Isla Sorna Stories: Rebirth

[The Kingpin]

"That, I cannot divulge. At least, not until Thrasher decides whether an alliance with you would be ultimately beneficial to him" hissed Rake calmly as he ducked under a low-hanging branch, the trees beginning to thin. Up ahead, a shallow stream crossed their path, too shallow and weak to be a problem for the two larger predators, though it would, perhaps, be a hindrance to the Troodon. Tree branches were plentiful, giving the pack plenty of alternative routes, though cracked, fungal infestations marked that some may not be able to hold the weight of a predator; even one as light as a troodon. It said something that even the macaws were avoiding it...


An angered bellow escaped the herbivore as it bucked and reared, tossing it's side against a nearby tree with hopes of crushing the raptor, as meanwhile, Hellfire was charging after it, intent on helping his comrade out of the difficult predicament. A screech pierced the air as Fatalis collided with the Trike's head, somehow evading the horns that covered it, though doing little but startling the already aggravated herbivore. It did however, serve an unexpected purpose; The Mutant didn't seem to notice the quaking thumps that shook the ground beneath it's feet. Something was coming...and it was big...

[C S]

Aircrest tore his claws from the mutant Trike's hide and threw himself towards the tree it was about to slam into. He hit the bark hard and kicked off seconds before the mutant's impact, finding purchase once more on its other side. As leaves and timber rained down to the undergrowth, Aircrest chanced edging further downwards on the Triceratops, thinking he would do more damage to its softer underbelly...

[dinoman666]

"Everyone has their little secrets," Nighteye mused. "I suppose I can wait..." At the stream, Nighteye paused, his large eyes scanning the tree branches before him as he figured out the best path for his pack to take. A few seconds later, the Troodon chittered to his packmates, and they moved, one by one, across a series of suitable branches. It wasn't the entire pack, but still numbered at least a dozen predators, moving in single file. The Troodon were spreading their ranks enough so that only one or two of the dinosaurs were on the sme branch at once. Quick, silent, and like a well-oiled machine...

[The Kingpin]

Almost immediately, the herbivore swung it's side into a nearby boulder, hoping to crush Aircrest between them, while its head thrashed violently in an attempt to eviscerate the Raptor latched to it's head. Hellfire meanwhile, remained at a distance, looking for an opening that wouldn't get him killed. It seemed however, that there was no luck to be had...


It was at that moment however, that the cracking and creaking of trees rang out behind him, the Deinonychus turning to see what it was, leaping out of the way as a massive Tyrannosaur pushed his way through the trees, a low, rumbling snarl shaking the very air around him, the rumble felt even within the Raptors' chests, and undoubtedly, the herbivore's as well. Almost like clockwork, the herbivore instantly cast aside it's focus on the Raptors, turning to the more immediate threat, even it's extensive mutation doing nothing to destroy that element of its hardwired instincts...





Silence reigned between the Irritator and the Troodon for several long minutes as the trees began to thin, revealing a small clearing, too small for sunlight to pierce its canopy, the branches far above still bridging the gap between the trees sufficiently enough for darkness to dominate. Beneath this clearing however, lay the subject of their coming; a gargantuan Spinosaur, easily 60 feet long, if not longer. His hide was a blend of darkest green and shades of brown, crocodilian armoured osteoderms covering his body as eerie yellow eyes stared from an unnaturally reinforced skull. The Spinosaur's fin was his most notable trait however. Amidst an outline of blackish green, shades of light green and streaks of blue created what almost looked like an image of a forested landscape, a pattern that, when needed, would serve as excellent camouflage for such a massive predator. "How many times, Rake, have I told you not to bring outsiders here?" hissed the Spinosaur irritably, the hiss gurgling unnaturally. "You'll want to make an exception this time, Thrasher. It seems we have some information on the Rex that was attacking our allies" responded the Irritator, Thrasher lifting his head from the ground, his curiosity piqued, eyeing the two before him...

[dinoman666]

The Troodon pack did not leave the trees, quite comfortable in the closeness and darkness of the canopy. Their eyes glowed dimly in the shadows, reflecting what little light made it through the leaves above. They remained silent, content to watch the proceedings for the time being...

