Chapter Text
San Diego Bay, October 26th 2011
Owen couldn't help but be curious about his impending visitors. It wasn't necessarily odd for civilians to be guided around for a tour, Hell, when he was still fresh to the program he'd given a tour himself. What made the situation odd to him was the fact that these visitors had apparently requested to see him, and all he knew was that they were from Masrani Global with an Ingen representative, civilians that were a bit higher class than the usual tourists.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what they were going to want though. He doubted that a park filled with dinosaurs would ever NOT need new handlers, after all. He couldn't imagine they didn't need either regular replacements, or just additional hands on deck to handle the prehistoric giants. He figured it was more likely they just needed a bit of new blood for something new though. Otherwise this could've just been done over email instead of doing a whole tour.
Then again, maybe the rex handler did get eaten or something...
Instead of getting dressed up for a couple of big wigs, he dressed as he normally would. Casually. No reason to dress formally for a couple of guys in suits he had never met before after all, and why disrupt his regular routine either? Wearing just a white T and board shorts with a pair of sandals, it was appropriate attire for his work, something he was sure they'd be able to appreciate. This is what they were coming to see in the first place anyway, not to see him dress up.
They'd want a look at the real him if they wanted to hire him, he just had to make sure to give it to 'em.
He was torn from his thoughts by a trio of chatters, and raised an eyebrow at the three bottlenose dolphins poking their heads out of the water. They seemingly had a knowing look as, in unison, they turned to look at the bucket of fish by his feet. Filled with a mixture of different sea-foods, Owen having specifically chosen each based on what the individual dolphins preferred. Considering they'd just finished up with their first set of drills they were due a couple of treats, and Owen was more than happy to indulge them.
"Foxtrot, you're up!" He raised a clicker up in his left hand and clicked it five times, the dolphin to his left rising out of the water with a chatter. Grinning, Owen went and took a squid out of the bucket and tossed it to Foxtrot, the bottlenose diving before he tossed it just to breach the water and catch it in the air. Owen smiled at Foxtrots showmanship before moving on to the next in line, using his clicker six times as he spoke, "Alright Golf, your turn!" The dolphin in the middle chattered and backed up, the trainer tossing Golf a mackerel. Lastly, giving the clicker seven more clicks, he addressed the last dolphin, "And last but not least, Hotel!" Hotel gave a low chatter as he swam back, Owen tossing the rightmost dolphin a cod. Hotel gently grabbed the fish from the water before consuming it, chattering in what he had come to learn was appreciation before swimming off with the others for a bit of well earned downtime.
"Well, you certainly know what you're doing!" Owen turned to find one of the interns guiding a pair of men his way, one being a man roughly around the same age as him and wearing a grey suit with a lavender undershirt. He had a warm smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye with laugh lines around his eyes. His dark hair was brushed neatly and though Owen wouldn't say the choice of apparel was all that practical, considering where he was, he was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the first of the two suits seemed to be pleasant so far. "My name is Simon Masrani, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"
Owen decided to give a warm smile, giving the intern a look and nodding. The intern nodded back and left to get back to his own duties, while Owen handled his guests, "Owen Grady, pleasure's all mine, though I think you already knew that. Can't say I thought the head of Masrani Global himself would come to meet little ole me though." He put his hand out and Simon gripped it in a firm shake Owen noted with approval, "I can't help but wonder who the guest you brought with you is?" He glanced at the man standing just a little behind Simon, who had made no move to introduce himself as he observed.
The man that Simon had brought with him was a bit older, and not quite as warm as his companion. His dark hair was kept relatively short and tidy, seemingly being of Asian descent. Owen couldn't help but feel a cold shiver go up his spine at the way Simons compatriot looked at him though. His gaze was frosty as he looked him over, examining him slowly. Owen couldn't help but feel like he was about to be put under the scalpel and dissected, straightening his back just a little more as they faced each other. Despite the blazing sun above he was wearing a long sleeved black turtleneck, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, paired with grey pants. Eventually he held out a hand to shake, the Navy dolphin trainer warily grabbing the offered appendage, "Doctor Henry Wu, Doctor Wu for short." Owen couldn't help but note there was no mention of friends calling him Henry, "We're here to talk to you about a job offer we think you'll be interested in."
'No shit captain obvious, wanna be promoted to major?' Owen thought to himself, crossing his arms as he looked at the renowned geneticist, "Yeah, I figured you were coming here for a job offer already. Or was that all just a coverup so you can have a look at the nice dolphins?" The smartest idea to be a smartass at the moment? Probably not. Yet he still couldn't help but feel unnerved by Wu.
"As nice as the dolphins are, no, we're not here for them." Masrani had a twinkle in his eye as he stepped in, getting in front of Dr. Wu, "You're correct about why we are here, though the offer itself may surprise you." Simon took over the reigns of the conversation, rather than allowing his colleague to continue, "We are in need of skilled, experienced trainers and handlers, and frankly your military background and experience, combined with your experience working with animals makes you an excellent candidate for the position that we had in mind. Show us around, will you?" Owen raised an eyebrow and turned away, motioning for them to follow along the dock with a handwave to the next group of animals, a group of sea lions he had recently started working with.
"I'm sure you're already aware of why we are here, Mr. Grady. Jurassic World! We're constantly in need of skilled handlers, in particular those for the carnivores. The herbivores have plenty challenges of their own, but right now they are in plentiful good hands." Owen raised an eyebrow at the turn in conversation, able to see where it was heading unsurprised. "However, we need a trainer for a brand new group of carnivores we plan to introduce, a species I have yet to have produced for the park. And one Ingen has not made in a lab in quite some time, for good reason."
Owen quirked an eyebrow in interest, the curiosity he had earlier bubbling to the forefront. He was a little surprised that he was selected to help introduce an entirely new species, though. "And what exactly is it that you want me to handle? Gettin some new big and tough dinosaur like the t-rex? Getting a giga or somethin ready to cook up in the labs?" Though the inner child in him bubbled with excitement at the thought of working with dinosaurs, especially a large carnivore, there was also some concern. Aquatic mammals were one thing, it was pretty easy to avoid harm with them for the most part, especially if you treated them right, but prehistoric predators? That was a whole other ballpark, and one he wouldn't be able to escape quite as easily. Though they would probably give him some sort of crash-course on handling said prehistoric predators, right?
"No. We're planning to introduce velociraptors to the park. Or I suppose reintroduce would be the better term to use." Owen froze where he was at the mention, all thoughts of a training crash course proceeding to then crash into the ground, his two visitors stopping as well, "With your military training and expertise, as well as past experience with handling highly intelligent animals in particular, we figured you'd be an excellent candidate for a raptor training program." The way he threw out the idea of Owen training raptors of all things so nonchalantly got the man to turn about and do a double take as he looked at the doctor, the man seemingly unbothered by the suggestion. Though when Owen examined them further, the animal trainer noticed the way Wu seemed to almost be challenging him as he stared at him, the scientist carrying an air of haughtiness about him.
If he were a betting man, he'd think the good doctor didn't think he had the chops for it.
He licked his lips as he brought a hand up to his forehead, already feeling the start of a headache coming on as he anticipated just how this conversation was going to go now, "So, alright. You want me to train velociraptors. Let's pretend that I'm going to entertain the idea. Am I supposed to be someone's lackey, sole handler for one of the raptors, main assistant to the project lead? Like, where the hell am I supposed to fit in all this?" He was being a bit rude, he knew, but considering the offer on the table he was thrown off guard. It needed to be the offer of a lifetime to sell it to him, having been one of many to hear of what the raptors at Jurassic Park and Site B did to people, and one of the few to have gotten a more personal account of the events that had ended up taking place.
Simon placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him away from Wu, the doctor not at all bothered at the attention being diverted away from him as he impatiently waited for the two to finish talking while tapping his foot, "Your place in all this, Owen, is as the project lead. If you accept the offer, we'll put you in charge. You'll get a good salary, health insurance, a 401k that we'll match, residence on the island of your choosing, and much more. All other members of the project either need to be approved by you, or personally selected by you. You didn't think I and Henry came out here just to give such a menial offer in person, even if it does involve raptors, did you?"
He couldn't help but turn a little red considering that was exactly what he had been thinking, even if it didn't make much sense in hindsight. After all, if there was already a project leader and he was a good fit, they would've been there to tag along with Masrani and happy Henry, if Masrani and Henry would've come at all. He brought a hand to the back of his head and looked away, "I, ah, may have assumed that was the case. Even if it didn't really make sense. So, how many raptors will I be working with at the start, and I assume they'll all be female? And is there some sort of holdin area or a cage already set up, or will that be done with my input?"
"Their paddock will be made to your specifications, and the eggs have yet to begin incubation yet though yes, they will all be female. We'd rather not have a breeding population of velociraptors on the island. The first groups size will depend on you and of course you'll be the one to personally handle them from the moment they hatch, you can go from there if you think the pack ever gets ready for more when they get older. You won't start right away, so that way you can get your affairs in order and do some research on the animals and the island first. There is more that can be discussed at a later date, though of course that's if you accept?" If the smile on his face said anything, Masrani could tell he already had him hooked. It was a great job after the navy, considering both the benefits and pay. The biggest problem was the fact that he'd be dealing with a group of some of the most intelligent carnivores on the planet.
Though if he was being perfectly honest with himself, he had a feeling that they wouldn't at all compare to some of his exes from back in high school.
The dolphin trainer sighed as he brought a hand up and dragged it across his face, knowing that he may just end up regretting this in the future. Assuming he ended up living long enough to experience his regrets. Luckily enough for him, he already had a few people in mind who could give him a hand with this little project of Simons and make sure he got out the other side alive and, hopefully, in one piece. He gave Masrani a smile, and another shake of their hands as he told him, "Alright, I'm in."
San Diego, January 5th 2012
Owen was currently within his living room, a cold beer in hand as he leaned over the laptop currently set on his coffee table. The room was, overall, bare. He had a TV in his bedroom, and the walls were painted a gentle cream. The only decoration that could be found were pictures of friends and family spread out on a bookshelf opposite the couch. Pictures that ranged from when he was a kid that was brought along to his parents expeditions, to high school, to when he joined the military to now. He was sat on an old leather couch as he listened to his caller, wincing as he was berated for the umpteenth time.
"Owen, I understand the lure of the job, trust me when I say that I know more than anyone else, but I'm telling you that you can't go to that island and work with velociraptors! Of all the animals that I told you about from those damned islands, the one you choose to work with is the velociraptors? Have you not listened to a single damn thing I've told you?" It wasn't the first time he'd had this conversation in the passing months with Alan, the man having been an extremely close friend of his fathers and been like family growing up, and frankly Owen was certain it wouldn't be the last time they did have a debate over this topic. Though it wasn't like there wasn't a reason to be worried after all, the raptors would be highly dangerous to work with. Even if they did imprint on him from a young age.
Then again, any animal had the capability to be dangerous. All you had to do was look at most domesticated animals to see proof of that.
He sighed and leaned his elbows on the coffee table, "Look, Alan, I get it. Trust me, believe it or not I have listened to everything you've told me about the raptors. You're a part of the reason I took the job in the first place. Masrani and his people seem to think that the raptors can be tamed and turned into some sort of star attraction, despite the havoc the raptors caused in Jurassic Park, but I know better. Best if its someone who has an understanding of them from a direct source, rather than someone who doesn't know what the hell they're doing, right? That way there, less people get eaten. It's as simple as that." Though the great pay and all the extra benefits were definitely factors in why he had taken the job in the first place. Come on, paid for residence on a tropical island plus an excellent salary? That alone was highly tempting, "Besides, I'll have Barry with me to help keep my head screwed on tight!"
Not long after he had hashed out some of the details with Masrani he had gone and sought out Barry, knowing he'd need people he could trust to help with this little raptor project of theirs. Though he was understandably wary of the offer and the dangers involved once he'd started to do his own research on the subject he was still eager enough to give it a try, though Owen had a suspicion that part of the reason his old friend took the job in the first place was just to make sure he didn't get in over his head. There was already no doubt in Owen's mind as to where he would be putting Barry, being the only one he could trust as his right hand for such a fresh project. Finding more suitable staff to look after the raptors would prove to be tricky though, but with Barry's help he was certain they'd be able to find some suitable help to take care of the raptors.
The aging paleontologist sighed, seemingly exhausted just talking to Owen about what he felt like was a hair brained idea at best, and a disaster in the making at worst, "And thank God for that small miracle. With his help we should be able to make sure you don't get your head taken off by one of the raptors when you try to turn your back on them. I would rather not try to bury whatever the raptors decide to leave behind, if at all possible." At first Owen began to roll his eyes, being ready for a different response, only to freeze as he realized exactly what the old paleontologist was saying.
"Hold on there doc, 'we'? I thought Masrani already tried to give you a job offer as a consultant and you turned him down? Hell, I thought ya turned him down multiple times!" And truth be told, he couldn't blame him. Alan had made it clear whenever the topic of Jurassic World and its animals came up that he thought most of the dinosaurs were more monster than animal with few exceptions, on top of the events that had occurred on both Isla Nublar and the event with the Kirby's at Sorna. He had especially made his feelings clear on Ingens take on the raptors, even though none had been produced in recent years and the only ones still alive were in the wild on Isla Sorna. The fact that he was coming back to the island for a job to specifically deal with raptors of all things just seemed rather... well, insane for a lack of a better word.
The older man leaned away from his laptop and grabbed a glass of ice water that sat nearby, taking a sip as he let Owen stew in anticipation regarding his news, "About a week ago Masrani gave me another call, a last ditch effort to try and get me to work for him at his park. He wanted me to be a consultant, but knowing what you were gonna try and do, I decided I'd request to work with you in their little raptor program instead. Masrani said all new applicants needed your approval before they could officially join the program, but he seemed happy that he was finally getting me into his little park, one way or another. He did say that if I were to be a part of the project he would extremely appreciate me still serving as a consultant in some form." In other words, though his main job would be to assist Owen, he would have to help advise Masrani and the managerial part of the park whenever they needed him.
Owen was certainly glad that Masrani seemed to be sticking to the terms of their agreement though, even if he would've been more than fine with Alan being a part of the project without his approval in the first place. Barry would certainly be helpful, the man knew what he was doing and Owen knew he was an honest and trustworthy friend, but he would need more people that he could trust beyond just Barry and Alan. He knew security would be another matter to consider, even if the park had its own security crews he'd rather not take away from them considering how many animals they had to watch over as it is, as well as the fact that he felt he would be able to trust the staff around his raptors more if security was personally handled by him. He didn't feel it would be too difficult to put his own personal security detail together.
After all, the more people that he knew personally were trustworthy, the less of a chance there was for there to be some sort of security breach. He was sure that all the parks staff were checked over to make sure they could be trusted with the safety of the visitors and the other workers, but he couldn't afford to take the risk. A security breach was something that could not be tolerated when you were dealing with something as vicious and intelligent as the velociraptors, and all it would take is a single instance of laziness, incompetence, or espionage.
A single instance could be their end.
He was broken out of his thoughts by Alan as he continued speaking, the greying man seemingly taking the silence as an invitation to continue, "Plus I will admit, it will be nice to get away from the dig sites and do some easier work for a change. If you wouldn't mind, I also got a few more people in mind who I figure could be useful for this little raptor project, and could prove as good staff for the rest of the park if they end up being needed. I'm sure you remember Billy and Ellie, if I go along they'll be interested for sure. Got an ex-merc in mind as well, and he's dealt with raptors before back on Nublar."
Owen knew the first two he mentioned, Billy still being a huge fan of dinosaurs despite his encounters on Isla Sorna and was, if anything, even more fascinated with the velociraptors after the trip. Ellie, being a paleobotanist on the other hand, would be invaluable when it came to setting up the plant life for the paddock as well as their diet, as well as the diet of their diet and unlike Alan, still expressed some interest in working with the animals of Jurassic World. As far as he knew, she never took the job earlier for the sake of her family, among other things.
If Alan could bring along at least three additional trustworthy staff members to the crew, then he only had a single response. Owen gave a warm smile as he leaned back, "Send me their applications for review and approval."
Notes:
And so I hope you all enjoyed! Now it may seem a bit odd that both Simon and Henry went to go for Owen, and to be completely honest if he had the exact same relationships as he did in canon, then its not as likely that they would've chosen him or that they would have both gone out to see him (Which obviously never happened in canon.)
The main change that makes him worth seeing from in canon, is his connection to Alan. Now the simple idea is that when doing background checks it really wouldn't be difficult to find that Owen is close to Alan, and its that connection that makes him much more invaluable. We already clearly know just from his canon showing that Owen is a highly capable trainer and has done about as well with the raptors as anyone could be expected to and so would be considered to lead the program in this fic, but its that magic Grant connection that makes him the best choice. Alan still does not approve of Jurassic World, and as of JP3 as little as it makes sense, he sees ALL the animals made by Ingen as engineered theme park monsters. Alan is a famous paleontologist who has personal experience with the animals made by Ingen. Get him into the park, not only do you get someone who already has an idea on what they're working with that is an expert on dinosaurs, but you also get a better look for the park in the public eye. "Look, see this expert here? This guy who has publicly denounced the animals made by our partner company and the animals in this very park? He works for US now!" Its a PR move as much as it is a sensible one.
And of course with Alan comes the potential for all his connections. Ellie Sattler, Ian Malcolm, Billy Brennan, as well as numerous paleontologists. All people that would be either well known in the public for the Nublar incident (As well as San Diego in Malcolm's case.) or be well respected for their knowledge and expertise when it came to dinosaurs.
Oh, and the names of the dolphins was meant to imply that it wasn't his first group of dolphins that Owen had trained, for anyone wondering.
I hope my explanation makes sense, and that you all enjoyed the first chapter!
Chapter 2: The First Day
Summary:
Owen and the current members of his project group arrive on Nublar, with Alan and Ellie getting to meet back up with an old friend in the process.
Notes:
Hyello everybody! So this chapter has been rewritten and edited, well, a lot to say the least ha ha! There's still some bits I'm not all that happy with, but I think I've got it where I want it for now. I may go back and do some more edits at some point, but nothing major. There is a bit of a timeskip from the first chapter to this one, because I'll be honest, I don't think anyone (myself included) would've been all THAT interested in going through a filler chapter for the recruitment of the group that could have very easily been explained in a few sentences/paragraphs, ya know? Anyway, hope y'all enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
February 1st, 2012 Jurassic World ferry
On board the ferry among the throngs of visitors excitedly chattering about their visit to the dinosaur theme park, Owen and his group stuck together as they eagerly anticipated their arrival to the island. It was a huge tropical island, one only a few hundred square miles larger than the largest island in hawaii. It was a small group to start with, though in Owen's professional opinion it was an excellent group and would serve as a good start, at least for now. It was certainly better than building the project from the ground up with just himself and Barry to start off with like he had originally planned.
Alan had his signature red handkerchief and cowboy hat, wearing a pair of faded old jeans he had worn out on more than a few expeditions over the years, along with a pair of boots and a grey button up. Ellie Degler, formerly Sattler, stood next to him with her hair tied up in a bun, dressed in her own pair of older faded jeans, a white undershirt, and a short sleeved red button up. Despite the clear excitement and anticipation, there was also a certain amount of trepidation about them as they remained somewhat tense, something Owen couldn't blame either of them for.
He may have been excited to go, but he wasn't the one who had experienced what it was like to be hunted by some of the most cunning and relentless killers to have ever walked the planet. All without being human to boot. To Owen, it was a wonder the two were bothering to try and even step foot on the island at all, despite how much time had passed. Much less that they were willing to work with raptors in the first place.
Billy on the other hand seemed completely unbothered by the potential danger he was heading for in this new job, perhaps due to him suffering on Sorna rather than Nublar (And the fact that he brought the raptors wrath upon himself), tapping his foot anxiously as they got closer to the island. Alan had told him at one point that he, too, had been offered a job by Simon at one point for his experiences on Isla Sorna and his own expertise, but he declined in favor of continuing his work with Alan. When Alan decided to go however, Billy was more than eager for the opportunity. He wore a pair of cargo shorts and an opened up button up with rolled up sleeves and a white t underneath and a pair of sneakers.
Towering above all of them and bulging with muscle to boot however, despite his age, was Oscar Morales. A man Owen was more than aware was not to be trifled with, not unless he was looking to get a shattered collarbone.
Despite easily being in his fifties, he didn't seem to have lost an ounce of his strength. Owen didn't know too much about the guy personally, only that he had come face to face with some of Jurassic Park's original raptors on more than one occasion and managed to survive to tell the tale. If there was anyone fit to take the lead for the programs security, it was him. He had short salt and pepper hair and facial hair, wearing a sleeveless shirt and a dark green vest over the top of it as well as a pair of jeans and combat boots, with many tattoos covering his arms and torso.
And of course there was the first person to actually join his little raptor crew, and the only one that hadn't been brought on through a connection to Alan, at least at the moment. Owen had met Barry early on in his career as a part of the navy, the Frenchman having worked with Owen on several joint training exercises. The two had kept in touch ever since, Owen having selected him for his own background in both the military and training animals. The dark-toned Frenchman wore some kaki shorts as well as a t-shirt with a safari jacket, looking completely at ease and relaxed as he spoke with Alan and Billy.
Owen, though he tried not to show it, was a complete nervous wreck. His hands felt clammy as he resisted the urge to continuously wipe them off on his pants, despite the fact that they hadn't even arrived on the island yet. Despite the team he had assembled so far and the amount of power being given to him to make sure this project ran as smoothly as possible, it didn't change the fact that there were numerous things that could go wrong. Especially on a giant island that was regularly packed with over five hundred thousand daily visitors.
Turning the island into an all you can eat dinosaur buffet wasn't exactly on his bucket list.
He had made sure to go over the few details available to the public from Ingen regarding the raptors they had made in the past, having had to mostly consult Alan and Oscar for their expertise on the matter. Billy was an expert in his own right, but there was nothing the young man would know that would supersede Grants own past knowledge and experiences. Alan had spoken to Owen's father before they left to reveal that he would be going along to make sure he kept his friends son alive, Owen having had to hold back his retorts to reveal Alans own need to satiate his curiosity.
As they got closer to the island he could see Alans and Ellie's eyes glazing over with nostalgia, becoming lost in thought as they looked upon the island once more for the first time in nearly twenty years, though if Owen was being honest the ferry landing and the monorail station did slightly ruin the beautiful view of the island. He watched as Ellie placed a hand on Alans shoulder and muttered to him, "We're back." So quietly he had thought he misheard her at first. The paleontologist only nodded silently in response, seemingly still lost in thought. Despite the horrors he had faced in the Jurassic Park incident, Owen had a feeling there was one particular event he was reliving. It was still the moment the aging paleontoligst told him about with the most awe and reverence.
That moment he first encountered a dinosaur. When he first saw a brachiosaurus slowly marching up to a tree. Whenever he spoke of that moment, his eyes would gloss over and a small smile would come to his face as he thought of the moment. Something Ellie had once described as magical, and if Owen was being honest he couldn't blame them. He could only imagine what it had felt like to be in their shoes, especially considering their professions.
Oscar didn't seem to share the sentiment however as he frowned at the island, scoffing at the job they were heading for, "Seems it doesn't matter what name they put over their little park. They never learn from their mistakes." Though Owen raised an eyebrow at the former merc, he did what he'd been told. Oscar had been sent by Ingen to rescue a few stragglers on the island, including Jurassic World's current head veterinarian. The big guy had come into contact with a pack of raptors several times, likely the offspring of the pack that had been killed by the tyrannosaur. He'd managed to kill one of them, and had his back shredded by another in return. The only reason he was still alive was luck, and Dr. Harding managing to get the raptors to start fighting each other. He barely survived his wounds and the groups subsequent escape from the island after having received some first aid.
With such an experience in mind, he could only assume that he was coming along to make sure that no one was put in a similar situation by his raptors. Oscar would likely be waiting for the moment where they became a threat to the island, for the very moment where he would have to put the animals down. Owen spoke to the merc as he thought about this, a small smile coming to his face, "You see, even though they may never learn, that's why we're here. To make sure that their guests don't end up being on the menu."
Oscar smirked as he turned back to the island. Little did the group know how their perception on the raptors would change over time. As well as their view of the work that was being done at Jurassic World.
Including some unforeseen little bumps in the road.
Jurassic World, Ferry Landing
Once off the boat, Oscar took note of a young woman that stood in the middle of the landing dock with long dark hair, a white blouse, and a pair of light skinny jeans holding up a sign that simply read, "Project group". With the way her gaze momentarily flickered over to Alan with recognition was when he was near certain that she was there for them, luckily making sure to not make it too obvious what sort of project was coming together. The last thing they needed was to be swarmed for being raptor trainers.
Though, they really could have tried to be at least a little more subtle than having a woman hold a big sign to get their attention. It seemed Simon wasn't really one for subtlety.
Oscar pointed the woman out to the others, prompting the small group to make their way to her with Owen in the lead. The young man put a hand out for her to shake, something that was returned by the waiting stranger, "The names Owen Grady, we're here for the project. I assume you're the one who was sent to show us around?" A guide of some sort was to be expected, considering they would be completely lost on what to do without one. None of them had visited Isla Nublar as it is, after all.
They made the right assumption, with the young woman giving them a small smile, "Zara Young, and that would be correct. If you'll follow me onto the monorail, I'll take you to where you'll be staying until you can properly settle in and have your residences set up." With that, Zara turned away from the project group, leading them towards the monorail with Owen making a mental note on the British accent. It was during the monorail ride that Ellie and Allen couldn't help but smile softly as the monorails gates opened, showing them something neither had thought would come to be. Something that neither had dared to hope for, despite the tragedy that occurred.
Hammonds dream becoming a reality, his life's work finally brought to fruition.
Jurassic World, Main street
It hadn't taken long to settle their things in the hotel rooms provided for them, the hotel meant to be a temporary residence until they figured where they wanted the project to reside as well as making it easier to find them for when the creation labs were ready for a tour. The lodgings were really nice, the group having been offered three rooms, each with two queen sized beds with a lamp and small desk between them. Most of the furnishings were done with a polished hardwood along the top and bottom of the walls, warm ceiling lights, and cream painted walls. A desk with a chair could be found in each room, as well as a large flat screen TV embedded in the wall opposite the beds. The bathrooms featured clean marble counters and white tile, the faucets for the shower and sink shining. On each desk was a pair of laminated VIP passes, one for each member of the group to use while they got around the park.
More than acceptable accommodation's for all of them until more permanent places of residence were established, though in the meantime none of them wanted to stay cooped up in their rooms. They grouped up in what would be Owen and Barry's room, the two veterans having already laid claim to the beds they wanted and set down their things. Owen clapped, a grin on his face as he looked around, "Alright, so we're here. Question is, what's first on the table? Don't think the lab is gonna be ready for us for a minute, so we should have some time to kill. Any suggestions?"
Oscar remained silent as the group debated where they should go.
"Would be nice to see the aviary, y'know, the way its intended to be. Be a whole lot better than getting swarmed by the pterosaurs like last time." Billy suggested. Owen, personally, would've expected him to avoid the aviary rather than want to pay it a visit, though he could see where he was coming from.
"The gyrosphere valley would be interesting, I wouldn't mind getting a look at what the herbivores are getting into. Or getting a look at them while they're healthy, rather than when they've gotten sick off of a toxic plant."
"I think paying a visit to the mosasaur is a must!" Barry exclaimed, a smile on his face, "An aquatic predator that size? It may be a bit overblown, but I think we have to see it for ourselves eh Owen? Could you imagine-"
Further discussion was cut off by the not terribly distant roar. It echoed across the park, the island as a whole seemingly going silent for a few brief moments before everything went back to normal. A light had entered Alan's eyes as he looked out the window. Though he couldn't see the exhibit that held the animal responsible, he knew who that had come from. "How about the tyrannosaur exhibit? Think paying respect to one of the older animals on the island might be a better way to start the day. Then we can move on and check out everything else that the island has to offer."
Ellie was already nodding in agreement, a similar light having come to her once she had heard the roar. The rest began to nod along as well, the mention of seeing a t-rex for those mostly unfamiliar (Billy's own encounter had been with a male that was killed not long after it came after them, after all) was something they couldn't quite pass up. After all, who hadn't been fascinated with t-rex when they were a kid?
Oscar sneered at the suggestion though, his shoulders tensing up as he looked around at the rest of the group. "We have to start there? Think I'd rather put off having to deal with that thing for as long as I can."
Owen shrugged though, and gestured to the rest of the group. "If you want to go off to do your own thing, you're free to do so. But I think at the moment, you're outvoted. So you can either come along, or you can stay behind and wait for us to come back. Or even just go to a different part of the park, and we can all meet up later. Either way, the choice is yours. I'm not gonna force you to do anything one way or another."
The old mercenary frowned at the options given and sighed, looking away. "Fine. Lead on, then. Let's go ahead and get this over with."
It didn't take them long to make their way over to the T-rex kingdom from their hotel, having been a relatively short walk from where they were staying. Luckily, they were able to skip the line due to the passes that had already been left for them in their rooms rather than waiting out in the heat. As they settled into the air conditioned viewing log and the show got close to its start, the handler for Rexy began to make his announcements, "Hello, ladies and gentlemen! It's a pleasure to have you all here to see the queen and the prince of our park! And, hopefully for some of you, to have you back again!"
Many of the visitors in the log cheered out, ready for the show to begin. "Alrighty folks, the star of the show is already on her way! I would say to give her a warm welcome, but I don't think our old gal would appreciate the noise." The first to step through the trees was already well known for being the pride of the park, the rex from the original park, affectionately named Rexy on the website by park workers. The name stuck, and as the ground shook beneath her might, she let loose a single roar to echo out over the park once again. Though bright scars lined her neck, they only seemed to add to the creatures majesty as she approached the pedestal holding her prey. "Rexy here is twenty four years old, and likely has many more years to go. The scars on her neck are from a couple of raptors she fought not long after the first park fell, saving a few survivors who hadn't made it off the island, myself included!"
As the rex had a look around her surroundings, her gaze lingering on the viewing log for but a few moments with her head tilted in curiosity. It could be noted that the older rex was just a bit thinner than she should be, though it didn't seem to hinder her all that much. Her amber eyes moved away from the viewing log, shifting to look at her handler standing on a platform that was raised on top of the log. It was soon made apparent that she was not alone, and that the humans weren't her only company.
She was answered by another tyrannosaur once he was closer, the ground shaking and the trees parting as a young adult made his way through the trees, a green hide marked down his back by dark green stripes. Gold blazed in his eyes while a warm amber settled in the gaze of the older female, a low rumble coming up from her chest as she greeted the younger rex. "What many people don't know is that the tyrannosaurs were social animals, settling into family groups. Rexy here has been alone for most of her life, up until she was given the chance to foster young Junior here! He lost his parents to poachers on Isla Sorna, our research island. We caught the men responsible, but not in time to save his parents. Luckily enough, our gal Rexy here was more than willing to step up as a parent. Though whether she would've been as willing to do so in the wild, we'll never know!"
