Okay, I know the last chapter got a bit, woozy, but it had to be done. Anyway, this is the final chapter of this story. Once again I promise I'll do more HF FanFics. The great song pairing will finally happen, Atticus will meet a girl, people will find out about our pregnant couples, and Mumble and Gloria's parenting skills will be put to the test. I might do an in betweener story, you know, the years I skipped in Chapter 1. To cover up the lost adventures of the fun loving four some. However, in conclusion, please enjoy the final part of this romance, and R&R my "Children of Vashj'ir" story. No one has reviewed it yet!
What are Friends For?
Final Chapter
You Know When
The sun had just started rising over the ocean, casting shadows of the ice on both of the sleeping pairs of mates. Age was first to awaken, but chose not to move since, now that Hayley was pregnant, she needed him more than ever. She had been dreaming of names all night, and what it would be like if it was a boy or a girl. All she knew to the full extent, she couldn't wait!
Erik was feeling mutually the same, although he wasn't sure of what had happened the night before, all he knew was that he had also proved he loved Bo, and she was now carrying his egg. Bo however, need not worry if it was a boy or a girl; she had already picked out their names either way. Jake if it was a boy, Tori if it was a girl, she had decided this a long time ago.
Age was so busy making sure Hayley was warm and comfortable, he didn't notice she woke up, with a huge smile on her face.
"Morning…daddy." She said to him pulling him close. This made Age smile, he then remembered the talk he had with Bo, just a few days earlier about how they both wanted chicks of their own. And now here in his arms, it was happening. The penguin that he was destined to be with, that loved him unto the ends of the ice and back, was carrying his egg. The thought, to Age, seemed to perfect to fathom, but in his heart he knew it was a reality, and a dream that was made real by the power of love.
"Morning…mama." This made Hayley smile too, only she closed her eyes and let her head gently fall to the ground to slowly take in the fact that she still had no regrets. She had mated with Age to give him proof of her love for him, and what better proof than a child?
In what used to be Emperor Land, Erik was busy keeping watch outside to make sure Bo was safe. He had been standing guard of his mate for some time, and when she finally awoke, he was the first one to be at her side.
"Bo, its morning." He said to her. She moaned from tiredness and yawned a big yawn. Erik just giggled, "You're so cute when you're tired." He said to her with a big smile, apparently, smiling was a thing new mates did to each other the morning after.
"And you're extremely cute when you tell someone else they're cute." If you watched these two this morning, you could see just how much the bond had sealed. "So, I guess we'd better make our way back to Emperor Land, because you know, the whole pairing thing is tomorrow." Bo was right, they had been so caught up in discovering and proving their love for one another, they had forgotten about where they needed to be.
"Ah, you're right. Okay then, looks like we're gonna spend all day getting home." Bo just nodded, and they began to walk home when she bent over gripping her belly, clearly the effects of pregnancy happened faster than they thought. "Bo!" he said to her as she was whimpering and tightly holding her belly. He thought he saw her begin to cry, when she spoke.
"I…may need some help." She said between whimpers.
"I'll give you all the help you need. Just promise me this won't cause you to have any regrets." He said with hopeful eyes. He loved Bo so much, and he told her he did what he did for her. He'd feel terrible if she suddenly had some regrets because of the pain she was in. But she just smiled at him despite her pain.
"Erik, I love you, I'll never have any regrets. I knew this would happen, I just didn't expect it so soon." She suddenly had worries, what if this exposed her to the world as a premature penguin? She would have to revoke her commitment to Erik, and have to settle for another! However, his next words calmed all her nerves.
"Don't worry Bo; I'll take care of you. I'll just say you ate lots of bad fish recently. And if all comes to worst I'll say that we've shown each other our passions a little earlier than everyone else, and since we only have to wait a day, they'll understand. Either way, you're gonna be perfectly safe with me." She loved Erik so much more after that, not even had they been mates for a day, and he already was prepared never to leave her side.
"Oh Erik, this chick is going to be lucky to have a Pa like you." She said to him, totally ignoring the pain she still felt.
Erik just smiled to her and had a feeling that this was the sign of great things. In his heart he knew that this chick was going to be his most precious gift, and greatest accomplishment. He also knew that so long as he had Bo by his side, this egg was not going to be a burden, but an adventure.
Far away from the two of them another couple was on their way back home. Age had helped Hayley get up and they'd been waddling back home to Emperor Land for an hour or so, and the whole time they had been trying to come up with names.
"Let's see…oh I got one, Sammy, and if it's a girl Samantha!" Age smiled at this, but at the same time it just did feel good enough.
"No offense honey, but…don't you think it should be a name our nation can call upon from the other side? A name of hope?" as he said this, a name came to his mind, a name that sung the voices of his nation. "I got it she'll be named…" Just then Hayley broke his sentenced and yelled for him to get down.
"Duck! Come on get down!" she said as they both threw themselves to the ice, just as a Skua flew where Age's head was. It was clearly circling down for another strike. "Age quick, into the water!" Hayley yelled as they ran towards the water as fast as they could, Age watched Hayley jump in and proceeded to do so himself. When Age was near the water he felt an immense pain hit his back, then there was a swarm of feathers and he blacked out, only a few inches from the water.
"Age?" Hayley said, as she swam around in the water near the ice, she knew she was safe from the Skuas, but there were many dangers lurking in the deep to fear. "AGE!" she yelled to the surface. But there was still no answer.
Back in Emperor Land, Atticus, Mumble and Gloria were all panicking. Their sons and friends have all but disappeared since the night before and were nowhere to be found by anyone. "Where did they go Atticus?" Mumble fiercely asked Atticus.
"I don't know Uncle Mumble, I don't know anythin' 'bout where they went. One minute I'm on the floor rapping my heart out, having the time of my life, then the next they're gone without a trace, how am I supposed to know where they all got to?"
Mumble was getting ready for another sharp worded question when Gloria stopped him, "Sweetie, stop it. He's told us everything he knows, Atticus isn't one to lie." Mumble knew Gloria was right, but he still couldn't help but get a weird feeling.
"I'm sorry Gloria, it's just…I can't shake this feeling I have."
