Me: He He Hem. Aermhemhem. Ahem. Hmmm. Mememememe. Hiiiii LOW. Ehem. Ladies, gentlemen, children and other, I present to you, THE LAST CHAPTER!
Regal: What? Waaaiiiit, do I die?
Me: Dunno, I just usually go with the flow.
Buck: Last time ya did tha', ya tipped the canoe.
Me: hey, the power strengths between Paparoni and I are VERY different ok?
Regal: Buck, get out of here, no one likes you.
Buck: I'm sorry wha'? Ya wanna tell tha' t' Buckisawesome?
Regal: who the hell is that?
Buck: They hate you.
Regal: do not.
Buck: do to.
Regal: do not
Me: shut up. Regal, Buckisawesome does hate you.
Regal:
Buck: SHU' DOWN BITCH!
Buck stumbled through the smoke, coughing violently. He was getting desperate. He couldn't find her. He'd sworn he'd seen her at one point, but she was gone again, swallowed by the smoke. But he knew that if he didn't get out of here soon, he would die. There was not a leaf left in the whole canyon to cover his mouth except…
He was desperate, dying, and he didn't have much choice. He untied the patch around his eye, and covered his mouth with the leaf. Breathing became somewhat easier, but not completely better. He would just have enough time to get out of here. Buck ran in a particular random direction, and almost thwacked into the wall of the canyon. He followed it until he came to the gates, at this point, his breath heaving and smoke still billowing from behind him. There was even more smoke before because there wasn't any clean burning anymore, it was smoldering left overs.
Buck climbed his way up to the stream, stumbling often and having to take breaks occasionally, while he also re-tied the leaf over his eye. He saw the others, who ran over to him.
"Buck, are you ok?" Trevor asked.
"I'm… fine. Is… Lucy back?" Buck heaved, coughing occasionally while he talked. The others looked at each other nervously. "I'm takin' that's a no." Buck said gloomily, then fell into a huge coughing fit. His body shook and heaved with the effort. The others watched with furrowed brows and tight jaws.
Buck fell unconscious, which didn't surprise any of them. He'd been in there all night. They carried him to where the other injured and sick were, and they did their best to get him comfortable and better. And when the sun finally rose, it gave no comfort to any of them.
Lucy woke groggy and immediately started coughing. She would have covered her mouth with her paws, had they not been bonded behind her back. She was covered in soot, dirt, and blood. She soon realised it was her own. Her whole body ached and her mind wouldn't focus. Her arms hurt, her legs, her back, her neck, and
"* If you are underage or not comfortable with this, do not read the next few lines! OK!? LIKE, IT's SERIOUSLY MESSED UP. EVEN FOR MY WRITING!*"
in between her legs. She laid there for a few minutes, before her mind was clear enough, and she'd coughed most of the smoke out of her lungs. She looked around realizing she was in the cave she and Buck had stayed in, hiding from that new dinosaur. Wraith. The day had dawned, and light glittered off the water in and out the cave, lovely and bright. A few shadows remained at the walls of the cave, and a single silhouette stood against the scenery. She immediately knew who it was, from the freakishly skinny frame and occasional flash of blood red fur. And then the terrible realisation of what that pain between her legs was…
*K it's safe now*
"Regal!" she screamed, tears now streaming down her face. "What do you want!?" But of course she knew. She was bait. This was an obvious game, and it was useless to pray that Buck wouldn't come after her. He'd know full well it was a trap. He would follow anyway. He was just like that. Stubborn. Idiotic. Stupid. Foolish. In love. Ya know, the whole works. Lucy tried to stand up, but she started coughing again, and fell once more. While she was recovering from the coughing, there was a cruel laugh coming from Regal's silhouette. It got louder until it was a maddening, frightening cackle that wheezed to its end.
"The princess is awake." Regal said, turning to look at her. Lucy recoiled. Oh, good God was he a feral sight. He looked sick, in body, in mind. He was twisted and ragged, and it was a lot more terrifying than when he'd been in a healthy shape.
"Regal, I swear I'm going to-," Lucy started, but started coughing again, this time was shorter and less violent. She was at least getting better. Regal laughed, and the shadows joined in. Out from them stepped the most dreadful tyrants of Regals Hunters. A little less than half of them female. Among them was Tiffany, stepping towards Regal, who took her by the waist, and both had huge grins.
"You're going to what Lucy? Come on, you should know that you're not exactly in the best condition to fight right now. If you were, you'd give up a good fight, but it wouldn't last long," Regal started stepping towards her, swinging his jagged sword leisurely, "Besides, you know exactly why you're here."
"You could have at least been a little less obvious." Said Lucy, rolling her eyes. Regal laughed.
"Yeah, you have been hanging around Buck too much. He'd say something like that. And everyone here knows he's going to come and try to get you. And everyone here knows, that he will die."
Finally, Levi reached the exit. Stopping, he looked out to the Dino world, feeling comforted by getting here so fast.
And then he fell over.
His sides heaved so heavily they felt like bricks being pushed up and down by his rib cage. His breath rattled and his throat felt like it was being cut every time he took in air. His head swam with hunger, thirst, exhaustion and the emotional block that had kept all this at bay. The worry, the anger, the determination. They all came crashing back down. He laid there, right on the edge of the cliff, determined to stay conscious.
He didn't notice the club-tailed dinosaur behind him, about to bring its huge tail down to crush the smaller, fluffy creature. Before the dinosaur got the chance, a tan coloured feline crashed into its head, clawing at its eyes and trying to bite the armored hide. Both creatures were now making quite a lot of noise, which startled Levi into standing and backing away. He would have fought, but he didn't know what was going on. He would have run, but he didn't have anywhere to run to. So he stood, stayed, and stared as the fight continued. However much her teeth couldn't pierce the hide, Iesha was still doing a decent job of scaring the scales off the dinosaur. She swept a claw tipped paw down on its face, and did damage to its eye. It backed off, shaking its head and moaning in pain and annoyance. It lumbered off, groaning and stumbling to its cave to heal and wallow of defeat. Levi looked at the panting female, who was still facing where the dinosaur had disappeared. When she turned, Levi was surprised to find her eyes wide and she was shaking a bit. She sat down heavily, looking at the ground first, then at Levi.
"What," she said, panting in exertion or fright, Levi did not know, "did I …just fight?" Levi thought about how best to approach the conclusion.
"A dinosaur." He said, matter of factly, adding a shrug for extra causal effect. Iesha nodded, and nothing more was said on the topic. Levi looked at where the club-tail had disappeared. He could see a thin path, leading down. Without saying anything, he stood, and started his journey to the Stream near the Village. Iesha stood and followed, neither exchanging words. Levi figured that now wasn't the right time for explanation. They paced quickly, but neither were ready to run. First they needed water, food a close second and sleep a definite third. Finding Buck, was next on his list.
