Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, warrior cats.
BookLiver: yay! Long review! I'll check out the things you pointed out!
8Hollysplash8: I'm sorry! It has to end though… Sorry; no kits planned for Hollystorm and Deeppool!
The Last Warrior: umm… no.
Fire: well, It depends what you mean by topic. If you mean idea, I honestly don't know. They just appear sometimes, and then I try and write them down straight away. I always find that boredom is a good idea generator!
DarkWolfScourge: sorry, no reincarnation… :(
Also, a lot of you were wondering about Chasepaw; The reason for his contact with Hollystorm will become clear in the next chapter! (and maybe hinted at in this one!)
The world seemed to shimmer before Hollystorm's eyes, and she blinked heavily, the view before her snapping into motion, cats resuming their fights as if nothing had happened, clanmates clashing together and tangling in a heap of fur and flailing limbs. Confusion igniting inside of her, the warrior peered about, trying to make sense of the event that had just happened. Concerned, Foxleap trotted over from his skirmish, flicking dust from his ear, and looked at her with a slight tilt to his russet head.
"Are you okay?" He asked. "You look like you saw a ghost." Hollystorm shuddered at the statement's accuracy, but forced down her worry and staggered to her paws.
"I'm fine. I think we should go. It's getting cold." Her voice seemed emotionless and cold, but it disguised her disturbance, and she padded away, signalling stiffly with her tail. Hearing the echo of pawsteps behind her, the dusky she-cat forced her way out of the cavern, plunging into the darkness. The walls seemed to press in on her, and claustrophobia clawed at her mind, but the warrior pushed onwards, head down, paws detecting the slight inclines of the tunnel floor. Seeing light shine ahead of her, she broke into a run, exploding out into the open, gasping for air.
"Well done." Looking over in surprise, Hollystorm saw Rosetail brush against her, the words of encouragement sending strength flooding back to her limbs. Taking a hesitant step forwards, the she-cat let out a small squeak as a flash of Gold exploded from the bushes and Honeyfur, blood trickling from a scratch sliced across her face, landed, breath heaving, in the clearing; eyes flashing with wild fear. Rushing forwards, eyes wide, Hollystorm raced to stand before the younger warrior.
"What happened?!" She asked the question, but she knew the answer; the deep settled dread that had weighted inside of her since Frostclaw's exile flooding upwards and bursting inside of her.
"F-Frostclaw is attacking!" Honeyfur forced out the words, and Foxleap took control, running to the front of the patrol and calling out above the panic.
"Calm down! We have to help our clanmates! Hurry!" With those words, he plunged forwards and vanished into the forest in a flash of red fur. Snapping back into action, Hollystorm lowered her head and ran too, legs released from their claws of uncertainty, movements fluid and alive. Racing forwards, paws guided by an unknown sense of direction, she felt power course through her body as her claws flicked out, flashing brilliant white amongst the undergrowth, eyes flickering over the horizon, ears pricked, detecting every sound. The caterwauls of battle split the silence, and the dusky warrior sped up, feet thundering against the floor, a shrieked battle cry exploding into the air as she slammed into the camp.
Cats writhed in the hollow, tearing at one another with tooth and claw, brutal fights breaking out as floods of pelt colours rained down, the scent of rogue and clan cats mingled and dispersed over the skirmishes. Not taking a second look, Hollystorm threw herself into the fight, smashing head first into a tabby rogue. Her eyes widened in surprise as she recognised Tangle, and winced at the memory of the she-cat's mate's neck snapping beneath her jaws.
Distracted for only a heartbeat, the warrior found herself thrown backwards, the breath forced out of her as the vicious, wiry tabby slammed her hind legs into her stomach, sending the emerald-eyed warrior sprawling out, limbs flung out to the side. An almost manic smile plastered on her face, Tangle scrabbled to her paws and placed her foot on Hollystorm's neck, dirty amber eyes glassy and cold, a laugh bubbling in her throat.
"I wonder how I should kill you…" She mused to herself, and the black she-cat below her shrunk away, seeing the fragmented look to her eyes, trying to wriggle out of the rogue's grasp.
"Should I go with a clean cut…?" at those words, Tangle flicked out a single, viciously hooked claw and dragged it slowly over her captive's neck, only applying enough pressure to gently part the long fur. She tilted her head to one side, and smirked.
"Or perhaps I should kill you the way you deserve: the way you murdered my mate." Lunging forwards in an attempt to seize Hollystorm's throat in her jaws, the warrior saw a chance for escape and rolled to one side, the rogue's jaws snapping an a bone-shuddering crunch, teeth clicking together, the tension causing muscles to stand out in the she-cat's neck. Letting out a hiss of frustration, Tangle attacked again, but halted the flashing teeth as a cat's cry of pain rose above the sea of pelts and took a gasp of breath, a screech of pain exploding into the air before being silenced abruptly as the tom was dragged back down.
