This is the first of three stories I will write as 'conclusions' for my Deadly Trio. These are set in the near future, so that means that this story will not affect other writings I may do of my Deadly Trio that are set present date. Anyway, enjoy

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"Listen, Nekumbra...", the dragon spoke, looking around. She had to make sure Iugulare wasn't around. The afternoon light in the Birch Forest provided enough cover for their conversation to go unnoticed. "I've wasted too much time on this planet, I have my own problem to deal with."

The spider doe tilted her head, "What? What is going on?", she asked.

Anirapio closed her eyes, and told Nekumbra the situation on her home planet, Ibuzon. She told her about the decreasing food, the extinctions, her species' unusually high metabolism...the whole deal.

"Oh my gods...why didn't you tell anyone about this before?", Nekumbra asked.

The dragon shook her head, "I don't know, I don't know! I thought Iugulare would help me with this, but she's been too busy trying to catch Quad...", then her eyes widened, "Wait, I have an idea." The dragon's face contorted in a way that made her look happier. "Quad's practically immortal, right? He comes back to life after he dies. I've seen this before. And Iugulare is obsessed with capturing him. So what if I took Quad back to Ibuzon with me? My brethren could hunt him down over and over, feeding off of him for generations until we find a better solution."

"How will we get him, and you, back to your planet?", Nekumbra asked.

"Easy. Just ask Iugulare. She was the one who figured it out.", Anirapio replied.

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Iugulare met with them quickly, and the plan was set. Anirapio told her the idea, and to her surprise, Iugulare agreed. "With Quad out of the picture, I could infect this world without any setbacks. I like it.", she nodded.

"So you still know how to create the portal back to my world?", Anirapio asked her.

"Of course. All we need is a blood orange, a fawn's skull, and petrified wood. I've got the wood, I'm sure Nekumbra can get us the skull, and you'll hunt down the orange.", Iugulare instructed them.

"How will we lure Quad, though?", Nekumbra asked.

"Quite simple, all we have to do is put his daughter in danger.", Iugulare said.

The three nodded, going off their own ways to find the items to create the portal. Iugulare would hunt down Zephyr, and the plan would be set in motion.

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The doe drank from the pond. She was completely unaware of the shadow lurking toward her. She rose her head for just a moment, and it was too late - a mass of infection slammed into her. Iugulare tackled her and wrapped around her body.

The doe tried to cry but the stoat bound her mouth. "Hush, let it take you.", Iugulare whispered. Zephyr struggled, trying to speak, and then her body rested, succumbing to the infection. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when they opened, her eyes were clouded over. The stoat dropped off of her, and the doe stood against her will. "Come, I have plans for you.", Iugulare spoke. The doe didn't respond in any way, but followed her as she walked off.

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"Have any of you seen Zephyr?", Quad asked. He stood by the resting Toukan, who tilted his head curiously. "No, Quad. Why? You can't find her?", Toukan asked. The blackbuck shook his head, "Something is wrong. I've been calling out to her, but she is nowhere to be found.", Quad replied.

"Quad, come quick!", Anjali called, running toward him. The blackbuck's fur stood up, "What is it?", he asked. "Zephyr! She's been infected!", the deer spoke the words he didn't want to hear. Quad raced in the direction Anjali came from. Toukan stood and went after him along with Anjali.

The blackbuck skidded to a halt, his heart sank when he saw his own daughter covered in the thick ooze. "Zephyr?! Zephyr!!", he cried, but the doe didn't respond. He then saw the strange ring dug into the ground, along with several items placed in the middle. "What is all of this?", he questioned. Several other deer gathered around to see what the commotion was about.

"Oh valde malum phasmatis, exsisto existo!", the words were spoken, and immediately a gust of wind blasted all around. A great portal appeared where the circle was drawn, flowing wildly with colors none could explain. While he was distracted, Zephyr charged at Quad, ramming into him, rubbing Iugulare's infection all over him. He cringed and tried to shove her off, afraid he would hurt her. Oh Twin Gods, give me strength now!, he thought, and immediately his body burst into white light. This stunned Zephyr, part of the infection on her dissolving, as well as most of what was on Quad. She shook her head, her eyes adjusting, clearing up. "Dad? What's...aah...why is my skin burning so badly?", Zephyr spoke to him.

"Relax, Zeph. You've been infected, I'll...", Quad began to say, when from behind he was grabbed and flung back. Anirapio was the guilty creature, throwing him to the ground before lifting him up and wrapping around his stunned body with her wings. "At long last, I will have an answer.", the dragon spoke through telepathy.

"An...Anirapio, what is this all about?", Quad spoke, he was having a harder time breathing while the dragon had her grasp on him. "This will all end. I will spare my own world, and let Iugulare claim this one. And it all will be because of you.", she spoke directly to him, "My species is starving, and you will be their prey. They will hunt you down and make you suffer, again and again. The Daog will thrive once more!"

"Quad! Get away!", Toukan shouted at him. The dragon stepped backwards toward the portal. "Say goodbye to this world, Quad!", she spoke. And taking one last step, she and Quad vanished into the portal, and immediately it sealed up behind them.

"No!!", Zephyr cried. The others around all gasped in horror. Iugulare turned to Nekumbra, "Time to capture this planet once and for all.", she instructed the spider-doe, and immediately turned toward the spectators.

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"It actually worked!", Anirapio spoke. The dragon's heavy foot stood on Quad, who was pressed on the ground of a strange terrestrial world. Around him was thick jungle, and his lungs had to adjust to the atmosphere as well as the gravity. Anirapio looked around, glad to be home.

But something was amiss. She took her foot off of the blackbuck, and took to the sky. Quad struggled to his hooves but collapsed, exhausted from the teleportation, and feeling quite hopeless that he would ever see Earth or the Endless Forest again.

