Chapter 45
Niece and Uncle
"Your half Uncle?!" Shade exclaimed, shocked, while Marina gasped. "How is that possible?! You never knew about this?!"
Kassidy was about as shocked as her friends were that the one almost like a snake was related to her. All her life, she always assumed that her parents, her Aunt, her Uncle, and her cousins were the only family she had, but she never would've imagined that Martin was her half Uncle: the one that's been giving her and her friends a very hard time lately. So many thoughts and questions raced through her mind at the moment and she wasn't sure what to believe anymore. She wanted to believe that this birth certificate was fake, but how could it be when it looked practically ancient?
"No… I never knew," Kassidy said.
"Holy shit," Holden said. "This whole time, you've been fighting a relative… This doesn't make any sense. Why would he do this?"
"Again, I don't know…."
"Wait, do you think Goth and Throbb know that Martin and Dianna are humans?" Shade asked.
At that question, Kassidy never actually thought about that. Goth and Throbb seemed like they didn't really like humans that much since they took them away from the jungle and banded them. Why would those two work with Martin and Dianna, though, if they knew they were humans? The Silverwing witch then started to think that maybe they didn't know at all. She felt that they thought they were bats just like them when they probably first met. It was then that the Silverwing witch realized that there was no way that Goth and Throbb knew about who Martin and Dianna indeed were.
"I don't think they do," Kassidy replied. "Martin and Dianna must've been lying to them as they did to us."
Slowly, the red-haired Silverwing looked at the photos of her family members and as she did a realization came upon her. The ones that stole her family were Martin and Dianna. Where did they take them? Were they alright? Kassidy didn't want to assume the worst for them. They had to have been alive somewhere. But, on the other hand, she didn't want to believe that any of them were dead.
However, when her eyes fixated on the two photos with the big red x on her parents, a flame slowly started to ignite inside her. When the car crash was supposedly an accident, that day was no accident. Martin and Dianna were the reasons as to why the car crash occurred… and why her parents were now dead. All that time, Kassidy went through a deep depression after her parents died, and Martin and Dianna were the reason why her parents died too soon. The hatred for those two monsters only increased as her blood started to boil and her hands slowly turned into fists.
They killed her parents, and now they had her other family members. With the witch now knowing the truth, only one word came to mind: revenge. Martin and Dianna took the ones she loved from her, and she had to suffer because of them. They just couldn't stop what they were doing, which only made the fire inside her increase. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to see them suffer as she had. Kassidy wanted to tear out everything inside their bodies and have them beg for her to stop. It was not like her to think such dark thoughts, but revenge was the only thing that could cloud her thoughts. She swore she would protect the ones she loved, and the only way she could defend them was by stopping Martin and Dianna's selfish and cruel acts any way she could… even if it meant killing them.
All the sudden, tapping was heard and Kassidy got out of her thoughts and when she did she and her friends looked to where the tapping came from and when they did they saw a hawk outside tapping at the window with its beak and none of them needed to guess who it was. "Lightning!" They all exclaimed together.
Without any hesitation, Kassidy quickly used her telekinesis to open up the window, and with enough concentration, the window promptly opened up, and Lightning swooped right in, looking very serious. A cold breeze could be felt making its way into the room and a few snowflakes here and there fluttered into the room as well as if the room was inviting them inside. Neither of the friends had their attention on the weather, though, as they were only on the hawk.
"We were beginning to worry about you," Marina said with relief.
You four are in danger, Lightning spoke through their minds. The giant bats are nearing the cabin.
"What?" Shade said. "I thought those leaves would've kept them asleep longer?"
It had them fall asleep, but they were knocked out for only a little while with the tiny amount they digested. We must get out of here while we can.
"Wait, but we can't leave these guys here," Marina said. "There's a banded colony here, and they need to know that the giant bats are on their way. If we leave them here, the giant bats are going to kill them."
"She's right," Shade said. "As much as I've disapproved of how some of them acted towards me, we still have to warn them."
"Well, most of the banded bats won't believe a word that comes out of your mouth," Holden said directly to the small Silverwing. "No offense, but to them, you're an outcast."
Shade could only furrow his brow. "Thanks for pointing out the obvious."
"Holden's right," Kassidy said. "If you tried to warn the colony, they'd only drive you out. I believe they would only believe us if me, Marina, or Holden warned them since they pretty much accepted us."
"Okay, so what do we do then?"
Kassidy started to think, and as she did, the side of her finger was on her mouth. She tried to think of a solution fast as they didn't have much time to waste. Any moment now, the giant bats would arrive, and they indeed had to warn the colony and fast, or it would be too late. However, at the same time, the gothic Silverwing wanted them to come so she could face off against Martin and Dianna for all they did. But, she knew that they had to do something quickly as they were pretty much the banded colony's only hope-even if they didn't realize that the giant bats were coming.
Then, an idea clicked, and Kassidy went ahead to explain the concept. "I have an idea." She then looked at Holden and Marina. "Holden, Marina, you guys warn the colony about the giant bats. They'll likely take your words seriously. We'll distract the giant bats to buy you some time."
"Are you sure about this?" Marina asked. "What if-"
"Marina, don't worry, it'll all be okay. Warn the colony with Holden. We'll take care of the giant bats. We'll be back before you can even say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."
The three friends could only stare at Kassidy, way too confused at the last word she said, and it was undoubtedly a long word for them to process. "I get the feeling your accuracy is gonna be right once more," Holden said, looking like he was trying to sound out the word Kassidy noted in his head.
"We should hurry then," Shade said. "Before the giant bats get here."
Alright, I will help out with this, Lightning spoke through their minds. But as Shade said, we must hurry. He then looked at the Silverwing witch and the small Silverwing. Let's go.
With that, Lightning took off, and before Kassidy and Shade did the same thing, the four friends bid each other good luck then the gothic Silverwing and sky-blue Silverwing flew off outside after Lightning into the cold weather while the purple Silverwing and the banded Brightwing went to warn the colony.
