Chapter 1: Visitors and Strangers
When Sonic returned home from his 6th visit with his dino friends, he explained to Tails his 'Werehog' condition. Tails was very surprised that Eggman was able to turn Sonic into a dark creature. Fortunately, Sonic didn't harm anyone as the Werehog and that he foiled Eggman's plan once again. Sonic also explained his other abilities as the Werehog, like stretching his arms long and great strength. Tails was astonished by such abilities. Sonic then asked how were they going to purify the dark power within him. Tails then said that they could use the Chaos Emeralds to help. Sonic then agreed with the idea. The yellow fox grabbed 3 emeralds and used their power on Sonic. The 3 emeralds shot a beam at Sonic. Sonic felt pain and shook a little as he felt the emeralds' power coursing through him. Suddenly, a dark mist came out of Sonic and then vanished into thin air. Tails then stopped the emerald beam. Sonic fell to one knee and breathed heavily for a moment. Tails walked to Sonic's side.
"How are you feeling? Are you okay?" asked Tails. Sonic then stood up and stretched a little. He then sighed and smiled.
"Feeling much better buddy! Thanks!" said Sonic. Tails smiled and nodded. Sonic then decided to run around his home and go exploring again. He was freed from his 'Werehog' form. After a month and a half later, Sonic decided to go visit the dino kids again. Tails was already working on a new time band for Sonic to use. He finished it in a few hours and then Sonic used it to go back into the past again. Sonic arrived in the Great Valley and found his dino friends by a hill. The kids smiled when they saw Sonic. They were always happy to see him. They gave him a group hug. Sonic then asked if he missed anything and the kids simply shook their heads. Sonic sighed in disappointment, but then he cheered up and played with the kids.
Meanwhile in Eggman's battleship…
Eggman was working on his next dangerous plan. The evil genius found a new partner since the Claw Heads betrayed him. Eggman talked to his new partner on his computer screen. This helper looked just like Eggman. Only he wore a black and yellow jacket over the red clothes. He also wore goggles on his bald head and had a gray mustache. This was none other than Eggman's alternate self: Eggman Nega. Both geniuses were planning to unleash an ancient monster born from fire and magma: Iblis, the Flames of Disaster. Nega explained to Eggman that he got the orb of Iblis and captured his 2 enemies. They were imprisoned in some sort of big orb like container. The prisoners were a silver hedgehog and a purple cat. They couldn't escape the trap with their abilities. Eggman smiled evilly when he saw the container.
"Excellent. I will finally destroy Sonic and take over this world, and then my world" said Eggman. The evil genius laughed evilly. Nega grinned evilly.
"Yes but we need one other power source to awaken Iblis. A large source of power. I couldn't find one yet" said Nega.
Eggman simply grinned. "Oh, don't worry. I will find one."
"Good. And when you destroy Sonic, I want you to bring me the Chaos Emeralds in exchange for my help" said Nega. Eggman rubbed his chin and then grinned.
"Very well then. You got a deal" said Eggman. The evil scientist bid farewell to his other self and the screen went black. Eggman then searched to find a great power source since 3 Chaos Emeralds wouldn't be enough.
Back with Sonic and the kids…
Petrie started to tell a tale that there was one creature that ruled the Earth a long time ago before any other Dinosaur came to be. It was brave and strong. It was… the Flyers. Cera disagreed though.
"What? That's not even close to the way it happened" said Cera. Littlefoot and the others ate some leaves nearby while Sonic sat with the group. Sonic lightly smiled as he and the rest watched as Cera and Petrie continued arguing about Petrie's silly tale.
"Is too" said Petrie.
Cera frowned. "Says who?"
"My Uncle Pterano, that who. He tell me all about it when me just nestling" stated Petrie.
"Well, he told you wrong" said Cera. Petrie groaned and then ate some leaves.
"I did not know you had an uncle" Ducky said as she ate a leaf.
"Me neither. But I don't think the Flyers were really the first of the Dinosaurs" Sonic said with a chuckle. Petrie then sighed in sadness.
"So what happened to your uncle?" asked Ducky.
"Well, he go away when we all babies" said Petrie.
Cera scoffed. "Ha! You mean he was sent away. My father once told me that the grownups kicked your uncle out of the herd."
Petrie frowned and tried to charge at Cera but Spike grabbed his wing and stopped him.
"Wow! What did he do?" Littlefoot asked with a surprised expression.
