Chapter 2 - "Yinyang (The Guest)"

"Mmmm..." Blu mumbled as he slowly opened his eyes.

It was morning outside, the sun shining brightly into the hollow and the jungle surrounding it.

"Wow... that was a good night's rest." he thought.

He slowly climbed out of the nest, and stretched his wings. He turned over, expecting to see Jewel sleeping.

However, Jewel wasn't there.

"Must be getting breakfast." he yawned.

Just then, he heard laughter coming from the entrance to his hollow, sounding like Jewel's laughter.

"That must be her.", he smiled. He walked over, before he abruptly stopped and looked at what was in front of him.

Jewel had her wings tucked around another bird.

The bird, however, was a silhouette. A complete vantablack, to the point where you couldn't make out any features the bird might've had.

"Oh, Blu, you're awake! This is my new mate, []"

As soon as Jewel said the silhouette's name, she instantly became muted, her beak only syncing the name, but not actually saying anything.

Blu felt like he lost his sense of hearing for a second, as a sense of panic and dread washed over him.

"I...I'm sorry, w-what?"

"My new mate, []."

It happened again.

"Listen, Blu, ever since you told me how you were feeling, I've realized you're not the one for me. Everybody tells me that you're not good enough for me, and now I finally understand why!" she smiled.

Blu was speechless. His body began to tremble, his breathing and heartbeat becoming louder and louder with every breath he took.

He opened his beak to say something, but before he could do that, his family, friends, and extended family surrounded him in a circle, appearing out of thin air.

Eduardo, Pedro, Carla... even Luiz was there.

Just then, Blu's heart dropped as everybody began to laugh.

He turned around, quickly scanning everybody in the room. "Wh-what the hell's so funny... w-why are you laughing?! And where the hell did you come from?!" he cried, only to be drowned out by all the laughter surrounding him.

Before he could speak again, a vantablack vortex opened up in the ground in front of him. He gasped. He turned around to see the vantablack bird walking over, only stopping a few centimeters away, to the point where their beaks had almost touched.

The bird didn't say anything. Instead, he began to shove Blu.

Blu stumbled backwards and lost all balance, and fell into the hole.

Blu tried to scream, but everything was silenced by the amount of laughter above the hole.

He couldn't fly, his wings felt like they were paralyzed. He couldn't do anything but slowly fall to the bottom, staring at the top of the hole, where everybody was staring down at him. The laughter had ceased, their faces neutral, stiff, and frozen.

Frozen, much like Blu himself.

Blu had a sense of panic in his gut, one that told him he would stop falling shortly.

Just then, the vantablack bird began to slide a lid over the vortex, and covered it.

Blu was covered in complete darkness. He couldn't see or hear anything, not even himself. He could feel something, but the only thing was that sense of dreadfulness in his body, which increased more and more by every passing second.

Just as the feeling became too much, Blu opened his eyes, and jolted his head up quickly.

His breathing was heavy, his body was trembling. He looked outside and could see that it was nighttime. He looked over to his right, to see Jewel sleeping peacefully in the nest, her head tucked into her wings and crest feathers.

Blu's heartbeat decreased as he caught his breath and gently smacked his beak, his throat dry, and parched.

"God-damnit..." He sighed, as he climbed out of the nest and slowly walked outside, hopping onto a branch and shuffling over. He made sure not to stay close to the edge, fearing that he would fall into something. He didn't know what that something was.

He sighed as he began to relax and stare at the moonlight above him. It was a calm, and quiet night, the stars gently adding to the decor of the blackish-blue sky. The white moon shined brightly above him, contrasting greatly with the sky behind it, almost like a complete yinyang.

"Such a beautiful night."

Blu's eyes widened. The voice sounded much like his own.

"I didn't say that." he thought. "So, who sai-"

Blu froze as he looked over to the other side of the branch, and what he saw made his heart drop.

On the other side of the branch, stood another Blu, who was identical in every way. Same colors, same wing length, same head feathers, same voice... same everything.

"Wouldn't you agree?" the other Blu smiled, staring him down.

Blu began to have that same feeling of dread he had in his nightmare. "Uh... I'm sorry, who... who are you?"

"Can't you tell? I'm you!"

"No, you're not... that's impossible."

"Well... I'm you, but you're you. We're both you. Let me put it like this," the other Blu began. "Remember the idea of "yin and yang"?" he asked.

Blu nodded slightly, still feeling uncertain about what he was seeing and hearing in front of him.

"Basically, you're like yang, I'm like yin." The other Blu explained. "Together, we make up Blu. Does that make sense?"

