AN: This one ended up shorter than I thought it would. I actually had a song I wanted to include, a parody of "A Whole New World", but I couldn't get it to come out right, so it ended up getting scrapped so the story wouldn't end up taking forever and a half. Before we get into the story, allow me to answer a few questions.

Ironchef: Yes, Rani is the Garuda who graduated in Zanya's first year at Grimwood's. As for the character idea you pitched, maybe. I'll put some thought into it and see what sticks.

Special thanks to qazse for the idea for this chapter. I do wish I could have done a bit more on their late night flight, but I hope I did it justice.

The Midnight Flight of Lincoln Loud

"Alright earthlings, and M-149," M Female Prime declared, smacking her hand upon a stack of books on her desk. This was an attempt to get their attention, but most of the class was looking at her already; just with a bored expression. The martian mother was knowledgeable about science, but her prideful and condescending attitude was getting old fast. Even Milly was over it at this point. 'At least this was the last review class before final exams began' was the silver lining on most of the Grimwood students' minds. "We've covered physics, chemistry, geology, and the science of your planet…" she told them, before muttering "I suppose a strong understanding of the basics is important…" She then continued "Today, we will be covering the final subject to be covered in your examinations this year...biology."

"Oh, this will be fun…" Winnie grumbled sarcastically as the chief scientist of Mars picked up the biology textbook. There were bookmarks strategically placed in the tome, indicating what topics needed to be covered. She started to flip through the book.

"Hmmm...earth flora, earth fauna, general microbiology…" She said quietly as she checked the places Miss Grimwood marked. She was almost to the final chapter to be discussed when she paused, looking intently at a few pages. "What in the red sands…?" She asked perplexedly, tilting her head back and forth as she examined whatever she was looking at. "Is that right?" The students paying the most attention (Elsa, Ignatius, Sibella, and Milly) were looking to one another in confusion. What could she be looking at? "Earth boy L!" She suddenly exclaimed. Lincoln didn't respond at first, but then Milly nudged him.

"She means you, Lincoln," she whispered.

"Oh! Ahem...sorry, Ma'am. Yes, Ma'am?" He asked hurriedly, blushing a little.

"Come here and tell me if what this book says about Earth human biology is true," she demanded.

'I wonder what it could be…' He wondered as he rose from his desk. As he walked across the room, a horrible thought hit him, making him shudder a bit. 'Oh goodness, I hope it isn't what I think it is…' He gulped and braced himself as he approached the adult martian, who leaned over to show him the information she was looking at. The one son blinked as he looked at it. It was a diagram of the human digestive system. He almost laughed out of relief, but kept a straight face as he looked it over and nodded. "Yeah, that's about right. There are some minor differences with each individual human, but that's the general idea."

"Fascinating...I never expected such an efficient digestive tract from Earthlings," She commented quietly as she stared intently into the book. "Perhaps Martian knowledge pertaining to Earthlings could do with some updating...I will do an independent study of this later." She quickly closed the book, looking to Lincoln. "I don't suppose you could aid me in this study; making sure the data I'm collecting from the book is accurate?"

"Well...alright, I guess," He answered back, a little taken aback. "Lisa might be a better choice for that, but I could try and help."

"Good. If we were unaware of this regarding Earthlings, I shudder to think what else we may not know," The martian mother said before she motioned the human boy to return to his seat. "The Earthling circulatory system, the muscular system, the reproductive system…" Lincoln froze about half way to his desk, his whole face going bright red when he heard that, which made some of his classmates chuckle and giggle at the look on his face.

"I take it back. It was kinda fun," Winnie muttered, though she did feel sorry for Lincoln as the one son prayed she never actually asked for his help confirming anything about that last subject. Sibella too felt sympathy for her human boyfriend; not just for his embarrassment here (though she still found his blush adorable), but she knew that studying for finals was stressing him out as much as it was anyone else. He needed to relax a little, or there would be no way he was getting any rest that night. Fortunately, she had a plan: the two would be meeting for a private magic lesson that evening, where she had a surprise prepared for him. She simply needed to wait.

