Chapter 23: Confrontation
Three more weeks fly by and the herd was starting to get anxious on wherever they have seen the last of Victor or Carlotta or Leo, though he is already slain by the alpha wolf himself; the gang gathered at the cave with Balthazar and Diego returning from their lookout.
"Any sign of them?" Carrie asked the predators.
"No; we haven't tracked one scent of Carlotta and Victor since that night," Diego shook his head.
"We even snuck up at Forbidden Rock to see if they were still residing there but to our surprise, they weren't there," Balthazar added.
"You guys were lucky not to be spotted; otherwise you'd be at his mercy" Manny pointed out as he turns to Sid by the river, eating berries and adds. "Like Sid almost was,"
"Hey, we can take care of ourselves," Diego assured Manny.
"We did find Leo but..." Balthazar spoke again but stops for a bit.
"But?" Dodger asked.
"It seemed Victor had killed him" Balthazar revealed to the group, much to their surprise.
"We found his body at top of Forbidden Rock, most of him looked like he was eaten by the wolves" Diego added.
"O-Oh goodness" Niamh shuddered loudly.
"I know Leo was a backstabbing jerk but...gees..." Dodger quietly spoke.
"You can say that again" Buck agreed with the giant sloth.
"Guys," Ellie stepped forward. "I hope you'll all agree with me when I say that we shouldn't hang around here anymore like this"
"Ellie is right we cannot stay here anymore, we have to get out of here and go somewhere else; somewhere so far that the wolf won't be able to find us" Manny agreed with his wife.
"It won't matter how far we run, Victor will continue to find us, he'll never stop looking for us until he kills us" Carrie shook her head.
"The only option we have left is to put an end to Victor and Carlotta once and for all" Balthazar suggested.
"You mean we have to kill them?" Dodger asked, not admiring the idea of murdering anyone even if Victor and Carlotta are pure evil.
"Balthazar and I can dispose of them if you want, we're predators! We hunt down mongrels like them" Diego explains then turns to Balthazar and adds: "No offense"
"None taken, feline" Balthazar shrugged.
"He's right; it's them or us...They started this war and we must end it" Carrie nodded.
"How can we stop Victor? He was burned alive, fell from a mountain and he's still alive! He's like a cockroach;" Dodger groans in frustration.
"Victor's strong but he's not immortal; if we work all together to fight him and Carlotta this time, we can survive this" Manny replied.
Carrie looks at Sid who was still eating his breakfast; the pink sloth looks back at the group before concluding with: "I think we should leave and find somewhere safe for Peaches and the others especially Sid"
The group looked at one another before Manny agrees with Carrie who then adds: "I'll just get Sid"
The female sloth approaches Sid who smiled happily and said: "Good morning, sweetie; want some berries?"
"No thanks, darling" Carrie giggled.
"So, um...what's going on with the others?" Sid asked.
"We're leaving this place, darling," Carrie replied.
"Really?!" Sid asked in confusion. "But where we go? With Victor and all that, out there"
"Hey!" Carrie hushed her boyfriend and got him to look at her. "No one's going to lay a single claw on you ever again; I will protect you, dear"
"I wish I can be strong enough to protect you too" Sid sighed.
"You are" Carrie assured the yellow sloth. "You just need to be careful and take a stand for yourself for others"
"OK," Sid nodded as he hugs his girlfriend close.
Carrie smiles and hugs Sid back before she said: "Right, let's go"
"You're not going anywhere, sloth"
The duo felt a cold chill up their spines from that loud growl from behind them as they slowly turn to see Carlotta and Victor nearby them. Victor's fur has grown back but was rough like a hairbrush, his teeth are yellow and sharpen, and the scar on Victor's eye was more revealing along with his burnt ear but he looked stronger than before.
"Victor!" Sid squeaked out in fear.
It wasn't long before Balthazar and Diego were in front of the villains, snarling and growling at them whilst Manny and Dodger got close to Sid and Carrie to protect them. Ellie and Buck kept the rest of the group together behind them as they prepared themselves for the confrontation.
"Still alive, are we, Sid?" Victor mocked.
"You know Sid, he's a tough guy on the inside" Manny vouched for Sid.
"So basically he's like a cockroach" Carlotta scoffed.
