Chapter 6: The challenge
Littlefoot stood rooted where he was, his heart beat doubling speed within seconds. That voice... It was so obviously Rhett but... How? How did he manage to find them so quickly? At this point, Littlefoot had reached his limit of how much of his crap he could take, a tremendous amount of anger rising up his chest. Rhett's voice sounded somewhat distant but the echoes of rapid footsteps that cut through the silence indicated that he couldn't be far away from their position. Evading was also impossible - the cave now becoming a dangerous dead end where Rhett had cornered them perfectly.
Suddenly, Ali was at his side, sending mute support. He knew that he had to defend Ali and their relationship here and now.
"I'll put an end to this," he mumbled quietly, trembling with rage. Ali touched his tail with hers firmly as a sign that she agreed wholeheartedly.
That was when the face of the beige-coloured longneck appeared behind the corner.
*crumble*
"Oof," Cera cried as the wall finally collapsed after repeatedly striking it with her hard head with some help from Spike using his tail to weaken the structure.
"Good job, Cera, Cera good job," Ruby said happily while Ducky coughed from the dust that suddenly filled the air.
"Let's clean this up and see if it's big enough already," Chomper suggested, grabbing some debris and carrying it away with his short arms.
"Might have to break away more at the top for the flatheads," Cera grunted dismissively as her head stung at the mention of yet another round of rock ramming. "But yeah, let's clean up the mess first."
Rhett had sworn to himself to act fierce and aggressive but right now he couldn't help but feel happy and victorious for managing to find the two longnecks (who were even separated from the rest which made things a lot smoother) against many odds - a true example of his superior ability and his blessed luck. When Littlefoot's angered face and Ali's beautiful features came into view, he couldn't help but laugh hysterically.
"Hahahahah, don't you realize that you can't run away from me? I am Rhett the Awesome, deal with it!" His face was as smug as it could possibly be and, with satisfaction, he noted that it made the two even more angry. "As it should be, they deserve no less for defying me after all..."
"Ah, look what the bellydragger dragged in..." Littlefoot spoke coldly, pure hate radiating off him and same went for Ali.
"I can't believe how stupid you are, Rhett. Now you've done it," the girl spoke in disgust. She already knew what she was going to do once she got home this evening.
"Right back at you... Ali," Rhett sneered, his tone shifting. "Even though I explained to you with extreme care what'll happen if you disobey me, you did so, hanging out with that pussy here and gave me a very very long morning on top of that. You'll be sorry very soon."
Ali trembled with anger but it was Littlefoot who snapped first.
"Shut your foul mouth Rhett, nobody wants to hear your dumb voice!" he yelled, taking an aggressive stance.
"Whether or not you like my awesome voice doesn't concern me, loser," Rhett laughed coldly, clearly enjoying himself which made the other boy even more mad. "But enough of this talk, let's talk some business, Littleneck."
Littlefoot exchanged a quick glance with Ali. What was Rhett going to do now? If it was what he indicated the other night, then Littlefoot already knew how to respond…
"I gave you a choice but you didn't take the opportunity to avoid confrontation. You could have given Ali to me as I suggested and renounced your friendship but you had to defy me. Now you'll bear the consequences, both of you." Rhett spoke in an almost formal tone which sounded ridiculous to the two longnecks.
"You call THAT a choice you moron?" Ali blurted out. "There was never a choice to begin with!"
"Well observed, Ali." Rhett raised his eyebrows. "You've been mine all along and there's no changing that fact. But your dumb lover clearly hasn't realized this yet… how unfortunate that I have to crush him…" A cold laugh escaped the boy's mouth, dragging on for a long time. Littlefoot was struggling to refrain himself from charging at him.
"You lost your choice, Littlefoot; now you're going to do as I say; now I make the choices. Shall I tell you what options you have left?" Rhett sneered, walking up to the boy until they were face to face, staring into each other's eyes, Rhett's derogative, Littlefoot's full of anger and Rhett could feel Ali's penetrating stare too.
"Speak your nonsense and leave quick, Rhett," Littlefoot said in the most hateful tone he could muster.
"I will only leave once I have your reply," Rhett declared. "Unless... ," he chuckled. "Feel free to try and make me leave, I'm sure it'll be entertaining… hahahahaha!"
Littlefoot gritted his teeth but refrained from taking the invitation.
"Very well, as I thought…" Rhett cackled before his formal voice returned. "Due to your failure to comply to the terms I gave you, we shall take our dispute to the battlefield! According to the traditions, I, Rhett, hereby challenge you, Littlefoot, to fight for the right to decide upon Ali's future! I'm sure you are aware of the conditions?"
"Crap, so he really is challenging me…" Littlefoot knew in this instant that he couldn't back out without losing his face not only in front of Ali but also in front of himself. He just couldn't forgive himself for letting Rhett do as he pleased and abandoning Ali in the process. He mustn't allow it! "But I know nothing about these traditions, how can I be sure he isn't making things up as he pleases? And what if I decline?"
"Don't worry, Littlefoot, I know the rules," Ali whispered, apparently reading the boy's troubles from his mind.
"Very reassuring," Littlefoot whispered back.
"It seems they don't practise the rightful traditions in these lands, how unfortunate…" Rhett teased with a sigh. "Let me break it down for ya, dumbface. Females are subjected to the male's selection and if there's competition, it's settled with a fight. The female must be witness to declare the winner formally. The fight is one on one, there aren't any rules. The fight is decided once one of us is unable to get up or if one of us surrenders. Now I ask you, Littlefoot. Will you accept my challenge or will you give me Ali without a fight? You must decide here and now!"
Littlefoot flinched. The conditions for the fight surely weren't in his favor. Even though he didn't practise these traditions, accepting the challenge would still force him to accept whatever result the battle between Rhett and him would bring. If Rhett was a resident of the Great Valley, he wouldn't have to worry about anything but since he was a member of Ali's herd and around Ali all the time while he was only with her temporarily, he could protect Ali for all eternity from Rhett if only he'd win the fight… Besides, why was Rhett so focussed on Ali? Littlefoot never really got the impression that Rhett even remotely liked her.
"Before I give my reply, I demand that you tell me why you want to have Ali!" he shouted at the beige-coloured longneck. "I never got the impression that you like her at all."
Now Ali took her eyes off Rhett to look at Littlefoot curiously. Ali couldn't doubt that Rhett liked her but it was distinctly different from the kind of love that Littlefoot expressed towards her.
