The Beginning Of the E.nd

[♫ E§he ♥]

We've been seeing what you wanted,
Got us cornered right now
Falling asleep from our vanity
May cost us our lives

I hear them getting closer
Their howls are sending chills down my spine
And time is running out now,
They're coming down the hills from behind

When we start killing
It's all coming down right now
From the nightmare we've created
I want to be awakened somehow

When we start killing
It all will be falling down
From the hell that we're in
All we are is fading away
When we start killing

-The Howling, Within Temptation

Stars flecked the sky like shards of glass, pulling blood from the moon which now wept into moonbeams and fell upon the cats below like silver rain. Spiritstep felt the earth leave her paws again and again. It was like learning to fly. Her mind was locked, and her soul set free pulled claws from the air and sliced them into any cat who wasn't covered in mud. She pulled the soft internals of flesh from bodies like the stuffing from velvety cushions. Blood stained her cream-socked paws, splattering the earth like a crimson rain.
Oh StarClan, when will this battle end?

Bodies lay amongst the cats still painting with war. Some were kittypets, Clan, BloodGang, loner, rogue.... but tonight they were all simply cat. Either ally... or enemy. Breaking free of slashing claws, Spiritstep caught sight of Snowstorm pinned beneath...
Goldenpool!?
Scoring her claws down the face of the enemy across from her, Spiritstep tore her way through the crowd toward Snowstorm. But by the time she got there, Goldenpool was already dead. Rushing to Snowstorm, Spiritstep gave him a lick between the ears to make sure he was okay, then turned and nodded gratefully to Slvanna. But doubt clouded her cobalt gaze. What was Stoneclan going to do without a Medicine cat?

~~~

Seth watched the battle from above, like a king watches his army as they go to war on the plains beyond. A smile twisted into features, his tail lashing out behind. Soon the forest would be his. He would start his own empire! And nothing, no one, could kill him then. Another young warrior decided to be heroic, and sprang upward towards him. But Seth’s claws lashed out like crossbows, and the warrior howled in pain as he landed on the ground below, body racking in spasms of agony. But suddenly, the night air shifted energy. The crowd of entangled cats almost seemed to part as the celestial being came into view. Her fur truly seemed at one with the shadows, two viridescent orbs emerging from the night like ghosts.
Seth’s smile leapt with delight. He had wondered where the stunning young fela had gone off. For a minute he was caught up within her trance of emerald stare. But he smirked and ran his claws across the stump’s surface. She approached, paws padding so flawlessly across the earth that she seemed to be walking on air. Perhaps that once the forest was his, she’d become his mate. She truly was something that only a cat so powerful could afford.

But Seth had let his guard down. And it was too late that he picked up shifting air currents that brought strong arms crushing into his side, tearing him off the face of the stump. Seth twisted in the air, but the tom help him fast, and Seth was brought down hard upon the earth. Sliding through the grip like a snake, Seth turned and faced his opponent. A golden tom with dark brown stripes existed erected to the earth, his eyes like the bluest of summer skies that blazed like fire. Pantheress came to his side, long tail curling out behind her like a black whip.
Seth recognized the scent of the tom… tribe. Seth showed his teeth, unsheathed his black paw-talons, and let a hiss curdle from his lips.
“So the tribe has come? But why are you the only one I scent. Don’t tell me you’ve come alone?”

The tom looked amused. Seth’s gut twisted in his belly. Anger pulsed hot blood into his paws.
“Why… don’t you recognize me?” The tom spoke. Seth hissed. Obviously not.
The tom stood still for a few seconds, than charged. Seth met him halfway, falling into his attack like a piece into a puzzle. Into the air they soared, twisting and lashing in the tribe’s fighting style, then setting down for a moment before springing up again. They were two dancers moving in a duet, caught in a dance of joy and misery. Every movement was matched, every assault equal. And Seth could feel it again, pulsing rapidly through his veins. Fear.
This cat wanted to kill him.

Suddenly, Seth propelled himself beneath the leaping tom and caught him by the feet. Seth plucked his enemy out of the air like a ripe apple, slamming him down upon the dirt, and burying his teeth into the back of his neck. The tom struggled beneath him, but it only drove the fanged teeth deeper. Soon an artery would be hit, and the trial would be over.
But the tom stopped struggling, and gently pulled his face from the dirt.
“But Seth…” he rasped. “Surely you wouldn’t want to kill your own son.”
That’s when Seth recognized the scent of his kin. He released the tom and backed away, shaking a cloud of confusion from his mind.
“Damien!?”

~~~

Damien rose from the earth, the wound in his neck was throbbing, but at least now he had the advantage. He was the only cat who could kill Seth, because Seth would hesitate before he killed Damien. That moment of hesitation was what he needed to end this.
Seth came forward to greet his son, not yet realizing exactly what Damien’s motives were. Damien came forward too, a false smile upon his mug. Lies rained like lemon drops out of Damien’s sky-blue eyes. And Seth ate every single one of them.
That’s when Damien striked.

He caught his father on the side of the face, throwing him to the ground, and rushing forward to the throat. But Seth’s feet were quick, and drove Damien away, and launched him hard into a tree trunk. Damien hit the trunk and spin through the air, limbs jostling around like a puppet whose strings had been cut. He landed into the ferns with a sickening thud.
Seth rose, his eyes glistening with rage. Even his own son – the only one he had left – had turned against him. Tears bubbled from within his murderous eyes, dripping onto the ground like so many of the lives he had claimed.

“Damien!” Pantheress rushed toward the ferns, but Seth sprang into her path. Bloodlust clouded his mind as he set eyes on the fela. She must’ve turned his son against him. She would pay for what she had done!
They circled each other, beginning the dance.

And so shadow and sky began their war...

To be contuned...

