Faithers: *grins* Hello all and welcome back to Buck Up! We currently have Buck gagged and tied in the corner so we can talk about important things without worrying about him forcibly KILLING us. First matter of business, Buck/Rudy is so totally canon and is love.

Buck: *squirming and muffled yelling*

Faithers: Second matter of business, OMG DRAMA. Yes, that's right, DRAMA. This chapter is so chock full of it it's crazy. You have been warned.

Amethyst: *Pops up randomly* THIRD MATTER OF BUSINESS: I need to get Buck some more food. =/

Buck: *perks up hopefully*

Amethyst: See, that's the thing. I need to get you some more, meaning I have none at the moment. ^^;

Buck: *slumps down again, still tied*

Faithers: *frowns* Um, Amethyst... I think the OTHERS are coming... *motions toward the door* I think we should start the chapter now...

Amethyst: Right. Enough of this tomfoolery! 'Tis time to start the chapter.

Faithers: *hearts that word and Amethyst for using it* TOMFOOLERY, BEDONE. *chapter starts*


Scrat was furious. Couldn't Scratte see that all Skrit wanted was her acorn half? No, of course she couldn't. She was too blinded with infatuation to see it. But what could Scrat do?

He thought angrily, tapping his fingers together as he glared at Skrit, who was smiling slyly at Scratte. Scratte was batting her eyelashes seductively, giggling flirtatiously at Skrit, her half of the acorn held loosely in her paws while Skrit eyed it greedily. Scrat growled in his direction, but the small sound went unheard.

Skrit bowed extravagantly at Scratte, his paw coming quite close to the acorn, and his eyes never left it. Scratte giggled again and sighed adoringly at him, having completely forgotten about her acorn. Scrat glared at Skrit, knowing what he was up to but no viable strategies forming in his small head. If he could just get Scratte to see what Skrit really wanted, then maybe he would have a chance. But at this rate, Skrit would have to make the first move for that to happen, and by then, it would be too late.

Scrat glanced down at his acorn half, sighing. He'd thought he actually had a chance with Scratte, once they had called the truce. If nothing else, he knew he didn't have to worry about her going after his acorn...she already had part of it...and part of his heart.

Scratte let out a soft, surprised gasp, and Scrat immediately looked up. Skrit had laid a paw on Scratte's acorn, gripping it tightly.

Skrit's eyes narrowed as he tugged at the acorn, tugging it free. Scrat glared at him again, letting out a frustrated snarl. Taken aback, Scratte grabbed her acorn, tugging stubbornly, glaring at Skrit, as if to say, "Hey, that's mine! Give it back!"

Scrat set down his acorn half in a slight depression in the ground, moving to charge and tackle Skrit away. Skrit pulled back from Scratte, his eyes now narrow slits as he let out a growl. Scratte's expression dropped and she looked like she was about to cry.

Oh, that squirrel was DEFINITELY going to pay now. As Skrit ran off with the acorn half, Scrat ran after him, growling determinedly.

He paused, glancing back at Scratte, who was now whimpering and staring after Skrit. Scrat sighed, walking back over to her before frowning and pointing at his acorn half. Scratte looked at him, eyes wet but questioning.

Scrat gestured to her, then pointed at his acorn half, biting his lip. He then scurried over to his acorn half, picked it up, and placed it in her hands.

Scratte's eyes widened and she looked back up at him, as if saying "For me? Really?"

Scrat nodded, smiling hopefully at her. Scratte looked back down at the acorn, then kissed Scrat's cheek in thanks.

Scrat held his hand to his cheek, his eyes determined. Then he turned around and dashed after Skrit, glancing over his shoulder only once.


Recap: It was while everyone was all over Peaches and the twins, hugging them and asking them if they were alright, that Buck and Avery locked eyes.

From there, everything went downhill.

Peaches was the first to notice that the two weasels were tense and quiet, staring at each other (or, in Buck's case, slowly beginning to glare) and not hugging each other or anything. She nudged her mom, before sending a look over her shoulder at the two, "Who's the black weasel?" she asked softly.

