Hey everybody. Thanks for being so patient. Here is the next chapter. We have one of the many upcoming villains and (finally) one of the gang's point of view. Chomper! I hope you enjoy. I wrote a bit quickly because this week will be busy, but there is a lot here. Have a good week and I hope to hear from you. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 15 Journeys and Splinters

Sierra.

"J-Jen…" The lean flyer ran a hand along the wall of what used to be their home. Well, for the short time they actually got to live together. Three weeks, maybe. Only three weeks with the flyer he had loved for years. He vowed he would never come back here, yet here he was. Rinkus was right. He ought not have come by. The pink flyer didn't even come with him; he had chosen to stay about elsewhere. Said the place reminded him too much of Leah. Probably smart.

He peered over the edge of their home with yellow eyes long adjusted to the black of the night. All of their homes had practically been across from one another; Rinkus used stand on the entrance to his home and mouth messages, and Tim occasionally came out of his home just to make a silly gesture that made him snort with laughter….he used to draw air hearts for Jen when she was unable to leave her own home.

He counted the familiar locations. That' where we met, that's where we formed our union… The tan flyer cringed when a memory flooded through his head.

Young Sierra clenched his fists, still fuming from the slap Tess had landed on his cheek when he stepped on her feet during the dance.

"I told you, I don't wanna dance!"

"Calm down, Sierra!" Mrs. Ria scolded him with a gentle hand on his shoulder, which Sierra jerked away from. Mrs. Ria sighed. "I'm sorry about what happened, Sierra. But is that any reason not to have fun?"

"Have fun, my tailbone! That girl just tanned my face!" He jerked a finger toward Tess, not caring if she noticed or not. She didn't. She was happily twirling with Tim, showing off along with Pterano, who gracefully lifted Britta into the air.

Mrs. Ria cracked a smile at the memory. "Well, don't you want to go back out and dance?"

"I ain't dancin' with her again! I don't care if you tell my parents I 'failed' or not. I don't dance no way." Sierra crossed her wings triumphantly.

Mrs. Ria's tone went from patient to annoyed. "I meant with someone else?"

Sierra managed a sarcastic grin. "Humph. Well in case you forgot, you assigned partners. So there's nobody left."

Mrs. Ria smiled. Sierra narrowed his eyes. Oh, boy.

"In fact, there is someone left…"

Sierra slumped. "I was afraid a' that."

Mrs. Ria ignored him and continued to explain as if he actually cared. "Tim was dancing with Jen, but I made poor judgment in that Tim is not the gentlest dancer."

Both teacher and student stole a glance at Tim, who was twirling Tess in mighty, quick turns. Fun for a healthy one, but not so much for someone like that Jen girl. Sierra snorted. Tim wasn't gentle because he was a show-off.

Mrs. Ria continued. "Since Jen had to sit down, and Tim had to drag the two of you apart to stop a fight… I was wondering if you might dance with her?"

Sierra burst with a guffaw. "You gotta be kiddin'."

Mrs. Ria drew back and crossed her wings. "Actually, I'm not. If you don't dance, you don't get a complete status from me. I would hate to see your father when he learns you've flunked out of class material. Again."

Sierra vented at the very thought of that man he was forced to call father. The one who beat him and his younger siblings around like nothing, killed his older brother with his stunts…and that sorry woman of a mother who stood by and hardly did anything about it. They made him sick.

Sierra cracked an evil grin with indifferent, lazy eyes. "I don't care."

Mrs. Ria sighed, then softened her tone. "Then do it for Jen, Sierra. She's been sick and is now having to sit out. She loves to dance, and I think she feels…left out."

Sierra followed her gaze over to the magenta purple flyer sitting with her knees drawn to her chest. Occasionally, she smiled happily at her friends, then lowered her eyes again when they were turned away.

Sierra sighed. He hated dancing. "I'll break her feet." Actually, he was surprised Tess was getting around so well.

Mrs. Ria giggled. "Oh, you can't be that bad… How many times did you step on Tess' feet, anyway?"

