"Nigel!" Tiago yelled, glaring at the cockatoo. After Nigel's dramatic failure to kill Blu, Blu and Jewel had no choice but to tell Tiago, Bia and Carla who Nigel was.
"He...he can fly?" Carla whispered to Tiago.
"Blu's little pests are here! Wonderful!" Nigel laughed. He turned his attention back to Ana, tightening his grip on her. She inhaled sharply, and struggled harder. "You must be the last little pest!"
"Let her go!" Tiago yelled, already prepared to attack.
"Or what? Are you going to bite my tail?" Nigel asked sarcastically. "What will you say if I crush your sister?" Upon finishing, his grip tightened even more. Ana's face started turning a slight shade of red, and her breathing turned into gasping. Tiago instantly reacted, and out of everyone's expectations, charged at Nigel. Carla and Bruno paled, and tried to stop him, but it was too late. Tiago successfully rammed into Nigel's chest, and the victim stumbled, almost losing his footing on the branch he was on. In a brief recovery, Nigel slapped at Tiago with a wing, but the latter had latched onto Nigel's feathers, and ripped off a few when he was dislodged. Nigel yelled in fury, and grabbed Tiago's neck with his free talon, and slammed him onto the branch.
"Anyone next?" Nigel yelled, anger burning through his eyes.
"Go," Bruno whispered to Carla. "Go find help, he wants you. Get out of here."
Carla glared at Bruno, furious that he could ask her to abandon her sibling.
"This will help him. Without you, that drama queen won't harm them! GET OUT!" Bruno hissed, giving Carla no other choice. Unwillingly, Carla flew away. Nigel was quick to follow, but Bruno got in his way, blocking the cockatoo from continuing his chase. Nigel barreled into the macaw, causing both of them to plummet downward, with Bruno underneath. Bruno latched onto Nigel tightly, sinking his talons as deeply as possible. Tiago and Ana struggled harder, sensing a chance of escape, but Nigel's steely grip didn't loosen. With controlled force, Nigel slammed Bruno into a group of shrubs. Bruno, got up, but soon slumped back onto he ground, unable to fight back.
"Once I'm done with these two, you're in deep trouble!" Nigel spat, and took flight, bring Ana and Tiago with him.
"Oh Nigel, that was amazing! Seems like you haven't lost it yet!"
"Of course I haven't lost it, Gabi. Fighting is something some are born with," Nigel smirked at his catches, who were glaring back.
"Beating up kids is fighting?" Tiago hissed, narrowing his eyes.
"Dashing in mindlessly is clever?" Nigel retorted, tightening his grip slightly on Tiago, causing him to cough. "This one will learn some respect soon enough!"
"Two of our macaws were captured by Outcasts!" A macaw reported as soon as Roberto came back.
"What? Who? How?" Roberto shot back, not believing his ears.
"Bia and Caio," the messenger replied. "Two eagles attacked the tribe, and separated them from us. We gave chase until they entered Outcast land. Then this large group of Outcasts got too close, and we couldn't get closer. The Outcasts chased off the eagles, and they brought Bia and Caio back to the Pit of Doom."
"Eduardo is not going to like this. Assemble a small team of fighters. We will go to the Pit the moment Eduardo allows it," Roberto replied, deep in thought.
"Roberto! Roberto!"
Roberto turned toward the call, only to spot Carla flying frantically towards him.
"What? What's wrong?" Roberto asked, expecting her to tell him about Bia's situation.
"It's Tiago, Ana and Bruno! They were taken by Nigel!"
"Where...are we?" Caio groaned.
"We're in a Outcast home," Bia replied.
"What?" Caio croaked, trying to sit up. Bia stopped him from doing so immediately, and gently edged him back down.
"You've over exerted yourself, rest," Bia urged.
"What...what happened?" Caio asked, rubbing his head with a wing.
"Outcasts assaulted the eagles, and brought us here," Bia explained briefly.
"So we are...prisoners?" Caio guessed, staring at the entrance.
"In a way, yes," Bia admitted, looking at the entrance as well. She could imagine the same sentry standing close by, keeping a watchful eye on them. Caio grunted, and lied down fully, staring at the ceiling.
"Thank you," Bia muttered. Caio peered at her for some time, before finally replying.
"N...no problem..."
"What do you mean by my brood is in trouble?" Jewel's once calm composure immediately shattered and her tone was spiked with aggression and worry. Roberto hesitated briefly, but decided that he should directly tell the couple what happened.
"Bia is being held by Outcasts, and Tiago was captured by Nigel," Roberto reported.
"Nigel?!" Blu shrieked, his feathers spiking up. "Where are they? We have to find them!"
"Why is nothing being done?!"
"Calm down! Eduardo is preparing two groups. One to go over to the Outcasts to request for the captured kids, and the other to hunt Nigel," Roberto said. Jewel and Blu looked at each other, and Roberto got the idea that they needed time to discuss.