"Funny; so are Victor and yourself here" Diego deviously smirked at Carlotta.
Carlotta growls furiously before Victor halts her with a paw up before the alpha wolf growled:
"Sid the sloth...Out of the mammals I've faced, you have to be the one to outsmart myself, twice! And out of every single battle in my life, no one, not even a mammoth could touch me, and yet, you...YOU! I was slashed on the left eye and then burned alive which got me to lose half of my right ear because of you...It seems you truly do have a death wish, Sid"
"I...I don't know what to say in all of this" Sid whimpered.
"Don't say anything" Carrie shook her head.
"And did I just hear correctly? That you two are a thing now?" Victor asked with coldness in his voice.
"Yes, I'm his girlfriend" Carrie nodded, unashamed to admit it.
"This guy? For real?" Carlotta gagged.
"Funny, I could ask the same for you on Victor" Carrie scoffed.
"I honestly do not care at this point...All I care now is settling the score with that sloth once and for all" Victor snarled before glaring hostility at the herd and growled: "And since you all will try to stop me, I will kill you all as well"
"Bring it on, mutt!" Diego growled back and lunges at the alpha wolf.
Balthazar attacks Carlotta to which the fight has wildly begun with the predators battling each other out, clashing claw to claw, head to head. Manny soon picks up the two sloths, put them on his back before he leads the others away from the villains.
"What about Diego and Balthazar?" Dodger called out to Manny whist on his trunk with Niamh.
"They will be fine, they're strong enough to hold them back and give us time to get you guys to safety" Ellie replied while having Peaches on her back with Buck and the twins on her trunk.
The mammoths guided everyone out of the home area before Manny looks at Ellie, Buck, and Dodger and said: "Get the others to safety, I'll help Diego and Balthazar"
"Be careful, Manny" Ellie worryingly replied.
Suddenly Manny was knocked down by Diego who was pushed off from Victor by a kick and collided with the bull mammoth, Sid worryingly approaches them and before he could speak, Carrie cried out: "Sid, look out!"
Sid turns to see Victor ferociously lunging at the frightened sloth before Manny stops Victor in his tracks, grabbing the alpha wolf with his trunk and throws him away from the others. Balthazar soon rejoins them as Carlotta helps the alpha wolf up; the villains then circle the herd menacingly before Victor snapped:
"Foolish herd; it matters not how many times you can defend yourselves against us! Wherever you run, wherever you hide or fight, I will not stop until every single one of you wretched lot is dead!"
"Ya know something, Victor; your bark more than you bite" Buck mocked the alpha wolf.
"Can I kill the rodent first?" Carlotta hissed to Victor.
"Be my guest" Victor growled out.
"Stay close everyone, they can't stop us all if we work together" Manny spoke out to the herd, ready to fight the villains.
Sid looks at the herd than to the wolves as risky as it is to fight the strongest wolves on the island altogether, Sid cannot risk anyone dying for him especially his true love as he looks over to see a ledge nearby before he walks ahead to it without the gang realizing this.
"Um, Victor" Carlotta spoke out when she spotted the sloth.
"What?" Victor growled in annoyance.
"It's me that you want, not the herd, I am the one you truly want" Sid called out from the ledge nearby.
"Sid?! What are you doing?!" Manny cried out in alarm.
"Stay there, guys!" Sid cried out.
"Sid, don't be an idiot! Get back here!" Carrie yelled out in fear for her boyfriend as she cautiously approaches Sid, pointing her spear at the wolves.
"What are you planning to do, sloth?" Victor scoffed.
"You want me? Well here I am, come and get me!" Sid dared the wolves.
"Are you insane?!" Carrie cried.
"You're mine now, sloth!" Carlotta evilly cackled and charges at the sloth.
"Carlotta, wait!" Victor shouted.
"Sid!" The herd each exclaimed out.
As soon as Carlotta lunges at Sid, the yellow sloth ducks down on the ground, letting the female wolf throw herself over the ledge as she can be heard screaming and falling from the ledge over to the ground way below her. With a loud disturbing crack, Sid and Carrie look down to see Carlotta, dead with her mangled body down below a rocky chasm.
"My goodness...she's dead!" Carrie gasped.
"Not exactly what I was planning to do, to be honest," Sid gulped.
"Guys, look out!" Dodger screamed.
