Chapter 6: Keeping a Promise
Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike were walking by a dangerous place. Lava spouts gushed out lava and a nearby volcano also spewed lava. The dino kids crossed over a small gap. Ducky and Petrie were afraid of the lava river nearby.
"I-I-I wish S-Sonic and L-Littlefoot were h-here with us now" stammered Ducky. "M-M-Me too" added Petrie. Ducky was on Spike's back and Petrie was on Cera's back. Cera didn't care what Ducky and Petrie said. She didn't want to see Littlefoot or Sonic ever again. She was determined to find the Great Valley her way. Spike stopped walking and sniffed a little plant. "Spike" said Ducky. She believed that this was no time for eating a plant. But Spike licked his lips. Ducky saw that Cera and Petrie were walking farther away. She gasped as Spike started to munch and pull on the plant.
"Spike, do not stop. We must stay together" said Ducky. She tried to get Spike to stop. Cera and Petrie were walking close to a tar pit. Petrie was shaking as he heard the tar pit bubble. Cera was a little frightened but then she just frowned. She knew that she had to cross it.
Meanwhile, Littlefoot and Sonic continued on their path. Sonic stopped walking and looked back at the volcanoes. Littlefoot just kept walking. Sonic started to think that Cera's path looked too dangerous. What if something terrible happened to the others? Sonic was about to continue walking but he couldn't get the thought out of his head. He decided that he wanted to go back to see if the others are okay. He had a bad feeling about it.
Littlefoot stopped walking when he saw that Sonic didn't follow.
"Are you coming?" asked Littlefoot. Sonic looked back at Littlefoot, "I think that the path Cera and the others chose looks too dangerous. I think we should go back to see if they're okay" he said.
Littlefoot went wide-eyed and then frowned at Sonic. "You wanna go back?" said Littlefoot.
"It doesn't look safe Littlefoot. They could be in trouble" said Sonic.
Littlefoot just frowned and said, "They decided to go the wrong way. I'm going to find the Great Valley like my mother told me." He started to walk away. Sonic couldn't believe what Littlefoot said. He dashed and got in front of Littlefoot.
Sonic frowned and said, "You care about some valley than our friends?!" Littlefoot then had a sad expression as Sonic frowned at him.
"You do what you think is right. But I'm going back to help our friends" said Sonic.
Just as Sonic was about to turn back, he and Littlefoot heard a cry for help. It was Petrie who cried.
"Cera, Ducky, Spike! HELP!" shouted Petrie. Sonic and Littlefoot went wide-eyed. They both looked at each other. "Let's go help our friends!" said Sonic. Littlefoot nodded, "Let's go!" he yelled.
Sonic picked up Littlefoot in his hands. The Longneck was a little heavy but Sonic didn't care.
"Hold on!" shouted Sonic. Littlefoot nodded. Sonic zoomed through the rocky land. He stopped when he heard Ducky cry for help. "Help Cera! Cera, where are you?!" shouted Ducky. Sonic ran fast toward Ducky's cry. They stopped near the edge of a cliff. Sonic put Littlefoot down. They both looked over the edge. They were shocked by what they saw. Ducky and Spike were stuck on a big rock surrounded by the lava river. Ducky saw Littlefoot and Sonic, and yelled, "Littlefoot, Sonic!"
"Ducky!" shouted Littlefoot. "Ducky! Spike!" yelled Sonic. "Help us!" yelled Ducky.
"Hang on! We're coming!" yelled Sonic. Sonic and Littlefoot rushed down to help them. The rock Ducky and Spike were on started to sink into the lava. Littlefoot saw another big rock and decided to make a bridge for them. He tried pushing the rock but he wasn't strong enough. "I've got it!" shouted Sonic. The blue hedgehog hit the rock with a strong kick. It instantly fell over into the lava. Ducky screamed as some lava splashed a little. Littlefoot jumped on the rock and said, "Quick! This way!" Ducky was on Spike's back as Spike followed Littlefoot. They jumped off at the moment the rocks sank into the lava.
