AN: *A wild Hunter appears* Surprise! I felt a sudden inspiration boost and wrote this chapter in about 2 hours. With a few breaks in between. I hope you like it. Oh and I changed Fallingfeather's appearence in this chapter so I will update the allegiances with that change. And I also added something new to the plot that might help the Games become more bloodthirsty and action-packed.

Enjoy.

Chapter 16: Broken Boundaries

Heavy rain had fallen over the world created for the Games, plunging the dark pine forest into a fake picture of perfection. The branches dripped with clear water that could only come from clouds untouched by the ever growing disease that was the Dark Forest.

A sweet smelling breeze worked its way through the thick forest, sweeping in and out of the many holes that littered the ground. One would only assume that those holes were the home of torturous traps laid out by the paws of the High Stars and their minions.

But that was not entirely true.

In one of these holes lay two cats, curled up around each other in an effort to warm their cold pelts. Their fur was fluffed up to ward off any chilling winds that slid down from the mountains that loomed in the distance like a sleeping giant. The tops of the mountains were tainted with bright, white snow that glimmered like a beacon of life to those locked in the forest prison. Not even a pretty butterfly called the forest home. No flowers bloomed. It was as if all life had been sucked from the forest and used to create a place of nightmares for those chosen to participate in the Games.

It was this dark place that Berrypaw opened her eyes too and she half wished that she hadn't. Then she looked down at the cat curled around her and all her misgivings off waking up vanished into the breeze. A smile curled at her muzzle and reached all the way to her eyes as she stared down at the sleeping form of Screech. He looked so innocent in the pale stripes of dawn that had found their way into the small den, too innocent for a cat condemned to death. The thought put a sour face on Berrypaw but she pushed it away when Screech stirred and yawned loudly. He blinked sleep from his eyes and then looked up at Berrypaw. When her eyes met his Berrypaw felt a spark of energy flicker through her and ignite something hidden within her heart.

"Good morning, beautiful," he purred, voice husky with sleep.

Berrypaw nuzzled his neck, a purr rumbling in her throat. "Morning," she replied. Her eyes drifted from Screech's face to the entrance of the den that was lit up with the pale dawn light. "We are going to have to leave soon. I don't want to run into someone like Badgerstrike or Sinkingsun."

Screech nodded silently and uncurled himself from Berrypaw with a small sigh. He raised his nose and inhaled. The smell of rain overpowered and hid any other scents behind it. The tom curled his lip in annoyance when he realised that they would be stumbling through the forest without being able to smell anything. They'd only have their eyes and the vibrations that ran wild through the ground to help them. It was a frightening thought and one that Screech did not want to venture to far into.

"I don't like the feeling in the air," Screech muttered. He felt a strange foreboding feeling, like something was going to happen today. It made the fur on his neck stand up.

Berrypaw looked at him with confusion shining in her eyes, "What makes you say that?"

He shrugged. "Just a feeling. Come on. Let's get moving." He licked her muzzle and then pushed gently past her and into the dawning morning.

Berrypaw looked doubtfully after him, a bit concerned that Screech was ill. She had never seen him so quiet before, nor had he woken up and not complained that he was hungry. The red patched she-cat smiled as she recalled the few mornings they had together in the Dark Forest where they had spent every second of the day with each other and not had to worry about their throats being slit whilst they slept. She shuddered at the thought of waking up and finding Screech dead.

His voice reached her ears from the forest beyond the den they had slept in and she pushed the dark thoughts away before padding outside to meet him. She regretted it almost immediately. A chilling wind rushed through the trees, chilling her to the very bone and the sounds of screeching creatures filled the sky. Berrypaw's eyes flashed from side to side as she tried to find what strange animals were making the ear splitting sounds but all she could see was bushes of gorse and brambles as well as the tall pine trees that spread out their branches to create a seemingly impenetrable wall of green.

"Berrypaw? Are you okay?" The sound of Screech's voice beside her ear relaxed Berrypaw, but only slightly. Her fur still prickled every time a screech echoed throughout the forest. "Beautiful?"

