"Agh..." The boss groaned as he slowly began to recover from the shock. "What the heck was-"
He was unable to finish. The human was instantly thrown onto the ground by...something. It was too much of a blur to make it out. His face began to sting. Whatever had been hurled at his face left three bold slashes across the right side of it. It didn't take a genius to figure out that there was something off.
"Something's screwy here," he muttered to himself. Looking up, he began to search for what could have given him the wounds on his face. He looked above him. There, flying perhaps twenty feet above him, was a bird, about the size of the macaws. But it wasn't. He squinted and removed his shades to take a closer look. It didn't look like anything one would naturally find in a biome such as this. As little as he actually did know about the rainforest inhabitants, he knew that this wasn't right. A brown and white bird wearing a metal mask with blade-like spikes running down to the beak, and shiny metal talons to go along with it. It looked like a warrior of some sort, readying itself for a battle. It made a steep bank, then U-turned back in his direction, its slightly bloodied claws extending. It didn't take a genius to figure out what it was trying to do.
"I don't think so!" The boss grabbed Ginger by the talons just as she was about to rake his eyes out, locking her into melee combat. Ginger glared at the human, her intense blue eyes letting off a paralyzing glow. Her opponent seemed unshaken by her expression. She swung herself around, thrashing about in attempt to escape the boss's grip. Her attempts were in vain, but she had another trick up her wing. The owl charged at his face headfirst, directing the thin spikes on her helmet right towards his eyes.
The boss dodged the attack, but this maneuver seemed to catch him off guard. Therefore, out of being startled, he released Ginger's talons from his hands.
The young general darted about the boss, toying with him, disorienting him, as she searched frantically for an opening. The moment she pinpointed a weak spot, she let loose another surprise attack, only to be thwarted yet again by the human grabbing her armored claws. The two tribes, Unk, the Trainee owls, and Nigel's gang watched in awe as the cycle continued, neither of the fighters gaining the upper hand. Ginger certainly had a lot of gall to be messing with this obviously dangerous human.
"This has been going on long enough," Kludd piped up after what seemed like hours of watching the one-on-one battle, even though it had probably only been a handful of minutes. "I'm going out there!" The Barn Owl lifted his wings and took off in the direction of the fight.
"No, stop!" Felipe called to the soldier.
"Kludd, no! Don't be a hero!" Vaygar screeched.
Their pleas for his return were of no meaning to him. Out in the clearing, his commander was fighting one of the biggest dangers posed to owlkind, and there was no guarantee that she would overpower him.
Kludd watched closely as he headed for the boss. He was only halfway there when he saw him snatch Ginger by the port wing as she was flitting about him. Ginger was thrashing her entire body all over the place trying to free herself, even though she knew it wouldn't do her any good, and that her fate was inevitable. It was then that she heard the familiar shree from her fellow Pure One as he unfolded his battleclaws and launched himself into the human's face. With the release of the Boss's grip, the general fell to the dusty ground. She attempted to join her soldier in the fight, but when she lifted her wings, the one the man had grabbed collapsed in a swelling, painful sensation. In her attempts to flee the boss's grasp, she had twisted it by mistake. Knowing that flight would be impossible, she simply watched as her best soldier fought with the valiance of an eagle to avenge her. His heavy metal battleclaws were a blur as they tore across the stunned man's flesh. Blood spattered all over the place, and Ginger watched as the Boss steadily lost his strength. As a finishing blow, Kludd bashed the thick, round, mu metal horns on his brass helm into the enemy's side.
"Ha! Stab and jab!" the owl chanted, not giving a racdrop that the Boss had heard him clear and loud. The man staggered to his feet, eyes wide, and blood beginning to stream slowly from the puncture wounds on the side of his abdomen. He looked at the hovering owl that had finished its assault on him, then at the one on the ground, who stared at him with a fierceness he had never before seen in any bird, especially behind her battle mask.
"I'm going crazy..." he said to himself. "This is...This is all..."
The Boss looked up in his disoriented state, and saw the hundreds of macaws, both red and blue, that made their abode in the jungle canopies. And they looked no less ferocious than the owls that had attacked him.
"No...You better not...Stay back!" he yelled at them, even though none were approaching him. At this point, he wasn't even sure they existed, or if they but a mirage. But the Boss wasn't willing to take a chance.
"I'm getting out of this crazy place! Y'all can keep your land, I ain't havin' this!"
Saying these things, the confused human stumbled toward his automobile, only to find that yet another bird come out from underneath it. It was an off-whitish tone, with a crest of yellow feathers on the back and top of its head, and wearing a very odd getup. It was covered in motor oil, and its tarnished grey beak held up a bunch of broken wires and badly bent car keys. All the while, the bird, stared at him mockingly.
"Oh, you've GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!"
