Hope Returned

After a well-deserved sleep in the caverns, the group of dinosaurs and humans set out toward the Great Valley. In less than an hour, they had crossed the sandy plains they had used to get to the Land of Mists and were now entering a narrow passage that was hidden near the foot of the Great Wall. At long last, they walked into the mid-morning sunlight and were greeted by the wonderful scent of fresh grass and wildflowers.

Aylene smiled and took in the smell with great happiness. It reminded her of the time she and her friends first arrived at the Great Valley. The joy they felt when they found their new home was heavily engrained into the scent. And now, it was like she was reliving that memory again, only now with two more friends.

"We're home." Cera said calmly.

"Yeah," Littlefoot nodded. "I hope my Grandpa's still…"

The young longneck then hung his head with worry. Even though they had found the Night Flower, it wouldn't do any good if Grandpa Longneck was too ill to recover, or worse.

"C'mon, Littlefoot." Cera said, sensing his concern. "We should hurry."

Without a minute of hesitation, the group hastily made their way across the Great Valley to Littlefoot's nesting place. As they approached it, they saw Grandma Longneck standing beside her husband with a downhearted look on her face. They then turned their attention to the Grandpa Longneck, who was still lying motionless on the ground.

For a moment, Littlefoot was afraid that the worst had already happened. However, that changed in an instant when Ken spoke up.

"He still alive," the boy said. "He's still breathing."

Littlefoot squinted to get a more clear vision. He gave a huge smile when he saw that Grandpa Longneck's body was faintly expanding and deflating with each breath the elder Apatosaurus took. Although it was weak, it was still a sign that he was alive.

"Oh," Aylene gave a relieved sigh, "thank goodness!"

The group quickened their pace a bit and hurried toward the two elder Apatosauruses.

"Grandma." Littlefoot softly called.

Upon hearing her grandson's voice, Grandma Longneck looked up with joy and surprise when she saw him and his friends.

"Littlefoot!" she gasped.

"We brought the Night Flowers, Grandma." Littlefoot gave a humble smile.

The elder female longneck walked over to her grandson with a relieved smile spreading across her face. Subtle tears began to form in her eyes and she lowered her head and nuzzled Littlefoot's face. The young Apatosaurus happily returned the gesture.

"Oh, Littlefoot." Grandma Longneck whispered.

The two then slowly pulled away from each other.

"Is…" Littlefoot hesitated, "is Grandpa…okay?"

Grandma Longneck gave a sorrowful frown and glanced back at the elder male Apatosaurus.

"He's so weak," she said, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, Grandma," the young longneck smiled, trying to be reassuring. "The Night Flowers will make him well again. The Old One said so."

"I hope she was right." Grandma Longneck hung her head and sighed. "And I hope it's not too late."

"C'mon," Ken said as he ran up beside Littlefoot, "we better hurry."

"Right," the longneck nodded.

"Aylene," Ken turned to the human girl.

"Yes." Aylene nodded.

Aylene quickly gathered all of the Night Flowers off of Spike's back. She then ran over to join Ken and Littlefoot. The three of them approached Grandpa Longneck and the two humans knelt down by his head. Ken gently rubbed the elder Apatosaurus' head, trying to wake him up. Upon feeling the small touch, Grandpa Longneck gave a weak groan and he slowly opened one eye.

"Grandpa." Littlefoot whispered.

"Littlefoot…" Grandpa Longneck mumbled when he heard his grandson's voice.

"Easy, Sir," Ken said calmly, "we've brought some medicine for you."

"What…"

"Don't try to talk, just eat as many of these flowers as you can."

Although he was a little confused about what was going on, Grandpa Longneck gave a small, almost unnoticeable nod. Ken then turned to Aylene.

"Hand me one flower at a time, okay?" he said.

Aylene gave a sharp nod and immediately gave the human boy one of the golden flowers. Ken then turned back to Grandpa Longneck and placed the flower into the old Apatosaurus' open mouth. As soon as the boy's hand was out of the way, Grandpa Longneck began to slowly munch up the Night Flower. Once he was done chewing, he swallowed it as best he could. Ken then turned back to Aylene, who handed him another flower.