"Mumble, we both felt it, how can I forget? There you were, lying asleep in my arms and all of a sudden, you shoot awake panting and sweating. You got up and said you felt something just happened somewhere, and then, after a brief moment of thinking, I felt the strange feeling too. But there's nothing to worry about Mumble. I'm sure whatever it is, our babies are gonna be home safe."
Just then Atticus remembered the talk he had had with Age the day before, about Bo crying over some reason that neither of them knew. "Wait…" they both shot Atticus a look in anticipation of whatever it is he was about to say. " I remember Bo crying her eyes out yesterday, she was running off into that direction…" he said as he pointed into that direction, "Age said he didn't know what was wrong and after our performance, I didn't see him. Maybe the two of them went off looking for her." Mumble figured as much, he should've known that deep bonds of caring for one another ran in the family. He had no worries what so ever, he knew what had to be done and he was prepared to do it.
"Gloria I'm going to find them, I have to, and it's my job as a father." Gloria was quick to protest.
"Mumble do you remember when Erik ran away after he slipped up dancing a few years ago? It's the same thing; they just need time, especially if they're trying to comfort a friend." Mumble stopped walking in the direction he was pointed, and thought of what she said. He then turned around and looked at her, "Gloria, I…"
"Don't have to do anything." It was Erik, he was back and Bo was over his shoulder.
"Erik! Oh sweetie, you had us so worried, your daddy was about to go and look for you." Gloria didn't even notice Bo until she got closer. Her eyes widened and she gasped, "Bo! What happened!" she slowly lifted her head up to answer. But instead she just threw up, so Erik answered for her.
"She ate a lot of bad fish, she's been really sick the whole way back." Gloria was the first to take Bo off of Erik's shoulder and said,
"Come on Bo, let's get you looked at." She said as she led Bo to someone who could help.
As she supported Bo as they walked off, Mumble and Atticus walked up to Erik and took turns asking him questions. First up was Mumble, "Erik, where did she go?" Erik had thought up a lie to every single question they might ask, one could say he was more than prepared.
"She went to her secret hideaway, she said she needed to be alone for a while. Apparently, she needed to get away from it all." Erik was very good at making this lie and all the ones to follow believable.
"Okay, why did you go after her?" Atticus said with a raised eyebrow.
"Because, she's my friend and I care about her." Erik was thinking how dumb of a question that was when Mumble's next question threw him off guard.
"Okay, so where's Age?" Erik hadn't thought of Age he was so busy thinking of questions for him and Bo that he never even thought of Age. He thought quick and answered.
"He's gone missing? When? How come I didn't hear about this? I would've gone out to look for him too."
Mumble stopped him; he noticed he was panicking, even though he was just acting. "Calm down Erik, we'll just look for him later, for now why don't you go help out Bo. She seems like she needs it with all that bad fish."
Erik just nodded and waddled off to help her out, but Mumble just stared at him as he walked off. Atticus noticed his looked and questioned it. "Uncle Mumble, what's wrong?" Mumble was Erik's father, he couldn't hide anything from him, though he wasn't sure what, something was definitely up.
"He's hiding something, I can feel it." He said as he continued to watch Erik leave.
Meanwhile in the care ice pavilion, Bo was resting up against the ice wall and was feeling very light headed. The nurse was bringing her some shrimp to try and settle the bad fish that wasn't there. She knew why she was like this, but she dare not say. Gloria was helping to attend to her, but the nurse was bewildered by her remedies not working.
"I just don't understand, the shrimp should've counter acted the bad fish. Why isn't it working?" the nurse seemed liked she was failing at a serious surgery. Gloria helped ease her worries.
"Nurse, it's fine maybe she just needs some time, you know to let it settle." Gloria knew nothing about caring for injuries other than minor cuts or bruises Erik and Age had gotten growing up. The nurse however seemed too worried.
"No no no, I must be doing something wrong. There's gotta be a…you know what? Maybe I should just diagnose her again." She said sitting in front of Bo, "You ready for a few more questions?" The nurse asked.
"Mmmhmm…" Bo said and nodded as she then threw up again. "Wow, must've been some really bad fish." She said then threw up again. The nurse just got grossed out by this and continued with the questions.
"Alright, now then, oh, if you feel the need to throw up again, please, turn your head that way." Bo nodded, and the nurse asked her questions, "Okay then, have you been having any stomach pains?"
Bo thought for a moment, and answered, "Well, sort of, but it's been more so in my lower stomach." The nurse nodded and asked another question.
"Okay, what have you eaten in the past…two days?" Bo thought about it, then answered.
"Well actually, I didn't eat at all yesterday, my last meal was the day before and I had no problems then." This confused the nurse even more, but she started to pick up a small hunch.
"Okay, uh, where were you the past few days?"
"Well, Erik said he was looking for something in our old home, Age, he told me this, so I went to go look for him there. When I found him, he said he was having a hard time finding it, but then he…" she quickly thought up a lie, "Started crying and asked me to comfort him. So I did and we fell asleep next to each other. The morning after I just had these horrible stomach pains that seem to come from nowhere, that's why when Gloria found me, I was leaning over, because I could stand up straight without it hurting."
The nurse was absolutely confuzzled. She had no idea what could cause stomach pain to a penguin who didn't eat anything and had been walking for a number of hours…but then it hit her. "Wait, did you say you slept next to Erik?" Bo nodded, "And what happened during that time?" Bo shrugged her shoulders, she was asleep, how could she know what happened? "Uh-huh, yeah, okay, uh thank you, I'll have your diagnostics soon, just stand by." Then she leaned over to Gloria as Bo threw up again. "May I speak with you, outside?" she whispered. Gloria nodded as they walked outside.
"What's wrong?" Gloria asked, concerned for Bo.
"Okay I know you think I'm gonna sound crazy, but there's no way Bo suffering from a severe stomach ache, not after her symptoms."
"So what's wrong with her?"
"Well, this may seem a little far-fetched but, it would be possible, given her symptoms, that well…" Gloria waited for her answer, clearly not picking up the signals. "Well, think about it Gloria, what were your symptoms while you were pregnant with Erik?" Gloria thought back to that time. She remembered everything she could, and told the nurse.
"Well, I remember being light headed, having bad, lower stomach pains, I threw up a lot, I couldn't really walk without someone else's help…" Gloria got wide eyed as she picked up on the hints.
