Author's note: For this chapter, we're gonna get away from Blu and the monster fights to switch our attention to another bird. I know you guys probably want to know what our feathered friends are gonna do next, but if I just write each chapter with the same formula all the time, it could end up getting old pretty fast. Plus, I'm sure you're gonna like the new character introduced in this chapter and what he'll contribute to the story. Enjoy :)
Porto Alegre, Brazil, 25 August 2006
The sound of wood colliding with balls and wings flapping in the air echoed through the whole empty place. Normally, the Estàdio Beira-Rio would be completely quiet when not hosting an important game of baseball between major teams from the biggest leagues in the world. However, the game currently taking place inside wasn't between groups of humans looking for glory and renown. Nope; it was between birds who were looking to have fun while not a single human was around.
Taking position in front of the catcher and rising a wooden baseball bat was a rather... unusual bird. In terms of appearance, he looked mostly like a screech owl with two pointy ears on top of his head. However, his size matched that of a barn owl and his feathers wore the never seen before color of pitch-black. Saying that most people and animals were confused upon seeing their very first black-feathered owl would be an understanding. And his golden-yellow eyes reflecting a somewhat malicious nature were not helping in that regard.
"Ready?" asked the Jandaya parakeet thrower far away from the black owl, ready to toss the ball.
"I was born ready," the black owl replied, narrowing his eyes into a confident almost sadistic grin, rising his bat with both wings and getting ready to hit.
Taking a good swing, the Jandaya parakeet tossed the ball faster than a rocket. However, even that was not quick enough for the owl's reflexes. Swinging his wings forward, the strong surface of his bat smacked directly into the ball, sending it flying back the way it came from. And not in a figurative way: the black owl literally sent the ball flying back and directly into the thrower's face. He saw some red liquid flying up into the air before the orange bird collapsed on the ground. An amused chuckle escaped his beak before he started running, hoping to at least reach the first two safe points before the other team could stop him.
"Stop! Stop!" Sighing in annoyance, the black owl stopped running and turned around to see a less-than-pleased southern screamer approaching him. "Come on, Jameson, why'd you do that?"
"What, coach? I wanted to go for a home run, but his ugly face was in the way; have to do with what you got," the black owl named Jameson mused with an amused grin.
The other players went to help the poor Jandaya parakeet back up on his two feet. "You maniac! I think you broke my beak!" he groaned, covering his face with his two wings before pulling them back to see them covered in red.
"Well, next time, make sure to keep your clementine head out of my way. That way, I won't be tempted to squeeze its juice out."
That arrogant remark caused both the coach and all the other birds to glare furiously at Jameson. Two of the players took the thrower away to help with his beak. "You know what? I'm tired of that attitude of yours, Jameson! That's the second member of our team you injure this week and the other teams in this city don't wanna play with us anymore because you don't stop sending their players to medical attention!" the coach scolded.
"Hey, not my fault if they're all a bunch of little girls who can't take a hit," Jameson defended himself, crossing his wings and looking away with a frown.
The southern screamer rubbed his eyes with his wing in annoyance before pulling the kind of sigh that announced he took a decision. "Alright, that's it, you crossed the line this time, Jameson. Take your things and get out of here; you're out of the team!"
"Oh, so that's how you wanna be? Fine! I was tired of playing with a bunch of babies anyway!" Storming off, Jameson went to grab his sport bag and flew out of the stadium, leaving his now former team behind.
His baseball bat firmly clutched in his wing and his sport bag resting over his shoulder, Jameson walked through the streets of Porto Alegre with firm, heavy steps. With the clear blue sky and perfect weather, any normal person - or bird - would be in a good mood and taking a pleasant walk. Not him. The anger of what happened earlier at the stadium still burned furiously in his chest. He didn't pay attention to the living beings he came across and displayed surprised looks at seeing a black owl walking on a sidewalk with bird-sized objects.
He didn't care about any of them.
Before long, the familiar surroundings constituting the quarter where he lived came into view. Dirty walls covered in graffiti - some more offensive than others - the horrible smell of neglected homes invading the whole area, humans and animals one would know not to trust at first glance lying all around. At one point, Jameson walked past a woman sitting on a bench and listening to hip hop music (judging by the way she moved) through her headphones and a group of masked teenagers spraying another 'piece of art' on a brick wall. Yup, his quarter in all its glory.
The worst part was that his mother and he didn't even plan on living there. At first, they came in this city because they heard it was one of the most beautiful places they could find in Brazil, and it was also one of the closest locations to their former home. Upon entering the city, their expectations were met, and they thought they would get to live happily with all sorts of colorful birds. Oh, how they were wrong...
See, black owls like Jameson were not common creatures around this city. For all they knew, they were probably the only ones in all of Brazil - maybe even in the whole world. And, unfortunately for them, the birds of Porto Alegre weren't exactly kind and friendly to strangers or species they never saw before. They were even outright mean. Even before they had the chance to get settled in, the locals made it clear that Jameson and his mother were not welcome in the beautiful districts of the city. With no other choice, they moved in the poorer, more dangerous districts.
