A/N: My sincerest apologies to anyone who was actually reading this story! School caught up with me, and I honestly lost inspiration for this story for a little while. But I'm going to try to work on this story some more, because I really don't want this to be one of those stories that ends up staying half-finished forever :P

Again, I apologize for the wait and the shortness of the chapter. Hopefully we'll be able to see more updates for this soon :)

Hollyleaf's fur began to bristle. "Another cat?" she repeated suspiciously.

Hollyleaf blinked into the darkness. "Where did he come from?" she asked bemusedly.

She heard Fallen Leaves shifting in the dark besides her. "That's the strange thing," the tom said, green eyes glowing in the dark. "It's...it's as if he just appeared here. One moment, the tunnels were empty, and the next..." He went thoughtfully silent.

The black she-cat turned to stare off into the shadows of the tunnels. "What else do you know about him?" she inquired curiously.

The ginger-and-white tom shrugged helplessly. "Not much else," he admitted. "I don't know who he is or where he came from, but..." He paused. "Well, he's very strange."

"Strange?" Hollyleaf twisted her head around to look at him bemusedly. "How so?"

Fallen Leaves hesitated. "He's very quiet," he said at last. "The way he moves through the tunnels...he catches me by surprise." He shook his head, and Hollyleaf blinked imploringly. "It's hard to explain," he continued. "One moment, there'll be nothing around in any of the tunnels; no scent, no sound. And the next...he's there. Like a shadow. Some kind of...a ghost. I don't know..."

As she listened, Hollyleaf couldn't help glancing warily around. The darkness around them suddenly seemed much more threatening. There was a strange cat here in the tunnels, a cat who seemingly appeared from nowhere and moved about as silently as a shadow. They knew nothing about him: who he was, where he came from, why he was there, what he wanted...for all they knew, he could have come to bring harm on the Clans...like Sol.

But...then again...what if he was trying to get away from something? What if he was fleeing from some home, somewhere, where brothers and kin waited in confusion for him to return...or worse, didn't wait and turned their backs on the cat they had once called kin...

What if he was like her?

Hollyleaf's ears flattened. "Fallen Leaves?" she asked.

"Yes?" he replied curiously.

She glanced up at the tom, green eyes shining in the dark of the tunnel. "I'd like you to do something for me."

The ginger-and-white tom blinked, and Hollyleaf took a deep breath. "If you can…I need you to keep an eye on this rogue. We need to know if he's dangerous or not. If you can…could you try to follow him? See what he does, how he acts…"

Fallen Leaves nodded. "Of course, my friend," he said. "I'll try to find out as much as I can about him." He paused. "If you'd like…I can try to talk to him."

Hollyleaf smiled quietly. "Thank you, Fallen Leaves," she told him. "If you can find out why this cat is here…well, we'll have part of the mystery solved."

Her mind drifted back to the strange figure they had seen as she continued to limp along through the dark. She hadn't been able to see much of the cat before it had been swallowed up by the passages—but she was almost certain she'd seen that pair of yellow eyes, glinting in the deep shadow…

Finally, she began to feel the gentle caress of fresh, clean air on her muzzle. The blackness of the caverns began to lighten to a soft gray light. The hard stone floor beneath their paws began to steepen as they approached the hole in the rock where the tunnels opened up into the world above.

The two cats stood there, between the open air of ThunderClan territory above them and the cold dampness of the network of tunnels below. Hollyleaf turned back to the other cat with a small smile on her face. "Thank you for helping me out, Fallen Leaves," she said, dipping her head.

The young tom beamed back, his features clearly visible in the light. "You're welcome, Hollyleaf," he replied. "It was nice to see you again."

Warmth for her friend welled up in her chest. "It was nice to see you, too," she said. Taking one last look at Fallen Leaves, she began to walk up the tunnel and out into the open air.

"Hollyleaf?"

The black she-cat paused in surprise, turning to face the other cat. Fallen Leaves looked slightly uncertain as he stared up at her. "Do you…do you think that…maybe you could visit me again?"

Hollyleaf blinked in surprise. "Visit you?" she repeated curiously. She almost winced. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to get out enough," she said.

Fallen Leaves flinched as if he'd been struck. "Oh," he said. "All right." He turned his face away, but Hollyleaf could already see the pain in his face. Sorrow and sympathy for Fallen Leaves made her heart clench with pity. The poor tom had been living alone in the tunnels for years, without any contact from any other living soul. It would be enough to drive a cat mad—she knew it would have if it had been her. And he'd kept her sane for so many moons…

"Fallen Leaves?" she called. He paused. "I…I'll try to come and visit you more often," she told him, trying to convey her sincerity in her gaze.

The ginger-and-white tom beamed. "Thank you, Hollyleaf," he said. His joy was plain on his face, and she smiled back at him. "Hopefully next time it won't be by falling through the roof," she said.

Fallen Leaves laughed. He dipped his head once more. "Goodbye, Hollyleaf," he said.

"Goodbye, Fallen Leaves," she replied. "And thank you!"

The tom smiled at her once more. Then he turned and disappeared into the darkness once more. The last Hollyleaf saw of him was a ginger tail slipping around the corner, and the tunnels had swallowed him up.

The black she-cat blinked her green eyes once. Then, taking a breath, she hauled herself out of the shadows and back into the light of the world above.

Anguish.

He staggered across cracked stone, shivering as sobs of grief wracked his thin frame. One hand was braced against the wall as he struggled to stay upright; his legs shook beneath him as he quaked, half-crawling along.

He tried—futilely—to push the source of his misery from his mind. Their voices, as the one thing in his life that had brought him joy abandoned him forever to rot in this darkness.

He wanted to rip the pitiful remains of his heart from his chest, tear it out with his own hands—anything to relieve himself of the horrible agony that was ripping him apart.

He had loved her. He had loved her more deeply and more truly than anything in this pitiful world—more than his own life. The true angel, pure and kind and gentle and beautiful in every single way…and now she was gone from him forever.

His beautiful Christine. His Angel of Music. Gone.

He finally sank down into his throne as the first flickers of torchlight began to flash on the walls, the first faint strains of hateful voices began to echo in his ears.

Let them come, he thought. There is nothing left for me here.

He pulled the cloak over himself as his vision blurred farther. His limbs refused to lift, and an overwhelming weariness trapped him where he was. Helpless.

As his vision began to darken, he let his eyes slide shut. He simply did not care.

If this is death…then so be it.

Let this world be done with me…