Several hours later, after the sun had set, Lincoln was starting to trudge up the stairs to the top of the tower. He always enjoyed the private lessons in magic he had with Sibella. Heck, he loved spending time with her in general. Today, however, he hoped the lesson would be a short one. After yet another day of intense studying, he wasn't sure how much more his mind could take. When he arrived, he immediately spotted the lovely vampiress standing at the window. Seeing her there, bathed in the light of the moon, made the one son's heart skip a beat. "Good evening, Lincoln. Punctual as ever," She said happily, turning to face him.

"G-good evening, Sibella," He replied with a silly sort of smile.

"I have a special treat planned for tonight," She informed him, gliding her way closer to him.

"Is that so? What are we learning tonight?"

"Close your eyes and I'll show you," Sibella said with a wink. This made the white haired boy curious as he closed his eyes and covered them. "Ellevan avatin trasorma cletorive." She chanted, waving a hand toward him. A violet glow surrounded the young man, who started to shrink in size. Within a few seconds, he was buried in a pile of his own clothes. Once the spell had finished, she could see a little lump squirming under his orange shirt. She moved it over to reveal a small snow bird, who looked a little confused. He looked up at her and gasped.

"Sibella! Y-You've grown…"

"Not quite, dearest," She told him, pulling a mirror from nowhere and showing it to him. He looked into the mirror and gasped again.

"I'm...I'm a bird?" He asked in shock. He spread his wings and looked them over. "I'm a bird!" He exclaimed excitedly, before his expression changed to one of horror. "...I'm a bird…"

"There there, Lincoln. Calm down," She said with a smile, gently stroking his head with a finger. "It's not permanent. It's part of the surprise."

"It...is?" He asked, blushing even so slightly at the head petting.

"Mmm hmm," She responded, gently picking him up and nuzzling him. "You seemed so stressed, so I thought you'd like a chance to relax."

"As a bird?" He inquired, as she set him on the window sill.

"I thought it would be lovely if we took a nice, moonlit flight together," She explained, as she transformed into a bat herself. "Just the two of us, the stars, and the moon." She smiled sweetly at him, caressing his face with one wing.

"Hehehe...that does sound nice, Sibella...but I don't know how to fly," He told her, glancing somewhat fearfully out the window; particularly, at how it was a long way down.

"Don't worry, Lincoln. I will teach you and keep you safe." Sibella gave him a soft kiss on the feathery cheek before she moved closer to the edge. "We're pretty high up, so we can start by just gliding." She motioned him to join her, which the one son did after gulping nervously. "Just spread your wings out, like this," She instructed, extending her own wings as a demonstration. Lincoln followed her example, though he was still shaking somewhat. "And then...jump!" She leapt off the sill, diving for a few inches before rising and coming to hover in front of the window, flapping her wings. "It's easy. Just keep your wings spread and let the air do most of the work."

"Alright...here goes," The middle Loud said as he braced himself, closed his eyes, and sprang off the ledge. He descended for a few inches, making his heart race for a moment before he noticed he wasn't falling, but soaring. He opened his eyes to see he was gliding through the sky, Sibella flying beside him.

"There you go, Lincoln," She said happily.

"I'm flying...I'm flying!" He exclaimed, fit to burst with excitement as he started to flap his wings.

"Whoa there. You don't need to flap so much," She told him. "Flapping uses a lot of energy. Only do that if you need to fly faster or gain more height."

"Oh. Hehe. Right." The one son relaxed a bit, ceasing his flapping.

"That's better. Just let the wind do the work," Sibella said with an approving nod. She spent the next few minutes teaching him how to maneuver in flight; turning, rising, diving. She even taught him a few tricks. Her currently feathered boyfriend was laughing and chuckling as he flew through the sky, which made her heart swell. To him, it was like all his problems were left at the top of the tower. He would do barrel rolls and flips in the air, making Sibella giggle at his light showboating. "You're really getting the hang of this, Lincoln," She told him. "But don't over do it, darling. I wouldn't want you to tire and fall."

"Sorry, Sibella. It's just...this is so exciting for me," He told her as he once more tried to calm down.

"I know, Lincoln," She responded with a sweet smile. "And that excitement is just precious. However, no need to over do it the first time. Besides, you wouldn't want to fall asleep before we get to our destination."

