Jupiter and company and their Adventure in the Amazon

by VPVPVP

Jupiter and company follow Blu and company's path into the Amazon. But shortly after arrival some run into problems. Mercury, Uranus, Sapphire and Esmeralda must deal with the conflict still existing between the green and Lear's macaw tribes while Pluto and Lapis Lazuli must convince the stubborn glaucous macaw tribe, who is still alive and homeless, that they are vulnerable

25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25- the evacuation continues, panic for the stargazing group

In the blue-and-gold tribe's home patch, most of the blue-and-gold macaws had gone to bed for an uneasy night for the heat still lingered in the air. Soleado was outside his family's hollow, looking at the night sky. He could not believe how hot it had been in the past few days and it had been affecting the activity of his tribe and the other animals. However, the incident involving the Jandayan parakeet at the clutches of those three flying foxes just outside the blue-and-gold tribe's boundary had inflicted a dent on the tribe's peace, especially Soleado and Zoie. The parakeet had died from his injuries and Soleado had sent patrol groups to find the parakeet's family and also to check the border for any more suspicious bat activities. To his gladness, there had been none for the rest of the day but after what happened to the parakeet still troubled Soleado. The family of the parakeet, the now-widowed female Jandayan parrot and three chicks who lived on Soleado's tribe's territory as non-tribe residents, had been escorted by a patrol group from their home to Fedor, Falkor and Ámbar in the Navyfeathers' territory to be looked after. As the events of today went through Soleado's mind, a voice of an adolescent macaw penetrated through his daydreaming, making him jump.

"Dad, are you alright?" asked the macaw, his head peering out of the hollow. Soleado looked at him, a troubled look marking his face.

"You've had that concerned look since the parakeet incident," said the young macaw, "Is everything alright?"

He then glanced back into the hollow to check on a clutch of three eggs in the hollow. Soleado and Zoie had three eggs and they were due to hatch soon and it was their second brood. They already had one son, this macaw named Tobias, who was now an adolescent. He was helping his parents to incubate his soon-to-be baby siblings. Soleado sighed and walked over to his soon-to-be eldest son.

"I've been concerned about those bats and what happened to that parakeet, son," he said in a small voice, "I hope those flying furballs aren't planning on launching attacks on our territory's none-tribe resident birds, or the non-tribe and clan birds on the territories of the other macaw tribes and clans. If they are, those bats are going to be in serious trouble."

Tobias looked back at him and said, "I'm pretty sure this is just a one-off. The patrollers have reported no other flying fox activity at our border and the unowned zone throughout today since that incident, haven't they?"

Soleado sighed. Although that was true and there had been no flying fox activity other than the attack on the Jandayan parakeet, his troubled feelings did not subside. Not too far away, Orquidea was standing outside her and Saturn's hollow as well, having tucked the other chicks, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus to bed. She was concerned about Saturn, Mimas and Titan out with the stargazing group and had the option to join but was too tired. Orquidea had planned to take her large family out stargazing some time but it had just been too hot, and the nights didn't seem to feel any cooler. As Orquidea gazed into the black canvas awash with a massive sea of glitter, she was amazed. She had always loved nights like this, night skies without the glare of the moon or the screening of clouds in the way, and sometimes had romantic nights out with Saturn gazing at the night sky before the two started their family back in Rio. Like some of the other blue-and-gold macaws, Orquidea had been troubled by the incident with the Jandayan parakeet at the clutches of the three flying foxes. Any hearings of those bats and their colony always terrified Orquidea, even though she had not met any of them face to face. However, as a youngster after she was torn from the blue-and-gold macaw tribe during the fire all those years ago, she had seen a group of them brutally slaughter a family of orange-winged amazons and had been terrified by their size. Those flying foxes, fully grown, were about half-way between the heights of a blue-and-gold or Spix macaw and a hyacinth macaw with massive wingspans reaching as long as one-and-a-half metres, larger than the average wingspan of a blue-and-gold. As Orquidea thought about the flying foxes, one macaw who had faced those monstrous winged beasts also came to mind: Lapis Lazuli. She could not imagine what that poor glaucous macaw had been through during her escape from those bats during their siege on the glaucous macaws. 'It must have been a living nightmare for her,' she thought, 'facing such monstrous bats more than twice her size…'

As Orquidea thought about these things, a male voice sounded nearby.

"Orquidea, are you alright?" it said. Orquidea turned and saw one of her childhood friends and the blue-and-gold Pit of Doom's team captain, Ignacio, approach her and perch beside her, his face creased with concern.

"You look a bit troubled," said Ignacio. Orquidea, at this, shook her head.

"Oh, I'm fine, Ignacio, thanks," she said, "Just troubled by what happened today, especially with that parakeet."

Ignacio sighed and said, "I know. It's been quite a shock."

Orquidea nodded in agreement.

"So how are things now between you and your mate Sandra?" she asked.

"Oh, we've made up," said Ignacio, "Yeah; we've had a bit of a falling out today because I was seriously tired from the heat but we've apologised to each other and to our daughter Preciosa. It's been so hot today and the past few days."

