oh-oh my... *gawk* Topps didnt... Topps did
Pterano shoudlnt' have jumped to conclusions like that, I mean Topps just wanted to- OMG Y I DEFENDING MR. THREEHORN NOW??
lol nice chappie, can't wait to find out what happens

=Part Twelve

“Littlefoot, why are we running?” Ducky managed in-between the jounces caused by Spike’s lumbering gait. The Gang had broken away from the Meeting Arch before they could get caught up in another debate, although surprisingly, the grownups really seemed to have a common goal in mind and things had been wrapped up relatively quickly.

Cera, pace matching the longneck's, called back. “For the last time, we’re going to see if Ruby and Chomper are okay, because in case you hadn’t noticed, they didn’t meet up with us after the earthshake!”

Petrie, catching the threehorn’s sharp retort, spoke back. “If they no meet up with us, maybe they trapped in cave and can’t get out.” The little flyer flapped over to Littlefoot and landed shakily on his head. “That what you think, Littlefoot?”

Littlefoot didn’t slow his pace any as he replied. “I don’t know, but it’s a possibility, Petrie. I just hope they were able to get to safety.”

“Me too,” Petrie nodded. He yawned suddenly, without meaning too. He hadn’t gotten too much sleep the previous night, even after his worries had been comforted. Petrie hadn’t been getting a good night’s sleep in since Pterano was banished a month ago, and though the Gang tried not to press it too much, they could tell Petrie was a little blue since he last saw his uncle. The little flyer wasn’t chatty or funny with his friends anymore and rarely participated in their games. Mostly, he stuck around because they were his friends and he liked the feeling that he was surrounded by those who supported him, but he still couldn’t bring up the fact that he missed his uncle terribly. None of them would understand; Littlefoot would listen and be sympathetic and assuring; Ducky would most likely give him a hug and tell him everything would be all right; Ruby and Chomper would want to know who Pterano was, which wouldn’t help his current state of mind at all; and Cera would scoff and insist he get over it, that Pterano wasn’t going to be gone forever, no matter how much certain members of the Valley would have preferred it.

And especially, they wouldn’t understand his hurt at seeing his uncle fly off for the last time. There was no accounting for the fact that Pterano had been around so infrequently during his hatch-hood that the little flyer barely even knew his uncle, but a big hole had opened up in Petrie’s heart that day, seeing the mysterious uncle he idolized so much be kicked out of the herd for the second time. The little flyer’s thoughts were interrupted as the Gang arrived at the blocked entrance of Ruby and Chomper’s cave.

“Oh no,” Littlefoot breathed. He leaned against the large rock and shouted as loud as he could. “Ruby! Chomper? Are you guys okay?”

No reply. Cera huffed and pawed at the ground. “Hey,” she said flatly to Littlefoot. “Move it,”

Littlefoot moved it. Cera snorted and dashed forward to hit the rock with successive force. A side of it splintered and crumbled, but it didn’t fall. The threehorn glared, backed up and charged again with a harsh squeal. This time, when her forehead connected with the stone, the whole rock shattered and the entrance opened up.

Cera shook her head to clear the dust off of it and turned back to her friends. “You coming?” Not waiting for a reply, she stepped in herself. Littlefoot followed, mentally cheering Cera’s hard-headedness, literally. The threehorn was always one to take action, especially if it involved smashing things.

Inside, the Gang could barely see through the thin layer of dust that clouded the air. “Ruby? Chomper?” Littlefoot called again.

“Hello? Guys?” Cera chimed in, her tone dropping slightly to indicate she was really worried.

Spike sent up a loud burble and Ducky shouted amid that. “Are you in here, Ruby and Chomper? Please, are you safe?”

Petrie didn’t say anything at first. He just stared absently about the dusty cavern. Cera, noticing the absence of the little flyer’s voice, shot him a look.

“What’s with you?” She inquired. Cera’s form of an inquiry sounded so much like an accusation that Petrie snapped out of his reverie, gulping nervously. He and Cera were close friends, but they were also highly critical of one another: Cera constantly teased Petrie of his many phobias and Petrie would come right back at her with some sort of whispered rebuke or insult.