During the day, those who had the energy, went to gather as much food as possible. Being near a stream was convenient for water, so having that was not a problem. They took to the trees for shelter, and Dwain offered whatever room he had in his den. The children were fed first obviously, males second, females third. The females had lighter builds and less weight so could get to the best fruit in the highest of branches, in the thickest of clusters. The injured or sick were laid in the biggest fig tree, with the thickest branches. Buck was laid in the very centre, still unconscious, and heavily guarded by his determined friends. They figured that someone was coming to assassinate Buck sooner or later. There was no scouts, only guards, set up in the most apparent branches, where they could see much of the ground. Jeremy was one who was on the watch with very little rest. Adrian was usually the one either taking his place or watching with him. Trudy and Jess (now well) would be on guard as well, if they were not picking fruit or lying with their two injured friends. Sasha would wake often, moaning in pain, and Trudy was always there to hold her paw.
Buck never woke for the next two days.
They all knew that Lucy was either dead or captured, and that just made it all the worse.
Regal was getting impatient. Why wasn't Buck here? Why hadn't he come yet? Regal was absolutely sure that Buck would come after Lucy. Maybe he was rallying everyone, ready for a full-fledged war over her. No, he knew then that Regal would just kill Lucy if he tried to pull that old stunt. So why wasn't he coming? Regal was afraid he would discover and unsatisfying answer in the end. He hoped Buck wasn't dead already. That would just destroy the whole purpose.
Lucy was worried. Buck didn't come, and that was a lot more worrying than him actually turning up. After all, didn't this just mean he was already dead? Or dying? This often sent Lucy to fall asleep with tears in her eyes. That, or the taunting of Regal, and what he had done to Lucy when she was unconscious. Now, Lucy felt disgusted with her very existence. If she didn't take the aborting herb soon, she would surely get pregnant. Lucy would sit, cramped from the bonds, waiting for hours and hours. She knew not to give up hope. She couldn't do that. Not after all the times Buck had vanished, then appeared again just as everyone's doubts became apparent. She couldn't doubt him now. She would wake after nightmares, calling his name, only to find the mocking laughter of the feasting Tyrants. The soil around this oasis was good, providing just-ripe fruit and assorted fat fish. Lucy's arms were now being cut by the ropes, and if she moved too much, they bled. She stunk, not being released of her hold to have a bath in the cool water and hadn't moved for two days. She concentrated on trying to get out. She couldn't run. Her legs were bound. She had tried clawing the bonds on her arms apart, but the guards had checked her, and when they found the bonds had been damaged, they'd beaten her and then replaced the vines with ones that had tougher bark and spines on them. Night time was a blessing. The hunters would get drunk and dance and laugh and ridiculous, but all of them forgot that Lucy was even there, curled up in the corner.
And when they'd all fallen in to deep sleep from extreme intoxication, it was quiet, and Lucy could hear the sounds that swelled her heart and brought tears to her eyes. Nature. The nocturnal dinosaurs as they sang in the night, night-time birds that fluttered by the cave and created a shadow. Whenever Lucy glimpsed the moonlight on the water outside, she remembered the night she spent here with Buck. How he'd comforted her after her nightmare. How they'd come here often afterwards for him to teach her how to fight. The waterfall would remind her of the power he had, strong, but provided comfort to her lonely heart in the night.
Lucy often fell asleep silently shuddering with tears.
On the third day, Buck sat up with a yell and a kick. He missed Oma's head by about an inch. Buck was about to jump up, defensive instincts and confusion not being a good mix after he'd almost died. He was half-way up when Jess leaped on his chest and pinned him down again. He tried wriggling free at first, then realised he was pinned pretty well, so he resorted to something else. He growled in such a sinister way that made Jess's eyes widen and ears lay back. A few moments passed of Buck's blue eye piercing Jess's own brown ones, making her swallow in fright, before Buck finally stopped, laid his head back and said,
"I'm so sorry. I didn' realise…I…" He was confused and his head was throbbing like hell. Jess was heavy on his chest, heavier than he remembered, and he felt like a hole had been blown straight through him. Empty.
"Why am I...?" he started to ask, but the effort was too much. Jess got off him, allowing Oma to step forward.
She threw a pitcher of water on him.
"What the hell!?" Buck stood up immediately, shivering with the cold water running through his fur. His legs almost failed him, but his brain kicked into start. His tail wrapped around his legs as he stood and shivered. He was in a large tree, one of the figs across the stream, he soon realised. Other weasels were in the tree, and several other trees around. The day had just started, but was already warm and…
"Oma, explain t' me why tha' water is cold?" Buck said through chattering jaws.
"You've been out for the past three days." She responded, moving around and getting herbs, fruit and such, "You're immune system was so concentrated on getting the toxins from the smoke out of you, that I decided to still see if you're normal body temperature would kick in. Or if you'd freeze and get pneumonia."
"I could 'ave died!" Buck yelled, and ignored the gathering weasels around him.
"Ah, but you didn't." Oma said, flicking his nose. He tilted his head while he contemplated kicking her or not, but decided against it. Karma was a bitch, and he didn't want it to bite. Other patients from the fire were strewn in different branches. One that had blonde as hell fur, had her extremely damaged legs bandaged and she was-
"Sasha!" Buck exclaimed, kneeling down beside her. She woke with a start. She wasn't unnaturally unconscious, that was a good sign. She shook her head and looked up at Buck.
"Buck, you're alright. I knew you'd-," she yawned here, then said, "Pull through."
"Sasha," Buck said, "You're legs-," she nodded. Buck frowned.
"No chance of walking again," she said, and obviously had blocked her mind of the usual depression that came with that fact. But these weasels had gone beyond the old natural selection. She'd be taken care of by the others, which was for sure. Trudy appeared in the branches above.
"Buck, I know you're not dead and all, wahoo, but we've got a problem." She said. Buck groaned.
"Yeah," he said, not impressed that he was awake for three minutes and there was a problem just waiting to pounce.
"There's still no sign of Lucy," Trudy said, not bothering with sympathies or soft tones. Buck whirled, feeling guilty that he'd completely forgotten about his first priority. Some friend he was.
"The dead?" he asked, not being sympathetic with himself. He just needed the facts right now.
"Not among them. All of the dead have been identified, all the lost found. The other ones that are missing are all Regals hunters, or sluts. The only one not accountable for is Lucy, so-,"
"Kidnapped. Bait. Revenge. Trap. Me dead." Buck said, nodding. He knew the game. Knew all the rules, all the tricks.
"Last seen?" he asked, sounding a little more hopeful than he felt.
"By you." Trudy stated.
"Damn." Buck didn't think. He swung down from the tree, but when he landed on the ground, it wasn't with his usual grace. His legs failed and he ended up on his side, taking in a sharp breath.
"God, tha' hur'," Buck said, rolling to his feet, this time taking it slow. He went to the stream, Trudy following. Buck knelt by the water, spotting a weasel on an outcropping branch in one of the trees. The weasel had steel grey fur, and didn't move from his spot, barely moved to breath. He was unnaturally still.
"Adrian?" Buck asked, flicking his thumb towards the adolescent. Trudy nodded, face stern.
"He and Jeremy barely sleep. They're determined that this is the last straw. Frankly, they can get in the bloody line." Trudy snarled.
"I'm first, hear me?" Buck said, pointing a stern claw at her. She nodded once, Buck turned back to the water, and went to wash his face. He stopped, seeing his reflection. He was thin. His fur was terribly filthy and his patch had some tears in it, showing the occasional line of a stale scar. He was in terrible shape. He sighed, then just dived into the water, feeling it flow over his body and fur as he twirled underwater. He came up, feeling better already. His body had finally started to warm up with movement, and he washed what he could out of his fur. When he emerged, Trudy was there with a fish, and they ate quickly. They both immediately knew where they were heading next.
