Author's note: Just something I've been trying to think of a good story for a while. It might be a bit of a rough idea for the entire plot right now but it'll last longer than Surf's Up 3 did that's for sure. I don't really have much else to say other than what songs are in this: "Beautiful Creatures" (from, well, Rio 2), "C'mon" by Kesha (since I needed something with rapping and nothing by Hollywood Undead was what I needed so I looked back to music I used to listen to), and "Even in Death" by Evanescence (for reasons I won't spoil here, it will be made clear enough by the end of this chapter).
Prologue
An isolated but beautiful basin somewhere in the Amazon Rainforest is the home of a tribe of the once thought to be nearly extinct Blue Spix's Macaw. Once completely hidden from the human world, this basin is now a federally protected nature reserve with officials from the Brazilian government living on the reserve to guard the macaws from poachers, smugglers, loggers, and of course natural predators.
A chorus of singing voices carries on through the basin, Portuguese words reaching every creature's ears. All non-Avian residents of the protected basin, except for a slot that can never stay away more than ten seconds at any given time, stop what they are doing to watch and listen to the Spix's macaws' celebration. This may be a common occurrence, but they never grow tired of the Spix's macaw tribe's performance.
Let's celebrate
Calling all beautiful creatures
Come spread your wings
Dance and sing songs about freedom
Like la-la-la, ooh-ooh
One for the jungle família
Like ba-ba-ba, boom-boom
Calling all beautiful creatures
Come this way, celebrate
Laugh and dance all the way
Follow me, sing along
La-la-la-la, ooh-ooh
Let's celebrate
Calling all beautiful creatures
Come spread your wings
Dance and sing songs about freedom
Like la-la-la, ooh-ooh
One for the jungle família
Like ba-ba-ba, boom-boom
Calling all beautiful creatures
Blurs of bright reds and yellows among the flurry of equally bright blue feathers suddenly stop with the singing. During celebrations such as this, it is the female macaws that have colored portions of their feathers yellow with pollen and fruit juice, while it is the males who have done the same but with red pollen and fruit juice. This display is part of an old Spix's macaw tradition.
One of these male macaws, who helped save this entire tribe from illegal loggers, named Blu, dips his wife Jewel over his right wing and kisses her in mid air, much to the embarrassment of their three children, Bia, Carla, and Tiago.
"Oh, dad!" Tiago, the youngest and only brother, exclaims. He feels his face becoming hot underneath all his feathers.
"You'll always be my one and only Blu," Jewel coos romantically. "Kiss me again, baby!" She drags her husband in for another kiss as they somehow continue to stay in flight.
"MOM!" Bia, Carla, and Tiago cry out in embarrassed unison.
"I vote we go find Roberto," Carla suggests. "He's still single…"
"I don't think so…" Bia interrupts her older sister. "Look over there!"
"Shake that blue-tiful tail on over here Beto!" a female voice with a thick Portuguese accent calls out rather flirtatiously.
"Who is that?" Tiago accidentally says out loud.
"On my way, baby!"
"Roberto!" Carla calls out to their mother's childhood friend.
"Oh, hi Carla!"
"Oh, Beto!"
This time, the siblings ask Roberto in unison: "Who is that?"
"This is my new girl, Autumn." Roberto brings the girl macaw in close with his right wing as they all perch on a branch over the basin. He and Autumn stare lovingly into each other's eyes. "You can say it was love at first sight for the both of us. Ain't that right, Autumn?"
"You bet baby!" Autumn exclaims energetically, and subsequently smacks Roberto on the rear with her right wing.
Roberto screeches cheerfully in the way only a Spix's macaw can screech. "Darn I love it when she does that! Come here, babe!"
Roberto pulls Autumn over his wing so they can kiss as Bia, Carla, and Tiago only stare wide-eyed at each other, then to Roberto and Autumn, and then each other again.
When he looks up, Roberto gasps upon realizing his and Autumn's flirty behavior is not exactly appropriate for young macaw eyes and ears. "Oh." He pauses. "Sorry kids!"
