Chapter 25- the poachers begin their illegal business

While Lysandre's underlings continued unloading the cargo bay, two blue and yellow comets darted out of one of them and rocketed off for the trees. Saturn and Orquidea, with Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus in their talons, then disappeared into the trees. They headed off toward one destination in mind, the blue-and-gold macaw tribe for they were one of the nearest tribes to the poachers' location. While Saturn and his family were on their way to the blue-and-gold macaws, the others, Catina, Jupiter, Mars and their families hopped off from the same cargo bay and hid behind a nearby tree stump. Sounds of grunts emitted from the humans alongside Lysandre's barks of orders to them to hurry up as they continued unloading the cargo bays of the copters. Catina's eyes were fixated on one specific copter. Amongst the empty cages and net guns, she caught a glimpse of a few flashes of blue, dark blue, rich yellow-orange and green, indicating the presence of Neptune, Pluto, Blu, Venus, Mercury, Ceres, Uranus and their families. Around the flashes of coloured feathers in the cages, black feathered forms and furred forms of various drab colours such as black, brown, white and grey took up their positions. However, the rest of the black forms, together with six slate grey and ivory forms, stood perched on the arms of some of Lysandre's underlings.

"There's Nigel," said Mars, his screwdriver pointed to a familiar form. Catina followed the point and saw a grey-white form with green and yellow attire around his midsection. Catina could see that Nigel was in his threatening stance. His yellow crest was raised and his eyes were bulging and he appeared to be threatening a specific family of macaws. Catina could not pinpoint which group of macaws it was but she could tell the group definitely weren't Uranus and his family nor Ceres and her family as the flashes of green and yellow-orange were on the opposite side of the clump to Nigel. Based on the dark blue flashes of feathers through the crowd of black feathers of the crows and the drab coloured fur of the cats, and how short the dark blue birds were, it had to be Mercury and his family.

"I don't like the way he's threatening some of our friends," murmured Ruby, worried for the remaining macaws, especially Zephyr and Jewel.

"Mercury and Venus will be two of his bigger targets after Blu and Jewel," said Chiquitita, Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre peering out under or behind her, "After all, Nigel loathes the Spix macaw and Mercury was one of his victims that he traumatised as a chick."

"We're gonna have to get those birds out of there and stop those poachers in their tracks," said Mars. Catina shot him a glare.

"That is easier said than done, Mars," she said firmly. "Don't forget that those poachers have falcons with them. If they see you, especially those birds of prey, you're in a cage again."

"That's right," said Jupiter in agreement, "Seriously, Mars, we have no chance against those birds of prey armed with those lethal beaks and claws."

"Furthermore, you could end up seriously hurt," said Chiquitita. She then glared down at the bandage covering her scratch and regretted attacking Nigel for he was a very dangerous cockatoo. Chiquitita had been lucky that time but the next time she ever found herself face to face with the deranged cockatoo, she might not be as lucky.

"What we need is an effective, fool proof plan," said Catina. She then began to think.

"Have you ever done anything like this before, Mrs Catina?" asked Io.

"She may have spent much of her life as a smuggler's cat, Io," said Ruby, "But even experts in stealth have to be very careful."

Mars then glared down at the screwdriver in his talon. Even with this effective tool on hand, he would not be able to pick a padlock fast enough before any of the cats, crows, falcons or Nigel spotted him, and those cats and crows had their eyes on the surroundings like hawks. Mars could only agree with Catina's statement. Rescuing the remaining macaws and stopping the poachers was more complicated than jumping from point A to point B. While Catina and the red macaws began to think of a suitable plan, the poachers continued unloading the copters' cargo bay of their net guns and cages and prepare them, the humans with Cazador, Swoop, Bryony, Aliana, Cometa, Xerosic and the crows to be sent out into the jungle to hunt down and catch some macaws got prepared to release the birds. The faces of five the falcons and crows were creased with excitement with glee but the face of the sixth falcon was not. Cometa was looking around with reluctance and remorse, especially for the remaining caged macaws as Nigel continued threatening them. Her eyes were on Zephyr, Mercury and their families in particular. It was clear that she did not reprimand Nigel and tell him to leave the Spix and Lear's macaws alone based on their value, but because she could not stand the cockatoo picking on and threatening the poor macaws. Suddenly, Cazador's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Cazador. All but Cometa nodded in agreement.

"Indeed," said Swoop.

"Can't wait to catch some rare blue macaws," said Aliana gleefully.

"Especially those ultra-rare glaucous macaws," said Bryony.

"We're gonna make a fortune," said Xerosic, his wings rubbed together in a scheming manner. The crows nodded in agreement.

"Now, now, don't get excited," said Cazador trying to keep his group calm, "This is going to be a difficult task, you know. When we catch those macaws, they may viciously fight back like how a fish would in an osprey's talons, so we must get prepared for retaliation from our victims. Now, when we catch those macaws, we are to haul them back right here. We must keep a firm grip on those macaws even if they do fight against us. Is that understood?"

