Chapter 1: Return of the Runner
Littlefoot and his friends, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike, were having a good time in their newfound home, the Great Valley. They were now safe and reunited with their families again. Some mountains formed a wall around the Great Valley. The great wall kept Sharpteeth out of the peaceful valley, though the valley itself also had dangers of its own like tar pits, or the Sinking Sand they called it. Grandpa Longneck called his grandson, Littlefoot, back to their home for some breakfast. However, 2 Struthiomimus were watching from some tall plants. One was gray colored, named Ozzy, and the other brown colored, named Strut. Strut had an interest in eating plants like the Leaf Eaters but Ozzy was interested in eating the dino eggs. Ozzy didn't want his brother to be like the Leaf Eaters.
Grandpa Longneck gave the last tree star to Littlefoot. The little Longneck tried to get some leaves of his own from a small tree. But the tree flung him over to some hot geysers nearby. Fortunately, his grandpa saved him from the hot blast. Littlefoot sometimes didn't like being so little but his grandfather assured him that he will grow up soon one day.
Littlefoot had his head down. He felt some wind. He looked up at the sky and sighed. His grandfather looked at him curiously. He wondered what was troubling his grandson.
"What's the matter Littlefoot?" asked Grandpa Longneck. Littlefoot lifted his head and looked at his grandpa.
"Oh, nothing. I just miss a friend" said Littlefoot. "His name was Sonic."
"Who's Sonic?" asked Grandpa Longneck. Littlefoot smiled and said, "He was my best friend. He was the one who helped me and my friends find the Great Valley. He even fought a Sharptooth."
Grandpa Longneck was amazed at this. "Really? What was he like?"
"Well" started Littlefoot. "I couldn't tell if he was a grown up because he was little like me and a little taller. But he could run very fast. Faster than anything I've ever seen. He said that he was a Runner."
His grandpa was surprised and confused. He never heard of something like that before. "A Runner? I've never heard of a Runner or someone that little fight a Sharptooth. What did he look like?" he said.
"Well, he looks like a strange Spiketail on 2 legs" said Littlefoot. "But he was amazing. He promised to protect me and my friends from the Sharptooth, and help find the Great Valley. But he had to go back to his home when we found the Great Valley. I miss him." Littlefoot sighed again. He looked a little sad. He missed Sonic a lot.
His grandpa smiled and tried to cheer him up. "Well I'm grateful that he protected you and your friends. I'm sure that you will see him again someday. Perhaps I could meet him."
Littlefoot smiled at his grandfather. "That would be great!"
"Hey Littlefoot" shouted a voice. Littlefoot looked to see that it was Cera who called. "Come on" she said. She turned around and started to run. She wanted Littlefoot to come play with her and the others.
"Grandpa, can I go play?" asked Littlefoot.
"Have fun" said Grandpa Longneck.
Littlefoot ran to Cera and his other friends. Grandpa Longneck sighed as he watched Littlefoot run to play. "The valley is a wonderful place to grow up" said Grandpa Longneck.
Littlefoot and his friends went to go play Tag. Spike is the one who was it.
Meanwhile on Mobius…
Sonic was standing by a hill looking out into the distance. He started to miss his dino friends. So, he decided to go back to Tails' house to learn more about the Dinosaurs. He zoomed back to Tails' place in less than a minute. Once inside, Sonic went to one of the bookshelves and pulled out a book about the Dinosaurs. He was curious to know if there were more dangerous dinosaurs other than the T-Rex. He flipped past a few pages while looking at some pictures. Some images were Triceratops, Brachiosaurus, Apatosaurus, Gallimimus and others. He stopped at a page with a Struthiomimus. He read the page about it. He wondered if these dinosaurs were mean because he sees that they have claws. Tails was walking by and he saw Sonic reading a dinosaur book. He smiled and walked to Sonic.
"Learning some more things about Dinosaurs?" asked Tails.
Sonic looked at Tails and smiled. "Yeah, I wanted to know if there are other dino bullies than the T-Rex" he said. He then sighed.
Tails looked at Sonic curiously. "You miss your dino friends huh?" said the yellow fox. Sonic nodded.
Sonic went back to reading. Tails hovered over Sonic's shoulder. "So, what dinosaur you're looking at?" asked Tails.
"Well, I wonder if the Stru…Strew…thy…mimus was a carnivore or not" said Sonic.
"Struthiomimus" corrected Tails.
"Uh yeah" said Sonic. "I saw that this thing has claws. It says that there are theories that it could have been a carnivore or omnivore. But I don't see any sharp teeth though."
"Well" started Tails. "They say that this dinosaur ate leaves, insects, or tiny animals like mice. Others say that they ate eggs. Gallimimus is like a relative to this dinosaur."
