Hi everyone! I'm really sorry that this took so long--I just got really greedy after getting so many reviews, and I kept thinking, 'I'll just wait for a few more before I upload the next chapter'. After four days of checking the web page and having the same number of reviews, I got so disappointed that I didn't want anything to do with this story for a while ^^' I'm really sorry about that! Thanks to all the people that have reviewed so far! You guys are my heroes! I don't like this chapter very much simply because I wrote it over the course of four days instead of sitting down to write it all at once like I usually do. There are probably a ton of errors (which makes me feel so much like Erin Hunter, who seemingly doesn't edit or even re-read anything she/he/them writes). Plz enjoy and please R&R!

Chapter Eight

It didn't take the Clan long to figure out what Sandstone had done just before Skyeyes left. The fact that he came back to camp disheveled, out of breath, and yet somewhat happy all at once gave it away. He bore the satisfied smile of someone who'd accomplished something great. All the glory of his revelation faded with the sun. The second it grew dark, Sandstone plastered his eyes to the tree line, searching for any sign of the dawn, and with it, his love. He hadn't been at it long when the rest of the Clan decided to go in for the night, leaving him along to sit his vigil. In a way, he found it to be quite fitting. Had his warrior ceremony fallen on a normal day, he'd be sitting vigil anyway.

Were this a normal day, Skyeyes would be sitting right there next to him.

He gave the empty place to his right a solemn look. How he wished she were there. How he wished he could shower her with love and make her his. He was so afraid for her despite his confident attitude. Truth be told, he was just pessimistic enough to not put all his hopes into Skyeyes surviving. He didn't want to doubt her, yet he didn't want to believe it. He told himself that believing it would only bring her death in the end. It reminded him of his father, whom he'd sworn up and down would come back to him that day of the battle with WindClan. While he did return, he didn't do it on his own power.

Sandstone heaved a sigh and shut his eyes. Please, StarClan, he thought, if you're there and if you care for ThunderClan…if you care for me in the least bit…please bring Skyeyes back to us.

"She must be on your mind."

The tawny tom jumped at the sound of his friend's voice. He whipped his head about to see Nightpaw, who curled his tail in amusement. "Don't worry," he chuckled. "I'm not going to tackle you like Kestrelwing." Upon hearing about Sandstone new 'relationship', Kestrelwing had bowled the young warrior over; congratulating him while Sandstone writhed underneath the large tom's paws. He'd nearly dislocated Sandstone's shoulder. "I'm just a bit worried."

Sandstone shrugged. When he tried to speak, Sandstone stopped himself.

"It's okay," Nightpaw said. "It's not a real vigil, so we can talk."

He nodded. "Thanks," Sandstone mumbled, "for coming over."

The black tom shrugged. "I'm as worried about her as you are," he replied. "Besides. You haven't slept at all in the past two days. Frankly, you look terrible." Sandstone snorted with a faint smile. "No, really, you do. Were Leopardclaw here, he'd tell you it was good for you, and if you refused, he'd force you." Nightpaw laughed. "I'm not Leopardclaw, but I can just as easily shove poppy seeds down your throat."

Sandstone shook his head with a purr. "No thank you," he laughed. "I'm fine. I'm not tired at all."

"So you say," mumbled Nightpaw, "but your body says something different. Sandstone, you staggered into camp, and I'm not going to believe that it was due to your 'excitement' over confessing to Skyeyes. You're exhausted, and you keeling over isn't going to help her any." The tom's brown eyes grew serious. "You know I'd wake you if she came back, right?"

The new warrior nodded. "I know, I know. I trust you."

"Then go get some sleep," Nightpaw replied. "It's not healthy."

Sandstone purred as he stood and stretched. "You know, you'd make a fair medicine cat one day."

Nightpaw snorted as if he'd suggested he join ShadowClan. "Oh yeah, and do you want me to peel off my claws one by one? No thank you. I want to be a warrior and make ThunderClan proud."

"But Leopardclaw's gotten a bit grey around the muzzle," Sandstone went on. "He could use someone sharp like you to help him every once in a while."

