Chapter 48- preparations to go to Peru and a theft at Tulio's Aviary… this time with success
Back in Rio
Desperation laced with immense hope was boiling within Blu's group near the Aviary of Tulio. Blu and Jewel, together with D'Artagnan, Aurora, Athos, Aramis, Phoebe and Levi, were preparing to leave Rio, determined looks on their faces. Accompanying them were Carla, Bia, Tiago and Kira; Justin, Matilda, Virgil and Finnick having volunteered to stay behind with Roberto, Brisa and Zephyr to take care of the remaining seven kids including the rescued Byron who had reunited with his cousins and Diego, for the still-injured macaws such as Virgil with his scratches had to recover and also to continue to help Tulio and company to continue to see to the toucan population ravaging the Blu Bird Sanctuary and also the poachers. Spinel and Poinsettia had also opted to come while Wilbur decided to stay behind to be with Porthos who had just come out of surgery to repair his injured foot. Also going were Stella, Soren and Augustus (with Melissa, Sebastian and Anabelle staying behind with Ferdinand and Luna), Benjamin (Petunia had opted to stay behind to look after Esmeralda who had also come out of surgery), Indigo and Victor (with Zebedee and Iris opting to stay behind to look after Violet and help Cobalto), Jasmine and Finn, Trixie, Aiden and Tristan (Neytiri was too injured to come and Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire had decided to stay behind), Frodo and Spyro (Marella and Ellie having opted to stay behind as well). In all, 27 had volunteered to go on the mighty rescue trip.
When Broccoli, James, Daisy and Collette had showed Blu and company the magazine containing the pictures of some familiar young birds and flying fox, recognition had immediately taken hold within them, especially Carla and Justin regarding Spica; Bia and Virgil regarding Sirius; Tiago and Matilda regarding Bellatrix, Ellie and Frodo regarding Sylvester and Soren and Stella regarding Sandalwood. Following this, Blu had established a plan in going to Iquitos, Peru, to the Sanctuario del Paradiso and retrieving the kidnapped chicks and Sandalwood, hoping that Acerola, Lillie and Gladion, both of Diantha and Tom's chicks, had been taken there as well. During this, he had ordered everyone to decide who will be going and who will be staying for there were still tasks to be done in the Blu Bird Sanctuary as well as looking after the remaining kids and also the casualties such as Neytiri, Porthos and Esmeralda, and Eustace and his family who were still traumatised after one of the malicious toucans set their birdhouse alight during the evacuation from the toucan gang's savage attack on them, and Vincent, Eragon, Luna and Eva who were still recovering. It had taken some difficulty for some of the birds and flying foxes to decide whether they want to go to Peru or stay behind in Rio; Stella and Soren had been especially torn between staying behind with Melissa, Anabelle, Sebastian, Luna and Ferdinand and going to Peru to rescue Sandalwood but at Melissa's insistence, alongside that of her brother, sister and sister-in-law, Stella had chosen the latter option with Soren going along with it. The same had been repeated for some of the others: Bia had been torn between staying with Virgil, Miles and Einstein or leaving with Blu's subgroup to rescue Sirius and the other chicks but Virgil had insisted that she go along with rescuing Sirius and the others. It had taken a while for everyone to rest on their final decision and soon, Blu and company, those that were departing to Peru, were preparing themselves to leave.
Broccoli, Daisy, Collette and James watched Blu's group as they said goodbye to each other. They were accompanied by Dash, Ginger, Ebony and also Avellana and Rusty, the former two having wondered where James and the three cats had gone. Broccoli watched with Virgil with worried and sombre eyes as he passionately kissed Bia in a very tight embrace, Miles and Einstein, together with Sonia, Byron and Melody, looking on with wrinkled 'Eeeew!' faces.
"I hope they find the Paradise Sanctuary without too much trouble," said the tabby cat worriedly.
"Iquitos is a long, long way from here," said Collette, "Almost 2600 kilometres. It could take Blu and company good few days to get there by flight."
"Well, they don't have a choice," said Dash firmly, "Sandalwood and the others have been missing for almost a week now and Blu and company want to get those youngsters back in the safety of Brazil as soon as possible."
