"The thing you need to remember most about this is that if it gets its teeth into you, it's over. If you're going to take out something from the inside, don't get chewed up first."

His father always did have a way with telling stories. Colin loved hearing the one about the dinosaur that attacked his parents when they were still dating. He'd always thought that only his father would have been insane enough to dive into the jaws of a creature almost ten times his size for the express purpose of killing it.

Then Amber went and did it with that Dracolich. And Jade did it with the Eel. He can only imagine what all Danaree had done...

Still this hadn't been his favorite outcome, he'd have much preferred getting clawed at instead of eaten. But, he knew how to dive into tight quarters and keep his wits about him. With his eyes shut to keep from getting blinded, he had to rely on his sensor suite to tell him where the core was. It wouldn't do to carve apart the core while he was doing some damage.

And carving was his plan. His hand sank down to his pocket as he was being introduced to the lizard's stomach. His pocket held his laser cutter. And his laser cutter just needed a flick of a switch to turn on. And then... Colin could show mama lizard why it was important to chew your food. If you didn't chew it up first, it might take you out from the inside.

With an impossibly hot cutting laser, as it turned out.