I'm still really sorry about the last chapter. I just couldn't reconcile a number of things about Bluemoon (and BlueXMountain by default), and this ending actually seemed fitting. Mountainstone has always been about saving everybody and defeating evil, and he's not able to have both in some circumstances, so I think it really fitting that he never have to make such a really difficult choice.

And please, I hope this chapter give some peace of mind.

Chapter 32: The Cat in the Moon

When the barrier vanished, it felt as though everything that made up Ivypool's awareness, everything that had been her power, was being sucked out of her and rejected. She fell through nothingness, feeling the realms flip past her and screaming because she could do nothing about it. She fell until she lost consciousness.

When Ivypool opened her eyes, she was sitting in the white and grey swirling land, that fuzzy plane that stretched out in all directions that she was getting far too used to seeing. She was alone. Ivypool looked around, clawing against the fuzzy intangible surface beneath her, trying to feel back to her family. She could feel nothing, not even the connection with Doveheart she always felt. It felt like every time she reached for one of the familiar connections she had always fostered – with StarClan or with the Place of No Stars or even back to the waking world – was shifting in and out of focus. She couldn't tap into the channels the way she had always been able to do. What had happened to the others? Why weren't her powers working?

"The realms are changing their order." Ivypool somehow missed the arrival out of the strange misty substance all around her, but now she watched as a cat approached her. Squinting, she made out the shape of a ginger-and-white tom with dark green eyes. Ivypool recognized him from a past dream, but it took her a second to place his face.

"You're the one that approached me at the border." Ivypool shook her head. "The one that was looking for someone. The New StarClan one."

"Yes." The cat smiled somberly, like he had just lost something precious. Ivypool opened her jaws to speak, but he shook his head. "You need to help them."

"Help who?" asked Ivypool. "Where is everyone? How do I reach them? I…" She shook her head. "I can't move between realms anymore."

"Everything will settle," said the tom, looking around them. "When the barrier came down, it dissolved the existing portions of the dreaming realm. Now the balance must settle again. You'll be able to go where you need to in time."

"And the others?"

"Taken where they needed to be," said the tom. Ivypool opened her mouth to ask more. He raised his voice as he continued, "Birdfeather, Jayfeather, and Rushfire remain in Old StarClan. Lionstar and Icecloud have been taken to the edges of StarClan's territory, out of harm's way. Doveheart and Greyheart have been taken to their dreaming grounds. Skysong has been taken to the origins of the border. Willowleaf and Mouseclaw lie beyond even that. And Mountainstone and Bluemoon are at the heart of the Place of No Stars."

"The heart of it?" Ivypool frowned. "Why? How?"

"Because all is going to be remade now as it should have been to begin with. And for it to be remade, it must all first be destroyed."

"Then Birdfeather's dream…"

"Yes." Ivypool took a step back as the tom shook his head. "I only worry that we will be too late."

"Then what do I do?" Ivypool flexed her claws. "I can't do anything!"

"Only momentarily," said the tom. "But as this is the only place I can go now, I'm glad you've been brought here." He blinked. "If only for some final moments of company."

"What is this place?" asked Ivypool. "What…what's going to happen?" To you, she wanted to add, but she wasn't sure if she was going to be privy to the sadness in this cat's eyes.

"This is the world between all the worlds," said the tom. "It spans all places, even those beyond your reach. You can travel between the realms: the realm of the dreaming and the realm of the living. Others can traverse different worlds, places where things are not as they are here." He tilted his head to the side. "Think of this as a place of crossroads. It's just that right now, the paths must re-make themselves."

"And who are you?" asked Ivypool. The tom smiled.

"My name is Fallen Leaves," he said. "I'm an ally to New StarClan, like I told you before. The problem is…" He shivered. "I'm not entirely sure whether or not I'll perish in this."

"I thought you weren't Old StarClan," said Ivypool.

"I am far older." Fallen Leaves chuckled and twitched his tail. "And soon, even this place will perish."

