Notes & Disclaimers:

• Rio is Blue Sky property.

(Please leave a comment and enjoy!)

A Rio Restart:

What If Only One Remembered? Part 4

(Jewel's Side Again) Twelve minutes later, after escaping from the clutches of the physco cockatoo, Nigel, Blu and Jewel were outside, sitting at the edge of the roof, watching the night sky. Blu enjoyed seeing the stars, and at some points, turned to see Jewel's smiling face. She looked beautiful from how her feathers glowed in the moonlight, and it made Blu blush, and think more about everything she told him.

So he sighed and randomly said, "Uh…sure is a beautiful night, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Jewel responded in a blissful tone. Blu didn't know what to do, but had a feeling to try something. He scooted closer to her and lifted his left wing to put on her shoulder, hoping to do it well. Until suddenly, Jewel scooted and hugged him first. She moaned in a relaxing manner and said, "It is sure a beautiful night. I'm glad I'm spending it with you."

"T-Thank you." He gulped. "Uh Jewel, through all the nights we've been together, have we always taken the moment to enjoy the view of the city?"

"Actually, yeah. Most nights at least. Other nights we would just talk, or immediately go to bed. That and other things. Those nights were always good ones. Though…tell me again, how exactly do you feel about it? You know, about us?"

"Us? Well…to be honest, I don't think I can find the right words. When I was told I would meet you, I never imagined hearing the story about how we're already married and have gone through a lot together in the future. It sounds exciting but at the same time…"

"It's also overwhelming? Like how you already see your whole story is already written for you?"

"Maybe. But yeah, that's how it sounds."

"Hmm. Well…" Jewel took Blu's wings in a comforting manner. "…I have actually seen you and myself feel that way before. When I first met you, I cared more about being free in the jungle. I didn't think I would meet or want a husband until I got to know you better. Plus, I told you about our story of how we went to the amazon. You didn't want to move into the jungle and after a while, when I said that we could make it our home, you disagreed and I said something mean. I told you to stop thinking about just yourself, when I wasn't doing too well with thinking about you either. I made the mistake of making you stay when you weren't comfortable yet. That's a mistake I never want to make again." Then Jewel shed a tear, remembering her mistakes.

But Blu replied, "What? But Jewel, I heard your stories perfectly. It didn't sound like you were being selfish at all. You were very supportive, even now."

"Thank you…" She sighed. "…but that's not how I remember it though. But don't worry…we are in the here and now, and again, I won't force you to make this your home again. If you want…maybe this time, I can come to Minnesota with you."

"Wha…really? Uh…wow. Jewel, I…I…" Blu felt like stuttering, knowing that things were still changing fast, but Jewel stopped him by giving him another heartfelt hug.

She said, "You and I have made a lot of sacrifices for each other. Now, I'm ready for it to be my turn again. Whatever you want."

"Wow. Thank you, Jewel. But…again, all of this feels very fast, so I think I feel more comfortable giving it time before making a final decision or anything."

"Oh, not a problem. I won't force you to make a choice. Anything you want, I'll be okay with it."

"Thank you."

"And besides, during our time before the amazon, we lived in Rio for four years, so I doubt between any of those times there…are…oh no." Her smile dropped with a fearful face.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I just remembered. Tonight. Tonight, Fernando was supposed to capture us and take us to the smugglers' hideout. That's where all the other birds are locked up. They need our help."

"Whoa really? So…you're saying you want to go there and help them?"

"Yes…but if you feel like that sounds extreme, then you can stay here, wait for Linda and Tulio, and I'll take care of the others."

"Are you sure you can do that by yourself?"

"If I have to, then yes."

"Well in that case…" Blu felt total fear and anxiety coursing through his veins, but had another feeling in his heart. "…I'm coming with you."

"What? Are you sure?"

"No, but after everything that you've told me, if I actually grow up more and take the time to help people and other birds, then maybe I should take this chance to try it now."

Jewel felt like disagreeing, seeing his worried look, but with how gentle and brave he sounded, she made a smile and slowly gave him a kiss on his cheek. Then whispered, "This is why I love you."

Then Blu smiled too before she hovered and carried him as she planned to move. But Blu said, "Wait, there's one more thing."

"What?"

"You said Linda and Tulio adopt Fernado, right?"

"Yeah."

"Let me leave a message here. That way nothing changes."

"Okay." Jewel stopped flying, and the two went back inside. Without waking up Nigel.

One hour later, the two returned to the air, on their way to the smugglers' lair, having multiple feelings inside themselves. Blu saw all the city lights, admiring the view again while Jewel focused straight forward, wishing she could enjoy it too…and that Blu would carry her instead of vice versa.

So Blu decided to create conversation again with a good question.

"Uh Jewel, exactly how do you know where this hideout is?"

"Well, actually I don't."

"What?"

"We've only been there once, sweetie. The one thing I can remember about it was that it was somewhere in the Favelas neighborhood, I think. But don't worry, I believe it'll be easy to spot."

