"You are unsure which pain is worse- the shock over what happened or the ache of what never will."

~•~•~•~•~

Splashsky paced outside of the medicine cat den, his heart racing. The tom's eyes were still wide, brimmed with tears that were ready to pour down the new warrior's face any moment now. His claws were still unsheathed and stained with blood, his teeth clenched tightly.

The horror of what had just happened still lingered in Splashsky's head. The scene in which Archangel had stabbed his claws into Quailpaw's throat, an earsplitting screech erupting from the apprentice's throat in agony. Most cat's had stayed back, too cowardly to do anything but Splashsky knew right then and there that he had to do. He had lunged forward and tried to stop the devious event from happening, but Archangel had ordered his cats to hold him back. The black and white warrior tried to fight back, but he was too weak.

Hopefully, he had not been too late. Quailpaw had been brought to the medicine cat den right after Archangel and his followers left for immediate care. Peonyflight was injured to her shoulder but with the help of Lilypaw they were doing their best to cure the young tom. Dimstar and Cloverpool were welcomed inside as long as they stayed clear and let the operation unfold, but Splashsky had to wait outside until things had calmed down.

The new warrior was clearly anxious, his heart pounding as he paced back and forth. Of course he was! The love of his life, the cat he wanted to be with once he was made a warrior soon, was injured and bleeding out inside the den beside him. Quailpaw and him had spent so much times together and they were both there for one another through rocky, stressful times in one another's lifes.

Splashsky suddenly froze when a voice emerged from beside him. "You can come him now," the voice spoke softly.

The warrior turned to face Lilypaw, his sister and the medicine cat apprentice. A frown was plastered upon her face, her ears flattened and her tail drooped. When Splashsky's gaze met her's, she forced a smile into her face and without another word, padded off.

Splashsky's ears twitched but he didn't spend a moment wondering what was wrong. He stepped into the den and blinked when Peonyflight appeared in front of mine. She apologized for being in the way with just a simple nod of her head, her expression dim as she padded past him and outside of the den. Why were the medicine cat's leaving? Quailpaw needed them around just in case!

The tom's gaze traveled over to the two cats sitting at Quailpaw's side. Dimstar's russet pelt was bushed and his eyes were wide, his eyes moist with tears. Cloverpool sat a distance away from Dimstar, her eyes shut and her head bowed. The two were still not on good terms with one another, despite the fact that their son was suffering and he needed them both.

The sight of Quailpaw made Splashsky gasp and his eyes stretch wide. The brown and white tom's eyes were clouded with pain and sorrow. A small pool of blood was still formed around his neck where a large wound was marked on the back. Cobwebs were messily slapped over the wound which made Splashsky's eyes light up with a fiery rage. Were Lilypaw and Peonyflight even trying to heal him?

Splashsky rushed over to the apprentices side and shook his head. A growl rumbled in his throat and he flashed a glare over at Dimstar and Cloverpool. "What? At you seriously just going to let them messily heal him like this and walk away? He is still bleeding and in pain for StarClan's sake!" He hissed, his heart thumping wildly with rage.

Dimstar met Splashsky's gaze for a second and parted his jaws to answer but no words slipped off the edge of his tongue. The russet leader instead turned away and shuffled his paws. Splashsky glanced over at Cloverpool for an answer but the she-cat shook her head and turned away swiftly.

"Splashsky..."

The voice was cracked and a cough sounded immediately after it. A cough that made blood be spit out from the suffering apprentice's throat. Splashsky's gaze snapped back over to Quailpaw, and the sound of his voice and the sight of him sent a shiver running down the black and white tom's spine. Quailpaw was clearly going through overwhelming agony, and the medicine cat's were not helping him.

"Quailpaw! Why are they not healing you properly! Quailpaw, don't worry if they can't do their job properly I will!" Splashsky spoke swiftly in one breath, his eyes wide and his breathing fast.

Splashsky's gaze snapped over to the herb supply and he stood to pad over there but that was when something pressed against his paw. Splashsky glanced back over and down to see Quailpaw's paw pressed over his, the apprentice's claws sheathed. His gaze traveled up Quailpaw's limb to meet his face. A vivid smile had spread across Quailpaw's face and his eyes became foggy with tears.

"It's not Quailpaw anymore...it's Quailchaser. Dimstar gave me my warrior name. Isn't that great, Splashsky? Just what I wanted for so long.."

No...No...

When it all added up, Splashsky's world began to collapse to dust around him. His heart shattered and his jaws gaped in utter shock. The reason why the medicine cats left and barely tended to Quailpaw. The reason his parents were so silent and had gifted him his warrior name early.

He was dying. Quailpaw wasn't going to make it.

"No...Quailpa- Quailchaser! You have to stay with me! If you're going to be a warrior, we have to be warriors together!" Splashsky cried, crumbling to the earth beside Quailchaser.

Quailchaser's eyes began to spill with tears and so did Splashsky's. The dying tom intertwined his tail with Splashsky's as the black and white warrior shuffled closer. Their muzzles touched and they shut their eyes, sorrow overtaking the both of them.

"Splashsky...thank you. Thank you for always being my shoulder to lean on. Thank you for making me feel like I was special and like I was strong. Thank you for providing a meaning to the life I lived. Thank you for...loving me back," Quailchaser choked out, his breath now ragged and his breathing beginning to slow.

Splashsky's teeth clenched has he struggled to hold his sobs in from exploding. "Quailchaser...of course. I just wished we could've served as warriors together," Splashsky mumbled.

"We still can...I will be by your side through everything. Splashsky...I love y-"

Before he can finish off his sentence, a large gasp escapes Quailchaser. His muzzle suddenly disappears from it's touch to Splashsky's and everything around him grows silent within moments. Splashsky did not even dare to open his eyes, agony and melancholy beginning to rain down on the tom.

Splashsky stumbled back and began to release every tear held inside of him. He choked on his sobs and his heart beat loudly but slowly before shattering to a million fragments. His ears were pinned back and his claws were unsheathed, scraping across the hard floor beside him.

Next thing he knew, Cloverpool had pressed up against his left side, tears pouring down her face as well. Dimstar eventually joined in, the leader in a terrible state of horror and sorrow. The three all sat together, sharing tears and cries for the loss of a cat they all loved with all of their hearts.

Inside they all hid a new sense that rose up inside of them. A feeling of anger for the loss they had just had to experience. An eternal fire began to light inside of them that wouldn't be put out until EchoClan was taken back and vengeance arrived for Quailchaser.

They all three knew it was time to activate the movement against Archangel and that there was no stopping now.

~•~•~•~•~

A/N: Probably the shortest yet saddest chapter in this book so far. This chapter is short just for the tears and to show that it is now time to rise up and due to Quailpaw's life being lost, they know this clearly now.

I literally cried writing this.