So, be honest with me. How many of you assumed I was dead?
Heheh... but all jokes aside, I must say, it is good to be back to these stories.
If you are wondering where I've been, I have had the most INTENSE writer's block for this chapter. I kid you not when I say it sometimes took me a whole day to come up with a few simple sentences (and yes, it's been the same for 'The Challenges Continue', which is why there is a distinct lack of updates to these stories). But it's not because this chapter was hard to make, it was because I just had so much else on my mind that I didn't even want to deal with it.
But through a combination of a guest's consistent requests for an update, and finally being able to get my s**t together, I'm back.
Fair Warning: This chapter is a bit longer than the last few. In the future, I will try for longer, more drawn-out chapters, to make it worth the wait, and to move the storyline along.
Now, let's get on with it.
(Yuri's POV)
When the rain finally passed, I had one thing that I needed to do, and that was get Bruce well-acquainted to the Valley. The easy part is getting him out of the cave, and showing him the Valley. Up next came the difficult part of introducing him to everyone.
As I knew this Valley quite well, I knew that they knew of these kinds of things, thanks to having legends about it. That still didn't change the fact that it was going to be cause for excitement. So, at least for now, I'd have to wait for the right moment to introduce Bruce. But soon enough, he would be able to come out, and join the valley…
Provided that things go just right.
"So," Bruce asked, "You said you'd explain about this place. So tell me, what's up with it?" And of course, due to the fact that I have to keep my promises (one of those lessons that I knew by heart), I knew I was going to have to explain it to him. But, I was going to have to start slow.
"Well," I told my old friend, "To start, I'm sure you want to know how I got here." And when he nodded to that, and I continued. "Well, it was that day I said we were going to train at the… uh…" Oh damn! It's been so long since I thought of normal human stuff that I forgot the name of it. "The… um… gym! That was it!"
"Oh yea, our friends told me you went to the park before that," He responded almost immediately, "They also said you fought that one little bully." I shrugged at that, and said "Less 'fought', more 'humored him'."
We both got a good laugh out of that.
"But seriously," I told him, getting us back on topic. "I was annoyed after that, so I headed home, and found this strange gem, and said to myself that I wished I lived in a nicer place. Next thing I knew, I was here. And within a week of that, I was accepted into the Valley."
"Huh. So there are actual people here?"
"Yea, but they're not exactly…" And here comes the hard part of explaining it. "Mammalian…" Judging from the look on his face, Bruce didn't catch my drift, so I just left it as "You'll get it when we pass someone."
And it most definitely didn't take long for us to run into anyone. Within a few minutes, I saw a familiar Flyer, and knew that he was the easiest way to introduce Bruce to the concept. So, I called him over, and told Bruce to just watch from behind the tree.
"Yuri," Petrie said, his voice a bit rattled, "Littlefoot looking for you. He say battle about to start."
That got my attention. "A battle," I asked, "As in more Sharpteeth are trying to enter the Valley?" Petrie nodded quickly, and I wasted no time telling Petrie to head out to the battlefield (which he did). I had something important to explain.
"Dude," Bruce said, the shock evident in his voice, "Was that a goddamn lizard man!?" I looked over to my friend, and saw the shock clear on his face. A smile crawled onto my face, as I told him "More like a dinosaur. And that one was a Flyer, as they call themselves."
"A flyer... but wasn't he a Pterodactyl?"
I couldn't help but chuckle. I was so used to the valley names that the Scientific Names just sounded like gibberish to me. But that wasn't important. "I'll explain it later," I told him, "There's a battle going on, and they're gonna want me there. Follow if you want to. Either that, or stay in the cave."
So, I wasted not another second, and began to sprint towards the edge of the Valley, in the direction Petrie was headed.
(Bruce's POV)
This was a lot to take in...
Not an hour ago, I was heading out, planning to go to the Gym, when I stumbled on that stone. Then, it just started to glow, and here I am...
And yet I'm not even sure this is all real...
Well, real or not, I was heading into the battle. He had told me that I could follow him to the battlefield, and I was already falling behind. How the hell was he this fast? I run 5 miles every morning, and yet he's still beating me effortlessly.
Granted, he was doing a lot of Parkour stuff, but even when he was just running straight, he was leaving me in the dust. In fact, when he just ran, I seemed to need to make up more ground.
Just what kinda training has he been through...?
"We're here," Yuri finally said, as I noticed the giant mountain range around the valley. Around one side, there was a hole, along with a group of other anthropomorphic Dinosaurs. Among them, I saw a Yellow Triceratops girl fighting off a set of small Velociraptors.
"You join in if you wanna," Yuri said, "I got some beasts to destroy." Without warning, he ripped a branch off a tree, fashioned a quick staff out of it, and headed down to the fight, swinging it like he was goddamn Sun Wukong.
