Chapter 13: The Tortool Whisperer

Dozer and Taziri were out with the Tortools visiting their mother. "Wow, Dozer, your Tortools are so cute when it comes to looks." Taziri said. "Yeah. It felt like yesterday they just hatched and were all over the garage, driving me crazy." Dozer said. "I thought everything drove you crazy." Taziri said. "Don't start." Dozer said. Just then, Buffy rolled up to the 2 and started squeaking. "What's that, Buffy?" Dozer asked. Buffy just continued squeaking. "Ugh. I wish I could understand what the Tortools are always squeaking about. Taziri had a thought. "I know someone who can understand them. He's a natural around Tortools." She said. "Who?" Dozer asked. "A very special Trux. They call him the Tortool Whisperer." Taziri said. "Why do they call him that?" Dozer asked. "You'll see." Taziri said. Little did they know, there was a Buzzsawbra spying on them, knowing Blayde would want to hear about this.

At D-Structs lair, the Buzzsawbra gave the news to Blayde and her team. "So, Dozer's new Tool friend knows someone who can talk to Tortools, eh?" Blayde asked. "Perhaps this 'Tortool Whisperer' should be part of our collective." Splitter said. "And what makes you think whoever this Trux wants to join us? For all we know they could just immediately side with Dozer." Goldtrux said. "Well then, we'll just have to be persuasive." Splitter said. Pounder then pounded his hammer in to the rocks, implying what Splitter meant. "I like the way you think." Trembor said. "Then what're we waiting for, boys? Let's go find us a Tortool Whisperer." Blayde said.

Dozer and the Tortools drove out far beyond the flat irons and into the forest with Taziri pointing the way. Dozer looked around the forest. It didn't look too welcoming. "Whoever this Tortool Whisperer is, they must be crazy to live in a place like this." He said. "He likes to keep to himself. He's kinda self-raised that way." Taziri said. "Self-raised? You mean he grew up on his own?" Dozer asked. "Kinda. He left his own herd to be the Trux he dreamed to be. Then he found this forest and made it his home." Taziri explained. "Wow. But what's that got to do with him understanding Tortools?" Dozer asked. "That's something only he can answer." Taziri said. Dozer began to think on that.

After a few minutes, Taziri saw a familiar rock formation ahead. "There. Turn right." She said. Dozer turned as instructed. Then Taziri noticed a certain alignment of vines on a tree. "Now turn left." She said. Dozer did as she said. "Stop!" Taziri suddenly called. Dozer stopped in his tracks. Taziri hopped off and looked around the place they just arrived at. It was an old hollow tree that looked like it was in the forest since the beginning. "We're here." Taziri said.

Taziri, Dozer and the Tortools stared at the tree for a few minutes. "What?! This old tree is where this Tortool Whisperer is supposed to live?!" Dozer asked. "That's right. Like him, this tree has been around for quite a long time." Taziri said. Dozer looked back at the tree. "I wouldn't be surprised if anything would ever live in this tree. It looks like it could fall apart just from touching it." He said. "Oh, but even the frailest of objects deserve the greatest of respect, Dozerotops." A voice came from the tree. Dozer gasped as 2 eyes were seen in the shadows. "It's him." Taziri said. The Tortool Whisperer came out, revealing himself to be a very old and very grey Ankylodump. Dozer was surprised. "Dozer. Meet Sheldon, the Tortool Whisperer." Taziri said. "Please. Just call me Sheldon. And I know who you are, Dozer." Sheldon said. "You know me?" Dozer asked. "One does not defeat D-Structs numerous times without word spreading to my forest." Sheldon explained. Taziri smiled up at Dozer. "Come. Let us take a drive. I need to stretch these old treads of mine." Sheldon said, driving out of his tree. Dozer watched him for a minute before following with Taziri hopping onto him and the Tortools following him.

Little did they know, the Bad Trux had successfully followed Dozer. They kept themselves hidden as Dozer and Sheldon drove out of the forest. "Wow. This Tortool Whisperer is older than we expected." Splitter whispered. "What good is a Trux as old as that?! He'd be no good in a fight!" Goldtrux whispered. "It doesn't matter. If he holds secrets to how he communicates with Tortools, then I want them." Blayde whispered. "So, now what?" Trembor asked. "We continue to follow them. And when the time's right, we attack." Blayde whispered.

As Dozer and Sheldon made their way onto the flats, Sheldon took in the feeling of feeling his treads on the flats' ground again. "It has been far too long since I've felt such softness of the flats." He said. Dozer stared at the old Ankylodump. "You've been staring at him since the forest." Taziri said. "It just that he wasn't what I expected. You weren't kidding that he's been around as long as his tree home." Dozer said. "That is understandable. You are disappointed of my appearance." Sheldon said, hearing Dozer and Taziri talking. "No! I mean, I'm not…disappointed. Just surprised." Dozer said. "Most usually are. I've seen it before." Sheldon said.

