Hey, guys.

Rhombus and I are back with another update. There's a lot to digest in this chapter so please feel free to PM me or leave questions in your reviews if you're confused about something or need clarification.

There's not much else to say here, except happy reading! And as always leave a review to tell us what you think.

Chapter 9. Shorty's Discovery

"Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised or a little mistaken."

Jane Austen

"Me smell… me smell… Ducky."

Ducky rolled her eyes as the flyer shook his head from his perch. It was rapidly becoming apparent that Petrie's time was best spent honing his eyes than his nostrils.

"What about you, Ducky? What do you smell?"

Ducky closed her eyes and tried to focus deeply on what her nostrils were telling her. After a few deep sniffs she caught two scents in particular that were not related to her friends.

"I smell something rotting… and… and…" She opened her eyes. "I think I smell longneck. I do, I do!"

"Good, Ducky," Chomper said with praise. "Now Littlefoot, Cera, and Spike. I want you to tell me if you notice anything else. We can smell a carcass, but is there anything about the longneck smell that's unique?"

Big sharpteeth and fast biters are better at this sort of thing than Ducky's kind, the purple biter thought to himself. Any sharptooth can sniff out stuff, but you also have to know whether it's dead or alive.

Spike quickly ran forward, before remembering that their sniffers were being tested and then promptly ran back to his original position. He then took a few deep sniffs before tapping his sickle claws, making a series of excited clicks.

"I smell it too, Spike. There are quite a few longnecks, aren't there?" Littlefoot asked.

"Yeah, and they aren't rotting either." Cera noted gruffly. "Which can only mean one thing…"

"They're alive," Chomper nodded. "And don't worry, we're not hunting them," he added as he saw the skeptical faces of his friends. He looked towards Ruby who nodded at him, indicating he was saying the right thing.

"We're just tracking them. We'll get close enough to see them, but far enough away so that they won't catch our scent. We both know leaf eater sniffers aren't as strong as... those of sharpteeth."

He had almost said ours but currently he was still careful not to insinuate too many references of them being sharpteeth. He could tell Littlefoot and company were not still there in terms of self acceptance.

"There's a practical use for this as well," he continued. "Our kind in particular have a sixth sense of when an animal is sick or dying. If we can spot these in passing herds, we can simply wait for it to die and we can eat for days."

Both Littlefoot and Cera bowed their heads at this. Cera had direct memories of her journey to the valley and the casualties along the way, whereas Littlefoot remembered when him, his mother, and grandparents had occasionally passed the solitary skeleton of a herd animal. As a child he had assumed that they died and were then left behind, but upon entering the valley and hearing the tales of far-walkers he knew the truth..

Sometimes herds had to sacrifice the few to save the many.

I suppose it'd be foolish not to take advantage of a free meal. A voice echoed in Littlefoot's head as he blinked in confusion. Where had that thought come from?

"But will other sharpteeth have the same thought? I do not want to be around them, oh no, no, no..." Ducky noted. The fact that she had referred to her in the same group as sharpteeth did not register in her mind immediately.

"That's why we got to get there first and take what we can before someone else bigger shows up," Chomper said far too casually for any of their liking.

That was when Ruby interjected.

"Guys, I know in the valley we always shared food and willingly helped others when they were hungry. But sharpteeth do not think the same way. Only the strongest and the smartest get to eat and we must adopt the same mindset if we are to live out here."

"So only I get the food, got it." Cera remarked sarcastically, "But you mean that we have to be quick then, because we are not the strongest?"

"Or the biggest," Chomper nodded. "In fact, if an average adult sharptooth walked by and saw us right now, they'd be confused why we weren't all fighting each other. Especially in our case." He pointed a stubby arm towards Cera and Littlefoot. "You guys are older than I am, therefore killing me would be in your best interests."

Littlefoot shook his head while Cera rolled her eyes.

"Chomper come on…"

"I know you wouldn't kill me," he laughed. "I'm just explaining what any other sharptooth would do. It's kind of how we are. Well...except for us."

"Doesn't loyalty to the herd count for something?" Littlefoot asked, to which Spike grunted in agreement.

"Of course. You know how much my mommy and daddy loved me," he said sadly. "And fast biters form some of the strongest pack bonds I've ever seen. You never betray your pack or family. But when it comes to rivals, all bets are off."

"And outside of the Great Valley it works the same among leaf eaters," Ruby pointed out. "There's not a lot of green food, at least not as much as there used to be. I've seen longnecks, swimmers, threehorns, spiketails and others fight viciously over even the smallest amount of tree stars."