"I'm a warrior and I'm staying one," Nightpaw said with diction. "I'm not changing my mind."

"Fine, okay," chuckled Sandstone. "I'm going to…" He trailed off when he glimpsed the warriors' den. He felt his muscles relaxing. That's my den now. "I'm going to go sleep."

"Don't bother in there," Nightpaw laughed. "Kestrelwing is snoring again. Just go sleep in Leopardclaw's den. It's not like he'll mind."

Sandstone smiled and dipped his head to his friend. "Thanks a lot, Nightpaw."

Nightpaw shrugged. "Think of it this way—one day, you're going to owe me. I won't say when or even what you'll have to do. But one day I'll ask for the favor in return, and you won't be able to say no."

The tawny tom cocked his head. "That sounds like a threat."

"It's not meant to," chuckled Nightpaw. He waved it away with his tail. "Never mind, never mind. Go get some sleep." The black tom turned his attention back towards the front of the camp. "I'll keep my eyes on things. I'll tell you if anything turns up."

Sandstone smiled. "Goodnight, Nightpaw."

"Goodnight."

With a yawn, Sandstone ambled into the medicine cat's den, his limbs like water. He slumped into the nearest den he could find. He hadn't realized how tired he was. Sandstone curled up in a ball and covered his nose with the tip of his tail.

StarClan, he prayed, you told Leopardclaw that I had a bright future ahead of me. None of that will matter if you take Skyeyes from me. You know that. She's everything to me and…I love her. Please bring her back to me.

"Please…" he whispered into the night air as sleep overtook him.

---

Part of Skyeyes wanted to run. The other part knew she had this coming. He sister—no, could this thing even be thought of as her sister?—came nearer. Every instinct in her told her to run, but her paws were glued to the ground. The fake came closer and raised a paw as Dawnpaw had done only a day before. Her cheek strung at the thought of her claws tearing right through her flesh.

Don't worry, she told herself with a morbid grin. I'm pretty sure that's not where she's aiming.

"Isn't this a pretty picture?" she purred. "Two sisters: both alike in so many ways and yet so different all at once."

"You're not my sister," hissed Skyeyes. "You're just a Dark Forest trick."

The she-cat recoiled like she'd been hit. "You wound me!" she cried. "Here I am, visiting my darling sister in death, and you do nothing but mock me? I'm wounded, Skyeyes, wounded."

Skyeyes stole a glance at her comrades. Nightstorm was pressed against a wall by her kits. Wolfpelt was plastered to the cave floor, bowing beneath the she-cat. She seemed to be ablaze: her fur casting off an orange glow like fire that cast unforgiving light on Wolfpelt's solemn face.

"You were always jealous of me, weren't you?" the fake went on. "You corpulent little witch. All the things I had in life you wanted. You wanted my hunting skills—"

"My hunting skills!" Skyeyes snapped back. "You always stole my prey!"

"You wanted my beauty—"

"We look the same!"

"You wanted my mate—"

"I hate that cowardly piece of fox-dung!"

"And lastly, you wanted my life. You wanted to steal the breath from my body, didn't you? Well, you've gotten your wish." The fake weaved her body around Skyeyes, who was helpless against her advances. It was one thing to see your twin, your own image, turn their claws against you and yet another thing to see your dead twin with hate in their eyes. The fake let out a wicked laugh. "Oh look at you shiver." She traced Skyeyes' wound with her tail tip. "Did the bats give you this? How awful."

Skyeyes didn't have any time to dodge before the fake's claws sliced right through her fur. With a yowl, she toppled over onto one side with the fake on her belly. She struggled and kicked up with all her might, but her twin held her fast to the ground, clawing her way up towards her throat.

"You said you wanted to fight, didn't you?!" Dawnpaw howled. "You said you'd fight to the death!" She knocked Skyeyes upside the head, and everything became blurry for several heartbeats. The fake locked her claws right into Skyeyes' shoulders and slammed her into the ground. "Here I am! Get up and fight, oh noble warrior of ThunderClan!"

