Part IV:

"What are you thinking Ali?" Littlefoot asked in shock, "it's too dangerous out there… not to mention your mom would be worried sick,"

"When has that ever stopped you!" Ali shot back, "I'm going and you can't stop me Littlefoot… I have to make this up to Sky,"

"Think about what your doing Ali," insisted Sky, "It will be a long and hard journey, even for a flyer like me. You don't owe me this."

"I've been part of a wandering heard since I hatched," stated Ali, "I'm going with you whether you like it or not!"

Ali stomped her foot, declaring that her decision was final. Littlefoot was surprised at how overly emotional she was acting – what was getting into her? She wasn't like this when they first met a few seasons ago, even if she had grown slightly.

"Very well," submitted Sky, and he stretched his wings to make ready for takeoff, "We must depart immediately. You will follow my directions to the letter I trust?"

Ali nodded her acceptance.

"Good, then we will–"

"Hold on," interrupted Littlefoot, "If Ali's going then I'm going too."

"What are you doing?" gasped Ali.

"Coming along," smiled Littlefoot politely, "you could use someone to keep you company."

Ali's face contorted in confusion, but Sky could see what was going on. It didn't take his outstanding intellect to know he was courting her. It would seem that fate had put him in a stranglehold he couldn't get out of, for if he took both these young longnecks with him their parents would come after them far beyond the valley walls. On the other hand he couldn't stay or he would become the undeserving victim of their anger. He didn't have a choice – he would have to take them both with him.

"Fine, both of you may come with me… but we had best get a good lead before your parents realize that you're gone."

Both Littlefoot and Ali agreed. Now both of the longnecks went along with his terms, Sky could carry on as he intended. The wingtail gave his wings an experimental flap to test the air as he readied himself for takeoff. Just then an important thought occurred to Littlefoot, so he had to bring it up.

"Umm… wait a minute Sky," Littlefoot asked timidly.

"Yes Littlefoot?" The wingtail asked with a tinge of annoyance.

"Would you mind if we… you know… bring a few of my friends with us?"

…

Sky stood with his arms crossed on a tree branch out of sight and slightly above the ground. He couldn't believe he let Littlefoot talk him into this. If the longneck did not show such great potential, he probably would have refused the request. In truth he had actually wanted to bring both of his favourite younglings with him, but the more reasonable part of his mind told him that the journey would be a hard one for them. It would be even harder though now that he insisted on bringing the rest of his friends. If something were to happen to any of them, Sky did not want to have that on his conscience.

Below him the longneck conversed with his friends, telling them of Sky's innocence and the marvellous adventure ahead of them. He couldn't help but admire Littlefoot's courage and loyalty… it would appear that he had a friend of almost every type in the valley! Such a thing was unheard of where he came from, where they were encouraged from birth to avoid other species if possible. Suddenly Littlefoot turned towards the tree and called him down. Sky sighed; he guessed it was time to give this a try.

As Littlefoot and the entire gang, including Ali, Petrie, Ducky, Spike, Cera, Ruby and Chomper watched Sky swooped out of the tree and made his favourite entrance – a single airborne loop followed by a perfectly landing on his feet. As the members of the gang gasped, even the ones he knew, Sky touched his trick off with a slight bow.

"That was pretty good… it was, it was!" admired Ducky. Spike grunted his admiration too.

"Sky, this is Ducky and Spike," introduced Littlefoot.

"A pleasure," Sky replied to the two of them.

"Ooo… why are we hanging around this freak instead of turning him in? You heard what my dad said," blurted Cera.

"And when has your dad actually been right?" asked Littlefoot as he grinned. The gang laughed.

"Mmph," Cera grumbled as she turned her nose in the air. After so long she had learned that her father didn't always have the best or most correct views, even if she loved and respected him.

"This is Cera… she's a threehorn." Littlefoot told Sky.

"I can tell," Sky replied slyly, before moving onto the next one in the group, "and who might you be?"

"Hiyah, I'm Chomper," the tiny sharptooth said as he beamed up at Sky.

"Don't worry, he's a friendly sharptooth," added Ruby, but Sky ignored her. He glanced at Chomper's teeth.

"I see you are one tooth short of a full set," the wingtail remarked.

"Yeah," replied Chomper as he felt the spot where the tooth no longer remained, "it came out during the earthshake. Ruby kept me from getting hurt though… so it was worth it." He pointed to Ruby.

