Chapter Thirty: Finishing It

Windstar turned very slowly to Robinpelt. His pelt wasn't bristling; he was too sad for that. But his eyes showed that sadness and hate mixed together in a deadly combination.

"You killed her," He growled. "You killed Dreamcloud."

"I-I didn't," Robinpelt stuttered, looking nearly as shocked. He hadn't meant for her to die... "It was your fault!"

"How?" Windstar said smoothly. "Was I the one holding an innocent kit above the lake, and causing his mother to die for him? Was I?"

"I didn't mean to!" Robinpelt protested, backing up. Windstar was slowly walking towards him, muscles rippling under his pelt.

"Oh, so it was an accident that you were about to kill Rockkit?" Windstar laughed humorlessly. "It was an accident you stole the kits in the first place? All an accident?"

"That's not what I said!" Robinpelt whimpered, staring at Windstar's sharp, battle-ready claws. He turned his head toward his comrades. Looks of indecision were on their faces.

"I didn't want her to die, you know," Dottedtail meowed, looking at her paws. "She is my Clanmate."

"Robinpelt," Windstar hissed. "I don't care if you say it was all a big mistake. Cats have to pay for their wrongs, even when they're mistakes. And you know what? You made no mistakes. You got what you wanted; blood on your paws. Now you have to pay for it."

He lept at the enemy, snarling.

xxx

"Robinpelt?" Firestar muttered. "I can't believe this!"

"We've got to go save them," Brambleclaw muttered, his amber eyes shadowed with worry for his daughter and grandkits.

"No," Spiderleg said quickly. "Wait."

All the other cats in Firestar's den, including Calicofur, stared. "What are you talking about?" She asked.

"The wolves," Spiderleg muttered. "What we need to do is find a way for the wolves to get through."

"The wolves?" Sandstorm asked. "They're helping? But they don't have any ties to our Clan."

"Windstar of ShadowClan," Calicofur reminded her. "Dreamcloud's friend. He wants to help, you know. And the wolves are his allies."

Everyone watched Firestar. Finally, he sighed. "All right," He said. "Brambleclaw, Sandstorm, Squirrelflight-call Cloudtail. I think kin is what Dreamcloud needs right now, as much kin as she can get."

Firestar had just lost his daughter. He wasn't about to lose Dreamcloud too.

xxx

A new cat stood before StarClan. The starry cats' eyes were judging.

"We know you've had a hard life," They said. "But why did you do what you did? It was basically suicide."

"I can't let my kin be killed," The cat mumbled. "Especially one as close as that."

"You broke laws," Bluestar pointed out. "You committed horrid deeds."

"Yes," The cat answered. "I did. But so did most of the cats here. I have been responsible for many things in life. Some good, some bad. But every cat is born with a chance. Do I still have mine?"

StarClan murmured among themselves for a moment before Bluestar spoke.

"Yes. You are accepted into StarClan."

A little kit ran up to her kin. "It's nice to have you back."

xxx

Robinpelt coughed as his head was smashed into the dust, and he struggled against Windstar, to no avail. The tom had lost his daughter and his mate in one instance. Not a good day.

"Help me!" He choked out at his followers. Rainwhisker was the first to respond-it was his kin, after all. Windstar deflected the gray tom's blows pretty well, but once Shalefoot and Dottedtail came in, it started getting harder...

The white tom flung his head around, drops of blood spraying all over the place. He yowled with pain as his sides were ripped open by cruel claws...

But he did not give up.

"This is for betraying your own Clan," He spat, raking claws down Robinpelt's face. "This is for disobeying the warrior code."

Another slash. "And this? Oh, yeah, this is for Dreamcloud and Scarletkit!" Robinpelt's face was bloodied and unrecognizable by the time the final clawing came. But his body was still in good enough shape to fight.

"Give it up," He spat. "You're the cause of all of this... if you hadn't been with her, I wouldn't have had to do this."

