Hey, guys.

First off, my sincerest apologies for this chapter taking so long. I didn't even realize the last update was back in December. I've hit a major bump in writing and with life in general. Bottom line, I fell into a pretty big rut.

I can't promise when the next one will come out. But I can promise it won't be two and a half months. Thank you for those of you who have been waiting patiently. I hope this latest installment is to your satisfaction.

This is a steady climb guys. And it's not super dark but it's definitely going to make your stomach drop a few times. We're getting very close to some intense scenes. In fact there may be a couple in this one.

Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 18. Your Decision

"You make choices every day and almost every hour that keep you walking in the light or moving away toward darkness". -Henry B. Eyring

Verdant scales shimmered in the radiance of the midday Bright Circle. As the yellow eyes stared into the distance from the solitude of the bluffs they could see a familiar yellow body between the swaying reeds.

Slasher is keeping low to avoid alerting prey. Good… so where are the… oh.

The bushes seemed to slither like a snake through tall grass as Spike sprinted through the ground cover. A Fisher followed in his wake.

Thud looked further down the gorge.

The brown rock of the bare ravine walls were a testament to both symmetry and barrenness. From a superficial observation nothing would have appeared to be amiss. The green fastbiter, however, new exactly what to look for against the brown falls.

The slightest of red glimmers focused his eyes. Little Claw was watching from the wall. His eyes on a clear target above.

They have the entire ravine under observation from below and above.

Hot Shot was flying up above, his eyes scouring the land, ready to give a signal or warning, depending on how the hunt proceeded. His flying pattern gave off an air of casualness so as to not to alert the suspicions of any potential prey below.

That little sharpbeak has come a long way.

His eyes switched over to search for the purple biter. He was not a former leaf eater and therefore had the most natural instincts of all the young ones, but lately that gap had been closing significantly.

He scanned the the edge of the gorge and though it took a minute, he eventually found Chomper waiting in ambush. The little biter was checking his surroundings constantly, and communicating in a low growl he knew only his kind could hear. Together, the kids were becoming fearsome hunters and with each passing day, grew more skilled in their craft.

Thud, is that pride swelling within you?

It was true. Though he would never admit it openly, the incident with the mother fast biter and her younglings haunted him greatly since the day he was forced to commit the gruesome act. Ever since, he had poured every ounce of his energy into taking the young ones under his tutelage, albeit subtlety as to not alert Red Claw's suspicions once more. He had ceased much of his praise, but not his instruction. And despite the massive T-Rex's warnings, it did not stop what he already knew.

He had truly come to care for these fast growing biters, former leaf eater or not.

They really have come far in their training, he thought proudly.

And then, as quickly as it came, that pride turned into ugly revulsion that twisted his insides like a knot. Yes, they had been well trained, but to fulfill the twisted dreams of a monster, same as he had. Like him, the kids were slowly but surely falling under Red Claw's influence. No one would guess that the monster had anything but the brains of a brute, however, very few lived long enough to see the kind of evil he could spread with his tongue rather than his teeth.

Thud did not know what Red Claw's plans were or to what ends his latest scheme (Red Claw was always scheming) would amount to. But he did know this, whatever that scheme was, it could only end badly for the young ones under their charge.

With a burst of hardened determination, the green raptor resolved to have a private chat with the children as soon as possible. He may have been duped long ago by this sadistic sharptooth, but he would not allow the same to happen to them, not if he could help it.

Their loyalty to him only grows by the day, he mused darkly to himself. I can only hope I can convince what it took me years to figure out on my own.

It could mean the difference between life and death.

The constant chatter of gnawing jaws and ripping flesh echoed in the distance like sounds from a longneck's nightmares. Though now such sounds were almost as mundane as a rainstorm during the Wet Season. A sign of stability in a barren land.

Though that didn't make waiting any more pleasant.

