Obtaining The First Key

Okay ladies and gentlemen! Before we get to the first chapter, I wanted to thank Emilythescarlet for helping me with creating the character Monifa for this story! So now that RDJ knows the location of the first key. Of course travelling at night would be his best option, because he wants to remain hidden from the reminders! He's brought Tomada along for extra brute strength and Monifa of course will be shadowing her mentor. Learning from him, and grasping the kind of fighting style that the head of the assassins uses! Not only that, we will be checking in on Alex, Roberto and Jameson who will be patrolling the city to keep an eye out for trouble! So what are we waiting for? Let's dive right in!

We first start with our assassin friend and his two associates, as they were heading out on their search for Jair's first hidden key. And of course, thanks to the pink female macaw Allie, who RDJ saved in Columbia all those years ago. They were able to track it down quite easily.

RDJ emerged from the top of some kind of shoe shop in a peaceful part of the city. And he ducked down behind a couple of vents, to take a closer look at the burial chamber that he needs to get inside of.

Tomada stood to his right, and was given a hood by Monifa who luckily had a spare. He also had his Tomahawk ready in his wings in case they needed to fight their way in.

As for the female African macaw, she had her bow and arrows out at the ready. And this caused RDJ to look at her with a small grin.

"So you know how to fire that thing?" The blue and gold male asked as he noticed that the bow was quite a good model.

"After my father told me stories about the great RDJ who saved all the slaves of South America using only a bow and arrow, I wanted to learn how to use them myself! And eventually after a few months of practice I got very good at it!" Monifa beamed proudly, sitting down on the roof with her back facing away from the chamber. "Mentor, can I ask you something?"

"Of course…I need to get used to you asking me questions." He smirked in response and kneeled down next to her.

"What were your parents like? You know…before they were killed?" She asked with an innocent smile. But as she did ask this, she thought that this question might upset him. Luckily for her though, he answered the question honestly.

"My father…Leandro. He was an assassin, for many many years! He too was a tough cookie, but always found himself getting into situations that he didn't need to get into! He was a good and honest man…and I only wish I could be twice the bird that my father was!" RDJ explained in a calm tone, placing his arrow bag on the floor.

"I see…and your mother?"

"My mom…Amber…she was such a kind hearted bird! Had a heart of gold, and a spirit as strong as steel. She was always so protective of me as a child, because my father always travelled a lot. So she raised me alone after my brother left when I was just a young boy!"

"Do you ever think about them? While you're out here doing what you are doing?" Monifa rose an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Honestly…not as much as I used to really? I mean, I think about them every now and then. I just try not to let the memory of them being murdered cloud my judgement when fighting my opponents!" RDJ replied as he patted her on the back. But just as Tomada was about to say something…he quickly noticed that three birds had turned up and stood right in front of what looked like some kind of secret tunnel. "Okay…speaking of opponents! Monifa…you take the one on the right. I'll take the two out on the left!"

"Wouldn't it be easier just to attack them from above?" Monifa suggested when looking above where the guards were standing, only to see that the roof was too long for them to get a clean kill from above. "Oh…you noticed that already?"

"Don't worry, I made that mistake a few times and believe me it hurts like hell. You just need to remember, look, analyse and decide! In other words…LAD!"

"Hey, that's exactly how English birds call a guy!" Tomada remarked with a smirk as he prepared to back them up.

"Oh so it is! That's funny…now on three!" RDJ beamed as both himself and Monifa pulled their arrows back on their strings. "1…2…3!"

RDJ shot both his arrows at the two guards on the left in the head, killing both of them instantly, and Monifa shot the one on the right in the throat. Making him suffocate on his own blood while collapsing to the floor.

"Great shot my young student!" RDJ praised the female grey macaw, as the trio leapt off of the roof and ran towards the guards as they closed their eyes with their wingtips and removed the arrows from the bodies.

"Okay, now what?" Tomada asked as the head of the assassins approached the tomb with a wingtip on his chin. Thinking of how to get inside.

"Hmmm…I've seen this symbol before! Hold on…let me try something…" RDJ stuck out his hidden blade and used it in some kind of keyhole. And jiggled it around a little bit, before feeling a kind of rumbling sound.

All three of them took a step back, as the wall hatch slowly began to slide up. Revealing a very poorly lit hallway. Monifa was very keen to get in there, and tried to take the lead, but RDJ placed a wing on her shoulder and she turned to face him with a confused glance.

"What's wrong?"

"Let me go in there first. Who knows what's in there!" RDJ spoke in a reassuring tone, as he was the first one to walk down the hallway.

