Chapter 24- off to the Sanctuary de Amazon
Later, Tulio and his team were at the helicopter landing pad. A helicopter from Manaus had landed there and the people were ready to board it. Like Lysandre's helicopters, this one resembled an army Boeing-Chinook with a box-like body, two propellers and a cargo bay built into the side. However, the interior had special modifications. There were medical facilities used for caring for severely injured animals. The helicopter was also almost like a flying animal hospital in miniature. As Tulio and his team boarded the copter whose propellers were spinning ready for take-off. As the two massive motor-blades spun, an enormous draft cascaded downward, blowing anything loose, such as hair, about. Dash, Veggie, Ginger, Collette, Daisy, Danny, James and Avellana, together with Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa whom the cats and greyhounds had met and joined on the way, carefully crept towards the cargo bay by keeping an eye on Tulio and his team and making sure that none of them turned in their direction as they approached the helicopter, the rush of air from the propellers greeted them. The sight of the spinning blades made Travis and his family incredibly nervous and they felt their skin crawl, and the cats and dogs also sensed the same danger. Spinning motor-blades were incredibly lethal and have been known to cut through anything as though it were butter with gruesomely messy consequences, so the five cockatoos instinctively walked toward the cargo bay rather than fly for fear of the spinning blades. After all, a certain cockatoo almost faced certain death from being caught in one of those spinning double-blades.
However, the sight of the spinning motor-blades weren't the only things that sent the group's nerves into a dancing spree. The cats and dogs' nerves danced with nervousness for they had never been to the wild Amazon before but they knew that it was important. Tulio and his team must be alerted of the fraudulent ecologists that were the poachers. As Dash and his group hid amongst the equipment being packed into the cargo bay, they began to discuss among themselves of their plans of action. Then a while later, once all the equipment was packed into the helicopter's bay, the remaining team members climbed aboard and the door was shut. Then off took the helicopter, beginning its journey into the Sanctuary de Amazon.
Meanwhile
Lysandre's poaching group's helicopters flew over the landscape of fields, forests and towns and cities, also on its way towards the Sanctuary de Amazon. In one of the helicopters' cargo bay, Blu and Jewel and Levi, Aurora, Phoebe, D'Artagnan and their families still sat in their cages. The chicks were cowering in their parents' wings and some of the adults wore petrified looks on their faces, especially at the sights of the hawkeyed cats, crows, falcons and Nigel the cockatoo. Aurora and Levi were particularly frightened. Their eyes were wide with utter terror and they were trembling all over. The uncomfortable surroundings and the piercing eyes of the cats and crows were enough to bring back a torrential downpour of memories in the minds of these two macaws. Aurora and Levi flinched harshly at the flash of hostility in the eyes of cats, the cage birds the two huddling together in fear and anguish and, most of all, the sight of the evil Nigel when he attacked them. Nigel looked on with a wicked smile on his face, obviously enjoying the sight of the two macaws in a state of panic. In the other cages, Blu and Jewel were bitter; D'Artagnan's eyes were also swamped with timidity and fear while Sapphire had her wings firmly around Miranda, Jasmine and Annette. Phoebe, Cobalto, Zebedee and Indigo were also huddled together. Zephyr and Lapis Lazuli were trying their best to calm Levi and Aurora who were in a panic attack like state while at the same time calming their chicks. Neither macaw had never seen their mates in such panic before but it was understandable. Both Levi and Aurora had been severely traumatised as chicks, especially by Nigel, and his presence was not helping, especially with the scornful look on his face.
"Aurora, just try to calm down," said Zephyr to the distressed pigtailed Spix macaw but Aurora was too wracked with terror to hear him. Lapis Lazuli also tried calming Levi by hugging him close to her with Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and tiny Trixie.
"It's no good, Zephyr," said Blu, "Aurora is too scared. Simply telling her to calm down won't help."
Zephyr shot him a despairing gaze as the distressed whimpers of his mate filled his ears. In one corner of Zephyr and Aurora's cage, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil were huddled together like four timid siblings in a nest about to be disturbed. Then an idea entered Zephyr's head. He opened his wings and threw them around Aurora as she continued trembling and whimpering.