[C S]

Aircrest found 'salvation' on the Triceratops' underside, reaching the smaller and smoother scales just before tons of flesh and muscle came to bear on the large rock. He eyed the ground uneasily, literally dangling away from death. One false move could end up putting him underneath the pads of the Trike's foot!

And that was when his innards vibrated with the Tyrant King's growl. "Oh, for ****'s sake!"


Aircrest pulled his claws free and dropped to the ground, rolling away as the mutant adjusted its stance to face the new challenger and dodging a crushing end. He sprinted out from under the Trike, barking to Fatalis: "Change of plan, get out of there!"

[Giratina93]

Twincrest was nervous as she mentally prepared herself to deliver the report. She was now before the one creature on the entire island she didn't want to be before, even more than the rex she had been stalking. The Ruler of the Island..The largest predator on Isla Sorna... and here she was giving him a report. She had never seen Thrasher before, and with this being her first actual encounter with Thrasher, she was highly, highly nervous. Oh well, best to make this quick and concise. "Yes, yes of course. The tyrannosaur that has been raiding your borders is named Crusher, and has family living up on the northern shore, at the foot of a cliff. That family lives near the territory of another rex territory near that of a large Giganotosaurus in the area..." She said, still filtering in her mind what to tell Thrasher and what to keep a secret from him...

[The Kingpin]

"...And?" growled Thrasher through narrowed eyes as his obsidian claws flexed against the earth beneath him, carving deep gouges in the ground. Rake eyed the Dilophosaur expectantly, unamused by the Dilophosaur's sudden silence. That couldn't possibly be it, could it?


Fatalis didn't need telling. As soon as the triceratops turned, he hooked his feet on one of the massive brow horns, using it as a springboard to launch him into a tree, rebounding off that and back into the undergrowth behind the ceratopsian, just as it charged at the Tyrannosaur, intent on tearing the predator apart...

Crusher had other plans. Just as it closed in on him, he reared up on one foot, bringing it down right between the brow horns, 8 tons of angry trike stopping in an instant as it was forced into the earth, Crusher attempting to go for it's neck. Seemingly sensing its impending death, the triceratops thrashed with incredible force, actually succeeding in dislodging the predatory behemoth as it bucked free, a horn grazing one of Crusher's legs as it pulled itself back to its feet and turned around, the two circling eachother until they had swapped positions, the Rex staring it in the eyes. Snorting irritably, the herbivore bellowed in challenge, awaiting the Rex's next move...

[Giratina93]

Twincrest swore in her mind. This was bad. What else was there to tell Thrasher? What other information did she have for him? Wait... "That's not all. Apparently, one of this tyrannosaur's family was once the ruler of the island, Spectre, before you or your father, and what he is doing, tearing apart those spinosaurs around your border, is out of revenge for what happened." Though she was doing her best to stay calm, she knew she was in a corner. It was now dawning up on her that she should ahve tried to spy longer, find out more information, spy on both Crusher and his family. Reporting back so soon to Thrasher had been a mistake. She had miscalculated, and now was filling in the mental gaps from the original conversation she had overhead as she saw fit to try and worm her way out of this, while also trying to remember everything she had been told about the past few rulers of the island, either through her own experience, or what her mother had told her... Though she had not heard the name Spectre brought up in the conversation or when trailing the Rex, she had heard that Crusher's father had once ruled a massive territory during the conversation, and combining that with what she had been told about Spectre and what happened to him, she hoped this, even if it was a massive leap in logic, or worse, a flatout lie, would satisfy Thrasher's interest...

[C S]

Aircrest came to a sliding halt beside Hellfire, spinning on his heels and dropping into a low stance where he started panting heavily. "And to think," he began in between shallow breaths, "we could have failed our mission just as we started doing it!" He did not mention that their friendship almost came to an untimely end, though the thought did cross his mind. He didn't want to be bothered with that, though. "Now, where the hell is Fatalis...?"

