Aquarius perked up at hearing what Buko said and he could see the crack clearly enough. He was hungry but that was not as high on his list of priority's as his more pressing concern. His only wound left. Over the days Aquarius managed to recover from his minor injuries but the stab in his abdomen had taken longer to heal and was currently going through the early stages of infection. Aquarius remembered what his mother had told him about infection.

"Aquarius, infection can be a killer greater then most, if you have hurt yourself badly then it means you can be infected and become sick. You can always tell if a wound is infected by the unnatural colour and bad smell, if that ever happens to you then you must tell me straight away to I can stop you getting to sick"

The wound was covered by a leaf bandage which was in need of changing but there was nothing to replace it with and Aquarius knew nothing of healing herbs, nor were there any around anyway. He had kept the knowledge about his infection to himself though, he didn't trust his companions fully, he couldn't be sure if he would just be discarded as a hindrance if they found out so he kept his mouth shut.

Aquarius jumped off Rinen's back and walked to the edge of the crack and looked down and dropped a nearby stone, he lost sight of the stone very quickly within the dark crack but after a surprisingly long wait he heard the splash of the pebble in the water. Aquarius backed away quickly with a grimace, he was always skittish around hieghts. Looking at the other options; the directions of east and west, he didn't feel reassured. The land was reletively flat and dry with a few hills sprouted out every now and again there was a dead tree nearby with lots of overhanging vines tangling up it's trunk, hanging from it's branches and snaking along the ground but it had no green food on it.

Aquarius sighed and looked across the chasm and cursing these blasted obstacles angrily. He'd probably go with whatever the Fast Runners decided but as he looked out across the crack and into the distance he saw or mabye imagined which he really hoped was not the case but was there the biggenings of a desolate forest on the horizon? Aquarius eyes widened, he had found his hope and goal! A forest meant food, water, shelter and possible salvation from his infection. They had to get there!

Aquarius looked at the debating Fast Runners, they were thinking of going around the crack and go east but there was no knowing where they would be by then nor did they know when the crack would end if it did indeed end. "No, we go across!" shouted Aquarius to the surprise of all his companions. To him, it was the only option. For him, it was do or die. 

Chapter 65: Day of Reckoning



“What are you playing at?”

Striker ignored Screech’s question. It was broad daylight in The Great Valley. Over night Striker had led Red Claw and his Fast Biters through the Badlands and into The Valley however Red Claw was cautious because Striker knew the Badlands, he suggested a location hidden in an oval canyon off the main path of the Badlands at the very border however it only had one entrance which was the only way in or out. But Red Claw was counting on the fact that the sap suckers would be unable to find and in that time he, with the help of his Fast Biters had successfully made themselves hidden under the trees to keep away from Flyers and from this point Red Claw sent out a few small teams under the cover of darkness to scout the land. But on this morning Red Claw send out his most exclusive group for a task that required no small amount of stealth. Screech, Thud and Striker were tasked with looking around the Valley and observe the residents as they proceeded with their everyday tasks. This information combined with the knowledge of the lay of the land was crucial in constructing an efficient plan of attack and he only trusted his closed Fast Biters for this job as one screw up would mean the loss of surprise which was a necessity for the situation.

The three Fast Biter’s were now located right near the entrance to The Secret Caverns where they observed the entirety of The Gang along with Ruby’s family who had set up residence in the clearing outside the caves. They had already completed their day’s observations and all that time Screech and Thud had been interrogating Striker in an attempt to find out what he was up to but he had remained closed to it all, only speaking when he needed too.

“You two head back to Red Claw and give him the report. I’ll meet you there.” He started getting up but Screech grabbed him by the arms and pulled Striker down while Thud pushed down on Striker’s back with a low hiss.

“You’re not going anywhere until you tell us what you are doing” snarled Thud in Striker’s ear. Both Fast Biters were done with his cold shoulder act, they needed to know what he was really up too. From their view he was going to double cross Red Claw but now he was actively helping Red Claw and betraying the trust of the few residents in the Valley that had any for him. They didn’t trust him either and were done with all this tail chasing, it was time for some answers.

Striker snarled back but he was already at a disadvantage. “We are going to ambush the ambushers” he whispered.

“What are you talking about?” said Thud.

“Get off me and I might tell you” growled Striker firmly.

However, before any move could be done there was a shrill scream from somewhere in the distance the three Fast Biters listened and so did the others near the Secret Caverns. “What in the blazes is going on?” whispered Striker.

“I don’t know” said Screech.

“I have a bad feeling about this”


*


“Oh no! Someone is in trouble they are, they are!” cried Ducky when she heard the scream, they all jumped when they heard it but now Littlefoot was taking command.

“Come on, we’ve gotta help whoever is screaming!”
 
“Stop! You kids stay here!” said Ruby’s father. “I’ll go,” he ran off in the direction of the screaming while The Gang reluctantly stayed put.


*


As soon as Ruby’s father had run off the three Fast Biters followed suit but they kept to the shadows as much as they could, after all running through the Valley in broad day light was bound to get them caught. That was if their cover had not been blown already because on the wind, they could hear the sound of Fast Biter growls intermixed with the screaming.

“What the hell are those fools doing?!” hissed Striker in an undertone.

“They are probably to starved out of there minds to think right” said Screech.

“What do you mean?” Striker slowed his run slightly to look at both Fast Biters.

Screech looked a little hesitant. “The way Red Claw got hold of those Fast Biters, he told us to scout the nearest packs and bring him to them while they slept. He spoke of The Great Valley and how it would be the greatest feast we could desire. Of course, he didn’t do that without holding the pack leader under his foot when he initially attacked him”

Striker shook his head and supressed an angry growl. Of course, those poor Fast Biters were starving with The Cold Time and upon threat of death; they went in for food but not for Red Claw at least Striker hoped not. They were desperate and that might work in his favour but he was hesitant to reveal himself to any of them as it could mean exposure which would get him killed.

The three Fast Biters slid onto their belly’s and crawled up a small hill to see the carnage. Twenty Fast Biters had attacked a small group of Valley residents including a small group of Hollow Horns and Swimmers, a Tupped Head, a Club Tail and a two pink Threehorns. Overall a group of about twelve but that number was halved. Only one from the two groups of the Hollow Horns and Swimmers was still standing and the two Threehorns were left in a fractured defensive position. Surprise had been a great killer.

The Threehorn was fighting fiercely protecting the infant that was hiding under her body, with fierce shouts that could be heard for miles. From behind The Fast Runner could be seen sprinting onto the scene to reinforce the besieged leafeaters. But it was a fight that they’d be lucky to escape from in one piece.   


*


“NO!”

“Cera, wait! Stop!” shouted Littlefoot as he tried to grab Cera’s tail but he was a little too late and ran in the direction of the screams of her stepmother and sister. Littlefoot ran after her, his friends mobilising and running behind him.

Cera’s mind was almost completely numb except for one thing; A terrible memory which was all she heard in her mind as she ran.

“How did it h-happen?”

The answer to that question that she had asked her father after she heard the terrible news had haunted her ever since she came to The Great Valley, just as Ducky was terrified by her own experiences with Sharptooth. Cera sprinted at a speed she never knew she had and like a tank she went straight through everything in her path be it rocks or trees they all yielded to her mad rush. Up the hill and…..

Cera gasped.

“Your mother was coming back from the stream, it was a dark night and I was barely awake, your sisters were with her, they had woken thirsty when she was coming back was when it happened. It happened so quickly…..”

Tria screamed in pain, the formation that she was in was a tight back to back with the Hollow Horn, Swimmer, Club Tail and Ruby’s Father. All of the were now wounded in some way. Each of Tria’s legs were cut and bled but Tricia was unharmed through her screams of terror drowned out all sounds.

“Your sisters hid under your mother, they were out in the open and the number of Fast Biter’s that came I don’t know, it looked like a dozen and they swarmed and I ran.”

The Hollow Horn let out a shout as three Fast Biters attacked simultaneously. Taking out his legs and slashing at his exposed belly. The horrified dinosaur desperately held his wound closed with his hands in order to prevent his viscera from falling out but it was all for naught as his neck was slashed open and he fell down to the ground in a puddle of his own blood. Ruby’s Father had no choice but to run as he was out flanked but the Fast Biter’s weren’t going for him….   

“I ran as fast as I could, your mother yelled and fought with a strength I have never seen from the even best fighters.”

Tria was surrounded, she had been isolated from her allies although pressure was still being kept on them but her motherly instincts were in full spring. She never stayed still and brandished her horns at any who dared approach and swung her tail and even leapt on her hind legs but she did that very rarely so as not to risk exposing Tricia to a potential attack.
 
“Your sisters screamed, your mother told them to run and she tried to do it with them but there was nowhere to move to. She was surrounded that’s when The Fast Biter’s rushed forward as one.”

Tria moved back only slightly. “Get away from us!” she shouted, growling and grinding her teeth. Never had Cera or Tricia seen this fury and bravery from Tria, this unwillingness to back down in the face of innumerable odds. It was such a Homeric display of courage and defiance. However, she was not prepared for the Fast Biter’s full-scale assault.
 
Cera charged down the slope at full speed any thought of self-preservation was gone in the face of such an old memory returning before her eyes and this time Cera was here to witness it but she would not let the outcome be the same. The Fast Biter’s swarmed over Tria.

“Half the Fast Biters attacked her lower body while the rest jumped on her back, she roared and tossed about but they held with claws, I was to late. They got the back of her neck and dragged your sisters out. They fell and……”

Tria tossed her head violently trying to dislodge the Fast Biters on her back she stayed on the move as the rest were trying to get her flanks and legs, she couldn’t last any longer.

“I failed and I screamed….”

“NOOOOO!!!!”

Cera leapt up into the air and landed on Tria’s tail and leapt up onto her back and knocked the closest Fast Biter off of Tria’s back by knocking his legs out from under him with her horn. She never stopped in her movement, any Fast Biter in her sight she rammed and sent falling onto their comrades to be crashed by Tria’s feet or impaled by her horns. Cera was as berserk as Tria was protecting her daughter only Cera was protecting the one who she looked up to now as a mother.

The Fast Biter’s were in disarray, three of their number had been killed and another wounded and they were forced to pull back and respite and the sound of thundering footsteps approaching signalled the arrival of reinforcements led by Ruby’s Father. 

From their hiding place Striker pushed Screech and Thud forward. ”Go and get them out of here!” he hissed. “Await my signal to begin your attack at dawn” said Striker pushing the two surprised Fast Biters up. They looked at him with apprehension. “Go! If Red Claw askes I was killed trying to escape, lead them to the Badlands and lose them there”

The two Fast Biter eventually nodded and ran off, down the hill. “Get out of here you fools! Follow us now!” Shouted Thud just as the Valley elders charged forward, a few residents followed them but some stopped at the horrible scene of battle. The Fast Biter’s seeing that they were now terribly outnumbered bolted except for one foolish Fast Biter who tried to nick off with a piece of meat from one of the dead hollow horns ended up with a horn going straight through his chest as the horn was pulled up by a furious Mr Threehorn he tilted his head up and send the Fast Biter flying but he didn’t get up after he hit the ground rather unceremoniously.

“Tria! Are you and the girl’s all right?!” Topps quickly made over to his wounded mate. She was now lying on her belly to take the pressure off her injured legs but her flank was covered with slashes and punctures from Fast Biter claws and her back had a few bites. Alone none of her injuries were fatal but the sheer amount of them meant that they didn’t need to be fatal to claim a victim. Only Grandma Longneck and Sura and Ruby’s Father had stayed behind while the rest of the gathered members gave chase to the fleeing Fast Biter’s.

“I’m not sure if I feel worse or look worse” said Tria, she sounded exhausted but her mate nuzzled her. Tricia had come out from her hiding place and was huddled up to her front right foot, she was crying and trembling all over; clearly terrified. “Shh, I’ll be alright Tricia” said Tria, she nuzzled her daughter and with her leg she pulled her close however it was then that Topps noticed Cera.

She was still standing on Tricia’s back. Like Tricia she was trembling all over and she was also doing something very uncharacteristic of her, she was crying and not just a few tears but a waterfall of them. She gazed out into the distance in what looked like a trance however there was one thing that was very different about Cera; The blood on her horn, just like the blood on her father’s one full horn. This symbolised her first fight in which she drew her foe’s blood.

