A/N- For those wondering where I've been recently, you can blame this chapter. This is by far the longest chapter I've ever written in my life, and I am amazed I even wrote this much. Somehow though, I managed to write through this chapter in almost two months 0_0
Lol, anyway I hope you all enjoy this long chapter as much as I did writing it, and I am super excited to update this fanfic again, but depending on my schedule, we will have to wait and see when I update, as we all know that I tend to update randomly. Here is a review I'll be replying to, and I will see you all soon in the next chapter :D
William RP: I'm glad that you're still enjoying it! I see you caught onto the Easter eggs like Avatar; well spotted, my friend! And thank you for your kind words once more! Keep on being awesome!
Chapter 56
No Mercy
Kassidy's heart leaped to her throat. Never in her entire life had she ever imagined that such a thing could even be possible as she and the others stared agape at the new type of monstrosity Martin had become. It was like black magic—only whatever contents had been in that chemical liquid shifted him into something unnatural. Different types of magic are one thing, but that combined with science? It almost felt impossible, illegal even, like a replication of a god-like ability.
That was when she recalled a particular piece of information Martin let loose from his lips about his wife from the mines. With Dianna's history as a chemist, she must've been the creator of that black chemical liquid with the help of her husband, therefore reaching new heights of science and magic for their own gain. Kassidy wouldn't have been surprised if that concoction—which must've taken years to perfect—was what got Dianna fired in the first place. But, of course, this left her with two questions: What the hell was that? And what did it exactly do? Well, Kassidy sort of had one of the questions answered in front of her, but the rest was yet to be specified.
Martin's fully dilated eyes, stretching over what no longer remained of his heterochromia colors, scanned the group, the thirst for killing lingering on his face. The black fluid slithering around his body, which one could assume to be a type of magic, was now, at its master's command, ready to serve. And the group was now its prey.
With a flick of his wrist, Martin sent one of the black limbs shooting toward Kassidy and all who were near her, and they all yelped as they jumped or flew out of its reach. It rammed into the tree the gothic Silverwing had slammed against moments ago, and soon there was groaning and a crash. The tree was lying on the ground, uprooted from its spot, and had taken with it a chunk of the earth, leaving a gap in the forest floor. Martin had indeed brought out the big guns.
"Holy shit!" Holden swore.
"What in spell's name?!" Sylvester exclaimed, perplexed.
More of Martin's tentacle-like magic was ready to charge, and as they were, Raymond yelled, "SCATTER!"
No one needed to be told twice, and they separated, managing to avoid blows from Martin's strange-like magic. It had been a close call for most of them as they navigated in their flight or dodged on the ground. However, they barely had the chance to catch their breath or regroup.
Kassidy dove rolled on the ground and then took to the sky, and right as she did, one of the black limbs missed her by a hair. A curse word slipped from her lips, and another came at her. She maneuvered down in her flight in time but had to go in reverse when it went for another strike, making her have to land. When it tried to do it again, Kassidy acted fast and conjured a small, thick wall made of ice that slanted toward her. She had her eyes shut, and upon reopening them, she saw that her ice magic had saved her in time as it had frozen around the black appendage. If she had used that spell at the last second, her forehead and brain would've likely been impaled, leaving her dead.
A fireball was summoned in Kassidy's hand by her will, and she chucked it at the tentacle, burning it to a stump before retaking wing. As quickly as the fire had eaten at it, though, a new limb had been molded in its place and smashed the ice wall used as a shield to pieces. Shards of ice tore through the air, and Kassidy had to steer herself around quickly before any of them drove into her flesh. A few of them managed to incise her, making her hiss, but nothing major as she went for cover behind a boulder frosted in snow and ice.
She took a moment to breathe in and out slowly, even if the boulder couldn't conceal her for long. Blood began to ooze out from the incisions she received, the smell of iron gone unnoticed by her. Kassidy ignored the stinging that started to travel around her cuts and tried to pinpoint where everyone was as she poked her head out from behind the boulder. Raymond, Sylvester, and Stella were using their magic to combat Martin—who sometimes unleashed other spells—and those black appendages. She couldn't spot the others, though. Perhaps they were hiding? Either way, her mind at that moment was driven toward stopping Martin, and once she had gathered herself, she lifted herself into the sky and dashed toward the battle in front of her.
The sky lit up, followed by the crash of thunder, and a few black limbs launched at her. Kassidy weaved around one of them, and her ice spell began forming in her hand as she commanded it to freeze two tentacles in place, her aim never once off. She did a backward flip, her foot connecting with one of the frozen attackers while her fist did the same thing with the other, shattering them into pieces like glass, but it didn't take them long to regrow.
Kass, watch out! Kassidy heard a voice call out through her head, and before she could react, someone knocked into her, saving her in time from one of the black appendages. The gothic Silverwing rebounded herself by angling her wings, riding in the cold wind, and turning her gaze to her savior, Lightning.
"Lightning?!" She blurted, surprised to see that he was here as well.
Without answering, Lightning made a hoarse screech and bolted at Martin, and Kassidy tagged along, not questioning what he was doing here as the answer was obvious: he was here to help. The two managed to swerve away from the black limbs, and with the help of the human-turned-Silverwing's ice spell, they could break through them.
"Hey, Asshole! Over here!" Kassidy shot her head up when she heard Holden's voice, and she found him about to echo project something—a diversion.
Before Martin looked up, a trio of owls morphed in the air, their talons drawn out, readying to strike. The human-turned-Vampyrum could only break into laughter as he directed one of the limbs at the echo projections and Holden. Kassidy gasped, her heart threatening to beat right out of her chest. "Holden, look out!" She tried warning him.
The tentacle sliced through the echo projections and struck Holden, propelling him at a tree, and he yelled. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to regain himself as his back soon collided with the tree, stunning him.
"Holden!" Before Kassidy could even think about trying to reach him, a few black appendages blocked her path and went at her. Snarling, she continued to fight more of these challengers.
"Welp… I did not think this one through," Holden dryly admitted to himself before plunging toward the surface.
He made impacts with some branches, and each time he did, he swore, not having enough time to latch onto one or protect himself. Eventually, he body-slammed through a pile of deep snow, a body print hole made that almost could've been passed as a snow angel. Holden groaned, and as he did, he slowly climbed out of the hole.
"Holden, you okay?!" Holden heard a voice ask—Marina's.
He then felt a hand around his and helped pull him out. He saw that it was Marina, and there beside her was Helen. "Yeah, never better," he said in a sarky manner before dusting himself off. "Where's Shade, Orestes, Goth, and Throbb?"
"We don't know; we lost them when we got separated. But hopefully–"
Holden suddenly grunted when his hand came in contact with his stomach. He felt a wet sensation and immediately noticed a nasty cut upon bringing his gaze down. A curse word slid off his tongue.
"Great phoenix," Helen commented when she and Marina saw the wound Holden obtained. "If those… things can do that and what one of them did to that tree… I can only imagine what else they're capable of."
Holden began adding pressure to his injury to try and stop the bleeding, and while he did, bits of stars started to dot his vision. The Princess did have a point, but as he brought his head up to her, she seemed uneasy about something… almost as if–
A figure suddenly emerged before the trio, breaking out of his shadow-like ability that helped him to transport: Sylvester. His green eyes were pinned on the purple Silverwing. "Nice going, Holden," he said, and Holden couldn't tell if he was praising him or if that was meant to be out of sarcasm.
"Umm, thanks?" Holden questioned. "That was meant to be a distraction."
"Yeah, no kidding." That time he heard the latter in the feline's voice. "Now, quickly move your hand out of the way so I can heal that." Without objecting, Holden did just that, and Sylvester narrowed his eyes in concentration, and it wasn't long until the gash closed up, the blood vanished, and the fur around where it had been had regrown. The stars in the human-turned-Silverwing's field of vision were no more, and before he could even thank him, the black cat then commanded, "Come on, move it!"
No one needed to ask why that was as one of the black limbs was coming their way. Holden, Marina, and Helen yelped, and they quickly took off as Sylvester transported to a different place in a shadow-like state. It missed them and ended up bringing down yet another tree.
Goth heard a tree collapsing to the earth while he and Throbb were taking cover behind a damp, icy, snowy log—which probably would barely do them any good. The sheet of snow bit through parts of his body, sapping the heat from him, but he hardly took notice of it as he was processing what had just happened while at the same time trying to keep his wits about. He was dead wrong if he thought Martin couldn't have been powerful enough. This was a whole new level of magic.
"Goth, what do we do?" Throbb asked.
He tried to think. Goth had never fought anything like this before, and he had no idea the best way to approach this. There had to have been some kind of weakness, though. But what exactly? He pressed his hands to his temples with his eyes closed and growled, having difficulty developing a plan. The usage of magic sounding through the sky didn't help him much to focus… but that was when he thought of something.
