Still don't own
This chap was really hard to write. Esp as spell check and save refuse to work now...anyway hope it still makes enough sence
"Scatter!" Diego rushed over to face the attacking herd of wild boars giving the cubs time to hide. Peaches caught the urgency in his voice and quickly led three girl cubs behind a boulder where out of sight they somehow scrambled up out of reach from the revenging herd of boars as they swarmed in around them. Diego held off a few from one direction but it was too easy for others to run around him and attack. He could not have guessed how many there were, this kind of attack was totally unheard of.
Snowball had foolishly tried to attack behind Diego and was sent rolling head over tail back to where he had started. He rolled straight into Breezy who sat frozen and scared out in the open where she had been left. Snowball recovered himself and clumsily picked her up by the scruff and half carried, but mostly dragged her up onto a rock where at least they were out of sight.
Diego finally gave up fighting against the boars, for everyone he knocked down another ten could be counted, this was futile. He looked around the chaos to find what cubs had survived. He spotted one cub struggling up a rock, then fall. 'That is no way for a saber to go' he thought and ran in to fish the cub out from under the stampeding trotters before jumping up to safety on a high boulder.
From there he could see Peaches with three cubs and Snowball safe enough with another, Sid's climbing lessons had today really paid off, that left five non-climbers yet to find. He noticed instantly a load of Boars crowding around something. It had to be a hapless cub in there about to get 'Mexican hat danced' to death by eight pigs ten times it's own size. "Not on my watch!" Diego shouted, this was now a matter of pride "You stay put!" He told the exhausted cub at his feet and jumped back down into the melee. He headed straight for the crowd jumping up over their turned backs and down into their midst, not the wisest move but it got him to the cub in the middle quick. Fortunately with so many pushing against each other the boars had ended up just fighting each other, leaving the cub untouched in the middle of it all. Untouched that is till Diego landed neatly on top of him.
There was silence for a moment then "Ouch!"
Diego breathed a sigh of relief, it was one of the bigger boys and he still seemed to be OK. That could have looked rather stupid but now it would be concidered more daring and heroic! So long as he won that is.
Now the boars had a bigger target to hit they ignored the cub while they attacked Diego. 'Perhaps it was stupid' He thought as he got pushed from all angles. With what space he had Diego pushed the cub out under the boars feet so he could scamper away. Peaches waved him over to her and helped pull him up to safety.
By now boars were stampeding after cubs in all directions. Diego struggled against them to get out, it was like swimming against raging tides but he finally made it and began running to the nearest boulder out of this mess. He was so nearly there when from out of nowhere a cub came flying at him with limbs and claws extended and fur on end. He tried to dodge the small ball of flying fury but couldn't, it connected to his leg and stuck there. White pain like lightening shot up his shoulder as the claws dug in tight to him, he ran on still determined to make it out alive. He saw the boulder, he went for the jump and despite the furry and painful anchour scrabbled up to safety.
A few moments later he had unhooked the little varmit and composed himself. "Can anyone see the others?" Diego called accross to the various groups of kids perched on assorted boulders.
"There's my brother!" Breezy called risking being seen.
Diego looked to see a small cub being tossed up on boar's tusks and leapt into action, landing on and whacking the boar that had thrown the cub extra hard as he went, he caught the cub in mid air and jumped gracefully back up to safety. That was more like it in, grab and out with style, he was getting the hang of it. He looked for the last two cubs, he was determined now not to let the boars get any satisfaction from this.
The pigs milled around below scrabbling for ways to get up.
Diego spotted the last two cubs hiding under a boulder. He jumped over to the rock they were hiding under and dropped down to where they cowered. Diego stood with his back to the rock facing the boars with his teeth and claws exposed, 'Ha I win' he thought and roared menacingly for the pigs to back off, it was over . They did, but only to let a real big, heavy boar through.
Diego sat down,'Where did they find super pig at this the last minute of the battle?' he thought, he wasn't giving up, he just needed a new plan. The only one he could think of involved maximum pain to himself. It would have to do "Climb on my back and hold on tight with your claws" he whispered to the cubs behind him. Scared though they were they did and dug their claws in tight to Diego's hide to hold on. Diego tried not to flinch, but could not help taking on a wild desparate look as he stifled a scream
The bigest boar stood in challenge to the single cornered saber "This is pay back for taking one of ours! You will rue the day you challenged us!" he gloated
"Make me!" Diego squeeked as he failed to hold in fully the agony of the claws "...Tasted great by the way" he added to sound more manley.
That was it the boar, with tusks as big as Diego's teeth charged. Diego had to trust that the cubs had a good enough hold for this, it sure as hell felt like they did, he jumped over the oncoming boar, (one thing he can really do well is jump) With the cubs hanging on for all that they were worth Diego flew over the backs of the on looking boars and jumped back up to safety. (some say that the sight of this ginger streek, with fur on end and seemingly two tails, flying at unimagenable speed over adversary to the aid of others became legend. And over years and cultures developed and grew until finally it took on form as the helpful and mythical tails helper to sonic amoung other things)
An hour later found the pack all sat on different rocks looking at each other. Snowball and Breezy had moved position and now sat higher than anyone else. "So, what now?" Snowball called.
"We wait till they go away of course!" Another cub shouted.
"Don't say that out loud! Now they are going to stick around forever!" Breezy tutted.
"You have to come down from there sometime you stupid cats" A boar shouted.