“Cera?” Topps said in a sympathetic voice that was as uncharacteristic for him on a normal day as Cera’s current state. He understood how combat felt and what it was like to draw blood and he knew that Cera had seen her fair share of combat but something about the look in his daughter’s eye, the sheer depth of emotion that he could see. This battle was only second in comparison to the powerful emotions that Cera was feeling. When she didn’t respond to his inquiry he went over to Tria whose wounds were now being tended to by Sura.

“What happened Tria?”

“Tricia was having a snack and I was talking with Mrs Topped Head then those Fast Biter’s came out of nowhere and we were surrounded, they attacked us” said Tria, she sounded very much out of breath and rather strained emotionally. She had just been talking to one of her friends and now only minutes later the ground was stained with there blood and leaving Mrs Topped Head dead and all the other in the clearing except for Tria and Tricia and even she wouldn’t have survived had it not been for Cera and Ruby’s Father bringing the other Valley residents. 

“How did those Fast Biter’s get into The Valley?” said Topps in shock but Sura was quick to chastise him.

“The Fast Biter told us Red Claw found a way through the Badlands, he must have told other Sharpteeth about it” said Sura.

Topps at this moment was now inclined to believe what Sura spoke of, after all the fact that his mate and daughter were nearly killed because of his own arrogance was a blow that now stung his conscious. Normally an apology from Mr Threehorn was something heard seldomly as his pride found it hard to tank such a blow so he refrained from doing it as much as possible but in this case, when he was probably at fault and that fault had put the lives of his family in danger, he could suck it up. “I’m sorry” he said not only to Sura but more importantly his family. Tricia was still frightened and Tria was badly injured and Cera was in a state of pure shock and it wasn’t difficult to see why. At least for Topps. He could tell that Cera had been fighting to save the life of someone that she could now call ‘mother’.
 
“Topsy, you could not have known if it was true” said Tria in a vain attempt to cushion the pain of guilt on her mate but he shook his head.

“My foolishness caused this” he said quietly, he nuzzled Tricia and Tria and moved off, he could see that they were ok enough but not Cera, she was an emotional wreck right now though it hardly showed but under that shocked expression and wide eyes she was screaming and crying over the mother she lost so long ago. However, Topps could not allow Cera to continue to let her think like this, it was only hurting her and distracting her from the heroic deed that she had just pulled off.

He went in front of his daughter. “Cera?” he said in the rare counselling voice that he had used when talking about personal issues. When she didn’t respond he nuzzled her which seemed to have the intended effect of breaking her daze like trance. She looked at him.

“Dad?” she asked.

“You saved them Cera, my brave girl. You saved Tria and Tricia”

“They’re safe?”

Topps smiled and nodded “Thanks to you, your mother would be so proud of you Cera, just as I am” Cera chocked up at the mention of her mother and though she was clearly trying to hide it, she was on the verge of breaking, there was so much moisture in her eyes. It took only a few seconds for Cera to breakdown and nuzzle her father. For a few moments Father and daughter exchanged nuzzles and Cera finally let out all the hidden pain that she had stored up for years.

“I couldn’t let…I-I wasn’t there before when….it…happened. I had to stop it”

“You did stop it Cera, you are a true Threehorn and I am so happy and proud that you are my daughter” He broke contact with her and after Sura assuring him that she would take care of his mate he started to head in the direction of the Valley residents that had gave chase to the Fast Biters however he passed the Gang on the way and on a passing glance he said to them. “Look after her” he gestured to Cera, voice coming back to its usual tone as he headed off and the Gang went over to Cera.

“She is lucky to have such good friends” Mr Threehorn let out a smile as he knew he was leaving his daughter in good hands, even if one of them was an insufferable Longneck and the other was a naïve little Sharptooth. They at least would make sure that she was okay.


*


Evening at The Stone Circle:


“We no longer have a choice, we saw what happened today. Tomorrow we must attack with overwhelming force.” Ruby’s Father said to the assembled crowd. Everyone was there including Striker, who stood next to Chomper and Ruby.

“We need every able-bodied fighter available to help get rid of this menace once and for all” said Mr Threehorn. Which was seconded by everyone, even by the Longnecks.

“We can’t allow these Sharpteeth to continue raiding The Great Valley, until we are sure they are none left in The Valley no one goes anywhere alone and the children will need supervision and we’ll all need night watches tonight, so if you don’t have any one to do a shift then go sleep with another family and ensure you all take turns keeping watch tonight” said Grandpa Longneck.

“I’ll go” said Sura.

Ruphus stood up and placed a hand on his mates back. “You’re not leaving me behind this time dear.”

Sura shook her head “You are not going Ruphus, you are too badly injured!” she protested firmly.

“You’ve stood alone for far to long dear, if you are going into battle then you’re not going to leave me behind. It’s time for me to be your mate properly, I’m not going let anyone hurt you again.” Ruphus stood beside her and just as Sura was opening her mouth to protest he pushed her bottom jaw shut and gave her an understanding but firm nod. He was not taking no for an answer, whether she liked it or not he would stand by her side.

Sura took his hand. “I hate you sometimes,” she said quietly with a smile.
 
“I’ll take the strongest Threehorns in the Valley, while you three lead the other Longnecks,” said Topps to Bron, Grandma and Grandpa Longneck. Ruby’s father stood up and said rather poetically “United we stand, divided we fall,” he walked over to stand along with those who would go and fight. There was silence as gestures were exchanged between the various residents of The Valley. One by one the same look of resolve came over those who would fight and an expression of fear from their loved ones followed by reassurance before one Domehead two Clubtails, four Spikethumbs, a few of The Valley Flyers and about half a dozen hadrosaurs of various kinds stood to with the fighters. All in all, it was a group of about twenty-four fighters strong.

Actually… twenty-five. 

There was a satisfactory growl from the entrance of the Stone Circle. Striker had arrived. He walked over to the assembled fighters and joined them with a grim nod of his head. He was going to fight with them against Red Claw and his Fast Biters.

“We will meet just before the dawn at the entrance to the Badlands then I believe he will lead us to where Red Claw is hiding by his sense of smell,” said Grandpa Longneck and with that it was settled however the last order of business was to organise a reserve force which was to protect the residents and was made up of everyone who was not joining the attacking force.


*


Dawn, the day of battle:


Cera awoke for earlier then she normally did, perhaps it was the restlessness that had plagued her all night ever since the attack on Tria and Tricia. The fact that as soon as her father up, he would join the assembled team and once they were ready, they’d head off to face Red Claw in battle and it was both these reasons that Cera was sleep deprived. She yawned and blinked, her eyes had large bags beneath them and she let out a huff as she pushed herself to her feet and stretched her legs. Tricia was sleeping right next to her still and she was thankfully sleeping peacefully. After the skirmish Tria and Tricia spend the day at the nest. Tricia had needed comfort from everyone including Cera and it was here that Tria could finally speak to Cera.

“Cera, thank you for saving me and your sister. You gave me a heart attack to do it but I don’t think we’d be here if you didn’t,” said Tria.

Cera took a deep breath and sighed, her eyes angled down for a few moments before going back out to look at her step mother. “I lost my mother and my sisters in the same way and I wasn’t there. I couldn’t let the same thing happen to you or Tricia, you are my family. I had to try,” said Cera as she nuzzled Tricia and as she broke off the look that passed between her and Tria was simply, a mother’s pride in a daughter. “Come here you,” Tria said as she and Cera finally truly nuzzled each other like the mother and daughter they had now become.

Cera smiled at Tria, she could see that her wounds were slowly healing thanks to the quick work of Sura but she also noticed that her father was not at the nest. She quickly looked around and saw him standing on the edge of the hill their nest was located on. She walked over to her father’s side. Topps took note of his daughter. “Are you feeling any better Cera?” he asked in his quiet voice that he reserved for tender family moments.

Cera looked up at her father and nodded. For a few seconds they stood tall upon the hill as the first light started to make itself known. However, neither was under any illusion of what today was to be. The battle between the Valley and Red Claw was about to begin, as it was Topps only had a short while before he had to leave and Cera was more subconscious about this moment as this might be the last time she ever saw her father in one piece. As it was, she was concerned that her father might be at a disadvantage when she looked at the horn that was broken during The Killer Storm but she was quick to remind herself that her father was a real fighter and that he’d never go down that easily.

“Be careful Dad,” said Cera as Topps took a single step forward though he stopped and turned to look at Cera.

“You know I will be,” he said with a reassuring smile but back to his usual gruff tone as he headed off. However, Cera had a bed feeling in her gut, the was a lot riding on the outcome of this fight and more factors influencing it then meets the eye.


*


At the Stone Circle the adults going in for the first and hopefully only attack was gathering. The Spike thumbs and Domehead were already there and so were over half the hadrosaurs and all the flyers. Soon however they were joined by Bron, Ali’s mother; Brace. Grandma and Grandpa Longneck arrived along with Sura and Ruphus and later the two Club Tails and Topps along with another Threehorn and Mr Thicknose however they were now waiting on Ruby’s Father and Striker. They all stood together waiting restlessly but silently, not a word was spoken and the tension was thick in the air as everyone psyched themselves for combat. Eventually The Bright Circle started to appear over the mountains the last two members of the attack party appeared.

At an unspoken word Ruby’s father walked side by side with Striker and Grandpa Longneck as the fighting herd headed off towards The Badlands. The group was silent the whole trip and as they travelled through The Great Valley, they passed many places and residents including Thundering Falls and the bystanders all watched them solemnly, many had grim expressions and on the rare occasion when they were passing the nest of one of the fighters they’d be sent off by their mates or children with a hug and reassuring words that everything would be ok. 

As they reached The Badlands Striker put his nose to the ground and sniffed, even though he knew where Red Claw was hiding and of the forces assembled there but none of The Valley residents knew this so he decided to maintain the façade that he was working with them which was believable since he actually was working with them. When Striker saw the entrance to the canyon he stopped and pointed. “In there” which Ruby’s Father translated to the leafeaters. On a silent signal the strongest fighters and largest dinosaurs took their places at the front of the group. Both Topps and his companion Threehorn, Bron, Brace, Sura, Ruphus, the Clubtail and a couple other Hadrosaurs took the lead while in the second row followed the lighter dinosaurs and the older ones including Grandma and Grandpa Longneck and Mr Thicknose.

In the front row the Threehorns and Clubtails took the centre and their flanks were guarded by the battle hardened Ruphus along with Sura and the two more experienced Spikethumbs along with the Domehead. While the wide flanks held the Brace on the right, protecting the heavier fighters and Bron on the left with the lighter fighters and high above the group were the Flyers hiding in the clouds but they could see everything from their elevation and held position for when they would engage.   

It was redecided that the best fighters would go in the canyon and be the spearhead of the assault while the reserve force would hold back and blockade the narrow pass out of the canyon which was the only way in or out as per Striker’s intend. This was his main reason for choosing this location as it had only one pass and it was easily defensible; the trick was getting in before Red Claw was aware of their intents and if Screech and Thud had done their part then they would.

Striker reflected on what he and Red Claw’s ex lieutenants had planned the day before.

“What is the first thing you do in a hunt?” asked Striker rhetorically.

“Scout the area, see what the terrain is like and where your prey is,” said Screech.

“Exactly and that is the first thing Red Claw will do as he is doing now, he’ll probably do it again next morning for an early attack,” said Striker.

“Your point being?” inquired Thud as the lay beneath the bushes and cover near the waterhole.

“My point is that we can use this against him. If you guys take the scouting expedition with a couple of those Fast Biters then we can have the edge in this fight. All you need to do is lure the two Fast Biters away and dispose of them silently then wait till the Valley Residents arrive. Red Claw won’t move out till he gets your report and if he stays there while you delay returning then the Valley residents can cut him off then….we attack,” explained Striker.

Screech and Thus looked at each other. “Clever biter,” said Screech.

“If we come out of this alive, we should become a pack, we could use you,” said Thud.

Striker didn’t say anything for a moment as he looked surprised by the offer but dodged the question with one of his own. “Will you try this plan?”

Both Fast Biters exchanged a silent look and nodded one between them, two determined Fast Biters looked back at Striker. Screech responded. “We will.”   

It seemed to Striker that Screech and Thud had indeed upheld their part of the plan as Red Claw and his Fast Biter’s did not seem to be around however Red Claw was smart enough to leave a watch which was still standing Striker stopped as they caught sight of them.

