Author's note: Oh happy days! I just wanted to say that the next chapter is going to be the last, sadly. It's been a long ride but I'll see you all tomorrow for the last chapter and the epilogue!
The days slowly passed. Kowalski worked his tail feathers off and Doris helped to keep him company. Blowhole did eventually leave the sanctuary of the downstairs pool and ventured to the floors above. He was good for helping Kowalski verbally but it was hard to pick things up and be gentle with huge clawed hands. But Kowalski didn't mind at all. Just having the people he cared so much about around him kept him going, kept his mind fresh and encouraged.
Doris didn't like to leave her brother for too long. Most nights she spent down in the pool with Blowhole. He never complained though, as hard as he was, he would never be without his sister. Kowalski felt pride when he was around them and watching them just be siblings. They looked closer than they had ever been before and he liked to think that he had a helping hand in that.
But the times Doris wasn't there, which wasn't very often, Kowalski found himself with Blowhole, keeping him company, talking and joking, getting to know him better. These moments were precious to Kowalski and he held them close to his heart.
And then the day finally came. The day Kowalski stood back, shook the metal shavings from his feathers and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Woah, is this it?" Doris said in awe at the machine.
Kowalski shrugged off his lab coat and smiled.
"Yep, this is it."
"It's huge!"
Kowalski chuckled, turning back to his invention and opening the door so they could get a look at the inside.
"It's got to be big enough to fit your brother inside."
"Yeah, I guess that's true," Doris chuckled.
Doris stood and just stared at the contraption for a moment. It was like a small metal room, fixed together with bolts and more metal. The circuitry looked far too complicated to comprehend so she just appreciated its purpose instead. She was overwhelmed with feelings of relief, excitement and joy. The work was finished. There was no more work to be done. No more sleepless nights and aching flippers as they struggled on. That was all ending today, with this machine. She shed a small tear and looked down to Kowalski who pouted sympathetically.
"So, this machine is going to, how did you describe it? Take him apart and put him back together again?"
"Essentially, yes," Kowalski smiled.
Doris cringed.
"That sounds painful."
Kowalski shrugged and began waddling in the direction of the door, throwing his lab coat down out of the way.
"I can not confirm nor deny that it will hurt. He knows this too. But if he wants to be dolphin again."
"He has to do it."
Kowalski nodded.
He wanted to make this quick. Get Blowhole in the machine and cooking so he could take an hour or 2 to cry and get all his emotions out in solitude. He couldn't describe the way he was feeling in that moment. He was excited and eager to get Blowhole back but at the same time he still felt stressed. All his responsibilities had been lifted but he could still remember the weight of them all. It choked him and he needed a moment to just step back and breathe.
He turned to Doris who was still admiring the machine and smiled.
"I'll be right back with Francis, ok?"
Doris nodded, cheerfully.
"Ok."
And so he began the walk down to the bottom floor. The floor where Blowhole was waiting eager for the news that Kowalski could fix him. He could end the nightmare and everything would go back to normal. For everyone except Kowalski, that is.
He still hadn't thought much about what was going to happen to him after all of this was over. Could he go back to Skipper? Would Skipper take him in? Did the higher ups know all about this and was Kowalski now a criminal too? His mind was twisted around and things were jumbled where he refused to think. But he couldn't be selfish, he always had to do what was right and for the greater good. If he had to move to another zoo by himself and build up his own HQ from the dirt of his habitat, then he would, for Blowhole's quality of life.
The door opened and the room seemed almost empty, apart from the disturbance on the surface of the water where something was swimming beneath it. Kowalski waddled over and to the pool's edge where he dangled his foot in and splashed around to announce his presence. Blowhole noticed and came up to greet Kowalski, but instead of a hello, he grabbed Kowalski in his jaw and dragged him underwater.
Kowalski startled for a moment before Blowhole let go and they locked eyes underwater where Blowhole gave a smirk and swam for the surface. Kowalski soon followed and chuckled as he dragged himself up and onto the ground again.
Breathing heavily and catching his breath, he let his heart calm down before he shook his head at Blowhole.
"I can't tell you how many miniature heart attacks you've given me by doing that."
Blowhole laughed too and shook himself dry as he lay by the wall.
"I see I kept my sense of sadism."
Kowalski waddled over to Blowhole where he sat and stared up for a moment, lost in feelings of happiness.
"So," Blowhole started. "How's work going? You stuck again, bird brain? Need my help?"
Kowalski laughed and shook his head.
"You wish I was that dull, serpentine sea puppy."
"Getting creative, I like that."
Kowalski chuckled and lowered his head, letting his warm smile caress Blowhole.
"We're all done. Whenever you're ready."
Blowhole sighed and leaned down too.
"It's been so long... I'll miss having this much bodily power."
"I won't. I feel tiny."
"You are tiny."
The pair chuckled and just let the blissful atmosphere rest around them. This was it. Blowhole was going to be brought back.
Kowalski unchained Blowhole and let the meters of chain lie lifeless on the floor. They would never need those again.
