Within the Veil

by Omnitrix 12

In the final gang's final battle with Sharptooth, Littlefoot is faced with a mysterious stranger and presented an impossible choice: he can see his mother again, but to do so he must sacrifice everything she - and he and his friends - fought and suffered to gain. An alternate ending to that of the original movie, inspired in part by how the original script ended.

Once upon a time, something happened to someone, and he decided that he would pursue a goal.

So he devised a plan of action, and even though there were forces trying to stop him, he moved forward because there was a lot at stake.

And just as things seemed as bad as they could get, he learned an important lesson, and when offered the prize he had sought so strenuously, he had to decide whether or not to take it.

"The plot for 90 percent of the stories you have ever read," by Gary Provost and Peter Rubie

What you are about to read came to me as a result of several things at once. One was my own work researching The Land Before Time, and pondering the question of whether the movie would have been better or worse if the original ending – wherein the Great Valley was a literal Dinosaur Heaven – had been kept. Another was some discussions with a dear friend related to the question of pleasures offered both in this life and the life to come, and what value each holds in relation to the other. Last of all, there was the excerpt above and the question: what if the choice was placed before Littlefoot to go and claim the prize for which he toiled and fought – the prize of life itself – or to forsake it?

This story is the fruit of my musings.

Tension hung thick in the air as Littlefoot, Spike, and Petrie stared down the side of a massive, castle-like rock formation towards the mouth of a cave and the deep, dark pond below it. Somewhere inside the cave, they knew, was Ducky – and the predator she had been unhappily sent in to draw to his doom.

Suddenly, silence shattered into chaos as a roar echoed from inside the cave. Before the roar itself had died away, a massive reptilian nightmare came rushing out pursuit of a tiny figure smaller than his own eye. Even after past encounters, Littlefoot was stunned and terrified by the sheer size of Sharptooth – the monster that had killed his mother.

"Ducky!" Littlefoot shouted, echoed by Petrie. What had they been thinking, sending her in to act as bait for such a terror?

Sharptooth, in his mad pursuit, fell headlong and slid on his belly, still trying to kill the tiny swimmer as he slid headfirst into the shallows. Ducky must have gotten away, for a moment later Sharptooth was on his feet, tearing at the pond with his claws and roaring in frustration over his lost prey.

Petrie leaned so far out over his little perch that he nearly fell off. Scrabbling hastily back up, he whistled to signal that Sharptooth was right at the edge of the deep water. The whistle caught Sharptooth's attention as Littlefoot and Spike put their heads to the boulder in front of them.

"Push, Spike! Push with all your might!" shouted Littlefoot.

Petrie, emboldened by the plan's success so far, grabbed a pebble and flung it down, striking Sharptooth's head. Laughing in delight at his blow, he was unprepared when Sharptooth rammed his head against the cliff, sending cracks upward and crumbling Petrie's perch. The little flyer scrabbled desperately, but the rock broke away and sent him tumbling toward the tyrannosaur's snapping jaws.

"Petrie!" cried Littlefoot.

The sharptooth roared, sending a gust from his nostrils up at the tumbling pteranodon. Petrie flapped his wings, too desperate to even hope that they might for once lift him. Yet lift him they did.

"I flying!" he cried in excitement as he drew level with Littlefoot and Spike. He had never flown before; never even managed a decent glide. "I flying! I FLYING!"

The celebration was short-lived. Ducky, desperate to get to air and safety, had surfaced – and drawn Sharptooth's notice. "Help!" she screamed as the predator lunged through the water after her. Ramming against the cliff, Sharptooth rose with her limp figure laying on his snout. She recovered her senses just in time to see Petrie plunge down and attack Sharptooth's right eye. The beast sprang to his feet, shaking his head and clawing at Petrie. Ducky only escaped being thrown off by grabbing hold of Sharptooth's nostril. Then, deciding to make short work of all four diminutive foes, Sharptooth sprang up the cliff and landed on the very boulder they meant to kill him.

Littlefoot had taken a moment to watch the battle below. When he saw Sharptooth's jump, he quickly put his head down and tried to push the boulder back. So it was that when Sharptooth's landing jarred the rock, Littlefoot took a blow to the head and was sent tumbling backward. He landed against an outcropping and lay there, dead to the world.

"Littlefoot..."

