Chapter 46: Chicks bite back

Megeslav dashed towards the charging Emberwings, who made up 30 in numbers. And after screaming a lot, he bumped into one of the orange macaws with all his might and the battle started again.

Megeslav was getting surrounded and assaulted from all sides in the air, but he fought with grim and fierce determination. This was all made possible by one thing: his personal vengeance against Skarsnik.

Meanwhile, above the chaos, Blu, Felipe, Alejandro, Camila, Jasmine, Amalia, Andor, and their united forces exploded into the sky, striking Emberwings from every angle.

"Dive! Drive them back toward the darkness!" Blu shouted.

"Keep them away from the children! Protect the backline!" Alejandro yelled.

Camila twisted in midair, locking talons with a younger Emberwing and flipping him upside-down, using his own weight to send him spiraling. Jasmine, though a bit wounded from the last battle against Deadshot, was relentless, slicing through attackers with rage-fueled fury, her eyes burning.

"You Emberwing worms want more?! Come and get it!" Jasmine snarled.

The Emberwings screeched and fought back, their toxin balls flashing dangerously as they swooped and slashed, creating chaos in every direction.

Below the battling birds, Gobbla slithered beneath the flying warzone like a living nightmare. His enormous reptilian eyes followed the flapping targets above, his nostrils flaring.

Then he snarled – loud, guttural – and snapped at a low-flying red macaw.

CHOMP!

The bird barely escaped, flipping backward as Gobbla's jaws crushed nothing but air. Panic erupted among the lower-flying ranks.

"Stay high! Don't let Skarsnik's beast catch you!" Andor shouted.

"He's hunting from below like a crocodile! Fly higher!" Felipe shouted.

Gobbla's hiss echoed off the tunnel walls. His heavy feet pounded the ground, his long tongue flicking as he chased any bird who strayed too low. Emberwings knew to stay above him – but any allied bird who dipped too far was fair game.

Then… the sound changed.

"SKARSNIK!" Megeslav's voice sounded with full fury.

The shrill battle cry cracked the air.

Megeslav's eyes locked onto the figure rising from Gobbla's back. Skarsnik, riding high, a sharpened stick clutched in his talons like a spear, cackled maniacally as he ascended.

Skarsnik (mocking): "Well, well, if it ain't Daddy Death himself! I was hoping I'd see you here!"

Megeslav didn't hesitate.

He tucked his wings and rocketed toward Skarsnik with everything he had.

Mia (yelling): "MEGESLAV, WAIT!"

"MEGESLAV, DON'T!" Sapphire screeched.

But he was already gone, wings folded in a tight dive, claws outstretched.

The two collided midair with a thunderous crash. Skarsnik spun wildly from the blow but recovered quickly. With a twisted grin, he lunged with his spear.

"Back for more, old bird?" Skarsnik said in a mocking tone.

Megeslav dodged the jab and slammed his wing into Skarsnik's face.

Megeslav: "You'll pay for what you did to my daughters!"

"YES! That's the fire I love! Let it burn, Megeslav! Let it BURN!" Skarsnik said, laughing maniacally.

Megeslav (snarling): "This ends TODAY!"

They separated briefly, wings flaring, before charging again – talons flashing, teeth bared.

At a higher ledge near the back of the tunnel, Bia, Carla, and Tiago crouched in a half-circle, watching the battle unfold in horror.

Tiago (pacing): "We have to help them. We're not entirely kids anymore, we can fight!"

Bia: "Tiago, no! This isn't like fighting loggers, this is fighting birds. Plus, we haven't overwhelming numbers at this point.

Carla: "He's right about one thing… we can't just sit here."

Bia: "Yes, we can. We have to. Dad said stay back. That's what we do."

Tiago (clenching his wings): "That's not what heroes do."

Before they could argue further, a sudden gust of wind hit them – and three Emberwings landed on the ledge behind them.

Emberwing 1 (grinning): "Look what we have here…"

Emberwing 2: "Nice and small. Easy targets."

Emberwing 3: "Let's make this quick."

They lunged.

"MOVE!" Tiago yelled.

Tiago darted forward, flying just under the talons of the lead Emberwing, and then flipped – smacking him in the face with both talons.

The Emberwing growled, but Tiago twisted midair and landed another kick to the beak, sending feathers flying.

"C'mon, slowpoke! Bet you can't catch me!" Tiago said, mocking the orange macaw.

He zipped and weaved through the air like a blur, outpacing the Emberwing with surprising skill.

But Bia and Carla weren't as lucky.

They screamed as their pursuers gave chase; toxin plant balls clutched tightly in Emberwing claws. They couldn't fly too low, not with Gobbla beneath. And they couldn't escape upward, not without being clipped from behind.