"And, she slept with Erik next to her, and according to her that's all he did."
"Nurse…are you saying that…Bo is…pregnant?" the nurse just slowly nodded her head when she asked. Gloria wasn't sure how to respond, so she just simply took the fact in and told the nurse, "Okay, okay, just…don't tell her, I'll go tell Mumble." She raced off to find Mumble and Erik, but she, at the same time, felt this feeling, not of anger, but of joy and excitement, she was gonna be a grandma! Her son had found his true love! Of course she would've been happier if they had waited a few more days, but hey, all the same, she didn't care. Her only thought was that she hoped Age would be the same, if only she knew the danger he was in.
Hayley was rushing to get back to Emperor Land to get help for Age, but the only leads she had was a mild sense of direction Age had told her. Regardless, the father of her egg was in serious trouble and pain, and she couldn't stand by while he suffered. She asked numerous arctic creatures she came across which way it was, but everyone said something different, so she kept going in the direction Age had told her. She had to get there, she had to help him! Just when the sun was at its highest point, she came across a group of penguins who were older than her, but they weren't Emperor like her, she guessed they were Adelie.
"Hey pardon me!" she said over to them, then this shorter penguin with fuzz on his head stepped up.
"Hola senorita, how may me and mis amigos help you?" After that, another penguin stepped up and said something to the fuzz.
"Ramon, what are you doing? You know we gotta get back to Adelie Land by tomorrow."
"Chill Carmen baby, your beautiful Ramon just needs to help a D.I.D, after that, I promise, tonight I'm all yours." he said with a wink.
"Hmm, you really know how to charm a chica…" she said smiling. But Hayley was in a bit of a rush.
"Uh hey excuse me!" she said, all the penguins looking at her, "Do any of you know where Emperor Land is?" Then another penguin stepped up.
"Oh, our buddy Fluffy lives there, him and his familia, why do you need to go there senorita?"
"That's it! I'm not a…senorita? I'm a wife, and my mate in trouble! Would any of you happen to know Mumble or Gloria Happy Feet?" The amigos got wide eyed.
"That's our friend Fluffy! What's wrong with him senora?" Ramon asked.
"His son, Age, he been attacked by a group of Skuas and he needs help fast!" Hayley was failing her flippers, showing her help was urgent.
"Okay, okay, calm down miss…?" Carmen showed the most sensitivity of all the amigos.
"Hayley, I'm Age's mate." Lombardo, got wide eyed.
"His mujer? Isn't he like, 3?" Ramon nodded to Lombardo and turned to Hayley.
"Tell me chica, why does Fluffy's boy need help this minuto?"Ramon asked. Hayley started to cry.
"Because…I'm pregnant, and he's the daddy." She said through her tears. Ramon gasped.
"Fluffy is gonna be an abuelo? Ha, hole! Come on let's go!" Ramon said waddling off in the direction they came from. Carmen wasn't one to protest.
"It's okay miss, we'll save your husband, for now let's just get you home." Hayley nodded to Carmen's words and followed them back to Emperor Land.
Meanwhile, Gloria was searching for Mumble to tell him about Erik's chick. She was frantically searching in all the pavilions and meeting places, until she found them in a clear area a little ways outside the main center. She noticed it was only Erik and Atticus, Mumble wasn't with them. She rushed over to them to tell them the good news, though on the inside she was scared of how Mumble would take it.
"Erik! Erik sweetie!" He turned around and took notice of his mother.
"Yes mama? Is something wrong?" Erik said to his mom with full concern. Gloria felt a need to laugh, but didn't.
"No, not at all, in fact, everything is so…happy." She said this whenever she couldn't find the right word in honor of the, happy feet, that saved their nation, twice.
"Then what's up Ms. HF?" Atticus asked.
"Well, it's about…" Just then they heard a loud yelling from behind them, it was none other than the Amigos.
Erik had seen his Uncle Ramon recently, and so did Atticus and Gloria, they just weren't expecting them to be back so soon. The thing that puzzled Erik, was that there was an Emperor with them. He guessed she was a friend of theirs.
"Hola, Fluffy Jr., oh and Mrs. Fluffy," Ramon said pecking at her flipper, "We bring you troubling news." Erik, Atticus and Gloria were all instantly listening to Ramon, but he just directed their attention to the Emperor following them. "She's told us some muy malo news about your other Fluffy Jr."
"Age? Something's wrong with Age?" Erik said, stepping into the friends and up to the Emperor.
"Yes, he's been attacked by a group of Skuas, and I haven't seen him since, but that was like…" Stopped and looked at the sun, "Four to five hours ago. For all I know he could be…" she couldn't bring herself to say the word. And then she started to cry again, but Atticus quickly moved in to help.
"Whoa hey, calm down there girl. We can't help our friend out unless you calm down a little and tell us your name." Gloria thought he sounded rude, but in a way, he was right. The Emperor stopped crying and slowly picked up her head to speak.
"I'm sorry, it's just…I can't stand the thought of losing him, I love him so much." This made Erik and Gloria get wide eyed, but Erik asked her first.
"Who are you?" He asked getting closer to her; she put out her flipper to shake.
"I'm Trixie," this made Erik lose his happy face, "But my real name is Hayley, Age is my mate, nice to meet you…?" She waited for a name, but since she didn't know who she was talking to, she had just made a big mistake.
"Your…Age's…mate?" Gloria said slowly, but once again it was out of excitement, not anger.
"Yeah, and he really needs our help, so if you could tell where I could find Mumble, Gloria, or Erik Happy Feet, I'd really be grateful to you." She clearly didn't hear Ramon greet Gloria and Erik as Fluffy Jr. and Mrs. Fluffy. But Erik just stepped back and said, in a calm, bold voice,
"I'm Erik Happy Feet, and this is my Mama, Gloria Happy Feet, and this is my friend/bro, Atticus." Atticus then waved.
"Yo."
"So, you're my son's mate huh?" Gloria asked her. Hayley was still in shock at what she had revealed to them, but threw the thought away, she had to focus.
