The Gang of Five
The Land Before Time => LBT Fanfiction => Topic started by: Pterano on May 13, 2011, 12:18:19 AM
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((So this is an older idea I had, but never wrote. I'm redoing a good chunk of it, and well, hopefully I have enough inspiration to see it through. I've got the beginning and some of the middle and a general idea for the end worked out, so we'll have to see how it goes. Any feedback is of course appreciated))
Prologue: Sleepy Night in the Dale
Five cold times had passed. They had come and gone after what seemed to the young flyer to be an eternity. Although he had been on countless adventures with his friends, Petrie had never lost count. Not once. Each cold time he had secretly been keeping track of.
Now it was getting warmer. The flowers were beginning to bud. Spring was arriving, bringing her bounty with her, and all the richness that went along with the changing season.
Petrie was older now, having aged a few years, though he hardly felt it. He wasn't much bigger than he had been back then... back when his uncle had arrived.
The youthful flyer sucked in a breath through his nostrils, looking up at the starry expanse that stretched infinitely above him. The stars glittered like crystals, a thousand, no, millions of them. His eyes swept the darkness... looking for a sign... anything that might show that the stars were being obstructed.
A passing herd who were stopping for a brief sojourn in the valley had sent word to his mother. In exactly ten days' time from their arrival, Petrie's uncle would return. He would return when the bright silver disc was highest in the sky. Five years had gone by since their adventure to find the Stone of Cold Fire... and now, it was time at last. The fifth Spring.
Petrie's eyes roved back and forth, trying to search for some dark shape in the sky. His uncle had said he'd arrive in this spot, in a dale near the big rock. That last bit had been kept secret from his mother. One of the wandering herd had instead informed him, and Petrie, desiring to see his uncle before anyone else, had come out here past his bedtime. No one else knew, save for a few sleepy dinos he had passed flying out here who had seemed more interested in sleeping than they had been in the lone flyer.
He gazed to his left, down the path that twisted like a ribbon in the darkness, and then turned abrutly to the right, hooking in on itself and traveling up a hill and out of the dale. The hill was directly ahead of him, not more than fifty feet off.
He wrapped his wings about himself, not because he was cold, but because he was a tad scared of being out here by himself. The moon was just about at its highest... so where was his uncle?
The sound of crunching ahead of him caused his head to snap, his beak pointing straight forward as he struggled to see what was making that noise. A dark form was heading down the path, moving slowly and deliberatly. For an instant, he thought he saw two glints in the blackness... eyes watching him? He shuddered, watching the shape move from right to left in his field of vision, getting lower and lower as it descended the path.
It appeared to stop right at the hook, off to his left. It just... sat there, melting into the darkness that surrounded it. "Pterano?" Petrie called out, though very softly, his voice not traveling very far. The shape did not move. Did not reply. Petrie wasn't even sure if it had existed in the first place. Maybe his mind was simply playing tricks on him.
But then, as if to confirm that it had in fact been very real, the shape started to move, crossing the hook and beginning to walk in his direction. The first thing the flyer could see materializing from the inky dark was a green set of legs, silvery claws catching the moonlight and flashing a bit. The green legs were followed by a body, which was in turn accompanied by arms, and finally, the head emerged.
Petrie immediately sighed in relief when he caught sight of the rainbow splotch of skin on the hypsilophodon's neck. "Oh... Mr. Brightneck... me didn't know it was you." He said, relaxing visibly and giving the hypsilophodon an assuaged look.
Mr. Brightneck smiled, being very familiar to the brown flyer. He was a local chaperone for the younger ones, taking them to and from places if their parents or guardians were too busy to do so. The gang usually didn't make use of his services, but sometimes, if a parent requested it, he would safely see a young one to wherever they were going.
He was older, having come to the Great Valley after the Great Earthshake. No one quite knew with what group he had arrived with, only that he had shown up with one of them. "Petrie." he said, his voice warm, friendly, like a mid-Summer night's eve. "I wasn't sure that was you. What are you doing out so late?" he asked, concern flooding his features.
"Me..." Petrie hesitated. "Can you... keep a secret?" he asked, to which the chaperone nodded solemnly. "Well... me here to see Uncle Pterano. He's coming tonight... but nobody knows that!" he said, angst evident in his voice. "Momma thinks that he's coming tomorrow... but me wanted to see him first."
"Ah... your uncle. Pterano." Brightneck stated, his voice peculiarly flat. He had a distant look in his eyes, as if he were studying something far beyond Petrie. "Do you like him?" he asked suddenly. "Your uncle's done some... bad things after all... hasn't he?"
"Well... Me guess." Petrie said, looking a bit crestfallen as he hung his head. "But he's still a good flyer... he saved Ducky..." the flyer trailed off.
"Hmph... so he did. Er... ahem, yes, of course he did. What time are you expecting him?" Brightneck asked.
"Well... now... but... me no... see him." Petrie said, raising his eyes in an abashed manner, clearly disappointed that his uncle was not here.
"Oh... my dear lad... I'm very sorry. But I don't think you should be out like this. Why you know how late it is? Your mother would be worried sick if she woke up and found out. Your home is... sort of on the way to where I was going. Why don't you let me walk you there? I could even carry you if you want. I don't think you should be outside like this." Brightneck said.
"Well... but Pterano... he's supposed to come..."
"I'm sure he will... but Petrie... don't get too upset at this... your uncle just doesn't seem like... the best flyer to be placing your faith in. He knows where you live. He can always show up. He might not even be coming tonight. I mean it's very late after all." Brightneck persisted. "Now come on... why don't you let me walk you home?"
Petrie took another look up into the sky, but saw no sign of anything flying up there. "Well... alright." he said, giving another sigh, this one of defeat.
"It will be OK. I'm sure you'll see him... in the morning. Come along now." Brightneck gently urged, holding his hand down for Petrie. Petrie practically crawled into the outstretched hand, so reluctant was he to leave the spot. Brightneck smiled, looking up at the sky briefly before he began to walk off with the flyer, exiting the shaft of moonlight he'd been in, and reentering the darkness as he headed for the hill.
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Perhaps around ten minutes later, a great shadow passed over the spot where Petrie had been, and landed with a thump in the rays of the moon. The great brown flyer stretched his wings, yawning a little and looking about him. "Petrie?" the voice belonged to Pterano, the long lost uncle of the young flyer who was nowhere in sight. "Petrie?" he called again, still searching about him. Glancing up at the sky, Pterano's heart sank in his chest.
He was late... the moon was already beginning to descend. But surely... surely his nephew would wait... wouldn't he? He walked a few paces, unsure if he had the right spot... but he remembered this place. He remembered it, and he was certain he told Petrie to meet him here.
There was not sight nor sound of the flyer, and Pterano's wings slumped to the ground. Some entrance he had made... he couldn't even arrive on time. But the wind currents had been bad... they'd held him up unnecessarily. Should he attempt to fly to his nephew's nest?
No... that wouldn't do. Closing his eyes, the flyer frowned, running things through his head. Best to just show up tomorrow... when he told everyone else he would. Flapping his wings, he ascended to a nearby tree branch, settling upon it to get some shuteye. His heart ached. It felt as if it were stabbed by minute rocks with razor edges. He should have been there. But it seemed he still wasn't able to do things right.
Closing his eyes again, the flyer drifted off into an uneasy sleep, the sounds of the night closing in around him, unaware of the plight he or his nephew would be facing over the next few days...
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Nice intro so far. You seem to forshadow something bad happening soon, especially from the character flaw your showing for Pterano.
Is Brightneck an OC of yours?
For some reason, all of the pausing in Petrie's and Brightneck's dialogue made me think of William Shatner's unique way of acting :blink:
I'll look forward to the next chapter :DD
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Yes, there's some definitely foreshadowing here. XD Somewhat laying the ground work for things to come.
Brightneck is an OC of mine, yes. A rather key player in this story, as you'll find out :)
Ah yes, the pausing. They're both a little heistant here. Petrie's uncertain, and Brightneck is... ruminating. That's about all I'll say for now.
Thanks :) One thing I had been debating was whether to use "I" for Petrie instead of "me", as five years have passed, but the series is so timeless that I ultimately decided to stick with his usual way of speaking. You have any opinions on this?
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I've been keeping Petrie's speech the same in my fic too, and it' supposed to take place a couple years after the TV series. I don't see much of a problem with it, it at least makes his speech unique from the rest. I also like that about Ducky's avoidance of contractions, and Ruby's strange ability to say the same thing twice, yet still sound smart and intelligent.
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Good point, good point. :) I'll leave it as is then.
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Wow! That's really good. I like how you put your words together! Great job.
PS update as soon as possible please.
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Thank you! Glad you liked it!
I'm actually in the process of writing the next chapter now, and should have it up sometime tonight. Since my graduation ceremony is tomorrow, I don't see much hope of being around then, so to make up for it, I'm posting another chapter to this.
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Ah, sorry I didn't review sooner, but, great chapter!
It was pretty well described and very detailed, can't wait for more.
Update soon!
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((Here we learn more of Brightneck's past, as well as see Pterano's return. Thanks for the reviews! Glad you're all liking it so far!))
Chapter 1: The Return
Brightneck walked softly up to Petrie's mother's nest. The entire family was snoozing soundly, all curled up around their mother, who had a content smile upon her features.
"Well, here we are." Brightneck whispered. "Oh." he said, as if remembering something last minute. "Your uncle is coming tomorrow. It's hardly small news after all. Petrie, I just wanted to tell you something before I head on home." Petrie looked up at Brightneck, curiosity flooding his features. "I think you should be careful around your uncle. He may have saved you guys back then... but don't forget, he was the reason you ended up in that mess in the first place. Don't ever forget... he's responsible for the deaths of many. I don't know if he's one you should be flying to so quickly."
Petrie once more looked shaken by these words. "Me know... me know." he said, nodding and trying to hold back a few tears. "But he still my uncle... and he still family."
"Family can still do bad things. I'm sorry. I'm just trying to make sure that you're safe." Brightneck said, placing him in his nest next to his mother. "Now you get some sleep... and be careful tomorrow."
"Hey Mr. Brightneck?" Petrie tried to keep his voice low, so as not to disturb the others.
"Yes?" Brightneck said, pausing to turn around, as he had been in the process of walking off. "What is it?" his voice never rose above a whisper, out of respect for the sleeping flyers.
"Me never ask you this before... but where did you get that scar?" he asked, pointing now at a rather conspicuous mark running down Brightneck's flank. It was a mottled area of hard, callused skin, a circle that streaked downward in a jagged slash to his left hip and leg.
"Oh this? Heh... Littlefoot asked me the same thing a few days ago. It was a Sharptooth. Attacked me a long time ago... before I came here to the Great Valley." Petrie thought he discerned some sadness sweeping over Brightneck's face, but the chaperone quickly smiled, and gave the flyer a nod. "Now head to sleep you. It's way past your bed time." Petrie nodded, and watched the departing hypsilophodon as he started walking off on his own.
Lowering his head, Petrie curled up and blinked a few times before finally closing his eyes. "Night-night... uncle." he murmured, slowly starting to wheeze as he fell into a dreamless sleep.
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Dawn brought a gathering of most of the adults. They were all assembling in order to "greet" Pterano. The flyer's arrival was expected at any minute, and everyone was out to see the return of the infamous flyer. He had most certainly garnered his share of controversy over the years. He was trusted by practically no one in that circle, save for perhaps a select few.
Mutterings were rife over whether or not it was truly wise to allow the flyer back into the Great Valley. Some pointed out that he had lived out his exile fairly, and had not broken it once. Others pointed out that he was responsible for the lives that were taken years ago, and still others were quick to chime in that he still rescued the "gang" (they weren't of course referred to as that) five years ago.
There didn't seem to be any prevalent voice amongst the adults, though Petrie thought he heard more "nays" than "yeas" in terms of his uncle's return being looking upon as favorable. Either way, as the exile was up, it had to be tolerated, regardless of what others thought.
"Hey Petrie! Sleep well? So today's the day huh?" Littlefoot asked, glancing up at the skies.
"Yep... today... is the day." Petrie said, very slow and even. "Hey Littlefoot?" Petrie asked after a moment's thought.
"Yes?"
"Do you... like uncle Pterano?"
"Well," Littlefoot seemed to be pondering that question. "I believe that everyone deserves a second chance Petrie. Or even a third chance in your uncle's case. I mean look at our journey to the Great Valley. Cera would've been long gone if I didn't believe in that."
"What do you mean Littlefoot?" the question came from Cera, who was only a few feet away. "Oh... sorry." Littlefoot said, scuffing the ground a bit with his claws. "Didn't realize. Anyways, my point is, I think your uncle has enough potential to at least show how he's changed, and should be given the chance to prove himself."
This caused Petrie to perk up a tad. He gave the longneck a small smile. Good old Littlefoot... he was always coming through with words of strength and encouragement. Petrie's cogitation was interrupted however by a swooping noise, and shouts of "He's here!" Petrie snapped his head up, and sure enough, his uncle could be seen wheeling and zooming overhead.
The brown flyer twisted, rolled, and flapped his wings to slow himself down as he came to land on a nearby rock, smack dab in the center of the assemblage. "Friends and former comrades... I have returned!" he exclaimed, doing his best to put on a proud, pleased face. He didn't shoot his wings out or make any other sort of bombastic gesture however, and simply left it at that.
"I see that smugness has as well." Mr. Threehorn said, narrowing his eyes as he stared daggers at the flyer.
"Ahem... It's nice to hear that a certain curtness has not been lost." Pterano said, giving the threehorn a look out of the corner of his eye, but refusing to face him head on.
"Uh... what did he say?" Mr. Threehorn asked in a low voice to no one in particular.
The ground shook a little as Littlefoot's grandfather, wizened and showing his years, strode forward. "Pterano. You have served your sentence. As five cold times have now passed, you are permitted back into this valley. First of all, from all of us" as he said this, Mr. Threehorn snorted before Grandpa Longneck continued, "welcome back. However, we have been discussing your return, and have decided to at least keep a watch over your activities. Now this doesn't mean you'll be followed every waking moment, but do realize that your integration into our community is important to us, as we have never fully done something like this before. We are a welcoming and open community however, and do wish you as nice a stay as we can here in the Great Valley."
Pterano had been facing Grandpa Longneck, bowing his head in deference, almost like an accused might face a judge, and he would occasionally nod here and there, as if agreeing with certain points. Petrie's eyes never left his uncle, as he tried to determine the amount of sincerity within the flyer, though it was often times hard, as Pterano's back was mostly to him during this time.
"Thank you er, Mr. Longneck." Pterano stated at the conclusion. He had called him Mr. Longneck back then, but wasn't sure if the elderly fellow had a more proper title or not by now. "And let me just say!" Pterano whirled around, raising a claw as if to emphasize a point. This gesture was met with some eyes rolling and groans, but otherwise, the assembled dinos remained silent to hear him out. "I cannot thank you enough for letting me return." his eyes moved around the gathered group, looking from first one to the other. "I promise you now, that I will devote myself to becoming a productive member of this community, and that I will strive to ensure a better future for our Great Valley, alongside all of you of course, for not only our sakes..." and here his eyes came to rest on his nephew. "But for our future generations as well. Posterity is the most precious, unenviable and worthwhile thing we have, and for that reason, I vow here and now to bestow upon my own future lineage my time and efforts, as they deserve it now... more so than ever before."
Not once did his eyes leave his nephew's, and Petrie felt a shudder run up through his spine, though not one of fear. It was one of awe and inspiration, and it was as if his uncle was looking into his very soul, past his own flesh.
Some of the gathered crowd murmured their approvals, and nodded their heads, while others stood their ground, and merely scoffed at this, the flyer that had been responsible for the erasure of so many lives back then. It seemed though that the majority of the crowd had been swayed, and several came forward to speak to him, and Petrie swiftly found himself cut off from his uncle.
"Well I guess that's that. How do you feel Petrie?" Littlefoot asked, looking down at his friend.
"Me feel... good." Petrie said, breaking out into a smile. "Me really think he changed."
"Oh I do hope so. I do, I do." Ducky chimed in from beside him, wanting to believe in Petrie's uncle as well. The crowd was starting to close in, and Littlefoot and the gang started to beat a hasty retreat, as they would be able to talk to Pterano later, they were sure of that. It was simply too suffocating at the moment, and Littlefoot for one needed the air.
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It was sometime much later in the day. Littlefoot and Petrie were both lying on their backs in the grass, looking up at the drifting clouds that floated by. The gang was going to be meeting up soon, but only Littlefoot and Petrie had managed to get away first. Littlefoot's legs were splayed outward, and he was letting his underbelly soak up the sun. "So it must be good to have your uncle back, huh?" the longneck asked his flyer friend.
"Yeah. Me no speak to him all day though. He fly off with momma to talk, and me no see him since."
"That's too bad. But I'm sure he'll turn up. He always thought of you as his favorite nephew... at least I saw it like that." Littlefoot said, inhaling and letting his underside rise.
"Hey hatchlings!" Littlefoot and Petrie's eyes widened at the voice, as they both recognized the gravely, hoarse tone.
"Hey Hyp." Littlefoot took the cue, and responded. A shadow passed over them, and Hyp stood there, panting and looking as if he'd just run a mile, which he had. He gasped, and collapsed on the ground next to them, spreading his arms out like Littlefoot had done.
"What's up with you guys?" Hyp asked, closing his eyes and starting to gradually slow his breathing down.
"We're waiting for the rest of our friends. We're going to go play in a little bit. Want to join in?" the apatosaurus asked.
"Nah... that's OK. I'm beat. Just got done with my run."
"Oh yeah... you're running now. How's your courtship going?" Littlefoot asked in a slightly sly tone. Hyp had been undertaking lots of physical activities recently to stay in top shape, as his father was urging him into a courtship, he being of roughly courting age now as the years had gone by.
"Ahhhh it's going well. Lot of work." Hyp said with a sigh.
"Do you like her at least?"
"Yeah I like her." Hyp pushed himself up so that he was leaning on an elbow now, looking down at Littlefoot. "Pfft, but I think you'd rather talk about Petrie's uncle. My dad said he's actually willing to give him a chance, surprisingly. My dad seems to say a lot of things that don't make a lot of sense, at least to me."
"And what do you think?" Littlefoot queried.
"I dunno. Never met the guy." Hyp swirled some blades of grass around in his claw, acting bored. "I saw him this morning. I wasn't paying as close attention as I could've been, cause Mutt kept punchin' my shoulder and asking me about my courting, and if it wasn't him, Nod would be whacking my ankle with his tail and asking the same thing. Boneheads." he said, rolling his eyes. "They can't be serious about anything."
"Heheh, reminds me a lot of how you used to be."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hyp growled, clenching his fist, but only giving Littlefoot a mock serious expression before he melted that away into a smile. "Yeah... anyways, I gotta get back before..." but he was cut off by another shadow that passed over them, this time coming from the sky. A thud sounded, grass flew about in brilliant verdant hues, and standing before them was Pterano.
"Petrie!" he exclaimed, throwing his wings open wide.
"Uncle!" Petrie said, pushing himself up to sitting, though he didn't fly right into his uncle's wings either.
"Hello children and uh... sir." he addressed Hyp, unsure if he was a full fledged adult yet or not. They all greeted him, and he looked down at Petrie once the pleasantries were out of the way. "Petrie... I'm deeply sorry for not being at our meeting place last night. I got there late you see, and I know I must have disappointed you. The wind was very strong, and I wasn't able to reach you quite on time. I would very much like to make it up to you however. I haven't had a chance to speak to you all day as it were!" Pterano apologized, giving his nephew a distraught look.
"Please forgive me, and well... I thought that in making it up to you... we could perhaps... go for a flight together? Just you and me? I would very much like to talk to you while we fly, and um..." bond with my nephew, he didn't finish. "Well anyways, would you like that? I promise to have you home by sundown, cross my heart." He said, drawing an X over his chest.
Petrie looked over at Littlefoot, who merely chuckled. "Come on Petrie! I know you want to go, and we can play tonight or tomorrow. Go on!" the longneck urged, to which Petrie beamed at his friend's understanding.
"OK! Me go with uncle Pterano then!" he said, hopping out of the grass and flexing his wings a little.
"Grand! Then let's be off! Thank you Littlefoot. If you wish, I could have him back even earlier." Pterano tried, to which Littlefoot merely shook his head.
"It's fine, sir. I think you two need this time together. Go have fun. We'll see Petrie tonight."
Pterano nodded, and began flapping his wings, his nephew doing the same as they both launched themselves into the air, quickly gaining altitude as Littlefoot watched them go, the two flyers circling each other and looping around, causing the longneck to break out into a smile.
"See you tonight then, buddy."
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Oh, nice chapter.
Once again, pretty detailed and gives a good picture. Also, I kind of sense some foreshadowing going on, like with the last line in the chapter.
"See you tonight, then, buddy."
I don't know why but that kind of urks me, but I might just be feeling that way for nothing. Nothing could possibly happen...or could it? You never can tell with Pterano, can you? :DD
Update soon! I have a feeling this is going to get interesting...
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Thank you. :DD Appreciated.
Well yes, there is a tad bit of foreshadowing there, though not quite as much as in the prologue. :) I guess I'm just a foreshadowing fiend in these opening chapters, but I'll lay off of that once the story starts to get going. Don't want to irk you too much after all. XD
I promise to update as soon as possible. Tomorrow is going to be insane, with my graduation ceremony and all, but I'm looking forward to hopefully a slower Sunday.
Thanks again!
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Ah, so, there WAS foreshadowing in that part. I'm ninja. :lol
And you're welcome. :)
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Yeah, great chapter.
I like what your doing with Hyp. Trying to make him a man and what not. It's nice that your putting focus on some of the other characters, too.
Kind of weird that Topsy is at least acting that nice towards Pterano. I don't think he really means what he's saying.
This chapter didn't seem that foreshadowing to me, not as much as the prologue at least.
I'll look forward to the next chapter, but you just enjoy your graduation tomorrow! I can wait. :yes
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Thanks, vonboy!
Yes, that struck me as I was writing the chapter, the Hyp thing I mean. I was like... what if he's growing up to the point where he's in this sort of very beginning relationship type thing? And yeah, I'm going to try and keep it as balanced as I can, though obviously it'll favor Pterano at certain points. XD
Oh Topsy? He snorted, but he didn't say any of the stuff after that, that was still Littlefoot's grandfather. The only two things he really said were the thing about the smugness, and not understanding Pterano's comeback. XD Thanks for pointing that out, it isn't entirely clear, so I made an edit there to ensure it is. :)
Yes, the prologue was very heavy on it. There was a small bit in this one, but right, not as much.
Thanks! I plan to. I'm still letting it sink in. It's like... is this really happening? Enjoy the start of your Summer break too. :)
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Oh, I guess I read that wrong then :blink: . I thought he said the second half of that paragraph. Makes a lot more sense now, lol.
Your writing good dialogue, too.
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Yes, I apologize for that, thank you for pointing that out. I made a small edit to clarify, as you're right, it's not entirely clear. XD
And thanks, yeah. I always find that the hardest in my writing. I can get into character, but I always think I stumble sometimes with dialogue. I try to make it sound believable, and not just bland or clunky. So thanks, I'm glad it's working.
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Great chapter, just like the previous one!
I wonder what Pterano and Petrie are gunna do together.
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((this is more of a relaxing, sort of easy type of chapter. The "calm before the storm" I guess you could say. We see a character I'll be introducing later, but generally this is more of an unwinding chapter))
Chapter 2: Soarin'
The two flyers gained altitude as they began to catch the current, using the uplift to push themselves higher as they were now riding the breeze. At first, it was a simple matter of gaining enough lift, but once that was out of the way, Petrie began turning loops in the air and laughing merrily as he attempted to urge his uncle to do the same.
"Come on uncle! We no fly together in long time! You a good flyer! Come on!"
"Hahah." Pterano chuckled, watching his nephew dip, dive and spin. "Alright, alright. Let's go then." Pterano allowed himself to let loose, rolling over onto his back and dropping a bit so that he was flying under his nephew, looking right up into his eyes. "Watch this."
He began a backwards dive, closing his eyes and first letting his head sink down, followed by the rest of his body as his beak angled straight at the ground. The free fall had started, and he let the wind rush by, the noise in his ears growing until all other sound was drowned out. It was as if he had entered into a tunnel at breakneck speed, and the flyer focused intently, not opening his eyes once as he judged his rate of descent and when best to break loose.
At first, it almost seemed as if he were dead, or at the least, unconscious. Petrie hovered over his plunging uncle, wondering if perhaps something had gone wrong. But as Pterano started to near the canopies of some of the taller trees down below, his eyes snapped open, and he sumersaulted backward by letting his heavier lower body fall, and with a great whoosh he began to beat the air with his wings, shooting up and conducting a roll before he too turned several loops, crying out in elation as he began to reach his nephew's altitude.
"Whooooooo! Hahahah! Now how was that?"
Petrie could only stare in awe, shaking his head a little in disbelief. "How you not crash? You pulled out at last second! How you do that?"
"Hah! Well Petrie, remember how I turned on my back before I started the dive?"
"Uh huh!" Petrie exclaimed, nodding emphatically.
"Well I quickly glanced downward, taking note of my height, and as I've done this many times before, at various altitudes, I had an excellent sense of exactly where I was at any given moment. It's something you can train yourself to sense, and it becomes almost second nature. Flying is not just simply going from one place to another after all. There's much more to it than that. Oh, so many times did I fly far above the Mysterious Beyond, thinking quietly to myself until I simply let myself go and fall back towards the earth. Feeling the rush of the wind and the dropping feeling you get in your stomach when you free fall only enhanced the sense that I was alive you see. A living, breathing creature, and that though my life was one of solitude and sometimes loneliness, a good free fall always served to 'wake me up' so to speak, and remind me that rather than despair, I should instead think of what I still had, such as a family. A nephew I could one day go home to; a nephew I could watch over and enjoy life with."
Pterano's explanation caused Petrie to beam, and draw even with his uncle as the two began to fly over a winding river that gleamed like the back of a silvery serpent far below them. "Well now you got a home uncle! You back! Five cold times and you finally back!"
"Indeed... yes I am." Pterano said, in a far more serene tone than before. It was clear he was starting to relax and unwind, finally growing acclimated to the fact that he was reconciled with the Valley's denizens. "It's what kept me going those past five cold times. I had certain things to look forward to upon my return... but you were the biggest one of those things." Pterano glanced at his nephew in profile, and Petrie could see the edges of the flyer's mouth curl upwards in a smile.
"Now," Pterano continued. "Why don't you show me a favorite spot of yours to fly to? Go ahead and takeover... you're the leader on this trip."
"Me? Leader?" Petrie asked, blinking. "Uncle... you sure you feeling OK? You like being leader, right?"
"Heh, today it's all you nephew." Pterano responded, not fully answering the question. "I'll follow you wherever you wish to take me." He gave Petrie a reassuring nod, and slowed his speed a bit to allow his small nephew out in front.
Petrie thought a moment, then his eyes brightened. "Me know a great spot! This way!" he dipped a little downward and to the left, and Pterano banked in order to follow. Below them, the river was soon lost to sight, replaced by a variety of flyers of all shapes and sizes, looking almost like schools of fish as they flapped and flew in the two flyers' line of vision.
They dropped their altitude a bit, as Petrie noticed a type of flyer he'd never seen before. He recognized the species, as it was a long tailed flyer, or rhamphorhyncus, but the color of its skin was just so unusual, that Petrie pointed him out and turned his head in Pterano's direction. "Hey uncle, what kind of flyer is that?"
Pterano squinted to get a better look, and recognition soon flooded his features. "Ah, him. That's what's called an albino, Petrie. They're all white with red eyes, and they aren't always out in daylight, as bright light can hurt their eyes, but it seems he doesn't mind too much. I've encountered several of his kind out in the Mysterious Beyond, and he's the same kind of flyer that Mr. Rinkus is, if you remember him."
Petrie nodded, as he most certainly remembered the pink long tailed flyer known as Rinkus. "Me remember. Did he... live, uncle?" Petrie asked, referring to Rinkus.