"Oh? Where are we going?"

"You'll see~" She said with a teasing wink. Fortunately for the human lad, he didn't have to wait long to see where they were headed; a farm that looked like it hadn't seen human contact in decades. The land was all overgrown, and all the buildings were advanced stages of disrepair. They were further away from the school than Miss Grimwood would have liked or allowed. However, Sibella had come out this way a number of times before. She was sure it was safe. The two landed at the top of an old abandoned barn. Up there, there was a gorgeous view of the star spangled sky. The two of them gazed up at the full moon as they stood side by side on the arrow of a rusted weather vane. "Isn't it a lovely night, Lincoln?"

"It sure is," The boy turned snowbird commented, leaning in close to her to nuzzle her. "A beautiful night to share with a beautiful woman like you."

"Hehehe. Oh, Lincoln, you are so sweet," Sibella replied, kissing him on the cheek. While they were enjoying each other's company under the starry night sky, something stirred inside the old barn. A large, old gray owl with a flattened kind of face. The old bird yawned as he hopped from his nest and walked over to the opening to the hay loft.

"Hmmmm. Another night, another hunt…" He grumbled to himself before turning his large eyes toward the ground. "What's on the menu for tonight?" He asked no one in particular. He scanned the overgrown area for a moment, when he spotted a small group of mice. "Mmhmmm...mice…" He looked a little further, where he saw a fat old rodent among wild onions. "Mice with onions…" Further investigation revealed to him a tender young rat standing atop a fence post. "Rodent on a stick…" And finally, he saw a family of little mice eating a half eaten cream filled donut, getting it all over themselves. "...and Creme de la Meese for dessert…" The elderly barn owl sighed with a shake of his head. "I like mice as much as the next bird of prey...but goodness if it doesn't get tedious after a fashion. Night in and night out, the same thing. What I wouldn't give for something different...a snake, a squirrel...something to break up the monotony," he said to himself. Just as he prepared himself to begin his hunt for another meal of mice, he heard something.

"Hey, Sibella...wait here a second." The seasoned predator paused and looked toward the roof. He never heard that voice before. He took a few steps back to hide in the shadows, to watch and wait and see what that was.

"Ok, Lincoln dear. Don't be long." Seconds later, he saw the little white bird gliding off the roof, flying toward the nearby woods.

"A snowbird? At this time of year? That shouldn't be…" The barn owl said with a light frown. "...then again, the way the weather patterns have been lately, who can say. Hmmmm. I've never had snowbird before...this could be quite an experience," He added, a bit of a smile appearing on his beak. The old bird watched Lincoln from a distance as he fluttered over to a bush of night blooming flowers. As soon as he landed on the bush, the owl swooped out from the hay loft, silently soaring toward his prey. However, there was one thing he didn't count on: Sibella. The purple bat was keeping an eye on Lincoln as well, and when she saw the owl headed right for him…

"LINCOLN! LOOK OUT!" She cried out. The winged raptor flinched mid stalk while the warlock turned bird turned his head. He gasped and bolted as fast as his little wings could carry him.

"Stool pigeon…" The barn owl grumbled. "...looks like I'll have to work for my breakfast…" The bird of prey flew up high so he could keep watch over the snowbird. Meanwhile, Lincoln was flying like the wind, circling trees, ducking through shrubs and swaying around branches and roots. In his mind, he was being chased by the owl. The Loud warlock kept up his evasive tactics until he couldn't keep up the pace, forcing him to land on a low hanging branch to catch his breath. He glanced around to see if he was safe, and couldn't see the pursuing owl. He sighed with relief...right before he got pinned to the branch by a powerful talon.

"Huh!? What!?" He gasped once the shock subsided.

"A free piece of advice, little squab-" The old owl said in a half sage, half condescendingly to the trapped bird. "-when being chased by a predator, those wasteful movements will simply get you eaten tired. Next time, simply find a space to hide too small for the predator in question to enter, like a hole in a tree...not that you can use this advice, of course."