“H-huh? What? Ohh… nothing; me-me fine. Really, honest!” Petrie quickly brushed it aside. Cera wasn’t swayed. By now, Littlefoot had also stopped, and Spike sort of coasted to a halt behind him, blinking up at the little huddled flyer on the longnecks’ back.

“What is the matter, Petrie?” Ducky asked, hopping off of Spike’s back and landing neatly on Littlefoot’s. She placed a gentle hand on Petrie’s back. “Do you need to talk to us? Do you?”

Spike made some sort of worried murmur as he nodded. Littlefoot turned his head around towards his passenger.

“Is everything all right, Petrie?” He asked quietly.

Petrie cleared his throat. “Me told you, me fine,” he insisted.

Cera frowned speculatively. “What’s wrong, Petrie? You can tell us.”

Petrie looked up, a sad look on his beak. “No, me can’t. You all just laugh.”

Littlefoot looked horrified. “Petrie, we would never do that! You’re our friend and whatever you’ve got to say, we’ll listen, I promise.”

Ducky agreed. “You are my bestest friend, Petrie, and I don’t ever laugh at you, no, no, no.”

Petrie looked out at the curious faces that surrounded him and sighed. “Okay,” he said slowly. “Me just… sad, that all.”

Littlefoot raised an eyebrow. “Is this about your uncle, Petrie?”

Cera rolled her eyes. “Oh, give me a break!” She snorted. “Petrie, he’s coming back; how many times do you need to be reminded? He wasn’t sent away forever, you know!”

Petrie’s head snapped about to face the threehorn and he glared angrily at her. “You no know that! He in the Mysterious Beyond where there sharptooths! He could no come back ever! You always say mean things about my uncle, but he not that bad! You no know what it like. Me not see Uncle Pterano since me was a baby, and now he go away, and me no know if me will ever see him again!” The flyer could feel hot tears well up and he broke off, huddling in his wings as he started to sob.

“Me miss him, so much,” he said dolefully.

The Gang was silent for a moment and then Ducky broke it with a quick and tight hug to her friend.

“Petrie, it is okay. Your uncle will come back, he will, he will.”

Littlefoot, after turning an exasperated frown Cera’s way, replied in assent. “That’s right, Petrie. Your uncle’s a pretty tough old flyer, and he can probably handle himself out there against any sharptooth he meets.”

“He is very brave, yes, yes, yes. Remember when he saved-ed me?” Ducky said with a smile.

“Yeah, Pterano will be back before you know it, Petrie.” Cera grumbled as she turned to resume the search for Ruby and Chomper.

Petrie snuffled as he wiped his tears away. He felt a little better, now finally getting that off his chest. He was glad he had friends like these, even Cera. He cracked a small smile at Ducky and Littlefoot.

“Thanks, me needed that,” he said quietly.

Cera’s voice came from farther back, from the back cavern. “Hello? Guys, we have a problem.”

Cera had found the blocked-up back entrance, but still no sign of Ruby or Chomper. Littlefoot frowned.

“This only comes out one way,” he mused. Ducky agreed.

“Yes, into the Mysterious Beyond,” she shivered slightly.

“And Redclaw,” Cera added with a sideways glance.

Littlefoot, face set, stared at the plug in the wall. You promised Grandma, a voice told him in his head. Don’t forget your promise. The longneck shook his head slowly.

“Yeah,” he finally spoke. “They’re… probably out there, now.”

Cera poked one of the rocks with her horn. “Well? What are we waiting for?” She eyed him critically. “Littlefoot, our friends are out there!”

The longneck turned away. “I know, but… I promised my grandma I wouldn’t go off to the Mysterious Beyond until we cover up all of the openings.” He looked back at Cera. “I owe her that; my grandparents are worried sick every time we go off.”

The threehorn glared back. “But you never let that stop you before,” she spat accusingly. “You’re just going to walk away now and forget about them?”

