PeabodySam

OOC: Yes! I got Brikman to flip over his laptop! Anyways, I figured that I'd post this now and, just for now, be willing to suspend your disbelief and believe that this whole explanation took place just before Carolyne Provencal ordered the remaining XERRD scientists to attack the group... I've been waiting a long time to post this!IC: “Several years ago,” explained Dr. Frank Einstein, “I was assigned by the Nexus Force to keep an eye on Dr. Rex and his group of followers who would later form the XERRD organization. In order to do that, I had to adopt a completely new identity. But it is difficult to adopt a new identity for an extended period of time without accidentally revealing one’s true identity in a slip-up. I spent many nights conceiving a way to overcome this, and then it dawned upon me. My old lab partner, Dr. Wallace Bishop.”“My uncle?” Kate Bishop hesitantly raised her hand.“Indeed,” nodded Dr. Einstein. He beckoned for Kate to come closer, and she slowly complied. He laid his hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes, with fatherly tenderness.“He and I worked closely for many years. But unfortunately, one fateful day, a lab accident killed Wallace’s lab assistant in an experiment involving opening portals to alternate dimensions. As Wallace was a barren man, she was like a daughter to him, and he loved her dearly. After that, he was never quite the same.”The scientist’s voice turned grim. “Wallace collapsed into a state of complete despair. The days got worse and worse until, for his own good, he was locked up in Napoleon XIV Mental Institution. But the institution could not wipe from his memory every detail of the lab accident and the death of his lab assistant. If anything, it worsened the experience, because being locked up in that institution isolated him from the rest of his family. He knew he would never again see his sister Sarah or his young niece… Kate.”“My mother had told me that Uncle Wallace died in a car accident,” murmured Kate.“And as far as the world knew or cared,” sighed Dr. Einstein, “Wallace Bishop was no more. He knew he would never see you again, and I can only guess that Sarah thought likewise and decided it was best for you not to know that dear Uncle Wallace was in a mental institution.”“But what does Wallace Bishop in a mental institution have to do with you assuming his identity?” inquired Rex.“Poor Wallace. The agony was simply unbearable for him. He had to get rid of it, one way or another. And so, he did.”A shadow passed over Dr. Einstein’s face. “Wallace Bishop waited until he could find a weak spot in Napoleon XIV’s security. As soon as he did, he escaped the mental institution and traveled on foot all the way back to our old laboratory. There, he recorded a tape of himself, explaining what he was about to do. Then, he proceeded to cut open his head and pull out pieces of his brain. His intention was to remove the parts of his brain which kept the memories of his lab assistant and his family. When the police found him the next morning, he was lying outside a local post office, barely conscious, his forehead caked with blood, and a package in his hands. I was contacted right away, since the package was addressed to me. As for Wallace Bishop, he somehow survived, but the operation that he performed left him a mere shadow of the man he once was. I imagine he is little more than a frail old man with a short memory span and little grip on reality. But, Kate, if you so wish, I could make... arrangements for you to meet your real uncle Wallace. Perhaps, even if he doesn't remember you, there might be something left of you in his heart... Love, I always said, is an emotion too powerful to be simply forgotten.”“What was in the package?” wondered Kate.“The tape Wallace had recorded… and the pieces of his brain that he had cut out. In the tape, in addition to Wallace Bishop recording his intentions and procedures, he hoped that I would find some use for the pieces of his brain, and also told me to, at whatever cost, protect the Bishop family from any danger.”“So that is why you said I was a ‘special case’ back at the XERRD Fortress,” murmured Kate.Dr. Einstein nodded. “Those events have occurred years ago. Not a day has passed without me thinking about them. About whatever use I might find for Wallace’s brain. About my bestowed duty of protecting the Bishops. The latter would not come into play until recently, but the former came far sooner than I would have ever expected.”“You see,” Einstein continued, “I have already told you that it is difficult to maintain an alias for an extended period of time, and that is because one would have to base everything off a fictional personality with a fictional biography. Even Libo, who spent years under the identity of ‘Little Bot’, slipped up numerous times. I was determined not to make the same mistakes, because Nexus Force depended on me. Therefore, I turned to Wallace Bishop’s memories. I extracted them from the pieces of his brain he had given me, and thus I had nearly an entire biography at my disposal. I knew Wallace quite well, and combined with the bits of personality stored in those brain cells, I had an entire second personality to use. And, on top of all that, Wallace Bishop and I are actually quite physically similar. All I needed to do was comb my hair, wear contacts, and shave my beloved mustache, and then I looked shockingly similar to Wallace. With a new biography, personality, and look, I was ready to adopt a new identity and act as Dr. Rex’s loyal companion, all the while feeding information back to Albert Overbuild and Vanda Darkflame.”“I remember now,” murmured Rex. “When you rescued me from the rubble of that laboratory, your mustache was shaved. You must have been spying on XERRD immediately beforehand.”“Not just that,” elaborated Dr. Einstein, “but in fact I was the one who placed you under that rubble, so that once my fellow XERRD operatives left and you woke up, you would see me for whom I really was. By that time, I knew that something was terribly wrong with XERRD, but I was unable to contact Nexus Force in time before Dr. Rex set his Mutant Dino plans into motion. So, while telling Dr. Rex that I would be working out in the field, I instead began working with the Dino Attack Team. During which period of time I, of course, did not shave my mustache and let it return to its famous thick, bushy form. If you’re wondering why I never brought up XERRD or Dr. Rex, it is because I heard that there was a large explosion at Dinosaur Island, so I mistakenly presumed that the laboratory was destroyed, Dr. Rex was dead, and XERRD was no more. However, just before the Goo Caverns mission, thanks to you, Rex, I learned that Dr. Rex was still alive, and Specs learned that I had been spying on XERRD. We spoke with one another and decided it was in our best interest for me to resume my position as ‘Wallace Bishop’ so that I could feed information back, but this time directly to Dino Attack Team. I had my messages delivered in the form of pre-recorded holograms secretly contained in, appropriately enough, bishop chess pieces. I told the founding members not to tell any of you because I feared that, if the information became too widespread, XERRD would inevitably find out and Specs would lose an important spy.”“And not just a spy,” noted Rex, “but the second-in-command of XERRD who can be trusted with important tasks such as operating on my brain.”“Exactly!” grinned Einstein. “On many occasions, I’ve also convinced Dr. Rex to hold back, especially after seeing the damage he and his Mutant Dino army did during the Goo Caverns ambush. For example, I ensured that the Constructopedia would not be destroyed by the Mutant Dinos, and I jammed communications on LEGO Island to prevent XERRD from teleporting Mutant Lizards aboard the T-1 Typhoons. Recently, I tricked Dr. Rex into believing that there was Maelstrom at Pirates Forbidden Island, distracting him long enough for FMB-Bots and Brickster-Bots to gain much ground in the invasion of Dinosaur Island. When he returned and destroyed much of the robot invaders, I convinced Dr. Rex to stay back on Dinosaur Island and to instead send myself and other XERRD scientists to Adventurers’ Island. In doing so, I am leaving him at the mercy of a guerrilla war, while putting myself a position where I can finally expose my true role in this Dino Attack and help you contain the Maelstrom Temple. After all, being a former member of Paradox myself, I know a thing or two about containing the Maelstrom’s dark energies.”Rex let this information sink in. He would never have suspected that Dr. Frank Einstein, that famous biochemist who formerly worked in the Dino Attack Hospital Wing, had played such a major role in the Dino Attack itself. He had worked to destroy XERRD from the inside, single-handedly foiling Dr. Rex’s plot to infiltrate the Dino Attack Team and keeping Dr. Rex from unleashing his full forces on Dino Attack Team.Then, Frank Einstein turned to look at the one figure who had not spoken at all, the samurai. “And speaking of containing the Maelstrom energies…”OOC: ... Cue the attack of the XERRD scientists under the command of Provencal and Glados. Hopefully, this should have explained everything regarding the exact relationship of Wallace Bishop and Frank Einstein. Also, keep in mind that Kate was very young the last time she saw Wallace, and Sarah merely heard about Wallace working with XERRD through Pierce's recap, which should justify the fact that Einstein managed to fool them both.

OOC: Don't get spoiled, guys. I'm posting now because I am uncertain about the next time I will be able to post, and we really need to move this along, so...Also, I got a chance to fully catch up on everybody's posts, and I must say... Wow. Brikman and Andrewnuva... that was quite a thrilling thing to read. After much building up to this moment, you two did not disappoint... in fact, I'm pretty sure you exceeded our expectations. As was once said by the most innocent, perfect being that Doug Walker can think of..."First of all, I would like to make one thing quite clear: I never explain anything."IC: Rex blinked in surprise and bit his lip. "What in Builder's name was that?" he murmured.Garry frowned. "Look, I had no idea that he was-""Never mind," Rex shook his head. "We'll worry about that later... even if Palmer is a Stromling, we need to take care of the far greater situation at hand. No use trying to blow out a candle when trapped in a burning building. Now, have you seen my wheelchair?""That looks like it," muttered Garry, pointing towards the wheelchair lying on the floor several meters away. He and Amanda helped Rex sit down in the chair, dodging the occasional XERRD missile or blast of dark magic along the way.Now that he was no longer in an out-of-control flying chair, Rex looked around to have a recap of what had gone on while he was fighting Zed Provhezor. Rotor had gained much ground on his own; Rex had to admit, it was remarkable how tough that Dino Attack agent could be. To Rex's surprise, Rotor was aided by a mysterious newcomer who wore samurai armor, a torn black cloak, and could somehow shoot lightning at the XERRD scientists. In their wake, they left many XERRD scientists lying on the floor; some were merely stunned, but others would never move again.Señor Palomar approached the group of Dino Attack agents, pointing his pistols at Rex and Garry. "Well then, mis amigos," Palomar frowned. "It appears that your cavalry is beginning to arrive. How unfortunate that our work here is nearly done. Don't worry, I shall grant you all deaths that will be retold in stories for many generations father to son, like the honorable man that I am.""That's funny, Palomar," mused Rex. "How come your employers get to have all that fancy high-tech armor, and all you get is a gas mask? Doesn't seem very honorable of them, now, does it?"Palomar's frown turned to a grimace. "Do not try to toy with me, Rex.""And if you are so honorable," probed Rex, "why are you betraying your planet, your home, even your species to a bunch of mad scientists who don't know what they're doing?" Before Palomar could reply, Rex continued: "How much treasure did they offer you? Did you just want to be a little, hmm, richer? Come on. That's not honor, that's greed."Palomar seethed with fury. "Fool! Do not dare to insult my-" He was cut off when he felt a knife at his throat. Only then did he notice that, while Rex was talking, Amanda had silently slipped around them and sneaked up on him. He proceeded to mutter expletives in Spanish.Garry chuckled. "Nice one."Rex smiled, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw one XERRD scientist creeping along the far wall of the Maelstrom Temple. He recognized the scientist as Dr. Walter Breen, and it was clear that, now that Dr. Provhezor was no longer alive to boss him around, he was trying to escape the battlefield unnoticed."Would you look at that?" Rex told Palomar. "Looks like one of your... err, amigos is acting dishonorable.""Breen," Palomar gritted his teeth. "I always hated that man. Tell you what... call off Silencia Venomosa's attack, and I'll help you teach him a lesson in honor. Just this once."Rex, Garry, and Amanda traded glances. "Do I have your word?" Rex narrowed his eyes skeptically."You have the word of an honorable Spaniard," nodded Palomar. Slowly, Amanda took the knife off his neck and backed away, but it was clear from her posture that, if Señor Palomar tried anything, she would not hesitate to plant the knife in his flesh.With Garry pushing Rex's wheelchair, Rex, Amanda, Garry, and Palomar rushed over to intercept Walter Breen's path. Breen saw them approach, laughed, and proclaimed: "Ah, ah, ah. Just hold there for a second before you get any ideas. You seriously would not think of laying a finger on me, now, would you? Not with... her in my arms!"As they got closer, only then did Rex see that Breen had Kate Bishop locked in his grasp. She was struggling against his grip, but he held firmly onto her with one hand and, in the other hand, pointed some sort of laser gun that probably shoots Maelstrom energy at her temple, mimicking what Rotor had done earlier."Profesor," declared Palomar. "Put the girl down, or I shoot.""Oh, shut up!" scoffed Breen. "You have no power here! Our benefactor may have agreed to let you have the XERRD Fortress, but seeing as you have forsaken that, I have no reason to listen to you. And that goes for you too, Dino Attack agents. I'm XERRD's negotiator, and I am much too high-ranking to dirty my hands with such things as combat, but even I must use aggressive negotiations every now and then. And here's my proposal: I go free, or your precious little Kate gets to feel what it's like to be shot in the head!"Rex silently cursed himself. Why did he bring Kate along? Why did he subject her to so much horrible pain? He was hoping to keep her safe, but instead put her in far more danger."Did you Dino Attack agents really think you could outwit destiny?" mused Breen as he moved towards the exit. "You are just a few pathetically stubborn individuals who are placing yourself in the way of a better future. I'm not talking about the petty future of the Minifig race, I'm talking about continuing the existence of the universe itself!"Although Rex was furious with Breen, he kept himself composed in order to not do anything that would prompt Breen to pull the trigger. "Need I remind you that Dr. Bishop has specifically commanded all of us to leave Kate unharmed?""Why, yes," Breen nodded without fear. "So, do your part and don't do anything that would bring harm to poor little Kate. And besides, I know Wallace Bishop. He's practically a Renfield to our benefactor, and so his focus is most likely solely on the Maelstrom Vacuum, as it should be. He never cared about Kate. And besides, since he would never dare to anger our benefactor by killing his prime negotiator, Wallace Bishop would never lay so much as a finger on-"A gunshot rang through the chamber. Walter Breen stared forward with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open. Then, like a marionette whose strings were cut, he dropped to the floor, leaving only Kate standing.Everyone paused, even Rotor, the samurai, and the remaining XERRD scientists. They stared in shock at Wallace Bishop, who had once again neglected his duties to XERRD and the Maelstrom. The XERRD scientist stood a short distance away from Rex, Amanda, Garry, Palomar, and Kate, grimly pointing a gun at where Breen was standing just moments ago."No one," Dr. Bishop declared, "dares to threaten Kate."Slowly, a few of the XERRD scientists approached to Dr. Bishop. Among them, Rex recognized that female sorcerer and Michelle Glados. They murmured amongst themselves, but only Glados directly addressed Bishop. "What was that?" she inquired flatly. "You should be collecting Maelstrom energy."Wallace Bishop held up the Maelstrom Vacuum. "It's full," he announced, "and so my work is done.""But," spoke the female sorcerer, "do you have any idea what you have done, Dr. Bishop? None of us liked Breen, true, but if Dr. Rex finds out about this, he-""I will no longer worry about that," decided Dr. Bishop. "I'm an avid chess player, and I used to play chess all the time with an old lab partner of mine. And, over the years, I've learned that... sometimes, in order to score a checkmate, you must be willing to sacrifice a bishop. And today... Wallace Bishop will be that bishop.""Oh, please," muttered Glados. "You're being emotional. And where had emotion ever gotten you? And what use is the girl anyway? Aside from a 'bring-your-niece-to-work day', the only potential she has is as a good test subject."Bishop pointed the gun at Glados. "Don't you dare suggest such a thing!" he snapped. "And don't think I won't pull this trigger just because you're third-in-command... and not just because I have a higher rank than you. Because I have emotion, and emotion makes me stronger than you!"Glados was silent. Then, Wallace Bishop lowered his gun and slowly approached Rex. "What are you doing?" shouted the female sorcerer. "Stop! I-""My ultimate mission is what is important now," solemnly declared Wallace Bishop. "And to score this checkmate... the bishop must be sacrificed."Rex pointed his Sonic Screamer at Wallace Bishop, forcing the scientist to stop in his tracks. "Don't make another move," he whispered.Dr. Bishop smiled lightly. "Is this a way to treat an old friend, Rex?""Betraying XERRD does not automatically make you our ally," Rex's tone was stern. "It only shows you for what you are. A traitor. Who is to say you won't betray us next?"Dr. Bishop bit his lip. "I've always been on your side," he stated. "I just needed the right moment to reveal myself. I am not a traitor; my allegiance has never been with Dr. Rex. If it were not for me, XERRD would have already won the war. The Dino Attack Team would have been destroyed… by your hands, Rex.""What do you mean?" blinked Rex."You were a dangerous weapon," explained Dr. Bishop. "Had Dr. Rex’s plan succeeded, you would have infiltrated the Dino Attack Team under the guise of just another agent, then strike at the founding members when the moment was right. All Dr. Rex needed was to carefully install this plan into your brain, but he was far too busy at the time. So what better person to turn to than his second-in-command, a skilled biochemist? He could trust me to do the job correctly.""But you failed," Rex pointed out."No," chuckled Dr. Bishop. "I succeeded. While I made necessary alterations to your brain, I did not install this plan into your mind, for I knew that it could quickly end the war in XERRD’s favor. That I could not allow. Dr. Rex was oblivious to the missing information, and once he found out, I told him it was merely a lab accident, a simple mistake. But in truth, I deliberately foiled his plans. My loyalties, after all, lie with Nexus Force and the Dino Attack Team."This seemed to Rex like nothing more than a web of lies spun to cover up Dr. Bishop's mistakes. "Prove it!" snapped Rex.Then, Dr. Bishop reached into his own eyes and pulled out two small clear objects. Eye contacts. He threw them down upon the floor, then reached up and began ruffling his hair. The neatly-combed hair became tangled and wild, until it reached a point where it looked as though it never knew a brush or a comb. Then, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a pair of glasses, and placed the spectacles over his eyes.It was Wallace Bishop, but completely transformed into another person. In fact, if he had a thick bushy mustache above his lip, he might have even looked identical to…Rex's jaw dropped. "Dr. Frank Einstein?"The scientist’s eyes twinkled like stars. "Hello again, Rex," smiled Frank Einstein.OOC: WHAM! Sorry about such a long post... but as I said, since I don't know when my next post will be posted... I figured I'd satisfy your appetites for now.

