Don't Tickle the Dinosaur

[Joseph Goebbels]

"Africa has a number of large predators. Lions, leopards. The amount of trauma to the flesh that I saw was congruent with much larger, serrated teeth." Mengele said, neatly pcking out white flesh from the bones of his fish with his fingers. He chewed thoughtfully, eyeing the man sitting across from him. "The predator that did this was powerful, and did not worry at all about leaving meat behind. Bits and pieces...the injured I left to their fates. Their wounds were interesting, but upon closer examination they seemed to be under the impression I would help them." he snorted at the idea like it was utter bunk. "I would venture to suggest that the predator is a rogue dragon." he stood up, throwing the bones of his fish in the fire, and walked over to Bala. The dragon cowered, but his master wasn't in a cutting mood.

"Lift your head." Mengele told him impatiently, and Bala did so. "Open." he gestured to Bala's jaws. The dragon obediently opened his mouth. Mengele lifted the dragon's upper lip. "Large, serrated canines with large molars at the back of the mouth. However what I saw had a lot more piercing wounds, alluding to the fact that it's a completely predatory species of dragon that swallows its prey whole. Animals that do not possess molars, such as crocodilians, tend to swallow anything they catch in large, unmasticated pieces." he removed his hand from Bala's mouth and nodded at him to close. The dragon blinked, tonguing the canines that Mengele had touched.
"If I had to guess, a large male staking claim over his territory and possibly a mate. Those victims there were perhaps food only at first. Then it turned into warnings. I saw a few that were injured only to keep them alive for a few hours...unable to move themselves they would simply scream themselves into starvation. This would be sure to keep others away." the doctor explained. "I wouldn't suggest travelling to the island."

Bala shifted back and forth. What was Mengele talking about? He hated the fact that he wasn't bilingual!

What Mengele said was brutal, but Cag knew these laws all to well. They where the laws of nature. You could not help everybody. Though he personally thought the doctor should have at least helped some of them. His words however range true. If this rogue dragon that was causing rumors of dinosaurs to abound had indeed been marking territory, Mengele was already in deep trouble. His scent would be all over that island. The dragon would find it and pick it up easily from the scents of the dead and dying. Cag eyed the man warily.

"You do realize what you are saying right? Dragons, when fully grown, have incredible senses of smell which you probably already know. You just left your scent all over that island. That dragon is going to start hunting you. Probably as early as today if it happens to return. " He raised his eyebrows at the man curiously, looking him up and down.

"Now, please don't take this the wrong way. But you don't look like you could exactly fight off a fully grown, rogue dragon. At least not by yourself. Bala is to young to fight against that. What is it you plan on doing exactly? Running and hiding? You don't seem that kind of man. You are like myself, to proud to do such a thing."

He traced a hand along the dirt, drawing random, intricate patterns in the dirt. He quickly brushed the kanji away, and looked back up at the man, then over to the dragon, then back to the man. This was beginning to look like a not so very good situation indeed. He like Bala. He also knew Bala would die to defend Mengele, and die the young dragon would in a heartbeat if a blood thirsty rogue dragon attacked him. Cag chewed on his cheek, contemplating his options carefully, but waiting to decide after he heard what Dr. Mengele planned.

[Joseph Goebbels]

Mengele nodded. "I understand that." he said. He knew he'd left his scent all over the island, all over the books that he'd stolen and rooted through, the notes he'd touched and copied. His scent was covering that island. But the blood on that island smelled stronger than any one man. It would take a bloodhound for someone to track him...which adult male dragons definitely were. Mengele had used Bala's powers of smell before...he knew how strongly dragons depended on their sense of smell. He touched his chin, thinking. The dragon could be good to capture for study...that island had a large amount of thorazine...and chloroform. He smirked.

"I could use a draconic specimen. The only thing I have from Bala is a tooth I pulled from his mouth when he refused to take care of them." Mengele said. "A full dragon could yield months....years of data. I could be set here for years." he looked over at Caguuror. He wanted so badly to collect blood, scales, teeth...perhaps dissect an eye to figure out why Bala could see ultraviolet light. "There is chloroform on the island...and the dragon will return to protect its own. If we get there, perhaps use the young fat one as bait...we could have the dragon unconscious." he smirked and rubbed his chin.

But he had another suspicion. Suchomimus. An ancient african predator with a long jaw that was filled with the serrated teeth that he had just described. They had no molars, and the footprints he'd found on the island fit. Bala had four fingers on his front paws, and four on the back...this one had three, and there were no front prints. Mengele smirked. Finding a living dinosaur could put him back in the good graces of the scientific community. For that he wouldn't dare use chloroform. It would be too easy to overdose and kill the beast. "We aren't to kill it." he said, musing.

Bala knew that look in his eyes. Mengele wasn't telling Caguuror something. Something exceedingly important. He had that...greedy look in his eye.