The young male was but a few feet shorter in height and length than the female though he still crooned quietly at the sight of his adopted mother, even though he was an adult in his prime at this point. He moved over to rub his head under her jaw, the old ruler allowing it for a few moments before taking a step back to nip at him and get him focused on the task at hand. The goat was released from its chains, the small farm animal bolting in an attempt to get away from the two gargantuan predators. As it bleated in its panic, the crowd stayed silent, Junior fading back into the forest while Rexy made to chase the animal.
It didn't take long for the queen of Isla Nublar to catch up to the goat, the farm animal bleating in panic as it made to dart left and avoid Rexy's jaws. Yet in its bid to survive by escaping the queen, it missed that Junior had already caught up, darting into Juniors gaping maw as he burst forth from the trees. The green rex shook his head after having gotten a hold of the kill, the newer visitors gasping in shock and horror as half the goat came flying off, while the rest disappeared down Juniors gullet. Rexy took up the other half from where it landed, licking the top of her adopted sons head not long after.
Approval for a successful hunt.
"The two as you can see are quite close to one another, and Junior often follows his mothers lead. If she doesn't wish to show up for a show and to stay down for a nap or to patrol her kingdom, then her son will join her. Usually when something is wrong with one or the other, the healthier of the two will let us know somethings wrong. Good ole Junior here helped make us aware that mama was sick just last week!" Rexy seemed to glance up for a moment when she was referred to as mama by her handler, though she was quick to lose interest and melt back into the trees. Junior wasn't far behind her, the younger male looking back at the viewing log and growling at the humans within. "Seems like that will be all for this showing folks, if anyone has any questions or wants to know more about our little rex family, then feel free to stick around!"
While the platform lowered back into the log, unsurprisingly, most of the crowd left the log rather than stick around to ask more questions about Rexy, most of them being parents with over eager children who wished to see the next dinosaur on their list. However, Tim was surprised to see a few old friends and, little did he know, his soon to be coworkers. "Hey Timmy, been a while! Can't say I'm all that shocked that of all the animals you could've worked with, you chose them. They're both gorgeous animals."
Alan and Ellie lead the group, the young tyrannosaur handler opening his arms up with a grin as he embraced the paleo experts, "Alan, Ellie! It's been so long, how've ya been? Find anything interesting in your recent digs?"
"No, can't saw we have Tim. Though we decided that it was about time we stopped digging up bones and started working with some of the living specimens." Ellie smiled as Tim's eyes widened in a near cartoonish nature due to her reveal, with Owen and Barry snickering just a little behind the two at the look in his eyes while Oscar smiled, the former mercs eyes drifting to where the rexes had been every now and then, "We've been brought in on quite the special project, and we decided we could also work as consultants for the park. Help prevent another Jurassic Park or San Diego incident if we could, y'know?"
"We can talk about work later though, tell us a bit more about that young buck of yours. You said he was orphaned by poachers over on Isla Sorna?" The island was well known to the public at this point, having come to light during the San Diego incident after the tyrannosaur buck got off the ship in search of its infant, the very same tyrannosaur that resided in the T-rex kingdom with Rexy. Alan couldn't help but be concerned at the thought of people making regular trips to the island to hunt the animals, even if they shouldn't exist in the first place.
Here Tim sighed as he looked back out at the paddock, despite the fact that neither of the rexes were in sight, "Yeah. Because of the incident that made Sorna well known, despite the increased security around the island, a bunch of poachers have decided to try their luck with hunting dinosaurs over the years. They were able to kill a few dilophosaurus, as well as a few of the larger herbivores like the triceratops and the stegosaurus. None of them managed to bag any of the raptors, the packs are too large and you know more than anyone just how intelligent they are. Some of the hunters thought they could outsmart them and ended up paying for it."
Tim shook his head as he looked back at the raptor project group, "Then of course, there are the rexes and the Spinosaurus. Originally Ingen had eight rexes on the island, Rexy here is one of the originals. That meant there were seven adult tyrannosaurs on Sorna at the time of the incident, with only one known family group. A large group of hunters made it onto the island roughly a year or so after what happened in San Diego, and they were able to lure Junior's parents away from their nest, where the two were killed. Junior was large enough at that point to get away, though he was injured in his escape. We found him mourning what was left not long after. We brought him here and, well, the rest is history. Luckily we haven't had any issues with poachers attempting to get onto this island, though I imagine the fact we have a security detail on the island itself does the trick."
The members of the group couldn't help but shake their heads, with even Oscar softening up a bit. Owen frowned as he thought about a few of the things Tim had said and stepped forward, his arms crossed as he too looked into the tyrannosaur paddock with a frown, "You mentioned the Spinosaurus, and you said the raptors were too smart for the hunters to really hunt them. What did you mean by that?"
Tim looked over at Owen before smirking just a little, "Hunters after that incident began to get what was coming to them. Any that tried to get in by sea or landed on the northern part of the island were seemingly intercepted by the spino, and that animal was even more aggressive and far larger than the rexes. Every group that tried to bring him down ended up getting torn apart because all they could do was piss him off. Anyone that made it past the spino and got to shore or came in by plane or helicopter elsewhere was grabbed by the raptors. There's three major packs there, and each one is relatively close to a landing zone whether it be for the sea or the sky. And after those two rexes were killed, it seemed they only got that much more relentless in hunting human poachers. Either they had caught on to where these outside threats were coming from, or none of the animals appreciated how they were upsetting the food chain."
The fact that the raptors were all nested at zones humans were known to reside leant more credit to just how dangerous and intelligent they were. It meant they were staying close to a potential easy food source and, more than that, they were staying close to where potential threats to the island could invade. Perhaps it was nothing more than a good nesting spot, which was undoubtedly part of it, but considering Alans theories on just how intelligent raptors could be as well as the man's own experiences with them Owen wasn't willing to dismiss such thoughts out of hand. Though the fact that the aging Spinosaurus was acting to keep the peace as well was a bit surprising.
Well, that's assuming that was what the sail-backed carnivore was up to. He couldn't exactly ask him.
"These days, it's pretty rare for anyone to try and poach on Sorna. The remaining adult rexes ended up making their own family groups if I remember right, with each pair having raised some successful hatchlings. If I remember right one of the groups managed to raise three successfully and the other managed two." Alan seemed excited at the prospect of the rexes breeding and increasing their population numbers, though Owen couldn't really blame the man. Raising a single youngling was one thing, but what the remaining pairs were doing only further confirmed the theories made on just how social these animals were. Though Owen couldn't exactly help but wonder how the predator population was staying afloat with so many large carnivores and raptors. "Anyway, that's enough about dark topics. What are you all here for?"
"Raptors." Tim's gaze locked onto Owen, the young man freezing up just slightly as the trainer continued, "Masrani wanted to start up a project to try and train raptors, and I was the first guy he came to. I get to choose who takes part in the project, pick out my own security for the raptors, and I get to pick how many I get to start out with, all that good stuff. I-"
"You're insane, right?" Owen blinked at the man's response, though he wasn't exactly shocked by it considering the job he was taking. "Every time there's been raptors made on this island, blood flows from good people who thought they were safe. Those animals should be nowhere near a park setting, and you accepted the responsibility of training the most dangerous predator we've ever produced? Are you insane, or just an idiot?"
There was silence in the log at his outburst, though Oscar did seem to somewhat agree with the sentiments Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Owen began to explain the situation, "Regardless of whether or not I accepted, this project was going to happen. I figured it was best if someone who knows just how bad the raptors are was the one to be in charge of the project, especially because I have the right connections to make sure it goes more smoothly than others would."
Owen crossed his arms and went to lean back against the log as he explained, "I don't ever expect these animals to be safe for the park, not without something else to keep them in line. But at the very least, I know I can trust myself and the people that I hire to make sure nothing ever happens. What if I had passed up the job and some idiot who thought he knew what he was doing asks for just one too many raptors, and ends up getting himself and his entire team killed? If those raptors got loose in the park and got to have the all you can eat buffet of their dreams? Or worse, if their escape leads to other animals getting out and who knows how many people getting hurt or killed? That would be on me, because I'd be the guy who said no. The guy that could've made sure all those people didn't get killed in the first place."
Tim stared at him in silence, as did the rest of the group as they thought about his reasoning. It was solid, and they were broken out of their thoughts as Owen added on as an afterthought, "Though, I'm pretty sure I really wasn't supposed to tell anyone outside of the members I chose for the project about the raptors. So if you wouldn't mind keeping quiet, I would really appreciate it." He finished with only a slightly awkward chuckle, knowing that the cams had likely picked up the conversation anyway. Hopefully Simon wouldn't get too mad at how fast he had told someone about what was going on.
Tim sighed and rolled his eyes at the man, though he did smile just a bit, "Well, at least you're not a completely arrogant jackass. Maybe if you're the one at the end we won't all end up having to evacuate the park with raptors on our tails." Owen smiled in return and offered out a hand to shake, with Tim being more than happy to take the offering. The two backed away from each other and the rex handler sighed as he went to make his way out of the log, "I gotta go get the next animal prepped for the next show, they'll be getting something a bit larger to help sate their appetite. Best of luck with your project, and hope you enjoy the rest of the park!"
They all waved Tim goodbye, with Alan already knowing he and Ellie were gonna have to come back to another show to see Rexy and Junior again and to have another talk with Tim. As the raptor project group made their way out of the log, none noticed the eyes of both rexes watching them leave in curiosity from the shadows of the forest.
Notes:
Now y'all will have likely figured this out, but a big inspiration for this story was Its Not The Raptor DNA, an amazing Jurassic World fanfiction that never got to see a proper ending. (Which seems to be entirely the authors fault, considering that I checked the stories they were following/favoriting on ff.net out of curiosity once, and a few of those stories were started a good bit after the hiatus started. Bleh.)
Anyway, I love how the animals are handled in that story and I do intend for their to be a few references to that story(Any of ya manage to catch the one in this chapter? :p) and I hope that I can at least somewhat match how well that story was written, as much as I very much doubt that! Though of course, being inspired by and a fan of that story should hopefully be a hint at a few things that I intend to change up and have fun with.
And of course, we have two major changes to the park already. Tim as the rex handler (Another idea that was inspired by that story, and one I decided to play around with) and Junior. Junior being the juvenile rex that was injured and used as bait by Roland. I felt it was a waste to not have a second rex, considering that the rex paddock WAS supposed to hold at minimum a juvenile rex along with the adult not just in the books, but as well as according to the JW website. I figured I COULD have simply used any random new gen rex, but, well...
Where's the fun in that? Its no fun to make a fanfiction if I decide to take no liberties, after all. So I brought Junior along for the ride, someone who has now been injured by hunters twice and lost his parents to them. Now, obviously we don't know if Rexy would at all adopt a younger rex, but I don't think it would be all that far fetched. Many domesticated animals, as well as simply animals in captivity, have adopted/ fostered young animals before. At times there have even been animals of a complete different species that have been adopted due to the fact that they are in conditions where food is plentiful. I figured, the rex is supposed to be a social creature according to several theories, right? On top of that, Junior will be an orphan, Rexy will never have gotten to be a mother, and beyond that Rexy will get a chance to have social interaction. Plus, she's in an environment where she knows she is safe and will be fed. So the way I see it, it isn't a super unlikely idea that she would foster another rex.
Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed the chapter, as well as the hints at the things to come in the future ;P
Additional edit: I'm doing some edits to help the chapters read better, as well as some changes that make a lot of sense. Disney World, for example, holds anywhere from 1 to 2 hundred thousand visitors a day in a rough estimate. A surface area holding a lot less than Isla Nublar, and one that is ultimately worth a LOT less money. 20,000 visitors wouldn't cut it, not unless each one was paying literally hundreds of thousands for entrance, and that's for REGULAR visitation, not extended stays, VIP treatment, etc
To survive, Jurassic World would need literally hundreds of thousands of visitors a day. Luckily as a international tourist hot spot with prehistoric animals, it likely could pull those numbers fairly easily. However that comes with the second issue, and a common issue in media
Scale. Isla Nublar is a really, really small island. One that shouldn't have the space to have the valley's, mountains, volcano's, and the amount of large animals it sustains. I only came to realize this as I did some researched, because the space that Disney World occupies is larger than the ENTIRETY of Isla Nublar. I've been to Disney World, and the whole of Isla Nublar is supposed to be smaller in square miles than THAT while sustaining mega fauna? Several different species of mega fauna, many of which being plant eaters?
It wouldn't be physically possible to have enough space for them. So Isla Nublar has been sized up about a hundred and fifty times its original size, as have all the islands from the franchise. 4,500 square miles feels a lot more appropriate, especially when a large chunk is still taken up by a massive marine reptile.
Chapter 3: Getting Started
Summary:
We have a first glance at the labs and the eggs, while later discussing the future of another major project Masrani and Wu had gotten started on.
Despite how ill fated it could end up being.
Notes:
Took a bit for me to get this chapter out, though the fact of the matter is that I just find it difficult to get my motivation going sometimes. Still, this was a long time coming, and hopefully when the next chapter is done, things will end up going along much quicker.
Chapter Text
February 8th, Jurassic World Hammond Creation Lab
To say the nostalgia factor had been ramped up to eleven upon seeing the Innovation Center was an understatement, at least for the two original visitors of the group. Oscar was unsurprisingly unimpressed, his first visit to the park being a rescue mission rather than an invitation as an expert on dinosaurs and having only seen the original visitor center after it had already been left in ruin, but the paleo experts were entirely different. New visitors looked at the center with awe as it were, though it would be fair to say they looked at the rest of the park like that. It was a park filled with animals that had been long dead for tens of millions of years after all. Though Billy, Barry, and Owen all found themselves impressed with the park, well.
It didn't compare to Ellie and Alan.
The two had no words for the building the first time they saw it, simply taking it in. Thinking of the past and what may have been, if not for that fateful storm and Nedry's interference. Despite the events of Jurassic Park and despite Alans own views on the animals that were on display, there was a certain warmth in their eyes as they looked upon the building. Owen couldn't really say why, his best guess simply being that it only helped to cement the fact that they were amazed to see that the park had managed to work in the end. That Hammonds dream, despite the mistakes he had made the first time around, was achievable.
During the week the two paleo experts didn't say much about the prehistoric park, likely only speaking to one another in private in regards to the parks success and most of its animals. Though Oscar couldn't seem to care about most of the animals, he seemed certainly intrigued by the older rex, paying special attention to the old scars that went down the side of her neck and having shown more general interest in her ever since the show they'd attended. It seemed knowing that she had faced the same animals that had nearly been his end had gotten him interested in her, and made him more forgiving due to the fact that she had saved a few people in the process, despite how she had eaten his old friend. When he was asked why he didn't seem to hold much of a grudge, he only shrugged and told them that "Billy had it coming, much as it pains me to say it," without really elaborating. And he couldn't really blame an animal for hunting potential prey in its territory.
All it understood was that there were trespassers in her home after all. If they trespassed, then they were food.
It was fitting he took an interest in the islands big boss, considering they were both old battle scarred warriors who faced some off with the first set of raptors that Ingen had produced for Nublar. Predators Owen would soon be raising in an attempt to "tame" them so they could be the perfect little exhibit for the guests to gawk at, or at least that's what Masrani and his board of directors intended. Owen still couldn't help but scoff at the idea that such predators could ever be considered tame, considering how many problems they seemed to cause wherever they end up. It was a recipe for disaster for any other trainer.
It could still end up a disaster for him, and he was willing to acknowledge just how wrong everything could go from the get go.
They had been given a week to settle in and get to know the park and staff before getting to any official business, though if Owen had to guess it was more for the sake of the lab than anything else, among preparing their requested residence. Seeing as they would be working with raptors, Simon thought it would be best if the project was best done with some distance between it and the actual park in the event something happens, something Owen wholeheartedly agreed with. Considering they still also had to choose where the members of the project itself would reside, and where the raptors would be, some trailers for temporary housing were to be brought to the island and prepared for their use until such a time as them having a more permanent housing set-up. The only downside was that it would also take them longer to receive medical aid, whether it be for people or for their animals.
He may just need to get a dedicated veterinarian and a human doctor in the group as well. Or, rather, a proper medical and veterinary team.
Currently, the group was finally being brought to the Creation Lab, with Zara once more serving as their guide and having left the group not long after bringing them to the lab, saying something about a few errands she had to run for her boss. The members of the project were left to wait for someone else to come and collect them from the lab itself. It had been about ten minutes since the park managers assistant had left them to fend for themselves, with Oscar beginning to tap his foot impatiently as he looked around with his arms crossed, the rest of the group being relatively relaxed in comparison to the once mercenary. They didn't exactly have anywhere else to be at the moment after all.
At last someone in a lab coat came to collect them, looking rather rattled and slightly disheveled as he walked up to the group. He appeared to be a younger man, with short brown hair and black shoes and an uneasy smile on his face, "Ah, sorry for the wait! I'm Doctor Kirby, it's a pleasure to meet you al- Doctor Grant?" The man cut himself off as he stared at the older paleontologist, the graying man giving their new guide a warm smile as he stepped in front of the group.
"Eric, it's good to see you again. Though I didn't think this would've been your choice for a career, considering everything that happened on Sorna."
"Yeah, well, despite all that unpleasant business and your insistence on there only being monsters here, I couldn't stay away." Eric offered an arm and Grant took it, the two embracing each other. Eric and the good doctor soon stepped away from each other though, the young man grinning and seeming a lot more relaxed as he looked over the group, "Though to be fair, to see you of all people working on a project concerning raptors, that's kind of shocking. Can't quite say I believed Doctor Wu when the news came down that you'd be a consultant soon."
Alan shrugged at the man while the rest of the group watched on, though Ellie seemed to recognize the name as she smiled at the young man. Alan turned to the group with a smile and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, "Sorry about that, this is Eric Kirby. I was tricked into being part of a rescue mission to help save him after he went on a damn foolish trip to Sorna with his step father. Didn't really keep in contact after the incident, but he's a clever kid. Can't say I expected him to work in a lab of all places, though." He raised an eyebrow as he looked at Eric, the brunette rubbing a hand on the back of his hand. "How old are you again, anyway? Aren't you a bit too young to actually be in the lab at this point?"
"Well, Sorna didn't really make me any less of a dinosaur nut. Just made me a little less eager to work with some of the carnivores up close and personal, and when the park first opened up, well... I knew what I wanted to do. Plus it wasn't exactly hard to skip a few grades in school. I was already set to graduate a few years early anyway, and Masrani Global offered me a scholarship because of my grades and my past experience with Sorna." Eric went and stepped away from Alan, the young scientist having seemingly forgotten whatever problem had come up in the labs beforehand after being able to speak with an old friend. "Well, now that that's out of the way, what's your names? I have my doubts that Alan here is the one meant to lead the project and train the raptors in the first place."
Owen stepped forward with a raised hand while Alan stepped back to join the rest of the group, "The names Owen Grady, Masrani and the Doc thought that I would be a good fit for raptor training. I just thought the people that I brought with me might be able to give me a hand with makin sure I didn't lose a hand of my own in the process." Eric took his hand and gave it a solid shake, stepping back afterwards.
"Sadly that's all we can do, considering you've already lost your mind." Barry was the next one to step up, clasping a hand on Owens shoulder and shaking his head as he turned a mournful look towards Eric, "Oh we all warned him against this, but he's a stubborn fool this one, one whose lost his last marbles!" The Frenchman wasn't at all bothered by Owen's indignant 'Hey!' as he grinned, "Least we can do is make sure he doesn't get killed, oui?" The trainer then smiled at the young doctor before raising a hand in a wave, "Though where are my manners! The names Barry Sembène, and it's a pleasure to meet you!"
Ellie raised a hand up in her own wave, "Ellie Degler, it's nice to finally meet you. Alan told me about you not long after the rescue from Sorna."
"Nice to see you again Eric, didn't think this would be where we'd meet again. Well, that is, I didn't really think we'd meet again in the first place if I'm being honest." Billy gave an easy smile as he stepped to the forefront along with the rest of the group performing introductions, reaching out an arm and pulling Eric into a hug much like Alan had. Though Alan had been someone the young Kirby had looked up to, it didn't change the fact that he may not be around anymore if it wasn't for what Billy did to gain the attention of the Pteranodons.
"Oscar Morales, it's nice to meet you." Though Oscar didn't seem to be all that impressed with the rest of the park, he still gave a polite nod and a small smile to the young scientist. There was no sense in being rude with their coworkers, after all.
Eric raised a hand and waved at the rest of the group after Billy and everyone else had made their introductions, "It's nice to meet you all, and to see you again as well Billy, with any luck you'll all be along to stay and we can get to know each other better. Now, if you'll follow me, I'll give you all the grand tour." And so Eric turned his back on the rest of them and lead the way into the lab, with Owen and his group not far behind.
He began to describe the labs as they walked past some of the incubation chambers, "This, obviously enough, is where most of the parks animals come from, and about as far as standard park visitors get. Some, like Rexy and the triceratops matriarch are from the original park, while a few others were actually born naturally and even brought in from Sorna." Turning and seeing the looks of confusion, as well as the growing apprehension on Alan's and Ellie's faces, he hurried to explain, "The animals don't breed freely or have the same risks as the original park, if that's a concern."
"Then how exactly are some of the animals naturally born? How is that safely managed?" Alan couldn't help but be a bit skeptical while Ellie silently watched and listened, both of them knowing that the free breeding and lackluster moderation was a large part of what had brought the original park down in the first place.
"Through selective breeding and a close eye, that's how Dr. Grant." He stopped by one of the glass panes that separated the group from the incubation chamber, keeping his hands in his pockets as he addressed the group, "None of the carnivores, pterosaurs included, are naturally born with the exception of Junior considering he's a second generation rex from Sorna. These animals aren't exactly cheap to make, even the smallest of compy's, and its costly to add to the herds by spending millions per egg for a clutch. So rather than rely solely on the labs, there is a single breeding pair for each herd with the herbivores. They are allowed two successful clutches of eggs, and we end up raising the young through the more risky phases of life and end up neutering and spaying the babies before reintroducing them to the herd when its safe. Carnivores are a lot more finicky, and to allow their population to rise so much through breeding is just too risky. Now, any more questions on that particular subject?" Luckily enough everyone seemed pacified for the moment, with Ellie and Alan seeming a bit more relaxed.
"Then let's move along!" And so they did, Eric once more leading the way for the rest of the group. There wasn't much of interest, at least not to Owen and most members of the group as Alan and Ellie examined the incubators. They couldn't help but compare the sterile, bright white environment to the incubation chambers used in the old visitor center for the last park, with pieces of amber being left on shelves along some of the walls. Even if the tech was a major upgrade from the last park, they couldn't help but feel that the environment itself was a major downgrade in comparison.
"They're a lot less natural than the chambers the original park used." Alan muttered to Ellie, the paleobotanist nodding silently in agreement. They remembered where they first saw a raptor hatch, how while it was an artificial chamber it was also in the fashion of a nest which the eggs might have actually hatched from if they had been born naturally, with the light being more dim and warm. Something that would've helped give the animals a sense of normalcy upon being brought into the world. It looks like Alan already had a few things to speak with Simon, or Wu, about once he had the chance now that he'd started to see a few things behind the scenes.
He couldn't imagine how disorienting it would be for the animals to be moved from this, to the adults paddocks.
It wasn't long before they came before a set of closed doors at the end of the hall, Eric pushing past them and holding one door open for the project members, taking them past the public part of the labs. Less scientists and incubation chambers could be found past these doors, with there being few other differences between this part of the creation lab and the last. Eric lead them down the hall and made a left, before going to an elevator at the end of the hallway and pressing a button to bring them to the fourth floor. "Most of our carnivore and larger herbivore related embryos and eggs are developed on the second floor, the third floor having large carnivore embryo's and where we would develop their eggs. Fourth floor, where we're heading, is where we develop brand new additions and store new embryo's for animals yet to be made a part of the park until we know they're safe to be introduced, if they end up being safe in the first place."
It wasn't long until the elevator opened up on their destination, showing a floor with few scientists in comparison to the first. There were a few guards provided by Ingen as security in the event of a break-in, with there being only eight rooms with incubation chambers ready for use. Each chamber featured two men standing guard, none of them giving the oncoming group as much as a second glance. One of the rooms was clearly in use already, being the next chamber immediately to their right as Eric lead them into the room, holding the door open for the group as they made their way in.
"And here, is what you'll be the most interested in Mr. Grady." Eric stepped to the side to allow Owen to have a look at an incubating chamber in the center of the group, a clutch of six artificially made eggs laying in the center. It didn't take a degree to figure out what these were, "Those will be your raptors, once they've hatched. Each one has a bit of a different DNA strand from the last, with one of the eggs being based off of the newer brand of raptor left on Sorna and one being much closer to Ingens original raptor. The only difference these raptors will have from their predecessors physically, beyond appearance, is that they will be a bit more bulky, so they'll be slightly slower. Unlike their predecessors though, they will be more capable of feeling empathy and only slightly less aggressive, as well as being physically stronger and more durable." Owen approached the mentioned eggs with a small amount of trepidation, holding back from touching them for now.
Billy seemed to shift and move his eyes away from the eggs with most of the group understanding why, having learned of his actions on Sorna, something that had nearly gotten the amateur rescue team killed. Oscar's eyes narrowed as he glanced at the clutch, his hands tightening into fists as he glared at them, "They should be destroyed before they can become a problem. The last thing we need is the risk of a pack of half a dozen velociraptors running around." Oscar made the statement holding more of a grudge than anyone against the animals, bearing the scars across his back from his last encounter. Even then, it was more of a half-hearted protest, having already made such objections to the raptors existence known. Alan tilted his head in slight agreement, though he wasn't eager to get rid of them until they've proven unworkable.
"Oscar, for the love of all that is holy, if I keep hearing you belly ache about these raptors existing I am going to kick you into Rexy's kingdom and watch those rexes run you down." Everyone turned to stare at Owen in surprise as the man turned to Oscar, the former navy animal trainer giving his soon-to-be head of security a small glare. He'd moved in front of the eggs to keep them out of Oscar's sight with his arms crossed, as if he was worried the larger man would try to go for the eggs if he wasn't in the way. It seemed he had finally reached the end of his patience with Oscar's attitude.
Oscar raised up his hands and took a step back, looking away from the eggs in an attempt to appear non threatening, "I ain't gonna touch your damn eggs Owen, calm it down. You've not had a problem until now with my views on the raptors or the rest of the animals on this island. What's the big deal?" He frowned at the project lead along with the rest of the group, with Owens frown deepening as he stared the older mercenary down
"My problem has been your constant attitude since we got here. You've been doom and gloom over everything since we go here, and your constant comments about them just got on my nerves, that's all. You're here not just to keep us safe, but them. Remember that the next time you think about how they need to be destroyed." He turned to look back at the clutch and backed away a step as he frowned at the eggs, though he didn't put all that much distance between himself and the artificial nest. Though Oscar had a slight frown of disapproval, the rest of the group eyed both the merc and Owen at the exchange. Owen shook off the mounting agitation for the moment and turned to Eric, the young scientist frowning at both him and the eggs, "How long until this clutch of eggs hatch anyway?"
"Roughly? About another month, then they should hatch. Though they're under constant surveillance, in the event that one of the eggs hatches a bit early. An unlikely occurrence, but still a possibility all the same. Just don't tell Dr. Wu I said that." Eric walked over to the incubation chamber and pressed a key for the console connected to it, lowering the top half that hovered over the eggs and bringing them down to cover the clutch completely. The young scientist turned to Owen and the rest of the group with a smile, "Now if you'll follow me, I'll take you up to Doctor Wu's office so you can talk."
They started to follow him again, though Owen lingered at the door to look back at the covered up eggs before turning to follow the rest of the group as they made their way back into the elevator, Eric greeting a passing scientist with a smile and a nod. Soon they found themselves in an elevator being taken to the sixth and top floor of the creation lab.
"What's on the fifth floor? You didn't mention it on our initial ride up. Got anything special cooking up in there?" It was an innocent question by Owen, wanting to move past the incident in front of the incubating eggs. At the initial silence though he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and look at the young scientist, the man frowning as he looked at the button for the sixth floor. Everyone else couldn't help but send a questioning look Eric's way at the continued silence.
He sighed as the elevator dinged and the door opened before them, Eric turning to them with a slightly more tense smile than before, "Just a few more experimental projects, nothing for any of you to worry about. Dr. Wu's office should be at the end of the hall, I'll be down on the fourth floor watching over the raptor eggs if you need me after you're done." With that, after the project group left the elevator, Eric took it back down to the lower floor to keep watch over Owen's raptors.
Owen narrowed his eyes at the elevator as it went down, turning away from it as he lead the way to Wu's office. 'Odd. We're gonna need to work on finding out whatever the hell is going on with the fifth floor.' It was probably above his pay grade, generous it may be, but Dr. Kirby's cagey response didn't exactly fill him with confidence. Owen stopped in front of the glass door leading into the office, knocking to make sure they had permission to enter the room before a muffled, "Enter." rang out after a few moments. Owen opened the door and saw Henry Wu sitting behind his mahogany desk, having turned the monitor for his computer to face them and show them Simon Masrani on the screen.
The room itself was relatively sparse, the older scientist likely spending most of his time around the labs rather than behind his desk, the only other pieces of furniture being two chairs that were sat in front of it and the seat behind the desk Wu currently occupied. His lab coat was tossed over the back of his chair, the doctor leaning back as he examined his visitors. His eyes lingered on Alan and Ellie with some interest before focusing once more on Owen, "Mr. Grady, it's a pleasure to see you again. I apologize for the wait, it's been a bit busy around here. I hope you've enjoyed the park and my creations in the meantime?"
It was the doctors attempt at conversation, though it seemed he was only trying to spark a conversation for the sake of it, not because he wanted it. The cold look in his eyes hadn't changed since they'd last met, as if he was still ready to lay him and the rest of his people on an examination table, ready to uncover all their little secrets that made them tick. It unnerved him, though he decided to ignore it for the time being, "Nice to see you too doc, and you as well Masrani."
"Owen! I see you've brought some interesting company along to help start up the project. Mind making a few introductions so I know who exactly will be doing what?" Simon was in the same suit that he had worn when they had first met, an easy going smile on his face as he looked the group over. Yet Owen couldn't help but notice how this time around, the smile didn't quite reach his eyes and he seemed just a bit more tense than normal. The request itself was also odd, seeing as he should've been aware of everyone he was bringing to the project. He sent all their files and résumés over to Simon directly after all.
'The hell is going on around here?' Owen thought to himself, not bringing up his thoughts for the time being, "You already know Alan, Ellie, and Billy I'm sure. Alan is here to serve as a consultant to the project and in part to the park, Ellie as a botanist expert, and Billy as a secondary consultant to Alan. Oscar," He pointed a thumb in the bigger mans direction, "Head of project security, help keep us safe as well as the animals. Then we got Barry here, he's good with animals just like me and has military experience. He's suppose to serve as assistant manager and as a secondary trainer, and to be the lead if I'm not available."
Simon seemed to approve of the group as he relaxed just a bit more, eyeing everyone as each of the introductions were made and familiarized the more unfamiliar faces and names. His eyes seemed to light up a bit more when it was confirmed that the three who he knew had experience with Sorna and the original park would finally be a part of Jurassic World, "It seems you've chosen well Owen, looks like I made the right choice when I came to ask you to lead this project. I believe your temporary residences should now be ready for you near the edge of the restricted area. You'll have access to the zone to search for where you would like to have the raptor paddock and a more permanent residence for your group. Henry, how long should it be till Owen's eggs hatch?"
