Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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Chomper, the teenaged Rex, was wandering the Great Valley. He hadn't eaten well lately. "I'm hungry. These bugs and Tickly Fuzzies aren't cutting it anymore." he moaned.

A nearby Tickly Fuzzy mocked him "Ha ha you are going to starve and die a horrible painful death!"

Chomper angrily chased after him and cornered him. "You were saying?" Chomper leered at him.

The little fuzzy calculated how to get out of the situation it had found itself in. It came to the ever-genius conclusion of briefly incapacitating/distracting the predator and making a break for it. "Well... eat this!" it barked, turning tail and spraying a foul, musky liquid at the adolescent Sharptooth.

The move temporarily distracted Chomper. However, before the creature could get past him, Chomper grabbed the creature by the tail and yanked him back, pulling so hard that the tail bones broke with a loud snap. "Oh no you don't!" he snapped at the creature. The mammal squealed in pain, before its primal instincts took over its better nature; he squirmed around, screeching and frothing at the mouth, furiously biting at the air in hoping of landing a bite on Chomper.

He might not stand much of a chance against the tyrannosaur, but he was determined not to go down without putting up something vaguely resembling a fight. Littlefoot and his friends walked by. They were unnerved by the scene before them, though it wasn't the first time they had witnessed their friend cornering prey.

Chomper hurriedly exerted as much bite pressure as he could on the mammal, killing it instantly, before downing it with one gulp. "Sorry about that guys. Hungry." he said.

"He eated that Tickly Fuzzy in one bite, he did!" Ducky gasped.

"Sorry. I'm a hungry Rex and that wasn't even that filling." Chomper replied.

"Not even that filling? You're very hungry, aren't you?" Littlefoot asked. Chomper nodded.

"Littlefoot, I am afraid. As I get older, I may have to choose between my own life, and..." He did not finish, and instead just walked away. He went and sat alone by the bank of a river, thinking. If he stayed here, he might well starve. If he left, though, he'd have to hunt the very creatures that had long supported him. Could he do it?

Littlefoot came over to him. "Chomper, what's the matter buddy? I can see something is really bothering you."

Chomper initially hesitated to respond, but he eventually acknowledged that bottling up a problem and not turning to anyone fpr help with it isn't the best way of solving it. "Littlefoot," Chomper started, "do ever have days when the voice inside your heart doesn't agree with the voice inside of your head, and you don't know which to listen to?"

"Yes. It was the worst when I came to the Great Valley. Every thought seemed to go against the way my mother told me. If only she hadn't been killed by Sharptooth the trip would have been far easier."

Chomper looked down and gulped, processing Littlefoot's response; he might as well cut to the chase.

"My heart is saying that I should keep eating the same things I've been since I first came to the valley so I can stay friends with you and the others, but my head and my tummy say that I'm not going to last a whole lot longer if I keep listening to my heart," he said.

Littlefoot sighed. "I'd long thought of that. I don't want you to die of hunger. Also, you might not end up dying of hunger but might end up caving and hurting someone here. You must understand that most Leaf Eaters won't care about you. Not even everyone here does. I always will, of course. But out there, they don't even care for each other. Thus, it seems unfair to ask you to sacrifice yourself so much when I've seen Leaf Eaters so selfish that they wouldn't share water or food even if it meant that they'd all die."

"When did that happen?" Chomper asked.

"The last time the leaves started to die and it got dry. It's getting that way again now." Littlefoot replied.

Chomper nodded quietly. Many of Littlefoot's words mirror the thoughts going through his head. What Littlefoot had said had somewhat shocked him. Sure he knew that some Leaf Eaters would never forgive him for the crime of being born a Sharptooth, but, at least in the Great Valley, he'd been sheltered from the racism outside of the Great Valley that permeated the Flattooth world. "Maybe I should think about it more." he said. He paused for a moment, then, recalling how Bron had thought Sharpteeth cowards and wondering what he'd say if he could hear the conversation between them now, added "Your father once referred to Sharpteeth as cowards, but don't Longnecks live in herds? And as we know a herd is a system where you are in a group so that someone will get eaten so that you don't have to, mean while in a pack they tend to have each other's back."

"I wouldn't know, honestly, if that's true or not. I've never seen my herd. They died during the last leaf famine. My family was the only survivor of that herd. Then Mother was killed by Sharptooth. You can imagine how much that hurt father." Littlefoot replied. He noticed Chomper frown and hang his head and knew what he was thinking. "But Dad doesn't have to go through what you do, so he shouldn't judge you. You're not a coward." he added.

"It's getting late, I should get back to the Secret Caverns." Chomper said, turning to leave.

"Goodnight." Littlefoot replied. He went and met with his friends, asking them to come to a private place where they wouldn't be overheard. He then told them everything that he and Chomper had discussed.

When he was done, he concluded with " I don't know what to do. But I do know that we shouldn't tell the adults about it. They will try and kill him otherwise, except maybe my grandparents. But they cannot overpower everyone else."

"I don't even want to think about what my dad would do if he knew about this," Cera said.

"Before Chomper's parents were killed by Red Claw, they told me that this might happen, and it looks like what they told me might happen might indeed happen." Ruby remarked.

"Ruby, you've been with Chomper longer than any of us," Littlefoot said, turning to his Fast Runner friend. "Maybe you should talk to him."

Ruby went to go talk to him. "Hello Chomper. You seem to be thinking of being a regular Sharptooth. Are you still thinking what you were thinking earlier?" she asked him.

Chomper nodded but didn't say anything.

Ruby said "Perhaps you should sleep on the matter and decide more in the morning after you'd had some rest."

Chomper again nodded quietly, before he lay down and went to sleep

A couple of hours later, however, Chomper was rudely awoken from his slumber by a disturbance outside the cave.

"You're even dumber than your sister!"

"Pink is such a stupid color for a Threehorn, and Threehorns are already pretty stupid."

It sounded like the children of Hank, a Clubtail, and a rather troublesome one, were staying up late.

Chomper, annoyed, headed outside and said to the Clubtails "Quiet! I'm trying to sleep. Also, please leave Tricia alone."

The two Clubtails were in front of Tricia, cornering her against a modest-sized boulder. One of them turned around to see who was getting onto them, to see a certain Sharptooth standing not far behind him.

"You still live here?" he jeered.

"Yes, for now." Chomper replied. Great, even the kids want me gone! he thought miserably.

Littlefoot, meanwhile, tossed and turned in his sleep. He was dreaming that he was with his mother. "Mother, I believe it would be best if Chomper was a regular Sharptooth. Though I don't want him to kill Leaf Eaters, he's having a lot of trouble feeding himself on just Egg Stealers, Tickly Fuzzies, fish, and bugs. I fear he may starve to death if something doesn't change. But if he kills Leaf Eaters, that means families might be hurt, like what happened to you. To Bron and I."

"You don't mean to kill Chomper if he goes that route, do you?" she asked him.

"No." he sighed. "I had many opportunities to let Chomper die over the cold times. I couldn't do it. He's my friend. I wouldn't kill him if he wants to be a regular Sharptooth. But I can't help feeling that for every Leaf Eater he kills, that, since I didn't let him fall into the Sinking Sand and die when he was a baby, since I didn't let him drown on the island, since I didn't stop him, that I'd be at fault if they died."

"You won't be."

"Why not? I could have stopped him?"

"Perhaps it was meant to be."

"What do you mean?"

"Loads of Leaf Eaters died during the Great Earthshake. But if it hadn't happened, then the herds wouldn't have been forced to work together after the disaster. And if they hadn't, most of them wouldn't have reached the Great Valley alive. So sometimes, it is the will of the Bright Circle that bad things have to happen so good things can happen later."

"I don't quite understand."

"You will. In time."

And with that, he woke up. He decided to go check on Chomper and talk to him. He woke up the others. If Chomper left during the daytime to go be a regular Sharptooth, then the Valley might realize his motives and kill him before he had the chance. It was best if he left at night.

As Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, and Ruby headed off to see Chomper one last time before he left the Great Valley, Chomper continued to confront the Clubtail bullies.

The Clubtail brothers looked at each other, smirking. One of them turned around to face Chomper, "accidentally" swatting Tricia aside in the process. "Oops," he said, suppressing a smirk.

Chomper snapped "Why did you just hit her? Get away from her now! Cera's going to really get you if she sees you doing that to her younger sister. And that's not even as bad as what her father would do."

The Clubtail kid scoffed. "Yeah, but they'd have to go through our dad if they want to get us."

"And there's no way in the Valley he'd let a couple of... Threehorns do anything with his kids," his brother added.

"I think Mr. Threehorn would win against your father." Chomper scoffed. These children clearly had inherited their father's arrogance.

The two looked at each other, entertained by Chomper's (probably accurate, but to them preposterous) remark. They burst out laughing.

The older of the two got his bearings back together. "That was a good one," he said, before turning back to Tricia, whose attempt at making an escape was halted by a motion of the Ankylosaur's club.

"Now, let's see just how good Threehorns are at flying," he snarled.

Chomper roared at them to intimidate them. It wasn't as strong as a full-grown Rex, but was certainly stronger than a Fast Biter's, which was the size that he was. To further thwart them, he stepped in between them and Tricia, shielding her from them.

This roar definitely got the Clubtails's attention; the younger one froze, and the older one - the one who threatened Tricia, also froze.

However, though his sibling froze, the older of the two wasn't fazed for too long. A smirk started to form on his face, and he slowly reached for Tricia with his bopper. He wanted to get as much of a rise out of Chomper as he could, even if it meant incurring his wrath - which he didn't realize could end up being far, far more lethal to him than what he pictured in his tiny brain, in order to have an excuse to rid the Valley of him for good. The tail ended up hitting Chomper, who was built strongly enough that it didn't do much more than feel like a bee sting would to a person.

The Clubtail snorted, a little disappointed that his strike didn't get much of a reaction out of him. But maybe...SMACK!

"Waaghhh!" Tricia yelped, as she was sent a few feet by his clubbed tail. She fell against a rock, injured but still conscious.

"Vinnie, cut it out! You're taking it too far!" Magnus, the younger kid, said to his older brother.

"Shut up! I can do what I want!" Vinnie snapped.

Angry now, Chomper snapped "Leave her alone. You wouldn't want to fight with me. It would not go well for you. Strike her again and you'll regret it!"

He headed over to Tricia. "Come now. Those bullies shouldn't be bothering you again." he said gently.

"Listen here you puny Rex!" Magnus shouted at Chomper "We can do whatever we like!" He had thought it was too much earlier, but if Vinnie thought it was fun, he wanted to do it, as he admired his older brother.

Vinnie simply grinnrf, foolishly accepting what he thought was a challenge - and just as foolishly thinking that he was an even match to the older tyrannosaur.

"Magnus, you handle Pinky; I have business to take care of with Toothy here," he said, lowering his head to the ground and raising his tail.

"I think the Bright Circle messed up when he made you. Clearly you two were meant to be Big Mouths." Chomper laughed, chuckling at his own joke.

"You just have to do this the hard way, don't you?" Chomper sighed. As Vinnie jumped at him, he swatted him away with his tail. "Guess I have a bopper too." Chomper laughed.

Chomper jumped through the air and blocked Magnus before he could reach Tricia. "Your brother back there found me more than a match for him. Now take him and get out of here, NOW!" he snapped.

Just to ensure that Magnus wouldn't try and attack Tricia again, Chomper stood in front of her, his claws raised. Surely Magnus wouldn't be stupid enough to try and charge him now. "Fine then. You win." Magnus sighed, too afraid to attack Chomper. He began to walk away.

As Chomper talked to Magnus, Vinnie, who was lucky enough to have landed on his side and not his back, meanwhile, managed to right himself, and made a dash for Tricia, not spotting Chomper's outstretched claws. "Dad will be so proud of me!" he said.

Before Chomper realized what was happening, Vinnie collided, not with Tricia, but with his outstretched claws, which he hadn't seen in the dark from where he had been. The Clubtail impaled himself on Chomper's claws and fell to the ground. It seemed that he'd punctured a lung.

Vinnie bleated in pain, a horrid pain shooting through him. Instead of fighting back, he weakly cried out as blood started to trickle from the puncture wounds: "DAD! DAD!" Magnus ran off as fast as he could to get help.

"What in the..." Chomper gasped. He stared down at the wounded Clubtail and soon realized what had happened. "Oh dear, now you've done it! Attacking me like that by surprise. How bad is it?" he asked.

"Ow, it hurts!" he cried.

Chomper left and quickly returned with some large Tree Stars, which he quickly wrapped around the wound. "I didn't mean it. I was only trying to protect the Threehorn. Your brother has gone to get help." he said, trying to reassure Vinnie. Though he had long thought Vinnie a prat, he didn't want to be the cause of his death.

Magnus returned with his father, Hank. Vinnie asked Chomper "Why did he protect a Threehorn?"

"Tricia is my friend's sister." he replied.

Chomper said "The fools were attacking Tricia. Vinnie attacked me and I brushed him aside with my tail. I think stopped Magnus from hitting Tricia again and then I raised my claws to block him from getting at Tricia. It worked with him but then Vinnie ran at me by surprise and impaled himself."

"It's true." Tricia replied.

"Is he ok? What did you do to him?" Hank snapped at Chomper.

"I did nothing. This fool here impaled himself. Ran right into my claws. I patched him up with these Tree Stars. I don't know how bad he was hurt but hopefully he'll recover." Chomper replied.

Hank's eyes narrowed. "You nearly killed my son," he growled, something inside him even deeper than his hatred for Topps and his family boiling.

Hank attacked Chomper. Unlike with his children, his attacks were hurting the teenaged Rex. Chomper was backed into a corner. "I didn't mean to hurt you kid! It was an accident!" Chomper stammered.

Hank was too blinded by rage and prejudice to listen to what Chomper was saying. He knocked Chomper over with his club. "I should have taken care of you many cold times ago. You Sharpteeth are nothing but trouble!" he thundered. He moved to strike Chomper in the head.

Still on the ground, Chomper had only one means of defense. He didn't want to use it, as it could be fatal, but it seemed a choice between attacking or being killed. As the Clubtail lunged at him, Chomper moved his jaw forward and bit as hard as he could. He tore the Clubttail's tail clean off with the force of his bite.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH" Hank screamed in agony.

Tricia, alarmed at the violence, stood there in shock. "Oh my!" she gasped.

"Tricia, please go check on Vinnie. As for Hank, I believe he'll live, though I think the tail's lost now. Darned fool! It was either my head or his tail. So, alas, it was his tail." Tricia, still in shock, but knowing Chomper was forced into the situation and that Vinnie needed help, went to go check on Vinnie to see how he was doing.

Hank's face went pale; his only means of offense, the namesake of his type, and the pride of his species... gone...

With a cocktail of pain and unbridled rage flowing through his quickly emptying veins, words that would perhaps be the last he'll ever utter erupted from his jaws: "YOU MURDERING SON OF A FLESHBURPER! I HATE YOU!"

Chomper was near panic now. "A fine mess you and your kids have made. I didn't mean to attack Vinnie. He ran at my claws, as I've said. As for you, it was either your tail or my head. I figured you could live without your tail, but I cannot live without my head." he said to Hank.

Chomper hastily ran off to get Tree Stars to try and hold off the bleeding from Hank's tail.

Hank was too enveloped by rage to register what Chomper just said; just as Chomper ran off, he made a move to chase after him, only to collapse to the ground, breathing as fast as a flyer in an F5 tornado.

Chomper heard Hank's remark and sighed. He didn't get to choose what he was born as. However, his growing apprehension, which he'd already felt earlier due to his growing hunger, was very heightened. HIs thoughts of leaving were now plans of leaving. He didn't think the Great Valley would take kindly to him after this, even if it was self-defense. After all, they'd nearly murdered a herd of Tiny Longnecks over some Tree Sweet leaves.

Chomper returned but found that Hank had bled to death. "I thought that he could live without that. Guess I underestimated blood loss." He felt shaken to have killed a Clubtail. Still, even if he had had the option of biting off the Clutbtail's head as his only recourse, he would have taken it. It was either his life or the Clubtail's.

His life or the Clubtail's! Now his apprehension of hunting and killing Leaf Eaters for food melted away with this realization. If it was going to be his life or theirs if he was forced to kill for food, why was his life worth less than theirs? Herbivores might be friendly, though clearly not all were, but they were by no means greater beings than carnivores like himself. His Stockholm Syndrome, picked up by over a decade of living with Flatteeth, had finally worn off. They were equals. Thus one was as valuable as the other.

He went to see Tricia and Vinnie, but found that the wound had been worse than he'd thought. Instead of hurting just one lung, apparently the fool had rammed into both of his claws but he'd only thought he'd hit one of them. Thus, both lungs had been punctered and the Clubtail had died from lack of air. Two Clubails down.

Tricia was sobbing now. "Why did they have to die? Why did you have to kill them?" It was clear that she was traumatized. Chomper had heard of the story of what had happened to Littlefoot and Cera the day that his mother Louise had died, killed by Sharptooth. He felt almost evil, scarring Tricia similarly, but it wasn't his fault. But what then? Finally, he sadly decided, it was just part of the Circle of Life.

"I need to go," Chomper says, quietly. With everything he's done in this one night, he doesn't think there's any chance that the adults would let him stay in the Great Valley - even if he didn't think that, the simple fact that he had the capacity to hurt others like this was still there.

Before he could turn around fully, he is given one last slap in the face by his own body; a sharp hunger pang, reminding him that his stomach has been empty ever since morning. What could he possibly eat now? He had to get out of here.

At that moment, Littlefoot and his friends arrived.

"What have you done?!" Cera gasped in horror, staring at the two dead Clubtails.

"Cera, it wasn't his fault. They forced him to do this." Tricia said. She explained what had happened.

"You had better leave. Grownups kill you when they find out. Me no think they see things your way. Me recall how angry they get when Tinysauruses eat Tree Sweets. You not stand chance." Petrie said.

"I agree. I was thinking of leaving anyway and this just settles it."

"I guess this is goodbye then, it is." Ducky said, starting to cry.

"I will miss you Chomper." Ruby said.

Chomper hugged all of them, including Tricia. "Where do I go now?" he asked.

Littlefoot thought on that one. Other Sharpteeth would be mean to others outside of their type. And other Rexes would be wary of helping Chomper since it was known how much Red Claw hated him. An idea crossed his mind. He recalled a Belly Dragger and a Sharp Beak that worked together that lived in the Land of Mists. They would know how to hunt and catch prey and even knew the language of the Leaf Eaters. "I have an idea of where you can go to get help being a normal Sharptooth. There's this Belly Dragger and Sharp Beak in the Land of Mists. They work together to hunt and can teach you how to do it. They even know Leaf Eater. I believe they still would live in the cave outside the Land of Mists." he said.

"And where is that?" Chomper asked.

Littlefoot gave him directions. Chomper turned to leave, for he heard Leaf Eaters, no doubt summoned by Magnus, coming his way. "I need to go...NOW!" he said in concern. His stomach growled. He doubted he could make it to the Land of Mists on an empty stomach like this. He'd pass out along the way. He looked at the dead body of Vinnie. "I should take this. It will give me enough strength to get to the Land of Mists."

The others, minus Littlefoot, were aghast at this remark. "Why you going to eat Vinnie?" Petrie gaped.

Littlefoot, however, stated "Vinnie is already dead. It won't hurt him at all anymore, and Chomper needs it to get out of here and needs something to eat."

Chomper left, carrying the dead Clubtail. "I hope we meet again." he said, before fleeing.

He went into a cave on the edge of the Great Valley. Not the Secret Caverns, for that was too obvious a place to be looked for, but the one that, years ago, he had found the Fast Biter eggs in. It was on the way to the Land of Mists anyway. He hastily paused, listening for a moment for the sound of a mob of Leaf Eaters. He could hear them in the distance but their scent seemed faint enough that he could eat the dead Clubtail in peace, which he did. He found that he really liked the taste. Leaving only the bones, which he didn't feel right eating the meat from, and so that Magnus and his mother had something to bury, he took off and fled the Great Valley, not looking back as he heard the Leaf Eater mob nearing.

Just after Chomper left the cave and made a break for the Mysterious Beyond...

SMASH! Hank's devastated widow, Haley, leading the mob alongside her deceased mate's hadrosaur friends, smashed the Valley-side vent of the cave with her tail, led to this point by the rex's footmarks. All she found - to her disappointment and horror - were the remains of Vinnie.

"Where did he go?" Mr. Threehorn asked.

"The monster got away!" Haley sobbed.

"He wasn't a monster. I already told you Dad, he was saving me from Vinne and Magnus. They were bullying me. Vinnie impaled himself on Chomper's claws and Hank then thought Chomper did it on purpose and tried to kill Chomper, forcing Chomper to bite of his tail!" Tricia argued, her face wet with tears.

"He ate Vinnie!" the Clubtail sobbed.

"Vinnie was already dead and Chomper was hungry." Tricia argued.

"A likely story! He probably scared you into thinking that. That's what predators do! We'll call a meeting at the Rock Circle to decide what to do about this villainous Sharptooth!" Topps bellowed.

Lambi, one of Hank's close friends, looked out into the cave as the dinosaurs returned to the safety of the Great Valley.

"Maybe Red Claw will eat him while we're deciding his sentence," he said hopefully.

At the Rock Circle meeting, the Leaf Eaters had assembled into an angry, arguing mob, much as they had the day the Tinysauruses had eaten all of the Tree Sweets on the Tree Sweet tree. Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Ruby, and Tricia argued in favor of Chomper. Spike, though he didn't talk, nodded in agreement with them. Believing that Littlefoot wouldn't lie about something as serious as this, Grandpa and Grandma Longneck had taken their side. The other adults, however, were far more skeptical.

"I say we trample the accursed Sharptooth to death!" Lambi argued.

"Good luck with that. Chomper could smell you before you could see him. And you don't even know where he's going anyway." Littlefoot replied.

"To hell I hope!" Lambi spat.

We can see his footprints heading off into the desert, but there's no point in chasing a Sharptooth in the dark." Grandpa Longneck said.

"I saw Chomper with them before he left. He was talking to them!" an angry Magnus shouted, pointing at Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Ruby, and Tricia. "Make them tell you where he went!"

A compsognathus walked by, looking for food. Another compsognathus walked by. The mob pounced on the first one, killing it for the crime of being a carnivore. They moved to kill the second one, but Guido intervened. "Here there! Cut it out! Don't kill everything that happens to have the bad luck of only being able to eat meat. I myself fall into that category!" he snapped at them.

They tried to kill him as well, but he flew out of their reach. Ruby snapped "Guys, calm down. Guido and those Small Sharpteeth did nothing wrong here. We don't want to do something we'll regret later, do we?"

Tria said "Ruby is right. Let's not get carried away and go harming the innocent. However, I want to know what Magnus is talking about when he said Chomper talked to you before he left. Did he say where he going?"

"He did, but I'm not telling because you'll just kill him!" Tricia snapped.

"Tricia, be quiet, you could have just lied!" Cera grumbled.

"Oops." Tricia said.

"After what happened tonight, why should we take any more chances with Sharpteeth, no matter how big or little they are, or how how long they've been in the Great Valley?" Cory, another Swimmer, asked, crossing her arms.

"Still not telling." Tricia replied stubbornly.

"Tricia, you need to tell us where Chomper went." Tria implored her again.

"No!" Tricia replied defiantly.

Magnus, who stood by his mother, started to go over to Tricia, but his mother lowered her tail and held him back; this wasn't the time or place to rage against the Threehorns.

"The injuries to Tricia appear to have been done by Clubtails, not by a Sharptooth, so that part of the story checks out anyway that Magnus and Vinnie were the ones attacking her." Grandma Longneck said.

"I think it's best if we let the Sharptooth Chomper go." Grandpa Longneck said.

"My kid and my mate are dead!" Hank's wife shouted.

"Vinnie's death was an accident and Chomper was only trying to stop Hank from killing him. From what Tricia said about him only biting off the tail to stop him from smashing his head, it would seem Chomper didn't intend for him to die." Grandpa Longneck replied.

"Well, I hope the Sharptooth doesn't come back!" Hank's wife snapped.

"He doesn't plan to." Littlefoot replied.

"You know where he's going. Why don't you tell us?" she snapped.

"I don't want you murdering him." Littlefoot replied.

"You can't murder a Sharptooth. You can only kill them before they kill you, as we should have done a long time ago with Chomper!" Hank's wife snapped.

"That's enough Haley!" Grandpa Longneck scolded her.

"You haven't heard the last of me! I'll get that Chomper if it's the last thing I do!" Haley shouted at Littlefoot, giving him a look of strong loathing.

Chapter Text

Chomper, meanwhile, felt lonely. His friends still liked him, but he wasn't sure when he'd ever see them again, if ever. He had no idea what the mysterious Belly Dragger and Sharp Beak would be like.

Luckily it began to rain, so at least he wouldn't be thirsty. "Just great! Skywater!" Chomper grumbled. Though the skywater did little to raise Chomper's spirits, at the very least, it was a welcome reprieve from the Beyond's increasingly arid conditions; after that brief period of green from when he and his friends were young, the lands had once again started to dry up and die.

As unhappy as he was, Chomper did at least take this opportunity to bend down to a drink from a newly formed puddle.

As Chomper drank, an earth-shaking roar echoed through the mountains; a stark reminder that he wasn't in the Great Valley anymore, and he wasn't the only predator skulking about.

He recognized that roar only all too well. Red Claw, his archenemy! He'd stopped Red Claw, a thuggish Rex, from eating Ruby when they were younger, and Chomper's antics had resulted in injuring Red Claw's eye, turning it yellow. Red Claw had tracked him down and, together with his minions Screech and Thud, had attacked his parents. Though many Sharpteeth were afraid to even go near Red Claw, much less fight him, his parents had still fought him. They ended up perishing in the attempt, though Red Claw would bear the nasty scars they gave to his body for the rest of his days. Before he had died, Ruby had promised Chomper's father to take care of him as a thank you for Chomper saving her. They had made it to the Great Valley safely and eventually Ruby's parents, fearing Red Claw, had come to live there too.

Since their younger days, Red Claw had attracted many other Fast Biters to his side. Not that he ever treated them like equals, but they still were eager to please him, hoping to get a share of the prey he killed, or stole from other predators too intimidated to challenge him.

Chomper began to panic and ran. Red Claw sniffed the air and caught a whiff of his scent. He eagerly followed, though curious as to what Chomper was doing out here alone. Chomper, however, managed to find an end to the desert and found a beautiful pool at the bottom of a waterfall. He quickly ran across the stream, which wasn't too deep in some parts, and walked up some rocky ledges and into a cave, big enough for a full-grown Longneck to get into. He hoped that the rain would throw off his scent or else Red Claw would kill him for sure. He took off down a passage of the cave.

Red Claw arrived a few minutes later. Chomper's scent, as he'd hoped, was quite weak, thanks to the rain. It was impossible to guess which way he'd gone. And as the cave seemed like the Labyrinth of Crete with its many twists and turns, it didn't seem a good idea to go in there looking for him. He might not find him and also lose himself. Besides, he was king out here in the Mysterious Beyond. Chomper would have to come back eventually to return to the Great Valley. Red Claw left.

Chomper peered out from behind a stone wall as Red Claw left, getting a glimpse at the Sharptooth. Like himself, he had physically matured; since those first few skirmishes with him when he was much younger. He had grown a little, his scales had gotten darker and a little greener, and his eyes, still marred by the damage inflicted upon him by Chomper and his parents, had some black near their backs, like his parents' eyes did.

The sooner I get to the Land of Mists, the better, Chomper thought.

"Hey Ichy, I think I hear something coming. Could you go check to make sure it's not some kind of predator coming to kill us?" came a voice.

"Sure Dil." came a reply. A Sharp Beak came into view, then turned around and flew back the other way. "It's a Rex! Teenaged." Ichy said to Dil.

"Is he following you?" Dil asked.

"Not sure. Didn't stick around to find out. Doesn't appear to be." Ichy replied.

Hey wait! Chomper called after the Sharpteeth. There must be Leaf Eaters nearby for he had clearly heard the Flattooth language. Why hadn't the Sharpbeak seen them? Did the Leaf Eaters know there were Sharptooth was there? Interestingly, they seemed to have the same names as the Sharpteeth he was supposed to be looking for. His mind was quite fuzzy by now, having been already sleeping poorly due to worrying about leaving the Great Valley, then with his fight with the Clubtails, and lately, his near miss with Red Claw. It was already nearing morning. He really needed to sleep.

The Sharpbeak came back in again. Go away. Don't kill us. There's nothing to eat here and we taste awful. he said.

Chomper followed him, wanting to find the Leaf Eaters. Where are you going? Ichy snapped. He bit Chomper in his left claw. It hurt, but it was only like a stepping on a nail would be to a person.

OW! Chomper cried. I'm looking for the Leaf Eaters. One was named Dil and the other Ichy. I've had enough trouble with Leaf Eaters tonight already and I don't need any more! he said, swatting at Ichy, who dodged him, with his claws.

No, you idiot, there are no Leaf Eaters! I am Ichy and my hunting partner, the Bigmouthed Belly Dragger, is Dil. he scowled. He paused. How had Chomper understood them? "You know Leaf Eater?" he gasped.

"Yes, I do." Chomper replied.

"Why are you looking for Dil and I?" Ichy asked.

"Look, I'm really tired right now, I'll explain things once I got some sleep." Chomper pleaded, looking for a place to sleep unbothered.

"Hey, I want to know how why you are looking for us? If it's to kill us, I need to know so we can get out of here." Ichy demanded.

Chomper seized Ichy. The Sharpbeak looked up at him in fright. "If I was going to kill you, I'd do it right now. The question is, can I trust that you won't kill me?" Chomper asked, feeling more and more tired.

"All right! We won't! We won't! Just let us live!" Ichy pleaded

Chomper released him. "A Longneck told me. I knew you two could speak Leaf Eater and I was sent to seek help from you. To help get food." he replied, before laying down and falling asleep from exhaustion.

"A Longneck?" Ichy gasped. "Wowie, he is tired! I'll not wake him till the morning. Probably a very bad idea if I did." Ichy said to himself.

"Hey Ichy! What's going on in there?" came Dil's voice.

"Quiet leatherhead! The Rex is in here and he's asleep. He's got some crazy story about being sent by a Longneck. He looked pretty out of it. Perhaps he's just exhausted and not thinking clearly." Ichy replied.

"Should I come and kill him?" Dil asked, entering the room.

"Nah. He was afraid we'd kill him. Besides, he might prove useful." Ichy replied.

"What do you mean?" Dil asked.

"He knows Leaf Eater for one." Ichy said.

"He does?" Dil gasped. "I thought we were the only ones."

"So did I. Trust me. Though he seems to know we could too."

"How could that be?"

"How the heck am I supposed to know. But I do think I know one thing, based on one thing he said, about us being able to help him get food."

"What's that?"

"I believe we've got ourselves a new hunting partner!"

Chapter Text

CHAPTER THREE: NEW HUNTING PARTNERS

The following morning, Chomper started to stir. He shook his head a little bit, partially expecting to wake up to his Fast Runner friend urging him to get up and start the day in the Secret Caverns. Instead, he saw Dil's red eyes glaring at him!

"Hey, you're not Ruby!" he shouted at Dil. Back Belly Dragger! My jaws can beat yours so don't even try it or it will be the last thing you ever do! he snapped. Dil backed away in alarm.

"Just great!" Ichy moaned.

Chomper soon realized where he was. "Sorry, thought I was back in the Great Valley. Can't ever go back there again." he sighed.

"You were in the Great Valley?" Dil gasped.

"For many cold times." Chomper replied.

"I thought it was a place of very dangerous Flatteeth. Maybe they aren't so dangerous after all if they took so long to find you." Dil laughed.

"They knew I was there. They took me in to hide me from Red Claw."

"What did you do to run afoul of Red Claw?" Ichy asked.

"Saved a Fast Runner from him. Then I damaged his eye."

"Why'd you save a Halftooth?" Ichy asked.

"Seemed the right thing to do. Plus, I was raised by a Longneck and some others for a little bit the day I hatched so I was on friendly terms with Leaf Eaters already.."

"Oh really?" Ichy said, not quite believing yet.

"It's true. I was saved from Egg Stealers by a Longneck, Threehorn, Spiketail, Swimmer, and Flyer."

"I don't normally see those types together. I think I have, in fact, seen all of them together at one time once in my life. Two Lognecks, a Threehorn, a Swimmer, a Flyer, a Spiketail, and a Tickly Fuzzy made asses of Dil and I. We nearly split apart. We got into such a big fight and she swatted me away and then she got chased by a Swimming Sharptooth. Luckily for her, I came back for her and distracted the thing long enough for her to get away. She'd have been its dinner otherwise, due to her vision problem."

"I believe the Longneck you're talking about and the one that sent me are one and the same. The other Longneck your'e talking about, by any chance, was it a female. Blue eyes?"

"Yep. Sure was. I tried to get her and she'd been knocked out but woke up at the last minute and moved aside and I crashed into a tree and got stuck." Ichy said.

Chomper laughed. "It's not funny!" Ichy snapped.

"Yes, that's Ali. She visits Littlefoot sometimes. I think they're in love. As for the Spiketail, Swimmer, Threehorn, and Flyer, they're his friends. They all live in the Great Valley."'

"So, why did you leave then? Your hunger get the better of you or did they turn against you?" Ichy asked.

"A mixture of both actually. My friends didn't turn on me. I was thinking of leaving anyway as I was getting hungrier and hungrier. Some Clubtails were picking on the sister of my Threehorn friend. At first, they were doing it to be mean, but later, I think they kept it up to try and get me to be vicious so they could have an excuse to throw me out. However, it went too far and I accidentally injured one of the kids, who later died. Then the dad comes along, blames me, tries to kill me with his club, forcing me to bite it off. I tried to save them both but I was unable to. My friends helped me escape the Great Valley and find you guys. They said you could teach me to catch Flatteeth."

"Yes, we could help you all right." Dil replied. This new Rex would be better company than Ichy and she hoped, he'd keep her from going nuts.

"So, what were you planning on hunting first?" Ichy asked.

"I never really thought that far ahead. I just need something. That Clubtail kid I ate last night won't hold over too much longer and I don't really want to go back to starving like I did earlier."

"Each Flattooth type is different. You can't take it down the same way as the others." Ichy remarked.

"My jaws are pretty strong and could probably take down anything." Chomper replied smugly.

"Just great! An arrogant adolescent!" Ichy groaned, putting his left wing to his head in frustration.

"Want to try your luck on that rock over there?" Ichy said, gesturing one of his wings at a stalagmite.

Chomper attacked it with the full force of his jaws.

His attack didn't do as much damage as an attack from a fully grown Tyrannosaurus would, but it still broke in two from the pressure - it also ended up dislodging one of Chomper's teeth. "Ug. At least it'll grow back." Chomper sighed.

"Holy Longneck steaks! His bite is stronger than yours!" Ichy gasped.

"Yes, maybe we can finally catch something decent. My other partner couldn't help me much."

"Me? You're the one that sometimes eats wood thinking it's food!"

"Yeah, well at least I don't get stuck in trees!"

"Yeah, well I don't bump into them because I can't see!"

"You want to start something?!"

"Nah. I already did when I teamed up with you. I started an unmitigated headache."

"Un-what?"

"Never mind. You're too thick to know what it means."

"Are you calling me fat?"

"Sheesh! You're worse than I thought!"

"Um, guys, could you two stop arguing? I thought we were going to catch something." Chomper said, annoyed by their bickering.

"I have an idea. There is an old Shellback Swimmer that Dil and I can never catch. We came close one time but he still got away. He's pretty big. Probably your size. Dil's vision problems make it hard for her to get him as he can move fast in water and and he's faster than her on land. However, one bit to his neck and he'd be done for." Ichy suggested.

Chomper thought on that one for a little bit. A Shellback Swimmer, or so he'd heard, was quite big and quite strong. It might be overkill. But if the creature was getting old, he might be vulnerable. "I don't see why not," he replied.

The trio walked through the cave, sniffing the air. "I smell something. I don't know what it is as my Sniffer has never smelled one before." Chomper suddenly said.

Neither Dil and Ichy could smell anything. They were impressed with the Rex's sense of smell. They'd heard talk that Rexes had a sense of smell second to none but had never seen it personally till then. Luckily for them, they weren't on the menu.

The trio slowly crept into a chamber where a very elderly Archelon lay asleep, though he had trained himself to sleep with his eyes open. Thus, he wasn't totally caught unaware as Dil and Ichy entered the room.

"You two don't quit, do you?" he chuckled.

"Things are different this time Archie." Ichy laughed.

"That's what you always say. Maybe someday soon, I'll let you catch me. It sure beats dying of hunger when old age catches up with you." he laughed.

"We ain't a duo anymore. Now we're a...we're a...what's it called when there's one more in a duo?" Dil asked.

"A trio." Archie offered.

"Yeah, that." Dil said.

"So, who did I have the pleasure of facing off against this time? Your new recruit." Archie laughed. He thought it likely an invention of theirs. However, his reaction changed to shock when he heard in reply "My name is Chomper." This new voice was gruffer. Sort of like the Belly Dragger's only from a theropod, and quite clearly male. And it was younger than Dil's.

Chomper entered the cave chamber, sealing off the exit. "They said you were giving them a hard time and wanted my help." the Rex said.

"Ug, they've brought in a Rex. Still, maybe I can get away." he said to himself.

"Nope, this time you're going to be the main course!" Ichy laughed.

Archie swatted at Ichy, who, like the time he had been too braggadocios around Spike years ago, had left himself wide open, knocking him into the wall, though not out.

Dil lunged at him and tried to bite him, but her vision problems enabled him, albeit narrowly, to escape her jaws. Chomper leped through the air at him, landing right next to him, startling the elderly Archelon. The other two couldn't do that! Chomper was hesitant to strike a blow at him. What was the matter with him? Did he want to eat or not?

Archie also sensed the hesitancy in Chomper, though he didn't know the cause of it. Nonetheless, it was good luck for him. He kicked Chomper in the side, knocking him into a pool of water. Though he had somewhat learned how to swim in his years in the Great Valley, he was still caught off guard and began to flail in the water, panicking. Dil quickly rushed over, though her retreat from Archie allowed him to start heading toward the exit. Ichy, who had picked himself back up, lunged at Archie, biting him in the leg.

"Youch!" the Shellback Swimmer cried. Still, Ichy was small, and his teeth hadn't hurt that badly. His aches and pains from old age that he had to deal with daily hurt far worse than that! He flung the Sharpbeak aside.

Dil had, by this time, pulled Chomper out of the water. He quickly jumped through the air and blocked Archie's way.

"Quick kid, aren't you." he sighed.

He turned the other way, hoping to head into the water to hide. Dil headed him off, blocking his way to the water. The Archelon pummeled her with his forelegs, knocking her silly. She collapsed right by the edge of the water. Archie moved to push her in.

Chomper panicked. He didn't want Dil to drown, which she would do if knocked silly while pushed into water. He had to act. He jumped through the air and bit into Archie's neck. The Shellback Swimmer had tried to pull away, though clearly he had been somewhat caught by surprise.

He moved away from the water, blood pouring from his neck. Chomper was more hesitant now to strike again, now that Dil was safe Still, he was getting more used to this...slowly.

"Got you at last! This is payback for the day that we didn't get you when you were with that Longneck kid. We'd have gotten you then but those other kids ruined our meal." Ichy said.

Chomper, who had thought of striking Archie again to kill him, turned pale. "Wait, you've met Littlefoot?" he gasped.

"Littlefoot? That's a name I didn't think I'd hear again." the old Archelon said weakly, blood pouring from his injured neck.

"I'm a friend of his. He helped raise me. I had to leave when I didn't think I could avoid eating Leaf Eaters anymore. If you're a friend of his, I can't let you die. I promised I'd never hunt any of his friends." he said. Chomper grabbed mud from the nearby pool.

"What are you doing kid?" Archie asked in confusion.

"I'm going to try and save you." Chomper said.

"Kid, you probably can't. That cut is pretty bad. But even if you could stop the bleeding with that, it would only be postponing the inevitable. I haven't much longer left anyway. Might as well get a meal out of it." Archie sighed.

"Come on Chomper! Get him!" Dil and Ichy called to him, impatient.

"Back off!" Chomper snapped at the two, feeling anger at them for not telling him sooner about Archie being Littlefoot's friend.

"I think Littlefoot would rather you get a meal and live. You look underfed. I've had a good run. Seeing a Longneck willing to be friends with other types plus meeting a Sharptooth who was friends with Leaf Eaters and actually had a code of honor he was willing to keep even if it cost him a meal are the things in my life that made it worth living in this otherwise mad world. But my time is up. Do what you came here to do Chomper." Archie said, a tear falling from his right eye.

Chomper hesitated a moment, then acted with resolve to fulfill Archie's final request to give him a quick end. CHOMP! He bit off the Shellback Swimmer's head, killing him instantly. He broke down and cried at what he'd done. Still, Archie was in a better place now and had given him the go-ahead to eat him after he'd passed. Due to his hunger having grown now, expending his energy chasing Archie, the need to feed was quite strong and he sound found himself, almost against his will, bending down, flipping over the dead Shellback Swimmer, and beginning to eat him ravenously.

He still felt very guilty about killing a friend of Littlefoot's, almost like being a murderer, yet the peace of the Archelon before he'd died had made him feel somewhat better. Archie hadn't had his life taken from him, he'd given it up, as he'd been willing to do years ago when he'd shielded Littlefoot from Dil and Ichy.

"Nice job Chomper. You get the biggest share as you took him down." Ichy cheered, coming to pat him on the back. He retreated as Chomper snarled at him.

"Why the ruddy heck didn't you tell me that he was Littlefoot's friend?!" he bellowed.

"We'd forgotten that you were friends with the Longneck." Ichy replied hastily.

"Besides, he seemed willing to go." Dil added, hoping to cheer Chomper up.

"I guess so." Chomper sighed.

After the three had eaten the Archelon, which was very filling and had fed him more than he'd been since he was a kid and lived with his parents, he buried the bones and shell of Archie in a crevice in the cave and sealed it up with rocks so that he could be left in peace.

Dil and Ichy said nothing about his sentimentality. Perhaps he'd outgrow it.

Chomper felt sleepy after having such a big meal. Before he fell asleep, he worried that he might kill more of Littlefoot's friends in the future and not realize it. Still, he could only do what he could. He would never hurt any of them willingly if he knew and he certainly would never harm Liittlefoot or the others. No matter how strong his Sharptooth nature would take hold, that bond would never be broken. No it wouldn't. He shut his eyes and fell asleep.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER FOUR: BACK IN THE VALLEY

Littlefoot, meanwhile, wondered how his old friend was doing.

"Do you think Chomper's ok?" he asked Ruby.

"I think there's more to Chomper than you think there is to Chomper." she replied.

Littlefoot didn't want to think about what Chomper might be doing at that very moment, perhaps slaying some unfortunate Leaf Eater. As Rooter had told him, it was part of the Circle of Life, for Sharpteeth as well as Flatteeth. Still, at the moment, the nearly full-grown Longneck couldn't have fathomed that Chomper had already killed an old friend of his, though if he had, he would have agreed with Archie's assessment that it was best for Chomper to eat him in order to live and to give him a quick end.

Littlefoot looked longingly beyond the mountain walls of the Great Valley, dearly hoping that the little rex was doing well out there.

But, in another part of the valley, very different opinions on Chomper were being exchanged.

"If I see that little steakscoffer ever again, he'll be lucky to have a single one of his limbs intact once I'm through with him," Maia growled, pounding her forefeet together.

"I want him dead too." said Haley. "But we don't even know where he is."

"Maybe he is hiding up in the Smoking Mountains." a Threehorn said.

"It's possible he could go up there. Easy to spot victims up there and he doesn't mind heights." Maia said.

"Why don't we find who else wants that pesky Rex gone and get them together. Then we'll go hunting for the hunter." Haley said.

The few leaf-eaters around her thought that was a great idea. Cheers of approval rang in Haley's ears.