As he said this, Cometa and Lightning turned up. They had been in Tulio's Aviary to check on the new casualties, among them Neytiri and the majority of the Control de Plagas Squad was talking with Blu and company, those that had opted to go to Peru, and offering them advice and suggestions on what to take, such as a map, a compass and some food.
"How are the casualties, Cometa?" asked Dash.
"Neytiri and Esmeralda are fine; the latter is bandaged up and the former has her broken wing in a cast," replied Cometa as she and Lightning stopped by Broccoli, but then a look of thunder crossed her face. "But we are especially OUTRAGED at what happened to Eustace, Milo, Rosa, Clemont, Serena and little Peach and Yolanda. Vincent could have lost his entire family and Travis and Sunset could have lost all their descendants but him."
"To hear how some of those toucans had almost killed those cockatoos by setting fire to their birdhouse with them still inside," put in Lightning, "That, alongside their kidnap of Byron, Tiago and Matilda's son and imprisoning him in a cage to give to the poachers ravaging the sanctuary, for me, goes even beyond Nigel's fiendish deeds such as badly injuring an innocent bird, like how he had done to Jewel by breaking her wing, or tearing a chick from its family like he did Levi and Aurora."
"Those big nosed hoodlums have had their steak, then," said Ginger with an enraged look, "I just hope they are caught and evicted from the sanctuary."
When Dash and Ginger turned up, Broccoli had explained everything that had happened to Blu and company, as well as Tulio and his family, and how he, Collette, James and Daisy had seen the ransacked cottage, destroyed birdhouses including the one belonging to Eustace and company, the one that had been set on fire and had been reduced to a pile of blackened wood, and the state of Tulio and Linda as well as a seriously shaken Fernando and Tommy.
"That's right," said James as he stood with Ebony. He shuddered at the memories of seeing the massive fire that tore through the Sanctuary de Amazon years ago on TV, as well as the devastation fire always caused if it ever got out of control, whether through carelessness or through deliberation, to both human places and forests alike.
"Travis and Sunset are gonna explode outright when they hear what those toucans had almost done to their only three offspring, their two offspring-in-law and their two granddaughters, I can tell you," said Ebony nervously. She had never seen Travis and Sunset explode into violent tempers for it was out of character for the two aging cockatoos to do this but it was, without a doubt, possible. Furthermore, Travis and Sunset may never associate with Rafael and the remainders of his family ever again apart from Diantha, Tom and their chicks Lillie and Gladion, the latter two who were still missing. The others with Ebony nodded in agreement to this.
Inside Tulio's Aviary, the humans continued their usual activities of caring for the birds and Luna. Esmeralda, Porthos and Neytiri had been placed in cages. The surgery on these three birds had been completed and now the four had been moved to the care unit to recover. Neytiri's broken wing was in a cast and Porthos's injured left leg was bandaged. Esmeralda was covered in bandages, with most of her head being wrapped in the white strips of fabric. She bore a large bump on the head where one of the stones thrown by the toucans during the rescue of Byron had struck and the rest of her injuries were the result of crow claws and beaks slashing her and biting her. While Esmeralda was in the cage with Neytiri and Porthos, Aramis was talking with Orquidea and Wilbur.
"We're going to be a few days, you two," said the lithe great green macaw, the state of his beloved mate bringing his emotions close to the edge, "Hopefully, all of the missing kids including Sandalwood, Sirius and Bellatrix will be rescued."
Orquidea gazed back at Esmeralda through the cage bars and the bandana of bandages on her head.
"I hope you manage to find those kids and bring them home safely," she said, still clearly traumatised from the whole ordeal with the toucans and seeing the cockatoos nearly get burned. Wilbur simply nodded in agreement to this. In the cage adjacent to Esmeralda, Porthos gazed at Aramis. His entire left talon was wrapped in a bandage with only the toes protruding out of the bottom. Porthos's injury had been stitched up but the blue-and-gold macaw was still in a great deal of pain, and that wound was likely to scar, much like how the blue-throated macaw Ariel's massive injuries on her torso and forehead had done after some flying foxes had slashed her with their sharp-sticks and clawed her in the face. Due to his injury, Porthos was unable to come with Blu and company on the massive journey to Peru, as much as he wanted to help, since all four of his grand-chicks that had come on the Rio trip were likely over there with Sandalwood and the others. He then took the opportunity to speak.
