ISN'T SHE CUTE?

A/N: Hi, I'm not gonna waste your time, I don't own 'Ice Age' Manny, Diego, Sid or any other Ice Age charactersI might throw in there, kay, read now you must.

Chapter 2- Nina the Misfit

Manny had fallen asleep at the mouth of the cave. "Morning Manny." A voice said. His head bolted up "Huh?" Diego was the one who greeted him, along with Nina.

"Hey, where've you been?" Manny asked. Nina smiled "OH! It was SOO COOL!" Diego looked slightly nervous "Uh, Nina maybe you shouldn't-"

But she went on "See, I woke up and since you, Uncle Sid and mum were asleep, I wondered 'Hey, where's Uncle Diego?' so, I went to look for him. Well, he was doing that, uh, 'hunting' thing. I don't know what it is, but when I saw him, he was chasing this rabbit. He chased it for a while then pounced on it! He stuck his claws in it then let it go then did the same thing again and again; finally he just ripped its head off! Red stuff gushed from it! It was cool! He kinda got in the way and I couldn't see what happened after that, so I went up to say hi and then we came home."

Manny looked sickened and mad both at the same time. "Well, I'm tired. I think I'll take a nap. Night/Morning daddy, I love you!" Nina said, walking past Manny into the cave.

Once she was in Manny pinned Diego to a wall with his tusks. "What were you thinking! I don't want her seeing that!" he said in a deadly whisper. "Ow…it's not my fault! I didn't even know she was there until I had finished my breakfast!" Diego managed to chock out.

Manny pushed him up further "Still! She doesn't think you could ever do anything wrong! She'll think that's right!" He frowned "Well excuse me for eating!" Manny held him there for a while before he let him go.

"Sorry, just…don't do that around her again…" he muttered, guilt in his voice. Diego massaged his throat "Yeah…herbivores, geez…well if you need me I'm going to go back to being a saber…or is it a crime to do as nature intended?" He stalked away angrily leaving Manny to go where ever.

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Nina smiled "Morning everyone." She had just woken up from her nap. "Morning." Sheba and Sid said. Nina looked around "Where's Uncle Diego? And daddy?"

"Oh they had a spat, both went somewhere…(scoff)…Males…" Sheba added under her breath. Nina shrugged "Ok, well I'm gonna go play. Bye!" Sid waved "Bye!" Her mother smiled "Try not to get hurt to bad!…your dad'll kill me…"

Nina ran down the side of the cave and to a water hole.

A few 'Ice Age' versions of tapers and some aardvarks were playing there. Nina smiled "Hi guys!" They all stopped splashing and laughing. "Oh, it's you." One said. Another frowned "What do you what?"

Nina's face fell "Well…I-I wanted to play…" "Hm, uh, no. Sorry, you can't play here." The obvious leader said. "Oh please! Please! I'll do anything, come on!" she whined.

He frowned "Group huddle!" Everyone gathered around, leaving Nina out. After a lot of whispering and glaring at Nina, they nodded.

"Ok, you can hang out with us…but first, you have to pass a test." He said. She stood up tall with determination "OK!" "Right…well, you have to get a saber tooth tiger's tooth, then you can." He said evilly.

She laughed "I can do that!" With that, Nina ran. "Misfit." One said before they returned to playing.

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Nina, having grown up with Diego, had learned to be a pretty descent tracker. It wasn't long before she found him, muttering to himself. "Uncle Diego!" she said happily. He looked up "Hm? Oh, hey kid. What're you doin' here?" She sighed "Well, I was wondering…could I borrow one of your teeth?"

He laughed "What? No! That's like me asking a fish to live on land!" Nina's eyes widened "You mean they shouldn't? Oops." Diego blinked "…Ok, I'm not gonna ask…but back to what I was saying, no."

Her head dropped "Alright…" she turned to walk away but looked back "it doesn't have to be one of your front teeth you know." "What would you want one of my teeth for?" he asked. She stepped back "Nothing! Bye!" and she zipped out of sight.

Diego stared after her then shook his head "She's a strange one…" Nina groaned "Now what! Wait, there's gotta be other sabers out there, I'll just go find one!"