Carefully, Goth lifted his head over the log and observed the scene before him, and Throbb soon did too. Martin was having fun battling his opponents, but the Prince noticed that Dianna was standing by, watching the whole thing, displaying a wicked smirk. He finally knew his answer as he replied, "What we should've done in the first place."
Shade hid behind the human structure with Orestes, drinking as much air as possible. They lost some of the others, but they could see their friend Kassidy, Lightning, and the trio from The Spell Organization clashing with Martin and his black appendages with their magic/skills. They were connecting in a quick but deadly dance to see who would be the first to make the wrong move, and Shade wanted to help, even as his heart was racing. What could he possibly do, though? If he tried to echo project something, it was likely that Martin wouldn't fall for it, and he should know since he saw what happened to Holden a moment ago.
"You have any ideas, Shade?" Orestes hesitantly questioned.
He tried to come up with something else, but all his mind drifted towards was echo projecting. Perhaps this was the only way to go; he just had to get more creative. Something he hadn't echo projected yet.
His eyes suddenly lit up with an idea when he recalled trying to echo project a giant bat for his first try during Zephyr's lessons. The statues from the cathedral, he reflected. That's it! What did Kass say they were called again? Gargoyles, that's it!
While his plan may not work, he had to try something at least, and he was reasonably sure that he could echo project a gargoyle. After all, he had come a long way and was now good at it.
Shade flicked his gaze to Orestes and responded, "I do now."
Without waiting for an answer, Shade began his echo projecting process, picturing the first gargoyle that came to mind from the cathedral. He prayed to Nocturna that his echo projection would at least be helpful in some way.
It seemed like a cycle Kassidy was now trying to break out of: freezing the black limbs in place and then fracturing them, only for them to regenerate again and again. They were coming from every direction, and she had to act quickly as she and Lightning were working together to try and ambush Martin from a single angle. The trio from The Spell Organization was having that same problem, too, with the black tentacles, and no matter how close they were even to bringing down the human-turned-Vampyrum, he was always one step ahead of them. This was proving to be more challenging than it already was.
After another one of her kick-ass moves destroyed yet another iced black appendage, she and Lightning were now at a close range where she could let off a spell of hers at Martin. Fire erupted in Kassidy's hands, and she hurled a fireball straight at her target, only to be blocked by a barrier spell. Martin whipped his head over his shoulder at her with that malicious grin and directed his hand at her. A few black appendages sprang toward her, and Kassidy immediately switched to her ice spell and sent a wave of ice at them. They froze upon impact, and she did a wheel kick at them, turning them into fragments. No sooner had she done that, a black limb came out of nowhere and held a firm grip on her by binding her and then projected her at Stella. The two smacked against each other, smashed against the snowy surface, and slid across it on their sides at a small distance.
The two girls groaned, and a hoarse screech filled the sky as they did. They looked up to see that Lightning almost managed to drive his talons into Martin's back, but a black tentacle grabbed him, and when the human-turned-Vampyrum gazed at him, it looked like his eyes widened, but it was almost hard to tell. "YOU AGAIN?!" his voice rang out. He then threw the red-tailed hawk toward Dianna. "Dianna, take care of the trash!"
His wife nodded and then leaped into the air, and right as she did, Lightning caught the next gust of wind, steadying his flight, and then he and Dianna's clawed feet/talons locked with one another's, and they spun in the sky. The red-tailed hawk headbutted his opponent, and she went to counter by slashing her long claws at his front but did not have enough time as her challenger was the first to release the hold they were in like they were on a merry-go-round, and she spun out of control. Dianna was about to hit a tree, but she planted herself on it right on time and snarled. She pounced at Lightning, and the two continued to engage in their fight.
A large-looking shadow suddenly passed over Martin, making him jerk his gaze up, and there in the sky was a large-winged creature with a stone-like and monstrous appearance. It looked like a hellhound with razor-sharp teeth that could easily crush bones, claws that could cut through enemies like a knife through butter, and eyes that could paralyze anyone with fear. When Kassidy saw it, she immediately recognized it as one of the gargoyles from the cathedral, which could only mean one thing: it was an echo projection.
Raymond and Sylvester went to take action, and while flying, Raymond stretched his wing out, and a wind funnel became visible. He flung it toward Martin, the source twisting toward him violently. Shockingly, Martin seemed to have known that it was coming because he used some kind of spell that one could not see to make it disappear—likely some sort of temperature spell—and no sooner had he done that a power blast leaked to his hand and he slung it toward the great grey owl and black cat. Sylvester protected them with a barrier spell, and when those two spells touched, a booming wave was created, resulting in the duo from The Spell Organization being blown back. They collided with Kassidy and Stella as they were about to take off to help them, meeting with the snow-covered ground.
Martin roared with laughter. "Come on, is that really all you got?" he taunted. "Where's the challenge?" A black limb stabbed at the echo projection of the gargoyle, making it vanish in thin air. "Like I said: your little trick won't work on me anymore." His head then ominously rotated toward the windmill with a knowing, devilish grin. "Time to come out now." In a blink of an eye, a few black appendages were discharged toward the windmill to do their worst.
Shade gasped when he saw Martin gazing in his direction, and the next thing he knew, a few black tentacles were careering toward where he and Orestes were hiding. He heard Kassidy shout out to look out, ripping him out of his surprised state, the adrenaline kicking in. His gaze snapped to Orestes, and he then yelled as the sounds of the human structure were coming apart by the black limbs, "GO, FLY!"
The two took off in a mad dash, and right as they did, the windmill tumbled toward them, and stones were pelted at them. They yelped and quickly tried to escape from being crushed like an eggshell. The ground shook as the human structure parts came raining down toward it, and Shade dared not to look back, for if he did, he would likely fall from the sky, stricken with fear.
They rolled over to the sides to avoid the stones and flew in different directions as the windmill crashed against the ground and snow and dirt scattered in the air. More stones shot in Shade and Orestes's paths, and they quickly flew as fast as their wings could carry them. A stone was about to barrel into the great horned owl, but suddenly, someone pushed him off to the side, taking the blow for him. The figure came in contact with the ground hard, and when Shade and Orestes made out who it was, their eyes widened when they saw a hurt, Helen.
Orestes gasped and then called out, "HELEN!"
He swept toward her, Shade following suit, and right as they touched land, Marina and Holden came out of nowhere and joined them, their faces mirroring the blonde Silverwing and great horned owl's. "Is she alright?!" Marina questioned.
"I-I don't know!" Orestes took Helen in his wings. "Helen, you okay?! Say something! Anything!"
The wind had been knocked out of the Princess, but she managed to suck in some air and began coughing. "Yes, I think I am," she managed to say. "Just some throbbing, is all."
Orestes breathed in relief and pulled her close to his chest, squeezing her tight like he didn't want to let go of her. "Thank the stars—I thought I almost lost you."
Helen seemed a little flabbergasted by his hug and words, but at the same time, she didn't look like she minded as a little bit of comfort took place in her eyes. Then, with no other words to exchange, she returned the hug.
Kassidy hadn't realized she had held her breath until she saw that the others were okay, and she released it slowly through her mouth, and it swirled into cold air. Although they were pretty far out, relief swam in her ocean-blue eyes that no one seemed seriously injured—at least not yet. She found her eyes lingering on Holden, and as if he felt them on him, he switched his gaze to her, making her insides gush with warmth. It was hard to decipher his facial expression from where she was. Still, the feeling of guilt suddenly began to come into play as Kassidy stared at him, especially after the reaction she received from Marina some time ago.
She knew she had to apologize to not only Holden but the others as well… But with the situation they were now in, it was obvious that she might not have time to do that, especially as Martin was showing no mercy to them at all. But perhaps it wasn't too late to do that.
"I think it's time we made things more interesting," Martin eerily said. He then flicked his wrist, and a large amount of black magic spiraled on the ground, and within moments a cage materialized along with two neck-chained figures. Martin held the two chains attached to the forms and gazed at Kassidy with that cruel grin of his remaining in place. "Recognize them, Orphan?"
When Kassidy drew her gaze to what Martin was referring to, she saw the two chained figures were feral-looking adult bats, and in the cage were what looked like two bat pups that seemed about as feral as the other two—rabid to be exact. However, as Kassidy studied them, their features seemed familiar… and that was when she suddenly went agape. She forgot how to breathe then and felt like the world was spinning around her like she was sinking in a whirlpool. Right in front of her was her family.
Her uncle and aunt were snarling, foam reaching their muzzles, while her cousins were clawing at the cage uncontrollably, and Kassidy could barely recognize them. Once full of life were now devoid of that, almost as if it had all been torn away from them, and they had entirely lost themselves. Their eyes… looked like Martin's now, all black like coals with no natural colors to be spotted, their fur pricked up, as their teeth were bared. From what Kassidy could see, they were silver-haired bats like her, Holden, and Shade—only they seemed larger than average. However, from how they acted, one could've assumed they were something else, like vampire bats or Vampyrum Spectrums.
