Title: Linking the Far Past with the Far Future

Description: In which murders are committed, lives are stolen, Clans are allying themselves with dark forces for the means of survival, and betrayals are becoming a regular occurrence. Growing up being abandoned by her mother, Bluecrest must lock away her hatred and sorrow for the good of RiverClan. But when cats begin turning against her, she loses faith in what she once thought was love.

Comment Notes: Thanks for the feedback, Amber342~! I've changed a few things according to your suggestions~!

Author's Notes: Warriors belong to the Hunters and the Hunters only. Character deaths and angst to spice up the chapter~

Enjoy this chapter~!


Chapter 6

Unleashed Insanity


"Kinkstar." A voice called out, soft and sweet like a bell. The mousy she-cat glanced behind her, eyes glinting with wisdom and sorrow.

"So you saw it too." It was more of a statement then a question, though from the way she tilted her head towards the newcomer, it was obvious that she expected an answer. The smaller she-cat bounded up the slope, green eyes slow and hesitant.

"Yes."

The RiverClan leader tilted her head as if a realization suddenly struck her. "Then the best we can do for her is to prepare her in the best way possible."

The second cat made no sound, but Kinkstar could tell from the way her eyes glinted in the doom, that Plumfeather could do nothing but agree. As they sat together, a star shot across the night sky, lighting up the world in a split second.

From the forest of darkness, an evil, far more dangerous than anything the Clans have ever witnessed, will arise. Tragedy will befall the Clans, but all can be salvaged in a flash of pure blue light.


"Bluepaw, from now on, you shall be known as Bluecrest. The Clan welcomes you as a full-fledged RiverClan warrior."

Kinkstar's call rang through the clearing as the cats below the Highledge shifted excitedly, murmurs whispering through the throng as they chattered. The RiverClan leader paused, smiling proudly down at her Clan, before opening her jaws to continue.

Almost aglow with excitement and euphoria, Bluecrest licked her leader's shoulder respectfully before turning and racing to seat herself beside her newly-named sister, Runeswipe. Almost simultaneously, they looked over to where Whitedove sat, her eyes aglow with pride.

When their eyes met, Whitedove stood and started making her way to her daughters. Bluecrest's eyes sparkled.

Is she finally going to recognize me? Have I finally become the daughter you've always wanted, Mother?

"Oh, Runeswipe, I'm so proud of you!" she purred, pressing up against Runeswipe's side. "You've come so far and become such a fine warrior!" Whitedove could barely breathe through her purrs.

Of course not.

Bluecrest stared as emotions started flooding through her veins. Shock, anger, betrayal, and pain. They each cut into her like vicious claws tearing again and again at her heart until all that was left was a broken shell. And finally, after all these moons, Bluecrest snapped.

She surged forwards, her legs powered purely on blind rage, and she knocked into Runeswipe, flinging her sister to the warm, earthy ground. She towered over her elder sister, fury and pain battling in her rage-clouded blue eyes.

"Why is it always you?" Bluecrest screamed, finally letting her emotions loose. "Why is it always you that gets shown love and affection? Is it because you're older than me? Am I being thrown away and trampled on because of something I couldn't control? Why are you stealing Mother away from me?"

Pain, anger, fury, betrayal, love. I can finally show them to the world.

The whole clearing had gone silent. Cats stared at the two she-cats in the middle of the clearing. Out of the corner of her eyes, Bluecrest saw Brightleaf, Stormrift and Appleswift's mother, herding her kits into the nursery. When their eyes met, Brightleaf gave Bluecrest a worried look before turning and vanishing into the warm den. Hiding, the coward. The thought enraged Bluecrest even more, and she turned her attention back to her sister cowering at her paws.

"Why is it that I can never seem to get Mother to even look at me? Am I that horrible? Am I really such a disappointment? What did I do to deserve this?" She fought back the pressure behind her eyes as her body shook with dry sobs. "Answer me, Runeswipe!"

"Get off her!"

The sudden screech made half the cats jump, and before she knew what was happening, Bluecrest felt a weight crash into her and she was flung off her paws, landing heavily on her side and she felt the breath leave her lungs.

