Howdy, howdy, howdy folks! I did not expect to update this story anytime soon, thanks to school and other things that take up my time in the class "Creative Writing for Fun", which unfortunately does not exist in schools as far as I know. Thankfully, I found a way to continue this story, and I sure hope this next chapter here is worth the wait, even though the good stuff hasn't actually started yet.

Umm...enjoy!

Chapter II: Departure #1

"So, wait...what Spike do to you again?"

"He rolled-ed me over in the Bubbling Mud while I was sleeping, he did, he did!"

Petrie giggled. "You probably needed bath right after that!"

"Yes, but that is okay. I am used to the water, I am, I am."

"Least you can talk. Me not swimmer!" Both of them shared a laugh.

It was shortly after lunch, and while a good portion of the valley residents settled down for a rest, Petrie was nowhere near tired, and neither were any of his other friends for that matter. Wanting to not get bored out of his mind easily, he decided to talk for a while with Ducky while the others were out continuing to play games; the two of them simply wanted an excuse to talk, since they were best friends. Neither of them had actually had a face-to-face conversation in a while, so this was quite a good excuse to break from strenuous activities.

"Well, here one good thing; your skin get smoother!" Petrie stated.

"Heh heh, you are right about that, yep yep yep!" Ducky chuckled upon realization. "Mama always says that mud baths are good for your skin. Then again, I did not really have one, no no no. It just...happened."

Petrie snickered at that statement. "My mama always say that too! And Petrie know it, 'cause mud make my beak and skin much softer. If not for mud, me prob'ly feel like rotten old stick!"

"Ohhh, like your snuggling stick?" Ducky asked. She had noticed that Petrie had brought his snuggling stick over with him (for what reason she didn't know), but had not brought the matter up until now.

"Well...maybe not that old..." Petrie replied, looking at the stick.

"Speaking of which," Ducky went on, "why did you bring it with you?"

"Um...me guess it some sort of habit," Petrie answered, blushing. "But me no can help it! Like Petrie say earlier, it very special to me. Though perhaps you got point; maybe it just something with me today that make me bring it!"

Both laughed following a brief awkward silence.

"Wait, what you say?" Petrie then asked Ducky, who had asked him a question while he had been busy laughing.

"Could I hold it for a moment? Please, please, please?" Ducky repeated.

Upon being asked the question, Petrie's previous happy state turned into uncertainty. "Well..." he uttered, trying to make the decision as to whether or not he should give Ducky the stick. At this point, a tiny figure of himself with a halo above his head appeared on his left shoulder.

"Go on, Petrie," it said. "Give your snuggling stick to Ducky. It just for a moment; you be sure she not break it. You can trust her."

Petrie was about to obey the angel figure when suddenly another tiny figure of him, this time enveloped mostly in red, appeared on his right shoulder.

"No do it, Petrie," it told him. "Sure, she your friend. But you never know what could happen to snuggling stick if she take it. Just think; she may break stick by accident. You not want that to happen, now do you?"

As much as Petrie wanted to obey the angel, he knew the devil figure was right in a way. He didn't want to let his beloved stick get broken, not even by accident; he felt he just couldn't take the risks! It took him a moment for him to finally make his decision.

Alright...me no do it, he thought. Right before both figures vanished into thin air, he thought he saw the devil figure cackle evilly at his victory, while he saw the angel figure gasp in shock. With those thoughts out of the way, he proceeded to turn his back to Ducky, his wings crossed defiantly.

"No."

"No?" asked a now confused Ducky. "But...why not?"

"Me tell you why not! Me not want something bad to happen to it!" Petrie shouted, his tone suddenly coming out as more aggravated than he had intended to sound. Recognizing immediately his fault, he began to rephrase. "Err, sorry. Me just not want-" Unfortunately, he never got a chance to finish, as Ducky had already figured it out.

"Never mind, Petrie," stated a now hurt Ducky, "I think I know why already, yep yep yep."

"How?" Petrie asked confusedly.

"Oh, do not joke, Petrie!" Ducky shouted, as Petrie was now getting on her nerves. "I get that you do not want to let it go, but what I do not get is why you will not even do so for one second when you are holding it! Why is that, Petrie? Do you think I am going to snap it in half or something?"

