"We found...human footprints?!" Crash and Eddie was in full shock.
Manny remembers the time when he gave a baby back to its kind, and memories were rushing through his mind. The most nostalgic and beautiful memory this old mammoth had ever remembered.
"Pinky." He whispered the name in his head, as the name being to most memorable thing in his mind.
"Maybe we can use them to help us find back Peaches and save her?" Ellie asked Buck, with high hopes.
"What if they're hostile?" Shira argued, as she remembers her disturbing past about the warcrimes that the humans had done to her kind.
Buck asked Manny:
"Manny, we gotta make a choice here. 1. We find the humans and request for backup, or 2. We find Peaches by our own. Choose."
Buck's question puts Manfred away from his thoughts, so he replied with his answer:
"I think let's find-"
*Loud Screech*
The screech broke the silence and cut off Manfred's answer, making the Herd on full alert.
"That must have been Peaches!" Julian called it, the screech was iconic enough for him to realized that can only be Peaches.
"It's from my old camp!" Sid shouted "What is my sweetheart doing in there?" He wonders.
"We'll never know if we never come, Manny will definitely pick option 2 if I was him after hearing that, Let's go!" Buck hurries them.
Reaching to the Camp, they saw Peaches in a strange state, She constantly shakes her head around, and ram into things for reasons unknown. The Herd silently watches.
"What is she doing?" Julian whispered, looking at Peaches violently react with her surroundings made him worried.
"I think that she is probably fighting against the spirit that is controlling her body in a frame of mind. I used to do that when the Bucks in my head don't listen to me. Works almost every time!" Buck replied with a silent maniac laugh, but he immediately return to his serious mood after that.
Manny however, charges straight to Peaches, calling her name, he can't keep his heart from telling his mind on what do do.
"PEACHES!" He shouted.
The call caught her attention, as she turns into an active state, she looked at Manny with her wide frosted eyes and cried out loudly at him, ready to engage combat.
"PEACHES, Don't worry! Daddy's here!" Manny not knowing that's no longer Peaches, trying to use is soft side to confront her.
"NO MANNY, Don't!" Buck shouted as Manny gets closer to Peaches
Icicles were formed, as she screeches, Manny didn't realize what was going on, but he slowed down.
"Fuzzball?"
"MANNY! GET OUT OF THERE!" Ellie yelled, everyone was either looking at the scene in fear or covered their eyes.
Without any warning, the icicles launched straight to Manny. Manny panicked as he swings his tusk hoping for protection and blockage. Some hit the tusks, but some ended up on his trunks or near his eyes, making him slip and collapse on the ice floor
Manny was there groaning out the pain, as Peaches came closer.
"Pea...Peaches?!" He was shocked to she his daughter in this state.
It was then he realized what was going on, as Peaches scream, she was about to end Manny's life as she formed a long icicle, she grabs it with her trunk and used it as a spear.
"Peaches!"
Luckily, before she could spear Manny's skull, Buck jumped in and saved Manny, breaking the spear by throwing Rudy's tooth at it.
"Get UP MANNY!" he told Manny "Oh and hi there, like your new body?" he mocks the Frostbitten as he swiftly picks up his blade and gave it a smirk.
This probably made whatever's controlling Peaches angry, as Peaches heavily stomps down, ice shards broke through the ground and nearly hits Buck if he didn't block it with his knife.
"Well played, but it's time for us to go. Catch you later!" He ended it with a smile as he used his famous "Weasel Vanish" trick by throwing gas on the ground. Peaches screeches and stomps on the spot where Buck was once there, only to find out that he's gone with the smoke screen.
"Man look at our master go!" said Crash, the possums still admired Buck with all of their respect.
Manny was being taken care of by Ellie as she cleaned his wounds and remove the icicles carefully as Buck swung back to the Herd's hiding spot.
"What in the world was that!" Manny shockingly asked Buck.
