A/N: About halfway through typing this chapter up I realized the story's climax would turn out a lot longer than I had originally anticipated. So to keep from killing you all with a ridiculously massive conclusion, I've decided to split the ending into two chapters. This chapter is part one of that finale. Sorry for the wait, R&R, and enjoy!
Chapter 10: Oblivion: Part one
Oblivion claims you
No.
I took a step away from Brightstar; my eyes widened in disbelief. I felt my breath catch as a foreign tingle shot across my body, ending at the base of my tail. No. The clearing had fallen silent, the sound of my own thudding heart the only thing I could hear. This had to be some sick joke, some savage trick of the light being played on my eyes.
That pelt though, that same pale creamy fur always appearing so neatly groomed and smelling of the sweet lavender. It was an image straight out of my memory. My gaze lingered on every inch of her body, every single possible strand of glittery hair before locking eyes with her.
Those eyes, those burning amber eyes that glowed intensely with the heat of the sun, shinned majestically like the hue from the aura of the full moon and cut through all my defenses to stare straight at my vulnerable heart and soul. Spots flickered in the corners of my eyes as I began to feel lightheaded. It was her. I swayed to the side, unsteadily on my paws as my heart split in two at the sight of her. Amberheart.
"What are you doing here?" I heard Brightstar snarl weakly. "I told you to stay out of this, Amberheart! I've got this handled. I-"
"Enough is enough, Brightstar!" Amberheart cried out, cutting her off. "I can't bear to sit back and watch all this death and destruction anymore! I'm just as much a part of all this mess as you are. I-" her voice caught as we made eye contact.
"Why?" my voice echoed out hollowly as my legs trembled. "You're not supposed to be here. You can't be."
Her eyes clouded in pain, a tragic look of sorrow etched across her beautiful face. "Cloudstorm, I-," she began before suddenly my eyes glazed over and I collapsed to the ground. "Cloudstorm!" I heard her shriek, but somehow seeming to sound so far away. "Cloudstorm!"
My breath came out in pitifully short and ragged bursts, my sense of awareness slowly beginning to shut down until I saw nothing but a blurred image of the reality around me. I was vaguely aware of the notion of a warm body pressing against me as delicate paws roamed across my body.
"Oh, StarClan," Amberheart's frightened voice sounded somewhere from above. "You've lost so much blood, Cloudstorm. All these injuries, you've been gravely wounded this entire fight! How you even managed to go around still fighting I can't even begin to fathom. I-I think you're-," her voiced cracked.
It almost seemed comical, considering the circumstances. How sinisterly sadistic and twisted the world was, reversing the roles like this.
"How?" I managed to whisper. I had to know that at least. "Yo-you shouldn't be. You told me you didn't believe in StarClan." In life Amberheart had been a medicine cat who didn't believe in an afterlife where her ancestors roamed free. It was extremely rare in occurrence but not impossible. "I always thought you'd gone somewhere else, some place that deserved you."
I felt Amberheart lean in close as she then softly licked my cheek. "Oh, Cloudstorm," she whispered softly, her voice heavy with regret. "When..when I was dying that day, I-I didn't know what to do. I was so terrified, Cloudstorm, so very terrified about the unknown of not knowing what would happen to me. I was so terrified of journeying to a place where you might not be able to follow me. With every ounce and shred of belief I had in me I willed StarClan to take me in, to forgive my ignorance and allow me a place by their side."
Why? After all this time why was I finding out about this now? "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you ever try to contact me through my dreams? For moons I thought you were out of my reach forever. Why did you let me live on thinking you were gone?"
"I couldn't," she replied sorrowfully. "As a part of your banishment I was forbidden by StarClan to ever contact you. You had to be left alone to live out your exile; Brightstar made me swear that I would."
I clenched my jaws tightly as rage bubbled in my gut. "So even your death wasn't good enough for them, was it? I asked bitterly. "StarClan had to find some other way to torture and taunt me."
