Okay, before I put the proper authors note, can I just say OMG THE WORLD DIDN'T END! Yay! Sorry, it's just my friend was going on about how it was going to end all week, and she made me kinda nervous, so I'm so glad it didn't! Oh, and school finished for Christmas today so YAY for that too :D
Anyway, you guys all came up with great guesses, and loads of people guessed the right answers to the questions, which is good because it means that it was clearer than I thought... woohoo! Oh, and Angelotti pointed out to me that the way Raz speaks is kinda hard to understand. If there's anything she says that you don't understand, PM me and I'll explain it to you :)
Hope you all enjoy, and there's a new OC in this chapter. All credit for the new OC goes to my BFF, who came up with their name, their role in the story and the way their introduced. Again, hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I really do not know why I still put this. There really is no point whatsoever.
Diego's POV
Ow. Ow. Ow. Think I'm in pain? Congratulations. My whole body aches all over, but my heart and lungs definitely hurt the worst. I must've swallowed half the waves in that stupid ocean, and it hurts even to breath the tiniest breath. Every dull thud of my heart hurts more than the last, but there's an extremely short and non-scientific reason for that. I'm in love. And my love is gone. Forever.
"Uncle Diego? UNCLE DIEGO!"
Great, now my ears are ringing too. Lovely.
"Geez Peach... did you have... to shout that down my ear?" I groan weakly, my head spinning. My already deafened ears are then greeted by a chrous of happy shouts and cheers. I don't care enough to actually listen to what they're cheering. Yeah, I know that's mean, but I just nearly drowned! I make a mental note to tell Sid that I told him so; I've always known water was bad!
"Thank you so much Mikayla!" says Manny, sounding very grateful. Mikayla? Who's Mikayla?
"No worries, I wasn't just gonna let him drown!" answers a female voice. Oh. I guess that's Mikayla. So, did she save me? It certainly seems like it, because everyone else is thanking her and she keeps insisting it was nothing, so unless I've been unconscious for a really long time and everyone somehow managed to lose their minds, I owe my life to this Mikayla girl. I try to open my eyes, but decide against it as I am lying on my back looking at the sky and sun is very bright.
"Diego! Diego!" chants Sid irritably, shaking my shoulder. I can't even tell him to go away, because as he's shaking my shoulder he's sending tremours of pain through my whole body, and intensifying the aches in my bones. Thankfully, Mikayla seems to know a lot about this sort of stuff, because she pulls Sid away from me.
"Don't!" she frets "You'll hurt him!"
"Don't worry Mikayla, he already has!" I grunt angrily. I hear a soft "Aww!" and then get a pleasant surprise. Mikayla - at least I hope it's Mikayla! - licks my face long and slow, which despite the painful memories of Shira it dredges up, is actually quite comforting. She must be a sabre; her lick feels the same as my mate's. Well, I guess we weren't proper mates, because we never had cubs or anything, but we were planning to! Before Gutt got her!
Mikayla rolls me onto my side so the sun isn't in my eyes, which is great because it means I can open them and see this new sabre! I'm defintely surprised by what I see! Mikayla's pelt is a few shades lighter than mine, but just as smooth and silky, and her eyes are a rich hazel. She reminds me a lot of Shira when it comes to muscle and shape; they're very similar. Her claws look very sharp, but thankfully aren't stained with blood or anything. Her canines are longer than Shira's, but a tiny bit shorter than mine.
"Any better?" she whispers into my ear, nuzzling me kindly.
"Not really, I feel like I'm dying - inside and out," I sigh weakly.
"I meant mentally,"
"Oh, well in that case... still no. I lost my mate today," I explain, feeling bad for poor Mikayla who I probably just offended quite a lot.
"Oh! You poor thing!" she exclaims, cuddling me gently. It's nice, but I can't help thinking about how much Shira would hate this, and it feels so much like I'm cheating on her, even though I'll probably never see her again, and me and Mikayla aren't even together, it just does. I'll never be happy without her...
Normal POV
Shira lay on her side, resting her head on her paws as she slept. Raz stood at the bottom of the staircase, watching her younger sister sleep. She'd had to fasten the cell shut (which basically meant that she'd looped a vine through the handles of the ice-door and knotted it so tight she might have a problem untying it), but the door was see-through, so she could still make sure her little sis was alright. Right about then, Shira grunted in pain and sat up, holding her stomach.
"Sheila?" asked Raz uncertainly "Ya doin' okay there?"
"Oh, yeah, fine," mumbled Shira, but Raz didn't believe her "I'm good."
"No ya ain't!"replied Raz, but Shira didn't answer "Aw c'mon, tell ya big sista wha's the mattah!"
