"Before we go, we need to get ourselves ready" Roshan announced, as he knew that going to fight this thing with bare hands isn't going to end well.
"How and with what?" as most of the Herd members wondered.
"I know a little bit about crafting" claimed Roshan "Maybe I can get you guys geared up before this. Buck! You'll come with me, you look like the guy who knows stuff" he happily smiled as he invited Buck.
"Well, my pleasure my primal friend!" Buck accepts his request, it feels like Buck and Roshan were BFFs from the begining.
"What about us?" Manny intrigued.
"Just stay at camp, don't worry! We'll be back ASAP!"
"We don't have much time, you two better be back quick and be safe" Manny told them, as his overprotective personality once again worry on things.
Roshan and Buck ventured off into the wild to find resources for crafting, while the rest stays back and have a bit of a conversation.
"So, what are we finding?" Buck questions Roshan.
"Oh, just some wood, vines, some rocks, and maybe a shell" Roshan reply made Buck raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"Why is that?"
"Oh, you'll know when we get back to camp." Roshan just smirked at him and told the weasel to follow his instructions.
It took them half an hour to pick up some stones from a small pit that resembles a mine, stole a shell from a Glyptodon, outrun said Glyptodon, pick up some more stones from the wild, cut down some vines, again outrun a wild pack of sabers (Buck ended up mocking the pack as him and Roshan successfully escape), get some water, and gather some wood. None of these activities had pushed Buck or Roshan to the limits, as they just casually strike off each activity one-by-one off the list.
"That was fun! Let's do it again one day" Buck told Roshan as they went back to camp.
"Hey you guys made it back alive! Now what" Diego asked.
"This will take some time, but it's better to fully prepare ourselves then not to." Roshan replied, as he spit on his hands and get to work
With the help of the Herd, he made out a helmet for Manny using the shell stolen from the Glyptodon (resembles the shell that Manny used as a water bucket in Dawn of the Dinosaurs), he didn't forget to carve 2 holes as eye sockets for Manny to see.
"Hey do I look stupid with this thing on?" He curiously asked, to prove that he still have some dignity and care about how he looks.
"Oh Manny, you look exactly like the last time you fell off a cliff" Ellie giggled, she still remembers that little happy accident like it was engraved into her mind.
"...!" Manny had nothing to say about it, he admitted that it looks stupid, but he knows it's for protection. Manny also received a plate of wood to use as a shield, very basic yet it provides a good cover. Roshan then began to make something for the possums. He took the stones and sharpen it as mini blades, then tied each blade into individual sticks with vines, making simple tiny stone swords for the possum brothers. Upon receiving the swords, they freaked out and immediately run to Buck as if they are showing him their greatest achievements.
"Look Buck! We got weapons like you now!" Eddie screamed out. Both of the possums happily knelt and raise the swords with two hands for Buck to see, he quickly inspects through them.
"So this is how modern technology feels like" they run their hands through their stone blades in amazement, completely ignore the fact that their swords are just sharpened stone rods bound to sticks with vines. With that being said, they had never got their hands on such things before.
"Heh...You two are starting to meet my requirements." claimed Buck, as he looks at his apprentices with somewhat proud in his eyes.
Roshan gives Sid an unlit torch.
"Pinky?! What am I supposed to do with this? Why don't I get to have anything cool like Manny or Crash and Eddie have?" Sid gets really confused, as if he feels like he was discriminated.
"Didn't you used to say that you are Lord of the Flames?" Roshan politely replied to Sid.
"Oh and don't forget this" Manny added, as he passed the Bag of flints that Sid once gave him into his claws.
This made Sid give out an "aahhh…", Sid knows exactly what he had to do with his items.
Julian was given a plate of wood like Manny to use as something to cover himself.
Ellie was given two coils of vines as ropes to carry around, Roshan thinks that it might be useful. Diego and Shira didn't get anything, but was planned to do something with the vines that Ellie carries around. Since tasks with ropes require speed and agility, both sabers seems to fit in the job well.
After everyone was given out roles and tasks, alongside with their tools, they finally set out to find The Frostbitten.
"This is going down is history" Roshan seemed promising about his words.
-•-
Ashley and the muskox turned back and head South to outrun whatever's coming to get them. The view is incredibly foggy, sub-zero temperatures and along with the dark-surrounding environment, this makes them extremely in panic as their adrenaline rushed inside the two animals.
"Faster, FASTER!" yelled Ashley, as fear completely submerged her mind, she started to randomly scream, and tears slowly drip from her eyes.
"I'm trying here! Now would you just calm down so I ca-" before it could finish its sentence, the muskox ran into an animal "statue", breaking it into pieces, as it knocked out the ox, and leave the beaver stunned.
"Owww…" Ashley was dazed for a short period of time before getting back up again.
Ashley crawls to her fainted muskox friend.