OOC: Well, I apologize for getting this post in late. It's been one heck of a tech week, but not I'm not going to bore you with some personal essay, so while what you want may not be right in front of you, it's finally showtime, and I am as sure of this as my name is Winthrop.IC: Kate, Wilkes, Jones, and Henderson made their way through the passageways of the Maelstrom Temple. The twisted and blackened architecture, the purple fog everywhere, and the faint foreboding whispers served only to disturb them all."This is impossible," frowned Wilkes. "We literally just came this way. How could we be lost already?""This very place seems to be the Maelstrom's sandbox," murmured Jones. "I think it can change it however it wants.""Oh, don't be silly," Wilkes shook his head. "The Maelstrom is just dark, destructive energy. It can't want anything; it's not sentient! Now, how do we get out of here...?""You just don't get it, do you?" whispered Kate Bishop. "There is no escape."Her teammates froze in shock. While she repeated the same warning that she had said before, it sounded more like a threat. Turning around, they faced the young woman, who appeared to be smiling darkly."Holy..." cried out Henderson. "Shoot!"A gunshot rang through the passageway. Everyone stared now at Jones, who held in his trembling hands a pistol. Then, they looked back at Kate's fallen form. Only, now they saw that it was not Kate at all, but a misshapen pseudo-Minifig with an exposed ribcage... a Stromling."I don't believe it!" gasped Wilkes. "Palmer was right - she was infected!"Henderson scratched his chin. Unlike the Stromling Agents who had infiltrated the Dino Attack Team, Stromling-Kate was not wearing a Dino Attack uniform, nor did she bear any slight semblance to her Minifig form. "Something tells me that this was never actually Kate," he murmured. "Looks more like a trick from the Maelstrom." Before he could say anything more, the Stromling corpse disappeared in a puff of Maelstrom energy."Which means...?" inquired Jones."Kate might still be alive," Henderson bit his lip, "but she's still trapped here... and so are we... and the Maelstrom knows we're here."*****Rex and Zed Provhezor exchanged blows as they struggled to remain seated in the out-of-control hover-chair that flew chaotically across the chamber. Physically, Provhezor had the advantage, since his mechanical right arm packed an extra punch, but his hand-to-hand combat skills had deteriorated somewhat after being confined to his hover-chair for such a long time, while Rex spent most of his time in the battlefield.The hover-chair twisted and turned randomly, lurched and pulled back wildly, flipped and spun chaotically, as though it were purposely trying to eject its occupants. As Provhezor grabbed Rex's shirt and tried to toss him off, the chair flipped upside-down. In his panic, Provhezor let go of Rex, and together they struggled to hold onto the chair's armrests and flip the chair back over. Then, when Rex nearly succeeded in shoving Provhezor out of the chair, the chair was on a collision course with the Imagination statue, and only Provhezor was quick enough to pull a switch and barely maneuver around the statue.As Rex persisted in his nauseating battle against the XERRD scientist, Amanda Claw watched as the mysterious samurai entered the temple chamber and surveyed the area. Instinctively, she tightened her grip on her knife as the samurai laid eyes upon her. She could not see the samurai's face, which was concealed by a veil, and that made her suspicious. However, the samurai only silently nodded to her, as though trying to say that they were on the same side. Then, the samurai turned away from Amanda and, with the torn black cape spreading out, charged towards the gathered XERRD scientists.Amanda gaped in horror as the samurai was greeted by a barrage of missiles raining down upon the warrior. Then, she watched in surprise and awe as the samurai, who was apparently far more agile than the armor would suggest, rolled out of the way of the missiles just before their impact. Then, her surprise turned to shock as the samurai began firing bolts of lightning at the XERRD scientists... from the palms of the samurai's hands.Unable to believe her eyes, Amanda turned away to check on Kate, only to gasp in horror. The young girl was gone. She glanced around, but could only see XERRD battling against Rotor and the samurai.Wallace Bishop struggled to concentrate on the Maelstrom. The sounds of battle had only increased, and he heard his fellow XERRD scientists yelling in triumph, anger, and occasionally in panic. As much as he wished to help his allies, he knew that he was a scientist, not a fighter, and besides, he had promised to stay out of the conflict. His ultimate mission was his most important goal, and timing was key; with the Maelstrom growing too powerful, he needed to keep it in check, so he could not turn off the Maelstrom Vacuum too quickly, nor could wait too long, lest the vacuum device absorb too much Maelstrom energy and destroy itself. He could not act too quickly or too late, and knowing when to act required his utmost concentration-"Uncle!"Wallace froze. "Kate!" he whispered, not taking his eyes off the Maelstrom Vacuum. "I told you that it's too dangerous! Get back!""No!" shouted Kate, who stood behind Wallace. Her fists were clenched and, in her eyes, although they still were wet with tears of fear, there was a look of fierce and grim determination that had never been there before. "You have no idea what I've been through! I've seen the worst of this war, and you, uncle... you're just helping them?"Don't answer, Wallace thought to himself, struggling to focus on the Maelstrom Vacuum. She will understand in time."I'm done, uncle!" cried Kate. Wallace was incredulous to hear such defiance in Kate's voice even as she sounded on the verge of sobbing. "Why can't you just end-"A bolt of lightning-like energy shot out of the center of the Maelstrom vortex. Wallace dodged, but realized too late that he was not the target. Spinning around, Wallace saw the lightning strike Kate and throw her back several meters. "No!" he shouted, his eyes widening.Neglecting his duty, Wallace Bishop rushed to the side of Kate. There, she lay, still alive and not badly hurt, but stunned and very visibly frightened. Wallace knelt down and grabbed her hand, locking eyes with the young girl and, for the first time, truly seeing the terror in her eyes. "Oh my First Builders," he whispered.Zed Provhezor's hover-chair spun past the Bishops. Wallace glanced up and saw that Dr. Provhezor had the upper hand, with his mechanical claw gripped tightly on Rex's neck. The hover-chair's chaotic flight pattern brought it dangerously close to the unattended Maelstrom vortex. Without warning, another bolt of lightning shot out of the vortex and struck the hover-chair, knocking it out of the air and dumping its passengers onto the stone floor, dangerously close to the Maelstrom.Both Rex and Provhezor saw the danger they were in. Like a black hole, the Maelstrom vortex threatened to suck them both in, and they could feel its power pulling on them. Struggling to recover, Rex and Provhezor used their arms to slowly crawl away from the vortex. With the Maelstrom pulling them in, whipping at them like a cold whirlwind, it took an incredible amount of effort to place one hand in front of the other.Cursing quietly to himself, Provhezor tried to grab onto Rex's dead legs, slowing down Rex. Then, Provhezor crawled alongside Rex, shoving him aside to get ahead. Rex, who was trying to concentrate on crawling rather than fighting, could not defend himself. But as Provhezor gained ground and tried to push Rex back, a surge of Maelstrom energy rushed over them.Amanda Claw rushed over and grabbed Rex's hand. But Wallace Bishop was too far away and occupied with Kate, and so he could do naught but watch in absolute horror as Zed Provhezor was sucked into the Maelstrom vortex.The last words of the XERRD scientist hailing from Barron were filled with terror. "Zis iz ze end!" he cried as he was pulled into the black hole. "No legz... und now, no live!" Then, the Maelstrom claimed Zed Provhezor's life.As Amanda carried Rex to safety, Wallace Bishop felt sickened by what he saw. He stared at the Maelstrom vortex, then slowly turned his head to look at the battle. He was shocked to see XERRD's ranks breaking before Rotor and a newcomer... who wore samurai armor... and fired lightning from the hands... "But that could only mean...?" whispered Wallace.Staring back at the Maelstrom, Wallace Bishop realized he was running out of time. The Maelstrom was growing too powerful, even with the Maelstrom Vacuum in use, and only he could control its strength long enough to ensure the survival of his allies. Torn between the Maelstrom and Kate, Wallace suddenly knew what he had to do. He dragged Kate, who was still stunned from the Maelstrom lightning, to the far side of the chamber, out of the way of battle. "Please, be safe," he whispered gently to her.But, as Wallace Bishop returned to the Maelstrom vortex, a shadow fell over Kate's still form. "Well, then, my dear Kate Bishop. I imagine you are prime meat for negotiations." Then, Walter Breen laughed darkly.*****Frozeen kicked aside a Mutant Lizard as it tried to climb onto the High Voltage Half-Track. Beside him, Greybeard slashed at another Mutant Lizard that had already succeeded in climbing aboard the vehicle."Come on, you two!" snapped Lord Sam Sinister. "Hold the Maelstrom Crystal where I can see it!""With all due respect, Lord von Barron," muttered Frozeen through clenched teeth, "it's getting harder and harder to do that.""I need to see in which direction the Maelstrom Crystal's mist points!" declared Lord Sinister. "Unless, of course, you want me to drive to the wrong temple! As it is, we are much too late! The rest of the team is probably there already!"The trees shook, and a pair of Mutant T-Rexes emerged, saw the High Voltage Half-Track, laid eyes upon the Maelstrom Crystal in Frozeen's hand, and bellowed angrily. Although Frozeen tried to aim his weapon at them, the Mutant Lizard from earlier successfully jumped back into the vehicle and tackled Frozeen to the ground, snarling viciously. The crystal fell out of Frozeen's hand.As Frozeen tried to defend himself and Greybeard struggled to pick up the crystal with a pair of Mutant T-Rexes glaring down upon him, Lord Sam Sinister finally screamed: "That's it! I'm sick of this!" With that, he knelt down and grabbed the Maelstrom Crystal in his one good hand.Instantly, all the Mutant Dinos froze and stared at Sam Sinister. "No!" cried out Frozeen, who struggled to kick off the Mutant Lizard standing over him. "Sinister, give the crystal to Greybeard before they attack you!"But Sam Sinister did not put down the crystal. And the Mutant Dinos did not attack him, but instead stared at him, as though they were waiting for something. "Get out!" shouted Lord Sinister. "All of you! Get out of my way, for I am Lord Sam Sinister von Barron!""What be ye, crazy?" cried Greybeard. Then, the old pirate swallowed his words as the Mutant Dinos turned and departed silently, even the Mutant Lizard who had tackled Frozeen. The Alpha Team agent got up, and with Greybeard he stared in shock at Lord Sam Sinister.The expression on the Lord von Barron's face was grim. Almost inaudibly, he whispered: "And so, it is exactly as you have told me. But why?"Then, Lord Sam Sinister returned to the wheel of the High Voltage Half-Track, staring at the Maelstrom Crystal in his hand and the direction of the mist it produced. The vehicle continued in its path to the Maelstrom Temple, this time without interruption.OOC: I would like to retract my earlier statement about feeling free to kill Breen, since I now have a specific idea in mind for his fate. As for Breen and Kate, please do not interact with either of them for now. My next post should be soon...

