Watcher P.O.V
I thought back to the ominous feeling, I had received earlier that day slightly worried that maybe something had happened. When I thought of Darkness the feeling returned tenfold.
I scented the air to find Darkness knowing that sometimes he would wander away from the pride to be on his own. I caught wind of his scent and followed it to the cave, I took no notice of the blood stained paw prints that lead away or the scent of blood and death that clung to the area.
The sun had already set behind me, shifted and padded down the tunnel into the cavern.
The sight I saw, I have never forgotten.
Blood splattered the cave walls staining them a sick brown as the blood dried, upon the floor lay the unmoving bodies of Mischief, Star, Giggles and Ace. I turned my gaze from them and onto a larger body that lay off to the side.
I ran forward, before stopping and staring in horror down at the still body of Darkness, his blood staining his once white mane, one eye was closed as if in sleep well the other no longer existed, a bloody socket where it once laid. The flesh had been torn away from his side3 allowing the bones of his ribcage to be seen. Many large cuts riddled his still body.
"Darkness…" I nudged his side in worry, "Darkness please…"
I received no reply from him not that I expected one. I remained silent my head hung low, "I'm sorry I should have been there maybe…I could have helped you," I whispered the apology
A small moan gained my attention, "kitten?"
His remaining eye opened a bit, staring at nothing, "Watcher?" he stared past me not seeing me.
"Darkness what is it you want?" I questioned him shifting into my normal formless form.
He stared through me confused, "nothing…it's too late now."
"Darkness," I snapped, "do you wish for revenge!"
"….no."
'What…n-no did he-, he said no,' thoughts raced through my mind, "no?"
"No," he verified.
My heart fell he needed to say yes for my plan to work.
He took a shaky breath before speaking again, "I wish…for revenge, but not for me…I…I want revenge for my family…" he finished his eye beginning to fall closed once more.
"I can help you gain that revenge," my eyes glowed in the dark.
"How," his eye opened once more staring at me instead of through me.
A feral grin spread across my face, "form a contract with me tell me what you wish for in return I shall get your soul."
He gulped before steeling himself, "I want to create a contract with you, I want revenge on the killers of my family," he growled.
"So be it," my grin widened, "I accept the contract, and shall help you gain your revenge."
I sent out a stream of shadow into his empty socket, a jour de mort like skull glowed dark violet with in the emptiness before fading into oblivion.
His eye fell closed once before it opened a raging fire seeming to burn within. He pushed himself from the floor his left side stained with his blood.
"You're not a normal are you," he stated instead of asking already seeming to know the answer. He didn't look at me as he padded out of the cavern and down the tunnel.
I floated along after him, "no I'm not," I verified (though I don't know why it was obvious).
We lapsed back into silence as we left the cave. Darkness marked the area around the entrance, warning any to stay away. Once he had finished and was satisfied we continued on across the savannah.
The sun began to rise chasing the night away. Darkness stopped and curled under a tree near enough to the pride to see them, but far enough away not allowing them to see him.
"I think I'll wait until night fall," he growled softly glaring at the pride of happy lions and lioness. Many of them were the ones who had assisted in his demise. The blood had been cleared from their fur as if nothing had happened.
I nodded and shifted taken the form of Watcher once more as I sat beside him. I looked down at him, "I'm sorry…."
He gave a soft snort before looking at me, "don't apologize Watcher there was nothing you could have done."
I lowered my head keeping my eyes hidden from his view, I said nothing.
"I don't care that you're… whatever you are," he smiled softly, "you were always there for me thank you."
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak to him. Mentally I was at war with myself trying to decide what to do.
'Kill him take the soul,' the sinister side hissed in my ear.
'You care for him to much let him live,' the benevolent voice whispered into my opposite ear.
I shook my head rapidly from side to side trying to dispel the two warring voices.
Darkness looked over concern shining in his eye, "are you okay?"
"Ya, ya I'm fine kitten," I tried to convince myself that what I spoke was the truth to no avail.
He gave me a look that was as clear as pure water, I don't believe you.
I ignored the look and to my relief Darkness didn't press any more into the subject. The silence shrouded us once more, we watched the pride and listened to our surroundings.
Darkness occasionally glanced up at the blue sky waiting for the sun to fall and the night to shroud the land once more.
After a while the pride vanished into their dens as the night took over and dark clouds appeared covering the sky.
Darkness laughed quietly, "how cliché," he muttered his blue eyes seeming to glow in the moonless night. He stood up and shook the tiredness from his body sending bits of dried blood around.
I wiped a bit of dried blood from my face, scowling at him as I did so.
He gave a sheepish grin as a reply before stalking off towards the pride, all previous playfulness lost the only emotion that was left was hatred. He wouldn't be showing no mercy to anyone no matter age or gender this was his revenge.
I shifted back to, shadow form and followed after him to watch the scene unfold.
Darkness stalked around the clearing listening to the surroundings. Hearing nothing out of the ordinary he began to move forward sliding his paws over the ground to lessen any noise his paw steps would make.
I floated along in his shadow. I watched the surroundings allowing Darkness to focus on remaining silent.
We snuck towards the first den where the lowest ranked lions and lioness slept. His ears perked listening to their calm breathing. Smirking he slipped inside the den and looked at the two lions and three lioness that slept there along with four cubs.
Darkness unsheathed his claws and bared his teeth, he slashed the nearest lioness's next.
