I'm a spinosaurus with a System to raise a dinosaur army

Chapter 363: The last friend

After a few days Nefertiti settled at the lake together with her father and her last remaining uncle. With the help and indications of Sobek she built a comfortable nest and there she laid her egg.

Thus began the brood. The female spinosaurus never moved from above he egg, keeping it constantly warm. Sobek and Buck brought her food and water. When Nefertiti was too hot, Sobek used his huge sail as a parasol and Buck fanned her with his tail. In the rare moments when she was cold, the two of them huddled to help her warm up.

That routine went on for three months. Finally, at the end of the third month, a familiar clicking sound came from under Nefertiti's paws.

The female spinosaurus reared up and looked down. A small crack was opening on the egg. With a smile she moved from above it. The crack widened more and more and finally a large piece of egg broke off, showing a lively green eye that stared intently at Nefertiti.

"Hello, baby. I'm your mother" the female spinosaurus greeted, then stretched out a claw to help the cub break the egg. Although she did it with all the attention possible, she was still terrified of hurting the cub.

"Dad was right when he said that panic is the essence of parenting" she murmured with a hint of amusement mixed with fear in her voice. The child emitted a slight cry and with a tumble emerged out of the egg, covered in albumen and yolk.

Nefertiti grabbed the cub lightly and helped it up. The little one took a few steps and then fell to the ground again. Nefertiti let out a small laugh. "Was I that clumsy too?" she murmured amused.

"You were more so". A big thud announced Sobek's arrival. The child flinched slightly as it saw the giant spinosaurus appear.

"Be calm, my child. This is your grandfather" Nefertiti told him. "And that grouch over there is your uncle"

Buck had arrived too. A smile was painted on his face. "I have a certain déjà vu" he said. "With the difference that the other cub was more enterprising"

The child made a couple of noises and pawed towards its relatives, looking at them with wide eyes. It was so tiny that even Buck probably seemed gigantic to it; and Sobek had to be quite a titan from its perspective.

"Was I too this small?" Nefertiti asked.

"Did you expect to be born large?" Sobek asked back.

Nefertiti let out a laugh. "It's really strange that something so small can become so big"

"All great things have small beginnings" Sobek told her.

Father and daughter looked at each other, and then burst out laughing. The two of them looked at the cub, who was trying to climb onto Buck's paw. "What do you want to call it?" the tyrannosaurus asked. "By the way, is it a male or a female?"

"It's a male" Nefertiti replied. "And I thought 'Takaj' was good"

"Takaj, huh? I like it" Buck replied, then widened his eyes. "Wait, so this time he's a boy! Marvelous! Come here, nephew! Play a little with your great-uncle!"

Sobek and Nefertiti saw Buck rolling around on the ground as if he were a small dog. The little Takaj seemed to be enjoying himself and in fact he jumped on his muzzle. Buck squirmed as if he had just been captured by a wild beast, being very careful not to hurt the child, who continued to squeal happy for that game.

Sobek couldn't help but smile. It was really strange to see his old friend, who was now struggling even to walk, rolling on the ground as if he were suddenly ten years younger. It was really true that children and grandchildren were the best medicine.

Suddenly around them different dinosaurs, crocodiles, pterosaurs and other animals started appearing. Evidently Nefertiti had just revealed to them that the baby was born through the [Contract], or more likely they had learned it thanks to artificial human satellites.

For three days and nights, everyone celebrated. Countless animals and even large numbers of humans came from all over the world just to see the little Takaj. The cub had just been born and was already making a big fuss… kind of like the mother had done when she was born.

Sobek gave the other animals plenty of space and time to get to know his grandchild, but Buck didn't feel the same way. The big tyrannosaurus used every possible moment to play with Takaj, and he didn't seem willing to stop. And even after those three days of celebration, when the other animals were gone, he continued to spend every single moment he could with the newcomer. While Nefertiti rested after her long effort and Sobek looked after her, Buck busied himself with keeping the hyperactive cub busy. Only at the turn of the week, when Nefertiti had finally made a full recovery, did he agree to leave the baby to her and retire to give mother and son some privacy.

He and Sobek went to lie down in a point of the beach a little away so as not to disturb them. Even from that distance they could see mother and son playing by the lake, while Takaj stirred in the hyperactivity and curiosity typical of the cubs.

"Thanks for keeping him busy these days" Sobek said to Buck. "Nefertiti will soon discover that it's not all rosy…"

"I just wanted to avoid a scene. I have vividly engraved in my memory that time, three days after Nefertiti was born, you fell asleep from exhaustion and then when you woke up you panicked because she was gone" Buck laughed.

Sobek let out a small laugh, but it wasn't a happy laugh. The tyrannosaurus noticed this easily. "Is there something you need to tell me?" he asked.