Sierra counted a minute. "'Bout eight," he stated matter-of-factly.

Mrs. Ria sighed. "Then… just shift your weight. Around in a circle, like what Britta and Pterano are doing now. Do that and I will give you a complete status for the night."

Sierra huffed and jerked around, mumbling as he stomped through the crowd of dancing classmates until he reach Jen, who was staring at him from her place on the rock.

He stopped abruptly when he reached her. "Would ya like to dance?" he asked lazily.

Jen seemed taken aback and stared at him with suspicion in those blue eyes. Sierra got lost in them for a moment as he stood there, trying to look benign in manner. Just one dance.

At last, she answered. "S-Sure."

Sierra matched to the flat surface. "Great. Come on."

When they got there, he took a moment to let her rest a gentle hand on his shoulder as he took her waist, and then her free hand in his. Why in the world did he feel shaky?

He tried to break the silence. "Uh, I'll go ahead and tell ya I ain't a good dancer."

They started shuffling in a slow circle. Jen looked up at him, speaking in a gentle tone. "If it wasn't for Mrs. Ria, you wouldn't be here, would you?"

Sierra cracked a grin. "Nope."

Jen giggled. "Well, thank for dancing with me, even though Mrs. Ria made you."

Sierra startled a moment, then resumed their dance with a smile. "Well, you're an observant one, aren't ya?"

Jen smiled good-naturedly. "It wasn't hard to miss. How's your face?"

Sierra smiled when he realized she meant well. "Numb," he answered.

Jen smirked. "I bet."

"Humph." She was opinionated for someone so small and frail. Sierra actually thought the rest of the dance might not be so bad. And it wasn't. Jen talked the whole time, with Sierra listening in amusement because she was cute. Before he knew it, Mrs. Ria announced the end of the dance so they could move on to the next one while nodding at him to tell him he could have a complete. Big whoop.

Jen slowly stepped back. "Well, I won't keep you. Thanks for the dance, Sierra. You know, you're not so bad. You know…for a slow dancer."

When she turned to walk away, he called out her name, hardly realizing what he was doing. "Jen?"

The purple flyer turned with a confused expression, and he just barely got the words out.

"Would you…care for another dance?"

Sierra caught a glimpse of where that no good "healer" used to live. That's where she died.

He punched the rocky wall so hard small stones fell. Then again. And again. And again. In quick, rapid hits until his hand swelled. He choked out what would be sobbing noises if he allowed tears to fall.

"Jen…" his managed the name he had suppressed for so long in a shaking tone. It wasn't fair. Because of that old blowhard's excuse for a father, Jen was gone. Suddenly, Sierra felt that familiar, raging anger shaking his body.

Pterano. The blowhard who lead them astray. The one whose crazy father sent Jen, Tim, and Leah straight into the reaches of the rabid flyers. He actually believed that old hunk of stone had the power to give them all they could wish for. And deep down, the power to bring Jen back. Turns out, it was just a fools' errand that ended with deep emotional wounds and bad burns. Pterano pulled a baby face, saved that brat of a swimmer, and got a shortened sentence. He and Rinkus were bound to be dead as soon as they set foot in the valley. Pterano was so gracious to remind them.

After he got his sentence, they tried attacking him on their way back for leading them astray. Pterano, still angered from his embarrassment and their betrayal, didn't need much to fight back. Due to their injuries and his superior size, he grounded them both and stood panting and trembling before them, suffering from only a few minor scrapes.

"Don't ever come near me again! I want nothing more to do with the likes of you. And don't even consider going back for my family. When I was given a sentence, they informed me the two of you were not to set foot in the valley. If I return in five cold times and see any harm done, I'll come for the both of you," he'd said. And then he flew away, blowing a cloud of dust in their faces.

Sierra stood to his full height when he recalled the words, trembling all over. He still couldn't believe that flyer lead them astray and had the stomach to defend those meddling brats? Well, no one made a fool of him. And Pterano's sentence was up by now. He knew exactly where that crazy flyer would take his sorry self.

