Chapter 39: Feather elixir
(This chapter begins around a few days before the departure of the Azuls, spix macaws and two scarlet tribes to Xlaxlan Twelve Peaks.)
Although the box where Nigel was in was rather small, it wasn't all too uncomfortable to sit in. There were 3 little holes on each side of the box in which he could see through, and most importantly, breath through.
The journey was long, however, with the helicopter making multiple stops in Brazilian cities and towns to regain fuel for the flight to Manaus. The night in the box weren't all the most comfortable one for Nigel, since it was pretty hot and would hear the constant chuffs of the helicopter.
Eventually, after about a day of flying, Nigel heard the helicopter pilot say: "Finally, Manaus."
Nigel gasped and said to himself: "This is it; this is the place that's closest to that wretched bluebird."
Nigel heard the Helicopter door open and peeked through the little holes of the box. The pilot and the passenger were unloading the helicopter.
Nigel saw that they were carrying the boxes rather far and saw the opportunity to exit the box he was in. When he exited the box and then the helicopter itself, he found himself at the side of the Manaus International Airport.
"Oh, bird, which way is the way to the city itself?" Nigel said to himself, annoyed.
After some searching, however, he got to the parking of the airport and saw some busses standing there. One bus had a sign on which stood Centro. This was perfect for Nigel, since he knew that on the southern part of Centro, there was a harbor, where he could catch a boat.
Nigel climbed onto the bus and once it left for Centro, Nigel held on with all his might, trying not to fall of the roof off the bus onto the hard solid ground. During the bus trip, Nigel clinched his beak and kept thinking about his revenge for Blu.
Oh, Blu, you will pay dearly for making me flightless and having to be transported like this. Nigel thought to himself.
After about an hour of driving, the bus finally stopped at the most southern part of Centro as it could get, the Praça da Matriz – P1.
Here, Nigel breathed a sigh of relief, he could loosen his grip onto the small antenna of the bus.
Nigel got off the bus unnoticed by the passengers and made his way onto the port of Manaus. There, he saw many boats, but he didn't know which one would take him closest to the heart of the Amazon rainforest.
After some searching, he found a boat that would do a tour around the Amazon River and entered it unnoticed. This was ironically the same boat he Gabi and Charlie had been on more than a year ago, when they followed Blu, his family and his friends.
Just like last time, Nigel hid himself amongst the boxes with fruits and other foods from the humans and after some time of waiting, the boat left for the Amazon rainforest.
After sailing for some time, the sun was setting and Nigel kept thinking about his revenge on Blu, as he was now getting really close to him.
Eventually, Nigel fell asleep on the boat and began dreaming of how he would end Blu's life once and for all. In that dream, he also saw himself in full feathers, and he could fly again, dragging Blu's body up in the skies as Blu struggles to breathe. Nigel laughed maniacally in his dream.
But then, in the middle of the night, a passenger that was hungry came to the fruits and yelled in Portuguese/Brazilian: "Ah! A bird intruder!"
Nigel's eyes opened instantly, and he screamed at the top of his lungs as he began to run away from the human that saw him.
After some running and panting however, another human that had woken up saw Nigel and just like last time with Charlie, Nigel was hit with a guitar, sending him flying to the stern of the boat and was knocked against a lifebuoy. He and the lifebuoy both fell into the water. Nigel screamed as he fell down.
After he got out of the water and got himself onto the buoy, he said to himself annoyed: "Oh, not again."
And this time he didn't have Charlie to hold onto the boat with his large tongue or use his tongue as a propeller to go further.
Luckily for Nigel, he was able to hold on to the buoy and he also spotted a branch the size of his wing that had almost the shape of a spoon.
"Perfect." Nigel said to himself. "It's gonna be exhausting, paddling all the way to that wretched bluebird, but it's gonna be worth it.
And so, Nigel took the branch and started paddling, going westwards up to the Amazon River.
Due to the fact that he now didn't have a boat to take him to his destination, the road would now last much longer.
For days, Nigel paddled, and even though his body would be tired, he kept going because he was fueled by the revenge he would enact on Blu. And because of that hatred and those revenge thoughts, Nigel lost track of both his course and time.
There were so many other small rivers flowing into the Amazon River that he forgot which one he had to take in order to find the Sanctuary of the spix Macaw tribe.
For days, Nigel paddled endlessly and eventually, he decided to turn his buoy into a side river, where he paddled for about 8 more hours, until he finally felt the exhaustion in his body. Nigel panted heavily and thought that his would be best to rest somewhere.
Then, he saw it, over the trees he saw a giant stone peak of what looked like a temple.
"Oh, boy." Nigel said to himself. "I really did paddle too far. I need to go back."
Nigel then yawned and said to himself: "But not today, now, I need some rest. Maybe in that temple over there, I will get some rest."
