Ch.4: A Father's Hatred
Megumi cried the whole way back as she ran towards the nomadic herd, the look in Grandpa Longneck's eyes flashing clearly through her mind. It was the same rage that was in 'his' eyes, those hated eyes from the past.
"His eyes were just like father's," thought Megumi, her mind flashing back to the torment she had suffered at his hands.
Her father, Bigtail, was a curse among other longnecks. He lived for war, and pled no mercy upon his foes. The black-scaled giant had suffered a bitter childhood, and grew into an even more aggressive adult. Even among their own kind, no longneck was safe from his rage, even his wife and daughter.
However, despite the pain, Megumi would watch with wonder on how her mother would stay up day after day, taking all of Bigtail's abuse and still holding strong. One day, Megumi asked her mom why she had ever chosen to stay with Bigtail. Her mother responded back in her sweet voice.
"If I don't show him love, who will? He needs me, as he needs you."
"But Mom you're wrong!" thought Megumi angrily as she continued to run " He didn't need me! After you died, he couldn't wait to lose me!"
Megumi had finally made it back into the nomadic herd, tears continuing to flow from her eyes. Some of the male and female longnecks within the group took notice of Megumi for a second, before casually turning around and chatting with the rest of the herd.
There was no one within this whole herd who could less for the tides of a young one's cries, and Megumi held her head down low in a curve.
In reality, Megumi might be standing within the group of her saviors, but the truth was, that even among them, she had no place, and was still alone.
Meanwhile, Littlefoot finally made his way back towards the grassy hill, where Cera and his other friends were still waiting, troubled over the events that had happened over at the watering hole.
"There he is!" called Ducky, as Littlefoot arrived.
"About time!" said Cera, raking one foot across the ground.
"Hey, where Megumi?" asked Petrie, when he saw that the female longneck was no longer running beside his friend.
Bringing up the question when Littlefoot finally got there, the longneck began to explain what had taken place at the hole, making his friends drop their faces in shock.
"Whoa," said Cera, not believing what she had heard. Littlefoot's grandpa acting all like towards Megumi, did him and her dad switch brains?
"Why do you think he's so mad her?" asked Ducky.
"I don't know" said Littlefoot " Grandpa said something about Bigtail, and told me not to play with Megumi again."
"You not suggest we avoid her do you?" asked Petrie.
"Why not?" said Cera " If Littlefoot's grandpa is mad, it must be for a reason."
"Yep, yep, yep" said Ducky "He must have a reason, right Spike?"
The hungry spiketail just slowly nodded his head.
"Yeah well I don't agree with this plan" said Guido " I'm going to find Megumi. She needs a friend. And if you guys aren't willing to help out, I'll fly alone."
With that said, Guido leaped off Spike's back and caught the wind with his wings, soaring away from Littlefoot and the rest of the group. Petrie, worried that they offended Guido, was tempted to fly up and go after his friend, when he caught the look of guilt and sorrow reflecting in the other's eyes.
They all felt sorry for how they had talked about Megumi too. Just because they were told she was bad, didn't make her that way. Hadn't they all had fun with her only hours before?
"Guido's right" said Littlefoot a moment later, breaking the silence " we have to go find her."
The others just nodded in agreement, and spread out to conduct the search.
Meanwhile, out in the depths of the Mysterious Beyond, a fierce battle raged, as one lone longneck faced off against two Sharpteeth with the swings from his tail. The two, circling Sharpteeth roared out hungrily at their prey, lusting for his blood.
Their claws and teeth had already struck many scars on the tall, black longneck's scales, and the wounds bled out like rivers, forming pools on the ground. However, despite all the damage, the black longneck stood strong, the pain only further fueling the anger and hate burning within his soul.
Sulfur pits began to appear during the struggle, bubbling out his hot steam. With every stride, the three battlers edged closer to the deadly pools, and the black longneck fought back with force.
The sharptooth on the right charged, aiming towards the exposed neck, but the longneck sensed that attack coming and ducked his head low just in time to send that sharptooth flying into his friend.
The two rexes collided, and with fierce roars, clawed their way apart. A sulfur pool stood a few feet more behind them, and that's when the longneck made his move.
Whishing out his huge tail like a super-strong bat, the two ton mammal whipped it towards the Sharpteeth, and sent them flying into the pool. Growls of pain now erupted from the sharpteeth's mouths as they burned and drowned.
The black longneck stood longer, glaring at the two of them as they sank on beneath, a huff of relief escaping as he gasped.
"That's one annoyance taken care of," said the longneck, and then focused back to his goal.
He had to get back to the trail, the tracks were clearer now. The herd was moving West, right towards the Great Valley.