Just then, the Tortools rolled up and started chittering. "Oh-ho-ho. So, he's like that, is he?" Sheldon asked. "Huh?" Dozer asked. "Your kids say you have a very distant personality." Sheldon translated. "Uh, I don't know what you're talking about." Dozer said, trying to change the subject. Sheldon and Taziri chuckled. The Tortools continued chittering. "They also say that you're a bit overprotective. Especially since they proved themselves against Scrap-It." Sheldon translated. "Well, who shouldn't be? The Tortools are still so young. And D-Structs wanted to use them to find our water supply. If anything happened to them, I'd never forgive myself." Dozer said. "I can understand." Sheldon said. "You can?" Dozer asked. "How?" Taziri asked. "It was the day I came into the forest after I left my herd." Sheldon began to explain.

[Flashback]

A younger Sheldon drove throughout the forest. "I've been driving for days, and I was almost out of oil." He slowly started to slow down as he ran out of oil. "I nearly ceased up. But thankfully, a mother Tortool appeared." Just then, a mother Tortool appeared from the trees and looked up at Sheldon. The mother Tortool smiled up at him. She managed to jack him up from underneath and carried him to her home. The old tree. "She took me in and raised me as her own, nursing me back to health." The mother Tortool helped Sheldon recover, feeding him ore and replenishing his oil.

"Through her and her young, I learned to understand Tortools." As Sheldon interacted with the mother Tortool's young, he learned to understand them through their squeaks and chitters. "It wasn't long until the mother Tortool passed on and her young left the forest to live on their own did I decide to make their tree my home." Sheldon settled into the tree.

[Flashback End]

"And it's been my home ever since." Sheldon finished. "And you've never been anywhere else?" Dozer asked. "No. But other Tortools have come and made their home in the forest, giving me company." Sheldon said. Dozer and Taziri looked at each other, knowing that they were living the same way Sheldon was.

Just then, Dozer caught sight of someone charging towards them. It was Pounder! "Look out!" Dozer called, getting in front of Sheldon and pounded by Pounder's hammer. Sheldon was shocked. "Well, well, well. So, we finally meet." Blayde's voice said as she and the rest of the Bad Trux appeared. "Who are you?" Sheldon asked. "Name's Blayde. And you have something we want. Tell us your secret to communicating with the Tortools." Blayde said. Dozer struggled to get up, but Pounder and Goldtrux held him down. The Buzzsawbra leader had Taziri wrapped in his coils. "I'm afraid I cannot tell you that." Sheldon said. "Maybe you weren't listening. Tell us the secret or get scrapped!" Splitter shouted, spinning his blades. "But you do not understand. The secret to Tortool communication does not lie with me." Sheldon said. "What?! Then where is it truly?" Blayde asked. "It lies within all of us. You must learn to understand Tortools as equals and accept them as your own family. Only then, can you understand what they say to you." Sheldon said with much wisdom.

The Bad Trux could not believe what they were hearing. "That's IT?! We followed you all this way for THAT?!" Splitter asked angrily. "RIPOFF!" Trembor shouted. "You have just signed your own death, Tortool Whisperer." Blayde said, dropping her blade. "Hmm." Sheldon simply said, getting a look in his eye. Blayde charged towards him, ready to doze. "NOOOOO!" Dozer shouted. But then, Sheldon swiftly spun around and slammed his tail into Blayde's face, knocking her aside. Dozer, Taziri and the Bad Trux were shocked by this. "Anyone else?" Sheldon asked. Splitter and Trembor looked at each other, nodded and started up their saws and drill. "Very good then." Sheldon said. Splitter and Trembor charged towards the old Ankylodump. But Sheldon swiftly spun around and slammed his tail into both of them and knocking them into Blayde. Dozer and Taziri stared at him with impression. "I may be old, but I've still got skill." Sheldon said.

But Blayde, Splitter and Trembor slowly got back up. "I admit, you're pretty good. But we're better." Blayde said. "But you always forget one thing, Blayde!" Dozer said. "And what's that, Dozer?" Blayde asked. The Tortools came out of nowhere, chittering angrily. "I always have my friends." Dozer said. Just then, a hook came out of nowhere, snagged Pounder and pulled him off Dozer. "WHOO-HOO!" A familiar voice cheered as a familiar blur of blue smashed into Goldtrux. The Buzzsawbra leader was distracted by this, giving Taziri the chance to taze him and freeing her from his coiled trap. Apparently, the Tortools had managed to escape and alert Ty and the rest of the team during the ambush. "Care to try your luck this time around, Blayde?" Ty asked. Blayde just growled. "This isn't over, Ty. Come on!" She said, retreating with the other Bad Trux. "So, who's the new Dump?" Ton-Ton asked. "He's a good friend." Dozer said, smiling at his new friend. Sheldon smiled back.

Everyone met back up at the garage and started eating at the ore station. "Hey, where's Dozer?" Ty asked. "Still training to understand the Tortools." Skya said. "He really seems to be taking his lessons quite seriously." Revvit said. Dozer was listening to the Tortools as they chittered with Sheldon overseeing his training. "Uh, come again?" Dozer asked. Jack chittered. "Uh, one more time?" Dozer asked. Dozer Jr. squeaked. "Ugh. This is gonna take a while." Dozer groaned. "Perhaps. Took me that long too." Sheldon said, chuckling with Taziri and the Tortools laughing. Dozer just shook his head.