"HOOOOOOOONNNNNKKKK!" Eeyore screamed as he fell to a bunch of large bats that huddled below. He closed his eyes, ready to be bitten and turned into a vampire at any moment. Suddenly, he just felt a jarring sensation on one of his legs. He felt something soft against his face. He was suddenly rocked back and forth. Before he could open his eyes, he heard weird notes being played. Then, he fell fast asleep.

Sometime later, he woke up. He found that he was wrapped in firm, leathery wings. Eeyore heard soft breathing. His gaze met with a small pointed nose of a vampire bat. Small fang peaked out of its mouth. The large ears twitched. Eeyore tucked his lips. He had to keep from screaming. He tried to see anything else but it was hard to see. A puff of air breezed through his mane. He soon saw a pair of dark eyes staring right back at him.

"W-wake!" The creature said. "You wake!" The head shifted out of the massive folds of wings, leaving Eeyore in temporary darkness. "Mama! Mama! Horse thing awake!"

Eeyore honked as he was shifted from his position. He soon realized he was upside down. His ears pulled upward by gravity. His heart sank as he saw a swarm of bats hanging upside down. A chorus of yawning was heard in the field of brown and black fur. He's seen bats before back home, but he has never seen ones this big. He could make out some of the bat species that Elijah would show him from time to time. "Oh great," He said. "I'm going to be eaten by bats the size of airplanes."

The young bat looked at Eeyore. "Ar...Palnes? What are arplanes?" The dark eyes blinked. Waiting for an answer. Suddenly, a larger bat loomed over them. She looked like the smaller bat with pointed features and brown fur. However, thick vines were tied together to look like a crown. "Morning Mama."

"Morning Jasper," The large bat said. She let out a massive yawn. "I see that you manage to catch the creature and keep it alive."

Jasper beamed. "I did mama. I sang so it wouldn't be all squirmy for you tomorrow!" He soon let out several hard coughs.

"Dear stop being worked up." His mother said firmly. "It will only get worse."

Eeyore sighed. "I hate to be a downer but I'm not a horse. I'm Eeyore."

The female bat glared at him. A puff of smoke flourished out of his nose. "Mind your tongue! I'm the general of the bats! Queen Umbrina!" She smiled as cheers reached her ears. Then, she went back to frowning at Eeyore. Her nostrils flared. "You have that scent my soldiers told me about. If anything, you smell like the Rainbow Forest but also something else." She leaned in close enough that her muzzle was an inch from his. "And I intend to find out what it is." She turned to Jasper. "Jasper, dear, please set our prisoner down in the ring. Be careful when you fly."

Jasper nodded. "Hold on tight, Eeyore thing. We go for ride." In a matter of seconds, Jasper let go of the rock he had clung onto. He flared his wings as it caught air. He tossed Eeyore up in the air. The flash of pale brown fur flared at Eeyore upon landing on Jasper's back. They went down, down, down until they reached a ring of stalagmites.

Eeyore was soon flung into the center the moment Jasper tilted. He landed on his back. Hard. "Ow...Guess it can't get any worse than this." As he rolled onto his feet, the bats soon surrounded him. All eyes glared at him. Filled with suspicion and anger. He frowned deeply, eyes wide. "Uh oh...Spoke too soon."

"Talk." Umbrina commanded. "What do you know about King Moonsoul and his child?"

Eeyore was silent. He looked at the ground. He wasn't sure how to get out of this one. He doesn't know too much aside from the fact that Honey Maple was just born and King Moonsoul is still recovering from his stressful nights. Then, he got an idea. Something that should buy him time. "His child is sick and scrawny. Wouldn't last for another three days at least. King Moonsoul is a crazy dragon. Babbling to the walls and the water all the time. I think he lost his mind for quite some time."

