ICE AGE: MODERN LIFE
SCRATTE RETURNS
Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Ice Age: Modern Life one-shot series. Here is the first one-shot story, it's called Scratte Returns. Scratte gets defrosted in ice and ends up in the modern times. She bumps into Laura, and now Laura wants to keep her as a pet. But when Laura shows Scratte to the herd, Scrat recognizes her and wants nothing to do with her after what happened last time. Scratte feels bad for how she treated Scrat back then. Will she and Scrat ever reconcile?
It was a beautiful snowy day in Icetropolis Park. The birds were up in their trees singing songs, the squirrels were chasing one another, kids were building snowmen and having snowball fights, and the ice skating rink was filled with hockey players. Summertime in Icetropolis was the best time for everyone.
It was especially the best time for food trucks. It was the perfect place for teenagers to go to and eat some of the best comfort food in the city. Sitting at one of the picnic tables were Louis and Laura, along with Scrat. They were hanging out on this frigid Friday afternoon enjoying hot slices of pizza and Coca-Cola. Since Louis is pretty much the only best friend she had, Laura was eager to get to know him more.
"So Louis, I have to write a summer report for my English class when I head back to school after the summer," Laura said, "I have to write a five page report about a historical time period or a famous person from history. I've been thinking about writing my report on the Ice Age. I was hoping if wouldn't mind lending me some facts that you know since you came from that time period."
"Sounds cool," Louis said, "When do you wanna do it?"
"I was thinking we could do it next weekend if you don't mind."
"I don't mind at all," Louis takes a bite of his pizza, "Wow, this pizza is awesome!" he looks in his soda, "Is this sugar free?"
"It should be. I told them I want one regular and one diet. Let me taste it just to make sure," Laura takes the cup and sips some of the soda. Turns out it wasn't sugar free, "Nope. It's regular."
"I think I'll just stick with water from now on. I'm the molehog that can't have any sugar. Everything for me has to be sugar free. One drop of sugar and you won't be able to stop me."
"Is it that bad?"
"It's so bad that I don't even remember going through a sugar rush."
The two molehogs were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even notice Scrat sitting there nibbling on his pizza. He was actually starting to enjoy the foods of the future. Plus, ever since he joined the herd, he wasn't so attached to his acorn and didn't always need it with him for security. Having real friends kept him calm.
But when those friends forget you're even there, an acorn would really be nice to have. Scrat finally gets irritated and clears his throat very loudly. Louis and Laura paused in their conversation and looked at him.
"Sorry, I had a frog in my throat," he said.
"Sorry, Scrat," Louis said, "We didn't mean to ignore you. I guess Laura and I got too distracted of one another to notice."
"Don't worry about it. It happens to me a lot."
Laura gets a text message on her phone, "Well, guys, I'm gonna have to cut lunch short today. My brother Stephen needs me to help him take his drum set to the repair shop for cleaning," she grabbed her purse and hopped off the picnic table, "See you guys later."
"See you later, Laura," Louis said.
"Finally," Scrat said, "Now I can actually speak."
"Scrat, I'm really sorry. We didn't mean to be rude."
"I know, but before I met you and the herd, I was pretty much a loner. I didn't have any real friends. The only friend I ever had were myself and my acorns. I've always been lonely."
"Well, you're not alone anymore. You have plenty of new friends. And we're best friends."
"That's not the loneliness I was talking about. Look around you. I see the species of squirrels in the future living in trees, starting families and interacting with humans and animals. All I see are my future selves. We differ from looks and we don't act the same. None of them are anything like me. I just wish I could find that the same wonderful friend. We could be the same as you and Laura. Then I wouldn't feel so lonely."
"Don't worry, Scrat. I'm sure you'll find that special friend one day. It may not be a saber-tooth squirrel from the past, but who knows? Maybe a squirrel of the future might see you in a way that nobody else will."
Scrat sighs, "For my own sake, I hope you're right."
Scrat and Louis resumed having while talking about the latest episode of the Ninjago series.
Meanwhile, around that same time in Icetropolis Valley, the summer sun was shining in the wintry city. It shined upon the trees where the icicles were dripping some, but not too much. The temperature in the summer never went past forty degrees. But it was warm enough to melt some of the ice, especially a big block of ice in the willow tree.
Wait a minute. A big block of ice in the willow tree? That doesn't sound right.
It was true, though. And the weirdest part was a bushy tail was sticking outside the block of ice. The sunshine was melting it at a slow rate. When the branches became too wet that they couldn't hold a heavy ice cube anymore, it slipped out of the tree and hit the ground, smashing into small frozen pieces.
This gave a small female saber-tooth squirrel the chance to open her eyes after a twenty thousand year nap.
