The night was still and quiet. It seemed that nothing was out, and all was fine. Then, a sound could be heard, something that shock the ground as it came and went... an earthquake. It was subtle, but the sounds of things collapsing could be heard both above and underground. What the result would bring... well, we're about to find out, aren't we?

As the sun rose on the horizon...

Scratch woke to the sound of worried conversation, surprisingly NOT just coming from Click-Clack, as his eyes opened to the faint light of morning. Blinking and feeling like he had not slept well last night, he stumbled up and saw the dinotrux and reptools at the entrance, looking down the slope to the ground. Click-Clack could be heard saying, "W-We're trapped, aren't we?! W-We're gonna starve over here!"

The other reptools did his best to comfort him as Ty said, "Probably not yet, but we COULD be soon if we don't fix this fast..."

Confused, Scratch came over, going into the middle of the dinotrux group and behind the reptools, looking to them. "Morning guys... what's going on?"

They all turned to him, smiling slightly, though their looks were also grave. "Morning, Scratch." Revvit said simply, before turning back to the ground and pointing to it. "THAT is what's going on."

Scratch looked to where Revvit was pointing and saw JUST what was going on. Out in their land, multiple holes like the one the team had been rescued from yesterday were littering the ground. They were thankfully MUCH smaller in terms of width compared to the one from yesterday, but one misstep... or wrong turn, I guess, could still get someone not paying attention struck or worse in one.

As if that wasn't bad enough, there was a hole right in front of the ramp to the garage, THIS one a proper hole. It went all the way around the bottom of the ramp and would NOT be easy for most of them to jump over. Scratch looked it over worriedly. "What... happened? Did D-Structs find C4 and destroy the underground or something?"

Dozer looked confused. "C4?"

"It's an explosive back in my world. Basically a bomb. Devastating stuff."

"Oh. Well, as cool as that would be, the actual explanation is lamer."

"Shame, dude." Ton-Ton commented. "That would make an AWESOME story to tell~"

Ty chuckled a bit and nodded, looking back to Scratch. "There was an earthquake last night that shook our land, even just a little." A thought comes to him. "...do you know what earthquakes are?"

Figuring Ty wasn't sure if his old world had those, Scratch nodded. "Yeah. Tectonic plates colliding and causing the ground to shake from the vibrations, right?"

"Correct." Revvit spoke up. "Seeing how there had been a downpour the night before that, you can imagine the ground was unfortunately still in a state that a tremor would NOT be beneficial to it, and thus collapsed into multiple pockets beneath where we stand."

Skya looks to Scratch. "It looks like we managed to avoid COMPLETE disaster, but if the area rumbles like THAT again, this place may turn into one big crater field. And I for one DON'T want to live in an area like that."

"Yeah, I could see how that would be a problem." Scratch agreed. "So, do we have a plan of how to get rid of those holes?"

"Perhaps we just find enough dirt and rock to fill all the holes up?"

Ton-Ton perked up. "Oh! Oh! I'll gladly find enough dirt and rock! Ty, you can shovel it in!"

"I COULD, but... I don't really want to create MORE possible holes somewhere else." Ty replied.

"Not to mention the rather bumpy ground." Skya added.

"I mean... more ramp jumping opportunities then, right dudes?" The others sighed at Ton-Ton's obvious answer.

Revvit made his own sigh then shook his head. "Even so, while dirt and rocks would be the immediate solution, these holes may be too deep and erratically shaped, even for all the dirt and rocks we find. We need something more viable to make sure that when this place DOES rumble again, it won't collapse anything else since it has a sturdy foundation."

Click-Clack shuddered. "I-I don't want MORE of this place to fall... e-especially with ME above or below it!" Revvit gave him a pat on the back.

Waldo thought to himself. "Hmm... Scratch, your group of humans sound like a crafty bunch from what you've told us. Any inspiration from THEM that might help?"

Scratch looked to Waldo then back to the holes, thinking. "...actually, there MAY be. We may not be able to use JUST dirt and rock, but... We COULD use mud."

