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

For several months, Sobek stood on the river bank, not moving an inch. Even the slightest movement worried him: he was seriously afraid of inflicting too much weight on the egg and breaking it, or not heating it enough and freezing the baby inside.

He didn’t even dare to sleep. Fortunately, after five evolutions his brain had become so powerful that he was able to stay awake almost continuously. Sobek would not have been surprised to discover that he had assumed the ability to sleep with only part of his brain, as dolphins did.

So the weeks and months went by. Sobek didn’t move a muscle; when he wanted to eat he used his [Personal Manger], and when he wanted to drink he stretched his neck slightly and plunged his muzzle into the river. If anything, even a tiny crab, dared to come within five meters of the egg, a deep growl would emerge from his jaws and the unfortunate creature would sprint away. Sobek had noticed several animals, humans and even drones watching him from afar, but due to his intractable nature, no one had dared to approach.

It didn’t matter if it was sunny or rainy, hellishly hot or terribly cold; Sobek never moved from his egg. He probably would have stayed there even if an asteroid had fallen inches from his face.

It was a long, exhausting process. Although Sobek was for all intents and purposes still, the mental tension strained both body and mind. But in the end, all that patience and effort paid off.

Exactly three months after laying her egg, Sobek heard a clicking sound. Quickly, he lifted himself up for the first time in a long time, almost in pain from crumpled bones, and saw a crack form along the shell.

Sobek moved away from the egg, finally allowing it to see the sunlight. A piece of shell broke off and fell to the ground, revealing a lively eye covered in egg white and yolk that observed him from inside the egg.

Sobek extended one of his paws. His claws were so big that he could have crushed the egg and the baby inside with a single finger, but he knew exactly what to do, as if that knowledge was ingrained in his DNA. With extreme precision, his claw touched the shell of the egg and opened numerous cracks. The cub inside didn’t hesitate to strike harder at that point, opening a way out.

A tiny little head peeped out of the egg. It had a long, tapering snout, rather well-developed teeth and large eyes, but unlike Sobek it had blue irises and its color had a darker, reddish hue.

Another opening opened in the shell, and this time a leg came out. Then another, and yet another. Eventually, under the hatchling’s relentless determination to get out, the egg broke completely into many pieces and the hatchling inside emerged completely.

Sobek felt something warm his heart as he watched his child roll on the ground, finally free of the eggshell, and struggle to shake off the egg white and yolk. To help it, he lowered his head and began to lick it, cleaning the cub of the annoying goo. Once finished, his child stood on unsteady legs, stumbling a couple of times as it learned to stand.

The cub was by no means small: it was over half a meter long, but still looked extremely diminutive compared to the eighty-metre parent next to it. Its skin was more reddish and the sail had different patterns on it. Its tail was slightly longer than Sobek’s, and its forelegs ended in a solid red hue at the toes.

This surprised Sobek a little. Parthenogenesis, or at least the common parthenogenesis, allowed to create individuals perfectly identical to the parent. The cub was supposed to be a clone of him. Instead, the child had quite substantial differences.

But it wasn’t until Sobek smelled it that he realized the greatest difference between them.

The cub was a female.

This shouldn’t have been possible. If parthenogenesis allowed only to create individuals perfectly identical to the parent, then the cub should have been a male.

"As it turns out, [Parthenogenesis] as an ability is not the same as biologically accurate. The description was true when it stated that I could create an entirely new individual" he thought. "It’s incredible. It’s like my genes crossed over on their own. Well, it doesn’t matter. I will leave it to the scientists to find out why this phenomenon occurs; I have fatherly duties to perform!"

He wasn’t too sorry about that particular turn of events. In fact, he was satisfied with it. He didn’t like the idea of creating a clone; even though it would technically be an individual with its own mind and memories, its personality and character would remain very similar. Sobek preferred that the cub had the full choice of decide what she would become.

He nuzzled his child lightly. The cub accepted that gesture of affection willingly, rubbing herself on it like a little sparrow. Sobek accidentally gave her one push too much and the cub tumbled onto his face, being lifted off the ground like a twig.

The scene was extraordinarily tender. Sobek felt his heart pound as he watched his daughter climb into his eyes. "My child, you deserve the world..."

Was that the joy of being a father?

Sobek couldn’t remember ever being so happy in that life. That wasn’t joy, or happiness, it was... something more, much more. Something that nothing and no one would ever be able to replicate without the birth of a child.