"Umm...well..." Petrie tried to talk, feeling more and more tense as Ducky shouted at him.

"And on another note," she continued, "why do you still have it in the first place? Just how old are you again?"

As much as Petrie wanted to understand Ducky's hurtfulness over his outburst, the questions he was now being accused of began to harden him against apologizing. How dare she ask him such questions? Anger now boiling inside of him, he began to retaliate, something that he did as much as Ducky, which was hardly ever.

"Me 'bout eight cold times, but why that matter?! What, you think me still a baby? That what you saying?!"

"No no no! That is not what-" Ducky tried to explain, but Petrie wouldn't have it.

"What if me tell you Petrie know you still need nighty-night kisses from your mommy at bedtime? That sound baby-like to me!"

Ducky gasped in horror, her own anger now developing. "You take that back! How on earth do you know that?!"

"Uh...me forget who me hear it from, but believe me, me know!" Petrie continued, still in a rage fit. "And me tell everyone in the valley about it if you want to be ultimate laughing stock! What you think of that...baby?!"

That did it! That statement was just enough for Ducky's anger to reach boiling point.

"Oooooh...gimme that!" Ducky shouted as she, without thinking about it, reached for the stick. She succeeded in grabbing it...

"It's MINE!"

...only to end up with a sore backside following the prompt shove that was given. The stick was now once again in the flyer's hands, unharmed. While both were also relatively unharmed, their egos were not saved from the pain. The duo stared at each other, Ducky feeling a mix of fear and anger, for an amount of time before Petrie spoke up, rage still clinging to him from beak to tail.

"You try breaking it!"

"I did not even-" Ducky began, but...

"NO TALK!" Petrie roared, silencing Ducky and chilling her to the bone; she had never this tone from Petrie before, nor did she ever want to hear it from him again. Petrie then stared at the stick. "Me glad my snuggling stick still together...unlike us."

"Huh?" Ducky was now worried. What did he mean? What was this unintentional argument leading to?

"In other words..."

At this point, Ducky knew her worries would be confirmed at anytime, and when they were, her world would shatter like a knocked-over glass, into pieces of a puzzle that were unable to be put back together.

His next stinging words did just that, only worse.

"...Petrie and Ducky not friends anymore!" With that, he turned his back once again.

Ducky gasped in horror. Seeing Petrie's state, she expected him to say something awful to her, but this was completely unexpected. All anger previously clinging to her had now let go, crestfallenness taking over her mind.

I...I am not your friend...? Ducky thought, for she was too hurt to even say anything. Oh no, no no no no no...

She didn't want to believe it. Her best friend was no longer her best friend, and all because of an argument. She wished everything was just a sleep story, one that she desperately wanted to wake up from. Alas, this was not the case. If only Petrie had granted her request, then maybe things wouldn't be turning out so bad. If only he would have...

To make matters worse, she had no time to cry about the situation, for she suddenly heard a commotion heading to her left.

It was Spike. Running in fear.

Both Ducky and Petrie looked to their left upon hearing the noises. "Spike?" they questioned in unison.

A second later, they both knew the reason behind his fear. In his hot pursuit? An army of...

"Oh no! Pointy-bottomed stingers!" cried Petrie.

"Oh no no no!" cried Ducky. "We must get out of here, yep yep yep!" With that, Ducky hopped onto her brother's back, thus beginning the chase.

Due to the nature of the situation, Petrie was unable to object to her suggestion. "Wait for Petrie!" he shouted, taking off after them as fast as he could to avoid the risk of getting stung, his snuggling stick with him at all times. All three of them were running (or flying) for their lives, having no care where they were headed, which, unbeknownst to them, would lead to some interesting mishaps along the way.

"There...perfect!" said the young threehorn to himself as he put on the final stick needed for his masterpiece: a replica of himself made of sticks, all holding together like glue, even though it wasn't glued on with anything. Nevertheless, he was happy with himself, for the threehorn artist had finally completed what he had wanted to create his whole life, however short it had been so far. "Wait'll I show this to Arthur! He's gonna be so jealous of me when...huh?"

