A/N: A day late, but here it is. What I want to say is at the end. We've waited long enough for this, let's finish it.
Chapter 12, Part Two: Oblivion: Part three
End
We traveled in silence from then on. Each of us lost in our thought. The uncertainty of what awaited when we finally confronted Rosethorn was plaguing my thoughts with disastrous outcomes. What if there wasn't a way to stop the gray and save everyone? I would have doomed an entire forest of cats to death.
But for one reason or another, I couldn't force myself to feel sympathy for the cats of the Dark Forest or especially StarClan. No matter how brief it may have been, they'd already gone and had their chance to experience life. For them, dying wouldn't be as catastrophic as it would for those still of the living.
Maybe it was just the inner pessimist in me continuing to poke and inflame one of those old wounds that refused to heal. Try as I might there was no true forgiveness in my heart towards the starry pelted cats; I doubt there was any in their hearts for me. And I felt it would only prove fruitless and dishonest to evoke a feeling I didn't share.
Amberheart.
This was all for her. Just when I'd thought she was gone from my life forever, there she'd appeared in StarClan. Without even realizing it all the hate, rage, and anger had left me. The feeling of seeing her again, being able to touch and have her near again can't be summed up in words. Nothing would ever be able to do it justice.
Step by step, for what seemed like several foxlengths, we traversed the desolate landscape. With every pawstep we drew ever so closer to our intended destination and the ever lurking force of uncertainty. That seemed to be the worse part of it. Not knowing what awaited us when we were finally face to face with Rosethorn. Was there a chance? Could we do it?
Finally, we padded into a flush of foliage that hadn't yet been touched by the gray. With a flash of recognition, I saw that this was the path that led to the dark pool. We were maybe a few pawsteps back from being to see it.
I saw Icefrost's body tense. The dark tom lowered himself into a low crouch and slowly crept forward. From his crouching position I noticed with a start that nearly all of his body had been taken over the gray. From the neck down Icefrost's entire body was nothing more than a sickly ash.
"There's no point in sulking around in the darkness," Rosethorn's voice called out. "Why don't you three come out and witness the end with me."
Icefrost's snarled at having been flushed out so easily and barged into the clearing. Goldenshine and I shot each other a look before warily following.
Everything was just the same since last I'd been here before we'd crossed over into StarClan. Completely overrun with a dense verdure of bracken and thorn bushes while overheard loomed the coal black and ancient trees with low overhanging branches that preyed over us like the awaiting claws of death. And directly in the center of it all lay the dark pool and directly beside it…Rosethorn.
Her eyes followed us as we stepped into sight, the sottish madness glistening in her green gaze, clear and apparent. Her white pelt was pure and spotless, still free and devoid of the ashen color of Icefrost's pelt as the gray's power had failed to yet descend here,emitting a ghostly radiance that gleamed in the darkness.
"I wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't looking at you with my own eyes," Rosethorn spoke, her gaze locking onto me. "You're alive," she stated matter-of-factly. "Not some deceased spirit wandering around, but a blood racing, heart pounding being." The madness dimmed from her eyes as she tipped her head to one side critically. "Don't tell me you've gone and discovered the secret to cheating death? I highly doubt it was the work of that sad excuse for a medicine cat over there."
Out the corner of my eye I saw Goldenshine wince slightly at the barb from his former mentor as Rosethorn's eyes suddenly shifted over to Icefrost, sparking inquisitively. "Oh!" she purred in delight, avidly drinking in his near ashen form. "Why, Icefrost, I hardly recognized you. It doesn't appear you've got much time left with us, do you?"
Before either I or Goldenshine could register what was going on, a feral yowl split the air as Icefrost made a sudden bound for Rosethorn. I realized seconds after he shot off what he intended to do. That Mousebrain! I charged after him, knowing I had to stop him before he managed to get his claws on Rosethorn. We hadn't even questioned her yet. Allowing her to get killed now went our only possible chance at stopping the gray!
I chased after Icefrost, but he had pulled several lengths ahead of me, closing in on Rosethorn's stationary form quick. Why wasn't that crazy she-cat trying to move? She just stood there, watching Icefrost draw in closer with an expectant, almost bored, expression upon her face.
"No, Cloudstorm, stop!" Goldenshine's panic-stricken voice shouted from behind me."
Stop? Was he crazy? If I didn't stop Icefrost now everyone in the forest would die. Amberheart would die! I powered forward, closing in fast behind Icefrost. His hind legs were just within my reach, but as I lashed a paw out to snag one of his legs a heavy weight suddenly slammed into my back, dragging me down to the ground.
I groaned, having had the breath knocked clear of my lungs. What had hit me? I glanced over my shoulder to gape in surprise at Goldenshine leering over me.
"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded, shouting up at him. "Icefrost's about to kill Rose-!"
A strangled cry pierced the air, drowning out my voice and causing my fur to stand on end. I whipped my head around to the sound and could only stare in shock at the scene before me. Vines, long and equipped with hooked thorns, had ensnared Icefrost's entire body, leaving just his head free mere inches away from Rosethorn's face. The vines were oozing crimson and it took me a moment to realize that it was Icefrost's blood.
I felt my breathe catch in my throat, my mind suddenly coming to grips with the fact that that could've just as easily been me as well.
"I felt it just before it happened," Goldenshine said gravely, watching Icefrost's peril. "There…there was a slight shift in the feel of the soil, like something was stirring. And I knew-I knew then what was going to happen."
We could only look on as the vines twisted and tightened over Icefrost, causing the dark warrior to continue crying out in pain. The sound was disconcerting, the image itself only augmenting horror of the situation. Blood seeped from the vines as more began to pool from Icefrost's nose and mouth, staining them scarlet. The dark tom growled weakly at Rosethorn, his eyes burning with an unfathomable depth of hatred for the cat standing before him.
