| Ancient Powers Series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Fallen and Lost |
Powers of Darkness | Succeded by: Dead, Dark Stars |
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The final battle has come. Or is it...?
Please Note[]
That some of these cats and Clans have not been created by me. See The Character Page to see who is the original creator of the Cat and the Clan. Also, be patient if your Cat isn't immediately in the story- I assure you, your cat will make multiple appearances in the series. Please note that I am no longer be accepting Character Applications!!
Also, I'd like to give a big shout-out to Artimas Hunter, and her awesome New Generation Series, which I am a fan of. :)
And I'd also like to say thank you to Ravenflight and Wetstream for their fanart. ^_^
Chapter One - Betrayal - Snow[]
The cats were rushing into the camp faster than I could react. First came the scent of SkyClan, then the Rebels, then, at last, the WindClanners. I gasped, watching as, suddenly, the entire hollow was ablaze. Blazepaw had set the camp on fire.
"Help!" came a cry from the nursery. I gasped, and darted towards it. Reedpaw looked up at me, eyes wide. Then he looked behind him, and I realized, that the Fire was seeping into the Nursery. A Queen and her kits were huddled up in the corner of the den, as far away from the fire as they could get. I took a deep breath, and flicked my tail.
"Follow me." I meowed. The queen gave a nod, and pushed a dirty gray she-cat to her paws. Reedpaw by my side, we began making our way through the battle. I gasped, as we approached the entrance to the camp, as a fireball came shooting towards us. With all my might, I summoned the water from the pool of water beside Twistedfang's den, and created a shield of ice. The fireball shot into it, in midair, and the ice began to melt. The kits howled as the water dripped onto them. I picked up the smallest kit, a gray she-kit, and darted towards the entrance. Luckily, we had made it out. Dropping the kit by the queen's paws, I gave Reedpaw and Faithpaw a nod, and darted back into the battle.
I searched the camp for Ruinpaw and Bloodpaw, finally realizing where they were. As I ran towards them, another yowl rung through the air. During the brief pause in the battle, more cats poured into the camp, followed by Council cats. No! I thought- ShadowClan and RiverClan had been chased out as well. I felt a growl rise in my throat, as Tigerstar and Antoinette padded casually into the camp, ignoring the ongoing battle and the fire that was consuming the trees and bramble surrounding the camp.
"I hate you!" I yowled, bolting towards Tigerstar. I lunged for him, but I was easily pushed back. I glanced over at the water that was now forming a pool where the fireball came at us, and shot it at Tigerstar in many frozen shards. I gasped, as they suddenly shattered in mid-air, and came pouring down on me. I yowled, feeling them dig into my fur. Antoinette flicked her tail, and purred as Blood began to blur my vision. I felt the cool, sticky feeling of the blood seep into my fur, down my neck and down my legs. Although my vision was blurred, I easily removed the remaining shards and, with the flick of my tail, sent them flying at the flames which I knew was Blazepaw.
"Awh ooh awight?" I heard the voice of Twistedfang whisper in my ear. I relaxed, knowing that Tigerstar and Antoinette had moved on. As Twistedfang carefully removed the blood from my face and patched up my wounds, I listened to the roar of the fire as it swept around and around the camp. As Twistedfang finished, I heard a yowl. Spinning around, I gasped as I saw a large tree from above the hollow, it's base cracking. The tree slowly fell, my heart stopping as I noticed a cat in it's path.
"Ruinpaw!" I shrieked, bolting through the fighting cats. But it was too late. The tree had crushed Ruinpaw.
I felt rage run through me. I roared in anger, avoiding the gaze of the cats who were staring at me. Angrily, I searched the crowd for the cat who was on fire. I noticed him, taunting a small, white tabby she-cat, slowly burning her as she begged him for mercy. I was too angry to listen to anything now.
Letting out another howl of rage, I summoned every drop of water I could see. Blazepaw spun around as I stormed towards him, eyes wide as I dropped the large, frozen pool of water on him.
I heard a shriek of pain from behind me. I turned around, not noticing the melting ice behind me. Antoinette, her bulging white body twitching in pain, was in the center of a crowd of cats. She was giving birth.
As I rushed towards her, Antoinette let out a cry for help. "Tigerstar! Help!"
"Keep fighting, you worthless fools!" Tigerstar cried, before turning to Antoinette, "And I wouldn't help you for anything. Pitiful fool."
I felt a growl rise in my throat. What a betrayal Tigerstar had made... but I wasn't going to let the innocent kits within Antoinette die. Sitting beside her, I licked her forehead furiously. As Mist had taught me (As she had been a Healer To-Be), licking the forehead of a queen giving birth would soothe them.