Littlefoot stirred and rose. Strangely, he didn't feel hurt or even afraid, as one would expect. Rather, he only felt extraordinarily tired as if he had walked for a hundred hours.

"Littlefoot..."

He looked around, puzzled. He seemed to be in a place of clouds, but not white and gray like those he had seen. These clouds did not even look as though they were made of... well, of whatever clouds were normally made of. Instead they seemed to be made out of condensed light. The voice had a very kindly tone to it which reminded him of his mother, but it was definitely not the voice of a female. "Hello?" he called out. "Who's there?"

The voice almost seemed to whisper in reply. "I will show myself. Do not be frightened."

Littlefoot could never really understand what he saw next, but a figure appeared – either emerging out of the clouds of light or, it almost seemed, coalescing from the clouds themselves. He resembled a flyer, but something about him seemed different – though what it was, Littlefoot could never say any more than he could say how the stranger appeared.

"Hello Littlefoot."

The young longneck's eyes widened in surprise. "You know me?"

The stranger nodded. "Yes. You do not know me, but I have observed your journey. You have come a long way, little one."

"Who are you?"

"Well..." the stranger raised a claw to his chin as if thinking quite hard. "I don't know that you could pronounce my real name, but you may call me Hikari. It means light."

"Okay Hikari. So, um, where are we, and how did I get here? Last I remember, I was with my friends and-" he gasped. "My friends! Are they okay?"

Hikari's face took on a pained expression. "They are alive for the moment. Before I tell you of them, however, I must explain the answer to your first question. While you were fighting Sharptooth, you took a hard blow – hard enough, I am afraid, to kill you. That is why you are here."

Littlefoot looked around. He had heard stories of a place where dinosaurs went after they died, but no one had ever said for sure what it was like. "So am I in...?

Hikari raised a claw. "Not exactly. This is what we call the Bridgelands. It's like the veil – wait, you would not understand that word. It's like a barrier or gap between the world of the living, or what we call the Shadowlands, and the final stop for others like you."

"You keep saying 'we,'" Littlefoot noted. "Are there more like you?"

"Many more," Hikari assured him. "I and my brothers live – or rather exist – in the place which these Bridgelands lead to, tending to and comforting those who have passed on in a place so wonderful that compared to it, the Great Valley itself is as desolate as the Barren Valley." Then, looking quite directly at Littlefoot, he added, "Spike's parents are there and eager to thank you, as are Cera's mother, Petrie's father, and..."

"Mother?" Littlefoot instantly perked up. "Is she there too?"

Hikari's expression dropped. "Yes, she is, but-"

Littlefoot charged past him, "Which way?" he asked. Then, not waiting for an answer, he called out, "Mother!"

"Littlefoot, wait!" Faster than Littlefoot could have imagined, Hikari intercepted him and spread his wings out to bar the way. "Young one, you must listen to me. Yes, your Mother is there, but she cannot speak with you now. The dead cannot speak to the living; it isn't allowed."

Littlefoot was taken aback. "What about you?"

Hikari drew in his wings. "I have never lived as you understand life, so I cannot really die. I can go back and forth as I am needed, but once you cross the bridgelands you can never return. You will be lost to the Shadowlands, and to your friends."

"My friends?" asked Littlefoot. He remembered now – as if it had been ages ago – that Hikari had promised to tell him about them.

"Come." Hikari lead him to a place where it seemed as if there were a hole in the clouds. Though he could see that they were unthinkably high up, he found that he could spot exactly where Hikari was pointing him too.

"Wait... that's my friends fighting Sharptooth!" It took him a moment to realize that none of the dinosaurs he saw were moving. "Why are they all so still?"

"Because here in the Bridgelands, we exist outside of the time you know. I could show you things from the distant past or the possible future of your own life, but right now this is the important thing."

Sharptooth was up on the cliff, perched on the very boulder they intended to drop on him. Ducky was sprawled a short distance away, helpless except for Petrie, who was valiantly harassing Sharptooth around the face. Spike, who had been pushing the boulder before, was now staring in horror at a limp figure slumped against a nearby rock. Littlefoot realized who it was.

"That's me?" he asked.

"Yes. Without you, the plan to destroy Sharptooth has fallen into total disarray. If something is not changed, your friends will all be dead in a moment. Worse, Sharptooth has been seeking the Great Valley. If he is not stopped, he will encamp outside it to menace those trying to get in. You can be returned, and you may be able to save them, but you must act quickly – and there is more besides."

