"I wonder how Tiago, Ana and Bruno are doing," Caio told Bia plainly. The initial panic from realizing the situation had long faded, and was replaced with boredom.
"They're probably home by now," Bia sighed. All she wanted to have at the moment would be an interesting book to read. Nothing calmed her down or passed time like a book would.
"Is the bugger still outside?" Caio pointed at the entrance. Bia got up, and waltzed towards the direction. Anything to do would be good. She peered out, and as expected, met the glaring eyes of the usual sentry. She frowned back, and then slowly returned to Caio's side.
"Unfortunately, yes," Bia replied simply, sitting next to Caio.
"We need to do something," Caio said, standing up. "I'm already tired of resting."
"You're tired of being tired?" Bia asked dubiously. Caio didn't reply, and walked toward the entrance. He hadn't seen the sentry before.
"What is with you kids and peeking out? Stay in!" The guard yelled, shocking Caio.
"Alright! No need to shout," Caio grumbled, returning to his initial spot.
"That guard is one grouch," he said when he was sure that he was out of the sentry's earshot. Bia shrugged. She looked around briefly, and her eyes fell on the heater in the room. She moved toward it, and picked at the base, looking around it.
"What are you doing?" Caio asked as she flicked open a small hatch on the heater. She peered inside, looking at the batteries and exposed components.
"I should've read that book on electricity first," she grumbled, looking at the various colored wires and batteries.
"On what?"
"Electricity. It's a form of energy that humans harness to power their various equipment," Bia explained.
"Energy? Power...?"
"Never mind," Bia sighed, and shut the hatch.
"Maybe you should pick up reading," Bia smiled. "It may fix that head of yours."
"I can read. But I choose not to," Caio yawned in reply.
"Wait. You're literate?"
"You thought you were the only one?" Caio smirked.
"Well, yes."
"In what language?"
"Language...? Another human thing?"
Bia looked back in annoyance. It was difficult to convey anything with the exposure difference.
"A language is a system of communication for any community or society," Bia replied.
"I think it's Portuguese," Caio replied.
"That's a whole different language from what I read," Bia groaned. So close and yet so far.
"And some rusty English," Caio added. Bia's expression brightened up significantly.
"That's great! Maybe you can read the books I have!"
"Whoa, slow down! We're still captives," Caio reminded.
"Wow. Mood-killer," Bia replied, excitement vanishing, with an annoyed frown to replace it. Caio chuckled at her expression, and crossed his wings.
"Well, what could Crystal even plan to do to us anyway?"
"She seems like a psychopath to me... Who knows that she'll do," Bia sighed. "You are right. We have to do something."
"Maybe an escape would be as simple as bolting out the entrance," Caio suggested.
"That's a big risk," Bia scoffed.
"What can possibly be worse?"
"I guess we could...try?"
"We might need a distraction..."
"Why do you even want to keep such simple information to yourself?" Gabi groaned, poking Ana's face with a thin branch.
"Because creeps like you and Nigel love exploiting simple information!" Tiago replied for Ana.
"Oh quiet you, I'm not even talking to you," Gabi hushed, pressing the tip of the branch against Tiago's beak. Tiago opened his beak as wide as possible, and snapped down, but Gabi brought the branch out of the way just in time. "Do you have to try and bite everything?"
"Everything related to you!" Tiago retorted. Ana had returned to her originally quiet state, not saying or discussing much. It partially had something to do with seeing Nigel, and the fact that the kidnappers wanted her name. Something that seemed so harmless, but yet Gabi's attempts were worrying Ana, and she decided to keep her beak shut.
"Honestly, what is the point of keeping that tiny bit of harmless info?" Gabi asked, poking Ana with the branch. Ana didn't reply, and looked away.
"What do you even want with her? You know she isn't Bia!" Tiago argued. Gabi turned to face him, and smiled.
"Well the more the merrier!" She said, poking Tiago's beak with the tip of the branch. Tiago saw it coming, and bit onto it, causing Gabi to screech and try to pull it out. To no avail. Tiago soon pulled the branch away, and continued to hold the branch in his beak.
"Really?" Gabi shrieked, glaring at Tiago, who returned a smug expression.
"Ready yourselves. We're here," Blu instructed. The small team hovered near the border. "Remember the objectives. We need to find and rescue the children, and then bring them back to the tribe. If possible we need to find Felipe too." The four macaw's following Blu nodded.
"Alright. Let's go."
"Ready Bia?" Caio whispered. Bia nodded, and looked at the heater. She opened the small hatch at the heater, and fiercely ripped out one of the wires. The heater flickered off, and it's orange glow dissipated. Bia rushed toward Caio's position, which was above the entrance. The cold air soon trickled in, chilling the two. Footsteps echoed from outside the room, and the kids could make out a shadow, presumably the shadow o the sentry.