Antoinette screeched, but I could hardly hear a thing over the roar of the battle. I glanced up, hoping a Medicine Cat was on their way. But I saw nothing.
"Push." I whispered, giving her head one last lick, "I'll be back in a second!"
Antoinette looked up at me, eyes wide with pain. I hissed, getting to my paws, and despite the pain that was poking me all over, I darted towards the Medicine den. I entered, searching frantically for herbs, or Twistedfang.
"Thornstripe!" I gasped, spotting the black-and-gray tom sitting quietly by the herb storage, "There's a Queen giving birth out there!"
Thornstripe nodded. "I know."
I felt another wave of anger surge through me. "Why aren't you helping, then?"
Thornstripe barred his teeth. "I don't help any ally of Tigerstar, fool. If you want to help the traitor, go ahead. I won't stop you."
Thornstripe moved away from the herb storage, and laid down in his bed of moss. Quickly, I scanned the herbs. Picking up and white-and-yellow flower, and a leaf with a white edge, I darted out of the den and back to the screeching Antoinette.
"Eat these." I whispered, pushing the herbs towards them. Between shrieks of pain, Antoinette ate them, and slowly calmed down. I sat beside her, watching as the first sac came out. I nipped it open, and began licking the kit as fast as I could. As she warmed up, I realized that Antoinette had fallen silent.
"Snow That Covers Mountain..." I heard her whisper, "Come here. Quickly."
Giving the kit one last lick, I darted over to Antoinette's side. "I am going to die. I'm sure of it. But I must thank you... for saving a kit. Take good care of her... take care of Song."
Antoinette took a deep breath, and shut her eyes. "Also, I have done you one last favor... please forgive me for all I've done to you."
And with that, her eyes shut for the final time.
Chapter Two - Pain - Ruinpaw[]
As I crawled out from the tree, pain surged through me, wave by wave. I couldn't believe I had survived the crash... I could have sworn I had met StarClan, as well. I collasped, by the tree, watching as a yowl of victory sounded from the Highledge. Tigerstar stood, victoriously over the five leaders, Rushstar at the front.
"The Clans have surrendered! The Council has won!" I heard Tigerstar yowl.
And that was when I lost my conciousness.
"Ruinpaw. Get up." I heard a sweet voice chime through my head. I groaned, and got to my paws. Looking around, I felt my heart sink as I realized I was surrounded by stars. I was dead.
There was a chuckle, and I spun around. A she-cat stood in front of me, tail wrapped around her paws. Examining her, I realized how her body was built like a Warrior's, but the scent of herbs wafted around her. She closed her eyes, and sighed.
"Do not be afraid, Ruinpaw. I am Cinderpelt, an ancestor of yours." The cat who called herself Cinderpelt meowed, "And do not be afraid- it is not time for you to join us yet."
I looked at my paws, and growled. "I got crushed by a tree. I obviously didn't survive, Cinderpelt."
"You would be dead, were it not for a certain cat..." Cinderpelt said, her voice rising to a snarl, "So I'd thank her if I were you."
My eyes widened as another she-cat appeared from the shadows. I knew immediately from her faint white outline and her blue eyes that this was Antoinette.
"Why did you help me?" I snarled at Antoinette. She did not reply, but as she stared at me, I saw pictures of Antoinette giving birth, Snow by her side. Snow helped Antoinette... and in return, she brought me back to life. I couldn't believe it... for so long, Antoinette had been an evil, scheming cat in my mind. But now, she seemed as if she had a heart of gold.
"Now go, Ruinpaw. Return to the living." Cinderpelt meowed. I took a pawstep forward, knowing this was my chance to ask about the prophecy. After all, StarClan gave it to Twistedfang...
"The Prophecy." I meowed, firmly, "I want to know what it means. Please tell me."
Cinderpelt shook her head, and began to fade away. I chased after her fading vision, but I was getting nowhere. And although I didn't want to admit it, I didn't want to return to the mortal world as my grip on StarClan released.
All was silent as conciousness returned to me. As I took a deep breath, I realized that I was in a medicine den of some sort. The scent of herbs, blood, and fear were tangled together as I opened my eyes. The she-cat in front of me, a sleek, golden she-cat, let out a sigh of relief, and buried her head in the neck fur of another cat. As my senses returned to me, I recognized the golden she-cat as Sunheart, the RiverClan medicine cat, and the black tom she had been leaning on was Bloodpaw.
"I thought you were dead." Bloodpaw declared dully, before turning away. He closed his eyes, and sighed- "You'll wish you were dead soon."
"Why?" I groaned, turning on my side. Strangely enough, the deadly pain I had felt earlier was gone. All I could feel was a slight pain in my neck.