Sierra pushed away from the remains of what was no longer their home and flew back to Rinkus with as much speed as he could manage. Rinkus was there when he landed.

"Sierra, I got tree stars…"

"Forget tree stars! I'm goin' back to the Great Valley. That blowhard Pterano and those rotten little brats will pay!" Sierra clenched both fists determinedly.

Rinkus startled and slowly put a tree star back in the pile. "Sierra, we don't even know if he's still alive, or where he's gone…And little ones' parents will never allow us one step in the valley."

"I don't care. That crazy Pterano is alive and I know where he is. I'm gonna find him and those little brats, and when I do…"

Sierra didn't finish. He stalked off the edge and prepared to fly. Rinkus ducked his head and sighed. "Knew you shouldn't have gone out there."

Sierra smirked. "Do what you want, then." Rinkus would follow.

Rinkus ran to catch him. "B-Bu-Bu-But… Jen isn't coming back no matter what you do to them, Sierra."

Sierra swung around and gave him a long death glare that he shriveled away from. "I noticed."

And then he spread his wings and flew into the night, with Rinkus close behind him.

Chomper

Chomper poked his head through the bushes and snickered at the sight before him. He had heard some commotion while he and Ruby were on their way home and decided to check it out, only to see Hyp and his father trying to coax Mutt out of a tree.

Chomper pushed the bushed further aside and pointed. "Hey, Ruby. Mutt's stuck in a tree. Check it out."

Ruby glanced in the direction of their home, then stuck her head in the bushes and laughed. "That he is. Wonder how he got up there."

"Haha! Look, Ruby. That Hyp kid and Nod are laughing at them." He pointed to the two adolescents on the ground, shaking violently and practically rolling on the ground. Even though they were the biggest troublemakers in the valley, it was pretty funny.

Ruby pointed at something else. "Hyp's father doesn't look too happy, that he isn't."

Chomper turned his attention and listened in as Hyp's dad tried to get Mutt to come down.

"Aw, Mutt. Just come down the way you did before! It's not that far. I've seen you three jump further than that before."

"Uh, n-no." Mutt wrapped his arms and legs even tighter around the branch.

Hyp's father looked angry. "How did he get up there, anyway?"

Hyp explained around cackles. "I wanted the red fruit in the tree. The dope got stuck trying to get it for me."

Hyp's father shook his head and then glanced at his son. "What do you want those for? You don't even like them."

Hyp lowered his eyes. "They're not for me."

Chomper looked at Ruby. "Since when does Hyp get anything for anybody but himself?"

Ruby didn't say anything, but she seemed to be thinking. Chomper wondered if she knew, because he sure didn't.

Hyp's father sighed, but didn't ask for any further explanation.

"Alright, Mutt. I'm coming up." He took one of the spikes along Nod's side and guided him to the base of the tree, then took a step back.

"Okay, Nod. Just hold still so this doesn't hurt your back."

Nod gulped and started shaking. "Uh, Mr. Hyp's Dad? What're you gonna do?"

Hyp's dad didn't answer, so Nod asked again. "Mr. Hyp's Dad?"

Chomper turned to Ruby. "What's he doing?"

"Shh." Ruby turned her blue eyes back to the scene, fascinated. "I think he is going to use Nod's back to jump up the tree instead of climbing."

Chomper was amazed. "Wow! Can he do that?!"

Ruby nodded. "His kind can usually jump very high."

Meanwhile, Hyp grabbed Nod's trembling head. "Hold still, you baby."

When Nod stopped shaking, Hyp's Dad ran a step forward and used one foot to push off of Nod's back so he could get enough air. Chomper watched in astonishment as he sailed through the air and landed on the branch just above Mutt.

"Wow," Chomper whispered.

Ruby was equally amazed. "He must've lived in the Mysterious Beyond before."

Chomper watched as Hyp's Father finally got Mutt to let go of the branch. Just as he almost talked Mutt into swinging down, Hyp called up to them. "Can you throw down some red fruit?"

Chomper and Ruby had to cover their snouts when Hyp's father pulled some of them from the tree and threw that at Hyp irritably, causing his son and Nod to cackle as they caught it.

