Chapter 10
I'll Take You In

There was the sound of laughter in the mostly empty Great Valley. Littlefoot and his friends have made it to the paradise of the land along with their human companion. All they've given so far was worth it. Fresh flowing water supplied by a giant waterfall known as the Thundering Falls, and a never ending supply of greenery was the reward they've earned.

Countless days of travel and near fatal encounters have led them to paradise. They say if life throws a lot of shit your way, it means something great would come. If darkness is all you see, keep walking. There is always light at the end of a long dark tunnel. Though their parents have yet to arrive, the young dinosaurs were more than ready to care for themselves for the time being.

They had no need to search for a good, fertile patch of land. Here in the great valley, it was like a giant natural supermarket for the herbivores. What they ate came down to their own choices. Bryan on the other hand, found himself some respectable real estate and began building a small shack with the aid of his Illuminati powers. A hologram projected from his Illuminati ring allowed him to design his shack's size and interior layout as well as its construction material.

His design incorporated building materials offered by mother nature; wood and logs. It was medium sized and the amenities included a kitchen, living room, sleeping mat and pillows, an Illuminati Portal, as well as a small shed connected to the shack. This was where he kept most of his guns, ammunition, and maintenance accessories for his house and firearms. The entrance to his shed was a single door but his shack had a double door entrance.

The double doors were to accommodate larger visitors, like Littlefoot and his friends for example. As Bryan sits down in the living room of his shack, reading a book, Littlefoot suddenly barges in. It was clear he had something to say to his adoptive father.

"Yes, Littlefoot?" the human said.

"Dad, do you you think my biological parents are still alive?" he asked.

"Oh, I can't be sure. I'm not a god."

"But you're a human."

"And?"

"You humans have all these things you can use to do stuff like defend yourself and build places to live."

"Littlefoot…" Bryan chuckles as he places his book on the coffee table of his living room. "We humans certainly do invent things to ease our lives but that doesn't mean we know where everyone is."

"Let's say IF someone does find my mom and dad alive. Would you help me find them?"

"Of course."

"Oh I can't wait!" Littlefoot jumps for joy. "The day when I finally can talk to my mom and dad would be the best day of my life!"

Bryan smiled as he watched the young Apatosaurus rejoining his friends outside the shack. Though he did feel a bit reluctant to leave Littlefoot, the human knew his adoptive son would be better off with his biological parents than him, especially since he was a human and not a dinosaur.

Littlefoot slowly approaches his mother, who was lying on her side and gasping for air. There wasn't much time left for her and there was nothing Bryan or the herd members could do to help. The young Apatosaurus however, could not come to terms with the fact that his mother was mortally wounded and dying. Even when he reached her side, Littlefoot still thought there was hope for his mother.

The female Apatosaurus gives a faint smile as her son nuzzled her in the muzzle. Silence filled the air as mother and son eyed each other for a few moments. Nothing could be heard apart from the sound of wheezing. Slowly, the female opens her mouth to speak.

"Littlefoot…" she said. "You've found the Great Valley haven't you?"

"Yes, mother." The youngling replied. "I have."

"Tell me, my little one. How does it look like?"

"There's fresh flowing water and lots of green food. More than enough for all of us. I don't think we can finish it either." Littlefoot raises his eyebrows in confusion. "But you are going to see the valley yourself, why are you asking me to describe the valley for you?"

"Because I'm dying, Littlefoot."

"No mother, you're not."

"I am, Littlefoot. Talia's bite was…"

The mother paused as she struggled for breath. Blood was pouring down her windpipe from the wounds, courtesy of Talia's teeth. She knew she had little time left and decides to go straight to the point.

"Promise me you'll carry on living." She weakly muttered to her son.

"Mother no, you can't go." Littlefoot pleaded. "I've already lost my dad and grandparents today. I can't lose you too."

"Promise me, Littlefoot."

"Mother…"

"Promise… Me."

"I promise…"

A faint smile could be seen on the female Apatosaurus' face as she let out her final breath of air. It was her final breath of life. She was gone, and now Littlefoot was alone once again. His reunion with his family had been brutally cut short by Talia's thirst for revenge. Tears began streaming down Littlefoot's face as he walked back towards the rest of the herd. He still couldn't believe today's events were true and neither could he control his emotions.

Despite this, he somehow managed to keep himself moving with the rest of the herd as they made their way back to the Great Valley. Upon arrival, the adult dinosaurs gasped in amazement as they saw the view of the valley for the first time. It was just like what the riddle said. There was fresh flowing water and an endless supply of vegetation for the herbivores to feed on.

As they entered the valley, Cera nuzzles her father while Ducky and her parents rejoice. Spike was now their older sibling, having been adopted by the adults of the Saurolophus family. Within the treeline, Petrie reunites with his family. They did not follow him out on the rescue mission but had heard of the dangers he faced. All of them were glad that he returned without a scratch.