"Roughly another month or so till the eggs themselves hatch, so we should have plenty of time to get a paddock ready to hold them by the time they get large enough to be threatening." The doctor didn't even take a second to think of his answer, only briefly turning to Masrani to give his answer before turning back to the project group, "That said, don't take too long on figuring out a good location and design. Claire will need a suitable heads up if she's going to get the parks builders working on something. Now, I believe you all have belongings to get sorted and work to do?"
It was odd to Owen that they had been shown around the labs and been brought to Wu for such a short meeting, though he supposed it was so he would be able to get to his eggs in the future without having to be lead around. As he and his group turned away however, Simon spoke up from the monitor, "Alan! If you wouldn't mind staying behind, I would appreciate discussing a matter of great importance to the park. I'm sure that Owen and the others can manage your belongings?" The rest of the group gave silent confirmations with either nods or, in Billy and Owens case, a double thumbs up.
Alan stood alone to face Wu with Simon on the monitor, the older paleontologist crossing his arms as he stared them down, "So, what exactly is it that you wanted to discuss with me without Owen being here?" The way he saw it, if they wanted to talk to him about something alone, it was more than likely something that they wanted to keep hidden from Owen, at least for now. If they wanted to make sure Owen never found out, they wouldn't bother talking to him at all.
Wu seemed a bit irritated that Alan had been asked to stay behind though as he frowned at the monitor, while Simon ignored his head geneticist and kept his eyes on Alan, "Dr. Grant." The more formal address only served to make him more wary, "I am sorry for taking up your time like this, but it's something important that I felt needed to be discussed with you. Its a project that the labs have been working on for some time, one I feel we need a bit of advice on."
"Well, you gonna tell me what exactly this project is? Or are you just gonna beat around the bush and make me play the guessing game?" In his older age Alan couldn't claim to have the patience to deal with such discussion, though admittedly he didn't really have much patience for dancing around topics when he had been younger either. If they needed his advice on something, then they needed to come out and say it instead of trying to get him ready for the big reveal. If it was a problem, setting it up for him wouldn't make him any less irritated by it. It was even more likely to make him more irritated than he otherwise would have been if anything.
"The project is to create a hybrid dinosaur." Wu too wasn't in the mood to play the guessing game with the paleontologist and leaned forward, "Claire Dearing believes that park attendance is starting to decline year by year and felt we needed a new attraction to boost attendance and keep our numbers up, something other than one of our more standard dinosaurs. It was something I'd already been working on, or rather the theory of it, so I made the suggestion. Our first attempt didn't exactly go too well, and I suspect the reason that Simon here wants to talk to you has to do with what exactly is in the animal we are currently working on."
Alan couldn't say he exactly saw why they needed him to be a consultant on such a matter. All of the dinosaurs in the park, whether they were made more recently or were from the original park, were hybrids in a technical sense. Dinosaurs whose DNA had been fused with that of modern animals, "So, what's so special about this one? A part of the point of what your boys have been cooking up in the lab is making hybrids as is, isn't it? Did you add a little more crocodile or something of the like to this one?"
"You would be correct, Dr. Grant. But those are composed of a singular dinosaurs DNA, and even then they are still far more dinosaur than anything else. What we have been attempting is something... different." Wu turned to a second monitor while he kept the paleontologist waiting, bringing up a video file on their most recent creation, "What we propose, is a true hybrid. Multiple differing strands of modern animal DNA... and prehistoric DNA." And so the video played, showing off the current animals. The two hybrids, both extremely young and small, one with scales as white as snow which shined in the video, the other with scales more of a soft silver. Both smaller than a housecat, though Grant had a feeling they would soon grow far past that size.
Alan stared at the asian doctor for a few moments before silently turning to look at Simon, the company CEO looking away and whistling innocently while the consultant simply processed what he'd been told. He eventually settled on what he felt was the most proper response for such a situation, "Have... have you people lost your god damn minds?" Simon winced at the question while Wu seemed nonchalant, though the paleontologist wasn't quite done, "Bringing back extinct animals to the best of your ability, that was already madness as it was."
He stopped as he began to pace in front of the two, Simon and Wu turning to each other as Grant continued on a rant, "The only reason you people know how to handle the animals of the current park is the fact that the last park didn't know how to handle them and people got killed for it! Now you've made some sort of monster and expect to know how to handle it? What exactly are these damned things made of anyway?" They both looked like they were the same creature, at the least, with the only real difference being the color of their hide. Though he couldn't say he was all that much happier about the fact that they made two monsters with unknown problems and complications rather than one.
"There is a myriad of different modern animals that have been put into them, including the likes of a pit viper, cuttlefish, and tree frogs. We can't divulge everything that is in the animals, some things must remain under wraps except with certain people, though the two main prehistoric genomes used are that of the tyrannosaurus, and of the velociraptors." Now was not the time to tell Alan everything that was in the animals, and there was no need to divulge those secrets quite yet unless health issues of some sort came up with the vets. The animals they had tended to have a wide arrange of health issues as it was, and Wu couldn't imagine just how bad it might end up being for hybrid dinosaurs.
Alan was once more reduced to staring at the scientist before he shakily took ahold of a nearby seat and practically fell back into it. He brought a hand up to his face and rubbed it in exhaustion, staring at the desk in front of him as he processed what he was told. "You people... you thought it was wise to make not one complete abomination, but two... but that you combined the genes of one of the most powerful predators to have ever walked the earth, with one of the most intelligent if not the most intelligent, barring humans?" He couldn't help but consider the words Malcolm had spoke when they had first visited Isla Nublar and bore witness to Jurassic Park. How Hammonds scientists weren't just making scientific breakthroughs, they were playing God.
It was one thing to undo the extinction of an entire species. It was another to create an entirely new animal by mixing the DNA of multiple other specimens, animals that were alive now, extinct, and formerly brought back from the dark void of extinction. He couldn't help but think of the heyday Malcolm would have over the creation of a hybrid rather than simply bringing back another once extinct creature. He also couldn't help but think of why they couldn't just bring back something a bit more simple, like a mammoth of all things. He knew it would likely be far easier to bring back a few of them than anything else, even if it was Jurassic World, and yet they decided on a hybrid abomination.
God damn it all.
He was understandably incredulous at the fact that such an animal now existed, and stayed silent as he tried to think of a proper response. His hand dropped and he looked down, sighing as he asked, "And who do you have working with these animals? Where are they now?" There was no point in getting enraged at this point, considering the animals had already been made and were seemingly healthy. Perhaps if he had taken the position earlier he would've been able to stop their creation or change something to make them a bit more safe for handling. At this point, all he could try to do was mitigate the damage, and make sure that no other hybrids were made beyond these light abominations.
"They have a temporary enclosure in the restricted zone that is under construction at the moment, something to hold them in until they get a bit older. For the time being though, they are being kept at the labs on the fifth floor until such a time as their temporary enclosure is finished with construction. As to whose working with them, we haven't had any trainers or park handlers looking after them quite yet. Some of my personal best have been looking after them in the lab," Wu didn't seem all that phased at Grants statements or current state, while Simon did seem both a bit worried and a bit guilty, though not all that regretful and likely because they had yet to cause any real damage. Though what Alan worried about was the fact that it was Wu's best caring for the animals, rather than people who were best suited to handle an animal in the first place.
And Alan would bet his last dime that whoever Wu had looking after those animals weren't at all suited to actually look after them in the first place.
"The reason we wanted to discuss them with you was twofold. To get your opinion on the hybrids and how well you think they'll do and what they may need, and to see if we should get Owen to work with them as their handler." At Alans inquisitive glance, Simon went on to further explain, "You are correct, we don't know exactly how these animals will behave, what problems they could end up having. Which is why we want to assign handlers to them that will have an idea on what to expect or how to handle them. Owen, as well as his team, for the raptor in them. Our tyrannosaur handler Tim, who I'm told your group is already well acquainted with, would be assisting with the animals once we inform him." He couldn't help but feel that part of the reason Tim was being made a part of this project at all was the fact that he also knew what to expect out of raptors and was already aware of the raptor project that would be going on.
"Mr. Grady will not be given the same authority over the hybrids like he will with the raptors, of course. He will simply help handle and raise them, give them some training, and of course observe and ensure they don't get too out of control." It was likely the most sensible thing to have left either of their mouths since they had told him about this hybrid business in the first place, and Alan had little doubt that they would "spare no expense" to ensure the creature was kept safely contained. He had no doubt in the fact that they had likely spent a fortune to create those animals at all. Alan couldn't help but sigh again though as he thought about it.
'And of course they're going to get Tim involved in this mess.' He thought wryly with an unamused smirk, "I'd say having Owen and his team help with the animals is your best shot if you do want them to stay safely contained, though everyone involved with their raising should hold a lot of weight over what goes on with them. They shouldn't be there just to ensure the animals don't get too "out of control", as you so eloquently put it. It would help if you get them into at least some sort of simulated environment so they won't be overly shocked when they're released into their enclosure." After all, he hadn't missed the fact that they were being kept in a completely sterile lab at the moment. He would still need to bring up the state of the current incubation chambers as it was, "And do you have a name for these... things as they are?"
"Currently the name is still pending, so officially they do not, at least not yet. Unofficially though, the current pending name is the Indominus Rex." That was Simon, and Alan couldn't help but audibly groan just a little at the name, though he knew it would work for their purposes. Couldn't have something too difficult for the kids to pronounce after all, "Supposedly they should grow larger than dear old Rexy, but we can't know for certain." Which was a part of the problem, as well as the fact that they hadn't thought for an actually personal name for the animals beyond them being "Indominus Rex". How did they plan to handle an animal that for all intents and purposes would not only be larger than the islands matriarch, but smarter and likely even more territorial and aggressive?
'Son of a bitch.' The more that he took the time to think about it, the worse the situation seemed to him. The animals could end up being less of a problem than he thought, but he had his suspicions that they would actually end up being far worse than one may expect. What else could be expected from a hybrid mixed with two of the most dangerous animals made by Ingen as well as the likes of pit vipers and God knows what else? It was a recipe for disaster that he wasn't going to allow to unfold.
"If that will be all, can I leave so I can talk to Owen about this? It's best if he hears this from me." 'And at this point if this continues on I feel like I just may end up losing my damn mind, and that is the last thing any of us needs.' As the talk progressed Alan had begun to restlessly tap his foot and clench his fist, feeling anxious now to leave the room and speak to his group. The fact that they hadn't already told Owen about this other side project of theirs beforehand absolutely baffled him, but there was nothing that he could do about it as it was.
Wu didn't bother verbally dismissing him, the aging scientist simply waving him away after he had already turned away from him as if he were nothing more than an insignificant underling. Simon gave the paleontologist a smile however and a nod, "Of course, Alan. You can go. Thank you for giving us your input on the matter, and do make sure to tell Owen about it. Don't make it seem as if we are forcing him, though. It is entirely his choice after all."
Alan only nodded silently and left the room, hurrying to go and find Owen as well as the rest of the raptor project group. He had a feeling they would all be far from pleased to learn of the new situation that had arisen, especially considering some of the reasons why Owen had taken the position for the raptors in the first place. If he were to take any guesses, Owen would accept helping with the hybrid whether he wanted to or not.
Otherwise, he would feel it was all its fault if something ended up going wrong. The choice they were giving was only one in name.
Chapter 4: Hybrids and unexpected complications
Summary:
The job already seemed like it was going to be difficult as it were. In the tried and true fashion though, things only got more complicated for the team.
Notes:
Just a quick warning, as I'm sure there are a few people who would look this up or who are already aware of this fact, but the restricted area north of the park (According to maps of the original JP buildings) does NOT encompass landmarks such as the emergency bunker, original visitor center, and Hammonds Bungalow. However, those locations are all so very close to the restricted areas border, that I figured it wouldn't be a big deal if for this stories purposes, those locations were shifted into the restricted area. I do have my reasons, trust me mes amis.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Jurassic World, Hilton Hotel suite
The group waited for Alan to finish up with Simon and Wu outside the labs, though they were a bit puzzled at how frazzled he seemed when he was done with their private meeting. His face red and the rest of him a bit disheveled.
"Doc, what happened? Everything okay?"
Alan stopped just a bit past the group and took a deep breath. He let it out before he turned to face Owen and the others, shaking his head when he did. "Not now, Owen. Wait till we get back to our rooms, we got a lot to talk about." He turned away from them without any other explanation and continued onwards, leading the group back to the hotel while they followed him in confusion. He stayed silent when they got back to the building itself, though when they made it up to their rooms he lead them all to his room and waved them in. He wanted minimal chances of anyone else hearing what he had to say, just in case.
Alan sat at the end of his bed with a sigh once everyone was settled in, bringing a hand to his face in an attempt to try and relieve himself of the massive headache that had been brought along by the ambitions of the park executives. Even if he felt dinosaurs shouldn't have been brought back in the first place, he could see the appeal in bringing back actual dinosaurs, or as close as they were going to get at least. But hybrids for the simple sake of boosting attendance? Even if Simon was the man John had chosen to continue his legacy, and that of his idea of a dinosaur theme park and biological preserve, he couldn't help but feel the man would have heavily disapproved of the direction the park was heading. This entire thing reeked of a board of directors displeasure.
Hammond had taken pride in the fact that his team had managed to bring back dinosaurs, not create monsters that they called dinosaurs.
"So, Alan, what's the big deal? What's got you so pissed?" Because there really wasn't a better word for it. Owen usually wasn't around to witness Alan get so angry, much less for him to be secretive. "Do we need to head back up there to give Wu and Masrani a piece of our minds?" Though Alan shook his head in the negative he could see the small smile beginning to form. A good thing too, considering Simon at least seemed like a good guy.
Alans smile fell away again as he sighed and looked up at all of them, "Apparently, they've gone ahead and decided to make a hybrid dinosaur." At first, none of them seemed to really get the big deal, sharing his own initial reaction. It was fairly common knowledge that the animals in display at the park weren't quite true dinosaurs, and had their genes filled in with something to technically make them classified as hybrids. There was a fair share of people out there that had their problems with this as it were, more extremely fanatical religious groups included that felt this was playing with Gods older creations and animal rights activists that felt their creation and treatment were entirely immoral. The shock came along when Alan continued to explain, "True hybrids. As in one set of dinosaur DNA crossed with another, among who knows how many different kinds of animals and other dinosaurs."
The rest of the group stayed silent and though they could understand why exactly that would piss off someone like Alan with Ellie looked outraged at the idea, it didn't seem like too huge a deal. At least until he spoke again, "The hybrids that they decided to start out with have two primary strands of DNA, that of the tyrannosaurus... and the velociraptor."
That was enough to earn an outcry from the rest of the group.
"They decided to make a hybrid out of the rex and the raptors?!"
"Are the people workin in those labs god damn idiots? I did not sign up to help cover security for the raptors and have to look over my shoulder for a horror movie monster getting ready to kill us all!"
Unsurprisingly, it was Owen who had the most... emotional reaction, throwing his hands up in the air and beginning to pace in front of Alan, "So, first it isn't enough for them to try and bring raptors into the park. No, that's not dangerous and thrilling enough, no we need to bring in a hybrid with the power of a rex and the intelligence and aggression level of a god damned velociraptor! Have they lost their fuckin minds?!" For a moment Owen looked at the door to the room and took a step towards it, likely so he could give the labs and Masrani a piece of his mind, though he was stopped when Oscar put a hand on his shoulder.
Though the ex-merc was just as angry as the rest of them, having had to deal with both animals before, he was already trying to reel in his anger. "There's no point in going to yell at Wu and the rest of them. The animals have likely already been made, right?" At Alan's nod, he turned back to Owen and continued, "It won't change anything, and it might just make them change their minds on having us as a part of the raptor project in the first place, as well as assisting with the hybrids. As it stands right now, most of us are still replaceable. I assume that's why they had you stay behind, Dr. Grant?" At the mans silent nod he continued, "Right. So if you go in there with a bad attitude, all that can do is hurt our efforts and make the situation worse. So take a moment to sit back and think."
His reasoning was sound, though it didn't change how livid the news made them. Alan shook his head as the rest of the group took their seats, with Ellie sitting on the bed with him holding her hand while Billie and Barry both sat by the window. Oscar leaned against the door while Owen took a seat against the wall next to the door, taking a breath to calm himself. It had been one thing when they had sought him out for the purpose of a raptor training program, no raptors had been bred or captured yet and they were offering him everything he needed to keep the project safe, whether it be for the workers or for any of the visitors on the island. Or at the very least, as safe a project involving a bunch of velociraptors could be.
After he had been given a few minutes to settle down, everyone else taking time to consider the situation, Owen got up and began to pace around the room. Alan began to speak now that he figured this was the best place to continue, "Simon is offering to have us involved with the hybrids, though he said it is obviously our choice. We don't necessarily have to involve ourselves. Because they're part rex Tim will be offered to have a hand in the project too, and I told Simon and Wu that rather than just helping handle and ensure they don't get out of hand, I wanted our group and Tim to have major say in what goes on with the animals. There's no point in being a part of their hybrid project if we can't ensure major mistakes aren't made with them."
Everyone else seemed to agree with the sentiment while Owen chewed his lip in thought as he continued to pace about the room, though it didn't take him very long to reach a decision, "We'll take the offer to try and make sure nothing happens. Tim's a great guy and a great trainer, he's got more hands on dino experience than any of us, but there'll be a better chance of these hybrids turning out right if we help to raise them. Or at least of them turning out less wrong than they could be. I'm gonna need to have a talk with Masrani to renegotiate the terms for work, considering we are now gonna be leading our own project and assisting with another highly experimental one, though that'll wait till tomorrow when we've settled a few things. Luckily, I think I have an idea for where I want our project residence to be located, and this will at least give me the chance to twist his arm enough for it."
At everyone else's questioning looks he began to explain, "We gotta be set up in the restricted zone as is, right? So we could try and see if they would be willing to build something up from scratch for us, though I have my doubts we would ever get something really big enough for the whole project like I would want. Great thing about the restricted zone though, a lot of buildings from the ole Jurassic Park days are still around." At the rest of the groups nods he continued with what he was saying, "I was thinking we could have some of those buildings fixed up for our purposes. I did a lil bit of research, and the old visitor center as well as an old emergency bunker are in the restricted areas limits."
"That and John's personal bungalow." They all turned to Ellie after she spoke up, the expert paleobotanist shrugging her shoulders, "After the animals started to get out we went there to wait for news and to try to avoid stressing out too much. Though considering it was a more private building you likely wouldn't have been able to find all that much about it online. Personally I think it's a great idea, it's just that the Bungalow and the old center are gonna be in a rough state." The three buildings they had in mind, she remembered, had a strong concrete foundation. The only parts made of wood had been the roof and doors, so most of the building would more than likely be easily salvageable. The only exception to this was the bunker, though she was sure it would be in some form of disrepair.
Owen didn't mind though, having been further encouraged by the new information, "I'm sure some of the jungle is gonna have to be cleared away to make a bit of room around the buildings, as for the state of the buildings themselves Hammond made sure they were mostly concrete so they should be in a relatively decent condition. They'll need a lot of repairs, but I'm bettin that Simon's boys will be more than able to handle the job. Man follows Hammonds motto about sparing no expense to the letter." Of course if they were the ones who had to deal with the bill they would likely have their reservations about taking over the old park buildings in the first place.
Luckily enough, Simon had given them plenty of reason to twist his arm into giving them the needed base of operations. Owen had his doubts originally about whether or not Simon would go along with his plan, but as things were he didn't really care if the man objected. He could simply count it as a part of their newly changed terms for dropping the hybrid bomb on them. Sure, they could always decline to work with these monsters that the labs cooked up, but he had a feeling that Simon was betting on the fact that they would accept the offer.
"Anything else anyone can think of to reasonably add on to the deal? Now's the time to mention it if anyone's got any ideas." Owen didn't think there was really much anyone could want. They'd be able to ensure they have any supplies they need would be on hand with a proper HQ, and they were already receiving excellent benefits as well as pay and the ability to personally select and approve all of their staff team, including their own private security. So for the time being, he didn't think there was all that much more that they wanted to ask for. After giving everyone a moment to think and shake their heads in the negative, Owen nodded to himself in satisfaction. "Alright then, good. Now I'm gonna go have a word with Tim and give him a heads up to the mess he's about to be dragged into."
T-rex Kingdom viewing log, between shows
Sometimes when you needed to find someone it was best to start simple, and this was one of those times where it paid off. Owen had figured there was a decent chance Tim might just be watching over his charges from the viewing log and went there first rather than trying to ask around and running around the park to find him, considering no one in the project had any means with which to contact other handlers at the moment. Tim was standing right in front of the glass, staring out into the redwoods that made up much of the tyrannosaur paddock. Despite their size, the rex handler had his doubts that he would be able to spot either of his animals if they had no wish to be seen.
The young rex handler turned his head once he heard Owens footsteps, giving his soon to be coworker a smile and raising his hand up in greeting, "Hey, Owen! What's up? Decided you wanted to try and get another look at my beautiful animals without all the hustle and bustle of the crowds and, more importantly, excited kids?" It was still something that baffled him. The warnings were sent out multiple times over the intercom that the feeding show for the rexes likely isn't suitable for young children, and yet parents bring them to the show anyway. Generally he didn't have an issue with this considering most of the kids were thrilled, but there was the odd child that ended up scared or the occasional parent that felt it was too inappropriate regardless.
What exactly did these people think they were getting into when they went to go and view a feeding show for a massive apex predator? A live showing of Barney?
"Hey Tim, you there? Earth to Tim, am I gonna have to raise the alarm and send out a rescue mission?" Tim was shaken from his thoughts by Owen's prodding, giving the other man a slightly sheepish smile while the raptor handler just sighed and shook his head, "You didn't hear a word of what I said. I was sayin that as nice as your animals are and as nice as it would be to get to see em without having a bunch of people screamin in my ears, I need to talk to you about something important if you got a minute? Shouldn't take too much time, but it's pretty serious." To be honest, he was fairly certain Tim had more than enough time for a quick chat, considering the next feeding wasn't scheduled for a while yet. The rexes were some of the only animals to occasionally get long breaks in between feedings to ensure they don't get too agitated with all the noise and attention.
The last thing any of them needed was an aggravated pair of t-rexes.
And as expected, "Yeah, sure Owen, what's up?"
Owen turned away for a moment and walked over to the corner of the log, waving Tim over to follow him. It wasn't much, but it felt a bit more private than talking right in front of the viewing glass, "Its Masrani and Wu." Tim didn't seem to see that as much of a big deal at first, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms as he waited for Owen to elaborate, "They got another project that they cooked up in the labs, one they intend to get you and my guys involved with. You remember how you felt knowing they were gonna be bringing raptors back to the island?" At a nod from the rex handler he decided to drop the big bombshell, "Well, looks like they went ahead and made a pair of dinosaurs that are a hybrid of rex and raptor DNA."
At first Tim just rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face as he shook his head, "You really came all this way just for a joke like that? Tryin to make me freak-out or something for the fun of it?" Yet all Owen did was shake his head, the mans grim and serious expression refusing to leave his face, "Wait, you're being serious? They actually made a proper hybrid dinosaur? One made up of two of the most dangerous animals they are capable of making?" Owen silently nodded at the young handler and the man scoffed, turning and pacing in front of Owen as he thought about the new information that he was presented with, "Damn it Wu, what the Hell are you doing? No, screw Wu, what the Hell was Simon thinking?!"
His pacing stopped as he turned to Owen, throwing his hands up in the air as he continued to pop off, "Its difficult enough keeping the rexes happy as it is, and ole Rexy caused a Hell of a lot of trouble back when she first escaped grandpas park. The raptors in the first park managed to cause even more trouble and were an absolute terror, and I'm sure it's not gonna be a cakewalk to keep them at all content when they come around," Owen frowned a little bit though he knew Tim was more than likely correct, considering what they knew of the temperamental pack hunters, "But no, they decided to mix the genes of two animals that can only cause trouble? It's just, damn it for a couple of geniuses the guys in the labs are damn stupid!"
Owen waited a few more minutes for him to sit with his thoughts, glad to see that it wasn't just his group that saw the blatant danger in the existence of such creatures. However he still had more to tell him, so he cleared his throat to gain Tim's attention again, "That ain't all. Not only are they already made and as said, there's two of em, but they intend to ask you for help with raising and handling em, and they've already asked us. They seem to think that put together we can make sure these things turn out somewhat alright." Tim stopped pacing and turned back to Owen with a raised eyebrow, "They said we won't be in charge, but Alan made it clear we need to have major say with this hybrid project if they want things to turn out alright."
A fond smile managed worked its way onto his face despite the news that was delivered, the rex handler shaking his head with a slight chuckle, "Not surprised it was Alan who tried to make sure things got set a little straight. Helps make it easier on everyone else." Tim turned to look back out over the rex kingdom, catching a glimpse of what he thought may have been Juniors green hide, though he couldn't be sure. Shaking his head he turned back to Owen with a sigh, "I'll probably accept the offer to make sure it doesn't go too sideways with y'all. Guessin you guys plan to accept?" At Owen's confirmation he nodded, "Hopefully, we all end up getting a pay raise for this. I'll wait for Simon or Wu to come to-"
He was cut off by a ringtone that sounded like a phones alarm clock. Owen took his phone out of his pocket and raised an eyebrow at seeing Alans name on screen before he answered the call, "Hey Alan, what's up? Was just letting Tim know about the situation so... they're what?" Tim looked ready to speak up but clammed up when Owen raised a hand to forestall any questions, "You sure? Yeah, I'm sure Wu knows what he's doing, except I'm not too sure I'm too keen on trusting his judgement at the moment... Aw shit, alright I'm on my way over. Hopefully I can get there in time."
And then Owen was off sprinting down the log without explanation. Tim was just left blinking and looking after where his soon to be project partner had been.
"Alright then... wonder if it's something to do with his raptors?"
Hammond Creation Lab, Fourth Floor
Owen hadn't wasted time getting up to the fourth floor, pushing past tourists and scientists alike in his rush to get up to the clutch of raptor eggs in time. On the elevator ride up he hadn't been able to stop himself from tapping his foot, finding himself annoyed with the time it took for the elevator to reach their destination despite only going up a few floors. The moment the elevator doors had opened, however, he burst forward and made for the incubation chamber housing his eggs, startling the guards at first and prompting them to get ready to tackle him, until they recognized him from his earlier tour of the labs.
Eric was already waiting by the chamber with clipboard in hand, hurriedly rushing Owen over the moment he saw the man, "We didn't expect any of the eggs to hatch so fast, we think we may have miscalculated with this one. Not sure if she grew too fast or if we just underestimated her, but she's here and ready to hatch. The floors yours Owen, so I'll go ahead and get out of your way." Owen hardly gave the young scientist the time of day as he focused on the singular rocking egg, the other eggs having been moved to a separate incubation chamber to avoid the risk of them getting damaged. Be more than a bit unfortunate if they lost the others in an accident involving an early hatching.
Owen took a knee in front of the chamber and kept his face more level with the rocking egg as the creature inside struggled for release, already able to hear the soft squeaks from the creature inside as it struggled to escape. The rest of his group came rushing by while being lead by Zara not long after he arrived, the trainer not exactly sure when she had gotten to joining up with the group. He disregarded that though as the egg stopped moving, making him frown in concern. "Is that normal? Or is there something wrong with the egg?"
Dr. Kirby shook his head, laughing a little at the question, "No, no besides her starting early I'm sure that's quite normal. It can take anywhere from several minutes to a few hours for an egg to actually finish hatching. I had to step away from them for a bit though, and wasn't sure how long she had been rocking for when I got back. Figured it was better to err on the side of caution and call you up. Considering just how energetic she's been though I don't think she'll take too long to hatch."
He and Barry relaxed, though the resident paleo-experts didn't exactly seem too surprised. Oscar quirked an eyebrow up in intrigue at the new information while Owen started to make himself more comfortable. "So, how long would you give her before she manages to get herself out?"
"At most? I'd give her an hour, but I think it'll end up being shorter than that. Some of the carnivores tend to be more impatient with actually getting out of the ex, and I can't imagine these guys will take their time. I'll go ahead and leave you all to it, there's a few other clutches I have to check up on." With that he left the room, giving them some space.
"Ha!" The silence was swiftly broken by Barry, "For a moment there, I believed we were gonna end up missing out on the first hatchling. I don't think any of the girls would have appreciated only having Eric to wake up to, or any of Wu's scientists."
Owen scoffed as he looked out where Eric had gone, the younger scientist having gone back to the elevator. "Probably not. I doubt any of Wu's people are actually suited to handle these infant animals with any care beyond making sure they don't accidentally break them. I hope some of em would remember to treat them like babies, though."
"To be fair, Owen, I'm sure some of the people working back here are fine at handling small animals. They aren't all like Wu, they just have to do what he says. Give 'em a little bit of slack before you judge them too much." Alan spoke up, a small frown on his face as he looked Owen over. "Did you end up speaking to Tim about what's goin on by the way?"
Owen stood up fully, putting a hand behind his head. "You're probably right, and yeah, I did. He took the news about as well as we did so he's not too pleased. He's probably gonna end up taking it though, so we'll have an extra hand that we can trust there. Still, not sure I'm looking forward to how that project is gonna turn out. If we actually got to prepare for this a bit beforehand I'd be a bit more confident."
Nods of agreement circled around the group, only for it to stop as the rocking began to start once again. There was a tense silence for the next half hour as they watched the egg go back and forth between rocking, peeping, and attempting to escape the confines of its egg before falling silent again. Then the first piece of artificial egg shell finally broke away. The rest of the group moved out of the room to watch through the glass walls as tiny cries began to fill the room. Owen waited for a few more pieces of egg shell to be broken off before he helped the hatchling with breaking free from its artificial prison, slowly breaking what was left before he pulled the tiny baby away from the remains.
He knew it'd grow to be a relentless killer, one to be feared by anyone that chose to get on its bad side once it got older, but the only word he could use to describe the tiny hatchling now was cute. She was scrawny at the moment, and absolutely pathetic covered in the remains of yolk that had once surrounded her. He brushed off some of the shell that was sticking to her while she looked up at him, amber eyes already glittering with intelligence as she eyed him. She chirped as she was being cleaned off, seemingly much more calm now that she was out of the egg and being held, despite the fact she was being handled by something that was very clearly an entirely different species from her. The majority of her body was covered in grey scales, with some little blue flecks going down each side of her body.
He knew the bond he felt with this tiny creature was immediate. Perhaps it was against his better interests as well as those of everyone else around him to get attached to something that may need to be put down later on for everyone's safety, but he couldn't help it. He opened up the vest pocket on the left side of his chest and placed the tiny carnivore inside, her head and a bit of her chest sticking out. She seemed curious as she looked around the sterile environment, her gaze stopping on her siblings eggs for a few moments. She chirped quietly at them before she seemed to lose interest in the motionless eggs.
