CHAPTER 10: Reunited

Sid had managed to sleep out the rest of the night, after struggling to get into that state initially, especially after he had dreamt of being with Momma Dino and the kids again. The sky was bright, the warmth was coming into the dinosaur world as the sun rose up in what was a pink sky, and Sid was out cold. He was under that palm-like tree, but again, he managed to avoid being attacked during his sleep by a roaming night dinosaur. By the time he wakes up, though, he'll still feel like a failure and a liability. The scent of grass had flowed in the air, in which the burning scent from the sheer heat of the dinosaur world was at its maximum. It was still fairly early, so it wasn't of any surprise that Sid's still asleep.

Much to the sleeping mind of the sloth, an earthquake felt like it was shattering this area, but as if it was coming from giant stomps; this could only mean one thing: Rudy. If it is, then Sid will truly be doomed. The stomping had eventually caused all of the tiny dinosaurs to rush out from the jungle and into the open space past the warm pool of water, as the source of the stomps had emerged closer and closer. As each stomp had shattered the area briefly, it sounded like rocks were being pelted to the ground. A giant shadow began emerging, as the dinosaur was starting to emerge out from the trees, but it wasn't alone. Mixed in with these deadly-sounding, thunderous stomps came a collection of tiny laughters and dinosaur chirps, as they all sounded squeaky and at the same time, adorable.

A tiny Tyrannosaurus Rex had emerged from within the jungle, popping out from amongst the trees. Two more had rushed out in the midst of the morning light over the dinosaur world, as the three Tyrannosaurus Rex babies had knocked eachother playfully to the ground. But then, their mother was the last one to emerge. Sure enough, it was indeed none other than the one dinosaur Sid's been looking for; Momma Dino.

Momma Dino had stopped in front of her three babies, looking in every direction of this area. Her motherly instincts had concluded that this open area would be where they reside for the morning. After knocking Rudy off the edge, Momma didn't feel as insecure about staying in one area. She once again, like a walking earthquake with her gigantic stomps, had walked. She walked past her three babies as they all watched their mother, as she began looking through the trees to find some meat. Sure enough, Momma Dino was successful. She ducked her long, tower-like neck down so her head was right into the green atmosphere of the trees briefly, only to pull out what looked like a bit of meat resembling the one she had given to them whilst Sid was still with her.

She carried it in her mouth, showing off her orange, bright scales as her tiny arms had contrasted her gigantic legs as a Tyrannosaurus Rex, before dropping the meat right in front of her babies, emitting a gigantic thud. She ducked her head down towards her babies, purring with them as she had her tail around them. She was super protective of them, which meant that she had always wanted to comfort them as she's doing now. Egbert, Yoko and Shelly had embraced their mother with their own purrs, before munching their sharp teeth into the meat.

Momma Dino stood up straight, with her tower-perspective gaining an advantage over the nearby vicinity. She wanted to check out the trees around here, in the event that a threat was potentially upon her babies. As her teeth were slightly out in the front of her vicious mouth, Momma walked over to the direction that Sid was (coincidentally?) sleeping. She slowly looked in the distance to the various canyon structures in the distance near the Lava Falls, in thanks to her ability to see at a high height. As she emitted stomps from her slow walking due to her size, she lowered her head to scan the trees, boulders, and the mossy atmospheres in a bid to ensure no danger was waiting for her babies as they munched on that meat.

Momma's face went from a hunting-like expression to a raised-up-eyebrow one, upon seeing a distinguishable green figure laying flat underneath one of the trees. She initially thought of this as some sort of dead bush or some sort of dinosaur, but upon noticing the lighter shades of green amongst what appeared to be its chest, she studied it. Her head was significantly lowered as she gently grunted. The face of this green thing had instantly shocked her, prompting her to withdraw from her hunting and protecting-her-young phase. The Tyrannosaurus Rex was not only surprised to see the sloth, but she thought that he had left. After seeing him here, the Tyrannosaurus Rex felt delighted, seeing the sloth here after initially thinking that he had left; this had prompt her into staying in this area for a bit longer, with her babies, for when he wakes up.

Momma let off a subtle smirk, as she slowly walked back over to her babies. She let off the same sound she made after Sid had claimed, back 'up there', that the babies were his kids, and that Momma would have to 'go through him to get them'. She was happy, and pleasantly surprised.

Sid, hearing those gigantic stomps just now, had awakened. He rubbed his eyes, completely forgetting what went on last night, sitting up as he felt stiff and still tired. The sloth had even forgotten that he was in the dinosaur world, the emotions last night were that heavy. Luckily, the warm air had made him feel relaxed. He could hear something, however, and he wasn't sure if he was just dreaming it or not. He could hear...chewing, and not just a single sound, but a huge combination of them, almost as if they were coming from the mouth of a predator munching on its prey. Sid slowly turned around to look to the direction of the source of the direction.

