A New World
Hey everyone, I'm back with another chapter of my Dinotopia crossover. I hope you all enjoy it and please, leave reviews to tell me what you think of it.
Chapter six: Sibling Talk and the Sunstone Parade
Tabitha was able to make it back to Zippo's home on time before the sun fully disappeared from the sky. David had also arrived back on time before Tabitha. He was currently reading one of his footprint language books for homework in their bedroom. Tabitha walked over to David, while Shorty flew off from her shoulder, and landed on the bed that belonged to his female human friend. Tabitha sat down in one of the chairs within the room, and took one of the books that she and David had to read for homework. She was looking through the footprint alphabet with the regular alphabet drawn underneath it. She studied each one carefully before she decided to look through one of the books that only had the Saurian footprint lettering in it.
"So where have you been this evening?" asked David curiously without looking up from his book.
"Just walking around," answered Tabitha as she glanced up to look at David for a quick sec before looking back down at her book again. "They have a lot of stores around here that are pretty interesting, not to mention a music story with old looking instruments in it."
David let out a chuckle. "I remember when you used to play violin when you were little. You were one of the best players that our school ever had at recital competitions."
Tabitha didn't answer but she did let a sad smile spread out on her face. It was quiet between the two half-siblings for a while before Tabitha let out a sigh. She closed her book, and placed it down on her lap before she turned her gaze on David.
"David...Do you ever get a little homesick once in a while?" asked Tabitha curiously.
David looked up from his book to gaze at Tabitha in surprise before he let out a sigh. He closed his book, and placed on his lap as he thought over the question that his half-sister had asked him.
"Sometimes," answered David honestly with a shrug of his shoulders. "What about you, are you a little homesick?"
"Not really to be honest with you," replied Tabitha with a shake of her head. "I mean, sure this place is going to take some getting used to, but I can't help feeling that I belong here in this place. I don't really have anything to go back home to outside of the island's borders, because I don't really have anyone waiting for me there."
David gazed at his half-sister in sympathy for he knew how tough it was for her back home. Tabitha didn't really have any friends to call her own at school, and she always had a hard time with Karl and their dad when she had been living with them. Tabitha then looked sadly at David with a light frown upon her face.
"At least you have someone who would be waiting for you back home," said Tabitha gently.
David knew 'who' that someone was when his half-sister mentioned them, and couldn't help but sigh softly.
"I know," voiced David quietly. "But you know as well as I do that there's no way off of this island without getting ourselves killed on the razor reef."
"Yeah," muttered Tabitha with a nod before a friendly smile came over her face. "But that doesn't mean you have to forget your mother, right?"
David let out a chuckle as he nodded his head in agreement. Even though he's in a new place with his half-siblings, that doesn't mean that he should forget his mother. Tabitha nodded back at her brother before a cheeky smile appeared on her face.
"So...how was your date with Marion?" questioned Tabitha in a teasing voice.
A blush appeared on David's cheeks as he stared at Tabitha with a startled expression before he frowned at her.
"It wasn't a date!" exclaimed David in a flustered voice. "Marion and I are just friends. Besides, I barely even know her!"
Tabitha laughed at her half-brother before David opened his book, and continued to study his footprint language. Tabitha decided to leave her brother alone as she stood up from her chair, and made her way to the bedroom door. Shorty, who had been napping for a few seconds, stood up from the bed and flew over to Tabitha. When the little dragon reached her, he alighted on her shoulders. David noticed Tabitha leaving the room and became curious as to what she was doing.
"Where are you going?"
Tabitha turned to look at her half-brother with a reassuring smile on her face.
"I'm just going into the living room to help Zippo with an old book that he found in the library," answered Tabitha. "The words in the book are written in old Norse runes that he can't understand, so I'm helping him translate them."
"Then that should keep you occupied for a while," muttered David as he went back to reading his book.
Tabitha rolled her eyes good naturedly before opening the door, and closing it softly behind her. Tabitha walked into the living room to see Zippo sitting in one of his chairs as he read a scroll from the library. The sound of fast pace jazz music played within the room, while the librarian's foot bounced to the rhythm of the beat. Tabitha smiled and decided to let Zippo read his scroll for a while. She walked over to the table where the 'Book of Dragons' was sitting on. Tabitha pulled up a chair at the table and picked up the book. Shorty leaped from her shoulder to sit on the surface of the table. Tabitha opened the book, and began to read through it as she swept her gaze over the runes that were written on the pages. She had to admit that the art work within the book was well drawn. She had a hard time believing the book was a century old. The reason for her doubts about the book's age was because the book looked as if it had been publish only yesterday.
