Gone Batty II: Eclipsed

Chapter 14: The Apoc-Ecliptic Vision

"Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?" Chinook asked Shade skeptically.

"Ugh, it was more than just a dream!" Shade insisted. "Melody is alive and is out there somewhere. We have to go find her!"

"Well, did she tell you where she was?"

"..." Shade paused and clicked his claws together with hesitation. "Um, no… but…"

"Look, I get it," Chinook rested a hand on Shade's shoulder in an understanding manner. "You miss her. She's your best friend. But we are going to need more than some dream advice to go galavanting outside again."

Shade frowned, "since when do you use big words such as 'galavanting?'"

Chinook shrugged and sniffed, "Marina taught me. She's super smart, you know."

Jealousy began to seep in again. Shade scowled and crossed his wings, turning his head away. "Yeah, I noticed."

"Hey, hey… do you suppose when we get out of here, Marina will agree to be my girlfriend?"

Shade's eyes widened and he nearly fell out of his roost. "Wh-what?!"

Chinook nodded dreamily, looking up as if seeing it all play out in his head. "In my dream, she asked me out. I think it's probably a sign. Yeah, I think that I'm ready to ask her. Maybe someday, she'll even want to be my mate! Mom and dad seem to like her enough."

"What?! Are you kidding?!" Shade exclaimed. This was going too fast. How did they even get to this subject?!

The larger Silverwing looked at Shade oddly, not understanding his outburst. "No, why?"

"It's just… it's… Marina!" The blonde boy threw his wings out like that explained everything.

"Yeah, and…?"

Shade sputtered and then turned to their other friend who was silent the entire time, "Barnabe!" he practically begged.

"Hmm, what?" Barnabe snapped out of whatever serious thought he was having and looked at Shade in confusion.

"What do you mean, 'what'? Say something!"

"Uhhh… 'something'."

"..."

"..."

"Dude, are you okay?" Chinook asked Barnabe, spotting the dark circles around his eyes. Even if he didn't like the guy, he couldn't help feel somewhat concerned. "You look like you didn't sleep at all."

"Mmm? No, no… I slept fine." Barnabe gave a giant yawn and shook his head. "Just had a weird dream."

Shade and Chinook looked at each other and then back at Barnabe. "Yeah? Mind sharing?" Shade asked.

He shook his head, "nah… it's nothing special."

"Aw, come on. Here we are spilling out our dreams to each other, and you won't even share?" Shade whined, scrunching his mouth into a pout. "It can't be any weirder than Chinook's."

"Hey!"

Barnabe seemed to consider it with a heavy frown. The two other boys couldn't help but grow more curious to why the older Silverwing was so reluctant to speak. They leaned in closer, urging him to spill.

Barnabe noticed and he sighed, giving in. "Alright, fine. But to be honest with you, it's more than a dream. I had a vision."

"A vision?" Chinook raised a cynical eyebrow and groaned. "Oh come on! Not you too. It's bad enough that Shade can't tell the difference between reality and dream."

"That's not true!" Shade exclaimed, resenting that comment. He quickly calmed down when Barnabe gave them an icy glare. He was even more intimidating with the dark circles around his eyes. Shade cleared his throat, "ahem, umm- but really. You mean, it's like the last time you had one? About a human bringing back daytime to the bats?"

"Last time?" Chinook wondered.

"Yeah," Shade nodded. "Back when we were trying to find Hibernaculum, Barnabe had a prophetic vision. He's a seer and the prophecy came true, right?" he looked over to Barnabe with a warm smile. "Melody was that human. It's because of her that the Silverwings decided to fight against Goth and Throbb along with the owls. After that, Brutus let us see the sun whenever we want."

Chinook's jaw fell open, "really? You can see the future like that? Whoa…" He couldn't help but be impressed and looked at Barnabe with a glimmer of respect.

"Yeah, though this vision was different," Barnabe lowered his eyes and folded his hands together. "It didn't start off like usual. Normally, I find myself in a sea of stars and then see or hear the prophecy unfurl inside a pool of water. This time, I was physically present for it." He heaved a heavy breath, not wishing to continue. "It was bad, guys."