The other four falcons nodded in agreement but Cometa remained reluctant. When a crow elbowed her in the side, she reluctantly nodded to confirm that she had understood Cazador's instructions. While the falcons and the crows with them prepared for action, Nigel gazed at Cazador's group jealously. If his eyes could change colour with his mood, the colour would be green.

"I wish I could fly like they could," he murmured. He then snapped his glance from the falcons to Blu and Jewel. "Those two wretched blue birds are gonna pay dearly for reducing me to this."

"Remember, Nigel," said Otis, "We are not to injure any of the glaucous, the Spix and Lear's macaws."

Nigel shot the black and white cat a bitter glare. He clearly wanted to do just that to Zephyr and Sapphire so that he could severely devastate Mercury and Venus. But Otis glared at Nigel with an adamant look saying, 'I mean it, pal', and then walked away to prepare for the job with the other cats. Nigel stomped a foot on the mud in frustration but then he stopped and thought. A wicked plan began to develop in his head.

'If I cannot injure those beloved mates of Pigtails (Venus) and Grey-eyes (Mercury) directly in front of the poachers and the falcons, maybe I could do it behind their backs and pretend that they had escaped and had brutally scratched themselves in a thorny bush or something?' Nigel's beak creased into a disgusting smile. 'Yeah, I'll do just that'. Nigel then rubbed his tattered wings in a scheming manner as he thought over this.

"If you THINK you're gonna lay a claw on any of us, you ugly vulture, you've got another thing coming," snarled a familiar female voice. At this, Nigel turned round and glared at the speaker who gazed acidly at him with her teal eyes a pair of brown eyes also gazed bitterly at Nigel too. At this, Nigel sauntered towards Blu and Jewel, his feathers and crest raising more and more with every inch covered towards them.

"I'm afraid it won't happen, pretty birds," he crooned nastily, "What is planned is planned. There's no going back now."

From the adjacent cage, Uranus fixed his glare on Jewel. 'I hope she's not gonna spit those vitriolic words all over Nigel this time,' he thought, 'One of these days, that tongue of hers is gonna get her into trouble.'

Jewel certainly did have an acidic tongue, but that would easily spell disaster for this Spix macaw if she did not learn to control it. However, with her and Blu's most detested cockatoo standing before them, all bets were off for Jewel absolutely loathed the cockatoo to the core and was always poised to spit some acidic words at Nigel, regardless of the consequences such as putting herself in danger of getting hurt, much to the chagrin of the other macaws. Nigel's glare then flared into a fiery hateful one.

"Especially when pretty birds are gonna smooch and embrace like a pair of, um, lovebirds," snarled the cockatoo bitterly, "That is one of the things I cannot stand most of all."

At this, a scornful smile crept into Blu's beak.

"Oh, you cannot stand us smooching and that?" he rhetorically retorted, "Well, what about your lovely little froggy girlfriend back in Rio? Doesn't she like smooching all over your face like how we saw her do just that when your 'Bob the bird' identity was revealed?"

Blu let loose a smug laugh when this snide comment stung Nigel like a thousand bees. Blu, not to be denied the pleasure of humiliating his nemesis, then took this as an opportunity to tell this to the cats. Nigel shook with immense rage.

"Don't you DARE!" he snarled but Blu blurted it out anyway.

"Hey, kitty cats," he called, "That cockatoo has a frog who is madly in love with him!"

This sent volcanic rage flaring through Nigel like fire through a cloud of flammable gas when Blu's comment reached the ears of the cats. Then the cockatoo lost his temper entirely and lurched at Blu and Jewel when suddenly, crow talons hooked onto him and stopped him in his tracks.

"Hold it right there, cockatoo," shouted one. Blu and Jewel who were huddled together in fright looked on in shock. Around them, Uranus, Venus, Mercury, Ceres, Pluto and Neptune and their families looked on in horror.

"These Spix macaws are invaluable," said the crow. Its comrades glaring at Nigel with agreeing eyes as they restrained him, "Now control that temper of yours or you'll face the consequences!"

And with that, the group forced Nigel away from the cage holding Blu and Jewel with the others. Sighs of relief emitted from the other macaws as the atmosphere calmed down.

"That was close," said Pluto, Charon, Blueberry, Flor and Quincy cowering behind him.

"I thought he was gonna unleash his rage at Blu and Jewel for a second," shuddered Lapis Lazuli. Then Uranus shot Blu a glare.

"You foolish nitwit," he growled, "You could have been hurt!"

"Well at least his cat friends know his little secret, Uranus," crooned Blu smugly. At this, Uranus shot the cats a glare and saw that their faces were laced with shock. Their mouths hung open and their eyes bulged like grapes. Then Moggy's voice reached his ears.

"A frog has… fallen in love with Nigel!?" she shouted incredulously.

"SHUT UP!" barked Nigel, startling Moggy and making her jerk her body like a frightened lizard. Nigel then glared at Blu with the bitterest and most acidic gaze he had ever made. Uranus and Esmeralda shuddered at the look in Nigel's eyes which clearly read, 'you're gonna pay for this, you filthy blue macaw!' before resuming his task of helping some of the human underlings such as John in preparing the cages. Then the sounds of wing flaps filled the air as Cazador and his gang of falcons and crows were released.

