Hello! Sorry that it's been so long since my last update (11th grade is hard orz). But anyway, I finally managed to clear some time and post this chapter! It may feel that some of these characters were barely introduced, but there will be more to these characters, and this chapter is important for the development of certain characters. This chapter may be sad, depending on how you see it.

To the people that left reviews - thank you so much for your feedback! It really motivates me to continue writing, and while I may take forever to update and cannot guarantee regular updates, I do plan to see this story through all the way to the end.

I'm a bit late on this, but rest in peace Kenneth Mars, the voice of Grandpa Longneck that I grew up with. I still can't completely bring myself to get used to the new voice of Grandpa Longneck in the new movie, but I definitely want to watch it.

Anyway, thank you for reading, and have a good week!

Mackenzie ran deeper into the gorge, unable to subdue the array of emotions coursing throughout her body. As her feet beat against the dirt, she could sense a change in the air. No longer were the chirps and screeches of small animals audible, and a dusty brown mist surrounded her. There was something of an ominous nature looming nearby, but Mackenzie was unable to place her finger on what it was. She trudged forward, eventually catching sight of a figure in the mist. More than one figure, to be precise.

Fast biters. Three of them. They emerged from the fog, sniffing the air for a scent to follow.

In order to avoid being seen, Mackenzie retreated back towards the shadows. She edged away from the predators, darting towards the other side of the gorge. As she ran, the quick and intense movement of her feet blew some dust upon the trail that the fast biters had been relying on. The sudden change in scent caused a mix up as the fast biters stumbled around in disarray. However, one of them, standing at the front and center, shook it's head while it tried to decipher which scent it wanted to follow.

Mackenzie snickered in amusement, she'd never seen fast biters become quite so confused before. While they were distracted by the confusion, she made her escape.

Days turned into weeks, and Mackenzie continued to return to the gorge with each passing day. She found numerous new methods to confuse the fast biters, such as dousing and soaking her feet with mud.

One fateful day, Mackenzie prepared to set off once again, only to be stopped by her mother.

The eyes of the younger rainbow face widened with the slightest shock as sea blue eyes locked with jade green.

"Mackenzie," began Amelia in a firm tone of voice, "where exactly do you think you're going?"

"Nowhere," answered Mackenzie, who averted her eyes. It was clear for anyone to see that she was becoming highly irritable. "Nowhere important. Why?"

"Because, I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine," said Amelia. Her voice had simmered down to what was barely above a gentle whisper, quite like a breeze of wind. "Her egg will be hatching any moment now, and I want you to be there."

Mackenzie failed to suppress a soft groan; another sign that she was growing angrier. "But I don't know her," she huffed. "I'm not her family, so what do I care if I miss it?"

Amelia offered a reciprocal expression of displeasure, the gentle tenderness of her voice waning. "Mackenzie," she warned, "Diana is one of my closest friends, and one of Molly's as well. We see her as family. She never even had a real family growing up."

"That sounds like a her problem," Mackenzie countered before disappearing into the generously growing blades of grass, marching away.

As much as it dismayed Amelia to see Mackenzie storm off, there was nothing she could do at the moment that wouldn't make it worse. This was simply a part of raising a teenager, and it often times proved to be quite the handful. Rather than allowing it to affect her, Amelia sauntered to where Diana and her mate rested, her watchful eye focused on the egg nestled between layers of grass.

Diana was a sturdy looking rainbow face, with a strong yet slender figure, and ecstatic teal eyes which looked towards Amelia gratefully. The other rainbow face, Andy, lifted his head out of the water to look at Amelia. With a mouth full of moist green food soaked in droplets of water, he offered a nod of his head as some form of a greeting. Light brown eyes, strained by the light of the bright circle, conspicuously watched each movement of the egg. Even the slightest tilt caused his eyes to roam.

However, when the egg budged, Andy's eyes remained fixated in one place as green food fell from his agape mouth.

Two feet forced their way out of the eggshell, the remaining shell cracking from the sheer force of the hatchling attempting to break free. A single piece of the egg covered the top of the baby rainbow face's head, covering it's eyes. With a gentle flick of her finger, Diana managed to remove the remaining piece, revealing a baby girl with gleaming turquoise eyes similar to her mother's.

A gasp of adoration quickly followed, along with a smile. Shifting her gaze towards Andy, her demeanor was nothing short of jovial. "Andy, look at her," she urged, her excitement mounting. "Isn't she cute? Our daughter is so cute!"

Andy watched the little hatchling with a look of exhilaration, a few chuckles escaping him when he saw the tiny rainbow face make an attempt to walk, which resulted in her tripping over her own feet.

He continued to watch, even as Diana scooped her newly hatched daughter into her larger hands, fingers carefully supporting the smaller dinosaur. Diana gave her a gentle nuzzle, which the hatchling shied away from initially. But upon realizing that the larger rainbow face meant no harm, she warmed up to her mother's touch.

