Ace and Bloom exchanged a glance with their jaws dropped.
"What?" SJ asked.
"Um . . . Just give Ace and I a minute alone. All right, SJ?" Bloom said, getting to her feet. She and Ace moved out of SJ's earshot and lowered their voices.
"You don't think he's . . . him, do you?" Bloom asked.
"He has to be. He looks just like his father," Ace answered.
"But — how? It's impossible!" Bloom said, looking over at him. He and Joseph were busy playing Tic-Tac-Toe in the dirt.
"Not impossible, Bloom. Just not likely," Ace corrected.
"Damn right, not likely. How has he not been killed yet?" Bloom inquired.
"I guess Blowhole doesn't know. No one does, everyone thought he was dead. And besides, he resides in New York City. We're in Madagascar. Odds are one in a million that he'd find the one penguin in the world that was his father's worst enemy's son on one of the remote places on the planet," Ace pointed out.
"I guess you have a point. But what do we do now?" Bloom asked.
"I'm not sure. We should take him to Sergeant. He'll know what to do," Ace suggested.
"Sergeant? Ace! He's in China! Do you realize the risk in taking him so far away?!" Bloom argued.
"Well, you have a point. But he's the only one who knows the whole story," Ace reminded her.
"But we'd have to wait for his leg to heal, first. That could take a couple of weeks. Then we'd have to take several more weeks or so to actually get there. There has to be something else we can do," Bloom said.
"We could call Sergeant and ask him to come here," Ace proposed.
"Ask him to come here? Ace, Sergeant has so much to deal with already. Why would he come all the way here for this?" Bloom questioned.
"Trust me. This is something he's been waiting for since 2024 when this whole shebang started. He'll be astounded that Skipper's son is still alive. He'll be over here in a heartbeat," Ace assured her.
Bloom sighed. "Fine. Should we tell SJ?"
Ace shook his head. "No. He'll only ask a bunch of questions that Sergeant really needs to be the one to answer."
Bloom nodded in agreement. "All right. We'll have to spread the word to make sure no one mentions anything to him about it."
Ace glanced over at him. "I can't believe we actually found him . . . His father is legendary. This whole time, he was mere miles from us!"
Bloom joined him in his gaze. "I know. You know, now that I pay a little more attention, he really does look just like his father."
"I know, right? His head is just as flat as his was!" Ace said, chuckling.
Bloom replied without turning away. "Hey, now, his head isn't that flat."
Bloom and Ace returned to SJ and Joseph.
"Ah, you got me again!" SJ said as he lost another game of Tic-Tac-Toe. Considering he'd never played a single game in his life, he wasn't very good at it. But nonetheless, he was still having real fun for the first time in his life.
"Having fun, are we?" Bloom said as Joseph smudged out their last game and started making a new grid in the dirt.
"Yeah, actually," SJ answered. "I don't really understand the point of the game, but it's actually kind of — what's the word?"
"Relaxing?" Bloom suggested.
SJ thought for a moment. "Yeah. That's the one," he said, staring into the ground as if it were millions of miles away.
Bloom sat down next to him. "Are you all right?"
SJ shook his head to bring himself back to reality. "It's just kind of strange, is all. Yesterday morning, I was hacking away in the mines with nothing to live for, and now I'm here playing a game and it just feels as if . . ." His voice trailed off.
"It feels as if you were reborn. It's as if you were picked out of hell and dropped back down somewhere safe. Somewhere that makes it seem as if you could just forget about your old life completely," Bloom finished for him.
SJ raised his head until his eyes met hers. "That's exactly how it feels."
For a moment, the two of them kept their eyes locked into the other's until Bloom finally broke the silence again.
"Yeah. That's how it felt when I first arrived here. I was much younger than you are now, though. Just don't let it seem too wonderful. You're not in the worst part of hell, but you're still living in it. There's still things that need to be done before anyone can truly be happy. If you fool yourself, you'll only end up getting hurt," Bloom told him with a mournful expression.
SJ watched her deep, serious, turquoise eyes and reached out, resting his flipper on her shoulder. "I can't promise that one day, this will all be a memory. But I can promise to always be here if you need a friend," he said with a kind smile.
Bloom remained silent for a moment, only feeling the touch of his flipper on her shoulder, and only seeing his kind eyes and reassuring smile. When she realized she was staring, she said, "Thanks, SJ," and returned the smile.
"Hey! Are we gonna play again, or what?!" Joseph said standing in protest, catching their averted attention.
"Actually, Joseph, you have training to do. Off you go," Bloom told him.
"Aw! Please?!" Joseph begged.
"Now, you know how your father will feel about you skipping your training," Bloom persisted.
Joseph sighed. "All right. I'll catch you later, SJ," he said disappointedly.