Monifa was the next to follow suit while staying close to her mentor, and then Tomada followed from behind. With the door hatch closing behind them. Indicating that they were now inside the burial chamber.

A Few Metres Away…

On the very same rooftop of the building that our trio of birds were standing on earlier…two birds were watching the assassins and the falcon enter the chamber. One of them of course being The Destroyer, and the other being the blue throated macaw that attacked RDJ and Lila in the market.

"Shall I send some men in there after them?" The blue throated male asked his master, who breathed heavily through his metal helmet.

"No…in time we will have all the keys when the time is right! As for now, I want you to find their friends! Then we can begin preparations at the weapon factory!" The destroyer replied before he disappeared from sight. As the blue throated male clicked his wingtips for his men to follow him on the search for the group of birds who were a threat to them.

Now Let's Check In On Jameson, Roberto, And Alex…

"Fucking hell! I really don't get how everything is so dull here at night compared to the nights in Rio? This is literally a killjoy." Roberto spoke in a confused manner as they circled around the alley that linked towards the city centre.

"I just wish that we still didn't have danger lurking around every corner! My body feels like it's going to break down unless I eat something." Alex whined in irritation as he spat out some saliva.

(Hey guys? I have a question!)

Devil Darkness spoke from Jameson as they turned around the corner to land on a roof to rest.

"What is it? The fact that you wanna bang Lila? Well sorry buddy, but she is already happily married!" Roberto responded and rolled his eyes, tossing a couple of fruits to his friends that they found in a market stand.

(No not that guys…well…it is about Lila. Do you think…those two will be okay?)

"What do you mean?" Jameson asked, cocking his head to the side.

(Lila seems so unhappy. And RDJ is under a lot of stress! I can't help but think that those two are struggling a lot and it makes me sad!)

"I didn't know you felt so strongly about this?" The snowy owl male pointed out, eating half of an orange.

(I just think…What if she actually does leave him? How is he going to cope after everything he went through before meeting her?)

All three birds on the roof fell into a deep silence after this question. They weren't sure on how to answer it, because none of them got a divorce before, so they wouldn't know what to say.

"Let's just…keep moving okay? We can talk about this later!" Roberto wrapped the unfinished fruits up in separate plastic bags, put them back in his bag and leapt off of the roof to lead them away.

(Mmmmm…haaaaa…What? No…It can't be…)

Devil Darkness felt a bit strange all of a sudden, and he made Jameson very worried before leaving the roof. "Hey buddy? What's the matter?"

(I just…I feel…I can feel his…)

"Feel what? Feel who? What's up with you?" He asked a second time, before noticing his friends just hovering next to them in concern.

(Never mind…I'm probably just overthinking things)

Devil Darkness replied as Jameson just shrugged hod shoulders. The black owl then flapped his wings and joined his friends for the rest of the patrol.

Now Let's Head Back To RDJ, Tomada and Monifa…

RDJ continued to lead the way, even though it was unclear what he would be finding when he gets into the main part of this secret tunnel. Who knows where it was leading?

"Ughhhh…Mmmmm…" Monifa felt a little uncomfortable when walking through the tight hallway. Not because she was claustrophobic, but because she smelt something a bit…iffy.

"You okay there Monifa?" Tomada asked from the back of the group, placing a wing on her shoulder.

"I'll be fine! I'm just…trying to figure out what that smell is!" She wheezed in disgust, as the smell got a bit stranger.

"I can smell it too? That's weird?" The blue and gold macaw male replied as they got to the end of the tunnel. And it appeared to them that they have unfortunately hit a dead end. "Why does the tunnel stop here?!"

"What the hell?! We came down here to face a dead end?! This is bullshit!" The falcon was furious and bashed his large wing up against the wall brutally. Only to realise one small thing.

Tomada realised that he caused a dent in the wall…which felt like to him that the wall was quite thin where he had just hit.

"RDJ! Help me!" Tomada started nudging into the wall pretty strongly, trying to break the wall down with his strength.

The head of the assassins joined in and began bashing the wall as well, using all the strength he had to break it down.

The wall started cracking and breaking with every push and nudge. But then with one final push, all three of them rammed into the wall and it came tumbling down like plaster.

Once the dust cleared from their vision, they opened their eyes and gazed at what looked like a giant cave of some kind. A huge and wide space that was hidden underneath the city.

The cave had several cliffs that surrounded the area, all with waterfalls which fell down to the lower depths of the cave.

"Okay mentor! Where do we start?" Monifa beamed as she just strolled out of the tunnel and hopped onto what looked like a small platform. But just as she went to take another step, RDJ immediately grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back. Which confused the hell out of her. "What are you doing?!"

