(Author's note: I know that this chapter is a little late, but I want to thank those of you who are still hanging on, especially to one person in particular who told me that I've neglected this story long enough. To the rest of you, don't think you can start scolding me for being lazy, because that won't fly. It was awesome the first time. I also like to make excuses for my laziness. I have a husband who I like to spend time with, so he comes first. I am also currently writing a novel, writing a comic for a contest that is due at the end of this month, and have a convention in April I need to prepare for. It might be a while until I update again, but I promise I'm not going away. I'm very close to the ending of this story. Another reason for my lateness in updating is that I actually tried to make something more to Buck. I tried to turn my story to look deeper into who Buck was and into his past. And then I thought, "He's Buck. Why ruin it?" and went back to my old plan. For a heads up, this fanfic will be twelve chapters long, and I don't have plans for a sequel. If Ice Age 4 gives me any ideas, I might go with it. One more thing, I have a quick question about the trailer for IA 4. When Scat is captured by pirates (and let me remind you all, I came up with the idea first), was there a female sabor on the ship. It looked like it to me. She's gray with dark stripes. I hope its a girl. That would be awesome. Huh, Diego *nudge nudge wink wink*. Sorry about the long Author's note, but most of you probably skipped it anyway. Love you all. See you next chapter.)
Love Makes You Crazy
Chapter 8: My Heart Went Pop
by Emilou aka Hatashikitty
I never thought that I could be so satisfied,
Every time that I look in your angel eyes.
A shock inside me that words just can't describe,
And there's no explaining.
There's something in the way you move, I can't deny,
Every word from your lips is a lullaby.
A twist of fate makes life worth while,
You are gold and silver.
I said I wasn't gonna lose my head, but then
POP! Goes my heart.
I wasn't gonna fall in love again, but then
POP! Goes my heart.
And I just can't let you go,
I can't lose this feeling.
These precious moments, we have so few,
Lets go far away, where there's nothing to do but play.
You shoot to me that my destiny's with you,
And there's no explaining.
Lets fly so high, will you come with me tonight?
In your dress, I confess, you're the source of light.
The way you shine in the starry skies,
You are gold and silver.
I said I wasn't gonna lose my head, but then
POP! Goes my heart.
I wasn't gonna fall in love again, but then
POP! Goes my heart.
And I just can't let you go,
I can't lose this feeling.
A twist of fate makes life worth while,
You are gold and silver.
I said I wasn't gonna lose my head, but then
POP! Goes my heart.
I wasn't gonna fall in love again, but then
POP! Goes my heart.
And I just can't let you go,
I can't lose this feeling.
-song by Blakemore, Andrew Wyatt/Vicente, and Alanna
Buck leaped from a branch into a puddle of water. It had rained during the night, but it cleared up in time for a beautiful morning. At least it was beautiful until the fight he had with his wife. Once more, it was about him not spending enough time with her. It was always Rudy this and "that mink" that. It was like he couldn't have a life of his own any more. Why couldn't he have his own space sometimes?
She needed to get out more, make new friends. Girls her own age would help. Maybe the kiwi next door would help her let loose, maybe go to the spa. He should suggest that to her. It's not healthy for a pineapple to stay at home. Maybe it was a mistake to let her quit her job and be a full time housewife.
Anyway, he'd take care of it once he went home again. Now, he had his guests to take care of. It's been so nice to have new people down here. He didn't think it at first. The strange herd that came down looking for their friend was kind of a pain, but it made him remember what family meant. He was a little hopeful when they invited him to go back with them, but it didn't seem right. Up there wasn't his world anymore.
But when Tundra fell from the ice sky and into his world, he thought Oh boy, he's another pain to take care of. But things changed. He wanted to be around her more and more. He didn't realize how lonely his life had been before her.
And for some reason, the appearance of these other mammals made him feel lonely again. Part of him didn't want to admit it, but he knew it was going to happen.
Tundra was going to leave.
He didn't know when. And he didn't want her to.
He just couldn't admit it.
"And then, Captain Firefur told the pack rat invaders, 'There is no fuzzin' way I'll join you. Not in this Ice Age or any other.' But the pack rat leader didn't like Firefur's answer. No, far from it. For his insolence, the scurvy rodent tied him to an icicle. The pack rat leader could have killed Captain Firefur there, but he wanted him to suffer. So he cut open a scratch on his leg and let his blood spill on the snow. The smell of blood would attract a pack of wolves, and they would be hungry for his flesh."
Crash and Eddie's eyes widened as Tundra paused in her dramatic retelling of one of her favorite pirate stories her grandfather used to tell her.
"What happened? How did Captain Firefur get out of there?" Crash asked, his enthusiasm breaking through.
"Well, sea minks are one of the slipperiest creatures of all. They have an oil in their fur that allows them to float, which makes their fur sleek and slippery. Captain Firefur used his own blood to make himself even more slick, he used his own blood to coat his bonds and slipped out of the trap. But by now, the wolves were almost upon him, crazy with the smell of blood," Tundra continued.
About this time, Buck had joined them, silently sneaking up the tree. He stood behind the opossum brothers and gave Tundra a wink for her to continue her story and not say anything. There was no sign of her cousin.
Tundra told the rest of the story, using wide gestures and a dramatic flare in her voice to keep Crash and Eddie entertained. She was a great story teller, but only because she had heard her grandfather tell it many times.
The story ended with the pack rat invaders' leader vowing revenge on Captain Firefur and his whole family. At that time, Buck clapped his paws onto Crash and Eddie's shoulder, scaring the young marsupials into squealing like girls.
"Well, tha' was a grand story. A great way to begin the mornin', what do ya say, boys? Are ya ready to go on an adventure?" Buck asked with his usual crazy-for-danger smile.
"Oh yeah," the opossums yelled together, giving each other high fives and fist bumps.
"You'll have to go without me," Tundra said with a wave, then explained to Buck's long face. "Frost isn't awake, and I don't want to leave her alone."
"Then wake her up. The day's a wastin'," Buck growled with a gleam in his eye.
Tundra looked at him with the straightest face he'd ever seen. "Nobody wakes her up. Frost isn't a morning person."
