A/N: Hi guys! I'm so happy right now because we have officially hit 100 reviews! Hooray! Thanks to everybody who ever reviewed, followed, added this story as a favorite, or simply read it. It really wants a lot to me. Summer is going great so far, kind of bored, but still really fun. How many of you guys started summer? What have you done so far? If not, when do you guys start?

Reviews

Starrysong Likes Spring- Huh, I didn't know. Well thanks for letting me know. Great theory by the way. Yup, they're all related to the weather of sorts, what do you think is the name of the remaining two?

Nightleaf (Guest) - Those are great names, but actually, I already have the names of the other two prepared. I'm most likely going to finish the remaining Four's stories before doing Luna's. That would make the most sense I think. Is there something in particular that you're confused about or that needs explanation?

ON WITH THE CHAPTER

…

Season of Death

…

"Stella… I know it's hot out here, but that doesn't mean you should drown yourself."

The young grey shook out her head as she broke the surface of the lake. The water felt even more refreshing than when they first arrived at the oasis. Today was particularly hot, even Avaz admitted to it.

"The Valley has her days… she is angry at a traveler for disrespecting her. And because of them, we suffer this heat."

His words were confusing, but they were the only explanation for the sudden increase in temperature. Pestilence stood at the edge of the lake, looking fondly at her as she swam closer to the edge. Going for a morning swim was the only option to keep cool. The shade casted by the trees offered no resistance to the dry wind that blew by, making sleeping very uncomfortable. Silvermist sighed as she sat down by the edge of the lake, stretching out her paws and letting out a yawn.

"I can't wait to get out of this place… I swear I will never complain of the cold anymore after this," Pestilence said in disdain, pulling his lips back in irritation. Silvermist let out a small chuckle, shaking out her pelt and sending droplets every which way. The white tom glanced at her, a small smile crossing his face as a few drops landed on him. "Gee thanks."

The grey smiled back, glancing around quickly before a frown covered her face instead. In the same place where they left him, Death lay unconscious and seemingly unmoving. From this far, the grey's nerves jolted in fear since she couldn't see his flanks rising and falling. Her ears flattened slightly, her teeth gritting together to avoid yelling and panicking. Instead she padded closer to him, letting out the breath she was holding when she saw the telltale sign that he was still alive. Still breathing. Still fighting. Silvermist stood at a short distance, just far enough to see his flanks moving. A sigh from behind her made her heart ache even more. Everyone from the oasis, minus Death of course, woke very early in the morning. Avaz went off to hunt while Pestilence and Silvermist attempted to wake him up, but to no avail. After they ate, Avaz set off again to find the herbs for the poultice that would supposedly wake Death up.

"Do you really think it will work?" she couldn't help herself from asking, not looking away from Death's flanks, "the poultice, or whatever he is making?" She was answered with another sigh, this one more frustrated than the last, as Pestilence stood beside her, a look of worry crossing his features. As much as he tried to hide it, the grey knew he was just as worried as she was.

"I'm just hoping Avaz isn't trying to poison him."

"Pestilence-"

"I know, I know. He's our only hope. I just don't like putting Death's life on the line for a mysterious poultice a stranger offered to make."

Silvermist glanced at him as he padded back towards the lake, stepping into it soon after. The sound of him splashing echoed around the silent clearing as the grey padded over to the unconscious tom. She settled down beside him, busying herself by grooming down his pelt. She used to enjoy silence. It would give her the opportunity to think through her problems and emotions. When she used to be in the clans, this was very helpful as an apprentice. Now, the silence that settled in the clearing only made her anxious. Glancing up, she could still see Pestilence wading in the water, his gaze directed towards the sky. The oasis was filled with noises of bugs and small animals, all of them sounded like they were right beside her. All of them waiting for her to let her guard down, all of them waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Something sounded… different.

"I'm back."

