Chapter One: So, You Want to Save Your Afterlife...
"So, in other words, we're all going to die," said Bluebellkit cheerfully. "Cool! I always love some good news first thing in the morning."
"We're not going to die," corrected Coralstar, emerging from the shadows, her bright golden pelt shining like a small star in the darkness. "If we all come together, maybe we can make StarClan and the living Clans believe that even Dark Forest cats have a right to exist."
"You think?" asked Violetshadow, Coralstar's mate, skeptically. "Since when have StarClan and the living Clans cared about the Place of No Stars? I think they'll happily watch us all die."
"No need to be so cheerful about it," muttered Featherfluff, not very cheerfully, from where she sat in the shadows of a rotted tree, grooming her thick silver fur. Her face was half-hidden in shadow, almost concealing the scars around her left eye that formed the shape of a heart.
"Come on!" meowed Coralstar impatiently. "We can change StarClan's minds, I'm sure of it! We just have to try, and not be resigned to being killed."
"Well, when you put it like that . . ." sighed Violetshadow. "All right. Let's give it a try."
The other cats chimed in their agreement, and Coralstar perked up her ears. "That's the spirit!"
"So, how do we actually, you know, go about talking to StarClan?" asked Bluebellkit, her blue eyes wide.
Coralstar realized that she hadn't thought that far ahead. "Um," she began.
"I think we should start by talking to as many Dark Forest cats as we can," suggested Violetshadow, and Coralstar shot her mate a grateful look. "Good idea."
"How do we find other cats?" asked Bluebellkit. "I've looked for others before, but I've never found any."
"We look harder," meowed Coralstar. "We need to talk to as many cats as we can—I think StarClan would be more likely to listen to us if there are a lot of us—"
"Can we threaten them?" interrupted Bluebellkit hopefully.
"No; that would just reinforce their belief that we're all dangerous cats that need to be destroyed," sighed Coralstar. "But if they see that lots of us are unhappy with their descision—not just a few vocal cats—then I think we could change their minds."
"I still think your plan is crazy," muttered Featherfluff, "but if we're going to try it, we need to get started. We only have a quarter moon until StarClan and the living Clans make their decision."
"Well, then let's get started!" meowed Coralstar, jumping to her paws. "Should we split up or go together?"
"Let's go together," suggested Violetshadow. "As you said earlier, it should make us look more united, like we're not just a couple of crazies going against the will of StarClan."
"Then let's go!" Coralstar bounded off into the shadows, tail held high.
"You don't have to be quite so cheerful when we're probably all going to die!" yelled Featherfluff after her, but she, Violetshadow, and Bluebellkit all got up and followed Coralstar into the Dark Forest.
To Bluebellkit's surprise, it didn't take the group very long to find their first Dark Forest warrior, a mangy-looking yellow she-cat with a stumpy tail and ragged ears.
"Hi!" called Coralstar cheerfully with a wave of her tail. "What's your name?"
The she-cat glared at her with pale yellow eyes. "It's Moldheart. What do you want?"
Coralstar was taken aback. "Um. Well, I'm Coralstar, and these are Violetshadow, Featherfluff, and Bluebellkit. Have you heard that—"
"—that StarClan and those living upstarts are going to try to kill us? Yes, I've heard. And if that's all you wanted to bother me with, go away." Moldheart hunched her shoulders and began chewing on one of her dewclaws.
Undeterred, Coralstar pushed on. "Actually, we wanted to ask if you would help us. We're going to talk to StarClan and try to get them to change their minds about killing us, and we thought that having more cats on our side might make StarClan more likely to listen."
Moldheart laughed. "You've got mouse dung between your ears, Coral-whatever-your-name-was. We don't exist to StarClan except for when we do something bad. They don't care wheter we live or die. Why should I help you beg in front of them?" She got up, and with a flick of her matted tail walked away into the forest. Before she was out of sight she turned and called over her shoulder, "I'd wish you good luck, but there's no point, since you're going to fail!"
Coralstar's tail drooped.
"Hey, don't take it too seriously," meowed Violetshadow, wrapping his tail around her shoulders. "Not every cat is going to support us. We have to keep going and find the ones who will."
"Right. Well, let's do that." Coralstar sniffed the air, but was unable to pick up the scents of any other cats. "Which way should we go?"
"Let's go this way!" mewed Bluebellkit, and took off down a narrow path to their left.
"Looks like we're going that way," meowed Violetshadow, and he and Featherfluff followed the kit down the path. Coralstar brought up the rear, feeling disappointed. Of course, Moldheart was just one cat. There were lots more in the Dark Forest, and she still believed that most of them would be on her side. But it was still disappointing to have been so soundly rejected on her very first try.
"Hey! There's a cat!" yowled Bluebellkit, and Coralstar came back to the present. There was, indeed, a skinny brown tom sitting by the path, and he looked none too pleased to see them.
"Hi," meowed Coralstar. "I'm sure you've heard about how StarClan and the living Clans are going to try to kill us. We're going to try to convince StarClan to leave us alone, and we could use your help." She braced herself for the tom to reject her proposal, but he tilted his head thoughtfully instead, hackles smoothing. "You think you can change their minds?"
"Yes, I do," meowed Coralstar firmly.
After a moment the tom nodded. "All right. I'll help. I'm not so sure that we'll change StarClan's minds, but I'm not just going to sit back and be killed. My name's Fintail; what's yours?"
"I'm Coralstar; this is my mate Violetshadow; this is Featherfluff; and this is—"
"I'm Bluebellkit!" interrupted the kit.
Fintail's whiskers twitched in amusement. "Nice to meet you, Bluebellkit. So, where are we going?" he added to Coralstar.
"Further on, I guess," she meowed, staring out into the endless shadowy forest. "Since we have no way of knowing where cats live, we can't go directly to them."
"All right then," meowed Fintail, dipping his head to Coralstar. "Lead on."
Chapter Two: Meet the Murderous Medicine Cat
For a long time, the cats walked through the Dark Forest. Coralstar kept her ears pricked and nose high, but she didn't pick up any trace of other cats. Were they so spread out that they simply hadn't crossed paths? Or were other cats hiding from them?
Coralstar's optimism was starting to fade by the time the sky grew slightly darker, in the Dark Forest equivalent of night. "Do you want to call it a day?" she asked Violetshadow, who was padding along at her side.
"Let's go a little farther," her mate meowed, whiskers quivering as he sniffed the air. "I've been here before, and I think there are cats that live nearby."
"Like this one?" asked a voice.
Coralstar jumped, Bluebellkit squealed, and they all looked up to see a tom sitting on a crooked tree branch right above their heads.
"Who are you?" asked Coralstar, trying to slow her racing heartbeat.
The tom leapt down from the branch. "My name is Fawnfang," he meowed, and, noticing the shocked expression on Coralstar's face, added, "I see you've heard of me?"
"Of course I've heard of you! You're infamous in the Clans!" Coralstar wasn't sure if she should dip her head to him or run in the opposite direction.
Fawnfang purred, looking pleased. "I've heard of you, too—and your plan to try to save the Dark Forest. I'd like to help, if you'll have me."
How had word spread so quickly? Well, Coralstar wasn't complaining. She opened her mouth to reply, but Fintail stepped in front of her. "We can't let him come with us!"
"Is anybody going to fill me in here?" asked Featherfluff. "Who is this cat?"
"You haven't heard of him?" meowed Fintail.
"I don't know much Clan history," explained Featherfluff. "I was born a kittypet."
"Oh," meowed Fintail. "Well, he was a medicine cat who used his skill with herbs to poison eleven cats, and he's one of the best fighters in the Place of No Stars. He's dangerous!"
Fawnfang laughed. "Eleven cats? Really? Whoever told you that doesn't know their history. It was sixteen. But that's besides the point. I know lots of cats—both here and in StarClan—who would support the Dark Forest's continuing existance, and I'm confident that if we work together, we'll have a much better chance of saving the Dark Forest than either of us would on our own."