And with that, Ignacio fanned his face with a wing while Orquidea sighed. Suddenly, she saw some macaw shapes enter the blue-and-gold macaws' home patch. At first, she thought they were from her own tribe but when she saw that they were of a different set of colours (green with blue and red markings) based on the flashes of colour under the starlight, she realised that they were from Alonso's tribe.

"Some of Alonso's tribe members, what are they doing here?" asked Orquidea curiously. Ignacio looked and saw that the green macaws, six of them, were in a panicked and frightened state based on how they flew.

"They look extremely frightened," he said in shock, "I wonder why."

Orquidea observed the macaws closely as they made a beeline for Soleado and his family's tree and saw that Ignacio was right. The six green macaws were flapping like mad and looked as though they had seen a frightening monster. An angry suspicion entered Orquidea's head.

"Don't tell me those macaws have seen any suspicious flying fox activity, have they?" she growled to Ignacio, who replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Then the two macaws watched the six green macaws talk with Soleado. Their voices can be heard but the words were blurred together, so Ignacio and Orquidea could not understand what they were saying. Behind the two macaws, five small heads peered out of the hollow. Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus had come to watch their mother and her friend. They could not go to sleep due to the heat and had wanted their mother but when they saw that the two adults were focussing on something, they turned and followed their direction of their gaze. It was then that Soleado's voice exploded with, "WHAT!?"

Ignacio and Orquidea almost jumped off the branch when they heard that word fly out of Soleado's beak. At first, the two thought that Orquidea's suspicions were true but what came next proved that the reason why the green macaws came was something else entirely.

"Thanks for the warning, you six. We'll evacuate our tribe to our cavern right away. You make your way back to Alonso's tribe before the fire hits. Now MOVE IT!" screeched Soleado's voice. The six green macaws obeyed and left while Soleado turned and called Zoie. Dread hit Orquidea and Ignacio and they immediately took action.

"Orquidea, you get your chicks to our cavern while I get Sandra and Preciosa!" yelled Ignacio as he lofted into flight. Orquidea was about to do so when suddenly, she remembered that three of her family members were out stargazing. Her mate, oldest daughter and one of her sons were out there.

"Ignacio!" screeched Orquidea, making Ignacio stop into a hover. Orquidea then rushed towards the hollow but when she saw Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus already awake, she ushered them out straight away.

"Take these five with you," Orquidea yelled, sending her five chicks into flight after Ignacio, "I've got to find Saturn, Mimas, Titan and the others with them and warn the RIGHT AWAY!"

At this, Ignacio rushed back and wrapped his talons around the five chicks.

"Mommy," cried Enceladus.

"You go with Ignacio and stay with him and his family until I get back," ordered Orquidea, "Your father, brother and sister are still with the stargazing group. I've gotta find them right now before the fire gets here!"

Then without hesitation, the panicked blue-and-gold macaw flew off.

"Be careful, Orquidea," yelled Ignacio while Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus in his talons shouted for their mother.

"Hold on tight," commanded Ignacio to the five chicks and with that, he shot off in the direction of his tree where Sandra and Preciosa were, taking the five chicks with them. Within moments, the home patch air was filled with blue and yellow comets as blue-and-gold macaws began to evacuate for the cavern, just like how the green macaws did earlier. Chicks, eggs and macaws with wing injuries were carried toward the cavern while Soleado was flying around, barking orders for all macaws to evacuate. He had sent a few patrollers to search for Zoie and the stargazing group to warn them, and those macaws had flown away to look for them. Tobias, meanwhile, had taken his parents' unhatched eggs (containing his soon-to-be siblings) toward the cavern in a special basket woven out of tough sticks. Soleado had commanded him to take the eggs while he evacuated the tribe and he obeyed right away. The blue-and-gold macaw tribe's evacuation spot was a large mouth in the ground outside the macaws' home patch that led to a large underground labyrinth that served as a fire evacuation point. It was in a clearing with no plants but a few grass and ferns so it was safe from the spread of fire. A large protrusion of rock hung over part of the mouth, forming a sort of shallow overhang. Blue and yellow birds had begun to converge towards the mouth and disappear through it. Some macaws had also raided the food stocks placed into some trees for the drought to take with them to the cavern for they knew that when the fire burns these, the tribe would be left without food. Thus the evacuation of the blue-and-gold tribe was underway.

In the Spix macaws' ravine, the Spix macaw tribe was also turning in for the night, but they too were about to hear the news of the impending disaster. In one tree, Zephyr was standing at the entrance to the tree. He had already tucked the other three chicks Charlotte, Matilda and Justin into bed and had seen Venus and Virgil off when they left with some of the other Spix macaws with Eduardo and Mimi to go stargazing. However Zephyr had decided against going because he was too tired and wanted to get an early night. Now that tiredness has disappeared due to the night being very warm. Zephyr stood there leaning against one side if the hollow gazing out into the dark air of the ravine where a few macaws were flying around. He wore a worried expression as thoughts about Venus bubbled in his head. He was clearly concerned for his mate, for she had only been in the jungle for a few days. Despite having adapted quickly, Venus still had a long way to go before she was truly an expert in surviving in the jungle, and Blu was similar.