About his previous life...he didn’t remember, but he had a feeling he’d had felt something like that before. Perhaps he had had a child in his life as a human too.

It wasn’t important. What mattered to him was what he had now. He put the cub back on the ground and watched her smiling as she went to feed on the remains of the yolk still present on the egg shell.

He kept poking her affectionately with her muzzle. Even though he knew that many were watching him, and that the news had probably already spread around the world, he didn’t care. At that moment, there were only him and his daughter.

********

“Hey, president! Have you watched the news?”

Jocelyne lifted her head from the criminal law textbook she was studying and squinted at her roommate. Even though she had already been in college for two years and at least eight since she had completely given up on her political career, her roommate still called her ’president’ because she knew she would irritate her. “No, I was studying. What happened?"

“Apparently they have discovered the reason for the strange behavior of the king of the dinosaurs”

Now Jocelyne was a little more interested. "For real? And what was it about?”

"I don’t know if you’ll be able to handle the news"

“Oh, please. She was sitting quietly in a chair when I was informed of the arrival of a nuclear attack. There is no information that I can’t handle by now"

"If you say so. Your friend just gave birth”

Jocelyne literally fell off her chair.

********

Once she finished consuming the yolk, his child started trying to figure out how to walk. She initially was only able to crawl on all fours, but after a few attempts she was able to move into a bipedal posture.

Sobek let her take her time, occasionally encouraging her with his muzzle. When she was able to walk on her paws, the baby walked over to him and lay down between his claws, which were larger than her entire body and could have crushed her as if she were a gnat, but which evidently must have seemed a comfortable where to lean from the cub’s point of view.

Sobek was almost touched by this show of confidence. While he was watching her, he had felt an infinity of sensations. Pride, happiness, joy, but also fear. Fear for that little creature that from his point of view was so small and fragile. Fear for what could happen to her even under his guidance. Fear for what could happen to her if one day he passed away.

It was so true that panic was the essence of being a parent.

As he continued to exchange affectionate glances with his daughter, a movement woke him. He almost snapped like a spring when he sensed something approaching, but luckily his common sense held him back. When he turned around, he found it was just Buck, who had evidently teleported there as soon as he heard the news. “Pack leader!” the t-rex exclaimed, looking at the creature hidden in his claws. "So that’s true! What a jolly sight!”

The cub was startled at the sight of the tyrannosaurus, retreating even further into her parent’s claws. However, Sobek moved away and nudged her towards Buck. That simple gesture was enough for the cub to understand that the t-rex was not a threat. So, she got up on her still unsteady legs and approached the newcomer.

Buck lowered his head and brushed against the cub, cuddling her with his big muzzle. Despite their size, the skin of a t-rex’s head was in fact very soft and pleasant to touch; after all, it was the primary means of contact between animals of that species. Just like human hands, it was quite comfortable. This caused the cub to start rubbing on Buck even more after a while, which only made the tyrannosaur rejoice. “Oh, who’s the sweetest of them all? You are, you are!" he said, only to feel movement behind him. “Oh, Carnopo, it’s you! Come here, quick! Look at that beauty!”

The carnotaurus had just arrived, as fast as Buck had been. He approached his friend and he too looked down at the cub. "Can I...?" he asked hesitantly.

Sobek nodded with a smile. "Go ahead"

Carnopo wasted no time and started rubbing his muzzle on the cub, just like Buck was doing. After a few moments, the young girl almost jumped on him as she reciprocated that gesture of affection.

The three dinosaurs sensed another movement. “Oh, that’s adorable!” Monica exclaimed appearing in all her enormity, bending down to better observe.

"Oh yes. Really wonderful” Eema said appearing next to the brachiosaurus. Seeing the triceratops, the cub began to climb on her horn, making everyone present laugh.

Suddenly the river water rippled and Mazu’s huge head emerged. "Where is? Where is the baby?” she almost screamed, and Sobek could almost have sworn he saw her eyes turn into little hearts as she looked at the cub. “Oh, how cute! You will need someone to teach you how to swim. You will see, I will be the best teacher...”

A shadow blocked the sun for a moment, and then Apache landed, folding his huge wings. “And I will teach her to fly!”

"She doesn’t have wings" Eema pointed out to him.

“Right... well, then you’ll teach her to climb and fish! I’ll find something..."

