WARNING: This chapter contains character death and slight mention of female body parts(in Dinotrux terms). Reader discretion is advised.
Ty's Offspring
Chapter 1 - A Heavy Burden
She knew she was running out of time, and that she had to act fast. The sand particles stung her eyes like needles, as she pushed against the harsh gale forces of the sandstorm.
But no matter how much her outer metal ached, or how much blood and oil she lost, she had to keep going. The survival of another fragile life depended on her making it to her destination.
She was aware that she wasn't going to be alive for much longer, and that the life she was brining into this world would need someone else to care for them. But first, she had to get there. She had to find him.
Just as thoughts of another important person in her life crossed her mind, one of her treads finally gave out from so much lubricant loss. She tried to shake any tiny droplets of oil out, but there was nothing left. Her efforts became even more futile when the countless bolts that were ripped out of her other tread had caught up to her, causing her to collapse in a hopeless heap on the ground.
Tears streamed from her eyes and sobs leaked from her mouth, as she began to think that maybe all hope was lost for her—for both of them.
But just as she began to close her eyes and accept death, a bright light shined in the pitch black skies. It was small and faint, but definitely there. She could only hope that if the rumors were true, she had gotten closer than she thought. There were no chances left for her making it through the night, but it might be enough for the other fragile life she was carrying.
Morning in the Flatirons after yet another huge sandstorm was as normal as you would expect: Sandy and messy. So, when Ty and his friends finally awoke, they worked with the other residents of the crater to clean everything up.
But as they were clearing out some fallen trees in a nearby forest, Garby came rushing towards them in a panic. He informed them that a Trux had fallen, and may be on the brink of death. Ty and the other didn't hesitate to follow Garby and see if they could help in any way, but what they came across destroyed their determination.
Garby brought them to a motionless, dark blue heap of metal in the middle of a barren wasteland that little to no Trux tended to inhabit. They crept towards the motionless Trux, and they all felt a shiver run down their spines when they realized that it was a full-grown T-Trux. Whether or not it was because of the storm, something really bad must have happened to them to take them down so easily.
"Notice the lack of spinal plates down their back and tail? That indicates that they are female," Revvit informed while jumping off of Ty, and scurrying up to the T-Trux for a closer look, "And judging by the scratch marks, deep impalements, and multiple tears in her outer metal, she was likely attacked by Scraptors and/or Scrapadactyls."
"But is she still alive?" Skya asked with great concern.
Revvit worriedly crawled up to her chest cavity, and silently listened for any sound that would indicate life. But after many agonizing moments of more silence, he clenched his eyes in realization.
He glanced up at the others in sorrow, "She is gone."
"Bummer. You and her could'a been friends, Ty," Ton-Ton sighed sadly, but glanced at the said T-Trux when he didn't get a response.
"Ty?" The Ankylodump tried again, but all he got was a thousand-yard stare or horror.
"You feelin' ok? You like ya saw a ghost," Dozer pointed out.
Once again, Ty remained quiet and stared down at the lifeless female before him. Mere seconds later, he finally moved and drove around to get a better look at her face. And that's when he saw it: The unforgettable, flawless white mark in the shape of a star in the middle of her forehead.
"Lyra…n-no…" was all Ty could say, as his breath became shaky and tears welled up in his eyes.
"'Lyra'?" Dozer repeated.
"Do you know her, Dude?" Ton-Ton quickly asked.
"I do…I did. W-We met…a few months ago," Ty tried to explain without bursting into an uncontrollable, but his voice betrayed him as it choked on his tears.
Everyone else's eyes widened in realization. Fall had ended just a few months ago, which was typically mating season for T-Trux. They all put two and two together and figured that Lyra was his partner, and now she was…
"Oh, no…" Revvit muttered in disbelief under his breath. He wanted to comfort his best friend, knowing that going through something like this can be unbearable. Even though T-Trux pairs typically split after mating, there was still a strong bond because they always mated with the same partner until one of them died.
Revvit and the others couldn't begin to imagine what Ty was going through, and he didn't have the time to think about it when glanced to the side and did a double-take. He noticed something odd on the side of the lifeless T-Trux, so he crept towards it in curiosity.
It didn't take Revvit long to figure out that there was something poking out of Lyra's reproductive valve, but he was shocked to discover that it seemed unscathed for the most part.
"Um, Ty? You may want to come see this," Revvit piped up, not taking his eyes off of the round object. Ty blinked back his remaining tears and drove to the other side of Lyra's still body, and his reaction was just as intense as Revvit's when he saw the strange object.
"It's an egg," Ty eventually stated, his voice barely over a whisper.
"What?" the others gasped in unison.
"A female T-Trux's average gestation period is normally around three to four months, which is why they always lay their eggs in the spring," Revvit began to explain, glancing back down at the half-revealed egg in sorrow, "She must have been preparing to lay the egg when she…"
Revvit refused to say another word in fear of making Ty more upset than he already is.
"So—what do we do?" Skya broke the silence.
Revvit squinted his eyes in curiosity again, slowly approaching the egg to inspect it. He looked up at Ty for some type of approval before touching it, and waited for his signal. Ty inhaled and shut his eyes, and reluctantly nodded his head. Revvit nodded back before carefully placing his front claws on the egg carefully.
He smoothly swept his claws down the egg until he reached around as far as he could, and slowly began to pull. Slowly but surely, the egg slipped out with some lubricant not far behind to pool underneath it.
The metal shell was sturdy and rigid like most T-Trux eggs, and Revvit circled around it multiple times to check for any signs of damage.
"As impossible as it may sound, I think it is still alive," Revvit stated firmly.
"A-Are you sure, Revvit?" Ty stuttered in disbelief.
"I am more sure than unsure about this. If it really is still alive, it could hatch in just a couple of weeks."
All eyes were on Ty now, as the said red T-Trux was once again left speechless. They knew he was a kind Trux who had the best intentions and could take on a lot of responsibilities, but taking on that of being a parent isn't supposed to be one of them. Female T-Trux are the ones who care for the young while the males went off on their own to protect their territories.
In most cases, if an egg or hatchling lost its mother, the chances of it surviving much longer were slim to none.
Ty suddenly seemed to snap out of his trance, as he drove back over to Lyra's face and leant down to nuzzle her, finally letting his tears flow freely.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of them—I promise," Ty whispered between sobs, tugging at everyone else's heartstrings enough to bring tears to their eyes; even Dozer found himself shedding a few tears.
After confirming his promise to Lyra, Ty approached the egg and carefully picked it up in his jaws. He took one last look at all of his friends, and sighed heavily before making his way back to the Flatirons with the weight of an all-new burden on his shoulders: Caring for his child.
Yeah, I honestly don't know where I got this idea, but I don't regret it. By the way, if this story makes you cry or even almost cry at some point, you gotta tell me. I need to know if my writing skills are good enough to make people cry when they're supposed toXD
Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!