Diana leaned slightly forward, holding the hatchling out to Andy like some kind of offering. Andy extended a hand, but quickly drew back.

Diana, who was making an attempt to be serious, burst into a fit of giggles. "Andy, she's your daughter too. You have just as much right to hold her as I do."

Andy glanced at his mate, and then at his daughter, a glimmer of uncertainty in his eyes. "She's so small and fragile," he whispered, unconfident. "What if I hurt her?"

"You won't," Diana reassured him. "Trust me. Now, just hold your daughter and say hi."

Andy, who did not wish to argue further, took his daughter into his hands. He supported her tiny body in the same way Diana did, a grin adorning his face when she cooed happily. "Diana, we still need a name for her. What should it be?"

She showed no hesitation as she uttered her answer, nothing but pure joy upon her features. "Sophie," she said. "Our little Sophie."

…

It had taken quite a bit of sneaking around and telling lies for Mackenzie to ensure that no one's suspicions were raised. As she trudged over the dirt, she was trapped by her own envy and loneliness, the weight of guilt making each step more difficult than the last. Once again, her emotions and thoughts were in disorganized shambles; all she could do was think of every wrongdoing she'd committed. She had behaved rashly towards her own mother, and had lied to her.

Lost in her own thoughts, Mackenzie was oblivious to the world around her. She hadn't been paying much mind to her surroundings, which startled her into emitting a soft squeak when she heard the sound of a stick snapping beneath the weight of her feet. Clearly, her reflexes were not catching up with her. She'd just noticed the fast biters, whose bitter red eyes glared into her own jade ones.

She could not hide. Now in plain sight, they could see her. They could smell her. Nothing she could do would outsmart them. Tensed and anxious, she tried to think of a quick solution to her predicament. In her panic, she ran undeviatingly towards home. Unbeknownst to her, she would be leading the fast biters directly towards the herd.

…

Who's an adorable little rainbow face?" Doted Diana, gently tickling Sophie. "You are, of course!" Sophie cooed in her innocent way, enjoying the attention. Suddenly, she stopped. When she gave a whimper, Diana protectively wrapped her tail around Sophie while Andy made an attempt to comfort the distressed hatchling.

Diana felt uncertain; she knew that many hatchlings could sense when there was something foul in the air. Andy dismissed it as nothing, but the parents soon realized what had given Sophie such a fright.

There was a hiss, a hiss that would frighten any dinosaur who wasn't a sharptooth of some kind.

Mackenzie zipped past them, frantic and scared. The fast biters quickly realized there was no need to chase Mackenzie any longer, for there was a whole herd they could feast upon. In an attempt to separate the herd, the biters made themselves known. As everyone quickly dispersed, Stricken with panic, Diana passed Sophie over to Andy.

Despite Diana's physical strength, Andy always had been the better runner. With a single fast biter on their trail, the two rainbow faces ran as fast as their legs could possibly carry them.

Eventually, they arrived at a ledge underneath which was a lake. Holding Sophie close to himself, Andy jumped, skipping across the water until he was once more on dry land.

"Diana!" He called. "Hurry!"

Diana gazed at Andy, and then at the lake. One end was quite deeper than the other. Behind her, Diana could see the fast biter quickly approaching.

Fast biters can't swim, she mused silently. She stood at the very end on the ledge, her claws barely dangling over the water. "Andy," her voice was despondent and sad as she directed her gaze towards him. "I love you. And please, make sure Sophie knows," there was a pause as she sucked in a breath, "..that I love her too." Then, unexpectedly; although Diana certainly saw it coming, the fast biter latched itself onto her body, digging it's claws and teeth into her bare flesh. As blood trickled from the open gashes in her skin, Diana felt a sensation of warmth travel through her body. A sharp gasp slipped though her mouth when it was suddenly replaced by a more frigid feeling, like frozen sky water pricking her skin. She looked up, teal eyes dreary and gloomy, yet so full of expression. Drawing in a quivering breath, her eyelids began to droop. "Andy," she whispered so quietly, so that no one else could hear, "I wish I'd spent every single moment of my life with you." It was then that her eyes dulled out into nothing, and her body inclined forward as she, along with the fast biter, fell into the lake below.

Andy watched as water splashed everywhere, some on himself, some on Sophie. He even watched the blood mix in with the water, creating streaks of deep red. Tears brimmed the corners of his eyes. He couldn't say anything, he couldn't think. He felt numb. Often times when he felt numb, his leg had fallen asleep or something of the sort, he felt somewhat relaxed. Comfortably numb. But this feeling, he felt paralyzed. He couldn't find the strength to move, or the strength to do anything except run.