"Oh, that's Avery." Ellie answered, then leaned down to whisper, "He's Buck's dad."

"…Oh no." Peaches groaned quietly, looking back over to Buck and Avery with dismay. Considering how Buck had spoken of him, and how he was glaring so fiercely, she could tell this wouldn't end well.

Buck set his mouth in a frown and his eye twitched, "Wot ah YOU doin' down he-ah?!" he snarled.

"I was lookin' fer you." Avery said simply, eyes determined. He wasn't backing down, even if it killed him.

"Lookin' ta scold me again?" Buck asked sarcastically.

"No, actually," Avery said, tone matter-of-fact, "I was wond'rin' if you were still alive."

"Well, if tha' was all, I s'pose you can go now." Buck snarled.

Avery raised an eyebrow. "Wot makes you say tha'?"

Peaches watched this with worried eyes, "Buck isn't too fond of his dad at the moment." she whispered to her mom.

"I'm alive." Buck gestured down at himself, "An' doin' betta down he-ah than I was up the-ah. Betta off alone."

"No one's betta off alone, Buck. I would know. I've been alone these entire three years. I's no' th' best."

"Wallowin' in your own self-pity, have ya?" Buck growled.

"Whoa, wait," Diego said, "his dad? Avery is Buck's /dad/?"

"Messed up as it seems, yes." Peaches responded to Diego.

"Not so happy family reunion..." Crash noted blandly, watching the two weasels.

"Not so happy at all." Eddie nodded.

Buck held up his dagger, "This is my proof. I've bin livin' down he-ah and excellin'. An' I do betta now than I did befo'."

Avery frowned. "A knife? How's a knife s'posed to prove anythin'?"

"This knife was once a Tooth. A tooth from Rudy, who, if ya bin hearin' stories, you'd know is eleven times mah size." Buck bared his teeth, "I also go' THIS from tha' fight." he jabbed his thumb at his right eye, where the eyepatch sat.

Avery felt something tug at his chest. Buck had been hurt? Ellie hadn't mentioned that. "Tha' patch only proves ta me tha' you go' yourself hurt." He winced internally at his own words. When would he learn to think before speaking?

"An' yet I din't die." Buck ground out, his one good eye narrowed, "Musta bin doin' SOMETHIN' wrong." he snarled.

Avery's frown deepened. "You stayin' alive isn' doin' anythin' wrong. I'm glad you're alive."

"YA COULDA FOOL'D ME!" Buck roared, "Neva payin' me any att'ntion! Neva sayin' anythin' ta me 'cept ta scold me! Neva showin' any signs ya cared! I'm no' dealin' wit' ya anymore!" he turned on the spot and strode off determinedly, snarling.

Peaches followed worriedly after Buck, shouting for him to wait and to come back. When her pleas went unanswered, she followed faster, falling into a light jog.

Avery stared after them, chest throbbing. Buck hated him. There was no hope now. He should never have come down here.

Manny sighed. "I knew I would regret it…"

Crash and Eddie shared a look before running after Peaches and Buck, their eyes determined. It was a few seconds later when they caught up with Peaches.

Peaches had lost sight of Buck somewhere along the way, and was now continuing straight ahead at a slower pace. "Oh…" she sighed, frustrated, "I'm so worried about him." She didn't want to leave him alone, but she didn't know where she was anymore, never mind where Buck was.

"Don't worry, Princess."

"We'll find him!"

"And then we'll go back to the others and make him and Avery talk it out..."

"And they'll make up and be happy again." Eddie said decidedly, his eyes narrowed. "No matter what, we're gonna make that happen."

Peaches groaned again. "I really don't think it'll be that easy, guys. Even if they do eventually make up, it doesn't look like it'll be happening any time soon." She sighed. "I knew it wasn't going to end well, but I didn't think it would be this bad…" And what was worse was that they were now separated from their family once again. She couldn't help but wonder if they were ever going to get out of that place.


Rudy was enjoying himself, thank you very much. In something that was NOT related to weasels in any way

For once.

And that was perfectly fine with him. He'd had enough of weasels to last him an eternity and them some. He was quite content where he was, resting next to the river and biting into his fishy snack.