She awoke with a gurgled cry awaking the rest of the den members to the intruder.
He quickly slashed the two lion's necks.
That left two lioness and their four cubs in the den, they huddled in the back. The eldest lioness stood in front of them snarling.
Darkness crouched in battle ready position growling at the queen.
She leapt into the air to pounce on Darkness, which he expertly sidestepped. She landed hard winding herself. He took the chance and delivered a quick killing bite to her neck before slashing the last lioness neck open as she stood frozen in fright.
The cubs mewed in fear looking up at him, terror shining in their eyes.
Darkness stared down at them for a moment before giving them quick painless kills by snapping their necks rapidly.
I looked around at the carnage as he padded out the lionesses and lions blood dripping from his claws and muzzle. I smiled before following after him towards the next cave.
The killing continued much the same way, him giving whatever cubs were around quick painless deaths. The blood dripped from his muzzle staining his teeth red. He stood in the clearing bloody paw prints showing his path from den to den.
"Two left then I'm finished," he nodded to me before, padding towards the final den.
He leapt up the rocky path with ease as if he had done this every day of his life. He stood before the den entrance staring into the black void.
I hovered by his side looking back down at the ground below us, "only Lily and Zeus left," I murmured to Darkness.
He nodded and padded inside the den, his claws clicking against the stone echoing along the tunnel. The blood that dripped from his once white mane.
He continued padding along the tunnel staring ahead with an unwavering gaze. Bloody paw prints lead through the tunnel after him.
A low growling came from the end of the tunnel, "get out!"
Darkness let out an almost maniac like laughter, "now why should I do that…Zeus?"
The growl cut short and Zeus padded out into our line of sight, "you're supposed to be dead…"
Darkness tilted his head to the side a feral grin appearing, "you didn't kill my revenge," was all he said before pouncing upon him.
The rolled around along the ground, snarling, clawing and snapping at one another. Neither one willing to surrender to the other.
Darkness gained the upper paw and pinned Zeus on his back. He lowered his head looking at him with his one eye, "bye, bye," he repeated the last phrase Lily had said to him before sinking his fangs into the soft tissue of his neck and tearing the flesh away.
Zeus let out a gurgled breath, still holding on to life.
Darkness stood over him the blood dripping down from his muzzle as he watched the light fade from Zeus's eyes.
"No!" the horrified yowl sounded from the side, "you killed him, you killed my mate!"
Darkness raised his head and looked towards her, "there you are," he padded painstakingly slow towards her making his claws tap upon the ground.
For every step he took she took a step back.
"Please, don't do this please," she pleaded with him as she backed into a wall.
"Why. Shouldn't. I," he pronounced each word curtly.
"Be…because…I'm pregnant," Lily whispered (as if she though that would work Darkness had just finished killing a whole pride of lions including cubs).
He let out a harsh laugh, "oh that's hilarious, you think I care," he raised an eyebrow, "I have just finished killing this pride meaning I don't care about you or your unborn cubs."
Lily let out a roar of anguish and charged forward in a last attempt to save herself.
He jumped to the side and racked his paws along her side as she charged past.
She cried out in pain the blood flowing from her open wounds. Lily leapt forward to pounce.
He sidestepped once more dodging her attack.
I watched in growing interest at the battle taking place before me.
She fell to the ground landing hard on her right front leg, a sickening snap was heard a moment before she let out a yowl of pain.
He padded over to her and lowered his face close to hers, "see you in hell Lily," he whispered in a poisonously sweet voice before sinking his claws into her stomach and ripping it open, allowing her guts to spill out.
"Monster," she hissed in her last breath before the light vanished from her eyes and she was no longer alive.
"Maybe,' he whispered before padding out of the cave once more.
I followed after him into the clearing the moon lay hidden behind a layer of clouds as I too afraid to watch.
Darkness looked at me calmly, "I haven't forgotten the deal just allow me to die with my friends," he padded off back towards the cave where the young ones lay.
Once we arrived back in the cavern, he gathered up the bodies of his fallen family members curling around them protectively before closing his eyes.
"Thank you, Watcher," he whispered.
"No problem kitten,'' I replied sending out a stream of shadow, it slipped through his body before emerging with a small glowing sphere.
Darkness lay still the warmth leaving him rapidly.
I held the soul before me, examining it, it was a soft icy color. I looked down at the bodies and then back at the sphere.
"You're not leaving me yet kitten," I whispered, splitting the sphere into five parts. After all it was my soul to do with what I wanted. I placed one fragment of the soul in each, Giggles, Ace, Star and Mischief. I replaced the larger piece in to Darkness and sat back to wait the reawaking's.
I watched as the first twitches of life began to show. Giggles and Star awoke first from the slumber of death next, came Ace and Mischief.
They grinned up at me, "thank you," they chorused.
I nodded and looked back at Darkness, who opened his eye and looked at me in confusion.
"Watcher?"
"Darkness!" came the cries of the kids who nuzzled up to him lovingly, "you're okay."
He smiled, "we're all okay now."
"Come on it's time to find a pride for you all," I smiled at the reunion.
They backed away from Darkness giving him the room to rise up again.
Together we padded out of the tunnel and into the night.
The moon shone through the clouds for a moment before disappearing behind them once more. The clouds released the rain upon the savannah washing away all signs of our crime. The only thing that remained of the pride lay within our memories.
We disappeared into the night vanishing as if we were ghosts leaving, no trace we had ever existed.
The end or is it…