Almost immediately, the coldness took over the warmth on the two Silverwing's bodies, but all their attention was more driven towards distracting the giant bats and fast. They flew towards the rooftop with Lightning, and when they found themselves hovering over it, they immediately touched the cold, icy, and snowy surface. With how much snow was covering the hut, it almost looked like it could've been a wedding cake, and they were its toppers. The snowstorm was no more, and a few snowflakes twirled down to the surface here and there, and with the snowstorm out of the way, the two bats and the hawk were able to see what was happening around them.
The Silverwing witch scanned her surroundings intently with her ocean blue eyes, and there was no way in hell she wanted to miss them. However, as she was looking, she started to feel her head throb, and it did not take her long to guess why that was. She pulled the hair tie that was holding her hair up in place out, and after she did, she flung it over the roof, and the wind carried it away. Whenever she had her hair too tight in a ponytail, she usually started to get a headache, so she always tried to avoid that and anything that might strain her head too much. Strands of her bloody red hair were now able to flow freely with the wind as if they had just been chained but were able to break loose from it.
Then, up towards the sky, Kassidy started to notice something. It was vague at first, but as she got a better look at it, she began to see four blimps in the sky… and they were heading in the direction of where the hut was. The gothic Silverwing then looked at the blonde Silverwing and the hawk. "I think I see them!" She then pointed to where she saw the four blimps, and Shade and Lightning's eyes trailed to where her finger was pointing.
The sky-blue Silverwing's green eyes widened when they saw the four blimps. "Oh, no! They're getting closer!" He then looked at Kassidy and Lightning. "Any ideas?"
The closer the four blimps got, the closer that they were about to run out of time. Kassidy tried to think and fast, and as she did, the red-tailed hawk observed the sky very closely. They won't see what hit them if I go to distract them, the hawk said calmly through their minds. You two should stay put so you'll be safe.
The blonde Silverwing looked at Lightning as if he had lost his mind. "Stay put? We can't just stay and do nothing!"
After what Lightning said, though, this struck an idea through the witch's mind. "He's right. We should stay put."
Shade shook his head and looked at Kassidy, quite surprised. "What? You cannot possibly be serious. You're gonna agree with him? I would've thought-"
"Let me finish. We should stay put because the giant bats won't see what hit them if we use the one thing they don't know we can do."
At the hint the red-haired Silverwing gave, it didn't take long to see the sky-blue Silverwing's eyes widen with realization. If they would've, his green eyes could've been smiling brightly. "Of course!" Shade then slammed his fist in his hand. "Let's do it! They certainly won't be seeing what we have planned coming their way!"
With that, they started to get their plan into action, something the four giant bats wouldn't see coming. Finally, after some planning time, it was time to put on a show.
This veil of snow was nonstop, and it was almost as if he was genuinely being cursed at that moment. Everywhere he looked, there were always patches of white snow, and it was almost as if no life ever even existed out there. Not a single vibrant or lovely color to be seen within distance. Instead, it was nothing more than a whole area filled with one dreadful color, almost as if someone slapped it on without a care in the world.
It seemed Zotz really was putting a challenge on him, and it indeed was working. This was much worse than the rain seasons they received back south. If he hadn't kept Throbb alive like he was now, he likely would've killed the overweight bat and used his hide to keep himself warm. Unfortunately, their fur was not built for this kind of weather, and the more they stayed out in this weather, the more likely they would no longer be alive like the prey they killed. The more time passed, the more the Prince started to doubt Martin and Dianna. It seemed like the deal he and his brother-in-law made with those two was getting them nowhere, and if anything, all the shenanigans they were going through were almost getting them killed. All he wanted to do was eat as much of the colony as possible so he could be back in the jungle where he belonged.
As the group was making their way through the misshapen storm, Goth started to pick up on something… something that he craved for so long. "I smell a bat…" he said, speaking primarily to himself. He then sniffed the air once more, and when he did, he was delighted with what his sense of smell was bringing back to him. "No, many bats!"
"My nose is too cold to smell nothing," Throbb whined. "I think there might be something wrong with my wing too."
"Oh great," Dianna said in a snarky manner. "The buffoon is once more complaining."
"Señorita, I'm being serious. I think it hardened to the tip."
"It's because you're a miserable weakling."
"But it doesn't look right."
Annoyed, the Prince looked at Throbb's wing and as he did it was hard to see if there was anything wrong with it, especially with this weather they were in. Perhaps he was just complaining once more, as Dianna said. All this complaining would get the tubby bat nowhere out here. If anything, his brother-in-law might as well end up dead under all this pile of snow.
"I don't see anything," the Vampyrum Prince grunted.
However, at the mention of what Throbb said, this made Goth check over his curled, purple wings to see if anything unnatural came about them. Back out south, he'd seen wings rot and fall off like a rotten tree branch from the highest of trees. Luckily for him, he had never had that happen to him. In fact, not one of his descendants experienced losing a wing or two, and it certainly wasn't because of luck. Did he pity the ones that did lose their wings, though? He would rather choke on a piece of bone than pity those miserable flyers.
"Forget about your wing, fat bat," Martin said bitterly. "There is certainly bats out here, and we could certainly regain our energy by having them for a nice meal, and if anything, the three Silverwings and the Brightwing could certainly be among them."
The mention of the four bats made Goth think about the witch once more. He kept thinking about whether or not he should tell the others about what he witnessed two nights ago. What he saw seemed to have been significant, that maybe there was a sign of some sort. However, the more he thought about it, the more he decided to keep it to himself. Perhaps it was only for him to see anyways, and if that was the case, he didn't mind. They probably didn't deserve that information anyways.
Then, out in the distance, the Prince thought he saw something, and the more he looked, the more he could see that three shadowy figures were approaching them. Then, as if he read his thoughts, Throbb spoke confused. "Am I suddenly seeing things too?"
Before anyone could answer, however, the three figures were better seen now, and when their faces were revealed the four giant bats stopped in their tracks when they saw who it was. It was a red-tailed hawk… the same one that caused problems for them at the towers of fire! Moreover, not only was that hawk present, but that hawk was with that Silverwing witch and her runt of a friend!