"Sky this is Ruby, she's a fastrunner from the mysterious beyond," introduced Littlefoot.

"Hi Sky," said Ruby as she held out her hand politely. Sky just ignored her again and turned back to Littlefoot.

"This is good of you to introduce me to all of your friends Littlefoot, but could we talk in private for a moment?"

As Sky and Littlefoot moved out of earshot Ruby looked at Chomper in bewilderment. The sharptooth just shrugged. Ruby assumed he just had more important things on his mind.

"What is it Sky," asked Littlefoot.

"I appreciate your loyalty to your friends, but things are bad enough for me as it is," the wingtail put one of his hands on the longneck's shoulder, "if I take all of you with me, your parents will hunt us… hunt me… to the ends of the known world."

"Don't worry, we've been lots of places. Our folks will just think we have gone exploring again," Littlefoot said positively.

"Littlefoot…" Sky's tone turned serious, "once we leave we won't be coming back."

The words resonated in Littlefoot's eardrums – once they were gone they would never come back to the Great Valley.

"Come on Sky, Littlefoot, let's go!" shouted Ali, and the rest of the gang looked like they were ready to leave as well. Sky turned to them and addressed the gang as a whole.

"Listen to me young ones, the place we are going – my homeland – is very very far away. We will be crossing icy mountains, arid canyons, and misty lands far beyond anything you have ever imagined."

"Pff…" snorted Cera, "been there, done that." Sky glanced at Littlefoot in surprise.

"Yeah we have been around a lot," Littlefoot admitted shyly. Sky smiled; maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as he feared.

"Anyway… once we leave we will not be coming back," Sky proclaimed, "If any of you are having second thoughts and wish to stay now is your last chance."

"We behind you the whole way!" Petrie called out.

"This could be fun, who knows what cool places we will see!" agreed Chomper.

"And wherever Chomper goes, I go with him," proclaimed Ruby.

"Then it's settled… we're all coming with you Sky," said Littlefoot.

"Excellent," replied Sky, and in the moment of enthusiasm he added, "Adventure awaits those who seek it."

Taking Sky's lead, the gang followed him into the night and into lands beyond.

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Sky led the gang the long way around the valley, mainly to avoid going through and being spotted. If he got caught at this point they would probably have his head on a stick for attempting to take their children. Of course they all came along willingly, and he had warned them the dangers of doing so.

Eventually their route through the Mysterious Beyond took them around to the remains of Saurus Rock, and it was one of their most depressing stops. Littlefoot remembered when he stole a tooth from a live sharptooth to get rid of the bad luck in the valley – which was rumoured to happen whenever Saurus Rock had been damaged. Now it had been completely flattened, with only a pile of molted stone marking its former resting place. Perhaps somewhere out there the Lone Dinosaur had met his end, and the earthquake was his death throe. Littlefoot chose to avoid the thought altogether.

"I guess we're in for it now eh Littlefoot?" Cera said sarcastically to her longneck friend, for she didn't believe in something as dumb as bad luck. Luck was luck, and some rock certainly didn't decide things like that.

"I think we have already suffered enough bad luck," replied Littlefoot as he could see the giant fissure where the seismic wave had torn the valley apart. Fallen trees were everywhere this close to the epicentre, yet strangely areas outward from the crack seemed to suffer less damage. Normal earthshakes didn't do that.

It wasn't long before the entire gang stopped to rest for the night. The need for rest and feeding brought them to a stop in a nice forested clearing, just beyond the edges of the valley.

"Good night Ruby," Chomper said as he yawned,

"Good night Chomper," repeated Ruby, and she picked a large leaf from a nearby bush and put it on top of him to keep him warm. As Chomper made himself comfortable she ruffled her feathers. The trail was dry and gritty and Ruby felt like she was filthy – maybe she could sneak a late night bath before going to sleep with the others.

"Hmm I wonder where Littlefoot and Sky got off too," Ruby said to herself, and then she shrugged. They would probably be back, because Littlefoot looked just as tired as she did and it was getting late. Ruby couldn't help but yawn as she headed off towards the river, it was probably best to keep this quick.

…

"So you never really told me what a creator was," Littlefoot inquired as him and Sky finished drinking from the water at the riverbank. Sky wiped his mouth and looked intently into the water. In a flash he withdrew the Occular and peered into the depths, searching for something. A moment later he set down the ancient eyeglass and snapped at the water, pulling up a fish. With a single crunch he snapped its neck.

