Chapter 28- the news of the poachers spreads and the madness of Nigel

At this moment, two more of the falcons, Cometa and Swoop, had managed to find the Lear's tribe's home patch and had managed to capture three of the Lear's macaws. However, Cometa's efforts had been half-hearted. While Swoop had made off with two of the Lear's macaws in his talons, Cometa had deliberately released her caught victim and had told him about the poachers including how she and her five comrades had been sent by them to find the rare macaws in order to catch them to haul back. The released macaw, horrified, had returned to the Lear's macaws' ravine and had told Valentino and Rosalind. The tribe leaders, upon hearing about the poachers and that Sapphire and Mercury may have been caught, had immediately set to rounding up a large group of macaws to help rescue Mercury and his family and friends and to face the poachers. Meanwhile, Cometa had left to warn the green macaw tribe, hoping that they would take action as well. While the Lear's macaws prepared for action in rescuing Mercury and company including Blu and Jewel, Saturn, Orquidea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus had reached the territory of Orquidea's tribe, the blue-and-gold macaws. As the family flew at a pace that was slow enough for the seven chicks to fly, Saturn and Orquidea began to search the surroundings decorated by aqua blue and yellow birds with green foreheads for Soleado and Zoie. As the two adult macaws' eyes scanned the surroundings, they landed on a familiar macaw who chatted with his family, his mate and a chick, while eating a mango and some guavas. At this, Orquidea swerved out of her flight path and towards the macaw, Saturn and the chicks following.

"Ignacio!" called Orquidea. At this, the male macaw with his mate and daughter all looked up and when they saw the familiar family of nine fly over to them, Ignacio creased his beak into a surprise smile.

"Orquidea, Saturn," he said, "What are you doing here?"

"We thought you were back in Rio with your friends for the summer," said Sandra, Ignacio's mate. At this, Saturn and his family landed on the perch before them and took some time to rest. Brooke, the daughter of Sandra and Ignacio then walked over to Mimas and her six siblings and hugged them. After finishing their break, Orquidea spoke.

"We were back in Rio for the summer but we don't have time to explain that. We're looking for Soleado and Zoie," said she, "We have something urgent that we must tell them. Have you seen them anywhere?"

"Soleado is at the blue-and-gold/Spix border with Eduardo, Alonso and Demetrio," said Ignacio, "But Zoie is here but she is out with her four children Tobias, Ascua, Amarillo and Bromelia. They'll be back in our home patch in a few minutes. Why what's the urgent message?"

"Poachers," said Saturn, "There are poachers afoot in the Sanctuary de Amazon."

When he saw Sandra and Ignacio look at each other, he continued, "I know it sounds crazy but it's true. There are a group of poachers who have managed to infiltrate the Sanctuary de Amazon disguised as ecologists and they have sent falcons and crows out to search for the macaw tribes and clans, particularly the Spix, the glaucous and the Lear's macaws."

"And not only that," added Orquidea, "Those poachers already have Blu, Jewel and several other of our friends. We have managed to escape but the others are still trapped…"

When these words were picked up by Ignacio and Sandra, their heads rose like twanged branches in horror.

"You're kidding," said Sandra in disbelief.

"But our home's a sanctuary now," said Ignacio in agreement, "Poaching has become outlawed. How can there be poachers afoot?"

Just then there was a call which drew the group's attention to its source. A few blue-and-gold macaws, some of the macaws from Zoie and Soleado's inner circle, were shouting to the surrounding blue-and-gold macaws to gather at Soleado's meeting place. At this, Saturn tipped his head to one side.

"Looks like Soleado has already heard the news of the threat," he said. Ignacio and Sandra did not reply and just took off with Brooke following. Saturn and his family followed. Soon, the air above the blue-and-gold tribe's home patch was filled with aqua blue or turquoise and yellow streaks as macaws rocketed into the air in the direction of Zoie and Soleado's tree. Someone had left to fetch Zoie and her four children, Tobias, Ascua, Amarillo and Bromelia. While the blue-and-gold tribe was gathering to hear Soleado tell them about the poacher threat, in the glaucous macaws and the Navyfeathers' territory, Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto were flying through the trees. Flashes of turquoise, blue, grey and navy blue indicated the presence of the glaucous and hyacinth macaws as they sat in the trees, chatting and eating fruit. Several eyes from these birds looked on in surprise as the splash of red flew through their home patch. As they flew along, Jupiter and Ruby began to ask about Flavio, Rudi and Valeria and their whereabouts.

