Oops. Took me awhile to update this one again. I got caught up in a lot of busy times and kinda just disappeared for awhile. But there's the final chapter. Happy readings, and thanks for the support! Special thanks to Footrot Flats whose been here from the beginning.

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Chapter Nine: Sacrifice

It was the moment the animals had been waiting for. The only opportunity to end the evil threat once and for all. Diego sat atop the cliff ledge overlooking the land. Everyone was in their positions now. He spotted Lone Gunslinger flying in circles up above with Crash and Eddie sitting on his talons, armed with handmade shooters. Oscar stood to his right, while Shira was helping Sid gather the eggshells. The mammoths waited at the cave, ready to use their combined strength to trap the evil fiends inside.

"Are you ready for the chase of your life?" Diego said, glancing at Oscar.

Oscar rolled his eyes. "It's not a chase I like. We're the ones running for our lives this time." He turned around and started to head down the cliff with Diego following. "Let's track down these fiends." He increased his pace, sprinting through the snow leaving a trail of footprints. With their keen senses it didn't take long to find what they were looking for. The sabres hid behind a rock watching their enemy, while Lone Gunslinger flew high above in circles.

Oscar frowned. "Huh – seems like there's only one animal to worry about now." The mammoth, sabre and sloth were missing. Only Soto remained. "He seems larger than before..." he muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"Soto was fighting with the other three. Do you think that he might have... absorbed their energy to make himself stronger?" The idea seemed a little far-fetched but then again, animals appearing out of a crack in the ground was crazy too. He shook his head. "Don't mind my ramblings, we do have a chase to make," Oscar added then sprinted across the snow Diego following close behind. "We have to get his attention."

The quickest way to grab Soto's attention was to roar and that's exactly what Oscar did. Soto immediately glanced in their direction, his eyes glowing a dark red. Red eyes fixed on the two sabres, and Soto arched his neck back and emitted a low, menacing growl that frightened even the bravest of sabres.

Diego pulled his gaze away, turning his attention to the journey ahead. "Let this chase be his last."

Laying eggshells around the cave entrance was much more tiring than he originally thought. The shells were half his height for starters and surprisingly, quite heavy. He sighed, wiped his forehead and rested against the cave wall to catch his breath. Shira glanced at him then uttered a soft growl. "There's no time for resting Sid."

Manny rolled his eyes. "That's our Sid."

"Just... give... me a... few moments...all right?" he panted.

Manny cast Sid a doubtful glance, then shrugged. "Ellie and I are going to get into position now. Send a growl our way when they arrive, all right Shira?" he said, glancing at the female sabre. She nodded. Manny and Ellie left the entrance and headed towards the sides of the large cave, concealing their bodies in the shadows.

Once they were out of hearing range, Sid turned his attention to Shira. "Why did you offer to be the sacrifice, Shira?" he said, slowly waddling over to Shira's side.

"It felt right. I don't belong here." She turned her head away, focusing her gaze the eggshells lining the cave entrance.

Sid stepped in front of her. "But why? Don't you like us?"

Shira sighed. She could see there was no way to escape Sid's line of questioning. "It's just... I'm out of place. You are all friends already and I don't want to come between the special bond you guys have," she explained.

"You are our friend, Shira. Ellie, Crash and Eddie weren't our friends at the beginning either, but now we're close." He gave her a sly wink then grinned. "I think Diego would really appreciate it if you stayed with us."

That look unnerved her. "There's no need to worry anyway, Sid. I won't be the sacrifice... Oscar will."

"Oscar?"

"He told me earlier."

"But-"

"Sid – drop it. I'd rather not talk about it. Let's just focus on doing the job right."

With aching muscles and heart hammering wildly, a sensible sabre would stop sprinting and let their body relax until the next opportunity surfaced, but resting wasn't an option when one was running for their lives. Determination overcame fear and exhaustion, spurring Diego to reach speeds he didn't think he was capable of. He pushed aside every emotion and thought. There was no time for thinking when sprinting to the end.

"We're almost there..." Oscar said.

Diego didn't reply. He didn't think he could afford to spare energy on talking. Soto was closing in on them, he could tell by the pounding of footsteps. If one of them dared to stop... no. No time for negative thinking.

"Diego... I just want to you know... I'm glad we're in this together. Just like old times, right?" he said, panting. Diego remained silent. "I know you're... listening to me so I just want to add... keep safe, my friend."

His last line almost caused Diego to come to a skidding halt, but Soto's deep growls prompted him to continue sprinting. Keep safe. Did Oscar plan to leave the herd afterwards? Or was it something else? Oscar shouted something along the lines of, 'there it is! The cave' but Diego didn't care. A sacrifice was needed. Oscar planned to be that sacrifice probably because he was ridden of guilt.

"Quickly now! We must charge into that cave!" With an extra burst of speed, Diego charged for the cave entrance. Everything else was just a blur to him. The cave mouth neared... they were so close... "Diego!"

Diego slowed his pace, then glanced behind him. Soto had managed to grab one of Oscar's legs forcing him to fall over. Not wanting to leave his friend at the mercy of Soto, Diego rushed back and threw his entire weight at the enemy, successfully throwing him back. Soto growled, gnashed its teeth at Diego and lunged at him. Diego evaded.

"Diego! Take my blood... lead him to the cave... quickly now!" Oscar said.