"You be careful out there," said Porthos firmly, attracting Aramis' attention, "The last thing we want is you getting badly hurt as well like in that close shave you had with those vile toucans and poachers when you rescued Byron."
Aramis, a determined look on his face, nodded in agreement. Aramis then turned to Petunia, his daughter, "You be brave and look after Esmeralda and the seven remaining kids. Also help the rest of the group until we get back."
Petunia, who was by now calmer, nodded to this. She had already bid Benjamin goodbye and was prepared to face the time when she will be separated from her beloved scarlet mate.
Nearby, Neytiri was bidding Tristan goodbye, tears falling from her eyes as she hugged her mate through the cage bars with her other wing.
"You be safe, meu amore," she said as she broke the hug with Tristan, "And I hope you rescue Arcturus, Katniss and Canopus with Aiden, alongside the other missing kids."
"We will, my dear," said Tristan. Close by, Aiden and Trixie stood, waiting for Tristan to join them. Despite her small size, Trixie had opted to go along the trip and had protested to go along when she was met with persuasions that she stay in Rio for her safety. However, after her persistence, Blu relented and allowed her onto the team. While Tristan bade Neytiri farewell, Eragon, Luna and Vincent came in.
"It's going to be a long few days," Luna said worriedly. She was clearly frightened for Stella and Soren and was tormented by thoughts of them getting hurt or worse, getting caught by poachers or a predator. Luna had already lost her nephew Sandalwood and Niece Acerola to those poachers; she could not stand the thought of losing two more flying foxes closest to her, along with her father Augustus, who had also opted to go along, as well.
"Someone will have to let Andromeda, Travis, Sunset, Rafael and the others know," said Eragon.
"Marella's got that covered," said Luna, her gaze on Spyro's mate as she checked over the bat-birds, "She will be flying on her bat-bird to that little orange bat colony's cave home and to the residents' evacuation area to report to those guys about those city cats and dog's findings as well as what happened to Blu and company at the clutches of those toucans."
"Diantha and Tom are going to be rather surprised to hear about that, while Grandpa and Grandpa are gonna..." said Vincent, but he trailed off, not wanting to describe Travis and Sunset's possible reaction to the fiery incident with Eustace and company. The cockatoo's attention then turned to Poinsettia as she bade Wilbur one final goodbye before leaving for outside through a window to join with Blu and the others who will be leaving for Peru. However, Tristan was reluctant to leave Neytiri's side. His eyes were weeping tears and he was trembling, his wings clasped into Neytiri's uninjured wing, the only one that was not in a cast. However, Neytiri was insistent.
"You HAVE to go with Blu and rescue our son, daughter and nephew with Aiden, meu amore," she said, "Don't worry about me or Porthos or the others. We'll be safe here."
"Besides that," said Porthos as he looked on with Esmeralda, "Tulio's team will look after us."
Tristan, however, was still rooted to the spot, hopelessly stretched like a rope in a tug-o-war game between going with Blu and the others to Peru and staying by Neytiri's side. But despite insistence from Neytiri, Porthos and Esmeralda to go with Blu, the poor glaucous macaw remained rooted to the spot, unable to make up his mind. Aramis, Poinsettia, Trixie and Aiden looked on as they waited for him.
"He's clearly reluctant to leave," the latter said.
"This is much more intense than when he had to leave for Guyana with us, among them Neytiri, to find the legendary Jurassic Jungle and treasure," said Poinsettia.
"Only this time, Neytiri is unable to go with him due to her broken wing," said Aiden. He then gazed at his brother-in-law as he began to break down, his wing interlocked with Neytiri's. Trixie also breathed a sigh and said nothing.
"I-I-I can't do it," he wailed, tears falling from his eyes in great amounts and his body shaking like a loose object in an earthquake.
"But you HAVE to!" said Neytiri, "Aiden and your father Levi need your help."
"As do Blu and the others," put in Porthos. Trixie then walked in to gently usher her brother away from his mate. However, as she did this, her navy blue eyes caught movement out of their corner. Seeing this, the youngest of Levi and Lapis Lazuli's first brood and the runt of it turned but when her eyes fully picked up a moving shadow on the wall, suspicion splashed over her. Compelled to investigate, Trixie opened her wings and took off. Aramis, Aiden and Poinsettia then exchanged glances and left for outside to join Blu and the others to wait for Tristan out there, not noticing Trixie flying off to investigate something for they had assumed her to have left for outside.
