A/N 1: GOD I HATE THIS CHAPTER

A/N 2: I'm back! After four long years, Legacy rises from the deep! Seriously, it took me four years just to eke out this chapter for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to, Elsa's hammy flirting. Full disclosure - I'm aromantic asexual, so asking me to deal with flirting is like asking your average four-year-old to tech you Calculus. Hence A/N 1 above. But anyway, HUGE thanks to PinkRangerV who motivated me to cross this hurdle.

A massive massive massive thank you to everyone who's been reading this story through all these years and reviewing! Your support has been invaluable, and kept me from giving up altogether.

A/N 3: I have been updating and revising the earlier chapters. It's nothing major, mostly just stylistic changes to match how I write now, and slightly more swearing. As I have found out as a twenty-something, twenty-somethings swear. A lot. However, Chapters 1, 2, 4, 8, and 10 have some new information and edited scenes. Though, you probably just want to reread all of Legacy to refresh your memories ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, Saban does. I am, as usual, flat broke.

Beneath the Surface:

October 19, 2004:

Tommy idly stirred his spoon, watching the purple streaks swirl through the coffee in his mug before dissipating.

Can't add too much, can't afford to overdose…

He took a sip of the coffee, closing his eyes as the bitter liquid seared down his throat, warmth and energy spreading through him soon after.

"Still making drinking coffee an art form?"

Tommy blinked, facing Maria as she picked up her morning's order from Hayley. The café was slowly coming to life around them, with Hayley serving coffee to drowsy college students from Reefside Tech and upperclassmen at Reefside High.

"Morning, Maria," he greeted, "Sorry, I'm still a bit out of it."

Maria looked at him in concern. "The attack still bothering you, or something else?"

"A little bit of both, actually."

Goldenrod was still poisoning his mind at night, but he had plenty of other things to worry about as well.

"I'm taking the kids out on a field trip to a friend of mine's dig site today. Guess I'm just a little nervous."

Maria stared at her brother incredulously. "Seriously?"

Tommy looked back down to his cup and took another sip of his coffee.

Maria huffed softly and reached out to grasp Tommy's arm. "Tommy. You are fantastic with kids, your students love you, and you're one of the brightest in your field – yes, I do know what kind of competition you face as a palaeontologist, you're my brother, and I keep track of you."

Tommy gave a small chuckle. "And you understand how much of what I do? Come on, Maria, even I'll admit that fossils only appeal to a select few, and I love my field."

Maria 'tsk'ed and swatted Tommy's arm. "Tommy, you're taking your students out on a field trip, which means a day out of the classroom. They'll love you just for that. How many field trips did you have that you honestly didn't like?"

Tommy thought about it for a moment, before admitting, "None…"

"Exactly," Maria replied victoriously, "Now listen to your big sister and stop worrying. Go have fun, and while the kids are playing in the dirt, you can geek out over old bones with your friend."

Tommy laughed, his thoughts settling, and calm spreading across his body. "Thanks, Maria."

And thank goodness the calming agent I put in my coffee has finally kicked in.

By the time Tommy walked to his classroom, he felt like he'd never had a nightmare in his life. That was the point of the calming agent, Sythin, in his coffee, of course, but it still took him by surprise sometimes how good he felt after taking it.

"Take it easy, Kelsey," he said as one of his students darted past him into the room, "The bell doesn't ring for another three minutes, you're not going to be late."

"Sorry, Dr. Oliver," the girl replied with a sheepish smile. "I just turned in my paper for English and I'm super excited for this trip! I used to dig up my backyard when I was little and pretend I was searching for dinosaur bones – or ancient relics, depending on how recently I'd watched Indiana Jones. Drove my Mom nuts!"

Tommy chuckled. "I can imagine. I can't promise you'll find any ancient treasure this time, though."

The classroom was filled with the buzz of students reuniting and sharing the stories of their vacations.

"Settle down, guys! Attendance, and then we can get this show on the road!"

Tommy ran through roll call, taking in the view of his restless students with a grin. Alright, Maria was probably right, the kids were way too excited about the field trip to give him any trouble.

"Alright, there's only so much you can learn in a classroom! Who's ready for some field work?"

Kelsey grinned and whooped. "Let's go!"

She lead the charge out of the room, and Tommy chuckled at her enthusiasm before his attention was diverted by Devin and Cassidy.

"Dr. Oliver, may we have permission to film today's dig?"

Show of hands, who's surprised?

He looked at her skeptically as he gathered his own brushes and supplies, and she continued, "It's just that I think it'd be good for my career if I start focusing on more exciting things like nature and science."

Uh-hunh.

"Uh, Cass, I thought you said this stuff was dull as dirt."

Bingo.

Tommy's eyebrows rose and Cassidy stammered, "Uh, actually, Devin, I think I was talking about our last conversation."

Tommy huffed a laugh at her indignant expression. "Relax, Cassidy, you can film the dig."

Cassidy grinned back at him brightly and followed after Devin.

Alright, paperwork, waivers, now would be a terrible time to miss something… Tommy checked that he had everything he needed in his briefcase one last time, before turning to leave.

And then stopped short.

"Hunh?"

"Dr. Oliver," Principal Randall purred, standing in the doorway, dressed like she was an archaeologist from the 1920s, down to the round hat, canteen slung around her neck, and shovel in her hands.

… What.

"Principal Randall?" He was hard-pressed to keep his laughter off his face, though he couldn't hold back the bemusement in his voice. "Are you in a play?"

"No," she replied, sauntering into the classroom, and Tommy had to wonder what exactly she thought she was going to do with the knotted rope she was carrying. There wasn't even any need for rope at a palaeontology dig, not the way they were run in the modern age, and most people carried their equipment - consisting a lot more of brushes and detail work tools, since the larger wheelbarrows and shovels tended to be communal property from the lab - in easy-to-carry bags, or a jacket with pockets, like his. And literally no one dressed up for digs, mostly wearing jeans or easy-to-clean clothes because of how dirty they got.

"I'm here to join you on your field trip."

Oh God what did I do now.

Tommy pushed away his instinctive reaction that Randall's presence was a sign of his wrongdoing and his brow furrowed slightly in curiosity. "I didn't realise you were interested in dinosaur bones."

In fact, I'm pretty sure you rolled your eyes extensively when I submitted the field trip forms.

"Mmm, you'd be surprised at what interests me."

Tommy had to look away from her vaguely predatory gaze. "Yeah, I, ah, probably would."

"Shall we?"