Jameson was still mad at those pretentious, arrogant birds for ruining his chances to have a good life with his mother. He hadn't forgiven them, and never would...
Carrying his belongings up the staircase on the side of a small building, Jameson finally arrived to where he lived with his mother. A little makeshift nest made of whatever they could find on the ground at the time with an awkwardly placed steel plate hanging over it so that they could have protection during rainy days. Not exactly the most luxurious home for a bird, but that was still better than sleeping in the streets. And besides, it's not like there was any tree around they could settle in.
The very first sincere smile of the day appeared on Jameson's beak upon seeing the figure of his mother checking on some fruits. Sarah looked a lot like her son though she was visibly smaller in terms of size. Plus, unlike his feathers that were pitch-black, hers were more grayish and the wrinkles on her face indicated her advanced age. Even though she didn't have enough energy to play sports with him, Jameson cherished her more than anything else in the world and enjoyed every moment they spent together.
"Hi, mom," he announced his presence with dropping his stuff in a corner.
Sarah perked her head up and immediately turned around. "Jameson! You're back!" In a split-second, the younger black owl found himself clutched in his mother's wings. Despite her old age, she was still capable of giving the kind of hug that could snap your bones. "How was baseball today?"
"It was... nice...," the younger avian replied with rubbing the back of his head.
"You've returned earlier than usual. Did the others stopped playing?"
"Not exactly... Let's just say I'm not gonna play baseball with those guys for a long time... Probably forever."
"Why's that?" Sarah asked, her excitation slowly replaced by worry as she broke from the hug. Jameson proceeded to explain everything that happened at the stadium to his mother. "You've done it again?!" she exclaimed, Jameson not being very surprised by her reaction. "But Jameson, you always told me that you loved to play with your friends; why are you acting so violent around them all of a sudden?"
"It's okay, mom. Playing with them was getting boring, and they weren't really my friends anyway," Jameson assured his mother. "There's plenty other activities for me to do around. Plus, it means you and I are gonna get to spend more time together now."
"Oh, Jameson, you know I'm not young enough to play sports like baseball and cricket anymore..."
"I wasn't talking about sports, mom. We can go on flights, walks, do little games and I can help you around the nest while I'm here."
"You? Doing chores at our nest? Of course..."
"I'm serious, mom. It's true that chores are pretty boring and annoying, but as long as I get to do it with you, I'll be happy to do it." Jameson followed his statement with a kiss to his mother's cheek. His strategy to make his mother happy worked perfectly as shown by the cute blush that appeared on her adorable cheeks. With this being done, Jameson turned her attention to the fruits she looked at earlier. "So? You were preparing dinner?"
"Yes. Those are the fruits I went to pick up just before you arrived. I was gonna make a check-up on them first," Sarah explained as she approached the fruits, taking them in her wings, and observing the colorful objects from every angle. A few seconds later, the smile disappeared from her beak. "Oh no..."
"What's wrong?"
"Those fruits are rotten. They looked a lot better when I took them at the market." Sarah pushed a long, desperate sigh, dropping the rotten mango in her wings on the floor. "I cannot make anything with these; if we eat them, we're gonna fall sick..."
Jameson placed a wing on his mother's shoulder. "Don't worry, mom. I'll just go snatch us a little something to eat at one of our favorite restaurants. There's still a lot of time left before they all close for the night."
"Aww, Jameson, you don't have to. I'm sure I can still go get us something to eat at the market before nightfall," Sarah assured her son, not wanting him to take it too hard after what happened today.
"No, no, no, I insist. You've already worked yourself out enough by taking care of our nest; this time, it's my turn to take care of the work. You stay here and relax until I return with our dinner." Sarah could only smile as her son went to grab his baseball bat and sport bag before opening his wings and taking off the rooftop in the air.
"What did I do to deserve such a wonderful kid?"
While the quarter in which they lived lacked fruit trees that birds usually required to live, Jameson and Sarah never had eating problems. This was entirely thanks to the numerous restaurants and snack shops located in every street - and all of them were easy of access! Whenever he wanted to grab a little something to eat, the young black owl could easily sneak inside a restaurant, grab a little food, and then return home incognito. Today, his target of choice was 'At Lopez', a small chain restaurant known for producing high-quality burritos.
Even before getting inside, Jameson could detect the flawless smell of delicious food being produced, and it made his beak water up. Waiting for one of the employees to take out the trash, he rushed inside just before the door could close and proceeded to hide in a dark spot while waiting for his chance to make the next move. When all the cooks in the kitchen had their back turned, the black owl quickly hopped onto the table where many freshly-cooked burritos were lying and picked up two of them which he shoved into his sport bag before turning around right at the moment one of the cooks turned to collect the command. The little avian took a moment to stare at his confused expression with amusement before leaving the crime scene.
