The Lost World: Jurassic Kratts

A New Frontier

Classical piano music echoed throughout the mansion's halls as a tuxedo clad butler went to answer the front door. Before the open door stood a man dressed in black from head to toe.
"Whom shall I tell Mr. Hammond is calling?"he asked, standing fully up right as straight as an arrow.
"Umm Ian Malcolm. I've been summoned."responded the stranger. Without another word, the butler motioned for Malcolm to come inside before walking off into another part of the mansion. As the mathematician made his way through the vast halls, slowly ascending a set of stairs, his attention was drawn by the sound of a closing door from above him, followed by– "Dr. Malcolm!"
The man in black glanced in the direction the voice came by another series of stairs where two teenagers raced down to greet him. A wide smile formed on the scientist's face upon recognizing them as none other than Lex and Tim Murphy. "Oh my God!"
"Hello, Dr. Malcolm! It's so great to see you!"exclaimed Lex, adorned in a black dress, now blossomed into a beautiful young woman, her golden blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. Her brother, wearing a light blue long sleeve shirt and khaki pants, had also grown considerably; he was much taller than he was all those years ago and his brown hair was no longer as curly as it once was. The two teenagers had instantaneously wrapped their arms around the man in black.
  Malcolm happily returned the embrace. "Kids! Kids! It's so great to see you! It's so great– look at you!"
"You came to see grandpa?"asked Tim, which led Dr. Malcolm to notice that his voice had also deepened.
"Yeah, Yeah, he called me. Do you know what this is about?" The two siblings shook their heads. "I don't either.... This joint's kind of creepy. Isn't it?"–here Malcolm looked around the mansion. Not a chuckle was heard. "Is everything ok?"
"Well, not exactly."replied Lex, acknowledging the elephant in the room. Before the mathematician could ask further, a group of people wearing suits came walking down the stairs. One of which is Peter Ludlow who took notice of the scientist's presence.
"Well, Dr. Malcolm... Dr. Malcolm."he began rather coldly. "Here to share a few campfire stories with my uncle?"
"Do me a favor, Ludlow. Don't pretend for a second that you and I don't know the truth."replied Malcolm rather angrily. "You can convince the Washington Post and the Skeptical Enquirer of anything you want, but I was there; I know what happened– and so do you."countered the mathematician.
"Do you believe that everyone who chose discretion did so for some nefarious motives?"Ludlow replied. "Even Lex and Tim?"
"Leave them out of it. It's not a game."
"No it isn't. You're lucky we didn't sue you. You signed a nondisclosure agreement before you went to the island that expressly forbade you from discussing anything you saw. You violated that agreement."
"Yeah I did, and you lied. You twisted the facts surrounding the deaths of three people. You stuffed misinformation down the public's throat, which made me look like a nut. Hasn't been so good for my livelihood–"
Ludlow interrupted, stating: "We made a generous compensatory offer for your
injuries."
"That was a payoff and an insult! And when you spin reality, when you try to cover up evidence, it hurts. It ruins more than my reputation. It hurts–"
"If your university felt you were causing it embarrassment by selling wild stories to Hard Copy, I hardly see how I am to–"
"I didn't sell anything. I never took a cent. And I told the truth!"
"Your version of it..."
"There aren't any versions of the truth. And I'll tell you something, InGen can't keep spewing out–"
"InGen is my responsibility now, Doctor, and I will jealously defend it's interests."
"Your responsibility? What about Mr. Hammond?"
"It is our board of directors which I must look in the eye, not my uncle. You must trust me, these problems you have are about to be rendered moot. In a few weeks time, they'll be long forgotten." With that, the new CEO took his leave, but not before feeling an iron grip on his arm as Malcolm murmured: "Not by me..."
"Careful.... This suit cost more than your education." With that, he continued in his way. It didn't take long before Malcolm too, remembered the reason he was here.
***Several Minutes Later....***
Malcolm soon entered a darkened bedroom, sunlight scarcely filtering its way through the window blinds, as John Hammond lay in his bed. Medical equipment had been disguised as well as possible among the furniture and flowers nearby, but the sheer abundance of it told the mathematician that whatever had stricken the old man was going to win this battle. A smile crawled upon his face upon noticing his visitor.