Scratte was lying on the ground staring up at the sky. She slowly picks herself off the ground and takes in her surroundings. Nothing seems familiar to her. This wasn't where she was back in the past. She had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. The only thing she could remember was getting caught up in some cold wind and felt as still as a statue. Now she's confused, lost and scared. Being alone in a strange place can do that to anyone. She figured traveling around would help and decided to give herself a little tour of her new home.
Things just looked weird. She kept spotting holes in the ground and cautiously tried her best to not trip over them. Mailboxes were pretty much all over the place and she ended up smacking herself on at least half of them. And the trees actually had doors on them. It was starting to give her the creeps.
Over on the other side of the valley, Laura and her older brother Stephen were making their way back to their burrow home. Stephen's drum set wouldn't be ready until tomorrow so they didn't have anything to drag home. Which was a relief for Laura. She'd have to ask her father to pop her back for her. That drum set was painfully heavy.
"I'll probably take a week for my back to straighten itself out," Laura said.
"Sorry about that, sis," Stephen said, "I didn't mean for my drum set to fall on top of you. I'll have Nathan help me carry it home tomorrow."
"I'm just glad to have helped you," Laura wasn't paying attention to what was in front of her and bumped into someone. She fell on her back, "Well, that fixed it."
Stephen helped his sister up, "You okay?"
"I'm fine, but who did I bump into?" Laura wondered as she stood back up.
They heard squeaking noises and looked to see Scratte standing there giving them a piece of her mind for knocking her over. It was bad enough she wasn't used to her new surroundings and new mammals bumping into her made things worse.
"Oh, sorry about that," Laura said, "I didn't mean to bump into you."
"What kind of animal is this?" Stephen asked, "It looks weird," Scratte growled at Stephen's remark.
"She's a prehistoric saber-tooth squirrel from the Ice Age," Laura said.
"I wonder where she came from."
"I don't know. She wasn't on any of the displays the last time I went to the museum. Maybe she came from somewhere around here," Scratte nods to Laura's statement, "Oh, so you did come around here."
"I think she's probably muted. She doesn't seem like she can talk."
Laura looks down at Scratte, "She doesn't look like she's a bad little squirrel. I think she needs help getting accustomed to her new life here. And I want to help her."
"Don't say what I think you're gonna say," Stephen said.
"I'm gonna take her in as a pet," Laura said.
"Too late. You said it."
"We can't just leave her out here all out on her own. She doesn't know how this time period works. I think if she's with us, she'll be taken care of a lot better."
"Maybe so, but are you sure this is a good idea? We've already got a burrow that's filled to the brim with molehogs. How do you expect to fit a squirrel in there?"
"It's worth a try. Come on, let's take her home."
The molehog siblings took Scratte home. Laura kept hoping in her mind her parents would say yes. Once they got inside the burrow, Laura went to search for her parents while Stephen escaped to his room. Laura found her parents in the kitchen. Her mother was getting dinner prepared and her father was at the table doing some paperwork.
"Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad," she greeted them.
"Hello, sweetheart," Marge said, "How was your lunch date with Louis?"
"I thought you said it wasn't a date," Stew said.
"It wasn't a date," Laura said, "I was just hanging out with him. Anyway, I brought home something that I think you guys will love. Or better yet, someone," she moves away to show her parents Scratte, "Ta-da! Meet the female saber-tooth squirrel!"
"Oh, my," Marge said, "She's really pretty."
"Where'd you find her at?" Stew asked.
"She just bumped into me when Stephen and I were walking home," Laura told them, "Right when I saw her, I knew she'd have trouble understanding this new time period. And I was wondering if you guys would let me keep her as a pet."
"Oh, my," Marge said, "I'm not very sure about that, sweetheart. Pets can be a lot of work. Owning one is a very big responsibility. They need lots of care. You'll have to feed her everyday, take her out for walks, clean up after them and make sure they have all their vaccinations."
"Pets can be compared to babies," Stew said, "Pets have to drink plenty of water a day just like a baby has to drink plenty of milk. Pets also get dirty and need a bath just like a baby needs a dirty diaper changed. Owning a pet can teach you about taking care of a baby."
"Actually, that's a good point. And I have every right to believe that one day you'll be a mother to lots of babies. Especially if you keep getting to know Louis and spending lots of time with him."
"Mom!" Laura said.
"Just saying," Marge told her, "So you can keep her as a pet, but you have to promise that you'll take good care of her."
"I promise."
"I officially pronounce you best friends," Stew said.
"Thank you!" Laura said, "Come on, my new pet. Let's go to my room," she takes Scratte with her to her room.
Laura spent the rest of the evening helping Scratte get comfortable in her new home. And she lets Scratte sleep in her bed that night until she got her own.
The next day Laura took Scratte to the park with her. She knew the herd would be there since the guys and girls like to play hockey against one another. Plus she needed to go shopping for some pet supplies and decided to detour over to the park. She knew the herd should know about another prehistoric mammal living in the future and decided now was the best time.
