Tria rose to her feet as Tricia went dangerously far into the water. Despite the young one knowing how to swim, and several Swimmers being near, she did not want to have her that far from shore yet.
"Tricia, stay close to the shore." She called. The young Threehorn answered with a squeak and obediently returned to the side of her mother. "You didn't have to get out completely." Tria chuckled, nuzzling her.
The sudden sound of a massive thunder-crack broke the silence, followed by several more.
"What…?" His question was cut short when… something hit Pterano, making him scream in agony as Sky Fire seemed to arc over his body. The other three grown-ups were hit not even moments later, collapsing on the ground where they remained unmoving.
For a moment the young ones didn't move, before falling into a panic.
Littlefoot ran ashore towards his downed grandmother, rounding her body until he reached her head. Her eyes were closed and he got no reaction when he called out to her.
"Littlefoot!" Before the young Longneck could even turn around, something gripped him as strange sounds drowned out the screaming of his friends. He twisted his head around as he struggled to get free. Sharp pain at the back of his head was the only thing he got. No movements then… His mouth dropped open as he saw the strange creatures that stood among the fallen grown-ups, one of which seemed to be ordering the others around with those strange sounds.
In the distance other dinosaurs appeared, alerted by the noise. The leader of the creatures noticed them as well and his voice grew more urgent, particularly when a Threehorn – Mr. Threehorn, he realized, who was not amused at Tria being down – started charging straight at them.
One of them lifted a shiny tree-stump, aiming the round end at the approaching male. Another clap of thunder and Sky Fire hit Cera's father square in the face. Cera screamed in horror as he crashed to the ground, his body moving forward a short distance by the momentum he had already gained before coming to a stop just a short distance from them.
The creatures acted as if it had been an action of no consequence to them, placing strange rocks in a crude circle as the other grown-ups hesitated for just the briefest moment.
Littlefoot screamed as the last rock seemed to call down the Sky Fire once more, now arcing between all of the stones those creatures had put down.
He had no idea where his friends were, or any of the other children for that matter, but he knew that he should be very jealous of them when the Sky Fire exploded into a bright light, burning his eyeballs even with closed eyes.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Well, that knocked them out cold…" He leaned down over the young Apatosaurus. The dinosaur had collapsed at arrival, being as unconscious as the others.
"All of them are unconscious, sir." The youngest of the team stated. "Shall I warn the scientists?"
"I am sure they already were notified." The team-leader rose again, looking over at the buildings just a short distance away. At least they had ended up on one of the fields dotting the facility, rather than in one of the labs. The Apatosaurus would have made a tight fit.
One of the doors in the perfect white building opened and a man in suit walked out, followed by several people in lab-coats. On all of them were metal wires, fused to their skin in an intricate web-like pattern. Only their faces seemed to be entirely free of the thin lines, aside from one going to their eyes.
"Wonderful job, Lewis!" He called. "What have you brought us?"
"Two Sauropods I believe to be Apatosaurus or Camarasaurus, one Saurolophus I believe, two Triceratops, a Pterosaur and a young… Stegosaurus if I am not mistaken." Lewis told him. "We were lucky, sir."
"Indeed, indeed." The man in suit tilted his head. "Well, let's get our guests settled first." The scientist moved at once as he led Lewis into the building. Neither looked back as the ground opened up behind them, swallowing those they left. "Now tell me about it. Everything."
"Well, this place was a valley back then. A river, several lakes and ponds and dense forests." Lewis told the other when they reached his office. He was a stark contrast to his employer, but outside of work they were the best of friends. Lewis was in his early thirties, while Cian – said employer – was already pushing sixty. Cian was the head-scientist of the biggest science-based institute you could find on planet Earth, while Lewis had been the son of a Lab-hand who had proven himself a valuable Jack of all trades. Both were smart, but Lewis' parents had been unable to afford the high education their son deserved, while Cian's father had been a scientist himself.
"Mmmmh, and how did you get all those together like that?" The other offered him coffee, which he gladly accepted. He'd drink something more spirited later.
"As I said, Cian, we were lucky. They seemed to be sunbathing or something like that together at the side of the biggest lake. There were more children around, but when we stunned the adults, most of those ran." Lewis told him. "The three we brought back had sought shelter with the others, being in the ring when we activated it."
"Good, good." Cian tapped a part of his desk. A hologram opened, showing several folders, one of which was blinking. "Let's see." He tapped the one that was blinking, watching as a list appeared. "Mmmmh… It truly is a shame your parents could not afford your education, all of your guesses were correct. Two Apatosauruses, one Saurolophus, two Triceratops, a Stegosaurus and the Pterosaur seems to be a Pteranodon. Aside from the Stegosaurus, the young Apatosaurus and the Pteranodon all are female. Though I do wonder what Stegosaurus and Apatosaurus were doing alive in the late Cretaceous…"
Lewis watched as several holographic dinosaurs floated above the table. "Perhaps there were some populations that survived until then? I can assure you I all got them from the same spot. But should you send me for more dinosaurs, please give me people that can actually tell the difference between a dinosaur and a crocodile for Heaven's Sake."
"Ah, they were trouble?"
"Only one of them knew anything about them." Lewis took another sip from the coffee. "The other three probably couldn't tell the difference between a Hadrosaur and a Sauropod."
"I am sorry." Cian turned his attention away from the holograms. "I'll look for better ones next time, I promise."
"There is going to be a next time then?" Lewis looked at the floating dinosaurs. "I'd figured you'd have enough now."
"For now, I do. But sooner or later we'd need more." Cian sat down behind his desk, as more data appeared underneath the holograms: weight, length, height… "It's funny that people are completely fine with Technical Enhancement-webs and living in space 24/7 but still frown upon cloning anything more complex than a rat."
"Yeah, that's modern society for you." Lewis chuckled then gasped as the dinosaurs' ages were shown. "Holy… I guessed that dinosaur was old, but that old? How could she still walk?"
"Reptiles are surprisingly long-lived." Cian looked quite shocked himself. "I guess that goes for Dinosaurs as well. At any rate, we two are quite useless at the moment, since the working scientists now have command. Want a drink?"