Hmm. Not very happy with how this chapter turned out but it's really long, so hopefully there's some good bits hidden among the...not-so-good stuff. XD

Goooooooosh, lots of reviews. I didn't know I'd get so many on the first chapter. -very happy-

Queen of the Pens - You are indeed the first reviewer! Haha, hopefully you'll like it. X3

theDiabolical - Dude, you can read fics on your phone? :O I didn't know that! I knew about "arcane" but only because of Arcanine. XD

Rapidfeather - Heehee~ You're so nice to me! XD But this one just totally fell into my head. It might be a bit controversial later, I guess, plot-wise. But hopefully you guys won't ditch me for it. XD

Squirrelheart - Heehee! I'm glad you liked it! XD

Before The Winter's Dawn - Oh, you're already all started with college again? I've got ten days left of freeeeeedom! XD Mmm, I don't think they'll meet the Clans in this one. It would be very difficult to finagle that - not to mention I have no clues where this would be in the canon series. XD

tufted titmouse - Sure! Take all the time that you need! Oooh, yeah, that would be a problem; I haven't read the newest series but the first book. XD Braiser's ghost? Hmm...maybe. XD Just kidding.

A fallen tree - Heehee! I figure, if you're gonna write something, make it nice and long! Aaw, you lost interest? Was it something I said? -overly dramatic- Inorite? I hated Bronze for his devious...deviousness. XD

ponyiowa - Hee! Thanks! And here ya go!

xKarjax - Haha, thanks! :D

LegendaryHero - A year! You think it'll take that long to write it? XD Oh yeah, Float's probably gonna be darker than Sidestep...but fluffier! XD Eeehhhh! You frustrate me, Hero! I feel like I must always work hard for your approval! I told you, I'mma write such a beautifully tragic chapter in Float that it makes you cry MANLY TEARS OF MANLINESS! You just wait. XD

AwesomeCoolPerson - Tomatoes? :O My grandfather DIED from tomato-throwing! ... Lol/jk. Did I get you? No? This is the internet and you can see the punchline to my joke? Huh. Well this is awkward. XD

SoccerGeek7699 - Fix Declan? But he's sooooo much funner when he's broken! And as for Twist's PoV, yup! This chapter is actually from her perspective. And then, further on, perhaps even a new character's PoV! :D

Tangleflame - Heehee! Thanks! :D

artemis7337 - Haha! Reviews are never weird or unhelpful! Any little bit helps - not to mentions makes me smile. X3 Hee~ You think you know the killer, do you~? -evil smile- And about the S thing, I know. I conversed with Fwirl - my RL bff but also a good fic writer on here (Fwirl Until The End) - and gave her veto-powers for titles. At first, Float was gonna be Slide because I thought it would be funny - slide = sliders - but she put her foot down and we ended up with Float. XD Not to mention, when we talk on IM, we abbreviate fics and stuff so I always had to be like, "Oh, I'm writing S right now!" and she'd be all, "Wait, S1, S2, S3, or Si?" It got very confusing. XD

Mintheart - Heehee! You think Sorrow? :D

Silvertail of shoreclan - Oh, haaaaaaaaaaai, new reviewer! Hee! I'm glad you liked Sidestep! I do have a soft spot for that fic. I loved writing it so much. XD

Ravenshade - Hahahaha! That made me lol. XD I'm afraid that Anole and Li'l Sparrow won't be making an appearance for awhile yet. Not to mention by now, they're much older. And Anole wouldn't need any help holding down a cat now. XD I had the beginning aaaaall planned out. And now I'm trying to get through this explanatory crap to get to the good stuff. XD

XxJabberjayxX - You only barely got a review reply this time 'round! I just got your last review! XD I love it when funny and fluffy come together - almost as much as angsty and fluffy. XD Oh, it'll definitely be a wild ride. That's for sure. -evil smile-

Okay. Whew. Um, let's do a music quote, shall we~? I think I might do that every time now, since I generally listen to a single song the entire time I'm writing to keep me both focused and entertained. This time around it waaaaaaaas: "Everything You Ever" from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

"You abilities are too infant-like for doing much alone."

Coriolanus, Act 2, Scene 1


Twist watched as Gravel and Kent dug a hole in front of her, carefully shifting the growing piles of dirt so they wouldn't fall back in. Lucky and Flint stood nearby, with Bronze's body just past them. It was half-covered in sweet-smelling leaves, staving off the smell of death.

Gravel stopped digging for a moment, listing to the side, and Declan jumped into the hole to take his place. He helped the older tom out of the grave, hoisting him up on his shoulders, and Twist grabbed Gravel's scruff from there and tugged him onto solid ground.

"Thanks," he gasped, out of breath. He fell half-slumped to the ground, his eyes squinted. He had lost a lot of weight, Twist thought as she stood near him, her tail flicking from side to side with discomfort. He had been released, as Sorrow had promised, along with River and a few other Sliders Twist hadn't known well. He hadn't been smoke-treated by the Claws—thank the stars—but he had been put under severe strain, working deep in the guard's headquarters as a hunter and a cleaner. The Rogue, disdainful of Gravel's friends and probably Gravel himself, had kept him out of sight.

