Well, well. We meet again. So soon?

Haha, now that I'm done being weird, I give you chapter eleven! This one is kinda slow too. I'm building up until the next chapter, which should be the last before an epilogue to wrap things up. It's almost over, guys! You won't have to deal with my strangeness for much longer. This is one of the shorter chapters, and I'm sorry about that. I just didn't want to drag this scene out any more than I already have. Plz enjoy! And please leave a comment, even if you hated it! Speaking of hatred: I changed part of the last chapter. For those of you that have read it, the conversation that Skyeyes and Nightstorm have will make a bit more since. For those of you that didn't...it won't. I'm just hinting at it instead of writing out right.

Chapter Eleven

"Nightstorm?" Skyeyes murmured. A cloud of breath hung about her face. The further they trekked, the colder the cave grew. Skyeyes lamented over her thin pelt. She sat alone, a few tail-lengths from where Rowanheart lay, asleep. She craned her head about to look at him. His flanks were hardly rising and falling. The injuries he received during the battle with the Dark Forest were crippling. He limped along as best as he could, but eventually his feet fell out from under him. He insisted that Skyeyes go on without him, but how could she? He was all she had left. Though Elmwhisker told her to stand on her own, she knew she needed a strong shoulder to lean on. She missed Nightstorm. She missed the way she reminded her of her mother, and she missed the way she kept Skyeyes in high spirits, even in this despicable place. Skyeyes slowed dragged her head back. She stared straight at a lone red flower that jetted from the wall. Seeing it reminded her of Wolfpelt, whom she missed too, despite her best efforts. He died to save her. No one ever sacrificed so much for her before. She thought briefly of asking him for advice. Maybe he'd have something insightful to stay for once. But she wasn't in the mood to decipher his speech. She sighed and flattened her ears. "Nightstorm?" she breathed again. "I want to…I mean, can I…talk to you?"

Instantly, a warm feeling crept up Skyeyes' side. She recognized the sensation she felt as a cat rubbing against her. She tried to search for Nightstorm, but she couldn't see her. Nightstorm let out a rumbling purr.

"I'm here," she whispered. Skyeyes watched in awe as small, glowing flecks of light fluttered in front of her until they took shape, forming the familiar curves and lines of the black she-cat. Those bright yellow eyes opened in the darkness. Nightstorm smiled. "It's 'I need to speak with you', actually," the she-cat purred.

"What is?"

"The summon. When you need to talk to someone, take me for example, you say, 'Nightstorm, I need to speak with you'." Her whiskers twitched. "Did Hawkwing tell you anything?"

Skyeyes shook her head. "No. He didn't have much time."

"It's okay. We're all a bit iffy about this. We've never given a cat this kind of power before." Nightstorm purred and shut her eyes. Her smile grew wider. "It's so strange," she purred. "All my life, I've heard and said, 'StarClan will' and 'StarClan have'. But now it's 'we'…" She trailed off with a flick of her tail. "I'm part of a much bigger Clan than I ever imagined."

"I'm happy for you," Skyeyes replied. "Did you find your children?"

"Oh yes. They're fine. But never mind that, sweetheart. You called me for something, didn't you? Something must be on your mind?"

Skyeyes nodded slowly. She turned her eyes to Rowanheart with a frown. "I don't want him to die," she murmured. "Can't I take him with me? Can't I take him back to his sister? He's got a life outside these walls, and he doesn't deserve to die like this."

Nightstorm's smile faded. "I'm sorry, Skyeyes, but he can't go with you," she replied. "He doesn't have enough strength. I think the best thing for you would be to leave him here. Let him go peacefully in his sleep. We'll welcome him with open arms like the hero that he is."

"But I can't do it on my own!" Skyeyes shouted. "I can't! Elmwhisker said I needed to be strong, but I can't do it! I'm scared, Nightstorm! I'm so scared, and he makes me feel braver. He makes me feel like I have someone I can rely on." She let out a low growl. "And who is Elmwhisker to tell me those kinds of things?" she growled. "I've never heard of him! He died before I was born!"

Nightstorm's long tail rested on her shoulders. "Skyeyes," she whispered. "He's your father."

"H-H-He's m-my…wh-what?" she stammered.

"Your father," Nightstorm repeated. "He died when you were young a kit. He regretted not having the chance to be there when you and your sister grew up. He watched over the two of you from StarClan. When you were chosen, the five leaders came together and decided that you needed a guide to help push you onwards when times were tough. He volunteered gladly, and of course they agreed. Why would they keep a tom from his daughter? He's with you, even now. He decided to follow you instead of fighting. Can't you be even the least bit grateful to him?"

"He's my father," Skyeyes whispered to herself. Bluestorm never told them much about their father. She hinted a few times that he had been a powerful warrior, and that he had served as Clan deputy at one point in his life. She never gave him a name. "Why didn't he just tell me that?"

