Happy Feet Two

by Paul Livingston

  Not far away, all the penguins around Emperor Land heard a loud noise approaching and tilted their heads. Vwaaarrrooom! A snowmobile lurched over the rise, with Lovelace perched on the handlebars!

  He jumped off the machine as it came to a halt near Mumble. “Lovelace, this is really great,” Mumble said thankfully.

  “Mumble, my man, aliens, courtesy of Sven!” he announced as more snowmobiles pulled in behind him.

  As the scientists stepped off their vehicles, Erik, Atticus, and Bo edged closer to Mumble.

  “It’s okay, kids,” he said soothingly. “I know they look scary, but they’re here to help us.”

  The scientists made their way to the edge of the Doomberg. They were stunned at the sight of the trapped Emperor penguins below and resolved to help them.

  From below, the Emperor nation watched as the rescuers threw bright red ropes over the edge of the iceberg. Some curious baby penguins moved forward to investigate.

  On the head of one of these little penguins, Will the tiny krill lay hidden by feathers. He wanted to escape from Emperor Land as much as the penguins. And the giant, red cable dangling before him gave him an idea.

  “Where there’s a Will, there’s a way out!” the krill exclaimed.

  He leaped onto the rope, his many legs frantically climbing upward. Suddenly, the rope began to shake and snow trickled down from above. When Will looked up, he gasped. A gigantic creature was sliding down the rope toward him. Soon there were other humans on other ropes around him, loaded with equipment as they descended into Emperor Land. Will turned around and scrambled back down the rope. Just before the huge scientist was upon him, Will leaped across onto the wall of ice and secured himself in a tiny crack in the ice.

  Cruuuunch! Will was almost crushed by a scientist’s boot. As the human struggled for a foothold, a piece of ice dislodged—the very piece that Will was grabbing on to. Will plummeted down and fell on the scientist’s other boot. He latched onto a bootlace, which took him straight back to the bottom of the rope. But Will’s adventure was not quite over.

  Crraaaack! A pickax smashed into the ice next to Will, hurling him into the air. He landed on a large, shiny, red device. Spotting a hole in the metallic apparatus, Will scurried down into what looked like a safe, dark place. A thunderous sound quickly made him wonder if this was a wise move.

  Haaarrrrraw! Will hadn’t realized it, but his safe haven was the inside of a chain saw! A scientist yanked hard on the starter cord. Luckily for Will, the motor didn’t start immediately and he was off again, scrambling out of the darkness … and straight along the metal blade. Will was feeling light-headed as he dangled from the end of the chain saw.

  Another pull and this time the engine revved into action. Desparate now, Will leaped clear and onto the snow below.

  Will didn’t know it, but the humans were creating a path for the Emperor penguins to escape. The penguins knew it, though!

  All the tiny krill could see were gigantic, mechanical obstacles and sharp objects. Will hid under a patch of snow, but soon felt himself rising. He was being lifted in a shovelful of snow.

  Thwacko! The snow hit the ice wall … and Will with it! With his last ounce of strength, Will clung to the wall by the tips of his thoracopods, straining to pull himself up. Then he heard the blades of the chain saw slicing through the ice. Will had only a moment to jump free. He leaped off the ice wall and flew through the air onto a colorful knitted beanie on one of the rescuer’s heads. Trembling in shock, Will buried himself in the warm folds of wool.

  The ship’s crew made good progress carving out a path to the top of the Doomberg.

  Mumble and Erik looked on with a great sense of relief.

  “Where will we live when everyone gets out?” asked Erik.

  “We’ll find somewhere new,” said Mumble.

  “But what if the same thing happens there?” said Erik.

  “We deal with the world one problem at a time,” reasoned Mumble. “The important thing is that we’ll all be together again.”

  Just then, a snowflake floated down and settled on Erik’s head. Then another and another. The sun disappeared and dark clouds gathered. Soon, the wind began to howl and snow fell thicker and faster. It was a blizzard!

  Although the escape path was not finished, it was impossible for the ship’s crew to continue working. They quickly packed their equipment, climbed back up the cliff, and jumped onto their snowmobiles. As they sped off, a sudden storm gust whipped a colorful beanie off one of the scientists’ heads and blew it down, down, all the way back down into Emperor Land, with little Will still holding on for dear life.