The grave was finished quickly, just as dusk was settling over the forest. They had picked a quiet spot, well-shaded in the hot season and high enough to avoid heavy snowfall. It was a place where most of the fallen Sliders were buried, including the ones who had died during the battle against the Claws. For a cat to be buried here, alongside his kin and gangmates, was an honor.

One that Twist didn't think Bronze deserved.

The others seemed to have agreed with her, because this grave was on the far side of the field, where the ground was looser, sandier, than the rest of the places.

Declan and Kent crawled out of the grave and then it was time for Twist to do her part. She shoved a mix of saved dried maple leaves, moss, and herbs into the bottom of the grave, coating the ground in an even spread so the body wouldn't have to sit on the dirt.

Flint and Declan lowered Bronze into the grave, gently setting him among the leaves. Declan left at once, curling his tail around Twist's. She knew he didn't like this, anything about it. Not the fact that a cat was dead or that it was an enemy—especially if that enemy was the one who was so high in Claw rankings.

Flint, however, lingered behind. He arranged Bronze's limbs into a more natural position, laying his tail across his flanks, closing his eyes. Standing there for a silent moment, he said softly, "Should we say the rites?"

The final rites, given to Sliders fallen in battle, was something only the close relatives or friends of a fallen cat ever heard. Twist, upon attending Kip's burial, had heard them only once. Soft, gentle words, those of love and loss, were said over the body before burial. Those attending sometimes left shells from the brook or nest-feathers as parting gifts.

Would Bronze be honored like a Slider?

Lucky stared down at the grave for a long moment, his dark eyes looking like pits in his face. "No," he said, turning away in that moment. Still facing the brook, he added, "Finish this up. It is time to return to the Warren."

Flint's eyes dropped back down to Bronze. He seemed unhappy with Lucky's decision but said nothing, climbing up out of the grave to help push in the churned earth. Within just a few kicks of dirt, Bronze's face was covered, then his body in a fine layer, until the grave was completely filled. Flint dropped a stone marker onto the top of the dark earth, positioning it with careful paws.

"What's the point in that?" Gravel growled. "This cat tortured others for fun. He was sadistic."

"He's still dead," Flint said calmly. "He deserves a place for rest."

Twist's hackles rose and she smoothed them back with difficulty. It was so easy to stereotype all Claws as being like Bronze, even though she had barely known him. She had seen enough to know that he wasn't a good cat, an enemy to those whom she loved, so he had to be stopped. Whether that was going with his sister Sorrow or leaving the forest was up to him. She told herself that she should be sorry that he was dead but she wasn't. He could have killed somebody.

They went back to the Warren in silence. Twist was acutely aware of the grave dirt still clinging to her paws and legs, the smell of those sweet herbs that did not entirely mask the scent of death, the eyes of the Sliders on her as they entered the gate.

Lucky turned to them. "You have all done good work. Please get some rest. We will have a simple day of hunting tomorrow." He turned half-away, Viktor stepping up to his side.

"Aren't you going to say anything to them?" he asked, nodding to where most of the gang had emerged with curious eyes.

Lucky followed his gaze, then dropped his gaze to the ground. "They already know the circumstances."

"But what about Bronze's killer?" Twist whispered. "What are we going to say about that?"

Lucky shook his head slowly, his eyes unseeing. "I do not know yet. Please, I need a moment. We will speak tomorrow." Before anyone could say anything else, he was gone down the metal tunnel, disappearing into the gloom.

Twist watched him, unable to fight back a feeling of disappointment. She was so sure that he was improving as a leader but then he would do things like this, keeping information that didn't need to be kept secret. Hoarding secrets like treasures. Just like Wisp did.

She hadn't seen the old she-cat since the end of the battle and didn't want to. If there was any justice in the world, she was alone and miserable somewhere, picking off fleas and ticks from her mangy pelt. After all she'd done—playing with cats' lives just for the fun of it, the power-trip—she deserved nothing more than to be lonely.

Twist didn't know she was still staring off after Lucky until Declan cleared his throat significantly. She turned to him, seeing soft concern on his face. "I'm fine," she said, before he asked anything.

Amused, he said, "You don't agree?"

Twist turned her head away. "I just think that a leader should tell cats what's going on. How else are we going to keep everyone on our side if they don't know anything?"

"Very true." He put his head to the side. "Is that what you'd do? If you were the leader?"

Twist laughed. "I wouldn't ever presume to be a leader," she said. "I wouldn't want to be one. I'd make a pretty terrible one, at the very most. At the least, I'd lead us all off a gorge or something."

"Yeah. You'd bring us all to certain demise." He nudged her shoulder. "Come on, cheer up. There's nothing to be done for now. Let's go hunt."

"There's a killer on the loose and you want to catch mice?" she asked dryly.

