Firstly, OH DEAR FUDGE I AM SO SORRY I MADE YOU GUYS WAIT SO LONG! See, we've had a load of tests lately, and I was off for ONE DAY at school and I missed a Science test, a Textiles lesson where we learned like, THE most crucial skill for this year, and a somewhat important Religious Studies lesson. So clearly, I have had a lot to catch up on. And in English we have been doing Titanic, and we have the big assessment for that coming up too, so idk when the Epilogue's gonna get posted, just hang in there.
Second, y'know last chapter when Lauren was speaking Spanish but it just said "*insert Spanish word*"? Well, that was a typo. I wrote it when I had no internet and didn't know how to spell it, and as I had no Wi-Fi I couldn't check. I meant to change it and forgot. Apologies. I've fixed it now :)
By the way, sorry in advance for how I've done the song, I just didn't know how to do it for so many characters in my preferred style.
Disclaimer: Taz, Dex and Bronson all belong to scoobs5601, and Rebecca and Diesel belong to Blumacaw13.
"Shira?" Ellie's gentle voice woke her from her sleep.
"Huh…? Oh, yeah, hi Ells," Shira lifted her head weakly, knowing that she wasn't allowed to sit up because of the heavy cast on her back leg.
The mammoth ruffled the black fur on Shira's head. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah, I guess…" she shrugged. "So, what's up? Where are Diego and the cubs?"
"Outside," answered Ellie "And I am here to take you to the party."
"Party?" questioned Shira.
"Campfire party," Ellie clarified "Me and Manny are supposed to bring you down, and then afterwards you, Diego and the kids can move into the pirates cave until you're healed up."
She smiled wide. "Great!"
"Yeah, just don't move, okay?" Manny instructed, entering the cave and standing beside Ellie. Shira nodded firmly, and the two mammoths carefully lifted and carried her outside. Peaches and Meghan rushed in after them, to roll the smooth rock that the sabres slept on into their new temporary home.
Shira was set down carefully on her bed, and Ellie draped a blanket stitched from leaves over the silver sabretooth.
"Hey Kitty," Diego greeted her, walking in with his back piled high with cubs. "Guess what?"
"What?!" she asked eagerly, smiling.
"Earlier- well, Ranger, show your Mommy what you learned."
Ranger smirked. "Dwanger!" he spoke proudly, chest puffed out. Shira's eyes widened.
"He learned to speak?!" she gasped "Oh honey, I'm so proud of you!"
She pulled him in for a cuddle, and he didn't object. Suddenly, Squint trotted in, Izzy and Boris following.
"Dwanger! Dwanger!" repeated Ranger, pointing directly at Squint.
"What?!" Squint held out his arms in despair "The first time I hear him speak he insults me?!"
Shira shrugged. "He never did like you, bro."
"Why?!" he whined "I've been so nice to him! I delivered him for Pete's sake!"
"Simmer down, Squint, ranting isn't going to help," Izzy calmed him, stroking his arm to try and relax him a little, without much luck.
Suddenly, Raz clapped her hands. "Hi Sheila, ya've came!"
"Yep, glad to see me?" she asked jokingly.
"Duh!" retaliated Raz "Ah was so worried 'bout ya!"
"I was worried about you too, Razzy! I was so scared that you hadn't made it…"
"Uhm, don't you zink one of us would've told you if she hadn't made it?" pointed out Silas cleverly.
"Smart Alec…" mumbled Shira. "Anyway, where are the others?"
"On their way," confirmed Peaches, bouncing into the cave "They should be here soon."
Just as she finished her sentence, Louis and Taz came in. Crash and Eddie, who were still riding on Peaches' head, smirked, causing Louis to quickly retract his arm from where it had been lying around Taz's shoulders. Peaches slapped both possums with her trunk for ruining the moment. Hard.
While everyone was distracted by Peaches hurting Crash and Eddie, Taz quickly gave Louis a peck on the cheek, making him blush crimson. Raz, unable to see the group properly, tried to sit up, but grunted in pain and lay back down hurriedly, attracting the attention and concern of everyone in the cave.
"Razzy!" squealed a small voice nobody was familiar with. They all looked around curiously, trying to decipher where the voice had come from.
"Who said that?" asked Hollie finally.
"No idea…" replied Boris.
"Razzy!" repeated the voice happily. Finally, Shira figured it out.
"Guys…" she raised her voice to speak over everyone else, interrupting Manny but not caring "I think I know who spoke."
