Chapter Twelve: The Fall of Red Claw.
Red Claw knew offering the alpha spot was the only way the male would help him, though regretfully, the body of the sharptooth washed ashore within the following days. Red Claw stood on the beach, gazing down at the body, sighing and growling. Alas, another failed attempt as ending the life of the little sharptooth.
The Mysterious Island provided safety for Chomper and his family, much to Red Claws' dismay. After the death of the assassin, Red Claw knew he'd have to reach the island himself, finish the job and get rid of the sharptooth called Chomper. When the land path was visible, Red Claw and his fast-biter associates crossed it and reached the island. Splitting up to cover more ground, Red Claw caught the scent of a youngling, smiling and peering around. Then, he heard it, a voice, not in sharptooth, but in leaf-eater. Course, Red Claw couldn't understand a single word, but he knew it was the boy, Chomper. When Red Claw made his presence known, Chomper backed away, only to pause and gaze up at the taller male.
"W-why do you keep coming after me?" Chomper asked bravely, showing more guts than Red Claw expected.
"I owe you no explanation, other than I can't stand watching a sharptooth help prey, allow our food to escape us. You bring shame to your family, your very existence is a disgrace to all sharpteeth, myself included." Looking the small boy over, Red Claw couldn't imagine such a weirdo would lead to his downfall. "You are a blight, one that I'm here to snuff out."
Before Red Claw could attack, Chomper took off, running for his life. With a roar, Red Claw went after Chomper, losing sight of him yet picking up the trail and going as fast as he could. Ahead, he heard the adult sharpteeth, Chomper's parents. It'd been some time since he came across the couple and only smiled. Out from the bush Red Claw came, seeing the pair stand protectively been him and Chomper.
"You cowards, hiding here rather than facing me."
"We don't wish to fight you." The female spoke.
"Yes, why is it you bother with us, what have we ever done to you?" The male asked.
"My quarrel is not with you, but with your troublesome boy. The one who speaks to leaf-eaters."
"It's only because plant-eaters were the first to welcome him into this world. Now, leave out island at once." The male said, walking forward to intimidate Red Claw, though it had little effect on him.
"I am your alpha, the ruler over all sharpteeth and you will hand over your son, or die!"
"We won't ever let you hurt him!" The female yelled and flew forward.
Red Claw steadied himself and felt her plow into him, being shoved back. Clawing her across the face with his claw, he threw her aside and saw her hit the earth hard, knocking her out. With her out, he went for the male, who shielded Chomper. The males collided, Red Claw noticing the pair weren't as strong as he remembered, knowing he had the upper hand, being younger, faster, and bigger. Throwing the male down, Red Claw placed a foot on the male's neck, cutting his air off and planning on killing him, until…
"Hey, leave my daddy alone! It's me you want, remember!" Chomper called, waving to get Red Claw's attention.
Once the male passed out, Red Claw turned and saw Chomper, knowing it was his chance, his moment to change his fate. Leaving the male, Red Claw went for the boy, who fled once more. From the side, Screech and Thud appeared, blocking Chomper and trying to grab him.
"Dang is he fast." Thus commented, diving and hitting the earth, Chomper escaped him and tried to get away.
Screech was quicker and nabbed Chomper by the tail, hauling him off the ground. "Gottcha you little bitter."
"Let me go!" Chomper yelled, kicking and trying to bite Screech.
"Um, Boss, now that we got the kid, what should we do?" Thud asked, rising to his feet and looking at his boss.
"I'm going to kill him." Red Claw smiled and felt relief wash over him, looking to the sky. "You see that Sharptooth, one can change their fate!"
"You're crazy!" Chomper shouted, struggling within Screech's hold.
"Silence! Boys, tie him up, I don't want him getting away again."
"Right, Boss."
"Just wait till my mommy and daddy wake up, you'll be sorry then." Held, Chomper felt Thud place vines around him. "They'll kill you."
"Doubtful." Once Chomper was unable to get away, Red Claw gestured for Screech and Thud to step back.
"Boss, you really gonna wasted the kid?" Thud asked, standing by Chomper, who struggled to get loose. "I mean, he is just a kid and all."