Skyeyes choked back a fearful scream. She batted her back legs feebly against her attacker, but her blows had no effect. She writhed and tried to free herself, but the more she struggled, the larger the pool of blood around her head grew. She felt her limbs going numb. She felt her body growing still, quiet. She wanted to shut her eyes and drift away. So much for the prophecy. So much for anything. She just wanted to rest…

The fake hooked her claws under Skyeyes' left eye and drew her face closer. "Oh you can't go dying just yet," she purred. "I've got to get those pretty eyes of yours out of your head before you ruin them." She let Skyeyes' head crash back down and poised her claw right over her eye. "Don't blink."

The fake let out a high-pitched battle cry and was about to strike when something crashed into the side of her. Another blur scooped the dazed warrior up, and everything went blank for several minutes, during which she stared at what appeared to be the underside of an unusually large cat. Then her savior moved away, and Skyeyes saw double—literally.

"What…what's going on?" she mumbled as the cat that knocked her down eased her onto her feet. She looked over at him and scanned his face. He looked somewhat familiar, what with his firm, handsome face, muscular frame, and bright amber eyes. The most distinctive feature on him was a line of black spots that ran down his spine. She knew only one other cat that had that marking. He chuckled at her less than conspicuous assessment of him.

"I don't think you'll remember me," he chuckled. "My name is Hawkwing. I'm Sandstone's father."

"Sandstone's father," Skyeyes echoed. "Then that means…" Her eyes trailed over to where the two Dawnpaws were wrestling. The lighter of the two, the one that saved Skyeyes from being blinded, pinned the fake to the ground with a shriek. She lifted a paw and quickly sliced through the fake's throat. She coughed and twitched in her death throws before the fake lay still. "StarClan have come to help us," Skyeyes murmured. "You're here to help."

Hawkwing nodded. "Yes." He lifted his head to speak to his fellow StarClan member. "Have you finished up already?" he called.

Skyeyes turned to see her sister straightening. She wiped her mouth and dipped her head. "Yes, Hawkwing," she replied. She walked right past Skyeyes without acknowledging her and stood beside the tawny tom.

Hawkwing laid his tail across her shoulders. "She's never had proper mentoring," he teased, shooting her a sly grin. "So I've taken her under my wing—er, that wasn't meant to be a pun."

The tawny tom let out a hearty laugh as the two she-cats turned on one another. Dawnpaw looked guiltily away as angry boiled up in Skyeyes' face. "How could you do this to me?" Skyeyes hissed. "I'm sure you thought that this whole Selection business was below your high and mighty-ness, but how could you let this happen?"

Dawnpaw shuffled her feet. "I was scared, okay?" she mumbled. "I didn't want to do it. I left Owlmoon that morning thinking that I'd run away. I wanted to go so far away that no one would recognize me anymore, but then I saw the berries. I thought about killing myself just briefly. I didn't seriously consider it. I was about to run away when all of a sudden I realized I'd already eaten one. I don't know what came over me. Then I ate a second one. Then a third. My limbs started to seize up, and I couldn't run anymore. Then I…" She shrugged. "Then I died."

"I don't think I can ever forgive you," Skyeyes growled. "Not for stealing everything that was mine all my life, not for wounding me for just wanting to help you, and not for pulling my life right out from under me! I won't forgive you!"

Dawnpaw nodded. "I know. And I don't blame you. Not one bit. Just…just tell Mother that I'm sorry, okay? And tell Owlmoon to forget me. There are plenty of other she-cats in the forest."

Skyeyes suddenly remembered her friends and whipped her head around. "Don't worry about them," Hawkwing told her. "Our other warriors are finishing up right about now." Skyeyes saw a black tom chasing off the two fakes that attacked Nightstorm. She saw a shimmering white figure spitting at the apprentice that cornered Rowanheart. And lastly, a black-and-white tom pursued Wolfpelt's temptress as the SkyClan tom rose to his feet. The cats then turned to bid fairwell to the living. "That's all we can do for you right now," Hawkwing said. "We'll be watching you in the future. There's going to be a bit of a clash soon, so don't worry if the walls start to shake. That'll be us winning." He let out a purr and turned to his new apprentice. "You go on ahead."

