Blouper is fantastic, will I ever shut up about it? The answer is no. So, I'll list some things. One, her story, Abnegation, gosh, freaking awesome, two, a few other story she's been writing that are extraordinary, and three, introducing me to Hourou Mosuku, which is about the best thing ever. Check it out ya'll, all of it, I promise fantastic items. Also, Mitch, Knockknocktimerico, cause we wrote a fic together and it most definitely oozes neatness! The Perfect Gift, check it out :) And, also, Littlebirdy, Spottedpaw, Skipperluvs, and all ya'll readers and reviewers. Thank-you!

Atonement

Kowalski tastes blood in his beak, suffocating, warm, such a heavy liquid to try to breathe through. Through his daze he sees Julien lying in the trashcan, curled into a tight ball and moaning. He sees Mother Eagle lying on the table, lifting her head up to stare at him. He sees Marlene standing on the floor looking at him with tears cascading down her face. He tries to call to her, but he can't open his beak.

Sharp stabs of pain envelop him, it makes breathing difficult.

Breathing. Hadn't it been such an easy task before? Now, it was like a new wave of torture every second.

Tom's laugh echoes in his ears like an eerie song, suddenly breaking off into a yelp. Kowalski falls through the air, the few last precious breaths he had managed to catch knocked out of him. He feels like he had been shattered into pieces, surely fragments of him were scattered around the floor at the moment, pieces that not even science would be able to put back together.

High-pitched shrieks sound in his ears. Through a blurry haze he sees feathers fly through the air.

Marlene stumbles to him and swiftly takes the knife off his shoulder, no pity in her face; letting the blood flow freely and profusely. Kowalski's eyes sway in her direction, relieved to see her.

"Would have been wiser to leave it there." He mumbles, watching the blood dyeing the pale-brown wood floor scarlet. Marlene hesitates for a second, then drops the façade and the tears begin once more.

"You're going to make it. There's got to be a way, I know there is." She holds his flipper tightly in her paw and stares into his eyes with fierce determination.

"You have to."

Stinging in his eyes force Kowalski to blink, suddenly his vision was distorted.

"Death is a normal part of the life cycle, not even the most ingenious scientists in history have been able to overcome it."

Marlene looks at him furiously.

"You will make it!" she growls, "or, or…."

"I doubt whether you'll be able to give me any proper punishment if I do." Kowalski laughs grimly, sharp jags of pain exploding in his chest. Marlene covers her face with her paws, glittering drops of water falling to the floor. Kowalski stares at her sadly. He tries to memorize her face as she looks up, feeling only half there. He wished to be able to stand and comfort her and promise that he wouldn't leave, but he felt heavy, as if a dark blanket was covering him.

Marlene gently wraps her arms around him. He can feel her rapid heartbeat against him, her sobs break him. He longs to be able to hug her back, but his flippers stay at his side. He can't move.

"I'm sorry Marlene." His voice sounds distant, faraway, he wasn't sure if she heard him or not. He tries to cling to the image of Marlene, as she disappears into a deep fog.

"Kowalski! Kowalski please! You can't leave me…please…"Marlene's sobs echo in the mist Kowalski was enveloped in. He was floating, no longer in pain, safe and happy. But he could still hear Marlene's voice. Now though, he couldn't decipher what she was saying, it was a language suddenly lost to him, earthly, and not belonging to where he was now.

How long he was in the fog he didn't know, he couldn't tell where the ground was, or where he was. It was all mist, nothing but mist, everywhere, and he was lost in it. No, not lost, he was now part of it.

Not any kind of substance I know…he thinks, examining the swirls of haze that surrounded him. His thoughts echoed around him, which surprised Kowalski as there seemed to be no matter from which the sound could reverberate.

He looks around, feeling as though there was no need for eyes here, but merely the knowing of what was there.

He senses someone else with him, and somehow, seeing, but not seeing, he finds his parents. Kowalski noted that they were no different from when he had last seen them; they were a bit older than him when they died. He and his dad were the same height, and he was now taller than his mom. His father still seemed smart and composed, looking much like Kowalski; only Kowalski looked more like his mom in the soft facial features.

