Hi all. Well this is my (late) response to the March prompt of writing from the point of view of a Sharptooth/omnivore, excluding Ruby and Chomper. Now this story is also a short spin off from The Seven Hunters and will feature characters in the story. I have Rhombus permission to use his characters/content from The Seven Hunters and I thank him for that. For those of you who have not read The Seven Hunters I highly recommend it, though you won't necessarily need to have read it to understand the context of the story but it is still highly recommended. So with out further ado, here it is.
WARNING: Large editing performed and bloody content in the later half of the story.
Not a Monster
Ducky looked down at the starlit ground, not taking her eyes off the grass gently blowing in the breeze, a cruel taunt to her since she couldn't stomach it anymore, here she was surrounded by plants but none of them were edible to her now, the only thing that had been on the menu tonight was the body of a shattered Mother Flyer with both of her wings torn and her neck savagely ripped open. "By me" reminded an unwelcome voice in her head. Ducky closed her eyes tightly and took a shuddering breath, she could not bear to think of it anymore and she didn't want to see her still bloody claws, the claws of a killer but they belonged to her; Ducky the Fast Biter or Haven as she had been so recently been renamed by Chomper. The purple Biter was indeed right about her name, it was perfect for her, it reflected her wishes perfectly, the wish to protect rather than kill. Now however, even her new name felt like a cruel form of mockery. She was no safe haven she had just killed, taken the life of a mother. Although her reasons for the kill were justified, to stop her and her pack from starving and to save her dear friend Petrie or as the Sharptooth Flyer was now called Spotter from the mother Flyer's wrath, she could not find any sense of closure for her actions.
Although Ducky was no longer hungry having eaten her fair share of her kill she still felt sick to the stomach. The last time she and the other's hunted it wasn't nearly as hard; back then she could just deny the truth and say that she had no part in killing poor Rett even though she had a vital part in the hunt. However, Ducky could not deny the truth any longer she had been the one to strike the killing blow. The blood on her claws was the christening of her being a killer and not just any killer. "A killer of Mamas" thought Ducky bitterly, the poor youngling was haunted by that fact, if she could kill this mother then what about…...her mother?
She would be able to do that to her own family. Ducky shivered in fear. To many thoughts all jumbled together, some of her old self the side that had once been Ducky the Swimmer but the newer thoughts belonged to Haven the Fast Biter, the cold and calculating killer that could snuff the life out of anyone in a single instant. No longer the kind, caring Swimmer who could find the good in anyone but she still was Ducky but she was also Haven but now however the former Swimmer, now turned Sharptooth hadn't the slightest clue who she was anymore.
Ducky looked out over the densely-populated Lowlands; her new home, from her vantage point in front of the cave she and her friends lived in she could see countless dinosaurs resting from Longnecks, Threehorns and even her former kind; Swimmers. Ducky grimaced as she watched her former kind from the distance, she could no longer go back to being a Swimmer again. Ducky turned away and closed her eyes while taking in long, hard breaths.
"Ducky?"
Ducky did not look up, she recognised Littlefoot's voice but it was different, it had a deeper tone and had that same growling quality that each of them now possessed. Ducky could also deduct that the rest of her friends were now watching her. However it was with her new sense of smell that she knew this, she could smell each of her friend's unique sent along with their emotions and from their scents, she gathered that they were worried about her and why wouldn't they be? The light green Fast Biter absolutely reeked of sadness and everyone knew why, which was why they had kept an extra big vigil over her, knowing that she would not take the events of the day at all well.
"Are you alright Ducky?" asked Spike, another reminder of the change that had occurred after they had touched that cursed stone although this was one of the few good things that was brought about by the change, her beloved brother finally being able to talk. Spike walked up to his sister and sat down beside her with his arm protectively wrapped around her while she leaned on him for comfort and support. There was nothing that could be said at the moment and Spike knew this. What his sister needed now was support, she needed a body to lean on not a whole load of overwhelming questions. After all it was rather obvious that Ducky was not okay but still traumatised by her part in the hunt.
It was in an uncomfortable silence that her friends left the two siblings alone.
"Poor Ducky" said Petrie when they got back into the cave. It was an opinion shared by everyone in the cave. Petrie could feel her pain after all it was his former kind that she had killed and it was the children that he had killed but he had not been hit nearly as hard as Ducky. In a way the intervention the former Swimmer had taken was something that Petrie reflected on the most about the hunt. Having The Mother Flyer charge at him with no chance of escape from her vengeful talons then Ducky coming out of nowhere and saving his life but mortally wounding the mother Flyer in the process.
"Do you think she'll ever get over it?" asked Cera to no one in particular.
