No sane creature should ever run away from their demons.

It was true of course -- no matter how broken they may seem, or how much fear they carried. A deer counters his or her hunter, a human contests his internal anguish, a vermin contends the mosquitos who long for blood from the child it protects. Only the strongest survive; only the crippled, impure kinds who'd wrestle these growing ordeals can keep their wishes awake. Surely it was a fact, it was written in the stars.

Perhaps I was mistaken when I considered sanity as a predicament to survival. 

I was nowhere near sane. 

And so I ran.

The oddness of it was simply this random decision. Running from a battle was peculiar of me -- after all I was designed to kill anything and everything regardless of who controlled me. Never once in this journey had I held back from a cause unless it concerned the fate of another. But as Death drew near, cackling in my shadows and licking the tender flesh now spoiled by the hilt of two copper bullets, perhaps I was right and just to avoid the rules of nature and fend for myself. I knew fate brought me here, fate demanded a sacrifice of some kind. Now I was one of the many on that list of victims yet to come, and reasons of immortality was simply out of the question. The end was near: the end of INGEN, the end of friendship, the end of love, the end of this miraculous, and impossible journey.

Even the end of me.

Nothing was bound to last forever, this was in no doubt true. But one's legacy does last, and so far I left none for anyone to understand. I hadn't made my mark, I hadn't let my eyes sink upon the beauties of this fantasia the humans adore so much. I didn't want to die, not yet. I needed to prove myself...somehow...

It can't end like this...

It's too early...

Part of me believed this mad dash into the corridors of INGEN was cowardly. But in retrospect I think this was the smartest decision I've ever made, and the only one I can think about as I boosted into the halls of a door-infected maze of my abandoned home.

Back in the room poor Owen had fallen, but unlike the fate of his loving raptor was merely unconscious to the ravages of blood loss. As for his mate, she managed to blow some strikes here and there, before taking a violent crack to the skull by the persistent Henry Wu. A nasty gash of dark red soon glimmered upon her forehead, though she was barely conscious enough to stare at him, tears and rage glowing like a fire her eyes. The woman huffed and growled like an animal bound to pounce, but her primitive side was weakened by her soft humanity and resulted in an unfortunate disadvantage.

"I'm not going to kill you, Claire," Wu muttered softly, folding away his bloodied gun and pinning it against his side, "But if you invade me once more...I won't hold back."

"Then why don't you?"

"Because you're none of my concern at the moment," Wu responded, swinging the gun with a simple twist. The hilt of the gun whacked against Claire's cranium a second time, and where she had been previously crouching was now an empty space. The dropping of Claire's body echoed in the room as Wu stepped back, blinking down at the unconscious woman with no sanity left in his eyes and spoke once more:

"So stay out of my way."

A soft, regretful inhale wafted through his nostrils, and upon the silence that rigged his eardrums, the scientist turned, facing the direction to where I had fled and began his heavy march through the hallways.

And his little pet hybrid? He was nowhere to be found.

Wonderful.

I had no time to hear this conversation, unlike yourselves, for I had a life to keep alive from his wrath. Truth be told I was unaware of where to go or what to do, the ideas rushed clean out of me the second I left, only consumed by the idea of how painful dying would be.

It wasn't right. 

Now that I'm thinking about it, dying would only make matters worse, he'd just use my corpse to make more of myself. He could always diffuse the copper out, there'd be no stopping him. Worst of all, more indoraptors would wreak havoc upon the world...that's more deaths for the innocent and pure breeds out there. More suffering. More pain. More loss.

I couldn't allow that.

But if I do survive, I'd have to live with the constant fear of denial, courtesy of this divided and stereotypical world. They'd hunt me down eventually. Owen would, Claire would, INGEN would, everybody would. I was a living gold mine, and without Blue, or Belle, or anybody to defend me, I was doomed.

Was it worth living anymore? I wondered, slowing down a bit in my run, There was nothing to gain, nothing left to fight for other than myself, and that alone was selfish. Death and Life seemed utterly impossible to accept. All I knew now is that my choices have been revoked, and everything I've ever trusted died, or was indefinitely a lie.

All I could do was run from mercy.

Run, and run, and run, for as long as my legs could carry me.

A perfect trail of bloody splotches followed behind while I limped through the dark and shimmering hallways, and my own breath was flattering out...cold and dry; a voice of my own death through painful and endless wheezes. Surely the very bullet that entered me twice was worse than all the pain in the world, and I couldn't stop the leak. My claws, once hungry to sink into human flesh, were violently shaking from the hailstorm of crimson drenching it's blackened exteriors. My tail was low and dangling, as any dinosaur's tail would be before losing a fight, and in a matter of seconds, every thought, idea, and consideration crushed against my heart.

The end is closing in fast and I'm not ready...

