A/N: Pasts are brought up. Chomper's feelings are hurt and decides to leave the Great Valley with Littlefoot hot on his tail. Bron journeys into the Mysterious Beyond and he's met with something he never thought he'd ever see.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Land Before Time and its characters. Original character's are mine though.

CHAPTER 3

"Welcome back Bron. I trust you and Littlefoot had an easy journey." Grandpa had spoken.

"Yes it was fine, no trouble at all". He turned his attention to the new longneck.

The elder longnecks saw this and exchanged looks. The new longneck was similar in color to Bron, had brown eyes that matched Littlefoot's and an interesting scar on its back right leg.

"Well who is that? I've never seen them with the herd when you've come for a visit." Grandpa observed.

"I honestly have no idea, right before we got here we saw her kill a sharptooth."

The elders exchanged looks again.

"Now that is something. What's her name?"

"I don't know that either." Bron chuckled.

"Well let's go introduce ourselves, standing here and speculating won't do us any good."

Bron checked on the children once more, who were now in the water splashing and swimming around before he turned and made his way with the elders to the new longneck. The trio had approached the unknown longneck just as she whipped her tail to snap a branch.

Grandpa spoke, "hello there."

She smiled, "hi."

"Welcome to the Great Valley." Grandma spoke.

"The name's Bron. What's yours?"

She smiled again, "Brea."

"Everyone here refers to us as Grandpa and Grandma, you're welcome to do the same."

Brea nodded, "thank you."

The elders exchanged looks again.

"Enjoy your stay dear," grandma spoke then turned to leave.

Grandpa left with her, leaving Bron and Brea alone.

"Can I just say what you did back there was incredible." Bron started and Brea giggled.

"Thanks though, although it was nothing."

"You call killing a sharptooth nothing?" Bron asked surprised.

Brea's expression darkened for a bit, "that's what my dad used to say." She looked away.

Bron sensed it was a difficult topic, so he wisely choose to drop it.

Brea's expression changed again. "I saw two young longnecks on your back. They're yours?" She questioned.

"Yes they are. Would you like to meet them?" Brea nodded.

"Littlefoot Shorty, come." Bron called out.

Littlefoot stopped playing for a bit as he heard his father calling for him and Shorty.

"Huh?" He looked around, then back towards his friends. "Hey guys we'll be back, my dad is calling for us."

They all nodded, then he and Shorty left. The two young longnecks had run towards Bron and Brea.

"Yeah dad?" Littlefoot questioned.

"I'd like you two to meet Brea." Littlefoot looked at the female longneck who was similar to his dad.

"Hi Brea, I'm Littlefoot and this is Shorty."

"Nice to meet you Littlefoot, Shorty."

"You too. Bron can we go play now?" Shorty asked.

Bron nodded, "sure, have fun you two." They watched the two scamper away. "Would you like to have a look around?"

Brea took in her surroundings. "Sure, lead the way."

The two took off. They eventually found a place surrounded by all types of beautiful flowers and by tall trees that provided plenty of shade. They sat down.

"You said Littlefoot and Shorty are your sons, yet only Littlefoot calls you dad." Brea observed.

"That's correct, Littlefoot is my son and Shorty. Well I've been looking after him and taking care of him for a while." Bron paused and Brea nodded.

"Before Littlefoot was even an egg, I left his mother to find a place for all of us. When I got back the earth shakes had devastated the land tremendously. I had no idea if anything had happened to my wife or child, so I searched for them for a long time. I came across Shorty and other little ones with no grownups to protect them. So I stayed with them and took care of them. Eventually others joined up with us and began adopting the little ones. In time, we became a herd."

Brea was just listening to Bron speak. She could already tell that he was an extraordinary longneck and he was handsome too.

"If you don't mind me asking, did something happen to your wife?"

Bron closed his eyes and let out a sigh, but he began speaking.

"When Littlefoot was very young, he and his mother were attacked by a sharptooth. She died protecting our son. I found this out from an old timer who had witnessed the fight. He said Littlefoot had stayed by her side for days calling out to her to wake up." Bron looked away. "I should have been there, my son was all alone. The old timer said he was the one who comforted Littlefoot and got him to leave his mother's side. I thank the heavens for that. I'm certain that had he stayed, I would have lost my son too."

Brea had reached over and nuzzled him a bit.

"I am so sorry to hear that Bron. That's beyond devastating."

The two nuzzled a bit more before Bron turned away.

