ICE AGE: NEW LIFE OPENER
INTRODUCTION OF THE SERIES
THIS HERE IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF MY NEW SERIES. I'M STARTING OFF THE NEW YEAR WITH A NEW SERIES OF ICE AGE STORIES. THERE WILL BE PLENTY. THIS ONE SHOT IS ONLY THE OPENER.
I DO NOT OWN ICE AGE OR ITS ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.
ENJOY!
In a world known as the Ice Age, an island in ruins lies in the middle of the ocean. A tiny saber-tooth squirrel scurries his way upon the icy land, knowing that it was cold, but it also had hot flashes in various areas. This squirrel's name was Scrat and in his grasping fingers was an acorn. The first thing he did was find a place to bury it. He found what looked to be a hole and stuck his acorn in it, but that was before his nut flew out of the hole, flying in the air. Scrat screamed as he ran after the flying acorn.
The acorn flew so far that it hit our beloved ground sloth, Sid, in the head. He woke up, looking to see what bonked him in the head. He picked up the acorn and saw that it was the only object lying around. A moment later, when he saw nobody coming to retrieve it, he was about to pop it in his mouth before Scrat came along and snatched it out of his paws. Sid screamed in fright as Scrat ran off, throwing a leaf at Sid.
Sid shook his head. "Well, that did not go well. Of all the tomfoolery that goes on in this world. Can't one good thing in this world happen for me?"
"Oh, Sidney darling," A sweet voice called out. Sid looked to see his girlfriend, Brooke, walk up to him. "I've been looking all over the place for you. Did you end up sleeping here all night?"
"Well, it looks as though I did." Sid popped his back into place. "Oh, I shouldn't have slept on that rock. I guess I'm still a bit sore from Manny and Ellie's re-anniversary party last night. It was fun, though."
"Oh, I had lots of fun, too. Well, we should start heading back."
"Wait. Why? Does Manny need us for something important?"
"The entire village on the island is going to help put this place in ship shape order."
"Aw, that's nice. Too bad I can't help out."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, I'm nothing but a screw-up, Brooke. I can't do anything right. That's the reason my family always abandons me, the herd doesn't trust me to do anything, and Granny turned into my responsibility because my family had the same thoughts about her that they had about me."
"Well, I don't think you're a screw-up, Sidney."
"Really?"
"Yes. Would I ever lie to you?"
"Well, now that you mentioned it, I don't think you have. Besides, you're different from any other sloth I've ever met. Not to mention that you're the first girl that has ever fallen in love with Sid the Sloth."
Brooke giggled. "Come on, Sid. Let's go."
"Right behind you, Brooke." Like a flash of lightning, Brooke was already gone. "Huh? Brooke? Where did you go?" He started walking back to the village, continuing to call Brooke's name.
Back at the village, everybody was taking part in restoring their home to its former glory. The leader of the hyraxes was instructing them on what to do and how it should be fixed. He even helped out by doing his share of the construction. Over on the flatland of the island, the herd was down there cleaning up what used to be their home. There wasn't really much they could do except clean it up and take whatever belongings they could find.
Manny and Ellie were cleaning off the logs and branches in the front yard while Shira and Diego were cleaning off the smaller messes. Inside the cave, however, Peaches and Julien were cleaning up whatever messes were left in there while Crash and Eddie were busy playing around. They both had managed to find their wooden swords that they had made and decided to play war against one another.
When they both jumped on top of Julien's head, they poked the young mammoth in the eyes with the tips of their swords, causing Julien to groaned in pain. Peaches sighed. "Guys, do you mind playing sword later? We need to clean this place up."
"What's the big rush?" Crash asked.
"Yeah," Eddie said, "Nobody's making us do anything."
Peaches shook her head. "Maybe it's best if you guys played somewhere else. I think Julien and I will be alright cleaning up on our own."
"We will?" Julien asked, surprised.
"Yes, we will."
"Whatever," Crash said, "Let's go find somewhere else to play."
As Crash and Eddie walked away, Peaches and Julien continued cleaning up. Julien picked up a gigantic leaf and saw something underneath it. His eyes widened when he saw that it was the flower wreath headband that Peaches was planning to wear the night of her parent's wedding anniversary party.