Back outside, Blu and the other goers were prepared to leave for Peru but Blu had written down some plans on a sheet of paper with a human stick thing he and the other formerly domesticated macaws and the city animals called a pen. Nearby, the Control de Plagas Squad including Velocity, Cometa, Lightning, Orion and Hermione were talking with Carla, Bia, Tiago, Zephyr and the others. Some of the gang, among them Justin, Matilda and Virgil, stood aside with six of the remaining kids in their wings: Diego, Sonia, Melody, Einstein, Miles and Byron who were asleep. Benjamin stood impatiently with Indigo and Victor, waiting with Levi for Tristan.
"What's taking Tristan and Trixie so long?" asked Petunia's scarlet mate, his wings crossed and his talon tapping on the floor.
"We haven't got all night," said Indigo, Victor nodding in agreement.
"Oh, do try to be patient, you three," said Levi, his eyes gazing at the window leading into the medical room of Tulio's Aviary, "I think Tristan's reluctant to leave Neytiri behind."
As he said this, Broccoli, Dash, James and Ebony came in, a bag full of fruit they had managed to find in the food storage compartment of the building.
"Here," said Dash as he and the other three set the food down before Levi and the others, "You'll need this for the long journey."
"Oh, thanks, Dash," said Levi as D'Artagnan, Aurora and Phoebe came in and took hold of the food bags.
"It will give us a start," said Phoebe with a smile.
"But we're likely to find some fruit stands on the way to Iquitos," said Aurora as she lifted up one of the bags. Dash, James, Broccoli and Ebony all stood back as D'Artagnan, Aurora and Phoebe and Levi left with the fruit to take to Blu and Jewel as they continued discussing things and writing them down. Athos, Aramis and Augustus watched on.
"It's going to be a long few days until they return," said Dash.
"It's just like Carla and company's trip to Guyana so many years ago," said Broccoli.
"Yep," said James. Ebony was about to say something when suddenly, a massive shattering noise rang out, followed by human shouts of surprise, sending everyone leaping into the air. Blu and the others stopped their discussion, as did Cometa and the other birds of prey and Carla's group and within a second; all eyes were directed to the source of the sound. But the moment their eyes landed on Tulio's Aviary, very pale blue tinged white smoke began to billow out through the open windows from within the medical room, much to the immense horror of Blu's group.
As the smoke continued to billow through the windows, spluttering and coughing erupted from within.
"I hope that's not a…" began Blu but he restrained himself from saying the 'f' word, the word that began with this letter and ending with 'e', and the word that Jewel detested the most besides 'Nigel the cockatoo'. However, Athos knew what Blu was referring to. His wings shot out and he lofted into flight towards the smoking building but he noticed something unusual about the smoke.
"I see any orange glow though," he said, shuddering as he remembered one of the toucans nearly burning Eustace and company with it in the birdhouses back at Tulio and Linda's cottage. As Athos shot towards the smoking building and the coughing and spluttering, both from the humans and from the animals inside, emanating from within the Aviary, Blu, Jewel, D'Artagnan, Aurora, Aramis, Phoebe and Levi followed. Carla, Bia and Tiago, Justin, Matilda and Virgil attempted to follow but Zephyr restrained them.
"No, you stay here, you six," said the latter three's father for he had sensed something very suspicious about the smoke and knew that it was not from a fire. Carla and the other five exchanged glances and retracted their wings to watch Zephyr, along with Roberto, Brisa, Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli, follow Blu and the others to investigate. However, as Blu and company, along with Dash, Ebony, James, Daisy, Collette, Ginger and Broccoli, approached the smoking building, several birds, among them Milo, exploded from the streaming, puffy snake of smoke as they darted out of the open window, dispersing some of the smoke on their way. The Major Mitchell's/sulfur-crested hybrid cockatoo, together with a parakeet and a military macaw then collapsed like wet pieces of paper onto the floor, coughing and spluttering to clear their lungs of the polluting gas. Blu and Jewel touched down before Milo as he heaved his upper body with his wings, coughing and hacking, gasping and straining to breathe. Athos looked on with worry. Milo had been through enough traumas for one night after that ordeal with the toucans.