"It was by coincidence that Littlefoot, his grandparents and I were reunited. At first I wanted Littlefoot to come live with me and my migrating herd. But it wasn't fair to take him from here, his home. So I decided that I would come live here and take those that wanted to come live here too and well, here we are." Bron paused again, then sighed.

"Shorty worries me though." He said honestly, "he's suspicious of everyone and he's very angry. He's gotten better with that than when I first met him, but still I just don't want him to do anything foolish."

"What happened to Shorty's parents?" Brea asked.

"Shorty's parents and fellow herd had all perished in a fire. He and some of the other hatchlings barely escaped. It took Shorty a long time to even tell me that." Bron sighed.

"I know I just met you all and hope you don't take offense to this, but I believe I know how Shorty is feeling. You see, in a way I used to be like Shorty myself." Brea paused.

Bron nodded in encouragement and Brea continued.

"When I was young, I saw my parents and everyone around me fall to their deaths. A terrible earth shake had ripped the land apart beneath us. My father took hold of me and threw me with all of his might towards the sky as he was falling. I hit the side of the gorge really hard and was able to grab hold of a vine. The vine didn't give so I was able to use it to climb out. And I never saw them again. I was angry for a long time as I wandered the land. I felt helpless and powerless that I couldn't do anything except save myself. Many times over I wished to be reunited with my family in death. But it never happened. I kept wondering why I was still here. Eventually, I came upon a herd of longnecks and they took me in. They did help ease the pain from losing my parents, but I never let anyone get too close out of fear that I would lose them too. For that reason, I never had a family of my own. I just wander the land and go wherever the wind takes me. Being alone taught me how to survive and hone my skills." Brea took a deep breath.

"So you see, if Shorty and you are up to it, I'd like to talk to Shorty myself. With him being so young, I don't want him to waste all of his potential like I did." She finished and Bron was speechless for a bit.

"I'll allow that if Shorty is up for it. I don't want him feeling pressured or anything. Maybe he could gain insight from your experiences though." Brea nodded. "I'm so sorry to hear what happened to you though. That's awful."

Brea looked away. "That's the circle of life for you. It can be both beautiful and devastating."

Bron knew this all too well. Brea looked around, "this place is nice, and I think I'll stay a bit. Think the others will mind?"

Bron shook his head, "no, I don't think so. The inhabitants here are very welcoming. Granted, it's probably because they are safe from the dangers of all that lies beyond these walls."

The two grownups spent the rest of the afternoon just talking.

The bright circle started to set and one by one, all of the children were being called home.

"We better get home too Chomper." Chomper nodded, and he and Ruby made their way to their caves.

"Littlefoot, Littlefoot, it's time to come home." Littlefoot heard his grandpa calling out to him, he then looked at Shorty.

"Come on Shorty, that means you too." Shorty smiled a little then followed Littlefoot.

"Next time, I'm going to win that game." Shorty had announced, he was very competitive.

"Maybe you'll win next time if you practice." Littlefoot countered.

They were bickering by the time they got back.

"Alright children, it's time to settle down for the night." Grandma had cooed. Both Littlefoot and Shorty had yawned. The day had finally caught up with them. Littlefoot had taken his place next to his father and surprisingly Shorty had settled down next to him. Bron had watched the two with a smile on his face. He watched the elders settle down as well. Brea had opted to sleep alone. He checked on Littlefoot and Shorty once more before he closed his eyes as well. Sleep took him almost immediately.

A few hours later, Littlefoot was woken up by Chomper. "Chomper?" He asked sleepily.

"Sorry I woke you, I just wanted to sleep here for the night." Chomper confessed. Littlefoot nodded, and Chomper settled against him. Littlefoot curled his tail around his friend.

The next morning, Bron was the first to wake up besides the elder longnecks who were already gone. He felt his heart rate accelerate as he looked down noticing two things. First Shorty wasn't there, and two Littlefoot was curled up around the little sharptooth. Bron shook his head in mild amusement. There was things in life he didn't understand and this was one of those things. He continued his survey of the area for a bit before finally noticing Shorty next to Brea. Upon seeing this, he felt his heart rate return to normal. Something about her must soothe Shorty, making him feel protected and safe. Bron eventually stood up and walked over to some trees and began to eat. Chomper was the next to wake up, he shook Littlefoot a bit, waking him too.

"Thanks for letting me sleep here last night. I gotta get back now so Ruby doesn't worry. I'll see you later." He hugged Littlefoot then scampered off.