"Hey, look, Kass," Shade said tauntingly. "It's the four sleeping beauties, and they have finally awoken!"
"Hey, you're right," the red-haired Silverwing replied in the same taunting manner. "I bet they were dreaming about finally catching us and doing some horrible things to us as well, just too bad their dreams weren't real."
At that, the four giant bats furiously looked at the two bats. "You little-" before Dianna could continue with what she was about to say, the hawk all the sudden attacked, and like before at the towers of fire, he began to pull at her black hair, and the female Vampyrum screamed and cursed as she tried to get the hawk to let go of her.
Then, in a blink of an eye, the hawk attacked Martin, and when he did, the Vampyrum with magic almost lost his flight, but with the wind on his side, he managed to regain it. Martin growled furiously, and as he did, he yelled towards the hawk. "I'm going to pluck your feathers one by one until you beg for mercy!" He then looked directly at Goth and Throbb as the hawk went back to attacking Dianna. "Don't let those two get away!"
Suddenly, the hawk clamped his beak at Martin's arm, and when he did, blood started to ooze down it, which made the male Vampyrum yell in rage as green fire could be seen clear as day in his eyes. With that, the married Vampyrums challenged the hawk, and a bloody battle was on. As magic, screams, battle cries, and hoarse-screeches filled the sky Goth did not expect Martin to tell him and Throbb to go after those two Silverwings. He would've expected that Martin and Dianna would've wanted to go after them, but it was clear that they could not go after the runt and the orphan with the hawk in the way. So it was down to him and his brother-in-law to go after those two Silverwings.
Goth and Throbb directed their attention at the two bats, and as they did, the Prince expected the witch to do some sort of crazy spell towards them or even a good fight, so they had no chances of catching them, but to his surprise, she and Shade made a mad dash away from them. However, if it was a chase they wanted, then it would be a chase they would get. The two Vampyrum bats went after the two bats, and as they did, the purple-winged bat thought he heard humming coming from the two small bats trying to escape. Not only that he thought that Shade looked like he was sort of disappearing and reappearing, but all he tried to focus on was catching those two. His hunter instinct kicked in, and when it did, the hunt was on.
Goth could see that they were getting farther ahead, judging by what he was seeing. However, if he and Throbb were to gain more altitude, they probably would have better chances of taking them by surprise. With that, the Prince flapped his mighty curled wings up, and as he did, Throbb followed behind. When he felt like they got enough height, he continued on the path the two Silverwings were taking, and the chase continued. The two Vampyrum bats were now over the top of them, and as they got closer, they flexed their claws out with Goth aiming towards the witch while Throbb aimed towards the runt… and they were inches away from getting their clawed feet on them.
However, the Prince expected that they would've easily caught them when their clawed feet reached them… POOF! Right on the spot, the two Silverwings vanished, catching the two Vampyrum bats off guard. They even almost lost their flight because of that.
"Huh?" The two giant bats said, confused.
They looked around them in so much confusion. Where did they go? They had them right where they wanted them. How could they have vanished just like that? Did that witch do some kind of spell to trick them?
"Goth, where did they go?" Throbb said.
"I don't know…" Goth said in thought. "But, I have the feeling that they're somewhere else."
With that, the two Vampyrum bats went to try and find the two SIlverwings, unaware of what those two did, and as they did, Goth wondered how things were going with Martin and Dianna.
That damned hawk was getting in the way once more, and it was infuriating the snake-like bat. No matter what he seemed to do, the hawk managed to outsmart him and his wife like he had a third eye in the back of his head. When he tried to make himself disappear a few times, it seemed the red-tailed hawk knew what he was about to do. How was this hawk able to do this? What made him even more furious was that he made Goth and Throbb go after the orphan and her runt of a friend. He and his wife should've been the ones going after them, not those two sad, pathetic bats! But no, that hawk was ruining everything.
The hawk drew blood first, and all Martin wanted to do was kill that bird once and for all. He let it get away, and he did not intend for it to happen again. The male Vampyrum bat began to try and formulate an idea as he and Dianna still tried to kill that hawk, and as he did, he got more furious the more the hawk managed to dodge them cleverly. Who did this hawk think he was?
Suddenly, a devilish idea came to the magic user's mind, and when it did, he waited for the right moment for when the hawk made its move on his wife… and he wanted to be sure that the hawk wouldn't see it coming. But, patience is all it takes.
When Martin went to try and swing a punch at the hawk, the hawk dodged it and was about to attack Dianna once more. However, right as the male Vampyrum bat swung his punch, he formed a ball of ice in his hand, and when he did, he flung it towards the damned bird, and it crashed directly towards the side of his neck. Right, when it did, the hawk screeched in pain, and as it did, Dianna grabbed him, and when she did, she threw him towards the trees, and it wasn't long until the hawk started to crash against tree branches and then disappeared. The spouses began to breathe heavily after a rough battle with the hawk, but they finally took care of him. They were sure that he would no longer bother them. As if they had read each other's thoughts they made their way to where the scent of bats was coming from, but deep down, the red-winged Vampyrum had the feeling where the scent was coming from and if it was indeed true… Hell would undoubtedly break loose.
They had no idea where the brothers-in-law were, but they did not care. All that mattered was getting what they came here to do. If there were to be more blood spilt, they would certainly not mind.
Right before Holden and Marina went back into the other room where all the banded bats were, the purple Silverwing grabbed the necklace with the green pendant on it because A: there was no way they could let Martin or his wife get a hold of it again, and B: they might need proof if it came down to it. It mainly was the Brightwing's idea and the Silverwing full-on agreed with her idea. When they got to the other room, the banded bats were still partying, and as they were, Triss, Sebastian, and Betty were still waiting for them outside of the bedroom. When the three bats saw the purple Silverwing and blonde Brightwing they were about to ask them some questions, but before they could even do that the two were already flying towards the bat that was in charge of the radio. When they finally got to the radio, Holden didn't hesitate to turn it off and when he did all the banded bats stopped dancing and were confused as to why the music turned off.
