Chapter 43

Banded Bat Beings

They still hadn't found them… For nights now they've been trying to catch up with Kassidy and her friends as Raymond used his past spell, but they still had no luck whatsoever. They had been keeping updates with the council on what they all discovered so far and all this traveling they did was very exhausting, but they kept ongoing. For however long this took they would keep going until they found Kassidy and her friends dead or alive.

The trio was at the moment taking a break from all the traveling they did and they were at the moment having a little snack. Raymond and Stella were still in their owl forms and they hadn't changed into anything else since they've been doing their travels as they wanted to keep things safe for the time being. The trio was eating mice on a tree branch they decided to rest on and even though having mice wasn't a whole lot they didn't want to waste time. Since Raymond and Stella were still in their owl forms they had to do things that humans wouldn't normally do like regurgitate pellets and even though it was frustrating to deal with they didn't complain about it as their main focus was the mission they were on.

It wasn't long until all three of them finished their snacks and the mice weren't too bad per se. Raymond then looked between Sylvester and Stella and as he was he began to speak. "Still no signs of them… If only we knew where they were headed so we could transport there, we'll just have to keep going though."

Sylvester finished licking his paws that had mouse blood on them and after he did he looked to Raymond. "We've been traveling for nights now, Raymond, who knows how many more nights we'll have to spend traveling until we can eventually find them. Martin's still alive and I don't know how that can even be possible after what the Kimler girl did, but we need to stop him and his wife fast before they cause more trouble and already they've been causing problems to the animal kingdom."

"I know, I know." Raymond then sighed in frustration as he knew that the black cat was right. "We just have to keep going and the council is counting on us to bring those two to justice and save the Kimlers before it's too late."

They saw so much happen when Raymond did the past spell and most of it wasn't easy to look at, but they needed to see all they could so they could tell the council what they saw. There was so much that did confuse them and shock them at the same time like how Kassidy managed to get healed without her even using her magic when that golden snake was on her. Magic was confusing sometimes and sometimes it can go too far as well if not used properly.

Sylvester was about to say something, but before he could, Stella beat him to it. "Uh, guys?" Stella then pointed to the sky. "I think I see something coming our way."

Confused, Raymond and Sylvester looked to where Stella was looking, and when they did they saw two figures coming in their direction. When Raymond got a better look at what he was seeing he saw a great horned owl and a barn owl coming their way. Raymond cursed in his head and wondered if those two owls saw them already and if they hadn't he didn't want them seeing Sylvester since he was a cat and seeing a cat with two owls would just make things strange and suspicious. They hadn't been speaking with any animals in the forest as they were too focused on trying to find Kassidy and her friends and if those two owls were indeed coming to speak with them they would need to act as natural as possible.

Raymond quickly looked to Sylvester and gave him a look they would tell him to go hide and Sylvester didn't even need to ask the great grey what he trying to signal to him to do as he already crouched down and disappeared. The great grey then heard as Sylvester was climbing down the tree and as he did he then heard him hide in a bush that was below them and just as Sylvester hid in the bush the two owl strangers landed near Raymond and Stella. They looked very serious, but Raymond and Stella tried to act as naturally as possible.

"You two," the great horned said deeply. "I don't believe we've ever seen you around here."

Stella looked to Raymond and he gave her a look that would tell her that he would handle this. Raymond knew he needed to try and make up a story so these two wouldn't get suspicious of them and even though they were owls like them there was no guarantee what these two might do to them if they knew that they were humans. However, if they even told them that they were humans they would think of them as crazy probably. Raymond wasn't sure, but he thought it would probably be best that they made up a story.

"Ah yes, we're new to the area," Raymond said. "My name is Grayson and this is my adopted daughter, Willow. We were just passing by and were planning on moving to a new location." Stella looked at Raymond strangely and Raymond knew she was staring at him like that because he gave these two owls fake names, but being new to the area was technically the truth.

The great horned owl nodded after what Raymond said. "I see. We welcome you two to the area then. I'm Alexios and this is Markos." The barn owl named Markos gave a slight nod to Raymond and Stella. "I would say it's a nice area to be in, but so far it hasn't been lately."

From the way the great horned owl said his words, Raymond had the feeling where he was getting at. It had to have involved the bats because he and his other two comrades have been hearing that the skies were closed to all bats and all because the owls thought these bats called Silverwings were killing owls for revenge and they were supposedly lead by Kassidy. What they also heard was that Kassidy brought giant bats out here, but Raymond, Sylvester, and Stella knew that all that wasn't true as they saw what had been happening with the four friends in Raymond's past spell. If there was anyone to blame in this situation it was the giant bats, but mostly the spouses as they were known to be psychotic killers with the joys of making anyone suffer.

"What do you mean by that?" Stella asked, pretending she didn't know what had been happening lately.

"A lot of bad things have been happening," Markos said. "A few owls have been killed lately and a colony of Silverwings is wanting to get their revenge on us owls for burning their summer home. They're being led by a Silverwing that's a witch and they say she looks like a demon."

"At least from what General Brutus has said," Alexios said. "Apparently the witch brought a few giant bats out here to help the Silverwings with their revenge and the giant bats were locked up, but they managed to escape and General Brutus believes that the witch managed to break them out. We don't know what's going to happen next, but I can guarantee that a war will be coming soon."

"A war?" Raymond then asked and he knew that a war was never eye-pleasing for a lot and the giant bats were definitely causing too much trouble and Raymond honestly wouldn't be surprised if the giant bats have been enjoying what they've been doing lately, especially the spouses. "This sounds like a very serious matter."

"Indeed, I don't suppose you two would've come across any Silverwings, would you?"

Raymond shook his head. "Unfortunately, no, we haven't been coming across any bats lately even. If we do happen to come across any we can update the next owls we find." Stella nodded in agreement after what Raymond said.