"I've always held a great distaste for cats like you, Icefrost," Rosethorn began slowly, glaring spitefully at the dark tom. "Oppressive, weak minded individuals who believe they're the answer to what's ailing the world. Who believe that only under their watchful eye and power can everyone prosper and survive." Rosethorn giggled madly before turning away to stare into the depths of the dark pool. "Cats like you never cease to existence," she said softly, her voice dropping to a whisper. "You torture others in life, unjustly judging them and then punishing them for being different. And then-"
There was a slight tremor in her voice as Rosethorn trailed off. What was I witnessing? I looked to Goldenshine for a confirmation of that was going on, but when I turned I saw that his attention was fully absorbed in on Rosethorn.
"And then!" Rosethorn snarled, suddenly whipping around, eyes livid. "Then, those cats think that in death they'll finally be rid of cats like you! That with their death the pain and suffocating oppression that the world has saw fit to befall them will vanish. But no," Rosethorn sneered, hate burning in her green eyes as they swept over everyone. "No, if anything, the pain only worsens in death." At the word death, Icefrost emitted another anguished cry as the vines constricted tighter, the thorns piercing even deeper into his flesh.
Rosethorn watched his suffering with cold eyes, eyes that burned deep with an emotion I myself was very familiar with. But it was an emotion that I never thought in a hundred moons I'd witness on her face. Something I don't think any cat was ever meant to see and she kept hidden in the deepest, darkest recess of her heart. Pain.
It was there, dominating the madness in her eyes before being snuffed out just as quickly. If I didn't know the emotion so well I probably would've never detected it in the first. But that fleeting betrayal of some emotion other than madness in Rosethorn's eyes left many unanswered questions and posed an even more interesting one. What great tragedy had led her to become the crazed she-cat I now saw standing in front of me?
"There's only one solution for stomping out cats like Icefrost," Rosethorn said darkly, the madness in her eyes blazing full force now, grinning wickedly. "They need to be weeded out and wiped completely from history…sort of like now!"
The affect was instantaneous. It happened before any of us had time to react. Icefrost never even had a chance to cry out. That same instance the vines constricted around Icefrost's throat, making his eyes bulge out, squeezing the tom until he suddenly exploded into a cloud of shadows. The shadows descended into the air before evaporating into nothingness, the last of Icefrost's essence dissipating without a trace.
And just like that he was gone. No climatic final battle to the death; no final plea for Clan domination. Icefrost had been erased from existence and claimed by oblivion. There wasn't anything time to dwell on the extinct tom, however; I and Goldenshine had more pressing matters to deal with concerning Rosethorn, the she-cat having just turned her mad gaze on us.
We both tensed, expecting her to do the same to us as she had with Icefrost, attacking with vines. What she said next though, left us both gaping in surprise.
"There's only one reason why you two would be stupid enough to be here instead of in the world of the living, trying to get as far away possible from the forest," Rosethorn meowed, knowingly. "You think there's a way to reverse this?"
I and Goldenshine exchanged astonished looks. So she already knew then.
A giggle rose from Rosethorn as our startled faces confirmed her suspicious. "Don't look so surprised, I would expect some kind of action like this out of Goldenshine. But you, Cloudstorm," she fixed her gaze on me. "You're the last cat I would've expected to put his pelt on the line for StarClan. Where's that burning flare of hate that usually resides in your eyes? It's gone."
I narrowed my eyes at Rosethorn. "I'm not here for StarClan. My concern lies for the cats of the Clans currently at the mercy of the storm your disease created."
Rosethorn tilted her to the side whimsically, green eyes sparkling madly. "That's not all though; is it?" she inquired loftily. "You held a certain fondness for ThunderClan out of old nostalgia, but I've seen your mind before, Cloudstorm, toyed with your emotions and heart. You wouldn't do this just to save a forest full of waterlogged cats. No," she murmured in a soft undertone, slowly padding across the clearing towards us.
I felt Goldenshine tense at my side, but I held my ground never taking my eyes off of the white she-cat. Rosethorn drew even closely until our faces were barely mere inches away from each other, her face blank and curious. Being this up close to Rosethorn left me feeling somehow vulnerable, remembering back to the time where she'd tortured me from inside my own mind. What's what stopping her from doing that very same thing now?
It was for the first time that I realized how very beautiful the white medicine cat actually was. Now that her face wasn't twisted in some cruel fashion, I realized that Rosethorn would've been a very lauded after cat in her time if it wasn't for the fact she was a medicine cat.
"It's her." Rosethorn's voice suddenly spoke bitterly, surprising me by the pure intensity of emotion behind it. For a second I thought I actually saw a flash of hurt pass across her eyes. "It's because of her that you're doing this, that RiverClan water rat."
"Watch your mouth about Amberheart!" I snarled, baring my fangs.
"So I'm right then," Rosethorn taunted. "Even now she has you curled around her tail like a blind kit, having you risk your own life to save her meaningless one."
"Cloudstorm came here of his own accord, Rosethorn," Goldenshine butted in.
"The big cats are talking now, so excuse yourself," Rosethorn flicked her tail to dismiss the golden tom. However, Goldenshine would not be ignored and pushed in-between us to glare nose to nose with his former mentor, his fur bristling angrily.
"No, I won't be kicked aside again, Rosethorn!" he growled brusquely, causing a flicker of surprise to flash in Rosethorn's eyes. "I'm done taking orders from you! And I'm done watching you cause nothing but pain and anguish to others! You've done nothing but cause deceit and misery among cats and I watched it all happen because I was afraid you. And now because of that fear I've allowed you to bring us all to the brink of extinction. But I refuse to let it happen! Do you hear me? I won't allow you to let death befall us!"