The book's covering was in top condition along with the pages. The drawings and runes on the pages weren't faded or smudged, and were in excellent detail. Tabitha gazed at some of the pictures of the dragons that were drawn in the book, while reading what type of dragon, or class, they were. Shorty was lying on the table asleep for a few moments, before his head shot up when he heard the door to Zippo's home being open. Tabitha glanced up from the book for a second to see Karl walking through the hallway as he made his way to their bedroom. Tabitha heard him open the door, and closing it behind him before she went back to reading her book. It was quiet in the house for a moment, but it was soon disturbed by the sound of something hitting against the wall within bedroom.
'Honesty, can't he find something quieter to do?' thought Tabitha in annoyance as she continued to read through the book.
She soon came to a page that had a dragon with a unique design and shape. Tabitha looked up at the name that was written above the dragon, and quietly read the name in a low voice.
"Night Fury," she whispered.
Tabitha raised an eyebrow at the name before taking in the details of the dragon. Its body was long a sleek, almost like a panther's, but Tabitha could see that it had strong muscles in the core of its body. It had ear like appendages, and nubs protruding from its head, which kind of reminded Tabitha of an axolotl that she had once seen as a little girl when her mother had been researching them. The wings on its back were like that of a bat's wings, but it also had secondary wings at the base of its tail right near its rump, and two fins near the end of its tail. The dragon's head was triangular and somewhat flat with a few small spines running up the middle of its forehead, and it had a short neck. It also had larger spines that ran down from the middle of its back all the way down to the end of its tail.
Tabitha became curious about this dragon before she started to silently read about the description of it.
'The Night Fury
Also known as the unholy offspring of lighting and death itself. Not much is known about this mysterious dragon, and there have been rare sightings of this elusive being. It is of the 'Striker Class' with powerful jaw strength. They are extremely intelligent, have incredible firepower and blazing speed. Hardy any Viking has ever had the chance to seen a Night Fury up close, nor were they able to get the chance to study it in its natural habitat. They can be aggressive to any form of threat they find, and they never miss when they shoot out plasmas fireballs from their mouth. They have retractable teeth so that the Night Fury can protect them from being chipped or broken.
Night Furies have a great sense of hearing, and are able to find their way through the dark by using echolocation. They are deep black, which enables them to be to blend into the night sky as they fly.'
'Whoa, that's a lot of information,' thought Tabitha with an amused huff.
Suddenly, Tabitha heard Karl shouting in the bedroom, and became curious as to what was going on. She closed the book and was about to get up when she heard the bedroom door being slammed open. Karl stomped out of the bedroom and headed towards the front door. He furiously opened the door and when he was outside, he slammed the door behind him. Tabitha frowned in confusion, while Shorty cocked his head curiously before he and Tabitha looked at one another. Zippo spoke up from his chair as he shook his head with a sigh.
He then muttered under his breath as he turned his eyes back onto his scroll. "Mammals."
Tabitha gave Zippo a look of amusement before she placed the book on the table, and got up from the chair that she had been sitting in. Shorty quickly flew up onto Tabitha's shoulders again as she made her way to the bedroom. The door to the bedroom was wide open, and when Tabitha looked inside she saw David sitting in the chair with an angry expression upon his face. Tabitha sighed before she entered the bedroom, while closing the door quietly behind her. She walked over to her half-brother, and sat down on the bed that Karl was occupying. Shorty scurried down from Tabitha's shoulder and sat down in her lap, while Tabitha began to gently pet his back. The two half-siblings sat in silence for a moment before Tabitha finally spoke in a calm voice.
"You mind telling me what happened between you and Karl?" asked Tabitha with a raised eyebrow.
For a moment, David didn't answer Tabitha's question, but after a moment he slumped in his chair and began to talk.
