UPDATE: HEY, EVERYBODY. IN CASE YOU HADN'T ALREADY NOTICED, SOME IDIOT GOT A GOOD THIRD OF MY STORIES DELETED, AND "SMOKE" HAD UNFORTUNATELY BEEN ONE OF THEM. I'D JUST LIKE YOU TO KNOW THAT WITHIN A WEEK OR SO, THE REST OF THE DELETED STORIES INCLUDING SMOKE'S SEQUEL "INTO THE WIND" SHOULD BE BACK UP. THANKS!

Hello, readers! =) This was actually a story that I started somewhere in early 2011, but I never quite had the inspiration long enough to finish it. Until now, of course. =) Yes, just to warn you, this is one of those surprise ending fanfics that not too many people seem to want to read. I wasn't planning on finishing this any time soon (I wasn't in my Rio phase- if I'm not enthusiastic about the story, I won't write), but luckily I came across "Seeing Double" by Qille. A few words that I have to say on it: OHMYGOSHITWASSOAMAZINGYOU'VEGOTTOREADITIFYOUWILLITWILL BLOWYOURMIND- and, I should stop before I make the author's note too lengthy…anyway, thank you to anyone who reviews or faves this. It's always nice to know that my stories are at least noticed. Constructive criticism is welcome, but no flames please. Okay, on with the story! Enjoy! =D

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rio or any of its characters. And yes, I'm only posting this because I have to (stupid copyright law).

Smoke. Smoke and fire were everywhere. Burning up the trunks, consuming leaves and sucking up any remaining oxygen. Nico coughed a bit and then screamed Pedro's name for the millionth time. He thought he heard an answer and moved towards a neighboring tree, crying out for his best friend once more.

"PEDRO! CAN YOU HEAR ME?! SAY SOMETHING!"

Another muffled response. Nico thought he heard it coming from a mango tree a few yards away that miraculously hadn't yet been swallowed by flames. The small canary quickly flew over to where he heard the muffled scream.

"PEDRO! YOU IN THERE?!"

A crackling noise filled the area and Nico looked down, only to find the ground a few feet from the mango tree's trunk shooting up in flames. It was also getting more difficult to breathe with each passing second.

Nico began to cough again and somehow managed to yell, "PEDRO! (cough) D-Don't worry, I- (cough) I'm comin'….(cough, cough)…"

Nico desperately began searching any area that Pedro could have hid (possible or not) on the mango tree. By now, the rainforest around and on the tree's trunk was completely bathed in a fatal ocean.

Fearing the worst happened to Pedro, Nico landed on a top branch in a tree further away from the mango tree and started a major coughing fit. By now he was not only covered with a few burns, but also could hardly breathe and was dangerously close to blacking out from smoke inhalation.

Nico mustered up what willpower and breath he had and screamed, "PEDRO!"

Nico regained conscience and sat up. He glanced around, stunned at the sight around him. The formally beautiful Rio rainforest was now in ruins. What used to be ground foliage was now ash and debris covering the ground. Where majestic trees had once stood, there were scorched piles of lumber and sticks. The fire had spared nothing.

Apparently it spared me, Nico thought as he looked down at himself. Much to his surprise, there were no cuts, bruises, or burns on his body. In fact, there were no traces of him being in a devastating fire at all.

Wait, that doesn't make sense…I should be covered in burns….Nico's train of thought was interrupted when he heard a voice in the distance. Curious, he rose into the air and flew towards the speaker. As Nico got closer, he could hear the voice better. It sounded very familiar.

He flew closer for a clearer view of the bird. It had its back turned to him, but he could still see the red markings and round body. The bird was holding something shiny in its wings and looking down at some sort of stone. Nico recognized the bird seconds later and joyfully cried out, "Pedro!"

Nico flew down to the cardinal. "Pedro! Where have you been, bird? Man, I thought you were dead!"

Pedro didn't respond. Instead, he kept looking at that stone.

Assuming his friend didn't hear him, Nico tried again. "Pedro?"

No answer.

That's odd..Nico thought. I thought he'd practically be jumping for joy to see me…

Nico stepped in front of Pedro and waved his left wing in front of the larger bird's face. When he still got no reply, he waved both of his wings and said, "Hel-lo, anybody home? C'mon, Pedro, this isn't funny."

Suddenly, Pedro said, "Nico….I'm sorry….I should've made sure you knew where I was….you wouldn't have gone back…"

Nico's face shifted into a frown. "What?"

The cardinal continued as if Nico hadn't spoken at all. "I should've looked behind me more often….made sure you were still there….but I didn't, and you turned back….it's my fault you're gone…."

Fear began to well up inside Nico. Why was Pedro acting like this? The canary grabbed Pedro's shoulders and said, "Pedro, I'm right here! What's wrong? Why aren't you answering?"

"Oh, and Nico? We found your bottle cap. It was covered in some ash near your-er, nearby." Pedro revealed the shiny thing in his wings to be Nico's old bottle cap. "We thought you'd like it back."

Nico let go of his friend's shoulders and smiled. Maybe Pedro had noticed him all along. He gently reached for the blue and green bottle cap. "Thanks, Pedro. I've been missin' the thing."

He almost had it when suddenly Pedro bent down. The cardinal bent right through him as if he weren't there! Nico watched in shock as his friend placed his beloved bottle cap on the ground in front of the small stone.

Pedro stood back up (once again phasing right through the canary) and smiled sadly at the stone. "You and all those other birds sleep well, OK?" The cardinal then turned his back and was about to fly away when he shot the stone a backward glance and said, "Bye, Nico."

Nico watched as Pedro flew away. Then those last words came back and hit him. Bye? Just like that? And for what?

Suddenly Nico remembered something else. "Other birds?" he murmured to himself. Realizing something, he twirled around and glanced around. There were small stones similar to the one Pedro had been looking at everywhere. With closer inspections, Nico noticed that they all had engravings on them.

Nico froze when he realized that this wasn't just a yard full of stones. This was a bird graveyard, and those engravings were the names and other phrases of likely all the birds that died in the fire.

This led him to another terrible conclusion. Hesitantly, he glanced down at the stone Pedro had been standing in front of. He nearly fainted when the engraving confirmed his suspicion. It read:

Nico

Friend, performer, samba lover, brother

You will always be in our hearts.

Dun, dun, duuuun! Tada, I told you it would have a surprise ending! For some reason, I actually like this type of fanfic, although I really can't speak for the other Rio fanfiction authors/readers. What do you think? Please R&R, but no flames please! Thank you! EyeoftheCobra out! =D

I REPEAT: IN CASE YOU HADN'T ALREADY NOTICED, SOME IDIOT GOT A GOOD THIRD OF MY STORIES DELETED, AND "SMOKE" HAD UNFORTUNATELY BEEN ONE OF THEM. I'D JUST LIKE YOU TO KNOW THAT WITHIN A WEEK OR SO, THE REST OF THE DELETED STORIES INCLUDING SMOKE'S SEQUEL "INTO THE WIND" SHOULD BE BACK UP. THANKS!