"Thank you, sir. We shall be off now, and stay safe you two."

"And you as well."

The great horned owl nodded and he and his comrade then took off and flew off, disappearing into the woods in seconds. After the two owls left, Sylvester reappeared next to Raymond on the tree branch they all were still using and when he did the three of them looked at each other worried as they all realized that they needed to hurry before it was too late. If they wasted more time, the spouses would surely get away with murder once more.

Wingbeats away where it was like a frozen wasteland, Holden was still on thin ice. He hadn't moved at all and he was afraid that if he even moved he would drop into the cold water. Holden had to get off the ice soon though and the more he stood there the more he would likely break the ice. The problem was though he wasn't sure which way he should go as it was way too hard to see out here. How could people in Antarctica be able to get through snowstorms that were as bad as this? Holden shook his head as it wasn't a good time to think that question, he had to get off the ice and he knew that flying wouldn't be an option and if he even tried to take off he would only slip and make the cracks in the ice much worse.

His only option would be to walk across the ice.

Slowly, Holden lifted his foot and when he did he slowly took a step forward and as he did he could feel his heart thumping wildly and he could feel himself shaking from not only the weather but from the fear he was feeling that he would fall into the water. When his foot finally touched the ice, he hadn't realized that he was holding his breath at that moment, but he managed to breathe in relief that the ice didn't crack open. He repeated the same thing over and again and as he was he was miraculously managing to walk on the ice. Sometimes the ice would crack a little, but not a whole lot. As he continued to try and walk across the thin ice he was covering himself in his wings to try and keep himself warm and at that moment he wished he had a coat to wear because he was freezing to the touch. His teeth were clattering once more and he could barely move, but he tried to keep going.

As the purple Silverwing kept on going he started to feel drowsy and all he wanted to do was close his eyes. Surely closing his eyes wouldn't hurt… When Holden realized he was about to fall asleep he shook his head. No! He couldn't close his eyes out here! Not in a situation like this! He was cold and exhausted, but he had to keep going. What would his friends think if he was dead? Holden kept on pushing forward.

Walking on this ice was almost like dipping his feet into a bucket of water and ice; his feet were starting to feel like shards were sticking in them that he felt like that any moment warm blood would be spreading on them and he'd be leaving a trail of bloody footprints on the ice. Holden wanted to get off the ice more than anything and the more he walked the more he felt like he was getting nowhere as it was just a land of ice everywhere he looked. What he would give right now for a fire and something warm to drink…

As Holden was in his thoughts he didn't pay attention to his steps as they seemed forced at that moment and when he realized his mistake he started to hear more cracking. Slowly and nervously, Holden turned his head and when he did he gasped in shock when he saw the ice was breaking fast and the cracks were coming right towards him and the ice was breaking apart. Holden cursed and tried to run, however, because he had wings he couldn't run like a human would and instead managed to trip. Holden tried to get up fast, but he fell so he had to do the army crawl. All of the sudden, the ice under Holden began to slowly tip back and as it was, Holden began to freak out and tried to climb up the piece of ice. It was very slippery against his claws, but he continued to try and climb. The ice was about to flip over to the other side, but before it could, Holden managed to get up on top and when he did he took a risky move and jumped, and as he did he yelled. Holden felt like he was going to smash into some ice and drop into some cold water and time seemed to have gone by slowly as Holden was jumping through the air.

However, the unexpected happened as Holden landed on something that didn't feel like ice. It felt hard, but soft at the same time and when Holden looked down he saw that he didn't crash through ice; he crashed on land. Holden looked behind him and he saw more ice had broken apart and most of the cold water could be seen, but he miraculously managed to get to the safety of land, as if God knew he needed help. The purple Silverwing breathed in relief and as he did he laid his head on his arm and took a couple of deep breaths. He did it… he made it! Holden thanked God in his head and he couldn't believe he did it on his own. All that was left to do was to find his friends and hopefully won't fall from the sky again. He didn't know where his friends were, but he hoped that they were alright.

Holden began to shake his head and brush the snow off of him as he was standing up and after he did that he thought he saw something in the sky. At first, he thought it might've been just a tree, but when he had a better look he saw a shadow up in the sky. It was hard to distinguish at first, but the shadow was getting closer to him and as it was, Holden thought it sort of looked like… an angel. As he stared at the sky his eyes widened as he watched the shadow that looked like an angel fly towards him. Was this angel meant to take him to Heaven? But he wasn't dead… was he?

However, as the shadow got closer, Holden managed to get a better look at the angel and as he did he could make out blue and red colors. Not only that the wings didn't look like ones that had feathers on them, instead they looked leathery and had membranes. Holden then realized something, that wasn't an angel. It was a bat and not just any bat; it was Kassidy!

"Holden!" Kassidy shouted towards Holden, and it wasn't long until she landed next to him. "You alright?"

The more that Holden stared at Kassidy the more he couldn't help but notice something about her he never before thought about. Sure, he thought that Kassidy was an angel a little bit ago, but his eyes were still widened. The way that Kassidy's bloody red hair whipped in the snowstorm and how her ocean blue eyes shined... His heart skipped a beat at that moment as he stared at Kassidy and when he realized he hadn't answered Kassidy's question he immediately got his head out of the clouds.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Holden quickly managed to say and after he did he got confused at that moment.

Why did he stare at Kassidy like that? He never looked at her like that before. Holden felt strange at that moment, like some of his breath was taken out of him. The purple Silverwing thought that maybe he'd been out in this snowstorm for a while now that he was slowly starting to lose it. Holden thought that had to be it.

Kassidy then looked to Holden's wings and when she did her eyes widened. "Holden, your wings look like you put them in the freezer. I need to warm them up before you end up getting frostbite."

When Kassidy mentioned frostbite, Holden's eyes widened. "Frostbite? Are my wings that bad?"

