"Ducky!" Littlefoot shouted.
The group followed the path Ducky had taken while airborne in an attempt to relocate her. Richard used his M7 Bayonet to hack a path through the dense vegetation for the others while Charlotte was at the tail end of the group providing security.
"About time!" Cera snorted.
"Oh, like you were doing anything beneficial to the group." Richard calmly shot back. "Asshole."
"What did you just call me?" Cera snarled angrily at the 15 year old male human.
"I called you an asshole." Richard calmly hacked through a few more trees before continuing. "An insult to describe someone who is stupid and incompetent."
Cera growled at Richard to show her displeasure.
"Now there Richard, please stop the insults." Charlotte requested. "Everyone is just tense after a long day."
"Yeah sure…" Richard suddenly sensed something from the nearby bushes. "Charlotte you take point, I think someone might be around here."
"Okay…"
Placing his M7 bayonet back in his M8A1 scabbard, Richard disappeared into the bushes with his Benelli M3 shotgun at the ready.
"Where is he going now?" Cera groaned.
"He said he was checking to make sure the path was safe." Littlefoot answered.
Before long, the dense brush was getting hard to navigate or even move through without someone hacking away the branches and leaves. To make life easier for the group, Charlotte drew her concealed dagger and began hacking the path, taking up the job once filled by Richard.
However she was so concerned about hacking a path through that she failed to notice a large object in front of her foot; she tripped and fell as she didn't lift her foot high enough.
"OOF!"
From behind, Cera burst out laughing. The scene or "epic fail" was indeed quite amusing and even Littlefoot and Petrie were struggling to hold back a laugh.
Charlotte took the fail like a good sport, she smiled and wiped the dirt and grit off her mouth and face without saying anything.
"Charlotte! You just stepped on Spike! Yes you did, yep yep yep!" Ducky exclaimed.
"Spike?"
"The Spiketail." Ducky pointed at a young Stegosaurus hatchling
Charlotte looked back and spotted a young Stegosaurus hatchling. She had been so focused about getting out of the forest that she failed to notice the hatchling. Now having tripped over it, she had awoken it from its peaceful slumber and it was looking back at her.
Everyone looked at the young Stegosaurus. He was a male, recently hatched and he looked rather dreamy, as if still off in his little world.
"I told him he could come with us to the Great Valley." Ducky said.
"No!" Cera raised her voice. "We already have a lot of mouths to feed and adding him into our herd is a bad idea. Spiketails eat a lot and we won't get a chance to take our share before he eats it all up."
"That's not fair!" Littlefoot protested.
"My father told me different herds never did anything together." Cera rebutted. "And I intend to keep it that way!"
"He's coming with us!" Charlotte angrily glared at the young Triceratops. Though she was usually cool headed, Charlotte was also starting to get frustrated at Cera's arrogant behavior.
"Whoa there, calm down!" a voice came from the bushes. "Give me a hand here I'm all full."
Turning in the direction of the bush, Charlotte and the young dinosaurs spot Richard emerging from the dense brush. Only this time he had company.
"Someone give me a hand here?" Richard grinned.
Petrie and Ducky hid behind Littlefoot, who in turn hides behind a rock, while Cera screamed and covered her face with her paws. It wasn't Richard who scared them. Rather, it was the four creatures Richard was cradling which scared them. They were young Deinonychus, and by the looks of it, they've only hatched for a few weeks.
"What? Nobody's ever seen me doing this?" Richard sneered with a grin on his face.
"Richard…" Charlotte motioned towards the four Deinonychus in Richard's arms. "Why are you walking around with dinosaurs?"
"Saw them all alone standing next to their parents' bodies." Richard explained. "I couldn't bear to see them without a parent so I took them in."
"Ahh I see." Charlotte replied.
"Featherless Deinonychus, now that is weird." Richard added. "They say all Dromaeosauridae have feathers. That means they were either wrong or we're in a different realm."
Slowly, the young Dinosaurs emerged from their respective cover positions and walked over to the two humans. The predatory dinosaurs Richard was cradling weren't doing much. Well, they did annoy Richard by their silly little antics and by clamoring around him.
"Okay now," Richard placed his hand over the mouths of each Deinonychus to silence them. "Shush now, we don't want to attract the big ones to nom us, right?"
"Richard…" Littlefoot was amazed at the 15 year old male human's ability to seemingly tame a predatory as fearsome as Deinonychus. "How d'ya do that?"
"Simple, you just be their Alpha or leader." Richard answered. "They don't call me the animal whisperer without a reason my friend."
"Heh, sooner or later somebody is getting bit in the cheek." Cera blankly stated.
For some reason, either it was a stroke of luck or fate decided to play along, it happened. Barely a few seconds after Cera said that, one of the Deinonychus gave Richard a love nibble in the right cheek.
