Lily hunched over the waste pit, confused and sick to her stomach. She didn't know why, but the fish she had eaten a few moments ago was coming up again. Barely-digested chunks of some unknown kind of pale fish splashed down into the abnormally high pool of liquid and solid waste down in the pit. If nothing changed soon, she was going to have to tell someone to deal with that. Not yet, though. Not quite yet. There were more important things to do, and she might regret assigning someone new to that task now.

She heaved one last time, eyed the bad fish but saw nothing that could be responsible for her momentary sickness, and left the waste pit. Nobody had seen her heaving and retching, which was good. She could not afford to show a moment of weakness.

Definitely no weakness. She could feel something building, a tension in the air. Light wings were muttering in corners or in huddled groups, and she sometimes felt their eyes on her. Holly was responsible. She had to be.

Lily skulked across the cavern, ignoring the aching all over her body, and the heavy blurriness in her eyes. She needed to spy, more now than ever. She needed to know who besides Pearl was working with Holly. Some people had to be; they were getting ready to take over. Like she had so long ago.

But they would fail, because she had control. She just needed an example to drive that home. Any example would do, but ideally Holly. Watching Holly was a good idea. She leaped up onto a rocky outcropping on the side of the cave wall, one barely big enough for her to balance on-

Something crumbled, and she fell the short distance to the ground, tumbling tail over paws. Her back hit something, and her vision blacked out. When she came to, she was sprawled out on her side, cringing from the dull fire roaring under her scar.

Nobody had seen, mostly because the majority of the pack was asleep, and those who weren't were guarding things or otherwise occupied. She forced herself up, swaying unsteadily, and gritted her teeth in frustration. Finding a high place to jump from, so she could fire a short-lived blast and fall through the heat, wasn't an option. Not when another impact of any kind would further aggravate her back. She needed to be thinking clearly to deal with Holly, and hurting herself didn't help that.

Instead, she flamed a flat bit of stone and pressed her side against it. It took much longer to get her entire body hot enough that way, and her camouflage would be far less long-lived, but doing so worked without any need for leaping around.

That done, she wandered the valley. It was frustrating, not knowing where she was going, but she didn't know where Holly was and the only way to find her without asking anyone was to look around.

Her people slept in little groups, separating themselves out by family, friendship, or other ties that made them feel comfortable together. That was not new, it hadn't changed, but she was beginning to think that keeping track of which groups changed over time, and why, might be an interesting source of information. Holly would do it, and maybe Holly would be stupid enough to invite her closest supporters to sleep in her group, to look important or maybe just for protection.

She checked the three largest clusters of slumbering light wings, just in case she had missed Holly making such a blatant move, but Holly wasn't with any of them, not even the group of single Dams she had been making moved with recently. Organizing playtimes for fledglings, if her lies were to be believed.

Lily scoffed. One of the sleeping fledglings flicked an ear, but other than that her disdain for Holly went unnoticed. She moved on, checking the smaller groups. A lot of the people she knew best weren't around, a side effect of relying on them to fill the most vital roles in the pack's defense.

She hadn't seen Crystal for a long time, except to send her off on tasks. Liona and Cedar were either guarding something or scouting, she didn't remember which. Clay… He was doing something. Danda and Ash were probably guarding something too, she didn't remember seeing them around recently but they would have volunteered at some point. Storm and Root were off looking at something with sound, she was sure…

But she had no idea where the other dark wings were. Herb and Thorn were asleep together off to her left, but other than that there were no darker scales within sight. Ember, Spark, Thaw… Beryl. She didn't know where they were. Though she had a theory, a hope; Thaw might have gone off to do her bidding, and the others might be looking for him. Ideally not finding him, though if Ember caught up to him in time to offer assistance, and in the mindset to do so, she'd be thankful.

She growled to herself, thinking about the potential downsides of Ember catching up to Thaw. Or hearing about what she had Thaw do afterward, successful or not. He would be an enemy soon, of that she was abruptly sure. She had stepped into his place, his authority, and used one of his children.

Thankfully, she didn't see that as being much of a problem, provided she was careful. Thaw had gone off of his own accord, Ember would look like he was trying for power if he made any moves against her. She could rally her people and have him thrown out if he tried something. The same went for Beryl, but she wouldn't need to do that to him. He wouldn't turn on her, at worst he would be mad and try to talk to her. She trusted him, he couldn't betray her trust.

She shuddered, feeling cold just thinking about it. No, he wouldn't turn on her. Even if Holly tried to trick him, no matter what. He was smart, smarter than Holly. She didn't have to worry about him.

It was a heady thing, knowing she had one person she could rely on. Once this whole thing with Holly was put to rest, she would have to give him more of her time. She would have a firmer position then, one that she could use to make sure she could have him, and he her, without destabilizing anything. It would work, even if she didn't see quite how yet.

The flash of a familiar rose tint, reflecting red light in a way that made Lily's eyes water, drew her attention. She quickly stalked over to the stream, which seemed to be developing into one of her pack's favorite communal places, like the pond had been.