I'm not ready...

No...I have to keep going...I can't let it happen...

"Keep....going Ripper...come on..." I whimpered, skidding at times when the tiles beneath me became slippery. I took some deep inhales of oxygen upon stopping at certain intervals, but it was the clips and clops of boots that forced me to continue my trek. My predatory vision was fogging and blurring up, mimicking a hazy appearance like that of a dream, shifting the very reality of the world and the ceiling itself into a sinister look that made me fear what I saw. It made me fear my next steps or my next thoughts, knowing that deep in my heart I was too afraid to even enter this state of sudden delusion.

After a few more turns in the brink of the night I thought I had lost the scientist, as well as his immortal scent. The aroma of my own blood was overwhelming, a strong and sickly scent that made my heart sink and left my snout to wrinkle in disgust.

Can't you keep going? My mind asked softly, suffering the same extent of my injuries. I wheezed back, gazing at the gaping hole in my chest and whimpered as my vision blurred.

I could try but... I can't feel anything... I can't breathe normally...

You have to keep moving. It's best that way.

I'm too tired dear friend...I just...need to...just... I lowered on my belly as the pain skyrocketed and laid my head down upon the cool, and smooth tiles, Just give me a few minutes...I need...to sleep...

Ripper-!

For just...a second...

No! Keep your eyes open!

I gurgled for a moment, tasting the redness slither to my tongue and sobbed quietly, shaking my head in refusal, I just want to rest. Please...

Get up now! My mind snarled, though even through its raging voice a hint of fear and pain split my soul in half, There's still time!

All I did was whimper back, straining to keep my eyes open, Let me go...let me...heal for once.

If Wu finds you, you'll never heal again, it responded with a hiss, You'll risk the lives of thousands if you submit again. You can only live if you promise yourself that this dream can come true. Just focus on it, if you must, know that its real, know that it's there-

I've had dreams,...old friend. Beautiful dreams in fact. They've...dusted from my claws already, for I know...they've dragged me down...to failure and death. I was certain that these dreams weren't meant to be...made...unless you're...lucky. All it does...is break you...and everything...you love.

You've dreamed quite often, responded my mind in amusement, But it doesn't mean you give up on your hopes. You're stronger than you know, you're faster than you know, you're smarter than you know. You have something much more powerful than claws, teeth, and rage, more powerful than  the guns Wu carries or the madness he wishes to twist into your heart.

How do...you know?

Because I found it not long ago, it said softly, You've lived through it but you never knew what its purpose was to you. In fact, I believe that this power can change everything, and save you-

"RIPPER!" An eruptive and terrible roar suddenly shook the very walls and room windows around me, forcing my stomach to lurch. Despite being slightly distant from the enemy I knew all too well, felt the ground tremble from a violent footprint, but unlike before I just curled my claws into the tiles below me, bowed my head and whimpered in pain and fear.

Get up Ripper, My mind hissed, Get up...

I'm scared...

I am too, he muttered back softly, and soon thereafter I felt a rippling sensation draw upon my back as if I was being stroked, But have to fight. We have to keep fighting, for however long we've got. You wish to make a statement dear friend? Then show them, even in the face of death, even at the end of it all. Show them who you really are.

How do I fight him? I weakly croaked, feeling the ground shake harder and watched the puddle of blood ripple before me, He's immortal. He can't be killed.

Maybe you don't have to kill him, he grunted, He's a hybrid, like you, like your sister, like your father. We all suffer something unique, something that makes us strong. Open his eyes, Ripper. If you can't kill what stands before you, kill what you see from within...

I groaned weakly, closing my eyes as the creature turned a corner and noticed me, then dragged my claws upward, pushing hard against the tiles and shakily stood up, facing the nightmare, and the demon who drooled over my dying breaths.

You can do this... We both uttered, taking a stance as the massive Agujaceratops began to lumber forward, eyes flashing coldly, bright...and red.

"Did you think I'd forget about you, vermin?"

"Listen...to me...please..." I wheezed, tilting my head as the Indosaurus came into focus, "You're making a grave mistake...I promise you. Wu's the monster, you have to see that-"

"You're the monster," The hybrid sneered back, "The devil in the details. Your word means nothing to me, I'm certain I've made that quite clear."

"Have you not heard what he's said?" I cried back, "He's going to kill me...and use my body...to make more of me. It's in his nature...it's who he is. So what do you think he'll do to you...once he sees how flawed you really are?"

"I'm not flawed...or mortal. I know my place in this world, I know my strengths, and my limits. Only cowards think that death is their undoing because they know they're disposable," He snorted more hot air into his twin nostrils, "You're far more human that I thought..."