"In time," said Littlefoot as he looked back at his two friends sitting together outside "but until then we should all do our part to help Ducky overcome this" He received silent nods from his friends but Littlefoot was more worried then he let on. Out of all the former leaf eaters he was the first to make a kill and he had not handled it very well, but Ducky was so much more emotional than he was. Her ability to feel another's pain was one of her greatest strengths having always done what she could to help those she cared about but in this case it was a grave weakness. Out of everyone in the pack it was Ducky that took the most pain and trauma from a hunt even if she did not make the kill but now that she had made her first kill she was more unstable then ever "and who knows how long it will take for her to recover….if she recovers" thought Littlefoot sadly.
Meanwhile Ducky had finally regained her composure having let out several soft sobs after her friends had left. She had to admit that if it hadn't been for Spike then she would have lost her sanity long before now. He was her rock, one of the only things that had kept her sane after the change.
Ducky took a deep breath and sighed. "Thank you Spike, I am okay now I am, I am" said Ducky but Spike was not convinced. He gave her a look that clearly said "Are you sure? Because I don't think you are"
Although Spike had gained the ability of speech after the change he still retained his old method of communication with his sister, it was well established between the two since they knew each other so well that all either of them had to do was to look at each other in the eye and they would know what the other was feeling. The change had not taken that away from them and Spike could clearly see Ducky's inner turmoil as well as being able to smell it which made the former Spiketail fear for his sister, she was on the very brink of breaking and he knew it.
However, Ducky looked away from her brother and slowly stood on her feet and turned away from Spike. "I am going to sleep" she said in exhaustion. She walked slowly back into the cave to see her friends sitting together but when she entered they all turned to look at her with concern as they watched the clearly exhausted Fast Biter walk slowly to her sleeping place with a resigned look upon her face. She didn't say anything, she just lay down and closed her eyes and before she knew it she was asleep, having being too tired to think anymore. Spike walked into the cave and was quick to lay down by his sister. He looked over at his friends and gave them a single nod. He would look after her tonight.
*
The Great Valley
"Time for sleep, little ones" said Mother Swimmer to her children as she placed herself down in her sleeping spot so her children could come and settle down beside her. They all did but there was one area near her leg that was completely devoid of any of her children. Ura closed her eyes and sighed sadly as she looked solemnly at the spot where Spike would sleep with Ducky right up next to him. She was so used to feeling the young Spiketail curl up beside her, she was so used to seeing her little Ducky sleep with her brother, there was never a day that they did not sleep together with exception of Spike's time with Tipy. But every other time Ducky would always be sleeping with Spike but now that space was empty and devoid of life. "Fitting" said a sad voice in Ura's head "It's been how many cycles of the Night Circle and still I expect them to come to sleep"
Ura watched her children fall asleep one by one but she found herself awake long afterwards and still staring at the empty space in the nest which now represented the gaping hole in her heart. She could still see them together, sleeping, playing, eating and she could hear their voices. Spike's friendly low grunts and Ducky's cheerful, happy voice, she could hear Ducky's "yep, yep, yep" in her ears.
Ura turned her head back and let out a few chocked sobs as tears threatened to come out of her watering eyes. "I miss you so much my little ones, my dear little Ducky and my beautiful boy Spike. I'm so sorry, I failed you, I hope you're in a better place now dears, I will never stop loving you though, no matter where you are" said Ura quietly, her words heard by no one but herself. A few tears fell and Ura bent her head in sadness as her heart broke for what felt like the millionth time since 'that' night.
She allowed herself a few minutes to mourn her two beloved children. No one was up and her children were all asleep so she could finally allow this moment of weakness to show. However, after her brief moment of mourning had past she rested her head on the ground. "I love you Ducky, I love you Spike. I'm so sorry" was the last thought that went through Ura's head before she succumbed to sleep, a single tear falling to the ground beside her.
*
The Night Circle was at its fullest, bathing The Great Valley in its subtle light, for a night predator it was perfect hunting conditions with more than enough light to see it's query or rather her query. The light green Fast Biter advanced through The Great Valley with silence and a speed that can only come from someone who knew the place intimately. Haven stopped and sniffed the air intently her sniffer telling her exactly what dinosaurs were around and by the strong scent of her former kind in her nostrils she knew she was getting close. Her yellow eyes narrowed and she headed off at brisk pace through the foliage with great stealth except for the rumbling of her hungry belly, The Fast Biter was hungry and tonight no one was safe because of her, the silent hunter.
