Dawn of The Portals

"We found it!" marveled the young man, who appeared to be some sort of leader. His face was stern, yet his eyes marveled in brilliant design. "A temple of Chalchiuhtlicue- the Aztec God of Water. This temple is completely different in design as you can see-"

"Jack, we really need to be careful," another cut in. This was Maizie Cloude, a young hacker of around sixteen. She had a bright young face, and wore pigtails adorned with bows. "Remember I had to hack several government agencies to get the team here. Also, we have a boat. Are you gonna tell me what the boat is for, Mister Mayflower."

"Right, Maizie," Jack began, "Inform the others to set up camp here. Have the caravan here, while me, you, Leo, and Stacy enter the temple."

"Me? I hardly know anything about archeological nonsense."

"Yes, you'll need experience, and you're part of the special team. Plus, more people running the boat is better."

"Special team?"

"Yes, me and Stacy for archeology, you for research and hacking, and Leo to be our guard."

The line of cars all came to a stop. Everyone got out and began to set up camp. The diggers began to get to work, as well as the site supervisors, while Jack's special team prepped the boat.

"Leo, any threats in the area?" Jack asked, his white hair flowing in the hot wind.

"Sir," Leo replied, a slightly bulky man with notable muscles but a clean cut hairstyle, while loading a machine gun, "some rebels are known to hide in this area."

"Have your men guard everyone, while you come with me."

"Affirmative, sir!"

A young woman by the name of Stacy Sykes inspected the markings on the temple, perplexed at the different patterns. She wore round glasses with horns on both sides, made to look like the horns of a Carnotaurus.

"Jack!" Stacy called. "This is peculiar indeed- according to my research, these symbols tell us of a strange story!"

"You can tell us on the boat."

The boat was prepped, and Jack had some diggers move it inside the temple, where there were marvels. The boat was a simple one, they could sit on deck, or go below deck to small rooms.

"Marvelous! Just as I suspected!" Stacy cheered. "The temple was somehow built atop a river, and this river- goes there!"

Stacy pointed to the center, where everyone saw water running down some steps into an opening that went into the ground. Jack shined a light, revealing it to be a cave.

"Send a drone in," Jack ordered, "then get the boat down there."

Swiftly, this was done, and the drone revealed it big enough for the boat. With a bit of coaxing from Leo, the boat managed to be prepped down the downward flowing water. Around them, the sunlight pierced through an open hole, giving the temple a gold paint. Old Aztec pots and devices laid around, as if they had been left in a hurry. There were peculiar skeletons that looked reptilian, probably some sort of sacrifice.

"Jack, boat's ready," Leo informed, "are you ready to depart?"

"Yes, let's go now."

Leo called for the two others of Jack's so-called special team. One at a time, they boarded the small boat. Stacy started the boat, while Maizie waited below deck, going over notes provided by Stacy. Leo stood guard, pistol in one hand, AK-47 in the other. Jack launched a few drones to light the area in front. The cave was similar to any other caves, black rock causing darkness, blind fish swimming below.

"Look at these symbols," Stacy commented, "what do they mean?"

"Don't ask me," Leo chimed in, "I'm just a soldier."

"Stacy, weren't you saying something about a story?" Jack recalled.

"Ah, yes," Stacy replied, "I believe something happened here. The story says of a great battle, and magical rocks that had something to do with the sun- or something round. There were these pictures of reptilian gods, but those must mean some sort of new life or something they found.���

"Now what's so strange?"

"I checked the material on one of the altars- it's not like anything seen today! Perhaps this metal has strange properties, and those skeletons looked a whole lot like dinosaur skeletons. But that's impossible, so it must've been large lizards."

"True enough," Jack agreed, pointing to a symbol, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say that's a picture of a Spinosaurus… But I'm just an Archeologist- Stacy's both Paleo and Archeo."

"What is this cave," Maizie popped in, "why?"

"I suspect inside here, there might be an important artifact," Jack explained, "or, it might just be some sort of entrance to something else."

"D'you hear that?" Leo asked, chewing on some gum.

"What?" Maizie replied.

"Listen."

There appeared to be the sound of water rushing. Unknown to the team, there were a series of drops a few turns away.

"Sounds like a river, and we are in a river," Stacy commented.

