SCARBEAK IS A CHARACTER CREATED BY DARK FOX TAILZ, WHO HAS GIVEN ME PERMISSION TO USE HIM IN THIS STORY. I THANK HIM FOR THIS, AS WELL AS THE GREAT FEEDBACK HE HAS GIVEN ME THROUGHOUT THIS WHOLE PROCESS.
The Land Before Time
Revenge II
Chapter 8
Unfortunately for Littlefoot, it turned out to be a really bad idea to leave the group. The bright circle was already starting to fall since he ran away from Rooter, and he now found himself alone, helpless, but most importantly lost. "Nice going Littlefoot," he muttered to himself. "Now look what you've gotten yourself in to." The young longneck was wondering in a dense forest, but he could tell he was close to the Mysterious Beyond. Not one sign of green food could be found on any of the trees, leaving nothing but bare branches. Littlefoot hated looking at these trees. They all seemed to have long, giant arms trying to reach out and grab him. "Some rescue mission this turned out to be. Not only have I lost my friends, but now I don't even know where the heck I am." Littlefoot continued to cautiously tread through the barren forest, always looking back every once in a while to make sure nothing was following him. "Now what do I do? I can't fight Blacktail alone." When nothing came to his mind, he started thinking back to what he said to Rooter. "Maybe I was too hard on him. Maybe I shouldn't have said what I did." Littlefoot began to question on whether or not he should apologize to Rooter, but every time he did the words that caused his anger echoed in his mind. Your friends are as good as dead. "He's wrong. They aren't going to die. I'm going to find and save them." Littlefoot then sighed. "I just hope I'm ready for Blacktail." Walking through this dead forest reminded him of another time he was by himself. To try and get his mind off of Blacktail, he started to sing, thinking about his friends. "When you're on your own, you have to be the grownup. Cause there's no one there to tell you what to do. But you miss your friends when daylight ends, and there's no one there to care for you." While he was singing, Littlefoot looked up in the sky and noticed some sky puffies that strangely looked like his friends. One of them looked like Spike eating a bush of tree stars, while two others looked like Ducky and Petrie laughing. The last one looked like Cera, and she was staring right at him with a sympathetic look on her face. Littlefoot gazed back at sky puffies, almost mistaking them for his friends, but in the same moment they appeared they suddenly vanished, leaving nothing but an empty, blue sky. Disappointed and saddened, Littlefoot dropped his head slightly and closed his eyes. "It's kind of lonesome, when you're on your own."
Suddenly a thunderous roar ripped through the air and broke the silence of the world. Littlefoot's eyes widened with fear as he could recognize that roar from anywhere. He gasped and the name of the sharptooth that was following him left his mouth, "Redclaw." Littlefoot spun his head back and sure enough saw the giant sharptooth known as Red Claw approaching. He glared at the young longneck and flashed his rows of shiny, pointed teeth. Littlefoot was too horrified to even move, but somehow he found the ability to yell out and then sprint in the opposite direction. Of course Red Claw wasn't going to let his meal escape so easily, so he started to chase. "Leave me alone Red Claw!" Littlefoot yelled out, but it only fueled the sharptooth's hunger even more. He tried to weave in and out of the trees in an attempt to lose Red Claw, but the sharptooth simply barreled right through them, knocking down each one with his mighty feet. "Oh give me a break already!" Littlefoot complained. "Stop being so persistent!" Had he known better, he would have thought Red Claw laughed at his foolish remarks. "Come on Littlefoot think! You have to hide somewhere!" Suddenly Littlefoot felt the ground beneath him give way. He yelled out as he tumbled into a small ditch just wide enough for him to fit through. Littlefoot quickly rolled onto his back and shifted as deep into the ditch as he could, and the constant movement from his feet even dug the hole a little deeper. The sound of Red Claw's feet pounding on the ground grew louder and louder until he was directly above the ditch. The sharptooth bent down and reached out for his prey, swiping with his claws only inches from the longnecks face. After a few swipes, Red Claw bent down even lower and tried sticking his head through the hole, growling and roaring in anticipation for his meal. Fortunately for Littlefoot, Red Claw couldn't fit his entire head through the ditch. Littlefoot yelled out once more before the sharptooth pulled away, finally giving up the chase. Red Claw stormed off in frustration until his thunderous feet could no longer be heard. Panting, Littlefoot slowly rolled onto his stomach and stood up. He hesitantly peeked his head out and scanned the area. Seeing no sight of his attacker, Littlefoot breathed a huge sigh of relief and used all of the muscles in his two front legs to pull himself out of the ditch. "That was way too close," he said to himself. "If I hadn't fallen in this ditch I would have been sharptooth food. Well I guess it can't get any worse."