"Come on. I'll wake her up," Buck said jollily. "I don't like loafers on such a beautiful morning."
Tundra's face grew darker. "You don't understand. Nobody wakes Frost up. The last mammal that tried that was her brother, and he lived to regret it. And it wasn't just him that suffered," Tundra said, her voice so cold it burned their ears. "It was like she cursed her whole family for just a few hours of sleep. Frost is a demon that shouldn't be awaken on a whim. You wouldn't want all of us to be cursed for letting you wake her up, would you?" By this time, Tundra was leaning toward the males, her eyes wide and pupils dilated in a face that made shivers crawl up even Buck's spine.
"NO! Don't wake her up!" Eddie cried out in a panic.
"Please, I'd rather die!" Crash moaned.
Buck, not wanting to show how disturbed he was, shook his fur out. "Fine, let the grumpy princess sleep," he said as if he were doing Tundra a favor. "It'll be her loss. We're gonna have fun, aren't we boys?"
"Heck yes," the brothers said together.
"What are we going to do, Buck?" Eddie asked, his cracking voice becoming more shrill from excitement.
"Well, I thought we'd start out with a triceratops ride, an' then we go look at the giant piranha pond, followed by throwin' rocks at some raptors an' then showin' you the Garden of No Return. An' that's just for starters," Buck said, winking is one good eye.
The opossums cheered at the thought of such a dangerous and action-packed morning.
"Sounds like fun," Tundra told them. "If you'd come back by noon, I'll have lunch prepared. By then, Frost should be up."
"No prob," Crash answered for all of them, giving her a knowing look. It was to say he remembered their deal the night before. A half day with Buck, and they'll return to the surface.
Crash's look reminded Tundra of something she had to do. Something she didn't want to do, and it made her heart ache now that the moment had come. She had to tell Buck that she was leaving.
"Uh, Buck. I need to tell you something before you take off," Tundra called to the spotted weasel right before he jumped down from the tree.
"Yeah. What is it, Angel-girl?" he asked as he turned around.
Her lip quivered. She never had a nickname before, and she took Buck's name for her for granted. The thought that she'd never hear that name again made her heart quake. Moments passed quickly while for Tundra they were just seconds.
"Angel-girl? Are you okay?" Buck asked in a worried tone.
"Huh?" Tundra almost shouted, stunned out of her emotions.
"What do you need to tell me?"
Nerves tightened, her mouth became dry and her brain raced to erase all her reasons to leave. And she stopped herself from saying the fateful words.
"Uh, just that you should be careful. I don't want to have to tell their sister she's an only child," Tundra said with a small smile.
Tundra could see Eddie shake his head in disappointment from behind Buck. Both he and his brother knew she chickened out.
"Don' you worry your halo," Buck said with a big smile. "These lads will come back newly dubbed as real wild mammals."
And with that, the three males swung down on vines, leaving Tundra to herself. It took her a while to shake of her nerves, telling her body that everything was okay. But it wasn't. In a few hours, she'd have to go through the whole ordeal once again, and really go through it. In the meantime, she told herself it was better this way. There was no point in ruining Buck's day. He'd just feel upset, and make the opossum brothers miserable as well. That was how Buck was. He didn't hide his feelings, no matter how small of a variety of emotions he had.
It was better this way.
Buck had to paw it to the little scrawny opossums. They were a fearless pair. Either that, or they were stupid. After some thinking, Buck decided it was a healthy mixture of both. He'd been that way when he was young. Sometimes he still acted a little stupid.
The weasel didn't lie to his guests; they went and did everything that was on his list and plus some. When they arrived at The Cracks of Agonizing Pain, Crash had almost died three times (he fell into the piranha pond, tried to ride a baby Stegosaurus and nearly consumed by a flesh-eating orchid), and Eddie only had two near-death experiences (he thought he could swing across a gorge and then Crash dared him to go poke a sleeping raptor in the butt). Eddie was determined to catch up to his brother. And The Cracks of Agonizing Pain was a great place to do it.
Buck quickly showed them how the cracks let loose hot air in bursts, and that the geyser had enough pressure behind it to propel a rock. It was a perfect setting to tell the boys the story of how he eluded Rudy on the terrain by launching rocks at the albino carnivore. He was at the best part of the story when he took a good look at his audience.
"Hey, where's the other one?" he asked, stopping his story.
Crash, who was too involved in listening to Buck, hadn't noticed when he brother had left them. Now that Buck had pointed it out, he jumped up quickly and called for his brother. Opossum and weasel searched quickly, and finally found the missing mammal on the far side of The Cracks.
Eddie hadn't really been bored of Buck's story; the reason he left his comrades was because he had a plan, and he really needed to do it now. After a few minutes, he found the largest leaf he could find and tied two vines to each end of the leaf. Then he tied the vines to himself in a crude harness. That was how his brother and Buck found him on the other side of The Cracks, dragging his leaf to the nearest hole and waiting for hot air to gush out.
Buck, as he ran toward the opossum, assessed what was going through the mammal's fuzzy head. Once he figured out Eddies plan, he had two reactions. The first was a chuckle at the ingenious invention. It sounded like something he would try. The second was to put more speed into his sprint to stop the mammal from killing himself. He shouted and waved to stop Eddie's suicidal mission.
But they were too late. Eddie smirked as he thought of his brother's envious face. This would top everything Crash had done. The ground started to shake as the geyser's hot air was rising to the surface.
Buck and Crash were only a few feet away when the spout erupted, carrying the leaf along with it and pulling Eddie off the ground faster than any mammal has gone before.
Eddie's stomach dropped into his tail as he was slung into the air. He had stood as far he could from the hot air, and purposefully used long vines so he could avoid the steam, but it still wasn't enough to entirely prevent himself from being pulled into the steam. Lucky for him, he hit the steam higher in the air, and it wasn't as hot as at the mouth of the geyser. His tale received the worst of it, and stung as if a snake had bit him. But the opossum didn't pay attention to the pain as he rocketed higher and higher into the air, not stopping until he almost touched the ice sky.