So she followed some tracks she had found earlier and smartly, she hid in a bush. There were five sabers there, 3 watched boredly as the other two practically killed each other over a bone.

"Man, we gotta find food!" one moaned. The biggest growled "Stupid migration is coming…most of the animals high-tailed it."

Nina shivered "…I gotta bad feeling in my tummy about them…but I had that feeling when I accidentally ate a worm and that didn't turn out bad…but then again-"

After arguing with herself for a while she decided to go. Taking a deep breath she walked out of the bushes "Um, excuse me?" One of the sabers was biting the other's back but stopped. All of them stared at Nina with eyes wide and mouths open, drooling.

"Um…can, uh…I borrow a tooth from one of you guys?" she slowly asked in a scared way.

The leader, (who was about medium but had a lot of scars, which proved he'd seen battle, with a well built upper-torso) moved forward. He smirked as he chuckled evilly "Oh…why of course you can little girl…take mine!" And he jumped at her.

Nina was frozen, her instincts told her to move, but her brain had shut down. The saber was just inches from her, teeth and all…

Suddenly, something flew over her head.

Everything was fuzzy for a second, but she soon realized the something turned out to be someone.

Diego pinned the other saber.

"Who the heck are you?" the other yelled, trying to get up. Diego frowned "That's none of your concern, leave the mammoth child alone." He smirked "Heh. Is that what this is about? Listen, we can cut you in on half the meat, you can even join our pack. We're good like that, right guys?"

The other 4 sabers nodded. "And we can always use another set of teeth." One said from the sidelines. Diego pushed the leader further into the ground "I'm giving you fair warning, leave her alone…"

He backed off and walked toward Nina, who was only slightly his height (Mammoth child, pretty tall, kinda wide…yeah…) "Nina, you ok?" he asked quietly. She, unable to speak, simply nodded. He sighed "Good, lets go…" Nina obediently followed without a word.

The leader stood up "Alright boys, this guy is gonna take our lunch…ARE WE GONNA LET HIM!" All the others shook their heads. "…I said, ARE WE GONNA LET HIM!"

This time they all roared 'NO!' He smirked "Then lets get him!" 'YEAH!' they all said, inspired. And they all ran to them.

Diego turned "Uh-oh, Nina, get back!" He didn't need to push her, seeing as she was already on the verge of running. Diego glared at the on coming pack "Alright, if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" And without a second thought, he ran towards them.

A few of the other sabers stopped.

"Whoa…"

"What is he, crazy?"

"He's heading right toward us!"

The leader sighed "It's a shame, he's got guts…to bad we're gonna RIP THEM OUT!"

This statement made them all charge forward anyway.

"Ok, here we go." Diego said to himself as he embraced for attack.

Nina looked back "UNCLE DIEGO, DON'T!"

Well, this was anything but a fight, it was five against one, more like a brutal beating for Diego, but he still managed to get a few other sabers down.

Nina paceed left to right, helplessly "Oh no…what do I do, what do I do, what do I do! (gasp) Wait!"

-Flashback-

Manny groaned "What am I gonna do with you?" Nina whined "But da-ddy, that spike-back looked lonely, so I thought-" "No, I don't even wanna know…look, if you ever get in that kind of danger again, just blow through your trunk as hard as you can, I'll come, just don't try to handle it yourself! Ok?" he said in a fatherly manner. She sighed "Kay…Night dad." Manny smiled as he limped a little, lying down to sleep.

-Flashback ends-

Once Diego could no longer move, the leader called off the attack. He smirked then flipped Diego on his back. In response,Diego let out a growl of pain.

It was the leader's turn to pin him "Ok, this is your last chance…Diego, was it? Hm, come on join us! We can always use someone as brave as you in the pack. Think about it…you can be with your own kind…not alone and starving."

Diego coughed, but still managed to say "Yeah…I'd be starving with you guys." He roared and pushed Diego further into the ground. "I'm warning you…don't-" he bared his claws which were on Diego's chest "-push me, funny guy…"

Suddenly Nina let out a loud trumpet.

All the sabers looked over at her. Diego gasped "What're you still doing here!" The leader looked back at Diego "Ok, I'll give a few more minutes to chose, while you do that, we'll just have our snack."

