Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Run. Run. Run and don't get caught. You can't get caught again. Never again.

Running through the jungle as fast as she could, pushing the leaves aside with her claws. Behind her she could hear people screaming. Good. Serves them right.

She had put some good distance between herself and the helicopter Wu was in but she still moved. Further, further until she was deep into the jungle.

It felt good. The mud stuck to her padded feet, it was refreshing, made her feel alive for the first time in a long, long time. She could breathe in the jungle, smell it's humidity, feel it’s life. She had stopped at some point, taking in the jungle and thinking about her situation. She was free. She actually was free. Wu had left, almost everyone had left. The Indominus had wrecked havoc on the island when she escaped, which was no surprise to her. Since she held the Indominus and her sister in her arms when they first hatched, she saw an unmatched hatred in the Indominus’s eyes. That was three years ago and since then she knew the Indominus would be the one to take down this place. And she did. Now they were both free.

Wu had tried to take her with him off the island in secret but she wasn't having it. She wasn't going to get locked up in another lab. So she ran. In the chaos and fear of everything Wu had left her here, fearing for himself. And she couldn't be happier to be abandoned. No more labs, just her and the island. All she had to do now was hide for a while, until things calmed down and she could begin to actually live. With no humans around anymore she could live peacefully with dinosaurs like her. Well not like her, she wasn't completely a dinosaur but she wasn't human either. And if she had to choose she'd choose the dinos anyday.

So here she was, sitting on a thick branch of a tree just taking everything in. It was quite easy for her to climb it even though she's never climbed a tree before. But it was easy, her claws allowed for an easy climb. Her thick scaly tail was just hanging from the branch, swinging lazily. The night was ticking by and she was waiting for….. something. She didn't know what, maybe she was waiting to just wake up and realise this was all a dream. She hoped not. She'd lived on the secret labs of Wu all her life and she hated it. Who wants to be stuck in a lab and experimented all day? Well not her. But it didn't matter anymore. She was here, in the jungle of Nublar and Wu was away and not coming back anytime soon. Hopefully.

Not too far away from her she could see the tracks of a monorail. Visitors came with those to visit the park. She wasn't allowed to go near them of course, Wu always said that the world wasn't ready for her. She doubted they ever would. Wu must know that too, that's why she was a secret. Only he, his private scientists and maybe his boss, Masrani? She couldn't remember his name. It must be something like that, knew about her. “You're too unique for those people,” she remembers him saying. “They can't handle you, never will. You're one of a kind and there will be none like you again. Ever again.”

She believed him of course. Why wouldn't she? Doesn't mean she was happy about it though. She didn't wanna live in a lab all day, eating chemical food, if it could even be called food. She didn't wanna be poked with syringes all day, do tests all day. No she wanted out, to run in an open field, to lay on the grass, to eat good, flavoury food, meat especially. They were desires burned into her, instincts almost. And instincts were something not even Wu could control. So she listened to them. Multiple times had she tried to escape but always failed. And the punishments for them weren't pleasant but they only fueled her anger. So she tried again and again and again. And finally like a miracle the Indominus escaped. Sure the Indominus killed a lot of people for her freedom but she didn't blame her. She was alone, confused about what she was and where she belonged. And she couldn't bring herself to feel bad for anyone who worked in this park. Far from it. They deserved to get eaten. Her thoughts went back to the Indominus. Or to Darcy as she affectionately called her behind Wu's back. She deserved a nice name and the Indominus was a mouthful to say. She wondered what she was doing. Probably eating people or something.

Before she could dwell on it too much, she heard a loud screeching sound. She turned her head to see a monorail, lights coming from it. Flashlights if she had to guess. But that wasn't the weirdest part, no it was the multiple Pteranodos attacking it and the people inside. Makes sense. The Pteranodos must be attracted to the lights. She squinted her eyes and- is that someone on top of the monorail?! The hell was he doing there? She stood on the branch to get a better look, a clawed arm around the trunk for balance and swore she saw the person get inside to a different part of the monorail.
And just like that the monorail was too far out of sight to see more.
She was curious as to what was happening. They should already be at the ferry with the rest of the people. Running late she had to guess. Oh well. They'd be fine. It's not like they'd be left behind. Especially not when they're children.

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The next morning she was walking towards familiar labs. She hadn't slept the night before and frankly, was quite hungry. She wasn't sure how to hunt, or even what to hunt so she went to find packets of food that she ate. They weren't tasty but they got the work done and she wasn't picky right now. No human was around. She passed by some Sinoceratops, Stegosaurus and other species. They all seem to be enjoying their new freedom and getting used to it. And thankfully, they weren't freaking out over her. Good. That's the last thing she wants. She arrived at a genetics lab, one she's been often to. One of Wu's closest scientists stayed there. Eddie, she recalls his name. Nice guy, a bit weird but nice anyway.

She stepped through the door looking around. Everything was dark and empty. Of course. He must have left with the other scientists. Her mission was to find packets of food when something sweet caught her nose. In the main room, on top of a table something stood. It took her way too long to realise it was a cake. She never had it. Wu was very strict about her diet so something like a cake was out of the question. Well Wu isn't here. She hurried over to the cake inspecting it. It was cut and she could see some pieces on plates, half eaten clearly left on a hurry. It must have been someone's birthday. That sucks. Well she wasn't about to waste it.

She sat down on a chair and got to eating. So fucking sweet! Oh she liked this alright. She doubted she would find more though so made sure to enjoy it. Soon whatever was left of the cake was eaten and she let out a satisfied sigh. It was good and it got rid of her hunger for now. But she wasn't stupid, she still needed food for later. And somewhere to stay. She considered staying here but this place brought back many memories she didn't wanna remember. She searched through the cabinets and….. nothing?! How could there be nothing?! They always had packets here! Great, just great! Now what? The claw on her foot clicked against the floor as she thought. She could go to Mainstreet. There were no people and there should be plenty of stuff there.

So that's how she found herself walking through the jungle again, this time towards the Mainstreet. There was a road leading up to it so she had no issues finding her way there. Soon after, she could see the buildings but stopped on her way when a horrible smell caught her nose. She almost puked at the smell of blood and death. Whatever had died must have been big and bleed a lot.

It took her a couple minutes to calm herself down and to continue. Walking through the street, noticing the damage done to the buildings. Damm. Big fight. She was sure Darcy was responsible for a part of it. But she wasn't around though. Eh. Probably will run into her later.

So she followed the smell of blood, more from curiosity than anything. Why did it smell kinda familiar though…

That didn't make sense. Blood couldn't smell familiar- and she saw where the smell came from. Slapping her hands over her mouth she backed away from the lagoon's edge. That's Darcy- she's dead- she's- And the puke came up.
It took her a couple minutes to calm down. Well physically anyway. She still couldn't wrap her head over the fact that Darcy was dead. How? The question ranged around her head for a while as she just walked around the place making a point of avoiding the lagoon. She couldn't handle seeing it anymore. Okay. Okay. Darcy was unfortunately dead. Now what? She had hoped to see her one more time. Guess that isn't happening anymore.

Another sound caught her ears. Voices? No way. She climbed on a rooftop, making sure to be out of sight. Who was it? Why was anyone here? Did Wu send people after her?
But instead she saw a group of kids her age walking carefully into Mainstreet. They looked rough and frankly terrified. Wait a minute…. were these the kids she saw on the monorail last night? They were! Oh they were left behind…..
She didn't know why but she felt a sense of responsibility over them. They were here alone, not cable of protecting themselves, unlike her. Well it seems she had work to do.

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So she stayed there watching over them. She still didn't know why but she did. The pink haired girl, whose name was Brooklyn, the loud boy, Kenji and the short haired girl, Sammy, were filming for some reason and Sammy was reading of a book about the hidden stuff of Jurassic. And talking to some Brooklaners? The hell was a Brooklaner? Meanwhile the ponytail girl, Yaz and the dark skinned boy, Darius were searching. Something about a beacon? Probably to call for help if she had to guess. She had to admit they were a fun group and pretty harmless by what she had seen.

Currently they were waiting for some pizzas to unfreeze so they could eat them. Poor things must be hungry. Maybe she could find them some food? As if she didn't come here to find food for herself. She signed and made herself comfortable. Might as well take a nap. They weren't on any danger currently and she was pretty tired.

She spent the next minutes basking on the heat of the lowering sun when she felt something nick her. The hell?! She snapped her eyes open to see a Compy had just bit her tail. The audacity of that thing. She growled in annoyance and smack the Compy of the roof just in time to see a bunch of them eating the piazza the kids had gathered. Seriously?! What were they supposed to eat now? She got up with a frustrated huff and decided to do something. Those kids were not starving on her watch.

She slipped off the rooftop, using the cover of the lowering sun to slip by unnoticed. It looked like Darius had fallen asleep already and the rest of them were about to follow. She walked through the street but failing to find any more food. The Compies must have gotten to whatever was left. Just great. Now what? Then out of nowhere the sound of heavy footsteps and something being dragged caught her ears. Carefully she followed the sound and saw the T. Rex dragging a tree to her paddock. Huh? What was she doing? She wanted to know but she also knew better than to get that close to her territory. So she climbed another rooftop so she could see better. Apparently Rexy had made a nest. Aw. A nest sounds nice. But that brought up another problem. If Rexy had settled in here then it was a matter of time before she ran into the kids. Dammit. And they hadn't even found what they were looking for. What to do, what to do…. She couldn't reveal herself to them, oh no. She couldn't. Well she'd have to improvise.