“No!” Littlefoot argued hotly. “I would never do that!”

“You’re doing it, now,” Cera hissed.

The longneck’s face was flushed as he replied defensively. “I am not!”

“Stop! Friends should not fight, no, no, no!” Ducky insisted.

Littlefoot inhaled deeply. “I-I… I just don’t know what to do right now.”

“We can worry about that when we get back. We’re just going to go out, find Ruby and Chomper, and then come back. We can explain everything later!” Cera insisted.

Littlefoot agreed inwardly. If they told the grownups now, there would most likely be a huge debate over what should be done. The longneck didn’t want to admit it out loud or at least to any of the adults, but he knew they were all afraid of the Mysterious Beyond – the Gang was too – but the kids didn’t let that get in the way of doing what they knew they had to. Though Ruby and Chomper both knew the Mysterious beyond pretty well, better than the rest of the Gang anyway, but they probably wouldn’t be able to survive for very long out there, especially if Redclaw, Screech and Thud were on the prowl.

Littlefoot let out his breath and nodded. “Let’s do it,”

=

Meh, I'm so lazy and blobbish right now... I blame summer  lol
waitaminnit!! Littlefoot, having second thoughts, about helping FRIENDS?! Then again, he is more often than not the ethical one of the group, even though he disobeys his grandparents in almost EVERY FRIKKIN EPISODE!
Enjoy^^

Your buddy Jared here.. is VERY VERY Digitally handicapped and challenged... It's so bad.

I don't know a thing about what you guys my age know like the back of your hand..   .. I don't watch new movies, play video games, CAN'T work an i-pod, CAN'T work an i-pad, CAN'T work a tablet device. We have no Blu-ray player in our family , I CAN'T work net-flix... I can't use a digital camera, or scan stuff.. oh.. and i don't have a facebook account or know how to use that.. and i'm not about to go convert the 60-65 cd's that i have...all onto an i-pod. :|

I gots no blu-ray, no i-pod, no i-phone, (I don't really even know the difference), no HD TV... just a lousy China-made device that basically crashed three months after it was bought...  
No MP3, no smart-phone, tablet... I just have a drawing tablet, dunno if that counts.
I don't have Netflix, I don't have FB, I don't see the need to not have CD's and stuff^^
I have VHS'... and a Wii, which is like "Wow, I'm in the future, I have a Wii!" that's how behind I am    

And... I don't need them^^ I just need my phone... and a charger

I thought this one. I think it would make sense that because of the changed mind state he starts to speak about his last lost memories which is about the trip from his home to the Great Valley. He could mention the unique sights, and we could follow them. And we could put some dangerous places there just to make it fun . What do you think about it?

Haha, that sounds neat. I like that idea, it would clear up his past for the gang

Heh, I'm just so out of it right now, going through awful writer's block and generally feeling lazy
anyway, sorry the last couple of chapters have been slow, this is where the action starts to pick u-- OMG!! THEY'RE FREAKIN' TR-?! erm, I mean, read on

=Part Eleven

Chomper and Ruby’s cave was nestled into the northwest side of the Great Wall; in fact, quite near the Rock Wall Entrance to the Mysterious Beyond. It was partially obscured from view by tall fronds and the fact that the entrance was rather lopsided and didn’t really look like an entrance at all.

Despite the unpredictable exterior, the inside of the cave was adjacent to numerous tunnels that all ended up leading to the Mysterious Beyond. Ruby and Chomper both agreed that a home like this would help them in their mission to find out more about Red-Claw, the tyrant sharptooth that was the new scourge of the Beyond; and possibly, how they would stop him.

When the earthshake hit, Ruby and Chomper dashed for the safety of their home, sliding through the entrance just in time before it was blocked off by a falling cave spike. Ruby shielded Chomper as she pushed him farther back into the cave where the cave spikes were fewer and the walls were sturdier; she knew that back here the cave could withhold immense force – force that would leave the front of their cave crumbling.