"Please try to calm down," begged Zephyr as Aurora continued shaking and whimpering, weeping tears from her eyes, "You're not on your own like last time when you were put through something like this and I can assure you we'll get out of this mess…"
Aurora then began to lean against Zephyr's chest feathers and cry, sobbing loudly. Zephyr hugged her tightly and buried his face into her crown feathers.
"Ah, love, it's such a powerful and… stupid thing," crooned Nigel's voice slick with mockery. Zephyr's eyes travelled to the foul cockatoo.
"I can see you have a very strong bond with that useless Spix macaw, pretty bird," crooned Nigel with narrowed eyes. Cazador shot Nigel a glare, making sure that he did not plan on hurting the Spix macaws while the others did nothing, but Cometa was very wary. When Aurora saw Nigel glare at her in the most sadistic and scornful way, she hid in Zephyr's wings and whimpered. Levi also did the same in Lapis Lazuli's wings. Behind Zephyr, one of the chicks, Virgil this time, took up a defensive stance. His electric blue feathers were puffed out and his blue-green eyes were ablaze with angry storm clouds. Justin, however, stuck by the frightened Matilda and Charlotte as they quivered.
"Don't you see you're frightening Aurora and Levi?" growled Zephyr protectively, his wings wrapped tightly around Aurora. The other caged macaws looked on at the cockatoo, Blu and Jewel's gazes especially contaminated with the most corrosive acid of hatred they had ever had.
"It's good to hear about that, pretty bird," said Nigel in a serious tone of voice tinted with the sourness of dislike. It was clear that he loathed the sight of 'pretty bird' couples cuddling each other, especially Spix macaws and he had a hunch that Zephyr and Aurora had a bond as strong as an iron bar, or as his most detested Spix macaw couple on the planet.
A talon then shot out from under Nigel's body, pointing straight toward the centre of Zephyr's forehead as accurately as a laser beam, exactly how a human would point his or her index finger.
"I suggest you release that pigtailed Spix macaw from your wings right now, tacky blue macaw," the tacky cockatoo growled threateningly, his feathers, including those on his head, puffed out, and brown eyes bulging like grapes. Zephyr, in response, creased his face into a defiant and acidic scowl and kept his wings tightly wrapped around the shaking Aurora. Lapis Lazuli also refused to budge from Levi.
"I said RELEASE THAT MACAW!" snarled Nigel furiously; lurching forward at Zephyr and making the others jump. Otis looked on and said nothing but Cometa continued watching the disgusting cockatoo as he continued to threaten Zephyr. Zephyr and Aurora's daughters Charlotte and Matilda released frightened screams while Justin and Virgil released fierce hisses.
"Release her, or else," growled Nigel who was stood right up to the bars of the cage.
"Or else what?" Zephyr rhetorically and defiantly replied. In response, Nigel's talon changed its position from a point to a clenched fist, and then the toes sprung out and its claws flared, like the claws on a cat's paw.
"Or else," the cockatoo said threateningly, "I'm gonna brutally scratch you like how Brutus would have done whenever he lost his temper and turned into a mini-beast."
Fear and horror tore through the macaws, especially Blu and Jewel, and the faces of those two macaws actually morphed to one of shock when they heard this threat. Even worse, based on the tone of voice Nigel used, the couple knew he wasn't kidding or simply bluffing.
"He's gone sharply downhill," whispered Phoebe to the frightened Lear's macaws and D'Artagnan shuddered at Nigel's mentioning of that infamously violent cat Brutus. He clearly understood what it was like to be on the receiving end of that savage cat's feral temper. It was like being faced with a pyroclastic flow from a volcano, and the memory of facing that violent cat with Sapphire made D'Artagnan shiver violently, and Sapphire, Miranda, Jasmine and Annette also shook like leaves. But to actually hear Nigel mention that he was going to become like Brutus was even more frightening but D'Artagnan daren't imagine it.
"The most disgusting sight I CANNOT stand is pretty bird couples in a loving embrace, especially Spix macaws," snarled Nigel. His eyes then travelled to the four chicks behind Zephyr and Aurora, "Not to mention with kids by their side. Now release that pigtailed Spix macaw or I'll carry out my plan to hurt you early."
