Alrighty, guys! This one is MASSIVE! We're talking 8400 words WITHOUT A/N stuff. Yeah.
*Warning! More rape in this chappie!*
I actually decided to change the rating to M just to be safe.
But PLEASE don't skip the whole chapter! You can't miss this one! If you want to skip the rape, go to the three horizontal lines.
A couple more notes: I decided to include another bit of mystery POV to further explain who it was. It's at the end.
Up next, Review Responses!
Pondfrost: Yep, Messed up like you wouldn't believe. (Until you read this :/). And that Hunger games parallel is hilarious XD Not even intentional. 1: Not even him XP I wanted to kill someone off so bad but I want to do things with all of them later in the book so... 2: Uhh, not even close ;P 3: Interesting, interesting. I don't really support gay ships in warriors (not that I'm against gayness IRL, although I must admit I find it a little weird) but mainly because in warriors, ships are almost always mainly based on starting a family and, well, gay couples can't have kids without adoption or surrogates which I think just wouldn't work in Warriors. Besides, they're cats. Gotta keep it at least a bit realistic, right?
Starrysong: 1: His mate... I think she'll be important, we'll have to see. 2: :P 3: Cool. Interesting ship twists may happen so stay tuned!
BrightMind: Redpaw? XD He's dead right? You're the reason I put in an extra bit to clarify the mystery cat! And yes, all the charries have plot armor atm. But later... we'll see. And the ships... Always the tastiest bits in fanfics amiright? LeafxFalcon should be pretty straightforward (we'll see some of that this chapter) but Grasspaw? She's the main character so I can't just have everything be butterflies, flowers, and sunshine now can I?
Skyleaf12: A virus? That's an ingenious idea, but would totally screw up my planned plot XP so no go there I'm afraid. But maybe in later stories... 2: oh wait silly me that was part of #1 :/ 3: I see we have near unanimity here!
Speaking of other stories, IT'S OFFICIAL! THE RESULTS ARE IN PEOPLE! I will be writing "Lies" very soon! The poll will go down as I put up this chapter, and the prologue/allegiances should be up within this weekend. I will need some OCs (not the main characters, sorry, they're pretty much taken) but secondary characters will be needed. It will be set in ShadowClan, and I'll need some cats for the other clans mainly (they'll have a lot of scenes don't worry). More info will be in the prologue of "Lies".
And that's it! Ladies and Gentlemen, I present... The largest chapter I've ever written by a factor of 2!
Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors or any related content.
Chapter 20: The Rescue, Pt 2
*Silver's POV*
Silver was jolted back to reality by the sound of pawsteps; someone was entering her cell. She took one sniff, and knew exactly who it was.
"Reaper," she grunted as the black tom came into view.
"Silver," he purred, sidling up to her and stroking her muzzle with his tail. "Thought you could make off with a few of my prisoners, did you?"
"I did," she growled, "And I was right. They all got away."
"You never did understand the concept of obedience, did you?" Reaper mused, turning away from her and pacing slowly. "All those times you defied me, protected your brother… Now I see why."
"It's because you're a cruel, evil, oppressive tyrant who doesn't deserve to be a father," she spat, curling her lips into a snarl.
"Ooh," Reaper gasped in mock disbelief, pretending to be offended by her comments. "Well," he smirked, "I've broken cats much stronger than you. Let's just see how long it takes me, shall we?"
"Do your worst," Silver hissed defiantly, glaring straight into his scarlet eyes. "You'll never break me."
To this Reaper replied with only a bark of laughter, his eyes shining with glee. He leveled a vicious swipe at Silver's face, snapping her head to the side and tearing open a deep gash in her cheek.
She snarled in Reaper's face, spitting blood at him. He cackled again, and slid his paw slowly up her stomach.
Once he reached her sternum, he slid out his claws, whipping his paw down and slicing through her soft underbelly. Blood began to drip down her fur, staining her beautiful silver pelt crimson.
Reaper began to get angry that she showed no signs of pain, and struck her again and again in the head. Each time, more blood splattered the cave walls, and each time felt like she was being sliced to pieces, but she made no sound save the occasional growl of defiance.
Reaper growled right back, his eyes beginning to glow as they did when he used his powers. With a grunt, he tore Silver from her bonds, flinging her across the cave and slamming her against the wall. She collapsed to the ground, barely containing a gasp of pain at the impact. Reaper approached her slowly, a glare of menace in his eyes.
"I raised you so well," he smirked as he came closer. "You're strong just like me. If you only join me, you could have so much power…"
"I don't want power," Silver hissed, a trickle of blood escaping her lips as she spoke. "All I want is to do the right thing, whatever the cost."
"That's just what I wanted to hear," Reaper grinned, raising a paw to her back. He swiftly lashed it down her body, leaving a long, jagged wound from her shoulder to her tail. He slashed her ear with his other paw, tearing a cleft on one side.
Still Silver did not react, only glaring up at him in pure hatred. Reaper slid behind her and clamped his jaws on her tail, whipping his head back and forth to tear the fur from her skin. He leapt onto her back, fiercely biting her neck and churning his hind paws on her flanks. Panting slightly, he stepped back into her view, staring down at her mockingly. "Had enough yet?"
"I'll never give in!" she hissed, gritting her teeth against the pain.
"Oh I don't want you to give in," Reaper laughed. "I want to see you scream and writhe on the ground, overwhelmed by pain. I want to see you howl in anguish and weep in misery at what you've brought upon yourself. Because remember: This is all your doing."
He pounced on her back again, sinking his teeth into her scruff.
Where is he going to scratch me next? Silver wondered. Head? Flanks? Shoulders? I can handle it.
"Oh I'm not going to scratch you," Reaper cackled, seeming to read her mind. Instead, he got slightly behind her, pulling her haunches up into a crouch and spreading her hind legs.
