A/N: Next rewritten chapter of VV.
Enjoy.
With the Tools clinging onto Ton-Ton's bed spikes the group, led by Shade, sped through the trees towards the sounds of the battle that was taking place. Ty was out in front beside the black Dozeratops, a determined look on his face, the one he usually wore when going into a situation that was dangerous, as he had done in the past back in the crater. The others, though, also suspected that he mainly wanted to renew his vow to never fail Trux that needed his help.
The trees slowly began to thin out and the sounds grew louder as they drew nearer and nearer to the fight. Suddenly they burst out of the trees and, after swerving around a line of large rocks, they found the cause of the sounds. Backed up against the rock wall at the front of the canyon Shade had told them about and Skya had spotted, and surrounded by ten Scraptors, was a bright blue female Dozeratops with her blade lowered.
She had a determined look on her face and was threatening any of the metal menaces that were circling her, daring any of them to come closer and try anything. Even from a distance it was easy to see what the problem was. One of her treads, more specifically, her right side rear one, was not moving. "Come on you cowards I'll show you how a real Dinotrux fights! You nearly scrapped my father, but you won't take me so easily!" she declared, returning the glares her tormentors threw at her.
"Rev you and the Tools stay in cover while we deal with these things" ordered Ty as the Reptools clambered down from the Trux and scurried over to the safety of one of the large rocks. "We will Ty and be careful." "Noted, and don't worry Rev, I'm always careful." his friend replied. "Nobody scraps a Dozeratops! Not on my watch!" roared Dozer angrily, lowering his blade and revving his engine, gathering himself to charge.
"You heard him gang, let'ss do this!" With that command given the group charged forwards toward the Scraptors. "It's dozin' time!" Dozer's battle cry rang out loud and long which caught the female's attention. She turned her gaze as the sound of Ty's roar followed up the yellow Dozeratops's shout as the group of six came crashing down into the pack. Her look of surprise quickly turned into one of indignant anger as they engaged in combat.
"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed. "I had everything under control!" "Not from where we were standing!" Skya replied, before using her hook to sling one of the Scraptors into another. This sent them both flying into Ton-Ton's bed, whom the Ankylodump then sent flying up into the air before they crashed down some feet away from them. Ty's wrecking ball sent two more Scraptor's flying, followed by two more that Dozer and Shade had rammed into.
This went on for a good five minutes until there was only one Scraptor left standing, staring at the group of mixed Trux in front of it. "Problem?" asked Ty, his optics narrowed dangerously. The Scraptor looked at them from one to the other, clearly seeing it was outnumbered. It gave a nervous screech before it quickly turned tail and raced into the trees and out of sight. "That's what I thought," the red T-Trux concluded.
Now that the immediate danger was past, the group then turned back to the blue female who was still where she was. She was looking at them with an indignant look on her face, obviously not happy. "I didn't need your help!" she said hotly and the Trux looked at each other in slight dismay. "Why? What did you think I was going to say," she said looking at them, her head cocked on one side.
"A simple "thank you" would have sufficed," said Revvit as he, the other Reptools and the Tortools came out from where they had been watching during the course of the battle. "Yeah and anyways," said Dozer rolling forward a bit. "What's a Dozeratops like you doing out here?" "None of your business," came the sharp reply, "and I could ask you the same question." "We were just passing through," Ty replied.
"Until we heard you of course." The female looked from one of them to the other. "Six mismatched Trux, four Reptools and five Tortools?" she said with cynical dryness in her voice. "You guys are like the start of a bad joke." "And we saved you," Dozer replied. "Which makes you the punchline, Blue." The female Dozeratops gave him a death glare. "Don't call me blue," she said in a voice that promised a world of hurt.
Not affected by her threat, Dozer got right up in her face. "Alright... Blue." he said, with a degree of snideness. "Alright, Dozer, you've made your point," said Shade, coming in between the pair before they decided to trade blows. "What's your name anyway?" Ton-Ton asked, also trying to break the ice. There was a moment's pause before she eventually replied to the question. "Well since you saved my treads, I guess I'll tell you it's-"
"Blue Diamond! There you are!" called another voice, cutting the Dozeratops off. "I've been looking all over for you!" The Trux and Tools looked round to see a bright red female Ankylodump had approached them from the trees and stopped when she noticed the gang of mixed species. "Oh, hello there, who are you?" she asked, her face and voice holding much more friendship than the Dozeratop's did.