"It was cruel, yes," she mewed sadly. "And I will forever regret agreeing to it, but a single moment didn't go by where I wasn't watching you. You'll never know how deeply it pained me not being able to reach out to you, to sit here and see you suffer all alone. I wanted nothing more than to reach out to you so that night, that fateful night with you and Leafbreeze, I went against StarClan's wishes and tried to contact you. But…"
"But what?"
Amberheart closed her eyes. "When I tried to walk among your dreams something stopped me. So I was forced to sit here and watch the tom I loved immersed in blinding hate, wage war in my name when I wanted nothing more than for you to stop and please try to live. Why, Cloudstorm?" she whispered, her voice laden with pain. "Why go through all this for me?"
"They took you away from me," I responded sorrowfully, wondering why she was asking me this. Didn't she understand? "You, our kits, you all were taken from me just like that. My entire life was ripped away from me, stolen from me by the same cats that were supposed to protect us. I had no other choice."
Amberheart placed a soft paw on my face. "But I never would've wanted this, Cloudstorm. If it had been you who'd died that day instead there's no way you can lay here and tell me you would've wanted me to spend the rest of my life seeking revenge in your name? You would've wanted me to continue living for the both of us. You would've wanted to know that vengeance isn't the answer just like I'm telling you now."
So it was all for nothing then, I thought. Everything, this entire scheme to destroy StarClan, all the lives of the cats I'd killed, the pain, the suffering, Hawkgaze, it was all for nothing. I'd done this all in revenge for what StarClan had taken from me. But how could I go on now? How could I allow this place to be destroyed when the one cat I'd done all this for was in fact a member of StarClan?
"I must look like quite a mess," I joked weakly. "Just like old times, huh?"
A low purr rumbled in Amberheart's throat as she pressed her nose against my cheek. "I suppose it is," she muttered softly. Although, I'm afraid this time there's nothing I can do to heal you."
She said it with such grief and sadness that with all the strength I could muster left, I turned my head so that we were now touching noses. "It's okay," I whispered. "Death is nothing as long I have you here beside me."
And I meant it. Even now with death's awaiting claws, silently holding back for the right moment to tear my life away, I was content. Even in death, Amberheart's presence was enough to lull me into a calm sense of peace. But why then was something she'd said still bothering me?
I pulled back from her. "You said something stopped you from entering my dreams. Do you know what caused it?"
Through my blurry gaze I saw Amberheart tilt her head to the side. "I'm not sure exactly. The few times I tried there was always something blocking me from getting any closer. Some kind of barrier, and whenever I tried to force my way through it would feel like I was being torn to shreds. It was almost like…like trying to walk through a thorn bush.
I felt my body go rigid. 'A thorn bush?' No. There was only one cat capable of a feat like that, only one cat who had the strange power of being able to block StarClan cats from reaching other cats. Even now the haunting echo of her crazed laughter seemed to penetrate every pore of my being.
Rosethorn.
She knew! This entire time she knew Amberheart was in StarClan and used her powers to keep her from contacting me, from me knowing. And if Rosethorn knew then it would only make sense that-.
"Well isn't this a touching scene."
Simultaneously, I heard a gasp from Amberheart and growl from Brightstar. Even with my sight reduced to such a pitiful state there was no need to try and make out the fuzzy image of the cat that had just emerged into the clearing.
"Icefrost!" Brightstar spat angrily.
"Well, you've certainly seen better days, Brightstar," Icefrost mewed, his voice laced with dark amusement. "I have to say this is quite a surprise though. I wasn't expecting anyone else to be here, but I somehow find it fitting to have you present at my moment of glory as my conquest of StarClan is fulfilled."
I heard Brightstar snarl. "That day will come to pass only over my dead body!"
"Your statement merely contradicts itself, seeing as you are in fact already dead," Icefrost easily dismissed, padding across the clearing. "And just take a look at yourself Brightstar. I doubt you can even so much as stand at the moment."