Dawnpaw dipped her head. "Yes, Hawkwing," she mowed. She turned her eyes on Skyeyes and then looked away. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "Really, I am."

Before Skyeyes could respond, she bounded off, the other cats leaving with her. The living were slowly recovering from their ordeals. Out of them all, Wolfpelt looked the worst. He had a horrified expressed on his face and wide eyes that didn't relax even after Nightstorm touched her tail tip to his shoulder. He only stared at her silently.

"Skyeyes," Hawkwing said. She turned back to him. "I want to give you something."

"What?"

"A gift." The tawny warrior leaned forward and touched his nose gently to hers. She felt something coursing through her and gave a squeak of surprise, which the warrior laughed at. He backed away. "I'm giving you the gift to seek our advice," Hawkwing purred. "You can call on us at any time. You need only call us by name."

"Us?" Skyeyes echoed.

"StarClan. We're here for you, Skyeyes. We're fighting for you."

The tom stepped away and pelted after the StarClan warriors that had almost completely disappeared. The four of them vanished through the walls of the cave. Skyeyes slumped down onto her belly. She felt so exhausted, and the wounds on her shoulders and belly stung like fire. She heard pawsteps and looked up to see Rowanheart hurrying over. He bent over her, and she saw blood running down the side of his throat. It looked like the apprentice that cornered him had gotten his teeth into him but not deep enough to do much damage.

"Are you okay?" Rowanheart breathed.

She nodded. "I'm fine," she replied. She tried to stand to prove it. "I'm—"

Pain spiked in her leg, and she toppled back onto the ground. This time, when she looked up, she saw Wolfpelt and Nightstorm over her. "I'm okay," she repeated. "Really."

"I can carry her," Nightstorm said.

"No, your shoulder is torn," Rowanheart replied. "Wolfpelt, you do it." His eyes narrowed. Wolfpelt's eyes were locked on something so far away that it seemed unreal. He looked like he was somewhere else. "Wolfpelt?"

The SkyClan tom flinched. "Oh, yeah, uh, sure."

"I'm fine!" Skyeyes insisted. She tried to stand again, and this time, she managed to balance on shaky legs. "See? Let's keep moving. StarClan are doing their part, and we've got to do ours. We have to get to the exit before dawn." She shuffled her feet. "And I need your help. All of your help. I'm not strong enough to do it on my own."

"We're here," murmured Nightstorm as she rubbed her cheek against Skyeyes'. The ThunderClan she-cat flinched: she wasn't expecting such a blatant show of affection. "We're going to get you there no matter what. Duskpelt made me swear it."

"W-W-We should be gettin' outta here," murmured Wolfpelt. Skyeyes noticed his legs were shaking. "There ain't nothin' left. We gotta keep goin'. W-W-We gotta move on."

"He's right." Skyeyes felt her face go hot when Rowanheart brushed against her. He stood beside her with his shoulder against hers. "I'll stay here to help you keep your balance," he whispered. "Wolfpelt, you lead the way."

The SkyClan tom nodded absentmindedly. "Sure, okay." He started off into the darkness, but a loud hiss from Nightstorm stopped him. Skyeyes looked up from her paws.

"Wolfpelt," she growled. "That's the way we came."

Blinking, Wolfpelt looked from her to the darkness. He frowned and nodded. "Ye-Yeah, so it is." He walked past them with his tail dragging through the dust. As he past Nightstorm, she swatted him over the head. He spit in surprise and leapt back. "What are you doin'?!" he hissed. "What was that for?!"

"What in StarClan's name is wrong with you?!" she shouted. "You're going to lead us all to our deaths if you stagger through the darkness like that! Maybe you're ready to roll over and die, but I won't let you take the rest of us down with you!" Nightstorm lunged for him, but Wolfpelt dodged. "Well?!" she shouted. "Spit it out!"