"Yes, now please, we have to gather up a search party and go look for him, he's a bit of a walk that way, and last I saw him he was about to jump into water when he got swarmed by Skuas. We need to go, like now! I can still hear him calling my name for help." She wasn't kidding, the whole walk to find help she heard Age's voice in her ear calling for help. Hayley promised she'd find help, and now that she had, she could care less if she was pregnant, she had to help her mate. Erik however had a different question.
"Okay we'll leave right away, but, I'm sorry what was your name again?" Erik may as well of fell over from shock.
"Hayley, I'm Hayley." Erik suddenly had all these memories of Age speaking of a girl from his chick hood named Hayley. How they were bonded to each other the day they met, the avalanche that tore them apart, and how he had always wondered if she was alive, and now, here she was standing in front of him, his little brother's long lost love, and she was alive!
"Hayley? You're Hayley?" she nodded, and Erik turned to Gloria and Atticus, "Guys, it's Hayley! Remember how Age had always talked about a girl named Hayley? Well this is her! She alive and they're mates!" Erik had almost completely forgotten about Age when he found this out. Gloria just stared in disbelief.
"Hayley, you're the Hayley Age was always talking about?" She blushed.
"Age always talked about me?" she said smiling down to the ice. But Atticus knocked them all back into reality.
"Um, hello! Our friend is getting pecked to death by a couple a rats wit' wings?" Gloria suddenly remembered the task at hand.
"Oh my gosh, I completely forgot about that! Um okay, Erik, you go with Hayley back to where Age was, I'll gather up some penguins for a search party, and Atticus…" she thought of something for Atticus to do. "You stay here and watch after Bo, she's really gonna need it in her state." Said Gloria, then gave Erik a smile and a wink.
They all went their separate ways, but the whole time walking, Erik just kept thinking his Mama knew. She had to, it was a parental instinct when stuff like this happened, Hayley noticed Erik's deep thinking, and felt sort of guilty not asking what was wrong. Soon enough however, the silence bothered her too much, and she was forced to break it.
"Erik, you've been staring down at the ice this whole walk, something is definitely on your mind." She could read his mind just as well as Bo and Gloria could, I guess mind reading ran in the Happy Feet family.
"Yeah, you're right. I can't help but think my mama knows about Bo." This confused Hayley, what was wrong with Bo?
"Who's Bo?" Erik hadn't told anyone, so he lied to her just like he did to everyone else.
"She's a…friend of mine, she has really bad stomach pains, and she keeps throwing up. But I'm sure it's just from the bad fish she ate."
Hayley had worked with her Uncle's nurse numerous times, and those weren't stomach ache symptoms. To her, she could see right through his lies, there was no question, Bo wasn't having a bad stomach ache, she was pregnant, and seeing as how Erik was the one who lied, she guess he was the father. Hayley took the thought in, and wondered why she wasn't having the same problems; after all, she was pregnant too! But she snapped out of it and turned back to Erik and got in front of him as to stop him from walking, and crossed her flippers.
"What?" Erik said to her, hoping she didn't catch on.
"Erik, you can't fool me. I know pregnancy symptoms when I hear them." Erik stopped dead in his tracks; he can't believe she actually solved it that fast. He didn't know what to do, so he quickly protested.
"What? You think she's pregnant? Come on Hayley, the pairings aren't until tomorrow, you really think she's carrying and egg now?" Erik wasn't as good at acting as Bo was. It all went in one ear and out the other; Hayley had nailed it, no problem.
"Yup, just as I thought, you're the father." Erik got wide eyed, she had gotten it spot on, not even the nurse got it that quick, and she was given only half the symptoms she was. But Erik just hung his head low, he couldn't lie, no to anyone. "Ah, it's okay Erik, I'm really happy for you. I just wish that someday my chick and yours get along." This made Erik look at her funny.
"You have a chick? But you're in the same generation as us! How could you have a chick right now?" Hayley didn't accidentally slip up, she knew what she said.
"Isn't it obvious?" She said to Erik, and then it hit him. Age had done the same thing he did, he had found his true love early, and then proved it.
"Hayley, are you pregnant with Age's egg?" he asked her, but she just smiled, she wasn't afraid to admit it, not to anyone. "Oh my gosh, I'm gonna be an Uncle and a Daddy!" he said flailing his flippers in joy. Hayley just smiled, she was more excited than anyone but she still feared for her life over Age.
"Um Erik, if you don't mind could we please find Age? You know, the father of this egg, because you know, it's not like he decided to stay behind on purpose." She made it clear that they had somewhere to be and someone to help.
"Oh yeah, sorry, I'm just so…amped up right now!"
"I figured you'd be, I mean, who wouldn't?" Hayley said to Erik.
Then they both continued to waddle off in the direction where the attack happened, both of them lost in their own thoughts about names and possible lessons in song and fishing. In theory, one could say both parent were horribly over preparing for the arrival of their chick.
Meanwhile back in Emperor Land, Atticus was busy helping the nurse tend to Bo. He had agreed to do whatever he could to help, and this is what Gloria told him to do. However the nurse had been gone for a while now and he had been caring for her on his own for the past hour. As he was beginning to tire, a voice from Bo brought him back.
"Atticus, where do you think she went?"
"I don't know Bo, but I can't do this by myself. I need some help." Then as if on cue, a young penguin from their generation stepped in.
"Hi, I'm Nicki, the nurse sends her regards, so she sent me to help instead." Nicki noticed Atticus was staring at her, "Um, hi, is something wrong?"
"Uh, no…not at all…I just uh, need to…ya know what? Never mind." Atticus felt so stupid after that, he couldn't speak straight around this penguin, and he didn't know why.
After some time of helping Nicki out, Atticus began to warm up to her. He helped calm Bo down, he talked to her, he gave her the food and water she needed, and Nicki was really starting to like Atticus. She thought he was kind, sweet, heart-warming, caring, and after his little stutter when they first met, she also thought he was a bit of a clown, but funny nonetheless. It was odd, but the next topic of conversation between the two didn't come up until now.
"So…I saw your performance yesterday, and I thought you did a great job, I can rap a little myself." Atticus was surprised at this, he'd never heard another penguin rap besides him and his Pa.
"Well, why don't you let me hear, maybe I can give you some help." She blushed at his request.
"What do you say Bo? Wanna hear some entertainment?" Bo could see the connection between the two, she knew this was gonna be good.