Chinook and Shade shared a glance.

"How bad?" Chinook asked.

"Very."

Vision

Barnabe was stunned to find himself staring at a magnificent triangular structure made of blocks of stone. It was so tall that it rose above the jungle trees and practically scraped the sky. Above the pyramid, circled hundreds of black shadows with wings like crows. A blood red sun hung in the sky, tinting everything in a scarlet hue.

Feeling the need to get closer, Barnabe flew up to the pyramid. He watched the shadow's closely and was repulsed to see that they were large cannibal bats. At first he was tempted to fly back the other way when he saw a small figure standing on the very peak of the pyramid. His silver eyes widened when he recognized the Silverwing with long brown hair.

"Melody!" he yelled as he rushed over to her. He landed behind her, trying to catch his breath from hurrying so much. "Melody…"

The girl flinched, her attention moving away from the sky. Melody turned slowly and Barnabe's breathing hitched.

Her eyes were dull and tired, as if all life has been drained from them. It looked like she had lost all hope in the world. "Barnabe?" she whispered.

"Melody, what's wrong?" the blue-haired youth slowly walked over to her, as if afraid that he would spook her. Tears began to form in Melody's eyes, causing Barnabe's heart to squeeze painfully.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry," she pleaded.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" Barnabe reached out and grabbed her by the hand, wishing nothing more than to comfort her. He glanced warily at the Vampyrum who seemed to not at all notice them down below, continuing to circle overhead. What in the world were they doing? "Come on, let's get out of here." He tugged but she didn't move, her feet rooted to the spot. "Melody?"

"I'm sorry." Tears dripped down her furry white cheeks and Barnabe's eyes widened when it grew dark. He looked up to see that the sun was blocked by the moon, turning it completely black with red light shooting from the edges. "It's all my fault."

The Vampyrum started to screech with unholy laughter. Barnabe's ears flattened down on his head, growing scared. He turned to try and talk Melody into leaving with him when his eyes fell upon her necklace. Dread filled him. It was pitch black, just like the moon above them. The stars were gone, leaving nothing but emptiness. To his horror, the amulet began to bleed.

The dark blood dripped down Melody's white torso, staining it. In the light of the eclipse, it was practically black.

When he stepped back, his foot came in contact with something wet and warm. Barnabe cried out when he noticed that blood was seeping out of the stone cracks of the pyramid. It gradually trickled down over the sides and over the large stone steps, turning the building into something akin to a crimson fountain.

He could hear whispers coming from the blood. Hundreds of phantom voices meshed together in a eerie chorus. Looking down, he could see the reflection of bats mixing with his, looking back up at him.

"Help us… oh why do we have to die?" they moaned.

Movement in the corner of his eye caught Barnabe's attention and he turned his head to see the last person he wanted to see; Goth standing behind Melody with his massive wings wrapped around her possessively. Goth smirked triumphantly down at Barnabe, his eyes glowing a hellish yellow instead of their natural light green. It made his insides squirm.

"Let go of her!" Barnabe yelled. It infuriated him seeing Melody who looked so broken and depressed being held in the arms of that monster.

"She's mine now," Goth chuckled, his voice strangely mixing with another. He rested his jaw on her shoulder. "Say goodbye to your little princess." He moved one wing away and Barnabe could see that instead of the amulet, it was a golden bomb disc that was hanging around her neck.

"NO!" Barnabe reached out for her desperately, but it was too late. A flash of red lightning zapped down onto Melody from the eclipse, causing the disc to spark. Her body lurched back a second before the bomb went off.

Barnabe was flung back by the explosion, his wings covering his head. When he slowly unfolded himself, he found himself standing back where he had started, a yard away from the pyramid which was on fire. Barnabe was hyperventilating. Tears streamed down his face. "N-no…" he croaked, trying to take a step forward… only to fall to his knees. "MELODY!" he screamed. "No, this cannot happen!" his eyes squeezed shut. "This can't be true! There has to be a way to stop this from happening! Please! PLEASE!"

