On a completely other subject, I've gotten into neopets(Thanks to my oh-so lovely sister, Kuku-Oni/Kikaxlot) So… add me if you want. My name's Cinderpaw11 (Wow, shocker.) Also, happy birthday to me~ (On the 17th~)

Please don't kill me for the ending of this chapter.

Return To The Sea – Mermaid Melody – English Lyrics

Hollyleaf padded away from the ThunderClan border, tail bushed, ears flat against her head.

Of course it was you.

Colors still swirled slowly, but she paid no mind to such nuisances. She had to get to camp before anything could happen.

Lionblaze had explained quickly; Firestar had told him about the killer that always left behind the scent of toadstool, clever enough to hide the scent. And Lionblaze had done his best to remember, even going as far as to ask Jayfeather if their brother could look into his past for him.

But if Lionblaze didn't remember it, Jayfeather couldn't find it in his brother's memories.

The clues pointed to you, even if there were others.

And then StarClan came to him in a dream.

Said that time was almost up.

'Tick, tock.'

And that he had to tell her - soon.

And tell no one else.

Not Firestar, Blackstar, Redwillow, Cinderheart, Jayfeather. No one.

StarClan's job was to make it so only two knew. And even then, they had told Lionblaze that he would have to forget this.

They would erase his memories after he told her. No one was to know - not yet.

I should have seen it in your eyes: the false caring, confusion, pity. Everything.

And he did forget; right after he told her, he asked her what he was doing there.

She lied. Told him he was there to talk about Cinderheart, what with her being pregnant and all. And he believed her; why wouldn't he? So he explained that she had gotten pregnant a bit over a moon ago, and that it seemed like there were going to be three kits.

She congratulated him, wished his kits and mate well, and bid farewell, saying that she had deputy duties to attend. Not a complete lie - she did.

Her thoughts escaped her as a rustling bush alerted her to another cat's presence, and she turned towards it a second to late, collapsing as a flurry of fur landed on her.

"You just couldn't let it go, could you?" A voice hissed in her ear.

'Tick, tock,'

Hollyleaf struggled away madly, and the cat above her snickered cruelly, letting her up. "You." Hollyleaf snarled, eyes blazing with hatred, "You killed Scorchfur."

A wicked grin spread across the culprits face. "And Owlclaw. Almost Ivytail, almost you." Blue eyes flash. "But it seems like a second chance has come for me to kill you."

Hollyleaf hissed viciously, "You wish." She lunged quickly, catching the killer off guard. They landed with a small thud, a little ways away from her.

'Tick, tock,'

"You're going to regret doing that." They seethed, fur bristling along their spine.

"I'll never regret it." She hissed back, crouching into a fighting stance.

They circled each other slowly, preparing themselves for the other to attack first, before the killer, with a growl, lunged at her again. Hollyleaf rolled out of the way, but it seemed that that was expected, because moments later, she had a long gash on her side. She jumped away, swiping an unsheathed paw at her attackers face, and breathing out, satisfied, as it hit its target.

"How could you do this?" Hollyleaf shrieked, "Killing innocent cats – clan mates are your family! Even if you fight or disagree, you're still there for each other!"

Her only reply was a snarl of disgust and hatred, and being thwacked over the head.

She backed away dizzily, and shook her head violently, trying to get everything back into focus. It was hard enough to fight; everything still looked wrong, and she hadn't eaten that morning, making little black spots dance in front of her eyes.

But her blazing fury made them almost invisible as she stared at the cat that she had trusted at one point.

She leapt into action again, diving for her enemy's front paws, and succeeding in making them fall to the ground. She got in another scratch, a long scratch right over the eye, then backed away before he could get up.

His blue eyes shot towards her left, signaling his next move, and Hollyleaf jumped to the right, just as he did to the left.

"Even if you beat me," Hollyleaf gasped, "You'll have scratches to show who you fought."

He chuckled. "I didn't come without a plan, dear Hollyleaf. I can easily say that I saw your brother beating you, and leaped in to save you, but was to late."

Hollyleaf's eyes widened. "They'll never believe you." She rasped unsurely.

Lionblaze had been known as a killer in ShadowClan since Russetfur's death; would they really believe that he would be bloodthirsty enough to kill his sister?

"No – they won't." he agreed, "But I've hidden these scratches before." He reached over to claw her again, and she dodged narrowly.

She retaliated, faking a left, then jumping right, and biting into his side, ripping out a chunk of fur. "Try to hide that." She hissed, aiming another attack, and managing to lightly hit his side.

A maniacal grin, "You think you're the only one that's tried that?" He hissed, "Snowheart thought that would work, too," A well aimed hit, making her rump bleed lightly. "The trick," He breathed hard, "Is sticking fur on honey to make it stick to you." As if to prove this, he grabbed a small clump of white fur off himself, and Hollyleaf realized that it hadn't really been on him.

"You've thought this through well." Hollyleaf spat, faking him out again, and giving him a wide scratch on his shoulder. "But I won't give up easily."

"They always say that." He replied evenly before jumping over her head, and using his back feet to scratch her face.

'Tick, tock,'

Hollyleaf wished the voice would leave; she knew that something was wrong. She could easily see that when she looked at a tree, and saw a blue leaf. She thanked StarClan that it wasn't interfering with her fight.

"You'll never win this," the blue-eyed killer hissed, "They never do. They run out of tricks. And I don't."

She pretended to fake a left, and he jumped that way, colliding with her heavily. "I've got tricks too." She meowed with a smirk. "I'm from ThunderClan." She ran up a tree as she finished, climbing high in the air.

The killer looked up, face locked in a snarl.