The Fast Biters were about to shout an alert one in a blur of blue and green the two brown Fast Biters fell to their knees with there claws held over the bleeding necks. All they could get out was gurgles as Screech and Thud finished dispatching them with kicks to the necks. Striker smiled and nodded to them both and they nodded back. This display also worked in their favour as it showed what Sura had claimed about them wanting to defect. None of the residents attacked them but rather Screech and Thud joined Striker and Ruby’s father at the front of the assault force.

Swiftly the Dinosaurs made their way into the canyon, the reserve group held back to blockade the pass and the attack force advanced forward.

The Fast Biters and Red Claw were all mobilised but they were caught completely off guard by this substantial force but when Red Claw saw Screech, Thud and Striker; the latter he had been told was dead leading the leaf eaters made him see red. “KILL THEM!” He shouted.

With a loud roar on both sides the two opposing forces charged at each other.

Red Claw went straight for the Fast Biter’s who dared to betray him and the Fast Biter’s rushed forward as one towards what they considered to be the weakest part of the attacking phalanx, such a formation was only as strong as it’s weakest members and while they were not along, it still appeared that Sura and Ruphus were the weakest of the bunch. However, as the charge made its final approach a few of the Valley’s Flyers including Arial swooped down, low from the rear and smashing into their backs or attacking the back of their heads and necks with their talons while another set attacked from the front.

They only did a low swoop with talons outstretched in a faint. A few Fast Biters dodged, others fell flat on their belly’s and a couple tried to swipe the swooping Flyers from the sky. However, the attack from behind only bloodied up the Fast Biters but their frontal charge was stopped but not the charge of the Leafeaters. With the Fast Biter’s attack shattered on that front the Domehead charged followed on the flanks by the Spikethumbs with Sura and Ruphus holding the rear.
 
The Fast Biter’s sped out of the way but a few came in at the sides but the dome head was already retreating, covered on the flanks by the Spikethumbs while Sura, Ruphus and Bron protected their rear.

Red Claw was quickly encircled by the three Fast Biters, they used their speed to keep out of his range while the Threehorns Topps and his companion charged forward. Red Claw retreated quickly but was hassled by his former henchmen from behind Red Claw looked like he was in trouble when….

“Shit!” Topps shouted when he saw what was happening behind him.


*


Petrie was souring high in the air effortlessly. The updraft more then made up for his lack of flapping as he glided down towards Secret Caverns, he was over the river that led to roaring falls and decided to take a quick detour to drink before moving on. His mother had left early that day and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why or where she was going. She made sure to give each of her children a comforting rub before she left however, they were all still asleep at least that’s what Petrie thought, he had been up at the time.

The way his mom had acted made him feel like he was not going to see her again. Of course, he and his friends had all been told about what the planned response to Red Claw was and that had made them all nervous. It felt even worse for Petrie after his mother left. He quickly got up and took flight into the quiet early morning. He flew up till he was gliding on the thermals with no effort and taking in the scenery with deep calming breaths.

It helped calm him significantly and as the first light fell over The Great Valley, he allowed himself to believe that his mother would come out okay. However, after the adults had left Petrie noticed something from his elevation. “What Hyp, Mutt and Nod doing?” he said to himself and with a single flap he pointed his nose down and entered a steep dive. His speed tripled and the wind roared past his face. No matter how many times he did this he still enjoyed the experience.

Petrie levelled off close to the tree line. The three adolescent dinosaurs were nearly adults but were still not old enough to participate in combat and yet they seemed to be following the trail of the adults that were going to attack Red Claw.

Petrie stayed just out of side in a glide just above the thick tree line behind the three dinosaurs that used to bully his friends. He knew that they could be idiots sometimes but this might take the cake. He couldn’t always see them under the trees but he could hear them.

“Are you sure this is a good idea Hyp?” asked Nod. He sounded nervous.

“Of course, it is, we won’t be in harms way. I know a way up the cliff, we can watch the fight from the cliff top without being in harm’s way,” replied Hyp, he ignored that potential danger of walking onto a battle field.         

“But what if we fall? Or if the Grown-ups see us?” asked Mutt.

Hyp shook his head in irritation. “We won’t fall if we don’t stand over the edge Mutt and the grown ups will be to busy fighting to look for us,” said Hyp. “Now come on or are you both scaredy eggs?” Mutt and Nott quickly shook their heads and said they weren’t and followed Hyp. That trick always worked on those two idiots.

“Me and friends need to stop them,” said Petrie and flew off to get his friends to get the bullies out of trouble…again.


*


“Crap! They’re behind us!”

“Where did they come from!?”

“Ahhh-gluk!”

The rear of the leafeaters that had been guarding the entrance of the canyon had suddenly become under attack from the rear. A fresh group of Fast Biters numbered at around twenty was attacking. The last few days Red Claw had dispatched a couple of Fast Biters to round up as many as they could in the hope that he could rally more fighters against the Valley and they seemed to have arrived at the right time. Seeing Red Claw under attack and the backs of the Valley’s second group of fighters from the rear.

It was a massacre. The Swimmers and Hollow Horns and other lighter Hadrosaurs were being dispatched rapidly. Mr Thicknose, Grandma and Grandpa Longneck were more fortunate to be in the front rank which had managed to turn but were making a hasty retreat along with all the surviving Hadrosaurs but now they were trapped in between two groups of Fast Biters and they were out-numbered.

The front line which was making an effective advance stopped when they heard the commotion and looked on in horror as their rear guard was overrun. “Xeno, stop those Fast Biters!” bellowed Topps to the other Threehorn. Ruphus had also reacted quickly. He took Sura ordered the Domehead and one of the Spikethumbs back to help hold the rear while Bron tried to cover both ends with his massive body.

The leafeaters had two thin lines facing a large opposition on two fronts. The odds had turned dangerously in the favour of the Sharpteeth.


*


The Gang including Shorty, Ali, Trough and even Diver once she heard would not be left out and in doing so, Petrie’s brother; Thermal who would not part from her and went with them. Even Ruby pulled herself together enough to come but her younger brother; Amethyst was also coming with her. He had been parted from her to long and was still worried about his sister’s mental state after so recently losing her sister.

Petrie had told them all what Hyp had planned much to their disbelief. “And I thought they couldn’t do anything more stupid,” said Cera after Petrie told her now after leading them to where he last saw the three older dinosaurs and from there Chomper took over with his sniffer.

“I hope they don’t do anything silly I do, I do,” Ducky rubbed her hands anxiously from atop Spike’s back.

“Ducky, they already have,” deadpanned Cera with a roll of her eyes.

“Let’s just concentrate on getting to them before they get themselves hurt” said Littlefoot.

“Or worse killed,” added Shorty.

That earned him a glare from Littlefoot but the gravity of his words were already felt and Chomper moved quicker as did the rest of them but Hyp and Mutt and Nod were already starting the climb up the narrow path towards the top of the cliff that overlooked the battle.


*


Red Claw might have laughed at the predicament of the leafeaters at that moment when he saw then trapped by the newly arrived Fast Biters however, he barely spared a thought to them. He was consumed by anger at the three Fast Biters currently facing him down. Screech, Thud and Striker.

“I will tear you apart limb by limb and eat you alive! You traitorous sap suckers!” He bellowed at them. He never for a second thought that he would be betrayed by his closest followers but he was actively confronting that reality and he knew that if those Fast Biters hadn’t arrived when he did then the ambush would have succeeded. That was another point that Red Claw could not fathom. How was it possible that those three Fast Biters had managed to communicate with the Valley and organise such an attack? It didn’t seem possible but if there was one that he blamed most of all it was Striker. That mysterious Fast Biter was the cause of all this, that he was certain but why would he turn against his own kind? Against him? Red Claw had no clue and he honestly didn’t care if he never found out, all he cared about was making them all suffer for their betrayal.

He charged forward with a mouth open and roaring at his former allies but they quickly broke from formation and ran in three separate directions. Striker went head on with Screech and Thud heading for both flanks. The leafeaters where thankfully to busy with all the Fast Biter’s to care about their battle and that was something that Red Claw could not take for granted. He charged left at Screech with his jaws lowered, he knew there was no way to effectively get out of this trap but he knew how this trap worked and was prepared to counter.
 
As Thud attacked from behind and Striker closed in on the flanks. Red Claw lunged at Screech who jumped out of the way but stayed within striking distance as a constant threat. Red Claw glanced back and saw Thud leap and he swung his tail up and battered him out of the air and straight into the cliff. Thud fell and did not get back up, whether he was alive or not Screech and Striker didn’t know but while Thud was knocked away, Striker had jumped onto Red Claw’s flank and climbed to his back all the while making sure to thrust his claws deep into the fiend's flesh, the back of the neck was now in his sights.

Red Claw fell and rolled which briefly crushed Striker beneath him and losing his hold on Red Claw Screech bellowed from the side and made a rush for Red Claw’s flank but the giant tyrant was not buying it. He was charging at Striker.

Striker struggled to his feet but any chance of escape was impossible now with Red Claw so close or so it would have Ariel not swooped down in front of Red Claw and clawed at his eyes. Red Claw growled and shied away from the attack and tried to bite Ariel but she was already out of range. Striker used this time to get up and regroup with Screech. Looking past Red Claw they could see that the battle was not going in their favour….


*


“Come on up here!” Chomper pointed to a narrow path running steeply on lose rock up the cliff face about a kilometre from the canyon where the fight was taking place. The path was a one four-footer dinosaur path and would fast travel once they reached the top as there were no turns and it was clear that this was the only way Hyp and his friends could have gone but that gravel was a problem. Petrie and Thermal flew to the top.

“Ducky, Diver, Chomper, Ruby, Amethyst you guys, are light, you get up there and we’ll follow you,” said Littlefoot.

“Okay Littlefoot,” said Chomper. Ducky and Diver went first. The loose ground was rather tricky to get a foothold on as it broke away very easily yet they managed pretty well.

“Come on Diver!”

“You can do it Ducky!”

Petrie and Thermal called out to their respective friends while the two sisters kept close to each other and while climbing was difficult, their light weight allowed them to progress up the cliff. Somewhere near the top the ground came lose under Diver’s feet and she let out a shout as she held on for dear life but the ledge, she was holding onto was crumbling. “Help me!” she cried just as she fell only to have Ducky grab her hand.

“I’ve got you Diver I do, I do!” said Ducky. Diver in the meantime grabbed another hold and finding it stable she grabbed hold of it, taking the pressure off Ducky.

“Phew, thanks Ducky.”

“You’re welcome Diver yes, yes, ye-EAAAA!” Ducky’s hand hold collapsed under her weight and she fell upside down.

“Ducky!” Everyone gasped as Diver lunged her hand out and grabbed the tip of Ducky’s tail but she was struggling to hold on.

However, help was not far away in the form of Petrie and Thermal. “Grab on Ducky!” said Petrie and held his talons out and Ducky took them while Thermal grabbed Ducky’s tail and together with a lot of hard flapping they got Ducky to the top. “Thank you Petrie and Thermal,” said Ducky once they set her down on the ground but they nodded.

“We go get Diver now,” said Petrie and they both went down to Diver and Thermal stretched his talons out to her hands while Petrie grabbed her tail and with puffs of exertion, they slowly carried her to the top and promptly fell in a heap as both flyers struggled to catch their breath after that flight.

“How are we going to get up there?” inquired Cera.

“There must be a way, Hyp is big like us, he must have some way to get up to the top,” said Littlefoot.
     
Ducky called from above “Like this vine!” She pulled a vine that was concealed beneath the slippery slate and bushes on the side. Ruby went down to the right side where the vine outline could be seen and grabbed it. “This must be how they got up, so we can get up the same way,”

She started to climb and with the help of the vine she managed to reach the top without nearly as much effort or trouble as Ducky and Diver. Chomper followed then once all the light two footers reached the top, they started pulling up there four-footer companions who weld the vines in their mouths. Once they were all up they set off along the rocky path in single file.


*


“Duck Dear!” Sura listened to Ruphus and just on time as a Fast Biter leaped at her only to pass over her and go straight into Ruphus tail. Once he fell down Ruphus slammed his foot on the Fast Biter’s head hard, cracking his skull and killing instantly. Things had gone from bad to worse as The Fast Biter’s attacked both sides, they were trying to get in between the lines of leafeaters so they could attack both lines from the centre with only their backs to fight. Stopping them was incredibly tricky and required the big dinosaurs to go onto a sight formation of body against body but that couldn’t be done with the smaller dinosaur on the flank.

