Chapter 8: Learning To Fly

"Well Eva, looks like I won't be home for dinner tonight." Rafael said sadly as the plane took off. He would miss his younglings. Even though they gave him gray feathers.

Harry wasn't having this. He saw Blu moving a stretch cord and hooking one end to a fire extinguisher before attaching the other to the top of his cage.

"What are you doing?" Jewel asked the flightless bird.

"I'm gonna pop this cage open like a soda can." Blu explained and he started hurling himself against the side of the cage, which was right next to the extinguisher and on a ledge. After a few seconds the fire extinguisher fell off the ledge and forced the hook attatched to the cage to open.

"Now that's poppin'!" Nico said to Pedro eagerly as Blu escaped the cage and helped Jewel and Harry out of theirs.

"Come on, we gotta help the others."

"I can help." Harry said timidly.

"How?" Jewel asked her son.

Harry looked up at his mother with a timid expression. Then closed his eyes. He grew. Their new friends and Jewel gaped as Harry grew into a young looking human with long black hair and a lightning bolt shaped scar. Exactly where Harry's lightning streak in his head feathers was.

Jewel stared up at the young human boy. He opened his eyes. They where the exact same color as her son's. Is he really? She flew up to the boy's shoulder. "Baby?" She asked unsuredly.

"You hate me now." The child closed his eyes Jewel wiped a tear away with a wing tip. Harry looked at his mother questioningly.

"I could never hate you. You are my son. Human...or not."

"And you are my mother. Bird or not." Harry gave his non human mother a small smile. She nuzzled his face and flew down.

"Come on." Blu said. "Let's get the others."

And all three helped open cages. Harry opened a green Macaw female's cage who kept saying "Whose a pretty bird? I'm a pretty bird!" She laughed hysterically as she left the cage. And a bat's cage. And a cage that held several small green birds and small blue colored bird all squeezed together. When he was pushed out he laughed. "I'm out! Finally!"

Harry stacked the cages and pulled the hatch release handle and waited with the now freed birds. Marcel noticed the buzzing noise and turned to see the birds free. When he saw a young human boy he tried to push open the door but couldn't.

"Ahh! The light!" A bat said with a Transylvanian accent and covering his face with his wing.

"FREEDOM!" Pedro said with a singsong voice and all the birds flew out into the open air.

Harry kept trying to keep Marcel from coming into the cargo bay by pushing against the cages.

"Baby come on!" Jewel kept begging. "We have to get out of here."

Harry, knowing he did not know how to transform back said "Go! I'll catch up momma! I promise!" He turned his head away from his mother. Unfortunately, one of the cages slipped. And smacked Jewel out of the cargo pit. Into the air and broke her wing. She cried out in terror as she dropped toward the ocean.

"MOM!" Harry shouted as the plane started dropping for some reason.

"YOU FORGOT TO FILL THE PLANE WITH GAS YOU IDIOTS!" He heard the leader shout.

Blu, in a fit of panic. Decided to just jump. He jumped from the plane and grabbed Jewel in his wings.

"Blu! What are you doing? Just forget me!"

"I can't forget you! We're chained to each other birds remember?" Blu shouted back as they fell. Full of sudden passion, Jewel kissed him right on the beak. Blu was suddenly filled with a memory of falling out of his nest as a chick and panicking as he fell to the rainforest floor. But not this time. He spread his wings, and began to fly just before they hit the water.

"Blu!" Jewel said excitedly. "Your flying!"

"I know!" Blu said excitedly. "Woah!" He twirled between air trams carrying tourists.

Suddenly Jewel saw the plane start falling. "NO!" She shouted. "NO NO NO NO!" The mother started sobbing. Blu hung his head sadly. And turned toward land. Neither of them seeing a small figure leave the plane just before it hit the water.

Jewel sobbed as Blu landed on the concrete where the plane took off. Thinking she had lost her only child. Rafael, Nico and Pedro also gathered around solemnly after hearing Blu tell them what happened.

"Hey!" Pedro said. "What's that?" They looked up into the setting sun (Except Jewel who was still crying, but not sobbing anymore) And saw a small, blue bird flying toward them.

"Its the kid!" Nico said excitedly. Indeed, Harry had transformed back at the last second before the plane hit the water and followed Blu and his mother. Jewel looked up hopefully as Harry became more clearer a picture. Harry fluttered down to his mother.

"Your wing." He said guiltily.

"It wasn't your fault." Jewel assured her son.

"I thought there where only two Blue Macaws left in the world?" A female voice asked.

"I had no idea there was a younger Macaw." A male accented voice said. The birds looked up to see three humans The three got quite a shock when the younger bird closed its eyes and grew into a seven year old boy with long, messy black hair. The child gently picked Jewel up in his hands.

"Please." He begged. "Help my mom?" He asked handing the bird to Tulio who looked up at the human pitifully.

One Year later, Tulio let's Jewel fly into the air with her fully healed wing. Harry trnasforms and joins her from the circular walkway out side the aviary main office. He lived with his mother and Blu in the forest now. But he started going to school with Fernando who had been adopted by the now married Linda and Tulio. Linda is now Harry' s legal guardian but his parenting is done by Blu and Jewel. Mostly. Blu walks on the rail up to Linda. They perform their special handshake which ends with a fake explosioin and he happily flies into the air joining his mate and son.

The End

Local Birds: All the birds of a feather.

More: Ooohoh.

LB: Do what we love most of all.

M: "Oooohoh."

LB: Moon and the stars. The strumming guitars. Thats why we love Carnaval...

Jewel (flying around in the air): Loving our life in the jungle. Everything's wild and free.

Blu: Never alone.

Harry (looks up at them from underneath the two adults): Cause this is our home. Magic could happen for-

All: Real! In Rio! All by itself.

Harry: By itself.

All: You can't see. It coming. You can't find it anywhere else! (Flamingo's dancing apart reveal three Blu Macaw chicks in between Jewel and Blu) Harry on his mother's side.

Pedro (As the Macaw family looks over to him): I'm the Capoeira Kinga kinga kinga kinga! Birds like me cause i'm a hot winga. Pedro hot winga (squawks)

Nico: Here everybody loves Samba.

Pedro: I like ta Samba!

Pans over to Rafael and Eva and two mini toucans: The rythym you feel with your heart.

Nico starts flying: Beauty and love. What more could you want.

All: Fantasy could be for real! In Rio! Here's something else!

Local Birds: Something else!

All: You can't see it coming! You won't find it anywhere else!

The End.

That's all folks! Dean the Cuddly Fox out for HPRIO! BTW I do plan to continue Growing up in Rio as soon as I get inspiration! I hope Real in Rio get's one of those awards for best music!

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Dean the Cuddly Fox