Hello! Time for another chapter! Special thanks to Zee Docking, The Jewelstone Queen, ShinTheScout, Ryan6783, Veasey, The Mr E, RedMageKnight and hadiginga for all the feedback. Special thanks to ShinTheScout for great idea with Petrie. New DeviantArt picture under account name AllegroGiocoso is up. The Land Before Time belongs to Universal.

Chapter 30 – Building Up The Herd

Day 2 - Late Afternoon/Early Evening

Growing up, Earl, Gus and Len had always been an inseparable threesome. All orphaned by their fifth cold time, the three young longnecks roamed the land together, keeping each other company as they ate from every tree they could find. Though their lifestyle changed from being hatchlings who had to hide from sharpteeth to large, strong young adults who were more than capable of defending themselves, the three of them had always stuck together. The dynamics of the group had also remained constant, where Earl always led and Gus and Len followed. The biggest, most outspoken, and most assertive of the three, Earl never hesitated to take charge, and Gus and Len always appreciated that Earl took responsibility over the three of them.

Now without their leader, Gus and Len found the dynamic between them had completely changed. The two of them rarely argued in the past, and whenever a conflict did arise, it would be resolved by Earl and his self-assured, confident demeanor. But now Earl was not there to intervene, and Gus and Len found themselves in the most morally fraught, important argument they had ever been involved in. Both thought that they were entirely in the right, both found the other's position abhorrent, and both found the other to be unreasonably stubborn.

"Gus, please," Len begged, his eyes watering. "Can't you just give it up?"

"Gus looked at Len incredulously. "Len, don't you get it? It's that boxhead's fault that Earl is dead. Don't you want to see justice for Earl?"

"Well, yes, but … What good would it do?" Len asked earnestly. "Earl's … Well, dead. I wish he was still here just as much as you. But killing the boxhead won't bring him back."

Gus shook his head. "It's all about Earl's honor, Len. His dignity even in death. You saw what that brute did to him. Breaking his bones by pounding him into the ground? Viciously slashing into his side like a sharptooth? Thanks to that lowlife out of control boxhead, Earl was never able to move again. He deserves justice, and this is our only chance to get it." He looked at his friend plaintively. "Join me, Len. Please. Go up there and tell the jury that the boxhead killed Earl. I know Earl would want you to do it."

"But Gus, that would be lying … Shorty may have hurt Earl in that attack, but he didn't kill him," Len insisted. "We don't even know that Shorty actually did it. It could have been someone or something else, like a sharptooth."

"You mean the so-called friendly sharptooth that's friends with the murderous boxhead?" Gus retorted. "That would make sense. They must have ganged up on Earl that night and brought him down together."

"I didn't say that," Len replied. "And you've got no proof for that."

"We know that it's the boxhead's fault that Earl's dead," Gus explained angrily. "If that brute didn't hurt Earl, Earl would've been able to fight off any stinking sharptooth, just as how he has always protected us. But after that boxhead attacked him, Earl couldn't move, leaving him easy pickings for the sharptooth."

"But we don't know the sharptooth did it," Len said stubbornly.

Gus shook his head. "Of course the sharptooth did it. Because that's what sharpteeth do. We already know it attacked other leafeaters, so why not Earl too? No doubt its boxhead friend told it that he wounded Earl and ordered it to go finish the job. It probably brought those over sharpteeth from the Mysterious Beyond over to create a distraction so that it could go kill Earl without being caught, all on the boxhead's orders of course."

"I don't think that's who he is," Len argued. "Cam told me she and Mia tried framing Chomper because they thought he was dangerous. But she told me that they were mistaken, and that really he's been friendly ever since he came to the Valley as a kid. And he could easily take a bite out of Cam in that jail cell … I could see why he'd want revenge ... But he hasn't," Len smiled. "I don't know why he attacked those leafeaters last night. But maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe it really was out of self-defense. And if so, maybe Shorty had nothing to do with it? I don't like those guards, Len. They won't even let me see Cam! They're brutal enough … I think they could have killed Earl!"

Gus rolled his eyes. "Why would they want to kill Earl? And what's with you calling those brutes by name? It's not like they deserve any respect."

"Well … I think they do," Len argued. "And I don't think they're bad … They're fellow goodhearted dinosaurs, just like us! Not like those evil brutes separating everyone."

"Evil?" Gus asked. "You think the guards are evil just for enforcing the law, and that those murderers aren't?"

Len nodded. "Separating dinosaurs by what they are is just wrong! Besides, who's to say they won't come after us? We're not the same kind of longneck. Who's to say they won't want to segregate the Valley further? If they had their way, I'm sure they'd split us up! And you'd be on your own, Gus! There's no other longneck like you in the Valley!"

"Don't be ridiculous! The sharptooth and boxhead are evil, plain and simple. And we're both longnecks, we've got nothing to fear from the regime. They're not gonna seriously try splitting us up. You said it yourself, I've got no other herd to go to, so I can just tag along with you. Besides, it's about time someone got tough on crime. That ridiculous Circle of Elders let that sharptooth live here since he was a kid, biding his time until he could get the chance to strike!"

"Gus, he's a friendly sharptooth!" Len cried out.

"You really believe that nonsense?" Gus replied.

"Well, Cam does!" Len said. "And I trust her!"

Gus looked at Len understandingly. "I get you're trying to get Cam out of there, Len … But it's her fault she tried helping those criminals. She deserves some punishment for that. But just relax, all right? Those judges are just scaring her so she doesn't try to interfere. There's no way they'd actually kill her."

"What makes you say that?" Len retorted.

"Well she didn't murder Earl, nor is she a sharptooth," Gus answered confidently.

"You heard Hiss Head …" Len began, but Gus interrupted.

"Hiss Head may be a bit eccentric, but at least he's actually taking crime seriously, unlike Thicknose and that Circle of Elders. Never mind Bron … I thought he would be a good herd leader … But to think he'd be standing up for that murderous, so-called son … "

"But Gus, you're a prosecutor … Don't you realize? If you keep prosecuting Shorty, thanks to Hiss Head's stupid rule, you'll be prosecuting Cam, Bron, Ali and Mia too! Sending them all to their deaths!" Len cried out.

Gus sighed. "Len, I get you're worried about Cam. But she'll be okay. I told you, it's just a threat so that nobody tries any funny business. Once the sharptooth and boxhead are killed, justice will be done and the others will be let go. There's no way Hiss Head's crazy enough to try killing all of them."

Len looked at Gus incredulously. "You really think that?"

"Sure," said Gus reassuringly. "There's no way anyone's that stupid."

Len shook his head. "I wish I could believe you ... But I can't! Those stupid guards won't even let me see Cam! Have you even seen how bloodthirsty they look? I bet they actually enjoy killing! And have you even heard Hiss Head during those dumb speeches? He is absolutely crazy!"

"Of course the guards look tough, that's part of their job," said Gus reassuringly. "And I know Hiss Head's sounding pretty weird ... But you've seen him before, he's just a pleasant nice guy. He's not a bigot himself if he had a threehorn girlfriend, I think he's just confused ... It's probably just that he's nervous being a new young herd leader. I know I would be nervous if I was in his place. Once he gets over his nerves …"

"Nerves? Nerves?" Len shouted indignantly. "He's a creep! And I don't want you helping him anymore!"

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Gus snapped. "Tell the jury that the boxhead and sharptooth are innocent and ruin any chance at justice for Earl?"

"Yes, Gus!" Len shouted. "You're Shorty's appointed prosecutor … If anything will destroy the case they have against him, it will be you going up and saying that there's no proof that Shorty actually killed Earl ... And maybe they would dismiss the charges on Chomper too!"

Gus's jaw dropped. "Len … How could you? You're betraying Earl's memory! Destroying any loyalty you have to our leader and friend! You are completely dishonoring him! He would be rolling …"

Len shook his head. "Me? It's you who are betraying our herd! By prosecuting our herd members who are actually alive! Because that's what you're doing if you don't tell the truth."

Gus stared at Len in bewilderment. "What did Earl see in you?"

"I'm beginning to think the same thing," Len retorted.

"Well then, stop wasting my time! Because I know in my heart that the boxhead did it, and nothing in your bleeding heart will tell me otherwise!" Gus growled. "Now get out of my sight!"

Stunned, Len nodded at his friend, and sighed, "I just hope you'll do the right thing."

And as Gus harrumphed, Len turned tail and started galloping deeper into the longneck zone, tears flowing down his face as he ran. Fortunately, the area was still relatively empty, with most of the regime's longneck males either posted at the central jail, guarding Doc and Dara at the corner, or escorting the rest of his herd of longnecks out …

"Hey Len?"

A soft, fatherly voice broke through Len's thoughts. Lifting up his relatively short neck, he looked at the wise, older longneck standing before him. It was none other than his herd leader, looking at him with gentle, supportive eyes.

"Are you okay?" Bron asked gently.

Hesitantly, Len just stood there, until at last, he shook his head and sighed.

"Come here," Bron told him calmly.

Slowly, Len approached, and to his surprise, he felt Bron wrap his front leg around him soothingly. Surprised, Len wasn't used to this type of warmth, but he felt greatly comforted by it as he continued to cry.

"Gus didn't give in, did he?" Bron asked simply.

Hesitantly, Len nodded. "I don't understand ... It's like he's become a different dinosaur."

Bron nodded sadly, stroked his back. "Come on," Bron said. "Let's find somewhere to talk."

And Bron led Len away to a quiet part of the longneck zone. This proved to be surprisingly easy, for between the regime's females and children, Doc and Dara's prison guard, and the central prison guard all not moving from their swaths of land, Bron could easily pick a spot far away from any of them, without a single longneck in sight. It was in this privacy that Len finally felt able to confess to Bron his true feelings. With Gus being so hostile and Cam being imprisoned, Bron was the closest thing he had to a friend left.

"Mr. Bron … I'm sorry about what happened to your sons," Len sighed. "Littlefoot didn't deserve any of this to happen to him. And Shorty … I'm beginning to think he's innocent … And that Gus is going way too far. I know he wants to honor Earl's memory … But two wrongs don't make a right."

Bron nodded supportively. "Thank you for saying that, Len. I'm beginning to really appreciate just how much of a caring young dinosaur you are. I know you must be feeling dreadful too, with Earl having passed away, Cam being in grave danger, and Gus being blinded by vengeance. But I must ask … Do you still trust me?"

Slowly, Len nodded. "I guess so," he mumbled.

"Thanks Len," Bron said appreciatively. "I guess we can call this a herd meeting now, with the rest of our herd being either dead, imprisoned, left the Valley, or betraying our herd. You are now my last herd member who can do anything for me and the rest of the herd here. And I'm going to need you more than ever. Can you promise not to tell anyone, not even Gus, what I am about to request of you?"

With a heavy sigh, Len again nodded. "I trust you," he said slowly. "But it feels strange. Finding out about something and not being able to tell Earl and Gus about it."

"I know," Bron sighed commiseratively. "But we have to be very careful here. A lot of things have to go right for us to pull this off … But we may still have a chance to save the others, including Cam."

As Len looked at Bron hopefully, Bron muttered, "I am going to give you a very important mission. You know how to step on a tree trunk and split the tree from the stump?"

"Yeah," Len said, perplexed. "So?"