"Peaches, look," Julien said, "I just found your flower wreath. The one you were planning to wear when we had to escape to that safety cave. It's been here this whole time."
"I must've dropped it before I put it on when we ran outside to see what was going on," Peaches said, "It doesn't look suitable to wear anymore. Half the petals are gone."
"What should we do with it?"
"Well, I don't wanna get rid of it. Things like this tell a story."
"Yeah, you have a point."
"How's everything going in here?" Manny asked, walking inside the cave with Ellie right next to him, "Are you two behaving yourselves?"
"Manny," Ellie said.
"Sorry. Force of habit."
"We're fine, Daddy," Peaches said, "We're almost done cleaning up."
"The cave doesn't look like it used to," Ellie said.
"I've noticed that, too," Diego said, walking in with Shira behind him, "Those asteroids were pretty rough and nothing that we've ever seen."
"I've noticed something different, too," Shira said, "This cave isn't suitable to live in anymore."
"What are you talking about?" Manny asked, "This cave is our home. As long as it keeps us protected, nothing bad can happen."
"What if I told you there were holes in the ceiling?"
"Holes?" Manny looked up to see that Shira was right. Holes covered the entire ceiling. "I guess you're right."
"So what are we gonna do now?" Peaches asked, "Are we gonna have to move closer to the village?"
"Nope," Manny said.
"Manny, we can't live in a cave with damages like this," Ellie said, "We'll have to find somewhere else to live."
"Ellie, this is the only cave big enough to fit all of us."
"Well, why can't we all just split up and find homes of our own?" Shira said.
"What are you saying?" Manny asked.
"Don't get me wrong, Manny, we'll always be a herd and one big happy family. No doubt about that, but i think it's best if we all found homes of our own."
"She's got a point," Diego said.
"Guys, the whole point in being a herd is sticking together," Manny said, "That's one thing I plan on doing."
"Dad, Shira's right," Peaches said, "Besides, Julien and I have been meaning to talk to you about something."
"We're planning on finding a home of our own," Julien said.
"What do you mean a home of your own?" Manny asked.
"Dad, we can't just live here with you guys for the rest of our lives," Peaches said, "You need to understand that Julien and I are married now and we need to be on our own. Like Shira said, we'll still be a family even if we split up."
Manny sighed. "I guess you've grown up too soon, Peaches." Manny walked out of the cave. "This is where I draw the line. This cave is our home. If you guys wanna find homes of your own, go right ahead, but I'm staying here. If you all are against it, you can leave right now."
"Brooke? Brooke?" Everyone heard Sid making his way to the cave. "Guys, have any of you seen Brooke?"
"No, but we do need to ask you something." Manny walked up to the sloth. "Do you think this cave is still suitable to live in?"
Sid looked around, seeing as though with all the holes and damages inside the cave, he had to say something. "Uh, I don't think so. Have you hit your noggin' on something hard?"
"Oh, never mind. Go find somewhere else to live like everybody else. I'm staying here."
"Oh, Sidney!" A voice sang out in the woods. Everyone stood outside the cave to see Brooke sitting in a tree. "What took you so long, honey?"
"Oh, Brooke, thank goodness you're okay," Sid said, "Don't disappear on me like that."
"Did I worry you too much?"
"A little bit."
"Oh, I'm sorry, dear. I promise not to disappear like that too often. I have the tendency to do that."
"Hey, Brooke, you wanna remain living in this cave or not?" Manny asked.
"Sorry, Manfred, but even I have living standards," Brooke said, "I can see the holes from up here."
"Told you so," Shira said, "Looks as though everybody would rather listen to me. Let's go, softie."
Diego walked up to Manny and said, "Sorry, buddy," as he followed Shira.
Peaches and Julien left too on account that they were ready to start their lives fresh and anew. Sid and Brooke left while Manny just stood there. He and Ellie were the only two there. Manny sighed. "I guess you're going to try and find us a new home, aren't you? Is that what you wanna say?"