"Now go find those Lear's, Spix and glaucous macaws," commanded Lysandre, "Once you do, catch some of them and haul them back to us. Then we'll send you out for the next catch. You know what to do."

Cazador crowed and commanded his group into following him. Ceres watched the group of falcons and crows as they flew towards the wall of trees and then split up. Cometa was the last to leave for she was weighed down with reluctance and concern for the caged macaws. However, she left with the others. Cobalto deduced the falcons' directions.

"They're heading off in the directions of the Spix and Lear's macaw tribes' territories," he murmured. Ceres just said nothing and continued to watch the falcons recede into the distance with worried eyes.

Meanwhile

Travis and Sunset continued shooting through the trees like rockets. They had been flying this fast for a while now and their wing muscles were beginning to ache. Their lungs were pumping more air in and out of their bodies and their hearts raced ten to the dozen. Travis and Sunset who had Eustace, Milo and Rosa in their talons were puffing and panting but they continued to fly at high speed. They then braked drastically to a hover when they found a stream slice through the blanket of vegetation below them.

"Do you think… we could… be close…" puffed Sunset between breaths. Travis heaved on and out at a fast rate and scanned the surroundings.

"We should… see some… flashes of colour… by now…" he said, "If we do… then we're close (Puff! Pant!)."

"I hope we are close," said Sunset. Then the two cockatoos accelerated on, following the river and hoping that it led to one of the bird tribe or clan's territories.

"I hope we get to the Spix macaws before those falcons find them," wailed Eustace in Travis's talons. Milo and Rosa also cried for their wild friends.

"We will, don't worry, we just have to find them first," said Travis. Then the two cockatoos continued their speedy flight through the forest and following the river.

While Travis and Sunset continued flying through the jungle, Eduarda, Esperanza, James, Danny and Avellana exploded from the vegetation strip dividing the two clearings and had arrived back in the first clearing where Tulio and his team had landed. The moment they found themselves back in the same clearing in which they had landed, the five young adult greyhounds dashed off to find Tulio and his team.

"I hope there are some of his members still behind," cried Avellana as they approached the helicopter.

"We don't have any time to lose," said James, "Those poachers are gonna start poaching macaws any moment."

"I think they are doing now," said Danny. The five greyhounds finally reached the helicopter and began to look around for Tulio and his group. However, to their dismay, there was no-one about at all.

"Oh, NO!" growled Eduarda in frustration as she scanned the surroundings for any signs of Tulio and his team.

"They've all left!" cried Esperanza.

"What are we gonna do now!" cried Danny, "We can't just leave those poachers to carry out their illegal deeds, and we certainly don't want to risk getting lost in that dense clutter of trees and undergrowth in an attempt to find those ecologists."

"There HAS to be someone around here, surely," growled James. Avellana then began to look around until her eyes found the helicopter. Its doors were still open. At this, the hazelnut coloured greyhound turned to her two brothers and two sisters with a hopeful look.

"The copter," she said, "Maybe there is someone in there."

"How?" asked Danny.

"Well, someone has to stay behind to watch over this highly expensive vehicle, little brother," muttered Esperanza with a frown, making Danny flinch indignantly.

"Well, let's check out the inside of the copter and see if there is anyone inside," said Eduarda, "Maybe he or she could contact Tulio and his team."

"If only they could understand us despite the vast chasm between them and us regarding communication via the auditory channel," said Avellana.

"You've been spending too much time having that nose of yours in those ecology books, sis," said James teasingly. Avellana did not reply and jumped into the copter through the door, the other four following. Once inside, the dogs began to scan the interior.

"Whoa, this is just like an aerial ambulance," said Danny in fascination as he scanned the medical facilities, "I wonder if this is what those ecologists use in transporting badly injured animals to a hospital."

"They're on about building one here, actually," said Esperanza, "To save the hassle of transport and its costs."

"Especially this is in the middle of nowhere," said Eduarda. Then James let loose a bark to get the other four greyhounds' attention. There was a pattering of four lots of four feet as the dogs gathered around James.

"There's someone in the cockpit," said James, "It must be the pilot."

Danny saw the vague outline of a human's head through a small window to the cockpit.

"It is," he said, "Let's get his attention and try and lead him to those poachers. That way Tulio and his group will be alerted that way."

Then the five greyhounds readied themselves for the next step of their part of the plan. They knew that it was ridiculous but they had no other choice. Then altogether, the five greyhounds let loose loud howls. They sounded like a pack of wolves howling at night. Their loud howls travelled through the air, through the wall that divided the cockpit from the main compartment and reached the ears of the pilot. The pilot had stayed behind to keep an eye on the helicopter, as Esperanza had said, while the others were out in the jungle carrying out their task. He was having a cup of tea when he heard a startling sound. At this, he flinched, almost spilling some of the tea onto himself and began to look around.

"Que (what)?" he said, for he spoke Spanish. He then stood up and began to examine the surroundings more. Avellana, Eduarda, Esperanza, James and Danny continued howling as loud as they could, despite their throats becoming dry.