Aurora shot a terrified look at Zephyr and said, "Please, just let me go."
Zephyr, however, was reluctant but upon seeing the razor-sharp claws on Nigel's talon poised to come down at him and possibly inflict a serious scratch like how the cockatoo had almost done to Orquidea, he obeyed and released Aurora, and then reluctantly backed away. Aurora was then left exposed but when her yellow eyes met with Nigel's bulging brown eyes flooded with untold sadism and scorn, alongside the puffed out feathers and raised crest, the Spix macaw whimpered and covered her head with her wings, crying in fear.
"That's more like it," crooned Nigel evilly. He then put his talon down and glared at Zephyr like a predator.
"Now we'll have no more of that or I will CERTAINLY brutally claw you to death, pretty bird, once we get to the Amazon," he crooned, much to the frightened whimpering of Aurora and the horror of the other macaws, especially Justin and his three siblings. Turning to Lapis Lazuli, Nigel snarled, "You also release your rotten turquoise lovebird from your wings as well."
"Not a chance," replied Lapis Lazuli bitterly as Levi huddled closer to her. In response to this defiant snap, Nigel strode over to the glaucous macaws' cage and, like before, raised a talon and flared its claws. He then raised it to bring it down on Lapis Lazuli. Petrified by this horrifying sight, a frightened cry was released from Levi's beak and he backed away from Lapis Lazuli with the equally frightened and screaming Tristan, Quincy, Trixie and Larimar while Lapis Lazuli rose her wings to protectively defend herself from the incoming attack when, "LEAVE THEM ALONE, NIGEL!"
At this call, the cockatoo stopped the planned attack, turned his head round and eyed the speaker bitterly. Cometa was gazing at him with timid but firm eyes.
"They're valuable macaws," she said, "Please don't hurt them."
"Very well," said Nigel bitterly. He then turned and eyed Zephyr and Lapis Lazuli and said, "You two have been warned. If I ever catch you cuddling your beloved lovebirds, I WILL claw you to death… in front of them!"
He shot a talon at Aurora and then at Levi to clarify what he meant by 'them'.
"You do and I'LL SURELY SKIN YA ALIVE, NIGEL!" screeched Zephyr loudly, "I will not, repeat: NOT have you traumatising Aurora and Levi like you did when they were chicks."
"NEITHER SHALL I!" screeched Lapis Lazuli bitterly, her feathers, including those in her Jewel-like crest, on end. Aurora continued standing near Zephyr, frightened eyes fixed upon Nigel. Levi also continued standing near his mate, shivering. Nigel then opened his beak to retort at Lapis Lazuli but changed his mind.
"I'll check on you two later, but I cannot wait to see the anguished looks on your beloved mates' faces when I do kill you when we get to the Amazon," said the cockatoo sourly and scornfully, "That's what I would like to see on those two macaws' faces most of all, those two crying over your lacerated bodies. Then the next thing: losin' your kids during the destination group sorting process."
As he walked away, Nigel shot D'Artagnan and Phoebe an equally threatening glare and said, "The same applies to you, you useless pretty birds. As for those two good-for-nothing blue macaws Blu and Jewel, they will only be suffering immense loss when I tear their chicks away from them once we've captured those three and when we're done with poaching, as I want all FIVE of them to feel my pain over the loss of my flying ability."
"Don't count on it, you fiend," snarled D'Artagnan defensively while Sapphire looked on and said nothing. Phoebe and Cobalto also released fierce hisses through gritted beaks while Miranda, Jasmine, Annette, Zebedee and Indigo were too afraid to say anything. Nigel ignored the Lear's and hyacinth macaws and continued walking away.
As soon as he was out of sight, Aurora began to tremble violently again.
"I hope to get out of this cage so that I can brutally claw him," snarled Jewel volcanically.
"If there's anyone who's going to end up covered in brutal claw marks, it's HIM!" shouted Blu, "Mainly by us two."
