Author's Note:Due to lenght this is divided into parts.
Chapter 9: The Battle
Part 1: Grandma was right!
After Littlefoot had spat out all the water again, his mother put him on her back.
Littlefoot fell asleep with exhaustion.
The Bright Circle was burning from the sky. The wind blowing from the Big Water offered little relief.
Littlefoot woke up late in the afternoon. His neck and his mouth were parched and searing from the saltwater he had swallowed having to admit that his grandma was right. Being extremely thirsty and feeling scorched, he was startled to realise he couldn't speak.
'It must be because my neck is so dry,' he thought.
He passed out soon. If he didn't get something to drink soon, he would die. Littlefoot's herd knew that as well, so they moved on as fast as possible to reach the oasis that very
night.
At dawn, they finally reached the oasis and they went to the nearest watering hole.
Grandma tried to wake up Littlefoot on the back of his mother but it was no use. The little Longneck was very close to death. Therefore, she grabbed the little one, carefully placing
him into the shallow water so that the water could flow into his mouth. Littlefoot drank very much until his herd finally decided he had had enough for the moment.
Exhausted from their long journey, they laid down and fell asleep.
Part 2: Danger Ahead
At noon, the four Longnecks woke up. It was almost impossible to wake up Littlefoot though.
After all of them had a drink at the watering hole, they wandered around to find a tree that has juisy treestars. As they eventually had found such a tree, they munched as much as they could since
they didn't know how much time they would spend at this place. Besides, they had had a hellish hunger since they hadn't eaten anything for almost two weeks.
Just as they were about to settle down and rest to regenerate their strength and to take a relaxing sunbath, a roar could be heard in the distance.
"Mother, what was that?" Littlefoot asked, startled.
"It was a Sharptooth," she replied.
"A Sh-sh-sharptooth!?" Littlefoot screamed.
"We ought to find and warn the others," Grandpa announced...
The five Threehorns - the old Threehorn, his mate and their three daughters - woke up. It was still early in the morning. The Threehorns had been the first of the GreatValleians to arrive at the little oasis.
After the little ones had filled their tummies, they played tag on a meadow - always under the watchful eyes of their mother.
The old Threehorn had knocked over a tree so that his mate and he could feast on the Treestars. After a while, the Threehorn called.
"I gonna explore this place a bit."
"Alright..." his mate replied drowsily, dozing a bit. "Take care of yourself, dear."
"I will, sweetheart," he answered, grinning and walking away.
The old Threehorn's mate watched him until he had disappeared. With a smile on her face, she went on dozing, always keeping one eye open to watch the children splashing around in a nearby river.
After some time had passed, she heard a roar that with no doubt was uttered by a Sharptooth.
She immediately jumped to her feet, calling her three daughters.
"Cera, Candy, Cara!" She hoped their daddy was in safety...
Like the Longnecks, the Swimmers had arrived in the middle of the night. They had entered the oasis fromthe land though since the parents probably hadn't been able to keep their twelve little ones fromswimming in the Big Water - the instict not to go to far from any water, to bath in it, to splash init and to swim in it was fairly strong after all.
Anyhow, at noon, the Swimmers were woken up by a loud roar rudely. The kids got petrified. They ran around in a mess, screaming and crying.
"Settle down, kids!" their mother called, none of them listened.
"HEY!" their father bellowed. This time all of them stood still and listened carefully.
"Come on! We ought to find the others who can fight these beasts more efficiently than us Swimmers!"
The Flyers had arrived at the oasis the day before. They had spent the night in a cave at the land sideof the oasis. At the next morning, they were searching for berries.
Whereas Pterano prefered fish, his sister, her mate and their five children rather had berries and other Sweet Bubbles. As they finally discovered some Sweet Bubbles after a lenghty search, they landedin one of the trees, pleasureably munching on the superbly tasting Sweet Bubbles, while Pterano was fishing nearby. They hadn't finished their meal as a roar sounded.
"The last thing we need are Sharpteeth..." the male Flyer murmured.
"Follow me, kids, Sharpteeth are around!" Mama Flyer called.
Pterano came back from the fishing.
"You heard that?!" he shouted, excited.
"We did.. obviously," his sister commented. "We must warn the others!"
"Come Petrie!" Pterano told one of the young ones who wasn't able to fly yet. "I carry you."
Mr. Clubtail was just enjoying some farns as he heard a loud roar.
"I knew I'd need ya soon, buppy!" he commented the situation, swinging his tail with the dreaded 'bupper' on its end around. He watched the Flyers rising into the air.
"Finally, there's some action!" he pleased.
A Spiketail family consisting of a pair of parents, a grandma and three recently hatched kidsheard the roar as well. They were the only residents of this place but it was the first time that
a Sharptooth dared to show his face there.
"You all know, what has to be done..." the old, frail female Spiketail stated.
"Mother!" the male Spiketail retorted. "We won't leave this paradise!"
"Yeah! We'll ally with the visitors of this oasis," his mate confirmed.
"We'll drive those Sharpteeth out, together!"
Three Longnecks being close to finish the 'Time of Great Growing' just were eating when they heard the Sharptooth roar.