Since the restaurant was located pretty far from his home, Jameson did not have enough energy to make the whole journey back on flight. The extra weight of the burritos did not help in that regard either. Instead, he decided to land down and continue on foot. By this time, the sky turned half-dark half-auburn, giving a great view that went perfectly along with the cooler night breeze. It were those little moments of joy that reminded Jameson that it was worth to keep going on...
Upon arriving back in his quarter and seeing the building on top of which he lived, Jameson's anticipation reached its peak. He couldn't wait to get on the roof, lay on his back, and watch the stars with his mother while eating burritos.
However, as he was a few feet away from the staircase's bottom, the familiar sound of wings flapping and talons hitting the concrete pavement was heard from behind, causing his long ears to perk up. Stopping in his tracks, he immediately turned around, coming face to face with the unexpected sight of a group of hostile birds. Six of them. A burrowing owl with a crowbar, a hyacinth macaw with a steel pipe, an amazon kingfisher with steel chains, a toco toucan with a monkey wrench, a scarlet macaw with a hammer and a Jandaya parakeet with a piece of cotton in his nose... Wait a minute.
"J-Jimmy?" Jameson exclaimed in surprise upon recognizing his former baseball team partner. "What are you doing here?"
"We're the ones who got a question for you, fella," the burrowing owl said in a low, threatening tone, carefully slamming his crowbar into his wing. "Who do you think you are to throw a baseball into our friend's face and think you can just get away with it?"
"What? That?" Jameson asked, pointing a wingtip at Jimmy's face. "That was just a very unfortunate accident. My head was somewhere else, and I accidentally sent the ball in the wrong direction, that's all."
"You really think we're gonna buy that?" the toucan asked, narrowing his eyes and getting closer. "Dude, we know how you, the impulsive black owl, likes to hurt everybody whenever you play baseball, and that regardless if a bird is on or against your team. Jimmy told us it was the third time you did this since the week started!"
"Yeah, it's clear that you believe you can do everything you want around here with no consequence! We're gonna show you how wrong you are," the amazon kingfisher added, cracking his neck like a thug about to get into a fight.
Jameson couldn't hold back some sweat from rolling down on the back of his neck and having to swallow a lump in his throat as the armed birds approached. Sure, he did get into many fights since coming to this city, but saying that he was ready to fight at the moment would be a lie. His body was still pretty tired from his little trip at the restaurant; he couldn't just fly away like this. His baseball bat was still in his sport bag. By the time he took it out, it would be too late and all these thugs would be over him.
"Alright, if I'm going down, might as well cause some damage!" the black owl thought.
Not seeing another solution, Jameson tossed his sport bag straight into the three closest birds which temporarily blinded them, giving him the opening to deliver a right hook across the burrowing owl's face. He followed with a left uppercut at the toucan and a headbutt directly into the scarlet's beak just as he was about to attack with his hammer. Jimmy was left open with nobody in the way; this was a golden opportunity for Jameson to take him down and make him regret planning this assault.
Unfortunately, before his clutched wing could connect with the Jandaya parakeet, the hyacinth macaw who slipped out of Jameson's sight slammed his steel pipe into his back. The black owl pushed a yelp of pain as his body ached forward. It did not stop there as, following this strike, the other thugs grabbed their chance to overpower Jameson by smashing him down with their weapons. The poor, defenseless avian could only groan and attempt to protect his head with his wings as the metal weapons collided over and over again with his body, each strike more painful than the previous one.
After what felt like an eternity of torture, the blows stopped coming. By this point, Jameson was so damaged that he could no longer tell where was the sky or the ground, what was left or right. His view became so blurry that he could barely see beyond the tip of his beak - and the night's dark wasn't helping. A liquid invaded the inside of his beak, forcing him to open it up so that it could flow out on the pavement. Reaching a wing up to his aching head, Jameson blinked his golden eyes to see the pleased face of Jimmy coming inches away from his.
"It hurts, doesn't it, Jameson?" he asked in a low, mocking voice. "That's nothing compared to what you did to me and all of our partners! For way too long, you've been going around, beating birds up just to satisfy your little lust for violence! Now, it's your turn to know what it's like." Jimmy turned to look at his friends. "Follow me, guys. We're gonna go up there and pay a little visit to his moma."
Jameson widened his eyes. In a split-second, all the pain, dizziness and blood in his beak became secondary, getting replaced by the desire to get back up and tear those thugs to pieces. Fighting through the pain that pierced his body, he pushed himself up on his knees, narrowing his eyes into a threatening glare. "Don't... go... anywhere... near... my MOM!"
He didn't have the chance to go any further as a monkey wrench was swung directly into his face, knocking him back to the ground. This time, he wouldn't be able to get back up; darkness started surrounding him. The last thing he saw before fading into unconsciousness was the thugs climbing up the staircase while laughing in amusement...
