Author's note: Hello again. Sorry, this is only a short chapter and it's quite cheesy, I'll try to make the next one longer. Thank you so much to Apple-chan and AlaskaForever, you are my first reviewers and you really made my day :D! Seriously, I was doing the happy dance all morning.

Apple-chan: Thanks :) I'm glad you like it. And I hope you don't mind that the drama will probably rise more.

AlaskaForever: I'm glad you're enjoying my story. I really wanted to develop Rafael's character a little more, so you will see a little more of the protective side of him. And WIM does have a tight grip on Nico and Pedro, but they're not going to give up that easily. As for Martin and Shadow... well, you'll just have to find out ;) (I love writing their characters, it's so much fun).

Also, the song in this chapter is Believe Again by Delta Goodrem. Enjoy :).

Silence ensued after the gruesome revelations. No one really wanted to dwell on the reality of their situation, and Nico and Pedro were still having trouble processing the news. For the first time they realised how dire their situation was.

"By the way," the Redstart brought them out of their musings. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Isobelle."

"Pedro," the Cardinal nodded.

"And I'm Nico," the Canary addressed her.

She nodded, "Nice to meet you."

"So Isobelle," Nico asked, trying to keep the conversation up, "When were you taken?"

She sighed, "I was taken from Paris last year."

"You've been trapped here for that long?" Pedro asked shocked.

"Some have been around longer," the Redstart shrugged. "The Chinese Warbler beside you has been here for five years and I believe there is a Jabiru from Australia who has been here for ten years. However, here we consider you lucky if you've been around for a long time. Most birds don't even make it that long."

Wanting to steer clear of that topic, Nico asked, "So what was Paris like?"

A soft expression crossed Isobelle's face, "Paris was beautiful. I lived there with my Mama and my twin sister Marie. It was such a romantic city; so picturesque. Even the birds were romantic. The boys would sit in the trees outside the girls' hollows and sing love songs to them. And then the girls would let the boys know that they'd have to do better than a song to get them. So they'd court you instead. And our club was amazing. The Nest, we called it. And it was situated on the top level of the Eiffel Tower. I remember the view from there was amazing. Me and my sister would sing there all the time." She sighed.

"It sounds beautiful," Nico commented.

"It was. I miss it so much," she brightened slightly. "What about you? What's Rio like?"

"Rio's amazing!" Pedro commented, excited by the topic. "It's the city of samba and the party capital of the world."

"There's music and dancing everywhere," Nico added enthusiastically.

"And the clubs are the bomb," Pedro took over.

"Not to mention the beach is awesome. And some of the tourist destinations are breathtaking."

"And the food is incredible! Not to mention the hot wings," Pedro winked.

"Rio in general is just great. I truly wouldn't want to live anywhere else," Nico completed.

"It sounds amazing," Isobelle smiled.

"Tell you what," Pedro offered, "when we get out. We'll show you round: give you a proper tour of Rio de Janeiro."

The Redstart shook her head, "It will never happen. No one gets out."

"Why are you birds so ready to believe that?" Pedro asked exasperatedly.

"Because, as I've told you, birds have looked for us before but no one has ever been found. Our captors are just too good."

"And as we've told you," Nico retorted, "Rafael isn't just any bird. He knows everyone in Rio. And if he's looking for us or WIM then so is every other bird."

"Yeah," Pedro agreed. "He is the ultimate bird at hide and go seek." He got a rueful grin, "Something we found out the hard way when he used to babysit us when we were little."

Nico chuckled and nodded, "If there's any bird who can find us now, it's Rafi."

Isobelle just looked at them perplexed. "How can you two have so much hope in your friend?"

Nico shrugged, "Without hope what is there?"

"Hope is what gets you through days like this," Pedro continued. "Hope is what makes life enjoyable. Without it life becomes a burden, and no one deserves to live a life like that."

"So will you try to trust us; and have a little hope?" Nico questioned. "You'd be surprised by what it does."

Isobelle looked at them uncertainly.

"It won't last." Nico and Pedro turned to the Warbler in the cage next to Nico's. With a scowl fixed on his face he continued, "Your hope won't last. It never does. This place just smothers it."

Pedro scowled back at him, "Maybe that's true. But that isn't going to stop me from hoping now. And you want to know the funny thing about hope? It's contagious. So if you do lose hope, there's always someone else to bring it back."