His mother, Helen, smiles at him. Behind her, Kowalski's dad, also named Kowalski, steps forward.

"It's too soon isn't it?" Kowalski's dad states. Helen runs to Kowalski and hugs him warmly.

"My little Kiwi, you're so grown up!" She laughs. Kowalski faces them, confused.

"I'm dead?" He asks, figuring it to be the only logical explanation for their appearance. His parents look at each other.

"Technically." Replies his dad. Kowalski looks around frantically.

"I have to go back!"

Helen looks at her son.

"You can't." She murmurs, "It's too late."

"We tried too." His dad tells him. Kowalski looks at them, bewildered.

"There has to be-" Helen shakes her head, taking his flipper. He tries to pull away.

"There's always a way!" He says, waving his flippers in the air blindly, hoping to come across a secret portal of some sort. Helen waits for him to stop. He does after a few minutes, feeling a deep emptiness in him.

"I had the chance," he whispers, "I had the chance and I ruined it…" His mother looks at him understandingly.

"Come on, let's go. You'll feel better soon, trust me." She begins to lead him away, Kowalski follows, looking back at the place he had come from, seeing only dark emptiness.

"Kowalski!"

He looks around, expecting to find his mom calling him but she was next to him also looking around, beside her his dad was doing the same thing. Suddenly, he smiles.

"We spoke too soon eh? Ah yes, the wonders of science." He shakes Kowalski's flipper as his mom gives him another hug.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" she whispers. Kowalski gives her a puzzled look.

"It was great to see you again…"

"Kowalski…"

Their voices become more and more faded until they are replaced entirely by another one.

"Kowalski!"

"Rico! Hurry up on those stitches! Private! Hurry up with that water. Elm, Ray! Get Ringtail and Momma Bird. Maurice, make sure to tie those knots as tight as possible, and Sad Eyes, keep that hatchling under tight supervision."

Kowalski begins to feel the excruciating pain all over again, coming to him so suddenly he couldn't help but give out a cry.

"Kowalski!"

He opens his eyes, Marlene's face eyes stared straight at his. They glowed with tears, relief, and happiness.

"You made it." She whispers, unable to utter any more words. He smiles, glad to find that it, at least, was a painless movement.

"It would seem so." He mutters. Marlene laughs, shaking her head at his light use of words.

Kowalski attempts to stand, trying to act casual, but fails miserably. Marlene looks at him.

"You're not as bright as I thought." She comments, running her paw across his brow gently. Kowalski glowers, but he had to admit it felt nice to have her care about him.

"Don't worry though," Marlene points, "Rico already stitched you up and he even bandaged you, if you're careful you should be able to heal soon." She smiles as Kowalski looks at himself, then, his eyes go back up to her.

"What about you?" He asks, looking at the new bindings around her. She waves his comment aside.

"Nothing bad." She grins.

"How long have I…"

"A few hours," Marlene stops smiling, fear showing in her face, "I thought you were dead." She whispers. Kowalski wants to tell her what he had seen but first he wants to know about the others.

"And everyone else?"

"Umm...Ray and Elm found some of their missing friends here…" she mutters, "they've been gone for a while. Mort is with the chick, Maurice is fine and so are Private, Skipper, and Rico."

She knew she wasn't fooling Kowalski.

"Julien and Mother Eagle…?" He asks expectantly. Marlene cringes.

"They….we can't…the injuries…there was…" She sighs, "We don't know, but they're not doing so well."

This time, Kowalski manages to stand, much to Marlene's shock.

"What are you doing you idiot!" She calls, trying to catch up to him. He doesn't answer, instead going to the place where most of the commotion seemed to be. Tom was tied and gagged in a corner, his eyes red and angry, in the other, where Kowalski was heading, sat Rico, Private, Skipper, and Elm, all bending over two still forms. Skipper's voice was frantic.

