Life of a Sharptooth

by Mongoose Lover

Chomper had long been thinking of being a normal Sharptooth, to keep from dying of hunger. After a tragic accident forces him to leave the Great Valley, he first journeys to see Dil and Ichy, two other Sharpteeth that were once friendly, to learn how to hunt and catch prey. After that, he struggles to survive as well as avoid his rival, Red Claw. Will he ever see his friends again?

9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE: CHILDREN AND CHILDLESS

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Back in the Land of Mists, Jessica, who was taking some time away from the others (who had just "adopted" the young Longnecks and were keeping an eye on Screech and Thud) to refresh. She had just caught a big freshwater ray; a couple small groups of Wrinkleface (Rugops) Sharpteeth stood on the sidelines, waiting for their cue to take over the kill.

Isabelle, meanwhile, had pretended to need to go relieve herself, so as to leave the others. She had wanted her brother to come with her, but he seemed intent on being adopted by Sharpteeth. She had planned to run away and go live on her own, as she detested the Sharpteeth for what they'd done, and it still hadn't sunk in yet that they had only killed her family in self-defense. However, she knew she couldn't go this way, or she'd be joining the ray on the menu. She noticed the Sharpteeth approaching Jessica, hoping that they would distract Jessica long enough to allow her to escape and also not notice her and come and eat her.

Hey princess, give us that fish! one of them called to Jessica.

Nope. I ain't letting other Sharpteeth steal my food anymore. I'm standing up for myself now. You won't be taking my food anymore! she snapped back at them in reply.

The Sharpteeth spotted Isabelle. Well, should we fight this Sailback over this or go get that Longneck? their leader asked.

Longneck? Jessica asked in bewilderment.

Jessica looked down to find the little Longneck creeping away from her, unaware that either the Wrinklefaces or Jessica had noticed her. What is she doing here? she asked herself; she would have asked Isabelle herself if there wasn't a language barrier between them. While Jessica went to get Isabelle, the Sharpteeth took the fish that she had caught.

Jessica groaned but could not stop them, as she had moved in the way of Isabelle to try and protect her.

Foolish Sailback. You think we waste our time on that stupid Longneck when we could have this nice big fish? Enjoy your Longneck! the leader laughed, as he and the others made off with the fish.

Jessica got Chomper's attention, and he went to confront Isabelle. The Longneck turned around in alarm as the Rex stepped beside her.

"You need to stop running away!" Chomper told Isabelle.

"I don't like being raised by Sharpteeth! I especially don't want to be raised by the Sharpteeth that killed my parents!" she spat at him.

Jared came across them. He'd been looking for his sister after she'd disappeared and was relieved to have found her.

"Izzy, please, they're the best chance we've got! If we want the Valley of Mists on our own, we'll be a meal before sundown!" Jared tried to reason with her.

"Who says that these Sharpteeth here won't get tired of us someday and eat us when we have our backs turned?"

Jared looked between Chomper and his sister indecisively. Isabelle snorted.

"Let's get out of here while we still can," she said, starting to run; however, she didn't get much more than a couple of feet before Chomper gently lowered his tail down in front of her and blocked her path. She butted her head against the tail defiantly.

"Let me go you evil Sharptooth!" she snapped at Chomper. "Isabelle, please! Stop trying to run away! They're just trying to help us!"
"Help us?! Sharpteeth?!" she snapped.
"Isabelle, just listen!"
"No, you listen." she snapped. She began to sing

"Sharpteeth are mean, in case you've forgotten.
All they do is kill; they're so very rotten.
They're incapable of love.
They're a curse sent on us from above.
No, Jared, they don't have a heart.
Turn your back on them and they'll tear you apart.
Our parents have always said their kind can't be trusted.
To think you're going to let them adopt you, Jared, I'm so disgusted!
I'm afraid, you've come up to a line.
Stay with them and you'll be no brother of mine!

Sharpteeth can't love us. They're much too crude.
The only thing they really view us as is food.
Jared, don't make me waste my breath.
If you stay with Sharpteeth, all you can look forward to is death.

Jared they're not like us.
And they'll never be.
I suggest we leave them right now and flee.
So what's it going to be Jared: the Sharpteeth or me?" she sang, her voice full of bitterness and anger.

Jared looked at Isabelle; as much as he wanted him and his sister to be defended from the dangers of the Valley of Mists, no matter who their protectors were, he thought there was something wrong with the idea of abandoning his sister. He walked up to her side and sat by her.

Meanwhile, Jessica plucked her head from the river, an Oncorhynchus she had set her sights on before Isabelle's song struggling in her jaws. What did I miss? she mumbled, not letting go of her catch.

One of the Longnecks really hates us. She just sang a song about how bad Sharpteeth are. I admit, her singing is good, much like Ali's, but her heart is so bitter. I'm afraid she's in more pain than Littlefoot was after he lost his mother. She's basically told her brother to leave us or she'll disown him. Chomper told Jessica.

Isabelle and Jared had tried to use the opportunity of Chomper's momentary distraction to try and make a run for it. However, he heard their running footsteps and went after them.

Chomper blocked the way of both Longnecks. "Let us go! If you're going to kill us, do it already and stop wasting our time!" Isabelle snapped at Chomper.

"Isabelle, don't provoke them! You're going to hurt their feelings!"

"Jared, they're Sharpteeth! They aren't capable of having feelings!"

"I know you and your brother are hurting but I really suggest that you two..." Chomper began.

"Go to hell! I don't want to be with you any longer!" she snapped.

"I could tell that from your song."

"I often forget that you are capable of our speech. What was the name of that stupid Longneck who taught you how to talk and took you in? I hope he dies! He raised a monster!" Isabelle snapped.

Chomper may have been able to brush off insults toward himself, but he descended into a brief moment of rage, letting out a loud Tyrannosaurus roar so loud and frightening that Jared wet himself in fright and cowered under his rage. Isabelle, however, though a bit alarmed, was mostly unmoved and stared Chomper down. "Don't you insult Littlefoot like that! You don't know what you're talking about!" he growled.

"You going to kill me for insulting your friend Piddlefoot!" she mocked him, deliberately getting the name wrong.

"No gratitude at all, that one! Can I kill her for you?" Ichy, who happened to hear Chomper's roar and had come flying to his aid, asked him.

"Go ahead sharpbeak. I hope all of your feathers fall out!" she snapped.

"That does it!" Ichy snapped. He moved to kill her, but Chomper intervened.

"No, Ichy. She wants to die, but we must not give her her wish."

"So you're going to torture me instead? Sharpteeth are even worse than I thought!" she snapped at him.

"I agree. Kill her so we don't have to be tortured by her and so she won't be tortured by us." Ichy said.

Chomper groaned and shook his head. "We're not killing anyone." he said.

"We save her tail from death twice and she treats us like dirt; what's the use in keeping her around?" Ichy squawked.

As everyone that was able to converse with Isabelle squabbled and Screech and Thud looked on in befuddlement- Jessica simply watched them, unable to contribute but fascinated regardless - the Rugops from earlier burst from the woods, rushing past them as fast as their muscular legs could carry them. From behind the fleeing Sharpteeth, a pair of giant Carcharodontosaurus - sliceteeth - slowly advanced towards the smaller carnivores, their leader limp in the teeth of the bigger one.

Jared hid behind Chomper, though Isabelle took the opportunity of the momentary distraction to run for it. She would have been killed by the bigger Sharpteeth, had not Jessica ran and jumped in front of her, pushing Isabelle underneath her and putting her tail almost completely on top of her, blocking her from a attack by the Sliceteeth Sharpteeth.

Hey, that was our Longneck! they snapped.

It's mine now.

Lift your tail and give it to me and nobody will get hurt.

No!

Fine, then I'll lift your tail and get it myself!

Hey, watch it! I don't want you looking under my tail, you pervert! she snapped.

Real cute girly! Now give me the Longneck or I'll...

Chomper moved beside her. She's with me.

I've never seen a Rex mated with a Sailback before.

I didn't mean that way. I meant as in she's part of my group, as are the others.

On his command, Screech, Thud, Dil, and Ichy joined them, shielding Isabelle and Jared.

Weird group they've got here. It's not worth fighting the group of them over baby Longnecks. Let's go after those others. one of the Sliceteeth remarked, leaving with his mate.

"Thank you!" Jared told his Sharptooth rescuers.

"This doesn't change anything. I still hate you!" Isabelle told the Sharpteeth.

"You can hate me, but please come with me. You've already had close calls lately." Chomper told her.

"Fine." Isabelle replied.

"Glad you changed your.." Jared began, but Isabelle whacked him hard in the head with her tail, cutting him off.

"I've got a plan. We're going to play their game...for a while." Isabelle whispered to him.

"Oh," Jared whispered back, before nodding his head; anything for his sister.

Chomper and the others took the two Longnecks back to their cave home. A Spiketail was laying in there, due to old age plus an injury from the Mysterious Beyond, where he'd fled from, he was almost unable to move and looked at the approaching Sharpteeth helplessly.

Chomper and most of his group were hesitant to kill the Spiketail (especially as they had already stored up a bunch of dead Longnecks preserved by ice) but Screech and Thud, who were hungry, and didn't know about the Longnecks, killed the elderly Spiketail and began to eat his corpse!

"Oh my!" Isabelle and Jared both cried.

Guys! Did you have to do that in front of the children? Chomper grumbled.

I'm starved. Screech replied.

The kids are just going to have to get used to it! Thud said, returning to his eating.

Chomper soon found that the children had disappeared. After some searching, he caught a whiff of their scent and traced it to a section of the cave some distance off. The children were hiding behind stalagmites, foolishly forgetting that Chomper and the others could sniff them out and that their hiding spot was useless against Sharpteeth. He had been silently following them, as though he were hunting them, so as to not give Isabelle the opportunity to run off again He paused as he heard them tallking.

"Jared, don't you see, they're evil? Look what they did to that old Spiketail!" Isabelle cried.

"I think it was just hunger." Jared replied.

"I can't believe you're defending the ba****ds! Don't let them mess with your mind. They killed our parents and now they want to adopt us to pretend to us that they're kind. Don't fall for it!"

"I don't think I want to stay with fleshburpers like them, but I don't think they're as bad as you make them out to be."

"I think we should make a run for it. Leave this cave and leave the Land of Mists. They won't follow us. They're probably planning till we get older so they can eat Longneck steak. But since we're so small now, they won't bother chasing after us if we leave again."

"I suppose you're right."

Chomper felt saddened that Isabelle so mistrusted him. And Jared's fleshburper remark reminded him of Hank's last angry words at him. In his sadness, he accidentally lost his focus and accidentally trod on some big rocks, making a loud crunching sound that echoed down the cave passage.

"It must be them. We'll pretend that we just wanted to get away from them eating and that it was nothing. They're Sharpteeth and are stupid and will probably fall for it. When they're asleep tonight, we'll go the route I planned, out of the cave and the Land of Mists. It'll be the last time we'll ever see those sorry excuse for dinosaurs ever again."

"Quck, they're coming!"

Chomper soon entered the room, pretending to have not heard any part of their plan. The two children were smiling innocently, trying their best to hide their true motives from him.

"Hello kids. I'd wondered where you'd gotten off to." he said kindly.

"Are they done eating the Spiketail yet?" Jared asked.

"I think so." Chomper replied. "I told them it was a bad idea and not to do that again."

"Glad to hear. Guess you aren't so bad after all." Jared said, pretending to be beginning to become sympathetic to Chomper.

"Well, then, let's bring you back home." he said.

As he turned around, the two following him, he could hear Isabelle, thinking he couldn't hear, whisper under her breath to Jared "'Home'? As if! It'll be a cold day in hell before I ever consider myself to be at home with filthy Sharpteeth."

When they returned, Dil remarked in annoyance "Drat, I thought they'd ran away again and weren't coming back. I'm already thinking the two of them, especially the girl, are more trouble than they're worth."

"They're worth it, trust me." Chomper replied.

"I don't see how they could possibly be. They are convinced that just because we are designed to eat meat that we are heartless and stupid. They are irredeemable. Let them run off and get themselves killed if they are so sure that's what they want to do."

"If we do that, we might as well have killed them ourselves." Chomper replied, shaking his head.

An hour before the group planned to go to bed, Chomper took Jessica, whom he believed would be the most sympathetic, aside from the others to discuss Isabelle's plan.

I'm afraid Isabelle has a real hatred for us, and she and her brother plan to leave as soon as we're asleep. They're going to leave the Land of Mists and try and go live out there in the wastes of the Mysterious Beyond. he informed her.

Those poor dears are going to get themselves killed out there! Jessica replied in alarm.

That's my fear.

Should we get the others to help us stop them?

Probably not a good idea. Dil and Ichy have already voiced to me the suggestion of taking up Isabelle on her offer of eating them rather than us adopting them. Another escape attempt would only further push them toward that direction.

So, what should we do, let them go?

Yes and no.

What do you mean?