"Oh I wouldn't count on that little longneck." Littlefoot spun around to find a fast biter smirking at him. "I assure you the bad times are only just beginning."
"You're one of Blacktail's goons aren't you?" Littlefoot mocked.
"Watch your tongue!" the fast biter yelled. "My master wants you alive, but if you do not cooperate I will have to incapacitate you and drag you by the tail."
"Really?" Littlefoot mocked again. "You and what army?" If there was ever a worse time for Littlefoot to say that it as now, because all of a sudden the young longneck was surrounded by a whole group of fast biters. The sharpteeth all laughed with hunger in their eyes and flashed their claws.
"You were saying?" the fast biter replied.
"I was kind of hoping for a fair fight," Littlefoot commented, "but I guess I'm not going to get one."
"You would guess correctly. Now I will make this plainly simple for you. Either you come with us quietly or we bring you in screaming in pain." The fast biter glanced at all his fellow sharpteeth and nodded. All of them prepared to charge, and he then looked back at Littlefoot. "Your choice weed whacker." At that moment, Littlefoot felt it again. He felt it when he was fighting Rinkus and the flyers, and he was feeling it now. A sudden rage began to fill up his entire body, all stemmed from his desire to save his friends and his anger towards Blacktail.
"Here's what I decide," he finally said. "How about I take your offer and shove it down your throat."
"When I'm done with you," the fast biter threatened, "you're going to beg Blacktail to kill you." He raised his arm and pointed towards Littlefoot. "Make him bleed boys!" With that, one fast biter lunged towards Littlefoot from behind. Littlefoot rolled to the side and quickly popped back up. The fast biter swiped wildly at Littlefoot with his hooked claws, but the longneck was not going to let him win easily. He ducked and dipped several times until he finally body slammed into the fast biter, knocking him to the ground. Not giving him the chance to react, Littlefoot slammed his foot onto the sharptooth's head, crushing it. Two more fast biters then jumped into the battle, but Littlefoot was not afraid. He kicked one with both his hind feet and tripped the other with his tail. If only Cera were here to see this, Littlefoot thought. He quickly looked around for some sort of weapon and found a long stick lying a couple feet away. Not taking any chances, Littlefoot dove for the stick and grabbed it in his mouth. He then rolled to the side and glared at the fast biters.
"Anyone for stick rock?" Littlefoot asked, still holding the stick in his mouth. "I got the stick. You be the rock!" All of the fast biters attacked him from different directions, so Littlefoot swung his head back and forth, clubbing the sharpteeth in either the head or the side. It seemed like Littlefoot was winning the fight, which was a surprise because he had never taken on sharpteeth by himself. The fast biters started to lose confidence and started getting sloppy, making it easier for Littlefoot to force them to the ground. Unfortunately, his advantage would not last forever as the fast biter leader grabbed the stick and tugged with all his might. Littlefoot couldn't hold onto to the stick any longer and was flung to the side. The fast biter snapped the stick on his knee and tossed the pieces to the side.
"My turn whelp." The fast biter leaped in the air and slashed down. This time, his claw made contact on Littlefoot's face as it left a thin cut along his cheek. Littlefoot yelled out and staggered back a little. Trying to regain himself, he attempted to body slam the fast biter, but the fast biter simply whipped his tail out, hitting the longneck in the face again. Littlefoot tried and tried again to attack, but the fast biter kept forcing him back to the ground. The young longneck rocked back and forth in pain as the fast biter glared upon him. "I told you I was going to drag you screaming. My master will be very pleased."