Littlefoot yawned then stretched. He spotted his father not too far from him. He walked right up to him.

"Morning dad."

"Good morning son." Bron dropped the tree stars so Littlefoot could eat too. "Does the little sharptooth always do that?" Bron questioned.

"Sometimes Chomper sleeps here with us. But that's only when he's missing his parents."

"He heard what you said about your mother, and I think he feels bad about it." Bron informed him.

Littlefoot looked thoughtful. "I guess that explained last night."

"I can see that the little sharptooth really cares about you son."

"And I really care about him too dad, how can I not? I hatched him after all." Bron laughed at this.

"What are you and your friends going to do today?"

"We wanted to go play in the sheltering grass, but unless grandpa and grandma take us, we can't go there."

"Why not?" Bron questioned.

"We would have to cross the sinking sand to get there and grandpa says it's too dangerous for us since we're still little."

"Your grandpa is right. However, I'll go with you and your friends. I want to spend time with both you and Shorty and if this is what I have to do to ensure that, than that's what I'll do."

Littlefoot perked up at this. "Okay, I'll go get my friends."

He loved spending time with his father. The two finished eating and Littlefoot left home in search of his friends.

When Shorty finally woke up, he found himself next to Brea. He didn't know how or when he got there, but for some reason he didn't mind. Something about her must have put him at ease the way his mother used to. Brea was already awake and just watched Shorty. She thought about getting up to go eat, but once she saw the young longneck next to her, it seemed cruel to leave him so she stayed. This stirred something deep inside of her. She didn't know what it was, but it was there. Maybe Shorty felt that too.

"Morning Shorty," she smiled down at him.

"Morning," he said shyly.

"When did you get here?"

"I don't know. But I hope it's okay with you though."

"Its fine, I didn't mind it at all." Brea looked around, finally spotting Bron nearby.

"Are you going to stay here too? In the Great Valley that is?" Shorty found himself asking Brea.

"I'm not sure." She answered honestly. "I don't stay in one place for long." Shorty looked crestfallen for a bit. "But while I'm here I hope we can have some fun." She looked around, "this place really is nice".

Brea got up and made her way to Bron, Shorty wasn't too far behind. "Morning Shorty, Brea."

"Morning," the two said in unison.

Shorty looked around, "where's Littlefoot?"

Bron eyes widened a bit, this was certainly something new.

"He told me you and the others wanted to go to the sheltering grass today." Bron started.

"He also said his grandparents won't let them go without them." Shorty finished.

"That's okay Shorty, I'll go with you all today."

Shorty perked up, "Really?"

Bron nodded. Shorty and Brea then went to eat.

Littlefoot came racing back. "My friends are going to come here after they finish eating, then we can go." He looked at Shorty, "Shorty my dad's gonna take us. Did you know that?" Shorty nodded, he had a mouthful of leaves.

Bron looked down at the two, hoping that today they could get along.

Littlefoot had walked around Brea noticing the scar on her leg. Being ever curious, he asked her about it.

"How did you get that?"

Brea swallowed the leaves in her mouth and lifted her leg. "When I was a child, before I hit the time of great growing, I found myself in the mouth of a really big sharptooth. He bit down so hard I thought I was going to be eaten."

This had all three males gasp in shock.

"I started kicking as hard as I could and I knocked out one of its teeth. He dropped me and I went falling into a pile of rocks. I buried myself in the rocks so the sharptooth couldn't get me."

Littlefoot was beyond shocked, he didn't know anyone else who was in the mouth of a sharptooth and lived to tell about it. He hadn't even told his friends about the time he was in the mouth of a sharptooth and he wasn't sure he wanted to tell his father about it either.

"Then what happened?" He asked Brea.

"I kept wandering till finally I found the ocean, then I passed out. I'm not really sure what happened after that. But when I came to I had sea wrap and sand mixed with jelly around my wounded leg and was surrounded by swimming longnecks. One of them had told me that one of their young had saw me on the shore. So they came to investigate and upon seeing my injury they helped me. They had explained that whenever they get injured, they mix sand and jelly together and wrap the injury in sea wrap. They leave the ocean while they are healing then return to the ocean when they are better."

Littlefoot was wide eyed. "You've seen them too?"

Brea laughed. "I've seen lots of things Littlefoot."

"Me too Brea, me too. Then what happened?"

"Well Littlefoot that would be telling. Wouldn't it?" She said and winked at him then resumed eating.

Littlefoot walked over to Shorty, "she's amazing isn't she?" he whispered. Surprisingly Shorty nodded.

