Thank you for reviewing to last chapter. Enjoy!
Nightstorm: We have two more chapters to go before the epilogue. And warning, there is a lot more death to come, just so you all know. Destiny does not own Warriors.
"Ivystar!" Shadeglare yowled, as the WindClan's leader hit the ground right before Midnight's paws. Fear glistened her eyes, the last emotion she would ever feel. "No!"
He stepped forward, but Sunmask stopped him. "That's Midnight," she whispered.
The amber-eyed tom stood gaping above the cat he had just killed. His gaze held a dark sense of surprise as he looked over the two warriors that now stood before him. Suddenly, his look of shock closely changed into one of delight. A smile crept over his lips, and he showed his blood-stained teeth. "I thought I would have to hunt you down myself," he growled, voice breathy and spine-chilling. Sunmask felt dread course through every inch of her body just by hearing the first word of his statement.
Midnight kicked Ivystar's body away viciously, causing both Sunmask and Shadeglare to flinch. He pinned his shredded ears to the top of his head and snarled threateningly. "Sunmask, my mentor has taught me much about you. I've been told you are the daughter of Radiantmask, correct?"
Sunmask blinked, unable to speak. Fear overwhelmed her ability to reply. It was not only his voice that frightened her. His very presence and appearance took part as well. His pelt was as black as night, splattered and matted with dried blood. His claws her gnarled and hooked, his teeth jagged and sharp, his eyes an amber mass of hatred and bitterness. Sunmask found it impossible to believe that this cat was Tigerspirit's brother.
He made a sound that was close to a roar, one the startled both her and her brother to shrink towards the ground. "Correct?" he demanded.
"Yes," she whispered, hardly audible, but Midnight seemed to hear her just fine.
He laughed harshly, matching the boom of the thunder above. "And who might you be?" he asked Shadeglare, glare pointed and challenging.
"I...I am the son of Radiantmask," he breathed, eyes still fixed on his dead leader.
"Oh?" Midnight said. "I was unaware that there was a second kit for me to worry about, but that will just make it all the more fun, don't you think?"
"You-you killed my leader," Shadeglare murmured.
Midnight grinned maliciously, peering down at Ivystar. "You mean this wretched old she-cat? I have to say, she put up much more of a fight than I expected, but that said, she had back up until I had my recruits chase her off."
Shadeglare closed his eyes. "I never had the chance to thank her for raising me."
Midnight threw back his head and let out a howling laugh. "Isn't this just lovely? We have own too stricken with grief to even be furious with me, and another who's too afraid. This is going to be quite a marvelous show."
"That's what you think," growled a cat behind them.
Sunmask turned around to see Pouncefoot standing tall at the entrance of the clearly. He glared menacingly at Midnight, claws unsheathed and teeth bared into a ferocious snarl.
"Look at this," cooed Midnight, tail-tip flicking with delight. "We nearly have the entire family with us tonight. If only your precious Radiantmask wasn't dead."
"Take that back!" Pouncefoot yowled angrily.
"Why should I? It's a fact," hissed Midnight, his expression hardening. "So," he said, looking over the three cats that stood before him. "I suppose it's time for what you all came for? Go on, try me."
"Don't be so confident," Pouncefoot snarled. "There's three of us, and only one of you."
"You act as if I should be fearing you," Midnight rumbled, feigning surprise. His cold look of annoyance faded off into the usual cruelty that turned the side of his scarred lips up. "I've been training for several season cycles for this moment. I've been informed that the ShadowClan leader is already dead, and once I take care of you, Pouncefoot, your Clan will be left with no hope."
"At least we have something righteous to fight for," retorted Pouncefoot. "We are driven by the spirits of our warrior ancestors. The cats that have guided us for moon upon moon. We are not to give soon anytime soon."
"Your warrior ancestors?" Midnight raged. "How pitiful! I fight for the now! For the future! I don't spend my time worshiping dead cats that don't have any impact on my life!"
Sunmask studied the black tom, processing the words he had just spoken. What he said made sense for what he was claiming he was fighting for. But who was he fighting for? "What about Blackstorm?" she asked, surprised at herself for speaking so calmly after the great amounts of fear she had displayed just moments earlier.
Midnight narrowed his eyes at her and snarled defensively. "I am the leader of the Black Horror. Blackstorm's reign was in the past."
"But wasn't this his aspiration?" Sunmask questioned, finally feeling the last of her fear float away as if it was never there in the first place. She knew what to do. "Aren't you fulfilling his own dream?"
"I could have decided whether I wanted to do this or not!" Midnight hissed. "Blackstorm has no influence over me!"