Flashes from their journey to the Great Valley echoed in their minds as Littlefoot spoke. "Like those other longnecks…"

"Who ate the food that we found and nearly trampled us!" Cera roared, remembering the same incident.

"That was not nice! Nope, nope, nope!" Ducky affirmed.

"Exactly," said Chomper. "But if those longnecks didn't care if you lived or got trampled, other sharpteeth certainly won't either."

He turned to continue in the direction of the longneck scent, but then he suddenly faced his former leaf eater friends again.

"I know what you guys thought of my kind for years. I get it. But we're not all mindless eating machines. Now let's practice tracking that longneck herd before it gets too far away."

The others, minus Ruby, looked quite sheepish and proceeded to file in behind the purple sharptooth. What they didn't hear was their friend mutter,

"Unfortunately there are far too many monsters out here who are…"

The echo of a large roar emanating from a green sharptooth with an evil red scar sounded in his head.


Shorty groaned as they entered the Winding Gorge. The monotonous journey of the herd was not really a burden, but the knowledge that much more exciting times lay ahead in the valley filled him with impatience. Though he would never will himself to admit it in front of others, his semi-regular reunion with Littlefoot was the highlight of the Dry Season.

He sighed as he watched Bron's mighty footsteps trample the ground in front of him. At least the herd didn't really have to worry about sharpteeth most of the time. With Bron at the helm, and numerous skilled adult longnecks at the sides and bringing up the rear, a predator would have to be stupid or desperate to launch an assault. Many of this group had seen and done much, battling predators almost their entire lives, from the time they were smaller than Shorty himself, the males in particular. They were not about to let their guards down now.

"Albite and Genners? Time for a count." Bron's voice echoed from the front as he briefly turned his neck to look at his main side-guards. With quick nods they sounded a bellow, which made everyone gather in their assigned family units for a count. For his part Shorty gathered by Bron's massive right front leg.

"Don't worry, you still haven't stepped on me." Shorty playfully mocked as Bron's neck turned to look at the small green longneck.

"Doesn't mean I don't still think about it every now and then," Bron retorted while giving his adopted son a playful nudge.

"Only every now and then? Well don't tell Littlefoot that I am out of practice." Shorty added with a chuckle. "I wonder what he and his friends have been up to." Probably running into the Mysterious Beyond and getting into trouble, Shorty noted with amusement.

"I still hope Littlefoot instills some basic manners into you at some point," Bron laughed. "At least I have one son who listens to me."

"Anders?"

"Here!"

"Blantu and family?"

"Here!"

"Flower and family?"

"Here!"

Shorty rolled his eyes at his father's comment as the roll call commenced around them. It was one of the boring necessities of managing a large herd. The herd would need to be divided into families, with each family being responsible for their members, and then the herd would make sure each family was accounted for.

"Allo?"

"Still here." A gruff reply came from the elderly male.

Shorty chuckled. Sometimes the roll call was the only time when the less talkative members interacted at all. It reminded him of himself back before he had some sense talked into him by a certain brown longneck.

But he sighed when those thoughts went to their obvious conclusion. Those who were no longer here could not make roll call either.

He looked out at the assembled young ones who had assembled in the middle of the herd. Here were the longnecks who had lost parents to the numerous calamities that could arise in herd life. Courtship battles that went poorly… common illness… or even infected injuries. The herd worked to protect its own anyway.

He counted the little ones who had not yet been adopted.

Flantu. Whose father was killed during a courtship battle for a female, leaving his only child orphaned.

Gladdy, Fran, Mital… Whose mother had died from the coughing sickness a few weeks prior.

Bluetail… A lone longneck that they had found during their journey.

And then Argent… the ever adventurous… wait…

"Where's Argent?" Shorty called out suddenly, making Bron take notice immediately as he counted the younglings himself. After a moment he called over his deputies.

"Have any of you seen purple and blue longneck, about six Cold Times old?" Bron called out to the rest of the herd.

There were murmurs of 'Nope' and 'I have not' throughout the crowd.

"Damn!" Shorty swore loudly. "That kid is always wandering off somewhere."

"He does seem to have a habit of disappearing at the most inconvenient times," Bron said sadly. "Will you go find him, Shorty? He can't have gone far."

Shorty nodded as he bounded off. This was not the first time that he had to do this.