"Ian! Don't linger in the doorway like an ingenue, come in, come in!" Malcolm stepped further into the room.
"It's good to see you, it really is. When you have a lot of time to think, it's funny who you remember. It's the people who challenged you. It's the quality of our opponents that gives our accomplishments meaning. I never told you how sorry I was about what happened after we returned."
At first, the scientist didn't know how to begin. "I didn't know you–weren't well."
"It's the lawyers. The lawyers are finally killing me."replied the old man with a chuckle.
"They do have motive."retorted the mathematician before cutting straight to the chase, "Now, why did you want to see me? Your message said it was urgent."
"You were right, and I was wrong. There! Did you ever expect to hear me say such a thing?" If Malcolm was surprised, he didn't show it as the once proud entrepreneur went on: "Spectacularly wrong. Instead of observing those animals, I tried to control them. I squandered an opportunity and we'll still know next to nothing about their lives. Not their lives as man would have them, behind electric fences, but in the wild. Living free. Behavior in their natural habitat, the impossible dream of any paleontologist or zoologist. I could have had it, but I let it slip away." Long pause. "Thank God for Site B."
"Site B?"
Hammond continued with a glint in his eye. "Well? Didn't it all seem a trifle compact to you? The hatchery, in particular?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You know my initial yields had to be low, far less than one percent; that's a thousand embryos for every single live birth. Genetic engineering on that scale implies a giant operation, not that spotless little laboratory I showed you.
"Isla Nublar was just a showroom, something for the tourists, Site B was the factory floor. It was on Isla Sorna, some eighty miles from Nublar. We bred the animals there, nurtured them for a few months, then moved them to the park. Now, after the accident at the park, Hurricane Clarissa wiped out our facilities on Site B. Call it an act of God. We had to evacuate of course, and the animals were released to mature on their own in the wild.
"Life will find a way, as you once so eloquently put it. And by now, we have a complete ecological system on the island with dozens of species living in their own social groups. Without fences, without constraining technology, and for four years now, I've fought to keep them safe from human interference."
To say that Malcolm was shocked would be a grave understatement. "Then it's the first thing you've done right."he murmured sarcastically before saying rather urgently: "That island has to be quarantined and contained, immediately! Even the airspace over it needs to be restricted! Get the Department of Biological Preserves to seal off the island. These two species were never meant to share the earth. I am living proof that man cannot compete in their world, and they would never make it in ours. Civilization would kill them–" here he paused, a sudden thought occurring to his mind. "If they're not dead already. You bred them lysine-deficient, didn't you? Shouldn't they have kicked the bucket after seven days without supplemental enzymes?"
Hammond, however, was ecstatic as he answered, "Yes! But by God, they're flourishing, aren't they?! I don't know how, it's only one of a thousand questions I want the team to answer."
"Team?"asked the scientist incredulously.
"Yes. I've been putting this together for over a year. But now something's come up that's made it imperative for the expedition to happen now. If we hesitate, all will be lost."
"'Expedition?' Oh, please, please don't tell me you were foolhardy enough to–"
"I've organized a group to go in and document them, to make the most spectacular living fossil record the world has ever seen."
"I cannot believe my ears. Did you breed carnivores on this island?"
   "Our satellite infrareds show that most of the animals are fiercely territorial; they demarcate and defend specific areas and stay within them. The carnivores are isolated in the interior of the island, so the team will stay on the outer rim."
But this did little to assure Malcolm. "And just how many lunatics are on this team?"
Hammond picked up a thick file folder from the nightstand next to him and opened it on his lap. Inside, there were memos, charts, maps, and photographs. "Ten."came the answer.
"Ten? You might as well be going in there with the National Guard!"
"Exactly wrong! Ask any animal behaviorist, the best results come from the lowest impact, the animals shouldn't even know you're there. One observes and documents, but does not interact. Attempting to control the environment is where I went wrong the first time, you told me so yourself. I'm not making the same mistakes again."
"No, no, you're making all new ones!"argued the man in black, hand on his forehead. "My God, if you want to protect those animals, do the ground work, get legislation passed! If you want to observe them, you do it safely, by satellite, drone or helicopter, but you don't just barge in there with a camcorder! Who are these people? What are their names?"