Avaz's cheery, but muffled, voice broke her out of her concentration. The grey opened her eyes, looking in the direction where he spoke. To her relief, he had the herbs wrapped in a bundle by a leaf. The pale brown tom trotted over to them, an almost excited look in his green eyes. Wordlessly, the tom sat by Death's head, placing the leaf down and spreading it open. The young grey watched silently, flicking her ear in the direction of the lake as Pestilence waded out of the water to join them. All of them sat around Death as Avaz's expression turned from excited to disappointed.

"What's wrong?"

"I… I can't seem to remember where to begin. I know my mother used all of these, but, it needs to be in a specific order."

"Great…"

Pestilence mumbled under his breath, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. The grey hissed softly in warning, her eyes narrowing at him. The white tom made it a point to look away from her. Looking back at Avaz, Silvermist gave the warmest smile she could give at a time like this.

"Just take your time Avaz. We don't need you messing up now."

Avaz nodded slightly, his expression never wavering. Silvermist sighed as she looked down at Death. Now, she was able to see just how much not eating affected him. His ribs were starting to become seeable from his pelt, and he looked even more fragile than when he started sleeping. It looked like if a strong gust of wind blew by, he would be carried along with it. She missed hearing his voice, missed simply looking into his eyes. As she closed her eyes, she could imagine how he looked with his cocky smirk and the challenging glint in his eyes.

"Something's coming."

The hiss from Pestilence made her jump as she opened her eyes. The white Four was looking off in the distance, standing in a defensive position with his ears flattened against his head. Following his gaze, the grey could see the grass shuffling and moving as something walked through it. Avaz didn't look away, his tail flicking on the ground and his eyes closed in concentration as he tried to remember the order.

"Did you not hear me?" Pestilence hissed through his teeth, turning his head towards the pale brown tom, "something is coming."

Avaz opened his eyes, a mixture of slight annoyance and frustration mixing in his eyes. The tom's mouth parted, tasting the air before he stood up, the familiar cheery expression appearing on his face.

"Amia?"

"Who?"

Silvermist watched as Avaz trotted boldly over to where the grass was moving. Seconds later, he was greeted by another cat. They were too far away for the grey and Pestilence to hear their conversation, but Avaz was laughing in joy and pressing his head against the other's shoulder in greeting. Wordlessly, Pestilence stood up and the grey followed as they padded over to them.

"I'm glad you're here, your timing is impeccable. Do you remember mother's poultice to wake the unconscious travelers?"

"I knew you would need my help someday."

The grey and the Four stood behind Avaz, watching as he talked excitedly with the she-cat. Her pelt was a mixture of pale brown, white, and a majority of it being grey. And while Avaz's eyes were a light green, the she-cat's was a darker grey-green. Before Pestilence could speak up next to her, another figure stepped out of the grass from behind the she-cat, a familiar figure that made both Silvermist and him gasp.

"Famine!"

The black furred tom look exhausted, but he stood up tall. There were places where a slick layer of a poultice covered his wounds. Without waiting another second, Silvermist and Pestilence practically tackled the tom down, holding him close. Famine's shoulders were shaking slightly, almost as if he was either laughing or crying into their shoulders. Silvermist pulled back first, letting Pestilence remain there with his face buried in the other's shoulders. She could hear him quietly sobbing, murmuring words under his breath.

"I thought you were dead."

Famine smiled, nudging the other tom gently and shaking his head slightly. Pestilence let out a small chuckle, sniffling soon after and looking at the she-cat beside Avaz. The pitch black tom nudged Pestilence again, nodding in the she-cat's direction with his lips stretching into a smile.

"I'm assuming you are the one who saved him. Thank you."

"No problem. My name is Amia and I'm assuming you've met my brother here. He tells me one of your friends is unconscious, can you show me to them?"

Pestilence slowly nodded, standing up from his position beside Famine. With a quick glance at the tom to make sure he was following him, the white Four began walking over to Death. Silvermist trailed behind the two, watching fondly as Pestilence talked with Famine. The mute tom would simply nod, smile, or shake his head. When he mentioned War, Famine flinched and frowned slightly. This was all he needed to do for them to know.

War was still missing.