"I'm Ty," replied the red T-Trux, happy to see that this Trux was better mannered than what he guessed was her friend. "And this is Dozer." "Mm hmm." "Skya." Hey." "Ton-Ton." There was no reply. "Ton-Ton?" Ty asked, turning to his friend in curiosity when the blue Ankylodump didn't answer. His friend was staring at Rose with what appeared to be a somewhat dreamy expression on his face. Ton-Ton had never seen an Ankylodump like her before in his life.
"Ton-Ton!" Dozer yelled, breaking the blue Trux out of his dream state as well as making him jump. "Ah! Sorry dude, my bad." At his comedic response Rose giggled and Ton-Ton felt his face heat up as he felt something he couldn't place stir inside his chassis. "Anyways," said Ty. "This is Garby." "Nice to meet ya!" "Shade." "Nice to meet you Rose." "And the Tools are Revvit, Ace, Waldo and Click-Clack," he added. gesturing to each of the the Trux and Tools in turn.
"Wait, you're the Ty?" asked Blue Diamond, her eyes going wide at the sound of his name. "Sure am," was the reply that answered her question. A moment's silence passed as realisation sunk in on the female Dozeratops. A sheepish look came onto her face before she sighed and looked. "I owe you an apology," she said slowly. "No need," said Revvit. "Huh?" "You are not the first Dinotrux we have come across to have a temper like yours," the Reptool explained.
"You mean like, Dozer," remarked Ton-Ton. "Ton-Ton!" said Trux yelled in annoyance before he shot a glare at his blabber mouth of a friend. "Sorry." "Well, now that introductions are aside, maybe somebody could tell me why the heck I can't move," said Blue Diamond crossly, drawing their attention back to the blue female. "One of those scrappers must've got me," she said, casting a glare at where the Scraptors had gone.
"I've told you about going off on your own!" Rose scolded and the female Dozeratops sighed and held her head in shame. "Hmm, looks like you have a tread screw missing," said Revvit as he emerged from under her. "I think we have some of those in what we brought, hang on." He quickly climbed back into Ton-Ton's bed and, after a small search through the boxes of parts, came back with a Dozeratops tread screw.
No sooner had he done so did a loud screech echo through the air. The Trux whirled around as a massive pack of around twenty Scraptors emerged from both the forest and the rocks, above, around, and inside the canyon. "Looks like they turned out the whole nest," said Shade as the group drew close together and formed a defensive formation. "Rev you repair Blue Diamond! Garby and Rose, you keep her safe!" Ty barked.
"Everyone else, hold them back as long as you can! Don't let any of them past you!" "You got it, Ty!" Ton-Ton said, revving his engine in preparation to charge. The Scraptors all let out a combined screech before charging the group all at once. Ty was the one to land the first strike, swinging himself around at top speed he allowed his wrecking ball to send four of their attackers straight into a nearby tree.
Blue Diamond watched this in angonising anticipation while the apple green and bright yellow Reptool worked as quickly as he could before climbing up onto her nose horn. "Try it now," he said. Without any hesitation she gave her treads a quick spin on the spot and her face brightened. "Wow, you do pretty good work," she complimented, smiling up at Revvit. "My pleasure," came the reply.
Obeying his friends last order, he hopped off of her and scurried across the battlefield and back over to join the other Tools who had once again taken shelter behind some nearby rocks. Ty noticed this and knocked away two more Scraptors. "Good job Rev, now let's finish these guys off." "Couldn't agree more!" said Blue Diamond. Revving her engine to full power she plowed straight into the nearest attacker.
Whipping around she slammed another with her tail. "Not bad," said Dozer, who had watched what had happened with interest before he sent two more flying into the canyon wall. "You're not so bad yourself," Blue Diamond replied, her earlier dislike for the Flatirons Gang gone. "How about you two put some of those skills to good use and HELP ME OUT!" cried Shade who had been ganged up on by five Scraptors.
Two were biting the railings on his back while the remaining three had latched onto him and were holding him place. Both his fellow Trux wasted no time in rushing to his aid, sending four of his attackers flying. As soon as he could move, Shade spun around in a circle in an attempt to knock the remaining Scaptor loose. Seeing his predicament, Skya, acting quickly, swung her tail and freed him from its grip.
