Chapter III: Annihilation Before Familiar Faces
In which there is a large massacre, followed by old friends.
"It's getting dark, ma lord."
"Really? Really, Ceit? It's getting dark? I appreciate you informing me of this. I never would have guessed," Dusk replied.
"I- I'm sorry, ma lord."
Dusk let loose a large sigh. "No, old friend. I am sorry. I'm just worried about Coaley and the others."
Ceit flew over and landed on Dusk's shoulder. "Aye. I understand. I'm worried about them too. But as I was starting to say, I think it's getting time to find a place to rest for the night."
Dusk looked back at his tired sister and the children. "I must agree with you. I'm still heading in the correct direction, right Menta?"
"Hm?"
"I asked if I am still going the right way."
"Oh. Yes, yes you are. Sorry, I'm just a little groggy."
"Don't worry. I'm getting worn out as well. Now, this open field might be dangerous though. Let's just go a little farther." Dusk's caution paid off. After just a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at a village, one much larger than the one Littlefoot had attacked. Seeing a few Rainbow Faces moving about, Dusk paused in confusion. "You're sure we're still moving closer to Littlefoot?"
"Yes. Why do you doubt it?"
"I'm just curious why Littlefoot didn't attack these Rainbow Faces on his way by."
"That is odd, it is, it is," Ducky chimed in.
Finally, one of the Rainbow Faces spotted them and waved. The group of dinosaurs came forward as more Rainbow Faces gathered to greet them.
"Welcome, friends," one of them said. "You must be the other-worlders his majesty is taking care of."
"You mean Rey?" Petrie asked, having never heard of a majesty before.
"Indeed. Now, what brings you to these parts?" the female Rainbow Face continued.
Dusk took a step closer. "We are looking for a friend of ours. He looks like her," he told her, pointing at Ali.
The Rainbow Face, clearly the leader of the village, narrowed her eyes in a frown.
"We saw someone that resembles her earlier today. If you are really his friends, you'd best explain his intentions. The psychic of this village sensed a murderous intent approaching, so our illusionist made this village seem deserted until he passed on by. There was no denying the bloodlust in his mind. What exactly is going on?"
Now Menta stepped forward and was about to explain to save Dusk the trouble when he held out his hand in front of her, causing her to stop.
"We are very tired. I'll tell you our story, but a bit of hospitality on your part would be nice first," Dusk suggested.
"Very well. Follow me. I'll make you all some tea and gather some chairs around a fire in our guest house. Please wait momentarily while the preparations are made. They won't take long."
"Fair enough. We shall wait. Thank you for your kindness," Dusk told her politely. She nodded in response.
Around four minutes later, a younger Rainbow Face ran over and raised a thumb at the leader. She nodded back to him then motioned for the others to follow. They all walked up a tiny flight of stairs to the porch and entered the large building. There were nice chairs arranged around a fireplace. At first, Ruby wondered why there were nine seats since there were only eight of them, but then she recalled that that Rainbow Face wanted to hear their story. Another Rainbow Face, a female, but younger than the leader, entered with a large tray of cups, setting one in front of each of the dinosaurs.
"Drink up," the leader instructed. "You've been out in the cold a while now, but this tea will warm your bodies right up."
All of them lifted their glasses, minus Ceit and Petrie; it was too big for them, so he bent over to lap it up. At first, all of them wanted to spit the stuff out. It tasted terrible. However, they wanted to be polite to their host so swallowed with great effort. Nonetheless, she noticed their expressions and gave a light laugh.
"I take it that none of you have had tea before. It can take a little while to get used to, but it's very healthy. If you don't finish you tea, I won't be offended. Now, I held up my part of the bargain. Now it's time for one of you to hold up yours."
"Agreed," Dusk replied, sitting forward in his chair. "It all started on our home world…"
xxxxx
"What have we here?" a long figure wondered aloud. "Hello? Anyone here?"
A female Red Dragon emerged from one of the caves, holding an infant in her arms.
"Well hello there, hun. Aren't you a cutie. What can I do for ya?" she asked him sweetly.
"Are there more of your kind around here?"
"Yes, but all that is left is female adults and children. Our male grown-ups were all wiped out after a raid several months ago." She ended her sentence in a low tone with a clear hint of sadness.