"Ouuchh, my eyes..." Sid moaned, rubbing his tired eyes after a night of sadness.

The sloth continued to look in the direction that he thought his tired, awakening state was hearing the chews from, but it was only when his vision finally became free of the morning fuzzy view that he froze in place, gasping, with eyes so widened with shock they were like the size of a boulder: Momma Dino, and her kids, were just a small distance away.

"I-I..." Sid couldn't make up a sentence, not even if you threatened to throw him into lava, he was that shocked, "I'm dreaming..."

Sid harshly pinched his arm, only to cause himself some more pain. This wasn't a dream, far from it: this was reality. Momma Dino seemed too distracted with her babies to hear it. Sid's insides suddenly felt like they were being painted with a whole collection of happiness and energy, as his heart began beating at an excessive rate from the pure excitement.

"B-But...h-h-HOW?!" Sid whispered, slowly moving amongst the trees to study Momma Dino as he couldn't conclude on how this had just happened.

It turned out that Momma Dino was truly nearby after all, even yesterday, but Sid was clearly going in the wrong direction. With this occurrence, Sid was simply in the right place at the right time, but what he doesn't know is that Momma knows he's there: she's just waiting for him to wake up, which he has. Sid continued to study Momma Dino and her babies, as they finally finished their meat. Momma had dropped her tail all around her three babies in a circle, cuddling her head amongst their tiny, scaly light orange bodies as the sun rose up to shine its vibrant light over the area. Sid placed his hands on his heart, with a natural smile emerging on the sloth.

"S-She isn't gone...she's there...and and..." Sid's excitement had caused him to stutter, "Egbert...Yoko...Shelly...kids...they're there...how LUCKY OF A SLOTH AM I?!" Sid whispered, albeit louder, as he began jumping on the spot from his energy.

"Thank you Buck..." Sid whispered, as he wouldn't have been given this opportunity to reunite with Momma Dino and the kids if it wasn't for the weasel.

Sid took a deep collection of air into his chest, and he took his first step towards Momma Dino as she still had her head lowered with her kids. As he walked, though, raising his hands out, he stopped; his smile descended from just that, a smile, into a sad face, as his arms slowly descended back down to their sides. Sid looked all over his arms, and then his feet, and then his chest. Now that he's got the chance to walk the walk, the sloth suddenly felt like he was too much of a misfit to even try reuniting with Momma. He thought that they wouldn't want him anymore, and Sid had even concluded that he's probably better off being taken alive by Rudy, wherever he is within this tropical paradise at the moment. He didn't want to annoy Momma Dino again, and so, he concluded on one thing; after all of this hassle, he's going to simply wander off and never bother the Tyrannosaurus Rex ever again.

"Stay safe...kids...Momma, take care of them..." Sid whispered, weakly. "All that matters now is that I've seen you again after you thought I left..."

Sid walked in the opposite direction that he was going to walk out of, as his green figure had finally been exposed to the pure heat of the dinosaur world, after being under the shade. Sid was nearing the pool of water, just walking groggily, not bothering to look behind himself, because if he did, he was only going to make himself feel more useless and like a misfit. He sniffed the air weakly, with his arms dangling by his sides, as the sloth truly missed the herd; he'd do anything to return to the surface and be with them. He especially felt upset at the fact that he never got to see how Peaches coped with being 'up there'.

"Nobody wants me...I'm a bad friend, and no-" he was stopped by a gentle collision on his back, causing him to be shoved forwards gently.

Sid had no time to react the second he turned around, because when he did, he was tackled down as if he was a prey, by Egbert, Yoko and Shelly, all of which had laughed and giggled with Sid, delighted and excited that their 'old mother' had returned. Sid's heart instantly felt like it was melting, the second he laid his hands onto the scaly heads of the baby dinosaurs. They curled their heads right up to Sid, as the sloth had suddenly felt perfect, and right in place. But that wasn't all of it. After a few minutes of playfully struggling on the warm ground, Sid slowly sat up, as Egbert, Yoko and Shelly had looked over to their approaching mother, smiling at Sid's reemergence. Sid did the same, as the sloth slowly stood back up. He curled his hands up together as Momma lowered her head down to the sloth.

"Momma...I'm not going anywhere..." Sid whispered, hugging her head as she closed her eyes to embrace the hug.

After the long hug, Momma licked Sid's face, reminiscent of when she did it just before Sid was about to 'leave' with the herd. He smiled further, but he knew that he wasn't going to get his intentions across by not saying anything.

"Boy, would you look at that..." Buck said, sitting on an upper tree from the distance as he watched Sid reunite with the same dinosaur that had carried him into here initially; Buck was pretty moved by what he was seeing, and he didn't want to interrupt it, "blimey, who'd have thought that a sight like this was possible?"

After being caught off guard, Buck rubbed his prized possession of Rudy's tooth, looking into the opposite direction with the intent of provoking Rudy when he finds him again.