"A-a-a c-c-canister… (cough, cough)… j-j-j-just app-p-p-peared through (cough, cough, wheeze)…" began Milo as he struggled to form words. Then his wing went to his throat and chest as he continued to cough. Blu caught the cockatoo in his wings as he flumped down, his other wing having lost its strength to support his upper body.
"What canister!?" demanded Blu. Behind and around him, Jewel, D'Artagnan, Sapphire, Aurora, Zephyr, Roberto, Brisa, Athos, Aramis, Phoebe, Lapis Lazuli and Levi, Broccoli and the other cats and dogs, and now Ruby, Orquidea, Esmeralda, Cometa and Lightning as well as they had come to investigate, exchanged glances and looked on in worry. Broccoli and Daisy supported the military macaw and the parakeet as they continued to cough as well but then the two birds began to slow their movements down. Blu, however, was focussed on Milo whom he held by the cheeks in his wings.
"What canister?" he demanded again. Milo tried to form words but he felt drowsiness come over him and consume him. In his vision, Blu, Jewel and the others behind the former two began to merge into a blurry, indistinguishable mess. Then the cockatoo's wings and legs suddenly flopped down as they lost their strength and his head bowed in Blu's wings. And soon, snoring sounds began to emanate from Milo's beak and the beaks of the military macaw and the parakeet as well as drowsiness consumed them. At this moment, a two-legged figure, one of the humans, clumsily exploded through the door of the main entrance to Tulio's Aviary and collapsed onto his front, his eyes sliding shut and his mouth beginning to emit snores. More smoke billowed through the door above the human as he, too, was overcome with drowsiness. Broccoli gazed at the three birds and then the human and frowned.
"They've slipped into slumber land," he said. Blu looked on in immense disbelief as Milo snored soundly in his wings, sleep having gripped him hard. Not too far away, Orion had flown to the rising column of smoke as it continued to emerge from the open window. However, the moment the falcon's beak entered the plume of smoke and had sucked a sample of it into his respiratory system, Orion's head jerked back and he began to cough and splutter, flapping clumsily.
"Orion, get OUT OF THERE!" shouted Lightning as his son flopped onto the ground like a wounded duck. Patters of talons and paws sounded as Orion was swallowed up by a crowd of colourful feathers and drabber coloured fur.
"Th-th-the gas is d-d-definitely the c-c-cause of the…" spluttered the falcon as he struggled to breathe. He then tried to stand up with Jewel and Lightning's help but the falcon felt his head spin and his legs go weak as the gas began to take its effect on him. Then moments later Orion slipped into a light slumber, flopping in Lightning's wings. D'Artagnan was then about to dart towards the smoking window but Athos's wings hooked onto his shoulders and stopped him.
"Don't approach the window, Dart!" barked the scarlet macaw. Aurora was about to do the same but Blu also stopped her.
"Don't go anywhere near the window," commanded the brown-eyed Spix macaw, "That gas has a soporific effect."
"What's 'soporific' mean?" asked Brisa.
"It means 'sleep-inducing'," replied Phoebe. Brisa and Roberto shot the hyacinth macaw a horrified look as Blu then began to slowly approach the sleeping human as he continued to snore his head off, dread coming over him like a wave.
Inside Tulio's Aviary's medical room which was completely foggy from the sleep-inducing smoke, the other humans and animals had all fallen into a deep asleep and lay like scattered toys all over the floor and tables of the medical room. Tristan, Eva, Neytiri, Esmeralda, Trixie, Porthos, and also Luna, Eragon Vincent, Eustace and the other cockatoos, and Marella and the bat-birds including Eragon's were also sound asleep as the blue-white smoke continued to flood the room. A gas canister lay on the floor amongst some glittering shards of broken glass, the sleep-inducing smoke spewing from its nozzle beginning to slow down as the canister's contents were almost depleted. Near the canister, another human, a lady, had tried to contact Tulio on her mobile phone but had succumbed to the effects of the gas and had collapsed, her mobile phone tumbling out of her outstretched hand as she fell to the floor like a large, potted houseplant being knocked over. Then as soon as everyone in the medical room had entered a deep sleep from the effects of the gas from the canister, movement began at the smashed window through which the canister had flown in. Four humans; all dressed in black clothing with strange looking masks on their faces consisting of a pair of transparent eye parts and a nozzle-like protrusion ending in a disc perforated with holes covering their noses and mouths, climbed carefully through the shattered window and landed in the room. Two of them were carrying cages and as soon as all four were through the window, two of them immediately made a beeline for the breeding chamber, exactly where the two golden fruithawks were hiding, while the other two began to search the medical room for any rare individuals. Outside, Blu, Jewel and the others peered around the corner of the building, Poinsettia and Spinel having called the group over after spotting some shady figures lurking in the shadows of the building.
