Isla Sorna Stories: Rebirth

[Giratina93]

With the Tyrannosaur gone, the Baryonyx, Ironfang, moved out from where he had watched the fight. As he had expected, Thrasher had dominated him with ease, though it was a shame to see that rex live, especially after what it had done to him. "Yet another challenger goes away bleeding and battered, and with their pride crushed." He hissed in delight. "Is there no predator on this island powerful enough to take you on? I think not."

[The Kingpin]

"Arrogance breeds weakness" warned Thrasher as he eyed the Baryonyx. "It's why Spectre never saw us coming...and look where he ended up" rumbled the Spinosaur as he checked his body for injuries, taking note of every bruise, every cut. There was little in terms of actual damage to the beast's hide, but a few bruises and cuts around his claws and where the Rex's fangs had grazed him when he was too slow to react immediately, were reminders that he was not invincible. Weak though his opponent was, it served to keep the Spinosaur alert and wary of what may come. He silently wondered whether that had been 'Crusher'. He doubted it, however. The Rex shared very little resemblance to the old Tyrannosaur Patriarch that had once ruled the territory that now belonged to Thrasher. And despite the determination and ferocity with which the Rex fought, it lacked the skill that had brought Spectre to his position...but then, was it really wise to overestimate his foe as such?

I'm not overestimating him he reminded himself as he remembered the numerous dead predators that had once guarded his borders. All of them were formidable fighters in their own right. The odds they would fall to a Rex of this 'challenger's' skill was unlikely at best. No....whatever had killed them was still out there...was still unknown to him...and for all he knew, was getting stronger with each passing day. Thrasher, though at his peak, knew he wouldn't remain so for long. Thus far he had grown stronger with every passing year, but his memories of his father reminded him that there was nowhere further to go but down from here. In a few years time, his strength will have diminished...it would be up to experience to save him from defeat then...Perhaps however, he would consider handing down his position to his younger brother, Redtooth...But no...Redtooth had thusfar been too soft to trust with such a position...

[C S]

Aircrest burst out of a line of shrubs, feeling the tremors through the trembling earth still. He didn't know just how far ahead he was of the Trike, only that as soon as he appeared, it turned its rage on him. Fuming, the three horned beast was like a perpetual engine of rage, and the green raptor was certain that a few trees had been uprooted during this chase, rammed right through by the furious herbivore that pursued him. He needed to find another of the Spinosaur's thralls quickly...

[The Kingpin]

The horrifying fury of the Black Horned Rogue seemed unstoppable, the herbivore charging towards the Raptor relentlessly as he tore across the sparsely forested plains along the edge of Thrasher's borders. They were in the middle of the dead Saurophaganax's territory, and Fatalis and Hellfire were left to wonder if Aircrest could reach the next territory before the herbivore reached him, the duo chasing behind the treeline, ready to dive in and distract the angered herbivore and buy their comrade some time. What they didn't know however, was that the seemingly dim-witted brute knew exactly what they were doing...his senses were not as dull as they had believed... He knew full well that there were multiple Raptors...and was catching on to the fact they were luring him somewhere...

[C S]

The next scent marker took the wayward wanderer by surprise by how seemingly out of place it was. A strong musty odor Aircrest had long associated with one creature: a bull Tyrannosaurus. From what he could glean from the scent, the Rex was no older than Crusher, give or take a few years.

"Well... that isn't ironic at all."

[The Kingpin]

Bellowing furiously, the Triceratops powered onwards after Aircrest, seeming for all the world as though he would overrun the fleeing Raptor. The scent of the Rex only barely registered with the herbivore, doing nothing to slow his pace, though it did seem to make him more alert, the herbivore's head shifting right and left almost imperceptibly mid-charge as he watched for places the Rex could be hiding. Unlike the Saurophaganax, which was vastly underequipped to fight a ceratopsian of his size and strength, a Rex was a completely different matter; they were all but made to hunt Triceratops. He had killed many in his time on the island, and bore more than a few scars from the fights. They were easily the most dangerous of his opponents...