"Ali belongs to me, that is all you need to know," Rhett sneered with an awful smile. "But if you really want to know, Ali is very attractive and pretty and she doesn't deserve a loser like you as a lover."
"But do you love her?" Littlefoot inquired angrily.
"I do," Rhett declared proudly but neither of the two believed him.
"You don't," Ali deadpanned.
"Yeah, you're a liar, Rhett," Littlefoot stated firmly. "All you want is to possess her, and you call that loving her? Give me a break, you creep."
Rhett's expression froze.
"Your reply?" he insisted.
"Guess there's no helping it," Littlefoot sighed. With a firm expression, he stared at his opponent.
"I'll accept your challenge, Rhett. When and where?" He glanced at Ali who nodded in mute support.
"So you actually got some backbone after all… very well," Rhett said with a triumphant look. "Tonight after the Bright Circle has set. We'll do it up on the wall where you two got lovey-dovey - for the first and only time. Ali, you know the rules; make sure this dumbass doesn't try to play any tricks. If he does… well, let's just say a traditional fight ends when the winner is clear. If he breaks the rules it won't end. Enjoy the rest of your day, it'll be your last." And with that, Rhett turned around and left without another word, leaving Littlefoot and Ali behind.
"I did it, tonight Ali will be finally mine, MINE, and mine all alone!" Rhett celebrated as he jogged back. The insolent flathead accepting the challenge wasn't the easiest way to gain Ali for himself but it would be the most rewarding and entertaining one. Ever since joining up with that herd after seeing Ali from afar, he hadn't had a chance to fight other longnecks and he honestly missed the feeling of stepping on other people's tails and kicking their butts until they grovelled on the ground begging for mercy. He would certainly make sure to drag out the fight and see to it that Littlefoot would suffer for his crimes. Yes, he was looking forward to that.
Suddenly, he heard something approaching fast, probably airbourne. Quickly deducing that it might be the insolent flyer Ali was friends with, he duck into a small cove to his right lest the flyer knew he had been there. Rhett needn't say it out loud since Ali was aware of the traditions. If any of Littlefoot's friends were to intervene, there would be hell to pay and the boy sincerely hoped that Ali had enough sense not to get those insolent friends of theirs involved for her own sake as well as theirs…
The flyer quickly swooshed by without taking notice of him. Pleased, Rhett snuck back out and continued his walk back to eat his fill, rest and prepare for the night. Even though he didn't consider Littlefoot a worthy opponent, one should never take things too lightly after all…
"Okay, at least he's gone…" Littlefoot muttered eventually before collapsing on the spot. Not only was he afraid of what was expecting him now but also did he now bear the responsibility for Ali's immediate future. Unless Ali somehow managed to get her mother to live in the Great Valley, there was really nothing he could do but win this fight with everything he got which, sadly, wasn't much safe for his wits.
"Littlefoot?" Ali was trembling a little too, looking at him in concern but a quick nod quickly reassured her that he was at least okay.
"Yes, Ali?" the boy responded weakly. Suddenly, he felt Ali's warm body right next to him as the girl nuzzled him. Feeling a little better, he leaned against her.
"Thank you so much…," the girl said with some unease. "See… y-you didn't have to do this, you know?"
"Seriously…" Littlefoot sighed. "Ali, I cannot stand back and watch as this son of a tarpit takes away the longneck I love. I… I'll find a way… somehow, yes, somehow I must win this fight… for our sake and even more so for your sake…"
"But there are ways to stop him that don't involve you two going at each other's throats…" the girl objected with slight worry but Littlefoot gave a cold laugh. "Right… Ali, I've never despised another dinosaur this much in my whole life… maybe safe for that sharptooth who took mother away. Not even when Cera insulted my mother back then and we broke into a vicious fight, I was this angry at someone. Ali, I'm no good at this but I'll kick his ass for what he's putting us all through and I'll find a way to trick him and if it means getting hurt in the process… That's a promise!"
Ali looked at the purple-grey longneck in utter surprise.
"Y-you don't have to go that far, Littlefoot… d-don't make me worry about you!" She cried, getting even closer to him. "Also… I also have a promise I want to make… No matter who wins this fight, I promise that I will be yours… The world will freeze over before I'll let Rhett have me!"
Littlefoot couldn't help but smile at this.
"Hey, let's go back to the others and pretend for now that this never happened. Rhett said he'll let us go until the fight so maybe we should really try to enjoy this day nevertheless?" he proposed. "We can still think of ideas along the way."
"Yeah, it probably isn't later than noon, that should give us some time to prepare ourselves," Ali agreed but just then they heard the unmistaken sound of wings flapping.
"Guuuuys, we find right cave!" Petrie yelled from afar as he approached the two longnecks. Littlefoot and Ali quickly broke free from each other but not before exchanging another quick nuzzle.
"Great, we only found a dead end!" Littlefoot yelled back. "Come on, Ali!"
A little later, the two longnecks stood in front of the entrance into the cave that supposedly had the Sky Color Stones hidden in it. Littlefoot had never seen it of course but the word of Cera, Ducky and Ruby was enough to make him a firm believer that those stones could be found in that place. A lot of rubble indicated that Cera had done some work to allow them all to pass through.
"Let's go in," Cera grinned, gesturing into the dark tunnel that opened in front of their eyes. "I'll be first to find a stone of course."
"We'll see about that!" Chomper retorted with a firm expression, excited like a little child to start with the search.
"Yep yep yep! Remember who found all the stones the last time," Ducky chirped in a rare smug moment.
"Yeah, and you lost them all," Cera deadpanned. "Come on, let's go!"
The group walked along the path (even Spike didn't get stuck in the hole Cera had rammed into the wall) which gradually widened while darkness gradually weakened. Soon, they entered a spacious cavern illuminated by a small ray of light coming from a window in the ceiling high above their heads. Further behind, the sounds of a waterfall and a river could be heard.
"Whoa," Chomper exclaimed. "And this is where you found them?!"
"Eeyup!" Cera stated with a grin.
"This place sure looks cool…" Littlefoot had to admit and Ali seemed to think likewise. Without another word, everyone split up to look for Sky Color Stones, however Ali remained rooted on the spot.
"Uhm… how exactly…" Ali stammered uncertainly. Ruby quickly halted in her movement.
