Chapter 1: A new generation

Every emperor penguin has a song. A special and unique song, called Hearthsong. It's represent what they truly are. It's the sound they hear inside their hearth. It is an extension of their souls, and such as that, if it fits with another song, it means that the singers are destined to be together ... forever.

It's very simple: The heart has feeling, that's feelings became a song, that song blends with the song of your mate turning into a new song, this new song became love… and the love became an egg.

But… what if you don't have a song? Does that mean you'll be alone all your life? That you will never find that someone special?

Although such thing has never happened, it's always a preoccupation of the parents.

After the mating season, females lay their eggs and leave them under the care of their mates, while they travel hundreds of kilometers on foot to reach the ocean. There, they must catch enough fish to regain the weight they lost during the two months of the breeding season (in which they didn't eat anything) and also to feed their chicks when they return.

But males are the ones who have the hardest task of all: They must survive the merciless Antarctic winter without food or shelter, and having to ensure the survival of the egg that their companion had trusted to them. To make the things worse, if the egg touches the ground, the father will only have a few seconds to put it back in the heat of his legs, before his chick suffer serious injuries… or even die.

This winter was especially cold.

There were a lot of preoccupations among the males, because there were stories that the fish scarce and more than one family would not be able to raise their chick. In his mind, the patriarch of Emperor-Land, Noah the Elder, knew this. According to him, if the rumors were true, 2 in 5 chicks would not pass the first month of life. But for a leader, the moral of his men it's more important than the rumors.

"The Great Guin is just proving our faith, my brethren! Stay faithfully to him and sing with all you got and we will endure!" That were the word that he usually used in his speeches.

Besides all these dark thought, there was also a big expectation and happiness between the fathers. All of them were very excited because they were having their first child. One in particular. His name was Memphis and he was one of the best singers of his generation. And his mate, Norma Jean, was not one, but THE best singer and most wanted female of the colony. They just have to wait a few days more, and they would be parents.

Memphis was staring the egg between his legs, smiling, remembering how he ended with Norma Jean.

(- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -)

A few weeks ago:

A large group of males were grouped around a female who was singing her Hearthsong and hearing the pretender's songs, seeking for one that fit with her song.

Female penguin: You don't have to be beautiful… To turn me on
I just your body, baby

Pretender 1: Hello!

Fp: From tusk to dawn

P1: Is it me what you are looking for?

The female just shook her head and continued walking and singing.

Fp: You don't need experience

Pretender 2: Take…

Fp: To turn me up

P2: …These broken wings!

She shook her head again.

While this was happening, another group of men were gathered not far from there, waiting for their turn to sing.

The sweet and seductive voice of the female began to reach where they were, as well as the voices of the other males.

"Woao! Maurice, who… who is she?" One of the males asked to his friend.

"Memphis. Are you serious? She is Norma Jean! She was in our class"

"Oh, yeah… I remember her. She was totally beautiful and... Gosh she sings like… like an angel"

"Yeah… Hey Memphis. I know you like her, why don't you sing to her?"

"What? I don't like her!"

"Yes, you do! When we were chicks, you got lost in her gaze frequently. And I'm sure she has feelings for you too"

"How I would like to… Naah, she is totally out of my reach. I should step aside and wait until she finish"

Maurice just stared his friend shocked.

"Memphis, what are you talking about? If any of us has a chance with her, it is you"

"But she did not even notice that guy who song "Broken wings"! How my song…"

"Shut up Memphis" His friend cut "You just need to be more confident, my friend"

"If you are so sure about yourself, why don't you try it?"

"Because I already have someone in sight: Michelle" Answered smiling.

"Oh yes. I remember her too. She also is going to be a tough one. You are going to have a lot of competitor fighting for her"

"Yes, I know, but don't worry. I can handle them. But now what matters are you and Norma Jean"

"Well I think… I could... at least... try"

"That's the spirit! Now go and do what you do best!"

Memphis nodded and started walking in the direction of the sweet voice.

"And be confident! Like a kind of… crazy love skua!" Maurice shouted to him.

"Got it!" Responded Memphis "Wait a minute, what the heck is supposed to mean that!" He told to himself.

He continued walking until he reached the top of a small snow hill. There he saw the most beautiful penguin girl he had ever seen, speaking to a crowd of males who were following her.

"Boys, Boys! Give a chick a chance!" She shouted to them.

"Ok… confidence… crazy love skua"

He cleaned his throat, took a deep breath, closed his eyed, opened his beak and started:

Weeeeeell, since my baby left me

I found a new place to dwell

He opened one eye a little and saw Norma Jean staring at him in amusement.