"Well, it was difficult to convince some of them of what they were going to see. And in the end I had to use my checkbook to get them there. But, there's Nick Van Owen, who's a video documentarian; Eddie Carr, a field equipment specialist; Laura Wilkinson, a wildlife ranger from Kenya; we also have a paleontologist, our own zoological team, and I was hoping that perhaps, you might be the fourth."
A long pause. The mathematician simply cast the old man a deadpan look that said: you're out of your mind. "You don't even listen when I speak, do you?"
"Public opinion is the only thing that can preserve Site B now. You have always been my harshest critic. If you come out as an advocate with me, it'll mean everything. I know how obsessive you can be once you truly embrace an idea. We can come forward, together, with ironclad proof of their existence."
"You must already have proof. DNA splicing, the cloning, the births, that domesticated rapto–"
"Only in captivity!"thundered the entrepreneur. "I need to show them in their natural habitat to stir up emotional support for keeping that island pristine. This is my last chance to contribute something of real value. I can't walk so far to have left no footprints. I will not be known only for my failures, and you are too smart and too proud to let yourself go down in history as a hoaxster. Please. This is a chance at redemption for both of us."
For what seemed an eternity, silence reigned in the dark room before Malcolm finally answered: "That's selfish and grandiose. No, John, I won't go. Absolutely not. And I'm going to contact every member of your team and stop them from going." He picked up the file from the bed and starts flipping through it. "You didn't mention the name of the paleontologist. Who did you get?"
Hammond only looked away in guilt until he finally replied, "She came to me. I just want you to know that."
"Who did?"
"Leave it to you, Ian, to have associations, affiliations, even liaisons with the best people in so many fields,"
Malcolm's eyes widened in realization. "You didn't bring Sarah into this, did you?! Forget it! Get someone else!"
  "There is no one else! Paleontological behavior study is a brand new field, and Sarah Harding is on the frontier."
"No!"
"Her theories on parenting and nurturing among carnivores have framed the debate for the last five years, who else could hav–what are you doing?"
  Rushing to Hammond's desk, the mathematician searched frantically through piles of paper and dossiers. "Where's your phone?"he asked ere finding what he was looking for. But he had barely dialed the first three digits when– "It's too late; she's already there. The others are meeting her in three days." When Malcolm turned to face the ailing old man again, he had a terrified look carved on his features.
"You sent my girlfriend to this island alone?"he asked in a pained whisper.
"'Sent' is hardly the word, she couldn't be restrained! She was adamant about making the initial foray by herself. "Observation without interference," she said, went on and on about it. You know how it is. But in the end, she was accompanied by several trusted friends."
"Then who's she with?"
****Meanwhile....****
"Aghhhhhh!!!!!!!!" The usual silence of the jungle was shattered by several terrified screams before three figures erupted out of the undergrowth, running as fast as their legs could carry them, running for their lives!
  The tallest of the three was a man with sandy blonde hair, adorned with khaki shorts and a blue jacket. The younger man running along his right had similar attire, the only difference being that he wore green instead of blue and his brown hair was arranged in a row of spikes. Lastly sprinted a woman with a compact, athletic body built for the outdoors, wearing a beige vest over a red shirt, her equally red hair tied in a ponytail, swaying in different directions much like the tail of a galloping horse. A loud screech was heard , and  the leaves of the underbrush parted, revealing the nature of their pursuer: from out of the undergrowth at full speed erupted the streamlined shape of a charging Velociraptor!
"She's gaining on us!"exclaimed the younger man, not daring to look over his green clad shoulder.
"She can't catch us all if we split up!"interjected the older one, his brother. But scarcely had the words left his mouth when the raptor uttered a distinctive barking call. Several more shrieks answered from the surrounding foliage, and as the blonde dared to look behind him, he then wished he hadn't; several more of the fleet footed carnivorous dinosaurs had joined the hunt.
"The world just loves to prove me wrong, doesn't it?"he mumbled sarcastically.
"Where there's one raptor, there's oftentimes a pack of them!"interjected the redhead, running ahead of him.
