Chapter 21: Sultry and Poison
"The boy is slowly recollecting his lost memories. At this rate, the future events could lead to further complications."
"Perhaps, but perhaps not. It may be a lot for the macaws to take in, but they have to know eventually."
"I guess you're right there my lady. But that aside, I bear unfortunate news."
"Of course you bring ill news. I suppose you could just sugarcoat it for me."
"I can't lie to you about this. Things are going into motion for the worst Mistress Solaris. It's just as I fear."
"Oh no…that means…"
"Indeed, IT is happening all over again."
"This is terrible! What was Osmund thinking!?"
"I feel Osmund is the least of our worries, I sense a second party being involved, far greater a threat than Majin and his bats."
"Oh this is terrible news! My people are already in disarray as we speak, I can't afford to be driven into further conflicts. If any of this can't be resolved, then the possibility of a second Great Fire is neigh!"
"I understand your troubled thoughts my lady, I'll double the efforts in resolving this matter. But I'm not certain if the Macaws are ready to handle what I know. Unless this unknown agent surfaces to clear the uncertainty, I can't allow the macaws to dig any deeper in our situation."
"You may have to tell them anyway Exsirec. I fear drastic change is approaching. The jungle won't be the same by the end of tomorrow."
"Believe me Mistress Solaris, I'm very aware. There's little time to spare now, let's hurry and catch up to Blu and his family. They'll need all the help they can get on dealing with Osmund. At best we could minimize a catastrophe."
"Anything better than nothing I suppose. Best we return."
"Of course Mistress Solaris."
"Enough with the knocking out, why am I the victim today?"
Crexis's day couldn't get any worse. From losing his dad to getting kidnapped by Osmund and his goons (again), good fortune really wasn't on his side.
Feeling the familiar clutches of being held by an unknown stranger, Crexis glances up to find himself being carried by two bats. Strangely though, the two mammals carrying him don't resemble like a Majini Bat. Even more unusual, the bats seemed rather twisted and warped near their facial features and wings.
"Do be careful with our package my brethren. My client needs him somewhat functioning for the next phase of the plan." A familiar voice insisted. Crexis turned to spot Osmund flying nearby, his body covered with an assortment of macaw feathers he collects as trophies.
"Whatever your plan is freakface, it ain't going to happen. Majin got dropped hard, and you cronies lost the war!" Crexis spat at Osmund.
"Oh, the war? No big lost to me really. This whole thing is nothing personal with Solaris and the macaws, I'm merely repaying my debt to someone."
"Debt?"
"Indeed my purple friend." Osmund nodded. "Let me clarify things if you haven't been told. This whole war and fiasco with Majin and his tribe handling the Amazon macaws are really just mere distractions for the grand scheme ahead. It's truly disheartening to see my loyal subjects Majin and Exsirec fall short for the new world for the Blue Macaws. But for you my dear friend, you'll take part of the new life."
"New life? What in the world are you babbling about?" Crexis demanded.
"Perhaps I've said too much." Osmund chuckled. "My faithful entourage, take Crexis to the grotto. Leave him there and return to Rio to gather the N-95 samples from the pickup. We need that stuff out and deployed across the jungle by morning."
"Yes Lord Osmund." A group of bats nodded to their master's command.
The mentioning of the so called N-95 sent waves of pain into Crexis's head as the name ringed several alarms in his thoughts.
"N-95…isn't that…" Crexis thought weakly. Before Crexis could fix his thoughts, he slowly passes out from exhaustion once more into his blank vision of unconsciousness.
"Please be okay please be okay please okay." Blu repeated in his mind, fearing to what may have befallen to his daughter Carla after learning Crexis's true origin. He wasn't the only one panicking, Jewel along with his two other children Bia and Tiago had their hearts racing. The moment the four macaws reached the ranger's outpost, a wave of relief washed across their shaking hearts to find Carla unharmed. But what's worrisome is the disappearance of Crexis.