As the two chatted above him, the albino pivoted one of his pink eyes upward, having overheard the conversation that was semi relating to him. "Hmmmm." he muttered, a pensive look crossing his face. Were those the two he'd been looking for? A large brown flyer and a smaller one... could they be the ones?
"Mr. Rinkus? Why yes, Petrie. He did survive. I ran into him in fact, out in the Mysterious Beyond."
Petrie's eyes widened once more. "Really? He not hurt you?"
"No, Petrie. He did not. Mr. Rinkus was... having a bit of a rough time. His mother had just passed away, and he was trying to travel back to his homelands in order to find his family. He told me he had no ill will towards me, and we went our separate ways."
"Wow... that good. Me no like it when others die... it sad no matter who you are." Petrie stated, surprising his uncle a little. who's face fell a tad when he heard those words.
"Indeed. It is." Pterano searched again for the albino, but he was out of sight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Petrie and Pterano landed on a small ridge, right next to a waterfall that cascaded down into the Valley below, throwing off rainbow like sparkles as it struck the rocks at the bottom. "Fantastic! Sublime!" Pterano breathed, admiring the view. "I can see why you like to fly out here. It is positively stunning."
"Yeah, me like flying here alone sometimes... but maybe me no longer have to come here alone." Petrie replied, looking up at his uncle, who smiled warmly. "You want some food?" He asked, pulling a vine down that contained several succulent looking berries.
"Ah yes... why thank you Petrie." Pterano said, plucking a few of them off the vine.
"They grow up here, and make for tasty treat when you tired after long day of flying." The two of them partook of the ripe fruit, remaining silent while they ate, until Petrie began to finish up, and looked up at his uncle.
"Uncle... did you ever... fall in love?" he asked, causing his uncle to raise a brow.
"Er... no Petrie. I have not. I was a little too selfish for that." he stated with a chuckle, though it was evident that it was twinged with a bit of regret.
"Oh... well me only ask because Hyp is courting now, and it sort of a new thing. I bet you could find a nice flyer though... you not that old."
"Hah! Why thank you Petrie. That's... kind of you to say." he said, reaching out to pet his nephew's head. Yawning as he did so, Pterano proceeded to stretch his wings out, and blink his eyes a few times. "Mind if we take a bit of a rest before we head back? Uncle's not quite as spry as he used to be." he scratched his stomach, and sat back against the cliff. The afternoon sun was very warm, and the flyer found himself basking in it, his eyes starting to grow heavy.
"That OK. Me a little tired too." Petrie said, walking over to the edge of the shelf they were on, and hanging his lefts off the side as he sat down. Pterano smiled at him, and felt himself sliding downward, until he was lying on his side, starting to curl up.
Petrie glanced behind him, noticed his uncle's state, and got up to walk over. He crawled over Pterano's wing, and slid in right next to him, nuzzling his beak a little and smiling. "You can sleep if you want uncle. You look tired."
"Mmm." Pterano cracked an eye, looking down at his nephew. "Oh only for a little while. I promised your mother I'd have you back by sun down. So don't let me..." He paused to yawn. "Don't let me sleep too long."
"That OK. Me a bit tired to." Petrie curled up right next to his uncle's cheek, and rolled into him a little bit, causing the tired flyer to once again smile. "Me glad you back uncle..."
"I'm glad to be back Petrie... you never left my thoughts since my exile..." Pterano brought his wing about the small flyer now, and cradled him up against him. "I'll do my best to protect you... you're my favorite nephew after all..."
Neither of them said anything as their breathing slowed, but right before he drifted off to sleep, Pterano heard four words that sent a shiver up his spine, one of such utter happiness that he wasn't sure if it had been real. Was he dreaming? Or had Petrie really just told him that? Pterano's mind blurred, and he slid down into unconscious sleep, the words that played in his ears right before he'd lost all senses being "Me love you uncle."
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Awww! Petrie falling asleep in Pterano's arms! Awww! I love that! Youre a fantastic writer! keep it up!
You know, the end of this chapter reminds me of a dream a had about my long lost father. He died in a car accident when i was only four years old. that dream was about me reuniting with him and we did lots of stuff together and then cuddled in bed, kinda like Pterano and Petrie.
So yeah, those two remind me of that dream. I need a hug right now... :cry
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Dawww!! Cuteness! Great chapter! Like trulyfantasticme said, you're an awesome writer!
Can't wait for the next chapter! :)
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Wow, thanks to both of you! Really glad you're enjoying it. I definitely enjoyed writing this chapter I think. Was nice to see the two of them bonding like this. ^^
Thanks a lot for the feedback. :smile
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Yeah, this was a very touching chapter :)
Nice that Pterano let Petrie be the leader for a little while.
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Thanks, vonboy. :) I enjoyed writing it.
Ah yeah, I liked that too, how he's trying to gently show that he's OK with somebody else leading for awhile. It almost pains me to start writing something negative next chapter, but a story's got to have conflict, eh? XD
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Write, write like your hobby is, you do
:DD
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^ Thanks! :DD
@trulyfantasticme: Aww, I didn't see that you had changed your review a tad. That is pretty sad. *hugs* But I'm glad at least my chapter was able to speak to you in a special way. :)
Alright, I expect to tentatively get the next chapter up tonight, after work. I'm not sure I'll finish it, since I'm taking my old roommate out tonight to see a movie as sort of a "one last hurrah" before we go our separate ways and join the real world, but I'll do what I can. If not tonight, then it'll be up tomorrow for sure.
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Good story Pterano
"Me? Leader?" Petrie asked, blinking. "Uncle... you sure you feeling OK? You like being leader, right?"
"Heh, today it's all you nephew." Pterano responded, not fully answering the question. "I'll follow you wherever you wish to take me." He gave Petrie a reassuring nod, and slowed his speed a bit to allow his small nephew out in front.
is my favorite part. :smile
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Thanks Salvatore Blackheart! New reader! Yay! And yeah, 'twas a good part. ^^
OK, no post from me tonight. I have half the chapter done (probably more than that), BUT, I hit a bit of a snag with the conclusion, and since I don't want to give you guys junk, I'm gonna wait till I have a better idea of how I want it to go. Hopefully tomorrow, we'll see.
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Thanks go out to everyone for the reviews! For the first time I'm... not gonna comment on this chapter. It's for the readers to read!
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Chapter 3: The Taken
When Pterano at last began to stir, the thing he first noticed was the sun, sinking below the mountains that ringed the Great Valley. "Oh dear..." he moaned, stretching a little as he started to rise into consciousness. "I'm sorry about that Petrie... I overslept. Ohhh your mother's going to be furious with me." he mumbled, rubbing a hand over his eyes.
Something immediately struck Pterano as out of place. He no longer felt as if he were clutching anything in his wings. "Petrie?" he asked groggily, starting awake the second he saw that his nephew was indeed not there. "Petrie? Petrie?" he asked, swiveling his head from right to left. But the ledge was deserted.
"Petrie!" Pterano called, pushing himself up and walking over to the edge of the shelf, and gazing down into the valley below. His heart was starting to race now, as he could not see wing nor beak of his nephew. He tore his eyes skyward, frantically searching and sweeping the violet haze for a sign, any sign whatsoever, of Petrie. There were a few flyers flapping about, but not a single one of them were smaller than Mr. Rinkus, as a comparison.
His heart was pounding now, and he could feel the pulse in his ears. He hopped off the ledge and began to glide downward, heading for the greenery of the valley. He scanned the crowds of dinos below him, and was starting to fear that somehow, he must have missed something in the hustle and bustle, but as it turned out, there was truly nothing there. No Petrie. No familiar face of any kind.
He landed in the grass near a spiketail, and nervously tapped him on the side. "Excuse me. Have you seen a very small flyer? He's young and about this big?" he demonstrated with his hands, but the spiketail shook his head. Pterano's breaths started to become more shallow, like short gasps as panic started to set in. He panted as he ran over to another dinosaur, this one a longneck. "Excuse me! I'm sorry but have you seen a small flyer? Brown, similar to me but a bit darker in the wings!" Another shake of the head.
"Oh no... oh no..." Pterano was beginning to panic. He whirled around, becoming disoriented and confused as it seemed like every dino around him was suddenly closing in, or making it impossible for him to move. "Help me! Help me!" he cried, stumbling forward, and feeling his foot mash on something that was gooey and round.
Looking down as he removed his foot, the flyer could see that it was a berry... but not just any berry. It was the very same type of berry that he and Petrie had been feasting on before they had gone to sleep. With a sinking feeling, Pterano shakily glanced upward, back at the ledge they had been perched on, and then glanced around him, looking for bushes or plants that might contain this same berry. After a matter of seconds, Pterano could see that there were absolutely no berries like this anywhere, save for on that ledge.
It may have fallen off and rolled down... but not likely. A straight drop from the ledge led to a shallow dip in the ground. If the berry had gotten this far, it was either tossed from that ledge, or someone had carried it down here and then dropped it, as it was impossible for something to naturally roll uphill.
Pterano lowered his gaze to the partly mushed berry once more, unsure of what it meant. Had Petrie come this way? But why would he leave without telling him? His heart continued to thud and pound at his ribs, as if it sought to batter its way out.
"PETRIE!" Pterano shouted, lifting his beak to the heavens and shouting at the top of his lungs. "PETRIE!" he called away, wildly looking about him, and bumping into a swimmer's leg as he did so.
"I'm sorry madam... I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, flapping his wings and taking off into the air. Maybe he had gone home. It was the only logical thing Pterano could think of right now, crazed as his mind was. What if something terrible had happened? What if... what if Petrie had been... abducted? The flyer gulped at the thought, unwilling to consider it. Who would take an innocent child like that? And for what purpose? It made no sense to him whatsoever.
He shook his head, attempting to clear his thoughts. He tried to make sense of it. It was probably no reason to lose his calm like this. Petrie had to be somewhere in this valley after all.
He had been flying very close to the ground, attempting to scan the bushes and blades of grass and the rocks for his nephew, and failed to notice a pillar of green that suddenly loomed up in front of him. "Aggggh!" he squawked, unable to stop himself in time as he crashed right into the green pillar, which turned out to be a hypsilophodon. The two barreled over, creating a jumbled mess on the ground.
"Ooof! Terribly sorry!" Pterano hurriedly apologized. "I'm so sorry!" he pushed himself off the creature, pausing as he noticed a rainbow patch of scales on the fellow's neck. The hypsilophodon, who happened to be Brightneck, groaned, and lifted himself to his feet.
"Whoooooa there. What's the rush?" here he paused, as if catching himself, and then continued once he saw how aggravated the flyer was. "Is something wrong? You look of fright." he commented.
"Yes! Something's terribly wrong! I can't find my nephew! He's about this big, and we fell asleep awhile ago, and when I woke up, I couldn't find any trace of him! I'm terrified that something's happened to him! I need to get back to his nest, right away! Unless... unless you've seen him?" Pterano asked in a hopeful tone, though realized that his crazy ramblings just now probably made very little sense.
"Slow down... slow down. Now just hold on." Brightneck raised his hands, trying to calm the flyer. "Now let's just take this from the beginning. Your nephew is missing? Is that it?" Pterano nodded. "And you fell asleep, and when you woke up he wasn't there? Well, I guess that was taking things backwards, but anyway, what's he look like? What's his name? I'm a chaperone for the younger ones in this valley from time to time, so perhaps I know of him."
"His name's Petrie, and he he's my color, but darker in his wings, more like" but he was interrupted by Brightneck.
"Petrie? Petrie is YOUR nephew?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips. "Wait a minute... you're Pterano, aren't you?" he asked, lifting a brow.
"Yes. Yes that's me. Oh I feel simply awful for what's happened! If you know him, perhaps you could help me look for him?" he asked, in an almost pleading tone.
"I most certainly can... though I think we should let the elders know as well. They need to be notified if a child has gone missing. It's part of my job, I'm afraid."
Pterano shook his head, trembling a little. "The adults? Well... very well, yes of course they need to know but..." he paused here, afraid to tell him why he didn't wish to run to the adults right away. He was positive someone would most certainly place blame on him, and in fact, all would blame him if Petrie could not be located. He glanced again at the rainbow splotch on Brightneck's neck, and squinted. "Have I... seen you before... sir?" he asked, frowning as he tried to place him.
Brightneck shook his head. "Me? I doubt that. I think I'd remember meeting someone as... notorious as you." he said, unable to suppress a bit of a smirk. "Er... anyway, I'm sorry. I shouldn't judge you without having met you." he quickly added.
"That's... funny... because I'm getting the strangest feeling that I've seen you somewhere... before." Pterano said, but his memory was unable to rise to the challenge.
"Once again sir, I'm sure the shock has simply confused you. We haven't met. Now then, why don't you go to Petrie's home? I'll do a quick look in this area on the ground. I'm a very fast runner after all, and then I'll go and notify those who should know in case he cannot be located. Calm yourself sir... I'm sure he'll show up." that last bit was said very slowly and deliberately, and he reached out to pat the flyer's shoulder. "Nice, deep breaths now, OK? Calm yourself... we'll find him." another few pats, and the hypsilophodon was off, jogging past Pterano to begin his search.
Pterano tried to follow the advice, but found it was next to impossible. He needed to see if Petrie was safe back at the nest. Beating his wings furiously again, the flyer launched himself off the ground, and began flying as fast as his wings could carry him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was nearly dark by the time he reached the nest. To his dismay, the nest was indeed occupied, but by everyone in the family except Petrie. "No... no" he whispered at the revelation, shaking his head as he dropped to the ground, his legs giving out as he fell to his knees. "No... no! NO!" he sobbed, tears starting to form in his eyes. "NO!" He slammed his fist into the ground, kicking up turf and sending dirt flying. "No! No! No! NO!" he fiercely dug his claws into the ground, his entire frame shuddering as he tried to rip into the very earth itself.
The first thing that jarred through his mind was why did these things always have to occur to him? Why was he always on the verge of regaining everything, only to have it ripped from his claw tips? The second thing that forced its way in was who would do such a thing to a child? Who had taken Petrie? Children were so innocent. Helpless. Who could possibly have wanted to take Petrie? He had no enemies here... or did he?
He started to choke, unable to breath as his throat refused to cooperate. He could hear his sister at his side, asking him what was wrong, shaking his shoulders, calling into his ear. The others... if the others found out... they would pin him to a rock. Blame would be tossed squarely on his shoulders. Not again... he couldn't do this.
His eyes swam, his vision blurred, and he felt as if the ground was teetering under his legs and hands. He sank onto the ground, prostrate before his sister. "Forgive me... forgive me..." he wailed, repeating the phrase over and over. "Forgive me... Petrie... Petrie's gone..."
"GONE!?" his sister roared, anger initially sweeping over her. "What do you mean GONE? Where is he? Where's my son? Answer me Pterano!" she shook him again, but he found he was unable to rise from his position.
"I... I fell asleep. We flew together and he took me to a place and... I... fell asleep. I NEVER should have done that!" he moaned, glancing up at her with fearful eyes. "We both fell asleep... and when I woke up... he was gone." he whispered, shuddering now, as if winter had suddenly decided to blast him with chilly winds.
At first, she only stared at him, wide eyed, her expression uncomprehending. But then, as the reality of it sunk in, her look of disbelief was replaced with one of steely determination. "Then we'll call a meeting. Somebody somewhere must have seen him. Oh Pterano, how could you have let this happen? It was just a flight! You were just supposed to take him flying!" she snapped. "How hard is that? To watch your own nephew?"
"I know... I know." he said, hanging his head again and burying it into the ground. "Were I capable of going back I would never have fallen asleep on that ledge! Please madam... please... don't tell the others. I'll find him. I'll bring him back." he pleaded.
"Pterano... we HAVE to let the others know. I'm calling a meeting this instant. The others need to be informed."
He trembled again, terrified of the consequences. "Please..." he said again, whimpering.
"Beg later! I'm going to go round up everyone." She flew up a few feet, then paused, and looked down at him. "WATCH my nest. You can do that... can't you?" she asked, glaring at him, to which he feebly nodded.
"Yes madam... yes of course." he pushed himself up to kneeling, hands clenched and filled with dirt and and blades of grass that stuck out all askew.
"Good. I'll be back soon." she gave him one last look, and flew off. Her brother had many faults, though she promised herself she wouldn't be gone long. She didn't personally suspect him of having done anything, though she knew that certain others would.
Pterano watched her go, his eyes sparkling in the darkness as the tears once more welled up. "Children..." he sniffled, turning around to look at them, but not rising from his knees. "Stay put... your mother will be back soon." he turned back around, gazing down at the ground, watching the grass grow a bit darker wherever his tears fell. "Oh!" he sobbed, unable to contain himself any longer. "Petrie!" He once more fell forward, landing on his face, crying uncontrollably into the earth, his whole body convulsing, racked with guilt and fear over what might happen next. "Forgive me." he sputtered. "Forgive me... I'm so... so... sorry... I'm so sorry... I'm sorry."
His whispers were stolen by the wind and carried swiftly away, leaving the weeping flyer alone with his grief.
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Oooh! Now we're gettin somewhere. Funny I had a feeling this would happen...
I hope Petrie's okay.
But last time I checked, this would be chapter three. Unless I missed something. :blink:
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Good catch, it's now Chapter 3. XD As said, I reworked a lot of this, so it probably got mixed up in the file transfers and rewritings. XD
Anyways, thanks! And yes, the conflict has now been introduced! Who's taken Petrie, and for what purpose?
Oh, and my copy of Stone of Cold Fire came today! I'm ecstatic!
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It's starting to get exciting, which I like. Interesting how brightneck talked to Pterano, so mysterious and stuff.
Kind of bad how Pterano doesn't want anyone to know about it. It shows that Pterano's not really being responsible, even though he does really care. It's like how he didn't want to talk at all about what happened to that herd.
Anyway, good chapter, update soon :)
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Vonboy, yes, Brightneck has some secrets about him. :)
Yes, Pterano is naturally fearful of the repercussions, and letting his self-preservation instinct get the better of him. It is rather reminiscent of the past, like you said. :)
And thanks again to my readers! Here is Chapter 4... the REAL chapter 4. XD This week has really sucked for me, but writing this cheered me up a bit (not that the chapter is very cheery, but writing itself is a good picker upper).
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Chapter 4: A Matter of Guilt
"As I said before, I fell asleep." Pterano stated, standing in the middle of the group of elders. After holding an initial meeting the night before, the Great Valley denizens had decided to wait and see if Petrie would return overnight. When he had not, a new meeting was called very early the next morning. Pterano now found he had to answer for himself, and explain to the best of his abilities what had occurred.
"You fell asleep?" Mr. Threehorn grunted. "A likely story. You probably made off with Petrie yourself!"
"I would never stoop to such levels!" Pterano shot back, anger passing over his features. "I would not harm my own family... or anyone else for that matter! I'm telling the truth! I fell asleep, and when I woke up, he was gone!"
"Yet nobody else can confirm that!" Topsy retorted. "You have nobody else who can back that story up. Who's to say you didn't just snatch your nephew and fly off somewhere? Why, for all we know, Pterano could have taken him out to the Mysterious Beyond!"
"No! I've never heard of such rubbish in my entire life!" the flyer responded, folding his arms over his chest. "How dare you insinuate I would do such a thing? I promised you here yesterday that I would do my best for this valley! That I would make a difference!"
"You have!" Threenhorn snarled. "You stole Petrie and made off with him!"
"Please, please!" Littlefoot's grandfather spoke up now. "There is no proof that Pterano took Petrie. We don't even know if Petrie's been taken in the first place."
"Well I say he was! How else do you explain his vanishing and not coming home last night? All his other friends made it home, but he's the only one who hasn't been seen since yesterday afternoon! He hasn't changed! It's just like what happened before! Pterano's hiding something from us!"
"No! I'm telling you the truth!" the flyer insisted, growing disturbed by this line of questioning. "I really don't know what happened! I swear! Mr. Brightneck. You found no sign of him then?" Pterano inquired of the chaperone.
Brightneck shook his head. "No. I searched high and low I'm afraid. Wasn't a trace of him in that area of the valley. I'm sorry. I looked well into the night." he closed his eyes and sighed sadly. "I doubt Petrie simply wandered off. He would have been easier to find if that were the case."
"See?" Threenhorn nearly roared. "I swear Pterano, if I get even the slightest inkling that you're behind this, I'll..."
But a voice suddenly cut him off. "Stop! You have no proof whatsoever that Pterano did this!" Threenhorn looked around, wondering who would dare to interrupt him. His eyes flooded with surprise when he noticed Littlefoot standing in front of the flyer. "I don't know what happened in the past." Littlefoot continued. "At least not all of it. But I genuinely believe that Pterano saw Petrie as his favorite nephew! I've always believed that, even from when I first saw him. I mean yeah, he was really hard to trust at the time, but just... everything that's happened since then... look at how Pterano left us five cold times ago. He promised he'd prove he was trustworthy. And just because Petrie vanished while with his uncle doesn't mean that Pterano did it. What if..." here Littlefoot paused, unsure if he should make such a guess. He finally decided he needed to bring it to light however.
"What if there's someone here who would want to hurt Pterano, and they took Petrie to do so?" this caused a rather large ruckus, and voices immediately erupted around the little longneck. Murmurs arose of who would be bold enough to do such a thing. It was Threenhorn who finally decided to voice the general concern.
"HURT Pterano? If I wanted to hurt him, I'd do it right now!" he glared right at the flyer, who shivered a little, but still managed a defiant look. "Who of us would ever do such a thing? We aren't like that. We don't believe in that kind of thing. Such nonsense from a child. No offense Littlefoot, but you're young. You don't know Pterano like we know him." the threenhorn rolled his eyes, huffing.
"Well... I admit... I can't think of anyone who WOULD... but we already know that Pterano isn't the most popular of us here in the valley." Littlefoot went on.
"Pfft! Instead of wasting time trying to figure out which one of us MIGHT have been even remotely interested in harming Pterano, we should be focusing on finding Petrie!" Threenhorn said, brushing aside Littlefoot's suspicion.
"Well I can think of several who would have such an 'interest'" Pterano murmured, looking right at Mr. Threenhorn, though thankful that the triceratops had not heard him.
"Littlefoot is right." his grandfather spoke up. "We don't have any direct proof that Pterano is behind any of this, only our personal suspicions, and that's not enough. We should divide ourselves into search parties, and sweep the valley. If we all work on finding Petrie, we may find some clue as to his whereabouts, or even Petrie himself." There were some mutterings, but generally, the crowd voiced their consent.
"I'll lead a group to search the part of the valley where the Bright Circle rises." Petrie's mother offered. "And so that everyone knows this, I don't believe my brother to be the one behind this. He may have blundered in the past... but I just don't see him hurting his family." she insisted.
"Your point is made. I'll take the opposite end, where it sinks." Grandpa Longneck added.
"I'll lead a group to search the area close to where you'd go if you wanted to head to the Smoking Mountains." Brightneck chimed in, referring to the northern part of the Great Valley.
"Mr. Threenhorn, why don't you search the opposite end from Brightneck, then?" Littlefoot's grandfather suggested.
"I'd rather keep an eye on that slippery flyer... but very well. Though mark my words. If we find out you did this... I'll personally nail you to a rock, and I'm pretty sure you don't have to stretch your imagination to picture what I'll be using to do so." Topsy said, giving Pterano a threatening look as he pointed a horn right in his direction.
"That's enough. We'll meet back here at sundown." Grandpa Longneck stated. "And Pterano... you'd best not leave the Great Valley for now, that is, if you wish to stay in good faith."
"Of course sir. I wouldn't dream of it. My nephew... he's gone missing. I couldn't simply abandon him like that." the flyer said, sniffling a little, causing Topsy to roll his eyes again and shake his head. The adults began to divide themselves up into groups, and Pterano was left standing in the middle with Littlefoot.
"Oh Littlefoot. How kind of you to defend me in such a dark time. But why? Why does one so innocent and pure as yourself place himself on the line to protect me? Maybe Mr. Threenhorn is right. Perhaps I'm not worth the effort." Pterano said, despondently.
"Aw come on. I don't really think you did something like this. I think you truly learned your lesson from before. Besides, I think we should be focusing on who would want to do this to you... and to Petrie."
"But... I can't think of anyone here who would seek to harm me... and especially seek to harm my nephew! It's so different when you target a child. It's just so... I don't know how to describe it. So personal. You're hurting more than just your intended victim. You scar the family as well, and the friends. Who would do something like that?" Pterano speculated.
"Yeah Littlefoot." the voice was from Cera, who was wandering up with the rest of the gang. "We don't know anyone here who'd do something like that. My first guess would've been Pterano." she said, looking up at him. "So what makes you so sure that one of our own did this?"
Littlefoot shook his head. "I dunno... but something just feels... wrong about this. It doesn't feel right to call Pterano out on this one. Something inside me just tells me he's changed. What would he gain from doing this after all? Kidnapping Petrie would only make him look worse. He has nothing good to get from doing this. It's just... wrong. It doesn't make sense to me if I blame Pterano." Littlefoot explained. "He'd hurt any chance he'd have of staying here, and he seemed like he wanted to live here more than anything when we exiled him. So that's why I just don't think it was him. The others may think so because of what he did and how he acted before... but I wasn't around to see any of that. All I know is what I saw with my own eyes back then. This just feels wrong." the longneck reiterated.
"But how will we find out who did this Littlefoot? We have nothing to go on, we do not, oh no, no, no, no." this coming from Ducky, who sadly shook her head, looking at the ground. She was taking this rather rough, as some might say Petrie was her best friend. She was however, trying to maintain her usual cheery composure, for what it was worth, though most everyone could see through the facade.
"I don't know... I don't even have a clue where to start looking." Littlefoot admitted. He glanced back at Pterano. "If it means anything, I believe you're innocent. We'll find whoever did this... somehow." he said, still inwardly debating how exactly they would do this.
"Thank you Littlefoot. You're always so... well, strong." Pterano stated. "Your father and mother, they would be so proud of you." He said, his voice genuine and sincere.
"They would?" Littlefoot asked, blinking.
"Indeed." Pterano said with a nod, albeit a sad one. "From what I've heard of them... they would. They were far better suited than I ever was to be the leaders of the herd... though I doubt they ever would have sought it. Oh... do be careful." he added. "Please don't get yourselves into trouble over this. I'm ultimately responsible, and if anyone should suffer in locating Petrie, it should be me, not any of you." he reminded them.
"Petrie's our friend though... we can't just sit back and do nothing. We never do that anyways." Littlefoot declared.
"Ha... I suppose you do not. But please... be careful. Come to me first... I'd rather tell you to not do this... but I just know you wouldn't listen to me regardless. Just stay out of trouble... and try and let me handle this. I'll... try and think of something. Retrace my steps perhaps." the flyer suggested.
Littlefoot nodded, and ushered his friends over to a spot just outside the circle, so they could talk in more privacy and discuss their next moves.
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It was some time later when the search parties departed. They were all heading for opposite ends of the valley, hoping to be systematic in their search. Pterano sighed, watching the gang head off as well, though to where he knew not. He was soon left to his own devices, though did little more than look down at the ground and shift his feet every so often.
"Oh Petrie... I promised you I'd protect you... why can't I ever keep my word? I promised that herd I'd see them to safety... and they all perished. I promised myself that I'd find the Stone of Cold Fire... and grant myself enough magic to ensure a paradise for everyone. I Just..." tears formed in his eyes again as he sniffed. "I just can't ever keep my word. Why can't I ever do anything right? I've changed... I really have. At least I'd like to think so. But was it all for nothing? Am I still to suffer?"
He stiffened a little, determination growing on his face as he thought of something. "No! No! I'm not the one who's suffering! Petrie is! Petrie is because of my stupidity! If I'd only been more careful with him! He's suffering because of my neglect! I can't allow this!" he angrily stated. "I've got to find him! I'd do anything to do so, in fact!"
"Anything?" a voice said, a shadow passing over Pterano now as he felt a rush of wind. A noise sounded from behind him, and it was clear a flyer had landed. "Well now... that's just what I wanted to hear." the voice was low, like the whisper of a dull breeze that would moan through a tunnel. "See... I know where your nephew is, and who took him, if you're interested, but that's a rhetorical question, because of course you are."