"There's nothing we can do now. There's no point to obsess over it."

Twist pulled a face. "I'd prefer not to get murdered. It would put an awful damper on, you know, the rest of my life."

"I'll protect you," Declan said, bumping her shoulder with his muzzle. "A she-cat needs a good, strong tom to protect her."

Twist lifted her eyes to his, letting out a short hum of laughter. "You'll have to tell me where I can find a good, strong tom, then."

Declan laughed, drawing her close to him and pressing his forehead to hers. She closed her eyes and allowed this moment to hold her for a moment. For just a moment, it could be peaceful once more. But deep inside her heart, as they walked back to their den to rest, Twist knew it couldn't ever go back to the way it was before.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning was cold.

Twist, buried in Declan's thick back fur, snuggled even closer, turning her face to allow her cheek to rest against his warm pelt. Her nose felt like a piece of ice on her muzzle, and she rubbed her pads across it, trying to warm it with friction. They had somehow managed to press into the very back corner of their den, wrapped in a nest of feathers and long-dried moss. They had started out the night curled together but now Declan had turned around, his back to her, his paws curled up tightly against his chest.

Twist got to her paws, stepping gingerly across him, and looked outside. To her dismay, tiny white flakes were drifting out of the sky.

Just when she had thought the cold-season was over, she thought dully. The urge to walk back inside and nestle against Declan was nearly overpowering but she forced herself to trot out into the frozen early morning.

She didn't want to disturb him, especially not when he was actually been getting sleep. The past few moon cycles, his nights had been interrupted with terrible nightmares. She could hear him whimpering in his sleep sometimes, his eyes flickering restlessly beneath the lids, his claws unsheathing. Sometimes he'd even spoken.

He had last night, in fact. He had said, "Please, no," very softly. So quietly that if Twist hadn't already been laying awake thinking, she wouldn't have heard him. He had sounded so hurt, so frightened. He had been begging.

And that worried Twist far more than Bronze's death.

No one was awake yet as Twist padded down the short, winding path to the healing den. The morning was dark and gray, promising even heavier snowfall as the day wore on. It wasn't that Twist hated the snow, she didn't, but she couldn't stand it wearing on so long. The cold season had been long and bitter, and now it looked like it would be a few more moon cycles yet before the Sliders saw a break from this freeze.

The healing den was full of the sound of voices.

Twist froze, one paw in mid-air. She had been on her way to the den to find Audrey—she hadn't seen her the day before—but the voice speaking wasn't hers. It was Flint's.

"—don't understand why I have to do that," he was saying, his voice hushed but full of anger.

"I believe that it could become a problem." Twist started at the sound of Lucky's voice. What was he talking to Flint about so early in the morning?

Without really thinking, Twist flattened herself onto the ground and squirmed beneath the lip of a particularly heavy, empty box-nest. There was barely enough room for her, her chest compressed so much that it hurt to breathe, and there was about a kitten-step of open space ahead of her—just enough to make out the silhouettes of Flint and Lucky on the wall—Lucky long and pointed, the shadows of his ears stretched, and Flint smaller, rounder somehow.

"A problem that you're not going to tell the Sliders about?"

Lucky sounded uncomfortable as he said, "I do not wish to worry them needlessly. We can keep this to ourselves for now. I will keep you updated on the situation."

Flint sighed in exasperation. "I don't get you, Lucky. You were doing so well after the battle and now you're back to your old tricks. There's no need to hide anything from the Sliders. They're all trustworthy."

"I understand that," Lucky said, now with a testy edge in his mellow voice. "I do not wish to worry them. I trust every single one of them."

"Whatever," Flint snapped. "I don't think you really believe that. You're just being a coward. You're worried about it, aren't you?"

"I do not know what you are talking about."

"You think it's him! The Rogue!"

Twist gasped, a hushed sound. Pressing her mouth into her paws, as if to keep the sound inside her body, she stared with wide eyes to where Lucky's shadow started with surprise.

"You are being a fool," Lucky said coldly. "I am not a kit. I understand what happened. Unlike you, I was present when my brother died."

"When he died," Flint repeated. "Not when he disappeared. No cat found his body. Who are you to say that he's not dead?"

"Who are you to refute the fact that he is? You were too busy buddying up with the Claws to do anything! You were not here when everything was happening! You do not know what happened while you were gone, Flint! I had to fight to keep this gang together and I will not have this fact released! Do not speak of this to anyone if you wish to remain a member of this group. If you do, you may simply leave us and rejoin the Claws. I am sure they would welcome back the cat that kept the Rogue alive and healthy for so long!" He let out an annoyed hiss, the first uncultured sound that Twist had ever heard him make. "The possibility that he is alive is driving me insane! I can barely sleep at night, I cannot eat, I cannot bring myself to hunt. I have lost all the possibility of peace with this latest development! Do you understand that this is tearing my mind into shreds? Do you understand what this would mean to the Sliders? To myself?"

