Alright people, welcome to the third and final book of the Legacy Trilogy! As with the previous story, it is not necessary to read the other books to understand this one, but of course, it'll give you a bigger picture. And now, enjoy!

Prologue

Up in the mountains, deep within the valleys and peaks, a bright red-orange tom moved noiselessly over the steep barren rocks. The setting sun bounced off his pelt and it blazed like a dying fire as he cautiously made his way toward the mouth of a black cave that yawned along the precarious mountain path he picked his way over.

Though the wind blew in his ears, he could already hear the rising and falling of voices coming from the cave. Sagacious shouts and laughing purrs mingled in both a wonderful and terrible tide of noise. The tom's fur prickled with excitement with the force of the noise and his eyes alighted upon feline shapes moving inside the shadows.

He stopped at the entrance and waited for a nod from the grim-faced cat sitting guard before proceeding. The cave stank of rotting food and unclean fur, the calming scent of stone and water had long since vanished as the puddles became clogged with old prey and cats scrambled over each other to find sitting places.

The orange tom- although not new to this scent- was uncomfortable with it and stayed at the back where it was more tolerable. He sat beside an elderly white she-cat with long fur and sharp eyes who was with a much younger black she-cat with equally fluffy fur and sharp eyes.

"Crystal, Midnight," the tom greeted the two she-cats respectfully though with a hint of novelty that ruffled the younger cat's fur.

"I haven't seen you for awhile. Where have you been?" the older she-cat rasped, turning her piercing gaze on him and pinning him in it. Despite often being pressed to tell of his secrets, he was uncomfortable with this particular gaze.

"As an informant, I can't divulge such information at will. But I have been working," he added quickly.

Midnight snorted, turning her nose up, "I don't trust a cat that can't answer such a simple question," she declared.

He decided it was best not to press the issue more and after staring hard at the she-cat for a moment smiled and turned his attention to his boss who had leaped upon a pile of rocks that rose above the heads of the cats. His name was Python, as vicious as his name but with a love for justice and integrity that could set even a cold cat's heart aflame.

This impressive persona now quieted the cats with a wave of his tail and the spectators leaned forward, open-mouthed and eager eyed. The orange tom felt the same thumping in his chest as he was sure the others were feeling. Captivated by this cat's noble ideals and unyielding energy he invented for it.

"Friends, the time grows closer, ever closer. Those cavern cats will soon find their evils wiped from the face of the mountainside by the righteousness of our claws. Those beasts, who treat each other so deplorably- especially their better halves- will either be destroyed by their wrongdoings or guided back to the noble right of cats by our superior consciences."

The orange tom nodded solemnly along with the words and images flashed behind his eyes of all the injustices these cats would fix. No, what his cats would fix. He smiled slyly to himself as the cats continued cheering to the end of Python's speech.

"Do you have anything to tell Python, informant?" Midnight spat the last word, catching his grin, and the tom purred cheerfully.

"Of course I have information! Since the snow has melted, things have gotten very interesting with the cavern cats," he mewed.

"Interesting how?" Crystal asked, narrowing her eyes.

The tom glanced quickly from side to side, though he was supposed to tell Python everything first he couldn't help but reveal just one detail... "Night is getting too old to lead and there's been talk about a new leader," he whispered so that only the three of them would hear.

Crystal frowned, "A new leader could weaken them, but a young leader could also make them stronger."

The orange tom shrugged, "It's Python's decision to make regarding that. I'm just the informant." He got up and slowly started making his way over to the leader who was talking intimately with all who got close enough for him to hear.

Crystal and Midnight watched him go, "Mark my words, he's a troublemaker, and they'll regret ever having him as a friend," Midnight mewed.

Crystal didn't respond at first, still watching the bright tom with narrowed eyes. "He certainly is secretive about his methods. But so far everything he's told has been true and it is rather helpful. Those cavern cats don't even know we exist. When it comes to a fight, these cats will have every advantage," the old cat got to her paws with a puff of breath. "Not that I'll be fighting of course," the white cat added with a wry smile, her youth had been spent long ago.

"Mother, we should start heading back before we lose all of our light," Midnight mewed. Traveling through the mountains at night was more than reckless, it was plain stupid. The temperatures dropped dramatically and there were so many shadows cast by the mountains that even on a clear night you may only be able to see half the trail.

"Of course. But I would like one word with Python before we go back though. We don't always come to these gatherings," Crystal mewed, starting to push her way through the sea of cats.

Midnight waited at the back of the cave as her mother approached the distinguished leader. She watched approvingly as Python met her mother cordially and respectfully listened to what she said. The black she-cat looked around with faint curiosity. Many of the cats here weren't actually under Python's leadership and, like her, had only come to see and listen.

Although Python had a massive fighting force already, he was always recruiting loners who might be willing to join him on his conquest to defeat the evil cavern cats and held these gatherings as an invitation to all. The orange tom from earlier was one of those recruits, but he held a special position she did not know of and was a self-proclaimed informant. I don't trust any cat I can't get a straight answer from, she narrowed her eyes as she stared at the back of the tom.

His fake smile and mock purr that allowed him to fit in so easily made her nauseous. The lies he spewed with every other word made her insides curl and the look in his eye, that he was more cruel and calculating then even Python, was more than enough make her dislike the tom. Though every cat thought she was just overly suspicious of him for no apparent reason.

She glowered at him now, angry that he had spoken to her and her mother. Midnight knew him well enough to know that if he talked to you, he wanted something from you. She didn't know how, but he had dirty ways of getting his info and she was sure that no good would come of their earlier conversation.

