"Where's Steven?" Tom Hamilton wondered aloud after getting to his feet. He felt like he had a minor hangover, or like he got punched in the gut. He had. After the crash of the private plane the band Aerosmith, and a teen pop star, was traveling in, they had been saved from the wreckage by dolphins. Dolphins are a great judge of character and one's past, so they punished Aerosmith for their past by lifting them with their noses in the stomach.
     He wandered to a small stream, splashed his face with cold water, and went to wake the rest of the band. Joey Kramer, and Brad Whitford were easy to wake up, Tom just had to nudge them in the side with a stick a few times. Joe Perry, on the other hand, was harder to wake. After pushing, shoving, nudging, and slapping, Tom got water in his hands and poured it on to Joe's face. The shock of the cold water made his eyes snap open. Eveyone's hair, or what was left of it after a hair cut before the Billboard Music Awards, was salty and plastered to their heads.
     Everyone in the band was there, except the lead singer, the infamous Steven Tyler. A staggering trail, hidden by dune grasses, lead into the grassy plain beyond. Once it entered the plain, which was the Northern Plain of Dinotopia, the thick grass hid it even more. A separate, smaller trail led into a small stand of trees. The second trail couldn't have been Steven's, the shoe size was smaller, and it even more staggery.
     "Where's Steven?" Joe asked, when he was fully awake. He looked around and added. "Where are we?"
     "I don't know. It's some island, and Steven's probably wandering somewhere." Tom shrugged.
     "Who's that, over in the dune grass?" Joe asked, pointing to a small dune about
     "Why don't you go check?" Tom said.
     Brad jogged over to the trees, followed by the rest of the band. Joey stopped to pick up a pair of his drum sticks, but he caught up. Tom was kneeling next to the singer Christina Aguilera, checking the pulse in her neck. The pulse was very weak.
     "Is she alive?" Joey asked.
     "Barely. Joe, help me get her to the shade. We don't want what happened to Steven to happen to her." Brad looped his arms around Chrisitna's, Joe pitched in and helped drag her to the shade.
     "We should look for Steven." Joe said.
     "Someone should stay with Christina, you know, in case she wakes up." Brad suggested, the others agreed.
     "Brad, why don't you stay with her, Joey look in those trees, Joe, look for him on the beach, and I'll check the grass." Tom said.
     They split off, and soon the air was filled with voices calling for Steven.

     "Steven, where are you?" Joey mumbled, wading through a sea of blowing grass.
     Something moved in the grass next to him. He froze, thinking it would go away. A green thing zipped through the grass, leaving a trail of parted grasses. Looking down at where the animal had been, Joey noticed a patch that he reconized as from the pants Steven had been wearing. He ran to follow the little green creature.
     After chasing the lizard, which was actually a dinosaur, for about half and hour Jouy came upon a horrible sight.
     I was Steven, passed out, and bitten by something. All around his body sat more of the small, green dinosaurs. They chittered and hissed angrily when Joey came upon the site, but he didn't care. All he cared about was protecting Steven, who was still alive, and telling the others.
     Steven abruptly woke up, and whispered a barely audible statement to Joey.
     "Joey, help me." He muttered. A bad attempt to swat one of the things ended in Steven's hand getting torn up on the little animal's sharp teeth.
     Joey kneeled by the fallen member, and helped him stand.
     "Lean against this tree, I'll be back with the others." Joey helped him to a tree, then ran back to the beach.

     Joe and Tom had come back, frustrated by not being able to find their friend. Joe did, however, find their gear boxes.
     "How's Christina?" Tom asked Brad, who checked her pulse again.
     "Same as she was before we split. While you were gone, I cooled her down with the water in that coconut half.
     "Where ever Steven is, he's probably okay, he's been worse off." Joe said, shrugging slightly. "It's really hot."
     Joe took off the black shirt he was wearing, and as soon as it touched the sand, a cool breeze kicked up. Tom took off a brown leather vest he was wearing, then took off the cream-colored shirt. The cool sea breeze felt good on the guy's chests.
     Brad looked up.
     "Oh come on guys, it's not that hot." Brad said. Brad, at that point, was trying to get some coconut out of the half utilizing the sharpest thing, a rock. He was not succeeding. He, as well as the other guys, hadn't had breakfast yet, and so were very hungry. He dropped the half on the sand, sighing in frustration. "I give up with that thing."
     "Don't get frustrated. Do you have a pocket knife?" Tom asked, putting his shirt back on. Joe already had his shirt on.
     "No. Where's Steven's switch blade when you need it?" Brad asked to no one in particular.
     "Where's Joey, he should be back by now." Joe said, he was obviously trying to decide wether to button his shirt back up or not. He was looking at the buttons, would button on, then up button it.
     "Just leave it unbuttoned. You'll stay cooler."