"All right, kiddo. See you 'round," SJ replied. Joseph turned and left, leaving SJ and Bloom to themselves.
"So, want me to show you around?" Bloom offered.
SJ smiled. "I'd like that."
— § —
"This is where everyone sleeps. Two to three people can fit into one tent, depending on your size. We only have four children here, and they sleep with one of the adults," Bloom explained. SJ admired the arrangement of the tents as other small mammals moved about them, carrying about their daily RAB duties. The tents were very well camouflaged against the jungle. Bloom led him to an area that contained a large fire that a few of the RABs were working at.
"And this is obviously where we cook or make weapons. Or to keep warm in the winter, of course."
"Wouldn't you be able to see the smoke from the fire in the distance?" SJ asked.
"Not if you do it right. Using dry, dead hardwoods usually don't emit as much smoke," Bloom answered. "And the jungle canopy helps break it up as it goes into the atmosphere." She then led him to where a larger tent was pitched. "This is HQ, where we have important meetings. We always meet here every Saturday morning, but sometimes we have to come together for emergency or informational meetings," she explained.
All in all, the RAB village wasn't that large. It was understandable — the larger it was, the more likely it would be for Blowhole's sols to find them. Bloom showed him the infirmary area, the training area, and the memorial area where the RABs would go to mourn fallen recruits.
"Well, that's about it," Bloom said, stopping and turning to face him. SJ positioned himself on his crutch as he came to a stop. "Oh, and we're having an Illusion tonight. You should come."
"An Illusion?" SJ asked.
Bloom smiled. "You'll find out."
"Are you ever just gonna tell me something?" SJ asked with a laugh.
"Don't count on it," Bloom replied, flashing him a smile. "I gotta go. I need to check on something."
"All right. See you tonight, then," SJ said. Bloom nodded her reply, then turned and left him. When Bloom arrived at HQ, she saw Ace working at a small control box.
"How are you doing, Ace?" Bloom asked.
"Gah! I just can't seem to secure the phone call. Blowhole must be securing communication signals tighter. It's going to be a while before I can get the call to Sergeant," Ace explained. "Does he suspect anything?"
"Nope. At least he didn't give any indication that he was," Bloom answered. "Why don't you get B-Code in here? He's usually pretty good with these kinds of things."
"Good idea. What time is it?" Ace asked.
Bloom peeked out at the sun. "Almost 1800. I'll go get ready for the Illusion. I'll send B-Code to you," she answered.
"Thanks, Bloom. I'll try to make it to the Illusion if I can get done," Ace told her. Bloom nodded and let him be.
— § —
The Illusion started at about 2000 hours. The RABs gathered in the eating area and stood in silence as the leader of the group, Commander, stood before them. Light from the torches flickered and blinked at the RABs as they awaited the Commander's word. SJ located Bloom and limped to her side.
"What's going on?" he whispered.
"Sh!" Bloom replied. SJ obeyed and turned his attention to Commander.
"Good evening, comrades," said the black and gray Indri lemur. "Welcome to this month's Illusion. As always, I hope you have fun. Maybe one day it will no longer be an illusion. And please, welcome our new recruit, SJ," he said, gesturing toward him. SJ shifted uncomfortably at all the eyes resting on him. When his eyes locked on Commander's, he couldn't help but sense some kind of hostility there. He couldn't quite place why, but he couldn't help but feel as if Commander resented him somehow. "Over and out," Commander finished with a salute. He then turned and left the group. The RABs then started conversing, chasing each other down, or a number of other activities.
"Bloom, what's going on?" SJ asked again.
Bloom turned to him. "In the middle of each month, we have an evening where everyone forgets about everything and just has fun. It's always nice to just let everything go and pretend that everything is fine. That's why we call it the Illusion." Bloom smiled deviously and punched his shoulder. "You're it!" she said before she took off running. SJ limped after.
"Hey! That's not fair!" he called after with a laugh. Bloom stopped about five yards away and turned back.
"Don't worry! I'll go easy on you!" she called.
"You call this easy?!" SJ responded, limping forward as fast as he could. He was enjoying himself so much that he didn't even notice the throb in his leg anymore. Before he got to her, Joseph stepped in front of him and pointed a stick at him.
"Unguard!"
SJ smiled and balanced himself on his good leg as he held out his crutch and blocked Joseph's attacks. After a couple of blocks, Joseph lunged forward and caught his stomach with the end of the stick.
"Gotcha!" Joseph said with a cry of triumph. SJ knocked the stick from his hand and grabbed him, causing them both to fall to the ground.
"Now who's got who?!" SJ said as he started tickling the life out of Joseph, who laughed hysterically in response.
