The final chapter is here! My deepest apologizes for the wait. A dear relative recently passed away, and I'm normally a happy person, but I'm not dealing very well with it. At least I finally publish this chapter.

So I leave the sad talking for now: cuz´I want to give everyone who has reviewed, added to story/author alert and favorite, and read this, a BIG hug and many thanks! I haven't been very fast with the updates, but apparently you've managed to not kill me :). Big thanks to:

Tigey Wigey, KaylaDestroyer, mwang, Mad-Face pro c.c, That-Rotten-Acorn, Superstorian, KristenTheKittyCat, RemmyBlack, Hebi R, JustSomeone, TheRYU, Andromakhe, Transformers' BABY, TheDisturbingObjektsFriend and Starzinmieyez! Your reviews have been so funny to read ;) Thanks again!

"Di!"

Diego shifted slightly at the high pitched voice close to his ear. The other voices around him were silently hushed and the saber tiredly tried to return to sleep.

"Diii", the same voice repeated whining. His eyes flickered as he tried to open them. Who was the one talking to him? Adi?.. No. It wasn't the little cub's voice.

"Peaches, hush now", another voice mildly chided. Wait- Peaches? The saber fought against the heavy fog in his mind and finally opened his eyes.

A few blurry figures surrounded him, even if the most he saw was brown fur. As his vision cleared he realized the brown fur in fact was Peaches. She stared at him with big, green eyes and grinned broadly. Diego blinked again, before sitting up. He winced as the pain shook his body again.

"Easy", Ellie's voice told him. Then he felt a trunk on his shoulder, silently offering support.

"What happened?" Diego asked. He made a face at the sound of his own voice: a rasping whisper causing his dry throat to burn.

"You were stuck under those rocks!" Crash piped up.

"I saved you!", Eddie interrupted and dunked his own chest. Crash gave him a sharp elbow in his stomach. "Okay, we then", he added muttering.

Sid, who had dozed of on a nearby rock, suddenly woke.

"Diego!" he cried happily. "You're awake! Aw, come on, give me a hug", with those words he rushed forward with open arms. The said saber was saved by Manny whose trunk 'accidentally' tackled the sloth to the ground.

"Don't", Manny said shortly turned to Sid.

Diego ignored them and carefully stood up. A small hiss through clenched teeth was the only sound betraying his pain.

"Careful", Ellie sighed. "We weren't sure if you would live when we finally managed to pull you out from the rocks." She eyed him critically. "By all means, you shouldn't even be up yet."

He grinned weakly at her. "It takes more than that to get rid of me. Besides, I still have a handful of lives left."

He took in his surroundings, ears pointing upwards. The mountains were behind them, still visible yet hard to see between the leaves. Leaves, yes. They were in a forest.

The saber raised an eyebrow towards the herd. "And how, exactly, did we end up here?" he asked in a low growl.

Manny shrugged. "We had to leave the mountains behind us, and you've been unconscious for a few hours." He stared back at the predator, challenging him to argue.

His saber pride screamed in protest, yet his common sense knew they had had to leave. But still, to be… carried like a helpless cub-

He quickly shook of those thoughts. He really didn't want to think about it. "Well, thanks… I guess", he muttered, hoping his voice sounded ironic and uncaring. He missed the smile on Ellie's face and the amused look back at Manny. "Should we be leaving?" he asked.

"I believe we all needs some rest", Ellie said with a yawn before laying down on the ground. Peaches gurgled happily and snuggled closer to her mother. The possums quickly followed suit, and just as quickly fell asleep.

Sid yawned widely and walked back to his stone. "I don't know with you guys, but I'm dead tired", he exclaimed and stretched.

Manny snorted. "You just woke up."

"Mm, but a sloth needs his sleep. Night." In a few seconds he was snoring soundly. Manny and Diego shared a knowing look before laying down as well. The darkness creeped upon them and the moon cast silvery light over the trees.

The rising sun was beautiful. Stunning. The sky was brilliant blue, in contrast against the orange sun coloring the horizon. Diego had always been an early riser; one of the reasons being the sight of the sun rising and forests waking. Not that anyone had to know that, of course. It was a well kept secret, a threat to his ego and pride. A saber wasn't sentimental. Then again, when he was all alone it couldn't hurt to enjoy the beauty of the nature.

Diego was currently laying on a flat rock a few yards away from the herd. The rock gave him a nice view over the landscape.

Behind him the herd was waking up as well, ready to keep going. The saber rested in the sun for a few minutes more. Thinking.

He was sure it had only been an illusion back under the rocks, caused by a blow to the head and lack of oxygen. Well… perhaps some memories and… wistful thinking?

No, no. Not wistful. Just- memories. Yes, that's it. Memories.