"Come..come on, g...g-get up, we...hav-e to go..fa..fas-fast! This...i-is no plac-"
*Screech*
The thing managed to catch up on the helpless pair of animals.
"Wake...wake up!, com-come on...D-d-Don't...leave me here..I-I'm scared..Pleas-please! There...something..-o-out there!" Ashley was losing her sanity to fear as she started to hug the unconscious ox. She can feel someone, or something was right behind them. The screeching sound was now accompanied with the sound of ice crackling in the air.
She slowly turned her back to see what's behind them...
-•-
"I think she's at Glacier Pass, I can feel it" Diego said as he can feel the chilling weather getting colder the more they are near the said location, he is definitely certain about it, as the atmosphere is cloudy and misty, like a setup from a horror movie, with the cold breeze scent that they manage to catch on, there's no way this is the wrong way, the sabers seems sure about it.
"Looks like she had went through here." Roshan says as he spots a bird, frozen on a tree branch. The bird of course also had an iconic icicle stuck on its body.
"No way...this can't be real...this is not good, not good." Manny tries to deny the fact that his daughter did such hideous things, but that only made the fact go ballistic into his mind. Ellie eventually comes to confront him.
"This is not our sweet little angel's work, It's the spirit's, alright Manny? You know that we are here together doing this for her." Ellie tries her best to stop Manny from being stressful, as she knew this has been hard for him.
"This marks that we are very close to her. Guys, stay together" as Roshan announced. They've made it through the pass, as the environment becomes foggy and temperature decreased. It is still daylight but the clouds have already covered the Sun, making the 7 AM daylight looks like 5 PM afternoon.
"Goodbye nature's sunshine." as Julian murmured when they entered the zone.
"Isn't sunshine nature's-" Manny was hit on the shoulder by Ellie's trunk when he reacted to Julian's common sense.
"He knows sweetie, he knows." Ellie whispered to Manny.
"We got more trails" As Roshan points out the hundreds of frozen animals in the background.
"EDDIE HOLD ME, I'M SCARED!" as Crash jumped into Eddie's hold, Eddie instantly threw Crash down in the snow, printed out a possum figure on the snow as well.
"Woah…" as Sid noticed a frozen animal pair, consists of a young beaver hugging an unconscious ox on the ground. As the ox had an icicle stick onto its back, while the beaver had one on its forehead. He had that chilling feel running down his spine as he saw that, and he immediately ran back and stay close to the Herd without saying a word.
"Let's go back..." He murmured to Manny
"We had already come this far, Sid." Manny told Sid as if he wanted to punch the sloth. "Going back means giving up. Are you giving up on yourself, your friends, and your niece?" Manny asked Sid seriously as Sid just heavily gulped. He looked away from the mammoth's eyes, but then had enough bravery to stare at it again and say "No."
"That's the spirit." Manny commended Sid. "We're falling behind, move."
They continued their way forward to North to find her, until Julian spotted something.
"Peaches?" as Julian called out, he saw a figure of a young mammoth.
"Shh...be quiet okay?" as Roshan whispered, he told them to slowly sneak up on the figure, as they get close, they realized that it's just a snow mammoth, built by something, in the middle of a bunch of frozen animals.
"It's just a snow figure." exclaimed Manny, but he noticed that it had facial details and hair style exactly like Peaches.
"It looks exactly like Peaches." Julian commended on the snow figure. "Whoever builds this must have been a professional snowman builder." he added.
"This feels like someone's territory" Ellie felt concerned.
"Someone who had an interest in building snowmen, killing things with icicles, freeze them up and make statues? Who would be deranged enough to do that?" Diego added his concerns on Ellie's.
Sid comes near the statues and touches it, and it feels insanely cold, but he feels sensational.
"Woah, this thing really feels like Peaches." as he laughed that off… Only to see everyone backing up away.
"Uhhh...SID!" Buck shouted.
Sid turns around to see the spot he touches gleams with rays of white blue-ish light from it. The snow layer starts to crack out, and then falls off the figure.
Peaches wakes up from her idle state.
"AAAAAAAHHH!" Sid runs away as the figure starts to move, revealing that the snow sculpture is Peaches. The icicle on her back now shines, with mist coming out from it. She cried and screeched out loudly at the Herd.
"There's your answer for your questions in front of you." Roshan responds to Ellie and Diego after Peaches was woken up by Sid.
"Battle stations!" as Buck called out loudly, the Herd prepares for possible "impact".
Peaches screamed and cried out, as Manny and Julian raise their shields up. Ellie stood back, while Crash and Eddie drew out their newly made swords and stand besides Buck, as Buck also had Rudy's tooth drawn. Diego and Shira both take one ends of the vine coils Ellie carried, as they ready to charge forward at full speed. Sid hides behind one of the frozen animal "statues", and Roshan tighten his grip on his trusty spear.
This might be the Herd's only chance on this. As the icicle on Peaches' back starts to mist an emit light, they knew that thing had been on her back for quite some time now.
END OF PART 4.