"No, not the river, that popping sound in the distance behind us."

But soon, the river drowned out any other noise, and they soon resumed examining the symbols. The symbols had rapidly changed, now appearing to tell a different story.

"Guys," Maizie asked, "Uh, are any other teams going down here?"

"No," Jack answered, "only us."

"Cause I just sent a drone back there, and there's a boat, and there's people. The people have guns."

"The popping!" Leo realized. "Gunfire!"

"Let's not get too serious," Jack cut in, "maybe they got bored and followed us-"

Before Jack could finish, a spray of gunfire hit the boat, nearly hitting Jack. The team all dived to cover, hiding from the continuing gunfire.

"What the hell?!" Maizie panicked, "Why are we getting shot at?!"

"I'll check it out!" Leo shouted back, sneaking a look at whatever was shooting at them. "Three boats! Small, unlike ours! Looks like soldiers are on them!"

"Why are they here?!" Jack questioned.

"No idea, but most likely grave robbers or rebels!"

"Can we stop them?" Stacy panicked.

Leo smiled and held up his machine gun. He gave Jack and Stacy one as well, while the younger Maizie disappeared below deck.

"On three!" Leo ordered. "One, two, three- Now!"

The three leapt up and started firing at the boats. Bullet holes lined the enemy boats, and hit an unlucky raider.

"Cover!" Jack commanded.

"We need a better way to get rid of them!" Stacy yelled, "Any ideas?!"

"Grenades!" Leo yelled back, "Get my grenades!"

Jack nodded and retrieved Leo's grenades. Bursts of gunfire almost hit Jack's white hair and coat as he did so. He fired back, taking down his opponent.

"What now?" Jack inquired.

"Let's take down the cave on them!" Leo decided.

Leo prepared to throw a grenade, when the boat lurched downwards, splashing some water into the boat. In the motion, Leo dropped the unpinned grenade into the water instead.

The lead opponent boat came to a surprise, the grenade causing the water to explode outwards with great force. Jack's boat lurched down another drop, sending the team to the floor. The enemy boat was sent to a wall by the grenade's shockwave, destroying it. People scrambled and jumped to the water, where the people on the other two boats saved them.

"To hell with it!" Leo decided, picking up another grenade and throwing it to the cave roof.

The roof exploded in color; the grenade exploded in oranges and reds. The cave crumbled and began to fall. One of the two boats lurched forward, due to the downwards angle, and saved itself from getting crushed. The other boat wasn't so lucky, as a huge section of the cave came crashing down on it, sending it into a million pieces.

"Guys!" Maizie declared, appearing from below deck, "We got a problem!"

"Not now," Stacy answered, "we're dealing with this!"

"Waterfall!"

But alas, the gunfire drowned out Maizie's warning. Bursts of orange kept appearing, gunshots appearing as holes. But soon, the roaring noise of the waterfall was heard, and both parties took notice.

Jack ran to the front of the boat, where he saw the waterfall. Due to strange glowing crystals, the waterfall glowed purple.

"Everyone hold on!" Jack commanded.

Jack ran to the others, just as the tip began to angle downwards. Stacy threw her gun to the side and ran below decks, then came out with a frightened Maizie. Leo jumped out the boat. Next, Stacy and Maizie jumped out, holding hands. Last, Jack jumped as well, until they were all on the path of the waterfall.

"What are we doing?!" Maizie gasped, panicking.

"Don't worry," Leo assured, "we are gonna survive! Go feet first down the waterfall! Then, swim away immediately!"

"We're gonna die!"

The four watched as the boat tipped downwards and rushed downwards by the waterfall.

"No, no!" Maizie panicked.

"Calm down, I've done this before," Leo assured, "well, the last time, nine people died, but still, this waterfall isn't as tall!"

Everyone screamed as they went over the purple waterfall. It seemed to go on forever when it was only a few seconds. Purple water swirled and danced around them as they fell, giving them an amazing sight if they had looked. Strange fish were also in the waterfall, trying to climb up.

With a deafening splash, the four arrived. Following Leo's plan, they all swim away, going downstream. Luckily, their boat survived, though it wouldn't be able to start.

"Let's not do that again," Maizie whimpered.

