Chapter 11. AKA, the explanation chapter! Yup! Some of the mystery will be cleared up!

"The Resurrected?" repeated Cinderheart. The word seemed to have a certain ring to it. It felt right to Cinderheart. Like everything could be explained know with that one word. Wait. "What does that mean?" she asked. "I feel like I should but I don't."

Dawn looked down at Shadow in concern. "I will explain it but first you need to help him." She gestured with her tail for Cinderheart to come closer.

The gray she-cat obeyed. When she was next to Shadow she could see the wounds in gruesome detail. She swallowed back her bile. The scent was overwhelming and could she see his bones through torn skin?

"I think you would feel uncomfortable if it was your neck so we'll use your leg instead," said Dawn. She gestured for Cinderheart to lift her paw. She obeyed and before Cinderheart could react, Dawn had slashed a long wound across Cinderheart's leg.

"What in the name of StarClan!" yowled Cinderheart in shock. She recoiled away from Dawn.

"Your blood," replied Dawn. "He needs your blood. The blood of the Resurrected has healing properties." She shifted Shadow's head so he could receive the blood easier. Her eyes locked onto Cinderheart. "It will probably feel uncomfortable at first but you will be fine as it will feel like second nature to you."

Cinderheart gulped and moved closer to Shadow again. He did do this battle all for the sake of her. If she could help him in any way she had to do it. She was a warrior of ThunderClan after all. "Or am I truly a ThunderClan cat?" she thought sadly to herself. These cats here knew who she was and she was something called the Resurrected, something from this crazy place. Did that mean she was not a ThunderClan cat at all? She yelped as Shadow's teeth clamped around her leg.

"That's a normal reaction," explained Dawn as she patted Cinderheart with a paw. "It's any cat's instinct around here to do that when they are given the Resurrected's blood."

"Why?" asked Cinderheart. She was shivering as she felt Shadow sucking away at the blood from her leg, his teeth digging into her skin. However her shivering subsided and she felt a sense of calm wash over her. This felt right somehow. It felt like it should be like this.

"The Resurrected is a sort of…" Dawn trailed off and seemed to thinking hard. "Oh, this is so difficult to explain. We all just know what the Resurrected is so explanations are never needed. Umm, I know! The Resurrected is like a higher being."

"Higher being?" repeated Cinderheart. She thought for a few moments. "You mean like the leader of a clan?"

Dawn shook her head. "No. Higher. Like directly under the heavens. Every cat bows down to the Ressurected."

Cinderheart's eyes widen. "What? Why?" She flinched as she felt Shadow release her. She looked down at the tom but he was just sleeping peacefully but did it seem like the horrible wounds all over him were getting smaller?

"He's had enough," Dawn sighed. "He'll be fine. He'll just need to sleep for a while now. Come on. Let's go over there and continue our talk."

Cinderheart nodded but she was very woozy as she walked over. It was probably from the lack of blood. Shadow had drank a lot.

"Here," said Dawn, pulling a rabbit over to her. "Your body has probably never needed the regenerate blood skill so you're going to need iron until it kicks in."

"Thanks?" Cinderheart didn't understand a word of what Dawn said. But this whole situation was weird so she just accepted it and began eating the rabbit.

The black and white she-cat sighed. "Okay. So the Resurrected has the ability to heal any cat if they drink her blood. That's one of the reasons why she's considered a higher being of a sort. She would travel around, helping any cat she could. I heard even illnesses were no match for her power."

"You refer to the Resurrected as a her, are you talking about Renella?"

Dawn flinched. "How did you? Never mind. Anyway, no. I was not just referring to Renella. You see, all the Resurrected are reincarnations of each other. The same soul passed down. You probably had dreams didn't you? Of places that just seemed too real and detailed to just be a dream? And you've felt like you've been places or did something before."

Cinderheart nodded. She knew exactly what Dawn was talking about but still… "Who was Renella? I knew she was the cat Shadow loved but…" She trailed off when she saw Dawn look away, clearly uncomfortable.

"Renella, she was Shadow's lover," said Dawn slowly. "And she was also the Resurrected." She looked at Cinderheart head on. "She was you. She was who you used to be."

Cinderheart just stared at Dawn. She was shell shocked. "That's…"

"You know it's true," said Dawn. Did she seem sad in some way? It felt like it to Cinderheart.

"What happened to Renella? To me?" Cinderheart's thoughts ran to the first dream she had. That dream. She had a feeling that that dream was from Renella's point of view. She shivered as she thought of the claws that ripped through her body.

"She was murdered," said Dawn. "The council, they are a group of cats that now control this region. Back, many moons ago they were just a small group in charge of protecting the Resurrected. The Resurrected at the time, Renella was a kind caring soul. However, the council was tired of just being a pawn to the Resurrected. They wanted to use the resurrected's power for domination purposes."

"How? I mean, I don't think healing powers could do so much."

Dusk shook her head. "It's actually said that the Resurrected actually has a fighting power too. Although no one actually knows why and how to use it since all the Resurrected up to this point have been healers. But it is said that she does have that kind of power. Anyway, so the council began plotting on how to activate this power. Renella got wind of it and Shadow, who was already her lover at the time, suggested that they escape to the other world through the lake." The she-cat paused when she saw Cinderheart's confused look. "The lake is what you were dragged through to get to this world. There should be a lake on your side as well and it connects the two worlds together."