"I can't believe that they don't see us." Cera muttered in a whisper as both she and Littlefoot crouched behind a rock. Spike and Ducky, meanwhile, examined the scene from the bluff just above them, using their height to gain an advantage.

"We're pretty well hidden," Chomper said behind his own rock. "And Longneck eyesight isn't exactly the best in the world...no offense," he said grinning at Littlefoot.

Littlefoot nodded. Ever since experiencing life as a sharpooth the amazing improvement of his senses of vision and smell had really changed his perspective. "None taken."

"What are they doing?" Cera asked as she saw the adults gather around the herd defensively as a series of bellows echoed from those longnecks on the sides.

"I do not know, I do not," Ducky observed.

"Just as long as they don't see us," Chomper said. "I'd rather not deal with some of those bigger males. Anyway, let's test you guys out. Can you smell if any of them are sick or…"

"Argent!"

Chomper paused. Being that he still understood leaf eater, the call had been discernable to him. Another longneck was headed their way, but why?

Littlefoot sniffed the air, not recognizing the sounds emanating from his former kind. "Well… some of them are old." His voice still conveyed more than a little guilt. Stalking his own kind like this brought back bad memories of being on the other side.

"The ones who aren't old smell terrifying," Cera noted.

A series of clicks came from Spike's sickle claws that communicated 'They look terrifying too!'

"You can say that again, Spike, yep, yep, yep!" Ducky agreed.

"I suggest we don't attract any attention, because if we attract it then we might get it!" Ruby cautioned. "It sounds like they are searching for someone."

But Chomper had long since ceased paying attention, pressing his head closer to the wind. Two things stood out to him. Number one, that voice that had called out sounded awfully familiar. The second was a noise that to him sounded very much like squealing and struggling.

"Guys, shhh! Do you hear that?"

Everyone grew silent as they struggled to listen into the wind. It only took a few moments for each of them to nod, with Petrie giving his wings a test wave from the bluffs high above, as if to silently ask for permission to go airborne.

"That's definitely a young longneck of some sort," Chomper noted. "It's struggling. It's probably stuck."

"Oh no, the poor, poor thing," Ducky said sadly, clasping her claws together.

"Me go see where he is," Petrie said.

"Find out where that other longneck is," Chomper added as he flew off. He peered over the rock and saw that the green figure was only a juvenile, not an adult. But he could still alert the others and that would be trouble. "He's far enough away that he won't see us. I still don't want to take any chances."

I know they don't want to kill, but if the longneck is hurt or mortally wounded...we could use any food we can find.

He almost hated himself for thinking like that, but survival was now more paramount than ever. The old rules when they were in the valley did not apply. It was a lesson they would have to learn the hard way.

I'll make the kill, he thought with slight remorse but with a degree of firmness. I haven't done it much, but it's better that I do it.

He could only hope the others wouldn't object too much.

"Maybe we could use our sniffers to help find him?" Littlefoot questioned, totally unaware of Chomper's intentions. "If he is stuck then maybe we can help get him out?"

Cera rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure the longneck will be thrilled to see us."

"We still have to try," Littlefoot said, the old heroic gleam coming back into his eye and his posture. "After these past few weeks, I really want to do some good don't you?"

The others nodded eagerly, even Ruby.

Chomper decided he needed to act quickly if his plan was to succeed. He did not enjoy lying to his friends, but now was not the time to play their old leaf eater heroics.

"Just hold off until I take a look," Chomper said. "If he's too badly hurt, we may run the risk of killing him…. we don't want that."

He hoped it was convincing enough, he had never been a particularly good liar. That was confirmed when Ruby gave him an appraising glare.

It's like she can see right through me! He thought in anguish.

Just then, Petrie returned back.

"I see longneck!" he said in a low whisper. "It stuck in crevice over there. It can't get out!"

"Did that other longneck see you?" Chomper asked.

"Nope. He too busy looking in wrong direction."

"Good. Then let's head on over."

He lead the way past the formation of rocks and on a slight downward slope and he could almost feel Ruby's eyes piercing him from behind.

I hope they can forgive me for what I'm about to do


Shorty peered over the bluff to get a better look at the area behind the herd. This was not the first time Argent had decided to take a little detour, and he had a pretty good idea what to look for.

A longneck who likes to go in caves… you are not a flyer, Argent.

He shook his head. Argent was young and had recently lost his parents so he could not fault the lonely kid for seeking out adventure even if it was for himself. Though Shorty would be lying to himself if he said that was the only reason he was the one looking for the troublesome longneck.

