Jack and Old Sam looked at each other.
Big Boss Lodegrey and Lady Gemrose were already moving. Leading their group towards the volcano.
However... There was no need for discussion. No need for debate. They didn't come here for the leaders. But for Big Bill.
"Alright!" Jack said. "Lead the way."
They broke off from the main group. Plunging into the thick, humid jungle. The ancient trees closed in around them. Sunlight was filtering down in dappled patches.
Every rustle in the undergrowth, every snap of a twig, put them on edge. This beautiful world felt alive. Breathing. And inherently hostile.
They hadn't gone far when the rustling intensified. It came from multiple directions. Fast. Low to the ground. Then, seven sleek, terrifying shapes erupted from the undergrowth.
They were dinosaurs, very likely. Not the bulky, slow giant-beasts of common knowledge. These were lean, muscled predators.
They were standing on two legs. Their bodies were covered in a mix of scales and dark proto-feathers. Their heads were small, reptilian. With rows of needle-sharp teeth visible even with their jaws closed.
Long, stiff tails balanced their bodies. Their legs were disproportionately long and powerful. Ending in vicious, curved talons.
They looked like a genetic abomination. The mixture of ferocious reptile raptors combined with the avian build of ostriches.
They moved with incredible speed. Circling the three mercenaries. In a formation that looked like dancing ritual. Seven of them. More than enough.
"Ready for battle!" Old Sam barked. Raising his mechanical shield.
"Come on!" Big Bill roared. Hefting his enormous mechanical hammer.
Jack didn't speak. He expertly reloaded his Steamrune Shotgun with single-target bullet. Scatter-shot were useless against fast and coordinated creatures like them.
One of the beast pounced at him.
HISS-BOOM!
He reacted instantly. The shotgun roared. Spitting a blast of superheated steam and a heavy slug. Headshot!
The slug seemed to pierce through the creature's hide, skull and brain. Leaving a smoking, ragged hole as it exited the other side.
His shotgun wasn't just a standard gun. They packed a nasty punch. With intense recoil only someone with Jack's strength could handle.
The creature didn't even have time to shriek. It crumpled down straight away. Twitching violently before going still.
Six left. And... they charged without fear.
Big Bill met the first one head-on. The creature leaped, talons extended. Bill swung his massive mechanical hammer in a wide arc. Its burst mechanism sped the movement up.
The heavy metal head connected with the creature's skull. Bone and flesh gave way with a sickening crunch. The beast was reduced to a broken mess.
Old Sam braced his shield against another charge. The impact pushed him back a few steps. The creature's claws scrabbled uselessly against the reinforced metal.
While it was momentarily blocked, Sam drew his plain looking revolver and fired. BANG! BANG! Two shots at point-blank range into the creature's neck.
It staggered back, blood gushing, before collapsing.
Jack reloaded with practiced speed. Ramming another shell into the breach. Two more beasts converged on him from different angles. He fired at the one on his left. A quick, brutal shot tearing through its shoulder.
It yelped, injured but not dead. The other one lunged.
Jack evaded with masterful steps. As he did so, he dropped the shotgun. Drawing one of his backup handguns in a blur of motion. And... he fired three shots in rapid succession.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Each round struck the charging creature's head. Just behind the eye.
It tumbled past him, dead before it hit the ground.
The injured beast from his left recovered and charged again.
Jack did a swift back step as he switched target. Firing his handgun.
BANG! Another headshot. Precisely on the creature's forehead this time.
The creature fell.
Two remained. One was harassing Old Sam behind his shield. The other was circling Big Bill. Trying to find an opening beneath his hammer swings.
Jack aimed his handgun at the one fighting Bill. But Bill was faster. With a yell of exertion, he brought his hammer down. In a powerful overhead strike. Boosted to super fast speed by the mechanical burst at the back of the hammer head.
Crushing the skull of the beast circling him.
The last one broke off from the heavily protected Sam. Its beady eyes was fixed on Jack. The biggest threat. It leaped. A feathered missile of teeth and claws.
Jack dropped the empty handgun. Rolling on the ground to evade the attack. As well as snatching up his shotgun. And fired a bullet-less energy blast the moment the beast lunged again.
The blast caught the beast mid-air. Throwing it back.
Three gunshots from Old Sam struck the back of its head with piercing force. It twisted violently. A bloody beast. Before crashing to the ground.
Silence fell over the jungle clearing. Broken only by the three's ragged breathing and the buzz of the enormous insects.
Seven dead creatures lay sprawled around them. Their strange forms twisted in death.
"Nasty things." Old Sam grunted. Lowering his shield. "Fast."
"Too fast." Big Bill agreed. Leaning on his hammer. Sweat was pouring down his face.
They checked their injuries. Scrapes, bruises, ripped clothing. Nothing major for Jack or Sam. But Bill held his side, wincing visibly.
"One clipped me with its tail." He panted. "Strong tail strike. Think... think I might broke a rib."
They didn't have time to rest much longer. A new sound reached them through the dense foliage. The unmistakable sounds of combat.
Yelling. Gunfire. The roars of some large creature.
"That way!" Big Bill gasped, pushing off his hammer, ignoring the pain in his side. "Danny!"
They hurried forward. Pushing through the dense undergrowth. Following the sounds of battle. The jungle grew even thicker where they went. The trees were larger.