"Carla dear! Are you alright?" Jewel asked, rushing over to her eldest daughter. Fortunately for Carla, she sustained little to no injury. The scattered purple feathers shrewd across the metal tables of the outpost however tell another story.
"Mom, Dad, the Bats got Crexis!" Carla cried out. "They're taking him to Plume Rock!"
"Plume Rock?"
"Oh boy." Blu muttered, fearing a terrible outcome for Crexis.
"What's Plume Rock Dad?" Tiago asked.
"Plume Rock is some kind of cave or grotto south from our home. During patrol with your grandfather, we both almost got sucked in by the fierce waves crashing against the Cliffside." Blu answered.
"Sounds frightening." Jewel commented.
"That place is no joke. You all have to stay clear from there."
"We can't just stand here Dad!" Carla protested. "The bats got Crexis!"
"I know. That's why I said only you three. I'm going." Blu stated.
"What!? By yourself!? Not happening." Jewel argued, stepping in front of Blu. "You're not going without help."
"If we interrupt, perhaps we could provide some assistance." A male voice said from behind the macaws. Blu and his family darted back to spot Solaris accompanied by another figure, the enigmatic Exsirec the Bat.
"Exsirec…" Blu muttered, scooting his family behind him in an attempt of protecting them. "What are you doing here?"
"Simple, help you get back Crexis. If Jewel says you need help, I'm yours to command." Exsirec replied, bowing down in respect to the male blue macaw.
"I'll come along as well. Osmund must be stop." Solaris added.
"Then it's settled. Jewel, stay here and protect the kids. Osmund, Solaris, let's fly." Blu ordered, the two guests nodding in agreement. As Solaris and Exsirec set off to Plume Rock, Jewel pulled Blu in for one last hug before he sets off to his rescue mission. She looked intensely into Blu's eyes, her gaze speaking enough to Blu about being careful. He nodded and returned Jewel the hug before joining up with Solaris and Exsirec.
"Hey Mom, check these things out." Bia called out to her mother. Jewel turned her attention to her second daughter, noticing the young macaw waving around the strange container and device from Ray's pendent from earlier.
"Hey easy with those two dear." Jewel insisted.
"Yo sis, could you see what's in that thing using Seth's computer inside the office?" Tiago asked.
"I was about to suggest that as well. We can't just sit around doing nothing. Might as well see what's in this device. By my calculations, it had to be very important if Ray wanted to give this to Crexis so secretively."
"I guess that's fine by me. Lead the way Bia."
Bia nodded and led her mother and two other siblings to a small office inside the outpost, worried on what Ray was hiding from them all this time.
Little time was wasted as Blu, Solaris, and Exsirec flew through the dark trees of the Amazon jungle with incredible speed. Thanks to Exsirec's night vision, the flight to Plume Rock was so far little trouble to the three animals. Upon arriving the location of Osmund holding Crexis, Exsirec halted the group midflight. A troubled expression wore his face as he scanned the treeline.
"What's the hold up?" Blu asked.
"Trouble, and a whole lot of it." Exsirec muttered. Not a moment too soon, a small group of macaws stormed out of the trees to ambush the group. The macaws didn't resemble or seem familiar to any of the neighboring tribes to Blu's memory.
"What's the matter of this!? Why are you attacking us!?" Solaris demanded, dodging left and right from the surprised attack.
"It's for us to know and for you to not to know." One of the macaws sneered back. The voice belonged to a female, someone sounding oddly familiar to Blu. He tried to put his wing on it, but the moment he had a thought, a macaw scratched Blu across his bad wing, almost forcing him to crash land.
Exsirec rushed in and thwarted off Blu's attackers. Solaris joined in and helped Blu land carefully on a nearby tree branch. After assessing his wounds, nothing seem too serious to Blu's relief.
"Blu, go ahead and find Crexis, Exsirec and I can handle these macaws." Solaris ordered. Blu nodded and flew carefully past the attackers undetected. He wished his two allies the best of luck as he dove into the dank grotto without being spotted.