"Hey, Fatalis, smell that?" barked Hellfire as he bolted through the treeline. "Yeah. Rex. Male. A bull, probably fairly young. Crusher's age, maybe younger" growled the Velociraptor in response as he ducked under a fallen tree crossing over a narrow trench, Hellfire leaping over it, rebounding off a branch and landing ahead of the Raptor, the duo continuing their pursuit of the Trike and their comrade, ready to bolt in if it seemed it would overrun him...


Ahead of the Troodon sprawled a vast plain; a game trail dotted with herbivores of all shapes and sizes. They ranged from relatively tiny Hypsolophodontids to gargantuan Titanosaurs, Brachiosaurs, and even a single, solitary Amphicoelias, seemingly passing through the area. It was a rare beast, almost unheard of on the island. Its shadow loomed over most of the creatures in its vicinity, and its blue-grey hide was speckled with a single line of eye-spot like patterns starting behind its head and extending along its neck, flanks, and tail, spreading to form rings of alternating yellow-beige and black along the whip-like tail, the end of which was swollen to form what seemed to be a small but nonetheless lethal club. The other sauropods in the area ensured that nothing dared attempt to attack them. Even a Rex wouldn't risk such fatally unfavourable odds, and most would likely go further North or South of the Game-trail, to find the herds of Hadrosaurs that wandered the area; they would be much less formidable, though that term was relative. On this island, everything was potentially lethal. The scent of a Rex could be detected floating faintly in the area, though the scent of Giganotosaurus was more prominent. If this truly was Rex turf, it had not been so for long. That, or it had changed hands. Which of the two it was, was hard to determine from here. The borders smelled of Rex, giving the only clue as to which case it was; a predator would usually mark the borders first, then work their way inwards...

[C S]

The last thing Aircrest expected from this endeavor was learning something, but he did learn something nevertheless. It wasn't anything monumental, relatively. It wasn't some hidden truth that shook him to the core; if it was he would have been dead by now, stunned and promptly flattened, if not skewered outright. No, it was a much simpler but interesting fact about the island's hierarchy.

"A Tyrannosaur's mouth is indeed large enough to swallow their own pride!"

That was what Aircrest thought as for the second time in his life, he purposely disregarded a Rex's borders. And this time, his company wasn't a Rugops but what would have been a Rex's arch rival had the Spinosaurs not done what they had sixteen years prior...

[dinoman666]

Nighteye and his followers paused at the edge of the plain, sniffing the air to pinpoint a scent and watching the massive herbivores in the distance. Their size was impressive, not to mention dangerous: one mistake and they could be flattened. Fortunately, such small predators wouldn't alarm massive sauropods, and the Hypsilophodonts were certainly of no threat to them. As long as they watched where they were going, the Troodons could pass through without incident. And pass through they needed to do: Nighteye quickly realized that the only strong Rex scent was at the borders of the territory. It was likely that Rexes had recently taken this territory from a Giganotosaurus, and were busy scent-marking it from the borders inward. Still, the Troodon doubted that any Rexes would be near these herbivores. His pack moved along the borders, keeping on the trail until they could find another Rex scent-mark to lead them further in...

[The Kingpin]

Lightning flashed far above as the powerful storm approached the island, a deafening boom sounding out shortly afterwards, almost blocking out the booming bellow of the furious, scarred triceratops behind the raptor. Erebus's pace was slowing. He was picking up something that was inspiring caution. The Rex's scent was fresh here. It wasn't far. Already, the trike was looking for the predator, intent on turning his horns on an enemy far older and deadlier than the raptors which he had spent his time pursuing thus far...


Hellfire and Fatalis hadn't overlooked the Trike's change in attitude. "Think it's getting tired?" barked Hellfire to smaller dromaeosaur beside him. "Not a chance. That thing's run for much longer stretches in the past. The Rex is close. Dunno where, but the Trike's definitely looking for it. This is gonna be good" responded Fatalis with a sadistic grin...