Chomper whispered to Ruby. "His Dad can actually be kind of funny sometimes."

They turned their attention back to the scene when Hyp's father lowered Mutt enough so that he was only dangling Hyp's height short of the ground.

"Jump, Mutt." Hyp's father sounded like he couldn't hold him much longer. When Mutt hesitated, Hyp jumped and pulled him down with him.

When Mutt was back on the ground, Hyp clutched his ribs from the effort and looked up while leaning against the tree. "You coming, Dad?"

Hyp's father moved to jump down, but what happened next was the strangest thing Chomper had ever seen. He didn't lose his balance or slip. He just….fell. He winced and slowly turned when he hit the ground with a soft thud.

Hyp and his friend gasped and rushed to his side.

"Dad!" Chomper had never seen Hyp look so terrified. Well, except for when the Mama Fast-Biter got after him when they took her eggs to the Mysterious Beyond. He knelt down and helped his father turn over.

Hyp's father opened his eyes, looking tired. "I'm alright son," he got out, trying to get up.

Nod looked as baffled as Chomper felt. "You just…fell."

Mutt scratched his head, still looking scared. "Yeah."

Hyp was trying to help his dad, but he was shaking just as badly. "Dad?"

Hyp's father managed to stand, but was leaning heavily on the tree, gasping. "I just slipped."

Hyp hesitated a moment, then shook his head. "No, you didn't."

Hyp's father seemed to consider this for a moment, then shook his head. "Come on, kids. Let's go home. It's already dark."

Chomper cringed when the old dinosaur took a step forward, then another with a very heavy limp. Hyp saw this and slung his father's arm of his shoulders, looking frightened for his father as they went.

Chomper turned to Ruby. "What happened? He just fell!"

"That he did," she said. "I don't what happened, Chomper."

Chomper looked back in the direction where Hyp and the others had gone. "I've never seen Hyp look so worried. Do you think he'll be okay?"

Ruby smiled, the way she usually did when she was about to explain something. "He might be mean, but he still loves his dad, Chomper. I think he will take care of him."

There was a moment's hesitation, then Ruby stood. "I think we should be getting home. We have a trip ahead of us tomorrow, remember?"

All the worry drained from Chomper's system as he bounced excitedly. "Yeah! I can't wait to see our families again! I've missed them so much! I can't wait to visit them."

Ruby started walking. "Well, come on! Let's get some rest."

Chomper ate his favorite bugs while Ruby ate a small meal. They went to bed on time, but got off to a very late start regardless. Chomper had a terrible pain in the bottom of his foot. Something like a bruise with an swollen area around it. Ruby and Littlefoot looked at it, but couldn't see anything. By the time Chomper got it wrapped and said goodbye to their friends, it was nearly sundown.

Chomper hurried across the valley as best as he could. "C'mon, Ruby! We are supposed to be close to the Great Wall by now!"

Ruby strode to catch up with him. "Hold on, Chomper. We have to go see Britta first. She needs to look at your foot."

Chomper hobbled ahead, panicking. "What? Ruby, we are so late. We were supposed to be at the Great Wall by now!"

Ruby blocked his path and steered him in the direction of Petrie's family's home as they passed by, where Pterano was playing with Petrie's siblings while Britta was crushed some leaves nearby.

"You're not going to get very far on that foot, Chomper. Britta might can fix it. That she can."

"Ooohhh…" Chomper complied and listened to Ruby. Britta startled and stood as he got closer, making Chomper cringe.

"She's still scared of me," he commented to Ruby. He didn't know why she was so scared; he really liked Britta.

Ruby waved to Britta, who waved back and started to approach slowly. "She's just not used to sharpteeth, Chomper. She is getting better. Trying, she is."

Pterano appeared not to notice them at all due to being swarmed by Petrie's younger brothers and sisters, who were pretty much tackling him from all angles. Petrie's mother just continued picking berries. Chomper wondered if she even knew what was going on.

Pterano was laughing. "Get away. Get away! Someone get…them…off…"

Petrie's siblings looked like they were having just as much fun.