"Good," Bron said quietly. "With the regime's longnecks still escorting our herdmates, it is vital that you cut down their resources to diminish their strength and fuel us in our resistance effort."

Len gasped at Bron. "But Sir," he said. "A resistance effort? We can't do that! Just the two of us, against all those bad guys?"

Bron shook his head. "No Len, it won't be just the two of us. You may be trapped in the longneck zone for now. But there's a complex legal argument I have that will allow me to escape and knowing that Mr. Bonehead is a stickler for the rules, he will agree to abide by it."

"You mean ... You're abandoning me?" Len sniffled.

Bron shook his head. "No Len, not in my heart. But this maneuver is the only option I have, apart from waiting here for something to happen or trying to do something that would only get me killed. Much as I am growing to love this Valley, I truly do not know it very well, and there are others who know of its secrets far better than I would. Ultimately, it is my aim to escape this Great Valley so I can go out and recollect our herd. Once their longneck escort has returned to the Great Valley, they will be on their own, and I can reach out to them. They may have chosen to renounce their ties to the Valley, but I know it was out of a misguided effort to save Cam, Mia, Ali and myself from the regime. I fully believe that once they realize just how much danger Ali, Cam and Mia are in, and once they realize just how many dinosaurs that we have on our side, that they will reconsider their course of action. Especially Ali's mother ... As a fellow parent myself, I know the lengths she would go to to help her child, and indeed, once she understands the reality of the situation, she will help get the rest of the herd to come back with us. And while my herd may have renounced themselves, they have only done so in the eyes of the regime, and these renouncements can be undone once the regime is defeated."

Sighing, Bron explained, "This is where you come in. When I bring our herd back, they will be extremely hungry and will urgently need nourishment. This is why you must stash away enough trees so that we can adequately provide for them upon their arrival. We'll figure out a way to actually get the trees out of the Valley later, but you must first remove as many of the trees from their stumps as you can while the regime's longnecks are still out. Do you understand me, Len?"

Slowly, Len nodded. "I won't let you down Sir … Especially if I can help save Cam by this. But … Even if our herd comes back ... There's still a lot more bad guys. That's why the herd left in the first place. Do you really think we have more allies?"

Bron nodded gratefully. "Yes, Len. I haven't appreciated it very much before, but I know now that we have a great many allies. More than allies, actually. Friends, some close enough that we can even call them family. Some of whom you're beginning to remind me of," he said with a smirk. "Thank you, Len. Rest assured, I will not rest either until we can rescue this Valley together."

"Right. Well then, good luck Mr. Bron," Len said as Bron smiled back at him before walking off. Indeed, Len was beginning to remind him of the one longneck who perhaps more than any other had to be doing his part to help save the day. Leigh and the regime may have believed that Littlefoot was dead. But in his heart, Bron knew that his son would not just disappear, and that most likely, he was somewhere out there, trying to achieve the impossible, just as he always had ...


Following Ruby's arrival into the Hidden Canyon, the young herd was far too euphoric and excited about their new herd leader to try going back to sleep. The initial meet and greets with Ruby went on for quite a while as each of the teens wanted the chance to get to know her better, and she warmly obliged. Most of them had never properly known a notooth and had treated her kind at best warily in their past lives, so they were all a little surprised on just how kindhearted, sympathetic, and understanding she was. But they had become accustomed to expecting the unexpected with life in the herd, and determined to rid themselves of all lingering prejudices, they rushed to embrace the fast runner with open, eager hearts, not only as their herdmate, but as a herd leader as well.

Sensing the great trust that the teens already had for her friends, Ruby knew that now she was a herd leader too, it was important for her to earn that same level of trust from her new herdmates. So while she got to know each of them individually and she and her friends shared some of their stories, she also used her small, dexterous hands to gently massage their bodies, reducing the tension they felt inside and improving their circulation. None of them had ever had a massage, and they each were surprised at just how enjoyable it felt. As an added touch, she even pulled one of her feathers out and used it to tickle them if they wanted, injecting a little playfulness in their budding relationships and causing many of them to burst into giggle fits. With every bit of love she gave, she could feel each of them growing more relaxed around her, and by the time she had finished massaging all twenty-five of the teens, throwing in some extra hugs for good measure, she could feel that she was kindling a real friendship with every one of them.

After their massages, the teens were still rowdy and exuberant, and so knowing they had energy to burn, Cera, Ducky and Spike took them out both for training and to have fun and bond together as a herd, while Etta and Wild Arms kept lookout. Petrie, ecstatic to hear the news of his family arriving, each of whom was partnered with a member or two of Ruby's parents' herd, waited to escort them into a cave for them to safely wait before their inductions, while Cricket and Avie watched over Ann's babies. This left Littlefoot and Ruby with most of the Hidden Canyon to themselves, where they were able to work in peace and quiet.

Littlefoot couldn't be more overjoyed that he now had Ruby by his side. Not only was she one of his very closest friends, but the timing of her arrival couldn't have been more fortunate. When he had his talk with Petrie earlier, he realized that if Leigh decided to renege on the deal with his father and cut Chomper and Shorty's time down any further, that they would then need to arrange a hurried but stealthy jailbreak to prevent any execution from happening. To prepare for this, he knew they would need insight as to the layout and the happenings of not just the segregated Valley but the prison as well, and that he would also need a cunning partner with whom he could hatch out a plan with. When that thought came to mind, Littlefoot knew at once that Ruby was just the dinosaur he wanted by his side, and the only problem was reaching her. But to his delight, not only had she made it out of the Valley, but she had come for the very same reason and was more than ready to help him.

Going over to a large expanse of dirt, Ruby began to create a diagram big enough for the entire herd to sit around. Drawing an outline of the Great Valley with her foot, she then split it up into four quadrants before drawing a rectangle in the middle. Then she bent down with Chomper's tooth to carve out other important features and locations in the dirt. Littlefoot beamed at Ruby's effortless handiwork. Not only did she have great spatial perception to accurately plot out the location of everything, but just having someone with the actual motor skills to lay it all out before his eyes helped him really visualize the situation.

As Ruby began to work on the finer details, Littlefoot filled her in on all the happenings on their end. Ruby was very impressed with all their accomplishments in the short time they had since their getaway – coming up with the Hidden Canyon as a hideout, creating a battle technique focused on quick prevention rather than sustained combat, rescuing, inspiring, and training the teens, quietly spreading word of their presence out to their allies in the Valley, finding a healing cure out of the prickly plants, and really instilling the true spirit of the Great Valley in all their new recruits to the point where they had all become a united herd and part of their Great Valley family. Putting it all like this helped Littlefoot feel better too, for it helped him appreciate all they had done so far and made the prospect of future accomplishments seem less daunting.

To Littlefoot's relief, Ruby had also confirmed his hunch that the silent hollowhorn teen was trustworthy. Ruby explained that the hollowhorn had been given Chomper's tooth during her capture, but rather than use it to stab her in her moment of vulnerability as Leigh would have done, she happily handed it back to Ruby as soon as the questioning was over, even giving her a hug afterwards. What was more, having seen far more of Leigh's icy mannerisms for herself than anyone else in the Hidden Canyon, Ruby could immediately tell that this hollowhorn's warmth and affection towards her and the herd was genuine, rather than the false, calculating sweetness that Leigh conveyed. She said that Gara and Cera, the two who had been watching her most closely, had also found the hollowhorn to be a goodhearted and loyal young dinosaur, clearing the way for her to be inducted along with the other remaining teens before dinner, upon which every teen would finally be able to call themselves an official member of the herd.

"All right, I've finished finishing things up," Ruby said, after checking over her diagram one last time.

"You best start me off from scratch, Ruby," Littlefoot smiled. "Avie and Guido have been doing some good spy work, but who knows how much everything could've changed by now."

"Yeah," Ruby sighed. "Where do you want to start?"

"Well … How's the trial going? The last I've heard, Dad got Leigh to agree to giving Chomper and Shorty a 10-day trial while they were held …" Then he trailed off, realizing, "Wait … Seth said you broke out of prison. It's a lot worse now, isn't it?"

Slowly, Ruby nodded. "Don't worry, everyone is still all right. Mr. Bonehead has stood firm on preventing any instant executions. But Leigh has been playing lots of dirty tricks and piling on charges. The whole jury is made up of dinosaurs from the segregated herds, so we already know how they're gonna decide. And he wouldn't agree to any trial unless the defendants' legal representatives and personal confidantes got the same punishments they did, effectively putting Ali, your dad, and Cera's dad up for trial as well."

Littlefoot just shook his head. "That means we've got to help save them too," he said as he pondered.

Nodding, Ruby said, "Yes … The good thing is, at least for now, your dad and Cera's dad are not imprisoned, so they'll be easier to rescue. But along with every good thing comes a bad thing. And the bad thing here is Leigh came up with some conspiracy accusing Chomper, Shorty, Ali, Cam, Mia, and I of murdering a threehorn guard, forcing Mr. Bonehead to cut our verdict times back."

"Wait, Cam and Mia are involved now too?" Littlefoot asked.

Ruby nodded. "Mia gave Chomper a dead threehorn body to keep him from going hungry. That was the guard we supposedly murdered, but it was really one of those bad leafeaters who attacked us earlier. It was really sweet of her and Cam for trying to help, and at least Chomper won't go hungry now. It's almost as though they wanted to make it up to Chomper for using his hunger against him before."

"Yeah," Littlefoot smiled, his heart surging in affection for his former adversaries. "That's so thoughtful of them … It's great knowing they're on our side."

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. "When I left, the six of us were all housed in a prison here, in the middle of the Great Valley," she explained, pointing to the rectangle in the center. "Because we had different charges, we had different verdict times. Chomper's, and mine when I was there, is the soonest, when the Bright Circle reaches the highest point in the sky the day after tomorrow. So we've got to make a move by then."

"Yeah," Littlefoot sighed, but he felt a lump in his throat. Being so concerned about Chomper himself, it hurt for him to say this, but knowing she cared about Chomper perhaps even more than he did, he had to make sure she knew what they couldn't do before thinking about what they could. "Ruby, I know how important it is to save Chomper. But there's no way we can get everyone ready to rescue the Valley in just over a day. Cera, Spike and I are the biggest dinosaurs we have in the canyon, and if we tried to challenge the bad guys now, they'd almost certainly be able to stop us just by how much bigger they are. Even if we were somehow able to pull it off and rescue the Valley, it would only be through a bloody war in which we would lose a lot of our friends. And the smell of all that blood would draw in a sharptooth invasion from the Mysterious Beyond, which would probably kill the rest of us off, and that's not a good outcome for anybody."

As Ruby nodded, Littlefoot continued, "We need more time, Ruby. We've got to gather as many of our families, friends, and allies as we can to make our herd bigger so that we can all stand effectively together and be there for one another. We've all got to work on our conditioning, so we can strengthen our individual capabilities, be better able to dodge or ward off enemy attacks and be able to help any friend in need. We need to get everyone well-trained on the cohesive, for that provides both great defense and a bloodless way to defeat our enemies. We need time for everyone to get to know each other so that we would all be able to love and trust one another, and that we would all feel like we could depend on each other no matter what. And we've got to come up with a strategy that can combine our abilities to the point where everyone can all work together as part of one big team. I know it'll be tough, but if we can get to that point, we can become strong enough as one big loving, loyal Great Valley family that we would be able to keep everybody safe and keep this as bloodless as possible so we don't attract any sharpteeth."