It's down at the end of Lonely Street at

"Heartbreak Hotel"

And I said "I'm fellin' so lonely, baby

I'm fellin' so lonely

Oh, I'm fellin' so lonely…

Norma Jean: so lonely, I could die…

The Memphis's heart began to beat faster and faster, as he walked toward her. She was answering to his song!

M: Don't have to be rich to be my girl

Norma Jean also began to approach

NJ: Don't have to be cool to rule my world

M: You rule my world

NJ: You're the particular song I'm compatible with

By this time, they were almost face to face.

M: I just want your extra time

M & NJ: And your kiss!

At the end of this last verse, they crossed their beaks as a sign of union and love. The shade of their beaks drew a heart on the snow.

"Why you took so much time? I was afraid that you didn't come and I was forced to choose another male" Norma Jean whispered to Memphis.

"Don't worry Norma Jean. I'm here now… and I'll never go away"

(- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -)

"Hey Memphis!" A voice suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Maurice?" He said, turning around to see his friend "Hi man! How are you? How did you do with Michelle?"

"Look for yourself!" He replied, pointing to his legs. A big white egg was resting on his feet "And you with Norma Jean?"

"Look for yourself too!" He said, pointing to his legs too. He also had a big white egg, but his egg had a little black dot.

"I told you that you and Norma Jean made a great couple. You worried for nothing!" He said proud "And have you decided names?"

"Well, we didn't have so much time to discuss that, but we decided that if it is a girl, it will be Cecilia and if it is a boy, I have to name it, but I haven't decided yet"

"Well, you better hurry because the chicks are going to hatch in about one or two weeks"

"I'll think of something. And you have decided how his or her name is going to be?"

"Michelle is obsessed that it's going to be a girl, so before she left, she told me that our girl is going to be Gloria"

"It's a lovely name, but if it is a boy?"

"Guin helps me"

Memphis began to laugh, but when he realized that his friend didn't laugh with him; he stopped, looked at him and noticed that Maurice had a very serious face.

"I'm serious, bro" He said with a concerned face.

"LOOK OUT!" A third penguin shouted.

It was a young male that didn't have an egg to look after. He was sledding down a large hill, right in the direction of Memphis and Maurice.

"MOVE AWAY!" He shouted again, but it was too late. He impacted on them, causing both to fall and roll a few feet. The sliding penguin followed his way, without paying much attention to the penguins that had fallen.

"Who in the world was him!" Asked Maurice, getting up and brushing the snow of the feathers

"I don't know" Answer Memphis, standing up too.

They had escaped the incident unharmed, but something was wrong. They could feel it, something just was not right, something ... something was missing.

Their eyes widened and a chill ran down their backs. They looked between their legs... and there was nothing there. Both males looked at each other's eyes with worried faces.

"THE EGG!" Both of them exclaim.

Just a few meters below, the two eggs were lying in the snow. As soon as they saw them, their worst fear was confirmed, they had dropped their eggs… an unforgivable sin.

Without hesitation, they quickly slide on their bellies to where their eggs were. Memphis saw the small black spot in one egg ... his egg. He took it quickly with his beak and put it on his feet. Maurice did the same.

"Easy, little guy. We are ok… we are ok… oh, yeah, we are ok" Memphis said to his egg, breathing heavily.

"Where did that idiot go?" Asked Maurice, after making himself sure that his egg was ok.

"I don't know, Maurice," Replied his friend, very angry "But if I see him again, I'll cut off his beak and I'll open his chest with it!"

"Hey, you two! Come with me, we must group together under the cliff. Noah says that a big storm is coming" A strange voice yelled to them. It was another emperor penguin, but much older than them. He was at the same place where they were before been hit.

"We're coming!" Maurice shouted "Come on Memphis, let's take shelter in the union"

Memphis nodded, both rushed to where the others were gathered.

The Noah's prediction was right. That same night, a big snow storm lashed Emperor-Land. The wind and the snow-fog made impossible to see anything, the temperature dropped 20 degrees in just a few hours. Nevertheless the extreme cold was the least of the concerns in the minds of the two young fathers. The thought that they had almost lost their chicks and maybe that they suffered some damage due the exposure to the freezing snow, was just terrifying. But more terrifying was the fact that they didn't have idea if it had happened or not.

The storm that was unleashed that night lasted one week... one dark and cold week.

When it finished, the morale of the penguins was pretty weak. Females should have arrived by that time, but they didn't. Noah did the best he could to keep his people strong, but he eventually reached a point where he didn't know what to say in his speeches.

After other three day, and still without a clue of the females, the great day had come. After a long and cold winter, the sun finally rose in a cloudless blue sky.

The ice around the coast began to melt, while the glaciers split apart into smaller pieces of floating ice.