"I… agree…" Leo managed, helping young Maizie up the ruined boat.

"Wait, something isn't right," Stacy realized, "where's the people that were shooting at us?!"

"Maybe their boat retreated," Jack theorized, shrugging it off.

"More importantly, what's that?" Maizie stated, pointing at a strange device surrounded by crystals. It was on a small 'island' in the center of what this new place was.

The boat drifted slowly, giving Stacy an opportunity to jump out, swim, and return with the object. It was shaped in an octagon, and it was the size of a tablet's screen. The artifact had eight crystals, one for a side. It was made of a peculiar metal, and it looked very futuristic.

"That makes no sense," puzzled Jack, "Aztecs wouldn't be able to make something so… futuristic… "

Stacy gave it a tap, when it suddenly made a noise, like a computer starting up. The metal drew back to reveal some sort of electronic screen.

"I don't think this is from the Aztecs…" Stacy muttered, "maybe it's a prank by someone or something?"

"I checked, we're the first people here," Maizie informed. Stacy handed it over, and Maizie prodded it. Soon, she found a circuit board.

"What the hell is this that?!" Leo commented, now interested.

"Maizie, does it look like anything modern?" Stacy questioned.

"No, it doesn't… and I know circuit boards."

A ray of sunlight dawned on the four, and they turned to see the exit. It led into the jungle and a river that gradually became smaller. Colorful birds danced around while howler monkeys played. A toucan cawed and landed on the ruined boat.

"I'll try to contact camp with the radio," Leo told.

Jack nodded in approval when he heard the click of a gun. Out of the shadows, men and women appeared, all dressed in uniforms and masks. Along the right sleeve read the words 'Scorpion'.

"Who are you people?!" Jack demanded.

"Hand over the artifact!" the leader demanded. The voice was feminine.

"Never! It belongs to us!" Leo sharply shot, "Well, to whatever museum gets it from us."

"You have no idea what that is!"

"Well, do you?" Stacy inquired.

"We actually, we don't. Now hand it over-"

Before the masked woman could say any more, a dart appeared on her chest. Around them, the four saw darts appear on the other soldiers.

"What just happened?" Maizie blurted, "Those darts came from above!"

The four looked up to see a helicopter. It was completely silent, surprising for a helicopter. All black, and on the side were the letters DAE.

A figure appeared with a megaphone, shouting: "Hello down there! Jack Mayflower, I believe?!"

"Yes!" Jack shouted back. "Who are you people?!"

"My name is Agent Milo Krassant of the DAE- the Department of Anomalous Events!"

"What?!" Jack questioned. "We can't hear you that well!"

The man repeated.

"Croissants? Food? What does that have to do with anything?!" Stacy yelled.

"No! Just wait!"

Agent Milo Krassant let down a long rope ladder and beckoned for the four to climb up. With no other choice, the four protagonists climbed.

Now inside the stealth helicopter, the agent explained who he was. Milo wore a black soldier uniform and had short hair, almost like a mohawk.

"So the DAE, what is it exactly?" Maizie asked. ��I've never heard of it, and I can hack the government!"

"We investigate and fix the more classified subjects," Milo explained. "We work with governments that choose to help us. Think of us like a secret Interpol."

"What are we doing here?" Jack inquired. "Can we get back to our archeology?"

"Jack, your diggers, are…" Milo began, sighing, "dead. Scorpion killed them all. We can't send you back, and well, we're here for the artifact as well."

"Wait, why do you know my name?"

"We've been monitoring you and your team for a while now. Jack Mayflower, the archeologist that believes in strange theories. Stacy Sykes, archeologists and paleontologist, connecting dinosaur bones to myths. Maizie Cloude, Jack's way into any archeological site ever. Or Stacy's dinosaur sites. Lastly, Leo Weiss, a mercenary hired by Jack when he put all of you together. Leo has stayed with you, mostly for the interesting things that you've done and the money."

"Who are you people?" Leo sputtered. "Why do you know all this stuff."

"Like I said, our agency has been trailing this team for a while, looking to either recruit you or eliminate you," Agent Milo Krassant explained. "Now, I believe we'll recruit you. Whether you like it or not, the artifact has made you the enemy of whoever those people you shot at you. So, you are getting hired."