Coralstar frowned, thinking. On one paw, if he really knew Dark Forest and StarClan cats that would be on their side, then he could really help them. But on the other paw, he was still a dangerous cat that she wasn't sure she trusted. But then again, every cat in the Dark Forest was dangerous in some way, including herself and her allies. And they needed his help . . .
"All right," Coralstar meowed, ignoring Fintail's protests. "You can come with us. But you'd better know as many cats as you say you do."
"Oh, I do," replied Fawnfang. "I know cats you've only heard of in elders' tales." He stretched, his russet fur gleaming in the dim light.
"Do you know Half Moon?" asked Bluebellkit, peering out from behind Violetshadow's legs.
"I do, and she's a fox-heart," meowed Fawnfang. "She won't help us."
Coralstar looked at the russet tom with new respect. She'd never met any cat—even in the Dark Forest—who would dare call Half Moon, the founder of StarClan, a fox-heart.
"Who else do you know?" demanded the kit.
"Oh, I know Maggottail, Silverhawk, and Smallstep, just to name a few," Fawnfang replied casually, and Bluebellkit's eyes grew as wide as small moons. "Wow! Are you going to take us to them now?"
"Not now," interrupted Violetshadow before Fawnfang could answer. "It's late, and we've traveled a long way. We need to find somewhere to spend the night before we do anything else."
"I'm not tired!" protested Bluebellkit, and then yawned three times in quick succession. "Okay, maybe a little bit."
"I know a place where we can stay the night," meowed Fawnfang. "Follow me." He led the cats through the sticky, dying undergrowth to a small, secluded clearing with enough tangled moss to make nests in. Bluebellkit immediately flopped down and began snoring, but Violetshadow leaned in and whispered into Coralstar's ear, "Are you sure about this?"
"We don't have much of a choice," replied Coralstar softly. "We have to trust at some point. Now, let's go to sleep, and hope that we're still alive tomorrow morning."
Chapter Three: Saving the Afterlife is Harder Than it Seems
When Coralstar awoke the next morning, her first thought was that she had survived the night. The medicine-cat-turned-murderer hadn't killed her in her sleep. Not that she had thought he would (at least, not much). She yawned and stretched and looked around the small clearing. Bluebellkit was stretched out on her side, snoring loudly, and Featherfluff was grooming her long, silky silver fur, ears pricked to try to overhear what Violetshadow and Fawnfang were discussing at the far side of the clearing.
"Where's Fintail?" she asked aloud. The brown tom was nowhere in sight.
Featherfluff looked up from her grooming. "He left late last night and said he wasn't coming back. He says he isn't going to stay anywhere near Fawnfang." She turned back to her chest fur, and Coralstar looked across the clearing at Fawnfang, where he stood beside her mate. His russet fur was sleek and well-groomed, his ears pricked and tail high. Did he care that he had lost them one of their allies? Or was he just thinking about . . . well, whatever murderous medicine cats thought about?
Violetshadow saw her watching, and, with a nod to Fawnfang, padded across the clearing to her. "I know what you're thinking," he meowed.
"No you don't," replied Coralstar automatically.
Violetshadow sighed. "You're thinking that we might have made a mistake trusting Fawnfang, since it cost us Fintail's support."
That was . . . really close to what she had been thinking. "Okay, fine, you're a mind reader. But what do you think about the whole thing?"
"I think it's worth trusting Fawnfang," replied her mate. "I've been talking to him, and I believe that if we can get half of the cats he knows on our side, we can convince StarClan to spare us. He may have cost us Fintail, but I think he'll more than make up for that."
"I hope you're right," meowed Coralstar with a sigh. She was beginning to realize just how complex saving the Dark Forest was going to be. To Fawnfang she called, "Who are you going to introduce us to today?"
"I was thinking we could stop by Maggottail's den first. I doubt he'll help us, but he's so close by I think it would be a waste to skip him. Then we can pay Smallstep a visit, and maybe after that talk to Midnightbloom, if we have time," Fawnfang replied.
"We're going to meet Smallstep?" yowled a now-wide-awake Bluebellkit. "Cool!"
"Well, we should get going," suggested Featherfluff, who had finished her grooming and padded up to the group unnoticed. "It sounds like we'll have a lot of walking to do."
"Good idea," said Violetshadow. "Which way?"
"This way." Fawnfang took the lead and led them onward into the rotting undergrowth. Coralstar brought up the rear, keeping an eye on Bluebellkit, who was running circles around the group and occasionally taking off after rustling leaves. After a little while, Featherfluff dropped back to walk alongside her. "So," she whispered into Coralstar's ear, "what else can you tell me about Fawnfang?"
Coralstar pricked up her ears in surprise. "Fintail told you pretty much everything I know for sure. Of course, I could tell you rumors and old tales, but I'm sure half of them aren't true." She glanced over at the silver she-cat. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason," Featherfluff meowed. "By the way, did any of the rumors you've heard ever mention him having a mate?"
Oh. That's what this is all about, thought Coralstar. Featherfluff was hopelessly romantic, and she had said numerous times that her biggest regret was her inability to find true love before she died. Coralstar personally thought that Featherfluff should feel a bit more regret for killing half of WindClan after they teased her about her kittypet past. But to each their own in the Dark Forest, she supposed. "I never heard a story that mentioned a mate," she replied, "but that's probably because he was a medicine cat."
"That doesn't mean anything," pointed out Featherfluff. "Violetshadow was a ShadowClan medicine cat, and he still fell in love with you, even though you were ThunderClan leader at the time. And anyhow, Fawnfang isn't a medicine cat anymore."
"That's all true, but he still might not want a mate," replied Coralstar, wondering how in the name of the Dark Forest Featherfluff had found out about her own complicated love life.
"Well, I'm going to find out," meowed Featherfluff determinedly. Coralstar was genuinely surprised when the silver she-cat didn't immediately run up to Fawnfang and interrogate him about his mate, or lack thereof. Instead, she sped up until she was walking next to Violetshadow, and the two of them began to talk. Coralstar was tempted to eavesdrop, but she decided to set a good example for a change and take care of Bluebellkit instead. The kit had tried to climb onto a slimy log, but had fallen off and gotten covered in mud, and was hopping around like a frog as she tried to shake it off her fur.
"Here, let me help," Coralstar meowed, using her forepaws to wipe most of the mud off of Bluebellkit's face.
"Thanks," meowed Bluebellkit, flicking her tail to get some slime off of it. The slime went flying through the air and splatted onto Featherfluff's newly groomed pelt.
"Oopsie," mewed the kit, ducking behind Coralstar. But Featherfluff had already seen her. "You little toadstool!" she yowled, sounding more amused than upset. "I'll get you for that!" Bluebellkit squealed and darted off into the trees and Featherfluff followed. Their yowls of laughter echoed back to Coralstar as she picked up her pace to catch up with the rest of the group. At least it'll take Featherfluff's mind off mates, she thought.
Soon they reached a damp, misty glade where the shadows seemed deeper than usual, even for the Dark Forest. "We're here!" announced Fawnfang. "Maggottail! Are you in there?" Featherfluff and Bluebellkit burst out of the undergrowth and rejoined the rest of the group as Coralstar padded forward to see the small, ragged den that Fawnfang was yowling at. Moments later a patchy-furred gray tom slid out of the den. "Go away," he snapped. "I'm not accepting visitors!"
"Hear us out," meowed Coralstar urgently. "Have you heard that StarClan and the—"
"Haven't heard, don't care to hear, leave me alone," growled Maggottail and stalked off into the forest, where he was quickly hidden in the shadows and the swirling mist.
Fawnfang shrugged cheerfully. "Well, I didn't think he would be likely to help us. On to Smallstep!" And with that he led them in the opposite direction.