"I hope the stargazing group hasn't gone far," murmured Zephyr to himself, "I know Zoie is good at keeping groups safe but I just hope Venus, Virgil, Blu and Bia are alright…"

Just then two cerulean forms, one with a blue-white head came by with two more blue forms with grey heads: one teal-tinted turquoise and the other a rich blue. However, these two macaws had yellow eye rings and beak lappets. At this, Zephyr saw the quartet.

"Hey, Brisa, Jewel, Pluto, Lapis Lazuli, what are you four still doing up? I thought you've all gone to bed," he said.

"Oh, it's too hot, Zephyr," said Brisa, "So we decided to get up and have a talk."

"Our chicks Charon, Blueberry, Quincy and Flor, together with Mercury and Sapphire's chicks Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette and Travis and Sunset's chicks Eustace, Milo and Rosa have been struggling to sleep due to the heat," said Pluto.

"Roberto, Travis, Sunset, Mercury and Sapphire are currently telling them a story to help them relax but it doesn't seem to be doing anything," said Lapis Lazuli, "Pluto and I are just having a walk out with Brisa and Jewel here."

"Pluto and Lapis are still troubled by thoughts about those glaucous macaws," said Jewel, "They have been all day."

"I've heard that your father had tried to convince those macaws of their vulnerability with living outside the sanctuary," said Zephyr, "but to no avail. It's sad really, they're such rare birds."

"Jupiter, Venus and Blu came with us too," said Lapis Lazuli, "We needed backup with Eduardo to help convince Rudi my cousin, who leads the glaucous macaw tribe now, as Eduardo by himself wouldn't have been enough."

She then looked up at the night sky and sighed admirably at the sea of stars streaking the sky.

"It sure is beautiful tonight despite the heat," she cooed, "I might take our chicks out stargazing sometime…"

"Our daughter Bia is absolutely fascinated with the stars," said Jewel with an amused smile, "So is Jupiter and Ruby's son Ganymede. It seems to be one of their favourite things besides nature, physics and maths…"

"Blu seems to be into the very same things as Bia and Ganymede," said Zephyr, "I've seen him help Susan and Lucy, Venus and the others' former owners deal with the measurements for the construction of Travis and Sunset's birdhouse when we were in Rio. He's a very clever brainbox, he is."

"He is indeed," said Jewel proudly, "That's one of the things I like about him."

"I wonder if Bia and Ganymede would make a great couple when they grow up," said Pluto, "Since they're both into the same things."

This was met with a strange look from the others.

"Um, Bia's a Spix macaw, Pluto," said Brisa, "While Ganymede is a scarlet. Pairings between Spix and scarlet macaws have never happened to our knowledge."

"Yeah, and besides that, they're still chicks," said Jewel. Pluto blushed with shame, the skin under his grey facial feathers going red, wishing he had never said it now.

"It's alright," said Brisa with a smile, "Interspecific pairings do happen but it's very rare."

Suddenly, Jewel looked up and saw a small cerulean form and a small blue form loitering about near the edge of the ravine pool. At this, she frowned and walked over to them.

"Oi, Carla, Tiago, what are you two still doing up and outside our home?" she asked angrily. As she left to deal with the two chicks, Brisa sighed.

"I would like to have chicks one day," she murmured, "But I can't seem to find the right male to be my mate…"

"Don't force things, Brisa," said Pluto, "Your time will come."

Brisa sighed. Though she had some admiration for many of the young male macaws in the tribe, Roberto included, none appeared to appeal to her. However, it did appear that she had some feelings for Roberto for she was often enamoured by his singing talent and confidence apart from his phobias of humans except the well-meaning humans, and flying foxes after what happened to his family. Then Pluto moved onto something else.

"I heard Roberto had been the victim of a flying fox attack," he said, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind me asking but what happened?"

"Roberto has given me permission to explain to newcomers of his history and why he's afraid of bats," said Zephyr, but before he could launch into an explanation of how Roberto's family had died at the clutches of a group of flying foxes, the group heard Eduardo and Mimi's voices echo throughout the ravine air. At this, the group's heads were drawn to two forms flying frantically around the ravine and shouting.

"That's Eduardo and Mimi," said Pluto, "They sound really frightened."

At this, Zephyr, Brisa and Lapis Lazuli began to listen to the tribe patriarch and his sister's cries.

"Fire, everyone!" shouted Eduardo, "There's fire on the way!"

"Everybody evacuate and get into the waterfall cave, NOW!" shouted Mimi. When the word 'fire' reached the ears of the group, the colour drained from their faces, and Zephyr, Brisa and Lapis Lazuli felt fright flare up within them like the fireworks that exploded on New Year's Eve. Not too far away, Jewel also began to shake having heard her father and aunt's warning cries as well. Fire was what tore her, Zephyr, Brisa and Tornado and Gael from the Spix macaw tribe, and what Lapis Lazuli had faced when she was young but thankfully she was not separated from her tribe like some of the other macaws of the other tribes and clans were. She was torn from her tribe by the flying foxes when they attacked her tribe to drive them out. Then Lapis Lazuli panicked.