"Yeah, the bus is right outside…"

"You can dazzle me with fascinating fossil facts on the way," Randall teased, turning and sauntering back the way she came.

Sure?

Tommy bit back his laugh and followed after her. "Principal Randall - gah!"

He ducked to avoid the swinging shovel and laughed awkwardly as Randall turned to him with raised eyebrows. "Yes?"

"I didn't… forget any paperwork, did I? We're all clear for the field trip?"

"Of course," she replied innocently, "Now, let's get a move on - the bus isn't going to wait forever."

"Heh, it's not going to… Uh -" Tommy stopped short as Randall hooked her arm through his and dragged him away.

"Principal Randall, this really isn't necessary," he protested, extricating himself from her hold as they exited the school building. "The students…"

How exactly am I supposed to tell my BOSS about inappropriate workplace behaviour?!

Randall looked at towards the bus irritably, and Tommy was relieved that only one or two students were looking their way. Randall straightened up and smiled tightly. "After you."

Tommy nodded with a disarming smile, trying to soothe her.

He fought not to regret that choice when she sat down beside him on the bus, practically crowding him against the window.

This is going to be a long ride…

Conner nudged Ethan as the bus started moving. "So, what do you think - Dr. O and Principal Randall?"

Ethan jerked back. "Eww! Oh my God, why would you even suggest that?!"

"Dude, look at them - Randall isn't even being subtle."

Ethan followed Conner's gaze to the front of the bus, where Principal Randall was giving his teacher a coy grin, while Tommy smiled politely and explained something - fossils, probably.

"… That's disturbing on so many levels."

Kira leaned forward from the seat behind them curiously. "What are you guys - wait, is that Principal Randall?!"

"Let's not talk about that," Ethan said with a raised voice, turning back to face Kira and Trent. "Anyway. Did you get your paper turned in?"

Kira looked at him dubiously, but responded. "Yeah, I was one of the first to stop by Mrs. Leigh's office to drop it off."

"My Mom actually kicked me out of the house early to make sure I turned it in," Conner grumbled.

Trent grinned. "I was wondering why you were the first one in class."

Conner made a face at him, and Kira rolled her eyes in response.

"So, Trent, how was your day off?" Kira asked.

It was Trent's turned to make a face. "Great. There was some… weird stuff in my Dad's office, I guess, and I wanted to talk to him about it. Didn't really go over so well."

Ethan'd brow furrowed. "What happened?"

"Dad denied it, and then went on about how everything he was doing was for the 'good of mankind' and I'd inherit it all from him."

"Wow, Lion King much?" Conner replied incredulously.

"My Dad practically threatened to send me to a shrink," Trent replied with a grimace. "He means well, but…"

"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions," Conner commiserated, "Though I don't even think my Dad had that; the guy's a dick."

"I hear that," Kira muttered.

Ethan's eyebrows rose. "Wow, we are just a barrel of Daddy issues, aren't we? Guys, we are going on a field trip. Cheer up!"

Kira reached out and hit Ethan's arm lightly, but Trent and Conner's lips quirked up. "So what happened after that?"

"Eh, not much. He told me to go out and swim – apparently, we have the nicest pool in town."

"You know, I don't get why people think they have to have pools in their backyards," Conner complained, "Why would you want to drown in your own house?"

Trent looked at him quizzically and Ethan snickered, throwing an arm around his friend. "Conner can't swim."

"Ethan!" Conner protested.

Trent's eyebrows rose. "Seriously?"

Conner scowled.

"I could teach you," Trent offered, "I was on the swim team before I came to the States."

"Uh…"

"That's a great idea!" Kira quickly said, "Ethan and I can come offer moral support."

"Wait, I didn't agree to this-"

"Then it's settled!" Ethan declared brightly. "What time should we be over, Trent?"

"I still didn't agree to this!"

Trent snickered at Conner's plaintive expression. "Let me clear it with Dad, but Sunday'd be good? I have the ACT on Saturday, and I don't think Dad's going to let me do anything besides study for it Friday."

"Didn't you just take it like a week ago?"

"That was the SAT," Ethan cut in, "I was taking my Subject Tests the same time."

"Of course you were," Conner muttered. "Geek."

"Geek who will be ruling the software industry within a decade," Ethan replied archly, and Conner laughed, jostling his friend affectionately.

Tommy's body visibly relaxed as the school bus neared the dig site, where he could see his friend Michael Kaine waiting. It had taken a while to get things organised, both with Michael's project and Reefside High's administration, which was why the dinosaur-related field trip was happening in the middle of their early marine life unit, and he was glad to be able to show his students part of his field.

Also, the fact that he could now actually get away from Principal Randall was a huge plus.

Michael, your did site could not have come soon enough.

"Thanks for letting us come down, Michael," Tommy said as the students started coming off the bus.

Mike grinned, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. "No problem, Hotshot. I'm all for getting free labor for the day."

"My students are not 'free labor,' Michael," Tommy replied without missing a beat.

Michael simply grinned. "Come on, let me show you where the kids will be working."

Tommy fought not to jump when Principal Randall appeared at his shoulder, as if by magic. "Oh, right, Michael, this is Principal Randall. Principal Randall, this is Michael Kaine, one of the project supervisors, and my old classmate."

"Roommate, actually," Michael corrected cheerfully, shaking Randall's hand, "Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Randall replied, though it was pretty obvious she disagreed.

Michael whistled, catching the students' attention, and gestured to several square pits neatly arranged, each with an adult already in them. "Alright, munchkins, listen up!"

Tommy rolled his eyes at his friend's moniker as the teens gathered around excitedly.

"You guys are going to be overseen by the grad students working on this dig. Right now, we've got one per pit, and you guys will be working in teams of three and four under their direction. We've got all the equipment you'll need, and I promise not to let my underlings abuse you too much. Stay out of the orange fenced areas, though, because then, I can't promise anything."

There was a titter of laughter and Tommy rolled his eyes again, taking over for his friend. "We're gonna give you guys about fifteen minutes to split into groups and pick one of the digs and report to a grad student. Once that's done, we're all going to gather at the centre trench, and Michael and I will go over some techniques and what you should look for. After that, you guys have free reign until lunch, and then we'll focus on other analytical techniques like soil chemical testing so you guys get more experience."

The students nodded and murmured their assent, and Tommy continued, "Dhivya, Trent, and Allison, you're the Emergency Leaders. If anything goes wrong, you three are in charge of getting your classmates to safety."

"Yes, sir," the three students chorused, nodding to each other.

"If anything happens, come to me or Michael or Ellen Victor, the lab coordinator." Tommy gestured to the red-haired woman who'd just arrived. "Any questions?"

