Chapter 9: Face to Face

Littlefoot was unprepared for Chomper's sudden attack. With a swiftness that seemed unbelievable for a Sharptooth of his size, he rammed Littlefoot into the ground. Before he could act, Fyn was there, cracking his tail near Chomper's nose. The Sharptooth retreated a few steps as Littlefoot got to his feet.

"We can't hurt him," he said, "Chomper's still our friend."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Cera said, preparing for another attack.

"Let's try to lose him in the trees."

"That won't work," Fyn said, "he knows the land better than us. He'll catch us in no time."

"For now, it's our only option," Littlefoot said, "I'm not fighting unless we have no other choice."

"Then we do it your way," Fyn said, "but if he attacks again, I won't hesitate to stop him."

Chomper, meanwhile, was growing bolder. Fyn's tail had turned him away, but he was edging closer and closer to the group, testing them.

"Petrie," Littlefoot said to the Flyer on his back, "try to distract him."
"Oh yes, right away," the Flyer said enthusiastically. He took off and headed straight for Chomper's face. Chomper had not expected such a swift attack from the Flyer, and he recoiled. The involuntary reaction was exactly what Littlefoot needed.

"Now!" he said, and they fell back into the trees.

Chomper shook his head, and the Flyer retreated into the forest. Immediately, Chomper gave chase.

Littlefoot and his friends weren't far from the nest when they heard the sounds of Chomper's pursuit. They were running as fast as they could, but certainly nowhere near as quickly as Chomper was gaining on them. The run was starting to tire them, as well.

"We can't keep this up," Fyn said, panting, "we need to get to the path to the mainland."

"Agreed," Littlefoot said. Behind them, Chomper had picked up their scent and was still following. The sounds of his pursuit were both awe-inspiring and terrifying. As they raced through the undergrowth, they heard his breathing and roars, and felt the ground tremble at each of his steps. The experience was made even more traumatic by the fact that Chomper had only recently been their friend. Now he was trying to attack them.

The gang burst out of the forest and onto the sand bordering the island. Cera spotted the path over the water first.

"Let's go!" she yelled, scrambling for the rocks; the others followed. They had only just climbed onto the path when Chomper crashed through the trees, still following.

"Cera," Littlefoot yelled to the Threehorn, who was edging along the path, "a little faster, please."

Cera began to speed up when she discovered who was chasing them. Littlefoot, meanwhile, turned his back to his friends to confront Chomper, who had just stepped onto the path. Littlefoot shook his head from side to side, bellowing and trying to confuse Chomper, or at least delay him. Suddenly, he sensed someone behind him. It was Fyn.

"You don't have to do this alone," he said, "I've got your back."

Littlefoot nodded. He was backing up slowly as Chomper moved forward. Fyn quickly followed suit. The path began to widen, and Fyn found space next to Littlefoot. He moved to it. Chomper still delayed his attack, waiting, it seemed, for some kind of slip-up. The waves from the Big Water, meanwhile, had begun to grow larger. As they impacted the sides of the path, they threw spray up into both Littlefoot's and Fyn's faces. Fyn glanced back to see how everyone else was faring. They were almost across. Good. Suddenly, a wave hit the path next to him, blinding both himself and Littlefoot with water. Chomper saw his advantage. He bounded forward, and the two Longnecks saw him just in time to counter his attack. They sidestepped in opposite directions, and Chomper flew past, his feet trying to grip the slippery stones to change direction. When he finally gained his balance, he turned for another attack. He lunged forward, snapping at Littlefoot's neck and missing. Fyn stepped around him, and Littlefoot shifted to the side, forcing the Sharptooth to overshoot again, his jaws closing with a sound loud enough to rival the Sky Fire.

"Littlefoot," Fyn said, "I know he's our friend, but we have to stop him somehow."

"I know," Littlefoot said, with a sudden gasp of pain. Fyn looked at his friend, and saw the cause. Chomper hadn't entirely missed him. While Chomper's jaws had failed to meet Littlefoot's skin, one of the claws on his feet had gashed Littlefoot's back leg. The water being thrown into the air by the waves was mixing with the wound, making the pain more severe.