"At least I have a reason to live for," I growled back, my vision failing yet again and grumbled softly over the red liquid still oozing from the wound, "You think you're...so strong and powerful...that you have every right to kill whomever you choose, be whomever you want to be. But you and I both know that's all a lie. You're not his pet,...you're not his legacy, and you're not a killer. You just need to wake up-"

"Don't bother tempting me by this hypocrisy," He hissed, narrowing his eyes, "That didn't work for your mate, now did it?"

I felt my stomach writhe hard when he growled this, and part of me almost turned into the very thing he wanted me to become, but after a short huff of air, I closed my eyes and continued to speak.

"You're just as special as the rest of us...but you're not an object to bend to his will. You're just a beast made from the backbone of a skull in a mansion. You're birthright...has been full of torture and human greed...you just have to see it! And yes, maybe you're right... she didn't fare well when she tried to save me, and I couldn't save her, but that doesn't mean I won't try to do the same for you. And I-I can't change the past, I can't fix any of that, but now that I have the chance to save the soul of someone just as misunderstood as I am I wouldn't dare hesitate for the world. Please...just wake up...don't let him control your fate, don't make him twist you into the villain!"

"Why do you have so much pitied against him, raptor? Wu gave you mercy for years," the hybrid boomed, steadying his stance, "He gave you a chance to be a part of his life, and you denied his love."

"That wasn't love!"

"The only reason he wants to kill you is because you won't let him into your life!"

"You're right, I won't," I spat harshly, "After what he's done...Never again."

"And what has he done, might I ask? Since you perished, has anything between then and now been under his command, or yours?"

I sank my jaws into their molding, flaring my nostrils with annoyance as the hybrid edged closer. I didn't want to admit it, but perhaps it was true. 

"Your selfishness is your mortality," It growled through its teeth, "You think you can change me because you believe you're right, but you're wrong, you can't, and you know it. All that matters to you is your precious little loved ones, all those worthless stars you blew out because you couldn't protect them. Why do you think that? You think the world cares if you live or die?!"

Stars? I revisited the word he stated, snorted as my mind fumbled through a sudden memory of not many stars, but one star.

The Sun itself...

The moment it struck, all the desolate violent parts of me melted away when the light had struck the shed and flashed into the room like miniature spotlights. I had to lift my head to gain a mere touch of the sun, and when the warm rays struck my black scales my body felt bliss, eyes closing, jaws clicking, and chirping as my tail thumped in synced relaxation.

Something had happened to me at that moment. Something changed. My hollowed-out core had been filled with something fearfully enjoyable for once, and I couldn't quite explain it as I relinquished the feeling. I liked the strange sense that made my heart thud, but at the same time, it wasn't my inherent nature to like this new feeling.

Kissed by the Sun.

And if I could change just by the merry glance of nature itself.

Can't he too?

I looked at the clock, the nearest one that I, as odd as it seemed, could read quite easily.

6. And still dark outside.

"Enough of this...You're going to meet your maker indoraptor," The hybrid snarled, coming closer and closer until I backed up to the nearest wall, "But it won't be Wu this time. I'm sending back to whatever hell you crawled out of, and I'm going to bury your name for good."

Where's the nearest window? I wondered, darting my head left and right, Window, exit, window...I have to run. I have...to do something.

I blinked at the hybrid, growling and crouched low to show how strong I can be despite being so close to death and scolded him.

"Try your best."

With one quick breath, I bolted left. The ceratopsian bellowed in the surprise of my action and thundered in its final charge, chasing after me. Honestly, I never thought, after being shot over twenty times, that I can outrun this herbivore.

And yet I managed to. 

How surprising indeed.

Each turn was a jerk, a twist from ankle to joint, and I knew full well that the weaknesses of herbivores were their lack of agility. Their humble sacks of meat would slow their pounces, dragging them about like the sand in a bag. 

Then again, maybe I misjudged this. 

Wu must've made his brain much smarter than my own, prompting it to purposely slow down. I didn't put enough faith in my own heart to escape his primal lust for bloodshed, and that's probably why I was attacked so easily.

I took one turn faithful right and was instantly met by the sharpest bloody thorn pointing out from the Indosaurus's own snout. This wretched spear sliced into my leg faster than I could react, and even after escaping a possible stabbing, his frill trapped every known virtue of escape, and dragged me into his charge of hell without question. In a moment's notice I was met by the sheer brute force of a metal and wooden wall slamming my spine. The whole wall ruptured and collapsed as I fumbled backward, striking concrete with a vicious crack. I grimaced, opening my eyes and noticed I left a bloody mark against the wall, the essence now feeling worse than before. 

It was looking bad for me. But he was just beginning to add onto that. His horn found my damaged leg again and swung down, finally stabbing it, and I presented him with a blood-curdling roar of my own. The agony was excruciating as the horn twisted and coiled into my muscles, ripping into my muscles easier than a torched flaming knife. 

