Author's note: I wanna wish you all a happy new year before we begin this new chapter. Let's hope that 2021 will be better than 2020!

Blu's wingtips gently caressed Jewel's head feathers, his chair located right next to the patient's bed making it easy. A frown formed on his face as even those were feeling hot to him. No wonder the two owls decided to put a wet towel on her forehead after bringing her back to her bed. Blu couldn't help but feel guilty of her state as she wouldn't have had to leave her bed if he and Nightfly had not broken into the old building like they were getting into enemy territory.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Blu carefully asked.

"A little... better," Jewel replied, coughing a bit. Even though she managed to speak longer than before, it was clear that her forces weren't completely back.

"It's gonna take some time for her to feel better," Amelia pointed out. The barred owl was currently on the other side of the room, pulling all the equipment in order over the table. "The medicine Alex made for her should have done its effect by now. It won't heal everything, but the pain should be more tolerable."

"I wanted to thank you guys for helping Jewel," Blu gratefully expressed without pulling his wing away from his girlfriend. "I don't know what happened. She was in a perfect form when we came here, but after Nightfly and I left her, she just fell like this. You said that's the state you found her in, right?"

"Yup," Alex confirmed just before hopping onto the little crate he left next to Jewel's bed. "I'm still gonna do another check-up to make sure nothing is going wrong or out of the ordinary." Reaching his wings, the kid carefully pulled the bedsheet off his patient, exposing her torso. Then, he closed his eyes and placed one wing over her stomach, running it all over her body. If he wasn't a kid, Blu would've probably had suspicious thoughts.

"You said you're the one who carried Jewel over here and made the medicine to help her, right? Forgive me, but that's a bit hard to believe," Blu pointed out. "She's bigger than you in terms of size and... No offense, but aren't you a bit young to practice medicine?" Before being able to ask another question, Blu felt a tingling sensation in his... He wasn't sure how to call it. His 'magic smell'. He found himself staring down at the pink gem lodged in the middle of Alex's stomach, realizing that it was glowing a bit.

A wing came to touch his shoulder and Blu turned around to see Amelia staring at him. "I have the answers to all your questions. This little gem you see in Alex's belly is special," she explained, designing the object in question with a wingtip. "It allows him to see inside things to a microscopic level."

"T-To a microscopic level?" Blu repeated, blinking his hazel eyes a few times.

"Indeed. By touching someone's body with his wing and closing his eyes, Alex can see everything inside - the bones, the bloodstream, the organs both inside and outside, the bacteria, everything! That's why Alex's power is so useful in the medicinal department; while a normal doctor has to make his patients go through a series of tests before being able to determine the source of the problem, Alex can directly see it and find out what treatment to apply. That's how he was able to determine your friend was sick with the Zika Virus and give the proper remedy."

Just as Amelia finished her explanation, Alex retracted his wing, opening his eyes and pulled the bedsheet over Jewel once again. "Okay, nothing has changed so far. The Zika Virus is still in her system, but her body is fighting it off. I'd say she's gonna win this with enough rest. However..."

Noticing the pensive look on her friend's face, Amelie decided to ask: "What's bothering you, Alex?"

"Well, a mosquito's sting is usually supposed to 0.1 millimeters in diameter, but the sting mark in Jewel's neck where the Zika Virus came from had 10 millimeters in diameter. That's a hundred times the size of a mosquito's sting."

Blu blinked his eyes at this statement. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not sure. Between this and the fact that the Zika Virus in Jewel's system has different properties from the normal one, something feels... off," Alex explained, rubbing his chin with a wing to think about all of this. He eventually looked up at Blu. "Have the mosquitoes of Brazil mutated in the last few years? Did they grow bigger with a new version of the Zika Virus?"

"Not that I know of. This is weird alright..." Following this statement, an uncomfortable silence settled in the room. Blu decided to change the subject of conversation to break it. "So, Alex, if you really can see the insides of anybody, does it mean you could give a check-up to mine? I don't feel particularly bad, but it'd be good to know that my body is in good condition, you know."

Alex gave a little shrug. "Sure, if you want." The kid proceeded to touch different parts of Blu's body - his stomach, chest, wings, neck, back, and head - with his wing and his eyes closed. His tummy gem glowed, bringing a pinkish light in the otherwise dark room. About a minute later, he opened them again and gave his verdict. "Well, I didn't see anything wrong, but if you want professional advice, I'd recommend you to go easy on sugar. It could raise your blood pressure and increase your chronic inflammation, both of which are pathological pathways to heart disease."