She didn't seem to care all that much for most of her surroundings at the moment as far as he could tell, likely because there wasn't much of note besides a bunch of white objects. She took notice of the group waiting for them outside the room though, her little eyes narrowing and body tensing as she looked at the strangers. Owen looked down at her with a slightly amused smile as she began to chirp once more, this time making sure she was loud with each chirp coming in quick succession. He shook his head and put a hand on top of her head, patting her to try and help calm her down, "Hey, its alright. Those are a few friends of mine, for reasons I fail to understand."
He was aware she didn't, or at least shouldn't, understand a word he said. Though the placating tone seemed to be enough to satisfy her for the time being, the young raptor keeping her teeth bared as she eyed the rest of the project group. He walked out of the incubation room with a hand staying near his raptor to keep her more comfortable, his early bird not being all that happy to get closer to the other humans. He couldn't help but think that it was interesting despite the fact she was supposed to be only slightly less aggressive than her predecessors, she seemed far more hostile to strangers than other raptor hatchlings had been before her. And beyond that, she was doing quite well with him.
"Last time I saw a raptor hatch was when Hammond brought us to the park and if my memory serves me right, she wasn't quite so hostile to us like this one here. Or quite as developed for that matter." Alan and Ellie had both been able to pick up on the difference in behavior and growth, despite the claims that had been made about Owens raptors earlier. Though the aging paleontologist shrugged after he thought about it for a moment, "Then again, we were also told that they would be a bit more empathetic, and technology has improved. So it could just be that she is overprotective of whoever she imprinted on, despite being so young." He couldn't help but be intrigued by the protective youngling, and dared to test her by hovering his index finger near her to see if she would allow him to lightly brush the top of her head.
..which resulted in a hasty retreat. Alan had no choice but to jump away from the little creature, considering that her first reaction was to try to bite his finger off. Alan couldn't help scoffing and shaking his head at the little raptor, "Should've expected something like that considering her initial reaction to seeing the rest of us. Barely even been a part of the world and she's already either feeling protective or is far more aggressive than anyone in the labs was willing to give these raptors credit for." Though he supposed that time would tell to see what these raptors were really like.
Owen couldn't help but grin a little bit when the hatchling made an attempt to take a chunk out of Alans finger. "Yeah, she's a lil spitfire alright. Think she'll probably cause us plenty of trouble on her own when she gets older. Question is though, what do we do for a name?" He could go back to his old naming system, and though he intended to use it, that didn't feel right for this little one. She was the first of the raptors to hatch, so he felt she should be afforded a bit of a special privilege even if she wasn't intended to hatch so early in the first place. He gently took her out of his pocket to look her over, the rest of the group staying silent.
Eyeing the flecks of blue that ran down her side, he decided to keep it simple, "It ain't much, but how about Blue? Think that sounds like a decent fit for her." Though he thought out loud, his attention was on the little raptor in his hands. She tilted her head as if she was considering the name for a few moments, and Owen felt a sense of satisfaction when he saw that she seemed to respond to the new name. A tiny rumble came out from her almost like a purr before her eyes then went back to the pocket she had been hiding in before. Owen lightly rolled his eyes before he lifted the little Blue and put her back in the pocket, the young raptor tucking her head into his pocket before going still.
Seemed she trusted Owen to handle the situation, that or she just didn't think any of the other humans were that much of a threat anymore. Her eyes shut as she fell asleep in his pocket, having already expended what little energy she had after left hatching. None of them really expected her to have gotten so comfortable with Owen so quick, even after imprinting on him. Barry, Ellie, and Zara didn't question it much, small smiles on each of their faces as they looked at the resting hatchling. Oscar only rolled his eyes while Alan and Billie both seemed plenty fine with studying the young raptor.
Alan had only seen a raptor hatchling the one time years ago when he had first come to Isla Nublar at John Hammonds insistence, in his attempt to get him to help endorse Jurassic Park, while Billy had only ever seen the adults and raptor eggs on Sorna, never any hatchlings. They both had very little experience when it came to younger raptors in comparison to the adults that had nearly killed them. Alan again couldn't help but think back to the hatchling Hammond had handled when they were being given the tour, the youngling being much more passive and seemingly less developed than little Blue. He couldn't help but wonder for but a moment what happened to that last raptor before shrugging and deciding it likely didn't matter all too much.
Hammond Creation Lab, Sixth Floor
Owen didn't wait for permission before marching into Wu's office, the scientist still discussing a few things with Simon over call when he barged in. Both raised an eyebrow at his uninvited entrance, though Simon winced at the look on his face as he realized exactly why Owen had come in the first place. Owen sat down in front of the desk, and ended up surprising the both of them when instead of blowing up, he remained calm, "Alan told me about this little hybrid project y'all got goin on. So, because you want me and my people to work with 'em on top of the raptors, I got a few conditions that need to be met."
"Name them."
Owen had originally intended to wait till the next day to go ahead and talk to them about his newly added terms for working with their new pet hybrids, but Blue's early hatching had ended up speeding up his original time table and they would now end up needing to set up a proper base of operations for both the raptor and hybrid project a lot faster than before. "We want the old buildings from Jurassic Park renovated for our use. The bunkers, the visitor center, Hammonds old bungalow, all of it. They'll all serve a better purpose being renovated for our use instead of being left to rot in the restricted area." This was the important part for him. He had a feeling Simon may want to leave the old buildings alone out of respect for what Hammond had started, though he wasn't sure if he would be so sentimental.
Dr. Wu didn't seem to care all that much about the request, only raising an eyebrow and turning his gaze to Simon while the business man seemed to think over his request. It only took him about a minute to think of the decision as he sighed and gave Owen a small smile, "Though it would pain me to do so, you can have them. I'll make sure to get construction working on renovating the buildings and clearing up some space for you right away. Once you have an idea for the design you want for the raptor paddock make sure to send it my way and construction will begin on that as well. Will we be in need of a temporary holding area for your first little friend?"
At the mention is when Blue decided to pop her head out of his shirt pocket, first chirping up at Owen before turning to bare her teeth at Wu. Both Wu and Masrani were surprised that Owen had brought his first raptor to the office with him, the young man shrugging as he gave them an innocent smile, "Figured it would be best to keep her with me at all times. Get her as used to being around me and other people as physically possible. Though I would certainly like a temporary paddock built up to keep her comfortable in for when she gets older, thanks."
Though it was clear that Wu was less than amused at the idea of a baby velociraptor being carried around his lab, there seemed to be a slight twinkle in Simons eyes that suggested he found the situation funny. His smile got larger and he shook his head as he looked at the little creature currently in Owen's pocket, "Absolutely remarkable animal. We'll make sure to get something ready for your raptors as soon as we can, though for now I believe we have some time until she gets large enough to be a concern. Do you have any specific plans for the old park buildings in mind or did you simply want them repaired and cleaned up so you could decide what to do with them?"
Owen shook his head as he raised a hand to pet Blue's head, at first the little raptor snapping her jaws a little before succumbing to the comforting pets, "Ideally, I'd like the visitor center to serve as the main base of operations for us. Where our project members will sleep and eat, maybe have a control room of our own to watch over the restricted area better, as well as the raptor and hybrid paddocks. Ideally I'd like the armory for our security team to be located in the visitor center as well so that they can arm themselves quickly and keep our people safe, stocked with lethal and non lethal weapons alike." He knew that the original visitor center was an absolutely massive building, and he had a feeling it would be more than capable of holding everything he was asking for.
And if they ever ended up needing more space for whatever reason, he could always just ask Simon to get a new building built up for whatever it was they may end up needing or to simply add extensions to the existing structures as it was.
So far Simon agreed with Owen's ideas, rolling his hand in a gesture to get Owen to keep going, "The bunkers I would like to use for emergency storage and as emergency shelters in the event that something ever happens. Use them to hold weapons, food for the workers, and of course food for the animals so that we can be ready for any scenario that may occur. Whether it be the fact that the raptors themselves end up being far more dangerous than we ever expected, the hybrids getting out, a natural disaster occurring, or something else. Can't be too safe in case something happens, y'know?"
Simon was fine with the suggestions that he was making so far still, and waited for Owen to finish up what he had in mind, "Only other things to add on are that we will need one new building made from the ground up to use as a vehicle bay so we won't be running around the park and our vehicles won't just be left out in the open, we'll probably need our own vet and first aid station considering we'll be working with a bunch of carnivores that are likely to injure each other and us regularly, landing pad with it's own helicopter, and I'd like to turn Hammonds old bungalow into a lounge area for the project."
"A lounge area?" Wu was the one to bring up the question as he raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his seat while Simon tilted his head in curiosity. Dr. Wu brought a hand up to his forehead as if he was massaging a headache before he finished his question, "Why do you need to turn that old bungalow into a lounge? I'm fairly certain you all will have more important things to focus on."
"And, why exactly will you need your own landing pad for your own helicopter? That seems a bit much, don't you think?" Simon questioned, though he didn't seem entirely against the idea.
Owen shrugged at the head geneticist as he stopped petting his raptor, Blue looking almost offended as she glared up at her caretaker with angry amber eyes, "Because people need to do something other than work, eat, and sleep? We're all gonna need to take time to unwind, relax, have a good time without having to travel to the other side of the park to have a drink or play a game or just generally relax. Figure that old bungalow could serve as a great bar, gaming area, whatever our guys and gals may end up needing to relax, y'know? If we help make sure they got a place to relax not only will they end up working better, but there'll be less of a chance that they end up working for someone else because of it."
"And as far as the helicopter and pad goes, figured it just makes sense. If one of the raptors escapes, we have a helicopter immediately ready to get in the air rather than having to wait on ACU, and if I or anyone else needs to get somewhere quickly because of a general emergency in the park we can use the helicopter for that rather than driving across the entire island. It wouldn't exactly be a short drive after all."
Wu rolled his eyes at Owens reasoning, though before he could say anything to try and put his idea down Simon spoke up to cut him off, "That sounds reasonable, so long as everyone makes sure to keep doing their jobs instead of spending too much time trying to relax and take time to themselves. It does no one any good if our workers end up getting too stressed to properly do their job, or even want to do it. Especially when it has to do with such volatile animals. As far as the helicopter goes, it makes enough sense I suppose. So I think that these are all more than reasonable requests, especially considering the fact that they all have good reasoning behind them. Is there anything else you would like?"
Owen looked down at his raptor as he thought about what else he could ask for. He was certain that he had asked for everything they would end up needing, whether it be for the care of the raptors and the indominus or for the employees he'd have to take care of. He was sure that Simon would see to making sure that the buildings were all properly furnished as well, rather than leaving them completely bare. No one had brought any personal requests to him earlier that day or before he had gone up to speak with Wu and Simon, so he supposed that he had taken care of the majority of what he had in mind.
There was only one other thing that he could think of needing, and he was certain the others and Tim would make their own requests in time. "Only other thing that I can think of are these special little hybrids that the labs went ahead and cooked up. If I'm supposed to be working closely with these animals, it's a good idea for me to go ahead and meet them while they're still really young instead of waiting for them to be capable of stepping on me to introduce myself. I'll be bringing Blue along with me for this little meeting as well."
Neither of them seemed all that surprised that he wanted to meet the indominus pair, it was likely the expected reaction all things considered. Though they both turned to look at each other when he mentioned bringing Blue into the room with him to meet the hybrids, with a small frown on Wu's face and a look of concern on Simon's. "Owen, why would you like to bring one of your velociraptors with you? It would be safer for them and, Blue?" At Owen's nod he continued on with his question, "It would be safer for them and Blue if you were to leave her out of it while you met them. So why do you want to introduce them?"
"A few reasons." Owen put up his right hand in a fist and flicked up one finger, "First, these hybrids of yours are primarily a cross between raptor and rex, right? Blue may be younger than them but it's a good chance for them all to learn more social skills with me there to supervise." He went and flicked up another finger, "Two, if I'm to be working with both animals they'll be curious as to why I smell a certain way, and I have my doubts they'll just ignore the smell like a dog would after you pet another dog. They'd stay curious. If they end up meeting and getting familiar with each others scent, then there will be less curiosity and less of a need to find out what the smell is. A need that can end up in a desire to escape because of their curiosity." He put up a third finger, "Third and last, it'll help me gauge what to expect from the indominus by seeing how they act with each other and with a raptor. Will they single her out, or will they end up recognizing she's like them and try to socialize? Or will they immediately go for an aggressive response? Either way, it'll tell me what I can expect from them as they get older."
Simon still seemed rather worried over what could happen to the animals if this meeting occurred, though a light seemed to appear in Wu's eyes as they thought over what Owen said, "This would be an excellent test for their behavior and to gauge their social skills and intelligence. This is a great chance for us to learn more about our indominus rather than just speculating how they could end up acting based on the animals used to make up their DNA. I, for one, think this is actually an excellent idea that could benefit us greatly in the long run." Owen couldn't help but actually find himself a bit less comforted by Wu finding his own logic in the situation. He couldn't help but feel if the pair decided to eat Blue that he'd be thrilled at the new data.
The doctor's assurances seemed to be enough for Masrani, though barely. He sighed as he looked over at Wu, "Fine. Get someone to show Owen the way, make sure they are watched in case there is a turn in the indominus' behavior."
Wu waved away the request as he stood up from his chair, "No need. I need to stretch my legs, and I'd rather witness this myself. I'll take him to meet our hybrids personally."
Notes:
So this took me longer than I like to get out, though I eventually did. Some of this I didn't originally plan on happening, such as Blue's early hatching and the planned meeting for the Indominus next chapter, but I decided I wanted to keep things going and I wanted our main girl to get in. We know Wu isn't infallible and that its possible for eggs to end up hatching early, so I felt it was reasonable to allow such an event to occur. I am also giving the raptor project quite a lot to work with, but considering a lot of it will also be to work in conjunction with their several million dollar hybrids I felt it was a reasonable setup. Hope you all enjoyed this admittedly very late chapter and will be willing to wait for the next xD
Chapter 5: Introductions and New Beginnings
Summary:
Owen gets a chance to meet with the young Indominus' while Dr. Wu watches, meanwhile the rest of our crew leaves to get things started, only to find a surprise in the process.
Notes:
SO, HI! Welcome back if any of y'all remember this story, it's been a fat minute. I make no promise as to me making consistent updates so we'll see how long this lasts for! Slightly winging it, which I kinda was the first time except I remember very few of my plans barring a few. So we'll see how things turn out! There's a few concepts I know I had in mind at the time that I'm gonna need to consider and see if I'm still gonna run with, we'll see.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Innovation Center, 5th Floor
Curiosity. It had burned in her and her sister since the moment they had hatched, though there was little to sate their need. They were offered food and water and little else by the hairy headed things, never interacting beyond making sure they had the bare necessities. Having nothing to explore and nothing to learn, the lack of actual interaction had begun to grate on them. They had been held down the other day while a long and thin tooth was used to close the small scratches they had made on each other after they had started to get aggravated with one another due to their situation. They couldn't get away from each other, couldn't get space or a place to hide, all they could do was constantly be around each other without any privacy.
Being held down by the hairy headed strangers while they pierced their hide with thin teeth did NOT help matters in the least.
She and her sister eyed each other as they considered getting into another fight, having nothing else to pass the time outside of sleeping and eating.
Then the door opened.
They both made a sharp turn to the door to their little room and tilted their heads in opposite directions while a new hairy head walked in. This one was not coated in white like the others and had a more slightly rugged appearance to him. He seemed to have a bit of food with him as well, they could smell that much, along with something else though as far as they could tell it shouldn't exactly be time for food. They were about to turn away from him, expecting him to leave the food and them alone, until he placed the food down and sat in front of it.
Curiosity. For the first time in a long time it lit up in both of their eyes as they looked up at him. No one stuck around after bringing them food, though it seemed this new person was different in more than just appearance. His mouth curled up and his eyes seemed kind while he split the food up and offered it to them both. "Well? You two gonna come and get some grub?" They didn't quite know the meaning of the words, not yet, though they found the tone welcoming enough to get the general gist of things. Her grey sister walked up with her, both moving slowly in case this was some sort of trick.
It wasn't. They were allowed to devour their food in peace, the newcomer keeping a watchful eye while they ate. When they finished they looked up at him, expecting him to leave, only to tilt their heads again once he offered an empty hand out to each of them. She moved first, sniffing the hand that was offered before promptly plopping her head down on top of it, her jaw laying flat against his palm. It felt a bit rougher than the hands of the white coats, though he was certainly gentler with them than they were. Her grey sister, on the other hand, inspected his hand a bit more thoroughly, sniffing in between the fingers of the hand offered to her before she started to rub her snout against his hand.
This one was very nice it seemed.
They were both startled when he moved his hands, as well as a bit disappointed. They expected he was getting ready to leave, though instead he ran his hands down their backs. His touch was odd at first, though light as a feather. It didn't take either of them long to get used to it, simply enjoying the attention they nearly never received. They began to enjoy it even more when he began to scratch at a particularly persistent itch on her spine, and at the base of her grey siblings tail. Though the more they stayed around him the more they both couldn't help but note there was a scent that clung to him that wasn't on the others that normally visited them.
It was then that a small head popped up from a spot on his chest with a chirp, a grey face with bright eyes looking at them curiously. At first the sisters tensed up, though they noticed that the look in the eyes of the other newcomer was similar to theirs. And the more they smelled, the more they realized she smelled relatively similar to them. The nice hairy head took his hands away, causing them to whine, up until he took the little newcomer out of the spot on his chest and brought her down to them. She was less than half their size, though no less curious than them as she ran forward and began to chirp.
They chirped back, delighted at having someone new that understood them and could speak with them. Not only did they have a nice hairy head, they got a second new friend as well? Had they done something good to get rewarded like this? Neither knew for certain, though they certainly weren't complaining. After they got to know each other a little their tiny new friend wiggled her tail behind her and crouched down low before running at her grey sister, leaping onto her back with a little scream. She was careful not to cause damage with her claws or teeth, gently gnawing on her back.
Her sister responded in kind, running away from her and the nice human as she tried to throw off the little one with the blue flecks. The white sister looked back at the nice human though, not quite ready to join in the play as she walked up close to him and pressed into his leg with a croon. He gave her that nice look again with the curled mouth and picked her up, carefully avoiding the recent wounds from her and her siblings spat the other day. The aggravation that had been bubbling up in the both of them was all but forgotten as they were brought something new, and more than that, something new that challenged what they thought they already knew.
They thought all the tall hairy heads were mean or didn't care. Or, in some cases, that they were all scared of them. They had all been so hesitant to touch them or be near them, as if they would get bit if they lingered for too long. Yet this one brought a new friend and a kind hand. He held her close to his chest and she let her head rest against him with another croon, listening to his heartbeat while she laid back. They both watched as the new little friend and her sister continued to play, the little blue flecks finally being thrown from her sisters back before being chased around the room. She hadn't realized how much she had wanted this, she and her sister, but now she wasn't sure she wanted this one or his little friend to leave.
They made the lonely void in their chests go away.
Restricted Area, Temporary Project Residence
Oscar, Alan and Barry all parked one of the parks jeeps by the set of trailers that had been left for them. Billy and Barry had both decided to ride together while Ellie stuck with Alan, each van being stocked full of their belongings, though they brought so many jeeps for another reason. The large man grunted as he put the car into park and stepped out with the rest of the group doing the same, with everyone starting to move their belongings to their own individual trailers. None of them were marked for anyone specifically so they took their pick, leaving the last one near a lake for Owen when he finished up back at the labs. It didn't take long for them to unload their belongings and to meet back outside, with Oscar crossing his arms.
Barry didn't take long to take the lead as he stood before the rest of the group, arms crossed, "Alright, we need to find where we want to place the paddock for the raptors, and one nearby to suggest for the hybrids. If Owen intends for them to interact than its better to try and keep them close together." Oscar noted that would also hopefully help with keeping track of both sets of animals, "Oscar, think you could check out around the visitor center? If you think anywhere around there would fit for an enclosure it would make our jobs easier. Billy, check a bit further to the west of the restricted area, Ellie I want you and Alan to have a look around to the North."
The three nodded along, with Oscar staying quiet as he went and got back into his jeep. He raised an eyebrow as Billy stayed behind to speak with Barry, though he decided to get moving as he started up the jeep and got going. He turned up the music on the radio as he drove along, the classical music helping him to relax while he drove along. He tapped his fingers on the wheel as he listened, a small smile growing on his face. Eventually he arrived at the dilapidated remains of the visitor center, turning off the jeep with a frown.
"Oscar, what the fuck was that?"
"Dunno Billy, but keep your eyes open..."
"AHHHHH!"
"Was that Vargas?" He motioned for Billy to move left while he moved in to the right. Gunfire echoed off the walls and something moved in the shadows around them, though it didn't bring itself into the light. The cackles that came around them sent shivers up both their spines while another scream from Vargas echoed off the walls...
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he shook off the memories. Nearly two decades and he still thought back to that day. He walked up the stairs and looked at the torn off doors for a moment before moving back in. He was fairly certain there'd be no troodons this time around, he doubted any of them would've been allowed to live when Masrani took over the island, assuming they hadn't already been wiped out by the other carnivores as it was. He briefly wondered what Nima must think of the new company that had taken over the Island before looking around. Bullet holes in the walls and pillars and fauna having grown throughout the building.
Nature hadn't taken long to begin reclaiming the area.
A bark echoed off the walls behind him and he tensed, before taking a deep breath and letting the air back out. He was ready to ignore the noise, there should be no raptors on the island and he knew it was likely just his own memories of the island still bothering him. He turned around, expecting to be met with empty space, only to quickly draw out his combat knife from the strap on his leg. His eyes narrowed as he stared down the adult velociraptor that met his gaze with bared teeth. Some of her hide had started to turn grey, and she was noticeably thinner than the raptors he had encountered years ago.
She wasn't a memory.
'Where the Hell did this one come from? I thought all the wild animals had been contained?' Though it would appear that thought was incorrect, as the aged raptor began to circle him. If he were to hazard a guess, he would wager that she had been using the visitor center has her den. Between the lacking amount of cameras in the restricted area and the size of the island itself, it wasn't too much of a surprise that a predator her size had managed to avoid detection for so long. Considering the adult raptor had managed to go unnoticed, he'd be going ahead and ensuring camera's absolutely littered the area so that nothing like this came up in the future.
Assuming he made it out of this little scuffle alive.
He kept the knife extended to her as she did a mock lunge and hissed, causing him to mirror her in turn. Lunging forward while waving the knife at her with a yell, causing her to back off for the time being. She was malnourished and on the older side, so she likely wasn't too confident she could take him in a fight. Though you could never be too careful with raptors. He slowly reached down to his waist with his free hand and pulled up his radio before turning it on, "I need immediate backup at the old visitor center, now. Masrani and his people missed an adult raptor. Do not waste time, get here. Now." He shut off the walkie before a response could come through, not wanting to startle the predator with extra noise.
He needed to appear strong, but if he scared her too much and she felt backed into a corner than she very well may decide to take her chances with him. He didn't fancy trying to recover from raptor claws again.
She hissed at him and took a slow step forward, her muscles tensing up as she did. He realized what she was up to a moment before she did it and dodged to the side just as she made to pounce on him with a wild scream, the failed attack leading to her stumbling into a column. 'She really has gotten weak.' He thought to himself, watching as she recovered from the impact. If he were to wager, he'd assume she likely didn't get regular meals. There wasn't much out in the restricted area to sustain her outside of small animals such as the occasional rodent or compy, and perhaps fish if she tried her luck at that.
He couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy. If he was right, then she's been alone for nearly twenty years without a proper source of food to keep her going. Likely running on fumes the entire time. He would kill her if he was left with no choice, but he couldn't say he'd feel good about bringing down a starving and lonely animal. Deciding to take a bit of a gamble, he slowly reached down to a pocket around his waist, and withdrew a large pack of untouched jerky. He took out one of the dried strips of meat and threw it in front of her.
At first she jumped back as if she was about to be attacked, though as she smelled the air she turned her gaze on what was thrown. She had realized it was food. Glancing at him warily, she crouched low and stalked forward slowly as she picked up the piece of jerky and held it in her mouth, tasting it before swallowing it whole. Licking her lips, she seemed to relax slightly as she eyed the back in his hands. Getting the message clearly, and seeing a way out of this that didn't end with him killing the raptor, he crouched down on the floor and dumped out all of the jerky from the bag before slowly backing away to give her space to eat.
She stayed cautious as she moved forward, though wasted no time in devouring the food once she got to it. She took her time with the last piece, having seemingly come to appreciate the flavor of the dried meat, savoring it before swallowing it down. It wasn't much for a carnivore her size, though he took a guess and assumed it took a bit of the edge off from her hunger. He didn't have any other food on him to offer her, though he decided to take a gamble and put away his knife to appear less threatening. Once the knife was put away, she seemed more confused than anything as she tilted her head while she looked at him.
"Well I'll be damned, you ain't so bad are ya?" He knew he could very well be on the menu, though it seemed she wasn't considering him as food for the time being despite having invaded her territory. He glanced back towards the entrance of the visitor center for a moment and noticed both Barry and Billy crouching by the door, tranquillizer rifles in hand as they took aim. He took his gaze away from them and kept his attention back on the raptor as he rested a knee back on the floor, hands raised and open in a placating gesture, "Sorry 'bout this girly, but I'm gonna need ya to take a good and long nap for me, alright?"
She didn't understand him, thankfully, though she yowled as both darts hit her in the hind leg. Her amber eyes blazed with rage as she turned and saw the ones responsible before screaming out at them and charging forward. Considering the state she was in though, it took no time at all for the enraged raptors eyed to begin to shut. She made it as far as the doors before she collapsed, fully unconscious while both men she had targeted had begun to jump back to try and get distance and avoid getting mauled by the adult raptor.
The three men all looked at each other wide eyed, before Oscar gulped and released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Get Owen on the line and get someone out here, now. I don't think we want her to wake up in the open unless we wanna find out how good she is at holding grudges."
Both younger men nodded vigorously before moving away to do as they were told. Rather than follow them however, he crouched down beside the downed raptor with a frown on her face. Some small scars surrounded her eyes. Birds that had gone for her eyes perhaps? Animals trying to protect their nest. Other scars littered her sides, though he couldn't help but take interest in a single large scar from her side. He narrowed his eyes and traced it with his fingers, 'This doesn't look like the work of a wild animal... this looks like she got cut by a knife. But I know this isn't one of the raptors I and my boys encountered, so who did this?'
Looking her over he found signs of an old bullet wound as well on her left leg, one that had long since healed over. He'd need Gerry to have a look at her to confirm his suspicions, but if he was right than another party entirely was responsible for this animals injuries. He just wondered who.
Innovation Center, 5th Floor
At this point, all three of his precious predators were curled up on top of each other in his lap. It had taken little time for the young hybrids to warm up to him and Blue, and all three had exhausted each other while they played. His white hybrid had wanted to cuddle for a bit at first before she joined her sister and Blue, with their games switching up from free for all, to a pair randomly deciding to gang up on the loner. Blue and grey, Blue and white, white and grey, all resulting in the three coming to his lap and passing out. The white one had been just awake enough to wait for her sister and Blue to crawl in first before crawling in on top to snuggle in close.
Both hybrids had managed to far exceed his expectations in their behavior, both with how they treated him and Blue. He'd expected more outright hostility or at the least fear, though it seemed there was something at play that helped balance out the aggression that should be brought on by both their raptor and rex DNA. He couldn't say he was exactly complaining as he held the trio close though, smiling down at the three while he rotated with who he pet. He knew he'd have to come up with names for each of the hybrids eventually, though he wouldn't be falling back on the same alphabet he'd be using for the rest of his raptors.
These animals were in a completely different ballpark. It didn't feel quite right to stick them into the same naming conventions.
He had noticed the stitches on the hybrids though when he picked up the white one, and was worried that Blue may be injured in a bit of roughhousing. Though considering how gentle they each managed to be with her, he couldn't help but worry over what exactly the injuries came from, and wondered if they had gotten into a fight with each other for some reason. He felt a bit irritated at the less than stellar treatment both animals had received so far, and resolved to make sure this would be the last day they spent alone in the room whether Wu and Simon liked it or not.
You could NOT raise healthy and well adjusted animals by keeping them in a white room with little to nothing to interact with and nowhere to hide when they felt scared.
There was a light knock at the door and the white sibling raised her head, her groggy eyes narrowed in irritation as she growled at the annoyance. The other two stayed asleep and ignored her, whereas Dr. Wu seemed more amused than anything as he poked his head in. It was the only time he could say he had seen the man express any genuinely positive emotion, though it didn't seem to last as he turned away from them and looked back at Owen, "Your team is calling for you over our walkie system. They say it's urgent and refuse to share with me what the problem is. Take your raptor, we can discuss these two when whatever issue your team has is resolved."
His eye couldn't help but twitch at the mans cold demeanor reappearing though he ignored it, digging Blue out from the bottom of the cuddle pile in his lap while she groaned in protest. He set her back in his pocket and closed the flap over it, though she seemed discontent to have been moved she stayed asleep for the time being. Owen dragged himself away from the young hybrids reluctantly, leaving them both together as they started to whine without him. For a moment he thought of putting off whatever problem he was being called for, though decided against it. Whatever it was likely was pretty important.
"...I'm... I'm sorry, what did you say you found? I think I misheard you."
"You didn't. Owen, while Oscar was scouting out the old Visitor Center he came across an adult velociraptor. From the looks of her, she's on the older side too. We got the parks chief vet on the way to come take a look at her and to bring her back for a proper exam and treatment, but the old girl looks like she's been put through it. We have no idea where she came from but we wanted you to know before Simon and Wu. They already have a habit of hiding things from us as is, and the only reason we decided to trust their chief vet is because Oscar, Alan, and Ellie all vouched for him."
He pinched the bridge of his nose as he held the walkie up in front of him, standing alone in one of the labs bathrooms while they spoke. Of all the problems that he had expected to come up, he hadn't thought to pin rogue adult velociraptors on the list. One of his own raptors going rogue and even potentially escaping? Yes, that much he thought was possible. But a random adult raptor coming out of the blue? No, that was a new one. Luckily enough from the sounds of things though, the poor thing was alone. If it wasn't, he doubted Oscar or the others would've gotten away without being mauled or found by the rest of the pack by now.
Then again, he already thought poorly of the surveillance that was done of the restricted area. He didn't think it was so bad that an entire pack of raptors could escape notice though. Even if one had managed to avoid being found this entire time.
"..alright. So. Now we got a wild raptor that's been around, what? Probably since the old park, right? No where else that it could have come from, I doubt it swam all the way over from Sorna. So what are we supposed to do with the damn thing? It's one thing to raise up a pack of newborns, whole other issue to try and take on an adult. Chances are we won't be able to work with her, but we can't just dump her on Sorna without it being a death sentence." Euthanizing the animal was an unstated option, though it was one he didn't want to turn to except as a last resort. Surprisingly enough, it seemed Oscar already agreed with him considering he went out of his way to avoid killing the raptor.
