Chapter 69- the appearance of some unexpected helpers
Meanwhile
"Oh, Acerola, we're so sorry," whimpered Poinsettia as she, Bia, Tiago and the others returned to Dundee's community's home, Acerola still laying limply in Poinsettia's wings. As the group walked towards the large cluster of trees, burrows and a large leafy tent housing the variety of rare animals that formed Dundee's community, the sounds of pattering on sand as paws and bird feet pelted it filled the air as some animals and birds hurried over to Bia, Tiago and company, among them Neytiri, Stella, Soren and Luna. As the incomers continued to converge in on them, Poinsettia continued weeping over Acerola's limp body, worried on how Stella, Soren and Luna would react if they found her like this. However, before that could happen, Acerola's eyes fluttered open as she managed to struggle out of the blackness of unconsciousness caused by being whacked by one of the caracals and crashing into a shrub when she tried to rescue Bia.
"Go back to the Compartment of the Carnivores," whispered she wearily but with determination.
"Oh, Acerola, I'm so GLAD you're okay," cried Poinsettia as relief ignited within her. The others, especially Bia and Tiago also breathed sighs of immense relief as Acerola jumped out of Poinsettia's wings. Despite being badly struck down by that caracal which nearly killed her, the foolhardy auburn flying fox pup's determination was still intact.
"WHY are we back in Dundee's land!" she growled, her blue eyes blazing with wrath and the said determination to sink her teeth and claws into caracal and serval pelt, "WE'VE gotta HELP WHOEVER'S still BACK IN THE COMPARTMENT!"
This was met with disapproving looks from the older birds, especially Bia and Tiago.
"Don't be so SILLY, Acerola!" cried Frodo.
"Yes, absolutely," put in Bia in agreement.
"You're lucky to be alive," said Victor as he ran with Indigo, "it's a wonder you didn't suffer a broken neck that would have been fatal. You're gonna stay with the other kids."
"While Mom, Dad and the others see to rescuing the others out of that horrible compartment," added Tiago, a timid flash of a glance back in the direction of the Carnivore Compartment.
"Yes," added Eragon, his agreeing glare on Acerola, "Seriously, young lady, we can't have you risking your life like that again."
Acerola glared back at the adult birds with a disgruntled glare and reluctantly complied. However, she was immediately swept up in three pairs of membranous wings.
"Oh, Acerola, you're alright," cried the owner of one pair of the wings, Stella.
"We thought something might have happened to you," said Soren, his wings on his niece's head. Luna, however, had a cross and scolding look on her face as she glared at Acerola.
"Don't you EVER do this to us again," she growled. Acerola, however, did not flinch and just allowed herself to be swept up into her aunt's wings again. While the four flying foxes continued their reunion hug, Neytiri turned her attention on Bia and the others as Finn was handed over to some medically trained proboscis monkeys who took them to take to the medical area to be looked after. However, before Neytiri could ask Bia any questions, not too far away, some small bundles of feathers were rushing towards the group. Betelgeuse, Rigel, Antares, Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, Cytosine, Sugilite, Altair, Aldebaran, Bambi, Sylvester, Gladion and Lillie, all hurried over to Bia and the others, relief tearing through them as they approached the returners and cries of 'Mom, Dad, Aunts (Names), Uncles (Names)!' and so on escaping their beaks. Then as soon as the kids were near the adult birds, they all leaped into their relatives' wings.
Cries of relief and joy erupted from the group as they relished the reunion. Then after the reunion was broken, Neytiri turned once again to Bia.
"Where are Blu, Jewel and the others?" she asked.
"Including Dundee, Reepicheep and the rest," said one of the platypuses and one of Reepicheep's friends nearby.
"They're still in the Compartment of the Carnivores," replied Bia, "Aunts Aurora and Trixie, Uncle D'Artagnan and the missing kids including Sandalwood are still in there…"
"Including Carla," said Eragon. Neytiri exchanged worried glances with Luna, Stella and Soren who held Acerola. The other animals also exchanged worried glances.
"Do you know when Blu and the others will return?" asked Soren in desperation. Tiago was about to reply when suddenly, the sounds of shouting and protest erupted nearby, alongside some sounds of opening doors, interrupting the conversation.
