Love Hawk
Chapter Six: Separation Angst
As the trolley stopped near to a garage, Blu and Jewel hopped down from it.
"Ladies and gentleman, I give you: Luiz's garage!" Rafael declared.
Blu and Jewel made their way to a partly-closed gate, the gap being only big for one of them to go through at a time.
"After you." Blu offered.
"My, how chivalrous." Said Jewel, impressed. "I guess this is it."
"Yeah." Agreed Blu, following through the gap. "Quite an adventure."
"End of the line." Smiled Jewel.
"Yep." Blu nodded. "Journey's end."
"You know, in spite of everything, this little trip has been kinda... fun." Jewel admitted. "You've been kinda fun."
"Well, I try." Blu shrugged. "Not that I have to. Pleasing lovely ladies like you has always been a talent of mine."
"Could have done without the cheesey pick-up lines, though." Jewel added.
"Ooh!" Cried Blu, acting stung. "A little below the belt, don't you think?"
The two shared a small chuckle as they entered the darkened garage.
"Luiz?" Called Rafael. "Are you there? Luiz? Hey buddy, I've got some friends I want you to meet!"
The boot of a car in the back room suddenly burst open, and a bulldog ran barking through the garage. Nico and Pedro flew off in terror, as the dog made a beeline for Blu and Jewel.
"Inside, outside, inside, outside..." They chorused, trying to run away.
But the bulldog tackled them to the ground, pinning them. For a moment, it snarled at them. Then it started laughing.
"Ahahahah!" Chuckled the bulldog, strings of drool hanging off his jowels. "I got youse gooood!"
Blu and Jewel stared, half-terrified, half-confused.
"I could have ripped your throats out, but I didn't!" The bulldog declared. "But I coulda..."
"Hey-hey, Luiz!" Called Rafael, flying down. "Stop scaring my friends!"
"Hey, Ralfy, C'mere!" Luiz climbed off of Blu and Jewel and hugged the toucan. "Where ya been? You look good!"
"W-w-w-wait." Declared Jewel. "Luiz... is a bulldog?"
"You got somethin' against dogs?" Luiz asked defiantly.
"I do when they're drooling on me." Jewel retorted.
"It's a medical condition!" Protested Luiz.
"No, no. Hey, amigo, we really need you." Rafael urged.
"She's mean, bro." Luiz pouted.
"Luiz, come on." Rafael hopped over to Blu and Jewel and lifted up the chain. "We need your help."
"Hmmm." Luiz scrutinized the chain. Licking his nose, he declared "I think I know what to do."
Luiz led Blu to a nearby worktop, which housed a nasty-looking machine saw. As the bulldog donned a welding mask, Blu asked the obvious question.
"You sure this is safe?" He inquired. "Because I wanna be free, not dead!"
"Oh sure, nothing to it." Said Luiz, lowering the mask over his face. "Now, if anything goes wrong, scream really loud, 'cuz I can't hear too good with this thing on!" He tapped the side of the mask with his paw. "Hey, Ralfy! Hit the switch, please!"
"Don't worry!" Rafael called to Blu and Jewel before switching on the power. "He's a professional!"
As the saw whirred into life, Luiz began pushing Blu and Jewel toward it.
"Now, try not to move!" He instructed them. "I can't really see out of this thing either!"
As they neared the saw, Luiz slipped on a drop of his own drool, knocking Blu and Jewel into the saw. Jewel jumped into the air, flapping her wings as hard as she could, and grabbed onto a light fixture, swinging Blu over the saw, Blu coming just close enough to lose a few milimetres off his head feathers. As he continued swing, Blu smashed into a shelf of paint cans, then pendulumed back. As Rafael tried to turn off the power, Luiz raised his head, asking "Hey, where'd ya go?" and was knocked into the saw by Blu, causing the welding mask to be sliced in half. On the back swing, Jewel lost her grip on the fixture, and they both fell toward Luiz, who caught the chain in his mouth. As the birds dangled upside-down, the bulldogs' drool dribbled onto their cuffs, lubricating their feet enough for them to simply slip out. After that happened, Luiz spat the chain into the saw, jamming it.
"Ew, gross!" Cringed Blu, shaking his foot dry. Then he realized. "I'm free! Jewel! Jewel, we're free! We're also covered in bulldog drool, but hey, it's a small price to pay! Can you believe it's finally..."