Holly was drinking from said stream now, seemingly doing nothing more. That illusion of innocence was shattered by who else happened to already be there. Pearl was lingering nearby, digging a small hole for no reason, probably just as an excuse for why she was there, waiting for Holly.

Lily leaned forward, straining to hear the few words that passed between them.

"I would say it is a nice day, but I might be wrong, it could be night," Pearl quipped. "Who can be sure?"

"At least most of us are awake at the same time," Holly replied seriously, pawing at her face as she turned away from the stream. "We should be trying to get everyone to sleep on the same rotation."

"Can we?" Pearl huffed in annoyance. "Should we? That does not seem like something that needs to be done."

"I think it needs to be done," Holly assured her. "Soon, so as to avoid any complications. But I have got it covered, my sisters and I are working on it. One light wing at a time. Soon we will all be on the same schedule."

"Sounds good." Pearl left, walking away without a care in the world. It seemed like just an innocent conversation, but Lily heard the undertones. An update on their plot, hidden behind less incriminating words.

She hesitated as Holly turned back to the water, pawing more onto her face with a casual air. Then she dipped down to let the water wash over her neck, and Lily made her decision, turning to follow Pearl. One of them was going to go do something clandestine if their meeting was any indication, and Holly was probably giving herself an alibi. Rabble-rousing done while she was nowhere near could be denied.

Pearl meandered - or that was what she wanted it to look like, she probably already had a destination in mind - through the valley, looking around with wide eyes. Her expression and gait had changed as she walked. She had started polite and open, with wide eyes and a relaxed walk. Now, though, she looked as if she was remembering something unpleasant, her eyes narrowing as she cast her gaze around the valley, even looking directly behind herself a few times. She never noticed Lily, of course.

She was definitely up to something; nobody walked around this much without getting where they were going unless they were worried about being seen or followed. A rather pointless worry in the cavern, given anyone awake could see her no matter where she went so long as they were looking in the right direction, but Pearl wasn't some skilled manipulator.

Eventually, Pearl stopped by a sleeping pair of light wings and gently nudged one with a yellow glint awake. Lily didn't recognize her right away… Another sign of a conspiracy in the making, that they were picking the most forgettable of her pack.

"Sorry to bother you, but do you know where Lily is?" Pearl asked once the female was awake enough to understand her. "I last saw her sleeping near here, and I need to talk to her."

"She slept here?" the female asked quietly. "I did not see her. I do not know where she is. Ask Pina or Dew, they would know if anyone does."

"Thank you," Pearl said brightly. "Sorry for bothering you." She wandered a short distance away before wincing. "I thought Pina had a yellow glint," she muttered to herself. "Thank goodness I didn't call her Pina…"

Lily didn't believe that Pearl had made a mistake, but she did believe that Pearl was making excuses to inquire about her real goal. She wanted to find the alpha and do something. Either with words, or with… more. An attack would be a bold strategy, but coming from an outsider, it could work without repercussions for Holly. It was unlikely, to say the least, but not impossible that such was the plan. Pearl could leave afterward, claim Thaw as her excuse if asked about it, and in doing so would probably bring her family with her, removing Beryl from Lily's side.

Lily crept along behind Pearl as she continued her search for Pina. Her rumination on what she was going to do about all of this was cut short by an unpleasant tingling all along her body. Her camouflage was already failing.

She made a snap decision and ran for the nearest pile of tangled light wings - a bunch of older fledgling who had apparently collapsed where they stood after a long game, or something, she didn't know - and crouched behind them, letting her camouflage wear off out of sight of Pearl. Once it was gone, she stood and turned her tail toward Pearl, walking quickly for the ravine. She had no intention of-

"Lily!" Pearl called out from behind her. She walked quicker, passing the ravine's trio of guards with a knowing nod that they returned, though she could see the badly-hidden insecurity they were feeling. They thought they'd forgotten something, since they had no idea why she was going out into the bug-infested ravine, or why she acted like she was expecting them. Of course, they hadn't forgotten anything, but they didn't know that.

Once in the ravine, she moved quickly, going just far enough down the passage that she was out of sight of the entrance, then leaping to the side. The walls were lines with cracks, shallow ledges, and openings of all sizes, none leading anywhere but many large, dark, and shadowed. Not dark enough to actually hide in, but a quick reapplication of her flame made up for it. She was just a blur in a shadowed corner, one occasionally beset by flies and other pests. So long as one didn't look closely…

Pearl ran by, seeking her quarry with wide eyes and a swaying tail. "Lily," she called out as she passed by, oblivious, "wait up!"

Lily waited a few moments, then hopped down and returned to the cavern. She waited until the guards were looking the other way to pass through - something which happened far too quickly, she was going to need to lecture someone about their vigilance later - and snuck by without anyone noticing.

She contemplated having the ravine blocked up before Pearl came back, but discarded the idea as being impossible to actually do. Besides which, barricading the only obvious way back to the surface would make her people feel even more trapped. She was having a hard enough time keeping them under control as it was…

A skulking figure nearby caught her attention. Diora was watching the ravine with an uncertain look on her face.

Lily decided to put an end to her uncertainty, and circled around to approach her from behind. "Don't bother following," she said right in Diora's ear, eliciting a yelp. "She will be back."