And he was right. Just like me, Brightstar had taken serious damage in our battle. Even if she could muster the strength to stand up there was no way she'd be able to take on Icefrost. He'd strike her down in moments. Icefrost continued across the clearing before finally halting near the three of us.
"Let me guess," he mewed. "You and Cloudstorm decided to finally settle your little dispute, didn't you?" I suddenly felt his gaze upon me. "And from the looks of things it doesn't look like you came out on the winning end, Cloudstorm, disappointing to say the least."
Before I could respond, I felt Amberheart's fur bristle as she suddenly rounded on Icefrost. "You're the monster whose caused all of this mayhem, aren't you?" she demanded, surprising me at the amount of emotion radiating in her voice. "You have no right to talk about him; you spineless coward! You used my death as a means to hurt and use Cloudstorm!"
With a start, I realized she had stepped away from me. My chest began to swell with panic as the sound of pawsteps started forward towards Icefrost.
"Get away from him Amberheart!" I heard Brightstar shriek in a frightened tone. "He'll kill you!"
For once in my life I actually agreed with Brightstar. What was Amberheart thinking? What was she expecting to accomplish by confronting Icefrost. She had to get away from him now!
"No," Amberheart called back defiantly. "I won't back away. I refuse to allow this monster to continue on with this tirade."
"And who might you be?" Icefrost inquired in feigned ignorance. "I'm not sure we ever had the pleasure of being acquainted in life."
"You disgust me," Amberheart sneered. "How can you be so smug, so calm and at peace with the mess you've caused? Are the cats that inhabit the Dark Forest really this heartless? Do you feel no shame or regret for all the lives that you've taken?"
"Such harsh words from a cat so beautiful," Icefrost mused. "You judge me without even first knowing me though. Compared to the crimes your precious Brightstar and StarClan have committed I'm seen as a savior to those who are sick of being oppressed. I am the Clans liberation from that oppression."
Amberheart snorted. "Liberation, Icefrost? And do you call that all-out Clan war in the forest apart of your great liberation from StarClan? What about the cats you tricked into following you; is brainwashing them apart of their liberation, also?"
A dark chuckle suddenly emanated from Icefrost, echoing throughout the clearing and sending a chill down my spine. The events that unfolded next happened to fast for me to correctly grasp. A startled cry rang from Amberheart followed by a loud thud on the ground were the only things I had to know things had just taken a turn for the worst.
"Get off of her!" I heard Brightstar snarl. Moments later I heard the sounds of scuffling of which I took as Brightstar trying to climb to her paws before collapsing back down, completely useless.
I could only lay there useless myself unable to move the slightest inch to help Amberheart. It was simply infuriating to be so near but so helpless to do a thing for Amberheart. How was it possible for me to find myself in this situation again?
Through my faded vision I could just barely make out the blurred images of a larger shape standing over a pitifully smaller one. As a painful whimper sounded from Amberheart I could safely hazard a guess that she was in fact the smaller shape currently being pinned to the ground.
"I don't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for you," Icefrost hissed softly, his voice carrying a sinister edge to it. "All this talk coming from a she-cat who along with her mate was oppressed by the very same cats she's currently trying to defend. Those very same cats that not only allowed her to die, her mate be exiled, but also cause the death of their unborn kits. Tell me Amberheart?" his voice dropped into a mocking sneer. "How does that feel? Aren't you ashamed, completely disgusted with yourself?"
The exact moment I heard him speak her name I knew Icefrost had known this entire time, there wasn't a doubt in my mind.
"You lied to me," I growled weakly. "All..all this time you knew. From the moment I first set paw in the Dark Forest, you knew Amberheart was here in StarClan! Didn't you?"
Why was I so surprised? From the very beginning I knew Icefrost couldn't be trusted. I knew he had his own ulterior motives for wanting to help me take down StarClan, that we were only using each other to further our own personal goals. But why, why then did I feel so betrayed at this realization, so utterly duped and used?
"I lied to you?" I heard Icefrost utter as I felt his gaze turn on me. "Naïve Cloudstorm, I never lied to you. No, you never asked me about your precious Amberheart once."