"Arcanis!" Lincoln chanted as he struggled. However, nothing happened. Thinking maybe he needed to use his feet for the spell, he tried pointing his talons toward the owl. "Arcanis!" Still nothing happened. "Aerosa Elonta! Arcta Encassi! Infern!" He yelled out, trying every spell he could think of. However, nothing. He couldn't use his magic in this form.

"Are you attempting to convince me not to eat you because you are insane...because it is a pointless endeavor. I have eaten much worse," The old bird informed him with an exasperated sigh.

"Wait! I'm not a squab! I'm really a human!" The one son exclaimed.

"I know. I know."

"...you do? How do you know?" Lincoln asked in confusion.

"I can smell the scent of human all over you," He answered, tapping his beak with a wing feather. "And given the fact I know you weren't handled by a human in the brief time I hunted you, it seems safe to assume that you were indeed, once, human." He raised a wing to the middle Loud when he opened his beak. "I don't particularly care to know the whys, hows, or wherefores. It doesn't matter anyway. What does matter, however, is that you are, presently, a tasty little squab, and I am a hungry owl."

"What'd I ever do to you!?" The human turned snowbird asked, for no other reason than to keep the owl talking. After all, if his beak is flapping, he isn't eating him.

"Nothing at all. I assure you, this is nothing personal," The gray barn owl explained to him. "It is simply the law of nature. The larger, stronger predators -namely me- hunt and consume the smaller, weaker prey animals -IE you. The circle of life, and all that." Lincoln's eyes darted around for a moment until he saw a speck of purple in the sky above them. Was it Sibella? Well, one way to find out.

"...don't I at least get to say some last words?" The old owl sighed, facepalming with his wing.

"For goodness sakes...that is such a human notion...no one gets last words out in nature. It's just not done that way. I wouldn't even be talking with you normally...in fact-"

"-I'll just say them anyway. HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLP!" He screamed at the top of his little lungs, forcing his assailant to cover his ears (or the equivalent thereof for birds).

"Gah...was that really necessary!?" He asked indignantly. "I mean, just who do you think would come and rescue you? Another snowbird?" The nocturnal predator scoffed cruelly, just as he felt something smack him in the side of the head. It nearly knocked him off balance, He glared upwards to see who or what was responsible. Hovering a short distance over him, giving him a death glare, was Sibella. "What do you think you are doing!? This is my breakfast, and I know for a fact bats do not eat birds!"

"Unhand my boyfriend or face my wrath!" The vampiress threatened baring her fangs. The owl's eyes widened as he looked between Lincoln and the lavender bat before looking disgusted.

"That violates so many laws of nature…" He responded, looking quite sick. The purple bat dove at him again, forcing him to duck this time. "Now see here! If you do that even one more-" Once more, he had to lower his head again to evade her next strike. "That does it! I don't usually eat bats...but in your case, I will make an exception!" The furious raptor stuffed the little snowbird into a knothole in the tree trunk. "You have been relegated to the role of dessert. Wait right there. I shall return shortly." The old bird spread his wings just as Sibella flew off, flying right off after the vampiress.

Sibella was flying like a bolt of lightning back toward the barn, anger fueling her flight, while her pursuer flew high overhead, gliding after her. Like he had done with Lincoln, he was planning to let Sibella tired herself out before he struck. When he saw where she was gone, he smirked. "Well now...would you look at that? The little bat thinks she can hide in the barn. MY barn. Hehe. It is to laugh," He monologued with a chuckle as he watched her duck into the hay loft. "If she wishes to make it easier for me, then who am I to argue?" He dove downward and swooped right into the loft. However, when he entered the barn, he didn't see a purple bat, but a tall, lavender skinned vampiress standing there, hands on her hips, an icy frown on her face. The barn owl came to a sudden stop, coming to hover right in front of her. He looked the young lady up and down for a moment before he said to himself, "Hmmm. It would appear a serious error has been made…" The daughter of Dracula grabbed the owl by the neck and held him right up to her eyes.

"I want you to listen to me and listen good, you moldy old feather duster…" She hissed through her fangs to the shivering raptor. "...if I EVER catch you putting so much as a FEATHER on Lincoln ever again...I will pluck you bald, bring you to the kitchen at Grimwood's, and then have you fed to Miss Grimwood's plants! Am I understood!?"

