CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: "Epilogue"

Sid sneezed, sniffled, and rubbed a claw under his nose. The Ice Age was known to be cold but Sid was fonder of the warmer seasons like spring and summer. He got to lounge all day in trees, and take naps in the sun, although one of his favorite parts about winter was foraging for food. It was the one time he could gorge to his hearts content without anyone questioning his habit. Well, Manfred and Diego would complain about his messy habits, but they complained regardless of the season. Today though, he was left behind while the rest foraged, and only hoped Cindy brought him back something good. He never complained about being left behind. Every time he looked at his young son playing in the snow, and the offspring of his two friends, he knew it was a worthy cause.

It was Sid's turn to baby-sit for the week. The herd had stopped for the day, afraid to chance going through a storm which was quite evident in the growing black clouds in the distance. Still, it was safe enough to allow the children to play outside. Sid sat by the cave opening where they planned to spend the night, keeping a careful eye on the little ones.

His son, he and Cindy cleverly named Cid, took after him a great deal. Although he was perhaps more hygienic than his father, Cid was very friendly and a very clumsy. Manny often wondered how Sid could discern between the names since they sounded similar but the sloth merely stated to the mammoth that he would not understand. Cid's pelt color was similar to his mother's, pale yellow, but it darkened to green at his arms and legs. The little sloth was forming a pile of snowballs, but it was scattered by the two cubs frisking in the snow.

"Hey! Di! Abby!" he shouted.

"I'm sorry Cid!" the little female stopped, only to be tackled by her brother.

The other cub pinned her and tugged at her ear while she batted him away, but to no avail. Di (pronounced Dee), and Abby were Diego and Adah's two charming cubs. Di was his father's son who enjoyed rough housing with anyone nearby, willing or unwilling. In his eyes they were all his prey. He also shared in his father's golden-tawny coat, but he had blue eyes. Abby was his most frequent pouncing victim because she was easy to win against. The little female cub was grey in color but she did not have the spots her mother had, and her eyes were green like her father's. Abby was not as fearsome as her brother, but like most cubs, she loved to play

Di broke off from bullying his sister and bounded towards Cid who realized he was the next target. He packed some snow in his claws and tossed it, hitting the cub smack in the head. Cid cried out in triumph but then let out a Sid-like scream, waddling off as Di continued to chase him, snow still plastered on his face. The two animals kicked up snow as they ran, and dashed past the mammoth calf walking by. She let out a piping trumpet cry in surprise. Abby rushed to her side for comfort and yelled at the two playing boys.

"You scared Millie!"

Immediately the little sloth and little saber stopped and slowly made their way to the calf and cub with their heads bowed apologetically.

"We're sorry, Millie." Cid said quietly.

The calf smiled and all was right with them. Millie was rightfully named because she was Ellie's daughter disguised as Manfred. She was the youngest of the group, just born a few months ago during spring. She was old enough to be left in the care of the other herd members while her parents were gone, though she still needed the nourishment from her mother. Millie was dark-colored like Manny, with a wild shock of hair. Her eyes were as green as her mother's, and with the darkness of her coat, they stood out even more. The calf, despite being so young, was very inquisitive, although she spooked easily, still new to the world around her. It made Manny all the more protective, and the other members of the herd helped in keeping an eye on her. Not only that, but Millie's playmates, Cid, Di, and Abby took it upon themselves to look after her especially.

The sound of scrunching snow caught Sid's attention and he pulled his attention away from the kids to look back and see a tiger approach. At first he mistook him for Diego, but the two possums sitting atop his back only told the sloth that it was Ben.

"Hey Ben! Crash, Eddie!" he greeted. His call caught the attention of the others and they all ran to meet with their uncles.

"Uncle Crash! Uncle Eddie! Uncle Ben!" they cried. The trio was overcome by the cubs and sloth, and Ben was suddenly pulled in by Millie's stubby trunk for a hug. Crash and Eddie hopped down from his back and darted around Cid and the two cubs before jumping on Millie to give them their own hug. Ben smiled and sat beside Sid as the two possums led the kids away to play games in the snow.

"Hey Sid." Ben greeted.

"Yo!" he grinned. "Are the others coming back yet?"

"Yeah, they should be coming soon." he smiled.

"C'mon 'Uncle' Ben! Let's play!" One of the possums teased, waving him over.

