Here it is!! The sequel to Syzygy!! *starts playing music*

Amazing, I thought I'd procrastinate and probably never write it. But I did! Aren't you proud? Lol.

For those of you who clicked on this despite my warning in the summary, this is the sequel to my other story, Syzygy, and you should definitely go read it first, and save me a crapload of explaining. Okay?

Um, do I have anything to say…nope, don't think so…and I promise there won't be anyone else joining the flock. Madysyn and Regan will be going their own way soon, as well, but they'll pop up from time to time.

Ebony Moon Chapter One

Max POV

So now my flock and I were in Piquetberg. The former home of the now-not-existing third School of Africa. We'd blown it up, of course. Now we were sitting in the bush around the smoking crater, trying to decide where to go next. We still had South America, Australia, Asia, and Antarctica. I was not looking forward to Antarctica. Ice, snow, penguins, not to mention memories of last time we were there. And did I mention the snow? And the cold…Why couldn't the whitecoats have skipped Antarctica and put three in Hawaii and Mexico or something?

"Australia! There's kangaroos there!" Nudge squeaked.

"Wouldn't Asia make more sense? Up to Asia now, down to Australia, then east to South America, and then Antarctica. That saves us the most time so we're not flying back and forth and all over the place." Shannon suggested.

"Yeah, no kidding." Natalca agreed.

"I think so, too. Sorry Nudge. Asia first, then Australia." I told her.

"Okay Max." Nudge agreed easily.

I brought out the list, wondering exactly where in Asia we were supposed to be going.

"Kathmandu, Nepal. Dacca, Bangladesh. Neyon, Mongolia. Has anybody heard of any of those cities?" I looked up.

I was pretty sure Nepal was by China somewhere, and Bangladesh was by India. Mongolia…wasn't that a desert?

"Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal, Max. Nepal is sandwiched between India and China. Dacca is the capital, as well, I think. Bangladesh is right beside India to the east. Mongolia is farther north, right above China. Can't say I've ever heard of Neyon, though." Shannon volunteered.

"So Kathmandu is the closest." I checked.

Shannon, Natalca, Madysyn, and Fang nodded at me like I was retarded.

"Just checking." I defended myself testily. "Now let's go. We have a long flight ahead of us."

And not enough time. Take a plane, Maximum.

Are you kidding me? Another one? I whined.

Yes, Maximum. Do you need convincing? It gave me a small shock of pain. A warning.

Fine, we'll take a plane. I gave in.

The next day at 9:00 pm we were in Kathmandu. The flight here was boring and claustrophobic and LONG to say the least. But I consoled myself by saying that it was over, thank god.

But now I had to find us a hotel to stay in. Great.

"How about how about that one?" Fang suggested, pointing at a large building that was evidently a hotel. Perfect. We quickly went over there, and I booked us a few rooms. Walking up the stairs, I had this really weird sensation. It was a tingling in the back of my brain, almost like a sugar buzz, but different. A sense of foreboding and wariness. A sense I didn't understand. Whatever.

I flipped the room keys to the normal various couples and then one to Angel, Gazzy and Nudge, and then Fang and I gratefully retreated into our private room, the very best part of it being the silence. The bad thing about having a group that large is that someone is always talking. I was beginning to get a headache, and I suspected Fang was the same. The weird tingle in my skull was fading, but not entirely gone. I decided it was almost as irritating as the brain attacks the Voice could give me, just not as painful. I heaved a deep sigh and fell backwards onto the bed, closing my eyes. Fang was not as dramatic and just sat on the other side, leaning back on the headboard. After about five minutes of blissful silence, he turned the TV on. I opened my eyes and glared at him.

"What?"

"It was nice and quiet before."

"Quiet and boring." Fang told me.

I sighed and sat beside him, watching as he flipped through many different shows before settling on the news, an explosion having caught his eye. My eye, too. I leaned forward slightly. A decent explosion was always material for a good show. Fang turned the volume up, and the reporter's calm voice became the only sound I could hear in the room.

