*Shimmerclan: Our Last Days*

A/N: I don't have much to tell you, so let's just go ahead and get started right away shall we?

Chapter 2:

*S*

Jeremi leaped at Violetheart, who met his charge with a yowl.

"Killing this piece of fox dung," Violetheart snarled, kicking out with her hind paws.

Agony leaped out of the brush, eyes gleaming. "Well, well." he said, tilting his head. "What have we here? Jeremi, mind getting off her so I can see her face?"

The black and white tom gave her one last strike to the flank before slipping away with a chuckle.

"Seems we got the leader." he said, motioning at Wishstar.

Mars nodded, gaze fixed on the older she-cat. "That's her. And-" he looked at Violetheart curiously. "I remember her, too. Violetpaw, wasn't it? The little apprentice, off on her own again?"

At first Violetheart looked at him with defiant hatred, but as more cats appeared she realized just how much trouble they were in. Mars could fight like no one she knew, and since he wasn't the leader of this anticlan, he wasn't even the best fighter here... "It's Violetheart now." Violetheart sneered.

Wishstar stood in front of Violetheart. "You leave Violetheart out of this." she growled. "And leave my clan's territory while you're at it."

Agony laughed. "You're outnumbered more than three to one, clanner, facing a group of killers and anticlanners who seem to be set on killing you and your friend here, and you still have the nerve to order us to leave?"

Jeremi stalked closer, nodding at Mars with a flick of his tail. The golden tom slipped to stand behind them, and Violetheart turned to face him. Where was her clan? She wondered desperately. Where were the others?

"But still..." Agony considered. "I enjoy making deals, little clanner. Here is our offer." he glanced at Jeremi, who nodded somewhat reluctantly. "If you surrender yourself to our fate for you, we let the little friend of yours leave. If she chooses not to, we kill her painfully, so I suggest you use your leaders' authority if you want anything done. Seeing as Jeremi was looking to forward to snapping her throat, he gets full claim to killing you in the morning, and first dibs on your tonight, followed by any other who may want part of the prize." The black and white tom smiled with horrific glee as Wishstar squirmed under his gaze.

Wishstar took a deep breath. "Violetheart, you may leave." She said. Even though she said it as a suggestion, there was no doubt that it was really an order.

Violetheart's eyes opened wide. "You aren't taking the offer? You can't!"

Jeremi's eyes glittered. "Mars, if you would."

Mars grinned, tail waving. He looked quite relaxed as he padded up to Violetheart, and didn't flinch when she growled at him. "Come on, little girl, it's that or have another party. You don't like being crippled-why risk your neck, or rather the rest of your legs?" He said stroking the almost lame leg of Violetheart.

Wishstar butted in between Mars and Violetheart. "Violetheart leave NOW," she yowled.

Violetheart growled. "I'm not leaving."

"Wishstar agreed in all goodwill." Agony said. "I keep my promises."

Mars struck so suddenly that Violetheart staggered, shocked. Fire burned along her flank, or so it seemed. She took a step back, hating this. Attacking back could mean Wishstar being killed. She shot a desperate look at her leader, pleading her to reconsider.

"Tell your brother to lead them well." Wishstar told Violetheart sadly, leaving Violetheart with an empty feeling. She was going to lose her leader.

Violetheart trembled, as if she was struggling with herself, and then at last turned away. "I... I'm sorry." she whispered.

Agony was watching Wishstar, Mars watching Violetheart, and Jeremi just watching everything, but there was another cat in this equation.

A slim black tom, the infamous scout of the Dark Star, had spotted Onyxpaw, whom sat in a tree, almost invisible watching the happening on the ground, and he caterwauled a warning to his companions. Onyxpaw looked down startled and fell from the tree.

Jeremis eyes flashed, and before you could say 'blargh' he was gone, intent on chasing down the prey Esperos had spotted.

Agony tilted his head. "Looks like your 'rescue' possibility isn't going to work out." he said pleasantly. "Any clanner, or rather any cat who isn't Dark Star, is about to be captured or killed by Jeremi. Isn't that nice?" He laughed madly.

Onyxpaw heard the wails. "Cloudpaw, we need to leave now!" Onyxpaw got up and turned to his companion and was ready to run.

Wishstar looked around. "Who else could be out?" she whispered to herself. Then she remembered two apprentices had been missing since that morning. "The apprentices!" she gasped standing up.

Agony roughly shoved her down again. "Stay where you are." he warned. "And keep quiet. Mars can easily catch up with the one who you told to escape."

Jeremi leaped through the brush, bounding in the pursuit of his prey. He knew two cats were just ahead of him, and he went even faster.