The spinosaurus sighed. "Buck, I… yeah, I have to tell you something. You know my senses are highly developed, right? Much more than you can imagine" he said. "When Snock… left, I felt his heartbeat was at a certain irregular rate. And even the smell of him was peculiar. And when Carnopo left us… I heard the same things coming from him. And now… I feel them coming from you. I… I'm sorry"

Sobek lowered his gaze slightly, not knowing how his friend would react. But to his surprise Buck gave him a tail. "Seriously? That's all?"

"What?"

"Were you anxious just because you had to tell me I'm dying? I already knew. I think that everyone knows it deep down. I don't know how to explain it, it's just a feeling you feel in your bones" the t-rex said slightly ruffling his feathers. "I know I won't get to see the sunset. But if you want my opinion, I think I've been putting off this moment for too long. I can only thank the ancestors for letting me play with that little baby before I closed my eyes forever"

Sobek looked at him dazed, then he let out a snort. "Yeah… I should have known you would react like this"

"After all, who wants to live to be a hundred years old?" Buck laughed, then stood up and stretched as if he were a cat. "Personally, I can't wait for these damn ailments to end and to see Carnopo, Al, Old Li and all the others again. But there's still one thing I want to do"

"Still playing with my grandson?"

"No, I've had enough of that little pest already. Let him have fun with his mother. I want to do something with you"

"With me?"

"Yes. Follow me. Don't worry, it won't be too long a journey" Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

The two dinosaurs walked away from that point of the lake, leaving the shouts and joyful screams of Nefertiti and Takaj behind them. They continued along the shore, watching the waves crash on the shore and the fish swimming under the water. As they walked they talked… or rather, Buck talked continuously while Sobek answered and nodded from time to time. In that short journey, they remembered everything that had happened between them during those long years.

After almost an hour of walking the monotony of the beach gave way to something that was neither a rock nor a fallen log. They were bones. A huge mamenchisaurus skeleton, now half buried in the muddy ground, lay there. As soon as he saw it, Buck changed direction and went into the depths of the forest. Sobek followed. After a few minutes the tyrannosaurus stopped. They had reached their destination.

It was a clearing… well, it sure had been once. Now young trees were sticking out of the ground and several bushes and ferns had grown. Here and there were strange white stones which, upon closer inspection, could be recognized as pieces of bone. And in the center of the clearing, a large tyrannosaurus skull, broken in several places and half-hidden by vegetation, emerged from the ground.

Sobek stopped, finally realizing where Buck had taken him. "This is…"

"… the place where we met" said the tyrannosaurus, then lowered his muzzle and brushed against the skull. "Hi, brother. We will be together again soon. Sorry it took me so long"

Sobek felt a lump form in his throat. So much time had passed and so many things had happened that he had completely forgotten that story. He had buried it in his memory for years, but suddenly the frightened face of that young tyrannosaurus yelling at his brother to flee returned to his memory.

At the time, Sobek hadn't even blinked at it. He hadn't cared about that tyrannosaurus and he had rejoiced in his death. But now many things had changed. Sobek was old now, tired, and he had learned what it meant to lose someone. And watching his best friend greet the skull of that tyrannosaurus who died almost thirty years earlier, he couldn't help but feel a bitter taste in his mouth.

Finally he decided it was right to say something. "Buck, I… in all these years I never apologized to you"

The tyrannosaurus shook his head. "You know there's no need, pack leader"

"Yes, but... that was your brother, and I took him from you. And I did it just to prove my strength. He had no reason to die". Sobek looked at the skull on the ground, which seemed to stare at him through empty eye sockets. "All these years I ignored what I did to you, and it wasn't right. I acted like an asshole towards you and your brother's that day. I could have recruited you both, and you could have served under me as a family. If it was you who attacked me that day and not your brother, that corpse would now be yours". Sobek looked Buck in his eyes: "I made a mistake and all these years I didn't even think about how you must have felt, how you were coping with your pain. I won't ask you to forgive me, but… I'm sorry"

Buck let out a sigh. His previously joyful eyes were veiled for a moment by sadness. "Pack leader, I already forgave you a long time ago. I won't deny it, there was a time when the pain was… very intense. But I never hated you for what you did. And hearing you say these words now fills me with joy. It means that, despite everything, you haven't completely forgotten my brother either... even if you've never thought about him"

"Is that any consolation?"

"For me, yes. And I think for him too. When I'll be on the other side, I'll give him your apologies"

Sobek gave a small smile. Despite everything, Buck was always the same Buck… and he loved him for it. "Why did you want to come here? I doubt it was just your brother, or you wouldn't have asked me to follow you"

"Obvious. The reason you're here, pack leader, is very simple" Buck replied with a click of his tongue. "It's been nearly thirty years since then, and I'm a dying dinosaur. But I still have time for a quick fight, don't you think?"

