Chapter 63: What if Blu couldn't fly after the dynamite explosion?

Author's notes: The author of the idea is Ajx17 , thanks for this great idea!

That dynamite explosion was seen by everyone, the huge explosion in the sky made everyone's heart slow down for a moment, knowing that among those terrifying-looking flames was the bird to whom they owed this victorious operation - Blu.

"Blu!" Shouted Jewel in a distraught voice, she was the first to decide to follow the falling two birds, which flew down at great speed disappearing among the vines and high treetops. Jewel was immediately followed by the children who, deeply shocked by what they had seen, did not quite understand how to react to it, it was too terrible for them to comprehend what had happened! The rest of the pack was not left behind, everyone wanted to help for Blu, who most likely needed help somewhere in the jungle. The large number of bushes and vines did not help in finding Blu, who must have fallen somewhere near the clearing of felled trees from what everyone could see. No one knew what exactly might have happened to him, but everyone expected that quick intervention would be needed immediately.

A search of the area where Blu might have fallen was not in vain, because when they flew over the jungle area they managed to find him! He was hanging from ropes with which were tied the sticks of dynamite from which the explosion originated, he was unconscious but still alive! He was all battered, his feathers were burnt through and blood was running gently from his wings. It seemed to be over after him, but he must have been immensely fortunate to have ended up in fairly good condition as it looked from a distance. The heartwarming sight immediately made it clear that Blu and Jewel's children shouldn't be watching this, Mimi took them under her wing so they wouldn't have to look at it, still being shocked by what was happening. Jewel flew up to Blu pulling the smeared ropes off him then laid him down on the leaves that were under him as quickly as she could. She didn't care about his dirt or the blood that also soiled her blue feathers, she didn't care about anything except that Blu was healthy! His chest was rising gently, this was a good sign - it meant he was breathing.

"Blu, please wake up... Blu! You'll be fine, just open your eyes! Please..." She pleaded desperately with Jewel, but to no avail. Blu was too battered and battered to do anything. Jewel began to gently tug on him desperately trying to wake him up, but it was to no avail.

"Roberto take Blu, Mimi let's fly to you, you know how to heal, we have no time to waste quickly, move!" Issued the order loudly to Eduardo. As chief of the tribe, he had cold blood in his veins at all times and knew that a decision had to be made as soon as possible. Roberto nodded with a movement of his head and flew down beside Jewel to gently lift Blu onto his back so that he could transport him safely to Mimi. As he lifted him, he could feel and see that his wings were not as they should be...something was wrong with them...

"We will also send our doctor to help. Carlos!" Go with them and help for them" ordered Felipe. Spix Macaw flew out of the crowd and followed Mimi, who together with the rescue team flew to her house where she had various healing materials. Jewel wanted to follow them but was stopped by Eduardo at the last moment which surprised her. She wanted to elude her father but he embraced and hugged her, causing her to burst out crying. They both knew it would be better if she stayed here, with the herd and her children.

"It will be better if you leave them alone. They need to be as focused as possible, give them time," Eduardo said. Jewel nodded in agreement with the move, even though everyone knew it was not right.

Two hours after the fateful explosion, Jewel was sitting with her children in Robert's nest along with his landlord, who had been assigned to watch Jewel while Blu underwent a procedure performed by Mimi. Everyone sat irritated by what was happening and what was to come. No one had expected this turn of events! Just when it seemed like it was over, over, suddenly everything had to change 180* degrees!

Jewel was in the worst situation. She had to lie to her children's faces that everything was going to be okay and that it just looked so scary, but when her thoughts went back to the sight of Blu hanging in the ropes, tears forced themselves to her eyes under her emotions. She hid her emotions from her children in order to release them twice as strongly later in solitude. Roberto couldn't say too much about it, he didn't know what to say in this situation, most of the time he sat in silence simply watching Jewel's movements to make sure she didn't do anything stupid and made sure she didn't fly towards Mimi's house, she couldn't be distracted to make any mistake that could decide Blu's life. Jewel was nervously walking around the flat, saying something quietly to herself, Roberto only heard the word among his mumblings: "Blu", he was sure she was telling herself what might have happened to him, which was quite understandable to him. Sam was horrified by how it looked, everyone's heart slowed down for a moment! Bia, Carla and Tiago were confused about what was happening, it was too much of a shock - it didn't quite get to them what had happened.