I mean, I can let them go part of the way and then we can find them, before another Sharptooth does, and we can take them to the Great Valley. It's only about a day away. The problem is, I was more or less kicked out. They may well try and kill me on account of the two dead Clubtails. So I'm going to go in at night and drop them off with Littlefoot, another Longneck.

I thought you told me that Isabelle hated Littlefoot.

She does, because he raised me, but I think she'd prefer him to a Sharptooth. Maybe he can convince her that she's wrong about us being evil.

What if you get caught sneaking them in?

That's why I came to ask for your help. You're the biggest in the group. You and I could at least intimidate anyone in our way, and I can tell them I only want to bring the Longnecks to Littlefoot. Hopefully, they'll not try and fight the both of us.

What if they do?

Chomper sighed. Do as little harm as you can. Only kill as a last resort.

Jessica nodded. Are there any water paths leading in and out of the Great Valley? Perhaps we could sneak in through one of those; I could help you swim. she inquired.

All of the waterways in are through waterfalls, unfortunately. Chomper replied.

That's unfortunate.

Yes, but I do happen to know all the ways in. There's actually an entrance that had a path that goes all the way through the highest part of the Great Wall and then down into the Great Valley. This one is full of stinky pits, unfortunately, so most Sharpteeth would avoid it, and it's a long climb too and has many twists and turns that should deter most Sharpteeth Even the Flatteeth don't use this way much anymore. They probably wouldn't be guarding this way. I don't mind heights so I thought I'd try it.

I'm not that fond of heights.

You're not? But you're already so tall.

Jessica laughed hard. Ha ha! Good one! Unfortunately, I hatched on a rocky ledge overlooking a steep drop. Some of my first times walking, I nearly fell over and it was quite harrowing to be staring down several hundred feet as a hatchling. It left an uneasy mark on me. My parents thought it was a good place to build a nest, away from Egg Stealers. That way, they could both hunt for food and not have to worry much about my egg being stolen. I was an only child you know.

Whatever happened to your parents? Chomper asked. By the sudden change in her expression, he realized that he'd hit on a touchy subject.

When I was about three years old and had just learned to catch my first Leaf Eater on my own, there was this terrible Earthshake. It was so bad that many refer to it as the Great Earthshake. This occurred over 100 miles from here. Loads of dinosaurs were killed. The earth began to split beneath our feet and I was so terrified, as were my parents. The ground began to give way and big chasms appeared. Fire came out of the earth, shooting up flames. It was one of the scariest days of my life. Dad and I made it to safety but mother was starting to fall so dad went back for her to try and pull her up. However, then the earth gave way beneath him and they both fell to their deaths.

I'm so sorry. I didn't know!

I spent many cold times wandering along, scavenging food and hunting what I could. Since I didn't have parents to stick up for me, I fell into the habit of letting other Sharpteeth, even ones smaller than me, push me around. Eventually, I'd find Spido and we were married when I came of age. However, as you know, he was killed by other Sharpteeth and our eggs were all taken by Egg Stealers.

I'm so sorry Jessica.

At least I have you guys.

I know what it's like to lose my parents.

It's great that you're trying to help those orphaned Longnecks. It's such a pity that Isabelle hates you.

I killed her parents.

Defending yourself from being killed!

I don't think she sees it that way.

I guess she's mostly upset she never got to say goodbye.

I agree, though, technically, we didn't get to say goodbye to our parents either.

I wonder if we still have their bodies. We didn't eat all of them yet. Perhaps we haven't eaten their parents yet.

Worth a try. I just hope that it doesn't traumatize Isabelle further. She looks like she's been through a lot already.

Believe me, they will only see what they want to see no matter how hard you try to open their eyes. A voice said, though nobody seemed to be around.

Who's there? Chomper asked.

It doesn't matter. I am no one important really. The voice answered.

How come I can't see you? Chomper began to sniff around, trying to find the creature that was speaking to him.

Because I'm pretty small and good at hiding. the voice, clearly belonging to a female Sharptooth, replied.

Who are you?

"They call me Woosh. she answered.

Where are you?

If I tell you, you promise not to eat me?

Yes, I promise.

Look down here kid, in the tall grass.

The Rex looked down and saw a gray winged and blue bodied female Rahonavis hiding in the grass that grew in the cave from the light that poured in through cracks in the roof.

What were you doing here? Chomper asked her.

I thought this cave was a good place to hide from bigger Sharpteeth. I'd noticed your group and that you were working together despite being different and my curiosity got the better of me and I've been watching you all day.

Don't you know that it's inappropriate to eavesdrop?

"Who are you talking to Chomper?" Ichy asked.

"I found another Sharp Beak." Chomper replied, pointing at the female Rahonavis.

"You did?" gasped Dil.

"Yes, I did." replied Chomper.

Hello, my name is Woosh. Who are you? Woosh asked Ichy.

My name is Ichy. Ichy replied to the pterosaur.

Meanwhile, Chomper said to the two Longneck children "Isabelle and Jared, there's something I wanted to ask you. Don't be alarmed, but we haven't eaten all of the Longnecks we killed in that fight. In the event that some of the Longnecks that we've partially eaten were your parents, we've removed them to elsewhere but we happen to have three left that have remained untouched. If you're up to it, I can have you two try and see if any of them were your parents. If we can find them, we'll move them away from the others to be laid to rest in peace so they won't be eaten with the others."

The two agreed with this idea and went with Chomper. "Do you recognize any of these three as your parents?" Chomper asked them once they'd reached the cave chamber where the bodies were stored.

"Yes I did" replied Jared." My mother has blue eyes and my father has brown eyes"

Chomper took the one that didn't match away to be stored to be eaten later and laid the other two to rest in another part of the cave, putting them behind rocks so that they wouldn't be found by rogue Sharpteeth.

When he came back, he found Ichy and Woosh talking, not even paying attention to anyone else. "I've never seen anyone talk as much as he does before. I think he's met his match." Dil whispered to Chomper.

"That's good to hear. Also, by her joining us, that'll mean another set of claws to help get us food."

"I suppose so." Dil replied.

After the group went to bed, Jared and Isabelle lay awake. Jared had noticed that Isabelle seemed different after viewing her parents's bodies. Not more at ease; just the opposite in fact. She looked more unhinged than ever. "Change of plans Jared." she whispered to him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Not only are we going to leave, but we're also going to make sure that none of these Sharpteeth here ever kill again!" she replied.

"How are you going to do that?" Jared asked; Isabelle flared her nostrils.

"I'll tell you once we're out of earshot of those..." Isabelle whispered; she paused, thinking of a word to describe their captors. "...murderers."

"Aren't they asleep?" Jared asked.

"Yes they are asleep." Isabelle replied. "...but if I'm talking to you here and they wake up on us..." Isabelle added, leaving the rest to Jared's imagination. They moved further away from the group of Sharpteeth.

"Wait, are you planning to kill them?" Jared asked in alarm.

"Yes." Isabelle replied.

"You know, if this fails, they're going to eat us, don't you? And Chomper at least seems to care for us. He saved us from that Plated Sharptooth and from many other Sharpteeth. I don't think we should kill him or the others."

"Jared, I'm going to uphold the honor of our parents. If you won't help me, I'll do it myself."

"But what if you're caught and they eat you?"

"Well, then you'll have my death on your conscience as your remember that you didn't help me, won't you?" she replied icily.

Chomper and Jessica were both awake, only pretending to be asleep. Jessica didn't understand the herbivore language, and Chomper couldn't translate for her as they both were pretending to be asleep. Chomper was heartbroken that Isabelle was considering murder and hoped that Jared would talk her out of it. If not, he would have to stop her before she killed him or any of the other Sharpteeth in his group.

"Isabelle, don't do this." Jared whispered as Isabelle pulled a stalagmite loose from the cave floor.

"This is for mom and dad and our herd. I'm going to kill that Rex first. If we'd never met him, our herd would still be alive." Isabelle replied. She moved over Chomper, preparing to stab him in the heart with her stalagmite.

Chomper was about to move out of the way and seize her but, before he could act, Jared yelled loudly "ISABELLE, DON'T MURDER THEM!"

Several pairs of eyes opened, glaring at her, noticing her poised over Chomper, about to kill him. In a panic, she tried to kill Chomper, but she quickly found that he'd been ready for her, as he grabbed her before she could lower the stalagmite even an inch. He seized her weapon, took it from her, and threw it across the cave, where it hit a wall and shattered into many pieces.

With his other claw, he picked her up, dangling her several feet from the ground. "Way to go Isabelle, you ruined my plan. I was going to try and follow you when you and your brother left, as you mentioned earlier in your plan that I'd overheard. Jessica and I were going to quietly take you to the Great Valley and leave you with Littlefoot, as it's clear that you don't like us. Now, I'm afraid, because of your actions, we won't be able to leave so quietly."

Isabelle turned to Jared. She glared daggers as sharp as the stone tooth she had planned to kill Chomper with at him. "You just had to blow it," she growled, voice low.

"I think we've seen enough here. Though I can't see well, even I saw an attempted murder." Dil said.

"Yes, and I think these two Longnecks are far more trouble than they're worth. I say we eat the both of them!" Ichy said.

Isabelle was horrified. Jared hadn't even acted and they were going to kill him?! "I acted alone. Please spare my brother, if you're capable of any decency at all. Don't kill Jared!" she begged them.

"Fine, we'll just take you." Ichy replied. "Fine. If that's how she views us, we'll be that way then." I saw we eat her! Dil cried. The others, minus Jessica and Screech, agreed. She seems a bit young to kill, but I suppose she should have thought of that before attempting murder. Woosh remarked. I think Chomper should eat her. It was him that she tried to murder. Thud said. The others, minus Jessica, nodded in agreement. Isabelle could see a few of Chomper's teeth in his mouth whenever he opened it to breath. They were at least a foot long. She didn't want to think what it would be like to have those dagger-like things chewing on her. Since she knew Rexes had strong jaws, her best hope was that Chomper would be in a good enough mood to just crush her spine into putty with his teeth rather than chew and munch on her to punish her for attempting to murder him.

Jared could see her fear and begged Chomper and the others "Don't kill my sister! Please! She's all I have left."

Chomper looked back and forth between Isabelle, Jared and Ichy and Dil, not sure what to do; on one hand, one of the last things he wanted to do was cause any more harm to young dinosaurs, but on the other hands, one of the young dinosaurs in question had actively attempted to kill him...

Ultimately, his better judgment won out; he sat Isabelle down, putting his tail between her and the sharpbeak/belly dragger duo and nudging her backside, encouraging her to run over to here brother.

"I'll let you off of the hook this once; just keep in mind that I might not be as forgiving if you do something like this again," Chomper warned.

"Fine. Take me to this Great Valley I still don't want to live with Sharpteeth." Isabelle said.

"I'll go too." Jared said.

Chomper, Jessica, Isabelle, and Jared were about to leave, when Chomper remembered something from much earlier that day that Screech and Thud had said to him about his friends in the Great Valley. He'd forgotten about it in all of the excitement. What is Red Claw planning to do to the Great Valley?

He wants to kill your friends. Five of them helped drown Red Claw's brother in a pond outside the Valley many cold times ago. As for the Fast Runner, we wanted her gone for good measure for befriending the both of you. Thud replied.

Red Claw is the brother of the Sharptooth who killed Littlefoot's mother? Chomper gasped.

I guess so. Red Claw never mentioned that part. Screech said.

I shall warn Littlefoot and the others about Red Claw's plot to kill them when I take these two to go live with him. Jessica and I should be back around sunrise or a bit after. Chomper told them.

"If you were to eat the Longnecks on the way as a late night snack, especially that murderous diva, you'd have my greatest sympathy." Ichy remarked.

Chomper sighed. "Goodbye Ichy. I'll be back in the morning." he said, before departing with Isabelle, Jessica, and Jared.

Meanwhile, as Chomper, his girlfriend, though neither would admit it yet, Jessica, and the two Longneck siblings headed to the Great Valley, Littlefoot found what he had been seeking: Ali's herd. He weaved through the walking forms of all of the apatosaurs in the herd, trying to look for Ali; he was greeted by several grunts and angry voices telling him to watch where he was going. He soon spotted Ali; she was with Rhett and a few other Longnecks.

"Hey Ali!" he called to her.

"Hello Littlefoot; what are you doing here?" she asked him. "What are you doing here? Something seems to be really bothering you."

"It's a long story. It started when Chomper left and Haley's mate Hank and her son Vinnie died."

"Did Chomper kill them?" Rhett asked.

"Yes, but he didn't do it on purpose." Littlefoot replied.

"So, what happened?" Ali asked.

Littlefoot told Ali and Rhett the whole story. When he was finished, he said "And so I'm worried that Haley will take the Great Valley in a bad direction unless I find a mate so that she and I can both be on the Council and thwart her."

"And you want me to be your mate, don't you?" Ali asked. Littlefoot nodded.

"But I want her to be my mate." Rhett argued.