My ears were left ringing from Goldenshine tirade and even Rosethorn looked at a loss for words. Goldenshine's sides heaved heavily and he glared at Rosethorn defiantly, the former image of the once timid and small medicine a mere relic of the past now. Rosethorn stared at her former apprentice, silently taking in the aura of defiance radiating off of him before throwing her back and crackling madly.
Rosethorn's wild laughter rose high into the sky, reverberating hauntingly throughout the desolate forest. "The runt's finally grown a backbone, I see," she laughed manically. "Unfortunately for you, dear Goldenshine, you've chosen a horrid time to come seeking redemption."
"I don't care!" Goldenshine retorted. "The moment I decided to come here and try to stop you, I knew there was little chance of me gaining redemption for my past sins. I don't expect to have my soul cleansed. Now, I only want to fix the biggest mistake of my life. Tell us how to reverse this. I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Even it means I'll have to stop you myself," he proclaimed strongly, unsheathing his claws.
Rosethorn eyed the threatening gesture with an amused expression before waving a paw dismissively. "A noble stance, dear Goldenshine, but my plague cannot be reversed. StarClan will fall."
"No!" I shouted over Goldenshine's own cry of outrage. No! She had to be lying. Amberheart couldn't be allowed to die! Never again, I refused!
I bunched my legs beneath me and launched myself over Goldenshine to come crashing down on top of Rosethorn, sending both our bodies crashing to the forest floor. I heard a rush of air leave her body as the combined weight from our fall knocked the air straight out of her lungs.
Goldenshine yowled something incoherent behind me, but I too focused on the she-cat that lay pinned beneath my paws to pay him any mind. I pressed my paws firmly into her throat, digging the claws into the skin as I leered over Rosethorn, my face inches from hers, blood racing and eyes blazing with fury.
"I won't allow Amberheart to die because of you!" I roared viciously, spittle flying from my mouth. "How do you reverse it? Tell me! Tell me now before I rip you to shreds, you filthy mange-pelt!"
Laughter. Just like the last time I'd had her pinned, Rosethorn was laughing in my face, crackling madly and freely in twisted glee.
"How does it feel?" she cackled derisively. "You must know by now, so tell me how does it feel to know that you're responsible for the death of your mate, not to mention that little apprentice you were so fond of? You got your wish, Cloudstorm. You wanted StarClan destroyed, annihilated from history, and I gave you that. Your blood fuels the plague that will eat away and reduce your precious Amberheart to nothing. In the end you proved you were just like me, destroying the few cats in life you actually cared about."
NO! My heart seemed to lodge itself in my throat as I pictured my former Clanmates being crushed by falling trees, Cherrypaw drowning to death in black water, and finally Amberheart deteriorating into nothing as the gray claimed her spirit.
I raised a claw, ready to strike Rosethorn down, as blinding rage engulf me. Everyone I'd known, everyone I cared about was going to die and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I had nothing left to live for, nothing left to fight for or protect. My paw quivered in the air as I stared down at Rosethorn. She'd taken everything from me. I had every right to kill her now, but as I arched my claws to strike, something broke inside me.
Like a bursting dam of water, grief came washing over me in a swarm of anguish. My paw slammed into the ground next to Rosethorn's head, my mind barely registering the sting of pain. I looked at Rosethorn; my eyes clouded in despair, and did something I'd only ever done once in my life before.
"Please," I rasped out pitifully to her, feeling a shiver of surprise ripple across her pelt. "I'll do anything to save her, anything to save them," I pleaded desperately, letting my pride fall to the side uselessly. "I'll become your pawn, your servant, your mate, whatever it takes to save them. Please, I'm willing to risk anything."
The clearing fell into a deathly silence as my final words echoed into the air. No one spoke or moved as I watched Rosethorn silently. I had nothing left. I had basically thrown my heart and soul at her mercy and there was no guarantee of what would happen next.
For the first time I saw Rosethorn look startled, her greens completely coated over with shock. She was staring up into my face almost appearing to be in a dazed trance. What was she thinking? What was going on inside of that disheveled mind of her?
I waited with abated breath when some foreign emotion shifted across Rosethorn's eyes, breaking the illusion of the mad she-cat with no conscience that had terrorized me and I felt myself pulled down into the murky waters of a faded memory.
I was beneath the roots of a large tree with wild ferns all around me as sunlight sparkled off of the dew on the tips of the blades of grass. Before me lay a younger more seemingly innocent version of Rosethorn and standing in front of was a mottled brown tom with a kit clasped in its jaws.
"Please, I'll do anything!" Rosethorn seemed to be pleading desperately to tom. "Just don't hurt my kit!"
The tom glared down at the imploring she-cat, turning his nose up disdainfully at the sight of her. "You care more about this worthless kit than you do your own Clan. Why I shouldn't just dispose of her now and drag you back? He taunted scornfully, talking out the side of his mouth. "Tell me Rosethorn. Just how much does this keeping this flea alive mean to you?
I saw the young Rosethorn's eyes flash fearfully before lowering her head in defeat. "Whatever it takes to save her. I'm willing to risk anything."
Just before I tried to make meaning of the images before me, I unexpectedly found myself back standing over Rosethorn. I felt her chest rise quickly as her breath constricted and then Rosethorn closed her eyes, turning her head away from me.
"There's no way to reverse the plague," she murmured softly and I felt my heart began to shatter. "But," she added after a hesitant pause. "It can be stopped. There's a way to halt the process from proceeding any further. If you do it now you have a chance to stop the storm before it does irreversible damage to the Clans, but stopping the plague won't be enough to save the cats of StarClan or the Dark Forest. The plague has imbedded itself too far deep into this world now. Any dead cat that remains here will succumb to the gray and vanish from existence."