"Lily!" Diora stuck a wing out and blindly flailed it around, but Lily had already retreated a few paces. "I saw Ember and Beryl and Spark go out there earlier, they might be meeting to plan against you."

"Pearl followed me," Lily said, thinking that Beryl and the other males were probably chasing Thaw. "Keep up the good work."

"I have heard Holly telling Aven and Cara that the ban on meeting the other pack will not last long," Diora reported. "Does that sound suspicious to you?"

"It does," Lily confirmed. "As always, good work." She didn't remember the last time someone had been so perfectly helpful; Diora's obsession with Pearl wasn't even getting in the way now, as she was reporting on others. She made a very good hidden set of eyes and ears.

"I also heard Pearl saying that she and her family," Diora sneered, "can go wherever they want, whenever they want."

"Is that so," Lily rumbled. It was true in a fashion, but she had already dealt with that potential problem. Holly was the main threat, not Pearl or Ember. Not yet. Once Holly was dealt with, maybe they would step up and complain. She had to be ready for that.

The cavern tilted around her, and she closed her eyes as a wave of vertigo swept through her body, making her head spin and her stomach clench up. She might have vomited if there was anything left in her stomach. It lingered, long and torturous, a nauseating counterbeat to the throbbing in her back.

By the time Lily felt up to opening her eyes again, Diora had gone. If she had said anything else before departing, Lily hadn't heard it.

It didn't matter. She exhaled until there was nothing left in her lungs, pulled in more lukewarm cavern air, and pushed herself forward. So long as she kept moving, kept control of herself, the nausea and the dizziness and the forgetfulness would all go away. She didn't need sleep…

Standing around doing nothing might be good, though. Her head was aching in time with her paws hitting the ground as she walked, and she didn't feel good at all. No sleep. She needed it, badly, but couldn't waste time just yet. Especially not when Holly had people out looking for her, like Pearl. She didn't want to be caught helpless.

She would… she would stand guard. Lend her personal presence to the light wings watching over the most dangerous blocked passageway, the one to the other light wings. That would be a good use of her time.

She headed to the mostly-blocked tunnel that none were to set foot in. There was a guard there, who greeted her happily. She ignored him.

Lily didn't know how long she stood there, silent and motionless. Her mind drifted, imagining and discarding dozens of possible plans to uproot all opposition. There was no better plan to be had than the one she had devised on the way back from the other light wings. None that was as satisfying and perfect, anyway. She would break Holly's defiance in a way that could not be rebuilt.

As if thinking of her had summoned her, Holly flew out to her, flanked by her sisters. The three of them landed in front of Lily, and by extension in front of the blockade.

"Lily!" Holly exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

"Here." Lily was not going to fall for that transparent attempt at getting information out of her. This was her enemy, nothing more. "Why are you here?"

Holly gestured to her sisters with her tail. "We have been looking for you. We have a proposition."

"A very thorough one!" Aven supplied hopefully.

"A smart and clever plan that puts us in a position of power," Cara added.

"Basically," Holly continued, "we want you to go back to the other light wing pack. What were they called?"

Lily didn't remember, and Holly's attempt at a distraction would fail just as thoroughly as her attempt at getting information. "Nobody is going back there. Not even me."

"But…" Holly shook her head and rallied. "Surely of all of us, you could safely go there? If you did not come back we would come and get you, and they would not kill you, because you hold the power they want to take. Killing you makes no sense, and you are more than capable of countering any other ploy they try."

Lily gritted her teeth. "Nobody is going back there."

"You just said that," Aven noted with an air of confusion.

"Because it still applies." Lily growled in denial. "We need nothing from them."

"That is the thing, Lily," Holly replied. "My sisters and I have been asking around. There are actually a lot of things we want from them."

"Everyone we talked to had at least one good idea," Aven added. "One of the big things that kept coming up was 'advice.' There are a lot of things we do not know that they probably do. What is around us, where to find certain things, who is who, how to organize things when there is no sun to keep time by, all of that and more."

"Then there are the obvious requests," Cara added. "Potential mates, friends, and possibly family members if one looks back far enough. Everybody wants to meet them for one reason or another."

"Aside from those, we could use allies, and their caverns, from what Aven tells me, have a few things ours do not, like plenty of private spaces." Holly shrugged her wings. "You said they want this cave for themselves, but we could share it and in exchange share theirs too, and everyone would benefit. They might not be approaching it with the best attitude, but that is where you come in."

"It is not happening," Lily growled.

"Please, then, tell us why." Holly was faking true curiosity now, probably in an attempt to hide her frustration at being foiled. "You always explain things! It really helps us understand what you are thinking."

"You ask why?" Lily growled, pacing back and forth in front of them. "They want my power. They want to lead you, to merge our packs, to take over, and they will try. There are a dozen different ways to go about it, but all are foiled if they never get the chance." She was not going to give Rose and his people a chance to meet up with Holly, for instance, and that was just one way making contact could be terrible.

"But that is just fear!" Cara exclaimed. "Why do we do anything risky? There is a reward that outweighs the risk, in this case."

