The Ice Age Adventures Of Buck Wild

Meeting Zee:

Seeing no visible threats around the perimeter of the cave, Crash decided to take a walk through the jungle to clear his mind.

The Lost World was fairly quiet this time of day, save for the occasional dinosaur call and the wind whispering through the trees.

Crash walked through the humid jungle for some time until something dashed in front of him, knocking him flat on his back.

The dazed possum attempted to sit back up but was stopped by two of Orson's raptor minions pinning his arms down.

"Let go of me!". Crash demanded, straining to sit back up but ultimately failing.

"Where's that twin of yours to help you now?". Orson taunted smugly, coming out from behind the bushes and bending near Crash.

"You don't scare me Orson!". Crash declared boldly, hoisting his left leg up and kicking Orson in the face, causing him to stumble back and hold a hand up to his mouth before facing Crash again with his claws raised.

Crash let out a cry of pain as one of Orson's claws came down and swiped over his right eye.

The raptors pinning his arms down let go and the terrified possum pressed a paw against his stinging eye, gasping in shock and fear when it came back wet with blood.

Crash barely had time to react as Orson reached down and held him around the throat, pressing him further into the dirt.

"Let this be a warning to you and your friends to stay out of my way!". Orson growled, his attention was suddenly directed towards the trees as something hit against his head.

Crash managed to look up as a black and white striped mammal did a front flip and effortlessly landed on their feet.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size Orson?". The female mammal yelled, grabbing a purple berry from the leaf satchel at her hip and tossing it against the ground.

Orson and his posse gasped and coughed as the gas cloud engulfed them, Crash felt a paw yank him to his feet and they ran through the forest, stopping at the entrance of Buck's cave.

Crash turned towards the striped mammal, ready to thank her for saving his life until Buck appeared with a frown. "Zee?".

Before anyone else could speak Eddie came barreling out from the cave, launching himself into his twin brother's arms."I was so worried about you!".

"I'm alright". Crash said, even though in reality he was anything but alright.

Eddie must have felt his brothers trembling because he pulled away from their hug and stared at Crash intently, gasping when he took notice of the scar forming over his eye.

"What happened?". The younger possum asked in a small voice, holding Crash's face between his paws.

"Orson attacked him". Zee answered, locking eyes with Buck, who was still looking completely confused.

"I can't believe you went out on your own!". Buck scolded, glaring at Crash.

Crash looked down. "I was only gone for a few hours".

Buck still seemed angry but softened as he took Crash's cheeks between his paws. "You'll have a bad scar, but no permanent damage".

Zee, who was standing off to the side, suddenly spoke up. "So, how do you three know each other".

"Buck helped us find our friend Sid when he got lost down here". Crash explained, his arm slung around Eddie's shoulders.

Zee stuck out her paw as the boys took turns shaking it politely. "I'm Zee, a mammal on a mission to protect the Lost World from harm".

"I'm Crash and this is my brother Eddie". Crash replied with a smile, still thankful that Zee had saved his life.

"The boys are staying with me for a while". Buck explained and turned towards Zee again. "How on earth did you manage to save Crash?".

"Unfortunately Orson has been tracking your every move, but fortunately I've been tracking Orson". Zee replied casually.

"So how do we stop him?". Roger asked abruptly, sidling up beside the possum twins.

Zee narrowed her eyes at Buck. "First off there is no we, Buck and I drifted apart years ago and I prefer to keep it that way".

Buck scoffed. "C'mon Zee! you're really not still mad about what happened are you?".

Zee rolled her eyes and started walking away from the cave with Buck, Crash, Eddie and Roger following close behind.

Buck and Zee continued on with their argument for some time until they came across an area of water that stretched for miles.

"Boys, this is my bone boat!". Buck proclaimed proudly, moving some leaves back and showing off a boat made from a triceratops skull.

"Woah!". The twins said in unison.

Zee on the other hand seemed less impressed, moving herself away from the boat with a grimace "I am not getting in that death trap!".

"What's the problem?". Roger asked hesitantly.

"The last time Buck invented a bone boat it sank in the middle of the lagoon". Zee explained, still eyeing the boat cautiously.

"It didn't sink! the water rose". Buck argued lamely, settling himself at the head of the boat.

Eddie looked at his brother. "Are you sensing some tension between these two?".

"Yeah, maybe a little". Crash replied as he and Eddie got into the boat behind Buck.

"C'mon Zee". Buck urged in a slightly flirtatious voice, grinning at the Zorilla mischievously.

Zee sighed and relented, settling herself next to Buck but leaving a big gap of space between them.

"I'll uh, fly up ahead and keep watch". Roger volunteered before flying off quickly, clearly wanting to avoid the already awkward situation that had been created.

Buck turned the wheel of the boat and soon enough they were floating down the river in tense silence.