"I don't know Owen. We won't be able to introduce her to your raptors or hybrids without risking her trying to take control of the pack, then all our work could end up being for nothing. So until the pack is firmly yours, they can't meet. Even then it could be risky, but keeping her isolated the rest of her life isn't a great option either. Though, I'm not sure she'll be impossible to work with." He raised an eyebrow even though Barry couldn't see him, though the other man took the silence as a sign to continue, "Oscar didn't just avoid killing her, he was feeding her. Before we knocked her down, it seemed she was starting to let her guard down around him. So there's a chance he or you may very well be able to work with her, if you can offer her something first and prove you're not a threat."
Call him crazy, but he couldn't say he felt all that thrilled at the thought of putting himself at the mercy of an adult raptor. He didn't want to leave her high and dry, it didn't mean he wanted to lose a hand or some of his fingers either though. "That's... it's better than nothing but still. She's been wild for a while now, and has no reason to associate people with anything other than as a food source."
"Actually, she may see people as a direct threat. Oscar noted a few old scars that he thinks may have been man made. We're waiting to get confirmation from the vet when he gets here, but in Oscar's own words, 'I know a bullet wound when I see it'."
He just stared at the walkie for a moment, the news only being that much worse with the new information. The fact that Oscar was able to work with her using only what would be scraps of food to a carnivore her size only surprised him that much more, though perhaps that just said how desperate the raptor was to have been so easily persuaded to peace with such a small offering. If they offered the food directly then and only acted in peace then maybe they'd be able to work something out. Though even if that was the case, which was a very small if, that left them with another issue.
"Barry, if this animal has been mistreated or had negative experience with people that's only gonna make things more difficult with her. Assuming we ARE able to work with her at all though, there's still the issue of where exactly we can keep her. We were expecting to be able to house a couple of small raptors in a temporary enclosure within a month, not to need something for an adult right now." Normally he was treated as the crazy one, especially when it came to anything to do with the raptors, but the fact they were more gung-go about working with a wild adult left him stunned.
Well, he wasn't sure what Alan and Ellie thought on the matter, and he was certain they would be less than thrilled with the idea. Especially because this animal would likely look like the same ones that had nearly killed them back in the nineties. But he'd likely find out about their opinions sooner or later.
"Owen, trust me, I know this is going to be an absolute nightmare to figure out. We already knew there was going to be some sizeable roadblocks as it is dealing with your little pack, and we'll be raising them from their hatching day. But I know it doesn't feel right to you to just give up on this animal, especially not when it's done nothing wrong and has exhibited less aggressive behavior than what is known for these animals. I understand being reluctant to work with her, I'm not exactly all that sure about this myself, but I know we have to give it a try at the least. We can get help from park security for the time being and see if there's anywhere we can hold her till we have a more permanent residence available for her."
'Assuming Masrani will be willing to build an enclosure just for one raptor that can't be seen by the public.' He thought to himself. It was already going to be a stretch as it was to get his raptors to be seen safely by the public, and it was a hell of a stretch that they were going to be able to get this old girl to work with in the first place. Getting her into a spot where she can be seen by a crowd or any group of random strangers without her freaking out? He already wasn't optimistic on their chances of working with her to begin with. Much less achieving such a result at all.
He licked his lips as he looked at the walkie and sighed, "Look, I'll talk to Masrani and see what I can do. Maybe with the hybrid problem being so fresh I can twist his arm a little bit more for this, and he does seem to care about the animals at the least. But he's also a businessman at the end of the day, and sustaining this adult carnivore isn't gonna be cheap. Neither is gonna be bringing her back up to a healthy state. Though getting something ready for her as well as the little raptors is gonna be the biggest issue, so don't hold out too much hope."
"It's not me you have to worry about here Owen. If I didn't know any better, I'd say our big man Oscar may be getting a bit attached. So it's a matter of whether he will be fine with the outcome that could be a problem." He couldn't help but feel that it was a bit ironic that the same man who was the most against the raptors being made in the first place was the same one that seemed to be the biggest supporter for the wild raptor. He could be reading a little too much into things, but he had a feeling their mercenary friend was fond of the same animal that would've been just fine taking his head off.
"Alright, I'll go talk with Simon. Hopefully I'm able to twist his arm with this. Assuming he doesn't think I'm crazy, that is."
"He already thinks you're crazy. He wouldn't have come to you for this job in the first place if he didn't."
Notes:
...so, hope that was a good return chapter. I'm actually fairly happy with it and this time around the chapter just kinda flowed out within the day, so I decided I'd finally deliver and prove that the story ain't quite dead yet. Hope y'all can forgive me for the absence, though this is not a promise of consistent updates. I may be able to pump out more, I might not. Depends on the turns my life takes and if I can get my mind juices flowing for this story still so we'll see what happens. Hope you all enjoyed and with any luck, I'll see ya next time!
Chapter 6: Conundrums and meeting Ms. Proper
Summary:
Owen finds someone to talk to about their latest problem, meanwhile Alan and Ellie both arrive to meet the problem. But first, a quick look at our little friends now that they're alone.
Notes:
Das right, anotha one. We'll see how long I can keep this up for. Not got too much to say otherwise, other than I would appreciate comments, they help give me a bit of a push and a lot of y'all got good ideas!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Innovation Center, 5th Floor
That. Was. Magnificent.
Not only was it the best sleep she and her grey sister had since they had hatched, but it was the most FUN either of them had either. With so little to interact with on average everyday besides each other, it didn't take long for them to both get bored of each other, and slowly sick of being the only things they saw outside of the hairy heads coated in white. Having two new living things to interact with, one to play and one that gave gentle care? They'd been starved for such a thing, for something new and exciting and purely good, not just for them to live, but for them.
It reminded her of just how much she appreciated having her sister around, too.
Yet as she yawned, bringing her jaws shut with a snap, she felt dread pool in her belly. Something wasn't right, she had been more... elevated and comfortable when she fell asleep. She looked around and let out a chirp, only to find it was as she feared. They were alone again. Their little grey friend had left and so had their big friend. She jumped up, disturbing her grey sister from her slumber as she began to grumble in irritation. It didn't last long however as she too noticed the absence of their new friends. Shooting up with her now, they both went over to the door to confirm they had left from whence they came. After sniffing around the door, they knew that they had.
Had they done something wrong while they were playing with the little blue striped one? Or was this simply some sort of test to see how they'd behave, or was it just meant to calm them down after the fight they'd had with one another? Letting out a sad croon, she went and curled up on the opposite side of the near empty room, her grey sister trying to claw at the door at first. They both knew they weren't strong enough to break out, they had tried before. The door always refused to budge, and it would be no different on this go around.
Erk.
She blinked. Her sister blinked. She got back up from where she laid and joined her sister in examining the door, both of their mouths going slightly agape as they realized where the noise had come from.
The door hadn't been shut all the way while they had been asleep. It wasn't locked in like it normally was, a small sliver showing that her sister's efforts had indeed moved the door. The two young hybrids shared a look with one another before nodding in unison. They both ran back to where she had just curled up to mourn their returned isolation, only for them both to charge at the door together. Keeping pace with one another, they braced themselves as they rammed into the door as hard and as fast as they could.
They managed. The door was pushed halfway open, though for a pair of young dinosaurs it was plenty of space for them both to get out. No one was around the door, and with determination in their hearts and a newfound confidence, they both followed the scent of their friends. It didn't take them too long to reach a dead-end, a spot in the wall with a line going down it being where his scent ends. They weren't ready to give up so easily however, and as they looked around they found another door. They exchanged a look with each other before narrowing their eyes at the entryway.
They wouldn't be able to open up this one by force like they had the last one. But if they waited long enough, perhaps someone else would do the job for them. So they lay in wait, hiding under a cart near the door. The moment the door opened and was left clear, they would dart through.
They WOULD find their friends. They refused to be locked away and alone again.
Control Room
Owen had at first tried to find Wu to see if he could get Simon on the line, considering his own efforts had ended in failure so far. The geneticist being nowhere to be found put an end to that plan, and he had no idea where to find their CEO otherwise now that he couldn't get a hold of him. And that was assuming the man was even on the island in the first place and no attending to the rest of his multi-billion dollar company instead of spending all of his time on his dinosaur theme-park.
"Spared no expense except for the cell service." He muttered to himself.
Yeah, he quickly realized that perhaps it would be a poor idea to hold out hope for help from Masrani.
However, there was someone that Simon left in charge of the park, though he had yet to meet Ms. Dearing. As it stood though, she was his best hope of getting anything done with their new wild raptor. He was almost as lost on how to find the park manager, though luckily enough he knew someone who probably knew where to find her. So he had called up Zara on the walkie to see if she could lead him to her, after letting her know that the situation was urgent.
That may have been an understatement considering they were talking a wild adult raptor and all, but y'know, he didn't feel like making anyone else panic.
And so here he was, finding himself at the top of an elevator as the doors ding! open. Walking through with Zara leading the way, it didn't exactly take all that long to figure out which one was Ms. Dearing. Looking her up and down as she watched over the rest of the room, he bit back the comment bubbling in his throat on the attire being perhaps a little too pristine for someone currently running an island full of dinosaurs. He briefly wondered if she had even walked around the park she ran before he shook off those thoughts for the time being.
Wondering if the pretty woman had walked around her park wasn't a concern right now.
He didn't wait for Zara to make any introductions as Ms. Dearing (He thinks he heard someone refer to her as Claire at one point) turned to him with a raised eyebrow as she looked him over. She didn't look all too amused with the unplanned visit, though he put a hand out once he got close enough, "Hi, Claire right? Name's Owen, I'm gonna be leading one of Masrani's little projects and I need to talk to you. We got a bit of a problem on our hands that needs to be handled, well, now. So if you wouldn't mind...?"
He knew he was a bit abrupt, but he didn't really have the time to go ahead and beat around the bush. He didn't want to say exactly what he was working on either with so many people present, seeing as he wasn't too sure how common the news was of his raptors existence (He could only be thankful that Blue was still tired enough from playing with the indominus earlier that she was still asleep in his pocket) and he didn't want the information to spread until, preferably, they were all capable of taking care of themselves first.
She was clearly a bit surprised on his blunt approach, though she quickly fell back into her mask as she grabbed his hand in a firm shake, "You would be correct, Mr. Grady, and I'm well aware of what you were brought on for. I am a little bit busy at the moment, we've got a few incidents with escaped animals that need to be resolved and I need to be here to make sure things run smoothly, I'm sure that your issue can wait a moment." She had already just about dismissed him as she turned back to the large screen at the other side of the control room, though Owen gently grabbed her shoulder.
She turned a small frown his way as he shook his way, a grim look on his face, "I'm afraid it can't, Ms. Dearing. Trust me, you need to hear about this before it becomes a bigger problem. So if you wouldn't mind?"
Claire searched his face for a few moments before nodding, turning back to her control room crew once more, "Vivian, keep an eye on things and try to make sure the current incidents get resolved in a timely manner. If the ACU need anything, give it to them."
"On it boss."
Claire turned and lead the way once she had verbal confirmation from one of her employees, leading Owen down a hall and into an office with large glass windows overlooking the rest of the park, with Zara waiting outside the door. She took a seat in the chair behind her desk and gestured for him to take a seat, though he chose to remain standing for the time being. Rolling her eyes she leaned back and clasped her hands together, "So, what's so urgent you needed to pull me from the control room? I assume it has to do with your raptors if you didn't want anyone hearing about it?"
He winced when she said his raptors, considering this didn't exactly have anything to do with one of his, "Kind of?" At a raised eyebrow and a hand roll he elaborated, "So... basically, my current coworkers for the project were in the restricted area scoping things out, making note of where we want to build our paddock for the raptors, when one of them ran across an adult raptor. An older one, likely from the old park."
She took a deep breath and brought a hand up to the bridge of her nose, massaging it in irritation, "Mr. Grady, I assumed you had wanted to bring an urgent matter to my attention, not an attempt at a joke. Not only is this not funny, but if you simply wish to waste my time then I'm going to have to ask you to please leave so I can get back to work."
"Yeah I ain't exactly joking." He wasn't too surprised that she didn't believe him. How an adult velociraptor ended up getting missed when Masrani and his people took over the island was beyond him, though that wasn't exactly what he wanted to hash out right now as he turned on a walkie, turning up the volume to make sure Claire could hear the reply, "Hey, Barry, how's sleepin beauty doin?"
"So far? The raptor is fine, Alan will be here soon to have a look at her with Ellie. Dr. Harding is on his way to have a look at her and see what he thinks, you talk to someone yet about her? We can't let her run loose Owen, and we don't exactly have any sort of holding area prepared."
"Working on it, just needed an update pal. I'll get back to you when I got something a bit more concrete, Owen out." He turned his gaze back up to Claire only to notice that she had gotten a bit pale. He winced and turned off the walkie, placing it back on his waist before he moved forward, "We need somewhere to keep her contained. My people are willing to work with her too, but we need something to keep her held until I got something better ready. So if you have anything that could work, that would be greatly appreciated."
She licked her lips and leaned forward, clasping her hands together with a frown. "We need to get ACU out there asap. As far as we know there could be more wild raptors out there and the last thing we need is for any of them to cause problems. We've got a quarantine area for sick animals, it should be plenty capable of holding an adult raptor for as long as you need it to. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, now if you'll excuse me I need-"
"Hold up, I don't think you need to get ACU involved." At first she gave him a look as if he was insane, which he supposed was fair. "Send it out if it will give you peace of mind, but this raptor was apparently already struggling for food. If she had a pack, they would've either come into the park already by now for food, or they would've come to help her when she encountered my people. Probably a better idea to let them take care of the current issues in the park, then send em out just in case. Sound good?"
He really did doubt that there was other raptors out there, though he knew it was better to be safe than sorry. But he didn't think it was a good idea for their security team to drop what they were doing with actual issues and go on what was likely to be a wild goose chase when they already had plenty on their plate. Luckily, Claire agreed as she nodded, taking a deep breath and letting out a tired sigh. "Yes.. you're right. That sounds fine, thank you." She stood up from her chair and walked around the desk, resting a hand on his shoulder as she went past him, "You should probably go to the quarantine area ahead of time, I'm sure the rest of your team will meet you there with the raptor. I'll see you later, Owen."
"No problem, and I'll go ahead and get on that. Thanks- wait did you just call me Owen?" By the time he had asked though, she was already out the door. He couldn't help the little grin that came to his face before shaking his head, "Worry bout that later, right now, time to worry about our brand new killing machine."
Restricted Area, Old Visitor Center
The sun was beginning to set as Alan's jeep was brought to a stop when he and Ellie arrived at the old center next to the other jeeps. They looked at the old building with fondness in their eyes, and neither was too eager to get out of the vehicle. In part due to the sweltering heat and the blessedly cool AC which helped make the island's humid climate more bearable, and in part because neither of them was too eager to see this raptor. It was one thing for them to join a raptor based project, something they were both reluctant to do in the first place (Especially Alan, who only went along to help Owen.) it was another to deal with one of the beasts that would've joined in with the hunt in '93.
If it wasn't for the old rex, he very well knew he and Ellie wouldn't be here right now.
Eventually though they knew they needed to see it, rather than hide from it. Dr. Harding would be there soon, the old paleo-vet having kept the matter quiet for the time being so he could come and do a personal examination. Alan took a deep breath and stepped out of the vehicle first, Ellie following his lead, before they both made their way up the steps with trepidation, noting that at some point the doors to the center had either been ripped off or had fallen away, considering their complete absence. He knew they had still been up during their escape, though plenty could change in near twenty odd years.
As far as he knew, there was a pretty good chance ole Rexy tore the doors down after he and the other survivors left the island. He wasn't sure how else she would've gotten out of the building, or in it at all for that matter.
When they walked in they both just stared at the raptor in question. Billy was stood off to the side leaning against a column, while Barry was pacing back and forth around the room. Oscar was sat kneeling by the raptor, seemingly doing his own examination as he manipulated her arms with a light touch. The beast was pretty thoroughly under, so for the moment he and Ellie relaxed. He approached the raptor and Oscar alone and kneeled down next to it with a grown, while Ellie went to speak to Barry.
The markings were right. The raptor had an aged appearance to it, some of its hide slightly greyed, with several small scars littered across her body. But he was most interested in the markings, clearly the same as the raptors that Hammond had produced on the island. They were nothing like the ones he encountered on Isla Sorna, or the ones that Malcolm had reported from his encounter on Sorna either. He traced one of the dark markings along her back with an index finger, the raptor in question taking in a slow breath before letting it out.
"Check her leg. Think that long scar could be from another raptor?" He looked over at Oscar with the question, raising his eyebrow at the larger man before doing as he requested. He wasn't a paleo-vet, though as he looked at the scar he shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"Can't be. If another raptor went at her I doubt it would go for the leg, or just get her with a single sickle claw. More than that, I doubt she'd be able to walk, much less run, if this was another raptor's work. Not sure what did this, but I doubt it was a dispute." He gently put a bit of pressure along the long leg scar, and did the same on the small scar next to it. He felt a bit of resistance on the smaller scar and wondered what the issue was there, as the raptor twitched when he applied a bit of force to that spot.
Their security head didn't seem all that surprised as he nodded, "I wanted a bit of extra input, though I'm pretty sure that's from a knife, not another animal. Could be wrong, but call it an educated guess. That little scar you're pokin at there, I'm thinkin is from a gun. There somethin wrong with it?"
He didn't think the resistance was just from bone but he wasn't sure, so for now he shook his head, "Question is who came to the island to get tangled up with the raptor in the first place? Not sure about the bullet wound, for that I'd need Dr. Harding's opinion. Or for him to use proper equipment to have a look at her." He stood up from his place next to the raptor and shook his head, though his attention was brought to the doorway as the rumble of an engine drew near.
It came to a stop right outside the visitor center, with an older man with glasses marching through the massive doorway about a minute later. His face was clean-shaven and his hair was kept short, the paleo-vet looking around the building for a moment before taking in a deep breath and letting it out. Turning his attention to the group with the raptor he came over, crouching down besides the unconscious animal with a frown on his face, "She's one of John's alright. Those markings are consistent with the animals he had Wu cook up in the lab, question is which one is she."
Dr. Harding took a look at everyone around him and nodded at Billy and Barry first, "Dr. Harding. I had a feeling I'd be working closely with your project, though I didn't think you would end up needing me so soon." He turned his attention to Dr. Grant and Dr. Degler next, "Alan, Ellie, good to se you both. Still can't say I expected either of you to make a return to the island, much less for work." He had a smile on his face as he turned his gaze to Oscar next, having taken a knee next to the big man, "Good to see you Oscar, how you been?"
The former merc in question scoffed as he shrugged, "Could be better, considering I almost got myself ripped up by this one." He nudged the knocked raptor with his hand, "Though she didn't exactly seem too eager to get tangled up with me."
"And that's part of what's so strange about this one." At a few questioning glances he gestured at her ribs, more easily seen due to her malnourishment, "This girl has to be desperate for a meal. The most she'd get off of the island are small animals, maybe some fish if she gave that a try and figured it out. Besides, the raptors are supposed to be hyper aggressive as it is and highly territorial. I know the rest of the raptors John and Wu made were. She comes home and finds someone intruding on her space, someone that would be worth more food than most of the meals she's likely had in a long time and instead of attacking, she holds herself back?"
He shook his head as his hand traced the scar on her leg, his brows furrowing as he spoke, "Then there's this injury, and the fact she clearly hasn't ventured near the park. If she had, she would've been found by now. I don't think she'd be capable of bringing down any of the animals alone, not even an adult gallimimus in this state. So unless there's another raptor around and they both hate each other, AND she got lucky enough to only get one claw on her leg, I'd say it's more likely that the injury was man-made. Which would explain part of why she's so hesitant to get tangled up with people."
"Yet she was just fine trusting my food." At Gerry's confused glance he chuckled, "Old girl here let me feed her some of my jerky. She seemed content and relaxed after that, or at least she was starting to. Don't know if it would've lasted, but I didn't want to risk it. Take a look under that leg scar doc, there's another one. Feels a little bit off."
Trusting the big man, he took a look and quickly noticed the small dot scar beneath the knife wound he had been taking a look at. He pressed his fingers against it and tilted his head when he did, before lifting the animals leg without much difficulty to have a look. He grunted as he let the leg down, shaking his head as he pursed his lips, "Looks like she took a bullet in that leg at some point. Makes me wonder who came to the island and nearly got her, but it also looks like whatever they used wasn't strong enough to go all the way through. Unless I'm wrong, it feels like the bullet is still in there."
"Had a feelin that's what it was." Oscar wasn't surprised, having taken his fair share of bullets in his career.
"So, what's the plan then doc? I know Owen's got where we're gonna keep her figured out, but you worked on these raptors before right? So what's the next move?" Billy took a knee on the other side of the raptor, gently resting a hand against her side.
He hummed to himself before standing, dusting his hands off as he did, "Well, first thing is to get her back to my office. We got the facilities to do a proper check up on her, and while she's out I'd like to check on everything. Take some blood, do some x-rays, and if there really is a bullet in her, then hopefully do a quick surgery to remove it. That and a proper examination where I can have Jess double check me on a few things, her eyes are workin a bit better than mine these days."
Oscar's eyebrows rose at the drop, a small smile coming to his face as he chuckled, "Your daughter Jess? Good to hear she got her act together, can't say I saw her trying to follow in your footsteps though. The kid almost bit it just as many times as the rest of us. I thought she'd be a little more sane than us because of it."
"Ha!" He barked out a laugh, a small and proud grin coming to him, "Believe me, I was proud when I found out she decided to be a vet as it was. Fact she dropped a few of her worse habits from when she was younger only made me feel better. When I got the offer from Mr. Masrani to come and continue my work here on the island he gave her an offer as well, and we both took it. Imagine my surprise to find my daughter already in her office waiting for me!"
Turning their attention back to the matter at hand, Gerry turned his gaze and pointed at Billy and Barry, "You two, help me get her into my truck. Load her up in the bed and get her secured, then make yourselves comfortable. In case she starts to wake up I don't want her bailing on us and hurting herself, or for us to have to try and hunt her down later if she gets away. Chances are if she escapes, we won't be finding her again until she wants to be found. So you two are gonna keep some more tranquilizer ready just in case, until we can get her to my office to properly set her up. Hopefully that little bit of food she had from Oscar won't make her sick when she wakes up."
With Oscar's help, they managed to get the raptor up with a grunt. Though it wasn't too heavy for the three of them, it was a slightly awkward hold to have in the first place. They took the raptor outside and loaded her up in Gerry's truck, with Billy and Barry hopping in behind the raptor and sitting across from each other. Billy tossed over the keys for his jeep to Alan while Gerry was stopped from getting in the drivers seat when a hand was laid on his shoulder, turned a questioning look to Oscar, "I'm lookin forward to workin with you doc. We need to catch up sometime, you should bring Jess when we do."
He was given a soft smile in reply, "And Nima. She came along to the Island with us. She knew Jess would be here to help, but apparently she had a feeling that I'd need an extra hand to help make sure I didn't get my head taken off from one of my patients." Oscar gave him a confused frown, not too sure why she would've followed until Gerry showed him the ring on his left hand, "She said she made it clear with our vows that she'd be there for me."
This time it was a wide grin that split Oscar's face, "You two are gonna need to give me all the details when we talk then. Now go ahead and get that killer taken care of." Oscar turned away and went back to his own jeep while Gerry shook his head, getting into the truck and turning on the older vehicle. After a few moments he was off, with Oscar following not far behind in his vehicle.
All that was left was Alan and Ellie. The paleontologist looked back to the visitors center and sighed.
"They're gonna come through the glass!" A shotgun went off as the velociraptors began to break in, ruthless in their pursuit. Relentless in making sure they caught their prey.
Nearly catching Lex, and the lunge that brought them down from the fossils. Huddled together while two very angry, blood thirsty raptors circled around them. Alan could only try to shield the kids and Ellie from what was coming, keeping them behind as the raptor prepared to lunge.
The relief they all felt as they were finally given a stroke of luck, the rex that had nearly killed them earlier lunging forward just as the raptor made to pounce. One solid bite was all it took to end the life of the predator as she tossed down the small pack hunter and began to feast on its corpse, as the last raptor let out a furious snarl. In an attempt to avenge it's fallen packmate, forgetting the humans it had been hunting, it pounced onto the side of the tyrannosaur.
The survivors took their chance to escape, none of them looking back as the two predators fought, furious roars and screeches shaking the Earth beneath them as they fled.
A hand coming to his shoulder shook him from his memories, turning away from the ruined visitors center to face Ellie. Concern danced in her eyes as she looked at him, gently squeezing his shoulder, "You gonna be alright?"
He gave a small smile, reaching a hand up to squeeze the one she had on his shoulder, "I'll be fine, just a bit lost in thought was all. Thinkin back to our first visit on the island." He pat her hand before giving her the keys he got from Billy, "You take their jeep, rather not leave our cars out here unattended. We'll catch up to them and, hopefully, they don't manage to drop the raptor."
She snorted, shaking her head, "Oh god, I'd really rather not add more problems to our plate."
He guffawed at the thought and got behind the wheel of Billy's jeep, Ellie not far behind him. He powered on his jeep and followed the trail that the others took, a frown on his face now that he was riding alone. He couldn't help but wonder about their mystery raptor and what problems she would entail. Or what problems they would find in the future if someone had come onto the island before and fought her.
He also wasn't too fond of riding alone. He preferred when he was with Ellie.
Innovation Center, 5th Floor
Their chance had finally come. They witnessed as others came and went from the little slit in the wall, watching as it opened up only to lead to another dead end. They knew that it wouldn't work for them either way, they didn't know how it worked and whenever someone was going in they simply stood there as the doors closed. If they tried to take that path, they would likely only end up getting caught. If that happened, chances were they would never get another chance to escape. Then they would be stuck trying to wait and hope that their friends would come back for them.
They would rather find them instead of being left alone again.
The door opened, and one of the strangers came through. This one was covered in black though and there wasn't anything that was really trailing behind him like the ones covered in white that normally bothered them. He kept his eyes straight ahead as the two ran forward, running along the wall to try and avoid being seen in case he did look around. They darted around the door as it began to close and made it, coming to a stop just as the door clicked shut behind them. They were alone on this side of the door.
They went over to the edge of the platform and looked down, both of them slumping just a little as they saw just how far they'd have to travel to get down to the bottom. The ledges themselves were steep, though they would be easy for them to traverse. It would take them a while to get down to the bottom, though they saw there were platforms further down with more doors for them to rest on whenever they got tired. So they each took a deep breath and began to hop their way down the stairs. The white sister was taking it more slow and cautious, moving down sideways as she reached a leg down to go down. The grey, on the other hand, had turned it into a game as she hopped her way down the stairs.
Though this did have the downside of her falling forward when she got closer to the bottom of each platform, though she took it in stride and rolled back over with a chirp. It took them some time to actually reach the bottom, and as they had planned they used each platform to rest for a bit before they continued on their journey. They knew they couldn't afford to stay still for too long, their absence would be noticed sooner or later and they needed to get further along with their search if they wanted to avoid being taken back to the lonely room.
Eventually though, they managed. They reached the bottom and shook themselves off, before they began to excitedly chirp. The door at the bottom was already open unlike on the other levels, leaving them a clear path for their escape. The little grey square with a blue light was there too, just like on the other doors, and for a moment they wondered what it was before they checked the other side of the door. So far their luck was continuing to hold out as there was no one on their path, another white hallway filled with the transparent walls that were higher up than their heads.
As they sniffed around, they chittered in excitement as they were able to pick up their friends scent again. They began to run down the wall and came out into a much larger room, causing both of them to come to a stop for a moment. They looked around in awe at first, and they started to explore the room before they came to their senses and remembered they were on a bit of a time crunch if they wanted to do what they set out to do. They then noticed a few strangers were hanging around the building, focused on little lights in their hand or large lights on the walls.
They started to move from cover to cover as they realized they were not alone, moving slower as they tried to avoid notice while they followed the trail of the scent. They made it to the other side undetected, finally able to get outside for the first time since they were born. Sunlight blinded them at first as their eyes tried to adjust, both of them shaking their heads as they tried to block out the light. It took them a bit of time for their eyes to adjust, though once they did they both looked around in awe as they forgot their little mission again.
The colors were all so... bright and different! There were so many colors they had never seen before, with only little bits of white here and there on their level and high above them in the air. They saw water running over leveled ground next to them and went to explore it as they made their way down much longer ledges than the ones they had traveled down in the building. There were a LOT more strangers out and about in the street and they knew they would need to get to cover while they continued their search if they didn't want to be seen, but it was just so nice! The air above them was starting to be painted in shades of red as well, making everything look even more pretty.
After a while they were able to truly focus again as they sniffed around and caught the scent once more. Fresh determination blazed in their eyes as they became even more certain they would not only find their friends, but they would avoid being brought back to the room they had been left alone in. They would explore the outside with their new friends and take every chance to learn about the world they weren't allowed to view. So with their goal set in their hearts and minds, they darted off to cover as they continued their search.
Innovation Center, 6th Floor
Dr. Wu pursed his lips as he looked over the monitor. He had yet to sound the alarm as he watched the pair of indominus make their way through the building on camera. He had known the moment both youngsters had made their great escape, he was aware from the get-go that the door hadn't been properly closed by Owen when he left them. His first instinct had been to shut the door while they were asleep, not wanting them to get out and knowing they would likely be upset when they woke up. He was going to have some staff ready on standby in case they fought against being placed back in their holding due to their frustration when he stopped.
There was little known about the indominus siblings as it was. There wasn't exactly any precedent for a pair of true hybrids, and their mixed genome could end up doing anything as far as their health and personalities went. And their intelligence and social needs. Owen and Blue, his lips formed a frown for a brief moment as he thought of the name, had been able to socialize with the pair without issue. They seemed eager to gain attention and to meet someone new, warming up to the man and the young raptor fast. He had thought they would do fine with a raptor, though the experiment was good to confirm he was right.
At least while they were young. He had no clue if this would last as they get older, though he had a feeling he would have plenty of chances to see for himself. Owen was who he was more curious about, knowing they likely had a more negative perception of humans. He had hoped that their genomes would mean they would still socialize just fine with people and get along with them if need be, and he felt gratified to know that they did react well to socializing with a person. The extra information had been adding to his notes on the two the moment he had returned to his office, though... it wasn't quite enough for him.
He knew he was taking a gamble letting them get out of the building like this, but he wanted to see what their goal was and if they could stay task oriented when they were onto something. To see if they were trying to find Owen or if they were just trying to escape. They still had their trackers, so he wasn't too worried about losing track of them and he knew that if a guest grabbed them they would be able to find them. The biggest worry was if they came to serious harm or if they were killed. It would take time and money to make a new pair, and after the tests already ran he couldn't help but feel annoyed at the thought of having to start over.
Not to mention he'd have Masrani and Grady breathing down his neck for their escape in the first place.
Yet as he watched them make their way out of the building, he felt it was worth it. Clearly they were both plenty intelligent for their age, having wondered if they would be able to figure out a way past the first door. After they had managed to get out and laid in wait though, they shouldn't have been able to make it through the second door and down the stairs. The fact that they had spoke to that particular guards lacking perception. The fact that the door at the bottom of the stairwell had been left open as well was another concern. An added benefit being that this incident helped show some of the flaws in their security, as well as how lax their people were becoming when it came to safety procedures.