Kassidy was livid, her heart and blood burning with so much of that as she centered her gaze back on Martin, her eyes spiking with fire. "YOU BASTARD! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!" She demanded as flames rose on her body.
Martin never once flinched at her outburst and could only stare, amused. "Oh, let's just say that they have been used as lab rats for quite some time now. And as you can see, we succeeded with a recent experiment." Kassidy bared her teeth and growled. "They're starving now and will get a fine course of meals tonight. However, that'll require some hunting."
He averted his gaze to Holden, Shade, Marina, Orestes, and Helen, and he did not need to explain any further as Kassidy stared at him wide-eyed as the flames died down on her. "Don't you dare!"
"They have to eat somehow, Orphan. Your friends just so happen to be the perfect targets."
"So you're going to have them eat my friends when their bat forms are not made for eating meat?! You're sick in the head, Martin!"
"You should be thanking me. You wanted me to bring your family here, so there you have it; your family can finally get acquainted with your friends, but I'm afraid not in a nice way." This was possibly the cruelest thing he could ever think up, and no amount of words could describe how much Kassidy loathed him. He knew she wouldn't hurt her family. Martin pinned his gaze on Holden, Shade, Marina, Orestes, and Helen—who were now looking back in fear. An unbearable silence passed until the human turned Vampyrum finally whispered, "Fly."
The chains faded, and right as they did, Kassidy's aunt and uncle were flying ferociously at her friends, and Holden, Shade, Marina, Orestes, and Helen flew for their lives.
"NO!" Kassidy shouted, and she shot off the ground to try and stop her aunt and uncle. She managed to catch up to her uncle, and as soon as she did, she tackled him to the ground and tried to pin him in place, but it was hard to do so as he kept doing everything possible to resist her. "UNCLE MATT, SNAP OUT OF IT!"
In response, her uncle scratched her on the face, making her stagger back in pain, and he was off in a flash to try and hunt down her friends. A few clean claw marks rested on her face, blood painting down the right side. A twinge of panic ran through her, and Kassidy knew she had to do something. Otherwise, there would likely be a bloodbath.
"Kassidy!" Raymond's voice called out, and Kassidy looked over her shoulder to see him, Sylvester, and Stella going in for another attack with their spells, and Martin, along with those black limbs, were all too ready to fight them again, and the magic was set loose once more. "Go help your friends! We'll deal with Martin! Do you know how to use the sleep spell?!"
"No, I don't!" Kassidy answered truthfully. "I've never tried it before!" That spell was in between hard and easy to use, but she never used it before because she didn't want to use her family as test subjects and have anything go wrong.
"Well, consider this your first lesson—even though you haven't told us whether you'd like us to teach you how to use the hard spells!" Raymond explained the spell while the trio from The Spell Organization was dealing with Martin and the black appendages. "You need to declutter your mind and focus on using the spell and that spell only! Do not think about anything else, no matter what happens, and do not let your emotions get in the way! Otherwise, the spell will not work! Next, picture what it's like when you go to sleep; you need to be very detailed with it! It can't just be eyes closed, and you see blackness; you must dig deep! Try to grasp the feeling of sleep, and once you feel you have it down, cover your aunt and uncle's eyes with one or both hands! You'll know if you did it correctly when their eyes are closed! Now go, hurry!"
Without being told twice, Kassidy flew off to where her friends, her uncle, and her aunt disappeared, retaining the information Raymond gave her. She hoped she wasn't too late and the worst hadn't come.
The clashing had been brutal in the sky, but neither stood down as they went at one another, and Dianna was clearly getting pissed that she couldn't kill that red-tailed hawk. "Why. Won't. You. DIE?!" Dianna snapped.
Unbeknownst to her, someone was coming up from behind her, and before she knew it, a shadow slowly poured over her body. Her brow furrowed, Dianna got distracted from what she was doing and whipped her head over her shoulder, only to be faced with a pair of green eyes.
"Hola," greeted Goth before slashing his claw at her chest, catching her off guard as she cried out in pain, and she lost her flight and dropped toward a river skinned with ice and smacked against it, resulting in cracks to web around her. The Prince heard Dianna swear as he glanced at Lightning. "We'll take care of her; I think you'll be best needed with the others dealing with Martin."
As if agreeing with him, the red-tailed hawk nodded. Best of luck to you then, his words coursed through Goth's mind before withdrawing to where the others were currently combating Martin.
Trust me: I won't need it, the purple-winged Vampyrum firmly thought before streaking toward Dianna.
When the human-turned-bat was about to get up, Goth dove into her, and they slid through the snow with him on top of her. They came to a stop, and before the Prince could even give her another blow, Dianna swatted her wing at him, knocking him off his feet and landing back first into the snow. She sprang at him, her long, deadly claws ready to punch his stomach. Goth rolled out of the way back to his feet as Dianna brought her claws down, marking the snow instead. They shot daggers at each other with their eyes and then began circling each other, waiting for the other to make their first move.
"How would you like to die today, winged rat?" Dianna sinisterly spoke. "Since I'm feeling so generous right now, I'll let you take your pick."
"I'm afraid I won't be the one dying today," Goth retorted. "You're forgetting who you're talking to, señorita. You have no chance against me."
Dianna cocked an eyebrow of hers. "We'll see about that."
Behind the human-turned-Vampyrum, Throbb was whizzing at her, and Goth was the first to cease the ongoing circling so she wouldn't see his brother-in-law, and he smirked. "By the way, you might want to watch your head."
Dianna stared at him, puzzled. "Wha–"
Her sentence was cut off when Throbb's feet connected to the back of her head, and she fell flat on her face. "Oh, I'm sorry," Goth replied, feigning an apology as his brother-in-law joined him on the ground. "I forgot to explain the part where Throbb makes you eat the ground."
"How'd that taste, señorita?" Throbb queried with satisfaction plastered on his face.
Dianna pushed herself up, and she was dusted in snow. She snarled with a crazy look in her intense green eyes as her fur bristled like she snorted some kind of drug and rushed at the brothers-in-law. Throbb ducked in time when her claws tried to reach him, and when Dianna went for Goth next, he jumped back, and the fight was on.
The trio of bats and the duo of owls were flying for their lives as they weaved by trees, the fear clinging to them as they breathed heavily. Holden felt like he was in a horror movie escaping from crazed murderers, but instead of murderers, they were being chased by Kassidy's aunt and uncle. Why the hell were those two acting the way they were? More importantly, what did Martin and Dianna put in their bodies? Either way, no one was safe from them.
Holden, Shade, and Marina had to cast their sonars a few times as they were zooming past the trees so they could try and trick Kassidy's aunt and uncle with Orestes and Helen by doing some risky stunts in their flight, but none of them could tell whether it was working or not. In fact, they weren't sure how far behind those two were, but it wasn't worth finding out as they were the hunted.
"We gotta hide!" Shade told the others.
"Where, though?!" Helen questioned. "We barely have any options for hiding!"
"Wait!" Marina said and used her head to point at something. "Over there!" The others shifted their gazes to where the Brightwing indicated, and there were thick bushes layered with snow in the distance, big enough for all of them to camouflage in. "We can hide in there!"
"Great, anything is better than this!" Holden chimed in.
Without another thought, they all took cover in the bushes and tried to stifle any noise as much as possible. A heavy silence fell around them, threatening to suffocate them as they kept their eyes peeled for Kassidy's aunt and uncle. Holden could feel his heart racing like a jackrabbit's as he tried to breathe as silently as possible. He wanted to say something—anything really that would keep him calm—but he held his tongue, for he didn't want to give away their hiding spot.
The sky rumbled with thunder, and Holden swore he thought he saw something when the area lit up. He felt like he was going to throw up. His ears suddenly flicked forward when he slowly started to hear something: growling. Initially, it was hard to discern, but it soon became perfectly audible, making a cold chill run through Holden. The group either covered their mouths/beaks or kept them clamped shut for fear that they would be attacked if they made the tiniest noise.
The atmosphere was tense as everyone gazed at one another, waiting for something to happen. Nothing. Silence stretched across them again, almost as if the danger had passed.
Holden suddenly noticed something at the corner of his vision. He felt the air lock in his throat as he slowly turned his head, but before he could even make out what it was, a figure lunged through the wall of one of the bushes, and the group screamed as they tried to make their escape out of their exposed hiding spot.