"What the?" A gruff voice murmured. He stepped inside, looking everywhere. Everywhere, except up. Bia and Caio silently dropped behind him, and snuck out the entrance. The chilling winds greeted them, but their exhilaration blanked out the cold, and they took flight, leaving the Outcast borders. Little did they know...
Blu and his team peeked inside the rocky room. A burly scarlet was cursing and swearing, frantically looking for something, and a heater was in the middle of the room, somehow off. The scarlet was ranting to himself for a moment, and Blu's eyes widened as he mentioned kids. Without much warning, he charged in, along with the rest of his team. The scarlet was taken by surprise, and the 5 macaw's easily pinned him down.
"Where are the Spix's Macaws?" Blu demanded, glaring into the scarlet's eyes.
"Well, they ran away," he replied, somewhat angry.
"What?" Blu almost shrieked at the thought of coming all the way for no reason. "You're lying!"
"Then be my guest and search for them!" The captive spat.
"Where are they?!" Blu hissed, more of a demand than a question.
"I already said, they escaped. If you don't believe me, too bad," the scarlet replied calmly. Blu glared into his eyes for a moment, and then sighed, releasing his frustration. He nodded at one of the Spix's macaws, and the latter slammed the scarlet's head against the ground. The victim ceased to move, unconscious.
"We should find Felipe. If the kids did escape, they should be able to get back," Blu pondered out loud. The others nodded, and stealthily darted out. Blu took one last look at the unconscious sentry, and headed out as well.
"We're almost there!" Caio beamed, recognizing the Brazil nut grove. Bia smiled as well. Everything was going to be alright. They would make it home, safe and sound, and nothing was left in their way…
"The waterfall!" Bia made out in the distance. The sight of the same old waterfall had never seemed as sweet, and it served to motivate the two.
"Where do you think you're going?" a strangely familiar voice asked. Caio was about to pause, but Bia immediately remembered the voice.
"Don't stop! Go! Go!" Bia warned, and the two sped up, but it was too late. Mighty talons grabbed onto them, and pinned them against a thick branch.
"I can remember you clearly now, Bia," their captor whispered triumphantly. Caio and Bia struggled under the grasp of their captor, but to not much effect. Both couldn't see who the assaulter was, but Bia long knew the identity of him.
"Miss me? I'm sure you do."
"Don't you have a date with an amphibian, Nigel?" Bia growled, but was silenced as she got pushed harder against the branch.
"Oh Gabi and I have long come to terms that we were not meant for each other, I'm sure she'd happily tell you all about it." With a witch-like cackle, Nigel took lift, tightly holding Bia and Caio in his talons. Bia could feel herself losing hope as the waterfall grew further and further… until it vanished behind the dense jungle.
Crystal glared at the unconscious sentry sprawled on the floor.
"You had one job," she hissed, considering a punishment. But there wasn't time for it. She turned to her bodyguards, and flatly told them to search for the macaws before they got back. As the three took off, Crystal followed for a while, and then broke off in another direction. The others fanned out as well, maximising the searched area. It didn't take long before Crystal found a lead. A ruffle of white feathers and blue feathers. She let out a low whistle, signalling for her bodyguards to return to her. She picked up one of the blue feathers, looking at its every detail. It belonged to a young macaw.
"Seems like someone else has our prisoners," she told the returned bodyguards. "And that someone is not a Spix's macaw."
Jewel scoured the shrubs, trying to spot more leads. Roberto's team had went ahead, searching from the skies and covering as much ground as possible. It was the only time Jewel wasn't being rash in her actions. And with good reason. Without finding proper leads, the search would be based on chance, and Jewel was definitely not going to let the kids' fate fall under mere chance. Especially since Tiago was one of the kids. Roberto landed on a nearby branch. Jewel looked at him, desperately hoping that he had found the cockatoo. Roberto's expression of disappointment already gave away the answer.
"It's like he never even existed," Roberto said.
"If you were Nigel, where would you hide," Jewel asked. Roberto stared back with a confused look.
"I guess I'd look for some place hidden from plain sight?" Roberto asked.
"Yes. And that could be a cave, a hollow, a ravine..." Jewel stated, getting more visually frustrated with each addition.
"Juju, calm down, we will find them," Roberto assured for the countless time in the same day.
"Find who?" A voice asked from behind. Jewel and Roberto stared back, feathers spiked at the sudden, unwelcoming voice. It unforgettably belonged to only one person they could think of. A figure emerged from a dense packing of leaves. A Spix macaw, with a large bat and scarlet by her side.
Crystal.
"What are you doing here?" Jewel growled, remembering Bia.
"Bia escaped," Crystal stated simply.
"You want to capture her again?" Jewel assumed. Anger boiled within her like a raging torrent of lava, ready to pop out like anytime.
"Capture? She was only held there, and she definitely wasn't treated like a prisoner," Crystal replied.
"Then why would she escape? Because she's bored?" Jewel shot in anger.
"Because, like you, she thought that she was a prisoner," Crystal frowned back
"What do you plan to do to her," Jewel growled, mentally preparing for a fight.
