Chapter VIII: Conversation's End
In which the gang reaches a decision.
Dusk sighed. "I've been sitting in the same place a long time. Why is she taking so long to find me?" he thought. "Hmmm." He suddenly had a thought.
Dusk pointed his hand upward, and a large cloud overhead slowly began descending to his location. He continued to wait where he was, and after a few minutes, Ceit landed in front of him.
"Ma lord," he said with a bow.
"Don't worry about pleasantries. Just guide me to the others. I suppose Menta ran out of energy?"
"Err…" he trailed off.
"Ceit? Is, something wrong?"
"I will guide you to the others right away, ma lord," and with that, he started to take flight. However, Dusk jumped up and grabbed his foot, preventing him from leaving.
"I asked you, is something wrong? Is Menta alright? Answer me!"
"Well ma lord, you see, uh, what happened was-" he was cut off by the deathly glare in Dusk's eyes. "She lost consciousness," he said straight out.
"Were you guys attacked?" he asked in a chillingly-cold voice while keeping his hold on Ceit.
"N-no, she passed out from the strain of using two powers at the same-"
Dusk let go of Ceit while his eyes blazed like a raging fire. The roar that followed from his throat shook the nearby trees and caused a small tremor. "Go," he said in a deathly tone. "And you'd best fly quickly."
"Y-yes, ma lord," and Ceit quickly took to the skies, then set a pace to allow Dusk to keep up.
xxxxx
"So let me get this straight," Cera began. "There is a rock from where you guys live and someone is trying to steal it and you believe the seven of us are the only ones who can stop this guy?"
"Yeah, that uh, that pretty much sums it up," the male answered.
"I don't know if we can, but what makes you think we can?" Ruby asked.
"Well now, that would be telling, wouldn't it?" the female responded.
"If you two need help, we have the right to know why you chose us first," Littlefoot declared. "Why not ask grow-ups? The can do a lot of things we can't."
The female let out a sigh. "This conversation is getting tedious." She looked at Littlefoot and said, "You saw when that herd of Yellow Bellies needed help, and you did not hesitate to do what you could, not knowing what would be in store for you along the way. You listened to wisdoms, and trusted your instincts. You just couldn't stand to see those in need and do nothing about it. Have you changed since then?"
"How did you know about-?"
"Well have you?" she interrupted him.
"No, I haven't." He paused, and there was a brief silence throughout the whole group. Finally, he said, "I'll go with you. Tell me what I can do to help."
"I'm afraid you can't help," the female told him.
"But you just said-"
"I said we need the help of all seven of you. Come alone, and you will be of no benefit."
Littlefoot turned to his friends. "Well, guys?"
xxxxx
Two Sharpteeth and a Long Neck sat together, their backs to a rock. One of the Sharpteeth was leaning against it, unconscious.
"I think I like her better when she's quiet," Agu said.
"That's funny," the Long Neck replied, "Because I was just thinking the same about you."
"Nice come-back, but it doesn't work since I'm not a 'her.'"
"You aren't?"
"You're asking for it!"
Ceit landed beside them as Dusk ran up to Menta. He knelt beside her with a look of utmost concern, as her breathing was irregular.
"Did any of you know she was multitasking with her powers?" he asked quietly, though his tone did not hide his rage.
The other three looked at each other.
Flash Back
"Slow down," Menta told the others.
"What for?" Agu asked.
"I'm going to make sure Dusk's location is safe for him, and the slower we go, the better I can do it."
"You aren't attempting to multitask with your powers, are you?" Ceit asked. "Doing so causes a tremendous strain. Don't you remember what happened last time?"
"As long as Dusk is safe, nothing else matters."
"You do realize what Dusk might do to us if we let you do this again," Ceit warned.
"If you all tell him you knew nothing of this, I will backup your words. Now please, no more talking. I need to concentrate."
End of Flash Back
"We had no idea she was attempting such a thing, ma lord. Had I but known, I would not have allowed it," Ceit told Dusk.
Agu said, "Yeah," and the Long Neck said, "It's true," at the same time. Dusk looked at them suspiciously, but knew he could just ask Menta about it when she came to.
xxxxx
"I think we should all help out with this. But, I'm not so sure we should be going with them," Chomper stated, looking in the direction of the Rainbow Faces as he finished speaking.
"What do you mean, Chomper?" Littlefoot asked. "Who else is there to- Wait, you want to go with Dusk!"
"Well, yeah. These guys keep asking us to go with them and do what they want. Dusk only wants what we do. I trust him a lot more than these two."
"This has to be the longest conversation I have ever had, and I'm completely sick of it. It's time for action. You want to go with Dusk? Go right ahead. But Dusk is gone for now. If you want to meet up with him again, you'll have to come with us first. End of story. No more talking. My ears are about to fall off. You have ten seconds to answer before we leave. You guys coming or aren't you?" the female asked in exasperation and impatience.
The gang looked at each other, Spike let out a tired moan, and Littlefoot started to speak.
"Ten."
"We should tell our-"
"Nine."
"They'll worry if-"
"Eight."
"How far is-?"
"Seven."
"Alright we're going!" Cera yelled.
"Good," she answered. "Let's go then."
"But like I was trying to say, we should tell our folks. If it's really far, we'd be gone a while and they'd worry," Littlefoot finally managed to say.
"Don't worry," the male Rainbow face said. "You've left the valley many times without telling them. They should be used to it by now"
"I guess," Littlefoot replied.
"And," the male continued, "since we'll be a group, best to stop using pronouns to refer to us."
"Using what?" Littlefoot asked.
"Never mind. My name is Rey; hers is Reina. Use them," the male Rainbow Face instructed. "So, are we all ready to go?"
"Yes," Littlefoot answered.
"Good," he said. "Now everyone gather around."
The gang couldn't imagine what for and glanced at each other, but got closer to them as told. Rey went around, putting his hand on each of their heads momentarily.
At that moment, both the Rainbow Faces and the gang, were no longer there.
xxxxx
Dusk's ears perked up. He looked down at the still-unconscious, white Sharptooth. Looking up, he told the others, "We'll let her rest back at the mountain. There is nothing more to do here."
"Left with those two, did they?" Ceit inquired.
"They did," he answered. "The sound of their power is unmistakable, and I don't believe they'd go without them." He turned to the youngest member. "Coaley?"
"Awww. Already?" she whined. Dusk nodded. She hung her head in disappointment.
The Long Neck walked over to her. "Don't be sad. You can come back and see those Swimmers again when the mission is over, 'kay?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed with much enthusiasm as her face brightened.
Ceit's eyes narrowed as he focused and the altered group members suddenly looked like Sharpteeth again.
"Here we go, guys!" Coaley shouted. And in flash, they were gone.