Extinct Chapter 4: Heaven's Door, a land before time fanfic

It seemed to go on forever. The acid rain continued to pelt the barren, destroyed landscape, and as long as that went on, all Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Snips and Tana could do was wait it out in their burrow.

"Oh, this is horrible!" Littlefoot squeaked. "Our valley is gone, our families are gone, everything else seems to be gone, and if what Snips and Tana said about the end of the dinosaurs is true... then I see no hope!"

"I thought we told you, that's just a legend," Tana pitched in, trying to reassure him.

"I don't know," Cera said suspiciously. "You and your mate seemed to be looking forward to this whole end of the dinosaurs thing."

Snips's face suddenly flushed red with embarrassment; he had not met to offend the children with that tale he and his mate told - he was just telling it like it always had been. "Well," he said haltingly, "the thought of our kind taking over always did seem exciting... then again, we never thought anything like this would ever happen."

"But trust me, you guys are nothing like the dinosaurs from the legends," Tana chipped in. "They spoke of dinosaurs as evil, sadistic overlords who ruled with an iron fist and swept aside all lesser creatures. And when it came to evil, they were so heartless that when they diversified into different kinds, they even turned away on each other!"

"Yeah, but look at you!" Snips marveled. "All sorts of different types congregating together as if you were all one species!" He then chuckled, "I bet your folks didn't take too kindly to that, you naughty devils!"

"Well..." said an embarrassed Cera. "My dad didn't anyway..." The mere thought of her father suddenly caused her to feel very down again.

"Yeah, well," Snips said, equally grimly, "they certainly wouldn't like you being friends with us."

"But... we like you," Ducky grinned. "Right, Spike?" Spike nodded.

"Well, they's very sweet of you children," Tana said, "but our kind has a bad reputation amongst yours."

"What you mean?" Petrie asked curiously. "Please tell. We promise not to judge."

"Yeah, come on, tell us!" Littlefoot, Cera and Ducky all urged.

"We... don't want to talk about it," Snips sighed, hanging his head.

"But-"

"No!" Tana snapped. "We... don't want you to hate us."

This stunned the kids into silence. The Didelphodon seemed very ashamed and guilty about something, and they weren't sure what. They seemed like such kind and generous creatures, and what could they have possibly done to give themselves such a bad reputation amongst dinosaurs, they wondered...

...

But eventually, everyone took notice to the fact that it was unusually quiet outside. The acid rain had finally stopped, having moved onto someplace else where the nitrogen and carbon was to be washed out of the atmosphere.

"Is it... safe to go out, now?" Littlefoot asked nervously.

"Seems to be," shrugged Snips. "But I'd better have a look, just in case." And he quickly poked his head out of the burrow to scan the environment around him;

"The burning skywater seems to have put out all the fires," he called from above. "Not a living thing in sight from where I stand, though... not sure what food we'll be able to find."

"It's worth a shot, dear," Tana called back before turning to the kids. "Come along, now, we gotta see what food we can salvage. Just stick to us and you'll be fine."

And so the entire gang crawled out of the burrow and up onto the surface world; neither Cera, Ducky, Petrie nor Spike could believe their eyes! It was just as Littlefoot as described it - everything they could see had been charred to black, trees and rock formations lay scattered all around, and worst of all; the landscape was littered with the scalded, decrepit carcasses of many a dead dinosaur.

"It's okay, kids," Tana said when she noticed the traumatized expressions on their faces. "You'll be fine, just stay close to us." And so, Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Snips and Tana all strode out into the barren landscape.

It was an awful experience. Everywhere they looked, another dead creature - be it a dinosaur, pterosaur or something else - stared at them through dead, open eyes (if they weren't already burned off). And just as Snips said, there was not a living thing in sight - not even plants to feed off of.

As they continued on, with Littlefoot and his friends feeling more and more tense with each step, they were then suddenly calmed down some when Snips broke into a grim song;

Mama take this badge from me

I can't use it anymore

It's gettin' dark, too dark to see

Feels like I'm knockin' on Heaven's door

Then Tana broke in and she and Snips sang together;

Mama put my guns in the ground

I can't shoot them anymore

That cold black cloud is comin' down

Feels like I'm knockin' on Heaven's door

You just better start sniffin' your own rank subjugation Jack

'Cause it's just you against your tattered libido, the bank and the mortician

Forever man

And it wouldn't be luck if you could get out of life alive

Knock knock knockin' on Heaven's door

"Beautiful," mused Littlefoot as he and his friends were brought into a more contained state by the soothing sounds of Snips and Tana's voices. But then, something else arrived to spoil it;

"PETRIE?!"

At first, no one knew what just happened, but Petrie recognized that voice anywhere;

"Ma... MAMA?!"

Indeed, it was Petrie's mother - she, being not real big in comparison to many other dinosaurs, had managed to take shelter and survive the blast from the initial impact. Ever since the acid rain cleared, she had been flying all around, looking for survivors; Petrie, his friends, and the two Didelphodon have been the only ones she's seen thus far.

"Oh, Petrie, I can't believe you made it!" cried Petrie's mother as she swooped down and enveloped her son in a bone-crushing hug, leaving Petrie unable to express his own delight, being unable to talk while his mom's arms are crushing him.

"Nice to see you too, Mama," Petrie panted, trying to catch his breath.

"Oh, and I see all of your friends made it too," said Petrie's mom ecstatically. "Oh, and I don't believe we've met," she added when she saw the two Didelphodon accompanying them.

"Oh, well," Snips said, "your son and his friends came into our burrow when the blast came, and we've taken them out trying to find something for us all to eat and drink."