The search party headed out toward Threehorn Peak. Unfortunately, for them, they didn't find Chomper anyway. They did find Fast Biter footprints and even some Hookthumb footprints, but no Rex footprints could be found. Perhaps the rain may have washed them away, but the fact that they couldn't find even so much as one Rex footprint going that direction made them think that Chomper had not gone that route at all. Disappointed, they returned back to the Great Valley.

"Where did you go?" Littlefoot asked them, though he already believed he knew what they were up to.

"Looking for that Sharptooth pest." Maia replied.

"I sent Chomper somewhere where you'll have a hard time finding him." he replied. The Land of Mists would fit that description. However, they were unlikely to crack the riddle and he found it fun to toy with the vigilantes.

"Where is that?" asked a Clubtail.

"If I told you that, then you'd find him." Littlefoot replied, chuckling.

"Can we at least have a hint?" Lambi asked, frowning.

"I already did. I said I sent him somewhere where it would be hard for you to find him." Littlefoot replied, still laughing.

"A better hint than that," Lambi reiterated. He squinted his eyes, a little irritated.

"Nope." Littlefoot replied, leaving. Lambi was furious.

"Now what are we going to do? Stubborn fool won't tell us anything!" he complained to Haley.

"Don't worry, I have a plan. We'll drive every last meat eater out of this valley, including his friend Ruby the Halftooth, her family, and that Glider Guido. That ought to help him find his tongue." she replied.

That night, Ruby was asleep. Some creatures snuck up on her and began attacking her, cutting and bruising her.

"Take that meat eater!" one yelled.

"We'll teach you to hide that Sharptooth!" another cried.

Ruby yelled "Help, I'm under attack!" and began shoving and pushing at her attackers. Though they outnumbered her, they turned tail and ran. Sometime later, Littlefoot came to her, concerned.

"Ruby, what happened?" he asked.

"I was sleeping and then suddenly I wasn't sleeping but was under attack by some dinosaurs. I think this is over Chomper but I don't know who did it. They called me a 'meat eater' too." she replied.

"I bet Haley is behind this." Littlefoot grumbled.

"But how can you prove it if I didn't see who attacked me?" Ruby asked.

"I can tell the Great Valley council about it." Littlefoot replied. He approached some of the elders and told them what had happened. Though some were concerned, others, shockingly, appeared apathetic.

"We're not sure where the attackers went. Maybe they went to some place that's hard to find." one said mockingly.

Alarmed, he told Grandpa and Grandma Longneck, but with the Council divided, there was no way to punish anyone without actual evidence. So Littlefoot went and confronted Haley. "This has to stop now!" he shouted at it.

Haley laughed. "It certainly will. Just tell us where Chomper is." she replied with mock sweetness.

"Never!" Littlefoot replied.

"Then I'm afraid your problems here have only just begun!" she laughed coldly. And with that, Haley walked off, lightly swinging her clubbed tail as she shuffled into the underbrush.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER FIVE: SHARPTOOTH PARADISE

Back in the Mysterious Beyond on that same night, Chomper was sound asleep - he'd never been more satiated since he was a young child. Dil, also asleep, floated atop a body of water in the cave, and Ichy roosted on her back.

Chomper dreamed that he was a child again and that he was with a younger Littlefoot. He was standing before an irate Doc who said "Why did you befriend a Sharptooth, Littlefoot?"

"I trust him. He's a nice Sharptooth." Littlefoot replied.

"Yes, I'm a nice Sharptooth! I'll always be good." Chomper said.

"Fine. I hope you keep your word!" Doc replied, walking off.

Then the scene changed and he was teenage Chomper again. He wandered around in the Great Valley, looking for something to hunt. He suddenly heard a loud pounding. Was it an Earthshake? As time went on, the huge shadow of a Longneck appeared. It was the Lone Dinosaur!

Chomper backed away in fright as an infuriated Doc came into sight. "I should have known better than to trust the word of a Sharptooth. Always be nice my tush! You've killed two Clubtails and a Shellback Swimmer and it's time I got rid of you!" Doc thundered.

"No wait, I can explain! I couldn't help it! I..." he pleaded.

"Darn tootin' you couldn't! You're a Sharptooth and all you're good fer is killin' Leaf Eaters!" the Lone Dinosaur replied.

"Please!" Chomper begged again.

"We have no use for Sharpteeth around here." Doc said. And with that, he flicked his tail like a bull-whip, hitting Chomper in the shoulder and knocking him off a cliff. He was falling, falling! He jumped up, screaming, waking up not only himself but also Dil and Ichy.

Startled, Ichy fell off of Dil's back and into the water. Dil was similarly alarmed; she looked around frantically, thrashing her head and tail. "What? Who's there? Show yourself!" she barked.

"It's me, Chomper. I had a very bad Sleep Story. It made me feel guilty about a promise that I had made, meaning to keep it, when I was younger, that I broke a few days ago. Also, I was attacked by a whiptail Longneck and knocked off a cliff."

"I get bad Sleep Stories too. Mostly about being stuck with Dil!" Ichy replied.

"Hey!" Dil snapped. "I had one awful one where you got cloned!"

"That would be amusing."

"No, it would be a terrible migrant."

"You mean migraine?"

"Yeah."

"Please stop arguing you two!" Chomper grumbled. The two instantly ceased their bickering.

"Why do you fight so much?" Chomper asked them.

"We don't quite get along." Dil replied.

"That's a pity. You'd think that if you relied on each other to get food that you'd get along better" Chomper sighed.

"We might need each other, but that doesn't make this belly-dragging bore any less-" Ichy said, crossing his wings, before the Deinosuchus cut him off.

"Able to bite you in half," Dil growled. The two companions - clearly not "friends" - put their foreheads together.

"Listen you two. I guess getting along together isn't easy for some dinosaurs. I happen to know of two dinosaurs, admittedly Flatteeth, that seemed that they would never get along together, till they were finally forced to work together to make it." he said. He told the long story of how Littlefoot and Cera had met and not gotten along until finally Cera had come back to rescue them from Sharptooth. "And since then, they argued quite a bit, and still do, but they became friends. Can't you two do the same?" Chomper asked them.

"You're right. Our feuding does seem petty." Ichy said.

"We should be friends. After all, we're going to stay together for a very long time. Only makes sense. We have helped each other before. No need to be each other's throats." Dil agreed.

"So what about you? After we help you learn to hunt and catch Flatteeth better, though I must say you're already not bad kid, are you going to set out on your own or stay with us?" Ichy asked.

Chomper thought on that one. They were different from his friends back in the Valley and their arguing was annoying, but, like Littlefoot and Cera, he could learn to live with it. Plus, being with them beat being alone and they were kind enough to him. "I'll stay." he replied.

By the next night, Chomper had digested the Shellback Swimmer and was beginning to feel hungry again. Dil and Ichy, though they still sometimes argued, had greatly mellowed out. The story of Littlefoot and Cera certainly had inspired them to work together.

"I'm hungry." Dil said.

"Quit your.." Ichy whined, but Chomper shook his head and he stopped before he had said the word 'bellyaching'. He instead said "I mean, we'll go get something then. What about you Chomper?"

"I'm going." Chomper replied. Though he probably could have gotten Dil and Ichy to bring him back something, he wanted to contribute his part, and after all, he had asked them for help in hunting Flatteeth. He worked up the nerve to go hunting once more and set out with them.

The trio walked into the Land of Mists. Chomper had never been this way before, as they had spent the last few days chatting and he'd thoroughly explored the cave. If any Flatteeth (or other creatures) walked through, he'd know how to cut them off and be ready for them. He was amazed at the beautiful scene that spread before him. The gorgeous waterfall, not unlike the one the Great Valley had at the entrance. However, as he looked over the place, his heart fell somewhat. It wasn't the same as the Great Valley. That was clear at once. It was covered with mist and the land appeared somewhat rougher. He could see why Ali's herd didn't like the place. It was not the sort of place that would be ideal for a Longneck herd, yet, as he sniffed the air, he could smell some. They were braver than Ali's herd had been. And, as he thought, perhaps more foolish. Didn't they realize that they were vulnerable to Sharpteeth in this mist?

But then he realized, this was what his new self wanted. The old Chomper would have warned that they were foolish to stay. The new Chomper, however, knew that every Flatttooth he helped meant at least one less meal and too few meals meant a slow painful death.

After descending down into the Valley of MIsts, he found it harder to follow Dil and Ichy by sight. However, unlike when Littlefoot and his friends had journeyed through here years earlier, the trio had a special ability to find each other: their smell. He followed the other two and they followed him, as though they were Jedi and their noses were the Force that helped them "see" through this mist to each other. He knew their smells by now and they knew his.

"So, where are we going? Who is the unlucky victim tonight?" Chomper asked.

"Where would you expect to find Flatteeth at this time of day?" Ichy asked.

"Probably at home. Unless they're my friends. Then they'd be wandering about after dark." Chomper replied.

"Think kid! Where would Flatteeth have to be if they were someplace this time of night?" Ichy asked again.

"Can I have a hint?" Chomper asked.

"Absolutely not!" Ichy replied sternly.

"Come on Ichy, at least give him a hint!" Dil urged him.

"No! We had to learn all of this on our own. We didn't have our parents teach us this." Ichy retorted.

"What was your childhood like? Were you once friendly Sharpteeth? Is that why you're together as equals, unlke Red Claw, who only takes Fast Biters as servants?" Chomper asked.

"I don't remember my real parents. I fell from the nest as a hatchling and was rescued by kindly Spiketails. They took care of me for years. Eventually, I began to eat bigger and bigger prey and they grew wary of me and chased me off. I grew bitter and so carried off one of their hatchlings to eat ouf of spite. Since that day, I have always fed myself like a normal Sharptooth would, not going easy on Flatteeth. As for Dil, she was raised normal, or normal enough for her kind. I personally think she's a bit odd. She was nearsighted though and was eventually left behind by her pack. As you know, I'm small and so needed help fending off bigger Sharpteeth and also bringing down larger prey. So I helped her navigate and also learn Leaf Eater, which we both have used to lure prey to their doom, and she kept me safe from bigger predators and also helped me catch bigger food."

"You used your Leaf Eater-speaking ability to lure prey into a trap? Seems a bit unfair"

"Listen kid, you need to get it through your head. There is no fair in hunting. You do what you need to get food or you die!"

"In the Great Valley, there is lots of green food everywhere, and even in the water, that Leaf Eaters get. I guess I keep forgetting that my food walks and fights back ." Chomper replied.

"Green food in the water?" Ichy asked.

"Yep. Found that out from my friends. Water greens. Spike liked them a lot. Spiketails probably would go for it. And perhaps Swimmers too."

"I'll have to make a mental note of that." Ichy said to himself.

"Wait a minute. Green food and water. That's where you'd find Flatteeth. They'd need it. And you want us to go there where none are and hide and wait for them to come. Then when they plan to eat, we eat." Chomper said.

"Very good kid." Ichy said, clapping his wings with applause.

Chomper surveyed the foliage surrounding him and his new hunting partners. The bulk of the trees around him - adapted for a foothold in tropical swamp environments - were familiar to him. He recalled his friends' and their elders' thoughts on the them.

"Green food like this grows back in the Great Valley, I don't remember any of the leaf-eaters there eating them. They said something about the leaves being wet and tasting bitter," he said. "I think they smell worse than most green food myself."

A Parasaurolophus was relaxing in the water half submerged and half of the beach of the swamp, enjoying the evening. Chomper looked at the Swimmer and thought uneasily of Ducky. The creature, who appeared to be only slightly older than himself was oblivious to the three predators watching him. Chomper wondered how to approach. If he ran out, the creature would take off and the area was wide open. He could take off and summon a herd, and that would bring trouble, a fact he knew all too well from his fake attack on Rhett years earlier.

An idea crossed Chomper's mind. He seized a rock and, when she had turned slightly, threw it the opposite direction of the bush, behind her. She didn't see where the rock came from but turned around and stared in the direction of the rock, expecting possible trouble. Chomper saw his chance and ran at her.

Unfortunately for him, she saw him in time and avoided his attack. However, his ruse hadn't been totally useless for Ichy had gotten the chance to bit her in the leg, drawing blood. She kicked Ichy aside and fled.

Chomper sighed. "Guess I screwed up."

"Not quite kid. I got in a bite." Ichy replied.

"A lot of good that will do. She's taken off and probably headed for her herd. We'd better leave." Chomper sighed.

"Notice that on the ground?" Ichy said, pointing at a blood trail that Chomper had not noticed earlier.

Chomper now knew what Ichy meant. "You want us to follow it and ambush her from three different directions?" Chomper asked, to see if he had understood correctly.

"Precisely." Ichy replied.

The Swimmer ran off toward her herd. She had never seen a Sharpbeak and a Rex work together before. Were Sharptteeth getting smarter? She heard a rustling in the bushes up ahead.

"Who's there? I've been attacked by Sharpteeth. Don't go the way I came as they are back there." she said.

"Come over here. We can help." came a voice.

She moved toward the sound of the voice, trusting that since it was speaking Leaf Eater that it was harmless. As she came nearer, however, she saw Dil and turned the other way and ran.

However, out of sight and behind a rock, Chomper and Ichy were waiting for her as she ran back the other way and the two tackled her.

"Well done Dil." Ichy said.

"You can talk?!" the Swimmer gasped.

"Yes." the three Sharpteeth replied.

"I think you've got Sharpbeaks confused with Gliders, though the Glider I know, Guido, doesn't eat Tickly Fuzzies." Chomper replied.

"You know a Glider? There aren't too many around here. And I cannot believe that one would come to trust a Sharptooth!" the Swimmer scoffed.

"I'm different." Chomper replied.

Ichy and Dil, who were hungry, grew impatient. "Hey Chomper, didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with your food? Enough chatting with your dinner!" Ichy grumbled.

"Yes, she did once." Chomper replied, thinking of the time she had told him not to play with his food when he was around Littlefoot, though the memory hurt now, as his mother was dead and he might well never see Littlefoot again, and he shed a tear.

His sorrow was not lost on the Swimmer. "I didn't know Sharpteeth could cry." she gasped.

"Oh for the love of...!" Ichy snapped. Too impatient to keep waiting, he bit the Swimmer as hard as he could on the throat. She staggered and fell, dripping blood. Though the bite had done a lot of damage, it hadn't killed her. However, it did greatly weaken her and Chomper, feeling sorry for her, used his claws on his feet to penetrate into her heart and kill her.

"Next time, let me do the killing." Chomper said as Ichy began to eat the now dead Swimmer.

"She would have died soon anyway." Ichy said between mouthfuls.

"Yes, but I could have taken her down at once." Chomper replied. He tried the Swimmer and found that he liked it immensely. There wasn't as much to go around this time as there had been with Archie, but it helped quite a bit with his hunger. He noticed that his stomach was now fleshed out more due to being fed well for a change.

As they finished with the Swimmer, however, her herd came upon them. "Ut oh." Dil said.

The leader of the herd tilted his head so his forehead was facing the predators, and he dropped down onto four legs.

"Explain yourselves," he snorted, violently blowing dust out of his nostrils. The Hollowhorns behind him were also upset; the victim's mother, especially.

"You know they can't talk." said another Swimmer.

"Did you just ask a Sharptooth to explain itself?" laughed another.

"There's this thing called hunger. I don't like it, but it is what it is." Chomper replied.

The Swimmer herd advanced toward them. "Ok guys, we've had our fill." Chomper said.

"But we could use a bit more." Dil interjected.

Chomper sighed. "As i was saying, we've killed enough for now. Please don't attack us like fools and force us to kill more of you. I don't like having to shed unnecessary blood."

"Yeah, so go away." Ichy scolded them.

"They can talk!" the herd gasped.

"Yes, we can." the three replied.

The hadrosaurs briefly conversed with each other; eventually they reached an agreement.

"Don't expect us to be so forgiving if you take another from our herd," the parasaur leader said. He turned to his herd and trumpets, signalling them to leave Chomper and co. to their meal. As they left, the trio heard the leaf-eaters continue to poke fun at their leader for approaching them as if he expected them to actually respond to his prompt to explain themselves.

"Maybe we should avoid them in the future." Chomper suggested.

"Nah, what would they do to us? They don't have horn or long tails or any of that. Easy targets." Ichy replied.

"Pity they didn't fight. I could have had some more." Dil sighed.

"Dil and I don't advertise it. The only ones that really know it, other than your Longneck friend and his buddies, have ended up in our stomachs." Ichy replied.

"I wonder if they know me then." Chomper said.

"Doubt it." Dil said. "Probably just upset."

"Hey Dil, check this out." Chomper said. He bit hard into a bone, splintering it open and revealing the marrow inside.

"There's meat in there?" she gasped.

"Yes. Realized it one day some cold times ago when I was gnawing on a Tickly Fuzzy bone and my jaw split it open. You should be able to get it too, though Ichy's jaw probably isn't strong enough to handle this kind of bone."

"No fair!" Ichy whined.

"I can get you some though."

"Thanks."

After they were done with the Swimmer, all that remained of her was some broken bones. "Poor, poor, dear, to be left in such a state." he said, shaking his head as he walked away "But I didn't ask to be only able to eat meat and not vegetables like you. You know which life I would have preferred." Chomper sighed.

"The Bright Circle made ya a Sharptooth for a reason Chomper." Ichy said.

"Don't beat yourself up." Dil added.

"Was it a good reason though? Why did my kind get made to kill Flatteeth and others to survive? It's not like Flatteeth kill each other for food." the Rex sighed.

"Not really," Ichy said. "They don't kill each other over food in the sense of them wanting to eat each other, but I have seen leaf-eaters kill leaf-eaters in order to defend their food or take others' food a couple of times."

Chomper's red eyes bulged in shock. "What?!" he gasped.

"Dil and I once got a couple of them at once because they were so busy fighting over a few Tree Sweets on a Tree Sweet tree. Some of them were clearly hurt from the fighting and may have even been killed had we not come and done that for them." Ichy replied.

"Perhaps they were starving." Chomper suggested.

"Nope. Not fully fed but definitely not that ragged either." Dil replied.

Chomper recalled what Littlefoot had said about Leaf Eaters being bigoted toward each other out in the Beyond, but he'd hoped that Littlefoot was mistaken or exaggerating. It made him angry, not at Littlefoot of course, but at the many Flatteeth who had thought him evil. "Stinking hypocrites! So you can kill each other for your Tree Sweets that you wanted from your neighbor but I'm supposedly the evil one for killing you to keep from turning into a skeleton? That's the last time I let Flatteeth guilt me about what I do to get food!" he grumbled.

Over the next three weeks, he and his two friends hunted many more Flatteeth. He wasn't willing to kill hatchlings, but any creature his age or older he felt was fair game. This land was great for him. He could hide in the mist and easily ambush unsuspecting prey. There were plenty of fish in the various rivers and lakes to eat, and he didn't have to any longer feel guilty about eating them in public as he had in the Great Valley. There were also Egg Stealers and Domeheads here to eat. Plenty of those. And he, Dil, and Ichy worked together to hunt, an advantage they had over their prey, which only stuck with their own kind.

Littlefoot and his friends may have called the land they lived in with its endless green the Great Valley, but here, in the Land of Mists, with its plenteous food supply and great camouflage, it was his Great Valley. He was at home.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER SIX: NEW ALLIES AND OLD FOES

Chomper lay down one day on the shore of a river with Ichy and Dil, resting off their latest catch - a pale, orange-eyed Egg Stealer, who was in the process of sabotaging a nest when they attacked. In the backwaters behind them, a sailback sharptooth - a Sharptooth practically built for life on the river as a fisherman - was sound asleep, partially submerged in swamp water. The Spinosaurus soon woke up and noticed them, as well as the damaged eggs. What did you three...?! she snapped.

We didn't. This fool did. He won't do it again. Ichy replied, pointing at the Egg Stealer bones.

Glad you three helped save what you could of my nest. I've never seen a Sharptooth help a fellow Sharptooth outside of their kind before. she said.

Chomper smiled a little; he might kill other animals now, and he might not be as "friendly" as he used to be, but it still felt good to show a little kindness to others. What is your name? he asked the Sailback.

My name is Chomper. the Rex replied.

Funny name. Jessica laughed.

It was given to me by a Longneck who helped raise me. Chomper replied.

You were raised by a Longneck? Jessica asked, raising her eyebrows.

Sort of. He helped rescue me from Egg Stealers and then later tried to raise me but had trouble. He let me go back with my parents when they came for my hatched egg and I stayed with them till they were killed by Red Claw. Chomper replied.

I'm sorrry to hear about that. Jessica said.

The Longneck saved me from drowning too once. And he helped get the Great Valley to take me in. And, when an accident happened and I ended up killing two Clubtails, he helped me get away. Chomper said.

What is the name of this Longneck? Jessica asked, still skeptical of his story.

Littlefoot. Chomper replied.

Seems a weird name for a Longneck. she remarked.

I'm not the one who named him. Chomper chuckled.

Well, Jessica said. for keeping that Egg Stealer from completely destroying my nest, I think I'll give you a reward next time you're feeling hungry and come down by this stretch of the land.

As she said this, she moved into deeper water and briefly submerged herself; when she came back to the surface, a gigantic sawfish, not much shorter than a Threehorn, struggled in her jaws.

"Next time you visit, how would you boys like a taste of a sawsnout?" she offered, mouth full.

Sure. he replied.

He went back with Dil and Ichy to their cave. "Ok, I've explored this cave and the Land of Mists a lot, and I'm getting better at hunting, but I was wondering, what do you guys do for fun?"

"For fun?" Ichy asked.

"Yes fun. What you do to amuse yourself." Chomper replied.

"Sometimes I annoy Dil." Ichy laughed.

"No, seriously guys. What do you guys do when you aren't training me or killing Leaf Eaters or annoying each other?" Chomper asked.

"I guess we can show you now that you've done quite well in your training. We wanted to make sure that you were sufficiently trained before rewarding you." Ichy replied.

He took Chomper to what appeared to be a giant slide. There were many of these in the Great Valley, though this one was quite high up in the cave and went all the way down to an underground lake in the cave. The tunnel was wide enough for Dil and Chomper to fit down together. There was a passage back up to the top, though it was a bit of a climb. Thee Rex and the Belly Dragger went down several times before that point, racing each other.

At a point, Chomper and Dil ended up sliding down tunnels where they were unable to see one another; Dil started uncontrollably swiveling in her tunnel and Chomper fell down a small shaft leading to another slide.

Chomper came out at a different pool of water. He explored it for a while and found two young Longnecks all alone, having gotten lost from their herd. "Do you think that Plated Sharptooth will find us?" one of them, a female, asked the other.

"I hope not. That thing will eat us for sure if it finds us." the other, a male, replied.

The two headed further into the cave, heading, though they didn't know it, toward Chomper. Suddenly, the three of them could hear loud footsteps coming. A female Giganotosaurus entered the cave and soon spotted the two Longneck children.

Found you little brats! No place to hide this time! she laughed.

"Run!" yelled the female Longneck to the other. The two ran, the female in the lead, from the Plated Sharptooth. The girl crashed into Chomper and fell over. The male arrived soon thereafter and shouted at Chomper "Get away from my sister you Rex!"

The Plated Sharptooth came into sight and snapped at Chomper Back away kid. Those are my Longnecks! I found them first!

The Longneck siblings cowered together, their heads resting against each other's bodies, too afraid to look as they shook in fright, trapped between the two Sharpteeth.

Chomper's eyebrows lowered, and he stood between the other Sharptooth and the Longnecks. Even he wasn't sure what was motivating him to shield them from the other predator; perhaps his memories of those times on the Mysterious Island with his friends and his newfound predatory drive were conflicting. The Plated Sharptooth, already agitated by hunger, hissed What part of 'back away' don't you understand?

Deciding to pity the two Longnecks, he called to them in Leaf Eater "Quickly kids, get up and run between my legs!"

The two looked up, startled to hear the Flattooth language. "Who said that?" the female asked.

"I did. Now go between my legs. I'll hold her off so you can run away." Chomper told her.

She and her brother remained reluctant as the Plated Sharptooth neared. At the last second, the two, figuring that, if Chomper was lying, the worst that would happen was that they'd be eaten by him instead of the Plated Sharptooth, they ran underneath his legs, and not a second too soon, for the female Sharptooth's jaws snapped right where they'd been.

I'm going to kill you for daring to stand in my way! she snapped, but as she moved to raise her head, Chomper attacked her in self-defense, biting her in the neck..

She fell to the ground with a crash but was still alive, albeit injured, as his bite hadn't been as fatal as he'd hoped. She leaped up and knocked Chomper over. Too bad kid. You had a lot of potential. It's such a shame to see you die so young. she said. She moved to strike at him, but suddenly fell to the ground as her leg was ripped open by Dil's attack. Ichy attacked her in the claw.

She stumbled and Chomper stuck out his claws, as he'd done with the Clubtails weeks earlier, and she fell right into them, impaling her skull as she fell, killing her.

The two Longnecks, still shocked by what had happened, had found that the path they had taken had reached a dead end.

"Why waste time hunting the baby Longnecks when we have enough meat here to keep us satisfied for a week?" Chomper said, looking down at the fallen Plated Sharptooth. He - being a Rex - wasn't against the idea of eating a fellow sharptooth when opportunity knocked.

"I've never eaten another Sharptooth before. The closest I came to that was wanting to eat Ichy and one time, by accident, nearly swallowing him." Dil said.

"I haven't eaten Sharptooth either and I'd prefer Longneck." Ichy said in agreement.

"But they're young. Why kill them when we already have food?" Chomper protested.

"Here's a reason: if we let them go, they might let their herd know that there are three Sharpteeth in this cave. The herd might come and kill us.

Chomper thought about that. He recalled his frightening encounter with Ali's herd, where they had cornered him and were going to kill him for the crime of being a Sharptooth. Could the three of them take on such a herd if the children told? On the other hand, they already had a whole Giganotosaurus to eat and his policy had been against eating children anyway.

After thinking a bit, Chomper told them "We'll let you go, but if you tell your herd and they attack us, we'll kill them, and we'll kill you too if you show up with them."

"Got it." the two said.

"Why would a Sharptooth save us?" the male asked.

"Call it a nice streak." Chomper replied, smiling.

"Thank you!" the two said, before leaving.

"Ok guys, I'm going to need your help carrying this dead Sharptooth back up there." he told Dil and Ichy.

After eating as much as they could of the dead Sharptooth, Chomper asked "What are we supposed to do with the rest of this Sharptooth?"

"Try and eat as much as we can before it rots." Dil replied.

"How long does that take?" Chomper asked.

"Unfortunately, only two to three days." Ichy replied, shaking his head.

"Seems a pity to take a life and then waste a bunch of the meat." Chomper sighed.

"You have an idea how to preserve it?" Ichy asked hopefully.

"Not at the moment." Chomper said. "But I'll think of something." he added.

Chomper sat down and thought; he recalled an adventure he and his friends embarked on long ago, where they went up to the mountains and found "hard water sweets" in the snow. Though he didn't eat any, he thought they didn't smell any different from a sweet bubble fresh off of a plant.

"Do you think taking it somewhere very cold will keep the meat fresh for a longer time?" he suggested.

It was his good luck that a cold time had come and that snow and ice were present in the Valley of Mists. He made several trips up to the mountains to get ice, and, during one such trip, came across Jessica.

Hello Chomper. What are you doing? she asked him.

I'm carrying hard water to preserve a dead Plated Sharptooth so it doesn't go bad. I saw it work where hard water preserved Tree Sweets and Flatteeth were able to eat them despite them being away from the vines for some time. It might work the same way with meat. he replied to her, beginning to heft the huge chunk of ice up a steep incline toward the cave where he, Dil, and Ichy lived.

You killed a Plated Sharptooth for food? she asked.

Not exactly. It was over Longneck hatchlings. he replied.

I see. Rather petty to kill another Sharptooth over food that small if you ask me. she remarked, shaking her head.

Not what happened at all. She tried to kill me over them and I defended myself. he said.

Oh. she said.

Hey, you want some? It would be hard for us to eat all of this by ourselves, even if what I'm trying with hard water does work. he offered her.

Sure. I've never eaten Sharptooth before but I suppose that meat is meat. she replied.

Jessica arrived at their cave lair with Chomper. Hey Jessica, what are you doing here? Ichy asked.

Chomper replied We have more than enough and I came across her while carrying hard water. I thought it only fair to invite her.

Well, thank you guys. she said.

As the four Sharpteeth ate, Jessica remarked I've never seen much reason to fight over food; usually, when someone as big as me comes up and tells me to step away from my kill, I just do what they say.

Though Jessica's kind were among the biggest Sharpteeth out there, they weren't very adept at fighting other predators of equal size; if a Rex or a Plated Sharptooth, for instance, were to come over to her when she was by a corpse and take it over, the odds would be stacked against her in a dispute over her food.

You shouldn't let them push you around. Chomper told her.

I know, Chomper, but I'm not a fast-moving, strong-biting Rex like you. They'd kill me if I tried to fight some of them. Better to take what I can than risk losing everything. she replied.

You should still stand up for yourself. I fought Red Claw and gave him some cuts to remember me by. Sure, he wants to kill me now, but he hasn't gotten me yet. Chomper said.

Who is Red Claw? she asked.

You don't know who Red Claw is? Chomper gasped. She shook her head. He's the most dangerous Sharptooth in the Mysterious Beyond. He and his legion of Fast Biters terrorize everyone.

The Mysterious Beyond?

Oh, I forgot, I'm not in the Great Valley anymore. It's the area outside the Land of Mists. The huge, often desolate areas of the world. Chomper said, trying to think of how to describe the Mysterious Beyond.

So... the world? Jessica reiterated, trying to understand him.

Yes. He's a big bully and pretty much terrorizes everyone outside the Great Valley. I'm actually surprised he hasn't come for me here yet. He couldn't get to me in the Great Valley because they know how to work together. It can't take him much longer to realize that I'm not going back to the Great Valley. Still, at least Dil and Ichy have agreed to help me if he comes. We can work together too. Chomper said.

I wouldn't mind working together with other Sharpteeth. My mate Omba was killed last week in a dispute over food by some Plated Sharpteeth. Even worse, since we last met, some pesky Egg Stealers have made off with the rest of our eggs. I'm a lonely young widow and I got to thinking, I don't see what I would have to lose by joining up with your new pack. That is, if you want me. she said.

We'll take you. Chomper, Dil, and Ichy said together.

Good. Glad to be part of your pack. So, who is in charge? Are you, Chomper? she asked.

No. We all make decisions together. We don't have a single leader. Chomper replied.

I think I'm going to like this group. said Jessica smugly.

Meanwhile, Red Claw said to his Fast Biter minions, Screech and Thud It's quite clear now. Chomper has left the Great Valley for good. Likely he's had a falling out with his Flattooth friends. He'll be wide open, wherever he is.

We haven't seen him leave the Land of Mists from any known entrances. Screech remarked.

We believe him to still be there. Thud said in agreement.

Good. Then go find him and take him out. Red Claw ordered them.

Take out a Rex? Just the two of us? He'd eat us! Thud protested.

He's only a young Rex in the Time of Great Growing. He's not even to his full strength. However, if you insist, take a couple of your Fast Biter friends with you and make an end of him. I've got a score to settle with the Great Valley after he's gone. Red Claw said.

What kind of score? Thud asked.

My late brother, Tiran, disappeared near the Great Valley some cold times ago. Until lately, I wasn't sure what had happened to him but lately, I found a skeleton that washed up from a lake after an earthshake that leads me to believe that someone from the Great Valley pushed him to his death and he drowned. I'll find out who did it and kill them, even if I have to kill a bunch of their great herd to find the guilty one. Red Claw said.

Assault the Great Valley? Are you crazy?! gasped Screech and Thud.

Last time, we underestimated them. Now we know what to expect and we have bigger numbers. Red Claw said.

Yes, but we're not familiar with the place. Unlike Chomper, we have never been there for more than a few minutes. Screech argued.

Red Claw thought on that one. Though Chomper had hurt his eye, a dead brother was higher on the scale of vengeance than a hurt eye (which still worked, though it was now yellow due to the injury). Chomper would know the layout of the Great Valley like the back of his claws. And, if he was right in suspecting there was a falling out with the Leaf Eaters there, he might even have a motive to join him in his revenge on the Valley now. You're right. Change of plans. Find Chomper and offer him the chance to join us in our attack on the Valley. If he refuses, kill him. Red Claw said.

It shall be done, boss. Screech and Thud replied before leaving.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCERNING LONGNECKS

In the winter, older dinosaurs tended to be at their most vulnerable. Two years ago, Pat the old Longneck had passed away after a cold spell had blown in. Just last year, his elderly teacher Mr. Thicknose had passed away in his sleep during a frost. Unfortunately, some powerful members of the Great Valley Council had set Haley to be his replacement, a move that his grandparents had both opposed. Even Mr. Threehorn, now that he had aged some too, had dropped a lot of his past racism, and was against the move. He was outvoted for Haley and her mate Hank had mostly kept their true feelings under wraps at the time. Only lately during the day of Hank and Vinnie's deaths had their taken off the mask, and that was more the fault of the children, who had gotten carried away in attacking Tricia and in their attempt to provoke Chomper in hopes of getting him kicked out of the Great Valley.

This cold time brought trouble right to Littlefoot's family. On the fifth day of a cold spell, Grandma Longneck fell ill and her condition gradually worsened.

Grandpa carried a bundle of tree stars in his mouth, taken from a hot spring near the border of the valley, and put them in front of his ailing wife. He nudged them close to her snout.

"You need to eat, dear." he gently said.

She ate them but still didn't get up. "I don't know how we're going to break this to Littlefoot but I don't foresee myself lasting the winter. In fact, I wonder if I'll last the week." she said grimly to her mate.

Littlefoot approached his grandfather a few minutes later "Is Grandma going to get better?" he asked in concern.

Grandpa sulked; if Littlefoot were much younger, he would have been quick to reassure him that Grandma would recover, to give him some hope. But, given how much older and more savvy his grandson was as he stood, he didn't think the same approach he would have used years ago would help him.

"I don't know, Littlefoot," he responded.

"You don't think she's going to make it, do you?" he asked, dreading the answer.

Grandpa thought of what to say; he chose his words as carefully as he could.

"I dearly hope that she recovers, I can say that for certain; but, as for what I think..." he paused. He could tell from the look on his grandson's face that he was expecting him to mirror his own words. "I think it is very possible that she could make it, but you and I need to prepare ourselves just in case something does happen to her."

"What did you have in mind? I just had my Hatch Day and am now officially old enough to have a say on the Great Valley Council. You guys have taken care of me to adulthood like my Mother would have wanted. Plus, my father is around too. And so are you." Littlefoot said.

"Your grandmother and I are getting quite old, we have been planning to train you to be able to take our place, in case something were to happen to either of us," he replied.

"Take your place? You mean in the Great Valley Council?" Grandpa nodded. "What would I specifically need to know?"

"What we are most concerned about is Haley and those like her." Grandpa said.

"I know. She's a big pain in the tush. Basically accused my friends and I of killing Hank and Vinnie by helping Chomper get away. Even Chomper himself didn't set out to kill them. They forced him into it."

"We know. But it's worse than just hatred for Sharpteeth."

"I know. I believe they're behind the attacks on Ruby and her family as well as Guido. Guido got the worst of it but luckily I think his wing is healing."

"It's worse than that, I'm afraid. You see, Haley and those like her want to return things to the way they were when you were a young kid."

"You mean separation of the kinds?'

"Yes. So far, your grandmother and I have balanced out Haley and Hank, and we have gotten Mr. Threehorn onto our side over time. With Hank dead, the balance further shifted into our favor, and Vinnie, who was about your age, is now dead, meaning he won't now be on the Council. However, there is a great risk that your grandma and I might both pass away within a cold time or so. And Mr. Threehorn isn't exactly young. Your friend Cera and her siblings were his second batch of children. He had others that came before them and they had children too, among them Dana and Dinah. He too probably only has a few cold times left. As I was saying, we had greater balance but then Pat and Mr. Thicknose died, and things shifted the other way. So it would seem that if all three of us were to die, that would leave you as the tie-breaker to decide the future of the Great Valley."

"Wait, me? What about Ducky and Cera? They're of age too."

"They are, but there's another problem in the rules. While a single dinosaur can eventually get into the Council, you have to be either quite a good deal older or be married to make the major decisions. Neither Cera nor Ducky currently have any boyfriend prospects. You, on the other hand, have..."

"Ali!"

"Yes."

Littlefoot started to think about the prospect of all of the kinds turning on one another again; even after having lived the first few years of his life in conditions where such behavior was commonplace, he couldn't imagine everyone reverting back to that way of life.

Before he could say any more, he felt a surge of cold air run up his back and towards his neck. He cringed, his teeth chattering.

"Maybe we should go back to Grandma," Littlefoot suggested. When Grandma initially started to fall ill, Grandpa brought her to a part of the Great Valley with tall rocks that provided some shelter against the worst of the winter storms; perhaps it would have been best to head there until the winds died down.

From where they were now standing, they were no longer being hit by the worst of the wind gusts; it was still cold, and there was a modest breeze, but Littlefoot and his grandfather found this much more tolerable than standing out in the open.

Littlefoot looked towards Grandma, who appeared to be sleeping. She was very quiet; she wasn't snoring, or reflexively flicking the tip of her tail. The Tree Stars Grandpa had left earlier had hardly been touched.

Littlefoot prodded her and she stirred feebly. "Grandma?"

"Littlefoot, I shan't be around much longer. Has your grandfather talked about what you need to do to take our place in the Great Valley?" she asked.

"Yes. He has started to." replied Littlefoot, starting to cry.

"Good."

"Don't die Grandma."

"It can't be helped. It's part of the Circle of Life. I've reached the end. it's your turn to run things now."

"I don't know if I can handle it."

"I trust you."

"Grandma, I love you."

"I love you too Littlefoot. I will miss you." she said. And with that, her eyes shut and did not open again. She was gone.

Littlefoot looked down at the ground quietly. He slowly walked over to her torso and laid down beside her. His eyes were wet, and his lip trembled.

Grandpa did not say a word; but he looked at Littlefoot and his fallen mate, forlorn. A single tear rolled down the cheek of the old sauropod, and fell onto the ground below.

Littlefoot cried silently. Grandma Longneck was gone, just his mother, and wouldn't come back. He knew that there was life after death because his mother had told him how to get to the Great Valley and had actually shown him it when he was near giving up hope right at the entrance.

"I want to be alone for a bit." he said. Grandpa Longneck nodded.

He headed into a cave, alone, tears still dripping from his face. Now, not only did he have to deal with the loss of his grandmother, but he had to think of what to do about Haley and her group. If both Grandpa Longneck and Mr. Threehorn died, then Haley's side would have the Council in a bind as it would be deadlocked. He also knew that some of the Great Valley residents, even the less racist ones, would prefer peace rather than a possible civil war, and would choose segregation over chaos.

Another problem, which had greatly empowered Haley's side, was the recent famine what had sent several dinosaurs into the Great Valley in search of food. While the catastrophe of the Great Earthshake had forced a bunch of the Leaf Eaters seeking refuge in the Great Valley to work together, no such event had happened this time, meaning that many of the new inhabitants had kept their racist views.

Grandpa Longneck had tried his best to keep as many of them out as he could, to try and hold off trouble, but if he died, that position would naturally fall to him, but if he wasn't married, then it would go to Topps, who, though much better than in the past, would be more acceptable of some racist views than his grandparents had been, and that would give Haley the edge she needed to push for more.

That night, in a stretch of forest marked by the Clubtails as their main territory, Haley rose from her sleep, slowly shuffling past the other sleeping ankylosaurs and making her way to a small clearing where her deceased mate's three closest friends - Lambi, Maia and Cory - stand.

"That's one less Council member against us," Lambi said, breaking the silence.

"What are our plans now? We'd still are three votes away from changing things here. The old Longneck, and Topps and his wife Tria are still in our way." Maia said.

Haley growled as Maia mentioned Topps and his mate; she had grown to resent them even more than she had before - Topps especially, after his mind started to change on the subject of Chomper.

A dark thought began to brew in her mind; her anger over Topps's hesitance to hunt down that blasted Rex, and her desire to fulfill her late husband's wish to take him down a peg with brute force, mixed together, and gave her an idea of how she and the swimmers could potentially take away another one of the three adults against them.

Littlefoot noticed his grandfather's health begin to decline over the next few days. He suspected that it was a combination of the cold plus losing his wife of 65 years. Finally, after stumbling and falling while trying to reach up to the top of a tall tree to reach Tree Stars, his grandfather began to have a hard time walking. His back had already been getting bad for years but this seemed to be about all it could take in his old age.

Gradually, over the next several days, he would walk less and less and Littlefoot and his friends would get him food. On the third week after the death of Grandma Longneck, he wasn't walking at all and it was clear that his time was limited.

Grandpa Longneck knew this too and so told Littlefoot what he would need to do to keep the Great Valley running in order and to try and counter Haley and her minions. By this point, Bron, who had already heard about the death of Grandma Longneck from Etta and had heard that Grandpa Longneck was not well, was there with his adopted son Shorty.

"How's he doing?" Bron asked his son.

"Not well." Littlefoot replied.

Bron approached his father-in-law. "Papa Longneck, sorry to hear about your wife. Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked.

"I'm afraid not, Bron. I'm going to see Louise and Colline again soon."

"Don't talk like that. You'll get well again soon." Bron replied, starting to cry.

"No. Littlefoot, I want you to promise me that you won't let Haley and her minions ruin the Great Valley. She's had it in for Threehorns for many cold times and I believe that her dislike for our kinds being together is made worse by several things. First off, she blames what happened with Chomper for the death of Hank and Vinnie."

"Chomper killed Hank and Vinnie?!" Bron gasped.

"Calm down Dad! I'll explain it later."

"Because we were open to other kinds being let into the Great Valley as a weakness that led to Chomper being let in, she will want to be more restrictive in who she lets in if she takes control. That would be such a tragedy for the Great Valley, especially with starving Leaf Eaters out there in the time of famine and this being the best place to get food."

"What do you think she'll do, besides keeping some Leaf Eaters out of the Great Valley, she may limit what types of dinosaurs can be associated with by whom."

Littlefoot recalled a voice, though it had been spoken several years earlier, echoing in his mind as vivid as if he'd just heard it "Threehorns don't play with Longnecks!" Though Topps had since changed, the idea of that horrible segregation coming back was unbearable to think about.

"I promise I'll do all I can to keep that from happening!" Littlefoot vowed.

"I want you to find Ali then, as you seemed to be interested in her as a possible mate. You need to get her to marry you. Then both of you can be on the Council and we don't have to worry what to do when Mr. Threehorn dies." the old Longneck said, his breathing become more labored as he grew weaker and weaker.

"I will. I will. Though I'm wondering, can't we just get Cera and others on the Council and have them get married and simply override her?"

"it's not that easy Littlefoot. If she gets power, she could limit who could be on the Council. No more Threehorns. No more Longnecks. Things like that."

"That would truly be terrible! I'll do all I can then."

"Good. I have faith you'l set things right. I love you Littlefoot. Farewell." the old Longneck said, breathing his last.

"Grandpa!" Littlefoot called, but his grandfather never moved again.

After laying Grandpa Longneck to rest in a cave next to his wife, Bron asked Littlefoot "What did he mean about Chomper? Where is he?"

"He left. He was starving and was thinking of leaving anyway. Vinnie and Magnus were bullying Tricia and he intervened. They attacked him and Vinnie accidentally impaled himself on Chomper's claws. Then Magnus brought Hank and Hank went nuts and tried to murder Chomper, forcing Chomper to bite off Hank's tail to save his own life. Unfortunately, Hank and Vinnie died of her injuries and wouldn't forgive us for letting Chomper get away."

"That wasn't a smart move. I've always wondered about Chomper. Now I fear he's a threat to us."

"You're wrong. He might eat Leaf Eaters like other Sharpteeth, but he's different."

"I'm sorry about your grandparents and about Chomper. Is there anything I can do to help?" Shorty asked him. "Bron says that he cannot be on the Council, even if he wanted to, as he hasn't lived here at least five cold times, and neither could I. Do you have any idea where Ali is?" Shorty said.

"I can guess but her herd does migrate. However, Ali told me where they typically travel this time of year. However, you mentioned helping. Could you and Dad keep Haley preoccupied till I get back with Ali? I'm sure you can think of ways to annoy and distract her, Shorty. That's your specialty."

