Oh my God guys I am terribly sorry I got caught up in Cheistmas and forgot to upload this ;-;. I feel terrible. Here it is though...
Author's Note:
Merry Christmas to you all and welcome to Chapter Forty-Six!
We are now officially in the final chapter! I will say nothing more except that you guys are the most amazing people ever! I will post here when the sequel is up!
This chapter contains POVs from the evil Duskstar and the heroic Nightfang. Prepare for the final chapter!
Anyways, on to the story!
Chapter Forty-Six:
Duskstar was padding through the forest of her dreams yet again, constantly glancing around. Why was she here again? Every time she was here, bad things seemed to happen. Bad omens. Or perhaps warnings. Either way, she didn't like it. It was always Dawnlight and Nightfang doing something to her family or to the Clan. It was as if StarClan itself was trying to tell her that they would be coming back. However, that was clearly preposterous. Dawnlight had been slaughtered, as evidenced by all that blood, and Nightfang had disappeared around that same time. She doubted he was even alive anymore. He'd probably starved himself because of his grief.
Regardless, she was going to have to go through another one of those dreams again. It wasn't as if she had a choice.
Sighing, she turned as she heard a growl from behind her. However, she quickly realized that the growl...Sounded different. Once she was turned, she saw why. It was a cute little kit, and she could just swear to StarClan it looked just like that stupid little mouse-heart Dawnlight. She advanced on the little she-kit, frowning. What kind of nightmare was this? She reached the kit and bent down, mewing, "Who are you?"
The kit only smiled in a very cute manner, before the weirdest thing happened.
She began growing before Duskstar's very eyes, until the kit was the same size of her. The kit's eyes narrowed, growing dark, as if they had been tainted by a dark spirit. It was like a slimmer, sleeker version of Dawnlight.
"Duskstar," The cat mewed, her voice smooth as the rippling waters of the lake, "Your time is up."
Duskstar's eyes widened, but she growled, "I'll ask you again, who are you? Dark Forest? Rogue spirit?"
The unknown cat purred loudly, circling around the agitated leader, her tail stroking Duskstar's cheek. Duskstar stiffened, a growl rising in her throat. She was about to react when suddenly, the cat whispered in her ear, "I am your own creation." Then claws dud into Duskstar's throat, and everything faded.
In the real world...
Duskstar gasped, her paws at her throat as she woke up. She hyperventilated for a few heartbeats, before beginning to calm down. She slowly shifted away from Flintfoot, panting. What sort of dream had that been? Was that another omen? Was Dawnlight really alive? That had to be Dawnlight, right? She grimaced. If Dawnlight really was coming back and was looking to kill her, she would need to kill her first.
She calmed herself and got up. She needed a walk to clear her mind. She fluffed out her fur. It felt cold, and she was in her den. She couldn't imagine how cold it'd be out there.
She gasped as she exited the den. The whole camp was covered in snow! She stepped out and winced at the feeling of the freezing-cold crystals beneath her feet. She was glad Blackpaw wasn't a kit anymore. She would worry her fur off if he was out here playing. She'd be horribly afraid of him freezing.
She made her way across the camp and quickly out into the forest. Hopefully she could have a nice, relaxing walk.
It'd be nice to get Dawnlight and Nightfang out of her mind.
Nightfang's POV:
"What is this?"
Light's voice brought Nightfang out of his thankfully-dreamless sleep. He lifted his head up from their warm temporary den only to wince at the bright glare of the snow. It had snowed overnight?
"That's snow Light. Be careful!"
He heard his mate's words along with a playful squeal. He got up and padded out, seeing Ginger prancing around, along with her sister, who had fallen into a hole in a snowbank. He purred and bent over towards her, pulling her out by her scruff and setting her down. "You should be more careful. You need to make sure you know where you are going before you start going."
Light smiled and nuzzled his leg before dashing off to play again. Nightfang chuckled before padding over to Dawnlight, licking her cheek and mewing, "We should get moving soon. I want to get back to the Clan by sun-high."
Dawnlight nodded, smiling, "It'll be so great to be back again. I'm sure they will be amazed we came back."
After the kits stop playing...
Nightfang stared off into the forest, silent as Dawnlight got the kits ready to go. He hoped from the bottom of his heart that Willowbreeze was wrong. Things were alright. They had to stay alright.
They just had too.
Duskstar's POV:
Duskstar had been walking along in the forest. It had been peaceful. The trees were silent, and the prey-scent was scarce. It had felt completely isolated, and she liked it. However, then she scented something horrible. Something from her most horrible nightmares.
She scented Nightfang and Dawnlight.