"But so far," Tana sighs, "we've been without luck."

"I know what you mean," Petrie's mom says consolingly. "I've been flying all around here ever since the burning skywater cleared, and the only good stuff I've been able to find is near the water, and-"

"The WATER!" Snips burst out excitedly. "Of course! WHY the hell didn't I think of it before?! Oh man, if I didn't have a mate, I'd kiss you!" he said, earning a jealous shot from Tana.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Petrie's mom said awkwardly. "Now come on, I'll take you all to the water."

"Wait!" Littlefoot broke in. "What about our parents? Have they made it?"

"I'm... sorry, Littlefoot," sighed Petrie's mom. "But all the other dinosaurs I've seen are... dead."

As Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky and Spike all started to hang their heads, Tana stepped in. "Alright, enough of this!" she said, hoping to get the kids' minds off such negative things. "We all gotta get something in our stomachs. Lead the way, flyer!"

And with a grin, Petrie's mom, with Petrie flying close behind, led Littlefoot, his other friends and the Didelphodon on their way to the nearest watering hole - however, Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky and Spike still felt sad that their own folks apparently didn't make it, unlike Petrie's mother...

But in time, they made it to a large lake in the middle of the valley. It was still full of water, and there was even some green food still alive around the water's edge.

"Wait, better see if it's good, first," Snips insisted as he cautiously moved up to the water, unsure of its quality. But he then quickly took a swig.

"The water's fine!" he announced. Quickly, Tana joined him and stay slugged on water together, as did Petrie, his mother and his friends. Indeed, the water did seem just as delicious as what they always drank. Even the green food was still good.

"Here, you two want some?" Littlefoot offered to Snips and Tana.

"Uh... no thanks," Tana said hesitantly.

"Are you sure?" Littlefoot pressured. "I think you'll need it."

"No, we'll be fine," Snips insisted. "It's you who needs it. Go on, eat up, now." And so Littlefoot kept on eating with his friends while Snips and Tana kept on drinking, with what seemed to be shame showing through their eyes...

Then it happened. Just as Petrie was having one last swig of water, he thought he heard something moving out in the middle of the lake. He jumped.

"What is it, Petrie?" inquired his mother. "You see something?"

Just as she said that, Petrie thought he saw the backbone of a large creature poking out of the water and then diving back down again. "Me no know!" he said, starting to shiver. "But it real scary here!"

"Oh come now, Petrie," assured his mother. "This spot's perfectly safe. Anything dangerous around here surely would've been k-"

But then they all saw it. With a great torrent of water being kicked up, out came a long neck, on top of which was the fearsome head of a creature that would eventually come to be known as Cryptoclidus. The beast let out a loud, menacing shriek, leaving everyone at the water's edge totally petrified.

"MAMA!" cried Petrie. But it was too late. The Cryptoclidus snapped at Petrie's mother, enveloping her entirely in its massive jaws. "NO!" Petrie shrieked as it dragged his mother down into the water, leaving a pool of visible blood behind. Underneath the surface, Petrie's mom had met her doom, as a combination of water pressure, along with the teeth of the Cryptoclidus shearing her to pieces, ripping her wings off from her shoulders and grinding at her internal organs as the monster chewed her up and swallowed her while looking for more food.

Back up at the water's surface, Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky and Spike simply stood frozen, eyes and mouth wide open, unable to believe the display of brutality that they'd just seen. As for Petrie, he has buried his face into Tana's chest, crying hysterically as Tana and Snips both look on helplessly, unable to think of any way to comfort him.

"Come on, all," Snips then spoke up sternly. "We can't stay here."

"Uh, I'm with you on that!" Cera said hastefully as she, Littlefoot and Snips began to hurry away from the water's edge, eager to get away from any other sea monsters that might've moved in.

"Here, you two take him," Tana insisted. And she placed the sobbing Petrie on Spike's back, where he instantly collapsed into Ducky's arms. With that, Tana and Spike, with Ducky and Petrie on his back, hurried to catch up with Littlefoot, Cera and Snips, all the while with Ducky helplessly crooning "Poor Petrie!" as he continued to sob uncontrollably.

...

For a long time, the entire brigade crept on in silence, trying not to take in all the sights of the death and destruction that surrounded them in every direction. As they came into the final clearing before the passageway that led out of the valley, they suddenly heard movement from not far away.

"Holy crap, there's something alive over there!" Snips jumped.

"Well c'mon, dear, let's check it out!" Tana urged.

"We'll be right behind you," affirmed Littlefoot as the whole gang all moved slowly and warily over to the source of the noise, unsure of what could be causing it or what it could do to all of them.

And then they saw it for what it was - it was a living, breathing dinosaur! It had survived the initial blast, but it was in very bad shape, staggering slowly along - evidence that it was badly shaken and injured by the impact. Looking closely at it, they all saw it to be a stoney gray-colored twofooter of a species that would come to be known as Hypsilophodon.

Seeing how bad of a shape it was in, Snips and Tana became eager. Littlefoot and his friends, however, were shocked when they saw the dinosaur's face - they knew exactly who it was.

"H... Hyp?"

The dinosaur, apparently known by the name of Hyp, turned to face them, and became just as shocked when he recognized them. "L... Littlefoot?"

"JACKPOT!" Having not paid attention to what had just happened, Snips and Tana suddenly went charging at Hyp like rabid dogs, their mouths watering profusely, sensing a meal coming, while Littlefoot and his friends could only watch as their two Didelphodon confidants closed in for the kill...