A hand shot up in the front of the group.

"Yes, Nathan?"

"Um, the paper…" Nathan made a face at the groans rising from his classmates.

Tommy smirked. "I almost forgot. One page on your experience at the dig and what you learned, due on by the end of the day Friday."

Stop complaining, you guys are getting off light.

Seeing no more questions, Tommy grinned. "Alright, get going!"

Conner, Kira, and Ethan found themselves working with a grad student named Jamie Blake at the far edge of the dig site.

"You guys are lucky," the petite blonde said cheerfully, "This trench has only just been started, so there's a lot more opportunity for you guys to find something, instead of just trailing after the grad students.

"There's a lot more shovelling dirt, too," Conner replied dubiously.

Jamie grinned. "That's where I get lucky."

"Anyway, flags." She held up a group of white flags and a group of red flags. "White flag for where you're digging, red flag if you think you've found something. If you do end up finding something, call me over to verify, and I'll help you catalogue it and extract it if needed."

"What about the blue flags?" Ethan asked, gesturing to the markers already laid down.

"Those mark the edge of my site, so try to stay within the borders. It's not a hard and fast rule, you never know where the science takes you! So, shovels are over there, brushes and detail instruments are on the table. I'm gonna be working on my own stuff, but I'll check in once in a while, and don't hesitate to come bug me if you need anything, alright?"

"Sure thing," the teens agreed, and Jamie waved them off.

"Soooo," Ethan started, "Who wants to do what?"

"Pick a corner and start shovelling?" Conner offered. "That's basically what Michael and Dr. O said."

"Sounds good to me," Kira agreed with a shrug.

"Dude, just think how cool it would be if we found an actual dinosaur! Like - a triceratops! Do you think we'd get our name in the papers?"

Conner scoffed. "Maybe if it was a T-rex."

"Oh, dream on."

Kira shook her head, shoving them both forward towards a likely starting spot.

"So, Hotshot, you planning on doing some real work, or are those brushes just for show?"

Tommy gave Michael a dry look. "I got my PhD in June, Michael, that's not really much time for me to forget anything."

"Why do you keep calling him that?" Ellen asked curiously.

Michael slung his arm around Tommy's shoulder. "Everyone in our department did. This guy graduated college in three years and got landed in a government lab right after he got to Irvine."

Ellen's eyes widened. "Government - Wait, the Lightspeed-Mercer project?"

Tommy smiled bashfully. "Yeah, that's the one. It was a really great experience."

Ellen looked impressed. "Wow, Hotshot really does fit you!"

Tommy groaned. "Oh, not you, too!'

Ellen laughed. "I'll let you guys get to work, I want to make a round of equipment checks."

Michael waved her off, and turned to Tommy. "So, you saw my exhibit at the museum, right?"

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, it was good."

Michael frowned. "Just 'good.'?"

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Stop fishing for compliments and show me what you've been working on."

"Oh, you are a fantastic source for peer review, you are," Michael grumbled, ignoring Tommy's scoff. "Index-wise, we've got trilobites and ammonites, dating around the Upper Devonian/Lower Carboniferous range. One of my PhD students found part of a spine - a lot younger than everything else we have - and we've got that fenced off so the kids can't break it."

"It's calcified bone, I don't think teenagers are going to pose much threat."

Michael shrugged. "Hey, you know how it is. Protocol. Imaging's shown a lot of small fragments in this area, so we're hoping to find some teeth or bone fragments."

"This tier is what, all Middle Palaeozoic?"

Michael brightened. "That's the fun part - this area's had a lot of geological activity over the years, so we've got a good amount of mixing. Maya's trench over there is deeper than the rest, and she's found some insect remnants that are much older. We're waiting on carbon-dating, but it looks at least Cambrian, and the spine I was talking about earlier? Easily as recent as Cretaceous."

Tommy grinned. "That's awesome. Going all the way from 540 million years ago to 66 million years, not bad. You guys are getting a lot done out here - you've been digging, what, three months?"

"Something like that," Michael agreed, "Mostly we've been pretty lucky that this region is so rich in artefacts. Imagine if we were out in, say, Kansas."

Tommy grimaced. "Don't jinx yourself, man."

Michael shook his head ruefully. "Too true." Then he grinned and held up a hand shovel. "So, last one to find something that's not a trilobite buys drinks?"

Tommy laughed. "You're on!"

Unfortunately, the first thing Tommy did find was a trilobite, which Michael took endless pleasure mocking him about.

"Someone's losing his touch!" Michael crowed.

"There is literally nothing I could control about this!"

Michael grinned. "I can hear Stella calling my name."

"Hey, the day isn't over yet," Tommy sallied back. "And you're going to be the one buying me beer."

"Keep dreaming, Hotshot."

"What kind would you say this is, anyway?" Tommy said, working on cleaning the fossil, "Proetida?"

Michael made a face. "Do I look like I have pictures of every order of trilobite memorised?

"You should," Tommy retorted.

Before Michael could respond, a twenty-something woman with a bright green streak through her black hair ran up to him. "Dr. Kaine, I need head out for my doctor's appointment, can you sign off on my work?"

"Yup," Michael said, standing, "This isn't over, Hotshot."

Sure it isn't.

Tommy scanned the dig site to make sure things were going smoothly, noting ruefully how many of his students were shovelling dirt and carting away debris.

So much for fossil hunting.

He spotted Principal Randall making a beeline for him and smiled. "Look what I found!"

She stopped at the edge of the trench and looked down curiously. "Oh…?"

Tommy carefully brushed off the dirt and held up the trilobite. "This is a trilobite," he explained, "It's from the middle of the palaeozoic era, which makes it about… 300 million years old."

Laugh all you want, Michael, but I am literally holding something that was alive and not a grimy black rock millennia ago. This is actual rock that has survived massive geological changes in the world, and civilisations rising and falling.

Randall took it from him carefully with gloved hands and a highly impressed face. "Hmmm, amazing!" She pulled out a magnifying glass to examine it, remarking, "Well, it doesn't look a day over 200 million!"

Well, given that they were all extinct by 250 million years ago, I don't think that's quite what you meant.

Tommy chuckled, putting his brush back in one of his pockets and stood to get out of the trench.

"Here," Randall said extending her hand.

Tommy heaved himself up and steadied both of them as he stood up on the ground. "Thank you."

Randall practically leered at him. "My pleasure."

Uh, you can let go of my hand, now.