Silence hung in the air for a moment. It was soon followed by a hum of murmurs. The queen among them. One dark eye on Eeyore while the other on her soldiers. Jasper was close by. He simply hung on to the wall. The little bat looked a bit lethargic. His eyes were slightly dull compared to the rest of the adults.

Once the murmurs were done, Umbrina turned back to him. She moved closer to him. Her arms moved over the walls with ease. The stone pillars supported her body as she glared at him like a spider with a fly. "Tell me then...Eeeeeyore. Where is King Moonsoul now? More importantly, how did you get in our cave?"

Eeyore gulped. "Um…" He looked down at the ground at the moment. Usually Rabbit and Tigger were good at this sort of thing. Now how was he going to answer these questions without causing any more problems. He knew lying was wrong, but this was one situation where it was necessary. Then, Eeyore remembered the map that Gypsy showed them while they were making their way to the desert. A small island. "King Moonsoul is at Mourning Island. His wife passed away recently." Then, a thought came to him and he said it before he could stop himself. "Wait...Do any of you generals have any meetings?"

A cackle filled the air. "Hardly. I'm too busy keeping my territory from being robbed by those bottom feeders! When we did, it was usually under the orders of the Dark Dream King. They're really annoying when the meetings do happen. Especially General Hurricane."

"Hurricane?" Eeyore asked. His jaw dropped in shock. He and the others had no idea that Hurricane was actually a general of the Chimeras. Now he really had to get out of here to warn his friends.

"Yes. He's a bit more of a bore than his predecessor. Though not as insane."

"I'd hate to meet that guy."

"Trust me…" Umbrina sighed. "He was the closest thing to a loose cannon." She shook her head. "Back to the question! How did you get in here?!"

Eeyore took a deep breath. Maybe putting Hurricane in trouble might do the trick. "Just minding my own business until Hurricane cast a spell on me. Next thing I know...Here I am."

Umbrina rolled her eyes. "Of course. His magic is always so unpredictable. He even brought some cactus to our last meeting." She took off and vanished into the darkness. The other bats soon followed her. All except Jasper.

The little bat hopped over to Eeyore. His face was close to the stalagmites. His breath was wheezy. He shivered and coughed. He laid down next to Eeyore. Ears drooped slightly.

Eeyore moved slowly toward him. "Are you ok?"

"Just a little sick…" Jasper said. "Like baby dragon."

"How long has it been going on?"

"Feel like forever." Jasper coughed again. He dropped. "Can't fly too much or it'll get worse."

"Shouldn't your mother hold you until you feel better?"

"Queen Umbrina is too busy to worry about that." Spoke a random voice.

Eeyore looked up. He saw two pairs of dark eyes looking up from above. They fluttered down where their fur. One was a Flying Fox while the other was a Big Brown bat. They landed beside Jasper. The Flying Fox knelt down to help Jasper climb on her back. While the Brown Bat helped him up. The Flying Fox looked at Eeyore. "It's still neat that Jasper caught you even in his condition."

The Brown Bat moved up to the ring. "Nice to see you properly without all that screaming." He extended a wing. "Name's Rush."

The Flying Fox huffed. "You know we can't converse with the enemy."

"Oh come on. When was the last time we've ever had any conversation that didn't involve having to kill whoever stood in our way? Let alone not being shot at with magic?" He turned to Eeyore. "Do you know any spells?" He smiled when Eeyore shook his head sadly. Rush shook his wing. "Then it's nice to meet you. What's your home like?"

The Flying Fox huffed again. "Guess I better get the introductions over with. My name is Vixen. We're Jasper's caretakers and...in your case, your caretakers as well."

Eeyore tilted his head. He blinked in confusion as Vixen's words began to sink in. "What?"

"Jasper needs to learn how to fight and hunt. You'll be the perfect practice for him." Rush took his wing back. "But first, it's time to eat." The two bats took off and vanished into the darkness. Leaving Eeyore completely alone.