"Do you wish to be squashed too?" With a lowered gaze, Thud moved back slowly. "Good now prepared to die, boy," Red Claw lifted his leg and was ready to step on Chomper.
"Monster!" Someone yelled, the female waking and rushing to save her son. She slid and slammed her side into Red Claw, catching him off guard and sending him rolling across the earth. "Stay away from us!"
Chomper's dad was up, chasing Screech and Thud away, the pair hurrying to get their son and flee their home. From the ground, Red Claw watched as the three faded into the jungle. "No, no, no!" In frustration, Red Claw rose and roared, kicking rocks, whipping his tail, and knocking trees over. Stomping around, he screamed out in rage.
"Easy Boss, It's not the end of the world," Screech said, trying to calm their leader down.
"It will be the end of me!" He shouted, huffing and slowly cooling off. "We'll track them, see if we can keep up."
In the following days, Screech and Thud thought their boss was unraveling. It was clear he was obsessed with finding Chomper and killing him, but why he went to such lengths bewailed the pair.
"So, the boy talks to leaf-eaters, big whop."
"There has to be something more to it, Screech, there just has to be."
"Well, unless you want your head bitten off, I ain't gonna ask."
"Still, I worry about his frame of mind."
Red Claw was asleep and, in his dream, he saw what he thought would unfold. Chomper, growing, becoming bigger and stronger, seeking revenge for being hunted like prey. The world around him was blurry, all Red Claw saw clearly was Chomper, a fierce-looking version of Chomper. Running for his life, Red Claw came upon a steep edge, peering over and seeing rocks clatter down into a great crevasse.
"Red Claw, you hunted me and my family for years, now I'll make you pay with your life!"
"Chomper, mercy, I'm the Alpha, your Alpha." Red Claw said, thinking he could by himself sometime. "It was nothing personal."
"You are nothing to me, you are a monster and will face the consequences of your decisions." Chomper approached Red Claw and spun, his tail sweeping Red Claw's legs out from under him.
Unable to keep his balance, Red Claw found himself hanging off the ledge, gazing up at Chomper, who stood and looked down. Lifting his foot, Chomper smiled. "Now prepare to die, Red Claw." Slamming his foot down on Red Claw's head, Red Claw found himself falling off the end and downward. Just before he hit the ground, Red Claw sat up, finding it was a sleep story and nothing more. Though his heart was pounding and he was sweating like crazy, huffing to calm himself. More determined than ever to change his fate, Red Claw made it his life's mission to find and kill Chomper. Even when Chomper moved into the Great Valley, Red Claw vowed to find a way in, to finish the job. Over and over, they tried, and repeatedly they failed. However, Red Claw was hopeful and knew it was a matter of time before Chomper would grow and be kicked out. When the day finally arrived, Red Claw hunted Chomper, killed his parents, and tried to find the elusive boy. No matter what, Chomper was two steps ahead, always finding a way to escape in the nick of time, slipping through Red Claw's claws. It infuriated Red Claw and haunted his sleep stories, his every waking moment.
Standing across the Island, Red Claw saw the land path appear. "It's time boys." Going across it, Red Claw saw Chomper making his way from the island, only to turn and prepare to leave. "What's the matter boy, too kind and gentle to fight back! I killed your parents, don't you want to avenge them?"
"No, I just want you to leave me alone," Chomper said bluntly.
"Well, I want you dead!" Red Claw went to attack, Chomper ducking and running past him, avoiding the conflict.
"Stop, we don't have to fight. W-we can be friends."
"Friends, feh. I'd rather have my teeth ripped out than be friends with a freak like you."
Chomper froze when he noticed the waves begin to rise and fall. "Earth shake!" The land path under them moved and the water splashed up.
"No, not again!" Red Claw yelled, struggling to keep from falling.
Chomper ran back to the island, while Screech and Thud escaped to the beach. "Boss!" shouted Thud, seeing their leader was left behind while the water rose between them.
"Come on, Thud, before we're washed out to the big water."