Wolfpelt froze. Mouth agape, he scanned the lot of them with wide eyes before his face fell. Skyeyes found herself sitting. Standing for so long was getting exhausting. When she looked down, she saw a pool of blood slowly forming at her feet. She swore under her breath and hoped no cat saw.

"I-I-I don't have a sob story," Wolfpelt mumbled. "There's nothin' wrong."

"Fox-dung," hissed Nightstorm. "Say it."

"There ain't nothin' wrong with me!" he spat. "It's nothin'! I'm just…I'm just surprised, alright! Weren't ya'll surprised when all of a sudden some dead cats appeared out of nowhere? I never thought…" He drifted off with a blank expression. "I never thought I'd see Ruefur again, even if it…wasn't her." Wolfpelt snorted loudly. "Hmph. I loved her, if ya'll didn't figure. I, uh…I was poison for 'er though. Yellowstripe told me so every damned day. Can't even count the times she tole' me to stay the hell away from her sister. But I was…determined. Ruefur was everything to me, but I…I was the opposite of her. All I ever did was crush her dreams. She wanted kits, I didn't. She wanted me to stay in camp more, spend more time with her, but I wanted to work towards being deputy. And when the fire swept through the camp, she…she wanted to go in and save the elders, and I didn't. I was already carrying one of Petalpelt's kits, and I tole' her there wasn't enough time, and that we should just give up. She wouldn't take that as an answer."

Wolfpelt's shoulders slumped. He cracked a small smile. "There. That's my tear-jerker of a sob story. I lost the mate I didn't deserve. And I-I-I know it was my fault. I kept runnin' that night…without even lookin' around to see she'd already gone. I only realized what'd really happened when Nettlewhisker tole' us he found five bodies instead of four. Then I…did the math and…well, I reckoned what'd happened." He laughed dryly. He met Nightstorm's eyes. "Happy? You glad that I…" He trailed off and cocked his head. "Hey, are yew cryin'?"

Nightstorm sniffed loudly and shouldered past him. "I'll lead the way, thank you," she growled, but when she turned to look at Rowanheart and Skyeyes, Skyeyes saw tears on her cheeks. "Let's go."

Rowanheart helped Skyeyes to her feet. She watched Nightstorm's outline disappear into the shadows, followed by Wolfpelt. She and Rowanheart were lagging far behind.

"It's okay," he whispered. "We'll get there, Skyeyes. I promise."

Skyeyes gasped. "How did—"

"Shh," Rowanheart purred. "It's okay. Frostpelt told me. She insisted that I not be mad at you." For a brief instant, the smile on his face vanished and was replaced by a stern look. Skyeyes looked away. "I wanted to believe that you were the one to end this curse forever," he mumbled. "I kept thinking that even if I died, you'd save my mother and Koipaw from ever having to go through this torture. Hearing that you're not…that your sister was…it's…" He shook his head. "It's hard, but I understand. It must've been painful for you to go in her place."

"Yes," Skyeyes murmured. "I-I-It was."

"I won't tell the others," he went on. "It doesn't seem like their saviors revealed your secret, so I'll keep them in the dark. It'll give them…hope."

Skyeyes feigned a smile. "Thank you, Rowanheart."

"Hurry up, ya'll!"

Skyeyes saw the hazy outlines of Wolfpelt and Nightstorm waiting for them up ahead. "We'll never get there before dawn at this pace!" Nightstorm shouted. "Let's go!"

It was one thing to lie to the Dark Forest. It was another to lie to these cats. Skyeyes lowered her eyes and felt her body rocking back and forth with waves of guilt.

"Skyeyes?" Rowanheart asked. "Are you okay? You're…you're staggering."

The blue-gray she-cat nodded weakly. "I'm—"

The last thing she remembered seeing was Rowanheart's scared face before her eyes rolled into her head and she hit the ground.

So my question to ya'll this time is which ancient cats would you like to see in the battle between StarClan and the Dark Forest that's happening next chapter? Which cats do you want to see giving Skyeyes advice? Anyone? Bueller? I'll shut up now.