Disclaimer: I do not own anything 'Ice Age' related other than my OCs, and this story.

Note: Thank you for the reviews, Amethyst DragonRider, metacognitive, FACHICKXO.

It's alright haleygirl28, and thank you for the review!

Peacefully, Chapter Sixteen

The rain was slowing to a near stop now, but the flames grew larger and Rudy quickly reached for the cliff. He started to climb. Lois knew it wouldn't take that long for the Baryonyx to climb, and where was Diego? He disappeared while going back up the cliff again. Relief swept over her when she saw him run to the edge, looking to Rudy from below. She quickly flew over.

"You take the right and I'll take the left," he said. He noticed that she was looking down at the dinosaur worriedly, "Lois?"

She looked up, and smiled softly, "It's just..."

"Go on."

"You never had a sister, right?" she asked, now smiling sadly. He shook his head and returned the smile, "But you would've made a great sister, Lois."

"You too." she replied, "As a brother."

They looked down at Rudy, he was nearly at the top of the cliff. They were out of time. Looking at one another one last time, they smiled. Lois reached for her goggles and took it off, she tied it around one of Diego's front paws.

He was confused, "Why are you giving it to me?"

"Just... in case." she smiled. She had seen a blurr of a grey flying creature pass by before she had met up with Diego. "I wish we had more time, brother."

"We'll make time, after we see each other at the otherside." Lois smiled again; Diego was wrong. 'When we see each other at the otherside' she corrected him in her mind.

Diego turned back to Rudy, as did Lois, and taking deep breaths they charged. Diego lunged, and with his claws, he slashed at the dinosaur's eyes. At the same time, Lois created further damage to the already injured eye of Rudy by stabbing a stick further into the cut. The two animals held on tight to whatever they can as Rudy struggled to stay on the side of the cliff, slipping and falling. Injured and already blind in the other eye, he watched as his other ocular blurred out his surroundings, and Rudy fell. He crashed through the Abyss, and fell into darkness, taking Diego and Lois with him.

Everyone waited for the weasel to continue; that he'll surprise them with a happy ending. Instead, he nodded and coughed twice from the chilly breeze that passed by.

"Yes," he said, "Rudy was gone."

The saber in front of the fire shook his head, "No, not him."

"Then who is it, lad?" the storyteller asked politely, and waited.

"Diego and Lois didn't survive?" the cub asked sadly. The old weasel shook his head, "No."

The crowd's heads lowered to an obvious sadness. How disappointing it was for them, but the story wasn't quite done yet.

"Except one."

Somewhere, in the bottom of the Abyss came the flapping of wings. It grew louder each passing second, and Pett emerged from the darkness, carrying Diego back up to the surface. The tiger had a sad look in his eyes, his damp fur made the tears falling from his eyes unoticable. The pterodactyl carefully let Diego grab onto the edge of the cliff before swooping down to the ground and resting, tired and sad from the event that had happened.

Diego heaved himself up the cliff, and while doing so the sun had began to rise, the grey clouds disappearing and the rain stopping. After he had safely gotten on top of the cliff, he looked down at the Abyss. He could still spot fire under the surface, slowly burning the branches that held the land. He felt a long face rub against his shoulder. It was Pett, barely chirping from sadness.

As the two gathered themselves together again, they made their way back to everybody else.

Peaches had been crying the moment the weasel had started with Diego's goodbye to his herd, and everyone else, one by one joined after. The possums just hung their heads sadly, and made no eye contact with anyone so they wouldn't see the tears in their eyes. The saber cub who had been in front the entire time also had tears in his eyes.

Peaches had found him by the river a few days ago while looking for the twin possums, having had scars from rolling down a rocky cliff to escape other sabers as he explained. Every aspect of him reminded the herd of Diego. His eyes, personality, his posture, everything... even his smile. But he was not the tiger's child. No. He was attacked by his own pack, his parents brutally murdered, and the only thing he could do to save himself was jump off the rocky cliff. It was lucky that he survived and lived on. He could never hurt Peaches or anybody else in the herd, or other mammals as they saved his life. But seeing him cry was shocking for everyone to see, as he had never shed a tear in front of them, and was rather stubborn at times.