"Who?" asked Diego curiously. Shira pointed down at the bundle of cubs at her side. Sitting dead center of the group was Hope, a triumphant smile on her face and her eyes lit up with joy.
"Hope… she spoke?!" Diego sounded both amazed and over-joyed. Shira nodded.
"She… said mah name…?" Raz asked quietly "Why would the lil' Sheila do tha'?"
Shira shrugged. "Because she loves you?" she suggested.
"Bu'…why?"
"Because you've been nothing but kind and sweet to her for her entire life?" Shira offered. Raz's eyes widened.
"Ah can't believe she... loves meh."
"We all love you Raz,"spoke Diego, attracting the kangaroo's attention "You're a part of our family. You all are."
"Thanks tigah."
"Buck stood, with his arm firmly around Diesel, over the new entrance to Dinotopia, the hole Shira led Rudy up to the surface through. The baryonyx, now back in his world, smiled at the couple, proud that his old opponent had finally found someone he loved.
"G'bye, Snowflake," Buck saluted, and planted a light kiss on Diesel's cheek "Thanks for setting us up together."
He ruffled the fur on Diesel's head, a grin spreading across his face. "C'mon, let's get back."
She seemed confused. "Are you done saying goodbye to Rudy?"
"Yeah," he nodded.
"I thought... maybe, uhm..."
"I'd want more time to say goodbye?" he suggested, to which she nodded. "Well, I'm good. I'm gonna miss him, but hey, I have you now."
The two embraced, before heading back to the herd.
Sid led his Granny by the arm, stopping her from wandering off. They'd just been visiting Precious, Granny's pet whale, and now they were going home. Suddenly, two young wolves came running up to him.
"Rhianne! Herbert!" he greeted them happily "What's up, my bad mammal jammals?"
Rhianne giggled. "Guess what? Mommy said we're going to move caves so we can live closer to you guys and see you all more!"
"It's gonna be great!" added Herbert.
Sid smiled, before lifting both kids into a big hug. "That's amazing! So, when do we get to meet your parents?"
"Uhm...does now work?" asked Rhianne, as Herbert gestured to the bushes. Two adult snow wolves emerged, one male, one female. The female had a flower braided into her fur that sat against her ear.
"Hello," she smiled warmly "My name is Fly (1), and this is my mate Joseph."
"Hi!" Sid called enthusiastically "I've gotta get you guys to the herd! They'll love you!"
"That's very nice of you, Sid," Fly thanked him "Rhianne, Herbert, what do you say to Sid?"
"Thank you!" they chimed in unison.
"Not a problem!" Sid assured them, skipping into the forest. "C'mon, this way everybody!"
Back at the cave, everybody was getting organized for the campfire. Buck and Diesel returned and joined in, leaping around the trees with the possum brothers to string colourful decorations. Louis wouldn't let Taz, after what happened last time she helped the possums with a scheme, so they worked together to set up the fire, waiting for Sid to come and light it.
Ellie had gone to bring back Alex, Kenzie and Ashling, so that they weren't late for the party. Diego was 'keeping Shira company', even though Raz, Gupta and Silas were all in the cave too, but really he was just afraid to let her out of his sight. The cubs were huddled at her side, nursing hungrily, much to her annoyance. Squint and Izzy were rounding everybody else up, minus Oscar, Mikayla and Kate, who were all on their way back anyway.
When they passed Lenny and Zeke, both of Oscar's old friends had to swallow their teasing comments as his glare attacked their eyes. Mikayla chuckled.
"Lighten up, Osc," she giggled, licking his cheek.
He rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, for you."
They leaned in to kiss, but were interrupted by Kate. "Ew! Gross! Mommy and Daddy are kissing!"
"Daddy..." snickered Zeke, until Oscar pushed his face into the dirt. Mikayla quickly covered Kate's eyes and ears, as she didn't want her to see such a bad example, and Zeke was cursing.
Peaches observed the group when where she hung upside down in her tree, a smile forming on her lips. Soon after, she grew tired of watching Oscar and Zeke fighting and Lenny, Mikayla and Kate casually observing, so she broke it up.
"Guys, guys, c'mon! We gotta get to the campfire!" she called, dropping down onto the ground and scaring poor Diesel something awful.
