Angry Birds Reunite - Chapter 9 - Old Friends (Part 1)
"WAIT! THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT!?"
Hal yelled in horror as he heard what had happened to Bubbles back at the lake. Hockey backed away in reaction to his toucan friend shouting all of a sudden. Silver expected Hal's reaction somehow, but still shook a little from his loud voice.
Hal was in disbelief. How did Bubbles not intend to end himself after being so miserable?
"N-no way!" Hal responded. "He… he did try to drown himself!"
"I'm serious, Hal," Silver said sternly. "I witnessed that scene in my own eyes."
"What happened back there?" Hockey asked her, while being cautious about Hal freaking out.
"Bubbles seemed to look frightened back at that lake," Silver replied, "as if someone was behind him."
"Was it you?" Hockey asked.
"Very funny," Silver said sarcastically. "I just told you that I was at my treehouse, watching him through my telescope. There was nobody else besides him."
"But what was Bubbles afraid of?"
"That, I'm not sure. Maybe only Bubbles know, but you know….. the fact he got unconscious after he almost drowned in the lake, he may have forgotten it."
Hockey sighed. Now he knew that incident was unintentional, but what made Bubbles scared to the point of falling into the lake was still a mystery.
Even after the incident in Silver's point of view was revealed, Hal still looked distressed.
"You alright, Hal?" Hockey asked him, calming down a little bit.
Hal stared at the tree, where he, Matilda and Bubbles slept on that night.
"... I….. I wished I told him that I am sorry…."
"Hey man," Hockey patted Hal's back, "we make mistakes, okay? Let's just get over it and move on to our mission."
"Hockey's right," said Silver. "Our friends are up there fighting against pigs….. or evil kidnappers…. in space. We have to get there."
"But is there any way to get to space, Silver?" Hockey questioned her. "If we go there through the wormhole, we'll have to wait for it."
Hal stopped staring at the tree and looked back at Silver and Hockey. "But we don't know when the wormhole will show up, amigos. It will probably took a long time just to appear again."
"Oh…. you have a point," said Hockey.
"The only transportation to space is obviously a rocket," Silver told them. "But we don't have that."
"Aren't you close with pigs?" Hal asked her. "There might be a rocket somewhere in the town."
"Only the pigs in King Pig's castle had access to rockets and spaceship," Silver replied sadly. "As far as I'm concerned, the civilians in Pig City does not own them, unless they're creative builders like Ross."
Hal heard something that he might find important. "Hold the phone. Ross? You know a pig who is a builder?"
"Yeah, his freckles make him stand out from the other pigs. He has a companion that fixes his creations. Why do you asked?"
"Are you buddies with him?"
"Yeah. He actually likes birds. I have a history with him. He knows that I was raised by pigs, so he welcomes me to his house. We're great friends."
"Great! We have a pig ally!" Hal exclaimed excitedly but Silver immediately stopped him just as he was about to move off.
"Now let's not jump to conclusions, Hal," Silver warned him. "He's actually a right hand pig of the King Pig."
Hal became silent. He was being too careless after all.
Apparently Silver and Ross are friends even though they are working in opposite sides. This ain't right.
"Does he know that you're an ally to the Flock?" Hockey asked Silver.
"I never told him, to be honest," Silver responded. "I kept it a secret so he won't freak out about it. He wasn't involved in the flying ship journey."
"Huh. So King Pig did not tell him about you chasing after him during that ship journey then," said Hal.
"What to expect from King Pig? He's very dumb. He sees bird all the same. Doesn't even know me at all despite me being a civilian of his town in the past," Silver said.
"Heh. Boy am I expecting too much from the pigs," Hal said as he chuckled to hide his shame.
Silver giggled. "Well that happens to someone who's alone for a long time with barely any conversation from old friends."
Hal stopped laughing and grunted upon hearing that. He felt annoyed that his guesses were incorrect thanks to his isolation. Even a grumpy bird like Red was still in touch with his friends. It was time for Hal to step up his game and work alongside his friends again.
"Great," Hockey remarked sarcastically. "So what's the plan now that we know that Ross works for King Pig?"
"We'll go to him," Silver answered. "I'll simply tell him that I want to explore planets in space and that's it. As long as we don't tell him that we're finding The Flock and the icy alien to help them retrieve the eggs, we're good."
"Kinda risky, amigo," Hal said, "especially since we're the birds visiting the right hand pig of King Pig."