"Didn't I told you last time we were chattering together?" Buck replied angrily "Pull yourself together Manny! She's no longer your cute little mammoth girl, but a cursed spirit! And it's either you fight back, or you die." exclaimed Buck, he ignores the fact that Manny got emotionally carried away.
Never had anyone seen Buck taking things seriously like this, everyone thinks that this probably was something worth being extremely cautious with.
"Manny, we'll do this, we'll save her, okay?" Ellie tries to confront Manny.
"Well how are we gonna do it if right now it's nearly impossible to even get near her?" Manny whined, as an encounter with his Frostbitten daughter was already nightmare fuel to him.
"Well…" Buck pauses for a while. "In unlikely times like this we should find some unlikely allies to help us." Buck said it out with all of his honesty. The Herd will certainly need support on this quest, as this is highly dangerous.
"What do you mean then?" Shira intrigued.
"Oh, it's really simple, we are going to find the humans and request their support." Buck casually replied Shira, who was looking at him in disbelief and thought that the weasel must be joking.
"What?" The Herd thinks that it's not a good idea.
"Listen, it's our easiest yet only way to save this dire situation, do you really want to lose this battle before we even fight?" Buck asked the Herd, being as serious as he can. Since he knows that right now it's a Do-or-Die situation.
Diego smiled to Buck, and he turns back to the Herd, he still remember Buck's rules the last time they outran dinosaurs:
"Buck's rule number one guys, rule number one."
-•-
Ashley and the muskox was heading to North to find a shelter. The sky was pretty foggy and dark. Ashley's body temperature is drastically decreasing, things look kinda gloomy for the pair.
"It's cold out here, I think I'm gonna black out." whined Ashley.
"Don't you dare leave on me right now, We'll make it together" replied the muskox.
During that time they spotted a lot of disturbing things:
"Is that an animal?" Ashley asked as she sees a figure in the distance.
"Maybe it is! Let's go, maybe they'll help us!" The muskox ran at full speed to find out what the figure is.
It is a figure of a deer, but it's completely frozen.
"Woah...What happened here?" The muskox wondered, they had never seen things like this before.
They spotted an icicle shanked on its back.
"This deer was probably...killed." the muskox confirms that information which scared Ashley.
"Uhhhh...you may not want to look out at the horizon." Ashley added, as they were both surprised once they saw things that can only be seen in nightmares.
There are a large amount of animals that were froze up, they looked like statues, all with an icicle right at their back, some at the belly, some at the neck, some even on the head, and on other parts of the body.
This sight really scared both of the animals.
"I think we should go back" Ashley whispered to the muskox.
"Ye I think we should…" the muskox suddenly paused, both of the animals suddenly drown in fears after what they have just notice from far away.
"No..no..NO! Go back, go BACK NOW! QUICK!" as Ashley yelled and pulled the horns of the "Still-as-Stone" muskox who was too scared to do anything.
The thing they had seen might be the most scariest thing right now in their current conditions and mental state, or it could be worse, as the last thing they might ever see in their lives.
There was a figure that's moving from a distance, and it resembles a young female mammoth, with an icicle floating besides it.
-•-
The Herd once again go on a journey to find the humans. With two sabers that can sense and smell they easily find a human campsite, despite harsh winter conditions.
"Stop!" Buck tell the Herd as they get near the campsite, he heard something.
"Cool, we've found it, now what?" Eddie uttered.
"Well just calm down okay? I'm tryna find a way to-"
Before Buck can finish his sentence off, a human wearing a coat made out of leather was already pointing his spear at the Herd, showing aggressive behavior.
Buck jumps in front of the Herd with his knife out, as he attempts to protect the Herd, this surprised the human in front of them, but he didn't stand back.
"Hey, easy there buddy, we are just looking for help" Manny told the human, he didn't think that the human could understand his language, like the time they had encountered 1 in the past, but he thinks that it might worth a shot.
He suddenly loosen his grip on spear. But he approaches closer, he showed no signs of fear as he slowly close the gap.
