Chapter VI: A Loss and a Gain After a Pointless Rescue

In which Chomper's group changes slightly, and Dusk's group saves the day.

Dusk stood up straight, took in a deep breath, and exhaled. He was tired of bending over all day to pull some stupid weeds. Furthermore, he was parched.

"I'm going to ask for some water," he told the others. Then he took off towards the buildings. He wasn't the only one on his way there though…

Seven Rainbow Faces strolled into the village. The leader, who had seen them coming, came out to see what they wanted. Dusk was about to hail her down when he saw the newcomers and that her attention was on them. So instead, he stepped behind one of the houses to wait until she wasn't busy. All the while, he couldn't help but overhear the conversation.

"We want food, water, and all your precious stones," one them was saying to her.

The village leader chuckled.

"You have some nerve barging into my village and trying to blatantly rob us. You have legendary confidence to actually believe that you can steal from us without using any subtlety. There are more than three times as many of us as there are of you. One shout from me and you'll be overpowered in moments. You can't come close to defeating us with only seven of you."

"Heh heh," one of them began. "You seem to be under the impression that we think we can rob you with seven of us. Let me set you straight on our beliefs. We can do this the easy way, or with force, but in the case of the latter, it will only take one of us to bring you all down."

The village leader couldn't suppress her laughter.

"Judging by your response, I take it that you won't comply?"

"You are correct," she answered.

One of them quickly stepped forward and grabbed her arm. Before she could even shout, she collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. Dusk, who had been peeping out from behind a wall, suddenly drew his head back in. He didn't want those thieves to know that he was there.

"What kind of power was that?" he thought to himself. "He just touched her and she passed out. Is she dead, or…?" Dusk glanced out once more and looked at her. She wasn't breathing. She was dead alright. He crept quietly back over to his friends and told them what he had seen.

"What do we do?" Cera asked frantically.

"Can't we just run away?" Petrie wanted to know.

"No, not while Menta's memories are still altered," Dusk replied, looking back over to his sister who was still pulling weeds.

"Ma lord, if the illusionist who altered her is taken out, she will return to normal," Ceit explained.

"But we cannot just let those thieves kill everyone here, oh no no no no no," Ducky cut in.

Dusk lowered his head in thought.

"I've decided. I'm going to stay and try and stop these thieves. I can't allow pointless killing to take place when I have the power to stop it. You all are free to go," Dusk offered.

The lot of them exchanged glances.

"Dusk, we were with you then, and we are with you now," Ruby spoke for them. "We'll stop those bad guys- together."

Just then, a scream was heard from one of the buildings.

"Let's move!" Dusk ordered. "And don't let the Rainbow Face with a scar on his cheek touch you. He's the one who killed the village leader."

Rainbow Faces were piling out to see what all the commotion was about, and one of the thieves casually walked about, touching everyone. In less than a minute, everyone was dead. Dusk and the others arrived just in time to see the last villager fall.

"Too late…" Dusk muttered to himself.

"And who might you be?" one of the thieves asked them. "A rather strange-looking lot. Beasts, or those otherworlders the king brought here?"

"We're from another world," Dusk answered. "But that information will be useless to you all soon."

"Eh? And why is that?" another one of the Rainbow Faces questioned.

"Facts don't do any good to the dead," Dusk replied, barring his teeth.

"Oh ho!" one of them mocked. "The little fellow thinks he's going to kill us, does he?"

"No. We all know that you guys are going down. We'll avenge this village if it's the last thing we do," Cera added.

"Girl, mark my words," one of them told her. "This WILL be the last thing you'll do!"

xxxxx

"Wow…" a child interrupted.

"Hm?" his father asked.

"The power to kill someone just by touching. That has to be the strongest power of them all!"

"It is a rather frightening prospect, isn't it? However, that power isn't exactly what it seems."

"Eh! What do you mean? What is his power really doing then?"

With a twinkle in his eye, his father replied, "You'll just have to wait until I get to that part."

"Aw, dad."

"The sooner I resume, the sooner you'll learn."

"Okay, okay. Continue now then. Err, please continue now then."

"Alrighty, here we go."

xxxxx

"Ugh… My head," Agu moaned.

The rest of them opened their eyes and sat up. Well, most of them. Chomper was still unconscious. The little Red Dragon kneeled beside Chomper, nudging him, trying to wake him up.

"Get away from him!" Coaley screamed, rushing over. "If he wasn't so busy trying to protect you, he'd never've gotten hurt."

The dragon plopped onto her rear and remained silent.

"Chomper, can you hear me?" Coaley tried, sitting down and putting his head on her lap. There was no reply. Coaley lowered her face to his and pressed her lips against his. Remembering what he had done for her, she tried to imitate it, blowing a sharp gust of breath into his mouth. Chomper's eyes jolted open and he started coughing and wheezing.

"Oh, Chomper, you're awake!" But he continued to choke on the air. "I am so sorry!" Coaley exclaimed. "Did I do it wrong?"