"Manny, since we've been married, I made a vow to never leave your side," Ellie said, "No matter what happens or what either of us do. I'm sticking to your side."
"Well, in that case, let's get to work. I'll start gathering these leaves and we'll cover the holes."
Ellie sighed as she started gathering leaves. It was going to be a long day.
Diego and Shira walked through the forest searching for a new home. Diego wasn't thrilled to find a home just for him and Shira, but they would not risk living inside a damaged cave. After all, they were used to sticking with the rest of the herd. After searching for some time, Diego spotted a cave that was pretty big, but one good thing about it was there were no damages. Deciding to check it out, the saber couple walked inside.
It was pretty big with a few small rooms. It was different from any other cave they lived in. The biggest the herd could find were two rooms. The cave was perfect for two sabers. Maybe even a whole pack of them. They looked to see that it was strange somehow.
"Does this cave feel strange to you?" Diego asked.
"Why do you say that?" Shira asked.
"It just...feels that way. I don't know. Let's check out the other rooms." They walked inside the room on the far left. The moment they walked inside, they saw the strangest thing.
"Diego, look at this place," Shira said, looking at the walls, "Cave drawings."
"They're all...sabers," Diego said, walking up to the cave drawings of sabers, "You don't think that humans could've been here, right?"
"If they were, they probably left before we arrived."
"I guess I'll have to take your word for it." Diego walked out of the room and went inside the next one. What he saw in there surprised him. "It doesn't look like it's been too long since humans were here. They left a few things behind."
Shira walked inside, looking to see there was a tent covering plus a bed made of soft hay and mammoth fur. "Looks like they made this place comfortable."
"That also makes it comfortable for us." Diego started making up the bed. "I think this place is right for us. What say you and I clean it up a little bit and call it home. Then maybe tonight we could have some alone time with nobody to bother us."
"Ohh, I like where you're going. Let's just hope the others don't bother us."
"Don't worry. I'll take care of that."
While Shira went to clean up the cave, Diego found a log that wouldn't block the entire entrance, but would make it hard for other animals to to try and get in. Placing the log in front of the entrance, Diego hopped back inside and started helping Shira out. It was time to prepare for the night.
Peaches and Julien were wandering around the island, looking for a place they could call home. It was difficult at first because most of the caves were not the size for a mammoth to fit in. They had no choice but to travel around the island. They just had to find the perfect home. They traveled from one cave to another and needed to rest for a few minutes.
Peaches sighed. "This cave hunting is getting us nowhere."
"I actually kind of think this is fun," Julien said, "It gives us more time to spend together."
"Well, that's true, but there's just not a cave that can fit the both of us, much less if we started a family one day."
"Whoa, Peaches. Let's wait a few years for that, okay?"
"How long is a few years in your opinion?"
"I'd say about four or five years. Maybe six."
"Well, at least you're being honest."
Julien sighed. "Listen, hon, instead of finding a cave to live in, why don't we just build our own home?"
"Build our own home?"
"Let's face it, Peaches. At this rate, all the caves have been taken. There are some animals that end up just creating that dream home of theirs. It's basically the only choice we have. I know it's a lot of work and will take a lot of time, but I know that we can do it."
Peaches thought about it for a moment. She wanted to have a home for just her and Julien, but who knows how long it would take for a new place to come their way? Smiling at her newlywed husband, she finally made her decision. "Let's do it."
"Really?"
"Why not? Having a new home doesn't sound like a bad idea at all, especially if it's made with our own trunks. Both our trunks."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do it."
So Julien and Peaches began the creation of their new home.
In the middle of the woods, Sid was walking alongside Brooke, who was helping him find a new home. She was basically traveling in trees and swinging on vines whenever she saw one. Sid was having a hard time catching up to Brooke as she was too fast for him in the trees.
He stopped once Brooke sat in one of the trees, worringly looking down at Sid. "Are you alright down there, Sidney dear?"
"I'm fine," Sid said, panting as he sat against the tree, "I just need to rest for a minute."
Brooke jumped down from the tree. "Losing your energy already, my love? I have the perfect solution for that. Lucky for us, I have my latest creation not too far away from here. Follow me and I'll show it to you."