Pterano felt a shiver travel down his spine, and he slowly began to turn to face whoever it was that was addressing him.
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Neat chapter, like always. Oh chee, I wonder who the voice could've came from. :rolleyes:
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It... might not be who you think it is. :DD
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Very nice chapter. Nice that Littlefoot joined in on the meeting and stood up for Pterano.
And I don't see the next chapter ending well for Pterano. I think he's just going to get the valley even more angry at him, even though he doesn't mean to.
Why am I getting the poor schmuck vibe for Pterano?
I'm really looking forward to what happens next :)
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Oh, cliffhanger.
Nice chapter, I knew Mr. Three-horn was probably going to blame Pterano for this, as usual. Hm, I wonder who that voice is...
Looking forward to the next chapter! ;)
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And so, we come to the next chapter, at long last. Well took me a few days, but here it is! And yes, thanks to everyone who reviewed! Had some good comments, and now we'll reveal who that voice is... as I'm sure everyone has their guesses. :smile
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Chapter 5: A Challenge
Pterano turned slowly, not recognizing the voice. Much to his surprise, the voice was revealed to belong to the albino flyer that he and his nephew had glimpsed earlier. "You!" Pterano exclaimed, otherwise lost for words.
"Heheh, hello there Pterano."
"How do you know my name?" Pterano demanded.
"Doesn't matter. I know where your nephew's been taken..."
"I swear, if you've harmed him, then I'll..."
"Yes, yes, I'm sure you'll get very upset. But if you bring harm upon me, you'll never see little Petrie again. Well... you might see him dead, but most certainly not alive. You see... turns out that I'm just the messenger, and doing something to me will make my uh... boss pretty upset."
"Boss?" Pterano asked, raising a brow. "What sort of monster would kidnap a child?"
"Someone like... oh I dunno, you maybe?" the albino asked, fixing Pterano with a stare, to which the flyer merely gulped. "Come on, you can't throw insults at me or my boss. It doesn't work that way. He knows everything about you... and hence I know everything about you."
"Then... whatever he's promised you, I'll... try and... double it. Triple even!" Pterano stammered.
"Not interested. You can't give me anything that would fascinate me. See... I'm much more fascinated by the results YOU'LL be achieving... or perhaps failing to do so, depending on your actions. That's what interests me."
"Why have you done this? Where is my nephew?" Pterano asked, looking around him, but noting that most of the adults had already gone off in their search parties, and the children were safely behind him out of earshot. Best not to involve them, the way he saw it.
"You'll find out... IF you do exactly as I say. If you don't... then" here he paused to chuckle wickedly, baring his fangs as he laughed. "Now then. I'll cut right to the point. My boss thinks you're nothing but a lowly coward, a cheat, and a scoundrel. He thinks you haven't changed your ways, and he's willing to go to some lengths to prove it. He's got... ohhhh let's see... a few tasks for you to complete."
"Tasks?" Pterano snapped. "What is this? A game? What sort of twisted..."
"Shut up!" the albino yelled. "Quiet... I'm talking. Now then... as I was saying, you have a set number of tasks. You have... certain ways you need to complete each one. You are allowed to fail a certain amount as well, though that will remain secret on just how many you can safely forfeit, so to speak."
"So what is this? An attempt to what? Discredit me?" Pterano wasn't liking the sound of this. He had finally lived out his exile, and yet it seemed that old grudges still had not been buried. Who was the one behind this? "Can you at least tell me your boss's name?"
"Hahahah!" the albino guffawed, as if Pterano had just cracked the best joke this side of the Great Valley. "Errrr no. That would more than somewhat defeat the purpose, now wouldn't it?"
"Then... how do I know that Petrie will come to no harm? What assurances do I have?"
The albino frowned, as he considered this a moment. "I guess you don't have any... but what choice do you really have? You either agree to this, and MAYBE see your nephew again, which I assure you, you will, or you don't do this and NEVER see your nephew again. Pretty simple if you ask me."
"You despicable little..."
"Uh uh... as I said, insults will get you nowhere." the white skinned flyer reminded him. "I can't give you any assurances... except that you WILL see Petrie again if you pass. My boss wants to make sure of that. It all relies on you and your actions though, Pterano. You and your actions will decide your nephew's fate. To what extreme are you willing to go to save him? I suppose we'll find out, won't we? You strike me as a rather considerable egotist after all, one who's rather in love with himself. Guess we'll see just how much you're willing to risk. Now... come along then. Your first little... quest awaits."
The albino turned to go, but Pterano called out to him. "Wait! What do I call you?"
"Sorry, but my parents weren't very original. Name's Redeye, and I saw no reason to change it. Now, you coming, or what?" he asked, looking behind him over his shoulder.
"And just... where are we going?" Pterano inquired, still not leaving the ground.
"Hmph. Outside. To the Smoking Mountains." was the reply.
"W-wait a minute!" Pterano protested, raising a hand. "I can't leave the Great Valley! You must have heard the others! If I leave I'll risk their trust in me! What's out there that's so important?" he asked, turning skeptical.
"You'll find OUT when we GET there." Redeye was clearly growing annoyed at this recalcitrance. "I'm not going to spoil it ahead of time. Where's the fun in that? I'll SHOW you what you have to do, and you can either do it or back out. I don't care. For the last time... you coming or not?" he fixed his eerie red gaze upon Pterano.
Pterano looked away, down at the ground. Could he really do this? Could he break his word and leave the Great Valley?
"Oh boohoo, I'll have you back before the Great Circle even sinks! No one will know you were ever gone... and I guess if they find out... then it isn't exactly my problem either. One chance Pterano. One chance or I fly outta here, and good look getting me to talk. I've endured pain worse than I'm sure you'd be capable of delivering... and besides... torture just... isn't your style." Redeye declared with a knowing tone of voice. "So... you coming? Staying? Which is it? If you choose to stay... then good luck finding anything further. You'll never see me or Petrie again. So hurry up! Make up your mind!" he barked.
Pterano raised his eyes, anger and determination set within them. "Fine... but if you go back on your word... well there's a first time for everything, isn't there?" he asked rhetorically.
"Ooooh scary. I'm shivering and quaking, believe me." Redeye replied sarcastically. "Now let's go! Wasting time!" The albino took off into the air, and Pterano followed suit. The flyer glanced behind him down at the Great Valley, hoping no one was watching his movements. He would have to do this quickly, if at all possible. He needed to be back in the Great Valley by the time the Great Circle sank, because if he wasn't, it could spell trouble.
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Littlefoot was walking with his remaining friends, minus Petrie of course. They had wandered considerably farther off from Pterano that by the time he took off with Redeye, they were mostly out of sight. "So what's your plan, Littlefoot? I really don't see how we're going to find Petrie. My dad could be right after all. He might have been taken out into the Mysterious Beyond. If that's the case it's hopeless." Cera said, as much as she hated to admit that.
"Well... I figure that rather than focus on finding Petrie... because you're right, we don't even know where to start looking... maybe we should focus instead on finding whoever took Petrie. I could be dead wrong, but maybe we should be trying to find out who would want to hurt either Petrie or, more importantly, who would want to hurt Pterano." Littlefoot suggested.
"Maybe the two flyers he was with before?" Ducky offered. "Rinkus and Sierra?"
"I dunno. Maybe. But if they're back here, they've certainly done a good job of hiding themselves. We haven't seen any indication that they've returned. But right now, they're the only ones I can think of off the top of my head." the longneck confessed. "I really don't have any other ideas."
Up ahead, they could see a very familiar dinosaur, and one that was not so familiar. "Hey! I think that's Hyp! And um... is that his well... what do you call someone you're courting?" he asked. The two ahead of them were a purple looking hypsilophodon, which was Hyp, and one that was far more indigo in coloration, being of a very deep blue. The two noticed the approaching gang almost right off, and Hyp appeared to be nervously figuring out what to say as they drew closer.
"Hey Hyp!" Littlefoot called out as they came up to the pair.
"Hey hatchlings!" Hyp responded, until the female standing next to him elbowed him in the ribs. "Owww!"
"Hyp! That's not very nice."
"Er... I mean, hey guys!" he tried again. "Er... hey... friends?" he was getting clumsier as he went on. The female rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
"You must be the young ones that Hyp used to bully all the time growing up. It's sort of amusing, but I heard it all from Hyp's father, and he also told me that Hyp learned a few things from all of you that he never forgot."
"I didn't bully them!" Hyp quickly cut in.
"What? Hah! That's a laugh!" Cera said, walking right up to him. "You didn't bully US? You want to rethink that a little?" she snorted.
"Er... well OK, I guess I did a little bit. But that's all in the past! We're friends now, honest!" Hyp said defensively.
"And who are you? Sorry, but I don't think we've met yet." Littlefoot broke in, looking over at the smiling female.
"Ah! Of course! Hyp never introduces me to anyone he knows, save of course for those rather goofy friends of his, Mutt and Nod. I'm Selene." she placed a hand on her front, bowing her head. "A pleasure to meet all of you. I've heard a little here and there, once again mostly from Hyp's father."
And are you the one that he's... courting?" Littlefoot inquired.
"Why yes, that would be me. Hyp here is quite the softy, so I'm surprised he hasn't mentioned you more." she playfully punched his arm.
"Selene!" he whined. "Stop... just... um, what brings you all here?" he asked, trying to change the subject.
"Well, we're trying to figure out who might want to harm Pterano in this valley. We're coming up a little empty though, sadly." Littlefoot said, frowning a bit.
"Oh yeah... Selene and I watched that this morning. It was... well I don't know much about that guy after all. He seems OK, but what do I know? Never met him face to face." Hyp explained.
"Ah! Trying to find your alternative answer, are you?" Selene asked, eyes shining. "You know, I rather liked your theory this morning. All that bravado and courage to stand up for your beliefs! Hyp here should learn to assert himself more, shouldn't you Hyp?" she asked, in a more cooing tone of voice.
"Oh come on! I assert myself just fine!"
"You do not! Well you do I suppose, but you could be better at it. Anyway, I seem to have gotten distracted... where was I? Oh yes! That's right! Well I think your theory holds water. Why wouldn't it after all? What you were saying made sense, even if you don't have any solid ideas yet. Mysteries always have a way of keeping themselves obscure at first, otherwise they wouldn't very well be mysteries, now would they?" she asked. "Perhaps we could help?" she suggested, looking down at the group, who blinked in surprise.
"Us? Help?" Hyp asked. "But Selene... I was never any good at mystery games. They always made my head hurt. And Nod ALWAYS figured it out before I ever could. It wasn't fair. I kept thinking he was cheating, but I couldn't determine how."
"I doubt that." Selene responded. "How can you cheat at a mystery game, unless you know the answer ahead of time? I think he was probably just better at them than you were, no offense dear." she said, pecking him on the cheek.
"Ahhh jeez! Selene!" Hyp protested.
"Hm-hm, well, if we hear or see anything, we'll be sure to let you know." Selene continued, ignoring Hyp's protests.
"Well gee... thanks." Littlefoot said, unsure how to respond to this, though somehow, he had to admit it was good seeing such a... dominant female in Hyp's life. He wasn't sure, but she seemed rather like the perfect type for him, for some reason. "We were thinking about looking around the area where Petrie disappeared. We know it, from how Pterano described it. We're probably going to go and look around there."
Selene nodded, and waved as they began to head off. "Well good luck! Now come on Hyp!" she tugged on his arm. "You promised me some lunch. So let's get going!"
"Uh... right! Coming!" he said, being dragged along until he could finally draw even with her and begin to walk off in the opposite direction from the gang. "Do you really think they'll find anything?"
"I don't know, but I figured it would be good to encourage them. Such an awful thing that's happened after all. I'm sure someone somewhere must have heard or seen something. The truth is impossible to fully cover up after all, since the truth actually took place, and exists. It's not some fabrication, and we know for a fact that that flyer really did go missing... so something had to have happened."
"I... guess that makes sense." Hyp said, scratching his head with his free hand.
"Well I hope they do find something. I don't like this one bit. I think Littlefoot may have been on to something this morning. We'll discuss it further over lunch." she insisted, pulling him along.
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Wow, I was not expecting that! Not exactly anyway. The strange thing is, the more I read this chapter, the more of an idea I got of who I think this boss is. I'm more interested in the boss's identity that I was for the voice's identity last chapter.
CRAZY HAIR-BRAINED THEORY TIME!!!
I'm going to go the bold route, and say it's Mr. Threehorn!
People might think I'm crazy, but a few things just pop out at me. For one, Trulyfantasticme brought up a good point about Mr.Threehorn's family. His wife and other kids could have been with the herd Pterano lead to their deaths, and I'd see that as a great reason for Topsy to do this.
The other thing is Redeye saying Petrie is gonna die if Pterano doesn't pass. I actually think thats a cope out. Redeye says revealing who the boss is would ruin the test. I think thats because if Pterano knows that it's Mr. Threehorn behind all of this, then he would know that no harm would befall Petrie, which would get rid of his only reason to do this test in the first place.
This would kind of make this story less urgent though. (If that makes sense.)
That aside, great chapter Pterano. This story suddenly got a lot more interesting!
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Nice chapter as always. :rolleyes: But when are you gonna get to Petrie?
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Finished reading through this. It's awesome! Hmm, I've got some theories of my own, but I won't spill what I think just yet, makes it easier to pretend all along I knew the answer ;) LOL, no I won't cheat like that. Very intriquing though.
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Lookin' pretty sharp there vonboy! :smile While I'm not going to confirm or deny if your guess on who did it is correct (as that would just be too much of a spoiler), I WILL confirm that your guess on the motivations behind the abduction is a rather good one. ^^
Well, trulyfantasticme, I'm not revealing what happened to Petrie just YET. I'd rather keep my readers in suspense a bit longer. :lol If it makes you feel better though, a character voiced by Petrie's voice actor (Jeff Bennett) will be coming in soon, but I'm afraid that's the best I can do at the moment. XD I know that doesn't exactly help though, as he provided a LOT of voices to the franchise. XD
Mama's Girl, thanks for the review! Glad you're liking it, and glad I have a new reader! So, you've got your own guess, then. :) Excellent. We'll see how it plays out. :smile
Next chapter should be up tonight! Heading to the movies, and then I'll be writing when I get back!
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Argh! Sorry for not reviewing sooner! :bang
With that out of the way...vonboy, that might not be as hair-brained as one might think. I mean, those are very good reasons for him to do it, and with what Redeye said, it's not impossible. -_-
But, on with my own opinion, I might have a few guesses on who it is, also who's coming in that Jeff Bennet plays, but, no spoilerz... ;)
Great chapter and I hope to see a new one coming at us soon. :)
P.S. Hope you have a great time at the theatre!
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I did have a great time! Kung Fu Panda 2 was awesome! Was worth a night out. And now, without further ado, the next chapter!
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Chapter 6: Animus
Pterano huffed as he followed after Redeye. “Where are we headed? How much further? We’re almost out of the Great Valley!” the flyer called.
“You’ll find out.” Redeye said, angling his head right to the Smoking Mountains. Threehorn Peak was up ahead, and the sight of the axe like mount caused Pterano to shudder. So many memories of that place. The two flyers he had picked up in the Mysterious Beyond had turned on him there, calling him a charlatan and a fool. He had been humiliated, all his dreams for making things right shattered, demonstrating to him just how fragile they had all been.
Instead, he had been too blinded by his own ambition. He had been suffering from the acute tunnel vision that had dominated him for the past two decades, and even longer. He had been vain, even as a child. He had assumed that it was his destiny, his calling, to be greater than others, and to lead them. And though he had been humbled not once but twice, he had still been too blinded to see what was really going on.
Now, as he watched the smoke curling upwards from Threehorn Peak, Pterano thought to himself of all the regret he had. He was an aging flyer, and one who had still not left his mark on the earth, or at least not in his opinion. But that was only half of it. He had come back to try and amend the past. To try and fix what he had done. To prove himself trustworthy to his community. His new home. The place he'd always wanted to settle... but had been forbidden from doing so time after time.
Then, just as he was on the verge of discovering that perhaps his greatest treasure was his family, and more important, his nephew, it had been stolen from him. And why? He hadn't done anything haughty! He hadn't tried to take anything over, nor had he tried to impose his will upon others. So why? Why were bad things still happening? What did he have to do to live a quiet, fulfilling life? What did a fulfilling life even mean? What was he living for now? He had known bitter disappointment and shame all of his life, so what was he truly seeking? Happiness? Peace? Ambition? What? Where were the answers?
He took note of Threehorn Peak sliding them by as they continued on. So they weren't in fact heading there. There were further smoking mountains off in the distance, and it seemed to be them for which Redeye was currently flying. "Can you tell me?" Pterano shouted forward, struggling to catch up with the younger albino. "Can you tell me, sir, did I do something to your boss? What have I done? Is it anything I can make right? Please... if you perhaps could take me to him... so that I could meet him face to face. I promise you that whatever it is I've done, if I've wronged him in any way..."
"Yap, yap, yap. Why don't you just shut up and enjoy the flight, friend? Pfft... you won't be feeling so good after your first task is done... I can guarantee you that." Redeye said in a manner that filled Pterano with dread. "Besides... we're almost there. That mountain... see it?" he asked, nodding with his head to one of the largest volcanoes currently filling their field of vision. It was monstrous, like some sleeping creature, slumbering fitfully as its top belched forth smoke.
"Why there? Is that... where Petrie is?"
"You ever play any games as a kid, Pterano?" Redeye asked, ignoring the question.
"Why... yes I did. Why? What does that have to do with it?" he asked, confused.
"Just think of this as one big game. The prize of course being your nephew. It'll be fun... well OK, maybe not for you. Come to think of it, a game is a pretty stupid analogy." Pterano gulped at these words, not liking Redeye's tone in the slightest.
They descended into the smoke, gliding down onto the lip of the volcano, the rocks hot beneath their feet. Below them yawned the great mouth, the crater bubbling and frothing with magma. "Alright! Here we are! Task number one! Seeing if you are or aren't a coward! Listen up! See that ledge that's down there?" Redeye asked, pointing to a rock lip that jutted out in the crater and ran along a good length of it. Pterano nodded. "OK... all you have to do is fly from this end to the exact other end of the smoking mountain. BUT... here's the catch. You CAN'T fly above the height of that ledge."
"The... WHAT?" Pterano exclaimed, eyes bulging. "This is utter madness!" From the looks of things, the ledge wasn't more than twenty to thirty feet above the magma. "I'll be killed! This is ridiculous!"
"Hmph... maybe that's the idea." the albino grinned viciously. "Or maybe... you'll survive. You won't know until you try it. Either way, my boss thinks you're nothing but a coward, and that you'll back out. You'll just fly back to the Great Valley... so go ahead. Your comfortable if not exactly welcoming home is waiting for you." he was stilling grinning, and rocking his head sideways back at the Great Valley. The Great Valley... it glittered like an emerald, a nice sized one nestled in the barren wastes of the Mysterious Beyond. It was lush and lively, and out here was acrid and smokey. They were quite a ways north of the valley, as it seemed so far off that it could fit into Pterano's hand if he reached out and grasped it.
"Go on! Fly back! Forfeit! Go ahead Pterano. You're looking at the valley with such longing in your eyes." Pterano blinked as he heard Redeye's words in his ears. Shaking his head he looked down at the seething red pit. A few bubbles burst, and every so often, magma would splash and shoot up in geysers. "It's your choice. Take the plunge... or fly back. How badly do you want to see your nephew again? How much do you really love him? How much do you really love anyone aside from yourself?"
Pterano's hands were shaking, and his vision was starting to blur. He felt like retching, as his stomach was turning loops and knots within him. "I..." He trailed off, stumbling back as he felt he was standing too close to the edge. His eyes were watering from all the smoke. "I don't know if I..."
"Yes?" Redeye asked, impatiently.
The reds, oranges and blacks loomed below him, reaching out for him. How much do I love Petrie? he thought to himself. Petrie certainly loved him. Worshiped him in fact. Petrie's words rang in his ears as he flashed back to the small flyer snuggling into his arms. "Me love you uncle... me love you uncle..." it echoed in his mind, and he shut his eyes, picturing it all as if he were reliving it. Petrie, falling asleep right up against him, and he, with his wings wrapped securely about his nephew, but not secure enough. "I wasn't there when you needed me Petrie... I was never there. I'm so... irresponsible as an uncle." Pterano had not said those words aloud, only in his head to Petrie. He was crying, the tears falling down his cheeks, though whether it was from the ash and smoke or his own inner turmoil, Redeye could not tell. "I'm not worthy of your love and devotion... I don't think I'm worthy of anyone's love for that matter."
Taking two steps to where he knew the lip of the crater was, Pterano took in a deep breath, and held it. "I could never be there for you. But I'll do... anything... to save you." he whispered, unheard by anyone but himself. Spreading his wings wide, the flyer stood with racing heart on the edge of the precipice. Whoever this was who had taken his nephew, if this was what he truly wanted, then Pterano would attempt it. He could feel his pulse pounding in his head, his knees wobbling a little, but just as he felt his second thoughts creeping into his mind, the flyer pushed himself off the rocks, and started falling down to the magma below, keeping his eyes closed.
He felt the air rushing by him, and the temperature increasing all around as he started to flap, catching a very hot updraft and stopping a mere twenty feet above the magma. His eyes opened, looking to the right to see the ledge, and ensuring that he never went above it. Redeye was watching with interest, pushing himself off the lip and flying over to the ledge so that he could watch the progress of the flyer.
Pterano was struggling to keep himself low enough, as the hot air threatened to constantly push him up and over the height of the ledge. The ledge itself ran like a scar down the inside of the crater, running from one end to the other. He followed the "path" as best he could, but veered sharply to the right when a geyser shot up in front of him. "Agh!" he cried, feeling heat from the liquid and almost certain that he had been singed, though not seriously injured.
Smoke choked his lungs, forcing its way down his throat as he flew on. He would hit thick patches at various points, and for a moment, he would be blinded, only to punch through a second or so later. Coughing, the flyer could feel rather than see the hot bubbles bursting below him. Small droplets would occasionally touch his skin, and he'd cry out at the feeling, yelping as his hide burned in miniscule patches. It gradually began to mesh together into a general sensation that would stab at him, lance into his flesh, and he bit down hard, tears streaming from his eyes as he struggled onwards.
Unknown to Pterano, the crater was particularly massive, and ran for almost four and a half miles. He was coughing something fierce now, and his natural instincts for fear of fire were taking over, but he constantly kept glancing worriedly over to his right, praying that he wouldn't rise above that ledge. He dared not fly too close to it, for the terror of being lifted by a violent updraft and slammed against it, which would either outright kill him or incapacitate him in such a manner that he'd plunge into the fiery depths below.
He swerved, banked and fluttered his wings to stop himself from running into various molten fingers that would shoot up in front of him, as if the very volcano itself were trying to claw at him, trying to claim him and drag him to a burning demise. At the times he'd cry out from the searing pain that struck his flesh, he would sometimes mix in a shout for his nephew, the cry of "PETRIE!" being strangely emboldening in the surreal and very torturous atmosphere he had stumbled into.
How much further? The smoke was so thick in here that he couldn't tell. He would have to hope that he wouldn't smack head first into the other side of the crater. If he did that, it would most certainly be fatal.
He could feel himself starting to panic. With every magma burst he avoided, the flyer could feel his heart increase nearly tenfold. His pulse was throbbing, and he realized he was on the verge of a breakdown. "No! No! I have to... keep... going!" he gnashed his teeth, and pressed on, but his instincts were taking over. His desire to run, to fly as high as he could and get out of this horrid pit. He wasn't even thinking anymore. He was running on pure adrenaline. He dove a bit to avoid going over the ledge, and silently cursed whoever had thought this up. How far had he gone? He thought he could dimly make out the other side through the smokey haze, but he couldn't say for certain.
Magma shot up all around him, bellowing forth in two geysers on either side as he "threaded the needle" and turned sideways in order to pass through, though by this point he was hacking and clearly choking on the noxious smoke. His lungs screamed for fresh air, and his head swam. He felt as if he were on the verge of collapse, but with a final yell, he beat his wings faster, and pushed on ahead. "Agggggggggggh!" he cried out, seeing the rock wall of the other side of the crater looming up ahead of him. Yes! He was almost out of it!
And then a solid wall of fire erupted to his left, throwing him violently in the opposite direction. The last sensation he had was of his head striking something, and then darkness.
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What met Pterano's vision first was a roiling wall of magma directly below him. Well perhaps above him was more correct. As he gradually came to, he realized that he was hanging upside down, the blood all being in his head. Snapping his neck around, he looked from right to left, and felt rather than saw that several vines had wrapped about his body.
They were all dead, being of gnarly and rough texture. It must have been a dead plant that had grown up the side of the mountain in days gone by. Somehow, the blast that had knocked him to his right had thrown him against the side of the crater, and had gotten him entangled in this dead vegetation. He must have tumbled downward some ways before the vines arrested him, but the descent had not been a good thing. The closer he had fallen to the magma, the hotter the dead wood had gotten, and already it was starting to burn in several places.
Looking over to his left, he could see the edge of the crater, tantalizingly close. To his right was the ledge he was not supposed to go above, and he was a good ten or so feet above it, even as his heart sank at the realization. A stabbing pain in his side greeted him as he turned his head, and he recognized the sensation. He must have broken at least two of his ribs in the impact, if not more.
"Ugggh." he groaned, the breath stolen from him momentarily as he waited for the pain to subside. This injury would slow him down considerably, of that he knew.
"Well, well, well. This is quite the predicament!" Redeye exclaimed, standing below him on the ledge.
"Help... help me..." Pterano gasped weakly.
"Help yourself! It's not my job!" the albino hissed.
Pterano grimaced. Hanging upside down like he was, his chances of survival were slim, and already the licking flames were eating away at his lifelines. If they went, he'd plummet headfirst to his death. But... perhaps he could try and swing himself over so that the vines would snap and land him on the ledge. It was risky, as he could easily snap them the other way, into the magma, but it was the only real chance he had.
He began to tentatively rock his body from right to left, to test the hold on the vines. The flames were starting to lap near his feet, and he jerked them away as he rocked a bit more vigorously, hoping the vines would hold.
Back and forth, scraping along the edge of the crater he moved, going from left to right, and then back again like a pendulum. Through his pain, the flyer concentrated on flexing his claws, and getting ready to slice through the ancient wood at just the right moment. He felt dizzy from the pain in his chest, as breathing was agonizing for him.
To and fro, and back and forth. The next swing would do it... but already he could feel the vine giving out. Screaming out as the pain brutally slammed into him, he lashed out with his claws, slashing into the vine and feeling it snap. He had no way of knowing if he had timed it correctly... but the sharp crack he felt as his body hit the rock ledge was proof enough.
Sobbing and roaring at the top of his lungs as his broken ribs suffered further abuse, the flyer thundered in agony, letting all of his tension, grief, and pain come flooding out as he realized he was still alive. He was resting at Redeye's feet, and after he laboriously managed to lift his head, the flyer, his face tear streaked, shook his head. "I failed... didn't it?" he asked.
Redeye shook his head. "You... passed actually."
"What?" Pterano asked, feeling like he was going to faint and lose his senses again. "I... passed?"
"Indeed. You made it far enough that you passed." a white hand was extended downward to him. "Now come on... let's get you back to the valley. You'll need to be rested for your next task."
Pterano at first couldn't summon enough strength to grasp onto the albino's hand, but he finally managed to did so, squirming as he felt the pain in his chest increase. "Aggggh." he moaned out as he was dragged to his feet.
"Broke some ribs did you? Well they'll heal... provided you aren't too rough with yourself after this."
"It's your fault I'm in this mess!" Pterano snapped, grinding his teeth as the pain flared up. He would need to move slowly... very slowly if he didn't want to increase the damage.
"Remember what I said about being the messenger? Now fly yourself up to the edge of the crater... and we'll take it from there." Redeye instructed, flapping his wings to take off.
