Turning to Stone 3: Acceptance (Rewritten)

Chapter 1: A Year or So Later

"Basilio! Basilio!"

The T-rox tried his best to stay asleep, but his pesky little brother would not relent. "C'mon! It's morning already! No time to sleep in!" Chomp, a much younger T-rox, nudged his older brother awake with his snout.

Basilio yawned, stretching a bit as he got up. Having no arms made getting out of bed a bit of a struggle, but he'd managed his whole life without arms so it didn't matter. His legs were strong enough to compensate. Who needs arms with legs like these?

"Tell me a story!" Chomp demanded. "Fine, fine. Give me a minute or two to wake up first." Basilio groaned. "You are awake though! If you were asleep, you wouldn't be talking, hehe." Being a T-rox, Chomp's mouth made more noise than usual every time he talked. It was a trait of their species. Basilio had learned to control it slightly, so he only made certain sounds when he was playing (or when he was angry and forgot to watch himself), but Chomp was young and had yet to learn.

Unfortunately, this just made the young triple elemental louder, which is not good for a sleepy Basilio.

He led his brother out of the castle and towards their favorite bakery, grabbing a quick breakfast of fresh baked bread for the two of them. Chomp was distracted by his demands of tales he hadn't been there to experience by the warm loaf, digging in and making quite a mess as they kept walking to their favorite spot behind the castle.

They ate together and watched the rising sun, squinting at the bright light. "Story time! Story time!" Chomp shouted once they were done, crumbs scattering the ground around them. Maybe arms are useful at times. Oh well.

"Alright, alright. What story would you like to hear?" Basilio was much older than Chomp, already an adult while Chomp was only a young hatchling. He had barely managed to rescue his brother's egg during the meteor shower, meaning Chomp had never experienced life on the continent like Basilio had.

If only Mom and Dad were around to see him grow up...

He never liked thinking about the event that killed their parents, but unfortunately for him, that was the story Chomp wanted today. "I wanna hear about the 'meedeeyors'." He wiggled around, getting comfortable. Basilio took a deep breath, his gigantic rocky chest rising and falling. "Fine. Once upon a time, there was a grand continent." He began.

Chomp had the same wide-eyed look that he always had the million other times Basilio had told him the story. "There were six elements, unlike our island's current four. There was Earth, Cold, Water-" He always started the list with his own three, they were the best, after all. "-Plant, Air, and Fire."

Air and Fire element monsters were almost inconceivable ideas to Chomp. Plant Island didn't have any, as the Wubbox Council ruled only four elements per island. Something about not making it too crowded, they said. Of course, the islands were already fairly organized by the time they made this rule, but a few monsters still had to be moved.

It was rumored that those who refused to comply were thrown off the edge, but Basilio tried to not pay attention to gossip.

"All the monsters lived in harmony, both musically and not. They sang together, played together, and lived together under the protection of the Celestials. The Celestials are beings far more powerful than mortal monsters, and they were the ones who created us."

He smiled at Chomp, looking up at the sky. "But one day, the very skies that kept us safe and warm turned on us. We still have no idea if the Celestials were just angry, or if it was something else. Meteors rained down, bits of falling rock that caught fire. They pummeled the continent, breaking it into pieces. Many monsters didn't make it, like our parents."