"That doesn't excuse you! You knew she was here. You knew I'd never have agreed to help you destroy StarClan if I'd known. You took advantage of that knowledge and used it against me."
"And you find that surprising?" he asked. "Everyone had a vital role to play in the coming to fruition of my conquest and you were no different. You were invaluable to my plans Cloudstorm. Without your hatred and drive for vengeance I never would have been able to succeed. Do you honestly believe I would allow any type of inconvenience to get in the way of that? I only did what was necessary."
Necessary
Could I blame him? The basis of my relationship with the Dark Forest had all but rested on the foundation of using the other. I knew it the moment I agreed to align myself with them. Was I really in any real position to judge Icefrost when the only thing he had done was the exact same thing I had to him? Maybe I was just too arrogant to think I was invincible enough to withstand any backlash that may occur from working with him.
"Now," Icefrost continued. "I believe the last time we were together I gave you a bundle of cobwebs to carry. Where is it?"
"Why should I tell you?" I retorted, still bitter having allowed him to fool me. In reality I had no idea where it was. I vaguely remember dropping it earlier when I had tripped and tumbled down into the clearing.
A low growl rumbled from Icefrost. "That wasn't the answer I wanted to hear." My fur stood on end as an agonized cry sounded from Amberheart. "I don't have the luxury of time for you to be snide Cloudstorm." Another cry came from Amberheart. "You killed three cats in the name of your precious medicine cat here so I highly doubt remembering where you left it should be much of a hassle for you."
"She's not a part of this!" I snarled. "Let her go now or I swear I'll-"
"You'll what?" Icefrost challenged, as another agonized cry sounded from Amberheart. "You're not in a position or condition to be issuing threats here. Simply tell me where it is or your precious Amberheart gets to experience the pangs on death for a second time."
"Really brave torturing a cat that can't even defend herself," Brightstar spat at Icefrost. "Is there no low you won't sink to?"
"You're one to talk," I growled. "As far as I'm concerned you're just as bad as he is."
"This isn't about me you petty mousebrain!" she snapped back. "If you really loved Amberheart as much as you claim you do, you'd do something instead of lying there like a fish out of water."
Before I could open my mouth to retort my voice was suddenly drowned out by the pained screams of Amberheart.
"Stop it!" I demanded.
"You don't seem like a tom who's too worried about the fate of his mate," Icefrost sneered. "Maybe if I start relieving her of a little blood you'll start to take me seriously."
My blood boiled as hatred flowed through my veins. I was angry at Icefrost for what he was doing to Amberheart, but I was even angrier at myself for being so helpless to do a thing about it.
"I don't know where it is!" I snarled vehemently at him. "I dropped it. It could be anywhere around this clearing!"
There was a slight pause as my words were left to hang in the air. Suddenly, a tromp of paws hitting the ground engulfed my hearing before the air was knocked straight out of my lungs. I gagged, choking as Icefrost's massive paw weighed down on my chest.
"What did you say!" he snarled in my face, his hot breath causing me to flinch away. I cried out loud as he gripped my chest and his claws dug into my skin. "You dropped it! This better be some joke you little scum or you're about to regret ever crossing paths with me!"
"Yo-you heard me," I choked out, glaring defiantly up at him. Icefrost's face twisted into a savage look of rage as his eyes ignited with fury.
"You'll regret that," he snarled, raising his unsheathed paw.
"Stop!" Amberheart cried out, causing Icefrost to halt his strike. "Don't," she pleaded, slowly crawling to her paws. "Please I'll do anything. I'll find this thing for you, just don't hurt Cloudstorm."
"What do you mean you'll help him?" I coughed out. "I'm dying anyway, Amberheart; get out of here now while you still have a chance!"
My pleas fell on deaf ears, however, as Amberheart stood still, meeting Icefrost's gaze.
"You'll what now? Did I hear you correctly, then?" Icefrost asked, slowly lowering his paw.