"I'm quite popular among pigs," Silver told him, "and Hockey is a well-liked celebrity that have most of his fans being pigs. You'll be fine."
"Does he know me, though?" Hal asked.
"As far as I'm concerned, you don't work with The Flock enough for Ross to even mention you," Silver replied.
Hal shook his head. He doubted that the pigs would treat him well. But he never visited the Pig City ever since he left The Flock for a lonesome peacefulness in a trailer in the middle of nowhere. He didn't want to have any business with The Flock, even when they were his childhood friends, when it comes to the eggs being kidnapped by the pigs. That one incident of a party gone wrong with the King Pig becoming crazy and harassing the eggs had since then haunted Hal, as he never expected that kind of violent behaviour to come from the ruler of Pig City. He remembered being kidnapped twice for no reason other than to provoke his old friends, especially Red. When it comes to rescuing his eggs under dangerous circumstances, Hal had no choice but to help them.
The Flock understood his decision to stay out of the war. They knew Hal disliked violence. Funny enough, Matilda, who was just about as peace-loving as Hal, stayed in The Flock to support Red on protecting the eggs from King Pig and his minions. After all, she was dedicated to guard her future children. But how long has this war been even going on? And when will Red's adopted eggs ever hatch? None of The Flock will ever know as long as their task remains on defeating the pigs and rescuing the eggs over and over again. It's neverending. And it's torture.
But this situation is a big deal now. It has taken to a whole new level for Hal. The Flock, except for Matilda, is in space, with an ice alien bird by their side, fighting against pigs for the eggs. And it's not just that, as Bubbles got sick from the almost death incident with unexplained and mysterious reason behind the accident. They are in need of more allies and resources for space travelling and helping The Flock, since this is way beyond their normal routine and that the space itself is very, very dangerous.
Hal had a lot to think on a decision to get the space rocket from King Pig's castle in Pig City. Or maybe it is in Ross's house. If it is in the castle, they'll sure have a battle against the Guards, since birds are forbidden in the castle as they are considered enemies, unless Silver's friend Ross does something about this.
As Hal thought of the possibilities, he made up the decision.
"Silver, we'll go with your plan," Hal told her.
Silver kinda smirked for a bit.
"Huh, it took you a while to consider the decision," said Silver. "I know you told me once that you were kidnapped twice, but trust me, I won't let them touch you."
Hal nodded. He regretted not telling Silver about the situation sooner or later so Silver would have taken this seriously. He had been out of touch with her for a long time and everything had changed.
Hal and Hockey followed Silver to the Pig City, which took quite a short while as her treehouse is near the city.
Matilda and Tony were following the little blue bird with blue eyes as they walked along in the forest. Matilda loosened up a bit on Tony, but she was still upset on the incident at the cruise ship. She was more glad on meeting Dahlia again since it had been a long time since they last communicate. The last time they were together, they had set up a home for orphanage. All of the birds they took in were little girls. They were very lonely since the island is mainly inhabited by pigs. While most of the pigs themselves were nice, the birds felt very isolated from them due to their differences. Plus, Golden Island does not have a city like Piggy Island does with the Pig City. Every location in Golden Island was rural and natural.
Now that Matilda remembered the orphans, she went on to ask Luca another question.
"Is there anybody living with you besides Dahlia?"
"Hmm….. lots of girls," Luca responded. "There's Stella, Willow, Poppy and….. Gale."
Matilda smiled. These were the orphans she and Dahlia took care of back in her days before she moved out. Looks like they are still together after all…
"How are they doing?" Matilda asked again, expecting Luca to burst into excitement and talk a lot about them.
Instead, he frowned.
"Everything's quiet," Luca replied in a low tone. "Poppy didn't play with me that much. She's never that sad. And Stella is in Gale's room…. and never coming out."
Matilda's eyes widen in shock. What happened to them?
"Well at least I'm not taking baths!" Luca exclaimed excitedly. "Stella stopped showering me. So I have lots of fun around!"
Matilda snapped out of her thoughts about the orphans and quickly became disgusted when she heard what that blue kid just said. She gave Bubbles whom she was carrying on to Tony in fear of him getting infected by Luca's unhygienic body. This woke Bubbles up in process, opening his bloodshot eyes as his sleep had been disturbed by a panicking mother.
"Well, that escalated fast," Tony remarked.
"This child is not well taken care of!" Matilda yelled at Tony angrily. "When we arrive at Dahlia's treehouse, I'll give him a bath!"