"No!" She gasped, realizing what he was about to do. She had never considered that he would actually rape her.
Fear rising in her chest, she began to squirm beneath him, but he was much stronger, and her injuries were too severe for her to escape.
"Yes," he countered, holding her down until she stopped struggling, exhausted.
"This only proves that you're cruel and evil," Silver snarled, vainly trying to find some positive in what he was about to do.
"Being a leader means you have to make hard decisions," Reaper responded simply, "like this one."
He pushed in with his hips, letting out a satisfied sigh as he forced himself inside her.
Silver finally released a shriek of agony and despair, blood dripping down her legs as Reaper penetrated her. His motions became rhythmic: Forward and back, in and out. Silver let out a small squeak each time he stopped, trying as hard as she could to block out all the sensations.
Focus on the pain, she told herself. Pain is powerful. You're cut everywhere. Focus on that, not him. But it was no use. No matter how hard she tried, she kept feeling him violate her with each motion of his hips as he raped her battered, bloody form for all it was worth.
It felt horrible-her innocence ripped from her like a newborn kit from its wailing mother. But that wasn't the worst part. Her body liked it now, and each of his thrusts sent a wave of pleasure running up her spine that she could barely hold in.
"Enjoying it now, are we?" Reaper taunted, letting go of her scruff and reaching his head up beside her ear. "You're good, too. Nice and tight."
He moved back to grasping her scruff, pumping faster and harder. Silver could barely take it: the pain, the false pleasure, and the shame were almost too much for her. After an uncountable amount of time, Reaper released inside her with a groan, and pulled himself out of her.
Silver slumped to the ground, stifling a whimper of humiliation. She was terrified at the thought of giving birth to his kits, ashamed that she had been raped by him, and disgusted that part of her had actually enjoyed it.
"I see I got to you," Reaper commented, grinning down at her with satisfaction in his blood-red eyes.
"You didn't get to anything," Silver protested, desperately trying not to let him see the defeated look on her face.
All he did was smile wickedly, and she knew she couldn't hide anything from him. "I'll have the guards restrain you again," he called over his shoulder as he left, "But I'm not sure there'll be a need."
He was right; all Silver wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry.
*Grasspaw's POV*
Grasspaw awoke to see Falconpaw sitting in front of her, gazing warmly down at her sleeping form.
"Wakey wakey," he mewed teasingly, some grittiness in his voice still remaining but having a much clearer tone.
"Falconpaw!" she exclaimed, astonished that he was so much better than he had been yesterday. "How are you even standing? Yesterday you could barely move! Don't your wounds hurt?"
"The raspberry worked really well," Falconpaw answered, beaming at her. "You're a great medicine cat!"
Grasspaw glowed internally at the compliment and at the fact that she had succeeded. "You were the one who told me what to do," she reminded him, slightly embarrassed that he was giving her all the credit.
"But you were the one who did it," he countered, taking a small step in her direction. "That can't count for nothing."
Grasspaw blushed slightly, turning away and deflecting his praise with another question. "But don't they still hurt?"
"Yes," he admitted, backing off slightly at her reaction. "They actually hurt a lot. But I wouldn't be alive to feel them if it wasn't for you."
Grasspaw looked back at him, and noticed that he was holding one of his hind legs off the ground at an odd angle. She looked at it quizzically, then remembered it had been at an awkward angle earlier, when she had put the raspberry leaves on it.
"Is your leg broken?" she whispered, scared that she wouldn't be able to heal it if it was.
"Oh," Falconpaw mewed, looking at it, then back to Grasspaw. "It's just dislocated."
"We need to heal it!" Grasspaw exclaimed, staring at him urgently.
"Okay," Falconpaw assented, lowering himself awkwardly to the ground with the dislocated leg splayed to the side.
"Place your paws on my chest," he instructed, indicating with his tail where she should stand. She did as he asked, waiting for his next command.
"Grab my leg in your teeth and pull as hard as you can," he told her, bracing himself for the coming pain. Warily, Grasspaw clamped her jaws around his leg, then yanked it to the side.
Falconpaw howled in pain, and she leapt back from him in fear that she had broken something.
"Harder!" He commanded. She bounded back to the same position, closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to see him in pain, and whipped her head, and his leg, backwards as hard as she could.
There was a loud pop, and another yowl of pain from Falconpaw, but they were followed by a deep sigh of relief.
"Good job," Falconpaw complimented, swiveling his leg experimentally. "It worked!"
Grasspaw exhaled deeply, her heartbeat slowing again. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead her stomach rumbled loudly. "I'd better go hunting," she suggested, rising to her paws. "You stay here; you may be better, but I want it to stay that way."
Before he could protest, she sprang out of the cave and began scenting for prey. She traversed the entire ravine, like she had when she searched for herbs, but this time she found nothing. She reached the end and turned back, frustrated.
There's nothing useful in this stupid gorge, she thought miserably. Tired and hungry, she made her way along the ravine in the opposite direction. Possibly she had missed something, or maybe there would be prey at the other end. As she sniffed the ground, futilely searching for any signs of life, she saw a small ledge on one side of the cliff.
She raised her head to see it fully, and her jaw dropped at what she found. There was a shallowly sloped path, leading all the way up to the top of the ravine, from where she and Falconpaw had originally fallen. She instantly forgot about getting prey, and sprinted back to the cave where Falconpaw was.
"Falconpaw!" she exclaimed, bursting through the entrance and skidding to a halt in front of the surprised white and brown tom.
"What did you find? Prey?"
"No," Grasspaw responded instantly, panting both from her run to the cave and her excitement. "I found a way back up, out of this ravine!"
"That's awesome!" Falconpaw purred, nudging her cheek lightly with his muzzle. "We should go up there; I bet we'll find prey there."
