Chapter 75- a serious nightmare part 2
Then Trixie and Tristan tried to take off to get help while Levi and Lapis Lazuli continued to stand defensively with Neytiri and Aiden as they tried to protect Aiden and Neytiri as they held Katniss, Canopus and Arcturus close to them, Neytiri with the former two chicks in her other wing for one of her wings was still in its cast.
"Tristan, Trixie!" called Levi as he saw his son and daughter try to fly over the wall of toucans. The two glaucous macaws ignored their father's protests and continued to escape but before they could make it over the toucan wall, some of the adult toucans rocketed upwards and tackled into the pair, hitting them square in the torsos. Levi and his family flinched while the three chicks let loose short shrieks as they watched the adult toucans, wicked cackles escaping their beaks, then proceed to whack Tristan and Trixie back into the centre of the circle with the others. The pair then crash-landed at the feet of Spyro, Marella, Frodo and Ellie, prompting them to help the two glaucous macaws to their feet while Bambi and Sylvester remained close by, frightened looks on their faces. Then Broccoli stepped forward, his face laced with pure outrage.
"Why can't you just let us go and get on with our stargazing!?" he demanded boldly at the toucans.
"Oh, we only wanna know what you lot are doing out here," replied Marco casually as though the question was insignificant. Titters then escaped the beaks of his mate Anastasia, their many, many kids including Isabella and the other toucans, much to Broccoli's flash of outrage. He, along with the rest of Bia's group, weren't amused at all. Then Anastasia came forward, her eyes fixed firmly on the Spix macaws, especially Tiago, Matilda, Bia, Carla, Virgil and Justin and the chicks in their wings, and also Sandalwood, Stella and Soren. When she and Marco saw Sandalwood and also Sirius, Spica and Bellatrix, the pair proceeded to scan the other kids. The pair realised that Spinel and Sheldon had Betelgeuse, Rigel and Antares back with them, and also Gladion and Lillie with Diantha and Tom. As they continued to examine the kids, wicked and bratty smiles crept into the massive beaks of the observant toucans.
"That's bizarre," crooned Anastasia mockingly, "I thought well over twenty of your kids, including that psycho-chick," her eyes pierced Bellatrix and Byron in Matilda's wings scornfully as she said this, making Tiago, Matilda, Byron and Bellatrix flinch harshly as the remark stung them, before Anastasia's glare turned to Sandalwood clasped against Stella's breast, "and that useless flying fox pup were missing after those poachers took 'em. How did they return?"
Sandalwood, Stella and Soren, as well as Augustus, Melissa, Anabelle, Sebastian, Luna, Acerola and Ferdinand all flinched at the offensive remark and Stella actually emitted a hiss of rage as she glared bitterly at the mocking toucan and her mate as they continued to examine the other kids that had returned from getting poached.
"Maybe they magically returned somehow?" said one of the other adult toucans, one of Marco's siblings scornfully. Then titters rolled through the toucan crowd, much to another flash of outrage of Bia's group. Then Phoebe came forward, a look of stormy thunder on her face.
"We don't have time for this palaver about how our missing kids have returned OR anything else," she snarled, her temper threatening to erupt, "Now let us past or we WILL take action."
As the hyacinth macaw said this, Cobalto, along with Roberto, Brisa, Zephyr and Aurora, stepped forward while Broccoli, Collette and Daisy entered a cat's threat pose by arching their backs, puffing their fur out and sending a hiss filtering through their gritted teeth to reinforce Phoebe's point. But the wall of toucans refused to part in response to the threat.
"I'm afraid we can't do that, big bird," replied Marco casually, much to Phoebe's stormy shock. Then another of the toucans, a female named Mabel, came forward with her mate, their eyes directed at a certain pair of hyacinth macaws standing behind Phoebe and Cobalto and beside Indigo, Victor and their daughter Sugilite, and Violet, Indigo and Zebedee's younger sister.
As Mabel and her mate glared at the male hyacinth macaw with the bandana over his left facial side accompanied by the female macaw with an unusual three-symmetry crest standing beside him, the heads of both toucans tipped to one side as wonder and perplex took hold.
"That too is strange," said Mabel with a confused frown, "I thought Zebedee and Iris would have broken up after Zebedee sent those marmosets to attack Nico and Pedro's club the other night."