"I'll warn Roberto and the others at his tree and help them evacuate!" she shouted and with that, she rocketed off in the direction of Roberto's tree where Travis and Mercury and their families and her chicks were staying. Pluto followed. Then thoughts about Venus, Virgil, Blu and Bia and the others hit Zephyr. Turning to Brisa, he said, "You take Justin, Charlotte and Matilda to the waterfall cave! I've gotta fly out there and search for the stargazing group!"

And with that, he rocketed off in the direction of the ravine entrance while Brisa, without hesitation, rushed over to her brother and Venus's tree to call out the three chicks. Nearby, Jewel had begun to take Carla and Tiago to the waterfall cave. She was trembling violently as memories of her fiery nightmare as a young macaw- trees ablaze all around, animals trapped and screaming helplessly as the fire consumed them, and trees falling down, and no other Spix macaw in sight- came cascading down on her.

"Mom, what's wrong?" asked Carla, her Ipod on her.

"Just get behind the waterfall," commanded Jewel timidly. Then thoughts about Blu and Bia hit her through the flood of her memories of the fire. They, along with Venus and Virgil, were still out there with the other stargazers. At this, she looked around and saw Brisa take Justin, Charlotte and Matilda toward the waterfall. Behind Brisa, cerulean and blue comets were emerging from the trees and making a beeline for the waterfall cave as Eduardo and Mimi continued shouting their warnings and barking orders for the tribe to evacuate.

"Brisa," called Jewel, "Brisa!"

Brisa, at this, stopped.

"You take Carla and Tiago with you and look after them," shouted Jewel, "I've gotta…"

And with that, she rocketed off in the direction of the ravine entrance.

"Jewel, where are you going?" called Brisa, "Jewel, JEWEL!"

But Jewel was already out of earshot. Brisa, seeing no other choice and seeing Carla and Tiago fly after their mother, calling for her, immediately flew in front of the two chicks and stopped them.

"Get to the waterfall cave, NOW!" commanded Brisa firmly. Carla and Tiago reluctantly obeyed and followed Brisa toward the waterfall, with Justin, Charlotte and Matilda alongside them. As she took the seven chicks around the edge of the waterfall and into the cave which had begun to fill up with cerulean birds, she was met by a blue form with a blue-white head.

"Brisa," said Tornado angrily as Gael helped the macaws to carry eggs and chicks to the moss prebuilt in the event of an evacuation, "Where is your brother?"

"He's gone to look for the stargazing group," said Brisa, "So has Jewel by the sound of it. Blu, Venus, Bia and Virgil are still out there with the stargazing group."

When Tornado heard these words, horror exploded within him. Without hesitation, he shouted, "Stay here with your mother and help her with the macaws with the eggs and chicks. I'm gonna go out there and look for my son, Jewel and the stargazing group! If she asks where I've gone, tell her that, okay!?"

And with that, Tornado shot off out of the waterfall cave in a blue and blue-white blur. Moments later, a colourful group turned up. Travis and Sunset took their chicks Eustace, Milo and Rosa toward a bed of moss and lay them down in it while Pluto and Lapis Lazuli placed their four chicks Blueberry, Charon, Flor and Quincy into another bed of moss. Sapphire and Mercury also led Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette to another bed of moss. The chicks were clearly frightened and though they had never experienced a forest fire, they knew how frightening they were based on the stories Jewel, Brisa, Zephyr and the others had told them. Then Roberto appeared.

"Brisa, where are your brother and Ju-Ju?" he asked. Brisa shot him a horrified look. Then Roberto saw Justin, Charlotte and Matilda, Carla and Tiago as they settled down into a large bed of moss.

"They've gone out looking for the stargazing group," replied Brisa, "But these chicks need to be looked after."

When Roberto heard this, horror exploded within him. When Jewel had been reported missing and presumed dead in the previous fire, Roberto's heart had been torn in two. But seeing that the seven chicks needed looking after, Roberto said, "We'll have to get Eduardo to send out some patrollers to look for the stargazing group and collect them before the fire reaches them!"

And with that, he flew off to find Eduardo while Brisa stayed with Justin and his siblings and Carla and Tiago. She wore a horrified and worried expression. Her sister-in-law and one of her nephews, alongside Jewel's mate and one of her daughters were out there with some of the others. She hoped that they would be found before the fire reached them.