As soon as they arrived to the shade, Famine pressed his nose gently against Death's shoulder. His frown deepened and he moved his shoulders as if he was sighing. A look of guilt washed over the tom's face, and Silvermist interpreted as if he was guilty for letting Death overuse his power. If anything, all of them should feel guilty for letting it happen. They could've jumped in once the jackal didn't die wit his first attempt.

"How long has he been unconscious for?"

"They don't know. They're estimation is three days now, but it could be longer than that."

The travelers glanced over to Amia and Avaz, watching silently as the siblings looked over the herbs on the leaf. Silvermist looked on, praying to Luna that they would figure something out. But since the sun was out and not the moon, the grey didn't know if her words reached her mother. One could only hope. She curled her tail around her paws, moving her gaze from the siblings down to Death. The tom's pale grey fur was ruffled once more because of the wind. No matter how many times she cleaned it, it would always get messed up.

"Got it! Now we just need to make it into a poultice, right?"

"Mhm."

Amia and Avaz worked efficiently together, pulling the leaf bundle closer to the lake so they could add a bit of water to the mixture. Pestilence flattened his ears once more, glancing at Famine and Silvermist.

"This is our last opportunity to back out."

"Why would we back out?"

"What if he could wake up naturally? We haven't tried everything you know."

"And risk us injuring him? Pestilence, we just need to trust that this will work."

"How do you know it will work? What if this just kills him quicker, Stella?"

Silvermist sighed, her gaze drifting back to Death's face. He seemed peaceful in this unconscious state, his nostrils flaring slightly with each inhale of breath. What if this poultice didn't work? What if what Pestilence was saying was true? Could she ever forgive herself for letting complete strangers kill him? Shaking those thoughts from her mind, the grey looked up, giving the white tom a stern but desperate look.

"What other choice do we have? This is better than just sitting here and watching him die slowly."

Pestilence opened his mouth to argue, but closed it soon after and closed his eyes. They were silent, with Famine looking between the two with flattened ears. They all knew this was a difficult situation and an even harder decision to make. After a while, the white furred tom opened his eyes again and gave a single nod.

"Fine, I agree. I just hope you're right about this Stella."

Looking in the direction of the siblings, the grey mumbled under her breath, "I hope so, too."

At last, the poultice was done and Avaz and Amia were walking back over to them, the mixture of herbs and water settled onto the leaf. Famine moved from Death's head to sit beside Pestilence at the unconscious tom's back. Silvermist sat across from them as Amia gently grabbed a small chunk of the poultice from the leaf. She looked up, meeting each of their gazes in turn.

"Remember, he won't wake up immediately. It may take a few minutes to half a day for it to take effect."

The three nodded as Avaz helped opening the tom's mouth, all of them watching in silence as Amia spread the poultice at the roof of his mouth and towards the back of his tongue. As soon as they were done, they gently moved Death's head onto the leaf so the poultice was close to his nose.

"The poultice is bitter to taste and to smell. It should be enough to wake him up."

"Thank you, both of you," Silvermist said, bowing her head slightly and giving them a smile.

"You're welcome," Avaz said, returning the smile while padding towards the lake with Amia. As soon as they were there, they began washing their paws in the water. The clearing fell into silence, the only sound coming from the occasional splash from the lake. Silvermist blinked as she tilted her head back, the wind not blowing anymore either. The noises she heard earlier were gone as well. It was if the oasis itself froze in anticipation.

Closing her eyes, the young grey let her senses reach out for anything out there. No unusual scents in the air, not counting the bitter scent of the poultice close by. There weren't any different sounds out there except-

Opening her eyes, Silvermist looked off to the opposite side of the lake. As soon as Amia and Avaz were done washing their paws, the sound she heard became more and more noticeable. Pawsteps. Rapid pawsteps, almost as if something was charging straight in there direction. Only when the grass suddenly began moving and parting did the others stand up. Before any of them could shout in alarm, a jackal burst through the undergrowth. Flashbacks of the jackal that chased them made the grey involuntarily stand up and hiss in fright.