The others turned to him, surprised and confounded by his suggestion. "MUD?" Waldo gruffly said. "You sure your mind's fully woken up there, Scratch?"

"Yeah! Mud's just going to turn this place into a DIRTY danger zone on top of being an unsafe one!" Dozer explained in annoyance.

"Actually... Scratch may be onto something." Revvit said, the Alpha Scraptor looking to him eagerly as the others looked confused. "After all, if that mud is left there and heated up enough, it'll go sticky and solid..."

"Helping bind the dirt and rocks together to stop further major damage!" Ty finished, grinning proudly at Scratch.

Dozer thought. "Huh... that actually makes sense." He admitted, turning to Scratch. "Alright, well it seems like the most solid plan right now, at least."

Scratch smiled and nodded. "I'll take responsibility for anything going wrong, but this SHOULD work enough that we have time to find a better solution later. Plus, I learned back in my world about mud BRICKS, so that'll make the binding even more solid, even without the rocks!" The group nodded and commented to each other, agreeing this could be good.

"Alright Scratch, we'll go along with this plan of yours." Skya proclaimed. "Buuuuut, there is ONE small problem..."

Scratch looked up to her confused. "Huh? What's that?"

Skya simply gestured to the hole at the bottom of the ramp, stopping almost all of them from leaving.

"Oh... right." Scratch sighed. So much for THAT...

Revvit smiled up at him then looked to the t-trux. "Ty, I know we usually lead things with the team, but perhaps Scratch could take a turn this time?"

Ty smiled back. "Totally! I'm interested to see how he does!"

Scratch blinked and looked at them. "Wait... really?"

They nod at him, and Ton-Ton drove next to him. "Sounds good! You lead I'll follow, dude!"

"As long as you DO own up to your actions, then sure, why not." Dozer agreed.

The reptools agreed as well, and Scratch smiled bright, then thought to himself. "Hmm... well, I guess first, we better see how bad the fall from one of these holes would be." He looked over to the craneasaur. "Skya? You think you could lower me down?"

Skya looked confused. "Uhh, why don't you just use THOSE?" She gestured to Scratch's new wings.

He glanced at them and remembered THAT part from yesterday, before looking a little worried and turning back to her. "I... haven't had any practice with them yet. I'll use them if I NEED to, but right now, I can't say I feel safe trying to fly yet."

Skya sighed. "Alright, fair enough." She extended her hook down to Scratch, who grabbed it and some wire with his clamp like claws. She then extended her neck until her head was over the hole, and Scratch looked down into a dark abyss, making him gulp... again, somehow.

He looked over to the reptools. "Uh, does one of you want to join me?"

Three of the reptools were hesitant, especially Click-Click, but Ace quickly clambered up onto Skya and worked her way up her neck. "I will! This is WAY better then organising the garage!"

She soon grabbed the line and slid down to meet Scratch, getting off at the hook and hanging onto Scratch's shoulder. With the new companion next to him, Scratch nodded to Skya, and she started to lower him in with her line, the Alpha Scrapter holding on nervously as Ace hopped a bit in place with excitement.

As Scratch got deeper, the hole got darker, the light above having a harder time getting into it. His and Ace's own lights from their eyes went on and allowed them to scan around as they were lowered even deeper. Eventually, the line stopped moving with a jolt. "Woah! What happened?" Scratch asked.

"Skya's line must have run out. Jeez, this hole MUST be deep for HER to not reach the bottom!" Ace replied.

The two felt themselves getting hoisted back up, but Scratch noticed the ground was only a few feet away, and there seemed to be a tunnel on two of the walls. He thought a moment then jumped off, landing on the ground. Ace went with him and looked shocked when they landed. "Scratch, what are you doing?"

"Exploring the depths before we head back up." Scratch explained, looking one of the tunnels nearby.

The line above was suddenly stopped, and a call from Revvit could be heard from above. "Scratch! Ace! Are you two alright?"