"What's happening, Fallen Leaves?" said Ivypool. "What is this entire thing we're doing?"

"You mean your powers?" Fallen Leaves nodded knowingly. "Before all of this, long before even I was alive, there was the great cavern of light that lay in the moon, the Bright Cave. This is where our ancestors abided. But there was one day a horrible cat of my kind who, upon his death, reached into the center of the Bright Cave and tore it out. A great battle ensued, and the Bright Cave's light was scattered across the stars, creating Silverpelt, and new hunting grounds that stretched as far as the individual specks of light could carry hope throughout the skies. While the cat responsible for ripping out the center of the Bright Cave was caught, he was dropped into the center of where the light had been, which now was a massive void.

"However, it is not so easy to kill a cat of this type. So he bided his time in the pit, steadily gaining power as the light re-emerged, as light will always do. And from it he bred legions of darkness, powerful shadows that did his bidding. He crafted his own world from the shadows, a dark place that fed off the light of the moon and used its energy to exist."

"The Place of No Stars," said Ivypool. Fallen Leaves nodded confirmation.

"Evil exists, while usually just misguided deeds, in some hearts, and is more easily coaxed out of some than others. The cat in the moon used his shadows to carve a path to the realm of the living, so he, like StarClan and all those in the other skies, could speak to and influence those living. The Place of No Stars grew powerful, and my ancestors put a stop to it by using some of the energy from this place to create a border, something that could stop the cats in the Place of No Stars ever from getting out.

"However, the cats that created this knew that it would not hold for all time, so they decided to leave behind the prophecy, enough light that would create ten great heroes that would one day, when the darkness eventually became uncontainable, become powerful enough to overtake the darkness permanently. To start over, the way things should have been." Fallen Leaves twitched his ears. "Your powers can be seen like moonlight and good wishes that have been waiting for you for generations."

"And the darkness got out of control," said Ivypool, "when the shadow cats left that dust and corrupted StarClan."

"Precisely," said Fallen Leaves. "You see, all of us in the stars are made of shadows – it's just that some shadows are good, the natural shadows that light create, and some are those bred from corrupted light."

Ivypool thought she had wrapped her head around it.

"Why couldn't you tell us this from the beginning?" she asked. "Why…"

"These tales have been lost to so much time," said Fallen Leaves. "I doubt even the oldest inhabitants of the Place of No Stars know them. Only StarClan's most treasured leaders have even heard of this legend – and only the odd or wise believe it."

"But you could have…?"

"I did not know much of this myself, until recently." Fallen Leaves shook his head. "It seems I had another role to play."

Ivypool felt surprisingly at peace with this knowledge, so she sat for a while, trying to take it all in. She was grateful to have been able to traverse the realms for so long – it had saved her life many times. She felt of use with her powers.

"Fallen Leaves?" she asked. "Our powers are for this moment, aren't they?" He nodded. "What happens when this moment is over?"

"That will be very apparent," said Fallen Leaves. "I am afraid, if I tell you, you will do something to get in the way."

Ivypool opened her jaws to protest, but then it was starting to make sense to her. If she had known all of this was going to happen, wouldn't she have tried to stop it somewhere along the way? She would have done something, sacrificed herself to prevent someone else from dying. She shook her head. Maybe it was better this way. Someone long ago had been saving up moonbeams for them. What right did she have to challenge that greater mission? Suddenly, Ivypool felt very small, like her entire life she had just been a piece of grass growing at the roots of a tree, and that the tree had been sheltering her for every single moment of her existence. Was her entire life, every single moment of it, just another part of what led to this end?

"Don't feel like you've done nothing," said Fallen Leaves. "You are the Dark Prophet, Ivypool. That must mean something.'

"It means I told the truth, once," said Ivypool. "It means I was the one wreathed in darkness this whole time. I'm the bad one. Doveheart's the good one."