Upon reaching the rear of the cave, the two stopped, covering their ears from the terrific rumbling and trying to keep their balance on the unsteady, shaking ground. Before Ruby could tell Chomper to follow her to the absolute back corner to wait out this seism, it settled to a gradual halt and stopped.

That was before the few cave spikes cracked above their heads and rained down in an angry torrent to the floor, trapping them off in this back cavern; from here, there was only one way to run before they came out to the Mysterious Beyond on the other side. But, there was no time for second thoughts. Ruby and Chomper, pursued by the falling cave spikes and rolling boulders, they scrambled to the final entryway at the west corner and hurriedly cleared away the stones set up to shield them from the roaming sharpteeth beyond.

With the obstacles cleared, and the debris not letting up in the slightest, Ruby, despite her better judgment, and knowing there was no other way, shoved Chomper through the entry first before barreling out herself.

The two stood back as they waited for the dust to clear and the noise to settle. The roars and rumbles inside drew to a halt and there was silence from the inside of the cave. But there was a new problem – the rocks and boulders inside blocked Ruby and Chomper off from getting back inside their cave.

The pink fast runner sighed and hung her head. “Oh my, we should not have done that. Now we cannot get back inside.” She looked up and around them, worriedly. From far away, they could hear the strange cries of fast biters and other creatures that made this spooky place their home.

Chomper stared at the blocked-off entrance to their home. He bit his lip. “Well,” he said, trying to cheer his friend up. “We can always find another way back in. There are ways all around the Great Valley that lead here.” He laid a claw on Ruby’s shoulder.

“We’ll get back, you’ll see.”

Ruby looked at the little sharptooth, and then straightened and smiled. “You are right, Chomper – we’ll get back.” She looked up at the Bright Circle and her smile disappeared. “Soon, I hope.”

=

Bwa-ha-ha-ha... next part will be up soonish, what will the Gang do? Littlefoot, remember your promisssee  
Then again, won't be the first time he broke a promise... not to give anything away

Oh, I like where this is going.
I like how you described the battles as well. For some reason, I was thinking of LOTR during those sections
Well done, keep it up

Littlefoot: Well, gang? Any last words?
Spike: Burrito...
Petrie: Yeah, me think Burritos be nice now

Agh! again with the overused burrito joke! can't help it, tho^^

Petrie: Look what me doing and you cannot! Ohh, Cera mad, much? Huh? Huh? Cera getting madder??

Erm, okay, not sure if I will use this guy, but he just sorta developed into an OC, sooo...

Name: Dante

Age: 31 in human years

Species: Dromiceiomimus (Egg-eater, Claw-Hand, Dromi...)

Coloration: Ultramarine uppersides, with teal-blue borders and blue-gray undersides; light green eyes; crown of black, decorative quills; quills on flanks as well

Physical Appearance: Long, swan-like neck; wiry, lean build; more slender than, say, Struthios (). Large expressive eyes; beaked snout; longer, slimmer legs. Numerous slash-marks and scars

Bio: (this guy needs it) Dante ran away from his clan after he lost track of his little sister, Tonya, while they two were out looking for food. Not sure if she survived or not, Dante zealously began his search for his sister - not bothering to return and tell his clan about his mistake. His search brought him out to Saurus Rock, where Tonya's trail ended. Dante was ambushed by a pack of Terror-claws, an escape from which could only be described as a miracle. After dragging himself to the Great Valley, he felt it would be a good place to start over.

Personality: High-strung, rather jittery and nervous. Slow-to-warm-up, borderline xenophobic, except around children. He feels that adults will judge him. Tendency to be tongue-tied and flustered when he feels under pressure. He's also a crackin' good storyteller.

Speech Pattern: Non-accented, slow, soft speech. Quickens and rises when he's panicked or frustrated/tense. Has a sort of funny, trilling laugh.

Attributes: Dante has a good head on his shoulders, and he's also quite inventive. His right leg had been fractured in the terror-claw attack and had mended in a funny way, so speed is no longer and option. Dante has to rely on his brains to get him out of jams.

Never fly at night without your lights on...