"Hey Freddy! You heard this?!" one of them called.
"Yo Greg! You heard it, Melissa?"
"I'm not deaf, boys!" Melissa laughed.
"What do we do now?" Freddy asked.
"Why we kick those cowards into their ugly butts," Greg announced self-confidently.
"I consider this a stupid idea," Melissa warned.
"Come on, scaredy-egg!" Greg begged.
"Don't you remember Greg winning against this Bellydragger?" Freddy questioned.
"I do! I won't join this nonetheless," she declared. "I'll ally with the other dinosaurs."
"There are more?!" Freddy wondered.
"Yeah... alright. You lead the way," Greg compromised.
"Okay! Follow me, boys!"
Part 3: Planning the Battle
The big green-greyish Sharptooth with eyes green as poison looked down at the oasis.
This will be a feast my little Fastbiter friends! he laughed.
Two dozens of Fastbiters stood around the Sharptooth in a semicircle. All of them were hungry, ready to do everything to satisfy their hunger. Though there was another thing that incided them...
The usual way he instructed them.
The Fastbiters charged towards the oasis on silent claws.
The Sharptooth let out an elated scream and followed his loyal fellow Fastbiters...
After all grown-ups and their kids had gathered on a big meadow amidst the oasis, Grandpa started talking. Everyone was listening in exitement and fear.
"Hello my friends. As you certainly have already noticed, there are Sharpteeth nearby."
Loud murmurs and declarations of anxiety were uttered.
"I know that you are probably scared but there is safety in numbers after all."
"As most of you know, I actually can't stand Longnecks but I ought to agree with you. If we stay together,placing our kids in the inside of the circle, nothing should go wrong," the Threehorn spoke up.
"Pterano," Littlefoot's Mother called. "Would you mind looking out from above so that we won't get attacked when we least expect it?"
"Sure. I won't be of great help on the ground, anyway," he joked, turning seriously againimmediately.
"Return if we have to fear an attack," Grandma instructed.
"And tell us how many we might have to deal with," the female Threehorn exclaimed. "Sharpteeth don't attack alone, usually." She twinkled to her mate.
"That's correct..." Mr. Threehorn muttered.
Pterano raised up, flying in the direction where they believed the Sharpteeth to be.
"Alright!" Grandpa continued. "We need to divide into different groups."
"Every group will get a respective task," Grandma went on.
"Form groups? What for?" Freddy questioned.
"Oh Freddy, silly," Melissa giggled. "So that everyone knows what he has to do."
"I'm with Freddy on this one," Greg affirmed. "I tell you we simply overwhelm them!"
"Calm down, kids," the Threehorn laughed. "You stay in our middle where it's safest."
"But..." Greg protested.
"Why don't you let him, dear?!" Threehorn's mate whispered. "If he absolutely wants to fight, let him."
"He's old enough after all," the Swimmer Daddy confirmed.
"Why not. You'll fight with us," the old Threehorn announced.
"You Swimmers could watch our kids," Grandma suggested.
"But I'd like to build something to defend myself first," the Swimmer Daddy responded. He was known for his great skillfulness and ability to create things made of wood and rock.
In the past, he used to use a sharpened stick to fight which he unfortunately lost during the escape from the Great Valley.
"Do you think you can manage this in a time that limited?" Grandpa asked in doubt.
"Sure. I only need a sharp-edged rock and a long, preferably straight and sturdy stick," he replied.
"Can I be of help?" the Flyer Daddy offered.
"It'd be a pleasure," the Swimmer Daddy replied. Together, they walked - respectively flew away.
"Alright, the Spiket..." Grandpa was about to say but he was interrupted by Pterano who panic-struck approached them, landing ungently.
Out of breath he shouted.
"It's him, it's HIM, we must ESCAPE!"
"WHO!?" the Threehorn bellowed.
"T-the one that once dared to enter the Great Valley," Pterano exclaimed, terrified.
"The one whose brother I 'accidently' pushed down the abyss?" Littlefoot's Mother questioned in horror.
"You got it," Pterano sighed.
"What happened back then?" the old Spiketail asked.
"There's no time for this now!" the Threehorn snapped at her. "We're so many that he wouldn't even dare to get close to us."
"I haven't revealed the details yet..." Pterano sighed. "He has an 'army', an army of Fastbiters!"
The Dreihorn looked as if he had seen a flying Longneck.
"How many?" Grandpa whispered.
"Two dozens," Pterano grimly replied.
"That's horrendous!" Mama Flyer exclaimed.
"Indeed!" the Threehorn, who got his composure back, roared. "When will they attack, Pterano?"
"You know I ain't speaking Sharptooth but I believe that they rest and discuss everything first before they're going to attack us - from the looks of it, that is..."
"Mother?" Littlefoot asked.
"Shhhhhht!" she cut him off.
"Let's hope that Pterano is right," Grandpa spoke.
"You still wanna fight them!?" Melissa teased snappily.
"S-sure..." Greg replied unsteadily.
"Idiot!"