"Keep hoping!" cried Esperanza to her younger siblings and the five continued to howl together. Then the pilot bolted out of his cockpit and jumped down from the door, before running to the main compartment and looked inside. To his utmost horror, he saw five greyhounds howling their heads off. Stuck with immense shock and rage, the pilot swore in Spanish. At this, the five greyhounds, seeing that the pilot's attention had been seized by their howling, then began to switch to barking furiously. The five greyhounds ran forward and let loose frantic barking. They had to put frantic body language into their barking to reinforce their message for Dash had told them that body language in any form of communication in dogs was important. In threat posture for example, the baring of the teeth, growling and lower body ducked and hairs raised were all important in telling the threat, 'Back away, or I'll bite you!'

The pilot then climbed into the copter in an attempt to catch the greyhounds but the five greyhounds dodged and jumped out of the other side of the copter. They continued barking and then running off, the pilot angrily shouting at them in Spanish. The five greyhounds then began to lead the pilot in the direction of Lysandre's group.

"It's working!" cried Danny as he and the other four ran and barked. The five greyhounds then entered the vegetation with the pilot in hot pursuit. The pilot charged through the vegetation and continued chasing the greyhounds. The greyhounds were almost there but they did not realise that they had made one serious mistake. The greyhounds' barking must have carried and it had travelled out of the vegetation and to the ears of Lysandre and his group as they readied their net guns. John told them all to be quiet.

"Shh," he called. All talking ceased and the group began to listen. The cats, Nigel and the remaining crows also stopped to listen as did Mercury, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Pluto, Blu and their families. Catina, Mars and Jupiter and their families also heard the sounds of barks, as did Dash, Veggie, Collette, Ginger, Daisy and Thomas.

"Isn't that…?" began Mars.

"Dash's family!" hissed Catina in horror, finishing Mars's sentence.

"Oh, no," murmured Jupiter with dread, "Don't tell me…"

It was then that loud 'Hey!' exploded from the mouth of one of Lysandre's underlings. At this, serious dread tore through the red macaws and Catina, and also the macaws still yet to be freed and all eyes turned to the direction of the source, including the eyes of Lysandre's group and the remaining pets as five four-legged forms, two light grey and three ginger coloured, emerged from the green wall of vegetation. Esperanza, Eduarda, James, Danny and Avellana continued luring the pilot towards Lysandre and his group, unaware of the pothole they were about to fall into. The pilot exploded from the vegetation behind them.

"Almost there," shouted Esperanza and the five continued barking and yelping, the pilot continuously chasing them. The five dogs then ran towards Lysandre's group in an attempt to get the pilot to see the group of poachers close enough to see their net guns and cages, including the caged birds. That should be enough for the pilot to warn Tulio. Danny barked excitedly.

"Looks like those poachers' cover is about to be blown!" he shouted proudly.

"Yep," said Eduarda, a smug smile gleaming on her face. The other three were about to agree when suddenly, "NET THOSE DOGS!"

Then before the five greyhounds could register that sound, several bangs were heard. Next, several large spider-web like things flew towards the greyhounds and before they had time to see them and react, the nets collided with them and entangled their legs and bodies! Esperanza yelped in shock as she was sent flying from the momentum of the net as it hit her. She then crashed to the floor, tumbling to a stop, with the mesh of the net wrapped tightly around her legs, tail and body. Avellana, James, Danny and Eduarda also cried in surprise as their bodies and legs were also ensnared by the mesh of the nets. From their hiding place, Dash yelped, "NO!"

Ginger was about to rush in to help but Veggie stopped her, knowing what would happen if the poachers spotted her. Ginger, at this, remained in the hiding spot and helplessly watched her first brood offspring writhe in their nets. Esperanza struggled to free her long legs and tail from the tangle of stiff threading of the net. She closed her jaws onto a piece and began to pull, growling fiercely. Eduarda, James, Danny and Avellana did the same but their attempts at tearing at the tough threads were futile. Then the sounds of multiple footsteps and the crunching of fairly dry mud reached the greyhounds ears. Danny and James both looked up and when they saw the shooters of the nets, their heads jerked up in horror, accompanied by a sharp rush of air into their mouths and bulging eyes. Dash, Ginger, Veggie, Collette, Daisy and Thomas as Lysandre's group then surrounded the netted dogs. Behind them, the pilot who had been chasing Esperanza and her four siblings, stopped dead in utter horror when he saw the group of people, many of which were armed with net guns, crowd around the struggling dogs and began to talk amongst themselves. It was an obvious shock to find greyhounds wandering around in such a dangerous wilderness as the Amazon rainforest, and the group was surprised by Esperanza and her four siblings' presence out here.

"Are these greyhounds?" asked one of the women.

"What are they doing out here in the jungle?" asked another woman. The five greyhounds shot the group of poachers a glare and began to growl bitterly as Lysandre began to shoot orders to his underlings.

"Never mind what these animals are or how they ended up here in this place," he growled, "Get some cages and shove them into them and then place them into the cargo bay of one of the copters. We'll take care of them later."

The underlings, among them John and Gale, nodded in agreement and set to picking up the five greyhounds. However, the five young greyhounds growled fiercely and began to snap at the hands of the underlings as they approached them. James lashed at John and almost bit his hands, making John flinch and back away.