Cradled in Bryan's hand, Lima nuzzles her adoptive father. Before, she was a loner wandering through the treacherous depths of the mysterious beyond but now she had a father looking after her. The male human might not have been her biological father nor a dinosaur but at least she had someone to turn to in the time of need. But for Littlefoot, things were just not the same without his parents and grandparents.

Unlike his human companion, who returned home to find a bloodied crime scene and his dead mother and brother, Littlefoot saw his grandparents and father burn up in the ocean of lava and he was with his mother during her final moments. The young Apatosaurus didn't have the mood to play nor chat with his friends. He merely entered Bryan's shack and sat down at the sleeping area usually occupied by the human.

Meanwhile in the shed, Bryan was offloading the M60 tripod he mounted on Cera during the rescue mission along with the heavy gear she was lugging around. Finally she could ditch the heavy gear and rejoin her family. Just then, Topsy approaches the two of them. Unlike last time, he did not present himself as a hostile and bigoted individual but a friendly and caring one.

"Sorry about what happened during our first encounter, human." He said. "And thank you for taking care of Cera."

"Just doing my job." Bryan smiled as he removed his gear. "But I suppose you came here more than just to talk to me."

"Yeah."

The Triceratops motions towards Bryan's shack. No he wasn't bothered by the human structure; he was concerned for Littlefoot.

"My shack?"

"No, Littlefoot."

"Yeah…" he sighed. "Littlefoot's story is a sad one I must admit."

"Indeed. He lost his entire family in one single day, and he saw all of them die in front of him."

"I can't imagine how that must feel. Yeah, my family got slaughtered by a crazed jackass but I didn't see them die."

"Question now is who will adopt him."

"I was his adoptive father before."

"You were?"

"Before we found out you guys were alive and well."

"Then I guess we won't need to move him around."

"No sir, we don't."

"Well then, I shall not interrupt you any further." The Triceratops turns towards his daughter. "Come on Cera, let's go home."

"Okay daddy." She replied.

Without further words spoke between either of the three, they parted ways. Topsy and his daughter returned to the area where they stayed while Bryan entered his shack. Upon reentry, he noticed his adoptive daughter Lima trying to comfort Littlefoot, though she was having little to no effect on the youngling's spirit.

"Daddy, Littlefoot won't…" Lima stated.

"I know." He nodded before turning his attention towards Littlefoot. "Littlefoot."

Silence was the response given by the young Apatosaurus.

"Littlefoot!" he raised his voice.

"My family…" Littlefoot sobbed. "They're gone! GONE!"

Bryan wraps his hand around Littlefoot's neck and hugs him, trying his best to comfort the young Apatosaurus. He takes a piece of cloth and wipes the tears off Littlefoot's eyes as he continued to cry.

"Now no one would care for me anymore." Littlefoot gloomily stated.

"Of course not, silly." Bryan smiles as he stroked the youngling on the forehead. "I'll take you in."

"B-But I recognized my biological parents as my parents."

"You may have been my adoptive son and you may have ditched me in favor of your biological parents but I never did ditch you. I've made a vow to help you in any way I can and adopting you is the best thing I can do right now. You're too young to live on your own and I'd be more than happy to offer some parental love."

"Thanks…" the young Apatosaurus nuzzles his adoptive father in the chest. "Dad."

A few moments later, the whole family was embracing each other. Littlefoot, Lima, and Bryan huddled together and hugged, giving each other comfort. The events that have happened taught them one very important lesson; always cherish the moments you spend with your loved ones, especially your parents and family members. That night, the three spent some family time together in the living room, chatting with each other and watching Magnum PI on the television set, which was connected to a DVD player.

But while the movie night helped the three ease their thoughts about the past and look ahead, something still bothered Bryan. Before Talia died, he had approached her to remind her that her husband's reign of terror was over but she had another surprise for him. Before Sharptooth died, he and Talia managed to conceive a child. Since taking a young hatchling around with her as she killed for sport was not a terribly good idea, she gave her son away to another family who was willing to adopt him. And now a gut feeling told Bryan the youngling was still well and alive.

"Guys…" he suddenly spoke. "Ours or rather, my business is still not done yet."

"Huh?" his adoptive children said at once.

"Before Talia died she told me she and Sharptooth had a baby. And that baby was adopted by another family. The herbivores call him Chomper because, well he chomps things up yet speaks in their language."

"Great." Littlefoot gimmicked. "What now?"

"We might have to track him down soon. Not now, but soon."

Littlefoot and Lima glared at each other. If Sharptooth's son was out there, would he try to exact revenge as well? If so, then who would he bring? No, if he did want to exact revenge would he decide to assault and destroy the Great Valley to achieve his goal? Neither of them had an answer but they did not want to know. They dread to see the day when the paradise of the land they live in becomes a hell hole.

They hoped Chomper wasn't the kind to take revenge but who knows? Only time would tell. For the time being at least, they had a beautiful valley to enjoy and relax in.