Just when it seemed the wait would not end Eduardo flew into the house with news from Mimi.

"Oh finally! How is Blu? Is he alive? Please tell me he's alive!" Jewel started to call out when she saw her father. The man grabbed her to calm her down and looked at her with his warm, fatherly gaze. Jewel immediately fell silent as she listened to what her dad was saying to her.

"Blu is alive, currently sleeping, but alive. You can go to him, but you must be quiet" Eduardo communicated. Jewel hearing the news from her father immediately hugged him as much as she had strength in her wings letting out a few tears from her crystal eyes laughing quietly

"Thank God..."

"Fly to Mimi's with the children, I need to talk to Roberto about a few things...in private" Eduardo communicated. Jewel nodded obediently with a movement of her head after which she and her daughters and son flew towards Mimi's house.

Only Eduardo and Roberto were left in the flat, who didn't quite know what his superior meant when he said "talk in private".

"Roberto, we have a serious problem," notified Eduardo gravely.

"What has happened? " asked a worried Roberto. To be sure, he still leaned out from behind the nest to make sure no one was eavesdropping on them.

"Blu survived, but he's not quite well," said Eduardo grimly. This perplexed Roberto. What could have happened differently? After a brief reverie, he remembered feeling that there was something wrong with his wings. In time, he guessed what Eduardo wanted to say, but he didn't want to pre-empt the facts.

"Blu will regain consciousness later today, but he will be hit straight away with the hurtful truth...he won't be able to fly," confessed Eduardo. Roberto sighed heavily, it had happened exactly as he thought! It was terrible news, both for Blu and for his loved ones. Not being able to fly in the Amazon among other birds was...very painful.

"Shit...what are we going to say for Jewel? She'll get depressed!" Roberto replied. This news was hard to convey, Roberto certainly didn't want to do it, he was afraid of her reaction Eduardo didn't answer anything.

"She will have to find out together with Blu" communicated the pack leader.

When Jewel reached Mimi, she immediately Communicated to be quiet with Blu, as there was no telling when he would wake up. Jewel accepted her aunt's conditions and went inside leaving her children with Mimi, she knew they could behave quite loudly, which was not advisable. Lying Blu in bed now looked decidedly better than after the explosion. His feathers had turned colour, there were no traces of blood on him and he definitely looked stronger. She sat down on the edge of the bed where her husband was lying. She was still worried about his condition, despite her assurances that he would be fine she felt that something might go wrong. She wasn't the only one. Mimi at the greeting was also slightly...embarrassed. Jewel didn't know why, she didn't even guess what it might be caused by, she tried not to put too much weight on her head. She simply stared at her beloved, who lay with her eyes closed.

After a quarter of an hour, Blu began to make quiet sounds that immediately gave signs of joy to Jewel, Blu was waking up! She started calling his name quietly to rouse him, he wriggled a little on the bed as if he was having some kind of nightmare, but in time he opened his chocolate eyes, which immediately met Jewel's eyes, who immediately hugged Blu for joy that he was alive.

"Oh, Blu! You're alive! We were so worried!" Gasped Jewel gleefully squeezing him gently to not cause him any pain.

"Heh...I'm happy too, although...I don't remember what happened..." Replied Blu weakly. He was still not fully awake, as if stupefied. After all, no wonder - he was in the middle of a huge explosion!

"There was an explosion where you were...there was a bird with you, a white bird... not sure who it was, but the important thing is that you are alive!" Jewel replied. Blu lay thoughtfully listening intently to what Jewel was saying, then rose abruptly and said: "Nigel!"