"We gots all the foods we need with you guys here!" A male cub shouted down.
"Think we'll be staying put thanks!" His brother added. The cub brothers were actually enjoying this.
"So are we!" A boar shouted back.
"Looking forward to tonight, I bet I can take three of you at a time when you can't see easy!" A very small cub shouted down.
"We won't need to wait that long we are going to roll these rocks till you fall off!" A beefy (or porky) looking boar called back and with that ten pigs lined up to dig under the rock with Diego and two cubs on while others pushed at it. The rock wobbled, really easily.
Diego picked up one cub so he only had the pain of one set of claws in his back and jumped over to another platform. The boars followed down below, it was like a scene from tremors as Diego carried them one by one, jump by jump over to a more substantial boulder and set them all down together to wait out the boar attack.
Elsewhere, Crash ambled along casually with Fleet. They had taken the scenic route over to check in on Ellie and were still a way away. Crash had a stick in his hand and used it to thrash the tall grass and sparse vegetation as they went. He missed Eddie. Fleet was nice and stuff, but she wasn't Eddie. She would be a lot more fun if Eddie was here, then they could use her to enhance their antics, as a getaway car, or perhaps as a supplier of slobber slime to load bombs with.
Earlier he had taught her to chase her tail. That was funny; they both ended up on the floor to giddy to move and were sick. Eddie would have loved that, maybe even made them do it again, that would have been better. After that Crash had tried to teach Fleet the art of practical jokes, for some reason she didn't quite get it, probably he thought because she wasn't as good as him with the pea shooter, it is well known that girls can't aim. Her lack of hands didn't help either so throwing snowballs was defiantly out of the question. She couldn't do most of Crash's favourite things, like he couldn't do any of hers.
Maybe they could just check in on Eddie, not spy, just see if he was getting bored of her yet, maybe help move things along a bit quicker with a few stink bombs. Then Emma would stink and Eddie would remember what he was missing by wasting so much time with her.
"Let's go see Eddie and Emma," Crash said out loud and cringed as he realised the similarity of their stupid names, "See if they are having as great a time as us"
"Sure" Fleet agreed and howled to find out where they were, there was no answering scream from Emma. Fleet pondered what that might mean, trouble? Too far to hear? Occupied? This had never happened before.
"What now?" Crash asked
"I will have to track them down" Fleet started sniffing the ground to find a lead. "They haven't been this way. We need to go back to where we left them last night to pick up a trail"
Crash sighed in irritation they could be anywhere "I thought this would only take a sec"
"You wanted to see your sister so we have been walking this way, we are nearly there" Fleet said
"But I left her up on a cliff top?" Crash said puzzled, 'what is Ellie doing in the middle of nowhere far from the mammoth herd and far from the proper herd? Fleet must be wrong' he thought.
"You said she smelt like mammoth, I can smell mammoth, so someone is nearby"
Crash fell silent; he could not see any mammoths and boy those were hard to miss. Fleet was losing it; she wasn't the only one... This got Crash thinking thoughts that were not joke or prank related, very foreign ground indeed, especially to him. Ellie had been acting strangely too; subconsciously this had been nagging at him. She had been acting a bit like Manny taking charge, being 'overly' worried, arguing with Sid, all Mannyism's. Then there was Eddie. When has he ever been able to live without me this long? We stick together in everything that we do, we eat, sleep; even pee together so how come...
From out of nowhere Ellie flew at light speed straight into Crash who lay squashed flat up against the front of her log car held fast by sheer G- force. Fleet was left standing in place watching them both zoom off. Well she had warned Eddie that there were mammoths nearby, and everyone knows that mammoths are big and dangerous, now Fleet would have to add fast to that list. Perhaps mammoths and wolves had more in commomon then she first suspected. Fleet jogged along behind to find out and save Crash, if he had not already become just another squashed snack on the front of that speeding sister of his.
Ten meters later Crash and Ellie came to a stop via crashing into a purpose made snow wall with an almighty whump.
"Hey Crash did you see how fast that was?" Ellie panted with extreme excitement.
"Yep, saw, felt and I think loved how fast that was. Just make sure I didn't break anything before I can confirm that last one" Crash peeled himself off of the nose of Ellie's car and patted himself down for injuries, everything seemed to be present and in its correct place, even his stomach which felt like it had been left way, way behind "Wow that was cool, like being hit by a missile, did you see I was walking along one minute and then bam! flying the next!"
"You want a go?" Ellie teased in a tone which implied she might not share her new game
"You bet!"
"Well come on then time's a wastin'!" Ellie picked herself up and shook off the snow from her fur when she noticed Fleet trot up and stop a few feet away looking eagerly at both herself and Crash. (Now it is not known whether Ellie has only been taught to fear eagles as possible enemies or because wolves always look like they are smiling that put Ellie at ease instantly with the new comer)
"Crash would you look at the cute puppy"
"Ellie this is Fleet, Emma's sister"
"Ooo, new friend huh?" Ellie was about to say something about Fleet not being a possum but felt a bit aware that neither was she "So... is she your new girl friend?"
"Whoa slow down there, Girl yes, friend yes but notice the gapes, the difference they make, why would you want to go gross everything out like that?"
"Oh..." Ellie noticed the rejected look in the wolfs big brown eyes, she quickly dropped that line of conversation "Well it's very nice to meet you I'm Ellie Crash's sister" She held out her trunk to which Fleet gave her paw enthusiastically and they shook.
