Anonymous Rex

bushwacked · **Reply #220 on:** March 05, 2014, 03:56:23 AM

Oh god... he really is insane, Nicky thought. He grinned broadly. "I can't wait for that day, brother. And yes... I am fairly new. Is it that obvious?" Nicky chuckled then grew serious again. "In my... well, admittedly humble opinion, Progress is the only path for us. No, more than that - it's our duty. The mammals have been ruling this planet for too long. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to see it," said, sighing regretfully.

Nicky paused then looked up at Raal. "Brother, I... I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but I'm confused too. Why are we taking so much time with Pandora? Call me old fashioned, but aren't bombs and bullets the fastest way to get our message across?"

Pterano · **Reply #221 on:** March 06, 2014, 03:32:18 PM

Raal smiled again in that cadaverous fashion as Nicky told him Progress was the only path. "It truly is, brother." he said, nodding. "Now then..." this time, the diplodocus gave out a deep, rumbling laugh at Nicky's question. "Bombs and bullets would spark a war leaving millions... perhaps even billions dead. No, no... it was something I initially thought would work, but I've since seen there's a much easier way. Pandora was the Ancestors' fail-safe, brother. But when they began to fear its very great power, they took steps to ensure it could never be used. You remember the Great Showers, yes? The cataclysm that led to our near extinction? Pandora can perform feats such as these... and the mammals won't stand a chance. They will die in great quantities, whereas our kind will be safe! We will be free to repopulate this planet, and any human survivors will be finished off by the virus and our squads, which will hunt them down! It'll be truly fantastic sport! Why start a war... when you can start the apocalypse?" Raal asked Nicky, grinning now in an eerie way.

bushwacked · **Reply #222 on:** March 07, 2014, 07:22:20 AM

Nicky returned Raal's grin by flashing his own teeth viciously. "Well, I suppose that kind of forward thinking is why you're in charge," he drawled. "I just hope I get to have some fun mopping up the stubborn ones who don't have the decency to die straight away." The virus is only the backup?! But... that's ridiculous, Pandora can't really be used to do what he said... it's just a rock... Even as he thought it, Nicky felt his mouth go dry, a manifestation of his self-doubt. He believed in following evidence... but deep down in his gut he'd felt something was different about it. And what had the coelo been saying? Pandora was giving out some kind of signal...

If I hang around much longer, it'll start to look suspicious - I need to get back to the others. "Well, I won't trouble you any longer, brother. Thank you for clearing that up," Nicky said, bowing his head and starting to back towards the door. "Although now, the wait for Pandora's justice is going to be even harder," he laughed.

Pterano · **Reply #223 on:** March 07, 2014, 11:44:38 AM

"Of course. Just leave your name with Kaufman and he'll ensure you're part of the Human Hunters." Raal replied with a smile. "It will be coming faster than you know it!" Raal exclaimed rather joyously. Nicky had almost made it to the door when the diplodocus halted him. "Wait!" His nostrils started flaring now. "That scent you have about you... not your own... but it almost smells like..." He took a few steps towards him now, eyes narrowed. "Two scents in fact... not your own... they're vague but... they're ones I would never forget..."

The diplodocus was only a few feet from Nicky now, sniffing him out and studying him curiously. But then, he relaxed. Fortunately for Nicky, Circe had done extremely well in suppressing her scent, and only Vincent's lingered for any lengthy period of time. "I thought I picked up two scents... must've been just imaging things." he muttered. "You did say you only just arrived, after all. Still... why does it smell fresh?" It was fading by this point, as Nicky's own scent was slowly coming to the fore. "You haven't seen a green raptor with a red and black tail lately, have you?" Raal inquired.

"Sure is taking his time up there." Vincent chuckled.

"No... something's wrong..." Circe stated, stealing a brief glance upward at the room. "Raal is approaching him. Dammit! I was extra careful to suppress my scent! It must be you he's picking up on!" Circe exclaimed, looking at Vincent.

"Well I... can't control it!" Vincent protested.

"Most of our kind can't..." Circe murmured. "Hopefully he can wiggle his way out of this..." she trailed off, moving her eyes upward again to indirectly glance in Nicky's direction.

bushwacked · **Reply #224 on:** March 07, 2014, 12:15:15 PM

Nicky stared up at Raal as his nostrils flared, forcing his face into a neutral expression. He felt his heart skip a beat when the diplodocus mentioned a raptor with a red and black tail. Vincent... He swallowed, then scrunched his eyes, scratching his snout thoughtfully. "Not since I've been at the island..." He snapped his claws. "I do remember a green raptor now you mention it! Met her a few days before coming here. Can't remember what colour the tail was, but..." He leered up at Raal. "She was a real wild fire, if you get my meaning... Damned if I can remember her name though."

Nicky furrowed his brow. "You picked up her scent? Do you know her, brother?" He shrugged. "I'm not surprised, I think she got around a bit."