Easy enough, Laura found the herd at the ice rink. Louis was the first to see her and blew the whistle around his neck.
"Time out, everyone," he said, "Guess who's here?"
"Hey, guys," Laura said, waving at the herd.
"Hey, Laura," Manny said, "Haven't seen you in a while."
"You wanna play hockey with us?" Peaches asked, "We could use another girl on the team."
"I'd love to, but I can't stay long," Laura said, "I need to go shopping, but I wanted to stop by and show you someone I met yesterday. I'd like you all to meet my new pet," she shows Scratte to everyone.
"No way!" Louis said.
"Awesome!" Julian said.
"Wait a second," Shira said, "You found another prehistoric squirrel."
"Yeah," Laura said, "Isn't she amazing?"
"That's amazing!" Ellie said.
"Yeah!" Louis said, "I bet Scrat's happy to see another of his kind here in the future!"
"I most certainly am not!" Scrat said, hiding behind Louis.
"He's probably just talking crazy."
"No, I'm not."
"Where did you find her at, Laura?" Ellie asked.
"Well, I found her wandering around Icetropolis Valley yesterday and decided to take her home and keep her as a pet," Laura said, "I knew she wasn't used to life here so I thought I could help her out."
"Oh, that sounds wonderful!" Brooke said.
"Well, I don't want her around!" Scrat said, "Get rid of her!"
"Scrat, what has gotten into you?" Louis asked.
"That lady squirrel is a menace! I remember her from back in the Ice Age. She used to try to steal my acorn from me. She could've easily went and got her own, but no. She had to keep trying to steal mine."
"Scrat, that was all in the past. Don't you think it's time to just move on and forget it all happened?"
"That's never gonna happen! Get rid of that acorn stealer!"
"Scrat, she wouldn't do anything like that," Laura said, "She's going through the same problems you went through when you first came here. I think taking something from someone else is the least of her worries."
"Just get her away from me!" Scrat said.
Laura sighs, "I wish I could stick around longer, but I need to head over to the pet shop and get some things for my new squirrel friend."
"Why don't we come along with you?" Ellie asked.
"That'd be great. Thanks."
While the herd and Laura headed over to the pet store, Scratte couldn't get her mind off of the things Scrat said about her. She felt bad about the past, but she didn't realize the effect it had on the male squirrel she was once in love with. Trying not to think about it was harder than anything. Plus, she couldn't get her mind off the subject of how Scrat ended up learning to talk. This new world was strange.
After they were finished at the pet store, Laura and Scratte went with the herd to the mansion. The female molehog went and got a toilet pan, food and water bowls, nut mix treats and a comfy bed so Scratte wouldn't have to sleep in her bed. After going through the bag of pet supplies, Laura joined the others in the living room.
"Well, it took twenty-five percent of my summer savings, but I got everything that my new squirrel friend will need," Laura said as she pats Scratte on the head.
"Say, Laura, do you know any good names for your new pet?" Sid asked her.
"I haven't thought about that. I was so excited to finally own a pet, I was too caught up to think of a good name. Let's see, what can I name you? Maybe we can try Ally?" Scratte shook her head, "Okay, well, how about Kate?" again, Scratte shook her head again, "Does Mary sound good?" another shake of the head, "Debra?" another shake, "Nina?" and another, "Lily? Taylor? Annie?" the answer to those names was a no, "Ugh! Guessing is getting me nowhere!" Laura looked at Scrat, "Hey, Scrat, you knew her from back in the past? Do you happen to know if she had a name?" but Scrat was too busy nibbling on his acorn and purposely toning her out. Laura rolled her eyes, "No luck asking him for help."
The front door to the mansion opened. Lucas comes inside and scrapes his muddy boots on the doormat.
"Hey, premams!" Lucas said, "Sorry about all the mud. I stepped in a puddle on my way over here."
"Lucas!" Ellie shouted, "I just vacuumed that mat! Looks like I'm gonna have to wash it now!"
"Like I said, I'm sorry. So what's going on?"
"Oh, nothing much," Diego said, "We're just sitting here listening to Laura play a guessing game to pick out a name for her new pet."
"Cool!" Lucas said, "Let me meet this new pet," he rushed over to Laura and looked down to see Scratte sitting in front of her, "Awesome! Another saber-tooth squirrel! And this one's a female! Where'd you find her?"
"In Icetropolis Valley," Laura said.
"Cool! Can she talk?"
"No. I've been trying to pick out the perfect name for her, but she doesn't like any of them."
"She probably already has one."
"Well, I figured that out, but how am I supposed to know what it is if she can't tell me?"
"Well, I have the perfect solution for that. Did you know that when we met Scrat, he couldn't talk, either?"
"He couldn't?"
"Nope. But when we visited Dr. Morris' lab, he used this ray gun thing on Scrat and gave him the ability to talk. That's all it took."