Tommy tugged his hand free of her insistent grip and dusted off his hands. "I should, uh -"

Randall whipped out a handkerchief, saying, "Oh, here, let me help -"

Wait what -

Tommy edged back as Randall reached for his forehead, patting away whatever dust had gotten there. He smiled awkwardly trying to back away. "I appreciate the gesture, but -"

"Oh, no, don't worry, you've got -"

"No, it's okay, I've got it," Tommy insisted, stepping back and brushing himself off.

"But you've got a bit of dirt -"

Oh God please stop.

Tommy backed away with a strained smile as Randall tried to attack him with her handkerchief again. His eyes suddenly widened when he spotted Michael and Ellen walking in their direction.

"You know, I've, uh, got some important stuff I need to talk to Michael about -Hey, Michael!"

Tommy edged around Randall and practically bolted over to his colleagues. "Please start talking to me about something vitally important I can't be distracted from."

"Uh…" Ellen looked warily between Tommy and Principal Randall.

Michael whistled. "Damn, Hotshot, getting it on with the boss lady?"

Tommy shuddered. "Michael, shut up."

I think I need to take a shower. In bleach.

"I'm with Tommy on this one," Ellen said with a frown. "Tommy, that was borderline sexual harassment. You could report this."

"I like getting paid, Ellen," Tommy replied wryly, "I'm not thrilled with the idea of going to the School Board and stirring up a scandal."

Ellen's frown deepened. "That doesn't mean you need to sacrifice a safe work environment."

Tommy shifted uneasily. Lack of safety has never been a particular issue for me, honestly. "It's… It's out of character for her. It's probably nothing."

Ellen looked at him dubiously. "If you're sure…"

Tommy smiled disarmingly. "I'm sure."

Michael smirked. "So, anyone in your love life we should know about?"

"Michael!" Ellen snapped, scandalised.

"Don't mind him," Tommy replied dryly, "He's always been this way. He was born without a brain-mouth filter."

"Or any semblance of professionalism, apparently."

Michael grinned. "Hey, I got my PhD same as the rest of you. Before Hotshot, even."

Yeah, because you were a G4 when I started.

"So, spill, Hotshot. We haven't had a chance to catch up in ages."

Tommy rolled his eyes. "No, Michael, there isn't. And as I've said before, there won't be."

"Yeah, yeah, I know you don't do the whole sex and romance thing - you're missing out, man."

Tommy snorted. "So I have been told. Repeatedly."

Before Ellen could scold her colleague again, Kira ran up to them. "Dr. Oliver? I think we found something."

Tommy frowned. And you're telling me and not Jamie this, why…?

Kira fidgeted, hunting for the right words. "We think it might be a… morphersaurus!"

A morphersa - oh! Never a peaceful day, is there.

"Sure," he replied warily, "I'll be right there."

Kira nodded and raced back to her dig site.

"Morphersaurus, Tommy?" Ellen asked with a frown.

Michael laughed easily. "Hey, I'm all for messing with the kids -

"She sounded serious."

Note to self, work on better code words.

Tommy shook his head. "It's a code word. Reefside encourages we use them for potential monster attacks. I'm gonna go see what she wants - you guys keep an eye out, alright?"

Ellen nodded, but Michael's brow furrowed. "You think we're going to get hit this far away from Reefside?"

Tommy shook his head. "You can never be too careful. I went through this in Angel Grove, too, remember? If there's one thing you learn - expect the unexpected."

Michael nodded, now serious. "Sure. We'll make sure the staff know their evacuation procedures."

"What have you got?"

Ethan stood up unsurely. "Well, I think it might be a DinoZord egg."

"Yeah, it looks like the stuff you showed us, Doc," Conner said, moving back to let Tommy see.

"Careful," Tommy warned as Ethan rolled the egg around to get a better look.

Well, it definitely looks like a DinoZord egg. We had a couple of them in stasis to protect them from damage during transport; we never got around to waking them up before Mesogog appeared.

"Oooh," Principal Randall's voice appeared, "A discovery!"

The teens startled, and Tommy automatically moved to hide the egg.

"How exciting," Randall crooned, waving her fingers.

"Uh, no," Tommy deflected, "We're not sure what it is."

"It looks like a prehistoric egg."

Yeah, as far as excuses go, that could have used a little work.

"May I?"

Uh, no, not really? Because a high school principal is not really equipped to deal with several thousand dollars' worth of classified Ranger technology?

Tommy exchanged awkward looks with the teens, shifting his hold on the egg. "Well, uh -"

"Don't worry, I won't break it," Randall replied, and there was a core of steel under her voice, showing she expected to be obeyed

… Crap.

Tommy's expression tightened and he slowly handed over the egg. "I should really take that back to the school lab and examine it," he said after a beat.

Wow, you are on a roll with terrible excuses today, Tommy.

"But of course," Principal Randall replied immediately, "Here."

That was easy.

Tommy had barely finished the thought when Tyrannodrones appeared out of nowhere and people started screaming.

Why do I even bother!

Tommy nodded sharply to Conner, who nodded back, and the teens scattered. Tommy skidded back as a Tyrannodrone leaped at him, grabbing Principal Randall's free hand.

Son of a bitch -

"Michael! Ellen! Evacuate all personnel!" Tommy shouted out, avoiding a Tyrannodrone's strike.

He heard Trent whistle sharply as Dhivya herded a group of students towards the bus, all of them running as fast as they could away from the Tyrannodrones.

"Dr. Oliver -"

Tommy swore at Randall's high cry, glaring at the Tyrannodrones surrounding them.

"Stay close!"

Split-focus fighting was annoying on a good day, except that now he was fighting off multiple animatrons trying to kill him, protecting a civilian, and protecting sensitive equipment from said murderous robots.

He ducked down, tugging Randall away from another Tyrannodrone, cursing at the vibrations under his foot.

Did he mention the giant pits and thin wooden planking all around him?

He could see Conner and Kira and Ethan fighting around them, one part of his mind cataloguing their strikes and victories and fighting styles, ready to step in, ready to protect, ready to aid -

"Stay away from the ledge!" He ordered Randall, jerking another Tyrannodrone away from her and shoving it down into a trench. It wouldn't stay down for long, but it gave him an opening. "Go, you need to get out of here!"

He grabbed another Tyrannodrone, striking it down and keeping the others' attention on him and not his boss.

Why are there so many, there's no monster around. What are they after now?

He heard a cry from Randall's direction and turned sharply to see the DinoZord egg flying in the air.

"The egg!"

And then Tommy noticed the rest of the scene and all thoughts of the egg vanished from his mind.