"I don't think so," said Fallen Leaves. "Darkness isn't…it isn't a bad thing." Ivypool tilted her head. "Darkness is where we dream. Darkness is what, ultimately, we all return to. And dreams, and even passing into oblivion, aren't…bad."

"But the shadows, the pit…"

"Darkness was always there," said Fallen Leaves. "It just so happened that it fell into the wrong paws. It's a powerful thing, darkness." He tilted his head to the side. "It takes an extremely strong cat to resist falling into it. When I think about it, you're really the only cat that could have done what you've done."

Ivypool tried to reply, but then suddenly, she felt every channel that had ever existed inside her head open at once and pull her towards it. Ivypool choked, her claws digging into the intangible ground.

"Go now," said Fallen Leaves. "Mountainstone needs you." He blinked, and Ivypool nodded, getting to her paws. She caught flashes of this heart of all darkness and suddenly realized where it was – that she had been there once before, when it was still engulfed in shadows. It had once been a rip in the fabric of this place, and Mapleshade had been dragging her in, and she had led them straight to StarClan…

"And don't worry, Ivypool," said Fallen Leaves as Ivypool set her paws in order and began to walk. "Your daughter will be a guiding light. A beautiful, shining moon."

Ivypool had no real time to process those words or possibly understand what they could mean, for then she was walking through the chasms that had always felt natural to her. She picked up her pace, thinking of Mountainstone, and of Bluemoon, and trying to figure out what that could possibly mean.

She always emerged out of seemingly nowhere, and Ivypool appeared, gasping, just in time to dodge out of the way as a huge dark entity rocketed towards her. She slid out of the way, slipping on shadows, and she tumbled with a cry, her claws shaking as the battle suddenly took over.

She could see Mountainstone in the center of this, although it was dark, like a million swarming shapes were blocking out a light, and everything was crumbling and screeching. She grabbed whatever hot, tendril-like substance was beneath her paws and sprung off of it, galloping towards Mountainstone with her powers wild, trying to get some sort of grip on this world. The tom was spitting wildly, his eyes almost glassy, hissing and kicking at all the shadows that screamed and swirled around him.

"Mountainstone!" Ivypool skidded up before him and tried to place herself in his line of sight. He cast a look at her, but in his fury she had a feeling he didn't even recognize her. "Mountainstone, what's happening!"

He didn't answer, just slamming forward, and rocks rained down from the ceiling, impaling three shadow-like cats that loomed behind Ivypool. She felt what seemed like vines wrap around her paws and begin pulling her downwards. Ivypool focused on the world, on all its properties, and transported herself to Mountainstone's other side to get away from the grip. Then she slammed into the big cat's shoulder. He recoiled and whirled on her, hissing, only to look straight into her eyes. Ivypool screeched right back at him, almost afraid but knowing she could just move if he tried anything.

Mountainstone froze before her as if he had been captured in Willowleaf's ice for a second. He blinked three times.

"I need to destroy this cavern," he said. "It's…I need to make sure…" His eyes clouded, and Ivypool suddenly made all the connections. Your daughter will be a guiding light. A beautiful shining moon.

"Bluemoon." Ivypool didn't trust her own voice. "What happened to Bluemoon."

"Tigerstar told me I could either destroy this place or save her," said Mountainstone. "And she…made the decision herself." For a second, his claws stopped flailing. His tail drooped. Ivypool felt the shadows sink in around her paws and tug her down, but as she looked around, she realized that the room was not as full with shadows as it once had been. It resembled a cavern now. She could see the lights in it, a single light on the roof of the cave that shone into the great black void below. For a second, Ivypool could see Bluemoon, her beautiful kit, with a brave grin on her face as she fell into the deepest reaches of the darkness.

"No." Ivypool remembered every second of Bluemoon: her bright eyes opening for the first time a full two sunrises before her brother's, her first wobbling steps, the first time she tried to sneak out of camp, the time she almost took an entire chunk out of Rustkit's tail when she got angry. She could see all the fire that made up Bluemoon, but also the deep, celestial lights of her eyes. It all seemed to add up. Ever since she was born, Bluemoon had been meant for the shine of the moon, and here they were.