"He tried," Nightstorm replied. "You were unresponsive."

"Then he's with me…even now?"

"Yes," she murmured. "So you don't need Rowanheart. You have your father. In fact, we're all with you. All of StarClan is supporting you."

"Did you win the battle?"

"It's not over yet."

Skyeyes hung her head. "I'm so tired, Nightstorm," she whispered. "I couldn't sleep. I kept pacing. I kept thinking about Rowanheart dying, and about what…" She trailed off. Nightstorm leaned forward and rubbed against her cheek to encourage her to speak. "I keep thinking about what happened, about what we did, and it makes me even more scared. If I make it, what will Sandstone say about me? What will they think of me?"

"If you don't say anything, no one will know," replied Nightstorm.

"Do StarClan think badly of me now?"

"No. We understand."

The blue-gray she-cat bit back tears. "I miss you, Nightstorm," she murmured. "Why aren't you here anymore?"

"I realized a greater purpose," Nightstorm replied. "I don't regret it."

"What am I supposed to do now, Nightstorm?" Skyeyes asked. "I'm not myself anymore. I'm not the Skyeyes that entered the cave so…so long ago. I…" She stopped. Nightstorm wasn't looking at her. She was staring over her shoulder, and the fur on her haunches rose fearfully. "What is it?" Skyeyes meowed. "What are you looking at?"

Nightstorm's reply was cut off by a wail that sounded from behind them. Skyeyes spun around and screamed at what she saw. There were three Dark Forest cats standing over Rowanheart's body. Blood dripped down from their bared fangs as prepared themselves to attack. Rowanheart's eyes were wide, and his jaw twitched. Blood pooled around his head from scores of wounds all over his body.

"Get away from him!" Skyeyes howled. "Leave him alone!"

She charged at them, shrieking. Her tail lashed out behind her as she slashed at the two of them. She knocked one of them upside the head and heard the cracking of bone as it tumbling to the ground. Another tried to bite down on her tail, but she lunged for its throat. She sank her fangs in deep and tossed him over her back. Screeching, she latched onto the shoulders of the last cat. He twisted and rolled to try and dislodge her, but she held firm. He batted against her, his claws tearing through her fur, but Skyeyes felt no pain—only overwhelming fury. Finally, he gave one last twitch and lay still. Skyeyes backed off of his body. She stared down at the broken cat that lay before her and began to hyperventilate. That was all her. Elmwhisker wasn't there. She watched as the cat's body began to slowly disappear until there was nothing left of him but a few splotches of blood. She turned to try and find Nightstorm, but she'd vanished.

"Skyeyes…" Rowanheart moaned. "Where are you…?"

"I'm here, I'm here," she panted. She rushed to his side and buried her face in the fur on his neck. "It's okay," she whispered. "They're gone."

"It burns…" he murmured. "My body is on fire!"

Skyeyes turned her attention to the wounds. They were bleeding profusely. She placed her paws on the worst of them, a deep gash on his side, and tried to press down to stop the bleeding. For a moment, she thought it'd worked. Then blood began to bubble up from between her toes. She screamed and leapt back. It poured out of him like a river. Rowanheart cried out and thrashed in the dust.

"It's burning!" he screamed. "It hurts!"

"Don't die, please don't die!" she shouted. She ran to his side. "Please don't die!" The wound seemed to grow deeper and deeper by the second. "No, no, I won't let you take him!" She tried to lick the wound to get it to heal, but blood filled her mouth in an instant, and she staggered back. She wretched violently.

"I'm on fire, I'm on fire!" Rowanheart cried. Skyeyes lunged to try and comfort him, but he suddenly went rigid. Skyeyes froze as he lay still for a moment. Then he coughed, and his head slumped to the ground.

Skyeyes padded forward tentatively. "Rowanheart?" she whispered. "Are…are you…"

His eyes opened. "I'm here," he replied. "I'm—" He coughed loudly. "It still hurts, but it's not so bad anymore. I can't feel my paws."

Skyeyes panicked. "No, I won't let you die!" she exclaimed. She lay down beside him and began to lick his paws. "Can you feel them now?"

"No," he whispered. "No…But don't move…you're so warm…"

Skyeyes felt tears pressing at her eyes. The first of them fell and landed on her paw. She winced as she felt a stabbing pain. She looked down and saw the scratch that Longstar had given her before she entered the cave. It burned in protest to the salty tears, but she kept crying anyway.

"Is…is that you?" Rowanheart whispered. "Are you still here?"

"Yes," she replied. "Can't you feel me?"