     Half an hour later Joey came trudging out of the grass. He was covered in sweat.
     "I found him, but let's rest before going. It's a long walk." He said, wiping sweat for the-what seemed like-millionth time. Brad offered the coconut half filled with water. Joey took it, and drank some and dumped the rest on his head.
     "Are you going to show us the way, or what?" Tom asked. Joey beckoned for them to follow. Brad got up to go too, but something told him to stay with Christina, so he stayed. Tom filled the coconut half, and followed. Joe caught up after getting a drink from the stream.

     Steven, the poor man, was left leaning against the tree in the sun. The little dinosaurs kept nipping at the exposed flesh on his feet. What was worse is that Joey had left him without shade. He passed out again.

     Brad had stayed behind just in case Christina woke up, and to keep her in the shade. While shifting her into a better shade spot he noticed blood was on her red shirt. Lifting her shirt very gingerly exposed a cut from her belly-button to her side. The flesh was jagged and not clean. There were puncture marks along the wound, and it looked like it had bled badly while her shirt was lifted. The shirt had been lowered after whatever it was that cut her saw the blood slowing down. Brad thought his mind was just messing with him, but he couldn't be farther from the truth.
     A velociraptor chick, no taller than one foot, had come and cut her then pecked the wound. The animal was smart, and knew not to eat cloth, it's mother had and she died, so it lifted the shirt. After it was done, it lowered the shirt again. If Brad had looked a little to his left he would have seen two claw marks{Raptors walk on two toes, holding the killer claw in the air}where the chick had stood on Christina.
     On Dinotopia, mammals and reptiles are suseptible to the disease Agony that was introduced while a land bridge existed between Australia and Dinotopia. Birds, like Raptors, carried the disease and spread it to those it bites. Agony is much like Rabies in the Outside World, except that the disease attacks the lungs, and causes internal bleeding. Native Dinotopians have a natural immunity to the disease, but dolphinbacks, like Aerosmith and Christina, have no immunity to Agony. It is spread in the blood that is eventually coughed up, and in siliva.
     Brad was washing the wound with water from the stream, when Christina abruptly woke up and coughed up blood. When that was over, Brad-feeling quite nauseated-got slapped by the pop star for having her shirt lifted up. Agony does affect the nural system, making the affected do spontaneous things like Christina slapping Brad, as well as the organ system.
     "Oh man, do I hurt." Christina muttered, them lost consciousness again from the loss of blood.
     Brad went to pull out a Raptor tooth that had gotten lodged in Chrisitna's side, and Chrisitna subliminally twitiched. She swatted something away that wasn't there. Brad washed off the tooth, and put it in his pocket. He covered up the blood carefully, something told him not to touch it. Of course, the reason she was coughing up blood was the pressure from the chick had caused mild internal bleeding. Somehow, it hadn't killed her already.
     "Chrisitna, hey, are you okay girl?" He asked softly. Chrisitna's eyes fluttered open. She was pale all of a sudden.
     "What happened, where are we? Who are you?" She became panicked.
     "The plane you and I were traveling on crashed, I don't know where we are. I am Brad Whitford, of Aerosmith." Brad answered all three questions.
     "Why do I taste blood?"
     "You coughed up blood, then passed out again."
     "Why are you being nice? I got the feeling that you guys were mean."
     "I'm just being nice 'cause, you know, yor sick with something. I hope the boys get back with Steven soon." Brad looked the way Joey had led Joe and Tom. Chrisitna looked to, and to amuse her, Brad made a stupid shadow. Chrisitna laughed, weakly, and seemed better aquainted with consciousness then she had before.
     "It looks so desolate. Australia was much better." She coughed again, and spit some more blood on to the sand. She then buried it, so she didn't have to see it. An odd-shaped shadow passed over head. The sun was at such a point in the sky that what ever passed over head bathed them in shadow for a brief moment.
     The shadow was caused by a flying Pterosaur, here it was called a Skybax, that was named Quetzocoatlus. The Skybax carried riders un it's back, and in order to ride one, one must bond with it's mount. Thus it's good to start early. The rider of that Skybax was fouty-three, and a Master, like her father, the Master Instructor, Ryan. Ryan was only one of the two to reach that status by that age, but that's beyond the point.
     The rider was sent to scout where a storm had brought in more dolphinbacks. She only found Brad and Christina, and those were the ones she reported. Of course, by the time she made it to Prosperine, Joe, Joey, and Tom had brought back a very dehydrated, very sleepy Steven Tyler. Steven had been brought back to consciousness, and carried back by the now shirtless Joe Perry. Joe's shirt was put to good use, a cloth used to wipe sweat of the four singers.