"I'm Fleet, you like to go fast?"
"You bet, coming for a ride?"
"Yeah, that looked so cool"
"But the other mammoths..." Crash ventured
"Relax" Ellie said "The guys will love her, who can resist those lovely eyes huh? You know other than Manny who has to find something to worry about with anything"
"Well..." Crash knew something could go wrong after all things usually did, but it would be so unfair to miss out on this new game...
Ellie took his pause as definitely not a No "Great! I have missed you guys, so what have you all been up to?"
"Uh you know the usual, hung out, said hello to Diego, had lunch, uh that's it really. How about you, how come you're out here in the middle of nowhere? And alone?" 'Very strange' Crash thought.
"Well this as you might have gathered is the end of the toboggan run, it starts way up there" Ellie pointed way up a steep cliff face which featured the most elaborate twisty turny ice chute zig zaging randomly all over it. "Everyone is waiting up top"
"Is Eddie back yet?" Crash asked hopefully
"No afraid not, maybe he will turn up later"
"As awesome as that looks, I thought that we were going to get our herd back together today not construct super rides. I told Diego that it was dead boring over here and that we were definitely not having fun without him, so when are we all getting back together?"
"Soon OK, now Jump up we can talk on the way. This is the worst part you got to walk back up to the top with your car" She joked to Fleet as she hoisted up the log car onto her tusks and began walking back to the top of the run.
Crash hopped up onto Ellie's head "How soon is soon?"
"Very soon, we just got distracted... So tell me already what have you and Eddie actually been up too?" Ellie asked innocently, this was not prying this was tactical concern for their welfare.
"Really nothing much, Eddie and Emma wanted to be alone so left us soon after we both left you guys last night"
"Ah!" Ellie understood, things were not going as smoothly as they could, at least not for Crash. Well she was not surprised they had both acted so badly at the thought of her growing up of course this was going to be hard, especially when you were the last one left. "They will miss us soon enough I'm sure"
"Ellie I have this hunch," Crash struggled with his strange thoughts, to put his suspicions into words "I just can't explain it. Nothing seems right anymore like we are all changing but don't know it? Do you know what I mean?" He looked at Ellie hoping that she would understand what he was struggling to get at and maybe even explain it to him.
"Well no, but change is not always so bad, over time sometimes change can be a good thing"
"Really? Like say if one day you're all fine and everything is you know, right, then someone new comes along ..."
"Now Crash I'm sure Eddie misses you too and I can see this is difficult for you right now but before you know it you will find that you have a new friend or maybe sister in law who can share in your antics"
"Ellie she is trouble!"
Fleet rolled her eyes; boy was that rich coming from him after those pranks with the pea shooter and snowballs hitting every animal that they happened to race by.
Ellie was thinking along the same lines, Crash calling another possum trouble, whatever.
Crash began to doubt his suspicions, but only a bit.
"Crash you are being unreasonable" Ellie said "I'm sure she is, well just a different kind of trouble, a more feminine trouble than you are used too. But let's face it we need more girls to even things up in the herd, wouldn't you agree Fleet too many guy's spells big trouble!"
"Emma says something like that, right before she loses them"
"She had a few relationships then?" Ellie said suspiciously
"She has made a lot of... friends. But they never last long"
"Good" Crash said, he was back not liking her, and obviously no one else did either.
"Tell me more about her, like how did you both become family" Ellie ventured speaking over her rude brother.
"Well one day I was with my family, I was very young then when along came Emma. She told me that she was going to be my new sister and that she was going to take care of me from now on because my pack had gone to Australia. I don't know why they did that, but Emma is a good sister"
"Possums are like that, like Crashes mum looked after me when my parents uh... Maybe we should check in on Eddie soon, I'm sure he misses us" Ellie couldn't be sure but suddenly this all sounded a bit suspect, she shook herself, 'just stupid ideas creeping into my head, I have got to give Eddie space to grow!"
"I know make sure he gets over her and soon, get things back to how they should be!" Crash said relieved that Ellie was finally getting it.
"No that's not for us to decide, I mean so that we can meet her properly Crash, she sounds well mysterious. I mean so she has had a few friends so that could mean anything and she just happened to be there for Fleet at the right time so was your Mum for me. We should get to know her better" Ellie said
Crash imagined her coming over and telling him that Eddie had gone to Australia, well that was being silly Eddie would never leave them like that for some girl. Crash had to admit that he just didn't like Emma, he really needed a valid reason for this. Well he would find one.
Finally they reached the top of the slope. Crash took a good look around, none of their herd was there, just Ellie's new friends. "Where is everybody?" Crash demanded
"What do you mean? We are all here" Ellie answered
"But I don't know any of these guys!"
"Sure you do we hung out yesterday there's Jeremy he remembers you and that's ..."
"I mean our herd" Crash feared the worst, that no one needed each other anymore! The end of the herd! The end of his family just him wandering alone in the wilderness...
"Oh!" Ellie was a bit shocked at Crash, this break up with Eddie was really getting to him "Well Manny went looking for Sid, who volunteered to play with the big mammoths earlier, I guess he is back but I haven't seen him yet. Peaches and Sid are playing over there, Ellie pointed absent minded to an empty space while she positioned her toboggan car for another run. The space she indicated too was totally empty save for some clumps of thick grass. One clump seemed to shuffle a bit. Crash blinked and rubbed his eyes, was he going mad? But then Ellie was the one who seemed to think that Peaches was here.
