A.N: To artist seeking money from for their art, please leave the comment section open for discussions about the story only and don't private message me for I will most likely not respond. Thank you.
Chapter Four:
Since You Went Away
In the Mysterious Beyond, Screech and Thud came upon the one named Tyrannosaurus Rex, who held the appearance of Chomper, right down to the limp. Towering higher than the pair, Tyrannosaurus Rex chuckled.
"My, my, you two are quite a pair?"
"Little bitter, is it you?" Thud inquired.
"If you're seeking that fool known as Chomper, I'm not him. What do you want?"
"Your mate, your young, they want you back. So, give the other Alpha back and we'll be on our way." Screech argued.
"I would, but he has yet to defeat me, therefore, his body belongs to me. And what a body it is, powerful, unlike any I've faced before. It'll do."
"No, you have to remember something, anything from the Boss's mind." Thud pleaded.
Tyrannosaurus Rex cocked his head, shut his eyes for a moment. "Let me see..." He let out a few groans, seeming to mold it over. "Yes, I see." With a snicker, he opened his eyes. "Nope, not a thing. Now, let me be."
"Please, you need to train your heir-"
"Heir!" That got his attention. "What didn't you say, what sort of child is it?"
"A fined back sharptooth named Fang."
"Fang, a powerful name." Blinking, Tyrannosaurus Rex looked Thud in the eye. "Wait, who is my mate?"
The pair shared a glance. "Well, she's smart, strong, she's a fastrunner..." Screech trailed off with a hint of worry.
"What? I the alpha, with prey, food?"
"Hey, we don't fully understand it either. But the little bitter chose her, so, therefore, she is the second to the Alpha." Thud spoke.
"That does make it hard to find another mate when apparently, I already have a second to the Alpha." Tyrannosaurus Rex paced back and forth, the pair watching him carefully. "Okay, let's say I come back with you? I will continue to rule as I please and keep my heirs safe from others. How many young do I have?"
"Fang, Claw, and an unhatched egg. The egg is a hybrid of sharptooth and a fastrunner."
"Impossible?"
"It's true, Boss, well, second Boss, the egg was made from the sky-beings, who are half your parents. It's a whole thing and we really don't have time to explain it to you." Screech sounded annoyed.
"Boss,er, Second Boss, isn't there a way for you to view Chomper's memories, anything that will prove true what we say."
"I'll see for myself."
Without another word, Tyrannosaurus Rex walked, the pair going ahead to lead him. He wasn't interested in the fastrunner, nor the idea of having a family, yet when it came to protecting what was his, he'd do all he could to ensure the heir was safe, would grow to one day take his place in the great Circle of Life. Wait, since when did he care about that? With a shake of his head, he realized small fragments of Chomper's thoughts were bleeding into his own mind. Therefore, he had to do all he could to stay in control.
Back on the Mysterious Island, Ruby did her best to keep the family together, often feeling as though she were about to fall apart herself. With the egg by her side, she kept looking to the beach, hoping Screech and Thud would return with Chomper. The bright circle set, Ruby tucking Claw down, covering him before going to Fang.
"Mom, where is dad?"
"He's gone away for a while, away he'll be for some time. But he'll be back in no time, in no time he'll return, you'll see."
Kissing Fang's head, Ruby blew the flame out, leaving the room for her own. Once there, she felt an emptiness, for it was silent. She hated night, for it was when she'd found only stillness, missing Chomper dearly. Walking along, she placed the egg in a nest, covering it before going to a carving. She made it, an image of Chomper, her, Fang, Claw, and the unhatched egg. It was all she had, along with the memories ingrained in her mind. Clutching the image, she felt tears run down her face, finding it harder and harder to be strong.
