Takes place within a year of Jewel's wing healing.
It was a beautiful morning in the magical city of Rio and its nearby jungles. All of the locals were just starting their day. But today was different. It was October 30th, the day before Halloween, and while most residents were excitedly anticipating and preparing for a fun filled evening the following night, a certain Blue macaw dreaded this day and had no intention of participating. Or so he thought…
The rays of light from the sun flooded a medium sized bird house. It wasn't a lavish house, but it was home. It was a simple wooden square abode with an orange roof which was slanted a little. There was a circular hole for the occupants to use as an entrance, and some wooden slats crudely affixed to the side as a makeshift balcony. The tenants were none other than Blu and Jewel, the last two Blue Spix macaws known to be in existence. The two macaws were snuggled together in their nest situated in the center of their home. Blu, being the domesticated bird that he is, wasn't too fond of the nest that his mate forced him to build as it was very itchy and stiff. But if that was the price of living next to Linda and staying safe in the sanctuary with Jewel, then it was worth it.
The morning light caressed Blu's face with warmth, and woke him up from his tranquil and relaxing sleep. Blu looked over to see Jewel peacefully resting in his wings. A smile formed on his beak as he moved his head over to his precious Jewel and placed a kiss on her cheek. Being awoken by her lovehawk, Jewel giggled softly and opened her eyes to see Blu.
"Morning Angel. Did you have a nice sleep?" Blu comfortingly inquired while pulling Jewel a little closer.
Jewel smiled and nuzzled her head into Blu's chest feathers, enjoying the warmth and the soothing rhythmic beat of his heart. She took a deep breath and exhaled.
"I slept wonderfully Blu. I was cozy and warm in your wings." She replied, much to Blu's satisfaction.
He rested his head on top of Jewel's head and closed his eyes. Nothing could ruin this moment.
*thud*
Blu cringed after hearing an unsettling thud. He already knew that it meant the end of his morning.
"Yo, what's up hip and hop?" A familiar voice rang out.
Blu sighed.
"Good morning Pedro." Blu replied, still with his eyes closed, a little disgruntled.
Nico came and landed on Pedro's right.
"Hey, how are my favorite lovebirds today?" Nico sang while spinning his bottle cap on his right wing.
The two Blue macaws knew that the samba birds weren't going to leave, so they gave up on sleeping in.
Blu, much to his dissatisfaction, released Jewel from his wings and sat upright. Jewel did the same.
"What do you guys want?" Blu groggily asked while rubbing his eyes with his wings.
"We wanted to know if you two were going to come to our Halloween fright night spectacular!" Nico excitedly answered.
"Yeah, it's gonna be poppin'! You know, POP POP POP!" Pedro added while jumping in the air and throwing his appendages in different directions, imitating a firework.
Blu and Jewel walked out of their house and met Nico and Pedro outside.
"Oh, well you see guys, um, I don't think we can go because, um, because we are kinda busy…when was your Halloween thing? Blu asked while nervously twiddling his wingtips.
"Tomorrow night." Nico flatly answered.
"Yeah, um, tomorrow night. You know, booked solid." Blu chuckled.
"Oooooh, I see. Booked solid hmmm? Sound like someone's a scaredy bird. Eh Pedro?" Nico said while elbowing Pedro with his left wing.
"Haha, scaredy bird!" The two samba kings playfully teased.
"Yeah, yeah. Real funny. Very mature you guys." Blu sarcastically replied while crossing his wings.
Jewel just stood next to Blu, confused as to what Halloween was.
"Ha! These two, MATURE? I'd love to see THAT!" A certain Red Cuban mocked as he landed on the bird's patio.
"Paris? Yo bird, I thought you were supposed to be handling the décor!" Pedro said and put his wings on his hips.
"I finished. Besides, who would want to miss Nico and Pedro screwing another holiday up." Paris chuckled.
"So Blu buddy, you coming to the Halloween spectacular thing? It looks really scary if I do say so myself. Much better than what those two could pull off." The Cuban macaw proudly puffed his chest fathers while pointing to Nico and Pedro.