"Thanks," he said, looking up at her. "No problem," the orange Craneosaur replied before she was jumped by three more members of the pack. "Allow me to repay the favour!" the black Trux said and clamped down on the tail of one of her assailants and wrenched it off of her and threw it straight into the path of Rose who went into a spin and knocked it away with her tail whilst he knocked away the remaining ones from Skya's side.
"You're welcome!" Shade called before launching himself back into the fight. The group were holding their own surprisingly well despite being outnumbered. This was mainly due to the fact that they had all fought Scraptors before and knew how to defend themselves. One of them jumped onto Ty's face only to be slammed by some of Garby's back plates which he fired from his back in its direction.
Quickly giving a thankful response to his rock eating friend the red T-Trux quickly got back into the swing of things. The battle had now gone on for about fifteen minutes and was showing no signs of stopping. "How many times have you guys done this sort of thing?!" Blue Diamond asked in exasperation as she fought off another pair of Scraptors before launching another into a rock.
"Somewhere between often and all the time!" Dozer called back in answer. "Well, if you do this on a daily basis, I would hate to see what a minute by minute situation would look like!" said Shade sarcastically. "You three should get out of here!" ordered Ty over the clamour of the battle. "We can give you an opening!" "Are you kidding?!" exclaimed Blue Diamond "I'm not letting you hog all the fun!"
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but me neither!" agreed Rose before she sideswiped a Scraptor with her tail, even leaving a slight dent in its side. "Well, glad to know that we won't be getting pulled apart by ourselves!" "Now's not the time to be making sarcastic remarks, Skya!" Ty roared at her before grabbing a Scraptor in his jaws, and tossing it away. "So much for that outlet!" Skya commented.
In a matter of seconds, though, the sheer weight of numbers began to tell as the whole group slowly began to become surrounded by the Scraptors. One of them tried to grab onto Skya's tail but she was able to flick it off. "I'd really hate to be the voice of doom here but someone better think of something and think of it fast, or we're all gonna be scrap!" the orange Craneosaur called urgently.
"Defensive positions! NOW!" Ty yelled to the others. Everyone broke off from their individual engagements and moved back as best they could whilst also doing their best to keep in some form of formation. Finally, they formed into a semi-circle and, with their backs to the rock wall of the canyon, they got ready to face the Scraptor horde once again. "Alright! Let's see 'em get past us now!" Ty said determinedly, as their attackers once again surrounded them.
One of them, possibly at the sight of their prey cornered, made a bold yet foolish move in trying to jump onto Dozer but was quickly sent flying back by Ty. "Thanks, Ty!" his friend called. "You're welcome, Dozer!" "So... Anyone got any good ideas?" asked Shade as the metal menaces moved slowly forward, tightening the already fixed noose they had over the necks of the gang.
"Ok, let me rephrase that," said Shade, "anyone got any crazy ideas!" "Flatter them into submission?" asked Blue Diamond as she rammed into two of the said scrappers. "Maybe we can tell them that while they're taking us apart," said Ty, unamused by her sarcastic comment. He quickly moved his head to stop a Scraptor from grabbing onto him before flinging it away into another.
"How are we getting out of here?!" Dozer asked as he fought off two more Scraptors. "Not unless you wanna be scrap metal, dude! Literally!" Ton-Ton called to him as he flung one of their attackers out of his bed. "Then let's make one!" Ty said, and with a swing of his tail against a Scraptor, he slammed it into the canyon wall making some rocks fall down amongst the group. "Bury them! Great idea!" said Skya.
Following the red T-Trux's lead she picked up one of the larger rocks with her hook and swinging it around she brought it crashing down onto one of the Scraptors. Dozer, Shade and Blue Diamond quickly followed their friends' lead in flinging projectiles at their foes. Once Rose and Ton-Ton's beds were filled, they flung the rocks at any Scraptors who got too close, and the process repeated itself.
They were soon in the rhythm of it. Fight, collect rocks, fight, throw said rocks, fight, etc. But unknown to the group, their already bad situation was about to take a completely whole new direction entirely. Ty opened his mouth to let out a roar that he hoped would frighten the Scraptors off or at the very least make them stop so as to give the group a breathing space. But the sound that came out of his mouth wasn't his roar.
Instead of a pure roar, it was more like a loud grating screech like that of their foes only much, much louder. "That wasn't me," the red T-Trux said once the sound had died down. The Scraptors too had also stopped dead in their tracks at the sound. However, they only paused for a moment before one of them, obviously their leader, let out a screech before it and the rest of the pack raced away into the canyon.