"Right, who were they?" Maizie inquired. "And where are we going?"

"A mysterious group called Scorpion. We are going to Wyvern Base. You won't believe it, but it's a giant floating airship that recently completed construction. Xavier Krassant, my brother, will answer your questions."

"Who is that?" Stacy questioned.

"You'll see, your new team leader. Welcome to your new job."

"But-"

"No more questions," Milo decided, "Welcome, to the D-A-E."

Later that night, Xavier met with his brother, inside a Wyvern Base conference room.

"Okay," Milo began, a stern look on his face, "these people are not who I wanted. I had to do last-minute research to find out who they were! Who are they?!"

"Don't worry," Xavier began, "I have assembled a team of weirdos."

"Wait, what?!"

"First up is Jack Mayflower, an amazing leader, with many pistols, and epic skills. Second, is Maizie Cloude, a sixteen year old hacker, who hacks video games, and the government- But mostly video games. Third, we have Stacy Sykes, an insane paleontologist, and archeologist, who believes everything is connected- and that the sun is fake. Oh, and she dates everyone. Fourth, is Leo Weiss, our pet mercenary-"

"Wait, what?! No!"

"No, I'm not done yet- some more are needed," Xavier seriously resumed. "Two pilots, that have amazing 'shipping' evidence. Then, a doctor, but like, someone who starts with a 'D', because reasons. Last, is an epic agent that seems like a spy, but probably isn't. But like, maybe."

"Xavier, this is stupid!"

"Silence, for I have assembled a team of weirdos!"

Sukie Everlie

Meanwhile, we return to the abducted archeological team, where they finally arrive at Wyvern Base.

Wyvern Base was indeed large, and all four marveled at its immense size. It looked like a metal island in the sky, and it would have been crawling with people, except that not many agents had been chosen for Wyvern Base. According to Agent Milo Krassant, it was the size of a small city. The base could move slowly, but effectively.

The stealth helicopter landed in a landing pad, and the agent opened the door.

"Brother!" called a man. "You've got the new recruits."

"Yes, my retrieval team just saved them from Scorpion- here they are. Now, I've got a meeting with the Storm of Angels Council of Five, so bye."

It was nighttime, and the weary four exited the stealth helicopter.

"Hi newbies," the man greeted, "follow me."

"You are?" Stacy inquired.

The man began to explain as they walked, "My name is Xavier Krassant, your new leader- sorry Jack. You've all been chosen for your abilities and ideas-"

"We know why we've been chosen, Milo explained," Maizie told.

"Perfect, now, do any of you know a person named Sukie Evelie?"

"Sukie… Ah!" Stacy began, "I believe she was doing a theory on geology and disappeared one day."

"Good, we have her."

"You people took her?!"

"Yes, she's quite happy. But, Scorpion abducted her. Next question- Any of you study dinosaurs?"

"Me!" Stacy chimed.

"Sorry, what is Scorpion and why these questions?" Leo inquired.

"You'll see," Xavier started, "now just follow me to the plane."

"Huh?" everyone voiced.

Soon, they saw an extremely large plane, all grey and dark. As they stepped in, they truly realized how big it was. The plane had three floors, and on the lowermost floor, there were rooms, which were quite large, and just had a bed, a table, bathroom, and a lamp. Additionally, there was a briefing room which was also used to play video games. Xavier informed them that more people would arrive, so they had to share rooms – Jack with Leo, and Maizie and Stacy. Xavier led them around, and introduced them to their pilots, Justin Wang and Lillian (Lily) Rulu.

The second floor was split into four parts, a kitchen, a dining room, a lab, and a spare room. The third floor contained an armoury, where all sorts of weapons were. Strangely, there were more tranquilizer guns than regular guns. It also had a room filled with computers, which Xavier explained would be all for Maizie. Another room contained server boxes more advanced than any Maizie had. According to the agent, the boxes contained a treasure trove of information. Next, was a medical room. There was a gym where they could exercise, and lastly, a large, strange room filled with nothing in the center, all surrounded by glass.

"Is that for science?" Stacy commented.

"It's the containment room," explained Xavier.