He smiled and bounded after them. Sid watched, marveling at Ben's growth. He was no longer a half-grown, but a young adult now. Ben was the same height and heft as Diego, meeting him at the shoulder. Judging by his memory of Soto, Ben was no doubt going to get larger. Thankfully he did not share any traits with his uncle other than size and color.

Ben had left the herd a year ago to return to his pack, not long after Di and Abby were born. It was time for him learn the things an heir should learn from his father. His departure saddened the herd, but he promised to visit often, and he kept true to his word. His friendship with Crash and Eddie never waned and the three were always causing as much trouble now as they did back when they were young. The tiger had become an envoy on behalf of his father, often treating with Miakoda's pack, negotiating territory as the seasons changed. When the herd migrated during the change of seasons, Ben always accompanied them for several days as an escort. Now, he traveled with them as they headed south for the winter, and next spring, when they would return to Crescent Forest, Ben would be there to meet them.

More footfalls caught Sid's attention and he turned to see the two mammoths returning from their forage, and Cindy waddling along side the shemmoth. Instantly, Cid and Millie raced to greet their parents, while the others tagged along.

"Momma!" the little calf called.

"Millie!" Ellie wrapped her trunk around her daughter as she snuggled into her mother's warm fur.

"How's our little-big girl doing?" Manny smiled warmly, and also put his trunk around his daughter. The little calf reveled in their attention.

Millie's birth had changed Manfred greatly. It was most likely due to his past that Manny was so protective of his daughter, but Ellie and the other members would assure him things would be alright. Whenever Millie was not in his sight Manfred would almost panic. Ellie always kept him in line though. The shemmoth was a wonderful mate, and mother, who often had Crash and Eddie help her with Millie. Manny only hoped Millie did not pick up on any of their habits any time soon.

It wasn't surprising how well Ellie took to being a mother. With Crash, Eddie, and Ben running around; the shemmoth had good practice. However, Millie was not as wild as the young trio so Ellie did not have to worry, even with her brothers' constant influence. She spent more time trying to calm Manny down whenever Millie decided to explore any place two feet away from her parents. Ellie guessed Manny might not agree with the idea of teaching their calf how to hang from a tree like a possum. Oh well, maybe when she was a little older.

Sid stood up to join his family. Cid already beat his dad to Cindy, who enfolded him in her arms. Cid was first born in the herd, a few months before Di and Abby. Cindy spoiled him, but always encouraged him to have good manners. It explained why the little sloth had better eating habits than Sid (but he shared in his love for large quantities of food). He was worried of Cid's timid nature, but as soon as the cubs were old enough, they became fast friends. The same went for Millie. Cid's dynamic with Di reminded Sid of himself and Diego, though unlike his father, Cid never taunted Di. He was simply the victim of the little cub's antics. Sid would also claim to be a mere victim of Diego's violent acts, but he knew no one would countenance.

"Find anything good?" Sid asked Cindy.

"Yep! I found some nutpods, I know you like those!" She shrugged, "No dandelions though."

"Darn!" he lowered himself to meet Cid at eye level. "How about it Cid, we split the nutpods between you and me?"

"Okay, but I want the bigger one."

"Hey, that doesn't sound fair!"

"Ma, and gramma Rose said I'm a growing sloth and need my nourishment!" Cid said as a matter-of-factly. Cindy only giggled and placed him down so he could play with the others.

It wasn't long before Diego and Adah returned, and it was the cubs turn to greet their parents. Immediately, Di lunged for his father, who dodged, snickering at his son's hapless attempt to take him down. When the cub did not settle down, Diego simply sat on him just enough to impede the cub and not harm him. Di squirmed, and Abby only smiled, gloating silently as her mother groomed her.

"Didn't you learn anything from me, or Ben?" Diego taunted the cub. "You're never gonna take me down. You better calm down if you want to eat later."

Di gave Ben a pleading look to help him out of his predicament but the other tiger only shrugged sheepishly, proving Diego's point that even he could not contest with his father. The possums only chuckled which encouraged the cub to struggle even more, until he finally gave up in a huff. Diego sat up and joined Adah, and she nuzzled up against him. Even with two cubs, Diego and Adah managed to keep them under control. The grey saber had experience thanks to Ben when he was a cub. Diego learned by taking cues from Adah, figuring out when it was good to panic, or keep cool. He gave himself credit though; he was managing a lot better than Manny was.