"You guys okay?" asked Sonic.
"We're okay" said Ducky. They then heard Petrie cry for help again. They all ran to where Petrie was. The Flyer was stuck in a tar pit.
Sonic didn't want to jump in tar but he knew he had to help. "It looks very sticky but I have to help Petrie" thought Sonic. Sonic and the dino kids jumped into the gooey tar to rescue Petrie. Petrie was coughing and trying to stay above the surface of the tar. Littlefoot grabbed a small rock pillar with his tail and he held onto Spike's tail. Ducky was on Spike's back trying to reach for the Flyer. Sonic struggled to get to Petrie through the sticky tar. Sonic was already neck deep. Petrie was happy to see his friends again. He was also neck deep.
"Oh, Sonic, Ducky, Flat Head, Spike. Oh, Petrie so happy" said Petrie. Ducky gasped as Petrie suddenly went below the tar. "Petrie!" yelled Littlefoot. Ducky reached to pull out Petrie. He came back out and managed to get on Spike's back, but then Ducky fell into the bubbling tar.
"Help!" cried Ducky.
"Ducky!" yelled Littlefoot. Sonic tried to help Ducky out. She coughed and gagged while trying to get out. Sonic pushed Ducky close to Petrie and he grabbed her tail. Littlefoot pulled hard on the pillar as he tried to pull the others out. Sonic, Ducky, and Petrie tried to hang on to Spike. Littlefoot tried pulling harder again but the little pillar broke. Now they were all stuck in the tar pit. They all struggled to get out. Thankfully, the tar was not too sticky as they managed to get out.
Meanwhile, Cera was getting bullied by a gang of Pachycephalosaurs or Dome-Heads. They kept trying to hit the little Three-Horn with their heads. Cera managed to dodge some their attacks while screaming. But soon they ganged up on her.
"Help me! Help me! HELP!" shouted Cera. Just when the Dome-Heads were about to attack, they heard a weird noise. They looked behind themselves and saw a black gooey, elephant-like monster with tree branches for arms. The Dome-Heads shook with fear. The monster walked toward them. Then a black ball came off and landed next to them. The 'ball' stood up and looked like a spiky black monster. He walked toward them like a zombie while growling. The Dome-Heads ran away from the gooey monsters. Cera screamed but stood her ground. She tried to head butt the spiky one but he jumped out of the way. The big black monster came toward her while making weird noises.
"Get away! Get away from me!" yelled Cera. The black monster grabbed her with its 'trunk.'
"Stop it! Let go of me!" said Cera. But the monster lifted her higher and wouldn't let go.
"Help! Petrie, Spike, Ducky, HELP!" shouted Cera. The spiky monster wiped tar off his face. It was Sonic.
"Cera, it is us" said Ducky. Revealing the monster to be the other dino kids. In a tar like mess. Cera was relieved at this and smiled while panting. The tar covered kids laughed at Cera. The Three-Horn tried to free herself from Littlefoot's tar covered tail and she fell to the ground.
"I guess we scared you huh?" said Sonic as he chuckled. He shook some more tar off.
Cera frowned at them and said, "I knew it was you guys all along!"
Sonic and the others laughed, "Sure you did." He laughed again.
"I knew! I did!" shouted Cera. The other kids laughed some more.
Cera just scoffed and said, "Oh, get outta my way." She started to walk away. But then she slipped on a puddle of tar. Sonic and the others laughed again at what happened. Cera got back up. She stook out her tongue while walking, but she bumped into a rock. The others giggled at that. Cera glared at the others. She then hmphed and walked away again. Sonic ran in a little circle to get the rest of the tar off of him. The tar was just sliding off Littlefoot and the others.
"Now, that's better" said Sonic. He found some tar in his quills and got the rest of it off.
Cera was walking farther away. The kids wondered why but Sonic knew why as he watched Cera walk away.
"Cera?" said Ducky.