"You better watch it Paris. Or else you're going to the former last male of your kind." Nico grumbled.
"What was that?!"
"Oh, no. Not again." Jewel groaned while rolling her eyes.
"Hey, instead of fighting, can you guys please tell me what in the world a hall of weens is?" Jewel asked.
Paris, Nico, and Pedro broke out laughing. They laughed so hard they fell onto their backs.
"Hmph." Jewel said while putting her wings on her hips.
"Forget about them honey. Halloween is essentially a holiday where people try to scare each other by dressing up like evil creatures. Oh, and kids get treats by walking up to strangers' houses and saying 'trick or treat'." Blu concisely explained.
"Really? So this is about scaring people and kids getting treats?" Jewel asked, a little surprised that the samba birds were making such a big deal about it.
"Well, yeah." Blu replied and shrugged.
"Did you do anything like that in tiny-soda Blu?" Jewel queried.
Blu didn't have the best track record when it came to holidays, especially Halloween. Every year, he always ended up being scared and fell flat on his face. It all started when he was a chick and Blu was watching a scary movie with Linda. He was perched on the head of the couch, and out of nowhere a ghost popped on screen. This frightened the little chick, and he fell backwards and ended up landing on his face.
Blu remembered the most recent occurrence as his eyes shot wide open and he had flashed back to his last Halloween.
Moose lake Minnesota
"Ok Blu, are you ready to go the party?" Linda asked her blue companion as she walked into the room dressed as a pirate.
Blu squawked happily as a yes. He was wearing a black pirate hat with a red bandanna around his head.
"Come on, let's take a quick picture." Linda said while picking up a digital camera.
She then continued to walk over to the Blu, and extended her arm so he could perch himself on her.
Linda put the camera on a nearby desk and put it on timer.
"Give it your best Blu." Linda instructed before taking her stance. Blu puffed out his chest and gave the camera, what he considered to be, a "pirate" smile.
The camera flashed and made an automated click sound. Linda hurried over to it to see the picture before the preview screen disappeared (because its soo much work to press the green triangle-inside-the-square button).
"Hey, that looks pretty good! I'm going to set this one as my screen saver." Linda said to herself while putting the camera into her pocket.
"Remember, don't go too far and try to stay away from the fruit loops this time, ok Blu?" Linda reminded her companion.
"Ok, ok. I'll stay away from the fruit loops. They were stale last time anyway." Blu replied, but all Linda heard was a squawk meaning that he agreed.
The two friends made their way out of the bookstore and onto the outside pavement. Linda had just finished locking the door and was turning around when she noticed a Canadian goose. She saw Blu was staring intensely at it, and assumed that they knew each other somehow.
"Oh, is this a friend of your Blu?" The red head asked her avian friend.
"Ha, more like fiend." Blu scoffed.
"Oh well, let's get going. You can talk to your friend later." Linda said as she started walking towards her car which was parked on the street next to the bookstore.
Blu watched Alice smile innocently as he passed by.
"Hmm, she isn't saying anything. Maybe she changed! Maybe these birds finally realized that you don't need to fly to-"
"Hey nerd bird." Alice snickered and interrupted Blu's thoughts, seeing that he was caught up in his mind and it was the perfect time to strike.
"What?" Blu sighed, now knowing that he was going to be mocked again.
"BOO!" Chloe jumped out of nowhere in front of Linda and Blu. Blu panicked and lost his balance. As a result, the blue macaw fell. Fortunately he landed in a pile of snow instead of the concrete, but it still hurt none the less. Blu popped his head out of the muddy snow. Alice and Chloe were laughing on a bench.
"HAHAHAHA! Happy Halloween, pet!" Chloe ridiculed while falling on her stomach from laughing so hard.
"Blu are you ok?"
"Blu?"
"Blu!" Jewel screamed at her lovehawk, trying to break him from his flashback.
"Ahh! What!?" Blu yelled, dazed from his memories.
"I think you had a flashback dear." Jewel explained calmly while putting her wing around Blu.
Paris, Nico, and Pedro were just recovering from laughing about Jewel not knowing what Halloween was.