Cag snickered, trying to fight back the urge to not laughed out loud. He struggled, seeming to fidget slightly as he tried to control the urge. But it was to strong. He burst out laugh, grabbing his sides and trying to talk while laughing uncontrollably.

"You...you really think you are going to put a dragon to sleep with chloroform? What are you planning on doing? Walk up to it and asking it nicely to hold still as you hold a cloth over it's mouth? How foolish Dr. Mengele. You are suppose to be smart. Come now." Caguuror fell silent as he contemplated the options. His eyes fell upon the young dragon near them and he shook his head.

"No, I will be the bait. I will be able to play injured, acting as if I can not get away. In doing so, whatever creature this is, we will be able to draw out. Perhaps I will be able to subdue it. But I will need Bala's help more then likely. Can he do anything? Breath fire or something that will help?" Cag was seriously going out on a limb here. He didn't know what kind of dragon this way he was going to face, nor how big or strong. He was sacrificing himself as living bait to to save the young dragon. It seemed silly, probably even to Bala and Mengele, but that was just how he was. And he was not going to let the little dragon get hurt.

[Josef Mengele]

"I was under the impression you were intelligent too until you mentioned the cloth." Mengele said acidly. "You realize that chloroform is a liquid that dissipates upon contact with air onto a gas. It binds with the oxygen there and poisons it. Which is why the liquid on the cloth must be inhaled by the person, it passes air through the cloth and reacts with the liquid on said cloth. Don't be a fool." he looked at Caguuror, thinking about him as bait. No. If he was right and this was a suchomimus instead of a dragon, Bala had a better chance of flying off, or even intimidating the beast if he breathed acid on it. He wasn't even sure that Bala...knew how to synthesize his acid.

Draconic acid was a unique chemical process that took place in two acid glands nestled beside the molars under the dragon's tongue. This acid, when expelled using special muscles next to the jaw curve and windpipe, reacted with the air to form a hissing gas. This gas ate away most everything it touched save for a few organic compounds such as glass. Mengele had a sample of the raw, liquid acid in his bag, as a last measure against any foe. "Bala will be the bait. If it is a dragon, perhaps he can talk with him. If it isn't, then he will easily fly out of reach. You and I will be throwing the jars. I cannot risk Bala tripping and dropping them, knocking us all out and perhaps killing us."

Bala listened, flipping through the english book frantically as he held the words in his head. He didn't like the word 'bait', and he recognized his name in close conjunction with that word. He slunk close to Mengele, deciding not to mention that he had some of his personal defenses removed by the doctor. Josef had cut off his last finger joint to the index claw on both front feet, similiar to declawing a cat. This meant that Bala lost an important tool when it came to doing every day tasks, not to mention it was slightly painful to walk on a stub that wasn't meant to bear weight. He'd also removed his baby fangs when he was smaller, and he feared that Mengele was planning to drug him and yank out his growing adult fangs as well. Dragons apparently shed their teeth many times during life similiar to crocodiles. They wore out, they fell out. But Mengele liked being able to overpower Bala.

"Bala. Have you learned to use your breath yet?" Mengele asked. "I trust you've been slacking off working on it."
Bala cleared his throat and lowered his tongue to the bottom of his mouth, hissing loudly at the ground. A small puff of green smoke emerged from his teeth and began to eat away at the soil, stopping within a good four or five inches. Mengele wrinkled his nose. "Pathetic." he sneered.

Rolling his eyes, Cag sighed deeply and stood up.

"The cloth comment was simply a joke, Doctor. I know exactly how chloroform works. However, the joke was made to illustrate my point. IF this is a dragon like you think, there are several complications. If it has wings, the beast could simply fly off as soon as it senses the chloroform. If it does not have wings, it can run to the water and quickly submerge and swim away from us. As I lost my abilities to change into other creatures, I would not be able to track the monster. Neither of us could. Then even if we managed to induce the creature to inhale enough of the gas, it could fly or swim away, then plummet to it's death or drown in the sea. How do you suggest we get around these problems?"

He eyed the doctor carefully. "I was thinking, give me a bottle of the chloroform. The creature will be hunting your scent. So we take some of your own blood, smear it upon myself. This will either make the animal think I killed it's prey, or am it's prey. Either way, it will enrage the beast to attack me. At which point, I can hit the creature in the mouth with the chloroform. The chemical will then affect the creature significantly faster, and hopefully down it before it has a chance to escape."

He looked at Bala, sighing deeply. He hated putting the little dragon in harms way, so he really attempting to convince Mengele to let him do this. However, this was his last attempt. He was running out of other options and ideas as quickly as water in the desert.