The fact was that Argent reminded him of himself in some ways, before he came across happier times.

As he stared at the sight in front of him, several crevices came into view, including one that winded into the bluff itself. It was just about the right size for a large youngling.

That was when he heard the faintest of calls.

"Help! I'm stuck!"

Gotcha!

Shorty quickly descended the bluff giving a series of small bellows back towards the herd, convinced he had found what he was looking for.

He did not notice the sharptooth flyer overhead.


Chomper lead the way in front of his friends. He could sense they were almost near the little longneck, in fact his struggling was now quite audible. Which is why he had to do this fast. Not only because of his friends, but because every moment the hatchling called out for help, the more likely he'd be discovered by the herd, and getting crushed by something one hundred times his size was not a prospect he wanted to face.

"Chomper wait up!" he could hear Littlefoot say to him.

At the last moment, he took a shortcut through a narrow gap in the gorge, just big enough for him to squeeze through. If all went according to his plan, the aroma would lead him to the longneck before Littlefoot and the others could reach him. And by then it would be too late.

But at least hunger would be staved off for another day.


Landing harshly on his flank, Shorty grunted in annoyance.

And that is why this pisses me off, Argent. Longnecks are not good at walking through crevices.

Shaking his head, Shorty rose to his feet. A minor inconvenience like sliding into a crevice would not delay his mission to rescue the wayward longneck. The little annoyance was a herd member, and Shorty was willing to risk his safety and patience to bring him back to the fold.

Though that didn't mean that Shorty had to be happy about it.

This is the third time this has happened. The third time! I know the deputies are busy, but maybe someone should get the job of watching this kid?

Shorty sighed as he stepped around a massive boulder. It was only now that he could see the slightest hint of violet in the distance, which to his vision looked like a blue haze. He had found Argent's tail.

Smiling at his success, Shorty proceeded to quicken his pace. A caught tail… this should be simple enough.


Chomper came to the end of the narrow tunnel and saw that he had a direct view of the longneck. It's tail was stuck among a rock structure it had clearly tried to climb through, but ultimately could not squeeze out of.

Taking a deep breath, he eased himself and went into hunting mode. As his father had once said to him, "There's no point in feeling bad for something that's necessary to keep you alive."

Springing his small, but growing legs back, he prepared to pounce.


Around the bend, directly behind the longneck, Littlefoot and the others were puzzled. The purple biter was nowhere to be found and his scent was masked by the small breeze in the other direction.

"Where did Chomper go?" Petrie asked.

"I do not know, I do not," Ducky said shrugging her shoulders.

"Maybe we wait for him?" the flyer suggested.

"There's no time for that," Littlefoot said shaking his head. "If we don't do something now, his herd might find him and see us, or worse another sharptooth might try to eat him. Let's go!"

Without hesitation he rushed out from behind the rocks and headed straight towards the little longneck. With the quickest of appraisals, he could see the front of his body. The youngling's head was swaying frantically, desperately trying to find a means of escape. This indicated to the former leaf eater that his tail must have gotten stuck.

"Littlefoot! Are you crazy?!" Cera called out after him. "Have you forgotten you're a sharptooth now?"

But by the time this registered to the brown T-Rex, it was too late. The little longneck didn't know he had the best of intentions. All he saw was a fierce predator bearing down on him, running at full speed. Immediately, he began to cry out in fear.

Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike could not understand what he was saying, but Ruby could and she shook her head as the screams permeated her ears.

Sighing she took a deep breath,

"I guess we better go and help before this gets worse."


Shorty stopped in his tracks as soon as he heard the scream.

"AHH! HELP ME!"

"Argent!" Shorty reluctantly advanced again as he struggled to catch up to the little longneck's tail. "Argent, it's okay, I'm here!"

It was then that everything began to go into slow motion for the green longneck. As he approached the little one's violet tail, he caught sight of something purple rushing from the side. Out of instinct more than anything else, Shorty reared his neck back defensively and struck out with his small tail at the sudden threat.

Chomper did not have time to react the sudden appearance of another, slightly older longneck when he launched his attack. Consequently, he also did not have time to avoid being tripped by his tail. Falling forward, he managed to somersault three times before landing beside the edge of the gorge wall, leaving the purple biter completely winded as to what had just occurred.

"You?" Shorty gasped as he backed away, raising his tail again for the sake of defense. It only took him an instant to recognize the purple sharptooth, but in that instant he felt as if the world was collapsing around him.