"Haha, whadwe miss, hehe?" Pedro inquired.
"Blu just finished telling me about your holiday." Jewel replied.
"What!? How did you know I went to ipanema beach last Thursday!?" Pedro examined with his beak dropped.
"We're not British idiot! She doesn't mean vacation, she means Halloween." Paris said, annoyed by Pedro.
"O-K. Well, I think it's stupid. Why would you walk around wanting to get scared?" Jewel interrupted and crossed her wings.
"Yeah." Blu said in agreement, quite happy that Jewel was on the same page as him.
"Heh, I should have expected that much from a female." Paris antagonistically snorted. He knew if he played his cards right, he could have some fun stirring the pot. This couldn't possibly backfire on him at all.
"What!? Jewel exclaimed, now infuriated with what Paris just said.
"Yeah, I mean I understand if you guys are scared. It's perfectly fine if you can't handle it." Paris slyly replied.
"I'll make you eat those words! Me and Blu WILL be there! And then we'll see who's scared!" Jewel angrily yelled.
"Uh, oh. This isn't good." Blu thought to himself.
"Hey, what's with all the screaming amigos?" A friendly toucan inquired while landing on the wooden balcony.
"Oh, it's just Paris." The toucan blatantly said.
"Hey Rafi! Where's the family?" Nico asked before giving his buddy a high wing.
"Oh, there right-"
"Ohhh Raaafffiiiii!" A screeching voice called out.
"Eva my love! Down here!" Rafael called out to his wife.
"Um, guys. I think this wooden insert has reached its load bearing capacity." Blu nervously pointed out while taking a step back.
"Are you sayin' I'm fat!?" Pedro yelled.
Before Blu could say anything, Paris cut in and made matters worse.
"Yep, that's exactly what he's saying…tubby." Paris snickered.
Eva then landed on the wooden patio. The frame bowed under the excessive weight.
"Seriously guys, I don't think it's safe to-"
"Come on kids! Your father is over here!" Eva screamed.
A huge flock, consisting of the Toucan's numerous children, darted down towards the birds.
Blu just looked up at the oncoming threat.
"Oh Cheese and Sprinkles."
The balcony snapped under the weight of the birds. All of the feathered friends caught themselves in midair, except for Blu who so scared he forgot he could fly.
He landed beak first on the ground.
"Ohhhh." He moaned from the jungle floor.
It was the eve of Halloween. Blu and Jewel approached the samba club. It was spookier than last time. Somehow the birds managed to get a hold of a fog machine. The effect of the machine was countered slightly by some of the cheap dollar-store decorations Paris put together.
"Ok, go in, go out, and don't get hurt." Blu said, trying to convince himself that everything was going to be fine.
The two lovebirds walked up to the entrance. Pedro came out from behind a wall of smoke. He had a black cape on, which he thought looked scary.
The cardinal walked up to his friends while holding his cape in front of his face like a vampire.
"Are you ready to be scared?" He said in a pseudo Transylvanian accent.
"Uh, no. Ok Jewel lets go home." Blu started walking away but Jewel grabbed him by the scruff.
"Yeah, let's do this." Jewel answered for herself and Blu with determination in her voice.
"Ok, if you can make it through this haunted house without screaming, you win." Count Pedro explained.
"Let's go Blu, come on!" Jewel said excitedly while pulling Blu by the wing.
Jewel fearlessly was walking through the dark corridor that the samba birds had constructed inside the club. Blu was cowering behind Jewel, just wanting this evening to be over.
What the two birds didn't know was that Paris was hiding behind a black tarp, waiting to scare anyone who came by.
As Blu and Jewel approached Paris's hiding spot, the Cuban Red Macaw jumped out and screamed at the two lovebirds.
"Boo!" He yelled out. It was slightly muffled as he was wearing a mask made from a pillow case cut out.
Jewel, who was on edge, responded by punching the ghoul in the face.
"AHH! My Beak!" Paris cried out in pain while holding his face with his wings. He fell onto his back and his mask came off.