So the next morning she watched as the kids kept searching, suddenly more determined than last night. Still the feeling of dread didn't leave her, it just got worse when they realised where the tree that held the beacon they needed was. She followed them silently as they watched the T. Rex. Now all that determination seems to have washed away, especially at Kenji. He was talking about how he just wanted them to be normal for a day, to forget that they were abandoned and…. Ben? Who was Ben? Had they lost a friend? Oh no.

Darius perked up, lifting their spirits. He seemed to have a plan. She watched as they got more of the dino walkie talkies. Sammy went ahead in the forest nearby and the others stayed there waiting for Rexy to leave. A few minutes later Darius and Kenji went down in the paddock. She frowned, not liking this at all. If Rexy found them there they were dead. But what was she to do? She'll let them do this and if something went wrong she'll distract Rexy. Hopefully.

So she kept an eye out for Rexy and a few minutes later she was back already. Oh come on! She hurried down the rooftop ready to do something stupid when she saw Brooklyn move. Huh? She placed the carton cut of herself and the camera they had been filing with. Then suddenly Brooklyns voice rang out loudly from the camera attracting the attention of Rexy. Smart, very smart. Apparently she underestimated them. Sammy joined them and together they ran off to the jungle. She followed them and watched as they cheered. They did it. They had sent the signal. So they had to survive until help came. And she'd make sure they would

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Currently she was searching through the shops on main Street. Shouldn't she following the kids? Yes. But also she realised embarrassingly late that she was still wearing her hospital gown. And it definitely wasn't good for living in the jungle. So she was picking through clothes in a gift shop. Firstly she found a hoodie with a raptor logo on its front. Oh well. Only she couldn't fit her claws through the sleeves. She growled in annoyance and ripped the sleeves off. Much better. She let the gown fall to the floor as she put on the now sleeveless hoodie. Next she found a pair of plain black shorts and put them on. Well she did after minutes of struggling, cursing and falling on her ass. Oh and clawing a hole in the shorts for her tail. Who was gonna judge her anyway. Well maybe the Compies around. Either way, she felt much better.

She checked herself out in the mirror. Not bad. She swept a hand through her red hair. It had been long, it's not like Wu had bothered to cut them. But they were annoying and itchy so she had ripped them out leaving them short. Of course her claws didn't allow for a clean pull so they were messy and uneven. But she liked them, she had chosen her own looks for the first time.

It had been a few days since the kids had sent the signal for help and they were busy building a treehouse for themselves until help came. Well after Kenji and Yaz had gotten over an argument and the others had freed a bunch of dinos, including a Baryonyx. Apparently she had separated from her sisters. Well that was sweet of them. She hadn't been with them, deciding looking after Kenji and Yaz would be better. They were more defenseless.

Now they were building their new treehouse where the old one had been. She couldn't help them directly but she had thrown materials she'd found in the jungle in the stream next to them so they could find and use them. Thankfully no predators came too close to them so she could take the time to look for a place to make it her place. She couldn't make it too close to them or she might be seen but she wanted to be close in case anyway. So after looking for a day she came across an open field with a water hole in the center. It didn't take too long for her to figure out this was a peaceful ground for all dinos, no matter the species. What better place was there for her to live in?

So she made a comfortable tent out of leaves and sticks next to a tree around the waterhole. She did her best to tie it up with vines so at least it would fall when it was windy. It wasn't the best but it was hers.

She checked on the kids less and less. They had found canned food, had a water stream and a safe place. They didn't need her constant checking everyday.

Weeks passed like this, she started eating berries and mushrooms of the jungle, and the occasional Compy. After the first few times she got used to the taste of raw meat. Maybe she was more Raptor than she thought. Either way, she was laying on the tall grass around the waterhole just basking on the sun. Everything was perfect and nice and- a loud gasp caught her ears. She opened her eyes just to see Darius and Kenji staring right at her from a few feet away…..

Fuck.

Chapter Text

A lot had happened in the past month, things that Darius couldn't even imagine. Winning the video game and earning a spot on the Camp Cretaceous program was supposed to be the best thing to happen to him but things went a lot different.

They survived a hybrid dinosaur on the loose, lost Ben and got abandoned. Now they were trying to survive until help came and he could study dinosaurs, so that was nice. Well when they weren't trying to kill them. So here he was with Kenji, having just fixed their water problem and came across a waterhole. Dinos were in peace, it was beautiful. What he wasn't prepared for was….. whatever that was.

There was a girl laying down on the grass with her eyes closed. Well it looked like a girl, mostly anyway. Her hands up to her elbows were entirely red scaly, with claws instead of fingers. The entirety of her legs were the same and she had a thick red tail just swishing lazily. Darius didn't know how to react. Hell he didn't even know what to think. He heard a gasp from Kenji, who just noticed her and suddenly her eyes snapped open.

Kenji and Darius both froze as slitted yellow eyes were locked into them. She looked surprised as she saw them, looking around quickly before stopping on them again. There was a long moment of silence as all three of them stared at each other. One…. two…. three….

“Dude what the hell is that?!”
Kenji yelled out in panic as he grabbed Darius's arm and pulled him backwards, hiding behind him in a way but due to their height difference, it didn't do much. She immediately got up but not to her feet, she stood on all fours almost as if getting ready to bolt but hesitated, looking at them with wide eyes.
“Kenji don't yell, you might scare it- her? I-I don't-”
Before Darius could finish his sentence Kenji grabbed a large stick nearby and pointed it at her.
“Stay back! Uh.. go, shoo!”
He yelled out again trying to seem brave but obviously terrified as he kept walking back and pulling Darius with him.
“Kenji don't-”
At that moment she got to her feet, stared at them for a moment and ran faster than any human they had seen before, disappearing into the jungle and leaving the two boys behind.

“Oh thank God!” Kenji sighed with relief, lowering the stick. Darius released his arm from his hold.
“Dude what was that for?! You scared her off!”
“Good! Did you see that thing?! I don't want it near us! Now let's leave before it comes back!”
“Kenji hold on! She didn't look aggressive.”

Kenji facepalmed. “That, she, whatever that was, it's not normal dude! We're stuck here because of weird hybrid dinos, you really wanna get involved with another?!

Darius hesitated looking at where she disappeared then back at Kenji. “I guess not….” Kenji nodded and started walking away still holding the stick and with Darius following him. Eventually Darius spoke again. “But she wasn't a hybrid dinosaur, she was human with dinosaur parts! I didn't even think that was possible!”

Kenji turned to him, looking annoyed. “You don't have to sound so excited.”

Darius rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry. But just think about it! The possibilities of-”

Kenji covered his ears with his hands as they walked through the jungle. “Na na na na! Can't hear your nerd talk!”

Darius rolled his eyes but couldn't stop the smile from creating. “You're unbelievable.”

For a while they walked towards the treehouse but at some point Darius got the feeling of being watched. If he had learned one thing while being on Nublar is that they shouldn't let their guard down. Different dinos roamed the jungle looking for an easy meal. But whatever was following them should have attacked already. But it wasn't. It was just following.

Darius looked around and swore he saw a flash of red behind one of the trees but it was gone before he could look at it properly. He hurried to Kenji and whispered to him. “Don't panic but I'm pretty sure she's following us.”

Kenji stiffed immediately, holding the stick tighter. “Oh come on! What do we do now?”

“Just keep walking normally okay? I don't think it wants to hurt us.”

Kenji rolled his eyes but kept walking though he was visibly more tense. Minutes passed but nothing happened and they eventually reached the tree house. Kenji hurried to climb it as Darius looked around once more but the feeling of being watched had disappeared. He climbed after Kenji. “She's gone.”

Kenji sighed and flopped down on the couch. “Thank God! Hopefully we never run into her again!”

Darius sat into the table, taking out his notebook. He flipped to a clear page and started drawing.

A while later the girls returned laughing with each other. Kenji and Darius glanced at each other, a silent question passing between them, how will they explain what they saw. Darius cleared his throat and stood up. “We uhh….. we need to talk. About something important.” The girls looked at eachother but did sit down. Darius pushed his notebook towards them at the drawing of the girl they ran into and got to explaining.

Yaz and Sammy were wide eyed listening to him and Brooklyn was still looking at the drawing. Then Yaz started slowly. “Are you sure about what you saw….?”

Darius nodded. “We're sure. There was no way to mistake her.”

Brooklyn glanced up, finally tearing her eyes off the drawing. “That's crazy! That can't be possible right?”

Kenji shrugged from where he was sitting. “Everything is possible in Jurassic World.”

Sammy spoke up next. “So what do we do about her then?

“What do you mean?”

“Well she's also stuck here like us. Shouldn't we, I don't know, try to be friends with her?”

Silence. The others were staring at Sammy like she had grown a second head. She shrunk a little into herself.
“Just a suggestion….”

Darius shook his head. “No no Sammy is right. She didn't look aggressive.”

Kenji didn't look too happy about that. “Dude, did you see her? We can't be friends with that! She ain't human!”

Brooklyn shook her head. “Doesn't mean we shouldn't try. If she's friendly enough we should give her a chance.”

They were quiet for a while, thinking. Eventually Yaz spoke up. “I don't think we should look for her. She knows about us, let's leave her to approach first. Maybe she wants to be alone.”

