Chapter 10: Despair

After much pulling, Sharptooth finally pulled himself free from the tunnel in the rock wall. His snout ached horribly from being stuck inside the rock. He shook his head to try and rid himself of the pain.

Those blasted children had escaped him AGAIN!

He had them right where he wanted them, but they managed to slip through that small tunnel and get away. Now Sharptooth was furious. He snarled angrily at his recent humiliation. They would pay for this, ALL of them!

Ignoring his pain, he started his long journey around the large wall, intent on continuing his hunt. Before they reached their safe haven, he would ambush them when they'd least expect it.

After he was done with those runts, he would take the little sharp-tooth with him, and together they would go to the Great Valley and wreck havoc there.

No flat-tooth would be safe, not as long as he lived to hunt them.

The climb up the mountain was exhausting, that much was clear to them all. The ash was deep, going up to most of their knees, with Ducky and Petrie having to ride on Spike lest they be buried in the cinders.

Bits of grey fluttered down from the sky and dismal clouds that blocked out the bright-circle. The increasing heat as they went higher and higher was making them exhausted, the ash stinging their eyes and making it hard to breath. Chomper couldn't even smell anything other than the scent of something burning.

Littlefoot and Chomper were in the lead, remaining undeterred despite their current misery. Ruby was close behind them, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike in the middle, while Cera was in the back.

They had been climbing for who knows how long now, taking very few breaks every so often. They were all tired, their muscles ached, their lungs burned, their eyes stung, and their morale was dropping lower and lower with every step. They were forced to climb over the top of sharp rocks, jump over narrow chasms, and had to go out of their way to find proper footing on the rocks due to the steep ledges in their path.

Littlefoot looked behind him, and could see that the others were at the end of their strength. He knew they were all tired and hungry, including himself, but now they were so close to the top.

"Come on, get up!" Littlefoot urged. "We're going the right way!"

Ruby, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike all looked up at Littlefoot and Chomper pitifully, looking tired and miserable, while Cera only looked more irritated than usual.

"Oh, we can't quit now." Chomper said in agreement. "What if the Great Valley is right over the top of these rocks?"

That seemed to motivate the group a little more as they continued their climb, the wind growing stronger and blowing ash and dust all around them the further up they went. But they were not about to give up, not when it seemed they were so close to salvation. None of them had seen the Great Valley before, but Littlefoot and Chomper's hearts told them that they were close.

At last, the children finally reached the peak of the summit. They were all out of breath, with some like Petrie looking ready to pass out. They peered over the edge, hoping with all their being to see the Great Valley below.

But when the ash cleared, they were only met with disappointment.

Down on the other side of the summit was not the Great Valley, but instead a rough, desolate, and barren ravine.

"THIS IS YOUR GREAT VALLEY?!" Cera shouted in disbelief, her voice echoing throughout the ravine. "YOU'RE CRAZY!" That was the final straw for Cera. She'd had enough of Littlefoot's foolishness. "I'm leaving!" She said, furious and frustrated as she angrily turned away.

"Cera," Chomper spoke up, trying to calm the three-horn, "we have to keep following the bright-circle."

"I'm taking the easy way for once." Cera stated firmly, sticking her horn up as she began to march off.

Littlefoot, however, was not having this as he rushed in front of her, stopping her from going. "But it's the wrong way!" He snapped.

"Who says?" Cera questioned mockingly.

"Our mother!" Chomper retorted, standing beside Littlefoot. He too was quickly losing his patience with Cera's constant attitude.

"Then SHE was a stupid long-neck, too!" Cera harshly replied.

Ruby, Ducky, and Petrie were shocked at the insult, finding it unbelievable that Cera could say something so cruel. But Littlefoot and Chomper were instantly livid. Nobody would ever speak ill of their mother!

"You take that back!" Chomper demanded.

"Take it back!" Littlefoot also yelled.

"Never!" Cera refused.

"TAKE IT BACK!" Littlefoot and Chomper both shouted angrily, making Cera step back.

"NO!" She shouted, refusing to swallow her pride.

Now that was it!

Before anyone could do anything to break up the fight, Littlefoot and Chomper, both fueled by anger and rage, tackled Cera, knocking the wind out of her as they both went tumbling over the cliff and down the slope.

"Littlefoot! Chomper! Cera!" Ruby cried as the three children went down the steep edge. Spike, for whatever reason, decided it would be a good idea to follow them down, so he walked to the edge and looked ready to jump in, much to Ducky's alarm.

"Spike, no!" She said. "Don't do it!"

"Spike! Stop!" Petrie cried as he and Ducky tried to hold the spike-tail back. Ruby saw this, and tried grabbing Spike by his tail, but she ended up missing her footing and all four soon found themselves sliding down the steep, rocky slope. Surprisingly, by a stroke of luck, they managed to reach the bottom safely with just a few minor scratches and bruises.