Kassidy concentrated on her hands at that moment and as she did she spoke. "Good news is, it looks like you didn't get it, bad news is if we do stay out here too long there's a high chance you will get frostbite."

At that moment that made Holden real uncomfortable. He didn't want to get frostbite out here and he's heard how bad frostbite can get if it's not treated to immediately. Just the thought of that made him shudder and he did not want to go there. The scar on his back was bad enough and thank god he didn't get an infection or worse.

As Kassidy looked like she was done concentrating on her hands, Holden saw a little heat coming from Kassidy's hands. That was then Holden realized that she did the same spell Martin did and used on him after he and Kassidy got cold water dumped on them by Martin. Arguing with Kassidy those nights ago was something he wasn't proud of, but if he and Shade never found out the truth he wasn't sure what would've happened, but he was thankful Holden and Shade managed to realize that Kassidy and Marina were right.

Then, Holden realized something and he looked at Kassidy confused. "Kass, where's Shade, Marina, and Lightning?"

"I don't know," Kassidy replied. "We all got separated, but we can only hope that they managed to find each other and are trying to get somewhere safe. The storm's getting worse and we need to find shelter soon and wait for the storm to die down. If we try to travel any further we might not get so lucky." Holden knew that Kassidy was right, but he couldn't see a thing out in this weather. Finding shelter would be the hardest thing to do, but if they used their echo vision out here they would have better chances at finding shelter. "Okay, brace yourself."

Before Holden knew it, Kassidy then hugged him and when he did Holden wanted to lift his wings in surprise. However, when he felt heat start to course his whole body he sighed in relief. It felt so good and he even forgot that they were in a snowstorm. He could feel his wings were able to move much better and what Kassidy was doing was working.

After a couple of minutes of heat embracing him, Kassidy then got out of the hug and looked back at Holden's brown eyes with her blue eyes. "That should do the trick. Let's go find shelter now."

With that, Kassidy then lifted to the sky and Holden did the same thing and together they went to find shelter. As they were flying, Holden noticed a change in his wings and he could fly much better without them feeling stiff as stone and Kassidy may not be experienced as a witch, but she definitely knew what to use in situations like this. Holden was still amazed at how she could be this smart and he honestly admired her for that.

A few minutes passed and the two Silverwings still hadn't found shelter in this snowstorm. When Kassidy lost everyone in the snowstorm she tried to find them while at the same time keep going in the direction they were all taking, but it was hard to do that because she wasn't sure if she actually was going in the right direction as she felt like the snowstorm knocked her off her course. It was pure luck she found Holden out in this monstrous-looking snowstorm, but as for the others, she wasn't sure where they were. Even if she wanted to try and make things easier out in this snowstorm she couldn't concentrate on doing her magic while at the same time flying out here because all of that took concentration.

Kassidy and Holden did everything they could to stay close to each other while at the same time trying to find shelter and it was all definitely hard to do since they could barely fly or see out here. Whenever they let out their echolocations they came back with nothing and it was starting to frustrate Kassidy a lot. She tried to stay calm though as losing her temper out here wouldn't be the best option.

"Anything yet?" Kassidy called to Holden.

Holden shook his head. "Nothing."

At that, Kassidy silently cursed under her breath. She then let out a sound of web to her right and when she did it brought her back what looked like two figures. Making sure she saw it correctly she let out another echo vision and when she did she saw two bat figures that looked like Shade and Marina.

Kassidy gasped and looked at Holden. "Holden, I think I saw Shade and Marina." She then looked back to her right. "Shade! Marina! Is that you guys?"

"Kass?" Kassidy heard the sound of Shade call out and in a matter of moments, Kass and Holden saw their small Silverwing and banded Brightwing friend glide towards them. Like them, Shade and Marina were covered in so much snow at this point, but they looked relieved to see them. "Oh, good! You guys found us!"

"You guys alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Marina replied to Kassidy. "But where's Lightning?"

"He's not with you guys?" Holden asked.

Marina shook her head. "No, but where could he be?"

"Wherever he is I'm sure he's fine," Kassidy said. "Right now we need to find shelter and I'm sure we'll be able to meet up with him soon."

The four friends continued powering through the snowstorm the best they could and as they were they all worked together to find shelter, but so far they had no luck. It was almost like they were flying through a blank page. If they didn't find shelter soon it would be bad news for them. The more they stayed out here the more likely they would freeze to death.

"Guys," Holden called out to them and then pointed towards something. "I think I see something!"

Kassidy looked to where Holden was looking and when she did she used her sound vision and when she did it came back with an outline of what looked like a hut. The more they flew the more Kassidy could get a clear picture of it and it indeed was a hut! It was pretty big looking and it was caked in snow. A green cover-up could be seen covering up some wood, a deer head antlers was hanging over the door to the hut, and the inside of the hut was dark. The hut looked like it hadn't been used in a long time and who knew a hut like this could be found out here in the middle of nowhere?

"There's no light coming from the windows," Shade said as he looked at the other three bats. "You think there's anyone inside?"

"We'll have to take our chances," Marina said. "It's too late to find anywhere else."

"Marina's right," Kassidy said. "Trying to find a different place to roost would take too long and if we stay out here too long we'll likely get ourselves killed. This is as good as it'll have to get."

"Let's just get in there," Holden then said. "I'm freezing my ass off."

When they managed to get near the hut they saw a chimney they could go through and without another moment they spiraled on down and as they did, Kassidy felt how warmer it got the more they spiraled on down. It wasn't long until they managed to get inside the hut and when they did they landed and shivered some more. It was a good thing though they managed to find shelter in time.

"Man, that was tense," Holden said. "Thank god we found this place, if only we had a fire." Then, Holden's eyes lit up with an idea and he looked to Kassidy. "Say uh… you think maybe you could… you know…"

Kassidy didn't even need to guess what Holden was trying to ask as she crossed her arms. "Magically summon up fire? Maybe if you said the magic word I'll give you fire."