For a few seconds, Eddie was able to appreciate his trip, reveling in the adrenaline shooting through his system and enjoying the sight.
Then he dropped like a rock.
But only for a couple dozen feet while the leaf straightened out and caught the air enough to become a parachute.
On the ground, Buck and Crash were paralyzed as they were caught in watching Eddie shooting up into the air. They only started to breath again when they saw the little speck start coming back down slowly.
Buck was glad there wasn't much air currents down below the ice sky, and was sure the opossum would land close by. He laughed loudly at the small mammals daring feat. "That's quite a brother you have," he told Crash.
Crash, trying not to show his concern, just pouted and muttered something that sounded like "Showoff."
Up in the air, Eddie was enjoying his ride down, shouting and waving down at the little specks on the ground. "Hey, guys. I can see Buck's house from here," he shouted and laughed.
And then things went wrong.
A leaf isn't a very sturdy thing in the first place. When it's subjected to heat and pressure was put on it, it won't come out of it unscathed. So far, Eddie had been lucky, but the strain was now becoming too much for the leaf. It started to rip. The tear started out small, but as Eddie moved around in his harness, it grew and grew. Soon, a large strip of the greenery was flapping in the wind, and Eddie was falling a bit faster than he'd like.
The opossum looked up to see what the problem was, and saw that his parachute would soon be in two pieces. And that's when his shouts turned from joyous, to panic.
Buck and Crash noticed Eddie's change in mood as well as the rate of his descent.
"He's falling faster. Something's wrong," Crash shouted at Buck.
Buck didn't respond, but just kept an eye on the opossum. "His chute is tearing. He's too far up."
"What do we do?" Crash yelled, grabbing Buck's shoulder.
"Quick, grab some of those large leaves. We can use them to catch him," Buck shouted, running to go do the same.
"What if he comes down before we get back?" Crash asked, a hint of hysteria in his cracking voice.
"We can't do anythin' for him then. If we try to catch 'im, he might kill us as well," Buck told the young opossum. It was a harsh truth, but in times of crisis, Buck didn't care to sugar coat anything.
Crash had never felt more fear for his brother, and suddenly he knew the reason why. Buck wasn't smiling.
Meanwhile, Eddie was desperately watching the two on the ground. They were his only hope if his parachute quit on him. Right now, it was still slowing his descent, but it was still tearing in two. And now the rip had changed direction. Instead of just pulling off a length-wise piece off, it was now ripping width-wise. In a few moments, nothing would be slowing his progress to the ground.
His eyes became dry from starring at the situation, his neck hurting from the whiplash of turning his head back and forth from the ground to his parachute and back again. He kept wishing that they were in a forested area since he was very close to the tree-line and the vegetation would have saved him, but when he went through with his stunt, he didn't think about what would happen if anything went wrong.
The small little opossum cried out in joy when he saw his brother and Buck emerge from the vegetation carrying paw-fulls of leaves. They had a plan.
The two mammals on the ground layered the leaves, and then stretched them between their bodies, creating a soft barrier between Eddie and the ground. That is, if they could catch him. Crash and Buck soon were dancing back and forth trying to stay directly underneath the falling mammal to save his life.
Finally, after much tension, Eddie's leaf gave one final tug on the vines, and split in two. Eddie, no longer airborne, tumbled through the air screaming the entire way. He tried to keep his eyes on Buck and Crash, but he was spinning so erratically that he couldn't keep track of what was up and what was down.
Crash and Buck sprinted once they saw the weasel free fall, and they had only seconds to get directly beneath him with their leaf padding. And like a blind rat running frantically in a densely populated forest, they all hit their heads against the closest object (which was another heat) and collapsed in a pile of relief and pain. Groans and moans were soon interrupted by a hysterical giggle from one particular individual.
"Hahahaha, that was so much fun. You guys have to try it," Eddie told them, holding onto his head while he rolled on the ground. He didn't get to laugh for long. Soon, Crash had his paws around Eddie's neck and was throttling his brother.
"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid," Crash kept repeating.
"I just saved 'im. Please don't ruin my efforts an' kill 'im," Buck said with a gruff laugh.
Crash relented and released his brother. Eddie still had a huge grin on his face.
"What are you so happy about?" Crash asked.
"I'm winning," Eddie replied. "I've almost died four times today.
"Dude, I still only count three," Crash argued although his temper had cooled down.
"Uh-uh. You almost killed me, therefore, I'm up to four," Eddie bragged with a huge grin.
Buck chuckled as he listened to their squabbling.
Tundra only left her cousin alone for a small amount of time to forage for food, and that was only because she knew Frost would be dead to the world for a while more. Plus she knew that they would never eat so well once they went back above the ice sky. So she loaded up on every fruit she could find as well as raided a nest for a few eggs while she was at it. By the time she lugged it back up the tree, Frost was moaning and stirring in the hammock, which meant she'd be awake in a half hour.
Tundra was fine for the time to herself. She was feeling a bit emotional as she ran through the jungle, because she knew it would be her last. And now she looked at the place she had called home for only a few months, and felt like she was leaving the world.
She sat down on the smooth bark, and took everything in. Smells, sights, sounds. She wanted to take everything about it back with her. Because it reminded her of the best time of her life. She finally felt like herself, the true mink that laid beneath the fur that her family tried to make her to be.
She tried to intake everything that she's known, learned and experienced in the past few months, including everything that had to do with Buck. She knew she had to leave; her presence was already breaking up his world. The tension between he and his wife was her fault. She couldn't stay.
A loud moan and the sound of heavy paw steps made Tundra wipe away tears before she turned around.
"You don't need to do that around me," Frost said, strangely lucid for her after waking up. "So spill it all, before your boyfriend get back with the kiddies."
Tundra chuckled softly at her comment. "I think this is the hardest thing I'm going to have to do. I don't want to leave."
Frost sighed. "You know I love you, coz, and I don't want to loose you. But you're a grown mammal. You can make you're own choices. I can at least go up and tell everyone you're alive."