"Torture. They... took Snow just now." Sunheart whispered. Immediately, I jumped to my paws, energy surging through my body. Snow. I had sworn I wouldn't let anything happen to her.
"Don't bother, Ruinpaw." Bloodpaw hissed, flicking his tail. He turned around, causing me to gasp. His face was missing patches of fur, and I could see scorches all over his face- burnt a slight brown down his muzzle. One of his eyes were shut, and immediately I knew he had injured it.
"Blazepaw... he's hurting cats?" I meowed, shocked. I couldn't believe that Blazepaw had gotten so violent in the past few days...
Bloodpaw nodded. "Trying to get information out of them. By the way, Ruinpaw... I'm sorry to inform you that Blazepaw is now.... Blazefur."
I felt a growl rise in my throat. Tigerstar, I presumed, had given him the name.
"Deputy." Bloodpaw growled, wrapping his midnight-black tail around his paws, "Of TigerClan."
Before I could react, two cats barged into the den. One, I recognized immediately. Hiddensun. With the other, it took me a brief moment to recognize. Allune.
"Are you sure this is the right one?" Hiddensun growled, looking at a cat behind her. She pushed him ahead, and I gasped. Fleetpaw.
"Yes, he's Ruinpaw." Fleetpaw meowed, tipping his head, "Now do I still have to do it?"
Allune shook her head. "Come with us, Ruinpaw. Tigerstar and Blazefur want to ask you a few questions."
Chapter Three - Injuries - Ruinpaw[]
Eyes wide, I followed Allune and Hiddensun out of the den. I gasped, looking around me- at the old ThunderClan camp. No trees or bramble remained on the stone walls. Most of the dens were burnt down. There was a newly-constructed tunnel that I presumed led to Blazefur. Shuddering as I followed Hiddensun through the tunnel, I turned around and realized that Allune was blocking the entrance to the tunnel. I was trapped like a mouse in TwolegPlace.
Hiddensun pushed me into the small clearing, surrounded by more perfectly-cut rock. She stood protectively at the entrance to the tunnel. Closing my eyes, I tried hard to teleport away, but I knew I was too scared to do anything. Slowly padding towards the flame-colored fur of Blazefur, I sat down a few fox-lengths in front of him.
"Hello, Ruinpaw." Blazefur meowed, no sign of expression in his voice. I shifted uncomfortably as he flicked his tail, allowing his paws to go on fire.
"Now, will you co-operate with me, or do we have to do this..." Blazefur looked at his paws, then up at me, "The hard way?"
"Depends on what you're gonna ask me." I retorted, pawing at the ground for a brief moment.
Blazefur growled, and his eyes flashed red. "First- what do you know about the prophecy?"
I put on a surprised face, and looked up at Blazefur. "What in the name of StarClan are you talking about? A prophecy...?"
Blazefur narrowed his eyes, and shot a small fireball at my face. I howled as it hit my cheek, burning off my gray fur. "Don't play stupid with me, Ruinpaw. The prophecy. The one Twistedfang gave us. I happen to know that you know about it."
"Like I'd tell you after what you've done, you monster." I snapped, unsheathing my claws and digging them into the ground.
Blazefur flicked his tail, and padded over to me. Placing his tail on my shoulder, I howled again as firey pain shot through my shoulders. I stuggled to get away, but Blazefur had his tail wrapped around me tight. At last, I wriggled free, and licked my shoulder rapidly in an attempt to cease the pain.
"Are you ready to tell me now?" Blazefur hissed, allowing the flames to take over his entire body.
I shook my head, and sat down, stubbornly. Blazefur sighed, and turned away. "Hiddensun, Allune, take him back to the holding den. I'll deal with him later."
As I padded back through the camp, memories surged through my head. I desperately attempted to remember one crucial detail- I knew that there was something we were missing. The Prophecy... The prophecy...
The Ancients.
As I was thrown back into the Medicine den, I looked around for Snow and Bloodpaw. I glared at Fleetpaw as I passed, and sat down beside Bloodpaw. He flicked his tail towards the herb storage, and out came a familiar white she-cat. Snow.
I gasped, as she got closer. Tiny burn marks lined the right side of her face, in an elegant pattern. She hissed, sitting down, and closed her eyes.
"It hurts." Snow meowed quietly after a moment of silence. I attempted to comfort her, but Bloodpaw had his tail wrapped around her burnt shoulders already.
"I know something that could help us." I whispered to Bloodpaw and Snow quietly. They looked up at me, and waited for me to continue.
"The Ancients. They were the ones who gave Twistedfang the prophecy."
Don't miss Dead, Dark Stars- The beginning to Fallen, and the eleventh book in the Ancient Powers Series!