Isla Sorna Stories: Rebirth

[The Kingpin]

"Easy" hissed Fatalis as he walked off into the shadows of the facility once more, Hellfire already out of sight, moving across the first floor of the facility in search of a fitting target. Before long, he had found the corpse he was looking for; the one he had thrown from the upper levels. It's body was quite visibly broken, spine snapped in the middle and torso bent awkwardly, neck bent at such an angle that it would make even the most hardened mutant cringe at the sight, and its tail visibly snapped down the middle. Slowly, the Deinonychus dragged it up to a higher level of the facility, intending to find a fitting spot for his former opponent...


Blade, meanwhile, had gone to exploring their immediate surroundings. He had been given permission by his mother, under the conditions that he didn't go out of the little clearing, and that he didn't go near Devaki or Zuri; She would not have him being ungrateful for their hospitality now. Reluctantly, she'd let herself relax a bit, laying against one of the tall trees surrounding the group, and Blade's exploration was easily tracked with the rustling of bushes and saplings. Instead, she let her gaze settle on Savarna and Cirrus, occasionally wandering on to the weakened Xanthe. This group...this family...had done so much for her and her son. For all the effort she put into caring for the young and helping with the hunting, she simply could not picture a way to thank them, to make up for it all. It was a source of continuing frustration for the female, and an issue that seemed to return to mind whenever she dared let it fall idle...

[C S]

Aircrest shook the troodon off of him when he was standing on the paneling of the building's roof and quickly pressed a foot down on its ribs to stop it from sliding down the slightly curved surface. He wanted a place where he could display what had become of the creature he thought so foul, not to deliver a snack to whatever might be roaming through the area. He spared a moment to look at the stars spread across the sky over the swamp and narrowed his eyes. More than half the night was gone, with sunrise not too far off. He was glad he had stolen a few hours of rest back when he was following the sail-back to this forsaken stretch of land. After he was done here, he'd hazard to get some more. After the last few days fewer were more deserving of it than he and his partners, he was convinced. Even the unfortunate mutant that Ripper, in his wisdom or sick humor, paired him with.

He looked at the body again. "You just made my job a lot harder. No... not quite. You are the reason I have this damned mission in the first place, aren't you? Or at least, a pretty big cause of it. That megaraptor off in the jungle? Those raptors in Death Valley? I don't know anything about you... and come to think of it, I'm not too sure I want to find out how this whole mutant uprising thing started..."

The raptor took the troodon's arm in hand again and dragged its body across the roof. Over the brim of it, the pool came into view, extending out from the side of the building. He saw the broken barrier that surrounded it, the silvery vines dangling loosely. He saw the clumps of vegetation sitting at the surface. He saw the roots and other growths that clung to the sides. Not too far down from where he was, there was a railed balcony that wrapped around the uppermost section of the building. Aircrest imagined that, had anything come to drink, he would be seen standing over it. Perfect.

"This is what I think of your cause." Aircrest swiped the talons on his toes across one of the troodon's huge eyes, gouging it out without remorse. He did the same for the other, leaving holes filled with blood and gore, dangling strips of unidentifiable flesh. With a callous kick, he sent the troodon rolling down the edge of the roof, after which it came to a rest on the balcony with a weighty impact, its body twisted from the fall. Its head hung off the ledge in between the gaps in the rail.

Aircrest considered hopping down and getting more creative with his morbid showcase. He'd seen far worse in the form of those effigies lining the riverside and he could forgo restraint just this once... but those were a mutant's doing. There was ruthlessness and then there was being excessive. The mutant leader, hanging from a human cage, would be good enough, Aircrest decided. For now.