OOC: Before I forget, here is a screenshot of the Maelstrom Temple in LEGO Digital Designer. As an added bonus, here's an idea I have for a microscale Dino Attack Headquarters.IC: With one hand, Rex gripped as tightly as he could to the armrest of his wheelchair. With the other, he struggled to aim his Sonic Screamer. He was being pushed by Amanda Claw at an uncomfortably fast speed, and with good reason.Miniature rockets rained down upon the small group of Dino Attack agents, exploding as they touched the stone floor and leaving small craters in their wake. Luckily, Amanda and Rotor seemed to be always one step ahead of them, but the temple chamber had been turned into a battlefield that threatened to leave them shellshocked. Rotor and Rex both did their best to provide cover for Amanda, who could not fight well while pushing a wheelchair.The XERRD missiles were not their only concern. The sorcerers blasted dark Maelstrom magic at the trio, and some of the spells were accurate enough to singe their uniforms like purple flames. That one XERRD scientist who appeared to be a shinobi had an uncanny ability to emerge from the shadows, swipe at the agents with his katana, and vanish again before they could react. Similarly, Michelle Glados would suddenly appear in a flash of blue light, but disappear in a flash of orange light before they could get close enough to attack her.Out of the corner of his eye, Rex kept watch on the Bishops. Kate, who appeared quite horrified, was backed against a pillar near the chamber's exit, but petrified by her fear and unable to move. Wallace, on the other hand, stood before the Maelstrom vortex itself, placed the Maelstrom Vacuum device on the stone floor, and already began to activate it. Luckily, it seemed that the XERRD scientists had taken Wallace's threat to heart, since they completely ignored Kate."What are you all doing?" Rex heard Walter Breen shouting. "Did you all graduate from Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy? We're not up against an army of Dino Attack agents; this is just three agents, and one of them is in a wheelchair for crying out loud!""Zilenze!" snapped Zed Provhezor, who floated around the chamber in his hover-chair while firing at the Dino Attack agents. "Pikk up a rokket launcher yourzelv iv you are zo unzatizvied!""Oh, please!" scoffed Dr. Breen. "Our benefactor would not approve of th-" He ducked as nearly half a dozen rockets came his way.The shinobi emerged from the shadows again, but this time Rotor was close enough to knock the scientist back with the butt of his gun. Then, Amanda saw Señor Palomar taking aim at them with his double pistols, and as she tried to maneuver Rex out of his firing range, Michelle Glados suddenly appeared in a flash of blue light and dropped a grenade. She was gone before it hit the floor, at which point it detonated. The generated shockwave sent the Dino Attack agents flying.Rex landed hard on the floor several meters away, his wheelchair clattering beside him. Dazed from the miniature explosion, he struggled to do a push up and lift his torso off the floor. Amanda Claw was already back on her feet and ran towards him, slashing at a nearby XERRD scientist with her knife.However, Dr. Provhezor arrived first. He reached down and hoisted Rex up with his mechanical arm, sneering like a weasel. "Veelchairz," Zed laughed. "Zuch outdated tekhnology. Kripplez like you should ztay out ov ze battlevield!""Look who's talking," muttered Rex, and proceeded to punch Dr. Provhezor in the face. Stunned for an instant, Provhezor let go of Rex, unintentionally dropping the Dino Attack agent in his his hover-chair. It took Rex a half-second to realize his position, and an epiphany came over him. He tried to push Provhezor out of the hover-chair, but the XERRD scientist had recovered from his shock and pushed back. Rex accidentally pushed a button, causing the hover-chair to start flying around chaotically. What followed was a bizarre wrestling match in an out-of-control hover-chair as two legless Minifigs tried to shove the other out of the chair.Amanda watched in horror and wished to help Rex, but she and Rotor had their own worries as the XERRD scientists continued to rain missiles and magic upon them. They dodged the projectiles and pushed their way through a crowd of space marauders and sorcerers, with Amanda slashing with her knife and Rotor firing his machine gun. Just as Amanda got close enough to the fight in the hover-chair, a flash of orange light sent her to the far side of the chamber, next to a trembling Kate Bishop.Amanda cursed silently, but still managed to smile gently at Kate in an attempt to comfort her. Out of the corner of her eye, movement down the hall of the Maelstrom Temple caught her attention. Frowning, she turned her head in that direction, and then her eyes widened in surprise.Coming down the hall, approaching the temple's main chamber, was a figure who was clad in samurai armor and appeared to be wearing a long, black cloak that seemed torn and frayed at the edges. ***** "Alright, you maggots!" bellowed Ronald E. Army. "Tea time is over! Back to work!""What tea time?" grumbled Engineer as he continued pushing the bomb cart. "We never took a break! We've been pushin' this bomb cart non-stop since dawn.""It's all ya fault, anyway!" spat Scout, thrusting his weight against the cart. "We gotta push this thing 'cause ya couldn't fix the engine!"Pyro muttered something incomprehensible in agreement."Dang it, I ain't got the time for this!" grumbled Engineer, who hit the cart's makeshift engine with his wrench. The engine sputtered and growled before roaring to life. Then, the bomb cart began to move down the track by itself. Engineer grinned and clapped his hands together. "Now that's how it's done.""Why aren't you pushing that cart, maggots?" yelled Army.Scout and Engineer traded glances, not sure whether to be irritated or amused. "... Because it's moving on its own now," explained Scout as he gestured to the cart moving away."I kept tryin' to tell you," shrugged Engineer. "I was in the middle of making an engine for the cart so we wouldn't have to push it all the way. But you kept saying that we ain't got the time an' insisted that we push the cart now because of Blondie, Angel Eyes, and the others. I just needed a bit more time to fix it. Good thing all it took just happened to be hittin' it with a wrench, but I kept tryin' to tell you, Soldier, that-""I! Am! Not! A! Soldier!" screamed Army. "I am a general! I outrank all of you! Nobody outranks me! And-""Oh, please," scoffed Spy, who popped in out of nowhere and startled Ronald Army. "I've been reading your files, and you are not a general.""WHAT?!?"Spy smirked. "You're just a sergeant, Army. It's rather impressive zat you managed to achieve zat rank, but rather petty in comparison to general, don't you think? Says in your files zat ze LEGOLAND president at ze time sarcastically told you zat you were promoted to general after a certain incident involving ze Black Falcons... I need not mention what happened zere. Apparently, Soldier, sarcasm is a foreign language to you."Everyone laughed as Sergeant Ronald E. Army's face turned bright red, seething with fury. "WHY YOU-!" was all he managed to say before he was interrupted by Spy."On to more important matters... I scouted ahead and saw zat ze Hybrids have set up a barrier on ze track, guarded heavily by turrets. I can sneak in zere and disable most of zem, but I would require some assistance. Heavy and Medic, come with me. Ze rest of you, stay with ze cart!"OOC: Feel free to interact with the Second Headquarters Squad if you'd like, Atton Rand. Just don't stop Spy, Heavy, and Medic from doing whatever it is they think they're doing... I've got an idea in mind for one of them that I have been dying to use after it happened to me while playing Team Fortress 2 one time.EDIT: Wow! I just realized that this is my 4,900th post! I have now vanquished the Bohrok-Kal at last!

OOC: That's the point, avmatoran. Everyone (except that guy from that show) was supposed to feel cheated. Hey, what can I say? I love Quadrant 14 scenarios (and anyone who has been in the Dino Attack RPG for the Goo Caverns knows all too well what I mean by that), since Bait-and-Switch plot twists make things more interesting.I was hoping to post this immediately after the big reveal, while you guys were still trying to recover from the shock factor. Hopefully, this is not too late.IC: Rex, Amanda, Rotor, and Kate stared at the figure who emerged from the shadows. He was clad in high-tech black armor, similar in style to Ogel's wardrobe or a Blacktron spacesuit. In one hand, he held what appeared to be a miniature rocket launcher, and in the other, he held a strange device. Although his head was masked by a helmet, as he drew closer to the light of the Imagination statue, Rex could make out his features through the figure's visor, and from his earliest memories, he recognized that face. It was the last face he expected to see in the Temple of Creation."Hello again, Rex," smiled the figure. "It's been far too long since we last spoke.""Doctor Wallace Bishop," Rex gritted his teeth, unable to believe his eyes. "What are you doing here?""One might say," smirked Wallace Bishop as he approached the group, "I'm here on the same mission as you." As Dr. Bishop drew closer, Rotor picked up his weapon and pointed at the XERRD scientist, who raised his arms in a show of peace. "Now, now. Let's not be pointing guns at each other. I have no intention of using this rocket launcher on you... it's for my own protection. I presume you four had some Stromling problems on the way in?"Dr. Bishop sighed bitterly as he approached the Imagination statue. "The Maelstrom grows stronger every day. And all that keeps us alive is this tiny orb of Imagination. It is beautiful, is it not? And yet, it is so frail. Powerful, but frail. Rather like hope, is it not? So easily snuffed out, but it's what keeps us alive. An eternal paradox.""So why do you spend your time supporting that which destroys Imagination?" demanded Rotor."The Maelstrom?" Dr. Bishop responded without looking at the Dino Attack agent. "While one may think that the best way to study is to always look at the light, sometimes its properties can be best understood by looking at the darkness. A balance must be met, for nothing is solely light or completely darkness. Paradox taught me this."Staring at the Imagination, Kate softly murmured, "So beautiful, and yet so frail."This drew Wallace's attention away from the Imagination and towards Kate. His expression held concern, and even a bit of fear. "... Kate? What are you doing here, my dear? It's far too dangerous!"The fear he heard in Wallace's voice alarmed Rex, and he knew what was about to happen but was too slow to stop it. Before Rex could do anything, Rotor forcefully grabbed Kate Bishop, locked her body against his, and pressed a pistol to the girl's temple. Crying out "Rotor!" was the only thing Rex could manage.Rotor smirked maliciously and locked eyes with Wallace Bishop. "Surrender now!" he hissed through clenched teeth. "If you don't do as I say, your little girl gets a bullet in her head!"Dr. Bishop's face contorted into a grimace. He pointed his rocket launcher at Rotor and Kate, declaring, "And if you dare do that, then I shall have no qualms about firing this at you! You would be dead less than a second after you fire that pistol!"Kate's lips trembled in terror, and tears gathered at her eyes. The whole thing was far too much for her, and Rex and Amanda knew that their plan of not bringing Kate to the Maelstrom Temple had backfired horribly. It was time to step in quickly.Rex lifted his Sonic Screamer and aimed it at the XERRD scientist. At the same time, Amanda pointed her knife at Rotor with a clearly murderous intent, letting him know that if he tried anything, she would kill him instantly. "Doctor Wallace Bishop," declared Rex, "as second-in-command to XERRD, you are under arrest. Do not attempt to struggle or resist, for you are outnumbered."Rex heard the sounds of two pistols clicking. He turned over his shoulder to see Señor Palomar, wearing a gas mask and wielding double pistols, one pointed at Rex and the other pointed at Amanda. "Apologies for turning this into a Mexican Standoff, señor," smirked Palomar, "but it appears you were quite wrong about that statement."Laughter rang through the temple chamber, and the Dino Attack agents' eyes widened in horror as they saw more figures emerge from the shadows of the chamber. Most were clad in high-tech armor like Dr. Bishop, but a few were dressed in sorcerer garb, and one was even wearing shinobi robes. They all were dressed in a black-red color scheme, with the XERRD emblem printed on their sleeves. Among those dressed in high-tech armor, Rex recognized Michelle Glados, Zed Provhezor, and Walter Breen, and one of the sorcerers bore striking resemblance to that female scientist that Zachary Virchaus was chatting with while infiltrating the XERRD Fortress."What are you all doing here?" demanded Rex. "The rest of the Dino Attack Team is following Paulie Gonepus to the Maelstrom Temple... and you're all here, in the Temple of Creation?""Following Paulie Gonepus?" repeated Walter Breen. "Do tell, where did he lead them?""The Pharaoh's Forbidden..." Rex began weakly, before his voice broke as a cold and dreaded realization washed over him.The XERRD scientists chuckled unanimously. "Doktor Paulie Gonepuz may be obzezzed viz hiz Maelztrom energy," sneered Zed Provhezor, "but he iz not a vool. Vy, zat iz quite brilliant ov him indeed! I juzt love red herringz, don't you?""No..." whispered Rex."You see, Rex," explained Wallace Bishop, "the reason I said that the Imagination here is the only thing keeping us alive..."Dr. Bishop moved aside, and for the first time, the Dino Attack agents could make out the massive vortex of Maelstrom energy in the far end of the chamber. Cold fear overcame all their senses as they stared into the swirling black hole of destruction."Velkome, voolish Dino Attack agentz," laughed Dr. Provhezor, "to ze Maelztrom Temple!"Before they could recover from their shock, Dr. Bishop cleared his throat. "And now, if you don't mind, I must collect some Maelstrom energy with this device here." He lifted the strange device he held in one hand. "This is a Maelstrom Vacuum, invented by Paradox with the purpose of collecting Maelstrom samples. XERRD has been harvesting these samples from this temple for use in our experiments, as well as using it to keep the Maelstrom's power in check.""You may proceed, Dr. Bishop," nodded Señor Palomar. "We'll take care of these Dino Attack agents for you."Wallace Bishop stiffened and raised his hand. "I shall refrain from battle. Kate! I suggest you do likewise, my dear; it's too dangerous for you. And, I swear to the First Builders, if anyone dares to lay a finger on her, I don't care if you are a Dino Attack agent or a high-ranking XERRD scientist... you will pay dearly. Mark my words." With that, he turned away from the others and approached the Maelstrom vortex."Rotor," ordered Amanda, "let go of Kate now."Rotor complied, but this time it was because he knew that he would be a better fighter against the XERRD scientists if he did not have one arm occupied with Kate."Kate," whispered Rex, "Dr. Bishop is right; it's too dangerous for you. Stand back and stay out of the battle... should we fall, I need to depend on you to warn the rest of the team.""Alright then," announced Walter Breen, "you all do battle... I'll just stand here and supervise-""Nein!" snapped Zed Provhezor, grabbing Dr. Breen with his mechanical arm. "You vill do juzt vine on ze vront linez!"Michelle Glados walked slowly and calmly towards the Dino Attack agents, with a rocket launcher in one hand and her teleportation device in the other hand. A hint of a sadistic smile appeared on her face as she declared in her ever-monotonous voice, "This is the part where we kill you."The battle for the Maelstrom Temple had begun.OOC: ... Hmm, I'm thinking I'll give you guys a week or so if you want to participate in the battle against the scientists before I move on. We have so much to do, and so little time! But at last, the true climax of the Adventurers' Island story arc is here!EDIT: I should probably elaborate, in case anyone makes it to the Maelstrom Temple in time to battle the scientists. Feel free to kill the unnamed redshirt scientists. You can also kill Breen if you want, but just don't make it too easy. Obviously, Palomar is off-limits for the killing, but you can defeat him in a non-lethal way if you wish (again, feel free to do so, but just don't make it too easy). Glados and Provhezor can be fought but cannot be defeated, and Bishop cannot be engaged in battle.