It had taken him almost fifteen minutes to catch the fish, and he was enjoying it immensely. Possibly even more since he could eat while he relaxed.

Again, for once.

But suddenly, something didn't feel right. It felt…off. Like something…bad had happened.

Something was not right in his kingdom. He lifted his head and let out a growl, looking around as if expecting to see that infuriating weasel again. Seeing nothing, he let out a confused whine. 'Where is...?'

Hm. Where was that deranged mammal, anyway? Rudy hadn't seen nor had he heard anything of him since the other day when he'd gotten tied up.

Again.

Why couldn't the "Being tied up" be one of those things that was only "for once"?

He turned back toward the fish, growling. He would not let the crazy weasel ruin his moment of peace.


Buck was angry. Not just frustrated, not just annoyed, but full-out enraged.

Why was Avery there? Why had Manny and his herd brought his FATHER, of all people? What purpose could Avery possibly have? There must have been another reason for his coming down there other than just to see if he was alive. If that was the case, what was the other reason? If that was all Avery had wanted, he would have come down here ages ago, wouldn't he?

He was going to find an answer if it killed him... an answer for himself that didn't involve speaking with his father again.

He had probably overreacted, this he knew, but he didn't care. If you asked him, Avery had no right to check on him. Avery had completely detached himself from Buck's life. He had had nothing to do with Buck's life. Ever since Buck was a small kit, Avery had paid no attention to him. He paid attention to the /others/, but apparently Buck was just never good enough. He could scarcely call himself Buck's father anymore. So, really, what right did Avery have to come down there and make him lose his temper in front of his friends?

It had been a long time since Buck had felt like crying, but man did he feel like it now.

He heard a noise from the bushes behind him and he wiped his eye, making sure there were no stray tears before turning to find Peaches looking at him worriedly, Crash and Eddie on her back.

Peaches seemed to only need one look at him to know that he wanted to cry. She nudged Crash and Eddie with her trunk, then muttered to them to go find something to eat, which would 'help Buck'. They nodded slightly, glancing at Buck before running into the bushes.

Buck sighed, averting his gaze downward. "'ello, Fruity." Then he frowned, looking back up at her, "Wot are you doin' he-ah?"

Peaches looked at him for a moment before nudging her back, "Hop on." she said slowly, "Let's see if we can lose the twins for a few minutes."

Buck clambered up onto her back, not in the mood for arguing the matter, as he would have done any other day.

Peaches started walking, staying quiet for a moment before talking, "I get that you're angry at him...but I don't get why." she glanced over her shoulder, "I get that you and he fought...but I don't get why you can't make up." she turned back to staring straight ahead, "Please, explain."

Buck glared at the path ahead of them, not focusing on any specific thing as he answered. "He has no righ' ta c'm down he-ah." His glare deepened. "He doesn' care. No' really. I'm sure o' it."

"But he said that he came down here to see if you were alive, and that it wasn't a bad thing that you're alive." Peaches noted, "That has to count for something, right?"

Buck sighed, closing his eye wearily. "Maybe…Bu' he still has no righ' ta c'm an' check on me like this."

"No right?" Peaches asked, confused. "But, he's your dad."

"Maybe biologic'lly…" Buck sighed again, "but we don' have a relationship." At least, he thought, not much of one.


Manny frowned, looking from where Peaches had disappeared in the woods to Avery, who was now walking in circles kicking a rock. He frowned even deeper, when he realized they had been together and now they were all apart again. Great.

"Avery?" Ellie attempted, concerned. When the black-furred weasel didn't respond, she tried again, "Avery, are you okay?"

Avery sighed, not ceasing in walking a groove in the ground. "No, no' really…"

Manny glanced between Avery and Ellie, backing off when he realized it was what had to be done. He glanced over at Sid, who was trying to smack away some vines that were trying to curl around his feet. Diego was off doing...something, Manny didn't know what nor did he care at the moment. He was currently focusing on the fact that Peaches was gone again.