[saurus172]

Once the explanation of what had occurred earlier, the two carnotaurs sat down, waiting for the other's replies. For what seemed like hours passed by before the old pterosaur spoke. "This is a good news. But also terrible at the same time." A snort of disbelief swept over them as the largest of the group, the mature shunosaur bull spoke his worries. The dark blue sauropod spoke, only the tiniest amount of his fear emanate. "What can be worse than a mutated spinosaur that's been drivened mad with power lust. Tell me, ya old gull." The pair also wanted to know, no matter how horrible, giving gruffs of aggrence. Coaty screeched hoarsely, a look of dread on his beak. Sighing, he croaked,"If you want to know, I'll tell you before I must leave for a final spot to rest. The thing that can and will be worse than one mutated giant carnivore is many." The trio reared away at the thought of many mutants. They looked at each other in susprise. A gush of air and a hoarse, piercing screech told than all that Coaty, easily one of the oldest, wisest of the flyers, had left, soaring away and out of sight in seconds. As if on cue, the group seperated, the carnotaurs heading toward their den, the shunosaur heading back down the mountain slope for his herd...

A dragonfly flew in between a group of rough, wrinkled, pillar like tree trunks in an effort to shake off a blue archaeopteryx with yellow tips on his wings and tail. It was vain, however, as the archy swooped down and clamped his toothy beak on the insects body. The archy, his mouth full, flew up and onto a tanish orange hill, which gave a shudder and started to move forward. "Did you get a decent snack, Argues," a deep, feminine voice rumbled, a massive head on a extremely long neck turning slightly to stare at the miniscule bird, currently licking his muzzle, nestling down in between two spikes the size of a stegosaur's. "Ya, I got my favorite, a dragonfly currently sleeping in my gut. Now don't bother me Balen, I'm exhausted from all this flying." The gigantic amphicoelias chuckled to herself, shoving a tree out of the way, the wood groaning in defiance. Ignoring the puny sound, the sauropod kept moving, heading toward the beach to lay her rare clutch of eggs.

[The Kingpin]

A crunch was heard as Hellfire pushed his broken target onto the jagged, rusted metallic bar; one of several encircling the overgrown part of the facility. The bulge in the corpse's flank lasted a few moments before bodyweight drove it the rest of the way through, the blood-stained rod a glistening crimson reminder to any mutant foolish enough to come here. He couldn't help but wonder, what would happen when the Mutants learned that they had an organised enemy against them. And what of Fatalis? He'd been around more than once while he and Aircrest were discussing plans. Was he really as ignorant as he let on? Would he turn on them before they turned on him? And if he did, would they see it coming? Would they be able to stop a creature that had spent its entire life tormenting creatures far more dangerous than himself? Things he had evaded effortlessly, indeed, things whose rage and fury were his amusement?

The subject of Hellfire's thoughts was meanwhile, dragging a raptor corpse up two flights of steps as he ascended higher into the facility. The sickening squelch of the bloodied, battered corpse would've turned the stomach of many, herbivore and carnivore alike, and as he proceeded onto the uppermost floor of the facility, the scene only grew more and more revolting. The unfortunate mutant had not been left to a respectable death. Not by a long shot. From it's throat all the way down to the base of its tail, it had been cleaved open, a jagged gash lined with broken ribs and hanging vital organs sliding wetly across the grated flooring, spilling bodily fluids onto the catwalks and facility floor, a long bloody trail following in its wake. Finally reaching one of the structure's shattered windows, Fatalis set a taloned foot firmly in its ribcage, kicking sharply on the rear portion of the corpse's internals, breaking the spine. Smirking, he stepped out of the gore and spun the corpse around, letting the upper portion hang off the edge, the hips, legs and tail counterbalancing it and keeping it from falling. The body hung over the pool below, heart, lungs, liver and intestines hanging out of the wide open ribcage, ribs broken into grotesque wings, a couple of ribs dropping from the corpse and into the liquid. Smirking, Fatalis leapt out of the window, onto the railing by Aircrest's own ghastly warning, turning around and looking back up at the dissected corpse hanging from the window, admiring his work...

[C S]

Aircrest silently turned away from the edge of the roof and started to walk across it, hiding his contempt for the half-breed in doing so. He could only trust that Fatalis had done something exceptionally and grievously disturbing to strike fear in the hearts of his fellow tainted kind. Had he not learned the things he had, he might have enjoyed the irony on some bitter level. Aircrest stopped on the side of the dome facing the inner compound and sighed at the thought of those who stood on the ground here before, the ones who cursed the island with this plague in their pursuit of incomprehensible goals. The ones who had cursed the island with the life Aircrest knew, period.