Violetheart fled, looking back at Wishstar one last time.

Agony tilted his head and Mars turned away, ready to join the search.

Esperos darted from place to place, searching for more intruders. If he found one, he would announce it with a loud howl.

Wishstar watched and listened helplessly. "Please they are just apprentices. No harm, let them go back to camp. They weren't even supposed to be out."

*S*

Piccolo, a small silver bengal she-cat, sniffed around and scented strange cats. 'Now why would my mother let strange cats in her territory?' She went to investigate.

*S*

"Prey is prey." Agony said lightly. "And if they can run fast enough, they earn their lives."

*S*

Jeremi burst out onto the two apprentices, eyes blazing with bloodlust. He sprang at them, claws unsheathed and teeth bared.

Cloudpaw tried to run faster, but it was hard for her to blend in, with her white pelt she stuck out... big time.

Jeremi sprang after Cloudpaw, quickly catching up to the frightened apprentice. While he ran full speed, though, he couldn't attack properly, so he instead ran beside her and gave a loud shriek, hoping to scare her into slowing down or turning.

Onyxpaw growled and flung himself into Jeremi. "Go Cloudpaw get help." he called.

Jeremi turned on him in a rage, tearing at him with deadly sharpened claws. He was aiming for the chest, the face, the spine. Onyxpaw didn't stand a chance against him.

Mars paused, uncertain of what to do.

There! A little messenger, so it seemed. An apprentice. Mars bounded after Cloudpaw, eyes bright with the thrill of the hunt.

Mars was about to spring onto Cloudpaw, but something struck him in the side and knocked the breath out of him. Violetheart struck him a hard blow to the stomach, lashing out while he was still stunned in hopes of winning with the element of surprise.

"Get Manderfall and tell him Wishstar needs help!" she shouted to the apprentice. "Quickly!"

~S~

Agony smiled at Wishstar. "Isn't it beautiful? The sound of a terrified clan, hunted by their own kind. To kill a cat is not a thing of evil, Wishstar, it's a thing of joy and grace and perfection. To think, you'll die without knowing that pleasure, without knowing any of those things..." The tom shook his head sadly.

"I'm perfectly fine not knowing those things, but here is a piece of advice. After this, look those you kill in the eyes and never forget their faces, because they will never forget yours. (*)" Wishstar said, remembering something her mother had told her when she became a warrior.

Agony smiled, tail waving. "Any who remain are going to be killed. Jeremi is not known for his mercy."

~S~

Back in his den, Manderfall's head shot up when he heard a loud yowl. A few heartbeats later he heard it again. 'Yes, it was there.' So he wasn't going crazy! He leaped to his paws and pushed out form the den and looked around.

Manderfall glanced at the rest of the clan. "There's a fight out there in the forest, somewhere." he called. "We need more cats to join the fight!"

A yowl rang out from the gathered Shimmerclan cats, but they were few and needed more forced than they had. Mistyfur, Wishstar's best friend looked around with despair. 'How can they believe that we'll win? These are cold blooded killers,' she thought, she felt fear rise inside of her and tried to squash it down before anyone noticed.

A soft breeze whirled around Mistyfur and the scent of jasmine was carried over to her. Mistyfur looked up and saw a cat with stars in her fur standing beside her. The other cat smiled at her and beckoned her over to a small tree. Mistyfur followed the cat with wonderment in her eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked the cat, who was clearly one of her ancestors.

"I am one who came before, and has come again" was all the she-cat said, when she talked her mouth didn't move, and her voice sounded like a winter breeze.

"Why are you here?" Mistyfur asked.

"You will find your answer in the wind," the she-cat said glancing over at the others. Everything had taken on a blurry sheen. "Just remember that cats have hope because they cannot see death in front of them*, but you see it in front of you." The she-cat smiled and started fading. "What will you do?" The words were barely audible, on a breeze that ruffled Mistyfur's whiskers.

Mistyfur looked around and padded back to the rest of her clan members. "I know what I will do," she whispered.

*S*

*The words Wishstar speaks are a quote from Fullmetal Alchemist. Colonel Frank Archer tells Riza Hawkeye (during the Ishval War) that if she was going to kill people to look them straight in the eye and never forget their faces cause they'd never forget hers.

*This quote was modified only by replacing the word people with cats. It was a quote from Rukia Kuchiki from Bleach. The original quote is: People have hope because they cannot fear what they cannot see. I.E. Death.

A/N: Soooo, chapter two done and ready to go! Hope you guys like it. Err, I forgot what I was gonna so, I'll see yall for the next chapter.

*Shimmerz*