Chapter 27: Saving Sid
Diana and the others gathered around the stone figure of Sid to which the albino weasel placed her paws on the glowing area of the statue before looking at Tawk and asking, "Are you sure this will work?"
"Only if you believe it will," Tawk replied.
"Sid's life depends on ya, lass," Buck said.
"We're counting on you," Manny said.
"You guys must realize that if I manage to get inside Sid's soul, you guys may be in there too due to the spell my parents taught me once."
"You mean we're going into Sid's soul?" Flora questioned.
"You don't have to which is why I recommend you all stay back if you wish to stay out of there," Diana informed the others.
None of the mammals moved before the mammoth spoke out with, "Sid is part of our family and I say we all go in to save him."
The others nodded in agreement to which Diana soon looked at the statue of Sid then sighed, "I don't know where to start to be frank with you guys."
Tawk went behind her side-by-side before he held her paws and warmly said, "Think of all the joy and happiness you will bring to us and how proud your parents would be if you bring Sid back to us."
Diana felt the warm embrace of Tawk, and being encouraged by him reminded her of the love and joy she once had felt with her family before she concentrated the emotions within her before she chanted,
"A soul cries out in depression
Trapped in darkness's possession
I call upon the power to seek into the soul
Let us bring back what evil has stole"
Suddenly, a vortex of light began to shine and rotate around the group before Tawk cheered, "It's working! You did it, Diana!"
"Don't celebrate just yet, Tawk. We still have to save Sid! Everyone, close your eyes," Diana informed.
The group closed their eyes and once the bright light ceased, they reopened their eyes to see that they were now inside of Sid's soul as it was nothing but vast of darkness and nothing more.
"Where are we?" Diego asked.
"Our souls are inside's Sid soul now. We are connected to him," Diana explained.
"It's so dark and frightening," Flora shuddered as she held Buck close to her.
"Not to mention freezing in here," Buck shivered.
"So if this is Sid's soul, then where is Sid himself?" Manny questioned.
Suddenly, they heard echoes of agonizing screams coming from behind them before they all turned to see Sid chained up in oozing seaweed as shadows of the herd, his family, the tribe including Buck, Flora and Tawk and lastly the mammals of the valley all mocked him, belittled him and bullied him, making the sloth feel weak and useless inside.
"Sid!" Manny cried as the mammoth rushed over to save his friend.
Suddenly, one of the shadow figures attacked the mammoth by swinging its long arm at him and knocking him aside to the others. The group rushed to Manny's side before Diana, while watching the scenario in fear, explained, "Carlotta's using copies of you guys and everyone that Sid had met and is using them against him, torturing him and breaking his spirit."
"We got to stop them!" Manny angrily snapped.
"But how?!" Tawk called out.
"You cannot stop them..."
"Oh not her," Flora whimpered.
Soon, Carlotta appeared before the group, grinning wickedly at them to which Buck yelled, "Will ya just bugger off, you flea-biting mutt?!"
"I can tell you the same thing, weasel," Carlotta hissed at Buck before she sneered at Diana with, "So, you managed to finally get the hang of your powers, hmm?"
"You made her live in fear and depression like your husband and brother did to Flora and I, but I will not allow you to torment her anymore!" Tawk angrily replied.
"Oh, how romantic! The handsome Chief saving his damsel in distress," Carlotta mocked the Chief.
"Wait…what?" Diana asked in confusion.
"She's just my friend!" Tawk growled at Carlotta, blushing deeply.
"Uh-huh. Sure," Carlotta scoffed.
"Let go of Sid, Carlotta! You want a fight?! Fight us!" Diego roared at Carlotta.
"All this forceful commanding of you guys is really getting on my nerve. It's too late to save your friend! Soon, his soul will be destroyed and he'll be nothing more but stone forever!" Carlotta viciously growled.
"Like hell he will!" Manny yelled as he charged at Carlotta.
"Manny, no!" Diana cried as she rushed to him.
Carlotta dodged the mammoth and fired a lightning spell at Manny, only for Diana to save him with a bright force field from her powers. This amused Carlotta as she chuckled, "Well, well, well, Diana. I'm impressed...Finally, some real fun around here."
"You and Victor and Ripper have harmed so many innocent creatures for so long! I will not allow you to continue this madness anymore! You may have destroyed my family and have gotten the book, but I will try and stop you!" Diana snapped, feeling determined and brave for the first time.