"Aw. I am so sorry to hear that. I hope you all are doing well without them."
"Thanks, hun. We do miss our mates, but we've learned to get along on our own. We aren't worried because we have plenty of male children who will grow up into fine adults."
"Oh, I don't think they will…"
"What do ya mean, hun? Is there something bad coming that we don't know about?" She was clearly shaken by his foretelling.
"You could say that," the figure replied. "I think it best that you call out all of your friends and family, the whole clan. What is to come, they should all know at once."
"Sure thing, hun. I'll go get everyone."
In a matter of moments, every dragon of the Red Dragon Tribe in the area was gathered around the traveler.
"Members of the Red Dragon Tribe," he began, "I bear ill news. Not one of you will be left standing by the time the bright circle resumes its place in the sky."
All of them started murmuring to themselves in a panic.
"What's coming, hun? Surely if we all work together, we can make it through," the dragon from before said.
"I am afraid," he continued, "that even if you all fight together, there is no hope for you. Everyone who lives here is going to die without a doubt."
"Stop being so mysterious!" another female adult shouted. "You can't see the future. Just warn us of what is to come, and we'll see if we can make it through or not."
"Very well. What is to come, you ask? What is to be the harbinger of your doom?" Littlefoot extended his sharp claws. "Why, I am, of course. Raw!" he shouted.
The sky grew dark and deep black clouds quickly materialized overhead. The dragons started to run away in a panic. Then suddenly, black lightning started streaking down from the sky, hitting dragon after dragon. None of them sustained any damage, but they screamed in pain nonetheless.
"Don't worry. My Lightning of Torment can't cause any injuries. However, the pain it instills throughout your bodies will make you wish you were dead. Now howl in agony before me! Watching you suffer brings me great pleasure. When I grow bored of your squirming, I'll finish the job."
Mere seconds passed.
"Okay, now I'm bored."
Littlefoot leapt at one of the mothers, claws out, and his front legs pierced her all the way through her breast. They got stuck as he tried pulling them out, but with a hard yank, both his legs and her heart emerged with a splash of blood. As his victim plopped dead on the ground, he wiped the blood out of his eyes with one of his feet. Then from behind him, a young Red Dragon came forward and took a deep breath. Littlefoot quickly turned and gave him a deathly glare. Fear struck the child's heart, and his flame attack came to a stop before it even started. Littlefoot smiled and walked up to him slowly. He made a tiny slit on the front of his throat. He fell to his knees, struggling to breath as blood filled his lungs.
"Don't worry. A cut that small will let you die slowly, and best of all, you'll suffer a great deal as you suffocate. Well, I suppose that that's better for me than it is for you." Then he burst out into a maniacal laugh.
Just then, a large rock clonked him on the head. He turned around slowly to find another child, a girl.
"I'm terribly sorry. I'm afraid that the only good that did you was making me angry. But I'm a forgiving guy. I'll keep you from suffering."
He dashed forward to slice off her head when he recoiled back as a burst of flames blasted towards him. He quickly turned to see two adults, poised and ready to blast him again. As they took in breath for another attack, bolts of Littlefoot's lightning struck them, and they fell to their knees in agony. Littlefoot chuckled with glee at their misery. When he wanted to see more, he rushed at them, slashing into their stomachs. They both threw up as their innards spilled out.
"Momma!" the child who had thrown a rock at Littlefoot cried out.
Tears filled her eyes so that she couldn't see. That was actually fortunate, though. She never felt fear, because she never saw Littlefoot coming. In moments, her head lay on the ground and it rolled slightly before coming to a stop at Littlefoot's feet. Having started to get bored again, he rushed all around, killing the dragons quickly. Their pain was beginning to get old. Finally, only the mother who had first greeted him and her baby were left in the area. Having been hit by Littlefoot's Lightning of Torment, she was on her back, clutching her baby tightly. Littlefot grinned. He had just thought of the grand finale of torturing this group of beasts. He snatched the baby away with his teeth.
"Nooo! Stop! Give him back to me! Please, he's all I have left. I- I'm begging you. I'll do anything. Just- please…"
Littlefoot then set the baby down and stepped back. His mother's face showed a glint of hope as she got on her stomach and dragged herself over to pick him up and get away. Then Littlefoot spoke up.