As these words left Mabel's beak, surprised and suspicious looks emerged on the faces of Bia's group while some of the kids, among them Sandalwood, Sirius, Spica and Bellatrix, who hadn't been there when Zebedee's framing happened, threw on confused looks. Then Diantha shot her sister a glare.
"Wait a minute, YOU and your MATE were DEFINITELY the ones that dressed as Zebedee and sent those marmosets to wreak havoc on the 'Welcome to Paradise' club in order to frame him the other day!"
"Yes, by dressing up as him in that navy blue feather cloak, that yellow human makeup, the bandana and the fruit shell pieces resembling a parrot's beak!" put in Tom. As Tom said this, Mabel's eyes flashed with immense shock and flabbergast. However, the toucan snidely brushed aside the surprise and threw on a mocking glare.
"Oh, it wasn't me and Robbie here, Diantha," she crooned, "It was definitely Zebedee."
Zebedee stepped forward with Iris.
"I did NOT send those marmosets to attack Nico and Pedro's club!" he retorted furiously.
"And based on your look of surprise at the revelation on the REAL culprits behind my boyfriend's framing," put in Iris, "It was definitely YOU AND YOUR MATE!"
She practically screeched these words right at Mabel and her mate Robbie's face, making the couple flinch and retreat to the toucan crowd. Then Anastasia, Marco and some other adult toucans came forward. Marco stormed over to Iris and gave her a hefty shove, sending her bumping into Levi and Lapis Lazuli.
"How DARE you speak to my sister like THAT, you LOUSY former PET!" snarled Marco as he did it. This sent immense pain tearing through Iris and her eyes flashed with hurt as the remark on her past as an abused pet stung her, especially as the other toucans tittered at the scene. Then Zebedee angrily rushed to her defence but as he did so, Anastasia shot the bandana hyacinth macaw a mocking glare.
"Well if it ain't that one-eyed scarface macaw again," she crooned, stinging Zebedee and stopping him in his tracks and vaporising his boldness in an instant. Iris, despite her hurt, along with Levi and the others, became wary.
"Don't you EVEN think about it, Anastasia," growled Phoebe but Anastasia ignored Zebedee's father's protests and glared at Zebedee as he gazed back at her with an offended look. Then Anastasia, without hesitation, went forward, hooked her wing onto Zebedee's bandana and yanked it off, revealing the hyacinth macaw's clouded eye and unsightly scarred streaks running down the left side of his face where that savage flying fox had struck him while he tried to protect Sebastian, Stella and Luna years ago. Zebedee felt outrage tear through him.
"Hey, give that BACK!" he bellowed and tried to seize his bandana from Anastasia's wing but Anastasia snidely passed it to some nearby toucan chicks and they flew off with it. Then Anastasia glared at Zebedee, his scarred face now on full show, wickedly while the other toucans laughed at the relics of his injury. The others of Bia's group, especially Iris and Augustus and the other flying foxes, looked on in extreme shock and disbelief at the toucans' audacity to mock Zebedee's most sensitive spot. Then Anastasia began to do the most spiteful thing in the confrontation.
"Do you think you're gonna have chicks with that scarred MESS on that FACE, Scarface?" crooned the toucan wickedly which was followed up by rolls of titters throughout the crowd. Cobalto then began to storm forward but Marco and Mabel's mate Robbie darted in his path and spread their wings out.
"You take another step further an' we'll attack you," crooned Marco wickedly, much to Cobalto's shock. Then Augustus tried his luck but met the same result. The same was repeated for some of the other macaws and Diantha as more toucans blocked their way. Diantha then shot Anastasia a furious look as she continued poking fun at Zebedee's scarred face.
"Don't you DARE, Anastasia!" she growled, flinching as one of her many, many brothers glared at her in the face and hissed. However, Anastasia did dare and she folded her wings and shook her head in scornful disapproval.
"Becoming a father with that mess on ya face, hyacinth boy," she continued, "Ain't never gonna happen to you."
"Like how it's happening to you countless times!?" retorted Zebedee furiously, both of his eyes, his left blind eye and seeing one, on the massive number of chicks standing behind Anastasia, among them Isabella, "especially based on how you and your mate Marco and all your siblings and siblings-in-law," his eyes scanned the other adult toucans, "are breeding like insects!?"