  Suddenly a bloodcurdling shriek sounded as one of the raptors made its pounce, sending the man crashing to the forest floor on his stomach. "Oof!" Grabbing him by his boot, the predator proceeded to drag the helpless human into the thicket. The man in green froze in his tracks, a gasp of horror escaping his lips upon seeing his older brother's predicament.
"Martin!"
"Go, Chris!"urged the fallen man, fingers clawing the forest floor in futile resistance against the raptor.
"No! I can't leave you, bro!"
"Go! It's too late for me, but save yourssseeeelf!" That last part was yelled as Martin disappeared within the leafy curtains of the thick undergrowth that rustled and shook violently as his screams were mingled with the snarls of the Velociraptors.
  With few options, Chris turned around and ran. He continued to run until he caught up to the woman on a wide game trail, but they were not out of the woods yet; several spine-chilling shrieks told them that the raptors were still on the hunt, intent on finishing them off!
"Sarah!"panted Chris. "Get to the Tortuga! I'll lead them away!" Sarah nodded in understanding as the Kratt in green suddenly changed his course, crashing into the tall grass as he left the trail, yelling at the top of his lungs to try and gain the voracious theropods' attention. "Hey! Over here!"
  While the raptors were preoccupied with trying to catch Chris, the paleontologist took full advantage of the opportunity to escape the danger zone.
"Catch me if you can!" Meanwhile, Chris was swinging from tree to tree, avoiding the raptors' snapping jaws as they jumped vertically trying to sink their teeth into his flesh. As he made his way along the tree roads, laughing as he playfully taunted his pursuers. "Ooh! Almost had me! Missed me by a mile! Missed again! Three strikes, you're out!" Down below, the dinosaurs continued their assault, hoping for the climber's footing to slip.
"It's over, raptor pack! I have the high ground!"yelled the Kratt in green triumphantly as he continued his arboreal escape. "Better luck next time!" However, in his haste and overconfidence, Chris miscalculated his next step, landing on a rotten tree branch that gave way under his weight with a SNAP!
"AGHHHHH!!!!!!" The screaming Kratt fell backwards, plummeting twenty feet to the understory before being submerged in a scaly tidal wave of raptors.
Sarah Harding was running as she had never ran before in her entire life, everything passing by her like a blur as she forced herself to block out Chris' screaming far in the distance. Before long, the sun's rays filtered their way through the jungle's leafy curtains as the paleontologist was fast approaching a wide clearing where, to her relief, the large terrapin shape came into view. The Tortuga H.Q. Safety. But her relief was short lived as a bloodcurdling shriek alerted her that she was still being hunted! With her last remaining energy, Sarah dashed at full speed for the clearing. But with her heart racing and her lungs burning, she was quickly beginning to tire. Almost there..
And then something heavy struck her from behind, forcing her to the ground. The woman hit the dirt hard and rolled over, coming face to face with a set of formidable razor sharp teeth that were bared, golden eyes glaring down on her. A set of razor sharp talons laid on her vulnerable stomach, poised to strike at any moment. Sarah shut her eyes tightly, turning her head as she resigned to her fate... before a wet tongue assaulted her freckled face, causing the woman to sob with laughter as she tried in vain to push the raptor's head away.
"No! Stohahahahap! Okay, you win! You win!"
The raptor in question gurgled a guttural warble that resembled a laugh ere backing off, allowing the human to rise to her feet. A feminine, robotic laughing was heard along with a voice that said: "Yes! I have won!" Sarah patted the scaly head adorned with a flat, gray mechanical pad with a hint of turquoise.
"Yeah, you got me again. Congratulations, Amber." Another mechanical laugh was heard, echoing from the metal hat.
Behind them, hysterical laughter was heard as Martin emerged from the underbrush, completely unharmed, soon followed by a group of six or seven Velociraptors who playfully nudged him, rubbing their bodies against him. "Stop! You know that tickles!"exclaimed the Kratt in blue between laughs, one hand clutching his stomach while the other patted a nearby raptor.