"Now what!?" muttered Tiago and with that, he and the others traced the sounds of protesting and shouting to their source, which turned out to be emanating from the human area on the other side of the wall and its above barrier mesh. Furthermore, the shouters were close enough for complete words and sentences to be deciphered.
"Excuse me, sir, y-y-you can't just barge into here."
"Yes, you require permission to enter our conservation area."
"We don't CARE! We're HERE to retrieve the pair of golden fruithawks and whatever other birds have been BROUGHT HERE BY YOUR POACHERS!"
"Now WHERE ARE THEY!?"
Bia and Tiago's beaks moved to the words spoken by the second person as they mouthed the final words in astonishment while Neytiri's head tipped to one side. The final two voices sounded familiar. Nearby, one of the proboscis monkeys tipped her head to one side in confusion but over the tone of voice used by the answering speakers.
"Did you guys hear those two humans, they sounded so angry," she said to the other proboscis monkeys as they carefully carried Finn to the medical area due to his dislocated wing. Finn, recognition of the two angry voices' owners also welling within him gazed at the monkeys seriously. He knew the reason for the anger in the voice tones of those speakers.
"Well, it's no surprise that those last two speakers are mad," growled he slowly. Then suddenly, more shouting and protesting erupted, making them and the other animals jump.
"Hey, GET BACK HERE!"
"DO YOU WANT US TO CALL SECURITY!?"
"You can't JUST ENTER OUR JUNGLE!"
The eyebrows of some of the animals twitched upward and Neytiri, Eragon, Frodo, Stella, Soren and Luna gazed at the birds who were familiar with whoever was trying to force their way into the artificial jungle, especially based on the sounds of the two doors of the compartmentalised entrance being forced open. Acerola and the other kids with them also exchanged glances.
"I believe those protesters are some of your human friends, are they not?" asked Stella as she and Soren held Acerola.
"We certainly have heard the voices of them somewhere before," put in Kira. Tristan darted in and stretched open his wings.
"You will have done," he said, "And those humans will need our help in finding Blu and the others and dealing with this mess."
"As well as confront those so-called 'conservationists' who run this collector's place over what they are doing to rare animals as well," put in Tiago as he opened his wings and took off, Tristan following. Bia tried to follow but could not due to her scratched wing.
"Bia, don't try to fly," said Eragon and with that, he rushed in despite his shoulder still being in a cast and placed his other wing's claws onto Bia's shoulder, stopping her and allowing Tiago and Tristan to continue to fly to the familiar humans.
Meanwhile
Carnassial continued surging like a caracal possessed after Blu who flew ahead with Sandalwood held tightly in his talons, his mind completely warped by unspeakable rage and the sides of his head streaked with dried blood from his tattered ears inflicted on him by Sandalwood earlier. Blu beat his wings madly and weaved in and out of the various obstacles that came his way; tree trunks, bushes, rocks, even piles of bones threatened to slow the Spix macaw and his passenger down within range of the savage Carnassial who, each time he closed in after Blu, would launch a paw swipe at him and Sandalwood in an attempt to knock the pair out of the air only to miss, screeching loudly while at it, making Blu yelp and Sandalwood scream in terror and prompting Blu to fly faster. Behind Carnassial, Augustus continued his chase of the caracal, his blue eyes burning with immense wrath and the grandfatherly instinct to save his grandson and to protect Blu as well, controlling him, especially as Carnassial kept launching a paw swipe at Blu and Sandalwood with the frightening danger that Blu might end up within rage of the caracal's reach and would end up struck down with Sandalwood in his grasp, putting them both in serious danger of getting injured or even killed by the enraged caracal.
As he dodged another paw swipe from Carnassial that missed his tail and Sandalwood in his clutches by inches, Blu stole a glance at Carnassial and continued flying on, Sandalwood clinging for dear life in Blu's talons. Although he would normally freak out at being carried, Sandalwood was too consumed by terror to even care about his fear of heights and flying.
"That caracal's honestly like that savage poacher's cat we told you about back in the Amazon, Brazil!" cried Blu to Sandalwood as he swerved around a bush with Carnassial following, "He even seems to have a savage temper to match!"