A few seconds later they were out of sight. Everyone stared wide-eyed at their sudden retreat. "Uhh... Who or what was that?" Ton-Ton asked nervously. Shade, on the other hand, was shaking with fear. "Oh no," he muttered. "What do you mean by "Oh no" exactly? Do you know what that is?" asked Dozer. "Not what Dozer, more like who," the black Trux replied. "That... was Reaper. And judging from the sound of that roar, he does not sound happy."
"Sounds like he's got a reputation, especially with a name like that," said Ace, nervousness clear in her voice. "You have no idea how true that statement is, Ace," their new friend replied. "And what makes our situation even worse is that we're right smack dab in his territory. And Hydraulicus never forgive anyone who cross their path, and I mean no one, even if they do it unintentionally or otherwise."
"I'm sure it's not that bad," said Skya. "We can just explain ourselves right?" Before Shade could reply, the loud clanking of treads got their attention from somewhere in the forest. In the rocks where the Reptools and Tortools were taking shelter, Click-Clack had pulled his head into his shell, whimpering while his whole body began shaking while bits began rattling like anything. "He's coming," said Shade, his voice eerily calm.
The noise grew louder and louder until a strange Trux burst out of the trees in front of them. It raised its head high and let out another screeching roar like the one that had scared off the Scraptors. The group simply stared at the newcomer in a combined mixture of both fear and awe. Reaper was half a head taller than Ty and had two large tread feet that held up a wirily lean muscular body.
He, as they had guessed from his name, had a short yet broad tail which showed that it was most likely there to act as a counterweight of sorts. His head was wedge shaped with a prominent beak at the end. Two narrowed, evil looking eyes stared down at the group of misfits before their owner. What captivated them the most, however, were his arms. They were the largest that they had seen on any kind of Dinotrux.
Furthermore, each of them both ended in three massive claws that were as long as a Dozeratop's tail and then some. "Then again... I've been wrong before," Skya muttered to herself as Reaper continued to stare them down. In terms of paint job colouration his body was mainly a rustic brown while his lower jaw was a faded white as were some of the panels that were littered across the rest of his body.
Three white stripes were marked across his left shoulder while another formed a scar shape that went from the top of his left eye to just over half way down the side of his neck. "What are you blokes and blokettes doin' in my neck of the woods." His voice was narsally and grating when he spoke which only added to his already fear indulging appearance. "Let me talk to him, Ty," Shade whispered, moving up alongside the red T-Trux so he could be heard.
"I've done so before, I might be able to get us out of this or at the very least give us a chance to explain ourselves." "Go for it, Shade," the other replied. The black Dozeratops slowly rolled forwards until he was in front of the Hydraulicus. "Good morning to you, Reaper. How are you?" he asked, his voice calm and collected. "Wow, he's good," said Rose. "You said it," agreed Ton-Ton. Reaper looked down at the young Trux in front of him.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't me little matey Shade, what are you and your new friends doin' 'ere?" "We were just fighting off some Scraptors before they heard and you and ran away." "You bet ya swashplate that's what those buggers did. That's deadset and you know it," the rustic orange Trux replied with a snort. Reaper then turned his gaze upon the rest of the group behind Shade and studied them for a few minutes.
Each one felt like forever for the group as they were hoping that he would accept their presence and leave. Unfortunately, things didn't go that way. The Hydraulicus began to snort and for a moment they all thought that something was wrong with him. It was only when he burst out laughing did they realise what it was. "You!" he exclaimed in what was clearly amused disbelief.
"You lot expect me to believe that a bunch of drongos and galah's like you took on a pack of twenty Scraptors and won! Ha! I know who you are!" he said in a jeering tone. "Youse lot are from the crater place ain't ya!" "What's that supposed to mean?" asked Skya, narrowing her eyes at him. She stopped when she saw Shade giving her a warning look and mouth "Don't" in quick succession and she said nothing more.
"It's means, ya sky-high sheila, that there is no way you and your fellow scarlet sheila there, the bludger Ankylodump and Stegarbasaur, those up yourself Dozeratops's and your dipstick T-Trux here beat up those little mongrels! You're too rubbish for that! You're too soft!" "You what?!" growled Dozer dangerously. "Who are you calling soft, stick fingers," Blue Diamond added in a tone of equal measure.