"Seriously?"

"The magic word please."

"Magic word?" Shade asked.

Kassidy looked at Shade. "You'll know what I'm talking about once Holden says it."

Holden sighed annoyed and as he did he also smiled annoyed. "Can you please make a fire?"

After Holden said please, Kassidy simply nodded. "That'll do. Sure, I'll make a fire."

Kassidy then took a deep breath and after she did she looked to her hands and imagined fire awakening in them, blazing its fury color and smoke swirling in the air. She concentrated very hard and it wasn't long until fire came alive in her hands, creating a warm tone in the hut. Her friends watched as she did her magic and once more they looked impressed.

Holden approached the fire in Kassidy's hands when he did he brought his hands near the fire and sighed in relief. "That's what I'm talking about."

Shade and Marina did the same thing when they approached the fire in Kassidy's hands. "That feels so good," Marina said as her band glinted in the fire's light. Kassidy had to admit that the fire did feel good at that moment, even as she was controlling it. The snow on the four friends began to melt and allowed the fire to warm them up. However, Kassidy then noticed that Marina looked confused about something and the Brightwing then looked to the Silverwing trio. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Shade asked.

"I don't know…" Marina then started to look around the hut. "It almost sounded like whispering."

The Silverwing trio too began to listen for something and as they did, Kassidy thought she heard something too. It was faint at first, but it began to grow a little bit more loudly. It was just as Marina heard: whispering. Someone was in here with them.

"One of us…" Came a whisper. "…one of us…"

"She's a carrier of fire…" Came another whisper. "…incredible…"

The boys looked freaked while the girls were listening confused. Who were those voices whispering? Were those ghosts they were hearing whisper? Kassidy read stories on ghosts and communicating with them and if it were indeed ghosts they were hearing perhaps they were contacting them. Then, Kassidy heard something else and it was the sound of wings creaks. She then thought of something. Were there bats in this hut?

"Okay, this is getting freaky," Holden said and he looked like he was ready to spring for the exit. "I'm out of here."

"Same here," Shade said.

The boys were about to fly back through the chimney, but Marina hissed to them. "Wait." She then flew to the top of a bookshelf and the trio of Silverwings followed along with her. They all landed on top of the bookshelf and when they did they all continued to look around. Then, they heard squeaking and at that moment, Kassidy realized that there were bats in here. "Who's there?" Marina called out.

Kassidy still had fire in her hands and she kept them alive in case she needed to use them and she started to hear more whispers. She looked up and when she did she saw what looked like flashes of some sort of silver and she had to closer her eyes one time when one flash almost blinded her. What came next surprised her when she then opened her eyes. So many bats came fluttering out of their hiding places from under the rafters and along the walls. There were so many types of bats to be seen from their shapes, sizes, and colors it was almost like they were trying to make a rainbow. When Kassidy saw all these many bats she gasped and she couldn't help, but immediately name the bats she was seeing in her head. The hoary bats, pallid bats, spotted bats, tricolored bats, and so much more that she even saw bats that were silver-haired like her and the boys and eastern red bats like Marina. It was truly amazing to witness.

What Kassidy saw though made her realize that all these bats had one thing in common: they had silver bands and they looked like the band Marina had on her. Like Kassidy, Marina was amazed by what she was seeing as she let out a gasp herself. The boys on the other hand didn't look too sure about this and Holden looked confused by what he was seeing. He closed his eyes and shook his head and after he did he reopened his eyes.

"They're all banded," Marina said astonished.

"I can't believe there's this many bats here," Kassidy said as she then let the fire in her hands die down.

All the bats were staring at them curiously and as they were Kassidy heard them whispering once more. "Yes, she's one of us."

"You're right, she's one of us!" Another whispered.

"Did you see that one bat with fire?" Some other bat whispered. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"Must be some sort of magic," another bat whispered.

While not looking, Holden whispered to Kassidy, Shade, and Marina. "How did we not see them when we came in?"

Before any of them could answer one bat came fluttering down and she then landed near them. She had a friendly smile and was an eastern red bat aka a Brightwing. She had brown fur, red hair, and green eyes. This bat was brave enough to come and approach them and from the looks of it, she seemed like a nice-looking bat.

"Hi, I'm Betty," the Brightwing introduced herself. "What's your name?"

"I'm Marina," Marina introduced herself then pointed to the Silverwing trio. "And that's Kassidy, Shade, and Holden." She then managed to get a good look at Betty. "Hey, you're a Brightwing."

Betty chuckled softly at what Marina said. "They used to call me Penelope."

Marina gasped and walked closer to Betty and started to inspect her from the head to the foot claw. "Penelope Brightwing? You are from my colony! The elders told us that you were dead; that your band was bad luck."

"Oh. My. Nocturna!" When Kassidy heard that voice she thought she heard it from somewhere and before she could even look someone bear-hugged her and Kassidy yelped. The one hugging her then squealed in delight and when Kassidy looked up she gasped when she saw who it was hugging her. Jade. "Girl, I can't believe it's you!" The Greenwing looked up to the ceiling to someone. "What'd I tell you? I told you it was them!"

Like Kassidy, Holden was surprised and it wasn't long until the Graywing Sekani landed near Kassidy and Jade as Holden came over and he too looked excited to see Kassidy and Holden. "Holy Nocturna, it is them!"

"Oh my, god," Holden said and he then smiled. "Is it actually you guys?"

Sekani laughed and then lifted his wings. "Who else would it be bro? Bring it in!"

It didn't take long for Holden and Sekani to do the man hug and as they did, Jade helped Kassidy up. Shade and Marina watched confused by what was happening while Betty giggled by what she was seeing. Kassidy did not expect to run into Sekani and Jade at the hut, but she was very happy to see them either way.

