Chapter 12

It was now daytime, and Manny, Sid, Diego, and Granny were still out at sea. Granny was standing beside a crate of fruit, and she was throwing pieces of fruit over the side, trying to get her pet 'Precious' to show herself. Manny, Sid, and Diego were watching this spectacle unfold, with Manny becoming annoyed that she was wasting valuable food.

"She thinks she's found her pet." said Sid, before letting out a small laugh, which caused Diego to smirk a little.

Manny let out a groan and came over to where Granny was, pushing the crate away from her; those were their last rations, and if they didn't have anything left, they were going to get hungry… or worse.

"Granny, can't you throw imaginary food to your imaginary pet?" Manny asked, his tone annoyed.

Granny's response was to throw another fruit into the water, leading Manny to let out another sigh of annoyance.

"Enough already!" Manny continued. "We need to keep a lookout for home!"

"Ignore them, Precious." said Granny, looking at the water. "I do!"

As she watched the ocean, she saw the fruit float for a while, but then pieces of it started to go under; something was sucking it down and eating it, though there was no clue what it was. But Granny knew; it was her pet, Precious.

"You can't take your eyes off her for one minute." Manny spoke, coming back over to Sid and Diego.

"Nope." Diego replied. "It's like having a child, only without any of the joy."

The three watched as Granny pushed the crate of fruit off the ship, and then she turned to face the three of them.

"Hey, brain trust!" said Granny. "Brace for impact!"

Manny, Sid, and Diego looked, and saw they were heading for a large mass of land! It had a broken down apartment building, a smashed road and sidewalk, and other forms of debris on it, all the while being on a rock cliff that was pushed out of the sea! Manny quickly ran for the wheel of the ship and turned it, barely avoiding the mass of land. As they turned and sailed away from it, they saw, off in the distance, mountains that were familiar to them.

"Guys, look!" Manny spoke, his tone excited. "We're almost home!"

Diego laughed and said, "I've never doubted you for a second, buddy!"

"Me neither." Sid added, as they continued to sail onward. "Except for the six or seven times I thought we were going to die."

The large group of survivors (The group wasn't small to begin with) were getting progressively closer to the bridge, as they walked through the outskirts of the city. The outskirts were buildings that were old and worn down, so they didn't pay them any mind when the rock wall was going to crush them.

As Ellie and Peaches walked in the back of the group, Peaches looked and saw Louis, who was walking by himself. He looked downcast, as he stepped over the various debris that came in front of him. Peaches let out a sad sigh, which Ellie heard.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Ellie asked, her tone kind.

"You ever say something you knew you couldn't take back?" Peaches asked.

"Is this about Louis?"

"I messed up so bad, Mom."

"It's okay. it happens; cute boys can whiplash your brain." Ellie replied, letting out a kind chuckle. "No doubt about that."

"But Ethan was the wrong guy." said Peaches.

"And you've figured it out; you'll know what to say to Louis."

Suddenly, there were sounds of distress from the front of the group. Ellie, Peaches, Crash, and Eddie quickly ran to the front of the group, passing by the different people, until they came to the front. What they saw caused them to gasp in shock as well; the bridge was utterly destroyed! What was once a large, majestic bridge, had been reduced to a pile of steel, rock, cement, and other various refuse! And worse yet, the city on the other side was destroyed as well!

"The bridge." Ellie said in shock. "It's gone."

Suddenly, the rock wall started getting closer to the group of survivors, who began slowly backing away from it, out of fear they were going to be sucked underneath it!

"We're trapped!" shouted one survivor: a large man who was with his young daughter.

"But we were supposed to meet Dad here!" Peaches spoke, her tone frightened. "What are we going to do?"

Ellie wished she had an answer for a daughter, but there was nothing she could say. All that she could do was pray and hope that Manny was still coming back to them.

As the ship sailed deeper into the mist of yellow dust, Sid had climbed up on the mast of the ship, and was looking around. Diego was looking down into the water, seeing all of rubbish and scrap that was floating past them. And Manny was at the front of the ship, looking around for his wife and daughter.

"Ellie!" Manny called out. "Peaches!"

But there was no call back, or any sign of his beloved wife and daughter. Instead, all they saw were the ruins of the bridge, the last of which were being knocked into the sea. Sid climbed down from the mast, and joined his friends near the wheel of the ship,

"Oh no." said Diego, his tone shocked. "The bridge."

"But, if it's gone…" Sid spoke, his tone somewhat frightened. "How are we going to-"

"Sid, don't say that." Diego replied.

"No, they have to be on the other side!" Manny spoke, letting go of the wheel.

"Manny, there is no other side." said Diego. "Both cities have been destroyed."

"They have to be here!" Manny replied, before yelling out, "Ellie! Peaches! I'm here! Please… they have to be here…"

With a sad realization that Manny's family was probably gone, looks of sorrow came upon Diego and Sid's faces. Even Granny, who was usually sarcastic and angry, had a look of sorrow on her face as well. But before Manny was about to give up, he heard a faint call in the distance…

"Wait, did you hear that?" Manny asked.

"Manny…" Diego replied.

"No! I heard something! I heard it!"

As they turned the corner of a mass of land, they saw, off in the distance, a mass of ice! And standing on that mass of ice, was Peaches!

"Is that…?" Diego asked, his tone surprised.

"Peaches!" Manny yelled, turning the wheel of the ship. "I'm coming, sweetie! Don't move!"