I'm not sure how useful it'll be, but maybe I could use one to make a makeshift sword...
"AHH!"
My mind left that thought, as I heard the sound of screaming. Looking over, I saw what looked like a small Oviraptor, which was being approached by a Velociraptor. I wasn't sure why, but protective instinct kicked in, and I ran over to punch the creature.
I was only stopped by a Blue T-Rex coming in, and protecting the Oviraptor. This surprised me, because from what Yuri told me, Sharpteeth were supposed to be the enemy.
"You there," I yelled, "Get away from her!" They both looked at me with a look of shock and confusion, before I heard Yuri yell at me.
"They're on our side," He said "Just focus on all the OTHER Sharpteeth."
"Yuri," I heard the Blue T-Rex say, "Who is this guy?" And I heard Yuri respond back with "I'll explain later. Let's just focus on the goal at hand." And without another word, the T-Rex nodded, and proceeded to punch a Velociraptor headed his way.
"Whoever you are," He said, "We could definitely use your help. You look like a fighter."
He wasn't wrong about that. I've been boxing for the past 3 years, so I definitely knew what I was doing. "Alright, I'll help," I told him, "Where do you want me?"
*SNARL!*
Looking behind me, I saw a Velociraptor heading my way, and preparing to slash at me. I ducked just in time to deliver a punch right to his gut, which brought him to the ground immediately.
Ok, never mind. I'll just go wherever there's a Velociraptor...
So, the next few minutes were pretty much nothing but endless punching, and breaking ribs. I wasn't sure why, but it took a lot more punches than I was used to, but that was probably just because I wasn't wearing my gloves.
But whatever. Results are results.
This kind of fighting went on for what felt like quite a while, but the sheer number of raptors coming our way was overwhelming. I was quickly running out of energy, and if this keeps up, I won't be able to…
'No…' I told myself, 'That's quitter talk! You're no quitter!' I look over to my side, to see the Raptors were continuing to come, and it started to piss me off. I could literally FEEL my blood boil as I saw more approach, and it caused something inside me to snap.
It's time to kick some ass!
I dodged a strike from a nearby raptor, before delivering a punch of my own. This time, I could see it did some damage, because the creature clutched it's jaw in pain, before I delivered a knockout right hook. And when they saw that, they started to back down, like the cowards they are.
This battle will be over soon.
(Yuri's POV)
The battle ended only a few minutes after that strike. Within only a few minutes of us appearing, the Sharpteeth were beaten so badly, that they had to retreat.
After that, Topps got a giant boulder, and we knew we'd have to cover the hole where they got in from. So, he and I got to work on covering the hole, and during that, he brought up what I'm certain everyone else was thinking:
"So who was that other human from before?"
Taking a deep breath, I told him "That was my friend Bruce. He came from the same place as me."
"Really," he questioned, "I thought you said everyone in that town hated you."
"I said mostly everyone… 'Mostly' being the key word."
"I see... so what's he doing here? Did he find a portal stone too?"
"That's what he told me."
Honestly, having to explain it this early on was not something I wanted to do (especially considering I have plans to continue my acrobatics training later), but I figure it was important that I tell him. Topps has been very good to me over the past three years, so I should be honest with him.
"Well, you don't sound too excited."
Upon hearing this from Topps, I sighed. It was true that I wasn't too excited for this, and there was a reason why.
"To be honest, I really am not," I told him, "I had put everything from my old life behind me when I joined the Valley. I never thought that something like this could happen, and as such, I pushed everyone I knew from my old life outta my head."
"I see… and that's what worries you?"
"Not just that. You see, there's something very… dark inside Bruce, and it has me worried."
Topps nodded, seeming unfazed by what I just told him, as we set the boulder in place.
"Well," he said, "I'm sure you know my standpoint on letting in another human. I don't know if it's too good an idea, but he did help us fight off the Sharpteeth."
"We'll have to wait and see if he's changed for better or worse. Either way, he's here now and there's nothing we can do about it."
And we both knew this was the truth, and it only helped to get me a little bit pissed off.
Over the past three years, I had shoved everything from my old life out of my mind, and didn't even want to go back after all that's happened. Now, it seemed that a part of my old life had found its way to me. It was ironic really, and it made me a little angry, but also made me laugh a little.
"I guess it's my job to show him around," I said with a chuckle. Topps nodded to this, before saying "Make sure he understands the rules."
"I will."
And with that, we both left the area.
I was unsure what in the hell Topps was doing, but I knew for a fact that I needed to find Bruce. That was what is important here. But if I remember him like I think I do, he'll probably have made it halfway across the valley by now.
Oh well… I guess I had better get to work then.