Finally, she caught sight of her prey, she slowed her pace and hid in the bushes before she carefully peered out and saw that she was about a longneck length away from a family of Swimmers. They were sleeping near a bend in the river under a tree in the distance; a majestic waterfall poured from the top of the cliff, perfect for masking her approach since the sound of splashing water at the base of the cliff would make hearing her difficult. Ahead of her was a mother Swimmer with dozens of children sleeping beside her. The predatory smile that crossed the Fast Biter's features would have made any leaf eater shiver with fright at the sight of her pale, sharp teeth gleaming coldly in the moonlight as they hungered for flesh to sink into. Haven eyed the small family and plotted her next move in her head, it would be simple enough to sneak over, slit the mother's throat and then take the children while they were trapped against their mother's bulk. The irony that their mother's very body that was supposed to protect them would be the death trap. Her plans were cut short however when the mother Swimmer awoke and yawned tiredly. She turned her head to look at her children only to sigh sadly and the Fast Biter knew why.
In an instant, the Fast Biter's eyes changed to show sympathy and pain. Ducky watched how sad her mother was since the night of the change. She just had to talk to her again, she didn't care if she was in The Valley or that she was a Sharptooth, that was her mother there and she just had to be with her again. Tears built around her eyes she stepped out of her hiding place quietly and walked in a daze like fashion towards her family. Her mother still hadn't noticed her having been too busy looking at the spot that Ducky realised was where she and her brother used to sleep, Ducky had to choke back a sob at seeing her mother like this. "Oh, Mama I am so, so, so, so, sorry" thought Ducky as she advanced onward however as she approached to within a Swimmer length of her mother her foot came down on a stick which snapped loudly.
Ducky froze as her mother turned her head sharply and gazed directly at her with a startled and a somewhat horrified expression, she recognised this Fast Biter from that terrible night. In a single act of protective instinct Ura swung her tail around her children defensively, waking them up in the process but just as she was about to make an alert call she saw the Fast Biter charge forward at full speed straight towards her. Her children screamed when they realised what was heading towards them and hid behind their mother's tail while their mother braced herself for an impact that never came. A second before the supposed impact Ura had closed her eyes but when she didn't feel anything she opened her eyes in confusion which changed to bewilderment as she looked down at the Fast Biter who was now laying on the ground in front of her, holding onto her arms and sobbing hysterically.
Ura was stunned, for once she had no idea what to do, this was something she had never expected to happen to her in her life but all that changed when the light green Fast Biter spoke in Leaf Eater to everyone including the Fast Biter's astonishment. "Oh Mama, I am so, so sorry" said….. no, it couldn't be. The idea was absurd. Dinosaurs did not change kinds. Ura was staring wide eyed and wide mouthed at this Fast Biter. "This light green Fast Biter" corrected Ura's mind. "No it-it can't be" she said in horror as she looked at the light green Fast Biter that had just called her mother in what sounded like 'her' voice.
Ducky looked up at her mother with tears streaming down her eyes "I missed you so much mommy I did, I did. I am so happy to see you again yes, yes, yes" she sobbed into her mother's arms.
Ura felt her heart shake violently and her stomach dropped, her mind was telling her that it was impossible, that her senses were lying to her but she had heard her; that was a voice she knew all too well. "D-Ducky?" she said in shock.
The former Swimmer looked up at her mother as if pleading for recognition. "Yes, Mama it is me it is Ducky, yes….yes…yes" she said in a severely chocked up voice as she leapt up and embraced her mother full on while crying loudly.
Ura on the other hand was stunned, too stunned to register the embrace as her breathing became unsteady and tears clouded her vision. "You can't be…..Ducky…She's dead….My son and daughter…. They're both…" Ura couldn't say anymore, she was trembling too violently.
"Ducky?" Ura looked to see her children watching the exchange with looks of shock and horror on their faces. Ducky turned to them and went right over to them before anyone could do anything but she didn't attack, she just pulled them all into a big wet embrace as she called out each of her sibling's names loudly and with each name called Ura's heart cracked more and her stomach dropped further. No Sharptooth would know that, most dinosaurs in The Valley couldn't even keep up with all her children's names only Ducky and Spike would know.
With horrible realisation and a terrible pain in her heart Ura realised that this was indeed Ducky standing in front of her but she was not a Swimmer she was a Sharptooth, a Fast Biter. "How!?" lamented Ura in her mind as she suddenly got up to her feet and pulled her daughter into a strangling embrace as she finally burst into tears. For what felt like an eternity mother and daughter both clung to each other and cried their hearts out at the terrible situation that they had found themselves in. Ura could hardly process the fact that her little one was alive and now a Sharptooth, an eater of flesh and she was actually hugging her but this was Ducky, her daughter, she would never do that to family. Never.