"Have you by any chance seen what was on the floor in front of you?" RDJ rolled his eyes in irritation, pointing towards the floor like it was obvious.

"Oh shit…it looks like a trip wire?" Tomada spoke as he too saw what his close friend was talking about. "How the hell did you spot that?"

"Growing up as an assassin, you have to know all that's around you! Listen up Monifa, we are going to fly down towards the depths of the cave and find out what is down there! If we are lucky, there is a good chance we might be able to see wether or not the key could be down there!" RDJ nodded his head towards her and spread his wings, flapping them softly to hover above the ground. Then he followed the water that fell from the cliff side, and down to the deep depths of the cave.

The African grey macaw female sighed heavily in disappointment, and rubbed her face with her wing. "Oh god, I'm not impressing him so far am I?" She looked up to face Tomada. Who only shared her pain, patting her on the back.

"Monifa, RDJ isn't looking for you to do exactly what he does? He wants you to show him the things that you have learned! That way he can learn and understand what kind of fighting style you have. So he can give you advice and guidance on how to make you an even more deadly assassin!" Tomada explained while smiling at her.

"But…Why didn't he just tell me that? I'd rather him explain it like that, than think of me as someone who can't deliver on their promise?"

"Trust me Monifa! It's just like with Jaime. He has a completely different fighting style to RDJ. But did he do what he was told? Maybe yes on the battlefield when fighting against Felix and his thugs almost 12 years ago! But he saw how he fights and RDJ helped him improve! Now come on Monifa. The sooner we find out what's at the bottom of this cave, the sooner we can get out of here! I already feel like this place is a death trap!"

Tomada was the first to leap into the air, and follow his friend down the trail of water. And Monifa quickly followed closely behind. But just as she left the platform, her talon didn't leave the ground fast enough, and she accidentally triggered the trip wire. "Oops!" She whispered in a panicked state.

But after a few seconds of looking around, it appeared that nothing really happened?

"Hmmm…maybe it was from like olden times or something?" She thought in her head. Then without even thinking about anything else, she joined her mentor and the falcon. Who were already closer to the bottom of the cave.

Now Let's Quickly Head Back To Alex, Roberto and Jameson…

The remainders started their patrols around this time, and taking them out wasn't exactly as easy as some would think.

Every acre of land here was in their full control, and there was no chance in hell that they would ever give this up.

That's why the muscular blue macaw male, the muscular snowy owl, and muscular black owl male were finding it difficult to continue their own patrol. In the fear of any one of them getting caught in a huge battle. Which is something that they wanted to avoid for the time being.

"Guys, I don't really want to alarm you or anything. But it looks like the streets are rammed full of the remainders!" Alex spoke up in a panic, as he scanned the market with his eyes. Everywhere he looked he saw more birds with weapons scattered across the city. "It looks like we might have to go to the rendezvous point!"

"Great! Where did he say it was again?" Jameson asked unsurely, as he was polishing the end of his baseball bat. "I don't think he told us anything about a possible point where we will rendezvous?"

"Well if you are lucky, you could end up meeting a pigeon and telling them the story about the little voice who tells you things!" Roberto sarcastically replied, feeling pretty annoyed about their current situation.

(Hey dude, that is so not cool! All I want in my life is to get laid again! I swear my hormones will only calm down when that happens!)

Devil Darkness spoke in annoyance, as he felt the need to just do something crazy.

(Hey, what if we did something here Jameson? Kelly back home won't have to know a thing!)

"FOR THE LAST TIME NO!" Jameson shouted in a loud whisper, to try and avoid bringing any attention to themselves in the process. "If you wanna get laid so bad, why don't you just take over someone else's body and fuck someone?!"

(Huh…I wonder if Keith would be looking to possibly…)

"I WAS KIDDING!"

"God, listening to you arguing with him like that gives me a headache! Should we just go home back to the church? I don't really want to spend any more time here?" The snowy owl male pondered, as he felt his muscles aching slightly. Plus he did feel a little exhausted from the heat.

"That's a good idea. Come along guys! Let's just head back before anyone notices us out here!" Roberto replied calmly, as the trio immediately turned around and flew away out of sight.

Let's Briefly Check In On Lila And Jacqueline…

Back at the church now, our favourite blue spix's macaw females Jacqueline and Lila were both sat in the same room as the others were sitting earlier on before they left. And both of them were drinking a couple of lagers that Keith managed to find before arriving there.

"So, be honest with me. I have to know what it is that's scaring you the most about your marriage at the moment?" Jacqueline was very careful about how she asked this question to her best friend. Because she didn't want to say anything that could possibly upset her.