OOC: Heh, figures that the one day that I'm busy all day and cannot finish that IC post that I had planned turns out to be the day where that guy finally reveals the big reveal that he and I had been planning for about a year.Although, I must say, Dust's death came as a real shock, but it was a beautiful thing to read and the best possible way to end such a well-written character. I have to say, it was truly a real pleasure having you (and Dust) in this RPG, that guy from that show.Anyways, yes - the cat is out of the bag now, and the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins is not the Maelstrom Temple (and, if you carefully noticed, I had never confirmed OOC that it was the Maelstrom Temple... I always referred to it as just the Forbidden Ruins). And yes - Rex, Amanda, Kate, and Rotor walked into the real Maelstrom Temple without any back-up. I promise that, tomorrow, I will do my best to finish up that IC so it may be posted as quickly as possible.

OOC: Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Indeed, 108 years old is quite the landmark. Wait... hold on... yep, 108. At this point in my life, even I lose track sometimes! And to celebrate, I picked up the Dino Defense HQ (have yet to assemble it, but it looks like some good old-fashioned Adventurers/Dino 2010 fun) and Ocarina of Time 3D. Your new primary character will automatically assume the position of Standard Agent, as this has been the practice for new primary characters (for example, when TakunuvaC01 wanted to switch from his Elite Agent Magma to the new character Reptile, I allowed him to maintain his Elite Agent status).Also, that guy from that show, based upon your concept art for the temple of Hotep III, I made a LEGO Digital Designer representation of the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins. What do you think? I also made a LEGO Digital Designer version of the Temple of Creation... if I get around to it, I'll also upload a screenshot of that.IC: Chompy roared and charged at a Mutant Raptor, knocking it off a heavily-damaged Urban Avenger. In response, the raptor bit and tore at the T-Rex, who recoiled before striking again, closing his jaws upon the raptor's neck.Three Mutant Lizard leaped from the wreckage of a Fire Hammer and pounced upon Chompy's back. Chompy tried to shake them off, but they clung with their claws and their teeth. Luckily, Chompy's sister arrived just in time, bashing off two with her tail and biting off the third.They were in the battle of the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins for only a few minutes, and already the two T-Rexes were weary. "This was foolish," growled Chompy's sister as she snapped at an approaching Mutant Lizard. "Even if every raindrop raises the sea, the outcome is not in doubt.""Just a little longer!" pleaded Chompy, even as he fended off a Mutant Raptor and a stray Stromling Monkey. "The Dino Attack agents inside surely must be close to the Maelstrom! We need to make sure that these abominations stay outside the temple long enough for our allies to contain the Maelstrom."A Mutant Raptor slashed at Chompy's sister, leaving a gash on her leg. Chompy bellowed in fury, grabbed the Mutant Raptor's tail in his maw, and swung it into the blast radius of a nearby explosion caused by a crashed Agents Defense Organization helicopter."It's no use!" sighed Chompy's sister. "There are too many!"A pack of Mutant Lizards, Mutant Raptors, and Stromlings surrounded the two T-Rexes, cutting them off from the rest of the Dino Attack Team. Back-to-back, the two T-Rexes silently acknowledged that this would likely be the last thing they would do in this world, then bared their teeth and readied themselves for anything.There came a most wonderful sound, the sound of a horn blowing. Like the trumpet of an arriving cavalry, it signaled a new player in the game. Chompy, his sister, the Mutant Dinos, the Stromlings, the Agents, and the Dino Attack Team all paused for a moment in their battle to look at the source of the horn.There, at the horizon, stood a gathered army of dinosaurs. Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and even T-Rex comprised the force. Even more remarkable, many of the dinosaurs were the mounts of TumTum Islanders, covered with war paint and brandishing spears, arrows, and more, and one of which was playing the horn. One of the T-Rexes roared in perfect tune to the horn call, and quickly the other dinosaurs took up the battle cry. Then, as one, they charged towards the battlefield.The Mutant Dinos and Stromlings did not remain stunned for long. A Mutant Raptor lunged at Chompy, while a Mutant Lizard and Stromling Monkey climbed on top of his sister. Chompy recoiled and tried to counter the raptor's attack, but a Mutant Lizard snapped at his feet and caused him to trip. As he struggled to get up, his sister shook off her attackers and poised herself to protect her brother. A particularly-vicious Mutant Raptor, ridden by what was clearly a Hybrid in its samurai-esque armor, approached the two sibling T-Rexes and prepared to attack.A female T-Rex, appearing larger than most of her kind, covered with blue markings, and wearing what looked like a necklace made from Minifigure skulls, charged at the Mutant Raptor and knocked it down. Her Minifig rider, none other than Chief Achu of the TumTum tribe, impaled the Hybrid Rider with his spear while the T-Rex closed her jaws on the raptor's mouth. Although Achu failed to kill it, the Hybrid Rider was wounded and retreated.In a matter of only a few quick moments, the Mutant Dinos and Stromlings surrounding Chompy and his sister were dispatched. The two siblings looked up at the female T-Rex and Achu in awe. "Alpha female," blinked Chompy's sister, "and great Chief Achu.""You heard us!" grinned Chompy. "You came for us!"The alpha female T-Rex nodded slowly, as Achu patted her on the head. "I told you that I would be coming," she growled, "after I met with the Minifig leaders in council. First, I needed to speak with Rex of the Dino Attack Team and Achu of the TumTum tribe, after which we came to an agreement to come and assist you now.""I've also sent out word to the Pyramid Area," added Achu, "requesting that Queen Legotiti come and join us in the battle. We have not received a response yet, but should she arrive with her army of Matching Mummies, this battle shall be quickly won.""Let this be a battle the Maelstrom shall forever remember!" declared Chompy."Indeed," agreed the alpha female T-Rex. "But now, I must lead my kind in this battle. We shall see to it that the Maelstrom is stopped." She turned to leave."Good luck," Chompy nodded, "mother."OOC: Just for clarification, the alpha female T-Rex and the "queen" T-Rex are the same character. So now, in addition to Agents helping you out, you've got an army of dinosaurs and islanders on your side! Depending on how quickly things move in the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins, my next IC may focus on Rex's group in the Temple of Creation or on the Second Headquarters Squad.

OOC: It would be great to have you back again. And you are welcome to start anew with a new character; this has been done before with TakunuvaC01 and Toa Ling (although I'm surprised that Atton Rand has yet to switch primary character considering that Zenna is practically demoted to extra).IC: Rotor and Amanda Claw fought their way through the Stromlings surrounding them, with Rotor firing his machine gun and Amanda slashing with her knife. Rex, whose wheelchair was pushed along by Kate, helped them out by firing at whichever Stromling he could with his Sonic Screamer.The Stromling Explorers clawed and shot back at them, while the Stromling Islanders in the lead jabbed at them with the spears fused to their arms. However, in comparison to a Mutant T-Rex, the Stromlings were fairly easy to dispatch, and the Dino Attack agents pushed their way through the crowd. As soon as they broke free of the ring of Stromlings, Amanda took over the pushing duty from Kate as they ran down the hallway of the Temple of Creation. Only Rotor stopped briefly to turn around and fire at some pursuing Stromlings with his machine gun before moving on.As the group made its way through the Temple of Creation, Rex found himself in awe of the temple around them. The arched ceiling towered above them, with great pillars carved from stone reaching up to meet it. On either side of the hallway, they saw dark passageways leading off to other chambers, but it was too dark to see anything beyond the mist and fog that seemed to swirl all around them. Half-heard voices, thoughts, and ideas whispered in his ear, creating an ambiance that seemed to both lull and alert Rex.At last, they found themselves in an expansive chamber that seemed larger than the Aztec Village itself, with a ceiling that seemed to reach higher than Dino Attack Headquarters. The group stopped in silent awe. Before they could recover, their attention was drawn to a statue not far away from them. Without hesitation but rather with speechless incredulity, they slowly approached the statue.The statue was of a faded blue hue, and rather simplistic in design: three featureless Minifigs standing equidistant to each other, facing each other with their arms raised high. In the space between the three Minifigs, there was a bright blue orb. It was small, not much larger than Rex's hand, and it flickered as though threatening to go out, but its glowed brilliantly and cast blue light upon the statue and the Dino Attack agents.The closer they drew to the statue, the more they were filled with a peaceful bliss that calmed them and relaxed their nerves. Rex felt himself at peace, as though a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Amanda Claw, for the first time in so many years, felt as though everything was going to turn out right in the end. Rotor was filled with a feeling of an almost-nationalistic pride, the same feeling he got whenever he emerged victorious from a great battle. And Kate Bishop felt all her worries and fears leave her as a comforting warmth took their place."This is it," Rex whispered, unable to raise his voice any higher. "This is the Imagination.""It's so..." murmured Kate, "beautiful..." She was closest to the statue, and reached out towards the bright blue orb of Imagination."Careful. You may look, but you mustn't touch."Everyone froze instantly as the voice rang through the chamber. It echoed so greatly that it seemed to come from all sides, but slowly, everyone saw a figure emerge from the shadows and approach them.Rex's jaw dropped in disbelief. "You...?"*****Chompy the T-Rex looked bitterly upon the chaos and destruction he saw. Before him, a great battle was taking place, as the Dino Attack Team struggled to combat the forces of the Maelstrom in the form of a Stromling and Mutant Dino army.Beside him, his female companion's nostrils flared. "This place stinks of those abominations," she growled. "It goes against my every instinct to even stand here.""We have to," sighed Chompy. "Dino Attack Team is clearly losing this battle, and we must make sure that they can survive long enough against the Maelstrom to bring an end to the Mutant Dinos."The female T-Rex groaned. "And what use is it, just two of our kind up against the Maelstrom?""Every raindrop raises the sea," murmured Chompy quietly.The female T-Rex blinked in surprise and turned to look at Chompy. "That's from a story that our alpha always told us when we were hatchlings. I'm surprised you still remember that, after... well, you know."Chompy made some deep noises that were roughly equivalent to chuckling. "We were separated as hatchlings, sister. I am glad to meet you one more time before we die fighting side-by-side to protect our alpha's home and family."With that, the two T-Rexes roared and then charged into battle, joining the Dino Attack Team in their battle for the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins.OOC: ... and in case you couldn't figure it out, the fact that Chompy and his sister were "speaking" in italics indicates that they were speaking in dinosaur language that was translated for the reader's convenience.

OOC: Oh, Atton. So sure that the mole is male. But perhaps I've said too much...And now, to make this unreveal as unrevealing as unrevealingly possible...IC: The next morning...Clint Wayne rushed towards Angel Eyes and Maria, who were both asleep in their bunks after a hard day's night. He shook them both awake, and wearily, they opened their eyes and grumbled about a wake-up call."This isn't good!" insisted Clint. "You have to wake up - they're gone!""What's gone?" moaned Maria, rubbing her eyes.Glancing around quickly to make sure no one was listening, Clint hissed in a voice barely more than a whisper: "The paper that revealed the identity of the mole!"This seemed to startle his companions awake. "What do you mean?" Angel Eyes inquired. "I thought you were going to keep it safe!""And so," grimaced Clint, "I thought I did. But look here..." With that, he held out his hand, and his companions saw a few smoldering ashes in the palm of his hand. "That's all that's left. Whoever burned the paper apparently did not do a very good clean-up job, or else wanted us to know that he burned-""Good morning, gentlemen!"They startled and turned around to see Spy enter the room. The Alpha Team agent walked with firm confidence, and from behind his cowl, he seemed to be smirking. "Oh, I'm sorry, mademoiselle," he apologized, "so I should correct my earlier statement... Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!"Everyone stared at Spy with most undisguised distrust. "What do you think you're doing?" demanded Angel Eyes.Spy shrugged. "Sorry for popping in unannounced. But I'm sure you all had fun last night. You did a fine job, sneaking about ze Hybrids' fortress. Even I'm a little proud. But... you were far too messy. You didn't zink zat ze Hybrids would notice a dead officer, a bunch of dead guards, and broken sentries?"Clint Wayne, Angel Eyes, and Maria traded glances."Zese Hybrids are much like Mutant Lizards, you see," the quasi-smirk disappeared from Spy's expression as he continued. "Zey are extremely adaptable, and even now, zey are recovering from your little game last night, increasing zeir already-increased defenses. Luckily for you, it seems zat Ronald E. Army has decided to take advantage of ze situation and, even as we speak, is sending out ze bomb cart to make sure we get ze Hybrids before zey fully recover.""What?" blinked Clint. "He's actually going to do it? He's going to blow up Fort Legoredo?""We can always build a new one," declared Spy. He turned to leave, but then stopped. "Oh, and forgive me if I am mistaken, but I do believe I heard something or another about... ze identity of ze mole?"Clint, Angel, and Maria instantly put on their best poker faces."Nice poker faces," nodded Spy, smirking again. He leaned in closer, as though trying to pressure them. "But, do tell, since I am most curious indeed... who is ze mole?"Nobody spoke.Spy's smirk disappeared once more. "Very well, zen. I get it. But first, let me warn you something... even if you know who it is, you still might not know who it truly is. Firstly, while I'm sure zat I am ze only Spy of Dino Attack Team, zere have been incidents where multiple agents have signed up under ze same codename. For example, zere are two Alphas and, last I checked, at least three Hunters. If you heard it was, say, Alpha, zat narrows it down, yes, but not to a certainty. Secondly, it might not even be a codename. It could be a given name, or a surname, or even an occupation, or even a codename zat zis individual does not go by in Dino Attack Team, but rather a codename zat zey are known by XERRD. Thirdly... Hybrids are not ze most reliable source. Even if you are absolutely sure who it is... it could very well be a red herring set up to deceive you."Spy turned away, lighting a cigarette as he did so. "If I were you, I would burn ze evidence and make sure nobody finds out." Without another word, he departed, with Clint Wayne, Angel Eyes, and Maria watching in disbelief.OOC: I have to say, Spy is probably one of my favorite Second Headquarters Squad characters to write.