"Excuse me," said Jupiter to a pair of hyacinth macaws, "Have you seen Rudi, Valeria and Flavio?"

"You mean our clan's patriarch and the leaders of the glaucous macaw tribe?" replied one of them, a female. Jupiter and Ruby nodded.

"We need to speak to them at once," said Ruby, "This is urgent."

At this, the pair of hyacinth macaws looked at each other until the male pointed a large navy blue wing in the direction of a particular tree.

"They're over there in that tree with Marinho," he said, "But they might busy with Valeria and Rudi's two sons, Alberto and Lorenzo."

At this, the scarlet macaws rocketed off in the direction, their four chicks close behind.

"Thanks pal," said Jupiter as he left. The hyacinth macaw couple looked on in wonder. Jupiter and his family continued flying on until the tree melted into view. On one branch of the tree were four birds, two very large and navy blue and two small with turquoise plumages and grey heads. Not too far away from the four were two small chicks flying around. They, too, were turquoise and grey.

"I think that's them over there," said Jupiter and with that, he, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto flew on. The four macaws, which were indeed Flavio, Marinho, Rudi and Valeria, were talking away. Rudi and Valeria's chicks, Alberto and Lorenzo played nearby while the four adults ate and chatted.

"It sure is great to have a proper home after so many years since we lost our home to those flying furballs," said Rudi as he ate a guava slice, "I just can't thank you enough."

"Well, according to Alonso and Soleado," said Flavio, "There hasn't been any suspicious flying fox activity since the incident involving the Jandayan parakeet was badly injured, which is a good thing."

"Absolutely," said Valeria, her eyes firmly on her two sons as they continued playfully chasing each other. Marinho then swallowed a fig.

"Well, now that your tribe is safe under the protection of our well-meaning human friends," he said to Rudi and Valeria with a smile, "You can rest assured that your flock will be protected from logging and poaching."

Rudi was about to reply when Flavio saw something approach the group.

"Hey, isn't that?" he began. At this, Rudi, Valeria and Marinho turned to see six red birds, two large and four small, fly in towards them.

"Jupiter and Ruby," said Marinho in surprise, "What are they doing here? I thought they were back in Rio with their friends for the summer."

At this, the four adult macaws walked over to the family of scarlet macaws. Lorenzo and Alberto returned to Valeria's side as Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto landed rather clumsily onto the perch before them.

"Whoa, easy, you six," said Flavio as the six macaws regained their balance and began to pant, "What's the hurry?"

Jupiter managed to gain control of his breathing enough to speak.

"We've come here to warn you guys, especially the glaucous macaws," he said. at this, Rudi and Valeria stepped forward.

"What about?" asked Rudi.

"Is it serious?" asked Valeria.

"Yes it is," said Ruby, "There are poachers afoot. They already have some of our friends caged including Lapis Lazuli and her family, and Blu and Jewel but we managed to escape but those poachers have managed to infiltrate the Sanctuary de Amazon disguised as ecologists and have sent falcons and crows out to hunt you glaucous macaws, the Spix macaws and Lear's macaws down to catch…"

At this, Rudi and Valeria's heads rose in shock while Flavio and Marinho's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Poachers!?" snapped Marinho incredulously, "H-h-how could there be poachers about? This place is now a protected reserve."

"It's supposed to be," said Ruby, "But somehow this group of animal thieves have managed to hatch a sneaky plan to enter the Sanctuary de Amazon and now they're in progress in catching macaws, but you glaucous macaws, the Spix and the Lear's macaws are the prime targets due to your rarity."

At this, Rudi and Valeria looked at each other. Then a look of disgust came over Rudi's face.

"Well I guess those pesky humans aren't worth trusting after all," he growled. At this, Flavio shot him a stunned look.

"No, Rudi, that's not true," he said.

"It's not what you think," said Jupiter.

"But if some of those bird studiers have turned to becoming poachers," snarled Rudi, his feathers on end, "Then our trust in those humans has betrayed us!"

"It's not like that," said Ruby, "Listen, I know our human friends' efforts aren't perfect but…"

"Why did we ever put our trust in humans in the first place!?" cried Valeria angrily, her wings clenched into fists and shaking in the air. Lorenzo and Alberto also wailed. They had been told about smugglers by their parents and taught how to avoid humans and now they were terrified. Jupiter put a wing onto Rudi's shoulder.