"But Oscar-"

Despite Diego's valiant attempts to save his friend, it was too late. The damage had been done. The leg Soto had grabbed had been torn in half. "Do it now! Don't let my sacrifice be in vain!" he snapped. He lunged himself at Soto, claws slashing at the sabre.

Diego nodded. The snow where Oscar had been wounded was dyed a dark red. Would it be enough to silence Soto forever? Only one way to find out, Diego thought. He rushed forward, scooped up red snow and sprinted towards the cave.

Oscar's pain filled roar rung in his ears. Forcing himself to not look back, Diego continued to charge towards the cave entrance, aware the Soto was hot on his track. He could hear stones dropping from the sky, but none of it seemed to halt Soto. Not that it mattered; the cave entrance was just a few metres away now.

"Jump Diego!"

Sid's voice.

But where was he?

No time to look now.

Diego dived into the entrance, sliding across the cave floor. Soto threw himself into the cave at full force, colliding into Diego pushing him into the far wall. He managed to free himself from Soto's grip and crawled across the floor to the entrance where the egg shells rested. He dropped the snow on the shells and ensured each one was covered then exited the cave.

"Now!" Shira roared.

Manny and Ellie appeared from the shadows and used their combined strength to push a boulder into the entrance. Where they had found the boulder, Diego didn't know nor did he care. Finally this madness would end. The two mammoths pushed. Soto flung himself at the entrance but he was too late. Light was soon replaced by darkness.

"It's done," said Manny over the growls of Soto.

"Let's leave this place," Peaches said, shuddering.

Sid nodded. "Agreed."

"Wait!" Ellie cried, "We can't leave without Crash and Eddie!" At that specific moment, Lone Gunslinger landed on the ground with the two opossums clutching at his legs. "Glad my brothers are fine."

"Where's Oscar?" Manny said, looking around.

Diego dropped his gaze. "He... was the sacrifice."

Silence.

"We must pay him our respects," Ellie said. "He saved us all." Diego fell silent. Oscar. He hadn't seen his litter brother in years. They finally reunited but their time together was short. Dead. Zeke was also dead. And Lenny? Dead too.

Shira nudged him. "I'm sorry, Diego." He didn't say anything, but greeted her affectionate nudge with his own.

"I wish to be alone with him."

Manny nodded. "We'll join you when you are ready."

The sight before him was a hard one to bear. Although he was no stranger to dying animals, seeing his own blood lie on the ground dying was difficult. Diego sat down next to him. "I'm sorry, Oscar. If there was some other way..."

"Do not apologize..." Oscar lay on his side gasping for breath, as blood formed around him. He gazed up at his friends and forced a smile. "It's... over now at least."

"No... W can help you," Diego started, a forbidden tear drop slipping down his jaw. "I'm not letting you die."

Oscar snorted. "We needed a sacrifice... I chose to be the one."

Diego lay down on his stomach. "Why? Why did you do it?"

"You deserve... to be happy."

Silence. Oscar's breaths became ragged and colour drained away from his face. His movements were becoming slower with each passing breath. It wouldn't be long until death took him. "You saved us all. What you did was selfless." He couldn't imagine what it would feel like knowing your death was just around the corner. What thoughts raced through his mind? Did he feel fear? Diego wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to know.

Oscar smiled. "Have a good life... Diego. Make the most of it." His eyelids closed and his breath slowed. Not another word left his mouth.

Diego nudged him, hoping Oscar would awaken but he never opened his eyes again. It hit him like a brick. They were enemies for some time, but Oscar had redeemed himself by sacrificing his own life to save them all. "I will never forget you, Oscar." He stared at Oscar's corpse for a little longer then signalled for the rest of herd to join him.

Shira was the first to greet him. "Diego!"

He tried to put on a brave smile for her, but failed. "He has passed away."

The other animals lowered their heads and closed their eyes as a sign of respect. The opossums, usually busy making jokes, were surprisingly quiet. Crash even had tears in his eyes although he tried hard to hide it. A minute passed. The animals lifted their heads and opened their eyes. Manny turned to the cave. "It's over then."

Ellie squeezed Manny's trunk with her own. "We did it. Together."

"We're a family again," said Peaches, standing in between her parents. The elder mammoths exchanged warm smiles.

Sid watched the mammoths, and wiped an invisible tear from his eye. "That's so sweet. I wish I had a family." He continued to stare at them for a few minutes then turned away. He rushed over to the cave entrance and grabbed an eggshell.

"What are you doing, Sid?" Diego said.

Sid lowered a claw onto the shell. The dirt marks on his nails allowed him to draw a face. A very crooked face. He picked up the shell proudly. "My family!" He snuggled up against the shell.

"That sloth... is a strange one," Lone Gunslinger said, seated on the ground.

"He's always like this," Diego said, turning around to face the vulture. "When he acts normal then we know there's something wrong."

The vulture nodded. "Well... it's been fun, but it's time that I leave." Without adding further to his blunt comment, he spread his wings, took a running leap then flew up into the sky.

The mammals watched him leave. "What sort of goodbye was that?" Crash said, frowning.

"It doesn't matter; everything is back to the way things should be," Manny said. "We can put this all behind us and focus on the future." He looked towards Oscar's bloodied corpse. "But first, I think we should pay our respects to the one who saved us all."

The other mammals nodded and gathered around the fallen hero and bowed their heads in respect.