"Nope!" Luca screamed as he ran away from her in straight direction, causing Matilda to release steam out of her nose.
"GET BACK HERE YOU FILTH!" Matilda shrieked as she chased after him, creating flames on the ground as her speed met the friction of the surface.
Tony sighed. Matilda even took a big deal on children that she just met.
"Wha- … what's going on?" Bubbles asked, rubbing his eyes only to see the burnt pathway as the flames disappeared out of thin air.
Tony noticed Bubbles being awake and looking at him in confusion. Tony was not sure if this was the same bird who antagonized him back at the cruise ship.
"It….. it's nothing," Tony replied. "Take a rest, kid."
But Bubbles did not follow the instruction. "Where's Mommy Matilda?"
"Oh, she's just chasing a bird your age. We're following her, don't worry."
"A bird my age?" Bubbles asked in surprise. "What's his name?"
"Luca. Looks quite similar to me."
"A blue bird... Like….. The Blues…."
"... The Blues?" Tony asked with eyebrow raised. "Is that a bird boy band?"
"What? No. They're my friends!" Bubbles yelled, being unsure about what a boy band was. "Sometimes, I would hang out with them! Their names are Jay, Jake and Jim."
"Oh, Matilda didn't tell me about them."
"Oh, huh." Bubbles then sighed. "I'm still upset that they went to space. Along with the other birds."
Well, that information just came out of nowhere. Space?
"Wait, what?" Tony asked, becoming way too confused. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah," Bubbles nodded and went on to explain. "There was a strange wormhole in the sky that appear for a while and then there was ice everywhere at a place where The Flock took care of the eggs. And they were gone! Except me, Mother Matilda and….. Hal."
Tony's brows furrowed as he listened to Bubbles' explanation. Why hasn't Matilda told him about this before? Is this space part made up or for real?
"It was my fault they had to go to space through the wormhole," Bubbles continued. "Hal and I were far away when the wormhole appeared. Mother was unconscious. If only I could have been there and stop the egg kidnappers with my inflate ability, none of this could have happened!"
"So Matilda, Hal and Bubbles were not with them when that happened," Tony thought. "And how did Matilda get knocked out?"
Bubbles continued. "I never forget about not being part of The Flock in the first place. I could have stayed with them, but nooOOOoooo. The dumb me is so focused on candies that are in the Pig City and not The Flock's place so I lived in Pig City for candies! CANDIES! I'm an useless ally to the Flock!"
Tony couldn't not handle Bubbles' rant, gaining a headache. "Calm down, kiddo!"
Bubbles looked at Tony with widen teary eyes. He doesn't seem to even calm down just a bit.
Tony was not an expert at helping children at all. But he gotta try.
"Take a deep breath. It'll help you."
Bubbles' eyes were moving a bit rapid with pupils shrinking. He did not follow what Tony told him to. Tony was taken aback by the eyes.
"I….. saw something…." Bubbles said slowly as he became scared.
"Saw... something?" Tony asked worryingly.
"...I saw…. a pig…."
"A pig?" Tony thought, becoming confused again. "What is so terrifying about this pig?"
Bubbles couldn't stop shaking in terror. "... a pig… red eyes… a hat….. he's trying to get me…."
Tony looked back to understand what Bubbles was talking about. But there was nobody behind him. It can just simply be his imagination, right?
"... I'm doomed…" Bubbles told Tony, his tone indicating his hopelessness.
"What?" Tony asked as he turned back and saw Bubbles looking completely horrified.
But before Bubbles could answer, he fainted with his eyes still widen open. This sent chills down Tony's spine as he never witnessed that before.
Tony began to wonder about the pig Bubbles mentioned. There is a reason Bubbles is scared of this one pig. This pig is quite unique indeed.
"Could that pig… be possessing Bubbles after I rescued him from drowning? Better check that from Matilda's genius friend. And The Flock going into space? All Matilda ever told me was that they were gone and that's it. That space thing better be a wild imagination of his. Is Bubbles being crazy? Or does Matilda not want me to help her and the remaining Flock? At least if that was for real. Something is seriously wrong here."
Tony ran to the same direction out of his worry for Bubbles. Bubbles' unconscious white eyes discomforted Tony as he had never experienced an incident as outrageous as this. Terence probably knew more, but he was not here. It was just a normal day until Matilda came to his house with a sick child that was psychic for no reason. But was Bubbles possessed when Matilda visited him for the medicine? Thinking about that was still too much for Tony's aching head. Terence is better at dealing with strange and unknown things than Tony. And now Tony had to deal with a child in a situation where it seemed like he was controlled by a demon or something. And this space thing Bubbles was talking about. Tony would need to clarify with Matilda about that.