"The raptors?" Buck asked, throwing the fish bones into the stream, washing them flow away.
"They're around. Oak eye barely moves, ya know. Loves you too much." Trudy said, and Buck shook his head. Stupid creature.
"Call 'em, along with Jeremy an' Adrian. I'm gonna find some weapons." Buck stood, giving his commands, Trudy nodded and ran off to do her duties.
"Now," Buck said, "if I were a big sharp, Rudy-tooth knife, where woul' I be?"
Armed again with his beloved knife, Buck took off with the other three. There was many places Regal could be hiding, and frankly, Buck wasn't at all certain which one he would be in. So he started with the closest caves, canyons and ridges. He checked giant tree-root shelters, and old burrows that could have been used.
No sign.
Buck knew it would take more than two days to even scratch the surface of where Regal might be. Adrian, Jeremy and Trudy rode with him, vigilant and strong, not complaining once. Steve and Trevor weren't as good with the raptors, and decided to stay behind and guard back at the camp. Buck didn't argue. While they rode, they didn't say much. They had to sleep and eat, and Buck was gaining his strength back slowly.
Trudy was forever glancing at the sky, her biggest fear, (Buck had recently discovered) was of the Pterodactyls that patrolled the skies for potential food. Adrian and Jeremy though, knew the tell-tail signs of the beat of wings, the shadow, of the slight breeze, and often the cry of other birds of dinosaurs that feared the ferocious flying foe. Adrian and Jeremy had lost their humour on this trip, as did Buck and Trudy. No-one was laughing for a while after this terrible week.
Day, night, day, night. This pattern was the most natural thing the world could offer. But it had more pains to Lucy's heart than it had ever before. Regal had finally let Lucy outside. Let, being still bound at the arm, shoved out and kicked and dragged down to the stream. They put a noose like rope over her neck when they let her swim and hunt for fish. She felt a lot cleaner, and once she'd eaten her fish (in the water, away from the Tyrants keeping an eye on her) she felt as if some of her strength had returned. It probably had. She swum for hours, and if she got too far, the Tyrants would yank her back, spluttering and coughing up the water. The fresh air gave her a little more recovery from the smoke damage to her lungs. Eventually though, the time she dreaded came. She was dragged back to shore as the light was fading. They retied her bonds and pushed her back to the cave, but she was in better mind now that her body had been taken care of a bit. She knew now. She could feel it in her that Buck was coming soon. This she dreaded, but looked forward to at the same time.
She couldn't stand it here much longer.
That night, the news came. One of the Tyrant scouts came running in, all smiles and jokes, strutting around until Regal grabbed him by the shoulders, a funny hunger in his eyes. The scout smiled and nodded.
"He's coming." The scout said. "Buck's up and out, and he's closing in."
Lucy's ears dropped as the Tyrants started to laugh.
Iesha still had no choice but to follow. Levi just trudged on, ate, slept, and then continued. He'd told her the story of his experiences with this place, explained how it was and how Buck had saved him and what he was doing here. It made little sense to Iesha, but she couldn't go back. She was starting to think that Levi had a bit more stone to him than he let on. He didn't once falter or think he was lost. He didn't once doubt himself. His certainty comforted Iesha, for she sure as hell would have panicked if he dared screw up. She never made this apparent, keeping these facts to herself, but she still occasionally had to keep her composure under control if Levi stopped. When he did stop, it was either to listen to something he heard and make sure it wouldn't eat them, or lead them to hide while a flying reptile went over. Iesha was usually the strong one, fearless, but that was in her own world. Here was a different story.
It was well into the day, (Iesha had lost count of which one) when they finally emerged into a clearing along a large stream. Levi smiled, and Iesha took that as a good sign, and let herself feel a little relieved. Levi moved along it, sniffing at the air, then seemed a little disturbed. Iesha could smell it too. Smoke. It wasn't strong, like it was just lingering, but there was also blood and burning flesh and fur mixed in.
"This is why I came." Levi said, looking around.
"I don't get it." Iesha said.
"I knew something was wrong. I just had to get here." Levi continued along the stream, at a trot this time, looking around. He suddenly jumped back with a yell, and Iesha backed up with him. She gave a snarling growl as something struck her neck, something sharp. She put her paw to her neck and pulled out what looked like a small spear. Another one hit her shoulder, and she roared again.
"Get to cover," Levi said, and bolted for the trees.
That didn't work. Whatever was throwing them, it had good aim. Iesha guessed that there was more than one. She was looking up, squinting, to make sure she didn't get one in her eye. She spotted one, almost invisible among the branches.
A weasel, on the brink of having mange, but obviously that didn't stop it from being able to have a good throw. Soon, Iesha was spotting more of them, among the leaves and branches of the assorted species of trees.
"Levi, they're everywhere." She said in a growl, ducking a well-aimed spear.
"I have a plan."
"And that is?" Levi looked at her with an uncertain grin, then leaped back out into the open.
"I'm not here to hurt you," he yelled to the trees, and then dodged another spear. "Stop it!" Levi suddenly snapped. "I'm here to find Buck the one-eyed weasel! I'm a friend, Levi." The spear throwing halted. A voice from the trees called,
"How do we know to believe you, cat?" it sounded female, about Iesha's age, and warily angry.
Levi sighed.
"Really? Why the hell would I travel for a week, through a dark as hell tunnel, through a god forsaken jungle, across ravines and over mountains, to eat a couple of skinny weasels! My friend and I just need to find Buck. We're here to help him. We think he might be in trouble." Iesha felt it was safe to step out. They weren't throwing anymore, and she felt all the eyes in the trees staring at Levi. When she reached Levi, a weasel jumped from the trees. No wonder the weasels could hide well. This was a female with dark as black-wood, long fur and strong build. Some others landed behind her, silently, and it sent shivers down Iesha's spine.
"I'm Jess," the head female said. She stood straight and strong, but her fur was a little tattered and she looked like she needed a good feed. Iesha didn't like the look of these guys. They seemed…feral, strange. But maybe that could be explained by the smell of smoke.
"My name's Levi," the male said, "and this is Iesha. Please, Jess, trust us. I'm a friend of Buck's." Jess looked them up and down, then stared right into Levi's eyes. He didn't look away. Neither blinked, moved, hell, they barely breathed. The whole world went still. Iesha noticed that all the weasels around were staring at Levi, and more in the trees probably were too. Eventually, Jess nodded.
"You seem safe enough, but your sanity's a bit on the edge. I've never heard of a saber-tooth caring this much about what should be its afternoon snack."
"He's a little crazy," Iesha said, a little more casual than intended. Laughter resounded in the trees.
"Yup, you're Buck's friend all right." Jess said, smiling, "But Buck's not here. He's on a rescue mission."
"I knew something had gone wrong." Levi said quietly to himself, then looked at Jess, "What happened down here?" Jess looked at Levi sadly, and sighed.
"Come on," she said, waving them over as she turned away to walk, "I'll tell you what happened, but you look like you need some of those spears removed from your backsides."