His train of thought was suddenly cut short upon hearing noises of panic coming directly ahead of him. From his peripheral vision, he spotted a spiketail running in fear, with a young swimmer riding on top of him. It looked like he was heading straight for...

Oh no!

By the time he realized the situation, it was too late. Before he could do anything to stop them, the spiketail continued to run frantically, and in the next moment, his masterpiece was reduced to nothing but a pile of his crafts.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he cried.

A flyer then flew by, quickly shouting back, "He sorry!" before passing him. A moment later, he realized what they were up against. With a scream, he leaped out of the way. Fortunately for him, the buzzing stingers were quick to pass him by, for they had already found their focus. After making sure that they had gone, he turned to look at his ruined work in disappointment.

"Well...here I go again," he muttered, and with that, he reluctantly began his re-construction.

"What happen, Spike?" Petrie asked as he too landed on Spike's back in an effort to be farther away from the bees that were further approaching him.

Spike replied with several worried grunts as he continued to run.

"Uh-oh! Spiky says that-" Ducky began, but Petrie cut her off by looking away and blocking her with one of his wings.

"You can talk to wing, just not the beak, 'cause it not home right now," he said stubbornly, not even wanting to look her in the eyes at the moment.

While in shock for a second, Ducky quickly understood. Oh, right, she thought, rolling her eyes to herself. He is still mad at me, he is, he is.

With questions left unanswered, they had no choice but to continue running from their conflict that was behind them.

"Hey Chatter! You have any fours?"

The swimmer looked down at his options, only to find that there did not exist a row of four treestars.

"Nope! Go Swim!" he responded to his sister.

Before either swimmer could make another move, however, in came a small crowd of screams from behind. Both swimmers turned around to see a spiketail running for his life, a flyer and another swimmer accompanying him. Upon seeing what they were up against, they both ran back to the family cave and hid. To their relief, everything simply came and went.

Upon coming back out, however, they noticed that all the leaves they were using for the game they had been playing were now either scattered in different areas or vanished (which was the case for at least half of them).

"Oh, now what are we going to do, Splasher?" asked Chatter.

"Guess we'll have to gather more treestars and start all over, I guess," Splasher responded to her brother.

"Yeah...I guess..."

With that, they both set off to find more treestars.

Neither Ducky nor Petrie could try to wonder if things could get any worse by this point as their chase continued. Both of them couldn't decide if if was their now broken friendship or their lives that mattered at the moment, but they both hoped in their personal selves they would end this chase as free of injuries as they were when it started. Ducky hoped she would not end up being stung once again by the stingers that they all were in danger of, and that her brother and friend (?) would avoid the same fate. As far as Petrie was concerned, however, he was more fearful about the fate of his beloved stick, and he made sure to keep it protected by keeping it under his wing. Unfortunately, the safety wouldn't exactly last for long.

Me just hope things not get any worser, Petrie thought to himself tensely. Just then, he and Ducky saw an upcoming target, but Spike unfortunately did not, for he was looking back at the bees that were still chasing them.

"Spike, look out!" Petrie warned.

"Huh?"

Spike had not noticed until it was too late the large rock that he wound up bumping into. The hit ultimately knocked them all to the ground. Luckily, the buzzers changed their directions and flew above them, ending their contact with the trio.

"Whew! That was a close one, yep yep yep!" Ducky said as her senses were coming back to her.

"Yeah...me glad we made it out of that one..." Petrie replied, his exhaustion making him forget momentarily of his refusal to talk to her. However, looking at his right wing made him return to reality and panic at its sight. "*gasp!* Oh no! Me lose snuggling stick again!" He instantly glared at Ducky. "Me knew something would happen to it, and it all 'cause of you!"

"But I-" Ducky attempted to protest, but she was promptly interrupted, though not by Petrie.

"Look out!"

The three had barely any time to react to Ruby's call (she was not far from where they were), and had none to acknowledge the incoming two dinosaurs heading straight for the target. The next moment, the three were in a pile together, with Littlefoot and Chomper joining in.

I still don't know why I always end up in these messes! Spike thought to himself as he sat at the bottom of the pile...well, almost.