Shorty laughed. "I guess it is. Well, good luck."

And with that, Littlefoot left immediately.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Mists, the two Longnecks that had been saved by Chomper spotted him as he was out looking for food with Dil, Ichy, and Jessica.

"Isabelle, isn't that the Sharptooth that saved us?"

"Yes, Jared. But I wonder if he's still in a kind mood. Perhaps we should hide."

Jared spotted a warm cave to hide in with pointy teeth and a flowing breeze.

"Jared!" Isabelle barked, halting him before he took a look inside the cave; if she had let his curiosity get the better of him, it probably would have been too late when he realized that this "cave" was actually a sleeping Sharptooth. Thankfully, her outburst did not awaken the giant animal; it simply rolled over to try and get comfortable.

The two turned and ran the opposite direction. They collided with Jessica, who, with Chomper's help, had brought down a Threehorn.

"Help! Sharpteeth!" Isabelle yelled as loud as she could.

"They're going to kill us!" Jared cried.

The kids backed away in fright from the two predators, but found, with horror, that Dil and Ichy had blocked their path of escape.

"Going somewhere kiddos?" Ichy laughed.

"I didn't think that Threehorn would fill all four of us. And we've been having a bit of trouble getting food lately, since, as you probably know, you Flatteeth don't grow on trees, so it looks like you two are going to be seconds." Dil said.

The two Longnecks turned around to face Chomper, who seemed the most merciful of the group and begged him "Please, tell them not to kill us!"

Chomper looked between his friends and the two kids; again feeling merciful, he stood between the carnivores and the little herbivores.

"We have already have food, we don't need to waste any more energy on making kills," he said.

The cry of the kids, however, had not gone unheard. Soon, seven Longnecks arrived. They saw the four Sharpteeth. "Get away from our kids!" one of them, who appeared to be the leader, snapped.

"I wasn't harming them. They can go back with you." Chomper replied.

"A talking Sharptooth! I didn't think they had the brains enough to learn how to talk." the leader remarked.

"I guess I could say the same about you." Ichy laughed. This further stunned the Longnecks!

"These Sharpteeth are a threat, especially as they not only know how to talk our language but also appear to be working together outside their kinds. We should kill them immediately!" the leader said.

"I warn you. We'll fight back in self-defense. Take your kids and leave." Chomper warned them.

The herd, however, didn't listen and attacked. What followed was a frightening battle, in which it seemed that Dil, Ichy, and Chomper were in danger, on more than one occasion, of being crushed. Finally, after a long drawn out fight, in which all of the Sharpteeth were injured, all seven of the adult Longnecks were dead. The two kids, who had been hiding and had come out, hearing the fighting cease, gasped in shock.

"You killed our parents!" Jared shouted at Chomper and the others.

Chomper shook his head. He felt as bad as the Sharptooth who had killed Littlefoot's mother, yet, he knew, the Longnecks had forced him into it. "I had no choice." he replied sadly.

"Well, you might as well eat us now." Jared said, shaking his head.

"Jared!" Isabelle snapped.

"Why not Izzy? Who's going to get us food? We can't reach up to the trees to get food for ourselves yet. Better to be eaten than starve to death."

"Should we eat the baby Longnecks?" Ichy asked.

"No. We're going to adopt them." Chomper replied.

"Adopt them?" Dil gasped.

What are we going to do? Jessica asked him.

Adopt the orphaned Longnecks. he replied.

"I hope they're nest-trained. I'm not cleaning up a soiled nest!" Ichy grumbled.

Isabelle's instincts put a stop to the Sharpteeth's internal adoption suggestions; she ran off in the opposite direction of the predators, as fast as her little legs could carry her.

"Wait for me!" Jared called, following suit and not wanting to be left behind with the carnivores.

Chomper looked at the fallen bodies of the Longnecks that had come to the kids's rescue; his breathing became shaky, as he started to recall Littlefoot's descriptions of how he lost his mother. He closed his eyes and tilted his head down towards the ground.

Jared, meanwhile, soon found Isabelle resting by a lake. He'd almost missed her in the mist. "Isabelle, there you are!" he said.

"They're never coming back! Mom and Dad and the others. They're dead and it's all our fault! A curse on all Sharpteeth!" she sobbed.

As they kids were crying by the lake, they heard loud footsteps pounding toward them. They turned and saw, with horror, that the huge Albertosaurus that they had narrowly avoided earlier had found them and meant to devour them.

"Run!" Jared yelled. He took off but soon noticed that Jessica was still crying and not bothering to run. "No!" he yelled. He ran back and grabbed hold of her and began pulling her away from the Sharptooth who was only just behind them.

To some it may have seemed futile on his part, as now it would only take a few more snaps and they'd both be dinner, but it didn't seem right to him to save his own skin and let his sister die. The Sharptooth behind him moved to snap at them but was suddenly knocked away from them by something.

Jared and Isabelle turned and saw the teenage Rex from earlier. He had attacked the Sharptooth to stop him from killing them.

Back off! These are my Longnecks! Chomper snapped at the Albertosaurus.

Nice try kid! You may be a Rex but you're stil young and inexperienced. I'd kick your ass faster than you can say 'Longneck'. Back off and let me eat these hatchlings. the Albertosaurus snapped. Chomper didn't move. You are really a fool kid. You're all alone and you think...

He's not alone! the Albertosaurus turned and saw Jessica, Dil, and Ichy approaching. There are four of us and only one of you. I suggest you leave before you get your ass kicked! Jessica snapped.

Ok fine. Be that way. I'm not fool enough to pick a fight with a Rex, Sailback, Bigmouthed Belly Dragger, and a Sharp Beak all at once over some puny insignificant Longnecks. At least I have the dignity to only associate with my own kind. the Albertosaurus growled before leaving.

"A Longneck once helped raise me and helped stick up for me to hide me from Red Claw. I figured it wouldn't be right if I didn't try and pass that on somehow." Chomper replied.

"Who's this Longneck?" Isabelle asked.

"His name is Littlefoot." Chomper replied.

"Who is this Littlefoot?" Jared asked.

"And why was he taking care of you? Did your own parents not care about you? Did you kill them just like you killed mine?" Isabelle asked.

"Kill them? I loved them! They were killed by Red Claw, the most dangerous Rex out there! I got on his bad side for saving a Fast Runner from him. Littlefoot convinced the Great Valley to take me in." Chomper said.

"And then you killed his parents," Isabelle added.

"No. His mother was killed by another Sharptooth. I believe his father and grandparents are still alive." Chomper replied.

"What made you leave in the first place?" Jared asked.

"Leave the Great Valley? Because, I was getting hungry a lot. Plus, I ran into a problem with some Clubtails bullying a friend of mine. I fought them off and, unfortunately, the event turned tragic and I accidentally killed two of them."

"Accidentally," Isabelle repeated, screwing her face; after what just happened, she was not in the right mood to believe Chomper saying that what he did was by accident.

"Think what you want. But the point is I am here now, and I am not going back. If I could, I'd send you to the Great Valley to live. You'd be safe there. Problem is, a ton of the residents want me dead, so it looks like, for the time being, that I'm going to have to take care of you."

"Take care of us?! Do you even know what we eat?" Jared laughed.

"I know Leaf Eaters that eat Sweet Bubbles, Tree Stars, yellow flowers, Tree Sweets...heck, I know of one that ate a pointy seed once. That was Spike."

"Did you eat Spike?" Isabelle asked.

"No. If I did, I'd be a lot fatter." Chomper laughed.

Chomper continued to talk to the children, allowing Dil, Ichy, and Jessica to eat some of the dead Longnecks (in addition to the Threehorn) and store off the rest for later without the children seeing. Eventually, the children returned and found the bodies gone.

"What did you do to them?!" Isabelle demanded.

"I didn't do anything. My friends ate what they could and stored the rest for later." Chomper replied.

"Do you eat your own families when they die?" Isabelle asked in disgust.

"No. I suppose I'd have asked which ones were your parents so that I could lay them to rest and not have them eaten, but I thought that you might get too emotional. I talked to Littlefoot about how he was after his mother's death. Didn't want to eat and even was one time talking to his own shadow, thinking that it was his mother returning."

"You'll never be my parent!" Isabelle snapped, taking off again. Jared ran off to join her. Soon, however, the two returned, panicked. It soon become apparent what had scared them.

Well, well. Long time no see Chomper. Screech said, as he, his brother Thud, and several other Fast Biters approached the trio.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE FIGHT AND THE AFTERMATH

Thud looked at Chomper; he marveled at how much he had grown since he had last seen him.

And these are...? Jessica asked her tyrannosaur friend, not immediately connecting the Fast Biters with what he had told her about Red Claw.

That's Screech and Thud. he replied.

You're not with your Flattooth friends in the Great Valley anymore, are you. Thud said to Chomper. It wasn't a question so much as a statement of fact.

Chomper knew that he and, likely Red Claw, knew, and that there was no point denying it; he shook his head, before squinting his eyes and looking at Thud. What are you doing here? he asked.

Red Claw has come to make you an offer.

Chomper cocked his head. What kind of offer? he inquired.

Red Claw has a score to settle with the Great Valley, which, I'm guessing, you aren't affiliated with anymore. They didn't like that you ate meat, so they turned you away. Red Claw is upset about his eye but is willing to set that aside if you'll join him in settling a score with some of the residents. a Fast Biter said.

Red Claw would be wiser to stick his head up his cloaca than to ask me to help him with anything after he killed my parents. Chomper growled.

Touchy, aren't you? Screech remarked, shaking his head.

I have no score against the Great Valley. Those in question that did give me trouble are now dead. Chomper replied.

Red Claw would pleased to hear that you have given up on your silly affections to the silly Flattooth residents of the Great Valley. Thud said.

Are you going to eat those Longnecks? They're making my mouth water? a Fast Biter asked, pointing at Isabelle and Jared.

No, I'm adopting these Longnecks. They're orphaned. Chomper replied.

Adopting Longnecks? What nonsense! Screech laughed.

Didn't Red Claw adopt you? Chomper replied.

Real cute. A remark I'd expect of a juvenile such as yourself! Thud scowled.

Enough guys. He's just delaying us! Screech grumbled.

Kill him! Thud told the others.

The Fast Biters pounced on Thud's command; however, before they could connect with Chomper, the closest raptors to him were rammed aside, and one was snagged in a pair of long, sleek jaws and thrown aside.

Are you sure you want to go through with this? Jessica, growled.

The Fast Biters persisted in trying to attack them. An intense fight followed with the Fast Biters, in which all but three of them were killed and Ichy received a (luckily not serious) injury to his wing, making him temporarily unable to fly, and in which Dil, Chomper, and Jessica had bleeding arms. Some of the Fast Biters had tried to kill Isabelle and Jared, but the two Longnecks began to whack them in the face with their tails, which kept them busy long enough for Chomper to come to their aid. The two Longneck children were terribly frightened but otherwise had remained unharmed. Only three of the Fast Biters remained alive. One had fled, leaving Screech and Thud, as he had figured, to die.

Chomper, Dil, Ichy, and Jessica had Screech and Thud pinned down.

Should we kill them? They tried to kill us. Jessica asked Chomper.

Chomper looked down at Thud, who was pinned under Jessica's foot, intently. He had never seen so much fear in the eyes of one of his enemies.

Let them run. he replied, deciding to show some mercy. They aren't worth wasting energy on.

You're not going to kill us? Screech gasped in astonishment.

No, I'm not, Chomper said, lowering his head slightly. Under the condition that, once we let you free, you immediately leave. If you don't, I certainly don't mind having Fast Biter steak. My kind can be as happy eating Sharpteeth as we are eating Flatteeth. These words were followed by Chomper growling and baring his teeth; if the two Fast Biters didn't comply, they knew they would have to deal with those.

Why are you sparing us? Red Claw certainly wouldn't had he been in your position. Thud asked.

Well, I'm not Red Claw, am I. Chomper replied.

No, you're not. This isn't the first time you've saved my life. Thud said.

When did he save you before? Screech asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ages ago. Saved me when I got stuck after that earthshake. I'd have been dead if I had to rely on Red Claw and you for help.

It's every dinosaur for himself out here. Red Claw at least shelters us from the bigger Sharpteeth.

He says he does, but really he just uses us.

Red Claw is going to kill you when he hears you talking like that.

Who says I'm going back?

You're going to stay with this lot?

If they'll have me. We can both stay.

They're a bunch of oddballs! We're best sticking with the natural order of the bigger dinosaurs ruling the roost.

I want something better. With Red Claw, it was a slight improvement. Instead of being pushed around by all of the bigger Sharpteeth, we just got pushed around by him. But Chomper is different. He's wiser I think. His group took us down by working together. I say we join this pack. Then maybe we could get rid of Red Claw and let all of the kinds, including this Sharp Beak, have an equal say.

I like the idea. But how are we going to just ditch Red Claw?

Simple. The other Fast Biters, minus the one that got away, are dead. When she gets back, she'll tell Red Claw what happened. When we don't return, Red Claw will think Chomper killed us. It's what Red Claw would have done, after all, had he been in his spot.

Shouldn't we ask them first before joining?

Ok, fine. Can we please join you?

Jessica and the other Sharpteeth looked at Chomper, waiting to see how he'd respond; Chomper thought very hard.

Yes, so long as you don't harm the Longnecks. he finally said.

Where'd you find the orphaned Longnecks? Thud asked.

It's a long story. Chomper replied.

What a shame, because I have somewhere to go and I am already five minutes late. he replied sarcastically. Chomper and the other Sharpteeth laughed.

Chomper sat down and explained the circumstances in which he had found the little Longnecks - entertaining himself in some tunnels and finding them in a cave where they were being hunted by a different Sharptooth - before going over the incident with their herd and how they saved them from the Albertosaurus before the Fast Biters arrived.

...and that's when you and the rest of the Fast Biters arrived. Chomper finished.

Meanwhile, the surviving Fast Biter reached Red Claw. Red Claw knew immediately that something was wrong, due to his greatly diminished supply of returning Fast Biters. What the hell happened?! he inquired, his eyes glaring angrily at the Utahraptor.

Chomper had friends with him. Other types of Sharpteeth. A Sailback, a Belly Dragger, and a Sharp Beak. He also had two Longneck children. They killed our entire group. I was the only one to get away.

If Red Claw's arms were long enough, he would have face-palmed.

Why did I ever think Fast Biters could do anything right? he growled to himself, shaking his head.

You think we should just forget about Chomper? the Fast Biter asked. After all, he's in the Land of Mists and not bothering us.

Red Claw considered his options; it was unlikely that Chomper was going to budge, but - if he had a falling out with the Great Valley, as he assumed - perhaps he wouldn't throw any wrenches into his plans of assaulting the Great Valley.

At the same time, he couldn't help but think; if he could find a way to push the right buttons and properly turn him to his side...

Perhaps we can leave Chomper for now. Right now, we need to find a way into the Great Valley without his help. Red Claw finally said.

Any idea how to get into the Great Valley? the Fast Biter asked Red Claw.

I don't know. Red Claw replied.

How about we just get in and out the same way the Flatteeth do? Why don't we ever try that?

Go in the main way? We'd be spotted. My brother, I heard, tried it and he picked a good time, when they were distracted by many Leaf Eaters arriving during the last leaf famine. His plan was ruined, unfortunately, by those kids. Those kids, as you know, are now adults and are our targets. I want the Longneck, the Threehorn, the Swimmer, the Flyer, and the Spiketail dead. I also think we should kill the Fast Runner too for good measure. Red Claw replied.

Why not come in during when they are having a bunch of new arrivals at the Great Valley? There is a another leaf famine and they're probably getting tons of new arrivals. the Fast Biter suggested.

We could. Red Claw mused. The problem is, they've got many different types that work together. I learned that the hard way after taking them on and them putting fruit down my throat.

They put fruit down your throat...? the Fast Biter began to laugh. He quickly stopped as Red Claw aimed a kick at him, knocking him to the ground and knocking the wind out of him.

I was younger then and naiver. It won't happen again! he growled. Anyway, he continued, if Chomper and his Sharptooth friends can best us so easily, we'll need more than just Fast Biters to get into the Valley and successfully take out those six Flatteeth and the Halftooth.

Perhaps we can recruit Brownridge Sharpteeth. the Fast Biter suggested.

Worth a try. They won't lose so easily as Fast Biters.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER NINE: CHILDREN AND CHILDLESS

Back in the Land of Mists, Jessica, who was taking some time away from the others (who had just "adopted" the young Longnecks and were keeping an eye on Screech and Thud) to refresh. She had just caught a big freshwater ray; a couple small groups of Wrinkleface (Rugops) Sharpteeth stood on the sidelines, waiting for their cue to take over the kill.

Isabelle, meanwhile, had pretended to need to go relieve herself, so as to leave the others. She had wanted her brother to come with her, but he seemed intent on being adopted by Sharpteeth. She had planned to run away and go live on her own, as she detested the Sharpteeth for what they'd done, and it still hadn't sunk in yet that they had only killed her family in self-defense. However, she knew she couldn't go this way, or she'd be joining the ray on the menu. She noticed the Sharpteeth approaching Jessica, hoping that they would distract Jessica long enough to allow her to escape and also not notice her and come and eat her.

Hey princess, give us that fish! one of them called to Jessica.

Nope. I ain't letting other Sharpteeth steal my food anymore. I'm standing up for myself now. You won't be taking my food anymore! she snapped back at them in reply.

The Sharpteeth spotted Isabelle. Well, should we fight this Sailback over this or go get that Longneck? their leader asked.

Longneck? Jessica asked in bewilderment.

Jessica looked down to find the little Longneck creeping away from her, unaware that either the Wrinklefaces or Jessica had noticed her. What is she doing here? she asked herself; she would have asked Isabelle herself if there wasn't a language barrier between them. While Jessica went to get Isabelle, the Sharpteeth took the fish that she had caught.

Jessica groaned but could not stop them, as she had moved in the way of Isabelle to try and protect her.

Foolish Sailback. You think we waste our time on that stupid Longneck when we could have this nice big fish? Enjoy your Longneck! the leader laughed, as he and the others made off with the fish.

Jessica got Chomper's attention, and he went to confront Isabelle. The Longneck turned around in alarm as the Rex stepped beside her.

"You need to stop running away!" Chomper told Isabelle.

"I don't like being raised by Sharpteeth! I especially don't want to be raised by the Sharpteeth that killed my parents!" she spat at him.

Jared came across them. He'd been looking for his sister after she'd disappeared and was relieved to have found her.

"Izzy, please, they're the best chance we've got! If we want the Valley of Mists on our own, we'll be a meal before sundown!" Jared tried to reason with her.

"Who says that these Sharpteeth here won't get tired of us someday and eat us when we have our backs turned?"

Jared looked between Chomper and his sister indecisively. Isabelle snorted.

"Let's get out of here while we still can," she said, starting to run; however, she didn't get much more than a couple of feet before Chomper gently lowered his tail down in front of her and blocked her path. She butted her head against the tail defiantly.

"Let me go you evil Sharptooth!" she snapped at Chomper. "Isabelle, please! Stop trying to run away! They're just trying to help us!"
"Help us?! Sharpteeth?!" she snapped.
"Isabelle, just listen!"
"No, you listen." she snapped. She began to sing

"Sharpteeth are mean, in case you've forgotten.
All they do is kill; they're so very rotten.
They're incapable of love.
They're a curse sent on us from above.
No, Jared, they don't have a heart.
Turn your back on them and they'll tear you apart.
Our parents have always said their kind can't be trusted.
To think you're going to let them adopt you, Jared, I'm so disgusted!
I'm afraid, you've come up to a line.
Stay with them and you'll be no brother of mine!

Sharpteeth can't love us. They're much too crude.
The only thing they really view us as is food.
Jared, don't make me waste my breath.
If you stay with Sharpteeth, all you can look forward to is death.

Jared they're not like us.
And they'll never be.
I suggest we leave them right now and flee.
So what's it going to be Jared: the Sharpteeth or me?" she sang, her voice full of bitterness and anger.

Jared looked at Isabelle; as much as he wanted him and his sister to be defended from the dangers of the Valley of Mists, no matter who their protectors were, he thought there was something wrong with the idea of abandoning his sister. He walked up to her side and sat by her.

Meanwhile, Jessica plucked her head from the river, an Oncorhynchus she had set her sights on before Isabelle's song struggling in her jaws. What did I miss? she mumbled, not letting go of her catch.

One of the Longnecks really hates us. She just sang a song about how bad Sharpteeth are. I admit, her singing is good, much like Ali's, but her heart is so bitter. I'm afraid she's in more pain than Littlefoot was after he lost his mother. She's basically told her brother to leave us or she'll disown him. Chomper told Jessica.

Isabelle and Jared had tried to use the opportunity of Chomper's momentary distraction to try and make a run for it. However, he heard their running footsteps and went after them.

Chomper blocked the way of both Longnecks. "Let us go! If you're going to kill us, do it already and stop wasting our time!" Isabelle snapped at Chomper.

"Isabelle, don't provoke them! You're going to hurt their feelings!"

"Jared, they're Sharpteeth! They aren't capable of having feelings!"

"I know you and your brother are hurting but I really suggest that you two..." Chomper began.

"Go to hell! I don't want to be with you any longer!" she snapped.

"I could tell that from your song."

"I often forget that you are capable of our speech. What was the name of that stupid Longneck who taught you how to talk and took you in? I hope he dies! He raised a monster!" Isabelle snapped.

Chomper may have been able to brush off insults toward himself, but he descended into a brief moment of rage, letting out a loud Tyrannosaurus roar so loud and frightening that Jared wet himself in fright and cowered under his rage. Isabelle, however, though a bit alarmed, was mostly unmoved and stared Chomper down. "Don't you insult Littlefoot like that! You don't know what you're talking about!" he growled.

"You going to kill me for insulting your friend Piddlefoot!" she mocked him, deliberately getting the name wrong.

"No gratitude at all, that one! Can I kill her for you?" Ichy, who happened to hear Chomper's roar and had come flying to his aid, asked him.

"Go ahead sharpbeak. I hope all of your feathers fall out!" she snapped.

"That does it!" Ichy snapped. He moved to kill her, but Chomper intervened.

"No, Ichy. She wants to die, but we must not give her her wish."

"So you're going to torture me instead? Sharpteeth are even worse than I thought!" she snapped at him.

"I agree. Kill her so we don't have to be tortured by her and so she won't be tortured by us." Ichy said.

Chomper groaned and shook his head. "We're not killing anyone." he said.

"We save her tail from death twice and she treats us like dirt; what's the use in keeping her around?" Ichy squawked.

As everyone that was able to converse with Isabelle squabbled and Screech and Thud looked on in befuddlement- Jessica simply watched them, unable to contribute but fascinated regardless - the Rugops from earlier burst from the woods, rushing past them as fast as their muscular legs could carry them. From behind the fleeing Sharpteeth, a pair of giant Carcharodontosaurus - sliceteeth - slowly advanced towards the smaller carnivores, their leader limp in the teeth of the bigger one.

Jared hid behind Chomper, though Isabelle took the opportunity of the momentary distraction to run for it. She would have been killed by the bigger Sharpteeth, had not Jessica ran and jumped in front of her, pushing Isabelle underneath her and putting her tail almost completely on top of her, blocking her from a attack by the Sliceteeth Sharpteeth.

Hey, that was our Longneck! they snapped.

It's mine now.

Lift your tail and give it to me and nobody will get hurt.

No!

Fine, then I'll lift your tail and get it myself!

Hey, watch it! I don't want you looking under my tail, you pervert! she snapped.

Real cute girly! Now give me the Longneck or I'll...

Chomper moved beside her. She's with me.

I've never seen a Rex mated with a Sailback before.

I didn't mean that way. I meant as in she's part of my group, as are the others.

On his command, Screech, Thud, Dil, and Ichy joined them, shielding Isabelle and Jared.

Weird group they've got here. It's not worth fighting the group of them over baby Longnecks. Let's go after those others. one of the Sliceteeth remarked, leaving with his mate.

"Thank you!" Jared told his Sharptooth rescuers.

"This doesn't change anything. I still hate you!" Isabelle told the Sharpteeth.

"You can hate me, but please come with me. You've already had close calls lately." Chomper told her.

"Fine." Isabelle replied.

"Glad you changed your.." Jared began, but Isabelle whacked him hard in the head with her tail, cutting him off.

"I've got a plan. We're going to play their game...for a while." Isabelle whispered to him.

"Oh," Jared whispered back, before nodding his head; anything for his sister.

Chomper and the others took the two Longnecks back to their cave home. A Spiketail was laying in there, due to old age plus an injury from the Mysterious Beyond, where he'd fled from, he was almost unable to move and looked at the approaching Sharpteeth helplessly.

Chomper and most of his group were hesitant to kill the Spiketail (especially as they had already stored up a bunch of dead Longnecks preserved by ice) but Screech and Thud, who were hungry, and didn't know about the Longnecks, killed the elderly Spiketail and began to eat his corpse!

"Oh my!" Isabelle and Jared both cried.

Guys! Did you have to do that in front of the children? Chomper grumbled.

I'm starved. Screech replied.

The kids are just going to have to get used to it! Thud said, returning to his eating.

Chomper soon found that the children had disappeared. After some searching, he caught a whiff of their scent and traced it to a section of the cave some distance off. The children were hiding behind stalagmites, foolishly forgetting that Chomper and the others could sniff them out and that their hiding spot was useless against Sharpteeth. He had been silently following them, as though he were hunting them, so as to not give Isabelle the opportunity to run off again He paused as he heard them tallking.

"Jared, don't you see, they're evil? Look what they did to that old Spiketail!" Isabelle cried.

"I think it was just hunger." Jared replied.

"I can't believe you're defending the ba****ds! Don't let them mess with your mind. They killed our parents and now they want to adopt us to pretend to us that they're kind. Don't fall for it!"

"I don't think I want to stay with fleshburpers like them, but I don't think they're as bad as you make them out to be."

"I think we should make a run for it. Leave this cave and leave the Land of Mists. They won't follow us. They're probably planning till we get older so they can eat Longneck steak. But since we're so small now, they won't bother chasing after us if we leave again."

"I suppose you're right."

Chomper felt saddened that Isabelle so mistrusted him. And Jared's fleshburper remark reminded him of Hank's last angry words at him. In his sadness, he accidentally lost his focus and accidentally trod on some big rocks, making a loud crunching sound that echoed down the cave passage.

"It must be them. We'll pretend that we just wanted to get away from them eating and that it was nothing. They're Sharpteeth and are stupid and will probably fall for it. When they're asleep tonight, we'll go the route I planned, out of the cave and the Land of Mists. It'll be the last time we'll ever see those sorry excuse for dinosaurs ever again."

"Quck, they're coming!"

Chomper soon entered the room, pretending to have not heard any part of their plan. The two children were smiling innocently, trying their best to hide their true motives from him.

"Hello kids. I'd wondered where you'd gotten off to." he said kindly.

"Are they done eating the Spiketail yet?" Jared asked.

"I think so." Chomper replied. "I told them it was a bad idea and not to do that again."

"Glad to hear. Guess you aren't so bad after all." Jared said, pretending to be beginning to become sympathetic to Chomper.

"Well, then, let's bring you back home." he said.

As he turned around, the two following him, he could hear Isabelle, thinking he couldn't hear, whisper under her breath to Jared "'Home'? As if! It'll be a cold day in hell before I ever consider myself to be at home with filthy Sharpteeth."

When they returned, Dil remarked in annoyance "Drat, I thought they'd ran away again and weren't coming back. I'm already thinking the two of them, especially the girl, are more trouble than they're worth."

"They're worth it, trust me." Chomper replied.

"I don't see how they could possibly be. They are convinced that just because we are designed to eat meat that we are heartless and stupid. They are irredeemable. Let them run off and get themselves killed if they are so sure that's what they want to do."

"If we do that, we might as well have killed them ourselves." Chomper replied, shaking his head.

An hour before the group planned to go to bed, Chomper took Jessica, whom he believed would be the most sympathetic, aside from the others to discuss Isabelle's plan.

I'm afraid Isabelle has a real hatred for us, and she and her brother plan to leave as soon as we're asleep. They're going to leave the Land of Mists and try and go live out there in the wastes of the Mysterious Beyond. he informed her.

Those poor dears are going to get themselves killed out there! Jessica replied in alarm.

That's my fear.

Should we get the others to help us stop them?

Probably not a good idea. Dil and Ichy have already voiced to me the suggestion of taking up Isabelle on her offer of eating them rather than us adopting them. Another escape attempt would only further push them toward that direction.

So, what should we do, let them go?

Yes and no.

What do you mean?

I mean, I can let them go part of the way and then we can find them, before another Sharptooth does, and we can take them to the Great Valley. It's only about a day away. The problem is, I was more or less kicked out. They may well try and kill me on account of the two dead Clubtails. So I'm going to go in at night and drop them off with Littlefoot, another Longneck.

I thought you told me that Isabelle hated Littlefoot.

She does, because he raised me, but I think she'd prefer him to a Sharptooth. Maybe he can convince her that she's wrong about us being evil.

What if you get caught sneaking them in?

That's why I came to ask for your help. You're the biggest in the group. You and I could at least intimidate anyone in our way, and I can tell them I only want to bring the Longnecks to Littlefoot. Hopefully, they'll not try and fight the both of us.

What if they do?

Chomper sighed. Do as little harm as you can. Only kill as a last resort.

Jessica nodded. Are there any water paths leading in and out of the Great Valley? Perhaps we could sneak in through one of those; I could help you swim. she inquired.

All of the waterways in are through waterfalls, unfortunately. Chomper replied.

That's unfortunate.

Yes, but I do happen to know all the ways in. There's actually an entrance that had a path that goes all the way through the highest part of the Great Wall and then down into the Great Valley. This one is full of stinky pits, unfortunately, so most Sharpteeth would avoid it, and it's a long climb too and has many twists and turns that should deter most Sharpteeth Even the Flatteeth don't use this way much anymore. They probably wouldn't be guarding this way. I don't mind heights so I thought I'd try it.

I'm not that fond of heights.

You're not? But you're already so tall.

Jessica laughed hard. Ha ha! Good one! Unfortunately, I hatched on a rocky ledge overlooking a steep drop. Some of my first times walking, I nearly fell over and it was quite harrowing to be staring down several hundred feet as a hatchling. It left an uneasy mark on me. My parents thought it was a good place to build a nest, away from Egg Stealers. That way, they could both hunt for food and not have to worry much about my egg being stolen. I was an only child you know.

Whatever happened to your parents? Chomper asked. By the sudden change in her expression, he realized that he'd hit on a touchy subject.

When I was about three years old and had just learned to catch my first Leaf Eater on my own, there was this terrible Earthshake. It was so bad that many refer to it as the Great Earthshake. This occurred over 100 miles from here. Loads of dinosaurs were killed. The earth began to split beneath our feet and I was so terrified, as were my parents. The ground began to give way and big chasms appeared. Fire came out of the earth, shooting up flames. It was one of the scariest days of my life. Dad and I made it to safety but mother was starting to fall so dad went back for her to try and pull her up. However, then the earth gave way beneath him and they both fell to their deaths.

I'm so sorry. I didn't know!

I spent many cold times wandering along, scavenging food and hunting what I could. Since I didn't have parents to stick up for me, I fell into the habit of letting other Sharpteeth, even ones smaller than me, push me around. Eventually, I'd find Spido and we were married when I came of age. However, as you know, he was killed by other Sharpteeth and our eggs were all taken by Egg Stealers.

I'm so sorry Jessica.

At least I have you guys.

I know what it's like to lose my parents.

It's great that you're trying to help those orphaned Longnecks. It's such a pity that Isabelle hates you.

I killed her parents.

Defending yourself from being killed!

I don't think she sees it that way.

I guess she's mostly upset she never got to say goodbye.

I agree, though, technically, we didn't get to say goodbye to our parents either.

I wonder if we still have their bodies. We didn't eat all of them yet. Perhaps we haven't eaten their parents yet.

Worth a try. I just hope that it doesn't traumatize Isabelle further. She looks like she's been through a lot already.

Believe me, they will only see what they want to see no matter how hard you try to open their eyes. A voice said, though nobody seemed to be around.

Who's there? Chomper asked.

It doesn't matter. I am no one important really. The voice answered.

How come I can't see you? Chomper began to sniff around, trying to find the creature that was speaking to him.

Because I'm pretty small and good at hiding. the voice, clearly belonging to a female Sharptooth, replied.

Who are you?

"They call me Woosh. she answered.

Where are you?

If I tell you, you promise not to eat me?

Yes, I promise.

Look down here kid, in the tall grass.

The Rex looked down and saw a gray winged and blue bodied female Rahonavis hiding in the grass that grew in the cave from the light that poured in through cracks in the roof.

What were you doing here? Chomper asked her.

I thought this cave was a good place to hide from bigger Sharpteeth. I'd noticed your group and that you were working together despite being different and my curiosity got the better of me and I've been watching you all day.

Don't you know that it's inappropriate to eavesdrop?

"Who are you talking to Chomper?" Ichy asked.

"I found another Sharp Beak." Chomper replied, pointing at the female Rahonavis.

"You did?" gasped Dil.

"Yes, I did." replied Chomper.

Hello, my name is Woosh. Who are you? Woosh asked Ichy.

My name is Ichy. Ichy replied to the pterosaur.

Meanwhile, Chomper said to the two Longneck children "Isabelle and Jared, there's something I wanted to ask you. Don't be alarmed, but we haven't eaten all of the Longnecks we killed in that fight. In the event that some of the Longnecks that we've partially eaten were your parents, we've removed them to elsewhere but we happen to have three left that have remained untouched. If you're up to it, I can have you two try and see if any of them were your parents. If we can find them, we'll move them away from the others to be laid to rest in peace so they won't be eaten with the others."

The two agreed with this idea and went with Chomper. "Do you recognize any of these three as your parents?" Chomper asked them once they'd reached the cave chamber where the bodies were stored.

"Yes I did" replied Jared." My mother has blue eyes and my father has brown eyes"

Chomper took the one that didn't match away to be stored to be eaten later and laid the other two to rest in another part of the cave, putting them behind rocks so that they wouldn't be found by rogue Sharpteeth.

When he came back, he found Ichy and Woosh talking, not even paying attention to anyone else. "I've never seen anyone talk as much as he does before. I think he's met his match." Dil whispered to Chomper.

"That's good to hear. Also, by her joining us, that'll mean another set of claws to help get us food."

"I suppose so." Dil replied.

After the group went to bed, Jared and Isabelle lay awake. Jared had noticed that Isabelle seemed different after viewing her parents's bodies. Not more at ease; just the opposite in fact. She looked more unhinged than ever. "Change of plans Jared." she whispered to him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Not only are we going to leave, but we're also going to make sure that none of these Sharpteeth here ever kill again!" she replied.

"How are you going to do that?" Jared asked; Isabelle flared her nostrils.

"I'll tell you once we're out of earshot of those..." Isabelle whispered; she paused, thinking of a word to describe their captors. "...murderers."

"Aren't they asleep?" Jared asked.

"Yes they are asleep." Isabelle replied. "...but if I'm talking to you here and they wake up on us..." Isabelle added, leaving the rest to Jared's imagination. They moved further away from the group of Sharpteeth.

"Wait, are you planning to kill them?" Jared asked in alarm.

"Yes." Isabelle replied.

"You know, if this fails, they're going to eat us, don't you? And Chomper at least seems to care for us. He saved us from that Plated Sharptooth and from many other Sharpteeth. I don't think we should kill him or the others."

"Jared, I'm going to uphold the honor of our parents. If you won't help me, I'll do it myself."

"But what if you're caught and they eat you?"

"Well, then you'll have my death on your conscience as your remember that you didn't help me, won't you?" she replied icily.

Chomper and Jessica were both awake, only pretending to be asleep. Jessica didn't understand the herbivore language, and Chomper couldn't translate for her as they both were pretending to be asleep. Chomper was heartbroken that Isabelle was considering murder and hoped that Jared would talk her out of it. If not, he would have to stop her before she killed him or any of the other Sharpteeth in his group.

"Isabelle, don't do this." Jared whispered as Isabelle pulled a stalagmite loose from the cave floor.

"This is for mom and dad and our herd. I'm going to kill that Rex first. If we'd never met him, our herd would still be alive." Isabelle replied. She moved over Chomper, preparing to stab him in the heart with her stalagmite.

Chomper was about to move out of the way and seize her but, before he could act, Jared yelled loudly "ISABELLE, DON'T MURDER THEM!"

Several pairs of eyes opened, glaring at her, noticing her poised over Chomper, about to kill him. In a panic, she tried to kill Chomper, but she quickly found that he'd been ready for her, as he grabbed her before she could lower the stalagmite even an inch. He seized her weapon, took it from her, and threw it across the cave, where it hit a wall and shattered into many pieces.

With his other claw, he picked her up, dangling her several feet from the ground. "Way to go Isabelle, you ruined my plan. I was going to try and follow you when you and your brother left, as you mentioned earlier in your plan that I'd overheard. Jessica and I were going to quietly take you to the Great Valley and leave you with Littlefoot, as it's clear that you don't like us. Now, I'm afraid, because of your actions, we won't be able to leave so quietly."

Isabelle turned to Jared. She glared daggers as sharp as the stone tooth she had planned to kill Chomper with at him. "You just had to blow it," she growled, voice low.

"I think we've seen enough here. Though I can't see well, even I saw an attempted murder." Dil said.

"Yes, and I think these two Longnecks are far more trouble than they're worth. I say we eat the both of them!" Ichy said.

Isabelle was horrified. Jared hadn't even acted and they were going to kill him?! "I acted alone. Please spare my brother, if you're capable of any decency at all. Don't kill Jared!" she begged them.

"Fine, we'll just take you." Ichy replied. "Fine. If that's how she views us, we'll be that way then." I saw we eat her! Dil cried. The others, minus Jessica and Screech, agreed. She seems a bit young to kill, but I suppose she should have thought of that before attempting murder. Woosh remarked. I think Chomper should eat her. It was him that she tried to murder. Thud said. The others, minus Jessica, nodded in agreement. Isabelle could see a few of Chomper's teeth in his mouth whenever he opened it to breath. They were at least a foot long. She didn't want to think what it would be like to have those dagger-like things chewing on her. Since she knew Rexes had strong jaws, her best hope was that Chomper would be in a good enough mood to just crush her spine into putty with his teeth rather than chew and munch on her to punish her for attempting to murder him.

Jared could see her fear and begged Chomper and the others "Don't kill my sister! Please! She's all I have left."

Chomper looked back and forth between Isabelle, Jared and Ichy and Dil, not sure what to do; on one hand, one of the last things he wanted to do was cause any more harm to young dinosaurs, but on the other hands, one of the young dinosaurs in question had actively attempted to kill him...

Ultimately, his better judgment won out; he sat Isabelle down, putting his tail between her and the sharpbeak/belly dragger duo and nudging her backside, encouraging her to run over to here brother.

"I'll let you off of the hook this once; just keep in mind that I might not be as forgiving if you do something like this again," Chomper warned.

"Fine. Take me to this Great Valley I still don't want to live with Sharpteeth." Isabelle said.

"I'll go too." Jared said.

Chomper, Jessica, Isabelle, and Jared were about to leave, when Chomper remembered something from much earlier that day that Screech and Thud had said to him about his friends in the Great Valley. He'd forgotten about it in all of the excitement. What is Red Claw planning to do to the Great Valley?

He wants to kill your friends. Five of them helped drown Red Claw's brother in a pond outside the Valley many cold times ago. As for the Fast Runner, we wanted her gone for good measure for befriending the both of you. Thud replied.

Red Claw is the brother of the Sharptooth who killed Littlefoot's mother? Chomper gasped.

I guess so. Red Claw never mentioned that part. Screech said.

I shall warn Littlefoot and the others about Red Claw's plot to kill them when I take these two to go live with him. Jessica and I should be back around sunrise or a bit after. Chomper told them.

"If you were to eat the Longnecks on the way as a late night snack, especially that murderous diva, you'd have my greatest sympathy." Ichy remarked.

Chomper sighed. "Goodbye Ichy. I'll be back in the morning." he said, before departing with Isabelle, Jessica, and Jared.

Meanwhile, as Chomper, his girlfriend, though neither would admit it yet, Jessica, and the two Longneck siblings headed to the Great Valley, Littlefoot found what he had been seeking: Ali's herd. He weaved through the walking forms of all of the apatosaurs in the herd, trying to look for Ali; he was greeted by several grunts and angry voices telling him to watch where he was going. He soon spotted Ali; she was with Rhett and a few other Longnecks.

"Hey Ali!" he called to her.

"Hello Littlefoot; what are you doing here?" she asked him. "What are you doing here? Something seems to be really bothering you."

"It's a long story. It started when Chomper left and Haley's mate Hank and her son Vinnie died."

"Did Chomper kill them?" Rhett asked.

"Yes, but he didn't do it on purpose." Littlefoot replied.

"So, what happened?" Ali asked.

Littlefoot told Ali and Rhett the whole story. When he was finished, he said "And so I'm worried that Haley will take the Great Valley in a bad direction unless I find a mate so that she and I can both be on the Council and thwart her."

"And you want me to be your mate, don't you?" Ali asked. Littlefoot nodded.

"But I want her to be my mate." Rhett argued.

Littlefoot paused for a moment then said "Ali, I know it's kind of sudden. It was wrong of me to just ask you to marry me like that all of a sudden. I just thought you'd make a good mate."

"I know but if I say yes to one of your offers I upset the other. I can tell myself that you have a logistical reason. Tell me about this, Saley."

"Her name is Haley. I don't know her full backstory but apparently she came to the Great Valley a few cold times before our main herd did. That was back when things were still segregated in the Great Valley. At the time, her husband Hank was the leader of the Clubtail faction of the herds living in the Great Valley. When the Combined Herd came with us during the Leaf Famine, the Great Valley ended up picking a group of interspecies leaders, and Hank was not among them. I don't think Haley and Hank ever forgot about that nor forgave us. I found out sometime before Grandpa Longneck died that not only did she have it in for Mr. Threehorn for getting in instead of Hank, but she also had it in my for grandparents, and, now, presumably, she's going to be at odds with me now." Littlefoot replied.

"Littlefoot, are you sure you did the right thing with Chomper? I mean, you know, as a regular Sharptooth, he's going to kill for food." Ali said..

"I know. He can't help it."

"Why did you help him get out of the Great Valley?"

"Because he's my friend." Littlefoot replied. "Perhaps I was wrong to think of picking you to be my mate." he added.

"I just don't understand how you, who lost your mother to a Rex, can go and let another one go wander freely, killing the mothers of others." she replied defensively.

"Because, if you must know, my mother came to me in a Sleep Story and told me it was for the best and that one day I would see the reason for it."

"A Sleep Story? More likely it was some strange plant you ate rather than some message from your mother beyond the grave." Rhett laughed.

"No, I feel that I did the right thing." Littlefoot replied. "Also, there's another issue with Haley, one I didn't bring up earlier. In part, because I only recently learned of it from my grandparents. Haley doesn't just want each kind for itself. I believe she does believe in the cooperation of the kinds, but not in a way that my family likes. You see, while our kinds were separated to each kind, her family was content to lead their herd. However, now that the herds have combined, they have a new idea, though one about as bad as the separation of the kinds itself, and worse in a way, because it might catch on, especially with her teaching the children. You see, she believes in something called 'survival of the fittest'. Basically, that some kinds are meant to lead and others are meant to follow those leaders or even die out. In her mind, Threehorns and Longnecks were actually to be respected. Her problem was that her mate Hank and Mr. Threehorn were rivals in the Great Valley. At first, Mr. Threehorn actually backed their ideas, but some things happened to change that. First, Cera started hanging around me and started to believe in the kinds being together and being equal. Second, the influence of being around my grandparents turned him, albeit slowly. And lastly, he married Tria, who was in favor of the kinds being together and being equal herself. As for my family, though Haley and her minions believed that Longnecks, due to being so big and having tails they could use as weapons, we never went along with that, so we've been a constant thorn in her side. What's so sad is that those like Maia and Lambi, though all they'll ever be is servants and followers in Haley's new system, if she takes over, back her so willingly." he told Ali and Rhett.