"Now that we know the exact strenght of our enemies I consider it best to build a line!" Grandpa proposed.
"Why of all a line? It's even easier for them to break through!" the Threehorn retorted.
"None of our lineups will stand like a mountain for long since Sharpteeth usually try to separate single individuals from the others," Grandpa reasoned.
"Yes, but what about our children?" the Threehorn questioned.
"We will place somebody behind the lineup who protects the children," Grandpa responded.
"I watch our little ones," Mama Swimmer offered.
"Sure you can but you're not strong enough to defend them!" the Threehorn retorted.
"I defend our children!" Littlefoot's Mother exclaimed.
"I was about to propose that, my daughter," Grandpa spoke.
"But we need strong fighters at the front!" the Threehorn, who slowly got annoyed by the Longnecks, screamed.
"We also need someone who is actually capable of protecting the children!" Grandma argued furiously.
"Humpff!"
"Enough disputes for today! Let's rest so that we're fit for the fight when it starts," Grandpa suggested.
Everyone agreed. Most of them ate and drank something to strenghten their bodies.
Pterano spyed the pack without getting any news worthy to tell.
After a while - the Swimmer Daddy and the Flyer Daddy were back in the meanwhile - Grandpa walked to the Spiketails to ask if they were still willing to listen to the story. They affirmed.
Grandpa gathered everyone around him and started narrating...
Part 4: Vendetta
"Some years ago, two gigantic Sharpteeth entered our home, the Great Valley. Although our valley was protected by a big wall, they were able to break into the valley. Of course they were noticed quickly. As we do today we gathered, trying to drive those Sharpteeth out of our valley. The Sharpteeth were tough and hard to beat but due to our majority we could drive them back. Then, nearby an abyss, my daughter pushed one of the two into this very abyss. He was never seen or heard of again. The remaining Sharptooth got extremely furious. Since he had no chance in a fight against us, he flew off into the Mysterious Beyond."
"I'm afraid that he is on a vendetta now," Grandma finished the story.
"Yeah, it's hard to guess whom he wants to get rid of!" the Threehorn shouted sarcastically, earning him a few furious glares.
"I'll leave him toothless if he makes it to me!" Littlefoot's Mother shouted grimly.
"Pterano, keep being on the lookout for these beasts!" the Threehorn ordered. Pterano obeyed him though he didn't like the way of the Threehorn spoke to him at all.
When he came back, he had bad news...
The Sharptooth had indeed allowed his followers to have a break since the leafeaters were well organised so they would be harder to beat. Though he would beat them, even if it was the last thing he did... Finally, he would be able to avenge his brother! He had gathered loyal Fastbiter-followers for years; he wandered through the land in search of trustworthy followers... and now he didn't even need to set foot into this bloody Great Valley... This day seemed to be a lucky one.
He was still able to remember every tiny detail. He recognized every leafeater that had battled him and his brother back then and he especially recognized the murderer of his brother. How could he even forget her glance after she had pushed HIM into this abyss... pure pleasure!
If only he had been able to fight her, one-on-one as it should be but she would be protected so he would need to take on the others first. Too bad that that damned spy had told them it's him. He would have been able to attack them, take them by surprise and no one would have recognised him in time.
He felt it was time to attack.
Enough resting! We're going to attack now!
The Fastbiters stood up and got ready. They hadn't had a meal in a while so they were even more motivated to take on the leafeaters.
Kill as many as possible! But don't attack the killer of my beloved brother... she belongs to me...
The group made their way to the leafeaters...
"They are attacking!" Pterano screamed from a distance. He made a rough landing. "They're coming..."
"Fine! Everyone to their positions but keep some distance between each other!" the Threehorn barked.
He created the lineup: rightmost the Spiketails, next to them the Threehorns, then the Swimmer Daddy, Mr. Clubtail, Grandma and Grandpa Longneck and leftmost Greg, who declared he would fight on the end of the lineup, Freddy and and the Flyer Parents would throw stones that they had collected with the Daddy Swimmer who, in turn,would fight with his sharpened tree branch to distract them. Mama Swimmer would watch the children alongside Littlefoot's Mother, protecting them.
"Candy, Cera, Cara! Stay behind me and watch so you can see how to fight!" the old Threehorn shouted at his daughters.
"Do I need to remind you that we agreed on the Swimmer and my daughter to protect ALL of the kids?" Grandpa retorted.
"I'd like my kids to stay with me as well," the Daddy Spiketail said calm but resolute.
"My little ones, stay with me!" the Mummy Swimmer shouted indignantly.
"Mine too," the Mummy Flyer agreed.
"You too, Littlefoot," Grandma reminded.
"Yeah! Mother protects me," he said and smiled slightly.
"Come on, little one!" his mother called.
"Coming!" the little Longneck replied.
"They're coming!" Mr. Clubtail called, gaining everyone's attention. The pack stormed out of a wood notfar away.
"Everybody to their positions!" the Threehorn barked. They obeyed.
Part 5: The Battle
The 'battlefield' was a big meadow bounded by a rocky wall at one side and by the river streaming through the oasis on the other side. The invaders came from another direction, where a forest grew. The only escape path would lead back to the Big Water...