"Nigel?" Repeated a surprised Jewel.

"Yes, that's him, I'm sure! I remember now! When I was flying up I saw him climbing up...I mean, I didn't know it was him because he was wearing a mask, but a few seconds before the explosion his mask fell off and I saw him!" Blu replied. The words about the white bird quickly refreshed his memory. Jewel became more serious hearing his story. Nigel's return was a bad thing for them - after what Blu had done to him, he might want to take revenge.

"It's a good thing he didn't manage to do anything to you. You have to be careful," replied Jewel seriously.

"The most important thing is that he's gone for now. Anyway, we're in the Amazon, in our herd! There's no chance of him getting near us" replied Blu confidently. There was something in that. Eduardo would not let anything bad happen to them.

"Sorry to disturb you, but since Blu is already awake can I let the children in?" Their conversation was interrupted by Mimi, who was trying to keep the three chicks behind her.

"Sure, let them come in!" Blu replied. Mimi let them through the entrance and they immediately hugged their surviving dad. Mimi watched the scene for a while, it was sweet. But she was worried about one thing - how to tell them that Blu wouldn't be able to fly? Someday that moment will come, and the sooner the better. Blu can't leave here without knowing it.

When the sun began to set, Tiago, Bia and Carla felt tired, for them the excitement was enough for today. Jewel took them to Roberto's flat so they could go to sleep peacefully. On the way, she passed Eduardo and Roberto, who, after their deliberation, were going to Blu to tell him the news, although they did not say it for Jewel. They wanted her to hear it from her husband.

When they arrived at Mimi's together the three of them entered Blu, who was lying on the bed, content, happy to be alive. It was terribly stressful for them to give him this news at that moment. However, they had no choice. Someone had to do it.

Eduardo stepped forward first, he had the most courage to do it.

"Blu, how do you feel?" Eduardo asked.

"I have a bit of a headache, but it's fine! I was really lucky that nothing bad happened to me!" Blu replied. Eduardo sighed heavily, which embarrassed Blu a little, but he continued to keep his energy up.

"Blu, stand up for a moment," said Roberto. Blu, embarrassed by the situation, obeyed him and stood up with slight problems on his claws. He felt slightly dazed, but otherwise seemed to be okay.

"There's a pretty high ceiling here, try to get into the air" Eduardo communicated.

"Ekh, but what for?" Asked a perplexed Blu.

"Just do it" replied Eduardo hardily. Blu extended his wings, although he didn't pay attention, they were sort of slightly distorted. He soared through the air for a few seconds, seemingly fine, but quickly dropped to the ground which surprised him. He tried again, rose for barely half a second, then fell to the ground again. Perplexed, he looked at the three standing in front, who didn't know where to start on this sensitive subject.

"What's going on? I feel like I don't have the strength...like I can't...fly?" Blu asked. He was distracted by this, which made it even more difficult for Mimi, Roberto and Eduardo to tell the truth.

"Blu, during the explosion your wings were damaged to such an extent that unfortunately...but you won't be able to fly...definitely" confessed Mimi. This shocked Blu. He was about to return to a flightless lifestyle again, forever? This was unthinkable! Especially here in the Amazon, where he is in a flock of his brothers and sisters he had suddenly become the only flightless one?

"How could...it's impossible!" Blu said loudly. His reaction was predictable. No bird would accept that it could not fly. Eduardo, Mimi and Roberto tried to explain it to him, but Blu was almost in a rage!

"It wasn't the explosion that did this to me, it was you guys! You must have made some kind of mistake with the operation!" Alleged Blu pointing at Mimi, he knew she was the one who had operated on him, he could see by her reaction. His accelerated pace, nervous movements indicated that he was incredibly nervous!

"Blu, there was no mistake, the explosion was too strong...glad you're alive!" Roberto replied.