"Uh, I forget that part. But I do remember it was pretty awful" said Cera.
"I wonder what Pterano did that was bad" thought Sonic. Petrie groaned in annoyance at what Cera said about his uncle. He flew to the edge of a log and landed with an 'hmph!' Petrie then saw a big herd walking by. They were not from the Valley.
"Ooh! Lookie!" Petrie said as he pointed at the herd. Sonic and the others also watched the herd.
"I don't think I've seen them before" Sonic said as he raised an eyebrow.
"Who are they?" asked Ducky.
"Far Walkers. Grandpa said we were coming into the Wandering Time" answered Littlefoot.
Sonic rubbed his chin. "Far Walkers huh?" thought Sonic.
"Where are they wandering from?" asked Ducky.
"Away from the cold lands, looking for food" answered Littlefoot. Littlefoot then said that the Far Walkers will rest, eat, and then go back on their way. Cera complained that the Far Walkers would try to eat a lot of their Tree Stars.
"Only if you not eat all them first" Petrie mumbled with a frown.
Cera then frowned at Petrie. "What did you say?" said Cera.
Petrie got nervous. "Uh I say, oh gee that sure be the worst."
Cera then glared at Petrie and growled. Sonic then frowned at Cera.
"Let it go Cera. There's plenty of Tree Stars for everybody" said Sonic. Cera frowned at Sonic and then hmphed. The parents then started to call the kids to come back to their nests. Cera still scoffed at Petrie's tale. Petrie still believed it because he idolized his uncle. They all started to head back home. Sonic followed Littlefoot back to the Longneck nest.
At nighttime…
Sonic and Littlefoot went to sleep at the Longneck nest. Littlefoot started to dream again. He dreamed that he, Sonic and the others were just enjoying a beautiful day. The sun shined brightly. Suddenly, dark clouds formed and blocked out the sun. It started to storm as lightning appeared in the clouds. Some dinosaurs started to run while in a panic. Sonic and the kids wondered what was happening. The kids were afraid and confused. Sonic was surprised but had a brave expression. Suddenly, they all saw a glow in the sky. It was a meteorite that appeared. It flew close by. Sonic and the kids watched as the meteorite then started falling from the sky. It landed a few feet away from Sonic and the others with a 'BOOM.' Sonic and the kids then ran over to the meteorite. They all examined it. They were surprised that the space rock glowed orange and was still on fire. Suddenly, the fiery rock started to crack. The cracks spread all around the rock and then it fell apart. Suddenly, the earth began to shake violently. The kids screamed 'Earthshake!' with great fear. Sonic looked around the ground. The earth began to split apart. Littlefoot and Sonic got separated from the others. The earth started to crack open all around them. They saw lava boiling below them. Suddenly, they saw something rising from the lava. It was the lava monster from before. Littlefoot didn't know that the magma monster was Iblis. The great magma monster rose from the earth and roared greatly. The kids screamed in fear as they saw that Iblis was enormous and intimidating. Iblis had curved horns and green reptilian eyes. Sonic and Littlefoot went wide-eyed when they saw that Iblis saw the others on the ground. He roared and raised a claw to the sky, ready to crush them. "Run!" Sonic yelled to the other kids. The others ran while screaming. Iblis brought down his right claw to the ground. Fortunately, the claw missed the kids but it created a shockwave that knocked the others off their feet. The kids got back up as quickly as they could. Suddenly, more cracks formed in the earth beside them. The ground was crumbling before them! Cera and the others had terrified expressions. They ran as fast as they could to the large rock land where Sonic and Littlefoot were. But the crumbling earth started to catch up with them. Spike and Petrie fell down below while screaming. Sonic and Littlefoot gasped as they watched Spike and Petrie disappear. Cera and Ducky made it to the edge of their rock land. Sonic told them to jump to their side. Cera and Ducky got ready to jump but it was too late. The land crumbled and Cera and Ducky fell, screaming in fear. They too disappeared. Sonic and Littlefoot gasped greatly. Sonic then looked towards Iblis. The great magma monster roared again and got ready to crush them as well. Sonic then picked up Littlefoot and ran. Suddenly, fire erupted in front of them, blocking their path. A great wall of fire blocked their escape. Both Sonic and Littlefoot then turned towards Iblis. The monster then hit the ground with his claw near them and the earth began to crumble around them. They both were stranded on a rock column, surrounded by a sea of lava. Iblis roared again. But Sonic