This day changed Jameson forever. He wasn't sure how much time had passed since Jimmy and his little crew knocked him out, but that was the least of his worries. Ignoring the pain, he immediately rushed up the staircase (since his wings were too damaged to fly) and found his mother lying down in their destroyed nest. He thought his heart was gonna stop beating, but still wasted no time looking at his poor mother. Luckily, her wounds were superficial and her life wasn't in danger.
However, that did nothing to change the fact that those disgusting birds hurt his mother. That night, something just snapped inside Jameson.
From this moment and forward, his sole and only objective was to find Jimmy's crew and make them pay for hurting Sarah. However, his mother's safety came first before anything else, and they needed to find somewhere else to live - especially since their nest was now destroyed and Jimmy knew where they lived. Carrying her on his back, Jameson searched for a little bit before finding the perfect place for them to live in: a waste landfill. Maybe it was disgusting, smelled horrible and just had an unpleasant atmosphere in general, but it was the last place Jimmy and his thugs would think to search them in.
Jameson found a peaceful spot of the waste landfill where no bird or human would disturb them. He had to move some trash and use other to build up the closest thing to a nest he could. Five long hours of work. And it was all worth it to have somewhere to lay his mother onto. Even though they weren't too bad, Sarah's wounds forced her to stay into her nest made of metal and other materials she honestly preferred not knowing about. Far from being as comfortable as her former nest that was made of wood and twigs... but still better than sleeping on the ground.
With a new place to call home, Jameson could start working on getting his revenge. Every second he did not pass taking care of his mother or leaving to go find something to eat, he spent training in order to get stronger. He lifted weights found in the waste landfill in order to harden his strength and resilience, performed a training routine offered by a magazine he found in a pile of trash, but most importantly, training his fighting skills and his way to use weapons.
All of his life, Jameson fought with a baseball bat in order to survive in Porto Alegre. Now was the time to expend his skill tree. During his researches in the waste landfill, Jameson managed to find many weapons he could add to his arsenal: a cricket bat, a hockey stick, a shovel, and even a sledgehammer. All these would help him in his future fights. The next two months consisted of nothing else but eating, training and taking care of Sarah for the young black owl.
Then, at last, the big day arrived. Jameson trained a lot, but nothing could compare to the experience gained on the actual field. So, grabbing his weapons, he spent some nights flying across the street and fighting any thug he could find... which meant a lot. The young black owl worked so hard to perfect his technique that these inexperienced avians passing themselves for tough ones did not stand a chance against him; they always ended up on the ground, covered in bruises. He was now ready...
That night, Jameson packed all his weapons into his sport bag before passing it over his shoulder and then proceeded to wrap some hand tape over his two wings to limit the damage should he have to throw punches. He then grabbed his water bottle, took a few sip to stay hydrated, and pulled it on the side pocket of his bag. "Alright, I'm all-set now. I've left dinner near the nest, mom. Stay here; I should be back in a few hours."
Sarah approached her son. With all the rest she took in the last two months, her wounds healed, and she could once again walk with no problem. "Are you sure you want to do this, son?" Her wrinkled face was twisted by concern as she reached a wing to touch her boy's shoulder.
"Yes, mom. I really don't have another choice..."
"Jameson, I know that you want to protect me, but I don't like the idea of you putting your life in danger out there. Ever since we came into this city, you've been picking fights that sometimes left you with terrible bruises. You don't have to put yourself through all of this, and you know it. We can just leave this city and go back to live with Maddox-"
Even before she could finish her sentence, Jameson pulled her wing away from his shoulder and gave the most serious look in the world. "Don't. Say. That, mom! That guy was abusive and did not care about us at all! I'd rather die than return to him, you hear me?! Plus..." Jameson looked down with a look mixing anger and shame. "We both know it's my fault if you got injured... These guys came after us because I hurt Jimmy for no reason at all. We wouldn't be into that mess if I had known how to control myself... Now, they'll keep coming after us as soon as they find out where we live; I know these kinds of guys. There's no other options: I must cut their desire to hunt us tonight. If I don't come back, mom...," he took both of her wings with his, "... I love you."
Sarah couldn't prevent a few tears from rising in her golden eyes, and she launched herself into her son's wings for what could possibly be the last time. Mother and son hugged each other with all of their strength before the former broke it and shared one last stare with his mother. Then, letting go of her wings, he turned around and took off to the skies. Sarah mumbled a few words as she watched her son fade away into the darkness of the night.
"Please, return to me alive, Jameson..."
During his time playing the vigilantes in the streets, Jameson led some researches and managed to locate where he could find Jimmy's gang. As expected, it was remote from the most active parts of the city and so disgusting that only a group of uncivilized thugs would want to live into it. He didn't judge them for it though; he lived in a waste landfill with his mother after all.
