Note: This story is not linked with any of my other stories, therefore a few things such as the setting will be a bit different. Hope you like it!

Revival of the Fittest

Chapter 1: Death

You might think that living in an Ice Age would be terrible. It's cold, there are a lot of blizzards, it's winter all the time, and you'd have to watch out for humans and other predators. But despite all that, one unusual group of animals lived quite well in their residence. The two mammoths in the herd, named Manny and Ellie, recently had their baby girl, and were busy tending to her needs and trying to keep her happy. That was no problem, however, because the young mammoth, respectively named Peaches, had four uncles to play with. Two of those uncles were a couple of possums, named Crash and Eddie. Ellie was sort of their adopted sister, and so they liked to help Ellie out by sometimes watching or playing with her daughter. Sid the sloth, another uncle of Peaches, loved kids, and helped in any way he could. However, under Manny's conditions, Sid was never to babysit the young mammoth, but while Manny was away, Ellie secretly allowed it. Peaches's last uncle to be mentioned is, as odd as it seems, a sabre-toothed cat named Diego. Normally, Manny and Ellie would never let a carnivore anywhere near their daughter, but Diego had gained their trust after being in the herd for so long.

One breezy, comfortable, summer morning started off like any other: Inside the den, Ellie was lying on her side with her now-thinner stomach exposed, allowing Peaches to suckle her warm, nutritious milk. Manny and Sid were in the nearby forest, searching for and collecting food to bring back to Ellie for breakfast. Crash and Eddie were hanging upside-down by their tails on an adjacent tree, watching Peaches suckle, but occasionally, distracted, had their eyes turned to various tiny insects and bugs. Diego, though, was just waking up. Being the lightest sleeper in the herd, Diego was the only one who had been kept up for a majority of the night by Peaches's constant grunting and snoring. He blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to focus and to make sure any morning blurriness was faded away.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Ellie said to Diego over the thup, thup, thup of Peaches suckling up milk.

"Morning, Ellie," Diego replied with a yawn. He stood up and stretched, his forearms on the ground and his tail in the air. Almost immediately, he felt the same, sharp pain in his stomach he had been feeling for the past couple of days. Not having great luck with catching any food, Diego was usually forced to go a few days without anything to eat. He got used to it after a while, but the last meal he had eaten was a small hare two and a half days ago. His stomach growled out of hunger, and the sabre clenched it, the hunger-pain worsening.

"Someone's hungry," Ellie stated upon hearing the clearly-audible rumbling noise.

"No kidding," Diego said as his stomach growled again. "But I'm gunna go try and catch something. See ya."

"Alright, see ya," Ellie replied as she watched the sabre start to walk toward the den's exit. As she saw her Uncle Diego about to leave on one of his hunting trips, Peaches immediately decided she was full, and broke away from her mother's milk-giving teat, excitedly bounding over to Diego and looking at him with those big, green, sparkling eyes of hers, hoping he would let her come this time.

"I come wif you?" Peaches pleaded, blinking at her uncle sweetly.

Diego wouldn't mind if Peaches came with him, but Manny made it perfectly clear that his daughter wasn't allowed to watch a nine-hundred pound cat rip out another animal's guts. "Sorry, kiddo, you're not allowed to," he said, feeling somewhat sympathetic for the mammoth. He remembered when he wasn't allowed to watch his parents hunt when he was real young. As always, Peaches gave Diego a disappointed look upon hearing the same, old answer, and all Diego could do was give her a small smile and pat her head with his paw before leaving. Peaches stayed where she was as she watched her uncle leave without her for what seemed like the billionth time, and sadly walked back over to Ellie. Knowing her daughter was upset she couldn't go, Ellie stroked Peaches's back with her trunk and smiled down at her. "Peaches, you don't want to watch animals get hurt anyway, do you, sweetie?" Ellie asked persuasively. The young mammoth wasn't sure, but she was tired nevertheless; it was time for her afternoon nap. She cuddled up next to her mother, and closed her eyes.

Diego felt the sun's warm heat as he stepped out of the den, its rays aiming directly at him, somehow bringing him a newfound confidence that he would catch something that day. He headed north, trotting lightly in the soft, powdery snow, on his way to the small, nearby forest where he usually hunted. It wasn't that far of a walk from the den- -about twenty strides, for a sabre- -and Diego arrived at the edge of the forest in no time at all. Just as he was about to go in, Diego spotted Manny and Sid reappear from the woods, both carrying either a trunkful or armful of fruits and branches.

"Hey, Manny," Diego greeted. He glanced at Sid, and noticed the sloth was struggling to keep his armful of food from dropping.

"Hey, Diego," Manny replied, just then realizing that the sabre was even there. "You slept in late. Peaches keep you up all night again?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go get something to eat now, so, see ya later." Diego said before disappearing into the forest. A mango at the top of the pile of food Sid was carrying almost fell to the ground, but luckily Sid adjusted his arms just in time and caught it.