Buck was getting close, he could tell. It hadn't rained in the past few days as they searched around for Regals gang, and only a few more hideouts were becoming available. Buck had a suspicion as to which cave Regal was in, and he didn't like it. But it was just a guess, and he had to be sure that he wasn't in the others, so he continued to check every one he could think of.
Levi had been fed, but he didn't dare sleep.
"I need to go after him." Levi said. "Having a saber around isn't going to burden him a whole lot." He smiled at Iesha. "You coming as well?"
Iesha sighed.
"I've followed you this far, I might as well come the rest of the way."
"Then after this, you'll finally tell me why you never used to laugh." Levi said, and Iesha didn't even bother to growl. He would have just shrugged it off.
"I'm just scared that blondie is going to kill me for taking you away for so long." Levi said, and Iesha flinched a little. She hadn't even thought about her friends. Maybe she was going as mad as the rest of this thing was. She sighed internally, and then followed Levi as he ran into the jungle, trying to follow Buck's week old scent.
They finally reached it. The cave behind the water-fall. And Buck knew he was being watched. By now, Regal's scouts would have told him that Buck was coming. That didn't bother him. Buck crouched behind a rock, well aware that there was two weasels in the trees twelve meters to his right. Trudy, Jeremy and Adrian were pressed up against trees or crouched under bushes to Buck's left and right, keeping quiet and watching the waterfall. They'd let the raptors go, and the creatures were staying nearby, but far enough that if the Hunters tried to grab them, they could easily scatter and then return again. Buck watched the cave and waited a few more minutes, making sure he was correct.
There! A glimpse of dirty-blood-red among the white, blue and green of the water fall and shrubbery around it. Buck looked at Trudy, and made a quiet bird call. She looked at him. He flicked his eye towards the cave and nodded. She responded by nodding once, then signalled to Jeremy and Adrian the same message. Buck then took a deep breath.
"Here we go," he said quietly to himself. He started crawling around, on all fours with his knife in his jaws. All four of them started making their way towards the side of the waterfall.
When they passed the tree Buck knew the two Hunters were, he looked straight up into the branches of it. He caught sight of one of them, and stared at the eyes for a good long while. Trudy, Jeremy and Adrian had spotted them as well, and all four of them were staring. The eyes in the tree didn't dare move. Eventually, Buck slowly took some tentative steps forward, then continued on. They'd given the brats in the tree a warning without words.
Any creature would have been having trouble to smell, hear or see four weasels from one side of a waterfall, so Buck was confident that none of the Hunters back in the cave would be able to spot him and his three friends. He kept his ears pricked just in case some hunters from the cave decided they'd go for a wander. Buck, Trudy, Jeremy and Adrian managed to make it to the side wall of the waterfall without any warnings being shouted, without alarming yells throwing the hunters into action. Buck tried to assess the situation with his good eye, but he had trouble doing that because of the water cascading down in front of the cave mouth. He managed to spot the twisted form of Regal through the water, standing with a few of his hunters, his girlfriend under his arm. Buck bit his lip, trying to come up with a plan that didn't involve getting himself, his friends or Lucy, Killed.
It would be hard. If buck went in there and challenged Regal face to face, the twitchy creature might just kill Lucy in front of him, or his madness would give him strength enough to kill Buck anyway. They couldn't do a sneak attack, because of the surplus of hunters, and Buck couldn't even see where Lucy was. They had no army, and the three friends he had were just as tired as he was, if not more-so. Trudy was getting twitchy with nerves, but Adrian and Jeremy were strangely calm, their faces a dull boredom, but something in their eyes bothered Buck, like a mad need for revenge, for blood. Clearly Regal's influence on them still hadn't worn off. Buck made a note to himself to keep an eye on them.
Trudy came up to his ear, and said, (loud enough to be over the sound of rushing water, yet quiet enough to not be heard by Regal's hunters),
"Buck, we can't leave it too long! The scouts we saw will have to change, and might spill the beans." Buck grimaced, and nodded. She was right. If the next set of scout heard about intruders, they wouldn't have long before Hunters were all over the place, and then there would be no chance to get Lucy out.
Buck assessed every situation and plan that came to mind, and only a few seemed even the tiniest bit sound. One, however, was as close to a 'decent plan' as he was like to get. Buck gave Trudy and Adrian specific instructions as to what parts they had to successfully play in the plan, while giving himself and Adrian a different job. Trudy and Adrian slinked into the brush to follow orders, while Buck and Jeremy waited a few minutes before following through with theirs.
There was plenty of muddy sand around the shores of the river, so Buck and Jeremy made themselves busy quickly by covering themselves in as much of it as they could. Buck certainly wouldn't say he wasn't taking chances. He definitely was. This whole plan was riding on hope and desperation. Once he and Jeremy had finished dirtying up their coats, Buck found an appropriate rock and started sharpening his knife to a dangerously sharp edge, just how it needed to be. Jeremy had brought his own weapons: a small dagger, and a larger curved sword. He made quick work of sharpening his as well, then they crawled back to the edge of the cave entrance, and waited.
They weren't disappointed when two shadows appeared in the sky not long after, racing towards the cave entrance. Buck and Adrian prepared themselves. A warning horn went off from the jungle, no doubt the scouts, as the shapes got closer. The sound brought Regal and his hunters out into the light. With them distracted, Buck and Jeremy quickly jumped through the water, landing on the sandy bottom of the inner cave near the right side. There was only a few hunters still in the cave, but didn't notice the two intruders at first. It was long enough for Buck and Jeremy to spot where the gagged and weakened Lucy was, at the back corner of the cave, before the hunters inside gave their cries of alarm, noticing the brown shadows near the right wall. When the hunters outside ran back in to see what was amiss, Regal was with them, and Buck felt a rush of disgust. He was even worse than Buck cared to remember. It must have been the madness and ill-willed excitement that rushed into Regals eyes at the sight of Buck and his ex-right-hand-man invading the cave.
"There you are." The twisted red creature growled. But before Regal and his fiercest of fighters could so much as get their weapons out, did two large, squawking forms crash through the water of the falls and cause all hell to break loose. Adrian and Trudy, atop two pterodactyls and followed by half a dozen miniature raptors, made the weasels run for weapons and attack whatever came close. In the chaos, Trudy managed to throw the weakened Lucy onto the back of her pterodactyl, and turned the great flapping beast around. Some hunters tried to throw grappling hooks or knives at the escapees, but their attempts were futile. The panicked pterodactyl made fast work of getting out of the cave, Trudy and Lucy holding on for dear life.
Lucy had a feeling in her stomach, like butterflies. She didn't know what brought up the feeling. It certainly wasn't hunger, not even sickness or dread. It was like she was nervous. WHY?! There was simply no reason for her to feel like this. It was just another day stuck in the cave, curling away from fists and shifting away from Tyrants with a purposeful look in their eye when they came towards her. Lucy didn't dare try and sleep. There had to be a reason she was feeling like this, and, good or bad, she had to see what that reason was. As the day dragged on and Lucy was getting uncomfortable with this new feeling, she noticed the air. The Tyrants were quieter than normal, twitchy, and a little sobered up compared to normal. They could feel something as well. Something in the air. A change. Something was coming. The only thing Lucy could think of, was Buck. This had to be it. The day that she'd been dreading, and needing to arrive.