Pterano did the best he could, the movement of his wings causing him additional pain as he flew upward, reminding him that he if he let his arms give out, he'd fall back down below, and never be seen again. Panting, the injured flyer cried out as he crashed landed on the volcano's slope, but fortunately on the side that was magma free. "I... I can't! I need... to rest." He pleaded. His skin had small burn marks all over it, along with some nasty bruises that were beginning to form. He was looking more like he'd been in some sort of tussle, albeit a rough one. "Please... just let me... rest." he exclaimed, hacking a few times, despite the agony it caused, in order to try and clear his lungs.
"Just take it slow. You'll only be in pain if you move certain ways. Otherwise, you should feel only a dull, stabbing sensation." Redeye stated, chuckling a little.
"Not... very reassuring." Pterano breathed, closing his eyes to let his body simply wash itself in both the euphoria he felt at being alive, and the intense pain as well from his cracked ribs. He would live... he had to live. It would hurt as bad as the last time he'd injured his chest... but he would live. His shallow breathing was the only indication that he was still alive, and he finally gave in, and passed out from the exhaustion, his last words being "Petrie... Petrie..." before his vision once more entered darkness, and his conscious thoughts ceased to exist.
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"This is hopeless, Littlefoot! We've walked up and down this section of the Great Valley three times now! There's no sign of Petrie!" Cera was about ready to call it quits. Already, the afternoon was drawing on, and they had not managed to locate any clues.
Littlefoot sighed. "Maybe... I just... maybe we should ask Pterano. He might be able to tell us something more about where they were exactly." the longneck stood by the waterfall, watching the small rainbow that formed at the base of it. He shook his head. "I just... we can't give up."
"Well I'm hungry. Plus, I think we should be getting back. By the time we wander back over to where we started, the adults would probably be returning as well. So can't we just start walking?" Cera protested.
"I... guess so." Littlefoot said with a sigh. He hung his head, and turned away from the waterfall.
"Good. That's more like it. Petrie will be fine. And who knows? Maybe one of the groups found him." Cera added, seeing that Littlefoot wasn't holding up so well.
"I hope so. Hey... why don't you all go on ahead? I'll catch up in a little bit, OK?" The others looked at him, Ducky allowing for a sad look to cross her features.
"We can wait for you Littlefoot, we can, we can."
"Thanks, just go on ahead, and I'll be along shortly." He said reassuringly. He turned back away from them, and started craning his neck, swiveling his head to try and spot something they might have missed.
It was with some surprise that he noticed a familiar face in the crowd. Off by himself, lying over near the waterfall under a tree, a flyer that Littlefoot knew from some time before stuck out at him like a sore toe. He was rather conspicuous after all. "Huh... well I wonder what he's doing here." Littlefoot said aloud, and began wandering over to this particular flyer, as it was the only thing he had to go on at the moment, and certainly the only creature he recognized right now.
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That test was really cruel, and I was dreading at the end that Pterano would end up actually failing the test after what he just went through.
Interesting that you didn't outright say who the flyer Littlefoot found was. Are you gonna leave us with a guess like this at the end of every chapter?
Um, another thing I noticed, are Chomper and Ruby here? I don't remember reading anything about them in the story, and I don't feel like looking back to make sure. It's just that Chomper is my favorite character, that's all :DD .
Can't wait till the next chapter!
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Yes, quite the cruel test, but perhaps it gives us a bit more insight into who took Petrie, eh? :yes The title of this chapter is really an indication of what was being tested after all. XD Hopefully it wasn't TOO tough on you, as I was like "Hmmm, should I really write this?" but ultimately decided yes.
No, I'm not going to have a cliffhanger every chapter, though it's fun. :DD I did it this time because I realized the chapter was pushing into being sort of long, so I'd just lead right into where I left off with the coming chapter.
As of right now, they are not. I haven't seen the TV series to any real extent, aside from bits and pieces, and I'd rather familiarize myself a bit more with Ruby first before I write her. As for Chomper, I MAY have him come into this, but haven't fully decided yet. I know he's your favorite character after all, and you're probably keeping your eyes peeled for him. XD :smile Ruby seems to be a fan favorite as well.
Thanks for the review! Was a difficult chapter to write, that's for sure, but I'm glad I got down to it.
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I've had the same thoughts of "Hmm, should I REALLY write this?" with today's episode. It'll definitely be one of my more weird episodes. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing yet.
And this wasn't too far or anything. I actually loved the agonizingly wordy detail of what was happening to Pterano as he was going through the test.
I kind of still want to stay with my first guess for the boss, but you're kind of making it hard in me. I have to wonder if that character would actually allow something this cruel or not. Then again, this is Pterano, so hmm.
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I guess we'll find out when you post it. Looking forward to it all the same. :) I'm wondering who this most evil swimmer is, after all :)
Thanks! :DD I tried to make it ponderous yet suspensful, as Pterano painstakingly made his way further and further onward.
Ahhh good, I'm bringing up some doubts as to who the boss is. :DD Yes, some in the valley might say that what Pterano did was inexscusable, depending on the circumstances. I'll be dropping other hints here and there as the story goes on as to his identity, so we'll see if your guess changes at all as the story progresses. :)
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Wow, flying through the top of a volcano, no more than twenty feet from the magma even though he was in pain!?!?!? Now, that's what I'd call the coolest uncle on Earth! Seriously! Who else would risk is life for his nephew!
Jared was sure right about Pterano being brave! You're doing a fantastic job! Keep it up!
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Why thank you, trulyfantasticme! I'm really glad you enjoyed that! And yes, I think you captured the essence of this chapter in your comment. You'd have to love someone quite an awful lot to do something like THAT. Just as the title of this chapter reflects after all... animus has several translations in Latin, but one such translation is... you said it, bravery. :smile
Speaking of Jared, he should probably read this if he likes Pterano. :DD
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Woah! First test out and these two have almost killed Pterano! Still, very very devoted. Here's hoping he can make it the rest of the way, not that I want to see him tortured more it's...you get it ;)
It is making he re think my possibilities on if they would be this evil to do this to Pterano. Hmm.
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OK! Seems I've made some of you start rethinking your guesses on who's behind this. Good, good! I like to keep it a mystery for a bit. :DD
So, next chapter. The return of an old character from an older film, and also, because I found an opening for him, the introduction of Chomper to this story as well!
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Chapter 7: Recuperation
Littlefoot walked up to the flyer, or more correctly, the sharpbeak. "Hey! I know you!" the longneck exclaimed. He only hoped he was right, and not wrong on his assumption.
The blue and black feathered sharpbeak lifted his head with a start, knowing that voice immediately. He would never forget it. "What?" he squawked. "Oh great... YOU?" he hopped up to his feet, giving Littlefoot a cross look.
"Ichy... right?" Littlefoot asked, hoping he got the name right.
"And you're that brat that we encountered back in those caves! You know, you helped ruin a perfectly good partnership!" Ichy said rather crossly.
"Errr... I don't think we really did that." the brontosaurus replied. "You two seemed to be pretty good at arguing all on your own."
Ichy seemed to take offense at this, and flew up into the air, though not much higher than Littlefoot's head. "So? If you guys hadn't of shown up, we would've..." he looked like he was getting ready to launch into a rather angry tirade, his whole body shaking like a twig in the wind, but then, he settled down, and flapped back to the ground. He knew he couldn't take this kid. Perhaps hurt him, but he wasn't going to pick a fight with other dinos around, and most assuredly not when he was trying to lay low. "Ugh... you're right. I hated that ungrateful belly dragger! True, I guess I miss those days, and you would not believe how hard it is to actually scrounge any decent FOOD." Ichy emphasized, folding his wings over his chest.
"But once again, that isn't our fault." Littlefoot pointed out, shaking his head. "I'm sorry if you're going hungry. But what are you even doing in the Great Valley?"
"I came here a few days ago. Pickings have been slim out in the Mysterious Beyond... which ain't so mysterious you know? I don't understand why you valley dwellers have to refer to it as that. You all came from there didn't you?" he quickly noticed Littlefoot's rather worried stare however, and chimed in to prevent the longneck from running off to notify the adults (at least that was the scenario playing out in Ichy's mind). "Now hold on! I'm more of a scavenger these days. I don't pick on living kids like yourself. It doesn't always keep me full... but with such a population as you have here... I get by." he sat back down on the grass, examining one of his feet in a nonchalant manner, flexing his "toes" as if they suddenly interested him as he held them before his eyes.
"Do you stay in this part of the Valley? Near the waterfall?" Littlefoot asked now.
"I mostly go all over the place... why?" Ichy responded with a question of his own.
"Well... were you here yesterday? When the Bright Circle was sinking?" Littlefoot held his breath, hoping the answer was yes.
"Yeah sure, but again, why?" Ichy said with a disinterested nod.
"You remember Petrie?"
"Who?" Ichy asked, raising a brow and giving Littlefoot a confused look.
"The flyer who was with us when we last saw you. He was... well I don't know for certain if he was kidnapped... but he went missing here yesterday, towards the end of the day. You didn't happen to see anything, did you? We think he was taken by somebody!"
"Hold on, hold on." Ichy stood back up, placing his wings on his hips. "You mean to say your flyer buddy was abducted?"
"We aren't positive, but it's looking more likely, and we haven't found any clues here. Everyone is blaming his uncle, Pterano for the abduction." the longneck explained.
"Pterano? I don't even know who that is. But the kid's been taken? Jeez..." Ichy seemed to show some angst over this, a pensive look crossing his face. "I don't think I really saw anything... at least... nothing that looked out of the ordinary, but then again, I wasn't really looking for your flyer pal either."
"Oh..." Littlefoot said, his head drooping a little.
"But hey! That doesn't mean I can't look!" Ichy stated, oddly eager.
"Really?" Littlefoot asked, perking up, but then hesitating. "But... why would you want to help me?"
"Let's just say that flyers being taken is a little disconcerting to me. I'M a flyer, and not much bigger than your friend."
"I don't think you have to worry..." Littlefoot said, shaking his head, then realized what he was saying, and decided to add in "OH! But... you never know! If you find something, could you please let me know?"
"And just a second" the sharpbeak stopped as Littlefoot was about to walk off. "I have my own... conditions for this as well."
The longneck pivoted his head around. "Yes?"
"Don't tell any of the adults I'm here. It's hard enough surviving in secret, and I really don't need the extra attention. Catch my drift?" Ichy asked, giving Littlefoot a raised brow.
The longneck nodded. "Well... alright." As much as he really didn't wish to agree to this, he would bend the rules in this instance. He didn't see the full harm of it, as Chomper lived in the Great Valley after all. What was one more sharptooth? Littlefoot felt he could keep this under wraps. It wasn't as if Ichy was their biggest concern now anyway. They still needed to find Petrie, and Littlefoot only hoped that the adults had come up with something during their search...
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Chomper, the aforementioned sharptooh, was in fact not too far away from Littlefoot and Ichy's position, though on the other side of the river where the waterfall met the ground in brilliant spray. He was out looking for the gang, as he was feeling particularly uneasy today, and wondered what they were up to. He had been present at the meeting this morning, though was not familiar with Pterano from before, so had very little information to go on.
He was also worried about Petrie, as the news of the missing flyer troubled him. Petrie was his good friend, and him vanishing mysteriously had the young sharptooth concerned. Dinos didn't just up and vanish in the Great Valley, or at least, the occurrence was rare enough.
He was walking towards Littlefoot's "home", though it would take him a bit at this rate. He planned to arrive in the evening, to both check to see if Petrie had been found, and to see if Littlefoot might like to go for a walk with the rest of the gang, provided of course Petrie was back. Chomper wouldn't feel right playing games if one of the gang was missing. It didn't sit well with him, and he'd been thinking about it most of the day.
He had explained to Ruby that he would be back after dark, and would ask Brightneck to take him back if it came to be too late. Ruby, initially reluctant, had only grudgingly consented when Chomper promised he would always stay in sight of adults, and not go off on his own. The Petrie abduction had her on edge after all, and Chomper going across the Valley to Littlefoot's didn't seem like the best idea at the moment, but as the adults were out in force today, and Chomper was quite persistent, Ruby had finally consented.
Chomper was constantly making sure he was in an adult's line of vision, though some of course gave him wary looks. He was common knowledge to the community here, but wasn't seen in such a positive light by every denizen.
Chomper did his best to ignore their stares, and it was with some surprised that he saw a shadow pass over him. Glancing quickly skyward and prepared to run if need be, the sharptooth was relieved when he saw it was only a flyer, and a non-threatening one at that. The flyer appeared to be burned and injured, and Chomper thought he recognized this particular pteranodon, but the fellow flew too quickly for him to tell.
"Flew" was more of a misnomer. "Crashed" would have been more accurate, as shortly after clearing Chomper's head by only a few feet, the flyer, who happened to be Pterano, plowed beak first into the ground, groaning as he lay there, crumpled and dejected.
Chomper gasped, and ran over to him. "Hey! Hey mister! What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
Pterano groaned again as he lifted his head, panting for breath. "I can't... go on. I... broke a few ribs... not sure how many."
"Oh my gosh!" Chomper exclaimed, bringing a hand to his mouth. He had never done it himself, but he'd heard it was quite painful. "Here... let me help you!" he grabbed the flyer's hand, and tried to drag him forward, so that he could sit up against a nearby rock, but the flyer was much heavier than the adolescent sharptooth, and Chomper found he could make no progress. "You should try sitting. Actually... hold on! I'll be right back!"
Pterano just now noticed that it was a young sharptooth who had him by the hand, and he initially recoiled, jerking away. "Sh-sharptooth!?" he asked, flabbergasted.
"Hey, I'm not going to bite you or anything!" Chomper explained. "I choose to eat insects, and I'm good friends with some others here in the valley... and hey! You're Petrie's uncle, aren't you?" he asked, recognizing the flyer now. "I know Petrie! He's one of my best friends!" the purple tyrannosaur stated.
"He... is?" Pterano asked, wincing as he started to pull himself over to the rock.
"Yeah! He is! Just wait there! I'll be right back!" Chomper took off running, looking for something in particular that Pterano could only speculate at. A sharptooth... and his nephew... friends? How had that ever occurred?
Slapping his hands on top of the rock, Pterano pulled himself upright, leaning gratefully back against the stone. He sighed, appreciative for the support. He had only barely made it back to the Great Valley, and had found his pain to be just tolerable, though he'd nearly collapsed by the time he'd reached even edge of the valley.
He closed his eyes, unsure of how long he had waited when suddenly, he felt a tugging on his wing.
"Mister! I'm back! I got you something to help with your pain!" the flyer opened his eyes, and saw Chomper down below, pulling on his wing. In his other hand he held a few leaves of a kind that Pterano was not familiar with.
"What are those?" he asked, unsure if he could trust this sharptooth or not... but then again, he had claimed to know Petrie.
"Littlefoot told me that they help if you're in a lot of pain. I think it's yucky looking but he said that if I ever needed to use it, it would help with pain. He said his grandparents had showed it to him. I hope it makes you feel better, because I've never tried it myself." he held it out for Pterano. "Ruby also told me about them too. So I guess it has to be true."
"Littlefoot? Ruby?" Pterano asked, knowing the former name, but not the latter.
"It grows throughout the valley. I think you should have some, because you look like you're really hurt." the face of the lad was just so innocent and sympathetic that Pterano found it hard to believe that he was staring right at a sharptooth. He resembled more of a cuddly leaf eater, save of course for the teeth. "I..." He hesitated, reaching a hand out for the leaves, but still not fully sure if he could believe this sharptooth, though he had already dropped several familiar names.
Grimacing as his pain once more flared, Pterano grabbed the leaves and stuffed them into his mouth. Swallowing rather quickly, the flyer looked down at Chomper. "You said you know Petrie? And Littlefoot?"
"Yeah!" Chomper said with a nod. "They're my best friends! Well, them and the gang. We sort of grew up together. They hatched me, when I was just an egg, and I ran into them again on the island where I was living, when I was a little older. I later came to the Great Valley with Ruby, a fast runner that's been looking after me ever since I left my parents. I only eat insects, so I'm allowed to stay. Well... most say I can stay." he added, a brief look of unease sweeping over him before he brightened up again.
Pterano blinked at all of this, wide eyed as he looked on in disbelief. "I... see. A sharptooth... in the Great Valley... oh, forgive me!" he said quickly, not wishing to be rude, as it seemed this sharptooh was friends with his nephew. "I am Pterano, Petrie's uncle. I don't believe I got your name."
"Chomper. The 'friendly sharptooth'." he waved up at Pterano, and gave him a toothy smile.
"Chomper. Oh! Such an... apt name." Pterano commented a little uncertainly. Already, he could feel a dulling sensation coming over him, and he exhaled happily, sinking back against the rock a bit further. "Oh... that's rather nice... you were right it seems."
"Is it working?"
"Yes... yes it is." Pterano said, nodding as his voice calmed a bit from the tense undertone it had been flecked with earlier. "Thank you my dear boy. I think I might be able to fly again in fact... though... I think I'd like to rest for a minute or two."
"That's OK. I don't blame you. I heard that broken ribs hurt every time you breathe."
"Yes... you heard correctly. They're very painful. I broke a few of my ribs when I was about your age... one too many adventures I'd say... and it hurt just as bad then as it does now. My sister was so furious over what I'd done... well that and scared half to death." he said, chuckling a little and shifting as the pain came back to him, though not as severely. Whatever Chomper had given him had worked.
"What happened to you? How did you get burned and break your ribs?" Chomper pointed at some burn marks on the flyer's body.
"I... ah... um... well... that is... you see..." he was at a loss for words. Redeye had warned him that if he went to anyone with the information about his "tests", then he would never see Petrie again. Those ominous words played in his mind, and he struggled to come up with an explanation. "I crashed... I wasn't paying attention and I crashed."
"And how did you burn yourself?" Chomper inquired, curious as the flyer's explanation had not covered that.
"Ah the burns! Yes... well uh..."
"Pterano!" the voice came from his sister, who flapped down in front of him, landing next to Chomper. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you! And... what happened?" she asked, noting the bruising and scorch marks.
"Uhhh... well as I was explaining to the young lad here... I had an accident earlier and..." he trailed off, looking away.
His sister glared at him, knowing full well when he was hiding something from her. "Pterano..." she said, but instead of pressing him further, she informed him of news he wasn't exactly thrilled to hear. "Mr. Threenhorn has called a meeting, now that all the groups have returned from their searching. He wants you present... NOW." she emphasized.
Pterano cringed, but gave her a resigned nod. "Very well... let's be off then. I'll... try and keep pace."
"Um... can I come too?" Chomper asked. "It would be faster for me if you guys could take me over there, since walking would just take a pretty long time. Plus I've... never really ridden on a flyer before." He said, hope shining in his eyes.
"Of course." Pterano said, after looking at his sister and bending a wing down so that Chomper could climb aboard. "It's the least I can do for you since you... helped me." he did not elaborate for his sister's sake.
"Yay!" Chomper shouted, and eagerly clambered up onto Pterano's back. He wrapped his arms about the flyer's neck, and Pterano flexed his wings, giving off a soft "Ohh" as his pain came back, though it was considerably dulled, much to his great relief. Pushing themselves up off the ground, the two flyers (and sharptooth passenger) began making their way towards the location of the meeting. As they flew, Pterano's sister could only wonder at what had happened to her brother, and why he seemed to be flinching every so often, as well as all of those small burn marks on his body. What was he hiding from her, and exactly what had happened to him?
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Aww...Chomper is just the sweetest sharptooth around now isn't he? :angel
Neat chapter! As always... :rolleyes:
the only reason why I'm giving you feedback is because I promised you I would. And I do not like to break promises. That and the fact that you barely get any feed back for this awesome story. :smile
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I was not expecting Itchy at all. Very interesting about his change of heart...sort of. I don't think he's with Redeye and the boss, so I'm interested to see what role he is going to be playing in this whole mess. The plot thickens! :lol
And I LOVED the way you introduced Chomper! He was very in character, what with only wanting to help. It's always fun writing first encounters between Chomper and anyone else. I really liked reading what was going through Pterano's mind during that encounter, especially his reaction to being offered "Medicine" from a sharptooth. :spit
I don't know how much of the TV series you have seen, but you got down his status in the Great Valley pretty well I think. Not everyone in the Great Valley is so open to him, even though it wasn't shown much in the TV series. Another thing to note is how Chomper acts around the grownups, specifically Mr. Threehorn. It always rather caught my eye that Chomper is just about the only character to call Mr. Threehorn, well, Mr. Threehorn, when everyone else calls him Topsy. I think that Chomper wants to stay on that old grouches good side :DD .
One little thing I just realized. Mr. Threehorn doesn't like either Chomper or Pterano, and neither of them are exactly fully welcomed in the Great Valley, so those two have a little something in common.
Now I wonder how Pterano will talk himself out of THIS mess.
Looking forward to the next chapter!
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I'm glad you liked my Chomper introduction, vonboy. Him meeting Pterano was certainly fun to write, and I can see why you like introducing him around, so to speak. Rather is fun to get everyone's reactions. :DD
I cut this one off in mid event, but I've got to start focusing on my FSO exam in two days, so hopefully it's OK. I could just go on and on, but I think that was a good place to stop, as I've got the next chapter pretty much planned out. It'll have quite a bit of action in it, so be looking for it. :) I just hope THIS chapter is OK. I did what I could with it, and realize it might not be quite up to snuff with my previous chapters.
This is more of just a build up chapter... but we DO learn something... interesting you might say. :)
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Chapter 8: Rumors of a Tragedy Long Past
"Last time Pterano. WHERE DID YOU TAKE HIM?" Topsy thundered, roaring right in the flyer's face as he pointed his horns directly at him. "You left the Great Valley today! I know you did because I didn't trust you enough to not have you watched! And then you come back all bruised and beat up and burned! If you didn't take Petrie, then I'd expect the sky to be just as likely to start falling in a few minutes!"
"Please..." Pterano held up a hand defensively. "Not so loud. I have a splitting headache you see..."
"Ohhhh splitting headache, I see." Mr. Threehorn cut in sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Is it over the GUILT of what you've done? So why DID you fly off into the Mysterious Beyond? Our search parties turned up nothing, you know! We scoured this valley to every corner, and could find NO sign of Petrie! Care to tell us what you were doing LEAVING the Great Valley, when all of us specifically told you NOT to do that?" Topsy demanded.
"I..." Pterano looked around him, noticing almost right away the peculiar looking white long tailed flyer in the gathered group. He was just out of the main circle, leaning against a longneck's leg with this wings folded across his chest. His red eyes were right on Pterano, and he gave a very subtle, almost imperceptible shake of his head.
Pterano sighed, hanging his head. If he said anything about the trial... he knew he'd never see Petrie again, or so it was being threatened. He felt literally as if someone was grabbing one of his wings, and another dino was taking hold of the other wing, and pulling in opposite directions. If only he could reveal the truth... but by doing so, he would be risking his nephew's safety, and he knew that he could never do that, even if it meant lying... again.
"I... was... trying to find him." he said. "I was trying to find my nephew! I'm just as concerned as the rest of you are!" Pterano protested.
"And what? You just happened to be flying near a fire and somehow ended up bruising and burning most of your body? Where exactly did you fly to anyway?" Threehorn asked.
If you only knew the half of it Pterano thought. "I... er... got too close... to one of the smoking mountains... I can't remember which one..." the flyer attempted.
"Can't remember WHICH one? And you had to have been awfully close Pterano! Just look at you! I haven't EVER seen you this beat up! What did you do, get into a fight with it or something? I say that's nothing but a lie! You've been nothing but a dirty liar, coward, schemer, scum, and all around menace ever since you've joined up with the herd! I say we MAKE him talk! Get him to tell us where he's taken his nephew!"
Littlefoot cringed at these words. Things were most certainly not going Pterano's way, but they still had no proof.
"This is bad." Hyp murmured, standing right beside the young longneck.
"Yeah... I don't think I'm comfortable accusing him like this. Come on grandma... grandpa..." Littlefoot looked over at them expectantly, and they seemed indeed ready to step in.
"I don't think he did it." this came from Chomper, who was on Littlefoot's right, Hyp being to his left. "I helped him a little while ago... he seemed really hurt and upset. He couldn't have taken Petrie. He just doesn't look like a bad flyer."
"I agree, Chomper. I don't think he did any of this. I think you're right on this one..." Littlefoot said.
"But if he didn't... then who did?" Hyp asked, scratching his head.
Petrie's mother was surprisingly the one who intervened, before Littlefoot's grandparents could step in. "Now hold on Mr. Threehorn! Let's not be so extreme. We're getting too riled up over this. Brother..." she turned to face him. "You're holding something back. I can tell when you're lying... you know me, and I know you. What is it Pterano? Why can't you be honest with us? This is very important."
"I... I can't madam! It's... I'm afraid that..." he stopped himself, not daring to say anymore.
"What? You know something Pterano! I can see it! What are you keeping from us? Don't do this again... please don't do this again. We never learned the full story from you last time... please don't do this. It's my SON we're talking about! Your nephew!" she urged, desperation filling her eyes as she pleaded with him, grabbing hold of his shoulders and looking right into his eyes.
"I know! I know!" Pterano responded, seemingly on the verge of tears. "It's just... I... I... I can't! Please! You must understand!" he blurted, trying to hold his emotions back.
"Pterano, if something's happened that you know about, we need to know!" his sister persisted. "This is too important to hold back on!"
Pterano glanced once more in Redeye's direction, and Littlefoot squinted, trying to see who it was that Pterano was looking at, as he most certainly wasn't looking at his sister. Redeye once more gave a shake of his head, and threw a warning glare at Pterano. The flyer shuddered and collapsed onto his knees. "I just... can't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." he fell forward, prostrate before her, similar to how he had been the night of Petrie's disappearance. "I can't... but you MUST believe me! I love my nephew..." he was sobbing now, convulsing and sniffling as he cried at her feet. "I love him so much... and I left the Great Valley because I was trying to find him! If you don't believe anything else I say... then at least believe that I love my nephew... I love your son... I'm trying so hard to locate him... please... I love him..."
His sister was silenced, standing in shock before him. She had never seen him like this. Not even after he had lost part of the herd. It was just so... different, and not like Pterano. There were similarities of course, such as his attempt to dodge her questions, but something else was wrong. She only hoped that he wasn't hiding something terrible from her, and that he really did know what had happened to Petrie. If he was concealing some accident from her of some sort, then she wasn't sure how she would take that. She felt as if she couldn't trust her brother anymore, and it was starting to scare her.
Mr. Threenhorn snorted, and stomped forward a bit. "See how suspicious he sounds? He's clearly hiding something! He can't tell us the truth, which means he MUST be guilty!"
"We don't know that though." Grandpa Longneck had finally gotten involved, much to Littlefoot's relief. He stepped forward, trying to regain the attention of the crowd.
"Right!" this came from Hyp's father, who stepped forward as well. "He's acting suspiciously, yes, but what if Littlefoot's theory from earlier is correct? Pterano has managed to hurt a good many of us, and what if by some chance, though I hate to throw baseless accusations around, one of us might be behind this?"
"And who would do such a thing?" Topsy snarled. "I'd like to see you even TRY and pin that on one of us!" he challenged. "Not a single one of us would do something so positively heinous!"
"Take it easy... I have nothing to go on yet. I was just saying, perhaps the young longneck's theory isn't that farfetched."
"Well I say it is!" Topsy continued, pawing at the ground. "I know Pterano, and I know he'd be just the one to do something like this! No good dirty flyer that he is!"
"Enough!" Grandpa Longneck said, speaking up above everyone else. "Pterano." He said, looking right at the flyer. Topsy did as well, smirking, as he figured Pterano would be getting his just desserts now, but Grandpa Longneck had other things in mind. "You deliberately left the valley, when we specifically told you not to. Even if it was to find Petrie, you violated our code. I'm afraid that if you leave the Great Valley again, then a punishment will need to be undertaken."
"I'd like to punish him right now..." Threehorn growled, but was silenced by a look for Grandpa Longneck.
Pterano lowered his head, and nodded glumly. "I understand, sir. I guess... I just got a little carried away. I'm so upset and worried, you know." Topsy grunted at this, but Pterano ignored him. "I didn't... mean to break any rules, and I know I'm on shaky ground as is. I'm so very sorry. But my nephew is missing! Surely you can't expect me to do nothing at all?"