I didn't know that he still thought the Rogue was alive. Already, the possibility was making Twist's blood run cold. But why would he only be bringing it up now? Why wouldn't he mention something earlier?

Flint, now in a more even tone, as if Lucky's panic had had the opposite effect on him, said, "I think you need to calm down. Nothing we've found out has proven anything."

"Foreign cat scent in the area is enough to make me…agitated." Lucky's pacing was evident from this short distance, a quick rasp of paws on sand. "I cannot rest if it is assuredly not the Rogue's. I am going to lose my mind if it cannot be disproven, Flint."

"We need to remain calm. Nothing's going to change right now. Keep sending cats in that area to look for clues. It could have just been a shred of Bronze's fur that caught the air. They had similar pelts."

"Bronze's fur was darker than the Rogue's. You believe I do not remember the pelt of my own brother?"

"I didn't say anything like that. Just…don't panic. We need to tell the Sliders what's happening."

"No," Lucky said, his voice shaking.

"Lucky—"

"I said no! I do not believe you make the rules, Flint! I believe that I am still the leader of this group, am I not?" When Flint said nothing else, Lucky, in an infinitely calmer voice, his normal leader voice, added, "I thought so. Please remain silent on this matter. I will handle this. Thank you for your time." Without another word, he swept up the tunnel. Twist recoiled down into the ground as he walked in front of her, and in the wake of his passage, she could detect the bitter tang of his fear.

Flint followed him out, standing silently, watching him go. There was mud on his paws, freshly churned. He must have been out earlier. He looked tired, his eyes creased and half-lidded. He yawned widely, stretching his back out, cracking open one eye. And that's when he saw her.

"Twist!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing under there? Did you—did you hear anything?" He sounded almost embarrassed, his pelt bristling with discomfort.

"No," she said at once because lying was ingrained in her, and then more slowly, amended, "Yes."

Flint's eyes sparked with anger. "Eavesdropper!" he accused.

Twist pulled herself out from under the nest, her pelt thick with dust, and said, "I'm sorry. I was coming to talk to you, and…" She trailed off awkwardly.

Flint, lips slightly curled, narrowed his eyes at her. "I can't believe you," he hissed. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into! You had no right to—"

"Hey, I was captured by the Rogue, too, remember?"

He stumbled towards her, covering her mouth with his tail. "Not here," he whispered, eyes darting around. "Come inside. Come on."

She followed him down the tunnel, recoiling away from his touch. Just because they were sort-of friends now didn't give him the right to be so close to her. And in spite of her newfound trust for other cats, Twist still did not like being touched.

The healing den looked identical to the other times she had been here. A roughly circular stone room with a curved ceiling with a hole in the center, it had five branching tunnels, leading to tiny dens of their own, used to house sick cats and new mothers. At the present, there was no one there, not any that Twist could smell, anyway. Audrey's scent was almost completely gone, even though she'd been living here for six moon cycles.

Flint brought her to the farthest den back, the one he kept for himself. There was a mat of bedding in the corner, fixed particularly with moss and bracken, and a small shell full of water. Another of Lucky's weird ideas, Twist thought.

"Why were you listening in?" Flint demanded at once. "And what did you hear?"

"Lucky thinks the Rogue is still alive?" Twist asked, getting straight to the point.

Flint shifted uncomfortably. "I don't see how that's any of your—"

"I'm a Slider. And the Rogue nearly killed me. I think that gives me the right to that kind of information."

Flint sighed. "Didn't we used to be friends, Twist?"

"No," she said bluntly.

He winced. "That hurts. I considered you my friend."

"I considered you a spineless coward," she retorted. "You allowed the Claws to use you. Out of your own free will. What kind of cat does that?"

"The kind that wants to live."

"The kind that doesn't care about living. If you did, you would have fought."

"This body wasn't made for fighting." Flint sighed heavily. "If you want someone to lecture, I'm sure my brother would like a word."

"Max gave everything he had for the Sliders!" Twist hissed. "He was the one who was brave, not you! He fought the Claws when he was a kit! Who are you to judge him like that?"

"Who are you to judge me?" he shot back. "I did what I could to stay alive! I had to save myself! I couldn't think of anyone else, just me! If you were half the cat you used to be, you would be thinking the same!"

That stung. Flattening her ears behind her and baring her teeth, she snarled, "Don't be bringing up the past! This has nothing to do with that! This is about Lucky and the Rogue!"

Flint, now looking remarkably angry, tossed his head away. "We looked at that fur again," he said. "And another patch, a brown bit of fur we found a little ways away from where Bronze was. Lucky thinks that it's the Rogue's fur."

"The Rogue didn't have that much white," Twist pointed out. "Barely any at all."

"Enough to leave a patch. Especially if a cat was attacking him. If Bronze was."

"Why would he attack his own son?" Then she shook her head. "He's not alive. He can't be. I saw him drown."

"Did you?" Flint's eyes flicked to her again, searching her face. "You saw him fall into the water. You didn't see him die. There wasn't a body."