"Aurora, please, calm down," said Zephyr but Aurora was too panic stricken to listen. Overcome by worries for her family at the clutches of Nigel and the traumatising memories of what happened when she and Levi were chicks, the pigtailed Spix macaw finally let her anxiety get the better of her and she collapsed into a heap onto the cage floor in total bits. Zephyr looked on, a strong urge to go over to her and comfort her but because of Nigel's threats, he felt held back. However, he was not going to allow Nigel to pick on Aurora like this any longer. Making his decision, Zephyr paced towards Aurora but she backed away. Some of the cats looked on and a few laughed. A pulse of disgust tore through Zephyr's heart when he saw the cats laughing at Aurora's distress.
"Please, stay away from me," Aurora begged timidly, her yellow eyes saturated with immense fear. "If Nigel sees you near me, he'd carry out his threat."
"Look, Aurora," snapped Zephyr, not caring about Nigel's sadistic threats, "I don't care about what that cockatoo says…"
"Look, he'll kill you. He meant what he said when he threatened to claw you a minute ago," retorted Aurora as she backed away against the cage corner, desperate to distance herself from Zephyr, "And if that happened, your parents and sister will go berserk and would probably blame me, and I'll NEVER forgive myself if that ever happened."
"Mom, Dad and Brisa will NEVER go berserk if I get killed," shouted Zephyr who was getting frustrated by now. Seeing his mate in so much anguish and worry like this was stretching his heart painfully, "Heartbroken, yes but they'll NEVER blame you over something that isn't your fault. But I'm not gonna allow Nigel to put you nor Levi through what you both went through as chicks again…"
"Then I'll face this alone," said Aurora, hoping that it would get Zephyr to change his mind. However, the adamant look never left Zephyr's face. The others watched on as the two argued back and forth.
"You'll face this alone?" snapped Zephyr, repeating Aurora's statement in utter disbelief, "No, we'll face this together."
"But…" Aurora looked up at her mate but he swept on. "Look, my beloved star flower, you're my mate and we're in this together for better or worse…"
"No," begged Aurora, "Remember what I dreamt about…"
"Look, I don't care about that nightmare about Nigel killing me or our chicks," Zephyr added.
"We're not gonna allow that to happen, anyway," put in Lapis Lazuli. Levi said nothing while Quincy, Tristan, Larimar and Trixie looked on, fear swarming in their faces.
"But I don't…" began Aurora.
"Don't what?" interrupted Zephyr brusquely. He was getting angry by now, "Don't allow me to defend you against that psycho of a cockatoo? What rubbish!"
"No, I…" began Aurora again.
"Aurora, I will try everything in my power to defend you from that sulfur-crested vulture over there," shouted Zephyr but then Aurora erupted.
"I DON'T WANT YOU TO SUFFER AT THE CLUTCHES OF THAT COCKATOO!" she bellowed tearfully, making Zephyr stop. Then Aurora began to cry again. "I can't. I can't have Tornado, Gael and Brisa losing their son and brother again like last time when you and Brisa were torn from your parents by smuggler intrusion. Only this time, this might be permanent…"
Aurora then sobbed and wept while the other macaws looked on. Zephyr, sympathy replacing irritation, went over to Aurora, put his wings around her and lifted her head up. He then locked his beak with hers and passionately kissed her. Their four chicks either winced in revulsion or just looked on.
"Gross," spat Virgil.
"Kissing is soppy stuff," said Matilda with a wrinkled beak. Justin and Charlotte just said nothing. Then as Zephyr broke the kiss with Aurora, he gazed into her eyes.
"Look, we'll get through it," he said comfortingly, "You just have to stand and fight. You're not a chick anymore. What happened when you were a chick is long gone in the past and you have a new family, and that is us, especially me, our chicks, Blu and his family, and the Spix macaw tribe, and everyone else including Athos and the others."
Aurora tearfully looked up at Zephyr's eyes and began to cry. She then huddled against Zephyr's chest and sobbed into the feathers, Zephyr returning the hug. Blu and Jewel looked on as did the others.
"Aurora," began Levi but Lapis Lazuli hushed him. Around the group, the cats and crows looked on, faces creased with disgust.