"Look," he said firmly, making Rudi glare at him, "I know it's frustrating but you can't return to the way you used to live now…"

"Absolutely not!" snapped Rudi. Then Flavio intervened.

"Now, now, let's break it up," he said firmly. Turning to Jupiter, Flavio said, "So tell us what happened. How do you know about those poachers and how did they get here?"

So Jupiter launched into an explanation of the whole story. He told Flavio, Rudi, Valeria and Marinho how his group including Blu and Jewel had been captured by the poachers' falcons who had teamed up with a cockatoo called Nigel and some cats, and how one of the poachers had species on Tulio and his team in order to tell his group about the time they were going to go into the Amazon, and how the poachers were going to catch the glaucous macaws using falcons, among everything else. As Jupiter had finished, Flavio, Rudi, Valeria and Marinho stood there in disbelief.

"I see," said Flavio. Then his face turned fierce. "Well, those poachers have NO place in our protected home. They must be stopped right away and those birds that have been caught by them rescued as soon as possible."

Then Valeria got a glimpse of a scratch like mark on Jupiter's left ankle.

"What has happened to your foot?" she asked with a frown. Jupiter gazed down at his foot where Nigel had bitten him. He had removed his bandage during the flight into the Navyfeathers and glaucous macaws' territory.

"That was done by that infamous cockatoo named Nigel," he said, "But it's a long story."

Flavio was about to say something when suddenly, the sounds of flapping wings was heard. At this, all the heads of the group looked up and saw three hyacinth macaws and two glaucous macaws fly in. The five macaws' faces were filled with terror as though they had just escaped from a harpy eagle.

"Flavio, Rudi!" cried the one at the front, a female. At this, the Navyfeather Clan and glaucous macaw tribe patriarchs walked over to the five macaws as they landed clumsily onto another perch. Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto looked on.

"What is it, Bruna?" asked Flavio. The hyacinth macaw at the front, Bruna, panted and puffed until she managed to regain control of her breathing enough to speak.

"There are some intruders attacking the glaucous macaw tribe!" she blurted out. Horror tore through the group and Rudi and Valeria jumped in.

"Flying foxes?" asked Rudi.

"No, a pair of birds of prey and a few black birds," said one of the glaucous macaws that had accompanied Bruna and the other two hyacinth macaws, "Falcons and crows to be exact. We don't know what species they are but…"

"What do the birds of prey look like?" asked Marinho.

"The birds of prey are both grey with an ivory underside," said Bruna, using her wings to describe the shapes of the two birds, "About this big and with two pointed wings shaped like this."

She positioned her wings into a falcon shape. At this, Jupiter recognised what Bruna was talking about.

"That sounds like two of the poachers' peregrine falcons," he said.

"Peregrine falcons?" asked Valeria.

"They're super-fast and powerful birds of prey capable of diving up to 200mph," said Jupiter, "These poachers own six of them, and also a flock of crows. Sounds like two of the falcons and some of the crows have managed to find the glaucous macaw tribe…"

As he said this, Rudi told Bruna, "Take me and Valeria there as FAST AS YOU CAN!"

Bruna nodded and took off, her four companions following. Valeria then scooped up Alberto and Lorenzo and took off, followed by Rudi, Flavio and Marinho.

"We're going too," shouted Jupiter as he and his family opened their wings and took off. Soon, the mixed group of glaucous, hyacinth and scarlet macaws were on their way to the glaucous macaw tribe's home patch. Rudi and Valeria, with Alberto and Lorenzo in her talons, flew ahead with Bruna, the other two hyacinth macaws and the two glaucous macaws, Flavio and Marinho flew after them and behind them, flew Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The passing group's hurry had attracted the attention of some other glaucous and hyacinth macaws and they immediately followed. A minute later, the home patches of the glaucous macaws and the Navyfeather hyacinth macaws emerged into view. However, the air around them was in turmoil. As the group flew towards the glaucous macaw tribe's home patch, they halted in horror, their beaks dropped open and eyes wide. Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto also stopped. Around the trees the glaucous macaw tribe called home were turquoise and grey streaks shooting and weaving in and out like a shoal of fish Jupiter had seen swimming desperately away from a variety of predators on TV back in London. Screams of horror and terror were exploding from the glaucous macaws' beaks as a grey and ivory streak, one of the falcons, dived after them in an attempt to grab them. Nearby, another falcon and a few black forms were being fiercely attacked by a small group of hyacinth macaws.