Sid stood up as he followed his mate. "What about finding a new home? I don't want to lose track of that."
"My senses tell me that our new home is not to far away from where Manny and Ellie are. It is also close by to where the opossum twins are playing war."
"You know, if Granny were still here with the herd, she would enjoy watching a good show with Crash and Eddie playing war against one another."
"Everything will be fine and settled for the time being. Come on. I really want you to see it." Brooke grabbed Sid's arm and dragged him to a nearby cave that didn't look very big. The entrance was wide enough for a log to fit through and was almost tall enough for a sloth to walk through. Brooke lowered her head inside. "Duck you head, Sidney." Sid barely had his head through the entrance before he smacked his forehead.
Sid rubbed his head. "This cave won't be able to fit a mammoth, dear. How will the herd be able to fit in here?"
"Darling, this isn't going to be our brand new home. This is mainly known as the garage. This is where my creation is." Brooke removed some leaves off of her latest invention. She took Sid's paw as she introduced it to him. "Feast your eyes on my latest and most greatest creation of all. Not many of these exist in our humble animal kingdom, but these were made to help speed up travel throughout all the lands. I call this the log car three thousand."
Sid gasped, looking at all the interiors and exteriors. "Brooke, it's beautiful. I love the designs. It's carved to be a convertible."
"A log convertible, if I do say so myself."
"I can't believe it. We have our own car. Now I no longer have to walk long distances. From now on, I'm taking shortcuts with me and this bad boy."
"I'm so glad you love it, Sidney." Brooke hopped inside the passenger's seat. "Do you wanna drive?"
"Me? You want me to drive? Even if I'm a screw up?"
"Sidney, like I said before. You are not a screw up. Everyone deserves a chance at something. Besides, there are plenty of longs in the woods. If something breaks, we can easily fix it."
"Well, in that case, let's drive, baby." Sid hopped in the driver's seat. "Okay, how do you work this thing?"
"All you have to do is pedal and steer. It's pretty simple."
"Okay, here we go." Sid started pedaling as the log car made its way out of the garage and went out on the trail. "This is amazing."
"I know. I fell in love with it the moment it was finished. Just like I fell in love with you at first sight."
"I love you, Brooke."
Soon, Sid and Brooke were taking a ride into town. It was a sunny day and a good day to go for a drive. Nothing can go wrong for the sloth couple.
Back at the old cave, Manny and Ellie were still trying to fix up the holes that were placed everywhere around it. Manny was lucky enough to find tree sap since placing soaked leaves on the holes didn't work. Once the sap ran out, he used honey from an empty beehive to fix up the rest of it. Once they were done, nightfall came upon them. They both were settling down for the night when a storm started, causing the honey and sap to melt and the leaves began to fall off. Water started leaking through the holes, soaking everything inside, including the two mammoths.
A leaf fell on top of Manny's trunk, making him sigh, but he still had a smile on his face. "Well, at least we have each other. In our nice cozy cave."
"Manny, I'm freezing," Ellie said, "I'm soaked and starting to become irritated."
"Come on, Ellie, cheer up. Sure, I'm cold and soaked, too, but are we really gonna let a little rain get in between our love?"
"No, but wouldn't it be better if we found somewhere different to stay at for a while?"
"Ellie, I promise things will be better. We'll just think of a different way to cover the holes."
"Manny, I understand what you're going through. It's hard to leave something behind. I know that pretty well. You don't have to be stubborn about it, though."
"I'm not being stubborn about it. Ellie, you can do all you want just to find a different place to live, but you're not gonna change my mind."
"See what I mean? You're being stubborn."
"How am I being stubborn? Is it because I won't listen to you? Is it because you don't like what I do? Just tell me why. I'm listening."
Ellie sighed. "Once something is placed in that tiny brain of yours, you never change anything about it." She got up from off the ground, walking towards the exit of the cave.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna go find somebody else to stay with for the night. I don't think I can sleep next to a stubborn mammoth." Ellie walked out, leaving her husband sad and alone inside the soaked cave.