Bron was sure Littlefoot intended for them not to hear that but he heard it anyway and was sure Brea did too. He chuckled.

After Brea ate her fill, she turned to Bron and the young ones, "So what are we going to do today?" She asked Littlefoot.

"We're all going to the sheltering grass which is just pass the sinking sand. My grandparents said us kids can't go alone, but I'm sure since you and Dad are going, they will let us."

"Did you say sinking sand?" Brea questioned.

"Yes, is that a bad thing?" Littlefoot looked uncertain.

"Are you kidding me? I love sinking sand. Every time I come across a pit of it, I always have fun playing in it!"

Bron eyes widened at that. "I'm sorry, but what did you say?" He was sure he couldn't have heard her right.

"I like playing in sinking sand. Why? Is that a problem?"

"Littlefoot!" At his name being called by his friends, Littlefoot, Bron, Shorty and Brea watched them all come into view.

"We are all here, yep yep yep!" Ducky clasped her hands together.

Cera was the first one to notice Brea. "Um Littlefoot, who is that?"

At this time, they all noticed her.

"Oh this is Brea, on our way back here we saw her take on two fast biters, killing one of them in the process."

"Really?" Cera asked impressed.

"Yeah my dad, Shorty and I all saw it," he boasted.

Brea spoke up. "Hello everyone, nice to meet you all," she smiled at the children.

"I'm Cera, a threehorn of course."

"I'm Ducky and this is my brother Spike."

"Me Petrie."

"I'm Ruby and this is Chomper."

Brea visibly stiffened, taking a step back.

"Is that a sharptooth?"

Chomper hated this. Everyone always judged him. "I am a sharptooth and you're a leaf eater!" Chomper declared.

"A sharptooth that can talk? Wow, I've never seen one before." Surprise was in her voice.

"I'm a good sharptooth and I taught myself how to speak leaf eater too."

Bron and Brea exchanged looks. Littlefoot felt Chomper was getting agitated. He felt bad that he couldn't do anything about how others saw and treated Chomper.

"This way everybody, the faster we leave here the faster we can get there."

Everyone including Bron and Brea headed over to the sheltering grass.

The gang walked to their destination.

"Over there is the sheltering grass." Littlefoot announced.

Brea spotted the sinking sand. "Oh boy sinking sand!" She leapt over the kids and into the pit.

"Brea!" Bron called out.

When she surfaced, everyone had a worried look on their faces.

"Come on in everybody, I do this all the time."

Everyone watched on as Brea kicked and flailed in the sand. Littlefoot had remembered the last time he and his friends had all got stuck and it wasn't fun at all. But now, he admitted that Brea was making it look fun. He ran and jumped in too.

Cera followed after him. "Last one in is a scaredy egg."

Shorty, not to be outdone followed too. Eventually all the children were in the pit flailing and laughing. Bron was the only one still standing there. After some time he joined everyone, leaping into the pit as well.

"It's so squishy. It is. It is."

More laughter filled the air.

"See, I told you this is fun!" Brea had said laughing.

"It sure is." Bron agreed with her.

Bron had seen many things in his life, some of the things he didn't understand and this experience was one of those things. He could see now that he would be learning and experiencing new and exciting things. He admitted to himself that he looked forward to it.

After some time passed Brea pulled herself out of the pit.

This signaled Bron to speak, "alright everyone, time to come out now."

They all agreed and one by one the grownups helped each of them out the pit. The gang continued on towards the sheltering grass.

"Not it."

"Not it."

"Not it."

"Ruby's it!"

The children each ran into the sheltering grass, including Shorty. The grownups hung back and watched on as the children played.

"This is a fun little group, Littlefoot has here." Brea observed.

"Yeah no kidding. I'm having a great time." Bron suddenly became serious. "I'm sorry about last night."

Brea wore a confused expression on her face. "Why are you sorry about last night?"

"I should have kept a better eye on Shorty. I didn't know he would sleep near you like that."

"Oh don't worry about that. I didn't mind it. I'm actually touched he felt safe enough to do that."

Bron blushed a bit by that. "Well at any rate, going forward, I'll keep a better eye on him."

"Don't be ridiculous, you can't see everything if you're asleep. No one can."

Bron laughed a little, she did have a good point there. As Littlefoot and his friends played on, Bron and Brea fell into conversation. They were still keeping an eye on the kids.

Littlefoot had snuck upon his father, and tagged him with his tail. "tag, you're it dad!"