Littlefoot paused for a moment then said "Ali, I know it's kind of sudden. It was wrong of me to just ask you to marry me like that all of a sudden. I just thought you'd make a good mate."

"I know but if I say yes to one of your offers I upset the other. I can tell myself that you have a logistical reason. Tell me about this, Saley."

"Her name is Haley. I don't know her full backstory but apparently she came to the Great Valley a few cold times before our main herd did. That was back when things were still segregated in the Great Valley. At the time, her husband Hank was the leader of the Clubtail faction of the herds living in the Great Valley. When the Combined Herd came with us during the Leaf Famine, the Great Valley ended up picking a group of interspecies leaders, and Hank was not among them. I don't think Haley and Hank ever forgot about that nor forgave us. I found out sometime before Grandpa Longneck died that not only did she have it in for Mr. Threehorn for getting in instead of Hank, but she also had it in my for grandparents, and, now, presumably, she's going to be at odds with me now." Littlefoot replied.

"Littlefoot, are you sure you did the right thing with Chomper? I mean, you know, as a regular Sharptooth, he's going to kill for food." Ali said..

"I know. He can't help it."

"Why did you help him get out of the Great Valley?"

"Because he's my friend." Littlefoot replied. "Perhaps I was wrong to think of picking you to be my mate." he added.

"I just don't understand how you, who lost your mother to a Rex, can go and let another one go wander freely, killing the mothers of others." she replied defensively.

"Because, if you must know, my mother came to me in a Sleep Story and told me it was for the best and that one day I would see the reason for it."

"A Sleep Story? More likely it was some strange plant you ate rather than some message from your mother beyond the grave." Rhett laughed.

"No, I feel that I did the right thing." Littlefoot replied. "Also, there's another issue with Haley, one I didn't bring up earlier. In part, because I only recently learned of it from my grandparents. Haley doesn't just want each kind for itself. I believe she does believe in the cooperation of the kinds, but not in a way that my family likes. You see, while our kinds were separated to each kind, her family was content to lead their herd. However, now that the herds have combined, they have a new idea, though one about as bad as the separation of the kinds itself, and worse in a way, because it might catch on, especially with her teaching the children. You see, she believes in something called 'survival of the fittest'. Basically, that some kinds are meant to lead and others are meant to follow those leaders or even die out. In her mind, Threehorns and Longnecks were actually to be respected. Her problem was that her mate Hank and Mr. Threehorn were rivals in the Great Valley. At first, Mr. Threehorn actually backed their ideas, but some things happened to change that. First, Cera started hanging around me and started to believe in the kinds being together and being equal. Second, the influence of being around my grandparents turned him, albeit slowly. And lastly, he married Tria, who was in favor of the kinds being together and being equal herself. As for my family, though Haley and her minions believed that Longnecks, due to being so big and having tails they could use as weapons, we never went along with that, so we've been a constant thorn in her side. What's so sad is that those like Maia and Lambi, though all they'll ever be is servants and followers in Haley's new system, if she takes over, back her so willingly." he told Ali and Rhett.

While Littlefoot talked to Ali and Rhett, Chomper, Jessica, Jared, and Isabelle continued to brave toward the Great Valley.

"So how far is it to this Great Valley?" Isabelle asked.

"Not too far; there are a couple mountains and a meadow between us and the mountains surrounding the valley," Chomper replied. Jessica, unable to understand what either were saying, kept her attention on the path they were traveling.

"What is that weird rock thing that looks like a Longneck?" Jared asked.

"That's Saurus Rock."

Chomper told her what he'd heard about Saurus Rock and the Lone Dinosaur. When he was done, he said "I hope I don't come across him again. I'd promised I'd always be a nice Sharptooth and that didn't quite work out like I'd planned. Still, at least I don't eat hatchlings."

Red Claw, meanwhile, spotted Chomper, Jessica, Isabelle, and Jared. What are they doing? he said to the Fast Biters that are with him.

Not sure. It looks like they're headed toward the Great Valley. one of them replied.

Young fool! If he's going there, he might show us a way in that we don't know. Then we can go kill his friends and then leave. I trust the residents will kill Chomper for us after that. Red Claw laughed.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot said to Ali "So, what do you think about my proposal?"

"I would really like to, but I'm not sure if Rhett would be happy with us..." Ali said, interrupting herself as she heard the sounds of a frustrated longneck kicking up dust and slapping the earth with his tail not much more than a few yards behind her.

Littlefoot and Ali turned around to stare at Rhett. "Rhett?" Littlefoot said.

"Ali's family adopted me because my parents were killed by Rexes. You go and raise a Rex and then unleash him upon the Mysterious Beyond. And now Ali wants to be your mate! No way! Not if I have any say in it!" Rhett snapped, his nostrils blowing out air angrily.

Rhett shook his head; suddenly, an idea came to his mind.

"Do you know that ritual bulls do whenever they're ready to pick a wife?" Rhett said, alluding to a custom of several longneck herds in the Mysterious Beyond; this isn't something that is practiced by those of the Great Valley. Was it ever practiced in your herd prior to the Great Earthshake?"

"Nearly all of my old herd was dead before I hatched. Whatever ritual you're talking about for male Longnecks, I've never seen it or heard about it in the Great Valley." Littlefoot replied.

Rhett rolled his eyes; he wasn't sure whether or not to be surprised that Littlefoot didn't know about this.

"It's where, when you're ready to get married, you stand next to another male, and both of you slam each other with your necks; whoever can endure the beatings for the longest wins," Rhett explained, before lowering his eyebrows; "...and whoever backs down first doesn't get anything."

Rhett saying this had already gotten the attention a few of the other young longnecks in the herd. They walked over; whatever was about to go down, they wanted to get front row seats to it.

"Just hold on a minute here!" Littlefoot snapped. "You've left out something very important in all of this."

"What?"

"Ali. You said winner gets her and loser gets nothing. What about her opinion in the matter? She's a Longneck just like us, not a stack of Tree Sweets that we're fighting over."

"That's how the herd has always decided mating rights," Rhett snorted. He put face up to Littlefoot's. "Who are you to come along and tell us how we should function?"

It began to rain, forming mud at their feet. "That's a terrible thing to make her the mate of someone against her will. I'll take your silly challenge, but I warn you, even if you win, if you try and make her your wife by force against her will, you'll have me to do with." Littlefoot threatened, swinging his tail like a whip, which he'd learned from Doc, to let Rhett know that he was serious about it.

Ali had, by this point, already made up her mind. The herd's tradition was indeed unfair, though she hadn't seen it as such because it had always been that way. However, it was Littlefoot's belief that she should have a say in it and that she was more than some Tree Sweets to fight over, that had made her already pick Littlefoot over Rhett. "I'm rooting for you Littlefoot." she said to him. This really infuriated Rhett.

"You'll be mine Ali after this fight, so shut your mouth! I won't have you mating with a Rex supporter!"

"Won't have me? Won't have me?! You're just upset because Chomper ruined your little game many cold times ago and exposed you for the liar you are." Ali snapped.

"You wouldn't dare break the herd's traditions." Rhett scoffed.

Thunder rumbled nearby. "I just might." she retorted.

"You just have to do things the hard way, don't you?" Rhett grumbled. "Hold her until this contest is decided!" Rhett told the nearby Longnecks. They moved to capture Ali, but Littlefoot attacked one of them, knocking him over with a whip of his tail. The rest backed away in alarm

"Don't you dare touch her!" Littlefoot snapped. "Ok Rhett, you son-of-a-tarpit! You wanna be that way, then fine! I'll take your silly challenge and I'll kick your sorry tush so bad that you'll never be able to show your face in public again!"

Rhett simply nodded his head; we'll see about that, Littleneck, he thought. He and Littlefoot slowly walked up next to each other, flexing their necks to try and relieve stress in preparation for the fight. Rain streamed down the scales on their skin.

When they stopped - in a position that accompany them slamming heads and necks - they eyed each other intently; both longnecks, dead silent, scanned each other as best they could without turning their necks or heads much, looking for an opportunity to make the first strike.

Meanwhile, Jared looked behind him. He was at the back of the group and thought he could hear someone following them. When he voiced his concern to Chomper, Chomper replied "It might be other Sharpteeth. I can deal with them following us; I have ways of letting them know to back off." he said. He stopped, turned around, and loud out a loud T-rex roar, shattering the silence of the night with the thunderous roar. Several rocks on a nearby rock formation fell, triggered by the sound. Jared and Isabelle both stared at him in alarm. "Any Sharpteeth following us will get the message that you're mine and not to be messed with." Chomper told them.

"How very reassuring." Isabelle replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. They continued on. Red Claw's Fast Biter and Brownridge Sharpteeth were quite alarmed by the roar, but, at the urging of Red Claw, continued their silent pursuit, making sure to hold back this time so as not to be heard by the group.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot and Rhett began their contest, Rhett striking first, and finding, to his shock, that Littlefoot would not bend as easily as he'd thought. Littlefoot retaliated with his own swing; he sent Rhett back about as he sent him back with the first move. Rhett - definitely not ready to back down and lose any chances he had with Ali, simply flared his upper lip and swung again.

"You're wasting your time. Ali doesn't love you; she loves me." Littlefoot told Rhett, whacking him again with his neck.

"Once I'm finished with you, she'll change her mind," Rhett exhaled, getting ready to swing again. "Whenever I've watched others fight, the girl never goes with the loser."

On the sidelines, Ali rolled her eyes at Rhett's remark, if Littlefoot were to lose, the victor would be in for a shock. "There's a first time for everything, Rhett!" she spat. "Besides, as far as I'm concerned, you're already a loser!" she added.

Rhett gritted his teeth and furrowed his brows; turned to Littlefoot rose onto his hind legs, whipped his neck and struck Littlefoot again. The Longneck held firm; Littlefoot had determined that he would sooner let Rhett break his neck and kill him than to give way due to pain and let Rhett take Ali against her will.

Rhett was shocked that Littlefoot held out so well. The Longneck grimaced after Rhett's blow, but didn't even budge. Littlefoot returned a strike to Rhett, which Rhett barely held up under.

Rhett shook his head, his eyes and the trickle of blood streaming down one of his nostrils were starting to show that he probably wasn't going to keep fighting for much longer.

"I underestimated you, Littleneck," Rhett growled, snorting to trying to draw the blood back up his nose. "but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you win."

"The reason I'm winning is because I want her more. I love her. You, you just want her so you can make Longneck babies." Littlefoot retorted.

Meanwhile, Chomper, Jessica, Isabelle, and Jared began to climb the path to the Great Valley. "I can see why you went this way. This path is a mess. Very overgrown!" Isabelle complained.

What's a matter with her? Does she have to use the restroom? Jessica asked Chomper. She had been trying to figure out Leaf Eater and, though she didn't understand any words yet, she could tell that Isabelle was complaining about something that was making her uncomfortable.

Jessica, thinking of Chomper's words, made a very crude attempt to communicate with Isabelle by imitating sounds she heard him make when communicating with them prior to now:

"Isabelle! Why green no?" she asked.

"Congratulations, you've learned to speak a sentence." Isabelle replied sarcastically.

Chomper laughed. "Yeah, well in her perspective you have yet to say your first word."

Isabelle scrunched her face and did her best Sharptooth impression at Chomper; though Chomper only gave her a small smile, Jessica struggled to suppress a laugh.

"What did I say?" she barked, not amused by either's response.

'I farted a rock.' Chomper said.

"Which means?"

"'I farted a rock.'"

"Hmm, that gives me an idea. I'll try saying that if a Sharptooth corners me. Perhaps it would keep them too distracted to finish me off." Isabelle mused.

"It would work for all of about a minute before they became even hungrier from laughing and then ate you anyway." Chomper replied.

They reached the top, standing near the base of Saurus Rock. "How do we get down?" Jared asked.

"That's the problem." Chomper replied. "There really is no way down for a big Sharptooth like myself or Jessica. There used to be a way up here for bigger dinosaurs, but then an earhtshake happened and blocked the path. We can still try and get down, but we'll have to try and create our own path."

"Ho boy!" Isabelle gasped.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all." Jared said nervously.

Meanwhile, Rhett had gone on the offensive against Littlefoot, now getting Littlefoot's nose to bleed in turn. "Not so tough now, are you, Littlebrain." Rhett mocked him.

Rhett struck at him again and again, his rage at Littlefoot for daring to defy tradition and take Ali from him fueling his attacks. After his last blow, Littlefoot had blood pouring down his face from the attacks and it was clear that his neck was in pain. Still, he held up.

"You aren't budging for anything, are you?" Rhett laughed. "You'd rather die than let me beat you, isn't that right?" he asked. Littlefoot nodded. "There's nothing in the rules of these contests saying that I can't kill my opponent if that's what it takes to defeat him." Rhett said.

"Rhett, no!" Ali yelled.

"Shut up you b***h!" Rhett shouted at her.