But something was different. As the jackal stood on the other side, panting heavily, Silvermist could see its brown pelt marred with cuts and bites. Blood was dripping from its many wounds and it whimpered loud enough for them to hear. The sound of pawsteps continued, and the grey could only assume that something was chasing the jackal. In a heartbeat, the creature of the valley charged through the water, swimming as quickly as it could straight towards them.

Amia and Avaz stood in front of the travelers, their ears flat against their heads. Pestilence and Famine stood on either side of them, creating a barricade in front of Death and Silvermist.

"Stay there Stella," Pestilence hissed, his fur bristling and his body shaking slightly. The grey lifted her head higher, trying to look past the shoulders of those in front of her and behind the jackal. Something is chasing it… whatever it is, we need to focus on that rather than the jackal. As soon as the jackal ran out of the water, something leapt onto its back.

Silvermist could only hear the cries of pain and whimpers from it as the smaller creature furiously attacked it. Pushing through Pestilence, a gasp escaped her lips at what she saw. War…

The red brown tom was a blur of movement as he attacked the creature of the valley. His movements never wavered, despite the amount of wounds that was present on his body. He never slowed, despite the amount of blood that was coming from those wounds. Silvermist could only get glimpses of his face every other heartbeat. The expression on his face made her blood run cold. His pupils were dilated, nearly covering both of his eyes in black. Instead of the fiery amber that was normally there, his eyes were a deep blue color. His face was twisted in a snarl, his lips pulled back threateningly. She could see the deadly glint in them. War was on a mission; kill the jackal at any cost.

As much as she wanted to go over there and stop them, a voice in her head told her to stay where she was. Her body didn't seem to want to move either. No matter how hard they tried, the four cats couldn't separate War from the jackal. Finally, the jackal managed to throw the tom off of him, sending War flying off in the opposite direction as it ran away, fleeing down the side of the lake. Amia and Avaz ran after it, only to chase it out of the oasis rather than actually harm it.

By instinct, Silvermist ran over to War. The tom was turned away from her, sitting with his shoulders slouched and him shivering. The grey stopped beside him, looking down at him. The tom mumbled something under his breath, too quiet for her to hear.

"What is it War?"

"Get… away… from me. I don't want to hurt you-"

"It'll be fine War," Silvermist said softly as she gently placed a paw in the spot between his shoulder blades. She could only feel him stiffen underneath her touch, and before she knew it, he whirled on her with his teeth bared and eyes narrowed.

"Get away from me!"

Without warning, War lashed his claws out at her, hitting the side of her face. The grey let out a gasp as she stumbled back, both by the force of the blow and out of shock. Immediately, the wound he inflicted on her began stinging as she felt a small amount of blood drip from them.

"War! No!"

Silvermist watched in horror, only having enough time to close her eyes as War lunged at her. Pestilence's cry faded into the background as she waited for the impact to come. Everything she learned about fighting slipped from her mind. How could she fight against War? Or any of them for that matter? When the impact never came, she opened her eyes and felt her jaw drop. War was fighting something else, the two figures rolling away before splitting apart a short distance away. The name of the other figure slipped from her tongue in a breathless gasp.

"Death…"

…

The pale grey tom peeked open his eyes, his head feeling much heavier than usual, as he heard the sounds of fighting all around him. When he opened his eyes, he expected to be back in his nightmare that he was trapped in all along. The taste of bitterness invaded his mouth and he let out a few silent coughs in response to get rid of the taste. Once his vision cleared up, he noticed that he was still laying on his side. From where he was, he could see someone standing in his line of sight with their back turned to him. Grey…

She didn't notice him waking up, since all of her attention was currently on whatever she was looking at. Looking away from her, Death could see four other cats fighting a jackal. Pestilence… Famine… Where was War?

There…

He could see the red brown tom clinging to the back of the jackal, biting ferociously at the shoulders of the jackal and trying to snap its spine. Every attack the tom did was meant to be a fatal attack, one that would not only wound, but kill the jackal. Death felt his fur bristle at the sight of him. War never fought to kill… only when…

War must've used his power at some point. Then that means all of us are in trouble.