"We had an argument about leaving the island again," muttered David as he stood up from his chair and began to pace the room. "He is so stubborn and you know how he gets when an idea comes into his head, Karl will go with it. I then brought up how it wasn't me who was flying the plane, and that caused him to become really pissed at me."
Tabitha sighed as she rubbed the back of her head. "You should have known that that comment would cause him to blow a gasket."
David turned to look at Tabitha with an exhausted look on his face. Tabitha motioned for David to sit down in his chair, and he did as she gestured.
"Karl was closer to Frank than you and I could have ever been," said Tabitha in a calm voice. "I think he does carry the blame on his shoulders and felt like it was his fault, but he will take his rage out on anyone or anything who says so. When that happens, Karl will place the blame on them, and believing that it will help him take the blame off of himself."
David gazed at his sister in amazement before letting out a small chuckle. Tabitha blinked as she looked at her half-brother curiously.
"What?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Since when have you become so wise and grown up?" questioned David in humor.
Tabitha shrugged her shoulders while giving him a smile. "Someone has to be the calm headed sibling in the group."
The two siblings shared a chuckled between each other before calming down. They were quiet for a moment before David spoke up again as he stared at Tabitha with a soft gaze.
"I'm glad that you're here Tabitha," said David with a smile. "It make's living here with Karl more bearable."
Tabitha blinked in surprise at what her half-brother had said. She then smiled at David as she felt a soft and gentle warmth growing within her heart.
"Same here David, same here" said Tabitha.
The conversation between the two half-siblings soon ended, and they both went to bed that night with their minds more at ease. But when Tabitha started to dream, she had a nightmare about the Prime Sunstone going out, and the predator dinosaurs entering the through the front gates of Waterfall City.
The next day came as Tabitha got herself ready for the day. Karl had come back late last night, which caused Tabitha to become suspicious of his actions. Yet she didn't say anything about it. During the afternoon, the half-siblings had gotten three letters, which had been sent to them by Marion. Tabitha had left Karl's letter on the chessboard, where it was held up between two chest pieces. Karl picked up the letter and opened it before he asked his half-siblings about the letters.
"Did you guys get one of these?"
David, who was sitting on his bed, while writing on a sheet of paper with a feather quill, answered with a hum of acknowledgement. Tabitha answered with a nod as she looked over her own letter. She was lying on her back upon her own bed, with Shorty sleeping on top of her stomach. Tabitha quietly read the letter to herself, while going over each word carefully before smiling at what it said. Unfortunately for Karl, he wasn't able to understand the Saurian writing since he skipped out on his beginner class.
"What's it say?" he asked as he walked over to David.
"It's an invitation from Marion," answered David with a raised eyebrow.
"Great," said Karl as he grew excited when he heard the girl's name. "What for?"
Tabitha smirked as she watched David ignore Karl's question as he continued to look down at his paper, while he wrote notes on its surface.
"Hello," said Karl sarcastically.
"Can't you read?" questioned David as he threw his own sarcasm right back at Karl.
Karl glared at his brother in anger after being caught off guard by what he said.
"You got a big mouth, anyone ever tell you that?" said Karl with a growl.
"Only you, Karl," said David with a smirk before he stood up.
David began to look around on his bed for something that would help his half-brother in reading the letter. Karl then turned his attention onto Tabitha, who was smirking as she continued to lie on her bed.
"And what about you?" questioned Karl angrily. "Don't you have any smart remarks to say to me?"
"Not really," replied Tabitha calmly. "Only that you shouldn't have skipped out on the footprint language class at school in the first place. If you hadn't, then you would have been able to read what was written in that letter Marion gave to us."
Karl growled at Tabitha for a second before David handed him a book that he picked up from his bed.
"Here you go," said David.
Karl looked down at the book and frowned when he read the title of it, which said: FOOTPRINT LANGUAGE FOR BEGINNERS.
"Thanks," he grumbled as he walked away to reluctantly study.
He was only going to do learn this language so that he can find out what was written in the letter Marion had sent him.
"You're welcome," replied David with a smirk.
Tabitha smirked too before she turned her attention back onto Shorty. She began to gently pet the little dragon on the back as a calm expression appeared on her face. Tonight was going to be interesting for all of them.