While Littlefoot talked to Ali and Rhett, Chomper, Jessica, Jared, and Isabelle continued to brave toward the Great Valley.

"So how far is it to this Great Valley?" Isabelle asked.

"Not too far; there are a couple mountains and a meadow between us and the mountains surrounding the valley," Chomper replied. Jessica, unable to understand what either were saying, kept her attention on the path they were traveling.

"What is that weird rock thing that looks like a Longneck?" Jared asked.

"That's Saurus Rock."

Chomper told her what he'd heard about Saurus Rock and the Lone Dinosaur. When he was done, he said "I hope I don't come across him again. I'd promised I'd always be a nice Sharptooth and that didn't quite work out like I'd planned. Still, at least I don't eat hatchlings."

Red Claw, meanwhile, spotted Chomper, Jessica, Isabelle, and Jared. What are they doing? he said to the Fast Biters that are with him.

Not sure. It looks like they're headed toward the Great Valley. one of them replied.

Young fool! If he's going there, he might show us a way in that we don't know. Then we can go kill his friends and then leave. I trust the residents will kill Chomper for us after that. Red Claw laughed.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot said to Ali "So, what do you think about my proposal?"

"I would really like to, but I'm not sure if Rhett would be happy with us..." Ali said, interrupting herself as she heard the sounds of a frustrated longneck kicking up dust and slapping the earth with his tail not much more than a few yards behind her.

Littlefoot and Ali turned around to stare at Rhett. "Rhett?" Littlefoot said.

"Ali's family adopted me because my parents were killed by Rexes. You go and raise a Rex and then unleash him upon the Mysterious Beyond. And now Ali wants to be your mate! No way! Not if I have any say in it!" Rhett snapped, his nostrils blowing out air angrily.

Rhett shook his head; suddenly, an idea came to his mind.

"Do you know that ritual bulls do whenever they're ready to pick a wife?" Rhett said, alluding to a custom of several longneck herds in the Mysterious Beyond; this isn't something that is practiced by those of the Great Valley. Was it ever practiced in your herd prior to the Great Earthshake?"

"Nearly all of my old herd was dead before I hatched. Whatever ritual you're talking about for male Longnecks, I've never seen it or heard about it in the Great Valley." Littlefoot replied.

Rhett rolled his eyes; he wasn't sure whether or not to be surprised that Littlefoot didn't know about this.

"It's where, when you're ready to get married, you stand next to another male, and both of you slam each other with your necks; whoever can endure the beatings for the longest wins," Rhett explained, before lowering his eyebrows; "...and whoever backs down first doesn't get anything."

Rhett saying this had already gotten the attention a few of the other young longnecks in the herd. They walked over; whatever was about to go down, they wanted to get front row seats to it.

"Just hold on a minute here!" Littlefoot snapped. "You've left out something very important in all of this."

"What?"

"Ali. You said winner gets her and loser gets nothing. What about her opinion in the matter? She's a Longneck just like us, not a stack of Tree Sweets that we're fighting over."

"That's how the herd has always decided mating rights," Rhett snorted. He put face up to Littlefoot's. "Who are you to come along and tell us how we should function?"

It began to rain, forming mud at their feet. "That's a terrible thing to make her the mate of someone against her will. I'll take your silly challenge, but I warn you, even if you win, if you try and make her your wife by force against her will, you'll have me to do with." Littlefoot threatened, swinging his tail like a whip, which he'd learned from Doc, to let Rhett know that he was serious about it.

Ali had, by this point, already made up her mind. The herd's tradition was indeed unfair, though she hadn't seen it as such because it had always been that way. However, it was Littlefoot's belief that she should have a say in it and that she was more than some Tree Sweets to fight over, that had made her already pick Littlefoot over Rhett. "I'm rooting for you Littlefoot." she said to him. This really infuriated Rhett.

"You'll be mine Ali after this fight, so shut your mouth! I won't have you mating with a Rex supporter!"

"Won't have me? Won't have me?! You're just upset because Chomper ruined your little game many cold times ago and exposed you for the liar you are." Ali snapped.

"You wouldn't dare break the herd's traditions." Rhett scoffed.

Thunder rumbled nearby. "I just might." she retorted.

"You just have to do things the hard way, don't you?" Rhett grumbled. "Hold her until this contest is decided!" Rhett told the nearby Longnecks. They moved to capture Ali, but Littlefoot attacked one of them, knocking him over with a whip of his tail. The rest backed away in alarm

"Don't you dare touch her!" Littlefoot snapped. "Ok Rhett, you son-of-a-tarpit! You wanna be that way, then fine! I'll take your silly challenge and I'll kick your sorry tush so bad that you'll never be able to show your face in public again!"

Rhett simply nodded his head; we'll see about that, Littleneck, he thought. He and Littlefoot slowly walked up next to each other, flexing their necks to try and relieve stress in preparation for the fight. Rain streamed down the scales on their skin.

When they stopped - in a position that accompany them slamming heads and necks - they eyed each other intently; both longnecks, dead silent, scanned each other as best they could without turning their necks or heads much, looking for an opportunity to make the first strike.

Meanwhile, Jared looked behind him. He was at the back of the group and thought he could hear someone following them. When he voiced his concern to Chomper, Chomper replied "It might be other Sharpteeth. I can deal with them following us; I have ways of letting them know to back off." he said. He stopped, turned around, and loud out a loud T-rex roar, shattering the silence of the night with the thunderous roar. Several rocks on a nearby rock formation fell, triggered by the sound. Jared and Isabelle both stared at him in alarm. "Any Sharpteeth following us will get the message that you're mine and not to be messed with." Chomper told them.

"How very reassuring." Isabelle replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. They continued on. Red Claw's Fast Biter and Brownridge Sharpteeth were quite alarmed by the roar, but, at the urging of Red Claw, continued their silent pursuit, making sure to hold back this time so as not to be heard by the group.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot and Rhett began their contest, Rhett striking first, and finding, to his shock, that Littlefoot would not bend as easily as he'd thought. Littlefoot retaliated with his own swing; he sent Rhett back about as he sent him back with the first move. Rhett - definitely not ready to back down and lose any chances he had with Ali, simply flared his upper lip and swung again.

"You're wasting your time. Ali doesn't love you; she loves me." Littlefoot told Rhett, whacking him again with his neck.

"Once I'm finished with you, she'll change her mind," Rhett exhaled, getting ready to swing again. "Whenever I've watched others fight, the girl never goes with the loser."

On the sidelines, Ali rolled her eyes at Rhett's remark, if Littlefoot were to lose, the victor would be in for a shock. "There's a first time for everything, Rhett!" she spat. "Besides, as far as I'm concerned, you're already a loser!" she added.

Rhett gritted his teeth and furrowed his brows; turned to Littlefoot rose onto his hind legs, whipped his neck and struck Littlefoot again. The Longneck held firm; Littlefoot had determined that he would sooner let Rhett break his neck and kill him than to give way due to pain and let Rhett take Ali against her will.

Rhett was shocked that Littlefoot held out so well. The Longneck grimaced after Rhett's blow, but didn't even budge. Littlefoot returned a strike to Rhett, which Rhett barely held up under.

Rhett shook his head, his eyes and the trickle of blood streaming down one of his nostrils were starting to show that he probably wasn't going to keep fighting for much longer.

"I underestimated you, Littleneck," Rhett growled, snorting to trying to draw the blood back up his nose. "but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you win."

"The reason I'm winning is because I want her more. I love her. You, you just want her so you can make Longneck babies." Littlefoot retorted.

Meanwhile, Chomper, Jessica, Isabelle, and Jared began to climb the path to the Great Valley. "I can see why you went this way. This path is a mess. Very overgrown!" Isabelle complained.

What's a matter with her? Does she have to use the restroom? Jessica asked Chomper. She had been trying to figure out Leaf Eater and, though she didn't understand any words yet, she could tell that Isabelle was complaining about something that was making her uncomfortable.

Jessica, thinking of Chomper's words, made a very crude attempt to communicate with Isabelle by imitating sounds she heard him make when communicating with them prior to now:

"Isabelle! Why green no?" she asked.

"Congratulations, you've learned to speak a sentence." Isabelle replied sarcastically.

Chomper laughed. "Yeah, well in her perspective you have yet to say your first word."

Isabelle scrunched her face and did her best Sharptooth impression at Chomper; though Chomper only gave her a small smile, Jessica struggled to suppress a laugh.

"What did I say?" she barked, not amused by either's response.

'I farted a rock.' Chomper said.

"Which means?"

"'I farted a rock.'"

"Hmm, that gives me an idea. I'll try saying that if a Sharptooth corners me. Perhaps it would keep them too distracted to finish me off." Isabelle mused.

"It would work for all of about a minute before they became even hungrier from laughing and then ate you anyway." Chomper replied.

They reached the top, standing near the base of Saurus Rock. "How do we get down?" Jared asked.

"That's the problem." Chomper replied. "There really is no way down for a big Sharptooth like myself or Jessica. There used to be a way up here for bigger dinosaurs, but then an earhtshake happened and blocked the path. We can still try and get down, but we'll have to try and create our own path."

"Ho boy!" Isabelle gasped.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all." Jared said nervously.

Meanwhile, Rhett had gone on the offensive against Littlefoot, now getting Littlefoot's nose to bleed in turn. "Not so tough now, are you, Littlebrain." Rhett mocked him.

Rhett struck at him again and again, his rage at Littlefoot for daring to defy tradition and take Ali from him fueling his attacks. After his last blow, Littlefoot had blood pouring down his face from the attacks and it was clear that his neck was in pain. Still, he held up.

"You aren't budging for anything, are you?" Rhett laughed. "You'd rather die than let me beat you, isn't that right?" he asked. Littlefoot nodded. "There's nothing in the rules of these contests saying that I can't kill my opponent if that's what it takes to defeat him." Rhett said.

"Rhett, no!" Ali yelled.

"Shut up you b***h!" Rhett shouted at her.

That utterance lit something inside of Littlefoot; his eyes shot open wide and his muscles tensed - with as much power as the suffering longneck could muster, Littlefoot smashed his neck into Rhett's; as he collided, Littlefoot roared in pain, red spraying from his maw. However, his strike had worked for Rhett gave way and his head and neck fell to the ground and he got a face full of mud. "Ugggh!" he groaned as he hit the ground.

"Ali is mine!" Littlefoot declared triumphantly.

Rhett wasn't in the condition to argue, as much as he would have liked to; he growled, irritated.

Littlefoot staggered over to Ali; he rubbed his neck against hers before looking over to her herdmate.

Meanwhile, Chomper had found a path, albeit dangerous, down toward the Great Valley and he and Jessica slowly climbed it, watching their footing. The two Longneck children walked beside them, as the path was narrow enough that they wouldn't have any trouble. Isabelle eyed the legs of Chomper and Jessica; though the thought of taking this chance to finally get rid of the two came to her mind, she shook off the idea, recalling what Chomper had said after her last attempt.

Meanwhile, some Brownridge Sharpteeth, Fast Biters, and Red Claw himself followed behind them, unseen, at a distance. Red Claw lead up the rear. If the plan miscarried, he would have the best chance of escaping of the group.

Meanwhile, Ali and Littlefoot, having defeated Rhett, turned to leave, but Rhett called out to them "Did you two think that it would be that easy to leave?"

"Yes." Littlefoot replied.

"I don't see why not." Ali replied.

"You'd actually be the mate of a Sharptooth friend, a traitor to Longnecks everywhere?" Rhett said.

"Personally, I don't know what to think honestly about Chomper, but I trust Littlefoot's judgment." Ali replied.

"Does the herd agree with her being the mate of the traitor Littlefoot?" Rhett asked the other Longnecks.

The longnecks all looked between each other; they whispered to each other what they've been hearing from the three's back and forth. Ultimately, they turned their heads to Littlefoot and Ali, faces scornful.

"You have a problem with us being together?" Ali asked them.

The longnecks around Littlefoot and Ali looked at each other and stated talking.

"She's fallen for a sharptooth apologist!"

"She's gone mad!"

"I thought she would turn out better than this."

"We should have seen this coming when she started hanging out with non-Longnecks."

All of this commotion had attracted the head of the herd - none other than the mother of Ali, who took over for the Old One after her passing.

"What is the matter?" she asked. She turned to one of the members of the herd, more or less indistinguishable from the other adults. "Lerris!"

Lerris replied "Your own daughter wants to be the mate of a Longneck who not only hangs around and befriends non-Longnecks but also raised a Sharptooth and then helped him get away when he could no longer stop eating Leaf Eaters. Don't you have a problem with that?"

"I beat Rhett in that silly challenge where we fought with our necks. I find it terrible that you'd have the outcome of this contest decide who a female will wed, even against her will. And Ali agrees with me." Littlefoot replied.

Ali's mother's eyes widened after Lerris mentioned the boy raising a Sharptooth; after Littlefoot described the fight, she turned to her daughter and Littlefoot.

"Is it true you raised a...?" she inquired.

"You remember the Sharptooth you nearly stepped on long ago don't you?"

"Not particularly," Ali's mother admitted.

"That was Chomper." Littlefoot replied.

"You told the Old One he was nice and so she spared him. In fact, Ali helped persuade her too. But I saw Chomper attack me." Rhett said.

"I told you, we had him fake the attack to expose your cowardice and lies to Ali." Littlefoot snapped.

"Is that true or did he try and kill me and then you make that story up to cover for his sorry tush?" Rhett snapped.

"No, I didn't make it up!" Littlefoot replied.

"Then perhaps there was more to it than you let on. Perhaps you were hoping your fanged friend would do me in so you could have Ali for yourself. You didn't like it that she wanted to play with me and not you, so you told him where we were in hopes that he'd try and kill me! You're a murderer!" cried Rhett.

Ali slammed Rhett with her tail, knocking him over. "Don't hurt Littlefoot!" she snapped. "I don't know exactly what to think of Chomper, but I know Littlefoot would have never tried to murder Rhett." she said to her mother.

"So what happened with the Sharptooth that you raised, Littlefoot? Why'd he'd leave the Great Valley?" Ali's mother asked.

"Not raised exactly, but I did take care of him for a bit after he hatched, I saved him from drowning later, and it was I who talked the Great Valley into letting him in." Littlefoot replied, a bit nervous.

"Chomper killed two Clubtails." Rhett added, hoping to get Littlefoot in trouble with the herd and get Ali for himself.

"Is this true?" Ali's mother asked.

"Yes, but both times were in self-defense." Littlefoot replied. He described what had happened and how Vinny and Hank had died.

"And you let him get away after that?" Lerris asked him.

"Yes. He was innocent." Littlefoot replied.

"No Sharptooth is innocent!" Lerris said. "You really want your daughter marrying him?" she asked Ali's mother.

The others in the herd were very vocal in their agreement with Lerris; Ali's mother squinted her eyes.

"Not particularly," Ali's mother admitted.

Without much warning, Rhett ignored his condition and rose to his feet - roaring in pain - and made an attempt to lunge at Littlefoot, green eyes blazing. Ali slammed Rhett with her tail, knocking him over. "Don't hurt Littlefoot!" she snapped. "I don't know exactly what to think of Chomper, but I know Littlefoot would have never tried to murder Rhett." she said to her mother.

Meanwhile, an idea crossed Isabelle's mind. In spite of the times that Chomper and the others had saved her life, in spite of the fact that Chomper had spared her life after she had attempted to murder him, she still wanted revenge for the deaths of her parents. If the Great Valley was as upset at Chomper as he had let on, then if she revealed him and Jessica to the Great Valley, they could kill Chomper and Jessica for her. Then she and Jared could go live with Leaf Eaters and rid the world of Chomper and Jessica.

But how could she get Jared's help without Chomper and Jessica finding out? If she were caught, she'd either be thrown by down them to her death or ripped limb from limb by Chomper's powerful jaws. Something sprung in her mind. A nasty smirk briefly crossed her face, before she crossed her hind legs and lowered her tail.

"I need to go tinkle," she lied, intentionally straining her face and gritting her teeth slightly.

"This isn't exactly a good spot to do that. Can you wait till we get down lower?" Chomper asked her. Isabelle nodded her head with feigned urgency, before looking off into a cliff wall and thinking about how to approach her plan.

Soon, Isabelle, Chomper, Jared, and Jessica reached the bottom of the cliff face. They were now on the top of a big hill, looking down into the Great Valley below them. Isabelle and Jared had a bunch of green food in the Land of Mists, which had generally remained, despite the famine. However, there was far more green food and water here than they were used to!

Red Claw and his group, meanwhile, were most of the way down the cliff, spying on the group. Red Claw had given them instructions not to do anything to reveal themselves until they had spotted Littlefoot and his friends, though they were given the go ahead to kill any in Chomper's group or any Great Valley resident that got in their way before then. Unfortunately for them, two Fast Biters accidentally sent some stones falling to the ground below as they scouted the path down.

Idiots! Why don't you throw yourself down next time! Red Claw snapped at them.

Meanwhile, Chomper and Jessica heard the stones fall and turned around, expecting possible trouble. They didn't yet see Red Claw and his group, but began to head back toward the cliff face, trying to see if, perhaps, someone from the Great Valley had seen him coming and set up an ambush on the path out to try and block him.

"You and your brother stay here with Jessica until I get back. Understood?" Chomper said to Isabelle. The two Longnecks nodded.

Meanwhile, many miles away, the longnecks had talked over what to do with their current situation; Littlefoot and Ali stood with bated breath, and Rhett laid on the ground, fuming. Ali's mother had come to verdict on what they should do; though Littlefoot had won the ritual, and it would be sacrilegious to separate him from her daughter, she agreed with the others that it was not a good idea to integrate him into their herd after everything he had done in the Great Valley that led him here.

"Could we please at least spend the night here before leaving tomorrow? It is our wedding night after all, and it would be most rude to send newlyweds away on their first night together." Ali asked her mother.

Her mother nodded her head. "Yes, I would like to spend at least one more night with my daughter," she said.

Meanwhile, Isabelle whispered to Jared "I have a plan to get rid of the Sharpteeth."

"Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried to kill them?"

"Yes, but this time I won't be the one doing the attacking."

"What did you have in mind?" Jared asked, not sure if he liked the idea. Sure, Chomper and the others had killed his parents, but he was beginning to think that his older sister was going too far to get revenge on what seemed to him to be a better stock of Sharpteeth than one was likely to encounter.

"Chomper said that some of the Great Valley wants him dead. All we have to do is point him and that Sailback out and they'll finish them off for us. Then we can stay with some Longnecks here and live a good life."

"I'd tell you to follow me so we can rat them out now, but we can't do that with Snappy here looming over us," Isabelle growled, looking up at a long, sleek head above them.

"Tooth," Jessica responded, not really understanding what Isabelle just said and not at all understanding what she herself just said.

"She seems kind of sweet. I think she wants to learn Leaf Eater." Jared said to Isabelle.

"Maybe she does, but she probably wants to use it to lure Leaf Eaters into a trap so she can eat them."

"Fine, I'll teach her Leaf Eater as a distraction. You can go get the Great Valley dinosaurs. If Chomper comes back and asks where you are, I'll say that you went off to pee and are shy about urinating around others."

"Well, at least that last part would be telling the truth." Isabelle replied.

"Tooth." Jared said, repeating what Jessica had said earlier, but this time pointing at his teeth.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot was alone with Ali and her mother. "Elana, what you said back there, was that how you really feel about me or were you afraid how the rest of the herd would react and so said that to be politically correct?" Littlefoot asked his new mother-in-law.

"Mother, I really do love him and nothing you or anyone else in the herd say will change my mind." Ali said.

"I know dear; I know. I'm sorry. Perhaps we can still meet in secret once in a while."

"That's good to hear." Littlefoot replied.

"We still have until next morning then?" Ali asked.

"Ali dear, you're welcome around here as much as you like. Though many in the herd now are upset with you, it's Littlefoot that they can't stand. As for him, if you can sneak him in quietly, I won't tell anyone. I would never turn away family, especially since I know that he truly loves you. For so long, a lot of the boys courting you just had one thing in mind, and it certainly wasn't your best interest." Elana replied.

"Thank you, mother," Ali said, rubbing her neck against her mother's. Elana kissed both her and Littlefoot.

"As far as I'm concerned, you two are now husband and wife. Littlefoot reminds me of your father, Ali. So brave and selfless. He sacrificed himself so that we could escape the Land of Mists when things were getting bad and Belly Draggers and other unpleasant monsters were invading." Elana sighed.

"Not every creature in the Land of Mists is a monster." Littlefoot remarked.

"What do you mean?" his mother-in-law asked.

"I sent Chomper there to go live with two Sharpteeth that Ali and I encountered there. They are the only ones, other than Red Claw, Screech, and Thud that work with Sharpteeth outside of their own kind. Chomper always wanted to be friends with other Sharpteeth besides Rexes. Perhaps he can reform them and other Sharpteeth there."

"I hope so."

Rhett, meanwhile, had been eavesdropping on the three of them. He was furious that Elana was secretly still supporting Littlefoot. What was more, she seemed ok with Chomper being a regular Sharptooth and running loose with two other Sharpteeth in the Land of Mists. He was going to tell the herd this. If he could get Elana and Ali ousted, then as Elana's adopted son, he would be the new leader of the herd.

As Littlefoot and Ali headed into a secluded cave to mate, Elana called to them "I think it's best if you take your husband and leave in the morning, before anyone in the herd tries to hurt him. You two are welcome with me, but I don't want them to know that I'm supporting you or else there could be a mutiny against my leadership, and someone could attempt a coup to take over."

"You're worried about Rhett, aren't you?" Ali asked.

"Yes. But as long as he doesn't know about my support of you, he won't have much basis to try and take over." Elana replied. "Have a good time you two." she added as Littlefoot and Ali walked into the cave and out of sight.

Chomper, meanwhile, looked behind him, before he remembered that he hadn't brought any of his friends with him; he had left Jessica with the longnecks. He looked around the narrow canyon he was in, looking for signs of life. Finding nothing, he returned to Jessica, who was learning Leaf Eater from Jared. "Leaf." she said, pointing at a leaf that was next to Jared. Jared nodded.

"How kind of you to teach her Leaf Eater." Chomper said to Jared.

"She won't use it against Leaf Eaters to try and lure them into a trap so she can kill them, will she?" Jared asked Chomper.

Chomper was thinking of how best to reply, recalling what Ichy said that in hunting and getting food, that sometimes there was no "fair", when he noticed that the other Longneck child was missing. "Where's Isabelle?" he asked.

"She, er, had to pee really bad, as she said earlier. She's really shy and doesn't want to risk having others see her urinate. She left about two minutes ago while I was talking to Jessica." Jared lied. He really didn't like the plan; however, he knew that Chomper had said he'd not be as forgiving the next time Isabelle tried to harm him and didn't want to give Chomper cause to eat her.

Red Claw, meanwhile, watched the group. He saw Chomper return to Jessica and had also seen, about 10 minutes earlier, a Longneck leave and head toward a bush, presumably to pee in private, though she kept going after she was done relieving herself, heading further away from the group. What was she up to? He wanted to ambush Chomper right then and there, but preferred Chomper to lead him right to the others. Knowing Chomper, if he wasn't welcome in the Great Valley, he would try and talk to them in someplace private, away from the others. Then he could kill all seven of them, plus the Sailback and the two Longneck children for good measure.

Ichy, meanwhile, couldn't fall asleep. He just had a bad feeling. Finally, he woke up Dil and Woosh.

What is it? Woosh asked him.

I'm worried about Chomper. I just keep fearing he's going to run into trouble. He could have met Red Claw out there in the desert and the Flatteeth might kill him in the Great Valley. I think we should get the group and go check on him. Ichy replied.

Dil yawned. I think they can fend for themselves just fine, but if your gut says so... she said. She shook her head and stretched her legs to try and wake herself up a little more.

Having told them his fears, the entire pack agreed to go check on Chomper and Jessica.

I do agree that this whole thing seems foolhardy. It was unwise of Chomper to go with just Jessica on such a dangerous mission through both Red Claw's and Flattooth territory like that. Thud remarked.

But also unwise of you two to go possibly revealing yourselves to Red Claw. Dil remarked.

It's a risk worth taking. Screech replied.

Isabelle, meanwhile, searched for Leaf Eaters that she could tell about Chomper. She began to hear noises nearby, as though something was following her. "Chomper?" she asked. No response. "Jessica?" she asked, though she knew that Jessica didn't understand Leaf Eater that well. "Hello, is this anyone from the Great Valley?" she asked. Again, no response. She paused, unsure of what to do.

Suddenly, a hungry Brownridge Sharptooth ran toward her, snarling and drooling.

EIHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she let out a high-pitched scream and took off.

Her scream echoed down into the Great Valley below, waking up several residents, Haley among them.

"Who was that?" one of the awoken residents, Lambi, gasped.

"I don't know. Sounds like she's in trouble." Haley replied. They could hear the roar of the Brownridge Sharptooth in the distance.

"Sounds like a Sharptooth!" Lambi gasped.

"I wonder if that's that murderer Chomper sneaking in to try and visit his friends." Haley said.

"I don't know. Doesn't quite sound like the roar of a Rex." Lambi replied.

"Never matter. Let's get a group together and slay this evil Sharptooth!" Haley cried.

Chomper and Jessica turned to stare at each other. They soon realized that neither of them had roared. "If that's not you two, then who is it?" Jared asked them.

Chomper looked up the pass and saw that Red Claw and his goons were headed down. Red Claw had planned to tail him, but one of his number had made too much noise when heading after Isabelle to try and silence her. They could hear Isabelle screaming in the distance, clearly in danger.

"It's a pity that the Sharptooth was indecent enough to bother a peeing Longneck." Chomper sighed, shaking his head.

Jared felt that he should tell Chomper the truth. At least then he'd know to look for her further down into the Great Valley instead of where they currently were, and that could mean the difference between her living and dying. "I can tell you where she went, but you have to promise not to kill her." he said to Chomper and Jessica.

Meanwhile, Ichy, Dil, Screech, Thud, and Woosh began to run. They had spotted the footprints of Chomper, Isabelle, Jared, and Jessica heading toward the Great Valley but they could also see footprints of several Fast Biters, Brownridge Shaprteeth, and a Rex that they were sure was Red Claw himself.

Sounds like your fear of them running into trouble was dead on. Red Claw and his goons must have tailed them. Woosh said to Ichy.

The storm that had been by Littlefoot and Ali had moved its way toward the Great Valley, sending rain behind the group. At least the rain would wash away their scent so that other enemies would have a harder time tracking them.

When Jared had finished his story, Chomper was not amused. "I have half a mind to let her get eaten. It would save me the trouble of doing it myself as I warned her what would happen if she tried to kill me again." he growled, his temper barely in check.

"No, please, save her. Do it for me!" Jared begged him.

"Very well. I'll do it for you. She's very lucky that I'm planning on leaving her here or else I might save her only to eat her myself." Chomper grumbled.

Isabelle, meanwhile, had reached a dead end. She backed herself into a small crevice. The Sharptooth snapped his jaws repeatedly right in front of the crevice, trying to reach her. She was very terrified now. The creature stuck its tongue through the crevice and began to lick at her. "Uck! Your breath smells horrible!" Isabelle gagged. SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! The allosaurus again tried to bite at her, snapping at the crevice. In fear and desperation, she began kicking as hard as she could at the Sharptooth's mouth, soon knocking out several teeth. Her legs became soaked in Sharptooth blood. "Go away! Go away! Leave me alone you monster!" she yelled.

Her efforts had infuriated the Sharptooth, who didn't like having her teeth knocked out. She butted the crevice with her head, shattering the stone and making a way for her to reach Isabelle.

Ok, little b***h, you asked for it! she snapped.

She seized Isabelle. "Help!" Isabelle yelled. A few seconds later, the Sharptooth had swallowed her whole.

Chomper soon came into sight. Where's the Longneck? he asked the Brownridge Sharptooth, fearing she had met a painful end.

Swallowed the little b***h whole after she knocked out some of my teeth. the allosaurus replied. And who the hell are you supposed to be?

Chomper didn't reply, for he knew it wouldn't do any good, but instead he leaped through the air and fastened his jaws on the Sharptooth's neck, biting and pulled until he'd torn the head clear off. He then bit and tore his way through until he'd reached Isabelle from the stomach.

"Consider yourself lucky! I heard where you went after your brother told me where you'd gone and so guessed where to look. It would have served you right if I'd left you there in his stomach!" Chomper scolded her.

Isabelle didn't reply for a while. She felt shame in planning to kill Chomper, whom she finally began to see the good in him. While she had meant to go and get him killed, he'd saved her life again. "I'm sorry. I don't have anything to say in my defense. You're right. I would have deserved it if I'd been stuck in there digesting alive. You are a good Sharptooth; I'd just refused to see it because of what happened to my parents. I guess I believe you now that you only killed them to protect yourself." she said, her face full of shame.

Unfortunately for Chomper, all of this commotion - particularly Isabelle screaming and the allosaur's vocalizations - had gotten the attention of a couple of the Great Valley's resident natives; barely visible through the trees were the silhouettes of a swimmer's head and the tips of a Spiketail's dorsal plates.

Son of a bigmouth, Chomper thought, expecting the worst.

Take the children and go! Chomper told Jessica. She promptly grabbed both of the Longneck children and fled with them in her arms before the Valley residents could get too close. Chomper soon regretted his actions, because he saw that it was not hostile Flatteeth, but instead Ruby, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike. Ducky appeared a bit fatter, in part because she had become pregnant, having found a mate and gotten married in the time since Chomper had left the Great Valley.

"There you are Chomper. I was worried it would be a Sharptooth other than you that I'd find." Ruby said, running over and hugging him.

"Ruby, there are bad Sharpteeth in the Great Valley. Red Claw followed me!" Chomper replied.

Dil, Ichy, Screech, Thud, and Woosh, meanwhile, had climbed up the passage to Saurus Rock. "My feet are killing me! Can I take a rest?" Dil moaned.

"No, we need to find Chomper before Red Claw does." Ichy replied.

Red Claw came into sight of Ruby and Chomper and the others. Well done. Now that you've led me to your friends, I can kill them for killing my brother! Red Claw laughed.

"What?!" Ruby gasped in horror, staring at Chomper as though he was Judas.

"Ruby, I didn't mean to lead him here. I'd come here to warn you that Red Claw is Sharptooth's brother and that he wants you dead!" Chomper said.

"A likely story you turncoat!" the Leaf Eaters, Ruby, and Chomper turned to see Haley and several angry Clubtails.

"Run!" Chomper yelled. The group of them took off, pursued by both Haley and her group and Red Claw and his goons.

The group soon came across Screech, Thud, Dil, Ichy, and Woosh. "It's Screech and Thud!" Ducky cried in alarm.

"Don't worry, they've left Red Claw and are now with me." Chomper told her.

Jessica, meanwhile, continued to flee with the children. She didn't want to fight the Great Valley residents, as Chomper had suggested doing that as a last resort. She was also tailed by some of Red Claw's goons. Up ahead there was a cave they could hide in. They ran into it, Jessica having to hunch over due to it not being able to accommodate her full height. She set the two Longnecks down. She wanted to talk to them but her knowledge of the Flattooth language was still quite poor.

Isabelle didn't know how to respond to the Sailback's attempt at speech, but, with what had just happened earlier in mind, she smiled weakly and said "It's a start."

"Red Claw, remind me again, isn't he the one Chomper says those two Fast Biters used to work for?" Jared asked. Jessica only understood "Fast Biters" and looked outside, trying to see if there were any around. Coincidentally, there were, a large group of the some distance away looking for them, though the children hadn't spotted them yet. They hadn't yet spotted them either. Jessica pointed at the distant Fast Biters. The children understood and moved with her deeper into the cave, hoping to avoid notice. Luckily for them, it was a cave that had more than one exit and, after traveling for a while inside the cave, they soon found themselves back in the open in the Great Valley. They had, though none of them knew it, come out near the Smoking Mountain on the edge of the Great Valley. It was, by now, only a few minutes before dawn. The plan that she and Chomper had concocted seemed to have gone very wrong. She didn't feel that it was safe to remain here much longer, for if Flatteeth were already awake from the mess that Red Claw had made, then countless more would soon awake when the sun rose. Though Chomper had wanted to leave the children here, it now seemed very risky for her to head back with them with Red Claw, Fast Biters, Brownridge Sharpteeth, and scores of angry Flatteeth seeking to kill her.

Meanwhile, over 70 miles away, Littlefoot and Ali awoke. They had mated the previous night and hoped that Ali would soon have their first clutch of eggs. Being married and soon to have children, they could now be on the Great Valley Council and counter Haley. The two of them were still taken aback by the angry reception of Ali's herd to Littlefoot and even their growing dislike for Ali herself.

Elana greeted the two. "Hope you had a great first night. I think it's best if you get going before the herd sees me with you." she said

"Too late. We already know I overheard you talking last night with them. It's clear that you don't belong either as the leader of this herd or in it at all, Elana. The herd has appointed me it's new leader, and now, I'm banishing Littlefoot and you from ever returning, and Ali too, since she won't have me." Rhett said.

"Go to hell Rhett!" Ali shouted at him.

"Don't worry, I'm already on that; in fact, I've already reserved extras spots so all three of you to come with me," Rhett snarked, grinning and baring his teeth as he turned back to the herd and waved his tail at the three exiles.

"Well, it would have to freeze over before I ever became your mate." Ali snorted. As a parting shot, she swatted a rock with her tail, which flew through the air and conked Rhett squarely in the nose. "There's something to remember me, the woman you'll never have, by." she laughed, before leaving with her husband and mother. It was more then worth getting banished just to see Rhett's reaction of fury and unfulfillment.

"Don't let any branches hit you on the way out, traitors!" Lerris called, throwing one last insult at Littlefoot, Ali and Elana as they disappeared into the trees.

Ali, angry at her herd's betrayal and determined to get the last word in, called out "Hey Lerris, we're going to the Great Valley, where my new mate already lives and can get us in. We'll have more green food and water than you. Enjoy your life out here!"

Lerris prepared to retort, but another Longneck interrupted her, saying "Save your breath, Ler. They're not worth it."

Chomper, meanwhile, hadn't been able to tell his friends about Jared and Isabelle, for he and his Sharptooth pack had come under attack by both Red Claw and his goons and Haley, her friends, and several irate Valley residents, who saw him and the other Sharpteeth as a threat, before he'd had the chance. His group, had, unfortunately, been forced to kill a Spiketail who had been about to kill Dil and Woosh. A Fast Biter also lay dead, having had his throat torn out by Chomper to stop him from attacking Ruby.

Get away from her!" came an angry voice. Chomper turned to stare and was hit with a rock right between the eyes. He winced in pain.

A handsome male Swimmer approached Ducky and began to lead her away by the hand. "Dale, I do not want to be led away, Chomper is my friend. He is! He is!"

"Your friend?"

"Yes, the Sharptooth I tolded you about. He would not hurt me, oh no, no, no."

"Are you sure my dear? I did hear that he killed Hank and Vinnie."

"He did not mean to. They forceded him, they did."

"Well, even if you're sure he's safe, I think it's best if you still come with me. A pregnant Swimmer would make a tempting target to those other Sharpteeth."

"Chomper, this is Dale. He and I gotted married. I am sorry that he hurted you." Ducky said to Chomper.

"She is a target. Red Claw is after her and her friends for killing his brother. You should go with your husband." Chomper told Ducky.

"You do have a good point. Since I do not have any weapons like spikes, clubs, or long tails, I should go with my mate to safety. I should, especially since I am pregnant." Ducky replied.

"Yes, you are pr-egg-nant." Chomper joked. Dale shot a scolding look at Chomper, reprimanding him for his awful pun.

Jessica, meanwhile, could hear the chaos of Leaf Eaters, Red Claw's Sharpteeth, and Chomper's group fighting in the distance. She was worried about Chomper but was reluctant to bring the children back into that mess after fleeing, at Chomper's request, from it earlier. They had planned to leave the children here, but with Red Claw about, there was a big risk that they'd get eaten. She also felt that with it being after sunrise, that there was a big risk that their combined pack would come under attack from more and more of the Great Valley residents. It seemed best to abort the mission and try, if they could, to come back some other time.

Though her command of the Flattooth language was still quite poor, she commanded the children "Go!" and pointed back up toward Saurus Rock and out of the Great Valley. They stared at her.

"Why? I thought we were staying here." Isabelle asked.

"No safe! Go!" she said again, pointing once more toward Saurus Rock.

"This is all your fault Isabelle! You messed everything up!" Jared snapped at his sister.

"I'm sorry." Isabelle replied, hanging her head in shame.

"Go!" Jessica shouted again impatiently.

The two headed back up the rocky steps toward Saurus Rock to get out of the Great Valley and back to safety. Jessica, meanwhile, ran as fast as she could toward the sound of the commotion, hoping to help her friends before it was too late.

Meanwhile, as Ducky fled with her husband, Cera's father and stepmother arrived. "Cera, is it true that Chomper is in the Valley and that he brought Red Claw here?" he asked, not seeing Chomper, who was fighting two Brownridge Sharpteeth and two Clubtails at once and trying not to be killed, yet.

"He's here but he didn't bring Red Claw. Red Claw brought himself." Cera replied.

Red Claw, meanwhile, confronted Screech and Thud. You two are alive. I see you've joined Chomper.

Yes, he saved my life once in the past and spared me after he defeated the others. You'd never have done that, so I joined the better Sharptooth. Thud replied.

Yeah, we aren't taking orders from you anymore! Screech snapped.

Nearby, Chomper, deciding to try and deal with several foes at once, picked up, a Thicknose that had been trying to kill him and who wouldn't hear him out, and threw the creature several feet at a row of advancing Fast Biters, knocking them over and killing two of them with the weight of the dinosaur he'd thrown at them. He'd had trouble picking up the Thicknose with his small arms, but, luckily, the Thicknose had made it easy for him as she'd jumped right at him, meaning he didn't have to stretch so far to grab and seize her.

Your friend there seems to have changed a lot. Doesn't seem to mind hurting Flatteeth now. Red Claw remarked to his former minions as some of the surviving Fast Biters mauled the Thicknose to death.

Mr. Threehorn and his mate Tria were also shocked. "Chomper just killed that Thicknose!" he gasped.

"No, he threw the Thicknose who was trying to kill him, at the Fast Biters, who were also trying to kill him, and they killed the Thicknose." Cera corrected him.

"Yes, but if he hadn't thrown into them..." Topps retorted.

After the Thicknose had been killed, Chomper was greeted by another attacking leaf-eater; a Flyer swooped down from the sky and pecked him with his beak before turning up again and circling around for another strike. Woosh attacked the Flyer, killing him before he could damage his eyes. He didn't like where things were headed. True, Sharpteeth killed for food for a living but the longer things went on, the more Leaf Eaters were likely to get killed in the fight. He didn't want that to happen. No need to create more Isabelles and Jareds if he could help it. He felt it best to retreat. He wished that he had the children with him now so that he could pass them off to his friends; however, given how dangerous it was, it was best that he'd sent them with Jessica. He hoped that they'd gotten away.

Retreat! Chomper called to his group.

"Retreat?" Ruby asked.

"Things are getting out of hand. We need to fall back before more Great Valley residents get killed. Also, perhaps Red Claw will follow us and leave you alone."

As Chomper and the other Sharpteeth fled, Haley asked Topps and Tria, "Aren't you two going to help us fight the Sharptooth invaders?" Topps and Tria pursued Chomper along with Haley and the others; their hearts were not in it, however.

Red Claw's Fast Biters pursued Screech and Thud, ordered by him to kill them for defecting. A bunch of Leaf Eaters moved into the path of Chomper, blocking his path. Three Brownridge Sharpteeth were 200 feet behind him, getting closer and closer. Chomper looked behind him. Though they weren't totally visible, he could see glimpses of them through some trees.

"You know, if they catch up to me and kill me, there's nothing stopping them from going after you next," he said.

Some of the Leaf Eaters realized that he was right and hastily retreat; others, however, hated him too much to want to let him run away. Topps, Tria, Haley, Magnus, and some others only 20 feet from him. "You should be able to finish off this Rex, being Threehorns." Haley told them.

Ruby, Ducky, Dale, Spike, Cera, and Petrie, meanwhile, fled from Red Claw's group of Sharpteeth. They didn't like to leave Chomper, as they thought he had something to tell them; however, they had been warned that Red Claw wanted them dead for the death of Sharptooth.

"Me wonder what Chomper wanted." Petrie said.

"Perhaps he just wanted to tell us that Red Claw was Sharptooth's brother and that he wanted to kill us."

An allosaurus nearly bit into Ruby but was deterred when Spike smacked her in the face with his tail, knocking her over and drawing blood. "That you Spike." Ruby said.

"Dahhhh!" Spike replied.

Topps and Tria, meanwhile, hesitated. Yes, Chomper and his new friends had just killed some Great Valley residents; however, it was clear to anyone that cared to see that they were only killing in self-defense. As to why they'd come, neither of them were sure. Chomper had saved Tricia from Haley's children so he couldn't be as evil as Haley made him out to sound. "What are you waiting for, kill the vermin!" Haley shouted at the two Threehorns.

Screech, Thud, Dil, Ichy, and Woosh ran, or flew in the case of Ichy and Woosh, past Chomper and headed toward the path to Saurus Rock. Chomper still hadn't encountered Jessica and hoped that she'd found a way out of the Valley. As for the children, though it may have been safe to leave them in a secluded spot in the Great Valley where Red Claw wasn't likely to find them and where they could eventually make their way to the Great Valley herd, there was no way to have told Jessica this in the split-second decision that he'd made, which turned out to be a blunder as it had been his friends and not Haley, to take the children and flee.

Red Claw and his goons approached Chomper. Topps and Tria were now right beside him, very hesitant to strike.

"Kill him!" Haley shouted at them.

"No!" Topps yelled at Haley.

"I can't. He saved our daughter from your brats." Tria replied.

Before Chomper, Tria, or Topps could react, Haley struck Tria in the head with the club on her tail, swinging as hard as she could. Tria's skull shattered, killing her.

"You devilish hag!" Topps bellowed. However, before he could react further, Red Claw attacked him while he was distracted. Red Claw got him in the middle, damaging vital organs and killing him.

"No!" Chomper yelled.

Both Red Claw and Haley moved to attack him, but he sidestepped them. He tail-slammed Red Claw, knocking him over. He didn't have any chance of getting his fangs into Haley and doing serious damage, but he did what he could, slashing her on the side with the claws on his feet, drawing blood. After this, he was forced to flee to avoid Red Claw's group of Sharpteeth, who took off after him.

Chomper thought he might be a goner, with Red Claw and his goons on his tail and a long climb up toward Saurus Rock ahead of him. Up ahead, he saw Jessica, who had been heading back down to see him. He climbed up till he reached Jessica at the base of Saurus Rock. His heart ached for Cera, whose step-mother had been murdered by Haley and whose father had been killed by Red Claw. However, despite his grief, it was his and Jessica's safety that was the most pressing to him at the moment.

Red Claw's goons neared them, climbing up the stony steps toward them and being about 100 feet below them. Chomper, I have an idea. We can push these rocks at them. she suggested.

Push down Saurus Rock?! The Great Valley residents will never forgive us if we destroy it! Chomper gasped.

I don't think we're going to forgive us anyway and we'll never be able to outrun them.

You have an alternate plan to get out of the Great Valley?

Yes. she replied, pointing down at a body of water about 300 feet below them. It was wide enough to hold the both of them and it led to a waterfall that went out of the Great Valley.

You sure this is safe? he asked.

It's our best chance.

Deciding that there was nothing better to do, the two leaned against the rock face of Saurus Rock and, by pushing with all of their might, the Rex and the Sailback were able to break a huge amount of rocks lose from the landmark, sending tons of boulders down at Red Claw's goons, killing them. Red Claw, fortunately for him, had been close enough to the bottom that he was able to get back down safely in time. He was forced to take an alternate route out of the Great Valley.