A loud roar of thunder crashed over the forest, frightening all four cats that stood in the clearing. Bright bands of white hot lightning fired themselves from cloud to cloud. Lighting up the night sky. The wind swirled, carrying twigs and pine needles along with it. A deep laugh, more hideous than Midnight's, emitted from the darkness that lay among them. It was a laugh, that Sunmask couldn't believe she was hearing while she was awake. Two yellow eyes, glowing with pure evil and hatred showed in the shadow of Midnight. A dark outline slowly drew out the shape of a cat, a gave of a flowing, shadowy hue, like an aura around him.
Shadeglare and Pouncefoot wore looks of terror on their faces as they backed up several paces. Sunmask was paralyzed as she stared into the horrid gaze of the long dead ShadowClan warrior. He lunged out of Midnight's shadow, revealing himself to the night.
"No influence?" His voice was deep and dark, like a heavy fog was draped over his words. "I thought you have already learned to respect me, Midnight."
Midnight gazed in shock at the massive tomcat he was seeing before him. "I..."
"Silence," he whispered sharply. "An explanation is not what I desire." He flicked his gaze at Sunmask, and she felt a claw stab deeply into her heart. Her legs went numb, and her body feel weak just by him meeting her petrified gaze. She collapsed onto the ground, but couldn't break his stare. She couldn't. She begged her eyes to turn away, pleaded and prayed, but he locked her in his cold gaze.
Sunmask heard the humming of fearful voices around her, but she could not make out any words. The edges of her vision blackened and slowly closed in on him, until he was the only thing she was allowed to see.
"You carry the legacy of your mother," his voice was as clear as day in her mind. "You share the same glow to your eyes. You've walked upon the same ground, with the same white paws." His voice echoed in her mind until it faded off to silence. "And you are known for the same destiny. Prepare, dear Sunmask, for this time I will not let you prevail."
Claws ripped over her body viciously, and she felt her flesh tear to let the blood spill out. She felt her body grow lighter, as if the crimson water that poured from her wounds was taking weight off of her body. She felt herself slip into darkness, and suddenly, as soon as it began, she was back where she was unharmed.
"Let's make a game out of reality," he growled. "Let's toy with the illusions. Let's see how long you will last, dear Sunmask."
She didn't have time to process his words before she felt the claws sink into her body again. Stinging pain spread coursed through her, and liquid fire surged powerfully through her veins, burning her from the inside out.
"That was real, Sunmask, while the first one was not. I have made scars on your flank, dear Sunmask."
His sharp teeth glinted as lightning flashed by again, and the dark image of him slowly went into complete darkness, and Sunmask felt the ground disappear beaneath her.
She opened her eyes moments later, to find that she was staring at the ceiling of the camp nursery. She rolled around and suddenly flinched as she realized as was now able to move all on her own.
"Are you okay?" a soft, gentle voice asked. Sunmask snapped her head towards a massive black and white she-cat. Her green eyes sparkled with concern and Sunmask flattened her ears and let her jaw dropped when she recognized her mother.
"Radiantmask!" she gasped. "You-you're not dead!"
She looked at Sunmask worringly. "What were you dreaming, my daughter?" she asked.
"It...it was horrible!" Sunmask exclaimed. Her mind felt like it had been clawed at by several foxes, for she wasn't really understanding what was happening, but she continued. "The Clan...it was under attack! By Blackstorm!"
"Blackstorm!" echoed Radiantmask, fur bristling. "Have you been talking to those apprentices again? He's never coming back!"
"But," Sunmask murmured. "It felt so real."
"Don't worry," Radiantmask whispered warmly. Sunmask leaned up against her mother, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "You're safe, Breezekit."
Breezekit? Sunmask thought, and she realized why her mother looked so large. She was the size of a young kit. Slowly, everything began to fall into place. Fear clutched her heart and she pulled away from Radiantmask. "You-you're not my mother."
Radiantmask's mouth slowly began to open, revealing large, bloody teeth, glistening with saliva. He green eyes widened and turned into a dark yellow color, the white of her fur, slowly being eaten away by blackness. Her jaw began to unhinge unnaturally wide. A horrible, high-pitched scream emitted from the inky darkness within and she lunged, consuming Sunmask in an abyss of shadows.
"Did you really think that Radiantmask was there with you?" his voice growled, slithering sharply into her ears.
Sunmask snapped open her gaze again to find herself still crouched in the clearing. Blackstorm stared at her with his cold eyes. A horrid grin was plastered over his lips, a satisfied glint in his eyes.
Sunmask's breathy became ragged as her anger grew inside her. With all the strength she had, she looked away from him, and the atmosphere around them fell back onto place. She had now truly gained control over her mobility, and she ignored the severe pounding in her head solely to focus on speaking willingly to Blackstorm.