"I think you don't know how to know when you see a Sky Color Stone." When Ali nodded, the fast runner continued. "Sky Color Stones look bland on the outside but pretty on the inside. Good luck searching!" Then, she raced after Chomper, who had already begun to burrow in a pile of rubble.
Ali looked at Littlefoot in confusion.
"I still don't know how to find them…" she said ineptly. Littlefoot laughed.
"Follow me, I'll show you."
The matter between Rhett and them was momentarily forgotten as Littlefoot and Ali searched the cavern for Sky Color Stones. After a good hour had passed, every search party had discovered at least one of them and Ali couldn't deny that they were really really pretty, a sight she would never forget. However, it was then when suddenly the voice of Ducky echoed through the cavern.
"Excuse me, could we all meet for a moment?"
As it turned out, Ducky just couldn't let go of the Sky Color Stones she had lost back then.
"I would like to try looking for the stones I losted-ed," the swimmer explained once everyone had gathered around her. "Spiky thinks there's a tunnel that leads down to the river."
"Let me guess, he smelled food or something?" Cera deadpanned. When Spike nodded, she rolled her eyes while hitting her head somewhat gently against the nearest wall. "Good grief…"
"Can't we just go down there directly?" Ali wondered.
"Nope, it's too steep," Chomper quickly explained.
"Yeah, Ducky would have turned to smithereens if we hadn't caught her back then…" Cera grunted. Ducky tried to look as innocent as she could. "Well, go ahead, I'm gonna keep looking up here," she declared, leaving the circle to pick up her search again (she had only found a single, very small stone yet).
"Me go with you, Ducky," Petrie declared, flapping over to where the swimmer was standing.
"Count us in too!" Chomper grinned as he dragged Ruby over to the group which naturally also included Spike.
Littlefoot was about to join them as well when Ali held him back.
"We'll keep looking up here too," she announced. "You go without us."
"Okay, see you later!" Ducky called. "And if you change your mind, you can just follow us, yes you can!"
Littlefoot could swear hearing Cera mutter something but right now he didn't care so much about the threehorn. Rather, why had Ali held him back?
"What's the big deal, Ali?" he questioned as soon as Cera was out of hearing range.
"Well, see, I figured this might be a good chance to exchange some ideas for… tonight." Uncertainly, she looked at the boy. "We can still go after them if you don't want to do it right now."
"No, no, that was good thinking there…" Littlefoot admitted as the harsh reality of the situation they were facing came back to him. "Well, what did you come up with then?"
"No matter how we look at this, we'll need some help if we want to win," Ali began. "See, you have no experience in fighting other longnecks so we need to find someone who could tell you a few tricks before you head into the fight. I don't know much about Rhett's past but I'm sure he fought with other kids frequently if he's so sure of himself."
"Well, he could be all talk but he seemed too sincere about this to be bluffing," Littlefoot pondered wildly. "I agree that some tricks might help me tonight though I doubt my grandpa would tell me even if he knew a few…"
"Well, we'll figure something out," Ali reassured. "Another thing, we… uhm, have to make sure that Rhett can't keep me away from you guys even if he wins. Do you have any idea how to achieve this?"
"That's a good question…" Littlefoot sighed. "We could probably prohibit Rhett from bothering you if you get your leader to restrict him after the fight though I don't believe that'll patch things up in the long run. He won't stop until he's achieved his goal and he'll do everything to get what he wants. That makes him extremely dangerous…"
"Yeah, you're right," Ali sighed. "If only he could just go away… like, forever!"
"Wait a second…" Suddenly, Littlefoot had a bright moment. A few pieces clicked together in the blink of an eye and Ali's wish would come true if it all went according to that sudden inspiration. "I've got a plan and it's good!"
"Spiky was right, there is some food here, hehehehe," Ducky giggled as the spiketail greedily devoured some odd herbs growing in a little side chamber with a little pond in it - rainwater falling through another window in the ceiling that was gathering and feeding some tough plants who were able to grow on solid rock - although now none were left.
"Aww, I didn't see any bugs yet," Chomper silently complained, massaging his stomach.
"What now?" Petrie wondered.
"Of course we keep following the tunnel!" Ducky exclaimed happily. "Even if it does not lead us to the water where the stones fell in last time, it is still a great adventure, yep yep yep!"
"Me no can argue with that," Petrie sniggered.
"Let's go my friends, my friends let's go," Ruby said in her sing-song and so the group continued along the tunnel which slowly descended as they walked on.
Ali gave Littlefoot a surprised look.
"A plan?"
"Yeah, I think I know how to get rid of Rhett!" the boy declared with determination although he wasn't sure yet whether he should be looking forward to the moment he played his role in that plan yet.
"Oh, how?!" Ali inquired. "Lock him up in this cavern?"
"That's not half bad either, haha, but we don't know if there's another exit somewhere," Littlefoot laughed. "Anyway, here goes."
Ali sat down in front of him, listening intently.
"First of all, this plan is a bit dangerous, I'm not sure if you'll approve of it and I don't know if it'll work but I think we've gotta try. It'll get Rhett into trouble for sure and that alone would be worth it I think…"
"Just say what it is then," Ali spoke a little impatiently.
"Remember what he said about following the rules? What if we deliberately break them? Rhett will be super mad and try to hurt me instead of just winning that damn fight. We could make it look like he assaulted me and we could get the gang to help us and stop him once he's gone far enough…"
"No, just no…" Ali shouted immediately. "I'm not letting you get hurt for my sake!"
Littlefoot gave her a sad smile.
"You know, if it means we can be together for the rest of your stay, I don't mind if I have to take a beating from that idiot. I'm not saying I'll go down without a fight either and we could even win if the others help us, just saying, though I personally don't think it's a likely scenario…"
"But what for? How is this going to get him expelled?!" Ali shouted in concern.
"Well, you see, my grandparents will be super pissed when they hear that I've been assaulted and injured by that idiot. They will demand Rhett to be punished for such an action and I'm sure other residents of the Valley are ready to jump in too. This will put Old One in a pinch and she'll have to expel him for besmearing the herd's reputation or something like that. Either way, it'll put Old One in a very awkward and embarrassing situation and, given how strict she appears to be, she'll definitely have to punish Rhett badly."
"... since he's just an orphan we took in out of mercy, it might be easy to throw him out… hey, I see where you're coming from now…" Ali exclaimed though she still couldn't quite agree to the plan. "Still.. for you to risk getting seriously hurt… it's too dangerous!"