"If you say so. Again, I trust you."

"Thanks, sweetie."

"One other thing, do you always call me 'sweetie'?"

"Eh. Not always, but every instance that I can. And in most cases, you liked calling me Angel or Honey. I always loved that. Not only that, sometimes you would let me move on you first, and seeing you always so nervous made me laugh. You're always so funny and cute."

"Always?"

"Yep. That's another reason why I love you. Oh! Look! Sorry to change the subject but I think we're there."

"Alright, let's go."

Blu and Jewel saw a small house, and by gently landing down, Jewel saw it was the exact same building, then said, "Never thought I'd be happy seeing this place again."

"You said all the birds were in one room?" Blu asked.

"Yeah. Hang on." She carried him again and flew to the back window. "I'm gonna put on the window edge."

"Uh, you sure that's safe."

"Don't worry. I'll stay close, and if it makes you feel safer, you can hold onto the bars."

"Okay." Blu did what she said, held tight on the bars, and took a good look at the inside. He saw the whole room filled with cages, each with a different bird inside. They all looked sad, afraid, and lacked any sanity left. The sight of it made Blu feel terrified.

Jewel noticed and replied, "Doesn't look very good, does it?"

"Nope. And I will say this, if I didn't trust everything you told me before, I do now."

"On the bright side, it's not gonna last. We dashed through this window before, so I think I can just walk through. You stay where you are and lead them out when I open the cages."

"Not a problem." Blu gulped as he continued holding the window bars, not wanting to fall.

Jewel hovered into the room, and when one of the captive birds noticed, he said, "Hey! Let me out! Let me out of here!"

"Shh!" Jewel responded. "Everyone! Everyone! My name is Jewel, and my husband and I are gonna get you outta here."

Then another bird spoke, "What? What about the smugglers and Nigel?"

"Nigel won't be a bother, trust me. Just keep quiet." She walked up to the first cage, and remembered what Blu taught about cages. She opened the lock with her beak, and surprised every bird, then came to the next one and the next one. Jewel opened every cage that she could, and as Blu could see her perfectly, he felt his heart shaking, seeing how smart and vigilant she was being.

"Wow." He mumbled.

Jewel then pointed out to him, "Okay, Blu. Most of the birds are out. Everyone, my husband is by the window. Go to him, and he'll help lead you out."

Many of the birds listened. Each of them flew up at a time, and Jewel tried opening the rest. By the window, Blu helped one sparrow out, and she said to him, "Thanks."

"No problem. Y-You and everyone just get to safety." Blu said the same thing to every bird that passed him, and it felt good to him. Then when Jewel helped a bat get out, he immediately flew out of fear, yelling, "I'm free! Thanks!" He flew awfully fast before coming through the window, and almost pushing Blu.

"Whoa." He said before grabbing the bars. "Watch it!"

"You okay, Blu?" Jewel asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Is that everyone?"

"Looks like it. I'll come to yo…watch out!" She yelled as she noticed a familiar figure zoom to Blu. He turned and jumped off as he noticed it was Nigel! Blu fell from the edge after Nigel yelled, "Deja Vu, you two!" Before crashing into the bars. Jewel noticed and wanted to laugh, but zoomed to the outside, flying through the window and reaching to Blu. She stared deeply at him as he screamed, nearly reaching the ground until she caught him in her talons. "Phew." She sighed. "You okay?"

"Uh…yeah…peachy." Blu shook in fear. "Next time though, if I volunteer to help with a mission like this, remind me to stay on the roof, not the edge of the window."

"Understood." Jewel chuckled. "Now that that's done, how about we-?"

"I'm not done with you pretty birds yet!" Jewel looked up and saw Nigel coming at them again.

"Oh no. Blu, hang on!" Jewel held on tight to her husband as they flew past the many buildings around the neighborhood. Jewel remembered that last time, she and Blu were chained together, struggling to get away from Nigel. But even without the chain, Jewel was tired trying to get away and carry Blu, who said, "Uh, not to be too difficult, but he's coming!"

Jewel replied, "I know! I know! Uh, how did we get away from him last time? Oh! Blu, whatever you do, just hold on and shut your eyes!"

"Wha-? Okay!" He shut his eyes and Jewel could see a telephone pole. She flew higher, and as Nigel kept chasing after her, she soon speeded faster and dropped down. Nigel showed a shocked look before crashing again. First, the desk, the window bars, and finally the pole. Where he hit his head once again and electrocuted himself, causing a serious black out all over Rio.

"Haha!" Jewel laughed.

"Can I open my eyes now?" Blu asked.

"Yeah. He's gone."

"Thank you. And thank Heaven too. Is he…going to leave us alone?"

"Uh, from what I remember, after this we don't see him again until tomorrow night. But don't worry, with how much you and I know, I believe he won't bother us ever again. Now, let's…" Jewel cut herself off when she saw familiar near the jungle grounds. It was dark and vague, but noticeable from where she was flying. So she said, "…let me show you something."