She glanced across the clearing and felt her heart clench when she saw Whitedove crouched over her sister's body, licking her comfortingly. Suddenly, the warrior looked up, hissing in fury at Bluecrest.

"You want and answer? I'll give you one! Yes, you are a huge disappointment. Why do you think I preferred your sister as opposed to you, you wretched creature? Runeswipe would never have let me down like you did!"

Across the clearing, both Runeswipe and Bluecrest could clearly see their father, Northstride's, shock at their mother's words.

Bluecrest felt her eyes widen then close. She couldn't feel the whole left side of her battered body. When she felt paws thudding towards her, she snapped her eyes open again. Looking up, she was shocked to see Whitedove charging towards her, rage lighting her mother's eyes. When the she-cat approached, she lifted a heavy paw and brought it down swiftly on the side of her head.

Darkness enveloped her, and her eyelids fluttered closed. Before she surrendered herself to the black tide washing over her, she had one last fleeting thought.

How could this happen to me?


"Bluecrest?"

The voice disrupted her peaceful slumber. Go away. I don't want to wake up.Of course her wish was ignored as blinding light flooded through her eyelids. Growling weakly, she allowed her eyes to open slowly. She sat up and winced in doing so. The smell of herbs flowed through her senses, and she knew instinctively that she was in the medicine cat's den.

Just then, the medicine cat, Plumfeather's gray tabby-marked head poked into the small medicine den. "Oh, Bluecrest, you're awake!" she exclaimed, honest relief shining in her light green eyes. "We were worried that you weren't going to wake up!"

Bluecrest frowned, trying to ignore the throbbing in her temple and instead focusing her fuzzy blue gaze on Plumfeather's suddenly pained and sorrowful expression. "Who's we?" she grumbled. "Anyways, what's with that look? I'm alive and well, aren't I?"

The medicine cat shook her head slowly, pinning the confused warrior with her sad gaze. "A lot happened while you were…out." she began hesitantly. Bluecrest blinked her deep blue eyes and rose slowly, achingly, to her paws, a sudden urgency apparent in her next words.

"Like what?" she demanded, mind racing with possibilities. Plumfeather merely shook her head.

"Maybe you should come look for yourself." She murmured lowly, stepping back to give Bluecrest room to crawl out of the den. The warrior did so, casting a mutinous glance at the medicine cat.

"Is it that bad?" she muttered, padding unsteadily out of the fern tunnel connecting the medicine clearing to the rest of the camp. She leaned heavily on Plumfeather's shoulder, coughing once or twice when she tripped. As they emerged, cats began to stare in their direction, their gazes boring into Bluecrest 's pelt and making her extremely uncomfortable. She shifted, looking down at the ground.

"Why are they all staring at me?" she demanded softly out of the corner of her lips. Plumfeather didn't reply, instead focusing on the two prone bodies lying on the ground in front of them. Their fur stirred ever so slightly in the cool breeze, and Bluecrest 's eyes widened.

"…Whitedove? Northstride?" she whispered, her voice wavering slightly. She crouched down, nosing Whitedove's fur gently. She fully expected the queen to snap her eyes open and yell at Bluecrest for waking her up, as she had done so often in the past when she had awoken from a nightmare.

But now, the tan-and-white tabby pelt didn't stir except in the soft breaths of wind. Bluecrest shut her eyes firmly, sobs wracking her body. Not allowing herself to dwell on her mother's death, she moved on to the next still and cold body.

"Northstride?" she whispered, her voice becoming muffled as she pressed her muzzle into his blood-soaked flank. Pulling away, she fixed her stricken blue eyes at Plumfeather. Blood flecked her muzzle from Northstride's damp fur.

"What in the name of StarClan happened to them?" she demanded fiercely, though the effect was ruined when her voice cracked and she buried her face into her father's sticky pet again. "No… no, no, no, no…please…don't do this to me…" Her mumbled words were no more than a broken whisper carried by the waves of grief radiating from her small, crouched form.

Plumfeather frowned, as did the few cats that were watching. Never had a cat seemed so broken, so defeated. They watched as Bluecrest curled up, dry sobs still heaving from her jaws that were agape with pain and sorrow.