"Uh... sure, yeah... I guess that makes sense." Blu responded. "So... can I call you Yin?"

"Call me whatever you want."

"Alright, Yin... so... why are you here?"

"Because, I have a question to ask you." Yin smiled.

"Uh, okay. Well, what is it?" Blu began to smile.

"Do you think anything will change?"

Silence.

Blu's smile disappeared into a look of confusion and uncertainty.

"...What?"

"Do you think anything will change?" Yin stated again, this time saying it more like a command than a question.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really think going back to Rio will change the way you're feeling?"

"Um... I... I don't know... maybe?"

Yin scoffed.

"No, it won't. I'll tell you that right now. It won't."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. You listen to me all the time, Blu. So, listen to me when I say going to Rio is a bad idea."

"I don't listen to you all the time." Blu retorted. "We just met!"

"Forget that. Trust me, you shouldn't go back to Rio."

"And why's that?" Blu asked, getting defensive and slightly annoyed.

"Because, you're going to feel just as unloved there as you did here."

Blu's look of slight anger turned into a look of fear.

"Um... what?"

"I don't know what's going to happen exactly... but it won't help you. And it certainly won't help with Jewel." Yin smiled.

"What?"

"Listen, Blu... if you tell Jewel how you're feeling, you're gonna push her away, and she's going to abandon you. If you DON'T tell her how you're feeling, you're also going to push her away, and she's still going to abandon you. It's a lose-lose situation."

"So... what do I do?" Blu asked sadly.

"Give up."

Blu was dumbfounded by the look on Yin's face, so dumbfounded that he didn't process Yin's response. His beak had a smile, but his eyes seemed to be glaring at Blu. It seemed uncanny. So uncanny, that Blu began to feel a little creeped out by it.

"I... I think I'm gonna go back to bed." Blu smiled nervously.

"Alright." Yin said. "We've got to prepare for Rio, after all."

"We?"

"That's right. We're Blu, remember? Blu is going to Rio... that means we are going to Rio. Me and you."

"Uh, yeah... Blu is going to Rio. Yin isn't. I'm Blu, you're Yin. So... that means you're not going."

"But I am going, and you don't have a choice. Look, I'll be honest with you..." Yin began. "I'm following you around. Have been for a while, just not physically. But now, I figured I'd show myself."

"Not... physically?"

"Nope. I've actually known you for most of your life, but... basically, I've been residing in your mind for this past month... ever since the loggers." Yin smirked.

Blu's eyes widened. "That's when those feelings started happening. Yin and yang... yin is the dark part of the circle, so..."

He turned to Yin.

"Are you supposed to be my dark side?"

"...Close." Yin responded.

Silence.

"...My depression?" Blu asked, uncertain to what the answer was.

More silence.

"And anxiety." Yin responded, his smirk becoming more taunting.

That same feeling of dread and nervousness began to creep back up Blu's gut, his breathing becoming more volatile.

Yin noticed this. "Pleasure to meet you too.", he chuckled. "Now, get some rest... if you can. Got a busy day tomorrow." he said as he began to turn around.

"Wait." Blu asked.

"Yes?" Yin responded, his body still turned away from Blu.

"Are you... actually there?"

"Only for you, yes. Only you can see me, because only you can see your... yin."

"So you're kind of, like... an imaginary friend, except... I can actually see you?" Blu asked.

"I'm whatever you want to think of me. Like I said, call me what you want." Yin said nonchalantly. "But that doesn't change what I really am..." Yin trailed off.

"Think about what I said, Blu. I would tell you to keep it in the back of your mind, but..."

Yin smirked as he turned back around to face Blu.

"I already know you will."

Blu watched as Yin flew off into the night sky, before disappearing completely into the trees. His breathing still heavy, that same feeling in his gut, unsure of what Yin had meant. Blu began to shuffle over the branch before hopping back into the hollow, and walking back to the nest that he and Jewel slept in, and climbed in, his mind lost in his thoughts.

He looked over to see Jewel, still sleeping peacefully, her head tucked gently between her wings and crest feathers.

Blu wasn't even happy to see her so peaceful.

Instead, he just draped her body with his wings, and held her closely.

He felt like he wanted to cry.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" Blu thought, his eyes becoming misty as he looked at Jewel's sleeping body.

"And what did he mean by "give up"?"

"Blu, aren't you bringing anything?"

Blu was simply staring off into the distance as his family had been packing what items they wanted to bring with them. They didn't have a lot, Carla had her iPod and earbuds, Bia had a book and a journal to identify different kinds of animals who they might run into, Tiago was bringing fireworks, and Jewel decided she didn't need to bring anything.

