Chapter III: Attacked on Both Fronts

In which the two groups get into a little trouble.

"Whoa. What- is all of this?" Cera asked.

"Houses. They're like the caves in the Great Valley, only we make them ourselves. We use things like wood, rocks, and such," Reina answered.

Several Rainbow Faces looked out their windows and gazed at the travelers. Two young ones who were playing with a ball suddenly stopped and stared. The entire village grew completely silent.

"What?" Cera asked. "You all act like you've never seen a Three Horn before."

"They've all seen a Three Horn before, but the rest of you are an unusual sight, I have to say."

One of the little Rainbow Faces dropped the ball and it rolled over to Chomper. He stooped over and picked it up. Walking over to the little boy, he said, "Here ya go," and let loose a toothy grin. He and his brother took one look at his shiny, sharp teeth and ran into their house.

"Was it something I said?"

"Hardly. They're just not used to dinosaurs like you."

"Oh."

"Anyway, we're nearly home." Reina then pointed to a huge building made of stone.

"That mountain is where you all live?" Ducky asked.

"Well, it's not a- oh forget it. Yeah, that's the place. One more Transport and we'll be at the entrance." And with that, she whisked them away one more time until they all stood before Reina's dwelling.

Two older Rainbow Faces stood, one on each side, by the entrance. When Reina and the others appeared, they bowed before her. The guards then opened the heavy doors and Reina motioned for the kids to follow. They entered and began walking down a long hallway. The kids gaped at their surroundings and were too in awe to speak. There were several tables with flower vases lined up along the passageway, each sitting beneath a portrait. As they reached the end of the hall, two more guards stood waiting to open the next door. As they group continued farther, they entered a large room. Two wooden chairs sat against the back wall, and Rey sat in one of them. He arose when he saw them and waved. Ruby suddenly broke the silence.

"Rey! You're alright. I was so worried about you after you saved me. Thank you so much."

"I was happy to do my part, and I'm all better now. Even my arm injury from before is totally gone."

"Yeah, and next time you want to 'Do your part,' try not being an idiot at the same time," Reina told him. The two guards chuckled slightly but quickly held their tongues when she glared at them.

"Now," Rey continued, "down to business. I don't know any plant sorcerers personally, nor does Reina, so Cera, your power will be the key in tracking Dusk down."

"Err…" she replied.

"Our old theory was right. They finally lost their powers and got new ones. We'll need a new plan now," Reina told him.

"I see. So, what can you all do now?" Rey asked them.

Suddenly, the stone building gave a great lurch. A guard ran into the room and knelt before Rey.

"My liege! The Red Dragon Tribe is on the assault!"

"What! We made peace with them months ago! What is fueling this attack?"

"No idea, my liege. Shall we mount a counterattack?"

"Yes, of cour- wait… These children will fend them off."

The kids looked at Rey in surprise while the dwelling shook again.

"You want us to fight off this Red Dragon Tribe? Why not have the Rainbow Faces do it?" Cera asked. "Besides, we don't even know what they can do."

"Exactly. Good fighters can enter any battle without knowledge and achieve success. You don't know what Dusk's group can do now. Do you think they will explain their powers to you before battling again? This is a fine opportunity to learn the true art of combat. I have faith in you and your abilities. Now please, defend the kingdom."

Littlefoot took on a stern expression. "You can count on us. Come on, guys!" And the kids all ran down the hallway and out the door.

"Guard."

"Yes?"

"Keep a full battalion ready in case of a problem."

"Sir!" he exclaimed before doing as he was told.

"What was all that faith junk about if you were just going to have the guards ready anyway?" Reina asked him.

"The children need to be given confidence, but I'm not about to leave my kingdom's fate up to them. The Red Dragon Tribe- they've never faced anything like them. Besides, it's a win/win situation. If they succeed, they'll never know my orders. If they fail, my kingdom is still safe."

"Care to make a little wager?" Reina asked as the castle lurched again.

"I'm listening."

"If the kids win without help, I get the whole bed tonight."

"What? Why?"

"You move around too much."

"Hmph. And if they end up needing help, you have to massage my back until I fall asleep tonight."

"Deal."

xxxxx

"Dusky, my feet are hurting," Coaley said in a low tone.

"Here. Hop on my back. I'll carry you."

"Yay! You're the best, Dusky," she cried as she situated herself on back of him.

"Hey, Menta," Agu whispered. "My feet are hurt-"

"Forget it!"

"Sheesh, sorry."

"Ma lord!" Ceit shouted, flying back down to the others. "I've spotted an area inhabited by Rainbow Faces not far from here."

"Excellent work. Is there much distance between us and them?" Dusk asked.

"Well, there is a large mountain, but we could always cross the water. There is a river flowing through the mountain, coming out on two sides, so we'd have to go over it to avoid a steep hike."

"Then we'll go over the river. Trekking across a mountain would take too long and would surely tire us out. Lead the way, Ceit."

"Yes, ma lord."

The six dinosaurs walked through an open field of dry grass. Ali was very hungry, so the quality of the food didn't matter. She lowered her head and grabbed a mouthful of the grass and started chewing. No sooner had she swallowed when a loud voice boomed through the air.

"Who dares eat from field of mine?"