Despite the circumstances, Windstar threw a glance at Rockkit and Birdkit to make sure they hadn't heard that. Thank StarClan, they were just trying to stay alive...

xxx

"This won't work," Blizzard snarled in rage. "It's too small!"

The wolves peered into the small hole that led up to the ledge. Faint sounds of snarls and yowls, and worst of all, kit whimpers, came from above. Calicofur kneaded the ground with her paws.

"I can get through!" She blurted out. "It will take too long for Firestar and his patrol to arrive here, they'll all be dead by then. And I was trained completely as a warrior."

"I'm going with you," Spiderleg said quickly. His amber eyes showed love and worry at the same time. "Calicofur, you're rusty. It's been moons since you last fought."

"No," She begged. "You might be... gone for good this time."

Her mate touched noses with her. "As long as I'm protecting you."

"This is... starting to get awkward," Blizzard muttered. "Uh, so will you or won't you?" His amber eyes shone with battle light; he wanted so desperately to be there.

"We will," Spiderleg meowed, and darted into the hole. Calicofur gave once last glance to Blizzard.

"If I don't make it out of there," She said. "Tell Dreamcloud that she was the best friend a cat could ever had."

Blizzard nodded. "I will," He vowed, but his voice held something in it. The wolf watched sadly as Calicofur ran towards what would surely be her doom.

He didn't tell Calicofur about the golden shape he had seen falling towards the lake when she wasn't there. The splash that was so hard, it had to have broken the poor cat's back.

How Dreamcloud was dead.

xxx

"Oh... Calicofur..." Spiderleg came to a complete halt at the mouth of the hole.

"What?" She asked, nudging her way through. "What is it?"

The tom quickly pushed her back. A cry of pain was heard. Calicofur forced herself to a position where she could see, but wished she hadn't.

Birdkit and Rockkit were crouched in a corner, but their sister was no where to be seen. Neither was Dreamcloud. Windstar was fighting against the four other cats, all alone. He seemed close to losing a life-and they would kill him nine times over.

"We've got to get in there!" Calicofur hissed. "I need to find Dreamcloud."

But an awful voice in her head said that she wouldn't be finding Dreamcloud at all.

Despite this, she still charged forward, Spiderleg at her side. Robinpelt and his followers looked up, surprised. Then, the battling stopped, and Robinpelt laughed.

"Oh, it's just the prisoner and the medicine cat."

"Where's Dreamcloud?" Calicofur growled, unsheathing her claws.

"She's dead."

Calicofur whipped her head around to see Windstar struggling to his paws. The strain of fighting four warriors at once was obvious on him... And yet his pale green eyes showed that he was ready to fight them again and again and again.

"No," Calicofur whispered, eyes wide.

"Dreamcloud?" Spiderleg muttered, shaking his head. "Can't be."

"Dreamcloud can't die!" There was a desperate edge to Calicofur's tone. "She... she just can't! It's not something that's possible!"

"That's... that's what I thought." Windstar whispered, his voice raw with grief. "We were wrong."'

Calicofur turned to Robinpelt. "You killed my best friend!"

xxx

The fight was raging. Spiderleg and Shalefoot were tearing at each other, Calicofur furiously clawing Dottedtail, and Windstar alone, Robinpelt and Rainwhisker on him. He knew that one of his lives was slipping away, and others would be soon...

"Good-bye," Robinpelt hissed, drawing back a paw for a death blow...

Windstar opened his eyes groggily. So this was what losing a life was like. Oh, well. He'd have to do it eight more times today.

"Hello, Windstar," Bluestar murmured, then gestured to a ghostly shape beside her. Windstar slumped on the ground... something was missing.

"Can I leave soon?" He asked.

"Yes," She murmured, then met his eyes. "The key is to never give up hope."

"Wake up, kitty," Robinpelt jeered, paw raised. Windstar sighed.

"I'll be with you soon, Dreamcloud."

Just as the second death blow was about to come, a snarl woke them to a different presence.

"Get away from him."

Standing at the opening of the ledge, the sun making her dripping wet pelt glow, was...

