“They said they were gonna ‘put them on ice,'" Chuck explained to the others as they searched the entire facility.
“So... they could be anywhere?" Garry asked rhetorically. The island was basically a giant frozen rock.
“Garry's right," said Leonard. “We're at a dead end."
“We can't give up!" Chuck argued.
“I didn't say we would."
“Yeah, we'll get them back," Courtney said optimistically.
“Boss is calling us in for a meeting," they heard Carl say.
“Hide!" Leonard ordered the rest of the group. They hid in another room where they found an eagle frozen between a giant pair of ice blocks. He wore a white coat with a name tag that read “Steve" sewn on it. He couldn't seem to move.
“What happened to him?" Bomb wondered.
“Pfft, probably never told his girlfriend he loves her," Courtney figured.
“Can we not talk about this?!" Leonard spat.
“Leonard, be real," she said. “Clearly, there's something you guys share. Why won't you admit it?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Even if there was, nothing will ever happen," Leonard tried to reason with them. He didn't want to hurt Red any more by telling them.
“Yeah, because she and my sister will probably be dead if we can't find them!" Chuck pointed out, keeping watch at the door. No one was listening to him, though.
“I'm sure you can do better," Garry shrugged.
“What is it, Leonard?" Courtney asked. “Why don't you want anything to happen? What did she do to make you afraid of falling-"
“I tried to assault her!" Leonard finally confessed. Everyone stared at him in surprise.
“Hey, Jerry, you hear something?" Carl asked curiously. They headed for the torture chamber to see if anyone was in there.
“It was probably Steve," Jerry figured. Everyone else was perfectly hidden.
“Let's just be glad it's him and not us."
Once the guards left, the group continued their conversation. Courtney looked at her boss nervously.
“When you say ‘assault,' do you mean..."
Leonard nodded. “It was back when Red fought against me to save the birds. I wanted her, she wouldn't let me have her, and I got desperate and selfish and ruthless. She defeated me, of course, before I could do anything. I don't know why, but even after all that, I want to be with her. I tried getting over her, but I couldn't. And now, I actually need her to help save our islands, but I'm afraid of what I could do to her. And I don't want to hurt her. Because if I do... I'll be hurting myself. But she's not gonna want me after what I did."
As Leonard turned his head away in shame, everyone looked at him with mixed feelings. Courtney decided to be the first to speak.
“It's okay," she said, reaching her hoof up to hold his. “We forgive you. Right, guys?"
Everyone nodded but Chuck.
“I don't," he said matter of factly. Everyone glared at him. “What? It's not up to me anyways. It's up to Red, and she and my sister are still captured, and it's up to us to save them!"
“Chuck's right, we have to move," Garry said.
“And Leonard?" Courtney asked. “Do you want to hurt Red?"
“Of course not, I..." Leonard trailed off before answering, “... I love her."
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
Meanwhile, back in Zeta's lair, Red and Silver tried to break free from their icy binds. After a while, however, they got tired and took a break. Red didn't want to, but she let tears fall from her tawny eyes.
“This is all my fault!" she sobbed.
“Red, it's not your fault," Silver tried to reassure her.
“No, it... it is my fault," Red admitted. “I-I put myself before everyone else. I was afraid... if I wasn't a hero anymore, they'd all stop... they'd all stop liking me."
“Oh, Red. So you did all of this because you were afraid of not being liked?"
“I... Yes," she answered quietly.
Silver thought about this for a minute before asking curiously, “What about Leonard?"
Confused, Red raised a thick eyebrow. “What about him?"
“I've seen the way he looks at you," she explained, “and I think he likes you. A lot. How do you feel?"
“I don't know," Red confessed. “He tried to hurt me, and I shouldn't feel this way, but when I'm near him, I feel like nothing else can hurt me. I feel safer. Sounds pretty toxic, doesn't it?"
“Maybe a little," Silver admitted.
Red continued. “I guess the only reason I turned him down in the first place is because I thought... no one would ever truly want me. But when he looks at me, he sees my weaknesses, but doesn't use them against me. He's aware of my flaws, but it doesn't bother him. He... he thinks I'm beautiful... even though no one else does."
“And you are," Silver insisted. “Red, he cares about you. He's probably afraid of what you think about him."
Red looked down in thought. Silver was probably right. Leonard didn't try to harm her ever since this whole thing started. Instead, he just talked to her. He comforted her. And it made Red feel weird. She felt... warm.
“My fellow eagles!" Zeta announced. “Who's tired of living in an icy wasteland?!"
“What is she doing?!" Red wondered as the other eagles cheered. She and Silver began to try pulling themselves free again.
“Who's tired of sipping hot chocolate and getting brain freeze?!"
Carl sipped some hot chocolate and his head began to ache. “Ow! Me!"
Suddenly, Silver noticed an air cap in Red's raft. She spun her head around so her braids would grab hers and squeeze it open. She squeezed tighter so all the air would seep out.
“Who's tired of frozen dinners?!"
Now that her raft was deflated, Silver could finally pull herself free. But her wings and feet were still frozen solid.
“Who's tired of playing only Vanilla Ice, Ice-T and Ice Cube?!"
Silver smashed the ice against the ground so her limbs would be able to move again.
“Who wants to live worry-free under a beautiful, tropical sun?!"
“Me! I wanna get hot!" Hank shouted. “I wanna get HOT!"
“There's no turning back! The future we deserve is about to be ours! Glenn, activate the weapon! Start the countdown!"
Suddenly, Red and Silver saw a clock appear on the TV screen.
“Ten minutes to launch," a voice said. The two female birds heard Zeta laughing manically. With no time to waste, Silver began to pull Red free.
“Alright, stand back!" they heard a voice shout.
“Wait, did you hear that, too?" Silver asked.
“Bomb?" Red wondered.
KABOOM!
A huge explosion knocked down the door! The sudden force had sent Red's raft sailing. She fell out of her raft and flat on her face, her leg still frozen. Silver, fortunately, just landed on her back.
“Silver?!" Chuck exclaimed, worrying she might be dead.
“Chuck?!" Silver cried out happily. She got up and ran to her brother to hug him.
“You're okay!" they said at the same time. “Jinx! Jinx! Jinx! Jinx!"
While Chuck and Silver played their game, Red smashed her leg against the ground, shattering the ice. She groaned in pain trying to get up.
“Are you okay?" Leonard asked, helping her up.
“I think I got a beak bleed, but I'll be- Oh!"
Red was cut short when the bearded pig pulled her in for a hug. Although it felt slightly awkward, she returned it. Closing her eyes, Red felt her heartbeat slow down. She had to say something.
“Leonard, I-"
“Guys, why is that clock counting backwards?" Bomb interrupted, pointing at the countdown on the flat-screen TV.
“We've only got ten minutes!" Chuck panicked.
“It's now or never!" Garry declared.
“Pig kind and bird kind are depending on us!" Leonard added.
“What are we gonna do, Red?!" Bomb asked nervously.
“Well, I, uh..." Red stammered. She didn't know what to do... but knew someone who did, and she was looking over the balcony and into the operation room.
“I think... in times like these, we need someone who can lead," she said confidently. “We need a hero! You know what we need? We need Silver."
Everyone was taken aback by Red's change of heart. Chuck gasped in excitement as Silver turned around and stared at Red in surprise.
Red smiled at her newfound friend. “Got any ideas?"
“I've got a few, actually..."
Well, Red's finally accepted Silver as her friend, but she still needs to figure out her feelings for Leonard.
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