"We'll see, rodent. We shall see!" Carlotta growled.
Carlotta fired another lightning spell at Diana who countered it by directing it with her magic to strike at the shadows, destroying them. This angered the wolf before Diana snapped, "It's time you learn the true meaning of my family's power!"
"You and your friends have got this coming for a long, long time!" Carlotta viciously snarled as she began to magically fight Diana.
"Diana!" Tawk called out in fear for the sorceress.
"Get Sid out of there before his soul gets destroyed!" Diana cried.
"Oh no you-!" Carlotta hissed in attempt to stop the others, but Diana blasted her down with her spells.
"You will not harm anyone again!" Diana angrily cried as she continued the fight, giving the group time to save Sid.
The others approached the sloth as Manny, Diego and Buck tried to get the oozing seaweed chains off of Sid before the tortured sloth looked at the others and gasped out, "G-Guys?"
"It's OK, Sid. We're here to save ya," Buck informed.
"Y-You came back for me?" Sid shuddered.
"Of course, Sid. You're part of our family. Our herd. Where would we be without you?" Manny spoke softly to Sid.
"But after all I did to you from Carlotta's control?" Sid stuttered.
"It wasn't your fault, Sid. She used all of us to hurt one another," Diego informed the sloth.
"So you don't hate me still after all this time last year?" Sid asked.
Manny and Diego just chuckled much to the sloth's confusion before Manny smiled at Sid and said, "Sid, we could never hate you."
"Even if you are a little annoying at times," Diego chuckled a bit, patting Sid on the back.
"You're our best friend Sid, and we would never abandon you no matter what," Buck assured his best friend.
"You mean it?" Sid asked hopefully.
"We mean it, Sid," Manny sincerely replied.
Sid let out gasps and chuckles of relief before the oozing seaweed let Sid go and the sloth was free from its grasp before Sid passed out to which Manny caught and held him.
"I guess the seaweed was just a symbol of his fear and pain," Diego said.
"And you guys freed him from it," Flora happily cheered.
Buck went to the sloth and happily petted his head and said, "Indeed, Flora. He's safe and sound now."
"He will be if Diana can save his soul," Manny pointed out.
Suddenly, Diana roughly landed on the ground near the others to which Tawk helped her up and asked in concern, "Diana, are you OK?"
"Yes. I'll be fine," Diana panted.
They looked over to see Carlotta on the ground with cuts and bruises. Despite not feeling any pain, she growled loudly in annoyance much to the group's alarm that she was not playing around anymore.
"We have Sid, Diana! Save him!" Manny called out.
Diana rushed to the sloth's side as Carlotta got up, re-healing herself before Diana chanted,
"Pain and torment I banish away
No more will the darkness forever stay
Re-heal the innocent from darkness's delight
And bring this soul back into the light"
Sid's soul was soon getting bright as the others were going through a vortex back to reality to which Carlotta couldn't reach the others when she lunged at them. She was frozen in a vortex swirl as the others glared at her.
"It's over, Carlotta! Ya lost!" Buck snapped.
"You idiots! You may have saved your sloth, but don't forget! I still have the book and you will not be safe while I'm around at Forbidden Rock!" Carlotta growled.
"I realize now that I don't need the book, Carlotta. The power is within me all along. That's what my parents were trying to teach me," Diana explained to the witch with a smirk.
"Smirk all you want but when I get back, you will all be sorry!" Carlotta snapped.
"I doubt that," Diana scoffed before she glared at the wolf and angrily exclaimed, "Now get out of my friend's soul, you witch!"
And with that, Diana casted a bright light beam at Carlotta, sending the angry wolf screaming in anguish before she disappeared into pieces just as the others returned to reality back into their bodies.
As Carlotta returned to her body, the cauldron she was using to get into Sid's soul, was glowing so bright due to Diana's magic as Carlotta muttered "What the-?!" when suddenly the cauldron exploded sending Carlotta to hit the rocky wall and knocking the witch out cold.
Back at Diana's cave, the group was now back in their own bodies before they saw the stone figure of Sid changing back into the original sloth himself to which the group cheered happily that Sid was alive and back with the others.
What happens next?
Stay tuned to find out!
ALSO PRETTY PLEASE GIVE CREDIT TO DUSK19, FOR NONE OF THIS WOULD BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT HIM