Bloom watched from a short distance away. She couldn't help but smile at the sight. It was beautiful, really. SJ had barely been there a day and he was a completely new person. Of course, she couldn't guess how much he'd really changed considering she'd never truly known him, but even in the little time she'd spent with him she felt as if she'd known him for years. The feelings he was experiencing now were the exact feelings she felt when she'd first arrived. It was as if she was living those memories all over again through him.
"I'm glad he seems to be getting comfortable with us."
Bloom snapped back into reality at the sound of Ace's voice. He was standing next to her, watching SJ too.
"Aren't you supposed to be trying to contact Sergeant?" Bloom asked.
"Done and done. I told him about our situation and he was as shocked as we were. Said he'd be here in a few weeks. He'll be calling with an update as soon as he reaches Sri Lanka before he has to cross the ocean and sneak onto the West African border," Ace answered.
"Well, that's great. I told you he'd be willing to do it," Bloom said.
"But you said —"
"To think you ever doubted me, Ace," Bloom said before turning to leave him standing there.
"Very funny, Bloom!" Ace called after.
Bloom turned and replied walking backwards. "What would you do without me?!" With a laugh she turned around and continued on her way.
— § —
About an hour later, SJ found Bloom sitting alone on the perimeter of the RAB village, staring into the jungle.
"Hey, Bloom. Is everything okay?" he asked, coming to a stop at her side.
Bloom turned to see him. "Oh, I'm fine. What are you doing here?"
"I saw that you were over here alone. I was just making sure you were all right," SJ answered.
Bloom smiled. "I just came out here for a little peace. Sometimes it's nice to just get a little quiet to clear my head."
"Am I bothering you?" SJ asked.
"Oh, no. Not at all. You can join me if you like," Bloom offered.
SJ smiled and sat down next to her in the cool grass, turning to the jungle. He half-expected for someone — or something — to come bounding through the shrub to take him to his Maker, but soon he found that it was actually kind of nice. The breeze pushed through the branches and leaves of the trees and caused the grass to sway.
"If you think that's nice, look up," Bloom said, catching his attention. SJ glanced at her for a moment, then looked to the sky.
The sight was breathtaking. The black void above was a cauldron of stars. He'd never seen so many stars in the commoner's village because of all of the lights. He found himself unable to look away. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen in his life.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Bloom asked.
SJ returned his gaze to Bloom and smiled shyly. "Yeah. It is."
"Hey, guys! What are you doing out here?!"
Bloom and SJ jerked their gazes away from each other in shock and turned to the sound of Joseph's voice as he came running up to them.
"You guys are missing all of the fun! You should've seen Chase just a minute ago! He totally scared Rose out of her own fur!" he told them laughing so hard he was stumbling over his own feet. When he regained his composure, he said, "So, are you comin' or what?"
Bloom nodded. "We'll be there in a minute, kiddo. Go on and have fun. I'll be over there soon."
"Okay!" Joseph replied before he turned and ran back the way he came.
Bloom turned back to SJ.
"Sounds like we're missing all the fun," she said with a slight laugh.
"Then I guess we'd better get going." He raised his gaze to meet her eyes. They smiled at each other once more before getting up and returning to the others.
— § —
SJ slept soundly, the faint sound of his breathing the only thing Bloom and Ace could hear from the entrance to his tent. Bloom dropped the flap of the entrance, concealing him and his tentmates for the night.
"What do you think Sergeant will tell him first?" Bloom whispered.
Ace shrugged. "I thought it was obvious. He'll tell him what happened on November 14th, 2024."
Bloom exhaled. "He's probably the only one left who knows exactly what happened. We've only heard secondhand accounts from Commander ever since he started this camp, and no one seems to have the details straight. It'll be nice to know what really happened."
"The real trick will be to keep him occupied until Sergeant gets here," Ace responded.
"Easy," Bloom responded. "Start him with training."
Ace laughed slightly. "With a gunshot wound?"
Bloom shrugged. "You have to be ready to fight at any time. Sols won't take pity on you for being wounded," she pointed out.
Ace nodded. "Fair enough. We'll start him small though and get him used to working around the village."
Bloom rolled her eyes. "I wish you'd coddled me this much when I arrived here," she said, folding her flippers over her chest.
Ace smiled humorously. "You weren't wounded when you came here."
"I was a child!" Bloom protested.
Ace ignored the comment. "Well, let's get ourselves to bed."
Bloom sighed loudly, but followed him as he began walking. "So, you think he'll be the one to lead us to victory?"
Ace smiled at her. "I don't doubt it for a second," he responded confidently. Bloom slowed to a stop and Ace turned to face her. "Something wrong?"
Bloom glanced back at SJ's tent, then back to him. "No, I just feel like that's such a massive role to fill. I don't know if he'll be ready for it."
Ace shook his head. "Better him than us. He'll be the face of the revolution whether he wants to be or not."
— § —
Quote: "Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last you create what you will." ~George Bernard Shaw
