I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER FOR YEARS.

(more hints: I recommend reading Sunstrike's Story and War of Shadows for additional context)

Chapter 34: The Sacrifice

The stars were on fire. They collapsed into the hollow with red and gold streaks on their tails. The second the first ball of flame hit, Birdfeather wailed at the top of her lungs, and Jayfeather felt her pain vibrate through his head, almost launching him away from her. He fought to maintain their empathetic connection, eyes wide as the hollow caught flame. Jayfeather's breaths came quicker. He fought with everything he had to focus on this moment, to focus on his apprentice, instead of the flashes of lightning, the fire creeping up on all sides of him – the camp all those moons ago, discovering that Squirrelflight wasn't his mother – contrasted with this.

He knew it had to be the fire that was making him choke up, but Jayfeather couldn't help but back up as Birdfeather cried openly. Rushfire was backing up, too, his form shimmering. Jayfeather realized what was happening a second before it did, and he tried to reach out with his powers to keep Rushfire in the dream, but the RiverClan cat vanished with a gasp. Jayfeather prayed to everything that still existed – if anything was going to exist after this – that he had simply woken up.

Something like claws latched into the back of his neck, and Jayfeather felt himself being shoved backwards. His eyes flashed to grey, terrible blindness for a few seconds, and then his sight returned. They were no longer in the hollow. Instead they were in the world between worlds, which at this precise moment had other cats in it. Smoke swirled around them, almost like the strange mist that this world was composed of had gained another layer. Jayfeather realized it was fire. The fire was still burning, even here. Two cats approached them through the smoke.

"Breezepelt?" He couldn't believe his eyes. "And…" He glanced through smoke and recoiled backwards with a hiss. "Mapleshade."

"What's going on?" Birdfeather's paws were on fire too, and the ground below her was spinning orange and red instead of white and grey. Jayfeather could feel StarClan withering away around them, and the Dark Forest was burning with it. "What's happening?"

"Just inviting all my pawns to the fun," said Mapleshade. She laughed. Then Jayfeather felt smoke grow closer, and heat lit up in his paws. He gasped in pain, and Breezepelt made an identical noise. Jayfeather saw Breezepelt's tail light on fire a second before he looked down and realized that his paws were on fire, too. And this fire burned like nothing he'd ever felt before.

"Jayfeather?" Birdfeather's voice sounded desperate. "Jayfeather, no!"

Mapleshade began to circle them, her paws confident. Jayfeather glanced at her, confused but also full of this pain. He wondered if Birdfeather was feeling it, too, because of their connection. Hastily, Jayfeather snapped away from her mind.

"It's interesting," said Mapleshade, her tail flicking back and forth. "When I made a deal with Breezepelt, that he would take my punishment for me, I never imagined I would succeed this much."

"But…" Birdfeather looked between Breezepelt and Jayfeather. Jayfeather felt the flames licking at the tops of his paws now, searing into his claws. He felt tears in his eyes and could no longer stand, but the misty world around them wouldn't let him fall either. Jayfeather looked for an escape, but there was none. Why was he being burned by Birdfeather's fire?

"Oh, did you never hear this story?" Mapleshade laughed. Jayfeather squinted at her in the darkness, trying to put together the pieces. If Breezepelt was burning in her place, she had known this was coming. She had been prepared to lose. She had known all along. "Moons ago, before these kits were much more than specks in their mother's tummy, I found a way to trick lovely little Sunstrike and lovely little Ivypool into agreeing to play a game with me. It was an incredibly simple deal: if they could keep their families alive during the War of Shadows, they won the game. The loser of the game, either way, was to come here, forever, to wander this place between worlds until darling Birdfeather here decided to ignite them all."

The fire was up to Jayfeather's calves now, and he couldn't keep in the pain any longer. Birdfeather was crying, waving her paws, trying to pull back the flames, but she couldn't do anything. Breezepelt had collapsed and was whimpering as the fire took him. Jayfeather could see his half-brother through the smoke, but only barely.

"And then a really funny thing happened, see." Mapleshade nodded at Breezepelt. "This wonderful cat agreed to take Sunstrike's place in the game if she and their kits were spared from any sort of…prophecy drama, should we say. It was too easy of a deal. I would walk free from Birdfeather's fire, and he would burn forever, and I didn't even have to wonder about who would win and lose." She flicked her tail, approaching Jayfeather. "And then you pitied Breezepelt, didn't you, Jayfeather? On the battlefield. You killed him, and in the second he died, you were connected with him. You shared thoughts, and for just the perfect second, you shared a fate."

Jayfeather's heart chilled. He thought about showing up in this place with Breezepelt for the first time, the second his claws scored across Breezepelt's throat. They had been standing here, brothers seeing each other as brothers for the first time. Was Mapleshade saying that by taking pity on Breezepelt, he had tied himself into Mapleshade's deal as well? How could that have happened?

"So two for one," said Mapleshade. "It's a perfect solution. And it's giving me so much pleasure to escape all this while knowing that Birdfeather has to destroy her precious mentor at the same time."

