A/N: Okay okay okay okay OKAY! I couldn't wait to post this! Let me clarify first: this will definitely have more than one chapter. Okay. Get it? Got it? Good. This takes place during the movie, between the time Jewel's wing healed and the end sequence with the three baby Macaws. OKAY!
So this is a PREQUEL to all my other stories. So in other words, Pedro STILL can't swim, Nico is STILL claustrophobic and has two working wings, and none of them know who Maurice, Miguel, and Roberto are. And Rafael only has 18 kids (I imagine the 18th one hatched at the end of the movie). And none of Nico's friends know about Rico; and none of them know about Nico's little fever problem. And the Branch (the bird Samba club) is still there. So just... go back to movie mindset. Go. Right now. Are we all clear? Good. Awesome. No more rambling from the spastic Qille. HERE WE GO!
Curse of the Spider
"DON'T TURN AROUND!" Pedro screamed to Nico as they flew for their lives.
"I'm not turning around!" Nico shouted back as he turned around to face Pedro.
"You're turning around!"
"I'm talking to you!"
A demonic giggle came from dangerously close behind Pedro.
"HE'S RIGHT BEHIND ME! HE'S RIGHT BEHIND ME! AAAAHHHHH!" screamed Pedro, spazzing out completely.
"Then fly faster!" screamed Nico, beating his wings as hard as he could. Suddenly, Pedro shot ahead of Nico. Before he could catch up, he felt something nip at his tail feathers. Turning his head to see, he was met with large, possessed brown eyes. Right behind him. Close enough to take him out. "AAAAAHHHHHH!" Another burst of adrenaline shot through him and he zoomed forward out of range, catching up to Pedro.
"HE'S RIGHT BEHIND US!" Nico screamed.
"I KNOW!" exclaimed Pedro.
Another nightmare-inducing cackle echoed through the warm late afternoon air. The feather-eating baby toucan – by day known as Juan – was still right on their tails. Probably hoping to eat them.
"That one sounded further away," Nico gasped to Pedro. "Should we look?"
"No way man, I ain't turnin' around!" Pedro gasped back.
"Neither am I!" exclaimed Nico.
Suddenly from behind them, there was a thunk and the sound of leaves rustling. Nico and Pedro both turned around to see Juan untangling himself from a very leafy branch that he had flown into. He wasn't looking at them. They both knew it was probably their only chance to escape having every feather plucked out.
WHAM!
Because they weren't looking where they were going, they didn't see the large tree branch hanging right in their path. They were both clothes-lined by the branch, and they fell to the forest floor below. Nico landed in a leafy bush that had small purple flowers on it. Pedro landed right next to the bush.
"Did we lose him?" Nico whispered to Pedro, hopping out of the bush and helping Pedro sit up. Pedro simply gasped for breath, completely winded from the landing. He did, however, manage to point up.
Nico and Pedro watched as the homicidal baby toucan flew by in the direction they had been flying. He hadn't seen them. As soon as Juan disappeared into the forest, they let out a sigh of relief.
"Why the heck was he even chasing us anyways?" Pedro muttered, standing up and brushing himself off.
"Maybe he got hungry or something," suggested Nico, shrugging.
"Whatever," muttered Pedro. He turned to Nico. "How'd you manage to land in the bush?"
Nico smiled and shrugged. "Guess I'm just lucky."
Another demonic laugh from Juan echoed through the air, accompanied by an ominous wind that rustled the trees and pushed clouds across the darkening skies.
"Let's get outta here..." gulped Pedro. Nico nodded, and they flew in the opposite direction that Juan had gone. Neither of them knew that they were being watched as they flew off. Something much more sinister than a baby toucan.
"Do you even know where we are?" Nico asked after a moment of flying.
"Uh, I think so," said Pedro. "Maybe we should go that way." He gestured to a clearing in the trees about 50 feet to the right.
Nico shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to check it out..." They swerved to the right and flew through the gap in the trees. Instead of ending up back at the lake, or even near the city, they ended up at the beach. However, it was completely empty.
"Well this is new," said Nico, looking around at the small beach. He was that it was closed off on either side by large rocks, and the water a bit further out was rocky; too rocky for any human boats to tread. Looking at the forest floor at the edge of the beach, Nico saw that it was also incredibly rocky; maybe even too rocky for monkeys.
"Hey Pedro, you ever been here before?"
Pedro shook his head. "Nope."
Nico thought back to a few weeks ago, after the monkeys had ambushed the Branch. He remembered the owner of the Branch, Ernesto, asking him and Pedro to find a new place for the club.
"Hey, Pedro," said Nico, "you remember when Ernie asked us to find a new place for the Branch?"
"Yeah..."
"What about here?"
Pedro shrugged. "It could work. I'm sure it looks awesome in the daytime."
"So what should we call it?" asked Nico.
"Let's just call it the Lagoon, or something. I can't think of anything else," said Pedro.
Nico laughed a bit. "Okay. The Lagoon it is. I actually like the sound of that..."
"Don't sound so surprised," said Pedro. "I have good ideas sometimes!"
Nico smiled and nodded. "Whatever you say, Pedro. Now let's go home before Juan finds us..."
Pedro nodded, scanning the dark trees for any sign of the toucan. "I think I know the way back."
"Don't get us lost," said Nico nervously, casting his eyes over the swaying trees. The wind was picking up a little bit, making it impossible to tell if it was the wind or something else rustling the leafy branches.
"Don't worry," said Pedro with a wave of his hand, "there's no way we can possibly get lost!"
"I can't believe you got us lost," said Nico, looking around nervously. Night had fallen fast over the jungle, and Nico and Pedro had no freaking idea where they were.
"It's not my fault!" exclaimed Pedro. "It's dark at night..."
It may have been dark, but it sure wasn't silent. The sounds of night creatures filled the breezy air, and the wind blowing through the trees just made it seem like a horror movie.
"M-m-maybe w-we should go b-back to the city..." suggested Nico.
Pedro nodded. "Good idea... But how are we even gonna get there?"
Nico pointed up. "Above the trees. We'll probably be able to see the lights."
Pedro nodded again, and they both flew up above the tree canopy. They could just barely see the lights of the city on the horizon.
"Wow, I really did get us lost..." muttered Pedro.
"No kidding..." grumbled Nico. He and Pedro flew towards the lights Rio de Janeiro, staying above the trees to avoid getting lost again.
After flying for about 15 minutes, they were getting close enough to see buildings. Suddenly, something flew right up in front of them. Nico and Pedro screamed bloody murder, but before they could fly in the other direction, they recognized the voice calling out to them.
"Nico! Pedro! What are you doing out here?"
"Jewel?"
Before Jewel could ask any more questions, Nico and Pedro latched themselves to her, relieved beyond belief at being found by none other than the most motherly of their group of friends.
"Are you guys okay?" she asked, flying lower and landing on a branch, allowing Nico and Pedro to let go. "What happened?"
"Pedro got us lost!" exclaimed Nico, pointing an accusing finger at Pedro.
"So...?" muttered Pedro, crossing his wings and making a pouting face. "Why are you out here, Jewel?"
"I was getting food," she said, holding up one of her claws, which gently clutched a handful of berries. "Do you want me to take you home?"
They nodded weakly.
Nico collapsed face-down on his bed, which seemed much more comfortable than the night before. He could hear Pedro snoring across the hollow, and a few minutes later, he was unconscious himself.
Little did he or Pedro know, danger was lurking right on the horizon.
A/N: Okay, if you're arachnophobic, the next chapter may give you cardiac arrest. If you're NOT arachnophobic, then you will be after the next chapter.
You have been warned!