"Come on," Fyn said, supporting his friend, "we stand a better chance on solid ground."

He and Littlefoot continued their retreat. Chomper had backed off, now more wary of his adversaries. On land, he believed, the fight would be different.

Fyn snapped his tail in Chomper's direction, in an attempt to delay him more. They were close to the mainland, now. Finally, they made it, but as soon as they stepped off of the path, Chomper charged straight for Ducky.

"Here he comes!" Cera said, "out of the way!"

Ducky moved out of the way. Chomper couldn't change direction quickly enough, and slid on the sand, missing the swimmer. He decided to try for a slower target, selecting Cera. The Threehorn had her head lowered, displaying her dangerous horns, but Chomper had an idea. He roared and charged ahead, straight for her, hoping to force her to flinch, opening her up for attack. The Threehorn didn't budge, and Chomper stopped directly in front of her, roaring in her face in frustration.

"I guess that stubbornness pays off," she said.

Littlefoot came out of nowhere, running straight into Chomper from the side, and almost knocking him off balance. The Sharptooth growled, looking for the Fastrunner and the Swimmer, the easy targets. They, of course, were far away, being shielded by the Spiketail. He'd just have to settle for one of the Longnecks.

Littlefoot ducked as Chomper suddenly swiveled his head and lunged for him. The Sharptooth's tail caught him in the front legs, and he fell. Immediately, Fyn was supporting again, until Chomper managed to duck under his swinging tail and shove him aside. Now Littlefoot was the focus again, as he tried to swing his tail into Chomper. He missed, but swung again in the opposite direction, landing his tail across Chomper's face. The massive dinosaur stumbled back, stunned, then surged forward again. The battle was becoming harder. Littlefoot was beginning to grow weaker; the pain in his leg was worse, now, with sand accumulating in his wound, and to make matters worse, night had fallen, restricting vision. Fyn joined Littlefoot, rearing back and kicking Chomper away again with his front legs, and Cera pushed him back even farther. Nothing seemed to have an effect, though. Ruby watched on, from behind Spike. Chomper, she knew, would outlast all of them in a fight eventually. Something had to be done. Suddenly, she had a plan. She spoke to Petrie. Initially, the Flyer had no idea what Ruby had planned, but as the idea formed, it began to make sense. Ruby, having informed Petrie of what was to come, stood up, peeking over Spike.

"Littlefoot!" she called, hoping that Chomper, in his current state of mind, couldn't translate Leaf Eater, "I know what to do!"

"Great. Let's hear your plan," Littlefoot groaned, trying to avoid Chomper's jaws.

"When Petrie distracts Chomper, bring him to the ground and keep him there."

"Sounds risky," Fyn said, "why?"

"No time to explain. Just do it."

Littlefoot shoved Chomper away again, "ready when you are."

"Now," Ruby said to Petrie. For the second time that day, the Flyer lifted off of the ground and swooped towards Chomper, but this time, the Sharptooth was ready, not even flinching when Petrie swooped up in front of his face. Petrie pulled up, silhouetted against the Night Circle. It was time for a more drastic plan of action. He dove for Chomper's snout, landing on it and digging his feet in. Chomper howled, flinging his head back and throwing off Petrie, who tumbled through the air, regaining control right before plummeting into the sand. Littlefoot saw this, and he and Fyn stuck their tails in front of Chomper's feet, sweeping them back violently and forcing him to fall. At the same time, Cera jumped onto Chomper's back, and was quickly followed by Fyn and Littlefoot, who took over the task of pinning him to the ground. Chomper struggled violently, and roared, trying to snap at the Longnecks who had tricked him, but they remained out of reach. It was all up to Ruby, now.

Ruby stepped out from behind Spike. This was the risky part of the plan. She moved slowly toward Chomper. At the sight of her, the Sharptooth shivered and roared loudly, trying to scare her off. Still, she advanced until she was right in front of him.

"Chomper?" she said, "it's me, Ruby." Chomper growled low in response.