Finally, the two broke off to look at each other, so much emotions were passed between them in that one glance. From Ducky pain, unparalleled sorrow, regret and fear but also love and a small amount of happiness. From Ura the same pain, regret and sadness but also confusion, shock and heartbreak as well as love and joy. However, all Ura could do now was ask a single question "How?"
"I am so sorry Mama, my friends, Spike and I, we just wanted to see that stone and we made a wish on it to be powerful enough to defeat Red Claw and it….it…. did…..this to us" Ducky looked down and sobbed even harder. She was hardly aware that her mother was also mourning her fate with her. "I do not like being a Sharptooth no, no, no. I want to be a Swimmer again! I do not want to be a monster!" cried Ducky loudly.
"I know Ducky, I know but you are not a monster dear, you're my little girl" said her mother holding her close to her and nuzzling her all over.
"Mommy I am scared-ed" sobbed Ducky clinging to her mother like a frightened hatchling.
Her mother gently shushed her "I'm here" she said as she embraced her.
Suddenly a loud grumble sounded from Ducky's belly a painful reminder that Ducky had not eaten in days but now that she thought of it the scent of Swimmer filling her nostrils was so good, so appetizing that it made her mouth water. The Fast Biter's eyes changed and narrowed. "I am starving" she said calmly. Too calmly. It sent a chill down the spines of all the Swimmers.
"I have not eaten in days, no, I have not"
Ura looked worried, the situation was difficult enough without dealing with a hungry Fast Biter as such; she wasn't sure what to do. In normal circumstances, she would have already chased the Fast Biter away but this was Ducky, her daughter, she could not abandon her. "I need food" That simple statement caused the little Swimmers to back away from their changed sister in fright and Ura instinctively wrapped her tail around them.
"Well…. you could try in the stream for snapping shells" said Ura in more than a little nervousness which turned into cold fear when her daughter gave a soft laugh but the sound was frightening, it sounded as dangerous as the current form Ducky was in.
"Oh mother, I am too big for such trifles," said the Fast Biter with a dismissive wave of her hand "On the other hand, Swimmer looks so appetizing" The smile that broke the Fast Biter's lips made Ura want to run away more than anything, her eyes were wide with fear, surely her Ducky would not do this…would she?
"Please Ducky, you would not hurt me or your brothers and sisters, we are your family" said Ura in a shaking voice, while she tried to keep the fear out of her voice she found it was just impossible, the situation was so unprecedented and horrifying. it was not something she could fathom in her darkest night terrors; this was worse.
Haven's expression softened a little "Your right mother, Ducky would never harm you, she would never even think of causing harm to her dear family but I. Am. Haven." Said the Fast Biter with firm conviction. Ura backed up, getting to her feet to stand in front of her children while Haven paced around her but Ura wouldn't have any of it, she followed and tracked her every move with rising fear.
"Yes, that is my new name, my Sharptooth name given to me by Chomper after my first hunt but my first kill was also a Mother like you, only difference she was just a Flyer, not nearly as tasty as a Swimmer and while Ducky would be too weak to what needs to be done I, Haven AM NOT!" Haven's last words were spat out as she snarled and leapt at her mother who was too stunned by the situation and her daughter's actions to mount a defence.
Haven collided with Ura in the middle of her body the force of the blow knocking Ura onto her back, winded while the air filled with the screams of the young Swimmer's but Haven paid no attention to them. She didn't even hesitate to claw at her mother's exposed chest and belly with her clawed hands and feet causing her mother to scream in pain and blood to drench the scene. Haven launched her head down and latched it onto her mother's throat and with one tearing motion and a terrible sound of ripping flesh, tore a large chunk of it out, not enough to immediately kill but enough to make the death slow.
Having dealt with her mother Haven charged straight for the children with a blood thirsty roar taking up two of her siblings in her mouth and crushed her maw down on them. The taste of blood filled her mouth as she swallowed her own brothers.
What followed next was something that made Ducky and Ura scream internally. Ura’s own body had become the death trap that Haven had intended, her siblings had nowhere to go, they were trapped by the body that ironically was supposed to protect them. With one swipe of her right arm Haven disembowelled two of her siblings as they tried to climb over their mother’s tail. Blood drenched the ground and the two younglings fell back, one dead and the other convulsing violently.
“NO! STOP! NO!” Ducky screamed in her mind but her body would not respond, the only thoughts that controlled her body belonged to Haven. “This is to easy” she said as she kicked three of her siblings, her younger sister and brothers with her clawed foot, incapacitating each of them. The remainder of her siblings were now backed into the corner of their mother’s tail, the older children, Ducky’s clutch mates stood protectively in front of their younger siblings who were all crying and shivering.
