Um, yeah, I don't really have any excuses. I'm sorry. I'm very, very, very, very, very, sorry. Forgive me? Please?

Ƭħє ŞąЬяє'ƨ Şħąmє

Chapter Seventeen: End

Diego rejoined the herd and the pack with a looming sense of finality. The pack didn't question him on what had happened to Ray; they simply understood what had to be done. So did the herd, to some extent, even though that didn't stop Crash and Eddie from constantly bugging him for details for the following three weeks.

Manny and Ellie hugged him as best they could with their trunks as he returned Peaches to them, and Sid wrapped his short, stumpy arms around his neck – much to the amusement of the pack, but that was the difference between the two.

Something that only Raze seemed to understand.

The other sabre, who in all truth, did look uncannily like Diego, had silently watched the return, eyes glittering. Akira and Shi stood behind him, with Lars and Damian behind them, in arrowhead formation. Silver would have been standing beside Ray, at the back of the pack, but …

But.

They weren't going to speak of that fact.

Even though it echoed of a frightening sabre-like trait, to ignore the past and plan for the future, they weren't going to speak of that fact. Instead, all that occurred was that before any significant conversation could take place, Buck burst in again, with Rudy in tow. Clambering aboard the dinosaur's head, he stood there triumphantly, and announced "Well, that went well, didn't it?"

Diego put a paw to his face, shaking his head slightly in wry amusement. Raze chuckled slightly, and the herd just laughed out loud.

"So, here we are, three cultures from mysterious lands, brought together by the great powers of fate – "

"Cut the crap!" Raze roared playfully, and Buck bowed in acquisition, but continued:

"And brought apart by the chaos in which we live –"

"Give it a rest, Buck!" Diego called.

" – Even though those around me have no understanding or appreciation of my artistic talent – "

Buck was crash-tackled to the ground by Eddie and Crash, who tickled him mercilessly for a moment, cutting off whatever he was going to say. He got the better of them both in less than a minute, holding them upside down by the ankles and tying their tails together, before draping them over Ellie's trunk. Agilely reclaiming Rudy's head, he cleared his throat and went on.

"In short, barbarians, Rudy and I are here to tell you something. Obviously, we can get back into the Underworld. Any time we want. Which means that the dinosaurs can get out. Soooo… Does anyone wanna help us out with sealing up the hole? This time, nobody will be trapped on the other side. I promiseee – whoa!"

Rudy chucked his head to the side, sending Buck flying. Hitting the snow with a frustrated growl, he stood up straight and continued his monologue from there. "So, in short, any volunteers?"

"I think you'll be just fine on your own," Manny told him, giving him a small and encouraging nudge with his trunk. "So, wanna take the dinosaur and get out of here?"

"Hey, don't be so hasty. One would think that you didn't even miss me, and I know that's not true. Rightio?"

There wasn't any acknowledgement from the herd for a moment, before they started to laugh. Raze did as well, and even Shi smiled for a moment.

"So, that aside, seems to me that there might be a small problem with you guys? Something to do with the sabres," he tweaked Diego's ear, "trying to eat the herd, right?" He pulled Peaches' tail gently, and used her as a vault to get back up to Rudy, seeming to like the altitude adjustment. "So, I have a solution. No, no, don't thank me, just listen."

Raze jerked his head at the pack, and they circled around Rudy to listen, losing their arrowhead formation and concentrating on his words.

"If we only block half of the underworld up, and you guys get your almighty leader, as he assures me he is, back, you guys could have a sneakhole to get in and out from. There are packs of dinosaurs down there, vicious and crazy, and best of all, not intelligent. Kinda like Rudy."

He affectionately petted the dinosaur, who groaned slightly and shifted his weight.

"So you don't have to worry about your next meal, and you can roam both worlds, and leave these guys in peace, yeah? Or protect them from whatever other packs are out there."

Akira, still acting as pack leader even though Raze had returned, turned away and quietly talked to Shi. The two conferred for a minute, before turning around again and looking quite serious.