…

Amelia felt panic rise in her chest as she, Molly, and Michael about their next course of action. Amidst all the chaos, Tristan seemed rather apathetic. No snarky remarks or shooting down the ideas of others. He was like a tree, simply standing there and doing absolutely nothing.

"We'll never make it to your place in time," argued Michael. "There's three fast biters, they'll hunt us down." He took a moment to scan the area before pointing towards an opening on a ledge protruding from a cliff. "There! We can hide at mine and Molly's place."

Before they could take another step, Miriam intervened. "Where's Mackenzie?" She questioned. "We can't leave her out here!"

"I'll find her," announced Michael. "Molly, take everyone inside." Not wasting a moment, he ran off to find the adolescent rainbow face.

It didn't take nearly as long as Michael had anticipated, for he had somehow managed to evade the fast biters. As he began the climb to the cave, Mackenzie trailing close by, he noticed that there were no fast biters in view. As suspicious as it was, Michael thought nothing of it.

"Dad!" Adam called out, a smile bringing a certain light to his eyes. The smile was quite short lived, for Adam noticed something that caused to smile to run away from his face. "Watch out!"

Quickly, Michael glanced behind him. A fast biter. With a firm nudge, he pushed Mackenzie onto the ledge, to safety. His sage green eyes cold and determined, he jumped downwards one ledge, preparing to confront the fast biter.

"Michael, don't," protested Molly, who leaned slightly over the edge. "Just come inside. Please."

The piercing glare vanished from his eyes as he generously gave a smile. "Molly, don't worry. I'm doing this for you. I'm doing this so you don't have to worry. I'll be alright, and no matter what happens, you have to go."

Molly's eyes shone with tears. "Where? Where do I go? I can't leave you here with these fast biters!"

Michael remained silent, simply grinning at his mate. Then, he grew serious. "To the Great Valley." Not another word escaped his mouth as he hopped towards the biters, using his foot to shake several rocks loose from the cliff, burying both the fast biters and himself in an avalanche of rocks. As the rocks tumbled down the cliff, Molly caught a glimpse of Michael coiling his tail around his body. Once the noise had ceased, Molly listened for any hint of life. Nothing.

A strangled noise emitted form Adam as he watched with bated breath. Gabriel, who was effectively suppressing his emotions, placed a hand over his brother's eyes so as to turn him away from the terrible sight. He hardly seemed to mind that his hand was being drenched in tears.

Subsequently, they decided to settle in Amelia and Tristan's cave, at least for the current moment. It was far safer, regardless of whether there was much to eat.

…

"He's not dead!" Argued Molly. "I know. He's much stronger than that, and I've seen him survive far worse things than a rock slide."

Amelia could only gaze at her friend with saddened eyes. Molly seemed completely convinced that Michael had survived, and it seemed to be more than a case of hysterics. She genuinely believed the words that came out of her mouth, paying no mind to if anyone else believed them.

Mackenzie was plagued by guilt, while everyone else was too mournful to utter a single word.

Eventually, Amelia ambled towards Tristan, whose eyes seemed fixed on the dirt and leaves that seemed to dance across the ground.

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

Tristan glanced at her, his surly demeanor remaining the same. "Sorry for what?"

There was the slightest hesitation before Amelia resumed speaking. "…Michael was your best friend. I'm sure you miss him."

Tristan frowned. "He wasn't my best friend."

Amelia gave a tilt of her head as she questioned him further. "Then, who was your best friend?"

Tristan tried to recollect his memories; surely, there was someone he would call worthy of being his best friend. However, he had no such luck. "Oh. Wow." His voice was laced with surprise. "How in the world did that happen?" A dejected sigh fled from his mouth. "But you're right, I do miss him. And now…I think we should go."

Amelia looked upwards, a knowing glint in her gentle eyes. She knew very well what he meant, and yet, the question still managed to escape her. "What?"

"We're leaving," answered Tristan, "to find the Great Valley.

"But I thought you didn't believe in the valley?" Responded Amelia, who added a light undertone of snarkiness to her voice.

Tristan immediately caught on to her smugness, but responded with a far stronger emotion in his voice. "Does it matter? Does it look like we have a choice?"

Startled, Amelia shriveled away from him. He took notice, placing her hands atop his own. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten angry, you were just trying to lighten the mood."

Amelia smoothed her thumb over his skin as she flashed a brief smile, showing that his apology had been accepted.

Tristan continued on. "What I'm trying to say is that I can't afford to lose you or the girls, or anyone else. I don't want to take any chances. We have to leave, whether this valley is real or not."

Slowly, Amelia nodded her head. "Yes. I know."

Tristan permit himself one of his rare smiles, releasing his grip on Amelia's dainty hands. "It's settled then," he announced. "We leave tomorrow."

There was not a single objection. After the events that had taken place, the Great Valley was their only ray of hope.