"Okay Delta," Richard smiled, the bite warmed his heart instead of giving him pain. "Enough nibbling on my face."
"Does it not hurt?" Ducky asked. She points towards the small bite mark left by Delta's nibble.
"All the pain is neutralized by their cuteness." Richard winked at the young Saurolophus. "Let's get moving, we have a Great Valley to go to."
Stomping his feet hard on the ground to rally the "combined herd", Richard once again took the lead and led them on the journey. To keep Spike from falling behind, Ducky hung some berries over Littlefoot's tail to draw the attention of the Stegosaurus hatchling.
The "combined herd" continued its trek through the mysterious beyond. Most of them stuck together, with the exception of Cera, who preferred to walk ahead and was usually not up for much conversation. Eventually, they stood before a small flowing stream of water.
While Charlotte and the young dinosaurs head off to find vegetation for the young dinosaurs to eat, Richard and his adopted Toothy sons looked into the stream for food.
"Fish… Reminds me of Salmon." Richard muttered to himself. "Not sure if it'll kill us if we eat it."
"I'll try, dad." one of the Deinonychus volunteered. Named Blue after Jurassic World's heroic Raptor Squad member Blue, he was already establishing himself well as the second in command of the pack.
Dunking his head under the water, Blue looked around and grabbed a medium sized fish which resembled a trout. "I think this is fine."
"That's trout!" Richard remarked. "Alright, I think we know what to eat."
Using his M7 bayonet as a spear, Richard caught a trout of his own while the other young Deinonychus jumped into the water to catch their own meal. Though they were playing more than they were catching fish.
"Delta, Charlie, Echo! Catch your own meal!" Richard wanted his young adoptive Deinonychus to be independent and not be couch potatoes waiting for their next meal. "I'm not responsible if you starve."
The three young predators stopped playing around in the water and dove under to catch their meal before joining Richard and Blue by the bank of the stream.
"Daddy, is trout good food?" Delta asked out of the blue. "It tastes good but…"
"Yes, it is a good source of protein." Richard answered. He takes a final bite at the Trout before throwing the bare bones on the ground. "And if you can, you might want to limit your diet to salmon."
"Why?" Echo inquired. "Longneck meat looks like good food."
"That's because we shouldn't hurt those that don't hurt us." Richard gathered the young Deinonychus around him. "Imagine you're just walking around and somebody comes around the corner to kill you. Do you like that?"
Blue, Charlie, Delta and Echo all shook their heads, as if they were saying no.
"That's my point. Nobody likes to die for no reason." Richard explained. "If we respect others, they will respect us. Gain a mutual understanding between species and only hunt fishes or those that hurt you, like the ones that killed your biological mom and dad. That does not mean we should commit genocide against the entire species."
"What is genocide?" Charlie asked.
"Genocide means killing off an entire individual species or race." Richard answered. It was clear he didn't want the Deinonychus he raised to be bloodthirsty monsters. "Just remember, only kill those that hurt you or anyone related to you, whether it'd be friends or family. Got it?"
"Yes daddy." the four young Deinonychus said at once.
Just then, Charlotte walked over with Littlefoot.
"Come over and join us," she offered. "We have a lot of food."
"Yeah…" Littlefoot noticed the discarded bones of Trout beside Richard and his adoptive children, indicating that they had been feasting on the fish. "You eat meat?"
"I eat both meat and green stuff." Richard answered before getting back up on his feet. "Come along now, let's go regroup."
Charlie, Delta and Echo got out of the water and shook their bodies dry before joining Richard and Blue, who were already waiting.
"Lead the way." Richard said to his 18th century counterpart.
Walking towards the rest of the herd with his four toothy adoptive sons, Richard chuckled as he watched Littlefoot and Charlotte nervously turning back to look at them every now and then.
Walking into a cluster of bare trees, they regroup with the rest of the young dinosaurs, who were feasting upon a rather large cluster of leaves on the ground. Though Cera was eating her share in a separate area.
"What's with Cera?" Richard asked.
"I dunno…" Littlefoot answered. "She didn't want to join us for some reason."
"Grumpy as usual." Blue commented.
Cera looked up at Blue and growled in annoyance while Richard chuckled. Finishing her meal, Cera walked over to her sleeping place as night was approaching.
"I know my way to go…" Cera wanted to separate Littlefoot and Richard from the rest of the herd in an attempt to establish herself as the new leader. "Hmm, any of you trust a lone flathead or a human who loves Sharpteeth?" she sneered.
Though Richard and Littlefoot both brushed off the harsh words which were clearly directed at them, it was still enough to convince the others to come sleep with her. Even Charlotte, who was usually trustful of Richard, went to Cera.
"Dad, are they leaving us?" Blue asked in a saddened tone.
"No son, they're not." Richard calmly answered. "They just fell for that idiot's lie."