refused to back down. Sonic then glared at Iblis and charged up his spin dash. He jumped and dashed at Iblis. But the great fiery beast simply smacked Sonic away with a backhand. Littlefoot gasped greatly as he watched Sonic fly far away. Littlefoot was now alone. He looked around for a way out but it was hopeless. He was stranded. Iblis then looked at Littlefoot. The monster growled at the little Longneck. He opened his mouth wide. His mouth glowed and burned with fire. He was going to shoot fire at Littlefoot! Littlefoot went wide-eyed as he watched Iblis spit out a fireball. It flew towards Littlefoot who screamed in fear. He ducked down and covered his head. But then suddenly, a bright light appeared and destroyed the fireball. Littlefoot then got back up. He went wide-eyed when he saw that a flying being was in front of him. The being was glowing bright yellow. The being turned and looked at Littlefoot. Littlefoot was astonished to see that being was Sonic. Sonic smiled at Littlefoot and Littlefoot smiled back. Sonic flew and landed beside Littlefoot. Suddenly, Littlefoot spotted some glowing lights in the sky. They flew towards Sonic and Littlefoot. They landed in front of them. Littlefoot was astonished to see that the lights were the other kids, alive and well. Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike glowed just like Sonic. Littlefoot was happy to see that his friends were okay. Though he didn't understood why Sonic and the others were glowing and how they could fly. Iblis then roared again. Sonic and the kids turned to face Iblis. The magma monster walked towards them and raised both claws, ready to attack. Suddenly, Littlefoot started to glow brightly like the others. Iblis then stopped his attack and covered his eyes while roaring in pain.
Littlefoot woke up with a little gasp. He looked around in the night. Everything was normal. Littlefoot really wondered what the monster from his dream was. He then sighed. Sonic yawned and woke up when he heard Littlefoot's sigh. Sonic rubbed his eyes and looked at Littlefoot who looked a little upset.
"You okay Littlefoot?" asked Sonic. Littlefoot looked at Sonic.
"Uh, I'm okay. Just had a bad sleep story" answered Littlefoot. Sonic raised an eyebrow. He wondered if his Longneck friend was alright. Suddenly, Sonic and Littlefoot saw a light in the sky. They saw that a meteorite was flying by. The meteorite was blue colored and was covered with blue fire. It made crackling sounds of fire itself. Both Sonic and Littlefoot watched the fiery stone fly by with fascination. They watched as the flaming rock flew far away and landed on a mountain resembling a Three-Horn. It landed with a small 'BOOM.'
Littlefoot and Sonic smiled. Littlefoot answered with a 'Wow' while Sonic answered with an 'Hmm.'
"Grandpa! Grandma! Did you see it?" Littlefoot said as he went to wake his grandparents. Both grandparents woke with a yawn. Littlefoot asked his grandparents about seeing the flying rock. But his grandparents didn't understand what he meant. Littlefoot was confused.
"You didn't see it?" said Littlefoot. Both grandparents simply shook their heads. Sonic walked over to Littlefoot. Littlefoot looked at Sonic.
"Sorry, Littlefoot but they were asleep. I think we're the only ones who saw it" said Sonic. Littlefoot then sighed in sadness. Sonic then told Littlefoot that they will discuss it the next day and try to get some rest. Littlefoot nodded and they both went back to sleep.
However, Eggman's computer picked up an energy source from the meteorite. Before Eggman was about to rest as well, his computer started beeping and making other computer sounds. Eggman heard the sounds and examined his computer. His computer explained that a source of high energy landed nearby. Eggman rubbed his chin and then grinned.
Next Day…
Littlefoot's grandparents explained to Littlefoot that they wanted to know about the special thing Littlefoot saw. All of the dinosaurs gathered together along with Sonic and the other kids. Some of the Far Walkers wanted to know about it too. However, they didn't know that Eggman's spy bot was watching yet again. Littlefoot then said that the special thing was a flying rock.
"There. You see? Nothing unusual about a flying rock. We've all seen them" said Topps.
"Yeah, but this one was different" said Littlefoot. Topps rolled his eyes and groaned. Littlefoot explained some more.
"It flew real low and it shined like the Bright Circle, only blue, and it made a crackling sound like fire in the trees" said Littlefoot. Some of the dinosaurs chattered amongst themselves about the special meteorite. A Stegosaur then stepped forward with a frown.
"Look here. Nobody else saw this thing. How do you explain that?" said the Stegosaur. Sonic then stepped forward.