"How dare you!" she screamed at him. "How can you be so cruel to toy with my emotions like that?! You wretched, devilish being!"
His body melted away into puffs of inky black smoke only to piece together again right beside her. "Believe me, dear Sunmask, that is not the only thing I can do."
She flinched away. "Enough of your games! Fight me for real you bastard!"
"Why fight with tooth and claw when you have abilities like mine?" A pair of his icy yellow eyes flashed before Sunmask, and to her horror, she found that she was in her paralyzed state from just moments earlier. "You are not to know exactly what reality feels like." she felt something sharp draw over her forehead. "You are not to know what reality looks like." Blood poured over her eyes, making her see everything in dark scarlet shades. "And you strength in mind shall decide your fate."
The blood that fell over her eyes began to pool around her in large puddles. She found that she could move once more, but with every step she took, her legs only splashed deeper into the blood.
"Fight me if you can, but I've had seasons of practice."
Then, the blood began to rise and swallow her up, as if an ocean was forming around her. Sunmask choked and coughed, swimming in the body of crimson. The detestable scent of it overwhelmed her lungs, until she found that it was difficult to breathe without feeling dreadfully sick. Her stomach churned, her head pounded, and with each stroke of her leg, her body grew more and more tired.
"You cannot struggle forever. You must give up...or give in..."
His words wrapped around her brain strongly. They echoed in her mind, and each time she heard them pained her even further.
"I will offer you a choice..." Blackstorm growled. "Give up on your Clan, or suffer immense pain for the rest of eternity. Your story will be one that gives kits nightmares, and your grave will be spat upon. It's a life of agony, or death as a strong cat."
She swam her way through the blood, unable to reply to his promises.
"Perhaps we need something stronger?" The blood slowly flushed away out of sight, bringing Sunmask back down to the ground. Nothing happened for many moments, and his horrible words faded into silence. She thought that it was over. She hoped that it was true, and she waited to be brought back to the forest.
But unfortunately, the world spun around, as if about to whisk and and leave her in total emptiness. Blackstorm's eyes appeared in front of her, staring into her own. "Would you like to see what the future of the Clans will look like?" he asked, though it wasn't really a question. "Close your eyes for five heartbeats, and when you open them again, you will see what the forest will look like once I'm through with you."
Sunmask obeyed, but only because his words were the only thing she knew. She let her eyelids fall and let herself become encased in darkness. She counted to five, knowing not of fear or anger or confusion, just the land she was about to see before her.
When she opened her eyes to take in the scene, she heard herself draw in a sharp breath. A somber forest stood around her, trees swinging to the rhythm of the wind. The clouds were heavy and dark gray, the sun not even a pale glow behind them. Leaves tumbled across the ground, the only sound she could hear, for everything-and everyone was dead.
Her paws carried her forward, towards the bodies that were littered among the trees. The first she recognized as Mouseflight, her friend who had supported her in her darkest times. Her mouth hung open, words still left unsaid hidden within. Sunmask suddenly felt something in her heart crack.
"Feel the sadness, dear Sunmask. Continue."
She did, towards the next body. She recognized the gray tabby fur right away, and a tear slipped from her face. Volefur gazed at her through clouded blue eyes, showing that everything he had ever felt for her was gone along with his life. She carried on though, as much as she wanted to stay, Blackstorm pulled her along.
It took her a while to recognize this next cat, in fact she was certain she hadn't met her at all until Blackstorm whispered to her. "All hope the resided within the darkness - vanquished."
It was Hollow, the she-cat she had met when the battle began. Sunmask let another tear fall as she realized that the Black Horror rebel would never be free.
"Imagine all you had in companionship - gone!" It was Shadeglare's body that made her go numb. First it was Mouseflight, and now her own brother, and before she had really gotten to know the cat he truly was. It was seeing him dead that made her realize that there was so much she never got to discover.
There was so much she never had time to love.
"It doesn't stop there my dear Sunmask," he said, a slight hint of joy complimenting his voice. "Proceed."
She passed by all of the cats she had ever known, all of her Clanmates. Every cat she met in battle, and it was them whose bodies actually hurt the most. They all could have been nice cats, but the only way she saw them were as the fiends that had lust for battle.
It felt like she had been walking for days by the time she got to the final body. And resting in the darkest of the shadows, was the cat that actually caused her to stop walking, even against the will of Blackstorm.
"Pouncefoot," she whispered. She would have screamed it, but that was all her strength would allow.
"Do you hear their voices?" asked Blackstorm.
Sunmask waited, listening in the silence. She had begun to think that Blackstorm had played a trick on her, but then, she heard it. It was soft at first, but then it grew louder.