Bluebellkit, now mostly mud-free, fell into step beside Coralstar. "Do you really trust him?" the kit whispered, nodding to Fawnfang.
"Not entirely, but we don't have much choice. He might be our only hope," Coralstar meowed softly.
Bluebellkit nodded thoughtfully, padding along in unusual silence. As the cats walked, the terrain slowly began to change, from the forest of dead trees interspersed with clumps of rotting vegetation and glowing fungus to a hillier landscape with fewer trees, more glowing mushrooms, and lots more cold mist that clung to their fur. It wasn't anything like the part of the Dark Forest that Coralstar called home, and she shivered.
After a while, once the mist had gotten so thick that it was difficult to see, Fawnfang called the group to a halt. In a low voice, he meowed, "Just over the next hill is where Smallstep lives. He's easily offended. Don't say anything impolite, even if you're just kidding. If he feels insulted, he'll kill us, but if he's in a good mood, he'll probably help us. Ready?"
No, Coralstar did not feel ready at all, nor did she think her companions did. But she nodded to Fawnfang anyhow and said, "Let's do this."
Chapter Four: This Has Been Tried Before
Smallstep certainly lives up to his name, thought Coralstar when she saw him, sitting under a crumbling tree that was heavy with glowing mushrooms. He was short and slight of stature, with protruding ribs and golden fur the same shade as her own. But his eyes—unlike hers—were a dark, washed-out blue that bored into her when he lifted his head and demanded, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
Coralstar introduced herself and her companions and said, "I'm sure you've heard about how StarClan and the living Clans are going to try to kill us all? Well, we're going to try to stop them, and we could use your help."
Smallstep shook his head sadly. "There's nothing you can do to stop them, young one. StarClan only care about themselves and the living cats that will join them. They won't listen to us—trust me, I've tried." He stared off into the swirling mist, his dark eyes glazed with memory. "When I was alive, I tried to stand up to StarClan and save my mate from the punishment they had inflicted on her. They killed us, sent me here, and arranged for the living Clans to give our newborn kit away. I've never seen her—or our daughter—again. What makes you think they'll treat you any differently?"
Coralstar blinked, her chest tightening with sympathy. She had lost both her parents when she was young, and had almost lost Violetshadow, so she could imagine how he felt. But all of her losses had been from fate, or were thanks to the living Clans. She hadn't known that StarClan was capable of inflicting that kind of pain on any cat, no matter what they had done in life.
"I'm very sorry for what happened to you," she meowed softly. "StarClan is cruel sometimes. But I'm not going to let them do something even worse without at least trying to change their minds."
"You sound just like me when I was your age," Smallstep sighed. "The difficult part isn't changing their minds. To succeed, you'll have to change their hearts. And trust me, there's nothing harder to change than the heart of a StarClan cat."
"Well, we have to try!" meowed Coralstar, lifting her chin. "You can do what you like. But I'm not just going to sit back and be killed." Smallstep's eyes flashed, and too late she remembered Fawnfang's warning. But the small tom didn't attack; instead, he slumped to his belly on the ground, the picture of defeat. "I'm not coming with you," he meowed. "But I wish you luck, even if I doubt it'll do you any good." He curled up, with his back toward Coralstar, and she took that as her cue to leave, with her companions padding behind her.
Once they were well away from Smallstep's glade, Violetshadow sighed. "That went well. Tell me, Fawnfang, do you know any cats who will actually be on our side?"
"I never promised that they would all be on our side," replied the russet tom with a shrug. "I just said they might be. And anyhow, there are lots more cats to go."
"How many more?" demanded Bluebellkit, who had been being uncharacteristically quiet. "Do you know Heart's Blood?"
Featherfluff gasped. "Heart's Blood is here? In the Dark Forest?"
"I don't know him well," replied Fawnfang. "We have, shall we say, differences of opinion on some rather important topics. But yes, he's in the Dark Forest. Where else would a cat with his past be? He's certainly not fit for StarClan."
"I had hoped he was somewhere—anywhere—else," muttered Featherfluff, curling her claws into the ground, her hackles beginning to rise.
"You've met him?" Bluebellkit asked Fawnfang. "Is he as handsome as all the stories say he is?"
"I wasn't paying attention to his looks—" began Fawnfang, but Featherfluff cut him off. "He's not handsome! He's one of the few cats who deserves everything the Place of No Stars can give him!"
"Hey, calm down," meowed Coralstar, stepping in and curling her tail over Featherfluff's shoulders. "He's not here, he's suffering in some other part of the Dark Forest. How do you know him, anyway?"
"We were kittypets together," muttered Featherfluff, stepping away from Coralstar. "I don't want to talk about it. Who are we meeting next?"
"How about Midnightbloom?" suggested Fawnfang.
"Sounds good. Let's go." Featherfluff stalked off down the narrow, twisting trail. Coralstar and Violetshadow met each other's gaze for a heartbeat, and then followed the silver she-cat in silence. The cold mist swirled around them, and Coralstar thought of Smallstep, alone and defeated in his little part of the Place of No Stars. The mist continued to thicken, soaking through her fur as she followed the path down a steep hill, and she shivered, feeling suddenly hopeless. What if Smallstep was right, and her desperate plan was doomed for failure? What if she couldn't save the Dark Forest cats? She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice that she had strayed from the path until suddenly the mist cleared, and she was all alone.
Chapter Five: Heart's Blood is Rather Heartless
Where was everyone? Coralstar spun around, searching the shadows for her friends, but seeing only darkness and fading mist. "Hello?" she called. "Violetshadow? Featherfluff?"
Her only answer was her own voice echoing back to her.
Coralstar took a deep breath. This was simple. She'd follow her own scent trail back to the path, where her friends would be. She sniffed for her own scent, but smelled nothing but rot and old, cold earth. It was as if the mist had washed away her own smell.
Stay calm, Coralstar thought to herself, and began to retrace her steps. She had come down the hill, so to get back she needed to go up the hill. She scrambled up the steep trail, paws slipping. Was this the right path? It hadn't seemed this steep going down. Coralstar climbed faster, her heart pounding in her chest. Was she lost?
In her haste, she slipped on a patch of slimy gray moss and slid backward, trying to dig in her claws. But the moss continued to tear away, and with a yowl of terror Coralstar tumbled backwards down the hill, sliding past where she had originally stopped and down into the valley below. She scraped over a rock and banged her head into a tree, and swirling stars, as bright as StarClan, filled her vision as she finally came to a halt at the bottom of the valley.
Coralstar laid still for several heartbeats, the wind knocked out of her. When she could breathe again, she pushed herself up to her paws and shook her fur, sending scraps of moss and bits of slime flying. Her flanks were scratched, but other than that she didn't think she was injured at all. Thank StarClan I didn't break anything, she thought out of habit, and then corrected herself. I don't have to thank StarClan for anything. They can't hear me here. And if they could, they wouldn't want to listen.
"Are you all right there, beautiful?" asked a voice, and Coralstar spun around to see a large, long-furred white tom with a ragged left ear standing on a crumbling log a bit further up the valley.
"Yeah, I'm all right," Coralstar meowed, padding over to him. "Where are we?"
"We're in my territory," replied the tom, and for Coralstar wondered if he was going to chase her away. As if he could tell what she was thinking, the tom purred, "Don't worry, I'm not going to drive you off. There's always room on my territory for pretty young cats who haven't yet lost the scent of the living world." He leapt down from the log, and for the first time, Coralstar noticed the black, heart-shaped patch around his left eye. It reminded her of Featherfluff's scar, and, for a reason she couldn't explain, a chill ran down her spine. She wanted to back away from him but felt that doing so might offend him.
"Can you please tell me how to get back to the path that's somewhere up on top of that hill?" she asked, pointing with her tail. "The one that leads to Smallstep's territory?"
"You know Smallstep?" asked the tom, his blue eyes sharpening with interest. "You look a lot like him; are you related?"