OOC: It would be rather difficult for Rex to supervise Rotor if Rex is in a wheelchair and Rotor is in a helicopter, right?that guy has a point... considering that Zenna is supposed to be your primary character, you could possibly kill some time discussing what she is up to. I'll also give you a bit of a fight for Rotor and Kate in the Temple of Creation, if you're interested.Also, really neat plot twists about Kat, Loop, and ShadowTech.IC: Rex managed a slight, grim smile. "Thanks, Catless, but I think it's probably best if you follow Dust. Getting the Imagination shouldn't be too hard; your skills would be put to best use at the Maelstrom Temple, where there will be much more to do."With that, Rex, Amanda, Rotor, and Kate crossed the lengthy bridge over the river of Maelstrom energy. The bridge was old and weathered, and a little too rickety for Rex's liking. Nobody stopped to think about what would happen if the rope bridge snapped and collapsed while they were still crossing.Luckily, the bridge held out as they crossed. As they approached the island of the Temple of Creation, the temple seemed to grow larger and larger, and with every step, it seemed to grow darker and more ominous. While the temple's imagination was strong enough to keep it intact despite the heavy concentration of Maelstrom, it was clear that the Maelstrom had taken an adverse effect upon the temple's structure, twisting it and draining it of hue. When they finally reached the temple, it towered above them, and Rex could hardly believe that such a intimidating structure could possibly hold their salvation."What's this?" Rotor raised an eyebrow as they approached the temple's entrance. The entrance was completely covered with spiderwebs, entangled with each other into a thick mass of silk."We'll have to cut our way in," frowned Rex. "Amanda, do you have a knife on you?"Amanda nodded silently as she unsheathed her knife. After surveying the entrance and its spiderwebs, she immediately went to work, cutting her way through the mass entanglement. Kate offered to push Rex's wheelchair as the others followed Amanda.They were almost through when they heard a horrible screech. A hideous creature dropped down from the spider webs. It was the size of a Steel Sprinter and rather arachnid in appearance despite having only four legs. Lasers and spears were attached to its purple abdomen, and it glared at the Dino Attack agents with six yellow eyes. Screeching angrily, it advanced upon the Dino Attack agents.Kate gasped in horror, and Rex's eyes widened in shock. How could a Maelstrom creature have gotten so close to the Imagination Temple? he thought in disbelief. Rotor was quick, however, and fired at the spider with his Cosmotronic Ray. This stunned the spider just long enough for Rex to recover and take out his Sonic Screamer. He fired at the spider, which hissed angrily and recoiled.Then, a small arc of electricity, spreading out like a spider web, was fired from one of the spider's lasers. This blast knocked back Rotor, and even Rex could feel the surge of energy hit him and threaten to topple his wheelchair. Before Rotor could get back on his feet, the spider was upon him, trying to jab at him with one of its pointed feet.Amanda approached the spider, moving silently yet dangerously swiftly. Before it took notice of her, she thrust her knife into the spider's abdomen. Shrieking in pain, the spider backed off of Rotor, who got up and prepared to fire his Cosmotronic Ray again but did not need to.Writhing in a disturbingly unnatural manner, the spider's legs buckled and it collapsed to the ground, all six of its eyes going dark.Amanda reached and pulled her dagger out of the spider's carcass. "What the MegaBlok was that?" grimaced Rotor as Amanda wiped the spider's body fluids off of her knife."The Maelstrom's way of welcoming us to the Temple of Creation, I suppose," frowned Rex. "I think the Stromlings knew that we would be coming here, and so decided to leave an ambush, likely along with trap or two, waiting for us. Be careful. The sooner we get the Imagination, the sooner we can get out of here and hurry to the real Maelstrom Temple."No sooner had the words left his mouth had a dozen Stromling Explorers led by a few Stromling Islanders limped their way out of the shadows and surrounded Rex, Amanda, Kate, and Rotor.

OOC: ... Well, then. We certainly arrived much faster than I had anticipated.Luckily, I just happened to have this post mostly written up yesterday. Just had to make a few last-minute adjustments and finishing touches and throw it in right now.However, seeing as I gave that guy from that show permission to describe the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins in as great detail and however he'd like, I ask you all to be considerate and wait for his next IC post to get an idea of what lies ahead for you.IC: Ten minutes ago...Rex felt a shiver down his spine from inside Rick "Adventure" Spherus's Fire Hammer as they led the Dino Attack Team convoy through the jungle of Adventurers' Island. They had just entered the region of the island infected with Maelstrom.At first, there was no visible difference between the jungle they were just in and the region they had just entered. Then, the forest became filled with purple-hued mist. The trees grew fewer and fewer, growing blackened and dead. At last, they broke out of the jungle and found themselves in a horrible wasteland. The very earth seemed burned and dead; in the distance, a mountain range of volcanoes violently erupted, spewing fire and smoke into the air; and the horizon glowed with a purple tint.The convoy of Dino Attack vehicles continued in their journey, following the trail of Dr. Paulie Gonepus to the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins. Still, Rex could notice an almost tangible uneasiness fall upon the rest of his team. Amanda Claw smiled weakly at him and held his hand to comfort him.Staring out the window of the Fire Hammer, Rex caught a glimpse of something strange. A statue, it appeared. Here, in this barren and fiery wasteland, such a creation seemed out of place."Stop the jeep," commanded Rex. Adventure skidded to a halt, and behind their Fire Hammer, the rest of the Dino Attack Team stopped in their tracks.Amanda Claw pushed Rex's wheelchair towards the statue he had noticed. It was a carving of a Minifig, which appeared to be once painted green and brown but now the colors had faded, holding high over his head a most peculiar shape. It was in the shape of a triangle, but as Rex got closer, he noticed that its structure was an impossible shape, an optical illusion that appeared to be a triangle, but its faces and edges did not match up, almost like an Escher painting. "It's a Penrose triangle," remarked Amanda quietly. In the center of the triangle was a blue orb which glowed faintly with a dying light.Rex looked out beyond the statue. He saw that it was at the edge of a cliff. Below them, he saw what appeared to be a sea of Maelstrom energy, which hardly surprised him, seeing how corrupted and infected this region of Adventurers' Island had become. However, a rickety old bridge spanned the sea and led to a small, isolated island in the middle of the Maelstrom. Looking through his binoculars, Rex saw that there was a lone temple located on the island."I've seen this Penrose triangle before," murmured Adventure, gazing at the statue. "It's the symbol of Assembly, modeled after the Mythran Temple on the legendary Planet Crux. That temple was home to the Imagination Nexus, which was corrupted by the Baron into the Maelstrom. Assembly uses it as their emblem, since they're all about building and the preservation of Imagination."Rex raised an eyebrow, impressed. "I'm surprised, Adventure. How did you know all that?"Adventure grinned. "I fancied joining Venture League, so I did a bit of research on Nexus Force. Ultimately, I decided against it, since I wasn't too thrilled about the prospect going out into space. Nothing interesting in space at all. No fire, no explosions, no excitement."Rex stared out towards the island in the Maelstrom sea. He was surprised that it was still intact despite the heavy concentration of Maelstrom energies that surrounded it. "If that's the shape of the Mythran Temple," guessed Rex, "then that must be the Temple of Creation that Achu told me about."Dust approached them. "What's this all about?" he frowned. "We're wasting time! We need to get to the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins, the Maelstrom Temple, as quickly as possible!""I agree," nodded Rex, although he did not look away from the Temple of Creation. "But still, this is the Temple of Creation, and...""Rex, you remain idealistic as ever," Dust groaned, rolling his eyes, "but the fact of the matter is this: you're wrong. The Temple of Creation is not the Maelstrom Temple. The documents I've found in the XERRD Fortress and the path of Paulie Gonepus clearly shows-""I know!" interrupted Rex. "But let me ask you something, Dust. You know your ancestor's temple like the back of your hand, or so you claim. Surely, this information will help guide us through the temple, avoiding any traps. But when you are inside the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins and confronted by the Maelstrom itself... what then? How do you intend to contain the Maelstrom?"Dust did not reply quickly enough, so Rex continued."We're not going to rely on any deus ex machina to save the day," declared Rex. "We've done that too often, and it's a very poor strategy. This time, it will be different. We need a plan so that we can contain the Maelstrom without having to rely on a random triceratops stampede or a helicopter just happening to crash-land above our position and drop off a crate of supplies. Now, think, Dust. What is the only known element in the universe that counters Maelstrom?""Imagination," murmured Dust, glancing out towards the Temple of Creation."Exactly," nodded Rex. "If we take measures ahead of time... we can be prepared for the Maelstrom. You carry on to the Maelstrom Temple. I'll go to the Temple of Creation and attempt to gather some Imagination. Hopefully, I can catch up to you guys quickly enough for a Big Darn Heroes moment.""Honcho has a point," agreed Adventure.Dust frowned, appearing unconvinced and barely trying to hide it. "Very well, but don't take the entire Dino Attack Team with you.""Of course not," Rex shook his head. "I understand, since the Maelstrom Temple is infinitely more dangerous than the Temple of Creation, that we need to concentrate our forces there, not here. Still, I will only bring a few with me."Amanda smiled gently. "I'm in by obligation."Rotor shrugged. "Well, I wish the two of you the best of luck, and-"Rex glared at Rotor. "You're coming too."Rotor grimaced. "You can't be serious, Rex. I'll be far more useful to the team if I go to the Maelstrom Temple. I'm willing to do what no one else will, and even if that means using Bishop as-""Kate," added Amanda, "you're coming with us too."Kate Bishop appeared just as surprised as Rotor, but she complied without a word of argument, moving to stand next to Rex and Amanda. Rotor was exasperated. "We need the girl at the Maelstrom Temple to use as leverage against-""It's too dangerous for her," declared Rex. "And that's my final word on it."Grumbling to himself, Rotor trudged over towards Rex, Amanda, and Kate. As Adventure climbed back into his Fire Hammer, Rex nodded to Dust. "Good luck out there.""From my experience," muttered Dust, "there's no such thing as good luck." With that, he turned away and strode back to the main group. Engines roared to life, and the convoy of Dino Attack agents continued their journey to the Maelstrom Temple. Rex, Amanda, Rotor, and Kate watched them go, unsure if they would ever meet again.OOC: To clarify, as a response to all the deus ex machina of the past, it seems that Rex has finally decided to take measures ahead of time and make preparations. He's going with a small group to the Temple of Creation to gather Imagination and plans to arrive at the final battle in a (well justified and set up) Big Darn Heroes moment. The rest of you should follow that guy from that show. He knows what he's doing.Coincidentally, my avatar last week is a rather accurate depiction of how I personally pictured the Maelstrom-infected region of Adventurers' Island.

OOC: Okay, guys, I'm back. For now, at least. If you haven't noticed, last week I was on leave from BZPower and other websites while trying to cope with a family tragedy. I'm still grieving and hit very hard, but for now I've recovered enough so that I may resume my role here again.However, it has not escaped my attention that, in my absence, we have still not left camp. I understand we're waiting for Semick's "leaving speech", but at the very least, we should be ready to go now. Perhaps if I were not inactive last week, I could have taken measures to expedite our expedition...But what if I go on leave again before the RPG ends?I know you all know that I have a plan for future story events regarding this RPG. Part of the reason, I'm afraid, that you guys won't do anything without me is because you fear that you might go against my plans. As such, I have resolved to release my plans to you so that, in case (Ole Kirk Christiansen forbid) I go on leave again, you can carry on without me. With respect to those who do not wish to spoil anything, I've placed this under a spoiler tag. So, in summary, I hope I never have to go on leave again, especially for such a tragic reason. But, at least, this way you guys will have the necessary story plans to carry on without me.And now, on to some IC material... Atton Rand, I hope you do not mind me taking control of Rotor and Kate. And imperial, I apologize in advance for a bit of strong language on Sniper's part; if you so wish, I will remove it.IC: Rex waited in his wheelchair. He hated having to wait. They were running out of time, and Paulie Gonepus was still on the move... even if it was clear that he was traveling to the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins, Dino Attack Team could not afford to give XERRD too much of a head start.At last, a Fire Hammer stopped in front of him. Out stepped a young woman who appeared to be only a teenager... Kate Bishop, presumed Rex. Following her was a face that filled Rex with disgust... Rotor."You sent for us?" frowned Rotor, crossing his arms over his chest."Yes," nodded Rex, trying to mask his contempt for Rotor. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. We'll be leaving in only a few minutes, and we determined that it was in our best interest that you two come with me."Rotor did not reply, but Rex could practically see the gears moving in the elite agent's mind. Rex shuddered as he considered all the things Rotor could be thinking about... blackmailing the other commanding agents, trying to take control of the squad, or seeing this as an opportunity to use Kate Bishop as leverage for Wallace Bishop.Clearing his throat, Rex declared, "You two shall be under my supervision during the remainder of this mission. Anything I say, goes."Rotor raised an eyebrow. "And who died and made you my boss?" he muttered.Rex grimaced. "Too many have died, Rotor. Too many. And I will do all in my power to ensure that we do not have any more meaningless sacrifices. And trust me, this body confined to a wheelchair, as old and broken as it is, has lived through a lot. I don't need fear to take command... I have respect. And I'm not afraid of you."Rotor was silent once more. Once again, this silence worried Rex."We shall be leaving in only a few minutes," repeated Rex. "Be ready."*****"Stab, stab, stab!"As Sniper felt the cold blade against his back, it took all his willpower to suppress an involuntary flinch, lest that be the final motion he would make in this world. His entire body froze in place, waiting. At last, the cold metal was lifted from his back. Spinning around, Sniper came face-to-face with..."Bloody MegaBlokland, Spy!" cursed Sniper. "What do yeh think yeh doing, yeh bloody backstabbing wuss?"Spy chuckled softly as he pocketed his knife. "I've already told Blondie all I know about the Hybrid's fortifications at Fort Legoredo. He's still uneasy about Soldier's plan to use our bomb cart to blow up ze fort, so he sent me back here, to ze outpost, to gather supplies for an attack. Ammunition, scrap metal, my Electro-Sapper, sandwiches... et cetera.""But what was that for?" muttered Sniper, patting himself on the back where, just a moment ago, Spy's knife had been placed."You looked so tense and focused," mused Spy. "Very good qualities for a sniper, but ze problem is... you're too focused on what's directly in front of you. Suppose zat an enemy got past your field of vision, past our lines, and came in here to attack you from behind? You'd be dead. Luckily for you, I'm not your enemy... at least, not now.""Trying to teach me a lesson, eh?" grimaced Sniper."You could say zat," nodded Spy. "Next time... watch your back."With that, Spy grabbed a crate full of ammunition and left Sniper's post. Sniper turned away and continued his work, cursing quietly to himself about backstabbing traitors.