Tundra blew out her breath with puffed up cheeks in frustration. "You haven't seen how things are down here. Buck's been alone for. . .I donno. . .maybe years by himself, with nothing to do but try to stay alive. And its like he created his own little world to cope with isolation."
Frost gave Tundra a look as if she were saying, "You are so bizarre."
"You've really given this Buck guy some thought," Frost told her cousin. "So that's why he's got the creepy pineapple-wifey thing goin' on."
"Yeah, and I'm breaking up his world. The longer I stay, the worse its going to get," Tundra added. She swallowed as if something was caught in her throat. "And its only going to get harder to leave the longer I stay. I have to go with you. Today."
Frost's eyebrows lowered. "You do realize you are backing down from a guy because of a piece of fruit."
Tundra's shoulders sagged.
"This is ridiculous. Just tell him that it's all in his mind. He needs to face reality," Frost insisted.
Tundra looked worried. "Are you sure that will fix everything? If we tell him that his world is wrong, will he see reason? Everything will just click into place and fix itself?" Tundra almost demanded the answers, but looked as if she didn't expect them.
Frost thought about these questions. She thought about if someone told her that the way she was living was wrong. Would she believe them? No, of course not. And even if they gave her evidence that she was wrong, would she still accept it?
"I guess you're right," Frost admitted. "But I still think you're wrong."
"It doesn't matter," Tundra said. "I don't want to hurt Buck anymore. I need to leave him."
They sat in silence for a while, and it was Frost that spoke first.
"You know, I can always go and get rid of the wife for you," she told her cousin.
Tundra looked at her cousin in horror, but couldn't keep back a laugh. "Oh, you're awful."
"I can sneak over there, and go feed her to a couple of dinosaurs."
"Now, would that be called fruiticide?"
"How about we eat her ourselves?" Frost said with an evil grin.
Tundra looked disgusted. "She's probably full of worms or rotting by now." Tundra looked thoughtful. "Maybe Buck sometimes misplaces her and then just finds another pineapple lying around to replace her."
Frost's eyes grew wide. "He could be a poly-fruit-gamist."
That set the two laughing again even though they both felt it was forced. After awhile, they started eating breakfast. Since their meal was made mostly of fruit, they started laughing and joking again.
Frost and Tundra were still laughing and joking when they heard the three males making their way up the tree. They hushed up quickly, exchanging sly glances that nobody else would know the meaning of.
Buck and the opossums immediately went for the remainder of the fruit that the minks didn't eat, stuffing their faces. Crash explained that near-death experiences always made them famished. Once they had slowed down in their chewing, they took turns retelling their adventures and showing their battle wounds.
Frost was so caught up in the energy of the moment that she joined in on their jokes and laughter, eating more of the fruit even though she was full. Tundra, on the other hand, tried to laugh and join in, but it was forced. She was sure nobody noticed her strange behavior except for her cousin. She made the excuse of going to get more fruit to get away from everyone.
Tundra wanted some time to herself to prepare for her talk with Buck. She never expected that she'd speak with the weasel so quickly.
"Hey, what's the matter, Angel-girl?"
Tundra spun around. She hadn't heard the weasel scale down the tree after her.
"Ah, Buck. You don't have to help. Go talk to the boys. They adore you," Tundra said with a smile.
"Somethin's wrong. What is it?" Buck asked again.
"Nothing. Now go enjoy yourself," Tundra lied.
Buck shook his head. "You know me better than tha', Angel-girl. I can tell when somethin' isn 't right. Now tell me."
It was just like Buck to sense something others didn't, and that he went straight to the point.
"Buck, there's something I have to tell you," Tundra told him. It was now or never. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but things got out of hand. And you were so happy, and I didn't want to ruin everything."
"Whoa, Angel-girl. You aren't making any sense," Buck told her with a grin, but felt uneasy. Tundra sometimes would babble, but only when she was very distressed. But this wasn't the same distress she had when her life was in danger. This was something else.
"Frost really should be going home, and the boys should go back before their family gets any more worried, and I've decided to go back with them," Tundra told him in one big breath.
Buck's grin fell slowly.
"It's time for me to leave," Tundra says slower. "I may not know all you do, but it's an improvement on the old me. My family thinks I'm dead. I need to go home."
Buck looked stunned for a while, and then he grinned once more. But it wasn't a grin Tundra knew. "I must be a better teacher than I thought. But I guess you're ready t' graduate from Buck's Boot Camp. We can have the graduation ceremony tonight. You'll need a camp an' gown, an' no playing pranks on the dean."
Tundra smiled softly, but shook her head. "Buck, we're going to leave today. Within the hour. Again, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," she told him softly.
"Oh," Buck said after a slight hesitation. That strange smile was still on his furry face. "Well, if you have t' go, you have t' go. You don' need my permission t' leave."
"I hope that I can still come visit you," Tundra told him. "Or you can come visit me. You still are my best friend."
"I guess you don' even need my help gettin' back," Buck said. It appeared as if he didn't hear her last words. "You know enough to take 'em up safely."
Tundra's eyebrows knitted together; she could tell there was something wrong. "I guess. But it'll be nice to take one last butterfly ride together," she told him with a smile. "You will be. . ."
Buck interrupted her by holding up a finger and saying, "Hold on a minute." He reached behind him as if he were grabbing his tooth knife, but instead he brought out a squarish rock. "Allo? Ah, yes luv. I'm here with Angel, her cousin an' the boys. No. Yes. What's that you say?"
Tundra starred at Buck. She smiled faintly, thinking that this was one of his strange jokes. She decided to go with it. "Who are you talkin' to?" she asked the weasel."
Buck shushed her with a finger, and then cupped the rock as if it would over-hear him. "It's the wife. She's upset abou' somethin'," he told her with a roll of the eyes.
Tundra felt uneasy about Buck's behavior.
"Okay, I'm on my way. Don' do anythin'. It's okay, sweetie," Buck told the rock. Then he muttered, "Okay. I love you, too. Goodbye." He then dropped the rock, and straightened up. "There's an emergency at home. I have to go immediately to take care of it."
Now Tundra knew something was wrong, but it wasn't with the pineapple. Was she wrong or was Buck upset? She had never seen Buck upset before, not ever. Maybe it wasn't a good idea just to spring the news of her leaving so instantly on him.