This stung Anastasia's bratty pride and her eyes flashed in astonishment at the remark.
"What did you just say!?" she snapped.
"How DARE you compare us to insects!" put in Sofia furiously from the crowd. Then Marco left Cobalto, once two other adult toucans had him blocked, stormed over to Zebedee and gave him a hefty shove, knocking Zebedee into a stumble and a fall onto his backside.
"WE'RE not the insects, Scarface," snapped Marco as he did it, before going over to Zebedee and seizing him by the neck in a talon and pulling his face towards his, "YOU lot are!"
"What did you SAY!?" snapped Spinel as she stood with Sheldon as he held Betelgeuse, Rigel and Antares. Marco's gaze snapped from Zebedee to the pink-red daughter of Athos and Ruby. When he saw Sheldon stand by her, surprise came over him.
"And I thought you two have broken up!" he said.
"Yeah, especially after we told you how stupid you two were in having those two lousy daughters and lousy son, together with the rest," put in Sofia as she flapped over as Marco said this. Sheldon handed the three chicks to Spinel and stepped forward at this remark.
"That's a LIE!" he retorted.
"Is it?" crooned Sofia snidely, "Well if your chicks and pups are gonna be such psychotic killers and will likely GROW UP to be such," her scorn-saturated gaze travelled to Tiago and his family, especially Bellatrix, "Then why did you lot decide to have 'em in the first place?"
"They don't deserve to be born!" put in Marco. This was followed up by another roll of spiteful toucan tittering. However, bemusement flared up within Bia's group. Carla stepped forward.
"We chose to have kids because we wanted to start FAMILIES!" she snapped. Justin, along with Bia, Tiago, Matilda, Virgil, Finnick and Kira nodded harshly in agreement to this.
"Well, you were STUPID in going ahead with those decisions then, ain't you, Fatty," snapped Sofia snidely. Another roll of spiteful tittering sounded from the toucan wall, especially as Carla's eyes flashed with hurt at the insult. Then Marco's glare turned to Sandalwood, Acerola and Ferdinand in the wings or standing by Stella, Soren, Anabelle and Sebastian.
"And those bats are stupid in goin' ahead and havin' pups," he crooned wickedly, "How can you flyin' foxes consent to havin' those pups since YOU are related to that bird-killin' psycho-bat that led the colony of flying foxes that killed birds just for fun. What was his name again? Cicatriz?"
Another roll of laughter emanated from the toucan crowd again, especially as this remark stabbed Augustus and his family like the fangs of a venomous snake, much to the outrage of their bird friends and also Broccoli, Collette and Daisy who now understood why the subject was such an exposed, sensitive nerve for these flying foxes. Sardonyx, Greg, Connie, Steven and Kevin, however, exchanged sceptical and surprised look as Augustus stepped forward, the hurt from the remark pushed aside.
"It is true I'm the brother of that last flying fox colony leader but I'm NOTHING at all like him," he retorted before gesturing to his family, "Neither are Melissa, my two daughters, son and their mates and pups! Since the flying fox colony's defeat at the end of the Great Battle for the Sanctuary, that has changed and ALL flying foxes that had been against my brother and colony's teachings about the birds of the Amazon have made peace with those birds..."
"We now live in harmony!" put in Melissa. Bia and the other birds except Greg and his family and Connie nodded in agreement but to the sheer outrage of Bia's group especially Augustus and his family, the scornful looks never left the faces of their toucan bullies.
"Maybe those flyin' foxes have made harmony with those birds so that they could daughter them and harvest their feathers as trophies!" crooned Marco insensitively which was accompanied by more snide toucan laughs. That did it. Augustus backed away; flabbergast and immense hurt gripping him like the fangs of a serpent. A sniffle then entered his nose as the threat of tears approached him. Then Phoebe decided that enough was enough and that this was the final leaf.
"We're outa here if you're gonna be like that," she snapped.
"'We're outa here if you're gonna be like that'!" crooned Marco immaturely as he repeated Phoebe's statement. Then, to the utmost disbelief of the others in Bia's group, as Phoebe turned round to command the others in Bia's group to follow him, Marco jumped up, hooked his wings onto the hyacinth macaw's right shoulder and yanked her back round, much to her astonishment.