[Rose]

Snowstorm
Snowstorm purred as he got to his feet, pressing his muzzle against Spiritstep's for a few moments before turning back to thank Slvana. She wasn't there.
Confused he looked around, but could see no sign that the silver tabby had ever been there, save for Goldenpool's corpse.


Slvana
Slvana was running, streaking past the fighting cats until she reached the edge of the clearing. She had waited there only a moment to dip her head back to Spiritstep before retreating. She had done what was needed of her. The balance between her family was right again. But for the Clans, it wasn't.
Breathing hard she looked back, knowing she couldn't leave the Clans now. Closing her eyes momentarily, she launched herself onto a BloodGang tom. She could hear him yowling in rage and pain, but she didn't care. She continued to rake her claws down his flanks, feeling his strength ebb with every sting.

Longstride
The calico she-cat had nothing on her mind, save for helping her Clan. The only thing she knew was pounce, strike, kill. Normally the killing would wait, but not today. Oh no. The deputy was filled with too much anger and depression at what the Clans had suffered through to show BloodGang any mercy.
Turning on the spot as another tom went down into the dust, she froze as she saw Damien. A growl rose in her throat and the three scars on her face from him burned like the fiercest fire. That traitor. That fox-hearted, no-good, StarClan-hating tom was here helping them!
The she-cat bounded forward, about to attack.....But wait....What was he doing?
Seth, the cat that had caused all of this, was fighting against....Damien?
Confused now, Longstride didn't see it coming. One moment she was standing there, the next a cat had plowed into her. Letting out a mad hiss, Longstride began to thrash, doing her best to shake off her attacker. Finally feeling the cat go, Longstride stood and stared at the cat. The BloodGang cat rose to her feet, shaking the dust off of her fur as if nothing had happened. Yellow eyes met yellow eyes, one pair hard with anger, one pair hard with cold evil. Both she-cats leaped to attack each other at the same heartbeat, both deputies of seperate groups. Longstride of Echoclan, and Rose of BloodGang.

[Torn]

Treepaw's heart raced. His own Clan had stared him down as he raced past them, desperately calling for White. Some tried to stop him, some greeted him, some just stared, although he noticed no one. Then a flash of White caught the corner of his eye. Darting over, he saw her fighting fiercely against a tortishell she-cat - BloodGang, of course. He silently cursed her under his breath.

But more sinister was the shady red shape in the trees. A big, muscled red shape. Ridge. Green eyes flashed as it all happened in a flash that he'd remember forever. Not that he'd have much to remember; he didn't know what he was doing, he didn't make the decision. His black form knifed through the air, claws digging into the thick skin as he landed on Ridge. One claw dug in, scoring the fur around the brute's eye. Blood spattered out, but Ridge could still see as he slammed the black tom to the ground. One fatal bite, then it was over.

Ridge looked down with satisfaction at the lifeless form of Treepaw. His pelt bristled as he turned to she-cat that had got him killed. But she was gone. Laughing, he turned and plunged into the battle once again. He saw Scarface and Seth, Rose too, fighting against the Echoclan deputy. He'd already fought off the leader, although he hadn't had time to kill her. He smiled, then bowled over another cat - a young one, a grey apprentice. Adrenalin pulsed through him, red filling his world.

Oh the ectasy.

White ran, her breath coming out in short, ragged stretches. Looking round, she saw that Ridge had gone. But where was Treepaw? Her yowls clawed at heartstrings as she ran in and out, jumping in and out of trees to get a view. But he still wasn't there.

No, he was over there. Lying on the floor. Lifeless, still. And he looked so cold. Her steps seemed to echo, everything else fading away. Silence filled her world. Her heart left her chest and fluttered over to him. She collapsed at his side, wanting it back so badly. But it had left, along with him. Her head drooped and nestled into his fur, until something touched her back.

Vinepaw looked down at the she-cat crouching over her brother, and she snarled as her paw touched the cat's skeletal back.
"Who are you? What are you doing with him?"
Her tone was harsh as she stared the green-eyed cat down. The cat looked up with mourning eyes.
"I'm White. I... I loved him."
Vinepaw frowned, and stepped back. She wished she hadn't been so harsh. She was... heart-broken. Frowning, she nosed White away from him, and away into the trees, from the battle. Looking around, she looked at a medicine cat gently treating a wounded cat, despite all of the turmoil. She felt a pang on jealousy. She wanted to do that. White sobbed, bringing her back.
"Shh. It's okay... it'll be okay." And she wished it would be.

His dark tabby pelt was almost invisible among the dark trees. He was just a shadow across the swamp from that hairless rat that called itself a feline. How wrong it was. He snarled as it batted away an Echoclan apprentice, herded over to it by a spotted she-cat. Narrowing his eyes, he bunched his muscles. If course it was a cat - even BloodGang were cats - but he couldn't shake off the feeling that it had come out of the rubbish piles.

Leaping across the narrow swamp, his heavy form aimed straight for the spot where the tom was stood. He landed, outstretched claws digging into soft skin. Snarling, he kicked out at a cat with his back legs as it reached towards his side.

Her tawny pelt flashed through the whirling shapes of battling foes and battling friends as she desperately called her apprentice's name. She'd fought off a small dog, as well as two BloodGang warriors. Her paws felt heavy, as though the she-cat's life was weighing down on her claws.

Looking around, she spied a grey pelt lying under the crushing paws of a tabby tom. Yowling angrily, she leapt forward and pushed him off, the element of surprise aiding her as she clawed down his face and chest. He lashed at her, which made her jump back and off of him. She couldn't see if Duskpaw had got up yet. Advancing forward and back, it was like they were robots. Lynxheart, Tom Cat, Lynxheart, Tom Cat.
Except this program was malfunctioning.