Chapter 4: Cave-ins and Acorns.

Roshan stood outside the cave, holding a leash tightly in one hand. His face was set in a worried frown as the dog attached to the lead sniffed around the entrance.

It was a labyrinth in there. Roshan's hold on the leash tightened until his knuckles turned white.

The dog began barking frantically at the entrance, pulling on the lead as he attempting to go in. Roshan took a death breath and gestured for the group of men behind him, some of them holding torches, to regroup with him.

The torches were there incase they would take till nightfall. The cave was naturally lit by sunlight coming in from cracks, but further in it would get darker as well.

Roshan and his men entered the cave apprehensively, brining other tracking dogs with them

Roshan wondered. Is this how his father had felt when he had vanished? All those years ago, when he had been a little younger than his own son?

"Hey, that's his herd, right up the hill! we should return him!"

He frowned, rubbing his forehead. Who had said those words, again? His father told him he'd been returned by...a mammoth. Mammoths did not speak.

Roshan sighed and shook the odd train of thought away. He had to concentrate on finding his son.

Somewhere in the caves, Louis, Shorty and Peaches stood facing another tunnel entrance near the underground lake.

"Well, I guess this is the only way we can go." The teen mammoth mused.

"Yeah. Let's just hope there's no more water slides." The molehog shuddered at the thought. The baby curled in Peaches' trunk gurgled in response the their conversation.

The three entered the cave, unaware of what was happening somewhere above...

Scratt slid along the what was left of the rocky ledge near the waterfall, intent on reaching a promising place on the other side where he could hide his precious acorn.

He spotted an old branch, probably washed in from the river outside the mountain, reaching out of the waterfall (maybe caught between on a rock)

He hopped onto the branch, holding on tight to his acorn, mumbling in a high-pitched tone as he glanced down below. gulping, the saber-tooth squirrel hopped along the branch and onto the other ledge, which was only a few centimeters long.

He smiled tightly at what he was looking for . A small crevice in the stone wall, just wide enough...

Scatt attempted to place his acorn in, but found the crevice to be a bit too narrow. Growing in frustration, to pushed hard, until the acorn was pressed into the crevice.

He thumped his paws on it a bit more, until it was completely sheltered inside. The saber-tooth squirrel nodded once and turned around to move away when-

CRACK

The crevice widened, spreading up the wall and over the ceiling above.

One of Scratt's large, bulging eyes twitched slightly.

Suddenly, the ground beneath him crumbled along with most of the ceiling and the walls. He plummeted down towards the water, leaving his precious acorn behind.

"AAAH-AH-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGG!"

Peaches glanced up. "Did you hear something?"

Louis turned around and looked back out the tunnel entrance. He stood start sill. The walls around them began to tremble.

"Uh..."

Peaches looked over her shoulder to see a large amount of rubble tumbling down the waterfall, coming straight towards them.

"RUN, LOUIS!"

They sped as fast as they could down the shaking tunnel, and had just made it when the entrance behind them was completely closed up with rubble.

Something came flying from the rubble towards them, screaming in a high pitch voice.

It smacked right into Louis's terrified face.

"AAARGH! GET IT OFF!"

He through the small, grey bundle of fur off of himself. It rolled away, jumped up to reveal as squirrel-like creature that was currently waving its face in aggravation at him. It growled in annoyance at the confused molehog before disappearing around the corner of the cave.

Peaches stood, completely baffled, as Shorty clapped his hands in amusement.

"Okay. What just happened there?" Louis said, raising his paws in complete confusion. Peaches shook her head before replying.

"Er...I have no idea. But maybe it would be cool if we never say that little... squirrel thing for a while."

"Alright, this is the place."

Diego and Shira stood in front of a large cave entrance under the mountain. Manny frowned deeply upon seeing it.

"Our daughter's in there? What if she's lost?"

"Well, that's why we're here, Manny." Ellie said as she walked past "Let's go and find her, then!"

"Wait for me, Ellie!" Manny exclaimed, hurrying after his wife into the entrance. Diego and Shiro followed suit.

"I don't think it was a good idea to leave Sid with those two miscreants..." Diego said to himself as they walked. Shira chuckled teasingly.

"Aw, mister softy. He'll be alright."

"Pfft. I'm not worried about Sid." Diego said quickly, frowning at her "I'm worried about the herd's reputation."

"Sure, softy. Keep telling yourself that." She rubbed her head against his for a second before quickening her pace. "C'mon, then. Try not to get left behind!"

Meanwhile, lying like a dried up jelly-fish in the middle of the clearing by himself, Sid the sloth's barley moveable eyes glanced around nervously.

"Maaaaanthy? Diaaaaagoth? heeeeeeelpth!"

Poor Sid. The Possums left him all alone.