"I've only met him once, and I don't know if we're related," replied Coralstar. "But what about the path?"
"Oh, the path," meowed the tom. "What if I don't want you to leave so soon?" He padded closer, his long tail swishing.
Coralstar's instincts were screaming at her to get away from him, but she doubted that she could outrun him. She forced her voice to stay steady as she meowed, "I have to go. My friends are looking for me.
"They won't find you here." The tom moved even closer, his hot breath bathing her muzzle, and Coralstar stepped back. "All right, that's enough. I'm leaving." She scrambled up the hill, searching for the path. Where was it? Was she even going in the correct direction? Her paws kept slipping, slowing her down, and when she looked over her shoulder, she saw that the tom was following her, slowly but steadily working his way up the hill.
A burst of fear gave Coralstar's legs strength, and she clawed her way up the steep slope. "Violetshadow!" she yowled. "VIOLETSHADOW! HELP!"
"Nobody's going to hear you," purred the tom from behind her. Coralstar jumped and almost slipped. "There's really no need for this. Come back down with me, and you'll be fine. Well, more or less fine."
"She's not going anywhere with you!" yowled Violetshadow from above as he skidded down the hill. "Back away from her!"
Coralstar had never been so glad to see her mate. "Violetshadow! You heard me!"
The tom looked up the hill to where the rest of Coralstar's friends were climbing down toward them. "You don't need to make all this fuss," he meowed. "I wasn't going to hurt her."
"Sure you weren't," muttered Violetshadow, wrapping his tail over Coralstar's shoulders. "Are you all right?"
Coralstar nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you." She let him lead her up the hill, to where Featherfluff and Fawnfang were waiting.
The tom followed. "Is that Fawnfang?" he meowed in surprise. "Where have you been? Not that I really care, but I'd started to think that you'd crawled into a hole somewhere and died. Well, one can't be that lucky, I suppose."
Bluebellkit bristled. "Who's this piece of mouse dung?" she asked Fawnfang.
"Oh, nobody important," shrugged the russet tom.
The tom purred. "Trust you to say that! I'm Heart's Blood," he meowed to Bluebellkit. "Pleased to meet you."
"Stay back!" Featherfluff grabbed the kit's scruff as she tried to get closer to Heart's Blood. "You don't want anything to do with him."
"Come now, that's a little harsh," said Heart's Blood. "I'm—StarClan dead and buried, is that you, Featherfluff?" He sprang up the hill and landed next to Featherfluff, who looked paralyzed.
Heart's Blood ran a claw over Featherfluff's heart-shaped scar, which matched his own marking almost perfectly. He smiled at Coralstar. "How nice of you to bring her back to me."
Chapter Six: A Battle and Some Shadow Travel
"Get away from her, you creep!" yowled Coralstar, sliding down the hill toward Featherfluff.
"Do you really think you can make me?" laughed Heart's Blood, sidestepping her and wrapping his tail around Featherfluff's shoulders.
Violetshadow unsheathed his claws. "Considering there are four of us and only one of you? Yeah, I think we can."
"Hey!" yelped Bluebellkit. "You forgot me! There are five of us!"
"Bluebellkit, stay out of this," snapped Coralstar, then turned her attention back to Heart's Blood. "Well? You're outnumbered. Get away from Featherfluff or we'll make you."
"You silly little cat," purred Heart's Blood. "You're so sure that you can defeat me! Well, you can't! Voletwist, Velvetpelt, attack!"
A blue-gray tom and a dark gray she-cat leapt down from the twisted tree branches above them, teeth bared and claws extended. "Prepare to die!" Voletwist yowled, and sprang forward.
Coralstar dodged as Voletwist threw himself at her. He slipped on the steep slope and slid into a tree, and she used his distraction to knock his paws out from underneath him, sending him tumbling into the valley. Further up on the hill, Violetshadow and Velvetpelt were fighting, and Coralstar scrabbled up the slope, muscles burning, and leapt into the fight. "Leave my mate alone!" she yowled, raking her claws down Velvetpelt's flanks. The dark gray she-cat yowled and lashed out at Coralstar's face, but Coralstar jumped back just in time and tripped Velvetpelt, who rolled over several times, hit a rock, and fell still.
Panting, Coralstar turned to Violetshadow. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," her mate replied. "Let's get Featherfluff." He bounded down the hill and launched himself at Heart's Blood. "Let her go!" He clawed at the white tom's already-ragged ear and he shrieked, losing his grip on Featherfluff, who bolted up the hill and hid behind Fawnfang. Violetshadow and Heart's Blood wrestled, rolling downhill, until Violetshadow found his paws and kicked Heart's Blood down the hill. He looked up to Coralstar and called, "Featherfluff, are you—LOOK BEHIND YOU!"
Coralstar spun around and saw Voletwist creeping toward them. "Haven't you had enough?" she yowled, stepping in front of Featherfluff. "I'll push you right back down that hill if you take one step closer."
"Oh, I'm not here for her," said Voletwist with a dismissive wave of his tail in Featherfluff's direction. "I'm here for him!" He lunged at Fawnfang, who easily stepped out of the way with a laugh.
"Don't laugh at me, you little piece of crow-food!" Voletwist yowled, swiping at Fawnfang's muzzle.
Fawnfang laughed again. "That's harsh! Are you still mad about that time I—"
"Shut UP!" screeched Voletwist, leaping onto Fawnfang's back. The russet tom rolled over, squishing Voletwist against the ground, and then leapt back. "Is that really the best you can do?" Fawnfang demanded with a grin. "You were a far better fighter than that when I knew you."
Voletwist yowled with rage and attacked again, but Fawnfang had the high ground and threw him back down the hill. With a shriek the blue-gray tom went tumbling down into the valley again, and this time he hit the ground hard and laid still. Fawnfang leapt lightly down the slope to where he lay.
"I think he's had enough," called Coralstar, but the russet tom turned his back to her and began sniffing at Voletwist's head. Velvetpelt was both still unconscious, and Heart's Blood was struggling to free himself from a tangle of brambles at the bottom of the valley, so Coralstar scrambled uphill to where Featherfluff was. "Are you all right?" she demanded.
The silver she-cat nodded. "Yeah. Thanks." She stared at her paws, her eyes dark, and Coralstar wrapped her tail around her shoulders. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yes. No. I don't know," Featherfluff sighed. "It's just . . . we were in a bad relationship, back when I was a kittypet, and I thought that once I left my housefolk and joined WindClan, I 'd never have to deal with him again." She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry I froze up like that. I should've helped you fight back."
"Hey, don't worry about it," meowed Coralstar, breaking off when she saw Violetshadow climbing up the hill, Bluebellkit and Fawnfang following. "Are you guys all right?" she asked.
"More or less," her mate replied, twitching his left ear, which Heart's Blood had shredded. "But we'll all live. We should get out of here before they recover," he added, looking over his shoulder at Heart's Blood, Velvetpelt, and Voletwist.
"How? They'll just follow us," meowed Featherfluff.
"Not necessarily," said Fawnfang, licking his muzzle, which was red with blood. "If we shadow travel, they won't be able to track us."
"What's shadow travel?" asked Coralstar.
"You know how StarClan cats appear like they're glowing with light, and how they manipulate light to allow them to contact cats when moonlight reaches the Moonstone? Well, Dark Forest cats can do similar things, only with darkness instead of light. Shadow travel, where a cat travels from one shadow to a distant one, is one of those things," explained Fawnfang.
"Cool! How do we do it?" Bluebellkit asked, furrowing her brow as if she could move from one shadow to another through willpower alone.
"You can't," meowed Fawnfang. "Only a few cats, ones who have done certain special things, can shadow travel. I'm one of them." He swiped at his muzzle, trying to wipe away the last of the blood on it.
"Cool! What are the special things? Wait, is that your blood? I didn't know you were hurt!" exclaimed Bluebellkit.