"Shall I get Nigel, Otis?" asked Moggy. Otis was about to reply but Cometa stopped him.
"Don't bother," said Cometa, "If those macaws want to snuggle up to one another, then let them go ahead."
"But the sight of those two doing just that is enough to make Nigel puke," said Otis bitterly, eyes flashing at Aurora and Zephyr as they remained in their embrace.
"Just do as I say or I'll fetch Cazador," snapped Cometa fiercely, "After all, those macaws are valuable."
Otis reluctantly obeyed and returned to his post. However, he issued a threat to Zephyr and Aurora as they broke their loving embrace.
"I'll let you two off this once but if you are ever found near each other," growled the lead cat, "I will get Nigel involved."
Zephyr just shot the black and white cat a disdainful glare before Lapis Lazuli put in her remark.
"You stay out of this, feline rat-face," she hissed and with that, she ended her sentence with a hurl of a glob of saliva from her beak onto the floor in front of Otis much to his disgust. Otis did not do anything and sat back down.
"Can't wait to get to the Amazon so that we can set to our tasks," he muttered to himself bitterly. He hated Nigel seeing exotic birds lovingly embracing each other and wanted to put his mind to other things. However, Zephyr defiantly stood by Aurora who was much calmer by now but with the fear still thundering in the background. Levi was also calmer as Lapis Lazuli hugged him. But the two macaws were still on edge. Sapphire shot Phoebe, Cobalto and D'Artagnan a look.
"I hope our escaped friends are right behind us," she whispered. The others wore agreeing looks on their faces.
A few hours later
Tulio and his team had finally arrived in the Sanctuary de Amazon in their helicopter. As soon as they were above the nature reserve, the pilot began to look for a deforested area to land the copter. The pilot carefully manipulated the controls during the descent and carefully touched the highly expensive vehicle down. This done, he switched off the motor blades and Tulio opened the door in the side and jumped out. Right behind him the equipment handlers followed and made a beeline for the cargo bay door. After opening it, they began to unload the bay of the equipment while Tulio and his team, once the others had also hopped off the copter, began to have a preview of their tasks. While the equipment handlers took out the equipment, Dash, Veggie, Ginger, Collette, Daisy, Danny, Esperanza, James and Avellana all hopped one by one off the cargo bay with Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa right behind them, being careful not to get spotted by the equipment handlers. As soon as they were off the bay and in the open Amazon air, the group made a beeline for the cover of the surrounding trees, those that had only been partially or not chopped down by the invading loggers months ago. As soon as all thirteen animals were among the cover of the vegetation, mostly the ferns, they began to discuss their own plans. Collette had nerves dancing in her eyes and sympathy with Broccoli thrown into the mix.
"Broccoli's seriously missing out on all this," she said, "I feel sorry for our brother that he's unable to come along with us."
"Well, at least he's done his bit in trying his best in protecting Blu and Jewel's chicks, sis," said Daisy, "But it's a good thing that he's staying behind. Not only for the sake of his injured paw but because of the serious trauma he had suffered at the clutches of that psycho-too Nigel."
When they were kittens, Collette, Daisy and Broccoli referred to adult animals as 'Mr (name') and 'Mrs (name)', if the female was paired up with a mate, or Miss (name) if the female was single. But now they were young adult cats, they were free to call other adult animals apart from Veggie and Catina, their parents, just by their names. Avellana, Esperanza James and Danny, though they were approaching adolescence, also now called adult animals by their names too part from Dash and Ginger who were their parents.
"I agree, daughter," said Veggie, "Nigel certainly attacked him quite badly and I believe this trip is too much for him, especially with a slightly fractured paw."
He then shot Esperanza and her bandage a glance and said, "In fact, Esperanza could well have stayed behind as well to allow time for that scratch Nigel had given her to heal but… the claw marks are not too deep and serious, so she is fit to come with us."
Esperanza shuddered remembering the brown infernos of that psychotic cockatoo's eyes when he clawed her down the side. Glancing at her bandaged scratch, Esperanza emitted a whine.
"I hope Nigel's not gonna become like this infamous Brutus whom Catina once worked for," she said worriedly.