Autumn begins scatting a rhythmic beat and then, just as suddenly, she begins rapping so fast that Bia, Carla, and Tiago can barely keep up with her words. Robert, however, becomes googly-eyed at his girl's rapping ability she had never talked about before. Rapping was anything but Roberto's preferred style of singing but he would definitely make an exception for Autumn's rapping; it's so unique from that one ground sloth who tried auditioning for Nico and Pedro's show at the Carnaval last December.
Feelin' like I'm a high flier
Bitin' on a nice papaya
Hot 'cause the party don't stop
I'm in my short feathers
Like I'm with all my gatherers
We been keeping it PG
But I wanna get a little frisky
Come gimme some of that yum like a mango
Let me set you free
Feelin' like a liger
Slurpin' up some juicy papaya
Touch me and give me that rush
Better pack some brazil nuts
Gonna fill up my guts
We been keepin' it kosher
But I wanna get it on for sure
Come gimme some of that yum like a mango
Baby don't be scared
"Oh my Chica. I am drawn to this ability I never even knew you had. You kept me in suspense all this time." Roberto follows this declaration with a unique move, spinning Autumn around and dips her over his wing much like Blu had done with Jewel several yards from here. Autumn strokes the longest feather on her right wing down Roberto's beak and chest before he releases her.
"And finding Roberto was supposed to be a good idea?" Tiago deadpans, much like how Carla would have.
"They're acting just like Mom and Dad!" Bia adds.
"Hey, hey!" Carla says. "How was I supposed to know Roberto has a girlfriend now?!"
"Okay my sexy love hawk," Jewel says to her husband. "Where did our three bundles of joy fly off to now?"
Blu stammers. "Uh, I-I heard Bia say something about going to see Roberto."
Jewel sighs with relief. "Oh, good. I thought Tiago has led them on a hunt for trouble again. You still remember his 'piranha taunting' idea?" Jewel asks as she and Blu perch on the branch of a Brazil Nut tree.
Blu nervously looks at his tail; a few of its feathers are still missing or chewed off. He loudly clears his throat. "I…um…would rather forget that morning. My tail would too…"
Jewel remains unnervingly quiet, much to Blu's concern.
"Jewel?" he asks.
Jewel responds in a shaky whisper. "Something seems really off about the air all of a sudden." She pauses. "I just can't put a talon on why…"
Blu sniffs the air too. "It smells fine to me."
As if they came out of nowhere, Roberto and Autumn land on the branch just above where Jewel and Blu are perched.
"Is something wrong, Ju-Ju?" Roberto asks with the same hesitation Jewel spoke with. Nobody even realizes he used the nickname he gave Jewel when they were chicks.
"Oh, I don't know, Beto." Jewel passes. "Like I just told Blu, something smells different about the air now, but I can't place a talon on why. And Blu says it smells fine."
"It's not just you, Jewel," Autumn interrupts. "The air doesn't feel or smell right to me, either."
Jewel looks behind Roberto and Autumn, then quickly goes into a state of panic. "Beto!" she screeches. "Where are the kids?!"
"They were just behind Autumn and I…!" Roberto gasps.
The four Spix's macaws immediately take off from the branch, shouting as loud as they all can for the missing chicks.
"Bia!"
"Carla!"
"Tiago!"
"Kids!"
"KIDS!" Jewel screams at the top of her lungs, drawing the attention of the entire tribe. All the singing and dancing stops as a hundred forty pairs of blinking eyes turn to the source of the scream, especially the pair of eyes belonging to Jewel's father.
"What's going on?" Eduardo asks.
"Our kids are missing!" Jewel sobs. "Beto lost them!"
Roberto immediately chokes. "W-What?! How can you just pin this on me Ju-Ju?"
"You and Autumn are the last ones who saw them! You shouldn't have taken an eye off them!"
"Enough, Jewel," her father says as calmly as possible. "All this squabbling won't find your kids any faster."
The leader of the Scarlet macaw tribe, Felipe, suddenly flies by them all, crashing into the tree. He falls flat on his back, seeing stars and feeling as if the world is spinning. "Ow…" he groans.
"Felipe?!" Eduardo gasps. "What is the matter?"