Chomper and Jessica, meanwhile, since they had blocked the path forward by destroying Saurus Rock and sending boulders everywhere, jumped down 300 feet and landed in the water. It hurt terribly when they impacted, but they didn't break any limbs. Jessica helped Chomper swim to the waterfall, which they went over and fell another 11 feet, and out of the Great Valley. The two soon made their way to shore, safe though tired and very sore.

Red Claw's goons had mauled the body of Tria before they had headed after Chomper. This left Haley a convenient alibi, coupled with the injury that Chomper had given her, to pass herself off as the heroine that had tried and failed to save Topps and Tria from Chomper and Red Claw and that had been wounded for her efforts.

"I don't believe Chomper would have killed my father and Tria." Cera argued, holding back tears.

"Me neither." said a crying Tricia.

"I saw what I saw and they gave me this." Haley replied, showing her wound.

"So, they killed several Great Valley residents and destroyed Saurus Rock. Do we not see now how foolish it was to listen to have listened to those old Longnecks and let that Rex go?" Lambi asked the Great Valley residents.

The valleydwellers were fuming; they roared and loudly protested Chomper's continued survival, calling for him to be hunted down and put to justice.

"If some kids knocking down one tooth gave us bad luck, imagine what sharpteeth knocking down the whole thing will do to us," one resident, who recalled a far more minor incident involving Saurus Rock, growled.

Littlefoot, meanwhile, unaware that Mr. Threehorn and Tria had been killed, Saurus Rock destroyed, and his problems with Haley in the Great Valley made worse, said "I'm sorry I brought you into this mess, Elana. If only we'd left earlier."

"Stop blaming yourself Littlefoot." Elana, who had been listening to him apologize for the past two hours, replied.

"I know, Mama Longneck. I know." he sighed.

"Rhett was always power-hungry and controlling. I guess I thought I could change him. I was wrong." Elana sighed.

"At least living in the Great Valley will beat living in our herd." Ali said to her mother.

"Still, today has been a rather hard day for me. I haven't been so down since Alvin died." Elana said, referring to Ali's father.

"What happened with him?" Littlefoot asked.

"When our herd was going to leave the Land of Mists, a section of them wanted to remain, in spite of the land changing so terribly after the endless sky water. They thought staying there was better than migrating. Alvin went back to try and talk them out of it and was ambushed by a Rex and killed." Elana sighed.

"I feel your pain," Littlefoot responded, lowering his head.

"Littlefoot, I don't think you ate much when you were with our herd. You must be famished." Elana said to him.

"I can handle it. I once went across the Mysterious Beyond with little food while avoiding a dangerous Rex." he replied.

"Still, I think you should eat," Elana said.

"I suppose you're right." Littlefoot sighed.

After traveling for five hours, they finally reached a section of trees, though they did not have much fruit or green leaves on them. It appeared that some other Longnecks had gotten much of the high-up fruit and leaves and other dinosaurs had devoured most of the lower-hanging fruit and leaves.

Ali lowered her head to the ground to see if any of the past browsers had accidentally scattered anything on the ground. She was disappointed by what she saw; just some twigs, half-eaten fruits and coarse, dry leaves. Beside her, Littlefoot lowered his neck slightly to meet the branches of a young ginkgo.

"I'm afraid that there's not enough here for all of us." Ali sighed.

"You and your mother take what's left then." he told her.

"But what about you?" Elana asked.

"Family first." he replied.

"My belief, on which I was willing to be banished over, has proven correct. Littlefoot is indeed a worthy mate for you, Ali." Elana said.

"Aren't you hungry though?" Ali asked him. His stomach growled.

"Yes, I am. But I'm not in any danger of starvation so I insist that you two eat it." he replied.

Littlefoot moved out of the way of the young, leafy tree he found to let Ali and her mother feed; he smiled, and bent down to eat some fallen dry leaves; though he could stomach excessively dry green food more than he used to, he couldn't help but be reminded of something he tasted when he was much younger as he ate. In the distance, he could spot something moving toward them. What was it? As they moved closer, he saw with alarm that it was a group of Hookthumb Sharpteeth.

"Sharpteeth!" he yelled to Ali and Elana.

"What?" asked Ali's mother.

"Sharpteeth are coming!" he yelled again. Elana and Ali turned around; their eyes widened. He had decimated Hookthumb Sharpteeth when he was younger. However, he'd had a herd of Yellow Bellies at his back and had the advantage of having the Sharpteeth near a cliff. This time, he had only Ali and Elana and was out in the open. The best weapons, besides their tails, that he could think of using against them were the trees. If he could swing his tail like a whip, he might be able to send some of these trees sailing at them.

However, as the sharpteeth drew nearer, something started to dawn on Littlefoot; they were very small in comparison to himself, and much smaller than he remembered. They were hardly any bigger than one of Screech and Thud's breed.

Maybe we won't have to put too much effort into scaring them off. he thought.

"You guys want to play?" he snarled at the Hookthumb Sharpteeth. As they drew nearer, he used his tail to whack a tree at them, knocking two of them over. "You like that?" he taunted them.

One of the hookthumbs rolled back onto his feet and shook his head. Which one of us had the bright idea to hunt longnecks today? he complained.

I thought we were all hungry. As there are 15 of us and only three of them, we should be able to get at least one of them. one of them replied.

I suppose you're right, the first one admitted; he looked past the bull that initially knocked him over and focused on two longnecks that stood close to a tiny grove of trees.

I say we send four of us to keep the big one busy while the rest of us take down those other two. one of them suggested. The others nodded in agreement with her. Four of the Baryonxes ran at Littlefoot, distracting his attention; the other 11 snuck toward Ali and Elana till they had them surrounded. Littlefoot soon dispatched the four Sharpteeth and turned around to help Ali and Elana. To his horror, he found that the Sharpteeth attacking him had been a mere distraction. Ali and Elana had both been injured. Ali's wasn't serious, as she'd only been bitten in the leg; Elana's, however, was more serious, for she'd been bitten in the neck. Flying into a rage, Littlefoot swung his tail and stomped his feet, killing five of them and breaking limbs of three others. With Ali's help, they were able to send the group of Sharpteeth away empty-handed.

"And don't come back!" Littlefoot shouted at the Sharpteeth as they left.

Littlefoot turned to Ali and Elana. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"My leg is bleeding, but it isn't bad." Ali replied.

"I got my neck cut but I should be fine." Elana replied, though the look on her face made it clear that she didn't fully believe what she was saying.

As they traveled toward the Great Valley, Elana stumbled many times. "Are you sure you're all right?" Littlefoot asked her.

"I believe I am." she replied, before cringing in pain. Her daughter eyed her worriedly.

"Maybe we should find somewhere safe to rest." Ali said.

After searching for four hours, in which Elana's condition worsened, they found a section of the ground that had been torn open by a past earthquake, leading to an underground cave. Where the cave had properly opened, they were not yet aware. They soon reached a section of the cave that dropped down below from a cliff into a lava river below. Where they were at, they were safe from the lava, though they were at least warmed by it and could see where they were at better than they normally could in a cave due to the light of the fire. A couple of tickly fuzzies were already in the cave but didn't seem to care about the presence of the longnecks.

Elana found a flat rock to rest on, near one of the walls of the cave and just far enough away from the lava below to be neither too hot or too cold; she went on top of the rock, got down on her belly and rested her head on the floor.

Littlefoot and Ali surveyed the rest of the cave; besides the fuzzies, there weren't any other animals accompanying them, and there weren't any signs that predators had ever set foot there.

"Mother, your wound on your neck is worse than you're telling us." Ali said, her face wearing an expression of concern.

"It's not so bad, assuming it doesn't get infected or I don't bleed out."

"Anything we can do to help?" Littlefoot asked.

"Perhaps it will improve if I rest enough," Elana said, hoping that things would get better for herself.

Littlefoot headed outside the cave and found that it was raining again. "Just great!" he groaned. He searched around and found some cattails to tie around his mother-in-law's wound. He headed back to the cave, carrying the cattails in his mouth.

Littlefoot put his hind limbs up on Elana's rock. She lowered her head and neck accordingly.

"What do I do with these now that I have them?" Littlefoot asked Ali, through a mouth full of cattails He wrapped the cattails around Elana's neck. After he was done wrapping it, he said "Now we've stopped the bleeding."

"I'd like to rest for a while." Elana said. The other two nodded.

Meanwhile, Chomper and the others finally arrived back at their cave in the Land of Mists.

Much to their dismay, they found that scavenger Sharpteeth had made off with the rest of their Longneck supply while they were out.

Great, nothing to eat! Screech whined.

Guess not. Chomper sighed.

"We could always eat the Longnecks." Ichy suggested.

"Eat Isabelle. She ruined everything!" Jared snapped. He was furious that his sister had ruined his chances of living in the Great Valley with all of that green food.

"No, I'm not eating Isabelle. Unfortunately, I'm hungry and need to eat something soon." Chomper sighed. "Do you think you two can stay here and not cause trouble? I don't think you want to see us hunt Leaf Eaters."

"We promise." the two Longnecks replied.

Chomper reared up and motioned his head towards the vent of the cave that led to the Land of Mists, prompting his hunting partners to head in that direction. Isabelle and Jared watched them leave.

Woosh said I usually go for fish, lizards, and flightless birds. What did you have in mind?

I go for whatever can fill me and also what I think won't kill me when I try and hunt it. Chomper said.

About an hour after Chomper and his group left, Isabelle and Jared heard something moving in the cave.

"Get behind me," Isabelle said, bracing for something to show itself. A large Sarcosuchus came into sight and moved toward them, roaring and snarling. The two climbed a rock formation, getting up out of his reach. Isabelle tried to talk to him, though her vocabulary was limited. You're a Sharptooth.

Yes, I am. Where did you learn to talk? the yellow-eyed Belly Dragger asked.

Isabelle looked around uncertainly. You're a Sharptooth. she repeated.

You don't have much to say, do you? the Belly Dragger snorted.

Meanwhile, as Isabelle tried to converse with the Sarcosuchus, Chomper's group wasn't having much luck.

"There has to be something else out here we can eat besides this!" Ichy exclaimed. Chomper's party had found a Spiketail body lying around not long into their hunt; unfortunately, the meat had gone bad to the point that not even a carrion-eating flyer would eat it.

Chomper sniffed the air and caught a whiff of two Onehorns. Fraid it might be a bit of slim pickings for all of us, but it'll at least hold us over till we can find something more. he said.

Meanwhile, the two Onehorns were unaware that they were being tracked. "Seems kind of late to be out. It's getting cold. I swear this cold time is one of the worst out there. I expect only the Great Valley is unharmed and even they must be having less green food than normal. Today I saw white ground sparkles falling over the place when I went up to the top of Flathead Peak. We should take shelter. The ground sparkles are falling harder and the wind is getting stronger." the female said.

"It was your crazy idea to try and go to the bubbling spring this late in the day!" her mate grumbled.

"I'm sore." she whined.

"Well..." he began, but paused, hearing something move nearby. "What was that?" he asked.

"No idea. You're probably hearing things. It's getting late. The Bright Circle went down and the Night Circle doesn't look like she's going to come out tonight." she replied.

"Hey, over here!" Ichy yelled, hiding out of sight.

Chomper shook his head. He didn't like the idea of using the knowledge of the Leaf Eater language to lure Flatteeth into an ambush. Then again, what did it matter if they were caught this way or caught by running at them yelling "GRRRR!", for they would still be killed and eaten either way in the end? In fact, this way could lead to less harm to them by minimizing their prey's chances of fighting back, which was an especially good idea since they were already tired and sore from their misadventure into the Great Valley.

"Go check and see what they want." the male told his wife.

"Oh all right!" she grumbled, heading over toward the direction of Ichy's voice.

Chomper pounced on the female, getting in a fatal bite as she came into sight. She died with a look of shock on her face that a Sharptooth would know Leaf Eater. He felt horrible, but then reminded himself that in hunting that there was no "fair". The other Onehorn took off, pursued by Dil, Ichy, Woosh, Screech, Thud, and Jessica. Chomper remained behind to guard the dead Onehorn.

As he ran, the surviving Onehorn called at his assailants "You already killed my mate, why are you after me!?" He ran and soon encountered three other members of his herd, all male. "There's Sharpteeth after me and they know how to talk. They killed Onisi!" he cried.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot awoke. His movements soon awoke Ali. "I'm sorry dear. I should have been quieter. I'm going to check on Elana." he said.

"I'll go with you." she replied.

Littlefoot nodded his head. When they reached Elana, she was lying down, and awoke as her daughter and Littlefoot drew near. "Are you feeling better?" Littlefoot asked.

"Yes." she replied.

"That's good. I'm going to see if I can find anything to eat." Littlefoot said, heading out of the cave.

Littlefoot poked his head out of the crack of the ground he and the other two first entered the cave from and scanned his surroundings. There was no green food in the immediate area - no broad-leaved trees with good leaves, no coniferous trees bearing needles or pine cones, and no lush ferns on the ground. The longneck furrowed his brows.

Not finding any food nearby, he set out to look for it. About five minutes later, Ali, while exploring the cave, happened to find several leafy bushes that were growing by the water and had been sustained by the light and heat of the lava. Perhaps the seeds had been spread into here by animal droppings. "These look tasty. I wonder where Littlefoot has gotten to." she said to herself.

Littlefoot was having poor luck in his own endeavor for food; almost everything he was finding was either dried out, unappetizing or dead. The only plants he had found that were at at all green were a kind he recognized as being poisonous and unfit for consumption.

Littlefoot returns to the cave. "I have bad news; we are going to starve."

"No, we're not. I found some food." Ali replied.

"Wonderful! Where is it?" he asked.

"Come with me."

Meanwhile, Isabelle and Jared had fled from the cave and into the Land of Mists, pursued by the Belly Dragger. Isabelle tried the classic bend a branch back trick to try to slap the Belly Dragger as it walked by. The trick worked, for all of five seconds The Belly Dragger snarled after being hit in his face before he chomped down on the branch, crushing bits of it into sawdust.

I farted a rock! she cried as she and her brother galloped away at full speed; she hoped that this remark would cause the Belly Dragger to break out into a fit of laughter long enough for her and Jared to get away.

Farted a rock?! What? Is that some kind of joke? the Sarcosuchus remarked.

Isabelle and her brother ran right into one of the Onehorns that Chomper and his group was fighting. "What where you're going you stupid Longnecks! Can't you see we're busy with these accursed Sharpteeth?" one of them bellowed at the children.

"Where's Chomper?" Jared asked, looking up at Ichy - he was barely dodging swings of the spiked frill of one of the Onehorns.

"He's not too far away, he's guarding a kill we made earlier," the Sharp Beak squawked. Isabelle raised a brow; if they already had meat, why were they still hunting? "We only went for two of them. Unfortunately, after we got one down, the other one went and got friends."

The Belly Dragger arrived a moment later and noticed the kids, the group of Sharpteeth, and the attacking Onehorns; he stood there, confused on what to do. Isabelle, after a minute's hesitancy, kicked a rock at one of the Onehorns to stop him from goring Jessica. This rock - which landed just below his eye and bounced onto the ground after impact - did not do any significant damage to the Onehorn, but it did stop his advances; he halted and looked over to whoever threw the rock at him

"If you were aiming at the Sharptooth, you missed!" he grunted, automatically assuming that the fellow leaf-eaters were trying to help him and not his assailants. Trying to dissuade Jessica from attacking him as he had his head turned, he shook his spike-frilled head as he spoke.

Woosh landed on a Onehorn in the center of the back and just stood there. It bucked and kicked to try and get her off but her claws had a bird like grip, which enabled her to keep her balance. As the Onehorn danced around like an idiot, it bumped into the others, which obstructed their attempt to advance.

"What are you doing? Get out of the way." one snapped.

"There is something on my back, someone get it off."

"I got this." one said, taking a whack with their tail just before she flew away, causing him to smack the Onehorn instead. "Did I get it?"

"No, it's on you now."

"Really? Where?" Woosh bit her. "Ouch!" she cried.

Ichy caught on and flew onto the back of another Onehorn and began to tickle him with his feathers. "There's another one flying biters on my back!" the Onehorn cried, laughing as Ichy tickled him.

The Sarcosuchus saw Dil fighting a Onehorn. Are you in trouble miss? he asked her.

Take a guess.

I'll take that as a yes. he replied.

The Onehorn found an opening and thrusted its horn at Dil. The Onehorn narrowly missed Dil. Jared pulled on the tail of the Onehorn, distracting him from Dil. "Are you out of your mind kid? They're the enemy, not me!" he yelled at Jared. While he was distracted, the male Belly Dragger managed to latch his jaws onto his throat. "What in the world?!" the Onehorn yelled before dying.

"I can't believe this; the kids are aiding the monsters!" one of the Onehorns groaned.

"No, they aren't, they're helping us." Dil replied.

I've never seen a Sailback, a Belly Dragger, two Sharp Beaks, two Fast Biters, and a Rex working together before. And I've never seen two Longnecks helping Sharpteeth before either. the Sarcosuchus remarked.

Now you have, Jessica replied, sidestepping a charging Styracosaurus and letting him run horn-first into a tree.

Could I join you? My own pack thought I was too much of a smart aleck to be with them. he said, slaying the treed Onehorn.

Sure. Jessica replied.

Soon, all of the Onehorns were dead. Chomper, tired of the delay for, as he thought, just one Onehorn, came, carrying the dead Onehorn with him. "Could you please eat those somewhere else?" Isabelle asked Thud, who had been about to eat one of the Onehorns.

Thud, who didn't understand Leaf Eater, stared at Isabelle blankly. Soon, feeling hungry, he began to eat one of the Onehorns. Isabelle and Jared turned away, revolted.

"Hey, those Longnecks helped us!" Dil remarked.

Jared nodded. "I didn't want to see those Onehorns hurt you." he said.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot, Ali, and Elana continued to sleep. Nearby, a small group of Ceratosaurus had caught whiff of their scent. One of the Sharpteeth tracked their smell to the tear in the ground the longnecks had found in the first place. As the Sharpteeth neared the cave, Elana woke up first due to the sound of their footsteps. She saw the Sharpteeth and quickly shook Littlefoot and Ali rather than trying to run and save herself. "What is the matter, mother?" Ali asked, groggy. Elana motioned her head towards the opening of the cave.

"Sharpteeth!" she cried, fully waking up Littlefoot.

The Sharpteeth entered the cave. Littlefoot quickly got up and smacked one of them in the head with his tail. The Sharptooth was knocked up but soon got back up to go for him again. The other Sharpteeth went for Ali and Elana. Ali tailwhacked a green ceratosaurus while a red ceratosaurus jumped on Elana's back and began to tear some of the flesh like Sharptooth did to Littlefoot's mother years earlier. "NOOOO!" Littlefoot and Ali cried in horror.

Littlefoot bared his teeth and lowered his head; memories of that day ran through his mind. The sounds, how fast it went by, the blood; the blood...

Before Ali knew it, Littlefoot was up on his feet, roaring and charging towards Elana, eyes fixed on the Ceratosaurus on her back.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!" Littlefoot yelled, losing himself in a fit of rage and ferociously attacking all Cerataosauruses within his reach wtih his tail repeatedly as though he was a Brownshirt fascist thug and his tail was a billy-club he was beating the Sharpteeth with. The Sharpteeth began to retreat, but Littlefoot,still enraged, was doing his best to try and kill them, not aware of his surroundings or that he could potentially be killed by taking on all of the Sharpteeth by himself. Ali joined in the attack on the Shaprteeth and together, the two put up a ferocious enough fight that the Sharpteeth, injured and bleeding from the their injuries, fled, deciding that it wasn't worth it to try and eat these Longnecks.

"And stay out!" Littlefoot snapped, flicking his tail at the fleeing Sharpteeth. He turned his attention to Elana; the expression on his face shifted from one of rage to one of grave concern. "Ali, we need to find something quickly to stop the bleeding!" he said.

The two of them used the plants that they found in the cave to try and bandage Elana's wound to stop the bleeding. They were able to stop the bleeding but it soon became clear that important arteries had been severed. "Ali, I want you to take Littlefoot and go to the Great Valley and have your eggs. You need to stop this Haley."

"But what about you?" her daughter asked, started to cry.

"I can't go on. I'm dying." Elana replied.

"Mother, please!" Ali begged.

"Go to the Great Valley. Set things right. Be strong." Elana said. She breathed a few more times, then lay still.

"Mother! No!" Ali cried, launching herself onto her mother's body and sobbing hard. Littlefoot didn't know what to say so he just stood there silently. He stood there for a long while, saying nothing. Finally, he said "I'm sorry Ali. I shouldn't have brought you guys into this. it's all my fault."

"You couldn't have known this was going to happen. Besides, we would have still had the protection of the herd if Rhett hadn't interfered."

Littlefoot felt anger course through him. Rhett, who'd called Ali a b***h, who'd viewed her as mere property to be won, who had gotten Ali and Elana banished out of jealousy. Rhett, who had lied to Ali as a child and had always hated Chomper for helping expose him. Rhett had even been ok with the idea of killing him in order to get Ali as his own. "I'm going to get that sorry excuse for a dinosaur and shove his head so far up his cloaca that it'll come out his mouth!" Littlefoot snarled.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea." Ali replied.

"You don't think his head will fit?" Littlefoot asked.

"I don't think his cloaca has had anything as nasty as his head in it to be honest." Ali replied. Her mate laughed. "However, mother was killed by Sharpteeth, not Rhett. It's no use going back to the herd and risk taking them all on to get at that losersaurus."

"You're right! I'm going to find those Sharpteeth and finish them off just like I did with Sharptooth!" Littlefoot vowed. He was about to go make good on his threat when Chomper flashed before his mind. He'd let Chomper go free knowing he could kill other's parents and mates. Why were these hungry Sharpteeth any different? Besides, killing the Sharpteeth in a blood-lust couldn't bring Elana back to life. "No, wait, never mind. That's a foolish idea. Let's just lay her to rest where her body won't get eaten and then we can go back home to the Great Valley." he sighed.

After moving Elana's body to a spot in the back of the cave and blocking the path with rocks to keep it safe, Littlefoot and Ali sat down next to each other, crossing their necks and mourning over Elana; from here on out, they would have to travel alone.

Perhaps, when they finally reached it, the Great Valley would provide them some solace, they thought...

After traveling all day, the two reached the Great Valley around nightfall. "I see you found Ali though it seems that it took you longer to find Ali and come back than I thought it would take for you to find Ali and come back." Ruby said to them as she greeted the two. "Also, you two don't look very happy for being just married. Are you having trouble already?" she asked.

Littlefoot explained what had happened with Rhett and how they had been banished and how Elana had been killed by Sharpteeth. When he was done, Ruby said "I'm sorry to hear about that. Cera lost her father and Tria. Red Claw attacked the Great Valley and killed them."

"Red Claw?! How did he get in?" Littlefoot gasped in horror.

"He must have followed Chomper in. Chomper came to tell us that he learned that Red Claw is the brother of the Sharptooth that killed your mother, the one that you killed. Red Claw wants you, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike dead, and me too for helping you and being friendly to Chomper. Chomper wanted to say something else but Haley showed up and ruined everything." Ruby told him.

"Is Chomper all right?" Littlefoot asked.

"Yes. He and a Sailback escaped by going off one of the waterfalls out the Great Valley. However, they broke Saurus Rock when they escaped. I think they were taking out Red Claw's goons. We never found Red Claw's body though, so we think he still is alive and managed to get out of the Great Valley. It seems that Screech and Thud appear to be working with Chomper now instead of Red Claw. Unfortunately, Chomper and his friends came under attack by the Valley residents when Haley raised a stir and, well, they ended up killing some of them. Haley is blaming the deaths of Topps, Tria, and the others on Chomper and claiming that he and Red Claw were the masterminds of everything. It's good you came back. Now that you are married, you can get on the council and check that crazy Clubtail. With Topps and Tria gone, she could have enough power in the parliament to change many rules in the Great Valley." Ruby said.

After talking with Cera and consoling her, Littlefoot and Ali went to look for a place to rest. As they walked through the grass, Magnus called to him "Hey Flathead, who's that you got with you?"

"That's Ali, my new wife."

"She'd have to be pretty dumb to marry you, but then again, my mother said that you Longnecks have tiny brains!" he laughed.

"Who is this little brat?" Ali asked her husband.

"Magnus, Haley's son."

"Why am I not surprised?" Ali scowled.

"Hey cloaca-breath, why do you look so glum?" Magnus asked him.

"'Cloaca-breath!' That little brat needs to watch his mouth!" Ali snarled.

"You're clearly new here, Flathead. I don't have to watch my mouth for anyone cuz my mother has a lot of friends on the Great Valley Council." he replied.

"You want to try me kid!" Ali snarled, ready to smack some respect into him.

"Ali, don't." Littlefoot said to her. "Listen Magnus, leave Ali alone. She lost her mother to Sharpteeth today." he said.

"You lost both your mother and your mother-in-law to Sharpteeth yet you still care for that stupid Rex? You're beyond hopeless!" Magnus scowled, storming off with his nose thumbed up in the air.

Chomper, meanwhile, gathered with the kids in the cave. Much to their great relief, Jessica, at Chomper's instruction, as she wouldn't have known what to look for on her own, had gotten the kids tons of green food from some tall trees in the Land of Mists. Jared and Jessica munched on Tree Sweets and some red Treestars. "Petrie always said those red Treestars were unlucky, but I think he's just paranoid." Chomper told the children.

"I hope so." Jared, who was somewhat superstitious himself, replied.

"Mom use to say that bad luck was only caused by having a good day. If things are going too good, some bad stuff happens to balance it out." Isabelle replied. The two were silent for a moment as they again thought of their dead parents; however, having both accepted Chomper and the others as their new guardians, they decided to focus on something else before the temptation to hate their Sharpteeth friends arose. They decided to pay attention to the new Belly Dragger, who was showering himself in a waterfall.

The newest member of the group was Sarco, the Sarcosuchus. He lay next to Dil, having come to already like her. Ichy also seemed to have taken an interest in Woosh and the two lay sleeping next to each other atop Dil. Chomper laid down by Jessica, having grown fonder of her. The two Longnecks rested their heads against his tail and lay down between him and Jessica and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, weeks went by in the Great Valley. Littlefoot and Ali were able to keep Haley at bay. As Ali was pregnant and the two would soon have eggs which would hatch into children, they were considered members of the Great Valley Council and kept Haley in check. Finally, after about seven weeks, Ali laid five eggs. The two were thrilled to be parents and put them in a nest of twigs and Treestars.

As they went to bed that night, they were watched by a pair of angry orange eyes. Ozzy the Egg Stealer knew the name "Littlefoot" when he'd heard Ali utter it. He and his brother Strut had nearly been killed by the Longneck's Rex friend and his parents. Strut had said he'd have enough after that and left him to go live a life of eating green food. Ozzy, had, of course, continued to get eggs. And now he saw five eggs that belonged to the Longneck who had nearly gotten him killed. What sweet revenge!

Once the Longnecks were clearly asleep, Ozzy crept with great precision to the nest and grabbed one of the eggs. He broke it open and began to eat it. It, however, did not taste like an egg, at least not a proper egg. He'd had eggs that had been laid by females who had never been with a male. This egg tasted like that. Revolted at the awful taste, he went to the next one, but it was the same way. He continued on till he'd gotten the last egg, each time meeting the same result. After he'd cracked up the fifth egg and found it foul tasting, he grumbled "This is revolting! Five horrible eggs!"

He had talked to loudly for Littlefoot and Ali jumped up of a dead sleep and stared around, soon spotting him and the destroyed eggs.

"You! You!" Littlefoot seethed. "You vermin Egg Stealer, you killed my children! I'm going to bash your brains out with my tail!"

"Don't bother Longneck. I didn't kill your children, as you call them. These eggs taste the same as any egg that was laid by a female that never had been with a male." Ozzy laughed.

"What?!" Ali gasped.

"Yes, they're unfertilized. I ought to know as eggs are my specialty!" Ozzy laughed. The two were both so shocked and horrified that they forgot about Ozzy for the moment. The Egg Stealer used the opportunity to run for it and head safely to the Great Wall. "So long fools! Have fun with your worthless eggs!" he laughed.

The noise had attracted Ruby and the others, as well as Magnus, Haley, and Lambi. "What's the matter Littlefoot? You look troubled."

"An Egg Stealer broke open our eggs. But that's not the worst of it. He said the eggs were all bad. He said they weren't fertilized."

"Surely you two mated properly, though. Maybe he was lying." Ruby suggested.

"We mated properly, yes. I should have fertilized the egg. And I don't think he was lying too. I know him, if they'd been good eggs he wouldn't have said anything but would have kept going on his way with them and we wouldn't have known they were gone till morning." Littlefoot sighed.

"Littlefoot, go find another mate. You need to get children and stop Haley." Ali told him.

"No, you're worth more to me than making Longneck babies, as I told Rhett. We're staying together." he replied.

"How very touching!" Haley laughed. "So, you two are barren and thus will have no children. The rules state that unless you can have children, you can't really be a true member of the Council. The only exceptions are if you are gifted children by someone in your two herds or if the children let you adopt them. As Littlefoot is the last member of his herd and as Ali here seems to have been banished and not welcome in her herd right now, I'd say the chances of that happening are a big fat zero! So now, since you are no longer on the Council, I think we can change the vote we had yesterday."

'No!" Littlefoot cried.

He and Ali had outvoted Haley on a very narrow vote to expel meat eaters from the Valley.

"It's not official yet but it will be when I call the Council together in the morning. Your Fast Runner and Glider friends should be making their exit. If they stay around after sundown tomorrow, they will be trampled to death for trespassing!" Haley laughed.

Littlefoot shook his head. He didn't see what he could do. That there were two Longnecks that existed that met the qualifications of the rules was something he was totally unaware of. All he knew was that it seemed his family line would end with him. He and Ali were childless!

Chapter Text

CHAPTER TEN: DRIVEN OUT

"How can they make me leave? I can fly for goodness sake!" Guido complained a few hours later.

"It's not so bad. You can get crawlers in the Mysterious Beyond as well as in the Great Valley. And luckily I can eat snapping shells and crawling slimies (snails) as well as plants so it's not that big a deal to me. What's more important is that we find a way to get rid of Haley. Problem is, if Littlefoot and Ali can't have kids, then there doesn't seem to be any way to get rid of Haley." Ruby replied.

"Where are we going to go, though?" Guido asked.

"I've been thinking on that and I keep thinking that maybe we should go to where Littlefoot sent Chomper."

"Which is?"

"The Land of Mists."

"I don't know if I want to go there. Ali told me that it wasn't a nice place to be."

"If we can find Chomper, we can be safer."

"Are you sure he won't just eat us?"

"No, th Chomper I know wouldn't do that."

"What if he's not the Chomper we knew anymore?"

"He seemed nice when he was last here."

"Maybe he's less forgiving after the Great Valley tried to kill him."

"I'm sure he'll be fine."

"If you say so."

Magnus watched the two. They had said that Chomper was in the Land of Mists. At last they knew where he was. "I can't wait to see mom's face when I tell her where that sharptooth's been hiding," he whispered to himself. A few minutes later Magnus told Haley what he'd overheard.

"The Land of Mists aren't very far from our valley," Haley said. A smile started to form on her beak.

"Um, but isn't it a dangerous place?" Magnus asked.

"We'll send a large group." Haley replied.

"So, you're just going to search the Land of Mists till they find him?" Magnus asked.

"Sure, why not?" Haley asked.

"A bunch of your search group could be killed by the monsters there while looking for them."

"As long as Chomper's dead, it'll be worth it."

"Why not have them follow Ruby, her family, and Guido there instead? I bet if they get near Chomper, he'll reveal himself to them."

"But what if they get killed there before they find Chomper?"

"Then we'd be no worse off than if we'd just taken your plan of searching the whole place for Chomper."

Guido, meanwhile, said to Ruby and her family "You guys go, I'm going to have some fun with them first."

"Be careful." she told him.

"I will." he replied. She continued on out of the Great Valley but the Glider remained. Guido approached a group of Clubtails and a Spiketail. "Hey, I thought you said if I didn't leave, you'd trample me. Well, I didn't leave. Come and get me." he taunted them.

"Let's get that green feather duster!" one of the yelled, charging at Guido. The Clubtails and the Spiketail tried to charge him, but he was always too quick for them. Their efforts only results in them colliding with trees and rocks, shattering them instead of his bones like they had wanted.

While his attackers were recuperating from their misses, Guido dove into a bush - one of several in a patch. A big tree with a wide trunk stood nearby; if what he was thinking of doing went awry, he could climb it and glide away.

"Hey, try and find me!" Guido dared.

Guido continued toying with them for several hours. Finally, as they started to wear down, he climbed up a tree and took to the air, flying out of the Great Valley. "So long fools!" he laughed at them. He flew to the place he'd prearranged to meet Ruby. The two had agreed that Haley's group might try and kill them when they were alone out there in the desert. They also considered that it was possible that they might be followed in the hopes that they were going to where Chomper was. However, the two had hoped that by taking the attention away from Ruby, who couldn't fly, and putting it on Guido, who could, that Haley's group would be foiled in their attempts of the two aforementioned endeavors.

Meanwhile, the Clubtails and the Spiketail returned to Haley. "We failed to trample the Glider. And we've lost track of both the Glider and the Fast Runners." the Spiketail said.

"Now that you idiots are back, I'd like you to get as many of those who want Chomper gone as you can together. We're going to go Sharptooth hunting." she laughed.

Isabelle and Jared, meanwhile, were off playing in the Land of Mists. They had found a dinosaur graveyard. Jared decided to explore it and Isabelle followed him.

They soon spotted tarpits, with several skeletons of dinosaurs stuck in them. "Ug, I don't like this place. I think we should go somewhere else." Jared said.

"Come on, don't be such a scaredy egg!" Isabelle scolded him.

"It's tar!"

"It's frozen. Look." Isabelle threw a rock at the tarp. It collided with the top and skidded several feet.

"I guess it's safe."

"Well, as safe as something can get in a place like-" Isabelle said; when she turned her head away from her brother to look at where she was going, she found herself staring right into the face of a long-dead longneck. Her eyes widened, and her legs propelled her a couple feet back.

"Aeeeiiiiii!" she yelped.

The two ran for some time, heading, without meaning to, further into the graveyard. Finally, they stopped at a place where the bones were fleshless and all of the dinosaurs here had clearly been dead for years. Among these, Isabelle and Jared found several Threehorn and Spiketail skeletons.

"I wonder if some of those dinosaurs back there killed each other. From the damage to their bones, it almost looks like it." Isabelle remarked.

"I've got an idea." Jared said.

"What?"

"Let's use these for a slide."

"Sounds like fun."

Meanwhile, Chomper had received his first big injury. It wasn't life-threatening but it was was quite painful. His group had taken on two Threehorns. He'd tried the bite and slay method but the horns and armor made that harder to do than normal. He'd avoided getting impaled in the neck as he'd, just in time, moved, but they'd gotten his side instead. Luckily, they'd missed his vital organs. Whoosh and Ichy flew up to the creatures and began attacking their eyes, which were vulnerable to attack from the Sharp Beaks as the Threehorns had no way of assaulting them. Jessica, Dil, Screech, Sarco, Screech, and Thud used the opportunity to finish off the Threehorns. Chomper lay on his good side and tried to maneuver his head so he could lick his wound. He was not having much luck; his head could not quite reach the spot.

Whoosh and Ichy suddenly came under attack by two Threehorn children. However, the two Sharpbeaks simply flew up a tree and out of reach. "You stupid Sharpteeth! You killed our parents!" they shouted at them.

What should we do with the kids? They don't have any parents? Dil said.

We could kill them. Ichy suggested. The two spoke in Sharptooth so that the kids couldn't overhear them.

Jessica looked over to Chomper, who was still laying on the ground and trying to recuperate. Even without a good grasp on the language her peers and the two children spoke in, she had a feeling she knew what was happening.

The Longnecks were one thing, but there's no way we'll ever be able to take in the hatchlings of all of the leaf-eaters we hunt. she said.

Not taking them in is one thing. Killing them is another. Chomper replied, unsure of what to do.

We could dump them off onto the next trike herd we meet, they won't know the difference, a child is a child to them right? Dil suggested.

That should go over well. 'Here, we killed their parents and now we want you to adopt them for us so we don't have to take care of them.' Yeah, I can see it now. 'Kill those Sharpteeth, they killed their parents and they can talk too and so they're dangerous. Let's get the herd together and kill them!' That might work with Littlefoot as I know him. A random trike herd, I wouldn't. And considering the gift the last one left me just now, I don't know if I want to go playing with an entire herd. Chomper sighed.

As Chomper pondered on what to do, he felt a strong sharp poke in his side. One of the kids had rammed him, much as his father had done earlier. "Die you stupid vermin!" he yelled. It hurt and drew blood, but wasn't nearly as damaging as the adult's attack had been. It was more an annoyance than a real threat.

"Todd, you won't kill it that way. Aim for its cloaca. That way it wont be able to relieve itself or lay eggs and hopefully it will die." his sister said.

"Are you sure it's a girl, Trudy?"

"I don't know. I can't tell Sharpteeth apart. But let's deal with this punk and be done with it."

Chomper tried to think of something to say to calm the two Threehorn kids, but, before he could even open his mouth, a terrible pain shot through his veins: Todd had taken his sister's advice on where he should attack Chomper could react, Screech and Thud pounced at Todd and killed him.

Are you ok? Jessica asked him.

Probably, Chomper replied, gritting his teeth.

After their initial attack, Screech grabbed Todd by the frill and hoisted him up into the air and slammed him back into the ground, making sure that he had finished the job. Little brat! the blue Fast Biter snapped.

Chomper felt another powerful poke. Trudy had rammed him in the cloaca. She didn't seem to be afraid that Chomper and the others could kill her as they had done her parents and her brother. All she cared about at the moment was inflicting as much damage to Chomper as possible. She moved to ram him again, but he quickly moved aside and pinned her down with his feet. His claws didn't puncture her, but they were about a foot from her throat.

Nearby, Screech and Thud were now eating the dead Todd while Jessica, Sarco, Dil, Ichy, and Woosh were helping themselves to the dead adults.

"Don't get cocky," Chomper warned, eyeing the little triceratops beneath him. She wriggled feverishly, trying to free herself from the Rex's foot.

"Wait, you're a boy! And you can talk? I thought your kind was as stupid as a pile of rocks." Trudy gasped, still trying her best to break free.

Chomper lay there, still wondering what to do. The other Threehorns were dead. His stomach made a loud growl. His group had had the bad luck to have not found any suitable food for a week. The Flatteeth tended to gather near where the plants that still survived the cold, so as to not have to walk far in the frigid air. As such, finding stray Leaf Eaters had been difficult. There were eight in his group after all and the two adult Threehorns plus the child, about age nine, would barely fill them. Sharpteeth needed to eat more in the winter to get extra fat to keep warm.

While he was loathe to kill hatchlings and had asked the group to refrain from it, a policy that they'd followed every time they had encountered children alone, though sometimes it had meant not eating that day as a result, the two children here had certainly left their mark. Now he would have a painful time taking a leak or a crap the next few days thanks to them.

As for the lone survivor, she was likely to die wtihout a herd to protect her out here in the cold. Another sharptooth that found her wouldn't have pity on her. And, most importantly, for him, he had to consider that letting her go could result in her going again at his cloaca, this time perhaps getting in a blow that could end up damaging a certain organ that he would need if he hoped to one day have offspring of his own.

He stood up, still holding down the thrashing Threehorn. Trickles of blood dripped from his cloaca where he'd been twice attacked now. He stared down at the Threehorn girl, who slightly reminded him of Tricia, though she was silver and had a different eye color than Tricia. She seemed too young to die; yet, as he knew all too well, Leaf Eaters wouldn't hesitate to kill a cornered Sharptooth child.

His stomach growled. Though his heart saw a young helpless child, his appetite kept bringing to his mind the smell of Threehorn and how good the hatchling would taste after so long without food. Surely the world would produce more Threehorns and wouldn't fall apart if this one perished.

He felt a wetness soak his claws. The Threehorn, hearing his stomach growl and fearing death, had wet herself in fright. She stared up at him, her eyes bulging with fear. Surely if he was going to do something, he'd better do it soon; the longer he took, the more tormented the animal before him became.

Animal? No, that was a leaf eater, not a mere animal. Animal! His mind told him, trying to persuade him to slay and feed. He hesitated a moment then drew one of the claws on his feet across her throat, ending her struggles forever.

He sighed. A young life cut short. He shed a tear, feeling remorse. Feed! His stomach told him. He sighed again. Yes, it seemed that he must.

He bent down and tore the corpse to bits, downing it in a few strong and powerful bites that tore flesh and bone. Finally, nothing remained of the Threehorn except a few stains of blood. His stomach growled contentedly, as though the deed he'd just committed had been nothing to feel concerned about.

Jared and Isabelle, meanwhile, heard something coming. Soon, a pack of Crownheads arrived. They didn't see the kids, but seemed to know that they were around there somewhere and were looking eagerly for them.

"Quiet. Don't many any sudden movements." Isabelle whispered to Jared. The Crownheads soon spotted Jared and Isabelle and began to move in their direction. Isabelle grabbed her brother's tail with her mouth and scurried under the ribcage of a skeleton, taking him with her. The Crownheads began to pull apart the structure of bones, trying to get at the kids. The children jumped from dead dinosaur to dead dinosaur, sending bones flying in every direction as they fled.

Chomper, meanwhile, still wondered if he had done the right thing. "Poor dear. My appetite got the better of me." he sighed.

"Nah. You were hungry. Besides, the little princess was trying to castrate you." Ichy replied.

"Besides, some Threehorn mother will just pop out more eggs and can make a Threehorn in this world to replace her." Dil said.

"Well, what's done is done." Chomper sighed. "I'm just glad that Jared and Isabelle weren't here to see this. Speaking of them, where are they?"

"I don't know." Ichy said. The others looked for the children while Chomper bandaged his injured cloaca with some leaves. When the others returned to him empty-handed, he grew worried. We need to find them. he said.

But you're still hurt. Jessica said.

Be that as it may, I am responsible for those two.

I've found their scent. They're some distance away from here. Sarco reported. They followed the scent to the dinosaur graveyard

Meanwhile, after five fruitless hours of searching for Ruby and Guido without a trace, Haley's goons returned to the Great Valley empty-handed. "I told you to follow them to the Land of Mists!" Haley snapped.

"We lost them." a Spiketail said.

"We don't know where the Land of Mists is either." said a Thicknose.

"I think I recalled that Flathead girl that married Littlefoot saying her herd had once lived there." Magnus said.

"Do you know where her herd is by any chance? A lot of good it would do for us to try and ask them if we can't find them." Haley said.

"I thin they passed the Great Valley earlier today. I could hear what's her face, Ali, saying 'There's Rhett's herd. I'd like to redecorate his face for what he did to us!'" Magnus replied.

"Find this herd. Perhaps they will lead us to the Land of Mists." Haley told her minions.

After some searching, they located Rhett's herd. Rhett looked at the non-Longnecks with skepticism. When it was clear that they were seeking the herd rather than merely passing by, he snapped at them "What do you guys want?"

"We wanted to hunt down and kill this Sharptooth, but the coward is hiding in the land of mist. Thought perhaps you might know where that is." a Spiketail said.

"Going into the Land of Mists to kill a Sharptooth?! You'll find plenty there all right! But 1,000,000 to 1, they'll end up killing you dumb pointybacks rather than you killing them!" Rhett scoffed.

"We're after Chomper the Rex. He killed my father and brother. I heard he was hiding out in the Land of Mists." Magnus replied.

"Chomper the Rex? That changes a lot. I've been furious at that son of a tarpit. He exposed me years ago when I was going to marry the girl I always wanted, Ali. She used to be reasonable, or so I've heard, till she met this loser named Littlefoot" Rhett spat.

"Chomper killed our leader's husband and son but Littlefoot helped him escape the Great Valley."

"So I've heard from Littlefoot myself. He tried defending the beast. Claimed Chomper was only defending himself."

"A boldfaced lie."

"I figured. So, I take it that you mean that Littlefoot sent Chomper to go hide in the Land of Mists to avoid being brought to justice by you lot. Yeah, I'll take you to the Land of Mists all right. In fact, I'll do better than that. My herd and i will help you rid the world of this Rex for good! I must admit, I've never lived there personally, so I only know what it's like based on the stories I've heard. You see, before I joined up with and took over this herd, they had left the Land of Mists. However, some of them stayed behind. We still consider them part of our herd, though we haven't heard anything from them since we left."