The eggs began to hatch. One per one, little fluffy gray birds emerged from them. The frozen valley literally flooded with the squawking of the chicks; and with the voices of their fathers saying "Oh, it's a boy!", "Oh, it's a girl!", "You are the cutest thing I've ever seen", "You got your mama's eyes", "You are just like me!"

However, not everything was happiness. Some males were actually crying, hidden in caves or behind blocks of ice.

It's not easy at all for a person (Or a penguin in this case) to keep in mind that the survival of your child and your own survival depend on the success of your mate. You must suffer cold, hunger, loneliness, uncertainness and many other things, and even so, it's not guarantee the survival of your child. Some young's simply can't stand it.

Their bodies sometimes betray them, forcing them to leave the egg and go to the ocean in search of food. They leave the egg in the rocks, to prevent them to get frozen; but when they return, the only thing they usually find are broken shells left by the skuas.

Although there are very few cases in which by sheer luck (or by divine will of the Great Guin) the egg was safe when the father returned.

Maurice's egg took a while to hatch, worrying him a lot, but eventually began to move and a few minutes later, he/she finally was able to break the shell. He/she quickly jumped on his father's legs in search of warmth. Maurice bowed his neck to get a better view of his offspring.

"Hello my little boy! Welcome to the world" Maurice told to his child with great excitement.

"I am girl!" The chick answered giggling.

"Oh… yeah! Of course you are, I was… just… playing with you" He said nervously.

"You are my daddy?"

"Yes, I am. My name is Maurice, but you call me pa"

"And, who I am, pa?"

"You are Gloria"

"Gloria…" She repeated, smiling "I like it"

He remained in silent, watching his daughter, very proud to have made it, despite the difficulties. Then came an idea came to his mind.

"Hey Gloria, Would you like to meet a friend?"

"What is a… friend?"

Maurice was forgetting that Gloria was just like 5 minutes old.

"Well a friend is someone to share feelings, play together, tell secrets, help each other and things like that" He explained.

Gloria remained silent for a moment, thinking about it.

"It sounds fun!" She said with a big smile

"And it is, sweetheart. Come; let's visit a friend of mine. He has a chick too. Maybe he or she can be your friend. He must be a few steps in that direction, so you can practice your walking too" He said, pointing at the South with his flipper.

"I hope it's a he!" she said, getting out of her father's legs and running towards the direction that his father had pointed.

"Yeah, that's my girl…" He said smiling, but that smile soon vanished "Wait, WHAT! Gloria… come back here... what did you mean with that? Gloria!" He shouted, but she was already out of reach "She has minutes of life and she is already thinking in boys?" He said, sighing and following his daughter "This paternity thing is going to give me headaches"

Memphis was not far at all, he was only about 15 meters from there. Gloria immediately found him; he was the only penguin that was in that direction, at the top of a small hill

"Hi mister!" She said when she was close to him "I'm Gloria, what's your name?"

Memphis had his back to Gloria. He just turned his head slightly to see her, but he didn't say a word. Gloria then noticed and egg which was lying in the snow. Memphis stopped looking at her and directed his gaze to the egg on the floor. His eyes seemed to be ready to burst into tears.

At that time, Maurice appeared. He was about to shout at Memphis to greet him, but became aware of the condition that he was, and also that Memphis' egg was on the snow. That could only mean one thing…

"Memphis? Is everything ok?" He felt stupid after asking that.

"I-I-I don't know… I can't hear anything" He answered, without looking at his friend.

Gloria approached to the egg and pecked it gently with her beak.

"Is it empty?" She asked innocently "Can I have it?"

"Gloria!" Maurice shouted to his daughter.

"It's ok, Maurice…" Memphis sighted "…enjoy it, little girl"

Gloria smiled; in her innocence, she didn't know that she was sitting in front of a death. A child who never was going to know what is life.

Maurice felt very bad for his friend. His egg and Memphis' one had had the same accident. However, only his egg survived. It's… unfair.

"Why it had to be like this?" He thought.

"Listen Memphis…" Maurice tried to console his friend "This happen sometimes. It's not your fault"

"Do not try to console me, Maurice" He answered, very sadly, "It's my fault, I know. I was supposed to protect it ... and I failed" He started to cry "How I'll tell this to Norma Jean?"

"Shut up, please!" The little Gloria said causing that her father got angry.

"Gloria, what is wrong with you! Don't you see that he had lost his…?"

"Shhh! Silent! I think I hear something"

After hearing Gloria's word, Memphis' tears stopped. His eyes widened as he approaches to the little female and the egg.

"Really? What is it? Is it moving? Is it talking with you?" He asked frenetically.