Goth dodged Dianna's claws, brought his arm up to block her other incoming attack of plunging her claws into him, and then slugged her in the face. Seizing the opportunity, Throbb did an uppercut on her, rammed his body into her, and the human-turned- Vampyrum was soon met with a tree. Without her seeing, Goth noticed an idea had formed in his brother-in-law's eyes, and he left the ground to be airborne. Dianna snarled in Throbb's direction and catapulted toward him, claws at the ready. The tubby Vampyrum rocketed toward a branch. His hands joined it and swung around it, and his feet smashed right into the female Vampyrum's back, sending her toward his brother-in-law.
Goth didn't waste a moment and took to the sky. He efficiently managed to grab hold of Dianna, and right as he did, he carelessly threw her toward the earth as if she wasn't worth anything. She had no time to flair her wings out, and the female Vampyrum came in contact with the ground and rolled across it several times. Finally, she was sprawled on the floor in pain.
The brothers-in-law landed near her as she slowly tried to get up, and Goth asked, "Give up?"
Silence. Finally, a few seconds later, Dianna hurled back, "Just when things are getting interesting? That chance!"
Before Goth knew it, he felt a pair of claws rip across his front and roared in pain. Four slashes were etched diagonally from the side of his stomach to the upper part of it, and blood began to drench him and trickle toward the snow. Dianna then took Throbb by surprise by grabbing a fistful of his hair and slamming his face against the icy river with the web of cracks she made a bit ago when Goth cut her chest. Finally, on the third one, the tubby Vampyrum's head fractured through the ice, and the human-turned-Vampyrum proceeded to drown him.
While Throbb struggled against Dianna, Goth was putting pressure on his wounds. He felt as if a fire had been torn through his stomach, and with the amount of blood he was losing, darkness began trying to pool his vision, but he immediately shook his head. No! He would not succumb to unconsciousness! Goth would not let some wounds defeat him; he would win as the mighty Prince he was.
Anger flashed through Goth as he snarled toward Dianna, the animal inside him coming to light, and he completely ignored his pestering injuries at that moment. This was the last time he would be humiliated; now it was her turn. He pounced at his opponent and landed a couple of punches to her face, and the second one ended with blood spraying out of her mouth. Dianna furiously swiped her claws in his direction, and Goth managed to avoid them and went to strike her again.
While the two were facing head-on, Throbb pulled his head out of the freezing water, rolled to his side, and coughed out lots of water. He began to shiver violently as he took in mouthfuls of air, and blood began to seep down from an opening on his forehead. He looked like he was on the verge of passing out.
During the clashing, Goth backslapped his opponent, and Dianna was about to clip her claws to his face, but he caught her arm in his hand, tightened his fingers around it, and coldly said, "Let's see how you enjoy this, señorita."
Before Dianna could even process what he was trying to get at, she screamed in pain when his teeth sank into her forearm, and before long, there was a sickening crack. Then, using her uninjured arm, the female Vampyrum went to claw Goth's face, and he retracted, but her claws managed to scratch his face a little, making him hiss. Dianna held her broken arm against her in distraction and cursed at the purple-winged Vampyrum, but he paid her no heed as he peered at the river sheeted with ice behind her, an idea clicking in his mind.
Using the last of his strength, Goth let out all his anger at Dianna for all the things she and Martin had done to him and Throbb and his foot collided with her front. She yelled as gravity hauled her toward her fate, and she splashed through the hole made through the ice, breaking it open more. She tried to save herself, but the water defied her and pulled her under, and Goth watched as her outline drifted through the iced river until nothing was left of her beside her blood that slowly dissolved in the water. Dianna never once burst through the ice and surfaced.
Goth slowly breathed as he wiped off the current blood that was dribbling down his face. There was no way Dianna would survive, and he could not wait to see Martin's face when he found out what happened to her. He felt good about what he did. However, even though she was now out of the way, Martin was still a problem.
Throbb groaned as he got up and rubbed his bloodied forehead. Upon seeing the damage inflicted on his brother-in-law, Goth remembered the gashes on his stomach and immediately slapped his hand on them to plug any more blood that tried to drain out of him. He felt lightheaded, but he wouldn't let that stop him. He had to keep going, for he was not weak.
Claws and teeth splintered through wood, and by some miracle, Holden and his friends made it out of the bushes alive. They rooted themselves on the ground, and when they moved their gazes toward the bushes, they saw Kassidy's uncle stalking toward them on all fours, lost of his sense of self as he growled with his teeth bared and saliva strung out of his chops. Holden gulped quietly. While he wasn't sure what Kassidy's aunt and uncle were like, this was definitely not how he pictured his first meeting with them.
"Mr. Kimler, hi…" Holden greeted, trying not to sound so nervous, and he could already feel the looks his friends were giving him at that moment. "So, funny story: I'm the guy your niece was tutoring, and now we're kind of a thing, so…"
As if he had insulted him, Kassidy's uncle launched himself at Holden, and he yelped along with the others as they flew away from his reach. "Holden, would you please save the introductions for another time?!" Marina lobbed at the purple Silverwing.
Before Holden could fling back anything at the Brightwing, Kassidy's uncle suddenly bashed Helen to the ground and held her in place. "HELEN!" Orestes exclaimed.
The great horned owl charged in his flight, and as he did, the Princess screamed when Kassidy's uncle was about to snap his teeth around her throat. Then, with his talons brandished, Orestes screeched in defense mode and tackled the feral human-turned-bat toward the ground.
At that moment, it was then that Holden realized that Kassidy's aunt was nowhere to be seen. However, as if he had summoned her, she came out of nowhere and leaped onto Shade, making him yell, and he came into collision with the ground with Kassidy's aunt on top of him.
"SHADE!" Marina exclaimed and dove toward the two, and right as Kassidy's aunt's teeth were about to plunge into the small Silverwing's neck, they linked to something else: flesh and metal.
Holden and Shade gasped. Marina cried out in pain as blood ran down her arm, and the next thing they knew, Kassidy's aunt ripped off her band like a band-aid.
Enraged, Shade thrust his body at the feral human-turned-bat, and they rolled to the ground. As Holden was about to help his friend, he suddenly noticed something at the corner of his eye jutting from the ground, and when he had a better look at it, he saw that it was just some weeds. Yet, he couldn't help but feel he'd seen them from somewhere before… and then it finally hit him.
Stinging nettles! Holden realized. Of course, from Zephyr's lessons! He hated to admit it, but those lessons did come in handy. And an idea suddenly popped into his head.
Shade knew he shouldn't have been irated toward Kassidy's aunt. It wasn't her fault she was acting like a savage predator, but the fact that she stripped Marina of her band and hurt her boiled his blood. He didn't even want to think about what would've happened if her teeth had gotten a hold of a different part of his friend's body.
When the rolling came to a halt, the back of Kassidy's aunt's hand smacked against Shade's lips, and he fell to his front. The metallic tang of blood filled his mouth, coated his tongue and teeth, and he spat out some of it in the snow, staining it a crimson red. He gazed at Kassidy's aunt, holding it while blood dripped down his muzzle, and she was dangerously snarling at him with a hungry look. Then, finally, she was ready to try and go in for the kill.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded in the air, and when Kassidy's aunt gazed at the source, her face was thwacked by something. She howled in pain as she tripped over her fours and began rubbing her eyes. Shade was at first confused by what just happened, but that was when he perceived Holden in front of him, gripping onto something. It didn't take him long to see it was a stem of a few stinging nettles—a good move on his friend.
"Sorry, Mrs. Kimler," the purple Silverwing apologized to Kassidy's aunt.
Shade sighed in relief as Holden then began to help him up. "Thanks, Holden," he gratefully said. "That was the right thing to do."
"You know it, man," Holden responded. "I'm just glad that these were even nearby." He indicated to the stinging nettles before throwing the stem off to the side.
They suddenly heard a painful screech, and the boys jerked their heads over their shoulders, and their eyes beheld Kassidy's uncle biting into Orestes's wing, blood beginning to gush and spread out. Helen whooshed at the feral human-turned-bat in a fit of rage, crashing her talons against him. Upon impact with the snowy floor, the Princess whacked her wing at Kassidy's uncle's head but didn't get the chance to do it again as a claw of his slit the side of her neck—thankfully nowhere near her throat—making her stumble back. She winced from what she received and pressed her wing against it.
Kassidy's uncle was about to go for another blow, but out of nowhere, someone waded into him, and she hooked her arm around his neck when she brought him to the ground. Kassidy.
It took all of Kassidy's willpower and strength to keep her uncle in place as he tried to wrestle free from her, and she kept repeating in her mind not to let go, no matter what. She loved him as much as her aunt and cousins, but at this time, she had to take serious action without trying to hurt him, even if her heart and soul couldn't bear the thought that she may have lost them for good because of Martin's doing. This was the only way to go.
Her arm remained firm around his neck from behind, fastening her legs around his. His weight crushed against her, making her suffocate a little as the bed of snow dampened and burned against the back of her body, but Kassidy barely felt any of that. She was focused on only one thing at that moment: putting her uncle to sleep. And that was what she intended to do.