"Look, just grab 'em," growled Lysandre impatiently. John tried another time but James snarled and lunged his jaws at his hands again. Danny, Esperanza, Avellana and Eduarda repeated this aggressive and defensive behaviour with the other poachers. This unintentional distraction, however, had bought the other two groups some time for it had also drawn the cats and crows and Nigel, who had been put on guard around the caged birds, away from their posts out of curiosity. While Lysandre and his group were occupied with the five netted greyhounds, Catina and the red macaws began to make their move.

"Alright, Mars, Jupiter, Chiquitita and Ruby," commanded Catina, "You hop in there and save as many of those remaining macaws as you can but be quick for you might not have much time."

The four adult macaws obeyed and rushed in like red comets with blue, teal, green and yellow wings and made a beeline for the caged macaws. Phobos, Deimos, Alexandre, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto stayed behind and watched with nervousness as their parents rushed towards the caged macaws. The moment the four had arrived at their targets; Jupiter and Ruby grabbed Uranus and his family's cage and hauled it away while Mars inserted the screwdriver into Neptune and his family's cage's padlock. Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo smiled on as Mars began to pick the padlock with the device as quickly as possible. The others were also surprised by Mars's appearance.

"Mars, how did you-?" began Blu but Mars replied, "I don't have much time, Blu."

While Mars worked away at the padlock, Jupiter and Ruby hauled away Uranus and his family while Chiquitita began to drag Pluto and his family away. However, because she was so small, it was a struggle, so Pluto helped out by charging into the cage bars to help Chiquitita to move the cage faster, Lapis Lazuli hanging on to Charon, Quincy, Flor and Blueberry. Then Catina appeared and latched her claws onto the cage to quickly drag it away back to their hiding place, Jupiter and Ruby not far behind with Uranus and his family in their cage. However, Mars was struggling to unlock the padlock locking Neptune and his family in their cage. Jewel and Blu looked on as did Zephyr, Venus, Mercury, Sapphire, Ceres, Cobalto and their chicks. Mars was clearly under pressure and was struggling to concentrate.

"Hurry, Mars," said Jewel, "That vulture and his comrades will be returning…"

"I'm trying, Jewel," muttered Mars as he fiddled with the padlock with the screwdriver, "But the pressure's affecting my concentration…"

The others looked on in worry. while Mars continued to fiddle with the padlock on Neptune and his family's cage, Dash, Veggie, Collette and Thomas made their move and sneaked in, their eyes firmly on Mars as he continued trying to free Neptune and his family. Ginger and Daisy were left behind in their hiding place. At the same time, Catina had clicked a claw and had inserted it into the padlock holding Uranus and his family in their cage.

"Boy am I glad you've managed to come out here," said Uranus.

"How-?" asked Esmeralda but Catina cut her off.

"It's a long story, you two," said Catina as she continued twiddling her claw in the padlock's keyhole trying to separate the locking piece of the U-part from its mechanism. Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon also watched on, smiles on their faces. Nearby, Jupiter and Ruby kept a firm hold onto Pluto and his family's cage with Chiquitita.

"Man, I'm so glad you lot have managed to come along," said Lapis Lazuli, "Can't wait to get out of this cage."

"You will once Catina has finished with Uranus and his family's cage," said Jupiter, "After this, we're going to fly to Tulio and alert him."

Pluto and the others nodded. While Catina continued attempting to free Uranus and his family behind the tree stump, Lysandre and his group had managed to latch their hands onto Avellana, Esperanza, Eduarda, James and Danny's bodies and had begun to haul them back. The five dogs squirmed fiercely, snarling and snapping at the poachers but they kept a firm hold on their bodies.

"I guess that's enough of this silly business with these five stupid dogs," muttered Lysandre as he helped Gale carry Esperanza, "How they have managed to find their way out here is anybody's guess."

"What are we gonna do to them, boss?" asked Gale, flinching as Esperanza growled fiercely at her.

"We'll see to them later," said Lysandre, "Let's just get them caged first."

Just then, someone's voice sounded, "Hey, boss."

At this, Lysandre turned round. Esperanza followed the head poacher's gaze and yelped in horror. The pilot had been seized and was now being firmly held between two of Lysandre's underlings like a robber by two policemen.

"We've captured this nosey person as well," said one of them, his right arm wrapped tightly around the pilot's left and the other hand grasping the pilot's left hand.

"What shall we do with him?" asked the other underling on the pilot's right, his arms and hands latched onto the pilot's right arm in the same manner. Lysandre paused for a second until finally; an idea came into his head.

"Tie him up and stash him into one of our copters," he said, "We'll see to him later as well."

The pilot glared at Lysandre bitterly. "Tulio is NOT gonna be impressed, mate," he snarled, "You know he will not tolerate poachers in this protected nature reserve."

Lysandre smiled wickedly. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, pal, but we have already sent out our falcons and some of our crows, and our plans are already put in motion," he said in mock sympathy. The pilot struggled in his holders' grasp. Then hot rage flared within him when he saw Ernesto walk towards him to help the two underlings who held him firmly by the arms.

