Author's Note:

Hello readers and welcome to Chapter Thirty-Six!

It's time to figure out the immediate aftermath of the fight in the spirit realm. What happened to Nightfang and the spirit? Did the spirit die, and if it did, did Shade die too?

This chapter will not have a POV from Duskfall, though there will be a few more from her before this story is over.

This chapter will contain POVs from Mintleaf, Nightfang, and Shade.

Anyways, on to the story!

Chapter Thirty-Six:

Nightfang gasped, jolting up to his feet, panting. He nearly panicked, as he didn't recognize where he was, but he realized he must be in the Second Tier's dens. He glanced at the other cats in the den. How would they be taken care of? They were chosen by Shade because they were as loyal as one could be. He wouldn't be able to kill them all.

Nightfang stealthily got up and slid out of the den, relishing the feel of the cave under his paws, as it meant he was in the real world. There was no spirit here to turn him into a pregnant she-cat, but what was that that the spirit had said? Something about his internal fears, or something of the sort.

He found himself in a clearing at the bottom of the cave, and followed the scent of milk to a place he'd wanted to visit ever since he'd reached StarClan.

He could scent Dawnlight. He could scent his kits. He could finally see his kits through his own eyes. Grinning, he padded into the den. He froze as he saw two other queens, but relaxed as he saw they were sleeping.

His eyes widened as he saw what he'd been waiting to see. Dawnlight was curled around two beautiful ginger she-kits. A soft purr broke through his silence, but he quickly stifled it.

He stepped forward and lightly nudged Dawnlight, trying not to wake up the kits. He knew that they would immediately wake up the other queens if they were woken up.

Dawlight's eyes flickered open, and they narrowed as they saw him. "What do you want," She mewed, her facial expression stony, but with a hint of hurt.

Compassion surged through Nightfang. He couldn't even imagine how much Dawnlight had had to go through. Now, she was safe. He would get them out of there, but first, he needed a plan to get rid of the seconds, and maybe some of the thirds too. He couldn't have someone just as bad as Shade come into power.

"Don't worry. Dawnlight. I've broken free. I'm not under Shade's power anymore. It's me," he mewed, his voice nearly choking with emotion.

Dawnlight's eyes widened, "Really? This isn't a cruel joke?"

Nightfang touched his muzzle to her cheek, purring, "This is all real, and I couldn't imagine it being any better. The kits are beautiful."

Dawnlight smiled, relief filling her, "How did you escape his power? Are we leaving?"

Nightfang shook his head, "I'll tell you it all when we go back to ThunderClan, but that isn't now. We can't just leave the Claws in the paws of Shade's second-in-commands."

Dawnlight sighed, but nodded, "Alright." Suddenly looking happier, she added, "Do you want to meet your two daughters?"

Nightfang nodded, licking her cheek, "There's nothing else I would rather do."

Dawnlight lightly bent down and softly nudged the lighter of the two ginger she-kits. The little she-kit stretched her eyes open, and squeaked in surprise as she looked at Nightfang. Before the kit could cry out, Dawnlight began grooming it, while murmuring some comforting words.

After a few moments, the kit squirmed out from under her mother's grasp and looked up at Nightfang, wide-eyed. "Who are you?" She chirped.

Nightfang's heart clenched. Was his own kit scared of his missing eye? He began to respond, but Dawnlight cut him off, "This," she mewed softly, "Is your father, Nightfang. Say hi Light."

"Hi!" Light repeated back, "You're our father? That's amazing! Can I tell Ginger?"

Nightfang laughed lightly, "Of course. You don't want her to get mad at you, do you?"

Light solemnly shook her head and moved to the other side of the nest and nudged the other ginger bundle, who was Ginger. Ginger let out a groan and mewed, "Why are you waking me?" without opening her eyes.

"Because our father is here!" Light explained. Ginger immediately opened her eyes and jumped up, looking at Nightfang.

Nightfang sighed, "I love all three of you, but I have to go." Turning to Mintleaf, he mewed, "I'm going to talk to Mintleaf."

Shade's POV:

Shade had been sitting up in his nest, thinking about his future, when the choking began.

His chest had clenched, and then Shade had found himself wheezing. It progressed quickly and soon he was rolling on the ground, absolutely unable to breathe. It felt like something was being pulled out of him. His very essence seemed to be wavering, fading out of existence.

Then, it stopped, almost as suddenly as it had begun.

Shade sat up, panting. What had just happened to him? Was he sick? He shrugged and laid back down. There was nothing he could do about it now. If he had any problems when he woke up, he would be able to go to Mint for some herbs.

However, even as sleep washed over him, he couldn't help but feel as if something was missing from him. Something big. The hollow feeling had lodged inside of him, but soon, he fell asleep.

Mintleaf's POV:

Mintleaf jumped as she heard a familiar voice mew, "Mintleaf?" Oddly, the voice wasn't devoid of emotion, like the Nightfang she had grown used to. She had a strong feeling that something important had happened.

"What happened?" She mewed, "How did you escape?" She turned and looked at him, grinning.

Nightfang blinked and stepped back in surprise, but composed himself and mewed, "Since you've already figured out I'm myself, I guess I should tell you what I'm planning to do. How I escaped is a story I'll tell you later."

Mintleaf frowned, "Okay then. I guess the story can wait. What are you planning?"

Nightfang sighed, "So, you know how Shade has three tiers of cats below him, and the fourth tier are basically slaves?"

Mintleaf nodded, mewing, "I have to treat the fourth tier's injuries every day. The threes really abuse them."

"Exactly. There are twice as many fourths as thirds, so my plan is that we find someone in the thirds, and get them to relay a message to the fourths," Nightfang mewed.

Mintleaf tilted her head, "What message are you hoping to send?"

Nightfang stared at her intensely, "That my brother is going down."

Mintleaf stiffened, but nodded, "I don't know how you're going to get this done, Nightfang, but I trust you."

Nightfang nodded, and mewed, "Then let's begin."

A/N:

There you go! Nightfang has been returned to the land of the living, and he's trying to start a rebellion! Will he be able to pull it off?

Do you guys think Shade's actually lost his powers, like Willowbreeze said?

There will be another chapter up on the 19th of February, which will be the one-year anniversary of when I posted the first chapter of the story. One year. I wonder how long the second book will take. Hopefully I won't have to take a two-month break like back in July-August.

Remember to R&R!