"Carla! Turn left! NOW!" Bia screamed.

"I'm trying! He's still behind me!" Carla replied back, panicked.

Then it happened.

Both girls ducked low to escape a swooping attack—and found themselves skimming the lower tunnel just above Gobbla.

The monstrous lizard snarled, its yellow eyes locking onto them.

"He sees us!" Carla yelped in a panicking voice.

"Keep flying! Don't stop! Don't look down!" Bia yelled.

Suddenly, the two Emberwings trailing them threw their toxin balls.

"LOOK OUT!" Carla screamed.

In a flash of instinct, Bia and Carla twisted their bodies mid-flight and the burning plant balls missed them by a feather's breadth.

SPLAT.

Both toxin balls smashed directly into Gobbla's face and back.

The yellow sap ignited on his scaly skin, sizzling and steaming.

Gobbla roared in agony, thrashing wildly. His tail slammed into tunnel walls, cracking stone. Smoke rose from his back where the sap clung to his hide.

Above, Jasmine and a still-wounded Thomas spotted the Emberwings who had thrown the toxin.

"Oh no you don't." Jasmine snarled.

With a burst of speed, she crashed into one of them, neck-first, and twisted hard.

CRACK.

The Emberwing dropped instantly.

"Stay AWAY from my nieces!" Thomas growled.

He rammed into the other Emberwing, slamming him head-first into the stone wall.

CRACK.

Then, that Emberwing also fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, Tiago was still flitting around his Emberwing, who was getting more and more frustrated.

Emberwing (yelling): "STAND STILL, SO I CAN KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE RASCAL!"

Tiago: "No thanks!"

With one last loop-de-loop, Tiago distracted the Emberwing long enough for Blu to lock onto the target.

"You leave my son ALONE!" Blu roared.

He slammed into the Emberwing with everything he had, hurling the orange bird into the tunnel floor.

WHAM!

The Emberwing hit hard and didn't get back up.

Smoke still streamed from Gobbla's back. The beast screeched, rolling and thrashing.

"Carla! The sap! It's burning him!" Bia panted.

"It's not enough! He's still moving!" Carla replied.

Bia (eyes wide): "Wait… wait, Auntie Jassie! Is the sap flammable?!"

Jasmine looked over mid-battle and yelled: "YES! WHY?!"

Bia turned to Carla, heart racing.

"We need a torch."

Carla (gasping): "You want to light him on fire?!"

"It's our chance! Before he recovers!" Bia yelled.

They spotted a torch hanging on the tunnel wall, its flames dancing precariously.

"Careful… if we mess this up, we'll burn ourselves too…"

Together, the sisters carefully lifted the torch from its mount. The heat was intense. They held it at opposite ends with their wings, worry pouring down their faces.

"We have to be brave. Just like Mom and Dad, just like Auntie Jassie and Uncle Thommy and all the others." Bia said whilst gritting her beak.

Carla (nodding): "Let's end this."

They flew carefully, steadily, above Gobbla's screeching form, aiming for the yellow-burning patch of sap on his back.

Carla: "One… two… THREE—"

And they dropped the torch.

Time seemed to stop as the scene went into slow-motion. The battle between the Emberwings and the Spix and red macaws continued, whilst Skarsnik and Megeslav were still in their personal combat. Then, the torch hit the back of the giant lizard that still had the fiery sap on his back and head.

Out of a sudden, a giant flame erupted and loud screeching of Gobbla was heard.

The lizard squirted around, trying to damp the flames, but to no avail.

The screaming of Gobbla was so loud, that everyone dropped the fighting and looked what was going on. Even Skarsnik and Megeslav dropped their fighting.

Skarsnik's eyes widened as he saw his pet being burned alive.

"GOBBLA!" Skarsnik now yelled with extreme agony and worry.

He saw that Bia and Carla were the closest to his lizard and realized that it was them who did this.

Carla saw Skarsnik's gaze and said: "Uh, Bia…"

Bia looked to Carla and then saw Skarsnik's evil gaze too.

"Uh-oh…" Bia gulped.

With a screech that echoed through the tunnel and through Gobbla's screaming, Skarsnik dashed towards Bia and Carla.

Bia and Carla yelped and wanted to fly away, all while Skarsnik dashed at them and Gobbla was still screaming from the burning.

Jewel, although wounded, saw Skarnsnik lunging himself to her daughters.

"Oh, no you DON'T!" Jewel yelled and bumped with all her might on Skarsnik's left side, making Skarsnik lose balance, and he hit the ground of the tunnel.

Megeslav finally snapped out of his stance and saw that Jewel was now charging at his archenemy. Megeslav then dashed towards Skarsnik, who was now on the ground and his spear a few meters removed from him.