Darius nodded. “It's a plan. If she reaches out we'll welcome her. But if she doesn't we stay out of her way. Okay?”

Everyone nodded, a few okays going around. Eventually they settled down, looking out the jungle when the light of a campfire caught their eyes. “Is that….?

They were watching the light mesmerized, failing to notice the figure watching them from a nearby tree.

Chapter Text

She wasn't sure how to feel about this change of events. She never wanted to be seen, for good reasons and Kenji's reaction proved her right. They were scared of her. And that was by only looking at her once, let more to get to know her.

She followed Darius and Kenji making sure they went to the tree house safely but she was pretty sure Darius had seen her. Damm smartass. Point is, she made sure they went there safely and left. They knew her now and it wouldn't take long for them to tell the girls about her. Actually where were they? She had found them later in the jungle laughing and talking with eachother and Brooklyn was holding an access card. She remembers Wu and Eddie having one of those, to have access to labs and everything else. How Brooklyn got one of those she had no idea.

She followed them to the treehouse but hesitated. She could spy on them for sure, she had learned good spots near the treehouse she could watch them without being noticed. But that was before they knew about her. Now that they did…. that complicated things. But she was curious about the girls reacting. She didn't doubt that Kenji and Darius would tell them about her. What she wasn't sure of was their reaction.

So she stayed and watched as they talked. Obviously there was disbelief and confusion. Who wouldn't be. But they believed them eventually and got to discussing her. They talked about what to do about her, whenever to reach out or to keep away from her. And then came the surprising idea from Sammy. Be friends? She wanted to be friends with her? She had to admit she was touched, really. But she couldn't be friends with them. They were too different. Hell she wasn't human anymore. Didn't friends need something in common? Maybe that they were stranded here? But they didn't wanna be here and she did so that wasn't. Maybe they wanted safety? Yeah makes sense. They were alone and scared, and they could use another hand until help came for them. Yeah that was it. She could do that she supposed.

They had come to an agreement to let her reach out first. That was smart of them. She would eventually, just not right now. It would be fine. She just had to continue looking after them.

A bit later they were watching the stars when something caught her eyes. Light. From the forest. A campfire? Help had come for them finally? Oh that was great! They had noticed the light too and hurried to go to it. She followed of course. The darkness made it easier for her. She jumped from tree to tree keeping an eye on the light. And just like that it disappeared. She stopped looking around. Where did it go? The kids were looking around frantically, clearly distressed.
Sammy spoke up, looking like she had lost hope. “What if they left and we missed our chance to go home?”

She frowned, climbing higher on the tree. No way. If help came for them she would find it. Suddenly a dinosaur roar filled the air making the kids gather around each other and lifting their makeshift weapons. A Ceratosaurus charges through the trees roaring loudly and chasing the kids. They screamed and ran in the opposite direction. She hurried after them. Before she could think about it twice she leaped into the Ceratosaurus back. It shook violently trying to shake her off but she held on tightly, her claws digging into its scales. Then BAMM! A loud exploding song rang and bright lights shot out into the sky. Both her and the Ceratosaurus were scared by it, the Ceratosaurus roaring and backing away and she jumped from its back and hurried into the jungle, covering her ears. She only stopped when she had put some distance between her and the sound and took deep breaths. Her ears were ringing and her vision was spotty. She shook her head to get rid of them. What a horrible thing that was. She wasn't even able to see what caused it. But she was pretty sure she heard human voices that didn't belong to the kids. The help they were waiting for? It must have been.

She looked up to see light in the sky. The sun was rising already? Would you look at that. She was pretty damm hungry too. So careful she went back to where she was and found footsteps. Three extra ones were there. Just three? Shouldn't a rescue party have more? She didn't exactly know but she'd seen what happens when a dinosaur gets loose and they send more than three. Weird.

She followed the footsteps, grabbing some berries on her way and snatching up a Compy. She bit it's neck, blood filling her mouth, feeling it go limb and she ripped its head off and threw it somewhere. She didn't like the taste of their heads. She ate it slowly as she walked. Finally she reached a really nice camp and she saw the kids eating breakfast on a table with three new people. Still why only three? She stayed hidden as she heard them talking. Leaving in two days huh? If they had come here to rescue them shouldn't they have been prepared to leave immediately? Before she could linger about it too much she saw one of the men looking somewhere in her direction. Dammit, had he noticed her? She backed away making sure not to be seen. She would return later.

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She tried to sneak around the camp a few more times but gave up eventually. This Hap guy if she heard it right was clearly someone who knew what he was doing. Somehow he could always hear any little sound she made but never saw her. She made sure of that. So she was now just out in the forest bored as hell. Turns out she didn't have much to do when she wasn't looking over the kids. She'll miss them when they leave. Well she hoped they would. She had suspicions about those people who claimed to be here to help them.

After a bit of just pacing around she heard footfall somewhere close by. Not human. Oh well. She ignored it for a while but then she heard something lighter. Human footsteps. Huh? They were all at the camp. Weird. She got on a tree and guess what? There was a boy her age with an Ankylosaurus at his side. He had brown hair wearing a white tank top and a blue bandana around his head. She blinked multiple times, not sure of what she was seeing. Who was this kid? By his appearance she guessed he had been here for a while. But that doesn't make sense. The only ones who were left behind were-

Crack! She looked down. She had been leaning on the thinner part of the branch to get a better look but it couldn't hold up her weight. She yelled as the branch broke and she fell down onto the ground. That attracted their attention and she looked up to see the boy staring at her wide eyed. Fuck. She was getting really sloppy. She hurried to stand up but that seemed to aggravate the Ankylosaurus. She bellowed and changed at her. She barely dodged at the Ankylosaurus’s tail club as it slammed into the ground where she had just been. She hissed at the Ankylosaurus as she backed away. It seemed like the boy snapped out of his shock and hurried to the Ankylosaurus side. “Bumpy hold on!”

The Ankylosaurus huffed in frustration but stopped anyway. He looked at her warily as he pointed the thick branch he was holding at her. “Who are you? What are you?!”

She looked at him unsure of what to say or even if she should say something. When was the last time she spoke? Before she escaped. Even before that she had trouble speaking. That's what being genetically and physically altered does to a person. He was still looking at her, clearly still waiting for an answer. The Ankylosaurus was still looking frustrated. “You do talk right?”

She cleared her throat. No time like the present. “Y-yes. I do. I no harm.” That was worse than she thought it'd be. Her voice was dry and too sharp to be normal. And as expected he didn't look convinced. She raised her arms in what she thought was a peaceful gesture. “Pro-mi-se.”

He slowly lowered the branch. “You still didn't answer my questions. Who and what are you?”

She signed thinking of how to answer. How can she tell him that she has been altered and experimented on since she was a young and made into the first and only human-dinosaur hybrid? Instead she chose to partially answer the questions. “I Scarlet. Hybrid.” Wu at least had given her a name. A human name. The boy looked like he was about to ask more questions so she quickly spoke over him to distract him. “And you?”

He blinked slowly as if confused for a moment before realising what she asked. He stood straighter and puffed his chest. “I'm Ben. And this is Bumpy.” Scarlet glanced at the Ankylosaurus, now known as Bumpy who looked calmer now. Then she looked back at Ben. The name sounded familiar but she couldn't quite pinpoint where she'd heard it. Didn't the kids talk about someone named- oh! “You Ben?! But you dead?”

Ben looked taken aback by that. “I mean I almost died when I fell off the monorail but- wait how do you know me?”

“Friends talk for you. Miss you.”

She saw the different emotions flash through his face as he progressed the information. She wasn't the best at telling emotions apart but even she could tell the relief and worry in this face. “They're here?! They've been here this entire time?!” He stepped closer to her and looked like he was about to grab her by the shoulders when she backed away with a hiss. He raised his arms in apology. “Okay, no touching. Got it. Just tell me where my friends are.”

She rolled her shoulders as she watched Ben. She didn't like physical contact, especially from strangers. She knows he probably didn't mean anything bad but it startled her enough for the excitement of reuniting the campers dimming away slightly. “Right. Camp near. With rescue.”

Somehow his grin got even bigger. “Great! You hear that Bumpy? We're going home!”

She raised an eyebrow. Did he really think he could just bring a dinosaur into the mainland? No way. But she kept her mouth shut. None of her business. “I take you to them.”

He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes yes please.”

They walked for a bit with Ben asking about his friends and Scarlet answering as best as she could. Meanwhile Bumpy was huffing and smelling her. That didn't surprise her much. She knew that her scent was weird to other dinosaurs. Not quite human but not fully dinosaur either. That caused a lot of them to straight up avoid her, carnivores and herbivores alike. She was glad at least one dinosaur was putting up with her, even if Bumpy tried to kill her a few minutes ago.She must have been protective of Ben.

Eventually Scarlet stopped walking and turned to Ben. “Camp near. Walk a bit.”

“You're not coming?”

She shook her head. “No. I stay.”

Ben didn't look too happy about that but he nodded anyway. “Okay then. Thank you.”

She opened her mouth but stopped when she heard something. Panicked yelling. She looked around trying to see who it was and froze when she saw Brooklyn and Kenji running away from Hap as he chased them. Ben saw that too and tightened his grip on his branch. “Oh hell no!” He ran off after them with Bumpy following him leaving Scarlet behind. Great. Can't these kids have a normal day? Apparently no. She followed after Ben and Bumpy but stayed slightly behind. It looked like he had it covered. Ben sneaked behind Hap just as he cornered Brooklyn and Kenji. “You kids have no idea who you're messing with-” Whack!