"Oh? Huh, okay." Blu sheepishly rubbed the back of his head with a blush. It was true that he went to Linda and Tulio's home to enjoy some of his favorite sweets like cookies and hot chocolate quite a few times in the last week when not busy training with Nightfly. "So, tell me, Alex, it's quite a special gem you got there. If you don't mind me asking, where'd you get it?"

This question seemed to have hit the wrong string: Alex's facial expression darkened, his golden eyes zeroing down to the ground. "Hum... It's..."

"Alright, it's getting pretty late!" Amelia suddenly broke into the conversation. "Alex, I think you should go to sleep if you wanna be in form tomorrow. I'll go get your sleeping bag."

The barred owl left the room, returning a few moments later with a sleeping bag that she unrolled on the floor. Alex slipped inside it, his little figure making it very easy. Then, Amelia proceeded to gently stroke the top of his head with her wing, watching over him with a soft smile until he closed his eyes and fell asleep. This sight brought a warm feeling to Blu's heart - like seeing a big sister taking care of her little brother.

Once she was certain that the little snowy owl was sound asleep, Amelia backed up and turned back toward the Spix's macaw. "Sorry for cutting you off like this, but you were approaching a subject that's very sensitive to him."

"Why's that?" Blu asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"You two are from the Owl Kingdom, aren't you?"

Both macaw and owl turned around toward Nightfly. Ever since entering the room, the hooded wizard did nothing but sitting on a chair in a corner, giving a deep, thinking look at Alex and Amelia. This picked Blu's curiosity as, while his teacher was known for being rather quiet, he'd have expected him to at least ask a few questions regarding Jewel's well-being or the mysterious powers possessed by Alex.

"Excuse me, what?" Amelia asked.

"I said you two are from the Owl Kingdom, right?" Nightfly simply repeated, keeping the same expression.

"... Oh, so you figured it out on your own?"

Blu's gaze switched alternately from Nightfly to Amelia, his facial features twisted by confusion. "... Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second, what are you guys talking about there? Owl Kingdom? What's that? And why don't you wanna talk about it in front of Alex?"

For the first time since entering the room, Nightfly looked away from Amelia to stare at his pupil. "You remember that I am from another world, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, believe it or not, my young student, but it is merely one world amongst tens of other ones out there. Outside your world and mine, there are many more that have their own society, culture and ways of life... One of them being the Owl Kingdom. As you can tell by its name, it is a world mostly populated by owls, like the two of them," Nightfly explained, designing Amelia and Alex with his wing.

"Yup, it is a world of wisdom and knowledge," Amelia confirmed with a nod from her tall head. "While not very similar to your world, we are very advanced in terms of technology and cognition. We also have our own religions and beliefs. In this world, owls like Alex and I are revered and exalted - even if we are the most common species around, people have been holding us in high view for generations." The barred owl's expression darkened during the pause she marked before continuing her speech. "Unfortunately, respect isn't reserved for ALL of us..."

If she wanted to pick up Blu's curiosity, it worked. The idea of learning the existence of yet another world was already exciting, but adding the fact that it had a connection to the two avians who just saved his girlfriend - the young kid who possessed an incredible power and vast knowledge in the medicinal department in spite of his young age only added fuel to his curiosity. A hundred different questions was storming in the young macaw's mind, making him desire to dissect and analyze this other world.

Without getting too far from Jewel who fell asleep a while ago, Blu pulled his chair closer to Amelia, a look of excitation plastered on his face. "Tell me more! I wanna know everything you can tell me!" He forced himself to speak at the whispering level, not wanting to wake up either Jewel or Alex.

"Okay. Alex and I are from one of the three countries of the Owl Kingdom, the Sun Country. The other two are the Moon Country and the Eclipse Country. Our village is called Cloudsdale, a beautiful little community located high in the sky. From up there, we can see the entire continent down below, and we are also blessed with the most gorgeous of sunrises and sunsets... Though the days of storm can be a little hard too..."

"Did you just say a village in the sky? How's that possible?"

"Oh, that's a long story; Cloudsdale has existed for many generations. According to history books, the ancient people of the Sun Country decided to build their home up on top of pointy rocks reaching very high because the ground became too dangerous to live on, the trees not protecting owls from the many predators. This is why they decided to-" The barred owl stopped her explanations, blinking her golden eyes many times and shaking her head. "Wait a minute, we're straying away from the main subject, here! What was I saying already...?"