Nightfall soon came over the city as everyone gathered at Fountain Square. Every human and Dinosaur was there as they got ready for the Sunstone Parade that would commence. David, Tabitha, Shorty and Zippo were already there as they took their seats within Fountain Square. They had chosen front row seats to have a better view of the celebration. Shorty sat on his usual perch, which was Tabitha's shoulders, while he stared around excitedly at his surroundings.
"It's quite fantastic, isn't it," said Zippo excitedly before he informed the two humans about the events for tonight's parade. "You'll scarcely believe your eyes. The theme this year is the World Beneath."
"Really?" said Tabitha with a curious look.
"So...the World Beneath really exists?" asked David.
"According to legend, it was the place where the Sunstones were originally found," explained Zippo with a smile before he turned his gaze towards the stage. "The heart of Dinotopia."
"Whoa," voiced Tabitha with a smile on her face. "Then this is going to be an interesting show for tonight."
She then noticed that they were missing Karl and began to look around to see if she could spot his face within the crowd. David quickly noticed Karl's absence too as he swept his gaze over the people and Dinosaurs around him.
"Where's Karl?" he asked.
"*sigh* who knows," muttered Tabitha as she gave up on looking for Karl. "He's never really around when you need him. I swear, he'd miss his own birthday party if he wanted to."
Shorty let out a scratchy laugh at what Tabitha had said before he nuzzled the side of the girl's face. Tabitha grinned at the little dragon before she gently scratched him underneath the chin. The crowd began to grow silent and Zippo stretch his neck up to look over the heads of the people.
"Oh, oh look," pointed Zippo. "I'm so excited, the ceremony's about to begin."
"Calm down, Zippo," said Tabitha with a chuckle. "If you get too excited you might wind up bouncing right out of your seat."
Though Tabitha couldn't help but feel excited too as she looked towards the palace stairs. The guards lit the torches to give the crowd better lighting. Then there was a groan as two Brachiosauruses stood near the palace. One of them slowly lifted itself up onto its back legs before roaring as it came back down with a loud stomp. The stomp was accompanied by the pounding of a drum. The pounding of the drum and the stomping of the Brachiosaurus kept time with each other as the trumpets blared out a fanfare tune. That was when Mayor Waldo appeared to stand in front of the citizens of Waterfall City. He was dressed in a black robe with golden patterns etched on its surface. The Brachiosaurus gave one final stomp before Mayor Waldo began to tell the story of the World Beneath.
"Long ago, a terrible darkness struck the earth. The seas churned and the skies turned black, and the light of the sun was lost from the land."
Tabitha quickly looked up when she saw the Prime Sunstone's light disappearing within the tower. She could only guess that one or two of the citizens of the city had covered the Prime Sunstone. Tabitha turned her head to look at Zippo with a concerned expression upon her face.
"Um...is that really a good idea to cover the Prime Sunstone like that?" she asked.
"Don't worry," reassured Zippo with a smile. "It is only temporary, it'll be uncovered again in a moment."
Tabitha was still a little unsure, but decided not to worry about it for a while. She turned her attention back onto Waldo, who continued to tell the story of the World Beneath.
"Our ancestors sought refuge in caves deep below the earth, where they found food and shelter, and magical stones which brought them light."
Tabitha listened intently to the story as she let herself be drawn into its tale. She could almost picture what the caves looked like with Sunstones glowing all around the Dinosaurs and people who had sought shelter from the darkness.
"A young girl left the safety of the World Beneath, and climbed up to the surface. A Sunstone illuminating her way."
The trumpets let out another fanfare tune before Mayor Waldo continued on with tale of how the Sunstones came up from the World Beneath.
"Higher and higher she climb in the darkness, not know that it was night."
He gestured towards where the rules of Dinotopia stood. Tabitha, David, Shorty and Zippo turned to look as they saw a bright light illuminating from where the stone pillar stood. A figure in shadow slowly appeared from out of the light before they came into view. It was a woman, wearing a black ceremonial dress with a small Sunstone hanging from her neck. Tabitha took one look at the figure and smiled excitedly before she whispered to David.
"It's Marion," she voice.
David had a surprised and happy expression before he, Tabitha, Zippo and all the citizens of Dinotopia stood up and began to applaud. Marion smiled warmly to the crowd, while also glancing towards Tabitha and David. She was happened that her two friends came to the ceremony tonight to witness it.