Chomper had tried to kill Argent.

"Ahhh!"

"Growl…"

Shorty turned back towards Argent as his terrified scream deafened him to anything else. Then, in a terrifying instant that seemed to drag on for an eternity, Argent was pulled through the hole in the rock wall.

Argent was gone.

Shorty gritted his teeth as the unfamiliar sting of tears began to burn his eyes. He had helped his band of little longnecks survive until they found Bron, but he could not save Argent. Chomper's friends had taken him, and there was no way to right what had gone wrong.

He had failed.

Shorty sniffed as he gave a final glance to the winded purple sharptooth. "I trusted you, you damn sharptooth!" He considered resuming the attack despite the risk, but a thought prevented him from continuing. You have to warn the others. You have to warn the herd.

Shorty gritted his teeth as he let out an alarm call and sprinted back the way he came, leaving a purple sharptooth to watch the retreat in silence.


The little longneck continued to thrash and struggle in the face of four predators facing him. Every time they attempted to get closer he would swing his small tail at them. And even when they did manage to lay a hand on him, he squirmed too wildly to get a proper grip.

"Argh!" Cera grunted in frustration. "If he keeps moving like this we're gonna end up cutting him by accident."

"We can't exactly tell him that," said Littlefoot sadly.

"Shhhh… It's alright, little one. Little one, it is alright."

The sharpteeth went quiet as they turned towards the sudden series of squawks and screeches. As soon as they saw Ruby's serene face they knew that she was speaking to the little one in his own language.

"These are my friends, and they won't hurt you. In fact, they want to send you home."

As if on cue, Ruby gestured to her right. It was obvious what she was demanding. Without any debate, the sharpteeth began to walk towards her right, leaving the longneck his space. Only Petrie remained where he was, perched on the rocks above the crevice.

"It might be easier to push you over the rock wall, than going through the wall of rock." Ruby nodded for her friends to continue.

"Alright guys, let's get him out of here," said Littlefoot. "And please, try be careful with your claws."

"Come Spike, do not grip so hard," Ducky said to her brother, who issued a series of claw-clicks to indicate he understood.

Argent had stopped struggling, but that did not change his confusion. "What… what are you doing?"

The series of grunts meant nothing to the sharpteeth. Not anymore. Thankfully, Ruby was able to clarify.

"They are trying to put you back where you came." She gestured at the lowest portion of the rock wall that had trapped him originally. "If you can go over then you can run back to the herd. You can help them by grabbing the top as soon as they lift you there."

"Urgh… push harder!" Cera complained as she lost her grip on Argent's left side and was rewarded by a free longneck foot accidently striking her in face.

"I can help, Cera!" Ducky affirmed as she helped to stabilize that side.

"Come on, hurry! Hurry!" Petrie squawked from above.

"We're almost there!" Littlefoot grunted as he pushed. He could feel the longneck slowly hoisting himself up. "One last push!"

With a final heave they could feel the longneck's body edge over the rock wall. Then, with a powerful kick of the longneck's legs against his attempted helpers, he thrusted himself over the ledge.

As the sharpteeth fell to the ground in an unavoidable chain reaction, a chorus of groans and moans could be heard. This sound was only challenged by the sound of running feet past the rock wall unseen.

Cera groaned as she sniffed the bodies on top of her. "Clearly, one of you hasn't bathed in awhile."

Slowly, they got up off each other, and leapt on top of the edge that the little longneck had just escaped over. There a peculiar sight greeted them.

"Chomper? What are you doing? What happened?" Littlefoot asked.

The Tyrannosaurus slowly got to his feet and shook his head. He saw that his friends were eyeing him carefully and realized he needed to come up with a plausible fib in order to prevent them from finding out what his true purpose had been.

"I, uh, I got lost...I found this tunnel and I thought I could get to him quicker that way. Save you guys some trouble."

"Oh, well if you were on the other side then you could have pushed him easier, you could." Ducky noted.

She was interrupted by a frantic series of clicks. As Ducky listened to her brother she quickly found what he had noticed. "Oh no! Chomper you're hurt!"

Chomper looked down, and saw that his knee had a small gash on it. Not deep, but enough to bleed noticeably.

"We better take of care of that," Littlefoot said. "Before we go back. But how did you fall in the first place?"

Chomper sometimes thought Littlefoot was too curious for his own good. Lying to his friends was not a pastime he enjoyed and every time he did so, his guilt rose.

