Rio: The Battle Royale Tournament

Hiya everyone, back with the next chapter. Not long until we get to the end. This may have been out sooner, but due to lack of reviews and FanFiction servers errors, it was delayed.

Blu could only watch in horror as Anton was eliminated from the tournament. Impossible! This was the same bat that had defeated both himself and Roberto one year before without using much of his full strength. Against Ray, he was knocked away like he was nothing. How strong was this military macaw?

Rajesh noted Blu's worried look and chuckled in amusement. "Impressive sight, is it not?"

Blu frowned and turned towards him. "I won't let Anton's sacrifice by in vain."

"Is that right?" Rajesh scoffed. "Look around you: you and your wife are the only two left in your team. Even if by some miracle you got past myself and Remit, you would never stand a chance against Ray. Strength, speed, timing, skill, none of that matters against Ray. A small part of me would like to lose just to see the look on your face if you confronted Ray."

"I won't give up, I don't care how strong Ray is!" Blu raised his voice, alerting a couple of the fighters around him with his yell. "I'm fighting to the end!"

While walking away from his victory, Ray was one of the few who overheard this. Curiously, he looked over towards the blue macaw fighting against Rajesh. Aku had spoken quite ill of the blue macaw clan, explaining that their warriors were of little skill. Yet they were doing surprisingly well against all expectations. The one they called Blu was holding his own quite well against Rajesh while Jewel had defeated Maria with cunning strategy.

Suffice to say, Aku may have been wrong.

Nevertheless, Ray was not concerned in the slightest. Narrowing his eyes, he spotted his target standing in the centre of the stage: Carlos. The final warrior he was needed for. With his usual stern look, Ray slowly approached the taller warrior with the intent of eliminating quickly.

Nearby, AJ was not happy in the slightest that his ally had just been taken out. Since their first meeting, AJ had became quite fond of the bat, considering him one of his friends. He growled and prepared to take on Ray himself. "That monster! I'm gonna kill him!"

Remit was already one step ahead, blocking his way to his target. "Not so fast, kid. You can just about hold your own against me. Ray will only fight those he considers worthy of his team, and you are definitely not worthy."

"Oh, yeah?!" AJ snarled and tightened his wingtips. "I'll go through you first then! Bring it!"

As Eduardo watched the events unfold with Roberto at his side, his eyes widened as a familiar face joined them. He turned and addressed their old friend with excitement and relief. "Armando!"

The lear macaw had returned to the stands, now with bandages wrapped around his torso and an eye patch over his right eye. He groaned slightly as he took a seat beside his allies.

"How are you feeling?" Roberto inquired.

"Like I need a drink," Armando responded while he rubbed one wing over the back of his head. "I miss much?"

"Ray has just defeated Anton," Eduardo sighed crossing his wings. Seriously, he addressed the fellow fighters beside him. "I am proud of you all for giving it you're all, especially you Armando. This, however, is where we accept our loss."

His admit of defeat had certainly surprised them. Roberto looked shocked, Rafael confused while Armando questioned him. "You can't be serious, right? I don't mean to be rude, pops but Blu and Jewel are still in the tournament. We haven't lost yet."

Eduardo disagreed without hesitation. "I don't doubt their abilities, but even if they outlast everyone else, they won't stand a chance against Ray. He's too strong, too fast and I doubt he has any morals with hurting others. I...I...I don't want to see them get hurt, all right!?"

His sudden outburst had not gone unnoticed by others. Felipe who's team were sitting to the right of team blue macaw a few feet apart, couldn't help but sympathise. Felipe had no children, but he had a sister whom he was concerned for. And while he was not related to the rest of his team, he cared for them just as much. AJ was like a younger brother to him despite their somewhat tense relationship.

Aku noted this and chuckle in amusement. "Weakness. Something that the military macaws will never have."

Amy caught this and after ignoring his words for so long, she finally reached her limit and spoke her mind. "Maybe you could appreciate family and friendship if you actually had a heart!"

Taking offence to her insult, Maria stood up and raised her wings in a challenging matter. "You want to repeat that to my face?!"

Dropping her usual enthusiastic personality, Amy stood and prepared to fight her. "Happily!"

Fortunately, Bruno had placed both wings around her to stop her from making a costly decision. Maria was about to charge until Tup placed one wing against her shoulder, escorting her back to the seat. The coach had stepped over shortly afterwards. "There will be no fighting outside of the ring! Anyone breaks this, your team will be disqualified from the tournament. Please, sit."

Their odds were not already looking good with Christine was their remaining fighting, but she did not intend to leave her team with a bad reputation. Inhaling a deep breath, Amy thanked Bruno from stopping her before sitting back down and resuming her attention to the stage.