"-just eleven hours ago. Many innocent people were killed, many families ripped apart with grief. Authorities say that most people in the building were killed instantaneously and would have experienced no pain, but those many floors above or below the explosion or others outside on the streets and sidewalks were not so lucky. Bodies have been found impaled with metal, wood, or cement. Some have crushed skulls, and many broken bones. Some bodies are burned beyond recognition, including several young children. Everyone inside the building was killed, and that number is estimated at 763. Thousands more outside the building were also killed, pushing the already gruesome death toll to a sickening 9852 dead. Police will continue to investigate, and we will keep you updated on anything they find. In the meantime, we will all grieve for the loss of these people's lives, and the loss of a world-renowned and famous structure, Canada's CN Tower."

My jaw dropped as I turned to Fang.

"9852 people killed." I breathed.

He didn't need to say anything. His eyes said enough. "It's horrible."

I turned back to the screen, but it was already on commercial break. And I couldn't help but wonder how different my flock was from whoever decided to plant a bomb in the CN Tower. Because that's obviously what it was. I'd seen enough explosions to recognize a bomb. Every one of those being ones my flock had set off to destroy Schools. We thought we were ridding the world of those horrible scientists that ruined lives and created horrible monsters like Erasers, but really, not everybody in those buildings knew about the experiments. We had probably taken countless lives of good-hearted, clueless people. But we weren't solely doing it to kill people…were we? We did it to kill the whitecoats…who, in the end, were just humans. Twisted, horrible, vile humans, but did they deserve to die for it? And how many were 'brainwashed' like Serena?

Max, stop this right now. The Voice suddenly ordered, scaring the hell out of me.

But…

You're reasoning does make sense, but if they live, and continue doing what they do, more innocent babies will be mutated, like you. There is no other way to do it. The world will end if you don't, Maximum. The Voice told me firmly.

Fine.

"And it's probably a terrorist attack." I muttered.

"Yeah."

Just then our door opened and Iggy walked in, Shannon following quietly.

"Did you see the news?" Iggy asked softly.

"We sure did." I said.

"Damn terrorists." Shannon muttered.

"I agree." I told her.

"It's funny to think that I stood in that exact tower, jumping on the glass floor and laughing like the little kid I was. It never crossed my mind that a terrorist could bomb it while I was inside. So naïve." Shannon shook her head.

"We just wanted to know if you'd seen it. Now we're going to bed." Iggy said, and then both of them left.

Then next morning, everyone was talking about the CN Tower. Or the ruins that used to be the CN Tower. And I don't just mean the flock, although we were talking about it too. I mean every single person we passed in the hotel, everyone around us in the restaurant, everyone outside, and even the birds in the air. No, not the birds. But everyone else was. I was sick of the words CN Tower, bomb, explosion, and terrorist by the time we finally hit the sky. Now we had to find the School, bomb it, and then start on the journey to Dacca, Bangladesh.

"Split into two groups." I commanded.

We were getting good at that. My group consisted of Natalca, J.J., Gazzy, Nudge, and I. Fang went with Shannon, Iggy, and Angel. Madysyn ran on the ground below me, and Regan below Fang. In human form, of course. The last thing I needed was questions about a shape shifting panther and wolf. My group flew over one half of the city, trying to scan every tightly packed building before we decided it was damn near hopeless.

Maximum, you need to be more independent. The Voice sighed.

I take it that you're going to help me?

It's not in the city. It's three miles west. And it said no more.

But it was enough.

Angel, it's three miles west of the city! Tell Fang and come meet us…uh…give me a moment.

"Natalca, where are they?" I asked impatiently.

"Directly east, going north."

Tell Fang to turn to the west and fly until you get to us.

Okay, Max.

Five minutes later, I heard wing beats, and the rest of the group joined us. We picked up the pace and sped west. Two miles to go…one and half…one…half a mile…there! I could see it, a low white building.

"Don't bother taking cover, there's no cover anyway. Ig, Gaz, do your thing." I commanded.

Just as a fairly large group of Erasers popped out of the building and flew towards us. Behind them, the boys' bomb exploded the building, meaning all we had to deal with was…thirty Erasers. Easy-peasy.