"You informed us that your kingdom was divided in three countries and that you and Alex were from Cloudsdale," Nightfly responded, his wings crossed together.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. So, back in Cloudsdale, I studied under many experienced maesters to become one myself. Thanks to the Great Library, we had access to the best knowledge in terms of medicine which allowed us to forge great doctors and maesters. Not to pat myself on the back, but thanks to my talent, everybody in the village was seeing me as a prodigy and the next big doctor of Cloudsdale. For Alex, however..."

Somehow, Blu could tell that the dark part was coming up. "For Alex what?"

"... Alex always stood out because of his gem." Looking over at the kid, Blu saw the pink jewel peeking out due to the sleeping bag only covering the bottom half of his body. This was mostly because, being a snowy owl, he wasn't too affected by the cold temperature. "For your people, this might be a blessing... but in the Owl Kingdom, owls born with gems conferring them powers are called 'Anomalies'."

"Anomalies? Why's that?"

"I don't know the whole story, but apparently, back in the earlier times of the Owl Kingdom, our lands were walked over by monsters of crystal and diamond. They were described to be the equivalent of what the people of your world call 'Demons'. Of course, today, they have all disappeared, but for reasons nobody understands, some owls are born with remains of those being in the form of gems lodged in different parts of their bodies which give them powers."

"Those born that way are very badly perceived by our society, hence the name 'Anomalies'. Since they have remains of monsters as part of them, Anomalies are either ignored or worse, mistreated by the Owl Kingdom. Alex is no exception..."

FLASHBACK

Olwen proudly stood on the edge of a cliff, watching the sea of clouds down below. The strong wind that could only be found in the skies blew against his nut-brown and white feathers, his heart-shaped face keeping a neutral expression. His shoulders were decorated by a beautiful dark-blue cape that danced in the wind and reflected his importance as defender of Cloudsdale. Seeing him, one would quickly understand that he was everything a barn owl should be: strong, silent, firm, gracious, and intelligent.

"From this day on, I will be your master, Alex," the barn owl mumbled slightly louder than a whisper, his strong voice managing to pierce through the sound of the wind. Keeping his back straight with dignity, he turned around to face the young snowy owl chick who stared up at him with his little innocent eyes. "You have a lot of talent, young one. With enough work and concentration, you will become just like me, I can guarantee you that."

"Yes, Master!" little Alex beamed. His heart was beating faster than ever before at the idea of becoming just like the beloved defender of his village.

"Do you know why I selected the name you bear today? Because 'Alex' is an acronym standing for 'He who defends and protects'," Olwen explained his pupil. "In other words, it is the perfect name to reflect the role you will eventually play. You might have been born as an Anomaly, but under my tutelage, you will become one of the best warriors the Sun Country has ever seen." The barn owl stepped forward, kneeling at the level of his student. "Now tell me, Alex, what is the most important skill any owl must possess?"

"The most important... skill..." The little snowball looked down, narrowing his eyes as he attempted to find the answer. "It's... flying?"

"Yes, that's it! An owl who cannot fly is like a fish that cannot swim; useless and vulnerable." Olwen turned to design the sea of clouds with his wing. "I want you to take off this cliff and fly around for a bit. Due to the altitude, the winds here are very powerful; an owlet your age should normally not fly around here. But as the future defender of our village, you have to be ready to take risks. Now go!"

Stepping over to the edge of the cliff, Alex couldn't hold back on swallowing a lump in his throat. He didn't have a lot of experience in terms of flying, and the wind here seemed very powerful! But... he couldn't disappoint his master now, could he?

So, straightening his back, he opened his wings and took off...

A few moments later, the young snowy owl was back on the cliff, resting on his knees, and taking deep breaths. His snow-white feathers were a true mess because of the literal storm he went through. He soon got to see a pair of talons stepping before him and looked up to see the disappointed expression on Olwen's face.

"Well, I gotta say it was pretty... disappointing, Alex," the barn owl expressed with shaking his head in disapproval. "I expected a lot more from my pupil. Now, go where I won't have to see you again for the rest of the day. We will try again tomorrow..."

Without saying anything else, Olwen turned around with an air of indignation and walked away, leaving Alex with a sad expression behind...

FLASHBACK ENDS

"He really did that?!" Blu exclaimed with a shocked and somewhat mad expression on his face.

"Shh!" Amelia quickly hushed him with a feather before her beak, tilting her head toward the sleeping figures of Alex and Jewel.

"Oh, sorry..."