Sighing, Littlefoot felt a tear in his eye as he continued, "Because I know what death's really like. I'll never forget what it was like to lose my mother and my grandparents … It really rips you apart from the inside, far more than any physical injury would. And I don't want anyone else to have to go through the same pain I did if we could just go about doing this another way. A way where we can stand up for our Valley by fighting smarter rather than harder. Just like when we were kids … When it was our teamwork, wits, and love for one another got us through the impossible, and despite all the danger we faced, we're all still here today. And even our enemies … If we can find a way to coexist peacefully with them, I would love to try to do that, and not have to kill unless we absolutely have to."

As Littlefoot finished with a tearful yet determined smile, Ruby felt her eyes melt with inspiration. He was so idealistic and purehearted, almost as much as Chomper or Ducky, refusing to accept the possibility of letting even one of their friends die in this effort and seeking to minimize the bloodshed to as low a level as possible. Yet at the same time, he had a clear rationale on how to go about actually doing this. Creating a herd that was large, close-knit, harmonious, and powerful was perhaps the single most effective deterrent against sharptooth attacks in the Mysterious Beyond, for by creating a herd in which every single member was invulnerable to attack, a rational actor would choose not to attack the herd altogether.

Indeed, when the Valley was united under Grandma and Grandpa Longneck's leadership, few sharpteeth even tried entering. While many acted like sharpteeth could not get into the Valley because of its physical barriers, Ruby knew that sharpteeth were not stupid, and that the real reason for their absence was because they knew they could not prevail against a strong, united, combined herd. This was in stark contrast to everything that had happened since, in which all of the divisions within the Valley caused its unity to fragment, becoming vulnerable to attackers, both of the sharp and flattooth variety. Preventing conflict through building a large yet unified herd was perhaps the surest way they had to ensuring peace. And besides, violence inevitably led to hatred, and the fewer enemies they would end up making through through combat, the less resentment and revenge they would generate …

"You're right," Ruby smiled, nodding as she put a finger to her chin. "Which means that rather than try to have the herd get the bad guys out of the Valley, we have to instead get Chomper out of the Valley and into the herd. Trouble is, breaking him out won't be easy. There are two rows of very strong guards on each side that had no problem putting down a prison riot from Chomper and the others. I was able to escape by just sneaking out, but the others are too big to try doing that. We can't physically outmatch the guards, and our friends can't physically break out and make a break for it. So instead of breaking them or them breaking from the jail, we've got to find a way to actually break the jail."

"That's a tall order Ruby, and I'm not sure if we can do that more than once," Littlefoot said thoughtfully. "They'd probably be ready for us if we tried it a second time."

"Right," Ruby agreed. "So if we've got only one chance … That means we've got to create a big enough jailbreak where we can break all our friends out at once. And I think rather than wait until the last possible moment, when they would no doubt be wide awake and excited ... We should try doing it the night before, when some guards might be asleep and off their guard."

As Littlefoot nodded in agreement, he and Ruby pondered, their objective having become a lot clearer. They had just under one and a half days in which to create a jailbreak massive enough that they could rescue Chomper, Shorty, Ali, Cam and Mia all at once. But even if they got them all out of the prison cell, there was still the issue of how exactly four big longnecks and a twoclaw sharptooth would be able to escape the Valley …

"Do the bad guys know the Valley's exits?" Littlefoot asked.

Ruby nodded. "They've secured the exits with guards so that the only way you can leave is if you renounce your ties to the Valley. So all the known exits are out, but that's only the exits they know about," Ruby smirked as she pointed to two X's she had marked on the layout. "We've still got two exits that they don't know about, the Secret Spot in the northeast and here in the southwest."

"Right, right," Littlefoot pondered. "So basically, we have to get everyone out through one of those two places."

As Ruby nodded, the two of them continued to think. There were still problems with both exits. There was simply no way around the fact that five large escapees all running towards one or two places would draw a lot of attention. Using the Hidden Canyon for such a high-profile escape was also immediately out, for using it would instantly jeopardize not only their hideout, but their surest path to reenter the Great Valley without dealing with entry guards and warning the regime of their arrival, so they couldn't afford leading the regime anywhere close to that direction. Thus, it was clear that they had to shepherd all five of them through the Secret Spot. Yet while the Secret Spot's entrance was very far away from the Hidden Canyon's, and the longnecks would have no problem in moving the Secret Spot's boulder, there were still drawbacks. The Secret Spot had tall, steep cliffs which were far too high for the bulky longnecks or even Chomper to try to jump onto, and even if they could, the impact from their landing onto the top would almost certainly cause the cliff to come crumbling down with their weight. And with the Secret Spot being connected to the Hidden Canyon, there was a real risk that if the regime managed to find out about the Secret Spot, it could potentially jeopardize the Hidden Canyon as well.

"I think the Secret Spot seems like a safer option," Ruby suggested.

"I agree, but we've still got to be careful," Littlefoot told Ruby, remembering she was not there to hear Grandpa's story. "We found out that the Secret Spot and the Hidden Canyon are connected if you knock enough walls down, and we're gonna need to break at least some of them if we want to grow our hideout big enough to support a bigger herd. So if they find the Secret Spot, they'll be able to find the Hidden Canyon too."

"Hmm …" Ruby thought. "Then … We've got to make sure none of them actually see our friends escaping."

"But how can we do that? There's no way we'd be able to … Wait …" Littlefoot paused, realizing, before he laughed. "We can knock them out by throwing rocks at their heads! Just like we do in the cohesive! And then once they're all knocked out, our friends can move the boulder, get inside the Secret Spot, and then push the boulder back from the inside to close themselves off! That way, they can use the Secret Spot but the bad guys will never find out where they went!"

"That still doesn't explain how we can get them up to the top …" Ruby began but paused as she too came to a realization. "Garnet, you are a genius, a genius you are!"

Littlefoot couldn't help but want to lighten the mood. "Uh Ruby? I don't think I'm your little brother," he teased.

"No, no, not you," Ruby teased back, laughing. "It's just Garnet came up with something called a grabber vine. It's a long vine with a big loop at the end for someone to grab onto. He and Pearl were going to try to rescue me with it and something Pearl called a distractor stick. But since the longnecks and Chomper weigh a lot, and can only grab with their mouths … What if instead of them grabbing on, we can tie them around our friends' legs? If our friends can escape into the Secret Spot and seal off the entrance from intruders, my parents' herd is light enough that they can climb or jump down into the Secret Spot, tie up our friends' legs with vines, throw the other end back up to the top, and then the rest of us can all pull on the vines to lift our friends out of the Secret Spot."

Littlefoot considered, smiling as he thought it through. The idea sounded promising, but it still had some issues that needed to be sorted out. "I like it … But I don't know if we have enough strength in the herd to pull out four big longnecks and Chomper ourselves … Especially if we want to try to do it before any of the bad guys might wake up. We need more help," Littlefoot said.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah … Especially if we have some dinosaurs on pulling duty and have some dinosaurs on throwing duty … We need enough dinosaurs to help in both areas, and the herd might not be big enough."

The two of them looked at each other. "Which means if we want to arrange a jailbreak … We've got to rescue more of our other friends first," Littlefoot said quietly.

Littlefoot's heart began to beat yet at the same time, he couldn't help but smile excitedly upon the implications of this. Suddenly, sneaking more friends trapped in the Great Valley into the Hidden Canyon became not just an aspiration, but a requirement. Something they had to do if they hoped to achieve a successful rescue … Which meant that they would soon be reunited with many more of their family, friends and allies, and really start to grow their herd ...

"Okay Ruby," Littlefoot said determinedly, looking out toward the map Ruby had drawn. "Avie told me about the zones. The frilleds are down here by us in the southwest, the longnecks are in the southeast, the tailed dinosaurs are in the northwest, and the twofooters and the Secret Spot are in the northeast, right?"

"Right," Ruby nodded. "Like with the prison, there's also two rows of border guards between each zone border to make sure no one crosses. That's how they've been able to keep everybody in their zones."

"Right," Littlefoot added, before Ruby went to carve out pictures of a longneck's neck, a spiketail's tail, a frilled dinosaur's head, and a twofooter's body in each spot. "I should add these in so everyone in the herd can see where everything is."

"Good idea," Littlefoot agreed. "And I just remembered … We used little rocks as counters when we did our headcount. Maybe we can use some to show where everyone is."

"Sure," Ruby agreed. "But maybe we can save the actual headcount for tonight once everyone is here. That way we can make it fun for them and generate some enthusiasm."

"Yeah," Littlefoot laughed, knowing it would be a great way to pump up the teens' spirits to actually show them just how many friends they really had. "We came up with 85 friends in our first headcount. We were pretty cautious with our first count, and I'm sure we might have left out a couple friends in trying to come up with everyone. At the very least, I'm pretty sure we didn't count Wild Arms."

"85 is a lot of friends, but considering we are a lot of friends, I guess we would have a lot of friends," Ruby chuckled. "As we think about them, we can also think how we can get them out without anyone noticing."

Littlefoot nodded, before starting to think. "So for the frilleds … Petrie saw that Cera's dad's herd is right by the Hidden Canyon's entrance."

"Yeah," Ruby said, smiling. "Cera's dad may not be a great leader for the Great Valley, but he is great at leading his herd. They're all really loyal to him and haven't backed down at all. They even performed their Circular Cohesive to protest a herd meeting with the Onehorns and keep the kids safe as they insulted Hiss Head."

"Hiss Head?" Littlefoot asked.

Ruby's smile instantly changed into a smirk. "You know how Cera's dad is great at coming up with insults. Apparently, he told told Tricia to call Leigh a histrionic hollowhead, and the name stuck."

"Oh yeah!" Littlefoot exclaimed, remembering. "Bet he doesn't like that."

"No, he doesn't," Ruby chuckled. "And ever since, those of us fighting him have called him Hiss Head for short. You should see this guy's ego problems."

Littlefoot burst out laughing. "Too funny," he said, before focusing once again on the agenda. "It's great Cera's dad's herd is so loyal to him and that they're all on our side. And while Cera's dad technically has a sentence on his head … He's not imprisoned, he knows about and is right by the Hidden Canyon, and he and his herd are plenty strong enough to move that rock … So he can just take refuge in the Hidden Canyon as long as no one sees him actually escaping."

Ruby nodded. "Right. The only catch is they cannot realize he disappeared before Chomper does, or else Chomper would not have his legal representative, in which case they could claim that Chomper's representative has surrendered his defense case and they would then have an excuse to kill Chomper on the spot. So he's got to be seen in the Valley until right before Chomper escapes."

"Yeah," Littlefoot sighed, impressed with Ruby's thinking. "But maybe we can start sneaking Tria and the others out, and Mr. Threehorn can sneak out of the Hidden Canyon during the escape. Then he and his herd can reseal the Valley off from inside the Hidden Canyon," Littlefoot reasoned. "So what about the Onehorns and Mr. Thicknose? I presume Mono and Rachelle are with Tricia?"