Though all things considered, it may be worth while suggesting that all their security got put through an all new training course. They couldn't afford further mistakes like this in the future to happen, especially if it occurred when he wasn't actively watching the animals in question.
The other thing he had noted so far was that they had suffered little in the terms of distraction, moving fast to get back on task after they briefly examined whatever interested them at the time. IND-01 was more cautious than IND-02, the grey sibling being more eager to explore and to have fun as they moved along, though it never took either of them long to refocus themselves. They had both proven themselves to be incredibly patient for their age as well with how long they had managed to wait before the door was finally opened. Though he also noted that IND-01 was more hesitant to socialize with unfamiliar entities in comparison to IND-02.
Last, he had noted their improving mood the further out of the building they got and how excited they were when they saw the world outside. Something Dr. Grant and Mr. Grady likely would try to hold over his head if they were to witness it. He leaned back in his chair and smiled, though there was no joy in his eyes. Merely satisfaction. So far the indominus were coming out exactly as he had hoped, if not even better. If their progress continued the way it was, then he would be likely to conduct a few more natural tests to get more of an idea as to their capabilities and their limitations. They were estimated to be able to grow larger than their old rex, considering all the large dinosaur dna that was used to create them, though that would only be seen as they grew. He had a feeling they may not quite meet expectations there.
Thinking it over, he nodded his head and reached over to the other side of his desk and picked up his cell. He tapped on one of his contacts and waited for the ring to stop, "Yeah, what is it Wu? Got a bit of a situation that we're tryin to handle over here."
"Vic. The Indominus' are coming along splendidly so far. They've been introduced to our new raptor handler and seem to have taken to him quite well. He's good with the animals he works with so far. We might have made something even better than we bargained for." There was silence on the other end for a moment and he knew the man was thinking.
"Good. Keep an eye on things and keep me updated. Two of our raptors over on Isla Pena got out so I'm goin over with a squad to recapture them. I'll be needing a new handler over here. It's the last time he's going to have made a mistake with these animals. I'll give you a report on the situation once we have it all figured out. Hoskins out." The call ended, Wu frowning in irritation. This was the third time such an incident had happened on Pena. He wondered if the raptors had already gotten to the man or if Vic would just have to boot him off the island himself.
His problem for not doing his job right. Hopefully Hoskins raptors on Isla Matanceros would turn out better, though he didn't have much hope. He was more bluster and empty talk than anything, but he was loyal and good at doing as he was told at least. He had considered telling the Ingen soldier about the current experiment that was being run with the indominus before dismissing it. He didn't need someone like Hoskins getting in his ear because he thought the animals would come to harm. He was confident that they would be fine, so he would tell Vic about the results once the test concluded.
Better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission and all that. Though, he had no intention of asking for forgiveness either.
Turning off the camera view on his monitor he began to more directly track the pair of young hybrids instead, not being able to use the camera's anymore to reliably watch over them now. He leaned back as he watched them slowly move along the main street, grabbing his mug of coffee and bringing it up for a sip. Time to see how well they perform outside.
Notes:
As for if the indoms could get out of the room as long as it was left slightly open, at the vet I work at we have these big, heavy swinging doors. A 30 or a 40 pound dog with enough momentum behind them has been able to completely bash those doors open before and they are big, and the doors in the innovation center we already know aren't too heavy like that. So I figured I could perhaps do a lil tom foolery and allow our little hybrid stars to get out :P
As for anyone who thinks Claire's reaction, considering her character by this point is a lil odd, there is a reason for it. It's from secondary canon, but I'm gonna roll with it. It'll get brought up in the story at some point.
I hope y'all enjoyed the slightly longer chapter though, and the fact I was able to get at least one more chapter out! We'll see if I can squeeze another one out in short order but I am not promising anything. Leave a comment and keep an eye out!
Chapter 7: Surprises
Summary:
The Harding's prepare for surgery while Owen meets back up with the rest of the group. Our twin menaces make a few new discoveries, including about something they can do!
Meanwhile, Ingen finds itself struggling with its own ongoing projects. In particular, finding good help.
Chapter Text
Jurassic World Veterinary Center
A dozen small veterinary buildings were scattered around the island, each one being manned by a pair of veterinarians and three certified technicians. Each group was meant to serve as a quick response team in their area in response to an animal injury or emergency, and on occasion to help the ACU if an animal got loose and to do a daily checkup on their patients. This helped for any minor injuries that could be more easily tended to, as well as making sure that an animal on the other side of the island wouldn't need to be brought on a long ride just for it to get medical aid. It was necessary considering how much ground and how many animals they had to cover on the daily.
However there still needed to be one main building. This was situated slightly northeast of the main park along the mountains, the other side of the mountains containing the park aviary. No less than eight of their paleo-veterinary professionals could be found at this building at any given time, including Dr. Harding, with three technicians per doctor. It was more readily equipped for the largest animals that the park boasted, both with holding areas for when an animal was particularly ill and in need of care as well as surveillance, a shower area to keep their patients clean (Complete with a light solution to help clean any light cuts and scratches), and multiple different x-ray rooms capable of handling animals of various sizes.
Gerry was still a bit annoyed that they would never be able to properly accommodate animals such as their sauropod patients, the best that could be done with them once they reached a certain size was visible observation and trying certain medications if they were having a particular problem. The needles he needed to get to one of their veins were absolutely ridiculous, and he could only be thankful that Mr. Masrani had been more reasonable with the plants he allowed on the island. John had caused him no small amount of headaches with the toxic plants he allowed due to their appearances, and the animals that had gotten sick because of it. Yet as he thought back on the past, he knew that he had been a good man.
Currently, their newest patient was strapped down to an examination table and being kept under light anesthetics. Considering her less than ideal condition he didn't want to risk stopping her heart, while he and his people were trying to move as fast as they could so they could wake her up. It was as one of his technicians was pulling blood from the animals jugular that Jessica walked in, his youngest daughter looking only a little concerned as she eyed the downed predator on the table. He could tell the rest of his staff was feeling jumpy as well, remaining tense as they eyed the animal in front of them warily. So far it had yet to so much as twitch, and he had a feeling they would have little issue till she woke up.
Despite her obvious misgivings from the look she gave the raptor, his daughter started to look the raptor over with a critical eye, her stethoscope coming out fast as she first made to listen to the animal. She listened for her heart and for her lungs, nodding once she was satisfied that she was in the clear as far as those organs went at least. She pulled the anesthesia mask down to have a good look at the wild girls teeth and gums, checking close before looking around the face. She continued her examination and finished up with the old knife and bullet scars on her leg, pausing once she reached those particular points of interest. She traced the knife before putting pressure against the bullet, checking the other side of the leg much like he had at the center.
He couldn't help but smile as she went to work despite her clear distaste for the animal in question. Or perhaps distrust was the more apt word, which he couldn't exactly blame her considering their past experiences with raptors. Eventually she quietly nodded to herself, satisfied with her examination before she pulled away and came to his side, "Heart and lungs are surprisingly clear, despite her lackluster condition. She's been put through the ringer the last few years, likely due to her being alone for the most part. Though those marks on her leg?" She loosely gestured at the leg, "Not a wild animal, not consistent with anything that could be found on the island either now or before. I'm guessin a person did that to her. Gonna x-ray the leg?"
"To check for a bullet that may have been left behind? Yup. Noticed the lack of an exit wound and the bit of extra resistance?"
"Oh yeah. I'm pretty certain that bullet is still there, but better to x-ray to make sure. Gonna do a full body x-ray just to make sure there's no other issues. Bones that didn't heal right, active fractures, potential tumors or any other abnormality." He was always happy when they were on the same page, especially with how much longer he's been doing this. He supposed he's done his job well as far as teaching her went if nothing else at least. He looked over as his technicians finished pulling the blood they needed from her jugular, being transferred to multiple different tubes before being taken to their machines. Considering they were the only business working with dinosaurs, they had their own lab to do all the bloodwork they could ever need.
That, and not wanting to risk a rival corporation such as Biosyn getting a hold of any data regarding their animals. They weren't exactly known for their ability to keep their hands clean.
"I was thinkin about that. I'd rather get everything done with her here and now, rather than wait and see if any more problems pop up after we let her wake up. If there's something we can catch and treat, or at least start to treat now, then I'd rather just get it done with than upset this old girl by having to knock her out again. As it is though, I doubt she's gonna have many other issues. These animals are resilient, and if neither of us noticed any additional issues then I have a feeling we're in the clear. It's just better to be safe than sorry. That, and it gives us a frame of reference if something new does pop up in her." He turned and waved over another one of his technicians, "Becca, you think you can help them move the old lady here to X-ray? I want two views on that left leg, lateral left and right, then just get me some general views of the rest of her body."
"Can do boss, we got it." She moved past him and helped three of his other technicians get the raptor up, with one helping to move their anesthetic machine with the raptor so they could keep her sedated while they got their views. Jess followed them for a moment to watch as they set the raptor up with a worried eye, making sure that they were all set before she closed the door to allow them to get to work.
"Makes sense, though what are we going to do with her once we have her up?" He gave her a raised eyebrow to prompt her to go on, "She's an old girl, and one that's been around a while. There was a pack that was found on the island when Masrani started to clean house, wasn't there?" He nodded in confirmation, "And a good part of that pack was too feral and needed to be put to sleep prior to containment, while the rest needed to be put down after the fact around, two thousand and four I believe? It was during that Bright Minds internship."
"Yes, they were. Someone accidentally let the last of our raptors that we had caught loose, and they needed to be put down afterwards. Chances are she was either a part of that pack that has managed to lay low, or for whatever reason she never joined up with them while they were roaming the island, and likely had to live off of scavenging from their kills or ole Rexy's. I'm guessin you're worried about how we're going to handle her, considering our poor history with raptors on this island?" He started to prep surgery while they spoke, setting up a pack and getting his equipment ready.
She nodded, "Yeah, I am. I know there's that new project that's been started up, but what if this one's a carrier for some sort of disease that could be spread to the new pack? Or what if she tries to assert her dominance as the new pack leader once they're introduced and manages to take over, or if she just decides to attack one of them? If she was always solo then it could have been for a reason. But even if she won't attack, she will still likely try to take over. But we can't keep her isolated forever if she does want to be social, all we'd be doing is keeping her alone in a cage at that point."
"I see your points Jess, I do. And, frankly, its something I've considered myself." He finished pulling on a pair of elbow length gloves as his technicians finished up with their x-rays, turning to her with a small smile, "But we need to at least give her a chance. She's shown to be less aggressive so far than the raptors we had before, so she already has that going for her as far as her temperament and social skills go. She's had a rough time for quite a while, I'd be remiss if I didn't try to give her a chance at having a good life for the rest of it."
She still seemed a bit concerned, and he had a feeling she was also wondering about the risks if this patient ever managed to get loose considering they didn't have a proper holding area yet. But she kept any other concerns to herself for the time being, seeing his point and, he knew, likely agreeing with him on some level. He'd had his own concerns about what the life of this animal would look like once they were finished treating her, but he knew his job was just to try and prepare her and help get her into shape. He looked over as she was carried over to the table, while he went to finish getting dressed for surgery.
"Jess, look over those x-rays for me and tell me what you see. Lay her on her right side, facing the other way Becca, thank you." His technicians finished preparing the raptor, scrubbing the area that was going to be opened up for surgery. Once they were satisfied everyone but Becca and another tech left the room, remaining on standby in case they were needed for anything.
"Nothing too worrisome that I can see dad, looks like there is the remain of a bullet in there though." At his concerned glance she continued to explain, "Looks like it ended up fragmenting a bit after it hit. I'm seeing about three or four different fragments here, you'll need to come have a look to get a better idea yourself." He sighed as he moved over to have a look himself, confirming what Jess had told him with slight irritation. This was going to be a slightly more annoying surgery than he thought.
The rest of the project group was left waiting outside of their treatment area among stacks of paperwork. Considering it wasn't a traditional veterinary office meant for clients to come in with their pets, it didn't have a standard lobby. A few employees had pets of their own on the island that got treated on occasion, rather than returning to the mainland to take care of their fur babies, but they were the easiest patients to work with on the island considering they were all excellently well behaved. No animals that could be a liability were allowed to come to the island. There was the added perk as well that the employees pets got free treatments.
Barry was stood outside by the doors while they waited for Owen, watching as the sun set towards the other side of the island. It wasn't long after the doctors started to get into their surgery that Owen pulled up next to the rest of their vehicles, hopping out with Blue's head poking out of his shirt pocket. He gave the little raptor a little smile as Owen got closer, though he made sure to keep to himself. Luckily for him it seemed Blue was already in a better mood than when she had seen everyone earlier as she only tilted her head and chirped at him.
"So how did it go? We have something ready for the old raptor?"
"Yep, Ms. Dearing directed me to using one of their quarantine areas for now. Should be able to hold her comfortably while we get something ready. Hopefully Masrani's construction crews will work double time now that we also have an adult raptor. How's she doin anyway? Got anything from the docs yet?"
"Not yet, they were starting to run some tests and get her prepped for surgery. Think they should be starting to work on her soon. All we have on her otherwise is what we were able to guess on our own. She's got a bullet lodged in her leg, but she's otherwise in the clear. No other apparent health issues, besides being underweight and some old scars here and there."
He hummed, starting to rub the top of Blue's head. The little raptor leaned into the head rubs while he spoke, "Well, that's better than I was expecting. Hopefully the bullet won't end up causing her any lasting issues, if we're gonna be carin for her for the rest of her life than I'd rather she's actually comfortable." He took his hand away from Blue, the little raptor giving him a glare as he pushed the door open for the vet building. The rest of the group turned to him just as he clapped his hands and smiled at them, "So! Anyone got a name figured out for lil miss here? If we're gonna be handlin her from here on out I figure we may as well already have a name sorted out."
"Artemis."
They all turned their gazes on Oscar. He received a short round of surprised blinks, with even Ellie being in disbelief as they stared at him. He proceeded to shrug his shoulders in response, "Old Greek goddess of the hunt. I figured our old girl is a pretty good hunter if she managed to survive so long on her own despite being a pack hunter with no big game to hunt, and with a handicap. She moves gracefully like the bullet doesn't bother her, and has a bit of a temper even if its not as bad as the rest of the raptors we've encountered. So, Artemis."
Owen blinked. It had been clear from the get go that Oscar disdained the raptors. Even Alan, despite his own issues with the Jurassic animals in general, was a bit more open to them. So for it to be one of the adult raptors from the old park to have gotten Oscar to loosen up wasn't exactly what he had expected, to say the least. If anything he thought he would advocate for them to have nothing to do with her. So he gave him a small smile and nodded, "Alright, I like it. Artemis it is."
There were a few general murmurs of agreement all around as they took a moment to ruminate on the name. It felt fitting for a graceful hunter, so no one had any objections. Though they didn't exactly have any of their own ideas on what to name her in the first place.
Artemis it was.
Main Street
Alright. So admittedly, their mission so far was turning out to be even more difficult than they had originally anticipated. The world was much larger than they had expected, and they both needed to move carefully to avoid being noticed by the large strangers all around them. Everyone was dressed in an assortment of colors, being witness to even more new colors that they had never witnessed before, though with all the new experiences they were starting to get used to ignoring it in favor of simply continuing on with their adventure before they could be found.
There were a few little hairy heads that clung to the legs of the older ones as well, most of them starting to make loud whining noises as they were walked around, or carried in some cases. There was one or two that had managed to see them and tried to get the larger ones attention, though for some odd reason they were consistently ignored. Those rare instances is what had them moving even slower though, not wanting to take the risk of someone actually listening to one of the little ones. They'd rather not have all their hard work undone.
When they reached the end of the path, the white wanted to lead her and her sister to the left. She could tell their friends scent was strongest that way, though it seemed her grey sister had a different idea. Only their hairy headed friends scent went to the right, and it was clearly older than what she wanted to follow, but there was something that had caught her sisters attention. So despite her own misgivings she decided to listen and follow her this time, having taken the lead for the most part for this adventure of theirs.
They looked around to make sure they could run across without being noticed, though there were even less strangers out than there was before as the space above slowly got darker. They ran out across the street and they continued to run this time as it became clear there wasn't much around to notice them at this point. As they ran her sister lead her through a large gateway and more of the leveled ledges, though she was admittedly starting to get annoyed with them. Going up and down so many was starting to make her feel sore now.
The large circular room was different than anything they'd been in so far, as little as they had experienced. There was a transparent part of the wall like where they had come from, though unlike where they were from it was a VERY large part of the wall and they could actually see through it. They both looked through with some interest after having come to a dead-end, though there wasn't much else for them to find as it was. There were a lot of tall brown things covered in some sort of colored fluff. As far as they could tell though there wasn't much else.
She turned away to return to their search, her grey sister turning after her with a bit of disappointment at finding nothing. Just as they were about to leave though...
Boom.
They stopped as a little vibration went throughout the room. First they looked up and around the room itself to see if they could try and find the source, though they quickly found themselves with nothing.
Boom. Boom.
They realized it must have been coming from the other side of the transparent wall. They ran back to where they had been watching from the vibrations got louder, and out from the fluffy brown spires came two true giants. They both sniffed the air as the large ones approached the transparent wall, chirping as they realized they smelled similar to them, though different from how their little blue friend had been similar. The larger of the two who also looked a bit older was the one leading the way for the other one, pressing her nostrils nearly up against the wall as she smelled.
Even through the wall she could smell them, hot air fogging up her side of the wall as she tilted her head. A low rumbling croon left her as she looked down at them, both of the Indominus desperately wishing they could get through now. The giant lowered her head so she could get a better look at them, bright amber eye going from one to the other as she shook her head. She gently tapped her nose against the wall, low enough for them to bump their own noses to match her on their side. The brighter colored one stayed back, head tilted as he watched the interaction.
Letting out a snort, they were given a warning rumble. They knew to listen and stepped away from the transparent wall as she too backed away. Lowering her head slightly, she charged the wall and tried to ram it, shaking the entire room as the enormous predator tried to break through. A low growl came from her throat, though the two younglings knew it wasn't directed at them. She was frustrated that she was unable to make any visible damage, turning her gaze to the male with her and snapping her jaws at him.
He came level with her as she backed up again, this time both of them trying to ram the wall in unison. Once more, not a single sign of damage. Their tails lowered as for the time being, their adventure was forgotten. Instincts they were never able to truly indulge had come to the forefront now that they were confronted with something like them that was so much older, something that was warm and trying to care. The giant in question growled as her frustration got to her, letting out a long, bellowing roar. It was louder than any thunder they had experienced since they were born and they shook their heads in irritation as it rattled them to their core.
Once she had vented her frustration, the giant pressed her head against the wall with a quiet croon. It was sad, seemingly knowing there was no hope of breaking through, though it also was an attempt to comfort them after her frustrated roar. They shook off the remaining ringing in their heads and placed their own heads against the wall as well, chirping at her as they did. They were a little disappointed, though they weren't too worried. Perhaps their new friends would be able to help them with properly meeting each other once they found them.
The white sibling remembered their adventure and turned to chirp at her grey sister. She was reluctant to move from where she was, so she got on her other side and nudged her forward to get her moving. She started to slowly walk away at her sisters urging, looking back up at the big one that smelled like them. They both knew what they were instinctually missing now, the role that the large one was trying to fill. They were missing a mother, and had been for some time. They just hadn't been able to indulge many of their instincts because they didn't have a mother to depend on.
Being faced with one that could serve that role, it brought those instincts and feelings to the forefront for them. The white wasn't too concerned despite her own disappointment. She knew they would likely be able to make their way back to these giants one way or another if they were able to find their friends and get them to help, and she chirped her reassurances at the large one. Their potential mother tilted her head at her chirping before letting out another croon, this one feeling less disappointed than the one before.
Her and the other boy that had followed her both melted into the forest again after she had given both giants her own reassurances, turning to run and catch up with her sister. She nipped her tail when she caught up and ran past her, the grey turning to try and squeak at her only to find that her brighter sister had already passed her. Feeling indignant at the nip AND being passed up, she ran after her, even as her sister started to hop down the ledges. She would NOT allow her to even try and get away with that as she chased her back the way they came, the place above them being almost completely dark now.
Bright lights started to come on around them in a variety of colors, though they stayed on the opposite side of the path from all the bright lights as they ran towards the way their friends had gone now. The white sibling looked back at her sister as she continued to chase her and was tempted for a moment to taunt her with a chirp, though she came to a stop as she noticed more strangers were starting to fill the paths again. Very few little ones or the older hairy heads were out and about this time, seemingly only the prime adults moving around now.
She squeaked when she failed to notice that her sister had caught up to her, nipping her haunches as she came to a stop next to her. She narrowed her eyes at her grey sister, feeling tempted to nip back for the smug look that she carried. That look was quickly washed away though as she too noticed all the strangers that were coming out now. This time they were out in the open, and they had no opening to try and run to cover without almost certainly being seen. Realizing the potential problem, they began to lean away.
Feeling only a mild amount of fear, she was starting to wish she was even darker than her grey sister so she could avoid being seen more easily. She expected them both to be found in short order, though after they both stood their for a minute without being found she opened her eyes. She turned to look at her sister, just barely being able to make her out against the wall because she knew she was there. Her own eyes were closed as well, yet to see she was far darker than she normally was. The normally white sibling looked at her arms and realized she was just as dark.
They could change color?
They could change color!
She lightly nipped her sister to get her attention, not wanting to make any noise. She was given a dirty look until she realized that they had changed colors, examining herself after she had seen her sister. If they were somewhere else they would be dancing around in their excitement, though as it was they needed to stay silent. Still, with this new ability known to them now they started to walk along while they followed their friends scent. They didn't want to risk moving to fast and catching someone's attention, though it was better than thinking they were bound to be caught at this point.
Back on the search again and now knowing they can change their colors at will, they were ready to travel even through the dark to find their friends. No more getting sidetracked this time around, the grey sister having forgotten her melancholy after her sisters distraction and their discovery. All they needed to do was trudge forward.
Isla Pena
Pena had nearly been passed over when it came to Ingen settling on the five deaths back when they first began operations to resurrect prehistoric fauna. There were extensive facilities on each of the islands, even Sorna, and the only Island nearby that was no longer under their direct control was Isla Nublar. Yet ultimately Hoskins had pushed for a facility to be placed on the storm plagued island due to the nature of the projects already being ran on other islands, wanting another island to run a secondary experiment with their raptors for a point of comparison with the animals he was training while making sure neither pack could meet up if any raptors got out.
Such as the pair that had escaped containment on Pena. Three other raptors were still under lock and key with extra observation to make sure they stayed where they were supposed to be. This was now the third incident where raptors had gotten loose from Pena, this time because of something as simple as the handler not making sure all pens were properly shut, which resulted in two raptors being able to get out. Pena may have been the smallest of the five deaths, though that didn't mean there wasn't plenty of ground that would need to be covered to find the loose animals.
It also didn't mean it wasn't the most difficult island to search. More prone to bad weather phenomena, keeping equipment working consistently beyond the immediate bounds of their facility presented a constant challenge. One that proved to be a problem here as they struggled to actually get a bead on the escaped animals.
Hoskins sneered as the handler lead the way. He had searched for ex-military to hire as handlers and Jackson's resume was impressive at the time. Extensive work with canine units both in and off the field, two tours in the middle east, and he was cleared on the psych evaluation as well as on the physical. No signs of addictions or harmful tendencies. Even better, he had few to no connections to speak of in the event he passed away. He was a good pick, and he thought that they would end up with two useful raptor units by the time both were finished growing.
Yet raptors that were half the size they would be once they were adults had managed to escape three times by this point due to his lacking competence. He took the raptors as being dumber than they were and far more obedient, yet despite being only a year old he had managed to let them escape three times. He'd been near enough to his breaking point before, but now? The moment they had the raptors back in containment he could consider himself fired. It was a blessing that the raptors were still fairly young at least.
But they were large enough to be a danger now.
"They'll probably be nearby again," Jackson spoke, not a hint of worry in his voice, "Last two times they got out they stayed close, probably not wantin to leave the rest of their pack behind. Helps they don't really know what to expect with the rest of the island, either. We'll dart em and drag them back like we normally do and we'll be in the clear." The man was under the impression that he would be allowed to continue on the project after his latest complete fuck up. "After this I think I'll have all the kinks worked out, don't think we'll need to worry about em gettin out again after this."
'Won't be anything for you to work out you god damn idiot.' Hoskins thought to himself, a grim smile coming to him as they moved through the jungle.
They came to a stop, Jackson kneeling down to examine something on the ground while a light rain came down around them. "Fresh tracks, real fresh. They're around here somewhere! Spread out and find em!" He continued forward while the rest of their search party began to move through the underbrush, weapons at the ready should they catch a glimpse of the pair of loose raptors.
Hoskins continued to follow the failed trainer. His hand drifted down to his guns handle and came to a stop. Shadows and plants shifted as something moved swiftly through the underbrush. Out came one of the raptors, half the size of an adult in its prime. His hide was a deep green, with a brown underbelly and cold yellow eyes. Dark green spots ran down the animals sides as it stepped forward, its teeth being bared as it approached its soon to be former handler. The man in question wasn't too bothered by the aggression the animal displayed, its muscles tensing as it prepared to pounce. Jackson tensed himself, prepared to wrangle the animal down and to bring it back into containment.
"There you are, you little shit. Now where's your- AHHHHHHH!" Jackson's voice was cut off as he screamed, the rest of the search squad closing in around where he had been. The second animal in question had come out from the brush, ignoring Hoskins in favor of launching on top of her former handler's back. Her own markings were less distinctive as Hoskins watched, not moving a muscle to help the man as he reaped what he sowed. She was missing the same spots that the male had, though her eyes were a more vibrant yellow in comparison. The green of her hide was lighter, featuring the same brown underbelly as her counterpart.
The ambush sprung, the male lunged as Jackson desperately shot up and attempted to dislodge the animal attempting to rend his flesh from his bones. In his distraction, he left himself open to the male as it latched onto his throat. It's sickle claws dug into his abdomen, ripping through flesh and internal organs. Both animals continued to ignore Hoskins. They were more motivated by a grudge they had against their once handler than they were their inherent wish to be free.
'Ain't that interesting.' Hoskins thought to himself. His hand shifted from the firearm at his side to the tranquillizer gun he had brought with him. The raptors were worth more than the handler had been.
Both animals were darted and dropped as Jackson fell to the ground. His back was a bloody mess, looking more like ground meat than the remains of a man. His throat had been completely torn open as blood poured forth, though he had managed to avoid being completely disemboweled.
The greater surprise was the fact that the man was still alive, if only barely.
He felt no pity for him as the veteran reached for him, showcasing a strong will to live despite his injuries. "Welp," He takes out his pistol, aiming it at Jackson's head as he continued to reach out with wide eyes, "Least that makes this easier for me. Shouldn't have kept fuckin up dumbass." He pulled the trigger, executing the dying man without a second though. He kicked him over to lay him flat against his back with a sneer, kneeling down next to the body. If Jackson had managed to learn from his past mistakes or to keep up the quality he boasted he'd have then he would've lived. "Idiot's own fault." He muttered, standing up and dusting his pants off.
One of his men came up to him while two others took a raptor each and began to carry them back to base. He looked down at Jackson's corpse with a grunt before turning his gaze back to Vic, "Want us to do anything with that?"
Hoskins looked down at the body and shook his head, walking over him as he spoke, "Take any ID he has on him and get rid of it, as well as any security keys he had. If he's got nothin of use on him otherwise, than leave him. No one's gonna mourn him and no one will be able to find him here but one of us. Take anything you want off of him and let him be useful for once by helping to fertilize the damn plants." He continued on through the forest as the rain started to break. He took out a cigarette and lit it.
Behind him, Alexander rummaged around the body. He took the mans wallet and took out the money he had on him, looking at a picture he had in the wallet for a moment. It was Jackson in uniform with a few other soldiers. He shrugged and ripped up the picture, not wanting to risk leaving it as he took the rest of his ID's to get rid of back at headquarters. Once he had everything he needed, and wanted for that matter, he tossed the wallet back on the body and stepped over him. He wasn't gonna miss having to come out to the woods to search for that mans animals. Hopefully the next guy Vic picked would be more competent.
Chapter 8: Discovery
Summary:
Surgery goes well for their mystery raptor, though Alan is given a neat discovery regarding her. Owen get's his own discovery related to the two little ones he was charged with assisting.
Notes:
Ah... h e l l o
So, it's been some time yeah? Over two years, in fact.
A lot has happened in my personal life, imma be real. A lot of back and forth turmoil at my job, I put my first dog to sleep and have in that time gotten two new puppies to raise (They are not quite puppies any longer) I went from dating around trying not to be lonely to currently being in an actually stable relationship, one that encourages me to write and do my thing, I've moved to an entirely new house, moved up to a new position in my job, just barely dodged two hurricanes last year-
Yeah, my life's been fun. To an extent I sort of forgot about this story. Not that I wanted to. But a lot of my motivation to write just... died. I tried to pick writing back up here and there, but I could never quite find my grove again, and I couldn't bring myself to get back to this story. Who would even care in the first place, right?
Yet in the last few months it would appear people keep finding my story. Chaos Theory has come out, and the last two birds to push me in the right direction? The release of Jurassic World: Rebirth, and the announcement of JWE3, as well as the progress ramping up with Prehistoric Kingdom.
I currently find myself surrounded by prehistoric motivation. And frankly, I missed this story, and I missed you guys. But I needed to refresh myself on everything before I did anything first.
So, I did. I've gone back and reread everything I've written, while making edits along the way. Keeping in mind some criticisms to fix certain scenes, and even adding a few new scenes of dialogue as it was where I felt I was being lazy. A good~ 2k or so words added on to the original story as it was before this update even releases? Nothing that ground breaking, just a bit more show, less tell. Thing that flesh out the story and characters a bit more, make things a little more smooth, that sort of thing. There is a few changes I've made that I've not really gotten to mention in story yet, though I might try at some point. I will be mentioning it in the end notes, though.
Anyway y'all, welcome back to my old readers, and welcome to those that are just finding this story. I hope you enjoy :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Jurassic World Veterinary Center
Plink.
He allowed the last bloody bullet fragment to drop onto a tray next to the others, setting down the implement now that he was finished with it. "Jess, think you would mind fixin her and stitchin her? My back is killin me, I don't get to do surgeries like this too often." His daughter nodded and moved forward to take over with finishing up the surgery, the steady beep, beep, beep of a specialized heart rate monitor going off in the background. A lot of their equipment and machinery was special ordered, due to the oddities they faced with their prehistoric patients.
He had thought of just removing the fragments and leaving it at that, except he then remembered the little problem of animals from the old park having a habit of changing gender when there was no animals of the opposite sex. The last thing they needed was this raptor to go from a she to a he if she did end up getting to be around Owen's raptors, so he had made the decision to get her fixed and to prevent the issue here and now. They could have simply fixed Owen's six raptors once they were physically ready, but he felt it would be better to only do the one if possible.