IC: After sending Semick to rally the troops, Rex sat back in his wheelchair and considered his options.Rex had to admit it... Dust was right after all. The evidence was clear in Paulie Gonepus's path. Precious time had been wasted over debates regarding the location of the Maelstrom Temple, and the whole time Rex had been advocating for a mere red herring. Rex felt bitter disappointment in himself; if he had listened to Dust earlier, they could have already contained the temple by now.As Rex thought about it, he came to the realization that, once they reached the Maelstrom Temple, they did not know how it could be contained. Perhaps now that Dust had some connection to the temple, he might know something or another about it, but Rex did not feel certain about this; Dust's interest seemed to be based upon the temple itself, not the Maelstrom inside, and Dust had made it quite clear that destroying Hotep's ruins was out of the question. Of course, Rex had the authority to override such a demand... but Dust was a dangerous man, and Rex did not want to make him his enemy.XERRD. Rex knew that XERRD would be there when Dino Attack Team arrived. They might even be there already. Dr. Provhezor, Dr. Glados, Dr. Breen, Señor Palomar... perhaps even, the elusive Dr. Wallace Bishop. At first, Rex thought about the possibility of somehow extracting information on how to contain the Maelstrom from these scientists, but how would he do that?Rex blinked. Bishop. Wasn't that also the surname of Kate Bishop, the young rookie that Rotor wanted to use as leverage against Wallace Bishop?Although she did not seem to notice, Rex stared at Amanda Claw. Only a few weeks ago, he learned of the terrible childhood tragedy she suffered, and only over the past few days did he begin to realize its full consequences upon her. No one should go through such devastation and trauma at such a young and innocent age. Rex was determined not to let it happen to Kate.And Rotor... not since Kotua had Rex met a Dino Attack agent he so despised. He did not trust that elite agent for an instant, especially after that trial in which he ignored the opinions of his fellow elite agents and attempted to execute innocent Dino Attack agents for insubordination. I'll have to keep an eye on him, decided Rex."Amanda," spoke Rex, catching the attention of his companion. "We need to find Kate Bishop and Rotor. They're coming with us."

OOC: I am glad to see that, a week later, Dino Attack: At War's End is going strong, with most of our players returning and over two pages of posts. Don't worry; I assure you that, although my posts may not be frequent, I've been patrolling this topic like an eagle and keeping my eye on event here, ensuring that I do not fall behind and need to catch up.IC: Rex cursed under his breath. It felt like over a year had passed since then, but Rex remembered the day he met Zachary Virchaus in the Aztec Village. Now he was a Stromling Agent who was perfectly capable of and willing to destroy everyone in the camp."We should have been moving hours ago!" Rex gritted his teeth. The last thing the team needed was a bit of paranoia to slow them down. It felt like nearly a year since they first stopped at this outpost, and he was eager to get going as soon as possible. He turned to face Adventure and ordered, "See to it that Paulie Gonepus accidentally escapes.""Right away, honcho," nodded Adventure, who turned on his heel and headed towards the holding cells where the XERRD scientist was held prisoner. Accommodations had already been so that Gonepus could easily be tracked across the island wherever he went. Silently, Rex prayed that Amanda's plan would work... if Gonepus was a coward who turned on his heel and fled the island, then they would have to rely on Villano to lead the way.Unexpectedly, Rex gasped. He clutched his chest with one hand. His heart had suddenly started beating at a quickened pace, so fast he thought it would explode. Strangest of all, as soon as it began, it was over.Regaining his composure, Rex glanced around. Nobody had noticed the brief episode.But as Rex scanned the area, he glimpsed what he thought to be a Mutant Lizard in the camp. Based upon the fact that nobody was firing at it and only occasionally glancing at it with a confused expression, Rex wondered if, somehow, there was another agent in the squad who had taken up Rex's old hobby of catching and taming Mutant Lizards. Then, Rex's amusement turned to bitterness. He remembered how he had once promised himself to never bring harm to these creatures. Even now, he pitied the Mutant Dinos for their uncontrollable urges for destruction caused by the Maelstrom which enslaved them to Dr. Rex.Now, no matter what, Rex could not erase the image from his mind of that one Mutant Lizard in the LEGO Island Laboratory as he beat it to death with a metal pipe. How sickeningly gratifying it felt to feel the lizard's skull cave in with each blow of the pipe, even after the creature had crumpled to the ground to forever lie still. And for what? Being mutated beyond its control and enslaved by a mad scientist.As Rex watched the Mutant Lizard walk among the Dino Attack agents, he hoped that this creature would not suffer the same fate as its brethren.*****"Having fun, are we?"Angel Eyes looked up to see agent Spy standing over him. "Just having a bit of dinner, that's all," Angel Eyes shrugged. "Can't go about killing Mutant Dinos with an empty stomach."Although most of his face was concealed by his cowl, Spy seemed to grimace. "If it were mere Mutant Dinos we were fighting, zat would be of little concern. Now, tell me, did zey tell you what else we are fighting?" When Angel Eyes looked confused, Spy sighed. "Quasifigus lacertilia. Hybrids of Minifigs and Mutant Lizards, with ze intelligence of ze former and ze feral viciousness of ze latter. And I've come back with a report on zeir current actions... wait, where's Scout?""Yo, wassup?" called Scout as he popped out behind Spy. "Hah, bet I spooked ya, didn't I?"Spy did not even flinch. "Why aren't you doing recon with me? Some Scout you are!""Well," shrugged Scout, "I was just makin' a long-distance call. This place got real good reception, ya know? Now, I had to hang up and say I'd call 'em back because ya have somethin' important to say. Well, aren't ya gonna say it?""Kids zese days," muttered Spy, rolling his eyes, "always on zeir cellphones. Anyway, ze Hybrids have taken note of your arrival, Angel Eyes and Blondie. It appears zat zey are responding by increasing zeir defenses tenfold. I was behind enemy lines and I witnessed one of zem constructing a turret of zeir own, and even Engineer cannot build turrets like zey can."Engineer looked up from the campfire, pausing in his guitar playing. "Excuse me, buddy," he frowned. "Are you challengin' my building expertise? Because I assure you that I can build better and faster than any of those no-good mean mother-""More importantly," frowned Angel Eyes, "if you were behind enemy lines, why didn't you do anything about it?"Spy faltered. "I... err, well, you see... I may be able to sneak past enemy lines, but I can't turn myself invisible. I would have disguised myself as one of zem, except every Hybrid corpse we get is bullet-ridden to ze point where I cannot even salvage ze armor."Heavy grinned."Besides," continued Spy, "zeir sense of smell is perhaps far too keen for my disguises. And I did not expect zat we would be needing my Electro-Sapper during zis mission, so I left it in my briefcase... back at ze Dino Attack Outpost. Not sure how well it would work against the Hybrids' sentries, though-"A cellphone started to ring. Scout grinned sheepishly as all eyes fell upon him. "Yeah, I gotta take this call," he shrugged, already getting up to leave."If it's your mother," stated Spy, "tell her I said hi." Heavy laughed at this comment, while Scout balled his hands into fists and looked ready to punch Spy.Still, Scout controlled his anger and walked away from the campfire while Spy continued briefing the others. He answered the phone call and pressed the cellphone to his ear. "Yo, wassup?" As Scout heard a response from the other end, his face turned grim. Glancing back at camp, Scout quickly ran into a dark alley where no one would hear him."Yeah? ... Look, ya keep callin' me and askin' for updates. And I keep tellin' ya, it's the same thing! Ya listenin'? ... Okay, look, the Second Headquarters Squad is making steady progress against the Hybrids, and we now know that the Hybrids are stationed at Fort Legoredo. We're bombin' the place, and unless the XERRD folks over at Dino Island Laboratory decide to help out the Hybrids, it's a victory for Dino Attack Team. Got it? ... Yeah, send a message to Dr. Rex tellin' him he sucks. I want to see him do better! ... No, no, I ain't gonna do anythin' stupid and compromise the mission. I'm just sayin'... Look... Oh, I forgot to tell you. Dino Attack Team knows there's a mole, and they're gonna whack... Don't worry, I got this under control, I'll be safe! ... Okay, see ya."

OOC: Just confirming that Brikman McStudz is correct: Pharoah's Quest takes place in 1924, not 2011. While it's not impossible that the cast of Pharaoh's Quest could still be alive in 2006 (given that Minifigs tend to have long lifespans; a LEGO Universe character, Kenjin the Wise, celebrated his 150th birthday in 2011), the quest to reclaim Amset-Ra's treasures has long since past.Generally, the Dino Attack RPG's timeline is "A theme takes place in its year of release unless specified otherwise", hence why Dino Attack takes place in 2010 and not 2005. Thus, the Pharaoh's Quest timeline is canon, and the theme takes place in 1924, not 2011. That does not mean that there won't be a mythology gag regarding this and poking fun at the Dino Attack RPG timeline in the near future...