Sonic raised an eyebrow. "They ate eggs? Does that mean…" he said. Tails nodded to confirm his thought.
Sonic went wide-eyed then frowned. "Well, looks like I just found another dino bully. I hope that they only ate plants."
"No one knows exactly what was its diet" said Tails. "Because of its bone structure and its beak, they couldn't tell if it was a carnivore or herbivore. Possibly an omnivore."
"But did they really eat the…" started Sonic with a sad expression.
"Actually, no" said Tails. "They ate the egg yolk. But with the egg cracked early, the baby will not be born."
Sonic then frowned again. "That's terrible. And I thought that the T-Rex was bad enough."
"Me too" said Tails.
Unknown to Sonic and Tails, a little robot was hovering nearby. It had one large eye watching them from a distance. It was a spy bot from their nemesis, Dr. Eggman. The evil genius was watching them from the spy bot. The robot let the evil genius see and hear what they were doing. He wore a big red vest and had a bushy brown moustache. Dr. Eggman watched on his large computer screen through the robot's eye. He grinned evilly.
"So, that's what they've been up to" said Eggman. "I wonder why Sonic is interested in the Dinosaurs. Hmm…" The evil genius was deep in thought. He then started to do some researching.
"I wonder what these guys were nicknamed?" pondered Sonic as he looked at the image.
"Well, some say they were nicknamed 'Claw Heads' or 'Egg Thieves'" said Tails.
Sonic then looked out the window. He really misses his dino friends. He sighed and said, "I just hope that they're okay."
"Don't worry Sonic" said Tails. He put a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "I'm sure that they're having fun at the Great Valley. I'm guessing that they miss you too."
Sonic nodded and smiled. "I guess you're right." Then he frowned. "But something tells me that Sharpteeth aren't the only problem." Sonic believed that it was about time to go see his friends again.
Back in the Great Valley…
Littlefoot and the others decided to play another game in a big patch of tall grass. They called it the Sheltering Grass. But the problem was, they had to cross the Sinking Sand to get to it. They were forbidden by their parents to go near the Sinking Sand without help. But they believed that they could cross it without trouble. Cera said that they should use the rocks to get across. Cera then ran and jumped to the nearest rock. At first she made it but she wasn't being careful enough. She slipped and fell into the bubbling pit.
The other kids gasped. "Cera! Hang on!" cried Littlefoot.
"Help!" cried Cera.
Littlefoot and the others tried to pull Cera out. Ducky grabbed Cera's horn. Littlefoot then grabbed Ducky's tail and pulled. But then he started to slip into the tar pit. He wasn't strong enough.
Petrie started to panic. "Oh my! No! What can I do?" he yelled. "I go for help! What? No! We not supposed to be here!"
Spike jumped and pulled at Littlefoot's tail. Petrie then pulled Spike's tail with his feet. All the kids pulled with all their might. But they weren't strong enough. Cera coughed and gagged. She tried to stay above the surface. "I wish Sonic was here" thought Littlefoot. Then suddenly, all the kids slipped into the Sinking Sand. They all struggled to get out but the tar pit was stronger. They all screamed for help.
"Cera?" said Cera's father Topps as he heard the screams. The other parents also heard the screams.
"Petrie?!" yelled Petrie's mother.
"Ducky! Spike!" yelled Ducky's mother.
"Littlefoot!" cried Littlefoot's grandparents. All the kids sunk below the gooey tar. Fortunately, their parents arrived just in time to save them. But the parents were angry at them. "Uh oh" said Littlefoot as he looked at the grown ups' angry looks. Later, the parents told their children that they need to be more careful. Unaware that 2 certain Egg Nappers were plotting to snatch an egg for dinner. Strut was still interested in plants but his brother, Ozzy managed to convince him that eggs taste better.
Later that night…
Littlefoot sat down on the ground and went to sleep. He had already said Good Night to his grandparents. While he slept, he was dreaming, or Sleep Story is what they called it, that he and his friends were having fun together. But then they saw a Sharptooth. It roared fiercely at them. They all screamed and started to run. They all managed to lose the Sharptooth through a big group of trees. Littlefoot looked behind himself to see if the Sharptooth was still following. The big lizard was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Littlefoot heard his friends screaming for help. He looked forward and saw that they were all in the Sinking Sand a few feet from him. He tried to run over to help but he couldn't move. He looked down. He was also sinking into the tar pit. He and his friends struggled to get out, but they sank deeper as the tar bubbled. Ducky looked at Littlefoot with sadness. Then she went under the surface. Littlefoot went wide-eyed as one by one his friends sank below the bubbling tar. He then thought they were doomed. Suddenly, there was a large gust of wind circling them. The wind grew stronger. A gray and black tornado was formed out of the tar. Littlefoot and his friends were pulled into it. The twister moved toward land. As soon as it touched dry ground, the tornado unraveled and dropped Littlefoot and the others on the ground. They all coughed out the tar. Littlefoot looked to see a familiar face. It was his Runner friend, Sonic. He rescued them from the tar pit. He smiled at them.