Shaking his head, Richard jumped into Littlefoot's sleeping hole with the young predators.
"Mind if I…"
"Not at all." the young Apatosaurus replied.
Blue, Charlie, Delta, and Echo all gathered around Richard as he lit a small fire with his Illuminati powers.
"Hey Richard, aren't they scary?" Littlefoot asked.
"Nope." Richard checked the chamber of his Benelli M3 Tactical Shotgun to make sure it was loaded. It had been awhile since he'd done that and Richard wanted to be sure he wasn't running around with an empty weapon. "All it takes is some time and you will begin to build trust. And by trust I mean an unshakable bond. You take care of each other like a family."
"Mother used to tell me every Sharpteeth pack had a leader." Littlefoot said. "So who's the leader?"
"You're looking at him, kid." Richard winked at the little Apatosaurus. "Blue is the second in command."
Blue looked up at his adoptive father. Though he had always acted as the Second-In-Command of the pack, he never expected Richard to officially recognize him in that role.
Noticing the gesture from his adoptive son, Richard looked down at Blue. "I never doubted your capabilities. Compared to the others, you are pretty matured and capable of leading the pack if something were to happen to me."
"Hey dad what about us?" the other three Deinonychus spoke.
"You all have been and always shall be…" Richard replied using a modified version of Spock's quote from Star Trek: Wrath Of Khan. "My loyal sons."
Richard and his pack of four young Deinonychus hugged each other in a family embrace.
Seeing the scene unfold right in front of him, Littlefoot felt the thought of his mother returning to him. A frown returned to his face and a tear fell loosely off his left eye.
"I miss my mom…" Littlefoot muttered.
Before he knew what was going on, Littlefoot found himself being comforted by all four of the Deinonychus.
"Maybe that song Daddy sung to us might help you." Delta suggested. "What was that song again?"
"Heh, one moment." Richard replied.
Flicking his finger, Richard used his Illuminati powers to play the tune of "You Raise Me Up" in the background. The fifteen year old human male then cleared his throat and began singing.
When I am down and ooh my soul so weary,
When troubles come and my heart burdened be.
And I am still await here in silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains,
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas,
I am strong when I am on your shoulders,
You raise me up, to more than I can be.
There is no life- no life without its hunger,
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly,
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes I think I glimpse eternity.
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains,
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas,
I am strong when I am on your shoulders,
You raise me up, to more than I can be.
There was a short pause, and Richard wanted Littlefoot to feel better. "This is a song dedicated to your mother. So tell her that you love her by singing the last two verses loudly!"
Littlefoot took up the offer given to him by Richard and sang at the top of his lungs.
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains,
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas,
I am strong when I am on your shoulders,
You raise me up, to more than I can be.
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains,
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas,
I am strong when I am on your shoulders,
You raise me up, to more than I can be.
You raise me up…
To more than I, can be.
Having finished the last verses of the song, Littlefoot felt better. He knew that his mother would be very proud of him that he sang the song loudly in her honor.
"Wow, that was amazing Littlefoot." the young Deinonychus complemented.
"Thanks…" Littlefoot answered.
"Now you see, Littlefoot?" Richard said. "All it takes is some time, and you'll earn their trust. And when you do earn their trust don't screw it up because it is a one shot deal. Got it?'
"Yeah." Littlefoot yawned, indicating that he was tired.
"Get some rest everyone." Richard gently commanded. "We still have a long trip ahead of us."
"What about you?" Echo asked. He could tell Richard wasn't expecting any sleep for himself.
"I'm providing security." Richard answered. "Too many predators around these places and ensuring the safety of the young ones is a parent's number one priority."
Without saying anything else, Richard got himself into the prone position and scanned the surroundings with his Benelli M3 Tactical Shotgun at the ready. Just then he felt something rub against his body. Looking to his left and right, he noticed his adoptive sons all cuddling around him for warmth.
"Sleep tight, my little ones." Richard smiled. The feeling of being a father warmed his heart greatly.
In a rather distant place, a large combined herd of dinosaurs came to a halt. Night had fallen and they were having difficulty seeing the road ahead. The leader of the herd, an elderly Apatosaurus, gave the order to stop and rest for the night.
"We will move out at first light!" he said. "Sleep well."
The elderly Apatosaurus walked over to join the rest of his family.
"Still worried about Littlefoot, Aurelia?" he asked a younger female who was clearly his daughter.
"Yes father. I am very concerned about his safety." the female replied. "Littlefoot is out there all by himself with no one but possibly the two humans and that Three-horn. If Sharptooth ever finds them oh…"
"Hush now Aurelia." an elderly female Apatosaurus comforted her. This was her mother. "I'm sure Littlefoot is just fine."
Unbeknownst to Littlefoot, his mother and grandparents had both survived the mayhem and destruction of the Earthquake. And they would soon have an emotional reunion.