"Paris? What as that for!?" Jewel interrogated as she put her wings back to her sides.
Blu nervously peered over Jewel shoulder.
"I was supposed to scare you guys, not get punched in the face." Paris grumbled while rubbing his beak.
"Hey, you didn't tell me anyone was going to pop out like that." Jewel countered.
"That was the point!" Paris retorted and then got back up onto his talons.
"Ow, I think it's broken." He groused under his breath as he walked back to the entrance.
"Um, Jewel. Maybe we should go. You know being scared is a good thing. There is no shame in fear." Blu said while moving next to Jewel.
"Hey, I'm not scared." Jewel replied and put her wings on her hips.
"I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about me. Please Jewel, I don't want to do this." Blu whined as he pleaded to Jewel that she reconsider.
"Come on Blu, you can do this. At least do it for me?" Jewel said persuasively as she batted her eyes.
"Ohhhh, fine." Blu sighed in defeat and crossed his wings.
"But I don't like it." He added.
"Thank you my big strong man." Jewel cooed and pecked Blu on the cheek.
Blu chuckled in bliss.
"Ok, now let's do this!" Jewel confidently said as she and her lovehawk made their way further into the "haunted" club.
As they were walking, the two blue macaws came across a metallic box.
"Hmmmm." Jewel hummed skeptically.
Suddenly a clown popped out of the box. Blu was about to scream, but Jewel grabbed his beak with her wings and held it shut.
"You can do this Blu." She said trying to encourage him. Jewel then put Blu's head under her left wing as to prevent him from screaming and losing the game, and took off with Blu down the hall. Blu did his best to keep on his talons. It was difficult to run when your beak was being held shut. The two macaws made their way through the club, avoiding various spooks and scares along the way.
Very superstitious, writings on the wall,
Very superstitious, ladders bout' to fall,
Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin' glass
Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past
Blu and Jewel turned a corner and saw numerous Zombirds limping towards them. Blu eyes dilated as he started whimpering. Jewel darted down another hallway, away from the walking dead.
When you believe in things that you don't understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition ain't the way
The two blue macaws soon found themselves in a large, circular room with a myriad of doors. All around them were Cyclopes. (Actually macaws in costumes using stilts, but it was convincing enough due to the darkness hiding any imperfections.) Jewel pulled Blu through the first door she saw.
Very superstitious, wash your face and hands,
Rid me of the problem, do all that you can,
Keep me in a daydream, keep me goin' strong,
You don't wanna save me, sad is my song
Blu and Jewel arrived in a long corridor. They looked up to see dozens of black widow spiders descending from the ceiling by means of their silk.
"Hrmgrml!" Blu squealed, but was muffled because Jewel continued to hold a firm grip on his beak.
"Hold on honey, we HAVE to be getting close." Jewel said as she and Blu ran down the long stretch of hallway. The spiders were actually fake and were being lowered by black hawks, who blended in with the darkness, with fishing wire.
When you believe in things that you don't understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition ain't the way, yeh, yeh
Blu and Jewel found themselves in a shrinking rectangular room. The walls were literally closing in on them! They saw a hole in the ceiling, and Jewel finally relinquished her grip on Blu. She nodded at him, and they both flew up to the hole.
Very superstitious, nothin' more to say,
Very superstitious, the devil's on his way,
Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin' glass,
Seven years of bad luck, good things in your past
Coming out of the hole, the two birds arrived in an elongated passageway with a light coming out from the other end. There was knight armor equipped with medieval weapons staggered along the hallway and a red carpet draped over the floor.
"Seriously!?" Blu complained.
"This is it Blu! Come on!" Jewel excitedly squawked when she noticed the exit.
Blu and Jewel ran down the corridor. The knights started dropping their heavy metallic weapons on the ground, nearly cutting Blu's tail feathers, as the macaws ran by.
When you believe in things that you don't understand,
Then you suffer, Superstition ain't the way, no, no, no
"Haha, I-I actually did it! I finally conquered my fear!" Blu happily said to himself when he realized that they had almost escaped this place without being severely hurt.