"Everyone, listen," Holden shouted in the hut. "You're all in danger!"
The banded bats were even more confused, but they started to get nervous at the same time. "What do you mean by that?!" One of the banded bats shouted.
"Giant bats are on their way here!"
Most of the banded bats either gasped or screamed in freight. So here they were only enjoying themselves, but now giant bats were coming? Almost everyone seemed to be scared out of their minds, except for one particular bat, and he was not amused at all.
"It can't be!" Another banded bat said timidly.
"It's true," Marina said. "If you don't get out of here, the giant bats will kill you all!"
"Nonsense," a calm voice said, and emerging from the crowd was none other than the leader of the banded bats. "I'm sure it's just a big misunderstanding; there is nothing to be afraid of." Scirocco then placed his hands together as he smiled up towards Marina. "I believe though, is the perfect time to now officially welcome you to the colony." He then spread his wings out and directed his attention to the colony. "Everyone, it's time to welcome our new sister! With all who join the colony, we begin with the renaming!"
Holden could not believe the nerve of the guy. He was not listening to them! How could he not be taking any of this seriously?! Giant bats were coming their way, but yet he wouldn't listen to them?! That guy was seriously unbelievable!
"Huh?" Marina said in confusion. However, she looked as frustrated as Holden that the long-eared bat wasn't listening to them. "Scirocco, you need to-"
"Brightwing, you will be known as Veronica." The leader said, interrupting the blonde Brightwing.
If Marina's eyes would've, they probably would've shot bullets straight towards the long-eared bat, and Holden could not blame her at all. "I prefer Marina, thank you. You need to listen to us, though! You all need to get out of here before they get here!"
"She's right," Holden shouted towards not only Scirocco but the whole colony as well. "The more you stay here, the more likely you'll die! You have to believe us!"
"Scirocco, we should probably listen to them," Betty spoke to the leader urgently. "Now may not be-"
"Not now, Betty," Scirocco said, brushing off the Brightwing. He then directed his gaze back towards the purple Silverwing and the blonde Brightwing thoughtfully. "Please do not make this more complicated than it has to be." He then looked at Holden and smiled the best smile he could. "It's not too late to take up on my offer, boy. Join us, and I can promise you that you'll get the same treatment as your friend here. If you join us, your new name shall be Mason, and I think that name suits you very well."
All Holden did as the leader talked was narrow his brown eyes at him. Did he honestly think that he would join them just like that? This bat was out of his mind if he felt that what he said would make any difference. Who the hell did he even think he was trying to change his and Marina's name?
"Screw you, long ears," Holden said towards the green bat. "You can keep that name. No one gets to decide whether or not my name gets to be changed. So I'm keeping my name, and Marina's keeping hers."
After what Holden said, the leader looked very annoyed with not only him but also Marina. Before anyone knew it, the green bat snapped his fingers and when he did, four banded bats tackled the two friends two the ground, and as they did, the human turned bat, and the banded Brightwing tried to get the bats off of them any way they could. They shouted at them to let them go, and as they did, they tried to scratch, hit, or bite at them, causing Holden to drop the necklace in the process. However, it came to no use as the four bats managed to hold them down. Finally, they made them get on their knees with two banded bats keeping hold of Holden's winged arms while the other two banded bats did the same with Marina's. As that all happened, the banded bats watched, shocked.
Scirroco tsked at them, and as he did, he shook his head disapproved. "I told you two not to make it more complicated than it has to be. Now look what you made me do."
"Scirroco, it didn't need to come down to this," Betty said with fear.
"Unhand our friends," Triss shouted at the leader.
"They're trying to warn us," Sebastian then shouted.
"Silence," the leader snapped at the three, and after he did, he turned his attention back to the two bats that were now being held down. "Well, it looks we'll have to teach you two how to be loyal to the band!"
The two friends stared up at the leader angrily, and as they did, Holden was the first the speak up. "Piss off, man!"
At that very moment, Scirocco punched Holden across the face. "Holden!" Marina shouted.
Before the leader could do anything else to the purple Silverwing, something glimmered in his eye. When Holden saw what it was that flashed in the leader's yellow eye, his brown eyes widened when he saw the necklace near the long-eared bat. When the green bat looked down, he saw the necklace, and it seemed to spark his interest. "What's this?" The leader asked curiously as he picked up the necklace from the floor. As he started to inspect the necklace, he began to hum to himself, but he seemed to take a liking to it. "Very nice…"
"Hey, that's not yours," Holden shouted at the leader once more.
It didn't take long for the long-eared bat to punch Holden across the face once more, and after he did, the purple Silverwing's lip busted open. A little blood started to trickle down the teenager's mouth, and as it did, Scirocco replied casually. "It is now." With that, the leader placed the necklace around his neck. "Now, this'll certainly show that I'm the leader of this colony."
If only he knew who's necklace it actually belongs to, Holden thought bitterly.
"Look, we're telling you that you need to get out of here," Marina shouted, trying to get through to Scirocco and the rest of the banded bats. "It's no longer safe here!"
The leader was about to backslap the Brightwing, but before he could the purple Silverwing shouted at him. "Hey!" Getting his attention, Scirocco glared daggers at him. "Since you're not listening, maybe you'll listen to me like this!"
Before anyone could figure out what the human turned bat was doing, he closed his eyes and started to hum. As he hummed, the bats that were holding him and Marina down were freaking out when they saw some sort of figure start to form, and it didn't take them long for them to fly away. What was starting to form in front of them was unbelievable.
Marina had no idea what her friend was doing, but when she started to see something form in front of everyone, her eyes widened as many bats either looked frightened or amazed by what they were seeing. It was almost as if it were some kind of magic.
Then, right before everyone's eyes stood a tall-looking figure, and when Marina saw what it was, she gasped, and so did most of the other bats. The leader looked especially surprised by what he was seeing. Standing right in the middle of a hut was a figure that bared no fur, no scales, no tail, no claws, no wings, and not even a snout. It had something on them that bats were not really familiar with, but the more Marina looked, one word immediately popped in her mind: human.