This was far worse than he had ever expected. Manny was not with Ellie, Peaches was nowhere to be seen, Sid wasn't craving attention or screaming in terror (but could still be smelt so was not far off) what was going on? Everyone was changing, ever since Emma had come along nothing was the same. He could not figure out the how and why yet but he now firmly believed that she was not good for him or his herd.
"Ellie I need to get rid of this Emma"
"Crash it has only been one night"
"And all of today"
"Fleet help me out here your sister is a nice girl, isn't she?" Ellie asked
"Nice? She is a possum, you know what they are like"
Ellie did know what they were like, they gave most villains a run for their money in the evil stakes "Crash you haven't been shooting mammals with your pea shooter recently have you?"
"Maybe, but..."
"Well I have just lost all sympathy for you, you're all as bad as each other"
"Probably true, but she..."
"Enough already maybe having to deal with another possum would do you good, teach you a long overdue lesson, make you put down those horrible peashooters, slingshots, berry bombs, rotten eggs and whatever else and behave, because it is not nice to be on the receiving end of someone else's fun games now is it"
"Ellie you should really be taking my side on this"
"I will when I have a bit more to go on, we have to give him a chance. Look when I hear more from Eddie and if it sounds bad I will charge over there myself and sort things out, OK? Oh not that I'm listening in or anything like that. But sound really travels well when you're up on this cliff top and sometimes you just can't help hearing things, all sorts of things, you know"
"So what have you earwi... uh, heard so far?" Crash stooped down all interested
"Well it sounded like a girl screaming 'what could have done this?' she sounded upset, I thought at the time I bet one of you put mud in her drink. I was going to march over and remind you guy's about our little talk on 'behaviour that is really not acceptable outside of the herd" then a few other things which didn't make much sence but they sounded uh... calmer at least"
Crash needed to think, the plot was thickening, he needed to piece together the evidence, "Ellie I need to think"
Ellie was stunned, Crash thinking? He was so not the thoughtful type, maybe her words were finally getting through to him! She doubted it.
By now the group of mammoth teens were all gathered and staring at the three of them, especially at Fleet and Ellie's lack of concern for the predator.
Ellie realised her mistake, here she was advising Crash on etiquette and here she was not introducing everyone, she felt a little sheepish "Guy's I would like you to meet Fleet our new friend and of course you know Crash. Fleet this is..."
Jeremy quickly interrupted their new 'guru of fun', as this was indeed strange behaviour to him "Ellie wolves are trouble, we don't usually associate with those, we kind of deal with them"
"Well, where I come from we like everyone and anyone, whatever their species. I think you should too, or at least try." Ellie said, gosh she was really feeling like a font of all motherly advise today.
The mammoth teens shuffled, a bit uncomfortable with this new idea. "We could give this a try" Jeremy said eventually for all of them "After all It doesn't look all that dangerous really"
"Good" Ellie sighed at Jeremy's use of 'it' rather than 'she', teaching acceptance would have to do for today, species equality would have to come later, mammoths were very slow. "Now whose turn was it and what is the time to beat?" She said relieved to get back to some fun
"Well you still have the record of eight minutes, thirty"
Crash looked at the ice chute running wildly down into the valley and lost all thoughts for his concerns for the herd for a moment "Me and Fleet are so going to thrash that!"
"That's the spirit!" Ellie smiled; maybe Crash would be alright letting his brother move on after all. Maybe Eddie would be able to cope with the hazardous world of relationships, the very hazardous world of possum relationships! Maybe everyone in the herd would find love and settle down together, that would be ideal. But for now some distracting game play and space to think was neded things would soon seem clearer. "Let's build you a car"
Elsewhere Eddie had crashed. He lay fast asleep on the floor in mid search for a place that met all of Emma's needs. He had never been so tired.
Emma poked him with a stick thinking he was dead.
He groaned "not now mum"
She relented and let him sleep.
This new idea of hers of living happily ever after wasn't really working out to be as easy as she had imagined. She didn't enjoy hard work and dragging Eddie around was indeed proving to be hard. She should find someone new to play with. But then Eddie was different, even interesting in that he actually liked 'different' like her, well maybe not as different as her he didn't really know her to well... yet. But then could she even live the ideal 'girly' dream? Could she keep her dark past a secret? If she didn't at least try would she ever find another chance of normality again? To dream of waking up to a beautiful family with nothing but house chores to be done ... well that sounded boring now when said like that, but still to kiss good bye to the first bloke that she had met who might possibly accept her. And what if there was more to him that he wasn't telling? After all how did he happen upon an ophened mamoth tot all alone? She may even have found a soul mate, but these games he kept talking about, he sounded so childish. Emma had never been so undecided. She should find Fleet then end this, or at least see how things go till then.
She wandered off so not to wake Eddie with her howling.
Unable to help to build a toboggan Fleet circled around meeting the other mammoths instead. They all got on well to her surprise. Basically they all enjoyed fun stuff and hated boring things like standing still too long. She liked that they looked so different but were very much the same inside, soon enough she returned to sit by Crash and wait her go on the toboggan run. She looked at the very quiet Crash. The guy had seemed like a bucket of fun last night but turned out to be a bit distracted today. "What are you thinking?" She asked
"Nothing" Crash said. "Fleet, do you think Emma is just bad like me...Or more pure evil?"
