Amazon Adventures
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Big Game
The animosity between the blue and red macaw tribes had simmered down following the battle against the loggers, but there was still a hint of friendly rivalry between the two. Eduardo and Felipe agreed to set up some sporting events to channel that rivalry, in order to ensure it stayed friendly. To that end, they organised a soccer match between the youth of their tribes.
The blue macaws' team consisted of Tiago and several of his friends. Skye had also volunteered, the spunky tomboy raring for a chance to show off her skills, as had Renaldo, who had been selected to be captain. Meanwhile, Antonio headed the red macaws' team.
Bia, not being the sporting type, watched from the sidelines, while Carla led the blue team's cheerleading squad.
"Go for it, blues!" She whooped. "Beat those reds!"
Every macaw from both tribes lined the walls of the Pit of Doom (voting was currently underway for a change of name), cheering on their sides.
"Go, Tiago!" Jewel yelled. "Show 'em what you've got!"
"Let's hope he does better than I did the last time I was here." Blu joked.
"Of course he will." Eduardo grinned. "He's my grandson, isn't he?"
Roberto and Felipe, who had been coaching their teams, stood together on the sidelines.
"Ah, this takes me back." Roberto smiled.
"Yep." Felipe nodded. "We weren't much older than they were when we played our first game."
"Which my side won, by the way." Roberto said smugly.
"Beginner's luck." Felipe said airily. "My team won't be needing that. They'll show your kids how it's done!"
"We'll see." Roberto declared.
"May the best team win." Felipe grinned.
Meanwhile, Miguel politely made his way over to where Bia was sitting, edging around the seated birds.
"I wish your side the best of luck." He told her sportingly.
"Yours too." Bia smiled. "...Would you like to sit by me?"
"Oh, uh, sure." Miguel nodded, sitting beside her.
The teams were performing their final warmups.
"You ready, T?" Skye asked as she stretched her wings.
"Oh, yeah." Tiago nodded as he extended his leg. "I'm gonna rock this thing!"
"Not as much as I am." Skye teased.
"Well, look who we're up against." Antonio sneered to his two lackies. "A shrimp and a girl. I'm so scared!"
The lackies chuckled sycophantically. The other team members simply rolled their eyes.
"Back off, Antonio." Renaldo stepped forward. "This is supposed to be a friendly competition."
"No such thing as 'friendly competition'." Antonio smirked. "You'll see that soon enough."
At the referee's urging, the teams took their places.
"You know the rules." The Bare-faced curassow declared. "First to five goals wins. Now, call it."
"Heads." Renaldo called.
"Tails." Antonio declared.
The referee threw a yellow-and-orange bird into the air. The bird landed on her back, her head pointing upwards.
"I don't know why I even come in for work." The bird groaned.
The referee kicked the Brazil nut that had been designated as the ball over to Renaldo, and the game began.
"And they're off!" The porcupine narrator declared. "These young macaws, some of the best both tribes have to offer, vying for dominance in this friendly skirmish."
"Renaldo passes the ball to Skye!" His tapir cohort narrated. "She passes it to Tiago..."
Tiago caught the ball, and flew towards the red team's goal.
"Gimme that!" Antonio snarled, knocking Tiago aside and taking the ball himself.
"Foul!" Eduardo yelled.
"Why that little..." Blu growled, full of paternal fury.
"You get a warning for that one, kid!" The referee declared.
"Aw, come on!" Antonio protested.
"Good call, ref!" Mimi cheered.
As the game recommenced, Antonio passed the ball to one of his cronies. Renaldo flew in and intercepted it.
"I'll take that." He grinned.
"Hey!" Antonio screeched.
He then flew up past the other red macaws, and kicked the ball past the goalie and into the net.
"GOAAALL!" The tapir cheered.
"And Renaldo scores the first goal of the game!" The porcupine added.
"Whoo!" Carla cheered. "That's my guy!"
"Like uncle, like nephew." Roberto boasted.
"Don't get cocky yet." Felipe remarked. "The game is still young."
Antonio, seething over the early loss, had his team redouble their efforts. During a skirmish for the ball, one of his lackies managed to kick it upwards. Antonio flew up and kicked it into the blue team's net.
"Hah!" He smirked. "How'd'ya like me now?"
"And it's all tied up!" The tapir announced.
"Of course." Felipe grinned. "What Antonio lacks in social skills, he makes up for in soccer skills. Almost..."
Both sides intensified their playing, flitting and flying all around the pit.
Antonio got hold of the ball, and flew towards the blue team's net. From out of nowhere, Skye flew up and snatched the ball out of his talons. She flew over to the red team's goal, skillfully dodging the other red macaws, and kicked the ball into the net, which narrowly evaded the goalkeeper's grasp.
"GOAL!" The tapir cheered.
"And the score is now 2-1." The porcupine announced.
The blue macaws in the audience cheered.
"Not bad for a girl, huh?" Skye taunted Antonio.
"That's it." Antonio growled. "They're going down!"
"Easy there, cap." One of his teammates remarked. "It's just a game."
"That we're losing!" Antonio roared. "Or don't you idiots care? Now get out there and win!"
"Can't believe Felipe thought it was a good idea to put him in charge..." Another red macaw muttered.
"What was that?" Antonio growled.
"Nothing." The red macaw answered.
"Good work out there, team." Renaldo smiled. "We can win this!"
"No duh." Tiago smirked
"Let's kick some red tailfeathers." Skye grinned.
"Yeah!" The other team members cheered.