Every step he took filled the young avian with a mix of anticipation and nervousness. Anticipation because he would finally get to settle things with these street rats... but nervousness because even someone as reckless as him knew that he could very well die in such a battle. Jimmy's crew was one of the biggest in all of Porto Alegre, and he was alone... But his mind was already made up by that point. Turning back was out of question. It was time for him to put all his training of the last two months into action!
The more he advanced into the dark alley, the more he could hear the distinctive sounds of laughing, brawling, and screaming. He was getting close. Then, one minute later, he finally made it to the end of the alley and before exactly what he was expecting to see. A campfire set in the middle of the open area casting its auburn light over the figures of street birds chatting loud enough to be heard by the whole city, drinking cups of a foreign liquid (and Jameson preferred not to know of what), and even throwing punches at each other. At least three times more than the group that attacked his mother and him.
It didn't take him very long to locate Jimmy; he was standing with three other birds one of which was a scarlet macaw standing on a tire and telling something that was probably funny, judging by the way everyone around laughed. Cracking his neck, Jameson reached a wing over his shoulder to grab his baseball bat.
"Alright, time to crash the party... And what better way to do it than to take out the fun guy..."
Jameson leaned down to grab a little rock which he planned to use as a baseball. Making sure to aim correctly, he tossed the little object in the air. Batter up... and SMACK! The rock flew across the air and collided with the scarlet guy's face, making him fall from the tire exactly as Jimmy did. "HOME RUN!" the black owl beamed in his mind.
The way their friend got knocked down alerted all the other thugs around - mostly Jimmy who rushed at his side. "Oh my gosh! Dude, are you okay? Dude! Who's the bastard who did this?!"
"I'm afraid that'd be me." All the eyes in the place turned toward Jameson just as he stepped out of the dark and into the fire's light. The way half of his face was illuminated by the campfire's light combined with the way he was swinging his wooden weapon gave him an intimidating presentation... but not as much as the malicious glare in his eyes. "You should know EXACTLY what kind of pain your bud is in, shouldn't you, Jimmy?"
"J-Jameson?!" the Jandaya parakeet exclaimed, his face covered by fear as if he just saw a ghost. "W-W-What are you doing here?!"
"Oh, I went for my usual night flight and decided to stop by and say hello to my good old pals," the black owl sarcastically replied before getting serious and pointing the tip of his bat at the orange bird. "Seriously, Jimmy, you hurt my mom, you destroy my home, and you don't expect me to retaliate at any moment ever?"
"I told you we should've finished him off when we had the chance, Jimmy!" the same burrowing owl who was present on the night of the beat down declared, brandishing his crowbar. "Now, it's time to finish what we started!"
As the thugs all grabbed their weapons and approached him, Jameson's heartbeat increased to unbelievable heights. Both because of nervousness and anticipation. It was time for the revenge he wanted so badly during the last two months. Giving a quick look around, he noticed a bird-sized trash can lying next to him and an idea came to his mind. "You know, guys...," he pulled his bat away and instead grabbed his hockey staff, "... it's not me who's caught with you... It's YOU who're caught with ME!"
Pulling his staff back, Jameson slammed the trash can like a hockey ring, sending it into three of the thugs who got knocked to the ground. The fight was now officially on! The first thug to come at Jameson swung a monkey wrench toward the top of his skull. Since he didn't have time to switch weapons, he blocked it with his hockey staff, pushed the metal object backwards into the thug's face, and then swept him off his feet with the curved end of his weapon.
A second, taller thug attempted to cut him down with a machete, only for the black owl to react faster by knocking the weapon out of his wing and then send him to the ground with an arm (or in this case, wing) drag. The first thug started recovering up, so Jameson decided to kick him in the face before he could get back up and get on the offensive once more. During the last two months, he learned that the best way to win a one versus all fight was to always stay on the move and use his surroundings to his advantage.
Just as he pulled his hockey staff away, another thug located a few feet away from him attempted to throw an empty bottle at Jameson who managed to duck in time, the object brushing against his feathers. As a response, he took out his shovel and cricket bat, successfully tossing the former into the thug's face. He also had the time to knock out the second thug with his cricket bat just before the next wave of thugs could arrive.
"Looks like the fun's about to begin," he mumbled to himself with an excited smirk.
One of the thugs swung a very long steel chain at Jameson who managed to catch it around his cricket bat and gave it a good pull to send him into two more thugs, making them fall like dominoes. However, things did not go as smoothly as with the previous wave as many more thugs started attacking the black owl from every direction, forcing him to get on the defensive for once. A thug attempted to hit him with a steel pipe which Jameson blocked with his cricket bat in time, turning this into a test of strength with both birds pushing against the other's weapon.