"How could you do this to us, Sunmask? You weren't strong enough to save us, Sunmask."
It was all of their voices, compiled into a single chant. With each word it grew louder, and louder, until it became as ear-splitting as Blackstorm's hideous laugh.
"How could you do this to us, Sunmask? You weren't strong enough to save us, Sunmask."
"Sunmask!"
She pawed at her ears.
"Close you eyes and listen to me."
Sunmask looked up. This voice was apart from the others. It was commanding, yet gentle, and when Sunmask recognized who it belonged to, she flattened her ears.
"Close you eyes, Sunmask."
Reluctantly, she did, expecting this just to be another one of Blackstorm's sick games.
"Focus on my voice."
That was repeated a few times, and Sunmask did as she was told until all of the other voices were shut out. She waited for many moments; for anything to jump out at her, to feel claws draw over her flesh, to see the bitter look his yellow eyes, but none of that ever happened.
She felt the world shift around her. She felt the ground become firmer, the air warmer, and as time went on, rain slice through her fur. Snarls and hisses sounded among it all, drowned out time after time by deafening roars of thunder.
"Open your eyes."
Sunmask did and she gasped when she saw the cat in front of her. A she-cat with knotted black and white fur, a scarred pelt and dull green eyes that were all too recognizable. Sunmask peeled back her lips and unsheathed her claws.
"Stay back!" she growled. "You aren't real."
Radiantmask wore a pleading look. "Am I, daughter. This is not an illusion. "
Not budging, Sunmask snarled, "Prove it."
She blinked, a hurt look crossing over her face, but she did not argue. A spark ignited within her pale eyes. In a clear voice, one that did not suit her appearance, she spoke. "Beware a figure of two's past, who will give you a small answer. I see a mistake among your hope of strength. I sense a heart beat of yours flowing through a river, but most clearly, I see a glare of shaded darkness staring at you and into the shadows...the darkneess...the shadows..."
Her went dull again, and she stared at Sunmask's unwavering glare.
"No matter how strong the darkness gets, they will never unlock the secrets of StarClan."
Sunmask relaxed, sheathing her claws. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I just thought I'd never see you again."
Radiantmask touched her nose to Sunmask's ear. "There will be time for that later."
She was about to say something else when a blood-curdling yowl split through the air, overpowering the sounds of the howling wind among them. Both Radiantmask and Sunmask whipped around. There, leaping through the air, was Tigerspirit. Her claws sank into Midnight's shoulders as they crashed onto the ground.
"Traitor!" Tigerspirit spat, clawing up her brother's sides viciously. "I've been waiting for this moment! I finally get to make you pay for your betrayal! After all the time I've been there for you, you turn your back on me like I'm worthless!"
She took an aim for his throat, but Midnight cut off her strike with his foreleg. He twisted his hind legs free and quickly kicked her back, and rolled swiftly out of the way as she tried lunging for him again.
Sunmask stepped forward, prepared to help her, but Radiantmask stopped her. "This is her fight. Your time will come - with Blackstorm."
She had just noticed then that the horrendous tom was nowhere to be seen, but she tried to clear mind of his wretched ways and turned her attention back to Tigerspirt's fight.
The tabby-and-golden StarClan warrior dodged a blow from Midnight and rammed into his chest head first, shoving him back wards. Before he had time to recover, she slipped under him, coming up from the other side and attacking him from behind. Midnight grunted and jerked his shoulders, making her fall loose of her grip. Then, he whirled around and struck her powerfully over the face. Blood dripped from Tigerspirit's cheek, but she ignored it and dove for his hind legs. Midnight lost his balance and he fell into the grass. Tigerspirit, attempted to pin him, but was instead dazed by a kick to the jaw, which sent her flying back. With a loud thud, she landed on the ground.
Midnight slyly stalked up to her and effortlessly pinned her down. Her amber eyes sliced into his.
"Go ahead!" she shrieked. "Kill me! I dare you!"
The black tom above her smiled evilly. He licked his lips. "Dear Dahlia, maybe you hadn't realized this, but I have changed since the last time we met face to face."
Her eyes stretched wide with terror. Midnight flashed a cruel gaze and lunged down, sinking his teeth into Tigerspirit's throat.
"No!" Sunmask yowled running forward before Radiantmask could stop her. She was going to kill Midnight for doing that. She didn't care what would happen. He would pay for taking Tigerspirit's after life.
Suddenly, two yellow eyes glinted as if a reflection in water. The inky black smoke came together to form the massive dark tom she despised.
"Where do you think you're going, dear Sunmask?"
Review! I know this was longer than normal, but :) Please?
~Destiny (and Nightstorm)