The Fast Biter’s kept a sizable pinning force at both ends to keep the back to back phalanxes from charging. The risk was to great that they’d be out flanked and it was tricky to fend of the Fast Biter attacks as they made repeated harassing attempts before retreating again, never engaging the phalanx head on which was suicide. However, the vulnerable flanks that was mostly being protected by the two footers was being tested as the remaining Fast Biters attacked with unrelenting ferocity. The greatest danger was fatigue and that was what the Fast Biters were trying to do. Tire the defenders down ‘till they could make a successful attack. The whole outcome of the battle was dependant on whether the Leafeater’s two-footer flank held.

Sura, Ruphus and Ruby’s father and Bron were effectively taking command and pulled everyone into a semi-circle that connected both phalanxes but this formation was looser as hadrosaurs weren’t as strong as the others so it was hoped that by maintaining a small amount of fluidity in their defensive form, they might be able to hold better against the Fast Biters by being able to use their tails.

However, The Fast Biters were exploiting the gaps, trying to get through, past the defenders to cause havoc for the centre but Ruphus, Sura and Ruby’s Fathers and Bron were not allowing them. They stayed away from the front lines and stopped any Fast Biter’s getting past their defence but that was becoming increasingly difficult. Bron was taking centre stage at the front of the semi-circle and his presence posed a huge threat to the Fast Biters but they never attacked him, they were only trying to get around and past him. However, that task was incredibly difficult, only their numbers allowed them to get past him.

The Valley Flyers were being a great help to them as they constantly swooped the Fast Biters on dropped rocks from above and killing several, it was now becoming a war of attrition between the Hadrosaurs and the Fast Biters and so far, it was even but that was about to change….

“GAHH!”

“They’re breaking through the centre!”


*


Hyp, Mutt and Nod were currently hiding behind a large rock and looking down over the battle of apprehensive expressions. It certainly was not the easy victory that Hyp said it would be but rather long, drawn out and bloody. It was carnage, as to what they were seeing. Mr Threehorn and the other Threehorn both had red horns from the Fast Biter’s that they had managed to impale and many of the Fast Biter’s that had attacked the main defensive line were covered in some form of cut or bruise which was also similar for the leafeaters, especially the longnecks but the real carnage was over on the flanks were the Hadrosaurs and Fast Biters were fighting.

The Fast Biters attacked and then broke off and again while the exhausted Hadrosaurs weathered each attack. A Spikethumb, a Swimmer and a crestless Swimmer had all been killed and they had watched it happen as Fast Biters overwhelmed them and delivered bites to the neck or slashed open their bellies, spilling viscera and gore all over the ground and turning the ground into a blood bath. The wounds on the leafeaters were more severe here and there was no respite. The Flyers however were untouched and they had seen a few Fast Biters had their skulls crushed by the rocks they threw down at them.

However, the most terrifying death that the three saw and averted their eyes too was when Ruphus was tacked to the ground by a Fast Biter but tripped it with his tail and rolled onto his belly and thrust his arm against the Fast Biter’s neck hard till he had chocked to death. Which was simply to violent even for them, to get up that close and personal and choke someone ‘till they were coughing up blood was simply disgusting. But the stand-off between Red Claw and the Fast Biters was also real tense. Striker, Screech and a couple Flyers were making things real tricky for Red Claw who was constantly on defence and was covered in numerous small wounds and Striker was attacking with the ferocity of someone who was already dead with no regard for his safety and as such he had the largest gashes and bruises of the allied Fast Biters.

The three spectators silently watched. Transfixed by the fight, so much so that they didn’t notice the new arrivals.

“Hey! What are you idiots doing!” came Cera’s agitated voice from behind. All three of the ex-bully’s jumped and turned around to see The Gang standing a few paces behind them.

“Where do you come from?” said Mutt in surprise.   

“We came to get your sorry asses out of trouble again,” said Cera.

“We don’t need saving!” hissed Hyp back angrily.

“GAAAHH!” everyone forgot about the heated conversation and immediately looked at what was happening below. For the Gang it was a rather terrifying vision. There folks were trapped between the hammer and the anvil but they were still holding a formidable defensive formation despite being under siege from both ends.

However, it was the flank that was currently in trouble. The Domehead had his legs slashed out from under him by a pair of Fast Biter’s who jumped on his backs and quickly bit out his neck, killing before he had a chance to get up. Ruphus was already running to assist but he was to late and now they had a hole just beyond Bron’s reach. He ran into the breach despite being outnumbered but he had battle experience on his side. He headbutted the Fast Biter that was still on the Domehead. The Fast Biter only turned in time to meet Ruphus’s head with his own, something he was not prepared for and fell down in a daze. Ruphus quickly crushed his head with his foot. The other Fast Biter was a blue female and she let out a wild shriek and leapt on top of Ruphus. The pair fell to the ground but Sura was at hand to knock the Fast Biter off her mate with her tail and she finished the job in the same way Ruphus had done with the Fast Biter from before. Ruphus was covered with small gashes on his belly as Sura helped him up to re-join the defensive line under the cover of the Flyers.

Sura looked terrible, battle was something that she loathed and the act of killing even Sharpteeth in that way made her sick. Ruphus didn’t have a problem with this and seemed to own the battle, fighting with passion and bravery and never hesitating to make a kill.

Once the line had reformed the Fast Biters began the attack again with more vigour as the defenders were now starting to crumble under the heat of battle.


*


Ducky, Spike and Diver all had to avert their eyes at what they just saw their parents do. It was disgusting and vile on a level they had never imagined, never had they seen such ruthlessness from their parents. Ducky had to force down the bile down to keep from throwing up, a tear fell from her wide eyes and she shivered. Diver was a little better, she briefly covered her mouth with her hands to stop herself from throwing up. Trough and Spike both huddled up to Ducky and Thermal comforted Diver.

“The grown-ups are in trouble” said Shorty looking over the battle.

“They not going to last long like this,” said Amethyst, looking anxious, his hands trembled when he spotted his father down there.

“We need to help them!” cried Littlefoot.

“But what we do? We up here,” said Petrie.

Everyone was stumped as they tried to figure out a plan.

Ducky meanwhile was sitting on the ground next to Diver. “I’ve never seen mom and dad like this,” said Diver in shock.

“I’m scared-ed Diver,” said Ducky, emphasising exactly what her sister was feeling. The two briefly embraced tightly while Spike nuzzled them both, he was also startled by the brutality of his parents and fearful for the outcome but from his perspective, it looked like they couldn’t possible help. “It’s not like we can drop a rock on Sharptooth’s head this time,” he thought.

He looked at his friends and saw the same expressions of fear and helplessness on them as they hid behind the large rock.

Wait!

Spike’s eyes widened as he looked what they were hiding behind and suddenly jumped up with surprising enthusiasm. This single unexpected act caught everyone’s attention as Spike grunted excitedly and tapped the rock with his paw. Everyone was motionless before the light of realisation burned in their eyes.

“I think Spike has an idea,” Littlefoot grinned and narrowed his eyes.

“And I like it,” said Ali.

Cera ran to the rock “What are we waiting for? Let’s do it!” She crashed into it with all her might.


*


Screech and Striker tried to pull a dazed Thud back to the defensive lines. After a while of fighting Red Claw and no real gain on either side, Red Claw decided to kill Thud while he was unconscious but neither Screech nor Striker was going to let that happen as Red Claw charged towards Thud who was starting to come back to himself, he found his back under attack as both Fast Biters leapt on it. Striker once again trying to go for a quick kill at the neck while Screech slashed and bit at Red Claw who bellowed in pain and swung his body like crazy, turning his head and snapping at Striker, only missing cause Striker jumped down and ran to Thud while Screech kept Red Claw busy.

“Come get up you, we’ve still got a fight to win!” Striker slapped Thud and without waiting proceeded to drag him back, they were all tired and needed a little respite but that wasn’t going to happen. As soon as Red Claw forced Screech off his body by rolling on the ground the Fast Biter ran towards them, though he was much slower and seemed to be limping. Screech pulled Thud up and they all tried to head back but Red Claw quickly recovered and was already charging at them, plus there was a whole load of Fast Biter’s in between them and their Leafeater allies.   

But just before Red Claw reached them a loud shout echoed over the Valley echoing loudly off the walls. The language was in Sharptooth and turned all the heads of the Sharpteeth and Leafeaters in the direction of the voice. “Hey Red Claw can’t finish off a single Fast Biter? You must be pathetic! But of course, you could never catch us even with help!”

Red Claw was enraged, he roared at the top of his lungs at the small insufferable Biter that was standing at the top of the cliff with his friends standing by him. “I’ll have you! You Sap Sucking Traitor once this fight is over! You’ll be sorry you ever crossed me!” He shouted to them as they were too far away for him to do anything but just was about to turn away, he felt the same feeling he felt during the last hunt.

The feeling of undying rage and hate filled his mind, the voice of someone long gone spoke in a voice that made him cringe. “KILL THEM, KILL THEM ALL NOW!!!!”

The roar that escaped from his parted jaws froze the entire battlefield, once again the roar of Sharptooth terrorised the world.


*


Sura turned white when she heard that roar but it was nothing like the sense of dread when she looked to where the roar was directed. At the kids on the top of the cliff watching the battle, how or why they were there was beyond her but she felt her heart almost stop when she squinted her eyes and made out the forms of her children Ducky, Spike and Diver.  “no…No…nonono…No! NO!” she screamed in anguish and terror. That beast was going for her children and she was barred from reaching them by all these damn Fast Biters….


*


“Everyone Push Now!”

Everyone thrust their bodies against the giant rock in an attempt to push it off but this rock was huge, heavy and stubbornly lodged in place and nor where they expecting what came next. The entire cliff face shook but they kept pushing until Petrie looked to the side only to shrink back in terror “G-G-GUYS!” He shouted in a panic as he pointed down. Everyone followed his gaze to see Red Claw holding onto the side of the cliff rust beneath the boulder, he had jumped a distance that only one Sharptooth had been known to do in the past; Sharptooth himself. Jaw snapped maniacally inches away from them.

The children screamed and pushed harder while Ducky, Petrie, Diver, Trough, Thermal and all the smaller children retreated back in terror. However, Nod did something unexpected he ran towards Red Claw and lashed his clubbed tail at him but that was his last mistake.

The air split with Nod’s scream of pain as Red Claw bit down on the club and pulled him off the edge, he shook his head violently and threw him off the cliff and into the air spinning like a top and screaming all the while. Everyone was stunned and all fighting stopped as he fell straight to the defensive line. His tail clubbed slammed into Brace’s head and she tumbled to the ground, knocking over the larger dinosaurs like dominos. Nod fell headfirst into the cliff on the other side of the canyon and fell to the ground; dead.

With a screech the Fast Biter’s charged into the breach, attacking every dinosaur in sight.

That was it.

The defensive line shattered and the battle degenerated into a wild fight for survival.


*


Striker looked at the chaos around him. His plan was falling to ruin and yet even if the battle was lost, he could still help. He looked up at Red Claw and the boulder and saw the tipping point, the rocks that were keeping the boulder from falling; they were the key, his eyes hardened, he knew what to do.

Striker charged towards Red Claw and leapt into the air and grabbed hold of his tail with his hands and climbed up. He moved up as fast as he could towards his head, the kids and the boulder.


*


“Help!” Sura screamed, she fell to the ground as a Fast Biter slashed her leg and she fell on her back. Ruphus was too far away. She closed her eyes but the Fast Biter was smashed off her. She looked up in relief to see Mr Thicknose covering her. “Thanks” She got to her feet but another set of Fast Biter’s hit Mr Thicknose from behind and jumped on his back. Sura gasped and tried help get the Fast Biter’s off by pulling them down but she ended up head butting one off and sending him falling onto the other. Mr Thicknose was still alive but the damage was already done. Sura looked desperately around for her mate and back to Mr Thicknose whose back was shredded. “Ruphus!? Ruphus!? Some one help me!” She screamed desperately. This was it. She knew it. There was no escape. They were all going to die.