Gerry removed his gloves and mask before he took a seat in the next room over while Alex came forward with a few papers, the young man handing them over with a shrug, "All the history we have on this raptor, only ID we had was the blood sample taken from the time she hatched. Looks like she was the last one that we had on file, hatched the day the park went down. But we don't really have anything besides that. She was healthy when she hatched, and pretty clearly she stayed healthy after. Got nothing on file from when Masrani came and started to get the island all prepped up, so it looks like she's managed to lay low the entire time."
Gerry nodded as he looked over the few documents they had on the raptor, confirming what he had already been told. At least he knew she had a clear bill of health genetically, if she had been a second generation raptor (Or Hell, even later than that) from one of the escapees than he would've been more unsure. Though all the raptors were similar genetically it took very little time for the successive generations on Sorna to start to change in major ways. He'd need to look over the rest of the bloodwork results later to check her internal organs and to see how well they were holding up.
He knew it would likely be a minute before his daughter finished up with her, so once he'd had a few minutes of rest and a few sips of water he took the file and went to speak with the raptor handlers.
"We'll have to probably keep a close eye on her to make sure she doesn't have any problems spring up post surgery. I'd like to get her weight back up as fast as possible, but I think we'll have to start with smaller consistent meals first. Don't want to risk her getting sick gorging herself because she's been hungry for so long." Dr. Harding silently observed them all for a moment. He assumed the one speaking was Owen, as he was the only one of the group he had yet to meet during all this.
Barry seemed to agree, "We'll likely have to borrow some of the goats that Tim uses for the rexes for a bit, or from one of the other carnivores. Mr. Masrani and Ms. Dearing probably don't have a food source specifically for the raptors yet, they would've been waiting on our thoughts before they got anything going."
"Cow's will be your best bet." Alan stated, "The raptors won't need as much as the rexes, but by the time your clutch is grown the entire group will still need a lot of meat. It's not pleasant, but it'll have to be live prey too. It'll help them get some of their energy out, and get them used to hunting for their prey in case the park goes down and they have to rely on themselves for a bit. The bones will be a bit larger and thicker too, good for their teeth to break up plaque and tartar."
"Great suggestion. I'd still prefer larger bones personally, but you won't get much bigger than cow. Well, not unless you intend to start feeding some of the other dinosaurs to the raptors, or other animals they have no business being fed in the first place." They all turned to the doctor once he spoke up, with Oscar standing from where he'd been while Owen moved closer, "I'll assume you're Mr. Grady?"
"Yes sir, and I'm guessin you're Dr. Harding?"
"Dr. Harding Senior technically, my youngest daughter works with me. So call me Gerry."
Owen grinned, "Call me Owen then. Didn't think we'd be meetin so soon, but here we are. What's the verdict on Artemis?"
They shook hands as his eyebrows rose up, nodding at the name as he thought it over, "I didn't think we'd be meeting for a while yet either, but this island doesn't let people keep their usual expectations, for better or worse. Good name though, I'll make sure to have it added to her file. Who came up with that one?"
"That one's on me Gerry," Oscar raised a hand with a little grin, Gerry's raised eyebrows only going that much higher, "Thought it was a fitting name for her. Think you got anything better?"
"Nah, that's a good choice, I like it." He chuckled a little at the question, shaking his head. It was completely dark outside at this point, "As for how she's doin, there was a bullet in her leg. It fragmented into four different pieces, though we managed to get them all out without that much issue. She should end up healin just fine, once she's healed up she'll be as good as new. We'll be sendin the fragments off to be pieced together so we can see if there's anything the bullet can tell us."
Owen smiled at the good news and put his hands on his hips, standing straight while he spoke, "Well that's good to hear then, when will she be wakin up? Anything we need to watch out for with her leg or anything?"
"Now hold on, you all still have a bit before we start to wake her up." They all gave him confused glances, causing him to shrug his shoulders, "We decided to get her fixed while she was under. If she's ever allowed to mix in with your raptors we figured it would make things more simple, rather than having to spay all six of your girls once they're old enough. Don't wanna risk Artemis becoming a him and having kids, you know? Plus it should slow her metabolism down a little, so hopefully she'll start to gain a bit of weight easier, though it will increase her recovery time and slow her down for a bit longer."
Understanding had already dawned on all of them as he explained, some a little faster than others, so Owen shrugged, "Alright, fair enough. That makes plenty of sense to me. Don't think I wanna go from working with maybe six or seven raptors to around twenty or more if I can avoid it, don't think anyone else on the park wants to deal with a raptor infestation either if I'm not mistaken."
"You would not be, don't worry." Gerry chuckled, "As for any issues you'd have to keep an eye on, keep the feeding light for the next two days. She hasn't had a proper meal in a while and just getting off of surgery will make her feel a bit sick, so if you feed her too much she will not be keeping it down. Keep it a bit light on the water, too. Otherwise just keep an eye on it to make sure she doesn't rip open her surgery sites, though I'm not too worried. These animals are pretty good about not messin with their injuries beyond tryin to keep it clean. Though there was somethin a bit funny about her."
"And that is?" Alan spoke up, raising up a single eyebrow as he looked at the paleo-vet.
Gerry raised up the papers he was holding and turned them around so the others could see them, "Artemis here is the last raptor that Jurassic Park hatched. Only one that hatched in our labs the day the park went down, so she's the last first generation raptor to have survived since the days of the original park. That should mean that she's genetically sound, we'll still need to run a few more tests to clear her before she can be around other raptors though. But seeing as those are running now, we should know if she'll be clear to be around your pack health wise well before any of them hatch."
"Ah, well, I wouldn't be too sure about that." Gerry tilted his head in confusion, Owen popping open his shirt pocket again. He dug a finger in and tickled the top of Blue's back, waking her up and encouraging her to pop her head out and look around. "This one ended up bein ready to go a bit early. Her names Blue, my little spitfire." He looked down at her with warmth in his eyes, the hatchling in question leaning into his touch despite her initial irritation at being woken up.
"Ha! Bet that one got under Wu's skin, he hates it when something doesn't go according to his little predictions." Owen wasn't sure, but considering how he had barged into the guys office he had a feeling that he was more irritated with Owen's existence at the time, "But someone should have notified me that one of the raptors had hatched. She needs to be put into our system and we need to run a full exam. Would you mind handin her over for a bit Owen?"
At first he hesitated for a second. It was only the first day and he was already reluctant to hand her over, though he did pull her out of his pocket and hand her over after a moment of thought, "Just be careful, she doesn't seem to care for anyone but me handlin her."
"I ain't too worried, not my first rodeo here Owen. Hammond used to let the raptors imprint on him, so they tended to get a bit snappy with me when I first got to look at em." As Owen handed Blue over she tried to snap at him much like she had Alan earlier in the day, though Gerry was prepared. She never got close, and only blinked in confusion when he gave her a stern bop in the nose, "Don't give me any of that there miss, got it? Don't give me trouble and this'll be done quick. None of that fussin."
She let her head hang a little low with a slight hiss, and allowed the older paleo-vet to handle her. "I'll take her to the back and have a look at her and get a quick blood sample to check and add to our system, shouldn't take me longer than a couple of minutes before you have her back. I'll only need a pinprick of blood to have her in our records. We'll make sure to put her name on file too, we prefer to go by their handlers names for em rather than using their identification number if we can avoid it. Be back in a jiffy!" And with that, the doctor turned and took the confused little raptor away. She tried to stare at Owen with wide "help me!" eyes, though he only raised his hands and shook his head.
He was not gonna get between a doc and their patient, he wasn't that stupid.
The door went swinging shut behind the doctor, leaving the rest of the group silent. Owen turned to Alan to say something and noticed he was thinking about something. "Hey, Alan, you okay? Got somethin on your mind?"
"Hm?" He looked up at Owen and chuckled, "Oh it's nothin. Just that raptor they got in the back that Oscar found is the first raptor me and Ellie ever saw," Ellie chuckled as he explained, "When Hammond was still showin us around the park, we ended up gettin out of his little tour ride early to have a look at the eggs and the hatchery. That was when we learned he had made raptors in the first place, one of the eggs hatched while we were goin through. And apparently, that was the only egg on record that hatched too. Wonder if she'll recognize Ellie and I when she's up." Alan felt it was even more funny, considering he'd been wondering about what happened to that raptor just earlier that day.
"Huh, what a world. Guess Oscar may have a bit of competition if he wants to be her buddy then." He looked over at the big man, though he rolled his eyes.
"I wasn't sayin I was gonna be her buddy, just felt it was better to give her a decent name than whatever you'd end up puttin her through. If Grant or Deggler want her than they can have her." Owen couldn't help but have his doubts. He knew Alan nor Ellie would be in any rush to make a bond with a raptor and his excuse for why he had already prepped a name was a bit weak. Still, he decided to smile and shrug instead.
"Whatever you say Oscar."
The older man scoffed and turned away, no longer interested in the current topic of conversation. Owen and the rest made themselves comfortable as they waited for the good doctor to return with Blue in a comfortable silence.
It wasn't long before Dr. Harding came back looking particularly smug, while little Blue looked particularly disgruntled. "And there we go, she tried to give us a little bit of trouble once we started to poke at her, but every time she tried to bite us I just gave her a little bop on the head till she got the message. You got a good kid there Owen."
He set the little raptor down, her first move being to immediately run over to Owen, quickly hopping into his lap and making herself comfortable. She'd had a long day as it was before they'd gotten to the vet, and at this point? She was more than ready to sleep the events of the day away. Gerry only chuckled at how eager she was to get away. "She probably won't be too fond of me as she gets older, but I'll start keepin some lil snacks and treats around for her and her siblings to help make my life easier."
"Oh yeah? Gonna start keeping some steak on hand just for them?"
"Think I just might. That or some pork, they'll like the flavor either way. Any other plans for the rest of your night?"
Owen and the rest of his group shook their heads, leading him to grin, "Alright then, let me finish up a few bits of paperwork here and then let's all go out to get some drinks, my treat. Think we all deserve it after the day we've had, don't ya think?"
He faced no opposition as the entirety of the project group nodded in agreement.
Innovation Center, 6th Floor
Admittedly, he was impressed with them. After they'd left the building Wu had continued to track them via their implants with interest, wondering where they'd go. He'd been curious once they had visited the viewing log for Rexy's kingdom, and originally he thought that they would go without notice. However he pulled up the camera's in the viewing log once he realized they were lingering behind, getting a glimpse as they looked out into the forest. There was a dull thud that approached the log, with Rexy and Junior both presenting themselves before the young pair of indominus.
He'd wondered how the adult rexes would react to the little hybrids, only to tense up once Rexy started trying to ram the glass. He had been a second away from calling security until he saw there wasn't a hint of damage. He had licked his lips as he watched, wondering if he would regret this, but he reeled himself in and continued to watch. He only felt that much more tense when Junior started trying to assist her to no avail. He couldn't help but feel a little relieved that the log was as sturdy as it was, or else he would've had to do a do over with the indominus just after they had started a valuable experiment.
Though, he also had a feeling that if the tyrannosaur pair had actually decided to continue trying to break in, they would've done so after a while. They were lucky that they had been deterred this time around.
At first he thought they were trying to get to the indominus to try and kill them for trespassing or to perhaps end a potential rival before they had the chance to grow older, though as the indominus refused to leave he knew that was unlikely. The opposite was in fact confirmed as he saw, and for that matter heard, the earth shattering roar she let out in her frustration at failing to break through. It was as she continued trying to look at them, even crooning as she did, that he realized what he was looking at.
It was similar behavior to when she had first caught wind of Junior being on the island.
She was trying to take care of a pair of younglings that she recognized were similar to her. He wasn't sure if she saw them as natural rexes with a weird look or something different, though she clearly was unhappy to have two babies that she couldn't bring to her. IND-02 seemed fairly upset as well, though her sister nudged her to get her moving again, before seemingly reassuring Rexy. Afterwards she had re-motivated her sister to continue and got her to chase her out of the log. He had to revert to using their trackers to keep an eye on them again, noting that this time they stayed along the lagoon wall.
He was distracted from keeping an eye on the siblings travel when his phone began to ring. He pulled it forward and saw it was Hoskins on the line, rolling his eyes as he answered it and brought the phone to his ear, "Yes? I assume you're giving me an update on your little problem on Isla Pena?"
"Yeah, it's been handled. The raptors have been brought back into containment and their handler has been taken care of." In other words he's dead Wu mused. There was no other reason for Hoskins to try and be all vague. He'd known the mans likely fate, though he hadn't really seen it as his problem to worry about. He had made one two many mistakes and they couldn't afford such a thing with their work, "I'll need to start looking for a new hander, and I'll need new raptors cooked up. The dumb bastard messed up somewhere, this pack is pissed just looking at a person. We'll either have to send them to Sorna for study or we'll have to just euthanize them entirely. Things any better on your end at least?"
'Poor you. Don't bring on idiots and you won't have these problems Hoskins.' He kept the thought to himself though, deciding now wasn't the time to try and start a fight with him. "So far, they're going well. We're conducting an interesting experiment that's giving me far more than I ever expected with the indominus. I also introduced them both to Masrani's new raptor handler, he intends for the new handlers to work with them in combination with our tyrannosaur handler. They responded rather well to him, and were quite upset when he left." He didn't bother explaining to him that the experiment was due to how much they liked Owen, and even letting them roam the park to see if they wre looking for him.
"Good, at least there's something that's going right. Hopefully they'll be useful in the future then. How's it goin with that trainer anyway? He got any promise or is he another idiot that's getting in over his head?" Less of an idiot than you Hoskins, less of an idiot than you and the fools you think are suitable,
He leaned back, keeping an eye on the trackers as they slowly made their way through the island. They still hadn't even made it all the way past the mosasaur lagoon, stopping on occasion to sniff out a new scent here and there or, likely, to hide from the visitors that were out and about now that it was dark out. He knew several night owls stayed out to witness some of the animals in the dark, especially their more nocturnal animals such as the dilophosaurus. He wasn't quite sure where they were heading yet, though he supposed he'd find out when they actually arrived, "He's brought a few others in with him. He's former military, and his first raptor seems quite taken with him. He's brought several professionals, most of them having past experience with out animals before, so he actually does seem to have an idea as to what he's doing."
Hoskins hummed on the other side and fell silent for a moment. He wagered he knew what the man was thinking though, and waited for him to bring it up, "Think I'll need to come and meet this trainer that Masrani was able to find and his crew. Might be able to learn something useful if they're as good as you say they are, or even tempt one of them to come and work for me. First I'll need to try and get a new trainer, then I'll put him through his paces. Think I'll take more time preppin the next one before I get the lab to start cookin up our next pack. I'll check in with Mr. Lyndon and see what he wants me to do."
Frankly, he didn't care all too much. The only addition he could recommend would be in regards to the genome, specifically to make them more like the raptors that Owen would be working with, though that would be a call he could make later. "That'll work just fine, keep me updated if you make any breakthroughs with your other raptors. Perhaps a third pack and trainer wouldn't be a poor idea either, one on the smaller side for comparison. I would recommend coming to talk to Owen and his people once you've got your current issues settled. Now, I'm busy. Call me if you have anything else of import."
He heard a scoff on the other end though he didn't protest, "Yeah, great speaking to you too doc. I'll call if anything happens." The call ended after that, letting Wu sigh as he set the cell down. He glanced back at the monitor that was tracking the hybrid pair as they continued to travel North, wondering if they were heading for the temporary residence that had been set up for Owen and his people. Though if he was correct, Owen hadn't had a chance to actually head to their current place of residence. He went straight to handling some sort of emergency after he had met the hybrids.
He switched over to a screen that showed him Owen's current location. All Jurassic World employees had to be issue a number of different communication devices to be kept on their person, including a company issue cell phone. He'd figured out some time ago how to track the many employees on the island in the case of an emergency, though he kept it quiet. He was certain there would be more than a few complaints if everyone realized he could tell where they were going and when at any time he pleased when they were off shift.
He frowned as he realized that Owen was currently stopped at the main veterinary building. "Now why has Owen gone there?" He didn't think Owen would be visiting their vets this late just to get them to do a checkup on Blue, if the young raptor was having any health complications he probably would've already gotten an earful from the veterinary staff as it is. He started accessing the buildings camera's to have a look at what was going on, only for his eyes to widen slightly as he caught a look at what was happening in the back.
"Now where did you pop up from?" He muttered, looking as the younger Dr. Harding finishing the stitching's on an adult raptor. He recognized the markings, it was hard not to remember the patterns that his original crop of raptors bore, but he had been under the impression that all of those animals were long dead one way or another. He'd need to wait and see what came of it, though he was interested to find out where this raptor came from. Or who it was for that matter, if they knew that much.
He'd need to keep an eye on this. Everything was getting that much more interesting lately.
Jurassic World, Main street
They kept to the shadows as they moved along. Some of the strangers out and about seemed younger than most of the ones they saw when it was still light out, and a lot more focused on their surroundings. They had to move carefully to avoid being seen, lest their little journey come to an end. They liked their newfound skill with changing colors, though they quickly realized they couldn't solely rely on such a skill. They weren't quite perfect at matching their surroundings yet, especially not as they kept moving. So they hid behind whatever objects they found in their path as they moved forward, stopping whenever a particularly large throng of people began to pass them by.
Though, that wasn't the only reason they had to stop. Cooped up for a long time they may have been, they were still babies. This was the furthest they had ever traveled, and by far it was the most either of them had ever exerted themselves, including the time they had fought each other. They were, for a lack of a better word, exhausted. They couldn't afford to stop until they found the warm friend and their little friend if they wanted to be safe, though. And they couldn't exactly turn back to the two giants they had met earlier, either, as tempting as it was to be under their protection.
As things were, they'd only end up with the larger of the two getting agitated at the separation.
So they continued on, taking a break under long boards of wood put together above the ground and curling up together. As they laid down to take a break, thankfully without the presence of a light above them, they heard an odd cry. They'd never heard such an animal before, though they'd heard few other animals before in the first place. Curiosity quickly got the better of them as they got up from their resting place and moved over to the giant barrier in the middle of the pathway. They couldn't see it due to how short they were, but they could smell water on the other side. It didn't smell like the water they were usually brought to drink, though. It smelled... off, somehow.
The white was the first to try and climb up despite her sisters indignation, managing to get a grip with her claws and pull herself up. As a result, she was able to bear witness to a gigantic expanse of water. She forgot about the need to hide for a moment and perked up, her scales flashing white as she chirped, only for her sisters warning growl. She changed color back quickly, resisting the urge to make a noise back as she lowered herself and watched the water. She had thought that whatever noise they were hearing came from the water itself, though she couldn't seem to tell what it was that was actually making the noise.
It took a few moments for her sister to actually follow her example, though she eventually did. She had a similar reaction as her white sister, resulting in a mild nip on the hip for her earlier reaction. She, in turn, hissed in retaliation. Before either could begin to get into a spat, however, they quickly received the answer to the source of the noise.
The water erupted not far in front of them, a torrent of water shooting up into the air as a massive animal breached the surface. Both siblings screeched, scrambling to get away and falling back over the edge they had climbed from as the enormous creature fell back into the water. They thought that the pair they had encountered on the other side of the see through wall had been giant before, yet even they would've found themselves dwarfed by the sheer size of the animal that had managed to rise from the depths. The fact that anything could get that big was incomprehensible to them in the first place, and they weren't exactly eager to stick around and see if it would be friendly to them.
Though, hopefully it would rather go for all the two legs with hair heads around them, instead of the pin prick sized snacks. They wouldn't really be worth eating, at least they both hoped. Either way, they weren't eager to stick so close to the water anymore, and went back to where they were hiding. This time though, rather than resting, they waited for a break in the heavy foot traffic so they could cross the street and put a bit more distance between them and the water monster. After a few minutes, they had their chance. They ran across and found themselves hiding behind one of the many tall metal circles they had encountered on their travels. They were safe, or at least, safer.
They were really starting to feel the weight of the days events now. They were sore from all the stairs they'd had to climb, and the attempt to get on top of the ledge to get a look at the water hadn't helped manners at all. Now they were sore, tired, and in desperate need of a safe place for them to rest. She was trying her best to stay calm, but the white was starting to get cranky because they had long since missed out on their usual dinner schedule at this point. Made even more apparent as their stomachs rumbled.
Simply put, their fun adventure was starting to become a problem.
It was tempting to go out to try and find food, but as it was they weren't sure how. As they contemplated what to do, though, they were startled as one of the strangers ended up sneaking up on them.
"What in the- what even are you two?"
They turned to find another stranger leaning over them, spooking the both of them. Having been found, they found a new spark of energy as they focused on one thing: Get away.
They both got up and immediately made a run for it, startling the man as he shot up. "Shit, those must be the hybrids Owen was talking about." Tim ran after the two in silence. He didn't want to bring the guests attention onto the two baby animals that were running around if he could avoid it. These were supposed to be kept well under wraps as far as he was aware, so the fact they were simply wandering the park was a bit of a concern. He thought he'd found a pair of odd albino compy wandering the park for a moment and had, at first, gotten ready to catch them before preparing to send them off to the restricted area. Upon realizing they were completely off in appearance beyond even the color though, he froze. And made the mistake of speaking up, spooking the young dinosaurs.
He wasn't sure what was going on for these two to be out and about, but he was going to be giving someone a piece of his mind for this happening at all. He leaned down to try and grab the grey one as he caught up to it only for it to dodge out of the way, making him stumble as he tried to regain his balance. Both were silent, and he could only assume that they were trying to avoid being noticed by other people while making it as hard as possible for him to catch them. He noticed more than a few guests giving him a few odd looks here and there at his rush, but they dismissed him pretty quickly. None had noticed the little dinosaurs he was chasing after.
He almost got his hands on the white one next only for her to quickly turn about and run after him. He turned around, looking for the white scales only for her to circle around him and begin to sprint forward again. He stared at both animals in disbelief for a moment before he took a deep breath. "I really do not get paid enough for all this." He starting chasing after them, noting how they both began to change color as they started running.
'They can camouflage too? Is that how they managed to get out in the first place?' He thought to himself. He wasn't sure if that was intended, but it was something he'd have to worry about later. He was starting to catch up again when someone came out of one of the shops he was running past, causing him to promptly run into them and fall flat on his ass, along with the guest.
"The fuck dude?! Watch where you're going!"
He winced as he started to pick himself up. "Sorry, didn't see you, I was trying to chase after-" He stopped. He shot up from where he was and looked around. He couldn't see either of the young animals in the immediate area. He wasn't sure if they had camo'd and were hiding somewhere or if they were still running ahead, but either way he wasn't able to tell where either of them had gone. He'd lost them.
"Shit."
Isla Pena, Ingen facility
Hoskins watched as the raptors were loaded up into separate shipping containers. He'd called ahead and gotten confirmation on the next steps to be taken for the raptors. Considering their age and the damage their former handler had already dealt there was no point in continuing to try and tame them, but these animals weren't cheap. So he was officially ordered to send them off for further research on Isla Sorna. He wasn't sure exactly what would come of the animals now, though he knew they were likely to be separated. Beyond that it was none of his business.
Frankly, he also just didn't care.
He turned away from the failed pack of raptors and moved on, knowing there was no point in contemplating it any further. He'd need to find a new handler for the next pack, and check in on how his trainer on Isla Matanceros was going. He'd had far less issues with that pack, though the handler there had a better head on her shoulders than the man he'd had here. He should've had her working on Isla Pena in the first place, the animals were always more prone to irritation on this island than the others. Not to mention the problems with surveillance. Though on the bright side, they had no issues with trespassers due to the volatile nature of the island. Anyone willing to trespass would find themselves on any of the other islands before they would even try Pena.
He'd wager trespassers would be more likely to try and sneak onto Nublar before anyone tried Pena. Still, he was starting to wonder if their efforts were in vain on the island.
He made his way back to his office through the rain, ignoring the storm raging around them. 'Won't be long before Jackson rots away with weather like this.' He thought to himself, eventually finding himself within the central building for Pena's base of operations. He made his way to his office and locked the door behind him once he was inside, picking up the satellite phone on his desk. With this sort of weather, he couldn't rely on his cell phone to get a signal out. He dialed in and lifted the phone up, waiting for an answer from the other end. It only rang thrice before he got an answer.
"Hoskins, did you need something? Or did you just want to chat?"
He went and took a seat behind his desk, leaning back as he made himself comfortable. "Ms. Santos! I'm just callin in to find out how my favorite raptor trainer is doing. I wanted an update on your girls, see how they're doing."
"They're fine. They're all in good health and, so far, are making good progress. We haven't had a new incident since the last one I told you about some months ago. I believe I finally have a crew that knows what they're doing. Though I assume you weren't just calling for a quick update?"
He grinned even though she couldn't see it, "Can't get anything past you, can I? Smart and pretty." There was silence on the other end of the line, prompting him to continue rather than letting the silence stretch on, "My other handler here on Pena ended up mucking things up. His raptors got out for a third time, and they're too hostile to humans. He's been fired, but his raptors are being sent elsewhere. No point in trying to work on them anymore."
"I see. And, your point? What exactly do you need from me? I have my hands full with the pack over here, I can't exactly split my attention between two different islands and two different packs. If I start leaving them, and returning with other raptors scent to boot, then I'm going to face a rebellion. All my work here will be undone."
"No, no, that's not what I'm after. I wouldn't dream of taking you away from your animals. But I was callin to see if there was anyone you'd recommend to come over here as a replacement, or if you thought anyone currently working with your raptors would be suitable to manage raising a pack of their own. Part of the point of training raptors over here at all is how bad the weather is, y'know? I'd like to get a more successful pack on schedule over here as soon as I can. I'm sure I'll be able to find a good replacement myself if you don't have any suggestions, but I thought you might be able to point me in the right direction. And, y'know, the benefits that might come with it."
There was silence for a little bit as she contemplated it. "I'll get back to you if I think of anyone. Now, is there anything else? Or am I free to get back to my work?"
He rolled his eyes but bit his tongue. She was always just a bit too professional for his tastes, but she was great at her job. "Nope, you're free to go. I'll probably stop by to check on the raptors in person at some point soon, so just be ready for when I stop by. Have a file ready for any of your suggestions by the time I get there."
"Understood. Soyona out."
The call ended, and he placed the phone back down. He took a deep breath and sighed, letting himself relax for a moment. He'd have to get something to eat, but he'd rather take a moment for himself. In a few days he'd pay his visit over to Soyona's pack to see for himself just how well they were doing. After that, he'd move over to Isla Nublar. He was interested in getting to know Masrani's new handler personally. He had originally wanted to get another project going on Isla Nublar, but those plans were scrapped with Jurassic World's CEO deciding it was time to get raptors of his own going. He didn't exactly fancy running his own project side by side with one meant to increase visitor numbers.
If he was lucky though, perhaps he'd be able to sway one of Mr. Grady's people to helping him out instead.
Notes:
And there you have it!
So as far as what's changed on the major side of things, it's pretty simple.
Isla Nublar.
I did some research into the size of the island itself, because I never really looked into it before. And to say I was stunned was an understatement.
As far as the films go, the Island of Isla Nublar has a surface area of 30 square miles, including the restricted area. An island featuring vast mountain ranges and valley's, and over a dozen different species of mega fauna (Most of which being gigantic herbivores.)
Disney World in its entirety covers a surface area of 40 square miles. Disney World could fit the entire island of Isla Nublar and have plenty of room to spare in its confines. That... doesn't feel right. Especially considering how much the large herbivores would need to roam for enough food, or how much space mega theropods like T-rex would normally occupy. A t-rex territory alone could encompass all of Disney World.
So, I've upscaled the islands a bit. And by a bit, I mean they're all about a hundred and fifty times larger. Isla Nublar goes from 30 square miles, to 4,500. Because I feel to support two different species of sauropods, several mega theropods, etc, you need a gigantic space.
Second, is the guest count. Jurassic World would shut down well before it got to 20k visitors. Disney World, again, gets over 150k visitors a day and they don't have to worry about the care for prehistoric giants. So now JW boasts a daily of over 500k guests a day, which can also be more easily supported by the new island size. To make a profit with 20k guests, they'd have to charge an extreme premium for entry. But there is a problem with that.
John Hammond wanted the world to experience his park, and Masrani shares the dream. Neither would want to gate keep the ability to witness dinosaurs behind a price wall none can surpass. Well, no one but the 1%. So for Jurassic World to be at ALL feasible, it has to have a gigantic daily count.
And here we are. I hope this all makes sense to you, and you enjoy my return!
Chapter 9: Adventure's end
Summary:
Owen and Co have to deal with the challenges of the next day, including a wild raptor waking up somewhere new and strange.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Isla Nublar, jungle
It hadn't taken long for Gerry to be ready to go. Owen just had to pack Blue back up in his pocket when the older veterinarian was ready and moved out along with everyone else. They all grouped up in a couple of jeeps and made to get back to the park proper, the good doctor wanting to get them a few proper drinks rather than just sharing a few beers. At least, that was his plan this time around.
Owen was sat as a passenger in his jeep while Barry drove because of Blue. It was also Barry who eventually broke the silence. "How do you think the little hybrids are doing? Think they're upset over you leaving?"
He sighed, "I wouldn't be surprised. They were thrilled to have somebody to play with, not to mention Blue changed things up for them. I'm still not sure why they're so willing to be social though. With Blue I kinda expected it, one of the primary genomes was raptor, but I thought they'd be a lot more afraid of me."
Barry frowned and glanced at him from the corner of his eye for a moment, "How do you mean?"
"Well, they were cautious. I can't say they weren't. But they weren't as scared of me as they should've been, especially if they haven't really been shown affection so far. It didn't take them long to warm up to me either. I know that t-rex can be pretty social, and the raptors are too, but they're also both very aggressive, and very territorial animals. They should've taken one look at me and decided I was a threat and they either needed to try and scare me away, or try to stay away from me. They did neither."
"And now you're wondering what else the lab decided to play with when making them?"
"Yeah, exactly. Again, I don't know exactly what they're made of, but the only other animal we know they have in pit vipers? Still tends to be pretty aggressive, not really too social. But I don't think Wu is gonna be all that willing to really divulge what he felt like slapping in when he decided to make a hybrid. Or like they really put all that much real thought into it to begin with."
"If they'd really thought about it then they wouldn't have made a hybrid to begin with!" Billy spoke up from the back seat. "I mean, c'mon. I don't think they were really putting all that much thought into whether they should do something, and a whole lot more into whether or not they could. Wu seems to be the type to think that if he doesn't do something first, someone will do it before him. And I doubt he'd allow that to happen, if only so he didn't have to deal with anyone questioning why he didn't do it first. Or wondering if he was even able to do it in the first place. Hell, look at the first park. A lot happened to make Jurassic Park fail, but some of Wu's ideas on how to bring back dinosaurs using frog DNA, didn't exactly help."
It was Owen's turn to frown now, "You're probably right, but it also doesn't matter. At least, not now. They've been made, so we just have to roll with it and hope that this time, Wu's untested creations don't create a disaster. My only concern is trying to find out as much about them as we can so that way there, we can give them all the care they need and try to avoid that very scenario. I'm sure Gerry is gonna try and frisk as much information from Wu as he can, I can't imagine the headaches he gets from each animal that gets brought into the park as it is. Can't exactly predict what problems these animals are gonna have when they're brought back until they're actually here, you know?"