[The Kingpin]

"That was obvious from the Rex's name. Is there anything else?" hissed the Spinosaur expectantly, unimpressed by the Dilophosaurs statements, which, to him, were basically the equivalent of saying water was wet. He knew Spectre had a son named Crusher. That word alone was enough to tell him almost everything else the Dilophosaur had said. Shifting his gaze to the Troodon to give the pathetic spitter time to come up with something more substantial from whatever pathetic memory it had, he growled lowly. "And what about you? Why are you here?" he hissed. His tone seemed placid, though his eyes told a different story, chilling whitish yellow eyes glaring hatefully into the shadows, meeting the gaze of each and every one of the little predators for a few moments, before locking his gaze on their apparent leader. Packs were generally not permitted in any predator's borders. Thrasher, in particular, took it as an implied threat; a statement that they did not fear him, as though they were trying to threaten him or frighten him into tolerating their presence. It was blatantly obvious however, that whatever effect may have been intended by the pack's presence, wasn't succeeding. If anything, it chipped away at his patience, the irritable Spinosaur staring at their leader with an eerie calmness that was uncommon in such volatile times...


A rattling snarl responded to the threatening bellow of the Triceratops, as horns and fangs clashed once more in a violent display of strength and ferocity, the two animals clashing in mid charge, Crusher catching the Triceratops by the horn and twisting powerfully as he moved to the side, the triceratops thrashing upwards in an effort to dislodge the Rex, finding little success as Crusher's jaws simply slid down the horn to the base, giving him exactly what he wanted. In a horrific twist of events, the Triceratops found itself completely exposed, Crusher's taloned foot hitting its flank with more force than expected as he knocked it over, smashing a couple of ribs in the process as he pinned it down, the herbivore thrashing as the Rex let go of its horn, before driving his jaws in under the frill, the elongated spikes on the frill's edge grazing his snout and brow somewhat as his massive fangs sank into its neck, instantly closing with bone shattering force, the herbivore silenced in seconds, its throat torn completely free of its neck, blood spilling through a jugular vein in tatters as the herbivore's body continued to twitch and tremble beneath the predator, the Rex tossing aside the lump of flesh in his jaws, the muscle hitting a tree with a sickening splat, before sliding to the floor. Lifting his snout from the herbivore's body, he looked towards the two dromaeosaurs in the undergrowth, seeing them with shocking clarity, their camouflage accounting for seemingly nothing to the behemoth. Fiery red and gold eyes reverting to their pure golden tint once more, the Rex sighed, blood lust and rage washing away to reveal the placid Tyrannosaur that stood beneath once more, the ferocity from mere moments earlier disappearing beneath a mask of calm that seemed almost uncharacteristic of such a ferocious predator.


"Damn...That...escalated quickly" muttered Fatalis in a tree just above Aircrest and Hellfire, having rejoined them halfway through the fight, taken aback by the ferocity of the entire thing. Moments ago he was convinced the triceratops was an indestructible freak of nature. Now it lay dead, it's grotesquely mutated form a broken mess. "Yeah...no kidding" hissed Hellfire in agreement...

[C S]

"Oh, there you are," said Aircrest, looking to the source of the voice. With his breathing managed, he growled: "Maybe it would be a good idea to get the hell out of here-"

He cut himself off however, cocking his head in confusion. Why wasn't this Tyrannosaur turning its aggression on them? An even better question: why was it calming down? The answer to both conundrums came with a burst of realization. The color of the Rex's scale, the patterns...

"Wait a minute... it's you, isn't it?" Aircrest barked to the T-Rex.

[The Kingpin]

"And you were expecting, perhaps, Thrasher? 'course it's me" snorted Crusher amusedly as he eyed the two predators accompanying the Raptor. One, he recognised. Fatalis; the bane of most super-predators, and one that, on some occasions, had tried to entice a reaction from him, though he had little success, Crusher having already been well acquainted to his habits and mannerisms. The other, however, was new. He didn't know who the Deinonychus was...

[C S]

"You've changed quite a bit. You're now as big and fat as any other walking mouth, congratulations," Aircrest growled, not too keen on letting the giant know how relieved he really was. Not only had the mutant been dispatched, but one enormous hurdle in their assignment had been accomplished, albeit by the whims of coincidence. "But as much as I'd like to chat about the years in between our last meeting, there's some serious business my companions and I have to tend to..."