"I don't know about Mr. Thicknose, he's been laying pretty low," Ruby said. "The Onehorns are in the far southwest corner of the zone with Cera's dad's herd, so we can sneak them out with them. And it looks like Tricia's gang came up with their own plan to escape. I heard my siblings, Cassia, Perri and Ducky's other little brother Shine talking about it. Oplax and Destiny snuck out of their zones to join the twofooters and frilleds respectively. Apparently Oplax and Sam are now digging a tunnel to the Secret Spot, and the twins, Cassia, Perri are going to lead the others there. I know it's risky, but it'd be dangerous to try to interfere with their plan now that they've got everything in motion."

"Yeah," Littlefoot agreed. "They know about the herd yet?"

Ruby shook her head. "I don't think so, the twofooters don't anyway. I promised I'd meet up with them at the Secret Spot, and judging by how excited they sounded, it sounds like they're going to try to make a break for it tonight. I'm going to drop down a vine so they can climb out of there and come back with me to the Hidden Canyon. They may be little, but you know as well as I do those guys will never forgive us if we don't let them join the herd. Besides, we cannot exactly tell them that it's too dangerous after everything we've done at their age. They're desperate to do something, and who better to instruct them than us as their role models? I'm sure we can help them come up with some way for them to help."

Littlefoot chortled. "Yeah. We may not be little anymore, but we'll never forget what it's like to be adventurers at that size. We can teach them all sorts of tricks to help them use their being little to their advantage. Hopefully we can come up with something that'd be more helpful than blowing raspberries or soiling guards."

The two of them both burst out laughing. "They really did that, huh?" Littlefoot asked, as Ruby nodded with a smirk. "I bet that made them real popular."

Ruby sighed, shaking her head. "They've made so many enemies causing all that trouble that Hiss Head went into this whole rant about youth gangs. They'd be much safer in here than in there."

"Yeah," Littlefoot laughed, chuckling. "Just wait. Our new family's gonna love them."

After another bout of laughing, Ruby then looked back to the diagram, moving several rocks in place to signify their frilled allies. "So back to the frilleds … The best we can probably do is just to sneak everyone into the Hidden Canyon. If Cera's dad tells his herd, the Onehorns and Mr. Thicknose about the Hidden Canyon, they can all get in just by moving that rock, maybe without anyone noticing since that's where they've settled."

"Great," said Littlefoot, pleased with how easily the frilled quadrant was to handle. "So I guess next up's the longnecks."

Ruby's face fell a little bit. "Hardly anyone's there anymore. Not only have Shorty, Cam, Ali and Mia all been imprisoned, but Doc and Dara have been too, trying to sneak Destiny across the border."

"Right," Littlefoot said, his heart sinking a little. "Do Doc and Dara have a timetable?"

Ruby shook her head. "Luckily, they haven't supposedly done anything to amount to a death sentence yet. But they're not able to help anyone in prison."

"We were going to have Doc and Dara spread the word to everyone else in the longneck zone," Littlefoot told Ruby.

"There really aren't many others there," Ruby sighed sadly. "Your dad's herd renounced their ties to the Great Valley."

"Wait, what?" Littlefoot asked.

Ruby nodded. "They made a deal with Leigh in which if they renounced their ties to the Valley, they could leave without punishment. It was an attempt to save your dad, Ali, Cam, and Mia from punishment if they renounced their ties as well. All of them refused however, so the herd is stuck as exiles, being led away from the Valley by bad longnecks."

"Right …" Littlefoot said, thinking. He could understand why unlike the threehorn herd, his father's herd did not choose to stay behind on the Valley's behalf. It wasn't that Cera's dad was a better herd leader than his dad was, rather it was the composition of their herds and the cultures within them which could explain the difference in the herds' behavior. Cera's dad's herd was small, stable, and tightly knit, having known and trusted both him and each other for innumerable cold times. Likewise, they had a deep loyalty to the Great Valley and its residents as well, with the Valley being their longtime, permanent home and them being firmly established members of the community. And though the herd's tendencies toward stubbornness and a determination to stand tough sometimes led to other problems, it was very beneficial in this situation, allowing them to hold fast under any pressure.

In contrast, his father's herd, while small now, was once very large, amounting to hundreds of dinosaurs. They however also had rapid turnover, with many dinosaurs joining the herd out of a desire to have safety in numbers, yet also losing many due to the inherent risks of living in the Mysterious Beyond. And there was very little to keep the herd close together, being a migrating herd with no place to call home, which along with the herd's turnover made it very difficult for longtime bonds to develop. He could imagine how hard it would be for his father to develop the same kind of rapport with every member of his herd that Cera's dad naturally would be able to with time, consistency and presence. True, Ali's old herd was smaller, but it was still a migrating herd with high turnover, and plus, they didn't even have Bron as their herd leader for very long. A large herd could easily fragment if there was not enough intimacy and trust between all of its members, as they had found out from Pterano's fissure of the elders' first attempt at a combined herd. Realizing this, Littlefoot knew that they had to make sure that as they built up their herd, they would have to work on maintaining a vibrant community so that it would not lose any of its intimate, harmonious atmosphere in the process. That way, they would be able to have the best of both worlds …

"So we probably can't try reaching out to Dad's herd until their escorts leave them," said Littlefoot thoughtfully. "But at least they escaped the Valley. And I suppose Dad can't leave the Valley without giving them the excuse to kill Shorty … But maybe Dad could escape with Cera's dad through the Hidden Canyon during the others' escape? It makes more sense than trying to lift him out of the Secret Spot as well. Is anyone else from Dad's herd still left in the Valley?"

Ruby nodded. "Len and Gus are. It's funny, ever since Earl's death, I've hardly seen them together. Gus is obsessed with prosecuting Shorty for supposedly murdering Earl. I think he's blinded by vengeance and really does blame Shorty for Earl's death, so I don't think we can count on him to help. But maybe Len is on our side. He seems concerned for Cam, he kept on trying to see her but the guards wouldn't let him get close."

"Yeah," Littlefoot said, thinking. "For all his problems, Earl wasn't a segregationist, so I don't think Len would be either ... The three of them weren't even the same kind of longneck. Only problem is, he's going to have to pick between Cam and Gus … Would he actually betray Gus and help Shorty escape? Hopefully Dad can help figure out whether we can trust him."

"Right, well, with Doc and Dara imprisoned and Destiny having snuck out, there's no one else left in the longneck zone," Ruby said, before getting up and moving toward the northwest corner of the diagram. "Okay, for the tailed dinosaurs … Lots going on here. We already talked about Oplax, but Nod escaped with him into the twofooter zone. So did the clubtail babies, they're probably with Oplax. So what we've got left … Is the spiketail herd and the clubtail parents. Oh, and Veno, but he's imprisoned."

"Veno's imprisoned?" Littlefoot asked, surprised.

Ruby nodded. "He apparently attacked a judge who was trying to stop Oplax and Nod's escape, so now he too has a 10-day trial. I know he's not the friendliest dinosaur, and he did say those bigoted things to Bella and … Leigh ..." she trailed off, realizing. "Wait a second … What if it was all a ruse? You know how Leigh pretended to love Bella? Well, what if Veno was only pretending to be a bigot to try to get Leigh to slip up?"

Littlefoot pondered. "Hmm, it makes sense. Which means he would know more about Leigh than we do," he said thoughtfully. "I guess Leigh was just too good of an actor for it to work. But he did apologize for what he said, and he hasn't done anything antagonistic since. Actually, we've hardly seen him at all. What if he's been lying low this whole time, spying on Leigh? He couldn't exactly tell anyone, for no one would believe him after insulting Bella and Leigh's marriage. Everyone would probably think he's trying to smear Leigh, and if he revealed himself, he might get kicked out and would not be able to spy on Leigh anymore."

"Hmm..." Ruby said contemplatively. "Well regardless, we've got to make sure nothing happens to him. Have you reached out to the clubtails or spiketails yet?"

"Avie was going to check in with Sophie," Littlefoot said, eyeing Avie continuing to babysit Ann's babies.

"Maybe we should get Avie over here," Ruby pondered.

So they got Avie to come over, and she filled them in on developments.

"Right, I better tell you what Guido told me and what I've done," Avie explained. "Guido managed to speak to Mr. Threehorn and Mrs. Threehorn, so they are aware about our resistance. Destiny has snuck into the threehorn zone now, and the four of Tricia's gang there are supposed to sneak over to meet the twofooter kids, who will take them to the Secret Spot. Guido told me when dropping Cricket off that he's going to be watching over them in the meantime to make sure there's no trouble in their escape. He couldn't get to Doc and Dara before they were imprisoned, so they have no idea about what's going on yet, and he said he couldn't see your dad because he was having a herd meeting."

Avie paused before saying, "I went to see Sophie. She didn't react very much, but then again, Sophie never reacts much, so I think she got the message. I was supposed to see Ms. Flyer, but I couldn't find her. Glad to hear she's on the way. And I did talk to Ms. Swimmer. Mrs. Threehorn told me to tell her to tell Mrs. Twoped that it will be tonight, so I imagine they're up to something as grownups."

Avie eyed their map curiously. "You really have been busy," she said. "It'll be too tiresome to fill me in on everything, so just tell me if you need my services. I'll be glad to help," she said, before heading back to watch over the babies.

"Sophie's good at keeping things quiet, but hopefully everyone will understand what she's trying to say," Ruby pondered. "We better double-check to make sure the others got the message. They're going to have to sneak into someone's zone to escape either way."

"Or maybe if we move those rocks, we could find an entry point from the tailed zone to our hideout, or even make one," Littlefoot laughed. "Guess I can't make a hole in the wall though, that would be too loud."

They both laughed for a little, before they finally turned their attention to the twofooter zone. "Okay," Littlefoot began. "So your parents' herd and the flyers are out, Ducky's mom and Mrs. Twoped are meeting up with Tria tonight, so probably Mr. Twoped and Mrs. Hollowhorn are involved too, and Tricia's gang is heading out to the Secret Spot. That still leaves …"

His thoughts were interrupted however when he saw Petrie glide in. To Littlefoot and Ruby's surprise, Petrie looked quite crestfallen, a sharp contrast from when he had found out that his family was on their way. Littlefoot and Ruby looked at each other for a moment before Petrie landed beside them.

"Hey guys," Petrie said tentatively. "Me have, well … Good news. Most of me family got here safely. All me brothers, sisters and in-laws got here. Brara here too. Me know we cousins now too, and that she on our side. That good, me happy to know that. Most of your parents' herd here too, Ruby. But …" Petrie's lip trembled before he said, "Pterano missing … So your parents, Ruby … And so … me mom."

As Littlefoot and Ruby looked at each other, Petrie sighed. "Others say Mama give them directions to Hidden Canyon. But me still really scared. Me not see her at all. What if she really in Great Valley, trying to rescue your parents? What if she … no make it?"

As Petrie began to quiver, tears began to drip down his face. At once, Littlefoot put his leg out bracingly for him to lean on while Ruby went over to give him a big hug. "When sky water fall and me lose snuggling stick, if all dark outside, she make it better quick. She cuddle up and wrap me, with tender loving care, and me never feel so bad because she always there."

As Ruby stroked him and Littlefoot looked down at him in concern, Petrie mumbled, "And now … Me no sure me ever see her again."