"Well, good luck on the whole livin' your life in the Ice Age, mammal," Buck told her with a salute. "Take care of those boys, an' keep that cousin away from me." And then, in a blink of an eye, the weasel was gone.
Tundra was so stunned by his behavior that she had little time to react or stop him. And by the time her brain tallied up what had happened, she felt abandoned. She had spent months with Buck. He had taught her how to survive, shown her many wonderful and beautiful things together. They had nearly died together by Rudy's teeth and claws. He had saved her life multiple times, and she had even manage to save his. They were best friends, or at least she thought so.
And he didn't say good-bye to her.
Tundra wondered if this was how he handled distress, and if this was the last time she would see Buck. She could stay a day or more to let him get used to the idea, but her family would be looking for Frost. If she took her cousin home and stayed, it would be even harder for her to leave the jungle and Buck. She had to leave today, but also decided to come back in a few weeks to check on Buck. Perhaps when he realized that she wasn't going to stay away forever, he'd be better. Or would it be better if she never came back at all, since she was the reason for Buck's rocky marriage?
She was so confused by everything that she didn't know what to do. Slowly, she made her way back up the tree to where her guests were.
"Where's Buck?" Eddie was the first to speak.
"Uh, I told him that we were leaving soon," Tundra told them, feeling emotional. "He didn't take it well."
"Didn't take it well?" Frost repeated. She looked protective. "What, did he yell at you?"
Tundra shook her head. "No, he. . uh. . .he was acting weird. He talked to a rock and then left without saying goodbye. He said his wife had an emergency."
Crash shrugged. "Sounds like regular Buck," he told her.
"No, it doesn't. He's never done anything like that," Tundra said sadly.
"Yeah, talking to pineapples is completely different than talking to rocks," Frost said sarcastically with an exaggerated rolling of her eyes.
"No, I know him," Tundra insisted. "He was acting different. He was upset. He just left."
Crash shook his head. "He did the same thing to us. It's just his mysterious ways. We mere mortals can't be expected to understand him."
Tundra wanted to argue more, but knew she wasn't going to persuade them. She just let the issue drop.
"How could she just leave like that?" the fish head asked offended.
"And not say goodbye to Rudy?" the nutshell clacked in agreement.
"Now, it's not her fault, she has to help those nutty opossums and her cousin home," the skull of a bird argued. It was always very sentimental.
The nutshell sniffed stiffly at the "nutty" comment.
"She could have told Buck earlier," the fish head said indignantly.
"Yeah, she should have," Buck nodded at the fish head. "She could have told me. . .no, I guess it's not somethin' you bring up when you almost die."
"I would," the nutshell pipped in.
The bird skull shook its bony head at Buck. "Did you ever consider that it might have been hard to tell you?"
"How hard is it to say, 'By the way, I've decided to leave. It's been fun.' Not hard at all, I think," the fish head snubbed the skull. "A real mate would have done so little."
"And she didn't even ask about your wife," the nutshell told Buck, looking very snobbish about the mink's behavior.
"They've never gotten along," Buck admitted. "I've also been spendin' less time with Angel-girl. But the wife's insisted."
"And all because of that mink," the nutshell said, always glad to criticize someone.
"But she's always been very polite to your wife, and supported you when you were having trouble," the bird skull told Buck softly. "She's always been there for you."
"Yeah, she has," Buck said. "Life's been interestin' since she fell from the sky."
"And she does play well with Rudy," the bird skull added.
"Oh, what an adventure tha' was," Buck agreed, his eyes sparkling. "I don' know how I feel about her leavin' so suddenly. The only thing is that I'm glad its so sudden an' not dragged out like the flu or a nasty rash."
"I hate rashes," the nutshell put in its two cents.
"You don't need her to have fun," the fish head insisted. "You have your health, your wife and Rudy. What else do you need?"
Buck thought about that, and felt empty. Even with that great list of things he had, it was still one thing too short. But he wasn't going to say that out loud to these characters.
"A good back scratcher," said the nutshell, obviously answering the fish head's question.
"Well, what do you think?" Buck asked the last member of the group that hadn't said a thing.
The pine cone was silent for a little while before replying. "Maybe you should ask yourself, what does she mean to you?"
The question surprised Buck. He wasn't sure how he'd answer. But the thing that came out of his mouth was this. "I'd be so lonely without her."
The pine cone fell silent once more, satisfied with the answer Buck gave him.
"Lonely? Why would you be lonely when you have us?" the fish head demanded, starring at Buck with unblinking eyes.
Buck looked down at all the inanimate objects with a blank look. Then he stood up, dusted off his pelt and waved. "Thanks for the talk, guys. It really helped."
The fish head, nutshell, bird skull and pine cone never spoke another word again, apparently flabbergasted at Buck's strange behavior.
Buck now had a lot to think about on his way home, but his head didn't feel like addressing any of the immediate issues. His thoughts bounce from one item to the next, keeping far, far away from Tundra. Sooner than he expected, he arrived at his log home. Minus his usual swagger, he entered his domain as if he were a zombie. His eyes didn't see anything, nor did he react at the presence of the pineapple. He completely ignored it.
Only then did he finally grasp that tomorrow, Tundra wouldn't be in her tree. There would be no more adventures with her. No more teasing her, or hearing her scream from fright. No more games of dinosaur chicken, or teasing Rudy with her. No more getting her to laugh at his antics or hear her tell another pirate story.
And the dreams would probably go away too.
It would just be him again, alone. His heart started to beat quicker, but not from excitement like usual. It was dread.
He was never afraid of being alone before. But he had never met anyone that could keep up with him like Tundra could.
Oh, that sabor might have done so, but he'd rather raise a baby mammoth than live with danger and death every day.
Buck felt angry with himself for not saying goodbye to his best friend. That's what the bird skull was trying to get at. Now he'll probably never see her again. The weasel quickly pulled out his knife, and stabbed it into the wall of his home.
What he really needed was some help. But he wasn't quite sure how to ask for it.