Dusk and the others quickly looked around them but saw no one. Then, the ground beneath Ali's feet broke open and a large creature emerged, clutching her in his arm. He stood on two feet, towering over the others and had bulging muscles all over. In his other hand, he held a blunt piece of wood.

"If you don't put her down right now, you're going to regret it," Dusk announced.

"Will I, puny creature?" he asked back. He then lifted his club and slammed down at Dusk. The Sharptooth lifted his hand and energy poured out. It hardened and absorbed most of the impact of the blow. Dusk recoiled slightly but quickly released more energy, forming a small ball. He threw it at the beast, but he knocked it back. The orb of energy was about to hit Dusk when Menta shouted, "Stop!" The ball of energy halted in mid air then finally dissipated.

The beast stomped his foot on the ground so hard that they all lost their footing and fell to the ground, minus Ceit. As he lifted his weapon to crush Dusk, Ceit called out, "Switch!"

Dusk vanished, and in his place appeared a large rock. The impact of wailing on a huge stone with all his might caused him to drop Ali.

"Dusk!" she shouted. "Quick, hit him with more energy!"

"But he's so strong. He can just hit it back."

"Not with my help, he can't. Dusk, Fuse!" Ali suddenly became transparent and drifted into Dusk's body. "Now, let him have it! With me powering you up, your power is much stronger!" Dusk heard in his head.

Dusk began forming more energy, but the beast charged him.

"Slow!" Menta called out, and the beast's movement greatly decreased.

By the time he got over to the Sharptooth, Dusk had finished the orb. He threw it straight at him and the creature lifted his club to knock it back, but this time it broke right through it and nailed him on the chest. The explosion knocked him back a large distance, and he clutched himself in pain.

"You win. Finish me; get it over with."

"No. This fight is over," Dusk announced. "We stole from you, so to pay you back, we're giving you your life. Now get lost before I change my mind."

The beast quickly fled and Menta turned to Agu.

"A little help next time maybe?"

"Sorry. It's really hard holding onto you-know-who and fighting at the same time. Besides, Coaley did nothing too."

"Coaley isn't a fighter," Menta replied. "But anyway, I guess I shouldn't ask so much of someone so young. Ceit is obviously just a better illusionist."

"Hey! I'm just as good as anyone!"

"Ceit held on and fought. You can't."

"I can too! I'm just getting warmed up. You'll see. Next fight, I'll be a huge help."

Menta winked at Dusk, and he grinned.

xxxxx

The kids finally made it out of the castle and looked up. Winged creatures breathing fire were blasting the towers. Each was about three times the size of Littlefoot.

"Let's get 'em!" Cera shouted.

"Wait," Littlefoot said. "Rey said something about being at peace with these guys. Maybe we should find out why they're attacking."

"Does it LOOK like they're up for a conversation? They're shooting this place. I say we attack now and ask questions later," Cera proposed.

"Fine. Fire, blaze within my soul!" Littlefoot's body glowed deep red like an ember. "Alright! Let's do this!" Fire shot out from underneath his feet and he was propelled upward. He knocked into one of the dragons, and they came hurdling towards the ground.

Cera quickly turned to a flower and said, "Grow!" The plant enlarged to many times its original size and caught them, cushioning the impact of the fall. The dragon quickly got up and blasted Littlefoot in the face with fire.

"Littlefoot!" Chomper screamed.

But when the flames cleared, Littlefoot was unharmed.

"Fire can't hurt me when I'm like this. Oh, yeah!" Littlefoot took in a deep breath and scorched the dragon with fire. However, the beast too was unharmed. "Lucky! You're protected from this element too."

The dragon raised a claw to slash at the Long Neck but Spike charged and sent the beast hard into a large puddle. There was a large mass of steam and the dragon writhed in pain.

"Oh ho! So that's what hurts you. Water, flow within my mind!" Littlefoot turned a deep blue and small fins protruded from the backs of his feet. He shot water from his mouth all over the dragon who then began to yelp.

"No more! Stop, please!"

"Ah. I see. So, you can talk, huh?" Littlefoot asked in a sleepy tone.

"Why are you guys attacking this place?" Chomper asked him.

"We were told that the Rainbow Faces are planning an attack against us, so we decided to strike first."

"While you guys- talk this out- I'm gonna- take a little nap," Littlefoot announced, lying down.

"What was told to you isn't true, so why would you be told that?" Ruby asked. "The Rainbow Faces are still at peace with you."

"But, that dark-grey beast assured us that they were. His story was so detailed."

"That's all it was- a story," Cera told him. "Now call off your friends before we do something about them ourselves."

"Yes, of course," he replied, taking to the skies and calling out.

"A 'dark-grey beast'," Chomper repeated. "Do you think he means- Dusk?"

Littlefoot yawned. "Maybe."

"I do not think so, oh no, oh no," Ducky cut in. "Dusk is black, remember?"

"He was, but we got new powers and colors, so they probably did too. Who else is at odds with the Rainbow Faces here?" Cera asked aloud.

"No one is," Reina answered, walking over to them. "I heard everything. Dusk must be trying to keep our hands full so we won't be able to focus on finding him. Clever guy… Anyway, nice work. You guys really didn't get much combat experience from this, but oh well. The dragons are leaving, and it'll be a comfortable night indeed for me."

"Why do you say that?" Ducky asked her.

Reina giggled. "Oh, it's nothing."