Sorry this is kind of late! I got caught up in school and studying for finals before Christmas break.

But here is the chapter, and I hope you like it:)

Regards,

Author xx

Chapter Twelve

- Stoatpaw -

"Let me out of here."

"Maybe I will," she growled, turning and facing the brown and gray tom with a snarl on her face. "Or maybe I won't... It depends on if you can kill this fool in under twenty seconds. Only then will I let you out." She flicked her tail in the direction of the trees, her eyes not leaving his as she howled to the darkened sky, "Bring forth the prisoner!"

Murk and fog swirled around her paws, and Stoatpaw let out a purr; her powers were coming back to life, now that she had a life source to feed off of. Dashpaw was a fool, a mouse-brain for believing her sad tale of love; she knew he was getting weaker by the day, and soon she would have enough life in order to resurrect herself in the form of his body.

Paws pounded on the ground as her two reinforcements, her highest ranking cats, entered the arena. Though she couldn't see them, Stoatpaw knew they had a fairly small cat between them, a perfect match for Dashpaw's weakened state. "Thank you, Birch and Thorn," she purred, and the swish of the air told her that they had dipped their heads in respect. "You may go now."

They departed quickly, leaving their mistress alone with her two captives.

Stoatpaw flicked her tail, and the bound that Dashpaw was concealed in let loose on his paws, sending the tom plummeting to the ground. A sharp crack, following by his cry of pain allowed Stoatpaw to know that he ultimately broken some sort of bone while falling. She forced herself not to laugh at the comedy of it all; this would be fun, watching the two toms dance around in a game of death, having the better reign over the dead body of the weakest.

"Get to your paws," Stoatpaw ordered, and when Dashpaw didn't comply she swiped him over the ear with her paw, the dull sound of ringing coming from his head. "Now!"

Weakly and stumbling as he did, Dashpaw rose to his paws; she noticed his left forepaw was broken, making him weaker to fight with both paws. All he had were his right forepaw and two back paws, and that left him at a disadvantage between him and the other tom.

"Steady yourselves," she meowed coolly, eyes trained on Dashpaw. "Ready... Set... Fight!"

At once, the opposing tom flung himself at Dashpaw, bowling the brown and gray patched apprentice over easily. Dashpaw tried to retaliate by blocking his face with his broken paw, but the other tom sideswiped him with his left forepaw, scoring Dashpaw in the cheek. Dashpaw groaned and threw the opposing off with a hard thrust of his hind paws, sending the cat flying through the air. Dashpaw hobbled quickly to where the tom had landed and lay winded, then smashed the cats face into the dirt with a hard force of his right paw before he could get to his feet.

The other tom twisted himself so that he was in his back, clawing and biting at Dashpaw's paw and face. Dashpaw was suddenly on the ground with the other cat high above him, his fangs dripping with saliva and blood; Stoatpaw let out a joyful purr, knowing that this was Dashpaw's end.

"Stop!" she called, and the tom hopped off of Dashpaw, hissing in his face before turning and fleeing into the trees. She watched as Dashpaw, weak as he was, confidently rise to his paws, his face and body covered in blood; one eye was swollen shut, the other not far behind. His body looked as if it had been mauled and with each step he took, he limped like he had no strength.

"Did... Did I win?"

At this, Stoatpaw couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Win? Ha! You're just barely alive, Dashpaw; if I hadn't stopped Spear when I did, you would be laying there dead."

She watched, amused just the slightest, as Dashpaw's legs gave away under his weight and he crumpled to the ground, curling in on himself as if he was preparing himself for her blows of punishment.

But she couldn't hurt him without killing him; he was too valuable to her at the moment.

"I'll send you back."

His one good eye peered up at her. "Really?"

She nodded, wanting to seem sincere if this were to work. "I think we're finished here. You deserve to be let out of here for a whole season, as that's the amount of time you've been spending in a coma up in the living world."

"You won't win, Stoatpaw."

Hissing, the pale gray Dark Forest cat turned at the sound of a feminine voice. There, at the far end of the trees just behind Dashpaw, a dark shape appeared. It was a cat, the same as her, but with dark gray fur and a white flash on her chest. At her sides were wings, folded neatly against her flanks, and her eyes were bright with the wisdom that she didn't possess alone. Her fur sparked and shimmered with the brightness of StarClan, and Stoatpaw drew away from Dashpaw, blinking rapidly against the harsh light.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

The she-cat walked out into the arena, sidestepping the blood made by Dashpaw and his opponent. She stopped at Dashpaw's side and rested her tail on his muzzle. The young tom raised his head, staring at the she-cat as if she were from the living world and he recognized her.

"I am not known by name in this place, nor do I wish to start too. But all I can say to you is this: you won't win. We're coming for you, and we won't stop until my brother is resued from your claws."

She unruffled her wings and flew upward, a bright light encircling her like an aura. "You have one moon to return Dashpaw to the living world. If you do not, StarClan shall send me and my reinforcements to retrieve him ourselves. You will not win, Stoatpaw of the Dark Forest; you will die down here, alone, just as you were meant too."

Sh suddenly turned, and with a blast of lightening escaping her paws, a bright light surrounded the Hanging Tree. Stoatpaw felt her body weaken, and her paws give away; she crumbled to the ground, a heap of groaning and hissing mess. As black began to surround her vision, she forced herself to go limp, acting dead; she allowed her soul to be free, watching as it trickled into Dashpaw's shock-opened muzzle, unfelt and unnoticed.

She let out a purr and allowed herself to die, a smile growing on her lips as her world gave away to nothing but white.

My legacy lives on in you, Dashpaw...

Erm... Yeah.

I hated this chapter...

Review?

Regards,

Author xx