She could hardly believe it. A human was standing before them! However, as Marina stared at the human, she thought there was something familiar about him… the hair, the eyes… It was then that the Brightwing started to put two and two together, and when she looked towards Holden, her eyes widened even more when she saw him echo projecting! He was now standing up as he continued to have his eyes closed, hummed, and had his claws on his temples. The Brightwing looked from Holden to the echo projection a few times, and as she did, she realized that her friend was each projecting himself as a human!
Holden, you mad genius, the Brightwing thought.
"It's a human," someone said.
"Not just any human, he turned into a human," another banded bat said.
"The time has come for the transformation," the echo projection of human Holden announced. "I will lead you now!"
However, as Holden was making his echo projection, Marina noticed that it was beginning to disappear slowly but reappeared normal. The Brightwing prayed to Nocturna that no one was noticing that, but to her fear, it seemed that Scirocco was seeing it. The green bat started to growl in anger. "Don't listen to him!" He then pointed at Holden's echo projection. "That's not real!"
"Obey me banded ones! You must leave at once!"
"We should do as he says," Betty said fearfully.
"No, leave here, and you will die!" The green bat shouted.
"Stay, and you will die!" The echo projection of human Holden shouted.
"I certainly ain't gonna die here tonight," Triss said. "I'm following him!"
"Same," Sebastian said.
One by one, banded bats in the hut started to agree that they should follow the echo projection of human Holden and not Scirocco, and as they did, the male green bat started to get more frustrated. "That boy's playing a trick! Look, I can do it too!"
However, before he could do anything, Marina quickly took the chance to help Holden out. "Everyone, fly!"
With that, most of the banded bats in the hut started to make a mad dash towards the fireplace, and as they did, Scirocco shouted no, but a lot didn't listen to him as each bat started to fly up and out through the fireplace that no longer bared fire and as they were, they were screaming. What Holden did seemed to have worked!
At that moment, the purple Silverwing stopped what he was doing, and when he did, he saw most of the banded bats making their way out of the hut through the fireplace. He couldn't believe it. His echo projection worked! He watched as banded bats flew as fast as they could towards the fireplace, and as they did, some of them even pushed each other out of the way so they could get out of before anyone else could. However, Holden took this as his opportunity to try and get out of here with Marina and meet up with Kass and Shade.
However, before he did, he saw one of the bats crash to the floor, and when she did, he saw Marina go to help her. After the Brightwing helped her up, Holden saw Scirocco angrily approaching her, and when he did, he gasped. Then, with determination in his eyes, Holden quickly flapped his wings towards the long-eared bat, and as soon as he got close to him, he tackled him to the ground.
"Argh!" Scirocco then angrily looked up at Holden. "Get off me!"
"Holden," Marina shouted towards him, and when she did, the purple Silverwing looked at her to see her eyes widened.
"Don't worry about me," Holden shouted back. "Go find Kass and Shade!"
"But-"
"Go!"
Without another word, Marina quickly made her way out the chimney, and right as she did, the banded Greenwing flipped onto his back with Holden still on him, and when he did, that made the purple Silverwing lose his grip. Right as the long-eared bat got up, he tried to scratch Holden to the face, but the human turned bat managed to roll out of the way, and as soon as he did, he quickly got up. Scirocco then went to punch him across the face, but in a quick move, Holden ducked and then swung a hard hook punch right at the crook's face.
Holden saw that the son of a bitch still had the necklace on him, and when he did, he was ready to try and get it back… The fight was on.
Their plan seemed to have worked, but where was Lightning? Before either of them could even ask where their companion was, they saw bats start to ascend from the chimney. It seemed that Holden and Marina managed to convince the banded bats to desert the hut, but they had no time to say excellent job to them as they needed to help these bats.
The two friends then noticed Marina, Betty, Triss, and Sebastian among the group, and when they did, they quickly flew over to them. However, the two noticed that someone was missing, and it didn't take them long to guess who it was. "Guys, where's Holden?" Shade asked, worriedly.
"He's still in the hut," Marina said.
At that, Kassidy's eyes widened. He was still in there? This could not be happening! What was he doing in there?
"Uh… guys," Sebastian said, and as he did, his eyes widened towards something, and as they did, they all looked to where he was looking, and when they did, they gasped.
They saw something coming towards them, and they were getting closer and closer. There was no way they would have any time to try and get to hiding in the woods. They would need a Plan B. Fortunately for Kass and Shade, while they were distracting the giant bats, they saw an opening under the hut's roof. It wasn't very spacious, but it would have to do if they wanted to be safe from the giant bats.
"Everyone, there's an opening under the roof," Kassidy shouted towards the bats. "Hide in there! Go! Go!"
Without hesitation, the banded bats went for the roof's opening, and as they did, her friends followed them. Before Kassidy followed them, however, she looked towards the sky and as she did, her brow furrowed as her hand slowly turned into a fist. The fire started to slowly ignite in her eyes. The fury she felt was slowly overtaking her other emotions, and as it all did, something inside her wanted to awaken… something very dark. However, not wanting to worry her friends any further, she went to find everyone else under the roof, and when she found them, she swooped in and joined them. So many bats were shaken with freight and quietly even whimpered. It was clear to tell that they didn't want to die. No one said a word, though, and all everyone could do was hold their breaths. Out of all of them, though, one showed no signs of fear… Kassidy.
Then, they heard a thunk on the rooftop and when they did, the bats started to get more frightened. With every creak made, it looked like one of the bats wanted to scream or even cry. A few bats already had tears dripping down their faces, but Kassidy didn't pay attention to any of that as she angrily looked up. Her teeth were bared to the point that she even wanted to growl, but she tried to remain quiet as much as possible. However, the only thing that could come to mind was revenge.