"Fair well, Siddy boy..." the weasel said, holding onto a vine nearby before elevating himself up to the air with his swinging capabilities.

"Momma?" Sid said, curling his fingers together as he started becoming shy, as the three baby dinosaurs had all stood behind Sid, looking up at their mother too, "I didn't come back here without a reason...I...I missed you guys...you're a family...I never got to know my family all that well...I've been lonely, and it's been horrible..."

Momma Dino once again gave off a raised eyebrow expression, with a curiosity-sounding grunt, as she briefly looked around the sunny, coal-scented jungle as they were a fair distance away from the Lava Falls.

"You're a dinosaur...I'm a sloth, but I want to stay with you...please Momma...I've been lonely for so long, and after everything you've done for me? I don't wanna lose the chance..." Sid said, hopefully making it clear to the Tyrannosaurus Rex that he wants to stay with her and her kids.

Suddenly, Sid was gently tapped on his arm by Shelly's head, with the sloth being surrounded by the baby dinosaurs for another cuddle up; whilst he once again held them tightly, stroking them, he wasn't sure if Momma Dino was going to allow him to do what he wanted to do. But honestly, that was quite the contrast to what she was thinking right now. She let off a slow like grunt, with a neutral sound, one that sounded as if it was calling for the kids to come along. Momma began walking in the opposite direction of Sid, so clearly, it was a grunt that was saying 'come along, kids'. Sid took a step forward, but he was reluctant; he didn't know if Momma had actually accepted it.

Suddenly, Momma Dino and the babies had stopped, looking back at Sid, as Momma once again emitted a calling, neutral grunt with her eyes looking at the sloth from above with her gigantic height; Sid's heart had once again felt like it had melted; is...has he been accepted?

"M-Momma, c-can I?" Sid stuttered, unsure as to whether or not he's been accepted.

Shelly had rushed over to Sid, getting behind the sloth, before gently shoving him once again; this was their way of saying 'come along with us'. By that tap, Sid could conclusively say that he's now been granted the one wish he's been hunting for since coming back here; staying with Momma Dino and the kids as if he was in their family, and as if Momma Dino was his mother.

"Thank you Momma..." Sid said, with Momma simply purring a low tone.

The second Sid had began following Momma from behind, alongside Shelly, Egbert and Yoko, into the tropical trees, he had goosebumps; he's literally walking within a family of dinosaurs, and the feeling was FANTASTIC. He felt wanted, loved, but most importantly, protected; it was beautiful. Imagine what Rudy would think? he wouldn't be able to lay a single claw on Sid, now that he's under the care of Momma Dino.

**NIGHT**

It was night time, after a full day of staying with Momma Dino and the kids. They were back at the old cave that Momma had initially hidden in, before taking Sid up with her, to hide from Rudy. Sid and the kids all stopped in front of it as they were waiting for Momma Dino to arrive; the atmosphere was blue, yet dark, as the cool air of the night had gently passed. Sid wanted to try and promote a tactic to Egbert, Shelly, and Yoko that'd involve climbing up into the cave itself.

"Look at this..." Sid said, hopping up onto the rock, grabbing a small twig that was sticking out, only for it to snap.

The sloth was sent back first onto the ground, and even though it was hardly painful, he still rubbed it as if he had broken it. The stomps emerged, and out came Momma Dino from the jungle, as she looked down at Sid, Egbert, Shelly and Yoko. She smirked at the four, lowering her vicious, giant orange and brown-shaded scaly head towards them, including Sid, to lift them entirely up into the cave.

When Sid got inside the cave, the family vibe and the feeling of being cared and protected had suddenly turned up to 100%. He still had goosebumps, and much like today, this has completely made him forget about the herd. Momma Dino had emerged up into the cave, climbing into it with ease due to her gigantic size, but as she climbed up, it sounded like a huge cluster of rocks falling down a mountain. Sid and the kids gave her space to lay down, before she eventually collapsed down into a laying down stance.

She grunted gently for all four of them to move inwards to her, and once they did, her tail had suddenly surrounded them as they too collapsed into their sleeping stances, with Sid stroking the babies as they looked at him before falling asleep. Sid, laying nearer to Momma's head, wanted to show her just how appreciative and grateful he is for letting his usually-annoying self stay.

"Momma...thank you so much..." he whispered, as Momma turned her head towards the sloth, gently licking him before he collapsed down, back against her tail.

She eventually curled herself inwards to the four of them, acting like one gigantic barricade against anything that had tried to attack them. As they all began dozing off, Sid had a huge smirk on his face for the entire time he was falling asleep.

Because he could sleep knowing that now, he's finally got the chance to stay with Momma Dino, and be treated as if he was one of her babies. He absolutely, positively, loved it. Nothing could beat this vibe, NOTHING.

Author's note: This is probably the fastest story I've written. Major thanks for reading it friends! I'll see you all again soon!