"So, YOU'VE been working with that bunch of crooks and helping them to infiltrate this nature reserve all along?" he growled. Ernesto did not reply and seized the pilot by the arms before helping the two underlings to drag him towards the copters. The pilot struggled fiercely but the three men's grip was iron. While Lysandre's group carried the five greyhounds and the pilot towards the copters, Mars managed to reach the 'click' noise of the padlock when he finally unlocked it with the screwdriver. This done, he immediately chucked the padlock away and opened the door, allowing Neptune and his family to escape.

"Great job, Mars," said Ceres, "Now take those hyacinth macaws out of here and don't worry about us."

At this, Mars froze briefly with reluctance but upon seeing the insistent faces of the Lear's, the Spix and blue-throated macaws, he made his choice. However, before the four hyacinth macaws and green-winged macaw could leave for Catina's hiding place, a piercing scream erupted from Carla, Bia and Tiago's beaks while the others gasped as something leapt at the hyacinth macaws and Mars from behind. Then before Mars could turn around and see who it was, he was knocked and then pinned down by the neck against the floor by a bundle of ragged grey-white feathers in a yellow and green vest! Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo were about to take off when suddenly, cat paws and crow talons darted in and latched onto their wings, tails and talons. At this, the four massive birds began to struggle violently. From their hiding place, when Catina had freed Uranus and his family from their cage, a horrified gasp was drawn into Pluto's beak while Lapis Lazuli shrieked. At this, Jupiter, Chiquitita and Ruby's eyes darted towards the site of the caged birds and when they saw that Mars and the hyacinth macaws had been caught, they gasped as horror tore through them. Mars's orange eyes, which were flooded with terror especially at the iron vice of a talon wrapped around his neck, darted this way and that in shock when suddenly, they were pulled towards the face of the sickening cockatoo as he said, "Well, hello… pretty bird."

Near Nigel, the cats and crows had managed to overpower and restrain Neptune, Ultramarine, Indigo and Triton, and all four hyacinth macaws were pinned down by the cats and crows. Neptune saw Nigel taunt Mars and gasped. The other caged birds looked on, unable to help Mars, but Blu and Jewel's feathers were puffed out and an extremely vitriolic look smeared their faces as they gazed at Nigel.

"How nice of you to come back in an attempt to help your little friends escape," crooned Nigel mockingly. He then shot a glance at Zephyr and Sapphire who looked on with Venus and Mercury and their chicks, and then looked back at Mars.

"Especially to see the first climax of my plans about to be put into action," crooned Nigel sadistically.

"Oh, yeah?" Mars rhetorically asked, "And what climax is that?"

An extremely sadistic smile creased into Nigel's beak. It was the most sadistic and devilish smile Mars had ever seen but he had already had a hunch at what Nigel was about to say before he even said it.

"Seein' Pigtails and Grey-eyes over there," said Nigel, referring to Venus and Mercury, "And their chicks scream in extreme anguish when I claw to death their beloved mates/parents, and then watch their hearts break," Nigel's eyes widened with the most sickening sadism Mars had ever seen, "Just like how their hearts broke when I brutally killed their parents when they were chicks."

An extremely sadistic laugh then escaped his beak, sending panicked shivers coursing down Venus and Mercury's spines but a sour look on Zephyr and Sapphire's faces Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette also whimpered. Behind Nigel, four four-legged mammals, one large light grey canine and the outer three felines, continued carefully approaching Nigel. Dash had his eyes fixed upon the cockatoo as he continued taunting Mars. Ceres, Cobalto, Aurelio, Wilbur and Azul saw Dash, Veggie, Collette and Thomas and kept quiet, before shifting their eyes back towards Nigel. Then Nigel picked Mars up by the neck, his grip on his throat so tight that Mars struggled to breathe. Chiquitita saw this and tried to fly in and save him but Catina latched her paws on her shoulders and restrain her, knowing that if she attempted to jump out and rescue her mate, she'd be caught by the cats and crows.

"As for you, pretty bird," crooned Nigel as he tightly held Mars in the air by the neck, "I'm either gonna cage you or I'm gonna kill you but I can't decide which option to take."

Mars, despite struggling to breathe and the fear Nigel was trying to strike into him, smiled sarcastically. His eyes then got a glimpse of drab colour behind Nigel's back, so he began to stall Nigel for time. Veggie, Collette, Thomas and Dash then hid behind Zephyr, Venus, their chicks, and Carla, Bia and Tiago, and Mercury and his family. When Zephyr saw the four mammals, Dash raised a paw to his mouth to tell him to be quiet and then poised himself to attack.

"You certainly are sick in the head," said Mars with a mock smile, which Nigel took as a compliment. But then Mars's face changed from sarcasm to one of a raging dust storm, like those on his namesake planet.

"But I think you really HAVE crossed the line, you psychotic, bloodthirsty piece of work," snarled the green-winged macaw, "You're no different from Brutus, you know! It seems that you've gone from plain sadistic to outright murderous."

Nigel was about to let loose a scornful reply but Mars swept on. Blu and Jewel looked on with smug smiles on their faces.