"Okay. W-Will it take long? Because I think by now, Linda and Tulio will be back at the aviary."

"Don't worry. I think it'll be very quick."

Soon, she landed herself and Blu down to a part of the jungle area, where they could perfectly see…the gazebo.

"Whoa." Blu said. "This looks interesting."

Jewel, "No kidding. This is the place where we spent our first night together."

"Really?" Blu blushed. "Uh…remind me again, on the night we met, did we immediately become a couple?"

"Uh, no. We…didn't exactly become that close until two days after. And I think we didn't officially become friends until the day before. To be honest, I wish I did start with us being that close."

"Oh. Well, I guess you were able to change that then, huh?"

"Yep. Now, we are friends. Though…" Jewel began to make another seductive smile. "…for me, it's a little different than that, remember? In my present, we're married and love each other so much. Do you want that, sweetie?"

"Oh, uh…" He blushed again, and as Jewel kept getting closer, he kept scooting back. "…Jewel, I still think this is happening too fast."

"Maybe. But regardless, I've been waiting too long to see my one and only again. So can't you at least let me kiss you? On the cheek again?"

"Well…" Blu felt very nervous and unsure. But by looking into her eyes, he felt his heart racing again, and decided to at least give her something to say thanks. "Maybe I can. But…will you let me do it?"

"Absolutely!" Jewel said in a joyful tone. She stood up with her eyes shut, and waited for Blu to pucker up. Blu gulped, feeling he was going to fail. So he shut his eyes and calmed down, then moved closer and slowly…made his lips approach her cheek. He kissed her for the first time, and Jewel felt so blissful that she hugged him.

After ten seconds, Blu let go.

Jewel said, "Thank you, Blu."

"N-No problem. Uh…are you still okay with taking things slowly though?"

"Actually, yes. I'm sorry, I don't want to make you scared or force you to make a choice again, I…I just wanted to enjoy a special moment from the one bird I love so much."

"Well, I'm glad I didn't disappoint."

"I don't think you can. Mm." She continued hugging him, and soon Blu hugged her back, feeling totally relaxed and his heart in a soothing state. Then said, "Also, earlier when we were helping the others, did you tell them that I was your husband?"

"Did I?" Jewel released the hug. "I-I-I'm so sorry. Back there I forgot it was different for you. With us being in the adventure I just imagined it being your future-self and me. I-I…now I feel embarrassed. I'm sorry."

"No, no, don't be. I can understand that. Maybe…I can't say for sure but, maybe if it was my future-self and your past-self here then perhaps I would've felt the same thing."

"Really? So…imagine if I decided to call you husband a little more, you wouldn't be bothered?"

"Well, maybe not do it too often."

Jewel chuckled, "Just kidding, hehe. Again, I'm not gonna make you feel like you have to choose or anything. I just care about spending the here and now with you."

"Hm. I'm glad you feel that way. Hey, you said we also spent our first night here, right?"

"Absolutely."

"So did we sleep inside it, on top of it, or beside it?"

"On top. In fact, it was the first time I saw how well you could climb, and you were the one who climbed both of us there."

"Oh." He blushed again.

"After that, we had a small talk before going to sleep. Separately, of course, hehe. But…" Jewel walked up to the gazebo and rested her back on it. "…after we did get together, one of the things we did was you teaching me how to climb better than I already could. It was always fun."

"Hm. Well, if it's still fun, do you wanna climb up there? Maybe as a race?"

"Ooh, a race? I don't know, I've been flying so much tonight, so maybe I'd rather…play tag! You're it!" She poked Blu's shoulder and immediately went up one of the poles.

"Whoa." Blu giggled and tried following, climbing up too with his skills, and as they each kept going faster and faster…Jewel won. She reached the very top, and happily said, "We have two winners!" Before she grabbed her husband's wing and helped him up. "Blu and Jewel! Haza!" She laughed more, and so did Blu before he said, "And you said, I taught you how to climb better?"

"Yeah. Well, technically I'm six years older than how I should be now. So maybe I had one small advantage."

"Uh huh." Blu didn't know what else to say, but as he smiled, looking back at Jewel's eyes again, he felt his heart move so much again, and thinking more about everything she told him. He still felt very unsure, but could feel his trust for her increase.

As for Jewel, she didn't say anything either, but focused on her husband's face, feeling hopeful. Even though she promised she wouldn't make him choose again, she did believe that he would fall for her again.

So after a few seconds, she suddenly hugged him again, and from where they stood, they felt peace cross their minds, and stayed where they were at the gazebo, watching the night sky again.

More Notes & Disclaimers:

You remember that part in the first Rio Restart story, Blu and Jewel decided to get help from Rafael and Eva. But in this one, since Jewel was the leader of the batch, she thought of rescuing everyone differently.