She immediately spotted a patch of ferns nearby and rolled in them as quickly as possible to disguise her scent. She was not going to be detected until she wanted to be. She only knew one thing about what was going to happen next...
Dawnlight was going to die.
Nightfang's POV:
Nightfang felt as if something was up. It felt like someone was watching them. Perhaps it was paranoia, as they were very close to the camp, but it just felt off. As if StarClan was trying to warn him. He needed to take precautions, whether Dawnlight and the kits wanted to or not.
"Dawnlight, let's...Put the kits somewhere safe until we figure out if everything is safe," He mewed awkwardly into her ear, glancing from side-to-side.
She blinked, confused, "Why do you want to do that?" He didn't blame her. This was quite out of the blue.
He touched his muzzle to her cheek, "Just trust me, please. I...I have a bad feeling..."
She frowned but sighed and called the kits over. Once they were with them, Nightfang mewed, "Alright kits," He pointed to one of the small tree hollows nearby, "You two are going to stay there, and you are not to move until we come back, okay? This is important. Don't argue with me please."
Ginger seemed like she was about to open her mouth in protest, but she sighed her kit-sigh and bounded over to the tree along with her sister, slipping inside the hollow, which made Nightfang sigh in relief. Maybe it was pointless, but it made him feel safer. Beckoning to Dawnlight, he continued on into the forest, determined to reach the camp.
They were going along at a decent pace, when suddenly, a smooth, familiar voice appeared out of the shadows, purring softly, "Nightfang, Dawnlight? Is that you? We thought you guys were dead!" Nightfang's mouth dropped open as an old friend and enemy appeared out of the shadows.
"Duskfall?" Dawnlight gasped, "It's been so long!" Dawnlight padded forward, smiling.
"Duskstar," she mewed calmly, "I am Duskstar now." Nightfang's mouth somehow fell open even more. She was leader? What had happened to Squirrelflight and Bramblestar? Before either of them could say anything, she added, "Trust me, it was tough for the Clan. Bramblestar died of sickness not too long after Squirrelflight drowned. It was...Tragic..."
"Here," She mewed, "Walk with me..." So they did. They followed her, and she began talking, though instead of leading them, she walked alongside Dawnflight.
"It's been a terrible few moons for the Clan, but we've been pushing through," She mewed softly, looking off into the distance, "We've been fighting a lot with ShadowClan lately, but we've been pushing through."
They continued walking. They asked questions and she gave them answers and updated them on how life was now. However, soon the unthinkable happened.
Dusklight was just telling them on what had happened to Bramblestar in more detail. She said, "It was such a strenuous time. It took a long time, but after he died, Jayfeather said that he thinks he suffered...Prolonged nightshade poisoning. It was a shame. You never want anybody in your Clan to die..."
Then suddenly she pounced. She jumped on top of Dawnlight, ripping her throat out before Nightfang could even move a muscle. He stared in shock as Dawnlight let out a blood-curdling scream that was filled with the sound of blood coming out of her throat. However, he quickly recovered and narrowed his eyes. He pounced, landing heavily on Duskstar, digging his claws into her. She shrieked, and threw him off, leaving him temporarily stunned. He got up shakily and glared at her.
"You need to leave," She hissed, "You aren't welcome here. I lead ThunderClan now, and I won't let you or your pathetic mate stop me or my plans. Take Dawnlight's body and get off of my territory."
He stared at her, not even understanding her for a moment, before he numbly padded over to her body,dipping his head to his mate's still body. He then threw her bloody corpse onto his back and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. The only thing in his mind was that he had to protect Light and Ginger. ThunderClan couldn't be a concern for him any longer.
He had to protect them. From exactly what he didn't know. Perhaps from Duskstar. Perhaps from himself. He didn't know.
He just had to protect them.
Saving the world just wasn't his responsibility anymore. No matter what Willowbreeze thought.
A/N:
Wow! That was interesting to say the least!
So to sum things up, Duskstar got a dream/possible omen showing her dying to a cat that may or may not have been Dawnlight, so when she happened upon the returning couple she knew that she had to kill Dawnlight. So she did. Then Nightfang ran back to his kit's with Dawnlight's body in tow.
I'll finally give you guys the title for Book 2 if I have not already told you in a private message. The title is Rising Dawn. What does the title refer to? Dawnlight is dead, so what other Dawn is there? I guess we'll see.
I'll try and have the epilogue up by around New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. Soon after I'll begin Book 2. I'll let you guys know when that is uploaded on here so that you guys can follow Book 2. I want Rising Dawn to be at least as close to as popular as Dark Nights. Thanks for reading, and...
Remember to R&R, and...
Have a merry Christmas!