Magnus returned to the Great Valley for his mother had told him not to go to the Land of Mists. The others, however, went with Rhett and his herd toward the Land fo Mists.

Ruby, her siblings, her herd, and Guido, meanwhile, arrived at the cave that was the main entrance to the Valley of Mists. They found some bones littered about and even some dinosaur poop, some of which had bones in it, indicating that Sharpteeth had indeed been there recently and been there for a while. However, they did not find any Sharpteeth inside the cave at all.

"It looks like Chomper has been here, but he's clearly not here now. Perhaps we should wait for him to return." Ruby suggested.

"What if he doesn't recognize us and attacks us or what if his friends don't recognize us and kill us before they realize it's us?" her brother Ovus asked.

"I think Chomper would recognize us before he saw us due to his very strong sense of smell. However, it's his friends I'm a bit worried about. They might not realize we're Chomper's friends and only find out after they've picked their teeth with us." Ruby replied.

"Just great!" Guido moaned.

"We'll just have to try and find Chomper first and avoid the others."

"Any idea how to do that?" asked her father.

"Yes." She pulled off a feather from her back and left it on the ground near the bones. "If Chomper finds this, he will smell me on it and know I've been here."

"What should we do in the meantime?" Guido asked.

"Try and find a good place to hide, one where we can run from if the others turn up."

Isabelle and Jared, meanwhile, had run into a dead end. They were perched on top the skeleton of a dead Diplodcus, clinging to the head out of reach of the Crownheads. "Let's hope they can't get us up here." Isabelle said to Jared. Jared threw a bone at the Crownheads. It hit one and he rubbed his head in pain. Isabelle threw one too, but this time the Crownhead she was aiming it at caught it. He broke it in half with his arms. "Oh crap!" Isabelle cried.

Chomper, meanwhile, heard the kids yelling in the distance. He sniffed the air and locked onto their scent. What were they doing over there? Foolish place for them to be. They're this way! he told the others.

Meanwhile, a Crownhead taunted the children. "Come down kids, we won't bite...much!"

One of the Crownheads leaped up and grabbed a rib right below where the kids were at. Isabelle pried his hands loose and he fell. However, two more grabbed onto the rib near their level, though these were further away from the kids and had pulled themselves up before the kids could attempt to knock them loose. "Ut oh!" the kids cried in horror.

Before the Crownheads could reach them, the two children jumped.. Isabelle grabbed onto a bone and Jared grabbed onto her legs with his forelegs and kicked two Crownheads in the head with his back legs, knocking them over. Isabelle let go and the two landed on the ground. They quickly got up and ran past the fallen Crownheads. They quickly darted under the legs of one Crownhead that was still standing.

Rhett's herd and Haley's goons, meanwhile, had reached the waterfall in front of the main entrance to the Land of Mists. "Are you sure this is the place? It looks really pretty. Not like a scary place full of mist and Sharpteeth." Haley asked.

"I heard that the Land of Mists are on the other side." Rhett replied.

"Then let's get there as quickly as possibly. I want that Sharptooth dead before the day is over!"

Jared and Isabelle, meanwhile, had split up. Most of the Crownheads were after Isabelle but a few were after Jared. Jared climbed some bones of a tall Longneck and was out of reach of the Crownheads. However, some of the bones were brittle and they crumbled and he fell into a tar pit below. "Help!" Jared yelled, struggling in the tar.

Chomper heard Jared yelling and ran toward him. However, Jared was too far in for the reach of his small arms. He called Jessica over to him. Grab onto me and hold me so that I can reach out to him.he told her. Jessica grabbed onto Chomper, and he reached out over the tarpit toward Jared. He grabbed ahold of him. He was having trouble maintaining balance and, with Jared halfway to shore, he lost his balance and fell in himself. Jessica, still holding onto him, desperately tried to pull the both of them to safety. Jessica was having trouble not falling in herself when Dil and Ichy arrived. Hey guys, I could use a little help. she said.

Dil grabbed onto Jessica, helping to pull her Chomper, and Jared toward shore. Ichy, having more common sense than Petrie had had years ago during a similar incident, did not try and grab onto Chomper, Jessica, Jared, or Dil, but instead went to go get help, realizing that by trying to involve himself directly, if Dil and Jessica fell in, he'd likely go tumbling in too with them due to his small size.

The Crownheads, meanwhile, had cornered Isabelle and were about to begin tearing her apart when Woosh arrived and began flying around their heads, distracting their attention.

Go away you stupid bird! one of the Crownheads snapped at Woosh.

Woosh farted in the face of one of the Crownheads. The Crownhead gagged and swatted at her.

The other Crownheads moved forward toward Isabelle to attack her. However, they turned around and ran as they saw Sarco, Screech, and Thud approaching. "Thank you!" Jessica said to the four Sharpteeth, though none could understand her. "I wonder where Jared's gotten to." she said to herself.

She didn't have to wonder much longer, for Ichy soon arrived and said to her "I found your brother. He, Chomper, Jessica, and Dil are in trouble." Come on! he told the other Sharpteeth.

"Heeeelllp!" Jared wailed, trying to free himself from the tar and inadvertently making the situation worse in the process.

With a great deal of effort, Chomper pulled with all of his might and, with Dil behind him giving aid, he was able to pull Jessica and Jared to safety as well as free himself. His efforts were not without cost, however, as he had dislocated his shoulder from his hard pull.

"Ouch, that hurt!" he moaned, wishing he could rub his shoulder with his other arm, but alas it was too short to reach it. All four of them were covered in tar, Jessica and Jared especially so. Jessica saw that Chomper was hurt. Chomper, are you ok? Your arm sounded like it popped.

It did.

Can you move it?

Yes, but it hurts like being prodded by a Threehorn's horn.

"I am so sorry this happened. We shouldn't have wandered off." Jared said.

"I'm sure you didn't mean to get into trouble. Let's go find the others." Chomper replied.

Meanwhile, Haley and her group plus Rhett's herd came across Ruby, her family, and Guido. "So, w e found the Sharptooth's lair. I see he's not home yet but we'll be waiting for them. We no longer need you." Haley laughed. "Kill them!" she ordered the others.

Ruby and her group ran for it, splitting up in the cave. By a good stroke of luck, they were able to get across the cave and make it safely to the waterfall that lead into the Land of Mists. Some of Haley's group was still right behind them, but others had gotten lost in the cave. Much to their horror, they had found that Rhett's herd seemed to have teamed up with Haley's thugs. They ran down into the Valley of Mists and hid in the mists where Haley's goons couldn't find them. We've got to hurry. We've got to find Chomper and his friends before Haley and Rhett find Chomper and his friends!" Ruby said.

"Ouch!" Ruby cried as something knocked her over.

"Watch where you're going!" a Crownhead snapped.

Ruby, her family, and Guido could hear a pack of the Crownheads running. "Where are you guys off to in such a hurry?" Guido asked.

"There's a pack of Sharpteeth over there plus a Longneck. Apparently they wanted the Longneck and chased us off. What is weird is that they were of different types. Never seen anything like it before." the Crownhead leader said before taking off.

"I think we now know where Chomper is." said Ruby's brother Ovus.

"Yes, but we don't know what direction they came from." Ruby's mother, Ova, replied.

The mist suddenly cleared, revealing a path of Crownhead footprints in the snow. "Now we do!" Ruby said.

Haley's group and Rhett's herd entered the Land of Mists. They began asking around, trying to see if anyone had encountered a pack of different types of Sharpteeth that worked together to hunt and fight off attacks. The first group that they had encountered that had seen them was a Swimmer herd. "Yes, we recall a Rex, a Bigmouthed Belly Dragger, and a Sharpbeak. They killed a young adult girl. What's more, they could talk." their leader said.

"We've come here to kill those Sharpteeth." Rhett said.

"Mind if we join in?" the Swimmer leader asked.

"Sure, why not."

Soon the group of herbviores came across the Crownheads. "What are you running from?" the Swimmer leader asked.

"A group of Sharpteeth of different types. We were about to get these Longnecks when they showed up and chased us off." the Crownhead leader replied.

"Where did you see them?" Haley asked the Halfteeth.

The Crownheads gave them directions to where they had last seen Chomper's group. When he was finished, he added "By the way, you weren't the first to ask us about the Sharpteeth. A group of Fast Runners and this weird blue and green flyer also wanted to know about them."

"Thank you for your time," Haley told the Crownhead, before she shuffled in the direction she saw them flee from, her group following suit. One of the Crownheads in the group looked at his leader and shrugged.

Ruby, her family, and Guido, meanwhile, heard something up ahead. "You think it's Chomper?" Ruby's mother asked.

"It might be, but it also might be one of his friends. And since they don't know us, they might not be nice to us." Ruby replied.

Ichy, Isabelle, Woosh, Sarco, Screech, and Thud walked by, looking for Chomper, Dil, Jessica, and Jared. Ichy paused, sniffing the air. I smell a bunch of Fast Runners plus a creature I've never smelled before. he said to the others.

No you don't. Ruby said.

Yes, I do! Ichy snapped.

"Fine, you smell us, but we are only here to warn you that some evil Flatteeth know Chomper is in the Land of Mists and are stalking him as I speak." Ruby said, not coming out just yet.

Who are you? How do we know that we can trust you if we can't even see you? Ichy snapped, looking around.

We are friends of Chomper, we don't mean you any harm. said Ruby's father.

Enough! Come out! All of you! If you mean to help Chomper then we won't eat you! Ichy snapped in impatience.

Ruby and her family and Guido came into sight. Good, now that we have your word promising our safety, we will be safe to tell you more. Ruby said.

Who are you and how do you know Chomper? Ichy asked.

He saved me from Red Claw many cold times ago and came to the Great Valley with us. The dinosaurs in the Great Valley that gave you guys trouble earlier have figured out that Chomper is here and have come to kill him. Ruby said.

Sometime later, Ruby had learned about Jared and Isabelle and about all that had happened with Chomper in the Land of Mists. She had also learned that Dil and Ichy knew Leaf Eater. "So, you last saw Chomper at a tar pit?" Ruby said.

"Yes, but he's not there anymore."

"Did he sink?"

"I don't think so. There were tar covered footprints leading away from the place."

"Did you know where they led?"

"Negative. Lost the trail of them by a stream. Chomper must have gone into it to wash off."

"Well, it's going to be hard to find Chomper and warn him if we don't know where to look."

"Maybe they went back to the cave. It's getting late after all and starting to get really cold." Ichy said.

They headed back toward the cave and soon spotted a set of tar-laced footprints. "They must be around here somewhere." Ruby said.

"Good, then we'll get them when they show up." The group turned around to see Haley, Rhett, and also several herds of Swimmers, Threehorns, Flyers, and other Leaf Eaters that had had some of their members killed by Chomper's group and were now looking for payback.

"Run!" Ruby yelled. She and the others fled from the mob of Leaf Eaters. The mob of Leaf Eaters chased the group back into the dinosaur graveyard. They were near tar, which Ichy knew was frozen over with ice. He knew that the Flattooth mob didn't know this, however. He smugly flew across the tar and landed on the other side. "Over here!" he taunted the Leaf Eaters.

"What are you doing with them, Flathead?" Haley said to Isabelle.

"They're raising me."

"Preposterous!"

"No, it's not!"

"If you tell us where that stupid Rex is, we can get you hooked up with some Longnecks to raise you."

"Forget it!"

"Fine, then you'll die with the others!" Haley and her group advanced toward Isabelle.

At that moment, Chomper, Jared, and the others arrived, covered in tar. "Oh my, they're undead dinosaurs, returned from the dead!" several superstitious Leaf Eaters cried before running off in fright.

"That's right, so go away and don't disturb our resting place." Chomper said, quickly improvising.

"You idiots, that's Chomper! Get back here!" Haley snapped at her group. Several dinosaurs that had been about to leave halted.

"If you get killed like Hank did, who is going to watch Mangus?" Chomper asked Haley.

"He'll be fine, which is more than I can say for you. Kill these fleshburpers!" Haley cried. The reamaining group of Leaf Eaters, which was still quite large, advanced toward them.

Ichy, what are we going to do? Woosh said.

Get the heck out of here while we can. Ichy responded.

Chomper leaped through the air and landed on the ice, causing it to start to crack near the Leaf Eaters. "Back off Flatteeth. I kill Flatteeth for a living now so I suggest you just go back home and leave us alone." he said.

The Leaf Eaters paused but then Haley said "Have you forgotten all of your family and friends that they killed? Let's get them!" The Leaf Eaters began to head toward Chomper and his friends again.

As the leaf-eaters advanced, Chomper looked down at the surface beneath him. Under his feet, hard water was cracking and slowly starting to give out. If he were still a child, he would have warned the encroaching flatteeth - but, with him no longer being fazed by the thought of leaf-eaters dying, and with them wanting his blood, he chose to not say anything.

Several Leaf Eaters fell in and drowned. The Swimmers got out of the water, shaking and shivering from the cold. Haley and Rhett backed away from the ice.

"We'll have to leave here and go live elsewhere. It's no longer safe." Chomper said to the others. They fled, leaving Haley and Rhett glaring angrily at their retreating backs.

"They got away." Rhett grumbled.

"Well, they can't hide out here again or we'll get them.." Haley replied.

"Hopefully Red Claw will get them out there in the open, that is, if they aren't in league with each other."

"Negative. I told the Great Valley otherwise but I believe Red Claw to be Chomper's enemy."

"I thought you didn't like working with Longencks."

"I have been rethiking my views in light of how their side work together and always seem to best us. I believe that we lost in the Great Valley and here because we were foolish enough to waste our time with other inferior kinds like Flyers and Swimmers. Such small, tiny-brained, and useless creatures as them can only hold back the better kinds like Longnecks, Threehorns, and Clubtails. It was becasue of the weak kinds that we keep losing. If we recruit the strong kinds in large numbers, we can get rid of Chomper and his friends."

"But what are we going to do with the other kinds? The interiror kinds."

"Slowly get rid of them."

"I like the idea. Survival of the fittest. But how do we spread this idea without meeting resistance?"

"Leave that to me."

Chapter Text

CHAPTER ELEVEN: AN OLD FOE RETURNS

Chomper and his friends left the Land of Mists and found themselves along the coast of the sea; the Big Water stretched out before them as far as their eyes could see.

"I've never seen so much water before!" Jared gasped.

"Me neither." said his sister.

"I'm really thirsty!" Jared ran up to to the water and began to drink.

"Wait. no, don't drink..." Chomper began.

Jared spat out the water in disgust. "Ech! This water tastes terrible!"

"I tried to warn you. It tastes salty. This is the Big Water." Chomper said.

"I thought all water was the same." Isabelle said.

Ichy shook his head. "The water around and beyond shores isn't the same as the water inland; you can't drink it," he explained.

Isabelle was suddenly hit in the face with a blast of water. "What in the world?!" she gasped.

"I recognize that laugh. It's Mo!" Chomper said. "Cut it out Mo!" Chomper snapped.

"Is Mo a Sharptooth?" Isabelle asked.

"Mo eat fish in the Big Water," Mo said before anyone could reply.

"So I guess that does make you a Sharptooth," Jared replied.

"Uh-huh," Mo confirmed. "But no worry, Mo no eat land-walkers!" Mo turned to Chomper and Ruby. "Mud brothers Chomper and Ruby, what are you doing out here? Mo thought you lived in Great Valley."

"We did but now we don't anymore." Ruby replied.

"Why not?" Mo asked.

"Long story," Chomper replied.

"Mo have time to hear."

Chomper told his story to Mo. When he was done, Mo said "That's too bad."

"Tell me about it!" Chomper sighed.

The two paused their conversation for a moment. Finally, Chomper said "So, Mo, how have you been?"

"I met a lovely lady named Ionia, and she is wonderful."

"Glad to hear about you and Ionia. I'm still single, though." Chomper said. "Could you bring me to meet her?" Mo nodded. Chomper looked down at the water hesitantly; it dawned on him that he couldn't realistically go and see Ionia himself, given that he couldn't swim. Jessica, perhaps, but not him. "On second thought, how about you bring her to us instead?" Chomper suggested.

Mo took them to Ionia. "Does she spit water too?" Jared asked.

"No, that's just Mo's thing," she replied.

"Good," Isabelle sighed in relief.

"Can I ride on these Rainbow Swimmers?" Jared asked. The seemed big enough for him to fit on their backs.

"Are they meant to be ridden?" Isabelle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Littlefoot rode Mo long ago."

The two Longnecks took a ride on the Rainbow Swimmers. When they were done, Jared said ""I want to ride again."

"I think I've had enough for now." Isabelle said, shaking water off of her body.

A few minutes later, Jared, clinging to Mo's back, said "I have an idea. What if you dove down a little bit, and then shot back up and flew out of the water and into the sky?"

Mo dove underwater 10 feet then shot up into the air nearly eight feet. Jared struggled to stay on but was ecstatic. "Again! Again!" he cried. Mo then dove underwater 15 feet and then jumped 12 feet in the air. However Jared fell off and landed in the water. He disappeared under the waves for several seconds, causing Chomper and his friends to stare at the water anxiously. Thankfully, Jared soon broke back over the surface, laughing and smiling. "That was awesome!" he beamed.

"You hungry?" Mo asked him a few minutes later after he had returned him to shore. Jared nodded. Mo dove underwater and returned a minute later with water kelp. Jared wrinkled his nose in disgust, but Isabelle bravely decided to eat it.

"What's it taste like?" Jared asked.

"It's ok, but rather salty," Isabelle replied. Seeing that his sister didn't get sick from it, Jared ate the strange water plants as well.

Jared scrunched his face; whatever he had just put in his mouth, he didn't like it. Regardless, he swallowed it, prompting him to shudder.

"You want some more?" Isabelle jokingly asked, having noticed her brother's response to the kelp.

A big wave came to the shore, knocked the two over, and began dragging Isabelle out to sea. Jared tried to wade out toward her but became trapped in the current himself.

"Oh no, the water is carrying them out to the Big Water!" Ruby cried.

Suddenly, the group spotted a fin rising out of the water. "Mo, what is that?" Chomper asked.

"What is what?" Mo asked, before turning around and noticing what was the matter. "Uh-oh. It's a Sharptooth!" Mo cried before slapping the shark in the face with his tail. After the Longnecks climb onto Mo, he swam out of there as fast as he could. The Squalicorax chased after them, snapping at them.

Jessica dove into the water and began to swim toward the Swimming Sharptooth, hoping to frighten it off with her large size. However the creature bit the Spinosaurus in the arm, causing it to bleed. She retaliated by clawing it in the gills and biting its neck. The creature flailed, trying to break free of her grip.

The shark let go, but Jessica did not release her claws or jaws in return; instead, she hoisted the shark in the air with her jaws, before jerking her head down and letting go of the shark, smashing it against the surface of the water with great force.

Even besides her aim to protect the kids, she had been getting hungry, and it had been a while since she had ate any fish; this presented a good opportunity to hunt, kill and eat a shark.

The children, meanwhile, arrived safely back to shore, having been retrieved by Mo and Ionia. Once the kids made it back to shore, Jessica waded into shallower waters so she could eat in a less turbulent environment. Her arms were wrapped around the Sharptooth swimmer's body. She looked over at her Sharptooth companions.

Want some? she asked, before getting started on the tail.

I guess I could. All I had was Threehorn kid. Chomper replied.

'"You ate Threehorn children?!" Ruby gasped.

"You did?!" Isabelle and Jared gasped.

"Yes."

"Are you going to eat us next?" Jared asked Chomper.

"Of course not," Chomper replied. "Why would I?"

"You said you ate a Threehorn kid. I thought you were against eating children," Isabelle said.

"I thought he was too," Guido said.

"I was hungry and the kids would have just died on their own. I cannot adopt every orphaned kid out there!" Chomper snapped defensively.

"Are you going after children now?" Ruby's younger sister asked Chomper.

Ruby's brother shifted his eyes over to his twin sister.

"I sure hope 'it' doesn't happen while we're with him," he whispered.

"I won't eat you." Chomper said. "And unless I'm close to starving to death, in which case I hope you'll forgive me, I won't eat any children when you're around."

"How did you hear...?" Ruby's brother gasped.

"My hearing is almost as good as my sense of smell."

A Fast Biter wandered onto the beach and raked her claws into the sand; she pulled a clam out of the sand, unaware that anyone else was there. While biting into a clam, wishing she could find something better to eat, she caught sight of Jared and Isabelle. When she noticed Jared and Isabelle, she also soon noticed the Sharpteeth around them. She cocked her head back and started to trot away; she wasn't going to hunt in the vicinity of so many.

Don't go! Thud called to her.

What for? There are only two Longnecks and you were here first.

Well, the Longnecks aren't for eating, as we've adopted them, Thud said.

You adopted Longnecks?

It's a long story, Chomper replied.

I have time to hear it.

Who are you? Chomper asked.

My name is Fabia. Who are you guys? I've never seen Rexes, Belly Draggers, Sharpbeaks, Sailbacks, and Fast Biters together before. And it looks like you have two Longneck children too.

It's a long story.

I have plenty of time. I have nowhere else to go.

What do you mean? Jessica asked.

I lived in a pack with my family, who led it. However, recently, we were attacked by a herd of Threehorns, who were upset that we had eaten some of their children and had come for revenge. They killed everyone and only I was injured in the leg, which is why I now walk with a limp, but was able to get away.

Sorry to hear about that. Jessica said.

So, what about you guys? Fabia asked.

They spent the next several hours telling her their stories. When they were done, Fabia asked them Can I join your pack?

Of course, Chomper replied.

Thank you.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot and Ali saw Haley and the surviving members of her group return to the Great Valley. "Where did you go?" Littlefoot asked.

"None of your business!" Haley snapped.

"You aren't going to find Chomper," Littlefoot said to Haley.

"We already did, he was in the Land of Mists."

"Was? Where is he now?"

"Dead."

"You're lying!" Littlefoot snapped. He didn't believe that Chomper had been killed Haley had certainly guessed correctly where Chomper had been hiding; she had stated that she had found him in the Land of Mists. More pressing than if Chomper was alive or not was the matter of how Haley had found out. Was there a traitor in his inner circle?

He also wondered about Ruby, her family, and Guido. They had been sent to the Land of Mists. Had one of them betrayed Chomper in hopes of being let back into the Great Valley?

Several minutes later, he came to his wife and relayed to her what Haley had said, when he was done, Ali said "You don't believe her that Chomper is dead, do you?"

"I'd like to believe she was lying, but she did know he was in the Land of Mists. How could she have found out?"

"I don't know."

"You don't think that one of our friends is actually a spy for her, do you?"

"I hope not."

"I think we need to verify her claim that Chomper is dead. Maybe he's still hiding in the Land of Mists somewhere."

"Agreed."

After a mostly uneventful journey, the Longneck couple arrived at the entrance to the Land of Mists. "It was much easier getting through that cave when we were kids," Littlefoot remarked as they reached the waterfall at the entrance to the Land of Mists.

"Yes, we might be able to get through the parts with deeper water that we couldn't last time but now some parts are too low for us to get through with our adult height," Ali replied.

They ventured down into the valley. After traveling for a few minutes, Littlefoot suddenly cried out in pain. They had been walking near water, visibility low due to the mist, when a Belly Dragger had sank his teeth into one of Littlefoot's legs. Thankfully, it hadn't gotten a good enough grip to take any part of the leg off with its jaws. Ali swung her tail at the creature, sending it flying through the air and several feet away from them. The dazed creature soon got back up and sulked off, deciding it wasn't worth it to attack the Longnecks now that they were alert. "Thanks Ali," Littlefoot said.

"How is your leg?" she asked.

"Bleeding and sore, but other than that, the stupid thing doesn't appear to have done that much damage."

"If you want, we can rest for a while."

"We really need to find Chomper! I can rest after we find him."

"What if he really is dead? You think you could still find a body and that scavengers wouldn't have gotten to it yet? If he's dead and his body was desecrated, we could spend a long time looking and never find anything."

"He's alive! I just know it!"
"I hope so too. But in the meantime, I think we need to get that foot of yours wrapped with some tree stars. It's bleeding a lot."

"I'm fine Ali! We need to get going!"

"Calm down Mr. Impatient! We need to take care of your foot first, then we can get going. We don't want to be leaving a train of blood behind you for hungry Sharpteeth to follow."

"Ok fine."

As soon as they had bandaged Littlefoot's injured foot with tree stars, they set off again. They spent hours looking for Chomper, but couldn't find a trace of him, alive or dead. "Where could he be?" Littlefoot wondered aloud.

Chomper, meanwhile said "Guess this is goodbye for now, Mo. We're going to go find that Triceratops herd."

"Goodbye friends," Mo replied, waving his fin at Chomper and the others.

The group waved back at Mo and Ionia until they had swam completely out of sight.

Where should we go now? Jessica asked Chomper.

Away from here. We don't want Haley or her goons to catch us by surprise again.

Littlefoot and Ali, meanwhile, had began to inquire of Leaf Eaters they came across if they had seen Chomper and his group. They figured that Sharpteeth working together in the Mysterious Beyond would be as odd as, outside the Great Valley, it happening for Leaf Eaters and would attract notice. As expected, the obtained some news of his activities.

"That Sharptooth and his friends killed my sister. Never seen Sharpteeth work like that before. He kill some of your friends or family too?" a Spiketail asked them.

"I hope not," Ali replied.

"Why are you looking for them then?"

"He was causing trouble where we live in the Great Valley," Littlefoot replied. He thought of at least telling something plausible. They likely wouldn't know that they were friends with Chomper.

"Well, sorry to inform you that you won't find them here. They took off a few days ago."

"Any idea where they went?" Ali asked.

"Not a clue, unfortunately. But, then again, maybe that's for the best. They've killed my dinosaurs who tried to fight them. Even killed a herd of Longnecks once."

"There's only one herd of Longnecks here that I know of. All the rest left." Ali said. Had Chomper killed her old herd?

"Yeah, well, now there's none. There were a couple of adults and two kids. My mate saw the attack on them. She didn't think there were any survivors."

"Too bad. They were once part of my herd," Ali sighed.

"Sorry to hear about that," the Spiketail said before turning to leave.

"Why would Chomper attack my old herd?" Ali asked Littlefoot in concern when he was gone.

"I don't know for sure, but I can't see him killing children. I don't know why he'd take out a whole herd, unless they attacked him first and he was only defending himself," Littlefoot said.

Ali stood there thinking for a minute, then her eyes lit up. "Wait, the children aren't dead!" she cried ecstatically.

"What? How would you know this?"

"Because, I recall some of your friends saying they thought they saw two Longneck children with Chomper when he returned, which was odd in itself that he'd return after he knew Haley and others wanted him dead. What if he killed the herd, for whatever reason, orphaned the kids, and tried to bring them here for us to adopt?"

"Great theory! Makes a lot of sense."

"And there's more. If we find them, it could be our best chance at defeating Haley."

"I don't follow you on that one. Why would the two children be the undoing of Haley?"

"Because, that herd is technically still part of our own."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, according to the Great Valley Council rules, if we can't have children of our own, we can still legally join if we can get someone from one of our herds to give us children to adopt."

Littlefoot know knew what she was getting at. "And if the children agree to let us adopt them, that would fulfill the rules and we'd both be on the Council!"

"Precisely."

"We've got to find Chomper!"

The following day, many miles away in the Mysterious Beyond, Screech and Thud were trying to woo the new Fast Biter member of their pack. It seemed that neither of them was getting far at beating out the other at having her as a potential mate.

They weren't the only ones flirting with romance. Chomper noticed that Ichy and Woosh had grown closer as had Dil and Sarco. Though the Belly Dragger and Sharp Beak couples were of different species, at least they were of similar types.

He, on the other hand, had growing feelings for Jessica, the young widowed Sailback. But he was a Rex. Would that work out?

"Do you like her?" Isabelle asked Chomper, seeing him look at her more often than seemed normal for merely being a fellow pack member and friend.

"Who?"

"Jessica."

"Yes."

"Do you think she'll agree to be your mate?"

"I...er...well...I..." Chomper stuttered, not sure how to reply.

"Isabelle, leave him alone!" Jared snapped.

"Why?"

"Maybe he's nervous about talking about it."

"I hope she will," Chomper finally replied. "But you have to remember she was already married and then widowed and then lost all her eggs to Egg Stealers. I don't want to rush it."

"Good idea," Jared said.

Sometime later, Isabelle complained 'I'm hungry. There's no food in this desert!"

"You could have one of these." Ichy offered, holding out a scorpion-like creature.

"Ew! Get it away! Get it away!" Isabelle screeched, freaking out.

Jared said "I found something to fill our stomachs."

"What?"

Jarred showed her a cactus. "It's got fruit on it."

Ichy, who was watching the two, grinned sardonically. "I can see this going well," he said with the scorpion in his jaws, before exerting enough force on its tail to break off the stinger, tossing it into the air and downing it in one gulp. He sat down to watch whatever was about to unfold between the longnecks and the cactus.

Isabelle tried to bite the cactus but it poked her in the mouth. "Ouch, it's attacking me. It must be a Sharptooth plant!" Isabelle cried, running around and freaking out.

"Maybe you'll best it if you bite it again," Ichy laughed.

Woosh bit off the the stems, releasing the fruit as well as cactus juice. She was pricked a few times but her teeth make short work of the plant.

"This isn't Sharptooth, just prickly plant." she told Isabelle in weak Leaf Eater.

"I'm thirsty." Isabelle said.

"We could always drink the Prickly Plant juice." Jared suggested.

"Are you sure that's drinkable?"

"You could drink it first and find out. If you drop dead, I'll know not to drink it."

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "You're so kind, brother." she said sarcastically. She tried it and didn't die but it didn't fully quench her thirst. "I wish sky water would fall. I'm so thirsty still!"

"Sky water doesn't fall out here that often," Jared sighed.

Luckily for Isabelle, clouds gathered and it began to snow. As it was late winter, it was more a mixture of rain and snow. Isabelle licked up the snow and rain with her tongue. However, as time went on, it began to snow and rain harder. Her thirst was quenched now and she and her brother were shivering with cold.

"We should go someplace warmer and drier," Jared said, shivering.

The storm soon worsened, leading to freezing rain and increasingly heavy snow. Despite being March, the weather was more typical of earlier winter.

"We could always eat the Flatteeth. They'd make nice meat-sickles," Ichy suggested.

"Not funny," Isabelle said.

"Let's go look for someplace drier and warmer," Chomper said. They soon found a cave to shelter in. Even inside the cave, it was still chilly.

"I wonder if we go further in, if it will get warmer," Jared said.

The further they went in, the less light they had. A bat flew past Isabelle, brushing her head. "Ahhhhh! Something touched me!" she cried and bolted.

"Isabelle, get back here!" Chomper cried.

Sarco the Belly Dragger sniffed the air and caught a whiff of the scent of Isabelle. She appeared to be some distance away, though, not too far away. However, he caught the scent of something else which troubled him: Sharptooth Tickly Fuzzy. And they were moving toward her. Sharptooth Tickly Fuzzies closing in on her. he said.

Isabelle heard Chomper and his friends running toward her and wondered what was going on. She, due to lack of light, was unable to see Sharptooth mammals came running toward her from the passage she had been heading down. Luckily, Chomper's group was able to fend off the predators and rescue her.

"Where's there?" she asked.

"It's us," Chomper replied. "Sharptooth Tickly Fuzzies were about to attack you but Sarco smelled them out and led us to you."

Thank you Sarco, Isabelle, who knew some Sharptooth by this time, said.

"Is it just me or does it seem a lot warmer down here?" Guido asked.

"Not just you. I could feel it getting hotter and hotter the further we went down, but I was more concerned about Isabelle at the time to really give it much thought," Chomper replied.

"Perhaps we should investigate why," Ichy said.

"Good idea," Chomper said.

They didn't have to search long; up ahead, in the next cavern, the floor suddenly dropped off, the cliff descending several dozen feet with bubbling and glowing lava at the bottom.

Red Claw, meanwhile, had found a great assassin to deal with Chomper. It was a Plated Sharptooth, whom, it seemed, had had a bad encounter with Chomper and his parents in the past. He had nearly drowned after losing a fight with Chomper and his parents. With his aid, he could defeat Chomper.

So, do you know where he is? the Giganotosaurus asked Red Claw.

He's hiding in the Land of Mists. Red Claw said.

I'm not familiar with that place. Where is it?

I can show you in the morning. Red Claw said.

Do you have anything to help me track his scent? It's probably changed in the many cold times since I last laid eyes on him. the Plated Sharptooth asked.

Unfortunately no. But I know his scent and can find him for you once we get to the Land of Mists.

Meanwhile, in the Great Valley, Littlefoot had come up with an idea of how to find Chomper. "Petrie, your uncle says that he's been on many great adventures and traveled far and wide. Perhaps he can find Chomper and then come back and tell us where Chomper is." he said. In the ensuing years after he had returned from his banishment, Pterano had married Etta, though they, so far, had had no children.

"That good idea." Petrie said.

Sometime later, Pterano asked Littlefoot "So you want me to go find your Sharptooth friend Chomper?"

"That's right." Littlefoot replied.

"I'll do my best."

"Be careful."

"Don't worry, I won't do anything that would get me killed. Etta wouldn't like that."

Meanwhile, while en route to the Land of Mists, Red Claw caught a whiff of Chomper's scent. Strange, smells like he's out here.

I thought you said he was in the Land of Mists. the Plated Sharptooth said.

Must have left.

Maybe we can sneak up on him. the Plated Sharptooth suggested.

Yes, but we'll need backup. I'm sure Chomper has brought his friends with him. Red Claw replied.

Meanwhile, Chomper and his friends were warming up by the lava. "It's much warmer in here," Isabelle sighed.

"Yes. Maybe we should live here in this cave. It seems cozy enough," Jared said.

"Not a bad idea, though, I think it won't be as fun being so close to the flowing fire in the summer," Chomper said.

Meanwhile, Red Claw sniffed the air. I can smell him faintly. He must be inside that cave.

We've got him now! the Plated Sharptooth laughed gleefully.

A few minutes later, Chomper and his group were sleeping. Jared moved in his sleep, accidentally bumping Guido and waking him up. Guido, tired and irritable, bumped him back, waking him up as well.

"Huh? What?" Jared muttered, looking around to see what had bumped him.

"You woke me up so I woke you up." Guido said.

"Gee thanks." Jared snorted, rolling his eyes.

The two of them were about to go back to sleep when heard something moving in the distance.

Ok, we'll draw cave teeth. Loser has to go check it out." Jared said. Guido agreed. They each reached for a stalagmite in the dark and pulled it loose and then compared sizes. Guido's was shorter.

"Just my luck!" Guido grumbled. As he walked in the dark, he accidentally treaded on Sarco's tail, waking him up.

What's going on? the Belly Dragger asked sleepily.

Thing in cave, Jared replied with his limited knowledge of Sharptooth.

Guido and Sarco left and came back several minutes later. "There's a bunch of Sharpteeth coming!" Guido told Jared.

"How many?"

"Loads of them!"

Jared poked Chomper in the face with the tip of his tail. "What?!" Chomper gasped, looking around.

"Invaders! Sharpteeth!"

Wake up! Chomper bellowed, waking up everyone else. Even Isabelle, though she didn't know Sharptooth that well, was woken by his loud voice.

What's up? Jessica asked sleepily.

Hostile Sharpteeth.

Quick, let's find a way out of here! Screech said.

Further ahead of them was a stream of running water, but it was boiling hot. making it not ideal to try and cross. Further down the stream, however, was a big rock that led across. They quickly ran across the stream and then Chomper and Jessica used their combined strength to break the rock free, ensuring that their foes couldn't get across that way.

"Quick, let's get out of here before they see us!" Ruby's father said.

A few minutes after the group had fled, the hostile Sharpteeth arrived at the water. I smell that Chomper has been here but I don't see how they couldn't have gotten across. Red Claw said.

They must have crossed the stream somehow. an Allosaurus said.

No freaking duh! the Plated Sharptooth snapped.

I don't think I can jump across. Looks too wide. the Allosaurus said.

I can help. the Plated Sharptooth said. He seized the Allosaurus and threw him across. He made it totally across, well, almost. His feet landed in the water, causing him to howl in pain. Oops! Well, close enough. the Plated Sharptooth said.

Well, that worked all right! I'll give it that. the Allosaurus snorted in disgust. But how will you get across, o brilliant one?

See if you can find them or at least find another path back to us.

Ruby, meanwhile, said to Chomper "I thought you told me that that Plated Sharptooth was defeated by your father and drowned long ago. He seems to be quite alive if he's here following us."

"Somehow he must have survived."

"How did he know you were here, though?" Ruby asked.

"Bad luck I guess. However, what I don't understand is why he has those other Sharpteeth with him. I thought you said that he fought your parents alone last time." Ruby said.

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense. Unless...unless...Red Claw!" Chomper gasped.

"Why would they form an alliance against you?"

"I'm guessing that they crossed paths and since they both hate me, they're here to kill me."

Littlefoot and Ali, meanwhile, watched as Ducky and Dale's newly hatched children tried to walk. They felt happy for the two Swimmers, but their hearts ached that they had no children of their own. Ali wasn't just there to watch Ducky and her family, however, but had brought Littlefoot with her to meet them for another reason. "Rhett has been meeting with Haley." she told Littlefoot, Dale, and Ducky.

"So?" Littlefoot said.

"So, since when has Haley been ok with hanging out with Longnecks?" Ali replied.

"I am not sure. I thought she only cared about Clubtails." Ducky said.

"Me too." Littlefoot said.

"Whatever they're up to, it can't be good." Dale said.

"Did you hear what specifically they were talking about?" Littlefoot asked his wife.

"Unfortunately no. I only saw them together, which seemed odd enough in itself that I thought it worth mentioning to you guys."

"I think we should tail them and find out more."

"We're a bit big," Ali laughed. "How could we watch them without being noticed?"

"Petrie!"

"You want Petrie to do what?" Petrie asked sometime later.

"Spy on Haley and Rhett." Littlefoot said.

"Ok." He flew around the Great Valley, trying to look as though he were just flying for the fun of it, when he spotted Haley and Rhett. He stealthily landed on a cliff above them without them noticing him.

"No sign of our missing Sharptooth." Rhett said to Haley.

"Well, you and your herd keep an eye out." Haley replied.

"Ok."

"So, have you thought any more about how we should create our new order for the dinosaur world?"

"We'd need some way to convince the weaker dinosaurs that having us in charge would be for the best."

"Hmm, now lets see, what are some things that weak dinosaurs care about?"

"They like to feel that they are important. It's good that we make them feel like they are important to us, the new leaders, even though they truly are disposable. We don't want them getting on to us or else they might start riots."

Petrie was horrified by what he was hearing. He wondered what types of dinosaurs would be considered "good" by Haley and Rhett and which would be considered "disposable".

"We'll need time to think of that. In the meantime, we'll need to decide for ourselves which types of dinosaurs are worthy and which aren't. The ones that are worthy can help us plan. The ones that aren't worthy, well, we can plan for them and let them think we care about them and that they have some kind of input that matters, but we'll always set things up so that we always get our way in the end." Haley said.

"So, what do you think of Flyers?" Rhett asked Haley.

Petrie wondered what other nice things they'd say about Flyers.

Haley said "I think Flyers would make a good addition to our new order. If they can fly, they can keep an eye on troublemakers. They'd make good spies."

Petrie continued to watch Haley and Rhett, hoping to give Ali and Littlefoot a good report on their plans. If they were going to recruit Flyers, that could mean he'd have to be careful around his fellow flyers in case they were spies. He listened to them silently for several more minutes. However, at one point, he had trouble hearing them and leaned forward too far. He last his balance and fell out of the tree. Haley looked up at him, startled. Though she hadn't meant to, she moved her head into Petrie's path and he was able to grab onto it and avoid hitting the ground.

"What are you doing, beakhead?" she snapped.

"You save Petrie's life." he said.

"What are you talking about?" Haley snapped.

"Me can't recall what happened as hit head but you stop Petrie from hitting ground."

"Next time pay attention to where you are going!" Rhett snapped at him.

Petrie flew off, not recalling why he had been there due to amnesia. When Littlefoot called out to him to ask him what learned, he replied "Me no sure. Actually fall out of tree and hit head and no remember what happened."

"Hopefully you'll get your memory back soon." Littlefoot said.

"Me hope so."

Chomper and his pack, meanwhile, had been unable to find their way back to the entrance of the cave. This cave goes further than I had thought. Chomper sighed.

"At least we haven't been found by that Plated Sharptooth." Ruby said, trying to stay positive despite their growing frustration.

In the dark, spiders began to crawl on Isabelle and Jared. The two Longneck children freaked out and bolted. "Wait, come back!" Chomper yelled after them.

Eventually, the children realized that there were no spiders on them any longer and stopped running. They heard something large moving nearby. They quite froze in place and tried to avoid drawing attention to themselves, not sure if it was friend or foe. The Plated Sharptooth came into sight.

He had found the allosaurus that he'd thrown across, who'd shown him the path he had taken. The Plated Sharptooth had then killed him, in part because he, being a large Giganotosaurus, thought himself superior to smaller Sharpteeth like Brownridge Sharpteeth, and in part because he didn't want him going back to Red Claw and ratting out his mutiny. Red Claw had given strict orders to leave Chomper to him, but the Plated Sharptooth wasn't going to humor him here. Chomper was his to slay and his alone. He would leave once he'd killed the Rex. If Red Claw wanted, he could find him and thank him later.

He walked past the children, for he had caught a whiff of Chomper's scent in the distance, and thus hadn't paid much heed to the smell of Leaf Eater nearby. He knew the children were there as, when he'd smelt Chomper's scent, he'd also found theirs, but he'd come for revenge, not to eat young Longnecks. He could deal with them later on.

When he was gone, the two children stared at each other, wondering what to do, and then looked down the path that the Giganotosaurus had headed. "What do we do now?" Jared asked his sister.

"Maybe Chomper and his friends can fight him off. He's by himself." Isabelle replied.

"What if he's not alone though?"

"What could we do against him to keep him away from Chomper?"

"I think I have an idea."

I farted a rock. Jared called out to the Plated Sharptooth. He figured that this stupid Sharptooth phrase, his first he had ever uttered, would distract the Giganotosaurus at least long enough for his sister to sneak underneath his legs and go and warn Chomper.

The Sharptooth briefly stopped in his tracks; he turned his head a couple of degrees to his right, not laying eyes upon Jared.

What in the world?! the Plated Sharptooth gasped. He looked around, trying to see what Sharptooth had uttered that silly phrase. As he scanned the area around him, his eyes fell upon a small longneck that stood fair distance behind him. A bemused sneer crept onto his lips. Did that Longneck just speak Sharptooth? Someone must have been messing with him, the Sharptooth immediately thought; perhaps the Sharptooth with supposed gastrointestinal problems was playing some bizarre joke on him.

What kind of joke...? he muttered to himself, his squinting eyes locked on Jared.

Hi there, Longtooth. Jared said, mistranslating the Sharptooth word for Sharptooth.

What the heck?! the Plated Sharptooth gasped.

Isabelle used her brother's distraction to run as fast as she could toward Chomper. She didn't know if the Plated Sharptooth was just a lone Sharptooth looking for food in the cave or if he was with a group. Either way, she deemed it best that Chomper know about him. She kept running until she collided with something solid and fell over. It was Chomper's leg that she had hit.

"Isabelle, where were you? And where's Jared?"

"No time for that now. Jared's back there with a big scary Plated Sharptooth."

"Plated Sharptooth?"

"Yes. Now come on before he becomes dinner!" The two took off running.

"Why didn't he come with you?"

"He was distracting him while I slipped under his legs. He was heading this way and we were afraid he might attack you while you were off your guard."

The Plated Sharptooth, meanwhile, had grown tired of Jared's antics and had decided to eat him as a snack. The Sharptooth aimed a kick at him, figuring it would be easier than bending down to bite him. Jared narrowly dodged the talons on his feet and bolted. He knew he couldn't outrun the Giganotosaurus so he needed somewhere to hide and fast. He finally hid in a crevice, much like Littlefoot had from Dil and Ichy many years previously. The Plated Sharptooth stuck his mouth at the crevice and tried to reach Jared. Jared spat into the open mouth of the Sharptooth.

