Ice Age: Love's Grasp by

Mitchicus

Chapter 8: The Choice

A/N: I'm back! And so you know, only two more chapters! Then we're going to the SEQUEL!

Diego slowly opened his eyes and looked to the side of him; Shira curled up next to him.

"Hey…" He said, the beautiful saber awakening and smiling at him.

"Hell of a night, eh?" Shira asked.

"You bet." Diego said, making Shira purr.

They heard footsteps outside the cave as Nikolai appeared at the mouth of the cave.

"Get up you two; no more time for love. Ryu is taking us to a boat she found that will get us to Europe faster than the tunnels. We'll take the boat while the rest of the herd and Fritz's brigade will take the tunnels."

"What if they're claustrophobic?" Diego asked.

"They'll be fine; it's a wide cave, and it's one way; they can't get lost." The silver tiger responded.

"Ok, then let's go." Shira said, she and Diego getting up.

Nikolai nodded. "Alright, let's go."

The three saw the herd leaving for the tunnels, Ryu waiting for them with a frown on her face. She knew what she had to do. True, she loved Nikolai. But she had decided that surviving in the coming storm was better.

She walked with her head down, Shira beside her and noticing her mood.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ryu lied. "Just anxious about the coming battle."

"We'll do fine." Shira comforted her. "Nikolai has even worked with two of the generals of Kravon who are not too happy about going in against their old allies. That means that it will be 7,000 sabers against 8,000 sabers."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Meanwhile, Nikolai held a conversation with Diego.

"How many prey have you killed, Diego?" He asked.

"Too many to count." Diego asked. "You?"

"tens of thousands; I consider those I slay in battle as prey as well, so that is why it gets so high." Nikolai said.

"Nikolai…were all of those worthy kills…or under Kravon, did you kill the innocent?"

Nikolai stopped, remembering his time as Kravon's second in command.

"It was in the winter. A blizzard had begun to start…" Nikolai said, swearing that he could feel the cold of the snow begin to come back to his feet as he remembered the event.

The large pack stood over the camp, seeing all inside sleeping.

"Kravon, they had nothing to do with the insurrection!" Nikolai exclaimed.

"Silence!" Kravon said in a hushed tone. "When part of my territory rebels against me, the rest of the clans must be shown what will happen to them if they try what they have done. Dimitri, take your team the right and flank them, Nikolai, yours to the left."

"This isn't right!"

The sabers began to move into position, Kravon snarling and going face to face with Nikolai.

"If you are to be my second in command and want to live and the same for your sister, do as you are told; become a murderer, and do what I have commanded." Kravon said.

Nikolai pulled his head away from him and went in front of his sabers, and Kravon gave the signal. All of the sabers moved in silently yet quickly, the sabers inside the camp unaware. Young cubs snuggled up to their fathers and mothers, enjoying their peaceful sleep…now ended.

The sabers roared and began to kill everyone, a great cry beginning to come from the village as men, women, and children awoke and tried to escape, chaos ensuing. Nikolai killed several with his claws, tears streaming down his face as he did what he was told. He turned and saw his cousin Soto killing them all without remorse, and anger burned in him.

Soto trapped a young cub as it cowered in front of a rock, crying for its parents. Soto raised his paw to crush and kill it, but Nikolai leapt into action, tackling his cousin and pinning him on the ground.

"What are you doing?!" Soto roared.

"Leave the cub alone!" Nikolai yelled.

The cries died down as the rest were slaughtered, only the cub remaining.

"Yes Soto, leave the cub alone." Kravon said smirking.

Soto got up after pushing Nikolai off of him and went to the side of his comrades, all eyes on Nikolai.

"Nikolai will kill the cub." Kravon said.

Nikolai's eyes widened. "No, I can't."

"You will!" Kravon roared. "I know that you would prefer death over killing the innocent. How pathetic. But I do know one thing; if I just threaten your sister you will do anything."

"Leave her out of this!" Nikolai yelled.

"If you do not kill the cub, I and the pack will ravage her before your own eyes!"

Nikolai tried to protest, but put his head down in shame. He turned to the cub, the cub crying in fear. He raised his paw, and retracted his claws. Nikolai killed the cub, and thus became what Kravon wanted of him.

The story was hard to stomach for Diego, and Nikolai continued on, trying to ignore it. He had become like Kravon then, and part of his personality was a result of him as well. Diego never had nearly as bad of problems under Koto, but then again, Koto was Nikolai's cousin. Diego couldn't believe that Shira had been so close to him years before but he didn't know it.

Nikolai and the others came to a cliff, Ryu stopping.

"Where's the boat, Ryu?" Diego asked.

"There is no boat." Ryu said, looking down in shame.

"What?" Shira questioned.

They heard a laugh, and Nikolai could recognize it from miles away. He turned back and looked to the hills.

"Kravon, we meet again."

"Yes we do, Nikolai; still on a crusade to save your sister I see." Kravon said.

"It's not like you have any family to protect."

Kravon smiled. "Don't need to; I'm adaptable. I see that Ryu has done her task as she was told, earning your trust and leading you here."

Nikolai, Shira, and Diego glared at her, the female going to Kravon's side.

"You truly have changed." Nikolai said, Ryu not making eye-contact with him.

"We have business to attend to now." Kravon said, looking at the large groups of Siberian sabers to his left and right. "Kill them, kill them all."

Ryu let tears go down her face and she sprinted away, leaving the rest to fight for themselves. Kravon, the coward that he was, left the field as his men closed in on them.

"It's a three on twenty." Diego said.

"It'll be hard to take them all." Shira said.

Suddenly, they heard a growl and saw a female charge at the side of the enemy sabers, slapping two to the ground with her paw and biting another. The three were shocked at the new ally but went forward, beginning to fight the others and catch them off guard. Shira slapped several with her paw, Diego cut more with his claws, and Nikolai impaled his enemies with his long teeth.

This new saber helped them defeat the rest, and soon they had eliminated the force that was sent to kill them. Diego, Shira, and Nikolai turned to the saber, seeing it was a female. She had silver fur like Nikolai and Shira and blue eyes, and smiled at them.

"Um…thank you." Nikolai said blushing.

"I wasn't going to let the Kaiser and his friends die." She said. "My name is Christine; I am from Fritz's division."

"I'm sorry that I didn't meet you earlier, Christine. Thank you for your help. This is Diego and Shira."

"Nice to meet you." Shira said, and Diego nodded.

"The herd is almost completely in the tunnels, we should get to them before they get too far ahead."

"Right behind you!" Nikolai said, receiving glances from Diego and Shira.

He always took the leadership role…today was an exception.

"Ook." Christine said and laughed. "We should get moving now."

"Yes…right." Nikolai stammered.

The three followed their new friend, Nikolai sticking close to her as Shira and Diego conversed behind them, quietly laughing as they observed their friend. Though the group shared a humorous moment, a battle that would decide the fate of thousands of lives was about to begin.

A/N: Ryu betrays the group and the group is saved by a new friend. By the way, Christine belongs to my girlfriend XD. Next chapter: Meditation. The herd prepares for the coming battle, some not too sure that they want to be in it. Please review, share, comment, and please, no flames!