"These guys are getting better, alright."he said once they joined Sarah and Amber. "Won't be too long before they're ready to join the older raptors on the hunt." As the paleontologist dusted herself, Martin looked upon the raptors as they chittered among themselves, slowly swishing their tails while two others playfully tussled with each other. The group was made up of seven individuals made up of four females and three males, all of which were around Amber's age of four or five years, the eldest being a young male with black stripes adorning his bright orange skin; for that reason the Kratt in blue dubbed him Tiger Claw, and he seemed to be the leader of the group (which made sense because he was the eldest son of the alpha pair..). But he also noticed that whenever he was around Amber, which he currently was at the moment, his normally reserved and serious demeanor softened and he would sometimes be seen engaging the spunkier female in play alongside the rest of the group. Martin smiled, sensing the possible chemistry between the two.
"Wait a minute,"said Martin, noticing something was off. "Where's Chris? Have you guys seen Chris?" This was directed at the raptors who all shook their heads in response. One of them sounded a croak that resembled a no.
"No, I have not."replied Amber from her Creature Thought Translator as she shook her head.
  As the Kratt in blue called for his missing brother, they were soon joined by three other people, two women and a young man who had all raced out of the Tortuga's main entrance.
"Jimmy! Koki! Laura!"exclaimed Martin, racing toward the trio. In the lead was a young African American in a red, short sleeved shirt with a white star on it, yellow pants, and red shoes. She also had a yellow head band worn over raven hair arranged in an afro. Behind her came a slender young man wearing a backwards blue-green baseball cap on his red hair, along with a grey t-shirt with a white, long sleeved shirt worn underneath, and red plaid shorts. He also had notable facial hair on his chin. Lastly came a woman around Martin's age. A dark brown outdoors brim hat covered golden blonde hair that was tied in a French braid. She also wore a blue t-shirt covered by a beige vest as well as a pair of khaki shorts.
"Has anyone seen Aviva?"asked Koki. "We haven't seen her since she went out on her Hover Bike an hour ago."
"Relax, Koki. I'm sure she's fine."interjected Laura with a chuckle, a bit quickly unbeknownst to everyone else. But the creature adventurer caught it, regarding the blonde suspiciously.
"I agree with Laura."added Jimmy Z, taking a bite out of a slice of pizza in his hand. "Besides she can always call us on her Creaturepo–" he stopped mid sentence upon seeing a purple mobile phone in Koki's hand. The technician in question had a deadpan look. "ohhhh...."
"Aviva's missing too?"questioned Sarah, joining the discussion.
"Too? Who else?"asked a baffled Koki.
"Chris. We haven't seen him since our Veloci-Tag game."said Martin, now starting to worry as he was getting no answer from his Creaturepod.
As the team discussed their next course of action, Amber and the other young raptors all exchanged knowing glances.
**** Elsewhere...****
Miles away from the Tortuga, deep in the heart of the lush redwood forest laid a hidden sunlit cove, fed by torrents of cascading white water falling from the moss-covered cliffs above. The rocky walls were lined with myriads of colorful flowers, ferns and other tropical vegetation and inaccessible to any large animal, the crystal clear pool's only entrance being a narrow passageway that led from the surrounding forest. From within the confines of the canyon, laughter could be heard echoing off the cove's rocky walls as the two occupants were frolicking and swimming in the cool water, all the while playfully splashing one another under the waterfall.
Before too long, Chris and Aviva hauled themselves out onto the shore, their summer attire now soaking wet. The Kratt in green handed the young brunette a violet colored towel that was draped over one of the nearby sun baked boulders.
"Muchísimas gracias, Cariño." said the Tortuga inventor sweetly, accepting the towel as she planted a kiss on Chris' cheek, causing him to blush bright red, a goofy smile forming on his face. "De nada," he replied. The young Kratt had picked up a lot of Spanish over the years that he was becoming more fluent. Suddenly a low rumbling sound was heard, briefly startling the inventor before she placed a hand on her stomach. "Ooh. I'm hungry. Got anything for lunch?"
Aviva had hardly finished her sentence when she spied a checkered sheet that was splayed out at full width on the green grass of the far side of the cove. On top of that was a fully loaded picnic basket dead center in a bouquet of wildflowers neatly arranged in a familiar paw print insignia. Seated crisscross on one end was Chris, gesturing or her to come sit by his side. "Bon appétit, mon chéri."he said with an inviting smile, earning a giggle from the inventor.