"What am I supposed to be happy about if I won't be able to fly! Besides, it would have been better for you if I hadn't survived it, I can see from the beginning how you look at Jewel! Besides, you all despised me, from the very beginning! "

"Blu, get a grip! We know it's a tough situation, but you have to get over it...there was nothing we could do about it," replied Roberto. They knew Blu wasn't really saying it, it was just that the emotional outburst was too strong for Blu to contain. Blu fell silent for a few moments, took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

"I want to be left alone..." Blu said quietly.

"Now!" Shouted Blu when the three friends didn't move. After his shout, they decided it would be a good move to move out of his way, which they did. They left the room leaving Blu alone.

"Maybe let's go to Jewel's, let Blu have a sense of being really alone. Let him cool off a bit," Roberto suggested. They didn't really have any other better option, so they went for it. They left Mimi's flat so they could talk to Jewel and hold her until they thought Blu had cooled down.

Blu, on the other hand, was digesting the news quite hard that he would no longer be able to take to the air, never really this time. Being able to fly turned out to be one of the best things in his life, he never thought that life without flying was so limiting! It was unbelievable that even though he had barely started to enjoy it, only a few years old, and he had already lost this opportunity irrevocably! Blu couldn't get over it, he was so angry that he got mad at everything! At Eduardo, the lumberjacks, Roberto, literally at everything! Upset by this, he went outside standing on the threshold of the exit. Night had already come. All the arras were already in their homes enjoying their families, or talking to each other. The night was unusually bright, the moon was shining strongly, there was not a single dark spot in the sky. It was a truly amazing sight, and had it not been for the terrible news, Blu would most likely have enjoyed the view with Jewel. Quite deeply and thoughtfully he tried to think, he didn't know what he was supposed to do, Jewel loved this place, his children seemed happy to be here, but to him...something had been bothering him from the start, he didn't like it here, and now this terrible accident... he was afraid of Jewel's reaction to this news, what he would do here if he couldn't fly. He thought about it and felt that he would be excluded from society, only able to watch others play.

Two hours later, most had fallen asleep in Robert's flat, only Jewel was left, who decided to go to, what she thought was, a sleeping Blu to see if he was alright. After he woke up, she expected that he was now most likely asleep, but she wanted to see if he was okay nonetheless. After all, he had survived a massive explosion, miraculously!

She was greatly surprised to see Blu standing at the threshold of the exit, looking serious, maybe even a little nervous.

"Blu's awake? I thought he would be immersed in sleep" thought a perplexed Jewel. She could see that Blu must be immersed in his thoughts because he didn't even notice her flying a few metres above her! When she landed next to him he shook his head and returned to the ground smiling slightly in her direction.

"Are you awake Blu?" Jewel asked.

"No...I didn't want to sleep, I preferred to stand here" replied Blu.

"And how are you feeling?"

"Quite well..."

However, Jewel could see that something was wrong. He wasn't smiling at all, and his voice was grimmer than ever.

"Are you sure you're all right? You don't look it," Jewel asked thoughtfully. Blu sighed heavily. He knew he couldn't hide it from her, and the truth was painful to be able to tell, but he had to do it.

"Jewel, I have to tell you something, it's quite important. "

"Hm?"

"After that explosion, when that explosion happened and I fell, it turned out that I...I...can't fly. Forever!" Blu said. Jewel didn't quite understand what Blu meant. What do you mean he can't fly?

"What do you mean?" Jewel asked. Blu spread his wings then tried several times to get in the air for a few seconds, without success. The expression on Jewel's face showed perfectly how shocked she was after seeing this! She was as shocked by it as Blu was when she found out about it!

"Blu...I'm so sorry!"