"No, there is not. And it does not matter." Lily swiped her tail through the air, cutting the argument off. "My word is final. Nobody is going over there. Ever."

Holly stared at her. "Lily, this is stupid."

So this was it, then? They were going to defy her? Lily was ready to act. She knew what she was doing, and they underestimated her, if they thought they could play the martyr. "But it is my decision. Defy me, and see what I have in store, if you feel so strongly about it."

"I think I should!" Holly declared, losing her cool. "Something is very, very wrong here, and I do not think you are thinking straight. Maybe you need someone to defy you and bring you back to reality!"

"Do it!" Lily stepped to the side. "Walk up to and over that barricade, and defy my word! We will see who is not thinking straight then!"

"And if I do?" Holly asked skeptically. "What can you possibly do to punish me? What are you prepared to do?"

"Step over and find out." Lily gestured for the guard to stand aside. He moved, if reluctantly.

Lily met Holly's eyes. They stared at each other.

Lily knew what she saw. Holly was planning, manipulative, power hungry. She always had been, and always would be. The only way to defeat her was to break her credibility, to dishonor and humiliate her to the point that nobody would even look at her without laughing under their breath, or failing that, without remembering how she had been punished.

What did Holly see? Lily knew what image she was projecting. Calm, confident, in charge, and fed up with defiance and arguing. So what if she was leaning from side to side as they stared each other down? So what if she felt sick every so often and had not eaten in a long while? So what if she could not sleep?

She was alpha, and Holly was not going to forget that. Holly was not going to defy her. Lily willed the rebellious female dragon to back down, to truly give up…

Or, if she would not truly give up right now, to make the mistake of testing her. Lily wanted her to do that. She wanted to finally end this, to make it abundantly clear that defiance was not allowed. That might finally let her rest. Or not, but it was something to do, something to end, vengeance to take.

"Lily, I am loyal to the alpha I know," Holly said softly. "And if defying you now is what it takes to bring her back to her senses, I am willing to do it."

"I am here, and the only thing you will gain is regret," Lily snarled.

"I think you will snap out of this," Holly declared, stepping up to the barricade and looking up at the small opening that signified defiance. "I think something is wrong with you, but not so badly wrong that you will actually do what you are planning. Whatever that is."

Then she jumped up onto and over the barricade, before swiftly returning, her eyes determined. "Please prove me right," she begged. "This is not what any good alpha would do. You used to listen to me, to everyone. What has changed?"

Lily purred maliciously, the fog in her mind growing denser as she slowly realized that it was finally time. "I know how to ensure everyone listens, now. No more arguing, no more dissent. No more undermining me. I know best."

"You will snap out of this," Holly asserted.

"You will be punished," Lily crowed triumphantly. "Finally. Do either of you want the same?" she asked tauntingly, looking at Cara and Aven.

"We stand by our sister," Cara said calmly, moving to jump.

"No, do not do it," Holly said urgently. "I am risking my safety to bring her to her senses. Do not do the same, it will do no more good. I need you two safe."

"We need you safe." Aven looked over at Lily. "She will be safe… right?"

Lily laughed scornfully. "Come and find out," she commanded. As if in a daze, all four light wings followed her. The guard seemed shocked beyond words, out of his depth. Aven and Cara were worried.

Holly was defiant. That would soon change. She was underestimating Lily. Everyone was. Lily knew what she needed to do. She had planned for this, had prepared for it. Holly had openly defied her, and there were witnesses. The guard, her sisters, and the light wings watching from afar.

None of that was in question; the real question was how Holly would respond to being told she had broken the rules and needed to be punished. Lily of course had plans for any possible response, but Holly was playing right into her paws by going along with it and trying to play the martyr. Any injury she suffered would be a massive boon to her reputation and a horrible wound to Lily's...

But that meant nothing, since Holly wouldn't suffer a single scratch, physically. Lily knew far better than that; she would not be allowing her rival to be a sympathetic figure. By the end of this, nobody would ever consider Holly a leader.

"Gather the pack by the tunnel leading to the sea cavern," Lily roughly ordered Aven, Cara, and the guard. "Holly, go there and wait."

Holly, the fool that she was, cooperated with a sad croon. "What is wrong?" she asked nobody in particular as she left.

Lily followed her, walking as best she could. Her back hurt, and her paws hurt, and her head hurt. The world was spinning a little, but of course it was. She was tired, but not too tired, and she was excited. After so long spent prowling around, it was finally happening.

She was finally going to solidify the rightful ruler's place in this pack.

Holly stopped right by the entrance to the sea tunnel, looking in nervously. They were alone for a moment, though Lily could already see the pack approaching, on paw and on wing. She would have been impressed with Cara and Aven being so quick about gathering everyone if she hadn't known that half of them were probably already aware that something was going on.

"Lily, you are not thinking straight," Holly pleaded sadly. "This is not like you. You punish with scoldings and taking away privileges, or at worst labor like cleaning out the waste pit. That was good, it meant you respected your people. Why are you doing differently now? Why have you stopped listening?"