"But yes, that's what happened on his first day with Master Olwen. And, unfortunately, it didn't stop there," the barred owl added, the frown on her face growing stronger the further she went into her story. "That old geezer was beyond severe with Alex, making him go through a restless training and doing everything he could to make him feel like pigeon's crap whenever he didn't live up to his expectations. Then, came the day he and I finally met..."

FLASHBACK

Alex continued to disappoint Master Olwen in every single training he found himself in. As if that wasn't bad enough, he had to continuously deal with all of Cloudsdale hating him, bullies coming to brutalize him at every chance. One day, as he attempted to go back home, three screech owls blocked his path and proceeded to beat him down. Since he wasn't strong enough to defend himself, all he could do was lie down and attempt to protect himself from the blows with his wings.

"Take this! And that, the Anomaly!" one of them beamed with cruel amusement, kicking the snowy owl down every time he attempted to get back up.

"S-Stop!" Alex begged, somehow managing to look up at his aggressors. "You already beat me up yesterday; why are you always doing this?"

"It's very simple, Anomaly; it's fun!" another one replied before stomping on Alex's tail feathers, making him yelp in pain.

Then, the third and strongest-looking one of the bunch curled his wing into a fist, bringing it back as far as he could for maximum effect. Whimpering in fear, Alex covered his face and braced himself for the punch to come. But it never did. After a few seconds, he dared opening his eyes again and saw the tall figure of a grey owl in the way.

"Can I know why you guys are picking up on a kid?" the barred owl asked in a low, threatening tone, her eyes narrowed into a deadly glare.

"A-Amelia?!" the three screech owls exclaimed in unison. "I-It's not what you think; this guy is not just an ordinary kid. It's this Anomaly: you can see the gem in his stomach!"

"And I'm supposed to accept this as a reason to hurt him?" she snarled. Amelia easily towered over the three screech owls due to the difference in size between their species. "Listen to me very well: Anomaly or not, there's no - and I mean NO good excuse to beat a kid up! Now, get out of here before I start testing the level of pain each of your nerves can experience!"

She didn't have to ask it twice as the screech owls yelped and flew away in fear. Once they were out of sight, she turned toward Alex, her deadly glare replaced by a soft look of worry. "Are you alright? They didn't hurt you too much?"

"It's okay; they did worse before," Alex replied, taking Amelia's wing to get back up and dusting himself off.

"Before? You mean this isn't the first time they brutalized you like this?"

"Well, yeah, they do it on a regular basis actually," Alex explained. "I'm not strong enough to fend them off and my flying isn't good enough to escape them, so all I can do is endure." He looked down with a sad expression. "I don't like this... but I can't do anything to change it..."

"It's gonna change at this very moment, I'm telling you," Amelia suddenly declared with the most serious expression in the world. "From now on, I'll follow you everywhere you go in the village; I won't let you out of my sight."

Alex blinked his eyes multiple times. "I... What? You're just gonna follow me around like a babysitter?"

"Yup, sir."

Alex wasn't sure how to react to this. Ever since the day he came to Cloudsdale, nobody has ever been kind to him... Well, except Master Olwen during their first day together. But this barred owl... she was ready to take his defense while they barely met? At first, he thought it was some sort of joke... but her tone and the smile on her face were both genuine.

"Hey, would you like to follow me home? I have some studies on my recent medical class to make tonight. You do know about medicine, right?"

"Hum, not really. Is it interesting?"

FLASHBACK ENDS

"And so, from this day on, Alex and I spent some time every day studying medicine together. To him, it was like taking a break from the harsh training and the hate he received from the village," Amelia concluded. "When he learned about this, Master Olwen expressed his disagreement, affirming that Alex didn't need medicinal knowledge; just flying prowess and fighting experience. However, I made it clear that Alex would study with me as long as he wished - there was no way that old geezer was going to take away what little fun time Alex could have in the village. And nobody ever bullied him again, you can believe that..."

Blu was left utterly speechless by this story. "... That was... I... Oh my god, Amelia, that's a horrible story. I didn't know Alex had such a hard time. But that doesn't explain how you ended up here, in Minnesota."

"I was coming up to it. Alex and I spent a lot of time together not only studying medicine but also doing other activities. It wasn't long before we became best friends," the barred owl mused, remembering the memories. "He asked me multiple times to remove the gem from his tummy so that he could be a normal owl... But no matter the tool I used or the strength with which I pulled at it, the gem just wouldn't come off. At best, I had to stop because the process was too painful for him. However, during one test on a corpse, we discovered his hidden powers, but decided not to tell anyone as they would've probably brushed it off as a proof of his Anomaly curse."