Before anyone knew it, another thunk came, and right as it did, the bats started to hear someone talking above them, and Kassidy immediately recognized who the voices belonged to. "You lost them, didn't you?" Martin said, unimpressed.
"Maybe not," the smooth Spanish accent of Goth's said. "Maybe they're here."
"Whatever, while you two were gone, we found a way in. Follow us."
Shade and Marina's eyes widened, and when they did, they turned their gaze to Kassidy, and the gothic Silverwing knew what they were thinking: Holden was in danger.
Slowly, Kassidy climbed to the roof, and as she did, she made sure not to make any sudden movements as she was crouched. She did everything she could not make the wood creak, for she wasn't sure if the giant bats were still there. The gothic Silverwing tried to steady her heartbeats, and as she did, she held her breath as she slowly came near the rooftop. When she neared the rooftop, she had enough courage to peek her head over it. At first, she expected them to be there still so they could trick them, but to her surprise, they were not there. All they left behind were their footprints.
Quickly, Kassidy descended back to the roof's opening, and when she did, she looked at everyone. A lot seemed to have jumped when they thought it was someone else, but everyone looked relieved when they saw it was just her. "Get to safety in the forest. Shade and Marina will make sure you all get there safely far from the giant bats." She then looked at her Silverwing and Brightwing friends. "I'm going to go get Holden. Get as far as you can away from the hut."
"But, Kass," Marina said. "We can't let you do this alone!"
"I'll be fine. You and Shade need to get everyone to safety. We don't have time to waste. Go, hurry!" With that, she then flew off the roof and when she did her thoughts were mainly driven towards not only saving Holden but getting her revenge on the two bats she now hated more than anything. Fire started to slowly ignite in her eyes; the fury she felt was slowly overtaking her other emotions, and as it all did, something inside her wanted to awaken… something very dark. Martin… Dianna, Kassidy thought. I'm coming for you.
"You ruined everything!" Scirocco shouted towards Holden as he tried to backhand him.
Once more, Holden managed to duck in time, and when he did, he uppercut the green bat, and when he did, Scirocco crashed to the ground. "That's for giving my friends and me a hard time!" The purple Silverwing shouted. "And this is for that made-up prophecy you pulled out of your ass!" He then kicked him in the stomach, and when he did, all the air was knocked out of the long-eared bat as he then started to hold his stomach.
As Scirocco was trying to breathe, Holden took the necklace off of the green bat's neck, and when the green bat saw what he did, he looked at him furiously once more. "Give that back!"
With that, the green bat tackled Holden to the floor and as he did he tried to take the necklace away, but the purple Silverwing did everything in his power to try and hang on to it. They wrestled for the necklace and as they were they landed a few good punches at each other. Holden had to admit that he kind of was expecting that Greenwing to give up, but to his surprise, he hadn't yet. At first, he looked to be some kind of Saint, but in reality he was just a mad bat wanting power so he could brainwash any fellow bats that had a silver band on them.
"Give it to me!" They then shouted at each other at the same time.
However, before they could even wrestle for the necklace any further, they noticed something… something Holden feared would happen. Flying to different parts of the hut were the giant bats! The purple bat gasped, and as he did, Scirocco looked petrified when he saw the four figures. The banded bats that didn't leave the hut were still either loyal to their leader, or lost their chance at escaping as Dianna was now guarding the fireplace. Goth was on the right side of the hut, Throbb was on the left side of it, while Martin took his place on a chair standing merely by itself.
While Martin stood on the chair, it almost looked like he could've been a King, an evil one for the matter. His mismatched eyes scanned the room unimpressed, and as they did, everyone stared at him and the other giant bats scared. There was no telling what was going to happen next, and every second that ticked by had their blood running colder by the second. They were unlike any bats they had ever seen before, especially Martin with the snake drawings aka tattoos and Dianna with her very long claws.
After a moment of silence, Martin slowly smirked, and as he did, it looked unnatural as he crossed his strong-looking arms. "Hello, little bats," he spoke sarcastically with an edge of danger in it. "What a nice opportunity to see more of you around." He then slowly furrowed his brow, and as he did, he spoke seriously. "Who's the leader here?"
Almost instantly, every bat in the hut pointed to Scirocco and rated him out. When Martin looked at Scirocco, the Greenwing's color looked like it drained from his face. As Holden watched the Vampyrum bat that was actually human, he prayed to God that none of the giant bats noticed him. But, then, before anyone knew it, the red-winged bat flicked his wrist, and a cloud formed around him, and it wasn't long until he materialized right in front of the long-eared bat, and when he did, the Greenwing yelped as he jumped.
"Tell me, how long have you and this colony of yours been living here for?" Scirocco started to stumble with his words, and as he did, Martin looked really annoyed. He leaned his head closer to the green bat, and as he did, he cocked an eyebrow of his. "Well?"
After stumbling with a few more words, the Greenwing was finally able to speak, only very nervously. "For a while now…." He then clasped his hands and dropped to his knees. "Please, sir, don't kill me! I'll do anything, anything!" He then pointed at Holden. "I can even give you him if you want! He's extraordinary!"
When Sirocco rated him out, Holden looked at him furiously. You coward! Holden wanted to shout. However, when he saw Martin looking at him, his eyes widened, and he cussed in his head.
Scirocco then tried to smile. He failed to give a confident one, and only managed to muster a nervous one. As he tried to speak, Martin looked at him, annoyed, and he rolled his eyes. "So, about me living? Will, he be enough to-"
Suddenly, Martin slashed the air, and when he did the most horrific thing happened that made practically almost all the banded bats scream in terror. Scirocco's head was cut off, and it was sent rolling to the ground near Holden, and the purple Silverwing gasped as he stared at the lifeless eyes of the now perished Greenwing. Blood sputtered out of where the Greenwing's head used to be, and as it did some of it splattered at Martin and Holden's faces. The headless body was then sent crashing to the ground, and as it did, the banded bats were more frightened than ever. Their lives were now permanently on the line.
The snake-like bat then looked back at the banded bats, and as he did, he then smiled the most devilish smile Holden had ever seen on his face. "Don't worry, little ones, we're with the band."