"That's not what you were saying to Lucky," she said suspiciously.

Flint looked away. "I don't want to give Lucky any more things to worry about than he already has. It would be cruel. He'll give himself gray whiskers if he keeps this up."

"It's not your job to tell Lucky what to do."

"And it's not yours to tell me what to do." He turned back to her, a cold distance coming into his eyes. She shivered before she could help it; he looked like a Claw.

"Do you think it's the Rogue?" she asked him. "That killed Bronze?"

Flint twisted his jaw. "It's not for me to say."

"You obviously think it was someone else."

He narrowed his eyes. "Obviously."

"Then who?"

And now a bit of Flint's old uneasiness came into his eyes. Shifting his weight from paw to paw, he said, "I don't know…" But he didn't sound sure.

"White fur," Twist said slowly. Who among them knew Bronze and hated him enough to kill him? Who would do something like that, leaving such dreadful wounds all over a cat's body, clearly curved slashes of a cat driven by passionate hate.

Flint was looking at her steadily, as if he was waiting for her to say it.

Then it popped into her head: the only cat she could think of who hated Bronze so much, even after such a long time, who had kept that hate bottled deep inside, letting it swirl and strengthen…

"Lightfoot," she said.

Flint's eyes glittered. "I thought the same."

"But…why would she?" Twist realized a heartbeat later what a stupid question that was. "Bronze was in charge of the pits." He was the one under whose watch Beck, Lightfoot's only and dearest friend, had died. Lightfoot had been devastated, broken. And the only way she knew how to respond was with hatred.

Strong enough hate to fuel a murder?

Knowing her, and Twist did, she wouldn't doubt it.

Flint dismissed her then with, "I have things to do. You need to keep this quiet. I can't have rumors spreading. Tell no one. Not even Declan. Lucky's going to keep an eye on Lightfoot, to see if she does anything else."

Twist nodded, not promising really, because she knew without a doubt she would tell Declan, and exited.

Lightfoot, a murderer. Twist had known that for a fact long before today; Lightfoot had thrown down a Claw guard and killed him with the ease one would use to catch a mouse. And she had killed Braiser, Twist's father.

Twist shuddered away from that image. She still hated herself for sending Declan after to check for Braiser's body. She hated that weakness that had stolen over her. And mostly, she hated herself for being such a coward about it.

I am such a hypocrite, she thought, her paws bringing her along the path. She was halfway back to her den before she realized she hadn't even asked about Audrey.

Well, I'm not about to go back and ask now. Flint had been very firm on that fact. And she wouldn't want to head back that way again anyway, on the off-chance she would run into Lucky and have to explain herself to him. Or not. Though she was certain her face would give her away.

She had used to be such a good liar. Now with Declan's interference, she had become far more honest. In part, she liked that. In other times, it was frustratingly difficult to get information out of others who didn't want to give it up.

Her paws found their way to the den that Willow shared with River. They had been friends before River had been taken and now they were inseparable. Willow's former mate, Snow, had been killed in battle, and now it looked like she was well on her way to establishing a relationship with River. And River needed it, Twist thought as she lingered at the entrance to their box-nest. He was so far gone from the cat he used to be; she worried for him.

"Willow?" she called softly, unsure if she was still sleeping.

But Willow made her appearance. She had a warm sleepy smell about her—she must have just woken up. "Good morning."

"Have you seen Audrey?"

"Audrey?" She yawned widely, her eyes closing tightly. She flopped to the side, scratching an ear with her hind paw. "I haven't seen her since…well, the day before yesterday, I guess. Why? She isn't missing, is she?"

Twist wished that she could say no. "I don't know," she admitted.

Willow's eyes widened. "We have to find her, then! Let me get River and Jenny and we'll start sweeping the gang. We should tell Lucky, too."

"There's no need to get all riled up about it, I'm sure." I hope. "Let's just check to see if she's around first, okay?"

Willow agreed, disappearing back into her den, with the promise not to speak a word but to her closest friends.

But of course, once a rumor was out, it swept through the Sliders like a wildfire. By the time it was sunhigh, the entire group was out looking for her. Lucky pounced atop his usual position—the machine-paw tower—and declared Audrey officially missing.

"I would like groups sent out to find her, please. Viktor, you, River, and Kent will take groups of four cats each. I want you to go to every corner, look under every rock, in every patch of undergrowth. We must find her." He straightened, his eyes zoning in on where Twist and Declan stood. "I will lead another group. Meet back here when the sun has moved to halfway-sunset and we will speak again." He leapt off the tower, walking straight to them, and said to Twist, "You are with me?"

"Yes," Declan said. He pressed into Twist's side, trying to calm her down. Twist hadn't realized that she wasn't breathing until he said softly, "We'll find her," his words meant only for her.

Twist swallowed, squinting through the sudden worry that clutched at her chest. It wasn't like her to worry like this—but it also wasn't like her to not notice Audrey's absence.