"Ooh...could you please get off of us?" Ducky groaned. "I do not think I can handle this many friends on top of me at once, no no no."

"Sorry about that, guys," Littlefoot replied as he, Chomper and Spike all freed Petrie and Ducky from their temporary lack of space. "I guess we weren't looking."

"That is alright. I am just glad that everyone is okay now, I am, I am," Ducky responded in relief as she and Petrie stretched themselves. "But...what happened that made-ded those stinging buzzers chase us?"

"Actually, that was my fault," Chomper piped in. "I was going to have them for my lunch, but somehow I knocked down the hive, and Spike happened to be there with me, and...well, I think we all know what happened from there." He blushed embarrassingly upon finishing.

"Well, like Ducky say, at least we all okay," Petrie said. "But now me have question..."

"Yes?" Littlefoot wondered.

"Where me snuggling stick?!" Petrie asked worriedly. "Me swore it be here with me a minute ago! Do anyone know what happen to it?"

"I saw what happened, Petrie, saw what happened I did!" Ruby pointed out.

"You did? What happen to it?"

"Well, Cera was right here when you guys came by," she explained, pointing to the spot past the rock, "and the stick landed on her horn. But she must've thought it was something other than a stick, because she threw the stick over there and ran off." She extended her arm towards a plethora of piles of sticks some distance from them before pointing directly to said piles. "And I think that's where it's landed."

"You say it where ag-?" Petrie began to ask as he looked in the direction, but as he made contact, he gasped in shock and horror. For the stick had apparently been tossed into the various piles of sticks that he wished it would never end up in. The piles that were meant to be for unwanted sticks. The...the...

"Are those...the wet and stinky sticks?!"

"Yep, that must be where it is."

He stared at the piles in disbelief for a few more moments, then with a groan, he suddenly fainted. The remainder of the gang quickly circled around their flyer friend.

"Are you okay, Petrie?"

"Is he really that worried about losing it?"

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

Petrie then recovered from his momentary unconsciousness and got back on track to his worries.

"Me not understand! Why it have to get thrown there?!" he cried. "Now me not really sure if me can find it."

"Maybe you can, Petrie," Littlefoot reassured him. "You know exactly what it looks like, so I think you can easily know where it is in any of those piles."

That advice seemed reassuring to Petrie. The next comment, however, was the exact opposite to him.

"And at least it is not broken, no no no."

Upon hearing the swimmer's words, Petrie clutched his fists and turned to her angrily.

"You not know that!"

"Um...well, that is true, but-"

"Darn right it true! It could be anywhere in those sticks, maybe broken in itty-bitty pieces even! Wait...why me even talking to you now anyways?! Me not even want to do that! All me want is me snuggling stick back!" He then began to fly away in fury.

"Then...where are you going?"

Petrie then flew right into Ducky's face and spoke words that stung all.

"Me going to find it, but you no can come with me! Me better off tryin' to do it alone, like me want to! Hmph!"

He flew away in a fury, leaving the poor swimmer shattered and everyone else in confused shock over the sudden outburst.

"Well...that wasn't like him," Chomper said, breaking the moment of silence.

"Yeah," Littlefoot replied, "Maybe he really didn't want anything to happen to the stick."

"That is what he said to me, yep yep yep," Ducky responded in sadness.

"I don't think I get it, Ducky. If I knew what you were saying, then I'd get it," Ruby replied, confused at Ducky's statement.

"Well..." Although she wasn't sure for a moment whether to tell them the truth or not, she went for her natural instincts and took a breath. "We got into a fight. You see-"

Unfortunately, Petrie, though he had already been flying away, was still within earshot of the gang, which they did not know of until he confronted them.

"Alright, alright, everyone break up. Nothing more to see now; just little flyer trying to get personal belonging of his back," he said in something of a mock-sheepish manner, such a smile on his beak being displayed. "Um...thanks."

As he flew off in search once again, the others figured they just couldn't talk about Ducky's situation from where they were standing at the moment. It would just further upset the flyer.

"Let's go. We'll talk more over there," Littlefoot said, pointing to an isolated corner. With no objections raised, they set off to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, Petrie was off on his search, hoping to find his beloved possession sooner than later.