Help? Something popped into Buck's head as he thought of the word. Didn't Tundra mention something about her family? Her parents or someone else, they weren't getting along. What did they do? Go to a counselor? That's right, a marriage counselor. To get the help they need. That seemed like something he could do.
"Oh, sorry about that, darlin'," Buck said apologetically, turning around to the pineapple behind him. He immediately straightened to his full height and his usual Buck smile on his countenance. "I was a little distracted. I didn' mean to ignore you. Now what was that emergency you were talkin' about?"
If the pineapple had hips, it would be putting hands on them. That is if the pineapple had hands.
"What?" Buck exclaimed, leaning back with a look of disappointment. "That's what you called me away from my friends for? More hair spray?. . . .Oh, like that's an emergency. What next? You run out of sunscreen. Doesn' your hair stand up enough? I work hard all day, an' this is what I come home to. Sometimes I don' even know who you are anymore."
Buck massaged the bridge of his nose. Then his ears perked up as if listening to something surprising.
"You think we need help?" he asked the pineapple. He paused again to listen. "Yeah, I've heard of somethin' like that. Yeah, a marriage counselor. Good idea, luv." He snatched up the pineapple into his arms dynamically. "Hurry an' pack, or we'll miss our train."
Frost noticed that her cousin was very quiet as they made their plans for departure. Frost was also concerned that they would be flying up to the hole in the ice, but her cousin came first. Normally she would wheedle Tundra into talking about what was wrong, but it was obvious it was about Buck. For that, Frost wanted to walk up to the weasel and kick him multiple times in the softest parts of his flesh. That might make her feel better, but not her cousin.
There was nothing she could do but let broken hearts heal. At least Tundra will be able to get back to her real life, and not this fantasy of being stuck with a heroic figure in an isolated paradise.
"Now, Frost, I don't want you freakin' out. You'll scare them away," Tundra told the white mink.
Frost blinked and felt fear creeping all around her. She was sure her cousin said those exact words because she wanted Frost to be afraid.
Tundra had flowers the size of sloth bellies in her paws and handed one to Frost and one to Eddie. "If you feed them first, they'll be more likely to fly where you want them to go."
"What are 'they'?" Frost asked, looking around for something large and with sharp teeth.
"The giant butterflies, duh," Tundra said, giving a fake smile. She then bent over and picked up part of the ground. Underneath was the long body of a giant butterfly, it's wings blending perfectly with the grass and leaves. "They make better transportation than pterodactyls."
Tundra then pulled out yards of vines cut in different lengths. "You two, feed a butterfly. We'll ride double since that's all one can handle. Crash, take one vine to tie around you and Frost. I'm leaving her to you to take care of."
"I thought I would ride with you," Frost said uncertain.
Tundra started looping a vine around her arm. On one end of the vine, a raptor claw was tied. "I have to anchor us to the ice, and I need Eddie to steer for me," she explained.
Frost nodded, but still turned green.
The process of preparing the butterflies, getting on them and flying up into the air was interesting for the mammals, but went off without a hitch. Once aloft it took them a while to locate the hole in the sky. And as Tundra attempted to anchor the vine, Crash and Frost flew in lazy circles and avoided crashing into each other. On her fifth throw, the raptor claw finally caught on the ice and held. She then climbed up the vine followed by Eddie.
With two safely on the ice, the mink and opossum were able to persuade Frost up the vine. And since Crash was tied to her, it made for an interesting scene.
Once her cousin was safely up on solid ice, Tundra started to shiver. Her thinner pelt didn't keep the cold out, and it would take weeks for her to grow her winter coat. She'd need to get home quickly so she wouldn't freeze. Taking one last look down the hole, she was able to glance the green jungle for a while before white mist covered it up. She picked up the raptor claw and started winding up the vine.
"Goodbye, Buck," she told the hole and turned away.
"Oooooooooooooo," a howl called out. It started low and became louder. Crash and Eddie turned around, hearing that it came from the hole.
"Catch!"
A blurry object jumped out of the mist at them, and Eddie caught it more out of surprise than anything else. Once his paws had stopped moving from fumbling he was able to see that he had caught the ugliest pineapple ever created. It seemed to be glaring at him, so he held it far from his body.
Tundra couldn't believe what was happening, so she peered down the hole again. There was a shadowed flurry of wings and a whooping figure jumped through the hole and skidded across the ice with the wild flare he was natural of.
"Buck," the other mammals called, the boys with excitement, Frost from surprise that he wasn't dead from such a stunt, and Tundra from confusion.
"Aye," Buck replied. "I couldn' let you off without a goodbye. Besides, I thought that me an' the wife could use a vacation." He grabbed the pineapple away from Eddie by the stalk and then cradled it with one arm.
"You're going to stay up here?" Crash asked with a big smile.
"You bet your sweet tails," Buck told them. "At least for a while. I showed you my home mammals, now it's your turn. I want you to show me everythin'. An' of course I want to meet your families."
Buck had face the opossums when he talked, and never looked directly at Tundra until the last couple of words he said. This made Tundra stiffen and give him a fake smile.
"Oh, good. I'm sure they'll be glad to meet you," Tundra said, her voice robotic.
"Well, no point in standin' around here until we're icicles," Buck told them, and looked forward. "Let's head on out."
Once Buck started walking away, Tundra rushed to Frost and pulled her in a secretive huddle.
"This is bad," Tundra hissed at her cousin. "We can't take him home. At least not yet."
"Why not," Frost said with a sly smile. "This might actually be fun."
"You don't understand. I haven't told him anything," Tundra said with wide eyes.
"Anything? You mean, you haven't told him about how crazy our family is," Frost said, not worried.
"NO! I mean, yes, I've hinted at a few things, but I didn't get into too much details. But I didn't tell him about the wedding. I didn't tell him I'm engaged or about Rocky."
"Oh," Frost added faintly. "That might be a little trouble."
"Frost, we have to find a way to stall him," Tundra insisted. "I need to get home first and prepare everyone."
"You mean call off the wedding? I doubt that will be too much of a trouble," Frost shrugged. "You've been dead for a long time, and last time I heard, Rocky was engaged to someone else. I think to one of my second cousins."