"Cough that technique is for dinosaurs who have breathed in water. And you don't cough just breath into them with such force," he explained, but seeing Coaley ready to tear, he quickly added, "But thank you for doing it. It certainly got me up."

Coaley dived at him, hugging him as he fell onto his back, and she lay on top of him.

"Uh, guys, this isn't the time to be acting all lovey-dovey," Agu told them.

"Aw, don't be such a wet tree star," Chomper told him.

"No, it's not because of me. Look." And with that, Agu pointed at Niah who was holding a motionless creature in her arms.

"Oh, Screech, Screech," she sobbed, rocking the dead beast in her arms.

"What happened?" Chomper asked, coming over to her and resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Screech saved us all, but it cost him. Stupid Screech!" she screamed, and her tear flow continued as strong as ever.

"He saved us?" Chomper asked her.

"Yes. This is why I told you all not to fight it. Vortex Berserkers are defeated when you take out their eye, but the explosion that follows is lethal. Screech took it head on. At least sniff he didn't suffer." Then she buried her head in his feathers.

"She really needs to be comforted right now," Chomper's heart whispered to him. "I suggest you give her a big hug, master."

Chomper knelt down beside her and embraced the little Rainbow Face. Her tears dripped onto his shoulders, but he hugged her all the more tightly. They stayed like that for several minutes. Then Agu stepped forward.

"Niah," he began, "would you like me to take your pain away?"

Niah pulled away from Chomper's hold and looked at him curiously.

"How sniff can you do that?"

"I am an illusionist. I can alter memories. So, I can make you forget that you ever had an Aerial Screecher named Screech."

"No," she said firmly. "But thank you anyway. I want to cherish my memories of him. The good times outweigh the pain." Wiping her eyes and standing up, she said, "We have a dinosaur to save. Let's keep moving."

Then they all heard a cough. They turned to see the little Red Dragon.

"Oh! I nearly forgot about you. You'd best go back home to your parents. Where we're going is dangerous," Chomper warned her.

"Daddy died in a big battle. Mommy was killed by a strange creature. I have no home," she said, speaking for the first time.

Chomper gulped, fearing the worst.

"I am so sorry to hear of your loss. But tell me, did this creature walk on four legs and have a long neck?"

The Red Dragon nodded. Chomper, Agu, and Coaley exchanged glances.

"How did you know that?" she questioned.

"Just call it a hunch. Better come along with us then. I'll look after you. We're trying to find a friend of ours. Just stay close to me, 'kay?" Chomper told her. "Oh, and what's your name?"

"Fiirawen."

"Nice name," he added. She blushed and turned away.

Chomper's heart then whispered to him which way to go, and so Chomper, holding Niah's hand on his left and Fiirawen on his right, continued to lead the others towards Littlefoot. Coaley glared at the three connected dinosaurs. She wanted to be the holding Chomper's hand, not them. Then she suddenly had a thought.

"If I had just used Warp to get us away from that beast, Chomper wouldn't've gotten hurt. Why didn't I think of that till now?" Coaley hung her head in guilt. Now she was glad she wasn't holding his hand; she didn't deserve it.

xxxxx

"Multi Shadow Pull!" The whole group of bandits slammed onto the ground.

One of the thieves looked up and shouted, "Multi Shadow Pull!" Dusk and his companions then hit the ground hard as well.

"Another shadow user? Or a copier?" Dusk wondered in dismay.

The first thief was back on his feet raised both hands. "Rain of Fire!" Flaming balls starting falling from the sky, and Dusk's group frantically dove around trying to avoid them. Another Rainbow Face held one of his arms out and a giant flower sprouted from the ground. When it stopped growing, long vines emerged and grabbed Spike and Ruby, squeezing them tight.

"So, he can make plants, eh? Perfect," Cera thought to herself. She focused, and the flower let her friends go and grabbed two of the Rainbow Faces.

"What are you doing!" one of them shouted.

"I don't know. It's not me, I swear!"

"Come forth, Flashing Buzzer!" Petrie called out. A small, flying insect appeared. He flew into the Rainbow Faces and stung one of them. He yelped in pain and tried swatting the little creature. Before he could lower his hand though, there was a flash of light, blinding him as the beast stung him over and over. As pain engulfed his body, he fell to his knees. The Flashing Buzzer turned to attack someone else when a fire ball incinerated him.

"Uh oh," Petrie muttered.

"He must be a summoner! Take him out; he's defenseless now!" of them called out. Two Rainbow Faces turned their attention on him, relaxing, but that was their downfall. Petrie grinned, then sent a violent gust of wind that knocked them into a building wall, dazing them.

"How can he have two powers!" one of them asked in disbelief.

"Enough of this!" one of the thieves called out. He rushed Dusk, but he slammed him to the ground.

"You won't touch me like you did those villagers," Dusk called out to him. "I saw your power in action."

"Don't underestimate our teamwork," he called back from the ground.

