The Land of Mists

In just a few minutes, Archie had led the group of children to a small, secluded section of the cave. It was something like a medium sized room compared to the rest of the caverns, about the size of a football stadium. In the corner was a small pool of fresh, clean water.

As soon as they stopped, Ken immediately took Aylene off of Littlefoot. Ali lay down and he rested Aylene up against her side. He then set his crossbow down and took his gym bag off of his back. He opened his bag and began pulling out a bandage roll and a large blue towel. He then took the towel and dipped a corner of it in the pool of water. He then took it out, wringed it of any extra liquid, and began cleaning the blood off of Aylene's face.

Once he was done, he rinsed out the towel and proceeded to carefully wrap Aylene's head in the bandage.

"She'll be okay," the boy said when he was done. "Let's just be glad it was bump to the head. It could've been a lot worse."

"Yeah," Ali nodded. "Especially with Ichy and Dil on the loose."

"Who are those guys anyway?" Cera asked. "And what do they have against you two?"

Ken and Ali both exchanged pained expressions. Whatever happened between them and those two hungry lunatics, it obviously wasn't something they wanted to talk about.

But before they could speak, Aylene winced and moved slightly, letting out a soft groan at the same time.

"Hey, she's waking up!" Ducky happily squeaked.

From Aylene's point of view, the first thing any of her senses picked up was the sound of voices all jumbled together. She tightened her eyes for a moment before slowly opening them. For a while, her vision was all blurry, so she could only just obscure moving shapes. She blinked a few times before everything adjusted. Now she could see everyone staring at her with both relief and concern. Although, they did seem look more relieved than anything.

"Aylene," Littlefoot said, "are you okay?"

"What?" the girl mumbled. "Littlefoot? What's going on? Where are those…things?"

"Well," Cera smirked, "someone's still dazed.

"She got hit on the head with a rock," Archie pointed out, "what do you expect?"

"Will someone please just tell me what's going on?" Aylene groaned.

Ken responded by pulling out a large water bottle out of his gym back.

"Here," he said, opening the lid, "have some water, you'll feel better."

Aylene slowly adjusted her position so she could sit up. After she shook the dizziness from her head, she reached over and took the water bottle.

"Thanks," she gratefully smiled.

The human girl took four large gulps of the cool, refreshing liquid. She then pulled the bottle away, licking the remaining water on her lips, and handed it back to the human boy, who immediately put it back in his bag. Aylene turned to look at the others.

"Cera," she glanced around at the Gang, "Ducky, Petrie, Spike, what are you guys doing here?"

"Ali and Ken came and got us." Ducky explained. "And it was a good thing to. It was, it was."

"Yeah," Petrie nodded, "that bellydragger and sharpbeak almost had you and Littlefoot for dinner."

"Don't remind me," the said Apatosaurus shuddered. "I'm just glad you guys showed up when you did."

Aylene gave a blank expression.

"I remember being cornered by a large gator," she rubbed her head. "But I don't remember anything after that."

While she rubbed her head, Aylene stopped when she felt something like cloth wrapped around her head. She gingerly touched it, almost like she was trying to figure out what it was.

"That rock hit you pretty hard." Ken explained. "Fortunately, it wasn't too serious. I just had to put a bandage on it."

"Really?" Aylene looked at the human boy. "Uh, thank you. And…thanks for saving us. But…who were those two?"

Ken looked down at the ground for a second or two before looking up at Ali. The female longneck gave a small nod. Ken gave a defeated sigh and waved his hand, indicating that it was okay for her to tell the rest what was going on.

"Well," Ali looked down at her fore paws, "I guess you should know at least a little bit of the truth."

"A little bit?" Littlefoot cocked his head in curiosity.

"What happened between us and those two is not any of your business." Ken looked away bitterly. "All you need to know is that they want to get even with Ali and me."

"Would it have anything to do with an arrow in the tail?" the male longneck tentatively asked.

Ken looked up with a surprised look in his eyes. He then took a deep breath and let out a near frustrated sigh.

"Yeah," he glanced away, "as well as a blind spot."

The Gang and Archie looked at the human boy with slightly disturbed expressions.

"And I guess Ichy isn't too pleased I practically took away his ability to fly." Ken mumbled.