After their meal, the pair rested on the soft bed of grass, Aviva's head resting on Chris' chest as the Kratt in green was lying on his back, neither saying a word as they observed the various birds that occasionally perched among the trees, or admired the white clouds slowly drifting along the blue sky.
A moment of peaceful silence. "What a day."said Chris, heaving a blissful sigh.
"Yup. And I can't believe that it's been almost two weeks already."replied Aviva. "Seems as though it was only yesterday that we first came here to Isla Sorna,"
"Mm-hmm, another really cool place to add to the life list."added Chris.
"How did you discover this place anyway?"asked Aviva, looking around the pristine cove that they were in.
"Remember that time last week when we were studying the secrets to Microraptor gliding?"
****Flashback...****
"Hurry, Chris! They're getting away!"
Chris and Martin were running along the forest floor, glancing up to the thick canopy as they were trying to catch up with several tiny flashes of black flying overhead.
  Being the faster of the two, Chris sprinted ahead of his lagging brother who was panting and wheezing from exhaustion before collapsing among the ferns. He soon caught a glimpse of his quarry; outwardly, the creatures were rather small and resembled crows due to the color of their plumage. However, unlike crows, their hands were visible underneath inky black wings, each sporting three sharp claws, and on their feet, the middle toe sported a characteristic hooklike talon, similar to those of Amber and the Velociraptors, and like their raptorial cousins, they had long, balancing tails, only these creatures had diamond-shaped fans at their ends. Most striking of all, these arboreal dinosaurs had four sets of wings, the other pair located on their hind legs. According to Sarah, these were one of the smallest dinosaurs ever discovered. Microraptors.
   "Almost– Whoa!" The Kratt in green came to a screeching halt as he froze before the edge of a rocky cliff.
"Phew. That was a close one." Glancing up at a towering redwood tree, he spied one of the minuscule dinosaurs perched on one of its branches. "Well, looks like it's just you and me, little guy." Almost in answer, the Microraptor unfolded his forearms, black wings extended before he launched himself from his arboreal platform. The young Kratt watched in wide eyed amazement as the small theropod glided across the entire width of the newly discovered cove, occasionally flapping his raven wings ere landing on a robust forest giant on the opposite side, swallowing a dragonfly caught in his jaws.
"Whoa! That was a 300 foot glide! Almost the length of a football field!" Chris exclaimed after measuring the distance with his Creaturepod.
"Hey, Chris! Wait up!"
"Oof! Ahhhhh!!!!!!"
The Kratt in green barely had enough time to react when he was hit from behind by a blue figure moving among the dense foliage. Unfortunately, Chris began to lose his balance on the cliff ledge and it wasn't long before he fell forty feet down, ultimately landing in the azure pool down below with a tremendous splash.
From his place on the edge, Martin looked around cluelessly for his missing brother. "Chris! Chris? Where'd you go?" A loud splashing sound told the Kratt in blue to glance down. "Uh-oh. Chris! You okay down there?"
****End of Flashback...****
Needless to say, Aviva couldn't stop laughing as Chris finished recounting his tale. "Sounds like you two got into your usual amount of trouble that time,"
The young Kratt cast her an unamused glance. "Really funny." Another giggle. Soon enough, he gave in, his deadpan stare melted into a smile and it wasn't long before he too laughed out loud. "Well, what else can I say? Many great discoveries are found by accident." For a while, peaceful silence reigned in the forest.
   "Aviva," he said after a momentary pause. "You know I love you, right?"
"Mm-hmm,"she hummed. "Of course I do! ¡Y te amo con todo mi corazón!" She then pulled Chris into a tight embrace which he more than happily returned.
"Feliz aniversario, cariño."she whispered.
"Happy anniversary to you too." For a brief moment, the pair gazed into each other's eyes, hazel brown meeting stormy gray as their faces slowly drifted closer and closer, eyelids beginning to close, until their lips met in a passionate kiss. Aviva's arms wrapped around Chris' neck as his strong but gentle arms constricted around her waist, deepening the kiss. But the need for oxygen soon beckoned, and they parted reluctantly. Nonetheless they remained close, foreheads touching as they once again met eye to eye, exchanging smiles and whispers.
"Y'know, during these past couple of years, I realized something."