"Listen, we don't want any trouble okay?" Manny added
"If you don't like us then we'll go, no need to resolve in violence alright?" Diego shouted, as his fear increases time by time.
"We are fine right? We're fine, we done want any trouble we don't want to die!" Sid panics. Fear filled in the sloth's eyes as he hopes the human was actually the baby they used to care and protect from a long time ago.
Sid's thought however proved to be right, as the human dropped its spear intentionally.
"What?" Diego was confused why the human did that.
It was then that the human remove his hood and reveals his face. A face that only the original Sub-zero heroes from the start that led to today can recognize it from its details. Despite decades of not seeing each other, they still remember who it was.
Everyone was confused, but only the trio speaks up from what they are seeing right at the moment.
"Pinky?" The trio asked it at the same time. At this point they exactly knew who it was, and nothing was happier then to see him.
"Manny? Sid? Diego?" The human responded. Although being a short response, but it lifted tons of weight from the Herd's shoulders, especially the trio's.
"PINKY!" the trio shouted, as tears of happiness dripped from their eyes.
In that moment they run into each other and give out hugs.
"I told you that I will not forget about you!" Manny said as he smiles happily, he succeeded in keeping his words true.
"We have you been in the past years Pinky?" Sid asked.
"And look at you all grown up!" Diego added.
"You guys made my dreams come true!" Roshan replied to them.
The Herd was confused, as they are still waiting for answers.
"Oh and this must be your new family and friends?" Roshan asked.
"I call them my Herd" Manny proudly replied.
"Can we just have a little introduction so we can understand what's going on?" Buck asked, the weasel doesn't like the fact that he doesn't know things.
"Oh, no worries, come settle yourself in this camp, I'll tell you everything, needless to say, without these 3 guys, I wouldn't have been here today." Roshan told Buck.
Roshan ended up telling his name and his stories on how he grew up and the never-forget adventure of him with the trio to everyone. They all sat around the campfire, as emotions ran freely from everyone, the feeling was truly beyond sensational.
"Why do you live alone in this place now?" Sid asked Roshan
"Oh, I decided that when I grow up, I wanted to set out and find you guys. But I didn't realize it took this long, but in the end, I've found you!" He replied "Now, lemme ask you this, why are you guys out here?"
This question however took the Herd a long time to reply:
"Well…" Manny spoke up "We are trying to save my daughter, Peaches."
"Yikes, what happened to her, the bad guys took them away?"
"Not exactly, she was controlled by the Frostbite, The Spirit that resembles a glowing icicle." Buck slowly replied.
Roshan suddenly tighten his hands into fists. He knew it's "business" time.
"After all these years, it managed to find its first victim? How odd." he replied with a weird undertone.
"What?" Manny asked.
"Long story, but to make it short. It was locked by us, we imprisoned it in an underground ruin. We know it was extremely dangerous if it breaks out. It's because me and my former hunting group witnessed its power capability and all the things it could have caused. We did our best to hide it from the outside world, and now here we are knowing that it was found by a young female mammoth..." Roshan angrily replied, he had his concerns.
"Well, my daughter was quite an explorer herself with her husband" as worried laughter came from Manny. He was trying to joke it off to reduce tension, but it didn't seem to help.
"Roshan, can you please help us?" Ellie ask Roshan as if she was begging him. "Peaches is really important to us" As she's determined to not lose her daughter.
"Well, I'm afraid to tell you that the thing is not a force to be wrecking with. People have died trying to harness its powers, and it is incredibly hard to stand against it." as Roshan replies, everyone was really sad to hear such description about it, to the point where Sid thinks that this is over and they won't be able to see his niece again.
"...But with that being said" the human continued where he had left off "I should have return you guys a favour for your deeds." Roshan looks at Manny, Sid, and Diego as he bravely announce his decision.
"I'm in, we got to destroy that thing once and for all."
The Herd cheers as they received support from a human.
END OF PART 3