“Get away from him!” Sura stood beside Thicknose as a pair of Fast Biter’s came. She may have been doomed but she’d still fight to protect the others even if it cost her everything.


*


“Come on keep pushing!”

Chomper was hyperventilating and sweating like hell, it was the dominant scent around his friends. Never had he expected this from Red Claw and that roar that belonged to Sharptooth, he whom he only knew from stories and reputation was erupting his ear drums from beside him. The giant maw was constantly trying to get at them but the rock was blocking him but he was still getting alarmingly close. However, the rock still wasn’t budging.

Suddenly he heard Striker’s snarl from beneath and gasped. He risked a look and saw Striker climbing up Red Claw’s back, he was at his neck but continued to climb, he was heading straight for them!

“What the hell is he doing!?” thought Chomper.

Red Claw was suddenly aware of Striker and shook his head violently. Striker jumped and grabbed hold of the base of the cliff just beneath the rock and frantically clawed at the rocks there but Red Claw grabbed him with his jaws. Sinking his teeth deep into his back. Striker gave an all mighty groan but he held on to the rocks still while Red Claw pulled but with the added strength of Red Claw the rocks beneath the boulder gave way and Red Claw let Striker go. He tumbled limply down and grabbed hold of Red Claw’s tail but it didn’t stop his fall, it mealy delayed it but as luck would have it. Screech and Thud were right at the bottom to catch him and move him out of harms way.

Chomper seeing this yelled at the top of his lungs “Push!”


*


Sura stopped focusing on the battle when she heard the friendly Fast Biter’s moan, she looked up to the cliff and saw him falling into the arms of Screech and Thud but a few seconds later a low rumble sounded as the boulder Red Claw was beneath was pushed off the top by the kids. Red Claw looked terrified and the roar that left his maw was profoundly his and it was filled with horror.

All fighting stopped as Red Claw seemed to fall in slow motion and a rockslide falling from just above him. He hit the ground on his back but the crash was barely heard thanks to the giant rocks that fell on top of him.
 
The canyon filled with dust and everyone watched and waited as the rumble died off. Once the dust cleared, Red Claw became visible. Only his head and neck were visible while the rest of his body was covered and pinned by the rocks. He let out a low groan of pain; he was still alive, but helpless and vulnerable.

Everyone was stunned for a moment but that lasted only a second as Topps took the initiative and charged all or nothing through the shocked Fast Biters and straight towards Red Claw with his horns lowered.


*

Red Claw gazed at the charging Threehorn in horror. “Not like this!” He tried desperately to move but he couldn’t move a muscle. He was doomed and he knew it. “Curse them all!” was his last thoughts as Topps rammed his good horn straight through his neck. Red Claw gurgled violently as blood gushed from his neck and filled his lungs. The mighty head that once terrorised so many dinosaurs fell to the ground.
 
Red Claw was dead.


*


Topps pulled himself free from Red Claw and without hesitation he charged at the Fast Biter’s who upon seeing Red Claw die broke ranks and fled from him but they were caught between the other Valley dinosaurs who attacked from behind. The inner Fast Biters were routed and didn’t even attempt to fight. They ran from the leafeaters in terror but the other group of Fast Biters closer to the entrance started to reform but the leafeaters had the advantage now and with morale sky high.  While the Fast Biter’s were barely holding together as the first group ran past them and into the Badlands, towards the hidden entrance.

The Valley residents reorganised their line and in one massive move they all charged the hapless Fast Biters. Those that tried to fight were crushed and seeing their comrades fall was the last straw that broke their back. The Fast Biter’s turned and fled with a good portion of the Valley residents chasing them away. 

The chase lasted only until they reached the secret entrance which was promptly sealed by Bron. Using his massive tail to belt the wall till it caused a rockslide that sealed up the hidden entrance. They were safe once again. They had won but at a heavy cost. There was still wounded left to attend to in the canyon that didn’t join the final charge.
 
Battered and weary the group of bloodied dinosaurs slumped their shoulders and headed slowly back up to the canyon.


*


The children and the grown-ups arrived at the entrance to the canyon at almost the exact same time. Greetings were briefly exchanged before everyone moved into the canyon to be greeted by a blood bath. Sura had stayed by Mr Thicknose side but there was nothing she could do. Seeing Ruphus approach her, alive but bloodied she leapt into his arms and hugged him tightly and let out a few sobs. Littlefoot was the first to go over to Thicknose, followed by his friends, except Ali and Shorty who were heading to Brace and Hyp and Mutt who were going over to Nod. When Sura finally broke off from her mate she headed deeper into the canyon but not before she asked Chomper to accompany her as she headed for Screech and Thud as they gathered beside Striker.

“Mr Thicknose……”

Littlefoot was at a loss for words at the sight of his old teacher. He was covered in blood the back of his head was torn open but he remained alive only to say his last words. “Goodbye kids, have good lives….” His voice was hollow and distant and barely audible but as he said those last word’s he fell limp, finally allowing death to come for him.

Littlefoot bowed his neck low to the ground and sat down, the tears began falling in waves. Similar actions were taken by his friends as they shed tears and mourned the old teacher that had been such a good friend to them in life. 

However, a sudden scream tore Littlefoot from his own mourning.

He looked over his back to see Ali screaming by her mother with Shorty nuzzling her but doing no good. He grimaced and felt his heart sink further. Ali had lost her mother, just as he had lost his. The hit Brace had taken from Nod’s tail had cracked her skull open like an egg, killing her almost instantly but that was no reassurance for Ali in the slightest. With a chocked sob he forced himself to stand and walk slowly over. The body of Ali’s mother could hardly be seen through his tears but his mother’s body was clear in his mind eye and it tore at his heart.

“Ali” he said as he neared. He saw a blurred form charge at him and hit his body. Ali cried and sobbed into his back loudly and he cried silently with her, they both felt the same pain after all and if Littlefoot could do anything to lessen that pain then he would. As he blinked away his tears and saw Shorty approaching and beyond him Hyp and Mutt bowing over the lifeless body of their friend. It was a heavy cost for victory.

Meanwhile Sura and Chomper sat down next to Striker. The Fast Biter smiled when he saw her. Sura took his outstretched hand as she sobbed but he wiped the tears off and spoke in the incomprehensible Sharptooth that Sura could not understand well with one small exception. “Grrowl raahr rerer grroool…..S…ur…a.”

Striker closed his eyes and his hand dropped and Sura was left shocked by hearing him speak her name in leafeater. She looked at Chomper.

“Striker said ‘Don’t mourn me, Sura’” said Chomper, he was also shocked by what he heard. Had Striker really been trying to understand leafeater? Why did he have to die? Why did so many have to die?

Despite Striker’s words Sura sobbed over him, still holding his limp hand but she was mourning everything. Never would she have dreamed that this is where she and the Sharptooth that nearly killed her and her daughter would end up.

Thud started growling at Chomper, in a very lengthy monologue and when he was done, he and Screech walked off. They were leaving the Great Valley for good. Red Claw was dead and they were free, they had no more business with The Great Valley and its residents. 

Chomper tapped Sura’s arm. “Yes Chomper?” she said in a chocked-up voice

“Thud said that Striker told him that he did what he did so he could stop another Great Sharpooth, like the one that killed his family, leaving only him and his brother. He is glad that he will see them all again,” said Chomper.

Sura looked at Striker. “I hope you found them in the end,” she said to him and got up and walked away in the direction of her little ones who were already being comforted by Ruphus as was Petrie by his mother and Cera by her father and Littlefoot, Ali and Shorty by Grandma, Grandpa and Bron while Ruby’s father was embracing Ruby and Amethyst. She joined her family but she nuzzled Chomper as well, he deserved it. They all did. If it wasn’t for those kids and Striker then they never would have won the battle.

If only it wasn’t at such high a price.   






Special thanks to Ducky123 for proofreading this chapter.

Aquarius couldn't have been more glad at the moment that everyone was willing to co-operate, they had all been fighting for to long and after Aquarius's initial run in with Rinen he was not in the mood for more battles. He gave a smile but as he took his foot step forward he almost fell, he gave a grimace as he looked at all the wounds he still had. Though he hated to admit it, he was hardly in a condition to walk at the moment with his legs bruised and scratched and his more serious wounds in his abdomen. However the thing that terrified Aquarius the most was the fact that some of his wounds was starting to show signs of infection.

Without some kind of treatment Aquarius would have a very hard time just staying alive. Most kinds his age didn't even know what the signs of an infection were but thanks to his two scars Aquarius not only knew the signs but had felt them to and he was not keen on reliving the pain but without his mother and father to treat him he didn't know what to do. "Well I can't walk well, I could ride Buko again?" He thought to himself. Normally he'd not want to show that he was a puny little Swimmer but this was an exception. Aquarius would not get far on his two feet and he knew it.


Once again Aquarius swallowed his reply. "Can I ride on one of you!?" he called out. "I can barely walk!" His question was for everyone but he was hoping that one of the Fast Runners would let him ride on their backs not out of spite for Rinen but simply cause they were much faster then Rinen and would have a better chance of escaping danger should it arise while Rinen was dare Aquarius think it "A bit to chubby to run fast" However if he was rejected by Buko and Wyoh he would make do riding on Rinen's back. 

Thanks for the award mates! Also Well done to everyone who participated and git an award.

I'll take this banner:

Happy Birthday Ducky! Hope you have an great year yep, yep ,yep!

Aquarius was struck in the heart by Buko's question. The ramifications were broad and very personal to the young Swimmer for one he was being forced to choose between the two kinds he distrusted the most and yet both parties had proved to him that they could be given some trust but he felt obliged to help the Threehorn cause even if he didn't want to admit it he had helped him and Aquarius still believed he owed the Threehorn for the Sharptooth incident.

But there was another implication which was indirectly touched on. Travel companions, but where would they be traveling too? The beaten up Swimmer knew that he couldn't afford to go it alone with his injuries but where did everyone else want to go? What was a Swimmer lost and alone in the wilderness supposed to do? Aquarius desired only one thing and that was to get back to his family, he didn't know if they survived but his young naïve mind still clung to the believe that if he had survived then surely his family had too. That was why he waited in the cave for so long, he had been so convinced that his family would find him but nothing had ever shown up, now he was only started to open up to the terrible thought that he really could be all that's left.

Aquarius sighed, his tail slumped and he sat down and looked at the ground with an expression that was of fear, sadness and indecision. He was to young and he didn't know what to do. There was so much emotions running through him and he struggled to keep them in check, he did manage a sniff and looked up to see all eyes on him. He felt that all he could do was follow his original plan. "I just want to go home but The Great Wave washed my home and family away, now I don't know where they are, I want to find the place I got swept from and find them. Where are all you guys going?" said Aquarius, his voice was filled with the same emotions that were jangling in his head like a howling tempest.   

A quite sigh of relief came from Aquarius when he heard the Threehorn asking him but the tone of voice hit him on a much deeper level, it was clear that he was going through a very rough time in the emotional sense. Although Aquarius had not known this Threehorn for long he was sure that some event had caused this Threehorn much torment, he had come to this conclusion from two signs. One, was that the Threehorn was alone and didn't appear to have a herd and the second reason was how he had treated Aquarius, sure they had gotten off to a rough start but over the short time that they had been together both parties seemed to become more mutual and respective towards one another which was not something that Aquarius ever expected from the average Threehorn after his previous encounter with them.

The fact that no normal Threehorn would ever act this way when put in the same postition as this particular Threehorn and the fact that he had often been emotional which was something no Threehorn generally showed only rienforced the fact that something very personal was bothering him. Nevertheless, the fact that the Threehorn was now starting to approach the situation rationally made Aquarius glad that he was at least willing to try and sort things out without butting heads with anyone. 

Aquarius took a breath and said "When we got out of range of the Sharptooth both the Fast Runner's yelled out and tried to distract that big brute from you and it did distract him, slightly. Also after you jumped off the cliff I told them to help you but they had exhausted themselves and they said that if we helped you we'd give away your position to the Sharptooth and that he'd get you. So they did help you and you should be grateful for that cause they might have just saved you" The young Swimmer knew he was probably painting the Fast Runners in a brighter light then in reality but at the moment he just wanted to concentrate on diffusing this tense situation.