"Those are the two falcons and the small group of crows that I've told you about," said Bruna. At this, Rudi told Valeria to stay behind with Alberto and Lorenzo and flew off into the battle site.

"Rudi, NO!" shouted Flavio but the glaucous tribe patriarch was out of earshot. Amongst the cloud of fleeing glaucous macaws, the falcon, Cazador was swooping about trying to catch two of the rare macaws. His piercing eyes were blazing with frustration and determination and he was breathing heavily but he refused to let exhaustion weigh him down.

"C'mere you stupid PIGEONS!" he shouted and shot off after some more glaucous, macaws but they dodged. Nearby, Aliana, the other falcon, and the crows were facing a brutal backlash from a group of the Navyfeather Clan hyacinth macaws. They were already covered in scratches and bald patches but they were still full of the fuel of determination to nab at least one of the glaucous macaws. As she dodged a talon slash thrown from one of the hyacinth macaws with two crows, Aliana glared at the navy blue birds bitterly.

"So YOU pesky dark blue birds had to live right beside this flock of preciously rare macaws, huh?" she growled sourly, dodging another talon swipe, "Just our luck (!)"

Aliana then flew upward to avoid a tackle attack from another hyacinth macaw. The crows also dodged the talon swipes thrown by the hyacinth macaws, their eyes burning with the same frustration as Aliana.

"We weren't told that those precious birds lived next to a flock of such massive parrots," shouted one as he dodged a talon swipe.

"This is gonna be a challenge," said another. The crows continued darting about to avoid getting clawed. Then some of the crows began to fly around like comets, a hyacinth macaw each on their tails. It was obvious that Aliana and the crows were outmatched by the more massive hyacinth macaws. They were twice Aliana's size and had bigger talons and while Aliana and the crows had speed on their side, the hyacinth macaws had strength and agility. Then some of the hyacinth macaws flew after Cazador to attack him as he continued causing the glaucous macaws havoc as one of Aliana's attackers, Pedro who was Bruna's mate, jumped in and grabbed Aliana by the neck.

"You're going NOWHERE, you pest!" he snarled. Aliana writhed in the big parrot's talon but the grip was iron. Then more massive hyacinth macaw talons rushed in and grabbed Aliana's wings and talons and began to restrain her. While Aliana and the crows struggled with the hyacinth macaws, the latter racing around like black comets with even bigger navy blue comets chasing after them, Cazador continued chasing the glaucous macaws but he too soon began to face attacks from some hyacinth macaws. Cazador cried in shock as a few giant navy blue comets barged into him. Then the next minute, Cazador was fighting against a group of enormous birds. While he was occupied with the small group of hyacinth macaws, Aliana had managed to break free of the shackles formed by hyacinth macaw talons and make a break for it, the crows close behind. The flock of hyacinth macaws gave chase. During her escape, Aliana flew straight towards some glaucous macaws, reached out with her talons and then grabbed a couple of glaucous macaws by the necks, the others scattering like leaves being blown over by a wind. The crows continued flying on and did not bother trying to nab any of the glaucous macaws. Then the two macaws that were caught by Aliana began screeching and flapping as Aliana began to carry them away. Rudi hovered and looked on in horror but then Jupiter took action.

"Jupiter, NO!" cried Ruby but the vermillion scarlet macaw had already lofted himself into flight and charged at the falcon. Aliana continued flying with the two glaucous macaws trailing under her with the hyacinth macaws in hot pursuit but did not see Jupiter coming to intercept her. Then as Jupiter closed in on the peregrine falcon, he reached out with his talons and as soon as he collided with Aliana, he raked his claws across the falcon's face. A loud cry of agony exploded from Aliana's face. She released the two glaucous macaws and covered her scratched face with her talons, with a few drops of blood oozing through the toes. Cazador, when he heard Aliana's agonised squawks as he continued fighting off the hyacinth macaws, turned to see what was going on with Aliana but when his eyes landed on Jupiter, hot rage burned within him.