"Yes," Amberheart stated in an even tone. "Cloudstorm said he dropped your bundle of cobwebs somewhere around the clearing. If you promise not to harm him I'll look for it."
Icefrost glared down at me before turning back to her. "I'm not a patient cat. You better hope you find it before time runs out or Cloudstorm will meet his end a lot sooner."
I couldn't let Amberheart do this. Knowing Icefrost, that bundle of cobwebs hadn't been brought to just patch up wounds. There had to be more to it, something I wasn't seeing. But- and then it hit me. But why, what would he need that for? I don't know, but whatever it was it wouldn't bode well for anyone.
As I heard her begin to trot off I opened my mouth to try and warn Amberheart, but a stiff blow to the chest from Icefrost left me wheezing. Just moments later I felt my windpipe constricted as a heavy paw was pressed down against it. Through my blurred vision I could just make out Icefrost hovering over me, his cold blue eyes glittering dangerously as he glared down at me.
"Not a word," he growled.
Once again I'd found myself helpless, completely at the mercy of another cat. How had things spiraled out of control so fast? What was Icefrost planning to do with that thing? He said earlier that he was going to bring about the destruction of StarClan from the inside, but how? None of this made sense. And what was the deal with him being so anxious? He kept referring to time, how he didn't have the luxury to waste any. What was I missing here?
"So this is what all your ambitions led you to, huh Cloudstorm?" I heard Brightstar remark snidely. That infuriating she-cat, even with me at my lowest Brightstar still found some way to stick my face further in the mud. "It must sting to so blatantly be reduced to such a pitiful state with an even more pitiful cat standing over you. I should know, once upon a time ago I shared the exact same position you're currently in. You can trust Icefrost to not have learned anything from his previous life."
"Talk all you want Brightstar, but in a few moments you'll soon wish that I had succeeded in killing you all those moons ago," Icefrost growled. "You thwarting my chance at Clan dominance is partly what inspired my goal to destroy StarClan."
Brightstar snorted. "You were mad then to think you could take over all four Clans, and you're even madder now to think that you can destroy StarClan."
"And it seems you're even more close minded than you were back then," Icefrost replied. "In a matter of moments you'll soon learn that I make good on my word."
The more time that went by the more anxious and hostile Icefrost became. This was a tom I had grown to know for his stoic demeanor, but that had all but vanished as the seconds continued to tick by. His tail flicked back and forth in an agitated state as he grounded his teeth and raked his claws through the grass.
"My patience is warring," he growled in the direction Amberheart was searching.
"I'm trying," she called back. "Finding something that small isn't exactly ea-is this it?"
"You found it?" Icefrost called, unable to hide the relief and excitement from his voice. "Bring it here now! Hurry up is you want me to spare Cloudstorm!"
I could do nothing but wait as the pad of pawsteps echoed against the ground. Amberheart had no idea what she was handing over to Icefrost and I was powerless to do anything about it. All the while as Amberheart drew closer Icefrost kept his paw pressed firmly against my neck, halting any chance I may have to warn her.
"That's right," I heard Icefrost whisper. "Place it at my paws and step away."
Brightstar slowly placed the bundle of cobwebs at Icefrost's paws and then quickly backed away. "You've got what you wanted now. You'll let Cloudstorm go now right now?"
"In a moment," Icefrost replied, taking his free paw to start tearing away at the cobwebs. "Before that I think you and Brightstar would like to have a first look at my path to rebirth."
Rebirth? What was Icefrost going on about?
"Rebirth?" Brightstar repeat in a panicked voice. "But, but-"
"Yes," Icefrost chuckled darkly. "Haven't any of you given thought to just what this place is? Brightstar surely you must know. That pool of water is known far wide throughout StarClan. Its legend has even reached the ears of those of the Dark Forest. The Water of Legacy, The Light of StarClan, or in this case, The Pool of Rebirth. And finally it's within my grasp. I have what I need to…"
Icefrost suddenly trailed off. His voice died all together as he finally finished tearing through the cobwebs. "No," I heard the tiniest of sound from him. "It's not here," he muttered, his voice slowly growing louder. "It's gone! IT'S GONE!"