Suddenly Carrie was whacked away by Victor as the alpha wolf grabbed Sid roughly by the throat just as the herd was chasing Victor to stop him.
"Come one step closer and I'll kill him quicker than you know it!" Victor roared at the herd who abruptly halted, fearing the safety of Sid's life in Victor's paw.
Carrie stealthily tries to get her spear before Victor growls whilst pointing his sharp claws near Sid's neck: "And if you pick that up, you can say goodbye to your 'true love'"
"I'm sorry, Carrie; I knew this was risky" Sid gasped out.
"Poor little sloth, It's only a matter of time before you meet your doom" Victor growled.
"I don't think so!" Carrie yelled.
The pink sloth lunges at Victor and managed to shove the wolf off Sid in time but the villain leaps onto the female sloth and tries to bites onto Carrie's shoulder, Both of them begin struggling with one another.
"Carrie!" Sid screamed for his lover before he angrily grabs Victor's jaw and pulls the wolf off from Carrie before the two begin to struggle for a bit.
"Now! Let's get him!" Manny shouted.
But before the herd can stop Victor, Sid and Victor slipped off the ledge as well much to the herd's shock but luckily for them, they managed to slide down into a hole near the rocky chasm which leads to an icicle cave.
"Sid!" Carrie cried out before she grabs her spear and leaps down the ledge, successfully going into the hole after them just as the herd rushes up to the ledge.
"Now where have they gone?!" Dodger loudly cried.
"I know where that hole leads to" Balthazar replied. "But we must hurry!"
"How do you know where they went?" Manny asked whilst being lead by the giant wolf.
"Buddy, I've lived on these parts long before you came here" Balthazar answered while rushing the herd to the icicle cave where the others are.
Meanwhile, Sid and Victor landed on the ground inside an icicle cave; Victor on his back in pain while Sid was lucky enough to only have a sore leg. Sid begins to quickly limp away to safety until Victor slowly got back on his paws and saw Sid escaping deep within the cave as he growled:
"You can run...but you can't hide from me, sloth"
Victor begins to follow Sid and after a few seconds, Carrie landed on the ground with her spear as she looks around the dark place.
"Sid?! Sid! Where are you?!" Carrie cried out as she frantically looks around to find her boyfriend.
Sid eventually stays hidden behind a few boulders, hoping that Carrie finds him before Victor does. The alpha wolf can smell Sid's scent as he growled out:
"Come now, Sid; it'll all be over soon and after I finish with you, your herd especially your dear Carrie will rot with you in hell, like one big foolish family"
Sid quivered in fear, trying not to make a sound for Victor to hear as the evil wolf adds: "There's no one to help you this time, it's just you and I now all alone"
Soon Victor saw Sid's tail behind the boulder which caused the canine to stealthily climb on one of the boulders and leans his head forward to Sid who can feel Victor's presence which made him whimper out loudly.
"Game over..." Victor growled and prepares to kill Sid.
Suddenly Carrie stabs Victor on the shoulder with her spear, causing the wolf to scream in agonizing pain before the pink sloth kicks Victor away from her boyfriend.
"Thanks for that" Sid panted.
"Don't thank me yet; come on!" Carrie cried out as the two sloths fled for their lives, desperately trying to find a way out.
"You utter freaks!" They can hear Victor roaring as the alpha wolf continues the chase.
The two sloths suddenly see a light nearby to which they can spot a way out before they rushed out of the cave; suddenly Sid was halted by Carrie outside of the icicle cave to which they were standing on ice and there was nothing else but a small slippery ledge.
"Should we jump?" Sid gulped.
"No way, look!" Carrie shook her head.
The way down was steeper than the rocky chasm was and was nothing more but sharp icicles down below; the two sloths were about to head back in the cave to find another way out but were soon halted when Victor furiously blocks their way.
"There's nowhere else to go! This is the end of the line!" Victor ferociously growled.
The sloths realized he was right, this is it, the final moment of the final battle and in the end, only one will stand victorious.
"Alright then Victor, It's time to finish this war once and for all" Carrie declared.
"Y-You won't win" Sid gulped but was ready to fight side by side with Carrie against their nemesis.
"We'll see sloth...We'll see" Victor growled.
Soon Victor lunges at Sid only for the yellow sloth to frantically dodge him and whacked Victor with his fist.