That utterance lit something inside of Littlefoot; his eyes shot open wide and his muscles tensed - with as much power as the suffering longneck could muster, Littlefoot smashed his neck into Rhett's; as he collided, Littlefoot roared in pain, red spraying from his maw. However, his strike had worked for Rhett gave way and his head and neck fell to the ground and he got a face full of mud. "Ugggh!" he groaned as he hit the ground.

"Ali is mine!" Littlefoot declared triumphantly.

Rhett wasn't in the condition to argue, as much as he would have liked to; he growled, irritated.

Littlefoot staggered over to Ali; he rubbed his neck against hers before looking over to her herdmate.

Meanwhile, Chomper had found a path, albeit dangerous, down toward the Great Valley and he and Jessica slowly climbed it, watching their footing. The two Longneck children walked beside them, as the path was narrow enough that they wouldn't have any trouble. Isabelle eyed the legs of Chomper and Jessica; though the thought of taking this chance to finally get rid of the two came to her mind, she shook off the idea, recalling what Chomper had said after her last attempt.

Meanwhile, some Brownridge Sharpteeth, Fast Biters, and Red Claw himself followed behind them, unseen, at a distance. Red Claw lead up the rear. If the plan miscarried, he would have the best chance of escaping of the group.

Meanwhile, Ali and Littlefoot, having defeated Rhett, turned to leave, but Rhett called out to them "Did you two think that it would be that easy to leave?"

"Yes." Littlefoot replied.

"I don't see why not." Ali replied.

"You'd actually be the mate of a Sharptooth friend, a traitor to Longnecks everywhere?" Rhett said.

"Personally, I don't know what to think honestly about Chomper, but I trust Littlefoot's judgment." Ali replied.

"Does the herd agree with her being the mate of the traitor Littlefoot?" Rhett asked the other Longnecks.

The longnecks all looked between each other; they whispered to each other what they've been hearing from the three's back and forth. Ultimately, they turned their heads to Littlefoot and Ali, faces scornful.

"You have a problem with us being together?" Ali asked them.

The longnecks around Littlefoot and Ali looked at each other and stated talking.

"She's fallen for a sharptooth apologist!"

"She's gone mad!"

"I thought she would turn out better than this."

"We should have seen this coming when she started hanging out with non-Longnecks."

All of this commotion had attracted the head of the herd - none other than the mother of Ali, who took over for the Old One after her passing.

"What is the matter?" she asked. She turned to one of the members of the herd, more or less indistinguishable from the other adults. "Lerris!"

Lerris replied "Your own daughter wants to be the mate of a Longneck who not only hangs around and befriends non-Longnecks but also raised a Sharptooth and then helped him get away when he could no longer stop eating Leaf Eaters. Don't you have a problem with that?"

"I beat Rhett in that silly challenge where we fought with our necks. I find it terrible that you'd have the outcome of this contest decide who a female will wed, even against her will. And Ali agrees with me." Littlefoot replied.

Ali's mother's eyes widened after Lerris mentioned the boy raising a Sharptooth; after Littlefoot described the fight, she turned to her daughter and Littlefoot.

"Is it true you raised a...?" she inquired.

"You remember the Sharptooth you nearly stepped on long ago don't you?"

"Not particularly," Ali's mother admitted.

"That was Chomper." Littlefoot replied.

"You told the Old One he was nice and so she spared him. In fact, Ali helped persuade her too. But I saw Chomper attack me." Rhett said.

"I told you, we had him fake the attack to expose your cowardice and lies to Ali." Littlefoot snapped.

"Is that true or did he try and kill me and then you make that story up to cover for his sorry tush?" Rhett snapped.

"No, I didn't make it up!" Littlefoot replied.

"Then perhaps there was more to it than you let on. Perhaps you were hoping your fanged friend would do me in so you could have Ali for yourself. You didn't like it that she wanted to play with me and not you, so you told him where we were in hopes that he'd try and kill me! You're a murderer!" cried Rhett.

Ali slammed Rhett with her tail, knocking him over. "Don't hurt Littlefoot!" she snapped. "I don't know exactly what to think of Chomper, but I know Littlefoot would have never tried to murder Rhett." she said to her mother.

"So what happened with the Sharptooth that you raised, Littlefoot? Why'd he'd leave the Great Valley?" Ali's mother asked.

"Not raised exactly, but I did take care of him for a bit after he hatched, I saved him from drowning later, and it was I who talked the Great Valley into letting him in." Littlefoot replied, a bit nervous.

"Chomper killed two Clubtails." Rhett added, hoping to get Littlefoot in trouble with the herd and get Ali for himself.

"Is this true?" Ali's mother asked.

"Yes, but both times were in self-defense." Littlefoot replied. He described what had happened and how Vinny and Hank had died.

"And you let him get away after that?" Lerris asked him.

"Yes. He was innocent." Littlefoot replied.

"No Sharptooth is innocent!" Lerris said. "You really want your daughter marrying him?" she asked Ali's mother.

The others in the herd were very vocal in their agreement with Lerris; Ali's mother squinted her eyes.

"Not particularly," Ali's mother admitted.

Without much warning, Rhett ignored his condition and rose to his feet - roaring in pain - and made an attempt to lunge at Littlefoot, green eyes blazing. Ali slammed Rhett with her tail, knocking him over. "Don't hurt Littlefoot!" she snapped. "I don't know exactly what to think of Chomper, but I know Littlefoot would have never tried to murder Rhett." she said to her mother.

Meanwhile, an idea crossed Isabelle's mind. In spite of the times that Chomper and the others had saved her life, in spite of the fact that Chomper had spared her life after she had attempted to murder him, she still wanted revenge for the deaths of her parents. If the Great Valley was as upset at Chomper as he had let on, then if she revealed him and Jessica to the Great Valley, they could kill Chomper and Jessica for her. Then she and Jared could go live with Leaf Eaters and rid the world of Chomper and Jessica.

But how could she get Jared's help without Chomper and Jessica finding out? If she were caught, she'd either be thrown by down them to her death or ripped limb from limb by Chomper's powerful jaws. Something sprung in her mind. A nasty smirk briefly crossed her face, before she crossed her hind legs and lowered her tail.

"I need to go tinkle," she lied, intentionally straining her face and gritting her teeth slightly.

"This isn't exactly a good spot to do that. Can you wait till we get down lower?" Chomper asked her. Isabelle nodded her head with feigned urgency, before looking off into a cliff wall and thinking about how to approach her plan.

Soon, Isabelle, Chomper, Jared, and Jessica reached the bottom of the cliff face. They were now on the top of a big hill, looking down into the Great Valley below them. Isabelle and Jared had a bunch of green food in the Land of Mists, which had generally remained, despite the famine. However, there was far more green food and water here than they were used to!

Red Claw and his group, meanwhile, were most of the way down the cliff, spying on the group. Red Claw had given them instructions not to do anything to reveal themselves until they had spotted Littlefoot and his friends, though they were given the go ahead to kill any in Chomper's group or any Great Valley resident that got in their way before then. Unfortunately for them, two Fast Biters accidentally sent some stones falling to the ground below as they scouted the path down.

Idiots! Why don't you throw yourself down next time! Red Claw snapped at them.

Meanwhile, Chomper and Jessica heard the stones fall and turned around, expecting possible trouble. They didn't yet see Red Claw and his group, but began to head back toward the cliff face, trying to see if, perhaps, someone from the Great Valley had seen him coming and set up an ambush on the path out to try and block him.

"You and your brother stay here with Jessica until I get back. Understood?" Chomper said to Isabelle. The two Longnecks nodded.

Meanwhile, many miles away, the longnecks had talked over what to do with their current situation; Littlefoot and Ali stood with bated breath, and Rhett laid on the ground, fuming. Ali's mother had come to verdict on what they should do; though Littlefoot had won the ritual, and it would be sacrilegious to separate him from her daughter, she agreed with the others that it was not a good idea to integrate him into their herd after everything he had done in the Great Valley that led him here.

"Could we please at least spend the night here before leaving tomorrow? It is our wedding night after all, and it would be most rude to send newlyweds away on their first night together." Ali asked her mother.

Her mother nodded her head. "Yes, I would like to spend at least one more night with my daughter," she said.

Meanwhile, Isabelle whispered to Jared "I have a plan to get rid of the Sharpteeth."

"Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried to kill them?"

"Yes, but this time I won't be the one doing the attacking."

"What did you have in mind?" Jared asked, not sure if he liked the idea. Sure, Chomper and the others had killed his parents, but he was beginning to think that his older sister was going too far to get revenge on what seemed to him to be a better stock of Sharpteeth than one was likely to encounter.

"Chomper said that some of the Great Valley wants him dead. All we have to do is point him and that Sailback out and they'll finish them off for us. Then we can stay with some Longnecks here and live a good life."

"I'd tell you to follow me so we can rat them out now, but we can't do that with Snappy here looming over us," Isabelle growled, looking up at a long, sleek head above them.

"Tooth," Jessica responded, not really understanding what Isabelle just said and not at all understanding what she herself just said.

"She seems kind of sweet. I think she wants to learn Leaf Eater." Jared said to Isabelle.

"Maybe she does, but she probably wants to use it to lure Leaf Eaters into a trap so she can eat them."

"Fine, I'll teach her Leaf Eater as a distraction. You can go get the Great Valley dinosaurs. If Chomper comes back and asks where you are, I'll say that you went off to pee and are shy about urinating around others."

"Well, at least that last part would be telling the truth." Isabelle replied.

"Tooth." Jared said, repeating what Jessica had said earlier, but this time pointing at his teeth.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot was alone with Ali and her mother. "Elana, what you said back there, was that how you really feel about me or were you afraid how the rest of the herd would react and so said that to be politically correct?" Littlefoot asked his new mother-in-law.

"Mother, I really do love him and nothing you or anyone else in the herd say will change my mind." Ali said.

"I know dear; I know. I'm sorry. Perhaps we can still meet in secret once in a while."

"That's good to hear." Littlefoot replied.

"We still have until next morning then?" Ali asked.

"Ali dear, you're welcome around here as much as you like. Though many in the herd now are upset with you, it's Littlefoot that they can't stand. As for him, if you can sneak him in quietly, I won't tell anyone. I would never turn away family, especially since I know that he truly loves you. For so long, a lot of the boys courting you just had one thing in mind, and it certainly wasn't your best interest." Elana replied.

"Thank you, mother," Ali said, rubbing her neck against her mother's. Elana kissed both her and Littlefoot.

"As far as I'm concerned, you two are now husband and wife. Littlefoot reminds me of your father, Ali. So brave and selfless. He sacrificed himself so that we could escape the Land of Mists when things were getting bad and Belly Draggers and other unpleasant monsters were invading." Elana sighed.

"Not every creature in the Land of Mists is a monster." Littlefoot remarked.

"What do you mean?" his mother-in-law asked.

"I sent Chomper there to go live with two Sharpteeth that Ali and I encountered there. They are the only ones, other than Red Claw, Screech, and Thud that work with Sharpteeth outside of their own kind. Chomper always wanted to be friends with other Sharpteeth besides Rexes. Perhaps he can reform them and other Sharpteeth there."

"I hope so."

Rhett, meanwhile, had been eavesdropping on the three of them. He was furious that Elana was secretly still supporting Littlefoot. What was more, she seemed ok with Chomper being a regular Sharptooth and running loose with two other Sharpteeth in the Land of Mists. He was going to tell the herd this. If he could get Elana and Ali ousted, then as Elana's adopted son, he would be the new leader of the herd.

As Littlefoot and Ali headed into a secluded cave to mate, Elana called to them "I think it's best if you take your husband and leave in the morning, before anyone in the herd tries to hurt him. You two are welcome with me, but I don't want them to know that I'm supporting you or else there could be a mutiny against my leadership, and someone could attempt a coup to take over."

"You're worried about Rhett, aren't you?" Ali asked.

"Yes. But as long as he doesn't know about my support of you, he won't have much basis to try and take over." Elana replied. "Have a good time you two." she added as Littlefoot and Ali walked into the cave and out of sight.

Chomper, meanwhile, looked behind him, before he remembered that he hadn't brought any of his friends with him; he had left Jessica with the longnecks. He looked around the narrow canyon he was in, looking for signs of life. Finding nothing, he returned to Jessica, who was learning Leaf Eater from Jared. "Leaf." she said, pointing at a leaf that was next to Jared. Jared nodded.

"How kind of you to teach her Leaf Eater." Chomper said to Jared.

"She won't use it against Leaf Eaters to try and lure them into a trap so she can kill them, will she?" Jared asked Chomper.

Chomper was thinking of how best to reply, recalling what Ichy said that in hunting and getting food, that sometimes there was no "fair", when he noticed that the other Longneck child was missing. "Where's Isabelle?" he asked.

"She, er, had to pee really bad, as she said earlier. She's really shy and doesn't want to risk having others see her urinate. She left about two minutes ago while I was talking to Jessica." Jared lied. He really didn't like the plan; however, he knew that Chomper had said he'd not be as forgiving the next time Isabelle tried to harm him and didn't want to give Chomper cause to eat her.