Stacy asked more about the room, but Xavier said it would be explained tomorrow. The agent led his new team to the kitchen, and they all ate a hearty dinner. Jack, Stacy, Maizie, and Leo were silent, not sure what to say. Xavier and the pilots made small talk.

When their dinner was complete, they all went to their cabins, changed, and went to sleep.

Little did they know that the next day would be full of action.

The orange sun shined through the cold day. Due to the altitude of Wyvern Base, it was cold and snowy. Maizie awoke and draped open the curtains. She looked around and did not detect Stacy, who had gone to eat breakfast. Today, there were more people, and she could see them all over the aircraft platform.

People arrived from stealth helicopters and silent planes. There were all sorts of people from all over the world. It was a strange sight to see, people from all over the world, and animals, too.

Maizie got up, brushed her teeth with a new automatic brush that was apparently provided by Wyvern Base. She then left the room. Changing clothes was the last thing on anyone's minds.

Maizie found the others in the dining room, where they were all having breakfast. They were all talking together, getting to know each other.

"Oh, Maizie!" Xavier called. "Join us."

"A-alright, but how do I order food?"

"Drones, Maizie, drones!" Leo exclaimed happily, "We've all got these tablets to order anything we want. Then, a drone will arrive from a machine that makes food somewhere on this aircraft!"

"Precisely!" Xavier cheered, handing Maizie a tablet.

Maizie chose the food app and ordered a smoothie and pancakes. Next, she sat down to eat. Just thirty seconds later, a drone arrived with a package. After collection, the drone returned to where it came from.

"Cool!" she marvelled.

And so everyone ate, making talk along the way as well.

"So what's the deal with all the people outside?" Stacy inquired.

"As you know, Wyvern Base was recently constructed as a DAE base in the sky," Xavier began, "Technically, this base is for containment of Anomalous Objects and Entities. It's similar to our sister organization, the JPIS, which you shouldn't worry about. The commotion outside is because we are bringing in agents and workers here. We'll be giving you a tour around Wyvern Base after breakfast."

"Cool, but what exactly is our job here?" Jack questioned.

"Hmm? Well, you'll see. But, I'll give you a hint- dinosaurs."

"Wait, but only Stacy knows about dinosaurs," Maizie pointed out.

"Well, the Aztecs do have something to do with this, and Jack's all about that. Maizie will hack into Scorpion and Leo well, he gets to blow stuff up. Don't worry, we'll have more agents on this plane, which is why the rooms are shared."

"I see."

"Xavier, when do we leave for the mission?" came a voice from another table. It was Justin, the pilot, who was having breakfast with Lily.

"After the tour."

"So, what exactly is this job?" Leo questioned.

Soon, they all finished breakfast, and Xavier led them off the plane to Wyvern Base. Even the pilots joined them, not having been to Wyvern Base before. They made their way to a large building.

Inside, they saw agents tapping card passes or scanned tablets onto machines.

"This is the sign-in area," Xavier explained, "just let the machine scan your tablets."

Jack, Stacy, Maizie, and Leo did that, while the two pilots and Xavier used card passes to enter. After the scan, they were confronted with shops to the left and right from them. In front, were eight elevators.

"Follow me," Xavier beckoned, "now, the elevators are all the same, we don't have any secret elevators or anything."

They all entered the elevator where Xavier pressed the button for the fourteenth floor. Currently, they were on the fifteenth floor, and there were three floors above them, though they were just for paperwork. Other buildings were just restaurants, flight check-ins, and labs. The real magic was inside the floating island, the fourteenth floor and below.

The elevator slowly moved downwards, letting the people inside see everything around through the glass, which the elevator was made of.

"Now," Xavier began, stepping out, "welcome to Sector One- floors fourteen to tweleve."

"What's it for?" Lily asked.

"It's the cafeterias, but we've had our breakfast already," Xavier explained, continuing. "Over on the sides, there's a great view through the clearest window ever."

They retreated into the elevator and travelled to Sector Two, which was floors eleven and ten. Xavier explained that these were where the researchers worked and researched on the objects that were placed here.

"Now for Sector Three, nine through four- the agency training program, schools, and rooms. It's more of a familial thing, but that's where one would find the pools, arcade, and other recreational activities," Xavier explained, then going to the last sector. "This last sector is the containment zone. This is where we put our anomalous objects. Now there is an extra floor, but that's under construction."