"Rhett is too dangerous to be around you!" Littlefoot suddenly shouted, forgetting that Cera wasn't too far away either. "I can't protect you with strength, Ali, but I can protect you with my wit. We'll outwit him with this!"
Ali looked down, conflicted thoughts running berserk in her mind. She didn't want Littlefoot to get hurt because she loved him but she knew that not doing as he proposed might result in them not being able to express the love they shared any longer. The girl had to make up her mind soon. What was the bigger evil? What was right to do? How could she prevent this plan to become a necessary evil to defeat the devil chasing after her?
"Isn't there another way?" she finally begged with a pleading look in her eyes. Littlefoot looked at her sadly.
"Rhett won't listen to any rules and he won't be held back by punishments I reckon," the boy explained. "He's fixated on you and he's that type of dinosaur who's so deranged that they don't see reason anymore. You could say he's beyond help. He'll definitely continue to try and I'm afraid he'll even go as far as to hurt you in order to make you obedient to his will… Ali, it has to be done. Rhett needs to go… forever."
Ali exhaled in a deep, painful sigh. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't find any gaps in the boy's logic. Quickly blinking away the tears that were about to form in her eyes, she walked up to the dinosaur she loved and performed a neck hug, crossing each other's necks and then nuzzling each other in mutual support.
"Promise me that you'll try everything to win though and don't get hurt too bad, okay?" she said in a quiet whisper. "Knowing Rhett, he might not care if you die from an injury…"
"You know I won't let that happen," Littlefoot promised with a weak smile. "Once we'll tell the others, I'm sure they'll want to beat Rhett to a piece of raw meat. It'll be harder to hold them back and only disturb the fight and not join it. It doesn't concern them after all since this is something between Rhett and us - I want to be the one who fights since I'll be fighting for you. Because," Littlefoot released the longneck hug, interrupting his speech for a dramatic moment. "Because I love you from the deepest of my heart, Ali. Because you're mine and I am yours and because Rhett isn't part of that equation…"
Before Littlefoot knew what was happening, he felt a warm and wet sensation on his left cheek, followed by the most intimate head rub he had yet received from the girl. Ali, sheerly overwhelmed by his words, had licked his cheek and now his cheeks were burning hot as he began to blush. Nevertheless, he returned the gesture with a smile that washed all worries away in the blink of an eye. He still dreaded the confrontation and all the preparations that were necessary for his plan to become a success, however he knew that it was all so that he could enjoy moments like this with Ali whenever he wanted - maybe not in the near future but once they were old enough to decide on their own path for sure.
"What are these flatheads doing?" Cera wondered. After picking up a part of their conversation that distinctively sounded like an argument, the threehorn had decided to quit her rather fruitless search (why did she suck so much at finding these goddamn stones?!) and investigate a little. Just when the two longnecks came into sight, Cera could clearly see Ali licking Littlefoot in a clearly intimate manner before their heads touched in an unmistakably romantic fashion.
"Urgh, this is disgusting, I'm outta here…" she frowned, quickly sneaking away before the two would notice her though she was looking forward to teasing them later, now knowing that her suspicions weren't unfounded after all.
"So… I guess we should tell the others about this when they're back…" Littlefoot eventually spoke after losing himself in the warmth of Ali's body for a while.
"About what?" Ali wondered, also feeling a little lost in their little moment together.
"Ah, well, about everything, I suppose," Littlefoot mentioned awkwardly. "We've gotta tell them about the situation with Rhett, about our plan and, well, I doubt we can explain this without giving away that we're in love with each other…"
"Oh…" Ali said thoughtfully. "Hmm… I guess it is another necessary evil to defeat Rhett."
"Precisely!" Littlefoot shouted. "Okay, then let's do it like this when they are back!"
Just then, he heard familiar voices coming from the bottom of the cave where Ducky and the others had intended to go.
"Hmm, looks like they really found a way down there," he mused, gesturing to Ali in order to follow him to the edge of the higher part of the cavern which was separated from the lower part by an almost vertical cliff of roughly 30-40 meters…
"Hey, we did it!" Petrie shouted against the characteristic sound of water rushing down a blank wall of rocks into a small pond that gave birth to a small river that lead who knows where.
"Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky exclaimed, sprinting ahead of the group into the open and, without hesitation, dived into the water with a squeal of joy.
"Wow, from down here the cliff looks even scarier, even scarier it looks," Ruby mused as her gaze checked the surrounding features. If Ducky had fallen from up there back then, surely she would have gotten more than a little hurt.
"Come on, Ruby, we still gotta beat Ducky," Chomper exclaimed, dragging Ruby away to look for more stones while Spike found a cozy spot to take a nap and Petrie flew up the cliff to verify just how high it was. Just then, he saw Littlefoot and Ali arrive at the edge.
"Oh, hello Littlefoot and Ali. You guys wanna come down too?" he wondered with a happy giggle."
"Maybe next time," Littlefoot said with a weak smile. "Ali and I are a little exhausted but could you relay a message to the others?"
"Sure, Petrie do what Petrie can!" the flyer exclaimed while flying a few loopings.
"Tell the others that we have something to announce and something to discuss when you guys are coming back up. But there's no need to hurry as long as we're back home before the Bright Circle leaves the sky."
"We'll watch from up here," Ali added. "We already found enough stones."
"Alright, Petrie see you later then, ehehehe!" he snickered before swooshing back down to perform more flight maneuvers which entertained the longnecks greatly.
About an hour later, a couple dozen of Sky Color Stones had been arranged in a little trough on the ground, some retrieved from underwater by Ducky and others gathered by Chomper and Ruby with aerial support of Petrie while Spike was snoring peacefully in a corner. Littlefoot and Ali sat close to each other, simply enjoying to watch their friends enjoy themselves while feeling each other's warmth as their bodies touched. Eventually, they seemed to be pleased with the amount of stones they had uncovered and recovered, waking up Spike who, grumpily, obeyed and began to head back through the tunnel they had used to get there in the first place.
"Should I ask Cera for advice on how to fight by the way?" Littlefoot spoke up just then as the thought crossed his mind. "I mean, she's much better at it than I am and I've usually lost when we took our disputes to the battlefield…"
"Yes, Cera is strong…" Ali said absentmindedly with a slightly amused smile. "I think you should ask her."
"Oh, I will," Littlefoot announced with determination.
"Okay, I'll just think about some ways to distract Rhett during the fight while Cera trains you."