"YOU!" he snarled and with that, he rocketed off at Jupiter but before he could leap at the scarlet macaw to attack him, a wall of massive navy blue birds appeared and blocked his way. Among the wall were Flavio and Marinho and their faces were volcanic eruption storms, and all the hyacinth macaws had their talons poised to attack. Cazador, seeing that he was outnumbered and outmatched in strength and size, immediately made his decision.

"Aliana, crows, RETREAT!" he shouted and with that, he took off. The hyacinth macaws gave chase. Aliana, her scratched face still oozing blood, followed with the crows flying close behind. As the two falcons and crows fled, the group of hyacinth macaws perched and watched them flee while some of the other hyacinth macaws went to check the glaucous macaws for any injuries. Rudi perched beside Flavio when Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto came in.

"Those two falcons and those crows are some of the poachers' pets we told you about," said Ruby. Then Jupiter flew in with Valeria, Lorenzo and Alberto who had been watching from the side-lines the whole time.

"I see what you mean," growled Valeria bitterly.

"Those falcons certainly did look dangerous," said Alberto and Lorenzo together.

"They are, you two," said Jupiter as he cleaned his talon claws of some blood drops that had attached to his talons when he scratched Aliana across the face.

"We must do something about those poachers then," said Flavio with a scowl on his face, "How large is this poaching group, Jupiter?"

"There are quite a number of them," said Jupiter, "I haven't counted but I'd say there are over twenty or thirty."

"Besides a few cats and that cockatoo, and those crows and falcons," added Ruby.

"That's quite a big group then," said Flavio as he put a wing to his beak to think. Marinho then came in.

"Any serious injuries, Marinho?" asked Rudi.

"No, just a few tiny scratches," said Marinho, "Nothing serious."

Rudi breathed a sigh of relief but then his bitter scowl returned.

"We're gonna have to do something about those poachers," he growled, "We can't have them threatening us or our friends, especially if this is supposed to be a protected reserve."

"My uncle's already said that, Rudi," said Marinho. Then Flavio frowned at them.

"We're gonna deal with those poachers together," he said, "And rescue any of the macaws or animals they have caught."

"But Flavio," said Valeria, "Those falcons could be dangerous. Some of us could get hurt…"

"With us massive birds behind you," said Marinho, "You'll have a greater chance of combating them."

"That's exactly what we're gonna do," said Flavio firmly, "What we'll do is we'll round up the macaws in our tribe and clan, and then fly to where the poachers are and assess how big their group is."

Turning to Jupiter, Flavio said, "Do you know where those poachers are located?"

Jupiter nodded, to Flavio's smile. Then Flavio turned to the group of glaucous and hyacinth macaws and began to discuss his plans of combating the poachers, Jupiter, Ruby, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto watching on. While Flavio began to discuss his plans of combating the poachers, Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa had delivered the warning of the poachers afoot to Pearl and the red macaw tribe while Demetrio had gone to warn his clan and the blue-throated macaws of the threat. Alonso had also delivered the warning to Valentino and his tribe as well as the green macaw tribe, and Eduardo had warned his tribe about the poachers. Now that all the macaw tribes and clans had been warned of the poacher threat, the tribe leaders began their next step of action, gathering to meet the poachers to fight them and rescue the remaining caged birds including Blu and Jewel.

Meanwhile

Xerosic and Bryony had managed to return to the poachers' location with their three caught Spix macaws, Maximillian, Roxie and Elena in their talons. As soon as they had arrived, Lysandre greeted them while two of his underlings and the cats prepared their cages.

"Well done, you two," he said. Xerosic and Bryony chirped in acceptance of their owner's praise. Maximillian, Roxie and Elena, however, gasped in horror. Then Lysandre ordered his falcons to cage the birds, which they did. Roxie, Maximillian and Elena were all tossed into a single cage together. As soon as Roxie was thrown in, one of the cats, the all-black male, slammed the cage door shut and padlocked it. Then the cats carried the three caged Spix macaws to place with the others. Another cat, Otis, grinned at the three Spix macaws as Bryony and Xerosic prepared to return to the rainforest to catch more macaws.

"Our plan is indeed goin' well," said Otis with a wicked grin on his face. The other cats tittered in agreement. The three Spix macaws, however, were extremely cross.

"So those humans are owners of yours, are they!?" snarled Roxie, her cyan feathers on end.

"Just wait till Eduardo hears about this, you filthy four-legged felines!" growled Maximillian volcanically.

