Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age.

Sid, not giving in, had secretly climbed on to Manny's back when he and Howie went to have their private talk, not thinking to respect their privacy. He sat through the entire conversation, listening intently to Manny's past. However, Howie's reply made him frown in confusion. What was that supposed to mean? …It clicked. He fainted dead out, slid off of Manny's back and landed on the ground with a soft thud.

Manny stood rigid, out of shock and out of joy. His heart had momentarily stopped when he heard Howie finally speak, and he didn't know whether to hug his son or stay standing like a wide-eyed idiot. He decided on the former and warmly embraced Howie, whispering quietly, "I thought I'd never see you again."

Howie had shut his eyes to keep the endless tears from flowing out, but to no avail; he was sobbing like a little boy. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

The moment was ruined once he opened his eyes slightly, just enough to see an unconscious Sid lying in the dust. He sniffled and wiped his tears away, and said, "Uncle Sid, get up."

Manny pulled away from the hug and turned around to see his sloth friend. "Sid!" he exclaimed, annoyed. "Didn't I tell you that I didn't need you involved in this conversation?!" He stopped scolding when he realized something, and turned back to Howie. "…Uncle?"

Sid sat up, suddenly awake. "Uncle?"

"Yeah," Howie replied, looking confused. "You're my dad, and since he's like your best friend, shouldn't he be classified as my uncle?"

Manny shot a side glance at Sid. "I wouldn't say he's my best friend…"

Sid chuckled. "Oh, you say that, but you don't mean it…right?"

Manny shrugged casually. "I don't know, do I?"

Sid frowned, and was about to question it further if Howie didn't interrupt. "Okay, I think we should just get some rest, after this huge surprise and everything else. We'll continue trying to find your herd in the morning."

Morning arrived, and Diego's group had set out, continuing on their journey. Shira kept a close eye on Diego, who was trudging ahead, trying to track down Manny and Sid. After Tanner had lost his paw, Diego had decided last night not to put the work on him anymore, which took a huge toll to Tanner's pride. Shira couldn't help but be amused at their argument about it last night. It had started out small, but it gradually grew bigger and louder, until it actually escalated into a physical fight, right in front of everyone else too (Crash was rooting for Diego, while Eddie rooted for Tanner). Of course, with Tanner being short one paw and Diego having all four of his, the latter had won in a landslide (Crash rubbed the victory in Eddie's face, resulting in an immediate slap fight).

Shira shook her head and gave a small eye roll at the memory of Diego and Tanner's love-hate relationship. Her thoughts soon went back to her chat with Diego. After pondering about it for a minute or two, she had officially decided that it was best if they didn't know, despite Diego already saying that he didn't really mind, because she didn't know how awkward things would have gotten if the rest of the group, especially with Ellie and Peaches, if they found out that their main guide in the zombie land was initially going to kill Manny and Sid but changed his mind at the last minute.

"Shira?"

She jerked out of her internal thoughts and turned to Diego, now standing by her. "Yeah?"

"You're spacing out. Either that, or you sense something dangerous," he looked at her almost worriedly. Almost.

"Right, um… I'm just wondering if Manny and Sid are okay."

Diego didn't seem to buy it, having raised an eyebrow questioningly, but left her alone and went back up ahead.

Ellie, however, smirked. Shira was slightly behind everyone else due to her 'spacing out,' so the mammoth waited for her to catch up, before saying, with her voice laced with mirth, "Shira. Girl talk. Now."

In her mind, Shira gulped. Whenever Ellie used that tone of voice, she was always on to something. And she had a gut feeling that this was no exception. "What?"

"What exactly happened last night with you and Diego?"

Dammit. Shira tried to play it cool. "Nothing happened. We just talked."

Ellie gave her a very unconvinced look.

"Okay, so he told me some…personal stories of his, and I'm just thinking about them."

"I thought he told me that he seemed like a freak."

I did. "Well, I suppose I was wrong then." Catching the look on her friend's face, she quickly added, "But he's still not exactly normal."

Ellie shrugged. "No, he isn't. But then again, neither are we."

"I don't mean to sound rude, but how long will it take for us to find Dee-Dee?" Sid asked, trying not to seem impatient.

Howie walked slightly ahead, scouting out the area. "Depends, actually. He might have headed off somewhere else, or he stayed put. Hopefully, it's the second one." He stopped to ask a nearby zombie armadillo if he had seen a saber.

"Uh, yeah, I saw one going that way," the armadillo replied, pointing in the direction they were heading. "He was all alone too. Poor guy might be happy to see someone he can talk to."

"Okay, thanks!" Howie smiled before turning to Manny and Sid. "We must be on the right track. Come on."

They trekked for a good five minutes or so, and Howie detected the silhouette of a lone saber-toothed tiger, whose back was turned to them. Howie called out happily, "Uncle Dee-Dee!"