When the jackal managed to throw War off and run away, Death wanted to scream at the grey to stay away from him. He couldn't seem to get a word out of his mouth and watched in apprehension as she ran over to the tom. I need to get up…

Gritting his teeth, Death lifted his head slowly. A wave of dizziness and nausea washed over him, but other than that, he was fine. It went away as quickly as it came, and he could feel the strength returning to his body slowly as he sat up. Standing up as quickly as he could, Death hissed inwardly when War turned on the grey, slashing his paws across her cheek and sending her stumbling backwards. Pestilence and Famine ran towards her, but they were too slow with their new injuries from the jackal. Death hissed under his breath as he stood up, feeling a jolt of pain surge through him. Without thinking about anything else, he sprinted over to them. War leaned back and leapt at the grey. Don't just stand there!

Luckily, Death was able to reach her in time, leaping at War and the two collided in mid-air. The impact knocked the breath out of both of them, but this didn't stop them from rolling away in a blur of claws and fur. Eventually, Death pinned War, but this victory was short-lived when War kicked him off. The two separated, both of them panting heavily. War had his back turned to the others, facing Death. As he predicted, Death could see the deep blue eyes overtaking the tom's usual amber eyes. The pale grey tom knew better than anyone what was happening at this point. It happened to all of them whenever they used their powers.

War was being taken over by his past self. The battle-hungry and blood-thirsty tom that brought nothing but destruction and death when he ruled his clan. And Death had lived in the time that he did, being part of a neighboring clan. Death panted heavily as he held the tom's gaze, a cocky smirk on his face and a savage glint in his eyes. They glittered in recognition when he saw Death. The tom knew that War was able to see Stormbringer instead of Death.

"Well… well… well… look who we have here," War chuckled, his claws flexing against the ground as he walked in front of the tom. He looked like a predator that had cornered their prey.

"It's been far too long since I've last seen you, Stormbringer," War's past self laughed, throwing his head back.

"This isn't you War," Death hissed out, seeing a figure appear out of thin air beside him from the corner of his eye. The voices in his head was gone, but they had taken the shape of Stormbringer. The blue-grey tom stood beside Death, standing up tall with his eyes narrowed. It was as if the tom beside him was real, Death was able to feel the anger coming off of him in waves. What did the shadows from my nightmare mean when they said to take them with me? Was this what it was?

War was no longer looking at Death, but rather at Stormbringer. His smirk grew almost mischievously. The pale grey tom opened his mouth to answer, but Stormbringer simply looked at him and shook his head. After, the tom looked back towards War.

"Stay away and leave War alone, Skystar."

War let out another laugh before briskly walking forward. Death hissed and backed up, forcing Stormbringer to back up as well.

"He deserves to be taken over, just like you deserve this!"

Without warning, War leapt at Death once more, and the battle from earlier resumed. The pale grey tom was outmatched, but that didn't mean he wouldn't fight. If anything, he had more of a reason to win than War did. The sounds of the others faded into the background as the two toppled over each other. When War had Death pinned underneath him, his paws pressed roughly against his throat, the pale grey tom could see Stormbringer vanish from the air. The tom could feel the tips of War's claws against his throat as well, taunting him almost.

"I'm going to watch you die a slow death, Stormbringer…" War cackled, his eyes shining maliciously.

Death gritted his teeth, lifting his head slightly and eyes narrowed.

"I am not Stormbringer," he managed to growl through gritted teeth. War's eyes widened momentarily before he stumbled back, yelling out in pain as he stepped back. Death coughed and hunched over, trying to regain his breath. Stormbringer was back and currently attacking War. The pale Four knew that the others would simply be seeing War crying out in pain. But Death didn't want to kill him. His past self seemed to know that as well, since he left again as soon as War blacked out from the pain. New cuts were shining with blood, but at least his rampage was gone. As soon as he woke up, War would be here instead of Skystar.

"Death, are you okay?" Pestilence ran up to him, his eyes wide as he stood in front of him.