"I hope he leaves us some!" Cera grunted in a low whisper as she kicked up dirt in a way reminiscent of when she had flatter teeth and her friend had a flatter head. "And we have to wait on the bigger ankle-biters too!"

Littlefoot rolled his eyes. "I think Screech and Thud could bite more than our ankles."

A series of clicks greeted their ears.

"Ha! You can try to get my ankles, tail-chaser!" Cera retorted, catching the gist of Spike's message even if she did not quite understand the context.

"I do not think we should be eating one another, no, no, no," Ducky affirmed as she eyed the gore in the distance. "We just have to wait a bit longer."

"It was a joke, Catcher…"

"Speaking of waiting…"

All eyes suddenly turned to the pink fastrunner as she appeared to have a preoccupation with her feet as she spoke to the gang. She finally sighed and looked up at the predators who were her friends.

"Um… have all of you thought about what I wanted you to have thoughts about?"

Littlefoot was the first to reply. At first he struggled to keep his annoyance in check, but managed to calm his temper as he did not want to snap at Ruby like he did in the cave.

"Well...I've given it a lot of thought. But we haven't discussed it as a group in a few days," he said indicating the rest of his former leaf-eater friends. "Perhaps it's best if we have it now."

The others nodded in agreement, even if their was still some reluctance in their eyes.

Chomper took the opportunity to expand on that point.

"What do you all feel? We've been hunting with Red Claw for some time now, and it's easy to see you guys have changed. You know how to use your senses, you walk with purpose, you know the ways of the hunt. Heck you've learned more than I could ever teach you."

There was silence for several moments before Ducky finally sighed. "I feel like a Fisher, but that is not much different than a swimmer. Uh… except for the fishing part," Ducky added awkwardly.

Spike clicked his claws for a few moments as he looked at the feeding monstrosity in the distance and sighed.

"But Speedy says he has changed a lot. He has, he has."

"I think we all have," Cera admitted. "Heck I can't really say I'm a threehorn anymore. We don't even use our original names."

"Well me earn mine. And old names not really work well anymore." Petrie gestured with his wings. "Spike is no longer a spiketail, and Little Tooth make more sense than Littlefoot."

"It's Little Claw, Hotshot," Littlefoot said in annoyance.

Ducky couldn't help but notice the similarities between this and the first time Littlefoot had to correct Petrie in regards to his name. It gave her a heavy heart, but it was also fitting.

"So none of you feel like your old selves any longer?" Ruby inquired. "That is understandable given you've spent quite a lot of time in your sharptooth bodies. But it has to be more than just that."

"You're right, Ruby," Littlefoot said with a heavy sigh. "It's not just the names or the bodies. Think about what we've had to do. All the hunts, all the feasting, all the things Red Claw taught us. We live in a land where we have to scrap for food every day, our families are gone and we won't ever see them again. You may not like the big guy, Ruby, but without him we may have starved. Changing back at this point isn't just a fantasy, it's impractical. In fact I don't I want to."

There was a silence in the air as the only sound that could be heard was the sound of the gorging of wet, bloody flesh by Thud and Screech fifty yards away. And it was making Littlefoot very, very hungry. He grimaced as he tried not to think about what it would be like to rip out a swimmers throat, as they had become his favorite meal. But the prospect was almost irresistible.

Chomper picked up on this immediately. He knew exactly what was happening.

"You're finding it harder and harder not to kill aren't you?"

Ruby glanced at Chomper for a moment before directing her gaze straight at Littlefoot. Bursts of recognition tugged at her consciousness. Of warning that her family had told her before her entry into the valley.

"Littlefoot?" She asked softly, her voice acting as a kind, tentative nudge.

The tyrannosaurus licked the top of his mouth with some apprehension.

"I'm having those sleep stories that you warned me about. The Blood Stories."

Ruby closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly. So it had come to that.

"I used to get those too," Chomper said quietly. "The week before I made my first kill, I had the same sleep story every night."

"So you told me the other day," Littlefoot said.

