The Next Step

Nico sighed happily, relishing in the feeling of cool air against his face as he flew. Most of the snow had finally melted away, the first blossoms of spring bursting through at last. Paris was truly beautiful, especially from the sky. Now he was flying again, Cosette gave him a short tour of the city from above, almost completely in French, at least where she knew he would understand. And he finally got to see, up close and personal, the bloody great big Eiffel Tower that he had (somehow) crashed into.

"So, who is this Francis?"

"'e's a friend just outside central Paris," Cosette explained airily, closing her eyes and enjoying the warm sun on her back as they flew, "I met 'im a few years ago in one of ze parks and we got talking, 'e likes to 'elp out at the orphanage every now and again. The children love 'im. 'e's lovely."

Nico nodded, "sounds like a nice guy. He's a pet then? You said something about an owner."

"Oui, 'is 'uman is rarely around, so 'e can get out quite a lot. I saw 'im a couple of days ago, so I checked if 'e's in today."

They flew for another ten minutes in comfortable silence, before landing in front of a old stone building. The building wasn't really anything impressive, save the sheer size of it. Huge wooden doors loomed over him, two high windows either side.

Nico gave a low whistle, looking up at the high walls.

"You should see the inside," Cosette smirked, ducking into a small hole in the wall. Nico cocked his head curiously, following her through the small hole into the very last place he had expected.

The inside had been converted to replicate a Ballroom from the 18th century. At the far end of the room was a vast embellished golden fireplace, and velvet covered seats and sculptures littered the edge of the room behind large pillars that lined the room. Highly detailed paintings were placed on the walls, and the ceiling had been built into a high dome, with golden arches and a large crystal chandelier hanging from the centre. It was a masterpiece in itself.

"Woah," was the only sound he could make, his brain had stuttered to a complete halt as he stared, open beaked at the downright astonishing room.

"Francis' owner is an architect and interior designer," Cosette explained with a chuckle, "and zis," she said with a flourish of her wing, "vas 'is 'little side project' when 'e wasn't working. 'e rents it out for événements et parties now."

"Well..." Nico found his voice for a moment, trailing off again, eyes roaming over the magnificent room.

"I know," Cosette laughed, "Francis!" she called, hopping forwards to look for her friend, "j'ai quelqu'un ici pour te voir!"

A loud bark echoed around the room, and Nico almost jumped out of his feathers, whirling around to see a large bulldog trot happily out of a side door, drool dripping from his large mouth. He spotted the two birds and bounded over. Nico resisted the urge to fly away, previous experience with Luiz teaching him that flying away would probably be the best option for him right now.

Oh.

Luiz.

"I can't believe you know my brother!"

Nico shrugged, laughing at the still very shocked expression on the dog's face, sitting down on the edge of a very ornate desk as Francis jumped up on the desk chair and switched on the computer.

"It's not that unlikely," the canary chuckled, "he gets out a lot, it's the chances of meeting you as well!"

"Heh, true, true," Francis said, using the mouse to navigate around the screen, "so, a message to my brother," he typed in a few words, making it look absolutely effortless, despite his large paws. "What do you want to say?"

Nico thought for a moment, twirling his cap in his wings. "Just to tell Rafael that I'm in Paris, I'm okay, and I'm on my way back," he said eventually. There was a whole spiel of things he wanted to say. Of how much he missed them, missed Rio, of everything that had happened in the past month and a half. But that would just have to wait, he could tell them when he got home. For now, a simple 'I'm alright' would have to do.

"That's everything?" Francis asked, giving the canary a disappointed look.

"Were you expecting more?"

"Francis lives for the dramatics," Cosette leant over and whispered, "I suppose he was hoping for some big love announcement, or a huge apology or something."

Nico snorted, "unfortunately not," he laughed, " as far as I know I don't need to apologise to anyone, and my love life is non-existent at the moment, so not a chance of that happening."

"Really?" Cosette seemed surprised, "how can any girl turn down you?" she teased, smirking a little.

"They don't, I'm just not interested," he said, grinning, "so no drama I'm afraid, just plain and simple, 'I'm on my way'."

There was a quiet, disappointed 'aww', from the bulldog, making both birds laugh as he began to type.

Shaking her head, Cosette led Nico slightly away, closer to a world map hanging on the wall. Nico couldn't help but think of the very fancy one from London, of how had spent most of the night looking at it, trying to tell himself that it wasn't that far really. This one was much newer, more modern, and home didn't look any closer.

"From 'ere, you 'ave a few options," the sparrow explained, "you can either go south towards Africa and get a boat across the Atlantic, or across to Portugal and get a boat from there. You'll probably have more luck there, considering you actually speak Portuguese."

"Right," Nico nodded, looking to where she was pointing, "any other options?"