"Okay, see ya," Manny called out after Diego. "Come on, Sid," the mammoth said as he led the sloth back to the den. Luckily, Sid made it there without dropping anything else.

The part of the forest Diego was walking in was very dense with various trees, plants, and rocks, which he had to either dodge or jump over. Luckily for him, not all of the forest was like this; where he was heading to was a big clearing with hardly any trees or other obstacles that he could trip over when in pursuit. Not to mention dirt for quietness, and tall grasses for secrecy. It was a hunter's paradise.

As Diego walked further and further into the woods, he noticed a scent he had never smelled before; it smelled like fish, berries, carcasses, and a lot of fur all put together. Perhaps it was prey? Diego was so desperate for something to eat, he at least wanted to check it out. He decided to abandon his plan to go to the clearing, and started to follow the scent trail, letting it guide him around trees and other such obstacles.

After just a few minutes of following the scent, it unfortunately led the sabre to a small stream, only about four meters wide. Seeing the stream stopped Diego dead in his tracks. He knew he could easily jump it; it was only four meters wide; but he was still hesitant, because strikingly, he was petrified of water. He either doesn't know or doesn't remember how he became so scared of water in the first place, but whatever the case, he was terrified of it and tried his best at all times to avoid it. This time, however, he badly needed food, because as he becomes weaker and weaker with hunger, it will become more and more difficult to kill prey. Better get it now while it's easier... Since the sabre was so dependent on finding this potential prey animal, he reluctantly ran full steam ahead toward the stream, leaped as far as he could off of the bank, and landed safely on the other side. He gladly continued trailing the animal from that point on.

As Diego sniffed out his prey, the scent got progressively stronger, which told the sabre he was getting closer to his target. Eventually, the scent trail led Diego to two big bushes. The unfamiliar odor was extremely strong at this point, and Diego curiously walked through the bushes, using his head and body to push them aside. What he saw astounded him. In front of the sabre was a small clearing, but more importantly, in it was a young animal of some kind. It had small ears, a long snout, a really tiny tail, four giant paws, and it was wearing a thick coat of brown fur. After looking at it for a minute or two, Diego realized what it was: a bear. He had never seen or smelled a bear in his life, oddly enough. He just knew what they looked like from his mother's description she gave him when he was a cub. She had also told him that bears were dangerous animals, and shouldn't be tethered with. This was only a cub, though. Diego was completely confident he could kill and eat it without a problem.

The bear cub was watching a beetle crawl along the ground, totally oblivious to the nearby predator. Diego smiled evilly, crouched down, and began to stalk the bear cub, knowing this was going to be an easy kill. Suddenly, Diego sprung in the air, his terrifying growl echoing throughout the forest. He landed on the frightened cub, toppling him over.

"Help!" the cub called out. "Mom!"

Diego lifted his arm and was about to slash the cub's throat when he heard another spine-chilling growl come from behind some more bushes edging the clearing. He froze, his paw in the air, realizing that it was likely the cub's mother who had made that growl. Diego's own mom had also told him that female bears were very protective of their young. Very.

A very large, fierce-looking bear burst through the bushes, obviously in a rage. She was mean-looking, her build big and muscular, and her eyes appearing as if they were on fire with anger. Diego, as calmly and bravely as he could, lowered his paw and looked the bear square in the eye, however lowering his ears out of slight fear. If this thing decided to attack, Diego didn't know if he'd be able to win. He stepped off of the cub.

The she-bear let out a battle cry, and charged at Diego, completely furious with the sabre for trying to kill her cub. Diego, however, stood his ground. Once the bear reached him, she tried to topple him, but Diego was too fast for her and dodged her attack. As the bear hit the ground, the brave tiger jumped on her back and started clawing at it, tiny streams of blood flowing smoothly down her fur. The angry bear growled as she got back up on all fours, then, astounding Diego, stood up on two legs, just like a man. Diego latched on the bear's back with his claws so he wouldn't fall off of her. He attempted to bite the back of her neck, but then the bear, cleverly, purposefully fell backwards, forcing Diego to take the impact of the fall when they landed. The sabre and bear immediately got back up, and Diego jumped on the bear once more, his sharp claws hitting the bear in the head.

The she-bear growled with pain and anger, and whacked the sabre off of her with her paw, the sharp claws hitting Diego in the side. As Diego got hit and fell to the ground, he noticed his side was bleeding heavily. He placed his paw over it to hopefully stop the bleeding, but the bear chose to take advantage of this moment where her opponent was distracted, and in a split second, lunged at the sabre. She landed on top of him, her weight managing to, unfortunately for Diego, break some of the bones in his ribcage. Diego's pain was unbearable, and he let out a loud, blood-curdling cry of pain.

~back at the den...

Manny, Ellie, Sid, Peaches, Crash, and Eddie were all warm and snug inside the den, happily eating the delicious fruits and branches Manny and Sid had brought back that morning.

"These mangoes are good, aren't they, Manny?" Ellie complimented, biting into a nice, juicy mango.