"Cera, come back!" yelled Littlefoot. "Come back!"
"Let her go guys. She just needs some time alone" said Sonic. He knew that Cera was humiliated at what happened and she didn't want to admit that she went the wrong way. She was still arrogant. The others walked away. Cera walked close to a nearby waterfall. She sat down and started to cry. She covered her head as she continued crying.
Littlefoot and the others found a nearby pond. A deep pond in fact. The kids were washing off what was left of the tar. They also went for a little swim. Sonic kept his distance from the deep pond. He looked upset and uncomfortable.
Littlefoot noticed this and said, "Are you okay Sonic?"
Sonic looked at Littlefoot and said, "Uh…I'm okay. I just don't want to swim."
Littlefoot looked at Sonic in question. "Are you afraid of water?" he asked.
"Me? No…I just. Well…" stammered Sonic. Littlefoot frowned at him. He knew he was hiding something.
"Okay" admitted Sonic. He took a deep breath and said, "I can't swim. That's why I don't like deep water."
Littlefoot and the other kids were very surprised at this. They really thought he wasn't afraid of anything. Especially, since he fought the Sharptooth.
"We thought you weren't afraid of anything" said Ducky. Sonic laughed a little and said, "I guess I am afraid of something after all."
"Did you ever learn to swim?" asked Littlefoot.
"Well I ran around a lot. So, I guess I never learned how" said Sonic.
Ducky smiled and said, "We could teach you. We could. Yep, yep, yep." Sonic scratched his head and thought for a moment.
"Well, maybe…" started Sonic. He was interrupted by a roaring sound. It was the Sharptooth again.
Petrie gasped and yelled, "Sharptooth!" Ducky screamed in fear.
Sonic and the others hid a behind a big rock. Spike put his head down again.
Ducky gasped, "It's Sharptooth." The Sharptooth was on a cliff looking around. He roared again.
Sonic had had it with this big lizard. "I'm tired of this Big Bully" he said angrily.
Littlefoot agreed. "Let's get rid of him once and for all." Sonic nodded.
"What'll we do?" asked Ducky. Littlefoot looked at the deep pond. He had an idea.
"Look, we'll coax to the deep end of the pond" said Littlefoot. "He can't swim with those scrawny arms."
"I didn't read a lot about the T-Rex but I'm guessing it stayed away from deep water because its little arms aren't strong enough for swimming" thought Sonic.
Littlefoot continued his plan. "Me, Sonic, and Spike will go up, and push that big rock on top of his head." Sonic looked up to see the very large rock on the edge of the cliff. Littlefoot then said, "And then he'll fall off into the water."
Sonic thought for a moment and said, "This could work Littlefoot. Good idea."
"Thanks" said Littlefoot. He then looked at Petrie. "Petrie, you whistle when he's just at the right spot where the water gets dark."
Littlefoot then said, "Now we need some bait." He looked and smiled at Ducky and Petrie did the same. They wanted Ducky to do it.
"Me!?" exclaimed Ducky. "Oh, no. No, no, no."
Sonic then had an idea too. "Don't worry Ducky. I'll protect you." Ducky felt relieved at that.
But Littlefoot raised an eyebrow. "But we'll need your help to push the rock."
Sonic smiled and said, "Hey, don't worry. As soon as we get the Sharptooth close enough, I'll run right back up. I'm a Runner, remember?"
Littlefoot sighed and said, "Okay. I just hope this works."
Sonic picked up Ducky in his hand and dashed right up the rocky hill. The Sharptooth was looking in a cave in the hill. Sonic and Ducky arrived at the entrance of the cave. Sonic put Ducky down. She hummed nervously as they got close because she was still afraid of the Sharptooth.
"Okay, we just need to get his attention" whispered Sonic. Ducky nodded nervously. The Sharptooth growled as it looked around the cave. Sonic was trying to think of something. But without warning, Ducky just screamed at the top of her lungs. Sonic flinched at the sudden scream. Both Ducky and Sonic hid behind a rock as they heard the Sharptooth growl loudly from the sudden sound. They both looked from behind the rock. The Sharptooth was nowhere to be seen. Sonic looked around. "Where did he go?" thought Sonic.