Pterano · **Reply #225 on:** March 07, 2014, 12:25:08 PM

Raal's face wrinkled a bit in disappointment and possibly disgust. "Er... no... the raptor I'm thinking of is male... an old enemy of mine... n-never mind then!" he declared, waving his hand dismissively. "You're free to go." He turned his back on the compy now, and seemed disinterested in the matter.

Kor · **Reply #226 on:** March 07, 2014, 01:07:59 PM

Karl exhaled quietly, "Good, looks like he convinced him or got out of it. It did look like it could have gotten bad for him there for a moment." He said. He was glad Nicky had gotten out of whatever it was he was in, unless that Raal guy just wanted to give him some orders or something.

"Guess there's no time for you to teach him how to suppress his sent now. Imagine if that Raal guy leaves that room and walks around any area we've been through." He said, thinking he'd smell Vincent's scent for sure then.

bushwacked · **Reply #227 on:** March 07, 2014, 04:58:26 PM

Nicky nodded, a smirk playing across his lips. "Yes sir. Thank you." He sauntered out the door, closed it behind him... and leaned back against it, the smirk falling from his face like a tonne of bricks. He exhaled, a trembling breath to match his shaking claws, which he balled into fists. He'd interrogated a lot of criminals during his line of work, but he'd never met someone who'd radiated pure evil like Raal. And it came so close to going wrong...

He took a number of deep breaths to steady himself, willed his claws to stop shaking. When he'd managed to get a grip on himself, he proceeded back down the stairs. Reaching the main room at the bottom, he could only see Karl standing on his own. Nicky made his way over, then spoke in a low tone to the younger dinosaur. "Where are the others? This is even worse than we thought..."

Kor · **Reply #228 on:** March 07, 2014, 05:18:26 PM

"They went over to the labs that way." Karl said pointing in the direction the others had gone in.

"That Raal person really exudes evil. I could see it when we first saw him." He said shaking his head. "Not to mention the progressive way of thinking that dinosaurs are the rightful rulers of the earth except for the extension event at the end of the cretaceous is flawed. If not for an extinction event in the triassic the archosaurs, who we dinosaurs are descended from, would not have risen to the prominence our ancestors did since the synapsids that were the dominant life form in the early triassic would have stayed dominant. Their survivors evolved into mammals, thus if you look at it that way mammals as the descendants of synapsids could say they have a greater claim to the earth then we dinosaurs do. Though I think there is enough room for everyone." Karl said.

bushwacked · **Reply #229 on:** March 08, 2014, 07:17:24 PM

Nicky paused. "Right," he said finally. Putting a claw on Karl's shoulder, he started to lead the raptor over to where he'd said the others had gone. "I couldn't get everything out of him, but..." He sighed. "Maybe it's better if I say when we're all together." Looking ahead, he could see the other three starting to head back towards him. Nicky stopped then subtly nodded his head in a come here gesture.

"It's bad," he said quietly when they arrived. Looking at Vincent, Nicky gave a slight grimace. "And Raal caught a scent of you... we're going to need to be extra careful."

Pterano · **Reply #230 on:** March 08, 2014, 08:12:24 PM

"He did?" Vincent asked, raising his brows in surprise. "Damn... even worse than I thought... well better in terms of his nose but... worse in terms of us." he stammered. "Anyway, I take it you managed to talk your way out of it?"

"So... what's he planning? Find anything out about that thing outside?" Circe pressed eagerly, eyes locked on Nicky for the present.

bushwacked · **Reply #231 on:** March 08, 2014, 09:04:02 PM

Nicky looked at Vincent. "Just about." The corner of his mouth twitched. "It just so happens I met a floozie before coming to the island who bears a striking resemblance to you."

He nodded grimly at Circe's question. "They're calling it Pandora. They think that it's some kind of relic made a long, long time ago, something that can cause meteor showers... I don't know, earthquakes, disasters that they're hoping they can use to wipe out the mammals. The virus... it's just a backup. This thing, Pandora, that's his main plan, what he wants to use to kill the humans." Nicky frowned. "I couldn't get exactly how they think it works, but from what I could tell, they think it's emitting some sort of signal, and that's what gives it its power. And somehow, the signal's pointing them to the Mojave Desert, that's where they think the... 'next event' is going to happen. I also caught something about having to boost Pandora's signal to get around some kind of shield in the Mojave, something made by the... the Ancestors?"

Nicky shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know what to think... I've never dealt with anything like this before. It sounds like crap but... I've got a bad feeling about it."

Ducky123 · **Reply #232 on:** March 09, 2014, 05:30:59 AM

Heather was relieved to see Nicky return.

"So let me get this straight..." she then announced. "This Raal dude has a thing called Pandora, right? We don't know what it is but we know where it is, but then again we can only guess its power." Heather paused and took a deep breath. "Sounds like the world's in big trouble and they don't even know about that..."

Turning to Nicky she spoke: "Say Nicky, how'd you escape Raal even though he caught Vincent's scent?"

bushwacked · **Reply #233 on:** March 09, 2014, 06:23:50 AM

Nicky cleared his throat. "Well, I..." He looked away and tried to maintain a modicum of dignity. "I mentioned a certain encounter I may have had with an attractive woman who had green scales and, uh..." his eyes flicked awkwardly towards Vincent, "Maybe a red and black tail." He crossed his arms defensively. "You know, it was very complicated, and I think we should just leave it there."