"Why do you think I have stopped doing that?" Lily growled smugly. Holly was still assuming far too much; she was making a mistake and she didn't even know it yet.

"I am thinking you will snap out of this," Holly asserted. "This is not you. You will see that."

She would not see it, because it was not true. She was the same as always; it was everyone else who had changed. They defied her, under Holly's influence. Well, that influence was about to disappear.

Light wings were gathering, crowding around. Enough were present that she could begin. She cleared her throat, wincing as the action worsened her headache, and roared powerfully. "Listen up!"

The pack quieted. The silence was one of worried anticipation.

"Someone," Lily snarled loudly, "decided my word was not law! Holly spoke to me, and when she could not convince me to go along with her scattered and ridiculous proposal, she decided to test me by going over the barricade!"

There was no notable response, just a bit of muttering. Everyone seemed shocked by that, but they all knew the other paw was going to drop, and were waiting to find out what it would be.

"I promised a specific punishment for anyone who did that," Lily growled. "I made it clear I was not going to take disobedience lightly. Now, everyone gets to find out what the punishment is." This time, anyway. She would have to up the ante if it ever happened again, though that was unlikely to occur after this.

"Holly," Lily crowed mockingly. "Did you, or did you not, break my rule?"

"I did, because you are not listening," Holly called out confidently. She still did not look scared. "Now tell us what my punishment is."

"One of two things," Lily growled. "I could exile you, tell you to leave and never come back."

"I am not leaving my sisters and my pack," Holly announced firmly. "What is the other thing? Are you so far gone you want to kill me for daring to question you?"

"Not even close," Lily snorted. She had absolutely no intention of exiling Holly either, despite saying it was an option; that was just asking for trouble. If Holly had picked exile or did at any point request it, Lily would explain that it was her choice, not Holly's, and ignore her.

"So what then?" Holly demanded. "What are you going to do?"

Her composure was already cracking. Lily was glad her intended punishment was going to live up to the anticipation. "Those who defy the alpha are putting themselves above every other obedient light wing here. You think yourself special. You think yourself higher than everyone else."

"No I do not!" Holly objected.

"Yes you do!" Lily barked. "So, the punishment is going to show you your proper place." She gestured to the tunnel to the sea cavern. "Not out there."

Everyone looked over at the tunnel in confusion. Lily knew what they were wondering. If not there, then why had she made them all come over to this spot? There was only one other landmark near where they were now, placed out of the way so as to avoid fumigating the entire cavern when it was cleaned. Which it had not been for a while now.

The waste pit. Lily saw heads beginning to turn and eye it, eyes widening as individual light wings who were faster than average at deduction began to wonder what she was planning that could possibly involve the waste pit.

"We are here because those who put themselves above others deserve to be put below others for a good long while," Lily announced. She didn't think the metaphor was all that accurate for Holly's actual crime, but it definitely fit the way that she was trying to usurp authority in the long-term. "Holly's punishment is that she will sit in that waste pit for a long time, and not be allowed to leave it for any reason."

Holly's face dropped into an expression of pure, absolute disgust. Lily was glad to see that whatever she had been expecting, that was not it.

"And that is not all," Lily announced, cutting over the shocked and disgusted exclamations of the crowd. "It has not been cleaned out in days, and will not be cleaned for the duration of this punishment." She had considered telling her people to keep using the waste pit in the meantime, but she doubted anyone would be comfortable with that, and giving an order that wouldn't be obeyed would tarnish her authority far worse than not making Holly's punishment as terrible as physically possible.

A single male light wing in the back of the crowd barked in surprise, clearly only now putting two and two together. He was the one she had told not to clean the waste pit even though it was his turn. He had thought nothing of it at the time.

"How long?" Holly asked, her voice wavering. She was trying to look strong and collected, but she was already dreading it… And she was probably seeing her plans of brave defiance crumbling before her eyes. Just as intended.

Lily turned to look right at her. "Until I say, but definitely no less than three days and nights." If she could keep track of those… She could watch her fledglings.

Holly winced, involuntarily dropping her supposed indifference as she thought about how long that really was. "I will die of dehydration."

"If your sisters fail to help you, maybe," Lily said callously. "I think they can figure something out. They may enter and leave the pit whenever they wish." The difficult task of getting water to Holly would serve as a demoralizing side-punishment for Cara and Aven, and as a way to keep them busy.

"And you are really going to do this?" Holly whined. "Lily, this is not you. You know who you are acting like, surely. Since when was that how you wanted to rule?"

Lily purred maliciously, letting Holly's words fly right over her head. "Get in the pit. Right now. Or will you really defy me? I can think of worse, or just have more loyal light wings throw you in and keep you there."

Holly closed her eyes and spoke loudly and clearly. "I accept this punishment, but protest its cruelty. Not for my own sake, but because this is not how an alpha treats her people."

She was doing as well as could be expected, but Lily didn't care. Holly was playing into her paws, because after long enough in that waste pit, she would never be able to forget her humiliation. Nobody could ever forget this, not with how long it was going to last. Holly would live, sleep, and eat down there. If she could do any of those things amid the most disgusting swamp possible.

"Go." Lily gestured to the waste pit off in the corner.