"For now, that's exactly what you must do. You're a suspect, and you can't simply go wandering off without us making sure that you are doing what you truly say you are doing. We may not have any proof against you, but neither do we have proof that you truly were looking for Petrie. Your injuries are admittedly suspcious. I'm sorry, Pterano, but you must understand our perspective on this. Petrie disappeared under your watch, while you were responsible for him."
"I know!" Pterano wailed. "Which is why I'm trying to help! I feel terrible about what occurred..."
"Nevertheless..." Littlefoot's grandfather continued, "you cannot go up and flying off to wherever you want. We need to make sure that you truly did not do this. For those of us still willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, please try and do this."
"I... I understand." he said, his chest moving in and out as he breathed very heavily. "I... won't leave the Great Valley again."
"I think for the time being, we should continue our search efforts but... I think we need to consider the fact that Petrie might have been taken into the Mysterious Beyond." Grandpa Longneck said sadly.
"And none of us can look out THERE for any length of time." Threehorn reminded everyone. "So if he IS out there... we're stuck, unless we come up with some sort of plan." There was a collective sigh that went up from the adults now, and they all began to talk amongst themselves.
Littlefoot took this chance, and ran forward, heading right for Hyp's father as Chomper and Hyp both watched him go, surprised by this. "Hey! Excuse me!" Littlefoot said, coming up behind him, and the older hypsilophodon glanced downward. "You said my theory might be right... but why? Nobody else seems to believe me, or take what I say as possible. So why do you think there might be something to it?"
"Well..." he rubbed his chin. "It was just a rumor but... I remember now, back from that time. We were all together, trying to make our way to the Great Valley. Fortunately, Hyp had not been separated from me, as you had from your grandparents. We were thinking of going with Pterano, but even more fortunately, we ultimately decided against it. When Pterano returned to us after it was all over, rumors immediately started circulating that there was a survivor from the group he had led to their deaths, but if this survivor does exist, he... or she I suppose, has never come forward. If there was a survivor, why wouldn't they have denounced Pterano back then? We never heard any word of denunciation against him, except from our own group. That's why it's just so... strange."
Littlefoot's eyes widened. "Can you tell me anything else about this survivor? Like who he was, what he looked like?"
Hyp's father shook his head, frowning. "I'm afraid I can't. Like I said, it's only a rumor, and if there WAS this rumored... survivor, he never spoke up against Pterano afterward, so that's why I just don't put much credence in it, BUT... your statement reminded me of it earlier. Everyone was talking about it back then... yet nobody ever confirmed it."
"Can you try and think of who went with him? If you can remember, then maybe we can find out if one of our own is here from that group." Littlefoot pressed.
"Uhhh..." he closed his eyes, inhaling. "I... can't think of anyone off the top of my head. Just a few indistinct faces. There was a swimmer of some sort... I remember that, but I don't think that swimmer is here with us today. There was a clubtail as well... but he's gone too. I don't think he's here with us. Uhhh... a few families... none of which I think came back. Several young ones died after all... it was terrible. I don't mean to speak ill of anyone, but that flyer certainly has a lot of blood on his hands." Hyp's father glanced over in Pterano's direction, giving him a remorseful look. "Such a tragedy... if there WAS a survivor... I can imagine he would be quite upset over what occurred."
Chomper was beside Littlefoot now, closely followed by the rest of the gang. "That's what I was thinking too!" the longneck exclaimed, looking over at the forsaken flyer.
"Maybe we should go talk to him, Littlefoot. If he was the leader of the group, he might know who he brought with him. That's what I would do, at least." Chomper suggested, looking in Pterano's direction as well.
"Yeah... it's the only way to get answers. Let's go, guys!" Littlefoot started heading over towards Pterano, the others moving after him, albeit Cera was rather reluctant, as she was seeing mostly her father's point of view on this one.
Pterano could see Redeye approaching him from his side, but the albino hissed as he noticed the young ones approaching. "You better lose those brats fast, Pterano! You have your next test after all." the white skinned flyer reminded him as he began backing away to melt into the crowd. "Oh... but ensure they don't go TOO far... if you get my drift..."
"What do you mean?" Pterano asked quietly, but he was gone. He slowly turned to face the approaching gang, attempting to draw himself up and put the best look upon his countenance that he could muster, a feeling of dread beginning to build within him over Redeye's last words.
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And I never thought I would feel like slapping Grandpa Longneck and Mr. Threehorn! :anger :lol I'm sorry, i just feel so bad for Pterano. He really does love his nephew. And he's just trying to protect and all their doing is treating him like crap! :anger j
To Mr. Threehorn: Dude, REALLY?!?! PTERANO'S JUST TRYING TO FIND PETRIE AND ALL YOU'RE DOING IS TREATING HIM LIKE HIS A PIECE OF DIRT!!!!!!! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!!! MY GOODNESS!!!! SURE HE DONE SOME DAMAGE IN THE PAST, BUT AT LEAST HE CAN BRING HIMSELF TO ADMIT HE WAS WRONG!!! AND BESIDES, HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOU'RE DAUGHTER GOT LOST IN THE MYSTERIOUS BEYOND???!!!!?? HUH???
To Mr. Longneck: I think you're cool and respect you and all that but ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!? CAN'T YOU SEE THAT HE'S JUST TRYING TO FIND HIS NEPHEW, WHOM HE'S PRACTICALLY RISKING HIS LIFE FOR??? SERIOUSLY!! YOU'RE ACTING JUST AS BAD AS MR. THREEHORN HERE!!!!
I just had to do that. :lol
Neat chapter, Pterano! As always.
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I'm getting that feeling again and that feeling is usually right.
I admit, when you said that it was a build-up chapter, and while I understand how important one of those can be, I wasn't expecting too much, but, I was proved wrong. Nice job on that. ;)
Awesome chapter, and I can't wait to see what happens next. :yes
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*bites her lip and prances about* I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Oh you're making one of my theories hold up more in my mind! I think I might know who's behind this but you've all but said it too much for me to really make it believable that I thought it at first anyway.
Oh, I don't know how to white out or I would say it under a spoiler guard but. I think I know!
Anyway excellant as always! :)
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Mama's Girl, you can white out (Or blackout) the text with this code.
- Code: on
[QUOTE][COLOR=black]hi[/COLOR][/QUOTE]
would give you
hi
About this chapter, I liked it.
I'm really starting to feel bad for Pterano now. He's just a play thing in some mystery boss's game. I do like how you've been portraying him though. Your humbling him.
So we finally get some good clues on who this boss is, huh? This probably just further dashes my first guess.
I can't really think of anything else right now.
We'll see who's right, and who's wrong! Probably not this chapter, but maybe some votes will be amended by the end! Here it is! It's explosive! It's action packed! It's a regular bar room brawl after the lights have been shot out! Coming at y'all, chapter 9!
Warning! This chapter does contain some violence!
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Chapter 9: Sacrificial
"Pterano!" Littlefoot said as he walked up with the rest of the group.
"Littlefoot. What is it?" the flyer asked nervously, Redeye's last words still ringing in his ears. Don't let them wander too far? Why?
"I need to know if you can remember anyone from the herd that you led away, and if any of them made it out alive." the longneck stated.
"The herd? The one I... led... to their... death?" he gulped, his hands starting to get clammy and his knees beginning to shake. It was something dreadful coming this way. He could just tell. He wasn't sure what it was. He looked around him, trying to see if there were any signs of danger, but he came up empty. Everything just seemed so... normal. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling as if eyes were upon him... upon all of them.
"Yeah. Is it possible there were any survivors?" Littlefoot persisted.
"Er... I... I don't know!" Pterano admitted. "It all happened so fast I... I... flew... away you see. I couldn't help anyone. I was so... powerless. There was literally nothing I could do." he bemoaned the past as if it were playing out again slowly before him.
"But do you think any made it away?"
"If... that did happen... I wouldn't know about it."
"You turned tail and ran, just like the coward you are." Cera scoffed.
"Cera." Littlefoot cut in. "That's not why we're here."
"Huh? But he's a coward, Littlefoot! All he did was fly away! Pterano got them all killed!" the threehorn adamantly defended her position.
"But he DID save Ducky... if not for him, Ducky wouldn't even be with us right now." Littlefoot reminded her.
"Uh... well... yeah. But..." Cera seemed at a loss for words on that one.
"Pterano. Try and think and remember specific faces. I know it probably hurts, but can you do this? There were rumors that there was a survivor. If there was... maybe this survivor took Petrie. Come on Pterano! Think!" Littlefoot urged, looking at him with pleading eyes.
"I..." Pterano's heart was racing, the memories of it all so terrible to him. He would relive that awful day in nightmares, but he avoided thinking about it as long as he possibly could manage while he was awake. He was looking for a new life here, yet had only managed to find more trouble, as usual.
"Please, Pterano! The past can hurt... but it can't do any physical harm to you in the here and now." Littlefoot said. "This would really help us."
"I..." the flyer closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. "I..." the screams, the horror, the splaying blood. All of it played out before his eyes. There were fast biters... and a rock slide that had trapped everyone in that death pit. It was lush and green... but had no way out after the rocks had sealed off their only escape. A paradise had become a mass grave in a matter of minutes.
He could smell the blood, and sense the heavy thickness of death in the air. The screams resonated in his ears, the gasps and pleas for help... they grew in crescendo. Confusion, anger, pain, desperation, and agony; all of these emotions mixed together into one massive conglomeration. It caused his stomach to churn, and his heart to smash itself against his battered ribcage.
Just as the pteranodon thought it couldn't get any worse, he snapped his eyes open, the screams suddenly wrenching themselves from the past into his present. Screams? Where?
Cries of "SHARPTEETH!" echoed all around him, and much to his horror, his nightmare had somehow become real. Fast biters were lunging out of the bushes and jumping off of rock ledges. This was no dream. Nor was it a nightmare. Sharpteeth were in the valley! Sharpteeth had penetrated the sanctity of the Great Valley, and the adults, caught completely by surprise, were gathering themselves together as best they could.
The gang was off by Pterano, and nobody was currently by Pterano himself. To his sheer apprehension, the flyer could see several fast biters heading right for them. The young ones froze, unable to break in any one direction, as none seemed safe. As a particularly fast moving one drew close enough to snap up any one of them in his jaws, the fast biter was suddenly sent hurtling through the air, replaced by a flash of green as Brightneck landed in front of the children, skidding to halt after the powerful kick he'd delivered to the sharptooth had sent it sprawling to the ground, not moving. "Kids! Stay behind me! Pterano! Get them out of here!" he ordered.
The gang and Pterano were separated from the other adults by a grassy field, and Pterano knew that going in that direction was too hazardous. He could see Mr. Threehorn swatting away a fast biter with his horns, while Littlefoot's grandparents smashed their tails against the head of another who was unfortunate enough to be caught in the middle of them.
Brightneck ran over to the fast biter he'd knocked to the ground. The sharptooth was struggling to get up, it's head swimming. Brightneck struck it hard with the back of his hand, knocking it back down, and began to twist the long hooked toe claw on the foot. He bent it around, the bone emitting a sickening crunching and then snapping as the hypsilophodon broke it clean off. Wielding it like a sickle, he once again transposed himself in between the children and the fast biters, some of whom were closing the distance. "Pterano! Go!" Brightneck shouted, and the flyer finally seemed to come out of his daze.
"Children! This way!" he urged, flapping his wings and pushing himself up into the air. "We'll head out of the meeting place and into a more open area!"
"But... we need to help them!" Littlefoot said, looking back over at the battling adults.
"We can't do anything for them right now! They'll be fine! And I'm sure they'd tell you to run if you charged over there. You'd be cut to pieces! I can't allow that, Littlefoot!" Pterano insisted, hovering over him.
"He's right!" Brightneck stated, looking back over his shoulder at the longneck. "You need to run! NOW! We'll handle this. Don't worry..." he crouched, getting ready to strike as two fast biters approached. "Now GO! Get moving!"
The others were offering no argument. Not even Hyp was standing to fight. He could see his dad fending off a fast biter with Ducky's mom, and though he was worried, he knew that charging right into two fast biters was not the answer. They may be able to circle back around once they got out of this cramped space.
Littlefoot took one last look in the direction of the grown ups, and then ran off to join his friends. "How could sharpteeth have gotten into the Great Valley?" he asked, noticing that Chomper was fighting to keep up with them, as his smaller legs were not much of a help in this circumstance. "Chomper! Grab my tail!" Littlefoot suggested, lowering it to act as a convenient handhold for the small sharptooth, who jumped for it, and caught hold.
"I'm not sure! I can't even imagine! The valley is supposed to be completely secure from the outside world!" Pterano replied, flapping ahead of them to lead the way.
"I think I heard them say a few things!" Chomper said, climbing his way up Littlefoot's tail towards his backside. "I think they said... something about it going to plan... or something!" he said, huffing as he managed to gain the back of the longneck.
"Plan?" Littlefoot asked, hardly believing what he had heard.
"We'll figure that out later. Let's just get out of here!" Pterano urged.
Behind them, Brightneck was clashing with two of the fast biters. He had managed to grapple the first one hand to hand, but quickly jerked himself free, spinning and burying the hooked claw into the sharptooth's side, eliciting a scream of pain from his opponent. Tugging the claw free, he elbowed the fast biter in the neck before delivering another kick, thrusting the carnivore to the ground. He prepared to square off with the second of the two when that one seemed to think better of it, and took off after the children. "No! No!" Brightneck exclaimed, attempting to chase him down, only to be stopped by the first fast biter, who was quickly getting back to his feet. "Grrrr... out of the way!" he angrily shouted, and brought the claw down, the fast biter narrowly dodging him as he did so.
As the claw swished harmlessly by, the fast biter seized his chance, and raked Brightneck in his flank, drawing blood and causing him to cry out, before he swiftly recovered and drove his knee right into the meat eater's gut. He pushed the "sickle" into the fast biter's back, pushing down on it to drive it in deeper. The fast biter screeched, clawing Brightneck's chest, slashing at him and attempting to get him off. Brightneck managed to jump back in time before the fast biter's own "sickle" could disembowel him, and he once more managed to successfully yank his weapon back and away.
Panting, he knew he had to end this quickly before the children were overtaken.
Getting ready to pounce, the hypsilophodon was pleasantly surprised when Mr. Threehorn crashed into the side of the fast biter, tossing him into the air as if he was nothing more than a treestar and outright breaking his right leg, smashing the bone and dislocating it from the hip. "Where are the children?" Threehorn asked.
"Off that way! With Pterano!" Brightneck hastily explained.
"What!?" Topsy bellowed. "With Pterano!? Go after them! They can't possibly be safe following that flyer around!" Threehorn's eyes widened, and called out a warning just in time. "Behind you!"
Brightneck dropped to the ground and rolled to the side, as the fast biter he had previously knocked unconscious was back up. "I'll take care of this! You can run faster than I can, so catch up with them and keep them safe!" Threehorn shouted.
Brightneck nodded, and skirted the larger dinosaur so he could attempt to catch up with the children. He only hoped he could make it in time. Already, his aching wounds were protesting, and his lungs desperately needed air, but he couldn't slow down to oblige them... not yet at least. "Sickle" in hand, the hypsilophodon pumped his legs as fast as they could move, and he started to draw a beeline on the small group he could see ahead of him.
The main battle was going well for the adults. A number of the fast biters had gone after the children, and now one was done, one was pursuing them, and the other was locked in combat with Mr. Theehorn. That left about four that the adults were contending with.
One had had his head bashed by two longneck tails, and another was down for the count thanks to the earlier efforts of Mr. Threehorn. The other two were facing Hyp's father and Ducky's mother, and still another was attempting a go at the longnecks. Grandpa Longneck baited the latter one, drawing him in as his tail extended back, poising itself like a coiled spring. With a great heave, the tail cracked forward, connecting hard with the fast biter, and sent him sailing into a rock wall. He fell to the ground, completely immobile, his insides probably turned to jelly from the impact.
Hyp's father was only a bit smaller than the fast biter opponent, but he had a helper, and she was utilizing a rock as a weapon. The fast biter snapped his teeth, gnashing them as he tried to take chunks out of the two, but each time they backed away, maintaining their distance. "I think we should try something." Hyp's dad suggested. "I'll try to knock him forward, and you get him on the head. Can you do that?" he asked, gulping as he realized what he'd just suggested. Ducky's mother simply nodded, and he knew that the more dangerous part was now up to him.
He took a deep breath, waited for the fast biter to take a swipe at him, and as it did so, he slid forward, kicking his legs out in front of him and slipping along the ground, crying out as he couldn't stop himself and barreled low into the sharptooth. The carnivore fell on top of him, snarling and preparing to slash into his throat when Ducky's mother struck the hungry sharptooth smack on the head, the fast biter sighing in a snarling manner as he collapsed, unmoving, on top of Hyp's father.
"Where are the children?" she asked.
"I... don't know!" he grunted as he tried pushing the fast biter off of him. "Last I saw them they were... oh no!" he gasped, realizing where it was that he had last seen them.
The gang was racing for the exit of the meeting area, the giant stone arch looming over them as they got closer. Littlefoot was bringing up the rear, and already he could hear the fast biter gaining on him. "Pterano!" he called out. The flyer looked back behind him. "It's gaining on us!" as Littlefoot was shouting this, he stumbled, and went down, taking Chomper with him. The longneck slid on his belly, and Pterano froze in mid air, pulse pounding as he could see the fast biter getting closer.
Visions flashed intensely in his mind now, a manic pulse pounding through his veins. The clubtail who had been overpowered by at least three of those fast biters... the swimmer who had plummeted to her death... the screams, the anguish, the death!
"No... no!" he yelled, diving right at the fast biter. "Stay away from them! Littlefoot! Chomper! Run!" he quickly turned a half sumersault, so that his claws came up behind him and then downward onto the sharptooth's snout. "Go!" Littlefoot managed to stumble back up to his feet, Chomper climbing back aboard as he took off again.
Pterano kept in front of the fast biter. "Right here! Chase me! I'm a better meal!" he challenged it, and it roared at him, swiping with its claws. He flew backward, trying to stay out of range. "Come on! Come on! Right here!" the air whistled only mere inches from him, the claws coming excruciatingly close each time.
"What? Is that the fastest you can do?" Pterano taunted. "I thought you were called fast biters! Why so slow?" this only seemed to enrage the fast biter, who started jumping off the ground and trying to dig his claws into Pterano. The flyer played a little game of fish with the sharptooth, managing to pull out of range each time. "Hah! And I'm the old one, here! This really isn't so bad." he muttered, keeping a safe distance away now as he kept flying backward, every so often beating his wings a bit harder to stretch the distance out.
"Well now, I've seen some slow sharpteeth in my day, but you sir, really do... ooof!" he had suddenly flown into something quite solid, and he was now in free fall. Letting a short cry escape his lungs, the flyer realized he must have hit the arch right before he slammed into the ground. It wasn't a massive drop, fortunately for him, but he screamed as his ribs absorbed some more punishment.
The children skidded to a halt, and looked behind them. "Oh no! Pterano!" Littlefoot shouted, eyes going wide.
Hyp shook his head. "I don't know what we can do for him. I guess I could try and go in there... but..."
The flyer tried to rise, but the wind had been knocked out of him in the crash landing. His lungs protested mightily for air, and his head swam. He was seeing at least three fast biters instead of just the one walking towards him as his vision went in and out. Pushing himself up as the carnivore greedily started closing slowly in for the kill, its lips dripping with saliva and its red tongue hanging out in expectation, Pterano bowed his head.
He knew had no strength at the moment, and it was over. The end of the flight. Better him than the children. "Run!" he gasped, fighting to find air. "Run!" he panted, noticing they were stuck on the spot. "Go..." the fast biter was reaching down for him a sharp holler rang out, and Pterano could see a figure hurtling through the air towards him. The figure became Brightneck, who was giving out a mighty call at the top of his lungs as he came down hard on the backside of the fast biter. The claw weapon ripped into the sharptooth's throat, and blood sprayed in spurts as the hypsilophodon furiously held on, driving it in as deep as it would go as he slammed his free arm's elbow into the back of the fast biter's head repeatedly.
Over and over again he pounded away, trying to knock it senseless and possibly kill it at the same time. Howling and screeching in torment, the fast biter thrashed and twisted like a beached fish, its death throes coming upon it as it struggled to shake its attacker off. "Go down! STAY DOWN!" Brightneck snapped, and jerked the claw upward, cutting even more of the sharptooth's throat before it finally fell, a mere few inches from Pterano's beak. It breathed one last time in the flyer's face before it expire, its eyes glazing over and seeing nothing evermore.
Tugging his weapon free, the panting Brightneck fell to his knees, gasped, cried out in disbelief, and started to laugh. "I never... never thought it would go down like that! Must say... I misjudged you Pterano. The things they say about you aren't so true after all." he stated in an exhausted, breathless voice.
"And guess what? You passed your second trial friend." The words were whispered right in his ear, and in that instant Pterano knew that Redeye was beside him. That blasted albino must have been watching him this entire time! Too shaken up to do anything at the moment, the flyer merely let his racing heart begin to slow, his breathing to stop coming in such painful inhalations, and his eyes to close.
Redeye held out a hand for him, pretending to be some flyer who had noticed the commotion and was stopping by to assist the valorous, in order to throw off any suspicion. Upon opening his eyes and seeing the proffered hand, Pterano needed no further encouragement, and grasped it tightly.
Wow! Great chapter of course, now, where does this further info leave my guesses? Hmm, well the first big thing I told you on what I think could still hold, though I think you killed the descriptor I gave, if you follow ;).
I feel like you wrote parts of this chapter just to prove me or vonboy wrong, hehe :lol. I'd ask why you enjoy messing with your readers so much but I understand it too well with my little story also trying for intrique :)
Nope, this was all played out in my head before hand, even before I asked you for your guess. :) :smile But yes, I do like leading my readers around a bit, and dropping clues here and there. :)
Thanks for the review, and glad you liked it. :DD
Yeah, you've blown my guess out of the water now. I know that's something my guess would have NEVER done. I don't have another guess right now. I'll see if I can come up with another good guess before you reveal it.
For a second, you seemed to be doing something TrulyFantasticMe did a whole lot of in Lost in a Forest, and that's make Pterano a BADASS! I really got that impression for a few paragraphs as Pterano started to get cocky and taunt the vicious sharptooth below him, only to kind of pay for that a second later.
When the fighting started breaking out, I started to wonder if this was Pterano imagining it or not. That was a very nice touch, how you brought that up right after Pterano relived that tragic day in his head. You had me wondering for a little while what was really going on there.
As for the violence itself, I liked it. It was very descriptive, and a little Gut-wrenching, but I compare it to Pterano's first test, where you explained what was happening to him in excruciating detail.
This was a really great chapter! I'm looking forward to the next one :DD
Um, It's not getting started just yet, but I hear in this year's GoF awards, there will be a separate fanfiction awards! Here's a link to Mumbling's post explaining how it will be carried out.
Important: The Fanfiction Award, To everyone who asked. (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=8853)
I just want to make sure you know about it, so you can get this story entered! I think you'll have to PM Mumbling to get your fanfiction entered.
Thanks, vonboy! Heheh, it's back to the old drawing board then, in terms of guess. :DD
Ah yeah heheh, he was getting a little too confident there, so couldn't get away with that. XD
Ahhh yes, if it was all just a fantasy or not. Glad you liked that aspect, as that was what I was going for. :DD
Oh, thanks! I wonder if I can submit an unfinished story, though at the rate I'm updating, it should be done before the end of this month, barring something major occurring. Thanks for the link, and I'm honored that you want me to enter this story into the drawing. I'm really glad you're liking it so far. :)
Neat chapter! Go Pterano!!! Show those fast biters whatcha made of!!!! :lol
Are you going to be posting another chapter soon?
Yes, it should be coming fairly soon. Working on it now. I've been in a bit of a slump recently, and it's been hampering my creativity. I apologize for letting a week go by without any updates, but I always said I wouldn't post a chapter if I thought it was crap, so now that I'm finally over my mental blocks, I'm moving along here and should be getting it up in a bit. Thanks for your patience in this, I know I don't normally post this slowly. :p
No worries Pterano. We all have those days when you just don't really feel up to it or you have a severe case of writer's block. Annoying little thing, isn't it? Anyways, good luck with the chapter. :yes
Once again, thank ya much for the reviews! We've reached the rising action now, speeding towards the climax! We'll be building up to it in the next few chapters or so. Sorry for the delays, but I always said I wouldn't post if I felt I'd be giving my readers crap.
So here we go! Some action for... eh I'll just let you guys read it. XD
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Chapter 10: Truths
Pterano was resting up against a rock, munching on another leaf that Chomper had been kind enough to provide. It was another one of those healing plants, and the flyer was grateful to have it. That impact with the rock arch hadn't helped his aching ribs, and though he had escaped serious physical injury, he didn't wish to take any chances.
"He really is brave!" Chomper was saying as he stood around in a circle with his other friends, who were just a ways off.
"Well... yeah... I guess he TRIED to save you and Littlefoot... but Mr. Brightneck was better at that, hee!" Cera said, holding her head up.
"Well maybe, but if Pterano did not swoop in to distract that fast biter, Brightneck never would have caught up with us, he would not, oh no, no, no." Ducky pointed out.
"I think it's true. Pterano saved us, and then Brightneck saved Pterano." Littlefoot laid out the actual series of events, hoping not to come on as sounding like a know it all.
"Aw, whatever. Pterano is still Pterano to me." Cera replied, rolling her eyes.
"Cera... not so loud. He's right over there, you know?" Littlefoot hushed her, and looked over at the resting flyer. The longneck slowly started walking over, followed by his friends, who weren't exactly sure what he was up to.
"Hey... Pterano?" Littlefoot asked, to which the flyer cracked an eye.
"Mmm... yes?" he asked, folding his hands on his stomach.
"Thanks... for saving us. And I'm sorry... about what happened to Petrie. If it makes you feel any better... I don't think you took him. And whatever happened to you out in the Mysterious Beyond... I know you're doing everything you can to find him. We're all trying our best. I just... I hope we can find him." the longneck said. It had now been a full day since the little flyer had gone missing, and it seemed as if they were no closer to getting any of the answers they sought.
Pterano smiled down at the lad, and sniffed a little, as his beak was feeling stuffed. “Thank you, Littlefoot. I only hope I can locate him soon. I've been... trying my best." the flyer explained, though he knew of course that he couldn't launch into any details.
"I know you have." Littlefoot stated with a nod of his head. "And I also know that you weren't completely honest with the grownups back there. Is something wrong? I think that if you need help, you shouldn't try and tackle all of your problems by yourself. You have people who still care about you here, and they would be willing to help you if you let them. Why don't you let them share some of your burdens... and your pain?" the longneck asked, gazing up at the flyer with concern in his eyes.
"Oh Littlefoot... I do appreciate your kind words to me... but I'm afraid I just can't. It's not out of a sense of pride or anything of the sort... I just... the one who's taken Petrie told me that if I asked for any help... I'd never see my nephew again... so that is why... you must not assist me. Please... for Petrie's sake. I care about him too much to allow you to help me... as much as I wish to just break down and allow it." he hung his head, his eyes closing in what looked to the longneck like regret.
Littlefoot's eyes widened at this revelation, and he rocked his head back a little. "You've been threatened? Do you know who took Petrie, then?"
Pterano shook his head. "No... I do not."
"Maybe... you could try to think about it again. You were trying to when we were attacked. I know it must hurt a lot... it would be like you asking me to think about the time of my mother's death." Already flashes had entered his mind, but he shook his head. He wasn't going there. Not now. "But this could be important! If you know who took Petrie... then maybe you could somehow let the adults know."
Pterano hesitated, looking down at the assembled gang before him. He furrowed his brow, and pursed his beak. He didn't wish to endanger any of them, and he most certainly had no desire to get his nephew killed. Poor Petrie...
Leaning back against the rock, Pterano closed his eyes, picturing his nephew before him, flying into his arms, squeezing him tightly as he told him how happy he was to see him again. Littlefoot thought he could see a few tears glistening at the seams of Pterano's eyelids, but couldn't be positive.