Ducky started to back up a little. Suddenly, Sonic looked behind himself as he sensed something big. The Sharptooth appeared from behind a large rock pillar. Ducky started to run. Sonic quickly scooped her up and he jumped. The Sharptooth jumped to try to bite them. They all slid down the rocky hill. The Sharptooth smashed into a big rock and hit the edge of the water. Ducky screamed and went flying into the water and Sonic hit the shallow part of the water.
"Ducky! Sonic!" cried the other kids. Ducky swam and hid by a rock underwater. The Sharptooth tried to find Ducky, so it was hitting the water with his tail and foot. Petrie then saw that the Sharptooth was in position. He tried whistling. At first, he made only blowing sounds. Then he finally made a loud whistle. The Sharptooth heard the whistle and looked up. Littlefoot and Spike started to push the big rock.
"Push, Spike, push with all your might!" shouted Littlefoot. They tried pushing the rock but it was still too heavy. It was going very slowly. Sonic was about to zoom up the hill but the Sharptooth saw him. The big lizard tried to bite him but Sonic easily dodged his attacks. The Blue Runner made sure not to go to the deep side of the water. So he dashed around left, then he dashed right. Petrie took a little rock and threw it at the Sharptooth's head. Though it was just a small rock, it got the mean lizard's attention. He looked up where Petrie was. Petrie just laughed at him. The Sharptooth rammed the side of the cliff. Petrie began to fall while yelping. "Petrie!" yelled Littlefoot. Petrie managed to escape a bite from the Sharptooth. He landed on the big lizard's snout. The Sharptooth then blew hot air through his nostrils and roared. Petrie was pushed up high by the hot air. Sonic then watched Petrie go up.
Petrie flapped his wings. He then realized he was flying. "I flying. I flying. I flying!" yelled Petrie. He was now not afraid to fly anymore. Littlefoot saw this and smiled.
Sonic also smiled. "I knew he could do it" thought Sonic. He then turned around to see the Sharptooth trying to munch him again. Sonic kept dodging him but he was a little too close to the deep water. The Sharptooth stomped down, causing a big splash that knocked Sonic into the deep water.
"Whoaaaaaa!" yelled Sonic before he hit the water and went under.
Littlefoot and the others gasped, "Sonic!" yelled Littlefoot. Ducky came back to the surface. The Sharptooth tried to bite her, "Help!" yelled Ducky. Petrie puffed up his chest and flew down to help Ducky. He hit one of the big lizard's eyes.
Sonic waved his arms and legs frantically underwater. He sank lower. He stopped and tried to run underwater. He sank even lower. He then managed to grab the side of the pond. He stopped sinking. He tried to hold his breath longer as he started to climb the rocky side. He knew he had to hurry to the surface.
The Sharptooth managed to jump to the top of the cliff. The big rock held him back from nearly biting the kids. The kids tried pushing the big rock but it was still too heavy. They needed Cera and Sonic. The Sharptooth started to push the rock back with his head. The kids were no match for him.
"I'm coming!" yelled a voice. Littlefoot looked behind himself. It was Cera. She was charging toward the rock.
"Cera, you're back!" yelled Littlefoot. With Cera's help, the kids started to push the rock back again. But the Sharptooth wouldn't give up. He kept pushing the rock back with his strength. The Sharptooth tried to bite one of the kids. They ducked down to avoid him. Petrie flew up and tried to hit the Sharptooth's other eye. The Tyrannosaur tried to bite him again. The kids pushed with all their might. The Sharptooth then raised his foot and stomped the ground. The dino kids were sent flying on their backs by the impact.
Cera looked around, "Where's Sonic?!" she yelled as they got back up. Littlefoot looked to the pond. He had a sad expression on his face. He thought that Sonic might not make it. He then thought the Sharptooth will win. Suddenly, Sonic jumped out of the pond. He coughed a little and looked up. The Sharptooth was pushing the rock back.
