Disclaimer: I don't own Happy Feet or any of it's characters. Look at link in profile for the leopard seal clip in the movie if you feel you have no idea what I'm talking about.

Regular Note: Really the links are there, along with part of the skua scene...if you're interested.

I initially never owned the soup Ramen, but my sister insisted that I name a character after it...God! I'm hungry!!!

Note: The skuas in this chapter replaces "th" with "d" and they also say "bird" as "boid". Blah blah blah...

Part 1

Chapter 12

Rojas woke up and saw some rather large fish, each ranging from 3-6 feet long. And most were still alive, a few managing to flop around, although it looked as if it took alot of effort for some reason.

The movement, nevertheless, activated predatory instincts. Despite his incomplete recovery, he struck out at a live one, careful not to wake Whisper.

Holding it down with his foreflippers, he bit into it, but then, just as suddenly, he released it. This fish tasted differently than what he was use to. The fish tried desperatly to get back into the water, where it could breathe again.

Rojas, like most predators, was very cautious about any new foods, and this fish was definitly a new type of food. He gave it a thorough sniff examine, searching for any poisonous chemicals.

The fish was clean. But Rojas only nibbled on it, still suspecious. He was surprised and pleased at the same time. This fish was the best he's ever experienced. It was worth taking more bigger bites.

There was a splash and Rojas stopped. Ramen was back. He had another of the large fish, this one almost as large as the pup himself.

He dragged it to the pile, placed it there, then started to move back to the water. But Rojas wasn't going to let him get away without answering some questions. The leopard seal bit into the pup's hind flippers and dragged him back. Being held under a foreflipper, Ramen sturggled.

The last time he was in this position, it was almost a disaster.

"Calm down. I have no intention to harm you this time." Rojas tried to soothe the frighten pup. amen took the risk to stop his thrashings.

"Please don't kill me." Ramen begged quietly. Rojas smiled. He liked that he inspired fear into Ramen.

"Don't worry. I won't do such a thing..." He chuckled evilly, the sound sending chills down Ramen's spine, causing some of his fur to stand on end. "...yet."

"Then why-?" Rojas interrupted.

"Where are these fish coming from?" he asked. Ramen paused.

"Don't call me crazy, because I'm not the only one who saw it." he muttered.

"Saw what?"

"It started last night while you and Whisper was sleeping. A giant alien machine thing on top of the water passed by with a net full of these giant fish and other foreign treats. The net thing broke and alot of the foods are now all over the shoreline, just beyond the waves. As it so happens, they aren't use to the cold or something. They can barely move, so catching one is easy."

Rojas was taken aback. Aliens? He didn't have more time to think as Ramen continued, with a large smiled on his face.

"I caught one twice my size! That's the biggest thing I ever caught. And krill puts up an even bigger fight!"

Rojas leaned his head closer until his snout was buried in Ramen's fur. Ramen winced, expecting Rojas to eat him. But instead, the larger seal exhaled, blowing warm air into the pup's soaking coat. It was a friendly gesture among seals, especially between adults and pups.

Ramen didn't know why he was given such a comforting gesture, but he liked it. Showed that he did something right for a change.

Rojas lefted his head again.

"Tell me more about this alien machine." he prompt, slowly and softly petting Ramen.

"Well, it's huge. Bigger than any iceberg. And I managed to touch it. It' very smooth and hard, like nothing here. It was weird."

Rojas nodded and actually nuzzled Ramen to again reward him. Rojas liked that the pup struggled in no way...that he was absolutly cooperative.

"Did you see the aliens?" Rojas asked. Ramen shook his head sadly.

"No. The machine was so ig that I couldn't see the ones driving it. I'm sorry."

Rojas smiled, much to Ramen's surprise.

"It's alright. At least you're honest. I'll reward you for that."

He began to groom Ramen. The pup was stunned. No other seal, no other animal cared enough for him to actually groom him. Rojas was the last person he'd expect to do this.

Once done, Rojas asked one last question.

"What about the fish?" Ramen smiled.

"They're the best! Everyone loves them. Personally I'm not a big fan of fish, but I was even won over by these things. And I want you to have some, so I caught a few for you."

---

During that whole conversation, Mumble wandered the shoreline of the beach. He was among the chinstrap penguin colony and have yet to spot his target.

"Um, excuse me." Mumble muttered, approaching one mothering penguin and her two chicks. She was busy warding off a foursome of skuas. "Excuse me."

The birds stopped their bickering and looked at him.

"Hi, I'm Mumble. I need help. I'm looking for a leopard seal. You know where I can find one?" he asked. The skuas looked at eachother while the mother penguin had a frightened look on her face.

"Don't ever speak of leopard seals again. It's suicide to even mention one." she said before running off, her chicks following close behind her. Only the skuas remained.

"How about you? Know where I can find one?" he asked.

"Yeah. Dere's Rojas. He's a local around here." the one Mumble assumed was the leader said. The voice was so familiar, like a distant memory. And then it struck him. This skua had a banded leg!

"Oh no. It's you guys. I remember all of you." he said. The skuas looked at him up and down. They shook their heads.

"Sorry, not ringing any bells here." the golden colored one told him. Mumble rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I can help your memory: Watch this." He said the last sentence in a childish voice before performing the same dance for them as the first time.