Pterano now realized it, even as a great trembling overtook his innards. He was sweating, and he felt sick to his stomach. He wasn't in this for himself. He loved Petrie... he loved his family. But Petrie he loved more than even his own sister, as difficult as that was for him to confess. He loved Petrie more than his own life... more than his own soul. He had to get him back.
The gang could now see tears rolling down the flyer's cheeks as he cried silently to himself. Pterano's mind was on autopilot as it raced back in time, back to the great many deaths he had caused. He gaped, horrified, as he was once again back on that pinnacle, watching as those who had trusted him and placed their lives in his hands were butchered one by one. There was a clubtail... a swimmer.... the swimmer who had most certainly plummeted to its death in the forest below. An image that was forever burned in his mind.
There were others as well... faces that were dim and indistinct...
Light flashed in front of his closed eyes, like some epileptic frenzy that was trying to break in. It wasn't a seizure however, but was rather a storm, gathering off in the distance, beyond the walls of the Great Valley. Lightning danced off over the horizon, causing the gang to look uncomfortably over in the direction of the black clouds.
The lightning transferred itself into Pterano's memory, and he was starting to see each face individually, lit up in the flashes that played before his mind's eye. Yes... he was starting to recall everyone who had been with him... but none matched anyone he was currently familiar with. Worried that this was going to be for nothing, he suddenly saw a particularly gruesome sight blossom before him. It was a sight that he had pushed out of his mind, and had convinced himself over the years that it had just been some nightmare, and not the reality that had plagued his life up to this point.
Rock walls surrounded him on both sides, curving up to the sky like demonic horns, enclosing the scene as it played out before him. Pterano was standing on the ground, something he had not done at the time, and the surreality of the scene told him it was just his mind, his guilty conscience making it seem far worse than it had been. Or perhaps it had really been this bad, and the reality was blending with the imagination.
Framed in between the horn like walls, there stood a particular dinosaur. He was sobbing over a fallen form that resembled him rather strongly, and it was clear that the one lying on the ground had been the mate of the other. Was this real? Fantasy? Somewhere in between? He struggled to recall. There had been several mated pairs in his group... so why was this one sticking out at him now?
As fast biters closed in from all directions, the survivor let out a wail of anguish that seemed to split the very sky itself. Pterano tried to block it out... but there was something very familiar about the voice...
The head was turning to face him, despair and affliction written all over the features. As the tear stained face stared directly at him, Pterano could not initially see who this was... but as the lightning flashed again, the flyer cried out, his eyes snapping open as he came out of his dreamlike state. "Agggggh!" he gasped, chest moving in and out as he could feel his hands shaking. It was as if he'd been struck by a bolt from the sky, or had awoken from some terrible nightmare, the latter mostly being true.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Littlefoot asked, the concern present once more on his face.
Breathing heavily, Pterano clutched his chest, his pulse pounding in his ears. There WAS a survivor! Somehow, he had gotten away. How he had accomplished this was beyond Pterano, but he now knew exactly who had taken Petrie, and why.
Rising unsteadily to his feet, the flyer tottered a little, nearly falling backwards before he managed to balance himself. "Pterano? What is it?" Littlefoot asked, unsure now.
"I... I have to go." he panted, glancing briefly over in the direction of the adults. He couldn't see the face in there... but he now knew who it was. "Littlefoot... please just stay here. It's safe, and there's a storm coming. I don't want you going out in it. I'll bring Petrie back... I promise." Pterano said, shaking his head to indicate that they shouldn't try and follow him.
"But... hey, wait!" the longneck cried as Pterano took to the air, thunder rumbling in the distance. The flyer wasn't going to confront his quarry in front of anyone if he could avoid it. Petrie was still missing after all, and unless he could locate him, he still could take no action. But if he could perhaps talk to this individual, and try and get a sense for just how angry he was, then perhaps they could reach some form of agreement. If it meant a lifetime of exile... Pterano supposed he could live with that. As long as Petrie was returned safely... he no longer cared what happened to himself.
Flapping as the wind started to pick up, the flyer could hear a familiar voice calling out from behind him. "Hey! Going somewhere, Pterano?" It was Redeye. The albino had certainly become his shadow recently, and never seemed to be very far off.
"I know who's behind this!" Pterano snapped, looking back over his shoulder to see the albino wheeling down on him.
"Oh do you now? Well good for you. Too bad there ain't a prize for figuring it out!"
"Look... if you could perhaps take me to him... alone... then maybe we could come to some sort of arrangement." Pterano suggested, raising his voice to be heard over the wind.
"Absolutely not! You still have ONE task left to complete. Or have you forgotten? So you know his identity? So what? He's the one with all the odds in his favor. He still controls the most important piece, Pterano. Your nephew after all. If you want to see him alive... you WILL complete this last task. If you don't... you'll never see Petrie again... at least... you won't see him alive." Redeye said with a malicious chuckle.
Pterano scowled, but knew that the albino was right. He wasn't exactly holding any of the good cards at the moment, to use a more modern term. He really had nothing on his side. Knowing the face of his enemy did him no good. "Fine! This last test then... but I swear, if you renege, I'll inform the Great Valley about who did this!"
"Hmph.... whatever Pterano. Whatever. Just shut up and follow after me." Redeye figured it would be a toss up, even if Pterano did inform anyone. It wasn't as if he had any proof, though proof might be obtained if his boss's home were searched, hence the albino was considering letting his boss know so that he could clear out of his abode and destroy any evidence he might have left there. Either way, there was one test to go. One final test...
Pterano braced himself as the wind grew even stronger, and pushed himself in order to stay behind the younger and uninjured long tailed flyer. Try and hold on Petrie... I'm coming...
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Ichy found himself in darkness. It was darker than that cave where he'd initially pursued that longneck and his friends through years ago. At least back then, he'd had a belly dragger to keep him company, but now he was alone.
He shivered as he entered the cave, shaking his wet feathers off. "Ugh... I hate sky water!" He complained, slapping his wings in the air in order to dry them off. "So let's see... never been in here before." he stated thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with his wing. Dil wouldn't have been able to crawl up here anyway, as it was a cave high in the wall of the Great Valley. The belly dragger would have been hopelessly left behind, provided she'd been here to start off with. There was a small path, but it was far too small for a creature of Dil's size to utilize safely. It wound its way up to the cave from the base of the mountains.
Ichy had noted that the path had been pretty well concealed and overgrown, so it was apparent to him that nobody had come up here in a while. Privacy was a good thing, at least in his book.
Stepping in further, he could see the water falling in sheets outside. What a miserable day! He had been forced to relocate as soon as it had started. It hadn't hit the main valley yet, as it was just crossing the outer wall now, but the dinos down there would start to feel it soon enough.
"You know, Ichy, you really gotta a find a home that isn't so out in the open" he mumbled to himself as his claws clicked on the cold and slimy stones beneath his feet. Maybe this place would do. He looked up at the ceiling of the cave, wanting to know how much room he had in here. As his golden eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see what looked like a very rough patch job done to the roof. Rocks were shoved into what looked like a crude hole that probably opened up to the outside world. There were sounds of dripping water, probably coming from the "patch", but at least it didn't appear that the water was coming in with any great quantity.
"Well it's dark... but it's dry." He stated, sitting down as he looked about him.
"Is... somebody there?" The sharp beak nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a soft voice coming from somewhere deeper in the cave.
"YAGGGH!" he screamed, leaping into the air. "What!?" he demanded, looking all around him as he flapped his wings. "Is someone else IN here?" he asked, shooting his gaze all about.
"Me down here!" the voice said, sounding like it was coming from the floor. The floor? How could anyone be UNDER the cave? Squinting, Ichy's sharp eyes soon detected what appeared to be a very small hole in the ground, close to what looked like a tunnel that led off further into the cave.
"Uhhh... that you down there?" he asked, flying over to the hole. It was small... about the size of a modern day baseball, and Ichy closed one eye as he landed so that he could peer down the opening. "Who's down there?" he asked, thinking he saw a small form a few feet below.
The voice came back again, small and meek. "Me Petrie!" it said, and Ichy fumbled for that name.
"Petrie?" he asked. That sounded REALLY familiar. "How in the Great Valley did you get DOWN there?" he asked, poking his head down the hole now to get a better look, though this only served to block out the remaining light, and he could see nothing at all.
"There a back way in!" the small flyer, who was indeed Petrie, explained. "The tunnel up there lead to this place, but the back way blocked with giant rock! Me can't move it!" the voice sounded scared, but relieved to be talking to someone again at the same time.
"Petrie... WAIT A MINUTE!" Ichy exclaimed, pulling his head out of the hole. "You're that flyer that the longneck asked me to be looking out for!" he snapped a foot claw in recognition. "You uh... OK down there?" he asked. "Can't you fly out?"
"Me really hungry..." the voice replied. "Me not have food ever since me put here! It cold and dark and me no know where this is!"
"Huh... what about flying out? The hole looks big enough for someone your size... well if I remember you correctly." Ichy said, scratching his head.
"Me can't! The opening get really narrow down here, and me can't get out!" was Petrie's response. "Oh! And there a big flyer in the cave! He keep watch over this place! He say he eat anyone that try to get in or out!"
"What?" Ichy asked, still scratching his head. "I didn't see any big flyer in here..."
But even as he was speaking, a shadow fell over him. "What the..." he turned around, looking up at what must have been the largest flyer he had ever gazed upon. Gulping, Ichy's knees started shaking as the monstrosity glared down at him with beady eyes. Its beak was lined with row upon row of razor sharp teeth. They were dulled and yellowed but they still gleamed in the dim light. "Holy... sharpbeak!" he squeaked, smiling nervously up at the large brute.
"Hey... nice day huh? Well OK... not a nice day but OH MY GAGGGGGGH!" Ichy shot up into the air as the beak lanced out at him, crunching against the rocks that only moments ago he had been standing on. The flyer was fast however, and turned its long neck around to snap once more at the miniscule sharpbeak.
"What did I ever do to you!?" he snapped, pulling his rump in forward to avoid it getting bitten off by the carnivorous flyer. Flapping away towards the entrance of the cave, Ichy could hear the gigantic flyer turning its hefty girth around, and beating its wings in order to chase after him.
"Just stay there kid!" he called back into the cave, realizing only a second later that Petrie couldn't really go anywhere anyway. "Ugh... whatever." he said, not bothering to say anymore as he burst out into the driving rain. "HEEEEEEELP!" he cried at the top of his lungs, but no one was around, either above or below him.
The entrance of the cave practically exploded as the gargantuan flyer tore throw the wall of rain that was drenching the mouth. He seemed to rampage forth in slow motion, cutting through the rain as if it wasn't even there. "Oh, give me a break!" Ichy exclaimed as he conducted a dive, trying to get closer to the ground so as to get help of SOME kind. The valley seemed deserted in these parts, the dinos no doubt fleeing the oncoming storm.
He heard rather than saw the mighty jaws snap shut a few feet behind his tail feathers. Flapping his wings as hard as they could flap, the minute sharpbeak flew on into the storm, hearing the great gusts of air behind him, even over the noise of the driving sky water, as his pursuer also beat its wings, and Ichy knew that unless he could either find help or cover in a matter of minutes, he would be nothing more than a distant memory in the minds of a select few in this valley...
Against his better instincts, Ichy glanced over his shoulder, and could see nothing but the open maw of the flyer looming above him. Ichy screamed as the flyer started to dive toward him...
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Uh oh! Cliffhanger time! And that's chapter 10!
This was great! I really like that Pterano finally got the revelation for himself, but he still can't really do anything about it.
The part with Itcki was very exciting. The person who USED to be a bad guy finds poor Petrie, and might die for it. I know he was evil before, but I'd feel really bad if he ended up dieing. He's sort of redeemed himself in his time in the Great Valley
And through all of this revelations, we STILL don't know who the boss is! Well, I guess we know he's a male now, but that's it. Right now I'm wondering if this Boss is even anyone who was ever shown or mentioned in the LBT movies. It's seeming right now that this boss might be an OC, but it'd be more powerful if it's a cannon LBT character. I don't really have any good guess as to who this boss is now, but I'll give it a try.
CRAZY INSANE THEORY TIME: REDUX!!!!
So, apparently this boss is a male who's mate was killed in the tragedy, right? I guess if I'm not looking for an OC, I should look for an orphan in the Great Valley. The only one I can think of is Spike, so Spike's dad? Na, that just sounds bad.
You know, Mr. Threehorn fits this bill, even though I thought you presented stuff that disproved him earlier... wait. Mr. Threehorn didn't go with Pterano's group, did he? It'd have to be someone that DID go. :bang
Must be some obcure character then, can't imagine it being a family member of any of the Gang now. Mr. Thicknose?
Is that flyer wanting to chow down on Itcky the boss?
...I give up, I have no idea. just surprise me man ;)
EEE, just saw your new avatar :wow
Anyway, you've got me at the edge of my seat, you sly writer you! Can't wait for the next chapter!
Oh yes, Ichy is sort of thrust into the good guy role now, through circumstances much more vast than he. He's learned where Petrie is, but has ran into some trouble. XD
Heheh, I CAN say that no, the giant flyer chasing Ichy is NOT the boss. He's just a minion. The boss will... probably surprise you. That's all I'm gonna say. ;) It's someone you're familiar with... that's the only hint I'm going to give. :smile
Yep, new avatar AND new signature! :DD
Really glad you liked it. This one took a long time to craft, so I'm happy I was able to put out something good that's keeping you on the edge of your seat. You SHOULD find out who the boss is by next chapter, the way I'm seeing it. Not exactly certain, but if not the next chapter, it'll definitely be the one after that one. ;)
Good to hear that ze boss is someone familiar. It would have been kind of...not powerful if you just made up a new character to fill that role.
Hm, if I got any other idea's, I'll post em.
Yeah, it's most definitely not gonna be someone random that we haven't even met before. You don't have to worry about that. It'll be a familiar face. :smile
Sure, looking forward to any guesses you may have. :smile
Hmm, well you've all but proved part of what I said true, I apparently was thinking along the right lines with the herd and all, now as to WHO...I'm not sure if I still hold with what I said before, I'm thinking on this chapter and then earlier one's...eh...you know what, same guess still holds! Though you might prove me wrong :)
Whoa! Excellent chapter! So we finally got to Petrie, eh? Can't wait to see what Pterano's last task is!
I'll be posting here real soon, like maybe tomorrow if not today. I hope so...
Edit: It's dun! :smile
And here we are! We may learn a few things in this chapter! Might even be the moment we've all been waiting for. It seems one of my readers was right about something, but just what... we'll find out!
WOW I LOVED writing this. So I hope you guys equally love reading it. It's suspenseful and leaves a LOT of cliffhangers BUT... ONE thing is answered... something we've been looking forward to for quite some time.
This is kind of a long chapter, as lot's going on, so hope you can bear with it. If you can well... I think you're in for one heck of a ride!
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Chapter 11: Endgame
The jaws clamped shut firmly around the sharpbeak, engulfing him completely. His scream was cut off in mid shriek, and he was surrounded by darkness. Incredibly enough, Ichy felt no pain. Not even the slightest stinging sensation he expected to feel. He never figured he would die by a sharptoothed flyer's maw, but it seemed as if this was to be his end.
But there still wasn't something right about this. He didn't feel dead. He didn't even feel injured. It took him a few moments to realize that the flyer had clamped his beak around him, but hadn't bitten down with any of his teeth. His mouth was so large that Ichy had simply been surrounded by the mouth itself, but had miraculously not been harmed!
Blinking in the darkness, he knew that he had seconds, if that, before this flyer either tried to swallow him whole, or attempted to start masticating him into teeny bite sized pieces. Reacting as fast as his reflexes permitted, Ichy lashed out with his clawed feet, and slashed at the flyer's uvula, which he had fortunately been near enough to attack. A foul odor exploded in Ichy's face as the flyer screeched, opening his mouth, his breath hitting the sharpbeak full on.
Coughing and gagging, Ichy wasted no time, and jumped from the now open maw. He was once again falling through the rain, but this time, he not only had a hungry flyer after him, but a flyer that was now irate at him as well. It gave out a tremendous screech, and soared after him, diving again, but Ichy had the head start he sought.
"Come on Ichy... think... THINK!" he shouted to himself. He wasn't always the smartest sharpbeak in the world, as he would acknowledge, but there had to be something he could do!
Spotting a large tree below him, Ichy figured it was better than nothing, and flew right for it. If nothing else, at the very least he could conceal himself among the foliage, or at least try to. Racing through the leaves, he scattered a few in his passing, and landed on a branch, resting a wing on the trunk, and moving the other wing up to his chest as he panted and sucked in precious gulps of air.
He was relatively sheltered in here from the rain, and only hoped he'd lost that noisy flyer...
... only to have his hopes dashed a moment later as a gigantic beak ripped through the leaves inches above him. "Oh come on!" Ichy squawked as he hopped backward, further onto the branch. With a great eruption of leaves and twigs, the hunter-flyer crashed through the branches above the sharpbeak and landed on the branch with a thud. He glared at Ichy with murder in his eyes, and began advancing on him.
"Now hold on! Can't we talk about this?" Ichy pleaded, raising his wings defensively before him. The flyer simply screeched again, and shot his neck downward, Ichy hopping back mere milliseconds before the larger carnivore's beak took a sizable bite out of the branch they were standing on. "What is your problem!?" Ichy demanded, nervously backpedaling as fast as he could go, but realizing that he was soon to run out of branch. It was narrowing up here, and he could see the rushing river below him, swollen now from the heavy rain that was pelting down from the skies.
The titanic flyer was taking a few more steps forward now, walking out onto the narrow part with Ichy. The branch creaked under his weight, and Ichy's sharp eyes immediately picked up on the sagging section where the flyer had just bitten down on. It would snap in a few minutes, if not seconds. Ichy prayed it was the latter.
"Look! I didn't do anything to you!" he pleaded, desperately trying to buy some time. Taking to the sky would be foolish. He would be overtaken in the blink of an eye, but if he could perhaps stall...
"I promise I won't tell a soul! I don't even like that kid! I tried to eat him once! I'm a sharptooth, just like you!" Ichy showed off his teeth to try and display them for his hunter. "See! I'm a sharptooth! I hate that kid's guts! He nearly got me killed once! I hate him just as much as you do! I'm sure we can work on SOME sort of arrangement... right?" Ichy stammered, hoping to come across half as wicked sounding as he hoped he was making himself out to be. The flyer was still glaring at him, but seemed to be hesitating.
As the flyer was pondering Ichy's words, the branch suddenly trembled beneath them, and started to snap. Ichy took his cue, and launched himself into the air. The flyer realized what was going on a second too late. With a horrendous scream that vied with the very thunder itself, he plummeted downward as the branch broke beneath his feet, and he was free falling towards the violent river below. He tried to beat this wings, but this failed to stop his momentum, as he was falling backward, and he needed to conduct a roll in order to right himself.
Ichy watched with bated breath as the flyer began to turn himself over. The roll was conducted seconds too late. By the time the flyer had rolled onto his belly, he struck the water, slapping into it with force enough to throw up great geysers, landing square on the branch that he had brought down with him.
From there, nature took over. The flyer apparently could not swim, and even if he could, the swift current quickly sucked him under, the branch floating over him and clonking his head as he went down. That was enough to knock him senseless, and he was soon being carried far downstream, either to drown or wake up washed ashore miles from here.
"HAAAAAA!" Ichy crowed. "Take THAT you stupid sharp... beaked... flyer!" he stumbled on the words, unsure what to call that thing. Either way, it was out of his feathers for good! He did a little dance in mid air, twirling and shaking his tail feathers at the vanishing hunter before he quickly regained his focus. "Now to get out of here... and go tell that longneck!" gritting his teeth, the sharpbeak braced himself for a long flight, and began flapping off through the storm, feeling as if he'd just slew a beast many times the size of that already hefty flyer.
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"Ugh! This sky water sucks!" Hyp grimaced as he and Selene stumbled under an overhang of the Great Valley wall. "There... that's MUCH better!" he stated with a smile, and looked around at their surroundings.
"Hyp... I think this is someone's home." she said, pointing at the bed of twigs and leaves that was made up in one corner.
"Eh, who cares?" Hyp snorted, waving a hand dismissively. "Whoever it is isn't home." he grinned at her in a playful manner. "Now then... where were we? Oh yes! We were just about to get to the good part, weren't we?" The sky water had picked the worst possible moment to open up on them. They were trying to enjoy some alone time, but had been interrupted from their little distraction.
Placing an arm behind her, he pulled her in close as she gave off a little "Oh!" before he silenced her with a kiss that he placed squarely on her mouth, a kiss which she soon sank into, wrapping her own arms around his back and hugging him tightly against her. "Mmmmm... you taste rather good after a little shower." she said, pulling back for air and giving him a wink.
"Oh come on. You know I can't control the weather." he said, rolling his eyes. He took her hands, and started pulling her deeper under the overhang.
"Hyp!" she protested. "We really shouldn't be doing this in here! It's somebody's home after all!" she reminded him. "Besides," she placed a hand on his chest. "We aren't officially mated yet. Don't get TOO far ahead of yourself!" she scolded.
"Aw, I know!" he said, sighing. "I know." he shook his head, looked around them at their surroundings. "So whose home do you think this is?"
"Not entirely sure." she quipped.
"It's cozy, I'll give it that. Oooh hey! Check this out!" he said, walking over to the bed. "Someone certainly likes sleeping comfortably." he nudged the twigs with his foot.
"Looks like they live alone..." she paused to sniff the air. "And judging by the smell, I'd say it's definitely male." she crinkled her nose. "I don't see any signs of a nest... which would also rule out a female living here." she followed after him, noticing something ahead of him beyond the bed. "Say... what do you suppose that is?" she asked, squeezing his tail in an affectionate manner to get his attention as she pointed over his shoulder.
"Huh? Where?" he asked, squinting.
"There..." she said, walking around him to head toward what looked to be a gap in the rock wall. It was well concealed, as there was a bush that grew over the opening, but Selene frowned, and quickly grasped hold of the plant. "This..." she pulled it back, indicating it wasn't even connected to the ground. "Is fake. Well not fake, but it's been ripped out from somewhere else and placed here... almost as if whoever lives here wanted to hide it. Now why do you suppose that is?" she asked, looking into the opening.
"Uh... I'm not good at mystery games, remember?" he asked, walking up to her. "Wow! This is a long tunnel!" he exclaimed, putting his hand on the upper portion of the opening as he leaned in to look.
"Certainly is... I wonder how far it goes on for? It might even go out into the Mysterious Beyond." Selene speculated, placing a hand on her chin.
"Huh... but... so what? There are lot of hidden entrances to the Mysterious Beyond in the Valley. Ow!" she had slapped him lightly on the back of his head.
"Hyp... they're hidden FROM those in the Mysterious Beyond... they aren't hidden from us in the Great Valley... at least not generally." Selene corrected him. "So why hide it from us in here? That doesn't make any sense. We're to report all openings into the Mysterious Beyond. Not hide them." she looked around the abode again, sniffing the air as she walked back the way she had come.
"You know... my dad said they were still trying to figure out how the fast biters got in here before we left, Selene." Hyp stated, backing away from the entrance now. "That tunnel is certainly big enough for a fast biter. You don't think that..."
"I'm not sure. BUT... it's a good guess." she confirmed, nodding as she continued taking whiffs. "There's something... vaguely familiar about the scent here. Almost as if... I've smelled this before..." she abruptly turned on him, nearly colliding with him as he stopped in his tracks.
"Uh..." Hyp trailed off as his future mate began to smell him up.
"Yes... whoever lives here was near you earlier today... THAT'S IT!" she exclaimed. "I THOUGHT I smelled something rather familiar on you! I know who owns this place!" she declared.
"You... do?" he asked. "Coulda fooled me."
"And he's not doing his job! He should've reported that hole! Not covered it up. And come to think of it... if the fast biters DID come through here... not to sound accusatory or anything... but perhaps... you don't think he could have KNOWN they'd be doing so... do you?"
"Selene, I don't even know what you're talking about!" Hyp protested, spreading his arms in a helpless gesture.
"Hold on... I'm thinking..." she said, closing her eyes and turning things over in her mind.
"Uh... Selene?" Hyp asked her as he tried to shift her attention over to him.
"Shhhh! Be quiet!" She said, placing all the pieces together in her head. With a soft gasp, she opened her eyes a few moments later. "This might be crazy... but I THINK I know why the adults couldn't locate Petrie! I mean... I might be WIDE of the mark... but Littlefoot was saying that maybe someone from Pterano's past was responsible for taking Petrie. And just now, I smelled a scent from someone who I think lives here... and furthermore, if I'm putting the pieces together correctly, than this same someone is quite possibly responsible for the attack in the valley earlier on, and if not responsible, then tried to hide what looks to be a suspicious hole that could lead into the Mysterious Beyond. I can SMELL fast biters here Hyp, can't you?" she asked, to which he only shook his head in a confused manner. "Anyway, we'd best go let Littlefoot know! He can pass it on to his grandfather, and maybe we can start confirming all this. Come on!"
"But... hold on!" he called after her. "Just... WHAT are you talking about? Who lives here?" he asked.
"I'll explain on the way!" she motioned with her hand, and began running back out into the rain.
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Pterano was holding the pink flower in his hands. It was bulbous, like a bell, and had green shoots sprouting from either side of it. "That flower will kill you by the time the Bright Circle sinks... which, since we can't see the Bright Circle due to the storm, will not be much longer. Less than half a day to go." Redeye explained. "It's so toxic, that it can even kill a grown longneck without any trouble. All you have to do... is eat it. Eat it, and you'll see your nephew again."
Pterano gulped, the rain falling all around him as lightning lit up the sky. He was shaking again, both from the cold and from the fear. Fear of his own demise. He looked upward into the falling rain, water splashing into his eyes and causing him to blink.
Thunder rumbled overhead, sounding like the death knell he knew was approaching. He knew next to nothing about plants, and had never seen this particular kind before. "Come on Pterano... that's all you have to do. Eat it, and you'll see Petrie again. I'll take you right to him in fact."
Pterano could see his chest rising in and out as he contemplated it all. He glanced down at the innocent looking plant. "If I refuse?" Pterano asked.
"Then say goodbye to me. I'm flying off someplace warm, and you won't be seeing your nephew any time soon."
Pterano shuddered as the thunder rumbled again."You said I could fail a certain number of tests."
"This one you can't." Redeye stated flatly.
Pterano took in a deep breath to calm himself. "I love you Petrie... I love you more than you know. More than my own body... and soul." he whispered, raising the pink plant to his beak. "Is there a... cure for this?" he asked, pausing.
"Just eat the blasted thing! While we're young!" Redeye urged angrily, glaring at him.
Shaking his head, Pterano shoved it into his mouth. "There! It's done!" he began to chew it. It certainly didn't taste like something that would harm him, but then again, he wasn't an expert in this field. Swallowing it, the flyer turned to face Redeye. "This should convince your boss that I'm not the flyer I once was! He'd even go so far as to take my own life would he? Well so be it! I don't care! Now take me to Petrie!" he demanded.
"Awwww well look at you. You're crazy. You know that? I NEVER thought you'd eat that thing. Oh well."
"Hmph... I'm not crazy... I'd do anything to save him... haven't you figured that out by now? You've won! I can't do anything further! I've been beaten up, nearly devoured, badly burned, and now poisoned apparently! What more can you do to me? I have nothing left but to see my nephew! So take to the skies and stop wasting my time!" Pterano growled.
"Fine, fine. Let's go old timer. Let's go." Redeye said, and turned to take off.
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Littlefoot was sheltering under a large tree with his friends. They were close to the meeting circle, and the storm was all around them, howling about like a mad beast. "Mmm... I don't like when the sky water gets heavy like this." the longneck commented, frowning up at the black sky.
"I do not like it either, I do not, I do not." Ducky said, shivering as the temperature fell.
"Where is everyone?" Cera asked, looking about her.
"I think they're all trying to figure out how the sharpteeth got in here." Littlefoot told her. "I only hope Petrie is OK in this... and Pterano for that matter. He flew off right when it was starting."
"Hey! Isn't that..." Cera craned her neck to see what looked like a small sharpbeak heading right toward them. "Is that who I think it is?" she asked, and Littlefoot's eyes widened.