When Lucy heard the scouts' horn go off, and the beating of wings, she willed it to go away, and yet wanted it to get closer. Please Buck, don't be stupid. Please don't do this. It was obviously a failed attempt at praying, and would have been too late anyway. Lucy watched the Tyrants disappear to the other side of the falls, very few staying behind. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned just in time to see a blue eye among some mud, before the Tyrants left behind gave cries of alarm, and Regal and his worst returned. There was a single second where the world seemed to still, to quieten, and even the water seemed muffled.
"There you are." Growled Regal, before an explosion of water, scales, teeth and balls of fur came crashing through the falls. Tyrants ran for weapons, beating off mini-raptors and avoiding the swinging tail of the pterodactyls. Adrian was firing arrows into the crowd of weasels, and cries of pain and anger cascaded down the cave walls, confusing anything in the cave further. The raptors were leaping, biting and clawing at anything they deemed a target. Tyrants were responding with mad, raging force, but it was uncoordinated. They'd been taken by surprise, shaken by the suddenness of it all, and they were failing at bringing their ranks in and responding with any effect. There had to be at least two weasel on each raptor, and several more were having a go at the pterodactyls.
Lucy processed this all in the time she had to see it, for soon the second Pterodactyl, with Trudy on top, came for Lucy. Somehow Trudy managed to reach down and pull Lucy strongly onto the panicking beast without either of them being hit by wings or weapons. With one arm holding Lucy to the pterodactyls back and another steering the animal, Trudy turned them around and kicked them into flight. She ducked close to the dinosaur's neck, avoiding oncoming weapons. Weasels tried jumping onto the flying dinosaur with little effect. They were either thrown to the side with ease or they misjudged the jump. Lucy closed her eyes just before they bashed out of the waterfall, getting soaked to the bone. When she couldn't hear the fighting anymore, when she could feel the ground getting further away, she finally opened her eyes. There was a moment of panic as she saw the ground far below her, but she forced her speeding heart to calm down, and for her head to get a grip on the vertigo. Trudy eventually levelled out the dinosaurs flying and slowed down, bringing it to a calm glide. This way, Trudy could easily hold on with her knees as she grabbed a knife and cut Lucy's arms free, then left Lucy to un-gag herself. Lucy was panting when she threw off the gag, tossing it into the wind with extra force, tossing the past four days' events with it. She gasped as she saw a knife lodged in Trudy's leg.
"We need to land!" she yelled over the wind.
"Why?" Trudy yelled. "If you think I'm going back on my word to Buck and taking you back there, you're bloody insane." Trudy said.
"You've got a knife in your leg." Lucy tried to deadpan, but it was harder when you had to yell. Trudy looked down at her leg, frowned, and then shrugged.
"We'll see to it when we get back to the tree. You seriously need a bath."
"But we've got to go back and help Buck after we've done dealing with your leg."
"What for? To help him fly? The jobs done. We got you out, so right now, he'd be high-tailing out of there and letting the pissed off raptors do the rest."
Lucy blinked. That had been their plan? But surely Buck knew…surely they all knew, that Regal wasn't just going to let Buck get away. Not this time. This will be the last straw.
When Buck was reassured by the fact that Lucy was safe with Trudy for the moment, he refocused onto the fight ahead. He knew he couldn't just run out of this one.
But he tried anyway.
He shoved Jeremy's shoulder in command to run, and then whistled to Adrian, who glanced at Buck long enough to get the message. Adrian reeled the pterodactyl right around, making it sweep its huge wings around, knocking down several weasels. Adrian kicked it into flight, ducking this way and that away from weapons until he was safely beyond the veil of water. Buck turned and ran as the raptors continued their work, Jeremy not far behind him. They raced through the falling water and into the brush on the right side shore, racing as fast as they could in their tired forms. Their absence did not go unnoticed however. Buck heard the crashing of some bodies behind them, chasing them through the underbrush. Buck knew that at this distance, trying to stop and hide would be futile, and that the mud wasn't needed to 'hide their scent', because they were making enough noise to be tracked by that alone. They couldn't swing on vines. Jeremy wasn't as good at that as Buck was, and Buck wasn't just going to leave him behind. Their only hope was Adrian being able to find them from the air. And that was only if they could outrun whatever weasels were behind them.
It wasn't too long before they hit a clearing in the brush, thankfully without any dangerous dinosaurs. Herbivores that weren't too startled by the much-smaller creatures barging out of the bush. They only calmly trundled out of the way. Buck threw a look over his shoulder. Five had followed. Two females, one he knew to be as strong and fast as any male, if not more so, and the other was better with throwing knives than he himself. The three males he knew also. Regal was obviously one of them. The other two were cousins with a scarily permanent calm about them, both a blue-grey colour. Buck looked back to where he was running, knowing that the ones Regal had brought with him were the best warriors he'd had.
Jeremy was matching him in speed thankfully, and it was as if they moved together. When they hit the brush, their moves were strangely synchronise as they avoided obstacle after obstacle in front of them. But Buck wasn't surprised when a great force smashed into him from behind. Both figures went sprawling to the ground, but Buck managed to get free in the struggle. The figure rolled to their feet. It was the larger female (Buck recalled her name being Kallie). She sneered at him before charging again. He deflected the first punch with his arm and tried elbowing her in the face, but she flinched her head to the side in time. She twisted her body the whole way, doing a sort of cartwheel, kicking Buck in the chin on her way. It sent him falling back, his head spinning from the collision. He landed on his back with a grunt, and his vision cleared just in time to see her try and kick his head again. He rolled forward, her foot glancing off his side, but he felt claws in his shoulder as he tumbled away from her. She gripped hard, her claws digging into his shoulder further and making him cry out in pain. He couldn't twist away from her now, and felt a punch go to his stomach. The air rushed out of his lungs, and another punch sent him finally sprawling to the ground. He was too tired. Too tired to be a match for this she-weasel. Three days of unconsciousness, smoke inhalation. A whole three days of tracking. It had worn him down until he could barely suffer a few punches. Good punches, sure, but he should have been able to endure more. Warm blood trickled through his fur from his shoulder, and the sounds around him muffled. Voices were among them. Laughing. He saw the shifting shadow of his blood grow into a skinny weasel.
No, it was just Regal, smiling crookedly at him, with the other female (Danny) behind him. The two cousins were nowhere to be seen.
The sound cleared just in time for Buck to catch Regals words.
"Don't damage him too much Kallie. I need him to be fit enough for it to be a fair fight."
"Good luck with that. The guy was already faltering." Kallie said, not even sounding tired she held Buck firm by the shoulder.
"Buck old buddy." Regal said, kneeling in front of Buck. Buck could see that he must have been a mess. Panting, smelling of sweat and blood, ragged. And Regal was revelling in it. "How are you, friend?"
"Good," Buck panted, "yerself?" Regal laughed.
"Always the joker. I thought you'd be past that by now."
"Nah mate. Maybe if I was dead." Buck realised he probably shouldn't have said that. Regal planned on killing him anyway. He didn't want to speed up the process of the idea. Regal smiled in mock understanding, then stood again.
"Alright Kallie, let him go."