She had spoken to Blu, as she was expecting him to bring something, but didn't get a response. She noticed Blu simply staring out of the hollow.

"...Blu?"

"Oh! Huh?" Blu asked as he turned around to face Jewel.

"...Aren't you going to bring anything?"

Blu just looked at Jewel for a few seconds before answering.

"Oh! Yeah, yeah... Um..." he walked over to a pile of things the family had gathered to possibly bring with them, which sat neatly in the hollow corner.

"Let's see... Oh, I'll bring this..." Blu said as he picked up the safari hat he had brought with him to the Amazon, and put it on his head feathers. He liked the way it looked and thought it made him look fashionable. Not that other macaws necessarily cared about fashion, but Blu enjoyed it.

"And I'll bring this..." Blu said as he picked up the fanny pack. His small smile faded as he held the fanny pack in his talon, staring at it.

His breathing began to increase, and Jewel noticed this.

"Blu?"

Blu didn't answer. His thoughts began to race rapidly, his mind flashing memories throughout his life that the fanny pack made him remember.

Some from the Amazon, some from Minnesota.

Some from a month ago, some from 10 years ago.

"Can you believe this guy?!"

"Nice... fanny pack."

"He doesn't belong here! He's a pet!"

"Hey, nerd bird!"

"Loser."

"Weirdo!"

"Nobody likes you!"

"You're going to be alone forever."

"Worthless.

"You're pathetic!"

"You'll never be a real bird!"

His breathing had become heavy, and a little loud, to the point where Jewel was able to hear it.

"Blu! What's wrong?!" Jewel asked, her voice and eyes becoming full of worry.

Blu blinked rapidly, before turning to Jewel.

"Oh! Nothing, nothing! I'm... I was just thinking if I should bring the... the fanny pack... I'm not going to though." Blu said quickly as he tossed the fanny pack back into the pile, as he turned to Jewel and put on a fake, nervous smile.

Jewel was about to speak, before Carla interjected.

"Wait, but dad! We need the fanny pack to hold our stuff in!"

"Yeah! I don't want to carry my book the whole time, it's heavy."

"Or my fireworks."

The 3 kids smiled, blissfully unaware of the inner meltdown Blu's mind just suffered.

"Oh! Right, right, right... yeah, sorry, we'll uh... we'll bring that." Blu smiled as he turned around and picked up the fanny pack.

"Jewel, could you, uh... could you hold this, please?" Blu smiled. He didn't want to hold the fanny pack anymore.

Jewel was just staring at Blu, her eyes seemed caring, her beak had a sad look on it.

"Did she see what happened? Oh, nice going, you idiot! Now she's starting to notice you're not good enough for her." Blu thought.

"Jewel... please? I, uh... I don't want to hold it..." Blu said meekly, trying to remain vague, as he held the fanny pack out with his talon.

"What the hell? Don't do that! Don't make her hold it! Do you want her to leave you?!"

Just as Jewel was going to take it, Blu instantly pulled his talon back.

"U-unless, unless you don't want to hold it! That's fine, I, I can hold it." he said nervously as he quickly placed the fanny pack around his stomach.

"Blu..."

Before Jewel could finish her sentence, Blu quickly turned to the kids, trying to avoid the question he knew was coming.

"Alright, kids! You ready to go?" Blu asked excitedly. "We've got to stop and see Pop-Pop and Aunt Mimi and Uncle Roberto before we leave. They're at the end of the river where we arrived on the boat."

"Yay!" Bia said as she ran towards the exit.

"Dad, will Linda and the guy be there?" Tiago asked.

Blu was perplexed. "...the guy?" he repeated. "Oh, oh you mean Tulio? No, son, I'm afraid not." Blu said. "Linda and Tulio are up north on some sort of mission for sun conures."

"What about Uncle Pedro and Uncle Nico?" Carla asked, walking to the exit behind her brother and sister.

"No, but we're going to meet with them in Rio." Blu responded as he followed behind his children.

"Alright, you guys ready? Let-"

"Blu."

Blu shut his eyes, knowing that he had practically been caught. He opened them and turned around, a warm smile on his face.

"Yes, honey?"

"Can I talk to you? In private?"

"Shit." Blu thought.

"Yeah! Of course." he said, turning back to his kids.

"Kids, go to the river and meet with Pop-Pop and the others. Your mother and I will be there soon."

"Alright!" Bia said. "Let's go!" she said, as the 3 flew off to the riverside.

Blu walked up to Jewel. "What do you need?" he smiled gently.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh... what do you mean?"