"That works fairly well," Akira said, "But what happens about Diego?"

"Well, see, he can choose. You know. Go from one to another to another. Hang out with you, hang out with us, hang out with you, hang out with us. Easy, right?"

Raze glanced at Diego, a simple look that read We'll talk.

But the sabres were nodding, as were the herd, until Ellie piped up "What are you going to do?"

"Me?" Buck laughed wildly, insanely. "I'm going to have fun! I've got the best of both worlds, now, and even though Rudy can't go back home, he can sure still hang out with me up here! I just need to find that damn watermelon."

"Watermelon?" Sid asked.

"Yeah. We're engaged, and I can't find her anywhere! Have any of you seen her?"

"No," Damian answered before anyone else can.

"But," Lars said, trying and failing not to grin, "We did see some dodos. They might have kidnapped her."

"What?" Buck yelled, in mock fury. "We must rescue her! Come, everyone! Melona needs our help! Twins, lead the way!"

He spurred Rudy into action, and the reluctant dinosaur started trundling off, following the pack, who were following Damian. The herd glanced at each other, before shrugging and beginning to follow as well. They felt as though they should stick close to Rudy and the pack, so they could resolve any chance of the pack preying on them again.

At last, the only two animals in the clearing were Diego and Raze.

"Hello," Diego said uncertainly.

"Hello," Raze returned, equally uncertain, but looking far more comfortable than Diego did. "You belong to this herd, don't you?"

"I think so," Diego shrugged helplessly. "But I'm not sure."

"How did you all end up together? Must have been quite an adventure."

"You're telling me," Diego groaned. "It's a long story. Nobody knows all of it, not now that I abandoned the herd and went with your pack."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"How long do you think we have before they come back?"

"Knowing Damian and Lars' tracking skills? They'll get to the point in about fifteen minutes, then spend the rest of the hour tracking the dodos. Considering the fact that well… they're dodos, I'll say it'll take them about another half hour to actually get the watermelon, and then fifteen minutes back. So, we have time, if that's what you're asking."

So Diego told him.

Everything.

From the moment Soto ordered him to attack Manny and get the baby, to Sid's adventurous climb up the cliff, to the journey through the caves, to the ambush. From there, without stopping, he told the story of the meltdown, and how they had come across Ellie, Eddie, and Crash, and then, their adventure in the Underworld.

By the time he'd finished talking, his voice was hoarse, and Raze's expression was one of compassionate sympathy. Rare to see on a sabre, it still made Diego feel better.

"Do you think I'm a bad person?" Diego hesitantly asked at the end, and Raze shrugged, sabre-style.

"No. I think you made a bad choice in attacking Peaches, but if you couldn't hunt, it's understandable. As for the rest, it was out of your control. I admit, I don't know how you could have turned on Soto, but… It's almost understandable. He was annoying, anyway."

"You knew him?" Diego gaped.

"He was my father."

Diego stopped dead, staring at Raze, who shrugged again. "It explains a lot, don't you think?"

And it did. That was the epic irony of it. The times Soto treated Diego as a son rather than as a pack member; the special treatment, the look in his eyes when he'd died…

"Why did you leave him?"

Raze smirked. "I found a pack of my own. It would've been around three weeks before you joined, because I saw you hunting with them a little while later. Why be part of someone else's pack when you can run your own? Of course, Akira owns the pack now of course, but we'll see how that pans out."

"Can I join you sometimes?"

"For hunting? Of course. It means you can eat with us and hang out, if that's what you want, you get to go back to the Underworld and explore it, and call this your home."

"You have a strange attitude for a sabre."

"So do you, Diego."

"I know – believe me, I know – but you know my history. All I know about you is Soto, the pack, and that you were trapped underground. What else is there?"