To prove his point, he then showed his bronze band, glinting in the light and when he did, the banded bats screamed and tried to escape. As if it was their calling, Goth and Throbb then went to attack the banded bats, and one by one, they started to kill males and females and as they did, Holden watched horrified as bodies plummeted to the ground, blood poured down to surfaces like rain, and body parts were torn off. The two giant bats were going on a mad killing spree, killing any of the bats they could get their hands on.
Before Holden could even do anything, he felt the airway close on him, and when he did, he felt a hand tighten on his throat, and he tried to pull the hand away from him, but it was very firm to even loose. He saw Martin staring at him very dangerously, and as he did, he tried to breathe as much as possible, so he didn't lose any air. As the snake-like bat had his face near his, Dianna was already near them. Then, the killer snatched the necklace in Holden's hands still, and when he did, the purple Silverwing cursed.
"So, where's your little friends, Chatty Bat?" Martin asked in a dangerous tone as he placed his necklace around his neck.
As Holden stared at the bat that was actually human before him, he started to get angry and even bared his teeth. "Somewhere where you'll never find them," he bravely said.
"Hmm… it seems then we'll have to get the answer out of you in a different way then."
At that moment, everything seemed to have slowed down as Martin was about to do something to the purple bat, however, before anything could occur… CRASH! The door to the hut came crashing to the ground, and when it did, that made everyone freeze. All eyes were directed towards where the door used to be at the hut entrance and when they did, standing at the entrance with a furious gaze in her eyes was none other than Kassidy. Her gaze was directed directly at Martin, and as it was, Holden's eyes widened. The purple Silverwing had seen his friend angry many times, but the anger he was seeing in Kass's eyes was unlike any anger he had ever seen before…
Right after she busted down the door, her attention was immediately directed at Martin, the most evilest being she had ever met in her life. As she stared at him, a fire aura burned with fury around her as she quietly snarled at the monster before her. He practically ruined her life, and now all the witch wanted to do was have her revenge. That was all she wanted at that very moment.
"You son of a bitch," she ferociously said as she started to walk towards the evil being that had Holden in his grasp. "I know everything now! You're the reason my parents are dead, and you kidnapped my family!"
As she continued to walk towards Martin with fury, the red-winged bat looked surprised, but his brow furrowed after a moment of silence. "So, you figured it out then, huh? Fine, I ain't going to deny it: I did all that with Dianna, and I certainly don't feel bad about it."
When Kassidy got close enough to the living being that had her family blood, she gripped his mane tightly in a threatening manner. "Where are they?! Where's my family?!"
At that very moment, Martin snarled, and as he did, he let go of the purple Silverwing, and when he did, he back slapped the gothic Silverwing, causing her to hit the ground. Holden started to wheeze as he was on the floor, and as he did, Kassidy looked back up at the Vampyrum angrily as he was now looking down at her, not amused. "Surely you're smart enough to realize that I won't be revealing that information to you, nor will I ever."
Slowly Kassidy got up, and as she did, her hands curled into fists, the tightest they had ever been. "Then I guess I'll make you tell me."
She then yelled in anger, and when she did she went to punch Martin but as she went to, the Vampyrum disappeared right at the spot. Before she knew it he materialized right behind and then used a powerful blast of his towards her and when he did it collided right into her, and she smashed to the wall. The banded bats that were still alive screamed in terror, and when they did, they made their move to try and escape once more, but as bad luck would have it, Goth and Throbb saw them trying to escape, and they went to try and kill them as well, even after they were shocked and confused by the conversation that transpired by the gothic Silverwing and their Vampyrum partner. Kassidy groaned in pain as the back of her body started to ache, but she didn't let that stop her from having her revenge. She snarled once more as she formed fire in her hands, and when she did, she charged at the Vampyrum with magic by flight. She tried to punch him, but he dodged by disappearing and then appearing at a different spot every time she tried to do that. Then, when he reappeared at an other spot he punched the ground really hard, and when he did, that caused the floorboards beneath the witch to lift. When they did, the gothic Silverwing skyrocketed in the air, and when she did, the red-winged Vampyrum flew up after her. When he got near enough to her, he grabbed her by the feet with his own and then started to spin her around a few times like a merry go round and after he did he released his grip from her and she was sent flying towards the wall once more. When the female Silverwing impacted the wall once more, she toppled to the ground in pain. She started to cough out blood, but before she could even try to get up, she felt herself being pinned to the floor, and before she knew it, a firm grip got a hold of her face and forced it to look up.
"Go on," Martin said icily. "Watch them die, orphan."
Kassidy's eyes widened as she watched as Goth and Throbb slaughtered many of the banded bats that were still living, and they never once sought to spare one. She tried to get Martin off of her, but he had her in a good position where she couldn't even move. The Silverwing then saw Dianna approaching them, but before she could advance any further, Holden suddenly pounced at her and even bit at her ear, and when he did, the female Vampyrum yelled in pain. She tried to pierce the purple Silverwing with her long claws, but at the right moment, Holden dodged her and then flew off, and when he did, the Vampyum growled furiously as her ear was now bleeding, and she didn't hesitate to take off and chase after him. The blue Silverwing's eyes widened as Martin's wife was now chasing her friend.
Before she could watch any further, Martin brought his face to hers. "How does it feel? Seeing more deaths occur? And all because you couldn't save them in time, and soon the same will come in no time for your friends and family. Do you know why? Because you're nothing but a weak witch wishing to be a hero, you'll only fail once more like you failed your sad excuse of parents."
At that very moment, Kassidy slowly started to breathe heavily in anger… the angriest she had ever been in her life. She then started to snarl once more, and as she did, something inside was now beginning to awaken, and as it did it started to overtake her body, and it felt compelling, much more potent than anything she had ever felt before. The fire that was once seen in her ocean blue eyes was all the sudden replaced with bloody-red eyes. No pupils could be seen in her eyes at all, and it was almost like she got possessed. Hearing that snake talk like that about her friends, family, and even her dead parents fueled her hatred so much that she simply couldn't control herself. The anger practically took over her.
