Blu's bird friends had been called to the tree den after the rain had stopped. They had been called by him, but he didn't give them any details. He just said to meet him at his house in two hours. Fides, Luis, Pepito, Jasmine, Pedro, Nico, Raphael, Eva, and Esmeralda were all waiting patiently for Blu.

"He's late," said Nico, a yellow canary with a bottle cap for a hat.

"Who would call us to meet here and not show up?" wondered Fides, a female Lear's Macaw.

"Blu," answered Pedro, a Red-Crested Cardinal.

"I think that was sarcasm," explained Rafael, a Toco Toucan.

"I think here they come," said Pepito, the son of Fides.

The birds looked outside and saw the Blu family flying towards the tree den. The Blu family flew above them in the tree den and landed in front of them.

"You're late," said Luis, Fides's second mate.

"I know," said Blu. "We were at the sanctuary, getting their help too."

"For what?" asked Esmeralda, the daughter of Rafael and Eva.

"Aurora is missing," explained Jewel.

The birds faced each other with concerning looks and then faced Blu and Jewel.

"For how long?" asked Eva, a Keel-Billed Toucan.

"Since the night before last night," said Blu. "We couldn't do anything because of the rain, but the skies are somewhat clear now. This is our chance to find her. Tulio and his aides are already looking around Rio."

"Then we will take to the skies and find her," said Nico. "Birds, let's fly."

The searching party nodded and flew out of the tree den. Jewel looked at Blu and grabbed his left wing. He glanced down and looked at his mate's face.

"Oh, Blu. I hope we find her."

"I know we'll find her," said Blu.

Jewel slightly smiled and kissed him quickly. Jalin saw how sad his parents felt. The guilt was slowly killing him. He walked up to him.

"Papa? Mama?"

They looked down at Jalin.

"Yes?" inquired Jewel.

"It's about Aurora. She-"

"Jalin, you're stalling this search!" exclaimed Leoncio, walking up to him. "C'mon. Finding our sister is more important now."

He saw the look in Leoncio's eyes. He nodded. Jalin looked at his parents.

"He's right. Sorry."

"Okay," said Blu. "C'mon. Let's go find Aurora."

The Blu family left the tree den and scanned the forest one more time for the missing family member.

Aurora bit down on the small fruit she was eating. She swallowed it and looked at Dixie.

"Wow! This is the best banana I tasted."

"I'm glad you liked it."

Aurora looked at Dixie and smiled.

"You've been so kind to me. How can I repay you?"

Dixie smiled.

"There's no need. I hope you can reunite with your family."

Aurora looked down at the ground. She smiled and faced Dixie and her chicks.

"Yeah. Um… So which direction is Rio?"

"Just head south. You should reach there in a day or two."

Lily looked at her mama.

"Mama, why does she have to go alone?"

"She won't be."

Aurora walked up to Dixie.

"I asked a friend to accompany you on your journey back," explained Dixie. "His name is Donec. He should be coming any second now."

Just then, Dixie's eyes were focused on something outside of the den. Aurora, Lily, and Yessenia also looked outside. A Mealy Amazon was flying towards the den. He came in for a landing. He perched himself in front of Dixie. Aurora moved a little closer to Dixie.

"Sorry for being a little late."

"It's alright, Donec."

Donec looked around with his brownish eyes and saw Aurora.

"So this is the little blue bird that you want me to take to Rio?"

"Yes. I can't make the journey. I know you are going there to meet some birds there and find a mate."

"Yeah, I can take her there. I'll be killing two humans with one stone for the both of us."

"Alright then. It's settled."

Aurora, after thinking she should show some trust in this friendly bird, walked up to Donec.

"Hi. I'm Aurora."

Donec smiled.

"Name's Donec, a fly racer of the Birdie 900."

"Donec? Doesn't that mean sonic?"

"Exactly. I'm one of the fastest birds in all of Brazil."

"Amazing."

"So, Aurora, are you ready to go?"

Aurora faced Dixie and smiled.

"Thank you all. I have new friends now."

"You are always welcomed Aurora," said Dixie.

"Visit us, okay," said Lily.

"We will meet again."

Aurora faced Donec and nodded. They began to flap their wings and flew off towards Rio. Dixie and her family watched as Aurora disappeared into the sky.

"That child."

Dixie faced her mother.

"She's special," continued Dixie's mother. "She was made in the Winter Solstice, but she will not go by that name when she's older."