  The penguins knew what to do: Huddle, share the warmth, and wait out the storm. All the penguins down in Emperor Land and on top of the Doomberg huddled together.

  Mumble drew Erik, Atticus, and Bo to him.

  “Stay close, stay warm,” he said, but his mind was on Gloria down below, where she had gathered all the chicks into a huddle.

  Ramon was perhaps the only penguin enjoying the turn of events. He got to be pressed tightly against Carmen!

  “Carmen?” Ramon crooned. “Can’t you see? Even nature decrees that we be close together.”

  Carmen ignored him.

  As the blizzard intensified, the penguins huddled tighter, and their heads dropped low to protect themselves from the driving wind and snow. Soon, it was a complete whiteout.

  After three days, the sun finally shone again. Emperor Land lay silent, blanketed by a massive dump of fresh snow. And deep under the snow, a fragile little limb emerged. Then, a pair of micro-eyes. It was Will!

  The tiny krill blinked. All was calm. He sighed. Peace at last, he told himself. Suddenly, the ground began shifting beneath him and Will felt himself moving upward.

  He was perched on the beak of a baby penguin as it lifted its head up out of the snow. And this penguin was about to sneeze.

  ACHOO! Will was off again, flying through the air, not knowing where he’d end up next.

  Sven also emerged from his hiding place and flew above Emperor Land to survey the aftereffects of the storm. The sea had frozen over, and there was no sign of the research vessel—the scientists got to their ship before it became trapped in the ice.

  Sven glided over Emperor Land as the penguins began emerging from under the snow.

  He had an important announcement.

  “Everybuddy! Everybuddy!” he called down. “Winter is coming. The sea, she is very, very far away now. Too much of the ice. I regret to inform, but we cannot, anymore, remain in the catering business.”

  Upon hearing this news, some of the penguins on the Doomberg started drifting back toward Adelie Land. Seeing this, the penguins stuck down in Emperor Land lost hope.

  “You can’t leave. Not now,” Erik pleaded as Sven flew overhead.

  Sven swooped down and landed on the head of a departing penguin.

  “Sorry, fluffy one,” Sven consoled. “But if we stay, we become not alive, too.”

  While all seemed lost, not everyone had given up. Down in Emperor Land, a penguin hurled himself onto his belly and slid down a slope of fresh snow toward an ice ramp. Hitting it at full speed, he flew high into the air, heading toward the edge of the Doomberg.

  All the penguins up top looked over to see what was going on.

  The brave penguin didn’t have quite enough momentum and fell into the soft snow below. But it inspired another trapped penguin to try. She straddled two penguins on their bellies and sped down the slope.

  Erik turned to Sven and pleaded again. “Teach them Sven. Teach them how to fly!”

  “Iiii-rik, is not that easy,” Sven replied.

  All three penguins shot up into the air after hitting the ramp. The crowd of Emperors below cheered as the two booster penguins fell away and the daring one flew toward the ledge, flapping her flippers.

  As this was happening, Erik pointed a flipper at those trapped below.

  “Help them, Sven. You could teach them a
ll to fly!”

  “Not all penguins are created equal,” said Sven, avoiding the small penguin’s gaze.

  “But you’re a penguin, and you can fly,” Erik insisted.

  “I am a little more than a penguin,” said Sven awkwardly. “I am a Svenguin. There is a difference, yes?”

  At that moment, the ski-jumping female’s short flight ended and she, too, fell into the snow at the base of the Doomberg. As soon as she landed, more penguins were headed down the ramp at high speed. The trapped penguins were not going to give up without trying.

  And Erik wouldn’t let go of his idea. “Tell them what to do, Sven,” Erik pleaded.

  The crowd around them urged Sven, too. “Do it, Sven. Do it!”

  “Well, I guess it’s just technique.” Sven was talking himself into it as the crowd grew louder. “Go, Sven, go!!”

  He swooped down and flew alongside the next group of airborne penguins.

  “Okay! Head up! Back straight,” he encouraged.