After giving the mammals their moment, the weasel continued, "The herd went back to the surface after that. No one made conversation except for dear Peaches; who kept asking if Lois had only gone to explore."

Peaches smiled sadly.

"The truth was, no one knew if the bat survived after falling in the pit with Rudy, only one piece of her came back; and that was the object she had given Diego. As it turns out, she had seen Pett fly by earlier, and whistled to the pterodactyl before they fell any longer. Pett only had time to grab Diego."

"What happened to Buck?" the saber cub asked softly, wiping another tear from his eye. The weasel smiled and shook his head.

"It wasn't easy to cope with Lois' death for Buck, but he pulled through. Moved on, but he always kept Lois in his heart."

"Where is he now?"

"Oh, he's around... probably telling stories like I am. But wherever he is," the weasel smiled, "He's where he wants to be."

"That was a great story, Minster." Peaces smiled at the weasel who smiled and nodded back to her slowly. The possums finally looked up from their sad state.

"What happened to Diego and the rest of the herd?" one asked.

"They lived, making memories but never forgetting any. Manny had died of old age, and Ellie soon followed a few years after," Minster explained. Peaches nodded.

"Crash and Eddie died during a swamp accident." The twin opossums nodded, already knowning their fathers' fates; they're the ones that had caused it for being so careless.

"Sid would visit Momma and her kids; he had died of old age as well." Minster said, "Each died peacefully, and Diego was the first to slip away out of all of them, due to his weakening heart. He died young, resting under the stars... but he had a smile on his face."

Later on, after the mammals had cleared out of the old dinosaur theatre and only a few had stayed, Buck stood from his spot on the stage and carefully hopped his way to the ground. Locrian, as the saber cub was called; offered him a ride back home, but he declined it politely, saying that he could manage. The twin opossums had already fallen asleep, hanging on each of Peaches' tusks; she and Locrian exited the theatre with Minster following closely behind.

But before the weasel could exit, he turned around to face the old theatre. The mammals and his herd would venture back down here in the dinosaur world. They had made fieldtrips here everyonce in a week, and he'd be their guide. Never knowing that he was the Buck. The Buckminster. But only Peaches knew of his true identity, and he was sure that the opossum twins and Locrian would find out eventually.

Inhaling the jungle scent, Buck paused, then exhaled. Suddenly, like magic, he was taken back in time; the theatre that had rotting trees and leaves were again covered with the fresh plants. The bar in the corner beside him had also changed to it's older state, when it was still clean and not broken. Even the fireflies had returned, circling around him before separating in a beautiful dance, and under the flying creatures was a herd of party animals.

He smiled as he saw Rascal and Doktor fade into view on the stage, waving their canes at eachother, arguing and laughing it out a second later. He saw Crash and Eddie swinging from vine to vine yelling like Tarzan and stick fighting one another. Then there was Sid, making a fool of himself again, but Momma gently rubbed her face against him to show her love. The sloth smiled, pating the dinosaur's nose. Then there was Manny and Ellie; such a lovely couple... he watched as Manfred offered his trunk and Ellie gladly took it with her own. The two headed down the pathway, probably going somewhere to chat privately.

Last but not least, Diego and Lois. He could watch them all day. The two toasted their drinks with eachother and drank from the coconut cups they had, laughing, with the fireflies circling them to join in their joyous celebration.

This was his family.

Buck turned to look back for a last glance, he smiled and exited the theatre, the curtain of leaves closing behind him concealing the many memories that will never be forgotten.

Peaches carefully picked Buck up and gently set him down on his hammock, outside of what used to be Doktor's home until the hypsilophodon passed away. She set his cane down beside the knife that had been in the ground for a long while after Buck had put it there, and gently, she patted her uncle's head.

"Goodnight, Buck." she said quietly for only her and the weasel to hear. He nodded, "Goodnight, fruity."

That was her given nickname from Buck; fruity. She smiled and left to go rest beside her opossum cousins who she had hung on a small branch, and Locrian whow as peacefully sleeping under them. She took a spot beside the trio, and went to sleep.

Buck had quickly fallen into a deep sleep, dreaming... remembering...

I hope you don't mind that I've used your name Locrian-Mode XD!!!