Tup practically forced Maria back down before she lost her temper again. "Settle down, Maria. We haven't come this far in the tournament to lose in a petty rivarly."

Alberto observed their brief class and sighed. "Hostilities are brewing in both the stage and the stands. It will not be long before fall out occurs."

After focusing his attention towards Anton for most of the fight, Felipe decided to check on his sister. Mariana was holding her own well against Bee-Bee, using her acrobatic skills to throw the red-bellied macaw off guard. Like her brother, Mariana had a fierce personality and was very competitive when it came to sports. However, she had some control over herself and never allowed her pride to put the rest of her clan at risk.

Mariana blocked a kick from Bee-Bee, countering with a kick that forced her opponent backwards. Unwilling to give any space, Mariana continued with a furry of kicks. Unlike the other females present, her fighting style consisted of using her feet more than her actual wings.

Bee-Bee noticed this too and anticipated the next kick, catching it with one wing. "You're style is impressive, but your movements are too predictable-OMPH!"

Impatient, Mariana had leaped with her free talon, using it to gain some momentum before kicking Bee-Bee under her beak. Mariana performed a back flip mid-air to steady herself, landing gracefully with ease. Placing her wings on her hips, she smugly grinned. "You talk too much."

Bee-Bee kept her cool, calmly recovering her energy. She raised both wings in front as a barrier, preparing to defend. "I seem to be in quite the predicament."

"You're now figuring that out," Mariana replied with a hint of sarcasm. Spreading her wings, she demonstrated the area around them. "Look around. My team and the military macaws are tied, team blue is down to two and both you and the lear are down to one member left. You can't win."

Bee-Bee was well aware of the situation. "It is never early to admit defeat. We have been fighting for over three minutes, and neither of us have gained an advantage. We're evenly matched. May I make a recommendation?"

Mariana didn't like being considered an equal, but she was curious all the same. She crossed her wings and tilted her head curiously. "Go on?"

Alberto watched his remaining fighter from the stands, curious as to what she was up to. "She appears to be negotiating."

"We have witnessed what the military team is capable of," Bee-Bee remained quite obviously. "We have witnessed Ray's strength. I cannot beat him and neither can you. You can choose to admit it or not, but the stakes remain the same. If you would consider it, we could focus on a common foe. Interested?"

Needless to say, a small part of Mariana was interested to her offer. "Tempting," however, it wasn't long before her pride took over. "But no dice. Call it a matter of trust and loyalty."

Bee-Bee wasn't at all surprised that her offer was rejected. "As you wish. Shall we continue then before our fans grow restless?"

"Now that I can agree on," Mariana nodded and prepared to charge.

The two fighters charged and continued their fight. Bee-Bee was in no means a weakling in her clan, but the relentless attacks from Mariana made it difficult. Using her intelligence, she calculated her opponents attacks to determine any possible weakness. It wasn't long until Bee-Bee finally blocked her wing and followed with a kick to her stomach.

Mariana received the first kick but leaned back to avoid the second. As Bee-Bee threw a third, Mariana caught it within her wing. Now caught, Mariana followed with spinning a one-hundred and eight degrees and released shortly after, allowing Bee-Bee to flung through the air. Without any mercy, Mariana followed and kicked Bee-Bee mid-air.

Struck in mid-air and unable to stop herself without flying, Bee-Bee watched as the ground beneath her came into view, the edge of the stage followed. Realising her defeat was inevitable, she closed her eyes as the collapsed towards the ground, landing with a small thud.

"Contestant Bee-Bee from team red-bellied is out!" Tapir Game Announcer declared. "And with her elimination, team red-bellied is officially out!"

Bee-Bee stood, her head lowered in ashamed of her defeat. She joined the rest of her team, the first to be eliminated from the battle royale.

Alberto tapped her back for comfort. "Don't beat yourself up, Bee-Bee. You fought well."

"You did your best, at least you weren't the first eliminated like I was," Brian agreed. His comment earned him a nudge from Tony. "Ow. What?"

With the stakes riding, others were beginning to place small bets on who they would believe would be next out.

"Five berries that AJ's next," Nico said confidently.

"Man, if anyone's going to be next, it'll be that Rajesh," Pedro disagreed.

As Christine ducked to avoid another one of Jewel's kicks, a familiar face in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She stopped, turning her attention towards the stands. "Armando! He's okay!"

Jewel glanced quickly and was relieved to see he was injured but otherwise fine. Though she was glad, Jewel refused to let that end their fight. "We're not finished."