Littlefoot was smiling in his sleep as he remembered Sonic's words from before.
"I'll protect you from any Sharptooth or anything else that tries to hurt you..."
"Think of me when you feel the wind. Because you never know, I might just be running by…"
"Psst. Littlefoot wake up!" said a voice. Littlefoot started to wake up. He heard that the voice was Cera's.
"Huh? Cera? Where are you?" said Littlefoot.
"Over here" said Cera.
Littlefoot looked around but he couldn't see her. "Where?" he said.
"Here" said Cera. Littlefoot looked to see the voice was coming from behind some tall plants.
"What are you doing here?" asked Littlefoot.
"Shh. Quiet" said Cera.
"What's the matter?" asked Littlefoot.
"I can't sleep" stated Cera. "It's important. We've gotta talk."
"Now!?" said Littlefoot. Cera shushed him again and said, "Yes now."
They were on their way to discuss some things with all their friends. They wanted to show their parents that they are not hatchlings anymore.
Next Day on Mobius…
Sonic was asking Tails to start up the time machine again. Tails had to go get the 3 Chaos Emeralds out of a safe. He kept them there for safe keeping. The yellow fox put the emeralds in place and turned on the machine. The machine surged with electricity and a circular portal appeared. Sonic got into a racing stance.
"Well, see ya later Tails!" said Sonic.
"Alright!" said Tails. "Tell me if you saw anything new when I come to bring you back." Sonic nodded and zoomed into the portal.
Meanwhile, Eggman started to work on his own time machine. He managed to get 3 Chaos Emeralds as well. He heard what Sonic was doing through his spy bot. He came up with an evil plan. He also did some research on Dinosaurs. He became interested when he read about the T-Rex and the other dinosaurs.
"Maybe I could create an army of super dinosaurs" said Eggman. "Then I could finally crush Sonic once and for all. He He He" He laughed wickedly. The evil genius got a few other things ready for his ship. His time machine was built in a battleship of his. The 3 Chaos Emeralds were put into a device he put into the core of the ship. He started the ship up and took off.
"Enjoy your time in the past Sonic. For I assure you, it will be your last" said Eggman.
He laughed evilly and activated his time machine. His ship was covered with blue electrical energy. Arcs of Lightning encircled the ship. Then it vanished in a flash of light.
Into the Dinosaurs' time…
Sonic landed on a green hill. He looked around. He was happy to see plants and some Flyers.
"At least I arrived in the Great Valley" said Sonic. Just when he was about to take off, he heard someone talking. He walked closer to the sound. He pushed away some bushes. He went wide-eyed as he saw Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike were near the edge of a small cliff. They were cornered by the 2 Egg Nappers. Ozzy was mad at the dino kids for ruining his egg dinner. Sonic then glared at what he saw. "Looks like I found some Egg Thieves" thought Sonic.
"I'm warning you, you little leaf lickers" said Ozzy. "Stay out of my way or I'll…"
Just when Sonic was about to rush in to help, he heard another voice. "Leave my friends alone!"
"Huh?" said Ozzy and Strut. Sonic looked to see that the voice belonged to his Longneck friend, Littlefoot. He smiled as he saw Littlefoot stand up for his friends.
"Littlefoot!" said Cera.
"We are saved!" said Ducky. Ozzy started to gang up on Littlefoot.
"Just what I can't stand! A bossy weed whacker!" said Ozzy. Littlefoot backed up and slipped on a rock. He had a frightened look on his face. Ozzy laughed wickedly.
Littlefoot shook with fear. "Sonic where are you?!" he yelled in his mind.
Just when Ozzy was about to attack, the wind started blowing. It started getting stronger. It started circling the 2 Egg Thieves. Then they were surrounded by a blue whirlwind.
"What is going on?!" yelled Ozzy.
"I don't know Ozzy!" yelled Strut.
Suddenly, the wind stopped. Standing before Ozzy was Sonic, the Blue Runner. Sonic had a confident smile on his face and his arms were crossed. Littlefoot smiled as he saw his friend standing in front of him.
"Why don't you guys pick on somebody your own size?" said Sonic.
"SONIC!" yelled all the dino kids except Spike. Their speedy friend has returned.
End of Chapter 1