Nigel paddled some more and eventually reached the eastern side of not just one, but 12 temples that stood in a square.
"Wow." Nigel said to himself. "Who built this place?"
Nigel then left the buoy and placed it on the side of the most southeastern temple. He then entered the plaza and decided to enter the most southeastern peak to take a look inside and it would also be the perfect spot to get some rest.
"Mmh, seems like this place had been abandoned long ago." Nigel said to himself.
Inside, Nigel saw that the halls were decorated with orange and red flowers, but that the walls were engraved with strange symbols (runes) that he had never seen before.
He then saw a stone on which he could lie down and get some rest.
Well, this isn't all too bad, got a roof over my head and a comfortable place to sleep at. I think I might stay here for some days to rest and eat. After all, revenge cannot be rushed. Nigel thought to himself.
And so, Nigel laid himself down on the rock, exhausted, and fell asleep in just 5 minutes time.
Nigel once again dreamed of how he would kill Blu once he got his claws on him, but that dream soon turned into a nightmare, once Blu, who got aid from his family and friends, overpowered him.
Suddenly, Nigel, got awoken by a brutish force that kicked him of the rock he was sleeping.
"What the?!" Nigel yelled as his eyes darted open.
Before he could react, he was kicked from multiple fronts. Nigel couldn't see well who they were, as his vision was still a bit blurred from the sleeping.
"Looks like we got an extra intruder, guys!" a voice said from Nigel's left side.
"As if those other wretched birds weren't enough!" a voice said from Nigel's behind.
Another kick came into Nigel's face from a talon.
Nigel's vision became clearer, and he saw what was attacking him, it were 4 orange-looking birds, Nigel had never seen such birds before.
"What's this guy even wearing around his body, anyways?" said one of the Emberwings
"I dunno" said another one. "Something human, I think, but he looks awful in it."
"HEY!" Nigel yelled as he shoved one Emberwing back "That was the cause of a wretched bird!"
"SHUT UP!" yelled an Emberwing from behind and bumped Nigel on the head.
Nigel felt dizzy and fell on his right side on the clod floor. He saw the Emberwing before him, ready to pick him up as his vision blurred once more and eventually, Nigel fell unconscious.
Some time passed and Nigel's eyes began to open. He was groaning.
"Well, well, look who decided to wake up, boys! The intruder" said a hooligan-like voice.
Nigel then woke up completely and saw himself in a gigantic room lit by torches. By the looks of it, it felt that he was underground. Nigel felt that his wings were tied up with some vines to a stone.
"Where am I?" Nigel demanded. "And who are you?!"
Before him stood Skarsnik and Gobbla right next to him.
"Who are you to ask us anything, intruder?!" Skarsnik said.
"Well, I thought this place was abandoned" Nigel replied.
"We stand prove it's not." Skarsnik said. "And what is that ridiculous outfit you're wearing?"
"This?" Nigel said. "This is-"
"Nobody here gives a damn what you're wearing, white bird!" said an Emberwing next to Skarsnik. "It's so ridiculous!"
"What's underneath it?" Skarsnik said as he stretched out his wing to Nigel's vest.
"DON'T!" Nigel yelled desperately, but it was too late.
"What the…" Skarsnik said and then started laughing hysterically. "Look everyone! This white bird got a featherless place on his belly!"
Suddenly, hysterical laughing came from all the corners of the hall. Nigel saw multiple orange macaws laughing and pointing at him. Nigel kept a stern face, but he was never so humiliated in his life, which was only matched by how Blu defeated him on the plane several years ago.
After the laughing died out, a voice came from behind Skarsnik.
"Skarsnik?" said the stern voice. "What's going on here?"
Everyone turned and saw 3 other birds walking towards his direction. The one on the right side had a vine in his body with some plants (toxin plant balls) attached to it, whilst the one on the left had a stick attached to his back, which was attached to a vine. The left one also had a blinded left eye. The middle one was taller and was muscular.
"Oh, Terrin." Skarsnik said as he pointed to Nigel. "This white bird trespassed onto our temple entrance.
Terrin stepped forward with a stern look towards Nigel and stopped in front of the cockatoo.
"If you're the leader, tell your lackies here to untie me at once." Nigel demanded. "I have some unfinished business with someone."
"So have I, even though I didn't expect it to be so." Terrin said coldly.
The two kept glancing at each other for about 2 minutes, but then they and the others heard flapping of wings from an entrance. Terrin knew the birds all too well as she landed in front of him.
"Well, Davina?" Terrin said in a demanding voice.
"Sapphire is still strong, despite her age. Stronger than expected. She had some help though. Mia, Jasmine, a fat one that is her sister-in-law, and her daughter were with her." Davina said.