The dread that had been slowly clawing its way up my spine finally overtook as it was confirmed by Rosethorn that I couldn't save Amberheart. Numbly, I stepped from over Rosethorn and allowed her to get to her paws. I felt disconnected from reality, barely registering Goldenshine's voice as he questioned Rosethorn further.
"You said that we could halt the gray to save the Clans. How's it done?"
"There's only one way," Rosethorn began softly, turning to stare at me, an unreadable expression on her face. "The blood of the cat used to fuel the plague must in turn be used to counteract it. In other words, if you want to halt the plague, Cloudstorm must sacrifice himself."
"What!" Goldenshine yowled in disbelief, as my despair left me deaf to Rosethorn's words.
"He said he was willing to do whatever it takes," Rosethorn stated plainly, never taking her eyes off of me. "He must jump into the waters of the pool in StarClan where the plague first took root. Doing that will cease the plague's progression, but the backlash of doing so will extinguish his spirit entirely, erasing it from existence. That is the only way."
"How can I actually believe you after hearing something like that?" Goldenshine demanded. "How do I know you're not lying to me right now?"
"I couldn't care less," Rosethorn stated coldly, making Goldenshine flinch from the intensity in her voice. "You asked and I told you. Whether you think I'm lying is up to Cloudstorm to decide. He's the one that has to die."
Goldenshine fell silent, casting an agonized glance my way as I continued to wallow in the failure of not being able to save Amberheart. After coming all this way, braving death for the second time, I had failed to save her. Again.
How could I possibly go back to StarClan and tell her we'd failed. Tell her that she was going to die a second time. This time, forever gone and out of my reach? I'd caused this. The moment I decided I was going to get StarClan back for taking her away from me was the moment I'd sealed her fate.
The sound of paws padding across the forest floor made my ears twitch slightly before Rosethorn near my side, looking off into the black distance.
"Despair doesn't suit you, Cloudstorm," she meowed. "Remember, I've been inside your mind and seen your resolve. When the odd are stacked against you, you always seem to find some way to get the outcome you desire. It just takes a bit of heart to find it."
Without another word Rosethorn padded off pass me and Goldenshine. Her white pelt was quickly swallowed up by darkness as she disappeared into the forest. Maybe we are alike, the words echoed in my mind at thought of the memory I'd saw. Maybe Rosethorn wasn't as heartless or mad as we'd been led to believe. Maybe she was just a victim haunted by a horrible past as I was.
"What are you going to do now?" Goldenshine's voice rang out, bringing me from out of my mulling. I glanced at him curiously, wondering what he meant. He scuffed a paw angrily against the ground, looking at me miserably. "There has to be another way. You shouldn't have to die for the Clans. You-."
I cut off his angry tirade with a wave of my tail. "It's fine." My voice was surprisingly steady as I spoke. "If I can't save Amberheart, I at least owe the cats still living a chance to live. This entire mess started with me, and now it's going to end with me."
Goldenshine stared at me in shock. "You mean, you're going to go through with it? You're going to sacrifice yourself?"
"I'll do what's right," I replied evenly. "The cats of the forest don't deserve to pay for my sins. Would you honestly want me to just leave them to die?"
With a deep sigh of resolution, Goldenshine shook to me, his brown eyes tinged with grief. "Do you want me to come with you?" he asked morosely.
I shook my head, realizing there was something else I needed from him instead. "If you could, there's something I'd like you to do for me."
I leaned over and whispered into his voice and felt him stiffen slightly as he heard my final request. When I pulled back he held a solemn expression.
"Of course," he meowed, dipping his head to me. "So, I guess this is goodbye, then?"
"Looks so," I responded somberly before dipping my head to him in turn. "You have a bright future as a medicine cat and your Clan is certainly going to need you after all this is over." I paused before deciding to add, "You seemed to always be there when I needed you, and one of the few cats who managed to keep me aware of my own morality. If nothing else, Goldenshine, I'm proud to call you a friend."
Goldenshine's eyes glowed warmly before I saw his body start to fade. I kept my gaze on him before his image fully vanished from sight; the light from his eyes the last thing to go. 'Good luck.' Goldenshine's parting words murmured softly into the air.
I sighed deeply before turning my attention to the current task in progress. First things first, I needed to find my way back to StarClan. As if some faraway presence had read my mind, the ground suddenly split open with tendrils of vines all leading in one direction to the far west of my current spot.
Taking this as the final gift from a certain medicine cat, I followed the tendrils. I traveled alone, following the tendrils as my thoughts raced. It was necessary to ensure that the Clans survived, but what I couldn't get my mind to accept was the fact Amberheart would soon cease to exist just as I would.
It didn't seem fair that I couldn't save her now even in death. Did my life just consistently revolve around failing her? Surely there had to be something, right? The one cat I cared about most in this life and there wasn't a thing I could do to save her? Didn't she of all cats deserve to be spared the wicked grip of the gray?
My heart felt bogged down by all this newfound torment. I thought I'd known true hurt the first time she died. But now, with how everything had spiraled out of control and came crashing down on me, the tear in my soul had only grown bigger, the inner wound more deep and potent than before.
How could I face the others or her for that matter, with the knowledge they were doomed to a ghastly death before disappearing entirely from existence? Every step I took felt like a blow to my body, rattling my brain and sending tremors of sorrow echoing hollowly through my body.
With every pawstep, I drew ever closer to my and Amberheart's demise. The thought of me dying seemed to pale in comparison to Amberheart's though. I'd made peace with myself long ago that plotting to overthrow StarClan would most likely end in my death. But, Amberheart, she deserved better than this. I couldn't save her, the silent wail from my heart seemed to be screaming out, but I could at least be there for her to lessen the pain of the end.