"Eduardo?" asked another cat, Moggy, "Who's Eduardo?"

"He's our tribe leader you cat-brain," snapped Elena bitterly, "He's surely gonna be very angry…"

A mocking laugh escaped Otis's throat.

"I'm afraid there's no way out, you three feathered gemstones," he crooned, "You're gonna be smuggled out of Brazil once we have caught plenty of other Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws."

When the three Spix macaws heard this, horror and disbelief tore through them.

"Caught more Spix…?" began Maximillian. Then an idea entered Roxie's head, an idea that she didn't like one bit.

"Do you mean these humans are…?" she began.

"Poachers?" said Moggy with an evil sneer, finishing Roxie's sentence, "Yes they are."

"WHAT!?" snapped Elena in utter flabbergast.

"But our home's a protected reserve," said Roxie, "How can that be?"

"We don't have time to talk to you feathered gemstones," said Otis, "We have a lot of work still to do."

Roxie, Elena and Maximillian looked on in shock but then the furious looks returned to their faces. Just then, another falcon returned with two dark navy blue birds in his talons. Swoop had returned with the two Lear's macaws he had caught. As soon as he had approached two of Lysandre's underlings and some crows, the two Lear's macaws were immediately shoved into a cage and the door padlocked. As soon as this was done, the two Lear's macaws were carried over to where the caged group including Blu and Jewel were being held. The whole action had been observed by some of the escaped macaws and a cat. Ceres, Neptune and Daisy had been watching the three Spix macaws and the two Lear's macaws get caged and then taken to where Blu's group was. At this, the three returned to the hiding spot where Catina and the others were. Catina and her group which consisted of Daisy, Ginger, Mars, Chiquitita and their sons Phobos, Deimos and Alexandre, Uranus, Esmeralda and their chicks Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, Neptune, Ultramarine and their two chicks Indigo and Triton, Ceres, Cobalto and their sons Aurelio, Azul and Wilbur and Pluto, Lapis Lazuli and their four chicks Charon, Blueberry, Quincy and Flor had moved from behind the tree stump to amongst the ferns just on the edge of the deforested area. As Ceres, Daisy and Neptune returned to the group, Ceres delivered the report.

"They've caught five more macaws, Catina," said she, "Three Spix and two Lear's."

Catina shot her a horrified glare.

"We're gonna have to think of an effective and fool-proof plan to rescue those birds still trapped in those cages, Dash and the others and then getting those poachers stopped as soon as possible, then," she said, "Otherwise more and more birds are gonna be caught right under Tulio and his team's noses."

"I hope Saturn, Travis and Jupiter and their families will have alerted the macaw tribes and clans and Tulio and his team by now," said Mars worriedly. Ginger then stared out into the clearing and watched the five newly caught birds get placed amongst Blu's group.

"Absolutely, or that collection of caught macaws will continue to grow and get larger," she said. Then she and the others with her began to discuss a possible plan. Back with Blu's group, Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Venus, Mercury and Sapphire and all the chicks were still in a state of either fear, anger or despair, as were Roberto, Brisa, Enrique, Felipe, and Felipe's chicks Benjamin, Regina and Alfonso. However, horror and shock were also thrown into the mix when these birds saw two more cages, one containing three Spix macaws and the other two Lear's macaws, one of whom was Monique, the Lear's macaw tribe's Pit of Doom scoremarker, were lowered and placed next to them.

"Maximillian, Roxie, Elena," cried Jewel in utter shock. Zephyr, Venus, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil and Carla, Bia and Tiago looked on in shock.

"Monique, Ray," shouted Sapphire as Mercury, Phoebe, Jasmine and Annette stared on. The five macaws as they were placed amongst the group shot the macaws a bitter glare as the cats and humans then left.

"You ought to question the definition of 'well-meaning humans', you lot," snarled Maximillian bitterly. His caramel eyes then landed on Blu, "Especially, you, Drew!"

Blu, at this, did not know what to say at first, but then something came into his head.

"I'm sorry," he said, "We had no idea that this group of humans were planning on intruding into the Sanctuary de Amazon…"

"You call these wretched poachers 'well-meaning'?" asked Monique, a wing gesturing to the group of poachers as they wandered around the clearing looking for the falcons and crows, hoping that they had brought back more Spix and Lear's macaws.