Sometimes it's better to let your feelings show.

Petrie had heard this saying once from his mom, and it was something he thought about as he searched in those piles of sticks for his own. Though he would occasionally be distracted by the scent of some of the sticks, a good number of which residents in the Valley might have relieved themselves on (hopefully by accident, he thought), her words were still the most prominent thought in his mind at the moment. Sure, maybe he shouldn't have said the things he said to Ducky, but none of those words had any real effect on him at the moment. At least he was able to take his mother's advice to an extent, and was able to show how he felt about the object he was still searching for.

With those promising thoughts, however, were also mere thoughts of loneliness.

"Oh...if only there be someone here to help find snuggling stick!" Petrie lamented. Indeed, there was no one of assistance available to search, not even his family, who must've been busy back home. Well, he didn't mind working on his own, either, so at least he could attempt to discover it if he just focused on the task. Perhaps humming to himself could help him, he thought. But then...

Wait a minute!

Now it all was coming back to him; he wasn't alone after all! He knew who could lend him a helping hand! With hope, he turned to the audience he had met earlier and spoke to them.

"Hey! Will you help me find it?"

"YEEEEAAAAAAAHHH!" they responded.

"Good! Me glad you willing to help, just like my friends always do for me. Now, me think you know what it look like by now, so it be up to you to figure out where it is. Okay? Great!"

Petrie then went over to the first couple of piles to his left. Once there, he remained airborne as he continued associating with the audience.

"Now, here one thing about my snuggling stick: it not look like any of the other sticks you see. And it definitely not dirty and stinky like all these sticks! Me always take good care of it, and me sure hope it still look clean when me do find it." He began to glide steadily, scanning across the piles as he still spoke. "Me know it somewhere around here. If you find snuggling stick before me do, just tell me, 'kay?"

He continued to slowly scan the piles, looking down and occasionally gliding to his left and right at all piles to check for any signs of his beloved stick. Alas, he appeared to find nothing as he reached the last several piles, much to his dismay.

"Well, at least there be few more piles left," Petrie said to himself. Right at that moment, and with a tone of joy, a voice was suddenly heard.

"I see it!" a kid from the audience cried out.

Petrie screamed and cowered for a moment before realizing who spoke to him. When he did, excitement took over. "What you say? You say you...find it?!"

"YEEEEEEEEESSS!" the audience shouted.

"Really?! Where?!" he asked, a hopeful smile displaying.

"Right there!" they all replied.

Petrie looked in the direction they all were pointing at, but did not immediately notice the object in the pile. "Me no think me see any-" He then suddenly spotted the object in question and gasped in delight upon doing so. "Hey! Me see snuggling stick! And it not look dirty at all! In fact, it look just like it did when me last had it!" He flew downwards until he landed near the target pile, and with a hand covering his nose to reduce the smell, carefully pulled out the stick and managing to get it unharmed in the process.

"Oh, me miss you so much!" he exclaimed to his possession, giving it loving hugs and kisses, then turning to the audience once more. "Thanks everybody! Now me know how trustworthy you are, 'cause you be great help to me so far. You really are good friends to have! But now me have to think of what to do now…"

Petrie turned away from the audience to have a moment to think. Perhaps he could just go home for the rest of the day and forget about everything that happened, as if it was simply an act. Or…he could just have some time to himself. To cool off from his surroundings. To cool off from his encounter with Ducky…like he'd want to see her again after she tried to steal his dear stick.

Well…maybe some time alone be nice, Petrie thought, making his final decision. With stick in hand, he took one final look at his viewings of the Valley, then took off for some time in the air, promising himself to be back home with his family before dark.

Unbeknownst to him, however, he would not be arriving back home anytime soon…

And that's why it's called a cliffhanger!

Umm...thoughts, anyone? :p The next chapter will be where things start happening, so stay tuned for that...whenever I actually do upload it.

Special thanks to Ducky the most evil swimmer for giving me a few tips on how to get this chapter going.

'Til next time, faithful leaders, I bid thee farewell...in hopes that you see the new movie very soon!