Principal Randall!

Because when it came down to a civilian or an artefact, the civilian always came first.

He was already cataloguing Randall's trajectory as she fell when he took a running jump, leaping across the pit to grab her. He twisted and rolled so that when they landed, his back hit the ground, and she was on top of him, cushioned by his body.

Ow.

Randall down at him with a strange expression on her face, part stunned and confused, her breathing laboured.

He was about to ask if she was alright when she jerked up. "The egg! I'll get it!"

He scrambled up after her as she ran towards the egg, and swore when a hard claw grabbed his shoulder. He spun, elbowing the offending arm away and blocking an incoming strike, before turning his attention to another Tyrannodrone coming his way. There were only a few left; whatever purpose they had come down for was thwarted by the Rangers.

"Dr. Oliver!"

Tommy knocked down the Tyrannodrone and turned at Principal Randall's voice, his sharp gaze scanning the field for danger.

"Catch!"

Tommy's head snapped up in horror and he reached up to catch the egg.

Oh thank God it's alright.

"Good throw," he said as Randall tugged her coat down and straightened primly. "You okay?"

"I think so," she replied crisply, straightening her hat.

The dig site was clear of all Tyrannodrones, and Conner, Kira, and Ethan made their way back to the bus.

"We better get back to school," Tommy said, but Randall's attention was elsewhere.

"Would you mind explaining to me where you learned to fight like that?!" she demanded, stopping the teens.

None of the teens so much as looked in her direction, leaving Conner to spit out, "Uh, karate club!"

"Yeah," Kira agreed quickly, dashing towards the bus.

"Right," Ethan agreed, following after his teammates.

Randall narrowed her eyes suspiciously and grabbed Tommy's shoulder before he could leave. "Do we even have one of those?"

Tommy smiled uneasily. "I don't know - I'm still new here."

Wow, we all need to work on our excuses.

As the others returned to the bus, Tommy set the egg down where he could see it and made his way over to Michael and the other dig staff. "You guys okay?"

He saw wide eyes and pale faces, but everyone was unharmed.

"We are," Michael replied, "The dig site? Not so much."

Tommy grimaced. "Yeah, I hope you guys aren't set back too much."

Michael managed a rueful smile. "We have been set back a lot worse if it weren't for you and those kids of yours. I'm pretty sure you guys singlehandedly took down every one of those freaks."

Well, yeah, that's kind of our job.

"Yeah - Listen, I gotta head back with the kids. I'll call you after and we can figure out if anything can be done about the dig, alright?"

Michael nodded, and fell into step beside Tommy.

"… Michael?"

"Jamie said your kids found an egg near her trench?"

Shit.

Tommy froze, his mind racing to try and come up with an explanation.

"Tommy?" Michael pressed with a raised brow, his gaze completely serious, "I saw Randall tossing you something. That it?"

Tommy looked conflicted. "Yeah, they found something. But… it's complicated."

Michael watched him expectantly. "Complicated."

Tommy sighed, showing Michael where the DinoZord egg lay. "Here."

"… The fuck is that."

"It looks like one of the projects Anton Mercer and I were… handling."

Michael looked at him incredulously, because what kind of project involved a patterned fossil egg with coloured stones on it?! "Project - wait, are we talking classified?"

Tommy nodded grimly. "Very."

Michael pressed his lips in a thin line, stepped back with a muted expression.

"Michael, you know I've got to take this in," Tommy said, a pleading note in his voice.

Please don't tell me I have to fight you on this, because then things get very ugly, very fast.

Michael nodded. "Yeah," he said flatly, "Just - give me a heads up before the government swarms in and takes over my dig so I can wrap up."

Tommy winced, even though he knew it wasn't going to happen. "I'm really sorry about this."

Michael nodded, though his expression remained cool. "No, I get it. You'd better get back; your Principal's starting to look antsy." He sighed. "And I've got one Hell of a mess to clean up."

Tommy smiled wanly and clasped his old friend's hand before returning to the bus.

The bus ride back to school was tense with nervous energy.

"Are we gonna have to go back to class?" a student asked.

"Well, you're all in one piece, aren't you?" Principal Randall snapped, "So you have no excuse to slack off."

Tommy's eyes widened. "Principal Randall -"

"That goes for you, too, Dr. Oliver."

"Uh… sure." Given that all my afternoon classes are empty slots for planning and prep, I'm not sure what you don't want me 'slacking off' on.

"Guys, take it easy," Tommy soothed. "I'm sure your teachers will understand; and in light of what happened, I'm nixing the paper requirement. We'll have a review discussion tomorrow morning, and call it square."

Several faces immediately lightened, and someone in the back cheered. Randall frowned beside him sourly. "Sometimes, I question your teaching methods, Dr. Oliver."

What did I do now?!

Tommy frowned warily. "Principal Randall… Tyrannodrone attacks can be pretty rough on the students, especially if they're caught in the middle of it. And they weren't really out there long enough to get a decent paper out of it, anyway."

Randall huffed, and for a moment Tommy felt like he was something she wanted to scrape off her shoe.

His expression gentled. "Are you holding up alright?"

"I said I was fine, didn't I?" Randall said sharply, and turned away. Tommy leaned back in his seat and sighed, looking out the window.

Guess the ride home's going to be a long one, too.

"Conner, you know there's a speed limit, right?" Tommy asked as he parked his Jeep in his driveway.

Conner, who had beaten his teacher to his own house, waved dismissively. "Dude, I've gone down this highway a million times, the cops never come out here. Anyway, what's up with the egg?"

Tommy picked up the egg and pushed his door open. "Let's get downstairs and find out."

Setting up tests to examine the egg was more about software than hardware, but he still let the teens pull out the instruments they needed to feel useful.

"First thing I need to do is clean off all the dirt and debris, and the sensors need to warm up. You guys should probably get started on your homework or something."

"Aw, come on," Conner protested, "Can't you just wash it off?"

"Dude!" Ethan chided.

Tommy shook his head. "No way. I can't say for sure how intact the DinoZord egg's protection is after the explosion - and if it turns out it's not a DinoZord egg, then it's a priceless fossil that definitely should not be subjected to harsh water treatment."

Kira rolled her eyes. "Conner, go work on your Econ homework."

"What! I hate Econ!"

"I know, that's why you need to work on it."

Tommy let the idle grumbling of his students wash over him as he focused on his work, brushing and carefully chipping away at the dirt around the egg. It was refreshing, to return to actual fieldwork, instead of the hours of writing and planning that had taken up so much of his life since the Island exploded. And the more he worked, the more it did look like a DinoZord egg. Based on the markings and the size, he'd say it was the DimetroZord, but he'd have to check to be sure.