"Ruby," the Fastrunner repeated, speaking Sharptooth. At the sound, everyone's jaw dropped. Until now, they had been completely unaware that she knew the language.

"Friend?" Chomper responded, "Sharptooth?"

"Yes, I am a friend, and everyone else here is, too."

"You're a liar," the Sharptooth replied, grunting, "they destroyed everything here, along with Red Claw."

"You are wrong. You're scared and confused, and you need answers. We can find them together if you come back to us."

"There's nothing to find. I have no idea what you're talking about. These... Leaf Eaters," he snorted in disgust, have never been my friends."

"And that's where you're wrong," Ruby replied. "Come back to us, Chomper. Come back to me, come back to Littlefoot, who raised you as a hatchling. Come back to Cera, who taught you everything you've ever known about being tough. Come back to Ducky, the Swimmer you could always count on for a smile. Come back to Petrie, your friend who soars through the sky without a care. Come back to Spike, the caring Spiketail who will always follow you. Come back to Fyn, who would stay by your side to protect you no matter the odds, and come back to me, Chomper. I, Ruby, who always have been, and always will be, your friend." Ruby concluded by touching her beak to Chomper's muzzle, slowly. The great dinosaur almost purred, accepting the gesture. Suddenly, another shudder racked his body, and his tension released. Ruby saw his pupils return to normal.

"We can let him go now," she said. Littlefoot and Fyn nodded, still awestruck by the conversation she'd just had. They released Chomper, who stood up, breathing shakily.

"I had a sleep story," he said, slowly, "it was terrible. I attacked-"

He looked around. At the sand, the stars, his friends, and at the blood on Littlefoot's leg. The horror of what he had done dawned on him.

"No," he said, softly, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

"It was beyond your control," Ruby said.

"And it's over, now," Fyn added.

"Maybe for now," Chomper said, "but I don't think next time I'll be quite as lucky. I didn't even fight it this time."

"What's past is past." Littlefoot said, "we should all try to get some sleep now. We can try to determine what happened here in the morning." Murmurs and yawns of agreement were heard from everyone. It wasn't very long before everyone fell into an exhausted state of sleep. As Chomper dozed off, he considered just how lucky he was to have friends who, immediately after fighting with him, would still make amends afterwards. He hoped, as he slept, that some part of them would always remain in his mind.

…

The Bright Circle was already high before Fyn woke up, exhausted from the battle the night before. He stretched and looked at everyone else. Evidently, he was the first to wake up. He decided to walk down to the water. Even if it was unfit to drink, he reasoned, it should still be fine to bathe in. He waded into the water, feeling its coldness lapping at his feet. Before long, his body was completely submerged. Only his head and neck were above water. He sighed. Sheer bliss. Nothing could be more relaxing. As he continued to stand, he felt something brush against his foot. He looked down, but couldn't see far enough into the water to tell what it was. Dismissing it as a rock, he went back to his business.

Suddenly the water in front of him exploded upwards in a tremendous splash, caused by some humongous dark shape breaching the surface. Fyn was completely unprepared, and let out a surprised yelp, quickly backpedaling towards shore. He prided himself on not being scared easily, but in this situation, his fear had definitely gotten the best of him. As he watched, the figure slammed back into the water, submerging again. He began to back up again, anxiously watching the water around him. All was still. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hi there!"

"Aah!" Fyn yelled, surprised again. The voice had spoken right next to his head, and he'd never even seen its owner coming. Fyn backed away and turned his head. The owner of the voice was green, and had a long neck, like his, as well as a kind, pleasant smile.

"Who are you?" Fyn asked.

The creature fully extended its neck, which made it tower above Fyn.

"My name's Elsie," it said, "what's yours?"

Two chapters submitted today; I like it. It looks like I'm back in action, and with track season now over, I'll have much more writing time. Now, I can guarantee at least one chapter per day, and a conclusion to this story before the week is out. Prepare yourself, dear reader, for a finale that... whoops, I almost spoiled it. I'm a Leaf-Brain (Term Referenced in "The Land Before Time: Fyn, Part 1). Anyway, goodnight everyone! Tomorrow the journey to the finish starts!