The fire continued raging and tearing through the trees. It was by now deep in the Sanctuary de Amazon and continued to quickly spread; eating away at the desiccated plants and trees and setting them alight. In the Lear's and green tribes' territories, trees were up in flames. The green tribe with a few glaucous macaws with them, watched in utter horror as the trees the green macaws called home were consumed by the flames. The Lear's macaw tribe that had taken refuge in their underground cave could see the orange glow of the fire as it consumed their home through holes in the cave ceiling. They trembled violently as they watched the awful sight. Outside in the Lear's macaws' ravine, there was an inferno. All the trees were alight in the ravine and around it, and the insides of the holes along the cliff faces, called home by most of the Lear's macaws, were searing and choked by the smoke from the flames. Any macaw that stayed in them would suffocate or be burned alive by the searing heat which was why they had to evacuate their homes. Outside the Lear's macaws' homes, the fire continued raging and consuming more trees. Animals fled ahead, among them dozens and dozens and dozens of glaucous macaws as they desperately searched for spots of refuge to escape the flames. Burning trees tumbled down and made terrifying crashing sounds while fiery branches rained down like volcanic rocks from the above canopy. The fire was indeed spreading very quickly through the territories of the green and Lear's macaw tribes and will soon spread to the trees of the other macaw flocks' territories. Back in the Spix macaws' ravine, the waterfall cave continued filling up with more and more blue and cerulean birds. Eduardo and Mimi continued watching the macaws as they evacuated to this massive cavern. Then a dreadful thought hit Eduardo.

"The stargazing group, Mimi," he shouted, "I forgot the stargazing group!"

Mimi, at this, reacted in horror just as Roberto flew in.

"Eduardo," he called, "Jewel and Zephyr have gone out to look for the stargazing group."

At this, Eduardo reacted with even more horror. Jewel was his only daughter whom he had lost in the fire and had been fortunate to have survived it but she had been separated from her tribe for well over fifteen years. He did not want to lose her to that same disaster again. Flooded with horror, Eduardo spread his wings and took off.

"Mimi, you and Roberto continue to help with the evacuation while I look for my daughter, Zephyr and the stargazing group," he ordered. Mimi nodded and continued helping the macaws to evacuate.

"I hope you make it back with Ju-Ju and the others," yelled Roberto but Eduardo was already out of earshot. Seeing no point in calling after him, Roberto resumed the job and helped a family of macaws carry their chicks too young to fly over to a bed of moss.

Meanwhile

The stargazing group led by Zoie continued to observe the stars. Blu had brought his binoculars along in his fanny pack so that the macaws could look through the magnifying lenses at the distant dots of light. Each macaw took it in turns looking through the human-made lenses and the one handling them was Jupiter for he was one of the macaws who knew how to handle human things well based on his experience with them when he lived as a pet. He allowed both chicks and adults to look through them at the stars. While he did this, Blu explained to the group about the stars. He had been reading about the night sky a lot when he lived with Linda and thus knew quite a bit about the stars and constellations, and had been selected by Zoie to be the group's star guide.

"That three star row is Orion's Belt," said Blu, pointing a talon to a trio of stars that appeared to be aligned in a row. All eyes followed his point and saw them.

"And the fuzzy protrusion below those stars is Orion's Sword," said Blu, "In which the Orion Nebula can be found…"

Bia looked at the nebula through the binoculars held by Jupiter and saw a fuzzy smudge.

"Wow, it's awesome," she said, "I wanna be a nature teacher like Dad when he grows up."

"Let me see, Bia," said Virgil. Bia moved aside so that Virgil could look through them. He breathed a sigh of amazement when he saw the Orion Nebula. Jupiter looked at Bia and smiled at her desire to follow Blu's footsteps.

"Well, when we get the chance to go to Manaus or Rio in future," he said, "I'll help you look for some books on astronomy, nature and maths if you would like."

Bia smiled as Ganymede fluttered in.

"I wouldn't mind sharing mine with Bia, Dad," he said. Jupiter smiled.

"We'll see about that when we get to it," he said, "But for now, let's focus on the star tour. Blu has something else interesting to say…"

And with that, Bia, Ganymede and Virgil turned to Bia's dad as he began to explain the stars in the constellation Orion.

"That red-orange star on the top left of the pattern is called Betelgeuse," said Blu, pointing to the reddish star in its said location, "It's a red supergiant star nearing the end of its life according to human astronomers, that is, humans who study the stars…"

Jupiter and some of the others looked up at the reddish coloured star. Nearby, Io, Europa and Callisto gazed at the Orion pattern.

"Betelgeuse and Rigel," murmured Io, "I wouldn't mind naming my chicks after those two stars when I start my own family."

"Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka sound good as names as well," said Mimas as she hovered near Saturn and Titan.

"How are you doing with this trip, you two?" asked Bia.

"Oh, very well," said Titan, "And I really do admire your father's knowledge in this subject. You seem to take after Mr Blu in more ways than one."

"Ganymede seems to have a similar talent in intelligence as you and Mr Blu," said Mimas and with that, she gave Ganymede an admirable look. Ganymede blushed at the compliment while Bia gave a slight jealous look.

"Don't worry, Bia," said Virgil, "You're just as good as well. I especially admire your talent in maths. I could never get most of it, especially the advanced equations."

"I still remember you drawing Albert Einstein's equation of relativity in the sand once," said Ganymede, "When you were reading a book about quantum mechanics. I can only go as far as understanding classical mechanics like forces and motion, which means you're better at the maths side of science than I am…"

Bia smiled at this and Virgil began to wonder if Bia and Ganymede might hang out together quite often due to their similar interests. However, the thought of them becoming boyfriend and girlfriend sounded a bit strange for scarlet and Spix macaws almost never pair up. Only time will tell. Then Venus nearby let a yawn escape.

