Bia was shocked by the cold of water. This was strange, since the Amazon was in constant heat and humidity, but it did feel cold. She couldn't believe it - it was so ironic. She blinked under the water, feeling it stinging her eyes. The plunge pool was very deep here, Mimi had told her that. It was shallow along the tree line, only a foot or so deep, but in the main plunge pool and along the waterfall and the cliffs, it was deepest, maybe over eight metres deep. It was dark, and Bia could see the odd silver flash of fish scales near the surface. The plunge pool bed was sandy and had pebbles, and was far below them. Breaking out of her trance, Bia frantically made for the surface, with one word repeating in her mind. Air. Air. She couldn't breathe.
Bia was then made aware of talons, tightly wrapped around her throat. She writhed under the water, and squinted at Kerja. A faint red, white and black cloud was hanging around her, from her heavy layers of paint. Bia then saw the bald patches and full extent of the scarring. Blue was amung the faint cloud colours - Bia had heard that Kerja used it to cover her bald patches and worst scars, and now Bia saw many patches of skin and new scars she hadn't noticed before - for one, a half-healed trio marking her face, and more criss-crossing her chest. And Kerja looked absolutely livid.
Recovering from seeing Kerja's new, true appearance, Bia realized once again that she couldn't breathe, and Kerja's grip on her throat made it feel worse. Bia floundered under the water, struggling and shoving at Kerja, but no matter what, Kerja didn't budge. But then Kerja was suffering the consequences of the water, like Bia. Her eye whites went pink, and her grasp was loosening - by now, Bia's lungs were screaming for air. Kerja, meanwhile, regretted her decision of the water plunge. Shoving Bia away, Kerja struggled for the surface, but her feathers weighed her down, and she was dragged several feet lower than Bia. But then something caught her, began pulling her. Kerja flailed her wings and talons as the lower current suddenly wrapped around her, and it began to swiftly carry her faster and lower. She tried to swim, but her feathers refused movement. Birds couldn't swim, afterall. Kerja snagged her claws on Bia's tail in an attempt to gain level and near the surface, but instead, they were both dragged into the current and swiftly carried out of the plunge pool.
Meanwhile, above the surface, chaos had erupted. Spix's, Red and Blue-and-Gold macaws hovered over the place where Bia and Kerja had fallen, while the few remaining Hyacinths were losing it. They were flying around the surface, trying to see their leader, but the water was too dark, as were Kerja's feathers. Azure, Eduardo and Mimi were desperately flying closest to the surface, frantically trying to spot Bia. Azure was filled and consumed by an unbelievable terror. He couldn't see Bia anymore, and he kept calling her name. Roberto, seeing Azure's state and desperate to save his friends' daughter, began trying to organize a 'macaw chain' to go into the water, but while there were many volunteers, organization was all over the place. There was too much panic, and a chain wasn't practical, since their wings weren't designed to form such links.
"Everybody!" Shouted Eduardo, upon realization that Bia and Kerja had to be long gone by now. He looked anxiously into the exit, where the plunge pool trickled into a stream. "There is a current in the plunge pool that goes into the rainforest! I, Mimi, Roberto and Azure will go down there now to try and find Bia, while everyone else here deals with the rest of the Hyacinths, agreed?"
"We'll take care of things here!" Felipe insisted, turning to glare at the remaining ones, who were beginning their attack again, squaring up to the crowd members on the edge of the circle. A younger one that was barely an early teenager timidly approached Azalea, with a small stone grasped in it's claws. Azalea shook her head, putting her wing out.
"Hey, you're far too young to be in a fight. Get out of here, and go find your parents." The chick hesitated briefly, before almost looking gratefully at Azalea. It turned and flew out of the ravine. Her frown of worry returning with what had just happened to Bia and Kerja, Azalea turned to Johanna. "What about your tribe, and the evacuees? And are Adele and Leti alright?"
"They'll be fine, and Adele and Leti got there too. Alejandro and the majority of the tribe are there - goodness me, that reminds me -" Johanna then gasped, as she remembered the scenario with Adele, and what had happened to Orchid. "Roberto, Azure, something has happened to -"
"We have to go!" Mimi cried, interrupting. "The sooner we find Bia, the better!" Johanna looked at Mimi, irritated by this interruption, and then she rushed up to Roberto, whispering urgently in his ear and looking serious. Roberto's eyes widened, and before anyone could ask, he turned and flew from the ravine. Azure wanted to ask Johanna what was so important, but instead, he followed Eduardo and Mimi. Whatever had happened would have to wait - now, he was fighting the panic within him.
While this was happening, Bia and Kerja were being swiftly carried from the ravine. Had it not been for the power of the current, they would've sank and drowned long ago - but now Kerja was trying to drown her. Bia kept breaking the surface, gasping for air, but then Kerja would pull her back under the water, to try and keep her there. Bia then felt pebbles brush her wing, and realized how close they were to the bank. This could be her one chance to get to safety - if they kept going downstream, they'd end up in the deeper streams or even the main river, where piranhas and other predatory animals infested the water. Here, it was too shallow, but it wouldn't stay that way for long.
