Unknown Side
#42 of Out of the Shadows: AnthroLover's Version
General Chomper came to a stop, and fell to his knees. He had been chasing Gorjak for what seemed like hours now. It was clear that there was no way he'd be able to catch up with him. Gorjak was a flyer, and he was not. The second spy was already seemingly disappearing into the skies, and Chomper growled visibly, showing his frustration and anger. "He could be the reason why..." He didn't want to say anything further. He turned around and started heading back, remembering he had to make sure Rex did his work.
Rex... the thought of that dinosaur coming to his mind soothed the raging beast. Chomper didn't know why, but Rex just seemed to have what it takes to calm him down and make him feel happy. The sharptooth thought of spending a little time alone with the dracovol after his succession of wiping out Littlefoot, sort of a victory party for two type of deal. He closed his eyes and smiled deeply with the thought.
Unfortunately he wasn't looking where he was going and quickly found himself slamming into a tree, nearly knocking it down. He cried out in pain, and rubbed his sore snout the best he could with his short arms, but in this, he tripped in a root in the ground and fall, knoking his head in a rock, as light danced in front of his face he could hear a sweet voice singing in his mind in the verge of conciousness.
Rush now... Be still and don't cry... Rocked by the stream
Sleep... Last lullaby... with you when you dream
River... Flow gently... Precious cargo...
Do you know... Live in peace... Deliver... There
Chomper quickly recovered from this and got to his feet again. The song... It seemed like a dream half forgotten that he had once, but still it was very fresh in his mind. He remebered of having heard this same song one time when he lost conciousness when the ones who created him died. He thought that it could mean something, but quickly dismissed this thought.
He was a terrible warlord now! Only childs and foll gave that importance to things like dreams and songs. And with that he walked away. Never noticing that ghostly sharptooth that looked at him with sorowfull eyes.
As Rex spewed out another fireball, the alimon dodged quickly, barely escaping its fiery hot touch. Littlefoot was not as lucky, as he felt some of the flames strike him in the shoulder. Littlefoot screamed with all his might as the flames licked against his scales, burning them upon contact. When the fire died down, only a few seconds later, an entire section of his neck and shoulder had scales that were charred badly, a few flaking off. The stench of burnt food wavered in the air, tempting Rex as he sniffed the burning scales from where he was standing.
Littlefoot tried to walk, but the fire had did damage not only to his scales, but to some of his muscle. He could feel steaming hot pain in his shoulder muscles as he flexed them to move his leg. He tried taking another step, but the pain from one shot of the fireball proved too much for the teenaged longneck, and he collapsed on the ground, weakened. Tears flowed from his eyes as memories of him seeing his adopted brother, laying on the ground dying, came back to him. And he knew that it would soon be his turn, as he watched Rex slowly advance towards him, clawed hands raised in the air.
"How could you...do this...?" He pleaded, and closed his eyes as the pain in his shoulder overwhelmed him. "How could do this...to your...best friend...?" His mind was starting to become clouded with the intense pain. "And after...all we've been through...after...Bull..." His brain couldn't take any more pain any longer, and Littlefoot felt his mind shut down, and his eyes closed.
Rex stopped in his tracks. "Bull..." He said in a harsh whisper. His eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open, almost as if in shock. Before Shuva could tackle him, she is thrown back when a burst of light surrounded Rex for a brief second. She screamed and covered her sensitive eyes.
"WHAT IS GOING ON!" She screamed as she watched the illuminating light show. After it was over, Rex collapsed on the floor, breathing normally, but his expression troubled. He was still in his dragon/dinosaur half form. She didn't have time to analyse him. She would have to carry Littlefoot back to safety. She didn't know just where he had come from. She couldn't risk taking him back to his friends. He would have to come with her.
Shuva walked over to the unconscious longneck, and grabbed a hold of his long tail. She started to pull. Despite size differences, the alimon managed to drag Littlefoot quite easily across the floor. She hoped that all this dragging wasn't making his wound any worse that it already was. She would have to take him back where the remaining part of her pack was waiting for her. This would mean dragging him UP the mountain chain that surrounded the valley until they reached the right cave. She was worried Littlefoot wouldn't make it. The wound is small compared to what it could have been, but severe damage was already done. If infection set in, the longneck could die.
"I must hurry..." She thought, straining to pull the tremendous animal. "I must hurry..."
As she left, Rex squeezed his eyes shut, and whimpered slightly. "No...you're not me..." He tossed and turned in his sleep, his hands and feet twitching and his body shaking involuntarily, clear signs he was having a nightmare. But for Rex, this was more than a nightmare...it was his life.
"What do you mean...?" Ali asked, whimpering silently as Yu and Sandstorm told her the story. She was nestled next to her egg. She couldn't detect anything wrong with it. She thought the spots were there because her child would be unique, but was it really going to be THAT unique? She stared longingly and hauntingly at her egg, a few tears escaping her eyelids.
"What I mean is," Sandstorm said, his head bowed with sadness. "..that egg, I feel, will only bring us misery if it hatches. It's not a natural egg, Ali. It does not have the scent of a longneck."
"He's right." Yu nodded, stepping up. "There's something seriously wrong with that egg. But we don't know yet just what. Sandstorm and I suspect that something, another than a longneck, is residing inside, and it's nothing but trouble!"
Petrie rolled his eyes. "Me thinks you two just crazy! Maybe you had nightmares and think this is real." He suggested, looking upwards as he thinks about his opinions on this situation. He was nearly taken by surprise when Yu snapped at him. "Watch it!" Petrie growled angrily.
"Sorry, Petrie." Yu said almost sarcastically. "But this is no dream!"
"Then what you suggest we do?" Petrie asked slowly, his eyes proving he was still disbelieving.
"We destroy the egg." Sandstorm said, his eyes narrowed with seriousness.
"WHAT!" A voice boomed through the caverns of a cave hidden deep in the valley mountain chains. It was nowhere near where Shuva was heading. Four-legged figures, all hidden in the darkness, were gathered in a circle near the entrance. The one who spoke seemed to stand near 8 ft tall and his teeth seemed to glow in the light from outside. The other figures seemed to be cringing from his loud voice.
One of the figures raised his head up. "With all due respect sir...we didn't know something like this would..."
"SILENCE!" The lead figure slammed his paw into the ground, so hard that it created a crater in the shape of a paw. "I will have none of your excuses! I want results!" He turned to look outside the cave, and glared longingly at the valley below him. He could feel his mouth water as he imagined all those dinosaurs down there. "I wanted a plan that would work, a plan that was flawless.." He turned around, his gleaming red eyes boring through his followers. "..but you sorry group, nothing but failure!"
"But we managed to start the..." He was stopped short when the lead figure swatted him down.
"I don't care! I want perfection!" He screamed hatefully. The figure cringed and slinked away and sat down beside the other followers. Then, another figure, about the same size as the leader, walked bravely towards him, showing no visible signs of fear.
"Sir, I got word that our little 'package' arrived among the plant eaters." Light shining in revealed the figure was grinning, his razor sharp teeth exposed.
"Then let the show begin..." The lead figure grinned, and from within the cave, there was a faint orange glow. Only Gorjak saw it. As the light died down, he could only stare in awe.
"What was that...?" He asked himself as he perched on a tree he just came across. "An orange light...?" His eyes then widened in fear. "Oh no...this could only be the work of the rogue pack, the Darkarians..." He whispered, and as he did so, the haunting howl of a mysterious and deadly predator filled the still air.