"If she does," Littlefoot remarked. "Yeah, that's a good idea too. Well, I'll be off looking for her."
"See you later," Ali said with a smile.
It didn't take him long to find Cera who seemed to have given up on her search and who seemed to be in a slightly bad mood.
"Are you coming here to mock me?" she began though she quickly sauntered up. "Oh whatever, I suppose I'm just not made to find these bloody stones. Never mind that, okay?!"
"Yes, yes…" Littlefoot quickly reassured. "You're much better at breaking them than any of us after all."
"Indeed!" Cera beamed and, in an instant, she was back to her usual self.
"Cera, the others will be back here soon. Could I, uhh, you see, there's something you could help me with… although it may sound a bit odd to you out of the blue… but you're the best at what I need some advice on..."
"Oh?" Cera teased. "You're not asking about girl things now that you're… uhh, sorry, I kinda walked in on you two earlier…Congratulations, I'm happy for you."
"You mean it?!" Littlefoot was baffled. Was this really Cera he was talking to?
"D-don't get the wrong idea! I'll still make fun of you, count on it! It's just… if it means that Ali will be with us more often, it's a good thing in my opinion. She's my friend too after all."
"That's completely fine, make fun of me all you want since I know there's no ill will behind it, Cera," Littlefoot laughed and, reluctantly, the threehorn joined in. "Anyway, the thing I'm asking of you is not advice about girls though it has to do with Ali in a way… is it okay if I save the explanation for later when everyone's around?"
"Oh? Well, this sounds like it'll be interesting," Cera beamed. "Come at me, what do you want you insolent flathead?"
Littlefoot momentarily shot a glance at her for her playful insult before he uttered his request.
"Teach me how to fight…"
Cera laughed immediately.
"Hahaha, do you want to beat me up whenever I tease you about you and Ali now?"
"No, it's not that…" Littlefoot explained with some unease. "You see, there's someone I need to fight with soon… and I'm pretty sure they are stronger than me so I could really need some advice…"
"Oooh, don't tell me it's who I think it is…" Cera deadpanned and, not much to her surprise, the longneck nodded.
"Just let me do it," she beamed with high spirits. "He won't be able to move for a week when I'm done with him!"
"Cera, I don't doubt that but… this is something I will need to do on my own… for Ali's sake… and I guess I've got some pride too… sometimes at least…"
Cera looked at the longneck with an understanding grin.
"Now THAT'S something I can get behind," she declared. "Sure, I'll help you just this once."
And so, Cera gave him some general tips and tricks about fighting as well as telling him how to react best in common situations during a real fight. Obviously, not all of the things she told him could be applied to a fight between two longnecks but, generally, Littlefoot found them very useful and made sure to remember them and promise Cera to repay her some day for her great help.
Sooner than he liked, the others returned and Cera ended their training with a final word of advice.
"Never give up even if things are hopeless. Find an opening in the enemy's defense and break through with all your might!"
"Thank you, Cera," Littlefoot sighed in relief. Now he felt prepared for whatever Rhett might throw at him even if his body mightn't keep up with what he meant to do.
Ali joined with the rest as soon as she heard the happy chit-chat between her friends. When everyone was gathered in a circle around the two longnecks (Cera was in such a good mood in anticipation of the two lovers bursting the secret that it almost made her look scary), Littlefoot took the word.
"I'm sorry to annoy you with this after you've had so much fun but some things happened since Ali arrived here and we need to talk about a few things right now since it's kinda important," the boy began, a little nervous for he couldn't really tell for sure how his friends would react to the individual things he'd tell them about now. "There are three things. First, there's something about Rhett we can't withhold from you; second, we need your help with something related to Rhett and, third, we have an announcement to make. I… guess we should get that over with, shall we, Ali?" With a shy smile, Ali nodded, walking up a little closer to Littlefoot.
"Gee, I wonder what it is?" Cera said much louder than was necessary, wearing a mirthful smirk. The threehorn hadn't been lying when she warned him about her teasing, Littlefoot deduced quickly.
"We originally meant to hide this from you but, considering the circumstances which you'll hear about soon, I think you need to know and it'll be one less thing to worry about. Ali… would you… tell them?" Littlefoot said awkwardly but Ali didn't quite seem ready to blow the bomb either.
"If I were to guess…" Ruby spoke up with a puzzling expression on her face, Ducky catching on to her drift as she noticed how close the two longnecks were standing.
"Oh, I know, I do, I do!" she squirmed in excitement. With a big smile, she interrogated. "Say, do you like each other, heh? heeeehh?"
"I daresay it's a bit more than just "liking" each other…" Cera sneered. "Come on, say it, Littlefoot."
"Alright, alright! Shut up already," he laughed. "It's true, Ali and I, uhh, well, we kinda love each other…" Littlefoot could feel himself blushing again as he said these words, Ali, as if to underline his statement, nuzzling him playfully which he returned, naturally.
"Okay, I'm getting sick," Cera grunted but everyone else's faces brightened up upon hearing the announcement.
"Congratulations!" Ruby was the first one to speak up.
"I am so so happy for you, oh yes I am, I am!" Ducky cried in joy, grabbing Petrie by the hands and dancing around in celebration.
"Wow, that was fast," Chomper stuttered in utter surprise. "That's really cool though!"
"Me never think you be first of us to get girlfriend, Petrie so jealous!" the flyer declared in a playful pout once he had managed to free himself from the swimmer's grasp.
"Nobody would want to be your girlfriend, Petrie, you're just too weird," Cera blurted out, earning herself an angry stare.
"That not true!" Petrie barked. "You too big idiot to get boyfriend too!"
As the banter between the two carried on, everyone else turned their attention to Spike who appeared to be unsure of how to react.
"Spiky, what is the matter? Do you not understand?" Ducky wondered. "Littlefoot and Ali now like each other like old Topsy likes Tria and like Littlefoot's grandparents like each other, you know? Do you not think that is a good thing, huh?"
Spike looked from one longneck to the other, seemingly grossed out by the thought.
"Oh Spiky, sometimes it really does show that you are a little younger than the rest of us, oh yes it does, it does," Ducky giggled heartily at the spiketail's expense who gave her a slightly ungentle but playful push.
"What's so great about this btw?" Chomper wondered.