She blinded his eyesight with her hand—without trying to get it bitten off by him—and sealed her eyes shut, trying to blot out everything around her and entered her mind to try and clear her thoughts and concentrate on the sleep spell. Raymond's instructions began reverberating through her head, and Kassidy knew she shouldn't have covered her uncle's eyes yet as she recalled the exact words. However, according to some research she had done a few years ago, she learned that when any animal's sight was obscured by something like a cloth, it tended to calm them down because it reduced their visual stimulus and could create a sense of security. She hoped this tactic would work so she had better chances of achieving the sleep spell.
To Kassidy's relief, it seemed to have been working as her uncle began thrashing around less and began to proceed with the spell. "Sleep," Kassidy told her uncle, almost quietly.
Nothing.
Kassidy swore in her thoughts. It wasn't enough; the spell had to be more detailed. She had to dig deep like Raymond said. She had to get it right.
The gothic Silverwing imagined herself going to sleep, feeling all drowsy and exhausted from doing something like studying for a big test for one of her classes; how it felt good to finally close her eyelids that were getting heavy and relieve her stinging eyes from lack of sleep and rubbing from her hands. Of course, the first thing that she would see would be blackness, but the feeling of being snug and cozy—whether it be in a warm and toasty bed, hanging from a ledge upside down, or something like that—was always the main thing one would feel when turning in for the night/day. Sleep was almost like peace: you could finally breathe and have time to think over your pile of thoughts before it could eventually take over you, whisking you away into a beautiful dream or a chilling nightmare.
"Sleep!" Kassidy vocalized again, her voice going up several notches.
Kassidy poured all her energy and details straight into her uncle, never thinking about anything else nor letting any of her emotions come in between casting the spell. Sleep was something you could escape into, but it was something you could not stay in forever. When you sleep, you recharge, sinking deeper and deeper into oblivion, never knowing what to expect next until it was time to emerge and face the world again. Sleep was the cousin of death, and as one wise person said, "Sleep is a shallow death we practice each night."
"SLEEEEEP!"
Silence.
The gothic Silverwing breathed, and a few beats later, she was suddenly aware that her uncle wasn't moving—except for the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed in and out. Slowly and with hope, Kassidy removed her hand from his eyes. They were unpeeled.
Shaking a little, she pushed her uncle off her, letting him roll over to his side, and as she did that, he didn't wake. Kassidy took a moment to try and collect herself, slowly breathing as she gazed up toward the thunderclouds with occasional zig-zagging thunder. She did it… she managed to put her uncle to sleep. So many emotions came over her that choosing which one should've been the winner to dominate her face felt impossible.
That was all short-lived, though, when suddenly, there was yelling, and Kassidy lurched her upper body up to see the others trying to restrain her aunt on the ground while saying things like, "Hold her down!", "Watch out!" etc. Without wasting a moment, she quickly hurried to them and used the same process she did on her uncle, and it wasn't long until her aunt, too, gave away to sleep. Kassidy couldn't believe that this all happened so fast, and if she hadn't gotten to the others in time…
Her eyes landed on Holden, Shade, Marina, Orestes, and Helen, her lips pulling into a thin line as her ears flattened on her head. They were staring at her, and the air between her and them felt cold. Not because of the weather but because there seemed to have been something straining Kassidy's relationship with them a bit, and the gothic Silverwing was no fool as to why that was.
Realizing what she had to do—given that this may be her only opportunity to do so— Kassidy began to apologize. "I…I'm sorry, guys," she said, her voice cracking slightly. "I'm sorry I worried you and left you like that. I just… I thought I could trick Martin so I could rescue my family and maybe even stop him simultaneously on my own… but I was wrong. I screwed up… Not only that, I'm the reason you all got dragged into this mess. I'm so sorry… I don't expect you guys to forgive me like that, and I understand if you'd rather not have anything to do with me anymore."
Kassidy turned away, biting her bottom lip as the guilt gnawed at her. A familiar hand suddenly clasped hers, and warmth began to pool to her gut from the touch. She gazed over her shoulder and was met with Holden's brown eyes written with affection and understanding, making her feel warm and fuzzy inside.
"Kass, listen," Holden gently said, "even though you did that, it doesn't change my feelings for you. We were upset that you left, but that doesn't mean we hate you for that. You were… just trying to do what was best. And even if you hadn't left, we still would've helped you. We told you we'd help you any way we can." He pulled the gothic Silverwing close, wrapped his wings around her, and whispered, "I'm glad you're okay."
Her eyes widened a little, but it appeared that Holden was willing to forgive her. Kassidy rested her head against the side of his neck, her fingers lacing around the back of it. It felt good to be back in his arms, and she almost didn't want him to let go of her. Unfortunately, however, it was evident that he would have to sooner or later.
"I'm glad you are as well," she silently returned.
Realizing that the others were still there, Kassidy fixed her eyes on them, wondering if they would say anything. Shade and Marina eyed each other briefly before they finally looked back at the other two Silverwings, smiling weakly, and approached them. "Yeah, and besides, we're still in this together," Shade said, agreeing with Holden, "no matter how big or small the situation is. I mean, we've come this far, right?"
Marina nodded. "Yeah, for sure," she didn't hesitate to say. "We've got your back, Kass. Just please don't ever do that again as I've already got these two deal with." The Brightwing indicated to the male Silverwings.
Even though it was hard for them to notice, Kassidy's eyes hinted with a bit of solace and amusement. She, indeed, was lucky to have met these guys. "Can't promise anything, Marina," she truthfully said, "but I won't try and do that again."
"Good enough for me, then." Marina embraced her, Kassidy returned it, and it wasn't long until Holden and Shade joined them, equalling a group hug while Orestes and Helen viewed the moment in silence with thin smiles curving at their beaks.
While they were bunched together, Kassidy felt something warm drip on her back… and that was when she noticed Marina's forearm—wounded, bleeding, and no longer clad with a band. Eyes goggled, she gasped. "Marina, your arm!"
"It's okay," the Brightwing assured as the group hug ended, "it's not broken."
Kassidy suddenly began to notice that Marina wasn't the only one injured. The others—except for Holden—were too. Her stomach knots, not even wanting to know what would've happened had they suffered more of those from her aunt and uncle.
"Should we try and find those berries Zephyr used?" Shade questioned.
Kassidy immediately shook her head. "No, I'll just use the healing spell; that'll be quicker and easier. Plus, you, Orestes, and Helen must also be healed. Otherwise, you guys might get an infection or likely something else."
"Kass, maybe you should save your energy for–"
"I'll be fine, Shade," Kassidy ceased her friend's sentence. "I still have enough energy conserved to face Martin. I'm more worried about you guys."
"We'll be fine, too," Holden assured her. "And like you, we have enough too to face him."
"Holden–"
"You know that we can't let you do this alone."
Kassidy wanted to argue and tell them to get out of here… However, judging by their faces, she could see they weren't going anywhere. They were here for her, and no matter what she said and did, they would fight with her until the ends of the earth if they needed to even. Was she worried about losing them? More than anything. Nevertheless, she couldn't deny their assistance. Instead of getting to the colony, they chose to help her, which showed how much they truly cared for her. Moreover, it reminded her of what happened when she tried to take on Martin and Dianna alone.
"Umm, guys?" Orestes piped up. "What do we do now?"
Kassidy was silent for a bit until she finally let out a barely heard sigh. Shade was right: they were in this together. At one point, she considered herself a lone wolf, but now she had a pack—a pack that genuinely was loyal to her. And it was time that they finished this fight once and for all.
"We're going to take down Martin together," Kassidy determinedly said, earning respective looks from the others with her answer.
After Kassidy healed Shade, Marina, Orestes, Helen, and even herself with her magic, the group flew with all their might to where the battle was like warriors. But, before they left, they placed the gothic Silverwing's aunt and uncle within the thick bushes they had been near so those two could sleep in peace with no animal trying to gobble them up. Now, not only was their main task to try and stop Martin, but they also had to try somehow and rescue Kassidy's little cousins. What they all could seem to agree on was that there was no knowing what to expect next. However, if f they put their minds to it, maybe, just maybe, they could vanquish Martin before he brought out much worse.
The sounds of magic usage rung through the sky, along with thunder, and the group found the trio from The Spell Organization still combating Martin, and Lightning was doing all he could to help them out. Lots of tree trunks were torn out of the earth and littered the ground, and Kassidy wasn't sure how long those four could keep it up, but she could see their energy was slowly draining while her half-uncle looked like he could do this all night. Not only that, her cousins were still in that cage. They had to take action right now.
"Guys, we need to create a diversion," Kassidy spoke up, thinking through the plan as they shrouded themselves within the tree branches. "With Martin dealing with more distractions, Raymond, Sylvester, and Stella can probably try to detain him finally, and then my cousins will be freed from that cage." And my family will then finally be safe… She wanted to add but kept that to herself.
