The next day, Cassie woke up groggily, to the sound of a small ringing noise.
"Ugh, what is that..?" She groaned. Erin was up like a shot, looking cheery and refreshed.
"I think it's your phone sis." She replied, walking out of the room, and into the bathroom. Cassie's eyes lit up, and she grabbed it and pressed the receive button.
"Hello?" She said, almost bursting with anticipation.
"Hey Cass." Someone said and she instantly recognised the voice.
"Hey Joshua! Have you found a way to get us back yet?" She asked excitedly.
"No, but me, Daisy, Megan, Stephan, Kai, Joel and Violet are all coming to live at the Zoo with you!" He told her, his voice buzzing with excitement and happiness.
"R-really..?" Cassie asked, completely took by surprise.
"Yeah, and we're brining all of you and your sisters things up." He answered cheerfully.
"But what about your families?" Cassie asked.
"Well my dad, Daisy's, Joel's and Megan's parents are alright with it, and well it's not exactly like the others have their family any more." Joshua replied sadly. When all of the children were little, there was a massive Leopard Seal attack. None of the children were harmed, but the seals killed many adults like Joshua's mum, Stephan's parents, Violets parent's and Kai's. Cassie's dad was also a victim of this. She didn't remember him too well though, since it happened when they were about 3.
"So, when will you guys get here?" She asked.
"A day or two I think." Joshua replied. They talked for a few minutes, until Cassie felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Hey Cass, can I talk to Joel for a bit please, I haven't got my phone with me." She explained. Cassie sighed and told Joshua this, who handed the phone to him, and Cassie handed the phone to Scarlette.
"Hey Scarlette." Joel greeted cheerfully.
"Hey Joel, I was wondering, do you have a relative, a cousin or a brother in New York?" She asked.
"Not that I know of, I've got 3 cousins who used to live in England, I'm not sure where they are now though. Why?" Joel replied, slightly surprised at the question.
"Oh, becasue there's a penguin here that looks a little like you, but he's taller." Scarlette explained.
"What's his name?" Joel asked, a small smile on his face.
"Ryan." Scarlette answered.
"Yeah, that's one of my cousins." Joel said, his smile getting wider. "Could you tell him hi for me?" He asked hopefully.
"You can tell him yourself if you want." Scarlette replied, hearing the lift come down. Zoe, Tom, Sam Ryan and Liam stepped in holding a big basket.
"Sorry to come in unannounced, we knocked but we kinda realised that you wouldn't hear us all the way down there." Liam explained, apologetically, holding out the basket.
"Here's a home warming gift." Ryan said brightly, putting down the basket. It had lots of fish in, some fruit, and few pieces of chocolate.
"Aw thanks." Lily said, smiling and calling the others. They all thanked their new neighbours and motioned for them to sit down with them.
"Hey Ryan, have you got a cousin called Joel?" Scarlette asked, just in case Joel was mistaken.
"Um, yeah." Ryan replied, surprised that his new neighbour knew this.
"I knew him back in Antarctica." Scarlette explained. "And he wants to say hi." She told him, holding the phone out to him. Ryan's face cleared and he took the phone from her, and began talking with his cousin, his grin back on his face. The penguins started talking amongst themselves, learning little bit about everyone at a time.
"So Tom, have you got any brothers or sisters?" Lexi asked, looking at the small penguin.
"Yup, I've got an older half brother and sister, two older brothers and one older sister." He explained.
"Tom and his sister, his mum and dad, and other brothers used to live with us in England for about 6 years, until 2004. Liam added. "Though the two brothers left in 2001."
"I barely remember them." Tom said sadly.
"Well you were only 1 at the time." Sam pointed out, patting his shoulder.
"What are their names?" Becky asked brightly.
"Skipper, Rico and Emma." Tom replied, eating a piece of chocolate.
"They're nice names." Becky said cheerfully. Tom smiled and nodded. After talking to the others, they found out that Liam had two brothers and five sisters, who were all very smart, Ryan had a twin called Jake, (He didn't look like him though) Sam practised karate, and Zoe was slightly crazy. Heather noticed, and pointed out to Lily (who was sitting closest to her.) that Sam and Zoe didn't seem to like Ryan that much.
"I don't understand why, he seems nice." Lily whispered. Heather nodded and her mind wandered again. As everyone was talking, Cassie couldn't help but think.
Maybe this won't be so bad after all. She thought, smiling a little.