"Yes," Grasspaw agreed, now over her initial rush of excitement. "But you should be careful; you're still injured."
"I'll be fine," he reassured her, rising and beginning to make his way out of the cave. "Now where was this path again?"
Grasspaw bounded out in front of him, turning the way she had come in. "This way," she called over her shoulder, taking a reasonable pace along the gorge to make sure Falconpaw could keep up. The path wasn't far from the cave, and they reached it just as the sun rose over the cliff behind them.
"Here it is!" Grasspaw announced, proudly gesturing to the series of pawholds leading all the way up the rock face.
"Well, I guess I couldn't have expected a ramp," Falconpaw joked, poking her in the flank with a paw. She giggled and turned to face him.
"Well, this is what you have," she growled, forcing her voice to sound callous and unsympathetic. "So you'll just have to deal with it."
Falconpaw burst out laughing, sending Grasspaw into a fit of giggles as well. "Your angry voice is terrible," Falconpaw gasped between laughs.
"I guess I'm just not a very angry cat," Grasspaw responded, wiping the last of the mirth from her eyes. "Now that we've established that, let's get up to the top of this cursed ravine."
"Agreed."
Grasspaw took the path first, finding the best places to grip with front and back paws, and Falconpaw followed suit.
"Careful!" Grasspaw hissed as she heard a cracking noise from beneath her.
"That wasn't me," Falconpaw assured her, continuing to climb up the cliff. Grasspaw reached the top shortly, and Falconpaw made it without incident.
"Whew," Grasspaw breathed as she hauled him up onto the solid ground beside her. "We did it. Now let's look for some prey. I'm still hungry."
"So am I," Falconpaw concurred, taking a step along the ledge they were now on. "But we shouldn't split up; it's too risky."
Grasspaw nodded in agreement, padding along in the same direction as Falconpaw. She flicked her tail to indicate for him to be silent as she began scanning for any signs of food.
She lightly placed each paw down as she made her way along the top of the cliff, being very careful not to disturb any pebbles or anything else which would alert her would-be fresh-kill to her position.
She rounded a corner, head to the ground, and caught a whiff of scent, but it wasn't prey. She whipped her gaze upwards, not believing what she saw: A long way down the path in front of her were all the others. Falcon, Leaflight, Shadowedskies, and Meteorkit were all there.
She opened her mouth to call out to them, but just as she was about to speak, a deep grinding noise invaded the landscape, and the rock in front of Meteorkit began to move aside. As soon as the gap was wide enough, Meteorkit slipped through, and before Grasspaw could make a sound, all four cats had entered the cave: Reaper's cave.
"No!" Grasspaw cried, breaking into a run towards where her friends had disappeared. "They can't go in there!"
"What?" Falconpaw exclaimed, bounding around the corner in confusion. "What's going on?"
"The others just went back into Reaper's cave!" Grasspaw cried, dashing towards the opening in the cliff face. "We have to make sure they are all right!"
Falconpaw didn't think twice, sprinting right behind her as they skidded through the cave entrance.
Grasspaw came to a screeching halt as she nearly ran into another cat. She looked up, and her heart leapt into her throat as she saw who she had run into.
She barely managed to suppress a squeak of terror as Reaper's menacing red eyes shone down at her.
He grinned wickedly, advancing towards her and Falconpaw. "Where do you think you're going?"
*Meteorkit's POV*
Meteorkit scampered across the dark cavern, feeling the walls with his whiskers for the opening he knew led to the prison tunnel. He poked his head into the tunnel to scent for cats, then instantly leapt away and sprinted to the other side of the cave.
Falcon, Leaflight, and Shadowedskies wasted no time following his lead, and all four of them huddled in the darkest corner, praying Reaper wouldn't catch them. By the grace of StarClan, he didn't detect them, and instead headed to the entrance, evidently to investigate.
Meteorkit turned and nodded to Falcon and the others, heading back into the tunnel with as silent paw steps as he could muster. Cautiously, he crept along the rows of cells, scenting the air every few paces to check for either Silver or any guards that might be around.
He lifted his head suddenly as Silver's scent wafted by him. "I got it!" he whispered excitedly over his shoulder. "Silver's here!"
"That's awesome," Falcon breathed, relieved they had found her. "Just keep going and-" He broke off as loud paw steps began rapidly approaching them.
"Someone's coming!" he hissed urgently. "You two get Silver-" he indicated Meteorkit and Shadowedskies, who were in front, "Leaflight and I can deal with the guards. Go!"
Meteorkit and Shadowedskies sprinted down the tunnel, the rock cells blurring beside them as they swung their gazes around wildly in search of Silver. Meteorkit could see almost nothing in the darkness of the cave, and in his haste he slipped in a puddle. With a screech of surprise, he splashed down in a wide but shallow pool of liquid.
He was about to get up when he noticed that it was not water, but blood. He gasped in horror, scuttling away from the glistening crimson fluid to the other side of the tunnel. "That's Silver's blood!" he exclaimed, scenting the air for confirmation.
"But where is she?" Shadowedskies mewed, groping around the tunnel for the silver she-cat. A low groan rose from the direction of one of the cells, and Shadowedskies and Meteorkit bounded over. Silver was slumped on the ground in the corner, unmoving and hardly breathing.
"Oh, StarClan!" Shadowedskies breathed, feeling her chest and neck to check if she was still alive. There were countless scratches covering her entire body, and there was not a single hair on her pelt which was not drenched in blood.
"We have to get her out right now!" Meteorkit cried, attempting to lift the battered she-cat onto her paws.
Shadowedskies ducked in to help, but Meteorkit swung around, braced himself against the wall, and gave a convulsive heave. Silver was lifted off the ground and onto her shaky, blood-soaked legs.