Fleet thought hard, this was one of those philosophical questions "Neither, just confused" Fleet liked how Diego had rules about friends and food that were easy to follow, she liked how the two did not mix, "I think that she needs some clear rules to stick to. Help to separate friends from games the two get mixed up far too often, do you have that problem?"
"Well maybe. What kind of games does she like?"
"Mind games"
"Girls are weird, so it's my dirty tricks vs. her mental powers and Eddie is the prize, this is war, who's side are you on?"
"Whoever, you're both nice to me so I can be on either side"
"Be on mine, I think she would use you as a weapon against me and that would be bad news"
"You're not going to hurt her are you; just play your weird possum games together right"
"Yep it's all fun really, if you can't take a joke than that is your own fault"
"One day the joke will be on you" Fleet said copying Ellie a bit.
"We will see about that" Crash paused as he heard a screaming in the distance, "Just maybe the mind games will be on her this time! May the best possum win! Come on it's our turn to ride, then it's war!" Crash checked he had a supply of his favourite arsenal tucked neatly somewhere behind his back, this was going to be all or nothing!
He got into position and Ellie came over to launch them "Did you hear that scream? Maybe we should check on Eddie" she said
"They just want us to get together soon, it would be better if you got the herd back together and safe while we go and say hello" This sounded a bit sinister as Crash gloated a bit.
"There I told you he would miss us soon enough"
"Yeah they won't be missing this" He patted his stash of weaponary stashed secretly away.
"OK? Now remember to lean into the corners to steer and be careful not to leave the track on the third turn where the ice has melted a bit, it's a twenty foot drop from there, ready guy's? Here we go"
Ellie pushed the cart into motion and gave it as much thrust as she could before it hit the polished ice and took off downhill leaving her behind. Crash called back to her "See you later Ellie! And don't worry things will be back to how they should be soon!"
Ellie looked perplexed, what did he mean by that? "Say hi to Eddie for me!" She called after him as he and Fleet shoot down the chute.
Manny returned eventually to the mammoth herd, he could not for the life of him find Sid. It was very hard; near imposable for him to admit defeat so it was late in the day when he returned with his head low. He found Ellie waving down the ice run with her young friends, she looked like she was having fun. He was so not "I can't find Sid"
Ellie turned from waving Crash good bye to see Manny looking very sorry for himself "He is over there with Peaches and the other kids." Ellie said looking over to where Sid sat amoungst some small rocks and low vegitation.
"I'm going to kill him" Manny said simply and paced over to where Sid sat, frown set firmly in place "Sid, what happened?"
"I got bored playing with your friends so came back here to play with mine. Peaches helped"
Manny looked at the sloth in a grass skirt and headdress with real menace, but got distracted "Peaches helped?"
"Yeah she beat you to it you know saveing me and good thing too because if I had had to wait till now for you well let's just say I'd have died from boredom and starvation ten times over already.
Manny could not focus on what Sid was saying, he could not see Peaches "Where's Peaches?"
"Isn't she with Ellie?"
"No Ellie said she was with you"
"She was. She started this camouflage game useful huh?" Sid swung his hips and delightful skirt around a bit.
"So where is she now?"
"Camouflaged I guess, if we were attacked no one would ever find us in disguise!"
Manny's heart dropped No one would ever find her! "We have got to find her!"
They looked around the baby mammoths in grassy disguises. On first try there was no Peaches!
They looked all through the herd but no one had seen her. Well of course they hadn't she was disguised! Now it was getting darker.
"When was the last time any of us saw her? Lets retrace our steps from this morning" Ellie said logically she had now joined the search.
"Well I left her with the kids to find Sid" Manny said feeling guilty now for ever taking his eyes off of her, she had not wanted to be left behind.
"After she saved...Uh, I found her I escorted her safely back here to play with the other kids" Sid said
"Found you where Sid?" Ellie asked the key question.
"Just there" Sid pointed. Ellie followed his finger. It pointed off into the horizon.
Manny remembered the other bulls saying that they had lost the bait and guessed Sid meant the ambush site. "How did she get out there?" Manny's voice went up a few pitches.
Ellie still did not understand "So I saw you both not long ago playing here and thought that we would be headed back soon and so tried to get in one last run, I guess that might have turned into many last runs"
"How was it?" Sid asked, he would rather play with kids given the chance but Ellie's game did seem fun
"Great thanks!" Ellie was so pleased that someone was interested in what she had been up to today "You will have to try it! You just can't imagine how fast we got it down to!"
"Wow can I get a go now?"
"No we are looking for Peaches remember?" Manny stated
"We could look over by the slope and then maybe look some more on the way down the slope?" Sid tried desperately to combine the two
"No! Sid I can't even yell at you seriously with that stupid skirt on, just find Peaches then we can all play"
"Sure, but she still might be over there by the fun games"
"Sid she... No wait maybe that isn't such a bad idea, after all she wandered down into the valley to find you. Could she have gone looking for the rest of the herd?" Manny said wonderously
"She wasn't with Crash when he dropped by earlier" Ellie said
"And she wasn't with Diego, that leaves Eddie. When did we last see him?"
"Not since he went chasing after his girl friend last night, she probably went that way" Ellie said pointing to the far forested end of the valley where she had last heard Emma screaming from.