     "Hey, is Steven all right?" Brad got up, and stretched. Chrisitna smiled weakly at the men.
     "So Chrisitina, where's that genie in a bottle now?" Steven asked from over Joe's shoulders. Joe dropped him in the sand. He landed on his butt with a little sigh.
     "Steven, we're sorry, but no one can find your sashes." Tom said. He had been the one chosen to tell him.
     "WHAT!" Steven roared. "I had my vintage '77 sashes with me. They can't be gone. they can't. They must be on the beach somewhere."
     Joe put a hand on Steven's shoulder, and pushed him down onto the sand, which was easy because Steven was quite weak. Joe kneeled down in the sand next to him.
     "Now Steven, calm down, it isn't that bad. When we get off here, you'll be able to access more." Joe said in a calm tone, which calmed Steven down a little. Steven then just shot off into a rant about nothing, with Joe yelling back for him to calm down.
     Frightened by the screaming, Christina shrank back against the tree. Brad bent over, and whispered.
     "Don't be scared, they've been worse." He did a fatherly-type act. He reached his hand out, and fluffed her hair. She giggled, grabbed his hand, and hauled herself up. She stumbled, nearly fell, but caught Brad's hand again. Joey smiled at their antics, and poked Tom in the ribs.
     "You know Brad, you do have a family." Tom said.
     "I know, but I'm not flirting. This girl was sick with something, she needs to be humored." Brad said. Christina winced from the pain her cut caused her. Brad pulled the tooth out of his pocket. "This was what was causing her pain."
     "Brad, I thought you were clean, and here you are, feeding drugs to this girl and not sharing." Joey teased.
     Brad threw a punch at Joey, but he caught his wrist between his two drumsticks. Brad smiled and dropped his hand. Christina was just leaning against the tree, laughing painfully at the two men acting like teenagers.
     "Well, Christina and I seem to be better. Why don't we go get some food. I did see some sort of fruits growing." Steven had stopped arguing, and turned toward the others.
     "I'm with that." Joe said.
     The group started out. Steven was parading around in front, followed by Joe, Joey, and Tom. Brad helped Christina, and they brought up the rear. Christina started humming "Dream On" to herself. Steven picked up this sound, and started singing sarcastically.
     Chrisitina doubled over in sudden pain, then stood straight up. The neurological side affects of Agony began taking effect, causing Christina to act strangely.
     "What wrong with miss Genie In A Bottle over there?" Steven teased, but he was concerned.
     "I'm fine." Christina stood up, and continued walking. "Oh, and Steven, don't strut like that, there are no screaming fans for you to impress, just grass and bugs." The neurological side effects kicked in again, and she un-intentionally swung at Tom.
     "What do you mean 'don't strut'?" Steven asked.
     "She means, don't act like you're performing, because you're not." Joey whispered.
     "Oh, okay. It's really hot out here." Steven wiped sweat from his brow.