[Joseph Goebbels]

"The creature will not be particular to me." Mengele sneered. "He will attack anything that is associated with the thing that invaded its territory. Namely you, me and Bala. As far as drugged, if the creature knew it was going to pass out it wouldn't run into the water...at least a dragon wouldn't. I've drugged Bala enough times to know. They're not stupid beasts that would drown themselves like that." he folded his arms and stood up, kicking dirt over the fire. "It's settled. Bala will be our bait. Don't try and protect the fat one just because you're under the impression he'll get hurt. Not only that, if you hit it in the mouth with chloroform, and it swallows it, it will die." he snapped at Caguuror, nodding to Bala.

"You're our bait while the shapeshifter drugs the beast. I will tend to him once he's down." he told the dragon in German. Bala swallowed hard and got to his feet. He was terrified. What were they talking about bait for?! He asked an explaination of Mengele, who didn't respond and packed up his things. Bala looked hopelessly at Caguuror for an explaination, but Mengele snatched the english book out of his claws and put it back in his suitcase. "We'll keep base camp on the island where my things will be safe." Mengele told Bala. "I expect you to fly me over. I'm not rowing this time."
Bala looked like he was about to cry. Bait for what? What was his master dangling him in front of?! He silently walked next to Mengele and let the doctor mount up behind his neck, plunking his bags down near Bala's shoulders. "Shapeshifter. Bala cannot carry two with his own gut. Follow us on foot, flying fast will not be a problem. He can barely clear a biplane let alone a running human." Mengele said, seeing Bala wince with every insult.

Nodding, Caguuror took off at a fast jog, towards the beach. He would have to swim across to the island while the other two flew, but that was alright. He didn't mind getting a little wet. When he reached the water, he performed a dive into the salty liquid, piercing throught the water and sinking below the surface briefly before surfacing. He used his shape shifting power that was left to him, creating webbing between his fingers and toes to swim faster and began stroking hard towards the island nearest him. Even now and then he would glance upwards, checking to see if he was still following Bala and the doctor. He reached the island shortly, and climbed out of the water, shaking his hair to try and get the most of the liquid out and waited for the two to land upon the dry ground. He sighed, still not liking the idea of Bala being the bait, but it was no longer up for discussion. The idea was set, and they would have to see how it would play out now.

[Joseph Goebbels]

Bala landed near the entrance to the large concrete facility. He tucked his wings in, letting Mengele slide off of him. The doctor had explained exactly why they were doing this, and the dragonling was silent. He shifted when Mengele shoved open the door and went inside. He wanted to beg for Mengele not to do this, to just leave well enough alone and leave for a more civilized area. But Mengele had made up his mind. Bala sniffled and sat down outside, head hung. His master had told him to stay put, he would stay put.

Mengele set his things down in an old doctor's office, gathering up jars of chloroform. Great brown glass things that weighed nearly two pounds, liquid bubbling around inside as their contents shifted. Mengele knew if he opened one of these, a lethal amount of gas would flood the room, so he took extreme care not to drop or crack one. He set them on the ground, waiting for Caguuror to come in. The stupid thing was probably comforting the fat little dragonling outside. Bala was a means to an end, and Mengele had no more feelings about his injure or death than he would about picking out a new couch.

However because of the bond between them...it might mean something disasterous would happen to Josef himself, and that fat little shit wasn't leaving him with a grievious hole in his heart as a parting gift. He picked up a large brown jar and headed outside, setting it on a stable rock. "That is one of the jars. Don't knock it over, you'll knock the lot of us out." Mengele told Bala and Caguuror stiffly, once in English and once in German for each of their benefits.

Cag watched as the dragon and doctor landed, and trotted over to them. Dr. Mengele disappeared into some sort of compound a few seconds before Cag got there. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and rubbed Bala's shoulder then went to walk into the compound. He swerved quickly, dodging the doctor as he walked out with a jar of the chemical. He flattened against the wall before they collided and then followed him again.

He shook his head and sighed. "So what is the next part of your brilliant plan doctor? Just sit and wait? How about I give the other dragon more of a reason to come here. Just tell Bala where to stand please, and then I will take it from there. After that, if this is a dragon, it should come rather quickly. I hope your throwing arm is good." He looked at Bala, then back to Mengele and waited patiently for them to get ready.

[Joseph Goebbels]

Megele eyed Caguuror. "You are younger and stronger. You will throw. Bala is simply to keep the beast in one spot." He looked at the dragonling and repeated the order, much to Bala's chagrin. The dragonling didn't look like he wanted to do anything but run like hell when the larger beast came. He hated anything bigger than himself, it was terrifying to encounter such a thing. He shifted and sat down, watching Mengele bring out jar after jar, and finally something that chilled Bala's blood. A rifle.