"Diversion, got it," Shade comprehended. "I'll try and echo project again—even if Martin might still not fall for it."
"That goes double for me," Holden chipped in. "I'll just be happy once Martin's ass gets kicked."
"Okay, so we're all in agreement then as far as the plan goes?" Kassidy inquired, making sure no one had any objections.
"I certainly got no problem with that," Marina honestly said.
"Same thing goes for me," Orestes agreed. The three bats and great horned owl flicked their gazes to Helen for her reply. However, she seemed lost in her thoughts as she surveyed the scene before them, almost like she had déjà vu. Concerned, Orestes shook her shoulder a little. "Helen, you okay?"
"Huh?" Helen blurted out and immediately shook her head, realizing the others were waiting for her answer. "Sorry. But yes, what the others said."
Kassidy knitted her brows skeptically, feeling like the Princess was bottling something up. Whatever it was, she couldn't say for sure, but even so, she decided not to pry her for the truth as that didn't matter. What mattered now was the challenge before them at that very moment. It was time to bring it on once more.
"Then let's move," Kassidy fixedly said, and together they swooped down from their respective branches and angled their wings toward the fight of their lives.
Helen understood she hadn't been honest with the others—even Kassidy seemed to have caught onto her white lie—but what else could she have said? She wanted to spill the truth on one wing, but on the other, she felt it would be better to hold her tongue. Her secret was almost like a curse but, at the same time, a blessing. If they ever found out about it, what then?
I cannot think about that right now, Helen chastised herself. That will have to come later… if my heart is still beating by then.
Adrenaline spiked through the snowy owl's body as they neared the ongoing conflict, but she seized control of it and steadied her mind and breaths. She was a Princess—the Crown Princess, to be precise—but that did not mean she was fragile as a flower. Helen was trained to defend herself and channel her emotions in such times. Even though she had been a bit sloppy with that a bit ago, this time, she felt like she got this, hopefully, at least, and even though she never would've expected anything like this in her entire being, she could not cave into paralyzed fear.
Martin noticed the group coming his way while dealing with the trio from The Spell Organization and Lightning, and it was hard for Helen to tell what emotion he was wearing at that moment (especially given with blackness glazing over his eyes) as he hummed to himself. "So your friends live, Orphan," Martin nonchalantly said toward Kassidy. "No matter, I'll enjoy slaughtering them before your eyes."
Even though Helen's face was masked with audacity, Martin's words and voice managed to chill her to the marrow. Focus, Helen, she cautioned herself. Remember what you've been taught, and don't think about anything else.
In a matter of moments, some of the black appendages veered toward Helen, her first ever and long-time friend Orestes, and her four new unlikely bat acquaintances, and they all immediately parted, managing to maneuver out of harm's way. The Princess's wingbeats were silent and graceful—as every owl's flight should be—and she never once fumbled as she rotated in different courses. It was like trying to evade the hands of death, and somehow the Princess was still alive and well. She thanked her lucky stars for all the training she received from her mentors when she finally came of age.
It was almost hard for her to focus on one thing as she had to multitask in the air. Magic was flying all over the place, and it was virtually impossible to tell which person was casting what. Not only that, trying to divert Martin's attention and knocking him off guard was proving to be no easy feat, almost as if he knew what everyone's next move was, especially when it came to Holden and Shade's echo projecting.
Helen swerved around one of the incoming black limbs, and right as she did, she began to make out two figures coming at Martin from behind: Goth and Throbb—who seemed to have tried to mend their wounds with some crinkled leaves they managed to rummage out. Are those two out of their roosts?! She exclaimed in her thoughts. They're going to get themselves killed! They were throwing themselves head-first at someone who was clearly more powerful than them, and the Princess began to think that their injuries screwed with their brains a little.
As expected, Martin sensed their presence, and before the two giant bats could even try and make a scratch on him, two black tentacles ambushed them from out of nowhere and constricted them. The red-winged Vampyrum chuckled ominously. "How nice of you two to finally join the party," he spoke delightedly as if he wasn't about to do something brutal to them. "So amusing that you thought I wouldn't notice you coming."
To Helen's puzzlement, Goth's mouth suddenly tugged to the side. "You know what's also amusing, Martin?" He cockily shot at the human-turned-Vampyrum. "I killed your wife. How does that taste on your tongue, o' great one?"
Upon that revelation, Helen thought she could detect a bit of tightness in Martin's facial expression. Of course, she didn't expect those words from Goth, but wasn't surprised that he killed Dianna. He was, after all, a meat-eating bat, and he seemed to be the type that'll kill anything without a moment's hesitation.
After the small stretch of silence, Martin's eyes filled with a dark plan, a plan that Helen was sure wouldn't be good for the two giant bats. "Then it appears it's time for your departure," Martin composedly answered, which made Goth and Throbb's expressions fall into perplexity for only a bit until realization finally dawned on them at what he was getting at. "Have a nice night."
The black appendages drove Goth and Throbb toward a cliff, and the two giant bats yelled until their bodies came face first with it. Helen winced while trying to steer clear of the black tentacles and could almost feel that collision. Goth and Throbb went still, eyes shut, and the Princess was sure Martin had killed them. There was no way that they survived that. She almost felt bad for them, but if there was anyone she felt primarily bad for though it was Kassidy and her family. The black limbs chucked the bodies so far out that it was almost impossible to tell where they'd end up, but Helen watched as their figures morphed into dots in the sky until there was nothing more of them left.
Great phoenix… the Princess wanted to say out loud.
"And then there were fewer," Martin announced.
While everyone was continuing to fight/try and distract the red-winged Vampyrum, Kassidy came into Helen's view, quick and nimble in her flight as she used her magic and combat techniques against those black limbs… and that was when the snowy owl's gizzard shrank. Her dream from a couple of days ago entered her consciousness, and the scene before her was exactly how she remembered it, straight to every detail with no minor differences. It was happening right now.
Helen desperately gazed at Orestes, Holden, Shade, and Marina and hurried to get their attention. "Guys, we have to stop Kass!"
The others looked to where Kassidy was and immediately seemed alarmed to see her trying to get close enough to Martin to try and do who knew what, especially Holden, as he cursed out loud. "KASS!" The purple Silverwing called out, and whether or not she heard him, Kassidy kept on going, and the group immediately went to try and catch up to her while yelling out her name.
Kassidy wasn't sure what came over her, but at that moment, all her mind kept telling her was to try and get close enough to Martin to try and burn him to the point where he'll finally surrender (sort of her way of a diversion, she supposed). The trio from The Spell Organization and Lightning had been knocked to the ground pretty hard by the red-winged Vampyrum's magic. While they were trying to regain themselves, the gothic Silverwing continued with what she was doing—materializing magic and defending herself against the black tentacles—and she hoped that the others were still doing okay on their part as she closed out their voices at that point. Goth and Throbb's fate certainly didn't end too well after the purple-winged Vampyrum admitted to killing Dianna.
She was getting closer to him, readying to kindle flames within her hands, her tenacity as strong as steel as her eyes were narrowed. Everything Martin had done spiraled toward Kassidy's emotions—tampering with her parent's car, which resulted in their deaths, kidnapping her family, doing atrocious things to them, and most of all, putting her and her friends through Hell—and she had had it with him. As long as he was still roaming freely, no one was safe. Martin would pay the price.
Kassidy began to close in on Martin and yelled, incensed, as fire reawakened on her body, readying her aim… but suddenly something sharp hit the side of her stomach, biting through flesh. Eyes enlarged, Kassidy brought her head down. A black appendage penetrated her, and fresh blood began pouring out.
They stopped dead in their tracks, their faces filled with horror upon seeing Kassidy getting stabbed, and gasped. The group hadn't been fast enough and were too late.
"NO!" Holden shouted at the top of his lungs.
More black tentacles came coiling around Kassidy, suffocating and bleeding the life out of her, and as they did, Martin roared with laughter. "I would say pleasant dreams, Orphan," Martin said in a vile tone, "but there aren't any left for you."
Kassidy was doing all she could to free herself from the black appendages binding her tightly like rope, but Holden could see that she was growing weaker by the second. Her breathing shallowed, her color draining, and her movements began to go slowly still. Then, in a matter of moments, her eyes gradually began to roll to the back of her head.
She was on the brink of death.
"Kass?" Marina managed to utter.
"No…" Holden repeated quietly, but his voice suddenly rose as the same word came out. "NOOO!"
Holden raced toward Kassidy, his adrenaline pumping, and as he did, the others cried out his name, but he paid them no heed. His heart hammered in his chest as he winged his way through the sky as fast as possible. He couldn't lose her. He just couldn't, even as he was up against something larger and more robust than him.