But they found themselves no time to consider this as they only found themselves watching a furious fight.

Cera was the first to get up as she charged at Littlefoot, ramming him in the side. The long-neck yelped as he was knocked down, hitting his head on the ground.

Chomper jumped Cera's from behind and bit into her leg, biting hard enough to draw blood. The three-horn cried out in pain as she thrashed around, trying to shake the little sharp-tooth off. "LET GO OF MY LEG!" She yelled as she finally shook him off her back. Chomper landed on the ground with a 'thud', but quickly got back up and lunged at Cera with a snarling roar, too infuriated to listen to reason. He wanted to rip her throat out and tear her apart. Right now, all he was seeing was red.

Getting back up, Littlefoot didn't even acknowledge or even care about Chomper's savage state as he charged back and rammed Cera in the side, knocking her down.

Ruby, Ducky, and Petrie could only watch fearfully and worriedly while Spike buried his head into the ground, not wanting to see what was happening. None of them wanted them to be fighting, but what could they do? Cera was obviously the strongest out of all of them. Littlefoot was supposedly the second strongest of their group. And despite themselves, they were all terrified of Chomper's enraged state. So, they could do nothing as they watched the brutal fight.

Cera's leg was now bleeding while Littlefoot and Chomper were covered in bruises and scratches. Littlefoot and Cera head-butted and began to push and shove each other around while Chomper leaped onto the three-horn's back, digging his claws into her skin as he bit into her frill.

Though she was in pain, Cera decided to stop playing around. So, in one swift move, she pushed Littlefoot off her, and swung her head, causing Chomper to lose his grip on her frill.

Chomper landed next to Littlefoot, and before they knew what was happening or before they could even react, Cera rammed into Littlefoot, slamming him into Chomper.

The two adopted brothers lay there, out of breath, unable to get back up and fight.

With her two opponents defeated, Cera huffed in triumph and began to limp away, her back-leg still bleeding from Chomper's bite.

As they sat there, tears of pain and anger built up in Littlefoot and Chomper's eyes, and although the sharp-tooth was unable to hold them back as they ran down his cheeks, the long-neck refused to let them fall.

"GO ON!" Littlefoot shouted angrily as he stood up. "GO THE WRONG WAY!"

"WE NEVER WANTED YOU WITH US ANYWAY!" Chomper also shouted furiously.

Ruby, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike merely gazed at them, their expressions sorrowful and unsure. Littlefoot then looked to Chomper, his expression turning concerned. "You okay, Chomper?" He asked.

"Yeah," Chomper winced as he held his wounds while he stood up. "I'm okay."

"C'mon, guys," Littlefoot said to the others as he head towards the slope, Chomper right behind him, "We have to keep going."

As the long-neck and the spike-tail began their climb up the slope, Chomper looked back and saw that the others weren't moving. He noticed they were looking back between Littlefoot and Cera, which got him concerned.

"Guys? Are you coming?" Chomper asked while Littlefoot turned back to the group.

Ruby, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike all looked to each other in silent agreement before looking back towards the two brothers. Against their better judgment, they were all tired of being led over long hills with hardly any stopping, and despite Littlefoot's better wisdom, they still hadn't arrived at the Great Valley. So perhaps...?

"Cera's way is easier." Ducky said meekly, being the first one to say it.

"I think so too." Petrie added.

"We still have not arrived at the Great Valley." Ruby said sadly. "Maybe Cera's way will get us to the Great Valley."

Nothing but dead silence.

Littlefoot and Chomper, for the first time in their lives, felt betrayed. Littlefoot scowled at them before turning and continuing up the slope. Chomper, meanwhile, could only give them a sorrowful glance, a single tear dripping down his cheek, before also continuing the climb.

Petrie suddenly leapt up onto the slope. "Littlefoot! Chomper! Wait!" He cried, trying to climb the slope, but continued to slide back down. "No be angry! No be sad! WAAAAIT!"

Neither Littlefoot nor Chomper looked back or even acknowledged Petrie as he tumbled back down the slope.

"Cera!" Ducky called out as she, Petrie, Spike, and a rather reluctant Ruby started to follow her. "Wait for us! We're coming with you, Cera!"

Littlefoot and Chomper continued up the rocky hill, neither of them stopping even when they reached the top. Chomper looked over his shoulder to see the others following Cera away from the bright-circle. He felt a nasty jab in his heart as his friends walked away. He then looked towards Littlefoot, who was still following the bright-circle, a scowl still on his face, and Chomper felt his heart ache.

The young long-neck only looked ahead, not even bothering to look back at his companions. Mother was right about herd not being able to do anything together, they were just too different.

His expression then softened for a moment as he looked back to Chomper. Well, at least one friend hadn't turned their back on him. One whom he was proud to call his brother.

And so the two groups went their separate ways.