"Yeah..." he said, recognizing Ichy immediately.
"Hey Littlefoot! Selene and Hyp are running this way too!" Chomper was tugging on Littlefoot's leg to get his attention. "They're certainly moving fast!" Littlefoot turned to look over at the sharptooth's pointing hand, and saw that it was true.
"Well... this is interesting." he said, wondering at this latest development.
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Pterano was nearly blown off the cliff side, but he managed to land squarely in the cave with some effort, grunting as the pain shot up through his chest again. Redeye landing right behind him. "Is this it?" Pterano asked, looking around.
"Yep... knock yourself out."
"Petrie! Petrie!" Pterano called, walking inside and shaking himself off as best he could. "Petrie! Can you hear me? Where are you?"
"Uncle Pterano!" came the familiar voice. "Me down here! In the ground!"
"The ground?" Pterano asked, looking about him frantically. He knew time was short. He couldn't see the Bright Circle, but knew it had be on its way down. "Where?"
"Over here!" Petrie called back. "Me knew you come to save me! Me down here!"
Pterano finally located the hole in the ground, and he knelt down in front of it, peering inside. "Oh Petrie!" Pterano exclaimed, seeing his nephew down at the bottom of the small pit. He looked famished, and was shivering from the cold.
"There a tunnel that lead in here! Me can't push big boulder, but maybe you can!" his nephew said, pointing towards the back of the cave. Pterano looked up, and could indeed see a tunnel. A voice sounded from behind him however... a voice he now fully recognized.
"Did he complete all the tasks?"
"Oh, he completed them alright." Redeye replied. A dark figured stepped out of the shadows from the side of the cave, walking towards the albino from where he'd been concealed before.
"Good... It seems my flyer security has disappeared... but no matter. I never thought you'd make it this far, Pterano. Well done. Well done. You've won my little game. Still having a hard time believing it in fact... but I'm afraid... it's not over yet." the voice was low, like death itself.
Pterano slowly rose to standing, but did not turn around to face his tormentor just yet. "It's good to see you too..." the flyer said steadily. "I wasn't sure at first... but now I know. I'd say it's been a long time... except it hasn't... has it, Mr. Brightneck?"
... :blink: ...WTF!? Brightneck did it!? Wow...that certainly is a shocker. But, you know, for some reason, I actually thought of him doing it, but it still comes as one pretty big shock.
Great chapter and I hope to see the next one soon! Things are about to get interesting.
I find it strange that we both update a chapter on the SAME FRIGGIN DAY!!!! :blink:
Wait a minute! Mr. Brightneck was behind this? :blink: You had me thinking he was a good guy!
So Pterano finally found Petrie, hmm? But what sucks is that Pterano may not have much time to live... :cry
Lol, how did I not see that coming :lol This whole time, I thought it was Mr. Threehorn. :blink:
Yes, this chapter was rather quite long. I really liked it! I like how most of the characters in the story got to do something in this chapter, each of the characters or groups of characters figuring out their own piece of the puzzle.
Hm, what else does Mr. Brightnose have for Pterano? He's already been beaten up, nearly devoured, badly burned, and now poisoned apparently. What else could possibly be done?
About the poisoning, I REALLY hope that's not true. I'm kind of thinking it is, because it seems Pterano isn't showing any signs of sickness yet. If it was going to kill him by sundown, he would start to feel the effects of it pretty quickly, wouldn't he?
I REALLY hope Pterano doesn't have to kill himself to redeem himself!
I'm still on the edge of my seat! :DD
I knew it! :DD Oh but you are tricky, having me second guessing myelf even if you said it wasn't intentional :smile.
I agree though, cool having everyone sort of have a hand in figuring it out for themselves as well. Well looks like we're close to the end but there's still so much to know! Like, mainly, does Pterano live! :( and what this last thing is.
I still think Brightneck and Redeye were bluffing. Pterano doesn't have to die you know, just think he will if this is is all just to prove stuff. I'm with Vonboy, holding out hope he's not actually gonna die :lol
Yes, Mama's Girl did know it, because she PMed me earlier. So no, she wasn't just saying that. XD Now we've learned who has been behind this game, but yes, what will happen to Pterano? Some of you had some good insight on this, but I won't say more just yet.
Alllllrighty. Now we see Mr. Brightneck's true colors, and who he really is, and who he's been pretending to be all these years. Another action packed chapter, and what I'd call the climax of this story if anything. And no, this is NOT the last chapter. Close to it though. Long chapter again, but a lot happens too. It's the penultimate one, so what can I say? :DD
I recommend listening to this track for the opening bits of this chapter. It fits quite well I think :DD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH9BbgEbqTQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH9BbgEbqTQ)
And if you like, use this track for the Brightneck fight. :DD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_uNB3PnKOc (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_uNB3PnKOc)
And this one, for after the fight concludes. :DD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr4eB0WOwN0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr4eB0WOwN0)
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Chapter 12: Showdown
Pterano turned around to face the hypsilophodon. At that moment, a bolt streaked across the sky, dazzling, and deadly as it lit up the cave. "It was you... this whole time. I had all but forgotten about you... I had forgotten about everyone from back then... I just couldn't... accept it. Any of it. It was all so horrendous that I simply... blocked it out." the flyer said glumly, looking down.
"Blocked it out. Forgot about us all... like we never existed. Makes it easier to forget your crime if you deny that it ever took place, doesn't it, Pterano?" Brightneck asked in an accusatory manner.
"I suppose you saved me earlier because had that fast biter finished me off... you would have been denied the chance to see me arrive here. It all makes perfect sense now..." Pterano stated in a very low voice.
"Hmph. Don't act like you understand any of this. As far as I'm concerned, you're a murderer and a coward. Look at me!" he began in a mocking accent that was designed to mimic Pterano's. "I'm all heroic and battle ten thousand sharpteeth! Oh kids, I'm SO brave! HA! You? BRAVE?" Brightneck challenged.
"I've played your game... I've passed all my tests... now let Petrie go... like you promised." Pterano said, raising his eyes to meet Brightneck's. He chose not to address that challenge, as he figured it was only baiting him in. The eyes staring back at him were cold, unforgiving, and merciless. They sent a chill down the flyer's spine. They weren't the eyes of someone who would simply let Petrie go.
"No."
"What? But you said..."
"SILENCE! It was never my intent in the first place to do such a thing, Pterano! I've been waiting... waiting for many a season to get you here... in this position. Now that I have you... I will NOT be denied my revenge." Brightneck hissed. "You left me for dead... but worse... you left my mate... my MATE... for dead! You promised us peace and prosperity with your lies! You said we'd find an area so bountiful and secure that we could raise our families in peace! We could have such a better life than the one we currently had! We trusted you! We all trusted your treacherous tongue! You led us astray! You took advantage of those of us who were young, naive, and overeager to find paradise!" Brightneck snapped. "I had just taken my mate back then! She was all I had! We were both young... and both so sick of the endless wandering and bickering and debating without answers! You had a silver tongue back then, Pterano. You promised an end to all of our suffering. You promised us great things."
Pterano could see that Brightneck's eyes were flecked with tears, though he wasn't crying, as if by sheer force of will he was keeping his tears from falling. "We trusted you because you seemed like a capable leader. And I had just been told that my mate was carrying our children... our CHILDREN Pterano... our eggs. We wanted to go with you, in order to find a safe place for them to hatch and grow and LIVE. But you... you disgusting... despicable... VILE..." as Brightneck was spouting these bitter adjectives, Pterano could see in another bolt of lightning that Brightneck was carrying the claw he had taken from the fast biter earlier in the day. It was hanging at his side, resting in his hand like a deadly weapon that made Pterano's skin crawl.
"CREATURE!" Brightneck finished, after having thrown in a few more expletives that were a bit worse than what he'd previously stated. "You LEFT US ALL! You left us to ROT while the fast biters came! We called to you for help... for assistance... you were our leader... you were supposed to help us! But what did you do? At our weakest, most terrifying moment, you FLEW OFF! You left us all behind! You left us all behind as if we weren't even living creatures! You treated us as if we didn't even exist! Some brave leader you were! I never... NEVER got to know my children because of you! They were denied the chance to hatch... denied the chance to even breathe!" the "sickle" was raised and pointing directly at Pterano now.
"And so" Brightneck went on. "That's why... I'll never forgive you... you robbed me of my family... my MATE... my CHILDREN... who I never got a chance to greet into this world! Our joy turned to sorrow in a single day... and I've never stopped blaming you for this. Do you know what's it like? Do you know what it's like to watch someone that you love more than your very soul perish right before your eyes as you stand by, helpless? Of course not! You're so selfish, you've NEVER loved anyone but yourself... and your nephew. I see that now. I wanted to test just how strong your love and devotion to your nephew was... and now that I see just how far you'll go... I'll take my revenge. I wouldn't want to kill a selfish coward after all, now would I?" Brightneck sneered.
"You had to have SOME weakness... and I'm glad I found it. I'll kill you Pterano... but not before you watch... helpless... as your nephew dies in front of your very eyes. You'll scream in anguish, you'll claw at your skin as you try and do SOMETHING, anything, to save him... and ultimately fail. And then... when it's all over, I'm going to open you up... and gut you like a fish!" Brightneck waved his "sickle" in a threatening manner, demonstrating just how he would do this.
"You'll never get away with this!" Pterano stammered, trying his best to stave this off, but unsure of what exactly he could do.
"Oh no? Honestly Pterano.... who WOULDN'T believe me? I'm a guardian of the children! EVERYONE trusts me! I've protected them ever since I've arrived here! Unlike you, I've been making my life meaningful to others! They all know and trust me! I'll report that I tried to stop you, but I was too late." his face softened now, looking almost normal. "But it was so horrific! In a fit of absolute insanity, I saw you kill your nephew... end his poor little life... and then... consumed with guilt... you ended your own life... oh Pterano... who wouldn't believe me?" he said, shaking his head and giving off a few "tsks". "That's the privilege that comes with trust. Nobody believes you if you aren't trustworthy. I've protected others for a great many seasons... what have you done?"
Pterano couldn't allow this to happen. He widened his eyes, and shook his head, sinking to his knees. "Please... please... I BEG of you sir... please... you can do anything... ANYTHING you want to me. But just please let Petrie go. He's a child! He can't even defend himself! It's wrong to kill someone like that! Please sir! You're a good person! I know you are!" Pterano pleaded. "You've protected the young ones, as you've said. Don't do this now... don't hurt him. He's counted on you most of his life... please don't do this. I'm so... so... sorry." Pterano knelt down, prostrating himself before the hypsilophodon. "I know what I did to you was horrible... and I can't even imagine it. I don't deserve to live for what occurred back then. I agree with you sir. You deserve to take my life for the countless lives I erased back then through my own foolishness and selfishness. Your pain is so great... I only wish it had been me and none of the others back then! But please... I implore you... don't harm my nephew... let him go... please. I can't take back or erase the past... though I've tried." he was whispering now, sobbing into the ground at Brightneck's feet as the cave was once more lit up the eerie flash of a lightning bolt. "You mustn't harm him... I love him... so much... I've changed! Surely you can see that I've changed! I can't see him killed... please... I'm so sorry... is there anything... I can do to make this right? I'm so... so sorry." he cried, his body convulsing as he wept in penitence.
"You have every right to hate me. I know that. But don't take your revenge on my nephew... he's innocent! I did everything I was capable of doing to save him... don't do this... I beg you sir... don't do this. Think of your own children. How would they see you? How would they look upon their father if they could see you doing this? Think of them sir... please."
Brightneck seemed to momentarily soften, a twinge of regret passing into his features now. Pain was evident on his countenance, and he sniffled a little, but it lasted only a few seconds, if that. "It's too late for that Pterano. You can't mention them. They would want me to take my revenge on you for slaughtering them before they even had a chance! And that reminds me of something... Mr. Redeye."
"Hmmm?" Redeye asked, turning to face his boss.
"Thank you for your assistance. You've been invaluable. But I'm afraid I can't leave any witnesses. You must understand..."
Redeye's pink orbs widened, and he moved to react, but he was a second too slow. Brightneck struck at a speed that seemed unreal, and buried his "sickle" into the flyer's gut, to which the albino emitted a gurgled cry of shock. "Agggh! Ggggggh!" he gargled, caught completely by surprise as he stared with anger, betrayal, and incredulity into his former boss's eyes. Brightneck looked back with no compassion. He was stone cold, and showed no sign of emotion for what he'd just done.
Pulling the claw out of the flyer's stomach, Redeye collapsed to the ground, bleeding out onto the stones of the cavern floor as he weakly reached up towards Brightneck, to which the hypsilophodon merely swatted the albino's hand away mercilessly. "You're making me look bad, Mr, Redeye." Brightneck stated contemptuously. "I was aiming for your heart. You shouldn't have moved. Now your suffering will be lengthy. You'll have to bleed to death now instead of dying almost instantly. Foolish." he spat on the dying flyer's head, and shifted his gaze back to Pterano. "
"Now... where was I? Oh yes! That's right. A flyer's greatest weakness is the water. He can't very well swim in it. And I KNOW that your nephew is incapable of doing so. When your associate Mr. Rinkus callously swatted Petrie into a lake the night you took Ducky, I was there to see the whole thing. Petrie nearly drowned because of that... and you did NOTHING, as usual." Brightneck rolled his eyes. "Anyway... I thought it would be nice to watch your nephew sputter and drown like he nearly did that night. Watch closely now... it will only happen once." He began walking past Pterano, but Pterano grabbed hold of his ankles.
"No! Leave him alone!" this earned the flyer a smart crack on his head from the butt of the claw. "Agggh!" Pterano gasped as he sank back to the floor.
"Wait your turn... don't make me break several bones in your body in order to MAKE you immobile. Why don't you be a good boy, and sit QUIETLY while I finish off your nephew?" Pterano lunged again, but was backhanded by the vicious hypsilophodon, and sent sliding across the rocks. "Last warning Pterano. Next time I break your legs and arms. BACK OFF!" he snarled, and walked over to the "patch job" of stones that Ichy had noticed earlier.
"This one will do the trick." Brightneck pulled out a smaller stone from the jumble, and all of them immediately cascaded down from the ceiling like a waterfall, scattering in every which direction and letting the rain water come pouring in through a now gaping hole. "The pit your nephew is in will fill up within a matter of minutes... nothing like a little sky water to heighten the mood, eh Pterano?" Brightneck yelled, and walked back over to him as the thunder rumbled and the lightning flashed with violent intensity outside.
"No... Petrie! Petrie!" Pterano tried to get up, but was shoved back down by Brightneck.
"Sit down and watch!" Brightneck ordered, growling as he did so. "In just a few minutes, your nephew will be..." but in the flash of another lightning bolt, a figure suddenly charged through the cave entrance and collided head on with Brightneck. Pterano looked up to see Hyp grappling with the older hypsilophodon in the poor light.
"Go! Save Petrie! I'll take care of this guy!" Hyp shouted, attempting to get the weapon out of Brightneck's hand. Pterano needing no further encouragement. He got to his feet, and began to head down the tunnel in the back of the cave, trying to reach the boulder that blocked the entrance as rain water began trickling down into Petrie's pit. The terrified young flyer backed away from it, huddling as far as he could from the incoming flood. He retreated back down the tunnel, heading to the boulder, but knew that unless his uncle could shift the rock, he'd drown. He'd drown a lot faster in the tunnel as well, as there was less space to move around in there. But he wanted to be at the entrance. He wanted to believe his uncle could save him.
Hyp was kicked in the stomach, and he dropped to one knee before being kicked again so that he was soon sailing across the cavern, landing roughly several dozen feet away. "Oh Hyp... you really SHOULDN'T have come here!" Brightneck mocked. "You stupid bully. I'll be forced to kill you now as well. But then again, no one will really miss you."
"Shut it!" Hyp said, pushing himself back to standing. "How could you do this!? Everyone trusts you! What do you think you're doing!?"
"Taking my revenge." was all Brightneck said as he charged Hyp, "sickle" raised above his head. Hyp gulped and ducked as the claw came whistling down a mere inch from where his cheek had been. He punched Brightneck in the side, but the former chaperone exhaled right as Hyp did so, and lessened the impact. He swung again, going for his ribs, but this seemed to only make Brightneck angry as he clobbered Hyp in the face, smacking him with the butt of the "sickle" and then swiftly wrapping the crescent around Hyp's neck.
"And just what is an overgrown egg like you going to do, Hyp? Huh?"
"Stop you!" Hyp choked, and lashed out again, punching furiously into Brightneck's side. He was trying to go for the lungs, trying to knock the wind out of his adversary, but it ended up working in reverse. Brightneck did a double chop downward into Hyp's own sides with his hands, and then struck him in the neck with his elbow, causing Hyp to sputter and fall backward.
"Stop me, huh? You're nothing but a bully! I've survived over TEN sharpteeth attacks in my day! How do you think I ended up with this scar?" Brightneck taunted, jabbing a claw at his scarred side. "I've learned to survive because that's ALL I could do at first! I had nothing... everything I knew was taken from me. Did I mention that I killed nine of those initial ten sharpteeth? You're outmatched, kid! Give it up! I fight better than you ever could! I SURVIVE!" he roared, and leaped into the air to bring his weapon down upon the back of Hyp's neck. Hyp rolled, but Brightneck was able to follow him, and adjusted his attack. He slashed to his left, in Hyp's direction as he landed, and cut into the dinosaur's side.
Hyp cried out as he could see his blood splatter onto the cave floor. His hand immediately went to his side. "You really should have stayed home today. Too bad. How about THIS?" Brightneck maliciously kicked Hyp in his flank, right where the cut was located. Hyp bellowed in agony as he dropped to the floor and curled up. "And THIS?" another kick, the same exact spot. Yet another kick followed that one, and Hyp was now shivering on the floor, in senseless pain and realizing that unless he reacted now, he'd be dead.
His attacker raised the claw above his head, and was preparing to finish the job from the look of things. "Say goodbye, young one. I'll give my regards to your family..." he condescendingly stated, but then screamed as he felt something bite into his tail. Whipping his head around, he could see Chomper clamping his jaws ferociously down on aforementioned appendage, and already the small sharptooth was drawing blood. "You... BRAT!" Brightneck hissed through clenched teeth. "You're going to regret that!" He shifted the claw to strike at Chomper instead, but was halted in mid-swing upon hearing a cry that split the cavern.
"MR. BRIGHTNECK! STOP!" Brightneck turned to see Littlefoot and the gang gathered at the cave entrance. Lightning lit up the sky behind them, and Brightneck could see the terror written upon the young longneck's features.
"Littlefoot... what are you doing here?" he asked, seemingly spooked at seeing the gang.
"Chomper... let him go." Littlefoot said, and Chomper reluctantly opened his mouth, coming off of the now injured tail. "Mr. Brightneck, what are you doing? Why are you hurting people? What's wrong with you? Why have you done this?" the longneck asked, uncertainty flecking his voice. "How could you even think of hurting Hyp and Pterano?"
"Littlefoot... this doesn't concern you." Brightneck said. "Hyp attacked me. I was defending myself. I don't know what you mean about Pterano, he's not even here right now." Pterano was out of sight in the back of the cave, and Brightneck knew it. "This is a matter that's too dark for your eyes. Get back to the valley. I'll be back soon, after I clean up this little mess. And for your information, sharpteeth are DANGEROUS. You shouldn't be with Chomper! If it were up to me, I'd put him down right now and..."
"PUT HIM DOWN!?" Littlefoot cried. "Put him DOWN? Mr. Brightneck... Chomper... Chomper is one of my best friends! If you hurt him you'd have to hurt me too!" he challenged, moving forward a bit. "How can you even SAY that about him? He's part of our group... just the same as Cera or Ducky or Petrie or Spike! I don't care that he's a sharptooth! How could you say that about my friend!?"
"Go BACK to the valley, Littlefoot!"
"He's lying Littlefoot! I only attacked him because he was hurting Pterano! We all came up here together!" Hyp groaned, regaining his breath. "You know why we came here... don't believe a word he says."
"I know Hyp... I know... we know what you did Mr. Brightneck. You kidnapped Petrie! You're trying to hurt Pterano by taking Petrie! We know all about it, so you may as well just stop! You led the search party that swept this area! That's why nobody could find Petrie! This isn't doing anyone any good!" Littlefoot protested. "You're supposed to be a hero! I can't see you doing any of this... but seeing you here now... it's true! It's all true! Why, Mr. Brightneck? Why?"
"Littlefoot, you couldn't possibly understand. I AM a hero, don't you see? I protect you and look out for you. I'm everyone's hero! I'm only trying to correct a great wrong from the past! I'm only trying to do right for all of us! You don't know what it's like!"
"Actually... I do." Littlefoot said, walking forward. "I lost my mother! I lost my father before I even knew him! You hurting Petrie to hurt Pterano isn't right! Petrie hasn't done anything wrong! Maybe Pterano has, but you can't do this! I didn't take revenge on the sharptooth that killed her! I was only trying to reach the Great Valley... so that I could... so that I could fulfill her wish for me. I don't even recognize you doing this. What happened to you?"
Brightneck sniffed, apparently starting to break down again, but he swiftly wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "Littlefoot, I've come too far. I don't want to have to do this to you but I will. You shouldn't have come here." and he began walking straight for the gang, Littlefoot backing up and shaking his head in disbelief. Brightneck only took a few steps before he had his feet yanked out from under him by Hyp.
"Littlefoot! Go! Help Pterano! I'll deal with this!" Hyp shouted, and interlaced his fingers together, forming a ball with his hands which he brought down on Brightneck's backside. Brightneck gasped, but delivered a swift kick to Hyp, though the latter nevertheless held on. "GO!" Hyp shouted.
The gang hesitated, but knew they couldn't do much here. Chomper was the first to move, running off in the direction of the tunnel, gaining it just as Hyp was kicked off for good from the back of Brightneck. "I already told you, Hyp. You're outmatched. It's no use struggling."
"We'll see about that." Hyp had picked up a rock in his hand, and lunged for Brightneck, the nimbler dino swiftly dodging to the side, and slashing at Hyp's arm, cutting into it and drawing more blood. Rather than drop the rock, Hyp steadied himself by taking a knee, and bashed the rock into Brightneck's side, causing him to stumble back toward the cave entrance.
The gang meanwhile, had reached Pterano, who was busying trying to push the rock back from the entrance of the pit. "We're here, Pterano!" Littlefoot called, and threw his effort into moving the stone as well, for whatever it was worth. Pterano couldn't gain much leverage, and that was his main issue. Unless he could shift it, even a little, the rock would stay put. It didn't help that it was in a dip in the ground either. Brightneck had probably rolled it down here from the cave. Chomper was pushing as well, and so was Ducky and Spike. Cera was a good ways behind them, pawing at the ground.
"Oh move aside Littlefoot! That's not how you roll a rock!" she scoffed. Littlefoot gasped, and moved himself aside, making room for the now charging threehorn. Cera took Littlefoot's spot, smashing into the boulder head on. Pterano felt it shift a little under her assault.
"Cera! Do that again!" Pterano urged, throwing his weight forward and struggling to heave the rock away from him. "If you can shift it... I should be able to roll it out of the dip!" Cera shook her head, and backed up to try again. It was with some discomfort that Pterano noted his feet were standing in small puddles of water. The water was seeping out from under the boulder, and he knew Petrie to be in dire straits in that tunnel. "Come on children. All push together! Cera, charge when you can!" he encouraged.
Cera came barreling forward as the others heaved, crashing into the rock and this time, Pterano lost no momentum once he felt it shift forward. "That's... IT!" he grunted, groaning as he and the gang gradually began to slide and roll the heavy rock forward. "Come on! Keep going! We just need to open up a hole that's large enough... for the water!" Pterano strained as he managed to gain ground, rolling the rock inch by inch, centimeter by painful centimeter as the mouth of the tunnel became visible to them by a fraction.
With a grating and scraping sound that reverberated throughout the larger tunnel they stood in, the rock was forced out of position, and Pterano gasped as he could feel his lungs start to catch fire, and his bruised ribs shout in protest over the punishment. "We're doing it... we're doing it!" the flyer grunted as the water began to pour forth from the tunnel in greater volume now. "PETRIE! NOW! GET OUT OF THERE!" Pterano cried, giving off a short yell in order to keep his spirits up as the water washed around his ankles. The little flyer was soon flushed out with the small pool that had been forming in his pit. He coughed and spluttered, and Pterano knew it was time to back off.
"Everyone... back away! Pull Petrie back. I'll hold... this.... here!" he wheezed, and the gang moved away to follow his instructions. Spike and Littlefoot each took a wing in their mouths, and pulled Petrie back and away from the water. "Aggh!" Pterano yelped, unable to hold on. He let go, and the rock rolled back into him, bashing him and knocking him onto the floor of the cavern.
He went down and lay crumpled in the pool of water, and Petrie, coughing and struggling to get free, let out an alarmed shout of "Uncle!" as he broke out from his friends' grasp and flew hurriedly over to his battered relative.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hyp was launching as best an assault as he could on Brightneck, but the agile opponent only took about a third of the blows that Hyp landed, and even then he seemed to shrug most of them off. Hyp had sustained a few more cuts from the "sickle", and he was feeling physically exhausted from the combat. Brightneck seemed more to be dancing than fighting, dodging a blow here and then slashing in like a deadly breath of wind there. His stamina was remarkable, and Hyp knew he was quickly running out of steam.
Panting, he delivered an uppercut that managed to connect with Brightneck's jaw, but his next punch, a left hook, was too slow, and Brightneck slid aside. They were working their way to the mouth of the cave, where the bleeding and inert Redeye lay. "Getting tired, I see!" Brightneck spoke, a little breathlessly, but it was more the voice of an excellent athlete who had just sprinted a mile. It was almost as if he was welcoming this exertion. "I told you, Hyp. I've trained my body and my mind over the seasons. I can take on any sharptooth, and I must admit, it's been fun toying with you, but I grow tired of this game! Let's end it... shall we?"
Hyp knew it was coming, but he was too tired to react. A jabbing pain in his side indicated to him that he'd just been stabbed there, and he roared as it finally hit him. Sinking to his knees as the "blade" was withdrawn, Hyp felt his strength rapidly failing him. They were right on the edge of the cave entrance, and Brightneck's features were lit up in an unnatural light as yet another bolt split the skies. He was sneering. He knew he had won. "I'll finish you off... and all the other ones. It's a shame... as I'd rather have saved them again... but it's too late for that now. They ALL must die in order for my revenge to be complete." Hyp was panting, his sides moving in and out as he gasped and fought for breath. "You battled well... but don't feel bad. I'll make it quick for you." Brightneck began to laugh now, an eerie, troubling sound that seemed to be trebled by the sound of thunder. The storm was departing, moving away into the valley proper now, uncaring and sightless as it continued on its path, thought it wasn't quite done yet.
"And now... AGGGGGGGGGH!" Brightneck let loose an ear splitting war cry, and he seemed to be moving in slow motion. He had raised the claw back behind his head, and was going down for a diagonal slash that would rip into Hyp's neck. Hyp braced himself, telling his legs to MOVE and get him off the ground, but they were deaf to his pleas. As the "blade" swung horizontally across and then began to angle down for its killing cut, Brightneck suddenly let out a surprised clamor, and started to lose his footing.
Hyp looked down, and saw Redeye with his hands around the older hypsilophodon's ankles, trying his best to trip him up. It didn't last long, as the energy soon left the albino, and he was too weak to hold on, expiring as the last of his breath left him, but Hyp seized his chance. Bellowing, Hyp pushing himself forward, palms out, and knocked into the tottering Brightneck. Flailing his arms as he struggled to keep steady, Hyp's push was enough, and with a terrible shriek, Brightneck disappeared, falling backward off the mouth of the cave, and plummeting down to the valley below.
Unfortunately for him, it wasn't a straight fall. He smacked into a rock on the way down, and he bounced off the sloping sides of the mountain several times before he finally stayed grounded, rolling violently over the stone until he slammed into a boulder, his body wrapping around it. The boulder didn't move. Not an inch. Neither did Brightneck.