I put on a spurt of speed, flying quickly through the Dark Forest now that I knew I had only a few precious moments left with Amberheart. I just had to hurry now. Every second I wasted was leaving her in jeopardy of being fully consumed by the gray.
StarClan was nothing more than a stark, ashen wasteland by the time I broke back into the territory. Littered all throughout and across the ground were the empty shell husks of trees and wilted blades of grass.
I opened my mouth, trying not to wretch as the rancid scent of decay filled it, inhaling deeply in an attempt to locate the scent of other cats. Time was running out and I needed to find them fast. I recalled briefly that the tom, Lionstar, had told me they would gather everyone they could find together in the hollow.
I darted through StarClan, pausing every few moments to try and pick up the scent of others cats, but to no avail. For a brief moment I feared I may be too late when my ears detected the slightest clamor of sound. I followed the sound, angling my ears so I could better pick up the noise's direction.
A chorus of voices could be heard from further away, and I bounded off in that direction. The noise grew louder and before I knew it, I was standing near the top of a hollow and down below it was filled to the top of ashen colored cats.
I descended down the steep wall into the hollow before weaving my way through the throng of cats. I gained many surprised glances and murmurs from the cats there, but my attention was solely focused on finding one cat.
"It's the Kit!" someone called out from the crowd. "Look, Cloudstorm's back!"
Recognizing the voice, I paused, looking for its owner. Almost immediately, a nearly ashen colored brown tabby pushed his way through the crowd of cats. If it wasn't for his ears I probably would've never been able to tell Lionstar apart from the crowd. Nearly entirely all of his body had been taken over by the gray, their ears one of the only remaining sources of color on their bodies.
"You made it back in one piece!" Lionstar proclaimed, giving me a quick glance over. "You guys had been gone so long that we were just about to round up a search party when you finally showed up."
I nodded distractedly, trying to peer over Lionstar's head for any sign of Amberheart. Where was she? With this sea of wan cats it would probably be next to impossible to spot her.
"Hey, where are Icefrost and that little medicine cat?" Lionstar's curious voice inquired. "Did something happen in the Dark Forest?"
I visibly winced, unsure of how to answer, and Lionstar noticed. "Cloudstorm, what is it?" he pressed firmly. "What did you find out in the Dark Forest?"
I felt like a sharp bone had lodged itself in my throat. How could I tell him? "Goldenshine's fine," I replied hesitantly. "Icefrost, however, is no longer among the living or dead. Rosethorn saw to that personally."
I saw Lionstar's face harden slightly as he noticed what I had failed to mention. "And what about the plague?" he asked grimly. "What have you found out?"
"Found out what?" another voice called. "Lionstar who are you talk-," Amberheart froze in her tracks the moment our eyes made contact. Despite nearly all her body being enveloped by the gray there was no mistaking that glow of warmth and love shining brightly in her eyes. I could spot it anywhere.
"Cloudstorm!" she exclaimed joyfully, racing over to me.
With elation flowing through my veins at the sight of her, I met her halfway before burying my head deeply into her with the satisfaction that I hadn't been too late. Almost instantly, I recoiled, jumping back in shock at the jolt of sheer coldness radiating from Amberheart. Her body was icy to the touch.
"Sorry," she muttered apologetically, although I couldn't help but see the expression of hurt in her eyes. "It's been getting worse like this more and more since you left. I can barely feel my own body anymore."
Her words raked across my pelt like a vicious swipe from a pair of claws. I gagged, feeling bile rise up in my throat before hunching over, coughing violently. Moments later, I felt Lionstar and Amberheart at my side.
"Cloudstorm, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Amberheart's worried voice drifted into my ear as I felt the frigid touch of her nose press into my side.
Fighting off a cough that sent tremors rattling through my bones, I silently pushed her away. A cold chill of resolution trickled down my spine as I realized she deserved to know; they all deserved to know.
Swallowing down the pain in my chest, I turned to Amberheart and looked her in the face. "There's something I have to tell you. When we went to the Dark Forest we found out from Rosethorn that there is a way to stop the plague."
If my misery hadn't already been enough for me to handle, it only multiplied when I saw Amberheart's face light up with unbridled joy.
"That's wonderful news, Cloudstorm!" she exclaimed jubilantly. "I can't believe it! We have to tell everyone there we're saved. We-!"
Lionstar suddenly threw his tail out in front of Amberheart, silencing her abruptly. She turned to the tabby, confusion evident on her face, but Lionstar's attention was directed fully on me.
"I can see the inner turmoil swaying back and forth in your eyes, kit," he intoned slowly. "That's not the full story. There's more, and it's eating you alive inside to have to tell. Don't hold it in. Speak freely."
I exhaled deeply, knowing what I said next would probably tear them both down. "There's a problem," I began slowly, averting my gaze to the ground. "According to Rosethorn, the only way for us to stop the plague is for me to sacrifice myself." A horrified cry came from Amberheart, but I forcibly talked over her voice to stop myself from cracking.
"By me sacrificing myself the plague will stop and the Clans will be saved from the storm. However," I squeezed out painfully, digging my claws into the stone hard dirt. "Stopping the plague doesn't erase the damage it's already done here. Any dead cat that remains in StarClan or the Dark Forest will continue to waste away before finally reducing into nothing. The Clans will survive," I spoke ruefully, slowly looking up to stare into Amberheart's tortured face. "But you all will not. I'm sorry, Amberheart. I never wanted any of this happen. I-"
"You mousebrain!" Amberheart cried, cutting me off with a soft cuff over the head. She was shaking, her eyes sparkling with grief as she glared at me. "You have nothing to apologize for. Do you hear me?" she demanded, her voice clogged with anguish. You did more than was expected of any other cat. No other cat would have gone the lengths you've taken to correct your mistakes. So don't you stand there and try to apologize!"