"I'm serious! Get off!" Bia spat, trying to hit Kerja with her wings, but they were weighed down with water. "You'll kill us both!"
"No!" Kerja snarled, her grasp remaining the same. Bia glared at Kerja, before she reached down to the talons around her neck. She felt like a savage, but it was only way. She remembered Jewel teaching her, Carla and Tiago this, should something grab onto them - this was the best way to get something to let go. Bia bit down hard with her beak, and Kerja screeched in pain, shaking her foot to dislodge Bia, but she only bit harder, until she tasted blood. That finally did it. Kerja's claws released Bia, and at that moment, Bia felt something brush her claws. Before she could be swept past, Bia snagged her claws on whatever it was - it felt like a root. Talons scrapped at her, but Kerja lost her grasp. Bia looked over her shoulder, expecting the monstrous Hyacinth to still be there - but, to her surprise and relief, Kerja was no where to be seen, and all she saw was rushing water. At first, Bia couldn't believe it - Kerja was gone. Then she felt the water, realized that she had to get out before the root snapped.
Bia dragged herself through the water, claws digging into the root beneath her, determined not to let go. As she got closer to safety, Bia began feeling the exhaustion creeping through her. Finally, she felt the sand and pebbles beneath her feet, and she no longer felt the pull of the current. Bia finally let go of the root, and stepped onto the soft mud of the bank. She stood there, head tipped back toward the sky, where raindrops were beginning to fall, where lightening lit up the sky, signalling the beginning of a thunderstorm. It was just like when she and Azure had escaped that fire, onto the safety of the water and the lilypads, months ago. Exhausted and feeling pain from her wounds, Bia collapsed onto the mud, closing her eyes.
Meanwhile
Blu struggled to keep up with Jewel, who was flying incredibly fast despite the heavy downpour. They were struggling to fly through the rain, but Jewel was still determined to get to the ravine, whatever the weather. They were mostly flying under trees, but the rain was still coming down through the leaves, making their flying difficult. It was especially hard for Blu, as while he was now a good flier, he wasn't used to flying in all conditions like Jewel. "Jewel, slow down! You need to rest after-"
"Blu, our tribe is fighting!" Jewel replied, fiercely, looking over her shoulder. "My dad and Mimi are over forty years old, they can't fight like they used to - and our little girl is chasing that crazy Hyacinth and Azure. We have to get to the ravine, now, and I feel fine. I don't need rest." Blu felt another sense of that relief. His Jewel was definitely back, and here to stay, but his relief was soon replaced by worry. Just what was Kerja planning to do to Azure? What if Bia got hurt, or worse?
Blu and Jewel then slowed. Ahead, they could see three Hyacinths, flying like there was no tomorrow, struggling to it adequately with the rain. Jewel landed on a branch, hidden behind some leaves, parting them and looking out with angry eyes. "I'd love to strangle one of them." She muttered to him. He looked nervously at her.
"Come on, Jewel... we have to get back." Blu said, gently, tugging her wing. He was afraid that Jewel would indeed try to strangle one - she claimed to feel fine, but for all he knew she was still weak. Jewel casted an angry glare at the Hyacinths, before reluctantly following him away. Jewel had a vague recollection of the noise of battle, but now it was almost silent. Had the battle ended? Either that or the storm was drowning out the sound. Blu then saw something in the corner of his eye, something lying on the bank by the stream. He frowned. "Jewel? What's that, down there?"
"What?" Jewel turned her head to look. Something small and light blue lay there by the stream, on it's side. It's tail was half in and half out of the stream, and it was sodden in water, covered in mud. She frowned - then she realized who it was, and gasped. "Bia!" Jewel cried, frantically. Blu blinked in confusion, and upon looking at the figure again, also realized.
"What the -" Blu began, but then he found himself and Jewel racing down to the bank, landing awkwardly and running to Bia's side.
"Oh, no!" Jewel looked horrified upon seeing the claw marks on Bia, and most of them were around her throat. She looked up at Blu, wide-eyed, before crouching beside their motionless daughter and pulling her out of the mud, into her wings. "Oh, thank goodness, she's breathing... Bia? Wake up, it's us, sweetheart..." Bia then began to stir, muttering and coughing up water; finally, she opened her eyes, and blinked away water. She reached a wing up to her neck, groaning at the pain, of both cuts and bruising. She looked up at Blu and Jewel, and smiled weakly.
"Mom... Dad?" She asked, before coughing up more water. Blu and Jewel exchanged relieved looks, before they both proceeded into a joint hug with Bia. Bia felt some of her pain melt away, with being in her mother and father's wings.
"Bia, what happened to you?" Blu fretted, running his worried eyes over Bia's wounds and sodden feathers.
"I... it was Kerja. She... ow." Bia rose a wing to her throat, wincing. Jewel frowned.
"Did she try to strangle you, or something?" She asked, turning Bia's head to examine the bruising. "You should try not to speak. We'll get you to that Spix's Wing soon."