"So beautiful," said Zippo in amazement.
"I have to say, Marion sure knows how to make an entrance," said Tabitha with a smile.
David nodded in agreement as they watched Marion walk down the steps with two human guards following behind her. Mayor Waldo had a proud smile on his face as his daughter walked towards him. The applause began to die down as Mayor Waldo continued on with the story.
"Centuries passed, and a great civilization evolved, but no one had ever seen the sun. Then the dawn came, and she saw that the skies had clear and that the sun shone once again."
The Prime Sunstone, which had been covered, began to glow brightly again over Waterfall City. Marion stood right next to her father as Mayor Waldo came to the epic conclusion of the story.
"Our ancestors followed her from the World Beneath, and they brought with them the magical stones, and they built Dinotopia. The world beneath was sealed. The great ruler, Ogthar, decreed that it would remain a sacred place, undisturbed forever more."
Everyone began to applaud when Mayor Waldo finished telling the story of the World Beneath. Fireworks were shot up into the sky as the people and Dinosaurs stared up in awe and amazement. Tabitha couldn't help but feel honored to be a part of a celebration that talked about the tales and the history of Dinotopia.
'It's too bad that this happy peace won't be lasting long,' thought Tabitha sadly to herself.
She still remembered the warning that Chui had given her before he and Tod had left Waterfall City. The warning weighed heavily within her mind, but she kept her worries to herself for she didn't want to cause a panic in Waterfall City.
'Besides, they'll find out eventually,' thought Tabitha. 'I just hope they realize the danger before it's too late.'
Tabitha continued to look up at the fireworks for a while before she suddenly caught something flying through the air, high above the fireworks and the city. She couldn't quiet see what it was, but she could tell that whatever it was, it was pretty fast. Tabitha continued to gaze up at the air born object for a moment, before blinking in surprise when a ball of fire suddenly shot out in front of the object. The fireball then exploded about three feet in front of the flying figure. The figure flew towards the blast before it passed straight through it, and disappeared into thin air.
'What was that?' thought Tabitha in wonder.
After the ceremony was done, Tabitha, David, Shorty and Zippo began to head back to the house. They met up with Karl along the way. The group was quiet as they walked down the street, except for David and Zippo as the two of them talked about the night's events. Tabitha became curious about Karl's absents to the ceremony, and decided to question him. She quickly grabbed Karl by the arm to stop him as David and Zippo continued to walk ahead of them. Not noticing that Karl and Tabitha had stopped walking behind him. Tabitha got in front of her half-brother as she glared up at him in distrust and suspicion.
"Okay, Karl, what's the deal?" questioned Tabitha in a low voice.
"What do you mean?" asked Karl innocently.
"Don't play dumb," hissed Tabitha with a glare. "You were completely off the radar at the beginning of the ceremony after Marion had given you an invitation to it. You missed out on what the story was about."
"I was studying, okay?" said Karl with a growl. "I got so deep in learning about my footprint langue that I completely forgot until the last second. At least I made it before the end of the ceremony."
"You? Studying? Yeah, right," said Tabitha with an eye roll. "I've known you for a while now, and not once have I ever seen you study for your school exams."
"Then maybe you don't really know me at all," countered Karl angrily as he glared down at his half-sister.
Shorty let out a short hiss at Karl as the little dragon tensed up on Tabitha's shoulders. Tabitha bravely glared right back at her older half-sibling before speaking once again.
"Whatever game you're playing at Karl, you better watch it." Tabitha warned as she poked her brother in the center of his chest. "You're messing with things that will one day get you killed, while trying to find a way off of Dinotopia. And when you do try and fail to get off this island, don't expect me to come rescue you."
Tabitha then turned and began to follow after David and Zippo, while leaving a sour face Karl behind her in the darkness. Karl stood there for a moment before he quickly followed after his half-sister. Unknown to the half-siblings or Zippo, they were being watched by piercing, yet curious, green/blue eyes as a figure sat on the roof of a tall building. The figure's eyes were mostly focused on Tabitha as it took an interest in the young human girl, who had stood her ground in front of the older male. It continued to watch Tabitha for a while before it turned and disappeared into the night.
To be continued