"Can't I see my own granddaughter?"
"No. She isn't your granddaughter."
Crystal glanced at her bodyguards briefly. The bat and scarlet nodded knowingly, and disappeared into the vegetation.
"Roberto, find Bia before they do," Jewel whispered to Roberto. He opened his beak to protest, but stopped as he noticed the worry in her eyes.
"Alright. Stay careful," Roberto reluctantly darted up above the trees, vanishing from sight. Jewel focused her gaze on Crystal, and bent slightly forward, bracing for any sort of attack. Contrary to her expectation, the macaw didn't move. Crystal returned a neutral stare, and stood, doing nothing. Jewel frowned slightly as she realized that the coldness from Crystal's eyes was gone.
"I would never attack you," she said, maintaining her neutral pose. Jewel relaxed slightly, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"For years, I thought you were gone," Crystal continued, looking down slightly. "But when you came back, you ran into Eduardo first. I feared that I lost you again."
"Why?" Jewel asked. "Why would you suddenly have some extreme want for revenge and leave Dad behind?"
Crystal's eyes seemed to dull slightly at the mention of Eduardo.
"You were young at the time. You probably never heard of Felipe's father, or what he imposed on us after Andro's disgusting strike on us."
"But we are at peace now! Why ruin that?"
"Do you know what happened? Andro's team attacked everyone that remained at home, all the non-fighters! The children, the injured, they were all there!" Crystal's eyes flared up with a new anger, and Jewel was slightly taken aback at the sight.
"That's not all of it. We had to stop the fighting, we were in no position to continue after the fire. So in that scum tribe's victory, they imposed a cruel set of rules on us; we lost the entire grove, and the river was off limits. They expanded their borders right to our doorstep. Anybody that goes within looking distance of the border could have been beaten up for trespassing! Just when we were helpless, they stepped all over us!"
Jewel watched, not sure of her stand any longer.
"Eduardo chose to forget it, and take no action when he agreed to the Pit of Doom," Crystal continued. "That was the last straw. They cannot go free so easily after what they've done."
"But this is a whole new generation, you're punishing them for something they didn't do," Jewel argued.
"No. Half of them are still there, acting as though nothing ever happened," Crystal stated. Jewel paused for a moment, wanting to shut herself from anything else Crystal said, wanting to yell and call her a liar. But what reason would she have? A faint yell snapped her out of her thoughts. Jewel and Crystal looked around, trying to trace the source of the noise. Jewel's eye widened as the yell sounded again.
"Bia!" She yelled back, immediately rushing after the noise. Crystal followed as well without any hesitation. Soon, the source came into sight. A dirty white streak flying away from the pursuers. Nigel.
"Stop running, coward!" Jewel screeched, hot on Nigel's tail.
"Fine!" He replied, abruptly turning around and slamming Jewel against a tree.
"Mom!" Bia tried to scramble out of Nigel's grip, but her attempt was just as successful as her previous tries. Nigel took a sharp turn, rushing away from his pursuers... only to be knocked down by Crystal. Nigel slammed, back first into a tree, and a shrill snap was heard as the little mechanism attached to him broke. Nigel recovered instantly, and launched himself at Crystal, causing both to drop to the forest floor. Jewel hovered nearby for an opening, but the two were fiercely battling, and Jewel could not clearly aim at her target. Nigel's old sarcastic and mocking attitude was not present in the fight. Crystal could fight just as well, or better, cutting him any opportunity to waste energy on speaking.
"Mom!" A voice cut Jewel from her thoughts.
"Bia! Caio! Return to the tribe, now!" Jewel ordered. Bia and Caio nodded, and rushed away.
Crystal and Nigel soon broke away from each other briefly, giving Jewel the chance that she needed. With a swift and precise dive, she slammed into Nigel, knocking him back. Nigel growled, and tried to fight back, but Crystal barreled heavily into him. The Spix's macaws assaulted Nigel one after the other, slowly reducing his stamina with each hit. Soon, Nigel attempted to escape, and tried to take flight... only to realize that he was grounded. The mechanism aiding his flight was broken. In a last ditch effort, he began to scurry away, desperate to escape in any means. Crystal watched briefly, and let out a low, shrill whistle. Nigel only managed to vanish from sight a few seconds later, only to be dragged back out by a large bat and a scarlet. The cockatoo cursed and swore, struggling with his remaining might. A futile effort.
"He can rot in the caves," Crystal spat, and the Outcasts nodded.
"Wait!" Nigel screeched. "You don't know where your two little babies are." he added calmly, smirking at Jewel. Her face paled, and she lunged forward, grabbing Nigel's throat. She glared into his eyes, squeezing his neck hard until his smirk died off.
"Where are they?" Jewel growled menacingly. Nigel laughed weakly in reply, but stopped as Jewel tightened her grip.
"Why not we have a deal?" He proposed, his smirk returning. Crystal looked on in mild interest, her previous cold stare returning.