"Things will work out, you'll see," Nico told him.

"Hmph," the warbler's scowl deepened and he turned his back on them.

Rafael, Blu and Jewel had spent the rest of the day searching inside and outside the school, looking for any sign of their missing friends or at least something to tell them where they might be. However, their search found nothing, and they had no more information on their friends then they had had that morning. The only things they had were the bottle cap and the growing worry that their friends were in serious danger.

Jewel sighed as she glanced at the steadily darkening sky. "It's getting late. We should probably go home and get some rest. Start again early in the morning."

Blu nodded, "Maybe we could get Luiz to help tomorrow. With that nose of his he could probably sniff them out."

"That's a really good idea Blu," Jewel praised him, causing the Macaw to blush. "We'll drop by the garage tomorrow morning." She turned and looked sympathetically at Rafael. "You need to go home to Eva. She'll be worried if you don't come back."

He sighed, "Yeah I know, I'm just…worried about them."

"Hey it's okay," Jewel put her wing on his shoulder. "We'll find them. And I'm sure Nico and Pedro know that too."

Pedro looked around the darkened room. It was late at night so most of the birds around him were asleep. Even Nico had fallen asleep earlier, but Pedro still found himself wide awake, despite the fact he hadn't slept since they'd been captured. Truth be told, even though he knew that Rafi was going to find them he was still scared. Scared about what was going to happen to him and Nico in the meantime. This was no picnic. In fact, the two of them were in grave danger; a danger that would grow the longer they were here.

"Hey, are you guys awake?" Pedro was brought out of his thoughts by Isobelle.

"I am. Nico's asleep however."

She nodded, "I wanted to thank you both. What you said today was inspiring. And I just wanted to let you know that I believe you. And not just me, other birds in here are starting to believe again too. We're indebted to you because, for the first time, this place has hope."

Pedro just shrugged, "We just wanted to stop the negativity. I didn't think it would affect you all that much."

Isobelle shook her head, "You don't understand do you? Have you ever had overwhelming despair fall on you?"

Pedro recalled when they'd almost been flown out of Rio by smugglers and the awful hopelessness he'd felt then. It was after that that he and Nico had decided to value hope and to hold on to it as long as possible. They had never wanted to feel that overwhelming despair again.

"Well just imagine that for years on end," Isobelle continued. "And then, someone comes along and breaks that despair. It is the most amazing feeling in the world." She paused and then softly sang, "Have you ever stared into the rain?

Thought the clouds would never disappear.

Have you ever screamed out into the dark,

Thinking no one else could hear?

I was leaving footprints, tainted by my past.

On this windy road through, ooh."

As she continued to sing, another bird close by joined in, adding a harmony to the chorus.

"I lost my faith in life. Tonight I believe again.

My heart was a broken place. And now I feel whole again.

And you bring me honesty. And that's worth believing in.

And I believe, I believe again.

Have you ever spun out of control?

Like you never saw the road ahead.

Have you ever just kept looking back, ooh,

Ever closer to the edge?

I was praying for the light, I see in your eyes.

I had all but given up, oooh oh.

I lost my faith in life. Tonight I believe again.

My heart was a broken place. And now I feel whole again.

And you bring me honesty. And that's worth believing in.

And I believe, I believe again.

Oooohh, ooh."

The bird that had started singing with her began to sing, "I believe the impossible is possible to overcome."

"Oooh."

"I believe in miracles. Born from love in everyone."

"Oooh oooh."

"I believe the impossible is possible to overcome," as she sang some of the other birds gradually joined her; building the phrases up into almost a chant.

"Ooh, oohoh."

"I believe in miracles. Born from love in everyone."

"I lost my faith in life," several birds took up the chorus as Isobelle accompanied over the top and the rest of the surrounding birds kept up the chant.

"I lost my faith in life."

"Tonight I believe again."

"Tonight I believe again."

"My heart was a broken place. And now I feel whole again."

"I feel whole again."

"And you bring me honesty."

"Oooh ooh."

"And that's worth believing in."

"Ooohhh."

"And I believe."

"I believe, again."

"I believe again."

"Believe aga-ain, ooh." Isobelle trailed off, leaving the room in silence. Beside Pedro, Nico stirred slightly, surprisingly not being woken by the music. Isobelle turned to them, tears shining in her eyes. "Thank you. Thank you both for bringing back our hope."

Please let me know what you think :)