I heard it, the squelching flesh and splintered meat pulling itself apart from this ivory tusk. It was just like before when I died upon those horns, a pain I found memorable, and a return of anguish far to great for me to bear.

Tears sprung to my eyes as I laid there in pain, unable to move from the woudn. The herbivore snarled and swung his frill upward, dragging me along with it into mid-air. And like any ordinary rag doll, I flipped against the earth until gravity gave into my weight and slowed me down to a stop.

My leg...it hurts...

The Indosaurus growled as he lumbered toward me, his stride proud, true, and malignant above all, "You flee like a chicken, and yet you can't fight. Pathetic..."

I began to rise up before his skull slammed into me again, watching with pride as my airless body helplessly crashed through a pair of doors, and flopped about upon the concrete to a standstill, "You're no match for me. Stay down...it'll be better for you and everyone else."

I closed my eyes and shook my head, "I can't..."

The Indosaurus growled lowly, shaking his head in shame of his choice, "You're not worth this time Ripper. Settle this score, you're dying already."

"No."

The Indosaurus seemed a bit on edge about my response, filled with confusion and concern. He waddled through the broken entrance of the room I had crashed into, looking around for a moment then stepped through the trail of blood, eying me with a flare of death in his eyes. Though, at the moment, killing me seemed like a strange thing to do, if anything it didn't feel right. I wasn't fighting back, I wasn't tearing his flesh like he'd expect, and like a ragdoll I had been tossed to and fro by his own accord, and not my own. The fault seemed questionable, the battle even more uncertain, and even as I laid broken on the floor I could see the confusion hindering forth over the rage and evil of this INGEN monster. After I shuddered slightly I tried to stand again, almost hesitating because of the rolling pain, but once more found myself on all fours, limping backward to face the beast. 

Just keep talking, I muttered to myself, thinking about Blue in her final moments, No matter if I die...I just have to keep talking.

"You know...you're no different from me," I wheezed, "And because you're no different, we never submit, even in a losing battle. Even long after our heads are severed from our bodies."

"And what does that entitle to you?"

"I'm won't stop fighting, I promise you," I huffed, glancing to my left. I realized that we were in the asset containment area, a long and seemingly endless hallway of dinosaurs and paddocks that Wu has kept for his experiments. Some smelled familiar, somewhat alike to my own scent, but there were some creatures whose odor was quite familiar, especially the paddock next to me.

Paddock 9.

Oh, Wu...You actual bastard...

What?

I know that smell. It's faint but memorable. And in truth, talking like this won't do me any good. I need help.

I need a distraction.

"Then you'll die," The Indosaurus suddenly snarled with a spit of blood on the ground, growling deeply, "A waste of a life if I must say. Rotten like the first of our kind."

"You know something," I growled, limping over to the paddock wall, "Out there...in the real world, I found life. And it may have weakened my spirits and my insanity, but it made me find things that Wu cannot offer. Out there, you can evolve, and love, and live, as nature intended us to do!"

"We don't belong to that wretched green-"

"Yes...we do. We all do. And you can't deny it."

"Wu created us all."

"But Wu belongs to Nature too," I huffed, "Doesn't that make us part of her world? He's just acting as if he's a god, but he isn't. Life finds a way, friend. It evolves ...it always has. And it gives us purpose. No matter where we came from, who we are, or what we become there's always going to be chance, and we need to accept it..." I eyed the door opener next to me and swung my arm out, claws already curling around the red handlebar, "You need to accept it too."

"Accept lies? How could I even listen to what you speak of? Wu is the only creature we must trust. Only he governs what lives and what dies."

"You're wrong!"

I took no chances in letting my opportunity go to waste, and without a single protest from my mind I yanked down the gear. hearing a loud blaring noise. The hybrid stared at me in confusion, eyeing the paddock, then looked back at me.

"Running away again? Coward!" The Indosaurus snapped, ramming me into the still opening doors with one bash of his frill. His foot came next, slamming against my punctured chest roared in my ears.

He squeezed harder, and all that erupted from my jaws was a loud gasp of pain. All I could do was stare into those two hideous eyes, fear crawling up my scales like tender claws of death. I squeezed my eyes shut, slapping my tail on the ground as the cracking sound of my bones worsened and wheezed.

Help...

"Nothing will hold me back this time," The creature continuously snarled, eyes flashing dark red, "Not you, not Wu, not anybody! Nothing will stop me from-!"

He never had the chance to finish.

There was a roar. Just a short roar, but it's very voice was as loud as a blaring horn, a cry of power and madness into the darkness that had chained its throat. The voice shook the ground itself, making both of us hybrids swirl our head around in fright. A huge jaw swung out, and in a matter of moments, the very neck of the Indosaurus was crushed by the jaws of a very familiar theropod.