Eeyore sighed. "Great. Now I have to avoid getting eaten too." He looked around. "Don't see any holes I can squeeze through. Better start digging. Not that it won't make much of a difference." He walked over to the spot of the ring. He soon began to dig a hole. It started out small. He dug and dug and dug. Finally, the hole was big enough for Eeyore to fit through. "Not worthy of Gopher's skills but it'll have to do." He jumped into the hole to dig more. Then, he heard a noise.

He jumped out of the hole. With all his strength, Eeyore pushed a nearby rock to hide the hole. He pushed the dirt around. A cloud of dust exploded as he charged. He sneezed. He shook himself. He looked up at Rush and Vixen. Eeyore sat down. His face still held its usual gloom.

"Whaaaaat are you doing?" Rush said.

"Nothing." Eeyore replied. He looked around. "Where's Jasper?"

"Asleep." Rush answered. "So you wouldn't be with him for a while."

Eeyore mentally sighed with relief. "No rush...I can wait."

Rush sighed. He lowered his head and looked at him. "So, what's your home like?"

Eeyore tilted his head. "Why do you ask? Aren't you more concerned about the Rainbow Forest?"

"A little. Mostly in how to get scraps here. You've already known this, but no one in the Hollow Realm really gets along well."

"You two do."

"Vixen is pretty reliable. She usually keeps me out of trouble. Especially when we go flying out. I may not look like it, but I was a runt back then. Runts are looked down on around here." Rush looked down. "Or used to."

Eeyore blinked. His gloomy demeanor changed. "How come?"

"Babies...are hard to come by now. The adults are sick and starving. We try to get a few things from the other kingdoms, but we face a rival Hollow Realm resident or a crazed dino when we go to the Emerald Jungle. Jasper...is special to us."

"I'm...sorry to hear that…" Eeyore stared in shock at this. He knew that life in the Hollow Realm was hard because no one trusted each other. However, this new information twisted that information differently.

"Jasper had begged his mama to at least let him catch something. He barely does anything without coughing up a storm. Honestly, you're the best thing that's happened to him. Maybe become someone he can trust. Can't distrust forever, you know."

"Is….Jasper the only baby here?"

Rush was silent for a moment. Then nodded.

"I'm sorry." Eeyore stayed there for a while. He allowed Rush to watch over him. He soon began to talk about his home. "I...live in a place called the Hundred Acre Wood. There's lots of trees there. The caves are too small for all of you though. You wouldn't fit."

Rush laughed. "I suppose not."

"I would usually go out in the morning and eat thistles. Nothing special really. Then, I would go see my friends when it's possible."

"Sounds like paradise."

Eeyore grimaced. "Why don't you leave?"

"I can't leave Jasper! He's a sweet bat. He tries so hard to prove himself to his mom, but she wouldn't listen. The other bats just simply look down on him when Queen Umbrina's not around."

"Ouch!"

The hours ticked by in silence. Eeyore could feel a pang of hunger in his stomach. How he wanted to munch on some thistles right now. His eyes began to droop. He lowered his head. Rush looked surprisingly at peace despite how skinny he is. Suddenly, he heard faint wingbeats. Eeyore looked up to see Vixen and Jasper return to his prison. Jasper looked a little better. The baby bat was able to hover above the ring until he landed gracefully in front of the donkey.

"Hi Mr. Eeyore! Ready?" Jasper nearly shouted those words.

Eeyore gulped. He slowly started to back away. His heart raced as Jasper moved forward. It was sad that the little bat was all alone. Even worse was the fact that Jasper was sick and his own mother didn't seem to bother to find a doctor for his illness. Eeyore backed away. As much as he felt sorry, he was going to have to figure out how not to get hurt. He soon began to run as Jasper tried to bite him.

That's it for this chapter. Thought to give it a little exploration of the Hollow Realm and one of the residences. I also thought about adding a little spark to Eeyore. He can be a voice of reason when he needs to be. However, that can be clouded by some of the humor he gets stuck with. Review!