"I would've been better if you actually tried to help," Death hissed in annoyance as he sat up, shaking out his pelt and narrowing his eyes. Stormbringer reappeared again, standing over an unconscious War with his eyes narrowed. The figure lifted his head up, sending a wicked grin at Death.

"It would've been better if we killed him."

Death flattened his ears at the mixture of voices coming from Stormbringer. So this is what they meant. The tom didn't know how they were able to do this; become a visible figure for only his eyes to see. Maybe I am going crazy, just like Luna wanted.

"Hey, mouse-brain, I can hear your thoughts you know. I'm a part of you, remember?"

Already, Death was annoyed by the apparition the voices made. Choosing to ignore it, the pale grey tom turned to the others as they padded up to him. Pestilence looked more exhausted than he remembered him being, Famine's eyes no longer held their familiar shine, and the grey looked on the verge of tears. She shook her head, taking in a deep breath before padding forward first. The tom heard Stormbringer scoff, mumbling his annoyance for her.

"Tell her to go away Death. She's the daughter of Luna, the cat you want your revenge on, remember?"

"You're bleeding, come on."

"Oh, aren't you so smart?"

She motioned with her head to the lake. Without a word, Death stood up and followed her. Behind them, Pestilence and Famine went over to War, talking with the two strangers and working together to make poultice for his wounds. Stormbringer walked close to Death, rambling on about how it would be an amazing idea to abandon the others. The pale grey tom chose to ignore his past self as he and the grey walked into the cool water.

The tom hissed in surprise, but grew accustomed to the sudden drop in temperature of the water. He sat down as directed and stayed quiet as the grey pressed a small moss ball- which he assumed she got from under the water- to his wounds.

"Ouch," he said, feeling the start of a smile on his face when she let out a small chuckle and mumbled a "sorry." Oh how he missed hearing her laugh and seeing her smile. How long was he asleep for? The pains in his stomach told him how hungry he was, but he ignored them and enjoyed the grey's company. "How long was I asleep for?

"Three, almost four days we think."

"Think?"

"We were more focused on walking and waking you up than counting the days that passed by."

Death could only imagine what they went through while he was asleep. Why did Pestilence look so tired? What happened to Famine that made the shine in his eyes disappear? For how long did War use his power?

"You're going to have to fill me in on everything I missed," Death said in a playful tone, sitting up and turning to her. She jumped slightly at his movements, quickly glancing behind him at the others before looking back at him soon after. Stormbringer was gone again and the voices didn't taunt him.

"But first," he leaned in, closing the distance between them, and nuzzled her. She gasped gently before nuzzling him back, but only momentarily. When she pulled away, she looked behind him again. Death knew she was worried of the others finding out about them. He stepped in her line of sight and smiled again. "I'm starving, come on."

The pair walked out of the water, the grey asking one of the strangers if he could hunt for Death. Despite the pale grey tom's complaints, the friendly stranger set out into the oasis. In the back of his head, Death was grateful for this. Between his hunger and his fight with War, he was utterly exhausted. All he wanted to do now was sit down and relax.

As they sat in a circle, Pestilence talked about what he and the grey went through. The remaining stranger, the she-cat, explained how she found Famine passed out in the valley. To Death, this still didn't explain why Famine didn't look like himself. His eyes seemed to be holding the same haunted state that they had when he was first created. Still, despite everyone being exhausted and War unconscious, Death couldn't help but smile at the others.

They were finally together again, all of them.

At last.

…

A/N: This chapter seems iffy to me, but I guess that would have to do for now. Hooray! They're all finally together again! Also, when Stormbringer is talking, only Death is able to hear him and see him. His words are in italic to distinguish them.

QOTD: Turns out, War's name was Skystar, but of course that was his leader name. What do you think is his warrior name?

Also, War's story will be revealed in the next chapter.

If you see any mistakes, feel free to point them out and I'll make sure to take extra care in the next update.

Please review/favorite/ or add this story to your favorite's list!

Thank you and peace out!

~Wolfcreations17