"No." Jayfeather's paws finally buckled. He could feel his vision going to black, but he fought it off as he saw Birdfeather leap towards Mapleshade. Fire scorched through the grey-and-white spinning world, part of it on Birdfeather's claws. Mapleshade ducked out of the way. Birdfeather leaped again, clumsy. Jayfeather watched and wished he had gotten someone to teach her to fight better. He squirmed as fire engulfed his chest. With every second, he could feel another part of himself splitting away from this realm, losing his hold on Birdfeather and Breezepelt and everyone. Birdfeather was screaming without hope. This time she made contact with Mapleshade, but as her claws scored up the tortoiseshell she-cat's chest, Jayfeather felt claws reach and slice at his own chest. Breezepelt cried out again.

"Birdfeather!" Jayfeather clenched his teeth and turned the cries into words. His apprentice landed, crying still, and turned to Jayfeather.

"I can't stop it!" She was sobbing. "I can't stop it. There's nothing…no! Jayfeather!"

Jayfeather shook his head, trying to stand up as the flames engulfed him. They had stopped hurting. It was more like he was standing in a very hot place. He couldn't really think, but he knew that the one thing he wanted was for Birdfeather to be happy.

"It's okay," he said, and he knew she could hear him, no matter how tired and quiet his voice may have been. "It's my fault this is happening." He tried to smile, but his muscles were tired. His legs bucked again. Birdfeather surged towards him and was standing over him, reaching into the fire to try to shake it away. But it clung to Jayfeather's body in a way it hadn't clung to Birdfeather.

"I can't watch you vanish," whispered Birdfeather. "I want to always be able to talk to you. I'm not…I'm not ready."

"You always have Leafpool for help," said Jayfeather. "And the other medicine cats will help you if you need them." He tried not to let his eyes close. To be honest, he was terrified. He was terrified of what came next, because with no StarClan, there was nothing to hold his body. And this fire wasn't a killing sort of fire – it was a disappearing sort of fire. When he closed his eyes, that would be it. His life, his existence, his afterlife even would all be gone. Birdfeather was screaming again, wailing out her sorrows.

"You'll be a great medicine cat," said Jayfeather. "You'll help ThunderClan."

"Not like you!" screeched Birdfeather. "Not like you."

"Tell Lionstar and Doveheart and Ivypool," said Jayfeather, looking up and seeing his apprentice's bright green eyes. Rushfire was right: fire did make her look alive, so beautiful, so perfect. She was an amazing cat. He would have been proud to be her father. Even more proud that he was her mentor. "Tell Squirrelflight and Leafpool. Tell Cinderheart." He saw Birdfeather inhaling all of this. She shook her head furiously. "You know."

He felt a crippling wave of heat try and infect his brain once more, and Jayfeather looked up past Birdfeather, past the layers of smoke, to see Mapleshade watching with deep, laid satisfaction. She couldn't survive this. That was the worst part of all of this. If only he could make her disappear, then this wouldn't be so bad.

Jayfeather reached out for Mapleshade with all his might and felt his powers make contact and wrap around her mind. He read all her plans and her dreams, knew that if she didn't disappear with him, she would win, and all the Five had done would come crashing down. She would find a way to overcome New StarClan. Jayfeather wouldn't let that happen. He felt her ignite, too, and a scream of anger and fear was ripped from Mapleshade's lungs. That was the last thing Jayfeather felt.

He was drifting. He drifted for a long time. There was nothing.

Then there was a light.

It was such a simple thing, a simple loophole, but there standing in the darkness was a cat that he knew quite well. Or, perhaps it wasn't a cat. It looked like a StarClan cat, only far more bright and golden.

"You're in luck, Jayfeather," said the shade version of Littlefalcon, his tail sweeping through the darkness. Jayfeather. That was his name. That was who he was and who he would continue to be. He suddenly felt that he wasn't going to drift, that something had happened. "You're the only one who hasn't died along the way."

"Littlefalcon…" Jayfeather tried to reach for his savior. Littlefalcon shook his head.

"I didn't think this would work, quite honestly," he said. "But one of Bramblestar's lives was for given to me so I could one day save you. Even from something like this." Littlefalcon's eyes gleamed.

"You won't be stuck here, will you?"

"I'm not even Littlefalcon." Littlefalcon laughed. "I'm just a shade of him. The real me is elsewhere, waiting until it's his time to act." He smacked his jaws. "You're so lucky. I'm impressed."

"Breezepelt? Mapleshade."

"Both are going to perish." Jayfeather bowed his head, but relief was creeping through him. He knew Breezepelt wouldn't mind vanishing. Mapleshade, though, was going to lose to the fire after all. Even after all her hard and manipulative work to save herself. He almost laughed aloud.

"You used your powers just as you needed to," said Littlefalcon. He dipped his head. "Thank you, Jayfeather. If you hadn't taken pity on Breezepelt all those years ago, and if you hadn't connected with Mapleshade now, she would have survived this. She would have found other allies, built up the darkness once more. All would have been for nothing."