The Indosaurus screamed, roaring in agony as the knives of teeth sank deep into his very hide. Rexy, as I would've guessed, tore at the hybrid, ripping through its exterior membrane with her jaws and pinned the hybrid with one heavy stomp. The hybrid cried out, struggling to stand, but once again it was pinned.

And then she turned to me.

My stomach writhed as we made eye contact for the first time in days, her scent pulsing with anger, unlike any other. She noticed the scent of Wu upon me, and seeing her lips curl into a snarl made me whimper, and bow my head in submission.

This is the second creature you've-

No...she deserves it more than Wu...She's Blue's friend. And I'll respect her for that.

What makes you think she'll spare you?

I can't show the Wu part of me, I muttered back softly, I have to show her I'm good. I have to submit.

"I'm on your side," I wheezed quickly, seeing her eyes spot my injuries. Her nostrils twitched as she stared at me, slightly growling, and in my mind, I figured that I was an enemy as well. Every part of me screamed danger to her, and she could've easily leaned down, wrap her huge jaws around me, and crush me out of existence. She took one last moment to sniff even closer, catching whiffs of Blue upon my scales and noticed my body bent low in a crouch to her might. I waited for a moment, still blurring in and out of reality, waiting and watching. But as weird as it may seem, she actually denounced her internal accusation, snorted a breeze upon me, and turned back to the writhing hybrid, who was already healing himself.

Thank you...

Got to get away, I thought to myself, taking a few more seconds to stare at the two fighting over strength, then slithered through a small doorway into the deeper parts of the INGEN facility. Once again I was tested and conflicted by the maze of hallways that contaminated this horrid place, to the point where it annoyed me. Each linear pathway was broad and straight, like the old canals that I recalled cut through Colfax not so long ago, only instead of watery greens overhung by new foliage it is all scarred and peeling paint. The floor, before I fumbled over it, was shiny, just like a river of lifeless water in the morning of a new day, which indeed brought glimmers of light that flickered from the translucent light bulbs above.

Of course, none of this incoherent landscape could mimic the very beauty of nature, and what I could describe in relation toward nature looked more evil and dark than what life depicted it to be.

I didn't get far, however. It wasn't that Wu finally found me, instead it was the hybrid itself, slamming through the doors with rage glowing in his eyes. It made me question the real fact: How'd a ceratopsian escape a theropod?!

How'd he escape Rexy-

Oh no...

"You cheated..." The blood-spilled hybrid hissed, still shaking off that fatal bite from the rex, "That's not how we fight."

"Are we just going to keep talking like this?" I sighed, "I-I've already made my point!"

"All until you stop!"

"Then stop fighting," I groaned, tail twitching behind me as my punctured and bloody leg wobbly stood against my weight, "Please... Let me help you-"

"I know my destiny," The hybrid growled, twitching to the right, "And that's killing you!"

Part of me was about to say something doubtful. I wanted to test him, like how Wu tested me. Without the use of a gun or a laser, I wanted to see if he'd really come to kill me. I wanted to know how much of a killer he really is.

But panic got the better of me. I carried too many wounds already, too much pain. To him I was a living corpse who smelled like ordinary prey, just trying to talk his way out of the moment. Even if I did try to test him, I could still die. Even if he did hesitate, even if he faltered, he could snap at a moment's notice. And I couldn't risk that, having come so far already. 

Talking wasn't doing me much good either, now that I think about it.

But the star...the sun. Is nature the answer? Is it love? Is it the will to be free that will kill his demon? As nature had given me hope, spirit, and a truth beyond the wills of human nature, perhaps...

I need a window...It's the only way.

I frustratingly growled, taking a step forward rather than backward, and with one large screech, I jerked at the ceratopsian, knowing I stood no chance. I perhaps got a few scratches and deep wounds to puncture through its neck, snout, flanks, and underbelly, but without a single flinch the hybrid tossed me through a room, watching as my body struck metal after painful metal until I exited into a corner of a hallway, groaning as blood welled up below me.

How much longer until I find a window? I wheezed, leaning on the wall as the hybrid went around the broken room.

Look up.

My amber eyes lifted up with a weak dazed stare and before my very befuddled eyes was a window, curtained and closed by black blankets or sheets of some sort. I stared at it ahead of me, then looked back at the hybrid, already preparing to charge.

I had no time to talk. I shouldn't have spoken anyway through this endless fight. Instead of letting my useless words try and change the mind of the hybrid, my jaw widened and sank into the soft filaments of the curtain.

Open! I cried as the ground began to shake, C'mon, open up- 

AHH!!!

A white ivory horn sliced straight through my hip bone, once more going right through the entire limb. I screamed horribly, slashing at the wall as the hybrid dug his bone even farther into the wound.