He then ran away from his father. Bron chuckled. "I guess we're a part of this game now. You'd better run. Now!"

Not needing to be told twice, Brea took off. Other grownups in the Great Valley who were near had watched on as the two grownup longnecks were now playing, and running around with the children. Laughter filled the air. They could see all of them were having a good time.

At some point, Spike had tripped over Brea's tail and Brea had yelped in surprise. Spike had lost his balance and stumbled towards a shallow hill just beyond the sheltering grass. He and Ducky both went tumbling down the shallow hill and into the lake there. When the two surfaced, they burst into laughter.

Littlefoot had seen this, "hey you guys, Spike and Ducky made up a new game. I call it slide and splash."

They all approached to see what was going on. Without warning, Littlefoot tackled Cera and they both went tumbling down the hill and into the lake. They too surfaced for air, Cera looked mad for a bit then she laughed and started splashing Littlefoot with water.

"Hey that do look like fun." Petrie perched himself on top of Ruby's head.

Chomper looked at Shorty, "did you want to slide down with me?"

Shorty scrunched up his face and backed away. Chomper looked hurt at this. Ruby sensed the tension, and raced over to him.

"It's okay Chomper, you can slide down with me and Petrie."

The two slide down the hill together. Bron and Brea saw this whole exchange. Bron shook his head, and whipped his tail out nudging Shorty down the hill with it. He could see that Shorty had his reservations about Chomper and he wasn't subtle about it either. Everyone was in the lake splashing water at each other.

"Swimmer."

"Splasher."

"Splasher."

Eventually one by one, the children were being called home now. This meant it was time to call it a day. After exchanging hugs, goodbyes and parting ways, the four longnecks made their journey back to Littlefoot's grandparents.

"I have to hand it to you Littlefoot, you and your friends know how to have a good time." Brea started.

"Yeah today was great." He then turned to Shorty. "See? Chomper is a nice sharptooth and would never hurt us."

Shorty narrowed his eyes, "pfft for now," was all he said. He didn't really trust anyone, let alone a sharptooth.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Littlefoot questioned, now becoming defensive.

Bron sensed the tension rising again. "Enough you two. We all agree that today was great. No need to spoil things now."

Littlefoot sighed and looked back at his father. He didn't say anything else the rest of the way back. The four made it back to the elder longnecks. While Littlefoot had regaled his grandparents about the day they all had, Bron and Shorty stood a ways away.

"Shorty I know this is going to be an adjustment for us, but just give Littlefoot and his friends a chance."

"But Bron he's friends with a sharptooth and a fast runner."

Bron was more than aware of that but still, "if the other grownups here allowed them to live here, then how bad can they be?"

Shorty looked at Bron with a puzzled expression.

"Are you serious right now? We're talking about a sharptooth and a fast runner, both are meat eaters."

Again, Bron was well aware of that.

"I'm not asking you to be friends with them. I'm asking you to respect Littlefoot enough not to cause a scene and make things awkward. I saw what happened today. If you keep that up, they might not want to be around you or play with you. Then how would you feel about that?"

Shorty thought about it. "I wouldn't like it."

"I didn't think so. Believe it or not, but I can see similarities between you and the little sharptooth."

"What? I'm nothing like a sharptooth at all." Shorty spoke up, his annoyance rising.

"You don't like it when others judge you. Correct?" Shorty nodded, Bron continued. "Imagine how he feels. He gets judged all of the time for something he can't even help. None of us asked to be born the way we are. We are what we are and there's nothing we can do about it. Again, I'm asking you not to treat him any differently than how you want to be treated. Littlefoot's friends are all different species and they get along and even welcomed you into their circle."

Bron looked down at Shorty. He looked to be thinking about what was said.

"Just think about what I said Shorty." Bron walked away towards Littlefoot and the elder longnecks.

Brea heard the whole thing. She couldn't help feeling like Bron's words were meant for her as well. She felt bad about how she had treated the little sharptooth too. She would have to apologize to him if she ever saw him again. She looked again and noted how the young longneck was still rooted to the same spot Bron had left him in.

Chomper was pacing back and forth in the cave. Ruby had just watched her friend, with a sad look in her eyes. He was feeling restless and agitated. Every time he ran into someone new. It was always the same. They either were afraid of him or wanted to harm him. He couldn't help that he was born a sharptooth. He made up his mind that he would return to his parents in the Mysterious Beyond.