"For a bit, everything was okay... Then, came that day...," Amelia continued, her expression getting dark once again.

"One day, our village got attacked by pirates - not just small fries that can easily be taken care of; an entire fleet heavily armed and looking to steal our belongings while also destroying our home. We had to hold on until the forces of our neighborhood villages could come to help us. Master Olwen and Alex went to pull the village's defensive system on to hold the pirates back. However, Alex made a mistake that caused a breach in the defense, allowing the pirates to enter and cause damage to our homes. While nobody got killed, the village was severely damaged before the other villages could come to our help - it would take an eternity to fix everything."

"Master Olwen was furious with Alex and decided to give him a punishment called the Walk of Shame. Basically, he was forced to walk in the village with everyone throwing insults and mockeries at him - and he had to walk from the village's entrance all the way to the end! The villagers didn't hold back and shouted the meanest things at the poor little guy!"

Amelia's face was devoured by hatred and her wings curled themselves into fists, her talons digging into the floor. "There's no word vulgar enough to describe the anger I felt that day. No matter how much I tried to interfere, the maesters wouldn't allow me to... and even if they were cowards, I couldn't bring myself to punch them in the face. If that depended on me, all those guys would've been turned into blood pulps. As soon as the walk was done, I went to find Alex hiding in a corner and crying all to himself. Even when he got beaten up by bullies, he never looked so... vulnerable. When that happened, he took it with dignity and force... but after the walk, his feathers were all messed up by his tears..."

"That day, I had enough; that injustice was the last straw. I decided that Cloudsdale had nothing good for any of us, so we were going to leave and live our lives elsewhere. The next day, I went to prepare Alex and I's bags before our departure." An unexpected grin formed on her beak. "You should've seen the maesters and my comrades trying to convince me to stay just because I was the prodigy of our class. After what they did to my friend, nothing they could say would change my mind. So, once all was said and done, he and I left Cloudsdale and were on our way to live outside."

"The problem was that, due to Alex being an Anomaly, it would've been hard for us to live on our own in the Sun Country... or anywhere else. Luckily, I happened to know a formula that could open up a portal to other worlds. My original plan was to get us to the Northern Province of the Animal Kingdom and hope we could make a living there... but I accidentally brought us here instead. I promised Alex that we could leave once I'd found the right ingredients for the formula... but during our stay here, he fell in love with this place. Mostly because nobody here treated him the same way as in Cloudsdale, but it's also because he never got to see so much snow before. You should've seen the wonder in his eyes when we arrived here; he stared at the snow falling for almost an entire hour. Since we had the means and the will to, we decided to settle in here for good. We've been living here for two years now."

With this story being done, a dead silence fell upon the room. The only things that could be heard were the soft breaths of the sleeping birds and the strong wind blowing outside. Then, after what felt like an eternity, Blu's gaze instinctively wandered from Amelia to the lying form of Alex in his sleeping bag. "He... He really went through all of this...?"

Both Blu and Nightfly could see tears forming in the corners of the barred owl's eyes as she softly nodded her head. She walked over to her little friend and reached a wing to gently stroke his head feathers. "I don't understand why the world is so cruel to him. He's the kindest, most passionate little soul I know. He doesn't deserve all of this just because of that gem. If anything, it's what makes him even more special than he already is..."

Unbeknownst to either Amelia or Nightfly, Blu could understand Alex more than they thought. His whole life in Minnesota with Linda, he got constantly mocked and demeaned by the other birds due to his inability to fly. Sure, they never actually beat him down for it, but that was nonetheless cruel. At least, he had Linda to help him... just like Alex had Amelia. All of this changed when he moved to Rio, met the girl of his dreams, learned how to fly, and found his place amongst avians... A chance that this little guy never got so far...

After a long time in silence, Blu stood up from his chair with a decided expression on his face, having taken a decision. "You guys are coming back with us."

"What?" Amelia asked at the sudden reaction, giving a confused look that was shared by Nightfly.

"As soon as Jewel feels better, we're going back to Rio in Brazil, and you're gonna come with us, you and Alex," the young Spix's macaw declared in a tone that sounded more like an order than a demand. "I know you guys must really like living here, in Moose Lake - I, myself, lived here until very recently. But trust me, in comparison, Rio is a true paradise. There, all the birds live together like a big community, we have fun all the time, and we can even be considered a huge family. Nobody there would mock Alex for being different. What do you say?"