Fanart Award: This year has seen a lot of fanart from a multitude if different artists and in many unique styles and I must say that I am very impressed that the fanart competition has started to bring out and encourage many good artists to improve themselves just as the fanfiction competition has been doing for the forum's writers. Having said that there is one artist that stands out to me and that would be Darkwolf91. Her drawings have been constantly changing and improving along with all artists on the forum but she has so far produced some of the best fanart I have ever been and has brought to life the characters of the LBT roleplay in a most amazing way.   

Feedback Award: I don't stay on the forum to much and one of the chief sections I'm usually in is fanfiction section as many of you know and I must give a thumbs up to everyone who provides helpful feedback to writers. However my vote goes to Sovereign for the feedback that he constantly posts on just about every piece of art and writing and I find his comments to be very useful and constructive and I speak for probably all the writers and artists on the site when I saw we all appreciate such helpful feedback. Honourable mention to Rhombus who has also done a very good job with his feedback this year.

Friendly Member Award: This is the toughest award to give on the forum and is always a tough one to decide because this is such a friendly, open minded community that everyone deserves an award in there own right. But as I can only vote for one person I am going to cast my vote for to Nick22 who has been a very conservative and friendly conversationalist on discord which I have chatted with so many friendly friends but he stands slightly stands out above to me.

Proactive Award: Also a tricky one. I don't spend to much time contributing to the forum which I really need to change but one that note there still plenty of people who make useful contributions to the forum but even though I'm not on that much I do know that the move has been a very big deal and so my vote goes to Zero-point for his great job at making sure the forum's transition has been smooth for everyone.

Role Play Gamer Award: My vote will be focused on the LBT RP in the style of the original movie which has been a real highlight and enjoyable experience for me and is a journey that everyone has worked on and the direction of the RP is very interesting. Now onto my vote I think Sovereign deserves this vote, I've been stuck with his character since almost the start and his posts have been very interesting and have been very insightful to his character and certainly leads up to some very exciting scenes. 

Thanks for the feedback guys. Here's the next chapter.


Chapter 64: Striker’s Move

Chomper walked or rather almost stalked through The Secret Caverns as if he was actually hunting a hapless leaf eater. He crouched low to the ground and treaded so quietly that if he hit a stone or made a step louder then he’d wanted then he would cringe at how loud the sound was to him. His expression was much less guarded then his posture, there was visible pain and sorrow as the sounds of quiet sobbing could be heard nearby in the deep recesses of the caves. Chomper reflected that if he hadn’t the heightened sense of smell that his kind had then he would never have found what he was seeking. Chomper took a few steps to the edge of the cave the sound was coming from; the light was almost none existent in this area so when he poked his head into the cave he had to strain his eyes real hard to see the sobbing pink form of a Fast Runner on the ground crying in quiet heartbroken sorrow; Ruby. 

He moved inside and walked towards his stricken friend but he had forgotten to watch his step as the rock he tripped over almost sent him tumbling but the sound caused an immediate reaction from Ruby who turned sharply to the unexpected noise and as soon as she saw who it was she shouted “Go Away!” Her voice was torn and sore from the hours that she had spend weeping and contained so much sorrow, more the Chomper had ever experienced in his short life.

Chomper cautiously walked forward with his hand out “Ruby, I am worried about you, I just want to-“

“Leave me ALONE!” Ruby shouted at his face. “You don’t understand!” she got up and ran at him. Chomper jumped back and turned tail as he was chased out of the cave by Ruby. As soon as he was far enough away Ruby retreated to her enclave and continued to cry her eyes out. Chomper approached again but this time he just listened to Ruby’s sobbing. He felt like his heart was slowly being torn out at hearing Ruby break down in this way, such a way that not even she had ever done before. Chomper wanted to help but he knew that she wasn’t ready for help yet and it couldn’t be from him, after all what did he know about what Ruby had been going through this past couple of days? He needed help and he knew exactly who to call for help. He turned and ran away as fast as he could, Ruby needed the right help and he would give it to her.


*


“Spinner!”

Said Swimmer turned his head around to give a less then welcome reception to Trough. “What do you want?” he said in a mocking voice, his expression more then a little agitated.

It didn’t stop Trough from approached where Spinner sat upon the large rock near the edge of the waterfall. “I just wanted to apologise for what I said before about you chasing your tail” Trough generally did look apologetic after all Spinner had been giving him the cold shoulder and had been seething for longer the Trough thought it was possible to. Ducky had told him very clearly that he should make amends with Spinner before it got any worse.

“Oh, after what? Two days! You don’t know what it was like” Spinner said working himself up and waving his arms agitatedly as he jumped down and landed with a ‘huff’ on the ground at the base of the rock, right in front of Trough.

“I don’t even know what your referring too” replied Trough in a deadpan voice.

“I’m referring to before we came to The Great Valley, you have no idea how much other Swimmers in the herd made fun of me like you did and I’m not going to take anymore of it from anyone even if Ducky has a soft spot for you” Spinner said angrily.

“Ohhh” said Trough awkwardly. “I didn’t know” he said with a more sympathetic look on his face after all he had been in the same boat as Spinner for a very long time.

“Yeah of course you wouldn’t know. No one knows why I swim the way I do except my nest mates” said Spinner irritably. Trough could tell that Spinner was running out of patience very quickly and that if he wanted to have a productive meeting with him then he’d better not go around pushing Spinner’s buttons or the results could turn bad for both parties.

But Trough’s curiosity was sparked.

“So why do you swim in circles all the time?” he asked.

“It started when we were little tails living in The Mysterious Beyond and it’s also the story of how Ray got his scar” said Spinner, he seemed to quiet his tone and was already set on telling his tale. Trough leaned against the rock and pondered. He remembered Ray’s defining feature; the long scar on his leg that was a great hinderance on his swimming abilities. That made him all the more interested, he listened closely to Spinner’s narration.

“It was during The Days of Rising Waters that it all happened….”


*


Many Years Ago in The Mysterious Beyond:

The weather was anything but welcoming, dark clouds hung in the sky and a low mist of white fog made visibility difficult for even the best sighted individuals and that wasn’t taking into account the constant rain that pelted the ground in cold long-lasting showers. This was The Days of Rising Waters or at least what it was like in The Mysterious Beyond and unbeknown to the inhabitants of the land, this vigorous week of cold and drenching water was the last they would receive for a very long period of time.

The area around the river was almost pitch white for the herd of swimmers gathered there. In weather like this many were taking shelter under any trees that grew nearby which made for a very patchy distribution among the herd which from a defensive point of view did no favours. The fog made it even worse, hardly anyone could see where they were going and opted to stay in their own line of sight which wasn’t very far. Some were a bit more nervous with such low visibility but they needn’t have worried as the weather would make hunting for any potential predators a virtual impossibility due to lack of sight and smell and the increased risks involved in hunting.

It was under one of the thicker sections of trees that Ruphus, Sura and Merri rested, they all lay on the ground as it was the only way to effectively see any of the children as they could not even be discernible from their normal elevation but even than it was still tricky to see them. In such weather Sura had told her little ones who were no older then little tails to stay next to her and their father at all times however no one noticed the absence of three children.

This lapse of attention was due to the fact that Sura’s children were not the only ones there, as a matter of fact half of the herds children were crowded around the adults. This was because they had been all playing in the same area when the fog and rain came down and Sura’s family had the closest nest available and were in charge of watching the kids for the day which was swapped around the more attentive members of the herd regularly.

So, with so many children around and so much talk between them and such bad visibility it could be understood that Spinner, Rapid and Ray’s absence had not been noticed.

The three boys were down near the waters edge and had taken advantage of the low visibility to sneak back down to the river.   

“So wha we do?” asked Spinner.

“Dive it!”

“No way!” said Rapid in immediate protest to Ray. “You aways win when Diver not pway” said the small Swimmer.

Ray blew a raspberry at Rapid “Spoil spot” he teased.

“Na, we do this-“ Spinner hurled some dark brown, cold mud at his brothers, catching them both unawares as there bodies were splatted with the dirty substance. “Gang up?” said Ray to Rapid; said Swimmer nodded and just like that they were both after Spinner with cold lumps of mud in their hands.

“Cannot cach me, slow tails!” taunted Spinner arriving at the waters edge and jumping off the edge and into the water.

What happened next would haunt Ray till the present day and was a decision he that he regretted the most in his life. It was something that would change his personality and outlook on things forever. The moment that Ray and Rapid arrived at the waters edge they both threw their mud down into the blinding fog which was impenetrable but the splashes said that they had both missed. “I get him” said Ray.

With those words Ray took a deep breath and hoping to show off he leapt into the air and did as many backwards summersaults as he could before to go in straight but his skill wasn’t as good as he thought he splashed down at a diagonal forty-five-degree angle. It wasn’t the entry that would do the damage it was doomed to go wrong from the very begging as Ray had opted to take a blind jump into fog, not knowing what was below.

For Rapid it was a strange sight to see his brother disappear into the white mist as if it was water itself but after the splash the sound of his brother screaming in agonised pain made him jump back crying out in fright. Ray’s right leg had been cut vertically almost down the entire front leg and it was no shallow wound. Ray surfaced and held onto the rock and screamed in high pitch voice tears raced down his cheeks and his body spasmed as he started going into shock.

Back at the nest Sura and Ruphus had both launched themselves to their feet at once. All play stopped and everyone in the vicinity turned their heads towards the scream. “RAY!” Sura shouted. Ruphus however reacted fastest and hadn’t hesitated to run towards the water with his head bent low till he found Rapid looking terrified.

“What is going on?!” he said to him urgently, Rapid cringed at his father’s loud voice, he looked like he had wet himself and judging by the smell, the guess probably wasn’t far off but Ray’s screaming voice kept Ruphus mind fixed on finding his son.

“Spinner, Ray and I were pwaying an Spinner wen in the river and Ray wen after him” said Rapid sounding rather shaken, he had tears falling from his eyes as he had been rather startled by Ray’s screams.

Ruphus got on his belly and edged himself down the edge and extended his arm and as soon as he felt Ray he grabbed him and pulled him up.

“Come” he said to Rapid as he took Ray back to the nest. He and Sura looked over him both looking horrified and Sura turned white, this was the first time that she saw anyone of her little ones in this much pain or with a wound this severe.

“Mommy” sobbed Ray, holding his arms out to her. Sura took Ray and cradled him in her arms, keeping her beak right next to him. “Shh, it’ll be ok little one, we’ll fix you up real soon” she said in a motherly voice that hid the terror that she was feeling but gave her son much needed comfort as he held onto her in pain.
 
“Merri go find any herbs you can, I need to get Spinner” instructed Ruphus, taking command with well-practiced stride as Merri nodded and headed off though she would be hard pressed to find anything in this fog while Ruphus headed back to the river in order to find and bring back Spinner.

While Ray was being comforted by his mother and the shaken Rapid was being comforted by his siblings, Spinner meanwhile was already a fair distance down stream as he had assumed that he would be followed and had stayed beneath the water as the visibility under the water was surprisingly clear and much better then what it currently was on land. He soon stopped swimming and broke the surface.

He was instantly assaulted by the calls of his father which came from further upstream. “SPINNER!” he yelled. He sounded urgent and worried as hell as he searched through the fog. The Swimmer was about to start heading back when it happened the rumbling of earth and the tumbling of trees and the startled cry of nearby dinosaurs that Spinner could not see in the fog and all of a sudden, he was swept off his feet by a powerful current and carried downstream. “DADA!” was all he managed to get out before he was pulled underwater.

The current carried Spinner down the river faster then he had ever moved in his life, it would have been rather exhilarating had he not been in such peril. Spinner only just managed to break the surface, his head was the only thing above the water and it was the most surreal feeling he had ever experienced thus far as the fog turned everything white and he could not see ahead of him and yet he was travelling incredibly fast but with no sight.

Spinner’s heart was racing, he managed to stay at the surface with a little kicking as he was still a little tail and that meant his body while being designed for swimming lacked the experience or strength and endurance of anyone older and that meant that Spinner needed to utilise more strength to stay up on the surface. However, the fact that he couldn’t see was a great factor in what was about to happen as he travelled down a slight incline which only increased his speed the sound of fast running water came up to meet him and this was taking into account that everything was still shaking around due to the earthshake.

Spinner had only enough time and common sense to brace his body for the impact of another countering current which hit him like a kick to the gut, leaving him winded. It was only then that he started to notice that he wasn’t going down stream anymore, rather he was going around and around and around. The young Spinner had no idea what was going on and even if the mist had all but dissipated he’d not be able to name the phenomenon that he was caught in but had he been able to see then would be just as, if not more fearful for his life if he had seen it.