"Sorry," apologized Sky, as he set the dead fish down, and he added with a chuckle "Us birds have to eat too."

"Yeah, it's alright," replied Littlefoot.

"Here," Sky continued, "if you want to know what a creator is I will show you."

The wingtail settled down onto his knees, and Littlefoot kneeled to see what he was doing. He collected a handful of pebbles in his hand, and poured them into the soft sand. The stones themselves were insignificant, but as Sky rearranged them into an odd shape Littlefoot began to wonder what exactly he was doing.

"There… done," proclaimed Sky proudly.

"What is it?" Littlefoot asked.

"Come… take a look," Sky pointed at his creation, and Littlefoot had to tilt his head to see it. After a moment the image became clear.

"Hey… it's a longneck like me," Littlefoot stretched his neck for emphasis. Sky nodded, and gathered the rocks together and placed them in front of the longneck.

"Now you try," he insisted.

"Hmm," Littlefoot stuck is tongue out the side of his mouth as he pushed around the rocks with his paws. Eventually he too came up with something, "there… done."

Sky looked down at it and frowned.

"It's Cera," exclaimed Littlefoot, before lowering his head to the ground and looking back up at Sky in embarrassment, "when she's angry."

The formation of rocks looked like an evil face. The longneck had quite the imagination, and Sky couldn't help but laugh at the creation, and he gave Littlefoot a pat on the back.

"Good work Littlefoot. You took a collection of ordinary things from nature and combined them in a way that formed a picture or expression in your mind. In a sense, you have become a creator."

"Really?" asked Littlefoot excitedly.

"Of course… it's the first step towards the ultimate realization," Sky told him.

"What's that?" inquired Littlefoot again. He could feel that his new friend was leading up to something important.

"That we have been born into this world for a reason, a reason that goes far beyond the food we eat, the children we have and the friends we make. And when you die, your skin may rot away and your bones may disappear into the sands of time, but that reason remains in the hearts and minds of the ones you love." Sky finished on a serious and all encompassing note.

"But, what is that reason?" Littlefoot asked. Sky was amazed again at how sharp he was – most dinosaurs did not understand or believe him when he said things this deep.

"That reason is knowledge," Sky taught, and with a flick of his fingers he procured the Occular and held it up for Littlefoot to see, "…and how we choose to preserve it."

"Wow," Littlefoot said as the truth began to sink in. He remembered the death of his mother, and how heartbreaking and painful it was to him. It hurt to think that now she was just a pile of bones somewhere in the Shattered Lands, passed by others who had no idea of the greatness that she was. The only things he had left of her were his memories – and her knowledge. If it wasn't for that he would have never made it to the Great Valley.

"It may take some time to see fully," admitted Sky, "and if we are fortunate we will have plenty of it. You had best get some rest tonight, for tomorrow we will enter the Land of the Mists and you will need all your wits about you."

Littlefoot yawned and obeyed Sky's words. It was a lot to think about – what the wingtail had told him – but he was too tired to think about it tonight. With a brushing of leaves the young longneck headed back into the woods towards the clearing where the others were sleeping.

…

With Littlefoot gone off to bed, Sky could finally enjoy his late night meal. Wingtails were omnivores, but they preferred fish and other soft meats much more than green food. One chomp and Sky had stripped the fillet right off the bones. It felt nice to finally get a chance to feed, since his last meal had been at the height of the Great Circle.

"That was pretty incredible, you know what you told Littlefoot when you were talking," said Ruby as she slipped out of the bushes. She was still a little wet from her late night bath, but she had come back soon enough to hear the biggest part of what Sky's speech.

"It's nice to see that someone else likes water swimmers too… back in the valley my parents forbid me to catch any so I haven't had one in a while," Ruby sat down next to Sky and crossed her legs. Sky did not answer. He threw away the fish bone and glared at her.

"What, I didn't scare you did I?" the fastrunner asked. In response Sky simply spread his wings and took off, leaving her alone on the riverbank.

Ruby was bewildered. Had she done something to offend him? As the wingtail disappeared over the trees there was a part in her mind that said he didn't like her not because of who she was, but because of what she was. She yawned as the late night circle hit its highest point – she was too tired to think about it now. It was best to ask Littlefoot in the morning.