"Daddy!" Peaches yelled, sounding afraid.

"Peaches!" Manny yelled back, not picking up on the sound of fear in his daughter's voice.

Suddenly, evil laughter filled the air, and Gutt appeared from the yellow dust mist; he and his crew had found the survivors, corralled them onto a separate piece of ice, and were now holding Ellie and Peaches hostage!

"Welcome home, Daddy!" Gutt sneered, putting his left arm around Peaches neck and shoulders. "What are the odds? We were just talking about you!"

"Let go of me!" Peaches replied, trying to struggle free, only to get a blade from Gutt's Freddy Krueger glove pressed to her neck.

Manny felt his stomach drop in despair; Captain Crazy and his floating freak-show had returned, and with a new ship!

"You like the new ship?" Gutt asked. "I call her Sweet Revenge."

"And look here." Silas added, as Gutt joined his crew. "We've got the catch du jour."

Manny looked, and saw Ellie, who was tied tightly to the mast of the ship! She was surrounded by Gutt's crew, all armed with weapons and ready for a fight!

"Ellie!" Manny yelled.

"I'm alright!" Ellie replied, before turning to Gutt and saying, "Let my daughter go!"

Gutt let out a villainous chuckle, and turned back to face Manny.

"It's okay." said Manny. "He wants me, and he's going to get me."

Diego, who was standing beside Manny, then saw Shira, who was standing away from the pirate crew. Aside from her expression of sorrow and relief, she had some scars and bruising on her arms and face, showing that Gutt had beaten her for her treachery.

"Sacrificing yourself for your daughter." Gutt continued. "How touching… how predictable. Now, come and get her."

Flynn and Raz threw the metal harpoons into their enemies' ship, and began pulling it over. Once the ships were side by side, Flynn kicked out the plank, which Manny began crossing.

"G'day mate!" Raz sneered.

"Remember us?" Flynn asked, his tone unusually cheerful. "We're the bad guys."

"Alright, I'm over." Manny spoke. "Now let them go."

"I don't think so." Gutt snarled. "You destroyed everything I had, so I'm going to return the favor."

"No!" Manny yelled, before trying to rush forward, only to get tied up by Squint and Gupta.

"I warned you." Gutt replied, ready to jab his Freddy Krueger glove into Peaches' neck.

"Stop!" Somebody yelled.

Gutt looked up and saw Louis, who had his jacket and glasses off, looking like he was ready for a fight.

"Let the giantess go!" said Louis, trying his hardest not to sound scared.

"Weiner?" asked Manny, his tone confused.

Gutt let out a chuckle and asked, "Who brought the muscle to the party?"

"Louis, don't!" Peaches spoke.

"It's okay." Louis replied. "I can take him."

"How cute, a hero." Gutt jeered. "Let's see what bravery gets you. Gupta, give the kid your weapon."

Gupta drew his sword and flung it to Louis, which landed blade first into the ship. Louis tried to pull it out, but it was stuck, so he really had to pull. The pirate crew laughed at this, thinking Louis weak, but their laughter stopped once he had the sword out and ready to fight.

"Let's dance, hero…" Gutt snarled.

Louis began swinging the sword around, albeit clumsily, and then threw it up and into the air. Everyone watched as it went up, and then blade-first into the ship. But… what where was Louis? He had disappeared from sight!

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Louis came flying! He had a chunk of sharp ice, which he slammed down onto Gutt's toes! Gutt let out a yell of pain and let Peaches go, and the two ran off! Manny broke free from the ropes; it was all coming apart for the pirate crew!

"Don't stand there like barnacles!" Gutt yelled. "Kill the giant!"

The pirate crew went into action, with Raz trying to attack Manny! From the top of the mast of the other ship, Sid came swinging in! He had Granny on his back, and both were yelling a Tarzan yell! Unfortunately, they smashed right into Flynn, who absorbed their attack with his large stomach! He then bounced them off, and they both landed onto the ground!

"Let me at him!" Granny spoke, wielding her cane like a weapon.

Sid, letting out a frightened yell, quickly began dragging Granny away from Flynn and Gupta, who began chasing after them! They went down to the edge of the ice ship, and got cornered by the two pirates!

"Any last words?" asked Gupta.

"Precious!" Granny called out.

"Will you stop with the 'Precious'?" asked Sid, his tone somewhat annoyed.

However, much to his confusion, the villainous looks on Gupta and Flynn's faces faded, turning into looks of fright! The two pirates then began running away, letting out screams of fear as they did!

"Huh, I wonder why they ran." Sid wondered aloud.

Suddenly, the air was filled with a loud bellowing. Sid then turned around and saw a giant, dark blue whale staring at him and Granny! It seemed to be smiling at them!

"Precious!" said Granny, her tone pleased.

"That's your pet?!" Sid asked, his tone amazed and shocked. "Wow, maybe that crazy old bat wasn't crazy after all."

Suddenly, the whale opened its mouth, rolled out its tongue, and flopped it Granny! It then pulled Granny, who was now stuck to the tongue and laughing, into its mouth, much to Sid's confusion.

"Nope, she's nuts." said Sid.

"Waiting for a formal invitation, fancy pants?" Granny asked. "Get in."

Sid obeyed, climbing onto the whale's giant lip, and then into its mouth. He made his way past its teeth, and onto its giant tongue.

"Boy, I'm going to regret this." said Sid, as he closed the whale's mouth by pulling on one of its teeth.