"We haven't finished with you lot!" growled Marco spitefully.
"Why can't you just leave us alone and let us stargaze!?" snapped Cobalto.
"'Why can't you just leave us alone and let us stargaze!?'" crooned Anastasia much to the amusement of the other toucans, much to Cobalto's disgust. Then the toucan wall began to close in on Bia's group, the looks on all of them morphing from scorn to sheer wickedness. This was no light-hearted mischief. This was mischief that was laced with immense maliciousness and borderline villainy.
"Time to cut to the chase, I think," growled Marco as his many, many siblings, siblings-in-law and nephews, nieces and kids of his own closed in on Bia's group. The parents of Bia's group timidly huddled their chicks and pups closer to them while Zebedee stood up and returned to Phoebe's side, the hurt from Anastasia's remark about his face still burning him and sending tears down his cheeks. Porthos flashed glances this way and that as the torch holders continued to shine their lights at the inclosing toucans.
"This is honestly getting out of wing," hissed he while Orquidea took up a protective stance in front of some of the families including Wilbur's. Adenine, Thymine, Guanine and Cytosine ducked in Poinsettia's wings while Wilbur helped to reinforce Orquidea's protectiveness by taking up a stance alongside her as the toucans inched ever closer. D'Artagnan, Sapphire, Aurora, Zephyr, Brisa, Roberto, Aramis, Esmeralda, Phoebe, Cobalto, Levi and Lapis Lazuli did the same with the others of Bia's group while Greg and his family and Connie continued to shoot horrified glances this way and that. Then Connie glared at Sandalwood and his family. While this was going on, two bat-like forms with beaks hovered nearby and when they saw the impending chaos threaten to erupt between Bia's group and the flock of toucans that was more than twice their number, the two forms immediately darted off to Tulio's Aviary to alert those back there.
The toucans continued closing in on Bia's group, Sofia closing in on Spinel and her family.
"Let me see those two daughters and son of yours," she crooned meanly. However, Spinel and Sheldon refused to expose Betelgeuse, Rigel and Antares to the mean toucan. Sofia's eyes then narrowed and without warning, she jumped up and kicked Spinel square in the face, knocking her back and making her toss both the three chicks in Sofia's direction, much to the horror of the others of Bia's group but to the amusement of the toucans.
"SPINEL!" cried Sheldon and went to help his pure scarlet mate to her feet. However, the kick to the face had unblocked the boiling, pressurised volcano of anger within Spinel. Scrambling to her feet and glaring at Sofia as she began to intimidate Betelgeuse, Rigel and Antares, Spinel surged forward, jumped up and without hesitation clawed Sofia across the face, hitting her cheek and opening a wound. Sofia let loose a screech of pain and clasped the area of impact as Spinel glared at her with pale brown-flamed eyes while Antares and his sisters retreated. Nearby, Poinsettia clasped Adenine and his three siblings closer to her, a frightened look on her face. Sofia then glared at Spinel with malice-filled eyes as her scratched cheek began to weep some drops of blood. Marcel, her mate then fluttered over and when he saw what Spinel had done to his mate, he shot the pink-red macaw a furious glare.
"HOW DARE YOU SCRATCH MY MATE, YOU (BLEEP)…" he bellowed and with that, he lunged towards Spinel to attack her, much to the alarm of the others of Bia's group but before he could connect with Spinel in a tackle attack, a blur, coloured black, reddish-cream and orange and black, shot in from nowhere and tackled Marcel away.
"HEY!?" cried Sofia, Anastasia, Marco and some of the other toucans in shock as they watched Marcel fly past them. Spinel also shot a surprised look at the tackler which to her and Sheldon's surprise was another toucan but not Diantha or Tom. Then another toucan similar to the tackler came in and asked Spinel, "Are you alright?"
Spinel gazed at Sheldon and back at the two newcomer toucans and nodded. Marco then glared at the two newcomers and seized one of them by the shoulder, before yanking him around.
"What do you two think you're doing, Carlos and Rita!?" he snarled, the rest of the toucan crowd glaring at the two newcomers maliciously. Surprised glances were exchanged amongst Bia's group.
