen. Instantly, the male was on the alert, though he showed no signs of aggression as the female approached.
"I think that might be the same female we saw yesterday. And I think I might know why she's here."
Once the female had come to a halt before the male, he began to turn around, making sure the female got a good look at every part of his body. Particular emphasis was made on his horns.
Observing all of this provoked a laugh from Nigel. "I knew it - this is a mating dance. The male's cleared out this portion of the forest to use as a display field. He's trying to make himself look as big and impressive as he can, so that she'll be willing to mate with him. He only has a few small scars on his body, which might work to his advantage - it might tell a female that he's fought and won many battles with minimal injury to himself. Or they could mean nothing to her - we don't know if abelisaurs have that kind of understanding."
As Nigel says this, the male finally stops dancing, leading the female to stare at his tiny, underdeveloped arms, which lack elbows or wrists and spend most of the time flush against the body. It seems she is preparing to make a full inspection of her prospective mate, but looks prove deceiving. As she seems ready to make her decision, the male suddenly moves again, this time splaying out his arms. Amazingly, in contrast to the rest of the animal, the undersides of his forelimbs are bright blue. With the unveiling of these bright spots on his otherwise drab physique, the male renews his dance, now flailing his arms to add to his already impressive display…well, impressive for a female of his own kind, hopefully. Standards of attractiveness vary across the animal kingdom.
Nigel can barely suppress a laugh. "Wasn't expecting that - with arms so small, I thought his horns would be the main display point. But then, there's so much that you can't tell from the fossil record."
The display continues for a few more minutes, ending with the male holding his spine almost vertically, allowing the female to examine him once again. This time, she looks over his entire body, occasionally sniffing him, looking for even a hint of weakness. Finally, she comes to a decision….and walks off. Nigel can't help feeling a pang of sympathy at the sight.
"Oh well. Better luck next time, lad."
While the male doesn't seem to be having much luck right now, Nigel sees an opportunity. He may not be able to rescue the female, but one abelisaur is still a great prize.
Quickly setting up the portal, Nigel makes sure to keep an eye on the predator, who has returned to cleaning his display zone. "I don't have any bait on hand, but I won't need it for this. As I said earlier, Carnotaurus might have been one of the fastest dinosaurs, and the fastest large predator. But that comes at the cost of maneuverability. So, if I can get the male to charge at me, and get out of the way before he grabs me, then I should be able to send him back to the present."
The minute the portal is ready, pulls out another one of his best tools in this line of work - a bicycle horn. Taking a deep breath, he holds it out to the carnivore and squeezes.
The abelisaur freezes for a moment, before turning toward Nigel and hissing. Undeterred, Nigel squeezes the horn again. Another hiss follows, but the carnivore shows no signs of moving. Nigel continues to use the horn, but the carnivore shows no sign of retreating. After one last blow (toot?) of the horn, Nigel gives up and shrugs…and throws a large clump of plants and dirt at the display space.
That is enough to get the desired reaction - snorting in rage, the abelisaur charges. Smirking at the success of his plan b, Nigel stands his ground until the last moment, then dives to the side as the portal comes to life. The ceratosaur doesn't even notice this until he has stumbled into the present. Above, Bob watches in surprise at how swiftly Nigel has gained such an active quarry, before opening up a holding pen and letting the predator through. Moments later, he's feasting on the remains of a goat.
Nigel soon emerges from the portal and heads up to Bob's observation platform, giving him a good view of his newest park resident. "Isn't he beautiful?"
"Yep, he is. Where'd you find him?"
"Displaying to a female. I'm gonna try and rescue her before the end of the day."
"Well, good luck. Oh, and you have any ideas for a name for this lad?"
"Yeah, Jose."
"Ah, I see. Good name."
"Thanks. Well, I'll be off then."
"Good luck."
XxXxX
Despite his plans, though, Nigel is unable to find the female before the day ends, forcing him to return to camp. Now, time is truly running out - if things go as they did in his first mission, the asteroid will arrive tomorrow. He needs to rescue his targets soon, or else. And this calls for extreme measures.
As the sun finally dips below the horizon, Nigel looks over the trap for one moment, then smiles and sets it down. "We might be looking for the biggest creatures in the region, we can't neglect the smaller animals roaming around. Sometimes, we have to resort to more…unscrupulous methods to save them."
Hopefully, Nigel's plans bare fruits - with one day left, he'll need to pull out all stops to secure his targets.
Securing the last trap, Nigel turns in for the night, failing to notice the clawed figure watching him in the distance, forelimbs slashing new marks into a nearby tree.
XxXxX
Morning dawns, and Nigel finds himself once again greeted by herbivores.
But this time, they also have an unwanted guest.