OOC: Glad to see you again, Brikman. Since you reposted your profile, I suppose that it is only fitting that I do likewise.Name: RexAge: 27Skills: Quick thinking, and exceptional skill with ropesVehicle: Iron PredatorPersonality: Rex is considered one of the 'idealists' of the Dino Attack Team. In contrast to the 'realists' such as Greybeard or Kat, he sees Mutant Dinos as living creatures, and will do what he can to try and save the mutants. However, he will not go so far as to put the team and the planet in danger, and will kill the Mutant Dinos when necessary. Rex is brave and stands for what be believes is right. Unfortunately, he can be somewhat-easily irritated and is rather headstrong. When under the pressure of commanding Dino Attack agents, Rex can come off as cold and harsh.Background: A Dino Attack agent with a unique past, Rex himself was once a T-Rex. Thanks to an experiment by Dr. Rex and an ensuing freak accident, he is now a Minifig. During his time with the Dino Attack Team, he has overseen numerous missions and operations and won respect among his fellow Dino Attack agents. However, following a betrayal by a Minifig/Mutant Lizard Hybrid, Rex has been paralyzed from the waist down, confining him to a wheelchair.For more info, see Rex's page on Dino Attack RPG Wiki.Now prepare yourself for one heck of a long IC post. Originally intended to be posted in parts over the course of the original Dino Attack RPG, I have instead compiled these posts into a single post that, appropriately enough for my first IC post in the new RPG, provides status updates on all four major missions: the Adventurers' Island campaign, the Castle Cove campaign, the Gold City campaign, and the Dinosaur Island campaign.IC: Rex sat in his wheelchair, observing the scene around him, watching the Dino Attack Team pack up and get ready to leave. Word had quickly gotten around the camp that the Stromling Agent who led the Mutant Dino attack on the camp was allowing them no more than sixty hours to find the Maelstrom Temple. He saw Dino Attack agents scrambling around, desperately grabbing necessities and choosing between what to bring and what could be left behind. They needed to get moving.Rex and his closest teammate, Amanda Claw, were approached by an Elite Agent. Rex recognized the agent as Rick “Adventure” Spherus, a proud and boastful explorer whom Rex had assigned with the task of interrogation.“Don’t you worry, missy,” Rick boasted to Amanda, “being an explorer is all about creativity and problem solving. I was able to extract information from him in no time using my awesome skills. And you know, missy, I’ve got other skills-”“Yes, yes, we know,” Rex spoke sternly. “I am glad that you got results quickly, and I hope you will be willing to share these results as quickly as possible so that we may put your adventuring skills to another use.”“No problem, head honcho,” shrugged Rick. Rex eagerly listened closely to the results of the interrogation of the captured XERRD scientist, Dr. Paulie Gonepus.Paulie Gonepus was a mathematician and a marine biologist of Italian decent, but was much more well-known for his experiments with energy. He took up this work after the assassination of his former boss, the Brickfather. As was expected from XERRD scientists, he joined Paradox and began shifting his focus from what he called “just pure energy” to Maelstrom energy before defecting to XERRD. He invented the “Maelaser” blaster weapon that Rex and Amanda had found, designed to fire a devastating blast of the Maelstrom's dark energies which could either corrupt or destroy the target.Although Dr. Gonepus was willing to reveal this much information, he would not give up anything else. However, it was evident that he had been sent by XERRD to capture, corrupt, or assassinate the queen T-Rex and had gathered a group of Mutant Dinos to help him. It seemed only dumb luck that they fell into Mr. Cunningham's traps.“And that’s all, folks,” nodded Rick.“And what of Mr. Cunningham?” inquired Amanda. Rex had noted that she felt uncomfortable being around Dr. Gonepus, perhaps because of his connections to the Brickfather. She had been eager to get back to Cunningham and Sinister to take her mind off of it.Rex was reminded that he had to confront Lord Sam Sinister von Barron. A squad of Dino Attack agents had already been dispatched to scout the jungle for any other of his operatives, and the native dinosaurs were on the hunt. “I’d like to speak with Lord Sinister,” Rex told Rick.The Elite Agent faltered. “He’s... well, you cannot. You see, I guess he created a distraction out of that other distraction with all those dinos, turned on his heel, and fled into the jungle.”Rex and Amanda traded glances. “Not that I’m surprised,” muttered Rex. “This isn’t the first time in history that he’s done just that. It was only a matter of time. We just have to hunt him down now.”“And what about Paulie?” inquired Rick. “Personally, I’d like to drop him off somewhere in the jungle without any weapons and see him get his hip piece handed to him. Preferably by my own hands, of course; I’d take his hip piece and shove it up his-”“Release him,” murmured Amanda, “but not on purpose.”Rick raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, miss?”“Of course,” smiled Rex. “Gonepus is not going to give anything else up, so he’s useless as a prisoner. If we release him, he can lead us to the Maelstrom Temple; XERRD knows here it is. However, we can’t let him know that we’re purposely releasing him, or else he’d catch onto our plan and lead us away from the Maelstrom Temple. If he thinks he’s escaped, if he thinks that it was an accident, he’ll waste no time meeting up with his superiors.”A roar echoed through the jungle, and all Dino Attack agents stopped momentarily to look up to the sky and see a flock of pteranodons taking flight. “But we’ll have to move quickly,” murmured Rex.The war was nearly at its end. They were running out of time. ***** The light shone into the dark hallway. A battle-weary King Joseph Race and Lord Vladek stepped into the room. All around them, they saw dead Minifig/Mutant Lizard Hybrids, their corpses littering the floor. Although grim, King Race nodded. “Our agents have done well.”“Do not feel bad,” smirked Vladek. “The Hybrids are most unsentient and inminifig. They are little more than beasts… they would serve us no use as prisoner.”“This,” King Race frowned, illuminating the room with his laser saber, “was the Dino Attack Outpost’s holding cell. We could have locked them up in here. But I am not going to argue… this team has had enough conflicts as it is.”“I had to get an entire facility of refugees to shut up for a minute thank to that unneeded conflict,” muttered Vladek.“And I tried to be neutral,” grimaced King Race, “and for that I got dragged into the conflict by the so-called idealists. That is why, despite the Space Knights’ highly advanced technology, I’ve avoided going on crusades to wipe out the evil factions of Castle Cove, because I know that even idealistic intentions can turn horribly wrong.”Vladek snorted. “So, instead you spent your time racing around in go-karts.”“It rekindled the spirit inside of me,” shrugged King Race, “made me feel young again. Besides, I made some new friends at the LEGO Racing Championship. Greybeard, for example. You remember him?”Vladek muttered a curse under his breath, and for the first time King Race smiled. He knew very well that it was Greybeard who put an end to Vladek’s “Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe”.“And there was also Edward X. Plore… if I’m not mistaken, shortly before the Dino Attack, he left with Johnny Thunder on some big adventure. And Aster Oid… well, most tragically, he did not survive the LEGO Island mission. Although there is one other friend that I met at that championship whom I have not heard from in years, and he-”King Race halted at the sound of a cough. “Did you hear that?” he whispered to Vladek, who had already unsheathed his lightning sword.“Is… anyone… there?” came a hoarse voice.King Joseph Race pointed his laser saber in the direction of the holding cell. The dank and musty cell was illuminated by the light of his sword, revealing a frail Minifig occupant. The Minifig’s unshaven face showed signs of beating and bruising, and he was dressed in Fright Knights armor, not that it did him any good, being chained to the wall and nearly starved to death.“Oh my Builder…!” gasped King Race. He sliced open the cell’s bars and then cut the prisoner’s chains.The prisoner crumpled to the ground, barely alive. He weakly looked up and met King Race’s eyes. “Joe…?” he feebly whispered. “Is that… you?”“Who are you?” snapped Vladek.“This is Sir Robert Batrick,” introduced King Race, “but his friends call him Bob the Bat. He was a Fright Knight who participated in that LEGO Racing Championship… he and I became good friends but failed to stay in touch.”“I tried… to stop them…” Sir Robert whispered. “But I... was not… fast enough… my speed failed me… failed the kingdom…”“Don’t worry, old friend,” King Race clasped his comrade’s hand, “we’ll get you out of here.”“Mors Trom!”A bolt of lightning flew across the room and hit Sir Robert Batrick. Bob the Bat perished instantly, and King Race jumped back in shock. He whipped around to face the attacker, expecting to see Lord Vladek pointing his lightning sword at him.Instead, Vladek’s back was to King Race, his sword drawn and pointing at a figure standing in the doorway. She was tall, appearing even taller thanks to her hat. She was dressed in all black, sans for a red cape that billowed behind her even without any wind. In one hand, she held a broomstick; in the other, a wand pointed at the corpse of Robert Batrick.“You witch!” bellowed King Joseph Race. He pointed his laser saber at her.The witch cackled. “That old bat was a filthy traitor who met his deserved end. I should never have agreed to let him race in that silly championship… he got ideas from fools like you! I agreed to help XERRD take over Castle Cove, especially after I discovered just how the Maelstrom enhanced my magical abilities. He, on the other hand, had other ideas and wanted to help the Dino Attack Team. He was a disgrace to the Fright Knights… and now, he lies dead.”“Willa the Witch,” breathed Lord Vladek.“So the Fright Knights allied with XERRD, is it?” grimaced King Race. “Was this your idea, or did Basil the Bat Lord actually think of this himself?”Willa the Witch would have gritted her teeth if she had more than just one tooth. “Don’t talk to me about Basil the Bat Lord. That MegaBloking LEGO Racing Championship! Just before the Dino Attack, some old racing-mates… some annoying Australian and a female robot… they came to our Night Lord’s Castle, spoke with Basil… and that was the last I saw of him. He left a note, something about ‘Crux Prime’… but I digress.”“As do I,” hissed King Race. With that, he charged at Willa with his laser saber. Simultaneously, Vladek fired a lightning bolt out of his sword, aimed at Willa.Willa deflected the lightning bolt with her wand, jumped out of King Race’s path, and hopped onto her broomstick. Cackling, she flew away.“There she goes!” shouted a Dino Attack agent. “Into that cave over there!”King Race and Lord Vladek nodded to each other. “Shall we?” Vladek raised an eyebrow. “I always hated having a competitor when I’m considering how to take over Castle Cove.”King Joseph Race tightened his grip on his sword. “We shall,” he muttered, “because now it’s personal.” ***** Ata was sweating as he frantically worked at his post. It was not an easy job being the communications expert, and a lot of recent stress had made his work even more difficult for him.“Glad to see that you’re finally working.”Ata startled and spun around, only to see Specs standing in the room with him. “Ah, yes!” he stammered. “The communications block on Adventurers’ Island has been lifted, and-”“Good,” nodded Specs as he approached the computers. “Now I can finally get a proper update.” He listened to one recent transmission detailing the attack on the XERRD Fortress, the alliance with the Islanders and dinosaurs, the Mutant Dino and Stromling invasion, and the apparent disappearance of Lord Sam Sinister.Specs listened closely, occasionally nodding at good news or narrowing his eyes at bad news. As he rolled the information over in his mind, one of the computer screens started blinking, with the words <INCOMING TRANSMISSION> upon the screen.“Play it,” murmured Specs, and Ata nodded. He pressed a button, and the image of General Ronald E. Army, also known as agent Soldier, appeared onscreen. In the background, guns were firing loudly and many voices were yelling.“Reporting, commander!” Soldier shouted over the sounds of battle. “Oh Eight Thirty, bomb must arrive at said destination! Oh Eight Twenty-Five, bomb must… wait…” The military general trailed off, realizing something was wrong in his briefing. “Oh Eight Twenty… no, that’s not right either… Oh Eight Thirty… Oh Eight… Oh Znap! Tell you what, Megablok that Znap!”“Hold on,” Specs raised his hand, “hold on, you’re not making any sense. What is going on?”Soldier faltered, then began shouting again. “We’ve got a bomb cart, and-”“I built that!” gleefully added Engineer, who grinned proudly onscreen. “We found an old mine cart track leading to the fort, and I modified one of the carts-”“Silence, maggot!” yelled Soldier. “We gotta get that bomb in there to blow the enemy’s base to pieces! Now get to work!”“You’ve found the Hybrids’ base?” Specs raised an eyebrow. “So, that is all that this status update is about, then.”Soldier bit his lip. “Well, you see, a bit of a problem, commander. The enemy has taken no mere fort, but-”“KA-BOOM!” shouted Demoman enthusiastically from offscreen. A second later, an explosion made it impossible to hear the rest of Soldier’s sentence.“Sorry,” Specs shook his head, “you’re going to have to repeat that.”Soldier grimaced. “Requesting permission to bomb Fort Legoredo, sir!” ***** Dr. Rex let out a sigh of relief. It had been days since the last reported sighting of a Brickster-Bot or FMB-Bot lurking around the Dino Island Laboratory. There was no more chaos, no more guerrilla attacks, no more computer hacks, nothing. It was likely that he had finally succeeded. After many painstaking days of hunting down these insolent robots, they were finally gone for good.The Brickster-Bots? Dr. Rex knew might still be more of them out there in the universe. They were relatively widespread, having establishments at LEGO Island, OGEL Island, Mars, and even the moon. Research on FMB-Bots, on the other hand, proved that Frozeen’s Models of Brickster-Bots were very limited in number and their only establishment, Ogelis Asteroid, was recently attacked by an alien fleet, putting them out of commission for some time.“The Frozeen’s Model of a Brickster-Bot,” Dr. Rex chuckled softly. “Now extinct.”Still, the robots had done their damage. Everywhere Dr. Rex looked, he saw fellow XERRD operatives running around, making repairs and reversing damage caused by the Brickster-Bot guerilla war. It did not escape Dr. Rex’s attention that most of the damage was actually caused by him in his efforts to take down the robots.That concerned him. As one of the creators of the Mutant Dinosaur formula, Dr. Rex knew that the Maelstrom’s energies played a vital role in mutation, giving the dinosaurs awesome abilities and making them destructive in nature. When a freak accident and a voluntary experiment granted him his current Mutant T-Rex form, he had known firsthand how powerful the Maelstrom made him feel. But now… now he felt his destructive tendencies growing uncontrollable. He heard thoughts that weren’t his, and deep laughter from the darkest corners of his mind.The Maelstrom was slipping out of his grasp. Allowing himself only the slightest moment of fear, Dr. Rex prayed that Wallace Bishop and the other scientists would quickly find and control the Maelstrom Temple.All the XERRD scientists running around made the hallways of the Dino Island Laboratory look like a maze populated white lab rats. Minifig running around in white lab coats. White, white, white, white, white. Anything that wasn’t white looked out-of-place, such as that one Minifig who was wearing a blue glove…Dr. Rex stopped. He narrowed his eyes at the Minifig in question. His back was turned towards Dr. Rex, and his clothes were white enough, but on his left hand he wore a blue glove. “You!” Dr. Rex bellowed. “You are under arrest!”The Minifig immediately froze, then quickly raised both hands in the air. “I swear I didn’t do it!” he cried. “I demand a mistrial! I want a retrial! I want a free trial for thirty days, money back if not fully satisfied!”“The Brickster,” smirked Dr. Rex. “I thought so.” With that, he charged at the LEGO Island criminal, who was already fleeing down the hallway.Dr. Rex pursued the Brickster through the Dino Island Laboratory. In the chase, anyone who did not get out of the way was shoved aside by the Brickster or trampled by Dr. Rex. For a moment, it seemed that the Brickster might actually escape.Then, the Brickster came to a sudden halt as he ran into a XERRD scientist carrying a pizza. “Hey!” he grinned eagerly. “Is that a super-spicy-tongue-melting-jail-cell-door-opening-”In that moment of distraction, Dr. Rex finally caught the Brickster. He slammed into the Brickster, knocking him against a wall. He proceeded to pin the criminal against the wall. “Hey, what’s the big idea?” snapped the Brickster. “Let me go! I’m innocent, I tell you!”“So, you’re the one who led the Brickster-Bot guerilla war,” snarled Dr. Rex.“… Maybe?” the Brickster smiled sheepishly.“Still doing the Dino Attack Team’s dirty work, I see,” grumbled Dr. Rex. “Then I’ll send you back to the Dino Attack Team with a message… a message that will be very clear when they see you reduced to a bloody carcass!”“I ain’t no messenger boy, alright?” the Brickster shrugged. “I’m a delivery boy!”“Delivery? Hah!” spat Dr. Rex. “What exactly do you think you are delivering, then? A failed assassination attempt? Stealing something important? Trying to snoop around?”“Look, I ain’t no common criminal,” the Brickster waved a finger. “Murder, arson, jaywalking… that stuff ain’t appealing to me. It just ain’t my style.”“So what is your purpose here?” growled Dr. Rex.“The same thing I always do,” the Brickster smiled. “Destruction.” Before Dr. Rex could react, the Brickster whipped out a small detonator and pushed a button.Nothing happened.Dr. Rex pulled back his lip, revealing razor-sharp teeth, as the Brickster’s smile faded and he began frantically pushing the detonator button. Dr. Rex opened his maw and inched slowly towards the Brickster.Suddenly, the entire Dino Island Laboratory shook. Explosion after explosion rocked the building, sending bricks, fire, and unfortunate scientists flying in the air. One explosion took out the mutation department. Another explosion wrecked the garage. And yet another explosion was followed by the sounds of dozens of dinosaurs breaking free of containment.“What in the-” gasped Dr. Rex.“Hey!” laughed the Brickster. “Deliver this message!” With that, he took the super-spicy-tongue-melting-jail-cell-door-opening-hot pizza he had tucked under his arm and flung it into the open mouth of Dr. Rex. Not even the internal furnace of a Mutant T-Rex mouth could disintegrate the incredibly-hot pizza before it burned his tongue.As Dr. Rex roared in pain, the Brickster slipped away, grabbed a 2x4 brick, and tossed it through a nearby window. He jumped out, shouting with glee: “This will be the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught…!” With that, he plummeted two stories before landing in a puddle of mud.Gritting his teeth and spitting out mud, the Brickster stood up and wiped the dirt off his clothes. Grumbling and curing to himself, the Brickster backed away from the Dino Island Laboratory to get a good look. He surveyed the damage and destruction he caused, and the image filled him with pure bliss.“Now that’s something even MEGABLOKLAND could not glue back together.”