The Fastbiters divided into groups on approach, already targeting different dinosaurs...
Then both groups collided. Greg, Freddy and Melissa clashed with a Fastbiter each, Grandma and Grandpa even fought against eight of them in one go! Mr. Clubtail and the Daddy Swimmer faced off against another three beasts while the Threehorn and his mate battled against six of them and the Spiketails took on four of the Fastbiters. The Sharptooth observed the action but stayed close enough to intervene if his Fastbiters needed support.
It only took a few moments for the attackers to claim the first casualty. Four Fastbiters pushed Grandma to the ground with a well-coordinated jump. There, they started to bite down on the now defenseless Longneck and cut her with their razor-sharp claws. Grandpa was under such pressure from the other four that he couldn't come to the rescue.
"Mother, you must help Grandma!" Littlefoot screamed in a panic.
She made a quick decision, having seen the large amount of blood weeping from Grandma. Neglecting her duty to protect the children, she ran over to save her mother's life. With only a few steps, she arrived. Her tail raised, she beat all four Fastbiters so that they flew high through the air.
Grandma whispered a weak 'thanks' but she remained lying at the ground, covered in blood and paralysed by pain.
"You have to protect me!" the Swimmer criticized.
"Run away! We can't hold the line..." she shouted just as a Fastbiter was trying to jump on her back. Masterfully, she whipped him away with her tail. "...I'm afraid," she finished her sentence.
The Swimmer stayed, despite wanting to flee as it was too dangerous for her and her kids to attempt to make an escape right now.
Meanwhile, the beasts had brought the old Spiketail down. However, the Daddy Swimmer andthe Threehorn's mate each stabbed one of their opponents with their respective weapons, killing them.
The Sharptooth had to admit that the fight would end in a tie if he didn't join it. He let out a
howl before charging at the Threehorns...
Greg basically fought against four Fastbiters on his own. Freddy, and especially Melissa, were too frightened by the beasts and poorly experienced in self-defense to be of much use. Greg was just about to give his friends some orders when one of the Fastbiters rammed its head into Greg's side. Greg fell to the ground and the others immediately approached and bit into his neck. Greg flinched a few times before laying completely still.
Melissa needed a few seconds to realise what had just happened. One of her friends had been killed right before her eyes. She just wanted to be far away! Turning around, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. One of the Fastbiters gave chase...
Freddy, on the other hand, became incredibly furious. The death of his best friend gave him unexpected bravery. He had almost nothing to loose now so he stormed towards the three Fastbiters, ramming one of them with his body. As he slowed down, he struck the other two with his tail. However, the beasts recovered quite fast and with a coordinated attack, all three of them jumped on Freddy's back simultaneously. Freddy was doomed; he was bitten severely. Freddy couldn't shake them off as more flesh was ripped from his body. He became weaker and weaker until he could not feel any pain anymore. Eventually, he collapsed to the ground and awaited his fate.
While the Fastbiters attacked the old Threehorn, relentlessly attacking him, although most attacks ended in a painful counter, the Sharptooth took on his mate.
The Spiketails were inferior to their opponents. The old Spiketail was heavily injured and both grown-ups had to stand one hit after another. The female who carried their children on her back was unsteady on her feet.
"Run kids, run..." she whispered weakly. Two of the Fastbiters had bitten her leg causing her to crash to the ground. The three kids screamed and ran away. The Fastbiters however snapped at the kids catching two of them, the other one was able to escape. It ran and ran, crying until it eventually had left the oasis. The father of the little ones tried to escape with the last bit of strength but he failed. The Fastbiters jumped on him until he finally collapsed; hunted down just like his mate...
After Threehorn's mate had bravely survived the Sharptooth's first onslaught, the Sharptooth and the female Threehorn spied each other. The Sharptooth knew that the Threehorn would be tough to defeat. Threehorns were the only leafeaters that were best equipped to kill a Sharptooth. Other kinds were also able to injure or even kill them like Clubtails or Longnecks though...
The Sharptooth approached her cautiously as the Threehorn fearfully shuffled backwards, all the while keeping a sharp eye on the beast staring down on her. He drove her back in the direction which he came from while the Fastbiters forced the other Threehorn to move in the opposite direction...
The mate of the old Threehorn was frightened. She knew exactly what the Sharptooth had in mind, and she was even letting it happen. Plucking up the courage, she charged forwards surprising the Sharptooth...
Mr. Clubtail and the Swimmer were separated as well. Each of them had to face two Fastbiters since the two beasts that had fought against the Longnecks had 'replaced' their dead companions.
While Mr. Clubtail was amused by the fighting - he was pretty tough to defeat due to his excellent armour and his dreaded bopper after all - the Swimmer was in big trouble. He had suffered a bad cut on his strong arm almost leaving him unable to fight. Still, he wasn't willing to give up. He bravely fought off the attacks of the two Fastbiters but they knew the Swimmer was injured and seemed to be dodging more than fighting. Even then, he could only take on one of them since he only had one working arm. As his opponents were distracted by one of the Flyers, the Swimmer charged at them, his sharpened branch raised. Their reaction was quick and they got out of the way. The Swimmer, who had put his whole strength and hope into the attack, stormed past them, stumbled and fell. He lost his weapon and now escape was the only remaining option. Although the ground was more comfortable than anything he had ever lied on, he heaved himself up to start to run. One of the Fastbiters closed in quickly.