After fifteen minutes of kicking, punching, mind controlling, fire controlling, levitating, and various other methods of death, all the Erasers were dead. Like usual. We were a pretty strong group.

"Okay, troops, on to Bangladesh!" I called. "Only eleven Schools left!"

My internal GPS told me when I was going south-west, and we were on our way. Again. Everyone started talking again. Or arguing, in Natalca and Shannon's case.

"What is it now, you two?" I sighed.

"Nothing." They sighed together, refusing to say anything when I glared at them.

A couple more wing beats, and that weird feeling from yesterday returned. The tingling, sugar rush-like buzz in the back of my skull. I unconsciously rubbed at it, as if that would make it go away. Fang, as observant as ever, noticed.

"What's wrong with your head?"

"Other than the fact that there's a Voice in it?" I asked.

"Yes, Max, other than that."

"Well, I just have this really weird tingling in the back of my skull. It's kinda annoying." I told him.

At his expression, I quickly said, "I don't think it's anything bad. Nothing to worry about."

His face said he would worry no matter what I said. I rolled my eyes at him. But an hour later, the tingling had intensified, and was giving me a headache, and making it hard to think. And fly straight, apparently, as my wing bumped into Fang's. He looked at me in alarm.

"Max, what's wrong?" he demanded.

"Nothing, I'm fine." I lied.

"You're lying."

"So?" I said childishly.

His eyes narrowed. "Tell me what's wrong. Is it the buzzing in your head? We should stop and figure out how to make it go away."

I shook my head. Bad idea, it made the buzzing get louder.

"It's nothing, Fang. Just a stress-induced headache. Calm down, you worry too much." I told him.

"I don't want you dropping out of the sky, Max."

"I won't, Fang. You're making a big deal out of nothing." I rolled my eyes again.

He opened his mouth to argue, and then everything went black.

Not pitch black, like when you pass out. Black like a very dark night sky, an inky blackness. I didn't know where I was. I had to get back to the flock, I had to get out of here!

And then a burning flame burst up, right in my face. But this fire was not like normal fire, not the fire Shannon controlled or the fire we made in our camps to cook. This fire was blood red in the middle, and then bright, bright orange everywhere else. If I watched closely, I could see every other colour I could think of dancing and streaking the tongues of flame, and disappearing as fast as they appeared. It was beautiful. I did nothing but stare at it, transfixed in its gorgeous colours and dancing tongues of flame. Slowly, I felt the reasonable half of my mind float away, leaving my mind slow and quiet as I continued to stare at the fire. As I gazed right into its crimson centre, my mouth opened of its own accord, and words spilled out without my brain telling them to.

"Blood runs down a marble staircase,

Blood spills in a deadly race,

Blood stains the ground from a fatal fall,

Blood drips from the sandy wall,

Blood rains down from the black night,

Blood obscures everything from sight.

And on the night of the ebony moon,

the world will drown in red blood."

My slow brain forgot the words as soon as I said them. Once my mouth closed again, the crackling of the fire turned into an angry roar, and the beautiful flame turned into a raging inferno, sweeping up from the ground and surrounding me, inches from my face. It blotted out the night sky until all I could see was fire, fire, and more fire, everywhere….I felt myself slipping away, my consciousness fading…

And then I heard voices. Calling the same thing over and over again. A name…my name? Yes, Max, that was me. Suddenly my mind snapped back to me, and the fire and the black night disappeared.

Slowly I began to feel my body again, the hard ground under my back and the sand between my fingers. I blinked fuzzily, turning the blurry figure in front of me into a very worried Fang.

"Max? Max! Are you okay?"

I heard feet hit the ground, and more faces crowded into view. The rest of my flock. Just as worried as Fang.

"What the hell happened? What was that?" Iggy demanded.

I sat up with wide eyes, looking at Fang. "The last thing I saw was you opening your mouth to argue with me, and then everything disappeared, and there was a fire in front of me, and I started talking. I don't know what I said, but I know it was important…"

"Yeah, you fell out of the sky. I caught you, thankfully, and got you to the ground before you started talking." Fang told me.