Hap fell unconscious as Ben hit him on the back of the head with the branch. That must have hurt. He stood there triumphant as Brooklyn and Kenji starred in disbelief.
“Ben…?

“What? You've never seen a ghost before?”

Chapter Text

Silence. For a moment it was just silence. Ben sighed and threw the branch on the ground, breaking the moment. “Uh…. hey.” Just like that Kenji pulled Ben for a tight hug, his eyes filled with tears as he repeatedly asked how. When he finally let go Brooklyn hugged Ben too. Ben sighed as he hugged her but the moment was ruined by Hap groaning. “Oh right. We should probably deal with that.”

He was tying up Hap as he explained shortly what happened to him. “Fell off the monorail, got savaged by Pteranodons, found Bumby, survived in the jungle, defeated Toro and then I ran into this dinosaur girl who told me about you. And then we saw you getting chased and thought you might need help.”

Brooklyn and Kenji were still staring at him with wide eyes but they finally got themselves together. Brooklyn was about to ask Ben for more details but Kenji spoke first going in a completely different direction. “Oh hey, I still have your dork pouch. What?” He looked down at himself when he realized he didn't have the pouch anymore.

Ben straightened up. “Oh yeah. I snatched it off you earlier. But thanks for keeping it safe.” He rubbed his hands together with disinfectant and then picked up the shock prod. “Could have used this when fighting ol’ Toro, eh, Bumbs?

He tried to spin the prod but failed as Brooklyn spoke. “Ben focus. The dinosaur girl, where is she?”

“Scarlet? Should be around here somewhere.”

Kenji blinked, looking surprised then huffed. “You know her by name? She certainly didn't try to introduce herself to us.”

Brooklyn rolled her eyes. “Darius said you tried to hit her with a stick.”

“Hey, my reaction was valid! How was I supposed to react to that?!”

“It's ok.”

All three of them turned their heads to the source of the voice, to see Scarlet standing there with an awkward smile. “Hey.”

Kenji and Brooklyn shared nervous looks but Brooklyn did step forward. “Hey there… Scarlet was it? I'm Brooklyn.”

She nodded. “I know.”

“Okay then…”

Ben snorted at them. “You should see the looks on your faces right now. Relax, she's clearly not gonna hurt us.”

Scarlet nodded again. “No, no hurt. Friend.”

Kenji, now more relaxed, put his hands on his hips. “Yeah well friends usually introduce themselves. You scared the crap out of us the first time!”

Scarlet shrunk slightly on herself. “Sorry… didn't know how….”

Brooklyn elbowed Kenji. “Shut up. Anyway, nice to officially meet you Scarlet.”

Ben cleared his throat. “Now that we had our reunion and introduction how about we decide what to do with this Hap dude. I say we feed him to the Mosasaurs or the T.Rex.”

“Or you could listen to me.”

Ben, Brooklyn and Kenji all gasped and backed away as Hap rose to his feet, with Ben pointing the shock prod at him. Scarlet growled and stepped forward protectively.

“You're awake?” Brooklyn asked.

“Of course I'm awake. You think I'm gonna be taken out by a bunch of kids?”

“Challenge accepted.” Ben stepped forward, side by side with Scarlet and activated the shock prod. She flinched from it, it brought back unpleasant memories.

Hap was glancing between the two of them before settling on Scarlet. He didn't look too weird out by her, or maybe he was simply hiding it. “Well you're something else.”

She blinked in surprise, not sure how to react to that. “You…. no scared?”

He scoffed, flexing his arms to check the bonds around his wrists. “Kid, when you've seen half the stuff I have, you learn that anything can happen. I stopped being surprised a long time ago.”

Oh. That was kinda nice actually. Maybe he wasn't that bad after all. Hap then looked at Ben who was still pointing the shock prod at him. “Put that down boy, before you get yourself hurt.”

Ben clearly didn't like that. “Someones getting hurt, old man, but it ain't me.”

Hap laughed, as if that was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. Kenji yelled from behind. “Zapp him Ben!”

“With pleasure.”

“Bring it!”

Scarlet huffed and grabbed the middle of the shock prod to pull it away as Brooklyn stepped between them, holding her arms out. “Everybody chill!”

Ben finally pulled back and Scarlet easily took the prod from him. “No zap.”

Ben was irritated as he tried to take the prod back. “You're protecting this guy? Whose side are you two on?”

“I'm on the ‘not electrocuting a human being’ side Ben.”

Ben looked even more irritated but didn't have time to say anything because Hap spoke up, his voice loud and irritated. “We don't have time for this! You kids have to trust me. I'm trying to save your lives.”

They took a moment to calm down and Scarlet gave back Ben the shock prod after he promised to not zap Hap unless necessary. Good enough for her. Brooklyn began to question Hap. “Okay start talking. Why were you-”

“Are these Windsor knots? Where did you learn to tie people up?”

“Hey!” Brooklyn started. “We're asking the questions.”

Kenji leaned his arms on his knees.“Yeah! We got a dinosaur and a scary hybrid!”

Scarlet nodded before realizing what he said. “ Wait, me?”

Kenji sighed in annoyance. “Yeah dude! Cause you're- I'm trying to do something here alright!”

Hap looked increasingly more unimpressed. Brooklyn rubbed her face. “Can we just focus! How exactly is chasing us through the jungle saving our lives? Plus we heard you tell Mitch and Tiff you were going to ‘take care’ of us.”

“I'm trying to, by taking you home. Look I'm not an angel but once they said they were gonna leave you here to die, well I had to do something, didn't I?”

Brooklyn didn't seem to believe him. “Really?”

“Look what's important is getting you out of here.”

“I still don't buy it.” Said Ben. “Let's tie him to a tree and be done with him.”

Hap looked directly at Brooklyn as he spoke. “We have a ship marooned at the northwest dock.”

Gasps went through the group. Kenji spoke first. “There is a way off the island?”

“You all said it was refueling.” Brooklyn said.

Hap bowed his head in shame. “We lied.”

“Wow, that's supposed to make us believe you.”

“Listen!” Hap snapped. “I scouted out some kind of garage near here when we first landed. We can take a vehicle,get to the dock and prove I'm telling the truth.”

Silence for a moment. “Please. Believe me.”

They got together to discuss what to do. Ben still hadn't changed his mind. “He's lying. I can smell it on him.”

Scarlet snorted. If someone could smell lying it would be her. Kenji spoke up next. “Look, if he's telling the truth Darius, Sammy and Yaz are in big trouble. We have to trust him.”

“You know what kept me alive out there, city boy?”

“City boy?”

“My instincts. And they say don't trust Hap. I vote we go after our friends and leave him here.”

Scarlet cleared her throat. “Can I?”

The three of them turned to her. “What do you say Scarlet?” Brooklyn asked.

“I go. I'm fast. I go, see and return. Less than hour.” She knew where the northwest dock was and she had been calculating how fast she could go there.

Kenji didn't look too sure. “I mean, I'm not doubting you or anything but what about our friends? We don't know if we have an hour.”

“And,” Ben said, “he might be lying so you'll waste your time.”

She sighed. “Okay. B?”

Brooklyn was deeply thinking and finally came to a decision. “Okay. Here's what we're doing.”

She walked over to Hap. “Kenji, Ben, Scarlet and I are going after our friends.”

“Yes-” Ben started.

“-And we're taking you with us.”

“No! What? Wh-why?”

“Because he might be telling the truth. Kenji for the win!”

Hap looked almost relieved but he quickly covered it up. “Then get these off me and let's go!”

“Not so fast.”

They were walking in a group, Brooklyn pulling Hap with her with the vines she had tied his wrists with. He was checking the bonds, looking impressed. “Well at least she knows how to tie a knot.”

Ben caught up to Brooklyn, Bumpy alongside him. “I'm telling you, he's leading us into a trap.

Kenji walked side by side with Hap. “Dude, please don't let Ben be right about you. I can't start listening to a guy who eats bugs.” He shuddered when he saw Ben eat one.

“This way Bumpy. Allegedly.” He shot Brooklyn a look when he said that.

“And he's talking to his dinosaur.” Still Kenji walked to catch up with Ben.

So now they were walking in a line, Ben and Bumpy in front, Kenji in the middle and Scarlet was at the end behind Hap to cover their backs and make sure he didn't try anything. After a moment of awkward silence Hap glanced back at Scarlet. “You uhh… you're pretty quiet kid. Almost can't tell you're there.”

Scarlet glanced down at her feet then shrugged. It's not something she did intentionally, it simply happened.

“Were you the one around the camp this morning?” Hap asked but it seemed like he already knew the answer.

“Mhm. To check them.”

“Wait, you were around the camp? We didn't notice you.” Brooklyn had slowed down slightly.

She shrugged again. “I'm quiet.”

“Right….” Brooklyn mumbled. “So you could have been anywhere with us and we wouldn't have noticed.”

Scarlet frozen for a moment, feeling heat rise in her face. She had never planned to interact with them so she never considered the consequences of her actions. Oh she was gonna sound so creepy to them! Thankfully before Brooklyn could question her further, Kenji called out to them.

“Guys look!”