"I was going to help you guys, but I tripped on a rock. Knocked the wind out of me."

They all seemed to accept this explanation more or less. Cera even snorted and muttered something that sounded like "klutz."

Everyone except Ruby. Her expression communicated one thing.

We will talk later.

Chomper was not looking forward to that conversation.


Shorty tried to hide his emotion as he stood behind his adopted father as if to hide from the rest of the herd. He didn't want anyone else looking at him during his moment of weakness. His moment of shame.

"Shorty, it's not your fault. These things happen sometimes. Please don't be so hard on yourself," Bron said sadly, turning around to look at his son directly. "You did everything you could for Argent."

Shorty shook his head. "I should have been faster. I took my time trying to look for him, but I should have just…"

"Just sprinted into things and gotten yourself killed too?" Bron questioned. "You did what you could for the child, Shorty. Not all of us can have the luck of my son and his friends."

Bron sighed as he examined the assembled longnecks before him. "This is why our kind is best in a herd. A lone longneck is usually a doomed one."

Just then, one of the large male deputies came up to him.

"Bron, are we set to continue? The valley is only a day's walk away."

"I suppose we must, Genners. The bright circle stops for no one. Get the rest of the herd in order."

"Yes, sir."

Shorty hesitated a moment. There was one other thing that he had to bring up. The fact that Littlefoot's sharptooth friend was apparently a valley resident no more.

"Dad… there is something else…"

That was when a rather loud, rambunctious sounding call was heard from a short distance away.

Bron paused.

"Wait...that sounds like…"

"Argent!" Shorty cried as he could not believe his eyes. The young longneck had been as good as dead only minutes before, and yet here he was, alive as the bright circle was yellow.

The little longneck continued to make a joyous call as he sprinted towards the herd, not caring about the burning sensation in his legs. It wasn't until he nearly collided with Shorty that he came to a stop.

"Argent!" Shorty nuzzled the little longneck as he laughed. "H… how? What happened?"

The two longnecks now had an audience as Bron and his deputies came to rest right behind Shorty, watching the scene in amazement.

"Uncle Bron! Shorty! You're never going to believe it! The sharpteeth saved me!"

Murmurs echoed throughout the herd. Some shook their heads.

"Impossible," the one named Albite said. "I've never heard of such a thing. Sharpteeth don't rescue leaf eaters."

"But that's what happened!" Argent claimed.

"So Chomper was actually trying to…" Shorty muttered as several heads turned in his direction. "Then who were the others?"

"I dunno," Argent shrugged, not understanding the context of Shorty's question, eyes still wild with excitement. "It wasn't just sharpteeth though. There was a fast runner too. She was really nice."

Bron stared at Argent in shock. "Ruby? What is Ruby doing out here in the Mysterious Beyond?"

"They probably left the valley, Bron," Shorty replied in a low voice. "They must be out here with some other sharpteeth."

Bron nodded. "Chomper was getting bigger… I suppose it was only a matter of time before the valley decided it was time. Well, at least we can tell my son that his friends are alright."

"And that they saved Argent, here," Shorty agreed. And that I slapped Chomper for no reason. Heh… sometimes I'm a jerk even when I don't try to be.

As if to forestall any further attempt for Argent to go on an adventure, Bron placed the wayward longneck on his back. This had one unexpected consequence, however.

"There they are!"

Shorty shot his head in the direction of Argent's excited exclamation. After not seeing anything of interest for a moment, he finally saw what the little longneck was observing. On the bluff above the crevice stood the most strange pack of sharpteeth. A green fisher, oddly outside of their normal grounds. A green fastbiter, apart from any others of his kind. A sharpbeak circling in the sky above. An orange two-footer with a very familiar purple sharptooth and Oviraptor beside her. And a sharptooth that caught his eye. A brown two-footer who was staring directly in his direction.

Shorty and the sharptooth locked eyes for a moment that seemed to stretch into hours. The eyes that faced him in the distance were amber, a most odd color for a sharptooth, but there was something about them, something familiar. It was almost like the sharptooth knew him.

The sharptooth disappeared from view as he went over the bluff with the others, but it left an unsettling feeling in the longneck's stomach.

Somehow he knew that he would meet that sharptooth again.


The Great Valley, the next day:

"I can't stand waiting around anymore!" a certain gray threehorn growled. "We need to do something now!"

"Topps, Violet has not returned from her scouting in the beyond. Until we know what's out there, it would be far too dangerous to risk another attempt," Grandpa Longneck tried to console his friend.