"What are you talking about, Grandma?" asked Lily.

"Aurora will be Aurora no more. She will be reborn as a new bird."

Jalin was awaken from his power nap by a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked and saw an annoyed Leoncio and a worried Elena. He already knew what it was about. He stood up. He looked around and noticed Jewel was sleeping after an exhausted afternoon search. He had helped her too. That's why he needed the power nap. As for Blu, he was still part of the search party. Jalin looked at his siblings with saddened eyes.

"You're mad because I almost snitched."

Leoncio and Elena faced each other and then looked at Jalin.

"Why did you almost do it?" asked Elena.

"I just… The guilt is killing me."

"Well, what did you except?" questioned Leoncio. "For it to be all flowers and sweets?"

"Lying to Mama and Papa is the worst thing I've ever did. They look so sad. You heard Mama. She was crying herself to sleep."

"Look, Jalin. You, we already knew what we were getting into. We just have to play along."

"For how long?"

"I don't know, Jalin," said Elena, "but as much as you hate these words, Leoncio is right. You know how much trouble we will be if we tell?"

"I don't care anymore. What we did was a crime. All crimes will be punished at one point or another. No one truly gets away."

Jalin narrowed his eyes.

"I would expect this talk from Leoncio," continued Jalin, "but from you as well? Elena, you sound like our troublesome brother. Aurora was family, no matter how much we didn't like her."

"Listen, Jalin," said Leoncio. "Your wingprints are on this too. Not only we will get in trouble, but Papa and Mama will hate us for the rest of our lives."

"What if she shows up and tells our folks?" questioned Jalin.

"She's not going to," said Elena. "I read the bottle of the knock-out drug. It causes short-term memory lost. She won't remember a thing. It's perfect."

"You might say it is, but I will never say that."

"Okay. Consider what I said. Jalin, as a brother, I will always be at your side, but I can't allow you to squeal."

Jalin scanned his siblings. He looked at their floods of emotions. He sighed.

"Alright. For the time being, I will side with you. It's for my benefit as well. I will be honest to this alliance. Aurora's smart anyways. If she does return, there will be no point on living with the guilt. We'll just play along."

Aurora and Donec continued to fly above the jungles, towards their destination. Donec had adjusted his normal flying speed to keep close to Aurora.

"So, how you won any races?" asked Aurora.

"A few, but they were just qualifying races or local races. My goal is to win the cup. I've tried, but I always come out to be the top five finishers, never first."

"How exciting. Can females fly in that race?"

"Anyone can, but remember, you'll be racing along with males. It's co-ed."

"Well, I'm sure if I train my hardest, I can probably achieve my dreams."

Donec chuckled.

"You have a lot of spunk in you, kid. I like it."

"I have my mama and papa to thank. My papa is really smart. He sings with my mama sometimes. I always wished I could sing as well as they do."

"Sing? If they look like you, I think I've seen them before. It was probably last year at the party where a tugboat crashed into the pier. They do have amazing voices."

"Then you know what they look like?"

Donec smiled.

"Don't worry, Aurora. You will be with them in no time."

The sun was setting. Donec looked down and flew towards a tree branch. Aurora followed him. They landed on the branch.

"We will rest here for tonight. By tomorrow evening, we will be in Rio."

"Alright… Thank you for all this."

"No problem," smiled Donec. "Now, get some rest."

Aurora smiled.

"I hope you find a mate soon. You would be a great father."

Donec took in the compliment as Aurora snuggled next to him. He looked down and imaged Aurora to be a chick of his own. He warmly beamed at the thought and looked at the setting sun.

Suddenly, he heard a release of pressurized air. Next thing he knew, he was caught in a net. He and Aurora fell down to the ground. Aurora opened her eyes as she and Donec fell to the ground. They frantically looked around and saw a Latino with a black shirt and pants walk up to them. He smiled, showing his pearly yellows.

"These will make a quick buck."

He set a bird cage down next to the net's opening and attached the net's opening to the opened cage door. He forced the birds into flying into the cage by merely walking on the net, towards them. Not wanting to get trampled, Aurora and Donec flew into the cage. The man quickly closed the cage door and locked it. He picked up the cage and the net. A net-launching rifle was strapped on his back shoulder. He looked at the birds and smiled.

"C'mon, you two. Tomorrow's the flight away from here. I hope you like your new home."

The man walked down the unmarked path of the jungle, returning to his car with his final catch of the day.