"You can't escape, Uncle Pterano!"

"We'll show you not to take the last berry!"

"Gotcha!"

Pterano, looking tired out, retreated and used his wings to blow a wind that sent them all tumbling back in the air. They laughed when they landed, and went for him again, only to be blown back to where they were before.

Chomper smiled as he watched them play. He didn't notice that Britta had approached until she spoke.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Chomper? Ruby says you've been hobbling around on your foot?"

Chomper shook his head. "Wha? Oh, yeah."

Britta knelt down. "Can I see?"

Chomper sat down and held out the foot that was bothering him. Britta gently lifted it so she could examine the bottom. Her cool, gentle touch brought relief to the hot place in the middle of his foot. Chomper cringed when she prodded the spot that hurt the most. Britta noticed and lowered his foot.

"Hmm… It looks like you have a splinter, Chomper. Did you get into any thorns while you were playing?"

Chomper nodded, but Ruby explained. "He got one stuck in his foot while we were playing a few days ago."

Chomper tiled his head. "But we pulled it out!"

Ruby was trying to figure it out. "Yeah, so how can it be a thorn when it is not there?"

Britta lifted Chomper's foot so she could see. Chomper wished he could reach far enough to see too, because he had no idea what they were doing. He couldn't see the bottom of his foot.

Britta explained it better than most healers did. Suddenly, Chomper didn't feel as nervous. "Occasionally when a thorn gets stuck deep in your skin and you pull it out, small pieces you can barely see remain stuck in your skin. You might have pulled the big thorn out, but there is still a piece in Chomper's skin. That is what is causing this." She lightly pressed the sorest area of Chomper's foot.

When he cringed, she continued. "It looks like that piece has made its way under the skin and is causing irritation."

Ruby brightened. "So that is why I didn't see it!"

"Exactly." Britta let go of Chomper's foot.

Chomper tried to use his hands to bend his foot so that he could see, and fell over in the process. He got up and looked at Britta. "So what are we going to do?"

Britta stood. "We have to get it out."

That sounded awful. Chomper tried to stretch so he could see the bottom of his foot again. "Will it hurt?"

Britta shrugged indifferently. "It'll just feel like a little scrap."

Chomper trembled. "Uh… Can't we just wait until later? Ruby and I are late to meet our parents."

Britta's eyes widened. She looked up from her supplies when he mentioned them. "Your parents?"

Chomper nodded timidly. "I was going to see them for the first time since we've been here. They are probably waiting for me outside the Great Wall now."

"Oh," Britta sounded a little shaky. "Well, I need to get that splinter out of your foot now, Chomper."

Chomper prodded his foot. "What happens if we wait?"

Britta stood again, as if she were going to let him make the call. "Your foot will soon get to where you won't be able to stand because of the pain. But it's up to you. If I were your parent and saw you like that, though, I would be upset."

Chomper thought a moment, then turned to Britta. "My mommy would be worried. Will it make it better?"

Britta smiled confidently. "Absolutely. The swelling should leave your foot almost immediately. All that will be left is just a little cut."

Chomper nodded his consent, and Britta took his foot and propped it on her knee. "Will it take long? Ruby and I are so late!"

Ruby thought a moment. "Our families might be late too, Chomper. They had a long way to travel."

At this point, Petrie's Uncle Pterano had escaped his nieces and nephews and was listening in while picking his teeth with a stem from a flower. He tossed it aside and spoke to them.

"You say they are to meet you outside the Great Wall?"

Chomper and Ruby both nodded, so he smiled. "I can see it above from here if I fly. I can check, if you like. To see if they have made it there."

Chomper and Ruby shared a glance, then looked back to the older flyer.

"That would be wonderful," Ruby answered.

Pterano launched into the air and flew so far overhead it hurt your neck to try to keep track of him. In Chomper's case, he was more worried about his foot because Britta was starting to scrap at it with her claw.

"Ouch!" Chomper jumped, so Britta let go before taking his foot again.