"But then how did no cat from my side come here?" Cinderheart remembered the incident when Jayfeather, Hollyleaf, Lionblaze and the WindClan kits were trapped in the tunnels and washed out into the lake. Lionblaze had confined that story in her. Lionblaze. It's been a while since she had thought of him. She wondered how he was doing. Did he miss her?

"Does any cat from your world know about this one?" Cinderheart shook her head. "There you go," continued Dawn. "Only if you know about both worlds will you be able to travel back and forth. Anyway, the night Renella was to escape into your world, she was attacked. She ran towards the lake in an attempt to flee and almost made it there…until she was cut down. By the way you're shivering, you remember that event."

Cinderheart nodded. "Yes, and I wish I didn't."

Dawn placed her tail on Cinderheart's shoulder in comfort before continuing. "Anyway, the council thought they had won since the Resurrected's soul would be reborn and then they could train the she-cat from an early age to follow their ideals. However that didn't happen because the soul was missing. They didn't realize it much later but her soul had somehow made it through the pathway between your world and this and you were born in your world."

"I…I think I was born twice," said Cinderheart slowly. She remembered how she felt at home in the medicine cat den and how she had a weird fear of badgers despite never meeting one.

"I wouldn't be surprised," replied Dawn. "The Ressurect's soul, in whatever world it's in, cannot die. You will always be reborn again. Anyway, it was around the time that they figured out that you were probably in the other world did searches get sent out. And well you know what happened in the searches."

Cinderheart nodded. That's where she came in and woke up in this crazy place. She glanced over at Shadow. He was sleeping peacefully now and did his injuries seem more healed than before? Could it be because of her? Because she had the power of healing? "What about him? What happened to him? How did he meet Renella?"

Dawn shook her head. "I'm sorry Cinderheart but I don't know. I don't know the details well of the relationship." She looked away. "But I did know there was love between the two of you."

Cinderheart had a strange feeling that Dawn knew a lot more than she was letting on but for once she didn't mind that Dawn was holding stuff back. There was so much to think about already, so much for her take in. She was the Resurrected. She had the power to heal cats with her blood. Oh StarClan. What if she brought this power back to ThunderClan? Then ThunderClan wouldn't have to worry about death from injuries or illness. She could save them all. And from how Dawn put it, her blood would replenish faster than normal too so she could do it many times. But, how could she get home? They were under attack from the council now because they knew about her. And oh StarClan. Cherrykit.

"What happened to Cherrykit?" she asked quietly. She feared for her niece.

"She's a death seer," replied Dawn. The black and white she-cat shook her head sadly. "I didn't expect a death seer to come from your world but I guess it's possible. You just wouldn't know about the powers, that's all. Anyway, death seers are cats who can see the lifespans of other creatures besides other death seers. Basically she knows the exact moment when anycat will die, tomorrow, a moon from now. Only the Resurrected doesn't have a number because you can never truly die. The soul is just passed on from one cat to another."

"But how did this power come about? I mean, did she always have it? Her eyes weren't purple before."

"Traumatic experience usually brings out powers," Dawn looked away again. "She was probably raped."

Cinderheart's blood turned cold. "What?" she whispered softly. She tried to process it through. "But she's only a kit," she choked out. "Barely six moons."

"They were probably trying to figure out if she was the Resurrected or not or if she knew anything about it. That would have activated her power. Nothing else could explain it."

Cinderheart's blood boiled. How could Dawn talk about this like she was talking about the weather? A kit was raped here! Something like that would never be allowed in the clans. "How can you talk like it's nothing!" she cried. "She was raped for StarClan's sake!"

Dawn blinked slowly like she really couldn't understand why Cinderheart was acting like this. "Yes she was."

"Don't you feel any remorse!" cried Cinderheart. She jumped to her paws. "I want to rip those council cats apart for touching her!" No wonder she didn't react to seeing Cinderheart. The kit was probably traumatized.

Dawn's face contorted until Cinderheart was looking at Dusk. "So?" she sneered. "You just don't know anything do you? You think just rape is horrible? You don't know some of the things that happen here with the council," she spat bitterly. "Plus the raping probably stopped after her power was revealed."

Cinderheart bit back her remark. There was something in Dusk's tone that caught Cinderheart's attention. "Were you-I mean were the two of you?"

Dusk got to her paws and stalked to the back of the den where a couple of moss beds were. "You should get some rest," she said coldly. "Unfortunately we won't be able to stay here forever and will probably have to move on sometime soon."

Feeling like she would never get anywhere with Dusk Cinderheart obeyed. She had asked a question that wasn't to be asked.

"You'll probably get some answers when you sleep," said Dusk quietly(or was it Dawn?) as Cinderheart placed her head on her paws. "Now that you know, the dreams of your past will come to you."

"Great," whispered Cinderheart. "Please. Tell me more about Renella," she begged her thoughts. "How was she connected to Shadow? How did they meet? Please…tell me…"