"While I was underground, I had several broken bones. I heal ridiculously fast, which is why I'm up and moving now, but for a few days, I was completely and utterly reliant on Buck for food. I learnt a lot in those days. Prey has thoughts and feelings too. So when I could move again, I'd learnt not to take anything for granted. Coming back and seeing this makes me wonder if it wasn't all planned or something. These kinds of coincidences are extremely rare."

"Again, I know. But considering my luck – this is almost a normal episode in my life for me."

Raze laughed softly. "Fair enough. But the invitation to join us is open anytime."

"Thank you."

"No, thank you."

Seven sabres streaked through the night, noses to the ground and paws flying over the snow. They were determined, focused. Their reflexes were on edge, and they were ready to take down their prey. Eyes glittering in concentration, they sensed a change in scent, and unanimously swung to the right. Their prey would not escape.

"There!" Shi gasped, and the other sabres raised their heads to glimpse the prey in the distance, trying to flee but failing. Spurred on by the sighting, they increased their pace, and burst out into the open, to see their prey.

A dodo, carrying a melon.

Buck and Rudy were underneath it, Buck frantically trying to jump and reach the melon. The dodo running faster and faster, and Crash and Eddie were using all of their skill to rodeo it back to Rudy. Sid was running beneath beside, and Manny and Ellie were herding it in from each side.

Sabres from the north. Dinosaur and weasel from the south. Mammoths from east to west. Approaching at a very fast speed.

"Melona!" Buck cried dramatically. "Why must you elude me so?"

And those were the last words anyone heard before, concentrating on their prey, they all collided into each other.

THWACK!

A wildly giggling dodo, still with its melon, staggered off into the horizon, leaving a laughing and groaning heap of animals behind. Rudy was pinned down on the ground by a pack of sabres, two mammoths, two possums and a weasel. The sabres were strewn all over each other, and Sid had somehow ended up sitting on top of Raze. Crash had landed on Lars, Eddie on Damian. Shi had Buck for a hat, and Silver was partially squashed under Ellie's trunk.

The wildly giggling dodo, now not so wild or giggling, staggered back to the crash site as Alexia and Peaches tugged, pulled and pushed it. Peaches eventually managed to grab the melon, and Alexia gently threw the bird into the air, leaving it to, once more, stagger off into the horizon.

Peaches giggled as she saw her parents on the ground, and called to them "Get up, get up, you have to get up!"

Running to them, she lightly touched them on their trunks, a loving kiss, and then looked mischievously at Silver. "Aunty Silver! Bet you can't catch me!"

Silver opened one eye and gazed at the small mammoth, smiling sweetly. "Really?"

"Yep!"

"Come on then!"

Silver leapt to her paws and playfully chased Peaches, who screamed with laughter. Damian got to his paws and joined in, followed by Lars, and Crash and Eddie. The other mammals just lay dazedly on the ground and watched the six scamper around, before Raze and Diego pulled themselves up. Ellie and Manny got up as well, and after much coaxing, Sid eventually managed to get Rudy to stand up again. The groggy dinosaur had accustomed himself to living as Buck's servant by now, and in truth, didn't actually mind it. He still got to eat, and the adventures that he'd joined in on by now had worn away any seeds of resentment.

Buck fondly looked at his watermelon, before bowing grandly to Alexia. "Thank you, my dear."

"Anytime," she returned, winking at him, before joining the others in their game. Now the whole pack was involved, as well as the herd, chasing each other in circles and falling over their own paws in a dizzying display of contentment.

Buck hugged his watermelon, stroking it, and placed a kiss on its smooth side. "Melona, we're going to have a fantastic time," he murmured, and then Sid tapped him on the shoulder.

"You're it!"

"What?" Buck yelled. "What nonsense is this?" Cackling evilly, he dropped the melon and ran after Sid, catching him easily and tapping him.

"You're it now, you lil' sloth!"

Sid whirled around and got Damian, who in turn caught Eddie. Eddie caught Crash, who caught Ellie, who caught Akira, who caught Diego, and so the game continued.

The melon and the past lay forgotten in the dawn's early light.