Roberto sat on the side of the hollow, trying to look interested in Eduardo's meeting. It was a typical tribe update one - where Eduardo droned on about borders and patrol criticisms, as well as other things. As much a friend as Eduardo was to Roberto, he had to admit that the older macaw could be incredibly boring. "-the annual leader gathering is coming up, so I'll need a few macaws to escort me. All the patriarchs and matriarchs will be discussing human and predator activity -"

"How long is this meeting supposed to go on for?" Whispered Tobias to Roberto, stifling a yawn. Roberto was about to reply, but then a shout knocked him awake, out of his boredom.

"Help! Help!" Cried a petrified voice. Everyone in the hollow turned around, blinking at the entrance. Morgana got up, poking her head outside to locate the source of the shout. She looked at them all, frowning.

"A colourful macaw just came in." Morgana reported. "Oh, she's the one who came here earlier, isn't she? She left with Sophia earlier."

"What?" Roberto asked, head whipping up - he had never seen that. He pushed past, and, his suspicions confirmed, spotted Victoria. The Catalina looked scared to death - the skin on her face was white, her green eyes wide. She looked close to tears.

"I need help! Where's Roberto?" She shouted. Several puzzled macaws pointed to Eduardo's tree, but Roberto was already on his way. He shot toward her - then he realized that Sophia wasn't with her.

"Victoria? What's going on?" He asked, as he slowed to a hover. "Where's -"

"She's gone!" Vicky wailed, in distraught. "He sabotaged the club, and when she left to warn everyone he ambushed her!" Roberto blinked, confused - then the terrible realization dawned upon him.

"Jespa?" Roberto gasped, in shock. The onlookers - all eyes were on the bizarre splotch of colour that was Victoria - let out horrified cries. They had heard it.

"Yes!" Victoria answered. "He was dragging her away, telling her it was her last day alive and stuff like that - I wanted to help, but Sophia wouldn't let me! But I heard him say - he's taking her to the northeast cave! Oh, it's too much! I'm going to pass out..."

"Are you certain of this?" Demanded Eduardo, from where he had flown out to investigate. At Victoria's shaky nod, Eduardo whirled around. "Our scoremarker is in mortal danger! We must go and stop Jespa before he does anything to her!"

"I'll go!" Manuela volunteered, against Carlos's protests. "I don't care - he nearly killed you, I'm going."

"I'll go too!"

"We'll fight!"

"Count me in!" Dozens of macaws rose their voices. Eduardo turned to Roberto, expecting him to lead the rescue party. But to his shock, Roberto had vanished.

"Roberto?" Eduardo looked around, realizing that he was nowhere - then he saw a blue tail disappearing over the cliff edge. Everybody gasped in horror, immediately clocking it - Roberto was going to the cave.

"He can't go on his own!" Shouted Mimi. "It's too dangerous!"

"We need to catch up with him!" Eduardo boomed. "Miss, which cave did you say it -" Eduardo turned to Victoria, but to his surprise, she was instead being supported by two macaws - she had fainted. "For goodness sake! Who heard which cave it was?"

Meanwhile

Sophia groaned, feeling her head. The last thing she remembered was a boulder, and being thrown straight into it. Stars had dazzled her vision, blinding her briefly - then everything had blinked out. Everything after that was black.

She tried to make sense of her surroundings, but the throbbing of her brain stopped her from thinking straight. Blinking several times, the fog in her head cleared a bit. Sophia was laying on a stone floor, the cold of it seeping into her bones, making them stiff. It was freezing - a cold draft chilled her feathers, and she found herself shivering from a mixture of cold and fear. She was completely surrounded by rock - it formed the ceiling, the walls. It was dark, and she knew she must be in the very back of the cave. Stalactites and stalactmites stretched from the ceiling and the floor, and the eerie sound of dripping water filled her ears. I shouldn't be here.

Struggling to sit up, Sophia leaned back, her wings dropping to support herself - but to her shock, her wings didn't touch the stone. She fell backwards, her upper spine jolting as her lower back touched the ragged edge of rock. She turned her head, to see - but then she let out a terrified shriek as she saw the black, swirling water at least fifteen foot below, realized that she was perched on the edge of a cliff. A series of bones gathered at the edges, clinging onto the rocks. She couldn't tell how deep the water was, but she had a feeling it was more than deep enough to drown in.

Sophia hastily scrambled away from the edge, desperate to get as far away from it as possible - but then she realized she couldn't, for her left foot was tied to a boulder. The vine wrapped around the whole rock, tying with a series of knots. It was very long, tangled with lots of leaves and other thinner vines. Sophia pulled at the vine, but it was firmly tied. Panic surging through her, Sophia looked around frantically, trying to find something to cut it with. Why was she tied to a boulder, so close to a cliff? Jespa.

"I was starting to think a stupid boulder had killed you." Said a voice. Sophia froze, and didn't dare look up. She didn't want to see his vile face. "So soft. So weak."

"If you're going to kill me, just be done with it." She said, through a gritted beak.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm definitely going to kill you. Just not yet." Jespa hissed, and she heard his footsteps. "I'm just going to make your last few hours a misery. At the end of those hours, I'll push that boulder, and you'll go falling into that water below. Falling, just like how dad did." Sophia stiffened. "You see, Sophia - the pain you're about to feel is nothing compared to the agony I feel, just seeing your vile face."

"Welcome to my world." Sophia retorted, finally looking up. She had to delay him for a long as she could. "That's how I feel, seeing you. You make me sick." She narrowed her eyes. "Speaking of faces, Jespa - have you seen yours lately? That wound over your eye is getting a little infected."

"Don't try to stall me. You're just clinging onto the hope of rescue."

"Seriously, it's a little puffy and the colour's kind of..."

"That boyfriend of yours won't save you. He has no idea I've got you. No-one does. However, he'll know before he dies." Sophia froze. Jespa grinned, knowing he had struck a nerve. "After I kill you, I'll pay him a little visit, and then I'll slit his throat. I'll hunt down everyone you love - your precious friends, that hybrid and that Scarlet macaw. Then I'll finally be at peace. Andre will be avenged!"

"I didn't kill him on purpose!" Sophia screamed. "Zenaida pushed him, and he tripped over me! Get it though your thick skull!" Her wings were blocking Jespa's view of her tethered leg. Behind her wings, she was scratching at the vine with a shard of rock. She needed to stall him for a little longer. She looked desperately at the tunnel, praying that some miracle would save her. Had Victoria heard where Jespa was taking her? She looked back at Jespa. "You won't touch my friends - or Roberto! He's so much stronger than you. In here!" She pointed to her chest. "His heart will always be stronger. No matter how strong you are, brother, he will always be a better macaw than you!

"You're wrong!" Jespa snarled.

"I'm not, though, and you know it!" Sophia retorted, hacking at the vine faster. It was starting to break. "He's not the only one. Victoria, Azalea, and all my friends are stronger than you. And so am I! You know why, Jespa? Because you're pathetic! You're insane, and too stupid to admit it!"

Jespa lost it. He shrieked, and leapt at her - but Sophia rolled, dodging him, and he smacked into the boulder instead. The vine was broken. Jespa whirled around, in shock. "What -"

"Didn't see that coming, did you?" Sophia said, mockingly. Jespa roared in fury, and leapt again - this time, Sophia sprang up to meet him. This was it - Jespa's hatred had boiled down to this. This was going to be the fight of her life - and only one of them were coming out alive. But then Sophia felt his talons strike, and she buckled. Suddenly, she realized how slim her chances of survival were.