"I don't know Jacqui? My mind is all over the place at the moment. One minute I'm really happy with him and I look at him like I was gazing into his eyes for the first time ever! Then the other minute he's distant, quiet, untruthful! It's almost as if he just brings me along so he doesn't feel alone. Or brought me along to have sex with me when he feels like it!" Lila replied quite sadly, swirling her drink around in her wing.

"But I already spoke to you about this already? You know that he loves you more than anything in the world? If he didn't love you, then I would be agreeing with you right now!"

"I know! I know! It's just..I feel like I'm losing him Jacqui! And this is something I don't like feeling!"

"Listen to me, RDJ loves you more than life itself! You just need to be patient with him and realise the mistakes he made were only to try and finish what his dad started! Then when he has found all of the keys and properly returned the staff and cube, all of us can finally go back home to Rio!" She smiled at her warmly.

"Ahhhh…you're probably right…you're probably right…"

Before We Head Back To RDJ, Let's Check On Keith, Fernando, Jaime And Andy…

On the roof of the extremely old church, our four friends from Rio who were guarding the church decided to sit in a circle and talk about what they were going to do once the job in Mexico was done.

Jaime, Andy and Fernando had a rough idea on what they wanted to do. But Keith however…he was still thinking about the next stage in his life.

"I was kind of thinking about doing some travelling with Lexi when we get back home? She's always wanted to go to Venice! Maybe you could show us around Andy?" Jaime asked the hyacinth macaw male, who smiled and nodded his head at him.

"Of course my friend! I have a family back home in Venice, so I will most likely be going home anyway to spend the rest of my life with my wife and kids." Andy replied happily, shuffling his talons back and forth.

"For me, I'd say I would like to spend some more time with Iris. But I think things will be a little bit complicated for me?" Fernando spoke in…a very fearful tone to say the least. "Especially if RDJ knows…ahhhh…I couldn't tell him!" He whispered the last part very quietly, and luckily for him the others didn't hear him.

"Complicated? What's so complicated?" Keith asked curiously, cocking his head to the side.

"Nothing…it's not that big of a deal!"

"How about you Keith? Where do you see yourself in a few months time?" The blue jay male asked the muscular barn owl. Who instantly went silent after being asked that. "Come on? You surely have a dream on what you want?"

"Well my original dream was to be married to my childhood best friend and have beautiful kids together! But after seeing Siax so happy with Alex, I guess my new dream would be to possibly settle down?" Keith spoke the end of that sentence a little unsurely.

The other three all looked at each other and narrowed their eyes playfully, only to turn around and face him with cheeky grins.

"Why are all of you looking at me like that?" Keith nervously asked, twiddling his wingtips together.

"How about that Monifa? She's a hot piece of ass if you ask me…" Andy remarked with a sinister grin, earning him a slap from Jaime.

"You're married! But he is right though, she seems pretty cute." The blue jay beamed, before Andy returned the slap to him.

"What?! No way! Why would I wanna date someone who's feathers make her look like a dusty old hag?!" Keith irritably replied, narrowing his eyes at the group.

"Oh stop it Keith! You're just mad at her because she called you out on betraying the king and queen! She's now technically the leader of the assassins guild in Cairo, and the head guard to the king and queen?" Fernando spoke as he was polishing his hidden blades.

"I said no! She's complete trash! I'd rather fuck a pigeon that has Psittacosis!" Keith grumbled irritably and threw his spear on the floor before entering the church through the bell tower.

"Come on Keith?" Jaime realised that they may have taken it a bit too far.

"Keith? We were only messing with you!" Andy tried to apologise as well, but it was of no use.

"Dang…he needs a lady to fill the void in his heart that he saved for Siax." The military macaw male thought before laying down on his back. "Oh well…let's just wait until RDJ comes back before we discuss next steps!"

Now Finally, We Head Back To The Head Of The Assassins…

RDJ landed on what appeared to be a small perch that overlooked a raging stream which kept running deeper and deeper into the cave.

His breath started to get weaker, and he placed a wing on his chest to catch his oxygen back. "Haaa…for…fuck…sake! Why couldn't my coma have only been a week?" RDJ spoke as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Dude! Are you okay?" The blue and gold male turned around to see Tomada and Monifa arriving behind him. And he smiled at both of them, as he patted both of them on their backs.

"I'm okay thanks guys. Just catching my…my…" Suddenly, RDJ heard a loud crashing sound that was coming from behind them. Letting his curio get the better of him, he hovered in mid air to take a closer look.

Once he had a peak over one of the walls from underneath the cliff side, his eyes immediately widened in horror. And he began to usher his friend and student away with his wings.

