A/N: Hi everyone! This idea came into my head several days ago when I was thinking about the part near the beginning of the movie where Horton is talking to Kangaroo at the beginning, and what was revealed about Nool at the end of the movie. Since Rudy is one of my favorite characters (After Jojo of course!), I decided to do this one centered on him! This takes place about two weeks after the movie. For now, this is a one-shot, but if people want me to turn it into a full-fledged story, I'll do so! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Horton Hears a Who in any way whatsoever.
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It was late at night in the Jungle of Nool, a time when nearly everyone was asleep, except those few nocturnal creatures that lived there. However, on this particular night, there was one daytime member of the Jungle who was still up and about.
A young kangaroo stood in a small clearing in the heart of the Jungle, a grove of Nool-trees surrounding the area. The kangaroo, Rudy, carefully scanned the ground near the trees, looking for something.
"Yes! Here's one!"
Rudy, who was quite an inquisitive kangaroo, picked up a small lavender-tinted clover that had been hidden in the undergrowth near the tree. He carefully grasped it in his paw, gazing closely at it. He appeared to be observing every inch of that clover, as if he were looking for something.
"Rudy?" a voice suddenly spoke.
The unexpected voice made Rudy jump a little. He turned around and saw it was his mother, Kangaroo. "Oh," Rudy said softly. "Hey Mom!"
"Rudy, what are you doing?" Kangaroo asked her son, "It's way past your bedtime!" Her expression suddenly changed to one of concern. "Is something wrong?"
"Huh?"
"Is something wrong?" Kangaroo asked again, "is that why you can't go to sleep?"
The young kangaroo shook his head. "No, Mom, I was just thinking."
Suddenly, Kangaroo noticed the clover that her son was holding. "Looking for dust specks on clovers, huh?" she asked with a smile on her face.
Rudy nodded as he gave a quick once-over glance of the clover. "Yeah, but I don't see any dust specks on it." He sighed.
It might seem strange that the two kangaroos were talking about dust specks on clovers, but there was a reason for it: two weeks before, a friend of the kangaroos – an elephant called Horton – had claimed that there were people called Whos on a dust speck perched on a clover. Kangaroo, who hadn't believed him, had nearly dropped the clover and the speck in a pot of boiling Beezlenut oil.
But Horton, thinking fast, had told every one of the Whos to shout to make themselves heard, and the Whos had put every effort they could in saving their world. Finally, it took the voice of one Who – the Mayor's only son, Jojo – to shout one single word: "YOPP!" With that Yopp, the Whos' voices were heard just in the nick of time, and Kangaroo had felt horribly guilty for what she had nearly done. She was soon forgiven, however, and had even talked to the Whos herself several times.
"Well, if you do see any dust specks, try talking to them, and they might answer!" Kangaroo said to her son with a hint of a laugh.
Rudy gave his mom a small smile.
"Now come on Rudy, it's time for bed," Kangaroo said as she hopped toward the edge of the clearing. She turned around, expecting Rudy to be right behind her. To her surprise, he was still in the clearing, holding the clover but looking up at the night sky.
Kangaroo hopped back into the clearing, stopping next to her son. "What is it Rudy?" she inquired with a curious expression. "What are you thinking about now?"
Rudy briefly glanced toward his mother then turned his gaze to the clover, then back to the sky. "I was thinking about something that Horton said to us two weeks ago."
"What?" his mother asked.
"Look up at the sky Mom," Rudy said in reply, "then maybe you'll remember."
Kangaroo did as her son said, and looked up toward the night sky. There was a multitude of bright stars, surrounded by a vast, inky black void.
"What if there's someone way up there," Rudy went on as he quoted Horton without tearing his eyes from the sky, "looking down on our world? And to them, we're the specks?"
Kangaroo had opened her mouth to say something, but her words escaped her. She remembered…Horton had said that before, but she had been unwilling to listen. Now that she knew that Horton had been right about the dust speck on that clover…could it be he was right about this too? It was a curious thought, and her eyes widened as an idea came to her.
"Maybe you should try calling out to the sky," she suggested to her son as she stared up too. "Maybe someone will hear…"
Rudy grinned at his mother, a little shiver of excitement ran down his spine. What if Horton's theory turned out to be true? And come to think of it…there did happen to be a large plant right near them that was shaped somewhat like a horn, the narrower part pointed toward the sky. If he called, perhaps a voice would come through that horn-plant from whatever was above them!
Rudy took a deep breath as he gazed directly up at the sky. His heart shining with wonder and curiosity, he lifted his voice to the sky and shouted:
"HHHHEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLOOOOO!!"
That "hello" echoed through the sky until they couldn't hear it anymore. Rudy and his mother waited for a few moments. Nothing happened.
Rudy took another deep breath and shouted another loud "HELLO!" just in case.
And just as Kangaroo was about to say something, a sudden voice made both her and her son jump in surprise. The voice had come from the horn-plant, and it wasn't an echoing of Rudy's shouts. This was a different voice, and the spoken word rang out loud and clear:
"Hello?"
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A/N: Well, there you go! Like I said, for now, it's a one-shot, but if you guys want more chapters, let me know and I'll make it a full story! Read and review!