"Right!"said Manny, this was a positive start! "Let's get going!" He started to march off with a clear mission in his head and determination set on his brow.
"Uh Manny aren't you forgetting about the quick otherwise known as fun way down?" Sid ventured indicating to a few log toboggan cars sat waiting to be played on.
"Those things? Me!" Manny squeaked.
"For Peaches!" Sid said decisively.
"Let's do this!" Ellie said.
"Ah, you're right, for Peaches!" Manny looked at the wayward chute "Is that safe?"
"Come on Manny just sit in here and I will gently push you off, you will be down before you know it"
"Yep that's the bit I don't like, well how hard can it be?"
"That's the spirit, now hold tight!"
"To what? With what?"
"It's just a figure of speech!" Ellie called after pushing his toboggan car off down the chute. "Wow would you look at that, I think he's going to do it in under three minutes! Why is it that the ones who show zero interest end up being the best competitors?"
"Must be all that extra weight" Said Sid
"I hope so, then I've got a chance of bettering him"
"Going somewhere?" Big Mick noticed them leaving, with his bait.
"Yes our daughter has wandered after her uncle we are going after her"
"Yes a few kids seem to be amiss today well good luck finding her, hope all turns out well," Mick said sympathetically, then in a more sinister voice "hope none of you get eaten what with all the trouble out there and undefeated predators at large..."
"Of course we won't get eaten. Come on Sid your turn"
"Shame about all the dangers facing the kid's today shame there is not enough of us around concerned enough to defend the innocent and make the valley safe for the kids" Mick continued looking at Sid who obviously loved kids.
"Ah I did want to help... and now I don't soo..."
"Oh well, I will scrub out your place at the victory feast then"
"Huh?"
"Sid!" Ellie called
"Ellie wait, a feast you say?"
"Yep a big hero feast in honour of those who go forth tomorrow anticipating victory"
"Sid!"
"Ellie I will catch up"
"Sid not again, not now!"
"Ellie a feast in my honour how often does that actually happen? Really! Don't worry I will catch you guys up right after!"
Ellie gritted her teeth, oh but that sloth was testing, why was Manny never around to deal with him enough lately? "At the meet spot then, you know where that is?"
"Yes already"
"Fine. See you soon then Sid" Ellie followed Manny down leaving Sid to it as Peaches was just a little higher on her priority list at that moment.
Night descended, still Diego and the kids sat cold and exposed while the pigs patrolled in groups below.
"I'm cold" whined Breezy, "when will they stop?"
"Never!" a pig answered from below.
Diego felt something was needed to take their minds off of their predicament, a new distracting conversation, "So... what are your names then? Seeing as how I can't avoid looking at you I might as well know what to call you"
"Breezy!" said Breezy "and these are my brothers Cai, Lars and Zan" These four stood out as being smaller and darker than the other cubs. Breezy was the most feminine of the group and Lars was the little tyke with a taste for big trouble; he was also the cub to get thrown by the boar.
"Did you get hurt Lars? Diego asked with as much sympathy as he could muster, he had his own wounds to feel sorry for.
"No I can take a knock or two, easy" Little Lars said covering a bruised shoulder with a great amount of sabre pride.
"I'm Isla"
"Lia"
"And Tala we are sisters" Diego recognised these light tan three as Sara's own cubs, they had been first to follow Peaches to safety, forward thinkers with survival at the heart of their goal, no matter how unconventional
"I'm Ari" Said the biggest male cub, the one who liked to challenge snowball a lot
"Aden" Ari's slightly smaller brother.
"And Aida" These three were siblings, two boys and a girl respectively. Aida was very much a tom boy and followed her brothers dutifully into all sorts of trouble.
"I'm peaches!" Peaches introduced herself to the pack that she felt she could call herself a part of; she had earned her place among Sara's girls with her leading skills and among the boys with her defeating of the reigning champion Snowball. The cubs nodded accepence to the young mammoth calf, she was worthy to join them, and indeed today she had proved to be an asset to the pack.
"And I'm Steve" Said Snowball who did not want to be over shadowed by the 'should be food' Peaches.
"Since when?" asked Diego
"Since always" Steve formerly known as Snowball said.
"You let us call you Snowball for weeks"
"Well its better, Steve's so common there has to be a Steve for every blade of grass on earth!"
"Well in that case Steve it is"
"I hope your getting cosy up there!" a boar shouted up to break up the happy family scene by reminding them of their perilous situation.
"Doing just great thanks!" Diego replied sarcastically. It was getting cold and dark and this boulder was rock hard to sit on. He looked around for another option. The boulders plied up a few jumps away to become a part of the sheer cliff face that features so much in this fic. Diego spotted a small ledge a little higher up than their current position. It was small but sported a few weedy shrubs which meant it had a deposit of soft earth cupped there.
"Wait here kids" He said like they had a choice "I'm going to investigate our options" Diego hopped from rock to rock with a trail of pigs chasing him below till he reached said ledge. It was indeed small but the deposit of earth was bigger then expected and soon he had dug a very nice safe den complete with roof to sleep in.
"Lets join him" Peaches said and jumped to the next rock and waited for the others to follow helping them where necessary with an out stretched trunk to catch them. Together they managed all six jumps successfully by shouting encouragements to each other and everyone helping the next.
Diego was impressed by the team work and let them achieve this by themselves, only helping at the last high jump up to the new den.