Shira smiled slightly when Raz said they were sisters, as it was nice to know she still thought they were that close, because Shira thought that too. Raz frowned though, because she knew Shira was hiding something.
"Sheila Ah can tell ya in pain! Jus' tell meh wha's up!" begged Raz, her hands pressed against the ice-door, showing just how much she really wanted to know. Shira sighed, but shook her head, dismissing the subject. Raz took a deep breath, and quickly untied the vine and opened the door.
"Why'd you do that?" asked Shira, sinking her claws into the ice to make sure Raz knew she wasn't going to run away. Raz smiled awkwardly.
"Well, Ah wanna give ya a hug, Sheila! Make ya feel betta!"
"Oh okay," Shira was slightly surprised, but was glad Raz wanted to cheer her up "Come here then!"
Raz laughed and hopped over to the sabretooth. She was just wrapping her arms around her little sister when she heard the flapping of wings and the sound of small claws scampering across ice. Gupta and Silas quickly rushed into the cell, Silas flying overhead while Gupta leapt through the air, before landing on Shira's stomach.
"Shira! I missed you!" exclaimed Gupta. Silas coughed loudly as he landed on Shira's shoulder. "Oh right, we missed you."
"Yeah, yeah that's great, Gupta, thanks guys," Shira muttered, placing a paw on her stomach and breathing slowly.
"What is ze matter, petite soeur?" asked Silas worriedly, lying a wing on Shira's forehead to check if she had a temperature.
"She ain't tellin' meh, bu' Ah've been askin' an' askin'!" complained Raz, tickling Shira under the chin. Shira batted at Raz's arm with her free paw, but smiled all the same.
"It's just I've got really bad stomach pains," explained Shira, before glaring accusingly at Gupta "And Mr. Badger-Belly-Flop over here didn't exactly help!"
"Sorry!" said Gupta hurriedly, patting Shira's stomach as a sign of sympathy.
"Aww, they'll like that..." murmured Shira to herself.
"Huh?" Raz tried to meet her little sister's eyes.
"Oh, uhm... nothing," sighed Shira "It's not important."
"Well, 'kay Ah guess, if ya say so..." Raz's voice trailed off. Shira sighed again.
"You guys should probably get out of here before Gutt finds out. He seems to know everything these days."
The other three agreed, but promised to be back soon. Raz especially seemed hesitant to leave, but she knew that the Captain couldn't find out, or he'd kill Shira there and then, just for the fun of it. After giving Shira one more hug, Raz left with Gupta and Silas, a plan forming in her devious brain.
"Don't ya worry, Sheila," she whispered to nobody "Ah'll be back sooner than ya think!"
Manny, Sid, Granny, Peaches (with Louis on her head) and Diego following behind, with Mikayla supporting him, of course, were all heading back to the clearing where the herd slept. They had been extremely lucky finding that clearing actually; there was a cave for the sloths, a cave for the mammoths and possums(with an indoor tree, awesome!), a cave for the sabres, and a very large cave that was empty. Ellie had returned from her day of relaxation, and the possums had come back from their day hanging out with Buck, who was also back at the clearing. They gawped at Diego and Mikayla, but didn't say anything, as Diego was in obvious amounts of pain.
"Where's your cave?" asked Mikayla, looking around. Diego pointed it out, and she helped him inside.
"Home sweet home..." muttered Diego sarcastically, trying to act as if a million-and-one memories about his lost mate hadn't just rushed into his brain.
"This your bed?" asked Mikayla, gesturing to the large, moss-covered rock that took up a lot of the cave. Diego nodded sadly, but tried to jump up anyway. Mikayla had to help him, but she didn't mind. Diego lay in his usual sleeping spot, stroking the empty space beside him wistfully, knowing it would never be filled again.
"I miss her so much, Mikayla..." he sighed, a single tear rolling down his cheek and landing on his paw. Mikayla didn't say anything, she just rubbed her head against his neck comfortingly. He smiled slightly, but it was mostly for Mikayla's benefit, he didn't actually feel happy. He knew he never could be. Suddenly, a purring filled the cave. He looked down, and realised that it was Mikayla. He just hoped the herd didn't get the wrong idea if they heard it... hopefully they wouldn't hear it. He couldn't believe he was even hearing it! He was just so confused...
That night
Diego curled up on the rock, leaving Shira's space empty out of respect. Mikayla, seemingly forgetting about Diego's lost mate, ran into the cave and jumped up onto the rock beside Diego. He knew it would be rude to tell her to go sleep somewhere else, but he didn't want her in Shira's space! It was as if she was trying to replace the silver tigress, and that was something Diego would not stand for! So when Mikayla tried to snuggle up to him, Diego pushed her away gently, but felt awful when he saw tears well up in her eyes.