"Barnabe…"

Barnabe gasped and looked over his shoulder to see Nocturna looking down at him sadly. Her midnight hair flowing behind her like the night. "Nocturna…" He rushed over to her and fell to her feet, bowing his head to the point of pressing his forehead against the ground. "Nocturna, please, tell me there's a way to stop this. I beg of you."

Nocturna's eyes softened at seeing him sob, feeling remorse for showing the poor boy this hell. "The prophecy is already in motion."

"No…" Barnabe whispered, his voice cracking. His claws gripped dirt.

"But the future's not set in stone. Fate can be altered."

Hope lifted Barnabe's spirits and he dared to look up. "How?"

"It will not be easy," Nocturna warned. "Nor can I say how it is to be done for I do not know. No one has changed the course of destiny before."

"Then how do you know if it can be changed?"

"Because the free willpower of mortals rivals that of a god's word," Nocturna explained seriously. "Once created, a heart cannot be restrained. The soul is intangible and cannot be destroyed. The mind is forever evolving and creating. A god is an idea that can only exist when believed in. The stronger the belief, the stronger the god." Nocturna held up her glistening black wing with the white underside glowing like the moon.

Barnabe's eyes widened when he realized that the tips were fading.

"Once the belief starts to die, so do we." Nocturna smiled gently at him, lowering her wing. She was not at all fazed by the fact that she was slowly disappearing. "We cannot exist without you. But you, can always create more of us. That is why my brother, Cama Zotz, hates mortals so much. He cannot stand the idea that our existence relies on those who he finds so insignificant."

"Cama Zotz…" Barnabe frowned. He remembered the name from when he was trapped in the cave with Shade and Goth. He thought it was just some mad fantasy that the Vampyrum prince had made up. But now that Nocturna was confirming this to him…

"But you can't tell me how to stop the prophecy."

"No." Nocturna affirmed, "Barnabe, there is something you must keep in mind. My brother is fighting to return back to the realm of the living. If the prophecy comes true, he will kill everyone. He will start the world anew in a way that he sees fit."

Barnabe felt his blood run cold.

"All I can ask is that you protect Melody."

"What?" Barnabe looked up at her and was dismayed to see that she was starting to leave. "Wait!"

"She can prevent him from returning. But if she dies, he will return."

"Nocturna! Please! Wait!"

Shade and Chinook stared at Barnabe with a horrified silence.

"Now hold on, Zotz… is real?" Shade shook his head, unable to grasp the idea. "And Melody is the only one who can stop him from taking over? This is giving me a headache…" he emphasized the point by holding it between his hands.

"Okay, but… what does it all mean?" Chinook was confused. "The stone pyramid, the eclipse, the necklace, all that blood?" He numbered off on his fingers. "How does all of that add up to some demon bat coming back to Earth?"

"I don't know," Barnabe frowned in frustration. "All I know is that this will take place during a total solar eclipse. That and we should avoid the vampyrum at all cost, especially Goth. He would want this prophecy to come true."

"I say we find Melody and Orestes and high tail it out of here." Shade said seriously. "If we have to stop this prophecy from happening, then let's just leave this jungle."

"Do you think leaving would stop it?" Barnabe asked worriedly.

"It would keep Melody safe," Shade reasoned. "If she's as heavily involved in this prophecy as you say, then let's get her away from it all!"

"I'm on board. I hate this place." Chinook agreed. "It gives me the creeps."

"How far away is the eclipse anyway?" Barnabe questioned and they all fell silent, not knowing the answer.

"Little less than three weeks."

The boys looked up at Caliban who had unexpectedly joined them in their circle.

"What is so important about the eclipse anyway?" he asked curiously. He glanced at each one of them before crossing his wings across his chest. "I hope you aren't planning any trouble."

"It's the opposite. We're trying to get away from it," Barnabe told him. "Three weeks… that should be enough time to find Melody and get back home."

Shade nodded, "yeah. And if my dream is anything to go by, she's still out there."

Chinook gave a pompous smile. "Speaking of dreams, I should probably practice proposing to Marina before we get back home. Maybe change my look a bit. What do you think?"