Mama Swimmer and her twelve little ones watched the fight, shocked and startled; everyone of them, except one girl that had secretly walked away from her mother who was too busy watching her mate. The little Swimmer began following a butterfly, jumping up at it...
Mr. Clubtail left his opponents, who were neither able to attack him nor able to defend themselves anymore, toothless and moved to the Longnecks who, in the meantime, were completely encircled...
In a nosedive, Pterano had just saved the old Threehorn from a dangerous attack by giving a Fastbiter, who had sneaked behind the courageous Threehorn as he was fighting, a powerful blow to the head knocking it out just as it was about to jump onto the Threehorn's back. Blood oozed out of a gaping wound at the back of its head.
"After all the years, I'm still strong!" he rejoiced inwardly, surprised that the attack had incapacitated the beast. He flew higher into the air to get a better view on things to observe where his help might be needed most.
Suddenly, a couple of things happened almost simultaneously...
Part 6: Death Everywhere
Pterano watched the battle suddenly turning around to the misfortune of the leafeaters helplessly.
Melissa couldn't run further since her legs became too heavy. The Fastbiter that chased her slowly approached. Melissa had only one option - no matter how much she hated it: she had to fight!
She turned her back side towards the beast brandishing her tail.
The Fastbiter paused considering how to pass this 'barrier'. Eventually, he made a decision. Heaimed at his victim, jumped and landed on the young Longneck. Melissa screamed as the beast bit her tail and her back with its razor-sharp teeth. Melissa tried to shake the attacker off, but she failed. With every fruitless attempt, with every piece of flesh that was torn out of her body, she became weaker. Finally, her vision blacked, her legs weakened and she crashed to the ground. Her last thought was that she had at least tried...
The two Fastbiters had caught up with the Swimmer. Mama Swimmer grabbed her little ones and ran away. She didn't want her little ones to watch their father die but also did she want to bugger off because the others couldn't guarantee her safety anymore. She was in such a hurry that she accidentally forgot about Littlefoot hiding in a bush...
The Swimmer knew that it was over as he saw the ugly snouts of the beasts to the right and left of him. His last thoughts were of his family who hopefully didn't have to watch him get hunted down. One of the two Fastbiters jumped for his throat, ending his life quickly and without any pain...
The Sharptooth was still battling with Threehorn's mate. Both had hardly harmed each other so far though, for the Sharptooth didn't WANT to harm her yet. He waited for the right time to attack which was just about at this moment...
His companions had just taken over control of the brutal battle which worked in his favour. Since he had studied his opponent very well while pretending to truly fight her, he knew exactly what to do. He roared an important order to his Fastbiters. At that moment, he pretended to be distracted.
The mate of the Threehorn eyed her chance and stormed forwards...
Mr. Clubtail, Littlefoot's Mother, Grandma and Grandpa were meanwhile separated from the Threehorns. They were encircled by a dozen Fastbiters, who again and again attacked to weaken them. The fight was becoming tiresome and they had taken quite a beating. Some of the beasts were already injured so the group still considered a victory possible if they stood their ground.
The Fastbiters heard the order of their leader, promptly translated it into action. They stopped attacking and stepped back a few meters. The leafeaters took the opportunity to talk.
"Is everyone alright?" Grandpa inquired sending a worried glance to Grandma who looked pretty bad.
"It's... alright!" she groaned in pain.
"Those critters are tougher than I thought!" Mr. Clubtail cringed morosely.
"Yes, I'm afraid you're right," Grandpa sighed.
"You think the Swimmer is safe?" Littlefoot's Mother questioned apprehensively.
"I saw her running away a little while ago," Grandma replied quietly.
"Whoo! That's good news!" Littlefoot's Mother exclaimed. "I was actually supposed to protect her."
"Where is this Sharptooth by the w..." Grandpa was about to ask as the Fastbiters jumped all of a sudden catching all four of them by surprise. A dozen Fastbiters flew towards the completely unprepared Longnecks. Most of them hit Grandma, causing her to fall. Grandpa was the other victim. Mr. Clubtail and Littlefoot's Mother weren't attacked at all. They tried to rescue Grandma who defenselessly lay on her side. Mr. Clubtail jumped on one Fastbiter who had a hard crash to the ground as Grandma fell over. With some well-placed hits of his club, the beast was eliminated for good. Meanwhile, Littlefoot's Mother flung the other Fastbiters off Grandma's body using her tail. Grandpa had Fastbiters attacking his right side so he let himself fall to the right side on purpose. The ground shook as if an earthshake had just happened as Grandpa crashed on the ground, crushing the Fastbiters beneath him. Both Grandpa and the Fastbiters remained lying there, not moving at all...