Everyone nodded, and now that the tour was over, they travelled up the slow elevator and returned to their plane.

"Who are you?!" Xavier exclaimed, shouting at a man in a dark green coat. Beside him, there was a younger man with light blue hair and carried a briefcase. "Get out of my plane!"

"Calm it, Agent Krassant," the one who wore the dark green coat addressed, "my name is Agent Daniel Quall-"

"-and I'm Agent Kitten," finished the other.

"Okay, now get out of my plane!"

"Agent Krassant, we are here to assist your first mission," Daniel explained.

"So you've found Sukie?"

"Yes," Kitten chimed.

"Wait a minute," Stacy cut in, "your name is… Kitten?"

"He refuses to be called any other name," Agent Napoleon explained.

All of them went into the plane's briefing room. Daniel Napoleon inserted a flash drive into a large television. Xavier instructed them to sit down and stay quiet.

"Welcome team, today we will be saving Sukie Everlie from the clutches of Scorpion. We will be traveling to a small Egypt town, which is a front for Scorpion. That is where we will extract Sukie and gather intel on Scorpion."

"What is that? Scorpion?" Leo inquired.

"An organization that believes humans have gone too far and are trying to replace humans with animals and eradicate us humans," Dan explained, then he continued, "you have all been chosen for this mission, and if it works, Sukie will join this team. Now the plan is that it will be a silent attack- Maizie will deactivate their systems, Jack, Stacy, and Kitten will slip in, Leo, me, and Xavier will be distracting the guards and leading them away. All agreed?"

Everyone had to do so.

Justin and Lily got to the cockpit, where the plane now began to take off.

Agent Napoleon gave Maizie information on Scorpion systems. Stacy and Jack sparred and trained in the gym. Kitten unlocked his briefcase and revealed two kittens, who he played with. Leo and Dan talked of the plan, while lastly, Xavier went up to the cockpit to relax with the pilots.

Hours later, the plane was embraced by the dry desert air. Looking down, anyone could see the false town of Uniforge.

"Prepare to cloak," Lily informed.

"Affirmative," Justin responded, "on three."

"One, two, three," Lily counted, "Now!"

In the skies, the massive airplane rippled and began to change. Light began to reflect different angles until the plane wasn't visible.

"Land nearby," Xavier ordered.

The two pilots landed a healthy distance away from the fake town. Everyone geared up and prepared for the mission. Jack, Stacy, and Kitten all sat in a military jeep, awaiting the ramp to activate. Dan, Leo, and Xavier sat in another jeep.

"Now!" Maizie declared, pressing a button, deactivating Scorpion security. Security footage would now loop for an hour.

Justin activated the ramp, and both jeeps drove off, into the hot desert.

"Heyo!" a guard yelled, yelling at the groups, from a tower. "Your business?"

"Hmm, this," Leo declared, throwing a customized shockwave grenade.

The grenade went inside the tower and detonated, sending its inhabitants flying everywhere. It deactivated and a large gate slid open.

The two groups nodded to each other as they all disembarked from the vehicles. They now were entering the false town, which had been surrounded by the gate and fences.

"The plan?" Jack asked.

"I'll throw a shockwave grenade, drawing guards to our location," Leo explained.

"And you guys head into that lab," Dan finished.

Jack's team took cover behind a building. Leo threw three shockwave grenades, alerting security.

"Run for cover!" ordered Xavier, raising up his gun and firing.

Xavier's team took cover around the area, firing at the guards with graceful expertise.

"Shush," Kitten shushed, "someone is coming."

Around the corner, a guard arrived. Kitten kicked him, somehow appearing from thin air. He took the guard's gun away, and launched a well timed uppercut, sending the poor guard to the ground. Last, Kitten shot two silenced darts into the guard.

"Non-lethal TSC gun," Kitten explained, "Tranquilizer Scan and Control."

Away from them, the others were doing a great job, defeating the opposition with the TSC guns, which were small pistols. The dart would hit, scan for the amount to be injected, and release the toxin.

"Now?" Stacy inquired.

"Now!" Kitten ordered.