  But they, too, fell short and dropped, unhurt, onto the snow below. Behind them, another group of penguins was trying to fly.

  “Feel the wind beneath your wings … and up-uppity-up!” Sven instructed them, but they, too, dropped out of the sky.

  Then it was Seymour’s turn. He was so determined to be reunited with his son Atticus that he had a bigger plan. Perched on top of a pyramid of eleven penguins, he roared, “You’re goin’ down, gravity!”

  The pyramid of penguins sped down the slope toward the ramp and lifted into the air, holding formation. Soon, the lower penguins fell away, leaving Seymour soaring toward his wide-eyed son. “Fly, Dad, fly!” cried Atticus.

  Seymour flapped his flippers like crazy. “Atticus, my man! I’m comin’!”

  Sven flew underneath Seymour, trying desperately to keep him airborne, yelling encouragement. “Rotate flippers and SvenThink … will it, will it, will it!”

  For a moment it actually looked like it was going to work, until … waahhuummp! Seymour hit the ice wall and plummeted to the ground, with Sven still underneath him.

  After a few moments, Sven’s head popped out from under the pile of snow that Seymour dislodged when he hit the wall. He was groggy and overcome with humiliation and embarrassment. He began sobbing quietly because he knew the game was finally up.

  “I is not a Svenguin,” admitted Sven. “Not even a penguin.”

  A murmur ran through the crowd.

  Then something amazing happened. Sven bent his back … and his spine popped! It sounded like knuckles cracking as his body transformed, changing from a proud, upright, puffed-up Svenguin to a bent-over, humble, little puffin bird.

  “I am a puffin,” Sven confessed. “Just a little puffin birdie … all run out of puff.”

  The penguins were stunned. The Mighty Sven, not a penguin? Just an itty-bitty bird? No wonder he could fly!

  “I’m so sorry, everybuddy,” Sven said. “When I lose my homelands, I was very lonely and very afraidy. Then I meet you, and you believe in me, little Sven Tervilliksen from much too far away. It was so nice to have a family again.”

  And with that, Sven murmured a weak “Uppity-up” and simply walked away.

  Erik was in a state of shock as he watched Sven walk away. He felt sadder than he could ever remember. But another surprise distracted him from any thoughts of Sven.

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw a small stream of snow trickle past him and heard a familiar tippity-tip-tap sound. He turned around to see his father dancing! Surely this was no time for dancing, Erik thought.

  Mumble tapped his feet harder, and more snow slid down into Emperor Land below. The tip-tapping of Mumble’s feet was loosening more and more of the snow! Mumble had figured out a way that might save the trapped penguins below. If enough loose snow could be dislodged, it just might form a snow ramp … a path for the Emperors to use to escape.

  Soon, Ramon and his Amigos, Lovelace, and the other penguins from Adelie Land caught on to what Mumble was doing. They all began dancing, too. With each stomp, the tempo lifted, and more layers of snow started to shift.

  Erik finally understood. His dad had worked out a way to save the Emperor penguin nation! Before long, snow was cascading down into Emperor Land and piling up at the base of the Doomberg.

  The Emperors below joined in the dance, adding more good vibes. Even Will the krill—crouched in the snow down in Emperor Land—who had never heard or seen dancing before, couldn’t stop his feet from tapping along, too.

  But up top, Erik was not dancing.

  “Come on, Erik! Every step counts!” Bo encouraged.

  Hesitantly at first, Erik tried a little hop-step. Then, slowly finding the beat, he began to dance more and more confidently, until … harooooomph! One large section of the Doomberg collapsed, with dozens of tap-dancing penguins on it—including Atticus and Bo. The falling penguins tumbled over and over and finally landed in the soft snow down in Emperor Land, startled but not hurt.

  Miss Viola was shocked, too, but embraced Bo in a huge hug, overjoyed to hold her daughter again. Seymour wrapped his flippers around Atticus lovingly. But they were soon interrupted by … creeeeeeeak! They looked up to see more of the Doomberg breaking apart!