The witch then yelled the loudest anger that everyone in the hut heard, and as she did, the fire aura increased so much on her. In a fast movement, she suddenly bit at Martin's nose, and when she did that, she took him off his guard, and he yelled in pain. As Kassidy kept biting at his nose, the male Vamyrum picked her up, and when he did, he threw her to the ground. However, the witch was able to land on all fours, and when she did, she did a backward flip and then landed on her feet. When the Silverwing witch got into her fight position she swiftly charged at Martin without a second thought with fire ready at the hands. When she did she managed to pummel the male Vampyrum at the face before he could even disappear and when she did her enemy yelled in pain as his face now started to burn.
When it looked like Martin easily got defeated by Kassidy he snarled at her and brought his hands up and when he did knives from a counter knife block unsheathed themselves from their compartments and when they did they sped fast towards the Vampyrum and when they did they stopped near him and started to float. Then, the Vampyrum commanded the knives to drive themselves into the witch, and when he did, the knives charged towards her. The gothic witch flew in the air, and as she did, she moved her arms, legs, and head to dodge the silverware and she was quickly able to do that, and after she avoided them the blades pierced into the walls, and they got stuck. The witch landed smoothly onto the ground, and when she did, she summoned the brightest light she could, and when she did, she aimed it at the male Vampyrum and when she did, he shielded his eyes as he hissed in pain. After Kassidy did that, she flew at Martin and then punched him to the face, and when she did, he crashed to the ground and groaned.
Kassidy breathed angrily, and as she did, she approached Martin, but as she was she saw Dianna charging angrily towards her, but the witch did not worry about her. Without looking, she used her wind spell to throw the female Vampyrum off course, and when she did, the giant bat crashed to the wall. The gothic Silverwing then summoned her ice spell on Dianna, and when she did, ice formed on the black-haired Vampyrum's arms and legs, causing her to freeze in place, but the witch was not done just yet. She created more ice near Dianna, only it was now sharp, and they protruded from the ground towards her like punji sticks, and pointed really near her. Any sudden movements, then the female Vampyrum would get impaled by the ice, and it was easy to tell she was shocked and tried not to move.
It didn't take long for Kassidy to get to Martin, and when she did, she forcefully made Martin lie supine, and after she did, she pinned him down, and she made him look directly into her eyes that were now bloody red. Martin looked shocked when he saw Kassidy's eyes, but before he could even do anything, the witch punched him to the face. The witch punched and kicked at the monster before her with so much anger and fury and as she did she cursed at him as so many horrible memories came through her head that involved everything that had happened to her. She was punching and kicking so fast and hard, and as she was the male, Vampyrum was starting to get injured very badly and didn't even have the time to use any of his spells. The witch couldn't stop herself at all as blood splattered everywhere, but all she wanted to do was keep doing what she was doing.
"Where are they?!" She shouted at Martin. "WHERE! ARE! THEY?!" The male Vampyrum looked like he wanted to speak, but before he could even utter a word, the witch kicked him to the face and continued with what she was doing.
"Kass, stop!" Before Kassidy could pummel or kick Martin any further, she stopped when she heard someone calling her name. She looked over her shoulder, and when she did, she saw Holden staring at her, shocked, but even as he did, he came over to her. "Kass, you have to stop this!"
"Why?!" Kassidy asked furiously. "He's the reason my parents are dead! He kidnapped my family! HE AND DIANNA DESERVE NOTHING MORE THAN TO BE IN HELL!"
"Kass, I know that what they did hurts! But killing them is not the answer!" Kassidy didn't want to hear another word from Holden, and right as she was about to do what she was doing, her friend spoke once more. "Do you think this is what your family would've wanted?! What your parents would've wanted?!" At that, the witch stopped and as she did, her eyes widened as her back was still turned to the purple bat. "Kass, don't turn into what Martin turned into… Please overrule your anger, and if you can't do it for yourself, do it for your family. We have to go…." Before the female Silverwing knew it, she felt hands gently touch her shoulders, and when they did, she found herself turned towards the taller Silverwing and her eyes made contact with the purple Silverwing's brown eyes. "Kass… please do the right thing."
Everything went silent from there as Kassidy stared at Holden, and as she did, her eyes slowly closed. The influential power she felt before suddenly locked itself inside her, and as it did, she no longer felt it... She just felt like herself again.
Then, Kassidy opened her eyes, and when she did, they were back to her ocean blue color and the pupils were seen again. She saw how much blood she was covered in and as she did, she mostly saw how her hands looked. They looked very raw now from how much she punched Martin, and as she looked at them, she started to breathe heavily as her eyes widened. She looked over at Martin, and as she did, he was coughing up blood. She couldn't believe what she had done… She knew that violence was never the answer her whole life, but she let her anger get the best of her and all because she found out the truth. The witch's legs gave out, and when they did, she fell to her knees, and as she did, she started to shake, and it didn't take long for Holden to join her on his knees as well… She almost killed someone, and she had never done that before. The gothic witch couldn't even stand to look at herself anymore, and she was sure that no one else would want to either… not even her friends and family.
The teenaged Silverwing felt tears trying to escape her eyes. Still, she did everything she could to hold them back, and as she did, she felt Holden's brawny arms wrap around her in a warm embrace, and as they did, Kassidy couldn't help but bury her face in his mane as she continued to breathe heavily. She felt like she didn't deserve his hug, though… how could he still accept her? Surely he hated her for what she did. He probably would've hated her even more if she ended up killing Martin. She almost became a murderer like her half-uncle, and all she wanted to do was escape this world and never come back. All she wanted to do was protect her friends and family… but at what cost? Almost killing her enemy that had her blood?
Perhaps she really was a demon like most have said about her…
A/N: Well, here it is, the next chapter! Let me tell ya, I was really looking forward to working on this chapter and I am so glad that I could finally get it done! I hope to work on the next chapters soon enough, until then, see ya!