The skuas laughed hard as the memory shot back at them.

"Yeah! It's de hopping flipper boid!" the banded one snickered between laughs.

"Yes, okay, thank you." Mumble said. "Now does this Rojas guy have a baby penguin with him?"

The skuas calmed down.

"Yeah. He won't let anything near it. He's been known to kill skuas for getting even dree flaps close to her." the dark colored one answered. Mumble got excited. Could Rojas be the kidnapper?

"An Emperor. Is she an Emperor? Like me?" he asked. The skuas paused for a bit.

"Yeah. I dink so. Grey body, black head, white face." the whitish one answered.

"That's her! Do you know why he has her?" Mumble asked, getting happier by the moment. The skuas shook their heads.

"We have no idea why he doesn't just eat her like all de other flipper boids. Maybe he's waiting till she grows up or something." the leader guessed.

"Well, do you know where they are?" Mumble continued to interegate. This time the skuas nodded, for once.

"Yeah. Just keep goin down dis beach and you'll see dem on de shore." the golden one instructed. As Mumble was about to leave, they stopped him.

"Show us dat hopping ding again." the banded told him. With a sigh, Mumble gave them an encore performance. They laughed so hard they fell on their backs, sides hurting too much to stand.

Mumble rolled his eyes and continued on his way.

"Hey! Why you want to know dis anyway?" the dark one managed to ask in the outburst.

"Because, he has my daughter." was the last response Mumble gave to them before flopping on his belly and shooting off. The seabirds watched his retreat.

"Dat's one crazy flipper boid." the leader muttered.

"If he gets killed, I still call de juicy peice." the white one replied. They laughed.

---

Ramen gave Rojas another fish. Whisper was still sleeping like the cute little baby she is. They were unaware of Mumble approaching.

"Still trying to care for me? Despite what happened last night?" Rojas asked.

"I'm trying to forget that." Ramen told him. Mumble, not knowing about Rojas' wounds, jumped on the leopard seal's back, trying to be in a safe position.

Rojas roared in pain. startling Ramen and waking Whisper.

"What?" she started. Ramen took Whisper and moved to a safe distance. It was just in time. Rojas thrashed violently, snarling and trying to bite Mumble, but the penguin was out of his reach.

Ramen came to help Rojas, growling at the newcomer. Rojas went limp.

"Get off of Rojas! You're hurting him, feather-brain!" Ramen said. Mumble now noticed that he was stepping all over deep gashes. However, he was still hesitant to get off. Rojas might be faking his unconsciousness.

"Where's my daughter?" he asked. Ramen stopped growling and looked at Whisper. So did Mumble. He took the risk to hop off the seal and tried to approach the baby bird. She backed off, a frightened look on her face.

"Go away!" she said. Mumble stopped where he was, noticing how much Whisper was scared of being approached by birds larger than her. With a skua flock nearby, she had a reason for such nervousness.

"It's okay. You're safe now. Daddy's here." he attempted to comfort her, giving a kind smile. Whisper paused, eyes widening.

"Daddy? But..." She ran to Rojas. "...this is my daddy."

"No. He's lying to you. I'm your real dad." he tried to convince.

"Really?" Whisper questioned, confused. Mumble nodded. Rojas opened his eyes.

"Remember what I said about your parents." Whisper nodded and her gaze turned angry for the first time.

"You and Mommy left me! I was lucky I was saved by my new daddy!" she yelled. Mumble was quite shocked to hear such a thing. A penguin abandoning an egg was unthinkable.

"What are you talking about? I didn't leave you. Your 'new daddy' stole you. He found our colony and took you away from me."

Rojas huffed. "Don't take his lies. Why would I try to steal you? That's wrong."

"Don't listen to him. He's tricking you. I would never lie or abandon you. Why would I?" Mumble argued. Ramen decided enough's enough.

"Stop." he started. Everyone looked at him. "No more arguing. Let Whisper choose who to stay with. It's her life and she should make the decisions."

Silence as Whisper looked back and forth at both 'parents'. Rojas was the first to try to get her on his side.

"Listen Sausage. I'm the one who cared for you and saved you multiple times. I gave up my own well being for you. Are you really going to trust someone you've never met before?"

Mumble tried his flipper at this.

"You have to believe me. I'm your dad. We're family. And that's gotta count for something. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, but that was an accident. It was never meant to happen."

Whisper paused and sighed.

"It does count. Alot. And I'm glad I actually got a chance to see you and know that you really do care. But...I can't leave. I'm sorry. You understand right?"

Mumble paused then nodded. He went all this way to rescue Whisper when she didn't need rescuing. And she seemed happy. What more could he want. He can't force her to do something she doesn't want to do.

"Alright then. I guess it's goodbye." he accepted with a sad sigh. He turned and walked away.

"Come visit sometime!" Whisper called after him. Mumble paused, looked back at her and smiled. Maybe all is not lost.

Thanks for reviewing guys. I'm really happy. This is a bit early to say, but this is going to be a trilogy, and, nightbug08, your question will be answered in Part 2. And Reverend Lovejoy, post the happy feet fanfic! I'll be happy to read it! I only found 4 happy feet stories and two of those are my own.

Preview:

This isn't the end of Mumble in the story. He'll play a main part again. Next chapter, our trio gets captured by 'aliens'.