"Chomper try to get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning." Ruby cooed, trying to ease her friend.

She wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace.

"Thanks Ruby." He accepted the hug, knowing he would leave when she fell asleep.

After Ruby had fallen asleep, Chomper left the caves. The land was illuminated by the night circle, and what he couldn't see, he could smell.

Littlefoot was feeling restless, no matter how hard he tried, sleep wouldn't take him. A sense of dread filled him and wouldn't leave him either. Something wasn't right. He got up and took a look around. His grandparents, his father, Shorty and Brea were still asleep. Sometimes when he couldn't sleep he'd sneak away and go to the great wall overlooking the valley.

Littlefoot made it to the great wall and just looked over the Great Valley for a while. After some time, he yawned and he started to feel sleepy. About to leave to return home, he spotted a small shadow moving quickly out of the Great Valley. Curiosity took hold of him and he found himself chasing after the small figure. Chomper heard footsteps besides his own. He stopped then spotted a small cave he could fit into. The footsteps were getting closer and closer. He held his breath, not wanting a confrontation. He let out the breath he had been holding when he saw it was only Littlefoot.

He left the cave.

"Littlefoot? What are you doing here?"

"Chomper? Chomper is that you?" Concern was in his voice.

Chomper sighed, "I'm leaving the Great Valley."

"Leaving? Why?" Littlefoot asked blankly.

"Nobody wants me there." Chomper answered back in a defeated tone.

"You're wrong Chomper, I want you there. And the others do too."

"It's always the same thing. I'm tired of being judged. When I lived with my parents nobody judged me at all. They left us all alone."

"Chomper." Was all Littlefoot could say, crestfallen.

"You should go back Littlefoot. I'm out here to find my parents. It's too dangerous for you."

Littlefoot was teary eyed. "I'm not going. I have to make sure you find them. I can't go back without worrying if something happened to you."

Chomper was touched, he didn't like seeing Littlefoot like this. He walked up to him and hugged his friend.

"And to make sure you get back, I will ask my parents to help you get back to the Great Valley safe."

Littlefoot nodded. "Come on, let's get going."

The two continued into the night, keeping as quiet as possible.

The next morning, Ruby had woken up to an empty cave. Chomper wasn't there. She got up and started to look for him.

"Chomper," she called out for him.

After searching for him for a bit by herself without any success, she decided she needed help. She gathered Cera, Ducky Spike and Petrie and they began searching for him.

"Has anyone seen Littlefoot?" Cera asked as she noticed he wasn't there either.

"I didn't want to bother him since his father is here. But I think if he helps too, we can find Chomper faster." Everyone agreed.

They made their way to where Littlefoot and his family lived.

"Littlefoot. Littlefoot, where are you?"

"That's grandma longneck." Ruby said, "Is Littlefoot gone too?"

They increased their pace. Something wasn't right.

Bron was awake and searching for Littlefoot. He couldn't find him anywhere.

"Son, we can play hide and seek later. You win. Come on out now."

Bron was looking for him, when he heard rustling coming from some nearby bushes. Littlefoot's friends had cleared the bushes.

"Have any of you seen Littlefoot?" Bron asked and they all shook their heads.

"We cannot find Chomper either, we cannot." Ducky spoke up.

Something clicked to Bron, he knew his son was with the little sharptooth somewhere.

"Chomper has been really sad the last few days. I think he went to find his parents?" Ruby observed.

"Little one what are you saying?" Bron asked. "Are you saying that Littlefoot is on his way to go find grownup sharpteeth?"

Ruby nodded. "I think so."

Bron's heart sank. This was crazy. Did his son not even realize the danger he was sure to find himself in? He had to find them before it was too late.

The elder longnecks walked up, "children have any of you seen Littlefoot?" They all shook their heads.

"We think he and Chomper are together out in the Mysterious Beyond looking for Chomper's parents." Ruby said while rubbing her chin.

The two gasped.

"All of you stay here, I'll go look for them." Bron spoke up.

"It's too dangerous." Grandma warned.

"I know, but what choice do I have? Alone I can cover more ground quickly. Can you keep an eye on Shorty while I'm gone?"

He didn't wait for a reply as he took off.

Chomper and Littlefoot had woken up. They found a large tree with deep roots to sleep under and away from sharpteeth.

Chomper sniffed the air.

"That's my mommy and daddy. We are close Littlefoot. Come on. Hurry."

The two left the tree and continued on. They eventually walked into a clearing and saw two grown up sharpteeth. One was a dark olive green color and the other was a lighter green color. Chomper went running towards them.