"No…I'm so numb…"

Skyeyes turned her head and began licking his dirty fur. She cried into his wounds and rubbed against him again and again. Each time she did, Rowanheart gave no response. He really couldn't feel her. She was losing him slowly. They lay there for the longest time. Skyeyes thought that any second that he'd slip away, but he stayed with her, as he promised. As they lay, Skyeyes told him stories about her apprenticeship. He let out shaky purrs at the funnier moments, and he fell silent when she talked about living in her sister's shadow. All the while Skyeyes spoke, she heard a dripping sound echoing throughout the cave. She stopped in the middle of her story about 'kidnapping—or so Tawnyfur had called it—Plumkit to play in the woods. She perked her ears and tried to locate the source.

"W-What is it?" Rowanheart mumbled.

"I don't know," she replied. "I think I hear running water."

"This is a cave," he chuckled weakly. "There's p-probably water everywhere."

She nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Where was I?"

"You two had just sn-snuck o-out of the n-nursery," he whispered.

"Right. I—" She frowned. "Can't you hear it? The sound is getting louder."

Rowanheart struggled to lift his head off the ground. He turned his ears about before slumping again. "I don't hear anything," Rowanheart said. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," she growled. Skyeyes stood on shaky legs. She stumbled a few paces and sniffed the air. "I can even smell water!" she said. "I know it's here somewhere!"

"Are you th-thirsty?"

"No, I just think that it's strange. Don't you—"

Skyeyes felt something cool against her paws. She looked down to see that a shallow bit of water was beginning to collect around her feet. The seconds tick by, and the water grew deeper.

"Skyeyes," she heard Rowanheart groan. "I hear the water now."

Yeah, no kidding, Skyeyes thought gruffly. She waded to him and took Rowanheart by the scruff. "I'm going to try and find some high ground," she told him. The poor tom grunted in pain. The rocks were snagging on his pelt. Skyeyes heaved him up onto a slight incline and slumped in exhaustion when they were in the clear. The tip of Rowanheart's tail dangled into the swiftly growing puddle beneath them. "The water is rising," Skyeyes murmured. "Where is it coming from?"

"Can you s-s-swim?" stammered Rowanheart.

"No…"

"It's o-okay. I-I-If it comes to that, I'll sw-swim for us. I sw-swear."

The water continued to rise until it reached Skyeyes' paws again. She balked and dragged Rowanheart further back. The water kept chasing after them. It rose and rose until the path they'd taken to get here was completely covered in it. Skyeyes felt her stomach churning. She hated water. She never learned to swim. Rowanheart's promise, no matter how heart-felt it was, had no backing. He couldn't move his legs. How could he paddle through this? The water grew angrier. It crashed against the rocks and sprayed water into Skyeyes' face. She shrank back to try and shield Rowanheart. He laughed.

"It feels so good," he whispered. "I-I-I miss the river."

"We'll have a river on our hands in a few moments," grumbled Skyeyes. "We've got to keep moving higher! Do you think you can stand?"

Rowanheart shook his head. "No. Hey, look…" He reached out with a paw and tapped the water playfully like a kit. "It's g-getting cl-closer." He leaned over and lapped up a few mouthfuls of it. Skyeyes hissed and pulled him away from the water's edge.

"It could be poisoned!" she scolded.

The RiverClan warrior purred. "Water can't be poisoned, Skyeyes. That's silly." His eyes rolled into his head for a pause. Skyeyes shook him violently until he snapped to. "What? I'm t-t-tired."

"Come on," Skyeyes whispered. "We have to move! We have to get out of here!" You're scaring me, she thought. Please don't lose your mind. Stay with me.

"You…" he chuckled faintly. "Th-ThunderClan cats are…s-s-such k-kits."

Skyeyes went to grab him, but something in the corner of her eye stopped her. A massive wave of water barreled towards them, obliterating stalactites as it went. It roared in her ears, and Skyeyes flattened herself against the rock. As a kit, she'd nearly drowned once during a fierce thunderstorm. She'd refused to even go near it ever again. Terror seized her limbs. It loomed closer and closer. Skyeyes shut her eyes, and in the last few seconds before the wave over took them, she felt Rowanheart throw himself on top of her and wrap his legs around her body. The wave smashed them up against the rock as it poured over them. Skyeyes felt the impact, but it didn't hurt her. Rowanheart absorbed the damage. They hung to the rock for a pause before the wave swept them onwards, and they tossed and turned through the rapids. Once or twice their heads broke the surface. It was enough for Skyeyes to breathe in air, but she was dragged right back under soon after. She felt Rowanheart's grip begin to loosen on her. Skyeyes sank her teeth into his paw and held on for dear life. They were pulled along through the darkness until Skyeyes felt all the strength leave her body. She couldn't fight it anymore.

The next time they slammed into a rock, Skyeyes shut her eyes and prayed for death.

Oh sweet peace.

---

She dreamed of the forest. Of course, she didn't know it was a dream at first. She found herself running through the trees with a warm breeze dancing though her pelt. Her paws soared over a be of pine needles and flew over the roots of massive trees that protected her from the blazing sun. The songs of birds drifted through the trees. Skyeyes smiled as she ran. ThunderClan territory was by far the best in the forest in her humble opinion. She laughed as she leapt from rock to rock and rolled about in patches of grass like a kit.