Sobek's eyes widened, but he couldn't say he was completely surprised. In all those years, he and Buck had never really fought. Sometimes they had done it for fun, but never really. Even during their first fight, Buck hadn't fought; he had immediately given up after realizing the strength of his opponent. And Buck was someone who loved to fight. He had fought with everyone, basically always winning… except with him. He had never fought with him.

"I understand. Let's do it" he said with a tinge of excitement in his voice. Though he knew he would win, he was curious to see what tricks the tyrannosaurus would pull off. "What skills do you want?"

"Anything related to combat" Buck replied with a smile.

Sobek nodded and passed him all possible combat skills: [Reinforced Skin], [Regeneration], [Supreme Instinct], [Deadly Claws], [Powerful Bite], [Devastating Roar], [Teleportation], [Swim Speed], and even [Apnea]. "And what about weapons and mutations?"

"I don't want weapons or armor. We'll fight as nature dictates" Buck replied. "As for mutations… I want [Ultimate Mutation], [Atomic Mutation] and [Gamma Mutation]"

"Good, then I'll just use those too. And to avoid too big a gap, I will replace [Ultimate Mutation] with [Fire Mutation]" Sobek replied.

"Perfect. We're far enough away from any inhabited area that we can let loose here" Buck said. "It won't be the moon, but it will be okay anyway"

The two dinosaurs locked eyes, a gleam of understanding in their pupils. There was no need to say more. It was an instant, and then a giant appeared in the middle of the forest.

It was a cyclopean sized tyrannosaurus. It was at least sixty meters high and nearly one hundred and thirty meters long. Trees cracked under his paws, and his roar rang out for kilometers.

Sobek looked at him satisfied. It was the first time Buck was bigger than him. Even without [Supreme Mutation] Sobek was over forty meters tall, so he had decided not to use it. Seeing the giant t-rex in front of him, he felt as if he had gone back in time, when he still wasn't the most powerful predator ever and had to fight for his life. His heart started pounding with excitement.

"How does it feel to be the shortest, for once?" Buck exclaimed looking down at him.

"It's a feeling I've forgotten, I admit" Sobek replied with a grin. "But you should remember that size doesn't always matter!"

The two dinosaurs stared at each other for a moment, then they both snapped. They charged at each other and then charged at each other. Their roars rang throughout the forest.

***********

Twenty minutes later, that part of the forest had been completely destroyed. Trees had been uprooted or chopped up, stones had been thrown from side to side, the very lay of the land had changed, and even part of the beach had been ruined. The only corner that hadn't been touched was a tiny patch of dirt with a tyrannosaurus skull on it.

The two rivals lay down next to it, breathing deeply. Although [Regeneration] had already healed all their wounds, neither of them remembered ever being this tired. The only time Sobek had fought harder was during his fight with Wafner, but he was twenty years younger at the time.

"Took you a long time to beat up an old man" Buck teased him. "But in the end, the victory was yours"

"But it was very close" Sobek replied. It was true: he had won barely this time. He hadn't fought with the 100% of his capabilities, but it was still amazing that Buck could corner him like that.

"Now I have confirmation. You were worthy of being the pack leader. I couldn't beat you then and I still can't... even if you still had a bad time"

"You were a tough opponent"

"Yeah…" Buck let out a sigh. "Thank you, pack leader. This meant a lot to me"

Sobek started to laugh, but his body suddenly stiffened. "Buck, your heart…!"

Thanks to his extraordinary hearing, Sobek could perceive the irregular and slower beating that the heart of the tyrannosaurus was emitting. He knew it was a matter of minutes before it shut down.

Buck rested his head on the ground. "Yeah…it's about time" he said, then looked into his eyes. "Pack leader… thank you. For all. For everything you've done for me, for Carnopo, for Al, for everyone. There are no words to express my gratitude. Thank you for allowing me to have a wonderful life that I never would have had if I'd never met you". His eyelids began to close. "I have to go now… please don't feel guilty about what you did to my brother, or what you did to anyone else. I forgive you, and I'm sure my brother has forgiven you too. Don't focus on your mistakes, focus on your successes. I want you to live the last few years of your life with a focus on your daughter and grandson, not in regret. Live for me too, Sobek"

The spinosaurus' heart skipped a beat. "After all these years you finally did it"

"What?"

"You called me Sobek"

The t-rex was silent for a moment, as if he too was surprised, then he laughed: "Well, that's your name, isn't it?". And he laughed for almost a minute, until his voice died away with his breath. His heart stopped completely and his eyelids closed.

A tear fell from Sobek's right eye, and then he put his muzzle on Buck's head. "See you in the afterlife… old friend"