Blu didn't notice that there was a section of the red carpet that had a hump. Blu clumsily tripped over the carpet and slammed into a nearby wall.
"Waaaa!"
Suddenly the entire skeleton of the haunted house collapsed. The whole structure, due to poor engineering on the samba bird's part, deteriorated. After the dust settled one could see multiple bird couples standing in different places along the former hallways and rooms. Blu got back onto his talons and brushed himself off.
Jewel was facing the exit. She was only a few centimeters away from victory.
"Looks like they don't make haunted houses like they used to. Right Jewel? Jewel?" Blu anxiously remarked while twiddling his wingtips.
Jewel turned around and faced Blu with a death stare.
"Hehe. Well, at least I wasn't hurt this time." Blu chuckled nervously.
"Oh, don't speak too soon." Jewel angrily replied. She cracker her neck and darted towards Blu.
"AHHH!" Blu screamed in horror.
The male macaw took off into the sky, flying for his life.
Nico and Pedro were standing in shock. They just started at the mess.
Rafael walked up to the Canary and Cardinal.
"Well Rafi, I guess we don't need Eva to be the screeching banshee anymore." Pedro said to Rafael.
Rafael cringed.
"WHAT!? RAFI! I THOUGHT YOU SAID THIS WAS A HALLOWEEN SINGING RECOGNITION CEREMONY!"
"Thanks." Rafael sarcastically said to the two samba birds. He promptly took off, fearing what Eva was going to do.
After a few moments, all of the birds who were participating in the fright night had left, as well as the birds who were working the special effects who just liked scaring random birds.
"Well, at least we're not like Blu and Rafi. WE are free." Nico sighed.
"Yeah, free to clean up this mess. I'm outta here, my beak is killing me." Paris groused before flying away.
"Dang. He's right. Man I don't wanna be free, I want to be chased and mauled viciously by the bird who loves me!" Pedro cried.
Nico started tearing up as well.
"Yeah man, me too! Hold me Pedro!" Nico bawled and the two brother-buddies hugged each other. They were mostly sad because they had to clean up the entire samba club, and had no excuse to fly away from it.
Later that Night
"Owowowowowow." Blu whined as Jewel caringly pushed a small pillow under his neck. Blu was on a couch in Linda and Tulio' cottage.
"Sorry honey." Jewel apologized. She stroked Blu's head and pecked him on the forehead.
"I still don't understand how you managed to fly into an electrical fence, and a trolley, and a tree." Jewel said confused.
"It wasn't easy, ouch." Blu yelped in pain as he was adjusting himself on the couch.
Linda walked in with a tray of food. It had two cookies and a mug of hot cocoa on it.
"How's my big brave boy doing?" Linda asked as she set the tray down on a nearby coffee table.
Blu squawked weakly.
"Don't worry Blu, Tulio said you'll be back to your old self in no time." Linda warmly replied and carefully scratched Blu under the neck.
She finished scratching Blu and returned to the kitchen.
"You two let me know if you need anything." Linda instructed.
Jewel squawked in recognition.
The female blue macaw turned her attention back to her Blu.
"I'm sorry Bluey. I can't help but feel like this was my fault." Jewel started crying.
Blu wiped a tear off her beak and ran his wing across the left side of her face.
"Jewel, it's not your fault. I get hurt every Halloween. But having you with me is all I need. You're my one and only Jewel, and I couldn't be any happier right now.
"Oh Blu." Jewel sniffled and bulled Blu into a passionate kiss.
The two macaws enjoyed the rest of their evening together in peace, just happy that they were together.
Back at the samba club, Nico and Pedro had called it a night and went back home to rest. Another long day of cleaning was ahead of them.
It was quiet, well until a certain Bulldog ran up with a fruit basket on his head.
"Hey Birds! I'm heeeereee! Who wants to ride in my fruit basket?" He excitedly barked.
"Birds?" His repeated, but his voice just echoed.
"Hey, they left without me! That's messed up!"
And that concludes the first Special! Hope you enjoyed. Feel free to tell me what you think in the comments. Until next time, Egilmaster out!