Kallie threw her arm back, taking small bits of flesh and fur with her claws, and sending Buck to his feet. He staggered a little, then drew himself up, taking deep breaths to try and clear his head. To his right, the two cousins dragged in an unconscious Jeremy.
"Just in time for the show." Regal said, then unsheathed his sword, stepping towards Buck, "now, let's see how much fight you've got left in you."
As usual, help arrived just in time. Although not in the form Buck was expecting. A flash of two large forms of orange and tan, and Regal was on the ground, one sabre pinning him down, the other keeping an eye on the remaining weasels.
"Levi!" Buck yelled, not in a million years expecting to see his friend the sabre toothed cat again, and certainly not in this situation.
"Hey Buck." Levi said over his shoulder, but it didn't take long for the other weasels to spring into action. Jeremy was dropped, as the two cousins ran either side and unsheathed their weapons. Kallie leaped at the other sabre, who Buck didn't recognise. Danny ducked under the stranger-sabre, and stabbed down onto Levi's toe on the foot that was entrapping Regal. In his surprise and pain, Levi lifted his foot, growling. Regal rolled to his escape, jumping away from the flaying limbs and fur. One cousin joined Danny in the attack on Levi, while the other joined Kallie in trying to tackle the stranger.
Regal turned towards Buck. There was no excitement now, no jokes, no japes. This was a pure hatred in his blood eyes. He yelled and ran for Buck, but Buck felt a new strength. A new wave of confidence swept through him. Maybe it was the sense of friendship, the fact that Levi and this stranger had come to his aid from nowhere. Maybe it was a new hatred, for everything this bastard had done, destroying his tired mind and sharpening his senses. Or maybe it was simply the knowledge that now he might be a decent match against Regal, with his accomplices occupied, that was quickening Buck's reactions. Maybe it was simply adrenaline. Whatever the reason, Buck was ready for Regal. More ready than the red weasel had obviously predicted, for his face went into a slight shock when Buck dodged his first attack with unseen speed. Buck's fist passed just beneath Regal's chin in the attack, and Regal tried chopping upwards in return, but Buck spun out of the closeness of the range. Buck knew that if he could keep his distance and spin this way and that, Regal would eventually fall behind in the fight. Buck side-ducked the next punch and brought his knee up to get Regal in the stomach, which succeeded, but not with so much force to do damage.
Regal brought his elbow down onto Buck's shoulder during the attack, but that too, wasn't affecting much. They spun away again, came together in a clash, and then broke again. Neither did much damage. Buck knew that if he used the world around him, he would be the dealer of this game. So he slid to the side avoiding a tackle, then flipped himself to his feet, and ran further into the brush. He didn't need to turn to know Regal was following. Regal was grunting and growling in his hot-headed pursuit.
Levi had heard the sounds of struggle as he was cantering easily along a path. He'd quickly turned towards it, Iesha being able to keep up with his random changes easily by now. The sight he'd seen when he'd been in range hadn't been good. Buck was a mess about to be sliced to pieces, but it was good to see him alive. Levi immediately jumped into action, pinning the red weasel he knew must have been Regal. The stab to his toe hadn't been particularly pleasant, and the following annoyances from the two hostile weasels weren't a great help. A large blue/grey was dodging this way and that, stabbing when he was in range, jumping through Levi's legs and cutting them as he went. It wouldn't do any serious damage unless he hit a nerve or vein, and Levi didn't plan on this continuing long enough for that to happen. He was also worried about the small, nimble female. She was as good with her throwing knives as Iesha was at fighting. Levi was worried about his eyes. If this girl got a good shot at those, game over. So Levi got his act together and forgot about the larger male, and leaped high in the air, trying to catch the female, who ducked out of the way at first, but wasn't quick enough to get a shot at him before he leaped again and swept his paw. She went crashing through the brush, and wasn't seen again.
Iesha was dealing with her annoyances in a different style. She was running up the side of trees and then kicking away from them again, to avoid the weasels, then trying to get them from behind. It would have been effective on things large and slower, but these were weasels for Pete's sake. The larger she-weasel ran into the jungle long enough to find a length of vine, and created a makeshift lasso. It was around Iesha neck quickly with skill and good aim, and the she-weasel ran around the trunk of a tree while the other blue/grey male made a cut in Iesha's ear, making her roar in frustration. It was only then that she realised the rope around her neck. This was well timed with the she-weasels tug on the vine, and not only yanking Iesha in the direction of the tree trunk, but choking her as well. The she-weasel must have been stronger than she looked. In Iesha's panic, she didn't realise a few obvious things. So, Levi kicked away his next annoyance and trotted simply to the rope, and swept his claws down on it. Now they only had two weasels to deal with, not counting the recovering blue-grey. Iesha and Levi went back to back. In the pause as both sides regained their senses, a sound of rushing vegetation distracted them all. They all looked in the same direction, and Levi internally swore as a dozen more weasels appeared from the brush.
This is going to take longer than I intended, Levi thought as the fight continued.
Buck came upon a log long-fallen, and jumped over it, digging his claws into it at the last minute, putting his back to the lichen-covered wood. He waited until Regal had jumped over it, before throwing himself forward and catching Regal mid-flight. They both rolled in the fallen leaves, and Buck gripped onto Regals shoulders, and threw him as they tumbled. Regal hit the side of a tree, crying out from the impact, and slid to the ground. He looked up at Buck, growling. Buck ran forward, and Regal met him half-way. Their moves weren't so coordinated now. They fought more like animals then before. More kicking involved, tumbling, tackling, clawing, and throwing. At one point Buck grabbed Regal by the leg and swung him like a rag. Regal rolled to his feet, and pulled a dirty trick Buck should have seen coming. He clawed some dirt out of the ground and threw it into Buck's good eye. Buck stepped back and tried to rub it out quickly, but knew it was too late when Regal smashed into his side. Bucks head smashed into the ground, and he grunted, but heard Regal must have had a bad landing also, because he was groaning in annoyance and pain. Buck opened his eye and blinked away the dirt. In the small moment that followed his vision clearing, Buck noticed a blade of grass not far from him. It had some of his blood from his shoulder wound on it, but the image seemed amazingly clear. That was when Buck could have face-palmed about his own stupidity.
Rolling away from Regal, he unsheathed his knife from the back-sheath. He drew himself up to full height, his chest heaving with the effort of breathing, and his shoulder wounds starting to throb. Regal laughed in between pants.
"I completely forgot about that." Regal said. Buck, despite himself, smiled.
"I just remembered as well. Seems to be a little more efficient than jus' scrabblin' in th' dirt somehow." Buck said with a shrug. Regal gave one last laugh before he was on his feet, his own sword drawn. There was another pause as both males assessed the change of situations. They both had dangerous weapons, which both had decent experience with. Buck then again could have laughed at his own stupidity. He sheathed his own sword again, with a confused look from Regal. Then he turned on the spot and bolted. Regal was momentarily perplexed, giving Buck even more of a head start. Buck knew that Regal would be determined to not lose him again, even if it took all day to find him. Buck quickly scaled a tree and swung on the vines. He'd have to go in totally random directions, try and confuse Regal to give him more time to figure out a plan. Buck just hoped Regal didn't plan on doing anything himself. No, the guy was too blood-thirsty for that now. Too crazy. Too nuts. Insane. Twisted. He would chase Buck until he dropped dead.