"Mommy. Daddy!" He roared. The grown up sharpteeth turned around and saw their son running towards them.

"Son!" His father smiled.

"My baby!" His mother bent down to pick him up nuzzling him. His father nuzzled him too.

Littlefoot was hiding in the bushes watching the whole thing, not sure if he should reveal himself or not. Although they did promise not to eat him, after he saved Chomper from the big water.

The three sharpteeth were conversing in their language and Littlefoot couldn't understand what they were saying. It just sounded like roaring to him.

"We're so happy you're safe son." Chomper's father began. Then he sniffed the air, "that smells like longneck."

"That's my friend Littlefoot, he helped me find you. You remember him right?"

His mother spoke up. "The same little longneck that saved you from the big water. Right?"

"Yes, that's him, I told him to go back but he wouldn't. He wanted to make sure I found you two safely."

"That was nice of him. But where is he?" She asked while looking around.

"He's hiding in those bushes," His father said pointing to the bushes.

"Mommy, daddy. Is it true that all sharpteeth are nothing but vicious killers?"

The grownups exchanged looks. "Son we can't speak for every sharptooth out there, but we only do it to survive."

"We don't take any joy in it either. Where did you hear that from?" His mother asked.

"I hear it from a lot of travelers when they meet me. Then when I speak in leaf eater they are nice to me."

The grownups exchanged looks again.

"Mommy, Daddy. Littlefoot's mommy was killed by a sharptooth. And I feel really bad that our kind did that."

"And yet he remains friends with you. What a strange boy. That one." Chomper's father observed while he shook his head.

"Chomper that wasn't us, we didn't do that. We did hear about it though. It was around the time the great earth shake had devastated the land. Long before you were even an egg."

Chomper's mother nuzzled her son again. Chomper was visibly relieved that his parents had nothing to do with that awful event. Chomper wiggled a bit in his mother's arms. She set him down, the grownups watched him run towards the bushes.

"Littlefoot, great news. My mommy and daddy had nothing to do with what happened to your mommy. They didn't do it."

"I know that Chomper, me and the rest of the gang had defeated the sharptooth that killed my mother."

"Oh I didn't know that."

Loud roaring had pierced the air. Chomper and Littlefoot exchanged glances. Chomper looked back at his parents.

"That wasn't my mommy or daddy."

A tree behind them had been knocked over. The two looked up and saw Red Claw. They jumped and went running towards Chomper's parents.

"Mommy!" Chomper called out frantically.

The two grownups saw the children running towards them, Red Claw not too far behind. Littlefoot and Chomper got to Chomper's mother. She picked them both up and held them close to her while taking a step back behind her mate. Chomper's father saw this then stood between his mate and Red Claw.

"After I make a meal out of you, those ones are next." Red Claw spoke in a taunting manner.

"Over my dead body." Chomper's father spat. He never liked Red Claw at all.

"That can be easily arranged." Red Claw snickered.

"I'd like to see you try."

The grown up male sharpteeth circled around one another like predators, constantly throwing out insults and taunting one another. They lunged for each other, teeth and claws tearing and slashing into one another.

As Bron continued making his way, he heard plenty of roaring and somehow he knew that was where Littlefoot was. He just hoped he wasn't too late. He ran as fast as he could and when he got to the scene where the fight was taking place, he immediately took in the three sharpteeth. Two were fighting and one was standing back and holding Littlefoot and his friend. Like it was shielding them from the fight. Chomper's mother noticed Bron's approach.

"Dad!" Littlefoot shouted.

Chomper saw him too. "Mommy, that's Littlefoot's daddy!" He roared and his mother nodded.

She went over to him and Bron prickled. She placed both her son and Littlefoot near Bron then went back to her mate.

"Are you two alright?" Bron asked, visibly relieved that they were safe.

"Yeah dad, we're fine."

Chomper looked on worried. "That's my mommy and daddy. They are fighting Red Claw, he's the meanest and scariest sharptooth in the Mysterious Beyond." Chomper was poised for flight. "I have to help them."

"No Chomper. It's too dangerous." Littlefoot warned. Before Chomper could take a step, Littlefoot grabbed him by his tail.

"Hey let go of my tail."

"No way. I won't let you go," Littlefoot countered.

"Quiet you two. I've heard of Red Claw in my travels. He is beyond vicious. And if things get bad, I'll have to step in." Bron was serious as he watched the three sharpteeth claw into one another.