Felipe sputters inaudibly until Jewel smacks him.
"Snap out of it!" Jewel shouts.
"FIRE!" Felipe screams. "A fire in the Pit of Doom and the wind is blowing it this way!" The Scarlet macaw is so panicked he forgets all about speaking with his typical rhyming pattern.
"And our kids are still out there!" Blu screeches.
Eduardo motions for his sister. "Mimi, I want you to lead the others out of here to the safe zone you and I discussed last week. Jewel, Blu, Roberts, Felipe, and I will look for the kids."
"We ain't going anywhere!" Pedro calls out.
"Where Jewel and Blu go, we go!" Rafael and Nico add in unison.
Jewel screeches her disagreement. "No! It's too dangerous," she protests. "You guys don't know these jungles like we do. For your own good, go with my aunt and the others. Please."
"Just don't do anything to get yourselves killed," Rafael says as he, Nico, and Pedro reluctantly fly away with the others. "Your kids need both of you."
Jewel and Blu take his words to heart, but she says nothing about it as she turns to the others. "I told you something was wrong with the air!" Jewel sobs as the five-macaw team flies towards where Roberto says he and Autumn last saw Bia, Carla, and Tiago.
"Are your kids always this much trouble for you?" Felipe asks.
"And so what if they are?!" Jewel and Blu bark at him.
Felipe immediately recoils, realizing his error.
"They could be in danger!" Roberto says.
"We need to find those kids before the fir—" Autumn begins.
"MOM! DAD!"
Jewel and Blu react immediately. "Kids?!"
"Their voices came from the Brazil Nut grove!" Felipe screeches.
"Let's go!" Eduardo orders as the four Spix's macaws zip past Felipe, who quickly catches up with them.
Roberto calls out from ahead of the others. "There they are! Come on!"
Spiraling downward like an owl does while on the hunt, the five macaws head to where Bia, Carla, and Tiago are hiding on a grassy cliffside as the fire burns all around them.
"It's mom and dad!" Bia cheers.
"And Uncle Roberto, Grandpa, and Felipe!" Carla adds.
"We're saved!" Tiago yells enthusiastically, raising his wings up in the air and waving at their saviors.
"Down here!" Bia cries. "We're down here!"
"I'll get them!" Roberto says.
"WAIT!" Blu screams.
A wall of flame shoots up from below, nearly taking Roberto with a nearby tree that was at the end of its natural life.
"Jewel!" Felipe gasps. "Don't! You saw what almost happened to Roberto!"
"I don't care!" Jewel attempts to strike him with her wing then flies in the direction of her kids. "We must save my kids!"
"But what will they do if you die trying to save them?" Eduardo shouts over the roar of the flames. "I love you Jewel, but you must use your brain in this kind of situation."
Jewel screeches to a halt in flight and turns to face her father. "I won't lose them!"
"Jewel! You can't act rashly like your mother did the day I lost you when the loggers destroyed our old home." Eduardo decides it's time Jewel knew the entire story of what happened to her mother on the day she was separated from them. "I lost her that way when she went looking for you. She was surrounded by the fire before anyone could save her…I don't want to lose you just to save my grandkids."
"But what do we do, Dad?" Jewel protests.
"What I wanted your mother to do before the wind turned against her," Eduardo says. "We cannot just fly right over the wall of flames. They'll keep shooting up every time we try and if we keep waiting for the perfect moment to fly through the wall, it will be too late to save the kids."
Felipe begins to panic much like how Roberto normally would have by now in this kind of situation. "Oh, just spit it out already Eddy!" he snaps. "You're wasting too much time!"
"We'll have to fly high and dive down into the ring of flames like we did to get this far!"
"Why didn't you just say that before instead of getting so dramatic about it?!" Felipe caws.
Roberto snaps. "Shut up Felipe!" He cuffs the Scarlet macaw on the head. "At least he has a plan! I say we go for it unless you have a better idea!"
"Oh for crying out loud. Just stop all this arguing and fly now!"
The five macaws go upwards and, just as they did to get through the flames blocking the way to where they are now, dive downward into the ring of fire surrounding Bia, Carla, and Tiago.