But then again, Audrey had been fallen deeper and deeper into a dark place that Twist could barely stand to think about. Some twisted shadowy depression that was pulling the shine from Audrey's eyes and pelt, and making her ribs more apparent. She had walked with leaden paws and a blank expression, slowly curling in on herself until she was nothing but a pair of lungs and slow-beating heart.

Lucky had grabbed the other two cats in his group—a sturdy black tom with a tufty pelt named Blade and, to Twist's horror, Lightfoot.

The she-cat looked ready for action as usual, the black stripe between her eyes making her eyes look even more deadly than normal for some reason. She swung her head to face Twist, sharp curiosity in those vivid green eyes, but Twist looked away.

Of course Lucky wouldn't think anything of bringing her along, Twist thought. He doesn't suspect anything from her.

Now with Flint's words in the back of her head, Twist couldn't help but watch Lightfoot. Even closer than usual, she thought, as they made their way out into the outside, scaling the side of the hill towards the forest at the top. They were heading to where Bronze had been killed, she knew, but why she wasn't sure. Perhaps Lucky thought Bronze's death had something to do with it. Or maybe still, she thought, Lucky wanted to use this opportunity to check the area out again, looking for any sign of his brother.

The Rogue can't be alive, she thought firmly. I won't believe it. Lightfoot must have been the one to do it. She's the one who killed Braiser and that guard. She's the one who could have done it. She must have gone out into the woods and—

And what? Found Bronze there alone, unguarded, so close to Slider territory? He wouldn't have come that close to their land if he was intelligent—which he was. Twist had seen enough of him to know better than to underestimate the wily nature the Rogue taught his favorite son.

Lucky stopped at the crest of the hill. His pelt prickling, he half-turned to them, keeping his face hidden, and said, "We will split up here. Meet back at this spot when you are finished."

"Splitting up?" Blade echoed, his eyes widening in surprise. "But I thought—"

"Do you have a problem with it?" When Blade, stunned, didn't reply, Lucky went on with a tinge of condescension in his voice, "I thought not. I will go this way. Go your own." Without another word, he sprang ahead into the forest and vanished with a rattling of leafless branches.

They all watched him go, speechless.

Lightfoot was the next to go.

"H-hey!" Blade called. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to the magical pond to turn into a rabbit." She shot him a cold glare. "Where do you think I'm going, moron? We didn't come out here to chat, you know." She turned and trotted away, her tail lashing.

Blade still looked uncertain. "But…he said—"

"Come on, let's get going," Declan said. He turned to her. "We can go together, if you'd like, Twist."

As much as that offer was tempting, Twist knew this could be her only chance to look for Lightfoot herself—maybe the she-cat would show some sort of evidence that she was the one to kill Bronze. Not to mention that if Declan found out about her plan, he might persuade her not to go. "Well, Lucky did say to split up," she said slowly, immediately regretting the words at Declan's hurt expression.

It only lasted a heartbeat but Twist knew him better than that—he was clearly faking the cheerfulness with which he said, "Okay. See you later then!" He moved to a different part of the forest, an off-angle from where Lucky had gone.

Twist watched him, heart aching from hurting his feelings.

"So…are you going, too?" Blade asked.

Rolling her eyes, Twist entered the forest. She immediately darted beneath a bush with thick, dead leaves, hoping that her dark pelt would hide her against dirt. Blade walked by, looking a little bemused still, and Twist waited until he was out of sight before getting to her paws and taking off after Lightfoot.

In a way, she thought, she was probably being a horrible friend. She was supposed to be looking for Audrey, her actual friend, not sneaking after Lightfoot on the whims of her own imagination. But Flint's words had sunk deeply into her mind and would not leave. She had to make sure that Lightfoot hadn't done what Flint had accused her of.

But…why?

But all means, it was stupid. She shouldn't be doing this at all. She should be out there looking for Audrey.

But Twist had to know. She had to know if Lightfoot had done it.

In a way, as she slowed to a crawl, following Lightfoot's scent, Twist wondered if it was because she owed Lightfoot so much for killing Braiser and she had to make sure Lightfoot hadn't given into revenge. Though conversely, if Lightfoot had killed Bronze, why hadn't she been outspoken about it? In her mind, the killing of another cat wasn't an offense: it was a task given to her by some kind of otherworldly power.

Twist was almost too lost in thought to detect a slight twinge of movement ahead of her. Crouching down low, she crept forward, keeping her weight low over her paws. There was a rise of earth ahead of her—the same place where Bronze had been killed, or at the very least discovered.

I knew it, Twist thought, and she moved forward again, eyes seeking out the stark pelt of Lightfoot.

No cat was in the clearing. It looked completely normal, even the scent of blood vanishing into the cold morning.

Twist stared, confused. Lightfoot's scent was everywhere here.

A weight hit her from behind, making her chin dig into the frozen ground, gouging a hole in the earth.

Claws curled into her back, just pricking the skin. "You might want to be less obvious with your stalking," Lightfoot whispered into Twist's ear, forcing her deeper into the ground. "I could smell you coming from halfway up the hill."