The two humans repeated this procedure three more times. With each passing minute, the others watched with an anxiety slowly growing among them. The only thing that was on their minds now was the hope they had managed to save Grandpa Longneck. If not, then…would this all have been for nothing?

Right now, all they could do was wait and watch.

Shortly after Ken had given Grandpa Longneck the fifth Night Flower, the old Apatosaurus let out a small, almost-content sigh. He then groaned and slowly opened both of his eyes. There was a simultaneous gasp of relief from the others as the elder longneck lifted his head off the ground.

"Grandpa!" Littlefoot exclaimed.

"How are you feeling, dear?" Grandma Longneck asked her husband.

"Oh, much better," the male elder Apatosaurus smiled. "I think those golden flowers are working."

"So does that mean Grandma, Aylene and I won't be leaving the Great Valley after all?" Littlefoot asked, unable to conceal his excitement.

"That's right." Grandpa Longneck nodded.

"Littlefoot?" Cera stepped forward with curiosity.

"He's alright!" Littlefoot happily exclaimed as he turned to the others. "My Grandpa's going be alright!"

Upon hearing such great news, the young dinosaurs all gave a joyful cheer and leapt into the air as high as they could while the two humans laughed with a genuine happiness.

They did it. They really did it. Against all odds, they managed to get the Night Flower and save Grandpa Longneck. It was in that moment that they all felt that the trials they had gone through, the suffering they endured, and the horrors they faced were worth it.

Once again, they managed to change their fate.

"Oh!" Petrie suddenly shrieked. "Me think me should be going now!"

"You're right, Petrie." Ducky nodded. "Our mommies and daddies are probably very worried."

The others quickly bid their farewells and raced off to find their parents. However, as soon as Ali began running to find her herd, she immediately noticed that Ken wasn't behind her. She skidded to a stop and turned around.

"Ken, aren't you coming?" she asked. "The herd is probably worried about us by now."

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Ken replied. "You go on ahead of me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I have some things I need to take care of. Just let the others know I'm okay."

"Okay, if you say so."

With that, Ali once again set out to find her herd.

"What do you mean, Ken?" Aylene asked.

"Well," the human boy shrugged, "we have some leftover flowers, don't we? We should put them to some good use. And the soil here is a lot like it how the Land of Mists' soil used to be. I think these flowers could grow here, too."

"Wait, you mean you want to plant them here?"

"Yeah." Ken nodded. "If something like this ever happens again, you won't have to risk your necks getting them again. That is if they are able to grow here."

"I think that's a great idea." Aylene smiled. "Let's do it. I know a place where we can plant them."

"Okay then, lead the way."

Before the two humans set out, Aylene turned back to the family of longnecks.

"I'll be right back," she said.

"Oh, take your time, dear." Grandma Longneck smiled. "And thank you both so much for your help."

"You're welcome, Grandma Longneck." Ken graciously nodded.

With Aylene leading the way, she and Ken made their way across the Great Valley, leaving Littlefoot and his grandparents to share a heartfelt reunion with each other.

After about half an hour later, Aylene and Ken had finally got the remaining Night Flowers replanted in a small, secluded meadow nestled in the corner of the Great Valley. Once they were finished, they both wiped the sweat from their foreheads and sat back to admire their handy work.

"Well," Ken gave deep exhale, "glad that's done."

"Me, too." Aylene nodded.

"Now, with a bit of luck, these flowers will be able to grow and thrive here." Ken said. "I think this Valley will be a great new home for them."

"Yeah," Aylene replied in a low voice, casting her gaze down.

"Hey," Ken looked at her when he noticed her action, "you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just…" Aylene hesitated.

The human girl finally took a deep breath and looked back up at human boy with an apologetic expression painted on her face.

"Ken," she said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Ken asked.

"For dragging you into this mess." Aylene said, turning away from the boy again. "If I had know what had happened in the Land of Mists before, I wouldn't have been such a jerk about it before. I was just so desperate to save Littlefoot's grandfather that I…"

"It's okay, Aylene."

Aylene's eyes widened a bit and she looked back at Ken with surprise. He didn't even look the slightest bit angry, nor did he look annoyed. If anything, he looked…pleased.