Brooklyn gasped as she saw the building. There really was a garage there.

“Believe me now?”

Ben stepped next to them. “An empty garage in the middle of nowhere proves nothing.”

“Maybe the vehicles are inside.” Kenji said as he started to walk forward. They started to follow him but Scarlet stopped, feeling something in the air. Apparently Bumpy must have felt it too because she started bellowing in warning. Ben tried to shush her but it wasn't working. A screech came from the trees.

Scarlet hissed in alarm and started pushing them towards the garage. “Go!”
She looked towards the jungle and there they were the three Baryonix siblings.

Bumpy kept bellowing and the Baryonix were stalking towards them. They all backed away towards the door. Kenji was trying to open the door but it wouldn't budge. Just as Brooklyn came next to it, it pulled open. Kenji looked at her in confusion. “H-how did you…”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the key card. “The key card I found in Wu's lab.”

Ben was trying to calm down Bumpy, ushered them inside. “Go! Go! Go!”

They got inside and closed the door quickly. They were in darkness but it wasn't much of an issue for Scarlet. Brooklyn was looking around the place. “Why would birthday guy have a key to this place?” Scarlet made a questioning noise but Brooklyn ignored her. “Unless it's a master key. It can open something in Wu’s lab. It can open everything!”

“Here we go again.” Kenji sighed. They had dealt with Brooklyn's obsession with Wu's lab for a while now.

“Quiet.” Hap jumped to her defense. “She's the only one of you that has any sense at all.”

They heard screeching from outside. It seemed the Baryonyx siblings were still outside. “If I'm right, it should open this door too.” Brooklyn pressed the key card but instead it opened the main door.

“Brooklyn!”

“Shut the door!”

Brooklyn kept pressing the key card but the doors kept open. Scarlet heard the Baryonyxs outside. They had noticed the door opening. “How do we get out of here!?” Ben yelled.

“There.” Hap pointed out a nearby bike. Brooklyn, Kenji and Hap went towards it and grabbed the helmets.

“We need some kind of distraction.” Brooklyn said as she got on the bike. Ben glanced at some nearby barrels and Scarlet saw the plan forming in his head. He activated the shock prod.

They charged through the open door, Kenji, Brooklyn and Hap on the bike and Scarlet had climbed on top of Bumpy with Ben. The explosion behind them blinded the Baryonyxs siblings momentarily.

As soon as they recovered they gave chase to them pretty quickly. “We'll draw a couple this way.” Ben said to them as Bumpy turned towards the jungle. Bumpy ran for a bit until it was clear none of the Baryonyxs had followed them. “Dammit, it didn't work.”

Scarlet grumbled and pointed towards where they went. “We go after.”

Ben nodded. “Come on Bumps, we have to help our friends.” Bumpy bellowed and ran as fast as she could. The ran through a rocky terrain which was hard for Bumpy but she managed. “Look!” Ben pointed and in the distance they could see the bike going into the other side of the jungle, with no Baryonixs after them. “They're okay.”

Scarlet shook her head. She could smell blood from somewhere, fresh blood. And she could hear the Baryonix siblings somewhere. “Hap.”

“What?” Ben looked confused but then he realised. “Oh, oh shit! Is he…?” Just then they heard a pained yell nearby. “Well that's our answer. Bumpy go.”

They could see Hap fighting off the Baryonix with the shock prod but it was bad. There was a big claw mark on the right side of his face, cutting through his eye and catching his ear and one on his stomach. How he was still standing, let more fighting was beyond Scarlet. Bumpy bellowed loudly and charged at them. The siblings scattered as Bumpy slammed into Chaos.

Scarlet and Ben jumped off Bumpy and went to Hap. “Damm kids… what are you doing here?” He mumbled but he looked happy anyway.

“We’re saving you old man.” Ben was on his right side and Scarlet on his left, letting him lean his weight on them. Ben was looking him over, frowning. “He's bleeding pretty badly…”

“I'm ugh… fine kids…”

“Yeah, sure you are. Help me sit him down.” They carefully sat Hap against a rock and Ben took off his vest and rose up his shirt. “Scarlet, we need to stop the bleeding. A cloth, something.” She looked down on herself and tore off a part of her hoodie and gave it to Ben. “Sorry this is gonna burn.” Ben said just a second before he placed the part of her hoodie that he had wetten disinfectant from his pouch on the wound on his stomach.

Hap yelled out in pain, slamming his head on the boulder behind him. Scarlet filched slightly but stayed where she was. Bumpy has returned, apparently having hit the Baryonixs enough for them to give up. Ben kept the cloth there for a moment longer before speaking. “Scarlet hold this, I need to check his face.”

She hesitated for a moment before doing what Ben told her, pressing the cloth to Hap's stomach. Ben cleaned the claw mark on his face before wrapping his bandana over Hap's scar. He hesitated for a moment, looking uncomfortable. “Hap… your eye umm…”

“It's fine, kid. I'm lucky to be alive.” Hap sighed and took the cloth from Scarlet, pressing it himself. “Thanks kids, now help me up.” Ben and Scarlet shared a look but helped him get up anyway. With a bit of struggle they got Hap on top of Bumpy. “Now let's go get your friends.”

Chapter Text

The walk through the jungle was slow. Bumpy had to walk slower than she normally would to not hurt Hap more, even though he insisted he was fine. He had wrapped the cloth around his stomach in a makeshift bandage and thankfully had stopped the bleeding. But he definitely needed actual bandages.

Soon enough they heard familiar voices, Brooklyn's, Kenji's and Yaz’s. They stopped nearby and Scarlet nugged Ben forward. She didn't want Yaz to be overwhelmed. Ben raised his hands and walked forward, revealing himself. “Hey.”

Yaz was staring at him with wide eyes not moving. Ben cleared his throat and tried again, reaching his hand out. “Yasmina.”

Yaz snapped out of her shock and ignored his hand, pulling him for a hug. Ben chuckled. “You're a hugger now Fadoula?”

Yaz pulled back from the hug to look him over. “Still have mixed feelings about it, but I… you're…” She signed and hugged him again, clearly relieved.

Brooklyn stepped up to them. “Yeah, yeah, we have been trying to tell you about it. Ben, where is our new friend? We need to introduce her to Yaz.”

Ben looked amused, nodding towards the treeline. “They're right there.”

Kenji raised an eyebrow. “You mean she.”

“Nope, they.”

Yaz opened her mouth to ask what was happening when Hap and Scarlet stepped out into the open. Hap had gotten off Bumpy insisting that he could walk on his own and was using the shock prod as a cane. Scarlet was by his side just in case he needed help.

Yaz looked even more confused but Brooklyns and Kenji's faces lit up. “Hap!” Brooklyn said and rushed to him, Kenji after her. Scarlet moved closer to Ben and Yaz to give them some space. Ben had begun to explain everything to Yaz.

“Dude you're alive! We thought you…”

Hap sighed and shook his head. “I'm a hard man to kill. I survived this one too thanks to the two rascals there.” Bumby bellowed somewhere behind him. “Uhh, the three I guess.”

Kenji looked at Hap's face where Ben's bandana was wrapped around his eye but the scar was visible. “What about your umm… your eye looks-”

He was cut off by Brooklyn elbowing him. “Kenji!” She hissed.

“What?” He looked genuinely confused but then his eyes widened. “Do you not know?” Hap snorted as Brooklyn facepalmed. “What did I say?”

Brooklyn sighed. “Never mind Kenji. We have more pressing things to deal with. Everyone gather up!”

Ben, Scarlet and Yaz joined them, with the latter being caught up on everything that happened to the other group.

“So,” Brooklyn pulled the map of the island, “Darius isn't taking the hunters to the watering hole.”

“What?” Ben asked, looking at the map. “Why would he take them straight to the T. Rex?”

They all pondered for a moment before Kenji spoke up, realization coming to him. “Home court advantage. Darius and Sammy know the terrain and Tiff and Mitch don't. I-It will be easier to lose them on MainStreat than in the jungle.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let's go help them!” Said Yaz.

“Yes! Bumpy and I are ready to roll.” Ben held his spear and leaned against Bumpy.

Hap finally spoke up and all eyes went to him. “No, nope, hold on kids. Mitch and Tiff have guns. And while I don't think Mitch will shoot you, Tiff definitely will. That woman is crazy.”

“We can't just hope they'll be fine! We have to help them.” Yaz protested.

“I never said we'll leave them, kid. We need a plan and a way to get there.”

“And,” Kenji spoke up, “There is no way we'll make it to MainStreat before they do.”

Brooklyn glanced at the map and then back up. “Well there is an obvious shortcut.”

“Down there?” Kenji's eyes widened. “You must be joking. Don't you remember last time?” Ben raised an eyebrow questioningly but Scarlet shrugged. She didn't know what happened “last time” either. Kenji continued. “Not only is it dark and creepy but we nearly died! No. No go for Kenji.”

“If there is a shortcut then we're going there.” Hap said with finality.

“Sure,” Ben said. “But how? There are six of us, the motorcycle takes three people and Bumpy won't run as fast with more than two people on her back.”

Scarlet raised her clawed hand. “I run.”

“You sure?”

Scarlet nodded. “Run fast.”

“Then it's settled. Me, Kenji and Yaz will be on the motorcycle, Ben and Hap on Bumpy and Scarlet will run. Now let's go rescue our friends.”