"I'm fine; it's Voletwist's blood," the russet tom meowed, dodging Bluebellkit's first question. "Now, are we going to shadow travel out of here, or shall we wait for Heart's Blood and his friends to come after us again?"
"Let's go," meowed Featherfluff with a shiver. Coralstar nodded agreement.
"All right then. Touch me with your muzzle," Fawnfang instructed. "And hurry!" he added, and Coralstar looked down the hill and saw that Heart's Blood had almost freed himself from the brambles.
Coralstar pressed her muzzle to Fawnfang's shoulder. His thick fur smelled like blood, and she tried not to sneeze. Once everyone was touching him, Fawnfang closed his eyes. The shadows around them seemed to deepen and flicker, like dark flames, and then Coralstar was wrenched off her paws by a wave of dark cold that carried her away into the shadows.
Chapter Seven: We're Running Out of Time
Coralstar stumbled and nearly pitched headfirst into a tree as the Dark Forest re-formed around her. Her head was spinning and her stomach lurched as Fawnfang's shadows faded into the darkness around them. Beside her, Violetshadow sneezed and shook his head. "Not my favorite way to travel," he meowed, and Featherfluff made a dizzy noise of agreement from where she lay muzzle down in a shriveled fern.
"The feeling will pass soon," meowed Fawnfang. "And if you shadow travel often enough, it'll stop affecting you as much."
"Good to know," muttered Coralstar. "But I never want to shadow travel often enough to find out whether or not you're telling the truth."
"What do you mean?" mewed Bluebellkit, bounding up with all her usual energy. "That was fun!"
"Only to you," grumbled Featherfluff as she staggered to her paws. "Fawnfang, are you sure Heart's Blood can't track us here?"
"I'm certain," the russet tom replied. "No cat can track shadow travel, at least not here. Maybe in StarClan, where shadows are so rare. But certainly not in in the Dark Forest." He licked a paw and began to wash his muzzle, which was still streaked with blood.
"Eek! A spider!" yowled Bluebellkit, and Coralstar spun around to see the kit halfway up a tree. A large, hairy spider sat below her, waving its front legs threateningly.
"It's okay!" called Violetshadow reassuringly. "We'll get rid of it." He padded over to the tree and bent toward the spider, only to leap back. "It touched me! It touched my nose!"
"Aw, are you afraid of spiders?" teased Coralstar. She poked the creature with a forepaw, expecting it to scuttle away like living spiders did, but instead it lashed out at her with a hairy limb. She backed up, hackles rising.
"Now who's scared?" asked Violetshadow with an amused twitch of his whiskers.
"Not me," muttered Coralstar, bushing out her fur and approaching the spider again. "All right, you hairy little piece of mousedung," she growled, and swatted it with a paw. It was a good hit, the kind she would use against an enemy warrior, and the spider flew several tail-lengths away. "Ha! Take that!" Turning to Violetshadow she added, "See? Not scared at all."
"Thank you SO much!" squealed Bluebellkit, jumping out of the tree and landing squarely on Coralstar's shoulders. "Great StarClan, you're heavier than you look," she grunted as her knees buckled and the kit slid off onto the ground.
"Hey! Let me back up!" squeaked Bluebellkit, trying to climb back onto Coralstar's shoulders.
"Oof! Get off, you're too heavy!" yelped Coralstar. "Go climb on Fawnfang! He's big and strong!"
"Don't even think about it," warned Fawnfang, taking a step back from the kit.
"I am thinking about it," meowed Bluebelkit. "What would you do if I tried it? Eat me?"
"I'm not going to eat you!" Fawnfang exclaimed. "Ugh! Kits give me indigestion."
"How do you know that?!" demanded Featherfluff.
Fawnfang was saved from having to answer by a voice behind them asking, "Um . . . is now a bad time?"
Coralstar turned around, and not seeing anyone, she looked down, where she saw Smallstep. "Oh, hi!" she meowed. "Did you change your mind about helping us?"
"No, I came to bring news," he meowed, sounding even more depressed than he had at their previous meeting. "StarClan just met with the living Clans. I know it's early," he added, seeing Coralstar open her mouth to speak, "but they did it anyway. The good news? The living Clans voted not to kill us."
Bluebellkit cheered.
"The bad news," Smallstep continued with a sigh, "is that StarClan has decided to ignore them and kill us anyway in half a moon."
The Dark Forest was so quiet that Coralstar could've heard a feather land on the ground. She blinked. "But--but StarClan isn't supposed to be able to go against the will of the living Clans!"
"I don't think they care about what they're supposed to do or not do anymore," meowed Violetshadow, his amber eyes dark. He curled his claws into the dark soil, thinking. "Coralstar, I doubt you'll want to hear this, but we should be prepared to fight with claws as well as with words."
"You're right! I don't want to hear that! I wanted . . ." Coralstar trailed off. She had wanted this to be solved without any blood being shed. It wasn't fair to ask her newfound allies to risk their afterlives for a fight that she was pretty sure they wouldn't win. Did they have any chance at all, when StarClan had so many more cats, and she wasn't sure if StarClan spirits could even die the way Dark Forest spirits could? And—
"Hey," meowed Violetshadow, wrapping his tail around her shoulders. "It hasn't come to that yet. We still have a chance—we can still get more cats on our side and talk to StarClan ourselves. We might not have to fight."
"If StarClan won't listen to the living Clans, I doubt they'll listen to us," sighed Coralstar. "But you're right. We have to try."
"That's the spirit," meowed Violetshadow. "We can't just give up. We'll talk to StarClan and try to change their minds. But if that doesn't work and we need to fight, we'll fight like our afterlives are on the line, because they are! But whatever happens, we won't let StarClan decide our destinies."
"Yeah!" cheered Bluebellkit, and Coralstar had to smile. "All right."
"The moon is going to be half full tomorrow," pointed out Featherfluff. "We should try talking to StarClan then, when the living medicine cats are there."
"Violetshadow, what do you think?" asked Coralstar.
"It sounds like a good idea," her mate replied.
"All right then," meowed Coralstar. "Tomorrow it is."
"You all should get some rest then," suggested Smallstep. "Being in StarClan's territory is draining for us Dark Forest cats. You'll need all the energy you can get if you're going to be challenging them."
"Right. Well, then, let's get some sleep," Coralstar said, suddenly aware of the grazes on her flanks from her fight with Voletwist earlier that day. She blinked. Had it really only been earlier that day? It felt like moons ago.
She and Violetshadow curled up together in a nest of dying bracken. Her mate fell asleep almost instantly, but Coralstar stayed awake, staring up at the dark sky beyond the tangled dead tree branches. Was there any flicker of starlight out there? Did StarClan give a single mousetail about them? Or was the entire Place of No Stars just a nuisance to them, like a pesky bug that needed to be crushed?
That thought made Coralstar realize that she had no idea where the giant spider that had scared Bluebellkit had gone. She curled closer to Violetshadow, just to be safe.
In a way, this night was a lot like her first nights in the Dark Forest: not knowing what tomorrow would bring, only knowing that, whatever happened, Violetshadow would be by her side.
Coralstar buried her nose in her mate's fur, closed her eyes, and tried to fall asleep.
Chapter Eight: Welcome to StarClan. Now Go Away.
Someone was insistently poking Coralstar's nose.
"Stop it, I'm awake," she grumbled, forcing her eyes open and finding herself staring straight into the eight beady eyes of the giant spider.
Coralstar shrieked and jumped straight up. She tripped over Violetshadow and crashed into Featherfluff, who yowled and sprang to her paws, silver fur sticking out in all directions. "Spider!"
The spider waved its forelegs at Coralstar—was it laughing?—and then scurried away into the drooping bracken, where it disappeared into the darkness.
A low laugh from above startled Coralstar, and she looked up to see Fawnfang draped over a tree branch, washing his paws. "It's not funny!"