"What happened after you...did it?" Ducky asked, as if she was fearful of the answer.

"Well...I didn't feel different in terms of who I was. But I did know that from that point on, there was no hiding or getting around what I was. It was the moment I knew that killing other dinosaurs in order to survive was the life I was destined to lead. Even when I joined you guys in the valley, it was always in the back of my mind."

Petrie looked down for several moment as he contemplated Chomper's words.

Spike's eyes too were spacy as if staring at something far away. Or contemplating an idea that was best to consider from a distance.

"Forgive me, Little Claw," Ruby spoke using his sharptooth name, "But what does your heart tell you?"

"Look, we've all been having these sleep stories," Littlefoot said a little too quickly, brushing her off. "Slasher, Speedy, Hotshot, everyone. It just makes it that much harder...and easier to make this decision."

Ruby knew what was coming. She was afraid of it, but her father's advice came to mind in this moment. Prepare for the worst and you'll never end up disappointed.

"I never thought I would ever come to a point where the temptation to kill was stronger than it was not to. But we can't keep running from this anymore or put it off another day. I'm sick of being in this hell, this limbo of being in body I can't use to my fullest extent. There's only one way to cure that."

It was then that he felt a soft nuzzle against his cheek. He didn't have to guess who it was.

"When you do it, so will I," his girlfriend said to him softly. "We need to be there for each other when it happens."

Ducky and Spike could only look at each other, while Chomper raised a slight brow.

"Is there something going on with you two?" he asked, sounding half surprised, half amused.

"Never mind that, Chomper," Ruby said impatiently. She had long sensed the budding romance between Little Claw and Slasher. Them being the same species had only pushed them into the direction they otherwise would have gone if they were leaf eaters.

She took a slight step forward towards their leader, the one that had lead them for as long as she could recall being in the valley.

"You realize what this means don't you? You know there's no going back after you do it. The rainbow faces said you had to know what it meant to walk in Chomper's footsteps. Littlefoot, do you truly believe that this is the only way?"

The brown tyrannosaurus went rigid as he turned towards the fastrunner. He stepped towards her until he was only a foot away from her face.

What Ruby saw terrified her more than any of the recent anger outbursts she had dealt with. Littlefoot's eyes were not flushed crimson as they were on a hunt or in anger, rather they were cold, held little sparkle, and contained a steely focus not present in previous encounters. When he spoke, it truly reflected the new dinosaur within.

"Littlefoot doesn't exist any longer, Ruby. But Little Claw doesn't like waiting for his food. So I think it's time he go out and finally get a meal on his own. Don't you think?"

Ruby met his gaze with cautious eyes. She could not discount his resolve of the dinosaur who stood before her. It reminded her of a saying that her father has always told her.

"Remember the path behind you, but never stop running…" She closed her eyes. "I was with you all when you were a herd, and I will be with you all when you are a full pack."

Little Claw nodded as the rest of the pack did the same. Ruby noticed that the rest of the former leaf eaters, to no great surprise, were following in behind their leader. If he would stay as a sharptooth, so would they.

Catcher's eyes betrayed some sadness, and Speedy did not seem as cold or resolute, but they were as prepared as their leader to go through with the once forbidden deed that was forbidden no longer. Hotshot merely shrugged, and Slasher stood proudly beside her boyfriend, her body language every bit as ready for a hunt as Little Claw's.

Ruby watched the display in silence as Chomper stood beside her. For a brief moment it seemed that they were again isolated outsiders despite being around friends. Though now it was due to their friends making a choice that neither felt the right to interfere with.

None of them were leaf-eaters now.

Ruby turned towards her friend. "It is happening like you said it would happen."

Chomper nodded. "It happens the same way for us all. When the sleep stories speak we must listen."

Ruby was silent for a moment as the pack turned again towards the two larger fastbiters in the distance, Slasher tapped her feet in annoyance at the delay just as if nothing serious had just been decided. Ruby's mind was elsewhere, however.