"You get a plane," Cosette said, "I don't know 'ow, and zere are good and bad aspects to both. It's much quicker, but it's also more dangerous. If you vant fast, try the train, it von't get you to Brazil, but it vill get you south faster than flying."

"Well, I've got this far."

Cosette raised an eyebrow, "and flew into the biggest landmark in France," she said, a smirk playing on her beak. Nico spluttered for a moment, unable to think of a good comeback.

"Done," Francis said, interrupting their discussion. Nico fluttered over, reading over what he had written. Several minutes later, the message was sent, and Nico felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His family would know he was okay. At least he could stop worrying about that.

A crash snapped them all out of their thoughts, three heads turning towards the slight ajar door, panic clear on Francis' expression.

"S'il vous plaît ne pas être quelque chose d'important," he muttered, jumping down off the chair and bounding into the hall. The two birds quickly followed when they heard a low growl.

He didn't exactly know what to expect when he flew back into the hall, but he never could have expected to see a small green parakeet that looked very, very familiar.

"Liana?"

"Nico!" The bird gasped, looking relieved, "I knew I saw you come in here!"

Nico landed, eyes wide and beak open in shock. "What...what are you doing here?"

"I said, I saw you," Liana tilted her head, blinking at him in confusion.

"I mean in Paris," the canary elaborated, frowning.

"Oh," Liana laughed, waving a wing, "right, I'm, um, visiting family."

The hesitation was enough to plant a seed of suspicion in Nico's mind. Apparently Cosette had the same idea, as she stepped up next to him, taking his wing and pulling him back a step. He glanced at her, noticing how her wide eyed stare wasn't on the parakeet, it was somewhere above her. Following her gaze, he almost stopped breathing when he saw what she was staring at.

"I don't think you are," he said, dropping his gaze back to Liana. Her anxious smile had disappeared, replaced by a very confident smirk.

"You've noticed my friend have you?" she said, glancing up at the huge dark shape sat on a rafter close to the ceiling, "I made him an offer he couldn't refuse, and he agreed to help me out."

"Help you to do what?" Nico asked slowly, breathing hitching in his throat as the dark shape spread his huge wings and soared down to land just behind Liana, who didn't even flinch. What was once a mere shape now took form as a huge eagle.

"Simple," Liana smiled, "kill you."

Cosette didn't miss a beat as she pushed him behind her protectively, and Francis growled.

"Why?" Nico asked, confusion marring his face for a moment, before realisation dawned. "Wait, Pedro. You want to get back at Pedro."

Surprise showed on Liana's face for half a second before she schooled her expression back into that cool smirk. "You're smarter than others give you credit for," she said, stepping forward, the two smaller birds both stepping backwards, keeping the distance between them. "Yes, I want to get back at him for breaking my heart, the day before Valentines of all days, and all for you."

"Wait, what?" Nico frowned, swallowing hard as confusion and fear fought for dominance in his mind. "What do you mean, for me?"

"So I figured, what better way to get back at him than get his precious best friend," she continued, completely ignoring him, "of course I had to wait a while, didn't want things to be too obvious. But the opportunity never came, until you got caught by smugglers. If anything happened to you out here, no one would know, no one would suspect me, and they'd just assume you'd been eaten or something. It's the perfect cover."

Nico still couldn't get his head around something. Well, two things, but he'd figure the other one out later.

"That was two years ago!"

"Like I said, the opportunity never came."

"You're crazy."

Liana smiled wider, "I prefer passionate."

"Yeah, I'm gonna go with crazy," Nico said, backing away slowly, pulling Cosette with him, "or psycho, both work."

They had to get out of here. However there wasn't an exit close enough, and he doubted they could move fast enough to get to one without being caught by the eagle at any rate.

If he ever got home, Pedro was going to be in so much trouble.

"Honestly, it doesn't matter what you think," Liana grinned, "give it a couple of minutes, and you'll be toast."

A sharp tug on his wing almost made him fall over, but he kept his balance, allowing Cosette to pull him away from the threatening birds. A smoky scent slowly began to fill the air, and he could just about hear the crackle of a flame from outside.

"Merde!" Francis hissed, " Pas ici, s'il vous plaît pas ici." Clear panic laced his voice, if the fire got inside, the entire life's work of Francis' owner would be nothing but ash within the hour.

"Don't!" Nico pleaded, "don't bring them into this, please!"

Liana didn't look in any way apologetic. "It's a little late for that," she said with a fake-innocent smile, "and don't try escaping, we'll be waiting if you do," she gave a mock bow, backing towards the door, "adios!"

"No!" Nico cried as the door slammed behind the two birds. Silence covered the room for a moment, the only thing breaking it was the sounds of flames licking at the side of the building, trying to fight their way inside. "We need to get out, is there a back way?" He turned to Francis, who seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack. Needless to say, he didn't get an answer.