The pressure was suddenly released from my neck and I knew trouble was about to start. The churning emotions of outright fury were wafting off of Icefrost in waves. That wasn't what had me worried though. It was who that fury was directed towards that did.
"Amberheart run!"
My warning came too late though as I felt Icefrost bound his muscles together and feel his paws leave the ground as he sailed through the air towards Amberheart. I heard the air leave her body as Icefrost's massive frame impacted her body.
"Where is it?" Icefrost snarled, bearing down the full extent of his weight on Amberheart. "What did you do with it? Tell me!"
Amberheart let out a startled cry. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't play games with me!" Icefrost roared. "You hid it didn't you? Where! Tell me where or I swear I'll rip you to shreds now!"
In that split instant I felt Icefrost raise an unsheathed paw in the air. He was going to kill her. Everything seemed to slow down as the scene unfolded. I was present the first time Amberheart had died. I sat there absolutely useless as she died right before my eyes, her dying screams forever haunting my nightmares. No. Never again, I refuse!
I don't know what happened. I just reacted. Without any true recognition of what was going on I found myself spiraling through the air as I used my entire body to ram into Icefrost's shoulder, sending the both of us toppling away. I bounced against the ground once before rolling to a complete stop.
Amberheart was safe I kept telling myself over and over again. I had saved her. Finally, I had been able to save her.
"You worthless pile of mousebile!"
That was the only warning before a massive paw slammed in the side of head, sending me rolling further across the clearing. Icefrost stood livid, his fur standing on end; claws unsheathed, and murder glittering in his eyes.
"I've tolerated your presence for far too long now, Cloudstorm," he snarled, hovering over me. "You're the very embodiment of what it means to be ungrateful. Haven't I lived up to my side of the bargain? You wanted a chance to kill Brightstar and destroy StarClan and here they are! I presented them to you like one presents a pack of wolves to a field of rabbits. And how do you repay me? You ruin my plans, lose your nerve, attack me, and side with the very faction you swore to destroy all because your little medicine cat resides here. If that's not a compelling enough reason to kill you then you'll excuse me if I see no other reason why you deserve to continue on living."
The blow came faster than I expected. Somewhere far off I heard Amberheart scream as the world around me began to fade to black.
"Consider our alliance abolished," Icefrost's voice echoed.
"Cloudstorm!" I heard the slightest sound of Amberheart's cry out. "Cloudstorm! Cloudstorm!"
Had a still living cat ever died in StarClan? What would happen to me? Was there even really any point in wondering?
"Don't you leave me!" Amberheart's voice called, sounding farther and farther away.
My breath came out shallower and shallower, the beat of my heart slowing down to a single pounding beat. All my scheming hadn't been enough to save me in the end, but at least I managed to save Amberheart. That at least left me with a satisfying feeling. I had saved her. I really…
Icefrost stared down at Cloudstorm's lifeless body before turning away. The anguished cries of Amberheart filled the clearing with a chilling rang, but the dark tom barely paid attention.
His plans, they were all ruined. But how? Icefrost wondered, grinding his teeth together. Where could it possibly have gone? The only other cat that'd been in possession of the cobwebs was. His eyes widened in shock before a cackle of laughter erupted around the surrounding woods, sending a chill down his spine.
Icefrost traced the laughter all the way up until he caught sight of the body of white that clashed against the blue lighting from the pool. The position was well picked, easily hiding her from the view of anyone else until they were purposefully looking for her white fur. But it wasn't the white she-cat that had caught his attention. No, it was the beating heart under her left paw.
Rosethorn's green eyes glittered madly as she smiled at Icefrost. "What's the matter Icefrost?" she taunted. "Did you lose something?"
A/N: And because I know some of you are already wondering when the next chapter will be, I promise it'll be up before next Sunday.