Haven advanced her face drenched with blood in a terrible display of gore, her eyes glowing, the trap was flawless and her siblings were doomed with no way to escape their fates. However, Haven decided to be merciful in a playful Sharptooth way. “Alright then if you let me eat you without a fuss then I won’t tear you up before you go down” she started to laugh at the horrified looks from her siblings, she actually noticed that a few of them actually lied on the ground in submission.
“Pitiful” thought Haven.
“They are NOT!” screamed Ducky her thoughts clashing directly with her alter Sharptooth personality.
“They are just as pitiful as you are, you can’t even control your own body” retorted Haven to Ducky, who's voice was chocked up from all the sobbing. Haven didn’t actually realise that Ducky’s tears were falling down her eyes now.
“Please leave them alone” begged Ducky.
“Shut it, beak face!” shouted Haven, she would not let Ducky’s sympathy keep her from surviving in a cruel world. “You are not me! You can’t tell me what to do! You are too weak to do what must be done, now if you’ll excuse me I am missing my dinner” Haven pushed Ducky to the back of her mind, she would not be distracted anymore.
The whole conflict had passed in a few growls from Haven’s throat as she stared down her terrified siblings. “Ducky, please no” sobbed one of her sisters. “Pleeeeaaaassse” The little Swimmer was begging for her life, laying on the ground with tears falling from her open eyes. It was a display that would have convinced any Leaf Eater to show mercy but not a Sharptooth. Haven lowered her head to the Swimmer and opened her mouth and licked her once. Her little sister looked a hopeful but that was crushed an instant later when Haven said “Tasty” Her tongue grabbed her sister and pulled her into her mouth and with one gulp she was gone.
“Who’s next?” said Haven who started to feast on her submissive siblings and dismembering all escapees which made up the majority of her siblings but there was nowhere to run too and took to long to climb over their mother tail, the other option would be a suicidal charge against a Fast Biter. Finally after a brutal massacre that drenched the scene with blood and entrails all that remained were two of her brothers and one of her sisters, her clutch mates.
They were all in fighting stances.
“You’re not Ducky! Get eaten by a Swimming Sharptooth!” yelled her enraged sister with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“You’ll…pay…for…this” said her brother in between breaths and sobs. They all charged at once intent on causing as much pain to this Fast Biter that had taken everything they had loved away. Haven raised her claw, she was about to bring it down when she stopped.
“You will not touch them!” yelled a sobbing Ducky, she could not bear it anymore she pushed everything in her will to stop Haven, after all this was her body too and she would not kill her own family. “You are not me and you will not harm my family no, no, no!”
“You will soon be me”Haven words exploded with the force of a bomb in Ducky’s mind, no, she could never become like this. She would never butcher her family, she was Ducky, not some heartless Fast Biter.
Crunch!
Ducky gasped as she felt pain in her legs as her siblings sank their teeth into her flesh. The next instant happened in a flash as Ducky slashed her claw down, her brothers stood no change and instantly fell to the ground their neck’s broken. Haven took advantage of Ducky’s horrified shock and quickly wrestled control back from Ducky, she was in control and no former Swimmer would tell her otherwise.
Ura gurgled and helplessly as she was forced to watch as her own daughter hunted down each of her children and slew them all and ate the remains. Suddenly as Haven sliced open the belly of her final remaining sister a terrible scream issued from her own mouth.
"NO! …. NO! ….. NOOOOOOOOO!" Ducky screamed at the top of her lungs and fell to the ground in a screaming and sobbed heap. What had she just done!? She had just killed her family without hesitation or mercy and she had made her mother watch it all. The taste of warm metallic blood filled her mouth and she was aware of the blood on her claws and face along with the feeling of fulness in her stomach where all her siblings now lie. Ducky felt sick she fell to her knees and promptly emptied all the contents of her stomach in a single bloody mess. Blood was now dripping down her jaws and intermingling with her tears as she stared at the horrendous sight in front of her.
"I am….I am a-a m-monster" said Ducky's mournful mind.
A terrible gurgle brought her back to reality and she turned around and sprinted to the fallen form of her mother. "Mommy- I…..no" she said weakly as the tears now blinded her eyes, making it impossible to see as she put a hand on her mother's convulsing body only to have it shoved off. Ducky blinked away her tears to see her mother staring at her with an expression that broke her heart. It was the same expression that the Mother Flyer had just before she died only it was worse, here in her mother's eyes she could see the betrayal and pain that she felt. She couldn't smell anything due to her nose being all runny and even if she could smell she only would have smelt the scent of death on her mother.
"I am so, so sorry" she sobbed.