"HE'S MINE!" Megeslav yelled, clearly gaining Jewel's attention as she stopped flying towards Skarsnik.

The battle above between the Emberwings and the Spix and red macaws continued, with some Emberwings falling down the ground, either knocked out or lives taken.

Megeslav was beating Skarsnik really bad now that he had the opportunity.

Blu flew to his two daughters, who were watching at Gobbla's now lifeless body, and smiled at them.

"You both did the right thing, my girls." Blu said.

"Thanks, daddy." Carla panted.

Then, Tiago joined his dad and sisters.

"We can still win this battle, none of us have perished so far."

But then, a load scream came from across the darkness in the southern side of the tunnel. More Emberwings were on their way. Tiago had spoken to soon.

The Emberwings that were still present in the battle, fled to the southern part to regroup and join their larger force.

"We have to pull back!" Felipe yelled.

"I agree! It's getting too risky at this point, and we need to tend the wounded!" Andor yelled.

"Yes, everyone, pull back, NOW!" Eduardo yelled.

Just then, Skarsnik freed himself from Megeslav, by punching into his face.

Skarsnik also flew into the direction of where his fellow Emberwings flew.

Megeslav saw that Thomas stood next to him.

"We must go! NOW! You cannot win this!" Thomas yelled at the military macaw.

"NO!" Megeslav yelled back; "I will have that maniac's life for what he's done!"

Before he could fly into the direction Skarsnik had flown into, Jewel held him back.

"STAY HERE, AND SEE YOUR PERSONAL VENGEANCE FOREVER DENIED!" Jewel yelled into Megeslav's face.

To this, Megeslav finally seem to realize that he simply couldn't win this, not yet.

At last, after looking with angry eyes to the direction of where Skarsnik had flow to, Megeslav finally turned back with his friends and flew to the other exit of the tunnel.

After Blu and co. came back to the agreed point, the wounded were tended with læknisjurts, whilst Mia Andor and Alejandro were having a strict conversation with Megeslav.

Mia (frustrated): "You are no better than Skarsnik, Terrin or any other of those Emberwings! Driven only by your own personal desires! Do any of us hold a damn meaning to you?!"

"The reason I went alone!" Megeslav replied in a serious and frustrated tone.

"A hard comfort!" Alejandro yelled. "What if you had fallen to Skarsnik and his other Emberwings?!"

Megeslav looked to the ground and seriously said: "Then, there would be less of them to worry about for you."

"We need someone who can lead our men, women and even children." Andor began, very frustrated. "Not some angry boy who can barely piss without splashing everyone about him."

Megeslav face turned angry again.

"What would you have me do? Turn from the bird that slaughtered my two precious daughters? Let him live, that took everything from me?" Megeslav asked.

Mia sighed and said: "You're still part of my tribe, Meg, I do not wish to lose you at all."

"True and your heart still beats." Alejandro said.

"Oh, yeah? Place your wing to chest and you will feel nothing." Megeslav replied in a serious tone.

There was a moment of silence, before Blu's voice broke it.

"And yet, you are not dead." Blu said.

Megeslav looked around to see Blu, Jewel, their kids, Thomas, Jasmine, Eduardo, Sapphire, Mimi, Mia, Felipe and Roberto.

"Because of many of you." Megeslav said. "Know that you all have my grattitude."

Then, something happened that no one expected. Thomas clenched his right wing into a fist and punched Megeslav into the right side of his face, causing him to fall on the ground.

Everyone gasped.

"We didn't come to lend you aid then, you birdbrain!" Thomas yelled. "We came to stop you!"

Megeslav stood up and stared into Thomas' face and asked in a threatening voice: "You would place yourself between Skarsnik and what he deserves?"

"No, but you need to see that there are more lives around you than just yours!" Thomas yelled.

Both birds stared at each other for a moment, before Carla broke the silence.

"Please, stop it you two." Carla pleaded. "Both of you have your own points."

"Indeed." Tiago added. "But we can't spend time fighting among ourselves or be driven by our own desires."

"Yes, what matters now is that Skarsnik lost Gobbla, which means that he's weaker" Bia added. "And it might be easier to take Skarsnik down that way now that his pet is gone. But we just need the right moment to strike."

To this the room fell silent.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have spoken-" Bia said.

"No, Bia." Megeslav added. "You 3 are right. We can't fight among ourselves. I must indeed wait for the right moment, which clearly wasn't today."

"What do we do now?" Mimi asked.

Megeslav's face once again turned grim with determination.

"We will make sure that those leaders will be defeated, but if they are not alone, we must make sure that their numbers decline and once that is the case, we can take out their leaders more easily. We cannot risk losing any more of our own. But once they realize we stand stronger than them… those orange devils shall weep at last…" Megeslav said in a serious tone.

To be continued…