"I can't believe you guys are here," Jade said excitedly. "It's so good to see you two!"

"You guys actually live here now?" Kassidy said with a smile.

Jade laughed. "Yes, we do!"

"I thought you guys were gonna do some traveling?"

"We were until we came to this hut and these bats were so nice to welcome us that they offered to let us be a part of their colony."

"Hang on," Marina said as she and Shade kept on looking at Kassidy, Holden, Sekani, and Jade confused like Shade was. "You guys know each other?"

Holden laughed and then he nodded. "Yeah, we met them in the city. They're awesome."

Shade approached Sekani and when he did he pointed at Sekani's gold chain with that confused look still on his face. "What's that around your neck?"

Sekani looked at Shade with a smile. "Oh, this thing?" He then lifted his gold chain with his thumb. "It's my gold chain. It's jewelry like this earring in my ear." He then pointed to his silver earring and after he did he then pointed to Jade. "Jade's got a few ear piercings herself."

Jade then approached Shade and when she did she placed her hand on the Silverwing's shoulder. "Yup, four in total, would you like a piercing or two in your ear?"

"Umm… no thanks," Shade said a little uncomfortably.

"Might I remind you Sebastian that you and Triss had your names changed," At the sound of a voice the group looked up to see a very calm-looking bat roosting up on the ceiling. Like Jade… or Triss, the bat was a Greenwing with green fur, long ears, and yellow eyes.

Sekani… or Sebastian looked embarrassed at that moment as he was then rubbing his neck. "Umm, right… sorry…" He then looked back to Holden and Kassidy. "Yeah, umm… we no longer go as Sekani and Jade. We're now Sebastian and Triss."

Kassidy and Holden looked at each other confused and then back to the Graywing and Greenwing. They had their names changed? Why? Why couldn't they just go by Sekani and Jade? Either way, Kassidy knew for sure she and Holden would be mixing up their names a lot. She thought it would just be better to call them Sekani and Jade, but no… They had to call them Sebastian and Triss.

"Why?" Kassidy asked.

Before either Sebastian or Triss could answer, Betty began to speak in her friendly tone "We're so glad you came. It's amazing you could find us in this storm."

Marina simply shrugged her shoulders. "Just luck." She then looked at Betty confused. "I've heard about you Pen- I mean Betty, and like I said, the elders told the colony you were dead when you got banded."

Betty shook her head while still smiling. "No. They made that up. They just expelled me from the colony, because they were superstitious. There're dozens of us here, and the bands haven't hurt anyone. It wasn't luck that brought you here. The band drew you to us. So we could all gather together."

After what Betty said the bats around them murmured in agreement, but to Kassidy, it didn't make any sense about the band and she could tell that Holden and Shade looked confused about that as well. How could have Marina's band led them to this hut? That band didn't have any magic. As Marina said, it was luck.

Shade then began to say something and as he was, Kassidy didn't pay attention to what he was saying as she noticed something on the wall. It was a small-looking portrait in a silver frame and two people were standing in that photo looking serious. It was a young-looking man and woman and they looked pretty rich in that photo. The man was wearing a black suit, black dress shoes, and his hair looked neat like the handsome devil he was. The woman in the picture was wearing some expensive-looking jewelry, a sexy-looking green dress, and gold high heels and she looked stunning, to say the least.

As a conversation was happening that Kassidy wasn't listening to she continued staring at the portrait and as she did she thought those two people in the portrait looked familiar… Kassidy furrowed her brow in confusion as she continued to stare at the portrait. There was just something about them and she wasn't sure what it was, but they looked familiar like she met them before.

All of the sudden, Kassidy felt someone shake her and she turned to see that it was Marina that was shaking her. "Hey, Kass. You okay?"

Kassidy blinked her eyes a couple of times but then nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." She took a glance back at the portrait then drew her attention back to the group and she saw that the male Greenwing was now on the bookshelf and he was now staring at her. "Umm, I'm sorry I didn't catch your name."

The Greenwing smirked at Kassidy. "I'm Scirocco, leader of this colony. I was just looking at Marina's band and then I tried talking to you, but it seemed like you were in your thoughts. Kassidy, right?"

Kassidy nodded at the Greenwing. "Yes, that's correct."

"Sebastian and Triss have been telling the colony about you and your friend Holden. They say that you were a witch and that you and Holden were humans. I at first didn't believe it, but when we saw you summon fire I started to believe that you and Holden may actually be humans."

As if Scirocco had called Holden over, Holden was next to Kassidy in a matter of moments. "Would that be a good thing or a bad thing?" Holden asked. "'Cause... well…"

As Holden was trying to speak, Kassidy could see that he was having a hard time forming words towards Scirocco and she really couldn't blame him for that. Having a human transform into any wild animal just seemed impossible and having someone with magic seemed impossible as well, but here Kassidy and Holden were from humans to bats and all thanks to Kassidy accidentally transforming them into nocturnal flyers. What got Kassidy confused though was the fact that no one seemed scared of her, not even Scirocco or Betty and she would've expected these bats to look at her scared because of the way she looked, but no. They were looking at her curiously like they were towards Holden and Marina. However, Kassidy couldn't help but notice that not a lot of the bats here seemed to be acknowledging Shade's presence and Shade was off to the side looking left out.

Kassidy wanted to go over to Shade and check on him, but Scirocco started to speak once more before she could even move. "I don't believe it's bad at all. In fact, if you two really are humans then it must be a sign from Nocturna, that she wanted to bring you two here to help all of us fulfill her Promise and that's where these come in." He then lifted his banded arm to show Kassidy and Holden.

The two humans that were Silverwings looked at each other confused. A sign from Nocturna? Kassidy only accidentally transformed them into bats. There was no way Nocturna sent them here and what was Scirocco getting at here?