You-" A loud gurgle followed Ura's words as she struggled to speak with blood now starting to drip into her lungs. "You are not…my…daughter…..Ducky….is dead…..you are….an evil…..monster" With one final bloody gurgle Ura's head dropped to the ground, her will to live gone, she resigned herself to her fate and death finally came for her. Ducky stood rock still as her mother's last words, her final condemnation echoed over and over in her head.
Ducky's eyes went wide her breathing became fast and shallow as she turned her head skyward and screamed her mother's last words to her. "I AM AN EVIL MOSTER!" she screamed feeling that these words were one hundred percent true, she had just done the unthinkable, she did not even deserve to live for this. One final scream of terrible pain issued from the poor Fast Biter's mouth and everything went black.
*
Everyone jumped awake, all weariness gone in an instant at the sound of their friend's scream. Everyone ran over to Ducky's screaming form as she suddenly gasped awake but she almost instantly closed her eyes and curled herself into a sobbing, trembling ball. She placed her hands over her nose and breathed through her mouth and kept her arms over her ears tightly in an attempt to block out all sound while she kept her eyes firmly closed. She spoke in a small terrified voice which grew louder every time she said the phrase which she repeated to herself over and over again. "I am not Haven, I am Ducky. I am not Haven, I am Ducky. I! ...AM! ...NOT! …HAVEN! …I! …AM! …DUCKY!" She screamed in despair.
The fact that Ducky was screaming this in a heartbroken voice as loud as she could without breaking her voice was horrifying enough. Her mournful shrieks even disturbed some of the local leaf eaters in close proximity to the cave and they recognised the voice as that of a Sharptooth but they could also hear the unrestrained emotion in the voice, it made more than one Longneck, Threehorn and Swimmer cringe. However, The Pack had yet to discover the worst part of Ducky's condition which mercifully didn't take long to see, it happened when Spike draped his arms around Ducky in a comforting fashion but Ducky's response alarmed everyone.
As soon as Ducky realised what was touching her she let out a scream of unrestrained terror and struggled away as if she was a Swimmer being chased by a Sharptooth once again. The scent of desperation, terror and heartbreak coming from Ducky was overwhelming. As soon as Ducky got free of her brother's stunned grasp she immediately curled up in the same position as she had before and continued to cry loudly.
"Ducky?" said Littlefoot in the most soothing tone he could offer even though he was disturbed by Ducky's reaction. Ducky clenched her elbows onto her ears even tighter, she could not bear to hear the sound nor feel the touch or see the sight of Fast Biters even if they were her friends. The dream had just pushed her over the edge and her rational mind was all but gone, consumed in despair and fear inequivalent to any other moment in her short life. She didn't want to be reminded in any way that she and her friends were all Sharpteeth now so she shrunk away from everything, sound, touch, sight and especially smell. She covered her nose with her hands and refused to use it. If she had she would have smelt the overwhelming concern and even fear from her friends. As it was when they realised that Ducky would not let any of them approach they all backed away with the exception of Spike who stayed as close to Ducky as she would allow with tears falling from his eyes at seeing his sister break down like this.
No one in the pack had any idea of what to do or how to comfort poor Ducky at the moment so they just watched in pained silence as their friend went through another fit of screaming. "What's wrong with her? Why won't she let us near her?" thought Cera, her mind on the verge of panic. Seeing one of the friendlies dinosaurs she knew fall to despair like this was torturous on a scale she never imagined. She looked desperately up at Littlefoot who in turn looked at Ruby their eyes meeting and passing through one thought simultaneously. "Chomper" Ruby went over to Chomper's side and gestured him forward.
Chomper looked uncertain but when he got the nod from Littlefoot as well he cautiously walked forward until he was standing right over the weeping Fast Biter. Chomper grimaced nervously as Ducky let out a particularly piercing cry, he carefully sat down beside her. "Calm down Ducky, your safe, we're all here" he said and carefully placed a hand on his friends back. A gesture Ducky accepted before getting up and promptly embracing Chomper in desperation and sobbing loudly into his shoulder. Chomper could only hold her and pat her back softly in response since he knew not what words to say.
Ducky's sobs slowly started to die down after she embraced Chomper, he was the only one she hadn't pushed away because he was still Chomper to her; he was a point of continuity and she clung to him as if her life depended on it. Finally, after Chomper's shoulders had grown tired of holding the weight of his friend, Ducky finally relented and pulled herself out of the embrace. Chomper still looked at her with concern as did all his friends. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
Ducky shook her head solemnly and looked at Chomper, hands trembled as she held his hands. "Thank you, Chomper" she said in a rather chocked up voice.
"That's what friends do" replied Chomper.
"Would you do something for me Chomper?" asked Ducky softly. Leaving everyone puzzled.