"What are they doing?!" Carla screams.
"Mom!" Bia cries.
"We're coming kids!" Blu answers them.
Jewel's eyes become wide with horror when Tiago tries to move closer.
"Tiago get back!" she orders him.
Bia and Carla drag their little brother away from the edge just as the adults come close to where they are trapped, too afraid to fly over the ring of fire around them.
"I gotcha Carla!" Roberto says as he gently picks her up in his talons, as Jewel and Eduardo pick up Carla and Tiago.
"Why didn't Dad pick me up?" Tiago wonders aloud.
"Blu!" Jewel gasps.
Roberto cannot believe what he is seeing. "What is he doing?"
"Come on, Blu," Felipe says. "We need to go now. The fire's getting closer!"
"F-F-F-Fire…" Blu stammers. He begins screeching uncontrollably and running around on the small ledge in a panic.. "Fire!"
"Get him out of there, Felipe!" Jewel cries.
"How?!" Felipe shouts over the roar of the fire. "He's running around like a mad bird!"
"Just do whatever you have to to get him moving! Please!"
"Snap out of it bluebird!" Felipe slaps him over the head with a wing. "If you stay here you'll die!" He grabs Blu over the shoulders with his wings and begins shaking him
"Daddy!" Bia sobs. "You need to fly!"
Daddy? Blu thinks. She hasn't called me that in a long time.
While barely realizing it at first, Blu takes flight. Felipe is quickly on Blu's tail after a wave of fire nearly takes the Scarlet macaw out.
"That's it Blu!" Roberto cheers.
"Yes!" Jewel could do a little dance of happiness in midair if she weren't carrying Carla in her talons. "Thank you Felipe!"
Nobody has ever thanked me for anything, Felipe thinks. If only she knew the real reason I did what I did. I don't want her to go through what I did years ago.
"Oh no!" Eduardo gasps in terror.
"Felipe, watch out!" Roberto attempts to fly in to knock Felipe out of the way but he is too late. A smoldering branch knocks the Scarlet macaw halfway into unconsciousness and he begins plummeting towards the sea of flames.
In a mad dash, all the Spix's macaws begin diving after Felipe in an attempt to grab Felipe while Eduardo stays behind with Bia, Carla, and Tiago on one of the few trees that is away from the fire for the moment.
"Wake up Felipe!" Jewel screams. "You are falling!"
Uh… Felipe groans. He wants to flap his wings but he cannot feel anything besides the horrible pain in his back.
Jewel's eyes suddenly become wide with a fear she has not felt since she was barely grown past her fledgling days, when her tribe's old home was invaded by illegal loggers who chopped and burned down, when a blur of blue dives down after the plummeting Scarlet macaw.
"Hold on, Felipe!" Blu calls out. "I'm…almost…there…" His talons get hold of Felipe under each wing just in time. Any later and Felipe would have burned up in that sea of fire.
"Ugh," Felipe groans again. He shakes his head. "What? What is going on?"
"I just saved you!" Blu pants. "That branch knocked you off balance."
"I suppose I owe you one then," Felipe laughs weakly. He tries not to look at what could have been his fate several meters below.
"Do you think you can fly on your own?" Blu asks the still dizzy Scarlet macaw. "Or should I just carry you all the way?"
Felipe would normally criticize someone for wording a question so awkwardly but seeing as how Blu saved his life…
"I think I can fly," Felipe whispers.
Blu releases his grip on Felipe, who after a few seconds has control of his wings and is flying again, albeit not with much balance. He looks back at Blu. "Thank you."
"Hey, no need to thank me, I was just—"
"Blu watch out!"
Blu immediately finds himself being shoved out of the way by Felipe just as another burning branch falls.
"Consider us even," Felipe says. "Now let's get out of here before we get ourselves killed."
"Right. More flying, less talking," Blu stammers. He's only been that close to death one other time. "Got it…"
However, Blu seems to relax somewhat when he sees Jewel's beautiful smiling face again; it's always brought him comfort when nothing else did. Still, he looks back to see if Felipe is still flying after him, then he looks back to where Jewel and the others are perched.