Shade gave him a deadpanned glare and glanced at Barnabe. The older boy gave him a mischievous smile and wink. Shade's blue eyes widened and he smirked. Putting a thoughtful claw to his jaw, Shade rubbed it while pretending to study Chinook's appearance. "Hmm, I don't know… I think your look is already changing all by itself."

Chinook blinked, not certain what that odd exchange between the two was. "What do you mean?" His eyes nearly popped out of his head when Shade pulled off a good chunk of blue fur out of his mane.

"I mean, you could totally pull off the mole rat look but I'm not sure if Marina is into that."

The jungle was suddenly filled with a scream that impressed even the local howler monkeys.

Marina had spotted Frieda ways off from their group, hanging from a blue elderberry tree. The brightwing took a spot next to her, feeling curious about what the old silverwing was looking at. "Frieda?" she asked.

"Shh…" Frieda smiled and pointed over at the field of purple fireweed blossoms. "Look."

Marina turned her head and squinted at the field, not sure what it was that Frieda wanted to show her. Then something zipped by before she could blink. "What was that?" Marina stretched her neck out further, only to realize that there were dozens of buzzing, squeaking creatures poking their heads in the flowers. At first she thought they were giant glossy green beetles, but with amazement, she realized that they had beaks. They weren't beetles. They were birds!

"Those are hummingbirds," Frieda explained, amused by Marina's bewilderment. "Fascinating creatures, aren't they?"

"I've never seen anything like them…" Marina admitted. She stared with amazement as she tried to catch their wingbeats, but it was impossible! Their wings blurred with incredible speed. Their bodies held still in midair before darting towards another flower in less than a second.

"I am not surprised. They are shy little birds. They like to spend most of their time down in the south, where it's warm." Frieda smiled. "But some do migrate up north in the summer."

"What are they doing?"

"Drinking nectar. Hummingbirds love sweet things."

Marina quirked her mouth up into a small smile, "they are...kinda cute."

Frieda laughed quietly, "don't let them hear you say that. They are rather sensitive when not taken seriously. I wonder...if they will help us find our way to Shade."

"You think they will?" Marina asked.

"Only one way to find out," Frieda said.

Marina nodded and before Frieda could stop her, Marina flew out of the tree and towards the hummingbirds. "Hi! I'm Marina, I was wondering if-"

In an instant, the hummingbirds were gone, leaving an empty field of wildflowers.

"Wha-? Where'd they go?" Marina looked around, confused.

Frieda sighed, "like I said… they are very shy."

Marina flushed a bit in embarrassment, "oh, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to scare them off."

"Oh, it's alright." Frieda comforted the younger girl. "We'll simply find someone else who can-"

"Ouch!" Marina yelped when something sharp jabbed into her backside. She turned around only to not see anyone there and there was another offensive prick in her shoulder. "Hey!" She flew back towards Frieda, trying to get away from the bee-like stings. "Who-?" She caught only a flash of movement from her peripheral vision and the sound of buzzing wings. When she turned her head, she was suddenly face to face with a rather peeved hummingbird with a scarlet throat.

"You-are-who? Disturb-us? Why?"

Marina was surprised by the sudden high-pitched voice. It spoke so fast that the words practically jumbled together into one. The questions were asked with very little pause in between. It's beady black eyes staring down at her with something akin to daring boldness. It never kept still, moving side to side, up and down, back and forth, cheeping with each swift movement, as if in a challenge. It was like it was living on a whole different spectrum.

Marina let out a breath of relief. She hadn't just ruined their chances of speaking to them.

"I am Frieda, leader of my colony. I apologize that we have disturbed you. We need help." the elder explained as Marina took her place beside her again.

"Help? Help?" The hummingbird chirped, tilting its head. "What-help?"

"Members of our colony have been taken south by the humans," Marina explained, spreading out her arms. "They have been taken away in these large metal machines that fly in the sky. We lost them."

"Humans-captured-bats?" The hummingbird seemed to think for a moment. "They-gone. No-hope. Go-home."

Marina's jaw dropped open at the bluntness they have just received. For a moment there, Marina was sure that she had misheard the bird. "What do you mean 'go home?!'" She exclaimed, growing angry. "We can't go home! The humans have our friends!"