Inside the earth was soft and the roof made it very warm they curled up together snug with Diego stretched out to block the entrance with his body so no one fell out. With his back to the cold he acted as the perfect draft excluder keeping their body heat in. This was as nice a siege as you could hope for.
The boars however were cold and even angrier outside.
The wind began to pick up carrying with it the cold promise of snow. Peaches liked this sleeping in a pile; she also enjoyed the hectic life style these guys led. This was a lot more interesting than the safety of the mammoth herd; she loved danger just like her dad. But she also loved her family and missed her parents now that she had a moment to think about it. She wondered if they missed her. She had not meant to be gone this long, it might have been her imagination but she thought she heard her dad's voice distantly calling for her. "Dad?" She called out into the dark night.
Now Diego who was nearly asleep felt guilty he had forgotten that Peaches was not one of them and needed to go home. (Not as easy to forget as one would imagine but certainly possible) He was not about to fight through fifty odd pigs to deliver her safely back with her parents tonight however, she would have to wait. "I'll take you back tomorrow Peaches, just try to sleep now"
Manny and Ellie had been marching away towards Emma's screams at the forested far end of the valley. Manny set a fast pace it was getting darker by the second he was sure and the tree line was just as distant as it was ten minutes ago. Out of nowhere Manny thought he heard Peaches. Her voice was distant. He was sure he had only heard it in his head but responded anyway, he had imagined it to be coming from near enough behind them. "That's her" Was all he said as explanation to Ellie before running blindly through the dark in the direction that it had come from, this time Ellie could not keep up with his fast pace and had to follow the sound of his thundering footsteps.
Inside the den the kids slept soundly, Diego however kept waking up. The pigs outside were up to something he could hear them muttering. He dozed off for a bit then woke to hear them scratching at the rocks. He could not roll over to look see what was going on without waking the kids so ignored it, there was no way they were getting up this high anyway so let them try all they want. He dozed off again. This time he was disturbed by drumming noise growing louder and louder outside. It was soon accompanied by an uproar of squeals grunts and other piggy sounds.
"Ignore them they are just trying to scare us out" Diego thought trying to comfort himself as the sounds became wild.
Manny stomped on blindly through the dark. Obstacles seemed to block his way deterring him from reaching his goal. But when he was determined Manny could break through solid rock to get to where he was going. Doggedly he ploughed on through kicking tripping and stepping on a variety of squealing, snorting grunting bodies. Soon he had kicked injured and seen off every last boar. He stopped to catch his breath after the sheer effort to get to where he wanted to be. 'Must be getting out of shape' He thought
Outside all fell silent except for a loud, ragged breathing.
The hairs on Diego neck began to stand on end, the ones beside his Mohican that is. He slowly turned over to see what was going on.
The movement woke Peaches. She listened to the strange eerie breathing sounds from outside the den. It sounded deep and angry. It reminded her of when her Dad had reached the end of his tether trying to explain washing to Sid. "Dad?" She whispered
Manny recovered himself instantly, her voice was coming from just above his head, using his trunk he groped around blindly searching for her
Peaches shuffled to look and see what was happening outside.
Diego was instantly angry, well of course it was going to be Manny, who else sounded like a great big avalanche coming when they ran? Diego yawned widely letting himself relax after getting so 'poised', for possible action, not scared. He near jumped out of his skin however when a furry trunk probed inside his mouth; instinctively he spat out the tentacle like trunk.
Manny's sensitive trunk relayed back to his brain what it found fur, wet, sharps yuk! Short fur, Long mop of hair fur = Peaches bingo! He reached in further winding his trunk around her to pick her up out of the fur pile and lift her down to where he could see she was safe.
"Dad is that really you?" (Remember it is dark she is not blind or stupid!)
"Yes it's me; you really scared us"
Ellie slowed as boars limping in the opposite direction blocked her way too much for her to run any more. She felt really bad for them; they all seemed bashed, bruised and defeated. One was lying on its back a top of a rock like it had been used as a foot ball. She lifted it down and put it back on its feet.
"Stupid mammoths!" was all the thanks she got. She walked on careful not to step on any pigs that were still picking themselves up off of the floor.
Diego looked down with surprise at the boars lying in piles defeated all around and looked at Manny standing in the middle of them all cuddling Peaches. "That was a bit over kill don't you think?" He scolded the Mammoth "They would have just left eventually"
Manny stopped and looked around clearly for the first time since his panic had left him. "Oop's, I don't know my own strength sometimes, they weren't friends of yours were they?"
"I didn't like them in that sense, but still no one deserves that"
"Sorry! I'm sorry" Manny said to some limping pigs as they shuffled off,"but I thought I had lost my kid!".
"That's it Manny!" Ellie said as she finally caught him up "You have got to get a grip, you can't go bulldozing through animals like that!"
"But!"
"No! Every time we go out you have to throw someone around, you need to learn to be more diplomatic, violence should only ever be a last resort! Think about what kind of an impression your setting for Peaches!"
"Yes dear" Said Manny meekly, he didn't mean it he loved throwing enemies around, so long as there was a reason for it why shouldn't he? But Ellie was right he had been blind with fear and these guys had gotten a kicking for it, very unprofessional.
Ellie left her temper off there she was tired of being up on the moral high ground today, she turned her attentions to the promise of cute kittens instead "Hi Diego, Manny told us about your new friends, can't wait to meet them, are they still up?"