"To hear of your idea of tearing Blu and Jewel's family apart and inflicting a traumatic scar on them and their three chicks is disturbing," added Mars, "But what's even MORE disturbing is your idea of putting to death Zephyr and Sapphire in front of their mates and chicks and then watching the latter lot weep over their corpses. That is just plain disgusting. In fact, it makes me sick to the stomach just thinking about it!"

"Good, I'm glad it does," said Nigel with a fiendish grin. Mars then winced in utter revulsion as Nigel then tightened the grip on his neck but he still swept on.

"Honestly, cockatoo, your ideas are beyond diabolical," snarled Mars, his feathers puffed out, "Is it any wonder so many exotic birds despise you and shun you, earning you the reputation as being the most hated cockatoo in Brazil amongst them, because you like torturing exotic birds when they are in their most helpless and distressed state?"

"Well, you've heard in my song, pretty bird," snapped Nigel right into Mars's face, spittle flying into it, "I've told you that I'm extremely malicious, evil and a bird murderer."

He then prepared to throw Mars down onto the floor. However, behind him, Dash had raised a paw.

"And because I am a bird murderer," cackled Nigel, the most diabolical face Mars and the others had ever seen, "I might as well take the option to kill you in front of these disgusting pretty birds, especially Pigtails and Grey-eyes (That is, Venus and Mercury). Show them what is gonna happen to their precious mates shortly!"

And with that, Nigel thrusted Mars forcefully down onto the ground and prepared the claws of his talon. Blu, Jewel, Venus, Zephyr, Mercury, Sapphire, Ceres and Cobalto looked on in horror with the chicks but before Nigel could slash his claws across Mars's abdomen, a greyhound's paw appeared behind the cockatoo's left shoulder and came down on him in a forceful swipe. Nigel cried in utter shock as he was thrown into the clearing by Dash's paw and coming to rest about two metres away after crashing into a tumble. The cats and crows' heads snapped like elastic bands in Nigel's direction when they heard his cries and a tumbling sound. To their surprise, they found the cockatoo lying on his side, stunned. Mars looked up and saw Dash and smiled. With the crows and cats holding Neptune, Ultramarine, Triton and Indigo distracted by the surprised appearance of Dash, the hyacinth macaws took the opportunity to escape by flapping their wings and lashing their talons to free themselves from their captors' grasp. Then the navy blue birds escaped towards Catina and company's hiding spot before any of their captors could get up. While Dash became occupied with protecting Mars with Collette and Thomas beginning to move Blu and Jewel's cage away, Veggie bounded over to Nigel as he got up and flared his claws. When Nigel saw Veggie out his claws poised to come down on him, a mocking smile crept onto his beak.

"Well hello… kitty cat," crooned the cockatoo wickedly, "what are you doin' out here in this dangerous jungle?"

Veggie's paw shifted closer to Nigel's face and hovered above it. Though it was not in Veggie's nature to hurt birds, Nigel's abuse of his feathered friends, as well as the hurting of others such as one of his sons Broccoli and Eduarda, one of Dash and Ginger's daughters, has finally pushed him over the edge.

"You move even an inch or even think about raising a talon to attack me, cockatoo and you'll be having four more claw marks right across your face," hissed Veggie threateningly. His fur was spiked out and his back was raised, as it always did whenever a cat was angry or threatened. Otis and his cat gang and the crows then prepared to jump in and help Nigel but Dash bounded in front of them and blocked their way with a fierce growl. Otis's eyes snapped from Dash to Veggie as he continued threatening Nigel and then back to Dash again, unsure of what to do. Nigel then made an arrogant smirk on his beak.

"Oh, you sure are brave, kitty cat," crooned the cockatoo, getting up and stepping towards Veggie but the tabby cat swiped his claws right across Nigel's face, deliberately having his claws miss Nigel's skin by a centimetre and making the cockatoo jump back and then returning the paw to its original position to tell him he meant it in his threat. Veggie then bared his teeth and hissed through them. For the first time in a very long while, he had taken up a threatening stance towards a bird. Nigel then smiled again and attempted to approach Veggie once more but Veggie hardened his threat stance.

"I'm warning you, Nigel," said the tabby cat, "If you take one more step, this paw is coming down on your face and you'll be having four more nasty and painful scratches on your face."

Still the arrogant look remained on Nigel's face.

"What are you waiting for, Veggie?" called Sapphire, "Scratch him!"

Venus, Zephyr, Mercury, Ceres and Cobalto and the chicks also looked on. Veggie stole a brief glance from them and then looked back at Nigel. He was clearly reluctant to hurt Nigel but after Nigel had not listened to his and Catina's warnings, Veggie had run out of options.