Thanks to his raptor instincts, Jameson sensed a thug attempting to take this opportunity to strike him in the back. He stopped him with a kick to the midsection before letting go of his cricket bat to hit the other one in the face with his right wing. This is where his hand tape came into use. With his opponent stunned, Jameson planted the tip of his weapon into his stomach to make him bend down before swinging it upwards, smacking his wooden bat directly into his face, sending a big jet of blood flying up in the air.
Unfortunately this is where Jameson's streak of success came to an end. A thug managed to attack from a dead angle and hit the black owl with a metal weapon in the side, making him groan in pain, and give one of his friends the chance to slice at his wing with a knife, the shocking pain making him drop his cricket bat.
"Damn it!" the black owl swore, looking at the blood flowing out on his taped wing, and then glaring up at his opponents. "Alright, I'm pissed off now!"
The same thug attempted to slice Jameson to pieces with his blood-tainted knife once again, but the street fighter managed to avoid the attack and seize control of his body, using him as a shield against the others' attacks. This gave him the time to take out his baseball bat. With no more use for his shield, he simply let go of him and slammed his wooden bat directly into his back, potentially snapping his spine in half.
While the poor thug collapsed on the ground, screaming in pain, Jameson used his baseball bat to fend off the numerous thugs that kept coming at him. Some of them managed to break through his defense and land a few blows, but nothing he couldn't stand. Seeing as things were going south, Jameson decided to change tactics. He hit a knee strike into one of the thugs' face before turning around and running up a pile of trash.
"Hey! Don't run away now! Come back here and fight, Jameson!" one of the thugs yelled as he ran up after Jameson alongside many of his comrades.
The black owl managed to reach the top of the mountain before his enemies and looked down to see all of them coming after him. This sight brought a grin on his beak. "Morons, you just fell for my trick." The few thugs who heard this statement gave confused looks. However, they quickly melted away upon seeing their enemy on top of the mountain exchanging his baseball bat for his sledgehammer which he lifted in the air.
"No, no! PLEASE, DON'T!"
But those begging fell on deaf ears. Smirking, Jameson brought his heaviest weapon down, slamming it in the middle of the mountain's top. The shock of the impact caused it to crumble and fall down. While Jameson did lose his balance, it was nothing in comparison to the poor avians who found themselves crushed under all the collapsing trash. Once everything was down, Jameson got back up from his rear end and grinned at the few remaining thugs.
"Bet you didn't see that coming, did ya?" he mocked, rising his sledgehammer with both wings again. "Alright, who wants to go next?"
"What the hell is going on out there?"
Everybody stopped moving and turned around. From a big tent located at the far end of the area, which Jameson failed to notice before, came another bird. A male dove with surprisingly clean white feathers. His eyes were hidden behind black glasses (that honestly made him look cool) and his head feathers were pulled up into a mohawk. A big furry jacket rested on his shoulders, making him look like the big boss of a crime syndicate.
"B-Boss!" Jimmy exclaimed in surprise. "I-I'm really sorry! This guy came out of nowhere and attacked us!" he quickly explained with designing Jameson.
"Is that so?" the dove asked, turning his head toward the black owl who deduced he was now looking at him. "May I know why?"
"And may I know who the hell is asking?" Jameson spat back, still feeling the adrenaline rushing through his veins.
"Of course, where are my manners?" The dove removed his glasses to reveal his ocean-blue, surprisingly calm eyes, and pulled the corners of his beak into a grin. "My name is Robbie, and I am the boss of... these guys," he explained, designing all the birds who were lying down after getting beaten up by the black owl. "There's something you should know, son; I don't like the avians who attack my guys."
"Well, sorry for the inconvenience, but I don't like people who attack my mom and destroy my home. Yet, that didn't stop your guys from doing it!" Jameson spat in disgust, pointing his sledgehammer at the dove named Robbie. "I'm not leaving this place until all of you dirty scumbags are left as blood pulps! I'll go through you if necessary!"
"Really? Very well, if you insist on dying tonight. It's been a while since I've last had a fight. Jimmy, grab my stuff." Robbie handed his black glasses to the Jandaya parakeet before removing his furry jacket from his shoulder, revealing a tight wrestling outfit that was covered by the design of a green Chinese dragon. This made him look more like a martial arts expert than a crime boss. "Stay back and watch, boys; do not interfere!" he ordered.
As Robbie approached Jameson, he started swinging his two wings into a strange pattern that looked like a fighting stance. Frowning, Jameson pulled his sledgehammer back in his sport bag and rose his taped wings. "Alright, bare-winged then!"
Jameson decided to make the first move by stepping forward and launching a punch. But if he thought it would be easy, he was wrong. Robbie effortlessly ducked his attack and immediately replied with a series of quick punches to his exposed torso, following with a kick directly under his beak, knocking him to the ground. Jameson blinked his golden eyes multiple times, trying to proceed what just happened. The muscles of his stomach were aching more than ever and some blood started filling his beak.