"You have a choice too, Chomper."

Chomper snorted as he looked at his former caregiver. "I think that was decided when I hatched, Ruby. I haven't exactly been eating leaves."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Not your diet. The other thing that was decided when you hatched. Your parents. You still have a duty to them."

The purple biter now understood the full implication of what Ruby was getting at.

"How can I seek vengeance against someone who has helped me and those I care about in a time of need?"

Ruby closed her beak with a resounding click. "He killed your parents. Either by chasing them from food or by doing it himself. How can you trust him now when he cannot be trusted?"

"I can't honor my parents by neglecting my other obligations," he replied. "I have to stay with my pack and protect them. They may not know it but they need me more than ever. It would be equally dishonorable of me to die as the result of an attempt on Red Claw's life and leave my friends to die as a result of my betrayal."

Ruby watched the pack as they proceeded to hesitantly step forward. It looked like that their turn was finally approaching in more ways than one.

"Just remember where you came from, Chomper. And don't let them forget either."

"I remember, Ruby," he said kindly. "And I don't think they will either. But this is their choice. Sometimes when things change in life, it's best to accept it and move forward."

Ruby gave a small smile.

"You would know that better than anyone."

As the two tightly embraced they could forget for one moment that changes that threatened to envelope everything around them. Regardless of what had transpired they were still friends and that was all that mattered.

"Maybe this really is the only way for them to know what it's like to walk in my footsteps," offered Chomper as they broke apart.

"But then what would be the point of a curse?" Ruby asked.

As it turned out, neither one of them had the answer for that question.

Thud had had his fill. Being the carnivore that he was, he always enjoyed a nice meal in peace. But he was not a glutton and this particular feast left his stomach hollow in a way that no red food could fill. He knew exactly what he needed to do.

"I am going to tell the young ones it is their turn on the carcass," he told Screech, who merely grunted in reply.

You're never one to suspect anything when your belly is full, eh Screech?

Privately, he always considered his fellow fast biter a loose end that he wish he could take care of sooner rather than later. A fool who was more dangerous than useful. Alas, the boss liked to have him around. His viciousness was a quality Red Claw was quite fond of.

He walked casually towards the children, who were waiting in the distance. He had heard them chatting while he ate, but they were not close enough for him to fully decipher the conversation.

Probably Slasher just complaining about the pecking order again. If it wasn't for her and Little Claw having eyes for one another I think he might have had a challenge in his future.

He privately berated himself. The kids already had names before the Boss had decided to give them new ones. But he had just the opportunity to give them the chat that they desperately needed.

He gave a formal nod of his head, "I am still eating, young ones, but you may eat at my side if you wish."

Little Claw looked at him and shook his head. He spoke clearly and even a bit coldly.

"I appreciate it, Thud. But my fellow pack members and I have decided it would be best for us to hunt our own food tonight."

Thud opened his mouth before closing it again, shock evident in his features. "Your own hunt?"

"Yes, we feel we are ready to start making kills on our own. We know you and Screech catch extra prey on the side. No reason we shouldn't do the same."

Thud blinked. There was something different about the mannerisms of the group, something that he couldn't quite pin down. "That… is a change."

"We ready to be sharpteeth now. Not like we can go back." The flyer muttered from atop Speedy, the fastbiter formerly known as Spike.

Thud looked at the fisher with an odd expression. "Okay… well Hotshot and Catcher can eat then. No reason to let this meat go to waste."

"They want to go with the pack to wherever the pack goes," Ruby noted softly as Chomper nodded. Little Claw gave them both an odd nod of understanding. The entire situation reeked of weirdness.

Thud sighed. "Well then… care to dine with me so that you don't hunt on an empty stomach? It helps to be able to think clearly."

"I think not, Thud," Slasher said, taking up her spot alongside Little Claw. "I think it's best to prove we can catch something ourselves."

"And who are you proving that to?" Thud asked carefully, narrowing his eyes.