Following the trail did indeed lead the Troodon to a fresher scent. Better yet, it led them to a Rex. A Rex, but not THE Rex. This one was a green and silver, the silver starting in stripes behind his nostrils and spreading into an intricate network of tigerstripes across his flanks and back. The Rex was limping slightly, gashes could be seen in it's flank and tail, and its muzzle was coated in blood, most likely from whatever it had fought and, as it looked, killed. It had clearly recently been in a fight. The predator was heading Southwards, towards a nearby river, most likely to wash away the blood from its jaws and possibly its injuries...

[dinoman666]

Nighteye and his pack froze instantly upon spotting the Rex walk by. It was the source of the scent, for certain, and it was likely fresh out of the fight with the Giga who had recently owned this territory. It wasn't the Rex the Troodons were looking for, but perhaps it would lead them to the proper target. It was their only lead for now, anyway. Nighteye gave his followers a silent, sidelong glance, mutely signalling them to follow their leader. The moved quietly, slowly, almost achingly slow, staying out of the Rex's line of sight while they followed it to its future destination...

[The Kingpin]

The Rex limped slowly towards the edge of the clearing, soon reaching a shallow creek. His sense of smell was likely obstructed by the heavy amount of blood on his snout, keeping the Troodon safe from detection for now. A few small reptiles, mostly piscivorous, lined the sides of the creek, several of them skittering into the water when the Rex got close, swimming away from the behemoth. The predator's movements were, interestingly, slow and calculated, every movement done deliberately and precisely, and the Rex's eyes glared at his surroundings through pin-prick pupils...

[C S]

Aircrest was in the undergrowth by time the thudding of the Triceratops' footfalls ceased. He looked out from the fronds and leaves that fell over him, the distant flash of lightning causing them to shed jagged shadows over his green scales for seconds at a time. The renegade herbivore caught on to the game; Aircrest could tell by how its behavior had changed: cautious, but still defiant. It was if the thing wanted to kill, and it relished the chance to do so! So much so that the raptor was starting to suspect that the Trike wasn't merely playing a role in a plan, but simply seeking an excuse to indulge in its bloodlust.

He bared his teeth at the thought. "Using a monster to kill a bigger monster... or is it the other way around?"

Aircrest felt the ground beneath his feet rock gently. It wasn't a monumentous tremor, as per a titan charging to meet its opponent. No, it was a more relaxed and calculating approach. An experienced T-Rex on the prowl, approaching the battle on its terms. Aircrest saw the dark shape slipping in between the trees, slowly and methodically choosing where it placed its footing. When it was off of the Triceratops' flank, it gradually stepped forward, the light of the stormy gloom falling onto the tip of its snout and running across the rest of its body as it came into the open.

And to the raptor's surprise, this was the same T-Rex he and the Rugops encountered those years ago, its tan hide scarred and battered. Many of the wounds were long slices evident of conflicts with Spinosaurs... the once proud tyrant had been beaten down and forced to enlist in Thrasher's ranks in order to save his life.

[dinoman666]

The Troodon, ever cautious of being caught, stayed downwind of the Rex as they tracked it, using their low, slim profiles to their advantage. Even in the open, the grass hid their form rather well thanks to their small size. The group of predators froze as the Rex stopped to drink, patient enough to wait until it moved on again. While they waited, Nighteye spotted a small ford they could use to cross the creek, in case it was necessary, while also keeping a careful eye on the Rex. It's movements were slow, deliberate... He was no clumsy adolescent, that was for sure. Perhaps they really were on the right track...

[The Kingpin]

The Rex quickly lowered his head to the water, shaking it back and forth to wash away the blood, before proceeding to drink, standing in a low crouch as he did so, letting the rain wash the blood from his wounds. The Rex continued in this manner for several minutes, licking and tending his injuries, and drinking to rehydrate after a taxing morning. Piercing eyes glared at his surroundings warily as he did so however. This was a predator that knew danger existed everywhere, and it was obvious he kept his guard up. What wasn't so obvious however, was that there was something motivating that wariness...



As the Rex made itself visible to Erebus, the Triceratops turned to face it head on, horns pointing dangerously right at it. A low threatening bellow came from the ceratopsian as he glared at the Tyrannosaur, arch-rivals from time immemorial facing off once again in a battle to the death. It was something that inspired awe, even amidst the constant struggle that defined life on Isla Sorna...