"Because I fear what you will do if I do not," Holly clarified. "Fear. Is that how you are ruling now?"

"Looks like it." She was fine with that, if it was effective. The fog in her mind made it seem so easy, compared to manipulation. So easy…

Easy. She did not see any of the dark wings or Pearl in the crowd, or Crystal, or Root. They were all there, somewhere, but she couldn't see them. Dark spots in a crowd of white, like shadows. Maybe they were there. Maybe they were not.

Holly slowly walked over to the waste pit, and after a long moment of hesitation, looked back at Lily. "This is you? This is something you will be proud of?"

"Get in." Holly's transparent pleas for mercy were stupid, and any damage they did to Lily's reputation would be negated after Holly was discredited.

"Fine." Holly jumped down, and landed with a disgusting squelch and splashing sound. There was a low moan of absolute disgust from the crowd watching it all.

Lily scanned the rocky walls nearest the waste pit and quickly located a good vantage point, atop a dark blue crystal. "I want three guards watching her at all times, and if she tries to leave, I want them to put her right back in." She scrambled up to the small perch that would allow her to look down on Holly and the waste pit.

"Lily…" someone called out. Lily couldn't put a name to the voice, but it was someone who was close to her. "Have you lost your mind?"

"This is what happens when I am defied," Lily said coldly. "End of discussion, unless someone else wants the same."

That shut everyone up, as it very well should. Lily had finally found what got the response she needed from her people. Fear of reprisal.

Fear of reprisal… she felt like she was forgetting something, something important, but the pain throughout her body helped her ignore that feeling.

She settled down, not to sleep, but to watch Holly and her humiliation. This was the end game of stymying Holly's little rebellion, and she was going to see it through. No matter how she had to end it, it would end soon.

The crowd lingered, many staring at her instead of Holly, but as the moments passed and nothing happened, they left. Where to, Lily didn't know, though she spotted many little groups talking quietly and casting frequent glances in her direction.

At first, Holly stood completely still, her eyes closed, and didn't move a muscle. When she did move, it was to groan in disgust as she waded to the side of the pit that was highest, and stretched up on her hind legs, getting all but her tail and back legs out of the waste.

That didn't last long, which was convenient as Lily would have told her to stop if it she kept it up. She dropped back down after a time, her back legs presumably giving out. In the end, she went back to standing in it and not trying to get away.

She was alone, except for Lily, who she did not speak to. Her sisters had left with the promise of finding a way to bring her water, and everyone else seemed to be avoiding the waste pit. There were guards, but they were only barely close enough to see the waste pit, and speaking among themselves in worried tones. She didn't remember assigning anyone to the task, but she was glad she apparently had.

Lily was faintly surprised nobody had tried to talk her out of this. Her speech about Lily deserving… no, it was Holly, not herself. Her speech about Holly deserving this must have struck home. Or they just did not want the same thing Holly was suffering.

Had she told them she would do the same to them if they argued with her? She couldn't remember.

More time passed. Lily did not sleep, and neither did Holly.

"Lily," Holly called up, her voice laden with held-back nausea. "Please look at what you are doing."

Lily made a show of looking around. "Punishing you according to your crime," she said happily. "Be thankful this is only old waste." She hadn't arranged for another waste pit to be dug, sadly; that would have tipped her paw before she was ready. She assumed her people were going over the lake when the need arose.

"And no less disgusting for it!" Holly closed her eyes and lifted her nose as high as possible, probably putting a cramp in her neck. "This is absolutely horrible of you to do to anyone."

"You had better hope your sisters come through," Lily commented, not listening. It was hard to listen and comprehend, for some reason, so she didn't bother. "Else you might have to drink some of this to live through it."

That did it; Holly groaned and gave in, retching violently, adding her own stomach's contents to the sickening pool she was standing in. The vomit was a different series of colors, and remained visible against the backdrop of all the other kinds of waste around her.

"You are as bad as Claw," Holly gasped, sounding absolutely destroyed. "You were supposed to be better."

Claw? Lily shook her head, trying to dig through her mind and find that name. She knew it, she definitely should know it, but there was just so much red-tinted fog, so much ignored pain and stress, no sleep…

She gave up on trying to remember. She could not concentrate on anything but the moment, her satisfaction, and how she was going to destroy Holly, how she was already doing so. "I am alpha, and you are being punished. Get used to it, because you will be in there a long time."

Holly waded over to one of the walls of the waste pit and leaned against it, closing her eyes. "You will not snap out of this. How did you lose yourself so quickly? Am I in danger of doing the same some day? We are both his daughters, there is no difference between us but our Dams, and that is a small thing."

Was she even talking to Lily anymore? Lily didn't know, and didn't care. She barely registered that Holly was speaking at all. Time would break her. All Lily had to do was watch and make sure her people did as they were supposed to.

Some time later - she knew not how long, it was impossible for her to tell - a large group of light wings approached the waste pit; not the entire pack, but close. There were no fledglings or dark wings present, for some reason, but Cara and Aven were leading the group.

"Holly, we are coming for you," Aven called out confidently. "Lily, this is too much. We want her out of there. We can come up with another punishment that is not torture."