Ellie wandered around in the forest, searching to see where everyone else was at. She had no idea where the rest of the herd was or if they even found a permanent place to stay at. She looked to see a log car sitting underneath a tunnel. She looked to see Sid and Brooke sleeping inside the car. Sid had his arms wrapped around his wife, keeping her close. She continued traveling through the forest to see her brothers sleeping in a nearby tree, their wooden swords still in their hands. She shook her head and moved on. Walking down the trail, she saw a cave that had a lit up fire inside. She heard giggling and growling inside. She sighed, knowing Diego and Shira had already found a home. Moving along, she looked to see that Peaches and Julian were settling down for the night. Knowing that she was freezing to death, Ellie made her way over to her daughter and son-in-law.
Peaches was the first to notice her mother. "Mom, what are you doing out here? It's raining cats and dogs."
"I know, but your father and I had an argument," Ellie said, "I just need to stay away from him for awhile."
"Well, you're welcomed to stay here with us for the night. Come inside." Peaches led her mother inside the medium-sized cave. "Here it is. It's not much, but at least it's only temporary."
"Temporary?"
"We've decided to build our own home," Julian said, "We need a bigger place to where we can actually move around. You know how us mammoths are."
"I don't blame you," Ellie said, "Mammoths need a lot of space. That's why we have an entire island to move around on."
"What happened between you and Dad?" Peaches asked.
"Well, it seems as though covering up the holes with leaves didn't work. We even used the stickiest stuff we could find and it melted once it started raining. Then I told Manny that he was being stubborn and he was being an idiot about it by asking me all these stupid questions and we ended it by me saying that he can never change his mind about anything and I just walked away."
"Well, you're more than happy to stay here. It'll give you some time to think about things."
"You know, Peaches, I have this strange feeling that maybe I was wrong about leaving your father. He was only trying to make the cave more suitable to live in."
"I'll try and help you think of something. For now, just try and get some rest."
"Okay, baby." Ellie hugged her daughter goodnight. "Goodnight, Peaches."
"Goodnight, Mom."
"Goodnight, Mama Ellie," Julian said.
"Mama Ellie?" Ellie asked.
"Well, I still have my real mom, but you're my wife's mom, so I thought it would be a good way to tell the differences."
"Well, okay. Goodnight, Julian."
They all settled down for the night. Ellie looked to see her daughter and son-in-law were sleeping peacefully next to each other. She sighed, knowing what she told Manny was rude and disrespectful. Sure he was stubborn, but deep down, she knew why he was that way. To protect his family and keep everyone together. She kept her mind on it as she fell asleep. Everyone else had someone to sleep with, but all Ellie had were her thoughts.
Morning had risen and all the animals were starting to open their eyes and say hello to the Sun. Not literally as it is only an expression, but as the Sun woke up, so did everybody else. Crash and Eddie were already wide awake, sword fighting with their wooden swords. They passed by Diego and Shira's cave and heard the two sabers still sound asleep. They walked over to the tree near the sabers home.
"Do you think we should prank them?" Crash asked.
"It depends in whether or not they'll even wake up," Eddie said.
"Don't worry. I have the perfect joke that will send them running outside in fear."
Eddie gasped in delight. "I know exactly what you're thinking. Let's do it."
They both ran off, running towards the river. They passed by Sid and Brooke's log car that was still parked in the tunnel. Crash laughed softly. "Those two must still be looking for a place if they have to live in their car."
"Do you wanna play the prank on them, too?" Eddie asked.
"Awesome idea. We'll do them both at the same time. I know exactly what we need to do."
The possum brothers ran off and grabbed everything they needed. They filled up two empty turtle shells and tied vines around the both of them. After tying vines from one to another, they made it long enough to place two vines in one tree where they could pull up the turtle shells. After tying the loose ends to the tree, the twins filled up the turtle shells with water. They went back over to the tree once they were finished.
"Ready, Eddie?" Crash asked.
"I was born ready," Eddie said.
"On three." They untied the loose vines and held onto them.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three!" they both shouted. They pulled the vines and water poured out of both the turtle shells.