The scene shifted; now Littlefoot saw his grandparents. Though he could not see where they were, he could see that they were talking to many other dinosaurs with great worry.

"Your grandparents are safe right now, but if you do not find them, they will leave the protection of their present place to search for you. If they do, they will not last until the next full night circle."

Littlefoot swallowed hard. He couldn't abandon his friends, much less his grandmother and grandfather, but to have his mother so close...

"They'd come here, right?" he asked. "If they die, won't they end up here?"

Hikari nodded. "Most of them. Your other friend, Cera, remains in doubt. Besides this, Petrie's mother and siblings will never know what became of him; they will spend their lives hoping and dreading in vain. So will Ducky's parents and their other children, and Cera's father besides. As for you and Spike, your lines would both end here. He is the last of his family, and I do not foresee that your father, wandering the wastes of the Shadowlands,is ever likely to take another mate. His line would end with you."

Littlefoot's mother had once told him that his heart whispered, but now it was screaming as opposing longings tore it apart like so many fast-biters. She had told him to let his heart guide him, but how could it when it was urging him down two opposing paths?

Then a memory surfaced in the turmoil of Littlefoot's mind: the words and voice of one whom he had only met once before, but whom he would never forget. "But she'll always be with you, as long as you remember the things she taught you."

Who will I always be with? he thought through the tears and pain. If I don't go back, what will happen to everything Mother did? What will happen to everything I did?

"Will I matter?" he asked, blinking away tears which felt as hot as lava. "If I go back... will it matter that I'm there?"

Hikari smiled and draped a wing over him. "Littlefoot," he whispered, "you will matter more than you can possibly imagine. The wisdom and love your mother taught you live on in you, and there are other qualities all your own as well: courage and leadership. I promise you this: that as long as you live, you will find those who need those gifts. Yes, Littlefoot, you will matter."

The young longneck sniffed, trying to draw back his tears. "I'll go back," he said, "but can I ask something first?"

"Of course."

"You said Mother can't talk to me. Can I... can you tell her something for me?"

Hikari hummed thoughtfully. "I believe I can arrange it."

"Then tell her I love her, and... and I'm sorry I said it was her fault."

The wing that brushed over his back somehow felt lighter than before – more similar to air than to a solid appendage. "She knows," he whispered as if from a great distance. "She knows, and I can tell you this: she is very rightly proud of you."

As Littlefoot felt that world fade away, he heard the voice from his past again.

'In a way, you'll never be apart, for you are still a part of each other.'

The sound of shouts, roars, and screams snapped Littlefoot back to alertness. He was on the ground, scraped and battered all along his left side, and his head was throbbing. Through blurry eyes, he saw Spike now staring up at Sharptooth. Petrie was continuing his assault, but there was no way he could keep it up forever.

"Petrie! Draw him toward the edge! Come on, Spike!" Littlefoot yelled, charging at the boulder. His shoulder met it hard at the same moment that Spike continued pushing, and the rock wobbled and shifted.

Whether Petrie heard Littlefoot or not, he flew further back, out over the edge of the cliff. Sharptooth, fully enraged, leaned backward, and the rock began to tilt.

Littlefoot became aware of Ducky beside him, straining her tiny arms to help move the rock. It was all or nothing now; if any of them held back, they would all die.

"I'm comiiinnng!"

Littlefoot's eyes popped as a familiar voice rang out, and a sudden lurch shook the boulder.

"Cera! You're back!"

The rock tilted, leaned back... and fell. Everyone's heart gave a leap, but then dropped in horror.

Petrie, still harassing their nemesis, had not been quick enough to fly away. With one final lunge, the beast caught the flyer's tail in his jaws.

They both fell. They both hit the water.

Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, and Spike stared mutely as the waves of Sharptooth's landing spread and died away. They searched for some sign, any sign, that their eyes had deceived them; that Petrie was still alive.

There was nothing but water, and ripples which slowly faded to nothing – along with their hopes.

All of them mourned, but it was Ducky who spoke. "He was... my friend. Poor Petrie."

They all looked at one another. What more could they say than that? One by one, they all turned and walked away except for Ducky.