"Well, by the time we have finished this session," she said, "I'm going to go take Virgil straight to bed and then go myself. I'm getting tired and Zephyr will be expecting me to be back soon."

"Yeah, so am I," said Saturn tiredly, "It's been a tough day for all of us."

"I couldn't agree more," muttered Jupiter as he thought about how hot it had been for the past few days and nights. Nearby, Cherie, the red tribe's Pit of Doom scoremarker, nodded in agreement.

"This drought's been a horrible obstacle to deal with," she said, "I just hope we have a better night's sleep tonight."

Jupiter, Venus and Saturn sighed when Zoie flew in.

"Well, once Blu has finished talking about the Orion constellation, we're going back to our respective tribes," she said, "It is getting late for our kids after all."

And with that she looked down at the group of chicks including Bia, Virgil, Ganymede and his three sisters Io, Europa and Callisto, and Mimas and Titan. Jupiter then prepared to hand the binoculars back to Blu to put away in his fanny pack the moment he had finished.

"Ruby will be expecting her family back too," he said as the thought of his mate came to mind, "Too bad she had opted against going with us due to tiredness caused by the intense heat…"

"We don't know if this drought will continue further, Jupiter," said Zoie sadly. Then Cherie squinted into the distant horizon and thought she saw an opaque smudge forming.

"Er… I think the drought might be coming to an end actually, Zoie," she said, "I believe that's a raincloud forming over there…"

Zoie followed her gaze. "Where, Cherie?"

Before Cherie could answer, Saturn thought he smelt an unusual small. But this smell was repulsive.

"What's that stench?" he said, wincing at the smell as it entered his nostrils. Zoie, Cherie and Jupiter looked at him.

"What stench, Saturn?" asked Jupiter. Then Saturn began to recognise this odd smell. He had smelt something like this before, and it was associated with a compartment humans used to keep warm, with wood as the fuel for the source of the heat.

"It… smells… like… burning… wo-o-o-od…" he murmured, as recognition crept in. then the acrid smell entered Jupiter's nostrils and then those of Cherie, Zoie and Venus nearby. Blu continued talking about the Orion constellation when he was caught in the web of the acrid smell as well. The other macaws and the chicks also began to complain. Virgil pinched his nostrils with a talon.

"Oh, what stinks," he muttered.

"It smells like a wood-using fireplace," said Venus. At this, Jupiter shot her a dreaded glare.

"Out here in the rainforest where there's barely little pollution from burning things?" he asked.

"What's a fireplace?" asked Cherie. Venus was about to explain when Zoie looked around, but what came next was about to send panic exploding through the stargazing group like a shockwave. It was then that the sound of something burning reached the ears of the group and when Zoie located the source of the sound, she managed to restrain a scream. The crackling sound of wood burning, accompanied by the smell of the same thing, was caused by a sea of dancing orange shapes, amorphous and forever changing at a rapid rate. Black smoke spewed from the tops of these shapes and filled the air. Then the eyes of the stargazing group turned and landed on the spreading orange sea, and it was spreading fast, heading right in their direction. The sounds of frightened animals fleeing from the sea also reached the ears of the group. One word exploded from Zoie's beak.

"FIRE!" she cried. And with that, everything was sent into pandemonium. Screaming, the macaws made a fly for it, scattering in different directions and diverging from each other. Jupiter had grabbed Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto after handing the binoculars back to Blu who hastily packed it into his fanny pack and had begun to flee. Saturn had grabbed Mimas and Titan in his talons while Venus did the same to Virgil and Bia and the other adults did the same to their chicks. Blu also began to follow the group. When Zoie saw the group scatter, she realised that if they continued flying in those directions, they may get lost and never find each other again.

"Stop!" she cried but when that went unheard, she screeched the word at the top of her lungs. The other macaws stripped and hovered, turning to her.

"Stay together!" cried Zoie, "And follow me! If you scatter, you'd get lost which would be fatal!"

Obeying her orders, the other macaws returned to her and Zoie began to lead the group away from the fire. Kids were screaming in fright as they watched the lethal orange sea approach the group at an alarming rate, and Jupiter, Venus, Blu and Saturn, while they had never experienced a forest fire in their lives before, were extremely frightened. Jupiter, with a firm hold on his three daughters and son in his talons stole a glance at the sea of orange and cloud of black spitting up from the tops of the orange shapes. While he had never faced a fire like this, he knew how destructive fire can be if it got out of control. He had heard of wildfires causing chaos in some other countries like Australia plus the stories of Jewel, Ruby and some of the others being torn from their tribes and clans by a wild fire caused by loggers years ago, and how terrifying fires were. Pushing these thoughts aside, Jupiter began to focus on escaping and carrying his kids to safety. Then the stargazing group began to make a break for it. Blu then realised that his daughter was missing.

"Bia," he called, "Bias, where are you!?"