"The one whom we serve," Little Claw answered without any hesitation. The response was so chilling, Thud could not help but recall a snippet of his past.

"'Do you promise to serve me to the end of your days or until I judge your usefulness has run its course?'

He and his fellow fastbiter knelt as low as they could go in front of Tyrannosaurus, and spoke firmly.

'We pledge to serve you, forever. Red Claw.'"

It was at that moment Thud could not stand it any longer. He should have said something long before this but it was only now he realized the tremendous influence the monster had had on the young teenagers. Just as he had vowed, they were his to mold and mold them he had. They were ready to kill for their leader, and that was what disturbed the fastbiter most.

"No," he said quietly.

Little Claw took a slight pause before replying.

"What do you mean, Thud?"

"I mean no. You don't have to make the same mistakes that I did," Thud was practically frantic now, "There is no reason for you to serve someone unworthy of your respect and devoid of honor."

He took a deep breath. "It's not too late for all of you."

Everyone's expressions turned to immediate shock with no one bothering to contradict him. And when someone did speak, it wasn't to criticize.

"Do you wish to elaborate on that?" Chomper asked. He had never heard the fast biter express any sort of disloyalty to Red Claw before.

"I mean… you followed Red Claw when no one else would follow Red Claw." Ruby added. She remained suspicious that this could be a trick.

Thud closed his eyes. I am not sure that is a tale that you all want to hear, little ones. Nonetheless he knew that if he wanted to stop them from throwing everything away then he needed to be honest to a fault.

"When I was younger and stupider I thought that all that mattered in this world was strength and power. Have those things and you can make anyone cower in front of you. But there comes a time in your life when you realize that there are more important things in this world. Things that I discounted for far too long."

He looked at Little Claw and Slasher.

"Things like being able to look your kids in the eyes and know that you are a good role model."

He then turned towards Catcher, Speedy, and Hot Shot.

"Things like knowing that you are more than a slave to someone who things for you."

He finally turned towards Chomper and Ruby.

"Things like knowing that when you enter the Great Beyond that you can look your parents and ancestors in the eyes."

Thud turned away, his eyes downcast. "I threw all of that away to follow a dinosaur I thought was a great leader, but who turned out to be the monster that everyone said that he was. It's too late for me, but it isn't for all of you."

"Why tell us this now?" Little Claw asked, his eyes flashing crimson. "Are you sincere in your words, or do you mean to eliminate us because we can be more useful to him?"

The rest of the pack seemed to follow that line of thinking (except Ruby, who did not look as skeptical). Thud knew he had to impress upon them what they were getting into.

"I'm telling you because I see in you the same mindset I carried just before I bent the knee to Red Claw. He is not your master, he is merely using you all."

"So all of that training and having us 'killing in no time' was just bullshit then?" Slasher growled.

"I did not know of your situation at the time," Thud replied evenly. "I still don't know your full story. At first I thought getting you to become killers for this pack would be beneficial. Indeed, today I marveled at how far you've come. But it was at the behest of someone who does not have your best interests at heart."

He took a deep breath and continued.

"If you want to kill, I will not stop you. That is not my concern. My concern is that you are becoming dinosaurs that deep down, you are not. Whatever your past lives as leaf eaters have taught you, whatever you can remember, please try to acknowledge it. Do not throw away all you hold dear so rashly for a monster who sees you as a means to an end. Littlefoot...heed me. Do not do what you're about to do."

The sound of his old name sparked a conflict within Little Claw, but he quickly suppressed it. There was no time to dwell on the past. There was only thing that mattered. To eat and to survive. And Red Claw offered them both of that in plenty.

"I'm sorry, Thud. But I cannot go back now. None of us can. This is something all of us need to do. And I'm very much looking forward to sinking my jaws into someone's neck at this moment."