     A blairing honk ripped through the still, hot air. A giant figure, followed by three human figures, approached the five sane singers, and one paining singer. The gian figure showed to be a dinosaur called a Corithosaurs. The animal bellowed again. A human ran forward, hand out stretched in the traditional Dinotopia greeting. When he reached them, he bowed and spoke.
     "New comers, come with me." He noticed Christina's strange antics. "Girl, you come with me. Quickly now, the rest follow. We reach Prosperine, and then eat."
     He led them to the Corithosaurus, and handed Christina over to another person. He led Aerosmith into a cart that the dinosaur was hitched to. Moments later Chrisitna stumbled into the cart, looking like she was drunk, and passed out on the floor. The Corithosaurus took off at an alarming rate for an animal thirty-two feet long.
     "What did you do to her?" Brad asked another that was in the cart.
     "We gave her a shot, it prevents the further affects of Agony. She'll be fine by the time we get to Prosperine. Not long now." The girl said. Some blood dripped out off Christine's mouth. "Don't touch the blood, that is how it spread."
     Half an hour later, they reached a bustling fishing village, called Prosperine. The Corithosaurus skidded to a stop, and Christina was picked up, and carried to a doctor's office. The men in Aerosmith followed, but were directed to a circular hotel, except Steven, who was treated for the bite wounds.
     In the center of the hotel was an aviary filled with bright and exotic birds. It was about three stories high, and 70 feet long. The hotel was quite large, and roomy. Their room was twice the size of a normal hotel room, and wedge shaped. Rushes that had been hand woven together were laid down as mats. The walls were decorated with paintings of dolphins with men riding their backs. The bed was a queen size, and with a very comfy feather-filled matress. The dresser, chairs, and wash table were made of a rich mahogany. There was also an odd long couch that looked like a cot, which was actually a resting couch, for the dinosaurs to sit on.
     Steven swung into the door way, and just stood there, small white bandages over his bites. He just stood there.
     "Oh Steven, heads up." Brad grabbed a pillow, and threw it at him. It hit him in the face.
     "Brad, you're gonna die." Steven lept at Brad, and hit him over the head with it. The pillow burst in flurry of colorful feathers. What ensued was a half-an-hour pillow, blanket, what ever was soft fight. Needless to say, the room was a mess when a woman knocked on the door, and let herself in. She looked very surprised at the sight of the men acting like children.
     "Come along, your lunch is ready." The woman said, and bekoned for the boys to follow. The looked at each other, and followed obediently. She led them to a room within the hotel, but with tables with food on them.
     Obviously this room had been prepared not only for them, but the survivors of a separate crash. The 3 couples and one sole, teenaged girl clutching a small teddy bear, sat on one side of the room. The boys helped them selves to some fried fish and some exotic looking fruits, and sat down near the group. A young man's eyes widened, and he just stared at them in utter shock, particularly at Joe. He was Joe's ultimate fan, a fan page, and he knew all the signature licks, riffs, and what ever else made Joe, Joe. He had even grown his hair long, and dyed it black. Joe noticed the boy staring.
     "What does one of us have something on our faces or in our hair?" He asked, after swallowing a bite of a fish he really didn't recognize. Brad reached up, and pulled a green and blue feather out of his hair.
     "We regret to annouce that Christina Aguilera has died of complications just a few minutes ago." The hostess annouced. The teenager looked happy, but Steven looked shocked.
     "Well, she's a Britney fan no contest, but what happened to Christina, can we speak with the doctor?" Steven got up. The hostess seated him again.
     "In a little while. No one leaves until the meal hour is done."
     "Oh." Steven sat down again.
     "Steven, that kid must have been a fan, look at him." Joe leaned over, and whispered. "Oh well, I guess we can't blame him."
     "Remember that boy had called what Christina has as Agony? I wonder if it's spreadable. I did have to bury some, well alot, of blood Chrisitna had coughed up on the beach." Brad said.
     "Did you touch it?" Tom asked.
     "No."
     "Well then don't worry, it's spread by touching it, or so that boy said."
     "That is true, but it also depends on if anything bit you. Old man, did you get a shot when you were treated for those bites?" The hostess said, speaking to steven when she said "old man."
     "Yeah, and I am not old." Steven replied.
     "Then no need to worry. Here." She put five intracetly carved dolphin figurines on their table, and took away the plates they were done with. "With these you can either participate in the Dolphin Feastival today, or save them."
     The figurines were studded with small semi-precious stones, and had gold leaf on some small parts. The tail was cast in silver, specially made for the occupants of Prosperine. The pupils of the eyes were diamonds. All the intracteness set off the fact that it was made of clay baked in a kiln.
     "Do you want to see Christina now?" The hostess asked.
     "Okay." Tom spoke for them all. They got up, and walked out. The hostess led them to the small hospital.
     "Thank you."
     A saurian doctor rushed out, and led them into a small room. On a table lay a human with a sheet over their body. The doctor drew back the sheet to reveal Christina's pale face. Her skin was already cold, and her eyes seemed incredibly sunken in.
     "Ah, the effects of Agony. The muscles behind her eyes had been eaten away. The disease took an amazingly short time to effect her seriously." A human doctor came in.
     "It's amazing, I'll be saying a prayer for desperate hearts tonight." Steven sang softly. The saurian doctor turned abruptly to face Steven.
     "You had shots for those wounds, didn't you?" He asked, his tail twitched nervously.
     "Yes." Steven answered. He watched the saurian's tail relax.
     "And she was a performer, no?"
     "Yeah, she caused a riot in a store."
     The saurian turned to the human and spoke in a tounge no human could ever imitate. The human's words were simple, and a strange mix of languages.
     "Ah, well, we believe the stress of performing seriously weakened her immune system. Thanks to dolphinbacks like you, we have learned much, and been able to make some amazing technology. Come now, you should get back to your room." The human doctor said, leading them out.
     They managed to wind thier way to the hotel and into their room. A pair of Ornithomimid maids were finishing tiding the room, and setting new pillows in to replace the old ones.
     "This is way too crowded for me, I wonder if we can get separate rooms." Tom sighed.
     The maids chattered to each other, guesturing in their direction, and then ran out of the room. Steven sat in a little alcove by the large window. He turned the carving in the sun, and hung his head as a tear hit the ground for his wife, Theresa. He also bled inside for his lost art, one that he figured he would never show again. Everyone fell asleep shortly, and slept all afternoon, and evning. Steven was curled up in the alcove, back to the window. Joe and Tom were at either end of the bed. Brad curled up on the resting couch, and Joey was left with a mat and a pillow.

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Part Two

2/5/99