"What did I say?" I asked eagerly and impatiently.

"Blood runs down a marble staircase,

Blood spills in a deadly race,

Blood stains the ground from a fatal fall,

Blood drips from the sandy wall,

Blood rains down from the black night,

Blood obscures everything from sight.

And on the night of the ebony moon,

the world will drown in red blood." Fang recited.

"I made another prophecy." I said flatly.

Everyone nodded solemnly.

"Max, what's an ebony moon?" Angel asked sweetly.

I looked at her. "I don't know, sweetie. I don't understand it any more than you do."

"Great." Iggy muttered tonelessly.

"Great." I echoed. "Any ideas what it means?"

Natalca glanced at Shannon. "Ebony moon?"

"Hell, don't look at me. It sounds like a name for something, but I don't know what." Shannon sighed.

"You know, it sounds like a series of catastrophes. Blood, blood, blood, and more blood. And the night of the ebony moon, the world will drown in red blood. That sounds like one final…destructive event that's going to kill the world." J.J. put in.

Everyone looked at him. That was pretty clever.

"You're good." I muttered. "Okay, so what exactly are the catastrophes? Are we supposed to stop them?"

"Blood runs down a marble staircase…Oh, I don't know." Gazzy frowned.

I stood up. "I don't know what it means. I don't get it. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to go to Bangladesh." I said with a smile.

The others grinned and followed me back into the sky.

"Is the buzzing gone?" Fang asked tightly.

"Yes, Fang." I said.

He visibly relaxed.

Max, Regan has an idea. Angel told me.

I glanced down at the chocolate wolf and smiled at the goofy grin he was giving me, his head craned up to look at me.

Let's hear it. I told Angel.

Here, I'll make a mind-link.

Cool, I get to hear the thoughts of a wolf! Then I was bombarded with thoughts and feelings and memories. I tried to shove everything aside, or at least not look at it, except for what Regan was directly thinking at me.

The third line. Blood stains the ground from a fatal fall. The CN Tower just fell. I'd say there's blood on the ground. Could that be it?

Hey, maybe! Good thinking, Regan. Except its not in order. Unless we missed to catastrophes. That's possible.

That's not it, Max. The Voice suddenly said, scaring me again.

Who the hell was that?! Regan demanded.

The Voice, Regan, be quiet! I ordered. Voice, what do you mean? We're wrong?

I got silence, as I suspected I would.

That usually means I'm right. Sorry, Regan. It was a good idea, though. I thought at Wolf-Boy.

I have one parting thought for you: that Voice is seriously creepy.

Try living with it twenty-four seven. I sighed. Angel? We're done.

Regan's mind disappeared, and I was once again down to only two people in my head.

So?

Oops, make that three.

He thought maybe the CN Tower was the fatal fall. But the Voice said we were wrong. I told Angel.

Okay.

Thinking about the prophecy, I had a strange sense of déjà vu. This felt a lot like when Madysyn told us the first prophecy, and we all gave ourselves headaches over it. And when we thought we had a line figured out in advance, we turned out to be wrong, and then got taken by surprise when the line actually happened. Usually surprised in a bad way. Maybe this time would be different. Maybe this time we could solve it…oh, who was I kidding? My subconscious was too tricky for eleven kids to decode. What sense does that make? I am making these prophecies! Shouldn't I understand them? What's the point of seeing the future if you can't even understand it? And I wasn't even seeing the future. I was…speaking the future.

You have to work at it. Over time, you'll get better at it, and you'll get much clearer bits of the future, Maximum. It's too powerful and overwhelming a gift to be given just like that. The Voice explained.

Anyone else notice how it didn't say much time, or how I'd get these 'much clearer bits of the future'? Yes? Good. Then I'm not just a pessimist.

Tada! That's the first chapter. Please tell me of you liked it, or if I slaughtered it.

Today was my first day of school for the year. Joy! Not. I want my summer break back.

*SanraitaFang*