My bloody jaws snagged at the cloth beside me, frantically pulling at the window curtain in agony. The horn continued to writhe inside my leg, splattering blood all over the carpeted ground below me, and it sickened me to the bone as I pulled harder against the weight of my enemy. All I did though was fuel his rage, and through a short bellow the Indosaurus swung back, ripping harder into my flesh, and tearing me apart.

Screams of muffled anguish erupted from my maw as I held onto the cloth, tearing into the material with a silent plead. The rims around the top of the metal lining shattered no long after my cry, and out of suddenness both of us toppled backward into the tile flooring beneath our feet. Satisfied, the windows around me were clear as day to see, and beyond the horizon, an orange glow began to rise. The Indosaurus snarled, unaware of this, and turned his skull toward my position while I laid there, whimpering in agony.

"Worthless..."

I didn't know what else to say at this point. I was coated in dark red, wounds of plenty scarred all over my flesh, and the will to fight now a distant fantasy. I just laid there, splaying on my side and felt the ground shake as the herbivore edged closer, his scent overpowering and his shadow sending cold shivers down my hide. I was falling into the same fate Blue did. Nothing I said was making a difference, nothing I tried was actually saving me. 

"I'll wake you up," I remember Blue whimpering when I turned on her, "I promise..."

I felt his paw press upon my body and tried one last time.

"Please," I clicked, a tear rolling down my face, "You have...to wake up...He'll dispose of you when he's finished with me. And he'll...make more...of us just to be killed...by his...hand."

"Wu's innocent. He wouldn't do such a thing to any of us."

"You're innocent," I muttered, "You're just the victim in his game...He's using you."

"He's protecting us from the world! A world that has poisoned your heart!"

I shook my head, eyes still glowing as I glanced at the slowly rising sun, "No...it didn't. It healed me. You're wrong about the world, its not wretched or cold. I've seen the beauty of it,...of life! Of everything! I used to think the same as you, I truly did but...but the world isn't evil, humanity is. The ones who trap us in the dark. We were just too foolish enough to believe it."

The hybrid simply snorted in response, glaring down at me. His eyes were dark and locked upon my wounds like the intent of a predator, and his nostrils twitched in lust. But he watched and listened, glowing slightly interested in my voice. His paw wasn't squeezing down as hard to crush me, meaning I had the upper hand. All I needed to do was stall long enough for mother nature to awaken in the distance.

If only she could hurry up.

"You...don't have to be...what you're designed to be," I wheezed, "You're not a hybrid or a killer, you're a living creature like me. Like everything that co-exists on this land. You have a choice, and if you change that primal voice inside you, you'll see why."

"We're not dinosaurs or modern creatures," The hybrid huffed, growling harshly against his fleshy throat, "We're monsters born for a purpose. That's all we could ever be!"

"Is that all you think we are?" I clicked back, gritting my teeth as another wave of pain flooded around my body, "Can't we be more than just what Wu expects?" The hybrid was bound to answer with a positive statement, but something held him back, shutting his beak tightly. He snorted again, clawing at the earth and growled.

"W-What you speak of is not revenge but an uprising. You're a fool and a threat to turn on your creator, the man who brought you to life-!"

"After years of torture!" I wheezed back, shaking my head, "Years upon years of being beaten every day, stabbed through every organ, and fried to a crisp until my scales would quake into nothingness -- So please! Don't think differently against me because you're stronger! You suffered the same fate as me and you know it!  And when I'm gone you'll see why."

"Stop stalling."

"I'm not," I hissed, digging my claws into the floor, "I'm telling the truth..."

"Why should I believe you?" The ceratopsian bared his irregular teeth, "About the world, about this brutality you speak of, about anything?! He made me see the truth of what's out there. He showed me it was a void of nothing but chaos and destruction. Of greed and war."

I sighed, shaking my head and gaped my jaws, "Maybe you need to see it through your own eyes..."

A bright flash of orange spilled through each and every window behind the Indosaurus, causing the hybrid to gasp and flinch in fright at who or what had suddenly entered the fight. A radiating hum splashed into the air among the rays of molten lava that seeped into the facility like gold, and the walls sparkled with glee from the birth of an elderly friend. The world was instantly splattered vivid by the sun's rays, like a new painting with still wet oils of assorted colors. No longer did it flesh a morning greeting to the world, but it gently touched our flesh, warming our bodies and bringing life back to cold muscles that consumed our battle; burning the unprotected skin embedded upon us within minutes.

The Indosaurus was astonished, a reaction that somewhat came over me as well as we glanced at the sunrise, suddenly disarming the thought of the battle between us. I watched him move away from me, his head tilted in awe as the world below his very eyes, cities, forests, deserts and all now a sea of violent yellow.

And not long after, the red glow in his eyes faded to black.

"What...what is this?" The scared hybrid muttered, eying the glowing ball of fire in fright, "Is the ceiling ablaze?"