"My brethren, I have returned with a food source!", Anirapio called out.

Silence. She looked in another direction. "Answer me, my friends!", she called. Still nothing. The dragon rushed off, scanning the land, looking for her own kind.

She was gone for enough time that Quad was able to adjust to the new world. He stumbled in the direction she went, afraid he would meet death or pain, but found nothing but the wilderness around him.

Then he heard something else.

Sobbing.

He found Anirapio, sitting on the ground, her head bent down. The blackbuck approached cautiously but curiously. Before her were piles of bones, strangely shaped and laying in various positions.

The dragon looked over to him, her eyes filled with tears. It was this moment that Quad's blood went cold.

She was too late. Her species had eaten each other to extinction. Anirapio was the very last Daog.

Quad was speechless. He didn't know what to say, what to do. He mustered the courage to speak, "Ani...I'm so sorry..."

"Sorry?", the Daog's sorrow turned to rage, "Sorry?! This is all your fault! If you would have...", she stopped, shaking her head, calming, "No, no...I understand now. How could I possibly blame you for this." She closed her eyes, tears forming once again. "My race was never superior...but defunct."

"No, no don't say that, Ani.", Quad assured her, "Maybe things just didn't go the way they should have. There are always animals who don't adapt the right way or don't form the best methods of survival." He wished he hadn't said this, but it got through to the Daog.

She nodded her head, "I understand. What a shame that it had to come to this...I could have saved them if it wasn't for Iugulare. It wasn't you that caused the delay, it was her.", Anirapio spoke. She turned away, ashamed with herself, "I failed them all, Quad."

"Don't put this on yourself. Listen, I know Iugulare isn't the greatest of creatures out there, but she did save you from sharing the same fate as your friends here. I know that's not much, but you're still alive. Why don't we make the most of your life?", Quad said to her.

The Daog tilted her head, "What do you have in mind?", she asked.

"Come with me, back to Earth. Let me take you to the humans, let them research you, study you. Let them learn about your race. They may be able to create something wonderful from learning about you.", Quad said with an encouraging voice.

Anirapio thought about this for a moment. "You really think so?", she asked.

"Absolutely! Of course...we'd have to figure out how to get back to Earth...but...", Quad began to reply when a portal opened up nearby. Appearing before them were Michael and Auriea, who stepped out of the portal.

"There you are, Quad!", Auriea said, "We almost couldn't find you!"

"Auriea! Michael! How did you get here?", Quad asked excitedly.

"Abiogenesis, remember? Once we were able to figure out where you went, we made our own portal to come here.", Michael replied.

Anirapio let out a sigh through her nostrils and then said, "If I may, please forgive me, for everything I have done to your species.", and turning to Quad, she said, "And to you, Quad. I almost did something terrible to you."

The Twin Gods and Quad all looked to one another, then the three nodded in unison. "Apology accepted, and by the way, Quad's advice is quite good. You could do wonders for our own world.", Auriea spoke.

Quad then had a startling realization, "Iugulare! We have to stop her!", but Michael shook his head. "Don't worry, Quad, she's already been dealt with. We stopped her and Nekumbra before coming here."

"Come, Anirapio. You have a great future awaiting you on Earth.", Auriea spoke. The Daog nodded, and a new portal opened, connecting Ibuzon and Earth once again. The four traveled through, leaving the jungle planet uninhabited.

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Quad and Anirapio traveled to one of the leading biological research facilities in the world. The humans were all startled and astounded at the Daog when she arrived, and Quad (who was able to speak their language) assured them that she was harmless and wanted to devote the rest of her life to their research. Anirapio quickly picked up on the English language and was able to communicate the history of her world and of her race.

She had her very own room, where the biologists were studying every part of her physique, organic systems, bone structure, cellular development, and telepathic abilities with fascination. She had a tube that fed into her belly pouch, providing protein and other nutrients to keep her body healthy. It was an efficient alternative to her having to eat any other animals.

And then one day, they proposed a new idea of hybridization. The Daog did not understand what they meant, but she trusted them. Whatever they wanted to do. "The process is very simple, we simply manually fertilize the eggs within you from another species. We already have a donor, he was very happy to help.", one of the biologists said to her. Anirapio tilted her head, "Who?"

The main pointed toward a nearby window, where she saw a blackbuck antelope watching her. He smiled to her, and she didn't realize until it was too late, but a tear formed in her eye. "After all I have done to you and your kind, you would still help me out in this way? Quad, I could never thank you enough.", she said to him through the glass. He wasn't able to reply, but she saw him nod.

The hybridization process went very well. Anirapio was pregnant, and because of her high metabolism, the eggs hatched and formed four beautiful new children. But they were not quite the same as Anirapio. In fact, their bodies were much healthier.

They still retained their belly pouches, but now they had the taste for vegetation rather than meat due to Quad's own appetite. The species had become herbivores. In addition, their metabolism was replaced with the metabolism of an antelope, which was much more normal and stable. They even developed mouths, though they would be for speaking and articulation rather than eating. They would still rely on the digestive system their ancestors used, but all-in-all they evolved into much more advanced creatures. The species would continue to grow, and eventually (with the help of the Twin Gods) they would be returned to Ibuzon for a fresh, advanced start on their own home world. Anirapio chose to rename the species 'Drago' rather than 'Daog'. "They are no longer the flawed Daog, but a new species all their own.", she even said.

In her last years, Anirapio was given the opportunity to return to Ibuzon, where she would die an age much older than any other Daog previously lived. She was more than happy to see that her own offspring had not only successfully lived on the planet for several years, but thrived off of the thick vegetation that covered the planet. She would be buried there as the mother of all Drago, and though she died as the very last Daog, her species...her legacy would continue for countless generations.