"I don't know… I think it is…" She said, resting her head on the eggshell "I think it is mumbling something"

"What is he or she saying!"

Gloria paused to listen carefully to the sounds coming from inside the egg.

"It sounds like a he!" She said smiling "And is saying: Shtop tolkin an le me shtlep… or something like that"

"Shtop tolkin an le me shtlep?" Memphis repeated "Stop talking and let me sleep! He is talking! Maurice he is talking! He wasn't dead! HE WAS JUST SLEEPING!" Memphis shouted, full of excitement. He hugged Maurice tightly and burst on laughing.

"I'm happy… for you… my friend but you are… choking me!"

Meanwhile, with Gloria and the egg:

"Come on! Get out there!" She said to the chick in the egg, having no respond, of course. This caused that Gloria got a bit angry "Ok, this is your last warning: or you get out of there now or I'll get you out" She remained there for a few second, waiting for an answer that didn't come "Ok, you ask for it!"

She raised her head, closed her eyes and gave a very strong peck to the egg, breaking the shell. When she opened her eyes, she found out that her beak as very close to the beak of the creature that lived inside the egg and that was looking at her with his eyes widened. Then she looked his eyes… they weren't normal penguin's eyes. They were not brown like other penguin's eyes, they were blue, a very deep blue. One could easily got lost in that eyes… and that's was exactly what happened to Gloria.

Without knowing why, she remained there, watching that chick's eyes, feeling the boy's breath on her face, the warm of his feather...

She felt something, she didn't know what it was because she was very young, but she felt something.

It was strange, she wanted to take her head out of there, but she couldn't. She was hypnotized by those blue eyes. She began to blush a bit.

After two minutes of awkward silence, the boy was the first in speaking.

"Excuse me, ehm… could you please give me… some space? I think I'm ready to get out"

"Oh, yes... sure" She said, pulling out her head "Sorry" She added shyly.

The boy poked his head through the hole that Gloria had made, and with the strength of his shoulder, he enlarged the hole until it was big enough to pass.

"Don't apologize. I had to get out of there sooner or later, hadn't I?"

"Yeah, I think so"

"And besides, not every day you wake up and found an angel staring at you" He said smiling to Gloria.

"Oh… ehm… I… me?... em ah… tha… kiu" She tried to answer, very blushed.

"Are you ok?" Asked the boy, concerned with the reaction of Gloria.

"Yeah… Yeah!... emhm, thank you… Mr. Mumble"

"Mumble?" He looked very puzzled.

"Yes, because you were mumbling all the time you were in the egg" She answered giggling.

"Mumble, eh?" He remained there, thinking in silence for a few seconds before answering "I like it! So I'm Mumble, but who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Gloria"

"Gloria… lovely name for a lovely penguin" He said, causing Gloria blushed even more "So, Gloria, do you know where is my father?"

"I think it's him" She said, pointing to an adult male penguin that was hugging another and spinning around and shouting of happiness.

"Oh, great…" Mumble said, narrowing his eyes. He walked toward his father and when he was close he shouted to him "DAD!"

The adult immediately stop dancing and approached to the chick.

"My little boy!" He said, hugging the little Mumble tightly "You are okay! Thanks to the Great Guin, I was so worried!"

"Dad, please! You are embarrassing me!" Mumble said, pulling himself out of the hug.

"Oh, sorry… sorry"

"Congratulations Memphis, It's a boy!" Maurice congratulated "So, what is his name?

"I'm Mumble" The chick said.

"Mumble?" Both adults asked.

"Yeah, Mumble. She gave me that name and I like it" He said, pointing to Gloria "Can I be Mumble, pa?"

"Well… I don't know… your mama…"

"Pleaseeeee!" He said, doing the cutest and most heartbreaking face that the world has ever seen.

"What the heck! You know what? You'll be Mumble!" Memphis said, defeated by Mumble's face.

"YEAH!" Both chicks exclaimed.

"Come Gloria, on my feet. We must leave" Maurice said.

"Coming dad!" Gloria said, running toward her father and jumping into his feet.

"You too, Mumble" Mumble started to run toward his father "Watch the beak! Watch the beak! Watch the beak! THE BEAK!" While Mumble was running, he slipped in the ice and hit with his beak the Memphis's… intimacy "The beak… good boy…"

(- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - )

Well, this is the beginning of my story XD

As you can see, it will be a modified version of the original movie AND ALSO, a deeper view in some aspects of the movie.

One of these modifications is that Gloria (in the egg) was also dropped in the ice. This will have consequences in the future.

I checked this with a spelling assistant, but perhaps this still has some mistakes on it :/

So I would like you to tell me where they are, so I don't repeat the same mistakes in the future.