"Rico we need more Neosporin! Private! Try to stop the bleeding!" Rico hurriedly turns and coughs up a small tube, handing it to Skipper. Private squeaks, closing his eyes as presses a cloth against Julien's shoulder. Julien was no longer complaining, and his crown was missing from his head.

Skipper throws the Neosporin away.

"No! This won't help! We need something else…what was it! Curse it!" Skipper stands up and turns, surprised to see Kowalski coming their way.

"Kowal-"

Kowalski brushes past him and pushes the others aside. He gives a quick inspection of his two friends, taking longer on Mother Eagle.

He whispers something to her in a solemn voice to which she shakes her head. He pleads, Marlene failing to catch what he says despite her close proximity, but Mother Eagle looks at him with resolute eyes. Sighing, Kowalski looks at Rico.

"Rico, remember that needle you took from the doctor? The one I told you to be very careful with?" He mutters. Rico nods, slowly coughing up the needle with white filling. Kowalski takes it, removing the protective cap off the syringe and carefully injects it into Mother Eagle.

"What's in there?" asks Marlene. Kowalski looks up at her, shaking his head.

"It will…keep her from feeling pain."

He turns back to Julien with a frown on his beak.

"Rico, I need some more cloth, needle and a thread, antibiotics, water, and some gloves. We need to stop this hemorrhage first of all." Kowalski works on Julien with swift precision, mending and cleaning the parts that needed the most help while everyone stares.

Skipper snaps out of his stupor and begins giving commands again.

"Rico! Private! What are you two standing around for, we still have another patient!" Private and Rico stand and rush to Mother Eagle, who was lying still, staring at them quietly. Kowalski also stands.

"No."

Skipper looks at him.

"Do I hear insubordination soldier? Cause this is no time for it." Skipper's voice was cold and jagged. He glares at Kowalski, but Kowalski ignores him and keeps on.

"No. Private, go get Mort, make sure he brings the chick, Rico, a pillow, Marlene," he looks at her, "your presence is required." Marlene walks to him, her eyes questioning him like everyone else's. Kowalski sits by Mother Eagle and nods at her. Marlene sits beside him.

Private comes back with Mort, from whom Kowalski takes the chick, gingerly placing it on the pillow Rico had provided. Gently, he moves the chick within reaching distance of Mother Eagle.

With sparkling eyes, Mother Eagle runs her beak over the head of her young hatchling, which peeped gently. She coos at it, sounding as if giving it her last farewell. Surprisingly, the chick lifts its head to listen, chirping back occasionally. Everyone stares in awe.

Finally, Mother Eagle looks at Kowalski, giving him a short nod. Kowalski quietly takes the chick and holds it in his arms. Mother Eagle gives one last look around at everyone, stopping at Marlene, whose gaze she holds peacefully, and Marlene gets the message. She was forgiven.

Mort goes to Mother Eagle and hugs her gently around the neck.

"I like Eagle." He smiles.

Mother Eagle sighs contently and lays her head down on the pillow, closing her eyes. No sound is heard in the room as Mother Eagle slowly becomes still. Marlene holds her breath, waiting for her to get up. When she remains still, Marlene looks at Kowalski with shocked eyes. He looks away.

"Why didn't you…"Marlene trails off, Kowalski hadn't actually left Mother Eagle to die, had he?

"There was no way, she was far too gone." He mutters, "She knew it was coming…the last thing she wanted was for me to keep her awake long enough to see the chick."

Marlene's eyes fill with tears. She feels Kowalski wrap his flippers around her as she lets them fall. She realizes he was right. If he had tried to help, Mother Eagle would probably not have made it anyway, and she never would have gotten the chance to see her baby…

It was the sacrifice only a mother would make.

Skipper rises to position and salutes. Everyone follows suit. Marlene hugs Kowalski and he hugs her back, this time, both silently crying their loss.

The chick cuddles between her fur and his feathers, feeling safe and warm.

Character death, ya'll thought it'd be Kowalski? Nah, I'd never do that...or at least not until I come up with something great. But yes, Mother Eagle is gone. Well, least she has someone to watch over her little chick :)