"That didn't take him long." Tundra relaxed a little, but still looked tense. "I still want to go home first and prepare the family. I think having a daughter come back from the dead and introducing Buck may be one too many surprises to take in."
Frost nodded. "Okay, I'll see what I can do."
Before the two minks could plan anything, Crash helped them out.
"Hey, Buck. Let's go see our herd first. Everyone will be excited to see you. And Peaches has grown so much," Crash called out to the weasel.
"Alright. Lead the way," Buck commanded with a wild grin. "Come on, minks. You're slowin' us down," he called behind him.
Tundra was about to make an excuse that she needs to see her family first, but Buck grabbed her paw and yanked her away. Frost followed quickly, keeping to Tundra's side.
"But Buck. . . ," Tundra tried to explain again.
"Oh, come on mammal. You've played with dinosaurs. A couple of mammoths are going to be nothing," Buck told her, not listening to anything she said.
After a few more attempts, Tundra allowed herself to be dragged along. She even took a lead for a while to help avoid the mink community. It wasn't long before they came to the other communities where most species were happy to mingle with each other. It was something that Tundra suddenly realized about minks. They preferred to stay among themselves and not socialize with other species. Could she go back to that suffocating stuffiness?
And as they walked, Tundra thought about how her world would be from now on. When she went home, her family would still see her as the old Tundra. She'd have to convince them that things would be different, and she'd have to have some changes. But what would those changes be? What would she tell her parents? She obviously couldn't tell them everything that went on down in the jungle. But if they met Buck, she might as well have. Buck would tell them everything and more.
And what would her parents think of Buck? How would she keep them from killing each other?
More and more problems entered her mind, and she wished she had a day more to think things through. Buck's presence was too much of a surprise. She definitely had to find away to stall Buck long enough to get things settled with her family.
She'd have to get the opossums to help, and immediately moved toward the boys to whisper her fears and request their help. They readily agreed, glad for the challenge and spending more time with Buck.
While Tundra was planning with the two mischievous marsupials, a mammoth came over the horizon, spotted the group, and came charging at full speed toward them.
"Ellie!" the boys shouted, recognizing their sister. They waved and called to her happily. That is, until they saw her expression of anger on her face, in which they turned tail to run. But they didn't get fair before a fuzzy trunk grabbed their tails and yanked them up to her eye level.
"Where have you been?" Ellie yelled at her brothers, and shook them. "I've been worried sick these last few days. I've had the whole herd searching all over. I thought a hawk had eaten you for dinner."
"Don't kill us," Eddie cried out.
"We can explain," Crash protested.
"Oh, you better," Ellie demanded. "If you don't have a good excuse, I'll tie you to Sid and you'll never leave his side for the rest of your little lives."
"We went to save Tundra," Eddie shouted, tears of fear coming to his eyes. "Look, she's down there. She's not dead."
Ellie, so focused on her naughty brothers, finally noticed the three other mammals on the ground. She recognized Frost, and saw the reddish brown mink next to her with some of the same features. The mammoth dropped the two opossums and starred for a while. Then she dropped her head down and pulled the two minks in a trunk hug.
"Oh, I'm so glad you are alive," Ellie cried out happily.
Tundra gasped at the powerful hug. "But I barely know you," she was barely able to say.
"That's alright. Frost and I are good friends," Ellie told her. "I feel like I already know you."
"That's right, girl," Frost nodded. When Ellie let them go, she bumped fists with Ellie's trunk.
"She talked about you all the time," Ellie explained further. "But how did you survive. I thought you fell down a glacier."
"No, I fell a bit further than that," Tundra said, smiling brightly. "In fact, you might know the place. Especially since we now have a common friend." She gestured a paw to the last mammal that Ellie failed to see right away.
"Buck!" Ellie exclaimed, her trunk tossed in the air in surprised. "Well, isn't this day full of surprises. Wait a minute, I thought the way to dinosaur land was destroyed."
"There's another way," Tundra told the mammoth. "It's slightly more vertical than the way you took."
"Oooo, this sounds like an interesting story," Ellie told them. "I can't wait to here it. But first, Buck what are you doing here? I thought you couldn't leave Rudy alone," she said with a knowing smile.
"I'm on vacation," Buck told her with a grin. "I've brought the little woman with me." He held up the pineapple.
For a second Ellie was entranced by the piece of fruit, and everyone waited to see what she'd say about the hideous pineapple.
"Hi!" Ellie greeted with enthusiasm and a wave of her trunk as if she were seeing an old friend. "Welcome to the Ice Age."
Eddie and Crash exchanged looks at each other. Classic Ellie.
"Come on, guys. Let's get going," Ellie told them, and started lumbering off.
"Wait, isn't home that way?" Eddie asked, pointing in the opposite direction.
"Our home, but not Tundra's," Ellie told them. "She needs to go home and see her mom right now." Ellie had strong feelings about being a mother, and knew if it was her, she'd want to know her daughter was alive. "Oh, I can't wait to see her face. And then we can tell that Rocky guy. Yay, I can't wait. Can I come to the weddi. . ."
About this time, Crash and Eddie lept at their sister's mouth and closed it. Seeing that it was an awkward situation, they pretended to miss Ellie so much they had to hug her fiercely.
"Okay, you guys are definitely scaring me," Ellie told them and waited for them to slid off her trunk.
"But what about Peaches," Eddie brought up quickly. "We haven't seen her yet. Where is she?"
"Manny's watching her," Ellie told them.
"Oh, I really want to see her," Crash played on. "I bet she misses her uncles."
"Yes, we must go see her. And she needs to see Buck too," Eddie added.
"Yes, stay with us tonight," Crash hurriedly told Buck. "You should be our guest and see everyone."
Ellie knew when her brothers were up to something, and this was definitely something. However, she saw the two minks watching her, and knew this was something the girls needed. Whatever it was, she'd find out eventually.
"Alright, we'll go see Peaches. But Tundra definitely needs to go home and see her mother," Ellie insisted. When she saw everyone's faces brighten up, she knew she said the right thing.