Looking up, he saw Robbie still in his fighting stance, giving him a mocking grin, and then daring him to approach with his wing. Slamming the ground in frustration, he got back on his feet and charged with rage like a bull, running directly into a roundhouse kick to his face that knocked him back to the ground. "Come on, boy, I'm not even trying there."
The street fighter reached a wing to his poor aching face. That dove wasn't like the others; he'd have to be smart if he wanted to win this one. Kicking up, he jumped toward his opponent in hopes to surprise him with a superman punch... only to receive a knee strike into his rib cage that cut his breath short. "Do you think I'm dumb, kid?" Robbie asked, leaning toward Jameson's face. "All you do is throwing predictable attacks that I have no problem avoiding. If that's really all you can do, I'm surprised you managed to survive in-"
Jameson took benefit of his little speech to surprise Robbie with a right hook across the face that made him stumble back. Blinking his eyes multiple times, he reached a wing to his nose and retracted it with some blood. He nodded with an annoyed expression. "Alright, playtime's over!" Even before Jameson could react, Robbie delivered a devastating spin kick that almost broke his beak and knocked him to the ground again.
Turning around, Robbie walked over to Jimmy, taking his clothes back. "Boys, finish him off. But make sure he suffers," he ordered his remaining men while pulling his black glasses over his eyes.
"Don't worry, boss; he WILL suffer!" one of them assured with excitation.
Through his blurry view, Jameson could see the thugs approaching him with malicious grins and brandishing their weapons. The hits from Robbie left him too stunned and hurt to fight back. Was this how things would end for him? Would he fail to avenge his mother and get killed by these scumbags? What about his mother? Would she be able to live in this city without him? She did recover from her injuries... but what if Robbie and Jimmy's gang went after her? She wouldn't stand a chance! No, Jameson could not let this happen!
THUMP!
Just as they were about to reach the street fighter, the thugs were stopped by a figure that came down from the skies to stand between them and their prey. The campfire's light allowed them to discern the intruder: a female hyacinth macaw with dark blue feathers and yellow facial expressions. She possessed the unusual features of a red headband around her forehead alongside some fitting goalkeeper gloves on her wings.
"Well, boys, ganging up against one, alone bird? You must admit it's not very fair-play," she remarked with a look mixing amusement and annoyance.
"Who the heck are you, darling?" one of the thugs asked, not having expected to see a girl in the middle of this brawl.
Another one suddenly widened his eyes and pointed a wingtip at her. "Hey! I know her! It's Tanya, captain of the Rio Fireballs football team!"
"Oh? So I'm known even among the thugs of this place? What an honor," Tanya mused with a grin. "But that doesn't change anything to the fact that I absolutely DESPISE bullies like you who like to gang up on a defenseless bird just for fun!"
"Hey, I'm not defenseless," Jameson pointed out.
"This is none of your business, girl. Now get out of here, so we can finish what HE started... Otherwise, we're gonna have to do hard things." Despite Robbie's threats, Tanya did not move a single feather. "Fine, as you wish. Come on, boys, take care of her."
The thug who recognized the young captain decided to make the first move, approaching the hyacinth macaw with a grin and swinging his steel pipe to look intimidating. "Alright, girl, I have a lot of admiration for what you do in the stadiums, but business is business. I'll try to go easy on you-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as Tanya simply punched him across the face which not only snapped his beak, but also sent him flying across the area all the way into a pile of trash. All the eyes in the place widened in shock... even Jameson's. How did this girl do that? Even he could not punch a thug so far in spite of all his years of training.
"You boys wanna play? Excellent, then... We're gonna play!" Tanya declared with a sinister smirk as she got into her fighting stance once again.
Robbie's thugs stood no chance. They all launched themselves at the young hyacinth macaw and got knocked away like mere flies by all of her punches. In not even a minute, all of them were lying around the place, defeated and unconscious. They were maybe not as damaged as the ones Jameson defeated... but they still looked badly hurt.
"Ya got that right! That's what you dummies get for messing with the wrong girl!" the hyacinth macaw boasted, giving a smug grin while keeping her wings on her hips.
Jameson blinked his eyes so many times that his dizziness completely disappeared. Did he hit his head too hard? Did he hallucinate everything that just happened with this girl coming out of nowhere and punching away the thugs he struggled with like food bags? Was he secretly dead and all of this came from his inner desires in the afterlife? One thing was for sure; he was going crazy...
He was going to call the girl and make sure all of this was real when he noticed Robbie giving his clothes to Jimmy once again and approaching her from behind. Shit! Jameson was about to reach for any weapon in his sport bag when he realized that his shovel he tossed at that thug earlier was lying right next to him. A gift from above! Grabbing it with his wing, he made the quick calculation before throwing his weapon once again. Thanks to all the gods in heaven, it actually connected with the dove's ugly face before he could kick Tanya in the back, interrupting his move.