As Nigel prepares to leave camp, a low bellow turns his attention to a nearby titanosaur - it seems this one has been unsettled by something, which has unnerved all of the other herbivores (and a few noasaurs that have joined them to drink from the nearest watering hole) as well. A quick glance reveals a familiar form: that of a gray carnotaur, which is now looking at all of the assembled creatures with a look of hunger in her eyes.
It seems that someone is very hungry right now.
Well aware of the most common strategies of predators, the sauropods lock ranks, while the smaller creatures hastily move to seek shelter amid the giants. The youngest sauropods hide in the center of mass, growling at any other animal that tries to force its way inside.
This strategy might work against one predator, but this time, the female isn't alone.
As the abelisaur glances over potential targets, another of her kind emerges from the woodland, followed by another, until a total of five ceratosaurs stare at the herd. All have hunger in their eyes, and see a feast before them. With barely a hiss, the five begin circling the herbivores, looking for an opening to strike.
The sight before him might be unnerving, but Nigel also sees an opportunity.
Springing to action, Nigel grabs the portal and starts running toward the mass of dinosaurs. "I've only got one chance at this - the way the herd is set up, they only have one easy path to escape. There's a steep hill behind them and water to their sides, so the safest path is forward. If I can set up the portal there, well, we'll get quite a few more animals than intended."
He has to act fast - it's only a matter of time before the herd breaks.
Racing as fast as he can, Nigel gets the portal assembled and started up, but it still has precious moments to activate, and the herd is about to lose its cohesion. Seeing no other option, Nigel fishes into his pack and pulls out his last resort - a flare gun. Taking aim to the side of one of the herbivores, Nigel pulls the trigger, sending the flare flying into a lakeside plant, which soon ignites. The sudden burst of flame spooks all the assembled creatures, but the shock only lasts a moment - the fire does not spread, and with the carnivores still being quite hungry, they soon refocus their attention on the herd, who are still at the breaking point. Nigel is forced to expend a second flare, which yet again spooks all assembled for a moment, though this lasts even less than the first flash of flame. Nigel doesn't even have time for a third shot, for the herbivores finally lose their nerve and run. Fortunately for our hero, the portal finally activates, opening just as the first elasmarian crosses between the sticks. The weight of numbers forces the rest of the animals forward, predators and prey, until only one sauropod and the female Carnotaurus remain.
But just before they can enter the temporal vortex, a new form bursts out of the forest, snarling at both prey and fellow predator. This one is significantly larger than the abelisaur, and much to Nigel's shock, its blue-gray body has very pronounced forelimbs with large, powerful claws. The surprise of seeing such a large rival causes the female carnotaur to lose her nerve, and she darts into the portal, accidentally kicking one of the sticks making it up as she does.
Nigel's expression falls at that sight. "Oh no, not again."
While the smaller carnivore retreats, the sauropod rears up to try and intimidate the newly arrived foe. The fight to be, however, never comes - the time portal suddenly gives out, and then suddenly an arc of electricity flies into the titanosaur, which vanishes from…existence, apparently. Confused, the theropod looks around for a moment, trying to make sense of the new sight, before swiftly retreating, fighting spirit broken.
Reluctantly letting out a curse, Nigel tells his team to retrieve the cages, while taking another piece of gear out of his pack - a second time portal, made just in case the first failed to work. Hastily giving it to his team, Nigel then boards his jeep and gives chase to the retreating theropod - he is not allowed to lose it now.
As he vanishes over a nearby hill following the great predator, one of Nigel's team takes out a special time-travel proof communicator and starts sending a message.
XxXxX
Back in the present, far away from the commotion going on at the holding pens, a few new trainees are keeping watch at the newly established Carnotaurus Country to see if yesterday's largest arrival is settling into the present well enough.
As the abelisaur moved yet another piece of plant matter away from his chosen display space, one of the newer hires glanced at her senior coworker. "Hey, Tristan?"
"Yes?" asked the black haired, brown eyed young adult.
"How long do you think until he finishes making things as clean as he wants?"
"Honestly? No idea - not sure how he defines things as being as close to perfect as he can get."
Further dialogue was cut off when a ringing sound filled the air - Tristan' special park communicator, given to members of certain teams in the park, had received a message. "One moment, let me see this."
Taking out the communicator, Tristan examined the words with rapt attention.
PORTAL SUFFERED IMPACT FROM CREATURE. PLEASE WATCH FOR MAGNETIC DISTURBANCES.
"...The fuck? So soon?!"
XxXxX
Back in the past, Nigel is gaining on his mystery predator, but time is really running out now - the light of the coming asteroid is now faintly visible in the sky, meaning he has maybe an hour left before it arrives. Likely much less.
At last, Nigel's newest target shows signs of slowing. Allowing himself the chance to slow, Nigel refuses to take his eyes off the strange predator, though having had plenty of time to look at it, he no longer finds it an enigma.