Speaking of confronting her, he wondered how she would react if he were to tell her what Bubbles told him. Matilda was mad at him for bringing him to a pool and then not stopping him from attempted suicide, in which, now with Bubbles' information, made that incident seemed like the pig controlling the ornate oriole was calling for Tony's attention. The overprotective motherly chicken would definitely freak out about a pig mind-controlling Bubbles. Or she would call Tony an insane bird that needs a therapy, shaming him for believing in a child's lie about The Flock being in space. But Matilda said that she didn't know how Bubbles knew where Tony's shed was back at Helsinki.
So maybe the first possibility will happen.
As Luca finally arrived at his home, he immediately ran up on the trunk and went onto his bed at where his treehouse was.
"You can't catch me!" Luca yelled at Matilda as he blew raspberries at her.
"Who are you talking to, Luca?" A calm female voice was heard, directed at the blue kid. He ignored her as he proceeded to hide in his room.
Matilda stopped at where the root was, her rage immediately shutting down. She recognised the female voice somewhere. She took a look at the home. It was….. different from what she remembered. It used to be well-organized, with every houses on the tree looking identical. Now each house had its own identity. Luca's place was decorated like what one would see in a baby's crib. It fitted well with him. That troublesome attitude of his.
Tony arrived as well, still holding on Bubbles. He saw Matilda having a moment. He then observed the appearance of the tree house that Matilda was focused on.
"So this was your home, Matilda?" Tony asked her.
"It changed a lot from what I remember," Matilda answered softly. "I really missed this place."
Matilda knocked on the trunk as if it was a door. "Hello?" She called. "Is anybody here?"
"Who is it?" The same voice responded. "I'd like to apologize for Luca's behaviour though. He can be so naughty."
Matilda could pinpoint who she was. But she sounded much younger back then. She was already so grown up now. It was a good thing that she kept her polite manners, unlike that idiotic child.
"Oh hello, Willow!" Matilda greeted her happily. "Mommy Matilda is back!"
She could hear gasps from some of the houses clashing together. Matilda looked up to find where Willow was. She heard footsteps hurrying to the ledge, where she could finally see the blue western crowned pigeon.
Matilda remembered that Willow had colorful feathers that seemed out of place with the rest of the body, so she hid them with a oversized colorful hat and fluffy headphones in the past, something that young Silver reminded her of back when she first came to Piggy Island. Now Willow's hat is monochromatic, brown and dark brown, and is smaller than before but is still bigger than her body. And she no longer wore headphones. Just that smaller yet still oversized beanie.
Willow's jaw dropped when she saw Matilda at the ground below the floor board. She looked the same as ever. Those beautiful pink cheeks, highlights on the black feathers, and eyes. The only difference is that she stopped wearing the pink rose she wore on her head.
"Oh my goodness," Willow said in surprise, her tears rolling down her eyes. "Mommy!?"
Matilda smiled. Her favorite bird was getting emotional. She didn't seem to change that much.
"Oh, Willow," said Matilda, "I am glad to finally see my lovely girl again."
Willow instantly jumped off the ledge and landed onto Matilda, making her fall down to the ground. Willow hugged her tightly with her tears dripping on the while chicken's belly.
"Oh, Mother!" Willow cried out. "You don't know how much I missed you!"
Matilda giggled. "Oh, sweetie! I missed you too. How can I forget a sweet little artist like you?"
Willow smiled widely as she wiped her tears off with her dreadlocks and looked directly at Matilda. "I've done a lot! I'm not at my full potential of being an artist, but I'm getting there!"
"Oh, that's great," Matilda applauded her. "Keep working on your talent, Willow!"
Willow then looked up to see two more visitors. What was in front of her was a gigantic light blue fluffy bird looking at her with a pleasant smile.
"Greetings," Tony greeted her, "my name is Tony."
"Oh hello there," Willow welcomed him, "my name is Willow. It's nice to meet you."
She then took a look at what... or who Tony was carrying. Apparently it was an orange oriole that seemed to be about Luca's age. For some reason, he appeared to have... blank eyes.
"Oh dear," Willow said as she came forward to take a closer look at Bubbles. "What happened to this poor child?"
"Bubbles had a freakout," Tony answered sincerely.