Wandering aimlessly, forgetting even to follow the Bright Circle, Littlefoot made his way out onto a rock outcropping. Staring out over the barren landscape of mountains and wastes, he wondered what the point of it all was. He knew his mother had said to keep searching for the Great Valley, and now that Sharptooth was dead the going would be safer, but with Petrie gone it didn't seem worth it. The little flyer had annoyed him to no end, and yet deep down, he loved him.

Littlefoot gazed up at the sky, wondering if Petrie was now where he had been a few minutes before. Was he flying across the Bridgelands towards the joys of which Hikari had spoken? Would he soon be with his father, waiting for the day when his mother, his brothers, and his sisters would join him?

Littlefoot hadn't realized how high up he was until one of the clouds came drifting toward him as though in greeting. It was with no small surprise that he saw it slowly but surely assume the shape of a longneck – one with features stunningly like his mother. A breeze floated by, and seemed to carry with it that nigh-forgotten voice.

"Littlefoot..."

Littlefoot stared. Could it truly be his mother? Hikari had told him that the dead could not speak to the living, but what if that had only been some sort of delusion caused by the blow to his head, like a sleep-story? Maybe this was really his mother, or maybe it was only his mind wishing her there. Which was false, and which was real?

All he knew was that he wanted it to be her. He could even swear he heard her voice still. While he was still wondering, an unbidden reply came to his mouth.

"Mother... I tried to do what you told me, but it's just too hard. I'll never find the Great Valley."

The wind picked up, and the cloud began to move away and lose its saurian shape.

"Mother? Don't go, Mother!" Gone from his mind was the question of whether it was a cloud. That didn't seem to matter; he wanted his mother back. "Don't go!"

As the wind swept the cloud through a hole in the rocks, Littlefoot chased after it with desperate fervor. He was so intent on chasing the cloud that he barely noticed the cliff ahead of him in time as he emerged at the other end of the passage. Skidding to a halt, he could only stare as the cloud drifted out and up.

The sky ahead was a mass of gloomy gray which blocked out nearly all light; all he could see of the land ahead was a low space, flanked by mountains. Another empty valley, he thought.

A single beam of pure, bright light penetrated the clouds to shine down where he stood. For a moment, he could have sworn that he saw Hikari. Then the light spread, driving back the clouds and blanketing more and more of the land below. With a great shock, Littlefoot saw that the valley was not empty and desolate, but green from one side to the other except for a shining river that flowed across it from a distant waterfall. Moreover, there were dinosaurs spread across it, so far below that they looked like little more than specks. Longnecks, threehorns, spike-tails, and more; all too many to count.

He was so amazed at the sight, so stunned that the object of his hopes was at last before him, that he could barely gasp the words. "The Great... Valley."

Then his tongue came unglued. "Cera! Spike! Ducky!" he shouted in a rush. "Over here!"

Through the tunnel they rushed, skidding to a stop beside him. The moment was so perfect that Littlefoot never even questioned it when Petrie, whom he had seen fall, landed atop his head.

"Littlefoot! You found it! Yep yep yep!"

Littlefoot's heart swelled, but he knew it hadn't been his accomplishment alone. It had been all of theirs... and Mother's too.

"We did it!" he cried. "We did it together!"

They found a narrow, winding trail leading down into the Valley. All of them were so excited that they could barely go slowly enough not to fall off the edge.

"Do you think our families are there? Huh? Huh?" asked Ducky, riding on Spike's back.

Littlefoot thought of what Hikari had said, and realized that if his vision had been real then out of all of them, only Ducky's full family was waiting for her. "I hope so," he said evasively.

"I wonder if Spike's family is here," said Cera.

"How we know?" Petrie asked. "We never meet them."

Maybe I could have, thought Littlefoot. He glanced back at Ducky and felt a smile come to his face. "I guess he can just be your brother until we find his parents," he suggested.

"Oh yes yes!" Ducky cheered.

Littlefoot held his smile as he looked forward, both in body and mind. He felt sure of one thing: they would meet Spike's parents one day, along with Cera's mother, Petrie's father, and... and his own mother.

'She is very rightly proud of you,' Hikari's voice echoed in his mind. Close behind that came Old Rooter's words: In a way, you'll never be apart.

I did it, Mother, he thought. I did it for you.

It is said that home is where the heart is. If that is true, then Littlefoot's home was still a long way off, far across the Bridgelands with his mother. He didn't have to go there yet, though; there was so much still to be done.