Martin noticed him and casually sent a wave of black limbs toward him. Holden halted mid-air as the horde of black tentacles closed in on him. For a moment, time slowed, as if the universe were stretching. At that moment, Holden's emotions grew and grew… and suddenly, something awakened.
Like lightning, everything around him went blue and bright, pushing back against the black tentacles. Everything rumbled like thunder. Holden felt sparks on his body, electrical charges in his bones. It was terrifying and thrilling. Then, more adrenaline hit him, vibrating through his veins.
Holden's eyes transferred to a glowing white void of any pupils as the aura he was surrounded by intensified, as did the entanglement of lightning. With one flap of his leathery wings, bolts rippled through the black appendages, branching toward a confounded Martin. The black appendages exploded like fireworks over the forest, blowing the red-winged Vampyrum away with a yell, and he smashed against a cliff.
His eyes reverted to their original color, and Holden almost passed out had he not seen Kassidy dropping toward the surface. Her eyes were shut, and he couldn't tell if she was still alive, but he tried not to let worry get to him as he launched himself at her to intercept her fall.
A blackout almost overtook her when she suddenly felt something touch her and jump through her bones, jolting her back to reality. Kassidy was agape at the sight she was seeing. Holden was enveloped in sparks, and now so was she, their world blue. He hugged her close to his chest, and they streaked forward together, defying gravity.
Holden rolled to the side and quickly gripped a tree branch, ceasing their flight. He set Kassidy down on a branch below them and then joined her. She stepped backward, putting distance between them as if his touch would instantly kill her. But no sooner did she do that she collapsed against him from lightheadedness, reminding her she had lost lots of blood.
"Kass, you okay?" Holden asked, concerned.
Kassidy tried to find the right words to say, her tongue trying to form them as she was still shocked by what she saw. "Holden, h-how are you doing that?"
Confusion struck Holden's face. "What're you talking about?" His expression then swapped to panic. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
All Kassidy could do to respond was point at the brilliant blue light and lightning he was engulfed in.
Holden took a good look at himself, and the moment he did, he gasped. "Wh-what happened to me?"
"I… I don't know," Kassidy replied, about as flabbergasted as him, "but you must've done something to unleash that. But how? You don't have the pentagram mark."
Holden ran his hand through his hair. "I don't understand; this is confusing the crap out of me."
"Guys!" They heard their friend, Shade, and the two looked over their shoulders to see him, Marina, Orestes, and Helen coming toward them. They landed on the branch above them, and when their eyes were cast on Holden, their mouths/beaks were hanging wide open. "Holy sunlight, you have lightning on you! H-how?"
"Beats me, Smalls. We're about as confused as you."
"Does it hurt?" Marina questioned.
"No, it actually doesn't. I do feel it, though."
"Incredible," Orestes breathed. "This is almost like the incident back at the power electrical relay station." Realizing what he had just said, the great horned owl rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh… sorry for bringing that up."
"No worries, Orestes," Kassidy assured him before inspecting her injury—without putting too much force on her body that would lead to more blood loss and going unconscious.
"You going to be okay, Kass?" Helen asked a little meekly.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." On that note, Kassidy placed her hand on the stab mark on the side of her stomach and began to heal herself. Once the spell was finished and she removed her hand, it was gone, and so was the blood. She was good as new with the color returning to her.
Helen sighed in relief and rested her wing against her forehead. "Thank the stars…"
Kassidy tilted her head to the side. However, before anyone could exchange more words, they heard magic being used again. They witnessed the trio from The Spell Organization and Lightning going in for another round against Martin—who was now a little sluggish, thanks to what Holden did. Raymond and Sylvester were about to do something, but before they could, a couple of black limbs swept toward them and slammed them against a boulder very roughly, blood in the wake as they went out like a light.
"RAYMOND!" Stella screeched. "SYLVESTER!" She tried to get to them but was blocked off by more black appendages and had no choice but to continue to fight them with Lightning.
Kassidy and the others couldn't believe their eyes. Were Raymond and Sylvester dead? They couldn't be… right?
Shade let out a shaky breath. "We're all going to die, aren't we?" He said, almost in a whisper.
"Shade, don't think that," Marina tried to give him hope, but it was evident in her voice that her hope was also beginning to crumble gradually.
"My echo projections didn't work, neither did Holden's… It was all I had, and now they're no match against what Martin has." Shade dipped his head, tears threatening to form in his eyes. "I think we–"
Marina slammed her hands on Shade's shoulders, tears springing to her eyes. "Don't say that word." Shade gazed up at Marina, startled. "Shade, listen: Zephyr taught you to echo project because he could see something special in you. Martin may think he's outsmarted you but has yet to see what else you can bring out. He may have magic, but your skills are much more superb than his. Our friends think so." She then smiled weakly as tears streamed down her face. "And so do I."
Shade was speechless, and agreeing with Marina, the group nodded. A small smile appeared on his lips, tears sliding over his cheeks, and without a moment to think, he tightly embraced the Brightwing, the hope coming back to light. Marina returned the hug, and as they were wrapped in each other's arms, Kassidy saw in the corner of her eye that Holden was smiling slightly at her, and her eyes were all they needed to give him the same expression. While Kassidy couldn't say for sure, she felt as though Shade and Marina's friendship might one day blossom into something more.
"What do we do now?" Orestes hesitantly inquired.
No one said anything, but Kassidy then flicked her ears toward the sky when thunder pierced the sky once more. Humming to herself, she lifted her head, the gears beginning to turn in her head. The weather wasn't getting any better, but out in the distance, she picked out something: a thunderhead. She gazed toward Martin, her eyes skirting his body and the black tentacles. At every point, it seemed he knew which direction someone was coming from… and that was when she realized something.
All his senses must've been enhanced when he injected himself with that chemical liquid, Kassidy understood. So we have to trick his senses. She drifted toward the ground—much to the group's puzzlement—and quickly dug through the snow.
"Kass, what are you doing?" Holden questioned. "We don't have time to dig our way out of this—if that's even what you're going for."
"That's not what I'm doing," Kassidy informed him, and she finally found what she was looking for. Mud. She rubbed it on her, and as she did, she spoke again. "Martin's senses have increased, which means he's relying on them, especially his sense of smell. So we must douse ourselves in mud; our smell is our weak point, giving Martin the advantage. He won't be able to sniff us out if we're coated from head to toe/talon in mud."
"Kass, you're a genius!" Marina commended. "Thank Nocturna for your quick thinking."
"Yes, but what about his other senses?" Helen questioned.
"I figured that out," Kassidy pointed her mud-slicked finger toward the thunderhead in the distance. "Thunder can be deafening the closer you are to it, and if a few of us can get Martin inside it, there's a chance he won't be able to hear us. And judging by the clouds, it'll be hard to see in there—with the thunder being the only light source. Not only that, I have a feeling the air will feel and taste differently."
"That's uh… big risk there," Orestes pointed out.
"But it's worth a try," Shade said, willing to go along with the plan.
Holden nodded in agreement. "I agree. I say we take our chances with it."
Seeing that everyone was all for the plan, Kassidy spoke up again. "Then let's hurry up with the mud process, decide who should go on this mission, and take down that bastard once and for all."
After slathering themselves in mud, the group was back in the air, their plan all set. Kassidy, Holden, Shade, and Marina would take care of Martin, while Helen and Orestes would help Stella and Lightning with Raymond and Sylvester. This was their last chance to defeat Martin, and whether or not it would work, Kassidy knew that they had to take their chances.
Stella and Lightning were beginning to tire out. Still, before the worst could even fall upon them, Kassidy turned Martin's attention away from them as Orestes and Helen began to try and sneak their way around to get to Raymond and Sylvester. "MARTIN!" She shouted his name. The red-winged Vampyrum's ears pricked up, and his eyes were on Kassidy, Holden, Shade, and Marina, who were ready to take him on again. "We're ready for you this time! Show us what you got, you cold piece of shit!"
Martin's gaze skirted the four bats, but his eyes had been mostly on Holden—likely because it was almost hard for him to process that he now wielded some type of lightning magic that now coursed his body. The same thing was said for the others, and as much as Kassidy wanted to figure out how it was even remotely possible, they had no time for that. They had a blood-thirsty magic user murderer to deal with.
The red-winged Vampyrum began to grin venomously, concealing the other emotion he had a bit ago. "Challenge accepted, Orphan," he confidently said and then took to the sky.
Seeing this as their time to make a fly for it, Kassidy, Holden, Shade, and Marina began to dart for the thunderhead in the distance, weaving past obstacles in their way to try and throw off Martin a few times, leaving Helen and Orestes with helping out Stella and Lightning with Raymond and Sylvester. Kassidy did all she could not look back to where her cousins were caged. As much as she wanted to go back for them—even when they were acting savage—stopping her half-uncle was the first and best thing to do at the moment. She hoped to return to them, her aunt, and her uncle soon so she could try and help them overcome what they were never meant to become in the first place.