Knowing that his first escape had been thwarted, he simply ran off into the woods, attempting to catch up with the other workmen that had fled the scene. Kludd landed next to his commander, eyeing her seemingly limp wing.
"Well...we won," Ginger announced. "Way to use those claws of yours, Kludd."
"He got you by the wing..."
"Oh, what? This?" Ginger lifted her port wing, flinching a bit due to the pain. "It's just a little sore. Won't be long before I can soar with the rest of you again."
"It's sprained, isn't it?"
Ginger sighed, looking deep into Kludd's bright amber eyes.
"Yeah, it is. But hey, better than a break, am I right?"
"I guess so... "
"Oh, lighten up. It's not even that bad for a sprain." She lifted her wing again to prove it, this time able to keep herself from reacting. "See?"
"Huh...If you say so." Hearing that his leader was not badly injured took a bit of the weight off of his shoulders, though his concern still outweighed his relief. He watched as Ginger scurried over to the macaw clans on foot, removing her battle mask upon reaching them.
"May I have everyone's attention, please! I officially announce that the war against the loggers has been won!"
The clans gave an uprising applause in celebration of their victory. As Ginger looked up at the many macaws that had fought along side each other on the field, she saw that the tribes had been renewed. Willing to cooperate rather than compete, to mingle with instead of battle against...Yes. This kind of peace was what she believed everyone wanted in the first place.
"Ging'!" Ginger turned her head toward the direction of the voice. There was Felipe, landing next to her, Eduardo close behind.
"That was crazy!" The macaw was obviously shaken with excitement. "You were flyin' and Kludd was flyin' and the it was all like BOOM! POW! That was nutso!"
Felipe turned toward the leader of the Blue Tribe, still panting. "Uh...Yeah, Eddie wanted to...say stuff, I guess. Go on."
The old Spix's Macaw slowly approached the owl.
"General," he began. "I honestly don't think I can thank you enough for what you've done here. You brought us all together, you got us all to fight off the loggers, you gave us uses for the nuts and..." His voice faded into a stutter. Upon realizing his lack of speech, the macaw sighed.
"Listen. I know I haven't ever been the most...hospitable or...accepting bird. But I hope that we can all put the past behind us and...just maybe...I don't know...Get along, for once? I know I sound stupid, but I..."
"Hey, Eduardo," Ginger interrupted. "It's cool."
"Please...Just call me Eddie."
"Oh, ho ho!" Felipe blurted. "We're gettin' somewhere here, ain't we?"
"I guess, all I really wanted to say was...I'm...I'm sorry. And...If you think I have a dorky looking buzzcut, that's fine."
"You know somethin' Eddie?" Ginger replied.
"What?"
"I think that buzzcut suits you just fine."
There was a semi-awkward pause before the three leaders burst out laughing.
"We're a crazy flock, aren't we?" Felipe commented.
"Yeah...But hey. Everyone's got some crazy in 'em. Some of us just have a little extra."
"Quite true, my fine brown-feathered friend," Eduardo agreed. "I'd be willing to bet there are plwnty of crazy birds back where you're from too, right?"
"Absolutely." That's when it crossed her mind. She and her troops had been in the Amazon for much longer than they had intended. The following day, they would have to head out and report their findings to the Monarchs.
"Well," Felipe seemed to read the owl's mind. "I guess now that the flocks have been restored, you and your buddies are gonna be leaving soon?"
Ginger looked back at the Scarlet Macaw, a somewhat solemn, but smiling look upon her face.
"Yes."
"Ginger!"
The general swiveled her head around. All of the other owls; Vaygar, Uklah, Phillip, and Unk, were flying in their direction, each of them chanting victoriously.
"That was insane!"
"Long live the jungle!"
"We sure crushed 'em, didn't we!?
Ginger only nodded in response.
"Hey! HEY!"
There was one more voice calling to her. The owl looked behind her to see the familiar form of an off-white cockatoo riding in on his anteater steed.
"Nigel!" she greeted him warmly. "How exactly did you know how to-"
"You learn a few things as a city bird. One of them is that a vehicle can't run right if it's got faulty wiring."
"How did you know which one to cut?"
"I didn't. I just pulled a bunch of 'em until I heard something in the engine snap."
"Oh. Well...Nice work anyway."
"Oh, and um...While you we're away, I was wondering..."
"What? What is it?"
"I...Agh, never mind, let's just get back to the grove first, shall we?."
Ginger nodded, then turned to her troops.
"Alright, birds, let's head back in!" She called out, the flocks responding with obedience.
The two tribes were far into the grove before any of the others reached the edge. They thought, perhaps, it was because of some of them having inability to fly. But they were all more certain that it was just because they would rather have the company of each other as they returned to their nesting grounds to roost, rather than flying off alone.