Sandalwood said nothing and continued hanging in Blu's talons as Blu continued to carry him along as Carnassial, another enraged and volcanic screech erupting from his mouth, launched another paw swipe at him and Blu only to miss again. Undeterred, Carnassial continued his relentless chase. Behind Carnassial, Augustus tried to close in on his target but found it a challenge with all the obstacles in the way, especially as Blu kept weaving in and out of them and making Carnassial following him but he refused to give up and began to strain his membranous wings to beat harder to try and gain on Carnassial so that he could jump onto his back and yank the caracal from the chase. As the Spix macaw, the caracal and the flying fox continued weaving in and out of the various obstacles, the audience of animals continued to watch on in horror, too frightened, especially of Carnassial, to intervene. A group of vultures even ducked as Blu shot right over their heads before having to split apart to make way for Carnassial as he rushed through the parting they had made. The vultures then ducked again as Augustus came rushing by. Some carnivorous critters were also forced to scrabble out of the way while three cheetahs backed away to also escape getting run over by Carnassial as he came dashing their way. It was clear that the majority of the other animals living in the Compartment of the Carnivores were especially afraid of Carnassial due to his savage temper and it appeared that they had always had that fear of him, his savage temper and his gang gripping them even before Sandalwood and the other kids were brought to this fake conservation area, and had always avoided the gang of caracals and servals, especially when the group of dingoes, Carnassial and his gang's enemies, brawled with them.
As he shot past the cheetahs who looked on at the chase in utter astonishment, Augustus began to try and hone in on Carnassial as he found he was approaching his target. However, as he was about to leap onto Carnassial's back and viciously attack him, Augustus saw something approach Blu, Sandalwood and their chaser, sending alarm tearing through him.
"Blu, look OUT!" cried Augustus. Blu looked up but before he could lay his eyes on what Augustus had seen, a pair of human hands appeared out of nowhere and clasped onto his body, stopping him right in his tracks for a human, a worker of the 'sanctuary' had appeared to catch him. Stunned, the Spix macaw released his grip on Sandalwood and began to struggle in his captor's hands, sending Sandalwood hurtling through space from the momentum of Blu's sudden capture. Terrified as he tumbled like a ball of paper through the air, Sandalwood let loose a scream and flailed his wings, his fear of flying threatening to erupt again.
"AAARRGGGHHH, HEEEEELLLP!" screamed the amber flying fox pup as he continued tumbling through the air. Close behind, Carnassial, his face glazed with triumphant as his target then began to fall towards the earth, prepared to catch Sandalwood and possibly kill him.
"Now, I've got you, you little RAT!" snarled the caracal but Augustus, who was right behind him, began to shout at Sandalwood.
"SANDALWOOD, open your wings and FLAP THEM!" cried the flying fox to his grandson, "OPEN YOUR WINGS AND FLAP THEM!"
His words flew through the air from his mouth and into Sandalwood's ears as he approached the floor within Carnassial's reach, Carnassial raising his paw and flaring its claws, ready to fatally slam Sandalwood into the ground. But before the wicked and savage caracal could do this, something ignited within Sandalwood, ignited by his grandfather's encouraging shouts and flared open his blue eyes. Then what happened next sent astonishment tearing through Carnassial and Augustus with Blu missing the moment for he was struggling in his captor's hands trying to free himself. Sandalwood's wings stretched open and before he could feel his body slam into the sand of the floor, the little flying fox pup felt air flow over the skin of his wings and before he knew it, he found the sand flow smoothly under him, accompanied by the instinct to flap his wings, making him unintentionally turn a corner and make Carnassial's paw crash into the sand and miss. Sandalwood was AIRBORNE!
"Sandalwood, you're FLYING!" cried Augustus jubilantly. Indeed Sandalwood was. His wings were beating the air and pushing him forward, much to his own astonishment. As he flew past Carnassial, the caracal glared daggers after the flying fox pup and let loose a vicious growl. However, Augustus's immense joy and Sandalwood's astonishment were short-lived. As Sandalwood continued flapping and flying along, the little flying fox pup then began to look down at the height below him but as he did, the fear threatened to volcanically erupt within him, much to Augustus's alarm.
"Sandalwood, don't look down!" cried the older flying fox, "Don't look down."