Kassidy and Holden looked back at the Greenwing as Shade flew over to land next to them and as he did, Kassidy spoke. "Technically I accidentally turned us into bats, so I don't believe Nocturna had anything to do with us coming here and helping with… whatever you're trying to get at here."

"Nonsense." Scirocco then placed his hand on Kassidy's shoulder. "You see, Kassidy, these bands are much more important than what you may realize. With a bat banded we are considered to be different from those that are not banded, but we have been chosen by your kind and because they did we are also considered special." When Scirocco mentioned special, Kassidy started to hate that word now for some reason, perhaps because it was used too often. Scirocco then turned his head to Marina. "Do you know the importance of your band, Marina? Do you know it's part of Nocturna's Promise?"

When Scirocco asked Marina those questions her eyes fell away sadly with nothing to say. She began to rub at her band slowly and it was as if it was biting into her too tightly like handcuffs. In a way, Kassidy wished she knew a spell to pry that band off her so she wouldn't feel discouraged about it. Kassidy told Marina what the purpose of the band was, but it seemed like Marina wished she never had the band in the first place. Sometimes Marina wished she didn't have the band and sometimes she was glad she had it and it was hard to tell which one held truth to them.

Betty then placed her hand on Marina's back. "What's wrong?"

"I used to think that," Marina said softly, almost looking like she was about to spill a single tear. "That it meant something… Now I'm not sure what to believe anymore."

"Marina…" Kassidy said softly.

"I remember what you told me, Kass. I'm not saying I don't believe what you told me about the band, it's just that… I don't know if I should believe or not that the bands are part of Nocturna's Promise anymore… After we met the giant bats I've just felt confused lately."

"Giant bats?" Scirocco asked confused.

Kassidy was about to explain to Scirocco, but Shade beat her to it. "They're cannibals!" He said in a serious tone. "From the jungle! They have bands too! Not only that, they were big, much bigger than us and one of them has magic like Kass!"

A lot of the bats looked aghast and a murmur of horror passed through the loft. Shade said it all in a panic that it made Kassidy rub her temples that he didn't calmly explain it all and now all the bats in this hut were freaking out. Not that she could blame them though as it wasn't every day someone saw a giant bat, especially not one with magic. Thankfully Shade didn't say anything on how experienced Martin was with magic and Kassidy definitely didn't want to give someone in here an actual heart attack.

However, Scirocco still looked as calm as a cucumber and he acted as though he's heard those words many times before. It was like nothing got him worried unless he was doing some pretty good acting at the moment. Either way, Kassidy and her friends knew how dangerous the giant bats were and if this colony came across them it would be bad news. In the back of Kassidy's head, she could tell that something bad would indeed happen very soon and she wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, considering how many situations she and her friends got into.

"Wait, they're actually real?" Sekani said with shock as he looked to Holden and Kassidy. "You guys met giant bats? I would've thought for sure they were fake."

Holden nodded. "Yeah, and there's four of them in total."

"Ah, but do they have bands like these?" Scirocco asked as he showed his band once more that now started to glint.

Marina shook her head. "No. They aren't shiny like ours."

"They're more on the bronze side," Kassidy said, and then she tilted her head in confusion. "Why do you ask though?"

"Not a single bat here has been banded in bronze," Scirocco answered Kassidy's question with a confident smile. "All of our bands are bright silver like the sun. Any bat who wears bronze can never leave the night. Those bats have been marked, certainly, but not as part of Nocturna's Promise. The silver bands are part of the Great Plan."

After what Scirocco said, Kassidy looked around her and saw that the Greenwing was right. Not a single one of them had a different colored band, they were all silver. However, when Scirocco spoke of this so-called Great Plan she had the feeling she knew what was coming next, but she wanted to hear it for herself.

At what Scirocco said, Marina looked at him hopefully. "Plan? What plan?"

"All in good time, Marina."

"There's a plan? Tell me please."

As Kassidy looked at Scirocco she couldn't help but notice the look in his yellow eyes. There was something about them that she didn't like one bit and a voice inside her head told her that this bat couldn't be trusted. She wanted to believe that perhaps this bat was some sort of saint and she was coming to conclusions so soon, but the way he spoke about the bands and barely acknowledged Shade was getting her suspicious of him. It seemed like Shade and Holden had the same thoughts as her, Marina on the other hand seemed like she trusted the Greenwing. That's when she thought of Sebastian and Triss… Their names changed… That was something strange and why would they change their names? Unless…

Kassidy looked back to Scirocco and he was looking at Betty and it looked like Betty wanted to so badly this so-called plan. Perhaps her Graywing and Greenwing friend had to change their names because of Scirocco. He wouldn't have forced them to change their names, right? Either way, Kassidy was already getting suspicious of all this and she had the feeling that there was more to all of this than what it looked like.

"Just tell her the plan," Shade said annoyed that no one spoke yet.

Without a word, the Greenwing leader nodded to Betty and she looked to Marina. "As Scirocco said-" she then pointed at Kassidy and Holden, "their kind chose us as part of Nocturna's Promise. The Great Plan is for us to return to the light! We're going to reclaim the day as humans!" She exclaimed excitedly.

At that moment, it was like a car screeched to a halt. Kassidy and her other three friends stared at Betty in so much confusion. Reclaiming the day as humans? It was like telling someone that your baby managed to grow around 5'8". For as long as Kassidy could remember she's read about spells that looked stupid, but this by far was the stupidest thing she's ever heard in her life. Her suspicions grew more at that moment as she continued to stare as if to tell the banded colony if they went crazy.

Then, Holden started to laugh hysterically and as he was, practically almost the entire colony looked at him confused as he was laughing. Marina was then looking at him annoyed, but Holden hadn't noticed almost everyone looking at him, but it seemed like he didn't care. The purple Silverwing even almost managed to roll on top of the bookshelf as he continued to laugh and Kassidy could already see the tears of laughter coming from Holden.