"Of course." She said with a smile.
"Well, alright, Atticus, wanna start me off? You know gimme something to work with?" Atticus thought for a moment, then it hit him.
"Alright, check this…" (Letting Go-Sean Kingston ft. Nicki Manaj, lyrics altered to fit penguins)
Hey yo gone, you Mr. Wingston
Nicki sang this, and Atticus was already impressed. After that Atticus gave her a nice, long hook.
Dutty dutty dutty love
I'm feeling like you're letting go
Dutty dutty dutty love
I'm feeling like you're letting go
Dutty dutty dutty love
I'm feeling like you're letting go
Dutty dutty dutty love
Don't be scared girl, call on me
'Cuz me ah want you for my eyes I'm a lover, you see
And the way you ah whine and the way you ah gwan
Say de man dem ah try fi rush ya, like dem prey non-stop
But baby girl will you be mine
Let go, show your skin because you're one of a kind Me nah go lie, girl I must be in love
'Cuz the way you ah whine you have me caught up
Dutty dutty dutty love
I'm feeling like you're letting go
Dutty dutty dutty love
I'm feeling like you're letting go
Dutty dutty dutty love
I'm feeling like you're letting go
Dutty dutty dutty love
What if you would just come right out of these 'coz
You can finally feel the wind when it blows
Don't be scared to be free to let go, show it off
Feel like letting go
Oh oh oh oh
I'm hearing your man not right
'Cuz you need gone wing inna your life,
gyal wing ah mi name and mi name can't change
And if I come over there I'll let go with them lips
Yo, I feel like letting go If you never know, baby now you know'
Cuz you're one of a kind, and you dress so fine
Like my diamond on my chain, you shine so bright now
Dutty dutty dutty love
I'm feeling like you're letting go
Dutty dutty dutty love
I'm feeling like you're letting go
Dutty dutty dutty love
I'm feeling like you're letting go
Dutty dutty dutty love
What if you would just come right out of these 'coz
You can finally feel the wind when it blows
Don't be scared to be free to let go, show it off
Feel like letting go
Oh oh oh oh
Nicki was insanely amazed by Atticus skills, and so was Bo. She started feeling the beat of the song, and felt she was ready to join in herself. She signaled to Atticus that she was ready, and she took it from there.
Hey you're gone, you Mr. Wingston
You say you have it, Louis it, and then some
Look how you gwan in ah your ice
You pretty and you nice
You done know say Nicki ah your wife
But true say I be up where you stay
I aint like them other witches that be actin' loosely
Know you gettin' hyper, I know you wanna get up in it
But I just want to think about it for another minute
I think I like your style ya'll
Why ya'll
Why don't we let go?
Hey yo
And I ain't try to tell 'em
And I ain't try to sell 'em
It's YSL teddy
I ain't gotta spell it
And yes, I killa kill 'em
I guess I am the villain
I park on the curb, I'm the owner of the building, the building
Ya deaf?
Boy me soon lef'
Come get this Playboy bunny like Hugh Hef
Sigh, Rastafari
Dutty dutty d-d-d-dutty
Atticus was also very impressed by her, he couldn't think of any tips to give her, because he thought she had nailed it on her own.As soon as she was finished, he figured he may as well finish it off.
What if you would just come right out of these 'coz
You can finally feel the wind when it blows
Don't be scared to be free to let go, show it off
Feel like letting go
Oh oh oh oh
Feel like letting go
Oh oh oh oh
Feel like letting go
Oh oh oh oh
The song ended with them stopping with their heads a little too close for comfort. Nicki could've of kissed Atticus if she wanted they were so close. But she didn't, and just pulled away in a huge pink blush.
"Uh…" Atticus said, trying to think of something to say. Just then the former nurse walked in.
"Okay, I'm so sorry miss Bo, I take it Atticus and Nicki were helpful?" She asked as Bo looked over to them. Nicki was smiling very much, and Atticus was still searching for words to say.
"Yeah, they were, very good to me. They even sang me a song." The nurse looked over to them.
"Really?"
"Yup, well, I gotta go, big day tomorrow. Uh, bye Atticus…" Nicki said as she left, but before she did, she turned around and gave Atticus a quick kiss on the cheek.
Atticus watched Nicki walk away, she only looked back once, and when she did, they both smiled at each other, and then she turned and kept walking. Atticus thought back to one of the lyrics she sang.
"You done know say Nicki ah your wife"
He hadn't thought much of it at the time it was sung, but now that he looked back on it and thought on it, he came to an unbelievable realization. He sort of suddenly did want Nicki as his wife. He felt more comfortable and safe singing with her than anyone he'd ever met, even his own Pa. But his moment of serenity was broke by the nurse breaking some news to Bo.
"Okay so while I was gone, I did some comparing to the illnesses you gave me, and I've come to an exciting conclusion." The nurse had to take care of other patients, but he whole time she was trying to come up with an excuse to tell Bo she was pregnant.
"What, you figured out what's wrong with her?" Atticus asked, concerned for his friend.
"Well, call me crazy, but…congratulations miss Bo, you're pregnant!" Bo and Atticus both got wide eyed from this, Atticus because he couldn't believe it, Bo because well, she was busted.
"Is this true Bo?" Atticus asked her. Bo was just like Erik, she couldn't lie to anyone very well.
"Yes Atticus, it's true."
"Well that's good to know, I'm not wrong. So I guess sleeping next to one another wasn't the only thing you and Erik did the other night?" the nurse asked Bo. Even though it was a little uncomforting, she fessed up.
"No, it wasn't. Yes, we…well, you know." Bo said. The nurse just nodded satisfied with her work, and turned to leave, because there was nothing she could do, because all of her pains were natural during pregnancy.
Atticus on the on the other flipper wasn't so down to the ice about this. If it hadn't been for the song he just sang with Nicki, I'm sure he would've exploded. "You mated with Erik? Behind all of our backs?" he asked Bo. She just slowly nodded her head in shame of her backstabbing actions against her friend, but still had no regrets as to loving Erik. "Bo, why didn't you just tell me you loved Erik? I would've understood and I'm sure so would've his parents."