Red Claw, meanwhile, watched the group. He saw Chomper return to Jessica and had also seen, about 10 minutes earlier, a Longneck leave and head toward a bush, presumably to pee in private, though she kept going after she was done relieving herself, heading further away from the group. What was she up to? He wanted to ambush Chomper right then and there, but preferred Chomper to lead him right to the others. Knowing Chomper, if he wasn't welcome in the Great Valley, he would try and talk to them in someplace private, away from the others. Then he could kill all seven of them, plus the Sailback and the two Longneck children for good measure.

Ichy, meanwhile, couldn't fall asleep. He just had a bad feeling. Finally, he woke up Dil and Woosh.

What is it? Woosh asked him.

I'm worried about Chomper. I just keep fearing he's going to run into trouble. He could have met Red Claw out there in the desert and the Flatteeth might kill him in the Great Valley. I think we should get the group and go check on him. Ichy replied.

Dil yawned. I think they can fend for themselves just fine, but if your gut says so... she said. She shook her head and stretched her legs to try and wake herself up a little more.

Having told them his fears, the entire pack agreed to go check on Chomper and Jessica.

I do agree that this whole thing seems foolhardy. It was unwise of Chomper to go with just Jessica on such a dangerous mission through both Red Claw's and Flattooth territory like that. Thud remarked.

But also unwise of you two to go possibly revealing yourselves to Red Claw. Dil remarked.

It's a risk worth taking. Screech replied.

Isabelle, meanwhile, searched for Leaf Eaters that she could tell about Chomper. She began to hear noises nearby, as though something was following her. "Chomper?" she asked. No response. "Jessica?" she asked, though she knew that Jessica didn't understand Leaf Eater that well. "Hello, is this anyone from the Great Valley?" she asked. Again, no response. She paused, unsure of what to do.

Suddenly, a hungry Brownridge Sharptooth ran toward her, snarling and drooling.

EIHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she let out a high-pitched scream and took off.

Her scream echoed down into the Great Valley below, waking up several residents, Haley among them.

"Who was that?" one of the awoken residents, Lambi, gasped.

"I don't know. Sounds like she's in trouble." Haley replied. They could hear the roar of the Brownridge Sharptooth in the distance.

"Sounds like a Sharptooth!" Lambi gasped.

"I wonder if that's that murderer Chomper sneaking in to try and visit his friends." Haley said.

"I don't know. Doesn't quite sound like the roar of a Rex." Lambi replied.

"Never matter. Let's get a group together and slay this evil Sharptooth!" Haley cried.

Chomper and Jessica turned to stare at each other. They soon realized that neither of them had roared. "If that's not you two, then who is it?" Jared asked them.

Chomper looked up the pass and saw that Red Claw and his goons were headed down. Red Claw had planned to tail him, but one of his number had made too much noise when heading after Isabelle to try and silence her. They could hear Isabelle screaming in the distance, clearly in danger.

"It's a pity that the Sharptooth was indecent enough to bother a peeing Longneck." Chomper sighed, shaking his head.

Jared felt that he should tell Chomper the truth. At least then he'd know to look for her further down into the Great Valley instead of where they currently were, and that could mean the difference between her living and dying. "I can tell you where she went, but you have to promise not to kill her." he said to Chomper and Jessica.

Meanwhile, Ichy, Dil, Screech, Thud, and Woosh began to run. They had spotted the footprints of Chomper, Isabelle, Jared, and Jessica heading toward the Great Valley but they could also see footprints of several Fast Biters, Brownridge Shaprteeth, and a Rex that they were sure was Red Claw himself.

Sounds like your fear of them running into trouble was dead on. Red Claw and his goons must have tailed them. Woosh said to Ichy.

The storm that had been by Littlefoot and Ali had moved its way toward the Great Valley, sending rain behind the group. At least the rain would wash away their scent so that other enemies would have a harder time tracking them.

When Jared had finished his story, Chomper was not amused. "I have half a mind to let her get eaten. It would save me the trouble of doing it myself as I warned her what would happen if she tried to kill me again." he growled, his temper barely in check.

"No, please, save her. Do it for me!" Jared begged him.

"Very well. I'll do it for you. She's very lucky that I'm planning on leaving her here or else I might save her only to eat her myself." Chomper grumbled.

Isabelle, meanwhile, had reached a dead end. She backed herself into a small crevice. The Sharptooth snapped his jaws repeatedly right in front of the crevice, trying to reach her. She was very terrified now. The creature stuck its tongue through the crevice and began to lick at her. "Uck! Your breath smells horrible!" Isabelle gagged. SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! The allosaurus again tried to bite at her, snapping at the crevice. In fear and desperation, she began kicking as hard as she could at the Sharptooth's mouth, soon knocking out several teeth. Her legs became soaked in Sharptooth blood. "Go away! Go away! Leave me alone you monster!" she yelled.

Her efforts had infuriated the Sharptooth, who didn't like having her teeth knocked out. She butted the crevice with her head, shattering the stone and making a way for her to reach Isabelle.

Ok, little b***h, you asked for it! she snapped.

She seized Isabelle. "Help!" Isabelle yelled. A few seconds later, the Sharptooth had swallowed her whole.

Chomper soon came into sight. Where's the Longneck? he asked the Brownridge Sharptooth, fearing she had met a painful end.

Swallowed the little b***h whole after she knocked out some of my teeth. the allosaurus replied. And who the hell are you supposed to be?

Chomper didn't reply, for he knew it wouldn't do any good, but instead he leaped through the air and fastened his jaws on the Sharptooth's neck, biting and pulled until he'd torn the head clear off. He then bit and tore his way through until he'd reached Isabelle from the stomach.

"Consider yourself lucky! I heard where you went after your brother told me where you'd gone and so guessed where to look. It would have served you right if I'd left you there in his stomach!" Chomper scolded her.

Isabelle didn't reply for a while. She felt shame in planning to kill Chomper, whom she finally began to see the good in him. While she had meant to go and get him killed, he'd saved her life again. "I'm sorry. I don't have anything to say in my defense. You're right. I would have deserved it if I'd been stuck in there digesting alive. You are a good Sharptooth; I'd just refused to see it because of what happened to my parents. I guess I believe you now that you only killed them to protect yourself." she said, her face full of shame.

Unfortunately for Chomper, all of this commotion - particularly Isabelle screaming and the allosaur's vocalizations - had gotten the attention of a couple of the Great Valley's resident natives; barely visible through the trees were the silhouettes of a swimmer's head and the tips of a Spiketail's dorsal plates.

Son of a bigmouth, Chomper thought, expecting the worst.

Take the children and go! Chomper told Jessica. She promptly grabbed both of the Longneck children and fled with them in her arms before the Valley residents could get too close. Chomper soon regretted his actions, because he saw that it was not hostile Flatteeth, but instead Ruby, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike. Ducky appeared a bit fatter, in part because she had become pregnant, having found a mate and gotten married in the time since Chomper had left the Great Valley.

"There you are Chomper. I was worried it would be a Sharptooth other than you that I'd find." Ruby said, running over and hugging him.

"Ruby, there are bad Sharpteeth in the Great Valley. Red Claw followed me!" Chomper replied.

Dil, Ichy, Screech, Thud, and Woosh, meanwhile, had climbed up the passage to Saurus Rock. "My feet are killing me! Can I take a rest?" Dil moaned.

"No, we need to find Chomper before Red Claw does." Ichy replied.

Red Claw came into sight of Ruby and Chomper and the others. Well done. Now that you've led me to your friends, I can kill them for killing my brother! Red Claw laughed.

"What?!" Ruby gasped in horror, staring at Chomper as though he was Judas.

"Ruby, I didn't mean to lead him here. I'd come here to warn you that Red Claw is Sharptooth's brother and that he wants you dead!" Chomper said.

"A likely story you turncoat!" the Leaf Eaters, Ruby, and Chomper turned to see Haley and several angry Clubtails.

"Run!" Chomper yelled. The group of them took off, pursued by both Haley and her group and Red Claw and his goons.

The group soon came across Screech, Thud, Dil, Ichy, and Woosh. "It's Screech and Thud!" Ducky cried in alarm.

"Don't worry, they've left Red Claw and are now with me." Chomper told her.

Jessica, meanwhile, continued to flee with the children. She didn't want to fight the Great Valley residents, as Chomper had suggested doing that as a last resort. She was also tailed by some of Red Claw's goons. Up ahead there was a cave they could hide in. They ran into it, Jessica having to hunch over due to it not being able to accommodate her full height. She set the two Longnecks down. She wanted to talk to them but her knowledge of the Flattooth language was still quite poor.

Isabelle didn't know how to respond to the Sailback's attempt at speech, but, with what had just happened earlier in mind, she smiled weakly and said "It's a start."

"Red Claw, remind me again, isn't he the one Chomper says those two Fast Biters used to work for?" Jared asked. Jessica only understood "Fast Biters" and looked outside, trying to see if there were any around. Coincidentally, there were, a large group of the some distance away looking for them, though the children hadn't spotted them yet. They hadn't yet spotted them either. Jessica pointed at the distant Fast Biters. The children understood and moved with her deeper into the cave, hoping to avoid notice. Luckily for them, it was a cave that had more than one exit and, after traveling for a while inside the cave, they soon found themselves back in the open in the Great Valley. They had, though none of them knew it, come out near the Smoking Mountain on the edge of the Great Valley. It was, by now, only a few minutes before dawn. The plan that she and Chomper had concocted seemed to have gone very wrong. She didn't feel that it was safe to remain here much longer, for if Flatteeth were already awake from the mess that Red Claw had made, then countless more would soon awake when the sun rose. Though Chomper had wanted to leave the children here, it now seemed very risky for her to head back with them with Red Claw, Fast Biters, Brownridge Sharpteeth, and scores of angry Flatteeth seeking to kill her.

Meanwhile, over 70 miles away, Littlefoot and Ali awoke. They had mated the previous night and hoped that Ali would soon have their first clutch of eggs. Being married and soon to have children, they could now be on the Great Valley Council and counter Haley. The two of them were still taken aback by the angry reception of Ali's herd to Littlefoot and even their growing dislike for Ali herself.

Elana greeted the two. "Hope you had a great first night. I think it's best if you get going before the herd sees me with you." she said

"Too late. We already know I overheard you talking last night with them. It's clear that you don't belong either as the leader of this herd or in it at all, Elana. The herd has appointed me it's new leader, and now, I'm banishing Littlefoot and you from ever returning, and Ali too, since she won't have me." Rhett said.

"Go to hell Rhett!" Ali shouted at him.

"Don't worry, I'm already on that; in fact, I've already reserved extras spots so all three of you to come with me," Rhett snarked, grinning and baring his teeth as he turned back to the herd and waved his tail at the three exiles.

"Well, it would have to freeze over before I ever became your mate." Ali snorted. As a parting shot, she swatted a rock with her tail, which flew through the air and conked Rhett squarely in the nose. "There's something to remember me, the woman you'll never have, by." she laughed, before leaving with her husband and mother. It was more then worth getting banished just to see Rhett's reaction of fury and unfulfillment.

"Don't let any branches hit you on the way out, traitors!" Lerris called, throwing one last insult at Littlefoot, Ali and Elana as they disappeared into the trees.

Ali, angry at her herd's betrayal and determined to get the last word in, called out "Hey Lerris, we're going to the Great Valley, where my new mate already lives and can get us in. We'll have more green food and water than you. Enjoy your life out here!"

Lerris prepared to retort, but another Longneck interrupted her, saying "Save your breath, Ler. They're not worth it."

Chomper, meanwhile, hadn't been able to tell his friends about Jared and Isabelle, for he and his Sharptooth pack had come under attack by both Red Claw and his goons and Haley, her friends, and several irate Valley residents, who saw him and the other Sharpteeth as a threat, before he'd had the chance. His group, had, unfortunately, been forced to kill a Spiketail who had been about to kill Dil and Woosh. A Fast Biter also lay dead, having had his throat torn out by Chomper to stop him from attacking Ruby.

Get away from her!" came an angry voice. Chomper turned to stare and was hit with a rock right between the eyes. He winced in pain.

A handsome male Swimmer approached Ducky and began to lead her away by the hand. "Dale, I do not want to be led away, Chomper is my friend. He is! He is!"

"Your friend?"

"Yes, the Sharptooth I tolded you about. He would not hurt me, oh no, no, no."

"Are you sure my dear? I did hear that he killed Hank and Vinnie."

"He did not mean to. They forceded him, they did."

"Well, even if you're sure he's safe, I think it's best if you still come with me. A pregnant Swimmer would make a tempting target to those other Sharpteeth."

"Chomper, this is Dale. He and I gotted married. I am sorry that he hurted you." Ducky said to Chomper.

"She is a target. Red Claw is after her and her friends for killing his brother. You should go with your husband." Chomper told Ducky.

"You do have a good point. Since I do not have any weapons like spikes, clubs, or long tails, I should go with my mate to safety. I should, especially since I am pregnant." Ducky replied.