Jack's team rushed out, avoiding contact with the guards. They went into the air-conditioned lab, where three guards surrounded them. Kitten nodded and fired the TSC gun into one, kicked the other, and shot the last. The one who was kicked launched a punch at Kitten, who ducked and pressed his fingers at certain nerve points, causing the woman to freeze in place.

Kitten cleared the area, making use of the tables and shelves for cover. The rest of the team simply heard the screams of terrified guards being defeated by the mysterious Kitten.

"Where did you learn all this?" Jack asked, marvelling.

"I grew up in Leviathan Base, which is underwater. I paid a lot of attention to martial arts and assasination classes," the strange young man explained. "Agent Quall, my mentor, taught me lots of things as well."

"There," Stacy pointed.

Beyond a glass door, they saw a young woman being ordered by a large man with science goggles to activate some sort of machine. Kitten managed to read their lips.

"The man- a scientist is ordering Sukie- the young woman, to activate a… time displacement machine. Sukie isn't saying anything at all."

"What are we waiting for?!" Jack whispered sharply. "Let's finish this mission!"

"Agreed."

Kitten used his training and kicked open the door, surprising the guards and a man, who was focusing on the peculiar machine. Kitten shot a guard, punched the other, found one far away who was raising up a machine gun, which he threw a knife at. The knife hit the guard's throat, spraying blood everywhere and distracting the other guards.

Jack and Stacy fired their TSC guns, defeating the distracted guards. At this point, the scientist activated a grenade, which he threw. Then, the man retreated, leaving the room. Kitten was locked in combat when the explosive detonated.

Kitten was dangerously near the explosion, sending him… into the explosion? The explosion sent everything to all the sides, but then sucked everything back. Now, there was an amazing sight.

The machine began to jolt with electricity, somehow coming to life. Screens read random numbers and letters until it finally stopped, saying Greece, Pliocene.

"Ow," Kitten winced, though mostly unaffected, "what's happening?"

In the center of the machine, a small purple sphere was swirling, slowly growing larger as dust surrounded it. Bursts of color swimmed in the coloring as it grew. Branches of purple electricity shot at objects, and once they were hit, the objects were sucked into the now large, purple sphere.

"W-what the hell is t-that?!" Jack stammered.

"No idea!" Stacy responded.

The researcher Sukie jumped at the three, trying to push them away from the branching purple electricity. Alas, a branch of purple coiled around her as she did so, causing her to bounce in shock, dropping her glasses.

"No! We need you!" Kitten shot, grabbing his hand on hers.

Unfortunately, that did not work, because the force of the sphere was great, and it dragged both Sukie and Kitten in. Before the remaining two could react, branches of purple gripped them, one appearing on Jack's chest, and on Stacy as well. The two screamed as the glowing sphere absorbed them. Due to the unsuspected force, they all dropped their guns.

"Guys!" Leo hollered, entering the room with the sphere.

There was no answer.

Sukie, Kitten, Jack, and Stacy found themselves lying in a mossy cave of some sort. They were perplexed as to how they got there.

"Ow, where are we?" Kitten mumbled, "Sukie? We were here to save you!"

Sukie nodded, finding replacement glasses from a bag.

"Where are we?" Stacy asked nobody.

Sukie reached into her bag and gave her a paper. On it, was a report about something called Geologic Time Shift. She pointed at the section that said, "The user will find themselves nearby the Time Portal, a radius of one to two miles".

"What? Time Portal?" Stacy questioned, "That makes no sense!"

Sukie began to exit the cave, slowly walking through the swamp. She then pointed to a section of clouds above a hill, where there was a faint purple glow.

"I think that's how we go back," Kitten theorized.

Sukie nodded, never uttering a sound. In response, Kitten, Stacy, and Jack followed her, walking into the swamp, which was deep enough to reach up to the waist of a man.

Little did they know a fearsome creature watched.

It slid through the murky waters of the swamp, the dark water hiding the large creature. It snuck through the swamp, which only barely contained its size, until it was a short distance away from Jack.

The creature raised up and hissed loudly.

"What was that?!" Jack yelled, spinning around.

The creature was revealed to be a giant snake, who hissed. This was no regular snake, for this was Laophis, the largest, venomous snake.

The snake spit venom at Jack, who backed away.

"Uh oh," Stacy gasped.