Christine held up her wing before Jewel could advance. "We've been fighting for a while now and neither one of us has gained much ground. Jewel, look around us. All of my team are gone and your own team isn't far from going as well. No matter the outcome, I don't want to see team military win this tournament. What happens next year when other clans are too disheartened to try and fight? Yourself, Blu and team scarlet are the only hope we have of beating him. That's why I have made my decision."

Jewel raised her eyebrow in confusion. "I don't understa-"

Her eyes widened as Christine leaped out of the arena on her own accord, landing gracefully on the ground. Jewel couldn't believe that Christine had just put all her faith into the other teams, willing to sacrifice herself like that. That had her respect, as both an ally and a friend.

"Contestant Christine from team lear is out!" Porcupine Game Announcer declared. "And with her elimination, team lear is officially out!"

Christine returned to the stands and was not met with any scolding. Instead, Amy had praised her for her selfless as did the rest of her team. Rather than join her team, she instead sat with team blue macaw and joined Armando specifically. Eduardo was slightly surprised, but said nothing of it and focused his mind on the fight.

"How are you feeling?" Christine inquired as she took one of his wings gently in her own.

"I'll live," Armando assured with a smile. "Thank you for what you did."

Christine only smiled and leaned forward, pecking the side of Armando's beak to which he was not expecting but cherished it either way. Soon enough, their attention was drifted back to the stands as the fights occurred. With both Christine and Bee-Bee eliminated, that only left two girls in the whole tournament remaining.

Jewel turned away from the stands and came face to face with Mariana. Dropping her surprised face to a serious one, she stared down Mariana as the scarlet macaw she stood nearby. "I take it you didn't come to talk."

"So it would seem," Mariana agreed. "Red VS blue. Let's not beat around the bush and just get to the point."

With no more words to exchange, the two leaped towards the other. Meanwhile, Ray had finally reached Carlos. The huge macaw wouldn't deny he was nervous, but that didn't mean he intended to lose.

Putting on his strong face, he slammed his wings together and prepared to stand his ground. "You're going down!"

Ray didn't respond and merely glared towards him with a small frown, not even bothering to put up any sort of defence. His confidence was not misplaced at the slightest.

Blu leaped upwards to avoid Rajesh's talon, landing onto his side as he performed a leg sweep. His leg came into contact, but it did little damage. Instead, the military macaw retaliated by slamming his wing into his stomach.

"HARG!" Rajesh roared and proceeded to unleashed a full-on barrage of punches, each one colliding.

Unable to put up a defence in time, Blu was forced to endure each strike, releasing cries of pain while doing so. Rajesh continued doing so until he was left exhausted from punching so many times.

Between pants, Rajesh gathered his energy to raise his wing for final strike. "There's no escaping me now. Now, get OUT!"

The whole world felt like it slowed down, audiences watching in awe. Members of the blue macaw clan watched in shock while Blu's children had covered their eyes, afraid to watch their father endure anymore punishment. As Rajesh slammed his wing forward for the finishing hit, his eyes widened in surprise.

"What?!"

His heavy injuries and agony had not knocked Blu down for the count. Somehow, he raised one wing and caught Rajesh's fist, stopping the attack. Blu no longer looked nervous. Instead, he was determined and mad. Now Rajesh understood: Blu wanted him to attack, willing to receive the damage in exchange for leaving his opponent tired.

With his free wing, Blu punched Rajesh in the gut followed with a couple of kicks. As the stunned military macaw stumbled, his opponent braced his feet against the ground, preparing to finish this with one blow.

Aku witnessed these events, refusing to believe that one of his elites was going to be defeated by this low-level trash. "Rajesh, do NOT let him force you on the defence! Fight back! An elite like you cannot be defeated by amateur like him!"

Eduardo glanced towards him. "You're wrong, Aku. Your ego has blinded you to the truth: any warrior can be surpassed with enough training, no matter how strong they may be."

His talon held firm against the ground, Blu threw himself forward and tackled Rajesh backwards towards the edge of the stage. Rajesh tried to throw him away, but Blu was refusing to let go.

The edge of the stage came closer into view by the second, all while Rajesh tried to break free. In one final determination, Rajesh kicked Blu and finally freed him from his grasp. Now enraged, he headbutted Blu, causing him to spin. Halfway through this spin, Rajesh restrained him with one wing around his neck while the other around his torso.

Eduardo called out from his seat. "Break out, Blu!"

Aku was also doing the same. "Don't let him go, Rajesh!"

Between grunts, Blu grasped against Rajesh's wings and desperately tried to pry himself free. Rajesh was not letting go, no matter how many strikes he received from now on.