RRRRRRRNH! The Plated Sharptooth snarled angrily. Jared quaked in fright. The Giganotosaurus soon resumed his composure. He had found Jared was out of reach of his mouth, but he knew that there were other ways of getting to him.

The Plated Sharptooth smashed the rock sheltering Jared with his tail, leaving him totally exposed to attack. "Oh crap!" Jared cried.

Knowing that Jared was trapped, the Plated Sharptooth turned around, facing his rear at Jared. He grunted and let loose several loud and smelly bursts of gas at the Longneck. Jared gagged at the awful smell. Aren't you glad I don't fart rocks? the Sharptooth said mockingly. That's for spitting in my mouth!

The Plated Sharptooth then turned around and moved his head down to attack him and Jared opened his mouth to scream in fright. However, all that could be heard was a loud roar. Both Jared and the Plated Sharptooth turned to look in shock as Chomper and Isabelle arrived. Jared got over the shock of Chomper's arrival before the Plated Sharptooth did, enabling him to quickly dash under his legs while he was focusing on Chomper. Jared quickly moved beside his sister, the two of them hunched behind Chomper for protection.

You?! Chomper gasped. I thought Dad killed you when he knocked you into the water.

These young Longnecks don't seem to be afraid around you. the Plated Sharptooth remarked, picking up on them sheltering behind Chomper. Protecting them too like you did that Longneck and his friends when we last met?

Yes. What are you doing here? And are you with those other Sharpteeth we spotted earlier?

Yes, I am. Your friend Red Claw helped me find your scent.

You and Red Claw are working together?!

Yes. Though I plan to deal with you personally without waiting for him to get here. And without a further word, the Plated Sharptooth swung his tail, which had barbs on it, at Chomper, striking him in the shoulder.

Chomper snarled in pain but quickly recovered and slammed his entire body into the Giganotosaurus, knocking both of them over. The Plated Sharptooth recovered from the collision relatively quickly; instead of shaking his head to reorient himself or verbally responding to Chomper, he lunged at him, his jagged maw wide open and his arms spread out. Chomper moved aside just in time and the Plated Sharptooth hit the wall of the cavern. However, he was fazed by the collision and spun around and slashed Chomper in the leg, drawing blood and causing him to let out a roar of pain.

Isabelle used her tail to whack a rock, which had been knocked loose from the cave wall in the fight between Chomper and the Giganotosaurus, right between the eyes of the Plated Sharptooth. The Plated Sharptooth ignored the attack and lunged at Chomper's jugular. Chomper moved his head out of the way of the attack just in time to avoid his veins being slashed open; the very tips of the predator's razor-sharp teeth grazed the skin of his throat - painful but not life-threatening. He kicked at Chomper's leg, intending him to fall and land on the stalactite beside him.

Chomper would have fallen, had not Jessica heard the fight and been running toward it. She arrived in time to grab Chomper before he was impaled on the stalactite. While still holding onto Chomper, she used one of the talons on her feet to strike at one of the Plated Sharptooth's exposed legs.

The Giganotosaurus cried out in pain and turned to face the Spinosaurus. This fight is between Chomper and I. Stay out of this if you know what's good for you!

Go away! There are two of us and only one of you. If you leave now, I won't pursue after you. Chomper said.

Chomper, if you let him go, he'll go and get Red Claw. Jessica argued.

The plated Sharptooth's mind raced to find a good way out of this. Naturally, with the sudden introduction of another Sharptooth into the fray, it drifted to the last time he had fought against two Sharpteeth. A pair of rexes all too integral to his current situation.

In that situation, even with how hot-blooded he was and with how viciously he fought, he found himself bested and very nearly killed; in the immediate situation, even with there being no precarious drops, and with one of the Sharpteeth he faced not being a rex but a comparatively less lethal Sailback, he was inclined to be more cautious.

Not that he was intending to let Chomper walk out of this alive, even if it meant offing himself in the process.

His gaze shifted to one of the rock walls around him, Chomper, Jessica and the two longnecks. Again, Chomper's warning resounded in his head.

Fine, I'll leave and won't go to Red Claw and you in turn won't attack me from behind. the Plated Sharptooth said.

Agreed. Chomper replied.

Jessica was uneasy as she watched the Plated Sharptooth leave unscathed. It seemed foolish to trust that he wouldn't sell them out to Red Claw. Chomper too felt uneasy about letting him walk free, but if he continued the fight, it was possible that either he or Jessica could be killed. And he'd rather let the Plated Sharptooth walk, as much as he disliked him, than lose Jessica. He looked down at his feet to check on Jared and Isabelle. The two longnecks looked back up at him; just by their eyes and their scent, he could tell that they were more than ready to get out of there.

"This has been an interesting few minutes," Chomper chuckled uncomfortably. His gaze briefly shot back to the direction of the plated Sharptooth.

Several minutes later, Ichy and Whoosh returned to Chomper. He had sent them out to follow the Plated Sharptooth to see if he would keep his word not to betray them to Red Claw. I'm tired of staying underground. The air is too stale and it makes my nose all stuffy. Did you two find out where the Plated guy went and also where Red Claw is lurking? I want to avoid them and get out of here. he said to them.

"Unfortunately we found him lurking around the main way in. We'll have to go the other way out." Ichy said.

There's another way out of the cave?

Yes, we found it while out flying around. Whoosh replied.

In that case, we'll just go back the other way and leave them here waiting for us until they get bored and leave.

I'm afraid we can't.

Why not?

"They're by that side too." Ichy sighed.

"But you were sure the Plated Sharptooth didn't meet with them."

"Yes, I know."

"It seems the best thing to do is hide out in here and hope they're dumb enough to come in. We can set traps for them."

"They could just starve us out you know."

Chomper thought for a while. An idea crossed his mind. "Ruby, remember ages ago when we were younger and we used the talkback in the Cave of Many Voices to trick Red Claw, Screech, and Thud into thinking we were bigger than we actually were and that there were more of us than there actually were?"

Ruby knew what he was getting at. "You think we can do now what we did then and that it will work now like it worked then?"

"I don't see what harm we could incur by trying it here. They're going to get us anyway otherwise."

"Chomper, do you even know if there is a part of this cave that has a talkback?" Guido asked.

"No, but I thought it couldn't hurt to go check."

As they searched the cave, looking for a talkback, they heard a voice. "Hey Ruby!"

"Someone called me and I don't think it was any of you who called me so there must be someone else here!" the Fast Runner cried.

"Find out who it is. They seem to know who you are," Ichy whispered to her.

"Who are you and how do you know me?" Ruby asked.

"I'm Skip."

"Skip? The Tickly Fuzzy?"

"Yes."

Oh I'm so glad to see you, even if I can't really see you in this light. How have you been?"

"Ok. Luckily, since I'm so small, Haley and her goons hadn't noticed me, so I had stayed in the Great Valley despite being a Halftooth even when Ruby was kicked out. However, recently they found us and chased us out. So we went looking for you."

"How did you know to find us here?" Guido asked.

"I had been looking everywhere for you with no luck. As to why I found you here, it was sheer luck. I encountered Red Claw and hid in here from him when I spotted those two Longnecks with Chomper. I followed him here."

"When you say 'us', you make it sound like someone else is with you," Ruby said.

"Skip, is that them?" came another voice.

"Who's that with you Skip?" Ruby asked.

"It's my girlfriend, Darla. She came with me."

"Skip, if you got in here without getting noticed, do you know a way out of here without getting noticed?" Ruby asked.

"Up on the roof."

"A lot of good that's going to do most of us then. Only Ichy, Whoosh, Guido, and you guys will be able to get out then," Isabelle grumbled.

"There's a lake below. It's a bit of a drop but you should be able to make it."

"Jessica can swim, and so can Jared, Dil, Sarco, and Ruby and her family. And Ichy and Whoosh and Guido can fly. But the rest of us can't swim and will need to find a way to float." Chomper said.

"You can just grab onto each other," Darla said.

Meanwhile, while the group planned their escape, the Plated Sharptooth began to wonder if Chomper had not trusted him and had turned back, expecting an ambush at the exit ahead of him. No matter, both entrances were blocked and he didn't see how the Rex could find a way out now.

Chomper and his friends, meanwhile, spent the next several hours piling rocks high enough for them to get to a passage that led to the roof. While Screech, Thud, the female Fast Biter, Skip, Darla, and Isabelle could cling to Dil, Sarco, and Jessica, Chomper was most worried about himself. He had such short arms. How could he swim?

"Ruby, how am I going to swim with my small arms?" Chomper asked.

"You have massive legs. You could use them to try and swim."

"So did Red Claw's brother and he still drowned when Littlefoot pushed him into water."

"Yes, but you won't be being hit in the head with a boulder."

"Could you show me how to swim?"

A few minutes later, Chomper was moving his arms in a circle. "Good, now keep that up and also try kicking your legs too." Ruby said.

Chomper did, with disastrous results. He lost his balance and fell over, knocking over the rock pile they had spent hours building and had just finished, nearly flattening Skip, Darla, Ichy, Whoosh, Jared, and Isabelle, who scampered out of the way just in time. "You know, I think it would be better if you tried that in water instead of on land." Ruby sighed, shaking her head.

Chomper glared at her angrily, his nostrils flaring with frustration.

"Now what are we going to do? It took hours to set up all of those rocks and Chomper knocked them all down in less than a minute!" Isabelle whined.

"Not to worry, little one, we'll get them back again and get you out of here. It's not like we need to hurry too much as we don't need to hurry as long as Red Claw and his friends don't come in here, and it doesn't seem like they are going to." Ruby said.

Red Claw, meanwhile, was growing increasingly impatient. Still no word from our friends at the other side of the cave.

You think he found out about the ambush somehow? the Plated Sharptooth asked.

It would seem so.

If we go in, he could be waiting for us with an ambush, though.

You're right. He can't escape and he'll starve to death if he stays in there too long. The longer he stays in there, the hungrier and weaker he'll get. And the easier it'll be to finish him when he finally comes out for food.

Meanwhile, Chomper's group was rebuilding the pile of stones that he had knocked down. I still don't see why he can't help, seeing as he was the one who knocked them all down. Whoosh complained.

Because I have short arms and would have to bend down to grab everyone one of them.

Well, I don't seem to have any problem and I'm taller than you.

You have far longer arms than I do, Jessica.

Excuses, excuses. Whoosh sighed.

Ok fine, I'll help. I'm just a bit tired from practicing swimming.

"So, how much longer will it take to finish putting all of these rocks in place?" Isabelle asked, pushing rocks with her nose.

"It'll take until it's done." Ruby answered.

Two hours later, they had finished piling up the rocks. "Go, I'll keep guard incase they come." Chomper said.

One by one, the group went up, until Chomper and Isabelle were the last two not up. At that moment, Red Claw, the Plated Sharptooth, and several other hostile Sharpteeth entered the room, rapidly advancing toward them. Chomper bent down, picked up Isabelle in his mouth, and toss his head upward, hurling her through the air and to safety. Chomper quickly climbed up the rocks. The Giganotosaurus was right behind him. The Rex tried to kick the rocks down, which he succeeded in doing, but not before the Plated Sharptooth was on the next level of the cave with him. Dil, Sarco, Screech, Thud, the female Fast Biter, Isabelle, and Jared dove into the water along with Ruby and her family and Skip and (what was her name again, Daisy?) while Ichy, Whoosh, and Guido flew overhead. Chomper and the Plated Sharptooth fought on the edge of the water. The Plated Sharptooth pushed Chomper over the edge, but the Rex grabbed onto him as he fell, taking the two of them over the edge and into the water. Despite being in water, the Plated Sharptooth still continued to try and kill Chomper.

Chomper tried to swim away from the Plated Sharptooth. Though he had had a bad run in in the past with him, it seemed more important to try and get to shore than to waste time fighting. The Plated Sharptooth, however, wanted to kill Chomper, even if he himself died in the process. He was too angry about being shown up by him years earlier. Chomper did as Ruby had instructed him, and, though it was difficult for him to stay afloat, he began to near shore.

However, as Chomper began to reach the shallows, the Plated Sharptooth, who was having far more trouble staying afloat than Chomper had, grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled him back into the deep end. The two fought in the water, trying to stay afloat.

Don't you ever give up? Chomper grumbled at the Giganotosaurus.

When hell freezes over! the Plated Sharptooth replied.

At that moment, the ground began to shake. The Earthshake caused waves to form in the water, which pummeled the two Sharpteeth. Despite being in water and an earthquake occurring, the Plated Sharptooth's top priority was still to kill Chomper. Around them, the earthquake was pushing nearby vegetation into the water as the cliffs began to collapse into the water. Trees, vines, and even thorns fell all around them.

Red Claw and his minions had not been idle. As soon as the earthquake had begun, they fled the cave as fast as they could, heading for the nearest exit. The arrived outside to watch, from a safe distance, the fight between Chomper and the Plated Sharptooth in the water below.

Meanwhile, Dil, Sarco, Jessica, Jared, Isabelle, the Fast Biters, Ruby, her family, Skip, Darla, Ichy, Whoosh, and Guido had all arrived safely at shore. "Run, I'll go back for Chomper!" Jessica told the others.

The Plated Sharptooth bit Chomper in the shoulder, drawing a lot of blood. Chomper went underwater and it seemed to all observers that he had drowned. Suddenly, however, Chomper came back up, carrying vines and thorns and a several tree branches.. The Plated Sharptooth moved at him to strike again, but Chomper was ready, thrusting the vines, thorns, and branches at him. The Giganotosaurus became entangled in these and sank under the water and drowned.

Chomper, weakened by his efforts and injuries, started to sink as well. However, Jessica arrived just in time to grab his left claw before he totally had gone under and dragged him to shore.

What happened? Chomper sputtered.

You nearly went under but I got there just in time.

Thanks for saving my life.

It's the least I could do for someone I love. And before Chomper could react, the Finback kissed him on his lips, causing him to blush. He'd never been kissed by a girl before and his first kiss was more intimate, not to mention wetter, than he'd thought it would be.

I love you too Jessica. he said.

The others will be getting worried about us. We should go back.

Agreed.

I need to find something to stop the bleeding. Chomper said. Upon reaching the others, Ichy and Whoosh quickly gathered fern reeds and began to wrap them around Chomper's wounds.

Good thinking you two. Jessica said.

This is going to take a while to heal. Chomper said.

We should get out of here before Red Claw finds a way to get to us. Sarco informed them.

Oops, almost forgot about Red Claw in the confusion. Thanks for pointing that out Sarco. Chomper said.

Wish you could all float on the river current like I can, long travel with no use of energy.

Sorry, we'll have to go on foot. Jessica said.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER TWELVE: SHARPTOOTH LOVE

Meanwhile, things were going from bad to worse in the Great Valley. Haley was gaining more and more power. Plus, Littlefoot and his friends were peeved that Haley had chased off Skip and his girlfriend Darla. Littlefoot was considering sending Petrie to join Pterano in looking for Chomper, Ruby, Guido, Skip, and Darla. However, Petrie was busy right now. All of his siblings had moved out of the nest, as had he, but he was the only one not single and so had the most time to take care of his mother, who had been ill for days. It wasn't a life-threatening illness nor a long-lasting one, but it was bad enough that she had trouble flying or getting very far. To make matters worse, Pterano had fallen ill as well.

"I wish Petrie wasn't such a pushover. He shouldn't be having to bear the brunt of taking care of his mother and uncle by himself! His siblings should help more!" Littlefoot complained to Spike. Spike just shrugged and shook his head. He wasn't happy about Petrie being so easily pushed around either.

Petrie, meanwhile, collapsed in exhaustion, having finished a long day of taking care of his mother and uncle. "Me pooped. Me too tired too go on secret mission today," he said to himself. The next morning, he flew over to his siblings. "Me have something really important me want to tell you and me not going to back down this time." he said, an air of firmness in his voice.

"Petrie, aren't you supposed to be taking care of Mom and Uncle Pterano?" asked an older sister.

"Me want you guys to help." Petrie declared, trying to sound brave.

"Why, you're so good at handling it, aren't you?" replied another sibling.

"Me guess so."

"Good, now go help them." said a sibling.

"Ok, me going." Petrie replied meekly. It was only when he had arrived back at the nest that he realized that he had once more let them talk him into containing to help his mother and uncle all by himself.

"Oooo, me do it again. Me go over there and plan to talk them into giving Petrie a break and they outsmart me again," he fumed.

However, they once more talked him into giving in and he returned home feeling defeated.

"Didn't go well I take it?" asked his mother.

"Me fail again."

"Dear, you have to realize that your siblings all have families and you're still single," his mother said.

"Yes, Petrie, so please cheer up. It's bad with the other Flyers not liking us over Chomper without you and your siblings being at odds," Pterano said.

"Me guess you're right."

Suddenly it begins to rain. "Me better get going back home. Sky water falling and bright circle about to go down." "

Is it true that you and Jessica are getting married too?" Jared asked Chomper.

The rest of the group soon agreed and took off after the Sharpteeth. Chomper could smell them coming even before they came into sight. They're after us.

"See you tomorrow," said his mother.

"Goodnight Petrie," said Pterano.

Petrie flew toward his nest, which was half a mile from his mother. The closer he got to home, the worse the wind and rain became. Finally, it became so bad that he was blown off course and into the Mysterious Beyond. He collided with a rock and was knocked out.

Petrie woke up. He didn't know how long he'd been out cold but it was still raining. He could soon see, by the lack of vegetation around him, that he'd somehow been blown into the Mysterious Beyond. "Me not want to be here this time of night. Me should get home right away!" he said to himself. However, as he tried to lift off from the ground, something yanked him back down and caused him to crash. He looked down and, much to his dismay, he found that he'd somehow crashed earlier in such a way as to get his right foot lodged between two boulders. "Stay calm Petrie. No need to panic." he said to himself nervously, trying to calm down his nerves. WHOOSH! SWOOSH! WHOOSH! SWOOSH! He could hear wings flapping. "Maybe it just wind." he said to himself, though he knew it wasn't. It was definitely some type of Flyer. He hoped it was a friendly type.

More Dactilli, a female Pterodactylus Kochi, heard something yelling in the night in the Flattooth language. Whatever it was, it had lucked out in that she had eaten half an hour earlier and didn't have the appetite to eat again for a while.

Help, me trapped!" Petrie called. out. Dactilli didn't understand a word of Flattooth. However, she soon realized that the Flattooth Flyer was stuck. She wasn't mean-hearted and so decided to free Petrie, even if he was a herbivore.

As she approached, Petrie begged, in Sharptooth, for he knew a little bit that he had learned from Chomper Please no eat Petrie!

Dactilli was taken aback. She had never seen a Flattooth speak her language before.

Where did you learn to talk in Sharptooth? she asked.

Me learn from Chomper the Rex.

You know a Rex?

Me know Chomper. Chomper leave.

Why? You not like him anymore?

No, mean Leaf Eaters chase off.

I not hear of Leaf Eater that friendly with Sharptooth before. Dactilli replied, guessing that Petrie, though he knew Sharptooth, wasn't that fluent in it and that the more basic words she used, the better.

Me think we only case of being nice to Sharptooth. Me friends with Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, and Spike. Luckily, knew that Chomper had said that names were quite similar in Sharptooth to that of Leaf Eater.

Weird names for Flyers. Dactilli remarked.

They not Flyers. They Longneck, Threehorn, Swimmer, and Spiketail.

I never heard of Flattooth kinds being with different Flattooth kinds.

It only happen in Great Valley. Or used to anyway.

If you from Great Valley, why you out here?

Me not plan to. And me wonder, why you no eat Petrie when stuck?

Already ate a Swimmer. Not hungry.

Why you save Petrie when stuck?

I wasn't just going to leave you there to suffer.

Thank you for saving me. Petrie said.

So, where you headed to?

Me was going to get to home. Though she was a Sharp Beak and a stranger, he told her his problems with his siblings and having to take care of his mother and uncle, trying his best to describe the situation as well as the fallout with Haley concerning Chomper using his limited knowledge of the Sharptooth language.

When he was done, Dactilli said I am shocked that sweet thing such as yourself still single.

Petrie not sweet. Petrie taste awful.

I not mean sweet in that way, silly. I mean kind, nice, good.

Petrie think you sweet too.

Can I escort you safely home?

Me can find me way back on own. Me grown up. Petrie paused Me not try to be rude, it just that Great Valley not want Sharptooth in Valley and me not want you get hurt. Me like meet again too as long as promise no eat Petrie next time.

I promise.

After the two had said their goodbyes, they parted for the night and Petrie returned to the Great Valley.

The next morning, Petrie said to his mother and uncle "Me make new friend. It a girl."

"What's she like?" his mother asked him.

"She really nice."

"Sounds like a keeper." Pterano remarked.

"There one problem though."

"What's that?" his mother asked.

"She a Sharp Beak."

"Sharp beak?!" Pterano and his mother gasped.

"Yes."

"And why didn't she eat you?" his mother asked.

"She already et. And she promise to no eat Petrie."

"That's good to hear. But why were you out in the Mysterious Beyond with a Sharp Beak?" his mother asked.

"Yes, you don't seem the type to go off out there on your own. Too much of a scaredy egg," Pterano remarked.

"Same reason Guido fly off that windy day."

"You were blown out there then," Pterano said.

"Yes, me was," Petrie affirmed.

"Well, Petrie, you haven't been the best at making friends, and i know that all Sharpteeth aren't bad, but shouldn't you get to know her more before courting her?" his mother said skeptically.

"And if you are going to court a Sharpbeak, I think it's best if you kept it as secret as you could. You don't want to get kicked out like Guido and Ruby," Pterano said.

"But me Leaf Eater and no eat meat. Why would they kick me out?"

"Because Haley and her goons hate Sharpteeth and they wouldn't want you in the Great Valley if you had one for a wife. Also, I don't think they'd let you be on the Great Valley Council with a Sharpbeak mate and half-Sharptooth children," Pterano replied.

"That could be problem. Me not live in Mysterious Beyond since little. Me not sure me could live rest of life out there."

Petrie felt lonely the rest of the day. While he was with his mother and uncle, he still missed Dactilli. As night fell, he decided that he would chance another visit to Dactilli. After flying off in the dark, and making sure that everyone was asleep first before leaving, of course, and after travelling in the Mysterious Beyond for fifteen minutes, he realized that he didn't have the faintest clue where Dactilli lived. And approaching her home might not be the brightest idea. What if she lived near other Sharp Beaks who would eat him as soon as they saw him?

"A fine mess you get yourself in Petrie? How you supposed to find Sharp Beak girl when you not know where she live?" he scolded himself.

As Petrie searched for Dactilli, several Sharp Beaks had spotted him.

That Flyer is mine! one of them said.

Though Petrie knew it was a long shot, he figured it couldn't hurt, and maybe knowing Dactilli would save him from being eaten. Me looking for Dactilli. You see her?

The fact that he spoke Sharptooth astonished the two. You can talk? gasped one.

And how do you know our sister? gasped the other.

Dactilli your sister?

Yes she is. But how did you learn to talk and how do you know her?

Me learn Sharptooth from Rex friend. Meet Dactilli recently and want see her again. She nice.

The Sharptooth Flyers brought Petrie to their sister. Tilli, there's a Flatbeak Flyer who says he knows you. one of them called to her.

She came into sight and saw Petrie. Oh Petrie, what a pleasant surprise. Glad to see you again.

Petrie glad see you again too.

Why are you here? Aren't there any Flatbeak girls for you? one of her brothers asked Petrie.

Me try but fail.

Tilli, I warned you that if you kept pushing those crazy ideas of yours, that weird things would happen. Now you have a flatbeak Flyer that wants to court you. said one of her brothers.

I like the idea of having Sharpteeth work together instead of just with our own kind. I don't see what that has to do with Petrie here.

You interested in other Sharptooth type work together? Petrie asked Dactilli.

Yes. Do you think it's a crazy idea like my brothers do?

Me think it work. Me know Chomper go Land of Mists and live with other type Sharptooth. Chomper Rex me mean. He teach Petrie Sharptooth.

I'd like to meet him.

Me no sure where is, sadly. Mean Leaf Eaters chase Chomper out of Land of Mists.

That's too bad.

So, Petrie wondering, you ok have Flatbeak boyfriend?

My kind and yours have every physical trait completely identical except one, fangs. I'd actually go as far as to thinking of eating you as cannibalism

Really Tilli, I thought that you considered Flatbeak Flyers to be junk food. one of her brothers said.

Junk food? Hmmmph! Petrie grumbled. Then he realized what she was saying. Wait, me ok with that.

No, I just told you guys that because I thought you'd think I was weird if I told you what I just said now.

So, besides eat Leaf Eater, what else Sharpteeth do for fun? Petrie asked.

We eat for food, not for fun. Dactilli reminded him.

Wrestle, one of Dactilli's brothers said.

What that? Petrie asked, who had never seen wrestling before.

It's like fighting except no one actually gets hurt.

Me want to learn how to wrestle, Petrie said.

Meanwhile, Petrie wasn't the only one up late that night. Chomper and Jessica were still awake. They were watching as meteors zoomed by. Suddenly, one of them landed nearby, igniting a tree. A Tickly Fuzzy that had been in the tree caught fire and fell down out of the tree, broke its neck, and lay dead beside the two Sharpteeth. Chomper caught a whiff of the scent of the cooked mammal and bent down and dared to eat it. Though the cooked meat was hot to the inside of his mouth, it tasted better than the raw meat he had always eaten.

What does it taste like, Chomper? Jessica asked him.

Wonderful. Better than anything I've ever eaten. We must get more of this!

The two of them sought after Tickly Fuzzies to kill and cook. After digging through tunnels and mounds in the ground, they had unearthed several furry creatures, which they put on the flames. Chomper, not wanting to get burned by putting his claws too near the flames directly, speared two Tickly Fuzzies on a long stick and was roasting them.

Jessica, there is something I wanted to say to you, he began. He was about to finally tell her how he felt about her, that he was romantically interested in her, when he was interrupted by Ichy.

Whoosh and I have an important announcement to make, said the Ichthyornis gleefully.

Ichy asked me to be his mate and I agreed. Whoosh replied.

Congratulations. Chomper said.

I'm happy for you two, Jessica said.

Chomper sighed. It looked like he was going to have to wait a while to talk to Jessica.

Dactilli's brother, meanwhile, had taught Petrie how to wrestle. By now, it was getting closer to dawn and Petrie didn't want to be caught outside the Great Valley by Haley's goons, for that would lead to awkward questions, as it was known he was a Scaredy Egg and thus not likely to fly into the Mysterious Beyond by himself. Me need to be going now. he said.

Bye Petrie. Hope to see you soon. said one of her brothers.

The others also said goodbye to him. As he was about to leave, Dactilli flew beside him I'd like to meet at your place tomorrow night. she whispered to him.

Meet in Great Valley? Me not sure good idea.

What's wrong with Great Valley?

Me already tell you. Bad Leaf Eaters there that no like Chomper probably no like you either because you Sharptooth too. But, if you promise to only go where Petrie tell you, if you really want to go, Petrie help you get in, he quickly added.

Well, as long as they no see my fangs, which would be dead giveaway, me should fit right in. Dactilli laughed.

You right, if they only see you in dark, maybe they not realize you Sharptooth. But you not know one word of Leaf Eater. That problem.

I can manage.

You learn Leaf Eater before tomorrow night? Petrie gasped incredulously.

I am quite smart and can pick up on Leaf Eater quickly. Dactilli said.

Me only have hour to teach you before me need to get back. Petrie said. He knew that even an hour was cutting it close but he wanted to give Dactilli all the help that he could. An hour later, Petrie was amazed how much Leaf Eater Dactilli was able to pick up in such a short time. Still, he thought it prudent to meet with her around sunset and teach her more Leaf Eater for another hour or two before sneaking her into the Great Valley.

Petrie was nervous the entire day, hoping that the plan wouldn't go awry. Finally, near the end of the day, Petrie went to go fetch Dactilli. The two flew into the Great Valley about 90 minutes after the sun had set. If anyone saw Dactilli's outline, it wouldn't be a problem as long as she didn't forget herself and start speaking in Sharptooth. They couldn't get too close to her, however, or they'd see that she had fangs.

"Petrie, is your girlfriend here yet?" The two of them jumped. It was Littlefoot.

"Littlefoot, no do that! You scare Petrie!"

"Are you sure it is wise to bring her here?" Littlefoot asked Petrie.

"Can you tell she no leaf eater?"

"Not in the dark I can't."

"Good."

"What are you going to do about other Flyers though? She might be safer in the air from the rest of us but how are you going to keep them away from her?"

"We no think of that," Dactilli said.

"Well, let's hope that no fliers show up then." It was Cera.

"Stop scaring Petrie like that!" Petrie snapped.

Cera was very tired from taking care of Tricia all day, a job she had to do since the night she became orphaned. Unfortunately, her personality had thus far kept her from obtaining a suitable mate. "You told us to come, you stupid Beakhead!" Cera snapped.

"Oh, right." Petrie giggled, blushing. "Me told family to show up too. Are Spike and Ducky coming?" Petrie asked.

"Of course we are coming. Oh yep yep yep."

"Ducky!" Petrie cried.

"Not so loud Petrie. We do not want Haley to find us. Oh no, no, no."

"Is Petrie really dating a Sharpbeak?" asked one of Ducky's children.

"Why you bring kids?" Petrie asked.

"Because, it would look odd if we just walked off and abandoned them so we pretendeded to go off on a walk as a family," Ducky replied.

"It ok. Me love kids," Dactilli said.

I don't taste good," one of the children said.

"Do you drink blood?" asked another child.

"She no drink blood," Petrie laughed.

Spike had come with Ducky and her family. He stood their silently. Some of Ducky's children began to climb on him.

"Hope Mom, Pterano, and siblings get here soon," Petrie said.

Meanwhile, with the others having finally finished celebrating Ichy and Whoosh's wedding and gone off to bed, Chomper and Jessica were finally alone once more. So, Ichy and Whoosh got married. I was thinking, what about you and I? Chomper said nervously. He hoped that he wasn't springing this too fast on Jessica.

What about us?

That we could be more than just friends.

Jessica sighed. I'll think about it.

Good, at least we're getting somewhere. Chomper thought to himself. Jessica went off to bed and Chomper was heading off to sleep himself when he heard a voice whispering to him "So, how'd it go?"

"I thought you were asleep, Isabelle," Chomper sighed.

"Nope, we just pretended," Jared, who was also awake, laughed.

"She said she'll think about it."

"What's there to think about?" Jared asked. "You're a guy, she's a girl."

"It's not that simple," Chomper sighed.

"Why not?" Isabelle asked.

"She lost her mate a while back. I think she's still attached to him."

"It's been a while. Why can't she move on?" Jared asked.

"How long did it take you to get over your parents's deaths?"

"Good point."

"Well, goodnight guys," Chomper said.

"Goodnight," the two Longnecks replied.

Meanwhile, Ducky's children's were asking Dactilli all sorts of crazy questions.

"Can you decapitate someone with your beak?"

"Me beak? Me no sure. Not try it before. Me not think so."

"Why do they call you a Sharpbeak then?"

"We're Sharpteeth. Our beaks are not that sharp."

"Me think that enough silly questions for now," Petrie interrupted.

"Good, me was getting annoyed with questions."

"Is it ok if I rided you?" asked of Ducky's children.

"You've ridden Petrie before," Dale said.

"But I want to ride a Sharpbeak."

"Sure, he can." Dactilli said.

The Swimmer rode on Dactilli. "Wow, Sharp Beaks can fly faster than regular Flyers," he declared.

"We can? Are you sure?" Dactilli asked.

"You fly faster than Petrie."

"Maybe we should have race."

"We can have race later. Me sneak you into Great Valley to meet family and friends and no get caught, remember?" Petrie said.

"Maybe tomorrow you sneak siblings out of Great Valley."

"Ok."

"Petrie, I'm surprised you fell in love with a Sharpbeak. You're normally afraid of your own shadow and would never go out into the Mysterious Beyond on your own willingly. In fact, you didn't even seem to be much interested in girls in the first place. Is this some kind of stunt of yours to seem brave and fool us or are you actually serious?" asked his older brother Percy.

"Petrie serious," said Dactilli.

"It getting late. If we going to do race tomorrow, we should go to bed soon," Petrie said.

The following morning, about an hour after dawn, the group gathered in the Mysterious Beyond. They had chosen this time because it gave them enough time to get a safe enough distance away from the Great Valley that they weren't likely to be noticed by any of the residents and it was early enough that they could be back soon enough before anyone realize that they were missing.

"Don't worry Petrie, we can beat any stupid Sharp Beak in a race," said his brother Percy.

Petrie ignored his brother Percy, whom he was not fond of, and asked Dactilli "Where should be finish line?"

"That really tall cliff over there," Dactilli replied.

Petrie gasped "Wow, that cliff in middle of sky puffies!"

"Petrie here is afraid of flying through Sky Puffies," Percy said.

"Me no like not being able to see and being wet. For some reason Sky Puffies cold and wet."

"Me not fond of them that much either," Dactilli said.

The race began. At first, the two groups were even, but soon the Sharpbeaks began to edge ahead. Percy began to gain on Dactilli, soon flying side by side with her. She began to pass him. Percy flew beside her again, and, with a quick swipe of his wings, knocked her out of the air. She began to plummet toward the ground.

Dactilli's siblings went after her, but Petrie got there first and grabbed her before she reached the ground. Petrie's other siblings, minus Percy, who went on, alone, to finish the race, were in shock. Petrie had never even attempted a dive like that before, for he would have thought the risk of crashing too great.

"Why your brother do that?" Dactilli asked.

"I was trying to win the race. I didn't think you'd almost kiss the ground." Percy said dismissively.

"I thought you'd right your course."

Petrie knew, however, that there was more to it than that. He knew that Percy didn't like the idea of him dating a Sharpbeak. Percy, unlike the other siblings, had never really gotten over his fear of Chomper either and had tried to discourage Petrie being around him.

It was because their father had been killed by a Sharptooth that Percy couldn't accept them. Unlike his mother and siblings, he still hadn't moved on and forgave.

Since the race was ruined by Percy, Petrie's family headed back toward the Great Valley. Pterano and Mama Flyer remained, but Petrie motioned for them to go and leave him alone with Dactilli and her siblings. The two left, leaving Petrie alone with the Sharpbeaks.

Me brother never forgive Sharpteeth. Sharpteeth kill father when we little and he never forgive. Still, me no think he meant kill Dactilli. Petrie said. At least he hoped that his brother hadn't sunk that low.

Let's try and avoid him as much as we can.

Me think that good idea. Petrie agreed. So, you meet me family. Do you have parents me could meet? Petrie asked, hoping to get the conversation directed away from his brother's antics.

Our mother died several cold times ago. Sky fire hit a big tree branch and it fell on her. Our father is still alive though. said one of her siblings.

Can me meet him?

They all stared at Petrie darkly. Our father is, well, different. Dactilli said.

What you mean?

Well, I'm not sure he'd be much happier having a Leaf Eater date me than your brother would a Sharpbeak dating you.

Maybe he like Petrie anyway if you love him, Petrie said hopefully.

Well, don't be expecting a warm welcome, said one of her brothers.

Petrie followed Dactilli and her siblings for half an hour, getting further and further away from the Great Valley. Finally, the group approached a large male pterodactyl.

Dactilli, you're supposed to eat the Flattooth Flyers, not play with them. he scolded her. I would have thought you old enough to know better.

Dad, you know she doesn't eat Flatbeaks. said one of her brothers.

He's my boyfriend. Dactilli said calmly.

Good joke Tilli. her father said.

It not a joke. She serious, Petrie said.

Where'd you learn to talk? I thought Flatbeaks were dumber than tar, her father said.

Flatbeaks not dumb! What give you idea that...?

Dactilli's father impatiently cut him off. Now let's not waste in time in getting to the important questions: How do you know our language? Where did you come across my daughter? And why are dating a Sharpbeak? You're stupider than most Flatbeaks or else you're among the bravest.

It all began with a sharptooth egg that hatched in Great Valley. he began.

Sharptooth egg in the Great Valley? I thought Sharpteeth weren't allowed in the Great Valley. You didn't steal the egg of some Sharptooth, did you? I don't know how else a Sharptooth egg could have gotten into the Great Valley.

Egg stolen by Egg Stealers. We take it from them and it hatch into Rex.

You stole an egg from Egg Stealers? If you are from the Great Valley, as I take it you might be, I must ask why Egg Stealers would take a Sharptooth egg from outside the Great Valley into it. And I suppose you expect me to believe that you raised the Rex from a baby to an adult and keep him around in the Great Valley as your pet and friend. How stupid do you think I am?

It more complicated than that. Besides, me and Dactilli like each other. Isn't that good enough? You have problem with it?

I have several. First off, I am the leader of a pack of Sharptooth Flyers. If my pack were to find out that my daughter were dating a Flatbeak, I'd be in big trouble. They'd think it was unnatural, something I think as well. I find it hard to believe that you could love a Sharpbeak. Second of all, I can't see how my daughter could be with you in the Great Valley. I thought Sharpteeth weren't allowed there. Thirdly, there is the matter of your diets. If you become mates, who will get food for Dactilli when she nest sits? I assure you she won't eat green food.

Also, I think the rest of the pack will want to meet you as you are a potential mate for my daughter. We will need to think of some excuse as to why they can't get too close to you or they might harm you. Also, to help pull it off, you will have to speak normal and not this 'me' and 'Petrie' and other bad grammar stuff that you do.

You will also need to hide your Flatbeak smell.

When Petrie supposed to meet them?

"I'll give you three nights. Dactilli has already told me that she had a boyfriend and, considering how long she's been single, there was hope I'd have no male successor. So that means that when I die, you technically are the new leader of the pack, assuming I let you marry my daughter. And that's still very much in doubt."

Petrie felt really nervous now. Dactilli's father didn't seem to like the idea of him marrying Dactilli, he would need to learn Sharptooth enough to impress a whole pack, would need to mask his smell and make them think he was a Sharpbeak, and find some way to keep them from getting too close to him and seeing him. He knew it would be very difficult, but he really loved Dactilli. Me do it. he said.

Chomper, meanwhile, was having more luck on advancing toward being the mate of the girl of his dreams.

Spurred on by Ichy and Whoosh getting married, Dil and Sarco had announced their engagement and had set their wedding for the following week (Dil had privately told Chomper and Ichy that it was to see if Sarco would back out, as she thought he tended to change his mind on things a lot.)

Chomper knew that Jessica wasn't ready yet, as she still hadn't gotten over her mate's loss.

When he again brought up the matter, she replied It's not like I haven't thought of saying yes to us being mates, but I've lost so many already. I've lost my parents and my siblings, I've lost my mate Maroc, I've lost all of my eggs, what if I lose you too? I don't think my heart could bear any more breaking.

Before Chomper could reply, Screech and Thud came to them. Fabia's gone missing. they said.

When was she last seen? Chomper asked.

A few hours ago. She was talking about the Threehorn herd that had killed her family. Thud replied.

You do think she went after them for revenge or something, do you? Jessica asked.

That's what I'm wondering too. Screech replied.

We need to go find her before she does something foolish. Hopefully we can find her before the Bright Circle goes down. It'll be harder to find her in the dark. Chomper said.

Meanwhile, Petrie returned to Littlefoot and told him what Dactilli's father had said. When he was done, Littlefoot voiced aloud what he was wondering in his head. "It sounds like he wants to get you killed."

"Petrie think so too. Petrie not sure how to smell like Sharpbeak and also speak Sharptooth enough to fool entire pack. And Petrie also worried even if plan succeed that we have to live in Mysterious Beyond because Great Valley never let Dactilli live here."

"You might not have to worry about Haley. I have a plan that could get Ali and I on the council."

"What kind of plan?"

"Some Longnecks have joined my father's herd. I think according to the rules, if any of them give children to Ali and I, it still counts as coming from one of our two herds, as dad was a member of my old herd after all and is now the leader of another herd."

"This great. Then Petrie only have to worry about not getting killed in three days."

"Maybe Cera, Ducky, and Ali can think of some way to make you smell like a Sharpbeak," Littlefoot said.

When they consulted the others, Ducky had an idea. "Why not put on those things that Guido has that Sharpbeaks have too, feathers I think they call them? Sharpbeak feathers. Then you'd have a Sharpbeak smell."

"How me put on feathers? Me not grow any and they no stay on Petrie."

"You could roll in sticky tree sap to get them to stick to you," Cera suggested.

"Now let's think of reason no one can get close to Petrie," said Petrie.

"Bad gas," Ali suggested.

"Eat something to make it true incase someone calls you a liar," Cera suggested.

"Good idea. So now that me got that part taken care of, me need to work on dealing with learning Sharptooth good."

Meanwhile, Chomper and his friends still hadn't located Fabia. It's getting dark and we still can't find her, Sarco said.

After some time, Thud said I smell Threehorn up ahead.

Chomper sniffed the air. I'm finding her scent. She must be nearby. It's close to the herd but not among it. That means she hasn't reached it yet.

They found Fabia lurking near a small group of four Threehorns, who were all grazing on grass and facing away from her.

Chomper, Screech, and Thud silently approached her. Fabia, what are you doing? Thud whispered.

She looked behind her, startled. What are you doing here? she snapped quietly. I want to pay these Threehorns back for killing my family. These four are the ringleaders of the group that did it. I caught a whiff of their scent earlier this afternoon and had been planning all day of how to ambush them at night.

Forget about your revenge. It's too risky. Let's just get out of here, Screech said.

No, I won't. Fabia snapped, and before they could stop her, she had pounced on one of the four Threehorns and killed him by severing a vital artery in his neck. She quickly began to attack the other three before they could get fully ready to fight back. However, as the fourth fell down, mortally wounded, he cried "Sharptooth attack! There are Sharpteeth here!"

Run! Chomper cried.

You know you could have left out that part. We already know to run and you yelling just alerted them to use more, Screech remarked, rolling his eyes.

They yelled that we were here. They know it already. I can understand Leaf Eater. Besides, I shouted in Sharptooth. They won't know what I said. Chomper replied. Besides, I yelled to the others, not all of whom know Leaf Eater that well.

Good thinking. Thud said.

Did you find Fabia? Jessica asked as Chomper ran past her.

Yes, but we also found a herd of angry Threehorns as well, Chomper replied. Hence my shouting 'Run!'

"Why did those Sharpteeth bolt like that? It's almost like they understood what he was saying and so ran instead of sticking around to eat the carcasses," one of the Threehorns remarked to another.

"Perhaps they could see the rest of us awakening."

"Negative. They started running as soon as they heard that dying Threehorn yell."

"Maybe they figured he was calling for help, even if they couldn't understand us."

"Possibly. But even that seems to indicate intelligence higher than your average Sharptooth."

"I don't even get why they'd attack at all with the rest of us so near," remarked a third. "Seems mighty risky."

"Maybe they were really hungry."

"If so, why didn't they stick around and give a vicious fight?"

"Seems like they came here to kill us," a fourth Threehorn remarked.

The nearby Threehorns howled with laughter. "Of course they bloody well did! They're Sharpteeth. That's what they're best at, isn't it, killing." one of them chortled.

"No, no, no! I mean to kill for reasons other than food. Like they were after us for something else and had hoped to kill us all in our sleep."

"Who ever heard of a Sharptooth doing that?"

"I haven't before. But there's always a first for everything."

"Well, they're leaving now. Let them be someone else's problem. We've lost members of our herd to Sharpteeth before. No point in going after them."

"You ever see a Rex and Fast Biters together like that?"

"Nope. Other than Red Claw and his old minions Screech and Thud. But they haven't been seen with him in a long time. Maybe they died."

"Come to think of it, two of those Fast Biters looked a lot like them. Maybe they found a new partner."

"I hope not. All we need now are two of these guys going around creating havoc."

"I thought I saw some Belly Draggers, Sharp Beaks, and a Sailback nearby too. Perhaps they're all working together."

"Like they do in the Great Valley?"