Jewel soared overhead, laughing jubilantly.
"...Over." Blu finished lamely.
Jewel, ecstatic, flew around the garage.
"Come on, guys, let's go!" She called to Nico and Pedro.
"What are we standin' around for?" Nico asked. "It's carnival!"
The two, along with Rafael, followed Jewel outside. Blu followed on foot, watching sadly as they flew around.
"Yup, I know just how feel." Said Luiz, joining him. "Watchin' 'em up there, makes ya wanna chase 'em, grab 'em in your mouth, and bite their heads off, huh?" He licked his nose, then burst out laughing. "I'm just kiddin', bro. Yeah, chasin' 'em is plenty."
Blu wasn't listening. He was lost in his own thoughts.
'It's over, alright.' He despaired. 'Jewel's not going to want to be with me now that she can fly again. Who have I been kidding all this time? No female bird in their right mind would want to be with a flightless fool like me!'
Completely despondant, Blu turned and walked away.
"Hey, where are you going?" Called Jewel, landing next to him. "Blu? Blu, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Lied Blu. "Everything's perfect. You'll be off to the rainforest, I'll be back with Linda, just like we planned."
Before Jewel could reply, Nico and Pedro butted in.
"Hey birds, stop yappin' and start flappin'!" Cheered Nico. "Let's go!"
"I, I, I guess I thought, maybe..." Mumbled Jewel.
"What, that you'd come to Minnesota?" Said Blu sarcastically. "Great. I guess I'll knit you a scarf."
"No, I... That's not what I meant." Said Jewel.
"Look Jewel, I can't spend my life walking around, following you wherever you're going." Blu said bluntly.
"Hey, it's not my fault you can't fly." Jewel shot back, hitting Blu right where it hurt the most.
"Awkward." Pedro whispered to Nico.
"Okay, okay." Rafael landed inbetween an irate Blu and a indignant Jewel. "You know what? This is good. Just clear the air. Just be completely honest with each other."
"You want honesty?" Blu snarled. "Fine. Fine, I can be honest. I don't belong here. The only reason I came here was so I could get some tail!"
"What?" Gasped Jewel, outraged.
"And, and, you know what?" Blu racked his brains, trying to think of something really hurtful to say. "I hate samba!"
Rafael and Jewel looked shocked. Nico actually burst into tears.
"Hey!" Called Pedro, comforting his friend. "That's a little much!"
"Make the mean bird take it back!" Pleaded Nico.
"Yeah, every song sounds exactly the same." Blu continued spitefully. "'Tico-taco, ya-ya-ya! Tico-yaco, ya-ya-ya!' Lame! I'm tico-taco outta here!" He stormed off.
"Fine!" He heard Jewel calling after him. "See ya round, pet!"
Blu was so full of anger, it was some minutes before he realised Rafael had been following him.
"Rafael, quit following me." He snarled. "You're going in the wrong direction. Isn't carnival that way?"
"I'm not going to carnival." Rafael said quietly. "No, I'm going home."
"But I thought you loved carnival." Blu said, confused.
"I do, but I love my family much more." Declared Rafael. "And that's a decision I made with this." He put a wing to Blu's heart. "Not with this." He tapped Blu on the head.
As Blu mulled over Rafael's words, Nico and Pedro came flying in.
"Hey, Blu, Blu!" Called Pedro. "I was flying, and I saw this big cockatoo!"
"With big ninja talons!" Added Nico.
"This cockatoo was ugly!" Stated Pedro. "Anyway, that's not the point."
"And then Jewel was there, and he snatched Jewel up, he like, snatched her up!" Continued Nico. "And he was like 'You comin' with me, you little princess!'"
"And Jewel was like 'Pish! Pish! I ain't yo princess, leave me alone!' Said Pedro. "And I was like 'what?..."
"And then he was like..." Started Nico.
"Guys, stop!" Blu interrupted. "Just tell me what happened!"
"He got Jewel, man!" Summed up Pedro.
"And he's taking her to the parade!" Nico and Pedro said together.
"This is all my fault." Blu said guiltily. His face then set in determination. "Let's fly!"
Following Blu's lead, the group made their way back to Luiz's, where they found the bulldog dressed in gold clothing and wearing a fruit hat.
"Hey, guys!" Luiz cheered. "I thought you left without me!"
"Luiz, Jewel is in trouble." Blu explained. "Think you can give me a lift, big guy?"