Diego never imagined things would turn out like this, but was happy to be with Adah, and he adored his cubs. The cubs were always with him when Adah was not around or when they were not hunting. He was the prime target of Di's pouncing (although he still needed work), and Abby constantly demanded his attention and an occasional game of "Where's the Baby". And at night, both of them would snuggle up with him in sleep, hogging him away from Adah. The tough saber found he was at their mercy, but he never complained.

After Ben and Adah decided to stay with the herd, the two managed to still keep in touch with their pack. Adah said the young females of their pack were already chomping at the bits to get near Ben. He was old enough to eye females, but it would probably be a while before he decided to settle down. The two even managed to convince Diego to join them on their visits. Hagar was curious to know more of the tiger who finally sparked Adah's eye. By next spring, they planned to introduce the cubs to their foster-grandfather. They were weaned, and old enough to discover things beyond their herd, but also hoped it was first in their hearts.

Abby left her mother to be babied by her father this time and nestled comfortably between his forepaws. Diego smiled, and ruffled the fur on her head with a paw. Adah reached over and snagged Di to give him his bath, and he protested loudly, but his pleas were ignored.

Diego shook his head and looked at Ben. "So, kid, are you having fun playing diplomat?"

"It's pretty neat, I get to explore new territories and stuff." he smiled.

"Didn't you say you went to visit that wolf pack just recently?" Sid asked.

Ellie's eyes lit up. "That's right! Did you see Tate and Tala?"

Adah released her son who jumped away to join Cid in play. "Yeah, how are they doing?"

"Tala's expecting." Ben announced, earning joyous gasps from Cindy and Ellie.

"That's wonderful!"

"Tater's gonna have his paws full though!" Crash snickered.

"He's got the moooves!" Eddie jived and soon his brother joined. They gasped when their sister's trunk came down on them, and they barely dodged it. "Aw, Ellie!"

"I didn't think mutt-face would get that far." Diego said sarcastically, only to be nipped by Adah. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"

"Good for them." Manny nodded, minding his step as Millie kept in-between his front legs.

"And what about the mini-sloths?" Sid added in. "How is my family doing there?"

"Pretty good." Ben replied as he scratched his side with one hind leg. "Miss Rose is still matriarch, and I heard Uncle Fungus became head Fire Priest or something fancy sounding like that."

"What about Bernie?" Eddie asked.

"He says hi!" Ben grinned, "We found a great spot for log-rolling. We'll show you next spring!"

"Awesome!" the brothers shouted happily.

"Promise me you won't encourage Millie to try. Ever." Manny pleaded.

"Okay, okay." Eddie said defensively. "We promise! Chill big guy, chill!"

"Hah, ok kiddies, let's get you some food before they decide to show you what log-rolling is!" Ellie shook her head, smiling and urging her daughter forward. Crash and Eddie joined with Ben and encouraged the others to chase them. Mille ran from under her father's legs and went after Ellie while while Cid, Di, and Abby went after the boys. Ellie kept the rear guard, and with a wave of her trunk, signaled Cindy and Adah to come.

"Listen to your mom, got that, Di?" Diego called. "And stop picking on your sister!"

"Yes dad." his son droned.

"Millie you stay close with Mom, don't wander off to far. And don't listen to everything Crash and Eddie say!" Manny instructed.

"Hey!" Crash shouted.

"Keep an eye on your mommy, Cid!" Sid said, cupping his mouth with his claws.

"I will!" was his reply.

"Gosh they're really something, aren't they?" Sid sighed, admiring the herd. "Taking care of Cid always reminds me of the little guy. In fact, I think taking care of him helped me get a good start in raising my own kid!"

"You mean Pinky?" Manny asked, and Sid nodded.

"You think he remembers us at all?"

"Tch. Please, we probably gave that poor kid a complex." Diego said, but his expression softened. "Though I do miss him, but Di and Abby helped ease that."

"Same with Cid." Sid agreed.

"Yeah..." Manny trailed off.