"I can't fly anymore, forever. I'll be honest Jewel: I've thought for 2 hours about all this, I've thought it all through. I love you, Jewel, and so do our children, but this is too much. I want to go back to the people, to live with them, to lead a quiet life...even if they were to call me domesticated. And I will return to Rio, with or without you," Blu explained. This shocked Jewel, she didn't expect such words from Blu, it was a hard choice for Jewel! They had just found their pack, she had found her long lost family, and now she was going to leave them?"

"Uh Blu...this is really shocking and tragic, but why don't you think about it calmly what Blu?"

"I'm sorry Jewel, but I've already thought it through...and too many times. I want to go back to the people, I don't want to stay here as the only one who can't fly" explained Blu. Jewel was at a loss. She loved Blu and didn't want to leave him, but on the other hand she didn't want to lose her family again. She had to choose, between Blu and her family. Blu seemed to be waiting for an answer, which was not so easy.

"The choice is yours Jewel, I won't change my mind " replied Blu. Jewel was pretty soon sure of the decision she had made.

Epilogue

The next day, Jewel and Blu's immediate family were at Mimi's flat to check on Blu's condition and announce Blu and Jewel's decision. No one was expecting this, so the confession that they were leaving Amazon was stressful for them. They expected them to try to convince them to stay, but Blu was true to his decision and didn't want to change it.

Once they were all in the flat and talking to each other, they could all see that Blu and Jewel were kind of worried about something.

"I see you already know Jewel about Blu's condition" said Eduardo seeing how her daughter seemed to be absent.

"Yes, dad. And we want to talk about it. We have decided to leave Amazon" she informed Jewel. Everyone was surprised by what she said. Why?

"What, but why! I won't let them lose you again!" Eduardo denied.

"And I don't want to lose Blu! I'm sorry, but we can't stay here. Blu doesn't feel at home here, then neither do we," countered Jewel.

"I'll be honest Eduardo. The jungle is a great place, it really is. It's our home. But there are reasons why I can't stay here..." Blu added. Everyone knew what that reason was. Eduardo was saddened by the news, but he respected Jewel's husband's decision, he understood what the problem was.

"I assume it's not worth convincing you to change your decision?" Roberto asked.

"No, Roberto, the decision has been made," replied Jewel. Tiago Carla and Bia did not even try to discuss, despite their young age, they knew how terrible it must be for a bird to be deprived of the ability to fly!

"All right. If it is your will let it be. Blu, thank you for saving the jungle...at such a price I don't know if it was worth it..."

"If I feel I made the right decision I feel proud...which is how I feel and I have no regrets" replied Blu. For the first time, Blu and Eduardo gave each other wings, like men full of pride. One leader of the flock, proud, of the bird he initially despised.

A month later

On his return to Rio, Blu was slowly recovering mentally. Day by day he was regaining his mood and his will to live. It wasn't the easiest task, he had to be given a lot of attention, but seeing Blu start to laugh more and more often improved everyone's mood. He seemed to have come to terms with the idea that he would never take to the air again.

One night Blu woke up in the night, he needed a drink. That night was spent at Linda and Tulia's house. When he went to the kitchen he saw that the window was open and in it - a blue figure, Jewel. She was staring at the night sky filled with moonlight. Blu decided to go to her, climbed onto the kitchen counter and joined her standing on the windowsill.

"What are you doing here?" Blu asked.

"Nothing interesting...just thinking..." Jewel replied.

"Look, you didn't have to come with me...of course I appreciate it, if it wasn't for you guys, I don't know what would have happened to me...but I know you'd rather be there, in the Amazon..." Said Blu saddened. The words grabbed Jewel by the heart. She hadn't expected Blu to be so honest as to confess that she guessed she would have preferred to be in the jungle.

"Oh, Blu how can you say that! If it wasn't for you why would we be there?" Jewel asked.

"I'm a limitation to you..." Said Blu, while Jewel interrupted him by kissing him right on the beak. The sweet kiss reassured Blu, who reciprocated the gesture.

"You may be a non-fly...but you are, my non-fly" replied Jewel, kissing him again.

It's good to be back here ...