"Right," called Dash firmly, "Let's discuss our plans before we veer off on a tangent and waste time. Here's what we're gonna do…"
The others listened to him intently.
"We're going to keep an eye on that spy with the dark brown hair," said Dash, "And then follow him to his group Travis told us about. Once there, we're going to split up and some of us will return to Tulio to try and report to him the fraudulent ecologist and his poaching gang. That way we can directly prove to Tulio and his team that one, that spy is not what he seems and two; the poachers will be caught red-handed."
"I have one question," said Travis.
"Yes, go," said Dash.
"What about the macaw flocks?" asked Travis, "When those poachers arrive, they will be sending out those falcons and some of the crows to hunt down the Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws and catching them to haul back to the poachers. Should some of us fly out into the jungle to warn them while you cats and dogs keep an eye on the spy and try to report to Tulio and his team that there are poachers afoot?"
"If there are anyone that should fly out to alert the macaws," said Sunset, "It would have to be us because we're the only ones who can fly. AND we have some experience in the jungle as well for we've lived in it for a few months even though we're not suited to it."
"But we'll have to make it fast though," said Travis seriously, "Those poachers could arrive at any moment."
Eustace, Milo and Rosa nodded in agreement. Dash smiled.
"Okay, Travis, Sunset and you three chicks, you go ahead with that while the rest of us set to our ground work," he said. Travis and Sunset nodded and scooped up Eustace, Milo and Rosa for they were too young to fly at high speeds. Then with a few flaps of their wings, Travis and Sunset took off and disappeared into the trees. The greyhounds and cats were left alone to continue their plan discussion. James kept an eye on Tulio and his team, his eyes focussed on the spy.
"Okay, the rest of us," said Dash, the others listening, "Like I've said, we're gonna keep an eye on that spy with the chocolate brown hair," he stole a glance at Tulio and his team who were currently gathered by the copter in one clump, "Those lot will be dispersing and heading off to find the glaucous macaws any moment…"
"Dad, the suspect is moving away from Tulio's group," shouted James. Dash followed his son's gaze and saw the figure with the dark brown hair leave the group.
"Good spot, James," he said, "Come on, you lot, let's put the first part of our plan into action. We'll modify the rest of it based on circumstances."
And with that, Dash led the group and they began sneaking after the dark haired guy, Ernesto. Back with Tulio and his team, Fernando watched Ernesto leave. Before he left, Ernesto had told Tulio that he was going to meet his group from Manaus (a cover up to refer to Lysandre and his group) and that they will be collecting data from some plants in the Sanctuary de Amazon. Tulio fell for it like a fish for a fisherman's hook and believed him and allowed him to leave and do his job.
The rest of Tulio's team also believed Ernesto to be from another ecologist group from Manaus. However, three of them did not believe this and were suspicious. Fernando, Jack and Jill watched Ernesto recede into the distance and considered following him but Linda's voice pulled their attention away from the spy.
"You three," said Linda, "Are you ready?"
Fernando and the twins at first hesitated, their gaze on Ernesto. But at Linda's firm glare, the trio re-joined Tulio and his team to prepare for their tasks. Some of the members were putting on harnesses, like those used in abseiling only these were used to ascend tall trees to get a better view of the canopy levels and the animals living in them. While they did that, Fernando tried his luck to voice his suspicions to Linda about Ernesto.
"Mom," said he to his adoptive mother as he stepped into his harness for he was going to help with the glaucous macaw population estimate. "I'm still suspicious about that guy over there."
He nodded to Ernesto in the distance and added, "Apparently, I feel he's not what he seems."
"Oh, Fernando," snapped Linda slightly annoyed, "He's just an ecologist from Manaus wanting to help survey the plant life of the sanctuary, that's all. Now leave him to meet his group. We've got our own jobs to do."
Fernando sighed and finished putting on the rest of his harness. Then Jack had an idea.
"Tulio, sir," said the young man, attracting Tulio's attention.
"I'm going to look for any injured animal with Jill," said Jack, making up an intention to cover up his true intentions, going after Ernesto, "Is that alright?"