"It's really that good?" Blu would've lied to say he didn't feel a bit amused by the way Amelia widened her eyes to the extreme limit, giving her a comical expression. However, she then looked down with uncertainty. "I don't know, Blu... Alex and I feel at home here. Are you sure that owls like us would be welcome in your community?"

"Of course you'd be!" To prove his point, Blu removed the scabbard holding his sword from over his shoulder and held it in both wings so that Amelia could get a good look at it. "This sword has been crafted for me by a barn owl living in Rio. It's true that he's a bit of a lone guy, but he's still our friend nonetheless."

Picked up by curiosity, Amelia took the item and pulled the sword out just enough to see its silver blade that reflected the pink light of Alex's gem. "... Wow, it's a good quality sword. I can believe it WAS made by an owl."

Nodding, Blu took his item back and pulled it over his shoulder once again. "So? What do you think? Would you like to come back with us to Rio once Jewel feels better?" Before Amelia could reply, Blu found himself frozen and tightening his neck, feeling as if a snake wrapped itself around it. Sweat started strolling down the back of his neck and his eyes widened.

"You felt that too, Blu?" Nightfly asked, suddenly standing up from his chair.

"Yeah... It's coming from outside!" Not wasting a second, Blu rushed over to the room's window and scanned the outside. He couldn't see very well because it was nighttime and the darkness was making it almost impossible to see anything. Good thing there were some streetlamps illuminating the road, allowing him to spot figures approaching in the distance. "These are..."

"Ghouls. And many of them!" Nightfly confirmed.

Alex groaned as the sudden commotion pulled him out of his deep slumber. Blinking his golden eyes a few times he turned toward the three birds standing before the window. "What's going on...?"

"There's a big horde of monsters heading toward here, and they're gonna tear us all apart!" Blu rushed toward the room's exit, his wing already on the handle of his sword. "Nightfly, stay here and protect everyone; I'll take care of these guys!" The hooded macaw just nodded and watched as his pupil left the room.

###

A few moments later, Blu found himself standing outside the building that served as Alex and Amelia's home. His feet were plunged in the freezing snow and the cool Minnesota breeze he was so familiar with brushed against his dark blue feathers. Despite being determined to make a stand, the young macaw couldn't hold back a frown at the feeling of a coil tightening around his neck. Mostly because he knew this indicated the enemies were getting closer.

Far behind him, Nightfly and Amelia watched over the scene with the former looking strangely calm while the other seemed a bit nervous. "Aren't you gonna help him, Nightfly? This whole thing sounds serious," Amelia demanded.

"It won't be necessary. Blu has made plenty of progress, and he's now more than ready to stand on his own," Nightfly simply replied without looking away from his pupil, a confident smile on his black beak.

Amelia blinked her eyes. As much as she wanted to keep questioning him, the wizard seemed to be very sure of his decision. "Okay, if you say so. Alex, while you're awake, would you mind keeping an eye on Jewel in case she needs attention? ... Alex?" Not getting any response from her best friend, Amelia turned around... and realized with shock that he wasn't there. "Alex? Oh my gosh, Alex, where are you?!"

As Blu predicted with his magical sense, the enemy arrived. Creepy, decomposed bodies stepped into the light of the streetlamps. They looked exactly like the one who attempted to kill him on his first night with Jewel when she was injured. However, he noticed a second variant in the form of some beings of pinkish flesh crawling on all fours. Just like the normal ghost-like ones, they had extra-long tongues hanging from their jaws... But at least, they actually HAD some.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Blu reached his wing to grab the handle of his sword and pulled it out, the light of the streetlamp slightly reflecting over its blade. He then proceeded to stretch his legs and hold his trusty weapon in his fighting stance, ready to fight the horde.

"There's many of them. Think that'll be a trouble?"

"Maybe, but I'm sure I can cut them all down, Alex," Blu confidentially replied, narrowing his hazel-brown eyes. Only three seconds after did he realize the detail wrong with the scene. "Wait a minute... Alex?!"

Indeed, the young snowy owl kid appeared out of seemingly nowhere and was now standing next to Blu. A satchel was tied over his left shoulder and resting against his right hip. His pink gem brought a little light in the otherwise dark area.

"W-What the cheese and sprinkles are you doing out here?! It's dangerous; there's no time to play!" Blu exclaimed in panic at the idea of having to protect a kid from a horde of Ghouls.