The other two mammals watched him. They knew the mammoth had an especially large soft spot for that human child. And like Sid and Diego, his own child, and the offspring of his herd-members reminded Manny of the baby constantly. He didn't ponder much about what he was doing now. He was gone, and life went on, that's how it was. Though he suddenly remembered the odd charm his human father gave him as a token of appreciation. Long ago he had it on his tusk, wearing it proudly, but he feared it would slip off and he would lose it. So Sid managed to weave the trinket into the mammoth's wooly fur, nestled in a spot behind his head. It was hidden for the most part, but the mammoth could feel it tugging on his fur; a constant reminder.

"Well, whatever." Manny shrugged, in a way shrugging off the feeling of nostalgia. "I'm sure he's doing fine."

Diego and Sid grinned at the mammoth. They knew him well enough that he could not bury things under that tough hide of his anymore. Manny realized this by their grins and huffed, stomping off to join the others.

"Stop looking at me like that." he grumbled. "I don't look into these things as much as you do, Sid."

"Whatever you say, buddy." he replied, still grinning. He and the tiger both followed him.

"I mean it!"

"Sure, sure, we believe you, Manfred." Diego joined in. Their casual responses only annoyed him.

"Oy." Manny huffed.

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Scrat bounded through the snow with little effort, sending snow flurries up into the air. It floated down as delicate as feather down, along with the snow falling from the grey skies above. The weather had been fair today, and it was good for burying acorns.

The saber-toothed squirrel explored a familiar area; a rocky cliff with a waterfall. Atop the cliffs he could smell, even see, dark billows of smoke. He knew humans dwelled here, but with winter already upon the land, he also knew most of them left to their migrating grounds, beyond Glacier Pass. Scrat bounded up beside the cliff wall, scratching at the ground to see if it was unfrozen. He couldn't help but notice the odd markings on the rock face. A few feet above the small squirrel he noticed paintings. Pictures made by the humans. He did not know what they were for but many of them were familiar to his little squirrel eye. Yet something was strange about these paintings. They seemed sloppy. Most of them consisted of mammoths, tigers, and sloths.

Sloths? That was the first time he ever saw a sloth painting. One in particular caught his attention and it was the three animals surrounding the painting of a human figure. Scrat found himself staring at that one for a while, for once, forgetting about the pressing matters of hiding his nut. This image oddly called to him, as if he should know it. As if he saw something like this before. He grunted, scratching his head as his mind struggled for the memory.

"Tanah!"

A strange and awfully close sound sent the small rodent screaming and he flung himself against the rock wall, looking forward to see what the noise was. His acorn was suddenly in front of him, and holding it was a young human. The child stared at him curiously, and smiled.

"Tanah se pucha?"

The human spoke but it fell on ears unfamiliar with his language. Scrat trembled. He was never this close to a human before. He heard enough stories about them, and seen the skins and hides of animals from abandoned camps to know these creatures were predators.

"Dunkar." he spoke again, drawling out that particular word. The boy shook the acorn in front of him. Was he trying to offer the acorn? Scrat slowly crouched low to the ground, still eying the human warily. Instinct bid him to flee but another part of him did not want to leave without that nut. The human was offering it, or so it looked that way. His eye twitched. The acorn became more tantalizing by the minute, and the rodent gave into temptation. In one swift move he deftly snatched the nut from between the human boy's fingers and hugged his prize.

"Tanah mar pucha dunkar mey!" The young boy smiled, and while Scrat was distracted he managed to pet the little mammal on his head. He stood up, towering over the squirrel, looking at him one last time before leaving after his human herd that was just descending the path going down the cliff side. The human in the lead of the group called for the younger one.

"Roshan! Suba te yenkar!"

"Ahn!"

Scrat had shut his eyes when the boy patted him, but he opened his eyes in time to see his leave. Amazed by what happened and the fact he let him live, in a burst of happiness, Scrat danced around. The human stopped and looked back and the saber-toothed rodent thought he was replying to his action, but he did not look at Scrat. Instead, he looked up the ascending path leading to the top of the cliff. He cupped his hands over his mouth.

"Manny! Diego! Sid!"

Scrat stopped. He suddenly understood what the human was speaking! Why did it sound familiar? Again his mind struggled to find the memory. He thought so hard he felt the ground beneath him shaking! Wait, that wasn't caused by some hidden telekinesis, it was caused by something else. Startled, Scrat's head turned in all directions until his eyes fell on the cliff pathway. The cause of the ground-shaking stampeded their way down the path, and towards him! Before he could escape, he was flattened by the paws, claws, and giant feet of a saber cub, sloth, and mammoth calf. Young as they were, they were still very heavy, especially the calf.