"She's in my talons," called Venus. When Blu saw that Bia was in one of Venus's talons, he breathed a sigh of relief. Bia and Virgil who clung on to Venus's talons were clearly frightened, as were the other chicks. They had been told by their parents the story of the devastation the previous fire had caused the tribes and clans, and Bia, along with Tiago and Carla, had been told by Jewel how she and Zephyr, Brisa, Tornado and Gael had been torn from their tribe by it when Jewel, Zephyr and Brisa were young. Ruby had also told Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto her story of the same thing she had faced as well, and Orquidea had told Mimas and Titan along with Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus, and Zephyr had told Virgil, Justin, Charlotte and Matilda. Now the chicks were to face a fire for the first time in their lives. The stargazing group continued following Zoie, making sure to stay near the group and not to go veering off for that could have fatal consequences. Behind the group, the fire continued raging and spreading. Animals, propelled by panic, continued fleeing from the lethal orange sea of light and heat, and the choking smoke that spewed from their tips into the air. This smoke was gagging the stargazing group but they continued flying on.

"Howe on earth did that fire get started!?" yelled Cherie, stealing a brief glance at the fire behind the group, "I thought this area's become a protected reserve."

"I don't know but I'd hate to find out," yelled Zoie in reply, "Let's just focus on escaping!"

Suddenly, yells of agony were heard and when the group turned round, they saw one of the blue-and-gold macaws yell for help as something hot had landed onto his wing. The group stopped into a hover and looked down in horror.

"Ritchie, NO!" cried Zoie as she watched the male blue-and-gold sink out of the air and towards the canopy with a smoking right wing. Venus, at this, decided to do something very risky. Passing Bia and Virgil to Blu, she folded her wings and dived down after Ritchie as he continued falling through the air and crying in pain.

"Venus, NO!" CRIED Jupiter but Venus did not listen. As soon as Venus had reached Ritchie, she saw that a cinder from the fire had landed on his wing. The two macaws landed onto a branch where Venus began to quickly deal with Ritchie's burning wing. With little time with the fire closing in fast, Venus began to look around for some water but realised there was none for most of the water had evaporated from the immense heat caused by the drought. Then another thought came to her. She had read a book on fire safety including what humans had to do if their clothes ever caught fire.

"Ritchie, roll around on the branch until your wing stops smoking!" she cried. Ritchie, at this, did so without hesitation. He rolled around in a desperate attempt to put out the cinder on his wing. After a few frantic seconds, the smoking stopped.

"Okay, it's out," cried Ritchie but then he realised that he cannot fly for the burned wing was very painful and had damaged some of the flight feathers. However, a blue-and-gold macaw, one of which didn't have chicks in his talons had flown in and had wrapped his talons around Ritchie's wings to carry him to safety. Then the blue-and-gold macaw took off with Ritchie followed by Venus moments before flames came along and consumed the branch they were on. The stargazing group was back on the track to escaping once again, but this time they were flying faster. Venus was at the back of the group trying to keep up. She was clearly frightened and after that close shave with the flames a few seconds ago from rescuing Ritchie, Venus was desperate to get to safety. As the stargazing group continued rocketing on to escape the fire, animals were fleeing all around them. Monkeys leapt from tree to tree while birds were shooting through the air, screaming "Fire, fire!"

When Zoie realised that the group was surrounded by feathered comets, she called, "Look out! Keep a firm grip on your chicks!"

The carriers of the chicks did so while those that were not carrying chicks began to see off the fast-flying birds. Jupiter gripped Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto tightly and stayed in the middle of the group with Saturn who held Mimas and Titan, and Blu who carried Bia and Virgil. Feathered comets then zipped through and past the group, not caring about what was in the way. The macaws not carrying chicks desperately tried seeing off the comets but some got past the defence group and shot past the chick carriers. Blu was almost hit in the stomach by a small finch, while Saturn was thrown into a corkscrew when a parakeet struck his wing. Luckily, he managed to regain control of his flight and did not lose Mimas and Titan who were stunned from the rolling. Another Spix macaw that had a chick in her talons was also struck by a fast-flying small bird but a scarlet macaw managed to catch her while she held fast to her chick, and Jupiter lunged at a green-winged macaw carrying two chicks to knock him out of the way of an incoming parakeet. The defending macaws tried their best to ward off the feathered missiles while Zoie barked orders to them to watch where they were flying and that some of the macaws with her had chicks. However, this made little difference as more comets continued rushing in. Behind the group, Venus continued dodging the feathered missiles and helping to ward off more incoming birds for she did not have Virgil and Bia in her talons now. As she continued warding off more birds shooting in from behind the group, a large green blur of a parakeet rocketed in and smashed straight into Venus's back. Stunned, the pigtailed Spix macaw was knocked clean out of the air and began to plummet towards the canopy. The other macaws were too occupied with either escaping or warding off more feathered missiles to notice that Venus had been knocked out of the air.