Ruby:
"We haven't spoken for so long dear,
This time has gone by in a blur,
Today seems everything's gone wrong here,
I'm looking for the way things were,
I know you'd laugh and call me tragic,
For everything's in disarray,
The Island was always full of magic,
That's vanished,
Since you went away,
The Islands crowded now with questions,
Your Fang's a walking questionnaire,
And I could surely use a few suggestions,
On how to help the Alpha's heir,
When Fang needed explanations,
You always knew just what to say,
And I miss our family conversations,
It's silent,
Since you went away,
Winter has gone,
But not from my hear,
Snow's left the land,
But the flower trees forgot to bloom,
I'll carry on the way you told me,
I say that like I have a choice,
And though you are not here to hold me,
In the echoes I can hear you voice,
But still one question fills my day dear,
The answer I've most long to know,
Each moment since you went away dear,
My question, Chomper, is,
"Where'd you go?"
Kissing the image, she lay it down and crawled into bed. The next day, she took the children for a walk, her parents were they as well. As Rodny took them to get fish, Ruby and Trudy stood back and out of hearing range of the young.
"Are you okay, all right, are you, dear?" Trudy asked softly.
"I wonder how long he'll be gone? He's never done anything like this. Well, he did wonder off when we were kids to make friends with sharpteeth, though he did tell Ducky. Still, I worry, he wasn't himself, Chomper he was not."
"Who was he?"
Ruby was silent, recalling him well. He was different, his posture, his eyes, the most, being closer to a real sharptooth's gaze, full of hunger, a desire to feast upon the flesh. She'd never seen that look in his eyes. In many ways, Ruby didn't have the heart to say what she thought. He looked like a monster.
"It was as though another sharptooth was controlling his body and thoughts." Ruby said at last. "Have you ever heard of such a thing. Even the Sky-Beings have no clue where he is. I'm worried, I'm scared he'll never come back to us, to me."
"Ruby, Chomper will come back. The love you share is powerful, will break him out of his spell and all will be fine, fine all shall be once he sees you and recalls you."
"You have a way of making me feel better."
"I'm your mother."
"I only wish could do the same for Fang. She keeps asking me questions I'm not sure how to answer."
"Least you'll be able to explain why her teeth fall out."
Ruby had to smile. "Did Chomper tell you about that."
"Oh, yes, it's one of Fang's favorite stories of your youth." They shared a small laugh before Ruby's gaze went to the jungle. "Why don't you go to the land path, I know you're dying to."
With her kids under the watchful care of her parents, Ruby went through the Jungle, recalling being shown around by Chomper the first time she visited there. The echos of the past took hold, Ruby hearing him sing to her. Then, when he gave her the cluster of sweet bubbles, saying all that was green was as much hers as it was his. Their home, the placed they'd grow old together. When she reached the beach leading to the land path, she gazed out, expecting nothing. For a few moments she stood, feeling the sea air blow against her face, the scent of water filling her nose. When she got her fill of waiting, she prepared to leave, only to stop in mid step. She couldn't say, but she felt something, a sense that she should wait a little longer. Once more, she turned toward the beach, gasping when she spotted something. There were two little dots, then a bigger figure. Could it be? Was it Chomper?
She eagerly waited, seeing the three draw closer and closer, seeing the tall figure was far from the one she called Chomper. He was strange in appearance, transformed into, well, she didn't even know what he was. The only thing that was similar was his blue skin.
"Mrs. Boss!" Screech rushed up to hug her. "We found him, well, more or less."
"More or less? What do you mean by that?"
Thud rubbed his neck and held a worried expression. "Well, let's just say, the Boss, isn't as you remember."
Who she though was Chomper, leaned over to see her. "So, this is the food, Chomper called his mate? Neat trick in teaching her to talk."
By this point, Ruby was annoyed, hearing echos of Doc's snide remark toward Chomper upon meeting him for the first time. It was rude back then and it was rude now.
"This isn't Chomper, I would know Chomper, and I know he is not Chomper."
"Well, the feeling is mutual, miss."
Screech and Thud had been in some messy situation, but none beat the one they found themselves in. Ruby and Tyrannosaur Rex simply stared at each other, like two children who waited for the other to blink. While she never showed it, Ruby was more disappointed than she was mad, but she couldn't let him know, for he was different and viewed her differently too, thus her very life hung on the line of what would follow.