Ahead, the three mammals joined up with the boy who greeted them all with gestures of affection; patting, hugging, scratching. He walked off, after his human herd, and the three infants followed him eagerly.

Behind, Scrat moaned. This memory of being squished was far too familiar with him, and suddenly he realized his acorn was nowhere in sight. He pulled himself out of the crater and sniffed around furtively, trying to find the scent. There was nothing, and Scrat could do nothing but give into defeat.

Above, unknowingly to Scrat, the acorn fell. It was tossed up during the stampede and it came closer to the ground, its shadow narrowing in on the squirrel's head. Scrat's ears pricked, hearing a stranger whistling noise, and he looked up and squeaked. With arms wide open, he waited expectantly for his prize that seemed to fall like manna from heaven.

THOK!

He missed.

And the nut landed squarely on his little noggin, sending his sense reeling. Scrat staggered, tongue flopping out of his mouth, and fell neatly back into the crater he just came out from. The nut flew up during the impact but fell down again, and back on top of his head. He was unconscious, but a stupid grin was plastered clearly on Scrat's face as little acorns danced circles around his head.

THE END

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A/N: TA-DA! I'm finished! I'm finally finished! I know I practically say this after every update but I really hope you enjoyed the end chapters (and the fic as a whole) I'm so amazed at how many reviews this thing has gotten! I know my writing/grammar is not perfect (though I try really hard with spell check and my own editing) so I am very, very grateful people enjoyed my hard work

To be honest, back when I wrote this chapter I was beating my brains out with the mush scenes. I really hope I didn't butcher Diego's character. Seeing as anything dealing with that sort of stuff is all up to fans to depict him but I did my best to keep his original character intact. And the epilogue is what you would consider my guilty pleasure. Yes, some people might find it incredibly cheesy but I don't care XD I love endings like that XB I don't know if I was to clear on the details of the babies' ages, but Cid was born first, Di and Abby were born a year later, and Millie was born last.

Credit goes to my two buddies Gohan2z and ShinCinati for helping me name Cid, Di, and Abby. Millie is my homage to the first Ice Age fanfic I read called "Clarity of Life" by RadiantBeam.

And I had to add Roshan at the end cuz…well I felt like it so HAW! As for his "caveman" language that is COMPLETELY made up, so don't ask. Hopefully you could guess he was talking about the acorn. I didn't make him too old either; my guess is he would be around maybe 6 or 7 years old. I like the idea of him still being a child so he can still kinda remember what happened to him as a wittle baby.

And I want to thank everyone for reading, and reviewing. That was a real ego boost and encouragement to keep going!!

LooneyLucas: My first reviewer LOL! Recognize!

Rebell: Thanks for sticking around for my entire fic, I enjoyed reading your reviews! X3

Bdlywrttn: Celia! We became good friends through our fanfics, and hope we can still keep in touch no matter what! LOVE AND HUGS CHICKA!

Eagle205: You practically reviewed every chapter and gave me some great advice. Thanks a lot!

Baltoluver63: Another friend made via fanfic reviews! You've helped me a lot as well X3 and I'd like to say a lot of your writing is what inspired me to do some of my mush scenes! Good luck with your fics and take care!

Forever: Thanks for your reviews, and glad to see you make a post on the last chapters! Hope you had a good vacation!

MattII: You were my 100th reviewer! I counted through them all to find out haha XD Thanks for always posting!

MoonlitSorrow: You were my 200th reviewer! Does the fact that I counted to find out mean I have no life? XD

And to everyone else! A lot of my frequent reviewers like Princess Lame-o, Funkywatermelon, AzureAquarius, Prof. David, Wildmagelette, Tikaani, soaringphoenix86, Padme4000, Diego4life (now called spottedstar106!) And forgive me if I didn't mention you here. I was looking through all my pages and figured I could just list everyone one by one XD but that might be a long list. Course that's also a good thing for me right? I feel sad it's like saying goodbye to a whole bunch of friends!

Though I'm glad I made friends by joining and through this fanfic. Hopefully, in time, I'll try and post something else. Thanks again and again and again for making this such a blast to post up! Goodbye everyone!

Maudiebeans