The parents of the now 'lost children' as they were being referred to, had gathered around in a secret meeting, far from the prying eyes of the rest of the Valley. Ever since their return from the first ill-fated attempt to look for their children they had appeared to hang in the shadows, as the rest of the valley did not believe their tale.

Or, for the sake of their sanity, refused to believe it.

"The sharpteeth seem to be more active than usual lately," said Susa. "If Violet fails to find any patrolling the great wall, we will still have to be careful. Fast biters tend to hide in caves and crevices that most of us cannot see."

"We could use the flyers that happen to be going to and from the valley… ask them to keep their eyes open." Tria proposed.

"Fly fly find Cerwa!" Tricia affirmed as she attempted to sleep. The meeting had already gone on for too long for the young threehorn. The most that Tria dared to tell her daughter was that her sister and friends had gone on another adventure again.

The Mysterious Beyond is a dangerous place." Grandma Longneck affirmed. "I think we should find them if possible… but if we cannot then flyers might be a last resort."

Saul nodded.

"There's no guarantee the flyers will believe us. We will have to be careful in how we phrase our request to them."

"Whatever happens, we owe it to our kids to find them. Sharpteeth or not, I don't care!" Topps affirmed, stomping a foot into the ground. "The idea of Cera and the others out there trying to survive in those...forms. It's enough to make me lose what I ate this morning."

"What if we can't find them?" asked Tria worriedly.

It was a possibility that no one wanted to face or think about. That their children perhaps had not made it and were lost to them forever.

"There is no time for that," Grandpa Longneck said in his usual sage tone. "We must believe that somehow, they are still out there. And we all agree, that they need us."

It was then that a young flyer landed on the longneck's back, obviously excited.

"Momma's back! And she says that more longnecks are here!"

The adults began to look at one another in confusion for a moment before Grandma Longneck realized the implications. "It is time for Bron's usual trip to the valley…"

This made Grandpa Longneck sigh deeply. "And how exactly do we explain... all of this?"

A loud call then echoed throughout the valley as the alert came out that another herd was arriving. It was the signal for the elders to welcome their new guests.

"Well, we have to tell him somehow," said Grandma Longneck.

The other parents looked at each other with expressions of sympathy. They didn't envy the elderly longnecks' position of having to explain what had happened to Littlefoot and the rest of their children.

Slowly, the group made their way towards the main entrance, where the herd was due to appear at any moment. As the group approached, the other residents bowed their heads respectfully and talked in hushed whispers. In the end only the parents and Mr. Thicknose stood at the entrance.

At the forefront of the group of powerful longnecks was Bron, the wisest and strongest among them. Tall, confident and mild mannered, a smile radiated from his face as he and his herd stopped in front of the valley elders.

"Papa Longneck, Mama Longneck," he bowed respectfully. "Good to see you again."

"The feeling is mutual Bron," Grandpa Longneck said, forcing an attempt at a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"My herd and I have stopped for our usual visit," he said. "Shouldn't last longer than a week. Genners and Albite here will make sure that sleeping accommodations will be orderly."

He peered around the valley members, and the parents knew what he was searching for.

"Where's Littlefoot?" he asked with a smile. "Where's my son?"

The grandparents gave one another a look before their faces fell. It was Grandpa Longneck who finally gestured away from the group with his neck. "Bron, we need to talk about that."

At that, the big longneck's face turned to one of anxiety. By the posture of his in laws, he knew something was amiss.

"Dad?" said Shorty, appearing by Bron's side. "What's going on? Where's Littlefoot and his friends?"

He did not answer and only turned towards Grandpa Longneck, his eyes full of concern.

"Bron…" the elderly male said slowly and sadly. "This may take awhile. There is something you should know. Our kids...they're no longer here."

Bron felt his heart sink like a stone in a river as he took in those words. Whatever story was behind this, he was not sure he wanted to hear it.


Shorty stared at the ground as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. He would have done anything to go back to the world that existed before he heard the tale from the elder longnecks and the other parents. It was like the parents expected Bron and shorty to laugh at their tale, or to think that they had gone mad. The reaction that they received was quite the opposite.

"So that was Littlefoot…"

This made the others turn towards the teenage green longneck. The recognition in his voice sounded as odd in this situation as a swimmer flying in the wind.