"Of course I would if it will help you" said Chomper.
Ducky nodded slowly then looked at him directly in the eyes, her gaze conveying sadness at a level Chomper could never comprehend or imagine. "I am scared-ed, promise me that you will do what I ask Chomper, please?" Ducky's grip on Chomper's hands tightened substantially making him wince slightly.
"I promise Ducky" he said.
Ducky gave him a sad smile as another solitary tear dropped from her eye. She loosened her hold on Chomper's hands but guided them up into a position that deeply alarmed him and his friends. Ducky placed his claws up against her throat and with a chocked voice Ducky said in the saddest voice any of them had ever heard.
"End it…Please"
Everyone let out a collective gasp of horror. No! They would not allow her to do this! Chomper shook his head firmly. "You promised" said Ducky in a deeply betrayed voice. Chomper tried to withdraw his claw but Ducky held it firmly to her neck, drawing a little blood. "Help me!" yelled Chomper internally looking at his friends who all got his non-verbal message and reacted in a flash, there was no way they would let Ducky do this. Cera jumped up right on top of Ducky from behind and flattened her to the ground while Littlefoot and Ruby ran to pin Ducky's arms to the ground. Cera got up and along with Spike pinned Ducky's legs and tail to the ground while Petrie flew on top of Ducky's neck and with the added strength of Chomper, managed to wrestle Ducky's head to the ground. After a moment of struggle in which Ducky tried to get up, her friends pushed her down hard to the ground so she couldn't move. Successfully pinned and unable to move Ducky let out another scream of pain that tore at all of their hearts.
"I AM A MONSTER!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "I DO NOT WANT TO BE A SHARPTOOTH ANYMORE! I WANT TO BE A SWIMMER! I WANT TO GO HOME! I WANT TO SEE MY MOM!"
"Ducky calm down!" said Cera in alarm but Ducky didn't, she screamed again.
"I DO NOT DESERVE TO LIVE! I AM AN EVIL MONSTER! PLEASE END IT NOOOOWWW!" she shouted as she finally ran out of breath and let out dry sobs as she had no more tears to shed. Her whole body shivered violently after her outburst and her friends had to hold her body down tightly to stop her from causing any harm to herself.
It took several minutes but at last Ducky's trembling and sobbing finally ended and she was left taking in very shaky breaths. "You our friend Ducky, we never let anything bad happen to you" said Petrie as he draped a wing around his friend's head.
"Petrie's right, Ducky" said Ruby with firm conviction in her voice despite the tears falling down her face "and you are not a monster, you never were and none of us are either" Spike nodded and grunted affirmatively before nuzzling his sister's face a gesture which she thankfully accepted which to Spike was a good sign. To hear that Ducky wanted to end her life was a devastating announcement to them all but more to him than anyone else; she was his sister and he would die before he let anything happen to her.
"Why Ducky?" asked Cera. It was a question that they all wanted to know the answer to.
Ducky took a shuddering breath. "I had a sleep story, I was in The Great Valley in this form, I finded my family and I could talk leaf eater again." The friends exchanged sad glances, they all wished to be with their loved ones in The Great Valley again with Chomper and Ruby being the exceptions. "I told-ed my mom what happened to us but then Haven….I was Haven…..I attacked my mommy, I killed-ed and ated my brothers and sisters and my mom…" Ducky's breath was shallow and she was suffering more trembling fits as she struggled to regain her composure "just before she…died…she said that I was not her daughter, that I was an evil monster she did…she did" Ducky closed her eyes tightly and let out another long sob.
She didn't see her friends exchange pitied glances with each other, they all knew how she felt but it seemed that Ducky's limits were the first to break under the immense pressure that they were all under. "It wasn't real Ducky, it was just a sleep story" said Littlefoot gently into Ducky's ear.
"You no monster to us, you bestest friend" added Petrie with tears in his eyes.
"But I am…I killed-ed a Mama Flyer, what is to stop me doing the same to other mothers?" said Ducky, looking up at her friends. It was Petrie who landed in front of her and put his hand on her cheek.
"Me know you no want to kill Ducky none of us want to kill but you save Petrie's life when you stopped the Mama Flyer from attacking then you ended her pain Ducky, you were a Haven." Ducky looked up a little surprised by Petrie's choice of words "You save me, you end Mama Flyer's misery and reunited her with babies" said Petrie gently. "You no monster" he added, giving a questioning nod which Ducky gently returned. She now lay on the ground quite inert, even her breathing was coming back to a slow and steady rhythm despite her sadness.
"You won't try to hurt yourself if we let you go Ducky?" asked Littlefoot eventually.