"A freakout?" Matilda asked with her eyebrow raised. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything," Tony replied in honesty. "Bubbles told me about how he regretted not stopping The Flock's eggs from getting kidnapped by pigs, from what I assumed, and brought into space. And then he just lost it."
Matilda became surprised to see that Tony knew about The Flock beings in space. However, Willow stared at Tony in confusion. That was unheard of.
"What? Eggs kidnapped by pigs? Space?"
"You heard me alright," Tony said to Willow. "I'm not kidding."
"Oh, Bubbles told you about The Flock going to space?" Matilda asked Tony.
"Yeah," Tony answered. "Is that true, Matilda?"
"...Yes," Matilda responded.
"Oh, so you really do know that they're in space. You said they were gone. Why didn't you tell me about the space part?"
"I forgot to tell you that," Matilda responded in a serious tone, although admittedly feeling guilty about not telling him sooner. "I was fixated on visiting Dahlia, so I am sorry for not giving you that important information. I need your help on my mission to go to space and help The Flock retrieve their eggs from the pigs. Now we're here for Dahlia's help."
"You could have just told me back at my shed," Tony scolded Matilda. "And Bubbles? A male pig is driving his mind crazy. He said it himself."
"I'm sorry, Tony," Matilda apologized again, but then shook as she heard about what happened to Bubbles.
"I'm….. what in the world!?" said Willow being completely unsettled by the idea of a battle outside Planet Earth. What the heck are they doing in space!?
"I was also in disbelief at first," Matilda told Willow, which made Tony think about how she took the information from Hal and Bubbles that The Flock was in space.
"Bubbles told me that you were unconscious, correct?" Tony asked Matilda.
Matilda sighed upon hearing that. "He told you everything, huh? Yes, I was unconscious. Long story short, I was telling my story about my arrival in Piggy Island to Hal and Bubble when I fainted all of a sudden. That was when the wormhole appeared."
"Huh. Your fainting must be connected to that incident," Tony noted.
Willow nodded. "It is strange indeed."
Matilda continued. "Then I woke up and saw that they abandoned me, so I followed their footsteps to a place where The Flock once was. None of us knew where they went, so we decided to wait for them. Then that night, I had a dream... well, it was one of my memories. That time, when Bomb and I had a date at the beach. From there, when we were enjoying the scenery, I fainted."
Tony and Willow looked bewildered. "Wow," Willow spoke out, "you might need to go for a doctor."
"No kidding," Tony commented.
"Anyways," Matilda went on, "when I was unconscious, I had a precognition."
Everybody's eyes widen. Tony felt even more mad on the fact that Matilda left out that fact when she explained her situation to him back at his shed.
Meanwhile, when Matilda was explaining her situation, a yellow cockatiel came out of her room listening to her story.
"Mom?" She said quietly. "She just came back. And wow, that's some story."
The bird peeked at the ground and saw the recognizable white chicken telling her story to Willow and two guests. One of the guests looked dead.
"Whoa," Poppy thought. "That kid ain't looking good."
As Matilda finished her explanation, Tony was about to say something about the vision when he was interrupted by the tall yellow bird, who landed behind Matilda and Willow, bringing a strong wind force against them. Both of them flew off from the force and hit the ground. Willow got up and turned back to see the troublemaker whom she sometimes had issues with.
"Woah, so you saw the future!" The yellow cockatiel exclaimed in amazement. "How cool is that!?"
"Uh, Poppy," said Willow, "that's not very nice."
"I know, I know," Poppy said. "It's just that I never heard of anything as abnormal as that."
Matilda stood up and became mad, unsurprised of Poppy's predictable nature.
"Ugh, it won't be Poppy without a rude welcome," Matilda grunted as she glared at Poppy. "Just as I am done with my explanation, that happen! Ugh." She would demand an apology from her for such an unpleasant entrance.
"Poppy," Willow only said her name as she joined in a glare against her.
"Heeey, can't help my excitement," Poppy smiled nervously while acknowledging the return of Matilda and her angry stare. "Ayy, it's good to see ya' again, Mom!"
Matilda sighed. Poppy had also never changed since the last time she saw her. The last thing she want from her is an outrageous prank against her.
Now back to the real important part. Matilda's future vision.
"Matilda, so the future Terence talked to you in your vision and the past Terence knows about it, correct?" Tony asked Matilda.
"Yes, Tony," she responded.
