The Herd's Growing Family (Ice Age)

The Plates of Woe

The next morning, three dinosaurs peck around the watermelon Sid tried to feed the baby dinos from before. But then they flee when Buck and the herd come into view.

"Everybody stop!" Buck sniffs the air. "I smell something".

Eddie sniffs his own armpit, thinking it's him. Buck then crawls over to a tuft of Sid's fur laying on the ground and picks it up with his knife. "Hmm. Smells like a buzzard's butt fell off". He sniffs it again and recoils in disgust. "And then got sprayed on by a bunch of skunks".

"That's Sid". Diego confirms.

"We really gotta talk to him about taking a bath",  Avery comments.

"Mammals, we have ourselves a crime scene". Buck holds up the fur tufts on his knife. "A tuft of fur". He points to an eaten chicken leg. "Half-eaten carcass!" He then moves Sid's broccoli out of the water. "Hunk of... Ugh! No! Broccoli!" He recoils in disgust and gags.

After getting over it, Buck turns back to the herd. "Here's what I think happened: Dinosaur attacks Sid, Sid fights back with piece of broccoli, leaving dinosaur... a vegetable".

"Are you nuts? Sid's not violent. Or coordinated". Diego says doubtfully.

Manny agrees with him. "Yeah, and where's the dinosaur?"

"Alright, alright. Good point". Buck clears his throat. "Theory 2: Sid's eating broccoli, dinosaur eats Sid, dinosaur steps on broccoli, leaving broccoli... a vegetable".

"Buck, when exactly did you lose your mind?" Manny asked.

Buck actually thought about it before responding. "Hmm. Three months ago. I woke up one morning married to a pineapple. An ugly pineapple". He sighs dreamingly. "But I loved her". He then looked at Avery, who seemed very confused, and spoke to her next. "But, uh, don't worry. Things didn't work out, so we broke up".

Redwood wanted to say something about this, but instead mumbled to herself. "It's Buck. I'm not gonna question it".

"Uh, Buck", Diego calls out while standing near a cliff. "I think you missed a little clue over here".

Everyone walked over to where he was and looked over the edge of the cliff in surprise. "Well, your friend might be alive, but not for long". Buck says. "Rudy's closing in".

They stare out across the landscape that had plates of large rocks and boulders. There was a sort of stable pathway on the side while the rest was just broken up, as if a huge creature, (most likely Rudy), had barged through it. 

"Whoa". Crash and Eddie said in sync.

"You've got it. The Plates of Woe... or whatever's left of them". Buck says.

Redwood looks at the plates and heads to the path on the side. "Well, we're not gonna get to Sid by just standing here. Let's go". She jumps on the path, which creaks a little but doesn't break, and continues walking.

"Redwood! Be careful!" Manny calls out. "Are we sure this is even safe?"

"No, but it's all we got right now. So come on", Avery tells him.

The herd carefully steps onto the plates and walks down the path. A few moments pass and the plates start to creak under the herd's weight.

"Single file, everyone! Head for Lava Falls!" Buck tells them.

Some pieces of their path come loose without the group even touching them, much to Crash and Eddie's fright. Every step they take causes the plates to creak and sway ever so slightly. Just then, the wind starts making whispering noises as they walk on.