"Sonic, help!" yelled Littlefoot.
"HELP!" cried the other kids as they tried pushing the rock again.
Sonic instantly zoomed to the top of the hill. He ran until he was behind the kids. He was a few yards away from them. "Get out of the way!" shouted Sonic. The kids quickly sidestepped to one side and ducked down. Sonic ran at super speed. When he was close to the rock, he gave it a powerful shove. The Sharptooth was no match for Sonic's speed. The large rock instantly went over the edge and the Sharptooth fell. Petrie also went over because he was on the Sharptooth's head. He tried to fly back up but the Sharptooth bit his wing, and didn't let go. "HELP!" yelled Petrie. The Flyer and the Sharptooth hit the water with a big SPLASH. The Sharptooth couldn't swim back up. He was finally gone. Sonic and the dino kids looked down to see if Petrie will make it. But nothing came back up.
The dino kids all had sad looks on their faces. They thought Petrie was gone. Sonic was also very upset.
"He was my friend" said Ducky with sadness in her voice. "Poor Petrie." She sniffed and shed a tear.
Sonic's eyes were also beginning to tear up. Then his sad expression turned into bravery.
"No. I promised to keep you guys safe" said Sonic. The dino kids looked at him with surprised expressions.
"But you can't swim Sonic" said Ducky.
Sonic looked at Ducky and said, "I have to try."
Sonic jumped right off the cliff and dove into the water. The kids looked closely at the water. In a few seconds, Sonic came out with Petrie in his hands. Ducky and the others smiled as Sonic and Petrie were okay. Sonic zoomed right back up to the others. Petrie was coughing and panting, but he was alright. Sonic put him down.
Ducky was very happy. "Sonic, Petrie! You're all safe! Yep, yep, yep!" exclaimed Ducky. She ran over to both of them. She hugged Petrie and then hugged Sonic's leg. Sonic laughed a little. He knelt down and hugged her back. The others were very happy too. Littlefoot looked behind himself. He saw a strange cloud. He ran up a hill. He heard his mother calling him again. The cloud took the form of his mother.
Littlefoot was sad and upset. "Mother. I tried to do what you told me, (sniffs) but it's just too hard. I'll never find the Great Valley" he said as he lowered his head in defeat. He thought he failed her. But then the cloud started drifting away. He lifted his head and said, "Mother? Mother! Don't go Mother!"
The cloud drifted farther away. "Don't go!" Littlefoot yelled again. He followed the cloud as quickly as he could. Sonic heard Littlefoot yell and saw him running far away. Sonic quickly followed Littlefoot. The Longneck followed the cloud through a small tunnel. He skidded to a halt. He was at some wide opening. Sonic also stopped by Littlefoot. The cloud took the form of Littlefoot's mother again and shined a bright light on both Littlefoot and Sonic. The light started to stretch out. The farther it went, the more land it revealed. All the land was now clearly seen. It was the Great Valley! They finally found it. Littlefoot's mother had guided them. Littlefoot and Sonic went wide-eyed. They both stared in awe and wonder.
"The Great…Valley" said Littlefoot. His mouth hung open in amazement.
"Now THAT is the Great Valley" said Sonic with a smile.
Littlefoot called out to his other friends."Cera, Spike, Ducky, Petrie, over here!" he yelled. They all followed his voice through the tunnel. The other kids smiled with joy and happiness when they saw it.
"Littlefoot, you found it! Yep, yep, yep!" exclaimed Ducky.
"We did it! We did it together!" shouted Littlefoot. Sonic nodded in agreement. They all ran down to the valley in laughter and joy. They were home. There were enough leaves to last for a long time. There were also waterfalls and lots of fresh water. And they were reunited with their families.
Ducky introduced Spike to her family. "This is our new brother Spike" she said. Her family was happy to adopt him to their family.