Hollyleaf looked down at him, cleverly covered by leaves, and shook a branch, causing leaves to fall, and him to look that way. She shook a different one, and he looked that way. She repeated this once more, and as he turned towards it, flew down from the tree, tackling him hard, sending him halfway across the clearing, and stumbling slightly herself as she landed.

He lay on the ground, breathing hard for a moment, before going still.

Hollyleaf took a tense step forward, and then attacked him again. He jumped up with a cry of pain, and Hollyleaf tripped him down again. "They teach that trick to apprentices." She sneered, clawing furiously at his exposed stomach, and then leaping back as his left back paw shot up to kick her. "I've been trained by two clans," she growled, "I might just win this."

He got up to his feet, breathing heavily, "You fight more than they do." He admitted slowly. He smiled maliciously, "More of a fight then, hm?"

It finally occurred to her how insane this cat was.

Part of her screamed at her to flee while she could; go tell Blackstar. But she knew she wouldn't make it back to camp if she tried to escape without knocking him down first.

She ran up another tree and glared down at her newfound enemy. She rustled one branch, but his eyes flicked the other way, just as she planned. She quietly grabbed a dangling pinecone, and flung it down at him. He jumped away in surprise, and then attacked the pinecone, thinking it was Hollyleaf.

She jumped down again, tackling him just as he realized that the pinecone wasn't, in fact, her.

Another well-aimed hit on her cheek.

'Tick, tock,'

Hollyleaf's vision wavered, and she stumbled slightly, giving him another chance to hit. She backed away slightly, then quickly moved forward, only accomplishing raking her claws through his fur.

"Getting tired out, Hollyleaf?" He asked with a smirk.

Hollyleaf struggled away from the black haze that wanted to engulf her. She was too low on sleep, food, and on energy. "The clans going to start wondering where we are." She said instead of answering.

"I'm out hunting," another smirk. "You're talking to your brother."

"Someone will come looking." She persisted, trying to believe it herself.

"Maybe they will," he agreed halfheartedly, "But they'll only find your dead body."

"Or yours." Hollyleaf countered, taking a clumsy, yet successful, kick at his side.

He shook his head disbelievingly. "You honestly still think you're going to win?" He sighed.

Hollyleaf didn't answer, instead head-butting him over roughly. He yawned as though tired of this, and his eyes flashed dangerously.

"You won't just give up like the others?" Hollyleaf shook her head. He frowned, "It's so much more easy when they do."

Hollyleaf snarled at him, imagining Scorchfur's terrified face as he killed by this cat. A loud screech erupted from her, and with renewed energy, flung herself towards him, clawing and biting with all her might. He froze, taken aback, before clawing back at her, and tossing her like a leaf halfway across the clearing.

She thudded to the ground, and blackness swept around her vision again.

He approached her quickly, a winning sneer on his face.

'Tick, tock,'

A large wave of blackness swam past her vision, causing his face to disappear for only a moment.

He looked down at her almost pityingly, and then slashed her side again.

There wasn't any pain, and she forced herself to climb to her feet.

He rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just quit it," he snapped impatiently, "This would end so much quicker."

The world span around, and Hollyleaf barely heard a voice in the back of her mind, telling her to keep fighting. Scorchfur's voice.

She breathed deeply, and once again attacked him, biting his side hard, and swiping a paw over his eye.

He shook her off with ease.

She gasped for breath, and her eyes threatened to close.

"I'm sorry," Her mates voice cried in her head, "Get up! Please!"

She shot one paw out as he came closer, and he tripped, cursing at her furiously.

"Won't…" She swallowed hard, "give up."

Irritation radiated off of him as he got back to his feet.

"You won't win in the end." She continued, ignoring that there was four of him staring down at her. Except three of them didn't look like him. The four looking down were the four male suspects, Hollyleaf barely realized; Blackstar was on the far right, Redwillow beside him, then Crowfrost, and last was Ratscar.

She swiped her paw through all of them, and it whacked between where Blackstar and Redwillow were.

The three fakes disintegrated, and two blue eyes flashed down at her gleefully.

'Tick…'

"Don't fight the darkness, Hollyleaf."

But she did – again. Her feet felt like bricks, but she got to them, and lifting one, she quickly cut his throat.

He made a choking, gasping, pained noise, and Hollyleaf finally allowed herself to fall.

'Tock…'

"No!" Scorchfur's voice echoed in her head.

With blurry vision, she saw claws raised over her throat, and a voice rolled around in her head like thunder as her fatigue finally caught up with her.

"Not hard enough, Hollyleaf."

'No!' she could barely see it, but the cut, though bleeding, wasn't quite big enough to kill him.

'Time…'

An almost sad look entered his eyes, "I really did love you, you know."

'Then don't kill me.' Hollyleaf wanted to reply, but her breath hitched in her throat.

He shook his head, "But it's to late now."

'Is…'

With one, swift, flick of his paw, Hollyleaf's neck was cut open.

"I'm sorry." Two voices blended together; Scorchfur's and his.

With one last shuddering, painful breath, Hollyleaf's jaws opened in a yowl.

'Up…'

"I'm sorry," Echoed one more time.

'Tick, tock,

'Time's up.'

Finally it made sense.

The mystery was over.

"Crowfrost!"

HAHAHA! I'M GOING TO BE KILLED ! I'M SUCH A B!TCH!

Anyway, uh, maniac over, um… please don't kill me.

Now, right now, imagine Hollyleaf's last words being, "Review!" Because I really want to hear you opinions.

Anyway, I kinda feel like crying… is it because Hollyleaf's dead, or the fanfiction almost over? I don't know.

…Epilogue will be up really soon. Not tomorrow soon, but soon. This Wed or Thursday probably. Hopefully sooner.

Edit: Took the lyrics out because they were against the rules. Please take the time to listen to the song or search it up.