Littlefoot and Abe were in the front while the others were in the back. Ducky rode Spike like a horse, and Petrie perched itself on Cera's neck. Cera huffed again.
"Why are we helping him? He's been in the Mysterious Beyond. He should know his way."
"Maybe a big rock hit him on head and make him forget," suggested Petrie.
"That would explain a lot."
They walked through the bottom of the canyon cliffs.
"Then we must help him," said Ducky. "He will get lost if he forgot. He will."
"Yeah, but the father away he's from us," began Cera, "the less we have to listen to his crazy ideas. He even tricked Littlefoot. Like my Dad said, longnecks have the smallest brain."
"Well, let's continue," said Ducky. "We must protect Littlefoot. After we find this map thingy, he will be on his own, because it will tell him where to go."
"Open your eyes, Ducky," said Cera. "There's no such thing as a map. He made it up. We need to lead him to Threehorn Peak and lose him."
Abe had listen Cera's plan and chuckled. Having elf-shaped dog ears ruled. He could always eavesdrop on conversation to gather some useful information. However, this was not the case. He shrugged off what Cera intended to do, because she was right. After he found the map, he wouldn't be lost any more. He would thank them and be on his way.
Littlefoot noticed his chuckle and asked, "What's so funny?"
"Just memories," he replied, not wanting to actual tell him why.
"How is it back in your time?"
"It's pretty awesome. Our kind has advanced far than you can imagine. Look."
He showed Littlefoot his communicator and displayed its functions.
"These are our written number system. This function tells the time. When it reads around 6:30, the sun is setting."
"How do you know when the numbers show up?"
Abe looked at him like if he was serious and remembered there was no written number system here. Abe walked ahead and picked up a stick. The ground was kind of soft. They stopped. Abe drew a line.
"That's one."
Abe drew a digital two.
"That's two."
Abe made it all the way up to zero since he forgot to draw that one first. Littlefoot walked over to him and looked at his communicator.
"527."
Abe was surprised that he learned so quickly. The others caught up to us and passed us.
"Hurry up slowpokes," said Cera.
Littlefoot huffed and started walking again. Abe marched beside him.
"Sorry again about my friends. They're very helpful. It just takes a while for them to soften up."
"I know. She's just like her father."
Littlefoot chuckled but soon realized what he said.
"How do you know her father?"
Abe panicked a little. He did want to answer his questions but not all. If he knew too much, it would haunt him until his death.
"Um… Well… Hey! What's that up ahead?"
Littlefoot looked ahead and saw nothing. He turned back to look at Abe. Abe wasn't there. Littlefoot looked where his friends were and spotted Abe.
How did he do that? What is he hiding?
Littlefoot decided to not ask any more questions and caught up with his friends. After a few more minutes off walking, they finally made it to the base of Threehorn Peak. A cave provided the entrance. Littlefoot lead them into the hot cave. It was hot due to the surrounding lava pits.
"So Threehorn Peak is a volcano," stated Abe.
"A volcano?" wondered Petrie.
"It's what you call smoky mountains."
"Well, do you know where the map is?" asked Littlefoot.
"Don't know."
Cera grunted.
"Well, I think you made the whole thing up."
"Cera," snapped Littlefoot.
"It's alright, Littlefoot," said Abe. "Cera, there are unknown things in this world that you haven't seen. How do you know if I made it up?"
She stood silent for a few minutes before she walked towards the entrance and sat down.
"I won't help. You can go find your loony map by yourself."
"Well, I don't have to go far," Abe said.
Littlefoot faced him and before he asked, Abe answered.
"The map is probably hidden in one of these lava pits. I'm going to go in a check it out."
The others, except Cera, gasped. Ducky ran up to Abe.
"If you jump in, you'll be all burnt up. Yep, yep."
"Like this so, but not with my special suit."
He clicked a button on his communicator. A grayish spandex suit with a face-shielded helmet appeared on him. The suit was designed by him after his first battle against a deep-water demon. The suit was able to withstand intense pressure and extreme heat. It wasn't invincible to these things, but it could withstand a lot of severe conditions. He faced the stunned dinosaurs.
"He changed his whole body," stated Ducky.
"This is called a suit. Um, it's like having extra scales. With this on, now I can jump into the lava…firewater."
He approached the first lava pool and jumped in. Cera walked up to them.
"We went all this way to see him kill himself? Happy now, Littlefoot?"
"He's not dead, Cera."
"But no one can ever survive in that," cried Petrie. "He goner."
"Don't worry. I believe Abe is right."
"Mmph. Probably longnecks are the second craziest dinosaurs next to him."
"But he's not a dinosaur," said Littlefoot.
"How can you tell?" asked Ducky.
"He doesn't look like any dinosaur we've seen."
"Obviously," commented Cera.
"Just wait. He'll come up from the pit."
A few minutes before Petrie busted out into tears.