"You...you don't shoot!" Bala squeaked. Mengele eyed him.
"No. But it is a good thing to have just in case, yes?" he said, loading the old piece of weaponry and setting it against the side of the compound. He looked at the sky, scanning it for any sign of a dragon. It was clear that this was territory. The stench of death and animal marked it as such. Bala was clearly having trouble staying still. "Doesn't smell like dragon..." Bala whimpered to Mengele, who gestured at him to be quiet. "It's wrong!" Bala insisted, but shut up when Mengele gave him a death glare.

Cag sighed and shook his head. He reached out and picked up the glass jar, rolling it slightly in his fingers as they all waited for whatever this creature was. After about fifteen minutes of simply sitting there, doing nothing Cag set the glass jar down, and walked slowly to Bala. He cleared his throat, and slowly shape shifted his vocal cords into that of a dragon's and tapped the drakling upon his shoulder. Cag parted his lips and let out a challenging dragon roar, but it was not very strong nor loud. He then pointed at Bala and waved up to the air to get him to roar loudly. He ran back to where Mengele was and grabbed up he chloroform again, casting his eyes around. Any creature that had staked out this territory would come running if they heard that challenge.

He sat for several long moments, before gasping and pointing at the water on the on the other side of the island. It rippled and swirled, broken by a giant sail protruding from the saline solution. The sail slowly made it's way towards the island, and began to circle around it, looking like the demented dorsal fin of a giant shark.

[Joseph Goebbels]

Mengele smirked. His second assumption had been correct...but it was no suchomimus, not with that sail. Spinosaurus Aegypticus. He whistled. "Shapeshifter, get back here!" he shouted at him, picking up a jar. This creature was land bound, and wouldn't run toward the sea. It would see them as nothing more than snacks like the other denizens of the island. Bala's eyes were as wide as saucers, getting up with his back spines raised in terror. Mengele was not affected by such emotions...but he did feel the satisfactory pang of knowing he was right about the large predator. Science conquered all in this case.

"Don't attack it, you'll piss it off." Mengele said flatly to Caguuror, eyeing the beast as it emerged from the water. A long, crocodile-like snout, shorter front legs that formed 'arms' of a sort with long hooked talons. Powerful back legs and a tail to match for swimming through the water. Though unless he was mistaken, weren't spinosaurus fish eaters? That explained the amount of dead left on the island, as opposed to being swallowed down by the beast. "Bala, go on." he gestured at the dragonling. This creature was at least sixteen feet high at the head, and almost forty six feet long. He towered above Bala's six foot height and twelve foot length like the dragon was just a bug.

"I suggest we start throwing." Mengele said dryly.

Cag brought his arm back, ready to hurl the jar at the beast. He hesitated though, looking at Bala. If he threw the jar, it would burst and smother the young dragon in the gas as well. The jar sat it his hand as his brain flew through the possibilities. Bala could pass out and get seriously injured by this monster. Or worse, he could suffocate and die from so much of the gas they where going to throw. He lowered his arm, making a split second decision and bolted forward, charging at the saurian creature before them.

He ran, arms pumping but making sure not to strike the glass jar upon his leg. As he ran, he eyed the beast, trying to find the best place to strike to make it pause. He was still going to nail it with the chloroform, but he was going to make sure Bala didn't get injured at the same time. He dove beneath the creature as it snapped it's long jaws at him, and rolled on his shoulders back to his feet. He glanced up and bolted out from under the scaly opponent and threw his hand out. Long, razor sharp finger nails extended from his fingers and dug into the leg of the beast and he used the friction to throw himself upwards. He flung his legs down, launching of the beast's ankle and up onto it's back. He dug his nails in again at the base of the giant sail upon the creature's back, hanging on like a tick imbedded into flesh, trying to get a clear throw at the head of the animal as it flailed around.

[Joseph Goebbels]

Mengele glared as his orders were ignored. What part of don't attack it included sinking claws into it? He sighed. When could he find a little competence around here? He whistled to Bala, who leapt back over to him and grabbed him in a large, scaly embrace. Mengele shoved at the dragon. "Get off." he snarled coldly, and picked up a jar when Bala settled back down. "Take this up, hit him in the face with it." he pushed the jar into Bala's hands and the dragonling stared at him. "Well? Go." Mengele said impatiently. "He's already set to give him one dose, and he's going to figure out really quick that being on an animal's back when it passes out is the worst thing one can do."

Bala rose into the air with a few powerful beats of his wings. He held the jar awkwardly in his scaly fingers, flying toward the spinosaurus with fear in his heart. He hovered above the head of the beast and flung the jar at it. The brown glass shattered square on the creature's nose. The dinosaur stopped trying to fling the itchy clinging animal off of his back and took a deep breath, roaring angrily at Bala. Taking such a deep inhalation meant he got a full blast of the gas. "Bala. Return." Mengele called to the dragon, who looked as if he was about to overdose on adrenaline. He shoved another glass at him. "This should be enough. If he doesn't pass out within a few seconds of the shapeshifter throwing the second charge, you throw the third. Don't inhale, whatever you do."