Scratch called back up. "We're fine! Just gonna take a quick look down somewhere! Just sit tight!" He shot one of his hands at the hook and clamped on, before starting to head down the chosen tunnel, his chain arm now being his lead to get back. The hook moved down a bit to help give more line, before sitting there, Skya above no doubt a little annoyed at the awkward position she was in.

The exploring through the tunnel lead the two underground wanderers to end up in a bigger room, where more natural light came from above. Looking up, multiple holes that had been seen from the garage could be seen down here too, going up into the sky. Scratch looked them over worriedly as Ace continued to look around the room on his shoulder. "Hmm... you think they'll be any deceased dinotrux around here to take apart?"

Scratch looked at her oddly then looked back up, humming to himself. "Hmm, doubt it. This place doesn't seem like somewhere you'd find old dinotrux... the cave thing is a bit weird though."

"Yeah... it IS, actually!" Ace exclaimed, noticing more tunnels around the room as well. "It's like something's living down here! Or somebody."

"Either way, we've seen what we needed to, so let's head back to the others a-"

Scratch was suddenly interrupted by a familiar roar that rumbled everything around them. He only knew one dinotrux who it could possibly be... and the noise seemed to be coming from where they came down.

"D-Structs! CRAP!" Scratch turned and bolted back, retracting his arm as he did so. He also felt a pull as Skya retracted her line, trying to get them back as quickly as possible as well.

Back in the room where Scratch and Ace went down, D-Structs appeared moments before them, and grabbed a part of Scratches chain with his chomper. The retraction from above was suddenly halted, and Scratch found himself about to retract right into D-Structs, who glared and growled at him. With no other immediate option, Scratch grabbed Ace with his clamp mouth and tossed her up to the hook, before letting go of it.

Ace grabbed on and looked down in horror as she was suddenly being hoisted up. "SCRAAAAATCH!"

Scratch made the retraction down his chain quickly and punched D-Structs in the face, making him grunt in pain and let go of the chain, allowing him to retract it and his hand back into the box on his arm, before turning and trying to take flight back up. He gave a hard flap, getting him up a ways, but he couldn't figure out how to keep the momentum going and simply fell back down to the ground.

D-Struct laughed. "Looks like THIS Alpha Scraptor can't fly." He then bit into one of Scratch's wings. "And now, he's going to DIE." With that, he ripped the wing out of the socket.

Scratch screamed in agony and drove off, his one wing causing him a weight problem that made him slam into the wall. D-Structs managed to use this to grab the other wing and rip THAT out. Scratch gave another scream and bolted down the tunnel, his sides in agony.

He didn't know where he was going, all he knew was he was running, and FAST. He ended up back at the room with the holes in the ceiling, still letting light in, and drove down the first tunnel he could, trying to use his speed to stay ahead of D-Structs. He then found himself in another hole ceiling room, though with less light coming from above, and so after looking up at it, went down another tunnel... which made him end up in another hole ceiling room with less light. He blinked and looked up, then went down another tunnel... where he ended up in another hole ceiling room with less light...

Despite the danger that could still be trailing behind him, Scratch stopped in his tracks, looking up to the ceiling in bewilderment. He could swear things were getting darker the further he went, and the holes above were getting smaller. Thinking, he went back the exact way he came, confident he had at least outrun D-Structs since he couldn't hear him anymore... only to end up in hole ceiling room with less light... and sure enough, when he looked up, the holes had gotten smaller again.

Scratch was freaking out now, and was becoming afraid to even leave this room. He almost wondered if he had taken a wrong turn, though he SWORE he didn't. A light then seemed to shine a little brighter from one of the tunnels, and the voice of Ty could be heard calling to him. Eagerly, he went down the tunnel to meet him and called back... only to be met with another hole ceiling room. The light was so dim from the holes being so small now, he was essentially relying on the light in his eyes to help him even see around him.