"Okay, my cousin may be... strange... but even if he didn't know when it will happen, why didn't he warn Red and the others about the wormhole? These birds acknowledged his weirdness, as you told me."
"... I suppose he wanted them to prepare themselves on their own. Then again, Terence trying to get himself deaf was kinda funny honestly. Hey, how come he did not tell you about it?"
Tony sighed. "I don't know. Terence trusted me as his relative and yet he didn't tell me about that. He had his reasons on attempting to go deaf, not gonna tell you why, but I agree with you on that."
Matilda felt angry about Terence. "His methods failed us. I'll confront him once we find him and the others in space. They may be exploring planets right now."
"Space adventure sounds very fun!" Poppy exclaimed in enthusiasm. "I can't wait to fight aliens! Oh, well not that alien thing that your friends are working with. Just the enemies only!"
"Oh dear," said Willow. "What if I'll get nauseous when I explore planets?"
"You'll be fine," Poppy assured Willow. "Dahlia can built spacesuits and oxygen tank for us! Oh, and by the way... Tiny... wait, did I get your name right?
Tony chuckled. "It's Tony, Poppy. Would be very ironic, though."
"Hehe, yeah!" said Poppy. "Your cousin is interesting! I wanna ask him to read my mind, since he read Mom's vision!"
"Don't think he will read your thoughts even if he has telepathy," Tony told Poppy. "You might wanna ask this orange kid Bubbles instead, but he's currently having a problem."
Just as he said that, it struck into Matilda's mind. Bubble's problem with being mind controlled by a pig, who is threatening a child's life. No! That pig better not put his hands on Bubbles.
"I will find that monster for what he did to Bubbles," Matilda swore. "Bubbles has already been through a lot, so I will find that pig and kick his teeth off!"
"Okay, that's just too violent," Poppy commented on Matilda's rage, noticing her overprotective nature. Willow nodded in agreement as she shook from her old teacher's outburst. But she understood Matilda's pain on her fear of losing her child to a disgusting creature.
"I'll bring Bubbles to Dahlia, Mister Tony," Willow offered him her help.
"You think she will figure out about this mind-control thing?" Tony asked, knowing the fact from Matilda that Dahlia had a passion in science.
"Dahlia knows a lot of stuff, including technology," Willow answered. "Maybe she can locate where this pig is coming from with her inventions and understand why he is trying to control Bubbles."
Tony took a while to think. How can Dahlia solve this weird solution? Sure, she is a genius that uses scientific and engineering knowledge to invent things, but what could this mysterious pig be even capable of? His power may possibly be beyond technology and maybe even science itself. Bubbles feared this pig enough to eventually faint. But it's normal for children to be scared of supernatural things. So how will Dahlia tackle this with her knowledge that is limited to only scientific facts and not unexplainable things?
"This strange pig may have a power beyond what we're all capable of," Tony told Willow. "If his power is magical, how can Dahlia stop this with her invention?"
"Oh my," Willow said. "Magical? Hmm….. how will Dahlia stop…. well, there were strange things that happened in Golden Island. And Dahlia didn't know what to do with all of this. I'm not sure if she can help poor Bubbles at all."
Tony sighed. That pretty much proves his point about a scientist handling a supernatural situation being impossible. And those birds also faced some mystical incidents in this island. This day sure is getting better. But is there any other choices that can stop this madness besides Dahlia who may or may not find a solution to Bubbles' problem?
"Nah, she can't help him," Poppy replied. "Remember that incident where Golden Island turned into stone because the Golden Egg was out of the trunk?" Poppy asked.
"Yeah….. but everything was turned back to normal when Stella used the Golden Egg to change the pigs, Gale and all the environment back to normal," Willow told Poppy.
"But let's not forget how that Golden Egg corrupted Dahlia's and Gale's minds," Poppy reminded Willow. "Well, actually, Gale had it worse. Ever since she found that crown on the day we went for camping. But the point is, Dahlia can't solve this mind-controlling problem when she also got kinda mind-controlled as well."
"This problem is getting worse and worse," Tony thought as her furrowed his brows, "because if there isn't anybody to stop this pig from controlling Bubbles, this will be the end of this kid's precious life!"
Matilda noticed the look on their faces and began to wonder about what they were talking about. "Golden... egg? Golden Island turned into... stone? Okay, what's going on? It seems like all of you have been through a lot."
Both Poppy and Willow slowly turned at Matilda. Their faces shifted from neutral to distress.
"Everything happened," Poppy told Matilda.