"That was a clever trick of yours," Rajesh admitted, all the while he tightened his grip further. "You have my praise for that. This is where your fight ends, blue macaw."

Blu felt his oxygen being cut by the second, knowing that he couldn't hold out much longer. Either he would pass out or Rajesh would throw him out. Either way, this fight was over for him but that didn't mean he intended to go out empty handed. "Fine!"

Rajesh raised one eyebrow in confusion. That was until he watched Blu raised both feet from the ground. By the time Rajesh realized what was happening, it was too late to counter. Blu slammed his talons into the ground and pushed both of them backwards.

Within seconds, they were off the stage. Both Eduardo and Aku leaped from their seats.

"Blu!"

"Rajesh!"

Upon hearing the name of her mate being called out, Jewel broke off, watching as her love hawk fell out of view. "Blu! NO!"

Both macaws fell from the stage and begun their plummet. Along the way, however, both had found a way to stop their decent. Blu, being the one in front, had grasped the edge of the stage with one wing. Rajesh had fell further, but along the way, he grabbed Blu's talon within his own, hanging upside down.

"Unbelievable!" Tapir Game Announcer exclaimed. "Contestants Blu and Rajesh are hanging on!"

"Until either of them hit the ground, they are still in the game!" Porcupine Game Announcer added.

Blu didn't understand where he was finding the strength to hang on. Combined with his injuries and the extra weight of Rajesh holding onto him, it wouldn't be long before his wing gave out.

Rajesh saw the world from upside down as he leaned his head forward, growling in frustration. "Brave tactic, but foolish all the same."

Blu raised his free talon and tried to kick him away. It was clear Rajesh was determined to take them both out, refusing to let go. "Let go of me!"

"Not a chance," Rajesh responded. "We go together!"

Blu raised his other wing to grab the stage, holding on for dear life. Resorting to his instincts as a wild bird, he raised his other talon and clawed against Rajesh's torso. Unable to tolerate the pain any longer, Rajesh released and fell to the ground back first.

"Contestant Rajesh from team military is out!" Tapir Game Announcer declared.

Rajesh slammed his wing into the ground, pure rage filling within. He wanted to leap up and continue his attack, but in doing so, would cost him dearly. Getting restrained by eagles with the risk of disqualifying his team wasn't a pleasant thought. Instead, he joined the rest of his team, getting an expected scolding from Aku.

"You couldn't even take him with you," Aku said in disappointment. "This is a bad predicament we find ourselves in. Only down to two warriors, but then again, we needn't worry. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, sir," Tup nodded.

"With Ray on our team, we will never fail," Maria added with a small grin, changing her direction towards said macaw who was approaching Carlos. "It will not be long now."

Meanwhile, Blu struggled to pull himself up. Despite getting rid of the extra weight, his injuries combined with previous exhaustion left him weakened. He panted heavily, his wings tiring by the second.

"I can't...Hold on," Blu grunted. He wanted to let go, be free of all this suffering, but he could not. Never was he running from another fight.

As Blu felt his wings tire, his stress changed to relief as he felt his weight lighten and someone holding his wings. He watched in victory as Jewel placed both wings around his torso and helped lifted him onto the stage, saving him from certain failure.

The second he was back on, Jewel did not hesitate to embrace him in the midst of battle. "Blu, are you okay?"

Shaking off the shock of actually remaining on the stage, Blu returned the gesture. "Thank you, Jewel. I'll be okay."

Jewel cherished every second she had free before she was forced to let go. "Rest for a few seconds, Blu. I have a fight of my own."

Planting a small kiss on the side of his beak as a good luck gesture, Jewel leaped away to continue her fight against Mariana. Somehow, she had broken off her fight with the scarlet macaw long enough to save Blu from falling.

Mariana had recovered sooner, but the second she witnessed their brief embrace, she stopped and waited patiently. "Are you done?"

Jewel frowned slightly, but nodded. "I am. And thank you for not attacking."

"Don't get the wrong idea," Mariana responded quickly. "I am here to win and I won't show mercy. But that doesn't mean I'm going to attack someone off guard. I myself enjoy the thrill of a challenge."

Jewel was slightly surprised, but pretended not to care and resumed her guard.

With little time remaining, she had to get a move on and finish this now.

Chapter 7! Quite a bit has happened in this chapter. Teams lear and red-bellied are now eliminated from the tournament, leaving only three teams remaining. Any idea on who will win? You'll find out soon.

Time remaining: 5 minutes

Members left:

Team blue macaw: 2

Team scarlet macaw: 3

Team military macaw: 2

Team lear macaw: 0

Team red-bellied macaw: 0