For a moment, Scratch was dumbfounded and terrified. Then, to add to his horror, the light in his eyes started to flicker out. He desperately shook his head to keep them going, screaming at them to keep going a little longer, and looked back up to see chains with wrist restrains suddenly hanging from the ceiling and dangling around him. In a panic, he yelled and tried to go back the way he came, but the tunnel had disappeared, like it had never been there. The light in his eyes kept flickering as he desperately searched for an exit, and only one could be found. Wanting this to end, he barrelled through the chains as they smacked into him and zoomed into the tunnel.

With the fading light in his eyes, Scratch could see he was in another hole ceiling room. Only this time, the holes were gone. The tunnels, including the one he came in, where gone, and he was now trapped in the airless pitch black darkness. Around him, the murmur and growling of indistinguishable voices could be heard. His yelling and screaming was, by now, reduced to sobbing, as he lay down on his side and desperately clung to himself, waiting for what he could only assume was this nightmare to end. It was his only explanation and he hated it. He didn't want to be here anymore. He didn't want to think about any of this anymore. He didn't even want to feel any of these emotions anymore. He just... wanted it all to stop...

He then felt a part of his back fall off, before multiple things started crawling inside him. He wanted to believe it was who he thought it was, but he didn't want to look anymore. He simply sniffled and shook in discomfort as the multiple crawling went around him, the murmuring and growling getting louder. The crawling soon seemed to die down, then suddenly, he felt a shock go down his body and he yelped, snapping his eyes shut as his senses suddenly numbed for a few seconds. The noises suddenly stopped, then after a few moments, he heard the nervous voice of Click-Clack, and a small metal hand gentle rubbing his face.

"S-Scratch?"

So despite emotional stuff, this chapter's been finished up! I was going to add more, but after a thought, I decided to leave it sooner. This means it was almost done anyway, so there you go. As I'm sure you've guessed, there's gonna be one more original chapter before we continue on the series, so... before we finish up, there's a bunch of stuff to talk about in terms of all your wonderful reviews from the last three chapters, so here's a new segment for the end of the chapter!

Review Replies

wolkaiserdrake: Oh don't worry, they'll be plenty of talk about the human world between the group in this story. I DO like the idea you had with George, so I'll keep it in mind for the next time we meet him! Maybe we'll even have a chapter dedicated to him...

I however don't know who Blouse is, and I couldn't find anything when looking them up, so... possible typo?

Winged Wolf Malaika: Glad to make your being born day just a little bit better! Happy Birthday from me to you!

JJP007: Someday, my friend. Someday...

Oh, and I think that's doing fine! My weight's been continuing to drop, and I haven't been feeling any pains in my side, so that's a good sign!

Cyberbee15: Thanks for the support and kind words over the last three chapters, my dude! Glad you're enjoying things. And hey, interesting quote that perfectly sums up the episode "Pit". Too perfect.

Boogie445: While I like the idea you had for Scratch's flying design, I already planned for him to fly more like the Scrapadactyls. The concept for the Supercharged form is interesting though, and I'll definitely be using something like it when the time comes! Speaking of ideas...

CalvinFujii: I've never read the dinotrux books, but I plan to someday to satisfy my curiosity! For your first idea, I DO already have plans to explore Scratch's attempts at using his wings. I WILL check out
"Goofy's Glider" for some inspiration though! Sounds likes it could be entertaining.

As for your second idea... PFFFFT!

No seriously, I had a good laugh the first time I read that. That will SO be considered for a future chapter, even if it has to be in an AU (possibly NSFW) dinotrux fanfic. It's too ridiculous and funny to pass up XD

Hope you guys enjoyed the new segment, and until the next chapter, thanks for reading, and have a great rest of your day.

P.S. According to MarauderPrime12 and Boogie445, I should totally get a beta for my stuff. So, come the release of the next chapter, I'll start looking around and asking some peeps. If you guys have any beta suggestions, let me know!

P.S.S. I'll do my best to get the next chapter out my next week, but if you don't hear anything, don't worry. I'm probably just working though my current emotions.