Ducky sighed. "I will not, nope, nope, nope"
"Okay, let her up everyone" commanded Littlefoot. At once Ducky felt her body free of pressure and she sat up to look into Spike's concerned face. Ducky embraced him tightly and Spike returned her embrace as they both held on tightly to each other.
"Never scare me like that again Ducky" whispered Spike in Ducky's ear.
"Never again" confirmed Ducky in an answering whisper.
After ending the embrace Ducky was instantly smothered by the rest of her friends. "You are not a monster Ducky, you are no more a monster then any of us" said Littlefoot.
"That's reassuring" said Cera coldly. Littlefoot cast her a reproachful glare.
"You will always be our friend Ducky no matter what and you have as much right to live as anyone else" said Chomper.
"You are never alone" said Ruby.
They all broke out of their mass embrace and allowed Ducky to breath once more, she no longer had that haunted look in her eyes but appeared to be a little brighter "Thank you so much everyone" she said gratefully, she owed it to her friends for helping her see the light in the dark and saving her from needlessly throwing her own life away.
After a short breather Ducky finally worked up the courage to say what troubled her “I-I do not know who I am anymore no, no, no” she said sadly, for all she knew, she was just Ducky in Haven’s body but Haven’s dream comment about her becoming Haven still made her shiver with fear.
“Ducky, you are you. A friend, your just not a Swimmer anymore that’s the only difference, you will always be you as long as you remember who you were as a Swimmer” said Littlefoot in a consoling way. He knew that Ducky was finally starting to come to terms with their new life and just like he did, she would accept them in her own time.
“You are my sister, nothing will ever change that, Ducky” Spike held his sister’s hands tightly as the two exchange a brief nuzzle with each other.
“Thank you, but what if I end up like Haven in my sleep story?” asked Ducky in fear, she looked at them all with a pleading expression as if search for confirmation that this would never happen and Cera was quick to give it.
“You never will be Ducky as long as you remember….” Cera let out a deep sigh “Our old lives, you will never be a monster”
“Not to us, you our friend and friends look out for each other” said Petrie and on an unspoken cue he and everyone else crowded around Ducky, providing warmth and comfort that Ducky never realised they had been giving her just by being around.
For the first time in what felt like ages Ducky smiled, the same smile that once crossed the beak of a certain Swimmer that Ducky knew so very well. “Thank you everyone, I feel much betterer now I do, I do, I do” she said in a much lighter voice. Ducky knew that there would be doubtless more challenges ahead but now she was more certain than ever that she would face them with her friends. A few minutes later and Ducky was once again sleeping but this time peacefully and along with her friends all around her, even in sleep they provided a comforting presence and the last thought before Ducky embraced sleep was:
"I am not a monster and I am never alone no, no, no".
*
The Great Valley
Ura awoke with a gasp, breathing in hard and fast as she held a hand over her heart, a quick look at her children showed them all sleeping beside her safe and sound minus Ducky and Spike of course. Ura panted and look down with wide eyes as her mind replayed the terrible dream she just had. She had dreamed of Ducky coming home but it was not Ducky, it was a Sharptooth called Haven but it was also her daughter. She told her what happened to her and her friends but after an emotional reunion Ducky said she was hungry then she attacked her, she killed her children, she killed her.
It was the most chilling dream Ura had ever had. Nothing came close. Never had she ever pictured Ducky as a Sharptooth. The mere idea of that was completely ludicrous but the story Ducky told about what happened to her and her friends was also chilling but Ura refused to believe it, that could never happen to Ducky or Spike but the fact that Sharptooth Ducky attacked and killed her entire family was more terrible then all of it and what's worse it was in the form of that very Sharptooth that she had seen during that cursed night.
"Was that Sharptooth the one that…..?" Ura could not finish her sentence, it was hard enough to admit to herself that Ducky and Spike were really gone and thinking about their killers just made it worse.
"I'm so sorry Ducky and Spike" she sobbed once as she looked back down at their empty sleeping spot. Ura wished with all her heart that this had never happened, that she had not lost her dear children. She wished that she still had them right here with her but wishing would not bring them back and the cold hard fact was that they were not here, they were both dead. Gone. And they will never come back.
Ura lay her head back down but sleep did not come for her for a very long time but when it finally did her last thought was:
"Ducky, Spike whether you are, whatever you are, I will always love you no matter what. I miss you my dear little ones".
Ura finally fell into an uneasy slumber.
Well that's the end. I hope you enjoyed it, make sure to your post feedback, I found this story rather easy to right except for the slight difference between my name for Mama Swimmer and Rhombus. Anyway I hope this is a worthy spin off of The Seven Hunters.