Jill nodded in agreement but to the twins' utmost disappointment, Tulio shook his head.
"I'm afraid that's a job for the professionals, you two," he said sadly, "You've not got enough experience in the Amazon and there are dangerous animals lurking in every corner. Plus I want everyone in this team to help us estimate the population size of the glaucous macaws. Now come on and get your clipboards and pens."
Jack and Jill sighed and reluctantly left to find their said pieces of equipment which they will use to record the data for the glaucous macaw population count.
"Boy, bro," whispered Jill, "I've been feeling like something is not right since that new guy joined us."
"Yeah, me too and so has Fernando, Jill," said Jack as hr and his twin sister walked towards the copter, "I never liked that new guy at all."
"Do you think he might have opposite intentions to conservation?" asked Jack.
"I don't know but that's what I would like to find out hut Tulio would not let us," muttered Jack slightly sourly. Then the two climbed into the copter to look for their clipboards.
While Tulio and his team continued preparing for the walk into the rainforest to look for the glaucous macaws and the Navyfeather Clan of hyacinth macaws, Dash and his group continued following Ernesto as he began to trudge through a strip of vegetation. There was another large deforested area on the other side of this strip and that was where Lysandre and his group were going to land. Dash and his group had to cross the strip in order to follow Ernesto. As the domestic cats and greyhounds took their first steps into the alien world of jungle, their nerves began to cringe. Dash had his eyes fixed on the surroundings. It was obvious that this place was dangerous, especially for cats and dogs strictly bred to live with humans (though Luiz had visited the Amazon before for the Amazon Untamed party with Kipo's help). The group had heard of or had read in books or on the internet about the various hazards of the Amazon jungle, such as frogs that oozed lethal toxins from their skin which were used by the indigenous Amazon human tribes to coat their darts to make them poisonous; snakes armed with lethal venomous bites while those that were not, particularly the larger species, with powerful muscular bodies capable of literally squeezing the life out of a human and then swallowing them whole; and jaguars, a member of the cat family and a distant relative of Veggie, Catina, Broccoli, Daisy and Collette's species, the housecat, with claws capable of inflicting deep wounds with one swipe. However, the dangers did not end there. In the air were birds of prey with massive talons. Athos had once told Dash that he had witnessed a harpy eagle, the most dangerous bird in the Amazon; gruesomely disembowel a monkey with a single slash of its lethal talons during an outing with some friends from the red macaw tribe during the six month gap between this story and the last. Poinsettia, one of his daughters who had been with the group at the time, had managed to identify the monkey as a howler. And then there were fish in the Amazon River and its smaller counterparts capable of stripping prey to the bone in just minutes, especially when blood was present from any open wound their target had. Dash had read somewhere that piranha go berserk when the smell of blood enters their nostrils.
Avellana had read all about the predators of the Amazon in a large book on the wildlife of South America at Linda's new bookstore when she was a young puppy and had memorised much of the facts and figures about the Amazonian animals. Though she was not as intelligent as Bia or Poinsettia, Avellana was quite knowledgeable about biology, especially ecology.
"Keep together, you lot," said Ginger, "You could get lost in here."
"I don't like the looks of this place," whispered Collette as she nervously darted her eyes at the alien-looking green vegetation. The cluster of vegetation practically reminded Collette of a film called Avatar, a science fiction film about blue aliens called the Na'vi whose home planet included lush jungles. Much like the jungle on the fictional Pandora moon in the film which concealed both beautiful and deadly wildlife, the Amazon rainforest concealed wildlife with the same theme. Only difference was that every living thing was not bioluminescent like in the film with only the fireflies being the exception.
"Let's just stay focussed on that spy," said Dash. The group obeyed and did so. They continued trudging through the vegetation until they finally emerged on the other side of the strip. The cats and dogs watched Ernesto as he also emerged and walked out into the open space. The open field was littered with fallen logs and tree stumps. Young plants were spouting in the brown dirt and the mud itself was bare, exposed to the elements. The previous space was the same. Dash, Veggie and Ginger all looked around in horror.