"Dang, Peach! Ya almost gave me a heart attack!" she complained, kneeling on the ground with one paw over her racing heart. Peaches blushed, but Diesel cut her off before she could apologise. "Anyway, Buck told me to find you all and tell ya the party's about to start!"
Without hesitation, the group set off for home.
Sid struck two rocks together, and the sparks landed on the pile of wood and tinder, setting it alight, much to the amazement of Fly, Joesph, and everyone else who was knew to the herd. Dramatically, he took a bow.
"Thank you, thank you," he then moved to stand in a way that would allow the fire to cast his silhouette on the cave wall "I am Sid; Lord of the Flame!"
"Hey, Lord of the Flame," Diego addressed him sarcastically, before pointing to his tail "Your tail's on fire again."
As Sid began to run around screaming like a crazy mammal, Lightning's laughter rose above that of the other cubs, catching both of his parents' attention. "Silwy!" he laughed "Silwy!"
"What's he trying to say?" inquired Flynn. Shira chewed her lip.
"I think he meant 'silly', he's just pretty new to speaking," she explained.
"Wait," Ellie looked up from the fire "How many cubs have spoken now?"
As if on cue, the cubs all repeated their words.
"Dada!" Kendall started them off.
"Razzy!" chimed Hope proudly.
"Dwanger!" Ranger raised a paw towards Squint, who let out an over-exaggerated sigh before placing his head in his paws as Izzy patted his back.
"Silwy!" declared Lightning, still smirking.
"Weasah's!" Jade sat up, a huge smile on her face, gesturing to Buck and Diesel sat together, Buck playing with Diesel's fur "Weasah's!"
Nobody quite knew what she meant, but Louis had a guess. "Uhm, I think she may be saying 'weasels' in little kid language," he guessed correctly. Diesel nodded, a grin forming on her lips.
"Ah...good goin', Diggy," she commented, before turning to Buck and whispering "Think she likes us?"
He nodded slightly in agreement. "Think so, mate."
Their adorable moment was soon cut short by... "D-D...Dw...Dwiggy!" Casper finally managed, gazing at Louis, who blushed.
"D-Does he mean...me?"
Taz rolled her eyes. "Well c'mon, who else is 'Diggy' gonna be?"
"Whatever..." he mumbled, playfully shoving her. Not expecting this, Taz almost fell off the rock she was perched on, but Louis quickly grabbed her paw and pulled her up for a hug.
"An' they were nevah seen again..." finished Raz, before leaning back on her rock, trying to hide her huge, smug smile. She'd been telling the herd a ghost story, and it was...well, let's just say it literally scared the pee out of Crash and Eddie at one point.
Shira turned to Manny and shrugged. "In hindsight, it was really a bad idea on your part to let an ex pirate tell a scary story."
"Yeah, yeah..." he muttered.
After a moment of awkward silence, Kenzie spoke up. "Hey, uhm... I'm not really sure how things work around here, but I was wondering if we could maybe...have like, some karaoke or something..."
"YES!" exclaimed Peaches, before noticing the strange looks she was getting and explaining "I really wanted to do karaoke but I didn't think anyone else would really be into it."
"Are you kidding?!" laughed Shira "Karaoke's amazing!"
"True dat!" said Taz and Diesel at the same time, which caused them to laugh and mime high-fiving, even though they were on opposite sides of the cave.
"I'll go first!" declared Sid, before getting up to sing one of his made-up songs, but Granny stopped him.
"Aw Sidney, let someone with talent have a go!" she complained, hitting him with her stick. Sid agreed quickly, not wanting to have another encounter with his grandma's stick, and pointed randomly at Shira, volunteering her.
"Why me?" she demanded, frowning.
Diego licked her ears. "Well, you have been missing for four months, I think it's time we heard you sing again," he encouraged her. She sighed.
"Fine, what song?" suddenly, she had an idea. "Hey, why don't all of us sing 'We Are'? I mean, we're finally like a family again, right?"
There were murmurs of agreement from everybody, but Manny soon spoke up. "Wait, none of the pirates know it, do they?"
"No, but everyone from my crew knows a little routine," she winked at Raz "And I'm sure the others could pick it up as they go."
Izzy shrugged. "Sounds good to me, right guys?"
They all nodded. Peaches smiled brightly before singing:
"We are, we are, not your ordinary fam-mily, but we can all agree that,"
"We are, we are," Louis and Meghan joined in.
Then Diego smiled at his packmates. "Close as close can be!"