She placed her forehead against, murmuring several more phrases of how it wasn't my fault, but still the feeling that I'd gone and failed her was ever present. I had caused this. The same war I had waged in vengeance for her death was now the same one that had spiraled out of control to whisk her away from my life forever.
No amount of coaxing or kind words would ever convince me otherwise that this wouldn't have happen if I hadn't broken the code. I was the sole reason for the way Amberheart's life had turned out, I realized bitterly. If she'd just stayed away from me, if I'd never entered her life, maybe things would have turned out for the better.
The only thing left I could was comfort her in her time of need. Her almost completely ashen body was proof she didn't have much time left. There wasn't much time left for any of these cats.
'Despair doesn't suit you, Cloudstorm,' Rosethorn's final words to me rang in my ears. 'Remember, I've been inside your mind and seen your resolve. When the odd are stacked against you, you always seem to find some way to get the outcome you desire.' I grunted out of frustration, knowing I had failed to do so. I was out of miracles this time around.
'It just takes a bit of heart to find it.'
I paused from my brooding, my thoughts racing as a certain word stared bouncing off the walls of my mind.
Heart? Heart? Heart?
My eyes widened in shock as the word seemed to collide with an image from my past. With excitement threatening to overwhelm me, I withdrew into my mind calling up an old memory that seemed to have occurred hundreds of moons ago.
"What?" I asked startled.
"Don't seem so surprised, Cloudstorm," Icefrost told me, still peering into the pools murky waters. "It's really a magnificent piece of work, I tell you. Leafbreeze, as we speak, is currently trapped in a middle plain of existence between StarClan and the Dark Forest. As long as we have possession of her heart she'll stay there. But what's more is having control of her heart gives you complete and utter control of her soul."
"Her soul?"
"Yes." Icefrost chuckled darkly. "Isn't it ingenious, Cloudstorm? You have there at your paws the power to take control of her otherworldly body and use it for our own gains. As a being of neither StarClan nor the Dark Forest she can travel between both plains without resistance. If you so choose to do so right now, you could summon her here."
Middle plain of existence. The words kept ringing in my ears, making my heart race at the startling possibility. If Icefrost hadn't been lying that night, then there was a chance I could save Amberheart, save everyone from the gray. A strong chance!
"Where's Leafbreeze!" I demanded, making Amberheart and Lionstar jump at the sheer veracity of my voice.
"Cloudstorm," Amberheart began, her eyes wide and fearful as she peered into my face. "What-"
"There isn't time!" I cut across her voice, a sense of panicked urgency taking over my senses. I turned to Lionstar, my voice desperate as I said, "Lionstar, for the sake of Amberheart and everyone else here you care for, take me to Leafbreeze now. I-I," my voice quivered for a moment. "I think I know how to save you all. But to do so I need to be taken to Leafbreeze now."
If Lionstar had any misgivings of my plan he didn't show it. Flicking his tail for me to follow, he plunged into the horde of cats. Moments later I and Amberheart were right behind him, matching his stride and progression through the mass of cats with ever twists and turn.
My mind was abuzz. I couldn't believe it! How was I just realizing this now? I was almost tempted to hit myself for not remembering what Icefrost had told from what felt like an eternity ago. This entire time Leafbreeze held the answer to the cats of StarClan's survival!
The throng of cats began to thin around us as we were nearing the back of the hollow. Suddenly, the sight of two familiar cats came within sight as I caught sight of Leafbreeze looking over Brightstar's wounds. Their heads snapped up the moment they heard us approach and with a slight grimace, Brightstar rose to her paws.
"You actually came back," Brightstar said evenly, though I could detect a hint of surprise in her voice. "What have you discovered?"
"Nothing that bodes well for us," Lionstar said before quickly filling her and Leafbreeze in on our current predicament. "But he's says there's a way to make it so we survive as well. And apparently it involves you Leafbreeze."
"Me?" Leafbreeze exclaimed surprised, turning towards me. "What can I possibly do?"
I wasted no time, delving right into my idea. "I need to know the truth of where you ended up the night I killed you. Icefrost told me that when we took your heart that it stopped you from crossing on into StarClan and placed you in a middle plain of existence, a place between StarClan and the Dark Forest. If it's true then you have the power to transport every single last cat out of here. StarClan will fall, but its cats won't go with it. You'll be able to save everyone."
"Leafbreeze is this true?" Brightstar asked, her eyes gleaming with faint hope. "Can you really do what Cloudstorm's claiming?"
The former medicine cat's face showed signs of unease, her eyes laced with anxiety. "I do recall being in a plain forest before being brought back here, but I don't know if I had the ability to go back there myself, let alone bring hundreds of cats with me."
"Please try," I said imploringly, making Leafbreeze's eyes widen at hearing me, of all cats, beg. "Please," I continued, dipping my head to her in a show of respect. "I know I'm the last cat in the world that you'd ever considering helping, but for the sake of everyone else here please." I stared up into her face, my eyes burning with passion. "I can't lose Amberheart again," I told her. "I won't. You do your part by saving her and I'll do mine by saving the Clans."
Leafbreeze stood stoically, staring at me silently, her gaze burning into my pelt. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words that came out next surprised me.
"Are you really prepared to give up your own life in return for the cats of the forest? Haven't you questioned for a moment that Rosethorn may have been dishonest. Who's to say she hasn't fooled you into sacrificing yourself for something that may only make things worse?"
The questions weren't hostile or mocking. Leafbreeze was only expressing her skepticism to see how I responded. I'd before considered the possibility that Rosethorn very well could be tricking, but after recalling that memory I'd witnessed and the clear unbridled emotion in her eyes afterwards I knew her words were genuine.
"Believe it or not I trust Rosethorn's words. And even if there is a possibility I'm walking into a trap, I'll still gladly go to my death, knowing I did everything I could to right my wrongs."