"SHIT! FLY! FLY!" He screamed at them in a loud voice, before taking the lead and didn't stop for a second.

"WAIT! MENTOR?! WHAT'S THE…"

WHHHHSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH! (The sound of a huge jet of water flooding the cave.)

"Oh…that's the problem!" Monifa chuckled anxiously, before Tomada grabbed her by the scruff of her feathers and tossed her onto his back. As he flapped his wings vigorously to get away from the raging water.

RDJ kept ducking and diving through gaps in the walls to outfly the raging water, but he was struggling to fly faster than the falcon male due to his larger wingspan.

"Come on buddy! The water is getting closer!" Tomada zoomed ahead of him, and flew straight down to where the stream was dropping.

RDJ couldn't really keep up with him due to his health…so he only knew of the one thing he could do.

He manages to outfly the raging water behind him, and then he dives deep down into a pool of water that was in the deep depths of the cave.

He swam under the water quite easily due to him learning how to swim when in the Amazon trying to reach Nightfly's parents. So he had no difficulty at all.

"Phuaaaaa!" He resurfaces quickly, realising the raging water managed to calm down. And things seemed to be a lot easier for him now. "Cough! Cough! Tomada! Monifa?! Are you guys alright?!"

"Pftt! Pft! Pft! Ahhhh…yeah! We're okay mentor! Cough! Cough! Where did that come from?!" Monifa coughed the water out of her lungs, while patting Tomada on the back as he still was getting it out of his system.

"I don't know?! Did you accidentally trigger the trip wire?"

"I think so? Im sorry mentor!" The female sadly apologised as she lowered her head in disappointment.

The blue and gold male approached her and placed a comforting wing on her shoulder. "Mistakes is what makes a great assassin! The important thing is that you are still in one peace!"

"Im glad that you guys are okay too! I would have hated it if I was the reason…"

"Don't worry about it my friend! Let's just find this key for RDJ!" Tomada spoke as he shook his feathers dry and tapped the side of his head to get the water out of his ears.

RDJ slowly looked at the surroundings of the cave that he was in. And he didn't really know where to look because all of the walls looked like dead ends to him.

"Fuck…Seriously, I thought that it would be down her…ahhh…AHHHHH!" Suddenly, the head of the assassins felt a sharp pain hit his brain. And he was struggling to concentrate on what he was searching for.

"RDJ? Dude?! Are you okay?!" The falcon ran over to his closest friend and tried to snap him out of it.

"What's wrong with him?" Monifa too was pretty anxious, because she couldn't really tell what was going on.

But as RDJ continued to clench his head…a very faint voice caught his attention.

"Leandro! Help me!"

The voice belonged to a female…but it wasn't a female that he recognised? He looked up and felt where he thought the voice was coming from. But just as he was heading in that direction…the voice continued to hit his brain.

"Please help me! I don't want to lose you again!"

"Ahhhh…who…who is that?!" The blue and gold male felt the voice getting stronger as he approached one of the walls. And just as he did so, suddenly, he felt his wing brush up against a button of some kind. "Huh? What is this?"

RDJ pressed the button on the wall, and suddenly the wall kind of fell flat down on the floor. Revealing a hidden chamber!

"What…How did you do that?!" Monifa was extremely surprised by how he managed to find that room.

"I…I don't know? I just…did it?" RDJ remarked as he jumped over the wall that fell flat on the floor. And once he got inside the room, the voices stopped. But…something even more incredible caught his eye.

On a podium that was attached to the very back wall…something round and circular was glowing a bright gold as it was held in some kind of holder.

"Haaa…Finally, the first one!" RDJ spoke triumphantly, strolling up to the holder. Then he grabbed the key and lifted it up with his wing. As he gazed at this ancient key with so much curiosity in his eyes. "Remarkable!"

"Indeed! But…there seems to be some kind of message on there!" Tomada spoke up as he noticed that the inscriptions on the key were written in Latin. "Did you end up taking Latin lessons with Siax?"

"No…so I guess Allie is our best shot on that one!" RDJ replied as he placed the key in his arrow bag and sighed in relaxation. "Good…now let's get the fuck out of this shit hole!"

Yes! Finally he has managed to find the first key of Jair! Now obviously, a lot had happened since RDJ had a difficult situation in the caves with Monifa and Tomada. Lila is still very worried about her marriage. Fernando is hiding something from RDJ?! But we won't find out what that is until later…LATER…Into the story! But not only that, Devil Darkness is sending something strange? A lot of questions…but we knew that was going to happen! Anyway, I'll see you all soon for the next chapter!