"Enough!" cried Shade quickly moving in between the others and the insulting Hydraulicus. "Please, Reaper, we just want to leave, we don't want any trouble." "Aww, ya don't want trouble eh?" Reaper replied in sickenly sweet voice. "Well that's too bad... Because that's exactly what you lot are gonna get! Startin' with you!" Before the black Dozeratops could react, the rustic orange Trux caught him with his right set of claws and flung him straight into a nearby rock.
The others watched this spectacle with shocked horror on their faces. These quickly turned to furious anger as they all gave Reaper death glares. "You just made a big mistake!" said Ty in a voice that promised pain. "You're asking for it! No one messes with a Dozeratops!" roared Dozer, lowering his blade with a loud clang, followed by Blue Diamond while Rose and the Reptools checked on Shade.
"You've got two choices here, Reaper," Ty growled. "You can leave now, or you can leave later after we've given you some dents to remember us by." The Hydraulicus gave a barking laugh. "Ha! Ha! Ha! You think that you can actually beat me?" he asked. "You bet we can, evil dude," Ton-Ton shot back. "Well then, I'm thrilled," Reaper replied. "Bring it on." And he rolled backwards, avoiding a tail whip by Ty, and grabbed hold of two trees with his claws.
With a loud grunt, the Trux and Tools watched in amazement as he ripped them out of the ground, roots and all. They barely had enough time to move as they were hurled straight at them. "Surround him gang! He can't take us all!" Ty ordered and the others were quick to obey. "Come on! I'm just getting warmed up!" taunted Reaper as the group encircled him. Dozer, to the surprise of no one, was the first to attack.
"This is for Shade!" he roared and charged straight at the Hydraulicus's legs in an attempt to knock him off balance. Reaper however simply brought his tail around like lightning and sent the rage filled Dozeratops flying. "Ya gonna have to do better than that mate!" he called mockingly before Skya's hook suddenly wrapped itself around his right-hand and yanked him hard over. "You too sheila!"
He grabbed hold of her hook line with his free arm and, which caught the female Craneosaur completely off guard, yanked her forwards before swiping her left front tread foot out from underneath Skya and sending her crashing to the ground. Reaper's attention was quickly turned to Ton-Ton who, after hitting a rise in the ground, was flying straight at him, yelling loudly in an attempt to body slam him.
"Take this claw dude!" the Ankylodump cried before the Hydraulicus turned and caught his undercarriage with his right hand claw and slammed him into the ground before knocking him away with his tail. "Keep your voice down mate!" Reaper said smugly. "You might actually do better next-!" he was cut off as Ty, whom he had completely forgotten about, blindsided their foe and sent him into a spin where he was sent crashing to the ground by Blue Diamond.
"You were saying something about being better, I believe?" she said with a mocking grin. Reaper pushed himself back up to face the red T-Trux and the blue Dozeratops. "You've both got guts the two of ya, I'll give you that," he replied. "But better isn't enough!" The Hydraulicus reached back behind him and grabbed hold of another tree by the trunk and flung it straight at the two of them.
They dodged one and Ty knocked the other one away with his tail before charging straight at his opponent to try and bite down and force him to the ground. Said Trux, however, had other plans. As the red T-Trux got closer, he waited until the last second. When Ty opened his jaws, Reaper grabbed hold of them with his claws and held them open. As expected, the Flatirons Gang leader struggled furiously to get loose.
"Sorry mate!" said Reaper before he flung Ty straight into a massive rock. "When it's one on one! You loose!" "Good, because for one thing, it's not one on one!" Ty retorted and charged the Hydraulicus once more. Expecting the same move, the long-armed Trux lunged for the T-Trux's jaws, but he was taken completely by surprise when the former suddenly ducked under him and bodychecked his taller foe, sending the former crashing into some nearby trees.
"And for another, you should know better than to underestimate your opponent!" Reaper growled as he pushed himself to his treads. "Cheap shot you made there mate!" he snarled, "and it's gonna cost ya dearly!" He lunged at Ty who, feeling something wrap around his wrecking ball, charged forward. That something was Skya's hook. The orange Craneosaur had recovered from her earlier beatdown and bided her time until the right opportunity had presented itself.
Needless to say, Reaper was completely unprepared for what the pair did and before he could stop himself, which was near impossible as his whole body was committed to the charge. All he could do was stare in horror for a few seconds before Ty's wrecking ball slammed into his face. The force built up between the two colliding sides was enough to haul the Hydraulicus right his treads and send him crashing to the ground.
