AN: Two updates in one day! That means this story is coming to an end already. One more chapter left before the epilogue, which is going to be epic! I can't wait to get this finished so that I can work on Darkened Spirits. Hopefully you guys will actually leave a review, rather than making me bang my head because of all the unmotivatingness (Not a word, I know) I've seen :( But I must thank Shmancy-Fancy-Kitteh for reviewing. You are an awesome friend :D
-Chapter 12-
The kit let out a terrified wail as Hollowstorm leaned forward. In the next heartbeat she found herself under the shadow of a more formidable foe. Brown tabby fur brushed against her own. Featherkit's eyes widened in shock when she saw Duskfur looming in front of Hollowstorm. Her mother's fangs were bared with pure rage when the dark brown tabby lashed his tail.
Hollowstorm lifted a single massive paw and managed to swat the tabby queen across the clearing. Mistystar's shocked gasp made all cats look at her. Featherkit whimpered when the dark brown tabby stood above her.
"Stop!" Willowshine managed to wrench herself away from Grasspelt. His tail lowered in shame when Hollowstorm glared at him. "Hollowstorm, remember who you are!" She tried to make her voice sound pleading as she met the cold warrior's gaze. It wasn't his eyes she was looking through any longer. The Darkness had swallowed what light had been in his sharp gaze. "Please, you can't go on like this! They'll take you with them!"
The dark brown tabby shook his head furiously as his mind began to conflict. Emotions sparked within his eyes. She could see him fighting the Darkness that had taken over. Anger, confusion, and hurt suddenly mingled into a single emotion. He looked up at Willowshine, and hope filled her heart. The hazy look left his eyes for just a moment.
"Do you remember who you are?" she whispered.
After what felt like moons upon moons, Hollowstorm finally nodded. Willowshine breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw the light gleam within his eyes. It was a light that she'd longed to face since this Darkness came.
Before she could ask if he needed herbs, the dark tabby shook his head. Horror crept along her spine when she saw a dark shadow looming above Hollowstorm. The dark shadow suddenly seeped out of his body until he was left staggering across the clearing. Willowshine's eyes widened when she spotted the darkness heading straight for Mistystar, who was crouched in front of her den. Her blue eyes never left the shadow as it tried to come after her.
Willowshine suddenly lunged forward before the shadow could take over Mistystar like it had taken Hollowstorm. Her mind was screaming at her to stop it. She screamed in agony when the shadow plunged into her body. Mistystar could only watch in horror when her medicine cat apprentice writhed on the ground in pain. Nothing she did would help comfort, as she didn't know what was going on. Even Mothwing looked terrified as she had just emerged from the elders' den with a wad of moss under her chin.
"StarClan, what's happening?" the dappled medicine cat demanded when she joined Mistystar.
"The Darkness." Hollowstorm's voice was dull when he realized where he was. He tried to hide the fact that he was about to overthrow his own leader. He couldn't believe that Reedwhisker might be dead because of what he did. Because he was a selfish fool who believed the Place Of No Stars was a good place. "The Darkness is consuming her heart."
"What do you mean by The Darkness?" Mothwing glared at Hollowstorm as he felt a shudder run down his spine. "What is happening to my apprentice?"
Mistystar's eyes clouded over in some emotion as she watched Willowshine. She'd heard elders speak of the Darkness that Hollowstorm mentioned. Cats would go mad because of the changes in seasons. During those dark time, a creature known simply as The Darkness would begin to set a path towards cats who were already driven by a need for power.
"I've heard stories of this," she murmured after an uncomfortable silence had begun to fall over the clearing. "It only happens when the seasons are changing." She tried to recall the stories that the elders would tell her when she was a kit. "Warriors are the common targets. The Darkness consumes the heart of a warrior who has a need for power."
By the time she was finished speaking, Willowshine's body had stopped moving. She could only look on as Willowshine's eyes opened. The gray tabby looked around the clearing warily. Her restless search ended when she spotted Otterheart and Minnowtail returning. Reedwhisker staggered at their side, looking more tired than ever. In fact, if Mistystar didn't know any better, she might think that Reedwhisker was Blackclaw's older brother.
"Idiots," Willowshine muttered under her breath. "They're all useless. But I may just succeed with this body."
It took Mistystar a few heartbeats to realize that Willowshine was already on all four paws. The medicine cat apprentice gave her a cold look. One that Hollowstorm once gave her before the Darkness left him.
A malicious grin spread across Willowshine's face when she saw the look of fear within Mistystar's eyes. The RiverClan leader couldn't tare her gaze away from her future medicine cat. Willowshine was too important for her to lose. She knew that the Clan would face a brutal blow if Willowshine's life was lost to the Darkness.
"Willow-" Willowshine cut her off before she could speak. The tabby took a dangerous step forward, and that was when the other warriors broke off and ran after her. Mistystar could only lift her muzzle in a proud stance. She was surprised that Pouncetail wasn't amongst the gathered Clan. His usually joyful presence made her fur spike with tension. He wasn't there to make things better.
Willowshine was able to fight off Pebblefoot and Rainstorm, who were the first to arrive. Both warriors slid across the clearing like Duskfur had. Only they were still alive. Mistystar's eyes darkened with terror when she saw that the tabby had yet to move.
By now most of the warriors had been cast aside like a leaf in the wind. Mistystar was the only one left standing, aside from the elders. Her gaze met Willowshine's as the two she-cats squared each other up. Willowshine's eyes were narrowed into tiny slits, so that she could not see the light that had once gleamed within the young cat's eyes.
"Willowshine, this has to end," she rasped. "Please, I don't want to hurt you."
"You're not going to hurt me." Willowshine's voice was filled with hate as she glared at the RiverClan leader. "I'm the one who will bring back what was once mine."
Mistystar held back a gasp of dismay. She knew that it was the Darkness talking. She could already see what the Darkness wanted. It had a hunger for power, and a need to take over what it once had.
"Willowshine!" Mistystar's ears flattened when she heard the gruff mew of a ShadowClan cat. She'd recognized the sound from anywhere. A ginger pelt flashed near the camp's entrance, where several cats laid. Mistystar felt a small flicker of hope fill her belly when she spotted Pouncetail. His amber eyes were dark with fear when he spotted her. Beside him was the lithe form of Flametail. "Willowshine, what's wrong?" Before she could ask what he was doing here, he bounded forward.
"Stay away from her!" Mothwing's disgruntled snarl made the ginger tom step back in surprise.
"Flametail, the Darkness has come." Mistystar didn't know why she just told an enemy cat what happened. Something in her heart told her that he was important. "Willowshine has been consumed by the Darkness."
"What do you mean?" Flametail's eyes were wide with disbelief. "Why is she behaving like this?" He stared at Willowshine, who was looming over Mistystar like a waiting predator.
"Willowshine isn't who you think she is, any longer." Mistystar's voice was taught with grief as she spoke to him. "The Darkness has destroyed the Light."