About a week later
Joel, Joshua, and the others arrived a few days before, and the zoo keepers had to build yet another penguin habitat in their corner of the Bronx Zoo. Scarlette and her sisters were beginning to adjust to their new life, and they had already painted the walls of their underground home, a warm cream colour. Ryan had been hanging around with his cousin a lot, and Kai described it as 'having two Joel's around.' Liam had noticed that Heather didn't seem to talk much, and he started to hang around with her, and talk with her. And on the sunny afternoon, a week after they arrived, Erin was in her science lab, looking over the oil sample. Because she had all of her stuff now, she had began a proper analysis of the sample. She had a strange feeling she knew how it changed their feathers, but she needed to be sure.
"Okay, so I need a sample of living tissue to work on...." She muttered. Or even a piece of skin, or feather would do just fine.." She popped her head out of the door, scanning who was in the room. She noticed Kai sitting in the corner and drawing. "Hey Kai, could I borrow you for a second?" She asked.
"Sure Erin, what's up?" He asked, walking over to the lab.
"I'm very close to finding out what in this oil substance made our feathers change, and I need to test it on a feather that hasn't been exposed to the substance it yet." She explained. Kai blinked a few times and Erin sighed. "I need one of your feathers." She said.
"Oh, sure, here you go." He replied, plucking one from his flipper and passing it to her. She smiled a thanks at him, and put it into a tiny dish. She looked at it under a microscope, and zoomed in on the cells. She made a few observations, and squirted a liquid like substance onto the feather.
"What are you doing?" Kai asked curiously.
"This substance will allow me to look at the DNA in your feather." She explained, though Kai still didn't know what was going on. She looked under the microscope again, making more observations. Erin picked up a pipette and put it into the test tube filled with oil, and squeezed the top. The oil filled the little pipette, and she hovered it above the feather. She squeezed the top again gently, and let the oil drop onto the feather. The feather turned a dark brown colour, and Kai's eyes widened.
"Woah... is that what happened to your feathers?" He asked. Erin nodded and she added a drop of the first substance to the feathers, and fir a third time. looked under the microscope.
"Interesting...." She muttered, writing more observations down.
"What is it?" Kai asked.
"It seems that this oil is full of DNA Modifying Bacteria." She explained. "DNA Modifying Bacteria changes DNA, sometimes for the worst."
"Are... are you guys gonna be alright?" He asked worriedly.
"Yes, this was a very harmless strain, it only changes genes like, the eye colour gene, the beak colour gene etc, which must be why our feathers hair, and eyes all changed."
"So how come some of you were more affected than others, and why did the colours vary like you got mostly orange, and Scarlette got red?" Kai wondered.
"I guess it's because of the variations in our DNA." Erin answered. "And because I noticed that the people who got it in their eyes, me, Lily, Heather and Scarlette, our eyes changed colour, but Lexi, Becky and Cassie, didn't get it in their eyes, and their eyes are the same." She added "My theory is that if the oil lands on your hair, it'll change your hair colour genes, if it lands on your feathers, it'll change your feather colour genes, and so on." Erin said, looking thoughtful. "Though I'll have to do more tests to be sure."
"That's pretty strange." Kai remarked. Erin nodded in response.
Part of her wanted to test it on a real living thing, but she remembered the pain she experienced during exposure, so she left it.
"Thanks for letting me use on your your feathers." Erin said gratefully, hugging her friend. Kai was took by surprise, but he hugged her back.
"Are you gonna tell the others?" He asked.
"Yup." Erin replied cheerfully, strolling out of the lab, and gathering her sisters. She explained what had happened and they listened intently.
"Can you change it back?" Cassie asked.
"No, our DNA's been modified enough, if we change it again, it might be harmful." Erin answered.
"Oh.." She remarked, slightly disappointed.
"It doesn't matter sis, it's not that bad." Becky told her cheerfully.
"I guess so." Cassie agreed finally.
"And come on, we're gonna have a great time here, we've got old friends, new friends, in a great zoo." Becky added.
"Yeah..." Cassie replied, smiling a little, cheering up a bit. Becky was right, she could leave her Antarctic life behind her now, and finally spend time with people who actually cared about her. She smiled, looking forward to the good times ahead.
"Ugh, what is that..?" She groaned. Erin was up like a shot, looking cheery and refreshed.
"I think it's your phone sis." She replied, walking out of the room, and into the bathroom. Cassie's eyes lit up, and she grabbed it and pressed the receive button.
"Hello?" She said, almost bursting with anticipation.
"Hey Cass." Someone said and she instantly recognised the voice.
"Hey Joshua! Have you found a way to get us back yet?" She asked excitedly.
"No, but me, Daisy, Megan, Stephan, Kai, Joel and Violet are all coming to live at the Zoo with you!" He told her, his voice buzzing with excitement and happiness.