Dreamcloud.

Windstar struggled to his paws. Had StarClan taken him already? For his dead mate was right in front of his eyes...

"Windstar!" She breathed, racing up to press her soaked coat against his. "I'm so glad I was in time!"

The whole battle had frozen. Calicofur's eyes were even wider, Spiderleg was in mid-fight with Shalefoot, stuck in place. It was Rockkit who broke the silence.

"Mother!"

Dreamcloud purred as the ran up, and licked both kits with vigor. "Don't worry, it'll be all right," She purred. "Now go back to where you were."

They were obedient.

"You see," Dreamcloud said. "By some miracle, I survived the impact. I'm a pretty good swimmer, got to shore, and..."

She beckoned to someone with her head. "Come on in!"

Two huge, snarling creatures stepped into view. Blizzard and Luka.

"I found an opening."

"Now, would you two like to take care of him by yourselves?" Blizzard growled.

"Oh yes," Windstar agreed, still stunned. "That would be nice."

Sun and Snow leaped at their enemy, slowly pushing him towards the edge.

"I really doubt StarClan is in your favor right now," Windstar purred as Robinpelt hung, barely able to hold on.

"I agree," Dreamcloud laughed. "Now you'll know what it's like."

And wailing, Robinpelt fell.

A few moments later, after some wolf-barks, his comrades were flung easily down with him.

"You're alive," Windstar whispered, giving Dreamcloud's forehead a quick lick. The kits were puzzled, but too young to suspect.

The kits...

"Mother?"

Dreamcloud turned with a gasp to find little Scarletkit. "Scarletkit!" She cried, racing up to her and licking the kit. "Thank StarClan... but-"

"Rainwhisker hit me with his paw, and it was all strange, like I was in a clearing. A nice tortoiseshell talked to me, and I woke up!" Scarletkit's eyes were bright.

Dreamcloud shot Windstar a glance. "When will our lives settle down."

"I honestly don't know if they ever will."

xxx

Three moons later...

The queen slashed at the WindClan invader, and was pleased as he ran off yowling.

"Dreamcloud!" The medicine cat scolded, padding up. "You really shouldn't be doing that."

"Please. Only one more moon before they're out of the nursery." A bittersweet look flashed through Dreamcloud's eyes.

"That reminds me!" Calicofur exclaimed. In the midst of the battle, she searched for Spiderleg. But he was nowhere to be found...

Until she saw him.

Lying on the ground, his throat bleeding.

"Calicofur?" His words were a croak.

"No!" She shrieked, running over just in time. The tom raised his head, brushed his face against hers, and whispered her name one last time...

"Calicofur."

His head rested on the ground. His eyes closed. And Calicofur wailed.

xxx

"Dreamcloud, you mentored Palelegs wonderfully, teaching courage and honor," Firestar said. "I hope you shall pass these traits on to your daughter."

"I will." Dreamcloud touched noses with Scarletpaw. Birdpaw and Rockpaw stood nearby with their mentors, Sorretail and Thornclaw. Just as the Clan opened their mouths to chant the apprentices' new names, Firestar gave a yowl.

"Brambleclaw! Look!"

A beam of light was streaming down from the clouds, much like it had with Firestar so long ago. Dreamcloud's pelt shone like the sun.

"That's it," Brambleclaw whispered. "That's the sign."

"What sign?" Dreamcloud asked.

"The sign I was told of last night," Firestar stated. Just as he did this, Brambleclaw spoke.

"In the eyes of StarClan, I, Brambleclaw. hereby retire from deputy to warrior. May StarClan accept my decision."
"What?" Dreamcloud cried in surprise. Murmurs surrounded the Clan. Her father's amber eyes glowed.

"We all know who the true deputy is, Dreamcloud.

The End

xxx

'Windchaser, Dreamcatcher', will be out soon. As in, tomorrow or today soon. Just need enough reviews... (hint, hint) And sorry, I had to kill Spiderleg. It's essential to the plot of Blood Stained Sky.