They burst into another clearing. The scene was horrific.
More than twenty of the raptor-ostrich hybrids lay dead. Scattered across the ground. And three human bodies. Mercenaries. Their gear torn, their bodies mangled.
And in the center, a desperate battle was ongoing.
There was a huge, feathered beast. It was easily the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the movie. It dwarfed the hybrids they'd just faced by extreme proportion.
It was covered in dark red feathers. Its massive legs ending in terrifying talons. Its head was large. Reptilian. With a powerful jaw filled with dagger-like teeth.
It moved with a terrifying, powerful grace. A feathered... raptor-rex.
This beast was attacking two people. A man and a girl.
The man was huge, built like Big Bill. But his left arm was missing. The sleeve of his tactical jacket ending in a bloody stump. Despite this, he still powerfully wielded an enormous mechanical halberd with his single right arm.
He was blocking and parrying the beast's attacks with desperate strength. Behind him was a young girl. She couldn't have been more than seventeen.
She stood there. Trembling. Holding an exquisite handgun. Squeezing off shots that seemed laughably ineffective. Against the monstrous beast's tough hide.
"DANNY!" Big Bill roared. His voice was thick with pain and fury. It was his brother. The one-armed man.
Danny looked sideway. His eyes were widening in surprise and relief at seeing Bill. But the distraction was costly.
The giant raptor swiped at him with a massive clawed foot.
Danny blocked with the halberd. But he didn't deflect it well. The force threw him back. Staggering.
Jack didn't hesitate. He raised his Steamrune Shotgun. Aiming for the beast's massive head, he fired.
HISS-BOOM!
The piercing round screamed through the air. Striking the giant feathered raptor just below its eye. Taking a chunk of hide and flesh.
The beast shrieked. A deafening roar of pain and rage. It recoiled violently. Shaking its enormous head.
Old Sam was already moving. Finding his range. He drew his revolver and began firing. Aiming for the beast's vulnerable spots high up on its body. BANG! BANG! BANG!
Big Bill, meanwhile, charged forward. A bellowing mountain of muscle and rage. He swung his mechanical hammer with renewed ferocity. His pain was forgotten in the face of his brother's peril.
The fight was brutal. The giant raptor was intelligent, powerful, and incredibly tough.
Bill engaged it directly. Drawing its attention with his reckless melee attack. His hammer a blur of steel against scales and feathers.
Danny, despite his injury, fought fiercely with the halberd. He used the beast's moments of distraction to land single-handed chopping blows at its body.
Jack simply reloaded and fired. Again and again. His piercing rounds tore up chunks out of the beast's hide. He was mainly targeting its head and eyes.
Old Sam and the young girl kept up a steady barrage from their guns. Chipping away at its durability. Though their shots didn't seem strong enough to cause significant harm to the gigantic creature.
It felt like an eternity. The ground became slick with blood. Both human and reptilian.
Big Bill took a series of brutal blunt hits. His broken rib protesting agonizingly. But he kept fighting.
Old Sam was caught by a swipe from the beast's tail. He blocked it with his shield. But it was still sending him flying into a tree trunk. And he crashed into the tree with a sickening crack. He crumpled to the ground. Motionless.
Finally, after what felt like days, the giant feathered raptor staggered.
Danny chopped his halberd deep into its flank. And Big Bill brought his hammer down one last time on its knee. Shattering the joint.
With an earth-shattering roar, the beast crashed to the ground. Jack landed another piercing round to its head. Instantly breaking its skull and piercing its brain.
The beast was dead.
The world fell into silence again. Broken only by the gasping breaths of the survivors. Big Bill stumbled towards his brother. Collapsing beside him.
Danny was exhausted and pale from blood loss. But, at least he was alive. The young girl lowered her handgun beside him. Tears were still streaming down her face.
Old Sam lay still by the tree. Jack knelt beside him. He was unconscious. Definitely not dead, but a nasty lump was forming on his head.
Big Bill's labored breathing and wincing confirmed his broken rib. Danny was severely weakened by his missing arm. The girl was unharmed but clearly traumatized.
They had won. But not unharmed. Three survivors out of a small team. Plus the two others they had saved.
Just as they were about to relax, a new sound reached them. A low, guttural rumble... that grew louder and louder.
It wasn't the delicate sound of the smaller raptors. Nor the avian shriek of the feathered rex. This was heavier, more powerful.
The ground began to shake with rhythmic thuds.
They looked towards the source of the sound. Deep in the jungle. The trees swayed violently. And then, it emerged.
Larger than the feathered raptor they had just defeated. A creature of pure, unadulterated muscle and terror. Something Jack knew as... the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Its skin was thick, scaly, a dark green-brown. Its massive head had teeth like railroad spikes. It saw the clearing. The dead bodies. The still-living mercenaries.
Its reptilian eyes seemed to lock onto the group. A low growl, promising destruction, vibrated through the air.
Jack Night didn't hesitate. There was no way the injured, exhausted group could fight this. Not even with his piercing rounds. It was too big. Too powerful.
He took out his Steamrune Hoverboard out of his Spatial Bag.
"Bill!" Jack yelled over the growing rumble. Reloading his shotgun quickly. "Get them out of here! Take Sam! I'll lure it away."
Without waiting for any answer, Jack threw the hoverboard and jumped on it. He surfed on air. Forward. Toward the gigantic beast.