"I won't let her sacrifice be for nothing," said Mountainstone, and he dove back upon the shadows swirling around them. Ivypool ducked as she felt the cavern begin to shake again. She felt around the edges of the realm, feeling out its properties and imagining Bluemoon's laugh once more. She concentrated hard, and as Mountainstone brought the world collapsing inwards, she collapsed the outer limits of the world, feeling her entire body cracking as she did so. But that didn't matter.

The ceiling caved in, and into the pit fled the remaining shadows, screeching and flailing, their paws streaking over Mountainstone and Ivypool as they vanished into the dark pit below.

"Let's go!" cried Ivypool. Mountainstone nodded. Ivypool linked her tail through Mountainstone's and concentrated on getting them out of there, back to the world between the worlds.

She had hardly taken her first step into the tunnel when everything erupted into light behind them. Ivypool was pushed into the channel and felt it fading away, but as she turned over her shoulder and watched what was probably the moon cracking apart once more, she made out the entire hollow reforming. Mountainstone moaned lowly, but then Ivypool almost forgot to focus on the connection. For she saw instead of a pit, there was a pillar of light that extended from floor to ceiling of the cavern, and Bluemoon stood in the center of it, blue and white and silver and shining, and as they fled, she dipped her head lowly. Ivypool could hear her voice reverberating in her mind as she slipped.

I will always watch over you.

Ivypool felt the tears on her face, and then she and Mountainstone stood in the center of the world between worlds, which spun and burst around them as if they were mere specks of dust.

"That was Bluemoon," said Mountainstone, turning to Ivypool. "Take me back. Maybe she's still alive. We can…"

"No." Ivypool shook her head. "She's the guardian of the moon now."

Mountainstone tilted his head to the side, but Ivypool didn't have enough time to explain, nor to really comprehend how that neither scared her nor seemed impractical and foolish to her.

"She'll always be watching us," she said. She licked Mountainstone's ear. "You'll see her every time you see the moon. Know that she's watching."

Then it hit Ivypool once again, sinking deep this time, as if some poison had taken hold of her. It was an empty feeling that she had not ever felt. It felt like her insides had been hollowed out. Bluemoon was dead. She was never going to see her kit running and playing, nor fighting like a brave warrior. She was dead. Ivypool was going to have to bury Bluemoon's body. Her pelt would be cold. Her eyes would not open. Her chest would not rise. Her heart would not beat. She was gone.

Mountainstone was grieving, but he had no way of knowing what grief felt like, for this…this was beyond what other cats understood as grief. This was pain, anger, fear, and the deepest sorrow that Ivypool had ever felt. Her kit was dead.

"We need to find the others," said Mountainstone in a quiet voice. Ivypool nodded hollowly and stood up. She still had Greyheart, and Bumblestripe, and they still had work to do to determine whether or not she could keep them.

"Let's go," she said.

"I'm sorry," said Mountainstone. Ivypool shook her head. "I could have done something, and I failed."

"My kit is dead," said Ivypool. "But she isn't gone."

But even knowing that Bluemoon was resting for them and would always be there, Ivypool knew that after this night, she would never be the same again.

Fallen Leaves!

I really meant to be catching up with Hollyleaf's Retelling at the same time so I could publish those chapters around the same time I published these chapters, but like...I'm finding it very difficult to find devoted time to finish like the remaining four chapters of Elemental. Isn't that sad? I'm trying, really trying, but it's hard because the end chapters require a lot of understanding of the entire story, so it isn't something I can do super casually. That's my "writing is hard" complaint for the day.

More to come soon! I've written through Chapter 34. I'm still staggering releases, but yeah. Fingers crossed. Don't forget to fave/follow/share/review!

~Elsi