"I'm sorry, Chomper. Using a small twig seemed to defeat the purpose. And a sharp rock would feel worse or the same."

Chomper settled himself down. "Sharp stone?! No!" He gave his foot back.

Britta giggled and continued working. Eventually, he felt something sticking him and making a clicking noise every time Britta ran the tip of her claw over the sore area.

Ruby peeped over Britta's shoulder curiously. "What is that clicking noise?"

"It's the splinter." Britta lifted Chomper's foot so Ruby could look. "See?"

Ruby squinted. "I see it! But just barely. Wow, they are small."

Pterano landed and walked back over to report his findings. "They aren't there yet. I think you still have some time."

Ruby smiled. "That's wonderful! That it is… Do you feel better, Chomper."

Chomper sighed in relief. His parents could get a bit restless sometimes.

Britta looked up at him. "Pterano, do you think you could go to my place and get the herbs to draw out infection?"

Pterano sighed and spread his wings. "I supposed I could…."

Britta interjected. "And a wraparound leaf?"

Pterano let his wings drop in exasperation. "I say. Anything else?"

Britta smiled sweetly and tilted her head at him. "Water?"

Pterano jerked his wings open. "Oh, grand. Two trips."

Ruby stood. "I could bring back the water."

Pterano smiled at her. "Don't be silly, my dear girl. I was only teasing Britta."

He launched into the air again, and Chomper smiled when Britta shook her head. He jumped at a sharp pain in the bottom of his foot. "Ow!"

"There we go, Chomper. I think we got it! You were so brave," Britta dropped something on the leaf she kept by her feet.

Chomper craned his neck. "Can I see?"

Britta took the leaf and held it out for him to see. In the center was a tiny, bloody speck. Chomper tiled his head. "That's it?! That's all that was causing my foot to be sore?"

Britta chuckled and slid the leaf near her feet again before taking his foot back in her hands. "Yeah, the body acts up when there is something there that's not supposed to be."

Ruby thought about it. "Well, that does seem to make sense."

Suddenly, Hyp and Ella came running toward them with frantic expressions on their faces. Usually, Hyp at least hesitated to give them a glare, but this time he ignored them altogether and ran straight to Britta.

"Britta! We need your help," he heaved the sentence in between gulps of air.

Britta turned to him, then went back to working on Chomper's foot, each scrape of her claw sending shooting pains through his foot. Chomper still cringed, but watched Hyp.

"I'm with Chomper right now, Hyp. It will have to wait until we are finished… Unless you want to tell me while I work to save time," the pink flyer said coolly. How does she stay so calm?

If he could give any colder glare, Hyp gave it to them now. Then he knelt beside Britta, frantic again. "Britta, we don't have much time. It's important… Can we talk to you for just a sec?"

Britta cut her eyes to him for a split second, like she was confused. "Yes, but it will have to be right here."

Ella seemed frustrated with the whole ordeal. "Oh, just tell her Hyp!"

Hyp sort of made a fist, which was somewhat of a habit when he was thinking something through. Just then, Ruby spoke up in the softest of tones. "Is it your dad, Hyp? Chomper and I already know about it. That, we do."

Britta startled, then turned her immediate attention back to Hyp. "Know about what?"

But Hyp was already on Ruby's case, already edgy and defensive. "Hey, how do you know?!"

Chomper jumped to her defense. "We were on our way home last night and saw your dad fall out of the tree, that's how!"

"He fell out of a tree?" Britta sounded concerned.

Hyp softened at Chomper's explanation for a split second, then took steps that grew more threatening as he got closer. "Well, you hatchlings better now tell anybody or I'll…"

Ella grabbed his arm. "Hyp! Stop it! What's wrong with you?! They can't help what they saw."

Britta set Chomper's foot aside for a moment and stood to face a distraught Hyp. "That's right. And besides, it might help that someone else did see it. And I will make the decision on who says what." She gently took Chomper's foot back into her hands. "Now, tell me what happened."