"I just got them to go to bed, in the morning you can meet them, unless you guys are going back..."
"No we are staying put" Manny said decisively, Ellie nodded agreement.
"We should all just stay together now" Manny repeated aware that all this separation was going to give him a nervous breakdown; he needed a break from all this responsibility. It would be nice if someone else played dad to the herd so he could for once be carefree.
"So you're not going to get Sid and the possums?" Diego said
"Sid?" Manny said aware suddenly that Sid was again missing; he checked he wasn't just sitting on the stupid sloth before rumbling a long low growl of irritation.
"You were looking for him earlier today remember, you did find him right?"
"Yes of course I found him! He was right behind us; I don't know where he got too"
Diego rolled his eyes which looked rather dramatic in the dark. Why was it always down to him to look after Sid? "And where's Crash and Eddie?"
"Out?" Manny said sheepishly as he didn't know, he looked to Ellie to see if she might whisper him the answers but she was giggling to hard under her breath at Manny getting told off. Manny smiled at how stupid this all looked.
Diego didn't notice and went on "You can't go dropping all your old substitute kids just because you've got a real one now, I never thought I would have to lecture you of all people on responsibility Manny"
"Sorry Diego" Manny said in his fake meek voice usually reserved for Ellie.
"Sheesh he's tetchy" whispered Ellie to Manny as they settled down with Peaches curled up safely between them. "I'm sure Sid can take care of himself for just one night what's the big deal?"
"Probably missed us that's all"
"To think I gave up my new winter Olympic regime to come back"
"I heard that! You guys were having a good time, I knew it. After I've sorted out getting everyone else back you can expect no more help from me, you guys are on your own, I don't care anymore"
"I wasn't having a good time" Manny said still in meek mode with a touch of defensive for effect
"You lost Sid! Twice, so you're still bad!"
"You can't compare that to mucking about in the snow all day"
"Bad is bad. Ah now you woke the kids" The den once warm and snug now writhed with unhappy bodies seeking comfort.
"Can you please stop shouting, I'm getting upset!" Ellie dared to joke.
"Let's just leave it all till morning for now guys, good night" Manny said diplomatically silencing everyone so all the kids could sleep.
Back at the mammoth herd everyone sat around a huge blazing fire courtesy of Sid. All of the logs that went unused earlier were now heaped up into a huge pyre for an extra special dramatic story telling session. Many stories were repeated from the night before so Sid decided to tell his own tale about the creation of what he liked to call 'the Grand Sloths Canyon' (I forgot where i saw it but the original story was a short where Sid takes his cub scouts out and nearly kills them)
Specific events were changed dramatically by Sid for the occasion, so rather than being a random accident on his behalf, it was now an epic tale of bravery as 'super sloth' saved the cub scouts from fiery hell hounds trying to consume them all. A few scenes resembled Bucks own adventures with Rudy epically the 'back and forth' bit where Sid fought the massive three headed brute in the stories finally, but otherwise it was all very original and nowhere near realistic.
When Sid finally, and I mean finally put the fires of hell out once and for all stopping Armageddon and created world peace in its stead, the scarred valley floor was all that remained to mark that the event had ever happened.
Silence was all that remained after the telling of his tale. He had stunned his crowd with his incredible bravery, his lightening wit outsmarting all of hells fury and his awesome re-enactment skills bringing the tale in all its gory detail into the minds and souls of his audience. At least that is what he thought. He wasn't thinking that after ten minutes when the silence was just plain uncomfortable. Sid wished for his own herd back, they would have had a bit of input by now, made the scene a lot less awkward.
Finally Big Mick spoke "No sloth made that, thunder foot the mammoth made it. With one stamp of his foot the earth opened and a pack of fifty thousand cave bears were swallowed up by the ground"
"Cave bears don't go around in packs, they live solitary lives grumbling in caves, Sid the super sloth made it, I should know because I am he! And I was there. I had witnesses too"
"So go get them"
"I can't, I'm not to go within five miles of them, their parents got a restraining order on me, it was totally unfair of course"
"Why am I not surprised Your officially not allowed within five miles of our kids after this, it took ages to find them hidden in every bit of vegetation" Mick growled, how on earth did Manny suffer this annoying little green nuisance?
"Oh yeah, should have told them the game had ended at bed time"
"Still, we can put all of that behind us when you come out of this as a hero for your part in helping to rid all the vulnerable from the blight of the savage carnivores!"
"Yeah but we are going to have a feast in my honour before that, aren't we?"
"No, after."
"After! I'm hungry now"
"It's called the victory feast; it would be called the pre emptive victory feast if we were to have it now. Here have some peanuts"
"Those will not sustain me through any kind of siege. I need a feast"
"Fine, get the melon"
"That is still a snack! I have been known to eat ten of those just to pass the time! I ate fifty in a day once when I wasn't even hungry! I thought guys of your size would know the difference between a morsel and a feast!"
Sid spent the night tied and gagged. This was one tough crowd! He still managed to hum 'All by myself' a few times, 'Simply the best' cos he liked that one and 'Why does it always rain on me' (couldn't think of anything more appropriate) until he was sure that absolutely no one was listening to him anymore.
"Well", he thought as he was gagged, "Manny had better be a bit quicker to save me tomorrow, because I'm not going to put up with this all day!"
There and that was my attempt at a short chap, i hate reading essays so much but there you go.