"So what do you all think?" Nicky asked, looking between them. "If they're using something to boost Pandora's signal, we could try and get to that... although that would probably just delay whatever they have planned..." He paused. "And that's if we're working under the assumption that there actually is something going on with that rock, and they aren't just insane."

Kor · **Reply #234 on:** March 09, 2014, 03:57:08 PM

"That may work, doing something so they can't boost the signal, or block it. If it is a device of the ancients how did they have access to such technology and not keep it. If it is related to the cretaceous extinction event it may have the ability to bring in or manipulate asteroids or something similar. Though that would mess up the entire ecology, causing intensive cloud cover, darkness, very cold temperatures." Karl said.

"I do wonder if there is some way the 2 of you can cover or hide your scent. What happens if that Raal person walks outside and smells one of your scents or both, or goes by any area we've been walking around in." Karl said looking at Vincent & Circe.

Pterano · **Reply #235 on:** March 09, 2014, 05:54:46 PM

Circe listened carefully to what Nicky described, her eyes going wide a bit. "Well... I'd heard stories about Pandora... but from Raal and some independent research I did. It was designed as a last resort doomsday device allegedly, but its power was too great, so the Ancestors sealed it away somewhere... as for the device you mentioned in the Mojave, I'd heard stories about that place as well." she continued. "The Ancestors had determined the most likely place Pandora could be used with optimum efficiency, so had built a series of shielding devices to cancel out Pandora's signal and render it useless. That place I know exists, though I've never been there, and it should be fairly common knowledge to the councils as well. If so, then the thing outside could very well be Pandora." she said with a level of concern.

"You said they were trying to boost its signal?" Circe asked now. "I suppose we would have to determine how they were planning on doing this but no..." she shook her head here. "It can't be the Great Showers. If it was, then the Ancestors were responsible for wiping their own kind out... it wouldn't make any sense. Something's... off about this. Because meteor showers would indeed make the planet very uninhabitable for a time. They would need some substantial method of surviving such an event themselves if they plan to use it. I think perhaps Pandora does something else... something not related to meteors" the female raptor mused aloud.

"Good cover story. But no, I can't mask my scent." It was Vincent's turn to shake his head here. "Most dinos aren't even aware that pheromones can be controlled... that knowledge has been long lost over time, and Circe's really the only one that can do it."

"And it took me years and years of training." Circe added. "We'll just have to hope we can get out of here in time before Raal catches on. To be honest, I'm surprised he bought your cover story at all, since scents are very specific to each dino." she explained. "I suppose we should count ourselves lucky he didn't detain you. I want another look at this Pandora though..." she said thoughtfully, trailing off with narrowed eyes.

Suddenly, Nicky's cell phone rang on his belt, vibrating from the incoming call. If he looked, the detective would've seen a number he didn't recognize...

bushwacked · **Reply #236 on:** March 09, 2014, 06:34:48 PM

Nicky nodded at Circe. "Me too. Maybe there's something we missed about it the first time..." The ringing of his cell phone startled him. Several dinosaurs working around them looked up, and one particularly disgruntled looking iguanodon raised a finger and shushed him. "Sorry brother," Nicky apologized, stepping closer to the group and unclipping his phone. When he snapped it open, a frown creased his brow as he read the number. What number's this?

He hit the answer button and cautiously raised the cell phone up to his ear. "...Hello?"

Pterano · **Reply #237 on:** March 09, 2014, 11:10:57 PM

"Yes, hello, Detective Chaseman?" came a male voice on the other end. "You don't know me, but I heard you were the detective working on the Senator Morrow case, yes? When I heard he'd been killed... it shocked me, quite frankly. Do you have any leads on who might be behind it? You see it's just... I need to make sure he wasn't killed for a certain reason... and if it was that reason... if I would be next." the voice said with some agitation evident.

bushwacked · **Reply #238 on:** March 10, 2014, 05:47:18 AM

Nicky gritted his teeth as he looked around at the others, perplexed. He spoke quietly into the phone. "I... can't just talk about these, ah, things to a member of the public," Nicky said, eyes flicking around to make sure nobody was listening in. He frowned. "Who is this? And why would you be in any danger?" I need to make sure he wasn't killed for a certain reason... and if it was that reason... if I would be next... "What do you know?" Nicky asked tersely.

Pterano · **Reply #239 on:** March 10, 2014, 11:55:08 AM

"I understand." was the response. "But you are a detective, and the public is supposed to come to you guys with tips and things that would help the investigation. My name is Tom Benton and I teach political theory and science. I was in... contact with Senator Morrow up until he died. He was working with me on a project... but is there someplace we can perhaps meet? I would be willing to come to LA to divulge what I know and file a report... but you must understand, detective... the implications of what I would tell you... I would ask you to please be discreet... I just feel terrible he was murdered, and would like to help you get to the bottom of it, if possible."