"Something still doesn't feel right to me," Eduardo suddenly says.
"Why?" Roberto asks. "Blu and Felipe are safe."
"You say they're safe when they're flying over a ring of fire?"
"Come on, relax dad," Jewel says. "They're out of the worst of it."
"I don't relax until we're as far from the fire as we can get." Eduardo pauses. "What really worries me is what caused this fire. There have been no lightning strikes. We would know just from the thunder crashes alone!"
"FELIPE!" Blu screams.
Jewel nearly flies out to them. "Blu, what is happening?"
The Scarlet macaw zips past them, barely stopping long enough to tell them, "Go! Go! Go!"
"Wait!" Jewel stops him in mid flight. "Where is Blu?!"
"He's gone!" Felipe screeches.
The others respond in unison: "WHAT?"
"Dad!" Bia, Carla, and Tiago scream together.
"Don't!" Felipe stops the chicks before they can fly where everyone last saw Blu. "He wouldn't want you all to die looking for him in vain!"
Jewel begins to sob uncontrollably. "Oh, Blu…"
"Jewel…" Eduardo begins softly. "I'm so sorry but we have to go…"
Jewel suddenly goes into a fit that is not like her, screaming and sobbing Blu's name repeatedly and still trying to get to where her husband had been. "First my mother, now my husband!" she bellows in anguish. "Am I meant to lose my entire family to fire?!"
Eduardo throws his wings over her shoulders after he takes her to a distant branch. "Jewel, I am sorry about Blu, I truly am, but he would not want us to lose our lives too. You know that as well as I do." He wipes the tears out of his daughter's eyes.
Jewel sniffs and lets out a heavy breath but does not speak. After casting one last glance back to the once beautiful area where the two macaw tribes used to challenge each other to their own take on soccer, Jewel flies off without acknowledging those around her.
Bia, Carla, and Tiago perch on the branch just above where their mom and grandpa had perched. Their young eyes are already red from weeping.
"Daddy…" Carla sobs.
"He can't be gone…" Bia whispers.
Tiago doesn't even know what to say.
Roberto flies down to join them. "Come little ones," he whispers gently. "There is no reason for us to stay here." He pauses to take off with them. "I once promised Blu I would take care of you guys and Jewel if anything ever happened to him. I truly meant that. I'll look after the four of you like you were always my own."
"But you can't replace our dad, Uncle Beto!" Tiago protests as they fly. Even though Roberto's not their actual uncle, they've become accustomed to addressing him as such.
"I know I can't. Nobody could ever replace your real dad, but I'll still do my best to take care of you all. Autumn and I both will."
Bia flies up to Roberto to nuzzle him on the shoulder. Carla and Tiago quickly follow suit. "Thank you, Uncle Beto…" she whispers in a sobbing voice.
"Why did this have to happen…?" Tiago whimpers. "This day was off to great start…"
"…and now this!" Carla concludes.
I cannot even imagine what they are going through, Felipe thinks as he flies ahead to join Eduardo in consoling Jewel. Jewel already lost her mother in a fire caused by the loggers…and now she had to lose the father of her chicks. Nobody deserves these kinds of losses of family… Felipe is not even thinking about losing his parents under similar circumstances right now.
Jewel's grieving Portuguese words suddenly reaches everyone's ears as they slowly fly to rejoin those who Eduardo had ordered to follow Mimi to the safe zone.
The sun begins to set as Jewel's mournful singing begins and there is not a dry eye among the seven macaws.
Give me a reason to believe that you're gone
I see your shadow so I know they're all wrong
Moonlight on the soft brown earth, it leads me to where you lay
They took you away from me but now I'm taking you home
Some say I'm crazy for my love, oh my love
But no bonds can hold me from your side, oh my love
They don't know you can't leave me
They don't hear you singing to me
I will stay forever here with you my love
The softly spoken words you gave me
Even in death our love goes on
And I can't love you anymore than I do
Staring at her reflection in the river as she flies, Jewel whispers, "People die, but real love is forever…"