"She tried to drown me... I'll explain later, and I'm fine." Bia shook her head. The Spix's Wing was the last place she wanted to be. "Anyway... what about you? Are you well again?"
"I've never been better, sweetie." Jewel said, softly, before helping Bia to stand. "But we're still taking you to the Spix's Wing."
"I honestly don't need..."
"Don't try to protest." Blu insisted. "You won't be in there long, but you still have some bad wounds - what was that?" Blu looked to the right, where there was a distant sound. He frowned, trying to make it out, before calling out loudly. "We're here!" Upon Bia and Jewel's confused looks, he explained. "I just heard Azure, Eduardo, and Mimi - calling for you, Bia." As he said this, Eduardo, Mimi, and Azure's voices became clear. In her mother's and father's wings, Bia felt Jewel's heartbeat quickening - her father and aunt were about to see her well again.
"Bia! Bia!" Eduardo and Mimi were first to come flying out of the trees, the first to land on the mud. Upon landing, they looked at Bia first with relief, then Blu - then they both froze upon seeing the third. Eduardo blinked in disbelief, and didn't move at all. Mimi, however, ran forwards, wings outstretched. Jewel released Bia and ran to her aunt, and the two met with a tight embrace. Bia looked up at her father, and smiled. It was a heart-warming scene to behold.
"Jewel... I can't believe how... well you look. It's a miracle..." Mimi kept crying between words. She then looked up at Bia through tears, reaching over with one wing to touch her shoulder. "And you, you little darling... are you alright? What about Tiago and Carla?"
"I'm fine, and so are they." Bia replied, coughing again. "I'm just a bit... watery." They turned to look at Eduardo. Jewel eased herself free of Mimi, and ran up to her father. No words were exchanged - only a relieved embrace, just like the one they had shared upon reunification last year. Then the bushes shook. Azure came crashing, eyes enormous with terror - then he skidded to a halt upon seeing Bia, almost slipping in the mud. No words were said - Bia raced past Eduardo and Jewel, flinging herself into Azure's wings. He held her tightly, trying and failing to keep back the tears. They remained that way for a long time, until Bia pulled away, reaching up with her wings to hold his face. "Hey, you. Don't cry."
"I'm just... so glad you're... safe." Azure whispered in her ear. "I genuinely thought you'd... that she'd... oh, forget it." he hugged her tighter, and Bia rested her cheek on his shoulder. He winced, and she realized that his throat had an injury. She tilted his chin up so she could see the horizontal cut, and she felt a wave of relief - it looked painful, but not serious. Kerja hadn't cut far enough for it to damage an artery or his windpipe. Remembering Kerja, Bia looked downstream. Where had she gone? Had she drowned, or was she still being carried downriver? Don't think about her. Then her thoughts were distracted, by the sound of triumphant cheering from hundreds of macaws - Spix's, Scarlet, Green-Winged, and Blue-and-Gold, heard over the storm that raged overhead.
"I think..." Blu then said, looking around, cautiously. "I think the battle's over."
"Already?" Jewel asked, surprised, looking around from where she was still embracing Eduardo.
"When we left to find Bia, only twenty or so were left, compared to the hundreds of macaws on our side... Blu, Jewel, in case you didn't know, Johanna brought some of her tribe to help out." Mimi informed them.
"Really?" Blu asked, looking confused. "I thought they didn't fight?"
"Dad, they were throwing fruit and stuff." Bia said, remembering, never taking her eyes off Azure. "Not fatal or too harmful, but enough to drive away..."
"I have a lot to thank Johanna and her tribe for." Eduardo marvelled, shaking his head. He still looked shell-shocked after seeing Jewel looking so well again. There was a long moment's silence. "Anyway... Mimi and I will go back to check on the ravine... Blu, Jewel? I think you should go and find Tiago and Carla."
"Are you sure?" Jewel asked, in concern. "Do you want me to stay with you a little longer?"
"Of course we do, but those other two need their mom and dad." Mimi said, with a smile. "Go on, all of you - go to the Blue-and-Golds." Jewel smiled back at Mimi, before hugging her aunt and father once more.
"See you both later - love you both." She said, and they both nodded. With a final smile, Jewel turned to Blu and Bia. She then plucked Azure off the ground, and hugged him too. Azure's cheeks turned cerise in embarrassment. "And thank you, as well - you went all the way to Peru, to help your girlfriend's mom. Your mother will be so proud..." she looked uncomfortably at Blu, Eduardo, and Mimi.
"Had something happened to her?" Azure asked, looking up, worriedly. "Kerja said..."
"We'll tell you on the way." Blu said, quickly. "She's in the Spix's Wing, right now, but she'll recover soon. You can see her there when we take you."
"That reminds me," Eduardo said, sounding and looking worried. "Azure, your father rushed off when Johanna said something to him... any idea what that was about?" Bia glanced a quizzical look at Azure, who frowned.
"Er... I don't know." He shrugged. "I guess we'll find out later." Azure tried to sound casual, but he was concealing his worry. What could've happened to make Roberto rush off so quickly?