Back on the hillside, the birds saw Pig City burst into flames. Fortunately, Terence's truck made it out of the explosion and back up the hill. They gasped in shock and awe as they saw Mighty Eagle flying towards them with Chuck and the eggs.
"Cramp! Cramp!" he said painfully. He dropped the net and landed on his back.
"Look at that!" Bubbles exclaimed.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?!" Hal asked his friend. The answer was obviously yes.
The birds couldn't believe it. It was the Mighty Eagle!
"Wow, this guy looks nothing like his statue," Edward pointed out. But the birds didn't have time to criticize.
"Our eggs!" Olive Blue cried with joy. She and her husband Greg rushed to the net as Matilda and Judge Peckinpah handed out the eggs.
Meanwhile, Bomb made his way back up the hill to join his friends.
"Are you okay?" Chuck asked.
Bomb smiled. "Chuck, my man. Did you see what I did back there?"
Once the last egg was returned to its mother, all of the birds were happy... except for the Blues. Their egg was nowhere to be seen.
Bomb and Chuck realized that their egg was the one Red risked her life to save. They looked back at the destroyed city.
"Where is she?" Chuck said, worried.
"Red?" Bomb shouted.
The birds looked for any sign of Red. But there was nothing but smoke and debris. Mighty Eagle got up and realized what was happening.
"I think she might be dead," Hal whimpered.
While the others walked away sadly, Bomb lowered his head and Chuck began to cry. Red's loss was just too painful to bear. Chuck didn't even get to tell her how much he loved her.
Held in his mother's arms, Eva's hatchling looked past her shoulder and looked back at the ruins. He saw something making its way through the rubble. Could it be...?
"Daddy!"
The birds turned and looked back. Red was alive! Sure her feathers were ruffled and singed, but she was alive!
"She's alive!" Chuck shouted.
As the crowd cheered, Red reached down and showed everyone the broken shell of the Blue egg.
"What?" Mighty Eagle muttered.
Red looked down at the shell, and three blue hatchlings peeked out. They looked up at Red, and she smiled at them.
Chuck and Bomb ran down the hill to meet up with their friend.
"Red, you're alive!" Chuck exclaimed, kissing her cheek. "I thought you had died! Or defected to the pigs' side!"
"Hey, buddy, way to not be dead," Bomb said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
Red smiled. "It's good to see you guys," she said. And this time, she truly meant it.
Everyone cheered for joy as Red and her friends made it up the hill. Red then saw Greg and Olive Blue by a tree, hugging each other. She approached the sad couple slowly.
"Sir? Ma'am?" she said softly, getting their attention. "I think these belong to you."
The couple turned around to face her and saw the three chicks in the shell she was holding. Olive took the shell and the hatchlings jumped into her loving arms.
"Thank you," she cried.
Red smiled at the family as Chuck ran up to her. Bomb followed and Mighty Eagle approached the trio.
"Oh, Crimson, Woody, Ash," he said to the three, who he still couldn't remember the names of. "You learned your lessons well. Come on, bring it in."
He pulled Chuck and Bomb into an uncomfortable hug and was about to do the same to Red.
"No, I'm not really the affectionate type..." she tried to explain, but he had her join his embrace. "Okay. Does it feel like this is crossing the line to anyone else?"
"Yep."
"Nope."
Mighty Eagle let go of them and smiled proudly. "You're my prized pupils."
"Your prized what?" Red asked, confused.
"Don't you see?" he replied. "I had to make you lose faith in me so you could learn to have faith in yourself!"
"That's really not how it felt," Chuck said.
"Yeah," agreed Red. "I don't think that's what happened, man..."
"Oh, look, she's blushing!" Mighty Eagle said loudly.
Red laughed. "I'm not blushing. I'm just red."
That evening, the birds went home.

🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻

In the following days, the birds rebuilt the village. All of the eggs hatched, and there were new fuzzy hatchlings to look after. They even made a new statue of Mighty Eagle, with a plaque that read "Honoring Mighty Eagle for Saving the Eggs."
"Look at that," said Chuck as he, Red and Bomb stared up at it. "They gave Mighty Eagle all the credit. You know, back when I was angry, that would have really ticked me off."
"Ah, forget about that," Bomb said.
"You know what we should do?" Chuck suggested. "Let's go to the village!"
Red looked at her friends awkwardly. "No, actually, I'd love to go hang out with you guys, but, you know, I got this thing, and I have another thing after that thing, and there's all these things in a row..."
"Would you look at that!" Bomb interrupted, pointing up ahead.
Red couldn't believe her eyes. All the birds were waiting for her as her house was rebuilt at the heart of the village!
"What the..." she muttered, lost for words. Chuck and Bomb followed Red as she made her way through the crowd.
Judge Peckinpah faced her and smiled. "Miss Red, welcome back to the village."
All the birds started cheering and applauding. Red took a good look at her home and turned to the face the crowd. She saw all of her friends smiling at her, and those that hated her before now loved her.
Then, Red saw the baby Blues and many other hatchlings gathering before her. They whispered to each other and began singing a special song for her.
Mighty, Mighty Red, you rescued me
Defender of our homes and liberty
Bravery
Humility
Anger-y
Mighty, Mighty Red, you...
Rescued me
As she held back her tears, Red couldn't help but feel touched. She was finally a member of the community.
Everyone turned and saw Terence singing along with the hatchlings. When he saw everyone, he felt a little embarrassed. But then, he felt something underneath his wing. Matilda was cuddling up to him! It was pretty clear that she now loved him just as much as he loved her.
"How did you guys find the time to pull this off?" Red asked her friends. "This is why we went to go get pedicures, isn't it?"
"Nope," Chuck replied. "We got pedicures because we're worth it."
"You guys are something else," Red said, smiling. "To be honest with you, I am gonna miss the beach view. But so what? It's still there. It's just not right there when I wake up and look out my window."
"Well, you can still look out your window and see me and Bomb," Chuck pointed out.
"Right," Red said nervously. "So, you know, pluses and minuses. Okay. See you later!"
Chuck and Bomb couldn't believe it. After all they've been through, Red actually shut them out again!
"That's really insensitive," Bomb said. "Want to go get a bite?"
"Forget it," Chuck replied sadly. "Let's just go home."
As Chuck and Bomb began to walk away, Red opened the door.
"Guys!" she shouted. "I'm just messing with you. Get in here!"

Red couldn't believe how much her life changed in just a few weeks. Once she was alone and angry, now she felt accepted by her fellow birds. She had a new home, new friends, and she had Chuck and Bomb. Sure, they were crazy, but that's why she loved them. And even though she started to keep her appearance a little more, Red realized that she didn't need anyone to tell her she was beautiful. Thinking about how happy she made everyone was all she really needed.

True, Red would always be an Angry Bird, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

Phew! That's it. Dangerous Woman has come to a close.
I think.

Anyway, if you haven't yet, please check out my story Silver Lining. You won't be disappointed.

Live long and prosper. 🖖