"Oh you know…" Ducky said with a slightly dreamy voice. "That moment when you see a handsome swimmer and they look at you and… ahhh…" While Ducky was spacing out, Cera had finished her squarrel with Petrie, ready to make another uncalled for comment.
"Can you guys be love-sick somewhere else?" Of course, nobody paid her any attention.
"Say, Ducky, if me be handsome swimmer, you be me girlfriend?" Petrie said, giggling.
"Hmm… maybe? I do not know what you would look like as a swimmer, oh no no no," Ducky explained.
"You'd be as ugly as always," Cera deadpanned. Petrie was about to counter but Littlefoot found his voice again before the banter could turn into an actual fight.
"Guys, let's not be too harsh on one another, okay?" he proposed which ultimately broke down the banter. "I totally needed that though, now it's much easier to talk about the… not so pretty stuff…"
"Rhett." Ali spit out as everyone turned their attention to the longnecks entirely.
"Yep, Rhett." Littlefoot's expression hardened. "You didn't realize it but he's been stalking us all day and even though we made sure that he had errands to run until noon today, he managed to find Ali and me earlier while we were separated from you guys to pester us."
"And worst of it all, he ruined our, well, you get the idea…" Ali added sadly.
"So you two went off somewhere and he followed you and observed you two being lovers or what?" Cera deadpanned, not even trying to use this opportunity for another tease.
"That sums it up," Littlefoot sighed. "He's obviously after Ali and now that we're… you know, he's super mad."
"What a retarded piece of shit…" Cera growled. "This is so maddening, I wanna ram him right down this cliff here, right now!"
"Understandably…" Ducky said with unusual blandness in her voice. "I am so sorry that he is bothering you two, yes I am, I am…"
"Uh-huh!" Spike ranted, looking no less threatening than Cera with his developing spikes.
"He so mean me wanna be mean to him too!" Petrie cried, puffing his chest.
"He needs to learn a lesson for sure, a lesson he needs to learn!" Ruby grunted.
"Uhh, I hate to say this, guys but… I'm kinda hungry," Chomper spoke up awkwardly.
"Eat him for all I care," Cera spat. "This is the last time I'll let that son of a tarpit harm any of my friends!"
"Well, this makes the next step a lot easier…" Littlefoot sighed. "I'll definitely need your help tonight."
"We will," Ali added, standing firmly next to the purple-grey longneck.
"Tell us what to do and we'll do it…" Cera growled. "Right?" A murmur went through their ranks, even kindhearted Ducky feeling a rather unfamiliar surge of anger rise within her chest.
"Rhett challenged me to a fight earlier after demanding twice that I stay away from Ali," Littlefoot explained. "The fight will be to determine who will be allowed to be Ali's lover - at least according to some rather old-fashioned longneck traditions he believes in."
"Rhett doesn't love me, he just wants to possess me and order me around, and obviously none of us are planning to go along with his terms," Ali continued.
"Did you agree to that fight?" Cera demanded. "And what if you decline? Aside from being a coward, I mean?"
"Well, I suppose he would have dragged Ali out of the cavern right away, using force if need be," Littlefoot reckoned darkly. "Ali and I have had quite a few difficult conversations since yesterday thanks to Rhett. He's putting us through quite some hell and I want to prevent this from ever happening again. That's why I accepted… and that's why I need you guys… because I can't win alone…"
"So you want us to fight with you after all?" Cera deadpanned. "That's not what you told me earlier!"
"No, no, you're getting the wrong idea!" Ali quickly amended. "Rhett demands a fair fight, one on one, however he's in many ways tougher than Littlefoot so he's likely to beat him up left and right…"
"We don't even know if Rhett'll play fair at all," Littlefoot grunted. "He said there wouldn't be any rules other than it being between the two of us so he could just do anything, really. I've come up with a plan that'll either help me win and stuff that insolent idiot's foul mouth forever or, if I lose, it'll hopefully get him expelled from Ali's herd…"
"How's that supposed to work?" Chomper shrugged. "I bet he's still a coward who runs from a little biter like me - although I've grown a bit since then! Let's just show him not to mess with us!"
"I wouldn't mind that plan," Cera sighed.
"It's gotta be me, sorry," Littlefoot declared with an apologizing expression. "This is between us longnecks and you have no idea how much shit I've had to endure from Rhett until now. Cera's teasing is a blessing compared to his nonsense. I will definitely fight him on my own and I don't want any of you to get hurt for my sake. However, there's something you can do for me - for us. I'll explain the plan to you…"
And so, Littlefoot layed out to them what he had already discussed with Ali in utmost detail, not surprised in the slightest when he got mixed reactions about it.
"Oh no no no, you mustn't do that!" Ducky cried in horror as the image of a bloodied version of her friend appeared in front of her inner eye while Spike urgently shook his head.
"Yeah, why you want to get hurt? Petrie no understand!"
"In a sharptooth battle, you wouldn't survive that," Chomper remarked uneasily. "I'm not sure if it's a good plan…"
"...what Chomper said," Ruby repeated. "Although this is no sharptooth battle because no sharptooth will be fighting."
"I was against it too at first, believe me," Ali exclaimed in an attempt to sway the opinions within the group but their expressions remained wary and full of concern. "Cera, what do you think?"
"I'm... trying to make up my mind whether I should encourage him or not," the threehorn said, her thoughts clearly conflicted. "I mean… I never thought Littlefoot had guts like that. He clearly wants to fight for your sake Ali so you must be very important to him… I suppose. I'm not really getting how that's gonna get Rhett banned from here though…"
"Well, what'd your father do if someone beat you up?" The rhetoric question was hardly necessary as everybody knew that Mr. Threehorn would go around rioting until the culprit was found and dealt with." No one is likely to believe Rhett; if we say he assaulted me, that'd make our folks very mad and concerned. They'd blame Ali's herd and their leader will be made responsible."
"As a result, Rhett might get punished or even banished from the herd which would save me from his idiocy for all eternity…" Ali finished the thought. "I'm not sure if I can convince my mother to live in the Great Valley so if we don't do something about Rhett in the long run, nothing is achieved. If Littlefoot wins, it'd be ideal but since we plan to have you guys intervene and distract Rhett, I doubt he'll consider the loss rightful and will probably threaten all of us as a result. It's the best option we have and, as much as I hate to allow Littlefoot to do it, we have a lot to win and I think we should do all we can to support him."