"Well I saw it too. This flying rock really seemed different. It could be an energy source" said Sonic.
The other dinosaurs raised an eyebrow. They wondered if there really is such a thing. The Stegosaur then frowned.
"Energy source? Hah! That's ridiculous!" said the Stegosaur.
Sonic then frowned while crossing his arms. "We know what we saw, right Littlefoot?" Sonic looked at Littlefoot.
Littlefoot nodded. "I think that it was something special."
Eggman listened through his spy bot when he heard Sonic mention that the meteorite could be useful energy. "Hmm. This could be the source of energy I need to complete my plan" Eggman said with a grin.
Some of the Dinosaurs were skeptical of the special flying rock. Littlefoot then looked at his grandpa.
"You believe me, don't you Grandpa?" asked Littlefoot. Grandpa Longneck then told his grandson that he does but he was also skeptical about it. He told Littlefoot that perhaps it was something that he saw only in a sleep story and that he was still tired. Sonic sighed in defeat. Littlefoot also sighed but then he remembered the meteor from his dream and the fiery beast. He felt a little worried but then decided to pay it no heed for now. But it looked like nobody believes Sonic and Littlefoot about the special meteor.
"It's always like this isn't it?" said a voice. Sonic and the others then saw 2 Gallimimusses coming in. One was a male who was dark green colored and the other was female who was light green colored. They both also had blue, yellow, and orange colors on their beaks. They were called the Rainbow Faces.
The light green one spoke next. "Yes. If they don't see it with their own eyes, it doesn't exist. What limited thinking."
The dinosaurs raised an eyebrow. Sonic did as well. The Rainbow Faces seemed strange.
"Uh, I beg your pardon, Mr…?" said Grandpa Longneck.
"Oh, my name is Orion" said the dark green Rainbow Face.
"And I'm Zena" said the light green Rainbow Face.
"Anyway, what if the little Longneck did see something extraordinary?" said Orion.
"Miraculous" added Zena.
Topps then frowned and said "Impossible."
Zena frowned a little as she looked at Topps, "Really? Have you really seen all there is to see? Are there no mysteries left for you?"
"Well, uh… um, no" replied Topps.
Orion then came in. "Ah. Then why do you call the Mysterious Beyond 'Mysterious'? Why not the 'Boring' Beyond or the 'Oh, Nothing Out Here of Any Interest to Us' Beyond?"
"Or what about your Runner friend? He's not from around here" Zena said as she gestured to Sonic. Sonic then raised an eyebrow.
"How did they know that?" thought Sonic. The Dinosaurs didn't introduce Sonic to the Far Walkers and yet, the Rainbow Faces knew.
"What if the Runner is from somewhere that is also incredible?" said Zena.
"Don't you ever wonder what's out there? Beyond the Mysterious Beyond?" said Orion. The Rainbow Faces started to explain that there could be many wondrous things beyond their home and far beyond the Mysterious Beyond. And that there is so much more to everything. Sonic, Littlefoot, and the others were fascinated by such amazing things like the stars or the comets. Cera didn't believe in such things though because she only believes in what her own eyes tell her. Topps then asked the Stegosaur if they were friends of the Far Walkers. The Stegosaur then said that they weren't and that they joined their herd recently but they were very strange. They always asked interesting questions and talked in riddles. The Rainbow Faces then said that everyone could use their imagination in great ways. Some of the dinosaurs were also astonished by what the Rainbow Faces explained but they were still confused.
"I'm sorry but what are you saying?" asked Grandpa Longneck.
"We're saying that what if this was no ordinary flying rock?" said Zena.
"What if it was, for example, a Stone of Cold Fire?" said Orion. The other dinosaurs looked at each other in confusion and wondered what the Rainbow Faces meant about it. Littlefoot then asked what is a 'Stone of Cold Fire?'
"Glad you asked" said Zena.
"Some say that these stones can shine light without heat" said Orion.
"Some believe they can give powers far beyond our comprehension, heal the sick, and other miracles" added Zena.
Eggman then believed that the meteor that fell could be the great power source he needed. However, the dinosaurs didn't know that a Flyer was watching from the shadows. He had a dark grin on his face. It seemed that he was also interested in the stone's power.
End of Chapter 1
Yes, the Rainbow Faces will have names in this story. I thought it would be silly to call them 'Rainbow Face 1 and 2' or 'Male and Female Rainbow Face.' They are alien dinosaurs after all.