The Heist

It was the perfect night for a raid. Atlantis was in a state of unrest, and in Wolf’s eyes there was no better time to strike. The pack had spent the last couple weeks hiding out in one of the many undersea tunnels that connected the islands to Atlantis; this particular one was decrepit and clearly not in use often. The ideal place to scheme.

Wolf roused Honey and Nerret from their slumber, shoving them up with his feet.

“Rise. It’s time to strike.” He announced. The other cryolophosaurus were quick to get to their feet; they knew better than to keep Wolf waiting. Nina stood to attention too, but Wolf quickly dismissed her. “Nina, you stay and guard our resources. I doubt anyone will come by this way, but we can’t be too sure. I trust you to deal with any threats swiftly.” Wolf barked. Nina nodded, slumping back against the wall she had been sleeping along. Honey and Nerret both bowed before Wolf, before taking his lead and following him from their refuge.

“What’s the plan boss.” Honey grunted. Wolf glanced back, a wicked look dancing behind his eyes.

“These Atlantean fools. Running around like headless chickens over their little bio-dome. They seem to think they’re putting up a well-guarded front. At least, they’re acting that way. But it’s clear to anyone with a lick of sense just how chaotic things are behind the scenes. This is a perfect opportunity to sneak behind enemy lines and get some loot. Today we’re going on a little heist.” Wolf relayed.

“You already have a spot picked out from the sounds of it then.” Nerret said, raising a brow inquisitively. Wolf’s eyes narrowed, the hint of a smile.

“They won’t know what hit them.”

Wolf had indeed already picked out a location, and lead the trio carefully though the treacherous Atlantean jungle to a ruined building. It was clear to Honey and Nerret why this building caught Wolf’s eye: A Euplocephalus stood guard outside. Like all the other Euplocephalus they had encountered, she was adorned in armour, hers dark red and metallic. She stood still as a statue, but something seemed off.

“She’s tired, isn’t she? This won’t be so hard at all.” Honey noted. Wolf rolled his eyes and gave Honey a small glare.

“Have a little faith in me. Of course it’s going to be easy.” He hissed. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Nerret is going to waltz out there and get her worked up. Make her chase you a bit, get her tired. If you can lure her away into the jungle Honey and I will go straight for the loot. If she doesn’t take the bait… we deal with her first instead. Got it?” Wolf finished, turning his attention to Nerret. The smaller cryo shifted uneasily from foot to foot, glancing out at the heavily-armoured tank awaiting him.

“Why not lure her away without letting her see me at all?” He whined. Wolf raised his head, glowering.

“Nerret.” He growled, stepping forward to tower above him. Nerret looked down, avoiding eye contact. “Get out there now. Do not disappoint me.” Wolf snapped. Nerret whined again but didn’t retort, slinking away towards the building.

Nerret crept through the undergrowth, carefully eyeing his target. She was still standing there, statue-like. But her head was drooping and eyes unfocused. It was too golden of an opportunity to miss.

He launched himself out of the undergrowth, latching his jaws around the nape of the euplocephalus’ neck. She bleated in alarm, flailing her tail towards him but missing. He was already atop her, claws scrabbling for purchase against her armour. She began to buck wildly, flinging herself this way and that to try and dislodge Nerret. Not only was she tired, but she was weak, he quickly noticed. That didn’t make her attempts meaningless however, as Nerret was finding it incredibly hard to maintain his grip against her slick armour. The euplocephalus clearly took note, and her gameplay changed. She began to careen toward the wall of the building, intent on crushing him between her and the wall. Nerret leapt off just in time, tumbling to the ground. He flailed to his feet, but the euplocephalus was hardly better off, impacting against the wall with an impressive thud. They both stood panting, glaring at one another.

“Please… whatever you want, it’s not worth my life. I’m just following orders. We’re just trying to survive.” She pleaded through gritted teeth, the pain evident in her voice.

“That implies your life is worth much at all. I disagree.” Came a sudden interjection. Wolf slinked out from the treeline, Honey in tow. He paused to look Nerret up and down briefly. “Good job. You’ve got gumption tackling her like that, I like it.”

The euplocephalus scowled at the reveal of two additional foes, hunkering down and raising her tail threateningly.

“She’s still got some fight left it seems.” Honey grumbled, eyeing her swaying tail cautiously. Wolf simply scoffed in response.

“Not for long. Let’s finish this.”

At his word, Wolf and Honey both launched towards the euplocephalus. She roared in response, swinging her tail towards Honey who was quickly closing in from behind her, but he deftly dodged aside. Nerret took his cue and leapt into the action, clamping down on her neck once more to restrict her movement. With her momentarily distracted, Honey seized the moment to leap atop her tail, pinning it down and disarming her deadliest weapon. Wolf placed a foot on top of her body, pushing down to force her to her knees. She grunted and tried to resist, but eventually collapsed to her belly. There was a moment of tense silence before she spoke.

“Please spare me… It’s not my time yet, please.” She wheezed. Wolf laughed, pressing down harder on her back. He lowered his head to bring himself eye-level with her. Though tired, the panic in her eyes was clear.

“If you get in our way, consider this your last day. We’ll be taking whatever you’re protecting in that building now, thank you very much.”