Littlefoot's heart sunk. Could Mama Flyer, along with Pterano and Ruby's parents, really have lost their lives before they even made it to the Hidden Canyon? Could his ambitious goal not to lose any of their friends' lives in this endeavor already have failed even before he had first voiced it? No, he couldn't give up hope just like that … Especially for Petrie and Ruby's sake. Besides, in his fear, there were logical points Petrie might not have considered.

"Petrie," Littlefoot said, trying his best to sound soothing. "Maybe your mom hasn't gotten here yet. But we also don't know that anything bad has happened to her."

Petrie sniffled. "We don't?"

Littlefoot shook his head. "Guido is still patrolling the Great Valley, and if something bad happened, he would have come back to tell us. And if your siblings saw your mom and Pterano later, they would've probably already gotten Ruby's parents out of the Valley by then. Knowing the four of them, they're probably out doing something else for the herd."

"Littlefoot's right," Ruby smiled. "I was there to see your uncle tell the rest of your family that he and your mom would make sure no one was left behind before they would give them further instructions," Ruby reasoned. "Since they got their instructions to come here, that must mean that everyone has already been saved from the Valley."

Petrie smiled, feeling a lot better. Apart from being encouraging, the words from his friends actually made sense, and there was a very reasonable alternative explanation for their absence. "Thanks guys … You great friends," he sniffled.

"They'll be okay, I just know they will," Littlefoot smiled as Petrie looked up hopefully, beaming at him. While still scared about the possibility of anything happening to his loved ones, Petrie felt a new sense of hope rekindle inside him as he imagined just what his mother and the others might be up to. Besides, as a herd leader, he knew he had to put on a brave face for his fellow herdmates' sake.

"You right ... They probably doing something to help herd," Petrie said, but as he said this, he trailed off, for a sudden idea had just come to his head.

"That it! Me figure out way to help herd too! Hold on ... Me be back."

And without another word, Petrie flew off, his hopelessness replaced by a look of determination.


When Petrie came back, he looked to be very pleased with what he had accomplished. But before he could say anything however, they heard a rustling of footsteps, and looking to the entrance, they saw that just as the Bright Circle had begun to set, Cera, Ducky and Spike had arrived, with the full group of teens, Etta and Wild Arms following closely in their wake. All of them looked like they got in a hard but fun workout, out of breath but as enthusiastic as ever. None of them however looked more excited than the eight teens who had yet to be inducted, their eyes all wide and sparkly as big, hopeful smiles stretched across their faces.

"Hi guys!" Ducky called out, waving. "We are all done with training, we are. Are you ready to help welcome everyone left into our Great Valley family?"

Littlefoot looked at Petrie and Ruby, who happily nodded. "We'd be honored," Littlefoot smiled, to the grins of the remaining teens and cheers of the others.

So along with Avie, Cricket and the babies, Littlefoot, Petrie and Ruby met up with the others at the entrance of the Hidden Canyon, with everyone already inducted joining them inside, while the eight remaining teens got into two rows of four, with Seth's team in front and Gara's behind them, all prostrating themselves upon the ground as the others began to murmur excitedly, eagerly awaiting the moment when their peers would all finally become full-fledged members of the herd.

"So what have we gotta say to join the herd?" the wide-mouthed longneck asked eagerly.

"You can say whatever you want, for we know we can trust you guys," Littlefoot smiled.

"We don't have any formal vows," Kendall explained.

"Just make it up as we go and follow your heart," Tilden added, as the gang beamed at each other, hearing the teens truly speaking like they were part of the herd, no longer acting like their servants, but as friends, teammates, and partners.

"Okay," the wide-mouthed longneck smiled as he thought. "Uh … Like our friends before us, we too will promise our loyalty to our new herd, to all members, including those who are already in our herd and those who will be joining us later. You can place your full trust in us, and we will place our full trust in you."

"You, our herd leaders, have taught us all so much since we first met," the double-crested flyer humbly beamed. "You helped us grow into becoming new dinosaurs, no longer focused on mere survival, but focusing beyond ourselves in love and caring for one another. We will all be proud to call ourselves part of the herd, and we vow loyalty to everyone here not because we feel we have to, but because we truly want to."

"We are not joining the herd out of blind loyalty, but because we really believe in everyone here and what the herd stands for," smiled the shieldback. "It amazes us how much we've all grown in such a short amount of time. Who knows what else we may learn from you in the future. But no matter what, we know in our hearts that our love for each other will never waver and we will always remain one herd."

"You said it," grinned the threehorn, before nodding to Ruby. "We felt so proud upon capturing you and Wild Arms and bringing you over to our hideout, for it was the first thing we've really done for the herd. And we know it won't be the last, because not only are we a really cool herd, but we're also an awesome group of friends, empowered by how much we all love one another!"

"We all worked together to capture the two of you," the clubtail smiled. "It's the kind of trusting teamwork we've never learned growing up out in the Mysterious Beyond, where if you lose your family, you are forced to fend for yourself. But we've really put into practice what we've learned here, and we will continue to stand with everyone here as a happy, loving team together."

The onehorn nodded. "Being in the herd also taught us so much about being unprejudiced and compassionate. If we were our old selves, we might have killed you two on sight, just like we stupidly wanted to kill Cricket," he chuckled embarrassedly, as did many of the other teens, and even Cricket snickered. "But we're not like that anymore. We now judge our fellow dinosaurs by who they are rather than what they are, and rather than blindly use force, we've learned to use only the force necessary to carry out what's best for the herd and everyone in it."

"We will gladly promise our loyalty to the herd and all of our herdmates, always loving and caring for each other as both a tough team and a happy family that will never hesitate to stand up for one another. And if we succeed in our quest, we promise we will do our best to help make your Great Valley an even more wonderful place to live than what we've heard it was like," smiled the giant flyer.

There was a pause as the seven teens who already spoke waited for their silent peer to react, looking at her expectantly, prostrated in the back row. But while she didn't say anything, she coughed a couple of times, as if to clear her throat, before moving her mouth and smiling, her light green eyes eagerly looking to each of the gang in turn.

"You want to join us, friend?" her threehorn teammate asked.

Smiling warmly, the hollowhorn nodded eagerly, her mouth moving a little as a faint muttering noise came from it.

Her flyer teammate on her other side looked at her kindly. "You're not able to talk, are you?" he asked gently.

Sadly, the hollowhorn shook her head and grunted.

Spike looked at her understandingly, before taking a step forward, and clearing his throat, he asked, "You … want … learn … how?"

As the rest of the teens gasped, having not heard Spike's rare speaking incidents, the hollowhorn nodded firmly.

Her mysterious silence finally understood, Littlefoot smiled at her. "Don't worry. We'll help you, for we're your friends, uh … Oh yeah, we better help name you all first," he chuckled.

As she nodded, the wide-mouthed longneck looked up at the herd leaders and smiled. "So now that we've made our promises as a group, we will now promise ourselves to the herd and everyone in it as individuals, and then you can help name and induct us."

And just as their predecessors had done before them, the eight teens each closed their eyes, nodded, and placed a paw upon their hearts as they solemnly muttered, "I promise," the hollowhorn mouthing the words, before they each opened their proud, tearful eyes. As the remaining teens finished, the inducted teens loudly cheered for them as they began to look expectantly up at their six herd leaders, waiting for the naming to commence.

"Well guys, I think my team's ready to go," Seth smiled.

The wide-mouthed longneck furthest on the left nodded hopefully. Like the rest of Seth's team, he was very well-muscled, in a shade of dark slate blue with purple eyes. "You can help name me Petrie," he said eagerly.

Petrie obliged, shuffling over to him. "Okay … Um what you like for name?"

"Well … I was a wanderer once and I never had a real home before. Now that I found a home in your herd, I want a name in honor of your homeland, and also one that says I will always be there to loyally stand beside you," he said, his eyes brimming passionately.

"Hmm …" Petrie thought. "Hey … You can be Vail! Vail sound like Valley, and you can prevail for Valley!"

Nodding thankfully, he said, "Thank you Petrie … It's great! I'm so happy to be part of your herd!"

Petrie happily nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Welcome to Great Valley family, Vail!"

And as a bout of cheers erupted, Vail happily strode over as he went over to hug each of the six herd leaders, receiving another chorus of what had become their herd's celebratory song, which had been done so many times by now that the entire herd had learned the words and felt able to heartily sing along.

As Vail entered the Hidden Canyon, the male curved onehorn was next. He was dark green in color, with similarly colored eyes, a bulky, well-toned build, and a lighter green belly. "Cera, I'd like you to help name me, please."

Cera gladly walked over to the onehorn, who despite being one of the oldest of the group, right about the gang's age, was only about half her size. "Right then, what would you like?" Cera asked.

"Well, I want a name that's short and simple. A no-nonsense name that no one would want to mess with, yet also sounds peaceful too," the onehorn said. "I want to be a loving protector of the herd. Can you come up with anything that'd fit?"

Cera smiled, knowing just how much her dad would appreciate the onehorn's attitude. "You want to be Glenn?"

The onehorn nodded appreciatively. "Thanks Cera, that's just right. Would you induct me?"

Cera nodded, putting her paw on Glenn's shoulder. "Welcome to our Great Valley family, Glenn."

And Glenn too received his chorus and hugs as he grinned, happily taking his place alongside Vail, Seth and the others.

The male double-crested flyer then eagerly nodded. His eyes were dark, his beak and his two long, narrow crests, one sticking high above his head and the other running all the way to his back, were gold in color, while the top of his wings were dark brown, his inner wings were dark tannish yellow, and his belly a lighter tannish yellow with visibly bulging muscles. "Littlefoot, you wanna help name me?"

Littlefoot happily walked over, and knowing the weight contrast between them, he made sure to only gently put one of his toenails just above the buff little flyer's shoulder.

"I want to really help you guys make your Valley even better than when you left it," he said determinedly. "I may only be a little flyer with a couple funny crests on my head, but upon meeting you, you've taught me that anything is possible, and I want to do best to do everything I can to help you."

Inspired by the little flyer's spirit, Littlefoot thought, before coming up with something. "Hey … Would you like to be named Newcomb?"

"Yeah, that sounds great!" he stated, before Littlefoot very gently lowered his toe onto Newcomb's shoulder as he said warmly, "Welcome to our Great Valley family, Newcomb."

And with another round of singing and cheering and Newcomb flapping over to hug each of the herd leaders excitedly, he went to join Seth, Vail and Glenn in Hidden Canyon, leaving only the clubtail remaining. She was the only girl on Seth's team, but she was just as well-muscled as the rest of them and nearly as large as Spike, in a shade of honey-colored yellow with deep blue eyes. "Well then Ducky, you get to do me!"

"Oh goody! I was looking forward to helping name someone else, yep yep yep!" she exclaimed enthusiastically as she bent down to the clubtail, who nodded happily.

"I want a name that's tough but sweet," she said. "Elegant, but not too fancy."

Ducky thought. "Hmm … How about Audrey?"

"I like it!" she said appreciatively.

Ducky beamed at her, before putting her hand on her shoulder. "Welcome to our Great Valley family, Audrey!"