"Thank you," she rasped, drops of blood bubbling from her mouth.
"We're going to get you out of here," Meteorkit vowed, stroking her shredded pelt with a sorrowful glint in his eyes.
"Oh, are you now?" Meteorkit whirled around to see two guards padding confidently through the second entrance to the cells. "We were here to restrain this here pathetic hunk of flesh, but looks like we'll deliver two extra presents to Lord Reaper!"
Silver whimpered and cowered behind Shadowedskies and Meteorkit.
"You'll do nothing of the sort," Shadowedskies growled defiantly, unsheathing her claws. With a fearsome yowl of attack, she and Meteorkit leapt at the two guards, rage fueling their movements as they fought for their lives and Silver's.
*Leaflight's POV*
Leaflight trembled as Shadowedskies and Meteorkit left to get Silver. She was terrified of being recaptured, and with each paw step she heard from outside the tunnel, her fears grew.
Closing her eyes, she gulped them down, firmly told herself not to think about that. She was fighting for more than just herself. And Falcon had sworn to protect her. She knew he wouldn't let her down.
The guards padded around the corner in front of her, and she could not hold in a gasp of shock and terror as she saw that they were flanking Reaper himself. And what was worse: They had Grasspaw and Falconpaw by their scruffs. The guards halted, momentarily confused as they had not expected to see more cats in the tunnel.
"Go on," Reaper ordered, eyes glinting in delight as he saw Falcon and Leaflight in front of him. The guards started forward again, their prisoners hanging limply in their jaws.
"Grasspaw," Leaflight whispered, staring at the still form of the brown tabby she-cat.
Grasspaw shifted slightly, giving Leaflight an almost indiscernible wink. Leaflight sighed in relief, knowing that Grasspaw was all right. She was about to let the guards pass by when she realized that would make Reaper suspicious.
She waited until the guard was right beside her, then struck out with as much force as she could. Reaper reacted instantly, his head flicking to the side and his eyes flashing red. Leaflight's strike missed, and she and Falcon were thrown into the corner next to Reaper, impacting the wall hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs.
"I was hoping to see you again," Reaper smirked, taking a few confident steps towards her.
"And I you," Falcon retorted venomously. "Only so I could tear your pelt off and feed it to the vultures!"
With that, he launched himself at the black tom, bowling him over and landing several direct blows to his face before he was able to react. Reaper growled, throwing Falcon off of him and to the side. The sandy tom landed on his paws, snarling defiantly at his tyrannical father.
Reaper rose to his full height, leveling a deadly, hateful glare at his son. "Fine," he snorted. "Have it your way."
He leapt through the air, aiming for Falcon's head. Falcon reacted instantly, rearing up on his hind legs and swinging his front paws to slash at Reaper's face. But Reaper landed short, ducking and rolling underneath Falcon.
Falcon jumped into the air, coming down right where Reaper had been, but the black tom had already rolled out of the way and sprung to his feet. Falcon growled in annoyance, whirling around with his claws extended to rake his pelt.
Reaper ducked to avoid the blow, but it was a feint; Falcon continued the spin, leveling a brutal kick at Reaper's head with both of his hind legs. Reaper was knocked over, landing heavily next to Leaflight.
She saw her chance, and struck out towards his face with both of her front paws. Reaper deflected the blow with his front legs, throwing Leaflight off balance, then body-slammed her into the wall.
All of Leaflight's breath escaped her in a massive huff, and while she was winded, Reaper spun back around to Falcon, rising up on his hind legs and swinging his front paws down in a huge arc.
Falcon jumped aside at the last possible second, slashing his claws towards Reaper's throat. Reaper barely dodged, and Falcon's claws scored across his muzzle. With a snarl of anger, Reaper tackled the sandy brown tom, and they rolled around in a screeching, writhing ball of fur.
Leaflight slowly regained her breath, and braced herself to join the fray again. When Falcon and Reaper finally broke apart, Falcon looked worse-he had several long scratches along his flank and a torn ear.
Reaper was facing away from Leaflight, and she vaulted onto his back with a cry of attack. Reaper spun around, caught off guard by Leaflight's surprise attack. He couldn't throw her off, and she dug into his back with her claws, eliciting a howl of pain from the black tom.
In desperation, he flipped over onto his back, crushing Leaflight beneath him. But that exposed his belly, and Falcon leapt onto him, churning his claws viciously against Reaper's soft flesh. Reaper screamed, and in a burst of strength flipped himself over again, throwing leaflight onto Falcon and sending them both tumbling along the tunnel. He slunk toward them, his eyes glinting malevolently as they untangled themselves.
Leaflight crouched next to Falcon, growling defiantly at Reaper. He growled back, bending his legs in preparation to jump at them. Leaflight struck first, taking a flying leap through the air and aiming squarely for his shoulders. Reaper laughed, and time slowed down around him, his eyes glowing in their cruel crimson color.
Leaflight saw him calmly duck under her , raising a paw to push her even faster on her way. She could do nothing as he completely outplayed her, sending her far down the tunnel where she couldn't reach him.
Reaper's eyes dimmed, and events sped back up. Leaflight came down hard on the stone floor, several fox-lengths from Reaper, and watched helplessly as he charged down the brave sandy tom. Falcon raised a front paw to slash at Reaper, but the black tom was faster. He shone his eyes and swung his paw through the air, landing a devastating blow to Falcon's head. Falcon was lifted off the ground, spinning through the air before impacting the wall with a chilling thud. He crumpled to the ground, legs splayed around him, and didn't move.
"No," Leaflight gasped, staring at the horribly still body in horror and disbelief. "No!" She cried. "Falcon! Wake up! You can beat him!"
"He's dead," Reaper announced with glee, turning and advancing on the now terrified Leaflight. "And now you're all mine."