"Don't tell me that some of our human friends have took to stealing macaws like every other poacher has done, have they?" asked Roxie. At this, Mercury tried to explain despite his fear of Nigel still bubbling within him.

"Look, it's not what you think," he protested, "You see, we were ambushed by these poachers' pets…"

"Ambushed?" interrupted Monique brusquely, "What do you mean ambushed?"

At this, Sapphire took over.

"It's a long story," she said, "These poachers are not originally part of Tulio and his team. It seems that they have managed to get them fooled by their sly disguise-as-ecologists idea in order to infiltrate this protected reserve…"

"Fooled?" repeated Elena bitterly, "How could those well-meaning humans, that is, those that care for our species' existence, be fooled by those poachers?"

"I-i-it's complicated," said Sapphire, "But it doesn't matter now. We've got friends working to sort this mess out including those that had managed to escape."

"How?" asked Maximillian bitterly.

"Some will have gone out to warn the macaw tribes and clans," said Zephyr, "Hopefully they'll have reached them by now and have delivered the warning…"

"Well I HOPE they have," snarled Felipe next to Zephyr and company's cage bitterly as his temper boiled, "Because the idea of poachers disguising as well-meaning humans really IS starting to drive me around the bend!"

He then shot Roberto and Brisa a glare and said, "Especially Roberto there. Being in this situation is terrifying him."

It was true, Roberto was practically on edge. His blue eyes were wide and he was breathing uncontrollably. His crest feathers were spiked out and he was glancing this way and that as though he wanted to flee but not with the barriers of bars and slabs of metal in the way. Venus and Mercury also looked equally terrified, as did the chicks. Then suddenly, aggressive shouts reached the ears of the caged birds. It sounded like a seriously heated argument. Zephyr shot Blu and Jewel a look.

"I thought you two had started arguing again," he said.

"It wasn't us, Zephyr," said Jewel.

"It's coming from outside," said Sapphire. At this, the group looked around as the sounds of the argument became louder in their ears. Soon, the group was able to make out meaningful words and sentences.

"You are NOT going to kill ANY of the Spix and Lear's macaws, Nigel! They're too invaluable, each and every one of them! Remember what Cazador said!"

Otis's voice, and to Blu, Jewel, Sapphire, Venus, Zephyr and Mercury's surprise, it sounded so furious.

"Do you hear that black and white cat, Dad," said Bia, "It sounds so upset."

Then another voice exploded back against the first voice. It was the unmistakable, dreary voice of the psychotic cockatoo, Nigel. However, his voice was saturated with immense stubbornness, like a chick that cannot get its own way.

"I DON'T CARE, OTIS! I WANNA KILL THAT PIGTAILED SPIX MACAW AND GREY-EYED LEAR'S MACAW'S MATES and DEVASTATE THEM!"

Mercury and Venus flinched harshly as the two animals then came into view. It was indeed Nigel and Otis and they were locked in a volcanic argument. Jewel saw that Nigel's crest was fully raised and his brown eyes were full of burning brown flames. Felipe, Enrique, Roberto, Maximillian, Elena, Roxie, Monique and the other Lear's macaw, Ray, just remained quiet for they had not met Nigel before but Brisa looked on sourly. The main group then kept their voices down to continue to watch the argument as Otis took his turn to spit his choice of words at Nigel.

"Do you want to be evicted from this group, cockatoo!?" he snarled, lurching forward towards Nigel, "We're getting SICK of your temper tantrums and your pointless desire and obsession in killing those two macaws just to devastate their families. They're a Spix and a Lear's macaw, and Cazador has ordered us not to kill any of them…"

Brisa's head jerked upward when she heard this, before her lime green eyes travelled to Zephyr and Sapphire, and Venus and Mercury. The latter two were extremely scared but the former two were bitterly angry.

"Nigel wants to…" she began but Zephyr confirmed it with a nod of his head. Then it dawned upon Brisa as the story of Venus and Mercury's families and their death at Nigel's talons flashed in her mind. Then Nigel's machine gun of words pulled the group's attention back to him and Otis.

"Look, we're gonna be getting dozens more Spix and Lear's macaws as time goes by," snarled the cockatoo volcanically, "Two is NOT gonna hurt. Just let me put to death Pigtails and Grey-eyes' mates RIGHT NOW!"

Otis flinched in disbelief before scowling.