"No-hope. No-hope. Gone-south. Death. Fire. Boom. Friends-gone."

"I'm afraid we do not understand." Frieda tried calmly before Marina made another outburst. "Can you please explain to us what you are trying to say?"

"Humans-kill-bats. Kill-owls. Kill-birds. Kill-hummingbirds. Burn-down-trees. Burn-flowers. Death. Death. Lots-of-death. Hummingbirds-scared-we-are. Winter-home-gone. Dont-go. Danger."

Frieda and Marina shared a worried glance. This hummingbird definitely knew something and it wasn't good. All they understood was that the hummingbirds were frightened and that their winter home was destroyed by fire; that these humans kill bats and birds. Marina was suddenly filled with fear for Shade and the others. She never thought that these humans would be evil!

"But we can't not go!" Marina practically pleaded with the hummingbird, her voice strained with emotion. "They are my family! Please! Surely you wouldn't want your own family to be taken."

The hummingbird stilled in the air, with nothing but its wings blurring with a hum. Compassion formed on its expression. "Lily-bad-feel. Help-Lily-shall."

"Thank you, Lily…" Frieda said gratefully.

"Bats-follow-Lily. Take-you-to-Bridge-City."

"Bridge City?" Marina asked.

"Rats-in-Bridge-City. Rats-know-paths. Know-secrets. Rats-help-bats."

'Rats?' Marina's thoughts went back to the time when Shade, Melody and herself were captured by the duo rat kings, Romulus and Remus. Romulus had let them free, deciding not to risk war with the owls. She wondered what had become of the two brothers. Marina was reluctant to get help from the rats, but...if it would help Shade...

"Then we must not waste any time," Frieda stated firmly. "We must leave at once!"

"I shall go gather the others," Marina quickly did just that. In mere moments, everyone was flying after the hummingbird, delighted that they finally had a lead. Lily was lightning fast, and often had to zip back to them just so the bats could keep up. Back and forth, back and forth.

"She's energetic…" Marina commented as Lily practically flew several circles around them. She yelped when Lily was suddenly in her face squeaking madly. The tiny beak was like a pine needle, nearly an inch away from poking Marina's eye.

"Lily-a-male-is!" The hummingbird's feathers were ruffled in agitation. "Not-a-she!"

"Sorry!" Marina practically squealed, her eyes wide from the shock. She breathed in relief when Lily huffed and flew ahead once more. "Lily is a boy?" she could barely grasp the concept. The high pitched bell-like voice and the name had certainly thrown her off.

Frieda laughed, "hummingbirds tend to have flowery names, no matter what the gender. The best way to tell them apart is by color. Males are far more colorful than the females."

"Such curious birds," Ariel mused with a smile.

"Lily, can you tell us about your winter home in the south?" Frieda inquired and the hummingbird flittered back to them. "Have you seen any bats like us down there?"

"Bats? Yes. Big-bats. Huge-bats. Nasty-big-bats."

"Silverwings?"

"Not-silverwings. Vampyrum. Always-hungry. Eat-birds. Before-fire-ignored-us. Now-eat-everything."

Marina felt herself grow pale as she felt a jab in her heart. Vampyrum. Goth and Throbb were vampyrum. If there were more down south where Shade was… if he was even still alive. NO! He was still alive! She just knew it! Shade always got through every situation, no matter what it was. He had outsmarted Goth and Throbb several times. He could handle meat-eating bats just fine!

'You'd better be alive, Shade. Or else you'll never hear the end of it from me!'

A/N: Yeah, I know, there isn't much action going on and it is a shorter chapter. This basically feels like filler. Heck, Melody doesn't actually even appear in this chapter except in Barnabe's vision (which was a delight to write, by the way. Mwahahaha!) But really, there isn't much I can do about that. Not yet. The time has not yet come! Lol! She will appear in the next chapter, and hopefully, we can have some action happening soon. Again, thank you all for sticking with me through this story. Your comments really are inspiring and to think that I have reached 100 favorites for this story... that's incredible! Thank you!

What do you think will happen? Will the prophecy come true or will it be stopped? Dun-dun-dun~