Tundra nodded as if this wasn't her idea. "Yes, I really think I need to leave. My family must be worried." That's when she turned to Buck. "I hope you have fun. I'll come back tomorrow. I'll need some time with my family alone." Tundra thought her words sounded false and someone rehearsed, but she couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Ah, go. You don' need me around anymore, mammal," Buck said with a wave of a paw. "Besides, the wife an' I haven' been away since the honeymoon, haven't we sweetheart?" He hugged the pineapple.
Tundra thought she knew what was different about Buck. There was a different gleam in his eyes. It was a look of madness, but not his usual kind. He had lost a bit more sanity. But Tundra shook this off. Buck was always a bit mad, that's what made him Buck. This might even be usual for the weasel to have cycles of insanity and sanity.
"Well, I'll see you later," she waved to the group, and turned with her cousin away from them.
They had only gone a few yards when a voice called out.
"Wait a moment."
It was Buck again, but minus his pineapple companion.
"I have something I need to tell you," he said, his eyes on Tundra. "It's sort of private." He starred at Frost until the white mink moved out of hearing.
"What is it, Buck?" Tundra asked. Maybe this had something to do with his strange behavior.
"I remember you saying something about a marriage counselor around here. The wife and I have talked about it, and we really think it'll help," Buck told her. "Could you set us up an appointment? I'd really appreciate it."
Tundra blinked at this random new bit of information. "Uh. . .of course. I'll take care of it."
"I'd also like to keep this a secret. I don't want the gossip circles to get a hold of this," Buck said quietly. He waited for the mink to say she'd keep his secret. Then he smiled broadly. "Thank you, Tundra." Then he ran back to the others.
Frost went back to Tundra. "What was that about?" she asked curiously.
"He said my name," Tundra said numbly.
Frost shook her head at her cousin. "I didn't think you had fallen that bad for him. Don't get all moony-eyed for him now. I might just get sick."
"No, it's just that, he never uses my name," Tundra said distantly. And then she realized he hadn't called her Angel-girl since he started acting weird. It was always "guys" or "mammal" or something else. What was going on with him?
With little choice in her situation, Tundra turned around and headed for home without looking back at the weasel.
Far from the two groups, over mountains and rivers, frozen lakes and pine forests. As far as a human could travel for five days, another group of animals were traveling. But this wasn't like the ordinary group of animals. It wasn't even like an unusual group of animals. These animals traveled on a vehicle. It was crude in it's making, much like the wooden sleds humans make, but it was carved out of ice. It was made of sharp angles, icicles dripping off everything. There was the dead remains of an oak trunk, blackened as if struck by lightning. Dead animal skins hung from the oak trunk, tied to it with leather stolen from humans. The skins were tied in a way to catch the wind.
In essence, it was like the pirate ships that were used on the high seas, but made to go across snow. Animals of all species and breeds were climbing all around it, securing leather straps and rushing to and fro. In front of the ship was a pack mixed with all breeds of sabors and dire wolves.
This vessel was one of the notorious ice pirates, who were constantly on the move. This particular ship was a ruthless lot, a majority of the crew were giant pack rats, foxes and the occasional badger or wolverine.
And the captain was the largest and most dangerous pack rat to ever had lived. After reaching to the top from a many bloody battles, he had earned the name Red Claw. And at that moment, Captain Red Claw was at the stern of the ship, watching as the sabor and dire wolves trudged through the snow. He wasn't looking for something in particular, but sensed something different in the wind. His snout stuck straight out into the cold breeze, taking in all scents and flakes of snow. Legend had it, he could smell a mammoth ten miles away. But it was more than that. It was like his nose held a sixth sense, especially when it came to past debts.
And today he nose was especially keen. To his amazement, he picked up a scent he had not smelled for many long years. Whiskers twitched as he sniffed to make sure, and then grinned devilishly, his yellow teeth clacking together.
"Lads," Red Claw shouted, a voice that had glacier ice and volcanic heat all in one tone. "Change of course."
"But what about the treasure?" a ferret pipped up. The ferret was the first mate, a practical creature who also bended whenever the captain changed his moods. Through his cool, logical thinking, and the way he never showed emotions, they called him Glacier. Not to mention, his blue eyes would turn a whole heard of mammoths to ice. "We've gather quite a haul. We must bury it before we're attacked by another ship." The ferret played on the captain's protective instincts over his treasure as well as his paranoia.
"For once lad, this is more important than treasure," the captain growled.
Some of the crew stopped their work in surprise. What could be more important than treasure? The first mate even asked this same question to everyone's relief. Nobody questioned the captain besides the first mate.
The Captain's answer was one word that made even the dire wolves and sabors stop in their labors.
"Buck!"
Author: Woot! I'm glad that's over with. And since we went through most of the characters in the story (except for Frost. She told me she'd sue me if I made her do one of these) we'll just have to repeat a few characters. Diego is back through popular demand for his return to tell the teasers for the next chapter. But I had to promise to leave while he gives it. Bye guys. *leaves*
Diego: Is she gone? *sighs* That girl is missing one nut shy of a squirrel's food storage. So, I'm the one in the most demand. Well, thank you everyone. I'm flattered. But seriously, I don't ever want to come back. Ask for Manny or Ellie or Sid to come back, but not me. That girl scares me.
So, let's move on to the teasers. *pulls out paper* It looks like our heroes will soon run into serious trouble. Will Buck escape this new villain on the horizon? Or will he sink further into madness and go Buck-Wild and kill everyone? Will Tundra be able to return home? Or will her family disown her for faking her own death? Will Sid and Manny finally get any screen time in the fanfic? Will Frost start loosing sleep as she is in agony with having to choose either Crash or Eddie as her lover? Will Diego finally realize that he's such a good kitty-cat and come live with me and I'll feed him tuna and shrimp and brush his coat and scratch his ears and. . .wait a minute. . .this shouldn't be here. It goes on. . .for three pages!
That's it, I want a restraining order. I'm leaving. I don't care if Peaches gives me those big, soft eyes at me, I'm definitely leaving. At least until this fanfic business is over with. It's really creeping me out.