Bron stomped the ground in exasperation as he took a deep breath. "We had a run-in with some sharpteeth two days outside of the valley." He gestured at a purple youngling in the distance. "We thought Argent was gone until it turns out that the sharpteeth let him go."

The other parents looked at themselves. That sure as heck sounded like something their kids would do.

"Sharpteeth never pass up a free meal when it offers itself up," Topps said.

"I thought the same thing," Bron nodded. "But the young one came out of that crevice without a scratch."

"It must have been them!" Susa cried. "That's the only explanation!"

Shorty swallowed. "And to think I slapped Chomper because I thought…"

Bron shook his head. "You had no way of knowing, Shorty. We thought the valley kicked Chomper and Ruby out. But we had no idea… all of this happened."

"You saw Chomper!?"

Susa was nearly pushed into the water as the other parents edged closer to the longnecks, hanging on every word. The entire valley would have heard their outburst had they not been congregated by the roaring waters of the Thundering Falls. Shorty's words had confirmed what they had been waiting for: their children were alive… and they had a basic idea of where they were.

Shorty nodded. "And Argent saw Ruby too!"

"This is welcome news indeed," Grandpa Longneck said. "Not only are our children alive, but they appear to still have their knack for being at the right place at the right time."

"I don't think any of us would expect anything less," said Saul as the others nodded in agreement.

"But they can't remain sharpteeth forever! Can they?" Shorty exclaimed.

"There is no way to tell," Grandma Longneck said to the green Brachiosaurus. "Such a thing has never happened before in the history of our world."

"That… is not quite true."

The parents all turned in the direction of the new voice, staring in shock at the elder's words. None other than Mr. Thicknose stood by the Thundering Falls roaring waters.

"It is why I did not dismiss your tale… there have long been stories about such things… but not from herds around here. I haven't heard of them for a long, long time."

"What did those stories say?" Shorty asked with excitement. "Do they say how to change them back?"

Mr. Thicknose sighed. "The stories don't say much… just that lights came from the sky and changed leaf-eaters into sharpteeth and that they had to leave their home. But I have not heard that tale since I was a youngling myself. It isn't everyday that you get to hear a story from a fastrunner." He shook his head. "The herd didn't allow her very close, being a potential egg-stealer and all, but the stream was open territory so I would sneak in every once in awhile to hear her stories."

"So in other words, we're still completely in the dark about their condition," Violet said with a hint of frustration.

"I'm afraid so," said Mr. Thicknose. "By the way, it is only fair that I should warn you. There are whispers among the other residents of the valley about a 'sharptooth sickness'. They won't formally move against you yet, but if there are further incidents of incursions into the beyond, you run the risk of being forced to leave the valley."

"We know, unfortunately," said Tria.

"It's funny you mention that," Saul half chuckled. "That's exactly what we were planning to do next."

"Of course you are," Mr. Thicknose said with a tiny smile. "You all aren't exactly known to be idle in times of crisis."

"Damn right we're not," Topps growled.

"So…" Bron's voice broke as he tried to wrap his mind around the unbelievable events of the last few days. In that moment his head felt like it was filled with boulders. "Most of the valley thinks they are dead, but if they are proven to be alive then they will think that it is a horrible sickness. If we find Littlefoot… what do we do then?"

He shook his head sadly. "My son is now the same kind that killed Adeline. Fate has been cruel to me for too long!"

The sudden smack of his tail into the water caused fish to scatter and for a torrent of water to fall upon the assembled dinosaurs. No one dared to speak for several seconds as they allowed the father to absorb the momentous events of the last few weeks.

"Bron," Grandma Longneck spoke softly. "We all had the same reaction when this first occurred. All of us here know someone that was lost to sharpteeth."

"And now they are sharpteeth," Bron sighed. "In some ways, that's worse."

"You're not wrong," agreed Grandma Longneck. "At the same time, soon after the transformation, we realized we could not sit by and do nothing. Sharpteeth or not, they are still our children and we are their parents. We can figure out what to do once we find them, but for now, making sure they are alive is all that matters."

She stepped up close to her son in law in a placating gesture.

"Through no fault of your own, you were absent from most of Littlefoot's early life. Now that he's gone again, we all must give our best efforts to bring him and the others back. I know you would never abandon your son."

Bron looked down in much the same gesture that Shorty had made earlier. There was no doubt about what had to happen now. As soon as their children were safe then they could worry about what to do next. Shorty's next statement was the affirmation of what everyone felt.

"So when do we get going?"


Next update will be within a couple weeks!

~TheWasp