"You're gonna have to do better than that" Victor hissed and whacks Sid in the face.
"Ow! My nose!" Sid exclaimed as Victor smacks him down to the ground before Carrie kicks him away from Sid.
"Come on Sid! We can fight him together" Carrie spoke out to her lover.
"Right" Sid nodded.
"You two think you can stop me?" Victor scoffed.
"We don't think we can...We know we can" Carrie angrily replied.
"Ha! Fools! Haven't you learned anything at all? I'm the alpha wolf! The strongest wolf on this island! If you haven't got rid of me in the past, what makes you think you'll stop me now?!" Victor bellowed.
"It is you who hasn't learned anything" Sid sternly whimpered.
"What do you mean by that?" Victor snarled.
"Well...um...A little help Carrie?" Sid whispered.
"What he means is that you have no idea that love, family, and friendship is stronger than anything in the world, even you Victor, You refused to let others give you friendship and compassion...You just kept on being cold and cruel to those who are innocent" Carrie angrily explained.
"Even Carlotta loved you and you treated her like garbage" Sid pointed out.
"I couldn't care less about Carlotta, nor about those other foolish things you believe in" Victor spatted.
"Then you will always be a lonely soul until the end...You think you're so powerful but in the end, you're nothing but a weak dog" Carrie spatted back at Victor.
"And to make it worse, you and your pack have been defeated by two simple sloths" Sid mocked Victor.
"How dare you mock me?" Victor growls with malice.
"Are you gonna fight or are you just kept growling" Carrie angrily demanded.
"Shut up! This ends right now!" Victor angrily exclaimed and he furiously charges at the sloths.
The two sloths fought the alpha wolf with all their might as each of them managed to get an attack on Victor.
"This is for my family!" Carrie shouted and punches Victor in the face
"This is for the herd" Sid cried as he stomped on Victor's tail.
"This is for my people" Carrie angrily exclaimed as she slaps Victor hard on the face.
"This is for Balthazar and his pack!" Sid snapped as he pokes Victor in the eyes.
"This is for what you've done to my boyfriend!" Carrie yelled as she kicks Victor's hind legs.
"This is for what you've done to my girlfriend!" Sid mimics Carrie's yell and he pulls Victor's ears.
"Stop toying with me!" Victor roared and whacks Carrie over to the ledge as the pink sloth slips on the ice and nearly falls as she holds onto dear life on the edge of the ledge.
"Carrie! Hold on!" Sid cried out.
Victor suddenly whacks Sid away to the rocky wall where one of the entrances of the icy cave was before a block of ice crumbles down and lands on Sid's legs, causing the sloth to be painfully trapped and cannot escape.
"No!" Carrie exclaimed as she tries to climb up but the ice on the ledge made it tricky to get back up.
Victor dangerously approaches the trapped sloth with such hostile glare in his eyes and with one mighty leap, he insanely lunges at Sid, ready to finally put an end to his nemesis when suddenly Carrie, who managed to got back up from the ledge, slide down the ice in between Sid and Victor and with one thrust of her spear, Carrie stabbed Victor's torso, making the villain gasp weakly.
Everything went silent for a moment as if time had stopped as Victor looks down to his stabbed torso before Carrie let out a bellowing shout and with all of her strength, she shoves Victor off from her spear, sending the alpha wolf over the icy ledge. The alpha wolf can be heard, screaming down below before the villain then lands on a sharp icicle below, impaling his whole upper body.
After Carrie pushes the block of ice off from Sid, the two looked to see the stabbed corpse of their enemy as the sight of the dead wolf causes the two sloth to cringe in disgust and shock of Victor's messy demise.
The couple then moves back from the ledge and rest against the wall of the entrance, Sid looks at Carrie and panted: "I-Is it over? Is it...is this the end?"
"You know what? ... Yes ... Yes, it is, Sid. It's over...We won" Carrie panted.
Neither of them has anything to say, the war is over; they have triumphed over the wicked alpha wolf, shock soon turns to happiness, happiness then leads to tears of joy for Carrie before they impulsively and lovingly hold each other close and kissed deeply now they are free from the evil that has haunted them for so long.
Again and again, they happily thought to themselves, it's over...they're free.
What happens next?
Stay tuned to find out!