Approved by Hahli Husky (2005) and Sisen (2012).The year is 2010. For months, the LEGO Planet has been in an apocalyptic state, with cities, kingdoms, and more cast into ruins by an army of Mutant Dinosaurs. These Mutant Dinos were created by the secretive scientific organization XERRD and its founder Dr. Rex, who himself had been transformed into a Mutant T-Rex through a freak accident, and have been enhanced with the chaotic powers of the Maelstrom. They have ravaged the LEGO Planet, leaving only destruction in their wake.Fortunately, a new organization has risen to take on this dino threat. D.I.N.O. Attack is a powerful army consisting of soldiers, scientists, and even civilians who have been caught in the action. Led by Specs and the other founding members, D.I.N.O. Attack is ready to stop the Mutant Dinos and bring peace to the LEGO Planet.But as the year draws to a close, the Mutant Dino forces grow stronger every day. With squads deployed all over the world, D.I.N.O. Attack struggles to keep up with the Mutant Dinos, XERRD, and the Maelstrom. The rising action and tension can only mean one thing: the climax is approaching.This is Dino Attack: At War's End, the conclusion to Dino Attack RPG.-----UPDATESAny major updates to the RPG will be listed here, such as rule changes, will be listed here. Please check this section every so often.9/15/12The final battle has ended.7/21/12The final battle has begun!7/20/12Zachary Virchaus, Hertz, and Dr. Cyborg have been promoted to Elite Agent.-----RULESRules are important to the survival of this RPG. Breaking them will result in penalties depending on which rule and how severely it was broken.1. All BZP rules are in effect here. This means no spamming, no flaming, etc.2. Use "IC" when In Character (describing what your character is doing in-universe) and "OOC" when Out Of Character (to talk and discuss with other BZP members). This way, it is less confusing for other members to read your posts. For example:"OOC: I bought a 7477 T-1 Typhoon vs. T-Rex on eBay yesterday!IC: Jerry spun around in his Fire Hammer. He dodged the T-Rex, and began to plan a solution to defeat the monstrous dinosaur."3. Keep violent descriptions down to minimal. Instead of typing "IC: BAMBAMBAMBAM! He shot his machine gun at the T-Rex just for fun, and laughed as he saw its guts spill out onto the street!", write "IC: He fired his weapon at the T-Rex, whose life came to an abrupt end."4. Do not kill other players' characters without their consent.5. If you are planning to leave this RPG, please let us know in advance so we may take your profile down from the wiki. If you're only going on break, tell us so that I do not take down your profile.6. Rookie Agents are limited to the Steel Sprinter, and Standard Agents are limited to Starter Vehicles. Unless my consent is given, they may not use any other vehicle.GUIDELINESGuidelines are like the rules. However, breaking of the guidelines only results in a warning.1. Instead of adding more PMs to our inbox, if you've got something you want to tell me about this RPG, do so in your post. That’s why the "OOC" part of the post exists.2. Do not kill official LEGO Characters. It's alright if you kill your own made-up characters, but if Pepper Roni or Captain Redbeard dies, I'm going to ask you to change your post.3. Please know that at times I can be extremely busy and cannot always attend this RPG. This means that we may not add your character's profile to the wiki as soon as you post it. If we have not added your character's profile, do not, repeat, DO NOT hassle us or PM us to get it added. Patience is a virtue, you know, and although I admit that I lack patience, I hope you have some instead. Be considerate.4. Do not PM your profile to me. Post it here instead.5. If possible, make your posts medium-length. Epics are not required for each post, but posts with one or two in-character sentences don't add much to the RPG. This RPG tries to see how well you and other members can interact and take control of the story; while this can be achieved through short posts, it take far less time with medium-length posts.6. Keep interaction with other LEGO themes down to minimal. It's alright if your character has a conversation with Pepper Roni and Captain Redbeard, but if scores of Space Police begin to show up, it would get ridiculous.7. No G-Modding. If your character leaps across a fifty-mile canyon, or defeats two hundred Mutant T-Rexes single-handedly without breaking a sweat, that's G-Modding. Don't do it. It makes the RPG less challenging.7a. There appears to be a bit of confusion over the term 'G-Modding'. In this context, 'G-Modding' refers to giving your character ridiculous abilities. Apparently, another definition of 'G-Modding' is controlling other people's characters. The former is what's not allowed, but the latter is allowed in this RPG.-----DINO ATTACK RPG WIKIIn order to document lots of information from this almost-seven-year-old RPG, we Dino Attack RPG players have created the Dino Attack RPG Wiki. If you want to find out lots of quick information on this RPG on its characters and story, I would suggest going here. Be sure to contribute to it if you join the RPG. It is still currently under major construction, but you can help out. It is also completely BZPower-appropriate, as we constantly maintain the wiki and revert any bit of immature vandalism.Here are a few helpful links to getting started on the Dino Attack RPG: [*]Dino Attack RPG: This page includes a brief overview of the plot so far, includes some gameplay instructions, and lists all current members of the Dino Attack RPG.[*]Dino Attack RPG/Agent Database: A list of active players in Dino Attack: At War's End. When you join Dino Attack RPG, your username and character sign-up form will be added to the page.[*]Vehicles: This page lists all vehicles that have appeared in Dino Attack RPG, but the ones that matter the most are the Dino Attack vehicles. See the Vehicles section below for more details regarding using vehicles in the game.[*]Locations: This page lists all major locations of the Dino Attack RPG. You are allowed to travel to most of these areas in the game, although since our current mission focuses on Adventurers' Island, we suggest that you help us out and play there for now.[*]Dino Attack Team/Agents: A complete list of all Dino Attack members, including primary player characters and NPCs. Please consult the Agent Database before choosing a name for your character in order to avoid having two characters of the same name.[*]Mutant Dino: Know thy enemy and read this page to learn more about the various breeds of Mutant Dinosaurs you will battle in this game.-----CURRENT MISSIONThis will be the current mission in the RPG, which will be the RPG’s main focus. You are not required to participate in it, but the more members that are involved, the easier it will flow.Victory! After eight long months of combat and strife, Dino Attack Team has emerged victorious over Dr. Rex, Baron Typhonus, and the Mutant Dino forces! The war is finally over, so let's enjoy some peacetime. Feel free to wrap up any loose ends you left hanging.-----VEHICLES AND AGENT RANKSD.I.N.O. Attack uses a wide variety of vehicles to complete missions and battle Mutant Dinos. However, you cannot expect to simply join Dino Attack RPG and immediately get to use the biggest and baddest vehicles such as the Iron Predator or T-1 Typhoon. Instead, Dino Attack RPG uses a ranking system that allows players to gradually use more vehicles. [*]Rookie Agent: All new recruits start off as rookie agents. Although players may list any Standard Agent vehicle in their sign-up form, they may only use the Steel Sprinter until they receive Standard Agent status.[*]Standard Agent: After ten posts of good IC content, members will be upgraded to Standard Agent. They can use most vehicles, now including the Urban Avenger and Fire Hammer.[*]Elite Agent: After a period of time of playing this RPG, with posts of good content and many things done to help the LEGO Planet, I'll upgrade you to Elite Agent. The main perk of Elite Agents would be the ability to access Elite Vehicles, such as the Iron Predator and T-1 Typhoon.-----SIGN UPTo sign up for Dino Attack RPG, all you need to do is fill out the following form and post it here in this topic. You may begin IC posts right away, although if needed, we will review your sign-up form and make sure there aren't any changes that need to be made.Name (What your character's name is):Age (Please make this reasonable! Ages below eighteen will not be accepted):Skills (Any abilities your character is great at):Vehicle (Your vehicle of choice, after being upgraded to Standard Agent):Personality (Describes your character's personality):Background (Describes your character's background): Name:Age:Skills:Vehicle:Personality:Background:-----Play well!

It is now March 15, two weeks since I posted my notice regarding Dino Attack RPG. I am now reposting Dino Attack RPG, without your approval and depending on Hahli Husky's approval from nearly seven years ago as a grandfather clause. As LEGO General Discussion's longest-lasting and most successful RPG, it was still very alive when BZPower forums went offline last April for the forum update. We, the players of Dino Attack RPG, have waited patiently for nearly a year, but with little response from the BZPower staff regarding the state of the LEGO RPG forum while real-life circumstances threaten our ability to continue this RPG in the foreseeable future, we cannot afford to wait any longer. I have made my intentions clear in this topic, but since the staff has failed to respond to our pleas, we have chosen to take matters into our own hands. Please consider Dino Attack RPG to be grandfathered in, since, as I said, had the forums never needed an update, Dino Attack RPG would still likely have been continuing today.But also consider this message: We have waited for a long time, but we cannot afford to wait any longer, especially due to real-life circumstances that are beyond our control. So, if you must absolutely positively ignore our requests and pleas, close this RPG without a second thought and disregard the concept of being "grandfathered in", then make starting the LEGO RPG forum a high priority.-- PeabodySam, Dino Attack RPG Founder and Host (July 2005 - April 2011)

It's been a long time. And I've been waiting patiently all this time. Nearly a year ago, BZPower forums went offline with the promise of being back soon. Since then, I and at least 13 other BZPower members have been waiting to resume and conclude the long and complex storylines of the Dino Attack RPG.But now, it's March. Nearly a whole year. BZPower forums returned last November. I did not want to cause trouble, so I thought waiting for someone to approve the RPG's reposting was the right thing to do. But, our requests to resume Dino Attack RPG have fallen upon deaf ears, it seems.And here's the problem. An important shift in my life this August will likely cause my BZPower activity to drop sharply (or it may not, it's all based upon how much this shift affects my free time, but I do not want to risk it), meaning that I will be unable to attend to my RPG host duties in only a matter of a few months. Last November, I had plenty of time. But now that it's March, August looms closer and closer every day. And if there is one thing I have learned in my past seven-and-a-half years on BZPower, it's that RPGs die when their hosts cannot look after them. It is imperitive that I finish Dino Attack RPG before August, which means I must get started as quickly as possible.And I have to think of my players as well. They all have real lives too, and many of them are in their late teens, a time of their lives where they too might face an inability to go on BZPower as often as they once did. They have all been waiting patiently... Brikman McStudz, Atton Rand, Andrewnuva199, that guy from that show, and many others... but I fear that this prolonged waiting may eventually force them to, shall I say, move on.I've waited a long time. But now, my patience has worn thin. I have become desperate. And I implore you, Than the Moa, or whoever else can do this for me, to heed my plea. Dino Attack RPG must be reapproved, and as quickly as possible.... and if this request falls upon deaf ears, then my patience will have ended. On March 15, 2012, if Dino Attack RPG is not reapproved, I shall repost it without your reapproval. And I will justify this by means of grandfather clause... it was approved back in 2005 by Hahli Husky, was still very active up through April 2011, and, had BZPower never undergone a forum update, it would never have needed reapproval. Additionally, since a major problem seems to be laying the groundwork for LEGO RPG Forum, many Dino Attack RPG players were very active in the old LEGO General Discussions RPG Topics and can help lay a foundation for this forum so that it may support other new RPGs in the near future.Please, I implore you.

Very well then, I shall repost my PM here, since it does contain feedback and ideas for this forum:"It's been over two months since BZPower's forums returned, and nearly two months since I sent Than the Moa a request regarding reposting Dino Attack RPG in the new LEGO RPG forum. Since then, I have not received a direct reply, but I have seen in both BZPower Q&A and the recently-closed HERO Factory RPG that the rules of the LEGO RPG forum have not yet been established and the staff currently does not want any new RPGs until such structure has been created.I understand that this is a good way to keep the LEGO RPG forum from being flooded with new RPGs before any rule systems are established, but what about old RPGs whose players have been waiting for over half a year to revisit? Before the forum upgrade, Dino Attack RPG was still active and going strong, and many players were left hanging in the middle of complex storylines when forums went offline for six months. They have all expressed eager interest in continuing the Dino Attack RPG where it left off, but many have also expressed impatience with the extra delays. I fear that I might lose their audience if this is not rectified soon; many are going into college, getting jobs, or doing other activities that might otherwise decrease their BZPower activity, and they might not be able to return if Dino Attack RPG is not reposted quickly.But why let Dino Attack RPG be reposted while new RPGs have to wait? A grandfather clause, I would say. Dino Attack RPG was created in a system where the forum's RPG rules were already established. I see no reason why it would not follow any new rules you may put into effect. It is also noteworthy that many of Dino Attack RPG's players in the old forum were perfectly willing to help establish a structure for LEGO RPGs, as seen in the Lego General Discussion RPGs topic. Perhaps if you let us, we can help you establish a system for LEGO RPGs in a more timely fashion.Please, I implore you to consider this and reply soon."

Ah, this topic again.As I said earlier, I have sent an approval request to Than the Moa, assuming the LEGO RPG forum's system is the same as that of the old LEGO General Discussion RPG approval system. However, Than has not yet even looked at my PM, and Black Six says that Than is still working on getting the LEGO RPG forum set up, so I still have little idea regarding the current status of Dino Attack RPG.Since Dino Attack RPG was approved back in 2005 by Hahli Husky, retained strong activity up until the BZPower forum update, and its former members are expressing much interest in reviving the RPG, I'm not sure whether or not it even needs reapproving. However, I'm playing it safe, and unless I get permission to do so, I shall refrain from going ahead and just posting the RPG. At least, until I get word back from Black Six or Than the Moa.

I was just about to post a new topic here, but it looks like you guys beat me to it.So, yes, I do intend to repost the Dino Attack RPG, which was first approved over six years ago by Hahli Husky, but I do not know if it needs to be reapproved. There are no rules posted in the LEGO RPG subforum (the BIONICLE RPG subforum's rules do not even mention LEGO RPG), and its Forum Leader, Than the Moa, has not even looked at my PM sent over ten days ago. I would like to restart the Dino Attack RPG as soon as possible, so when a staff member drops by to answer our questions, I would like to know the situation of my RPG.Thank you in advance.

Just a quick question. I see that Proto is rewarded for sending in news stories, making the front page, and being listed as a source. During the forum downtime, I'm sure that there were many BZPower members who sent in news reports and were listed as sources (quick example: Avohkah Tamer and ToaTonyia toa of awesome for the 10/2/11 "Life of George" news story). Will these members be rewarded for their efforts now that forums are online?