Another transporter, and this time it was Pierce who appeared. “Look, look! So you fell for it too, huh pack leader?” the stegosaurus laughed. “Get ready, fatherhood is a real pain in the ass. I suggest you find someone to drop it on..."

"Pierce, you really are impossible" Blue mumbled appearing next to him, and then ran to hug the cub. “But look at you! You are truly a loving thing. Much better than your father!"

There was another teleporter. This time Snock and Rambo appeared. The rhamphorhynchus immediately flew towards the cub and jumped on her, starting to snuggle and play with her. The giganotosaurus, by contrast, looked a little uncomfortable, as if he didn’t quite know what to do. However, the encouraging look from Sobek and the others urged him forward. When she saw him, the cub got up and went to rub against his paws, and Snock let out a startled noise. Sobek had no idea that a dinosaur could blush in embarrassment, but apparently it was more than possible.

While he was refusing to laugh, it was Al’s turn to appear, and not alone: on her back he was carrying Jocelyne, who had evidently asked him to bring her here as soon as she heard the news. As soon as they arrived, the woman jumped off the dinosaur and ran to hug the cub as if she were an adorable little dog. Al in turn wasted no time and began to pamper the new born.

Sobek smiled even more. They were all acting like a bunch of uncles coming to celebrate the arrival of their little nephew. Not that there was anything wrong. How did it say after all? Raise your children and spoil your grandchildren?

"It’s perfect"

Sobek turned to where the voice had come from, meeting Old Li’s familiar gaze. The old ankylosaurus now seemed almost unable to stand. The tail was trailing along the ground and the head was low, as if unable to lift them. His skin was now wrinkled and had taken on an increasingly gray hue. His breathing was heavy and Sobek could feel his heartbeat getting weaker. Despite this, however, Old Li was smiling. “What is his name?” he asked.

“She is a girl” Sobek corrected.

The ankylosaurus laughed as he realized he had made a gaffe. “Oh, sorry. What is her name, then?”

Sobek smiled. He had thought about it for a long time in those months, but he had always calculated only male names. Despite that though he had just found what he felt was her right name. “Nefertiti” he said. Her daughter deserved the world, so he wanted to call her by the name of the great queen of Egypt, since he in turn was an Egyptian deity.

“Nefertiti, huh? I like it” Old Li said, then walked over to the puppy. “Hey, little one. Come here"

Nefertiti seemed to notice her presence only at that moment and ran towards him. Old Li slumped to the ground like a turtle, allowing the cub to rub against his face. “You are really perfect” the ankylosaurus said. “Beautiful, strong, healthy and energetic. I wish you all the best in this world. May you grow healthy and strong. May you inherit all the strength, wisdom and intelligence of the one who begot you. And that one day people will look at you and be able to say, ’Behold, she is worthy to be her father’s daughter’."

"No"

Everyone turned to Sobek. “One day, people will have to say ’the daughter is better than the father’.” the spinosaurus said.

Old Li smiled warmly when he heard those words. "You are right. The new generation will have to be better than us. You’ve always been smarter than me about this, pack leader” he said, then looked back at Nefertiti. “Old age deprives me of my strength every day and every day death seeks to give me eternal peace. I have resisted until this moment just for you. Because you, my baby, without the embodiment of what we all fought for... a future”

Nefertiti didn’t seem to be able to understand what the ankylosaurus was saying, but she was listening anyway. Old Li put his head fully on the ground, giving up all resistance. “You are our future. You are the future of our pack. You will protect our children, just like your father protected us. You, new blood, will not have to live in fear, but you will be able to fully savor the joys of life. Remember, for this will be the only real advice I can ever give you, and the last act of my career as your father’s adviser: never lose hope. I don’t know what challenges await you and how tough they will be, but it doesn’t matter. It is hope that gives us strength, that makes us resist. So remember to always have hope. For others... but especially for yourself. Remember that and you will succeed. You’ll always be...” The ankylosaurus’ eyes closed. "... happy"

Silence fell on the river bank. Sobek shuddered and his eyes widened as he felt that one of his [His Contracts] had just vanished.

“Old Li?” Al whispered as Nefertiti continued to poke the ankylosaur’s snout trying to elicit some reaction.

But Old Li no longer made a sound. Not a word, not a breath. His heart, now too old and tired, could not handle that last burst of joy. Yet, not a single sign of fatigue was present on his face. A beautiful smile framed his mouth from side to side, and his face was so calm it almost looked as if he were asleep.