They went through the tunnel on a line, the motorcycle in the front, Scarlet following after them quite easily and Bumpy on the back with Hap and Ben. “Left!” Kenji yelled out in a panic when they reached a crosspath. It was clear he wasn't happy about this. Soon enough he called again. “Now right! Right!” He cried out when Brooklyn took another sharp turn. “Could you maybe take some of those turns a little less murdery?!

Brooklyn was about to answer but they both gasped and Brooklyn forced the motorcycle to stop suddenly. They almost crashed into the closed gate and Scarlet almost bumped into them. They got off the motorcycle and Kenji whimpered and fell off. Bumpy, Ben and Hap caught up to them. They got off her, Hap with a pained grunt, and Ben clicked the metal bars lightly with his spear. “Let's take this down, Bumps.”

Bumpy bellowed and hit the bars with her tail. Nothing. She hit it again. Once, twice, still nothing. Ben also started to hit it too but with no effect.

“Yeah, I don't think wild child and his amazing dino are gonna be able to punch through that gate.” Said Yaz as Ben was still kicking the gate.

“Okay, maybe Bumpy just needs a little pep talk to bring it down.” Kenji kneeled down in front of Bumpy and put his hands on the sides of her head. “You're not gonna let some door stand in your way, are you Bumpy? You break barriers, barriers don't break you!” Bumpy bellowed and pushed him slightly with her nose and he fell back on his ass. Ben was still kicking the gate, grunting. Brooklyn came next to them and Kenji looked up at her. “What do we do now?”

Bumpy hit it again and again but it wasn't bugging. Ben sighed, having tired himself. “It's not bugging.”

“Do you kids know another way to get there? We're wasting time here.” Hap said.

Brooklyn walked to the gate, touched it and sighed. Just then, clanging was heard through the walls.

“What-what is that?” Asked Ben, looking around.

“There it is again.” Brooklyn mumbled.

Everyone was looking around for the source of the sound. Scarlet strained her ears and followed it to another corridor. It looked familiar. She narrowed her eyes at a glaring red light from a door. The others joined her. They stared at it before Brooklyn walked towards it. She pressed her cheek against the door and listened. Then she spoke. “If there's electricity down there, we could find a way to raise that gate. We godda follow that hum.”

She put the key card on the door and it opened, of course. She pushed open the door and they were hit by a brighter red light and freezing cold air.

Scarlet froze. She couldn't breathe. Suddenly she was 10 again, staring at Wu on the floor, three quills on his stomach, a group of scientists hurrying to help him. But that didn't matter. What mattered were the red, cold eyes staring right at her, unblinking. Focused. A hunter looking at its prey. She dared step back and that seemed to set it off. Those red eyes moved, leaped and-

A hand on her shoulder. She gasped and stumbled back, hissing at whoever it was. It took her a second to hear the voice. A man. Deep, gravely. Not like Wu's. Hap’s voice. Right, Hap. Wu had left, IT was frozen and Darcy was dead. She was alone…

She barely understood at first what he was saying, her ears ringing. She caught just some words. “Kid… shaking… breath…it… oka…”

She shook her viciously. Snap out of it. Remember where you are. She finally could speak again and the ringing on her ears had stopped. “Hap…”

He nodded, and Scarlet realized that he was holding her up. Her legs were shaking. Hell she was shaking. “I'm right here kid, I got you. Just breathe.”

She nodded slowly, actually breathing deeply. But she could feel the cold from the corridor. The corridor… She took a final deep breath and stood up on her own. Hap was looking at her with concern, still holding her shoulders. Real concern. It was weird. He barely knew her. Why was he…

“Are you feeling better? Dammit kid, don't scare me like that.”

“Fine…” She mumbled. Hap removed his hands but was still watching her carefully. Funny. A few minutes ago she was the one worried about him collapsing. She looked around. The door was open. The kids weren't here. But she could see Bumpys form from deeper inside.

Hap seemed to understand what she was thinking because he began to explain. “Brooklyn opened the door and we walked inside. A few steps in I noticed that you weren't following. The kids went ahead and I came back for you. You seemed out of it and were shaking. When I grabbed your shoulder you got startled and fell. I don't know why but-”

Scarlet shook her head harder. “Fine. Forget it.”

Hap narrowed his eye. “Kid, you're not fine. You need to take it easy.”

She huffed in annoyance. Who was he to tell her if she was fine or not? She could decide for herself. “Fine.” She insisted. She took a couple steps towards the door but hesitated again. No, not again. It's fine. IT was frozen. Everything was fine. She stepped inside the cold corridor, shivering slightly and she heard Hap following after her. She arrived at where Bumpy was and she bellowed before moving out of the way. She and Hap walked inside a room full of devices and at the front were big screens showing different places of the park.

“There you guys are! We turned the power back on!” Said Brooklyn who was sitting on a chair, pressing buttons. Scarlet had no idea what any of them did. At the corner of her eye she saw Kenji pressing a green button repeatedly. Before she could say anything, he seemed satisfied and closed it. Okay then. They had more important things to do. “Now where are they?”

Yaz gasped and pointed at one of the screens. “You guys, look! Look, they're right there!”

Cheers went through their group but then they gasped in panic. Tiff and Mitch were sneaking up on Darius and Sammy.

Brooklyn was holding her head. “Shoot! Shoot no!” She tried to speak to the speaker. “Darius, Sammy behind you!”

Kenji also tried. “Darius! Sammy! Guys!”

“They can't hear us.” Came from Ben. Scarlet forgot all about the fear she had coming here and insisted she was filled with rage. How dare those two hurt and scare them? Kids who had done nothing wrong except want to protect dinosaurs. She was gonna tear them to pieces.

Hap seemed to share her anger. She saw him clench his fists, veins popping out. “If they hurt the kids I swear…”

Mitch and Tiff were pointing shock prods at Darius and Sammy, saying something but they couldn't be heard. It seemed the cameras were image only. Then out of nowhere they got distracted, looking down at a tablet. Not important right now. What was important was the damn T. Rex coming towards them!

“Oh no…”

The T.Rex roared, going after Mitch and Tiff. Somehow even with the danger they were determined to get the guns from Darius and Sammy. At some point, the gun bag got stuck on the T. Rex's teeth. She shook violently, trying to get it off. Mitch in an attempt to get it back, got dragged with it. She shook even harder and finally got it off her teeth. Now she was after Tiff, chasing her as she screamed. Hunt that now bitch.

Tiff ran and grabbed Mitch with her, getting under a building and causing the T. Rex's head to get stuck in it. She snarled, trying to bite Mitch and then roared loudly. Mitch, being the arrogant guy that he is, used the moment to strike Rexy with the shock prod. She roared in pain and was trying to free herself. That pissed Scarlet off even more. How dare he?!

Rexy slammed her head up into the building, making debris fall down. That scared him enough to send him running to Tiff who was waiting for him near the jungle. They ran off together. Rexy finally freed herself with a pained roar. She looked around for a moment before starting to go back towards her nest.

“Come on, be a good girl and go home.” Said Brooklyn. It seemed she was but right at the entrance she stopped. She must have felt them or smelled them because she walked straight to them, right over the table they were hiding under. They all held their breath, as if it would help Darius and Sammy. Rexy pushed aside another chair they were using to hide. She smelled the air one more time and-

Darius and Sammy shouted as Rexys eye looked straight at them. She roared and followed after them but they managed to get in a small corner, where her head wouldn't fit. In another situation it would have been funny. Scarlet and Hap kept staring as the others were pressing buttons furiously to try to help them. They were pressing buttons, Kenji having said something about a hologram.

Whatever they did must have worked because Rexy lifted her head, looking around. She roared again, and this time Scarlet could tell it was one of confusion.

“Yes, yes!

Lights flashed from all the shops, on and off, on and off. Rexy kept roaring, a bright light coming from the main building. Then suddenly a hologram of Rexy herself appeared in front of her, roaring. She roared too, too bad Scarlet couldn't hear it. It must have been something else. Darius and Sammy ran into the jungle, leaving Mainstreet behind.

They all sighed and cheered, Kenji and Ben high fiveing. Then the mic seemed to finally work. Kenji cleared his throat. “Testing, testing. Party people! What, whaaat?” Kenji yelled into the mic. Then he tried something else, making his voice robotic. “Hello humans. It is I, your leader.”

“Ugh.” Brooklyn pushed him away.

“Ow!”

Brooklyn spoke into the mic. “ We found a back up generator and turned the power back on!” They were waving to the camera trying to say something. “We can't hear you. What are you trying to say? What happened to Tiff and Mitch?” They started doing gestures that Scarlet couldn't understand. “I still can't hear you, act it out.”

“Ooh I love this game. Okay uhh… TV shows? Books? A song!”

“The watering hole.” Hap said, looking more angry than ever. “Mitch and Tiff want to go there.”

“What?!” Scarlet snapped at him. They couldn't go to the watering hole! That was her home!

She saw Darius and Sammy give them thumbs up and make another motion. A gun one.

Yaz signed in disbelief. “Mitch and Tiff know where it is.”

“And they're gonna kill all the dinosaurs.”

“No!”

Chapter Text

Scarlet was pacing around the room anxiously. Mitch and Tiff know where the watering hole was! They were gonna kill the dinos! No, she wouldn't let them. She was gonna go to the watering hole before them and rip them to pieces before they could hurt them. Yes, yes she could do that. She was fast. She could see the kids pressing buttons, trying to hear what Sammy and Darius were saying but she wasn't paying too much attention. Well that was until they heard Darius's voice coming from the speakers.