"Sure are," Manny replied. He had to admit, mangoes were tasty, but his favorite would have to be peaches, and he took another big bite out of the one he was holding in his trunk.

As everyone was sitting in the den peacefully and happily enjoying their fruits, suddenly, from a distance, they all clearly heard the sound of someone yelling as if he or she was dying. The herd froze, some in mid-bite. Everyone was quiet, waiting to see if they could hear the sound again. Another spine-chilling cry echoed out, this time sounding more desperate.

"That's Diego!" Sid realized. Everyone exchanged glances, agreeing, and worriedly threw what they were eating to the ground, hurriedly rushing out of the den toward the source of the cry.

~back in the forest...

Diego, badly injured and heavily bleeding, was unable to get up. The bear was on top of him, her front claws digging into his side, painfully ripping off large chunks of skin. Diego felt so weak and faint that he really couldn't fight back, and when he did, it was in vain. He tried to scratch her head, but it did no effect as the aggravated bear continued her attack, scratching him and biting his head with great power.

At last, the she-bear decided her victim was as good as dead. His bloody, mangled body was lying in a pool of blood, the sabre himself barely conscious. She grunted at him with satisfaction, and walked over to her cub, who was hiding under some bushes, and led him calmly away as if nothing had ever happened.

Diego laid there, struggling to stay awake. His whole, entire body was sore, hurting extremely bad. The area where his ribs were hurt terribly. His vision was starting to become blurred, and he had difficulty breathing. Normally, Diego wasn't a quitter, but this was just too much.

Then, as he was about to slip into unconsciousness, Diego caught sight of Manny and the others bursting through the bushes and into the clearing, their eyes widening once they saw their friend bloody, mangled, and lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Ellie quickly covered Peaches's eyes with her trunk as everyone gasped in shock.

"What... happened?" Manny asked worriedly. Everyone else looked at the sabre, wondering the same thing.

Diego looked up at them weakly. "...Bear," he said, panting.

His herd stared at him with sadness and disbelief. They all knew good and well just by looking at him that he wasn't going to make it. Brokenhearted, Ellie hung her head and quietly wept, the possums joining in shortly after. Eventually, Peaches wanted to see what was going on, and yanked her head away from Ellie's trunk. The young mammoth saw her Uncle Diego lying on the ground with blood everywhere, and started sobbing. She wasn't used to bloody sights like this, especially if it involved a family member. Manny and Sid still couldn't believe that this had happened, and stood there emotionless and in incredulity.

"Ellie," Manny said, realizing Peaches was crying, "Take Peaches back to the den."

Ellie did as she was told and cradled Peaches up in her trunk. Before she left, the mammoth looked back at Diego. "Bye," she said sadly.

"Bye," Diego replied weakly. Ellie couldn't stand watching Diego die any longer, and she turned around, heading back to the den. Normally, Diego said "See ya," but this time he just said "Bye," because he wasn't going to see her. Ellie, still weeping, knew that Diego knew that he was finished, as did Peaches, who was crying loudly in her mother's trunk.

Crash gave Diego the little *hit your chest two times fast then hold two fingers up* gesture, and sadly turned around and bounded after Ellie. Eddie quietly gave the sabre one last look, and depressingly walked back to the den, his tail dragging on the ground.

Diego looked back up at Manny and Sid, sadness starting to show in both of their faces as they began believing this was really happening.

"Well, this is it," Manny said quietly.

"Yep," Diego agreed. "We had some... pretty good adventures... together, huh?"

They all reminisced about the adventures they went through: reuniting a human with his herd, fighting off sabres, surviving a flood, venturing down into a land filled with dinosaurs, having a baby, and taking down the most terrifying creature on the face of the earth. Tears began flowing down Sid's cheeks, wishing for the good old days where no one was so close to dying.

"Yeah, we did have some good adventures," Manny said sadly. He wished for the good old days, too.

Diego could sense he was fading away, and wanted to rap things up before he left. "Thanks... for, ya know... being my friends," Diego said uneasily. He absolutely hated saying gushy things like that, but he was dying, and he had never told them how grateful he was for them. "I liked... living with a bunch... of herbivores better than any pack... I've ever been in."

Hearing Diego say something like that to them was amazing. All Manny could do was smile at his friend, his eyes beginning to get a little misty with sadness.

"You're a great friend too," Sid managed to say. Diego smiled weakly at them, knowing his time was just about up. His blurriness was starting to turn into darkness, his head started to feel faint, and he felt his body shutting down.

"Bye," he said one last time. Manny and Sid stared at him with sadness and horror as the sabre's eyes shut. His body jolted, before becoming still; lifeless.

Diego was dead.

Whew! Done with Chapter 1! I think I did a pretty good job, wouldn't you say?

Please review! Criticism's also welcome.

Unfortunately, I don't know how to make new chapters in the Document Manager (can someone help me?), so Chapter 2 may be a little late... sorry :( But I'm trying to figure that out, so once I do, I'll start working on it immediately. I'll make the second chapter really cool, and just as good as this one. :D