"No, you can participate in this punishment. I do not see you bringing your sister water." Lily jumped down, stumbling and almost falling over, a massive wave of nausea washing over her for a moment. Then it subsided, and she was fine.

"We come to take her out of there," Cara growled. "This is intolerable."

"I am alpha," Lily retorted. "You want this punishment over with? Too bad. It ends when I say it ends, and I you cannot take her out by force." She gestured to the three guards reluctantly standing between the pit and the small crowd.

"This is all rotten!" Cara took a step forward, snarling at Lily. "This is just a horrible way of humiliating her or driving her mad, and we will not stand for it. I do not understand why she is submitting to it."

"Why?" Holly called out in a thin, tormented voice. "Because if I do not do this, now, she will do it to someone else. Better me than another!"

"Either give her water or leave," Lily growled. The reverberations made her head hurt, and she barely kept herself standing. "This is the consequence for trying to defy me."

"Last time this pack bowed to a tyrant who tortured our people, he tried to do it again! And again after that!" Cara took another step forward. "Last time, it took moon-cycles for this pack to stand in defiance. We are not that bad now!"

The crowd behind her murmured in agreement. Some of them were not enthusiastic, and others looked scared, but they stood behind Cara and Aven.

"We are not going to stop, Lily," Aven said in a low, unhappy voice. "Guards, stand aside. This is not something you should try and stop. Lily is not allowed to torture our people."

Two of the three light wings guarding the waste pit immediately joined the small crowd, and after a moment of deliberation the third did too.

Lily snarled, her mind whirling. She could not think; what was going on? What was she supposed to do here? This was not how this was supposed to work.

Holly was supposed to suffer. Cara and Aven were supposed to find some imperfect way of bringing Holly water so that she would survive. Then, once she deemed Holly sufficiently defeated, Holly was supposed to be set free. Lily would give a speech, Holly would humbly apologize because she would fear being put back in the waste pit, and there would be no more dissent. They would listen because she knew what was best for them.

That was how this should be going. She was smart and saw all the details. This should not be going wrong.

What else was there? She could not think or plan; her mind was enveloped in the red fog now. No sleep, pain, paranoia… all old friends who were guiding her now. She was sharp, intelligent, focused, and in control. This was all part of the plan. The new plan.

"Fine. Holly, get out here," Lily declared.

There was a moment of shocked silence, and then the struggle of a frantic light wing clawing her way up the side of the pit, quickly ascending and collapsing on the ground beside it, whining in relief, her entire underside and legs coated in the most vile mixture imaginable.

Lily walked over to Holly and knelt by her head. "You defied me."

"Yes, because I wanted to get you to see that something was wrong." Holly inhaled deeply, still whining. "Lily, you need help. You are not right in the head."

"Wrong." Lily forcefully shoved Holly right back over the edge, knocking her into the waste pit. "Get back up here and try again."

"Lily!" Cara barked angrily. "Stop this!"

"I am bowing to your wishes," Lily growled, watching Holly clamber back up once more, now totally covered in waste from head to tail, a disgusting, creeping wretch. "But she needs to bow to me."

"If I bow," Holly spluttered, crawling over the side once more, "will you get help? Will you hand over being alpha to anyone else for a while?"

"Bow to me," Lily commanded. "Now."

"If you get help…" Holly bowed her head.

Lily saw red. More manipulation. More tricks. They wanted her to give over. To be weak. To sleep. To be vulnerable. She would not do that, but still Holly tried.

What was the final solution to dissent? To end the ringleader, to end the rebellion. Lily lunged forward and slid her claws clumsily across Holly's throat, trying to kill. Trying to silence.

Holly slid back with a pained cry, just barely out of Lily's reach, and voluntarily jumped back into the waste pit to escape having her throat slit. She had been ready to dodge, and escaped with a badly bleeding cut.

Lily didn't care; there were other ringleaders here. She whirled and leaped forward, forcing her tortured body to obey her, intent on eviscerating Aven and Cara, and then going back for Holly. It would be easy; even now, the weak group of dissidents scattered in the face of a real, physical threat. They weren't expecting it.

And neither was Aven. Lily pounced on her, slamming her head into the ground multiple times and sticking a pawful of claws to her neck.

Then she heard the sound of a dozen different ominous inhalations. She looked up and saw Cara, along with many other light wings, prepared to fire in an instant.

Aven was unconscious. Holly was struggling up out of the waste pit for the third time, bleeding from the neck. Cara was about to attack, but could not because Lily could slit Aven's throat at the same time.

Lily laughed in the face of it all, living in the moment. The moment in which she still held control. "Fire and she dies, and then you die."

Cara let her fire die down, but nobody else did. "You have gone mad, Lily," she growled. "Utterly mad. Let her go."

"You are all rebelling against me, and I know it's the fault of you three!" Lily shrieked. "You, Aven, Holly! Always trying to take over, to take control, to take my place. I know better! Better than you! I was suffering for this pack while you were mewling fledglings!" Her body chose that moment to give out, and she fell to land on top of Aven, her legs not responding all that well. As long as she held her claws to Aven's throat, it was fine.