"What? Yes I'm fine. Just the shrieks are..creepy." Screech nodded in agreement but said no more. Instead he began padding off into the mist that had started growing. The mist glowed an eerie light and Berrypaw felt the fur on the back of her neck rise when she padded into it.

Within heartbeats the mist had swallowed both cats whole and hidden them from the eyes of the Clans as they watched the two apprentices through the black screen of swirling mist. Berrypaw bushed her tail up to twice its size as she stalked stiffly after Screech. She could only just barely see his black silhouette through the thick mist and the thought that she might get lost in the mist terrified her. A strange smell reached her nose, one that she was certain she had smelt before, but she just couldn't place a paw on what it was. "Screech," she called, ears pricking to hear his answer, which was strangely faint. "Can you smell that?"

"Smell what?" came his faint reply. "All I smell is rain!"

Berrypaw wrinkled her nose as another blast of the strange smell filtered down her neck and entered her lungs. A harsh cough rose up from her chest and she began to hack and cough loudly, a choking sound vibrating in her throat. "Berrypaw!?" Screech's frantic voice echoed throughout the mist. "Where are you!?

He dashed back to where he assumed Berrypaw was only to find the place empty. Her hacking sounds filled his ears and chilled him to the bone. The thought of the cat he loved choking to death because he had not listened to her fears earlier. "Berrypaw!?"

A deep rumbling sound boomed through the mist and made the apprentice cringe as it echoed in his ears, deafening him for a few moments. His fear for Berrypaw grew worse by the second and only heightened when a screech shot through the mist. Now that he was concentrating he could smell the odd smell Berrypaw had told him about. His body grew cold as he recognised the putrid smell as a kind of smoke. And to have smoke you need fire.

By now he was beyond frantic. All he could think about was never finding Berrypaw.

A loud roar sounded nearby, followed by a scream of fear that Screech knew was Berrypaw's. "I'm coming!" he screeched to the mist. "I'll find you, I promise!" There was a scraping noise that sounded like something being dragged across grass. It sounded like whatever was being dragged was bigger than a cat but Screech had learned from experience that sounds could be deceiving. His eyes flashed from side to side as he searched for any sign of Berrypaw. The dragging sound became increasingly closer until a huge scaly thing appeared from the mist and knocked Screech off his paws.

Another roar clashed in the sky and deep red eyes glinted in the darkness. Screech stared up at the eyes that hovered so many tail lengths above his head and felt fear set into his bones. No! he told himself fiercely, I will not give in!

The eyes blinked once and then a humongous, scaly, hideous face appeared from the mist. Hundreds of jagged, sharp teeth lined a muzzle that was littered with numerous scars. Bat like wings stretched out behind the creature's back and vanished into the mist above it.

Screech bit back his shriek of fear as the creature made a terrifying noise. "Welcome to my dominion, competitor." Its voice was thin and scratchy, probably warn down from the many seasons of breathing in the toxic smoke. "I am Night of Rising Fury and the Harbinger of Destruction for the Misty Vale you have found yourself in."

"There are more of you?" Screech said in awe. For a few moments he forgot his fear as he stared up at the mighty creature that proclaimed his destruction.

It nodded its scaly head slightly. "But none will look the same as me. You see, there is a way to bypass killing every cat to win the Games. If you kill every Harbinger of Destruction then you win. There is a reason the Games are called that and not just the Game. Each Harbinger comes with a different set of challenges."

Screech felt his mouth run dry. "I'd have to kill you?" A small squeak entered his voice at the thought of having to slay the monstrous beast that lay half hidden by the smoky mist. Then his mind returned and he remembered the real reason he had run into Night of Rising Fury. "Where is Berrypaw!?"

The creature blinked before a knowing look entered its eyes and cruel smile curled its muzzle. It shifted one of its wings to reveal something to Screech.

What Screech saw made his world fall away.

-000-

Tornshadow stared at the shadowy cat with wide eyes. "Were you the one speaking to me?" she asked, shrinking back as the cat drew closer. It blinked its blood red eyes at Tornshadow.