"I'm not mad," he continued. "I admit I never wanted to go back to that place. I also didn't want to risk your life or the lives of our friends. But I also don't think I could've stopped you from going even if I tried. If there's one thing I've learned about you it's that you're relentlessly stubborn."

Aylene snickered at the last remark.

"I could say the same about you," she said.

Ken gave a small, prideful smirk at that statement.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said, arching one eyebrow.

"Good," Aylene grinned, "Because it was supposed to be one."

The two friends then shared a laugh. It had been a while since they had a normal conversation. And now that they knew each other better now, they were able to enjoy it a little more than the first one they had a few days ago.

"Well," Ken gave a shrugged, "I guess if there's any good that came out of this, aside from curing Grandpa Longneck, it's that I also got to meet you and your friends."

"Yeah," Aylene smiled. "And I'm glad we got to meet you and Ali, too. And thank you for all your help. I don't know what we would've done without you guys."

"You're welcome," the boy replied. "I'm glad we could help."

It was then that Ken gave a subtle look that bordered on nervous. Aylene watched with curiosity as he took a deep, steady breath. He then turned back to her, biting his lip and rubbing his hands together for a second.

"Say, Aylene," he said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Uh," the girl hesitated, "Sure. Depends on what it is."

"Well, uh," Ken hesitated, "if I understand correctly, next week is the Homecoming Dance at school, right?"

"Yeah," Aylene slowly answered, unsure of where Ken was going with this.

"Well, um, I was wondering…uh…First of all, do you have a boyfriend?"

Aylene gave a startled and perplexed look at the sound of that question. No one had ever asked her if she had a boyfriend before, let alone another boy.

"No, I don't," she replied. "Why? What are you trying to ask me?"

Ken then rolled his eyes and face-palmed himself, his cheeks turning a light shade of red out of embarrassment.

"Ugh, I'm sorry!" he mumbled. "That was a stupid question!"

"C'mon, Ken," Aylene gently ushered. "What are you trying to ask me?"

Finally, the human boy took a deep breath and looked back at the human girl.

"Well," he said, "to put it simply, I was wondering if you'd like to go to the dance…with me."

Aylene blinked at the invitation and her cheeks turned noticeably pink. Her pulse immediately began to race so hard and fast that she could feel it vibrate through her whole body. She wasn't expecting Ken to ask her a question like that. No boy had ever asked her to do something with them before. Needless to say, she was rather shocked by it.

At the same time, she also felt an almost indescribable feeling that was closely related to happiness. While she always considered herself being single something to be proud of, as it gave her a sense of independence and strength, there was just something about someone wanting her for who she was that made her flip her previous perspective almost completely around.

Maybe having someone to count on wasn't such a bad thing after all.

"I…" she stuttered, "I…wasn't really planning on going."

"Oh," Ken shrunk back, sounding just a little disappointed.

"But," Aylene quickly said, giving a small smile, "if you insist, I think I can make a change of plans."

"Really?" the boy looked up, almost hopefully.

"However," the girl replied, "I'm going to have to introduce you to my parents, and they're going to have to meet with your parents. It's a policy we have in my family."

"I understand," Ken shrugged. "My parents have a similar rule, too. You think we could arrange a time for them to meet?"

"You mean like meet for a dinner or something?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Aylene thought about the possibility for a second.

"I guess so," she said, "and if they ask how we met…"

"We'll just say we met at school." Ken finished the sentence. "After all, that IS the first place where we bumped into each other. Literally."

Aylene giggled at sarcastic statement. However, the detail of them meeting at school was the best answer they could give if they was ever a question on how they met.

"Okay, then," she said. "I'll talk to my parents and see if we can work something out."

"And I'll do the same with my parents." Ken replied. "Now, you think we should head back? My herd's probably worried about me. And knowing your friends, they'll most likely start looking for us pretty soon."

"Yeah," Aylene nodded. "Let's go."

The two human friends then got up and quickly made their way back to their dinosaur friends. Out of the sake of having some fun, they started to run across the open plains of the Great Valley, holding each other's hand.