"********."

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

Trees.

He walked on. They were all over the damn island. No originality.

Ferns.

He ignored these false prophets. Just as they could conceal oneself in a time of need, they could also conceal one's end. Cannot be trusted.

Water. Underfoot, and standing.

He wasn't thirsty.

Strange construct. Tall, gray, strangled by vegetation, but unwilling to yield completely.

Intriguing.

The dark raptor approached with a look of considerable wonder in his single, intact eye. He had heard stories of such things, but, despite his nomadic lifestyle, had never seen one for himself. During his conflict against Nocturne - that *******! - he had learned much in the way of mutants, including just how they came to be. This, then, may very well be their origin.

Which meant whoever or whatever lived here owed him an eye.

Something splashed in the river that ran not far from the object of his infatuation. The raptor's sensitive hearing - strengthened by his impaired vision and years of dealing with said vision - brought the soft sound to his attention. In response, Darkness' single pupil became nothing more than a slit - the only evidence of his abruptly intense focus. The dark raptor stalked off in the direction of the water, blending into the muddy landscape as much as his dark hide could allow.

[The Kingpin]

Before long, Fatalis was back on solid ground, muddy earth beneath his taloned feet as he strode towards the entrance, waiting for his companions to join him. "Ugh...Why, Fatalis? You could've done anything with the kill, why such a disgusting show of it?" hissed Hellfire as he walked round the facility towards the Half-Mutant, Fatalis smirking. "The whole point is to scare 'em. Their own kin range from oddly coloured to twisted masses of meat and claw, do you really think a dead body hanging from a human cave is going to be enough to make them flinch? I don't. Cut it open, break its ribs, put its innards on display...make it look like something that was genuinely, brutally abused. Then you'll get their attention. Then they'll realise you're not playing around" hissed Fatalis. Hellfire mulled over the explanation, slowly nodding. "You do have a point...but then what makes us any different from them?" growled the Deinonychus.

"Not much. But then, when has any purpose worth spilling blood over differed from any other? Predators fight over territory. They fight over power. They fight over food. They fight for their lives and the lives of others. The only difference is in the ones fighting. For any target, there's a technique. You don't go behind an Anky, you attack it from the front. You don't attack a trike from the front, you go for the back. You want to hurt a Raptor, you aim for the legs, stomach or throat. If you're a Raptor you have to get under the Anky. If you're a Rex, you go through the neck and bite right through it. This is just the technique to get under their skin. And we both know there's nothing I know better than getting under others' skin" hissed Fatalis, a smirk on his muzzle at the surprised look the Deinonychus responded with.

[C S]

While the others were where the ground was untamed, Aircrest was back where the ground was still rock hard and crumbling. He had gone back into the complex and was taking his time descending its winding stairs and platforms, the lower levels of which reeked of blood. He saw limbs reaching out of the dark where the rays of light shone into the nightmarish place and hardened himself to the sights, the feel, of being surrounded by the dead. This was what it was like to kill for a higher cause, not for food, not for dominance and privilege, not for territory. The bodies would go to waste unless something truly desperate found its way into the building and gorged on the mutant flesh, thus marking itself for death in the raptor's purview. No one would recognize a band of raptors as the beginning of a tide to sweep across the island, no matter how many bodies they leave in their wake. A large enough foe would be quite a hurtle to overcome. Finally, there was no land that a bunch of roving raptors had interest in taking.

The killing done here, Aircrest realized as he stepped out of the facility's ground exit, was a systematic attack that, while it was initially meant to scatter a mutant nest, became an example to forces unseen. A precedent set: that no matter how much brute force they had, the mutants would be usurped by those they terrorized. Aircrest looked at the asphalt and frowned. There would be no way to determine where the last of the troodon's followers went. No footprints, scent trails rendered useless by the swamp. He could only hope that, wherever they were, they had the presence of mind to realize this themselves and spread the word that their victory was not as absolute as their leader believed.

[Hopeflower]

Alira's wide-eyed gaze tracked Blade's progress through the undergrowth, crouching slightly and digging her toe claws into the loose soil as though she were going to pounce. She edged forward, stalking her friend, her worries about her brother temporarily forgotten. Cirrus, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes and hoped he wasn't about to get dragged into something stupid. Hatchlings, the both of them.