The saber turned around, wearing a deep scowl on his face. "Uncle Dee-Dee?"

Howie fearfully froze in his place. "You're not…"

The tiger's eyes trailed to Manny and Sid behind the undead mammoth, and they narrowed after he got a good glimpse. "I know you two…"

Sid was unsurprisingly confused at the tiger's obvious resentment toward them. "Who are you?"

Manny, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes back. "I remember you. Soto, was it?"

Diego could sense it. Not 'it' as in something bad, but something good. Very good. Well, at least for the herd. He voiced his discovery, "Manny and Sid are close by. There's only about half a mile left to cover."

With that being said, pretty much the entire herd rushed off ahead, overjoyed to be reunited with their friends. However, Shira stayed behind, as she noticed that Diego wasn't moving from his spot at all.

"What's the matter?" she asked, trying not to sound like some overly concerned mother hen.

"I don't know if I should do this," Diego muttered back, looking down at his feet.

"Why not?"

"I told you, didn't I? About what happened to me before. I don't know what Manny and Sid would think if they saw me again."

Shira was slightly surprised at Diego's unexpected fear of this. But then again, she could understand. After all, after switching sides from the pirates to the herd, she didn't know if they would accept her under their wing or push her aside. This made her flash back to the time when she was still with Gutt. When Manny had put her inside a tree prison, Sid somehow convinced him that Shira needed proper care. So Manny had given her some water. He talked to her for a little while, prompting the idea that Gutt really didn't care about her at all. Pulling herself back to the present, she told Diego, "They haven't forgotten about you or what you did for them, you know. They don't think of you as another member of Soto's pack."

Diego looked up at her, staring straight into her bright sapphire eyes. Shira, discreetly fidgeting under his intense gaze (Why was she even fidgeting? He wasn't a threat or anything), continued, "I happen to remember a certain conversation I had with them one time…"

Shira sat glumly inside the tree. What had she done to deserve this cruel punishment? And to think, from two herbivores too. Her ears perked up when she heard footsteps quickly approaching, and her first instinct was to growl viciously at whoever was outside.

"Calm down; it's just me," Manny called from outside. "Uh, Sid thought you were some kind of toddler who doesn't know how to take care of herself, so…here's some water." He pushed a small bowl of water inside.

Shira stared at her reflection in the water, and was about to push it back outside until Manny cut in, "You can say that you don't want it, but then again, I don't think you'd like to die of thirst."

Shira scowled and mentally cursed mammoths for their telepathic ability. "Fine. Thank you," she managed to bite out.

Manny, disregarding her venomous tone of voice, replied, "Don't mention it." He turned around to walk away, but Shira had asked, "Why do you do these things for me? We're enemies, aren't we?"

Manny turned back around and said, "Enemy or not, I don't want to let another animal die just because I captured her."

"That isn't something Gutt would do."

"And that's because Gutt doesn't care. Have you seen him sending out any search parties to look for you?"

Shira avoided eye contact, reassuring herself that Gutt wouldn't desert her like this. "He wouldn't do that. He really does care."

"Then tell me why he didn't seem to miss you at all when I saw him building a new ship."

Shira shook her head deniably, refusing to believe the dreadful truth, yet in the very back of the mind, she had a sick feeling that Manny had a point. "I've been his first mate for years, and I was always by his side."

"But that doesn't mean he was always by yours."

Shira fell silent. She finally questioned, "How would you know so much about stuff like this?"

Manny's eyes seemed to soften for a bit, and he answered, "I once knew someone like you. He was just as stubborn, he was just as sarcastic, and he was especially just as sneaky as you are. We didn't like each other at first, but…he defended me and Sid when we needed him the most."

Shira, not getting what Manny was hinting at, sighed and went deeper into her prison hole. "You can leave now. I don't really feel like talking anymore."

Manny stayed at the entrance for a moment, before turning his head and finally going away.

Now that Shira thought about it, the chat she had with Manny back then made a lot more sense now that she knew whom he was talking about. Diego stayed silent, staring into space at nothing. He soon snapped out of it, realizing that he had let the others go off too far ahead without him. He nudged Shira and motioned forward. They both hurried off to catch up, and stopped when they found everyone else all staring at something. With her eyes and without words, Shira asked Ellie what was the matter. Ellie uncomfortably nodded her head at a scene about a few hundred feet away. Shira followed her line of sight, and was surprised to see Manny and Sid, along with another mammoth and a saber.

"Who are you?" they all heard Sid ask obliviously.

Diego growled lowly, either from Sid's stupidity or at the other male saber, who was now positioned to pounce. Probably both. "Soto…"

Ellie looked at him, not knowing what he was talking about. "Soto?"

Shira's eyes widened, and she almost took a step back. This is Soto?