Red Claw was sent tumbling into the water, where he found himself spinning, the waves tossing him about. Dizzy by the movement, Red Claw was unable to tell the surface from the seafloor. He was running out of air and thought he'd pass out and drown, just like Sharptooth. Oddly enough, when he was about to blackout, someone grabbed and hauled him upward. When Red Claw woke, he lay against the sand, the tide washing in and moving out. Looking around, Red Claw saw someone beside him, turning out to be Chomper.
"I never understood why you hated me so. My parents, nor I ever tried to take your territory. So why do you loth me?"
Red Claw lay, catching his breath. "Because you were born, what other reason is there?"
"I could've left you to drown today, but I didn't."
"Yes, which begs the question, why spare me? Even knowing I'd still come for you, still try to kill you."
"Because it'd be wrong. Every life is valuable, even your life." Chomper got up, walking back into the jungle.
Red Claw allowed the boy to live, going across the land path once it was visible. While Red Claw would never admit it, Chomper was a good-hearted guy, one who cared for others, and under different circumstances, Red Claw might've offered him the alpha spot once he stepped down or died. Still, it was his life or Chomper's, so Red Claw was strong and tried to think of another way to get Chomper out of hiding.
Days came and went, years going by yet Red Claw never forgot or lost sight of his goal. When he heard the news that Chomper was harboring a fastrunner on his island, Red Claw knew Chomper would fight to protect the food. If it were the same fastrunner Red Claw recalled from years gone by, Red Claw knew Chomper cared for her deeply. Before he went to the island, Red Claw knew it was time to tell the fast-bitters why he pursued Chomper. The pair were understanding and didn't argue, otherwise, Red Claw would've killed them on the spot for mocking him.
"Boss, you really think he'll fight you?" Screech asked.
"Oh, if it's over that fastrunner, he will. You recall how he always came between us and his food friends."
"You got this Boss."
Red Claw was confident, perhaps a bit too confident, for the fight, would be his last. On his way to the island, he got an odd feeling, something in the pit of his gut told him things would go array. While a pack of fast bitters went ahead, he paused, glancing at Screech and Thud.
"On the off chance I lose, I need you two to do something for me."
"Anything Boss."
"See where my predecessor is and then come here and tell Chomper to take them out."
"Boss, I don't think he's got the guts to face your predecessor. Even you were leery of banishing them in the first place."
"Promise me, you'll do this. You've both been loyal and I want to make sure you'll have a place should I fall."
Thud looked Red Claw over, never seeing him so soft-spoken and dare he say, kind. "Boss, you won't lose."
"Thanks, to both of you." Red Claw took a breath and pressed on, going to face Chomper once and for all.
Ironically, during the fight, Red Claw walked right into Chomper's claws, gazing into the eyes of the surprised Chomper, guilt washing over the boy. It was at that moment Red Claw regretted what he asked of Screech and Thud, for he knew his predecessor would kill Chomper easily. In a way, Red Claw sentenced Chomper to death. If only he had a few more minutes, to speak, to apologize, to say words that were left unsaid. But it was too late, for Red Claw knew his time was up.
In the mysterious Beyond, Chomper stood and listened to Thud. "In the end, it was his pursuit of immortality that led to Red Claw's downfall."
"Why wait till now to tell me this?" Chomper asked. "It'd been nice to know he had an heir. You know, why should I care, I never wanted to be Alpha anyway. Let them have it, I don't care, I have other things to focus on."
"Yes, and those things are distracting you from the important things."
"What are you trying to say, huh?"
Screech gave a small growl and spoke. "Because right about now, you're as lost as Red Claw. If one chases their tail, they're bound to lose sight of what's truly in front of them. You have a lot more to lose than what Red Claw ever did. You have someone who loves, friends, a family, all Red Claw ever lost was power."
Chomper sighed and spoke strongly. "I'm the Boss, right, so if you don't want to follow me, don't. I never asked you to."
"Jeez, no need to get huffy. We're here to watch out for you, have your back if you get in trouble."
"I just am curious if there's a way to cross the Big Water, all right," Chomper said, looking across the water.
"Sure, whatever."