The sound of a shovel connecting with a skull alerted Tanya of Robbie's presence. She turned toward him with a grin and rose both of her red-gloved wings which were suddenly set on fire, their light illuminating her grinning face. "Firepaw Burner!" A blast of fire left her wings to hit Robbie, setting him on fire. The poor dove could only yell in pain and shake all around as his feathers were roasting up. Eventually, he collapsed down, his body crisped up, but the way his chest moved indicating he was still alive.
Tanya panted a bit and turned the fire on her wings off before taking her headband off and rubbing her forehead a bit. "They won't say I never work out at night," she remarked before pulling her headband back on. Then, she turned toward Jameson who was still in a sitting position and looking at her with confused eyes. She approached him, giving him a sincere, kind smile, and offering a wing. "You're okay? These guys didn't hurt you too bad?"
"Huh... No, no, don't worry. I'm fine. Just... fine." Jameson accepted her wing, not without hesitation after seeing fire coming out of it, and allowed Tanya to pull him up to his feet. "W-Who are you? What's that fire thing you just did with your wings?"
"I have a more important question; what were you doing fighting all these guys by yourself?" the hyacinth macaw asked, rising an eyebrow and pulling a wing on her hip. "I might not be an expert with the street life, but charging up against an entire gang like that is pretty reckless."
"Hum, yeah..." Jameson rubbed the back of his head with a hesitant look. "I... had to settle a score with those guys. There was no way to avoid it; I had to do it..."
"What do you mean by that?"
Jameson proceeded to explain the whole story to Tanya, telling her about how he and his mother arrived in Porto Alegre, his frustration problems, how Jimmy and his friends destroyed his home, and why he wanted revenge. The further he went into his explanation, the more Tanya widened her eyes and expressed a look of sympathy. He could tell she did not like what she was hearing at all.
"And you guys really couldn't do anything to live in the safest part of the city?" the hyacinth macaw asked at the end of the story.
"Nope; the birds there made it clear that we were not welcome. I couldn't stand them trashing us simply because of our feathers and I couldn't beat them all on my own. We had no choice but to move in here. Everything has been good then until... this," Jameson responded, designing the unconscious birds lying all around them. "And it was all my fault..."
"That's nonsense!" Tanya suddenly exclaimed. "Birds shouldn't have to be pushed away and forced to live like this for something as stupid as feather colors! This is all changing right now! You and your mother will come to the city's safest place with me!"
Jameson blinked his golden eyes multiple times. "I-In the safest place? But how? I just told you that the birds there-"
"You don't have to worry about them. My football team is very famous; we have our own place and plenty of friends there. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to welcome you with open wings - we have a lot of space!"
"You... You can really make us get in there like this with no problem?"
"Exactly! And since you two will be living with us from now on, we might as well become friends." She reached her gloved wing forward. "My name's Tanya. Captain of the Rio Fireballs... But just call me Tanya."
The black owl hesitated for many seconds... before pulling his beak into a grateful smile and shook the hyacinth girl's wing. "I'm Jameson!"
"Nice to meet you, Jameson! Now let's go find your mother and get her out of this trash land!"
Rio de Janeiro, present days
A loud yawn escaped Tanya's beak as she removed her headband and Flame Wings, ready to go to bed. After doing their usual workout routine this morning, she and the rest of her football team went to Nico and Pedro's samba club to celebrate all day long. It drained a lot of energy... not mentioning all the alcohol she ingested throughout the whole day. A good night's sleep was in order.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
The hyacinth macaw groaned. Who could come visiting her in the middle of the night? Grumbling, she turned back to the door and opened it up. "Dude, would you mind coming back tomorrow? I'm very tired and need to sleep. I'll sign you an autograph tomorrow-"
She didn't finish her sentence, widening her tired eyes upon seeing the one who came to visit her. A certain bird covered in black feathers with a sport bag over his shoulder, golden eyes glowing in the dark, and a smiling black beak. "Hello, Tanya. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Oh. My. Gosh. JAMESON!"
Author's note: It's official: this chapter is longer than the one with Blu and Alex fighting the Ghouls off. I remember a time when people always told me that my chapters were too short; guess they must be thinking they're too long now XD
In this chapter, we got introduced to Jameson, OC of one of my closest friends, Jameson the Phoenix Owl. I hope you're happy with the way I portrayed him here, dude! If that wasn't already clear enough, for this version of Jameson's background and fighting style, I took inspiration from Casey Jones, my favorite character from the TMNT franchise. Plus, the characters of Jameson and Robbie are inspired by certain pro wrestlers.
You'll notice that the way Jameson got introduced to the story was very different when compared to the other OCs. Yeah, that's because I always did the same thing for them: Blu, Nightfly and Jewel do something, get in trouble with monsters, then meet the OC who helps them, and they all become buddies by the end. I wanted to introduce Jameson in a special way to please a special friend :)
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, stay close to your beloved ones during these dark times, and may the gods watch over you all.