"Oh-" Holden continued to laugh a little more and after he did he smeared away the tears of laughter. "Oh my, god, okay, that's a good one. I applaud you for that fantastic joke, Betty." He then pointed at her. "You got me there."

"I… wasn't joking there," Betty said.

"Okay, hold on a wing beat," Shade said, not looking convinced like Kassidy and Holden weren't convinced. "You're gonna turn into humans?"

"The transformation has already begun." Betty then folded her hands and dreamily closed her eyes.

"Tch, that's very convincing," Holden said sarcastically.

"Oh, for the love of Nocturna," Marina said as she looked to Holden more annoyed. "Do you ever shut up?"

"Oh, it's quite alright, Marina," Scirocco then said to Marina. "It seems like if this is to be convincible enough, perhaps it'd be best that I did a demonstration."

Then the Greenwing leader flew off the bookshelf and as he did, bats started to whisper excitedly that he was going to do it, that he was going to transform into a human and it wasn't long until their leader landed in a clear in the middle of the wooden floor. It was faint at first, but Kassidy then started to hear the banded bats start to whisper in unison one word: transform. The way they said it all together was almost like they were a cult chanting some sort of spell. They were only transfixed on Scirocco as they continued to chant transform.

Kassidy and everyone on the bookshelf looked down to watch Scirroco like the colony was and as they were, she, Holden, and Shade looked at each other and then back to the long eared bat. The green bat had his eyes closed, his brows wrinkling with concentration. Scirocco took a deep breath and at first nothing seemed to have happened as everyone watched him, however, Kassidy continued to watch like everyone else.

"It's coming soon," Scirocco said in a quiet voice, but the way he spoke… it almost didn't sound like him. "My bat bones will soon become human bones. My legs will stretch and grow long and become human legs…" With a quick thrust of his wrists, the long eared bat jerked upright onto his hind legs, swaying slightly for only a moment before achieving balance.

"Trasform!" The chanting grew louder and Kassidy wasn't liking it at all. "Transform!"

Ponderously, Scirocco took a few steps backwards on his hind legs, wings folded tight against his sides like a burrito, and his head was thrust forward. He was walking slowly backwards towards the fireplace and as he was it looked like he was actually walking like a human. The surroundings in the hut felt different in that moment and Kassidy looked to her friends to see that Holden and Shade weren't liking this either. However, Marina looked entranced by what she was seeing and to Kassidy's surprise she was shouting transform with Betty and the others in the hut.

"My claws will be blunted, my fingers shrink!" Scirocco said as he continued to walk backwards and they got more confident now. "My fur will thin, my face will smooth and flatten. My wings will wither and fall from my shoulders like a snake's useless skin!"

"Transform! Transform!"

Then, Scirocco entered into the darkness of the fireplace and when he did, Kassidy saw in the corner of her eye that Shade had swallowed nervously, Holden was getting a little freaked out, while Marina seemed to still look entranced. She then looked back to the show and as she did she thought she heard something in there that was quite familiar. "I'm telling you all now," Scirocco cried out from the darkness. "That I will grow tall and strong and powerful and walk into the light as human!"

"Transform!" Wailed the bats in a fever.

All of the sudden, a figure came back out and when it did the chanting died down, but it wasn't Scirocco in his bat form… Instead, it looked like a slightly taller human, only it still had his big ears and yellow bat eyes. As Kassidy stared at the figure she noticed how the figure looked and just looking at him got more suspicious than ever. He almost looked like LeBron James as Scirocco's 'human form' was African American, was wearing a basketball uniform that was yellow and orange, and was holding a basketball in his arm.

Kassidy looked to her friends and she saw that Marina looked amazed by what she was seeing like most of the other bats here, Holden and Shade, on the other hand, didn't look amazed at all and were instead suspicious like Kassidy was. When Kassidy looked back to Scirocco's 'human form' she saw what looked like flickering… almost like it was an echo projection!

"Psst, Kass, Holden," Shade said to get Kass and Holden's attention and when the two looked at him he used his head to indicate something and when the two looked to where Shade was indicating to Kassidy was glad she was right to be suspicious.

On a shelf, there was a box of cereal to be seen and on the cereal box was a basketball player… almost exactly the same one that was standing on the floor.

"That son of a bitch," Holden said in an angry tone that was a whisper. "He's a fraud."

Kassidy nodded as she whispered back angrily. "I knew there was something about him I didn't like."

The echo projection of what Scirocco did went back into the fireplace and when it did, Scirocco came flying out of it and as he did, Marina spoke amazed. "That was unbelievable!"

"You said it," Shade said.

"I always knew your kind had a plan for us." Marina then looked to Kassidy and Holden as she continued to smile.

"Look, Marina," Kassidy spoke and as she did, Marina looked at her still smiling. "I don't know how to say this, but-"

"Marina, will you join us?" Scirroco asked Marina, cutting Kassidy off which got her annoyed as her fur bristled. "Wait with us for the coming of the light. It won't be long."

"Stay," Betty said. "Please stay! It already feels like we're friends!"

Like Betty, bats from all around in the hut began to plead for Marina to stay and as they were, Shade pulled Marina off to the side and whispered to her. "Marina, he echo projected that human."

Marina looked at Shade annoyed and whispered back. "No, it was real! It wasn't blurry like all yours and Holden's echo projections."

"Oh, so you're saying that what you saw there was magic, like Kass's?" Holden whispered as he furrowed his brow at Marina. "Oh please, even I could've done something better than what he did. I echo projected a wolf for crying out loud and I at least didn't use it the way that long ears over there did."

"Grow up for once, Holden. It was real! Besides, you don't know anything about magic like Kass does."

"I may not know anything about magic, but I'm not that stupid, we saw what we saw."