The sabers and sloths were soaked, but they ran outside in fear. They all looked to see that they were going different ways, but in the same direction. All four mammals collided with each other, making a crash that could be heard around the world.
The crash was so loud that it woke Manny up. It was pretty easy to keep him up since he was a light sleeper. He looked to see that Ellie wasn't next to him, which caused him to panic. "Ellie!" He ran out of the cave, shouting Ellie's name.
In the other side of the island, Peaches and Julian were wide awake, shocked at the noise from miles away. Ellie jolted awake and ran out of the cave.
"Mom," Peaches said, following her mother outside, "Are you okay?"
"Shh," Ellie said, "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Ellie shushed Peaches again, hearing Manny call out her name in the distance. Her eyes widened. "I hear your father." She ran off into the forest. "Manny!"
Meanwhile, the four mammals that collided with each other were sitting on top one another. They were soaking wet from being splashed with water. Shira looked to see that she was sitting on top of her husband as Brooke was doing the same thing, but she was sitting on Sid.
Diego groaned. "Shira, you're sitting on me."
"Oh," Shira said, removing herself off of Diego, "Sorry."
"Ouch," Sid said, "Um, Brooke, do you mind getting off me, please?"
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Sidney," Brooke said, getting off her husband and helping him up, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"What happened?" Shira asked.
"I don't know, but I her I can sniff them out," Diego said.
"I'm gonna make whoever it was pay for getting my fur soaked."
"Ellie!" Manny shouted, running out from the trees.
"Manny!" Ellie shouted, doing the same thing Manny did.
Everyone got out of the way as the two mammoths couldn't stop in time and slammed into each other. Dust spreaded all over the place, causing everyone to start coughing and closing their eyes. Once the air was cleared, they looked to see Manny and Ellie with their trunks locked together. Even the two mammoths were stunned by what was going on.
"You okay, Ellie?" Manny asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Ellie said, "Are you?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Manny saw that he still had his trunk locked onto Ellie's. They separated right away. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay. No reason to worry."
"No, there was a reason to worry, Ellie. I woke up to see that you weren't right beside me and I was scared so I ran off to find you. Now I remember why you weren't there. The memory of last night came back into my head and I've realized that I have been stubborn. I regret what I said. I was hoping that maybe we could fix our home and hopefully everyone would come back, but I was wrong. I realized that maybe it's for the best if we did split up and find homes of our own. It's just like what Shira said. We'll still be a herd no matter where we are. What I'm trying to say is that...I'm sorry. Can you ever forgive me, Ellie?"
With tears in her eyes, Ellie hugged her husband. "You may be stubborn at times, but there's a reason why I care about you so much. I can't stay mad at you because my life won't be the same if you weren't in it. Yes, I forgive you, Manny." Ellie hugged Manny tighter, glad to know that nothing could come between their love.
Peaches and Julian ran up to the others. "Are you guys okay?" They looked to see a beautiful moment between Manny and Ellie. Peaches smiled. "I knew they would work it out."
"I knew it, too," Julian said.
"I think those two will be okay,' Diego said.
"Look at us," Sid said, "At times like this, we're all together. I don't see a soul missing. The gang's all here."
"I think we're missing some members," Brooke said.
"I had that same thought."
"I think I may know," Diego said, "Come on out, you miscreants."
"Aww, man," Crash said.
"I thought it would work," Eddie said, "We could've had you guys fooled."
"You guys wanna know what happens now?" Shira asked them.
"What?" the twins asked, concerned looks on their faces. Shira growled, causing the twins possums to scream and run off.
Out of nowhere, Buck was hanging on a vine, looking at the chase that had just happened. "What did I miss?"
"Will some mammals ever learn?" Ellie asked.
"Maybe," Manny said, "Until then, let the fun begin."
Everyone laughed. No matter what happens, the herd will always stick together. However, this isn't the end of their adventures. This is only the beginning.
SO DID YOU ENJOY IT? SHOULD I MAKE A SERIES? WHETHER YOU WANT ME TO OR NOT, I'M GONNA DO IT.
WELL, LWT NE KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.
PLEASE REVIEW.
lovesgod12 OUT!