[The Kingpin]

the rustling in the undergrowth stopped abruptly, a low growl coming from the Allosaur within. Another brief rustle. And then, Blade's figure could be seen walking -backwards, as it happened- out of the undergrowth, shaking his head to try and get rid of some dusty grey thing covering most of his muzzle. Finding no way to get rid of it, her turned and bolted, charging head on for Alira, a massive cobweb wrapping most of his muzzle, a particularly large, fat, rather hairy spider perched on top of it. Aurora eyed them, eyes widening in surprise. "Blade, watch out fo-" she started, but it was too late, the female cringing at the subsequent collision...


"Seems there's more to being a pain in the neck than meets the eye" hissed Hellfire once he'd gotten over his surprise. "My friend, I have turned it into a fine skill no less grand than hunting or courtship" hissed Fatalis with a chuckle. "Right. Didn't need to picture that. Let's go find Aircrest and put this place behind us. I've had enough mutants for one day" growled the Deinonychus as he started walking, the Raptor following close behind...

[saurus172]

Balen reared up, towering above almost every tree. She glanced around, seeing a pterosaur cross the sky in seconds and caught the unmistakable scent of large theropod. What kind, she couldn't say. All her nostrils told her that there was at least one and it was near. She would have to be careful, even if it is a single allosaur. She quickly lowered down onto all fours, beginning to feel a headache. She glanced at her tiny companion, hoping he doesn't wake up. She bellowed, risking her skin as headed deeper into the unknown carnivore's territory...

[Hopeflower]

With no time to process what was happening, Alira had no chance to avoid Blade. She squealed with surprise as she was bowled over, flipping head over tail in a tangle of limbs and cobweb. The unfortunate spider, propelled by Blade's momentum, smacked the female square between the eyes and somehow managed to hang on for dear life, much to her dismay. Half pinned under the other youngster, she flailed mostly ineffectually, sending dirt flying - but the spider stayed right where it was.

Savarna stared, taken completely by surprise by the whole scene. Her jaw hung slightly slack as she tried to decide whether to help her daughter...or laugh. Cirrus had no such reservations, openly cackling at the pair's misfortune.

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

"Don't give me that ****!" the raptor spat, clawing a wad of mud into the water. "I know what you are! You owe me an eye!"

The water was alive with movement. Disturbed by the dark raptor's fury, the reptiles living within had been roused from their idle behavior. One, close enough to the shore to be in range, was hit by the raptor's attack, spraying mud across its nose and jaws. With a surge, the crocodile lunged from the water, its mutant nature giving it a very short fuse.

The reptile's snout was scored with claws before it made contact, cutting jagged lines of red across its scales. Darkness took a step back - screaming obscenities - as more of the beasts gathered around.

And, despite the raptor's apparent rage, a twisted grin creeped its way across his maw.

[C S]

"Damn... how short of attention span do mutants have?" Aircrest thought coarsely. "So much for them warning the others about what's coming to them!" The raptor bolted across the asphalt towards the river, but awkwardly stopped himself when he saw what was responsible for the sudden commotion. He nearly tumbled over himself at the sight of... a regular raptor, fighting a mutant crocodile. Bizarre. He regained his balance and composure, keeping his distance, not wanting his appearance be the distraction that got the newcomer killed. That would be rubbish.

[Hopeflower]