"I really wasn't expecting to see this here - wasn't sure this creature lived this far south. This is a Maip, the last of the megaraptorids, given their name because initially, their signature hand claws were mistaken for dromaeosur toe claws. We're not quite sure what group they belonged to, but they were at least close relatives of tyrannosaurs. But seeing one here and now is…well, a shock."
More shocking still is that the carnivore has come to a complete stop before him. Confused by unwilling to pass up the chance he now has, Nigel gets out of his jeep and starts setting up the portal, only to hear a familiar bellow coming from just over the hill both man and dinosaur are on. Moments later, the familiar form of a sauropod crests the hill, followed by more of its kind, and also another familiar sight: hadrosaurs.
It seems that Nigel has found another herd in need of rescue. And they, too, are being followed by predators.
As the rest of the herd crests the hilltop, Nigel sees that they are not alone - to their sides are more megaraptorids, alongside an assortment of notosuchians, including a familiar one with a scarred snout. Nigel only pays heed to them for a moment, though, before his attention returns to setting up the portal - he will save further examination for when they are all at the safety of the park.
Just as he is about to activate the portal, though, the sound of an explosion fills the air. Confused and unnerved, the dinosaurs all halt as they try to ascertain what is causing the strange noise. Nigel, however, knows all too well what it is - a great mass of rock and metal streaking its way across the sky, heading north of this land. It disappears behind a mountain, around which a bright glow emanates.
The time has come - the fate of all dinosaurs is about to be settled, alongside that of the pterosaurs and all non-turtle marine reptiles, to say nothing of how many smaller creatures will see their world end here.
Initially, an eerie calm falls over the Earth, leaving the assembled creatures confused as to what happened. But then, a new sound fills the air - that of an explosion beyond comprehension. Moments later, it is joined by the shaking of the Earth - earthquakes on a scale mankind will never be able to measure, these are a far more dangerous aftereffect of the impact. It will take hours for the blast wave to reach this part of South America, but the quakes are a more immediate danger - not only do they spook the animals, but parts of the hill begin to give way as the age of the dinosaurs comes to an end.
The shock of this prehistoric armageddon is enough to send the herd running, which in turn sends the megaraptorid back to where it came from - right toward Nigel. This time, though, his luck holds, and he is able to retreat through the portal just before the theropod reaches him. Soon, the rest of the animals join them, all filtering into the portal to escape their crumbling world. Last to arrive is the scar-mouthed Baurusuchus, who slips at the last step but has the luck to stumble into the portal as she falls. The portal then phases out of existence, and not a second too soon, for the minute it disappears, a remnant of the asteroid lands where it once stood - the first of many to scorch this world.
XxXxX
Several hours later, Bob and Suzanne have helped Nigel sort all of the new arrivals into holding pens, where they can be observed in peace.
"So, another big mission to start off phase two?" asked Bob.
"Yeah. Think I might want to take a longer rest before the next mission - let you two get all the new hires acquainted."
"Well, thank you," replied Bob.
"Some time for that is truly appreciated," added Suzanne.
"I know," was all Nigel could say.
XxXxX
Next time, the new staff will have their first post-rescue day to adjust to the park and handle their first set of newly arrived residents, but for now, all is calm at Prehistoric Kingdom…or is it?
XxXxX
As the rest of the staff at the holding pens took a variety of notes over the new arrivals, one employee focused instead on the numbers of each new arrival - Tristan.
"So," asked the girl he had been mentoring earlier, "how many Saltasuarus did he rescue?"
"...Twenty seven-"
Suddenly, his communicator started buzzing again. As soon as he took it out and saw the reason why, Tristan blanched.
EXTREME MAGNETIC DISTORTION DETECTED
Without warning, the ground in front of the duo started to glow. Then, out of nowhere, a vortex of what looked like glass fragments suddenly appeared, spitting out a very surprised looking sauropod that had reared up onto its hind limbs. Returning to all fours, it stumbled away from the vortex moments before the mass disappeared from existence.
Sighing, Tristan turned to face the girl who had just questioned him, a look of uncomprehending shock on her face. "Make that twenty eight, and this will be a long story."
XxXxX
AN: And now this chapter is done!
Quite a few surprises, weren't there?
I'll explain most of this next chapter, but here is a selection of creatures rescued in this chapter - no numbers yet, I need to sleep now.
Animals Rescued:
Carnotaurus
Saltasaurus
Huallsaurus
Stegouros
Antarctosaurus
Adamantinasaurus (via traps)
Baurusuchus
Armadilosuchus
Maip
Adamantinasuchus
Isisacursor
Coloniatherium (via traps)
So, read and review at your leisure! This is Flameal15k, signing off!