"I would've understood what?" Mumble said walking in. He noticed Bo lying up against the wall gripping her belly, and he was instantly concerned for her. "Bo, what's wrong with you?"
"That's what I brought you here to find out." Gloria said walking in, then she looked at Bo. "So, why don't you tell your future father-in-law why you're here?" This made Mumble look at Bo with a very confuzzled face.
"Father-in-law?" he asked her. She knew this was it, and she was ready for it. She just wished Erik was here with her.
"Yes, Mr. Happy Feet, I'm pregnant." She said looking directly into Mumble's eyes.
"You're…pre…pre-pregnant?" she nodded and continued.
"Yes I am and…" she was interrupted by the one voice she needed to hear.
"I'm the father." It was Erik, with Hayley close behind. Mumble knew his skills as a parent were about to be put to the test.
"Erik, you have found love, in Bo?" he asked first, trying his best to stay calm and not burn up with rage.
"Yes Pa, and I'll never leave her side, not ever, I love her, and she loves me. That's why we did what we did, because we couldn't wait to show our love for one another, we couldn't wait to become mates. We didn't even have to sing to one another." Bo looked up at him and smiled.
"Of course, it never hurts to try." Erik smiled back down to her, and they both felt the same song come into their hearts. (My Destiny-Katharine McPhee)
I have always dreamed of this
I'll admit that there was something I missed
Wonderin' if it is for real
Every mistake, every wrong turn
Every time I lost my way
Led me to this, moment of bliss, tonight
With you, finally I can break free
With you, I saw a changing in my destiny
Dream come true, it's so funny now that I see
How different life turned out to be
You were always by my side
That you believed in me was enough reason why
I didn't stop, didn't give up
Even if I sometimes lost hope
I did my best, and I am blessed
In life
With you, finally I can break free
With you, I saw a changing in my destiny
Dream come true, it's so funny now that I see
How different life turned to be
Can I get any higher?
Tell me, does it get any stronger?
I owe it to you, that I made it through
I never could've done it, without you
With you, I can break free, yeah
I saw a changing in my destiny
Dream come true, it's so funny now that I see
How different life turned out to be
Oh, cause of you, I saw a changing in my destiny
Dream come true, it's so funny now that I see
How different life turned out to be
I've realized that it's my destiny
All of Mumble's doubts had vanished, he had guessed wrong. He had originally thought you had to sing in order to know if you loved them, but his son and his new mate had proved him wrong. He should've known this though; he never sang a note to Gloria.
As they finished singing, Hayley looked down at her belly, and then she started to cry again. Everyone looked at her and Mumble was the first to say something.
"Hello, um, are you okay?" he didn't know this penguin, what was he supposed to say? But Erik stepped in and helped him out.
"Pa, this is Hayley, Age's mate." Mumble got wide eyed, both his son's had mates already? "She's the Hayley Age was always telling us about, the one whom he couldn't stop thinking of, his one true love. She survived the disaster just like Age did, and now she's carrying his egg." Hayley still wasn't shy to admit it, in fact she felt like she couldn't say it enough.
Mumble was about ready to faint. Both of his sons had mates and were on their way to becoming fathers? He thought was mad and happy at the same time, joyous and raged, excited and disappointed. But then a thought entered his mind, where was Age?
"Hey, where's Age to begin with?" Mumble asked, but Hayley managed to answer through her tears.
"He's…gone." Mumble couldn't believe what he just heard; neither could Bo, Atticus or Gloria.
"What? He's gone?" Hayley just nodded.
"Yeah, she took me to the site of the attack, and well…" Erik said and let Hayley take over, she stopped crying, for she had no more tears.
"All we found was a blood trail leading into the ocean, a leopard seal must've got him, or whatever was left of him after the skuas were finished." Erik eyed her, she forgot something.
"Uh Hayley," she looked at him. "You're forgetting something." She looked at him, and remembered,
"If you're talking about that set of footprints we found, it's nothing. Probably just a penguin avoiding the remains by pushing it into the water." The tracks they found were right beside the blood trail, almost as if the penguin had shoved the body into the water. "Now if you don't mind I'm gonna go to the sea, I need to be alone." Hayley said walking away, there was nothing to be said about everyone else. They were all so shocked and depressed they couldn't think or speak.
As Hayley continued to walk to the water, she felt as though she didn't have a reason to live. Her true love was gone, somewhere in the belly of an arctic predator. She continued waddling, and she had stopped thinking of names, she was instead thinking of when to commit suicide. Without her mate she had no reason to continue on, no reason to raise the chick inside her if it didn't have a father. She reached the ice cliff and looked down, it was a long drop, maybe if done at the right angle, you could break your neck on impact. Hayley had no regrets of mating with Age, but she did have regrets of not going back for him sooner. She felt as though the whole thing was her fault, and from great sorrow, comes great songs.
Here I am
I'm standing on my feet
I am now
Striving through this world
Alone
Your touch is so
Far away
Like a bottomless hole
I am nothing
My soul has left my body
No heart no feelings
I could hold everything
But I, I need the cold
Cause it, it feels like home
The cold feels like home
She was about to jump, about to end it all, about to end her pain, her eternal loneliness, when a familiar voice broke the post silence of her song, and gave her a reason not to jump.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, he's still alive." She looked down to see who it was, and it was her Uncle Richie. Next to him was a maimed, ravaged penguin, who was still breathing, very faintly, but was hanging on. It was Age, she could feel it.
"Age!" she screamed and jumped to the water. She landed in and lightninged onto the ice cleavage where they were.
Age was in no condition to do anything, he was completely torn apart. He couldn't speak, walk, or eat. Hayley was amazed he found the strength to breath. After a look over her horrid mate, she turned to Richie.
"You came back? After what happened at the hideout?"
"I'm not one to tear apart true love Trixie, if you love this boy, with all your heart, then please, I give you mine, and all your family's blessings. Be happy, but for starters, save him." Just then the whole gang came over the edge; they had heard Hayley scream and came to see what was wrong. They saw Hayley talking to another penguin, and another bloody penguin that they could tell was barely clinging to life.
"Get down here you guys, it's Age! We gotta help him now!" they all followed without question as they launched themselves into the water and landed back onto the ice.