As the chase escalated, black appendages tried to grab or whip them but were unsuccessful. At one point, one of them went to strike Shade, but the sky-blue Silverwing managed to make a sharp turn to the side, and the black tentacle ended up splintering a rotted log off its stump, slicing through thin ice on a river. Cracks began to spiderweb through the icy floor, and soon it was followed by tremoring as water rushed wildly. The ice was migrating off a waterfall.
They were getting closer to the thunderhead. Closer to the moment of truth. Their line of lives would either remain intact or would be cut loose.
"Okay, guys!" Kassidy raised her voice to her friends when they were finally underneath the belly of the beast. "Time to disappear! Come on!"
Together, the four of them ascended toward the mob of dark clouds. All the while, Martin and the black limbs continued to try and mess them up. As they continued up, Kassidy started to become aware of how thick the air was slowly getting, and it didn't get any better to breathe as they barged through more layers of clouds and mist. It started to smell and even taste like iron. Finally, their surroundings grew dark, but with Holden casting off bright blue sparks, it made it a little better to see through the funnel.
"Does your guys' fur feel funny?" Marina asked.
Now that the Brightwing mentioned it, Kassidy began to feel her fur prickle, and that was when she saw her hairs rising. "Yeah, I feel it too," she admitted.
"What's it mean?" Shade wondered.
A bright, white light veined the sky, blinding them for a moment, and surfed passed them, booming in the process. Kassidy's ears rang, her breath stolen for a moment or two.
Holden swore. "I don't know what I should be more afraid of," he truthfully said. "Martin's strange new ability trying to kill us, or this thunder that may put us in a coma or worse."
"Either way, this is our only chance at stopping Martin," Kassidy managed to word out through the thick air. "Let's try to break through the top. Then we can circle back and drop below the cloud when we've weakened Martin enough."
"Maybe we can get to the river we were flying by once we've done all that," Shade gave out his thoughts, wheezing. "I don't know what good that can do, but maybe we can use that to our advantage."
"It's worth a shot," Marina said, trying to breathe like the others.
"Alright, let's do this then," Holden managed to get out through his breaths, and as a team, they bravely ventured through more rolling hills of dark clouds, avoiding thunder strikes at all costs, and were preparing to take Martin by surprise.
Their field of vision and echolocations spotted the red-winged Vampyrum bursting through piles of clouds, and on instinct, they split up, trying to blend in with their surroundings when they reached high enough to breathe properly. Kassidy tried not to use her sonar again because it almost made her deaf a few times, and blood gushed to her ears, likely due to the thunderhead. She steadied her breaths, watching Martin and the black tentacles' every move as silently as a ninja, pining her hopes that the others were ready and could do this. Flames slowly surged to her fingertips, waiting for the right moment.
The quietness stretched… until, suddenly, a bolt lashed at Martin, and this time he did not have time to protect himself as he yelled in pain. It had not been the thunder's doing, though. It was Holden's.
Seizing her chance, Kassidy winged herself toward Martin. Fire sprouted on her hands, and she pitched a fireball at him, and it ate at his fur and flesh, making him howl in pain once more.
When Kassidy ducked into the clouds again, Shade and Marina went in. Shade bit into Martin's ear and then tore a piece off it, and after he did, Marina's clawed feet dug into his back, incising him, and the duo was back inside the clouds before the red-winged Vampyrum could even register who did that to him.
It was almost like a pattern Kassidy, Holden, Shade, and Marina were in: magic for open fire, attacking Martin where he least wouldn't expect it, etc. Their plan was working. However, having enough, Martin roared angrily, and green and yellow flames bathed his body. He ejected the fire spell around him like a flamethrower, aimlessly trying to burn someone, and the heat and smoke lingering made breathing worse in the thunderhead.
Kassidy, Holden, Shade, and Marina regrouped, realizing it was time to get the hell out. "Let's go!" Kassidy told the others, and they all began to do a nosedive, about to pass by Martin.
Holden got his attention. "Come on, is that the best you can do?!"
Before Martin could even avert his attention to where he heard the purple Silverwing's voice, Kassidy socked him across the face with her mud-caked fist, smearing it a little while still shooting downward with the others. The red-winged Vampyrum was on their heels once more, the black limbs and his magic trying to draw blood or at least do something to damage the four bats. The air grew thinner as they descended, finally showing mercy in their lungs as they were finally free from the thunderhead. But even so, Kassidy, Holden, Shade, and Marina didn't stop for a break, as they still had to get to the true chink in Martin's armor, even as they managed to weaken him more.
The group heard something like nails on a chalkboard, and their eyes found the source—the waterfall. A massive chunk of ice was skimming across the river, most of it now at the lip of the waterfall, and any moment, it was bound to meet with the water down below… that was when an idea pooled into Kassidy's mind. Holden, Shade, and Marina seemed to have had the same thought as they gazed at one another, and with one nod of their heads, they changed their course toward the waterfall, with Martin still coming after them.
The four insectivore bats eventually found themselves directly underneath the ice. Teeth of icicles hung over them like spike traps, sharp enough to skewer someone. Perfect, Kassidy thought as she took in their surroundings.
Martin was nearing, and Holden, Shade, and Marina hovered next to Kassidy. They gazed at one another, knowing that whatever happened next, they would either live to see the next night or death would claim them. Either way, this battle would soon be over, and only one side would conquer the win in the end.
"Guys, close your eyes," Kassidy advised her friends, and they did not object and did just that as if they knew what she was planning. Her eyes locked onto Martin, never once cast with fear the closer he got. Her heart swelled with a purpose, a purpose to finally put an end to this, and she intended to do so. She would not let Martin try and find a loophole out of this one. "This is for my parents! My family! My friends! And for everyone else, you've hurt and killed!"
Light trickled to Kassidy's hands like she had pieces of the sun in her hands. She breathed. With a whoosh of her hands and wings, her magic exploded into a blinding light and streamed toward the icicles, bouncing off them in many directions, making them look like spotlights. As Martin was about to do something, one of the beams came in contact with his eyes, and he cried out in pain, staggering in his flight. He collided with a few icicles, and the black appendages even accidentally fractured some ice. The roof of ice all came crumbling down, showering toward the five bats, with one of the smallest icicles running through one of Martin's eyes, and a scream of agony escaped his throat.
Kassidy, Holden, Shade, and Marina quickly went to try and swerve away from the incoming ice to get to safety… But suddenly, a hand gripped Kassidy's ankle, and she yelped when she felt someone drag her down. She whirled her head down, her eyes finding Martin's, and his face read it all: if he died, he was taking her with him.
Seething, Kassidy swung her foot at the side of the red-winged Vampyrum's head, knocking him out cold. It was the last thing she saw before a black limb hit her on the back of her head, and she slipped into oblivion.
Everything happened so fast, but Holden and the others managed to get to land without getting hurt as splashing occurred nearby… or so it seemed.
"Where's Kass?!" Shade questioned while they were panting.
Holden's eyes ballooned, panic fluttering in his throat. Kassidy wasn't with them. Fearing the worst, the trio switched their gazes toward the water as if they thought the same thing. Then, without thinking, Holden dove head-first into the water.
"Holden!" Shade and Marina hollered in unison.
Water enveloped him, and his body began to burn from how cold it was, but all his mind could think about was finding Kassidy. He spun his head from one side to the other, only seeing large and small pieces of ice. Where was she? Holden suddenly felt something shine in his eye, making him squint, but his heart stopped beating for a moment or two when he looked to see where it came from. The glimmering had come from Kassidy's necklace, and she was sinking to who knew where as blood and mud slowly dissolved in the water, and thankfully Martin was nowhere to be seen, but that was the least of Holden's concerns at that moment. His only motivation was to save Kassidy.
Holden desperately flapped his wings, propelling himself through the water as he curved passed ice, practically soaring. Time seemed to have slowed down as if an hourglass was tipped over to the side, and his lungs, at that point, were begging for air. He had to rescue her, though. The girl he cared deeply for, who now meant everything to him.
Kassidy was motionless, her eyes sealed shut, and she kept plunging further down like a stone, making Holden pump his wings harder and faster. Everything inside him was on fire, slowly weakening him, but his strength to save Kassidy remained within him. He couldn't give up on her.
Holden wasn't sure how far down they were, but he managed to come at a reaching distance from Kassidy. He desperately tried to grab her hand, his arm feeling like a noodle at that point, and he was so close to intertwining his fingers with hers… but suddenly something rammed into him: ice. His fingers only managed to graze the tips of her claws, and the ice steered him away.
Kassidy plummeted further and further away from him… until, finally, darkness consumed her.
She was gone.
"KASS!" Holden gurgled, and the next thing he knew, a pair of talons clutched his shoulders and hauled him back to the surface.
