Ice Age: Collision Course

Chapter 8: A Crazy Plan

"It came from the sky and now it's time to give it back" Brooke replied

"Is not!" The llama replied childishly

"Is too, you old coot. Change isn't easy, but it's part of life. It's time for us to embrace it again. Whether you like it or not" Brooke pointed at the llama

"Not!" The llama whined

"Listen, Llama, I will go nuts and granola on your butt! So either get on board or go twist yourself into a pretzel and na-ma-stay out of our way" Brooke hissed as she grabbed one of the crystals

"Remind me not to mess with her" Min muttered as Noa and Kai chuckled

"Come on, everybody. Grab every crystal you can find. And remember, lift with your legs" Brooke encouraged everyone

"Listen up, planetary defense team. Step one, built pressure inside the volcano by sealing the vents. No steam can escape. If there's a leak, the pressure is weak. Step two, get the biggest magnetic crystals into the volcano. They've got to be launched sky high to pull the asteroid off course" Buck said as the animals got to work, sealing the vents with rocks and carrying crystals up the mountain to dump into the volcano

Noa, Kai and Min carried the crystals as Diego and Shira tied the crystals to their backs and they hurried up up the trail so they could quickly come back for more, out of all the animals, they could move the fastest

Julian and some of the bigger mammals were working on tugging a ginormous bed of crystals up the trail

"This is it, friends. Down the hatch. Every crystal counts" Brooke encouraged as they all dumbed the crystals into the volcano

The earth tumbled and Noa could feel the pressure building in within the mountain

"Good news, everyone!" Buck called

"We're six minutes ahead of schedule" Buck announced as everyone cheered

"Somebody up there likes up" Buck added as everyone kept working until twenty seconds later Buck screamed

"Bad news! Somebody up there doesn't like us. We're six minutes behind schedule!" Buck yelled as everyone gasped

"Double time, everyone. We need that big crystal" Manny yelled as they ran to the big crystal

Suddenly, a roar came from the sky as one of the dino-birds flew over and snapped the rope that the crystal was attached to and it tumbled down into the ravine below

The other two appeared and circled the scared mammals

"We got company!" Diego shouted

"Ooh. I'll put out the sponge cake" Granny said absently as Kai seriously began to wonder if Granny was losing her mind

Noa saw Buck aim his slingshot at one of the dino-birds, only to get pinned down by one of them to a rock by a skinny bird

Suddenly, the fat one screamed and ran around like a chicken with its head cut off

"What's going on up there?" Kai asked

"It's Buck" Noa and Diego replied in chorus

The group reached the hill and started to climb over it, when the birds flew over their heads and headed back to the herd

"Reinforcements have arrived!" Buck announced from on the talons of the skinny bird, they all tied ropes around the crystal and heaved it out of the ravine

The herd cheered as Manny and Julian hurried to the top to help them ease the crystal in

Flaming meteors were falling all around them

"Mom, where are they?" Peaches asked in distress, Manny and Julian were taking far too long

"Ellie, we've got to get everyone off the volcano" Diego said as Ellie nodded and hurried back to the ground

"Folks, I'm outta cake, but I got salami!" Granny said as Shira spoke up, ignoring Granny

"Faster, faster!" Shira urged

"ImouttacakebutIgotsalami!" Granny hurried as Diego scooped her up on his back and ran along with everyone to the ground

They all made it to the ground and looked up in horror just in time to see Manny and Julian push the crystal away from the opening

"What are they doing?" Shira asked in disbelief

The crystal gained speed and rolled violently down the volcano's curved path and shot off the crest and flew toward the mouth of the volcano

It landed on the very edge and everyone gasped and held their breath in anticipation

The crystal teetered for a moment and then fell into the volcano, causing the ground to shake

Manny and Julian came running down the path not seconds later

They had no time to celebrate, because the asteroid was now a huge, fiery ball taking up the entire sky as huge chunks fell around them

The volcano glowed energy for a moment before going dark

"What happened?" Shira asked dumbly

"Maybe it's the quiet before the crazy?" Diego suggested

Everyone looked at each other as a whistling sound was heard, Noa looked over just in time to see Granny plug up a tiny air vent with her cane

Within seconds, the volcano exploded in a burst as it rocketed the crystals into the sky and a smokey cloud of ash and soot

Loved ones huddled together and could only watch and pray as the asteroid flew towards them at unbelievable speed

It came closer and closer and the animals braced each other for the blow that they were certain was coming

Manny, Diego and Julian shielded their mates with their bodies as their protective instinct kicked in and Kai shielded her head with his hand and tucked her under him

"I love you" Kai whispered in her ear

"I love you too" Noa whispered back in a shaky voice as she clenched her eyes shut

They waited, but nothing happened, they looked up to see the magnetic electric currents pull the asteroid away and sending it back into space

"We did it. We did it!" Manny cheered as the crowd exploded with joy, everyone cheered, hugged and kissed and celebrated cheating death

Noa screamed with happiness as she jumped at Kai and hugged him while he swung her around and put her back down

They both laughed as they kissed, when they parted their lips, they leaned their forehead Li's together and sighed in relief

"Bring it in, Bro-Son. Welcome to the family" Manny welcomed Julian as ruffed his hair after he hugged him in a manly way

"And you, you coconut! I'll never doubt you again" Manny promised as he placed Buck on his head with his trunk

"See? Daddy's always right. Remember that when you're older" Buck told his pumpkin

After some time, the herd decided to all go back home, very happy and all very content