"Actually, it was," meowed Fawnfang, whiskers twitching with amusement.
"No, it wasn't!" huffed Coralstar, shaking out her ruffled fur and glaring into the shadows. "You eight-legged little beast, if you come back here I'll pull off your legs and feed them to Bluebellkit!"
"Are you going to talk to StarClan like that?" asked Bluebellkit, her big blue eyes wide.
"No! Definitely not!" yelped Coralstar. "They'd kill us then and there!"
"Aww," sighed Bluebellkit. "So how are you going to talk to them then? And how do we even get to StarClan to talk to them?"
That . . . was something Coralstar couldn't answer.
But, as it turned out, she didn't need to. As she blinked down at Bluebellkit, not knowing what to say, pale light flickered overhead, and the Dark Forest cats watched in awe as a pair of shining StarClan spirits, one gray-furred and the other black, floated down into the clearing.
"You wish to speak with us?" asked the black she-cat, her green eyes narrow.
"Yes, we do," meowed Coralstar, lifting her chin.
"Then follow us," meowed the gray tom, and he walked straight up into the air, leaving a path of starry pawprints twinkling in the darkness.
Hesitant, Coralstar rested a forepaw on the air. It held, and she climbed up, following the gray tom. Violetshadow padded behind her, and the black she-cat brought up the rear, snarling a warning to Featherfluff as she tried to follow.
"Do you think they're taking us to StarClan?" Coralstar whispered to Violetshadow.
"We're not taking you anywhere near StarClan," meowed the gray tom. "Why would we let Dark Forest spirits, of all things, near our hunting grounds?"
Coralstar's hackles rose. Things? We're cats! Violetshadow brushed his tail over her shoulders, smoothing her ruffled fur, and Coralstar forced her hackles flat. It wouldn't be helpful to get angry with them. In fact, the StarClan cats would probably feel threatened and kill them then and there.
Soon they reached their destination, a small, grassy clearing improbably suspended in the night sky. The StarClan cats stood at the far end of it, their glowing eyes wary. "My name is Skystar," meowed the tom, "and this is Shadowstar." He pointed to the black she-cat with his tail.
"Um, hi," meowed Coralstar. "I'm Coralstar, and this is my mate Violetshadow. We wanted to talk to you about—"
"About the Dark Forest," interrupted Skystar. "We know. You want us to not kill Dark Forest cats."
"Right," meowed Coralstar. "They did some bad things in their lives, but it's not fair to kill their spirits and destroy their afterlives. They're already punished for eternity by being stuck in the Dark Forest and unable to see their loved ones. Isn't that punishment enough?"
"Oh, no, not at all!" exclaimed Skystar. "You see, when a cat is so bad that they get sent to the Dark Forest, they don't deserve peace in the afterlife. No punishment is enough for those wicked creatures!"
Coralstar's hackles started to rise again. "We're not creatures! We're cats, just like you—"
"No no no," yelped Skystar. "You're not anything like us! Not at all!"
Coralstar ignored him. "All cats deserve to spend eternity in the afterlife they've earned. No cat should be allowed to kill spirits from another afterlife. I mean, how would you like it if Dark Forest cats tried to kill StarClan cats? That wouldn't be fair, right?"
"Is that a threat?" asked Shadowstar, sliding out her claws.
"No! It was just an example!" meowed Coralstar, taking a step back. "I didn't mean for it to come across that way."
"Well, is that all you have to say?" asked Skystar.
"Um—"
"Yes? Good." Skystar sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws. "You see, Carrotstar—"
"It's Coralstar!"
"Carrotstar, while I admire your loyalty to your fellow evil cats, in StarClan we don't believe that evil cats deserve any afterlife, even a miserable one in the Place of No Stars. As well, the fact that you're willing to challenge our word proves that you're dangerous to us, which we definitely can't have." Skystar unsheathed his claws.
"What he means is, you all deserve to die, but since you're standing up for yourselves, you deserve to die sooner," explained Shadowstar. "Forget us coming to kill you on the next half-moon. We're coming tomorrow."
"What?" squeaked Coralstar. "No—you can't!"
Skystar smiled coldly. "It's not your place to tell StarClan what we can and cannot do, Carrotstar. Now, it's time you left us." He gave Coralstar a shove, and she stumbled backward off the meadow, falling into the darkness below. She heard Violetshadow yowl as Shadowstar threw him after her.
The last thing Coralstar saw before the darkness of the Place of No Stars closed around her was Skystar's smug face as he stuck his tongue out at her.
Chapter Nine: The Time Has Come
Coralstar hit the ground hard, her shoulder and hip smacking against the earth and making her yelp. She was fairly sure she heard Skystar laughing as Violetshadow landed beside her. That fox-hearted piece of—
"Are you okay? What happened?" asked Featherfluff as she came running over, Smallstep and Bluebellkit on her heels. "Did they listen?"
Coralstar sighed and gritted her teeth as she pushed herself up to her paws. "They didn't listen to our point of view at all. And then they said that since we're standing up for ourselves, they're going to kill us sooner. Sooner meaning . . . tomorrow."
"Try to kill us, you mean," corrected Violetshadow. "But . . . yeah. Tomorrow."
"We're doomed!" meowed Bluebellkit cheerfully.
"Bluebellkit, be quiet," snapped Featherfluff as she turned to Coralstar. "So, what are we going to do?"
Coralstar straightened up. "I'm going to fight," she meowed firmly. "I don't like fighting, and I wish it hadn't come to this, but I'm not going to stand back and let the Dark Forest be destroyed. However." She paused, looking from Violetshadow to Featherfluff to Smallstep. "When I talked to all of you, it was under the premise that we would be talking to StarClan, not going to war with them. None of you agreed to this, and it's not fair of me to ask you to stay and fight a battle you didn't ask to be part of. So, if you want to leave, now is your chance, and none of us will think any less of you if you choose not to do battle with StarClan."
Coralstar closed her eyes, fully expecting all her friends to leave. After all, this wasn't their fight. But when she opened her eyes, they were all still there, even Smallstep.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not going to just let StarClan have their way," said Featherfluff with a toss of her long fur, and all the others meowed agreement.
Smallstep stepped forward. "When you first came to me, I didn't want to challenge StarClan," he meowed, meeting Coralstar's gaze. "I had already lost quite a bit thanks to our warrior ancestors, and I didn't want to risk that all again. But now, I've changed my mind. You all are much braver and more determined than I imagined, and if you'll have me, I'll stand against StarClan with you."
"Of course we'll have you!" replied Coralstar, her throat tight. "It means a lot to me that you've changed your mind for us."
Smallstep ducked his head, looking embarrassed.
"Well, if we're going to war with StarClan, we're going to need the best plan and the best battle moves this side of the afterlife," meowed Violetshadow. "Coralstar, what do you think our plan should be?"
"Well, we don't know anything about how many StarClan cats will attack or where they'll attack from," Coralstar meowed, "so I think our best strategy would be to wait for StarClan to find us and then attack them, hard, once we've seen their battle patrol and gotten an idea of their plan."
"Sounds like we should all practice our battle moves, then," Smallstep meowed. "I'm sure the StarClan cats have been practicing."
"Good idea." Violetshadow. "Fawnfang, do you—wait, where is Fawnfang?"
Coralstar looked around. The russet tom was nowhere to be seen.
"He was here just a moment ago," meowed Featherfluff in confusion.
"Well, we'll fill him in when he gets back," meowed Coralstar, hiding her irritation. How could he disappear at a time like this? "For now, let's split into pairs and practice our battle moves. Violetshadow, you have warrior training despite being a medicine cat, right?"
"You bet I do," replied her mate, unsheathing his claws. "Those StarClan cats won't know what hit them."