He was stuck in a whirlpool.

The earthshake had opened up cracks in the river bed and underneath was an underground reserve which was largely filled with air, as the water rushed down into the chamber it created the whirlpool that Spinner was now trapped in and if he didn’t get out of it then he’d be doomed; trapped in an underground cave that would be completely flooded.

Spinner was nearing the peripheral when he was sucked down by the current. It was in these moments that time seemed to slow for Spinner almost to a close as he had already accepted that fact that he was probably never going to make it out of this situation and while he desperately tried to fight his was back to the surface, he could feel his need for air grow and the stronger current pulling him further down without much effort.

Spinner looked up desperately to the surface as calm enveloped his mind, the calm that comes before unconsciousness. He could feel himself starting to lose his vision, he looked down to see that he was in the inner portion of the whirling prison and he was dangerously close to the bottom when suddenly the whole scene turned gold with light, he looked up and was almost blinded by the Bright Circle.

He gasped despite being underwater but he had enough sense to close his mouth instantly but the sight that he beheld was like nothing he could ever see and coupled with his slower then usual mind it felt like everything was moving at slow motion. He stared up at the surface. The near perfect viability of the water was marked by rocks and plants all caught in the swirling current but the eye of the whirlpool was largely clear and the golden light came straight through creating a beautiful moving picture which reflected off all the stones that were caught in the current.

Spinner was also moving at an incredibly pace and all in a circle yet keeping his eye on the light, kept him from losing his direction. The experience was just indescribable to the young Spinner but he would never ever forget this feeling of intoxication. He closed his eyes, as he was only inches from the bottom and the litter of the river was blurring his vision. This was it.

Splash!

Spinner felt his tail jolt and all of a sudden, he felt himself rapidly rising out of the control of the natural forces around him and up and out of the water. He gasped and coughed as his lungs took in deep breaths from his near drowning experience. His tail was caught in his father’s beak and he was standing in two legs as the water was only up to his waist but with the ground collapsing beneath his weight he didn’t remain stationary and dived for the bank and dug his hands in and forcibly pulled himself out of the water with a strained groan.

Both he and Spinner were panting from the exertion. There was a loud splash from the river as the ground collapsed and the whirlpool blew itself out violently sending a wave heading out from the collapsed shape. Ruphus pulled himself into a sitting position and dropped Spinner into his arms. “Oh, my that was too close, this is why we don’t let you wonder off in weather like this” he said in a rather breathless voice, it didn’t have any bite or lecture in it just pure relief and exhaustion which got through to Spinner more then a lecture would have and he just hugged his father who pushed himself up and made his was back to the nest, the glow of the bright circle chasing away the cold, dense fog.

From that day onwards, Spinner would never forget his experience with the whirlpool, the sensation was addicting and he was always trying to replicate it and to do that he believed that he had to create another whirlpool which was why he swam in circles like he did. Ray however was less lucky; his aunt had managed to get only a few herbs back to him in the short time but she was able to collect more after the fog cleared but the damage was already done. It was a time where Sura and Ruphus feared that Ray would lose his leg which was a death sentence for anyone but through carful application of herbs and a very long time off his leg Ray was able to walk again however he was never able to move or swim the same way, he had become the most liable and weakest of his siblings in the water which was still a form of conflict for Ray even to the present day.

The aftermath of Spinner’s whirlpool incident saw a large increase in bullying for the little Swimmer who was treated like a hatchling by his peers for his new strange habits. He only receiving sympathy from a few close friends and some of his siblings. He would never be rid of the bully’s till the day of The Great Earthshake.


*


Back to the present:

“Geez, I-I…wow, so Ducky isn’t the only one who’s been stuck in a whirlpool but Ray…that’s just shocking.” Trough said who was rather amazed and startled by the story that he had been told by Spinner, it opened up his eyes to regarding both Spinner and Ray. He never understood just how they had become the Swimmers they were now until today and the story had very deep roots.

“You have no idea how bad it got after that, I am ashamed because I hated the Swimmers who teased me so much that when they died in The Great Earthshake; I actually felt happy and that is wrong” Spinner looked away, his face contorted with disgust and self-anger. “Then you come and bring it up again after all this time.” He turned back to Trough with a scowl.

Trough looked rather shaken and he grimaced at Spinner’s expression but hearing his story truly did make him feel sorry for Spinner. He understood what he felt like to be teased and wishing that either he was out of the picture or the bullies and that had been a form of stress relief for him for years, imagining all the ways the trio might get taken out of the picture but at a cost of making himself feel like he was a bad person for thinking such things. “I’m really sorry Spinner, I know what bullying feels like and I had no intention on being bad to you” His apology was genuine and Spinner could see it in his face and could hear it in his voice.

“Thanks” he said, he held his and to Trough and after taking it they both made up with a shake of there hands, neither noticed Ducky watching from across the stream with a happy smile on her face.

“Ducky!”

“Petrie! What is it?” Ducky looked up to see Petrie panting, he looked like he’d flown a marathon against a headwind, his tongue was all droopy and his breathes were long and fatigued.

“No time to explain. You, Spike and friends, to The Secret Caverns now!”


*


The tap of claws on rock could be heard approaching slowly and in any normal circumstance Ruby would have been on guard but these were not normal circumstances hence the reason why Ruby completely overlooked the sound in her dry sobs. The cave she was in was rather dark but spacious but she lay right at the corner of the cave wall so it was not overly obvious where she was by sight to the new guest that had entered what could be called her ‘mourning cave’.

It wasn’t until Ruby could hear the tap of claws behind her that she turned her head up and stared into the glowing eyes of The Fast Biter or as he had recently called himself; Striker, however no one had called him by his name so far. “What do you want!? Can’t you leave me alone!?” she shouted in a dry, exhausted voice that was magnified and echoed by the cave. The Fast Biter stepped back, he didn’t look surprised even though he didn’t understand the leafeater that Ruby had hastily shouted in.

“I know what it’s like” he said dryly.

Ruby seethed as she switched to the Sharptooth language. “What do you know!? Nothing about me or how I feel! Now get away from me!”.

“No.”

Ruby glared at the insufferable Fast Biter.

“Are you completely daft, I said-!”

“I lost a brother”

Ruby coughed on her sentence as she had not expected that answer and by look she was being given, the look of familiar melancholy and depression of someone who had lost someone very dear to them was clear. The Fast Biter looked like he had aged several years in a few moments.

“Oh, I know what it feels like more then you know” Striker lay down next to her. “That was why I hunted those two Swimmers, it was my belief that the adult had killed my brother in cold blood, something I know is not true now”

“I can’t take it anymore, anymore of this I can’t take” said Ruby looking at the ground and closing her eyes.

“You can and you will,” The Fast Biter’s reply sympathetic but also firm.

“Are you that insensitive!?” shouted Ruby.

“No, I’m just hard” replied Striker with humourless laugh.
 
Ruby go up and walked to the cave wall away from him “If you not going to do anything useful then go away!” hissed Ruby with an angry bite to her words but they had no less effect on Striker then a leaf falling from a tree.

“We are so similar” he said.

Ruby looked back at him looking affronted to be compared to The Fast Biter that had hunted one of her friends with a ruthless persistence that rivalled Sharptooth himself. “No. We. Are. Not!” Ruby punctuated each word with a long breath as she glared at Striker, she pushed herself to her feet. “I’ve lost so much, those I hold close are always the ones in danger or the ones going, I lost my first friend and ‘you’ hunted someone that I trust and now I must loose even more!? What is wrong with this stupid, messed up world!?” Ruby’s voice rose the longer she talked without breath though her words were not as much aimed at Striker but rather the world around her as she held her arms up in emphasis. She stopped her rant breathless and hyperventilating her head angled down with her hands on her knees and tears falling to the ground at her feet.

“The fact that we have both lost so much makes us similar, I lost a brother, I’ve lost packmates and I have no family to ever return too” said Striker after a short respite for Ruby. He sounding more sympathetic however there was pain written all over his face. “You will get over it, with help or without it, take it from someone who knows” Striker wanted to say more, to help out, to really open himself and give her comfort but this was not what he generally did and by habit he stayed colder then he wanted and he knew that he could never risk opening his heart to anyone, he would stand alone as had ever since he lost his brother.

He left Ruby and walked out to the entrance of the caves to see quite a gathering. The children that he assumed where Ruby’s friends were all heading off towards a shady spot beneath some trees where a family of Fast Runners rested.

Striker’s eyes hardened and he took off at a sprint out towards the distant cliffs; he still had work to do.


*


The Stone Circle

“How can we be sure that whatever that Fast Biter said is the truth?” said Mr Thicknose. He stood in the middle of the circle with the grown ups all listening, the fact that a Fast Biter who had an apparent history with Sura had shown up and returned an egg to her and said that Red Claw was coming into the Valley from the Badlands and that Screech and Thud wanted to defect had caused quite a stir among the Valley adults and a huge controversy. The question raised by Mr Thicknose had certainly been one that was on the minds of the adults; was the Fast Biter trustworthy? So far no one but Sura had any trust in him.

“Chomper said that he wasn’t lying and I could tell by the way he looked at me. What we should focus on is what we are going to do” said Sura.

“Your sister’s death has clouded your judgement” said Topps firmly receiving a few nods of support. “The Fast Biter that hunts you gives you an egg that was supposably from your sister and you instantly trust him. Can’t you see that he’s using you!”

“Don’t you dare bring my sister into this Mr Threehorn! Your right that I’m still recovering from losing my sister but to say that I can’t tell if I’m being used is wrong. I know that I can trust that Fast Biter despite our past and don’t ask me how, it’s just a feeling” said Sura, she was rather affronted by Topps comments but she stood firm to her beliefs. “What if The Fast Biter is right and we let Red Claw attack us even after we have been warned we should at least be prepared to mount some kind of defence” said Sura.

Many looked at Sura like she was paranoid a few wore sympathetic expressions as they certainly believed that she was mentally exhausted from her recent trauma a few however did believe that a defence should be prepared just in case but no one trusted The Fast Biter.

“Sura, I’ve scouted the Badlands and have found nothing and I even went into The Mysterious Beyond and Red Claw and his Fast Biters were all out there, not a threat” said Ariel slowly.

“He might just be biding his time. The Badlands are not exactly the most accessible of places and in The Cold Time there is not much food” said Sura after a brief moment of thought.

“I think it is time to stop this pondering,” A new voice said. Everyone turned to face the entrance. A tired and somewhat thinly deep purple Fast Runner stood, his expression, tired and grim. There were signs that he had been morning. “I sent my eldest daughter here to learn how you all work together and I must say that the children have been greater teachers then their elders.”

There were a few gasps of disgust “The nerve” said a Domehead. Topps directed a furious look at Ruby’s father and growled but he was cut off when the Fast Runner continued his speech.

“Whether Red Claw is coming into The Valley or not is irrelevant. It is time that The Great Valley dinosaurs and those that inhabit The Mysterious Beyond put aside their differences and unite. Red Claw has been plaguing the Mysterious Beyond for too long and you all stand here happy to be safe in your little paradise till the plague comes to you.”
 
No one interrupted Ruby’s father as he took the main floor in The Stone Circle.

“How long would tyrants like Sharptooth have been around if all the herds united initially? We cannot wait for a new Great Sharptooth to come into existence. If we unite as one then Red Claw will be finished once and for all. I propose that the herds unite and with the help of the Fast Biter, Screech and Thud and us Fast Runners we bring the fight to Red Claw and if we can’t do that then we at least prepare for what I’m sure will be his inevitable coming”

There was silence as Ruby’s father finished his speech but no one said anything as they were still processing what he had just spoken and it was indeed a lot to take in.

It was Topps that finally spoke up.

“You expect us and Sharpteeth to work together?!” he said as if the idea was unthinkable.

“If your kids and my Ruby can do that with Chomper then what is stopping you from doing the same? I know that Red Claw has been hunting your kids, wouldn’t you want that threat to be eradicated?” hit back Ruby’s father firmly.

There were a few shocked murmurs among the gathered adults at the Fast Runner’s tenacity, but a few couldn’t help but feel inclined to help him in his cause. “Well, perhaps we should allow some time to think on this and then we shall meet back here in the morning and have a vote on Mr Fast Runner’s proposal” said Grandpa Longneck.