Twist said nothing. Horror was surging through her, icy and thick.

What if she kills me for following her? she thought quickly, almost dismissing it. Almost. Lightfoot had shown the ability to snap with less than a insult.

"Well?" Lightfoot's claws broke Twist's skin now; she flinched before she could help it. "Why are you following me?"

"I'm not. I came to—"

"Don't give me that load of dung! I saw you sniffing all the way up here, creeping through the bushes. If you weren't following me, what were you doing?"

Twist couldn't answer.

"Following Lucky?" Lightfoot guessed. "Coming to see if another dead cat is here?"

Both good reasons. Both good lies. "Seeing where Bronze died."

"Liar." Lightfoot stiffened her front legs, crushing Twist so powerfully into the ground that the breath was forced from Twist's lungs. "What are you doing here? Tell me, or you'll regret it." The growly threat in her voice was enough for Twist to know she wasn't messing around—Lightfoot was deadly serious.

Gritting her teeth, Twist said, "I was following you."

"Ha. I knew it. But why?"

"I think you're acting suspiciously."

"I'm not the one following another cat into the woods," Lightfoot said wryly. "I've already been followed by one cat—I don't need another."

Twist was shocked. "Who followed you besides me?"

She heard the curled lip in Lightfoot's voice as she replied, "Lucky. He set out early but I saw him. He walked right beneath this tree, muttering." She took on a deeper pitch, mimicking Lucky's slow, even tones: "'Just past here, I see. So that cat has been here. I knew it.'" In her normal voice, she said, "I already knew once Bronze was reported dead you cats would come looking for me."

"You hate him."

"Hated," she corrected. "You mustn't speak in the present about a cat who's already dead. And I am so glad that he is dead. So glad. Though so disappointed that I didn't get to hear him beg for mercy. I would have loved to watch him die."

Cheek pressed against the ground, Twist asked in a garbled, "You didn't kill him?"

"Didn't I just say that? What, are your ears too full of dirt to hear properly?" She shoved off from Twist's back, leaping lightly off the side of the path. She licked a paw delicately, beginning to clean her face. "If I had killed him, you think I would have kept it quiet? You think that I wouldn't have bragged about it? And besides," she added coldly, "I would not have killed him so quickly. Not after what he allowed to happen to Beck. No, it would have been nice and slow, controlled, easy. Elegantly. He was killed like prey; I would have killed him like the vermin he was."

Twist scrambled to her paws, feeling dirt clotting in her pelt. She had no doubts that Lightfoot was telling the truth now. She had practically lamented the fact that it hadn't been her claws to end Bronze's life. Cursing Lightfoot bitterly, though silently, she asked, "Then who did it?"

"How am I supposed to know that? And why would I care? If only to thank the cat that put that disgusting worm out of this world." She sighed, staring at one perfectly white paw. It was the most dejected that Twist had ever seen her look. "If only it had been me."

Now significantly disquieted by Lightfoot's nearly psychopathic words, Twist edged away. "S-sorry for…accusing you, then."

"Yes," Lightfoot said softly, still staring at her paw. Then she blinked, pulling herself out of her reverie, and fixed those bright eyes on Twist. "You shouldn't be so quick to accuse anyone, Twist. Especially not this soon after such evil has been disposed of. Don't you want the peace you've so dearly clung to? That you've wished for? I mean, you and Declan are together now. There's your happy ending. But what about the rest of us? What about me? And Audrey? Even Lucky. Nobody got what they wanted. No one but you." Her eyes narrowed. "Some would think that unfair."

"We have peace now," Twist argued. "Or, at least we did before this. We'll…we'll get past this, I know."

"You think that all of the evil is gone from this place?" Lightfoot demanded, suddenly hot with fury that made her eyes go flat somehow, like circles of acid. "You're wrong. It's darkly coiled so deeply within all our hearts that we can't even feel it. You can't even tell until you see the monster's face, and by then it's far too late." She laughed then, scornfully. "Even mine. Even yours. Even Declan." On his name, her voice turned into a teasing lilt, mocking her.

Twist's hackles raised. "What do you know about Declan? Or what he went through? Who are you to say anything about that?"

"Oh, I'm a nobody." Lightfoot got to her paws, stretching luxuriously one leg at a time. As she passed, she brushed the tip of her feathery tail down Twist's spine. "I'm nobody. And so are you. So who areyou, Twist, to think that evil will be gone just because you wish it would be? You think that we can truly be rid of the Rogue and his cats? You're wrong. I see them every night in my dreams. My nightmares. Ones that wrench me from my sleep, screaming. I would imagine Declan would feel the same way. It's the mind-poison of the Claws: they have tainted me almost into madness." She chuckled humorlessly. "Or rather, tainted me even more. Come. We have to find Audrey." And she walked away, tail in the air, completely oblivious that she had left Twist very nearly shattered to pieces with only her words.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They searched for so long. Up and down the hill, down by the brook, through the forest. They asked a few of the pets that bordered the Sliders' territories. They even went to the border of the Claws' land, asking the guards they found there if they had seen a ginger she-cat.

