Chapter Text
Piggy Island. Three days after the invasion of the birds from Bird Island, caused by King Leonard and his henchmen’s theft of their eggs. The entire island was in ruins: collapsed buildings, fires yet to extinguish, and injured pigs everywhere. Most significantly, King Leonard’s massive castle had been reduced to debris, except for the ground floor. It was a devastating blow never seen before in the island's history from which it would take months to recover. In the middle of the scene, teams of cleaner pigs sent directly by the King to clear the debris and leave everything clear for new constructions moved around in excavators and demolition machinery. Others worked on foot, gathering wreckage by hand which, to nobody's surprise, ended up with splinters and shards of broken glass in their hoofs.
"Ouch, ouch, oUCH!!" Cried one of them, who had just stabbed himself with a wooden splinter right in his hoof palm. "Told ya' to put some gloves on, you brute." his partner said while cleaning up a bunch of mess with a shovel. "Holy pigs, what a disaster. Those birds were so rude to us—I mean, we introduce our island's inventions to them, put on magnificent shows at their island.. hell, we even demonstrated how our TNT works! and this is how they thank us? All over a few eggs they can just lay again! Such a fuss over a few eg-"
Before that pig could finish his sentence as he picked up a handful of debris with his shovel, he found something. Something round, something white, something with an oval form and, miraculously, no cracks. It couldn't be, was it what he thought it was..?
"..Egg..? Egg. An egg, its AN EGG!" Exclaimed the excited pig as he raised the egg into the air for everyone to see.
His co-workes saw the egg, dumbfounded. Soon any pig around quickly found out about the news, no matter if it was a nurse pig in an ambulance rescuing the remaining injured pigs under the debris or architect pigs designing the new buildings they were gonna build after all the clean-up. No matter who it was, everyone turned to see the fuss and quickly an inmense crowd formed around the pig who discovered the egg. Without losing a second, they all marched towards King Leonard's castle, impatient to show their king the wonderful discovery.
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Inside the castle's lower level, the only part still standing after the destruction of the castle, King Leonard was taking a bubble bath, accompanied by relaxing music from Piggy Island’s most influential artists and barbecue-scented reed diffusers, while his assistant Ross scrubbed his back with an XXL bath brush. With the bubbles, the aroma, the music, and the scrubbing, anyone would have been more than relaxed. Yet, Leonard remained frowning, resting his cheek against his fist..
"C'mon, boss! Relax a lil', enjoy your bath! Ya' gotta take your mind off of them birds for a while, don't ya'?
—"Well Ross, my dear piggy assistant, first of all maybe i could be relaxed if there wasn't a HUGE HOLE ON THE ROOF!" Said Leonard, pointing at the hole left by one of the birds in the ceiling, letting all the light of the day in and crashing the mood. "Second of all, i could be more relaxed if i was in my glamourous upstairs bathroom, surrounded by my expensive creams and my 100% natural high-quality soaps! but NOOOOOOO!, since those pesky birds had to stick their beaks where they didn't belong- literally - I have to shower in this run-down hovel that gives me claustrophobia just by looking at it! And third of all.. i would be sooooo much more relaxed if those birds were here, with us!"
"What?! Why, boss?"
"Because, my dear friend, if those.. birds were here with me as we speak... i could grab them one by one from their yellow and stupidly shaped beaks and FLEECE THEM ALL ONE BY ONE AND MAKE MYSELF A COAT WITH THEIR FEATHERS, ESPECIALLY THE BASTARD OF RED- Oh.. Ooooohhhhh yessss.. right there....." spoke Leonard, forgetting whatever he was screaming about once Ross layed his hooves on his shoulders, giving him a massage.
"..Hm? What's all that ruckus?" interrupted Ross.
"Don't stop.. i hear nuthin'.." spoke Leonard who was slowly falling asleep, until the noise became too evident. "..Huh?! You're right, what's that noise?