"Your master will never know about this." From out of nowhere a flyer, the same flyer that had warned Ali and Shorty's group to leave approached the group. There was no emotion in the flyer's face, but the fierce look in his eyes struck fear into the sharpteeth's hearts. Littlefoot could not recognize the flyer, but the moment he saw him he knew he wasn't an enemy. "Now I'm going to ask you only once," the flyer continued. "If you value your lives then step away from the boy."
"Y…….you!" the fast biter leader replied. "You are in league with him?"
"That is none of your concern," the flyer replied. "Now back off!"
"The master will not approve of this," the fast biter threatened. "He will kill you for your betrayal." The flyer sighed, realizing he was not going to get Littlefoot easily.
"You just made a very bad mistake, but suit yourself." With that, the flyer lunged forward and body slammed into the fast biter. Without hesitation, he grabbed the sharptooth and pile drove him against a nearby boulder. The fast biter tried to struggle forward, but the fast biter grabbed his face with his bare hand, keeping his mouth shut and his teeth trapped inside. "You should have listened to me. You should have given the boy to me quietly. Now you die." The fast biter's eyes widened with fear as the flyer drove his head into the boulder and smashed it against it. A faint crack could be heard, and Littlefoot simply gazed in awe. The fast biter's eyes rolled back in his head to the whites, and the flyer dropped his corpse to the ground. The remaining sharpteeth all gasped in fear, and the flyer turned to them. "Anybody else want to object?" The fast biters wasted no time at all and started sprinting in the opposite direction until they could no longer be seen. The flyer nodded and then approached Littlefoot. "You're safe now. Are you able to stand?"
"I…" Littlefoot didn't know what to say. He was still shocked with how he killed the fast biter to really do much of anything. "I think so." He slowly struggled to stand up, but eventually he managed it. "Thanks for the rescue, but who are you?"
"My name is Scarbeak," the flyer replied. "I've been looking for you Littlefoot."
"How do you know my name?"
"I ran into your friends earlier. They came looking for you."
"Was there a threehorn, two longnecks, and a grown up?" Scarbeak thought for a second.
"No. This was a different group. There was a small sharptooth-" but before he could even finish Littlefoot gasped. He immediately knew whom Scarbeak was referring to.
"No," Littlefoot denied. "Why did they come too?"
"Your friends are very foolish to have come out here," Scarbeak agreed. "They are not fit to survive out in the Mysterious Beyond."
"They're not fools!" Littlefoot countered. "They just don't know what they're getting themselves into! That's all."
"Whatever," Scarbeak rolled his eyes. "Look I don't have the time nor the desire to argue with you about this. I just saved your life so you should be a little more grateful little longneck." Littlefoot was about to bring up that he never asked him to help him out, but he couldn't deny that he would have been dead had Scarbeak not shown up in the first place. "I hope you also realize how stupid it was of you to abandon your group like that. The Great Valley may provide you protection, but out here in the wilderness you are never safe."
"I realize that," Littlefoot replied. "I shouldn't have left my friends, and when I find them I will set things right."
"Well I wouldn't get too comfortable just yet," Scarbeak warned. "It is crucial that you stay alive especially since you are now a wanted kid." Littlefoot sighed.
"So you know about Blacktail?"
"I do," Scarbeak nodded. "He is a very dangerous fast biter and not the kind of dinosaur you want to get angry."
"So I've heard," Littlefoot replied. "Well I can't leave just yet. Blacktail's kidnapped three of my friends, and if I don't do something he's gonna kill them."
"Well there in lies the problem," Scarbeak shook his head. "If you go up against him now you will surely die."
"Well in that case my friends are dead regardless of whether I do anything or not, so I might as well do something." Littlefoot could understand what Scarbeak was telling him. He knew if he tried to fight Blacktail the fast biter would literally tear him to pieces. Of course, this didn't stop him before, and he wasn't going to let it stop him now. "I'm going after Blacktail with or without your help," Littlefoot finally concluded. Scarbeak finally realized how much this longneck child cared for his friends and nodded.