He licked his teeth as he said it, and as he did, Thud realized what he hoped would not be the case when he had this talk with the young biters. He had tried to convince them a day too late. There was a finality and a chill in his voice that made the elder fastbiter realize the folly of trying to get through to him. Choking back despair that he could not save these children anymore than the children he was forced to massacre, he said the only thing that came to his mind. Words that were more important than he could possibly imagine.

"You may not have a choice about being a sharptooth, but you do have a choice in serving a monster. If you kids don't listen to me, then at least follow your heart."

And with that he left the children and the corpse with his head hung low. He had failed again to save all that he valued. Perhaps when Red Claw did finally send Screech to 'dismiss' him from service it would be a welcome release.

"So what happened after, Nicky, huh?"

The light teal flyer rolled his eyes as he sat on the branch of a fallen tree, one that had died many years earlier. The surrounding area was devoid of any vegetation save for a few shrubs and some moss but it was useful if you wanted to avoid bigger predators. Valo and Luca were off finding food.

"I told you already ya numbskull. I delivered the message, watched them growl for a few minutes and then I left. Nothing to it. You really think I was gonna stick around for the entertainment?"

He paused. "Although, one flyer did follow me for a while before tailing off. I don't know, maybe she liked what she saw and then gave up."

A few of the other flyers cracked up as they never missed an opportunity to bust on each other. Sometimes, in a life constantly on the move, humor was all you had.

"Leaf eaters are weird, I tell ya," said another orange flyer. "I mean how can you stick to one place, eat and shit there for the rest of your life and die? Sounds boring."

"That's just the leaf eaters of the valley," another pointed out. "Most are like us. They wander from place to place. Then they eat, shit and either die or get eaten."

The entire gang cracked up with laughter, guffawing stupidly.

"But i'll tell you what. Ain't no way is Valo making me go on another trip to talk to grass munchers again," Nicky announced loudly. "Too risky. He couldn't give me enough fish to go back there and risk my tailbone."

Just then a large swoop could be heard as an enormous brown Pterosaur landed next to them, causing the dead branch they were sitting on to shake, which startled the sharpbeaks.

"I'm sure we could find something else that could entice you enough to risk it," said the huge flyer in a smooth, oily voice. The voice of one whose native language was not that of the sharpteeth.

As if the fact it was not a sharpbeak was not clue enough.

"What the shit?" One of the little sharpbeaks exclaimed as he shifted to the edge of the branch.

Nicky was a bit more apprehensive. "Ho! Feel free to give us a warning when you swoop down like that eh, wiseguy?"

Pterano somehow managed to look graceful as his shoulders rose into an elegant shrug. Though Nicky did not want to show any concern, the fact that this leaf eater seemed to be associated with the valley and knew his lingo made him apprehensive.

He had no idea what was going on.

"My deepest apologies for disturbing your conversation," Pterano responded with a wing over his chest as he looked upon the skies with something akin to scorn. The next words lacked the oily demeanor of the previous statements. "But my nephew is my chief concern. I must thank you for befriending him, as he and his friends have too few friends left anymore in this harsh, uncaring world."

"Hey buddy, I don't know what makes you think we know your nephew but I would get your crest checked. Dehydration doesn't go far out here," Nicky replied crassly.

Nicky tried not to flinch when the massive flyer turned all of his attention to him suddenly with a single swoosh of his head, "Perhaps if I explain then you can tell us what you know. Petrie's safety is my foremost concern."

It was in that moment that the sound of fluttering wings again reminded the sharpbeaks of the outside world. Leaf eater flyers of all descriptions landed on the fallen tree as if they felt invited to the party. It was then that Nicky noticed the leaf eater flyer that had followed him out to the territory the day prior. Perhaps she hadn't buggered off after all?

Pterano's beak twisted in the slightest hint of a smirk. "Your words carry far in the calm winds. So do tell me… how is my dear 'Hotshot' doing?"

It seems the GO5 has made their choice. So where will they go now to hunt? And what will they find once they do so?

Hmm...I wonder what Pterano's up to.

~The Wasp