"The groups are going to leave in around five minutes. We're gathering near the waterfall," he finished, and left.
"How did this happen?" Jewel muttered, holding her forehead with a wing.
"I don't know," Blu replied. "You're more physically inclined, I think you should join the hunt for Nigel, and I'll join the group to the Pit to Doom."
"Madame," A stout macaw bowed briefly to Crystal before continuing his message. "A group led by Eduardo is here to see you."
Crystal's eyes narrowed at Eduardo's arriving figure, and she analyzed the group's members. She recognized Blu and Mimi among the group.
"It has come to my knowledge that your tribe saved two of my tribe's young. I have come to thank you, and bring them home," Eduardo said in his usual gruff voice. He didn't want to seem so grateful, but with his grandchild at stake, along with another child, he couldn't risk anything.
"Did you think it would be that easy?" Crystal asked.
"They are children, Crystal, what do you actually plan to do with them?" Eduardo dropped his act immediately, worry slowly attacking his mind.
"What I plan to do with them is my concern. Unless of course, you give something in return," Crystal hinted. Eduardo growled under his breath upon realizing that Crystal was using children as bargaining chips.
"What do you want?" He asked in a strained manner.
"Simple. Evict the scarlet tribe. It is time they met their glorious end," Crystal proposed.
"You want to murder an entire tribe?" Eduardo accused, anger flaring.
"Think of as a cleansing of weakness," she corrected.
"Fine. You want to purge an entire tribe," Eduardo said slowly with a hint of menace. Crystal stared back for sometime, and then replied.
"Same as before, what I do with the scarlet tribe is my business." Crystal paused for sometime, and then added, "that is, if you agree." Blu stared at Eduardo in worry. Half of him wanted to agree with Crystal, the other half wanted to disagree immediately.
"Why are you using children for such a cruel trade off?" Blu found himself murmuring. Blu felt everyone's eyes burning into him, and he continued. "Let's be rational about this. You have the ability to just set Bia and Caio free. You don't need to kill all the scarlets to achieve your victory. You're not even using the land you took from them. What have they done to you to deserve any of this?" Crystal didn't react for sometime, but soon started chuckling.
"You don't know anything about your tribe do you?" She asked, silencing Blu.
"Eduardo, you have three days to consider my offer. And maybe you should consider telling Blu a little history. That is all. Farewell." With that, Crystal turned and left. Without any other choice, the Spix's macaws left as well.
"What do we do now?" Mimi turned to Eduardo, who sighed.
"We have greater numbers. Maybe we should bring the whole tribe the next time," he replied.
"But they would attack anyway. We would probably win in the end, but with heavy losses," Blu sighed. As much as he wanted to help Bia and Caio, it was irrational to trade an entire tribe for them.
Bia... Oh no...
Blu's calm was shattered the moment he thought of Bia, and the thought of losing her scared him.
Maybe Jewel is doing better...
Jewel was growing more and more agitated by the moment. The search was turning out to be fruitless, and no leads could be found. The only lead they had was the spot where Tiago, Carla, Ana and Bruno were attacked, and there were no feathers or other clues pointing to a better lead. She combed through the area for the umpteenth time, being extra thorough with the search. She walked through some shrubbery, pushing the irritating leaves aside. Coughing distracted her from her thoughts, and immediately, she zoomed in toward the noise. Hidden among the plants, was a Spix's macaw.
"Bruno!" Jewel recognized. She gently secured her Talons around his torso, and brought him up.
"Roberto!" She yelled, trying to get the attention of anyone. Roberto's team soon showed up (Jewel was the only one who stayed behind to search for clues, while the rest split into teams to hunt for Nigel), and one of them brought Bruno back to the tribe.
"Okay, we found Bruno, but where's Ana and Tiago?" Jewel growled, going back to her search.
"We will find them. It's only a matter of time," Roberto assured. "Come on, team. Let's continue."
"Oh aren't you adorable!" Gabi exclaimed, latched onto Tiago's back. Tiago and Ana were hung upside down tightly to the ceiling with vines and roots, along with an amount of sticky sap that Nigel came across.
"Why don't you let me down, and I'll show you who's adorable!" Tiago growled, struggling against his bonds.
"Now, now, don't forget your situation. You're in no position to make threats," Nigel reminded.
"And as for you," Nigel turned to look at Ana. "Your silence is rather disturbing. You were a very chatty know-it-all the last time I saw you."
"Leave her alone!" Tiago glared at Nigel.
"Oh my! I'm so scared!" Nigel chuckled, and moved closer to Tiago. "What are you going to do about it?"
"You know, Bia looks strangely different from the way I remembered it," Gabi squinted at Ana, and hopped onto her. She scrambled from Ana's back to her face, and stared at Ana's eyes, causing her to flinch. Tiago looked in silence, unsure of how to react. A tense moment followed for some time as Nigel awaited Gabi's results.
"Ah well! People can grow a lot in some time!" Gabi exclaimed, and hopped onto the ground. Nigel snorted at the outcome, and peered out of the cave that they were in.