And Audrey went to hug the gang as she received her chorus and cheers, before taking her place by Seth, Vail, Glenn, and Newcomb, who all went to partake in a big, squeezing hug. Upon the band of well-muscled dinosaurs getting together and crossing the other side, Gara walked over to her team, the last four teens who had yet to be inducted. "Well guys, ready to become part of the herd?" she asked with a gleam in her golden eyes, as her teammates eagerly nodded and made an mm-hmm noise.

But to everyone's surprise, the sound did not stop, and looking, Gara's other teammates saw that it was from the hollowhorn, still holding the mmm sound. Her eyes alive with wonder, she tried lowering her voice a little, before raising it, she found she was able to hold the note in a continuous breath before finally letting go as the rest of the herd cheered.

"Wow, nice!" encouraged her shieldback teammate.

"Way to go, friend!" cheered her flyer teammate, hugging her right arm.

"That was awesome!" cheered her threehorn teammate, slapping her hand with her paw as the hollowhorn grinned happily. Then the threehorn turned to the front. "So we were thinking, Ruby … Our team hassled you pretty bad when we first met. Certainly not the way we should've treated a herd leader."

"You were just doing your jobs as herd guards," Ruby chuckled.

"I'd say! Too well!" Wild Arms shouted in mock indignation, pointing at Seth's team. "I'll forever be traumatized by those guys!"

As everyone laughed, the shieldback smiled, "We know, but we'd still like to make it up to you. So you can help name the four of us!"

The hollowhorn however, shook her head, and instead, pointed at Spike. Surprised, Spike grunted inquiringly, to which the hollowhorn nodded. Spike looked nervous, not sure if he could muster the words necessary to name the vocally challenged hollowhorn, but seeing how important it was to her, Spike nodded, feeling a real kinship with her and wanting to do his best to help her in this defining moment.

"Well then," the threehorn chuckled. "Spike can help name our friend, while Ruby, you can name the three of us."

Spike looked at Ruby to which she understood. "I think Spike needs to rest his voice, so I'll help do the three of yours first," Ruby said, as the threehorn first in the row eagerly nodded to her. Wild Arms had a point, for just as the hollowhorn resembled Leigh, Ruby too could see the little threehorn's strong resemblance to the deceased Bella, with her dull pink coloring, rich brown eyes, tannish belly, and darker markings on her frill. She did look to be a few cold times younger however, one of the youngest teens of the group, at about fourteen cold times in age.

"Okay Ruby," she smiled. "You've kinda seen what I can be like. I can be real tough, but I've also got a soft, even cute side ... I kinda want a name that's both tough and cute. That'd really fit me nicely."

"Hmm," Ruby pondered. "Would you like to be named Chantal?"

She nodded. "Wow, that's a good one, Ruby! Thanks a lot!"

So Ruby bent down a little to put her hand on her shoulder. "Then welcome to our Great Valley family, Chantal," she smiled.

Chantal nodded happily, before going to hug the herd leaders and receiving another chorus.

The hollowhorn was second in the row. Ruby saw that while she did resemble Leigh, her coloring was a slightly more saturated shade of green than Leigh's pale coloring, and her eyes were warm and watery, not like Leigh's stony, piercing, jadeite-like eyes. Ruby noticed that she appeared to be quietly practicing her voice, and nodding to her encouragingly, she then went over to the giant flyer next to her. He was a very big flyer, with a wingspan almost as long as Cera or Spike from front to back when fully outstretched, in a shade of rich bluish gray, with lighter blue inner wings, a dark blue head, a dark orangey-pink beak that was almost as long as her tail, and reddish-brown eyes. Still, he lay flat on the ground like the other flyers, so Ruby had to bend down to reach him.

"Hmm … I guess I want kind of a … Well, name that sounds different," he said hopefully. "Something cool, but also humble, celebrating the new life I've gotten with you guys so I'll never forget how much everyone here has helped me grow. I'd love it if you can come up with something like that."

Ruby paused to consider. "You want to be Phoenix?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Love it, Ruby. Thanks so much!"

Ruby nodded, before placing her hand on his shoulder. "Welcome to our Great Valley family, Phoenix!"

Phoenix happily glided over and hugged each of the herd leaders, almost smothering Petrie with his much bigger wingspan as everyone gave him cheers and another chorus.

Then Ruby had her last naming, the male shieldback in the herd. He was a bulkier, more heavily armored shieldback than Nod or Candy, light brown in color with a darker back and dark brown eyes. Enthusiastically, he smiled at Ruby as she approached. "Okay Ruby," he said, his eyes flickering excitedly. "I want a cool, tough name, but one that's got a lot of fun to it too. I know it's not a lot to go on, but … You might come up with just what I want."

"Hmm …" Ruby pondered. "Do you want to be named Dekker?"

"Yep," he smiled. "I like it!"

Ruby smiled at the shieldback as she placed a hand on one of his scutes. "Then welcome to our Great Valley family, Dekker!"

Happily receiving his chorus and hugs, Dekker joined Gara, Chantal and Phoenix on the inner side of the Hidden Canyon, and the only dinosaur who was left to be named was their hollowhorn teammate. Knowingly, Spike walked over to her and grunted inquiringly.

The hollowhorn took a deep breath, but while she was able to hold onto another long, sustained note before letting it go, she still looked downcast, for much as she tried, she was still unable to say a word.

Understanding this, Spike warmly stroked her back as he muttered, "Nice … Harmony."

At once however, her eyes lit up and she vigorously nodded, before pointing at herself.

Her teammates looked at each other, and then at her. "Are you saying you wanna be called Harmony?" Phoenix asked thoughtfully.

"That's a great name," Chantal beamed. "It celebrates the harmony between us!"

The hollowhorn nodded enthusiastically, before Spike put his paw on her shoulder. His vocal chords strained from so much use, Spike managed to croak out a few last words just as his larynx was about to give out. "Welcome to Great Valley family, Harmony."

Delighted, Harmony gave Spike a hug, before she walked over and tightly hugged each of their other herd leaders as she got her chorus and walked over to join the others, before Gara, Chantal, Phoenix and Dekker wrapped her into a team hug. Then the teens began to move around and exchange greetings. Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Ruby all beamed at each other as they looked at their new herdmates happily intermingling with each other – Jada, Felix, Gabriel, Welbie, Eva, Light, Sheldon, Kendall, Aria, Nessie, Keeter, Anndi, Emery, Tilden, Candy, Seth, Vail, Glenn, Newcomb, Audrey, Gara, Chantal, Harmony, Phoenix, and Dekker. They all really were beginning to feel like a big loving family, and they felt so proud of just how the teens had blossomed before their eyes. They couldn't wait for them to meet their remaining friends and family back home, and to help them settle into the Great Valley once it became peaceful again.

The teenagers all felt very proud as well. Far from being the jaded, pain-riddled, bitter lone wanderers of two days ago, they had all finally become official members of a real herd. They each felt a sense of warm pride in their hearts, both in how far they had come themselves and how far their friends around them had come as well. Just yesterday morning, the group had literally been beating each other up, so starved for nourishment that they would not hesitate to mortally wound one another just to have sole access to a tree. Now there they were, fundamentally changed on the inside from their crash course on love and friendship, as the founding members of a tightly knit, deeply loyal herd centered not on survival but on care and affection. They still felt amazed at how much both their self-images and moods had improved, how much warmer and cozier they felt inside, and of course, the incredible kinship that they now felt toward the other members of their new Great Valley family. And it was all thanks to their plucky, unconventional herd leaders for having such open, kind hearts to set them on their journeys and to believe in them.

"Okay guys," Littlefoot said encouragingly. "Are we all ready to head in now?"

The teens all excitedly nodded, and as the eight newcomers took their first steps inside the Hidden Canyon, they too gasped at how beautiful it was inside …

"Come on everybody, group hug!" Ducky cheered spontaneously, and beaming and cheering along with her, the entire young herd got closely together, tightly wrapping their paws around whoever they could reach as they all took part in an affectionate, celebratory hug, feeling their eyes water and grins widen as they continued to squeeze. Then with a big smile, Petrie began to sing, quickly joined in by the others.

"We a big happy family now! We a big happy family now …"

They trailed off however, for almost as soon as they started, they heard some faraway gruff, rhythmic little roars. But while the teens looked a bit scared, the gang would know those sounds from anywhere as they beamed at each other, hearing the roars match the rest of the song perfectly.

"Um … What's that?" Dekker asked confusedly.

"That's Chomper," Ruby laughed, explaining to the others. "Our sharptooth friend. He's a sharptooth, so he can hear what's going on in here … And while he can't let the guards know what he's singing … He can still sing along with us in sharptooth!"

"That's singing?" Glenn asked incredulously.

"It sounds kinda scary," admitted Welbie.

"He sounds awfully big too," Candy commented.

"Yep yep yep, he is a twoclaw sharptooth, he is," Ducky chuckled.

"A twoclaw?" asked Felix incredulously. "Those things are huge!"

"And dangerous!" exclaimed Emery.

Gara and Seth's teams however, having seen Chomper's tooth, were not surprised by this revelation. "Yep," chuckled Phoenix. "That was Chomper's tooth Ruby was carrying."

"Why don't you show the others, Ruby?" Chantal snickered. Ruby obliged, bringing Chomper's tooth over, showing it to the rest of the herd who all looked at it with amazement, yet also a bit of unease. None of them had expected that the friendly sharptooth would be a giant twoclaw, perhaps the most dangerous kind of sharptooth of all.

"That thing's enormous!" Kendall exclaimed, before muttering the question on everyone's mind. "Are you sure he's safe?"

"With us," Gabriel clarified, subconsciously clutching his tail where he had once been bitten by large sharpteeth. "I know he's your friend, but … Well, we've never met him. What if he thinks we're food?"

"We don't mean any disrespect," Anndi said. "Just we've just been running from sharpteeth all our lives, and giant twoclaws are especially dangerous. If we couldn't outrun them or hide, we'd have been done for!"

Littlefoot nodded understandingly. "Yeah," he sighed. "We know there are a lot of bad twoclaws, and they can be really dangerous. One of them even killed my mom, he was the first foe Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike and I faced together. Most of them just hunt us because they have to eat, but he was different. He was after us because he enjoyed killing and wanted revenge on me for accidentally poking his eye."

As the teens looked at Littlefoot in horror, he smiled, "But I promise, Chomper's nothing like that. I meant what I said before, he's the purest, most innocent soul you can ever meet. Probably more purehearted than any of us actually."

"Well, except maybe Ducky," Cera quipped as Ducky giggled.

The others looked at Littlefoot in stunned surprise. Confusedly, Vail asked, "One of those things murdered your mom … And you still trust him?"

Littlefoot nodded. "Sharpteeth aren't that different from us, for it's not what he is, but who he is inside that matters … And ever since we hatched him, Chomper has always been a good and loyal friend," he beamed.

"Well, not quite. He did bite me once," Cera laughed. "But he was just a baby, he couldn't control himself then, and he hasn't done anything since, even though he keeps on getting accused."

"You … hatched Chomper?" Aria asked in amazement.

"Yep yep yep," Ducky smiled. "We accidentally saved him from eggstealers, thinking he was one of my little siblings. But when we found out he was not, we decided to raise him. Well, mostly Littlefoot. He was not scared of Chomper like we were, oh no no no."