Elsewhere, the fire had spread into the blue-and-gold macaws' territory. Glaucous macaws continued fleeing from the fire and looking for refuge spots to take shelter from the flames and some had fled into the blue-and-gold macaws' territory. In the underground cavern, Soleado looked on in utter worry, hoping that his mate would turn up safely with Saturn, Mimas and Titan and the other blue-and-gold macaws that had gone stargazing with some of the red and Spix macaws. He also hoped that the red and Spix macaws would make it back to their tribes safely, and into their evacuation points, or perhaps somewhere else that was safe until the fire died down. The other blue-and-gold macaws still waiting for their friends and relatives to return, among them Ignacio, his mate Sandra and daughter Preciosa, and Saturn and Orquidea's other five chicks Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus, also waited anxiously. However, the blue-and-gold macaw tribe had been in for a shock when a stream of macaws, not blue-and-gold macaws, but macaws of a different species, the species the blue-and-gold tribe had thought perished at the clutches of the flying foxes years ago, poured into the cavern through the mouth. Soleado almost fainted when he saw the lot enter through the mouth like a swarm of turquoise, blue and grey insects.

"What in the world!?" he shouted as the birds flew over the sea of blue, yellow and green and began to fill up whatever space they could find in the crowd. Blue-and-gold macaws parted to allow the panicked glaucous macaws to land. Many had chicks and eggs. Seeing that there was no time to ponder how the glaucous macaws had survived the flying fox attack, Soleado barked orders to his tribe to help the macaws in, which the blue-and-gold macaws did. Ignacio and Sandra led a macaw couple with two unhatched eggs in their talons toward where Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus, and Preciosa were.

"Oh, thank you, you're a big help," said the female macaw. The male also gave Ignacio and Sandra a grateful look as he placed the two eggs into the moss bed, the six chicks moving out of the way. Enceladus helped with the egg placement.

"Impossible," he cried as he did it, "I thought Mr Pluto, Mrs Lapis Lazuli and Blueberry, Charon, Quincy and Flor were the last glaucous macaws alive."

"We didn't think that any of you would have survived that bat attack," said Sandra to the glaucous macaw couple, scanning the surroundings and examining the other glaucous macaws being helped by her tribemates, "How did you manage to escape being completely slaughtered?"

"It's a long story," said the female glaucous macaw as she checked her two eggs, "We'll explain later."

Ignacio and Sandra sighed and then turned their eyes back to the entrance as the last of the group of glaucous macaws entered the cave.

"Oh, Orquidea, I hope you come back safely with Saturn, Mimas, Titan and the others before the fire completely engulfs our home," Ignacio murmured hopefully and tearfully. Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus also murmured and wept. Both their parents and their brother and sister were out there.

Soon, word had reached the ears of the red macaw tribe, the blue-throated macaw clan and Bluewing hyacinth clan, and the Navyfeather Clan. Felipe, Reynaldo, Demetrio and Flavio had immediately began evacuating their tribes and clans to their evacuation points too and Felipe had sent a group of patrollers to find and retrieve the scarlet and green-winged macaws, among them Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, from the stargazing group. As the cave outside the red macaws' home patch began to fill with red birds with yellow, blue, green and teal wings and tails, Mars, Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre and Ruby had moved to the cave. As Mars placed the tired and frightened Phobos and Deimos into a bed of moss while Chiquitita placed Alexandre in with his older but smaller siblings and left to help the other red macaws, Ruby was totally on edge, and was hyperventilating and fidgety.

"Jupiter and all my chicks are still out there," she cried, glancing at the dark forest outside. Mars then tried to calm her down.

"Ruby, breathe. Felipe has recommended against us flying out into the dark forest to look for them, Ruby," he said, "Leave it to the patrol team Felipe has sent out."

However, his words could do nothing to ease Ruby's panicked state, but Mars understood why. Her entire family was out there and she dreaded to think what could happen to Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto and the others if the fire ever caught them. Then Chiquitita came in. She also looked worried about Jupiter and the others with him including his four chicks.

"They've just got to get back here soon," she said, "Based on what Alonso and Valentino's patrollers have said, the fire is spreading fast due to the dryness of the plants."

Ruby, at this, continued hyperventilating and then collapsed. It was just too much to take in. History was repeating itself with the same disaster- that very same one that tore her and Chiquitita from the red tribe- and this time, her family was out there. When Mars and Chiquitita saw the scarlet macaw fall backwards, they gasped.

"Ruby!" cried Mars and with that, he went over to her, Chiquitita close behind. As the two green-winged macaws examined the limp scarlet macaw, Chiquitita felt her pulse.

"She's fainted," she said, "We'd better get one of the tribe nurses to take care of her."

Mars then looked at Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, who were very worried for their 'cousins' Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto and the others who had gone stargazing and then back at Chiquitita.

"This is exactly what Jewel, you, Ruby and some of the others went through during the last fire, isn't it?" he said. Chiquitita nodded. Mars then looked at the limp Ruby, a worried expression swamping his face. "If Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are found missing after the fire or what's worse, killed either by the flames or falling trees, she's going to be in total bits."

Chiquitita knew what that meant. If that were true, Ruby's heart would shatter like glass. Of all macaws, Jupiter was the one she loved most, and she also loved her four chicks. She did not want them all to perish in the fire, certainly not after they had just moved to the Amazon to live as wild birds. As Mars then looked at the other red macaws as they entered the caves, chicks and eggs being carried, he began to shudder but part of him clung onto a glimmer of hope that Jupiter and the other red macaws and the Spix and blue-and-gold stargazers were still alive and had found safety from the flames.