"Huh….." Tony responded as his thoughts were cut short by Poppy, "so everything bad happened in this island after all. That explains why that kid's upset."
"Oh, right," Matilda noted upon hearing Tony. "Luca told me that everything has been quiet now," Matilda told the girls. "He said that Stella never left Gale's room. What happened? Is Gale alright?"
Willow's frown widen. "No. She's not the same. She stays in her bed all day and she will never get out of her room to hang out with us. She's traumatized."
"This 'Golden Egg' thing made her that way?" Tony asked Willow,
"Yes," Willow answered. "The crown made her seem like a powerful figure. She wanted more power, so she got the Golden Egg to make her even stronger."
"What?" Matilda said in shock. "Gale wanted power? How did this happen?"
"Imma shorten the story," Poppy told her. "Gale found the crown, put it on, pigs found her, made her their ruler, she got obsessed with power, went to search for golden egg, everything turned stone because she took the golden egg, she used it and turned pigs into gold statues, Stella and Gale got into a fight. I'm not sure how, but Gale got turned into gold statue and Stella changed her back using the same egg. Gale saw the egg and she remembered how it changed her and made her gold and….. this is it."
Matilda looked lost. That was a lot of information and they seemed confusing. Tony was not surprised though. He had already heard a lot of strange incidents quite lately. What a beautiful day.
"Gale has been through a lot," Willow said while she was still being sad. "The crown she found changed her. She abandoned us so she can have power over the pigs. I know she was self-centered, but I never knew she could go this far. Now everything is a disaster. She couldn't respond to anything. She's like a statue. She won't move a single inch. Miss Dahlia and Stella had to bath and feed her everyday. I couldn't believe it. We fixed Golden Island that was once turned to stone and threw the Golden Egg into the ocean. Everything was fine until we found Gale like this. Now Stella dedicates herself to Gale because they were best friends. But oh my goodness, she is torturing herself by sticking with Gale all day long without any breaks. We agreed on our plan to take turns on taking care of Gale every week, but poor Stella missed her so much that she started to refuse to leave her alone as days went by. Not even Dahlia could stop her from taking care of Gale all the time. If only she hadn't found the crown on our camping trip would any of these incidents ever happen."
Matilda couldn't believe it. She didn't expect Gale, a bird she remembered being friendly, to go this far. How did all of her friends, especially Stella, had to deal with Gale betraying them like that? Stella had looked up to her, as Matilda could remember from her days of taking care of the orphans. Could that self-centered trait Willow mentioned corrupt Gale… too much?
"I want to see Gale and Stella now," Matilda ordered Poppy and Willow. "Bring me to them."
"Oh boy," Poppy said. "Gale is so going to freak out even more since you have not been here for like a long time. Plus Stella is in her room and she won't be happy either."
"I don't care," Matilda told Poppy, "Stella and Gale are my children! And so are you! I want to help them."
Willow sighed. "It'll take a long time. But we'll bring you to them. And….. what about that child Mister Tony is carrying."
Tony thought about this again, considering the difficult nature of the situation. There was not much of an option to handle this pig situation besides the idea of getting help from Dahlia. While the capability of the unknown pig is still not understood well, maybe it is best for her to figure out a way to stop him from harrassing Bubbles. It is a slim chance, knowing her limits, but Dahlia is the only hope for this.
"Okay, I'll let Dahlia handle this," Tony accepted the offer and he passed Bubbles to Willow.
Willow felt disturbed by the white and bloodshot eyes. What has this evil pig done to him?
"Okay, you may enter our home," Willow told Tony. "Just be careful with yourself since you're…"
"I know," said Tony. "I'll watch out for my strength. I am very strong after all."
Poppy giggled. "I have never seen a big strong fluffy bird before, but I'm cool with it. We don't see male birds around here besides Luca for a long time until you guys came."
"Heh..." was all Tony ever spoke out before all of the birds went up the trunk to the floor board.
Silver, Hal and Hockey were in Pig City almost arriving at Ross's house. The pig civilians around them were doing their own things minding their own business. Some pigs recognized Silver and greeted her with a smile while other pigs asked Hockey for an autograph. Despite them not doing anything wrong, Hal still felt uncomfortable, with their presence triggering the memories of him being held captive. Hal, once a sociable guy, kept a distance away from his friends in hopes of recovering alone in a peaceful and quiet place. While it worked a little, he became out of touch from his childhood friends. And for some reason, Hal also did not hang around with Silver and Hockey despite both of them not being part of The Flock. He made himself isolated.