"Very well. I shall lead you to where Blacktail is keeping your friends, but we must leave now. There is a good chance those fast biters will return to him, and I can tell you Blacktail will not be pleased that they failed." Littlefoot smiled a little as Scarbeak turned around and hopped into the air, flapping his wings and heading forward. Scarbeak glanced back and thought to himself. "His will and determination is certainly strong, but he is in way over his head. Then again, if they were to die I would never be able to achieve my goal. Perhaps it is best if his friends were to live. Then once I deal with Blacktail I can continue with my plan.
Meanwhile, back in the Mysterious Beyond, Blacktail had decided to get a little more alone time away from his hostages. The bright circle now hid behind the mountains emitting an ominous orange glow in the sky. Blacktail closed his eyes as he reflected on his past life with his father. "It was you who taught me how to become a great sharptooth," he said to himself. "I learned everything from you. How to stalk, how to remain hidden, how to attack, everything. You told me that one day I would become the best." He blinked a tear and sighed. "If only you were still here. I could learn more from you like I used to when I was younger." At this point a memory flashed through his mind. It was a time when he truly connected with his father.
"Oh boy I can't wait!" Blacktail happily skipped through the tall grass as he searched for something to eat. His father had allowed him to practice his hunting alone for the first time, and Blacktail couldn't contain himself. "This is my chance to really show Dad what I can do. I'm gonna make him so proud of me!" Finally Blacktail found his prey, a medium sized swimmer. "Perfect! If I can take him down Dad will be so pleased." He slowly knelt to the ground preparing for his launch. The swimmer didn't seem to realize he was there as it continued casually grazing on the green food around it. Blacktail smirked as the leaf eater remained oblivious to his presence. "Lunch time," he whispered. With that he lunged out from within the grass and rushed towards the swimmer claws ready. Unfortunately the swimmer caught a glimpse of the attacker at the last minute and whipped its tail around. It hit Blacktail right in the face and sent him straight to the ground. Blacktail immediately rolled and leaped at the swimmer again, but the swimmer was ready this time. It body slammed the fast biter to the ground over and over again, and each time Blacktail got back up he grew weaker and weaker. Finally after several hits, Blacktail remained on the ground not badly injured but instead exhausted. The swimmer stood over Blacktail triumphantly, and the fast biter closed his eyes. Suddenly a blood-curling roar caused the swimmer to back up in sheer terror. Blacktail glanced up and smiled to see Sharptooth, his father, glaring right at the swimmer.
"Are you ok son?" his father growled.
"I am now that you are here," Blacktail replied.
"Stand back and let me show you how it's done." Sharptooth stepped over Blacktail and approached the swimmer. Blacktail watched as his father clawed and slashed at the defenseless leaf eater. The swimmer's cries of pain could be heard all over the world, but at this point nothing could save him. The swimmer finally fell to the ground in defeat, and Sharptooth planted his foot on top of the swimmer's body and let out another mighty roar. Afterwards he looked back at his son. "It's ok now Blacktail. You can come over here now." Blacktail stood up and approached his father. Although he was very happy that his father had saved him, at the same time he couldn't help but feel a little resentment.
"You know I was doing fine on my own until-"
"Until the swimmer got the best of you," Sharptooth interrupted. "As a hunter you must keep your mind focused on one thing and one thing only: the prey. If you let your mind wander you will let your guard down."
"But this swimmer was nothing," Blacktail argued. "I could have easily killed it by myself!"
"Then why didn't you?" Blacktail's silence indicated that his father had gotten to him. Sharptooth sighed and looked down at his son. "I am sorry Blacktail, but I am telling you this for your own good. You have to learn these things if you want to be a great sharptooth like myself."
"I know I know." Blacktail had heard these things numerous times before. "It's just that I don't want to wait 'til I'm older. I want to be the best sharptooth ever just like you."
"I know you do," Sharptooth nodded, "but it takes practice. If you keep trying then eventually you will become a fine hunter. For now you-"
"I know," Blacktail interrupted. "Guess I'm too little huh Dad?"