"Switch!" one of the bandits called out.

"No!" Dusk screamed. Dusk suddenly switched places with a blade of grass, appearing right before the deadly Rainbow Face. As he reached out to grab Dusk, another switch took place. Ceit appeared right where Dusk did, so Ceit was the one he grabbed. The Flyer fell to the ground, motionless. Dusk roared in anger, seeing his friend fall. He ran up the Rainbow Face who did it, who in turn reached out to grab Dusk. The Sharptooth quickly made an extension of his claws out of energy. He swung forward, slicing into the Rainbow Faces's wrist, severing the artery, and blood gushed out.

"Ah!" he screamed.

xxxxx

"Wait, wait. Why would Ceit switch himself with Dusk? It was like he was asking to get hurt," a young boy wondered.

"I can't be sure, as the story doesn't explain it, but my guess would be that the danger Dusk was in was so dire that Ceit barely had time to think to save him so just switched with the first thing he saw, which was Dusk himself. Were the situation not so dangerous, I believe that Ceit would have made a more logical switch of objects."

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. Feel free to continue any time."

"Okay."

xxxxx

Another Rainbow Faces rushed over, held up on arm, and muttered something. The wound quickly healed.

"A time controller?" Dusk wondered aloud.

"No. A pure healer, meaning there is no cool down on my healing abilities. Cut us all you want!" he replied.

Ducky, who had become Invisible, placed her hands on the ground. A burst of water shot up, and Ducky directed it onto their healer. When he was dowsed, Ducky froze the water into ice so he couldn't move.

"Brilliant!" Dusk complimented to himself.

Ruby reached over and touched the side of the building, turning into wood. She charged one of the Rainbow Faces, but he grinned. He opened his mouth and a stream of fire came out, setting her ablaze. Ducky quickly brought more water up, putting her out.

"Where is that water coming from?" one of them wondered. Finally, Ducky's Invisibility wore off. "It must have been her!" he shouted, having spotted the Swimmer. He formed a giant boulder in the air and lunged it at her. Spike quickly ran over, stood on top of her, and the rock fell on him. "Two for one!" the Rainbow Face said cheerfully. "Eh?"

The boulder suddenly lifted up and the two dinosaurs came out, unharmed from Spike's hard body. The Spike Tail then dashed into the Rainbow Face, sending him sailing through the air.

"No one hurts my sister," Spike thought to himself.

The Rainbow Face who had used a Multi Shadow Pull suddenly turned hard as well and came at Dusk.

"So, he was a copier," Dusk concluded. He quickly formed a shield with his energy and held it out. Ali was afraid that it wouldn't be enough so she fused with Dusk, and his shield grew much sturdier. The force of the impact pushed Dusk back a little, but his shield held. He then created a ball of energy and shoved it right into that Rainbow Face's mouth. The explosion blew his head off, and blood splattered all over. Dusk's group had defeated every one of the Rainbow Faces. Now only the one Dusk had first seen was able to fight.

"You will pay for killing my friend," Dusk told him in a chilling voice.

"W-wait! He's not dead! None of the villagers here are either!"

"What are you talking about? I saw them fall, and they no longer draw breath. Clearly an attempt to stall for time," Dusk said with a deathly glare.

"No no, really! My power sucks the souls out of others, storing them in my body. I'll release them now."

"No," Dusk told him. "I will." He extended his claws with energy again, and slashed into his chest, spilling out his organs and a lot of blood, and ghostly figures could be seen floating about, searching for their bodies. One by one, the Rainbow Faces got to their feet, and Ceit woke up as well.

"Welcome back, friend," Dusk told him.

Ceit grinned in response. The Rainbow Face thieves who were still alive fled the scene, and the village leader pieced together what had happened.

"We owe you our lives, travelers," she announced.

"It was nothing, really," Dusk replied. "Now if you don't mind, please release my sister and we'll be on our way." To Dusk's surprise, she laughed at him.

"You still have work to do, even more from the food you ate earlier."

Dusk's group's mouths dropped open.

"You mean to tell us," Cera began, "that even though we just saved all of your lives, you're still going to keep us here?"

"Well, we didn't ask you to save us. You did that voluntarily. Now, if we had made some kind of deal that if you save us, you can go, that would be different. But nope, you did it all on your own," she explained.

"We no could make deal because you were dead!" Petrie exclaimed.

"Too bad for you, isn't it? Now, get back to work."

Dumbfounded at the village leader's obsession with having things worked off, they returned to the garden where Menta was still pulling weeds.

"You all will have to work double time if you want to get this section done before dark," she told them all.

"Menta, if you were in your right mind, I would slap you," Dusk retorted.

Character Bio Number Six

Name: Chomper

Species: Sharptooth

Gender: Male

Personality: Caring, considerate, and brave

Power given in part one: Strength- Grants many times one's normal strength.

Power given in part two: Speed- Grants many times one's normal speed.

Author's note: Fiirawen is pronounced Fear uh wen.