Hyp told her everything. Now Chomper knew that he and Ruby were not the only ones who had been worried. Eventually, Pterano returned with all of Britta's supplies. Despite her obvious concern as she listened, Britta sprinkled something tan and ground onto the spot where the splinted had been. Chomper yelped at the stringing this caused, but Britta held tight to his foot and drew out some green stuff, which made everyone including Chomper scrunch their nose.

Suddenly, besides the stinging from the cut Britta had made, his foot felt normal. The puffy place that had been there before was gone, and he knew he could walk without a problem now. Britta cleaned the cut and wrapped a new leaf around his foot before washing her own hands. Chomper took a few steps, then pounced.

"Thanks, Britta! I feel so much better now!"

Britta returned the smile. "You were brave, Chomper. Just keep a leaf around it for a few days so it stays clean."

Hyp, who had finished his story already, ran out of patience. "So what're you gonna do?"

Britta thought for a moment, then turned to Ruby. "Did you see him fall?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, and it was…strange. He just…" She shrugged. "Fell."

Britta lowered her eyes. "He didn't slip?"

This made Hyp angry. "No! You think I wouldn't know if my dad slipped?!"

Petrie's mom, who had been doing chores around her home throughout the day, had wandered over and broke her silence to scold the rash adolescent. Chomper had heard her use the same tone on the rare occasion she was angry with them, Petrie, or his siblings.

"Hyp," she said, "this isn't going to help your father. Britta is only trying to ask questions so she can help him. Anyway, we don't use that tone around my nest."

Hyp looked sullen for a moment, then covered his face with his hands. Petrie's mom softened and rubbed his nose. Pterano had his wrapped a wing arm around Britta to comfort her. Britta took a step forward and took Hyp in an embrace. Surprisingly, he hugged back. Chomper had never seen him so scared before. And for whatever reason, he didn't like it.

Britta pulled back to make eye contact with him. "Hyp, I know you're afraid for your father, but I need you to stay with me."

When Hyp nodded, she stood and crossed her wings. "Does he have any injuries from the fall?"

Hyp thought a minute. "His right leg, I think. He has a limp…"

"Where is he now?"

Hyp lowered his eyes, so Ella answered for him. "He's…still sleeping. That's why Hyp came to get me."

Britta really looked concerned now. "Well, I need to get over there… Are you going to be in trouble for coming to get me?"

Hyp got the joke and cracked a smile that revealed his father had indeed instructed him not to come to Britta. "Yeah, so what else is new?"

Britta followed Hyp and Ella into the distance. Chomper and Ruby glanced at one another, unsure of which way to go. Pterano blocked their path and knelt down so that he was at their level. "I think you children ought to head for the Great Wall. I believe I saw your families on my way back."

Despite his worry for Hyp's father, Chomper felt his heart leap in excitement. "They're here?!"

Pterano nodded, and Ruby interjected as he started to turn away. "Do you think Hyp's dad will be alright?"

Pterano seemed to think a moment, then managed a small smile. "I believe so."

Petrie flew in, embraced his uncle, and then hopped into his mother's arms. When he noticed them, he looked confused. "Ruby? Chomper? Why you still here? Me think you at Great Wall already?"

Pterano smiled at his nephew. "They are heading that way."

Chomper and Ruby took their cue, but then Chomper turned back to face Pterano. "How did my family look?"

Pterano's eyes widened in surprise. It was a moment before he could manage an answer. "Uhrm… Quite… well. I find it…odd….that they don't attack the fast-runners nearby."

Petrie's mother swatted his shoulder, causing him to shoot her a glare as he rubbed it.

Chomper didn't know what to think, but Ruby just smiled. "Chomper's parents would never do that."

Chomper smiled as well. "Yeah. My parents are different."

Pterano's eyes darted to his sister uncertainly before he recovered. "Well… I… wish you a safe journey."

Chomper skipped after Ruby. "Thanks!"

A while later, he and Ruby scrambled around the Great Wall until they found their secret opening. As soon as they got through to the Mysterious Beyond, he froze at the sight of his parents. Ruby's father was already embracing her. His mother smiled and stretched out her hands.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Chomper ran into her hands and nuzzled his long lost parents.