"I get what you're saying, Ali, but how does this relate to whether you live here or not? Rhett might just say "fuck this, I'll just stay here too" and we're stuck with him anyway!" Cera stomped her foot. "Can't he just fuck off? Or can't we just get the grown-ups to chase him out or something?"
"It'd be easy if he weren't a member of Ali's herd," Littlefoot sighed. "However, since he is, the Valley has little influence on him. That's why we want him to fuck up big time by hurting me and causing a riot in the Valley that way. It's gotta get him into trouble!"
"It'd better…" Cera growled. "Well, I'm not gonna stop you if you're reckless enough to let him beat you up but you'd better put up a good fight first, is that clear?!"
"If it means I can scare him again, I might just agree to this…" Chomper sighed. "But still, that's pretty crazy, Littlefoot…"
"But what if plan not work?" Petrie objected.
"Yes, what if Rhett does not get banished-ed from the herd, yes what if then?" Ducky inquired with great worry.
"Then we'll move to plan B and gang up on him," Cera growled angrily.
"I'm sure it'll work, Rhett even said he'd get rough with me if I tried to trick him - which we'll definitely do. As long as you guys stop him once he's done enough damage, I should be fine. I'd rather be hurt than having to put up with that idiot any longer…"
"Same goes for me," Ali declared firmly. "He makes me sick."
"I guess we'll help you then because helping is what friends do," Ruby said at last and with this, even Ducky and Spike eventually gave in their resistance, though reluctantly, and agreed to help their undisputed leader in his quest to get rid of Rhett.
"Great, now we need a plan…" Littlefoot announced with slightly higher spirits.
"I thought you had a plan already?" Cera deadpanned.
"Yeah, I mean, a detailed plan for how to distract and annoy Rhett as we fight," Littlefoot amended his statement.
"About that, I've thought about it," Ali said with a firm voice. "See, I suddenly remembered what you guys did during the many times you ran into sharpteeth on your adventures and…"
"Way too many times in fact…" Cera deadpanned. "But hey, that's not bad at all. I totally wanna trip that moron with a vine just like we did with Chomper's parents once!"
"That wasn't nice at all, you know?" Chomper said while sulking a little.
"You go give him the scare of his lifetime, Spike and I will take care of the vines," Cera decided, Spike nodding in approvement.
"Petrie, Ducky, you could hide in the trees and throw stuff at him when he's passing underneath," Ali suggested which met the approval of the two smaller dinosaurs immediately.
"Oh yes, Rhett shall fear Petrie from the skies! Hahaha!" Petrie laughed in an attempt to sound vicious and evil.
"I will help you, Petrie, yes I will," Ducky announced, her fists clenched.
"I'll gather some snapping shells when I have dinner later, snapping shells I'll collect," Ruby announced, a scheming look on her face. "A snapping shell to the face has got to hurt!"
"I could go fetch a hive of buzzy stingers but those sure are noisy…" Chomper sighed as he mentally scrapped his idea in the making.
"Hmm… maybe we could use them just this once, Chomper," Littlefoot said with another great idea on the verge of being completed. "What if we prepare a trap? The earth up where the fight will take place is rather soft and muddy after the frequent Sky Water recently."
"Brilliant!" Ruby exclaimed in great excitement. "We will dig a hole but Rhett won't know that it is a hole until he knows but once he knows he'll be stung by buzzy stingers!"
"Amazing…" Cera simply stated while picturing the scene in her head, a grin soon flashing across her face. "Yea, we totally gotta do that. Littlefoot might be better off not jumping on Rhett until he gets back out though."
"Yeah, I might just be stung myself," Littlefoot laughed. "Honestly guys, this is amazing! Just playing this prank on him will be worth it!"
"Agreed," Chomper said while practising his toothiest grin.
"Yep, yep, yep, buzzy stingers are very very ouch-y so Rhett will surely like them, oh yep yep yep," Ducky giggled.
"You know you sound kinda creepy when you get like that, Ducky," Ali laughed. "See, it's just so totally not you."
"Rhett is a meanie though!" Ducky explained firmly. "I may not like to fight unlike Cera but I do not like bullies like him, oh no no no!"
"Just goes to show how bad of an influence he is even on Ducky…" the threehorn joked with a sigh. "Ali, what are you gonna do by the way?"
"Me?" the girl sighed. "Well, see, I… I'm supposed to sit back and watch the carnage unfold between them until one of them wins… it'd be too obvious for me to try to do something…"
Littlefoot suddenly looked at her with a weak smile.
"Just cheering on me every now and then would be great," he said while poking her nose gently. "It'll piss off Rhett as well."
"True… I think it goes without saying that while you guys will all be nearby, none of you must show yourselves to Rhett lest you give him a chance to attack you in the worst case. Therefore, Ali, you should be cheering on me on behalf of everyone."
As Ali looked into the circle around her, everyone was nodding and giving her encouraging glances and gestures.
"I will cheer for all of us!" she shouted loudly, her voice echoing through the cavern for half an eternity before it finally shut down.
"Well, I think, unless there are more ideas, we're done discussing here," Littlefoot spoke up once Ali's echo had died down at last. "It should be a little bit past afternoon now, I reckon. Let's head back, tell our folks that we'll be home late and meet up at the lookout into the Mysterious Beyond."
"Which one?" Cera wondered. "There's two I can remember, one that faces towards the Land of Mists and one that overlooks the big crater where the falling rocks fell long ago."
"It's the one facing towards the Land of Mists," Littlefoot answered quickly. "You see, Ali's herd lives nearby and I thought I'd show Ali at night how marvelous it is during that time of the day."
"And that's where Rhett spied on us while we were… enjoying ourselves while gazing at the blinky lights… we even saw a travelling light and made a wish!" Ali added.
"You know, Littlefoot, you're actually half decent at this," Cera commented drily while raising her eyebrow. "It's no surprise Ali fell for you…"
"Haha, well, it was my idea in the first place but Littlefoot suggested the location since I don't know the Valley very well," Ali laughed.
"Yeah, gee thanks Cera," Littlefoot laughed. "Anyway, let's go. We don't know how long it's gonna take us to prepare everything and of course we've gotta make sure that Rhett doesn't arrive while we're running preparations…"
"Leave that to Petrie, me spy on Rhett, not other way around, and let you know when he head towards place!" the flyer offered.
"Alright, let's do that!" Littlefoot agreed.
"Thanks," Ali said with a smile which momentarily made the flyer blush.
"And don't mess up, will ya?" Cera barked.