"I mean the fanny pack." Jewel said, her tone becoming more sad. "You zoned out and started breathing heavily when you picked it up. And, I can see you clearly don't want to hold it. What's wrong?" she repeated.

Blu was silent.

"Nothing. I'm fine." Blu stated bluntly.

"No, you're not. I can tell you're lying."

"I'm not lying! I'm not." Blu said quickly, trying to rush the sentence. "Look, I just zoned out, an-"

"That's the problem! You've been zoning out constantly, and it's worrying me! You keep saying you're fine, but I really don't think you are." Jewel said, raising her voice a little.

"Jewel, I'm alright! I swear." he said, his voice becoming more and more nervous. "I didn't want to hold the fanny pack because I was, uh... I was tired, and... I don't know what happened with the breathing there, but I'm sure it's fine."

"It doesn't look or sound fine." she sighed sadly. "If something is bothering you, Blu, seriously... please, tell me."

"I know, sweetie. Thank you. Now, can we go to the river? I want to make sure the kids are getting there safely." Blu said, trying to dismiss the conversation.

Jewel just sighed.

"Alright." she simply stated, before looking at Blu. "Remember, Blu... you can tell me anything."

"I know." Blu said as he gently kissed Jewel. "I'm alright. I promise."

"Okay." Jewel said with a small smile. Deep down, she knew Blu was lying, but could tell that he was still uncomfortable of something. She walked past him, and went to the ledge of the hollow, ready to fly off.

Blu began to follow her, ready to fly off with her, when he was stopped by something he heard.

"The abandonment has already started..." came a voice.

Blu turned around to see Yin in the corner of the hollow, behind the pile of leftovers that would be kept in their Amazon hollow.

"C'mon," Yin said, with the same uncanny look he had given Blu last night.

"Go to Rio."

Blu turned around to see Jewel, shuffling her feathers, as she looked back to Blu.

"Ready?"

Blu blinked.

"Uh, yeah... ready..."

"Ah, Jewel! There you are." Eduardo said as Jewel and Blu landed. Mimi and Roberto were beside him, talking to Bia, Carla and Tiago.

"Hi, daddy." Jewel said as she walked over to him and hugged him. Blu slowly walked beside her, quietly staring off.

Jewel and Eduardo separated, and she walked over to Roberto. "Hi, Beto." she said as she hugged him.

"Hey, Juju! How are you?"

Blu began tuning out the conversations around him as he stared off into the river in front of him. However, he was interrupted by Eduardo.

"Blu." he simply stated, his manner as serious as always.

Blu turned his head. "Oh, hello, sir." Blu smiled. "How are you?"

"Fine. Though, I'd be a lot better if you and the family weren't going back to the humans so soon." he murmured.

"Uh... we're not."

"Really?" Eduardo asked, his voice full of surprise, his eyes wide.

"No, no... we're, we're just staying in a jungle right outside the city."

"Wow. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting that from you, Blu. Good for you. I see living in the tribe has made you more... in touch with your species."

Blu faked a small laugh.

"Yeah, yeah... the, uh... the Amazon, and... the tribe helped a lot." Blu said awkwardly.

"But, I have to ask, why the... thing..." Eduardo asked, pointing his talon to the fanny pack.

"Oh, oh... uh, the kids." Blu began nervously. "They, uh... they need something to hold their items in when they're not using them, so... you know, I, I didn't even want to bring it, but..."

Blu looked at Eduardo, who was seemingly staring into his soul.

"But, but, you know, uh, Bia loves to find new animals, C-Carla loves her music, Tiago loves his fireworks... the only thing I care about is their happiness." Blu finished, fearing that he had annoyed Eduardo.

"I see." he stated bluntly. "And this?" he asked, looking at Blu's safari hat.

Before Blu could answer, a voice interjected.

"Eddie! Are you bothering Blu?"

Eduardo turned around. "No, Mim! We're just having a conversation." he said as Mimi and the rest of the group walked over, with Mimi glaring at him.

Mimi turned to Blu. "Blu, is he bothering you sweetheart?"

"Uh... no, no. We're just, uh... talking about Rio and, and what it has to offer." Blu smiled.

Mimi calmed down upon hearing that answer. "Good." she said. "Now, Blu, if he ever bothers you, you know who to tell." Mimi said, turning around to look at Eduardo.

Eduardo just rolled his eyes.

"What was that?" Mimi asked angrily, noticing Eduardo's actions.

"Nothing! Nothing..." he said, his serious manner quickly turning into one of slight nervousness.

"That's what I thought."

Blu laughed. "Don't worry, Mimi. It... it won't be a problem."