"Alright guys," he said once he was done, "It's ready to be tested."

"Yes!" Conner said in relief, "No more Econ homework!"

You're still going to have to do it afterwards, Conner.

Kira shared a look with him that said she was thinking the same thing.

"Ethan, did you calibrate the sensors?"

"Yup, all the backgrounds ran so that they'll only pick up readings from the DinoZord egg."

"Great."

Conner helped Tommy set up the apparatus to hold the DinoZord egg, stepping back in surprise as a translucent yellow shield surrounded it. "Whoa."

"It's to ensure a controlled environment during testing," Tommy explained, "So that nothing in the room interferes with it."

"The DinoZords are that sensitive?" Ethan asked.

"When they're in the eggs they are. The resizing matrices we used - the reason that a zord the size of my house can fit inside an egg - compressed down a lot of energy, leaving the dinosaur part of the zord more active - and a baby dinosaur notices a lot more outside the egg than you'd think. This way, nothing disturbs or endangers any part of the DinoZord inside."

Tommy handed over the sensor to Ethan. "Take a look."

He moved back to his computer, typing in the commands for the test software, watching in satisfaction as several images appeared, of the DinoZord egg through various lenses.

"So what's up?" Conner asked behind him.

"You got anything?" Kira added.

There was a pause, and Tommy turned back at Ethan's hesitation.

That doesn't look good.

"I don't know," Ethan said in confusion, "Something's not right. I can't detect any signs of life."

Tommy frowned. "Is the sensor working?"

"Looks like it," Ethan replied, turning it over to Tommy.

All the readings were normal, showing the expected changes when he tested it on other materials in the lab. Tommy frowned. "That's weird. I'm sure that's a DimetroZord egg."

"DimetroZord?" Conner repeated.

"It's developed from a dimetrodon," Tommy explained, "A kind of precursor to the dinosaurs, we weren't even sure its DNA would be compatible -" Tommy cut himself off, knowing the teens wouldn't be able to understand half the jargon on the tip of his tongue. "It's really amazing."

"That would explain why the Tyrannodrones want it," Kira offered.

"Yeah. Alright, I'm going to take down the shield, see what kind of readings we can get from that. Maybe it's just too strong."

The yellow light disappeared, and Tommy nodded at Ethan to try again. A few moments later, Ethan shook his head. "Still nothing, Doc."

Tommy's brow furrowed. "That doesn't make any sense… There are some other tests I can run, but they'd be more invasive…"

But needs must, I suppose.

"More invasive as in, more dangerous?"

Tommy nodded. "Unfortunately." He picked up a thin, sharp device and ran one end along the shell. "This will pick up particles of the shell so I can make sure it's the right composition."

Ethan perked up. "So it's some kind of special metal? Is it alien?"

Tommy show his head as he took more samples. "No, nothing that exciting. But the alloy we used is specific to our experiments, so it's pretty distinctive."

'My first patent' distinctive, in fact.

Unlike the life-signs sensor, the metal analysis came back conclusive - it was in fact a DinoZord egg, and combined with all the other characteristics his instruments could pick up, it had to be the DimetroZord egg.

"Can we open it?" Conner asked.

"No!" Tommy rushed back to the egg to make sure Conner wasn't already trying. "Opening the egg could trigger the resizing matrix to return the zord to its original size. It's supposed to be voice-activated, but without the internal readings, we can't take that chance, not in here."

Conner looked mollified and Tommy sighed, his mind racing through other possibilities. What else can I do…

On a whim, Tommy put in the coordinates of the dig where they'd found the egg, to see if there were any clues left there.

… That makes no sense.

"This is weird," he turned back and said, "I'm still getting a heat signal from the dig site where we found the egg."

"But the egg's not even there anymore," Kira replied bemusedly.

"Maybe there's another one?" Ethan suggested.

There shouldn't be… Oh, jeez, Michael's going to kill me.

"I better go check it out. You guys stay here and keep analysing this one." He stood, searching for his keys. "Same stuff we've been doing so far, but expand the minimum and maximum ranges in small increments and make note of what you see. Maybe the lack of information can give us a pattern we can use."

"Sure thing."

"Doc, your keys are by the stairs."

Tommy flashed Conner a smile and picked up his keys, heading out.

Good ol' swiss cheese memory.

The dig site was actually closer to Tommy's house than to the school, so he made fairly good time. He mentally ran through what kind of excuses and explanations he could give Michael for his continued investigation at the site - 'classified' would only take him so far, and Michael's friendship wasn't something he wanted to risk.

There was a grassy knoll near the back side of the dig, close to the heat signature his sensors had picked up - if he could get in and out without detection, all the better.

Somehow, he should have expected Zeltrax to drop down in front of him.

Fucking Hell.

"Zeltrax," he spat, "I thought I smelled something."

"I believe that would be your imminent demise," the cyborg growled.

Yeah, yeah, heard it all before…

"I don't have time to trade insults. Now out of my way, I have something important to do."

More important than kick your ass all over again, anyway.

"That will have to wait. First we must attend to your destruction."

Tommy grit his teeth, settling into a fighting stance. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Zeltrax drew his sword and Tommy bolted into action. "Dino Thunder, Power Up!"

Zeltrax charged him with brutal force, and Tommy found himself hard-pressed to keep up.

Oh you've got to be kidding me, he mentally railed as he twisted to avoid a sharp thrust, Can I get one of my experiments back without having to fight Mesogog and his goons for it?!

Tommy swore as Zeltrax's hits landed, driving him further into the woods around them.

Fuck fuck fuck -

A particularly vicious slash knocked him to the ground, and he groaned, trying to push himself back up.

Not now, I'm not going down now, here.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from her."

… The Hell?

"Who?!"

Zeltrax ignored him, charging up green-white energy on his sword. "I have been dreaming of this…"

And you can keep dreaming!

Tommy rolled away from the energy strike, jumping back up to his feet and throwing himself back into the fray.

What the heck is your problem?!

Tommy bit down on a cry as Zeltrax's next energy blast struck him full in the chest, tearing through his suit's protection and sending pain burning through his body. The Power flickered and surged through him and Tommy's focus shifted into high gear.

"Brachio Staff! Wind Strike!"

Zeltrax flew back several yards and disappeared in an Invisiportal.

What the Hell?

"What's his problem?" he muttered, powering down. He shook his head. He was even more at a loss as to why Zeltrax was so focused on destroying him than usual, but he also had more important things to worry about.