They watched on as the sharpteeth continue to fight. Red Claw had slashed his claws out and made contact with Chomper's mother's chest. She roared in agony as she staggered a few steps back.

"Mommy!" Chomper called out, feeling her pain and distress too.

He was still struggling to get out of Littlefoot's grasp. Bron zeroed in on the fight.

"Stay here you two." Bron didn't know what propelled him to do what he did, but he leapt into the fray anyway.

He didn't care that he was surrounded by the sharpteeth who could easily decide to ban together and have him for dinner. Although it was a terrible time to suddenly think of that, and he didn't believe that anyway.

Bron knew that he had to help take out Red Claw before Red Claw took them all out. He barreled into the fight full force and tripped Red Claw with his massive tail. Red Claw had fallen backwards not expecting the interference at all leaving himself completely open to an attack. He was distracted and that distraction would cost him his life.

Chomper's father seized the opportunity and pounced onto him to deliver the killing blow. He bit down into Red Claw's throat with so much force he felt his teeth slam into each other, then he started thrashing his head about. When he finally pulled back, Red Claw's throat had been savagely ripped out. Red Claw was now a pile of bloody flesh and was finally dead.

Chomper finally freed himself from Littlefoot and Littlefoot ran after him.

"Mommy, daddy!" he called out, roaring.

"Chomper wait!" Littlefoot was chasing him, Bron saw this and snatched Littlefoot up by the tail, as Chomper was once again in his parents arms.

"Dad! Let go of me. I."

"Quiet Littlefoot." Bron hushed his struggling son.

He watched on as the sharpteeth conversed, even though it was all just roaring to him.

"It's finally over." Chomper's mother began. She nuzzled her son. Chomper's father looked at Bron, then turned towards his mate and son.

"That's the boy's father. I take it."

"Yes. That's Littlefoot's daddy." Chomper confirmed.

"Son, you have strange friends. I've never seen a longneck fighting alongside a sharptooth like that."

"That was nice of him that he kept you and your friend safe." His mother cut in. "That little longneck cares about you doesn't he?"

Chomper nodded. "He's my best friend and he lets me sleep with him and his grandparents when I'm feeling a bit sad. And they are really nice to me too."

Chomper's father shook his head. "I've never heard of longnecks taking care of a sharptooth. What strange leaf eaters they are."

"Be nice dear!" Chomper's mother scolded him.

The three sharpteeth laughed, then watched on a bit as Littlefoot struggled to be set down.

"Let me go dad, I have to make sure Chomper is okay." Littlefoot twisted and turned his body.

He eventually fell and before he hit the ground, Bron softened the blow of the fall as Littlefoot landed on his tail. Littlefoot righted himself and had taken off towards Chomper and his parents.

"Chomper are your parents going to be okay? Those wounds look deep." Littlefoot asked with concern in his voice.

Chomper asked his parents if they were going to be okay. They assured him that they would be fine. The female sharptooth picked up Littlefoot and nuzzled him a bit. There were many things in life Bron didn't understand. And this was another one of those things. He couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't care they were sharpteeth. In that moment, he simply saw a mother and a father. He saw the concern and love they had for their son. It was the same love and concern he had for his own son.

He found himself walking towards them, making sure to avoid stepping in the still oozing blood of the dead sharptooth.

The male sharptooth watched the approach of the longneck and roared a bit.

"My daddy said thanks for helping him with Red Claw." Chomper translated. Bron nodded. The female sharptooth approached Bron with Chomper and Littlefoot in her arms.

"You three better get going. Pretty soon, this area will be filled with more sharpteeth."

"Mommy said we have to leave now, before the other sharpteeth get here."

Bron nodded. "Ground up mint leaves mixed with warm mud will help with their wounds." Bron found himself saying.

Chomper roared at his mother translating what Bron had said and she nodded her thanks. She set both Littlefoot and Chomper on Bron's back, nuzzling them both before making her way back to her mate.

"Please continue to watch over our son." She called out as Bron turned away.

"Mommy said to continue watching over me." Littlefoot nodded, then turned and waived his goodbyes.

The grown up sharpteeth waived back. Thing's would be different for Bron going forward. He had unknowingly made sharpteeth allies.

The children had taught them all a thing or two about friendship and comraderie.

A/N: Bron is relieved he found Littlefoot and Chomper and they are okay. That doesn't mean they are off the hook though. What will happen when they return back to the Great Valley?

R and R please, thank you.