"It's called a sunrise," I muttered as I shakily stood to my crippled feet, painfully limping over to his side.

"It's..." The hybrid trailed off, blinking yet again as the sun continued to soar over the land, "...Beautiful..."

"I know..." I tilted my head to him, "It is..."

For several minutes both foe and ally stared out from the window into the morning sky, gazing with wide eyes as the sun made its grand appearance into the world before us. No matter if a thousand stars flashed like diamonds in the night, the sun was the true entity that would forever bring back hope into my heart. I never realized that I had closed my eyes to embrace such a feeling, and when I opened them I found a voice in myself, a pained but truthful voice to speak to the ceratopsian.

"We don't have to fight for the darkness," I whispered, staring deep into the red tendrils in his eyes, "When we can thrive in the light."

"The...light...." The Indosaurus muttered back, his own round innocent eyes painfully staring back into the sun outside the broken window, "Is that...what this infinite string is called?"

I nodded, my nostrils twitching against my snout as I watched the hybrid's amazed eyes widen, "Everyday it rises upon the horizon, gifting the world of magic and life. And every day it's warmth fills our bodies, and it's light touches the earth. We belong to it...everyone does."

"Does....does it watch me?" The hybrid muttered turning back to me. I smiled, swallowing in another glob of blood and nodded.

"It'll always see you. It's our god, and throughout all time it has watched us suffer for so long."

"Suffer?"

"Wu kept it from us for years," I said in response to his questioned word, "All three of us never had a chance to see the light of day until I escaped death. I never knew the world- despite the pain, the consequences, and the corrupted- could be filled with such wonder. And it's this wonder that changed me forever. It made me realize that life... isn't something to take...it's something to cherish. It took me a while to learn now that there's more life and to love than what meets the eye. It's much more valuable than the greed we give, and the hunger we thirst for."

"Then..." The hybrid blinked back, staring down, "This light...it means something."

"It does. And we must honor it."

"But what does it mean for us? What's our purpose?"

"To be free..." I cooed through a soft voice, smiling yet again, "To live the life we were never meant to have. A life Wu stole from us."

"But Wu gave me life..."

"You haven't lived life, not until you've suffered a little," I wheezed, straining to hold myself together, "I wanted you to see the world, to understand what I see and why I changed. I don't want you to fall like the others, I want you to join me. To live for once."

"I..." The creature glanced down at me, his grotesque structure now glowing in a ray of glory and beauty, and the bright orange sun made his scales gleam of pride and positivity. He thought for a moment, taking his eyes away from me to stare at the sun, then looked back down at me, "I....I do want to live."

"Then let me stop Wu," I urged, eyes searching endlessly for the goodness in his autumn eyes, "Please."

"Atta boy!" A voice called, followed by the noise of a gun loading beside the voice, "I'm glad something's gone right for once. Wu will be proud of ya."

I lifted my head, coughing out more liquid and stared down the hallway, noticing a man who too was drenched in the bloodbath of the sun. His body appeared injured, not so much to kill him, but enough to make him limp, though the energy still remained, helping him stroll into the field with a chuckle in his throat. The Indosaurus backed up for a moment, unsure whether to be afraid of the man, or to scare the man himself, but no matter, he allowed him to wander over to me.

"Good job," The soldier nodded, looking up at the Indosaurus as he pulled out the laser, "I'm almost out of bullets, so why don't you do me the favor in killing it for me."

My eyes flashed coldly, and with a soft inhale I turned to face the hybrid who's eyes now pointed down to the earth. He appeared to be searching for something, something strange and utterly important that was either stained on the earth or written upon the ground just as if a message was written in the stars.

"Go on," The man nodded, loading his gun again and clicked it, "End the monster beastie."

The hybrid just stood still. His heart was pumping just as fast as my own, and in his eyes all I could now see was the fear brimming around his own pupil. The hybrid took a step forward, grunting and snorting, and for a moment I believed he had turned against my own judgment.

I only realized too late that it was his words that had changed instead.

"Monster..." The hybrid stared at me, tilting his head and snorted louder, "I see it now. The rage, the anger you see. But I'm not a monster fowl human. The only monster around here..." His eyes snapped left, "Is you..."

"Hey...." The guy trailed off, stumbling backward with pure shock now spasming in his eyes, "Wait..."

"You're the monster!" the hybrid snarled, and with one simple stride, his own daggers upon his frill impaled a different victim: humanity itself. The soldier grunted and screeched, gasping for air as the horns punctured his flesh, and seconds later he was dead.

I stared, dumbfounded at what he had done, and when he turned back around I flinched, going already in a protective stance. He glanced down at me, tilting his head from left to right then nodded.

"Go..."

"What?"