Ross and a Leonard in a towel left the bathroom. "It comes from outside!" said Ross. Him and Leonard walked to the castle's doors which were opened in one push by Leonard, revealing all the pigs in the island cheering and calling for his presence.
"AAAAAHH!! THEY CAME TO DETHRONE ME!!" screamed Leonard, misinterpreting the pigs euphoric screams as screams of anger and boos. He quickly hid behind Ross the best he could even tho he was four times bigger than him. Three if you exclude his belly.
"No sir, they're not mad, they're happy!"
"Really..?" Asked Leonard as he trembled in fear. He peeked to see the crowd, and once he was sure they weren't angry with his failure on kidnapping the eggs, he sighed in relief and stepped away from Ross, letting himself be seen. "Alright, alright. What's all this commotion?" asked Leonard with a cocky tone as if he wasn't shaking like a wet dog less than a minute ago.
"King Leonard, you're not gonna believe this!" said one of the pigs before being interrupted by the pig who found the egg.
"Hey! i'm the one speaking since im the one who found the egg! ..King Leonard, you're not gonna believe this!"
"Well yeah, i can't believe anything since i don't know what you're all talking about. Speak at once!" Demanded Leonard to the pig who hid the reason behind its back.
"Oooh im just so excited! Should i tell him or should i not?"
"SPEAK AT ONCE OR YOU'RE GOING TO THE DUNGEONS! atleast what's left of them..
"No, no, no! Alright.. ..Look at what i found!". The smiling pig slowly revealed the egg to its king.
Leonard's irritated expression shifted into one of astonishment, with his eyes and mouth wide open.
"..No.. it can't be.. -is, is it real..?!" Asked a stunned Leonard.
"Yes, my king, it's an egg!"
"Really?!" said Ross as he abruptly got close to the egg.
Leonard immediately pushed him back with one hoof. "Move! you're clumsy, you'll break it!"
Slowly and with all the delicacy in the universe, Leonard took the egg from the pig's hands and held it in the air. He looked around it and gently knocked on it a few times to check its reliability. And once he was completely sure it was a real bird egg, he laughed. The tiny laugh he had let out quickly evolved into a burst of laughter, along with the ones from the crowd of pigs who joined in. He then raised the egg in the air with one hoof as a victory sign while everypig cheered for him.
"WE HAVE AN EGG!"
.
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Leonard’s castle dining hall—who had been quickly repaired with a few planks and nails—was packed with 1/3 of all the island’s pigs, while the remaining 2/3 formed a line outside, waiting their turn to pay the entrance fee to a bodyguard pig stationed at the door. At the front of the crowd stood a proud Leonard, bragging his royal cape and crown. Next to him was Ross, who held a red cushion with gold tassels in which the egg rested. Next to them stood the pig who had found the egg—wearing a wretched blue copper medal as a token of gratitude for the discovery, which was, for him, the greatest thing that had ever happened in his life.
Behind them was the court's chef, the pig who would turn that tiny egg into the best omelette of all omelettes, preparing the fire for the frying pan.
Leonard clincked a glass with a fork.
"Alright, ladies and gentlepigs, i would like to call for a toast. ...This egg right here, isn't just an ordinary egg.
"This egg, no matter it being a single one.. represents the victory of the Pig Island! Who despise the very evident obstacles which led to the destruction of our town and my kingdom..Has still managed to seize victory and get our hooves on that treasure we've been yearning for generations ..the eggs. Those white, round, beautiful source of happiness.
"And today, before you all, my most loyal subjects..." The mass of pigs who watched Leonard got more and more excited for each word Leonard spoke, with the hope of him, noticing how theres only one egg, could share the delicacy with his villagers. The excitement was such, that even the pigs waiting in line, including the bodyguard, peeked inside the room waiting to hear his next words.
"... Will have the priviledge to observe how your king enjoys this luxury!"
The ear-to-ear smiles of the crowd of pigs fell in seconds to Leonard's sentence, with many of them letting out signs of disappointment and sadness from never being able to know how an egg tastes.