"Francis!" Cosette snapped, her expression hardening as she marched over and slapped him round the face. It wasn't much due to the size difference, but it was enough to snap Francis out of his panic-induced daze. "We need to move."

He shook his head, eyes wide and scared.

"I'm sorry," Nico said sincerely, "this is my fault, but we need to get out of here, or we will actually be toast, and that's not how I would like to go out thanks."

"There's a back door," Francis said. All three animals jumped as the glass of one of the windows smashed, bright flames bursting in, "I need to get something from the office first."

"Qu'est-ce? Non, nous avons besoin de sortir!" Cosette yelled over the now roaring fire, pulling Nico close. Her words were lost though, Francis completely ignored her, turning and making for the office. With a low growl, she indicated for Nico to follow and took off after him.

They landed on the floor, watching in mute horror as Francis dug around in a desk drawer. All the while the flames were creeping ever closer.

"That exit better as hell be in here," Nico murmured, keeping one eye on the slightly closed door, "We need to go! Now!"

"Got it!" Francis cried, voice slightly muffled by the box inside it, "let's go!" he bounded towards the door, pushing it open with his nose. The sight that met them made them all freeze for a moment. In the few seconds they were in the office, the flames had spread fast, every flammable object in the room now burning furiously.

"This way," Francis said, sticking close to the stone wall as he headed towards a door in the corner of the room. Nico didn't move for a moment, watching with absolute horror as the flames inched along one of the ceiling beams towards the huge chandelier in the centre of the room.

He was yanked out of the way as the chain holding it up snapped under the burning heat. Cosette pulled him down, sheltering him from the blast as the fixture hit the floor and shattered. Then, without a second's respite, she pulled him towards the now open closet door.

Diving in, the door slammed closed behind them, plunging them into darkness. Nico felt completely helpless as he was pulled as far away from the door as possible, guilt and fear twisting his stomach into painful knots.

"It should hold off for a while," Francis said, voice still muffled, "the way out is just through here." There was some shuffling, then light poured into the room as a curtain was pulled back, revealing a dog-flap. He pushed it open with a paw, indicating with his head that the two birds go though. Cosette pushed him forward. That was the only motivation he needed though as he took off, shooting for daylight, fresh air and freedom.

He kept low, turning and hovering to make sure the other two got out safely.

He needn't have bothered, as Cosette flew straight into him, sending them both crashing to the ground.

"Ow," Nico moaned, blinking stars out of his vision, staring up at the clear blue sky. The beautiful sight was marred only by the orange glow of the fire and the small amount of smoke that managed to fight against the breeze blowing it away from them.

"Are you alright?" Cosette asked, untangling their limbs so they could get up.

"Yeah," he said, standing up and rubbing the back of his head, "yeah, I'm fine." They were silent for a few moments as they took off again, following Francis out the back gate and away from the burning building, sirens blaring in the distance.

No more than ten minutes later they were watching fire fighters do everything they could to douse the flames. Clearly Liana and the eagle didn't anticipate back entrances and were nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sorry Francis," Nico said, hanging his head, unable to look anyone in the eye, "this is my fault."

"No it's not," Francis told him with a small smile, "how were you to know you had a crazy lady who wanted your head on a platter."

Nico looked up at him with a grimace, "yeah, that's gonna make me feel better," he said sarcastically.

"'onestly," Cosette said, placing a comforting wing around his shoulder, "as far as you knew, no one else knew you were 'ere, zere was no way to know she vas going to follow you. None of zis is your fault."

"Still," Nico sighed, dropping his gaze back to the floor, "Pedro is so dead when I get back, he just had to date a psychopath," he muttered, frowning, "they were only together for like a month as well, that woman is crazy."

Cosette gave a small laugh, patting his back, "I zink we need to get you 'ome."

"Yeah, I really think we do."

"Pwease don't go!"

Nice was close to tears himself as he gave Marie one last hug. It had been two days since the fire, Nico had stuck around to make sure everything was okay with Francis, and say goodbye to the kids at the orphanage he had come to love so much. Especially little Marie, who was finding the concept of him leaving very difficult to get her young mind around.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I would love to stay forever, but I need to go home, I'll come and visit you soon though okay?"

The tiny bird nodded against his chest, still refusing to let go.

"Come on, you need to get to bed," Nico murmured, prying her wings away from his torso, placing her down in her nest, and stroking the feathers on her head, "get some sleep, alright?"

"One more song?" one of the older girls asked from her nest across the room.

"Really?" Nico asked, standing up and crossing his wings, trying to give her a disapproving look, but the smile playing on his beak giving his true feelings away. He looked to Cosette, who just smiled and nodded.