Still, it was worth some reflecting, right? Why had he seen- imagined- little Adi back there? And the others. What was it Krista had said? You gotta let go. Let go of what? His life? No, that wasn't what she had meant.

Diego rested his head on his paws and frowned in thought. The wind blew, a small breeze from the mountains. It ruffled his fur, like a brief touch of the long lost ones. The ones he had called family all those years ago. Had it just been a few years? It felt like another lifetime, or memories of someone else. So much had changed…

He had no pack. No family.

But you do, the wind whispered, blowing towards the herd.

The herd? Yes, he had thought of them as his family a few times. But weren't they just friends, animals he cared about? A real family meant love. Did he love the herd? Diego angrily shook away those thoughts. He was a saber, for pity's sake! Being sentimental isn't befitting for a tiger.

Neither is watching the sunrise, the wind, the voice, murmured repeating his former thoughts. Faint laughter, almost unheard by the saber, was heard. Diego's eyes narrowed. He couldn't call the herd family. Family was something he lost step by step, beginning from his cub days. Family meant love, yes. It meant pain. It meant death. He could never feel something like love again. His ability to love was just as lost as family. He did not love, not anymore.

Only because you won't let yourself.

Diego gritted his teeth. He must have hit his head harder than he thought.

Well, that's a surprise, another voice giggled. I thought you were too thick skulled for that.

Benito's voice. It sounded just like the old teasing, in that other almost hurt thinking like that.

You won't allow yourself to be happy, because you haven't let go yet, Diego. You haven't let go of the past. Of us. A voice sounding like Diana whispered.

But I have! Diego mentally growled.

But you haven't. And now he couldn't argue. In some ways, he hadn't. So that was what Krista had meant. But what was he supposed to do? Forget about them?

Wrong, Krista muttered dryly. That's what you've been trying to do the last few years. You haven't allowed yourself to grieve or miss, only pushing the feeling away. It won't work forever you know. One way or another the memories will break free, and then they will overwhelm you.

Diego didn't answer. It felt stupid having an argument inside his head, yet those small voices sounded wise.

Remember us, they whispered. Remember the happy days, not the bad. There's a lot of good memories, and it's only you who can choose which ones you want to keep. Remember us, so you can let go.

Diego lifted his head from their place in his paws. He wanted to protest again, but why should he? The words made perfect sense. Slowly the voices started to fade even more, before they almost were gone.

Oh, and by the way Diego. Soto forgives you. He says he's not angry anymore. He's only sad that it turned out they did, Diana murmured before disappearing.

A short silence, before Krista whispered to him one last time: We'll be waiting for you, Di.

The wind stilled for a moment before blowing again. This time it was silent. Diego lay still, reflecting over what he had heard. It had been an illusion, right?

"Diego?" the saber turned and saw Sid looking at him. "Uh, we're kinda' leaving now", he informed Diego as he pushed an apple into his mouth. "You coming?" he asked and wiped his mouth. The saber blinked.

Diego slowly stood up. "Yes", he answered smoothly and jumped down with a teasing smirk, easily getting ahead of his sloth friend.

"Wait for me!" Sid yelled and hurried to caught up with the others. "Guys?" Everything was back to normal. Everyone kept walking, the twins kept playing and Peaches giggled happily. Ellie stopped them with a sight, allowing Sid to caught up with them.

Diego cast a look over his shoulder and stopped. The mountains were still visible, if only barely over the trees. Still, it was a symbol in his life. It stood for death, family and memories. And after some time, he would even follow his siblings advance. Even if it only had been an illusion. Who knew, after all? He could be sentimental if he wanted. No one had to know, after all.

"Diego! Are you stuck back there?" Diego quickly looked back at the herd. Manny jerked his head forward, a clear sign that he wanted to keep moving.

"Coming", he called back calmly and hurried forward. When the others didn't see, he looked back one last time and smiled gently.

Yes. His family was at peace. Now he had another one to look after.

Fin

Aaaand, done! It's taken a while, but I said I will finish it :D From now on I will wait for inspiration to strike - maybe write some one-shots, who knows?

Diego: Can you make "one-shots" to "none-shots"?

GirlFromNorth: You're my favorite character: you could at least be polite! ...and grateful!

Diego: Grateful? You almost killed me, slaughtered my so-called family, embarrased me, made me see illusions, almost-

Benito: Oh, whatever! I got killed!

GirlFromNorth: Exacly. Now get out.

Blondie: That's not a very nice thing to say.

Mysterious H: Well, what did you expect? Her to be nice?

Sid: no one is very nice here, if you ask me.

GirlFromNorth: And no one asked you, so shut up.

Diego: For once I agree with you.

And now you will finally get rid of these pointless "behind the scenes". Yep, story-time's over, children. Now, go leave a review and make a certain author very happy. Thanks :)