The meeting area largely dispersed except for the parents of The Gang.

“I should let you know that if your children don’t turn up then don’t worry they will be helping Ruby and will stay for as long as needed” said Ruby’s father.

“How is she?” asked Grandma Longneck, she truly felt for the grief that the youngling was feeling.

Ruby’s father looked up, tears in his eyes and he took a shuddering breath “She’s inconsolable…..Losing a sister tends to do that to a child.”


*


The echoes of many footsteps echoed throughout the cave as Chomper led his five friends through The Secret Caverns. Everyone had anxious looks on their face except for Petrie who despite being worried was rather breathless, he lay on Spike’s back in exhaustion after warning each of his friends at full speed and he did indeed come up against a head wind for most of the time and wind flying was never Petrie’s strong point but he still managed to get through it though he would need a long time to recover from his rather hard flight.

“And she’s been like this since her family arrived?” asked Littlefoot with grave concern to Chomper.

“Yes, her parents showed up two days ago. The Cold Time has been very hard on them and they all looked really thin and hungry, they were hoping that they would be able to find shelter and food here but Ruby’s little sister didn’t make it, she starved” said Chomper as they walked.

There was a massive sigh of sadness from the friends. “Poor Ruby” said Ducky looking down. Spike gave a sad whimper along with a nod of his head.

“We tried to help her but she wouldn’t talk to any of us, that’s why we need your help” said Chomper.

“Wait” said Cera, “You need our help? What about you and her family, she has them now surely they can help he?” She said sceptically.

Chomper stopped in front of them. “I don’t know but for some reason she will not accept help from them.” He slumped down. “You guys, we are just like family to her and if anyone can get through to her when her real family can’t, it’s us” said Chomper.

His statement had a lot of gravity. It was easy to say that Ruby was a friend but at the same time to the gang she was there family, it was same for all of them, The Gang was not just a bunch of friends that had been forged in the harshest of trials, it was these adventures and misadventures that they became more then friends but one family. Ruby was no exception, she had spent so long away from home with virtually no contact with her birth family with one exception and in that time, she had been on many adventures with her friends and the bonds of friendship soon started to become the ties of family. A family that Ruby had when she was away from her real family.

And at the moment Ruby’s Great Valley family was closer then her real family so they were the best chance of providing comfort and closure for Ruby.

The group had now moved into the range of Ruby’s now very subdued and occasional sobs which almost stopped them all in their tracks. To hear Ruby cry like this was so hard to bare and it was obvious that she was in a terribly frail state both physically and mentally. It was in silence that the gang stopped and beheld Ruby.

The Fast Runner was still up against the cave wall and she was a right mess. She lay on her belly exhausted from sobbing, her eyes were red and tear tracks were clearly seen on her cheeks and she had very large bags under her eyes indicating that she hadn’t slept. Her nose was also very much blocked but at the height of her crying she had blown out quite a lot of the internal contents of her nose and as a result her arms and wrist feathers were covered with mucus and snot but that did not seem to even register in Ruby’s mind. Her head was angled at the wall and her breaths came in shudders, she hadn’t noticed the gang enter yet.

“Ruby” said Littlefoot in a shocked voice he looked like he was seeing a ghost and, in some senses, he was. The Ruby he was seeing was barely a shadow of her former self, her sister’s death had been a devastating blow for her.

Ruby let out a sharp exhale when she heard Littlefoot and her head jolted up as if pulled up by a string and she croaked “Go-“ her voice broke and fell silent and flat, she was spend and didn’t even have the strength to form proper words anymore, she crouched against the wall but her friends walked up to her and sat down beside her with Ducky jumping onto her back and Cera and Littlefoot at her side and Spike with Petrie and Chomper facing her.

Ruby couldn’t handle it anymore, she had no strength to run away in any sense so she just hid her head in her arms even as her friends lay around her after a few chocked sobs she grabbed the first thing in sight which was Chomper who was standing in front of her. Chomper was caught off guard but was relieved that Ruby was only hugging tightly and letting out dry sobs. “I’m sorry” she whispered to him, it was all she could say.

She finally started to feel at home with Chomper hugging her and Ducky comfortingly rubbing her back and her friends all gathered around her in a show of support that she had never been given her whole life. It turned out to be just what she needed. Her sobs died down and within a few minutes she lay amongst her friends hardly able to speak but comforted enough to have no need to continue mourning.

“You feeling any better Ruby?” said Chomper.

Ruby nodded, she truly did feel better, she was spent from crying and isolation but now when the company she needed finally arrived she felt a like she had regained a tiny bit of the love that she had so recently lost.

“Thank you, thank you everyone” said Ruby she sounded tired but significantly better. However, Ruby was not as strong in a physical sense as she had been before she was graced with the unexpected arrival of her family. This was highlighted when she tried to stand and take a step forward and only ended up falling forward but thankfully Littlefoot dashed in front and stopped her before she hit the ground. Ruby gratefully leaned on his body and with Chomper coming to her other side and surrounded by her friends she made her way out of the cave.

Standing in the clearing below the entrance of the caves were all of Ruby’s surviving family members including her mother, father and brother. They all looked up to them when they appeared and there was a genuine feeling of relief for them as Ruby appeared to be finally pulling through the worst part of the pain. The Fast Runner family walked over to meet Ruby. It was a surreal feeling for Ruby, she felt like she was with two different groups but both she considered family; one was her birth family and the other was her Great Valley family.

Ruby was escorted into the waiting arms of her birth family for the first time since her she returned to Hanging Rock. When they had first arrived the only thing that she embraced was the body of her starved and shrunken sister who was on death’s door, she only lasted long enough for her to hug her older sister and say her last word; “Ruby”. Her own name as spoken by her sister had echoed in her head for ages since then and the image that went with it, the image of her sister breathing out her last breath had and was still haunting Ruby.

But now those feeling of pain were momentarily kept at bay when she finally embraced her family once again. They were her warmth in this cold time, they reminded her that while life could often be cold and cruel, the ones that she loved would often be the ones to warm up her life and that is precisely what Ruby was feeling now. That despite all the sadness and cold isolation she had put upon herself the proper reunion with her family warmed her up enough to keep away the cold that had been so dominant for her these past couple of days.

“Oh Ruby” said her mother. She couldn’t say anything more she just held her in her arms. She helped escort Ruby along with her brother to the shady spot under the tree and laid down with them together as they had not done since before she had left for The Great Valley but her mate stayed behind with The Gang.

“Thank you, kids. We were at a loss at what to do, she didn’t seem to come out for anyone” he said to them.

There was a general thanks from the friends but this was taken humbly as they all were still concerned for Ruby’s wellbeing.

“Will she be ok?” asked Cera, the look of understanding on her face said clearly that she had experienced the same kind of grief.

“She will recover……. eventually” said Ruby’s father. He let out a giant sigh. “We did not think to expect a Cold Time this harsh and because of our arrogance we must all suffer” He certainly sounded like he had been through a rough time, his voice was gravelly and tired, just as his body was but his expression was one of deep regret that was clear to all members of the Gang that had lost someone close. It was guilt; Ruby’s father obviously blamed himself for all the misfortune that had befallen his family but he was not met with scorn but sympathy.

“It not your fault, Ruby Dad” said Petrie with a shake of his head.

“You can’t be prepared for everything” said Littlefoot in support.

“And blaming yourself will not help anyone nope, nope, nope” said Ducky.

Ruby’s father took a great huff, he knew they were all right and it reinforced his point that these children were wise beyond their years but despite this knowledge, he still felt the pain of a father who had failed his child. “Thank you again for being there for our Ruby, you can let us be to be with our daughter, it’s been to long” Ruby’s father turned away and walked back to his family. Ruby was laying beside her mother and fast asleep from exhaustion but there was still content that she was at last with her family again.


*


“If only I knew of this sooner” growled Striker under his breath as he sprinted down a track, hidden from the naked eye but once you got past the large amount of close knotted trees and shrub which was a slow process then there was a path uncovered on the other side. A long, broad, rocky path that led down the side of the Badlands and straight down right in front of the clearing that he first arrived at after he passed through the secret entrance. Now he knew a way through the Badlands that would bypass every labyrinth that he had navigated for ages and not only that but this path was large, large enough to easily fit large dinosaurs like Two Footers and even Longnecks on it without any difficulty.

This path was the key.

It had everything that was needed for his plan to be successful but first he had to set it into motion and that is precisely what he was doing. It was night time and the stars were covered by clouds making it perfect for stealth operations and considering the condition of Ruby it had been rather easy to give his two ‘supervisors’ the slip.
 
Striker ran through the passage and out into The Mysterious Beyond at full speed, a cloud of dust billowed behind him he sniffed in deeply, trying to get a whiff of the scent that he was looking for; it didn’t come. It would appear that Red Claw had chosen to find more suitable grounds to hunt but that didn’t dissuade Striker. He returned to the sight of the battle which he remembered very clearly and stopped to look at the ground for footmarks but it was a useless endeavour as the snow had long since covered up any. He did however give pause when he saw the bleached bones that belonged to Sura’s sister.

He let out a huff and moved away, without footprints or a scent he needed to find high ground, looking over the flat plains of the desert there was one outlier that caught his eye. A tall dune a few kilometres away. Striker took off for it at a more conservative speed but it didn’t take away too much from his speed. He soon arrived at the dune which had a small cap of snow near the top. With a tired huff he planted his claws and feet into the dune and slowly started to scale it. He growled at the cursed obstacle, it was a drain to reach up to even half way let alone the top, he stopped only a few moments to look up at the top of the dune and just by luck there was a passing desert tarantula. Striker didn’t hesitate to devour it before moving on, he took a lot longer then he wanted it but by the time he reached the top he had a vantage point that allowed him to see as far as the naked eye could.

It was from this vantage point that fortune or misfortune depending on which view his plan was viewed in smiled on Striker. He found what he was looking for and ran along the ridge he had a good distance to cover but like before it was nothing that would stop him. As he ran along he couldn’t help but be conflicted by his choice but he shook his head, this was something he had to do, it was the best move and most of all it was the right move not matter what others thought. As he approached Red Claw he slowed the Sharptooth was sleeping but to Striker great surprise was that he was far from alone, including Screech and Thud there was an additional ten Fast Biters sleeping nearby.

Striker’s eyes narrowed and he stopped to glare coldly at the new additions to Red Claw’s ‘cause’. The tyrant had probably been advertising this new secret way into The Great Valley and in the midst of The Cold Time, it wasn’t surprising at just how much of a following you could generate if you offer them a large surplus of food. “Poor fools” thought Striker as he approached Red Claw, he noticed that once again only Screech and Thud were awake but they would not be the only ones awake for much longer.

“ROAR!”

Everyone jumped and went to their feet but when there didn’t seem to be a cause Striker stepped forward out of the shadows. “Red Claw!” he called. The blood eyed Sharptooth turned to Striker.

“I remember you from the battle.” He pointed a claw at him to which Striker nodded. “Who are you and what do you want.” His eyes narrowing.   

“I heard what that Swimmer said about the secret way into The Great Valley, I have scouted through its Badlands and I can get you into the heart of The Great Valley in less then a day” said Striker.

Every Sharptooth gave him sceptical looks but his scent didn’t lie and that is what gave Red Claw a huge grin but then went back to his harsh demeanour. “Tell me where it is!” He growled harshly.

“I can only show you” said Striker in a deeper voice as he locked eyes with the giant tyrant. “I will lead you into The Valley and all I want is to partake in the feast. I cannot do this alone and you cannot get into the Valley effectively with surprise without me. We need each other and those leaf lickers are unsuspecting. Together we shall catch them unawares and have a giant feast.”

Red Claw broke off eye contact and bellowed out to the gathered Fast Biters. “We leave immediately, by tomorrow the feast that we have all dreamed of shall begin!”

The Sharpteeth roared in unanimous agreement. They were coming and The Great Valley would have no chance of stopping them now but no one but the shocked Screech or Thud noticed the cold gleam in Striker’s eyes.

The Fast Biter’s plan was now in motion.

Welcome to GoF Tigress, nice to see another Aussie here, I'm also from Australia. Anyway hope you enjoy your time and if your interested in writing fanfiction then we have a monthly prompt challenge you try for.