The Sharptooth only saw the charging Threehorn out of the corner of his eye. A second later and she would have hit him. He used all of his strength to jump high into the air so that the mate of the old Threehorn stormed past him, missing her target. He easily landed on his feet as the Threehorn decelerated her pace. Right when she was about to turn around to start the next attack, the Sharptooth rammed his massive head into her flank causing the Threehorn to tumble to the ground. The Sharptooth let out a triumphant roar, stooped above the female Threehorn who was now frozen with fear and bit her. A monstrous wound gaped on her stomach. The Sharptooth bit her again, tearing more flesh out of her. The mate of the Threehorn yelped in pain.
The old Threehorn heard his mate's scream. He tried to reach his mate in panic, but the Fastbiters prevented him from reaching her. They even managed to drive the Threehorn back whilst one of the Fastbiters started hunting his three daughters, who were still watching their father fighting from a distance, startled. The Threehorn didn't hesitate. Determined, he chased after the Fastbiter. The others followed the Threehorn, trying to cut his back...
The Sharptooth bit a couple of pieces out of the Threehorn's mate until he was absolutely certain that she would never get in his way again. He roared another order, walking in the direction of the Longnecks but not straight...
Littlefoot's Mother killed another Fastbiter by stepping on him after she headbutted him to the ground. Mr. Clubtail, however, had been severely bitten for the first time as all of the beasts that were still able to fight suddenly rushed towards him. The big horde of them threw him to his side so that the Fastbiters could get at his underbelly.
But then the eight remaining Fastbiters realised that one of their companions just got stumped on.
They angrily let go of the visibly relieved Mr. Clubtail, charging at Littlefoot's Mother instead, although they weren't allowed to attack her.
One of them though walked to Littlefoot's Grandparents who lay on the ground, injured. He was just about to bite Grandma's tail when Grandpa beat him with his own. The beast was flung into the horde of the Fastbiters storming towards Littlefoot's Mother, hitting two of them.
Grandpa tried to get back up...
The beasts ran faster than the Threehorn. There were only six of them remaining; the rest of them were either injured or dead. Three of them jumped on the Threehorn from behind, slowing him down. The other three were after the children, who ran away, although one of the three girls started her getaway earlier.
Pterano had to spectate the happenings from above. There was nothing - absolutely nothing - he could do to help. The Threehorn's mate was dead, the children would be torn apart right before his eyes in the cruellest way imaginable. Yet an idea came to his mind...
Candy and Cara ran for their lives, but they were far too slow to escape the fast meat-eaters; their name was Fastbiter with a reason. They were caught, and their short lives were ended by a bite of the beasts.
Pterano knew that his plans were pure suicide. Nonetheless, he had to try. He also knew that the kids lagging behind couldn't be helped anymore - he was simply too far away from them - but since he couldn't save more than one kid anyway, he started to dive...
The old Threehorn shook his opponents off just in time to see that his daughters had just been eaten. An indescribable rage poured through his body, his blood boiled. Then he screamed so incredibly loud that leaves fell to the ground. It was a scream for retaliation, revenge and satisfaction in which sorrow, grief, anger and despair could be heard. All these feelings mobilized unexpected strengths in the Threehorn, adrenaline poured through his veins. He charged at one of the murderers violently pinning him to a thick tree that stood nearby. The Fastbiter was dead on impact.
Right after that, he charged at the other murderer. It was prepared on the attack though and charged at the raging Threehorn, too, and jumped...
The scream of the Threehorn and the Fastbiter sent through the air distracted the attackers by Grandpa allowing Littlefoot's Mother to trip all of them with her tail with no problems.
Grandpa made it on his feet though he felt pretty dizzy...
The Sharptooth saw the little Longneck baby.
Probably the offspring of that Longneck he thought. He walked towards the hiding place, bursting with inwardly delight. He imagined that Longneck's expression if she had to watch her son getting devoured helplessly...
The Fastbiter, who chased the Threehorn girl still alive, almost certainly had his prey. Pterano desperately tried to somehow reach the girl. As the Fastbiter just stooped opening his mouth, Pterano changed his plan in a flash. He amended his flight path, hitting the Fastbiter's eye directly. The beast howled in pain, lashing around whereby he nearly caught Pterano with his claws.
Eventually, Pterano reached the still running girl, caught her and raised her high into the sky. At first she was panicky. She screamed and struggled to free herself.
"Calm down, I will fly you to a save place," Pterano said, trying to calm her. He headed for a tree in which his nieces and nephews had flown to be safe...
The Threehorn didn't let himself get distracted by the counterattack. With a terrible impact the Threehorn threw his opponent high into the air - as high as a Longneck was tall when it straightened up to reach the highest, lushest treestars of a high and old tree like the one to which he had just pinned the other Fastbiter to. It flipped uncontrollably, rotating around its own axis. Then it crashed into the ground, landing on its spine with an awful sound. He would never harm anyone anymore.
Satisfied, the old Threehorn acknowledged his achievement; yet immediately, the sadness due to the fact that he had lost his whole family replaced his pride. He suddenly felt weaker than he ever felt in his whole life. Yet the wrath quickly prevailed over the grief, new energy recharged his strength. In thoughts of his father who had always drummed into him to stay tough, never give up and chiefly fight, he ran towards the Fastbiter that had been attacked and blinded by Pterano...