"You don't have time," The hybrid hissed in a plead-like voice, "He's still after you. I saw him leave."

"W-Where?"

"I'm not sure."

"Okay then...," I nodded, "But where are the others held?"

"I don't know," He sighed again, "Then again, I don't know much. But I realize that your judgment is right. I was a fool to call you a liar."

"You were doing what was best," I answered, smiling to him, "Don't blame yourself. I used to do the same. But you understand now, don't you?"

"I do. And I truly thank you for it."

"For making you see reality?"

"Not just that," The hybrid cooed, his eyes now turning yellow, "For reminding me that we do have a choice. For letting me see what life is truly like."

I chirped in pride, grinning slightly, "You're welcome."

"Now," The Indosaurus glanced from left to right, then looked back at me, "I believe that the other hybrids are down the hall. If you can break the cages, I think they'll die. That should be enough to shut down InGen for good, and stop more hybrids from suffering a similar fate as us."

"What about you?" I croaked.

"I'll kill Wu," The indosaurus growled, "He needs to know how it feels to be tortured for an eternity. I know it's your mission, but you're wounded badly. Can you run?"

"Slightly," I huffed, staring down at the wounds, "But I can manage for a little while. I'm just tired."

Fear flowed into the hybrid's eyes as it swallowed and responded to my voice, "You need help Ripper-" He cut off suddenly and shrieked two ear bursting cries, "LOOK OUT!"

The explosion, like a thunderclap exploding next to our bodies, made us both jolt from the sheer intensity of the noise, and right out the corner of the hallway came another man, gun pointed high and steaming from the shot projectile. The Indosaurus glanced at itself first, staring at its hide with fear, but nothing was there. He turned to me and pure terror caused his whole frilled-shaped face to turn pure white. I took a deep inhale, but what came back in my lungs was pure blood. I exhaled, but rather than oxygen, pure red liquid splattered out my jaws. I placed my claw on my torso, gasping for a moment and took a shaky step backward as more blood welled from the area.

Instead of a neat reddened hole, the wound was oozing with dark congealing blood and the putrid smell was enough to initiate a gag reflex.

"Ripper?" The Indosaurus whimpered, watching me weakly lose my footing. Wu fired again, and this time I saw the projectile before it struck me. It hit my chest with perfect aim, propelling me backward in an awkward cartwheel that sent me landing on the ground with one painful crash.

I was down. But this time, I couldn't get up. There was no feeling left to move.

"Get away from him!" The Indosaurus roared, stepping in the way of the scientist. Wu's eyes widened as he held the gun, surprised that another one of his own creations had turned on him.

"I put my faith and work in creating you," Wu growled, "And yet you fall into the same trap too?"

"The hell with you, monster!" The Indosaurus growled confidentiality, a roar only heard in Wu's ears, "And I won't let you hurt him, no matter how many bones break in my body. I'll always rise up. That was your biggest mistake."

Wu, surely unable to understand his response, took a step forward and smirked. And it was this smirk, that one gesture that made my whole body tremble, knowing a dark idea had risen in his mind.

"Indo, run..."

"You're not immortal by the way," Wu growled, "You are just like them. No wonder you were another failure. I only knew in time that he'd change you. And that he'd make you weak."

The Indosaurus merely snorted, taking one step forward himself.

Wu raised his gun and tilted his head.

"Every one of my creations has a flaw old friend," Wu smirked, "The indominus was too greedy. The indoraptor was too soft. And you think too much. I think I might be able to help with that."

Wu pulled the trigger moments later, but rather than the bullet strike the occasional heart or flank, the projectile sliced straight into the very skull of the Indosaurus. As I laid there dying, I imagined that the ceratopsian didn't mind the shot that blasted through his brain. But to my horror the very first strike made the creature scream, stumbling backward as every limb on his body lost control of itself. He flopped to the wall, then slumped to the ground, twitching violently.

"What?" 

I shook my head, watching one of the most powerful hybrids now lie vulnerable to Wu's rather mortal weapon. The scientist walked over to his side, then took a little glance at me, smiling darkly.

"You were my greatest creation," Wu sadly stated, staring at my convulsing self while raising the gun again, "But you let him get into your head. And now I cannot save you. You failed to serve me."

"I...will...never....serve...man..." The hybrid huffed. Wu nodded, biting the side of his cheek, and sighed.

"Goodbye old friend."

"No..." I whimpered, crying out, "Leave him alone...you want me! You wanted me!! WU NO-!"

He was dead before the noise even struck me. One gunshot and one violent twitch were all it took for one great and powerful beast to go limp and cold against the tile ground. I could do nothing but watch. And listen.

Listen to the silence that enveloped around me.

And from this silence came my own voice, my own terrified and sad voice, filled with tears and an uncontrollable sob.

The Indestructible Indosaurus was dead.