"Let her go," Cara repeated. "Killing her does nothing for anyone. Aven is peaceful, she never hurt anyone."

"Killing her sends a message!" Lily knew she was right; she was always right, because her people were not smart enough to think for themselves. She had to keep control to ensure they were safe. "No defiance!"

"She is not defying you now," Holly volunteered, convulsively rubbing her body off on clean grass over to the side of the entire confrontation, several other light wings trying to stem the bleeding with their tongues despite the utter vileness that covered her. "Stop this."

"No," Lily snarled. "I am alpha!"

Several shapes pushed their way to the front of the confrontation. Dark wings and light wings, blind and seeing, all horrified. Lily could not put names to faces, but she felt the black one was on her side.

Then the black one spoke, his voice utterly terrified and heartbroken, soft but strong despite it all. "Lily, you are a danger to the pack. Let her go, now."

Those words. She remembered those words, that they were important.

'Once again, you go too far,' she had said quite clearly, her voice stern. 'You are a danger to the pack. Let her go, now.'

Coincidence. It had to be. He had not even been there for that. She had said those words to… someone.

To Claw. Her Sire, her enemy, the real enemy, the one long dead. The one who was about to torture and kill Crystal. The one who had ruled through fear.

Lily could not think, but she knew she needed to. The black dark wing was turning on her, and she trusted him. She didn't understand why she still trusted him, but memories… Memories of moments stolen, of a male she loved, maybe. Said male was telling her now that she was a danger, that she needed to... let her victim go.

Lily looked over the crowd in a long moment of silence. They did not look defiant, rebellious, or stupid. They looked sad, scared, and horrified. Crystal was there, and so were Pina, Dew, Flare, Root, Pearl, and all of the dark wings. Thaw was looking at her as if she was a scary puzzle that had no solution, or maybe a twisted reflection. Ember… She couldn't tell what he felt about all of this. Spark looked disappointed, so deeply disappointed. Storm was angry.

She looked down, at the unconscious female below her, the one she was about to kill for… a reason she couldn't quite remember. Off to the side, Holly stood, covered in waste and still bleeding from the neck.

Lily felt a faint whisper of something she had forgotten somewhere along the way. Guilt. The red fog was dulling everything, it included. She didn't know how long it had been since she felt guilty about anything. Or the last time she had slept. Or eaten. Or relaxed. She didn't know why it had been so long.

Someone was holding her claws to Aven's throat and plotting to kill all who opposed her, but Lily didn't feel like that person was her. The one threatening and hurting and controlling… That wasn't supposed to be her.

She just wanted to stop the rebellion. Because she wanted control. Because she wanted the best for these very rebels. Including the one she had tortured and the one she was about to kill.

It was a circle. An endless circle she could not break out of. She closed her eyes, and then found she could not open them again. The dozens of eyes staring at her began to hurt, to burn into her scales, though she could not really feel them.

They wanted her gone. They were scared. She knew best. She should do this. She should stop thinking. Thinking hurt. Too much thinking would bring guilt back. She was done feeling guilt. Done caring. Caring was worthless.

Or so she wanted to think. She couldn't trust her own thoughts; if only she had realized that earlier. If he said she was a danger to the pack, she was. Exactly what she had never wanted to be.

Lily felt her claws slip from Aven's neck, and she let them fall, still unable to so much as open her eyes. She was tired, but sleep still would not come. It wouldn't; she had tried desperately to get some for so long now, and it was not coming.

Her body slid to the side, and she found she could not stop herself from falling off of Aven, from giving up her position of power. Part of her wanted to fight, but the biggest part of her wanted to sleep, to rest.

There were soft thumps as many paws closed in on her. She could not find it in herself to care. Something was very, very wrong, and she might not know better now, because usually when something was wrong others turned to her, not against her.

Someone pushed her back, and agony flaired. She flailed with her paws, striking someone weakly, and did not stop moving. She could not sleep, so she had to keep going.

"What do we do?" A simple question not directed at her.

"This," a female sighed. There was a pressure on her neck, and she finally fell into the darkness that had kept away from her for so long… But it was too late. Far too late.

Author's Note: Man, I've been waiting to get to this one. Knowing that this has been coming all throughout the story, building to it slowly, seeing the speculation and unwitting predictions… It's been a long ride to get here.

I don't mean that to sound ominous, though. If the story ended here, it would be a dark tragedy (and quite unsatisfying to boot, I'd imagine). But it doesn't, so come back next week for things to all magically get better. Or not, as the case may be.

In other news, here's an interesting fact; this was going to be two short chapters (like, less than 6k words as opposed to the usual 8k average), but I decided that I might as well combine them. There's only so much filler of 'Lily creeps around half-mad from sleep deprivation but doesn't do anything of consequence' one can write, after all.

As to where Beryl and some of the others have been throughout this insanity? There'll be a NSSA entry on it once Gold's AU is over, but for now suffice to say that they were unaware of what was going on until almost too late, and not as stupid/neglectful as they might come off here. Remember, Lily's perspective is not exactly reliable by this point.