"Do you think he might be able to do that for my pet?"
"I don't see why he wouldn't. Come on!" Lucas starts running out the door.
"Alright!" Laura said, "Louis, you wanna go with us?"
"Sure, why not?" Louis asked, "Come on, Scrat."
Scrat groans, "Do I have to?"
"Yes, now come on," Louis grabs Scrat and drags him out the door.
The four small mammals followed Lucas to Dr. Morris' laboratory home. When they arrived at the front door, they were greeted by the crazy scientist's British robot. The robot servant led them inside the house into the main room. They spotted Dr. Morris at his chemistry desk. They also saw somebody next to him. It was a female molehog who looked a few years older than Laura. Laura noticed who she was right away.
"Lindsey?" she asked.
Lindsey stares at her younger sister, "Oh, hey Laura."
"What are you doing here?"
"Well, since I'm studying to become a scientist myself. I've been given a position to be Dr. Morris' lab assistant."
"Yes, indeed," Dr. Morris said, "She has become a great assistant so far."
"I hope she doesn't become as crazy as you," Louis said.
"I'm not crazy. Scientifically speaking, I am commonly known as a lunatic at times. With some weirdness on the side."
"Well, it's wonderful to meet you, Dr. Morris," Laura said, "I wasn't really expecting to come by, but I have a problem."
"Ooh, a problem!" Dr. Morris said, "Tell me more!"
"Well, I have a new pet. She's a saber-tooth squirrel," she shows Scratte to Dr. Morris.
"How exciting! Another species of the squirrel ancestry is among us! Maybe the population will increase if we pair her up with her male partner!"
"I don't think we're ready for that. Anyway, I've been trying to think of a good name for her, but none of them work for her. That's when I realized that she probably already has a name. But the only way I can figure out what her name is if she could talk. Lucas told me that you have an invention that can help with that problem."
"I certainly do! You've come to the right scientist. Behold!" Dr. Morris uncovers his invention, "The Talkatron 4000! This will help give any animal the ability to talk! All I have to do is press this button and after one blast, your pet will speak. Now set her on the target and have her be very still," he starts getting the ray ready.
Laura sets Scratte down on the target, "This won't hurt her, will it?"
"No, not at all," Dr. Morris assured, "At least I'm sure it won't hurt."
Scratte whimpered a little. Dr. Morris plugged up the machine, pressed the button and zap! went the ray. Scratte was under the machines' affects for a few seconds before Dr. Morris flipped it off. The female squirrel was dizzy.
"Did it work?" Laura asked.
"Let's find out," the scientist said, "Speak!"
Scratte cleared her throat, "Finally, I can talk! And there's so much I wanna say!"
"It worked!" Laura said.
"Of course it worked," Dr. Morris said, "All my inventions do."
"I can speak! I can speak!" Scratte said, jumping for joy.
"Best day ever!" Laura said, "So now that you can talk, can you please tell me what your name is?"
"It's Scratte."
"Oh, my gosh! That's the best name ever!"
"Wow, Laura, this is great," Louis said, "Now that Scratte can talk, maybe she and Scrat can be friends."
"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Scratte said, "He'll never forgive me for trying to steal his acorn. And I sort of never forgave him for choosing the acorn over me. I guess a friendship will never happen."
"You really felt that way?" Scrat asked, walking over to Scratte, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I couldn't tell you because I couldn't talk."
"Oh, right. Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to choose the acorn over you. I was just an idiot back then. And I'm also sorry for ignoring you the whole time."
"I'm sorry for treating you the way I did. I figured that if you didn't have that acorn with you, maybe you would like me."
"I was pretty nutty back then. So what do you say? Should we put the past behind us?"
"Definitely."
The two saber-tooth squirrels hugged, renewing an old friendship. The moment was so touching that Laura actually placed her head on Louis' shoulder. One look from the male molehog and she shot her head up. She was hoping he wasn't suspicious of her behavior.
But none of that mattered. Scrat and Scratte were friends, Laura has Scratte as her best friend and everything else ends on a good note.
The End.
Voice cast:
Josh Gad as Louis
Miranda Cosgrove as Laura
Chris Wedge as Scrat
Karen Disher as Scratte
Samuel Vincent as Stephen
Erin Fitzgerald as Lindsey
Julie Kavner as Marge
Dan Castellaneta as Stew
Ray Romano as Manny
Queen Latifah as Ellie
Denis Leary as Diego
Jennifer Lopez as Shira
John Leguizamo as Sid
Jessie J as Brooke
Keke Palmer as Peaches
Adam DeVine as Julian
Greg Cipes as Lucas
Lin-Manuel Miranda as Dr. Morris
I hope you enjoyed this story. Don't hesitate to reply below. Give credit to ninjagogirl luvs iceage21, since she helped me with this story.