Leafbreeze blinked, and to my surprise the emotion had shifted in her eyes. There was no longer any animosity there, only grudging respect.
"Assembled cats of StarClan and the Dark Forest!" Brightstar's voice rang out clearly to the crowd of cats. "It is with a heavy heart that I announce that in order to survive we must flee the realm we've called home for what has been surely an eternity." There was chorus of surprised and shocked shouts from the crowd, but Brightstar silenced them with a flick of her tail. "I share your pain my friends, I do; however, stopping this plague will not be enough to stop this illness from consuming us. So unless you're ready to disappear and join oblivion sooner than you would have, you'll all come with me."
"Where to?" an almost completely Dark Forest warrior spoke up. "There's nowhere else to go other than the Dark Forest, and even that's been infected!"
"We journey to a new land," Brightstar declared, loudly. "The former ShadowClan medicine cat Leafbreeze has the ability to take us to a new forest! A forest between the realms of StarClan and The Place of No Stars where the cats of our two forests are no longer divided." A large outcry of rage rose from several of the StarClan cats at this.
"Why should they get to come with us?" a StarClan cat demanded, her pelt bristling. "We earned our way into StarClan for being loyal to the code while they chose to break it. I say they stay here to experience the punishment they deserve!"
Uproar of support rang from the StarClan side of cats as the Dark Forest cats looked on snarling and humping their backs at their rivals. It seemed as though the two sides were on the verge of another battle with each when a furious yowl tore through the air.
"Silence!" Brightstar snarled ferociously, making the hollow fall into a dead silence. "Look at all of you!" she spat lividly. "Squabbling amongst yourselves like kits when at any moment we could all disperse into nothing. This is one of the very reasons why we were at each other's throat! Those same Dark Forest you turn your noses up at were once your Clanmates, and like it or not their cats with the same feelings and emotions as the rest of us. I've realized that all cats make mistakes in life, some worse than others, but that doesn't give us the right to no longer treat that cat as if they're not worth meaning. If any of you feel like you can't coincide with StarClan cats or Dark Forest cats, then you're welcome to remain here. Because your hate is part of the problem that first go us into this mess."
Not a single cat stirred as Brightstar's words finished echoing around the hollow. The threat of being left behind was not one they were willing to test against the fiery ginger she-cat. No matter their differences with each other they all wanted to survive just like the next cat.
Brightstar swept through the crowd of cats, searching for any cat that looked as if they would object to her ruling. When she saw no one, averting her gaze down from the boulder she was standing on, she then turned her heads towards Lionstar and nodded.
"Alright then," Lionstar raised his voice to get the crowds attention. "Now that that's been taken care of will every cat here form a circle around Leafbreeze," he ordered, laying his tail on the she-cat's shoulder for emphasis. "As you create the circle place your tail on the shoulder of the cat next to you so that we are all connected."
I silently watched the proceedings from there as the horde of cats began to shuffle amongst each other and start to form the outline of a circle around Leafbreeze. There was no grumbling, no arguments, only silent cooperation.
I never thought I'd see the day where StarClan cats were working paw to paw with Dark Forest cats. Truth be told, I never thought I'd actually play a role in saving those same cats I'd done everything in my power to destroy. Change was coming it seemed, and it all started with these two factions coming together to form one.
"We're nearly ready to go," Lionstar called up to Brightstar. "You should join the circle soon. Leafbreeze has already figured out how to channel her spirit into controlling her heart."
Brightstar gave a nod down to Lionstar before hopping off of the boulder. I followed her progress as she made a beeline for the back of the circle.
"I think that's your sign to go," I said softly to Amberheart, rising from my crouched position at the top of the hollow. It was time for me to go as well; there was still the issue of saving the Clans that I needed to take care of.
Amberheart rose alongside me, releasing a soft sigh as she pressed against me. "Every single ounce of my being inside me is screaming right now to tell you not to go," she admitted forlornly. "But I know you'll go anyway because it's the right thing to do, but it doesn't seem fair that even after everything you've been through and done we're still not able to be together. Something has always come between the two of us. And now I'll never see you again."
I closed my eyes, drinking her scent in. "I wish things had been different," I told her softly. "In a different time, different world, maybe we would've been able to live peacefully in love together. I can't change the past though, so I'm only looking to ensure your future. As long as you're safe and away from harm I don't care what happens to me. I can go freely, knowing that the cat I love is happy and safe."
"I love you too, Cloudstorm. I always will," she murmured sorrowfully, quickly touching noses with me before whipping away down into the clearing.
I watched her go, running over to standby Brightstar before placing her tail on the she-cat's shoulder. Feeling a surge grief threatening to overrun me, I turned away, not wishing to see her go gone forever where we'd never meet again.
"Goodbye, Amberheart," I whispered before romping off into the distance without a glance back.
My paws beat rhythmically against the hard ground as I sped on. I was left alone with the dead silence of the barren woodland to contemplate my looming fate. So this was it? Never when I first started this campaign to destroy StarClan would I have ever envisioned things taking the paths that they had.
My name is Cloudstorm and I have done horrible things. In my quest for vengeance I murdered, tortured, and deceived innocent cats. I aligned myself with some of the foulest creatures to ever grace the Clans and delved into the darkest recesses of my heart to become an avenger. I did this all with the hope that one day I would be able to sink my claws into those I felt had scorned me, keeping myself reminded of the one thing in the world that would motivate me to continue going.
I hated StarClan with a burning passion.
The searing pain, the scorching hatred, the burning rage and anger, it was all there. I wanted nothing more than to cause them the same pain and suffering I'd been put through when my mate died. My obsession with ending them became my life, and from there I went on to commit devious acts that would shape the remainder of it.