"This is the result of logging activity," said Avellana, "I've read this in a book about the Amazon Rainforest. As you can see, this was once a clutter of jungle, but now, it's just desolate, treeless land. Without the protection of the foliage from weather such as rain, the soil has become exposed."
"It's hard to believe that such human activity as logging could cause destruction as this," said Veggie as he examined the open space. "No wonder the Spix macaw flock's home had to be set up as a nature reserve. When loggers take away the trees, the wildlife is left with no shelter or food."
"Exactly," said Dash. His eyes remained fixed on Ernesto as he continued walking on into the open space. Then buzzing sounds, like the sounds of Tulio and his team's helicopter's motor blades, filled the air. Ginger's ears cocked to the direction of the sound and her head looked in the same direction.
"Here come some more helicopters," she said. Dash and his group quickly hurried off to a suitable spot amongst the vegetation bordering the cleared space and his among a patch of ferns. Then the group looked out.
"That'll be that spy's poaching group, I believe," said Veggie with a frown.
"Well if that's true then the caged macaws including Blu and Jewel will be present," said Dash.
"Mom would also be present as well," said Collette, "If she's managed to stow away on board one of those flying vehicles, that is."
"Well, as soon as they arrive and take out those caged birds," said Danny, a determined look on his face, "I'm gonna leap in and try and free our feathered friends and show that ugly cockatoo what for!"
"Whoa, Danny, calm down," scolded Veggie sternly. Danny did so and shut his mouth.
"You are forgetting that those poachers are assisted by those peregrine falcons and crows," said Dash in a low voice, "And also those cats and that dreaded cockatoo. You remember what happened last time back at our house in Rio? Some of us could have got seriously hurt, especially at the claws of one of the falcons."
Avellana shuddered remembering battling against one of those dangerous birds back in Rio but she had stopped ad retreated with Dash and James to find Susan and Lucy before the falcon she had fought could lash at her with its lethal claws.
"That cockatoo Nigel could also be dangerous as well," said Veggie, "Considering what he did to Broccoli, it's likely he'll use that deadly bear-trap-like beak of his again."
"Otis and his gang are also likely to be highly dangerous," said Daisy, "Especially since they're bent on getting revenge on Mom and that we're her offspring."
Dash then called together his group and they huddled together.
"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," said the light grey greyhound. He stole a glance at the buzzing noises' sources, the helicopters as they descended towards the space. "Once those poachers are together, I would like some of us to watch them while the rest of us to go back and fetch one of Tulio's team members…"
Ginger, Veggie, Collette, Daisy and Esperanza, James, Danny and Avellana all nodded in understanding as Dash continued discussing his ideas.
While the cats and dogs continued discussing their plans, the three helicopters carrying Lysandre and his group finally reached a low altitude and were ready to land. As the three flying vehicles lowered, the drafts from the spinning blades flattened any slivers of green vegetation against the bare brown mud, while dry mud grains were kicked up. Ernesto smiled proudly as the three helicopters approached the land, unaware that he had a group of three cats and six greyhounds watching him from the vegetation and planning on interfering with his and his group's plans. Then as soon as the three copters touched down, their spinning blades began to slow as the pilots shut their motors off. After this, the doors in the sides of the copters slid open and out of one of them, Lysandre dropped down. As soon as his feet made contact with the Amazon ground, he strode over to Ernesto and shook his hand, congratulating him for keeping Tulio and his team busy. After this, he commanded some of his underlings to open the cargo bays and take out the cages and net guns, as well as the pets who had been travelling in one of the copter's bay. Dash and his group watched from the vegetation, the former ready to put his plan into action.
"Okay, this is it, team," he commanded, "Are you ready?"
"Yes," said the others in unison.
"Then let's go," said Dash. He nodded to his four grown up puppies and they immediately rushed off to find Tulio and his team, leaving Dash, Ginger, Veggie, Collette and Daisy to continue watching the poachers as they unpacked their copters' cargo bays. However, they were unaware that they had internal help: Catina (whom Collette had correctly guessed was present), Athos, Aramis, Porthos and the others with them including Carla, Bia and Tiago, Blu and Jewel's chicks, who had managed to sneak aboard one of the copters.