With a gentle push from a clawed foot, Steeltalon rolled the dozing Silver off of her. The younger female grunted a sleepy protest and cracked open one eye. "Whassgoinon?" she slurred, nowhere near awake. The half-breed couldn't stop a soft chuckle. "Nothing. Go back to sleep." Silver didn't need to be told twice, her eye already shut again before Steeltalon finished speaking. She rolled over a few times, trying to get comfortable again, as the black and white 'raptor moved away nearly soundlessly. She noticed the suspicious glance Astus threw at her, but with the ease of practice, she pretended not to have seen. She slid between a couple of bushes and left the group's sight. Steeltalon scented the air as she made her way to the small pool they'd managed to find before they'd settled to rest - it seemed to be all that was left of what had once been a sizable pond. It was surrounded by a vast ring of mud, cracked and deceptively dry-looking. Underneath the surface, though, a deadly trap awaited any animal that didn't watch its step. When she pushed her way into the open again, the strong reek of decay rolled out to meet her. Ordinarily, she wasn't above scavenging and her stomach might've growled - but these animals were long dead. She'd only make herself sick if she ate that meat. Carefully, she picked her way down to the water, shaking her head irritably as huge swarms of flies buzzed around her. The eyeless, skinless skull of some kind of half-rotted toothy fish gaped up at her and she snorted in disgust when she noted its eye sockets were crawling with maggots. Taking care not to hurry over the sticky mud at the water's edge, Steeltalon crouched when she reached it and began to drink swiftly, aware of her own weight pressing her feet into the soft, yielding earth. The water was warm, dirty, and tasted of dead and dying fish, but it was water. And water too shallow to hide any crocodiles, for that matter, for which she was grateful. It was bad enough that she had to worry about the ground trying to swallow her. The mud threatened to seep over the tops of her toes, and she knew that her time was up. She lifted her dripping muzzle and hopped backwards until she felt drier land under her feet, then turned and started in the direction she'd come from.

[The Kingpin]

The two looked at eachother, tilting their heads in surprise as they walked around the structure, soon spotting Aircrest, and after that, the Raptor by the river. "What the..." was Hellfire's only response. "This'll be good" hissed Fatalis, smirking...



Blade struggled to get free of the tangle of limbs he found himself trapped in, Aurora stifling an uncharacteristic giggle as her son scrambled, finally getting free, only to stumble forward and trip, colliding with Cirrus, managing to finally get rid of the web, which found itself wrapped over the other Allosaur's eyes and neck. "Blade, you really are disaster-prone" she growled through her laugh...

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

Ignorant to the new arrivals, both on dry land and around it in the water, the frenzied reptile lunged for a second time.

...And was met with claws.

It hesitated, let out a hiss, and surged forward.

...And, once again, was left with more wounds than it started with.

This cycle seemed fit to continue for eternity, with the crocodile's unnatural aggression fueling its futile attacks, and the raptor's deranged sense of humor keeping him from finishing the job.

[C S]

Aircrest watched with an expression of neutrality up to a point, the downward slant of the corners of his mouth the only sign of his thoughts. "Oh good. Another one." If it was not mutants, it was another unique personality the likes of that blasted Fatalis. It was things like this that made Aircrest appreciate Hellfire just a little more. In addition to being claw and muscle, he had personality inverse to his stature.

"... Oi," Aircrest called out to the stranger, having a feeling that he'd be standing in place until the next sunset if he simply waited for him to be finished with his... game.

[Hopeflower]

Cirrus jumped to his feet, sending Blade rolling off of his back and scratching at the sticky web. It didn't matter if the only spider was currently clinging to Alira's face, he didn't want to take the chance of having any freaky eight-legged babies on him. Alira, meanwhile, sent the arachnid flying with a well-placed swat, clambered to her feet and went chasing after it.

[The Kingpin]

"I wouldn't-" started Hellfire, stopping after he realised there was no point. Aircrest had already attempted to get the Raptor's attention. The last thing he wanted was to deal with another lunatic on the team. He already had one, possibly two to deal with. Then again, was it really a case of lunacy? or just excessive care for the matter where he could muster none? Another of the world's great mysteries thought the Deinonychus. Fatalis stood silent, though obviously enthusiastic. with the quills on his head standing vertical, eyes wide and a smirk on his muzzle, he looked just about ready to join the other Raptor in tormenting the crocs, even as the massive Deinosuchus that had brought down the Spinosaur drifted beneath the surface once more...



Cirrus's scratching tore what turned out to be an egg sack within the web, hundreds of tiny spiders spilling from within and skittering across the Allosaur's arm, head and back, down his neck and onwards across his form, Blade leaping back almost immediately as he saw the arachnids, running and curling up at his mother's side, Aurora meanwhile no longer able to contain her amusement, laughing openly at the sheer chaos her son had caused...