*Grasspaw's POV*
Grasspaw hung limply in the guard's jaws. She and Falconpaw had been captured by Reaper, so she was playing it safe; she knew he would have punished them more severely for resisting. They were carried into the tunnel, and the guards momentarily paused as they saw Leaflight and Falcon standing in the way.
"Go on," she heard Reaper instruct, and the guards continued down the tunnel, presumably to imprison them.
"Grasspaw," Leaflight suddenly whispered from beside her. Taking a risk, Grasspaw subtly winked to let Leaflight know she was all right. Thankfully, neither of the gray toms noticed. The guards moved quickly down the tunnel, and Grasspaw waited for her chance.
Yowls broke out from where Reaper was, and the guards both turned to see what was going on. Grasspaw instantly took advantage of their momentary confusion, twisting herself free of the guard's grip and rolling out of his reach.
"Falconpaw!" She cried. "Now!"
The brown and white tom sprang to life, kicking out at Grasspaw's guard with his hind legs while freeing himself from his own captor. Grasspaw threw herself into battle, viciously scratching the muzzle of the guard who had held her. He let out a deep growl and threw her off, slamming a paw down on top of her.
Rather than being crushed by his blow, Grasspaw rolled with it, throwing the off-balance gray tom onto the ground and pouncing on his stomach. With a snarl fierce enough to rival that of any warrior, she shredded his belly with her hind paws, snapping at his writhing shoulders with savage bites.
Crying out in pain, the guard flipped himself over and dislodged Grasspaw. She rolled once on the ground, then instantly sprang back up, ready for another round of sparring. Glancing over at Falconpaw, she saw he was doing well; he had his guard in a headlock while churning his rear paws on the gray tom's back.
In her moment of distraction, the other guard struck. He bowled Grasspaw over, pinning her down and tearing into her shoulders with his claws. Grasspaw gritted her teeth, heaving the guard off of her and standing back up with a snarl. She threw a sweeping feint towards the guard's head, leaping gracefully onto his back when he ducked.
With a grunt of surprise, he reared up onto his hind legs in an attempt to shake Grasspaw loose, but she held fast to his shoulders. As the gray tom dropped back down on all fours, Grasspaw shoved his face into the ground. Without hesitation, she sank her teeth into his neck, delivering the killing bite.
As she released the limp body and spat out the blood, she heard Falconpaw let out a screech of fear. She whirled around and, to her horror, saw the second guard with his teeth poised to tear out Falconpaw's throat.
"No!" Grasspaw screamed. "Falconpaw!"
*Meteorkit's POV*
Meteorkit flew through the air, slashing wildly at the guard's face. The guard chuckled at the tiny blows, raising a huge paw to bat Meteorkit away. The impact send the little kit flying, but he expertly spun through the air to vault off the wall.
The guard let out a screech of surprise as Meteorkit leapt into his back and began shredding his pelt with tiny, thorn-sharp claws. The gray tom shook his back vigorously in an attempt to dislodge him, but Meteorkit clamped his jaws down on the guard's scruff, causing him to howl in pain. He then hopped onto the tom's head, scratching his forehead and biting his ears.
In a last-ditch effort, the guard rolled over, catching Meteorkit by surprise and crushing the kit beneath him. All of Meteorkit's breath was knocked out of him as the massive guard landed on top of him with all his force.
The guard swiftly rose to his paws as Meteorkit gasped for breath. He was about to get back up when the guard rushed forward, snatching him up by the neck.
The guard shook his head back and forth vigorously, flinging Meteorkit around like a piece of prey and tearing the skin on his neck.
"Help!" Meteorkit squealed. "Shadowedskies!"
*Shadowedskies' POV*
The guard sidestepped as Shadowedskies leapt at him, reaching out a paw to swipe at her face. She dodged his strike, adjusting her landing and spinning around with a growl. He reared up on his hind legs to pounce on her, but she rolled away at the last second, causing his paws to come down hard on the ground.
Before he had time to react, she bowled him over, landing on top of his belly and churning her claws against the soft flesh. He grunted in pain, reaching his hind legs up to shove her off of him. She had underestimated his strength, and was thrown to the side, landing on her flank with a painful thud.
The guard leapt to his feet, charging at her with claws extended and a snarl on his face. Still reeling from the impact, Shadowedskies stood up shakily and tried to avoid the blow, but the guards claws scored down her side, eliciting a small hiss of pain from her mouth.
As the guard turned around to face her again, she launched herself into the air, landing on his back with enough force to send him crumpling to the ground. He tried to roll, but she kept him pinned in place and began slashing at his face. She landed strike after strike on his muzzle, sending blood splattering onto the floor.
He cried out, shoving her off of him and onto her back in a burst of strength. He flipped over onto his feet and launched himself at her, swinging his front paws to hit her with a massive blow. Shadowedskies was faster, and she held up her claws right where his throat would be.
He landed on her claws with a sickening squelch, blood oozing from the puncture wounds in his neck, and dropped to the ground. He took a few gurgling breaths as Shadowedskies got back up, but they faded as the light died from his eyes.
She basked in the satisfaction for a moment, but her triumph was shattered by Meteorkit crying out from behind her. "Help! Shadowedskies!"
She whirled around, fear glinting in her eyes as she saw Meteorkit being ruthlessly whipped around by the guard. He caught her eye and, with an evil smirk, let go.
"No!" Shadowedskies screamed, leaping forward to try to catch him, but it was too late.
She slid to a halt, watching helplessly as Meteorkit sailed through the air, impacting the wall with a horrifying crunch. His body slid to the ground, leaving a sickening bloody smear on the wall.
"Meteorkit," Shadowedskies whimpered, taking a single, despairing step towards the tiny, broken body. "No!"