"Ok, I will go and find something to bring back. You stay here and tighten anything that comes loose," Nigel instructed. Gabi saluted Nigel as he left, and turned to look at the captives with wide, round eyes. Without warning, she leaped onto Tiago's face, and sat upside down on his head. In response, he shook his head at the irritant, but Gabi stayed, and he soon gave up.
"Oh what shall we do in this time?" She asked, poking Tiago's nostrils playfully.
"Stop that!" Tiago demanded, shaking his head once again.
"Why so angry?" Gabi teased, and flicked at one of Tiago's crest feathers.
"Why would I not be angry with you annoying me?"
"I don't know, but you could be feeling other emotions instead," Gabi said, and walked across Tiago's face onto his chest. Tiago struggled to see her at the angle, but could barely make out her silhouette.
"Why not feel happy for me?" Gabi smirked, and tickled Tiago's chin. The latter flinched at the sensation, and shook his head violently, almost hitting Gabi in the process.
"My, my! How rude!" Gabi pouted and hopped off Tiago. "Maybe you'll be a little nicer." The amphibian crawled onto the ceiling, and onto Ana's back. The itchy feel caused Ana to twitch a little. If Tiago wasn't in his situation, he would've laughed at Ana's face. Isn't the frog poisonous? Ana recalled Gabi's first threat when Nigel was demanding to know the tribe's location. She shivered slightly, not sure of what to expect.
"Why are you shaking?" Gabi laughed at her.
"Y...you're poisonous?" Ana murmured. Gabi laughed for a moment, but then the significance of what Ana said hit her fully.
"Wait a minute," Gabi realized. "You're not Bia!" Tiago paled when he heard her statement, not sure of how to respond.
"Oh my, Nigel is not going to like this!" Gabi shook her head slowly for added effect. "Do you know something about it? And who are you anyway?" Gabi latched onto Ana's face, and stared into her eyes once again. Ana didn't answer, and crooked her head as far back as possible, of course to no effect.
"What is with you and staring silently?" Gabi asked, hopping onto Ana's beak. "And how bout you? What do you know about this, Tiago?"
"I know that you must have horrible memory to not notice for so long," Tiago replied. Gabi made a strange growling noise while dramatically flailing her tiny arms. In one large leap, with her mouth wide open, she flew toward Tiago's left talon. Tiago braced for some form of pain, and so did Ana. A small thud was heard when Gabi made contact, and there was brief silence. Tiago's face of shock dissolved into snickering and giggling all of a sudden, and he started writhing around in his bonds. Ana looked in confusion for some time before giggling at the situation.
"Why are you laughing? This is not supposed to be funny!" Gabi shrieked, and bit down again.
"Stop tickling me!" Tiago laughed.
"This is not supposed to tickle!" Gabi yelled back, trying again. Ana laughed at the scene, unable to really control herself despite the situation.
"Get off!" Tiago replied between his laughing, red faced already.
"Not till I hear you scream in pain! And you! This is not funny!" Gabi screeched, pointing at Ana.
"Oh what are you gonna do? Nibble my foot?" Ana laughed, fear of Gabi fully evaporating.
"Maybe she will. But I definitely won't be so kind," a voice stated bluntly, causing Tiago and Ana to choke down their laughter. Nigel had returned, and in his talons, a few Brazil nuts dangled idly.
"Oh, Nigel, we have a problem. This bird we've captured isn't Bia," Gabi notified. Nigel narrowed his eyes at Ana, causing her to gulp.
"What is the name of this pest?" Nigel snorted, continuing his glare.
"I don't know," Gabi replied, leaning on Tiago's toe. Nigel watched briefly, and spat at a corner. The blob of semi-liquid slowly crawled down the wall, and slumped into the hollow base. Nigel took slow steps towards Ana, the contraption attached to the back of his wing making soft clinking as he did so. Ana looked in fascination and fear at Nigel, wondering what the little machine actually did.
"Who are you, pest?" Nigel repeated, slowly and menacingly. Ana pinched her beak shut, not leaking any details.
"Gabi," Nigel called.
"Yes, my honey plum?"
"Find out for me. Use any means necessary. And here's lunch," Nigel cracked open a shell, revealing the flesh within the Brazil nuts. "I'll be hunting for Bia and Carla. A little reunion of their generation would be so entertaining." With that, the cockatoo left the shelter, preparing to hunt for the tribe.
"There!" a macaw hissed, pointing at a jagged white feather. Jewel burst forward, and picked it up delicately with her wings.
"I'd say it's a good chance this belongs to Nigel," Jewel concluded. Roberto looked at the sky, which had turned back to its clouded gray. The first few flakes of snow began their descent once more, landing softly on the creatures below.
"We better hurry, the weather might worsen soon," Roberto warned, but Jewel had already gone ahead of him. He signaled for the rest to follow, and the group headed deeper into the forest.