"Carlos and Rita?" whispered Broccoli as he held Bambi and Sylvester in his front paws while Spyro, Marella, Frodo and Ellie remained in their defensive stances nearby against some of the toucans.
"Look, Marco, this has gone far enough," said Rita.
"These poor birds and their flying fox companions have had enough bother from you as it is," put in Carlos. Shocked glances were exchanged amongst their many siblings and siblings-in-law, before a look of outrage flared on the faces of Marco, Sofia, Mabel, Robbie and Anastasia.
"You seriously need to stay out of this, you two!" growled Marco at his own brother and sister.
"Stay out of this?" retorted Rita, "So that you can abuse these poor macaws and company?" she gestured to Bia's group as she said this. A flash of pure outrage flared within Marco.
While this confrontation occurred, Bia, Carla, Tiago and Kira then checked Spinel over with Sheldon for any injuries while Finnick, Kira, Roberto and Brisa called all the chicks together but then Kira noticed Carlos and Rita begin to face the fury of their deranged siblings, especially based on the tone of the words exchanged between Rita and Marco as they argued back and forth, that furious tone escalating. Then horror tore through Carla, Bia and Tiago's cousin as she watched Marco's talon dart in, seize Rita by the neck and begin to throttle her as its owner's fury reached boiling point, and that Carlos was being restrained by some of the other toucans, among them chicks to prevent him from interfering.
"It seems that you've gone soft in the head, you NO SISTER OF MINE!" snarled Marco in an infuriated voice as he continued to shake Rita like a ragdoll by the neck, making her gag and flinch in pain. Kira then took action. Surging forward like a blue feathered bull, Kira charged into Marco and tackled him away from Rita, making him release the shaken toucan in the process.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" she bellowed. In retaliation, Marco raised his wing and slapped Kira across the face as hard as he could, knocking her down, much to Finnick's outrage. But as Finnick came over to Kira, Sofia spitefully tripped him up before Marco seized Carlos and then Rita and threw them down as well. Roberto and Brisa tried to go over to the four but more toucans blocked their way while the other toucans seized Bia and the others. Marco, an evil, villainous look finally taking hold on his face, then took off into the air and glared at Bia's group, many of them looking up at him with fearful looks.
"You lot seriously need to learn a lesson," growled the toucan in a fiery voice that was no different from that of a thug. He then nodded to his mate Anastasia, his own kids including Isabella and all his siblings and nephews and nieces and siblings-in-law excluding Rita, Carlos and Diantha.
"Attack those macaws and their friends and seize their kids," he commanded, much to the alarm of Bia's group, "Those kids of theirs don't deserve to be with their parents, especially since they are gonna spread lies about our own kids and say that they are badly behaved, naughty and whatnot," as he said this, his malicious glare flashed at Tiago and Bellatrix who flashed offended looks on their faces. Then Marco directed his malicious glare at Rita, Carlos, Kira and Finnick as they looked on in disbelief, "While Sofia and I deal with these four."
Rita, Carlos, Kira and Finnick huddled together with the rest of Bia's group huddled together, their kids clasped to their breasts as the toucans, having now entered the realm of villainy, prepared to attack them. During the build-up to the imminent chaos about to erupt, Zephyr had seized Diantha and sent her up into the air. However, the friendly toucan turned to her mate Tom, chicks Gladion and Lillie and some of the macaws surrounding them including Zephyr, clearly reluctant to leave them but Zephyr and Tom, along with the other macaws gazing at her, insisted that she get help.
"You go and fetch Blu, Jewel and the others NOW!" barked Zephyr, "That's an ORDER!"
Diantha continued to hover there, torn between staying and helping her friends to protect their kids from her countless deranged siblings, nephews, nieces and siblings-in-law, and seeking help. Then when she found herself on the receiving end of the spiteful and wicked glares some of the adult toucans from the crowd, some of them her own siblings, Diantha made her choice.
"I'LL NOT BE LONG!" she cried to Zephyr and the others of Bia's group, "HANG IN THERE!"
And with that, she tore off in the direction of Tulio's Aviary, some of the wicked toucans taking off after her while the others then leaped upon Zephyr and the others and began to attack them and seize their kids to kidnap once again.