The all gently grabbed a part of Age's torn body and very, very slowly moved him up the cleavage to the nurse pavilion. They knew even the smallest tug could possibly sever his limbs from his body, he was that tore up. Only Mumble stayed behind, he wanted to talk to Richie.
"Thank you, for saving my son."
"I only did what family should do, I brought her true love back, nothing you wouldn't have done I'm sure." He then turned to leave, but Mumble stopped him.
"You could stay, we have lots of room, and seeing as how your niece is carrying an egg, you might want to see your great niece or nephew." Richie hadn't thought about, that he figured he had wronged Hayley too much to see her again.
"I'd like that."
"Welcome to Emperor Land." Mumble said with a smile.
As Age lay resting in the cozy ice pavilion, Hayley was the only one permitted to be with him, for too many people could cause shock on awakening. Hayley had started feeling the pains of pregnancy as Bo already had, but that wasn't going to stop her from singing to her love. (It Will Be Me-Melissa Etheridge)
If you hear a voice in the middle of the night
Sayin' it'll be alright
It will be me
If you feel a hand guiding you along
When the path seems wrong
It will be me
There is no mountain that I can't climb
For you I'd swim through the rivers of time
As you go your way and I go mine
A light will shine
And it will be me
If there is a key that goes to your heart
A special part
It will be me
If you need a friend
Call out to the wind
To hold you again
It will be me
Oh how the world seems so unfair
Creating a love that can not be shared
As you go your way and I go mine
A light will shine
And it will be me
Past the ever after there's a place for two
In your tears of laughter
I'll be there for you
In the sun and the moon
In the land and the sea
Look all around you
It will be me
There is no mountain that I can't climb
For you I'd swim through the rivers of time
As you go your way and I go mine
A light will shine
And it will be me
It will be me
It will be me...
As she finished, Age began to stir, and then, his eyes opened. She couldn't speak, and there were no words to describe the joy in her heart, soul and whole being.
"H-Hay-Hayley? Is…is that…that…y-y-you?" Age said extremely weakly.
"Yes Age it's me, and I won't leave your side, not ever." Just then, Mumble walked in, and gave the couple good news.
"Age…you and Hayley have been chosen to do the opening medley for tomorrow, you'll be joined by Erik and Bo." Age was always an underdog, no matter what, he always pulled through and did what his heart said was right.
(The next day, at the start of the pairing)
Age had made a full clean off, he may have been really sore from the cuts, bruises and pecks, but that wasn't going to stop him from having the honor off doing the opening medley for his generation. Hayley, Erik, and Bo all joined to his side, and the whole nation sang along.
There's no force to bring us together
As one crowd under the same sky
Turn to your special other
Don't let time pass you by
We're a nation! Not a civil war!
We're a nation! No blood no gore!
We stand strong together
Let us join fins and get it right
If only just this one time!
Age stepped forward and soloed for a few lines.
I hate you, you hate me
That is what all of you seem to be
Get real! You're all children of this earth
We must be tall and say, what we feel!
Atticus moved out and gave the chorus a little down town style.
We're a nation! No no civil war!
Ow!
Nation! No blood or gore!
Imma be sore
But I be wanting more
Yet we all adore
The price it takes to soar
Yet I need no contemplation
Yeah, cause baby, we're a nation!
Hayley came forth with her take.
Yeah! You stand by me
We all stand together
We're ready for anything
We stand proud
And last, Erik and Bo sang together.
Cause we're a nation! There's no civil war!
Yes a nation yeah no blood no gore!
We'll get it right this time
Erik sang only this by himself.
Cause we stand united
And then, everyone sang, the elders, the amigos, Gloria even persuaded Mumble to throw his voice in there.
We stand strong!
And with that, the opening medley was done, and the pairing for the future of Emperor Land, had begun.
The songs went on for hours, songs being thrown left and right to penguin that were searching for the one. But the song that broke the silence to Atticus was Nicki; her singing to him could break someone's heart. What he didn't know was, she secretly waited for his singing. Nicki sang her heartsong loud and proud and waited for Atticus' voice to join hers. (Super Bass-Nicki Manaj, yes I gave her that name on purpose)
This one is for the boys with the boomin' system
Top down, AC with the coolin' system
When he come up in the club, he be blazin' up
Got stacks on deck like he savin' up
And he ill, he real, he might got a deal
He pop bottles and he got the right kind of build
He cold, he dope, he might sell coke
He always in the air, but he never fly coach
He's a really really trip, trip, sailor of the ship, ship
When he make it drip, drip kiss him on the lip, lip
That's the kind of dude I was lookin' for
And yes you'll get slapped if you're lookin' oh
I said, excuse me you're a hell of a guy
I mean my, my, my, my you're like pelican fly
I mean, you're so shy and I'm loving your tie
You're like slicker than the guy with the thing on his eye, oh
Yes I did, yes I did
Somebody please tell him who the eff I is
I am Nicki Penguin, I mack them dudes up
Back coupes up, and chuck the deuce up
Boy you got my heartbeat runnin' away
Beating like a drum and it's coming your way
Can't you hear that boom, badoom, boom
Boom, badoom, boom bass?