"Yes, yes, this be too important for Petrie to mess up!" the flyer retorted before everyone started moving out of the cavern of Sky Color Stones, back towards the outside world, completely oblivious to the outcome of the confrontation between Rhett and Littlefoot. Who would be victorious, who would be crushed by the other? Would their efforts be enough to sway the favor of the battle or would it bear consequences for them which they couldn't even begin to fathom?
Oh boy, a lotta stuff to talk about in this chapter! It's quite above my usual chapter length after all Knowing you guys you'll analyze this pretty accurately so I'll skip that part in my author's note this time ^^
I wanna say a few things about this chapter regardless. Those who are interested in trivia might be astonished that this was written in one big session a few months ago. I've just read through this chapter again to get back into the story and boy something really rare happened. I read my own stuff and actually thought "Dang, this is actually good!" I rarely get those vibes from my own writing, especially considering the stakes some people are setting with their outstanding work! I must have been really inspired when I wrote this because seldom have I managed to write such natural and fun dialogues I think. Feel free to disagree, it's what I'm feeling when putting myself into the position of the reader here :)
I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter in particular detail since there's a LOT to talk about (really curious what you think of the developments, given that there is plenty of room to argue about the decisions everyone has made here :P ) and I'll try to respond as soon as I can!
The next chapter is 13k words and I might upload it as soon as next week! Let me just say that things are getting really intense really soon :DD
(also, before I forget to mention this, this story has actually been on hiatus for a fair while now and still is. I just wrote ahead back then. I'm currently doing the same for Shorty's Dark Past with mixed success. Turns out I'm still writer's blocked on the same parts that caused me issues in the first draft)
ah yes, there was something else... oh right... Reviews!
Anagnos chapter 6 . Jul 8
While this chapter was pretty short and didn't bring much new information, it's still fun to see that this story still goes on. Too many times I have seen that the authors reject their creations and do not publish them. Granted, I myself have done this a couple of times, so I can't exactly whine about now can I?
And Rhett likes to continue to be a stalker of the lowest with him continuously harassing Ali and Littlefoot. It is a little amusing to see how this whole situation eventually comes to its conclusion or will it ever end?
Right now, I don't have anything else on my mind about this chapter that I could speak about, so we'll just let the future speak for itself when new chapters are eventually released. If things really will get heated soon, I hope that will be the turning point of this story that transforms it into something even more interesting.
Yes, this story is still going on (albeit a bit too slow, yes, I know _) and will not be discarded at all, given how much fun it is to write whenever I can dedicate myself to it! SDP is giving me a really hard time at the moment but this was never a challenge but rather super fun and entertaining to develop and write!
Rest assured it will end. When the story is finished ^^ But seriously, the next chapter (7) and its aftermath should give you a good idea where this story is headed to. Turning point? Quite so! Stay tuned!
The Rhombus chapter 6 . Jul 9
My apologies for not getting to reviewing the previous chapter. I have been quite busy as of late and it appears that I missed the notification for the previous installment. That being said, I hope that you will forgive me if I give a general review of the previous two chapters here.
Rhett is certainly a piece of work here. Not only do we have an unhealthy fixation of Ali's happiness and an obsessive desire to monopolize her attentions, but we also have a lack of a self-image apart from the object of his affections. Such a mindset can only lead to tragedy or misery, and we are seeing this here. Though I am curious how he went from the lessons learned (presumably feigned in this narrative) from his first meeting with the gang to the situation he is in now mentally. Ultimately, both in terms of friendship and romance, he is on the outside looking in and his ignoble attempts to intimidate the others only keeps him stuck on the outside.
The interactions between the gang was handled quite well, as is the dialogue and interactions between our two protagonists. I do look forward to the gang figuring out a bit more about how Ali and Littlefoot are acting around one another. I am sure that will add an interesting angle to this tangled web that is being weaved.
Your slacking off shall be forgiven lol. If reviews were written on an "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" mentality, I'd not really get any from you atm xD
I don't believe Rhett ever truly learned a lesson in that episode he was introduced. He seems like the type of character who might be smart enough to pretend for a greater goal. In the case of the episode, his goal might have been to keep an eye on Ali, thus admitting his faults in order to be admitted to play with Ali's friends if just to prevent Ali from getting too close to them and too distant from him. This is just my theory though and you are free to disagree :D
The gang have now figured out what's going on between our lovenecks but to carry on your metaphor, the web is about to snap ^^
Guest chapter 6 . Jul 14
This took a lot longer to get around to reviewing than I originally anticipated but I finally have an opportunity.
As always your Littlefoot and Ali scenes are adorable but beyond that I enjoyed seeing the deferential in how the characters responded to Cera's suspicion. Cera has most likely known ever since the events of Journey Through the Mists given how bad Littlefoot is at hiding his feelings. For example how after meeting Ali, he played with her all day before remembering the others. On the other hand there's Ruby who, while she seems to see their connection suggestions further observation before reaching a conclusion. I like how this demonstrates how well the members of the gang know him based on previous experiences. Or lack there of in Ruby's case given her rather recent addition to the group.
Rhett's obsession is highly concerning here and it makes me all the more glad that Ali informed her mother in the previous chapter. Here it's clear that Rhett has no regard for authority beyond how it will impact him personally. Taking this into account, I'm very worried for not only Littlefoot's safety going forward but also Ali's as well since, while Littlefoot is his primary target, he could easily lash out at either one of them for not giving him what he wants.
Eagerly awaiting the next chapters. A lot happens and there will be plenty to discuss.
That's a very interesting analysis you've done on the first paragraph there. As always you think about my writing in ways I don't really consider and yet it always seems to fit in well with the canon narrative of the franchise somehow :O Knowing you ship Littlefoot and Ali just as much as I do, I'm particularly happy to hear that their scenes were adorable in your opinion! :)
Indeed, Littlefoot isn't the only one at a high risk at the moment, given that Ali's behavior towards Rhett doesn't please him at all (and that's clearly an understatement ^^). A lot happens in the next chapter indeed!
Story ideas chapter 6 . Aug 30
I am so following this story, hope you update soon
Hi, happy to hear you're enjoying this tale so far. I'm generally slow and inconsistent but I try to make up with quality whenever I do. Life is just generally busy and writing more than one story at a time just isn't a good idea LOL. Updates may be slow but the story will reach its conclusion one day, I'm enjoying it a lot after all! :)