As he walked off, Diego spun around and dug his claws in the other's hid. He howled in pain. "LEAVE THE GIRL OUT OF IT! THIS IS BETWEEN US!" Diego yelled.

At his attack, all the sabers turned and began circling Diego. "Fine, if you wanna die so bad…we'll eat you first!" the leader yelled. A few clawed at him, one even bit his leg.

Diego fell for a brief second but then stood up "ARGH! Nina, run!"

She panted "But…I can't…you'll-"

"I SAID GO! NOW!" he roared.

She flinched. Diego never used that tone with her before. Reluctantly, she turned and ran. He smiled but winced as some claws when into him "Good kid."

"Aw, how touching…now she'll have someone to greet her when SHE'S ON THE OTHER SIDE!" the leader yelled as he pulled back to make the final blow.

But before the blow could land, an angry trumpet made them all look up.

Manny and Sheba were running at full speed toward them. Sheba used her head like a battering ram and they all backed off. "More mammoths…more meat…" The leader taunted. The other sabers had abandoned Diego at the moment so Sheba walked to him. She bent down "Still alive?"

His breath was labored when he coughed "More or less…" Gently, she lifted him on her back "It's ok, I gottcha…" Diego groaned as she placed him on her back.

Manny turned toward the foe "Leave…now…" The leader moved forward "No. We've gone without food for to long. Are we sabers or are we human!" Everyone roared in response.

"Then lets get us some mammoth meat!" the leader growled and lead the first attack. But Manny was too much for them, by the time he was even slightly tired, half the pack was out cold.

Nina cautiously walked toward an unconscious saber and kicked it on the side of the mouth. It spit out a tooth. She picked it up with her trunk "Thank you." "Nina! What're you doing?" Sheba whispered angrily, picking up her daughter and putting her away from danger with her trunk.

The leader scowled "Retreat…believe me mammoth, you may have won this round, but I can assure you this'll be the last time…get the others and lets go!" No one argued and followed their leader with unconscious and all.

Sheba made sure they were gone before she sighed "Thank the heavens they're gone! Come on, lets go get you patched up." Diego grunted in reply.

Nina turned to follow but Sheba pushed her back. They had a silent argument, Sheba won and Nina had to stay with her angry father. Nina swallowed hard and stood next to him. Both stood there for in a painful silence…finally, Manny broke the silence.

He sighed "…Nina, are you ok?" She nodded and closed her eyes tightly "Yes…OW!" Manny smacked her with his trunk, lightly enough for it not to hurt her too much but hard enough for it to seem like a punishment.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN KILLED! TALKING TO WILD SABERS?" he tried and failed not to yell. She shifted to the left "Heh…tell ya later, right now, we gotta help Uncle Diego!" He frowned "Your mom has him so don't chance the subject, what were you doing!"

Nina looked down "I'm sorry…I just…I needed a tooth!" He blinked "A tooth?" She sighed and began to explain her situation. At the end Manny frowned "Why would you care about that?"

"You don't understand! (sigh) I hate being a mammoth! I'm such a freak! There isn't anyone like me and nobody likes me!" she almost yelled.

Manny's face dropped "But…(sigh)…Nina, there aren't many of us left…it's not our fault there aren't any child mammoths for you to play with."

She pouted "I just wanted to fit in…I…I didn't mean for him to get hurt…but he wouldn't give me a tooth…" "(sigh)…Nina, sabers…aren't all nice…" he said slowly. She frowned "But Uncle Diego-"

"Is different! Normal sabers eat us and other animals…Diego…well, he eats small animals so he won't feel bad around us…that rabbit, was his breakfast." Manny said slowly, choosing his words carefully.

She sat down "Whoa…He ATE him…oh…that's horrible…" "He's not bad for it though, it's just…he needs meat…that's just, how it is…but don't worry, he won't eat us!" Manny added quickly.

Nina was confused but her worry was more "Well, lets just go see if he's ok, I still feel bad, this is all my fault…" Manny smiled "Alright, lets go check on him."

So they both walked to the cave.

Inside…

"OW!" Diego roared loudly. Sheba groaned as she tried to put a leaf on the wound in his side with her trunk "Diego, this leaf juice'll help, so…stop…fidgeting!" He managed to shift himself away from her, but it hurt. "AGH! Ow…" he said.