"Yes." Tornshadow flinched as she realised the voice was female. A pretty female at that. The stranger reminded her faintly of Fallingfeather. It sounded like they shared the same voice. Their fur colour was beyond different. The stranger standing before her had fur blacker than the night whilst Fallingfeather was a pretty silver tabby. Tornshadow scrunched her eyes shut as a vision of Cloudingsky and Fallingfeather sitting close together, their pelts rubbing against each other.

The stranger took another step forwards, eyes glinting with hunger as she stared at Tornshadow's pain. "You want more. You wish to look like her. You want to be like her. I can help you become so much more. But only if you give me two things in return."

Wonder filled Tornshadow as her vision changed. It still looked like Fallingfeather and Cloudingsky, but the silver tabby had her green eyes. Tornshadow longed for the vision to be true. But she was stuck with an odd, ugly pelt and plain green eyes instead of a sleek silver body and sparkling blue eyes. She opened her eyes and bit back a whimper. The she-cat had been spot on. She wanted to be Fallingfeather so much! She just hadn't realised it till now. "W-What would those two things be?" Tornshadow asked, a hint of her old stutter creeping into her mew.

An odd look passed over the she-cats face before she pushed it away. "Your undying loyalty to me no matter what happens. And a blood oath."

"Blood oath? Undying loyalty?" Tornshadow repeated. "How can I trust you?"

"I promise you that your life will become so much better after I have finished here," the she-cat murmured as she drew closer. She was within whisker lengths of touching Tornshadow's nose and close enough for the RisingClan apprentice to see shadows leaking from her fur. She drew back until her hind legs bumped into a tree.

She blinked her green eyes to steady herself and then met the blood red eyes of the stranger, "You promise?"

"With my life," was the stranger's response.

Tornshadow took a deep breath and made her decision. She wanted her life to get better so much that it hurt. Leaving CedarClan had only been the start. But now it was all falling into place. She had been destined to meet this she-cat and help her complete her goals. The Dark Forest must have sent her to save the Clans from some dark thing that was bound to happen in the future. "I will swear my undying loyalty to you and take a blood oath." Her breath whistled from her throat as she finished the words that sealed her fate.

The she-cat smiled a genuine smile and reached over so that her nose touched Tornshadow's. "Repeat after me," she purred. "For life, for death, for eternal sacrifice and damnation."

"For life, for death, for eternal sacrifice and damnation." The words felt strange on Tornshadow's tongue, like something was telling her she shouldn't be saying them.

"I pledge my allegiance to the cat with no name, so that when the time arrives I will stay by her side and kill all that dare defy her."

Tornshadow's eyes widened but her mouth kept moving and the words spilt out. "I pledge my allegiance to the cat with no name, so that when the time arrives I will stay by her side and kill all that dare defy her."

The she-cat withdrew her nose, lifted her paw and slashed a single claw across Tornshadow's nose. She flinched back with a gasp and blinked sharply a few times as a sting developed on the nose. Whilst she had been staring at her muzzle, she failed to see the she-cat slash her own nose. It wasn't until the stranger pressed their cuts together that Tornshadow realised the deed was done. She had completed the blood oath and pledged her allegiance to a cat she did not even know. "It is done," the black she-cat murmured and backed away, her fur melting into the growing shadows.

"Wait!" Tornshadow called. "You said you were the cat with no name. How can a cat not have a name?"

The she-cat paused in her retreat and turned her red gaze onto Tornshadow. "I have never had a need for a name. But perhaps the time has come to have one. I am Crimson. Like the colour of my eyes and the colour of the blood I have spilt. You have another question, I can see it in your eyes."

Crimson. Tornshadow felt a smile grace her muzzle. It suited the mysterious she-cat. "Yes. What was the shattering sound I heard before I saw you?"

A dark smile spread across Crimson's muzzle. "Boundaries breaking." Then she was gone.

AN: I have a question for you guys. Do you think the chapters are too short? Or should they be longer? This one was about 2,400 long.

Oh and Wildy, I totally didn't steal Crimson's name off you ;D. I actually didn't. I'd planned for her name to be something like that all along.