Releasing her hook, Skya and Ty looked back at their handiwork, they looked at each other and nodded. The message between them was silent yet clear and once again they charged Reaper only this time, the female Craneosaur didn't attach her hook to Ty's wrecking ball. As they neared their foe, he too had recovered. Pushing himself to his treads, his eyes filled with rage, he charged straight at them.
As they got closer to each other, the red T-Trux dropped back slightly to allow Skya the opportunity to shoot out her hook and wrap it around Reaper's neck. As she raced past him she yanked on it with all her might, but the rustic orange Trux refused to be taken down by a move similar to the first one and pulled with all his might. Skya suddenly released her hook which allowed him to stumble forwards.
He was too slow, therefore, to avoid Ty sending him in the opposite direction with a direct hit from his wrecking ball. Reaper spun round only to be slammed in the face by the latter's tail which sent him spinning back around to face the former's wrecking ball once again. For a few seconds, the battle transformed into a back and forth melee between the three Trux, with Skya sending Reaper into Ty's tail while he did likewise.
This continued until the Hydraulicus slammed head first into the rock wall of the canyon which they had edged closer to during the battle. The moment that he pulled back, however, he was rammed into by the Craneosaur which sent him right into a slingshot tail strike by Ty. Grabbing one of the rocks from nearby, Skya swung it straight into Reaper, basking it over his head and sending him into a daze.
Ty was quick to follow her lead and threw another rock straight at the Hydraulicus which had the same effect. The pair were soon pelting their enemy with rocks from all sides. Needless to say all the others could do was watch in amazement as their two friends easily held off Reaper. "Let's finish this!" yelled Skya and swinging herself one hundred and eighty degrees, she wrapped her hook around a massive rock on top of the canyon wall.
Seeing what she was planning, Ty quickly slammed his wrecking ball into the wall in rapid succession. Several cracks formed as a result of this and the rock on top of the wall shook violently as the impacts loosened the support it was resting on. Reaper had just gotten back on his treads when there came a loud crack from above him. Looking up, he was just in time to see the massive rock, with Skya's hook attached to it, begin to plummet down towards him.
All he could do was stare in horror before it landed squarely on top of him and slammed him into the ground. An immense cloud of dust shot up from the impact and sent them all coughing and spluttering. It was a good while before anybody could see anything at all. When the dust did clear, they saw the result of Ty and Skya's work. The rock had pinned Reaper flat to the ground and he wasn't moving.
Cautiously, Revvit moved forward and even more cautiously placed his head next to the Hydraulicus's engine compartment. After a minute or two he nodded and returned to his friends. "Well?" asked Blue Diamond. "He's engine is still running but he is completely knocked out, and he will likely stay that way for a good while," the Reptool replied. "Then let's not waste that opportunity to get out of here before he does," said Ty.
"You alright, Shade?" he asked, turning his attention to the black Dozeratops. "I'll be fine," he replied. "That wasn't the first time I've been knocked for six, by Reaper in particular, but I'll live." "Good. By the way, Skya," the red T-Trux continued. "We made a great team out there." "I know! I even impressed myself with my skills and quick thinking!" she replied with glee. "That's a first," Dozer muttered quietly to himself.
"Where to from here, Shade dude?" Ton-Ton asked. "This way," said Trux replied, moving towards a gap in the trees. "If we keep up a good pace, we should be out of the forest in a day or two give or take." "I'll buy that," answered Waldo. Leaving the rock and tree strewn battlefield behind them, the group set off once again. The clearing behind them was silent, for even the Scraptors knew better than to mess with Reaper.
Under the massive rock, the Hydraulicus was completely still. As Revvit had said, he was knocked out cold. As the minutes ticked by following the group's departure from their newly made, and newly beaten, enemy, silence continued to reign. A buzzing sound filled the area and a Dragonflopter landed on top of Reaper's head, clearly sensing that he could not harm it.
Suddenly, a loud noise disburbed the small flying creature and it took off into the sky as a figure emerged from the forest. It stared down at the unconscious rustic orange Trux for a moment, taking him in before the corners of its mouth slowly turned upwards into a chilling smile. They could see what anyone, had they cared looked closer, would have been able to see.
Ever so slightly, one of Reaper's claws was moving.
He was waking up.