Buck swung fast for a while, would slow down, hide among branches until Regal was in sight, and then continue. This kind of aggravation would fuel Regal's anger, bringing up his already-struggling-adrenaline. Buck could feel excitement rising in his own chest. A chase! A fight! No matter how tired he was, or how dire the situation, he could feel his own adrenaline being driven now by something different, his old feelings when Rudy would come plundering around, crashing into trees trying to get at the one-eyed weasel. The insane was chasing the crazy, and these things never combined well.
Regal had little experience in vine-swinging, but experience all the same, and eventually was chasing Buck through the branches as well as on the ground. Buck had lost his bearings by now, in all the confusion. He would have been able to recognise the place if he stopped and thought about it, but he didn't really have that kind of time. It was dense, lush, green, and the trees were large. But many places were like that, and Buck couldn't get any scents that would have told him anything. So he just kept swinging, and flipping, and a calm rolled over him after a time. Sure he could hear Regal's frustrated screams behind him, and sure he might be dead meat if he's caught, but this was familiar, and to feel that was a blessing in this crazy world.
Eventually Buck came across land that was familiar. The trees abruptly stopped and gave way to rocky ground, and a hundred meters away was a rift in the ground. This rift just seemed to be coming back to Buck. First they threw the dinosaur over, then Buck himself got cut from the vines and fell. It was also the place he first returned, attacking Regal and tying him to a tree.
This time the rain wasn't coming down, and you could clearly see the ginormous crack in the earth. Buck didn't know what he was doing when he ran out into the open, but he soon was too far away from the jungle to go back. He turned and waited for Regal to emerge, and he didn't have to wait long at all. Regal appeared panting and reeking of madness. Even his mouth was twitchy. Buck shook his head with a smile.
"Look a' ya! You used to be exactly wha' your name meant. Sure as hell, you were an ass, bu' you at least had a bit o' sanity. Wha' happened Regal? Wha' happened to you?"
There was a pause, as Regal huffed and growled at the same time.
"You. You, bastard, is what happened to me." He finally replied. "You came and messed everything up. You brought tales, and you brought stories, of what it was like down here. You had skills. You were a do-gooder, helping your little pets. You were friends with the biggest dinosaur out here! You got into Lucy's head and made her believe you were some kind of god! You ruined what I was trying to achieve. I wanted everyone to see you for what you were. Just a wild creature, a hermit with no home and no purpose. You, Buckminster, is what has driven me to being like this!"
It had been years since somebody called Buck his full name. Frankly it was the only part of the rant he'd heard. He'd gotten pretty bored quickly. But he got the message.
"No Regal. You, is what's driven you t' be like this." Buck felt sad about it, too, but there was no helping Regal now. He needed to be locked up forever.
The clash of when the two came together seemed louder than thunder. Regal was screaming and yelling as he slashed this way and that with his sword, as Buck simply twisted and twirled out of the way. Regal tried upper-cuts and stabs, he tried parrying Buck's moves, but had cuts on his arm and chest soon enough. Soon his lungs were struggling, and his arm was growing weak. Buck had worn him down, and he knew it. Buck's attacks became stronger and stronger, his face written with determination and concentration, and Regal was soon terrified of the flash in the sky-blue eye. Buck was better with the sword, clearly, but if Regal returned the fight to hands on, then he'd have a better chance. Regal took a few deep breaths and concentrated the fight on, instead of hurting Buck, getting his knife away from him. He tried using Buck's fighting style against him, twisting and turning, but skinny and lean were not the same thing. Regal knew that Buck had far more experience with that style, dodging dinosaurs and all, while Regal was a head-on fighter, so the technique soon failed him, and Buck's knife scraped along his side. Regal screamed out, and the pain and anger distracted him for a second, allowing Buck another shot at him. Buck stabbed his shoulder, not too deeply, then drew back again. Regal rolled away to gain some time, and Buck let him.
Regal knew what the rust-coloured bastard was doing. He was trying to get Regal to surrender. To do enough damage to weaken him to a point where he could no longer fight, but not enough to kill him, if he was brought back to the village quickly. Regal hated that thought. Buck actually was hoping for him to surrender? Regal gave a chuckle in Buck's direction.
"You are just too kind aren't you?"
"You'd like to think tha', wouldn' you?" Buck replied deeply, and Regal frowned, seeing something in Buck he hadn't since Regal had thrown his brother off that cliff. That quiet anger. Buck had never been one to scream and yell in a fight. He could in anger, sure as hell, but in a fight it wasted breath and energy. And this anger was deep. Dark.
Buck wasn't waiting for Regal to surrender.
He was waiting for Regal to suffer.
It was sudden. Buck came at him at a run, swinging his knife, and Regal tried blocking, but the force….the power, behind the attack, was too much. Regal knife was simply shoved aside as Buck's knife slashed up his chest. Another went the other way, creating an X on Regal's chest. Regal blocked the next attack which looked like it was going at his leg, and parried the next one at his middle.
Their fight drove them back to the edge of the jungle, birds and small dinosaurs giving warning calls about the disturbances.
And the holies of all holies happened. Whether by chance or determined skill, Regal twisted his knife enough to dislodge Buck's knife out of hand, and send it scattering across the rock. Buck was distracted by shock and confusion long enough for Regal to drive forward with his knife. His aim was off. The knife cut so deep you could see the dent in Buck's side, but it hadn't gone where Regal had wanted. He wanted the blade in between Buck's ribs, not near them. But the scream Buck emitted was sweet music, and his stumbling to his knees was like a beautiful dance Regal had choreographed. Regal raised his knife for the last accursed blow, but Buck, the bastard, was always stronger than he should be allowed to be. He kicked off the ground and rugby-tackled Regal to the ground. Regal's own knife went flying into the green of the jungle, and he and Buck rolled through the dirt and sharp rocks. Regal kicked buck off, and they stood. This fight was going a lot longer than Regal would ever had hoped or anticipated. He'd given as well as he got. He had more wounds, but they were not as deep as the ones Buck had received.
They were both panting, covered in blood, sweating, aching, groaning, and blinking away the unconscious states that threatened their safety. Regal realised how hungry he was, how tired, how mad, how desperate, and how much he was over this back and forth charade.
"Why don't you just drop dead? You must be the hardest thing in the world to kill." Regal said, surprised to feel his voice thick with the wrong emotion. He felt his throat clench up and tears were threatening to swell. He was so SICK OF THIS!
"I mos' certainly am. To be fair though," Buck gave a tilt of his head, "you're hard to kill to."
Buck could feel every ache, every drop of blood, every muscle tremble, every hair shift. It was as if in his complete and utter his exhaustion, his senses wanted him to know it. He could taste blood in his mouth, and he came to realise his hand was clutching his side, trying to stifle the flow of blood in his side.
His senses faulted and he stumbled, blacking out long enough to fall to his knees, but not long enough to see Regal's fist come at his face. His head spun, going black again, and he was on the ground, his face pressed into the sharp stones and dirt. Then came the ache in the side of his head from the blow. He coughed and struggled to push himself to his knees again. Regal was kneeling not too far away, clearly spent from that one action.
"That was a stupid move." Buck groaned. Regal nodded, smiling.