[The Kingpin]

"A lot more dangerous than most walking mouths" retorted Crusher with a smirk, careful to avoid letting his tongue touch his blood-soaked fangs. "Aircrest, last I checked, we didn't even have a destination, let alone a job. Are you sure this isn't just another gambit by that old fart?" hissed Fatalis with a raised brow. "Huh. Wouldn't put it past him, considering the last little trick he pulled" added Hellfire. "Anyone care to fill me in on your conversation? Or am I expected to know all this from the start?" rumbled Crusher inquiringly...

[C S]

"I'll explain as we go along," Aircrest growled, his focus caught by what Fatalis said. If the mutant was a gambit -purposely placed in his location by Ripper- then what purpose did it serve? It certainly brought Crusher to those seeking him out but was that it? Just yesterday the trio was wrangled together in one place so that Ripper could send them off on their... admittedly roundabout way so there had to be some ulterior meaning to this encounter. The elder's plans were never so straight forward, as Aircrest knew.

He decided the only thing he could do was investigate the area. Why was this particular supermutant selected to bring this stage of Ripper's scheme together...?

[dinoman666]

The Troodons' instincts in the face of such a massive predator would be to flee, but this was no normal circumstance. Nighteye peered out from the trees to meet Thrasher's unnatural gaze with his own. "We hear you have a pest that needs taken care of," the Troodon hissed. "Among other things. I won't beat around the bush; we only wish to assist you in your no doubt many endeavors..." Nighteye had already construed two things from this single conversation with the Spinosaur: he liked direct, to-the-point answers, and he was obviously quite busy to have so many spies and servants running around to do his dirty work. The Troodon liked what he was seeing so far...

[The Kingpin]

"Do not take me for a fool, Troodon" hissed Thrasher lowly, reading the smaller predator's intentions like a book. "I've dealt with far too many suck-ups in my time to believe your purpose is my benefit alone. Tell me what you hope to gain from this...favour, and then we will see how willing I am to accept your.....'help'." rumbled the Spinosaur. He more or less knew the answer. It was the same boring reason everyone else wanted to do something for him. Power. Influence. Protection. Living requirements. Territory. It never left those things. Meanwhile, Rake had left the side of the two predators to stand beside the resting giant, narrow snout lingering beside Thrasher's briefly as he hissed something unintelligible into the Spinosaur's ear. A glance was all that was needed, and with it, Rake was gone once more, disappearing between the trees to tend to other duties...



"Ach. Damned riddles. Why can't anything be straight forward?" hissed Fatalis grumpily, as Crusher pursued, intrigued by the development. "I assume you have a destination? Or are you just letting your feet take you wherever they like?" growled Hellfire with a raised brow...

[C S]

"I get the feeling Ripper's in something big. He needs us to do something without involving himself more than he already has and if we find out what it is, we'll understand," Aircrest growled, poking around the place where the Trike lay broken and dead. Milky eyes continued to stare off into nothing, the murk having a dull sheen. The green raptor bared his teeth, slightly unnerved by the grisly scene, mostly disgusted with how grotesque the thing had been in life. Its beak was still stained with blood and the stench hung in the air...

Aircrest wandered away from the giant corpse to the other body; the one that was being preyed upon by the mutant. His eyes widened when he realized it shared several similarities to that of the mutant -another, younger Triceratops. It's hide wasn't nearly as striking as the adult's, but the strange bony formations on its body was enough to cement the fact the smaller Trike was indeed an offspring of the dead mutant.

The trike was eating it's own child.

[dinoman666]

Nighteye cocked his head. Well, at least Thrasher wasn't so arrogant as to honestly believe the Troodon was doing this out of the goodness of his heart. He stepped out onto a thick, overhanging bough, lying down on the branch in a way that almost mirrored Thrasher's own position. "I will keep it simple for you, then," Nighteye chirped. "I like you Spinos. You're precise, opportunistic, and clever. Rexes are just walking heads full of teeth and bloodlust. Who wants a dumb brute ruling this island? It would be chaos. I like you being in charge, Thrasher. You keep things nice and orderly. Anything else would be... inconvenient for my brethren and I."