"Sorry Mikayla, it's just I'm not ready to move on from Shira yet! I love her too much," he explained sadly, tears threatening to spill from his own eyes.
"No, no! I get it!" she said, her voice filled with sarcasm "I'll just wait and wait until you feel ready to move on, which you probably never will, but it'll be okay because when I die waiting you'll finally realise that I'm worth caring about!"
And with that she leapt up off the rock and stormed outside. Diego knew it would be polite and civil to follow her and make things right, but he didn't think of her in that way, and that wasn't his fault. He'd told her the truth; his heart belonged to Shira, and always would. It wasn't up to him, but he didn't want to change it, he really did love her. And even if he never saw her ever again, he would always love his little kitty.
Manny and Ellie were awake, looking at the stars together while Peaches, Buck and the possums slept in the tree.
"So, Gutt came back?" asked Ellie quietly. Manny nodded.
"Yeah. I can't believe that monkey's still alive!"
"Me neither, I was sure he was dead!" agreed Ellie, eyes wide with fear "Manny, what if... what if this is just the start of things?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what if Gutt's not the only villain we've faced who's still alive when we're all convinced they're dead? What if Soto's still alive? What if Rudy's still alive? What if-"
"So many questions! Soto is definitely dead Ellie, I watched him die! And do you really think - wait, Rudy is alive, isn't he?"
"Apparantly not, Buck said when he came back earlier that Rudy was officially dead. I didn't really want to ask."
Manny nodded, understanding perfectly. He'd had many of those moments, and he was sure there would be more.
"Look Ellie, it'll all be okay! We'll get Shira back, and I'll find a way to prove that all the other villains are dead!" Manny assured his mate. Ellie smiled softly.
"Thanks Manny," she sighed "We will find Shira, won't we?"
"Of course we will! This herd never gives up!" said Manny firmly. Ellie smiled again.
"Well, I'm heading up! See you in the morning!"
"Goodnight."
"Night."
Ellie wrapped her tail around the tree branch and swung herself up. She smiled as she drifted off to sleep, thinking about how much she missed Shira, but how glad she would be when the sabre returned. Manny stayed at the entrance to the cave, and was the only one to notice Mikayla run away crying. He waited until she was out of earshot, and padded over to Diego's cave. The sabre was lying in his usual spot, but the place beside him was tragically empty.
"Diego?" whispered Manny, so quiet the tiger hardly heard.
"Yeah, yeah, I ought to go apologise to Mikayla," sighed Diego "Well I'm sorry but I don't think I have anything to apologise for! She's trying to take Shira's place, and I'm probably never going to move on, I just love my kitty too much!"
Manny was actually kind of afraid, he'd only seen Diego shed one tear before, when Peaches was born, but now the sabretooth was properly crying. He awkwardly placed his trunk on Diego's shoulder, but it didn't do much.
"We'll find her Diego!" said Manny firmly "I promise that!"
"Thanks buddy," Diego gave his mammoth friend a watery smile.
"Hey, do you want to come and sleep in our cave tonight? You know, away from the memories?" asked Manny nervously. Diego tried to smile again.
"If that's okay..."
"Of course it is! We're a herd!"
Manny led Diego to the mammoth and possum (and now weasel) cave, where he would sleep until Shira returned. He lay down on the floor beside Manny, and watched his big poofy friend fall asleep. He sighed again, still feeling lonely. He felt something furry wrap around him, and realised Peaches was awake and trying to comfort him.
"It's okay Uncle Diego, Auntie Shira's tough! She's coming back no matter what!" Peaches reassured her uncle.
"Thanks Peach," Diego nuzzled his neice's trunk "Now go to sleep, you'll need your energy."
"Yeah, that's true," agreed Peaches "I'm gonna need a lot of energy when I confront the Brat Pack tomorrow!"
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing."
And they both fell asleep. The funny thing was, Peaches somehow managed to fall asleep with her trunk still wrapped around her uncle, a very cute sight.
So, how was it? Good? Bad? Weird? Please tell me what you think of this story, even if it's bad, I really don't mind, I just want to know what everyone thinks! Like I've said, requested scenes, requested lines, just PM or review and tell me because I will add in any suggestions! Honest I will! Oh, and I got the idea of the indoor-tree from FunkyWatermelon's fanfic 'Sirens' which is a really great one-shot for all the Dira shippers, I seriously suggest reading it if you haven't already! Thanks for reading and please review! XD