The journey to the upper floors was a short one. They both walked slowly and talked on the way for the purposes of filling the air. Kowalski couldn't tell who was more nervous, him or Blowhole. Blowhole was going to be put through hours of possible pain and Kowalski was sure he was going to bite the tips of his flippers off in worry. But Blowhole kept confident, kept his head held high and didn't hesitate once they finally reached the lab.
Doris smiled at them both and hugged her brother as Kowalski readied the machine, powering it up, making sure everything was in order and waited for Blowhole to be ready to step in.
Doris was emotional as usual. All she ever did was cry, but this wasn't goodbye, not at all. At least, Kowalski hoped not. She would see her brother again, the brother she knew and loved. New and improved thanks to Kowalski.
Blowhole knew what he had to do, where he had to go and stared at Kowalski longingly as he slowly walked into the machine, turning, sitting and making himself comfortable. Kowalski waddled around and into the machine where he placed a tender flipper on Blowhole's leg.
"You'll be ok," he said with a warm smile.
Blowhole nodded.
"I know, I trust you."
Kowalski didn't say anything else. Didn't think it was appropriate to say anything else. All had been said and everyone knew what was going to happen.
The doors to the machine slowly closed and that was the last anyone would ever see the monster Blowhole had become. That part of him was gone, forever. Kowalski felt something weird as he stepped back from the machine, hearing it whir to life. He would never give himself the credit for saving Blowhole from himself. It wasn't like him, even if everyone else around him praised him for that purpose.
Kowalski didn't know what to do with himself. He supposed he should stay put in the lab incase anything were to happen, so he sat down a meter away from the door to the contraption and waited. Doris knew how long the process would take, since Kowalski had told her before but she didn't question whether Kowalski was going to sit and stare the whole time. If she didn't have a short attention span then she would have most likely done the same. But instead, she occupied herself at Blowhole's computer, turning it on and doing nothing in particular with it since she didn't really know how to work it that well.
Kowalski waited for what felt like an eternity. Listening for every little sound that came from the inside of the machine and came up blank when all he could hear was Blowhole's mechanical keyboard clicking beneath Doris' flippers.
But soon enough, the machine stopped and began its tedious process of cooling down. Kowalski could feel his heart rise to his throat where it pounded in anticipation. Blowhole was in there, either the dolphin he was born as or a pile of organic tissue on the floor.
Doris noticed the machine switch modes and joined Kowalski in the far end of the room to wait for the machine to finally shut off again. And then it did. The lights turned off and the machine came to a chilling stop. No electrical hum, no warmth radiating, just Kowalski's pounding heart could be heard through the thick silence.
The doors suddenly opened and steam rolled out of the contraption. Condensation rolled down the doors and a musky aroma filled the air. Doris stared in longingly and Kowalski cautioned a step forward, and then he saw it. A bright ocean blue eye and a wild smile. Francis pulled himself forward and Kowalski jumped triumphantly. He did it. The machine worked and Blowhole was actually Blowhole again. He had his smooth grey skin, his streamlined body, his signature smirk and a soulful eye Kowalski could get lost in.
Doris practically dove down to the floor and pushed her way into Blowhole's flippers. The moment was perfect and before long Kowalski could feel the familiar itch in his throat, the stinging in his eyes. So he backed away and started to waddle to the door. He couldn't cry, especially when he didn't know why he was crying. But he didn't get very far before he felt a firm grasp on his flipper.
He turned to see Blowhole staring down at him, his blue eye filled with wonder and his smile so soothing that Kowalski could have crumbled to his knees.
"Thank you, Kowalski."
Kowalski nodded, his eyes still stinging and smiled as he tried to step further back but Blowhole kept his firm grip and pulled Kowalski back, closer, his flipper tightening as he leaned down and tenderly kissed Kowalski. A thousand thoughts circled Kowalski's mind and then he forgot about everything, remembering to feel and for once he lost himself completely.
Blowhole pulled away, but didn't dare let go of Kowalski's flipper as he eventually did crumble to the floor. Kowalski didn't know what to say. That was amazing. Should he have said anything? Luckily for him, he didn't have to say a word.
"I told you so! Always stealing my boyfriends!" Doris suddenly exclaimed.
Blowhole chuckled as he raised his head and turned to Doris.
"I'm sorry I'm smarter, more attractive and more youthful than you."
Doris rolled her eyes and crossed her flippers.
"Whatever, just make sure you treat him right."
"Better than you ever did?"
"Shut up! Whatever! At least now you'll be the one bullied for dating a penguin."
Kowalski probably should have said something but he was just too in awe that Blowhole had actually followed through with what he had said before and kissed him. And right in that moment, most of Kowalski's fears vanished. He knew whatever came next in the journey of life, he was going to be ok. He had Blowhole.
The two locked eyes again and shared a moment of happiness. Doris stayed back and just watched with eyes filled with joy. She couldn't have been happier for them both.
Kowalski shook his head one last time, before he laughed, pathetically fighting back tears and just fell forward, wrapping his flippers around Blowhole and hugging him for the first time. He couldn't have been happier and he didn't want to feel any other way.