"We've got time for one song, then we've really got to go."

The chicks cheered, settling down in their nests, looking eager.

"Hmmm," Nico tapped his chin, "what to sing? Oh, I think I know," he grinned. It couldn't be something too lively, not when they were trying to get them to sleep, but he knew the perfect song to sing.

'I am not as brave, beautiful, and patient as you are,
But I am safe in your arms I listen as you say
"I'm proud of who you've become
and the person you will be tomorrow..."
And I know I would give anything up for you...'

He stepped out into the aisle between the two rows of nests, singing softly. Eyes were beginning to droop already, and he resisted the urge to chuckle quietly.

'I'll follow through I promise to hold on
I'll never let go won't let you down
If you can stay proud I'll be brave somehow...

I am not that brave
Sometimes I need to hear you whisper
"Everything's O.K... You'll be fine
I'll help you find your way..."
And I have nothing but faith in you
All that I am is what you are and we are
I would give anything up for you...

I'll follow through I promise to hold on
I'll never let go won't let you down
If you can stay proud I'll be brave somehow...'

He trailed off quietly, smiling and shaking his head in disbelief, fighting back tears. Each and every one of them had fallen asleep, some snoring softly. He was really going to miss this. Cosette stepped up next to him, giving a wry smile at the silence the blanketed the room.

"Actually I've changed my mind," she whispered, "I'm keeping you 'ere."

Nico shook his head in amusement as Cosette fussed and fretted over him. He let her get on with it though, it was the last time they were going to see each other after all. Just the thought of leaving her almost made him tear up, a lump forming in his throat as he fought back the dampness in his eyes,

"I've packed you zis," Cosette was saying, holding out the pack Alastair had given him all those weeks ago, "a little food, ze name of the port you should go to in order to get a boat down to Africa and ze name of ze airport in Rome should you decide to do that instead. The train takes around 24 'ours so be careful, don't get yourself into trouble, if you see danger fly away, I don't want to be 'earing of anymore incidents, and if you-"

"Alright, alright," Nico interrupted, laughing a little, taking the pack from her and slipping it onto his back, "I'll be careful, I promise."

The sparrow in question looked away bashfully, her eyes becoming filled with tears as she looked down at the little canary putting on his pack and fixing his cap. Before either of the boys could protest however, she had tugged him into a fierce hug, tears spilling over silently as she held him tight.

"I'm okay," she mumbled, pulling away and wiping her eyes, a watery smile tugging at her beak. That broke him down, Nico pulling the older bird back into the hug, burying his face in her shoulder, openly sobbing into her feathers at the knowledge he might never see her again. Cosette froze in shock for a short moment, staring down at the top of his head with wide eyes, before they filled with tears once more and she wrapped her wings around him, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Alright," Cosette said tearfully, pulling away and wiping her eyes with a sniff, "the train looks like it's about to leave, you might want to get going." Nico nodded slowly, attempting to swallow the lump that had risen in his throat. As much as he just wanted to get home, he didn't want to leave the amazing birds here. Maybe he could convince Luiz to let him use the computer every now and again, so he could keep in some form of contact, somehow.

"O-okay, Okay," he said firmly, more to himself than anyone else, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He cleared his throat, looking up at the pair of sparrows with wide, grateful eyes.

"Merci," he said sincerely, fidgeting with the straps of his pack, "for everything."

"Vous êtes le bienvenu mon chéri," Cosette said, smiling wide, "Je vais vous manquer."

They heard the call from the train conductor signalling that the train was about to leave. Nico looked over his shoulder at the long train from their perch on one of the metal beams inside the station.

With a small hiccup, Cosette reached down and gave him one more quick hug. "Be safe," she whispered in his ear as she pulled away.

"I will," Nico breathed, smiling wide. There was another whistle, and the pair heard the train come to life.

"Go," Cosette told him as Nico took off into the air with a final wave and a tip of his hat. He darted down and through an open window into a compartment with a small family, Mother, Father and young son, all gathered around a Newspaper, completely engrossed. He used that moment to flutter up to the luggage rail above them, settling down right at the back, out of sight, leaning against a soft blanket the humans had stowed up there. Might as well get comfortable.

He had a long journey ahead of him.

Chapter three :) I've kept Vincent, he will be playing a larger part in future chapters, I promise. However I've changed the plot a little more in terms of villains. I'm making it a little more personal this time round. So this will definitely be interesting.

As usual, thank you for reading, please do drop a review if you enjoyed it. I don't mind if it's good news, bad news or whatever, anon or signed, one word or a whole essay. The fact that you left anything literally means the world to me, so thank you. (And I do apologise to those who have messaged me recently and I haven't got round to replying, I've been working non-stop recently, it's been manic, so very, very sorry :))