At the sound of Stacy, the Laophis struck at Stacy, but missed due to a rock which Kitten had thrown.

"Run!" Kitten commanded. "I'll keep it busy."

Kitten drew an electroshock extendable baton from one of his coat pockets. He pressed an orange button, extending it.

"Alright, come at me!" he taunted.

The giant snake reared its head backwards and struck with blinding speed. Luckily, Kitten was faster, intercepting the snake midway, shocking it. The shock angered the creature. Next, the giant snake spit burning venom at the agile Kitten, who jumped to the right of the creature and struck its body.

Kitten ran as the creature writhed from the shock of electricity. Soon, he caught up with the others, who were almost at the hill. Meanwhile, the snake followed fast and swift.

"There!" Jack piped. "That glowing sphere!"

"That's how we get back." Stacy guessed.

They began to climb up the hill, where the glowing time portal awaited. Behind them, the snake followed. But now, the Laophis had lost an interest in the humans, and now was interested in the glowing sphere.

"Wait, something's happening!" Stacy noticed, pointing at the nearby time portal.

Sukie nodded and handed her a piece of paper that said something about the time portal closing.

"What?! It's gonna close?!" Kitten gasped. "Run! Now!"

The four ran up the hill, but alas, the so-called time portal was beginning to close. The branches of coiling purple began to retreat inside the sphere, and the sphere was slowly becoming smaller.

"Ready?" Stacy asked.

Everyone nodded, but before anyone could enter, the snake crept and hissed, startling everyone. It prepared to strike, and struck as fast as lightning, sinking teeth and venom into Kitten, who gasped in pain and fell to the ground, falling down the hill. Before they could deal with the creature, a coil of purple swirled around the snake and dragged it in.

"We need to get Kitten!" Jack commanded.

Dust swirled all around it as the sphere shrunk, while Jack, Stacy, and the silent Sukie ran down to save Kitten. At last, the sphere grew large and then small. A shockwave blasted everything around it as the sphere sucked itself into oblivion.

"No!" Jack yelled, just as the time portal closed.

"What now?!" Stacy yelled, yelling at the skies.

Kitten moaned in pain as he lost consciousness.

On the other side of the time portal, Leo, Dan, and Xavier were trying to find Jack's team.

"Something's happening!" Leo worried, pointing to the time portal, which was closing.

"Uh oh," Xavier muttered.

The portal finished the pattern of closing and sent a shockwave all around it. It was now gone.

Suddenly, Dan ran into the room, having just reviewed some security footage.

"They went in the sphere!" Dan yelled. "Or was dragged in!"

"Well, it's gone now," informed Leo.

"There must be something we can do," Xavier suspected, "get Maizie here! Maybe she can repair all this… madness."

Leo ran out, defeating some guards. In a moment, he returned with the young Maizie.

"So? What happened?" Maizie asked.

"Look at this," Dan told her, showing her the security footage.

"What?!"

"We believe it's some sort of portal, can you activate it again?" Xavier inquired.

"I think I can."

With no time to waste, Maizie got right on the job, checking wires, and machines. She repaired computers and broke into the programs. That's when the snake appeared, hissing loudly. It prepared to strike when a dart hit the beast, sending it two the floor. Maizie continued working.

"Are you sure this will work?" Leo asked, "I could just blow it up and see what happens."

"Trust me," Maizie responded.

On the other side, the four sat in despair. Suddenly, the dust began to swirl and glow a faint soft purple.

"Look!" Stacy squealed, "The sphere!"

"Amazing…" Jack marvelled.

Sukie nodded silently.

The portal swirled and became the glowing sphere. The lightning-like purple coils swirled around them and brought them in and-

-they stepped out the other side, back into the present.

"Quick!" Stacy shrieked, "Kitten's been bit by a very big snake!"

"Don't worry, we've found the snake and caught it. I'll have Justin and Lily make a cure so the antidote will be ready on the plane," Xavier assured, "I've sent samples to them by drone."

"Oh by the way," Stacy began, remembering something, "does Sukie talk?"

"Yes, but only to certain people," Dan informed, remembering Sukie's file.

"So, what exactly is this job?" Leo questioned, very worried.

"DAE Team-127, or as I like to call it, the Dinosaur Containment Unit."