[dinoman666]

The Troodon shifted a bit, trying to stay downwind of their quarry at all costs, where they could smell him and not the other way around. Now that he had a clean snout, the Rex would be able to smell them if they got too close or positioned themselves poorly. Nighteye was a skilled tracker, and he wasn't about to make such a foolish mistake when dealing with a wary superpredator. The group of Troodon stayed low, out of sight, and hopefully invisible to his sense of smell...

[The Kingpin]

Growling, the Rex rose from the watering hole, eyes gazing at the surroundings, waiting for a well timed lightning bolt to lit up his would be observers. While his sense of smell could usually pinpoint anything within a mile of him, such was not the case when the scents on the wind were dampened and thrown off by a storm. As the flash lit up the sky, the Rex glanced around, but to no avail. If they were following him, they were good. Moments later, a deafening boom chased after the flash of lightning, and with it, Sarcus resigned to resuming his patrol...and perhaps finding Crusher...


The bellowing call of the Triceratops was only barely surpassed by the boom of thunder as the herbivore lined himself up with the Rex before him. The Tyrannosaur was experienced; a hardened veteran. It's tanned, worn hide was marred with the scars of a lifetime of punishment, and once vibrant yellow eyes now stared out with a look of exhaustion. A low snarl was all that was heard from the predator, before it made its way towards the Trike, pacing calmly towards him as it strode to one side, beginning a flanking manoeuvre to lure the herbivore into attempting to charge. And charge the herbivore did. Lunging forward, Erebus kicked up slicks of mud in his wake as he half galloped-half trotted towards his hefty opponent, puffs of vapour escaping his nostrils with each breath. At the last moment, the Rex twisted on one foot, righting itself as it timed its bite with expert precision, catching the triceratops's left horn on his jaws and swinging his head, sending the charging behemoth off course and stumbling off towards the forest. Snorting angrily, the Trike skidded to a halt, trying to twist in time to intercept the Rex that he KNEW was coming right at him. His response however, was too slow, and before he could land a counter attack, the Rex's jaws slammed shut on the hefty muscle of his back, an angry bellow escaping the Trike as wide, deep gashes were torn into his back, just before the herbivore's thrashing head struck a target. A roar of pain came from the Rex as it let go, a gaping gash visible in it's thigh as one of the trike's horns trickled a mixture of blood and rain, running down the length of it and over the herbivore's brow, Erebus righting his position to face the Rex once more, a rattling snarl coming from the predator as anger began to set in...

[dinoman666]

Nighteye and his pack restrained themselves as the Rex began to move off again. Moving again, this close to the target, could backfire quite easily, especially when said target was obviously quite wary. However, once Nighteye had determined that the Rex was far enough away, he silently signaled his followers to continue on. However, they started slowly, not wanting to risk sudden speed and possibly being spotted. They moved with aching slowness, almost mimicking the swaying of the grass around them. The Troodon would only speed up if absolutely necessary. Losing the Rex in the storm would be surprisingly easy if they weren't careful...

[Hopeflower]

The young female raptor could not say her life had been an unhappy one. A somewhat difficult one, yes, but she was making it through just fine. Some would think her unintelligent, but it couldn't have been further from the truth - she had just been born unable to give proper voice to her thoughts. Not even her parents had known why, though they'd hoped she would grow out of it. As the years had passed, she had not, but she tried not to let it stop her from enjoying life to the fullest.

Citlali stopped in her tracks, sniffed the air experimentally, and turned her head. "Brother mine," she called. "Scent. Here, here." A slightly bigger raptor shouldered his way out of the undergrowth and loped towards her. At first glance, the patterns on his head would make it seem the top half of his skull was on the outside of his face, the pale stripes on his lower jaw serving only to add to the impression. But if one were to take a longer look, they would see this wasn't the case. Citlali bobbed her head excitedly a few times in greeting as he came into view.

Tarik took a moment to nose the undergrowth around his sister, quickly picking up the same scent. Raptors. Slightly muddled by the rain, the scents were somewhat more difficult to pick up and identify. "You're right," he growled softly. "Let's take care, now. If this is a pack's territory, we don't want to trespass."