Sandalwood, however, continued gazing down at the floor below him but before he could freak out as his fear reached near breaking point, the sounds of Blu's screeching and struggles reached his ears and seized his attention. The little flying fox pup's gaze darted from below to Blu as he continued writhing and flapping like mad in his captor's grasp. Augustus's gaze also landed on the struggling Spix macaw and the person as the latter tried to restrain the former and shout for help. Alarm tearing through them, both Sandalwood and Augustus launched themselves at the person and the thrashing Blu as he tried to bite and claw at his would-be captor's hands to free himself.
As he approached the human's face, Sandalwood let loose a vicious squeaky screech.
"You release Mr Blu THIS MINUTE, you UNGRATEFUL…" he bellowed and with that, the little amber flying fox pup leaped onto the human's face and began to apply his teeth and claws full force while Augustus went straight for one of the man's arms. The man's determination to restrain Blu immediately flashed to surprise and horror as a small amber flying fox pup jumped onto his face and began to bite him while another, bigger flying fox landed on his arm and began to sink his teeth into the skin near his hand to get him to release Blu, sending him into a backward stumble towards some on-looking vultures who backed away as the man stumbled their way but before either Sandalwood or Augustus could unleash fury on the person, an extremely loud caracal screech exploded nearby, startling the nearby on-looking animals into fleeing. Carnassial then suddenly appeared out of nowhere and jumped right onto the man's back, throwing him forward and collapsing him onto his front under his weight. This act made the man release Blu and send him flying towards s tree trunk while Augustus and Sandalwood were thrown clean off the man's face and arm respectively. The two bats and Spix macaw let loose terrified cries until they crashed-landed at the foot of the tree, Blu hitting his head on the bark while Sandalwood and Augustus landed face-down in the sand. As the two bats shook themselves to and coughed out sand from their mouths while Blu rubbed the area of his head with a wing where it made contact with the tree trunk, the three found themselves confronted by an apoplectic wildcat with sandy brown fur, dried blood painting streaks down the sides of his head from his tattered ears and his front foot's claws fully flared. Carnassial then glared daggers at the trio as they hastily huddled together, his teeth gritted with saliva dripping from them and a hiss filtering through them and his eyes fixed upon the two bats and Spix macaw as they backed against the tree trunk. Behind Carnassial, the man lay on his front, dazed from being knocked down by Carnassial while the surrounding animal onlookers continued watching the confrontation between Carnassial and his targets as it began to unfold, terror in their eyes and fear gluing them to the spot.
"Now I've got you, you three pesky little interferers," hissed the caracal triumphantly through his gritted, saliva-dripping teeth, sending chills coursing through the skins and spines of Blu, Sandalwood and Augustus. Augustus especially shuddered at the sight of the dried blood painting red lines down the sides of Carnassial's face, the reminders of part of his former colony's war paint involving red fruit paint and how they painted it in streaks below the eyes in such a way that it made them look like they were weeping blood, flashing in his mind. Carnassial then began to slowly pace towards the two flying foxes and the Spix macaw, his eyes travelling and landing on Sandalwood as he cowered in Augustus's wings.
"Especially you, you pesky little RAT!" continued the caracal, making Sandalwood flinch. Not too far away, two feathered comets, one cerulean and the other red with teal and yellow wings, were zooming through the air. Jewel and Athos, as soon as Aurora and the others in their cages had been carried to safety, charged in the direction where Blu and Augustus had left to save Sandalwood from Carnassial while Dundee, Herbert, Wally and the other chimps and orangutans, as well as the Aurum and Gylfie the fruithawks, leaped into the fray with Olympia and her group as they continued struggling against their human opponents as they tried to catch and cage them, some of the animals living in the Compartment of the Carnivores coming to help having finally found the courage to assist. Carnassial continued to growl as his eyes continued to pierce Sandalwood like a snake's eyes, like the snake that had bitten Luna back in Rio immediately after his accident that led to him being so afraid to fly and of heights. Carnassial's eyes then began to burn with the rage he had accumulated against the little flying fox pup.