She whipped around to face the guard, venom glinting in her eyes and her vision blurring into a murderous shade of red. "I'll kill you," she seethed, and sprang onto him with a thunderous yowl. He ducked instantly, and thrusted upwards with his jaws.
Shadowedskies' yowl broke off into a gurgle, and her eyes widened as the guard's teeth pierced her throat. Her limbs went numb and she slumped to the ground, her vision dissolving and the life fading from her body.
*Grasspaw's POV*
Grasspaw looked on in horror as the guard sank his teeth into Falconpaw's neck and the brown and white tom went limp. He dropped the motionless apprentice and turned slowly to face Grasspaw, blood dripping from his fangs. Blinded by grief and rage, Grasspaw threw herself onto the guard, raining wild blows onto his head with her flailing paws.
"You killed him!" She howled, heaving the guard onto his back and pinning him down by the throat.
"Only… doing my job," he coughed with an indifferent shrug. Grasspaw let out an agonized screech, then raised her claws for a final strike. She plunged them into his neck, tearing into his throat, and sliced him open down to his stomach with one smooth motion.
She stepped back, watching with pure hatred as he convulsed on the ground, blood pouring from his wounds. He gave one last jerk, and was still. Grasspaw stood there for a couple moments, mind whirling at what had just happened, then she glanced over to Falconpaw with a fresh wave of despair.
"Oh Falconpaw!" She cried, rushing over to his lifeless form with tears brimming in her eyes. She buried her muzzle in his shoulder, gulping down the sobs rising from her chest.
"Falconpaw," she moaned, her voice trembling with emotion. "Falconpaw, please! I can't lose you! Not again…"
Suddenly he stirred, and his eyes flicked open. "Oh!" Grasspaw exclaimed, lunging forward to nuzzle his cheek intensely. "Oh Falconpaw! You're all right! Thank StarClan!"
"Thank the guard's shoddy bitework, you mean," Falconpaw jested weakly, vainly trying to push her away. "He missed the jugular. What a klutz."
Grasspaw giggled, half at his jibes, and half giddy with relief. She helped him to his paws, pressing her side to his. "I'm just happy you're okay."
"Me too," he purred. "Now let's go find Shadowedskies and Meteorkit."
*Meteorkit's POV*
Meteorkit opened his eyes with a low groan. What happened to me? He looked down at his body and gasped in horror; his chest was crushed and two of his legs were broken. The pain rushed through him with a jolt, and he bit back a scream of agony as it felt like his body was on fire.
But there was another sensation-a warm glow that seemed to be overtaking the pain and slowly healing him. He looked down again, and this time exhaled in wonder. His pelt was glowing softly, and his injuries were healing themselves. A few moments later, his legs righted themselves and the last of the pain disappeared.
Awestruck, he slowly got to his paws, testing out each leg and marveling at how they had healed. Suddenly, he remembered. Shadowedskies!
He whirled around, only to see her throat torn out by the guard.
"No!" He shrieked as she crumpled to the ground. He felt energy building inside him, and leapt into the air with a screech of attack. He flew down the tunnel, landing in front of the stunned guard. The energy reached a climax, and he swiped out with a paw, releasing it all in one burst.
A fireball erupted from his paw, blasting the guard to ashes and scorching the wall. The force of it sent Meteorkit flying back down the tunnel, and the energy petered out as the fire dissipated. He slowly rose from the ground, panting from the exhaustion of what he had just done.
He padded over to Shadowedskies' body, salty droplets running from his eyes.
"No," he breathed, stumbling over to stand beside her. "No, Shadowedskies, you can't go! You saved me, took on both guards, and taught me so much! Please! I need you!"
His head dropped and his eyes fluttered shut, the acrid sting of his tears spreading down his face. Through his grief, he failed to notice the glow coming from his paws and flowing into Shadowedskies' form.
"No!" He wailed, throwing his head back with his eyes still closed. As his anguish peaked, all his remaining energy exploded out from his body in a brilliant ring of light. The cave shook and the ceiling began to collapse, boulders and chunks of rock raining down around him.
Terrified, he cowered beside Shadowedskies, covering his ears with his paws and waiting for the cave-in to be over. Eventually, the rumbling stopped, and Meteorkit cautiously opened his eyes.
The entire tunnel had been obliterated, and rubble covered every surface except a small ring around Shadowedskies and himself. As he was gaping at the devastation he had caused, Shadowedskies shifted beneath him.
"What in StarClan happened?" She groaned, weakly lifting her head to see what was going on. "And why are you sitting on me?"
Meteorkit screamed in astonishment and joy, leaping off of Shadowedskies' chest and covering her muzzle with grateful licks.
"Oh, StarClan!" He exclaimed, embracing her head and gripping it tightly with his tiny paws. "You're alive!"
"Yeah," Shadowedskies grunted cynically. "How does that work?"
"I, uh…" Meteorkit began, trying to think of how to explain. "I kind of saved you by magic."
"What?" Shadowedskies exploded, shooting to her paws in astonishment.
"I don't know how," Meteorkit continued, "But I touched you and then I was sad you were dead so I kind of exploded and the cave blew up and then you were alive again."
Shadowedskies shook her head a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming or hallucinating or anything, then stared at Meteorkit with a newfound sense of awe and respect. "You saved my life," she mewed, taking a step towards him and bowing her head slightly. "I don't care how you did it. Thank you."
"I-It was nothing,"Meteorkit stammered, turning his head away with a slight blush, "But you're welcome."
Shadowedskies nodded and went back to looking around at the destroyed cave. "Where's Silver?" She gasped, glancing around the rubble in frantic motions. Meteorkit gulped, his heart thumping again. What if I killed her?
He was about to begin racing around to try to find her when one of the piled of rocks shifted and a slightly battered but alive Silver emerged.