Sid winced "Yow, your leg's out of its socket…well at least most of the bleeding's stopped."

Nina ran inside and gasped "Oh, Uncle Diego! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen!" He coughed "Hey, it's ok. I'm a tough saber, I won't die easily…I'll be fine." he added when Sheba glared at him.

Nina and Sheba managed to get a leaf on every wound he had when they worked together. But Manny had stayed outside, so of course Sheba went out to check on him.

She sat down next to him, her back to the cave "Hey." He barely looked up "…Hey…" "…So, what's goin' on?" she asked. Manny sighed "Well…this all happened just because she wasn't accepted, cuz she's a mammoth." Sheba nuzzled him gently "Hey, I'll handle it. If there's one thing I know how to handle, it's exile…"

He smiled "Ok, I just, don't wanna see her hurt…" Sheba stood up and laughed "Oh don't worry, when I'm done with her she'll be just like me! Tough as a rock!"

Manny rolled his eyes "And that's a good thing?" She nudged him on the side "Yes, it is. Now come on, I need someone to hold Diego still while I'm torture him, I mean, help him heal…" He chuckled softly and followed her inside.

Well, no matter how many times they said it wasn't her fault, Nina stayed with Diego until he was completely healed. About a week or to went by before Diego was better.

He groaned "For the final time kid, I'm fine!" She was just about to help him walk. "But-" He sighed "Nina, I swear, if I'm hurt I'll call." She eyed him "You swear?" Diego nodded "Yes, yes, I swear!" Nina still looked back at him even as she left. He shook his head "Geez…little leech..."

Sheba chuckled "Yeah, she takes after her father alright."

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Nina was still looking back and not caring where her feet took her. It wasn't long before she heard laughter. She looked up to see she was at the water hole.

"Hey look! She's back!" someone said. Nina suddenly remembered the tooth she had on her back. "Look guys! I got it!" she said as she ran forward.

The leader looked back at the group then at her "Oh, guess you didn't hear, we changed the task, you have to fly now! But if anyone can't it'd be you, you're to big!"

Everyone laughed at this. Nina's eyes got big and she turned to leave. "Aw, the baby's going home to cry to mommy!" another said. They all laughed louder. Suddenly, words of wisdom came back to Nina.

'Nina, if your not being accepted by them, then screw them! Who needs them? You're a MAMMOTH kid! You can do anything, and you can defiantly beat up those little punks…you are the higher mammal here, don't forget that…HEY! Diego lay down! I said you're too weak! Manny's getting it for you.'

Nina's eyes narrowed as a frown took on her features, she turned around. She was taller then all the other kids. The leader frowned "Hey, I thought you were leaving!"

She glared down at him and everyone shrank back "I don't have to! I'm a mammoth! I'm a higher mammal then you! You're not my boss!"

They all quivered behind the leader. "W-w-well…I'm not…s-scared of you!" the leader said, trembling. Nina whacked him with her trunk. "OW!" he cried backing away from her.

She smirked "I'M in charge now and I'll leave when I'm good and ready…GOT IT!" They all nodded. Nina's smirk got wider "Now, I want you all to leave…I SAID, NOW!"

They all high-tailed it away. Nina sighed and drank some water. But then she sniffled "It doesn't matter…so what if I'm all powerful and they fear me…I'm still alone…" She sighed sadly and sat, staring at the water.

"…Hey…" a voice said next to her. She looked up and smiled sadly "Hey dad." Manny smiled "That was…quiet the performance…mind if I have some water, your majesty?" Nina smiled and put on an accent "I suppose so…heh!"

He tickled her with his trunk.

"HAHAHAHA! STOOOOOP!" she gasped. Nina managed enough time to get water in her trunk, which she sprayed at her dad. He laughed "Ha, Hey! So, that's how you wanna play, well here!" he said as he shot some water back at her.

Soon, they were in a water war, as father and daughter.

Nina smiled and thought "Maybe I'm not alone, at least I've got the best dad in the whole world!"

THE END…for now!

BAW HA, HA! I've got the second chapter down! Sorry, it was a little long, I just had so many ideas, so review and I'll up-date…BYE!