"Why don't you just do what you intend to do, kitty cat?" asked Nigel mockingly, "You know I'm the most disgusting and vilest bird alive…"

Suddenly, panicked cries erupted behind Dash, the caged birds, Otis and his gang and the crows. At this, the group's heads all snapped round and, to their horror, they saw that Collette and Thomas had been caught by some of Lysandre's underlings. One of the men had torn Blu and Jewel out of Collette's grasp and the two cats were struggling. The moment Veggie broke his focus on Nigel and Dash on Otis and the others due to the commotion involving Thomas and Collette and the poachers; Nigel pounced into Veggie and began to viciously attack him while Otis and his cat gang and crows pounced onto Dash. Now it was Dash's turn to struggle under a blanket of attacking cat paws and crow talons, as well as Collette and Thomas's turn to struggle with the poachers as Lysandre began to bark orders to them to get them caged and stashed into one of the copters' cargo bay. From their hiding places, Catina and the others watched in horror, while Ginger and Daisy remained hidden it was obvious that this group would also be overpowered and caught if they tried helping their friends. Then Catina turned to Jupiter.

"You need to go warn Tulio, NOW!" she commanded. Without hesitation, Jupiter opened his wings and took off, with Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto following him, leaving the others to look on as Dash was eventually restrained by the cats and crows and Collette and Thomas restrained by Lysandre's underlings. Then Lysandre walked over to Nigel while he was locked in a vicious struggle with Veggie. Cobalto, Ceres, Mercury, Venus, Blu, Jewel, Zephyr and Sapphire and the chicks all looked on in horror as the cat and cockatoo spun in a blurry barrel roll of grey-white, green, yellow, ginger, brown and dark brown. Fur and feathers flew everywhere and angry cockatoo and cat screeches erupted from the two brawling animals as Nigel's beak connected with Veggie's hair and tore it out while his talons raked over his skin. At the same time, Veggie's teeth were latched onto Nigel's feathers while his claws slashed over Nigel's skin. Then after the two animals came to a stop after a violent tumble, the two animals were brutally beaten up. Veggie was covered in claw marks and bald patches while Nigel's plumage was even more ragged and he had a few cat scratches. Both fighters were breathing rapidly with drops of blood running down their bodies from their claw or bite marks but the two were still poised to fight. Veggie was crouched in a pounce preparation position, his eyes like brown flames fixed on Nigel, who was in an attacking stance with his tattered wings spread out. Nigel's vest was in tatters as some of Veggie's claw swipes seemed to have caught it during the skirmish. Gashes ran across the vest, showing some of Nigel's tattered torso plumage but Nigel did not care about that. All his focus was on battling Veggie perhaps to the death. Both cockatoo and cat then hissed loudly at each other.

"I'd never thought I'd become this violent with a bird before," snarled Veggie fiercely, "But with a sickening bird like you, Nigel, I had no choice but to defend myself."

"Well, that's what you get for messing with the evillest cockatoo in the world then, isn't it?" snapped Nigel bitterly.

"What kind of a cockatoo who goes round abusing exotic birds and threatening to devastate them either by killing one of their friends or family members or tearing apart a family by forcing chicks away from their parents, anyway?" growled Veggie. The caged birds just exchanged glances with each other and said nothing. A wicked grin entered Nigel's beak.

"That's what pretty birds deserve, kitty cat," crooned Nigel wickedly, "But let's not have any more of this waste-of-time palaver. It's time for you to be caged."

At this, a pair of hands appeared and seized Veggie, making the cat screech and claw at the poacher who had seized him but the poacher picked Veggie up off the floor with Nigel looking on smugly and the caged birds on in horror. Then Veggie was carried to another poacher and shoved into an empty cage. Next, Veggie, together with Dash, Thomas and Collette (also in cages) were carried to one of the copters' cargo bay and placed in there with Esperanza, Eduarda, James, Danny and Avellana, and the pilot who were tightly tied up. From their hiding place, Daisy and Ginger looked on as did Catina, Saturn, Mars, Pluto, Neptune and their families in despair. As Veggie was placed into the cargo bay, Esperanza flashed him a horrified look.

"Veggie!" she cried, "Have you been fighting N…"

"Yes," snapped Veggie, knowing whose name Esperanza was going to say before she even said it. Veggie then winced from the pain in the claw marks and ripped out fur Nigel had given him, but he had a look of thunder on his face. However, Dash, Collette and Thomas's faces were laced with disappointment. As soon as the four animals were placed inside the cargo bay and the poachers and Otis and his gang had left, Lysandre gave them one last look.

"We'll see to you lot later," he growled, "But at the moment, we have a job to do but at least you'll cause no further interference."

And with that, he turned round and left, leaving the cats, dogs and the pilot to gaze on.

"Well, that went well," muttered Thomas flatly. The pilot shot the greyhounds and cats a surprised look.

"You lot knew of those poachers' existence all along, didn't you?" he asked. Dash confirmed it in agreement. Then Danny began to cry in despair.

"It's over," he moaned, "We've failed."

"No, we haven't," said Veggie.

"We still have Ginger, Daisy, Catina and the freed birds out there continuing this fight against the poachers," said Dash.

"But what are they going to do, Dad?" asked Esperanza, "They can't rescue the other caged birds due to so many people, crows and cats."

"That's true but some of us have left to warn Tulio, and the macaw flocks, but I just hope the latter are alerted in time, especially Tulio," said Dash. Veggie, Thomas, Collette, Esperanza, James, Danny, Eduarda and Avellana just sighed while the pilot began to figure a way to get himself and the dogs and cats out of this mess.