Further on from this scene, the group had kept up their pace as they made their way through the forest leaving the canyon, and by extension Reaper, even further behind them, and with two new additions to their ranks. They had been traveling for some time when they realised that the trees around them were slowly beginning to thin out to where there was open ground and the Trux could travel more freely than before.
As soon as they hit said open ground, however, Ton Ton, to the surprise of no one, had, after being unloaded and unhooked, immediately started ramping on any rocks he could find that were big enough for him to go up. This put him back into his normal spirits, even more so when he was joined by Shade. The pair had a grand old time, laughing to themselves as they jumped off of various sized rocks, banks and dips and soared into the air.
Dozer, meanwhile, was talking to Blue Diamond about some of his own past experiences such as how he had been saved by the other Trux when Ty had first come to the crater and the various misadventures the group had undertaken afterwards. He had found the female Dozeratops to be good company and she likewise. He was just telling her about how he had found the Tortools by accident when there came a loud thunk.
"Uh, dudes, little help," called Ton Ton from somewhere above and ahead of them. Moving quickly forward, they found that he had, once again, goten stuck in a tree with two branches that formed a prong shape at the top. "Again, Ton-Ton, seriously?" said Dozer begrudgingly as the pair came over. Rose, who had also heard the collision and the subsequent call for assistance, came over to see if she could help.
"Um... Are you okay?" she asked the blue Ankylodump, tilting her head to look up at him. Though her voice said that she was somewhat put out by his need to not sit still and his silliness, the red female was smiling as she said it. "No, I'm fine just, er... hanging out, no biggie," came the reply. Rose couldn't help herself and gave a small laugh which made the blue Ankylodump's face heat up once again.
Also like before, when he had gotten stuck in such an awkward position, Dozer simply rammed into the trunk of the tree to get him down, all the while muttering to himself, "Again, really?" as Ton-Ton landed heavily on the ground from his crazy perch. "Does he do that a lot?" Blue Diamond asked as their friend was reloaded by Skya and connected back to his trailer by the Reptools. "You do not want to get me started," he replied.
The first thing Reaper became aware of as he came painstakingly closer to regaining consciousness was the massive pain that seemed to come from everywhere on his body, particularly his head which was pounding like he had been run over several times by a herd of a thousand Rollodons. He could feel a sizable weight upon his back which he guessed was the massive rock that had landed on him after Ty and Skya had knocked him back and forth.
His memories of the battle came flooding back to him as he felt his eyelids flutter several times as they struggled to open. The Hydraulicus caught only fleeting images of the area in front of him but from what he could tell the group were long gone. What reached his audio receptors next was the sound of an engine, and judging from the depth of the sound it was making it was clearly a fairly powerful one.
Reaper blinked rapidly as he tried to make his eyes focus so he could see what, or rather who, was with him. Feeling some of his former strength return, he tried to push himself to his treads. The weight on his back, however, prevented him from doing so. Adding the fact that he was still pretty weak, he collapsed after raising his head barely a few inches off from the level of the ground.
Suddenly there came the loud roar of an engine followed by the sounds of an impact and the cracking of rock. This happened two more times and each time it did he felt the weight on his back lessen. By that time more of his strength had returned and he once more attempted to push himself up. Unlike his previous attempt, Reaper found that this time there was nothing stopping him.
Regaining his balance, he drew himself up to his full height and let out a loud screeching roar, announcing his rise to the world. Looking about him, he quickly noticed several tred prints leading off into the forest, indicating that the group were long gone. "Missed 'em!" he growled. A sly voice spoke from behind him. "Don't worry, they haven't gone far." Reaper swung round to find its owner standing before him.
It was male Dozeratops. He was dark gold colour while the hump on his back was jet black. Next to him were the remains of the massive rock that had pinned the Hydraulicus only now it had been broken into several pieces. "Who are you? And what do you want?" Reaper growled, narrowing his eyes. "My name is Black Gold," the other Trux replied. "And you and I have something in common. We both want to put dents into that T-Trux and his friends."
At those words the rustic orange Hydraulicus grinned evilly at the thought of getting his own back on Ty and Skya for making a fool out of him. "That sounds like a bonza of an idea mate. You've got yourself a deal. Me name's Reaper by the way." Black Gold chuckled. "Heh, heh. Well, I have been watching you work, Reaper, And I could most definitely make good use of your claws and tail. How about it?" The Hydraulicus's grin became wider.
"You can count me in."