"Yeah. And speaking of the Great Valley, now that I think of it, there was an attack there by a Rex, Sailback, Fast Biters, Belly Dragger, and Red Claw and Ridgebacks. That's the only incident that I can think of where we'd heard of different Sharpteeth working together. And if they are banding together to attack herds out here, that could be dangerous. I even heard talk, as bizarre as it sounds, that those Sharpteeth knew our language, that their leader, a Rex, learned it from some fools in the Great Valley who thought Sharpteeth were nice. Perhaps this group here is part of that gang. There's a big reward out from the Valley for the death of these guys. I say we kill them and cash in on it."

"Well, that would explain why they ran as soon as he called out that there were Sharpteeth nearby. They knew we were calling for backup. I don't see Red Claw or Ridgebacks but the others were present. Yes, this could be promising. The Great Valley has a lot of green food, more than out here, that's for certain. And they don't like sharing a lot of it with outsiders. But of course, if we take care of their problem Sharpteeth, I expect well get a lot of them tasty food. I second the motion to go after them."

The Threehorns soon all agreed to go after them and gave hot pursuit, following their footprints in the moonlight. Chomper, still running with the others, could scent them getting nearer, even though they were out of sight. Our pointy-faced friends have given chase. he told the others.

How are we going to get away from them? Screech asked Chomper.

We could run in different directions, get them to chase us, then double back behind them as we get out of sight and they'll run right past us. Then we can help members of our group if they're still in trouble without any pursuit of our own, Chomper suggested.

The Threehorns came into sight and spotted them running in different directions.

"They're splitting up," remarked one of the Threehorns.

"Which one should we go for first?" asked another.

"All of them, of course," a Threehorn remarked, not thinking straight due to the lateness of the hour.

"I said first, you scatter-brain!"

"Whichever one you guys think is easiest to get, I guess."

"I say we go for the Rex."

"Yeah, there's a big bounty of his head, more than the others."

"Maybe so, but I think personal issues should come first. I say we pay back the one that murdered members of our herd first and then go knock off the Rex."

A scout Threehorn returned. "Why you lazy ones were here arguing about which to go after first, we tried to after any of them. But they've managed to give all of us the slip. It's your fault, if you ask me. We might have found some of them before they got away if we'd had your help."

"Sorry about that, won't happen again."

"Yeah, our bad."

"Anyway, they had Fast Runners, a weird flying thing that's not a Flyer, two Tickly Fuzzies, and, get this, two Longnecks with them."

"Longnecks? What?!"

"Yeah. Weird."

"Wonder why they haven't eaten the Fast Runners, the Tickly Fuzzies, or the Longnecks."

"Hell if I know."

"I think this is clearly the group of Sharpteeth from the Great Valley and they're a dangerous lot. I say we go for them," the herd leader said.

"I've never seen or heard anything like this. If I didn't know better I'd say I'd have eaten some funny Tree Stars or Tree Sweets." a Threehorn began to sing.

"Yes but we both know you didn't, we know for start, because whenever you eat them you sure as hell fart."

"Where these Sharpteeth came from I don't know. What's clear is that we can't let the number of such Sharpteeth continue to grow." another sang.

"Well then, if you please, how do you suggest we defeat Sharpteeth like these?" sang a Threehorn.

"I don't know, but if fear that if we don't stop these Sharpteeth now they won't stop here."

"Go fetch every man and bring him out. Of what we must do there is no doubt."

"We set out for them tonight." "Won't it be such a grand fight!"

"Oh imagine the sight!"

"Summon you courage. Come what may."

"They are going to rue this day!"

"And so we Threehorns go marching on! Go marching on! Go marching! We Threehorns go marching on to bring the dangerous Sharpteeth down!"

"We fight with all our might!"

"We don't care if we have to march all night!"

"All we know for sure..."

"Is that we're going to earn renown."

While the Threehorn mob gathered, Petrie, meanwhile, was doing all he could to learn about Sharpbeaks so that he wouldn't be given away as a Leaf Eater when he met Dactilli's pack.

"Repeat after me," Dactilli began. I am the heir to the Wingleton pack; I've come to court the daughter of Pterocho to be my mate.

Petrie copied her, then asked What did I just say?

Good, but leave the last part out.

No, I want to know what I just said.

She tried, as best as she could, to translate what she had said into Leaf Eater.

"What else me supposed to say to them?" Petrie asked.

My father thought that Dactilli would make a good mate.

Again he repeated her. My father dead. Not so sure he'd agree as he was killed by a Sharptooth.

"You understand that one. Good, we making progress then."

Dactilli had been learning Leaf Eater from Petrie as much as he had been learning Sharptooth from her. The two had been alternating between Leaf Eater and Sharptooth for hours as they practiced.

They practiced for thirty minutes more. The two of them were getting really tired from all their work. "Good, you doing well."

I'm not so sure that I can fool your whole pack, Petrie sighed.

You've made great progress for such a short time.

That is because I really love you.

"You've tried a lot harder than Sharpbeak male counterparts. Dad not even as hard on them as you. And you still no give up like they did."

"They give up? They foolish."

"Dad overprotective."

I wonder. What am I supposed to say if they ask details about the Wingleton pack?

Whatever you want. Since the pack doesn't exist, they'll just have to accept what you're saying as fact. And you can tell them it's far away so they don't go looking for it.

I would come from far away, if I was a real Sharpbeak, to find you. I love you that much.

I love you too Petrie.

Meanwhile, the Threehorns, who were feeling the opposite of love, had again located the trail of the Sharpteeth. Once more, Chomper, being the strongest smeller, discovered them first. They're back again. he sighed.

Herds don't usually go to this length to get us after we've killed a few of their members. Jessica remarked.

Let's see if we can ditch these losers. Dil said.

Technically, they haven't found us yet, so it's not exactly ditching them, Ichy remarked.

Oh shut up Ichy! Whoosh snapped.

Yes dear.

All of you be quiet, before they hear us! Chomper whispered.

Should we split like last time or stay together this time? Sarco asked.

We all make decisions together here. What do you guys think? Chomper whispered.

I have an idea. Whoosh said.

What? Ichy asked.

Remember when I hid in those ferns when we first met and I was hard to see?

Camouflage. Not a bad idea.

Of course it's not a bad idea, it's my idea.

I'm not saying it was a bad idea, just saying I liked it.

Cut it out you two! Chomper sighed. He hoped that, when he married Jessica, that the two of them wouldn't be like that. Let's get to hiding then and have them go right past us. There's a testosterone-charged mob of Threehorns approaching and we can't be found by them.

"Wait, what's the plan?" Isabelle asked, who didn't know Sharptooth that well, having been able to communicate with half the pack in Leaf Eater and thus not being as good at it as Petrie was becoming.

"Hide," Ruby whispered.

Ruby, wait, no, I have another plan. Let's have us hide and them stay out.

The group had agreed, as much as they could, to talk in Sharptooth, for, even if was overheard, they wouldn't be understood, which would work to their advantage, against the Threehorn herd.

"Change of plans guys," Ruby whispered.

"Oh come on, I just got a good," Jared began to argue, for he had found what he thought was a good hiding spot. Guido put a wing over hid mouth, silencing him before the Threehorns could hear him.

Thanks Guido. Chomper said.

"Now, we need you to send them where we're not so then we'll go where they're not going," Ruby whispered to the two Longneck children.

A few minutes later, when the Threehorns came into sight, nobody was visible. The Sharpteeth had had the good sense to use tree branches to brush off as much off their footprints as they could., thus hiding their hiding spots. Furthermore, they had made their trail more difficult to follow by running in various paths and turning around many times. Jared and Isabelle walk out of their hiding spots.

"We were hiding from the Sharpteeth in case they came back," Jared said.

"Came back?" a Threehorn asked.

"Yes, they went that way," Isabelle lied, pointing the totally opposite direction of any members of Chomper's group. "We don't want them to come back and hurt us. Will you brave fellows go over there and keep them from coming back and hurting us?"

"Ok, thanks. We'll make sure they don't bother you again," a Threehorn said before leaving with the others.

Several minutes after the Threehorns have left, Chomper and the others come out of hiding. Which way should we go now? he asked.

Back the way they came. Thud suggested.

What if they double back after not finding us? Then they might come upon us from behind. I suggest we go a totally different way.

They took Chomper's advice. As they headed this other way, they came across some Threehorn children. "Think they're with the herd?" Ichy asked.

"Not sure."

"On the chance that they are, I think we should make sure they don't talk to anyone."

"I've reluctantly killed a Threehorn kid for food once. I don't like the idea of killing a bunch of them just to shut them up."

"Seems mighty risky to me to let them live."

"Let's just go."

The Sharpteeth continued on. The children just huddled there in fear, wondering if they would come back. Thus, they were still there, hours later, when the adults, having realized that the Sharpteeth couldn't have gone that way after all, had finally headed back, splitting off in different directions to search for them. Some of these Threehorns had happened upon the children, who were indeed members of their own herd.

"What were you kids doing out? We told you to stay back with the herd!" one of the Threehorns snapped.

"We saw the Sharpteeth come by."

"They didn't kill you?"

"Obviously not, if we're still here," one of the children replied, rolling his eyes.

"Don't mouth off to me!"

"Sorry. No, they didn't. The Rex told them not to."

"Wonder why."

"I don't know. Maybe you should let them go."

"No way! They killed members of our herd and there's a big reward for killing that Rex."

"Maybe the kids are making this all up to get out of trouble for being out after we told them to stay with the herd. They obviously wanted to see us fight the Sharpteeth."

"Ok, I admit, we snuck away to see you fight them, but we also saw the Sharpteeth," one of the children said.

"All right, we'll go investigate, but if you're lying, you punishment will be even worse than for merely sneaking out."

They investigated, bringing the children with them, in case the Sharpteeth came back and harmed the children, and so that the children wouldn't get into any more trouble. They soon found Sharptooth footprints. Chomper had done the best he could to mask these but he couldn't manage to mask them all and get onto the tree at the same time.

"What are these Longneck footprints and Fast Runner footrpints doing here?" one of the kids asked.

"Longneck footprints?" gasped one of the Threehorns.

"We saw Longnecks not too long ago. They sent us after the Sharpteeth. It seems, however strange that may sound, that they must be friends with them." said another. "Yes. We'd heard from the Great Valley that there's a Sharptooth wanted from there, a Rex called Chomper, who was known to hang out with other Sharptooth types."

"You know what, those stinking Sharpteeth probably are hoping we go after them in the dark so that they can sniff us out and then eat more Threehorn flesh. Let's go after them first thing in the morning. Maybe the brutes will be asleep and we can kill them before they wake up," one Threehorn suggested.

Early the next morning, Petrie met with Dactilli. The sun wasn't up yet, so nobody would notice him missing from the Great Valley.

Percy still doesn't think I should marry you. Petrie sighed.

You asked him if you should marry me?

No, he told me.

"And what you think?"

I don't care what he says. I'll do anyway.

A nearby Tickly Fuzzy began to approach a stinging buzzer nest, hoping to get honey from it. However, it didn't see Dactilli until it was too late.

"You ever catch one of these before?" she asked Petrie, as she began to rip the creature apart with her beak. Petrie wanted to turn away from the carnage, but knew, if he was going to marry a Sharptooth, he'd have to get used to it, and so kept his focus on her.

"No, me haven't."

"Why don't you give it a try?"

"Ok," he said. He chased after a nearby rodent, catching it before it could dive into its hole. The creature was confused as to why a Flyer was chasing it. Petrie lifted it into the air, taking flight with it. "Now what me do with it?"

"Kill it."

I don't want to kill it. What for?

"How you expect make father happy if you no bring self to kill other creatures?"

Petrie sighed. All right. I'll do it. He simply let go of the creature, who plummeted to its death. There. It's dead. Now you have two Tickly Fuzzies to eat. Hope you don't get too fat.

Too fat? Are you calling me fat? She slapped him, though it was more of a playful slap.

No, I'm not. It's just that you had me kill a Tickly Fuzzy for no reason. he replied, pushing back at her playfully. The two began to playfully push at each other in midair.

I can save it for later.

Fair enough. The two continued pushing at each other, beginning to descend, but using their combined wing strength to keep from crashing and instead land with a big splash in a pool of water, where they continued to splash water at each other for several minutes. Finally, they calmed down, getting out of the water and shaking off.

"Me really want to stay with you out here all day, but me really have to get going."

"Bye Petrie. I love you," said, kissing him on his cheek as he flew off. Petrie's face turned bright red.

Meanwhile, Chomper and his group had gone to sleep. They'd had the good sense to leave lookouts, just in case the Threehorns came upon them again.

Ruby and Guido, who were currently on lookout duty, spotted approaching Threehorns. The two quickly woke up the others. They saw that it was only a fraction of the Threehorn mob that they had encountered before. The others must be further back, they figured. There was no way that they could try and outrun this group. Owing to the Sharpteeth being asleep, they hadn't been able to smell them in time to avoid a confrontation. They would have to fight, here and now.

Ichy flew over the Threehorns, shouting "Can't get me up here!"

Whoosh and Guido began to fly over their heads, taunting them as well. "What is that thing supposed to be?" one of them asked, staring at Guido, having never seen a microraptor before.

"Must be some kind of Sharptooth."

"No, I'm a Glider." Guido replied. "Beyond that, I really don't know what I am. I've never seen another one like me." he continued.

"Never seen another one like you? You've never met your mother?" a Threehorn gasped.

"I may have, but I don't remember."

"What do you mean you don't remember?!"

"I'm sorry, I just don't remember."

Ichy pooped on the head of one of the Threehorns. "Conversation's over!" he snapped. The poop hit the Threehorn in the eye. He cried out in pain and began to run about wildly. Whoosh and Guido copied Ichy, hitting two more Threehorns, who also ran around in a panic. While some of the Threehorns were distracted, Chomper used the opportunity to leap into the air, landing on the back of one of them and scoring a lethal bite. The other Threehorns rushed at Chomper, who leapt back from them just in time as they crashed into and killed the already mortally wounded Threehorn.

Several of the Threehorns charged at Chomper. As they neared Chomper, Dil and Sarco surprised them by coming out of the water and biting off some of their legs. Two dozen Threehorns charged at Screech, Thud, Fabia, and Jessica. Chomper had hoped that the other members of the mob were a lot farther behind then the initial Threehorns that they had seen. Apparently these had located the first group.

Isabelle, Jared, and Ruby and her family were on top of a waterfall, which fell down a cliff-side toward the Threehorns and Sharpteeth. They began to hurtle rocks at the Threehorns. The Threehorns paused their charge, confused as to why Leaf Eaters and Halfteeth would attack them.

"What are you doing?!" a Threehorn snapped at them.

While they were distracted, Screech, Thud, and Fabia took the opportunity to kill three Threehorns. Jessica and Chomper hurled the dead Threehorns in the path of the live ones, blocking their paths and giving the Sharpteeth a chance to retreat. Eventually, the Threehorns got through the blockade, which had blocked narrow path through which Chomper's group had escaped, but the delay was enough for them to lose track of them again. However, they had even more pressing questions to ask. It seemed that the Sharpteeth had enslaved or brainwashed Halfteeth and Longnecks to work for them.

"We're going to need more Threehorns!" one of them said.

How did they find us? Chomper asked the others. They had lost the Threehorns and felt that, once more, they were out of danger for the present.

Pterano, meanwhile, returned to the Great Valley, having been unable to locate Chomper on another scouting mission of his.

"I'm sorry, I still have been unable to locate them," he informed Littlefoot.

"You tried your best," Littlefoot replied. "I have a mission for you right here in the Great Valley. I believe that Rhett and Haley are planning something together. I sent Petrie on a mission to do it but he came back and couldn't remember what he heard. From what he could recall, he must have heard something so bad that he accidentally fell out of the air. Now, he's so busy with his girlfriend that now isn't the time to send him on another mission." Pterano flew off to spy on Haley and Rhett.

Pterano returned several hours later. Littlefoot and Ali were grazing from a tree together.

"What did you find?" Ali asked.

"They apparently have quite the gathering. I wasn't able to find out much, barely avoided being discovered, but it seems that they are planning some kind of new order for not just the Great Valley but the entire world of Leaf Eaters."

"It's even worse than I thought," Littlefoot sighed.

"Did you hear any specifics?" Ali asked Pterano.

"Not too much, unfortunately, but I do get the impression that Longnecks and Clubtails will lead this new order, along with Threehorns," he said. I did hear something else too, come to think of it."

"What?" Ali asked.

"They were mentioning something about getting rid of unfit dinosaurs."

"I know. It sounds like something Rinkus and Sierra would come up with."

Petrie, meanwhile, had left the Great Valley, though it was only midday. He craved Dactilli's company. Knowing her usual hangouts, he soon found her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

I came to see you.

Why did you come in the middle of the day? I thought you didn't want to get caught?

I realized that they probably think I'm a scaredy egg and wouldn't risk venturing out into the Mysterious Beyond by myself.

My father wants to see you tonight.

What for?

He didn't say.

Littlefoot, meanwhile, had an idea His foster-brother Shorty had, as he'd recommended, pulled some pranks on Haley and her goons, and had, thus far, been undetected as the culprit. Now, with him happening to pay a visit that day, and having learned from Pterano of Haley and Rhett's new world order scheme, and that the new world order favored Longnecks, he thought of sending Shorty to infiltrate the group. It was risky, as Haley did know that Bron had adopted him, but Shorty, as an outsider, had stayed out of Great Valley politics and, to Littlefoot's knowledge, Haley had no way of knowing if he shared his foster brother's views.

Besides, if Shorty played his role well enough, Haley might be amused to have a foster brother of a political enemy on her side and not think of the possibility of infiltration.

"New World Order, eh? Sounds fascinating. We mainly have to deal with Sharpteeth in the mysterious beyond, not stuff like this.," Shorty remarked, after being briefed by Littlefoot about the situation and what he wanted him to do.

"I'm afraid, with Rhett's involvement, that it's already spreading to the Mysterious Beyond.

"I suppose you're right."

Meanwhile, Chomper could again smell approaching Threehorns. Two minutes later, they came into sight, but he was ready for them. Though the three had been hoping to ambush him from different sides, his ability to leap into the air a good distance ensured that he was able to sail past one of them, biting it fatally in the neck as it passed, while the other two collided and fell over. Before the two other Threehorns could get up, he tore chunks of flesh out of the two still living Threehorns.

"You want to tempt fate and risk ending up like your buddies here?" Chomper taunted nearby Threehorns, who had come into sight soon after he'd attacked their friends. He then bent down and tore more flesh from the still living Threehorns.

Isabelle and Jared looked away in horror. Chomper had always promised them that he and the rest of the pack would make sure, if they could help it, that prey were dead before they started eating them. Now he was eating live Threehorns.

As a Threehorn charged at him, he and Jessica seized one of the injured but still alive Threehorns, pushing it into the way and causing its fellow to kill it with its horn. Ichy and Whoosh dive bombed the startled Threehorn, tearing out its throat.

Sensing that it was foolish to keep fighting with their current numbers, the Threehorns retreated.

When the Threehorns were gone, Chomper turned to the Threehorn that was still living, which had had several chunks of its flesh torn off by him, and which was in a worse state by far than Littlefoot's mother had been, and tore its head off with a powerful yank. The Sharptooth then proceded to devour the entire Threehorn, for he hadn't eaten in about two days and running for his life had made him very hungry. When he was done, there was only a large pile of bones remaining.

Ruby shook her head. Chomper had gone, over the course of about a year and some months, from a friendly Sharptooth who didn't want to hurt any leaf eater to killing children and now ripping flesh from live Flatteeth.

Chomper bent down, yanked a bone loose from the skeleton, and used it to pick between his teeth. He then turned to the others. There are several dead Threehorns. I expect there's enough for all of us to eat.

Meanwhile, Shorty returned to Littlefoot. "Haley bought it. I'm invited to attend one of her secret little meetings before sunrise tomorrow."

"What did you say to convince her? I mean, she knows that we're basically foster brothers."

"That's just it. I said that I was with Bron after losing my own parents, then you came along and stole his affections, yet you already had grandparents and I had nobody. So I had a long long time of waiting to strike back at you and of course I'd want in on anything that would be designed to get rid of you."

"So, in short, you pretended to be like Rhett and that you'd never grown up and gotten over your petty problems from childhood?" Littlefoot asked.

"Actually, now that I think of it, Rhett didn't have any parents and really wasn't expected to hold any major position in the herd. By having me as his mate, he would become my mother's successor. With Littlefoot as my mate, technically he would be poised to inherit both his herd and Bron's herd and Rhett would get nothing. So it was more than just Rhett being upset that Littlefoot wasn't a bigot like him, now he'd get nothing and Littlefoot was poised to get two herds, and, as far as he knew, a seat in the Great Valley government once we had a child and he'd get nothing. So like a spoiled little brat, he turned the herd against us and mother and staged a coup to take over it himself." Ali said.

"Well, Rhett has always been insecure and petty." Shorty remarked.

"You were too once." Littlefoot remarked.

"Yes, but I grew out of it."

"Anyway, the joke would have been on Rhett. He thought he'd get a herd and a pretty girl and get lots of Longneck kids, but he'd have had my undying hatred, had he won the contest, and no kids. You see, I'd wondered before we found out for sure if I was unable to have kids. I'd always been lacking, shall we say, certain things that happened to other girls as they matured. At first I thought it was just a fluke when I was a teenager, but when it kept up, I began to get worried. My fears turned out to be correct. Littlefoot here could have left me and found another girl so that he could challenge Haley."

"I could have, but I really love you Ali. Besides, that would be great to tell my kids," Littlefoot said sarcastically "that your father left his first wife merely because she couldn't have kids."

"It really bothers me that I can't have kids. I've cried so many nights over it." Ali said.

"If I ever have kids, I'll give you mine," Shorty offered.

"Thank you."

Meanwhile, as the sun set, Petrie approached Dactilli's father. You said you wanted to see me. he said.

Yes, there's been a change of plans. I heard about that little incident during that race where your brother tried to kill my daughter.

I don't think he was trying to kill her. Petrie argued.

Nonetheless, this incident has cast doubt upon my belief that you can be a good mate for her.

I love her. Please don't take her from me! Petrie pleaded.

There's been a change of plans, Dactilli's father continued, ignoring Petrie. The wedding is now tomorrow. Petrie looked ecstatic, hardly daring to believe it. However, I want you to complete a little task first. Fail to complete it and the wedding will be off and you'll never be allowed to see her again.

What do you want me to do? I'll do anything! Petrie begged.

Pterocho pointed down at a fast-moving mammal. You see that thing? You have until the Bright Circle comes up to not only catch one but also eat it. Your brother seems to hate meat eaters and I figured that he'll come around if you were one too.

Daddy's that's cruel! It took me two nights to catch that thing and I'm a born hunter! Dactilli protested.

If this Petrie really loves you, he'll find a way to get it.

I'll help him then.

To hell you won't! It has to be him alone!

Petrie's first attempt at getting the mammal was a total failure and he grabbed nothing but the grass the creature had just been eating. I'll get this thing! I'll get this thing! he vowed.

Several hours later, Petrie still had no luck. He'd had some close calls, but that didn't count. Only killing and eating it would count. He needed to prove to Dactilli's father that he could hunt and that he wasn't weak. He figured that the incident with Percy had further triggered doubts that Dactill's father had already had and this crazy test was just him testing Petrie once and for all, likely hoping he'd fail.

His wings were growing tired and he temporarily landed in a puddle, one that seemed wet and sticky. There weren't that many puddles left from the rain a few days earlier and this one didn't quite feel like rain. But he didn't think much about it at the moment.

Five minutes later, as he now knew that he had about half an hour before sunrise, he had finally stopped to pee, having not bothered all night. As the urine left his cloaca and splashed onto the ground, it suddenly dawned on him what had been so odd about the puddle. It wasn't water, it was urine.

It had been near one of the spots where the creature had last been too. Not even pausing to finish peeing, he took off, dripping a urine trail behind him. He had just finished by the time he reached the puddle again. He bent down and sniffed it.

Chomper had told him that predators could track by urine and poop. He had found the former. The urine smelled awful, but still, his nose, strangely, while not as attuned as a pterodactyl like Dactilli, could detect similar smells nearby. He flew toward one of these.

With now only ten minutes to go before sunrise, he found the creature. It was resting and appeared to have recently peed. What dumb luck!

Better still, for him, it didn't appear to yet recognize him and thought him just a boring Flattooth Flyer. He used that to his advantage by quickly hurling himself directly down at it, slowing only enough to ensure he didn't destroy his foot. His foot went right through the creature's head before it realized he was a threat. It was dead!

He hurriedly brought it back to Dactili's father, arriving with only four minutes left before sunrise.

He could see from the look on Dactilli's father's face, that he hadn't expected the Flattooth Flyer back in time.

Good, you're better than I'd thought you'd be. But you still have to eat it.

Petrie quickly grabbed at stone and sliced the meat. Now he had only two minutes left. As he brought the food to his mouth, his natural gag reflexes caused him to spit it out. No, he couldn't fail.

Pretending he was eating a bunch of berries, he began to swallow bits of meat. He had finished the last bit a second before the sun came up.

Well, you passed the test. Congratulations. Dactilli's father said.

Petrie, how did you do it? How did you catch that thing? It seemed that it kept getting away from you. Dactilli asked him.

"Petrie have to pee and that give me idea to use pee smell to track it." Petrie admitted to Dactilli. He wanted her father to think it was more than just dumb luck that had enabled him to catch the creature, so he'd told her the truth in Leaf Eater. Just natural talent, I guess.

Meanwhile, Shorty was in attendance at Haley's secret meeting. Much to Shorty's disappointment, Rhett, besides himself, and he really didn't count as he was an infiltrator, wasn't the only Longneck there. Indeed, there were half a dozen in the meeting besides himself and Rhett. He'd always thought that Longnecks were noble creatures. Apparently they had their fair share of bad apples.

"I'd like to welcome Shorty to this gathering," Haley said. "He's the adopted brother of that pest Littlefoot, but has been wronged by him. And we're going to make sure to right that wrong."

Shorty listened to the whole meeting. There was talk of finding a way to cut off the food supply to "useless dinosaurs" like duckbills and onehorns.

"Great idea, but how are we going to do that?" Shorty asked.

After they finished the meeting, Shorty rushed to Ducky. "They're going to kill the water greens!"

Meanwhile, Haley approached Rinkus, Sierra, and several other Flyers. "Ok, here's the plan. You are to fetch a lot of the Great Valley water greens. Since Swimmers can get at them the best, they'll be the easiest to blame. Once we kick them out, we'll give more to Flyers."

"How are we going to get rid of the Swimmers?" Sierra asked.

"Simple. If Shorty is a turncoat, as I suspect he might be, he'll tell them that we're going to destroy the water greens and they'll panic and tell others that we're up to something. But when you go at night and put all the water greens by the Swimmers, everyone will think the Swimmers were causing trouble by blaming us and wanted the water greens all for themselves. Then that'll take away any suspicion from us and we'll be able to have the Swimmers chased out of the Great Valley."

"Ooooo, I love your plan!" Rinkus cackled gleefully. "Such a pity that I wasn't the one to come up with it, it's so diabolical."

Meanwhile, Chomper and his group were awake and could again smell Threehorns. This time there seemed to be over 100 of them. They soon came into sight.

"Why do these Threehorns keep coming back?" Ruby wondered aloud.

"If you pointy faces don't leave us alone, Chomper is going to rip those horns from off your head and shove them up your cloacae!" Isabelle shouted at them.

"I'll ram him in the cloaca!" a Threehorn snapped, charging at Chomper.

"I hope I don't get hit there again!" Chomper grimaced. Before the Threehorn could reach Chomper, however, it was attacked by Whoosh, Ichy, and Guido and had its eyes ripped out by their claws. The Threehorn ran around blindly, colliding into his own herd.

Any idea how we're going to fight so many? Jessica asked the others.

I am the cause of this. Fabia said. I started the fight and they're probably after me the most. Maybe I can draw them away from you.

Nobody is asking you to do that. Sarco said.

However, Fabia ignored him and ran toward the Threehorns. "Over here ugly faces!" she shouted. Her leaf eater wasn't great but she knew some of it.

Screech and Thud ran out after her, drawing the attention of the Threehorns, who chased after them. Forty Threehorns headed after just these three. Fabia had been right in her assessment that they had were after her most of all.

"What are we going to do about the other 60 Threehorns that haven't left yet?" Ruby asked Jessica.

I have an idea! Guido proclaimed. There's a fire mountain near here. In fact, it's the same one where Littlefoot almost lost his father. I happened to see smoke coming out of it when I was flying by it yesterday night while off looking for food. I think it's going to shoot out lava soon . If we can concoct a plan to get them over there and get ourselves out in time, maybe we can get them all trapped there.

It does sound like a great plan! Sarco said.

Yes, but if we get them all trapped, we'll be killing 60 Threehorns. Chomper sighed.

Stop being so sentimental. It's either them or us! Sarco snapped.

We've already killed a bunch of Threehorns already. Do we want to create a bunch of orphans?

You know, Ichy remarked, they should have thought of that before coming out here to kill us.

Ok, maybe it's for the best that we get rid of these guys as they seem hell-bent on killing us. But how are we going to get the other 40 away from Fabia, Screech, and Thud? Elaborate plans take time and that's time we might not have. Chomper said.

"We will have to do the best we can with the plans we have or we will be dead and no use to the Fast Biters," Ruby said.

The group led the Threehorns toward the Fire Mountain. As Guido had planned, by the time they realized that they were being led into a trap, it was too late. The Sharpteeth ran just ahead of the lava flow, leaving the trapped Threehorns behind.

I can scent the three Fast Biters. They're still alive. But I can scent Threehorns gaining on them. We don't have much time! Chomper said in alarm.

They came upon the Threehorns and fought them. Being rather outnumbered, and with half their group or more smaller than a Threehorn, they had a hard time avoiding being killed. Still, they were able to kill several Threehorns.

However, as seven of them ran at Chomper and Jessica, who were preoccupied with other Threehorns, Screech, Thud, and Jessica get in the way, killing the attacking Threehorns, but also being rammed through the gut.

Enraged at the injury of their companions, the group went on the offensive, killing other Threehorns. Finally, with 80 of the 100 Threehorns dead, the rest decide to cut their losses and fled.

Chomper, we need to get them help. those wounds are very deep and near their vitals. Jessica said in a panic.

They saved us. They saved us. Chomper gasped, still in awe that his one time great foes Screech and Thud would be willing to do such a thing for him.

Fabia, I know you were indecisive about us, but I've always loved you. Thud said.

Me too. Screech said.

No, you must hold on, come with us! Chomper pleaded.

No, the flowing fire is coming. If you don't leave, it'll get you to. Fabia moaned.

I'm not leaving! Chomper said defiantly.

Chomper, come on, they're right. Even if we could save them, carrying them would get us all killed. Sarco said.

We don't leave our pack members behind.

Then you leave us no choice. Fabia sighed. Using her failing strength, she, Screech, and Thud impaled thier heads with thier own claws, knowing they wouldn't make it anyway and that only their deaths would make Chomper see sense and leave their bodies behind.

Chomper still was reluctant to leave them, even though he could smell burning grass as the lava come into sight, igniting grass in front of them.

Chomper, they're gone! Must we die with them? Jessica pleaded.

A pack sticks together! We can't abandon them, even if they're dead! he sobbed.

Make their final sacrifice worth it. Let's go! Jessica pleaded, grabbing ahold of him as the others ran, frightened by the approaching lava.

Chomper, knowing that Jessica was right, finally agreed, not daring to look back as the bodies of his three dead pack members were immolated by the lava. He and the others continued to run, even though they were no longer being pursued by herbivores nor, soon enough, by lava, as they wanted to continue heading on, as thought to give them something to do, to focus on, to leave the bad memory of their first major defeat, behind.

Finally, when they rested, Chomper was still in great inner pain. It's all my fault. I should have fought harder. Maybe if I'd killed those kids like Ichy suggested, then maybe they wouldn't have told them where we were and wouldn't have been able to keep up with us. Then Screech, Thud, and Fabia would still be alive. It's like losing my parents to Red Claw all over again. Though the pack all agreed on decisions together, much like the Great Valley, Chomper knew that they viewed him, more or less, as the de facto leader. But he felt like such a failure.

Chomper, it's not your fault. Jessica said. The group of Sharpteeth, having finally rested as the sun was setting, had caught some Egg Stealers and were finally eating, having been unable to eat since the previous night with the Threehorn slaughter. Chomper, however, couldn't bring himself to eat as much as a single bite.

Why did they do that? They could have gone on living. Why am I so important that they died to save me? Chomper cried.

They loved you. And so do I.

I love you too. He nuzzled her head, which was bent closer to his level, with his snout. Jessica kissed him right on his lips, and kissed him for a long time, wrapping her claws around him. Normally this would have thrilled Chomper, but in his grieving state, he just smiled weakly.

How did you get over your mate's death? Did you feel guilty for a while that he died trying to get you food?

Yes, but then I got over it. I realized it wasn't my fault. It just happened. Just like with Fabia, Screech, and Thud.

I suppose so. Maybe it was just meant to happen. Nothing I could have done. Chomper sighed.

Yes. And that's not all that perhaps was meant to happen.

What do you mean?

I thought of what you said earlier. Of us being more than friends. I miss Maroc but the fact is, he'd want me to move on, find another mate. One that loves me. And I know you do.

So, you're accepting then? Chomper gasped.

Yes. When do you think we should be wed?

Chomper knew right away. Two days from now. That was the time I'd normally have come of age, if I'd stayed with my parents, but they're dead, or stayed in the Great Valley, but alas that didn't work out either, so I think the best way to celebrate is with the pack and by marrying the dinosaur I love.

Meanwhile, Petrie's family had been invited to his wedding, even Percy, who was very nervous attending a wedding with a Sharp Beak pack present.

"Are you sure they won't eat us?" he asked.

"Petrie is the son-in-law, or will be, of the pack leader. I don't think he'd let them." his mother said.

"Let them? As though Petrie could stop a whole pack of Sharp Beaks, said Priscilla, Percy's wife.

"How you feeling Petrie, after eating that thing last night?" Dactilli asked Petrie.

"Bubbly tummy. Lots of gas, worse than ever."

"Me love you anyway."

Soon, the official ceremony of the wedding began.

Do you Dactilli, take Petrie to be your husband, to protect and care for you, though he is a Flattooth? her father asked her.

I do.

And do you Petrie, take Dactilli to be your wife, even though she is a Sharptooth?

I do.

Then it gives me great pleasure to pronounce you as husband and wife. Petrie and Dactilli kissed.

"I guess you're part of our family now, Dactilli," Pterano said.

"Me guess so too," Dactilli replied.

Availa hugged Dactilli. "I'm so glad you found my son Petrie. I thought he was going to be single forever. I'm so glad you're a part of our family." Dactilli hugged her back.

As the wedding after party began, a Sharpbeak, not knowing any better, offered the Flyer family a piece of a bat that she had caught. "Ew yuck! Get it away!" Priscilla shrieked. Nearby Sharpbeaks, confused by her odd behavior, as they thought it normal food, began to laugh at her overly-dramatic outburst.

"The nerve of them! They think it's funny!" Percy grumbled.

"Let's get out of here. I've had enough being around these freaks anyway!" Priscilla grumbled.

Percy looked at Petrie, hesitantly, wondering if he should stay for a while, but soon his dislike of Sharpteeth overcome his affection for Petrie and he left along with his mate.

"Petrie, why your brother leave?" Dactilli asked.

"He not big fan of Sharptooth, as me already tell you, because Sharptooth kill dad and he have hard time forgiving."

Pterocho approached Petrie. Sorry about the whole setup. I knew from the beginning that the wedding was going to be tonight. I wanted you to learn to speak Sharptooth properly and, also that you could hunt. I admit, making you eat that meat was harsh, but I wanted to test your dedication. Your brother had me worried by nearly killing Dactilli. As you know, she's my oldest child and only daughter. You being so different, I was skepticla it would work out and wanted to make sure you really cared for her. Lots of boys around here wanted her for one particular reason only and I wanted to make sure your interest in here was more than that, so I made things difficult for you on purpose. Dactilli, being the caring thing that she is, would have foiled my attempts if she had known my true motives in all of this, so I'd kept the wedding a secret from her too until last night. Where is your brother, by the way? It looks like he left early with his wife.

I'm afraid his wife didn't like the offering of food and left. He went with her.

Ug, foolish me, I honestly didn't expect any of your family to show up, there being a whole pack of Sharpbeaks here and your kind so afraid of us. I did have something to give you at any rate. He flew off and soon arrived with a large cluster of berries, the ones Petrie liked. Dactilli told me you were very fond of these, er, things.

He soon left again, and came back with more agreeable food for the remaining members of Petrie's family. "Thank you, much better," Pterano said, forgetting that they couldn't understand Leaf Eater.

A Sharpbeak flew up to Petrie and asked him You know, I have had a crush on Dactilli for a long time. And I'm her kind. You're a Flatbeak. What makes you so lucky?

Well, I... Petrie began, but he soon realized, based on his expression, that he'd not come to congratulate him, but to fight him. The pterosaur swung his claws at Petrie, which the pteranodon narrowly dodged. Petrie began to wrestle the hostile Sharpbeak. The hostile Sharpbeak was not as good a wrestler as Petrie was. Thus, Petrie was able to pin him to the ground. However, he broke free when he bit Petrie in the hand. He kicked Petrie and knocked him over. He was going to rake the Pteranodon across the chest with his claws, when Dactilli pummeled him in the head with her wings.

You've overstayed your welcome! she snapped. Several other Sharpbeaks chased him off.

Who was that? Petrie asked.

Spurned ex-lover of mine. He was interested in me for one reason only and I soon realized that and broke up with him. He heard about the wedding and I, mistakenly, invited him, thinking he'd cooled down as it had been some time since we broke up. His antics tonight will not only not get him me, but will likely scare off other girls from him as well.

Glad you helped me.

You were doing fine yourself. Even we Sharpbeaks frown upon biting like that when men get into a fight.

Eventually, the wedding party ended and everyone left to go home or go to bed. "So, Dactilli, I was wondering, for your first night as a couple, were you and Petrie going to stay with us in the Great Valley or with your pack in the Mysterious Beyond?" Mama Flyer asked.

"Well, Avalia, me and Petrie would like stay alone because wedding night, you know. Me think that Petrie decide where we should be."

"Petrie?" his mother asked.

"Me think Great Valley tonight and Mysterious Beyond tomorrow night."

"Good. I know a cave where you two can be alone, without being spotted by Haley's goons. It's on the Great Wall," Avalia said.

Avalia took the two to a small waterfall several dozen feet in the air and flew behind it. The two followed her and found a small cave behind it. "Your uncle Pterano and aunt Etta found this place some years back and stayed here for their wedding night." she said to Petrie.

"Thank you mother." he replied. Avalia left, leaving the two alone.

Meanwhile, Chomper and the others released several handfuls of fireflies, letting them go as sort of lanterns for a memorial for Fabia, Screech, and Thud. They had spent the past several hours talking about their friendships with Screech, Thud, and Fabia and the releasing of the fireflies had been at the very end of the memorial.

In addition to the memorial for the three Fast Biters, two other events happened that day. Dil and Sarco were formally wed. Also, Ichy and Whoosh had a baby shower, as Whoosh was expecting eggs in about a week's time.

"Is it true that you and Jessica are getting married too?" Jared asked Chomper.

"Yes, two nights from now."

"It's because it's your hatch day, when you come of age, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Isabelle, meanwhile asked Whoosh "How many eggs are you going to have, Whoosh?"

"Two, hopefully."

"Just two?"

The two children had never really had any other children to play with, even when their herd had still been alive. Now they were looking at potentially many children to play with in the near future.

"Two seems all I may be able to handle."

"She doesn't really know yet how many eggs she has," Ichy said.

"If I have too many, I'm going to blame you."

"Hey, it takes two to tengo." Ichy reminded her.

After the baby shower and the wedding was over, the group went to bed.

Petrie, meanwhile, awoke the next morning as the Bright Circle was coming up. Dactilli was still dozing beside him. She had a wing around him and, as gently as he could, he broke free of her grip and went off to the back of the cave. He had eaten the meat about 36 hours ago now and now nature had taken his course. It hurt his cloaca when he had the bowel movement, for he had eaten the bones as well as the meat to make sure he could complete the task in time. "Me not doing that ever again!" he vowed as he voided the last of his stools. His stools looked stranger than usual, for most of the meat, of course, hadn't been digested, as his stomach was designed for plants, not meat. At least his stomach felt better now that he'd relieved himself.

When he got back to his mate, he found her still sleeping. The two had mated the previous night. Unlike Littlefoot and Ali, who had planned to mate the very night they were married, and had reason to, Petrie had been a bit shy about such things, but Dactilli had talked him into it, stating that she was in heat and now was the best time.

Now that Petrie thought of it, he realized that likely Dactilli would now get pregnant. Assuming they had multiple hatching eggs, some of the children might look more like Petrie than Dactilli and could pass for Flyers.

That would mean that he, like Ducky and Dale, could be on the Great Valley council and counter Haley. However, if he didn't show Dactilli in some form, he'd be accused of dine and dash, which was heavily frowned up, even to the point where a male who engaged in it was considered unfit to be on the council, and anyway, few males that engaged in such practices would adopt the kids, as usually they left the female after doing the deed and had no further dealings with them.

However, if he showed Dactilli to the Great Valley at night and pulled it off, people would wonder where she went and he couldn't hope that somebody wouldn't recognize her for what she was, or wonder why she only came out at night, fi he kept it up, so he'd have to fake her death.

But if he did that, and they knew he had been married, him going off into the Mysterious Beyond while having kids so that he could keep seeing Dactilli would be suspicious, so he'd need to have Dactilli live somewhere in the Great Valley, somewhere high up near the Great Wall and very sparsely inhabited. That way, he could stay in the Great Valley, except for the occasional visit to his in-laws, Dactilli's family. He knew of such a place.

Dactilli soon awoke. Petrie told her his plan. "So what you think of it?" he asked when he was done explaining it.

"From what you tell me, Great Valley not very safe place for Dactilli to live. Perhaps we could live elsewhere."

"Petrie could leave Great Valley forever and not see friends much anymore and go live in Mysterious Beyond, where not much green food." The idea was frightening to him, having lived in the Great Valley so long only to go back to the Mysterious Beyond, like when he was a child, and live there the rest of his life. Yet, if it came to it, he'd do it for his new wife.

"You sound like you don't like the idea."

"Me live in Great Valley since first come here with friends. It be hard to leave it forever."

"You have idea where we could be safe and meet and no be bothered?"

"Yes."

Petrie took her to the part of the Great Valley he was referring to. It was near enough to the smoking mountain that one had to fly over parts of it to get to it. (Petrie had long since braved flying over it since he was a kid and was very superstitious and afraid of it.) It was in between three rivers and was next to the waterfalls as they fell into the Great Valley from the Mysterious Beyond. Is this good enough for you? I can try and find better if not. he asked her.

I love it. It's perfect!

I knew you'd like it.

The following day, Chomper was nervous. Though he loved Jessica and she loved him, despite the two of them being different species, he was still uneasy about the new chapter in his life ahead of him. He was not only going to be an adult Sharptooth, officially, but a married one as well.

"Do you think I'll be a good mate?" Chomper asked Dil and Ichy.

"Yes." Ichy replied.

"Remember to say 'Yes, dear.' if you get into an argument." Dil said.

"No, no, no, a guy has to be assertive and put his claws down as head of the family," Ichy argued.

"Don't listen to him. Women hate assertive men," Dil countered.

The two continued to argue, but Chomper walked away, shaking his head. While Dil and Ichy had made enormous strides at getting along since he'd first met them, they still had their moments.

At sunset, Chomper and Jessica gathered in front of the others. Both were very nervous. The vows were only a formality for the two. They were already determined to love each other and spend the rest of their lives together.

"Congratulations." Isabelle said.

"So happy for you," Jared said.

Chomper smiled. He had always been a sort of father figure for the two orphaned Longnecks since the death of their parents. Now, with Jessica as his mate, the two could have, as much as possible, unless he could find a way to get them to Littlefoot and Ali, a proper mother and father again.