The Apex Predator

It had been a mistake to attack the group. Especially not when they were close to their home base- she just hadn’t expected Queen Rhys of all dinosaurs to appear-

Each breath pushed from her lungs caused strikes of agony as the motion forced the wounded skin of her chest to expand. Nyx’s eyes flicked about in an anxious fervor, rapidly taking in their surroundings. Above her Velvet loomed, looking much like a sentry as he swung his head in warning… Somewhere off to the side Nyx could see a squirming body trapped beneath the powerful forelimbs of the queen, who despite the struggling, remained unmoved. The sight alone was enough to cause Nyx to drop her head into the trodden grass, not even caring as the dampness from the humidity soaked into her feathers and stung her wounds. It would be nothing compared to the agony that awaited from the surrounding army, and even Velvet’s valiant attempts wouldn’t keep them at bay for much longer.

They were weak. Defeated. Even Velvet who for all of his snorting and grunting; she could see the bloody streaks lining his thick hide.
Why had they thought this would work? An assault on the queen with just the pair of them; it had been a death sentence from the start, from the very moment the idea had been brewed within their minds.
If only Aster had been here… Even if she wouldn’t care about them, at least she would have been too stubborn to go down easy. Unlike Nyx herself. All it had taken was a well placed slash of a thumb claw.

Queen Rhys loomed like a rising sun over the battlefield; bits of golden armor glinting off the sun in various hues of gold and yellows. Iguanodons and stone armored euoplocephalus moved around her, as if they were ants gathering around the queen of their colony; Nyx supposed that wasn’t entirely wrong of an observation with just how devout her subjects seemed. The primates which clung to her back whooped and chattered in celebration as they dug hands into bloodied feathers, as to not lose balance, when she rose onto her hindlegs- preparing to bring her full mass down upon the wide eyed albertosaurus.

Nyx turned her eyes, she didn’t want to look-
Then she saw it.
Two golden eyes shining from the depths of the jungle. It emerged silently, the shadows slowly peeling back with each careful step into the clearing with the grace of a slinking tiger. Sunlight and shadows danced upon the patched skin, pocked with battle scars which put even the most experienced iguanodon soldiers to shame.
Nyx’s eyes dared to flick back to the queen who remained perched on her hindlegs, watching the albertosaurus struggle and snap while listening to the jeering from her guards. None of them had noticed the predator which had now fully broken free of the jungle, her body low to the earth and slitted pupils trained upon the queen. Next to Nyx she could see Velvet had long since gone still, watching the large carnivore in silent awe before flicking his eyes to the rest of the distracted guards; he was calculating their odds should another fight break out.
In all honesty? Nyx liked the odds a lot more now.

The hulking mass of a carnivore, called an acrocanthosaurus, rose from her crouched position and Nyx was confused why- then she realized. She had reached ambushing distance. Then, with speed she had never believed possible for something of that size, she sprinted. Those large powerful legs propelled F-23 over the clearing in record speeds, throwing dirt and grass flying through the sky as claws dug into the humidity softened earth. Each step echoed in the ground, sending rumbling vibrations through dirt and mud- rumbling in Nyx’s very being. However, the graceful image of a tiger refused to leave Nyx’s mind…

Queen Rhys had no time to prepare, and her guards no time to react as a mass of pure muscle collided with her own body. Her primate companions shrieked and wailed as they leapt from her back onto the ground, just in time to avoid being crushed by the combined weight as the pair landed with a great thump. Powerful jaws opened, revealing a row of knife life teeth ready to rip and tear into those silky feathers-

Nyx’s eyes flicked rapidly when a rush of movement caught her eyes, turning her gaze from the fighting pair to a new fight- Velvet and Guerilla. The two bulls were reared up onto their hind legs with their thumb claws stabbed into each side. The wounds were ugly, weeping with bright red blood- made all the worse when suddenly Velvet stumbled back, damn near yanking the weapon from his side in the process as his own slipped from the other bull’s side. Nyx drew herself up, even as her body screamed in agony and her limbs quaked.

She must keep going. If Velvet could keep fighting- then so could she!
Nyx waited, like a snake in the grass, for her chance. Her heart thrummed in her chest and her legs quaked, but her eyes remained locked upon Guerilla. The two bulls paid her no mind as they once more rose up onto their hind legs to stare each other in the eyes. Then, with the suddenness of clashing thunder, their masses slammed against one another. Chest to chest their forelegs searched for leverage all the while leaving deep gashes and cuts in the hides of their opponents-
Here was Nyx’s chance.

Despite the aching in her chest Nyx lunged forward and used her small body to her advantage to clamber upon the back of the distracted bull. With small, yet knife-like, teeth Nyx bit down into the back of Guerilla’s neck; blood rushing from the wound like a torrent and staining the white fur around her mouth. Guerilla reeled with a bellow, creating the perfect opening for Velvet. The black and red bull shoved his body against Guerilla’s, the simple action causing his large body to fall into the bloody grass- Nyx barely had time to leap from his back before she was crushed!

Adrenaline roared in Nyx’s ears as she turned her attention to the rest of the soldiers while Velvet pinned the other bull beneath his weight.
The fight wasn’t over.

Nyx raced forward, the pain in her chest nothing more than a dull throb, to intercept the quick body of an oviraptor racing towards the queen.
“Nuh-uh~ We wouldn’t want to interrupt their fun? Now would we?” She all but purred to the scout as she clasped her teeth around the creature’s delicate neck. Just scare it. Don’t kill. She refused to kill.

However it seemed that F-23 shared no such sentiment-

Queen Rhys had since recovered, horizontal pupils blown wide with the heightened adrenaline, and standing high on her legs. However, even with the added height, F-23 still loomed above the queen like an omen of doom brought to life. The queen’s right forearm was bloody, and Nyx could see blood coating F-23’s mouth… Slowly dripping down her chin. Unfortunately, F-23 wasn’t unscathed either. An angry red gash sat upon F-23’s neck, spilling deep crimson onto the moisture hungry earth. And yet, she circled the queen even as her primates whooped and howled from their perches of safety.

“You dare threaten my kingdom? My court?” Bellowed Queen Rhys, crest flared to highlight her already large size.

“And you dare harm my kin? Capture my child, then attempt to harm her???” F-23 spat as she continued her prowl, eyes flashing with unbridled rage. “You know not whom you confront.” F-23 stopped and Nyx could see another iguanodon charging towards them-

Until Velvet collided into Angus’s side with a resounding slam of feathers against hide. At least Nyx and Velvet could agree on one thing. The queen was F-23’s fight.
And they all knew who would emerge victorious with a hide caked in mud and blood. Nyx had heard the tales whispered by those who fled the Alpha Labs, a behemoth who guarded the darkness. The one who bore no name, merely a number. As well as one of the few who had faced Nidhogg unflinchingly.
Now that was a side Nyx was proud to stand beside.