"Hmm?"hummed Aviva, noticing that Chris had suddenly become nervous for the first time since their relationship started. She waited patiently as the creature adventurer summoned enough courage to say what he had on his mind. After taking several deep breaths, he finally spoke.
"Before all of this, I thought I had it all; traveling the world, meeting all kinds of creatures with Martin, being part of a wonderful team. But ever since that skirmish with those poachers, it was you who really opened my eyes, and I see that you're what makes my life complete, Aviva. One hundred percent. These past four or five years have been some of the happiest of all my life," here the Kratt in green paused, drawing another deep breath. "I really wanna ask you something. Something really important."
"What?"asked the inventor, trying her hardest to contain all sorts of emotions, trying to hold back the tears of happiness in her intelligent gray eyes as he held both her hands.
"Aviva Corcovado, will yo–"
"Chris!"
"AGHHH!!!!! OOF!!!" but Chris never finished as he was tackled to the ground by a flash of orange. Lying flat on his back, he glanced up to see his attacker. Behind him, he could hear the inventor trying her hardest not to laugh, but failing miserably.
"What the– Amber? What're you doing here?"
The young Velociraptor answered by rubbing her snout against Chris' face before she shrieked toward the direction of the cove's entrance. "I have found them!"
The pair looked to the edge of the cove to see Martin entering through the narrow rocky passage, promptly followed by Laura. "Chris! Aviva! There you are!"he exclaimed before he began talking a mile a minute. "We've been looking everywhere for you! We had no idea where you went off to, so we asked Amber here to sniff you guys out, and– did we interrupt something?"
"No! Nothing!"replied the couple at the same time, their faces turning red from embarrassment. Laura and Amber exchanged glances before they both giggled in understanding. Martin raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What's the matter, guys?"asked Aviva, breaking the ice.
"We have some really bad news, but we'll explain once we get back to the Tortuga!"replied Laura in an authoritative voice born from years as a wildlife ranger. Chris and Aviva exchanged worried glances.
"Sorry,"whispered Laura sweetly to the pair, knowing full well that they had just spoiled a private moment. She then broke into a jog as she caught up with the Kratt in blue, shouting: "Race you to the H.Q, Martin!"
"You're on!"exclaimed the creature adventurer, accepting her challenge. But the pair had hardly gone very far when a flash of orange sprinted past them at full speed, laughing as she declared: "Prepare to eat my dust!"
Chris and Aviva watched as the two humans and the Velociraptor began to disappear from view, almost as though the jungle had swallowed them into its green depths.
"Well what are we waiting for?"questioned the inventor playfully before she raced over to her blue Hover Bike parked along the edge of the cove's rocky walls.
"C'mon, Chris! Hop on!"said Aviva, now mounted on her Hover Bike, helmet donned as she gestured towards the copilot seat.
"That's okay, Aviva."answered Chris rather calmly with a chuckle. "You go on ahead. I'll catch up,"
"¿Estás seguro?"she asked. He nodded.
Aviva glanced over her shoulder before she reluctantly hovered over the forty foot walls, flying back in the direction of the terrapin home base. Chris watched her go until she was out of sight. The Kratt in green heaved a sigh, glancing down at the item held within his hand: a little velvet box.
"I guess there's always next time,"
****Meet the Velociraptors, part of a pack who live along the coast and one of the first creatures to befriend the WK team. In fact, the wild raptors are far more docile than their captive counterparts..
Four years have past and Amber's on her way to becoming a fully fledged raptor, though her personality isn't exactly what one would typically expect from her kind. Oh yeah, that's right: Amber can talk! Or at least she can more easily communicate with the team; the idea for her Thought Translator came from Dug's collar from Up and Steve from Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. As far as design goes, it's based on Plato's hat from the Platypus Cafe episode. I'm still debating who her VA should be: either Tara Strong or Hynden Walch.
Laura Wilkinson is a character who was inspired by SilverWaterBombadil's Kitty Carlo (SilverWater served as a major inspiration when it came to fanfics..) .She may not be a shapeshifter here, but she's a wildlife ranger who's a lot tougher than she looks.
PS, due to some of my other stories, it will be a while before my next update..
PSS, just because I've now started this story doesn't mean I'm done with ORAK, I'll still work on that..
  So stay tuned!