As they gazed at the group of shadowy figures which resembled humans, four-footed animals and some birds, Blu scowled at them, especially as the shady group stood close to the smashed window.
"If my theories are correct," he said in a low voice with a frown, "I believe those shadow creeps are the ones that threw in that soporific gas canister through that window right into the medical room."
"Why would they wanna put everyone in there to sleep with that gas?" asked D'Artagnan confused. Then Velocity, Stella and Soren felt an idea pop into their head: the incident involving those crows when they tried to take the golden fruithawks, resulting in Merlin's death in the process.
"Maybe they are after something?" asked Velocity. She then turned to Blu, Jewel, Athos and the others. Carla, Bia and Tiago, together with Justin, Matilda and Virgil who had a very tired and sleeping Sonia, Melody, Byron, Miles, Diego and Einstein in their wings, walked in.
"What if they are after something in there?" said Velocity as suspicion continued to boil within her.
"Then those workers and the other birds and animals inside that building would be an obstacle to those creeps," said Blu. Then it dawned upon him. "And with those workers pushed out of the way can those creeps sneak into the Aviary to nab anything invaluable in there…"
Then the Spix macaw's lower beak dropped open as he remembered something. Stella and Soren also felt dread come over them.
"(Gasp)! The GOLDEN FRUITHAWKS!" blurted out the former.
"They could be after those two extremely precious fruit EATING HAWKS!" shouted the latter. As this realisation reached the ears of the others and their brains absorbed the information, Roberto began to sway as though he were about to faint while Jewel's wings darted out and she took off into the air.
"Jewel, where are you going?" asked Zephyr, "Jewel? Jewel? JEWEL!"
However, Jewel was already out of earshot, prompting Zephyr to follow her. Blu then shot Aurora, D'Artagnan, Athos, Aramis, Phoebe, Levi, Lapis Lazuli, Roberto, Brisa, Ruby, Orquidea (who had also flown out here) and also Augustus, Broccoli, Daisy, Collette, James, Ebony, Dash and Ginger and many of the Control de Plagas Squad falcons a stern look and said, "Get Carla, Bia, Tiago and the others to somewhere safe, NOW!"
Then without a second's hesitation, the said birds and city mammals set to the task and commanded Carla and company, along with Stella, Soren, Sebastian, Anabelle, Ferdinand, Melissa and Augustus to move away while Blu, along with Lightning, Cometa, Orion (who was still sleepy from the sleeping gas' effects but due to only breathing in a FAR smaller dose of the smoke, he was able to cooperate to a degree) and Hermione followed Jewel and Zephyr to further investigate the intruders' intentions.
Jewel and Zephyr arrived at the skylight, the roof window constructed above the breeding chamber with Blu, Lightning, Cometa, Orion and Hermione behind them. As soon as they were on the glass of the skylight, the group peered into the breeding chamber.
"This is HONESTLY like what happened to me and Blu and also Zephyr, Brisa, Aurora, Levi, Lapis Lazuli, D'Artagnan and Sapphire when we were kidnapped by those pesky thieves…" grumbled Jewel disgustedly. None of the others answered, however, for they were too engrossed in watching the drama begin to unfold in the breeding chamber.