The cats spent the rest of the day honing their fighting skills, and by the time Fawnfang returned with a freshly scratched muzzle and refused to tell Coralstar where he had been, everyone, including Bluebellkit, could do a half-turn belly rake, one of the most difficult battle moves Coralstar knew, with one eye closed.
They settled down where they had slept the night before. Fawnfang sat farther away, washing his scratched muzzle, and Coralstar curled up with Violetshadow. She had been able to focus on battle moves all afternoon, but now, without that to distract her, she felt her heart start to beat faster with apprehension. She buried her muzzle in Violetshadow's fur, and he nuzzled her back.
"Violetshadow," she whispered, "whatever happens tomorrow, I want you to know that I love you."
"I love you too," Violetshadow replied softly, touching his nose to hers. "I've never regretted loving you."
"Not even after us loving each other got us sent here?" asked Coralstar. "You never regretted it? Not once?" She knew she hadn't.
"Never," her mate whispered. "If I could do it all over again, I'd still trade an eternity in the Dark Forest for the moon I had with you."
Too choked up to speak, Coralstar curled around Violetshadow and rested her head on his shoulder. Her world felt so flimsy now, with StarClan capable of taking anyone and anything at their whim.
Heart still racing, she clung to Violetshadow, and wished that this night would never end.
Chapter Ten: Ready As We'll Ever Be
When Coralstar uncurled from her nest, she felt like she hadn't slept at all. The others were already awake, talking quietly on the far side of the clearing. Bluebellkit was sitting next to the spider, looking unusually solemn.
Oh. Right. We're fighting StarClan today.
Coralstar's heart began to beat faster, like a trapped bird fluttering inside her chest. She scanned the dark sky for any hints of starlight, and saw none.
Violetshadow saw her gaze. "We haven't seen any sign of StarClan," he meowed, touching his nose to hers. "Did you sleep all right?"
"Yeah," Coralstar lied. She twined her tail with her mate's and leaned into his solid warmth. "Are you ready for this?"
"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Violetshadow meowed. "But it's all thanks to your plans."
Coralstar looked down, feeling hot beneath her fur. "It wasn't all me—"
"Actually, it kind of was," corrected her mate. "If not for your plan, we'd all be sitting around right now waiting to die." He gestured with his tail to the other cats, who were stretching and practicing battle moves. "This was all you."
"I couldn't have done it without you, you know." She buried her face in his fur. "I love you so much, Violetshadow."
"I love you too," whispered her mate.
"Aww!" cooed Featherfluff. "Love is in the air!"
Fawnfang coughed. "That's smog."
Coralstar reluctantly stepped away from Violetshadow and turned to the other cats. "All right, are you all ready for this?"
"YES!" yowled Bluebellkit, jumping to he paws. "I'm so ready to fight all-powerful cats and probably die!"
"Oookay," meowed Coralstar. "So, we don't know where the StarClan cats are coming from, or when they'll get here, so instead of wasting our energy trying to find them, I think we should stay here. They'll find us."
"Good idea," meowed Smallstep, and the others nodded. Coralstar noticed that the small tom's eyes were brighter than they had been before, his fur neatly groomed. I swear I've met him somewhere other than the Dark Forest, I just didn't notice before since he was such a mess. . .
She pushed that thought to the back of her mind. I'll think about that later. She was about to go over some battle moves once again when a voice from the shadows called, "Coralstar?"
Coralstar turned to see a lithe ginger tom emerge from the rotting undergrowth. "I'm Redfoot," he meowed. "We'd like to help fight against StarClan."
"Who's 'we'?" asked Violetshadow. "I only see one of you."
"Oh, right. Come on out!" Redfoot yowled.
At least two dozen cats emerged from the shadows. "These are my allies," the ginger tom meowed. "They'll be your allies too, if you want."
Coralstar could hardly believe her luck. "Of course! The more cats stand against StarClan, the better!"
Redfoot dipped his head to her. "These are Wingslash, Silverclaw, Lightfeather—"
"Um, Coralstar?" meowed Bluebellkit. She pointed with her tail to the horizon.
"Oh, fox dung," breathed Coralstar. It was the unmistakable glow of starlight. "All right, everybody! StarClan is on their way! Battle positions!"
The cats scrambled to their positions, just as they had practiced the night before. The starlight grew closer and closer, until Coralstar could make out individual StarClan warriors, Skystar and Shadowstar in the lead. She let them get a little bit closer, then yowled, "Dark Forest, attack!"
Chapter Eleven: "Yay! War!"—Bluebellkit
The Dark Forest warriors surged forward to meet StarClan. "They're fighting back!" exclaimed Shadowstar in surprise.
"Thanks, I can see that!" yowled Skystar as he dodged a blow from Violetshadow.
Coralstar yowled a battle cry and threw herself at Shadowstar, who dodged and attempted to sweep Coralstar's paws out from underneath her. "You'll have to do better than that!" the ShadowClan founder spat.
"Fine, but you asked for it!" Coralstar swiped at Shadowstar's face with one paw and used the other to hit her forelegs in the place that makes legs go numb. Shadowstar slumped to the ground, unable to support her own weight. "How was that, fox-heart?" Shadowstar hissed but didn't reply, and Coralstar looked around. The clearing was full of wrestling cats, and it took her a moment to find Violetshadow, who was wrestling with a pretty golden she-cat.
"Let go of him!" Coralstar yowled, bounding over and raking her claws down the she-cat's back. She turned and fixed a bright green stare on Coralstar. "How dare you! Do you have any idea who I am?"
"I know you're a StarClan cat who's actively trying to kill me," Coralstar meowed, dodging the she-cat's angry swipes. "I think that gives me reason to fight back." She hooked the she-cat's paws out from underneath her, and Violetshadow gave her a good kick that sent her off into the undergrowth.
"Are you all right?" asked Coralstar.
"I'm fine," panted her mate. "Come on, let's show those StarClan fox-hearts!" He raced off after a yellow tabby, and Coralstar spotted Redfoot driving a long-furred silver tom backward. She ran over and clawed the tom from behind, and he shrieked, breaking away from Redfoot and fleeing into the Dark Forest. Redfoot gave her a grin. "Nice work."
Coralstar returned his grin, the gasped in shock. Skystar had backed Bluebellkit into a corner, and she was too far away to reach them in time. "Fawnfang!" she yowled, catching the russet tom's eye. "Help Bluebellkit!"
"On it!" Fawnfang darted across the clearing and sank his teeth into Skystar's scruff, yanking the gray tom onto his side. Satisfied that Bluebellkit was safe, Coralstar looked for Violetshadow, but was bowled over by a large white she-cat. The she-cat dug her claws into Coralstar's back and she yowled, biting down hard on the she-cat's foreleg. The she-cat screeched and pulled back, blood staining her fur. Coralstar boxed her ears and gave her a sharp kick, and she fell backward and was trampled by a brown tabby tom.
Coralstar looked around again. Where was Violetshadow? She had finally spotted him driving off a pair of tortoiseshell she-cats when a screech of pain caught her attention. Fawnfang had torn a sizable chunk out of one of Skystar's ears, and the SkyClan founder was squealing like a kit. "Do you surrender?" Fawnfang snarled, digging his claws into Skystar's other ear.
"Never!" yowled Skystar, twisting free of Fawnfang's grasp and raking his claws over the russet tom's throat. Fawnfang staggered, and Skystar grabbed his scruff and slammed him into a tree. He fell to the ground and lay still.
"No!" yowled Coralstar, tring to force her way through the throng. But Violetshadow was quicker. He bowled into Skystar, driving him backward with vicious blows. Skystar ran his tail down Violetshadow's spine, and Violetshadow spun around, thinking someone had snuck up behind him. While he was distracted, Skystar raked his claws over Violetshadow's eyes, sending him reeling backward with a shriek.
