I'm sorry for the wait! My inspiration decided to go 'OOOHHHHH SHINY!' and I haven't been able to write this, until now. It is somewhat shorter than the other chapters, and I am also sorry for that. The next one should be back to normal length.

AWESOME HEAD-INFLATING REVIEW ANSWERING!

Feraa: That's interesting, what you think of Ebony. I didn't expect that. Fang's having quite a dilemma at the moment.

Fourth Season: Thank you!

L xxx: Thank you sooooo much! I can't cliffhangers either, except for when I'm writing them. Then they are fun. I tried to write this as quickly as possible. Schoolwork? Meh, it can wait. Thank you again!

You guys are soooo amazing. I just thought you ought to know...

Fang's blood turned to pure ice at her Leader's words, coursing through her veins and paralyzing her whole entire body. She could do nothing but stare at Shadow, uncomprehending. Had she heard him right? He couldn't have just told her to kill her brother. There must have been some mistake.

He seemed to be waiting for some sort of response from her. Slowly, almost robotically, she nodded. He smiled cruelly, backing up from Fox-obviously to give her room to do as bid. There was absolutely no sound from the group of bloodthirsty cats circled around them. Not a breath stirred, not a cat fidgeted.

Fang, keeping her gaze determinedly forward, marched ahead, attempting to detach herself from the situation around her. What was she going to do? What could she do? She couldn't possibly kill Fox-could she?

To those who watched her, she seemed bored. She had always been strangely detached from everything that happened, so they didn't remark upon it. If they had looked closely, perhaps they might have seen a dim, tortured light within her eyes, or her inner struggle within her robotic movements.

She couldn't kill her brother, but she had to as well. She could try to keep him alive, but that would be disastrous, for both her and Fox. They would both receive the punishment that came with disobeying a command. She couldn't do that.

But she would have to kill her brother to ensure that that path never came about. She didn't think she could do that. One look into his dull amber eyes was enough to crumble her resolve. She couldn't do this. This kind of thing-it was dishonorable! Real fighters would battle someone who could fight back. They would not kill someone who posed no threat. It wasn't right! How was she expected to harm her poor brother? What was this world-this world that asked her to murder her brother?

She wouldn't do it. There had to be another way. Maybe a trick, maybe a refusal? There had to be some way to save Fox.

If there was, she couldn't think of it. She was floundering within her mind, and she couldn't think straight no matter how hard she tried. There was no way she could come up with a plan to save Fox unless she calmed down and controlled her mind! It was her own, and it would submit to her will!

For once, her mind ignored her iron hard will, and continued to unleash chaos all over her mindscape, obliterating all reasonable thought with it's crashing, desperate waves of destruction. Her grip on reality was fraying, and the control she had fought so hard for broke within her thoughts. She was blown away with the sheer power of the chaos, one that she had no hope to contain. It would sweep her away, drowning her in it's grip.

Her eyes turned to Fox. He nodded to her, holding his head high as he awaited his fate. Despite all he had endured, he would make this easier on Fang. He would not grant BloodClan the satisfaction of knowing they had broken him-for all the good that would do.

It was this, the act of rebellion, that steadied Fang. The crashing tsunami within her mind receded, leaving room for logical thought once again. She might not be able to save Fox from his fate-he was too far gone to be saved- but perhaps she could lessen his pain. She would have to trick the crowd, however. She didn't need them to think she was weak.

The pieces of the plan came together in her mind, and her resolve hardened once more. Fang could do this, if she was quick and careful. She closed the distance between her and Fox, stepping into the pool of tacky red liquid that surrounded Fox. She leaned down, as if inspecting his pelt.

"When I hit you, scream as loud as you can. It must look as if you are in pain, and a lot of it," Fang hissed quietly into Fox's ear. He nodded, his eyes wide. Fang looked back up, to Shadow, as if awaiting his go-ahead.

"Proceed, Trainee Fang. Give us a good performance," Shadow commanded, taking his place at the very front of the line, the place of the Leader of BloodClan. Fagn turned back to Fox, taking a long, deep breath.

And lightning fast, she began, making patterns on his pelt with the blood from the floor. She appeared to be in a frenzy, though her strikes were measured and controlled. Fox, doing as she had bid, screamed loudly. She ignored them, focusing on her work. Fang spread the blood all over, scooping up some when she was running low. It was all so fast that none would be able to tell of her trick.

Finally, when she felt it was the right time-the trick would be unraveled if she went on much longer- she slit his throat so fast he never saw it coming. Fox slumped down, not even having registered that he had been taking his last breath before life was torn from his mangled body. The crowd gasped, impressed by her quick paws, though it had been a bit fast for their tastes.

But she was just a Trainee. She didn't know all of the secrets yet. But they could be taught, and once they had been…

They would have an unstoppable killing machine.

Unknown to them, their precious 'killing machine' was barely suppressing hot, demanding tears, something she had never had to deal with before. How could she have done that? Fang had just killed Fox! He was dead, never to return. She knew she had done as was necessary, knew she had been as merciful to him as possible, but she felt no better because of this fact. She was a murderer, and evil murderer! It didn't matter why, all that mattered is that she had done it, and now her own brother lay dead at her bloody paws! Looking down, and blinking back unshed tears, she sheathed her sharp blood-stained claws, and backed away from the cold body of her victim.

"Well done, Trainee Fang. We shall make a Soldier of you yet," Shadow congratulated. She only nodded, not trusting her voice. Did she even want to be a Soldier, if this is what made them good? The situation deserved anything but a 'well done'. Maybe a 'why didn't you try harder?' would fit the situation better.

She should be yelled at. She should be hit, scratched, mutilated. It was what she deserved. She was a monster, a heartless monster. She had just thrown her feelings to the side, doing what she had to and not thinking of the consequences. How much easier would it be next time? How soon would the line be blurred? And from there, how hard to step clean over the line and become a soulless, uncaring beast?

And maybe she had already done so. The body of Fox sure looked to be the work of a soulless beast. Nevermind that most of the wounds hadn't been inflicted by her, but surely she could have prevented them?

Even worse, why was the crowd cheering as if she had done something good and heroic?

"I call the Night of No Light to an end, my Clan." Shadow pronounced, the signal to retire to the dens and sleep. Fang stopped by the puddle nearby the entrance of the Trainee den, washing the red liquid off of her paws, before following the other Trainees into the den. Once inside, she ignored all attempts of conversation, stumbling to her nest.

"Well done, Fang! The mangy coward got what he deserved. Truly masterful work," Death pronounced, swaggering over to her nest. Fang shrugged, closing her eyes. Death didn't say any more, instead returning to his own nest. For that, Fang was grateful. She just wanted to sleep now. Mental dilemmas turned out to be exhausting.

But the world of dreams wouldn't greet her. It instead contented itself with leaving her alone to her onslaught of thoughts. She felt like screaming, crying, and letting out all of her feelings, but that would be unacceptable.

She would have to keep her mouth shut, her eyes uncaring, her mien bored, as always. This wouldn't change anything, she tried to tell herself. She knew it had done some irreparable damage to herself, something that she could do nothing about. There was no going back.

And there was no question about whether it was for the better or for the worst.

:( Poor Fang. I tried to do justice with the emotional dilemma.

Question: Why do you think Shadow wanted Fang to kill her brother in the first place? Why her out of all of the BloodClan cats?