"YOU have interfered with OUR PLANS to have a RARE PARROT TREAT for the LAST TIME, you little WINGED RODENT!" barked Carnassial in a harsh voice, making Sandalwood flinch, but then a glare came upon his face. Augustus and Blu continued to shudder and back against the tree trunk as Carnassial's eyes travelled to Blu. A devilish grin stretched the caracal's mouth across his face as he examined the Spix macaw.
"But at least you have still brought me a tasty parrot that I can still eat," crooned Carnassial wickedly, sending chills down Blu's spine and skin. Blu shuddered and whimpered. Then Carnassial's eyes returned to Sandalwood once again and turned serious, "But this time, I do NOT want any INTERFERENCE from you little WINGED RAT AGAIN… while I seize that parrot and consume him. If you do," Carnassial's tone of voice began to boil with a threat and one of his front paws rose from the ground and flared its claws, the tips of the fishhooks aiming for Augustus and Sandalwood, "I will NOT hesitate to KILL YOU… by SLITTIN' YA THROAT!"
Sandalwood and Augustus both flinched harshly as Carnassial then resumed his attention on Blu, who began to shudder. Sandalwood then saw what the caracal was going to do, especially as the wicked, parrot treat-obsessed wildcat raised a paw and swiped Blu across the face, knocking him down. Blu let loose a cry of horror and pain as he was knocked down onto his side. Then before he could get him, a paw appeared and landed hard on his neck, cutting off his breathing.
"BLU!" cried Augustus and Sandalwood together. Carnassial let loose a triumphant titter as Blu writhed under him, his frightened brown eyes gazing into his own evil cat's eyes.
"Now it's time to devour my long-awaited TREAT!" cackled the caracal evilly. Sandalwood then felt the urge to save Blu boiling within him and began to writhe and struggle in Augustus's wings. Augustus, fearing for his grandson's safety, tried to restrain him but Sandalwood continued to savagely struggle.
"Don't you DARE even THINK of EATING MR BLU, you FLEA-BITTEN LYNX!" snarled the little flying fox pup furiously. Carnassial's paw, the other one that was not pinning Blu down by the neck, darted out in his direction like a bullet and the claws flared and aiming with laser-point accuracy at Sandalwood's eyes.
"You speak again, bat and I'll kill you," retorted Carnassial viciously, "Both you and your grownup FRIEND you have brought with you."
"His grandfather," snapped Augustus but Carnassial ignored him and refocussed his attention on Blu but before he could continue to taunt Blu before killing him, an extremely loud screech rang out, snapping Carnassial's attention away from his target and in the direction of the sound. Augustus and Sandalwood's gazes also darted in the same direction at the sound, as did Blu's gaze as he struggled beneath his caracal predator.
Jewel surged forward like she had done before, her eyes blazing teal infernos and her wings propelling her forward like rocket fuel. Behind her, Athos was following and around the two, various animals darted out of the way. Then as Jewel's blazing teal eyes landed on Carnassial and her mate under him, a massive screech exploded from her beak. Augustus and Sandalwood watched on as the cerulean comet that was Jewel charged in and jump right onto Carnassial's face, making the caracal screech and begin to writhe as Jewel began to savagely attack his face with her beak and claws, especially his eyes. As the caracal was thrown off Blu, Athos appeared and touched down near Augustus and Sandalwood.
"Augustus, Sandalwood," cried the scarlet macaw as he saw them, "You're alright."
Athos then turned to Blu and ran over to him as Augustus and Sandalwood stood up. in the background, Jewel continued savagely scoring her claws and beak all over Carnassial's face, screeching furiously. As Athos came up to him, Blu struggled to his feet.
"Oh, Athos, thank goodness," cried Blu with relief as Athos helped him up, "That caracal was trying to catch us…"
Athos was about to speak when suddenly, a cerulean blur appeared and slammed right into Augustus and Sandalwood, much to the immense horror of Athos and Blu.
"JEWEL!" cried Blu as Jewel, together with Sandalwood and Augustus, flew into a small bush. Then suddenly, Athos let loose an alarmed squawk, prompting Blu to turn round and before he realised it, he was knocked down by Carnassial as he leaped upon him, pinning him on the floor once again. Blu let loose a terrified cry as he gazed up at Carnassial, his face crisscrossed with freshly inflicted scratches and bite marks weeping fresh blood and one of his eyes clouded for Jewel had managed to blind him in one eye during her savage assault, as he gazed viciously down at him, his paw on his throat once again. Athos then glared at the caracal.