"Max!" Tangle let out an anguished cry, and Hollystorm took advantage of the situation, bounding upwards and flipping the other she-cat onto the ground and adopting the samer position the tabby had been in before, claws digging into her captive's neck in a choking grip. She expected the rogue to fight back, but she just lay limp, the fractured look in her gaze intensified.
"It's fine." She wheezed, almost laughing. "Kill me. It's not like I have anything left." When Hollystorm hesitated, Tangle reared up and hissed with foul breath, words splintered by choked laughs.
"Kill me! I don't care! Just get it over with! I don't care if I die! Kill me!" Pity for the maddened she-cat rose up inside the warrior, and she raised her claws, the twisted smile not fading from Tangle's jaws as the dusky warrior sliced her claws through the flesh and the light faded from the rogues eyes.
"Hollystorm!" Eyes widened, the warrior scrambled away from the dead rogues body and looked up to see Deeppool, thrown onto the ground, a ghostly white form stood over him, claws raised, eyes flashing electric blue.
Frostclaw. The she-cat didn't even have to think. Instinct taking over, she lurched forwards, legs flying over the ground, clearing cats in huge, outstretched bounds, rushing, eyes narrowed in fury, towards Deeppool. A screech rising in her throat, she flung herself forwards, claws scraping on the ground, cutting the medicine cat away from Frostclaw. The exiled she-cat's eyes remained cold and unsurprised as she grinned, teeth long and sharp, glistening with the blood of an unidentified cat.
"Ah, Hollystorm." The she-cat's voice was cold and smooth, without the hint of snarl, yet the malice was clear in her eyes.
"If you want to kill Deeppool, You'll have to get through me." Hollystorm hissed, lowering her gaze. A grin flashing onto her jaws, Frostclaw smiled, extending a foot.
"So be it." The claws flashed forwards before the warrior could react, and pain exploded in her neck before she slammed into the ground, and the world went dark.
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Blinking open her eyes, Hollystorm found herself lying in a starlit clearing, lights gleamed above her head, rushing through the trees, the white leaves rustling and whispering as they brushed past. The eyes of cats blinked in the bushes then disappeared as soon as she focused on them. Struggling to her paws, panic flooded the dusky warrior's chest.
She was in Starclan. Whipping her head around, she felt her heartbeat speed up, pounding in her chest as she raked the clearing with her gaze, fur bristling along her spine. Desperately looking for some sign of life, she bolted forwards, ears standing to attention, fear clawing at her chest. Suddenly, she detected voices, and, curiosity and relief igniting inside of her, dropped to her belly and slunk forwards, pawsteps deliberate and careful. The voices growing louder, she directed the source of her attention upon one bush, from which the voices seemed to originate from, then poked her head curiously over the top. She stifled a gasp as she saw Firestar, pelt gleaming with stars, standing beside a calico apprentice.
Except the calico was far from normal. Through its pelt shone the ghostly form of a cats skeleton, the bones showing through the misty outline, eyes blinking in the skull, each bone outlined in a faded white light.
It was Chasepaw. Overcoming her initial shock, Hollystorm ducked back below the bush, listening closely to the conversation. Firestar spoke first, his voice wise and carrying the tone of a cat beyond even his age.
"…Can't believe you were so stupid!" A hiss, presumably from Chasepaw, sounded, and another voice, rough and grating snapped back.
"What does it matter now?! She's already wasted it!"
"It was still a mouse-brained thing to do! You could have died!"
"So?! It was my decision! And I didn't die, did I?" there was an almost smug tone to Chasepaw's tone as he replied, and Firestar snorted.
"But look at you. Look at what it did to you! Hollystorm will be here any moment, and she'll have to see you like this." Chasepaw mumbled a reply, then a sharp intake of breath caught in his throat.
"She's already here." The dusky warrior tried to scramble away from her hiding place, but the skeletal calico was fast, and bounded over the bush, landing before her, hollow skull flickering in and out of view as his form slipped from focus. Firestar pushed forwards and stood beside him, fur gleaming with light. He smiled, flashing white teeth, then nodded towards Chasepaw who smirked and heralded Hollystorm with a critically mocking gaze.
"Welcome to Starclan, Hollystorm. I suppose we could say that you lost a life."
A/N: As some of you probably noticed, I did have this chapter up before, but I was unhappy with the ending, so I took it down, wrote a new ending, and here is the finished result! Also, I was wondering if any of you knew songs that would fit the characters in any of my fanfictions! If you do, I'd love to know what they are, so just PM me or send it in a review! Thanks!
Storm