"Yes, you are pr-egg-nant." Chomper joked. Dale shot a scolding look at Chomper, reprimanding him for his awful pun.

Jessica, meanwhile, could hear the chaos of Leaf Eaters, Red Claw's Sharpteeth, and Chomper's group fighting in the distance. She was worried about Chomper but was reluctant to bring the children back into that mess after fleeing, at Chomper's request, from it earlier. They had planned to leave the children here, but with Red Claw about, there was a big risk that they'd get eaten. She also felt that with it being after sunrise, that there was a big risk that their combined pack would come under attack from more and more of the Great Valley residents. It seemed best to abort the mission and try, if they could, to come back some other time.

Though her command of the Flattooth language was still quite poor, she commanded the children "Go!" and pointed back up toward Saurus Rock and out of the Great Valley. They stared at her.

"Why? I thought we were staying here." Isabelle asked.

"No safe! Go!" she said again, pointing once more toward Saurus Rock.

"This is all your fault Isabelle! You messed everything up!" Jared snapped at his sister.

"I'm sorry." Isabelle replied, hanging her head in shame.

"Go!" Jessica shouted again impatiently.

The two headed back up the rocky steps toward Saurus Rock to get out of the Great Valley and back to safety. Jessica, meanwhile, ran as fast as she could toward the sound of the commotion, hoping to help her friends before it was too late.

Meanwhile, as Ducky fled with her husband, Cera's father and stepmother arrived. "Cera, is it true that Chomper is in the Valley and that he brought Red Claw here?" he asked, not seeing Chomper, who was fighting two Brownridge Sharpteeth and two Clubtails at once and trying not to be killed, yet.

"He's here but he didn't bring Red Claw. Red Claw brought himself." Cera replied.

Red Claw, meanwhile, confronted Screech and Thud. You two are alive. I see you've joined Chomper.

Yes, he saved my life once in the past and spared me after he defeated the others. You'd never have done that, so I joined the better Sharptooth. Thud replied.

Yeah, we aren't taking orders from you anymore! Screech snapped.

Nearby, Chomper, deciding to try and deal with several foes at once, picked up, a Thicknose that had been trying to kill him and who wouldn't hear him out, and threw the creature several feet at a row of advancing Fast Biters, knocking them over and killing two of them with the weight of the dinosaur he'd thrown at them. He'd had trouble picking up the Thicknose with his small arms, but, luckily, the Thicknose had made it easy for him as she'd jumped right at him, meaning he didn't have to stretch so far to grab and seize her.

Your friend there seems to have changed a lot. Doesn't seem to mind hurting Flatteeth now. Red Claw remarked to his former minions as some of the surviving Fast Biters mauled the Thicknose to death.

Mr. Threehorn and his mate Tria were also shocked. "Chomper just killed that Thicknose!" he gasped.

"No, he threw the Thicknose who was trying to kill him, at the Fast Biters, who were also trying to kill him, and they killed the Thicknose." Cera corrected him.

"Yes, but if he hadn't thrown into them..." Topps retorted.

After the Thicknose had been killed, Chomper was greeted by another attacking leaf-eater; a Flyer swooped down from the sky and pecked him with his beak before turning up again and circling around for another strike. Woosh attacked the Flyer, killing him before he could damage his eyes. He didn't like where things were headed. True, Sharpteeth killed for food for a living but the longer things went on, the more Leaf Eaters were likely to get killed in the fight. He didn't want that to happen. No need to create more Isabelles and Jareds if he could help it. He felt it best to retreat. He wished that he had the children with him now so that he could pass them off to his friends; however, given how dangerous it was, it was best that he'd sent them with Jessica. He hoped that they'd gotten away.

Retreat! Chomper called to his group.

"Retreat?" Ruby asked.

"Things are getting out of hand. We need to fall back before more Great Valley residents get killed. Also, perhaps Red Claw will follow us and leave you alone."

As Chomper and the other Sharpteeth fled, Haley asked Topps and Tria, "Aren't you two going to help us fight the Sharptooth invaders?" Topps and Tria pursued Chomper along with Haley and the others; their hearts were not in it, however.

Red Claw's Fast Biters pursued Screech and Thud, ordered by him to kill them for defecting. A bunch of Leaf Eaters moved into the path of Chomper, blocking his path. Three Brownridge Sharpteeth were 200 feet behind him, getting closer and closer. Chomper looked behind him. Though they weren't totally visible, he could see glimpses of them through some trees.

"You know, if they catch up to me and kill me, there's nothing stopping them from going after you next," he said.

Some of the Leaf Eaters realized that he was right and hastily retreat; others, however, hated him too much to want to let him run away. Topps, Tria, Haley, Magnus, and some others only 20 feet from him. "You should be able to finish off this Rex, being Threehorns." Haley told them.

Ruby, Ducky, Dale, Spike, Cera, and Petrie, meanwhile, fled from Red Claw's group of Sharpteeth. They didn't like to leave Chomper, as they thought he had something to tell them; however, they had been warned that Red Claw wanted them dead for the death of Sharptooth.

"Me wonder what Chomper wanted." Petrie said.

"Perhaps he just wanted to tell us that Red Claw was Sharptooth's brother and that he wanted to kill us."

An allosaurus nearly bit into Ruby but was deterred when Spike smacked her in the face with his tail, knocking her over and drawing blood. "That you Spike." Ruby said.

"Dahhhh!" Spike replied.

Topps and Tria, meanwhile, hesitated. Yes, Chomper and his new friends had just killed some Great Valley residents; however, it was clear to anyone that cared to see that they were only killing in self-defense. As to why they'd come, neither of them were sure. Chomper had saved Tricia from Haley's children so he couldn't be as evil as Haley made him out to sound. "What are you waiting for, kill the vermin!" Haley shouted at the two Threehorns.

Screech, Thud, Dil, Ichy, and Woosh ran, or flew in the case of Ichy and Woosh, past Chomper and headed toward the path to Saurus Rock. Chomper still hadn't encountered Jessica and hoped that she'd found a way out of the Valley. As for the children, though it may have been safe to leave them in a secluded spot in the Great Valley where Red Claw wasn't likely to find them and where they could eventually make their way to the Great Valley herd, there was no way to have told Jessica this in the split-second decision that he'd made, which turned out to be a blunder as it had been his friends and not Haley, to take the children and flee.

Red Claw and his goons approached Chomper. Topps and Tria were now right beside him, very hesitant to strike.

"Kill him!" Haley shouted at them.

"No!" Topps yelled at Haley.

"I can't. He saved our daughter from your brats." Tria replied.

Before Chomper, Tria, or Topps could react, Haley struck Tria in the head with the club on her tail, swinging as hard as she could. Tria's skull shattered, killing her.

"You devilish hag!" Topps bellowed. However, before he could react further, Red Claw attacked him while he was distracted. Red Claw got him in the middle, damaging vital organs and killing him.

"No!" Chomper yelled.

Both Red Claw and Haley moved to attack him, but he sidestepped them. He tail-slammed Red Claw, knocking him over. He didn't have any chance of getting his fangs into Haley and doing serious damage, but he did what he could, slashing her on the side with the claws on his feet, drawing blood. After this, he was forced to flee to avoid Red Claw's group of Sharpteeth, who took off after him.

Chomper thought he might be a goner, with Red Claw and his goons on his tail and a long climb up toward Saurus Rock ahead of him. Up ahead, he saw Jessica, who had been heading back down to see him. He climbed up till he reached Jessica at the base of Saurus Rock. His heart ached for Cera, whose step-mother had been murdered by Haley and whose father had been killed by Red Claw. However, despite his grief, it was his and Jessica's safety that was the most pressing to him at the moment.

Red Claw's goons neared them, climbing up the stony steps toward them and being about 100 feet below them. Chomper, I have an idea. We can push these rocks at them. she suggested.

Push down Saurus Rock?! The Great Valley residents will never forgive us if we destroy it! Chomper gasped.

I don't think we're going to forgive us anyway and we'll never be able to outrun them.

You have an alternate plan to get out of the Great Valley?

Yes. she replied, pointing down at a body of water about 300 feet below them. It was wide enough to hold the both of them and it led to a waterfall that went out of the Great Valley.

You sure this is safe? he asked.

It's our best chance.

Deciding that there was nothing better to do, the two leaned against the rock face of Saurus Rock and, by pushing with all of their might, the Rex and the Sailback were able to break a huge amount of rocks lose from the landmark, sending tons of boulders down at Red Claw's goons, killing them. Red Claw, fortunately for him, had been close enough to the bottom that he was able to get back down safely in time. He was forced to take an alternate route out of the Great Valley.

Chomper and Jessica, meanwhile, since they had blocked the path forward by destroying Saurus Rock and sending boulders everywhere, jumped down 300 feet and landed in the water. It hurt terribly when they impacted, but they didn't break any limbs. Jessica helped Chomper swim to the waterfall, which they went over and fell another 11 feet, and out of the Great Valley. The two soon made their way to shore, safe though tired and very sore.

Red Claw's goons had mauled the body of Tria before they had headed after Chomper. This left Haley a convenient alibi, coupled with the injury that Chomper had given her, to pass herself off as the heroine that had tried and failed to save Topps and Tria from Chomper and Red Claw and that had been wounded for her efforts.

"I don't believe Chomper would have killed my father and Tria." Cera argued, holding back tears.

"Me neither." said a crying Tricia.

"I saw what I saw and they gave me this." Haley replied, showing her wound.

"So, they killed several Great Valley residents and destroyed Saurus Rock. Do we not see now how foolish it was to listen to have listened to those old Longnecks and let that Rex go?" Lambi asked the Great Valley residents.

The valleydwellers were fuming; they roared and loudly protested Chomper's continued survival, calling for him to be hunted down and put to justice.

"If some kids knocking down one tooth gave us bad luck, imagine what sharpteeth knocking down the whole thing will do to us," one resident, who recalled a far more minor incident involving Saurus Rock, growled.

Littlefoot, meanwhile, unaware that Mr. Threehorn and Tria had been killed, Saurus Rock destroyed, and his problems with Haley in the Great Valley made worse, said "I'm sorry I brought you into this mess, Elana. If only we'd left earlier."

"Stop blaming yourself Littlefoot." Elana, who had been listening to him apologize for the past two hours, replied.

"I know, Mama Longneck. I know." he sighed.

"Rhett was always power-hungry and controlling. I guess I thought I could change him. I was wrong." Elana sighed.

"At least living in the Great Valley will beat living in our herd." Ali said to her mother.

"Still, today has been a rather hard day for me. I haven't been so down since Alvin died." Elana said, referring to Ali's father.

"What happened with him?" Littlefoot asked.

"When our herd was going to leave the Land of Mists, a section of them wanted to remain, in spite of the land changing so terribly after the endless sky water. They thought staying there was better than migrating. Alvin went back to try and talk them out of it and was ambushed by a Rex and killed." Elana sighed.

"I feel your pain," Littlefoot responded, lowering his head.

"Littlefoot, I don't think you ate much when you were with our herd. You must be famished." Elana said to him.

"I can handle it. I once went across the Mysterious Beyond with little food while avoiding a dangerous Rex." he replied.

"Still, I think you should eat," Elana said.

"I suppose you're right." Littlefoot sighed.

After traveling for five hours, they finally reached a section of trees, though they did not have much fruit or green leaves on them. It appeared that some other Longnecks had gotten much of the high-up fruit and leaves and other dinosaurs had devoured most of the lower-hanging fruit and leaves.

Ali lowered her head to the ground to see if any of the past browsers had accidentally scattered anything on the ground. She was disappointed by what she saw; just some twigs, half-eaten fruits and coarse, dry leaves. Beside her, Littlefoot lowered his neck slightly to meet the branches of a young ginkgo.

"I'm afraid that there's not enough here for all of us." Ali sighed.

"You and your mother take what's left then." he told her.

"But what about you?" Elana asked.

"Family first." he replied.

"My belief, on which I was willing to be banished over, has proven correct. Littlefoot is indeed a worthy mate for you, Ali." Elana said.

"Aren't you hungry though?" Ali asked him. His stomach growled.

"Yes, I am. But I'm not in any danger of starvation so I insist that you two eat it." he replied.

Littlefoot moved out of the way of the young, leafy tree he found to let Ali and her mother feed; he smiled, and bent down to eat some fallen dry leaves; though he could stomach excessively dry green food more than he used to, he couldn't help but be reminded of something he tasted when he was much younger as he ate. In the distance, he could spot something moving toward them. What was it? As they moved closer, he saw with alarm that it was a group of Hookthumb Sharpteeth.

"Sharpteeth!" he yelled to Ali and Elana.

"What?" asked Ali's mother.