Before he could even take another step, his communicator beeped.

"Dr. O, we have a problem."

Tommy frowned at Conner's statement. "What is it?"

"The egg was a fake," Ethan reported, "We opened it and a hologram of Elsa came out and now there's a big blue DinoZord tearing up Little Tokyo."

Tommy's heart rate spiked. A fake - not important, there were bigger things to consider. "Does it have a big sail on its back?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

Oh God no.

"Lucky guess. Distract it as long as you can, I'm on my way."

"Hurry!"

Tommy nearly tore the door to his lab off the hinges in his effort to race in. Halfway through the drive, the Rangers had called up the Thundersaurus MegaZord, and he'd sharply changed course to his house. There was no way he'd get to the battlefield in time; Little Tokyo was on the complete other side of town. He'd have to tackle this from the tech side.

Conner, Kira, and Ethan's cries emanated from his speakers and he clenched his fists. This was like the day the Dino Thunder Rangers first came into being all over again and his worst fear - another DinoZord under Mesogog's control, used against the Rangers.

Watching the MegaZord take another hit from the monster, he cursed. "I don't think the Thundersaurus is powerful enough. You need something that can break through his armour."

"Like what?!"

"Like a blade, or a saw -"

The Power stirred at the back of his mind and Tommy's gaze fell on the DimetroZord. "Wait a minute - you've got to use the DimetroZord!"

"What?"

"The DinoZord you were just fighting," Tommy replied, pulling up the DimetroZord schematics. Yes, this should work!

"Dr. O!" Conner protested, "If you haven't noticed, he's not exactly playing well with others."

There was that, too.

Tommy tugged on the Power inside him and forced himself to calm down. "Let me see if I can do something about that."

Alright, concentrate.

This was different than his bond with the BrachioZord or the CephalaZord. The dimetrodon was far older than the dinosaurs, its psychic presence a different shape and altogether. His eyes fell shut and he reached out with his mind.

Darkness.

Rage.

Hate.

Pain.

Tommy rocked back in his chair from the psychic backlash, his concentration broken by the cries of his teens.

No. No, for once, he had to turn away, because this was for them, he had to give his all to freeing the DimetroZord.

He reached out again, attacked the shroud of darkness around the DimetroZord's mind.

Fuck off, Mesogog, this one's mine.

He forced through a barrage of his memories in lab, tireless hours of dedication and creation and care. Of light and peace and protection as he clawed away Mesogog's evil influence.

Please, please, come back -

- And then there was a burst of freedom.

The DimetroZord was free!

"Yes! Got him!"

Tommy felt the pull on his mind, the bond between him and the DimetroZord spiralling into a drive for revenge, to hurt the ones who'd hurt him -

No!

His heart thudded in his chest, as he fought to return to himself, separate his mind from the DimetroZord and reign in the bond.

The Rangers. Help the Rangers. Join us.

A roiling mass of something old and almost alien rolled over his mind and Tommy focused on the teens, on their bonds with the Tyranno-, Tricera-, and PteraZords, and his own with the Brachio- and CephalaZords.

There was a beat of stillness, then -

Dragonkin.

The DimetroZord settled and Tommy smiled. Welcome home.

"Yes!"

"Awesome!"

Tommy grinned. "He's all yours, guys! And wait 'til you see what he can do."

Tommy leaned back, laughing at the flood of exhilaration and excitement as the DimetroZord joined with the MegaZord and the sheer joy when they defeated the monster. He spun out of his chair, punching his fist in the air and dancing.

"Oh yeah! Alright!"

"Tommy, are you dancing?"

Tommy nearly tripped as he skidded to a stop, meeting Hayley's amused gaze. "… Hi, Hayley!"

Okay, I'm a giant dork. But that was amazing!

"Battle go well, then?"

Tommy beamed. "Oh yeah!"

Hayley laughed, grabbing a nearby chair. "I haven't seen you this excited in a while."

Tommy felt his sense of euphoria flicker and inhaled. "Yeah, the psychic bond with the DimetroZord is… intense."

Hayley's eyebrows rose in consternation. "Is that safe?"

Tommy exhaled and pulled himself away from with bond, wincing as all his previous worries crashed back down on him as the bond went dormant. "I can handle it. You got my message about the DinoZord egg?"

Hayley nodded. "I saw the shards on the table."

Tommy turned back to the table with his tools and equipment, the DinoZord egg halves laying amongst them. He went to pick one up, faintly hoping that there would be some mistake, that the teens had just been confused -

But no. It was a fake.

Well, at least Michael will be happy.

Tommy stared at the half-shell of the fake egg, rolling it around in his hands.

How the actual fuck did Mesogog manage to create a replica that fooled me AND my sensors?

And if just the shell was this good, did that mean Mesogog knew how to make the BioZords, too?

Tommy felt a chill run down his spine. Oh please god no.

There was no way to tell how much Mesogog had managed to pull from his mind while torturing him, but Tommy had never considered that he could unintentionally compromised so much of his work. The other alternative, which - sad as it was to say - Tommy honestly preferred, was that Mesogog had somehow gained access to his work the hard way from the very beginning, as he obviously had with the Tyrannodrones.

Which, once again brought up the question of how much of the Ranger arsenal was compromised, and how Tommy could find out.

Fuck.

What am I supposed to do, hack his system? Even Hayley could barely manage that.

"Tommy? Talk to me."

Tommy turned back to his friend, his expression muted. "This isn't good, Hayley. It's - God…"

Hayley's brow furrowed in alarm, and the next thing he knew, her arm was across his shoulders, guiding him back to his seat. "Hey, take it easy, Tommy. We're going to fix this."

Shit. I forgot what happened when the Sythin wears off, and combined with the psychic strain from the new bond with the DimetroZord… no wonder I'm such a mess.

Tommy took a measured breath and forced himself to straighten up. He gave Hayley a wan smile. "Sorry, Hayley. It all just crashed back down on me, y'know? Mesogog shouldn't have access to that kind of knowledge -"

"Dr. O, that was awesome!"

Tommy broke off, shoving down his worries as his lab was suddenly crowded by three excited teenagers.

"Hi, Hayley!" Ethan said, before turning back to Tommy, "Seriously, the DimetroZord is sick."

Tommy smiled. "I'm glad it all worked out - it was touch and go for a bit there."

"No kidding," Kira agreed as Conner grabbed a chair and sprawled in it, "The DimetroZord alone kicked our butts."

"Seriously, Doc, how did you even make stuff like this?" Conner wondered.