Cold fury flooded Coralstar, and she forced her way across the clearing. "You did not just try to blind my mate!" She leapt onto Skystar and sank her teeth into the back of his head, and he rolled, trying to pin her against the ground, but she wriggled out of the way and rained furious blows on every part of him she could reach until she slipped on the bloody ground. Skystar found his paws and leapt, bowling her over with his greater weight. He pinned her down, forcing her muzzle into the ground. "You'll pay for this," he snarled, biting down on her neck. Coralstar writhed desperately, trying to free herself, and then suddenly the weight crushing her disappeared.
She sat up, panting, to see Smallstep grab Skystar by the scruff and shake him like a piece of prey. He's so much stronger than he looks, she thought, and again that strange prickle of familiarity tugged at her. But again she shoved it down, as Smallstep pinned Skystar to the ground and held his claws over the gray tom's throat. The entire battle came to a standstill, as StarClan cats realized their leader was defeated.
"Want me to kill him for you?" Smallstep asked her.
"No," Coralstar meowed, finding her paws and padding over to the defeated SkyClan founder. "I'm going to let you live. An honorable warrior does not need to kill to win their battles, and the Dark Forest will uphold the Warrior Code, even if StarClan does not."
"You filthy louse—fox-dung-eating daughter of a weevil—" spat Skystar, writhing under Smallstep's paws.
"I'll reconsider my position if you keep using that kind of language when kits are present," snapped Coralstar, pointing to Bluebellkit as she bent over her mate. "Violetshadow?"
"I'm all right," he meowed, blinking blood out of his eyes. His face was badly torn, but both of his eyes were intact. Relief so strong it made her legs weak filled Coralstar, and she buried her muzzle in his ruff. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered.
Smallstep let Skystar stand up. Redfoot, Featherfluff, and Silverclaw surrounded him, teeth bared and tails lashing. Coralstar walked over to him. "Take your cats and leave," she meowed. "This is your last chance."
"This isn't fair!" protested Skystar as he backed up. "I'm a good cat! I'm—OW!"
Bluebellkit emerged from behind him, a sizable chunk of his fur in her teeth. She spat it out as if disgusted by the taste and meowed, "You're a good cat? Do you really believe that?"
"Of course—" spluttered Skystar, but Coralstar cut him off. "Bluebellkit, how do you know him?"
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" the kit meowed casually. "He's my father."
Chapter Twelve: A Little Bit of Truth
"What?" Coralstar stared at Bluebellkit in disbelief. "Skystar's your father?"
Bluebellkit nodded, her blue eyes narrow. "Unfortunately, he is."
"Wait. Wait a moment," meowed Skystar. "You can't be my kit. I know all my kits and you're not one of them."
"Really? You don't remember your first love and her kits?" demanded Bluebellkit.
Skystar looked at her blankly.
"Bright Stream, you fox-heart! The cat you promised to love forever, but forgot about as soon as she died? Sound familiar?"
Recognition dawned in Skystar's gaze. "I didn't know we had kits—I thought since she had only just gotten pregnant when she died—I never knew that our kits' spirits were in the afterlife—"
"Did you want to know?" asked Coralstar, ignoring the pain of her wounds and pushing herself to her paws. "Why didn't you find this Bright Stream of yours after she died? Why didn't you ever ask about what happened to your own kits? Don't you care?"
"Of course he cares," meowed the golden tabby she-cat Coralstar had seen in the battle, wrapping her tail around Skystar's shoulders. "He cares about me. He never really loved Bright Stream. Or Storm. Or Slate—"
"That's right," meowed Skystar. "You're my one true love, Star Flower. All the others can go to the Dark Forest for all I care."
"Well, I already did!" snapped Bluebellkit. "Think about that, Dad. I chose the Place of No Stars over you—"
"All right, that's enough!" Coralstar pushed her way between the two. "Skystar, you are defeated. Take your mate and your allies and leave. You are not welcome in the Dark Forest." She stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "Get out."
For a heartbeat Skystar looked like he was going to argue, but then he turned away, lashing his tail. "StarClan, retreat! Star Flower—"
Wait, where is Star Flower? Coralstar looked around and spotted the golden she-cat standing over Fawnfang, where he lay sprawled on the ground. "Hey! Get away from him!"
Star Flower gave Coralstar an insolent glance over her shoulder and padded to Skystar's side. "Let's get out of here," she meowed, wrinkling her nose at a mushroom in distaste.
The StarClan cats all clustered together and then rose into the sky in a cloud of twinkling starlight. Once they were out of sight, Coralstar's shoulders slumped with relief. "Good riddance."
She looked around the clearing, bloodstained and littered in tufts of fur. "Is everyone okay?"
Fawnfang pushed himself to his paws. "I'll be all right," he meowed.
Violetshadow, Featherfluff, and Smallstep nodded.
Redfoot gave his allies a cursory glance. "We're all fine."
"Good," Coralstar said with relief. "Violetshadow, let's find some cobwebs, just in case."
Her mate nodded, and the two of them headed off into the undergrowth.
Coralstar soon found a thick cobweb and began winding it around her forepaw. "This isn't over yet, you know," she meowed softly.
"What do you mean?" asked Violetshadow, bending a brittle branch to reach a cobweb of his own.
"StarClan isn't going to give up this easily," Coralstar explained. "There are a lot of them, and they're really determined . . . I think they're going to attack again, with more cats. After we recover—and before you say you're fine, we all need time to recover—we're going to have to keep finding allies, keep preparing for war."
Violetshadow stared down at his cobweb-wrapped paw, his green eyes dark. "Unfortunately, I think you're right."
"But that's in the future," Coralstar meowed, pressing her nose to his. "Right now, all we need to do is take these cobwebs back to our friends and rest."
Violetshadow picked up his cobwebs and twined his tail around Coralstar's, and together the two of them walked into the shadows.
Chapter Thirteen: The End . . . For Now
On the other side of the Dark Forest, Heart's Blood was staring at Voletwist in disbelief. "They actually drove StarClan off?"
"Yeah. Pretty easily too," replied Voletwist.
"I can't believe it," meowed Velvetpelt.
"Well, it happened!" Voletwist said excitedly. "And you know what that means . . ."
Heart's Blood grinned, baring his crooked fangs. "It means it's time to enact Plan Shadow."
Voletwist returned the grin. "Featherfluff and her friends won't know what hit them."
They both cackled with laughter, and neither of them noticed when Velvetpelt slipped away into the darkness.
In StarClan, Skystar was pacing furiously, working his claws into the lush grass that surrounded his den. "I can't believe it!" he growled.
"You've said that six times now," sighed Star Flower.
"Well, it's true!" exclaimed Skystar. "The Dark Forest was never supposed to rise up! This was never supposed to happen—"
"You've said that before too," interrupted Shadowstar. "But what are you going to do about it? We can't let the Dark Forest get away with this."
"We'll attack again! With more cats! And we'll kill every single one of those—"
"Or," meowed Star Flower, nuzzling Skystar, "we could do something . . . more sophisticated."
"Like what?" asked Shadowstar.
Star Flower smiled coldly. "I have an influence over some Dark Forest cats. I'll turn them against each other. They might kill each other, but even if they don't, it'll be easier for us to destroy them if they're not united."
"This is why I love you," said Skystar admiringly, and Star Flower leaned into him, twining her tail around his. Skystar drew back with a hiss of pain.
"Did I hurt you?" asked Star Flower, concerned.
"No, it was that RiverClan medicine cat—Deerface or something like that. I'll make him pay for this—"
"Don't worry about it," said Star Flower. "I can handle him for now. You just rest and get better, and as soon as you're healed, we'll go kill him together."
"It's a date," replied Skystar with a purr. "Shadowstar, will you inform the Council of Elders of our new plan?"
Shadowstar dipped her head. "Of course."
Skystar smiled, and his eyes were as cold as a Dark Forest warrior's as he said, "The Dark Forest will be destroyed, even if I have to do it all myself."
END OF PART ONE
Part 2 available here!