He turned to Roberto, who had been standing nearby with Jewel and the kids. "Uh, hey, Roberto."

"Hey, bluebird!" Roberto said loudly as he walked over to Blu to hug him. "How ya been?" he asked enthusiastically.

Blu returned the hug. "I'm... I'm good, uh... how are you?" he asked shyly.

"Ah, I can't complain." Roberto started. "Well, actually, I can... I can't believe you and the family are gonna be gone for the whole summer!" Roberto complained.

"Aw, don't worry." Blu sympathized. "We, we won't be gone the whole summer, uh... probably until the middle of February." he smiled. "And, if you ever wanted to come down to, uh... to visit, we'd be happy to see you."

"That'd be great!" Roberto responded happily. "I've only been to the city a couple of times. It was fantastic, but, not enough jungle for me..." he trailed off. "But I know there's plenty of jungles surrounding it!"

Blu nodded.

"So, what are you gonna do when you're there?" Roberto asked. "Visit your family and friends?"

Blu smiled. "Oh, well, we're definitely going to be with Pedro and Nico and Rafael a lot, and uh... Linda and Tulio are up north doing a mission."

"Yeah, but what about, like, your parents and siblings!" Roberto asked. "You do have siblings, don't you?"

"You know Blu," Eduardo said. "I don't think you've ever mentioned any siblings... or parents for that matter. Why not?"

"...W-well, uh..." Blu felt uncomfortable, and felt like he was being interrogated, everybody was looking at him. He began to have that same familiar feeling of dread and helplessness.

"Yeah, dad!" Carla asked. "We've always had Linda, but what about your bird parents?"

"Guys..." Bia said quietly, but to no use.

"Yeah! How come you've never talked about them?" Tiago asked.

Blu was frozen. He couldn't move his beak. His breath became heavy, which signaled to Jewel that he was uncomfortable.

She knew that Blu didn't know his parents, due to him being in Minnesota for most of his life. However, she didn't know how Blu ended up in there in the first place.

"Uh, let's change the topic, shall we?" Jewel abruptly asked, looking at her kids. "How about we talk about-"

"But, mom! We want to know!"

"Stop asking." Blu thought.

"No, we don't." Bia interjected, seeing her father's nervousness.

"Stop. Asking."

"Yes we do!"

"Please stop asking!"

"Don't break." teased a voice. Blu turned around to see Yin on a nearby branch.

That same, uncanny look.

Just as Blu turned back around, Roberto asked the question one last time, which managed to set Blu off.

"Yeah, Blu." Roberto asked, obliviously. "Who are th-"

"Stop asking! I don't know!" Blu said aggressively, raising his voice as he cut Roberto off. "I don't know! I never knew them, I never met them... I, I don't know, alright? Please... stop asking." he said, lowering his voice.

Silence fell onto the group.

Blu turned to Jewel. "J-Jewel, uh... w-what was it that you, uh, you w-wanted to talk about?" he asked, his voice quiet, and awkward.

Jewel stared at Blu, still rendering the outburst he just had.

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, uh... oh, look at the sunset! Isn't it beautiful? We should probably get going before night falls."

"Yeah." Eduardo said, quietly. "You don't want to get lost during the night."

As the kids and Jewel said their goodbyes and farewell hugs, Blu stared off into the distance, his face blank.

"Nice going."

Blu looked to his left to see Yin standing next to him.

"You just managed to ruin your relationship with Jewel's family. Is that what you want?" Yin asked, shuffling over to the front of Blu.

"That's the second mess up you've shown."

Blu didn't say anything as Yin turned around and flew off.

"See you in Rio!" Yin sarcastically called back.

Blu was still silent.

"Blu, you ready?"

He turned around to see Jewel and the kids, getting ready to fly off.

"...Yeah." he said, as he turned around to Roberto, Eduardo and Mimi.

"Um... goodbye." he said gently. "Uh... we'll... we'll be back soon."

"Be safe." Eduardo said as Mimi smiled.

"Cya, Blu!" Roberto smiled.

Blu couldn't smile back. He just waved gently with his wing, and looked over to Jewel.

Jewel smiled gently and nodded. "Alright, kids! Let's go." she said.

One by one, the family lifted themselves off the ground, and flew up into the sky.

Blu followed slowly behind, thinking to himself, his eyes became teary eyed.

He managed to hold them back as he slowly flew behind, not wanting to draw any attention to himself as he flew next to Jewel.

"Looking forward to Rio?" she smiled.

Blu just nodded as he flew forward, keeping his eyes in front of him at all times.

"You were right, Yin..." he thought.

"Like always."