"Well, I was a little bit," Littlefoot confessed. "But then I saw how friendly he was … And I don't know, I guess I felt like someone should take care of him. So I started raising him, with my friends soon joining me. He wasn't in our care for long, but we'll never forget our first memories with him."

"And he learn lots from us too," Petrie smiled. "We teach him to talk … So much so that by the time we see him again, he speak fluent leafeater with no problem."

The group of teens' eyes widened in shock. "He speaks …. Fluent leafeater?" Eva asked.

"Yep," Cera said simply, as the teens simply looked at the gang in awe.

"And he has been on lots of adventures with us too," Ducky explained. "The second time we met him, he bit a big mean sharptooth on the tail. We were worried he was going to eat us, but he was still our friend inside … We were really sad when we had to leave him on that island."

"But it wasn't that long until he met me," Ruby said. "Chomper's parents knew he was an unusual sharptooth, and they wanted a place for him to live where it was safe. So he told me about a place called the Great Valley, a paradise for leafeaters where his friends lived … And that's where we've lived with our friends ever since, " Ruby explained. "The seven of us have been on all sorts of crazy adventures."

"Yeah, at first we were a gang of five, but once Chomper and Ruby joined, we became a gang of seven," added Littlefoot.

"He's really … part of your gang?" Sheldon asked in wonder. "He saved your lives as kids … And went on all those adventures with you?"

"Yeah," Cera said simply. "A whole bunch of them."

"Chomper refuses to eat any good leafeater meat," Littlefoot explained. "He only attacks leafeaters when they are bad guys, and even then he feels terrible about doing it. He would never, ever hurt our friends in the Great Valley, even though he has been suspected lots of times."

"He goes to the Big Water to hunt scaly swimmers and swimming sharpteeth," explained Ruby. "That way, he can eat his fill out there and never have to worry about going hungry while in the Great Valley."

"That is right," Ducky beamed. "Chomper tries his hardest to get along with everyone in the Great Valley."

"Even when they don't try to get along with him," quipped Cera.

"He real good at resisting his urges, and me know he never hurt you guys, for you be our friends," Petrie explained. "He real friendly, so me think he be friends with you too."

"And we thought it was hard just resisting those treestars for our tests," Gabriel sighed in wonder.

"To think he actually resists the smell of leafeater every day," agreed Gara. "That's some gumption! I like him already."

"Plus considering he's saved our herd leaders and been with them on so many adventures … I think we've got ourselves another herd leader," Keeter smiled.

"We'd be something, the first leafeaters to have a sharptooth herd leader!" exclaimed Jada.

"I agree, c'est magnifique," Light said enthusiastically. "A real friendly sharptooth!"

"Who's for declaring Chomper a herd leader?" Seth asked, to the immediate clamoring and excited response of all the teens.

"Well, me guess that settled," Petrie smiled.

"You know guys," Ruby smirked, coming up with a sudden idea. "If Chomper can hear us singing … He can probably hear us talking to him too. He probably could use some words of encouragement while he's stuck in that prison. Let me try it."

And while not raising her voice, Ruby looked to the Great Valley and asked, "Chomper, can you hear me?"

Most of them could not hear anything, but Ruby was able to make out a slight grunt of assent. "Yep, he hears us," Ruby smiled. "Let's all have a go at talking to him."

And so eagerly, the young herd began to speak.

"Hi Chomper," Glenn began. "You may not know us yet, but we're your herd!"

"We've become friends of your friends, and if you're their friend, then you're our friend too!" exclaimed Chantal.

"We can't wait to see you soon," Audrey exclaimed. "Just hang in there!"

"We know you're amazing already," Emery commented.

"We've heard all about you from our friends," added Anndi.

"But we know you'll be even better when we meet you!" agreed Felix.

"We want to let you know that even though you're not here with us, our hearts are with you," Nessie explained.

"Don't give up, for we're all pulling for you in here! Every one of us!" Welbie agreed.

"We all want to rescue your Valley and become your friends, Chomper, if you'll have us!" Kendall smiled.

"Guido and I are doing everything we can to help you out in the Valley as well," Avie said.

"We can't wait to finally meet you, Chomper, after all we've heard!" Seth exclaimed.

"Just don't be too scary, all right?"

"Wild Arms!"

"Sorry Etta! Don't hit me with your wing, please!"

"I'm a sharptooth too!" Cricket chuckled. "Though I only eat crawlers."

"Don't let the bad guys get you down!" Dekker exclaimed.

"We're doing everything we can in here to help!" Aria cheered.

"That's right! We're not going to let the bad guys hurt you!" agreed Light.

"We are your Great Valley family!" exclaimed Tilden.

"A herd that will always love and care for each other!" Eva cheered.

"And we will free your Valley from oppression!" added Gara.

"We promise to always be loyal to you and your friends," Newcomb vowed.

"Who I might add are great herd leaders," Keeter declared.

"And we know you'll be too, once you join us!" Jada agreed.

"We all can't wait to meet you, Chomper," Phoenix beamed.

"And we're gonna do whatever it takes to get you out of there!" Candy cheered.

"To break you out of your bindings and welcome you into our herd!" Sheldon exclaimed.

"Because we're a family and you're one of us!" Vail finished, as Harmony began to hum the tune, encouraging everyone to quietly sing the song along with her.

"Chomper, we know it scary in there, but we no want you to lose hope!" Petrie exclaimed.

"Oh no no no … We are all working together as a big happy Great Valley family to help you," Ducky said encouragingly.

"Wait till you meet our new friends … That is, unless you've gotten too slow and fat to catch 'em!" Cera teased.

"Chomper, don't worry. We're coming up with a plan to get you out of there," Littlefoot told him.

"Secret Spot, tomorrow night," Ruby informed him. "Again, Secret Spot, tomorrow night. Tell the others. Did you hear everything?"

There was silence for a moment, before Littlefoot could hear the same gentle purring sound that Chomper's mother had given Chomper once, only louder and clearer.

"All right, see you," Littlefoot finished as Chomper purred back. Then he turned and saw the group of teens looking amazedly at him and Ruby.

"What's ... the Secret Spot?" Emery asked eagerly.

"Our other hideout," Cera smirked, as the teens all looked at each other, amazed.

"And you mean … We're really gonna rescue Chomper?" asked Felix.

"Tomorrow night?" added Candy.

"Yep," Littlefoot smiled. "As one big herd."

And at once, the young herd cheered, their spirits higher than ever.


By the time twilight fell upon the Great Valley, news of Ruby's disappearance along with that of the noteeth and flyers had spread like wildfire. The mob was outraged, especially upon hearing that a top-security prisoner had gone missing and had attacked a judge in the process. Almost at once, Ruby displaced Oplax as the regime's most wanted escapee, with many of the regime's supporters openly calling for her head.

Immediately upon hearing the news, Leigh called for a herd meeting at the Rock Circle, undoubtedly meant to rally his followers in response to the incident and spur them on a quest to hunt her down. With the enforcers having been given the power to kill dissenting speech at herd meetings however, most of the regime's opponents opted simply to boycott the herd meeting rather than have to listen to another hate speech. Knowing he had to be there to prevent Mr. Bonehead from caving further, Mr. Threehorn was one of the few who intended on going, but not before he gave his wife some advice.

"Tria, this is the perfect opportunity for you, Albert, Ova and the kids to make your moves," Topps muttered to her as soon as rumors of Ruby's escape had happened, eyeing the Bright Circle going down. "The regime's supporters are going to the Rock Circle in the twofooter zone, meaning there will be lots of activity at the borders, making it harder for the border patrol to notice you crossing into the longneck zone and into your mudpool. I trust that you will make it there safely."

Tria nodded. "Do you need to wait for the clubtails?" Topps asked Tria.

Tria shook her head. "Laurel told me she's got something with the spiketail herd worked out."

"Right," Topps answered, before continuing, "Meanwhile, Thicknose is working with Guido and all the youngsters to get Tricia and her friends across. Thicknose has just told me they've come up with a strategy and Guido's finalizing things with Tricia's twofooter friends. Thicknose will be accompanying me to the meeting, so he won't be suspected of a thing. The rest of the herd will pretend to go to the meeting, but they will turn back to make sure Monty and the others get back safely."

"Okay, sounds great. I'll get the Onehorns, and then hopefully I'll meet Mrs. Twoped, Ms. Swimmer and the other twofooters there. You know actually," Tria whispered to Topps. "In all this chaos from the herd meeting … I think we might now have a chance at a better opportunity. Do you think the herd will mind if we welcome some more friends in?"

Topps smirked deviously. "No, Tria, not at all. In fact, I'll let them know right now."

"Thank you Topsy," Tria whispered as the two threehorns nuzzled each other briefly, before Tria went to discuss things with the Onehorns and Topps went to discuss with the rest of his herd.


Sticky tree star juice was not strong enough to put Chomper's lost tooth back into place all those cold times ago. Nonetheless, it was still effective as a light adhesive, allowing something to stick onto something until it would wash off … Or in this case, someone.

Smushing some treestars nearby the bushes deep in Topps' herd's territory, Mr. Thicknose had created a great big green sticky puddle. The mess was a lot larger than the one he had created for Chomper's missing tooth. But fortunately, tree star juice was edible, so it could easily be cleaned up just by eating it. As he finished stomping the tree stars down, Monty and his younger herdmates Calem, Karla and Gaven watched curiously.

"You sure this will be strong enough to hold them?" Monty asked Mr. Thicknose.

Mr. Thicknose nodded. "For this purpose, I think it would be just right." Quietly sticking his head into the bushes, Mr. Thicknose muttered, "It's all ready."

There was a little rustling before Tricia, Mono, Rachelle and Destiny came out, all with big grins on their faces.

"I can't believe we're really doing this!" Rachelle exclaimed.

"We're finally getting out of here," Mono smirked.

"We'll all be together again," Destiny smirked.

"As part of an awesome …" Tricia started, before Mr. Thicknose looked at her warningly, causing her to trail off with a naughty snicker.

"Right," Mr. Thicknose said cautiously. "All right then, kids. Who wants to go first?"

"I will!" Tricia exclaimed. Mono, Rachelle and Destiny, delighted to see Tricia get her spirit back, just beamed at her as Mr. Thicknose picked her up, before lightly dunking her paws in the green goo. Her paws dripping, Mr. Thicknose carried her over to Monty, who promptly lifted up his front leg. Then Mr. Thicknose put his frill underneath, and Tricia, seeing Monty's belly as Mr. Thicknose flipped her upside down, managed to place all her paws upon it, grinning madly as she pressed to secure herself. It was a whole different perspective seeing the world completely upside down.

"It kind of tickles," Monty chuckled as Calem, Karla and Gaven snickered. Tricia beamed in delight as she saw Mono, Rachelle, and Destiny getting attached to each of the threehorn teens' undersides, but afterward, her friends had become concealed. They were now completely out of sight, thanks to Mr. Thicknose's clever, sneaky idea. He may not have been a strong, outspoken herd leader. But he was nonetheless a wise, devoted dinosaur who deeply cared for every other dinosaur, especially his young students, and Tricia couldn't be prouder of him.

As Mr. Thicknose saw that all four kids were firmly attached to their teens, he saw Guido come gliding in.

"Their friends are ready," Guido smiled to Mr. Thicknose.