"R-really..?" Cassie asked, completely took by surprise.
"Yeah, and we're brining all of you and your sisters things up." He answered cheerfully.
"But what about your families?" Cassie asked.
"Well my dad, Daisy's, Joel's and Megan's parents are alright with it, and well it's not exactly like the others have their family any more." Joshua replied sadly. When all of the children were little, there was a massive Leopard Seal attack. None of the children were harmed, but the seals killed many adults like Joshua's mum, Stephan's parents, Violets parent's and Kai's. Cassie's dad was also a victim of this. She didn't remember him too well though, since it happened when they were about 3.
"So, when will you guys get here?" She asked.
"A day or two I think." Joshua replied. They talked for a few minutes, until Cassie felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Hey Cass, can I talk to Joel for a bit please, I haven't got my phone with me." She explained. Cassie sighed and told Joshua this, who handed the phone to him, and Cassie handed the phone to Scarlette.
"Hey Scarlette." Joel greeted cheerfully.
"Hey Joel, I was wondering, do you have a relative, a cousin or a brother in New York?" She asked.
"Not that I know of, I've got 3 cousins who used to live in England, I'm not sure where they are now though. Why?" Joel replied, slightly surprised at the question.
"Oh, becasue there's a penguin here that looks a little like you, but he's taller." Scarlette explained.
"What's his name?" Joel asked, a small smile on his face.
"Ryan." Scarlette answered.
"Yeah, that's one of my cousins." Joel said, his smile getting wider. "Could you tell him hi for me?" He asked hopefully.
"You can tell him yourself if you want." Scarlette replied, hearing the lift come down. Zoe, Tom, Sam Ryan and Liam stepped in holding a big basket.
"Sorry to come in unannounced, we knocked but we kinda realised that you wouldn't hear us all the way down there." Liam explained, apologetically, holding out the basket.
"Here's a home warming gift." Ryan said brightly, putting down the basket. It had lots of fish in, some fruit, and few pieces of chocolate.
"Aw thanks." Lily said, smiling and calling the others. They all thanked their new neighbours and motioned for them to sit down with them.
"Hey Ryan, have you got a cousin called Joel?" Scarlette asked, just in case Joel was mistaken.
"Um, yeah." Ryan replied, surprised that his new neighbour knew this.
"I knew him back in Antarctica." Scarlette explained. "And he wants to say hi." She told him, holding the phone out to him. Ryan's face cleared and he took the phone from her, and began talking with his cousin, his grin back on his face. The penguins started talking amongst themselves, learning little bit about everyone at a time.
"So Tom, have you got any brothers or sisters?" Lexi asked, looking at the small penguin.
"Yup, I've got an older half brother and sister, two older brothers and one older sister." He explained.
"Tom and his sister, his mum and dad, and other brothers used to live with us in England for about 6 years, until 2004. Liam added. "Though the two brothers left in 2001."
"I barely remember them." Tom said sadly.
"Well you were only 1 at the time." Sam pointed out, patting his shoulder.
"What are their names?" Becky asked brightly.
"Skipper, Rico and Emma." Tom replied, eating a piece of chocolate.
"They're nice names." Becky said cheerfully. Tom smiled and nodded. After talking to the others, they found out that Liam had two brothers and five sisters, who were all very smart, Ryan had a twin called Jake, (He didn't look like him though) Sam practised karate, and Zoe was slightly crazy. Heather noticed, and pointed out to Lily (who was sitting closest to her.) that Sam and Zoe didn't seem to like Ryan that much.
"I don't understand why, he seems nice." Lily whispered. Heather nodded and her mind wandered again. As everyone was talking, Cassie couldn't help but think.
Maybe this won't be so bad after all. She thought, smiling a little.
About a week later
Joel, Joshua, and the others arrived a few days before, and the zoo keepers had to build yet another penguin habitat in their corner of the Bronx Zoo. Scarlette and her sisters were beginning to adjust to their new life, and they had already painted the walls of their underground home, a warm cream colour. Ryan had been hanging around with his cousin a lot, and Kai described it as 'having two Joel's around.' Liam had noticed that Heather didn't seem to talk much, and he started to hang around with her, and talk with her. And on the sunny afternoon, a week after they arrived, Erin was in her science lab, looking over the oil sample. Because she had all of her stuff now, she had began a proper analysis of the sample. She had a strange feeling she knew how it changed their feathers, but she needed to be sure.
"Okay, so I need a sample of living tissue to work on...." She muttered. Or even a piece of skin, or feather would do just fine.." She popped her head out of the door, scanning who was in the room. She noticed Kai sitting in the corner and drawing. "Hey Kai, could I borrow you for a second?" She asked.