“I have to. This is all my fault.”

Sammy was looking at him with worry. “What are you talking about?”

A sigh.“ Look, the only reason Mitch and Tiff know about the watering hole is because I showed them. I'm the one who didn't listen to Brooklyn. The dinosaurs are in danger because of me. I promised you all that I'd get you home. And I…” He paused, seeming to have difficulty continuing. “I already lost Ben.”

“Darius, that's not your fault.” Sammy insisted.

Darius put a hand on Sammy's shoulder. “Mitch said that the boat is at the northwest dock. Get everyone together and off the island now, while Mitch and Tiff are busy.”

He started to move but Sammy grabbed his arm. “What about you?”

“I have to make this right.”

Ben seemed to finally have enough of Darius's self-sacrifice tendencies and spoke on the mic. “We got your back Darius! Forget the boat. Mitch and Tiff are going down!”

“Ben?!”

“You're alive?!”

“Oh right. You didn't know. Yeah. Also we found the sound button so we can hear you.” He paused for a second then pressed the button again. “And I defeated Toro.” Bumpy growls at the door. “Bumpy also says hi.” The shock on Darius's and Sammy's face was almost comical. “I think I broke them.”

Yaz huffed and pushed Ben away slightly. “Yeah, Ben's alive, we're very happy about it.”

Brooklyn came between them and pushed both of them away. “Point is, we're not gonna let you do this alone. We're in.”

“You don't get it.” Why was he still insisting on this? “You guys can get to the boat, save yourselves.”

Hap pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jesus kid, you're twelve. You shouldn't be thinking like that. Don't give me that self-sacrificial hero bullshit.”

Sammy spoke up this time. “Hap?”

Kenji answered her. “Oh yeah, the old man is with us. And the dino girl! You guys wouldn't believe everything that has happened today!”

“Point is,” Brooklyn spoke, stopping Kenji from going on a full rant. “You're one of us. And we're not gonna let Mitch and Tiff get away with killing dinosaurs.”

“I never liked those two anyway.” Said Kenji, crossing his arms.

“It's dino saving time! Camp fam for life!” Sammy cheered.

“The hell is Camp fam?” Hap asked.

Yaz shook her head. “Later. Now that we've established life long camp family status, how do we stop them?

“Feed them both to the Mosasaurs!” Ben said immediately. Everyone looked at Ben like he'd grow a second head.

Hap raised an eyebrow. “What's up with your obsession with that thing?”

Ben's excitement fell. “Really feel like we're not getting our full use out of the Mosasaurs guys.”

Brooklyn ignored his comment. “Wait, if Mitch and Tiff are going to the watering hole to kill dinosaurs…”

Darius picked up her trail of thought. “Then we just have to make sure there aren't any dinosaurs for them to kill!”

“Good idea kid, question is, how? Cause I swear if you say again you're gonna face Mitch and Tiff I'll-”

Hap was cut off by Darius shaking his head. “No no! I have a plan. Brooklyn you're gonna be our eyes and ears. Kenji grab a bike and pick up me and Sammy. Everyone else, get big and loud.”

Everyone hurried to do their own duties. Hap stayed with Brooklyn. Even he could admit he couldn't do much in his state. He watched as Brooklyn worked on the computers, putting names on locations. Kenji had picked the bike and was riding it through the tunnels, with difficulty but riding it anyway. Brooklyn put his name on his location too. She switched the camera to Ben, Yaz, Scarlet and Bumpy as they went to a magazine and Bumpy knocked the door open easily with her tail.

They got inside and Yaz got inside a car. She laughed when it turned on. Ben knocked on the window and when Yaz saw him he put the flashlights under his face and made a face. Scarlet was holding a flashlight herself and flinched when she turned it on and it shone right into her eyes.

Brooklyn switched the camera to Darius and Sammy as they were walking through the jungle. Then Kenji finally reached them, struggling to control the bike. After stopping he smiled slightly and patted the bike. Darius and Sammy looked at each other sceptically but they climbed anyway.

Brooklyn switched the cameras again and locked on Mitch and Tiff. She placed their names on their location too. “Gotcha.” They watched as Mitch and Tiff argued, Tiff being the one yelling more loudly and complaining about the place and how they should have gone to Kenya. Then they came across the electric gate.

Mitch groaned in frustration. “Are you kidding me? Fine, maybe we should…” He trailed off as Tiff started to walk towards it, clearly irritated. “What are you doing?”

Tiff scoffed. “Ugh! What does it look like Mitchell? I'm going through. I didn't get dragged to the world's tackiest abandoned resort for nothing. And I'm not returning empty-handed-” She touched the gate and was sent back a few feet from the electric force of the gate. They were meant to hold back dinosaurs after all. Mitch couldn't stop himself from chuckling a little as she groaned and struggled to stand up. Hap grinned and Brooklyn burst out laughing at the sight.

She couldn't resist speaking on the mic. “What's good, Isla Nublar? Tonight we got a very special, very shocking ‘Brooklyn unboxes live’ going out to Mitch and Tiff. Kapow!”

Hap also leaned down to the mic. “Hair is looking good Tiff. You should get electrocuted more often.”

Mitch frowned on annoyance. “Hap? You're with them I see.”

Tiff pointed her gun to the camera. “You can rot here with the kids you like so much!”

“No one is rotting here if I have anything to say about it. Well maybe you two.” Tiff looked like she was about to continue yelling when a roar was heard and one of the Baryonixs, Grim, was coming towards them, screeching. Tiff grabbed the gun from Mitch and pointed it to her.

Brooklyn's eyes widened in panic. “No no don't-” Bang! Grim fell dead to the ground, blood pooling under her. Brooklyn covered her face with her hands, shaking her head. “What is wrong with them…” Hap patted her back. Though he didn't particularly feel bad for the Baryonix, he wasn't about to tell that to the kid. This wasn't about him. Mitch and Tiff started walking again and through the camera they could see the other Baryonyxs finding the body of Grim. They sniffed her, looking confused before screeching and following after Mitch and Tiff. Okay, now he feels a little bad.

Brooklyn recovered, focusing on the screens again where Mitch and Tiff were. They arrived at another gate. “Fastest way is through.”

“There.” Said Tiff, pointing at a box which charged the electric gate. Mitch shot the box and now they could safely climb the gate. Mitch started climbing but before Tiff followed him she broke the camera by hitting it with her gun.

Brooklyn gasped and pulled back. “This is bad.” Hap nodded. She switched to Kenji, Darius and Sammy who were riding the bike through the jungle. “Guys!” Kenji barely managed to stop the bike. “Mitch and Tiff are about to get to the watering hole, and Ben, Yaz and Scarlet aren't there yet!”

“How far away is the nearest tunnel to them?” Asked Darius. There was something off in his voice. Brooklyn doesn't seem to have noticed it.

“Um… if you go back the way you came a bit, there's a tunnel entrance that would put you right in front of them.”

Darius got off the bike. “Okay you guys keep going to the watering hole. Meet with the others like we planned. You'll move faster without three kids on one bike. I'll slow Mitch and Tiff down.”

Kenji nodded. “Good luck dino-nerd.”

“Be careful.”

Kenji and Sammy drove off and Darius ran to the tunnel entrance. “Okay Darius, what's the plan? Darius? Darius!” Darius opened the entrance to the tunnel, his shoulders tense. Brooklyn finally understood what he was doing. “Oh you noble dummy, you don't have a plan, do you?”

“Once this is done,” Darius started, “get everyone out. Get them home.”

Hap pinched the bridge of his nose. “He's still trying to do this alone!”

“Darius!” Brooklyn called out to him but he had already gone in. “Ugh!” She started pressing buttons furiously. “There's gotta be a way to help, there's gotta be…” The screens kept switching and switching to different parts of the park when Brooklyn gasped and turned the screen back to a door with E750 written on it.

Hap frowned in confusion. “What? What is that door?”

“E750.” She mumbled. Then she glanced at another screen where a Gyrosphere was. She got up with a determined look. “I'm going to help Darius. Hap stay here and continue to observe.”

“What I- I don't know how to use anything here! Brooklyn!” But she was already running out. Hap sinked into the chair. Damn his injuries, he was useless. He tried to press the buttons Brooklyn had and finally after multiple failed attempts he finally could see Mitch and Tiff.

They had arrived at the watering hole and Mitch was getting ready to shoot when Darius blocked his way. “Hey guys.” He said almost casually, arms crossed. Mitch gasped in surprise. “How’s the vacation shaping up?”

“Ugh!” Tiff groaned. “I assumed the T. Rex would eat you but I guess she has taste.”

“Get out of the way D. Be smart about it. The rest of your friends are dead weight, but you can still get out of here.”

“No. I'm gonna save them, and I'm gonna stop you.” He clenched his hands into fists. “Whatever it takes.”

“Oh really?” Tiff said as they approached him.

Then the Gyrosphere Brooklyn was driving slammed into them, sending them back a couple of feet. They groaned in pain where they lay and Darius kicked away the guns. “Nice driving! I-”

“What the heck are you doing?!” Brooklyn snapped as she got out of the Gyrosphere. “I thought we were a team.”

“I couldn't put you guys in more danger.” He looked down at the ground. “This is all my fault.”