As he thought about not being part of The Flock, he still felt guilty about not being there for The Flock during the wormhole incident. Then he thought about Bubbles. He was babbling about how he could not become a 'positive' person due to his addiction to sweets for the past 7 years. But could that be his way of saying that he was also guilty of not being there for The Flock?
As they arrived at Ross's house, which just seemed way too average for a house of the builder, Silver knocked on the door.
"Who's there?" A male voice was heard behind the door.
"Hey, Freckled Pig!" Silver greeted him. "Remember me, the crazy falcon?"
Right after she said that, they could hear the door being unlocked before it was open, revealing an average pig with freckles that were the only defining features of the appearance.
"Sil-Sil! How' you doing?" Ross greeted as he hugged Silver.
"Better as always, Freckles!" Silver answered. "Hey, meet my friends! Hockey and Hal."
"Wow, you're friends with a famous hockey player!" Ross said in delight. "How' you doing, birdies?" He asked them as he brought them into a hug.
Hal could feel the hug tightening, rendering him unable to breathe.
"...G-great…. a-am-... amigo….." Hal tried to speak out while his body was being squeezed.
Hockey was struggling as well. "Y-you….you wa-wa… want an auto…-graph?"
"Of course!" Ross replied happily as he released both of them from his hug, making them gasp in air rapidly. "How can I not ask a sports celebrity to sign autograph?"
Hockey took a while to breathe normally again before proceeding to ask Ross. "Good point there. So where can I sign on your autograph?"
"Hang on a sec," Ross told Hockey as he ran to one of the rooms to get his autograph, in which when he exit the room, was revealed to be….. a fan propeller."
"A fan propeller? Why?" Hockey asked.
"Because you're…. cool," Ross replied, trying his best to keep a straight face"
Hockey stayed silent for a moment….. and then laughed at Ross's corny joke.
"Hah….. should have seen that coming!" said Hockey.
"So what are you guys here for?" Ross asked them.
"We're here for a rocket or spaceship," Silver replied. "To go space travelling."
"Woah, that's like advanced stuff," Ross said in surprise. "I barely had any metal materials and fuel to make a rocket."
"So there's no rocket in your house then?" Silver asked.
"Nope," Ross responded. "Don't think it's necessary to keep them in a house."
"What about the rockets in King Pig's castle?" Silver asked again.
"Woah, only high-ranking pigs like me can use the rockets," Ross told Silver. "But I don't think King Pig will be happy with me giving a rocket to anyone, especially birds like you. I understand you wanted to go space travelling and all, but the King is really strict with valuable things in his castle."
"Is he in the castle?"
"Nope. He and most of his minions are in space in search for the alien eggs. There are still guards around the castle, and I am on a vacation from my job as the right hand pig with somepig else replacing my role also in space."
"Why am I not surprised?" Hal thought, not changing his facial expression to avoid suspicion. When it comes to egg kidnapping, of course King Pig and his minions has to be involved in that.
"Funny. How come he didn't bring you into this?" Silver questioned Ross again.
"Mechanical Pig and I are not good enough for such journey. They need pigs more intelligent than us."
Hal and Hockey held back their laughter. As if the pig minions were even smart enough to begin with. Silver could hear a bit of chuckle from them and glared at them, signaling them not to mess up their plan.
"Well, that explains it," said Silver as she moved her gaze away from the birds. "Can we get one of the rockets though? I really, really want to explore space planets. We'll take good care it. We'll stay away from the pigs in space though."
"Still want the rocket?"
"Yes. We need it. If we can't get the rocket, what else can we use to travel to space besides a rocket?"
"Uhh... space shuttle?"
"Nah, that cannot go beyond Earth's orbit."
"Hmm…"
Ross turned around to think about whether or not he would lend the rocket to Silver. Even as the right hand pig, who is apparently on a break from his job, he still need a valid reason to have access to the space rocket. But Silver just want to space travel and explore planets. It's not like she's suddenly going to stop the pigs from stealing the eggs like The Flock, right? She is considered 'one' of the pigs in Pig City after all. Plus, her bird friends don't seem to be the ones from The Flock either. So why would they stop the pigs? They just want to explore. Space travelling would be a great adventure for them.
Ross turned around again to face Silver, opening his mouth as he made up his mind. And it was something that made her, Hal and Hockey smile widely.
"Okay, Sil-Sil," Ross told Silver, "I'll give you the rocket."
End of Chapter 9