"Oh c'mon King, not even me?! I was the one who found it!" said the pig with the copper medal that was about to fall apart completely.
"And i'm your most loyal servant! I've even given you foot massages!" Complained Ross.
Ts
—"Ugh... Fiiiiiiiinee, i'll share with you both.. ..You'll have a piece of the white part! And i'm being generous enough!"
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"And finally, my dear pigs.. ITS TIME TO COOK!". Leonard raised the egg in the air with a single hand meanwhile everypig in the audience cheered, raising their little hooves in the air.
Everything was perfect, nothing could ruin this moment! Not even those nosy birds!
.
Crack.
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...
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The room fell into an abrupt silence upon the sudden and strange noise.
"...What was that?" Asked a wide eyed Leonard.
"AAAAH! King Leonard, the egg!" yelled Ross as he pointed at the egg Leonard was holding. Leonard turned to it, seeing the inmense crack that had appeared in a moment.
—gasp "AAAAAH!! What do i do what do i do WHAT DO I DO?! LOOK WHAT YOU DID, ROSS!"
"What? How? What did i do?!
"You probably held it wrong or sumthin'!"
The egg kept cracking more and more. Leonard panicked and unwillingly started juggling with the egg due to his trembling hands, passing it from a hand to the other. Ross and the pig who found it were running in circles 'till they eventually crashed into eachother and fell on their backs. The crowd of pigs were all screaming and running into and outside the room, stepping on the poor bodyguard who had everypig bouncing on top of him. All of this while the court's chef lost balance on the stool he was standing on and fell face-first on the frying pan, making the dining hall have a slight smell of bacon. It was an absolute caos.
Then, in the middle of everything, the egg finished hatching. Like nothing was happening, everyone quickly gathered around Leonard, the one holding the egg, to observe whatever was about to come out of that broken eggshell.
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A small orange peak with a red ending punctured the shell, from which a big eye with a black iris peeked through. The tiny creature hit the top of the eggshell with her head 'till it finally broke off. From it, a round, petite chick rose from it. She was covered in grey, messy feathers and white feathers ontop of her beak and belly, who had black feathers in the shape of an X on her face, along with a small, laid-back crest. The little chick rubbed its eyes with her tiny wings from all the light in the room, and when she finally opened those bright black eyes of hers, the first person she saw was the robust and bearded pig holding her. Leonard.
The moment she laid her eyes on him, she slowly formed a tiny smile with that tiny beak, right before pronouncing her first words:
"Daddy!"
a long, growing "...wuuuhaaAAAAAT?!" was all Leonard could say in a situation like that.
The surrounding crowd of pigs instantly melted from cuteness, letting out a synchronized "aaaaawwwww!".
"Aaaaww, how cuuute! She called you daddy!" Said Ross, with his freckled cheeks red like cherries and eyes shining in delight.
"Shut up! What do i do with this now..?! I obviously can't cook this anymore, it's not an egg!"
"...unless..?"
"KING LEONARD!"
"Whaaaat? Im just sayin'!"
The small chick started crawling over Leonard's body as she laughed, freaking Leonard out.
"AAAH! Get her off of me, Ross!"
"Aww, ain't she adorable? She's just playin' with you, Boss!"
Leonard quickly grabbed her and held her away from him as she laughed and reached for him with her tiny wings.
"Now listen here, kiddo! You better get those fluffy hands off of me if you don't want me to send you back to BIRD ISLAND!"
The little bird's smile dropped and she stared at him for a couple of seconds, much to Leonard's confusion. Her eyes got watery, her beak wrinkled, and finally, began to cry. But it wasn't an ordinary cry, it was an ear-shattering whining that made Ross cover his ears and Leonard only covering one of his, since his other hand was busy holding the crying chick.
"AAAARGH! Make it stop!" cried Ross.
"DAMN IT, I CAN'T COVER BOTH EARS, IM GONNA BE HALF-DEAF!"
.
..
...