  Erik felt his feet slipping on the shifting ice and frantically grabbed onto the penguin closest to him, who happened to be Lovelace. With his beak, Erik latched onto a loose thread of Lovelace’s knitted vest, which made the wool unravel. Spinning around and around, Lovelace lost his footing as he and Erik slid together toward the edge of the Doomberg!

  Seeing what was happening, Mumble launched himself desperately toward the pair. He managed to grab hold of the wool thread between them, and anchor his foot in a crack in the ice.

  As Lovelace plunged over the cliff, his vest began unraveling fast, making him spin rapidly toward the ground below. Erik was dragged over the edge a moment after Lovelace and soon both dangled in midair. They were held only by the thin, woolen thread running from Lovelace’s vest to Mumble’s beak, and then to Erik, whose little beak was firmly clamped on to the end of the thread. Directly below, sharp ice spiked up out of the rubble. Watching from below, Gloria shuddered.

  Suddenly Sven arrived to help Erik, flapping as fast as his wings could carry him.

  “Erik! I’m coming! Do not be afraidy!” cried Sven. But before he could reach Erik, the thread finally snapped, and there was a midair collision. Sven and Lovelace plummeted to the ground, just missing the jagged ice.

  Mumble struggled to hold on to the thread, with Erik still dangling below. Rushing over to help, Ramon and his Amigos took hold of the thread. Together, they were able to pull Erik up and soon he was in the safe embrace of Mumble’s flippers.

  “It’s okay, Erik. From now on we stick together,” Mumble reassured his son, who was trembling and holding back tears.

  Ramon was relieved that he was able to help rescue Erik, but he was worried about Carmen. Where was she? Looking down, he spotted her far down in Emperor Land.

  He called out to her. “I hate these long- distance relationships.”

  “Amigos? Do me a favor. I count to three, you push me on two,” Ramon explained to his friends. “But don’t tell me.”

  Ramon stood on the edge of the Doomberg, closed his eyes, assumed the dive position, and began the count. One, two … and … over the edge he went. But his Amigos hadn’t done a thing. Ramon had jumped off the Doomberg all by himself!

  As Ramon plummeted toward the snow, he yelled, “Carmeeeen! I’m cooooomming!” He hit the snow with a thump, landing right at Carmen’s feet.

  “I can’t believe you did this!” Carmen exclaimed.

  “How could I not?” said Ramon.

  “But down here, we’re doomed,” she said.

  Ramon put a flipper to his heart.

  “A thousand lifetimes up there is nothing to this one exquisite moment by your side. You are my entire world.”

  Carmen was genuinely moved.

  “You�
��re … you’re beautiful,” she said.

  “Only on the outside,” answered Ramon.

  Carmen was in love.

  “Ramon, my fallen angel, you chased me until I caught you,” she crooned in her silky Latina voice.

  The pair linked flippers and stared deeply into each other’s eyes.

  “Ramon,” Carmen whispered. “The earth is moving.”

  “For you, too?” said Ramon.

  “No, it’s moving for real!” she squealed.

  Another massive tower of ice had broken away from the shifting Doomberg and was jutting out above them.

  “Mumble, if that thing falls all the way down …,” called a familiar voice from below, “it’ll finish the path out of here!” Gloria’s voice was full of hope.

  That was good enough for Mumble. All the teetering ice tower needed was a nudge, and the trapped penguins had their ramp to freedom. Mumble began tapping his feet and, once more, the penguins around him followed his lead. Erik kept a close eye on his father’s moves. Down below, Lovelace rallied the troops.

  “My man Mumble needs backup! We’ve gotta pump up the funk!”

  All the Emperors turned up the power of their tippity-tap. Even Will shimmied across the snow and joined the crowd.

  As penguins above and below danced, ice and snow fell down behind the leaning tower of ice, tipping it a little farther. But there was not nearly enough snow and ice to make it topple.

  Mumble’s grand plan wasn’t working. Once all the loose snow had fallen, the hard packed snow wouldn’t budge. But Mumble was not about to give up. He began pounding out more powerful beats, rallying thousands of penguins to take his cue and stomp on the hard snow.

  With his eleven feet, Will tippity-tapped even harder, but he was in danger of being squashed by penguin feet thumping around him. He scampered away and took refuge in a puddle of water.