“No Darius.” Brooklyn grabbed his shoulders. “You have been trying to get us home since the moment the Indominus Rex broke out. The only thing you're guilty of is keeping us alive. And I'm sorry it took me this long to say that.”

“No, I'm sorry. You were right to be suspicious of them.”

“Hey, next time you wanna have a touching moment, maybe kick the guns further away. We're armed again!” Said Tiff. Both her and Mitch had gotten up and gotten their guns when Darius and Brooklyn were talking.

Darius and Brooklyn looked at each other and both of them heard the faint music coming closer. They turned towards Mitch and Tiff. “We're armed too, with friendship.”

“We are not armed with that.” Sighed Brooklyn.

"No, it's like a cool-guy thing to say.” He insisted.

“Dude it isn't.”

“Agre to disagree?”

Honking was heard closer now that even Mitch and Tiff heard them. Brooklyn casually leaned against Darius. “What my cornball friend here is trying to say is that you might be armed but there's eight of us, seven if we don't count Hap since he isn't here, and two of you. And most importantly…”

“We were just stalling.” Finished Darius.

“Whoo-hoo!” Sammy and Kenji were first, riding the bike. Ben was riding Bumpy as she ran, waving flashlights around. Yaz and Scarlet were in the jeep, Yaz driving and honking the horn and Scarlet on the seat next to her, leaning out of the window, yelling with the others. The dinos reacted of course, getting scared by the loud noises and bright lights.

“Yeah! By dinosaurs!” Yelled Yaz. Scarlet laughed from the window as she saw the dinos ran away from the danger. They were herding them away from the watering hole, making them harder to be found in the jungle.

Mitch and Tiff were looking at their tablet in disbelief as the dinos' locations moved away. “What?” They glared at Brooklyn and Darius when they got inside the Gyrosphere and went into the jungle. They ran after them.

“Yeah! Keep it moving! Oh yeah!” Yelled Ben as he waved his flashlights. “Whoa, yeah!”

“Oh we got this y'all!” Said Sammy to Kenji.

“Yeah!” He tried to match her energy. “Keep it moving people!” They laughed and cheered, feeling great. Eventually they led the dinos far enough to safety and stopped, watching the dinos run away.

“Yeah!” Yaz laughed and leaned back on the seat and Scarlet did the same. She didn't have time to relax before she heard loud rumbling from the direction they led the dinos away. She snapped her eyes open and apparently Yaz must have heard it to cause she was looking in the same direction as her. Not a moment later a loud roar was heard and the dinos were running back in their direction, including Rexy, who was the reason they were running back.

From the window Scarlet could see Sammy get on Bumpy with Ben and Kenji on the bike as they rushed away. “Go!”

Yaz was turning the key but the jett refused to turn on. “I'm trying! Come on!” The dinos were almost at them and they would get crushed for sure if they stayed there. Yaz glanced at the side mirror and saw Bumpy with Ben and Sammy coming towards them so she took off her belt, opened the door and jumped out, Sammy caught her and they hurried away.

Scarlet pretty much kicked her door open and leaped out just when the dinos slammed into the car. She dodged through dinos, trying to follow Bumpy. She ran faster when she saw Rexy right behind them, snapping her jaws and trying to eat them. Bumpy fortunately dodged and managed to outrun her by going through the other dinos.

Rexy glanced at her once but mostly focused on catching one of the dinos so she could eat. Scarlet caught up to Bumpy, panting. They could see her give up and roared loudly into the rising sun.

Into the jungle Brooklyn and Darius were in the Gyrosphere trying to get as far away from Mitch and Tiff as possible. But unfortunately they drove into a bump and lost control of the Gyrosphere, slamming into a rock causing it to stop working. “No. Come on, come on! Come on, come on, come on. Come on! Go!” Repeat Darius as he tried to get it back to move. Brooklyn was looking around anxiously.

“Hurry! If Tiff and Mitch…” She stopped when she heard Tiff's voice.

“Kids!” Mitch and Tiff ran past them for a moment but then returned, having noticed them. Tiff grinned manickily. The kids panicked even more.

“What's wrong? Turn it on, get it-”

“I'm trying, I'm trying!” They looked up when Mitch knocked on the glass, glaring down at them, Tiff beside him.

“I was definitely right about them.” Brooklyn whispered to Darius.

Then Hap's voice was heard through the speakers. “Get the hell away from the kids you psychos.”

“You shut up!” Snapped Tiff. “I'll deal with you too as soon as I'm finished with these damn kids!”

Mitch meanwhile was staring at his tablet in worry as he watched the red dots of the dinos come towards their direction. “Babe?” The dinos roared and rushed towards them. Mitch and Tiff yelled and ran away.

Darius and Brooklyn however were still inside the Gyrosphere. Hap's voice rang out again. “Kids move!” They tried to free themselves but failed and a dino slammed into the Gyrosphere sending it rolling forward. Darius and Brooklyn yelled as they were hit again but the movement turned the Gyrosphere on again. They gasped and quickly balanced it and were able to get it under control, away from the herd of dinosaurs.

Mitch and Tiff were still running and they hurryingly climbed a thick tree. Tiff yelled as she slipped, causing her gun to fall down and get crushed. She hung on the branch until the last dino left and she jumped down. “No! No no! This was a custom job!”

“Aww.” Hap's voice was heard again. “Poor you. That's what happens when you try to kill kids bitch.” “

Ignore him.” Said Mitch. “Let's get back to the boat.” He started waking.

“Oh I'd watch my step if I was you Mitch.”

Mitch looked up. “What are you- woah!” His foot stepped into the traps they had placed for the dinos, and he was hanging upside down. “Get me out of this!”

“Hold still!”

“Gee, Tiff, I can't for some reason! Maybe because I'm in one of our snare traps!”

“Well I'm sorry, you forgot where you and Hap set it.” Suddenly heavy thuds were heard in the distance, coming closer.

“Oh, you two will never believe what's coming towards you.”

Tiff climbed the tree so she could free Mitch's leg but the rope was too tight. “Hurry!”

“I'm trying. It's not… ugh!” The T. Rex roar was heard closer now. They could see her looking straight at them.

Tiff seemed to come to a decision because she searched Mitch's pocket and pulled out the boat's keys. “Babe?” He asked slowly.

She handed him her broken gun. “I never liked that nickname!” She said as she ran away.

“Tiffany! You get back here! Get back here right…” He trailed off as he suddenly was face to face with the T. Rex who was smelling him. In a last attempt he pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. Nothing. She roared loudly and he screamed. But the scream was cut short as Rexy bit him, snapping him in half and then eating him whole.

Darius and Brooklyn were now driving through the jungle, now towards the northwest dock. They struggled with the Gyrosphere since it got damaged and it was acting off. They saw Tiff at the gate, but no Mitch. She looked back at them and pushed the gate open with a grunt and slipped out. They sped up and crashed open the gate, making them grunt from the impact. They tried to get out quickly and ran after Tiff but she had already gotten to the boat and turned it on. “No!” Darius slipped but Brooklyn managed to catch him.

Tiff yelled out to them from the boat.“I am out of here! And you're never getting off this awful, awful island! In fact I'm going back and I'm not telling anyone you're here!” The boat hit the side of the dock and she stumbled but kept herself standing. “You are gonna rot here you little brats! You and Hap!”

Darius and Brooklyn stood there watching as the only way they had to get off Nublar moved further and further away. Slowly they walked back to the gate, shoulders slumped. Brooklyn put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Then Kenji arrived on the bike, looking exhausted and he let it drive itself into the column, making it fall on its side. Kenji collapsed on the ground, whimpering.

They grinned and went to his side as the others arrived. “Whoo-hoo!” Sammy, Yaz and Ben got off Bumpy and Scarlet was walking beside them. Sammy and Yaz laughed and went to hug Kenji and Brooklyn as Darius stared at Ben with wide eyes.

Ben smiled and raised his hand in greeting. “Hey.” Darius rushed to hug him and Ben returned it just as tightly.

“I'm sorry. I tried to hold on.”

“Think nothing of it kid. When you've seen what I've seen…” Ben pulled back from the hug, giving Darius a hard look but it flattered quickly and he pulled Darius into the hug again. “I missed you guys too.”

They hugged for a moment before Darius opened his eyes. “Did… did you just call me kid?” Then Brooklyn came from behind them hugging them too. Then Yaz, Kenji and Sammy. Scarlet started at them smiling but then Kenji grabbed her and pulled her into the group hug too. She tensed for a moment but then relaxed and let her hands fall to her side. She didn't want to risk cutting any of them.

“Camp fam!”

“Hugging too long.” Then they let go, sighing and laughing.

From somewhere Hap's voice was heard. “You kids are disgustingly cute.”

“Hap!” Brooklyn called. “Are you coming or not?”

“Yeah yeah, just give me some time. I'll meet you kids there.”

Ben snickered. “Take it easy old man, it can't be easy to walk at your age.”

“Brat.”

They laughed a bit more but then the mood turned serious when Kenji spoke. “So… what now?” They all looked towards the ocean. “Try to find another distress beacon?”

“No.” Darius said determinedly. “We're done waiting for someone to rescue us. It's time we found our own way off the island.”

Hap used the shock prod as support for him to walk as he left the room, missing the steam coming from the E750 door and the screech that came from it before the screen flickered out.