Hours passed. It was exactly 3:30 AM when Leonard, Courtney and Ross were at Leonard's bedroom. Leonard, baggy eyed, sat at the edge of his marriage bed with Courtney and Ross watching the sleeping chick on a baby crib they had recently ordered. melting in cuteness.
Leonard yawned. "FINALLY she quieted down; how can a newborn baby cry for an hour straight? Next time you guys are the ones taking care of her, my royal life is completely incompatible with taking care of screaming babies, ESPECIALLY bird babies."
"Uh-huh... Yeah... That's great..." "Fine by me...!" said a zoned-out Ross and Courtney, completely decentralized staring at the baby with heart eyes.
"..? are you two even listening to me?!" yelled Leonard, snapping the two out of their trances. "I SAID you two are taking care of this thing next time."
"But she cries whenever we pick her up! Sadly.." said Courtney.
"She even bit me when i tried." added Ross.
"Besides.. she called you her "daddy" so..."
"..What? You expect ME to adopt it?" said Leonard.
"Stop calling her an 'it', Leonard, she's a baby, not an object!" complained Courtney.
"Hey, now that i realize, she doesn't even have a name! We should give her one! How about... SUPERBIRD?" said Ross.
"Nah.. thats too cliche.. what about T-rex? Birds come from dinosaurs after all!"
"SILENCE!"
Ross and Courtney stiffed and looked at Leonard.
"We're not giving it a name! Ion' want this baby here, am i the only one here who still remembers its a BIRD? The birds can come here anytime and take her back! All of this while destroying our island AGAIN, of course!"
"Well.. its already been 24 hours and nobody has shown up.. maybe she's an orphan!" said Courtney.
"If she's an orphan then we can really adopt her now! I even got a new name idea! Since she's grey, we can name her Silver! Whatyda' think?" said Ross.
"OoooOoooh! i like that one!"
"I know right?- yawn Alright, i think it's time to rest a lil', too many emotions in one day!"
" 'night, Boss! Rest well you two!"
"hey hey HEY WAIT-" Leonard was about to say something before being interrupted by the soft swish of the door that Courtney closed after saying goodbye.
He sighed in annoyance. He then turned his gaze towards the chick's cradle. "Tch.. 'Silver', how preposterous.." he said, as he rolled his eyes, but eventually they drifted back to the cradle. He thought for a second, then stood up and walked up to the cradle. She leaned against the cradle and watched the chick. She was sleeping peacefully, nothing compared to how upset she was an hour ago. Leonard sighed. "What am i going to do with you now..?" He whispered to himself.
The sleeping chick started moving around with an upset expression in her face while making sounds of distress. "Oh no no no no NO don't cry again!" Leonard quickly picked her up and held her in his arms. Then, as if by magic, the baby relaxed and snuggled into Leonard's arms.
This took Leonard off-guard. He still couldn't believe that little creature he was holding in his arms placed so much trust on someone like him. After all, he was seconds away from turning her into an omelette. And the fact that the first thing she did once she came out of her eggshell was call him his father, moved something inside of him. Having previously dismissed it as an exaggeration, he finally understood why the birds fought so hard to rescue their eggs from him and his henchmen.
He looked out the window with the chick on his arms. The moon was full and glowing brighter than ever with the starry night surrounding it, reflecting its white light on the sea in which pieces of wood from the birds' ship floated, the ones they used to go back to their island.
He looked down to the chick, allowing himself a small smile.
.
..
FLASH!
He was abruptly jolted out of his tranquility the moment the flash of a camera lit up the room next to Leonard and the chick. He turned around and saw Courtney and Ross peeking from the door, with the picture coming out of the camera on Courtney's hands.
"Bullseye!" Said Courtney, before her and Ross laughed their asses off as they ran away.
"You two have been here the entire time?!" Leonard quickly left his chick back on her crib and ran after them. "Come back here, you gremlins! I knew i shouldda' taken that thing away from you two!" He yelled, chasing them as they ran around, laughing and waving the photo in the air.