A flicker of movement from across the clearing made the medicine cat look up, green eyes expecting. "Runeswipe." She whispered, as the familiar tabby shape slouched across the clearing. Olive green eyes gleamed in the doom, sadness and grief raw in those reflective irises.


Bluecrest's prone body lay in the center of the clearing, shielded by the crouched form of Whitedove. The tabby queen panted in rage, her jaws agape as saliva dripped down onto the earthy ground. Her enlarged irises flickered back and forth, still lit with a mad light. Suddenly, she threw her head back and a low keening sound erupted from her foam-specked lips.

Without warning, she collapsed, blood bubbling from her lips and joining the foam, creating a pink-tainted mixture. The clearing grew so silent that a drop of dew could be heard if it had chosen that moment to release its hold.

A sudden cry echoed through the camp, startling the majority of cats out of their fur. Northstride burst through to the front of the assembled cats, eyes wide with shock and pain.

"Whitedove… Bluecrest…This can't be happening!" he cried, grief cracking his voice, and he closed his eyes and charged blindly through the camp entrance. Cats stared, frozen in shock as the bushes stopped trembling in the grief-stricken tom's wake.

"Everyone! Attention! I need two warriors to go after him! Barktalon, Mapleshade, I'll leave that to you!" The two warriors exchanged a determined look and nodded before turning and dashing out of camp as fast as they could.

The rest of the clearing exploded into exclamations of shock, fear, grief, and even hints of anger. Kinkstar frowned sadly, finally understanding what troubles lay in store for Bluecrest, as the prophecy foretold. She looked over to where Runeswipe huddled, crouched in a shocked, grief-struck position.

With a pang of sadness, the leader stood and began to make her way over to the small warrior, but a stirring by the camp entrance stopped her. Her clear green eyes widened at the sight that greeted her.

Mapleshade and Thorntail shuffled awkwardly through the narrow entrance and the grim looks on their faces told Kinkstar everything she needed to know. The supported a limp gray shape between them, its flanks mottled with blood.

They made their way slowly to the center of the clearing where Whitedove lay, and set Northstride's unmoving shape beside his mate's. The medicine cat, Plumfeather, had carried Bluecrest's unconscious body to her den to have her examined.

"We found him at the bottom of the sheer ravine separating ThunderClan's border from ours." Mapleshade meowed gravely, sadness reverberating through her voice. "He appears to have thrown himself off the ledge in grief."

Silence met her words and for a few heartbeats, no cat moved. Then, a thin, eerie wail rose up from the crowd, escalating to a full on yowl, and the Clan burst into confusion.


Runeswipe slinked across the clearing to sit by her sister's side. She turned to press her muzzle to Bluecrest's in comfort, but the fawn-silver warrior drew away in a flash. Bluecrest snarled, rage lighting her previously defeated eyes.

"Stay away from me, monster! This is your fault. You killed them, and in return, I'll hate you until the end of time." Bluecrest's voice cracked, and she returned to burying her muzzle in her father's cold, blood-soaked fur.

Runeswipe didn't reply, but the hurt that flashed in her eyes portrayed all her pain in her sister's biting words as she lowered her nose into Whitedove's fur. They stayed like that, mourning the loss of their parents, but the tension between the two made the atmosphere unbearable.


Bluecrest swished her fluffy tail silently as her clear blue eyes surveyed the camp from her place by the entrance of the warrior's den. She lay there, stretched out, basking in the warm golden glow of the afternoon sun.

Her ear flicked back as a rustling and shifting alerted her of another presence. Stormrift's scent drifted around her, and she relaxed. "Stormrift." she greeted, still staring at the reeds lining the opposite side of the camp.

Stormrift smiled, sitting down gently beside her. Together, they watched the two elders carrying out the prone bodies of Whitedove and Northstride. Seeing the unnatural stillness of the limp forms, and the way their heads lolled about when they were moved, Bluecrest felt the familiar pain that she thought had been numbed.

She jumped when she felt a warmth press comfortingly to her side. "It's going to be alright, you see." Stormrift murmured. Bluecrest shook her head wordlessly. Somehow, she couldn't picture things ever being alright again.