With her brother fully able to see her, Citlali no longer had to try to speak out loud. She bobbed her head several more times, making other, smaller movements as well, the signals coming to form the message, If only it wasn't raining. I thought I smelled something besides our kind. This silent language was the only thing Citlali really had as far as communication was concerned - if she didn't have her brother around to translate when he needed to, she'd be left hoping others understood what she was trying to say.

Tarik cocked his head. "Perhaps a crossing scent trail. All the same, let's be cautious." The siblings headed forward, sticking closer together now, the older of the two looking around warily.

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

"You think I don't see you..."

The branch the raptor was perched upon gave a loud creak.

"You think you can hide from me...?"

A moment before the compsognathus darted into the brush, the dark raptor launched his attack. Before the little dinosaur could even touch the closest fern, the raptor's foot landed squarely on its back, breaking its spine in numerous places. The compy scarcely had the time to shriek before its life was over.

"Little *******," Darkness hissed, turning his head from side to side to view the corpse with both his good eye and his blind one. "Think its so easy...what's there to fear from the raptor with the ONE EYE!"

The dark raptor's foot scattered the compy's skull across the clearing with one furious stomp.

"That's better," he concluded with a notable change in tone, before digging into his hard-earned meal.

[The Kingpin]

The Rex's strides through the plains were wide, but carefully placed, avoiding slippery surfaces and muddy puddles as he covered ground, using the darkness and heavy rain to his advantage, his dark colours and choppy patterns breaking his silhouette as he made his way for the edge of the plain, heading for the borders of the Giga's territory, expecting Crusher to be busy marking the borders as his own. Little did he know that Crusher was in the opposite direction, in a cave near the shore...


Erebus snorted as he kicked up dirt, scraping one of his large feet across the muddy ground as a puff of vapour erupted from his nostrils, the Trike staring the ageing Rex down with a threatening icy glare. The Rex's lips curled into a snarl as it strode towards the Trike, gradually loading on the pressure on the herbivore to make a mistake, until the gap between them was that of a handful of feet. Taking a risk, the Trike made a mock lunge, swinging his head upwards half way as he took a step forward. It brought out exactly the reaction he had hoped. In the Rex's anger, it hadn't suspected the lunge and reacted with its own, jaws snapping shut right where Erebus's horn should've been, having intended to disarm the ceratopsian. The consequences of the mistake were catastrophic. With a second, very real swing, the Trike tore a long gash down the Rex's snout and neck, the several-inch-deep wound starting under the eye and extending to just over the shoulder blade, the Rex moving back in shock and trying to put some space between itself and the herbivore, though succeeding only in giving the Trike room to line up a charge. A forward lunge sent a horn right through the Rex's chest cavity, impaling a lung and boring a fatal hole in the behemoth's heart, the Rex's glaring, glimmering red eyes wide in shock and pain as an unnaturally high pitched keening bellow escaped it, the Trike thrashing as he ripped his horn out of the predator's chest, only to swing sideways and knock the Tyrannosaur's head sideways, leaving it with one more gash across the lower jaw, smashing it halfway, the mandible completely knocked out of shape. Dazed, dying and in horrific pain, the Rex stumbled, gasping and bleeding, away from the Trike, only managing a half turn before it swayed dangerously on it's feet, barely staying upright. Tiring of the display, Erebus landed a full on charge to the flank, both horns ripping right through it's side and impaling the liver and lungs, from flank to flank. Thrashing once as the Rex hit the ground, Erebus mangled the dying Tyrannosaur's insides brutally, before pulling free, shaking his head as the rain began to try in vain to wash away the fresh layer of blood covering the Triceratops's horns...


"Now THAT is what I call entertainment!" hissed Fatalis with an overenthusiastic grin, Hellfire staring on with a surprising measure of disinterest. Either he had grown numb to the Triceratops's brutality, or he was trying to distract his mind with other thoughts. Whatever the case, the look of shock that had defined his expression since they first found the herbivore was gone, replaced with a relatively dull, neutral expression...