No one had even glimpsed her. Not a single cat. It was like she had just dropped off the edge of the horizon.

Lucky called them together at the end of the day. The sunset blazing orange and purple behind him, he explained to the Sliders that one of their number had simply vanished. Gone. As if she'd never even existed. They hadn't been able to even find a scent-trail or fur.

The Sliders broke apart then, going back to their normal lives. As if they didn't care about Audrey at all or what she'd been going through.

Even though it kept Twist awake that night.

Declan wasn't sleeping either. He lay on his side, tail over his nose. One of his hind paws was stretched out towards her and she laid her leg over it, wanting just the simplicity of his touch to calm her. It didn't work; her heart was thudding sluggishly in her chest as she thought back over Lightfoot's words.

"Nobody got what they wanted. No one but you."

Twist jerked herself onto her shoulder, burrowing her nose into her nest-stuff. Everyone did get what they wanted, she thought, rather selfishly. The Rogue died. Cats came back home, loved ones, friends. It was a victory…wasn't it?

"It's the mind-poison of the Claws."

She glanced over at Declan. His eyes were open, glazed, staring up at the ceiling. Through the hole in their box-nest, Twist could see the half-obscured moon, floating so high up in the sky. His breathing was soft and even.

What is he thinking? It wasn't the first time Twist had had that thought. Every time she looked at him, at that serene expression he sometimes wore, she wondered what was going on in his mind. He kept so much from her, she knew—things too painful to speak about. She knew that his happy-go-lucky personality was sometimes a show he put on so cats wouldn't press him for details. But she also knew him well enough to read the tightness around his eyes, the lack of glint in his eyes. He was thinking so hard about something but he didn't speak.

But then again, she thought as she slowly let out a silent breath—one she hadn't noticed she'd been holding—she was not free with details either.

Could he really be possessed by the Claws still? By Braiser? In a way, she blamed and hated herself for what had happened—if she had killed Braiser properly the first time, Declan would never have gotten so irreparably damaged.

There's no use worrying about what you can't change, Twist told herself. You can't change anything with Declan right now. You need to focus on staying out of trouble.

She was already going to hear it from Flint if Lightfoot said anything. Though the black-and-white she-cat was difficult to read, Twist didn't think she was a snitch. And even if she spoke to anyone about it, she was surely going to say the same thing she had told Twist: how badly she had wished to kill Bronze.

I guess someone can feel that way, Twist thought. The thought of killing someone had never occupied her mind for very long—she had considered it when her mother was being attacked by Braiser so long ago, and then again when Declan was in danger—but she couldn't even comprehend the thought of stalking another cat like prey, leaping onto their back, her teeth in their throat…

She closed her eyes against the image.

At that moment, Declan reached out for her with a paw, gently resting it against her forearm.

Such a simple action. Such a complex effect it was having on her. It was like he could read her mind, sensing the unease there.

I should be comforting you, she thought.

"I'm sorry," Declan said softly.

Twist looked at him; he wasn't gazing at her, his eyes still on the moon above. "For what?" she whispered. She curled up against herself, her tail curving up between the two of them, the tip nearly brushing her chin.

And now he looked over at her. "You're unhappy."

She sighed slightly. "It's not our fault."

"Audrey is our friend. We should have stopped her from leaving." He sounded anguished, the green of his eyes glittering with pain.

Twist wanted to close her eyes against the sight. "I didn't think she would just…run away. I thought she would stay here, for her friends. For us."

"I guess not." Declan closed his eyes. His paw was still touching her, and she could feel he was trembling slightly. "But I can't stop thinking about her. What if she's alone? What if something kills her?" He opened his eyes, fixing her in a suddenly bright gaze. "What if the same cat that killed Bronze kills her, too?"

Twist couldn't speak.

Declan went on, though she half-wished he wouldn't: "What if she dies? What if she dies and it's our fault? She should have stayed, we should have made her stay. Twist, we should have helped her. She needed us and...and… Twist, we have to find her, we have to—" His voice was shaking so badly that he couldn't continue.

Twist slid over to him, resting her head just beneath his chin, one paw curled against his chest and the other over his shoulders, holding him to her. She was trembling, so much that her teeth were nearly rattling, but she couldn't let Declan see her face. She couldn't let him see the loss and terror she knew were etched into her expression.

They had lost Audrey. All because they were too busy with each other, alone in their own little world.

"I mean, you and Declan are together now. There's your happy ending. But what about the rest of us?"


Super-lame ending. Sorry.

If this chapter was a physical thing, I would shoot it dead. It did not please me, which rarely happens with me and writing.

On the plus side - the only plus side - it is now over. XD

Probably being a bit overdramatic.

So what else is new?

:P

Anyway. Enough of this. You can go back your lives now, unless you're about to review, in which case you should definitely do that instead. XD

R&R~

Shadow