"So it don't matter what it looks like, we look perfect to me! We got every kind of love, I feel so lucky indeed!" sang Shira.
Ellie grinned. "They can keep on talking, it don't matter to me, coz. we are, we are,"
"Family!" the entire group sang together. Then the pirates started their own verse.
Shira&Gupta: "So what, we don't look,"
Squint: "We don't act,"
Silas&Flynn: "We don't walk,"
Raz & Boris: "We don't talk,"
Everyone: "Like you do!"
Gupta, Squint, Raz and Shira: "So what, if we hang, just a-hangin' no shame, we all do what we want to!"
Boris & Flynn: "Coz we come from everywhere,"
Silas & Squint: "Searchin' for ones who care!"
Raz & Gupta: "Somehow we found it here,"
Shira: "We found us a home!"
The rest of the group clapped happily, pleased with their work, before the main herd continued.
"We are, we are, not your ordinary fam-mily, but we can all agree that we are, we are,"
"Close as close can be!" Dex and Bronson looked around in confusion as no-one else had sung.
"That's too close!" declared Granny, hitting Kenzie, who was sitting next to her, with her cane.
"Ow!"
After a nudge of approval from Shira, Alex sang. "So it don't matter what it looks like, we look perfect to me!"
"We got every kinda love I feel so lucky indeed!" contributed Kenzie, rubbing her head.
"They can keep on talkin'," sang Rebecca.
"It don't matter to me, coz," added Lauren
Ashling sat up. "We are, we are,"
"Family!" cheered everybody, before starting on the verse.
Peaches: "Okay so, the links in our chains, makes us strange."
Ellie: "But really they make us stronger!"
Taz & Diesel: "And I wouldn't replace not a thing!"
Peaches: "Mother-"
"Or father!"
"Go Manny!" laughed Sid.
Meghan: "Coz we come from everywhere!"
Louis: "Searching for ones who care!"
Crash, Eddie & Buck: "Somehow we found it here!"
Shira grabbed Mikayla's paw as they sang together "We found us a home!"
"We are, we are, family!" everybody finished together.
And so they all dispersed to wherever they were gonna sleep for the night. Louis dove into the ground and tunnelled off, making the tunnel wide so that Taz could get through too without having to dig, as it wasn't something possums typically did.
After clambering up onto the rock, Taz ruffled Tina's fur. "Night Tina," she said with a smile. A moment later, she sighed. "Really, you aren't gonna say anything? C'mon Tine, you're the only cub who hasn't spoken yet!"
Shira giggled. "She'll speak when she's ready Taz."
"I know..." she mumbled "I just kinda wanted to be around when she did speak."
"Maybe you will be," offered Diego. Taz smiled.
"I hope so," she stated, before turning and jumping off the rock into the hole.
"Tazzie," lisped a small, unfamiliar voice. The possum whipped around, and stared deep into Tina's eyes.
"Thanks, kid," she blew Tina a goodnight kiss before following Louis out of the cave. Shira smiled, before snuggling into Diego's chest. He playfully tickled her, until she growled at him. Raz watched with amusement as the two sabres batted at each-other with their paws, the cubs all scattered around them with large grins on their faces, occasionally muttering their little words.
"Sheila," she called, getting her sister's attention "Thanks. Fer everythin'."
"Whaddaya mean?" Shira asked, smiling "Everyone deserves a second chance."
Then, they all settled down and went to sleep, looking forward to another day with their large, heavily extended family. As Raz closed her eyes, a simple smile formed on her lips. For the first time since she could remember, she felt happy and content. She seriously owed her sister, and the herd, for that matter. After all, despite everything that had happened in the past, they still gave her and her siblings a second chance.
The End
A/N: OMG I can't believe it's over! *grabs tissue to dry tears* Man, it ended so fast...
Izzy: No it didn't! This story is 31 chapters long! And there's the Epilogue!
Me: *blows nose* Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right. Okay, I think I'm good for now. So, did you all enjoy? Me hopes so. Hopefully the Epilogue will be out soon, but no promises because as I said above I do have a fairly important English assessment on Titanic that I gotta write. Now, I guess I'll see you all in the Epilogue *sniffles* Excuse me! *dashes out of the room to go get Ben 'n' Jerry's ice cream*
Izzy: *shrugs* Well, see ya next time guys! Since she's drowning her sorrows in ice-cream, I guess I'll say it. Thanks for reading and please review! XD
Me: *from kitchen* Thanks Izzy!