Hyp exhaled gratefully, and sank backward onto the floor of the cave, splaying his arms out to either side of him. "That... was too close." the rain was beginning to subside, the storm's intensity continuing on into the valley as the sun attempted to poke its way through the gray cloud cover.
Behind Hyp, Pterano and the gang were limping (though this was mostly Pterano) up into the cave proper, Pterano noting that the Bright Circle was about to sink beneath the horizon. "Oh no..." He breathed, and knelt down, holding Petrie out in front of him. "Petrie... I might not have much time... but I want you to know that whatever happens... whatever you see before your very eyes in the next few moments... know... that I love you. I love you more than anything. I love you more than my own life. Please don't cry..." He stuttered.
"What you mean Uncle?"
"I may... be going in a few moments..." Pterano sniffled, and squeezed his nephew in his hands. "Just don't be scared. And don't be sad. Whatever happens... I'll be with you. Always. I love you Petrie... I love you." He brought him in for a tight hug, tighter than he'd ever hugged his nephew before. Petrie was right up against his uncle's chest and neck, and he could hear the unsteady rhythm of his uncle's heart. Its beat may have been frantic, but it still sounded so strong and powerful to him. He wrapped his own arms about his uncle's neck, and started sobbing.
"Uncle Pterano not go!" He protested. "You a hero to me, uncle Pterano! Brightneck so mean! But you my hero!" he cried, sobbing into his uncle's neck.
"It's going to be OK..." Pterano was openly weeping now as well, the last rays of the sun striking them as he kept a wary eye on the setting Bright Circle. "It's going to be OK... I love you Petrie... I love you." He whispered, as the sun vanished, snuffed out of existence for another night.
Pterano winced, stiffened... and then blinked. "I... I'm still alive?" he asked, looking about him, just to make sure. "I'm still... alive? But... how?" he gasped.
"Why did you think you were going to die?" Littlefoot asked, stepping forward.
"I ate a flower... one I was told would kill me." the flyer responded unsteadily.
"What did it look like?"
"Um... pink and... round, and... had two green shoots on either side." he described it now, and Littlefoot nearly laughed.
"Oh, no, no! That's not harmful! Those are rare flowers, but they aren't bad! They're actually pretty tasty!" he exclaimed, and at this, Pterano broke out into tears again, and squeezed his nephew tightly against him.
"Oh! Oh!" Pterano's breath was practically his voice as he wept in relief. "Oh Petrie! Petrie!" he proclaimed, crying right along with his equally relieved nephew. The two nuzzled each other, their tears mixing together as their cheeks rubbed. The tears were no longer ones of sorrow, as they had transcended into tears of joy. The two sank into each other, and both fell to the cavern floor, crying with the greatest relief that either of them had ever experienced.
So I told myself I'd read this chapter a bit at a time and then review when done. Bit at a time, yeah, you probably knew I couldn't do that! You held me the whole stinkin way! :lol
...Epic, that's the only word I know to describe it! Oh my goodness! So yeah, sure I got part of it right of the flower not being deadly, but apparently Brightneck expected it to be all along? Not sure on that part but it doesn't matter.
Woah, you had him way more evil in his intent than even I expected having guessed the intent a while back. It's also such an interesting contrast of characters. Pterano who did so much bad, as stated, but through ignorance and now he's honestly trying to be better, where as Brightneck was a hypocrit all through his "protecting" and so is worse than the flyer he's mocking.
But then that's just people, or in this universe dinosaurs, you know a skunk doesn't smell it's own stink.
And I'm kind of glad it's not the last chapter. After this awesome but heavy stuff I kind of need to see a happy reunion. Ok another one other than the last part of this chapter LOL Is that asking too much? :DD
Oh, and I read it during a really bad thunderstorm up here so I think I got the full effect :lol
Wow, glad you couldn't put it down... well metaphorically speaking. :lol
You'll learn about the flower next chapter, or at least, as best speculation as can be given, as Brightneck himself is dead, but yeah. :p
Ahhh yes. That's the thing about him. He couldn't see his own faults, as he convinced himself he was the hero. He managed to fight his way out of the death trap Pterano had led them into, but he also became rather psychopathic in the process, losing any and all ability to feel emotion. He's convinced himself that he's the hero of his own story, by what he does, and how he does it. So yes, glad you liked the contrast. :)
It's not asking too much. There will be another chapter to wrap everything together. :DD
Wow! Sounds like you really DID get the full experience! That must've been awesome, reading it during a thunderstorm. :DD
Wow, I was just flabbergasted at this chapter. I knew the Mr. Brightneck had suddenly become the bad guy at the end of the last chapter, but I just didn't expect him to be such a...monster now 0.0 The whole time, he seemed to be a hero, saving the kids, always watching over them, saving Pterano, when in reality he was sadistic. He was revenge hungry this whole time, and only made trust to get what he wanted in the end. He really was just a heartless bastard! (I chose to cuss here. Trust me, I don't do that often!)
This kept me at the edge of my seat through the entire read. I actually had to stop reading several times just to think and let everything sink in. This was action packed the entire way, with many twists and turns to keep you guessing what was about to happen next.
Your previous chapters have had dark bits here and there, but this just blew me away. The way Mr. Brightneck talked about killing, about watching Pterano watch Petrie suffer, about what he was going to do to everyone on the scene, about how he was going to put down Chomper! (That one got me right there!). This was an extremely dark chapter, but that's one of the things I like about it. This chapter NEEDED to be dark.
What I really liked is how you brought in all of the characters you've been developing throughout this story, well, except for Icky. You didn't just redeem Pterano, but you brought in Hyp to renew him as well! I did scratch my head the first time you introduced Hyp into this story. I didn't understand why you focused on him, even though I did like that you did. Sometimes when I read stories, I forget that writers bring things up for a reason. I should have known that you focusing on Hyp meant he'd play a big role in Pterano's story, but I didn't. You even redeemed Redeye!
Very interesting case with Chomper. I know for a fact that you wasn't even thinking of including him in this story when you first started it, but yet, you've fit him in quite nicely. I got excited when he suddenly popped up out of nowhere in this chapter, and I really felt it when Mr. Brightneck talked about putting him down. Chomper here is a stark contrast from Pterano, Hyp, and Icky. He's NEVER done anything wrong really. He has nothing to redeem himself from, but yet, he does! He has had to redeem himself all of his life, and it was never for anything he had done, but simply for what he is. Since he's a sharptooth, he's always had to work twice as hard to prove himself to others. No one ever trusts him at first. It's almost it's if he has to make up for what other sharpteeth have done. It's kind of sad really :,(
I think now that that truly is the reason I like Chomper just a little bit more than I like Pterano.
Pretty cool that you provided music for us to listen to! About the first one, from Xenosaga. There's a Wii game coming out soon that I'm really wanting to get called Xenoblade. Are those two games related?
I'm glad I was right about the "poisonous" flower :DD.
Looking forward to the "Tying the loose ends" chapter! I've really enjoyed this whole story. It's been a great read. Thanks for finally writing it after sitting on the idea for so long!
Thanks, vonboy! Glad you liked it! I wrote it over two days. Worked on most of it Wednesday, then finished it yesterday. It certainly challenged me to stretch myself a bit as a writer in order to keep it interesting.
I know what you mean about Brightneck. He'd really been hiding himself this whole time. That's the scary thing about psychopaths. They can fake normalcy really well, and blend right in, and normally have very ordinary jobs. The difference between them and others is their complete lack of emotions. With Brightneck, I'm not sure if he was an outright psychopath, but he came pretty close to it. He created his own twisted reality where he was the hero, and no matter what he did, he could justify it.
Yeah, I tried to bring everyone together, and each give them a role. Ichy wasn't going to be there, but he probably figured he'd done enough, having nearly been consumed probably not two hours before this chapter took place. He had fulfilled his role of finding Petrie, and he probably didn't think he'd be very useful even if he did come along. But yes, everyone here has moments to shine, at least for the most part.
As for Chomper, I agree entirely with you. I was originally gonna have him speak to defend himself, BUT I was like no... I want someone ELSE to speak up for him, and better yet, I want this someone to be a FLATTOOTH! I think it works better that way, having an "outsider" to his species stick up for him, rather than just have him do it himself. I felt it was more powerful to let Brightneck take some verbal flak from the person he's NOT threatening to put down, and someone that, at least initially, he didn't outright seek to harm, as it conflicted with his "fantasy" of him being heroic. I think it worked out pretty well, and I agree fully with you, that Chomper has to work hard to prove himself, ESPECIALLY to certain others in the Valley.
Glad you liked the music. ^^ I figured it'd enhance the reading and intensity as well as the action. I know it does for me. :DD In regardes to Xenoblade, I've heard different stories. Some fans of the Xenogears/Xenosaga series are hoping this will be episode four in the six part series, as Xenosaga I-III are the first three, and Xenogears is episode V. However, from what I'm seeing, it doesn't appear to be directly related to this series, BUT I am very much looking forward to it all the same, BECAUSE of the primary reason that there are two of the original "holy trinity" as I like to call them working on this game. You have Tetsuya Takahashi, who was the absolutely FABULOUS writer/director of both Xenogears, and Xenosaga episode I working on Xenoblade, and he is phenomenal. Xenogears is probably my favorite game of all time, and episode I of Xenosaga was outstanding as well. Episode II and III weren't as good, but that's because only one of the original three from the trinity worked on it, and they had fired basically the WHOLE creative team, to give the series a new "feel", which was a massive mistake in my opinion, as poor sales for episodes II and III really dashed the series. The second name I see is Yasunori Mitsuda, the sublime composer of the music for both Xenogears and Xenosaga, the track "Margulis" that you listened to being one of his. While it doesn't look like he's the main composer for Xenoblade, I still see his name in the staff credits, so you know right there that having these two guys working together again for this game portends great things. Takahashi being the writer/director alone is enough to make me look forward to this game, but having Mitsuda on the crew as well is like the icing to the cake.
And thank YOU for reviewing it! In fact, thank you to all my reviewers! It wouldn't really have been a story without readers after all, and it's been great writing this so far! I should have this story concluded soon!
And here's the conclusion! Thank you to all of my readers for sticking with this and making this possible. I could not have done this without you! I hope you've had as good a time reading as I had writing this. :DD
If you want some more music, you can start this track AFTER the chapter break, when we flash forward a few weeks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjqHuGR6PqU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjqHuGR6PqU)
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Epilogue
"Quite frankly, Pterano, I find your story incredibly hard to believe, but in light of the fact that it has been corroborated by not only Hyp, Ducky, Spike, Petrie, Cera, Chomper and my own grandson, I hereby declare you exonerated of any and all blame in the disappearance and kidnapping of your nephew. Furthermore, your actions have demonstrated just how far you were willing to go to save Petrie, and your conduct should at least be commended." Grandpa Longneck heard Mr. Threehorn muttering about some conspiracy going on as he spoke, and he silenced him with a stare. "From all of us, welcome back to the Great Valley. I know we welcomed you a few days ago, but this time, consider it official." the elderly longneck nodded solemnly, and Mr. Threehorn stepped forward, after being prodded by Grandpa Longneck's tail.
"Err... I... guess... you... well... sort of... maybe... kind of..." Mr. Threehorn spoke very hesitantly, looking at everyone but Pterano full on. Grandpa Longneck gave him a slight slap in his flank, and Mr. Threehorn glared at the older one. "Grrrr! Don't get rough with me!" he snapped, but Grandpa Longneck only sighed, shaking his head. "FINE! Look... Pterano... perhaps you AREN'T as bad as I originally thought. And perhaps you DO deserve to live here with us. I find it hard to believe that Brightneck ever could have perpetrated something like this... but my own daughter claims it's true so... I suppose... I'm... s... ssss... sorry." he slid the words out, as if he had just tasted acid, and turned away immediately to walk back to Grandpa Longneck's side, muttering the whole time.
Pterano, who stood before the assembled adults, smiled. It wasn't a smile of pride, or accomplishment. It was a smile that said "thank you" without actually speaking the words. He didn't need to say anything, and even if he could, for once in his entire life, the flyer found himself at a loss at what to say. Everyone expected some form of bragging or boasting, but nothing came forth from the flyer's beak. It was as if he had been struck mute on the spot, and he only nodded at them.
"Now that that business is settled, I propose we..." but the longneck elder was interrupted by shouts of acclaim from off to the side. He glanced over, surprised, and then smiled as he saw the gang cheering. They were all cheering the successful conclusion to this whole nightmare, and celebrating Pterano's absolution.
Pterano swiveled his head to look over at them, and sighed happily. He closed his eyes, and felt like taking a long rest. He still needed to recover after all, but more than that. The flyer knew what it was he was experiencing. He still carried guilt over what had occurred in the past, but no longer did he see the past as a gaping hole that constantly followed him around, yawning with its wide maw and threatening to snap him up. He was at ease with it now. He was finally there. He was finally at his haven. He had found, dare he say it? Peace.
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A few weeks passed, and Pterano had recovered well from his injuries and burns. He'd bear a few of the larger pockmarks for the rest of his life, but otherwise, he was as good as new. The gang visited him for most of the days of his recovery, and he was grateful for their company. After he had healed, the gang visited him anyway, to keep the infamous old flyer in good spirits after all that had transpired.
Pterano was sitting against a rock this particular day, enjoying the sun as he played a game with the gang while Hyp and Selene sat off a distance away on the grass. "Is it... a treestar?" Pterano asked, playing the equivalent of twenty questions.
"Nope! I win!" Chomper exclaimed, grinning widely.
"Oh, blast! I suppose you do. Well played, young one. What was it that you stumped me with?" the flyer inquired.
"It was the treesweets hanging right above your head!" Chomper pointed, giggling as he did so.
Pterano glanced up, and opened his mouth as he noticed the branch that provided him with a measure of partial shade, and broke into a smile. "Huh... well who put that there?" he questioned, rolling his eyes.
"Heheh, I was thinking, Pterano, about... well a few weeks ago." Littlefoot spoke up now, sitting down before the flyer as Pterano shifted his gaze over to the longneck.
"Yes?"
"When you think about it... I don't think a single one of us could have saved Petrie on our own. I kind of like how we all blended together in the end there."
Pterano gave him a nod. "Yes, Littlefoot, it all worked out rather well. Without Ichy..." he glanced over at the sharpbeak, who was sitting off by himself, eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the sun. "We never would have found Petrie."
"Yeah! Thanks Ichy!" Littlefoot called over, and the gang joined in with their plaudits. The bird cracked an eye, and frowned, then gradually smiled. "Eh... lousy brats." he said, waving his wing dismissively at them, to which they all laughed.
"And if it hadn't been for Hyp, I don't think I could have taken on Brightneck myself. I just... I'm not really the flyer I used to be." Pterano admitted, looking over across the grass to Hyp, who was leaning back on his hands as he sat next to his prospective mate, and smiled in a small, smug way.
"And if hadn't been for Selene, I wouldn't have even been there!" he called over to the flyer, taking Selene's hand in his.
"Yeah... you certainly aren't what you used to be." Cera said, half mockingly. "I guess no more battling hundreds of sharpteeth for you, huh?" she asked skeptically.
"No... I suppose not." Pterano chuckled. "And if it hadn't been for Chomper, Hyp would have been struck down the first time."
"Would not have!" Hyp shouted back, shaking his head.
Pterano rolled his eyes again. "Anyways, he knows what you did, Chomper. He just won't ever admit it." the flyer reached out to give the young sharptooth an affectionate pat on the head before continuing on. "And if it hadn't of been for Littlefoot, Chomper would have been attacked as well."
"Yeah! Thanks Littlefoot. We seem to look out for each other a lot, don't we?" Chomper asked, looking over at the longneck, who looked down at the ground in a reserved manner.
"Awww... that's what friends do." Littlefoot stated, kicking at the earth in a distracted manner.
"As for the rest of you... Cera, Ducky, Spike and company, the other two I've already named, we never could have moved that rock without teamwork. So you see, it was a group effort on everyone's part." the flyer declared, giving them all a nod.
"By the way, what about that flower he had you eat?" Cera asked now. "It wasn't poison, so why did he have you eat something that was OK?"
Pterano shrugged, unable to come up with an answer.
"Maybe..." this came from Chomper. "Maybe... he wasn't all bad? Brightneck wanted his revenge, but he still did good things before all that. Or... it could be that he just didn't want to risk Pterano dying early before he could carry out his revenge. It was all a test anyway. I dunno. I give up." the sharptooth said, shrugging as well. The others shook their heads. Brightneck's motivations were anyone's guess, but Littlefoot had to admit that he liked Chomper's line of thinking. If it was all a test... maybe it was just to scare Pterano, and test his willingness to give up his life for another. Another method of seeing whether or not he was worth taking revenge on, or something twisted like that. The secret would remain a secret, as it had died with Brightneck.
"Hey, uncle! What me do?" Petrie asked, looking up at his uncle eagerly.
"You, Petrie." Pterano fixed his gaze directly upon his nephew, smiling. "You... taught me a few things about life... and love. If it hadn't of been for you... uncle Pterano might never have changed." he said, his voice quiet, subdued, so unlike his usual bravado.
"Oooh. Change good!" Petrie agreed, nodding. "How about you? What you do? You not tell us!" he added. Pterano seemed to hesitate, as if he was pondering this.
"Me? Well... I... I suppose I forgot myself in all of this." he said, shaking his head. "Terribly sorry about that." he paused, as if about to speak. The gang all eagerly leaned in, wanting to hear what he would say. But Pterano did not speak. He kept silent, and looked at each one of them in turn, a relaxed, sedate expression upon his features.
Littlefoot caught the flyer's gaze, and he thought he understood. Pterano was not going to say anything because some things were best left unsaid. Pterano was certainly the changed flyer, from what Littlefoot could see. No boasting, no bragging, and no incredible story about how he'd saved the day. Littlefoot knew the pain and suffering and trials he had endured to save Petrie, and as far as Littlefoot was concerned, he was looking at a living hero. As real to him as his grandfather was, or his mother, and in that instant, he rather felt a strong desire to speak up and thank Pterano for all that he had done.
In terms of solving the mystery and defeating Brightneck, Pterano played little real part. But that wasn't the point in Littlefoot's eyes. It was what Pterano had been through... all the things he had willingly subjected himself to in order to save Petrie. How far would Littlefoot go to protect the ones he loved? Even he couldn't answer that one, but he knew Pterano could. Love was a powerful motivator, and in Littlefoot's eyes at least, it had helped shape Pterano into a new flyer.
He smiled, and gave the flyer an understanding nod. He didn't have to say anything to glorify himself.
Pterano seemed to catch this, and opened his mouth. "But... rather than me bore you with what I did, why don't I tell you about the time I saw something truly incredible out in the Mysterious Beyond?" he suggested, and the rest of the gang seemed to brighten at this. Littlefoot shook his head, but continued smiling.
"Now... this is a story that is entirely true! Well... at least as far as I can remember it!" the flyer added with a flap of his wings. He knew the gang was fast coming of age, and soon, they would only continue to expand and add on chapters to the story they had begun weaving for themselves so long ago. Turning to look around his audience, he started his tale, holding them enraptured as usual through his eloquent and engaging manner of speaking.
His eyes eventually came to rest on Petrie after about five or ten minutes of his storytelling, and here he paused.
"Come on! What happened next?" Cera demanded.
Pterano blinked, and realized he'd broken up his narration. "Oh! Right! Um..." but he found himself once again looking straight at Petrie, and filled with such an incredible fullness. It filled him to every crevice and brim of his being. It was bursting at his seams, and he suddenly reached out and hugged his nephew tightly against him.
"What does THAT have to do with the story?" Cera asked, before getting an "ahem" from Littlefoot. Cera realized that this wasn't part of the story then, and quickly quieted down.
"I'm just... very happy... to have someone like you in my life, Petrie. You're worth more than anything I could ever obtain in this world." Pterano said, sniffling a little. "I'll NEVER leave your side again... and this time I mean it." he nuzzled him, and received a hug around his neck in return from Petrie, who was beaming.
Pterano closed his eyes, and moved a bit more into the sun, letting its rays warm him and enhance the very full and deep feeling he was experiencing. Peace? Love? It didn't need words. All he knew was that it made him feel complete, and whole. He was not empty or fragmented. He enjoyed the feeling of the warmth that moved over both his exterior and through his inner being as well. To him, nothing could top this. Nothing at all.
Fin
A very warm ending to such a dark story :yes
I liked how Pterano went on about what everyone else did, but didn't say anything for himself. Good that he decided to stay reserved like that, and not get cocky like he was in the 7th movie.
I also liked how Mr. Threehorn got a little humbled. He's always the grumpy old grouch that complains about everything, and it's good to see him sort of accept Pterano. :DD
Like I said, this has been a great read! I look forward to whatever your writing next. You said you have some vague ideas, but nothing concrete yet. I hope it turns out good too.
This fanfiction has been nominated by its author to be rated for the fanfiction awards 2011. To all the readers and fans of this fanfiction, please rate and review (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=9467) it! :)
This was a great story, Pterano! I absolutely love how you described the characters, the events and practically everything else in the story. And you know what? It almost made me feel bad at how I was writing my stories. I'm not kidding. I was all, "Chee, this guy must be a professional author or somethin!"
But I also learned that we all have different styles. And we just need to live with that style in order to improve. And if it weren't for that style, you wouldn't be doing whatever it is your doing. So yeah, I'd give this story a 10/10.
Thank you, trulyfantasticme. I really feel honored that you'd give it such a high rating. :) I am not a professional author, but my mom is, and she really helps me out... well OK, she doesn't anymore, as I barely see her these days, but growing up with her gave me great tips on how to write. I owe her quite a lot. :) Plus I practice a lot on my website, as I write nearly every day, though I really don't think it compares to the story I just wrote, as I put a lot of effort into this.
Yes, for this style I wanted a very personal story about ordinary characters that were forced into extraordinary situations. It was a story ultimately about love, and how deep it can run, but yes, I didn't want anything over the top. I just wanted a style that was very ordinary and down to earth for this one, but one that at the same time spoke to my reader on a very powerful level. We all have our own style, like you said. I don't think there's any "wrong" way to write a fanfiction trulyfantasticme, so I wouldn't worry too much. :)
Yeah, I like your style of writing.
I guess my style of writing is a little more comedic in a sense. I like to mix comedic, emotional, and actiony bits together, I just think you end up with a better story that way. I think a good story is one that can make you both laugh and cry at the same time :cry :lol .
I guess it goes along with what I like to watch as well. I like watching a lot of satire and parody stuff (Which is what Southpark and Futurama are basically. Southpark being satire on everything, and Futurama parodying lots of different science-fiction)
And I guess Trulyfantasticme really likes focusing on emotion! Most of his chapters are very touching, with how the characters interact and show caring, concern, love, ect to each other. That's what he's good at. I'll admit, sometimes I just don't want to read his stuff because I don't like too much touching scenes. Don't take that wrong though, you do it very well, and you should keep doing it for the people who DO like that.
Ok, not so quick on the review this time :) but I'm working away at stuff of my own too. Anyway, yay for happy stuff after all the heavy dark. As I did with the rest of the story, I like how you brought about the epiloque too.
Yes Pterano didn't brag, but the way you had him just "not even bother" if you will came off as believable especially after everything he has been through.
Great end to a great story. Aw, it's over :cry. But I got my happy reunion and then some :DD
Hi there, a bit new here, but I stated reading your fanfic and fell in love with it!! The plot was very original and I love that you kept the characters in, well, character^^
Brightneck was a solid antagonist, I kinda had a feeling it would either be him, or Sierra, but Sierra was never mentioned... And I like that you had his and pterano's past intertwine. I liked the fact that he was one of the great valley's own, so Littlefoot was never off in his assumptions^^
but gahh, tumultous, horrible pain! Darn dark and shady pasts! why must they resurface?
Hyp made me lol^^ so happy you had him in there. definitely one of my favorite characters, and having him be in the stages of courting was just so cute. I also liked his potential mate, Selene, she had a good head on her shoulders... opposites attract?
Agh! Ichy's back! Journey Through the Mists was always a childhood fave of mine, and I loved this little sassy sharpbeak. I was so glad you put him in the role of a protagonist here.
Lastly, Pterano: Seriously, I think this is the best description I have read of him. You totally kept in tune to his persona - he wasn't too sensitive, but not too cold either. You were super fab at describing his emotional and physical pain in the fanfic, I really had no trouble picturing that. And yes, I very nearly cried everytime he got hurt. the scenes with his tasks were beautifully and artfully wielded.
-- just a side note, this fanfic has kept me awake the past couple of nights because of those cliffhangers! You have made me a nervous wreck!! :cry :cry :cry
Thank you so much for the review! I can't believe this story is a year old now. Glad to see it's still drawing readers in though. :yes
Yeah, I guess I made it a little TOO easy to figure out who was behind it, but the majority of the story was more focused on other things rather than a who dun it. :) I did at least want it to be an original character for my antagonist, as I felt it would be too cliche to involve Sierra in this particular revenge story. I wanted someone that was still angry at Pterano but had not necessarily been seen on screen during the film. :) Since Pterano had flown off and abandoned his herd, it left a door open that I wanted to take advantage of. Couple that with the likelihood that he'd likely have blocked this episode from his mind due to the trauma and I came up with my antagonist. :)
Yeah, Hyp is one of my favorite characters too. :DD I just had to throw him in here, and try to show he was slowly coming of age. I also wanted Selene to be rather the opposite of him, both to compliment him and make up for his shortcomings. While I could have him take on Brightneck in the final battle, she had to be the one to start putting things together when the puzzle was on the table. :yes
I wanted to do something interesting with Ichy, as he was one of my favorite antagonists from the series, and I wanted to force him into a situation where he'd HAVE to play the protagonist :lol
Thanks so much for the compliments on my writing of Pterano! :DD I really appreciate that and feel really humbled by that too. :smile I ultimately wanted this to be a story about an ordinary individual thrust into a very extraordinary situation, and as Pterano is my all time favorite from the series, I decided to focus on him. He was almost perfect for the role I had pictured, because even though he's not really all that adept at fighting or standing up to Brightneck, his actions in taking on his tasks head on for the love of his nephew speak volumes about him I think, and make up for his inability to face Brightneck when the time came to do so. I'm glad you thought I wrote him well when it came to getting his persona down. I wanted to convey the pain he was struggling with, but also had to force him to keep it mostly to himself in this, as he HAD to be the one to save his nephew as well as confront his past on his own.
Well I'm sorry I made you a nervous wreck, but I'm also glad my fic elicited such emotions as well. :smile Really glad you enjoyed this, and thanks for the review!
Really it was my pleasure^^ and I was actually glad I got so nervous - it takes a soul-stirring piece of writing like that to really get the reader thinking that seriously about it, so thank you :)
The situation was perfect for Pterano as well and the plot line definitely worked with someone from his past seeking revenge. That left a big plot hole in the movie^^
I know this story is a few years old but after reading it for dang three hours I wanted to leave my own review.
THIS IS A GREAT EMOTIONAL STORY! Fully of betrayal and action. I kept tearing up even more so during the part where Pterano thought it was the end, I kind of suspected he would live though and I did suspect earlier that it was Mr.Brightneck but didn't you say it wouldn't be an oc? Anyway he was an exciting villain it was nice that Hyp got to join in the fight I'm glad he didn't die. Icky was a nice add (I might go watch the 4th movie now it's been so long) on his battle scene was very exciting and it seems he could take on the grouch role of the group.
Cera's last line earned a small chuckle out of me and I liked Mr.Threehorns apology as I don't care for him that much.
Chompers intro with Pterano was nice too, I like that little pat on the head scene at the end.
I think my favorite chapter was when Pterano and Petrie were bonding that end hug/sleep scene was so cute.
Pteranos characterization was done well I wanted to give him a hug, I'm glad he gave one to Petrie XDD
The bad thing about the story is that it's OVER. Thanks for the good read XD.
Well thanks! I'm glad you liked it! :DD Glad I could provide a very emotionally powerful story, as that's what I was going for with this one. :yes
It's certainly one of my fanfics I'm proudest of, so I'm glad I gave you a good read. :)
You should write more stories :D
You should be proud it's an amazing story and it turned me into an Icky fan :lol