The cliffside cave was nothing spectacular other than jagged rocks protruding out of the walls in many angles. The constant dripping from the leaking ceiling made it difficult for Blu to determine the depth of the cave.
"Gotta find Crexis." Blu thought to himself. He started walking along the edge, scanning the cave for any signs of purple. The soothing waves crashing below Blu was refreshing to the macaw, but now wasn't the time to go sightseeing.
"Crexis!" Blu shouted quietly, hoping to get the purple macaw's attention without being caught.
"Dad?" a voice replied along the path Blu was on. "Dad over here!"
"Wait…Carla!?" Blu cried. He rushed over and to his dismay, spots Carla along with Crexis inside a metal cage hanging out on a steel rod pointing towards the ocean. "What in blazes, how did you get here!?"
"Heh heh, funny story." Carla chuckled nervously.
"It's definitely not going to be a funny story that's for sure! When we get out of here, your mother and I are going to lay down a good grounding for a week!" Blu roared at the top of his lungs.
"Yeah…I thought so." Carla responded glumly.
Trying to calm down his temper, Blu went working on the cage's lock. It seemed rusted, but he knew he should be able to pry it open in a few moments. As Blu fiddled with the lock, he notices Carla cradling a shivering Crexis, the male macaw's purple feathers turning rather pale.
"Oh no, what's happening to him?" Carla asked frantically.
"Not sure, but I'm trying to get you out dear as best I could."
"You know Blu, you really should keep your voice down when you're angry." A voice snickered from deep within the cave.
"Well drat." Blu groaned, mentally slapping himself for his earlier outburst. He quickly turned around to confront the stranger. The only thing Blu noticed was the stranger's outline and his constant giggling, the laugher sending shivers to the macaw.
"I find it funny how our paths cross like this Blu. But before we get into business, I advise you stay away from that cage." The stranger insisted. Blu immediately recognized Osmund's voice as he prepared for the approaching bat.
"Sorry Ozzy, not going to happen." Blu taunted. He immediately regretted it when he heard the bat shift to a rather unpleasant growl.
"You know, you really got to stop calling me Osmund boy." The bat warned, his outline coming into view for Blu.
Blu backed away as the moon's light shined on the imposing Osmund. But for some reason, the bat's face didn't seem normal, almost contorted like some mask.
"Newsflash, Osmund died many years ago since the events of the first Great Fire. On a side note, I only wished to carry his legacy and boy I thought I did a great job." The Osmund imposter laughed.
"W-wait a sec! Who are you then!?" Blu demanded.
"I'm glad you asked my friend. It's obviously hard for you to recognize me after my client gave me the gift of flight once more. I'm certain you're familiar with the U-3 serum?"
"Wait…you're a U-3 experiment!?"
"Not exactly, just a recent patient. My client forgot to mention the voice changing side effects, but I'm glad it didn't alter my handsome looks."
Blu's beak dropped in shock as Osmund removed his head and collected macaw feathers. The stranger revealed a pair of silver-like wings and a pristine set of head feathers, clear from dust and other substances. The creature dusted away his beak and talons from the disguise, and smugly looks at Blu with a twisted smile.
"N-Nigel!?"
A/N: Surprise? Maybe. Sniff…Maybe. Anyway, I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter. Just wanted to thank those who nominated me for Alex the Owl's Rio awards, I feel honored to be even considered. If you're not sure what I meant on the awards, check either Alex's post or mine on more info. Aside from that, thanks for reading and be sure to review if you wish. Take care and hope to hear from you soon!
Characters excluding Crexis, Exsirec, Ray, Kroh, Osmund, Majin, and Solaris belong to Blue Sky Studios. Crexis belongs to Crexis the Purple Macaw. Exsirec, Ray, Kroh, Osmund, Majin, and Solaris belong to YootisPoshil.