"You did what?!" Petrie screeched.

Being a flyer, Petrie was naturally terrified by the idea of not being able to fly anymore.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Ken quickly said. "He and that gator attacked us!"

Sensing that Ken's anxiety was growing, and the others were becoming nervous, Ali quickly stepped in to explain.

"It was just before our home was becoming a swampland," she said. "We were starting to travel out of the land when those two attacked our herd. Out of defense, Ken managed to blind Dil's eye and severely injured Ichy's wing."

"Wow, that sounds very familiar." Cera blinked.

"What do you mean, Cera?" Littlefoot asked.

"Think about it," Cera shrugged, "when we fought Sharptooth, we blinded him in one eye. And Aylene shot countless arrows into his limbs."

"I…never would've made that connection," Aylene said with a blank face. "But now that you mention it, that is very true."

"Yeah," Ken frowned, "but at least you guys got rid of Sharptooth. We still have those bozos out there. And the fact they followed me and Ali here means they have vengeance on their mind."

"As well as a need to fill their stomachs." Littlefoot shuddered again, remembering the conversation Ichy and Dil exchanged between each other. "Archie, Aylene, and I would've been their next dinner if you guys hadn't come to our rescue."

"Hey," Cera grinned, "someone's got to be there to bail you two out of trouble."

"Well," Ducky said, "Ali and Ken come and get us."

"They wouldn't have to if they had brought us in the first place." Cera frowned.

"That was my fault, Cera." Ken said with sincerity. "Aylene and Littlefoot wanted you guys to come, but I told them that you couldn't. But it was only because I was concerned for your safety."

"It's true." Ali nodded.

"But we still could help you search for the Night Flower." Cera replied.

"The Night Flower?" Archie suddenly spoke up. "What's this about the Night Flower?"

"We have to find it to help my grandpa who's sick." Littlefoot explained. "That's why we were in the cave in the first place."

"Yeah," Aylene nodded, "we're going to the Land of Mists to find the Night Flower."

"Well," Archie smiled, "why didn't you say that in the first place? I know a short cut."

The entire group of young ones smiled. Considering all that had happened so far during the day, this was the best news they had heard so far.

Without any hesitation, Ken helped Aylene onto Littlefoot's back and they children followed Archie as he led them through the cavern toward their exit.

In just about half an hour, the group was happily running through a shallow stream that led to a large cave opening. They all laughed and cheered as they stepped into the sunlight. Never before had they been happy to see the light of day until now.

"Thanks, Archie." Littlefoot smiled. "I don't know how we would've gotten out of the cave without you."

"Yeah," Aylene nodded, "thanks."

"You're welcome, kids," the old Archelon said graciously. "Now I want you to take good care of yourselves. As brave as you are, you're still awfully young to be out here alone."

"I know," Littlefoot sighed, "but I have to help my grandpa."

"Don't worry, Littlefoot." Aylene rubbed her friend's shoulder. "We'll find the Night Flower and return home. We always find a way."

"Just promise me that you'll stick together." Archie said. "You all may be little, but together you're strong."

"Don't worry, Archie," the male longneck nodded, "we'll stick together."

"Well, then I guess all I can do is wish you luck," the old turtle smiled. "And if you pass through these caves again, I'll be ready to help."

"Thank you, Archie." Ken bowed his head.

Everyone said good-bye to Archie as he turned around and slowly crawled back into the darkness of the caves. When he was out of sight, they turned and walked to the edge of the cliff where the stream ended and ran down like a waterfall.

The Gang all stared in awe at the landscape that stretched out before them. Down below was something that looked like a blanket of thin clouds with patches of green sticking up here and there. The air was dense and humid, making it feel almost sticky. The only sounds that could be heard were subtle chirpings and rushing waters. Other than that, it was quiet. And a little too quiet for comfort.

"Is this it?" Aylene asked.

"Yeah, Aylene." Ken said, narrowing his eyes at the place he had once wandered with Ali and her herd.

Only now, it wasn't a place he could call home anymore. It was a place he never wanted to return to. But now he had returned, and there was no turning back.

Ken clenched for a moment before saying:

"This…is the Land of Mists."