She broke off her glare as a younger gray and white she-cat stepped in front of her, blocking her view. Her blue eyes were large and unblinking and from the scars on the cat's pelt, Midnight guessed she was one of Python's soldiers. "Who are you?" the gray she-cat asked, staring as if through her. Her voice was flat and cold with no feeling, unnerving the black cat.

"I'm here to see what Python is doing with my mother," Midnight mewed honestly.

"I've seen you here before," the cat went on, looking her up and down, her gaze lingering on Midnight's one white paw.

"I've been here a few times before," the black cat answered hesitantly, not sure how much she should tell this strange cat.

"Are you going to join our ranks?" the unfeeling cat continued, still with that methodical tone of voice, as if she were trained to speak these words to a thousand different cats the same way over and over again.

Midnight paused in her thoughts. It had crossed her mind once before, she'd heard plenty of stories from her mother and had once chanced to see for herself the cruelty of these cavern creatures that dared call themselves cats. And yet, her mother and her mother's brothers would surely die without her as she was the only one left to take care of them.

She shook her head, "No, I'm just here to escort my mother. I'm happy with my life as it is."

The gray and white cat didn't blink, "Not every cat is as happy with their lives as you." Then she turned and disappeared among the cats. Midnight didn't have time to watch her for long as her mother had returned and the two she-cats bade the sour-faced guard goodbye as they stepped out of the bustling cave.

After the warmth of all those cats in the closer-quartered cave the chill mountain air was a shock and she fluffed up her thick black fur. The sky was turning indigo purple as the shadows deepened in the valley and gulleys before climbing up to grasp at the mountain peaks.

"If we don't hurry we won't make the valley before nightfall," Midnight mewed worriedly. Their den was on the other side of the valley, but if they got off the mountainside with the light, they could safely make their way to the den in the dark.

"Do you see that bit of green on the side of the mountain over there?" Crystal mewed, staring hard at the far side of the horizon where more mountains rose around the bowl shaped valley.

Midnight squinted hard, "No, I don't. But we need to get moving," she mewed, starting down the trail and then pausing as her mother didn't follow.

"That's where the cavern cats live," a new voice spoke up and Midnight saw the orange tom standing beside Crystal and smiling. He looked at her, his fangs glimmering in the dim light, "Over there, the two of you would be torn to shreds in a heartbeat. Well, at least Crystal would. They might find you to be useful enough," he mewed to her,turning his voice into an appreciative purr.

Midnight flattened her ears, "Get lost," she snarled.

But he didn't flinch. "I've heard that your sister ran off with your mate to join Python's ranks. And yet you still go through the trouble of bringing your mother here out of sheer curiosity even though it's because of this that you're stuck caring for three elders all by your lonesome," the tom persisted, stepping closer. A look in his eye made her stomach churn, but not exactly in a bad way.

"My sister made the decision to act like a kit, and I made the decision to act like a grown cat. That's all there is too it," Midnight growled, her heart feeling like it were being raked by invisible claws as it fluttered in her chest. Had her sister been there tonight? Had her mate? She had neither seen nor scented them among the cats, and she hoped that if they had been there they didn't notice her.

"Of course, but isn't it a little unfair? Why should your littermate be able to be a kit while you have to make the responsible choices? Why not just cut loose for a night, do what you want to do," he had padded forward and now he was whispering in her ear.

Midnight's heart pounded at his closeness, the soft scent on his fur- untainted by the cave- and the soft tone of his voice that was both innocent and alluring. "And who would I cut loose with?" she rasped, longing pulled at her belly as she stared over his back at the sky. The shadows were so deep, surely they would cover her till morning just as always. It would only be one night, one 'yes.'

"I would be more than happy to serve you for one night," the orange tom mewed, stepping back up the trail so that he towered over her. She could see the rolling muscles and the comfortable curve of his side. How good it would be to sleep so close to a cat again. Her first mate hadn't nearly been so good-looking and the shadows hadn't suited him so well either.

"Just one night," she whispered, repeating his words and raised her gaze to meet his eyes. And he had her, they took off at neck-break speed down the trail, first chasing then being chased by the breeze they kicked up at their paws. Dashing into the valley that was turning green and rolling intertwined beside swollen streams as the moon and stars winked down at them from up above. Sharing their warmth and unowned love in a nest in a moss covered hollow as they whispered secret things to one another.

When Midnight woke the next morning she was all alone, her fur matted and clumped from the night's activities and she stretched, feeling unbelievably satisfied and secretly glad that the tom had left before she had to face him in the morning light.

Getting up, she trotted through the valley for her den. She wasn't worried about her mother, Crystal may be old but she wasn't frail. And when she got to her den underneath the dried up bank, the three elders were curled up and still sleeping, the rising sun just barely touching their fur.

Midnight stood outside the den, the cold clear air frosted into her bones as she thought about last night. She didn't think of it as spent with any cat in particular, simply a faceless, nameless cat that had added to her pleasure. Although she didn't know it now, it had been only one 'yes,' but it would cost a thousand regrets.

...

I'm going to tell ya, I'm really excited for this story! At first I was like, 'meh, should I even really do it?' Then I thought about it and came up with something I think will be pretty exciting! So exciting that I hurried and worked to get this up early!

One thing I'm going to warn about. I'm going to be starting school soon (less than two weeks from now) and on top of going into my Senior year of high-school, I'm going to be a part-time college student as well. Lots of changes for me... Anyways, unlike my other stories, I'm not going to hold myself to a schedule for this one since school is more important and I'm just going to write and update whenever I get the chance.

Please Review!