Alex blinked his golden eyes multiple times. "Who said I came to play?" Reaching into his satchel, the kid pulled out what looked like a candy with his wing. It was yellow and had a... cannonball drawing on it. He opened his beak, pulled the round candy inside, and proceeded to munch on it. Then, his anatomy completely changed in a matter of seconds. The snowy owl now looked like a beach balloon with the design of his face over it.

"What the... What is that?" Nightfly asked inside the room, his face twisted by confusion.

"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Amelia asked with a smile. "During our time studying medicine together, Alex studied his own body and found ways to modify it. To do so, he developed special candies with unique effects on himself. This allowed him to defend himself from whatever trouble we encountered here in Minnesota. In other words...," Amelia grinned, "... he can now fight on his own!"

Back outside, the balloon-shaped owl started rolling forward on his own (kinda like Sonic The Hedgehog). "Watch out! Here I come!" Charging at full speed, Alex slammed into a group of five Ghouls, knocking them away the same way a bowling ball would do to a set of quills. Not stopping there, he kept rolling through the horde of monsters, sometimes rolling OVER them.

Blu blinked his eyes in disbelief. So that little guy could not only see inside people with his gem, but he could even transform with candies? "... To think that such a bird has been living in the same town as me for the past two years..." Blu shook his head. It wasn't time to think about this; he had a horde of Ghouls to take care of. While Alex managed to beat many of these monsters, there was too many to defeat for one bird.

Regaining his stance, Blu waited for the few Ghouls who managed to avoid Alex to approach. He performed a backward bend to avoid the first one who jumped at him, slashing his sword across its torso. The surrounding snow was instantly tainted in red, just like the blade of his weapon, and he wasted no time getting in position again. The second Ghoul to attack came from a different angle and Blu had to summon his Cobalt shield to block its claws.

Due to the elevated number of monsters surrounding him, Blu deduced it'd be smarter to play on the defensive for now. The young macaw swiftly stepped in every direction to narrowly escaped the Ghouls' offense. A small part of him couldn't help but find some enjoyment at the fact that this battle turned into a dance performance for him.

Nightfly couldn't hold back a smile at the spectacle unfolding before his eyes. Blu was doing exceptionally great against the Ghouls, dodging, blocking and striking at the right moments. He practically danced around his enemies, cutting through them with his sword like a knife through butter. The monsters were falling one after the other...

After slamming away his twentieth Ghoul, Alex came to a stop and turned back into his normal form. "The only problem with Alex's candies is that the time they stay in effect is limited. That's why he has to carry many ones with him when he gets in battle," Amelia explained to Nightfly.

Another Ghoul approached Alex, opening its jaw very wide and unsheathing its claws with the intention to tear through his flesh. Little did he know, Alex had another trick up his sleeve. Taking another candy out of his satchel, this one being white with 'X2' written in red over it, he pulled it in his beak. This time, instead of turning into a cannonball, two birds who were perfect replicas of Alex appeared on both side of him. They spread and started running all around the confused Ghoul.

"Argh!" Blu exclaimed as he cut another one of the creatures down with his sword. Afterwards, his attention turned over to the young kid who fought at his side... and his eyes blinked in confusion. "... Huh, did I receive a hit on the head or are there really three Alexes over there?"

The three snowy owls kept running and jumping around the Ghoul who grew annoyed and desperately attempted to claw at them. But their small size mixed with the fact that they were running everywhere wasn't making it easy. Eventually, they all came to a stop in the same spot and stared at the creature who, too angry to correctly think at this point, charged forward. This revealed itself to be a mistake as the chicks all jumped out of the way at the last second, leading to the Ghoul slamming its head into a streetlamp pose, knocking it out.

"Yay!" the three Alexes beamed in unison before two of them disappeared into poofs, leaving only the real one. The chick in question turned around to see his blue friend fending off the remaining Ghouls. While he managed to take down many of them, as seen by the corpses lying all around, there was still many of the monsters to defeat. "Alright, time to use my best candy!"

Alex pulled out yet another candy out of his satchel. This one was a red ball with the drawing of a purple and green reindeer on it. Narrowing his golden eyes with an air of determination, he slipped the sweet inside his black beak and applied pressure on it until it snapped into pieces. The young chick underwent another transformation. His body grew in size, his wings and feet not only growing longer but also turning into hooves, his tail feathers turning into a tuff of fur. His beak disappeared, getting replaced by a muzzle, and black woods came out from the top of his head.

To say that Nightfly was utterly speechless before such a transformation would have been an understanding. "D-Did he just transformed into a... reindeer?"

"Yup!" Amelia confirmed with a bright smile. "Believe it or not, but this is actually the best candy he ever created."