"Ah, fighting is a thing of beauty, one I believe to have mastered. Crushing hopes and taking all someone has left in one go is a masterpiece." Littlefoot stepped forward, lifted his front leg, and brought it down hard on the baby's head. His brain spilled out as his mother screamed in the most horrible pain one can imagine.
"Aw, is your heart aching? You poor thing. Let me do something about that." He kicked her, turning her on her back and dug one of his feet into her chest. Pulling out his leg, he dug his face into her and pulled out her heart with his teeth. He then crushed it in his mouth in an explosion of blood.
"There. Your heart can't ache when it's destroyed." Littlefoot stopped and looked around at all the dead bodies, internal organs, and blood. Picking up the Stone of Cold Fire in his mouth from its hiding place, he smiled from ear to ear at his handiwork. He then began gathering sticks to use as mounting posts for their heads. After his work was done, he looked off into the distance and asked aloud, "Okay, world, who's next?"
xxxxx
"Oh dear," Chomper's heart began.
"What is it?" Chomper thought back.
"Your friend Littlefoot- his heart is screaming in horror. Taken over by darkness, forced to do its will, it is weeping bitterly. We need to find him as soon as possible."
"I already know that," Chomper replied. "The longer he's like this, the more damage he'll cause."
"No, master. It's worse than that. The mind controls the actions of the body. Littlefoot's heart is fighting a losing battle with it. The more he kills, the more his heart fills with anguish. When it can't contain any more grief, when its strength fails entirely, it may do the only thing to bring this mess to a halt- stop beating entirely."
Chomper froze, and Agu and Coaley looked to him curiously.
"You mean, if Littlefoot does much more- he'll die?"
"I'm sorry, master, but yes."
"Come on, guys! We can't allow Littlefoot to be like this much longer!" With that, Chomper burst into a run. Forgetting her had super speed, he quickly left Agu and Coaley in the dust.
"Wait!" Coaley cried out.
Chomper skidded to a halt and ran back. "I'm really glad I have both super speed and strength," Chomper commented. "Okay you two, I'll carry you."
Agu was relieved. Limping with his broken foot was really getting hard with so much distance to travel. Chomper picked Coaley up first, setting her on one shoulder, then Agu on the other. He held out both of his hands to hold them as please, as his shoulders were rather small. With them well-situated, he took off like a flash.
"Okay, turn left here," his heart instructed.
Chomper veered sharply and Agu and Coaley nearly fell off.
"Careful now!" Agu complained. Chomper ignored him as he ran for several more minutes.
"Okay, turn left once more, but be careful as you pass the bushes; don't turn suddenly again. I can see everything between Littlefoot's heart and myself thanks to the magic of the stone."
Chomper was so fixated on Littlefoot that he gained selective hearing. All that mattered to him was which way Littlefoot is, so he didn't notice anything his heart said after which way to turn. Like before, he turned left very abruptly and slid on a puddle. He fell over and went skidding along the ground, still tightly clutching his passengers. His momentum was still moving him, and he could not stop. This normally wouldn't have been a big deal, but there was a complete vertical decline in the ground that dropped a great distance. Chomper couldn't stop in time, and all three of them plummeted down at a startling speed.
"Ah! Chomper, you idiot!" Agu screamed as they fell.
Coaley was so frightened that she didn't even think to use Warp.
As they neared the bottom, all was thought lost for the three Sharpteeth. Suddenly, loud screeching could be heard nearby and coming closer. Two Aerial Screechers swooped down. One grabbed Chomper in his talons, and the other grabbed Agu. Then, a third figure soaring threw the air came into view. She grabbed Coaley, and all them drifted slowly to the bottom, landing completely unharmed. Coaley got up and turned to see who had saved her. She couldn't believe her eyes.
"N- Niah!" Coaley stammered.
"Hiya, Coaley. You must be gladder than ever for saving those two babies a while back, huh?"
Dumbfounded, all Coaley could do was nod.
Character Bio Number Three
Name: Ducky
Species: Swimmer
Gender: Female
Personality: Gentle, kind, and caring
Power given in part one: Water Manipulation- The power to move water and freeze it into ice.
Power given in part two: Invisibility- The skill to vanish entirely from sight.