"Sure Erin, what's up?" He asked, walking over to the lab.
"I'm very close to finding out what in this oil substance made our feathers change, and I need to test it on a feather that hasn't been exposed to the substance it yet." She explained. Kai blinked a few times and Erin sighed. "I need one of your feathers." She said.
"Oh, sure, here you go." He replied, plucking one from his flipper and passing it to her. She smiled a thanks at him, and put it into a tiny dish. She looked at it under a microscope, and zoomed in on the cells. She made a few observations, and squirted a liquid like substance onto the feather.
"What are you doing?" Kai asked curiously.
"This substance will allow me to look at the DNA in your feather." She explained, though Kai still didn't know what was going on. She looked under the microscope again, making more observations. Erin picked up a pipette and put it into the test tube filled with oil, and squeezed the top. The oil filled the little pipette, and she hovered it above the feather. She squeezed the top again gently, and let the oil drop onto the feather. The feather turned a dark brown colour, and Kai's eyes widened.
"Woah... is that what happened to your feathers?" He asked. Erin nodded and she added a drop of the first substance to the feathers, and fir a third time. looked under the microscope.
"Interesting...." She muttered, writing more observations down.
"What is it?" Kai asked.
"It seems that this oil is full of DNA Modifying Bacteria." She explained. "DNA Modifying Bacteria changes DNA, sometimes for the worst."
"Are... are you guys gonna be alright?" He asked worriedly.
"Yes, this was a very harmless strain, it only changes genes like, the eye colour gene, the beak colour gene etc, which must be why our feathers hair, and eyes all changed."
"So how come some of you were more affected than others, and why did the colours vary like you got mostly orange, and Scarlette got red?" Kai wondered.
"I guess it's because of the variations in our DNA." Erin answered. "And because I noticed that the people who got it in their eyes, me, Lily, Heather and Scarlette, our eyes changed colour, but Lexi, Becky and Cassie, didn't get it in their eyes, and their eyes are the same." She added "My theory is that if the oil lands on your hair, it'll change your hair colour genes, if it lands on your feathers, it'll change your feather colour genes, and so on." Erin said, looking thoughtful. "Though I'll have to do more tests to be sure."
"That's pretty strange." Kai remarked. Erin nodded in response.
Part of her wanted to test it on a real living thing, but she remembered the pain she experienced during exposure, so she left it.
"Thanks for letting me use on your your feathers." Erin said gratefully, hugging her friend. Kai was took by surprise, but he hugged her back.
"Are you gonna tell the others?" He asked.
"Yup." Erin replied cheerfully, strolling out of the lab, and gathering her sisters. She explained what had happened and they listened intently.
"Can you change it back?" Cassie asked.
"No, our DNA's been modified enough, if we change it again, it might be harmful." Erin answered.
"Oh.." She remarked, slightly disappointed.
"It doesn't matter sis, it's not that bad." Becky told her cheerfully.
"I guess so." Cassie agreed finally.
"And come on, we're gonna have a great time here, we've got old friends, new friends, in a great zoo." Becky added.
"Yeah..." Cassie replied, smiling a little, cheering up a bit. Becky was right, she could leave her Antarctic life behind her now, and finally spend time with people who actually cared about her. She smiled, looking forward to the good times ahead.
Ponies of Madagscar!
Jazzy when she first hatched!
Here is a few facts about me!! :) :) :)
Name: Lexii
Age: 23
Description: white ring tailed lemur with light gray stripes on tail, baby blue eyes and highlight in bangs, long eyelashes, extremely beautiful.
Personallity: nice, funny, smart, sarcastic, sly, friendly, helpful, sneaky, beautiful.
Best friends: Dr Blowhole, Skipper, Kowalski, Private, Rico, Marlene, Julien, and basicaly everyone in the zoo.
Favorite color: blue and turquoise
Well, thats me!! I will write my life story later!! Got to go. Dr Blowhole wants to see me about me secret mission!! I wiil tell you the details later!! :) bye! :) ;)
Name: Lexii
Age: 23
Description: white ring tailed lemur with light gray stripes on tail, baby blue eyes and highlight in bangs, long eyelashes, extremely beautiful.
Personallity: nice, funny, smart, sarcastic, sly, friendly, helpful, sneaky, beautiful.
Best friends: Dr Blowhole, Skipper, Kowalski, Private, Rico, Marlene, Julien, and basicaly everyone in the zoo.
Favorite color: blue and turquoise
Well, thats me!! I will write my life story later!! Got to go. Dr Blowhole wants to see me about me secret mission!! I wiil tell you the details later!! :) bye! :) ;)
