Just to let everyone know, there's going to be a certain amount of parallelism in this fanfic, meaning that there are going to be some things that are somewhat similar to events that happened in the movies.
Also, the Manny and Sid subplot will be the source of comic relief, because I can't write a story without adding a bit of funniness to it.
Manny did not know how long he and Sid had been walking, and a part of him didn't want to know. He felt that it was best if he never found out how long he had been enduring the sloth's complaints.
"This is worse than the time the world was ending!" Sid was saying. "At least I was surrounded by water that time! There's no water here at all! Nada! Zilch! I feel like I'm gonna die of thirst! How can-"
"Alright, you're thirsty, I get it!" Manny exploded. And then, in a calmer tone, he added, "We really need to hurry and find everyone else. This place is unlivable."
"Which is exactly my point when I say there's no water here," Sid retorted. "And it's just the two of us – WATER!" he suddenly yelled out when something caught his eye, and raced for it.
"Water?" Manny questioned. He had followed Sid's line of sight, which led to a gooey, green-looking substance. "Uh, I don't think that's water, Sid."
"Why would you say that?" Sid asked happily, clearly not paying that much attention.
"Who would I – just look at it!"
"Looks like pure, crystal-clear water to me!" This statement resulted in Manny wondering if his friend's utter desire to quench his thirst had temporarily clogged his brain waves.
"You don't even know if that's safe to drink or not! Be-"
Sid took a giant gulp.
"…careful."
Sid wiped his mouth with satisfaction. "That was good stuff! Come on, Manny, I know you're thirsty-" He stopped short, a vacant expression dominating his face.
"Um…Sid?" Manny hesitantly asked, waving his trunk in front of the sloth's eyes. "You still there?"
Sid grabbed Manny's trunk and started jumping up and down hyperactively. "OMG U HAV NO IDEA HOW MUCH I WUD LUV 2 SING RITE NOW~ LALALA~"
Manny yanked his trunk free and quickly put Sid on his back before sighing, further convinced that the slimy substance was poisonous. "You really can't do anything right, can you?"
"I WANT TO GO TRAVEL W/ THE UNICORNS 2 LALALAND~"
"So…" Louis began awkwardly, trying to start a conversation. "How's life?"
Diego shot him an icy look.
"Oh, right, you're dead. You're not alive. My mistake," Louis chuckled nervously. "I meant, how's the undead?"
Diego shrugged before turning back to face forward. "Eh. Boring."
Shira rolled her eyes at his lack of sportsmanship and social skills. There had been a stone wall between the two of them ever since when he had stopped to sniff some more. Shira, wanting to leave as soon as possible, had asked him if he really knew where he was going. He had taken this the wrong way, and had answered by saying that she knew even less than he did. It ended up with an argument, while Granny and Louis watched. Granny simply ranted on about how young love was so melodramatic while Louis couldn't help but think that the words that the two tigers were flinging at each other were very disturbing. It had abruptly finished when Diego remembered their objective, and he had concluded his side of the dispute by announcing, "I don't want this to turn physical, since I'm not one to fight girls." Shira reaffirmed her assumptions. He definitely was a freak.
While she was thinking this, Granny asked Diego, who had stopped again, "So how'd you die?"
Louis sighed disapprovingly.
Despite the significance of it, she was oblivious to the fact that she had hit a sensitive spot. Even Shira, who was still absorbed inside her own thoughts, had broken out of them once she saw Diego stiffen. The latter seemed to be fumbling for words, eventually settling with the lame response of, "I protected my dinner."
Shira raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"We're getting closer," he announced, hurriedly changing the subject, and dashed off forward.
Louis and Granny both forgot about his edginess and did their best to catch up with him (which utterly failed). Shira was the only one who wasn't distracted, and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Diego's retreating figure. First his alert reaction to Louis's description of the herd, and now this? She felt as if both ends tied together. She was so bombarding him with questions later on. But for now, she gestured toward Louis and Granny and then to her back. Both gladly accepted the ride, and she took off after Diego.
"This land is huge! How are we ever going to get out of his place?! Crash complained.
"We'll at least have a bigger chance of surviving if we keep on pushing forward, instead of sitting around doing nothing," Ellie said firmly.
"But we've been going on for hours! Can't we take a break?!" Eddie whined.
Ellie contemplated this, feeling herself growing weary. The last thing she wanted to do was push her daughter and brothers too hard (especially her brothers; Peaches seemed to be just fine, which was ironic since the possums weren't even walking), so she complied. The possums happily slid off of Peaches' back and kissed the ground. Ellie took some time to settle into a comfortable position, and her daughter did the same.
"This herd gets into a lot of mishaps, doesn't it?" the older mammoth remarked with a small smile.
Peaches nodded. "The world ending was bad enough, but it's even worse when you don't even know where you are."
"HEY!" a distant voice called out.
The foursome's heads shot up at the familiar-sounding voice. They all saw Shira, with Louis and Granny on her back, running towards them, with an unknown male tiger directly in front of her.
Crash and Eddie jumped up excitedly. "FINALLY!"
When the two tigers approached the two mammoths and two possums, they skidded to a stop. Crash was ranting, "We finally found each other! I actually missed you three – …and who's that?"
"Diego," the tiger replied curtly.
The possums looked at each other and simultaneously smirked at Shira. "Got yourself involved, eh?"
"Just because he's a male saber does not mean that he's the love of my life," Shira said irritably, clearly not too pleased with the idea.
"Sure, whatever you – GAH!" Eddie yelped when Diego flicked him into Crash, both ending up knocking over Louis.
Shira smiled wryly. "Thank you."
"You have bad taste in men, Shira! He's too violent for your own good!" Crash yelled from the background.
Ellie stepped forward. "Sorry about those two. I'm Ellie, and they're my brothers, Crash and Eddie." Noticing Diego's bemused look, she added, "Adoption." Diego nodded in understanding. "And this is my daughter, Peaches." Peaches gave a brief wave.
"You have your father's eyes," Diego said without thinking. His eyes widened. "Oh, shi-"
Peaches shot him a curious glance. "Do you know Dad?"
"Uh, yeah. Used to know him, but only saw him for a few days. We weren't that close."
Nobody pressed on, sensing the uncomfortable atmosphere.
Shira shot him another suspicious glance, which Ellie noticed. She inwardly smirked. Despite Shira's obvious discomfort with the implication of becoming Diego's mate, she could sense that sparks were going to be flying around everywhere in the near future.