"Gulp...quite understood…" The owl hooted weakly. "...I'm more of a mouse owl anyway…"

"Good," She said simply, releasing the predator from her grip before striding toward the entrance/exit to the loft, changing back into a bat.

Back with Lincoln, the one son was struggling to get himself out of the knot hole he had been stuck in. However, with his wings pinned to his sides and his legs on the inside, he wasn't going anywhere. To make matters worse of him, he could hear something climbing up the tree outside of his field of view. He prayed that it was a raccoon or something like that...only to discover it was a large black cat. She landed on the branch in front of him and looked at him with a big grin, like she was the Cheshire Cat. "Well well...what do we have here?" She asked in a soft, almost sultry voice.

"Please...don't eat me…" Lincoln pleaded fearfully.

"Never fear, young warlock," The cat said with a soft chuckle. "I don't intend to eat you. I don't even eat birds."

"Oh...whew…" He sighed with relief, before blinking. "Wait...how did you know I was a warlock?"

"Hehe. We familiars have a knack at spotting witches and warlocks," She explained as she reached a paw out and plucked the young man right out of the hole. "There we go."

"A familiar? You're a witch's cat?" He asked in amazement. He heard of familiars from Miss Grimwood; the magical pets of witches and warlocks, but he had never met one before.

"I am...or at least, I was. I'm Amethyst, by the way."

"Lincoln Loud. A pleasure to meet you," He said, holding a wing out to her.

"The pleasure is all mine," She answered, shaking his wing. "So, what exactly were you doing in there?"

"This big owl was saving me for dessert...he would have eaten me for breakfast, but...Sibella!" He suddenly exclaimed, looking in the direction of the barn. "Oh no...I hope she's ok…"

"Is that her?" Amethyst asked, gesturing a paw upward. His vampiric love had returned, now baring her fangs at the familiar below her.

"Sibella! Wait!" Lincoln called out, waving his wings at her. "It's ok! Amethyst isn't going to hurt me!"

"...she isn't?" She asked in return, looking at the cat with suspicion.

"Certainly not," His feline friend responded, smirking a bit as she stroked his head with her paw. "Along with the fact I don't eat birds, he's too cute to eat."

'Can't argue with that fact,' Sibella thought as her human love blushed a little. She came to land on the same branch they were on, still wary of the cat. "So what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was just hunting some rodents to eat when I felt a magical presence very close by."

"So, you are a familiar…" The vampiress commented with a look that was clearly measuring the cat up, just in case something turned foul.

"Mmhmm. Naturally, it drew me in like honey draws flies," Amethyst explained. "At first, I thought it was the owl, but I still felt it after he left, so I came up to investigate, and found Lincoln here."

"But why are you hunting all the way out here? Don't you have a witch or warlock to take care of you?" The one son asked.

"Sadly, no…" The feline familiar admitted, her ears dropping. "My original owner was caught during the Salem Witch Trials. She faked her own death at her execution and we lost track of each other for years. When I finally found her...let's just say time caught up with her…"

"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that, Amethyst," Lincoln said with sympathy, trying to scratch her behind the ears.

"Don't worry about it. It's, unfortunately, something that happens. Witches lose familiars, or familiars lose witches, leaving them to have to find new ones." The Loud warlock looked at the cat for a moment, stroking the underside of his beak with a wing feather. "I know what you're thinking, little warlock, and it's sweet of you to think of me, but I was a witch's familiar; therefore, I need to find a new witch."

"Do you?" Sibella asked with a raised eyebrow. This was the first she ever heard of this.

"Indeed. Unwritten rule of the familiar," The magical cat explained. "I don't make them, but I'm expected to follow them, no matter how stupid some of them are."

"Ok...though I have a sister who's a witch in training," Lincoln brought up, a little lightbulb appearing over his head as the notion came to him. "Perhaps she could take care of you?" Amethyst's eyes brightened immensely when she heard that.

"Do you think she would!?"

"We'd need to ask her, and Miss Grimwood too-"

"Miss Grimwood!? As in Abigail Grimwood!?" The familiar asked in amazement.