Petrie showed his mother that he can fly. "Mama, I a Flyer!" shouted Petrie. He flapped his wings hard. So hard that he blew his siblings away. His mother was so proud of him.
Cera ran to her father. "Daddy!" she yelled. Her father called back, "Cera?" She was so happy to be with her father again.
Littlefoot was finally reunited with his grandparents. He then remembered his journey. How he met Sonic and his other friends. He was so happy to have friends. They may not be Longnecks but he didn't care.
"Littlefoot!" cried Cera. Littlefoot ran to her voice. All the others kids ran to a hill. Sonic followed them. Littlefoot and the kids embraced each other in a group hug. Then they all hugged Sonic. He laughed a little.
"Welcome home guys" said Sonic. "I wonder how I'm going to get back to my time. Maybe Tails…" thought Sonic. But before he could finish his thought, suddenly electricity surged in the air near the hill. The kids looked in terror. The electricity cracked and surged again, and then a circular portal appeared. A yellow fox stepped out of it. It was Tails.
"Tails!" yelled Sonic. Tails waved at Sonic. Sonic rushed over to Tails. The dino kids followed.
"Well you ready to go back Sonic?" asked Tails.
"Yeah" said Sonic as he nodded.
Littlefoot and the others looked surprised. "You're leaving?" asked Littlefoot.
"Yep. It's time for me to head back to my home" said Sonic. The kids had sad expressions on their faces. They didn't want Sonic to leave. But Sonic looked at them and tried to cheer them up.
"Hey don't look so sad. I promised to get you guys to the Great Valley safely. And I did" said Sonic.
"We'll miss you Sonic. We will. We will" said Ducky.
"I'll miss you all too" said Sonic. All the dino kids gave him a group hug. When they parted, Sonic introduced Tails to his new friends. "Tails, these are my new friends" said Sonic. The kids introduced their names to Tails. He smiled and waved at them, "Hey guys!" said Tails.
"This is my Flyer friend I told you about Littlefoot" said Sonic. Littlefoot looked at Tails curiously. He saw that he had 2 tails. "Wow, you have 2 tails!" exclaimed Littlefoot. The others also looked in wonder.
Petrie looked again and said, "But how he a Flyer? I see no wings."
"That's because I use my tails to fly" said Tails.
"Really!?" said Petrie.
Tails nodded. He spun his 2 tails like helicopter blades and he flew. The dino kids were amazed at this. Tails then landed.
Cera walked to Sonic, "Sonic…I…um" started Cera. Sonic just smiled as he knew Cera was trying to apologize about before. Even though she was still arrogant about it.
Sonic patted her head. "Hey it's okay. Just try not to be too tough, okay?" said Sonic. Cera nodded.
Ducky walked to Sonic. "Maybe we could teach you to swim when you come back" she said.
"Maybe" smiled Sonic.
"You are coming back right?" asked Cera.
"I promise that I will come see you guys again" said Sonic.
"You promise?" asked Littlefoot.
"I promise" answered Sonic as he nodded. They all hugged him again.
Sonic then said, "If you guys will miss me a lot, think of me when you feel the wind. Because you never know, I might just be running by." He winked at his dino friends. Littlefoot winked back.
"Well, see ya later!" said Sonic. The kids said their good byes. Sonic and Tails ran through the portal, and then the portal vanished.
Back in Mobius…
Sonic was now back home. Suddenly, his stomach grumbled. Tails laughed at him. Sonic laughed too. He hasn't eaten anything in the dinosaurs' time. He couldn't eat leaves.
"Why don't we grab some chilidogs" said Tails.
"Sounds good enough to me buddy" said Sonic.
Later that night…
Littlefoot was lying down for some sleep. He looked up at the night sky. He felt a little wind. He smiled and said, "Good Night Sonic." He laid down his head and went to sleep.
Sonic was standing on a hill and looked up at the night sky too. He smiled, "Good Night Littlefoot" he said.
End of Chapter 6
To be continued…