"Oh, Abe goner! Cera right! No one could survive in that!"
Littlefoot was now having second thoughts before ripples started to form in another lava pit. They looked and saw Abe rising up. He crawled out of the lava. He walked over to the gang, carrying a black rock. Cera's anger rose. He dropped it in front of them.
"We came all this way for a rock?" she stammered.
"Well, makes day go faster," said Petrie.
"Not just any rock," Abe said.
He pressed a camouflaged button on his suit, and it disappeared, revealing his original clothes he wore. He unsheathed his katana-looking sword and sliced the rock's top off. He sheathed his sword and picked up the rolled up piece of paper he found in the rock. He opened it and examined it. Happily, he folded it up and slipped it into his back pocket.
"Well, I got what I was looking for."
"What was that sharp stick?" asked Littlefoot.
"You mean my sword? It's an old weapon humans use to fight with before we got better ones. I still use one, because it is a sacred sword and is more powerful than any of the newer weapons humans use now."
"What's weapon?" asked Petrie.
"A thing that helps you fight."
"Oh, like Cera's horns."
Littlefoot peeked over at his arm again. The communicator told him it was 6:15.
"We better head back. It'll be dark soon."
"Sir, that thing you call Abe is here?"
"What!"
Lucastrof and his loyal spy were conversing in a dark cave.
"That's what the Great Valley dinosaurs keep on talking about."
"So, he's in the Great Valley. Tell me. Does he know where the things I seek are?"
"I'm afraid not, but he's trying to ask around. Last time I saw him, he was with a longneck kid."
Lucastrof began to think.
"Get me some more information. We can't let Abe find the Pentagon of Life first."
His spy nodded and left to the Great Valley. Lucastrof grunted and slept against a boulder.
The gang made it back to the Great Valley only to get greeted by angry adults. The young ones gulped.
"Cera, where were you?" Mr. Threehorn asked hastily.
"Um… Well… It was Littlefoot's fault."
All heads turned towards Littlefoot.
"Littlefoot?" inquired Grandma Longneck in a soothing voice.
"Well…We went to-"
"It was my fault."
All heads turned to Abe.
"I asked Littlefoot if he could lead me to Threehorn Peak."
Everyone gasped. Mr. Threehorn walked up to Abe.
"Just who do you think you are? You and your crackpot thoughts could have injured our kids. Cera, stay away from this cretin."
"You don't have to tell me twice Daddy. We were only protecting Littlefoot."
Cera walked off with her dad. Soon, the children joined their parents and said goodbye to Abe. Littlefoot looked back.
"Abe, why didn't you show them-"
"I don't know what your costumes are, but leading our kids in peril is not one of ours," said Grandpa Longneck.
"I know, Sir. Well, I'm going to head off tomorrow. I think it's for the best. When the bright circle passes those mountains, I'll be gone."
"But you don't have to leave," said Littlefoot.
"I must be going. Remember about the journey I'm doing. Besides, dinosaurs are getting agitated about my presence."
"But-"
"Come Littlefoot."
His grandparents led him away from Abe. Abe sighed and found a tree to lean along to rest.
Back with Littlefoot, he looked up at his grandparents from his sleeping area.
"Are you also mad at Abe?" asked Littlefoot.
"We just don't agree with him," replied Grandpa Longneck.
"But he-"
"It's late," said Grandma Longneck. "Time for you to get some rest."
His grandparents walked off. Littlefoot yawned and rested his head on the cold ground.
Littlefoot woke up at the first light of dawn. He needed to say his final goodbyes to Abe. He crept away from his sleeping grandparents and searched for Abe. He found him near the watering place, taking a drink. Abe wiped his mouth with his arm.
"Littlefoot, are you here to say your goodbyes."
Abe faced the longneck.
"You don't have to leave."
"I must. Remember, the map tells me where I need to go."
He pulled out the scroll and rolled it opened. His eyes widened as he realized that the map wasn't a map. He felt stupid when he first glanced at it and thought it would tell him the exact locations.
"What the heck?"
"What's wrong?"
"The map was to tell me where to go. It just has words."
"What do they mean?"
Abe held his communicator in front of the paper and used the same technology he used to communicate with the dinosaurs to decipher the scroll.
"A grand dinosaur watches over the valley. He does not move nor yells. A dinosaur frozen in time but will continue to protect the future. The cup of soil is lay hidden within."
"More riddles?"
"It appears so. The cup of soil means the Cup of Earth, one of the items of the Pentagon of Life. I just don't know the rest."
Littlefoot thought about it.
"Saurus Rock," he concluded.
Abe looked at him.
"What?"
"It's a rock shaped like a longneck. It watches over the Great Valley."
Abe scratched his head.
"If you say so."
"I'll take you there."
"But Littlefoot, I don't want you to get in trouble."
"This is more important now," he said and ran off. "Are you coming?"
Abe sighed and caught up to the little longneck.