"Yeah, why?"

"Don't suppose a witch of her caliber needs a familiar, hmm?" She asked hopefully.

"I don't think so. She already has Matches and Legs, plus so many students to watch after," Sibella informed her, which saddened the witch's cat to hear.

"...ah well, it was worth a shot," Amethyst said with a sigh. "So, when would I get to meet your sister?"

"Do you know where Grimwood's school is?" The white feathered bird asked, to which the feline nodded. "Meet us there tomorrow afternoon, over by the volleyball court. We'll introduce you to Lucy there." He then had a distressing thought. He turned to the purple bat beside him. "Would Miss Grimwood's traps trigger on familiars?"

"I...don't know," Sibella admitted with a shrug. "I know animals are safe, but familiars aren't technically animals…"

"...perhaps we should meet over by the hedges between Old Calloway and Grimwood's," Lincoln amended as he turned back to Amethyst. "You can hang out on the old academy's side."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll meet you there," The black cat said before she climbed down the tree and skulked off to return to her hunt.

"Er...by the way, Lincoln…" The young vampiress said, suddenly looking a little nervous. "If Miss Grimwood asks, we met Amethyst right by the school, ok?" This earned her a quizzical look from her human boyfriend. "Technically...we aren't supposed to be out this far."

"Oh...well, don't worry, Sibella," He said with a shaky smile on his beak. "This secret is safe with me." The lovely vampiress smiled sweetly at him before giving him a soft kiss. It was then the one son reached under his left wing with his beak and pulled out a little blood red flower. Sibella gasped a bit in surprise, smiling even more as he set the flower in her hair.

"Oh, Lincoln…" She sighed happily as she pulled him into a hug and shared another kiss with him. "Come on. Let's go back to the barn and enjoy the view just a little longer, before lights out."

"Sounds great, but what about the owl?"

"We have an understanding. He won't be bothering us again," Sibella explained, taking the lead as she took to the air, the Loud warlock following shortly after.

The two of them spent about thirty more minutes atop the weather vane arrow, cuddling close together as they stargazed. It was a glorious evening, but they eventually needed to return to school. The bat gal and bird boy quietly flapped their way up to the gym tower window and, after a quick scout to make sure no one else was there, hopped right into the exercise room. "Did you enjoy our little flight, Lincoln?" The daughter of Dracula inquired as she changed back to her original form.

"Immensely, owl interruption aside," He replied, stretching his wings and legs a bit. "Thank you so much, Sibella. For everything."

"You're quite welcome, dearest," She responded, a glowing expression on her face. "Are you ready to be changed back?"

"Just a second." He hopped his way over to his pile of clothes on the floor, positioning himself pretty close to where he had been when he turned into a bit.

"Oh. Good thinking, Lincoln," The vampiress said, a soft blush appearing on her face before she held a hand over the bird in the pile. "Ellevan revoran trasorma humavis," she recited, a purple light shining from Lincoln's shirt. Seconds later, the white haired lad was returned to normal...with a slight hitch. When Lincoln changed back to normal, his shirt ended up over his head, one of his arms trapped with it, and his pants weren't quite up, giving Sibella a view of his underwear. Her cheeks turned a light pink before she burst out laughing at the silly sight before her. "Hahahahahahaha! I'm sorry, Lincoln...I know I shouldn't laugh…" She said through her hysterics, while Lincoln was trying to squirm his other arm free.

"It's...ok, Sibella," The muffled voice of Lincoln Loud said through his shirt, his face quite flushed from embarrassment. Once his fanged girlfriend had a few seconds to calm down, she walked over to help him straighten out his shirt. This gave him a chance to fix his jeans, then get to his feet. "Thank you…"

"Anytime," She said, gently stroking his hair with a loving smile. "We should go to bed. There's still a lot of work before finals."

"You're right, Sibella. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night," He said as he gave her a sweet kiss good night before the couple climbed down the stairs of the tower back to the second floor of the school. The one son was feeling somewhat more relaxed, in spite of the upcoming finals and his close encounter with a bird of prey. There was still a lot to think about, including Amethyst, but between the classes and the evening flight, he was definitely ready for a good night's sleep.