I became something that haunts me to this day. The moons of hatred had shifted and molded my mind and body into a cat I no longer recognized. I became something that was only meant to be the bane of StarClan's existence, but spiraled out of control to become someone else's pawn for war and destruction. I was supposed to be heartless and uncaring, cold and aloof to the very world around me, the perfect weapon. But something happened along the way that shifted my thoughts, softened the callous wound known as my heart.
I found friends that cared about me.
Who would've ever thought a little kit would be the first cat in moons to make me feel something other than hatred and rage? Cherrypaw was the first cat to reconnect me with my emotions just by using the simple sweet innocence of being a kit. She didn't see me as a code breaker, murderer, or traitor. No, to her I was only Cloudy, the mysterious cat that saved her life and found catmint for her sick mother and Clan. I was brave, she'd said, someone she wanted to grow up to be like.
And then of course there was Goldenshine. I can still remember the first time I met him. His timid, pacifist nature made me wonder what in the world the Dark Forest could ever possibly want with such a scrawny runt. And then I saw him in action, saw exactly what he was capable of, and learned his goal to only help cats in need. Then came the times where I was incapable of saving Cherrypaw or save myself from Rosethorn. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I have never met a more selfless cat in my life.
I was shaken out of my memories as I felt a sudden shift in the air's temperature. It was growing colder, the air having a sharp chill to it as I drew closer. Exhaling deeply, I watched in silent fascination as my breath materialized into the air before evaporating moments later. I was nearing the pool.
Finally, after enduring the trek through desolate woodland in silence, I arrived. Just as the previous time I'd been here, the gray's presence was ever prevalent. I padded slowly into the clearing, my eyes locking on the sickly pale color of the pool.
A vile stench of crowfood and sickness wafted from the water, making me pause on the bank in revulsion. My heart rate had slowly begun to accelerate as I drew closer to my own impending death. I hadn't even stopped to give the idea of ceasing to exist a thought. There would be no afterlife for me, no StarClan or Dark Forest. The only thing that awaited me now was oblivion.
This was it, I thought, taking a deep breath and padding to the edge of the water. I peered briefly into the gloomy water, trying to see if there was a bottom to the pool, but the sheer thickness of the gray prevented me from doing so. This was where the journey ended for me. It was time to go.
Stretching a paw out over the water I began to slowly just dip my paw in when a thud of pawsteps drummed from behind me. I whipped around, my claws unsheathed, not knowing what to expect before lowering them in outright and utter disbelief.
"What are you doing here?"
Amberheart met my stunned gaze evenly, her gaze not wavering in the slightest, as she padded towards me. What I was stupefied, completely stumped. Why? How? There were too many questions that I didn't have the answers to.
"Something occurred to me after you left," Amberheart mewed, drawing closer. "You said that you could die freely, knowing that the cat you love is happy and safe. That got me to thinking just as Leafbreeze was channeling her powers to transport everyone away from here and I realized something important." She came to a stop in front me, her expression blank as looked me firmly in the face before slowly leaning over to press her nose against mine. "The only place where I feel truly happy and safe is by your side, Cloudstorm."
She pulled back, her eyes gleaming with immeasurable depths of love. I was at a loss for words. Amberheart had given up her final chance at possibly finally leaving in peace for me?
"Well, you big furrball say something," Amberheart purred, smiling at the fuddled expression on my face.
I paused for only a second before licking her cheek and pressing against her body, getting her as virtually close as I could to me. "I couldn't ask for a better way to go than with the cat I love," I purred lovingly, completely numb to the cold of her body. I didn't care, Amberheart was here. She'd made her choice and decided to choose me over an eternity of paradise.
"I'm here with you, Cloudstorm," she said warmly, making my heart leap for joy. "I'll be by your side to the end. This time we're leaving out together."
I entwined my tail with Amberheart, and together we slowly started padding into the waters of the pool. I felt my skin began to tingle as we drew deeper and deeper into the waters. The tingle wasn't painful, but neither was it enjoyable either. No, it was somewhere in between, like a mixture of the good and the bad being brought together to form a balance of feeling.
I pressed against Amberheart, our tails still tightly entwined, as now only our heads remained above the water. We stared at each other, amber meeting amber, our eyes interlocking as the passion from our gazes combined to form the undying strength that was our love.
"Are you ready?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper yet somehow emitting the full volume of the depths of her love for me.
I smiled, taking in her beautiful face for the final time. "As long as you're here with me I'm ready for anything."
Water came rushing over our heads as we plunged under into the depths below, disappearing from sight with each other's tail clasped tightly in the other's grasp.
A/N: If you've made it this far then let me be the first person to congratulate you. It's been a long road and I'd just like to take this time to open up and send a big thank you out to all of you. YOU GUYS HAVE ALL BEEN AWESOME! This thank you is for every single read, review, alert, and favorite that I have ever received for this story. I'd especially like to thank those who've stayed with this story since its inception back in May of last year.
A year ago when I first started this story, I never knew or expected it to take off the way it did, shattering every single goal I ever put down for myself. And for that I must thank you, the reader, for helping me accomplish those feats time after time again. You guys are simply amazing.
Thanks for putting up with the sometimes ridiculously long waits between chapters, my weird ideas, and for having the stomach to wade through this 80K+ beast. It's certainly been exhausting to write.
This isn't quite the end of the story just yet, though. There's still one chapter left, the epilogue, which needs to be put out before this story can officially be declared finished. So while I work on getting that out to you, I only ask for one thing in return. REVIEW!
It can be comprised of anything you want really. Something you liked, didn't like, scenes you enjoyed, stuff you thought did or didn't work, that kind of stuff. As a writer I really need to improve and with your opinions I can set myself on the right path to becoming better.
Once again, thank you all for the support and continued readership! The epilogue is coming soon so sit tight.
-Lightning