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The night air was crisp and cold as Glide made his way across the Icy Mountains. He had never been this far from home before, but that didn't scare him. Up in the air he was pretty safe, as there weren't many flyers who would dare take on a fully grown wingtail… especially one of his size and build. One of his favourite things to do was to fight other wingtails for practise, but when he found that nobody could beat him he got bored of it and turned to collecting things. Maybe that was why the elders chose him to go after Sky, because they knew he had a grudge and that one on one he had the upper hand.

After a while Glide sighted a nice glade on the edge of the mountains, a nice place to stop to rest. Coming in for a landing he noticed that he wasn't the only one who noticed it. The entire place was filled by a single wandering herd, composed of many different types of leaf eater. Glide had never seen so many before in one place – it could be the cold wind coming of the mountains drove them to look for shelter, or they simply wandered here as part of an extended journey. Either way, it was possible Sky was around here somewhere amongst them… only one sure way to find out.

Glide took out the Cordian from inside of his wing. Whoever designed this thing certainly knew what they were doing, as it had a nice loop in it that allowed him to fasten it around an inside feather and remain there until he needed it. With a small flick he touched the bob and a crisp, pure sound resonated into the night air. While this occurred Glide listened intently for any returning sound – he didn't know what. Unfortunately the sound was broken by the incessant chattering and slurping of the mixed herd below him on the river. Pretty much all the dinosaurs in the glade had heard the sound, and now stared directly at him. It wasn't pleasant.

"What are you looking at?" snarled Glide aggressively as he addressed the crowd that was rudely staring at him. Many of them realized their mistake and returned to what they were doing, leaving the black wingtail to his own again.

"I didn't think so…" Glide said spitefully as he turned and looked out over yet more boring wilderness full of giant leaf eaters. The things were everywhere… there were Longnecks, Threehorns, Swimmers and many other types as well. Their very presence here disgusted him. How could creatures that ate so much expect to survive? One big drought or famine and they would all slowly die from starvation. Glide hoped it would happen soon, so they wouldn't be around keep interrupting him in his quest. With a snort, he repositioned the Cordian within his wing and moved on to continue his search for Sky.

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"Up, up," insisted Sky, "We must get moving before the Great Circle rises."

"Aww… but it's so early," whined Littlefoot as he yawned and rolled over on his makeshift bed. Being used to sleeping in soft sand in the Great Valley it was a rude awakening to have to bed on dirt again. It was odd though… only in the past few weeks had he noticed how difficult it was to sleep anywhere but his own bed – what was happening to him?

"Get up! Get up!" yelled Sky as he flapped his wings vigorously to rise the gang from their slumber, "You leaf-eaters are wasting the day!"

Many of them had similar reactions to Littlefoot, and some like Spike didn't even bother getting up at all. Eventually though they were all assembled and ready to leave, for the most part. Ducky was still half asleep.

"Oh I was having a good sleep story… yep, yep, yep." She complained as she held onto Spike's tail to keep her on her feet.

"Petrie," Cera said as she yawned and turned around to face the flyer lying face down on her back, "If you fall asleep I'm going to be right behind you,"

Petrie reluctantly took off into the air, and he looked like he was about ready to collapse.

The reason for the gang's sleepiness was revealed when the group of them passed over the ridge and saw that the Great Circle was just beginning to rise above the horizon.

"Oh…" Littlefoot moaned as he turned to Ali, and she had her eyes half closed too. In fact the only one of the bunch who had any sort of enthusiasm was Sky, who seemed as energetic as ever. He swooped from tree to tree, using his Occular to get a good look around. After a few hours of this he suddenly flew on ahead, so far that the gang couldn't see him.

"Come on Littlefoot, we have to catch up," insisted Ali, behind the two longnecks was Ducky and Spike with Petrie flying above, and Cera with Ruby and Chomper bringing up the rear. A familiar scent hit Ali's nostrils as she followed Sky's trail, until eventually she found the wingtail who had landed on the edge of a sheer cliff. She recognized where they were almost immediately.

"It's…it's," started Ali as she sniffed the air more intensely to take in the beautiful smell.

"The Land of the Mists," finished Sky, and he withdrew the Occular to scout the expansive forest beneath them. Panning from side to side he took in the land, but from the start it became apparent that something was missing. He made a note to look into it more closely when they got down. As Ali stood taking in her homeland, her smile turned to a concerned frown. The others caught up to them.

"If this is the Land of the Mists… where's all the mist?" asked Chomper.

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