Avery finally sat – well, more like plopped onto the ground, sighing heavily, looking up at Ellie with sad eyes. "I knew I shouldn'ta c'm down he-ah…"

Ellie rolled her eyes, "At least you tried." she pointed out, "Trying's half the battle."

"Only half…There's no way he's gonna lis'en ta me now…" Avery said dismally, drawing random, shapeless lines in the dirt. "I shoulda jus' stayed home…"

Ellie sighed, "Well, do you really think you would have stayed even if you knew this would happen?" she asked the black weasel, "Or would you still have taken the chance?"

Avery thought about this. WOULD he have stayed home? "…No. No, I s'pose I woul'n' of. I's no' like the-ah's much fer me up the-ah anyway…T' be honest, I'd much ratha stay down he-ah than go back."

Ellie smiled, "Just keep trying, he'll come around eventually...I told you before, he's a...little touched in the head."

Avery smiled somberly. "Aren' we all?"

Ellie let out a chuckle, "Well, Buck more than most."

"An' me more than some." He replied, looking up at her. "Thanks, Ellie."

Ellie smiled down at him, "You're welcome. Now go on after that crazy son of yours."


Buck opened his eye, watching as the blurry trees slowly wandered by, the sky dark with night.

Hold it. Trees didn't move…And, what was he laying on? It was warm and soft, not hard and cool.

He sat up, rubbing his eye tiredly, and looked around.

"Finally went to sleep, did you?" Oh. Peaches. That's right. The teenage mammoth chuckled, "About time." she muttered, "Two days was quite long enough."

Buck yawned, stretching. "Oh…I wenta sleep? Hm. Didn' mean ta." He thought for a moment, then asked, "How long've I been asleep?"

"Couple of hours. The twins are both sleeping on my head, curled around each other like a knot. I laid down somewhere during those hours and got some sleep myself." she laughed again, "Started walking again about fifteen minutes ago."

Buck looked up and, sure enough, Crash and Eddie were sound asleep, the two of them curled into a ball, snoring. He wondered if that was what had woken him. He sat back down again, leaning against Peaches, looking up at the dark sky. As, in actuality, they were underground, there were no stars. He hardly remembered what stars looked like now. It'd been so long since he'd seen any. Three years…One thousand and ninety-five days was a long time. He sighed, closing his eye. He felt more tired than he did rested. At least he hadn't dreamed. That was always a plus. He didn't need to be reminded of what had happened to his family, not after three years of doing so well on his own. And certainly not with anyone around to witness the breakdown that always followed.

He let his thoughts wander around in his mind. Where were they? They were separated again. That's a bad thing, his mind supplied. But at least they were alive. That's a plus. No one was hurt. Another plus. And he wasn't crying hysterically. ...yet.

"You doing okay up there?" Peaches asked. "I've never heard anyone sigh that many times in a single minute."

Buck couldn't help a chuckle, weak as it may be, "'M alrigh', Fruity."

Peaches wanted to talk to him about it, but she figured he had enough to think about already, and she didn't want to upset him further, so she opted to just keep her mouth shut, and continue walking instead.

This was going to be a long night.


Faithers: *Stretches* Very long night. *yawn*

Amethyst: Indeed. *Looks over at Buck* I can't believe he's still tied up.

Faithers: *glances at him* Wow. Those vines are holding much better than they would with Rudy. ALSO for anyone who cares, "Did I ask you to ask me questions, or did I ask you to explain?" is the best question EVER.

Amethyst: XD nice. And I have food for Buck now! But he only gets chicken if he promises not to harm/kill/maim us in any way, no matter what we say.

Buck: *squirms in protest*

Faithers: Hm. Looks like he wants to kill us then take the food. NO SOUP FO' YOU. *points dramatically at Buck* ... or, Chicken, as the case may be.

Amethyst: Tsk, tsk. *shakes head and eats chicken* too bad. I would've given him some…

Faithers: Of course if the readers of this lovely story would review and appeal for Buck to get food... *glares at the readers* And DO NOT take this as a hint of any kind.

Amethyst: WE DEMAND REVIEWS. Or Buck gets no food. =/

Buck: *whimpers from behind the gag, his eyes wide and pleading "Save me."*