"Guys stop," Kassidy whispered. "We're not getting anywhere just by arguing."

"Take as long as you need to decide, Marina," Scirocco said, interrupting their private conversation. "Your two other friends, Kassidy and Holden are free to stay as well, however, I'm afraid he can't," he then pointed directly at Shade.

Marina looked at Scirocco confused after what he said and the more Kassidy stayed here with her friends the more she started to dislike Scirocco a lot. She could feel her hands clench into fists and her blood was beginning to boil. Kassidy hadn't had a lot of time to meditate lately and she hadn't been doing the best job controlling her anger, but who could blame her? Everything that had happened recently was turning upside down.

As Kassidy stared at Scirocco in anger, something else inside her was slowly starting to awaken, and it wanted nothing more than to awaken from the depths of her body. It wasn't enough to awaken though. Kassidy was angry, but it wasn't enough for it to awaken. When it was enough, it would fully awaken inside Kassidy.

"Why not?" Demanded Marina.

"He's not one of the chosen, nor is he human," Scirocco responded. "Nocturna would be angry if we let the unworthy stay. She might decide to hold all of us back from the transformation. Without a band, there is no promise."

Shade looked at Scirocco angrily. "Oh, yeah? Well, I know an echo projection when I see one. You're a fake!"

"Shade," Marina angrily said to the small Silverwing.

After what Shade said, Scirocco tsked while he shook his head. "Unless you've been banded, you'll never understand." He then turned his head away from Shade.

"My Father was banded," Shade said indignantly, "and the elder of-"

"That's no concern of ours. Those who are not banded will never become human. They will die in the dark, with all the others who haven't been chosen." For the first time, Scirocco then looked directly into Shade's eyes. "I'm sorry, but that is the truth."

After what Scirocco said Shade turned away not only angrily but humiliated at the same time. At this point, Kassidy had enough of this leader and she wanted nothing more than to rip his tongue out. Who the heck did he think he was talking down to Shade like that? Holden seemed about as angry as she was and no one talked to her friends like that.

"Listen here, you overgrown sized weed," Kassidy said angrily as she approached the leader. "You don't get to talk to Shade like that and we've had some very stressful nights, while you were hanging around acting as if nothing will ever happen, but I can assure you that if you so much as talk down to my friend like that ever again we're going to have trouble! So don't you mess with any of us, especially not me! I'm human and so is Holden, so we know much more about what being a human is like than you'll ever know!" She then pointed to one of the windows in the hut. "That snowstorm out there is still going and whether you like it or not, we'll still be here until it gets better, and that includes Shade! You understand?!"

It was dead silent after Kassidy shouted and not once had any fire spread on Kassidy as she shouted at Scirocco, which was surprising, to say the least. Scirocco didn't look calm at all as he stared down at Kassidy in surprise and so did most of the other bats here. It was probably not a good thing she yelled at a leader in front of his colony, but Kassidy didn't care at this point. She was speaking the truth and it was better than nothing. Besides, Scirocco didn't scare her the slightest, he really was like an overgrown sized weed.

After a few more blinks, Scirocco shook his head and began to speak to Kassidy. "Very well… until the snowstorm gets better he will then have to leave."

"The four of us will be leaving when the snowstorm gets better."

"But, Kass…" Kassidy looked to Marina when she spoke to her. "For once, I feel like… I found a place where I belong." She then looked down to her band and after a bit of looking at it she looked around her and as she did, Kassidy, Holden, and Shade widened their eyes and Kassidy didn't want to believe it… but it seemed like Marina was growing fond of this place. Marina then looked back to Kassidy, Holden, and Shade. "I'm sorry, guys… I'm going to stay here…" She then looked down and as she did a single tear dripped down her face. "I'm sorry to have disappointed you…"

As Kassidy stared at Marina she couldn't help but feel her eyes water and she never liked to cry in front of anyone, but just looking at Marina… she was like the sister she never had. For as long as they've been out here, Kassidy felt like she grew closer with her friends and it almost felt like they were family to her. This whole journey her friends have been her rock since her family got kidnapped and seeing that Marina was going to stay here felt like she lost more of her family. She didn't want to lose Marina as a friend, but she couldn't force her to come with them… It was Marina's choice and not hers and even though Kassidy didn't want Marina to live in a lie there was no point in stopping her. Even though she was upset by Marina's choice, Kassidy didn't want to yell at her.

Without a second thought, Kassidy approached Marina and when she did she hugged her, and as she did she squeezed her eyes as she dared not to cry. "Marina, you've never disappointed us… If you wanna stay, we're not gonna stop you. You've been a great friend and it's gonna feel weird without you, but just know we'll never forget about you. We love you, friend."

As Kassidy hugged Marina, she could hear her Brightwing friend start to sob and Kassidy dared not to let anyone see it but she managed to spill a single tear as Marina hugged her back. "Thank you, Kass… I wish things could've been different, but thank you guys for being my friends and having me stick around for the ride. I love you guys as well."

As the girls hugged, Holden and Shade came over and hugged the girls as well. "We wish the same thing," Shade said. "But we hope you'll be happy here, we'll miss you."

"Yeah, and like Kass said we love you, Marina," Holden said.

Shade nodded in agreement as they all continued to hug like best friends they were. It really was hard to let someone go, but sometimes letting someone go was for the best. It was crazy to believe how far they came along and now, it was down to three in the party… Soon Kassidy, Holden, and Shade would have to go, but right now, they just wanted to make their last moments with Marina count while they could.

A/N- After all these months I finally got the chance to sit down and finish this chapter! I didn't get to finish proofreading all of this, but may try to proofread it once more soon, but I'm just happy I managed to finish writing all this and let me tell you proofreading a 10k chapter is not easy ^^;

I'm very excited to write the next chapter and I hope you all will as well, and the next chapter things will get more crazier from there ;)