"Excellent," Mr. Thicknose said, before turning to the threehorns. "Now you four, go back home after it happens. I'll be at the herd meeting with …" he trailed off as Topps strolled in, smiling at Mr. Thicknose with mischievous triumph.

"Well done," he whispered pridefully to Mr. Thicknose, before loudly clearing his throat and saying, "Good evening, Mr. Thicknose. I suppose you're coming with me to the herd meeting?"

"Yes, I am," Mr. Thicknose answered.

"Right," Topps smiled. "If you see Tricia, tell her that regardless of what she may have heard, I'm very proud of her and will always be on her side, and that I really do think that Sir Hiss Head is a histrionic hollowhead."

"I will," Mr. Thicknose said, and Tricia couldn't help but beam at her father, her trust in her father being fully restored after the Mrs. Troy incident, a great warmth filling her heart. "Thanks Daddy ... I won't let you down."

"Well, I will see you there I suppose," Topps smirked, before whispering, "Good luck," to Mr. Thicknose, who appreciatively nodded back.

Before long, the threehorn herd was on the move. Traveling right behind them, Mr. Thicknose watched as they merged in with the larger crowd of dinosaurs heading toward the Rock Circle. Just as they did however, he saw that Tria, Albert and Ova slipped from the herd, on their way to the mud pool. But with the border patrol having been reduced in numbers, its agents were all going the other way, failing to notice the three frilled dinosaurs slipping into the longneck zone and then wading into the secluded mudpool, where they rested in wait, like a few very big rocks.

Smirking, Mr. Thicknose then noticed the little lake at the southern edge of the twofooter zone coming up. Right on cue, he noticed the four younger threehorns stop, turn, and then begin to drink. His moment of redemption had come.

Walking along the water's edge, Mr. Thicknose then collided his frill right into Monty's side. The young threehorn turned to Mr. Thicknose and yelled, "Hey, watch where you're going … Aargh!"

For he had apparently slipped into the water. As he did, he leaned ever so slightly to the left, causing himself to lean into Calem, who did the same with Karla, who did the same with Gaven, causing all four threehorns to lose their balance and find themselves in the big watering hole.

Falling in with a big splash, the other dinosaurs veered away from the tidal wave caused by the bulky threehorns, as Monty, Calem, Karla and Gaven rounded on Mr. Thicknose.

"You old fossil!"

"Stop getting in our way!"

"Crazy old-timer!"

"I'm gonna report you!"

"Sorry," Mr. Thicknose said in false meekness, but in truth, he couldn't have been happier inside. The act had worked perfectly, for when the four threehorns returned to land, they covertly smirked at him as he examined their bellies. There was no longer anything unusual sticking to them, and no one seemed to suspect a thing.


Deep in the water below, Tricia began to glide through the water in an effortless breaststroke, with Mono, Rachelle and Destiny close behind. As the ripples of water from the massive impact finally began to subside, Tricia worked her hardest to hold her breath, still amazed she didn't think of this plan earlier. Unusually for bulky threehorns, she was quite a decent swimmer, thanks to her big sis for insisting that Ducky teach her how to swim at a very young age, to Ducky for actually teaching her how, and her long friendship with swimmer Cassia giving her an unusual amount of practice. The water was one place no enemy would ever look for a young threehorn, yet here she was, easily coasting through it.

Mono, Rachelle, and Destiny had nowhere near the practice swimming that she did, and were not quite as graceful in their movements. But thanks to her big sis and her friends taking her and her friends to Chomper's parents' place and playing games with them in the Big Water, they too had gotten accustomed to being in deep water and managed to learn how to swim. Beaming, she was so grateful for all the gang had taught them. That experience, fun as it was, had now proved invaluable in their escape, and she grinned as she imagined being reunited with their older friends once again ...

Tricia's thoughts stopped, for out of the corner of her blurred vision, she could see six small forms in the water, heading right toward them. Her heart stopped a little, but as she felt a familiar wet embrace on her, Tricia smiled, knowing exactly who it was. Before she knew it, she was being pulled to shore, and found herself face to face with Cassia, who gave her a big hug as all around her, Perri pulled up Mono, Sam and his sister Lily pulled up Rachelle, and their siblings Shine and Sally pulled up Destiny. They were all on land, successfully in the twofooter zone, and not wasting a moment, the twofooters moved to surround their fourfooter friends. Then Cassia made a motion, and from behind the trees in the forest, Pearl and Garnet appeared, carrying their unusual tools with one hand, and in the other, they each carried two big leaves. They hurriedly handed the leaves off to the other twofooters, who placed them on their fourfooted friends, before the fast runners led the way, with the others doing their best to keep up with them.

Quickly hurrying, the regime's twofooters were nowhere in sight, all guarding the border or heading off to the speech. None of them dared to say a word as they raced toward the burrow at the far eastern edge of the Great Valley, which the twofooter kids had just reopened. Upon reaching it, they each hurriedly jumped inside, before the twofooters worked together to lift the boulder back over most of the burrow's entrance as they all breathed heavily with exhaustion.

"Hi Sam … Is that everybody?" came a voice from down the tunnel.

The others looked, and there approaching them was Skitter, accompanied by Lizzie, each carrying shiny stones in their mouths to light the tunnel as the four fourfooters looked at each other in wonder.

"Yep," Sam said simply.

"Right then, this way," Lizzie said.

And together, the nine members of Tricia's gang, Sam's three siblings, and the two tiny longnecks hurried through the freshly dug underground path. Tricia's gang was too out of breath to talk, but Skitter and Lizzie both seemed to be very happy.

"Your Secret Spot is awesome," grinned Skitter through his teeth. "There's enough ground food growing there that we were able to restock our burrows for a long time!"

"We don't know how we can ever repay you," Lizzie said appreciatively.

Sam however, had an idea. "You know … We can't be the only kids who don't like the bad guys. And you've got tunnels going all throughout the Valley, right?"

"Yeah," Skitter said. "So?"

"So maybe you guys can rescue more kids through your burrows!" exclaimed Mono. "Lots of the kids are jerks. Don't bother trying to rescue them. But not all of them are! Maybe you can rescue the other nice ones!"

"Many of them don't like what the bad guys have to say," Rachelle smiled. "They can use your tunnels to escape, just like we are!"

"Cass and I both had hollowhorns of our kinds sitting around us who stood up for us in class, right Cass?" Perri asked as Cassia nodded.

"Yeah. And they don't deserve anything bad!" Cassia exclaimed determinedly. "Find the ones the teachers don't like, or the ones who aren't looking very happy."

"They can live in freedom in the Secret Spot with us!" Garnet cheered, as the fourfooters looked at each other significantly.

"You can look for all the kids who aren't happy, keep an eye on them to make sure they don't like the bad guys, and if they don't, bring them in!" Tricia grinned.

"The less kids that have to go to Hiss Head's hate classes, the better!" Pearl agreed.

Skitter and Lizzie looked at each other thoughtfully. "You know, that's a good idea," said Skitter.

"We'd love to rescue more kids … And it's the least we can do after you showing us your Secret Spot," smiled Lizzie.

Just then, they had reached the end of the tunnel. "Well, here we are," Sam smiled, and slowly, they all got out of the tunnel and climbed into the inviting warmth of the Secret Spot.

As they all took their first steps onto the peaceful grass around them, they each breathed in a deep breath of unbelievably fresh, purified air. At last, they were out of the suffocating regime around them, and inside a warm, hospitable, environment, the sounds of the peaceful waterfall and the wind rustling the tree stars welcoming them in invitingly. As Sam's siblings stared at the place in wonder and Tricia's gang eyed it adoringly, as if they were greeting a long-lost friend, they soon began to hear the sound of hurried footsteps.

Turning, they saw a green form rocketing to them from the other side of the Secret Spot, a bunch of little reddish forms alongside. Before they knew it, they saw Oplax's big, pudgy, teary face as he grabbed Perri into a hug, grinning madly at all of them. "You guys! You're … Here!" he exclaimed breathlessly as the little clubtails and Sam's siblings began to greet each other.

Hardly daring to believe their eyes, Tricia and her friends could only stare at each other's bright, happy faces, each radiating purest delight as their eyes sparkled and watered as they had never done before. There they all were, safe in the Secret Spot together, without any border guards trying to tear them apart. Against all odds, they had overcome all the barriers between them and emerged on the other side, never to be split apart again. Upon finally absorbing the sight of each other's gleeful faces, they moved in and wrapped each other in a messy, smothering, giggly group hug.

"We're … free!" Perri finally gasped, joyous tears coming down her eyes. "And we're really all here!"

"In our Secret Spot!" Cassia exclaimed.

"Where no one will ever find us again!" Pearl cheered.

"Except for Big Sis of course," Garnet chuckled. "I wonder when she's gonna meet us?"

This time, however, it was Tricia, Mono, Rachelle and Destiny's turn to break the news. Understanding just how Cricket felt to be holding onto something so juicy, the four of them just looked shiftily at each other. This of course, did not go unnoticed by the others.

"What's … going on?" Oplax asked curiously.

"What can be better than this?" Perri asked.

"Now that we're here … " Pearl asked.

"We're all done causing trouble, right?" Garnet finished.

"Why would we cause any?" Sam asked.

"Unless there's … Something else," Cassia pondered.

Tricia, Mono and Rachelle grinned wickedly at each other as Destiny, trying her hardest not to give it away told Sam, "I'll get your siblings and the babies. We need all paws on board."

With everyone present, Destiny and the frilled kids had the others' full attention. They could hear Leigh orating in the background, but if anything, that only made what they were about to say all the sweeter.

"Okay guys," Mono said at once. "Our adventure could stop right here. We could just stay in the Secret Spot and be like babies … No offense," he said, chuckling to the clubtail babies, who gurgled to show they were not offended.

"But you know what Hiss Head said about youth gangs, right? Well, wouldn't it serve him right if we ended up joining … A real youth gang?" snickered Rachelle.

As even the clubtail babies and Sam's siblings looked intrigued and Tricia's twofooter friends watched breathlessly, Destiny said, "My daddy always talks about heroes and outlaws. Most of the time, the outlaws are the bad guys. But what if … We can be both? We can join a real tough gang working to rebel against the authorities … But since the authorities are the bad guys, we'd be rebelling on the side of love, justice, friendship, and togetherness! Everything the real Great Valley stands for! What if … We could join a real herd of heroic rebels, a lot of whom are kids just like us, but bigger and cooler?"

Seeing how Destiny got everyone on tenterhooks, Tricia grinned broadly. She was going to savor every word that would leave her mouth.

"What if … Such a cool herd really existed? Right by us? And what if … Their leaders are the coolest gang of dinosaurs we know?" Tricia snickered.

The others looked at each other for a moment incredulously. "You mean …" Perri stuttered.

"Yep," Mono nodded, cutting her off.

"But I thought …" Cassia asked, but Tricia cut her off too.

"I know, right? I thought so too. But I should've known better … Big Sis and her friends never go down that easily." And turning to Garnet and Pearl, she grinned, "And if I'm not wrong, that's just where your Big Sis is gonna take us."

The other kids stared in awe, before slowly, big, mischievous grins started to appear on all of their faces. The regime may have thought them to be pests by themselves. But under the guidance and instruction of their idols, they knew that they could become far more than merely disruptive now … And actually really do something to help save their Great Valley.