"DON'T YOU DARE HARM THAT SPIX MACAW, YOU ROTTEN…" bellowed the scarlet macaw and without a second thought or hesitation and with his brown eyes blazing fire, he forced his talons to launch the rest of his body into the air and jumped right onto Carnassial's shoulder but before he could take his turn in inflicting the caracal with claw and bite marks, Carnassial flashed him a volcanic glare.
"GET OFF ME!" barked the caracal and with that and to Blu's horror, he raised his other paw and with all his might, smashed it into Athos's torso. Athos, stunned was sent flying towards a large boulder where he slammed into it, hard. The scarlet macaw then crashed onto the floor but his impact against the boulder had triggered something on top of it, another, smaller rock, to wobble and then fall after Athos. As Athos landed on his front at the foot of the boulder, the other smaller rock slammed right onto his left wing. A piercing screech of agony erupted from Athos's beak as something cracked in his wing.
"ATHOS!" cried Blu. Jewel, Sandalwood and Augustus also shouted Athos's name. Athos then flashed Carnassial a severely pained look.
"M-m-my WIIING!" he screeched. When Carnassial heard this, he let loose a sarcastic titter.
"Whoops," he crooned, "Looks like we have a flightless bat pup AAAND a flightless scarlet macaw."
And with that, the caracal erupted into a maniacal laughter, especially as Athos whimpered in pain at his injured wing, before he finally turned to Blu and pinned him harder onto the floor. That did it. Sandalwood glared at Athos as he struggled to free his wing from the small rock, some dholes who had been watching, helping him and snapped his glare at Carnassial, outrage flaring within him. Jewel and Augustus also felt outrage volcanically erupt within them as well but before either of these two could launch at Carnassial, Sandalwood immediately jumped onto a nearby tree trunk, scrabbled up it much to the astonishment of Jewel and Augustus and as soon as he was at an appropriate height, Sandalwood took off and glided right down at Carnassial.
"Sandalwood's no longer afraid of climbing up trees now," cried Jewel jubilantly. However, Augustus was too consumed by fear for his grandson's safety and darted off after Sandalwood as he landed on Carnassial's back and making the caracal's wrath erupt within him once again.
"Sandalwood, COME OFF THAT LYNX THIS MINUTE!" bellowed Augustus. Too late; Carnassial's paw had already risen and had seized Sandalwood, much to the especial alarm of Jewel and Augustus and also Athos who was too crippled with immense pain from his broken wing to intervene. Then Carnassial had Sandalwood pinned against the floor beside Blu.
"Haven't I issued you the warning that I'd kill you if you EVER INTERFERED, LITTLE RAT WITH WINGS!?" barked Carnassial as Sandalwood struggled under his paw next to Blu, his blue eyes blazing with wrath while Blu's brown eyes were flickering with terror. Sandalwood was about to retort when suddenly, a massive, and very angry, scream erupted from nearby, but it was not from a macaw or a flying fox, or from a wildcat. Augustus and Jewel and also Athos snapped their gazes in the direction of the screams and when their eyes landed on the owner of the screams, immense surprise tore through them. Blu also flinched with surprise for those screams sounded familiar while Carnassial was seized by stun. Then Sandalwood glared menacingly at the caracal, the first menacing glare he had ever put on in his life.
"Not cool, man, not cool!" squeaked the little flying fox pup mischievously. Carnassial shot Sandalwood a 'What!?' look but before he could speak, a stick appeared and struck him square in the side, knocking him off of Blu and Sandalwood.
"GET OFF MY BIG BRAVE BOY, you SAVAGE BEAST!" bellowed the holder of the stick, a female human but she was not a member of the fake sanctuary's group of workers. Blu and Sandalwood immediately scrabbled to their feet the moment they were freed and hastily rushed over to Jewel, Athos and Augustus as the woman which had red hair and was wearing a pair of glasses, continued to fiercely drive Carnassial away with her stick.
Blu, Jewel and Athos immediately recognised the lady while Sandalwood and Augustus looked on in awe.
"I think I've seen that human lady somewhere before," whispered Augustus as recognition also welled within him.