Littlefoot's Mother saw three more Fastbiters joining their companions. Quickly, she got back to her parents who weren't able to defend themselves at that very moment; Grandma still lay on the ground, not attempting to get up at all.
The Sharptooth stomped towards the little Longneck baby, who seemed to have not noticed him yet...
Littlefoot had been spectating the whole fight, scared. Since his Grandma had fallen, he even cried a little bit because he was worried that something bad had happened to her. Suddenly, he felt the ground shaking. An earthshake? Then he heard a loud stomp. Were earthshakes able to stomp? Eventually, he saw the cause of the tremor that increased to a violent shake in the meanwhile. It was a horrendous, ugly Sharptooth with a wide-open mouth and eyes as green as poison who stomped right towards him, uttering a loud roar. Littlefoot cried out for his mother but the Sharptooth ran fast...
Littlefoot's Mother and Mr. Clubtail defended the two injured elderly Longnecks bravely. Grandpa tried to help Grandma get on her feet again. After some attempts it worked, although Grandma was barely capable of standing on her feet on her own. She had lost too much blood and some of the wounds were still bleeding, though far less than when she had first gotten them.
Littlefoot's Mother just almost let a Fastbiter through because she heard a scream in the distance sounding like 'mother'. Then, she suddenly heard a familiar roar. She knew it, it was the same roar that she had heard years ago. She flung the beast through the air so that it crashed into one of his companions, and both remained laying on the ground.
She heard this scream again, this time she was sure. It was her only son who uttered the scream and her biggest enemy trying to end her son's life.
Without paying attention to the completely exhausted, feeble and discouraged Fastbiters she ran to her son...
The Sharptooth came closer and closer. He roared an important order to his fellows who lay on the ground, yet the Fastbiters remained lying there. Some were dead, almost all of them were injured, many of them weren't able to take on the leaf-eaters any more. They would rather have had to watch, and not get attacked in the first place...
He furiously directed them again. Three stood up but they didn't attack because Grandpa and Grandma were, at least theoretically, able to fight them off, meanwhile.
The Sharptooth saw his archenemy charging at him. If he caught the little one, she would beat him with her full power, and he couldn't and didn't want to let that happen. Frustrated, he changed his aim...
Pterano called the parents of his nieces and nephews sharing his plans with them.
"We need to get all of the children to safety! It's not safe here anymore and we can't protect them well enough," he reasoned.
His sister considered.
"You're right about that, Pterano. But where are they safe from those beasts?"
"Perhaps in the cave we slept in last night?" her mate suggested.
"Right!" Pterano exclaimed as if he had just invented the wheel. "It can only be reached from the air and there's some water and food."
"Pterano, you carry the little Threehorn, follow me first though!" the male Flyer ordered.
"Agreed!"
"And you, dear, will carry the Longneck," the male Flyer said, now turning to his mate.
"Yes!"
The Flyers flew to the fighting dinosaurs, Pterano with the little Threehorn on his back, which was much easier than carrying it with his claws.
Mama Swimmer was pretty worried. She hadn't heard anything of the further actions of the battle, though she honestly didn't want to know anything at all. The only thing that counted was that her family was safe. Although she likely wouldn't find more of her mate than his bones, at least the offspring were safe. She looked at her little ones who were unusually quiet. Suddenly, she noticed that one of her children, Ducky, was missing...
Part 7: Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth
Littlefoot hid behind a tree. From there, he watched as his mother slowed down right before crashing into the Sharptooth, who had his mouth wide open. Throwing her massive body against him, she rammed him causing him to crash into a tree that broke in two.
"Run, Littlefoot, RUN!" she shouted at her son.
"Where?" Littlefoot cried in fear.
She looked to her parents and Mr. Clubtail who seemed to have the situation under control.
"To your Grandparents!"
Littlefoot didn't hesitate any longer because the Sharptooth, writhing on the ground, had gotten to his feet again.
Uttering a furious roar, he charged at Littlefoot's Mother again. She evaded his attempt to ram her but she couldn't start a counterattack. The Sharptooth stomped towards her, slowly driving her away from her parents. She had to fight him all alone. One on one, only one would survive...
"I bet they're done!" Mr. Clubtail called to the two elderly Longnecks. Grandpa nodded before noticing Pterano and the two other Flyers coming, growling something.
"Longnecks!" the male Flyer called. "We're carrying all kids into this cave." He pointed in the direction of the cave.
"Where's your little one? the female Flyer questioned.
"To be honest, I don't know," Grandpa sighed. "I believe that he is either with the Swimmers or hiding somewhere."
"There he is," Mr. Clubtail remarked. At that moment, Littlefoot came running from the direction where his mother was fighting against the Sharptooth.
"Littlefoot..." Grandma exclaimed weakly and Grandpa gave her a worried glance.
"The Flyers will take you to a safe place," Grandpa told him.
"Why Grandpa?" Littlefoot questioned.