Tommy chuckled. "A lot of hard work and sleepless nights." His smile turned mischievous. "Kind of like the ones you get when you procrastinate on your homework."

Conner's eyes widened as his expression fell. "Aw, come on, Dr. O!"

"It's a Wednesday, Conner."

Hayley laughed and Conner just groaned dramatically.

The teens eventually all returned to their own homes for dinner, Conner's Econ homework had gotten chewed up and shredded by the Red Raptor Rider when the Raptors decided to barge into his basement to try and play with their riders, much to his distress.

"It's not like I can say a dinosaur-robot hybrid ate my homework!"

Tommy had tried to shoo the Raptors out along with the kids, but they stubbornly ignored him, head-butting his hand and turning to Hayley for attention.

"You're spoiling them, you know," Tommy said wryly as Hayley pet the Raptors while he set his lab to rights.

"Aw, they just want some love," Hayley cooed sweetly.

You need a pet, is what you need, Hayley.

"Alright, guys, time for you to go back outside - I mean it."

In his attempt to be stern, Tommy accidentally dropped the fake DinoZord egg, the two halves rolling across the floor.

The mood in the lab instantly shifted.

The Red Raptor Rider snarled and leaped forward, clawing at one of the halves.

"Hey -"

The Blue and Yellow Raptors followed suit, clawing and snapping at the fake egg, slamming into each other in their effort to tear the eggshell to shred.

Tommy swore as a table got knocked to the side, sending its contents across the floor. "Hey! Guys, knock it off!"

The Raptors growled, turning from clawing up Tommy's floor and raced towards him instead.

"Wait - Ow, Jesus!"

Tommy clutched his head as his mind was flooded with streams of letters and numbers he couldn't even understand from the Raptors' minds.

"Stop!"

The Raptors' psychic presence vanished sharply, and all Tommy could hear was his own laboured breathing.

"… Tommy?"

Tommy turned at Hayley's hesitant voice, and grimaced. "I'll be okay."

Hayley nodded distractedly. "You just spat out computer code."

"… I did what?"

Hayley looked between him and the Raptors warily. "When you fell - whatever hurt you made you recite a string of code."

The Red Raptor Rider growled and Tommy scrambled back, warning, "Don't even think about it. Hayley -"

"- Running a system scan," Hayley finished. "It makes sense - the Raptor Riders are hooked into more software in our system than the BioZords, they have their own internal systems."

Yeah, something like that. Ugh, where's my aspirin.

The Raptors shifted nervously, finally feeling the effects of Tommy's anger.

Oh, now you feel bad.

Tommy moved towards his medicine cabinet, keeping a wary eye on the dinosaurs in his lab. "Hayley, you got anything?"

"Not yet…"

The Yellow Raptor Rider growled and Tommy felt its psychic energy slam into his mind again, and he cried out, dropping his bottle of aspirin and scrabbling at the wall to support himself.

FUCKING HELL!

"Tommy!" Hayley's voice was high and distant. "You're saying it again -"

Tommy yanked at his own mental defences, shoving back against the stream of data that was once again hammering him.

"Use it."

He heard a distant roar, and then he was back to himself.

I think I'm going to vomit.

"Hayley?"

Hayley typed furiously, and then swore. "That little bastard," she hissed, "He put a worm in our system - my system!"

Oh God.

"Oh, he is dead," Hayley snarled, her fingers flying even faster, "You picked the wrong woman to mess with, freak."

Tommy sank down against the wall, focusing on his own breathing and resting his head on his tented knees to try and combat the migraine the size of Texas acquainting itself with his brain. One of the Raptors made a soft noise and shifted towards him, and Tommy's head snapped up with a glare.

DON'T. We're fixing it, so behave.

The Raptor stepped back, head bowed and tail tucked between its legs.

Tommy crossed his arms on top of his knees and rested his head on them, deciding to forgo moving for a while.

"HA!"

Tommy looked up at Hayley's vicious cry.

"Hayley?"

"Eat that, Mesofreak!" Hayley crowed at the computer, still typing.

Tommy winced slightly and straightened up slightly, asking, "What's going on?"

"I'm in Mesogog's system," Hayley replied, not looking away from her work, "And he's going to wish he'd never messed with me in three, two, one -"

Hayley clapped her hands victoriously, rolling back from the computer. "I spiked his system," she reported smugly, "Mesogog's not going to be able to do anything for the next few weeks."

Tommy's eyes widened. "Oh my God, Hayley, that's amazing."

"Damn straight. Never, ever, mess with a Techie's system."

Tommy smiled slightly. "Duly noted." You really are Billy's cousin.

Tommy sighed, resting his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. "This is my fault."

Hayley's attention immediately snapped to her friend. "What? Don't be ridiculous!"

Tommy looked back at her, dark eyes desperate. "Hayley, he was inside my mind! For all we know, I could have been the one who gave him a way into our systems! God -"

He felt sick, exposed and violated. He remembered Mesogog parrying his strikes in his own style when he'd been captured - how much had Mesogog seen before the Dragonzord reared up to shield his mind? And when Mesogog had attacked him again, just last week? How much information had he given away before the BrachioZord came to his defence?

FUCK.

"Tommy - Tommy, hey, listen to me," Hayley insisted, and Tommy nearly jerked to realise she was sitting beside him.

I could really use more Sythin right now.

"We don't know how he got in, okay? We don't even know when he got in -"

"Beginning of the month," Tommy interrupted dully, watching the Raptors, who were now looking very much ashamed and apologetic. "That's when the Raptors first got spooked."

Hayley nodded, rubbing his shoulders soothingly. "Okay. That's a start. We're going to figure this out, and I'm going to upgrade all our systems to high heaven so he can't even get near us again. This is not your fault. Not in any way."

Tommy smiled slightly, his spirits lifting slightly in the face of Hayley's fervour. He leaned against her. "Thanks, Hayley. I don't know I'd do without you."

Hayley clucked her tongue and shifted to hold him close. "Don't worry," she soothed, "You'll never have to find out."

A/N: Tommy just never catches a break, does he?

Things to address:

Palaeontology: I am not a palaeontologist, so all my knowledge stems from facts found in textbooks. Descriptions of fieldwork are what I could glean from the internet and an amalgamation of archaeology techniques and general scientific research methods. I tried to give explanations for all the dinosaur jargon used as soon as possible, but if you're confused on anything, let me know! There's more science turning up in later chapters, so I'd appreciate feedback on how well readable my style right now is.

Anyway, please let me know what you think!