"Sharpteeth are coming!" he yelled again. Elana and Ali turned around; their eyes widened. He had decimated Hookthumb Sharpteeth when he was younger. However, he'd had a herd of Yellow Bellies at his back and had the advantage of having the Sharpteeth near a cliff. This time, he had only Ali and Elana and was out in the open. The best weapons, besides their tails, that he could think of using against them were the trees. If he could swing his tail like a whip, he might be able to send some of these trees sailing at them.

However, as the sharpteeth drew nearer, something started to dawn on Littlefoot; they were very small in comparison to himself, and much smaller than he remembered. They were hardly any bigger than one of Screech and Thud's breed.

Maybe we won't have to put too much effort into scaring them off. he thought.

"You guys want to play?" he snarled at the Hookthumb Sharpteeth. As they drew nearer, he used his tail to whack a tree at them, knocking two of them over. "You like that?" he taunted them.

One of the hookthumbs rolled back onto his feet and shook his head. Which one of us had the bright idea to hunt longnecks today? he complained.

I thought we were all hungry. As there are 15 of us and only three of them, we should be able to get at least one of them. one of them replied.

I suppose you're right, the first one admitted; he looked past the bull that initially knocked him over and focused on two longnecks that stood close to a tiny grove of trees.

I say we send four of us to keep the big one busy while the rest of us take down those other two. one of them suggested. The others nodded in agreement with her. Four of the Baryonxes ran at Littlefoot, distracting his attention; the other 11 snuck toward Ali and Elana till they had them surrounded. Littlefoot soon dispatched the four Sharpteeth and turned around to help Ali and Elana. To his horror, he found that the Sharpteeth attacking him had been a mere distraction. Ali and Elana had both been injured. Ali's wasn't serious, as she'd only been bitten in the leg; Elana's, however, was more serious, for she'd been bitten in the neck. Flying into a rage, Littlefoot swung his tail and stomped his feet, killing five of them and breaking limbs of three others. With Ali's help, they were able to send the group of Sharpteeth away empty-handed.

"And don't come back!" Littlefoot shouted at the Sharpteeth as they left.

Littlefoot turned to Ali and Elana. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"My leg is bleeding, but it isn't bad." Ali replied.

"I got my neck cut but I should be fine." Elana replied, though the look on her face made it clear that she didn't fully believe what she was saying.

As they traveled toward the Great Valley, Elana stumbled many times. "Are you sure you're all right?" Littlefoot asked her.

"I believe I am." she replied, before cringing in pain. Her daughter eyed her worriedly.

"Maybe we should find somewhere safe to rest." Ali said.

After searching for four hours, in which Elana's condition worsened, they found a section of the ground that had been torn open by a past earthquake, leading to an underground cave. Where the cave had properly opened, they were not yet aware. They soon reached a section of the cave that dropped down below from a cliff into a lava river below. Where they were at, they were safe from the lava, though they were at least warmed by it and could see where they were at better than they normally could in a cave due to the light of the fire. A couple of tickly fuzzies were already in the cave but didn't seem to care about the presence of the longnecks.

Elana found a flat rock to rest on, near one of the walls of the cave and just far enough away from the lava below to be neither too hot or too cold; she went on top of the rock, got down on her belly and rested her head on the floor.

Littlefoot and Ali surveyed the rest of the cave; besides the fuzzies, there weren't any other animals accompanying them, and there weren't any signs that predators had ever set foot there.

"Mother, your wound on your neck is worse than you're telling us." Ali said, her face wearing an expression of concern.

"It's not so bad, assuming it doesn't get infected or I don't bleed out."

"Anything we can do to help?" Littlefoot asked.

"Perhaps it will improve if I rest enough," Elana said, hoping that things would get better for herself.

Littlefoot headed outside the cave and found that it was raining again. "Just great!" he groaned. He searched around and found some cattails to tie around his mother-in-law's wound. He headed back to the cave, carrying the cattails in his mouth.

Littlefoot put his hind limbs up on Elana's rock. She lowered her head and neck accordingly.

"What do I do with these now that I have them?" Littlefoot asked Ali, through a mouth full of cattails He wrapped the cattails around Elana's neck. After he was done wrapping it, he said "Now we've stopped the bleeding."

"I'd like to rest for a while." Elana said. The other two nodded.

Meanwhile, Chomper and the others finally arrived back at their cave in the Land of Mists.

Much to their dismay, they found that scavenger Sharpteeth had made off with the rest of their Longneck supply while they were out.

Great, nothing to eat! Screech whined.

Guess not. Chomper sighed.

"We could always eat the Longnecks." Ichy suggested.

"Eat Isabelle. She ruined everything!" Jared snapped. He was furious that his sister had ruined his chances of living in the Great Valley with all of that green food.

"No, I'm not eating Isabelle. Unfortunately, I'm hungry and need to eat something soon." Chomper sighed. "Do you think you two can stay here and not cause trouble? I don't think you want to see us hunt Leaf Eaters."

"We promise." the two Longnecks replied.

Chomper reared up and motioned his head towards the vent of the cave that led to the Land of Mists, prompting his hunting partners to head in that direction. Isabelle and Jared watched them leave.

Woosh said I usually go for fish, lizards, and flightless birds. What did you have in mind?

I go for whatever can fill me and also what I think won't kill me when I try and hunt it. Chomper said.

About an hour after Chomper and his group left, Isabelle and Jared heard something moving in the cave.

"Get behind me," Isabelle said, bracing for something to show itself. A large Sarcosuchus came into sight and moved toward them, roaring and snarling. The two climbed a rock formation, getting up out of his reach. Isabelle tried to talk to him, though her vocabulary was limited. You're a Sharptooth.

Yes, I am. Where did you learn to talk? the yellow-eyed Belly Dragger asked.

Isabelle looked around uncertainly. You're a Sharptooth. she repeated.

You don't have much to say, do you? the Belly Dragger snorted.

Meanwhile, as Isabelle tried to converse with the Sarcosuchus, Chomper's group wasn't having much luck.

"There has to be something else out here we can eat besides this!" Ichy exclaimed. Chomper's party had found a Spiketail body lying around not long into their hunt; unfortunately, the meat had gone bad to the point that not even a carrion-eating flyer would eat it.

Chomper sniffed the air and caught a whiff of two Onehorns. Fraid it might be a bit of slim pickings for all of us, but it'll at least hold us over till we can find something more. he said.

Meanwhile, the two Onehorns were unaware that they were being tracked. "Seems kind of late to be out. It's getting cold. I swear this cold time is one of the worst out there. I expect only the Great Valley is unharmed and even they must be having less green food than normal. Today I saw white ground sparkles falling over the place when I went up to the top of Flathead Peak. We should take shelter. The ground sparkles are falling harder and the wind is getting stronger." the female said.

"It was your crazy idea to try and go to the bubbling spring this late in the day!" her mate grumbled.

"I'm sore." she whined.

"Well..." he began, but paused, hearing something move nearby. "What was that?" he asked.

"No idea. You're probably hearing things. It's getting late. The Bright Circle went down and the Night Circle doesn't look like she's going to come out tonight." she replied.

"Hey, over here!" Ichy yelled, hiding out of sight.

Chomper shook his head. He didn't like the idea of using the knowledge of the Leaf Eater language to lure Flatteeth into an ambush. Then again, what did it matter if they were caught this way or caught by running at them yelling "GRRRR!", for they would still be killed and eaten either way in the end? In fact, this way could lead to less harm to them by minimizing their prey's chances of fighting back, which was an especially good idea since they were already tired and sore from their misadventure into the Great Valley.

"Go check and see what they want." the male told his wife.

"Oh all right!" she grumbled, heading over toward the direction of Ichy's voice.

Chomper pounced on the female, getting in a fatal bite as she came into sight. She died with a look of shock on her face that a Sharptooth would know Leaf Eater. He felt horrible, but then reminded himself that in hunting that there was no "fair". The other Onehorn took off, pursued by Dil, Ichy, Woosh, Screech, Thud, and Jessica. Chomper remained behind to guard the dead Onehorn.

As he ran, the surviving Onehorn called at his assailants "You already killed my mate, why are you after me!?" He ran and soon encountered three other members of his herd, all male. "There's Sharpteeth after me and they know how to talk. They killed Onisi!" he cried.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot awoke. His movements soon awoke Ali. "I'm sorry dear. I should have been quieter. I'm going to check on Elana." he said.

"I'll go with you." she replied.

Littlefoot nodded his head. When they reached Elana, she was lying down, and awoke as her daughter and Littlefoot drew near. "Are you feeling better?" Littlefoot asked.

"Yes." she replied.

"That's good. I'm going to see if I can find anything to eat." Littlefoot said, heading out of the cave.

Littlefoot poked his head out of the crack of the ground he and the other two first entered the cave from and scanned his surroundings. There was no green food in the immediate area - no broad-leaved trees with good leaves, no coniferous trees bearing needles or pine cones, and no lush ferns on the ground. The longneck furrowed his brows.

Not finding any food nearby, he set out to look for it. About five minutes later, Ali, while exploring the cave, happened to find several leafy bushes that were growing by the water and had been sustained by the light and heat of the lava. Perhaps the seeds had been spread into here by animal droppings. "These look tasty. I wonder where Littlefoot has gotten to." she said to herself.

Littlefoot was having poor luck in his own endeavor for food; almost everything he was finding was either dried out, unappetizing or dead. The only plants he had found that were at at all green were a kind he recognized as being poisonous and unfit for consumption.

Littlefoot returns to the cave. "I have bad news; we are going to starve."

"No, we're not. I found some food." Ali replied.

"Wonderful! Where is it?" he asked.

"Come with me."

Meanwhile, Isabelle and Jared had fled from the cave and into the Land of Mists, pursued by the Belly Dragger. Isabelle tried the classic bend a branch back trick to try to slap the Belly Dragger as it walked by. The trick worked, for all of five seconds The Belly Dragger snarled after being hit in his face before he chomped down on the branch, crushing bits of it into sawdust.

I farted a rock! she cried as she and her brother galloped away at full speed; she hoped that this remark would cause the Belly Dragger to break out into a fit of laughter long enough for her and Jared to get away.

Farted a rock?! What? Is that some kind of joke? the Sarcosuchus remarked.

Isabelle and her brother ran right into one of the Onehorns that Chomper and his group was fighting. "What where you're going you stupid Longnecks! Can't you see we're busy with these accursed Sharpteeth?" one of them bellowed at the children.

"Where's Chomper?" Jared asked, looking up at Ichy - he was barely dodging swings of the spiked frill of one of the Onehorns.

"He's not too far away, he's guarding a kill we made earlier," the Sharp Beak squawked. Isabelle raised a brow; if they already had meat, why were they still hunting? "We only went for two of them. Unfortunately, after we got one down, the other one went and got friends."

The Belly Dragger arrived a moment later and noticed the kids, the group of Sharpteeth, and the attacking Onehorns; he stood there, confused on what to do. Isabelle, after a minute's hesitancy, kicked a rock at one of the Onehorns to stop him from goring Jessica. This rock - which landed just below his eye and bounced onto the ground after impact - did not do any significant damage to the Onehorn, but it did stop his advances; he halted and looked over to whoever threw the rock at him

"If you were aiming at the Sharptooth, you missed!" he grunted, automatically assuming that the fellow leaf-eaters were trying to help him and not his assailants. Trying to dissuade Jessica from attacking him as he had his head turned, he shook his spike-frilled head as he spoke.

Woosh landed on a Onehorn in the center of the back and just stood there. It bucked and kicked to try and get her off but her claws had a bird like grip, which enabled her to keep her balance. As the Onehorn danced around like an idiot, it bumped into the others, which obstructed their attempt to advance.

"What are you doing? Get out of the way." one snapped.

"There is something on my back, someone get it off."

"I got this." one said, taking a whack with their tail just before she flew away, causing him to smack the Onehorn instead. "Did I get it?"

"No, it's on you now."

"Really? Where?" Woosh bit her. "Ouch!" she cried.

Ichy caught on and flew onto the back of another Onehorn and began to tickle him with his feathers. "There's another one flying biters on my back!" the Onehorn cried, laughing as Ichy tickled him.

The Sarcosuchus saw Dil fighting a Onehorn. Are you in trouble miss? he asked her.

Take a guess.

I'll take that as a yes. he replied.

The Onehorn found an opening and thrusted its horn at Dil. The Onehorn narrowly missed Dil. Jared pulled on the tail of the Onehorn, distracting him from Dil. "Are you out of your mind kid? They're the enemy, not me!" he yelled at Jared. While he was distracted, the male Belly Dragger managed to latch his jaws onto his throat. "What in the world?!" the Onehorn yelled before dying.

"I can't believe this; the kids are aiding the monsters!" one of the Onehorns groaned.

"No, they aren't, they're helping us." Dil replied.

I've never seen a Sailback, a Belly Dragger, two Sharp Beaks, two Fast Biters, and a Rex working together before. And I've never seen two Longnecks helping Sharpteeth before either. the Sarcosuchus remarked.

Now you have, Jessica replied, sidestepping a charging Styracosaurus and letting him run horn-first into a tree.