"Hmm" Terrin said. "This is concerning news. The Azuls back, Sapphire back and-"
Before Terrin could say anything further, another flapping was heard and the Emberwings and Nigel saw Shira enter the room.
"Well, Shira?" Terrin demanded.
"Flew into Arturo, Thomas and three other spix macaws. I had to withdraw, even though I managed to take a hit on them."
Spix macaws? Nigel thought to himself. Could it be…
Terrin grunted and said: "This is troubling news, Sapphire is reunited with her long-lost friends, family and even has the entire Azul clan and some other tribes behind her. Let's hope Scarecrow comes back and see what he has to say."
Then, Davina noticed Nigel.
"Uh, who's this?" Davina asked.
"Well, sis, our boys found him on the entrance of Peak 6, sleeping." Skarsnik said.
"Heh, looks like we got some toy to play with before we kill him." Davina said sadistically.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Nigel said. "I want nothing to do with y'all. I have unfinished business with someone, and I will have that satisfied!"
"Ah, shut up, ya featherless belly-bird!" Skarsnik yelled as he punched Nigel in the stomach with his right talon clenched into a fist.
Nigel grunted from the punch, but then spat on the ground and said: "You think you're tough, huh? Just 'cause I have a naked belly and I can't fly and because I'm-"
But then a gigantic laughter came from all around the room, except for Terrin, who kept his cold stare.
Skarsnik was the one laughing the hardest and exclaimed: "Oh, this is too good! He's naked on the belly and he can't even fly!"
"How did you get her, then?!" Davina said in her laughs. "Walk all the way here?"
"I paddled onto something." Nigel said coldly to Davina.
"Enough!" Terrin said and with that, everyone stopped laughing.
"I have no time to deal with this bird now. We have to focus on Sapphire and her allies. Keep this one tied up and let him rot. Just set a few guards so that he can't escape." Terrin said coldly.
Just then, another flapping was heard across the entrance of the room. It was Scarecrow with some other Emberwings.
"Ah, Scarecrow. Report." Terrin demanded.
"Well," Scarecrow began coldly. "I managed to inject one of the spix macaws, but the boys that stayed weren't so lucky."
"We need to stay sharp, right now, Scarecrow" Terrin said in a demonic way. "We can't lose more of our birds. We're outnumbered here now."
"I know, Terrin, but Sapphire's son-in-law is having a little nightmare right now." Scarecrow said.
"What's his name?" Terrin asked.
"His name is Blu. An absurd name for a spix macaw." Scarecrow said.
"BLU?!" Nigel yelled frustrated. "DID YOU SAY BLU?!"
"I said SHUT UP!" Skarsnik yelled and was about to hit Nigel, but then Terrin got a firm grip on Skarsnik's wing.
"Wait" Terrin said to Skarsnik as he turned his attention towards Nigel. "You know that bird?"
"Know him?" Nigel said. "He's the reason I'm like this now! He's the reason I can't fly at all!"
There was murmuring across the entire room with all the Emberwings and Terrin was thinking heavily, but then said something unexpected.
"Release him." Terrin said.
"What?" Skarsnik said bewildered.
"You heard me, Skarsnik, release him." Terrin said once again.
Skarsnik was hesitant, but eventually he loosened the vines that bond Nigel to the stone.
Skarsnik did however keep his guard up in case Nigel would attack him or anybody else. But that didn't happen.
Nigel stretched his sore wings and looked with a stern look at Terrin.
"Who are you? And why did you release me?"
Terrin spoke up in a cold tone
"My name is Terrin and I'm the leader of the orange macaw tribe known as the Emberwings. A long time ago, we captured parts of these temples from a spix macaw tribe known as the 'Azul Clan'."
Nigel frowned when he heard 'spix macaw' and said annoyed: "Ugh, another spix macaw tribe? Another… infestation…"
"Indeed." Terrin replied before saying: "And back when we lived in Peru, another spix macaw always foiled my war plans against the local tribes."
"How did you end up all the way here from Peru?" Nigel asked.
"It's a long story, but in the end, we won the temples from both the Azuls and a second enemy, a gigantic rat horde known as the Svaken." Terrin replied before saying: "In the years after our supposed victory, we planned on taking all of South America, but just hours ago the Azul clan seemed to have come back from the dead, alongside a tribe we fought in Peru, the spix macaw lady who constantly foiled my plans and even another spix macaw tribe and scarlet macaw tribe that got their backs. They even reclaimed some of the temples."
"Yes, and apparently that female spix macaw now seems to be the mother-in-law of this Blu, the one you call your nemesis." Scarecrow said in a cold voice.
"You can take you any of those filthy 'pretty birds' you want, but the spix macaw that is Blu, is mine. And there will be nothing you can do about it" Nigel replied.
"And I'm offering you a chance to enact that vengeance on him" Terrin said in a cold, but calm voice. "I only want one thing."