He got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom
Boom, badoom, boom bass
Yeah that's that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom
Boom, badoom, boom, he got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom
Boom, badoom, boom, yeah that's that super bass
Atticus finally made his way through the crowd and sung to Nicki. To her, that was the song she was looking for. (Dumb Love-Sean Kingston)
You tell me that you're leaving
but then you wanna leave me
and never make your way to the door
i tell you that you're too much
and then i'll miss you too much
don't even know what we're fighting for
you keep my car?, girl
and then you go get it fixed
i talk one of them other chicks
just to make you jealous
how can we make it right
when we both put up a fit
you make me so mad
it's kind of hard to compete
but when i look into your pretty eyes
my heart just drops
girl you make me dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb,
dumb-b-do-b-dumb
dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb,
I love you so dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
dumb-b-do-b-dumb
wh-wh-wh-whoa
She turned to him and they were quick to combine their heartsongs into one beautiful song that would last a life time. (Born to Be Wild-Sean Kingston ft. Nicki Manaj)
I was just a player in the game of love
Till she came and turned mi tables around
Stacking up mi chips lining up all mi cars
Still they all came tumbling down
Man I think I might, think I might make her the one
Take them stealin me up on the run
she hits me like a shot gun, I'm done
If love is the beat she's the stead of my drum
Fly me away, the kingdom come
She got me going, daram-dam-daram-dam
Hey-o, hey-o, I was born to be wild
Oh no, oh no, till love shot me down
I'd rather die a thousand times, than live without your love
I'm sayin, Hey-o, hey-o, I was born to be wild
Oh no, oh no till you came around
I'd rather die a thousand times, than live without your love
Hey-o, hey-o, I was born to be wild
Oooohh I'm blown away, uh whoa, I'm blown away
Love was just a word till I bought me a ballah
Oh you everything for holding me down
I'm tellin all my homies that mi find mi a queen
In the jungle so you facing the crowd
Man I think I might, think I might make her the one
Take them stealin me up on the run
she hits me like a shot gun, I'm done
If love is the beat she's the stead of my drum
Fly me away, the kingdom come
She got me going, daram-dam-daram-dam
Hey-o, hey-o, I was born to be wild
Oh no, oh no, till love shot me down
I'd rather die a thousand times, than live without your love
I'm sayin, Hey-o, hey-o, I was born to be wild
Oh no, oh no till you came around
I'd rather die a thousand times, than live without your love
Hey-o, hey-o, I was born to be wild
No question, Nicki was right at home in this song of theirs, she picked up right from there.
If you would die, then why would you try
And if you reply, a suit and a tie
Is what I would buy, then you will be mine
Because you and I, we're born to be wild
I am Mother you King Other, Who knew you would land me?
I've been known to eat these rappers cook em like chef Ramsey
Mission accomplished, you're my accomplice
Cover of Vogue, yea Ima go topless
Ima go bonkers Ima go crazy
Ima get reckless and have a baby
Then hang the baby off of the balcony
Teachin him to "moon walk", tell him he's happening YAAAeeaahhh!
Atticus finished the song, with a small medley of his own.
I'm sayin, Hey-o, hey-o, I was born to be wild
Oh no, oh no till you came around
I'd rather die a thousand times, than live without your love
Hey-o, hey-o, I was born to be wild
Oooohh I'm blown away, uh whoa, I'm blown away
The song ended the same way the last one did, with their heads very close. Only this time, she did kiss him. His friends were right, Atticus confessed to himself, true love did exist.
Erik need not sing to Bo, they had just watched the whole thing and were cheering Atticus and Nicki on, while keeping Bo's pains in check. Age and Hayley did the same thing, only they definitely didn't need to sing to one another. They had already found love in the other the same way Erik had, with an egg. Mumble and Gloria watched from afar, they too were satisfied with how it all turned out. In all this joy and excitement, awe, and happiness, Gloria had an idea.
"Mumble," she whispered to him. "Want to give Erik a real brother?"
(A month later)
As all the eggs had been laid, and the females were off to the ocean, all of our penguins had their fins full over the winter. Bo and Hayley had laid their eggs a few days before everyone else, but it didn't matter, they were still gonna hatch at about the same time. The four males all looked at one another with their eggs on their feet, when Atticus spoke up.
"Yo, Uncle Mumble?" Mumble stopped looking at the egg on his feet and looked at Atticus. "What's it like, you know, when the egg first hatches and they look at you?" Mumble knew how to describe it but simply said,
"You'll find out soon enough now won't you?"
(One cold, blissful winter later)
The sun had just peaked over the ice as the eggs began to hatch, many shouts were heard, shouts of it being a boy, or a girl, how proud daddy was, but the most meaning full words weren't spoken in shouts, but in looks. Mumble looked down at his 3rd son, whom he named Jake, Bo had given him the idea, and he liked it, he knew what he was in for in raising another chick, but he was ready and couldn't be more excited. Atticus looked down to his new daughter, whom he and Nicki had decided to name Kourtney, to him, she was perfect. But there was no question between Erik and Age. After Bo had given the name Jake to Mumble she let Erik decide on the name, she trusted him.
"So what's my grandchick's name?" Mumble said waddling over to Erik with Jake on his feet. Erik stared down into his son's eyes, and said very proudly,
"His name is Gabriel. And he's destined for greatness in our world." After that Gabriel jumped off his pa's feet and ran over to a young girl, who was off her pa's feet.
"Hi, I'm Gab, I think…is my name Gab, pa?" Gabriel asked in his cute little, newly hatched chick voice.
"Yes Gab, that's your name." Erik said to his boy.
"So yeah I'm Gab, and you are?" the little girl turned around to her pa, and asked the same question Age asked his pa.
"Daddy…what's my name?" Age looked into his daughter's eyes, he finally came up with a name that sung with hope, an name that brought peace to those ears whom it touched.
"Syrena…" he said to his little girl. Gabriel just giggled and they two ran off together. Erik then walked up to Age.
"So, you think we should tell them they can't be together, because you know, were brothers?" Age knew what he had to say.
"Well Erik, were not actually brothers, so if they're meant to be, then they can, and I'll look forward to the day they do, because then we really will be brothers." Erik had called Age his brother for so long he forgot that he wasn't actually his brother.
"Oh right, but hey in that case, what are friends for huh?" he said giving his friend a flipper bump.
"What are friends for." Age said, he knew what friends were for, he just didn't need to say it.
"Gab come on back here!" They two new chicks came back and Gab hopped on his daddy's feet, and he walked away with Mumble, talking about something Age couldn't hear. Syrena had watched the four of them leave, but she could take her eyes off of Gabriel. Then she turned to her daddy and asked the only question he knew he could answer without hesitation.
"Daddy, how do you know when you're in love?" Syrena was much too young to ask such a question, but there was no question, after all Age had been through, and he was going to go through, he knew the answer.
"Oh my dearest Syrena…" She looked at her Pa, "You know when."
The End
And that concludes the story of Age and all the other HF penguins, please if anyone wants to do a spinoff of this story, don't hesitate. I'd love to see what my fans do with my characters. If there was no label on the song, it belongs to me. Look out for my newest Spyro FanFic, and I'm not continuing Children of Vashj'ir until I get a review. Thank you all and don't worry, I'll bring these characters back…someday. And I mean what I typed; only you know when you're in love.