still breathing, aren't I? I'm still standing. I still have my antlers. This fight is far from over. Now it's time for round 2."


Rearing up on his hind legs, Geno attacked. Rambo lowered his head and caught Geno by the antlers. He picked up his mighty head, lifting Geno off the ground, and whirring around, tossed Geno into the river. Geno landed in the frigid water, splashing some bystanding does. They squealed like eager cheerleaders and bounced excitedly.

Geno hardly had time to stand as Rambo was upon him again, this time trying to crush Geno with his hooves. Gurri, who watched nearby, winced at the sight of the vicious fight. Geno was quick and managed to slide between his opponents hind legs and scramble to his feet. With Rambo's back to him, Geno took advantage and offered Rambo a harsh blow to the flank. With a snap, one of Geno's points broke off into Rambo's flesh. Rambo howled in pain before turning and clashing antlers with Geno once again. Another of Geno's points snapped off and became lost in the dark water. Holding each other in the clutches of their antlers, Geno planted his front feet deep into the slippery rocks.


"My turn..." He growled as he flexed every muscle in his body and put all of his weight into his back end.

And he pushed. At first, Rambo held his own. But as Geno continued to exert his strength, Rambo's weight became his own downfall, and he began to move back. Geno pushed even harder, and Rambo's footing became lost along the slimy algae coating of the slick river rocks. Geno pushed harder still. Within moments, Geno was pushing Rambo at an accelerated pace down the river, water splashing on either side of them.





Finally feeling as though he might be winning, Geno put everything he had into his rippling flanks and pushed Rambo with all of his might. The cheers of the spectators began to fade. Thrilled, Geno continued to push. His head was ringing from the heat of the battle, and he couldn't hear the roar of the water, or the warning shout from Bumper, who was following with Stinkweed along the river bank.


"Geno, look out!!" Bumper cried.


But her warning went unnoticed. The waterfall went unnoticed, too, until it was too late. Rambo was shoved over the edge, and Geno went with him. The two fell a good 50 feet down to the secondary ledge of the waterfall. They uncoupled as they fell, and Rambo landed in the water on his side. Geno landed head-first in the shallows, cracking his antlers and losing another point. He attempted to stand, but his legs failed him. Geno lay there, injured. He looked over worriedly at Rambo, who got to his feet quickly and backed away from the ledge. He turned to see Geno, laying helpless and bleeding in the shallow water. With narrowed eyes, Rambo approached him.


"You should have walked away when I gave you the chance." He warned. "Now, you're mine."
---------------------------------------------------

Bumper looked over the ledge from above, and gasped at the sight. She turned to Stinkweed.

"Geno's in trouble! That stag means to kill him! What do we do?!?!"

Stinkweed looked around and spotted a log at the edge of the waterfall.

"Quick!" He pointed to the log. "We gotta dig!"

The rabbit and the skunk rushed to the log and, just as when they helped Geno train, began digging a trench under the log. The soil near the ledge gave way, and down went the log, the rabbit and the skunk.
--------------------------------------------------------------------


Rambo stood over Geno and lifted his hoof high in the air. Geno closed his eyes, knowing this had to be the end. But just before Rambo's mighty hoof came down, the log dropped between them, the heavy end hitting Rambo in the shoulder and the splash pushing him to the secondary ledge. He tried to gain his balance, but to no avail; his back hooves slipped over the edge, and the rest of him followed. The secondary fall was much further down than the first, and the water and the bottom much deeper. Down he went, and disappeared into the black pool below.


Geno sighed in relief and shakily got to his feet, only to collapse again when Bumper and Stinkweed landed on his back with a thud. Shaking the water from what was left of his antlers, Geno looked down at his wet little friends and smiled.

"Thanks, guys."


Stinkweed coughed up some water while Bumper simply shrugged. "Well, you won your sister."

"And my dad won a bet." Stinkweed grunted. "We're all winners here."


"Geno!" Geno looked up to see his sister sliding down some shale along the side of the mountain. "Geno! Are you alright?" She asked as she carefully approached him.


Geno smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."


"Good. Because now I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" And with that, she pushed Geno to the edge and the two of them toppled down to the deep water below.


Geno exploded out of the deep water, gasping and choking. Gurri had swam to the shallower parts, and Geno followed weakly.





"What...the hell...was that for???" He yelled breathlessly, dripping with both water and blood.


"That was for YOU. For RUINING EVERYTHING!" She screamed, turning sharply and marching out of the water. Before leaving the area completely, she looked over her shoulder at Geno's bloodied face. "And just so you know, I was rooting for Rambo the whole time!" With that, she bounded away into the forest.


Geno sighed and slowly limped out of the water. The comment hurt him more than his wounds. Just as he finally pulled himself onto the river bank, he was met with Syndica. And she did not look pleased. Knowing why, Geno lowered his head in shame.


"Syndi...I'm so sorry."


He expected Syndica to offer one of her usual sarcastic replies, but none came. Instead, her eyes filled with tears that streamed down her face.


"You lied to me." She hissed.


"Syndi...look, I..." He was cut short when Syndica whipped around and kicked him hard in the throat, sending him flying back into the water.


When he re-emerged, gasping and choking once again, Syndica was gone, and Geno was alone. He crawled out of the water again and onto the bank. There, he rested with his eyes closed. He considered never getting up again.


"Geno! Geno, where are you?" A doe's voice drifted over the silence.


Fearing it was Gurri or Syndica again, he quickly got up, prepared for another painful blow. But it was neither Gurri nor Syndica who sought him out. It was Faline. Geno relaxed at the sight of his mother as she ran towards him.



"Oh, Geno! There you are! I was so worried!" She cried.


Geno smiled. "Geez, ma, it was just a little rut fight, no big deal. I'm fine."



Faline frowned. "I don't care what you do, you hard-headed dullard!" She snapped. "It's your brother, Raven! Please tell me you know where he is!!"


Geno shook his head, ignoring his mother's insult. "No, I haven't seen him today."


Faline cried out again in distress. "No one knows where he is! No one has seen him all day! We have to find him!"


Geno tilted his head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"


"Must I spell it out for you?!" Faline shouted. "He's missing! Raven is missing!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------