"'Cause it's too dangerous here, so come on!" the male Flyer ordered.
Littlefoot trotted to the Flyers reluctantly and climbed onto the female Flyer's back. Now, Pterano, with the Threehorn girl and Mama Flyer with Littlefoot on their backs, flew off to bring the two to the safe place.
"Where's the old, grumpy Threehorn, by the way?" Mr. Clubtail wondered.
The 'old, grumpy Threehorn' had just chased after the half-blinded Fastbiter who took refuge from the bloodthirsty Threehorn. However, he was too slow and too exhausted and the Threehorn rammed him to the ground stabbing him to death with his horns.
Littlefoot's Mother kept moving backwards. Slowly but surely, they approached the river. She used all of her courage to stay where she was. The Sharptooth also stopped. They looked deep into each other's eyes; pure hatred in their stares but neither of them wanting to make the first step...
"Shouldn't we help your daughter?" Mr. Clubtail questioned.
"I doubt that I can get there at all," Grandma whispered despairingly.
"We can't just stand around doing nothing! We must do something!" Grandpa spoke up determinedly.
"I agree," the male Flyer, who was carrying his son being incapable of flying, on his back, chimed in. "I'll try to distract this bully, you try to join her as fast as you can."
"Okay, I'll support you, dear," Grandpa said, adressing his mate.
They slowly walked in direction of the fight between the two as suddenly a choral of yelling sounded...
Littlefoot's Mother became impatient. She approached the Sharptooth unobtrusively while they circled around each other. When she eventually was close enough to start a surprising attack, she raised her tail, turned around and whipped it at the Sharptooth, catching him completely off guard. After he had recovered from the shock, he stormed forwards, striking the Longneck's left hind leg with his claws. Littlefoot's Mother suppressed the urge to let out a cry...
Meanwhile, the Fastbiters had jumped to their feet, threatening the little group. They slowly forced them to move back. None of the two parties dared another attack since both had suffered too many losses. The only aim of the beasts was to prevent the Leafeaters from reaching their boss.
"I suppose we'd better stay here," Grandpa growled.
"Right..." Grandma commented on the situation. She saw it with a laughing and a crying eye. On the one hand, she was glad that she did not need to walk all the way to fight against the Sharptooth, but on the other hand, she was aware of the huge strength of the Sharptooth. Her daughter was in a miserable situation so she silently hoped the best for her daughter.
Littlefoot's Mother raised her tail again but missed her target as the Sharptooth evaded luckily. He rammed his head against the flank of the Longneck, nearly causing her to fall. The Sharptooth was just about to take a bite out of her when something landed on his head. He tried to seize the unknown interference but the brave Flyer was already in the air again, flying some distance above his head.
Littlefoot's Mother took the opportunity to trip the perplexed Sharptooth with a vigorous swing of her tail, causing him to crash into the dirt face-first. Immediately, she tried to pull one better by striking some more on the head. Despite the blows, the Sharptooth stood up again. He jumped towards the Longneck in rage, landing at her right shoulder. His attack left deep cuts where his claws on his hands and feet drilled into her flesh in search of a foothold. Littlefoot's Mother groaned under the pain this time, but she could, however, shake off the Sharptooth, who still couldn't find a proper foothold. With a beat of her neck, her attacker found himself on the ground again but he virtually got to his feet right away. Uttering a furious roar, he started on the offensive.
The Flyer dove down to distract the beast by flying past him tightly. At that, he unfortunately underestimated its eyesight and its ability to react quickly as well as its reach.
The Sharptooth raised his arm, slashing the stomach of the Flyer who instantly crashed to the ground. He did not move at all anymore.
Now Littlefoot's Mother was the one to become furious. She showed the Sharptooth her tail whipping him brutally, causing his chest to bleed. In retaliation, the Sharptooth jumped high and landed on the Longneck's back this time. Unhesitatingly, he sank his long, razor-sharp teeth into the back of the Longneck, ripping an immensely big piece of flesh out of her.
Littlefoot's Mother gasped and howled in pain. Her vision suddenly became black. Instead of devouring more, the Sharptooth let go of her. He rammed his head into her side causing her to fall. He positioned himself above her triumphantly, a smile on his face as he looked into her fearful eyes, into these eyes whose light would lapse fade out very soon...
He didn't want to just kill and eat her, he wanted REVENGE. Instead of destroying her as fast as he could, he wanted to torture her to death. He started to inflict deep cuts and scratches into the right side of the Longneck, prolonging the pain but not killing her straight away. They would increase the suffering considerably and slow her death. He continued, doing the same to the left side. Littlefoot's Mother withstood the pain as best she could. She didn't want to grant him the last satisfaction. Minutes passed, neither of them did anything. The Sharptooth waited for the death of his enemy and thus the fullfilment of his plans for vengence. He hoped his brother would embrace his efforts to avenge his death.
Littlefoot's Mother felt less and less pain. Her last thoughts were reserved for her family. While she took her last breaths, she thought of her son as much as she could. She would watch over him, would always be there, would always protect him.
With this thought, Littlefoot's Mother died.