"You're still very young, but you'll get the hang of it some day."
"I hate being little!" Frustrated, Blacktail pounded his foot into the ground. Sharptooth laughed a little and nuzzled Blacktail's cheek.
"Don't worry. You'll be grown up soon enough." Sharptooth then glanced at the dead swimmer. "Now what do you say we eat?"
"Now you're talking!" Blacktail smiled. "All this growing up talk has made me really hungry."
"I was little then, but now I'm older," Blacktail muttered. He then looked up to the sky as the bright circle finally disappeared and the once orange sky transformed into an open black sky. "I know I'm a better hunter now and I will prove it. Killing Littlefoot will prove I am a great hunter just like you."
"Let them go you monsters!" Unfortunately reminiscing of the past had to wait as a voice interrupted his alone time. Curious, Blacktail returned to his hostages to find quite a shocking sight. His fellow fast biters had returned, but they had brought guests with them. Tied with vines around their necks stood Chomper, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, and Hyp's father. All of them were slightly bruised and cut from what seemed like a fight, and all were horrified at where they were brought. Hyp was the one who had yelled at the fast biters, and he yelled out again, "I said let my dad go now!"
"How can you be so cruel?" Ruby asked. "Let our friends go this instant, and I mean this instant!"
"Just wait until Littlefoot finds us," Rhett added. "He's gonna make you so sorry!"
"Pipe down you little brat!" Blacktail yelled. "One more word and I will shut that little mouth of yours up for good!" He then glanced over at his fast biters and switched to sharpteeth tongue. "I must say I am very surprised to see this. How did you manage to find them?"
"We split our ranks into three groups," one fast biter explained. "The longneck child was foolish enough to leave his little group, and we had learned there was another group coming this way from the Great Valley."
"To triple our chances of success," another fast biter added, "we decided to separate and go after each group. We were lucky enough to find this group relatively quickly, but they wouldn't come quietly. As you can see, we had to beat some sense into the weaklings."
"Hey don't forget I can understand you dumbass!" Chomper yelled and then switched to leaf tongue. "We would have beaten you if you cowards hadn't surprised us from behind!"
"That's enough Chomper!" Hyp's father warned. "We don't want to get him angry now do we?" Blacktail laughed a little as he approached Chomper.
"Well now isn't this interesting? I told you should we meet again I would not be as lenient as before. It looks like I get to go through with that threat." Out of spite, Chomper spat in Blacktail's face and glared at him. Out of disgust, Blacktail smeared the spit off his face and then backhanded Chomper in the cheek. "This time you will learn some respect."
"How about respect my claws gouging your eyes out?" Chomper mocked.
"Yeah you tell him!" Petrie edged on. "We no scared of him!"
"You are truly a mean, mean fast biter," Ducky added. "You are you are!" Spike also growled at him showing he wasn't afraid either.
"ENOUGH!" Blacktail yelled. "If you don't want me to kill you little pipsqueaks right now I suggest you all just shut the hell up and listen good!" All of the hostages did as they were told out of fear, except for Chomper who rolled his eyes. "If you cooperate I will let you live. If you are going to be little pains I will not hesitate in silencing you for good! Are we clear?" The hostages all nodded, still too shocked to say much of anything. Blacktail smiled. "Glad to see we've reached an understanding."
"The only thing I understand is that scum like you are lower than the dirt the ground is made of," Chomper commented. "You think you can scare us like that? You're nothing compared to Sharptooth." It took every muscle in Blacktail's body to restrain him from choking the young sharptooth. Instead he smirked and replied, "You don't know what true fear is, but don't worry. You will soon enough."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Well I'm sorry this is taking so long to update, but I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a little longer than I normally write because I was having too much fun.
Anyway, next week I leave for college, so I'm not sure if I will get this story done before I leave. If I don't, I promise I will continue to work on it, just the updates will come a bit slower than usual. I hope you guys bear with me and all the little things and hopefully you will enjoy this enough to become excited for later chapters!