"But Breezepelt will perish." Littlefalcon nodded. His spirit shivered and flickered in and out of focus for a second, and he sighed.

"You'll go back now," he said. "The real me will see you soon."

Then Jayfeather felt himself being pulled up, and he opened his eyes – his real eyes, with a stuttering gasp. Birdfeather screamed again, and then Jayfeather looked up into her face to see that she was hopping from paw to paw.

"No way!" she cried. "Jayfeather!"

"Littlefalcon." Jayfeather made it to his paws and looked around. Breezepelt and Mapleshade had vanished. They were probably nothingness now. He shivered, feeling bad for Breezepelt, but that didn't last long, either. Nothingness would be fine for Breezepelt. And Mapleshade definitely deserved it.

"Littlefalcon?" asked Birdfeather.

"He's the one that had all those lives for us," said Jayfeather. "You know, how Mouseclaw survived the earthquakes because Willowleaf could spare her life. It was Littlefalcon."

"No way." Birdfeather's eyes went wide. "And so he just spent the one protecting you. That's how you're still here."

Jayfeather nodded urgently. Birdfeather sat back in shock. There were still tears pouring down her face. For a while they didn't say anything at all. Birdfeather just stared at him. She had never been so happy to see him. Jayfeather felt the same, but he didn't need to say it. They both knew. Jayfeather didn't even have to use his powers to know how she felt.

"I can feel it ending," said Birdfeather after a long time. Jayfeather blinked, for the first time realizing that the smoke was gone, too. It was just the two of them in this empty void of space. "Everything is just ash now." She shook her head. "Amazing to think that all of it is gone."

"You did the right thing," said Jayfeather. "You destroyed Tigerstar and Mapleshade and all those awful cats."

Birdfeather gave him a long look that he could read too easily. And also Spottedleaf and Bluestar and all those wonderful cats. Jayfeather nodded. He would have done anything to get away from that awful power and duty Birdfeather had been given. She was so strong to be able to carry through.

"Jayfeather! Birdfeather!" The two of them looked up to see Ivypool and Mountainstone speeding towards them in the odd grey-whiteness of the plane. Ivypool shivered as she approached. Jayfeather reached out to her and could feel throbbing emptiness and grief within her, the kind he had only somewhat known when Hollyleaf had died. Even with that in mind, this felt way worse.

"I can't feel StarClan's hunting grounds anymore," said Ivypool. "Or the Dark Forest."

"That's because they're gone," said Birdfeather. "I destroyed them."

"Gone?" Mountainstone flicked his ears. He took a deep breath. Jayfeather sensed there was more. "What happened to Rushfire?"

"He woke up," said Jayfeather. Birdfeather nodded. "At least I think he did."

"Bluemoon is dead." Ivypool broke the conversation with those words. Her voice sounded flat. Jayfeather stared at her and suddenly knew the reason for the emptiness inside Ivypool. He knew they'd have to bury her, too. "She died."

"Oh, no…" Birdfeather shook her head and hesitantly approached Ivypool. Jayfeather followed suit. Birdfeather paused by her brother, and Jayfeather sat next to Ivypool. The ground swirled beneath them. He was reminded of a time long ago, before Greyheart and Bluemoon had ever been born. Ivypool had fought through so many layers of grief and pain and darkness. She wouldn't recover from losing the kit she loved, but no mother ever did. But Jayfeather knew Ivypool. She would be okay. She would move forward and serve ThunderClan still. Ivypool leaned into his shoulder. She was thinking about the old days, too. She remembered their rivalry in the War of Shadows. Jayfeather was so glad that was gone now. He was glad that at least today, they were allowed to support each other.

"We should find the others," said Ivypool after a few moments of the four of them sitting in still, painful silence.

"Where would they be?" asked Mountainstone. "If everything is gone."

"I think we wait," said Birdfeather. Jayfeather glanced at her and nodded. It made sense. "Our part is over. But the others haven't finished yet."

"I don't even know what this night has become," said Ivypool. "What is the world going to look like when we wake up?"

Jayfeather didn't know the answer to that, but he felt strangely comfortable here, with the three of them. He worried about Lionstar and the others, because he still hadn't seen them. But it was going to be alright. He trusted Skysong and Willowleaf and Littlefalcon. They would succeed. Jayfeather closed his eyes and thought about them, not connecting with them really, but wishing them luck. He felt oddly calm. Even then, with StarClan entirely lost to him, Jayfeather felt that he was not alone.

He felt that things were going to be okay.

I'm getting a lot out of pairing the chapters like this. MountainIvy and BirdJay are these two like power teams that I've really loved to work with 3

These past few chapters were the last chapters for all the characters - Doveheart, Mountainstone, Ivypool, Birdfeather, and Jayfeather! There are only a few left, after all!

On to another piece of the puzzle - Skysong, the Cat Who Created Paradise!

~Elsi