"The best, you say?"

"Exactly. One day, while searching around for supplies, I collected medicine books from an abandoned home and accidentally took a story book by mistake. 'Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer', it was called. I was going to take it back, but Alex truly enjoyed the story. This is where he got the inspiration to make this candy. Just watch; you'll see how strong he is!"

Steam escaped Alex's nose and his teeth were bared as he got ready to attack. Then, pushing a little cry, he ran on all four and slammed head-first into the first Ghoul he came across. Another one attempted to attack from behind, only to receive Alex's back hooves in the face and be sent flying back. The reindeer owl growled before standing up on his two back hooves and took what looked like a fighting stance with one hoof pulled back and the other forward.

"Rose Hooves!" Alex's primary hooves started glowing with a pink light, just like that of his belly gem, and what looked like flower petals floated around them. The first Ghoul to charge at him received a hit that looked like a palm strike, leaving a pink hoof mark on it, and sending it flying a lot further.

"What a strong technique!" Nightfly exclaimed, giving an analyzing look in Alex's direction. "Who is that kid?"

The Ghouls stood no chance. Together, Blu and Alex formed an unbreakable stand with the Spix's macaw using his sword to cut through the monsters and the reindeer owl knocking them away with his Rose Hooves technique. Before long, the cries of battle died down and the peaceful calm of the night returned. Blu and Alex panted in exhaustion, their feathers covered in blood, and the snow around them covered by the corpses. It was over. The horde of Ghouls had been defeated. They had won!

Alex turned back into his normal form before sitting down, needing a good break following this intense battle. "Wow, I think that's the biggest fight I ever participated in!" he exclaimed, panting heavily and trying to clean some of the blood on his feathers. "So, Blu? Are you okay? Did they hurt you or-"

The snowy owl didn't get to finish his sentence as Blu suddenly pulled both of his wings on the kid's shoulders, giving him the most serious look he could give. "Alex, come back to Brazil with me and my friends," he demanded as if the whole fight never occurred.

"... What?"

"Amelie told me your whole story; I know what happened to you back in your home world before coming here. That was horrible, no kid should ever have to go through that," Blu explained. "But things are different where Jewel, Nightfly and I come from. In Rio, birds like you and me form a huge community. We play, fight, sing and dance together. I'd even go as far as saying that we're a big family. If you came to Brazil... nobody would ever bully you again, I promise you that. What do you say?"

Alex didn't say anything for many seconds. His stare still, looking at Blu with an air that didn't display any emotion. Eventually, he turned his head toward the building and looked through the window. Despite the lack of light, he could easily see Amelia smiling at him inside the room, giving him a nod. He looked back at Blu.

"I... I will never get bullied again? You can promise that?"

"Yes, you have my words, or I'll never drink hot chocolate again."

Alex looked down with hesitation. His time in Cloudsdale had been nothing fun or positive... outside his moments with Amelia, of course. To him, Minnesota was a safe heaven where he could stay away from all his painful memories. But now, he learned that there was an even better place in this world where he could live with his best friend? This all seemed too good to be true. But then again, Blu did seem like a very sincere guy. He just fought off a horde of monsters to protect his friends. There was no reason for him to lie. Plus, Alex could probably be more useful as a doctor in a populated area rather than just a lost hole in the snow.

Having finally made up his mind, the little snowy owl gave a smile to his blue friend. "Alright! Let's go there then!"

The group of birds remained at Alex and Amelia's home for one more day, waiting for Jewel to be able to move. By the end of the day, the female macaw regained enough energy to move. This gave the two owls enough time to pack up their things before the time of departure. Once everybody was ready, Nightfly opened the portal that allowed all of them to go back to Rio de Janeiro.

Blu and his friends went to Minnesota for a visit; they returned with two new friends...

Author's note: At almost 8,000 words, this is possibly the longest chapter I have ever written! As I already stated in the previous chapter, Alex is my favorite OC; guess I couldn't resist the desire to write a deep, information-filled chapter for him XD

The concept of Alex's special power, using candies to shape-shift, comes from a video game I loved to play a lot as a kid: Mario Party 8. While the gameplay and mini-games played a huge part in my love for this game, I also enjoyed the concept of using candies to change the tide of matches. It's a simple yet fun game mechanic! And guess what, Mario Party 8 happens to be one of the gifts I received for this year's Christmas.

I'm a little too tired to make a longer AN, so I'm gonna conclude by thanking you all for reading my story up to this point, take care of yourselves, and may the gods watch over you all.