Could I join you? My own pack thought I was too much of a smart aleck to be with them. he said, slaying the treed Onehorn.

Sure. Jessica replied.

Soon, all of the Onehorns were dead. Chomper, tired of the delay for, as he thought, just one Onehorn, came, carrying the dead Onehorn with him. "Could you please eat those somewhere else?" Isabelle asked Thud, who had been about to eat one of the Onehorns.

Thud, who didn't understand Leaf Eater, stared at Isabelle blankly. Soon, feeling hungry, he began to eat one of the Onehorns. Isabelle and Jared turned away, revolted.

"Hey, those Longnecks helped us!" Dil remarked.

Jared nodded. "I didn't want to see those Onehorns hurt you." he said.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot, Ali, and Elana continued to sleep. Nearby, a small group of Ceratosaurus had caught whiff of their scent. One of the Sharpteeth tracked their smell to the tear in the ground the longnecks had found in the first place. As the Sharpteeth neared the cave, Elana woke up first due to the sound of their footsteps. She saw the Sharpteeth and quickly shook Littlefoot and Ali rather than trying to run and save herself. "What is the matter, mother?" Ali asked, groggy. Elana motioned her head towards the opening of the cave.

"Sharpteeth!" she cried, fully waking up Littlefoot.

The Sharpteeth entered the cave. Littlefoot quickly got up and smacked one of them in the head with his tail. The Sharptooth was knocked up but soon got back up to go for him again. The other Sharpteeth went for Ali and Elana. Ali tailwhacked a green ceratosaurus while a red ceratosaurus jumped on Elana's back and began to tear some of the flesh like Sharptooth did to Littlefoot's mother years earlier. "NOOOO!" Littlefoot and Ali cried in horror.

Littlefoot bared his teeth and lowered his head; memories of that day ran through his mind. The sounds, how fast it went by, the blood; the blood...

Before Ali knew it, Littlefoot was up on his feet, roaring and charging towards Elana, eyes fixed on the Ceratosaurus on her back.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!" Littlefoot yelled, losing himself in a fit of rage and ferociously attacking all Cerataosauruses within his reach wtih his tail repeatedly as though he was a Brownshirt fascist thug and his tail was a billy-club he was beating the Sharpteeth with. The Sharpteeth began to retreat, but Littlefoot,still enraged, was doing his best to try and kill them, not aware of his surroundings or that he could potentially be killed by taking on all of the Sharpteeth by himself. Ali joined in the attack on the Shaprteeth and together, the two put up a ferocious enough fight that the Sharpteeth, injured and bleeding from the their injuries, fled, deciding that it wasn't worth it to try and eat these Longnecks.

"And stay out!" Littlefoot snapped, flicking his tail at the fleeing Sharpteeth. He turned his attention to Elana; the expression on his face shifted from one of rage to one of grave concern. "Ali, we need to find something quickly to stop the bleeding!" he said.

The two of them used the plants that they found in the cave to try and bandage Elana's wound to stop the bleeding. They were able to stop the bleeding but it soon became clear that important arteries had been severed. "Ali, I want you to take Littlefoot and go to the Great Valley and have your eggs. You need to stop this Haley."

"But what about you?" her daughter asked, started to cry.

"I can't go on. I'm dying." Elana replied.

"Mother, please!" Ali begged.

"Go to the Great Valley. Set things right. Be strong." Elana said. She breathed a few more times, then lay still.

"Mother! No!" Ali cried, launching herself onto her mother's body and sobbing hard. Littlefoot didn't know what to say so he just stood there silently. He stood there for a long while, saying nothing. Finally, he said "I'm sorry Ali. I shouldn't have brought you guys into this. it's all my fault."

"You couldn't have known this was going to happen. Besides, we would have still had the protection of the herd if Rhett hadn't interfered."

Littlefoot felt anger course through him. Rhett, who'd called Ali a b***h, who'd viewed her as mere property to be won, who had gotten Ali and Elana banished out of jealousy. Rhett, who had lied to Ali as a child and had always hated Chomper for helping expose him. Rhett had even been ok with the idea of killing him in order to get Ali as his own. "I'm going to get that sorry excuse for a dinosaur and shove his head so far up his cloaca that it'll come out his mouth!" Littlefoot snarled.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea." Ali replied.

"You don't think his head will fit?" Littlefoot asked.

"I don't think his cloaca has had anything as nasty as his head in it to be honest." Ali replied. Her mate laughed. "However, mother was killed by Sharpteeth, not Rhett. It's no use going back to the herd and risk taking them all on to get at that losersaurus."

"You're right! I'm going to find those Sharpteeth and finish them off just like I did with Sharptooth!" Littlefoot vowed. He was about to go make good on his threat when Chomper flashed before his mind. He'd let Chomper go free knowing he could kill other's parents and mates. Why were these hungry Sharpteeth any different? Besides, killing the Sharpteeth in a blood-lust couldn't bring Elana back to life. "No, wait, never mind. That's a foolish idea. Let's just lay her to rest where her body won't get eaten and then we can go back home to the Great Valley." he sighed.

After moving Elana's body to a spot in the back of the cave and blocking the path with rocks to keep it safe, Littlefoot and Ali sat down next to each other, crossing their necks and mourning over Elana; from here on out, they would have to travel alone.

Perhaps, when they finally reached it, the Great Valley would provide them some solace, they thought...

After traveling all day, the two reached the Great Valley around nightfall. "I see you found Ali though it seems that it took you longer to find Ali and come back than I thought it would take for you to find Ali and come back." Ruby said to them as she greeted the two. "Also, you two don't look very happy for being just married. Are you having trouble already?" she asked.

Littlefoot explained what had happened with Rhett and how they had been banished and how Elana had been killed by Sharpteeth. When he was done, Ruby said "I'm sorry to hear about that. Cera lost her father and Tria. Red Claw attacked the Great Valley and killed them."

"Red Claw?! How did he get in?" Littlefoot gasped in horror.

"He must have followed Chomper in. Chomper came to tell us that he learned that Red Claw is the brother of the Sharptooth that killed your mother, the one that you killed. Red Claw wants you, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike dead, and me too for helping you and being friendly to Chomper. Chomper wanted to say something else but Haley showed up and ruined everything." Ruby told him.

"Is Chomper all right?" Littlefoot asked.

"Yes. He and a Sailback escaped by going off one of the waterfalls out the Great Valley. However, they broke Saurus Rock when they escaped. I think they were taking out Red Claw's goons. We never found Red Claw's body though, so we think he still is alive and managed to get out of the Great Valley. It seems that Screech and Thud appear to be working with Chomper now instead of Red Claw. Unfortunately, Chomper and his friends came under attack by the Valley residents when Haley raised a stir and, well, they ended up killing some of them. Haley is blaming the deaths of Topps, Tria, and the others on Chomper and claiming that he and Red Claw were the masterminds of everything. It's good you came back. Now that you are married, you can get on the council and check that crazy Clubtail. With Topps and Tria gone, she could have enough power in the parliament to change many rules in the Great Valley." Ruby said.

After talking with Cera and consoling her, Littlefoot and Ali went to look for a place to rest. As they walked through the grass, Magnus called to him "Hey Flathead, who's that you got with you?"

"That's Ali, my new wife."

"She'd have to be pretty dumb to marry you, but then again, my mother said that you Longnecks have tiny brains!" he laughed.

"Who is this little brat?" Ali asked her husband.

"Magnus, Haley's son."

"Why am I not surprised?" Ali scowled.

"Hey cloaca-breath, why do you look so glum?" Magnus asked him.

"'Cloaca-breath!' That little brat needs to watch his mouth!" Ali snarled.

"You're clearly new here, Flathead. I don't have to watch my mouth for anyone cuz my mother has a lot of friends on the Great Valley Council." he replied.

"You want to try me kid!" Ali snarled, ready to smack some respect into him.

"Ali, don't." Littlefoot said to her. "Listen Magnus, leave Ali alone. She lost her mother to Sharpteeth today." he said.

"You lost both your mother and your mother-in-law to Sharpteeth yet you still care for that stupid Rex? You're beyond hopeless!" Magnus scowled, storming off with his nose thumbed up in the air.

Chomper, meanwhile, gathered with the kids in the cave. Much to their great relief, Jessica, at Chomper's instruction, as she wouldn't have known what to look for on her own, had gotten the kids tons of green food from some tall trees in the Land of Mists. Jared and Jessica munched on Tree Sweets and some red Treestars. "Petrie always said those red Treestars were unlucky, but I think he's just paranoid." Chomper told the children.

"I hope so." Jared, who was somewhat superstitious himself, replied.

"Mom use to say that bad luck was only caused by having a good day. If things are going too good, some bad stuff happens to balance it out." Isabelle replied. The two were silent for a moment as they again thought of their dead parents; however, having both accepted Chomper and the others as their new guardians, they decided to focus on something else before the temptation to hate their Sharpteeth friends arose. They decided to pay attention to the new Belly Dragger, who was showering himself in a waterfall.

The newest member of the group was Sarco, the Sarcosuchus. He lay next to Dil, having come to already like her. Ichy also seemed to have taken an interest in Woosh and the two lay sleeping next to each other atop Dil. Chomper laid down by Jessica, having grown fonder of her. The two Longnecks rested their heads against his tail and lay down between him and Jessica and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, weeks went by in the Great Valley. Littlefoot and Ali were able to keep Haley at bay. As Ali was pregnant and the two would soon have eggs which would hatch into children, they were considered members of the Great Valley Council and kept Haley in check. Finally, after about seven weeks, Ali laid five eggs. The two were thrilled to be parents and put them in a nest of twigs and Treestars.

As they went to bed that night, they were watched by a pair of angry orange eyes. Ozzy the Egg Stealer knew the name "Littlefoot" when he'd heard Ali utter it. He and his brother Strut had nearly been killed by the Longneck's Rex friend and his parents. Strut had said he'd have enough after that and left him to go live a life of eating green food. Ozzy, had, of course, continued to get eggs. And now he saw five eggs that belonged to the Longneck who had nearly gotten him killed. What sweet revenge!

Once the Longnecks were clearly asleep, Ozzy crept with great precision to the nest and grabbed one of the eggs. He broke it open and began to eat it. It, however, did not taste like an egg, at least not a proper egg. He'd had eggs that had been laid by females who had never been with a male. This egg tasted like that. Revolted at the awful taste, he went to the next one, but it was the same way. He continued on till he'd gotten the last egg, each time meeting the same result. After he'd cracked up the fifth egg and found it foul tasting, he grumbled "This is revolting! Five horrible eggs!"

He had talked to loudly for Littlefoot and Ali jumped up of a dead sleep and stared around, soon spotting him and the destroyed eggs.

"You! You!" Littlefoot seethed. "You vermin Egg Stealer, you killed my children! I'm going to bash your brains out with my tail!"

"Don't bother Longneck. I didn't kill your children, as you call them. These eggs taste the same as any egg that was laid by a female that never had been with a male." Ozzy laughed.

"What?!" Ali gasped.

"Yes, they're unfertilized. I ought to know as eggs are my specialty!" Ozzy laughed. The two were both so shocked and horrified that they forgot about Ozzy for the moment. The Egg Stealer used the opportunity to run for it and head safely to the Great Wall. "So long fools! Have fun with your worthless eggs!" he laughed.

The noise had attracted Ruby and the others, as well as Magnus, Haley, and Lambi. "What's the matter Littlefoot? You look troubled."

"An Egg Stealer broke open our eggs. But that's not the worst of it. He said the eggs were all bad. He said they weren't fertilized."

"Surely you two mated properly, though. Maybe he was lying." Ruby suggested.

"We mated properly, yes. I should have fertilized the egg. And I don't think he was lying too. I know him, if they'd been good eggs he wouldn't have said anything but would have kept going on his way with them and we wouldn't have known they were gone till morning." Littlefoot sighed.

"Littlefoot, go find another mate. You need to get children and stop Haley." Ali told him.

"No, you're worth more to me than making Longneck babies, as I told Rhett. We're staying together." he replied.

"How very touching!" Haley laughed. "So, you two are barren and thus will have no children. The rules state that unless you can have children, you can't really be a true member of the Council. The only exceptions are if you are gifted children by someone in your two herds or if the children let you adopt them. As Littlefoot is the last member of his herd and as Ali here seems to have been banished and not welcome in her herd right now, I'd say the chances of that happening are a big fat zero! So now, since you are no longer on the Council, I think we can change the vote we had yesterday."

'No!" Littlefoot cried.

He and Ali had outvoted Haley on a very narrow vote to expel meat eaters from the Valley.

"It's not official yet but it will be when I call the Council together in the morning. Your Fast Runner and Glider friends should be making their exit. If they stay around after sundown tomorrow, they will be trampled to death for trespassing!" Haley laughed.

Littlefoot shook his head. He didn't see what he could do. That there were two Longnecks that existed that met the qualifications of the rules was something he was totally unaware of. All he knew was that it seemed his family line would end with him. He and Ali were childless!