"Felt good though." He stated.
"Good. Because I'm gonna make ya feel like hell before I throw ya behind bars."
"Can't wait." The two males gave weakened chuckles. Buck was keeping an eye on Regal, watching when the next move might come, and Regal was doing the same. But neither attacked the other. They were at a stalemate. Buck had some energy reserves left, last minute, last chance forces of energy hidden away, but Regal had spent all his in his anger. But regal had the upper hand currently.
Buck groaned, and pushed off the ground, standing slowly. Regal lifted his head and stood slowly too, not wanting to be taken advantage of.
"You're no' goin' to give up this figh', are ya Regal?" Buck said, almost sadly.
"Never. You're going to be as dead as your brother by the time I'm through with you." It was strange, for two fighting males to be joking one minute, then threatening each other the next. But this was not unusual for these two in particular.
It is strange how irony works in ways. How the universe will favour one soul over another. But Buck would still never have wished what happened next, onto anyone. Not the cruellest of souls, not the most terrible of creatures. For it is one of the most terrible ways to die. Imagine, you are just about to attack your long-lasting enemy, one you'd been hoping to kill since you knew what killing was, since you'd killed his brother and stolen his girlfriend. You leap at him, grabbing at his face, pulling away only to have a battered leaf in your hand.
And then a set of the strongest jaws in the animal kingdom clamp around your leg.
It was the most horrible sight, and Buck had seen the worst of the worst. Regal's look of shock and helpless, wordless plea, was enough to break a heart. Buck didn't even remember yelling, screaming "no, no don't!" He remembered Regal falling to the ground as he was dragged away into the dark green of the jungle, screaming as the raptors bit at him. Buck remembered the largest of them, with a long, familiar scar, running along his side, looking at Buck. He stood right in front of him, looking down at the weasel. It could have been anger in his reptilian eyes, or hunger, or respect, or pity, or the purest of no emotion at all. But all the same, the creature walked away from the weakened furry mammal, leaving him be. Buck didn't realise he was crying until the screaming had been abruptly stopped.
He didn't deserve that, he kept thinking, no matter how evil he had been. He hadn't deserved that.
It was hours later when Adrian spotted Buck from the sky. He landed the tired and frightened pterodactyl near the mound of fur lying in a puddle of blood. At first he feared that Buck was dead, but checking his breathing he found he wasn't quite there yet. Adrian strapped Buck to the back of the flying dinosaur, but soon noticed the lack of Buck's eye patch. He hadn't seen that before, being preoccupied with fear, but now he saw the long, pale scars down the right side of Buck's face. It felt weird, looking at him without a patch, so Adrian quickly grabbed a leaf from the jungle, and tied it over Buck's eye. He then mounted and took off towards the stream, where more than two dozen weasel were being imprisoned, two sabres, a dozen weasels, and a pterodactyl were being healed. Buck was brought to Lucy and Oma immediately, his gashes being stitched and wrapped. He was worse than he'd ever been, but Lucy knew he'd pull through. He'd always pull through.
12 hours later.
Buck groaned, and his eye fluttered open, blinking against the sunlight. He gasped at the sudden pain all over his body. Tears pricked his eyes and he tried to keep from crying out. He his swam and he closed his eye against the sunlight that threatened to give him a headache. It may have been coming through ice and rock, but it was still bright as anything. He knew he was right back in the tree he'd been unconscious in barely a week before, and groaned at the thought. A steady hand was on the side of his neck now though, and someone said quietly with amusement,
"Hey bright-eye. How are you?" Buck recognised Trudy's voice anywhere.
"I've been better." He groaned, and refrained from giving a chuckle. He knew it would hurt like hell of he moved enough.
"How's Lucy?" he asked instead.
"Good. Great, actually. You should have seen her Buck." Trudy said excitedly, but didn't exceed any particular volume, "When we got back, she immediately got me to Oma, then gathered as many weasels as she could, and went right back. She found your two sabre-friends struggling against all of Regal's goons, and leaped right in on the fight. She barely even got scratched, but took down a fair lot of them. You taught her well. I was jealous."
Buck smiled. "I'll give her kiss for tha'. And for patchin' me up, too."
"You better. Girl deserves a bloody medal if you ask me." Trudy said. Buck tried opening his eyes, and found the light wasn't too bad, so he looked at Trudy. She'd grown quiet, and her face was suddenly gloomy.
"Damn, what's the bad news?" Buck said. Trudy's mouth twitched.
"Steve. He didn't make it back from the fight. His wounds were too deep. Jess has barely spoken, she just keeps crying silently in a tree. Sasha will never walk again. Trevor lost an ear and some fingers on his left hand. We got hit hard, Buck. We really did. Those fighters were the best in the village for a reason. They were hungry just to tear us to pieces. Your sabres were hurt too, but…you know, obviously not as bad." Trudy bit her lip as a tear rolled down her dark cheek. Buck closed his eye, but a vision of Regal being dragged away flashed before him when he did, so he flicked it open again. He was too tired to cry, but too awake not to notice his chest clench in mourning.
However, the arrival of Lucy brightened his spirits a little. She didn't say anything, just smiled meekly at him. He smiled weakly back. She came and sat next to his head, bringing it into her lap. Buck swallowed, and felt the first tears flow down his face on the left side. He ignored the pain in his body, and turned over so he could cry into Lucy's lap. Now, he could mourn.
9 months later.
The village was rebuilt. The injured had been healed. The dead had been mourned. The living had been celebrated. The past had faded to memories with a slightly painful twinge.
Buck sat calmly next to the stream, taking deep breaths and occasionally closing his eye to listen to the world around him, but would open it again to see the beauty of it all. To see the beauty of Lucy. She was heavily pregnant now, due in only a week, if the pups were not prematurely born. Buck didn't feel the deep anger anymore when he thought about the fact that they were mostly, genetically wise, Regal's offspring. He ignored the fact and got on with the good things in life. He'd been with Rudy a few days before, on the biggest chase he'd had for a long while, and it had reminded him of the great freedom he'd once had, and had now regained. A part of him had been returned. But he would still sometimes have nightmares of the teeth wrapping around a red leg…but Lucy would always be there in the night when he screamed awake, to hold him when he shook in grief and fear, and always soothed him back to sleep.
Lucy had finished her healing apprenticeship with Oma, and was now helping run the healing shack near the centre of the Village. Buck was still teaching Adrian and Trudy, but the end of their training was closing in. Adrian had the natural touch with dinosaurs, similar to what Buck had, and Trudy leant the practical stuff of training and fighting with ease. Both would work together to become the new teachers of the next generation. Trudy was thinking of training whole classes, while Adrian thought of doing what Buck had, and taking on individual students. He was still just a teenager, and would need to have a couple years of putting all his training into practice, but Buck knew he would be fine. Buck himself planned on taking on his kids as his apprentices. He wanted to teach them everything he possibly could about their world. For it was his world. His and Lucy's. And they were watch over it with everything they had. Few things could make Buck any happier.
And one of these few things was the kits being born. Twins, male and female. The male with the rusty brown and spots inherited from Buck, and green eyes that shone like emeralds. And the female, with turquoise eyes….
And blood, red fur.
Well, there you go. hope this ending was ok, but great news, THERE's A SEQUEL!