"True enough. Either way, least it let us get more out of Masrani. Makes our lives a whole lot easier." Billy leaned back and closed his eyes, content to be silent for the rest of the ride while Barry drove. The primary veterinary building was a bit far out from the main park as it was, being a few hours drive north of the main parkway, in part to help keep visitors away from sensitive facilities. There were a few enclosures they'd pass by, those that either held their nocturnal or otherwise specialized animals, but nothing they needed to stop and see for themselves.
"You think they'll be okay?"
Barry looked over at him again. "The sisters?"
"Yeah. Now that I'm takin a moment to think about it, I'm kinda worried. I didn't exactly wanna leave em the way I did in the first place, but I didn't really have all that much of a choice at the time. Think they'll be fine until I get back?"
Barry smiled before turning his attention back to the road. "I'm sure they'll be fine, Owen. You have no need to worry. I'd bet they're already settled in for bed at this point if anything, you'll be able to go and check on them after they wake up tomorrow. They'll probably be happy to know you came back to see them instead of leaving them for good."
Owen nodded, letting himself relax with Barry's logic. "Yeah, I'm sure you're right."
Gerry elected to drive the other jeep, with Alan, Oscar, and Ellie as his passengers. Silence hadn't lasted long amongst them, however.
"So, Gerry. You gonna tell me more about how things went between you and Nima? I haven't exactly heard from you since Billy and I came to get you and Jess."
There was a brief moment that a bit of pity crossed his gaze as he looked at Oscar from the corner of his eye, though neither of the men commented on it. "After we got off the island, we stayed in touch. The money she was paid by Biosyn was more than enough to change things for her and her daughter. She kept up with Jess too, though. I think that made more of a difference than anything. She helped keep Jess on the straight and narrow, and her encouragement on top of everything that had already happened? It made her shape up."
"And as for everything else?"
Gerry couldn't help the soft smile that came to him. "She helped my daughter. Not only did she save her life back when everything was going to Hell here, on more than one occasion, but she helped change her life after too. And she helped change mine for the better. Not long after, she decided she'd rather take her daughter somewhere a bit more safe, so I offered her a place to stay until she was able to get her and her daughter's citizenship squared away in the states. After that, one thing lead to another and," He flashed the gold band that sat on his left hands ring finger, "Here we are. I made sure to give her a heads up that you were back on the island. There's a good chance she comes and meets up with us while we're out."
"It'll be good to catch up with her directly, hopefully she does come out." Here Oscar frowned though, and gestured to their surroundings, "Though, how exactly was she convinced to come along in the first place? I wouldn't have thought that she'd come near Ingen or any of their associates, much less come back to this island."
"Originally, she wasn't coming back. Actually, she was damn near ready to tear my head off for taking Masrani's job offer in the first place."
Ellie raised an eyebrow from her spot in the back of the jeep and couldn't help asking, "So what changed?"
Gerry shrugged, "Masrani made her a pretty generous job offer. For one, she'd be able to bring Atlanta along for the ride." At the confused looks and the silence he proceeded to elaborate, "My step-daughter. For two, she'd be the head of security for our veterinary facilities. Because of that and what she pushed for, we get our own separate security from the ACU, help make sure ACU doesn't get too spread out and that a quick response happens if there's an emergency at one of the veterinary buildings. A similar security division was formed for the human doctors because of her ideas actually. Last was something Mr. Masrani did himself. He made things right with the rest of her people."
Guilt flashed across Oscar's face as he turned away, while Alan leaned forward in his seat, "Made things right with her people? How's that?"
"It's a bit of a messy story, but," He glanced at the internal clock for the jeep and sighed, "Well, Mr. Hammond wasn't perfect. He was a kind man, and he wanted to share his vision with the world, but he didn't exactly have the best board of directors. See, Nima's people were native to Isla Nublar. This had been their home for generations, long before Ingen had existed. But her tribe, the Tun-si, weren't exactly eager to leave the island in the first place by the time Ingen did come around. It was their home, they had known nothing else and more than that, they didn't have anywhere else to go."
He pursed his lips. "Hammond's board wasn't exactly willing to take no for an answer. So in a near unanimous decision, they decided they wouldn't take no. Mr. Hammond wasn't aware of what was going to happen until it was too late. Nima's tribe was forced to leave the island by mercenaries that Ingen had hired to strong arm them. Those that tried to resist them and fight back, save their home, were injured or even killed." There was silence for a moment as Alan and Ellie took a moment to process what they were told. It was Oscar who seemed the most effected though, his eyes closed and his fists clenched as he remained silent. "I only met Nima because she had to resort to becoming a smuggler to keep herself and Atlanta alive. The rest weren't so fortunate, and many fell into a deep poverty."
"When we came to the island, we weren't under the impression that anyone had lived here before. We thought that John had bought the island from the Costa Rican government and began work here and on the other islands to bring dinosaurs back not long after."
"Mr. Hammond bought the island, but he didn't know about Nima's people when they bought the island. The Costa Rican's didn't know what we were up to at the time, and didn't see fit to mention that a relatively small tribe had already taken residence on the island as it was. When he found out, Mr. Hammond tried to renegotiate to sell back Isla Nublar, but they refused. As far as they were concerned, it was one more issue off their hands. I only ever got to talk to him about it after the island had already fallen into the claws of the animals here, and by that point there was nothing Nima's people could do to reclaim their home. If they tried to return, chances were they'd die." He sighed, "That was always a mark that weighed heavily on him."
"When Mr. Hammond passed and Mr. Masrani took over, Ingen didn't exactly become a part of Masrani Global. It's still a semi-independent company, though Mr. Masrani now runs both as CEO. He ended up cleaning out the vast majority of Mr. Hammonds old board members and buying up their shares in the company to help make sure that something like what happened with the Tun-si couldn't happen for a second time. After that, he turned to the Tun-si themselves and made them an offer. They lost their own on Isla Nublar, but in turn for what they had lost they could take up residence instead on Isla Muerta."
"That's one of the islands in the chain with Isla Sorna, isn't it? One of the five deaths?" Ellie asked.
"That'd be correct Mrs. Deggler. Because of the reputation the five islands already had they weren't exactly eager to resettle on one of the five islands, but Mr. Masrani was determined. He not only offered to resettle, but he offered them several protections they wouldn't have had otherwise, as well as the chance to work for his company. They would help conserve the history of the islands, and more than that, a few were offered various positions for work here in Jurassic World just like Nima. From what I've heard he has more planned for the island as it is, but it's nothing he's made me aware of. At least not yet."
They continued on in silence once more. Alan and Ellie were thinking over what they had been told, but more than that, they were watching Oscar. The man seemed mournful over the topic at hand, though they knew he wasn't a part of the same tribe that Dr. Harding had described. If he was, they doubted that he would've taken any offer they gave him to return to the island, not when he would've already received one as it was from Masrani. Yet it didn't change that he seemed not only mournful, but tense. He had only marginally relaxed since the end of the story had come about, and he kept his eyes focused straight ahead. For a moment, Ellie thought to ask him what was wrong, only to catch Dr. Harding's eyes in the rearview mirror.
He silently, minutely, shook his head. Ellie got the message and though she was both curious and concerned, she remained silent. She resolved to ask him at another point, when he had a moment to recollect himself and get his thoughts together.
The ride was uncomfortable for a moment, the silence awkward as they all thought of what to say when Oscar, Ellie, and Alan's radio went off. "Hello? This is handler Timothy Murphy, I need to get a hold of Owen Grady. Please, respond." He sounded slightly panicked as he spoke, causing Alan to frown as Oscar and Ellie both looked down at their own radios.
"Owen here, what's the situation? Everything okay?"
"Uh, not exactly. The animals you were telling me about before Owen? I think I just saw them. In the park. And I've lost sight of them, with no clue whatsoever where they're heading."
They continued to ride in silence. Dr. Harding, to his part, looked confused though he kept his eyes on the road. Everyone else, meanwhile, began to pale. Though Tim was trying his best to be discreet, they knew what he was talking about.
There was only one other kind of animal on the island that Tim knew about being related to Owen and his group in any way, shape, or form.
"We're on our way, we'll be there to help look for them soon."
Oscar looked over to Dr. Harding as the man glanced at him out of the corner of his eye with a raised eyebrow. "Gerry, gun it. We'll explain more on the way."
The aging paleo-vet still looked skeptical, though after a few moments he shrugged. "This better be a good explanation. I hate speeding through this jungle." He pressed his foot down harder against the gas, the jeep accelerating through the dark expanse of the jungle as the people within it and the other jeep rushed to make sure that two young animals were okay.
Main street, late at night
They had managed to lose the stranger that had chased them without too much effort on either of their parts. Which was for the best, as neither of them had all that much energy left to begin with. Between their initial escape from the lab, exploring, trying their best to stay out of sight, meeting the two giants behind the invisible wall, and the giant water monster? They had already been pretty spent. With the last person they had to run from though, they were now exhausted. They were hungry. And they really wanted a nice drink of water, of which neither of them could figure out how to safely get when the only source of water that seemed to be nearby was too deep to reach and held the previously stated monster.
Even still, they didn't want to try and return. Not yet.
Hungry, thirsty, and tired they may be, but they weren't ready to give up yet. So for now, they hid. They kept tucked away in a dark corner between two of the illuminous dwellings the clothed strangers came from. They were both camouflaged so as to help avoid being seen, and so far it had worked. Even better, there were less and less strangers going about it seemed as time went on, as more lights appeared in the sky and the silver circle rose ever higher. They remained in wait for some time, allowing themselves to relax to some degree. They were unsure why, though it hadn't taken them long in their time out to reach the conclusion that the two legs that walked about didn't have an amazing sense of smell. They knew that if they were to be found, they would either be seen or be heard.
So long as they continued as they were, there was no chance of either really happening.
At least, until a familiar voice popped up from the distance.
"They can't have gone that far Owen. They're young, and they don't really have any experience with the outside world to boot." It was the man that had seen them earlier, the same one that had tried to chase them. They both curled up tighter for a moment, hoping they wouldn't be noticed as he went by.
"That might go for normal animals, Timmy, but that's not exactly what we're working with. We don't know what they're capable of, or how intelligent they are. They could still be in the area, but it's been a few hours since you last saw them hasn't it?" They didn't recognize this voice as it was, though they paid attention to the words being said, little meaning that there was to the two of them.
They heard a deep grunt, "I still doubt they could've gone that far. There's nothing for them to hunt, assuming they even know how in the first place. The only chance they've gone too far out from here is if one of the park's staff managed to pick them up, or worse, one of the guests did. I wouldn't be too surprised if a kid saw a baby dinosaur and decided they wanted to bring it home, or if someone thought they were being clever by snatching up two baby dinosaurs that had gotten loose. If that's the case, security will need to be alerted. Though the fact they haven't already is odd." This voice was a bit gruffer than the two that had come before, and despite their better judgement both couldn't help but be curious. They slowly crawled up to the front of their hideaway, looking down the path to see if they could catch a view of the conversing strangers.
One stranger had a big covering on his head, one that he tilted down as he spoke. One of the men that had spoken before. "I doubt a guest managed to snatch 'em up. If they did, a crowd of other guests would be all of them trying to get a look at the lost baby dinosaurs, unless they were cornered out of sight somewhere. You're right though, security should already be out here looking for them. It's more than just odd that they're not; it might be worth paying a visit to Dr. Wu and seeing if he knows where they are at this point. I doubt he'd lose track of one of his animals so easily, especially a pair as experimental as these are."
They were tempted to go back to where they had been laying as the strangers approached, not wanting to risk being seen, when a new voice popped up from the group. Though it sounded a bit off from normal, they recognized it immediately.
"Oscar, Alan, come in. You guys manage to find anything yet? We've come up on blanks here." The friend!
Without thinking, they both came running out from where they had been hiding despite their fatigue as their hides shifted back into their normal colors. They started to chirp excitedly, trying to look around for their friend. Yet, they couldn't see them. Instead, all they saw were the group of strangers that they had heard speaking, staring at them with wide eyes and slightly agape mouths. The young dinosaurs and group of humans stood across from each other, staring for a few moments before the one with the head covering brought a black box up to his mouth. "Yeah, we see em Owen. They just ran out in front of us. Think they heard your voice and got excited, kid. Might wanna keep talking till you can get here, we're on the other side of the lagoon from you. Move quick."
They tensed up. They were exhausted, but they were ready to dig into whatever reserves of energy they had left in them when his voice came out again. "I'll be there soon, just try to keep your eyes on them. Don't try to get close, you might spook 'em like Tim did."
A softer looking stranger furrowed his brows, his mouth opening in silence for a few moments before he spoke, "I wasn't trying to scare them! I didn't want any of the guests to see them, and I wasn't sure how long they had been out for!"
"Still ended up scaring them. But at least you called me after, so we'll call it even. You said that both of them are together? How do they look?"
The largest of the group kneeled down, looking at them both closely. They tensed up and prepared to run, though they were loath to run when they could hear that there friend was seemingly right there. "A bit of dirt on them, but they don't seem to have any cuts or obviously broken bones from what I can see. Can't tell if there is any bruising though. They're scared, Owen. Only reason they haven't run yet is because they can hear your voice, but I don't know how long before that isn't enough for them."
"They must have been looking for him." Both of the other humans looked at the one with his head covered, "Owen. They were looking for Owen, that's why they're out. I'm not sure how they got out in the first place, or why Wu hasn't had security on top of them by now, but it's clear why they chose to escape as it was. They keep switching between keeping an eye on us, and watching the radio. They are listening for your voice, Owen. They want to know where you went, they want to be with you. For whatever reason, they latched on pretty hard to you when you visited them."
There was some silence for a bit. Slowly, they started to back away, trying to put a bit more distance between them and the strangers when his voice came up again. "If I didn't know better I'd say they imprinted on me, but they should probably be too old for that at this point. Maybe they were just trying to get out and explore? Caught some of the scents I carried in and got curious about what else they could find for themselves?"
"Maybe. Could be they were just trying to see what they could find, maybe see some of the things they smelled on you. Doesn't change that at the very least, they're interested enough in you that they don't wanna go anywhere so long as they hear your voice." He sighed, shaking his head. "I knew these two would be social in theory, with what little we know is in it, but it still shouldn't be too attached so soon."
"We'll worry about why they got so attached this quickly another time. Maybe see if there's anything you can feed them before I get there, they gotta be hungry."
The one that had tried to chase them before looked behind them at one of the dens that people had been coming in and out of. By now the few people that were still out and about began to gather around, though they seemed to have the same or similar patterns for the most part. The grey turned back to face the crowd that was forming behind them, blocking off the street, while the white continued to watch the strangers in front of them.
"Keep away from them! They're spooked as is, if you try to catch 'em they'll make a run for it. We don't wanna stress em out too much if we can avoid it!" It was the big one again that spoke, rising from where he had knelt and raising his hands to get the other strangers attention, "The rest of you park workers?"
"We're some of the other handlers! You guys new around here?" Someone stepped forward from the newly formed crowd, a frown on his face as his gaze flicked over to the young pair, "Name's Isaac, Why are there a pair of baby dinosaurs running around the park? For that matter, what even are they?"
"I can't say anything, I'd take any questions you might have about them up with Masrani. Right now though we got someone on the way who should be able to handle them. And no, he was not responsible for keeping them contained or their escape. Does anyone here happen to have any food for them? We don't think they've had anything to eat!"
Isaac perked up, before turning to one of the other handlers with him. They were spreading out across the road, blocking the path so that they couldn't run that way without getting caught. "Go to Pat's, she'll have something they can eat. Move quickly, call ahead so you don't have to waste time explaining what's going on when you get there."
A stranger nodded her head, "On it!" Before turning and running out of the crowd, back from where they had come from.
As more and more people started to gather around them though, they began to panic. Even with them all keeping their distance, it was starting to be too much. Any avenue of escape they might have had in case they needed to run was cut off, and they weren't nearly big enough to try and defend themselves from anyone that was this much larger than them. So with no other option, they started to whimper and shake. The grey let out a loud cry as it tried to squeeze itself under its sibling, while the white scaled youngling just tried it's best to stay at the ready to run. She may have been surrounded and tired, but there was always a chance at survival so long as they tried.
T-rex Kingdom, within the enclosure a few minutes prior
Silently, Junior wandered the bounds of he and his mother's territory. Despite having lived within the confines of their home in safety for several years, he still couldn't help the need to patrol at night. His mother was getting older, and at night by the time the lights were out she wanted nothing more than to simply rest and relax. He would always join her for a while, before waking to go on patrol. He examined the grey stone walls of their home first, ensuring no weaknesses had formed and that he couldn't smell any trespassers. The only ones that had regularly come to enter their territory were the human with sandy hair and the old one who would come with small teeth. Neither were worth giving more than a cursory attempt at chasing, though.
His mother liked them, so he would leave them.
He lingered when he came by the false tree. The scent of the two younglings that had wandered within still lingered, and he still couldn't help but wonder how the two had managed to get loose from wherever they had come from in the first place. From what he knew, only humans were meant to be able to get into the false log. He hadn't seen anything beyond birds, humans, and the prey they were given since he had been taken from his old home. The fact that two young had managed to escape into the log made him examine it closer for but a moment, though he soon turned from it regardless. As far as he could tell, there was little point in wasting additional time on the viewing platform.
He continued to wander through his territory, coming to the pond kept away from the eyes of humans. Several smells lingered around the edges of the water from the various birds that had recently come and drank from the water source, but there was nothing else that seemed off. He leaned down and took a few gulps of water down before he stood back up and moved on. He wandered along the fence that was on the opposite side of the territory from the viewing log, far out of sight for people. Yet despite the far distance, he was still more than capable of seeing from the fence to the log even in the lowered lighting. Still, there was nothing to be had on the other side of the fence. He could see some animals wandering, and yet there was nothing that particularly interested him.
He let a satisfied huff leave him before turning back. They had been afforded a large shelter in the event of bad weather, a large stone structure capable of fitting he and his mother with plenty of room to spare in the event of a storm. No remains from old prey remained in the area, most of the time the prey they were given being too small to really leave any proper remains. The little that ever got left behind was often cleaned out while they were both away. He found his mother was still sleeping soundly within the nest she had dug out, a deeply entrenched space within the ground. It had originally only fit her, though she had dug out more space over time as he grew to accommodate him.
He was certain that she was supposed to have chased him from the nest at this point, and he had a feeling she knew that as well. Neither of them particularly cared to leave the other though.
Just as he began to curl up with her and lay down however, he was able to hear a noise. It wasn't from anywhere within their territory, that much he could tell. He had come to learn to ignore the noises that came from outside of his territory some time ago, either being a choice between that or trying to bash his way through the walls to make the noise stop. Yet even still, this was different and it wasn't all too hard to figure out what the noise was.
It was very similar to the noise he had made whenever he tried to call out for his parents in distress.
It was the odd younglings. His mother had woken up from beside him, and both adult tyrannosaurs stood from where they had made themselves comfortable. They marched out from their shelter as a second cry reached them, prompting a furious response.
There was a response as, in the distance, a roar like thunder echoed across the lagoon. A second followed it soon after, the two shattering the silence that had come over the lagoon. The strangers that had begun to encircle them jumped at the loud noise, seeming spooked by the roars that thundered over the park. Yet it didn't end with a single pair of roars as both adult t-rex continued to let their displeasure be known across the island. Some of the keepers looked back in the direction of the T-rex kingdom in concern as the largest terrestrial land predators on the island raged within their kingdom, displeased by the sound of unhappy younglings.
That was where Owen found himself by the time he finally got to the other side of the lagoon, with Barry, Billy, Ellie, and Dr. Harding all behind him as the gathering of keepers and other park workers quickly got out of the way so he could get to the two escaped animals quicker. The cries from both young dinosaurs stopped once he was in view of them, though in the back of his mind he could still hear the furious predators. Blue had remained within his pocket once they got to the main park, more than happy to stay out of sight, though the slight shivering he could feel in his pocket told him she wasn't a fan of all the noise from the two rexes. He couldn't say he could exactly blame her.
Barry stayed right behind him, while Ellie and Billy went around and joined back up with Alan. Dr. Harding on the other hand was content to merely observe, a critical eye going down the forms of both animals as he watched the encounter play out.
Both hybrids seemed to perk up once they saw him, turning to fully face him as he slowly kneeled down. "Hey there you two. Looks like you got into a bit of trouble, yeah? How about you come on over and-" No sooner had his mouth opened had the two young dinosaurs begun to rush his way. They made to hide under him immediately, both curling up into his legs as they shook. He lowered a hand down onto each of their heads, the shaking slowly subsiding as he continued to comfort them, "Shhh, sh sh it's gonna be alright. No one's gonna get to ya, not as long as I'm here. You guys are safe."
"You able to tell us what they are by chance, or are you under some type of hush hush order too?"
Owen looked back at one of the keepers. A young man with dark skin and only a tad shorter than himself, he was dressed up in some kind of paleo themed safari outfit. A lot of the keepers seemed to be wearing a similar uniform, consisting of camo patterned baggy shorts that came down to just below their knees and a green button up with sleeves that came down to the elbows and a white shirt underneath. They seemed to wear a variety of hats though, some being more your standard short brimmed safari hat, while a few seemed to have a preference for either ball caps or more floppy variants. The man seemed curious, though he could see the note of worry in his eyes.
He shrugged, "Wish I was allowed to tell you, but I don't think they're even supposed to be out and about in the first place. Like, even being outside at all. I'd ask Wu, or just skip him and go straight to Masrani."
The man sighed, "Yeah, figured that would be the answer. Your friend made it sound like this was supposed to be pretty hush hush in the first place." He shrugged though, and offered a tired smile, "I'm Isaac Clement, by the way. I help care for our pachycephalosaurs."
Owen gave a small smile back, "Name's Owen, Owen Grady. Here for a new carnivore enclose that we'll be working on. Can't say much more than that either I'm afraid. You guys stay out this late often?"
Isaac nodded, "It's about the only time we get where we don't have to get around too many of the guests, and most of the night staff for the kitchen is here pretty late for the night owls in the park. Plus, we all get to eat for free and the kitchens make sure to take care of us. It's about the only time we get during our day to day to do our thing unless we request a day off."
"Good to know, I'll have to make sure to keep that in mind." Below him, both of the young hybrids were slowly starting to drift off into sleep. The white was determined to fight it the most as her sister drifted further and further into the sweet embrace, his smile remaining as he looked down at them. "Though considering all this, I think I'm gonna have my hands full with these two for the foreseeable future."
'Along with the adult raptor and the babies that I'll be busy with.' He quietly thought to himself. He wasn't eager for it to become common knowledge that he was going to be in charge of the raptors because of the reputation they had gained, so he could only hope that the news would only spread after he'd managed to get some positive results. It helped that Blue was too nervous with all the extra noise, even as the rexes seemed to finally lose their steam and calm down. He didn't think they had any reason to respond to the cries of the two indominus in the first place, but he could worry about that another time.
Someone came rushing back through the crowd, a woman that he'd noticed on his way to gather the two hybrids up. She had a few thinly sliced cuts of meet held in her hands, a slightly flushed look to her face as she looked down. "Went and got some food for the little ones from Pat's, didn't take too long did I?" She was wearing a different outfit from everyone else, wearing a loose fitting pair of blue pants with a white shirt and black vest with brunette hair. She didn't try to get too close though, and instead handed over the meet from as much of a distance as she could manage.
He took it with a smile, "No, no, I'll just feed them later. Thanks for going and grabbing them some grub, I'm sure they'll be happy for it when they wake back up." By this point, even the white indominus had managed to pass out fully. With both animals well and truly asleep, he picked them both up and held them in his arms. He turned to look at the rest of the keepers that had gathered and spoke quietly, "Thanks for helpin! I'll try to get to know the rest of you better soon, but right now I gotta go and get these two taken care of. In the meantime, feel more than free to bug the hell out of Wu. I think he has some explaining to do as is."
There was some murmurs of agreement from his coworkers, everyone slowly dispersing as the excitement seemed to be over. Several kept throwing glances back at the two animals in his arms as they left, while a few kept an eye on the t-rex kingdom in the distance. Isaac and the woman that brought food for the two were the last to disperse, both offering him a smile before they walked off. Owen sighed now that everyone was gone, feeling his shoulders slowly release their pressure as he let them slack. "Good christ, I didn't think so many of the other keepers would end up showing up. No one else was supposed to know about these guys but here they are."
"That's Wu's problem." Oscar said, a sneer on his face, "Fact these two were able to make it this far and be out for who knows how long is a problem. I dunno how they got out, but clearly they ain't doin a good enough job of keeping them secure. Or happy for that matter, considerin how much they wanna cling to ya."
"Even with Rexy and Junior, it still took him at least a day or so to get accustomed to her." Gerry spoke up, having a look of concern as he eyed the sleeping hybrids. "Whatever Henry did when he was cooking these two up, it did them no favors to be isolated the way Alan told me they were. The fact none of my staff has seen these two for a proper checkup isn't exactly helpful either. I'd go deal with Henry later, though. Right now, we need to go ahead and get these two somewhere a bit more out of the open. I'm sure rumors are gonna spread like wildfire amongst the rest of the park as is."
Owen winced at the thought. While he was sure most of the keepers would be fine at keeping quiet, they would likely still talk about it amongst themselves. It would only take them telling one of the guests for that to begin to spread with so many people on the island. "I think that I'm just gonna bring them to my trailer to stay for now. They can sleep in with Blue and I, and I'll feed them when they wake up. I'm not bringing them back to the lab considering this little incident. Wu'll be lucky if I put them anywhere except where I please at this point."
Alan frowned, crossing his arms, "We're not the ones ultimately in charge of these two though, Owen, not like with the raptors. They made that pretty clear. If we don't return them-"
"Then they can freak out as much as they want." Owen interrupted, "I'm sorry. But fact is, they escaped under their watch. One way or another, Wu has proven that he really wasn't ready to properly take care of these two, and I'm not leaving them in his hands for a second go around. I'll take it up with Simon too, I'm sure he won't be happy about the fact they went wandering around his park where anyone could've seen them."
The paleontologist sighed, shaking his head. "Suppose you're right kid. C'mon then, let's go ahead and get them set up in your trailer and get 'em ready for bed. Gerry, fine to go ahead and take a rain check on those drinks you were offerin? I'll buy the first round."
The paleo-vet waved it off however, "Don't worry about it, we can do this any time. You go get those two kids of yours ready for bed, I'll go ahead and handle talking to the rest of the keepers and making sure they don't go running their mouths too much. Most of 'em are good at keeping quiet, but there's a few blabber mouths in there and I'd rather get ahead of any potential rumor-mill problems if I can avoid it. Or at least delay the problem as much as we can. Tim, you gonna go check up on your animals and make sure they didn't cause any damage?"
"Yeah, yeah I am," He said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm thinkin Rexy probably mistook their cries for the cries of tyrannosaur hatchlings in distress, but I don't think she should've gotten up from her nest to make a fuss about it. She's usually down for the count this time of night, and she hasn't met either of them before." He frowned, looking back over at the sleeping indominus', "Unless maybe they took a visit between shows while they were out and about." He muttered to himself, shaking the thought away soon after. "Either way, you're right. I should check up on them, if only to make sure they didn't tear up the forest in their enclosure too much. Have a good night everybody, and good luck with them Owen. We can talk more about what they might need later." Tim jogged off towards the viewing area for his animals, quickly leaving them behind.
With only the raptor project members and Gerry left, Owen turned and took the lead of the group, both sleeping hybrids held close to his chest within his arms. He had no intentions of letting them go anytime soon.
Wu could bite him if he had a problem with it.
Notes:
Hello hello, I've managed at LEAST one more chapter! Also I didn't realize it, but a lot has happened all in the same day pffft.
I feel a little iffy on this chapter, maybe it's just me, but I'm sure there's a good chance I'll come back to it another day and end up making some changes. If I do, I'll make sure to give y'all a heads up lol.
The indominus pair are revealed to a fairly large group of park staff (Though, not at all a majority by any means.) I intend to take characters from other media and slapping them into roles to fit the park. Isaac in particular I'm sure many of you will know if you played the Jurassic World Evolution game series though, being one of the main characters that helps guide the player through the game or direct them in park missions. Except here, he's a keeper for one of the exhibits. I figured it made sense that the keepers are also all, well, rather kind and helpful people and are just trying to help without stressing out the two baby dinosaurs any further, lol.
I'm sure you can take a guess as to what's making them latch onto Owen so hard.
But yes, here we go with Chapter 9! It was originally also gonna be very different from what it is, but I figured it was about time to wrap this day up and get the indomini out of the open and back into SOME form of containment. Even if it's just Owen's trailer. I also thought it might be a nice touch to have a Junior perspective. From here on out though don't expect the two indominus to have a POV esque section for a while. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed the latest chapter, and let me know what you thought about it! (And if I'm just being too hard on the chapter itself lol.)
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Trufla on Chapter 1 Sun 21 Mar 2021 01:51PM UTC
Last Edited Sun 21 Mar 2021 01:52PM UTC
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EnsisReveuse on Chapter 1 Mon 22 Mar 2021 11:16PM UTC
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RSReader24 (Guest) on Chapter 1 Fri 09 Apr 2021 09:21PM UTC
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TheAttemptedWriter on Chapter 1 Fri 09 Apr 2021 09:24PM UTC
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WhatTheShrimp on Chapter 1 Mon 14 Jun 2021 11:26PM UTC
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TheAttemptedWriter on Chapter 1 Tue 15 Jun 2021 01:51AM UTC
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WhatTheShrimp on Chapter 1 Tue 15 Jun 2021 04:51AM UTC
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EnderReaper on Chapter 1 Thu 06 Jul 2023 11:37AM UTC
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Hawthorn on Chapter 2 Wed 14 Apr 2021 06:03PM UTC
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Monsun on Chapter 2 Wed 28 Apr 2021 03:02PM UTC
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TheAttemptedWriter on Chapter 2 Fri 30 Apr 2021 01:32AM UTC
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Hiezen (Hiezen_Uchiha) on Chapter 2 Thu 27 May 2021 07:01AM UTC
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TheAttemptedWriter on Chapter 2 Sat 29 May 2021 06:37PM UTC
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SuperGirl6137 on Chapter 2 Mon 31 May 2021 10:14PM UTC
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Scorpionalpha on Chapter 2 Tue 01 Jun 2021 11:39PM UTC
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UtahraptorEvolved on Chapter 2 Mon 10 Feb 2025 05:24PM UTC
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Monsun on Chapter 3 Sat 12 Jun 2021 11:36AM UTC
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TheAttemptedWriter on Chapter 3 Sat 12 Jun 2021 04:33PM UTC
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Hiezen (Hiezen_Uchiha) on Chapter 3 Sun 13 Jun 2021 12:05AM UTC
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Scorpionalpha on Chapter 3 Mon 14 Jun 2021 03:40PM UTC
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Fieldbreaker on Chapter 3 Wed 30 Jul 2025 05:47PM UTC
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Fieldbreaker on Chapter 3 Thu 31 Jul 2025 06:27AM UTC
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HarleyTraveler on Chapter 4 Sun 22 Aug 2021 10:57PM UTC
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TheAttemptedWriter on Chapter 4 Fri 18 Jul 2025 09:51PM UTC
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