"And what's that?" Nigel asked.
"Your loyalty and devotion to our cause" Terrin replied.
Nigel thought for some moments, but then smiled evilly and said: "Well, Mr. Terrin, I accept your offer."
Terrin smiled evilly and said: "That's what I like to hear. But before we make our strike, we have to prop you up."
"Prop me up?" Nigel asked a bit dumbfounded.
"Yes" Terrin answered. "We have something to grow your weathers back and-"
"Terrin!" Skarsnik interrupted. "You're not saying we're gonna give him the feather elixir, are we?! He's a complete stranger and not even an Emberwing!"
Nigel frowned and asked: "Feather elixir?"
Terrin looked coldly towards Skarsnik and said: "True. He's not one of us, but right now we are in a dire situation, Skarsnik. Sapphire and her allies have taken over half of Twelve Peaks and this bird (points at Nigel) probably knows the weakness in one of them."
"Yes" Scarecrow said in a cold tone. "And that weakness is that it is the son-in-law of Sapphire. We could indeed control the horde with his life."
"Can somebody tell me what this feather elixir exactly is?" Nigel asked.
"Like my boss said, the feather elixir grows back feathers and can make you fly again" Salazar, Terrin's bodyguard, said."
Nigel's eyes widened, he gasped and asked wonderfully: "Fly again?"
"Yes" Deadshot said. "After we took complete control of the temples, we first thought that it was something poisonous. But after we tested it onto some of our men who couldn't fly anymore due to a flood that wiped out our enemies, we saw that it was like magic. This potion can literally make you fly again."
Nigel stood dumbfounded and asked: "Are you sure this works?"
"Yes" said an Emberwing from behind. "I was someone who was tested and I got my flight back, even though the process took about 20 minutes and was extremely painful at the end."
Nigel turned towards Terrin and said: "I will serve you to the end, even though I'm not one of your kin. And I will crush all those filthy 'pretty birds' that stand before you. Especially those spix macaws. I only want that elixir."
Terrin smiled evilly and said: "Alright, follow me."
Nigel followed Terrin, as Nigel himself was followed by the members of Terrin's inner circle. Skarsnik, however, was against the idea of giving Nigel the elixir that would grint him the ability to fly again.
"By the way…" Davina said. "We haven't asked what your name is."
"My name is Nigel" Nigel said.
"Nigel" Deadshot said. "That name truly fits with you."
"Thanks." Nigel replied.
After some walking in the underground hall, Nigel and Terrin's inner circle came to a pond that was filled with a liquid that had a beige color.
"This is it, Nigel" Terrin said. "This is the feather elixir we talked about earlier."
Nigel looked at the liquid for a few seconds before looking at Terrin.
"Go ahead" Terrin said. "Take a gulp."
Nigel lowered himself to the pond and took a gulp from the seemingly tasteless liquid.
After he took a gulp, he asked: "Now what?"
"And now we wait until the elixir works in" Terrin said. "You wait a little, whilst my circle and I discuss our next battle plans."
For about 20 minutes, Terrin discussed with his team, whilst Nigel waited.
Then, it happened.
Nigel felt something strange in his body. Then, out of a sudden, he screamed intensely.
"What is happening to me?!" Nigel screamed.
Terrin and his inner circle looked at the screaming cockatoo, with Skarsnik even grinning at the sight.
"I'm saying that the elixir is working" Scarecorw said in a cold tone.
For about 1 minute and a half, Nigel screamed whilst twitching on the ground. Then, out of a sudden, he let out a big scream, stood up and with so much strength he ripped his vest open. It didn't reveal the naked belly, but one completely covered with white feathers.
Eventually, Nigel stopped screaming, but still panted heavily.
"Well, Nigel? How are you feeling?" Shira asked.
"I feel like… Like I need to ascend into the sky…" Nigel said whilst still panting.
In a sudden, Nigel spread both of his wings and dashed into the air.
"I- I'M FLYING!" Nigel yelled.
Whilst he was flying in circles in the underground hall, he let out a laugh that almost bordered madness, overjoyed by the ability he lost a few years ago.
Skarsnik rolled his eyes, clearly not amused by the fact that Nigel was overjoyed.
Nigel eventually descended towards Terrin and the two looked at each other.
"So, Nigel" Terrin began. "Are you with us in taking down those spix macaws and other birds?"
"Oh, you can bet on that" Nigel said. "It will be a show to truly die for."
Nigel let out a maniacal laugh and as he laughed harder, Terrin joined in and also began to laugh evilly, followed by Davina, the rest of the inner circle and then all the other Emberwings. It took some time, but even Skarsnik laughed along eventually.
And so, the Emberwings were ready to launch a new attack against their enemies, and the old Nigel was back, back for revenge against his arch-enemy: Blu.
"To be continued…"