The game went on at a frenzied pace, with much back and forths with the ball, and impressive moves from both sides. Before anyone knew it, the score was 4-4.
"This is it, folks." The porcupine declared. "The next goal decides the winner."
"I can't stand the suspense!" The tapir yelled in his friend's ear.
Antonio lunged for the ball. He got it, but couldn't hold on to it, as Renaldo once again snatched it out of his talons.
"Oh no, you don't!" Antonio growled, flying after Renaldo.
Antonio kicked the ball out of Renaldo's talons. Renaldo snatched it back, and Antonio reclaimed it. Renaldo snatched it back, and flew upward.
Enraged, Antonio signalled to his two lackies. One flew in front of Renaldo, blocking his view, while the other blindsided him, injuring his talon.
"Ah!" Renaldo yelped.
"No way!" Carla yelled. "Do something, ref!"
"Foul!" The referee declared.
Antonio's lacky was sidelined, but so too was Renaldo, his injured talon putting him out of the game. A substitute came on in his place.
"So much for your star player." Antonio sneered.
The game continued. The substitute was good, but not nearly as good as Renaldo. Antonio easily snatched the ball from him, and headed over to the blue team's goal. Tiago flew off in pursuit.
"Remember me?" Tiago jeered.
"Get lost, shrimp." Antonio growled.
Antonio kicked the ball over to a teammate, but it was intercepted by Skye.
"Go long, T!" Skye kicked the ball across the pit.
"Mine!" Antonio yelled, as he and Tiago flew to catch the ball.
Tiago flew right behind Antonio, the older bird's larger wings giving him the edge.
"See ya, shrimp!" Antonio taunted, as the ball dropped towards him.
"Wanna bet?" Tiago countered.
As Antonio stopped to catch the ball, Tiago utilized the backwards flying trick Roberto had taught him; Not only pushing his reversed self along with his wing flaps, but angling himself upward, too. As a result, he intercepted the ball a split-second before Antonio caught it.
"What th-?" Antonio gaped. He was so stunned, it took him a second to realize Tiago was getting away. "Hey!"
Tiago flew towards the red goal.
"Stop him!" Antonio yelled.
The red macaws tried to stop Tiago, but he was too nimble for them. He ducked and weaved around them, juggling the ball in his talons.
"That's right!" Tiago smirked. "You can't touch this!"
With the goal in sight, Tiago performed a bicycle kick. The ball flew towards the top corner of the net. The world seemed to have gone into slow motion as everyone watched the goalkeeper attempt to stop it. It was close. So close, in fact, that the ball brushed the goalkeeper's feathers. But Tiago's aim was true, and the ball entered the net.
The blue macaws cheered as the referee whistled, indicating the end of the game.
"And that's five for the blues!" The tapir bellowed.
"A spectacular finish." The porcupine smiled. "Little Tiago pulled a come-from-behind victory."
Bia cheered happily, and hugged Miguel. She quickly let go, blushing.
"Sorry..." She said awkwardly.
"That's okay." Miguel replied, flustered. "You were just happy. Heat of the moment, and everything..."
"That's my boy!" Blu smiled, as Jewel, Eduardo and Mimi hugged him ecstatically.
"Go, T-Bird!" Roberto whooped.
The blue macaw team landed on the cliff edge.
"Way to go, T!" Skye hugged Tiago. "You rule!"
"I do, don't I?" Tiago smirked.
"Sweet moves, pal." Renaldo agreed as he limped over to them.
"You've got uncle Beto to thank for that." Tiago smiled. "If he hadn't taught me how to fly backwards, we'd never have won."
"You got lucky." Antonio snorted. "Next time, you're gonna get it!"
"Sore loser." One of his teammates muttered.
"Ah well, can't win 'em all." Felipe shrugged, taking the defeat better than Antonio. "Guess you're a pretty good coach after all, Roberto."
"You're not too shabby yourself, Felipe." Roberto smiled.
The winning team was greeted by their friends and family.
"You okay, babe?" Carla asked Renaldo.
"I'll be fine." Renaldo shrugged. "It's just a little sprain. It'll be back to normal in no time."
"Well, let me know if you need a nurse..." Carla winked.
"Congratulations, honey!" Jewel beamed as she hugged her son.
"You were amazing out there." Blu added.
"Thanks, dad." Tiago grinned. "But I did borrow some of your moves out there."
"I thought they looked familiar." Blu ruffled his son's crest. "Anyway, I'm just glad your first big game didn't turn out like mine."
By and large, Eduardo and Felipe's plan had worked. While some of the red macaws were sore losers (much like Antonio) and a few blue macaws were taking part in unsportsmanlike gloating, for the most part, they had enjoyed the event. Some were even exchanging compliments towards the opposite side's team.
"Well, I'd say our little experiment was a success." Eduardo declared.
"Got that right, Eddie." Felipe grinned. "Maybe we oughta do this more often."
"Maybe we should." Eduardo nodded.
"'Course, my team'll win next time." Felipe smirked. "Especially if I pick a new captain..."
"I'm sure they will." Eduardo chuckled.
"See ya around, Eddie." Felipe took off, leading his flock home.
Eduardo joined his family, celebrating their win, and secure in the knowledge that the blue and red macaw tribes' relationship was better than ever. What they once referred to as 'war' would now be used to bring their tribes closer together, in the spirit of sportsmanship and friendly competition.
To Be Continued...
(Rio 2 and all associated characters are the property of Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox.)