She was home.

All too soon, the reverie shattered. The wind picked up. At first, she didn't acknowledge it. It blew against her face, and her whiskers batted against her cheeks. She changed direction and ran with it at her back. It picked up again, and when she jumped, she imagined she was flying. The last time she jumped, the wind picked her up. It tossed her carelessly into the ground where she landed with a thud. It blew harder and harder and drowned out all other noises in the forest.

What's going on? she thought.

"Skyeyes?"

The blue-gray she-cat blinked awake. They were in a different part of the cave entirely, and a patch of those red flowers were hanging over head. They rocked as they watched her curiously. Skyeyes simply stared. Go on, she dared them. Come a bit closer. Kill me. The flowers inched closer. That's it, she told them. A bit closer. They stopped just a mouse-length from her face. Skyeyes awaited the tiny, insignificant moment of pain, but none came. They let out low hisses and retracted, the petals closing as they slid back into the darkness. Skyeyes shut her eyes again. I guess I'm not tasty enough...she thought drowsily. Content to lie there, Skyeyes made no attempt to get up. She understood what Rowanheart felt. It was almost like her limbs were simply gone, unimportant. She was just a washed up body of an exhausted cat. Skyeyes sighed heavily. Death, take me, she prayed. Please.

"Oh ho, not yet you're not."

Someone prodded her harshly in the side. Skyeyes groaned. She'd felt that. "Get up, lazy," Elmwhisker chuckled. "Come on."

Confused, Skyeyes peered out with one eye. She saw nothing. Now I'm going crazy.

"You're not going crazy," her father's voice laughed. "I'm here."

Skyeyes lifted her head slowly. The cave spun before her eyes. Her head felt heavy, and she wanted nothing more than to just go back to sleep. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted what appeared to be a pale gray tabby. She let out another groan and lay her head on the cave floor. "Go away," she growled. "I'm done. Why don't StarClan pick another cat, huh? I just want to rest."

"What's that good old saying the ShadowClan cats always used?" Elmwhisker mused. "Oh right. We don't always get what we want."

With a sigh, Skyeyes pulled herself to a sitting position. Her father moved around her, and she took him in. Truly he was her kin. They even smiled the same way--though there wasn't a smile on her face to use for an accurate comparison. He motioned with a long, black-tipped tail to something behind her. "You're so close," he said. "It's only a bit further."

"I've been hearing that since I entered," Skyeyes grumbled. She turned and low and behold, there was a spot of light in the distance. She gasped. "You're right!" she exclaimed. "The exit!"

"Would I lie to you?" Elmwhisker chuckled. "Come on." He strutted past her and nodded towards the light. "I'll be your escort. Lest those pesky Dark Forest cats try anything." Skyeyes got to her feet carefully. She wobbled for the first few steps. She tried to reach her father, but each time she got close to him, he moved another few paces ahead.

She frowned. "Stop doing that."

"Sorry," he chuckled. "It's a habit. That's how I got Leopardclaw off his lazy behind during his apprenticeship."

"Leopardclaw?" she echoed. "You taught Leopardclaw?"

"I passed along everything I knew. It's a shame. He's sitting on a literal gold mine of battle tactics, and yet he choses to spend his time watching herbs rot. Isn't that awful?"

Skyeyes purred. "He's such a good medicine cat."

"You're right," Elmwhisker said. "He is. I'd like to take a bit of that credit. I practically raised him, you know. Never mind the fact that Rubblefur taught him all those trivial herb facts. I'm the one that really made him who he is today."

She laughed. "Right, you--" Then it dawned on her. "Rowanheart!" Skyeyes scrambled down the small incline she climbed. She frantically sniffed about to try and find some trace of his scent. "Rowanheart! Rowanheart!"

"Over here," Elmwhisker whispered. Skyeyes looked over to see him standing over a crumpled ginger body

"Oh Great StarClan..." Skyeyes muttered. "No!" She limped over to them and put her paws on Rowanheart's shoulder. He was cold as ice. "Rowanheart?" she whispered. "Rowanheart, please wake up." Nothing. "Please, don't be dead." She shook him gently. "Get up! Don't die on me!"

"He's not dead," Elmwhisker meowed. "He's clinging to life. He's...clinging for you."

Skyeyes glanced at her father and then down at the ginger warrior. "I'm here," she whispered into his ear. "It's me, Skyeyes. I'm here."

Rowanheart didn't move. Realization crept over her. She was the only one left.

Please R&R! And I'll give you one more chance to guess the allusion that I made in the last chapter. Come on, people, think! It's probably the most well known book in the world. I can't say anything more than that without giving it away.