"Sure thing!" Smiled Luiz, lowering his head for Blu to climb on. "Where to?"
"The parade." Said Blu, pointing in the event's direction.
"Oh, you readin' my mind, bro!" Luiz chuckled, breaking into a run. "Carnival, here we come!"
A globule of Luiz's spit flew into Nico's face.
"Hey dog, I'm drownin' back here!" Gasped Nico, wiping the saliva off his beak.
"You will get wet on this ride!" Luiz sniggered.
'Hang in there Jewel.' Blu thought. 'I'm coming!'
As they entered the parade, Luiz was entranced by the festivities.
"Ha ha! This is the spit!" He cheered, joining a group of dancers. "Now I can get my freak on!"
"Luiz, focus!" Blu yelled. "Rescue first, freak later! Come on!"
"Outta my way, people!" Luiz barked, running around the musicians.
"Alright guys, I'll fly ahead and look for Jewel!" Called Rafael from above.
As Blu and Luiz ran through the crowd, Blu heard someone calling his name. It was Linda, decked in a flamboyant blue macaw outfit, balancing on the hands of two dancers on a float.
"Linda!" Blu chirped. Then he noticed what she was wearing. "Linda? Wait!" He pulled heard on the back of Luiz neck, urging him to stop.
"Blu?" Called Rafael, as he, Nico and Pedro flew in. "Blu, we found her!"
"She's on some like, weird chicken float!" Declared Pedro.
"Come on!" Urged Rafael.
For a moment, Blu was torn between priorities: Reuniting with Linda, or saving Jewel. But he quickly made his decision.
"Let's go get Jewel." He told Luiz.
As they made their towards the chicken float, they entered an area filled with crocodile-costumed dancer riding skateboards.
"There they are!" Blu spotted the absurd-looking float. "That's the float!"
"Whoo, that float is a crime in itself!" Luiz chuckled.
One of the dancers' foam croc tails knocked Blu from his perch. As Luiz started biting on the tail, Blu commandeered a skateboard and wheeled to his destination. Rolling through a group of stilt-walkers, Blu position himself so one of them of step on the board, catapulting him to the float. Blu then crawled inside through a fold in the cover. Finding a caged, sullen Jewel inside, he went over to her.
"Hey, Jewel." He whispered.
"Blu!" Jewel gasped in delight.
"Relax, gorgeous. I'm gonna get you out of here." Blu declared, picking at the cage's padlock.
"No, no!" Jewel protested. "Blu, you can't be here. You have to go. Nigel is..."
Nigel came at Blu from out of nowhere, knocking him into a cage.
"Hello, pretty bird." Grinned Nigel, closing the cage's door. "So kind of you to join our little soiree."
"Oh come on, you really think I came alone?" Blu challenged him. "Wrong, ugly! I got three of the roughest, meanest, craziest birds in all of Rio right behind me!"
"Woohoo!" Whooped Pedro, whom Blu realized was occupying a cage with Rafael and Nico. "You hear that guys? We're saved!"
"Uhh... I think he means us." Pointed out Nico.
"That's right, that's right, thet's right... Oh." Pedro's gloating dance fell short.
"Ah, love." Sighed Nigel, holding some of Blu and Jewel's feathers, ready to alert his master of their capture. "It's such a powerful and... stupid thing."
As the cockatoo flew to the front of the vehicle, Blu and Jewel shared a look of despair.
"Some rescue, huh?" Sighed Blu, as the float's engine started.
"You did your best." Jewel comforted him, as the vehicle started moving forward.
"Thanks." Blu half-smiled. "Listen, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. You know, the whole 'get some tail' thing, and the stuff about the samba? I was just... trying to hurt you."
"I'm sorry, too." Said Jewel. "I shouldn't have mentioned the flying thing."
"Apology accepted... gorgeous" Smiled Blu.
"Right back at ya... handsome." Jewel smiled back.
Blu couldn't believe what he had just heard. Jewel had actually flirted a little with him. He considered telling her how he really felt about her, but every time he tried, nothing came out of his beak but silence.
'It doesn't really matter anymore.' He moped to himself. 'We're pretty much finished, anyway.'
As the float's engine entered high gear, the caged birds could only sit and wonder as to what fate they were currently speeding towards.
To Be Continued...
(Rio and all associated characters are the property of 20th Century Fox and Blu Sky Studios.)