"Silver!" Meteorkit cried, rushing to her and nuzzling her chest. "You're okay! Now we can save you."
Silver simply nodded in assent, her tail and head drooping in evident exhaustion.
"Wait!" Shadowedskies interjected. "Surely we should make sure the others are all right!"
"Oh yes!" Meteorkit exclaimed. However, a few quick looks at his surroundings showed that they were completely sealed in except for a hole which had opened up in the ceiling.
"We're trapped," Meteorkit sighed despondently, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "There's no way to get to them."
"Hold on," Shadowedskies said, inspecting a small gap near the top of the pile of rocks. "Could you fit through here?"
Meteorkit shot upright, staring at the gap for a few moments before brightening up.
"Yes!" He beamed. He leapt onto the pile, climbing carefully up to the hole. "I'm going through," he announced. "I'll be back with everyone else!"
He crawled through the hole, emerging on top of the rocks on the other side. "Grasspaw?" He called. "Falconpaw? Anyone?"
*Leaflight's POV*
"No," Leaflight whimpered, retreating into a corner in terror. "Please don't! Or at least make it… m-make it a dream!"
"Oh but that would ruin all the fun," Reaper smirked, taking a few paw steps towards her. "It's more satisfying when it's real."
"Please!" Leaflight wailed, shrinking even further into the corner. "I'll do anything, just don't… Don't rape me!"
"Hmm," Reaper mused. "Anything, you say." He placed his paw on his chin for a brief moment, brow furrowing as if in deep thought, then jumped up with a cruel glint of epiphany in his pulsating red eyes.
"Aha!" He cried with glee. "I know what you'll have to do!"
"W-what is it?" Leaflight stammered, almost more afraid of what she might have agreed to do than what he had been going to do.
"Ooh," Reaper coped, rubbing his paws together. "I don't think you're going to like it, but that'll just make it better. "I won't rape you… as long as you become my slave for the rest of your life.
"No!" Leaflight screamed, tears bursting from her eyes and streaming down her face. "You can't…" she hiccuped, "I won't… I didn't mean to… I don't want to... Please!"
"Please will get you nowhere, I'm afraid," Reaper crooned, closing the distance between them until his nose was touching her tear-soaked muzzle.
"You're going to have my kits," he growled, seizing her haunches and pulling her around and into a crouch, "and you're going to love every bit of it."
Leaflight clawed at him, vainly trying to break free, but he easily subdued her and climbed onto her back.
"No!" She wept, face pressed to the ground in a position of utter shame and submission. "No, please! Please no! No!"
"No such luck," Reaper whispered, reaching down to grab her scruff in his teeth as he prepared to destroy her innocence. "Now, let's begin."
Just as he said this, a rustling noise came from somewhere down the tunnel. Reaper ignored it but Leaflight, through her blurry, watering eyes, glanced over to see what it was. To her disbelief, it was Falcon, rising to his paws and glaring at Reaper with enough power to make Leaflight shiver.
"Don't touch her!" He yowled, launching himself across the cave and knocking Reaper off of her with one blow.
"You foul-" he slashed Reaper's face- "slimy-" he gouged Reapers chest- "disgusting-" he clawed Reaper's stomach- "son of a vixen!" He whipped his paw across Reaper's throat, slicing through the flesh like it was rotten prey and flinging blood across the cave.
He began ripping apart Reaper's body, accentuating each strike with a curse: "Stupid, cowardly, filthy, evil, detestable badger spawn!"
Leaflight, making a futile attempt to brush away her still-flowing tears, went over to him. "Falcon," she mewed quietly. "Falcon. It's done. It's over. He's dead."
"Good," Falcon huffed, turning back to Leaflight with the glow of triumph in his gaze. "Mangy, good-for-nothing fox-heart deserved it."
"How are you alive?" Leaflight breathed, staring at him with a mixture of gratitude and awe. "Oh he just knocked me out," he explained nonchalantly.
"But how… Falcon, you-" Leaflight broke off, choking up with emotion. "You saved me. He was about to…" She gulped, the experience still traumatizingly fresh in her mind. "But you saved me. I can't… I don't… How can I possibly thank you?"
"You don't have to," Falcon murmured, reaching out and pulling her close. "You're such a beautiful, wonderful cat, Leaflight. You deserve infinitely more than him-than his kits. When you do take a mate, you deserve the best tom in the world. I know I could never dream of being that tom, but I promise, I'll always stay with you."
"No," Leaflight whispered, almost too quiet to be heard.
"What?" Falcon exclaimed, taking a step back in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I mean…" Leaflight began, trailing off with a blush. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to look him in the eye, and continued. "I think you could be that tom. You're brave, daring, strong… kind. Would you like to… go on a date? Sometime? Like, go hunting or something?"
Falcon's jaw dropped and his eyes shot open in astonishment. He sat there for several long seconds, just staring as if he simply couldn't comprehend what she had just said. "You…" he gaped, "You… You want me… to go on a date. With you."
"Yes," Leaflight purred, leaning forward and licking his muzzle in affection. "Yes, you silly furball! I want to go on a date with you!"
"I…" Falcon stammered, "I accept."
Leaflight opened her mouth to speak, but just then a huge rumble sounded throughout the cave. The ground shook, and boulders began to detach themselves from the ceiling and crash to the floor beside her.
"What's going on?" Leaflight cried, pressing her side to Falcon's in fear.
"I don't know," he responded grimly, "but it's not good."
The rumbling reached a climax, and dust billowed through the tunnel. Leaflight's eyes snapped shut and she covered her mouth with her tail, coughing. As the dust began to clear, all the noises and shaking ceased, and Leaflight could see a bit through the haze.
As she squinted down the tunnel, she saw that huge piles of rubble lay all around, blocking the way they had planned on going.