"There," said Hermione as her hawk-like eyes spotted movement in the dark room and she pointed a talon claw at it. The others followed her point and spotted a figure as it moved through the dark room. A metallic glint shone from something in the figure's hands as it continued to slink through the shadows. As Blu, Lightning, Cometa, Hermione, Jewel and Zephyr continued to watch the figure walk through the dark breeding chamber, Orion's ears picked up the sounds of talking. The peregrine falcon, his head still somewhat light-headed for the small dose of the gas was still in his system but was wearing off, gazed in the direction of the source's sound and flashed the others a glance. He then slowly crept away from the others and traced the sound to its source, which were some of the human figures talking gleefully below the roof. Orion stopped and listened.
While Orion, the effects of the small dose of the sleeping gas quickly wearing off, listened to the taking, Cometa, Lightning, Hermione, Zephyr, Blu and Jewel continued to watch the action in the breeding chamber through the skylight.
"Do you think we should break through the skylight and rescue those fruithawks, Blu?" asked Hermione.
"I don't think it's a good idea," said Blu, "After hearing what happened to Merlin, you might end up badly hurt or worse."
"And besides that," put in Cometa, "Those intruders have backup and they might not hesitate to send them in and apprehend you."
"There they go," came Zephyr's voice. Hermione, Cometa and Blu's attention were pulled back to the breeding chamber below them and they began to watch the action as it exploded within the room. Two bird-shaped forms, specks of gold flashing from them, darted across the breeding chamber as the figure chased after them. Hawk screeches rang out as the bird-shaped forms flapped madly to escape the intruder. However, the two hawks did not get very far as another figure had entered the room. The second figure then pounced onto one of the birds and shoved it into a metallic glinting object it was carrying. Moments later, the other hawk was seized and stuffed into a similar glinting object. Cometa frowned.
"Looks like Velocity, Stella and Soren's suspicions are confirmed," she told the others. Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Hermione and Lightning just gazed at her, speechless. Just then, Orion darted in, an alarmed look on his face.
"I've just overheard some of the shady figures as they were talking," he said, "And they were discussing something about giving the captured rare birds including the pair of fruithawks to some humans from that…"
But before he could finish the sentence, shouts erupted from below the roof.
"Police are coming! Let's get outa here!"
Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Lightning, Cometa, Hermione and Orion all bolted into the air as though they had been stung by bees and darted for the edge of the roof. The group then peered down and saw the shady figures as they launched into a frantic urge to flee. However, as the group turned up, Cometa's eyes landed on something familiar in the hands of some of the intruding humans but as identification took hold, her heart dropped like a stone, especially as those sleeping birds; three turquoise or blue, grey-headed macaws, a metallic four-winged bird… and a white flying fox… were tossed into some of the cages.
"They've got NEYTIRI, TRIXIE, TRISTAN, ERAGON AND LUNA!" she screamed.
"Oh I hope Marella and the bat-birds..." added Lightning with dread for these individuals for they had also been in the room when the gas canister was tossed. Zephyr was about to launch himself at the humans but Blu's wing appeared and seized him by the shoulder.
"Get BACK!" shouted Blu and with that, he dragged Zephyr away as he, Jewel, Cometa, Lightning, Orion and Hermione hastily retreated towards a protrusion in the roofs… just before some corvid birds appeared from below and began to examine the spot where they had been. However, those corvids had been called back by the humans and they disappeared below the roof, allowing Blu and company to emerge from their hiding place. It was then that three more Spix macaws appeared.
"Dad," said Carla to Blu, "We've just overheard from one of the shady humans that they are aiming to give their captured birds to their 'Peruvian clients'."
"Sounds like those poachers are definitely going to send their captured birds to Peru," put in Tiago.
"But we don't know where though," said Bia. Orion gazed at the trio with a frown.
"That's exactly what I've heard as well," he said.
"Call the others who have volunteered to go to Peru at ONCE!" barked Blu urgently, "We're gonna follow those poachers."
"Hopefully, we'll follow those captured birds and Luna," added Jewel, "When those poachers give them to their clients and hopefully end up in Peru where we will rescue those captured birds, find the Paradise Sanctuary and find Sandalwood and the others."
Carla, Bia and Tiago nodded and darted off to call the other volunteers who had opted to go to Peru while Blu, Jewel, Orion, Hermione, Cometa, Lightning and Zephyr scattered, at the exact same moment the intruders wearing the gas masks emerged from the broken window to Tulio's Aviary's medical room, the caged pair of golden fruithawks in tow.
It was time for Blu's plans to be put in motion.