"You've become seriously obsessed with that haven't you, cockatoo?" he barked, a paw pointing to Nigel's chin but the cockatoo stormed away from him and in the caged birds' direction, ignoring Otis's statement. When they saw the cockatoo walk towards them, Venus and Mercury and the chicks backed away but Zephyr and Sapphire took up defensive positions. Blu and Jewel did the same. Otis shouted after Nigel.

"Nigel, get back here!" he barked, "Nigel. Nigel. NIGEL!"

When he saw that he wasn't getting any response, Otis let loose a cat-hiss of frustration and called for some of his feline comrades and some crows. Nigel continued walking towards the caged birds until he finally stopped directly in front of Zephyr and company's cage. As Nigel's scratched face moved close to the bars, Venus and the nine chicks backed away in fear but Zephyr's face flared up.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't add another set of claw marks to your face, vulture," hissed the Spix macaw. Blu and Jewel then looked at each other and began to shift their cage closer to Nigel by flapping in it. Nigel, in response to Zephyr's threat, lashed a talon and grabbed the male macaw by the neck. Venus and the others released piercing screams and gasps when they saw this. Nigel then heaved Zephyr, his talon tightly wrapped around his neck to the point of cutting off his breathing, close to his face. Zephyr winced at the scratches marking Nigel's face. It was clear that Nigel had been picking at his scratches as they scabbed over for he had a habit of picking at scabs, and as a result, his face looked even uglier than ever.

"Don't make me break your neck, pretty bird," hissed the cockatoo threateningly, his stinking breath and spittle leaping with his words into Zephyr's face, "Your time has come."

Suddenly, a talon appeared from Zephyr's left and its barb-like claws slashed down Nigel's right cheek. The cockatoo screeched and released Zephyr before jerking back. Zephyr then began to breathe the moment the vice was released from his neck. He landed into Venus's wings, gasping for air. Venus had been the one to deliver the scratch to Nigel's face. Nigel then looked up and glared at the pigtailed Spix macaw as she looked on with tear-filled eyes, his brown eyes glittering with malice. His wing was over his new scratch and some red drops oozed from the fresh set of claw marks.

"How DARE you scratch me like that, you USELESS…" snarled the cockatoo and with that, he lunged towards Venus but before he could jump up and attack her with his talons, cat paws and crow talons appeared behind him and latched onto his wings and head. At this, the deranged cockatoo snapped his head back at the owners of the paws and talons.

"LET ME GO, YOU BUNCH OF FOOLS!" he bellowed but the crows and the cats including Otis maintained their iron grip on his wings and head. Then the group began to drag Nigel away from Venus and her family and Blu and Jewel's chicks. Blu and Jewel had stopped shifting their cage nearer to Nigel the moment they saw the cats and crows hook their claws and talons onto his wings and head. Nigel writhed and floundered in their grip but the cats and crows continued to drag him away further from the caged group.

"I WILL kill your mate, pigtails," bellowed the cockatoo in a deranged voice, much to Venus's disgust, "I WILL see you and your grey-eyed friend in utter heartbreak, just like how you were when you were chicks…"

"You!" snarled Venus bitterly, a wing feather pointing laser-like at Nigel's face and tears falling from her amber eyes, "You will always… ALWAYS… be the infamously psychotic cockatoo known by EVERY exotic bird inhabitant of the Blu Bird Sanctuary."

"Such that NO-ONE would want to be your friend… EVER!" put in Mercury fiercely, tears also falling from his grey eyes.

"Except that frog who is head-over-feet in love with you," added Blu spitefully. Venus and Mercury shot Blu a glare but Blu glanced back at them unashamed. Nigel then began to fiercely writhe and squirm in the cats' and crows' paws and talons but the cats and crows refused to let go and continued to drag him away. Nigel then shot Blu and Jewel a detesting glare.

"As for you, Blu, I WILL tear apart your family and leave you feeling the loss YOU have caused me of my ability to fly!" he bellowed.

"Don't count on it," snarled Jewel and with that, she spat on the ground to emphasize her detestation of the cockatoo. Nigel then gave up trying to resist the cats and crows' dragging him away and went along with them, but he still had in mind to kill Zephyr and Sapphire to inflict possibly irreparable heartbreak on Venus, Mercury and their chicks and rip Blu's family apart once the poaching operation was complete and when the poachers set to sorting their caught birds into destination groups.