"The cave collapsed," she gasped, astonished at the power of whatever had caused this. "How?"
"I don't know that either," Falcon breathed, looking over at her with the same expression of surprise. "But we should make sure the others are okay."
"Of course," Leaflight agreed. "Let's go."
*Grasspaw's POV*
Grasspaw padded along the tunnel for a few paces, Falconpaw leaning quite heavily on her shoulder. Falconpaw stumbled, and Grasspaw instantly righted him with a quick nudge of her shoulder.
"You're not really okay, Falconpaw," she worried, looking him in the eye with an expression of concern. "You can barely walk."
"I'm fine," he grunted, pulling away from her and attempting to walk ahead on his own. Grasspaw hurried forward beside him as he limped a few paces before his legs gave out and hie collapsed onto the ground.
"No you're not," Grasspaw insisted, "And you just proved it."
She came around in front of him, crouching down to inspect the bite on his throat. It may have missed his jugular vein, but it was still bleeding a lot, and looked painful.
"That wound looks bad," Grasspaw breathed, stroking his cheek lightly with a paw. "You shouldn't stress it. Just stay here and-" She broke off as she heard a loud rushing noise from down the tunnel.
She whirled around and gasped as she saw a flash of fiery light. "Holy StarClan!" She exclaimed. "Meteorkit!"
"What?" Falconpaw questioned. "Meteorkit?"
Grasspaw didn't have time to answer, as a second explosion rocked the cave, blinding her and Falconpaw for a split second. Debris rained down from above, and Grasspaw didn't even think twice as she threw herself on top of Falconpaw, shielding as much of his body as she could with her own. She shut her eyes, holding her breath as long as she could against the rushing dust.
Slowly, the shaking stopped and a few last rocks landed on the ground beside her. Cautiously, she cracked open both eyes to make sure nothing else was about to collapse. All seemed well, and she carefully got down from on top of Falconpaw.
"Oh no," she breathed, staring at the utter destruction before her. All around were piles of rubble and destroyed stone, and the path ahead was completely obstructed by what was left of the collapsed ceiling. "What will we do?"
Falconpaw didn't need an answer for that, as Meteorkit emerged from a small gap in the top of one of the rock piles. "Grasspaw? Falconpaw? Anyone?"
"We're here!" Grasspaw and Falconpaw cried simultaneously, Grasspaw bounding over to Meteorkit.
"You're alive," he mewed, touching her nose lightly, "But where's Falconpaw?"
"He's injured," Grasspaw replied, a hint of worry in her mew, "But he'll be okay. He can't really walk, though."
"You can carry him, I guess," Meteorkit suggested. "But come through here. There's a way out!"
"Awesome!" Grasspaw exclaimed. "By the way," she continued. "What happened?"
"Umm," Meteorkit mumbled, somewhat uncomfortable, "I thought Shadowedskies was dead… well, she was… So I exploded the cave. But then I healed her!" He brightened as he finished speaking. "She and Silver are both fine!"
Grasspaw nodded, slightly amazed by his story. She had known he had powers, but not that they were this strong.
"I'll go get Falconpaw," she called over her shoulder, turning and bounding back to the brown and white tom.
"Come on!" She encouraged, pushing Falconpaw gently to his feet. "Meteorkit has a way out!"
"Okay," Falconpaw sighed, exhaustedly placing one paw in front of the other as he slowly made his way to the gap in the rock pile. Grasspaw got behind him, carefully supporting him on her shoulder as he climbed the pile. He made it to the gap and squeezed his way through without too much difficulty.
Grasspaw was about to follow when she heard rocks clattering behind her. She whipped around to see who it was, and her eyes lit up when she saw it was Falcon and Leaflight.
"Yay!" She cheered, jumping up and down a couple times. "We're all here! Meteorkit found a way out, come on!"
Leaflight and Falcon glanced at each other, then bounded up to where Grasspaw was. She slipped through the gap, and they followed right behind her.
"The exit's this way," Meteorkit announced once they had all made it through. He stood at the top of one of the piles and indicated a small hole which had opened up in the ceiling. It was just a tail-length above where he was standing, and easy to reach with a small jump. "Let's go."
Meteorkit bunched his legs and leapt onto the ledge beneath the hole, quickly padding outside. Shadowedskies followed him, helping Silver along carefully.
Silver almost didn't make the jump, but a quick boost from Shadowedskies righted her and she scrabbled up beside Meteorkit, Shadowedskies following right after.
Leaflight and Falcon climbed out together, a new bond seeming to have formed between them, and then it was Grasspaw and Falconpaw's turn. She nodded to him to let him know he could go first.
He padded carefully to the top of the rock pile and made a surprisingly steady jump onto the ledge. Grasspaw got up behind him and breathed a huge sigh of relief. They had finally escaped Reaper.
"Come on," Shadowedskies instructed, taking the lead again. "Let's find a place to sleep."
*Mystery POV*
As I crest the slope, each step sending a jolt of pain through my body, a beautiful sight is revealed to me. Mountains extend in all directions as far as the eye can see. Snow covers their peaks like a white pelt covers the prettiest she-cat.
And in front of me, there is the stone valley, the only image I could remember.
Suddenly, my mind explodes. Ideas rush through my consciousness: Memories, names, faces, scents. It is too much to process.
I crouch down, clapping my paws over my head to try to lessen the torrent, but to no avail. Images keep rushing past my sight faster than I can even comprehend.
But one thing begins to stick out amongst the others. One vital detail shows itself, and I take it in. My name; my identity; my life all in a single word. I know who I am now.
I am Redpaw.
And with that bombshell, I will conclude this chapter of The Meteor Prophecy.
I'm fairly certain I won't need any QOTDs for this one. Just do what you do. Review away.