Fernstalk padded through the forest to clear her head.

I want you to kit-sit them!

I want you to take care of them.

The words of horror. Unimaginable horror. Those were the worst things that she had ever heard. Worse than seeing her mother die- okay, that's a lie.

The gray warrior blinked rapidly as she saw her tree, Treeshade, covered in Mud.

And then she remembered.

"My dear cats, it is now the Mud Time. Most prey is scarce. If you find the tiniest fish, bring it. It might save a kit's life."

Those were Hailfall's words.

The tabby cat sighed, and started licking her paws when she saw a bush rustling.

She immediately dropped down onto her belly, and carefully placed one paw in front of the other, ready to strike. She almost leaped up and fell on what seemed to be some prey, almost going to giving the killing bite, when she saw her little brother jump out. He was being attacked by a small snake that wasn't very poisonous.

Fernstalk smiled that it wasn't poisonous, but helped Dreamkit anyway. She picked up the little brown snake in her jaws and crushed it.

"Thank you, Fernstalk! Thank you."

She shrugged, not being able to speak since her jaws were filled with snake.

She watched Dreamkit's happy and playful expression were off. It was replaced with a worried and unexplainable expression.

"No time. Run, Fernstalk, run!"

Fernstalk looked behind her little brother and she saw a huge wall-like substance made out of darkness.

"Go!"

She shifted the snake into one side of her mouth, and she picked up Dreamkit. The white kit struggled.

"I'm fine! I can go back to where there are Stars!"

Fernstalk bit a little tighter when she started racing back to camp, her little brother in her jaws, the darkness chasing after.

When at camp, a few cats who now knew Fernstalk, were bewildered. They had asked Hailfall about her, and Hailfall said that she was afraid of toms and kits. But here she was, carrying a kit in her jaws, just as she had known this kit all her life.

Fernstalk gently put Dreamkit down, and spit the snake into the Telling Trees. She dropped on her haunches and started panting.

"Dreamkit," she panted, breathing heavily. "Please don't go."

The white Tomkit smiled, and turned around, taking everything in.

"I've always wanted to be a warrior here," he sighed dreamily.

Fernstalk gulped, her stomach churning, knowing what he was going to say next.

"But I can't."

A creamy orange she-cat padded out of the crowd, a little shy smile on her face.

"Why not, little kit?" she purred, shrugging. "I could train you..."

The fluffy white tomkit shivered. He looked at the russet she-cat with his big blue eyes.

"I'm a part of the Stars and I have been for quite a while..."

The creamy orange she-cat gulped back tears, if it were tears or whatever, and Fernstalk could see the pain and the disturbance glaze over the amber eyes of Paleforest.

"Oh."

As Paleforest started slowly turning around and padding back to the warriors den, she cried out.

"Look! What is that?"

She pointed her tail to black goo that was outside of the camp.

Fernstalk turned her gray and white face to see darkness. The darkness inside of her came up her throat and started tugging at her to go to the darkness. It wanted to reunite with it.

She heard Dove's kits scream.

"Dove, wut iz phat?!" Skykit yowled.

"Yah, phat lukz bad!" Skykit's brother, Cloudkit meowed.

"Shuh, Skahkit amb Cludkirt!" their sister, Birdkit ordered in her shrill voice.

Skykit and Cloudkit huddled against the belly of their mother and Birdkit bounded over. Dove's blue eyes were pointed straight at Fernstalk's cheek.

Fernstalk felt the gaze, and did her best to not turn her head to face the she-cat. If she did, Dove would get answers. Answers to things that she wouldn't want to know.

"Fernstalk, I need you. Now."

Fernstalk knew that it was Hail's fall, so she started slowly dragging her paws with great force. The corrupt part of her was pulling her paws to the darkness, but the not-corrupt part was pulling her away.

The gray warrior gritted her teeth as she made her way to the leader and deputies tree, with Hailfall swishing her tail impatiently.

"What took you so long?" her worried mew came out in a whisper.

"M.. my paws. The... darkness... to... much..."

And she collapsed.

She didn't black out, but her legs had felt as if they had shattered. It felt like cats amputating her paws and then legs. It felt like they were being carefully carved away. She looked down at the heap of paws, and saw a ring of blackness holding them together.

Fernstalk looked up at Hail's fall, using most of her not-corrupt sides will, and saw the expression of death.

Hailfall wanted to murder her.

"Hailfall... please. Don't... do this."

Hailfall gave her a murderous look and said: "You are the reason we are trapped in the camp. You are the reason of this darkness. You are the reason of this prophecy! You are the reason that Ebonykit died, and that Deerkit ran away! It's all your fault!" She stopped to take a breath.

"And now, I'm gonna make that right."

Hailfall unsheathed her claws, and started digging them into Fernstalk's paws, doing as the darkness directed.

So she's with the darkness now, isn't she.

Fernstalk didn't even try to yelp in pain. She had no more free will of her own. The darkness and pain and nothingness taking complete control over her body.

"Hail's fall, what are you doing?!"

Fernstalk didn't even have enough will to think for herself and tell her which cat this was.

"This cat has brought darkness. It is only right to fight darkness with darkness."

"Hail's fall, you're with them?"

The white she-cat squinted. Fernstalk could barely tell that they were open.

"Treeleaper." Ah. So that's who the cat is. "you don't understand. She needs to die. It's her destiny, of course."

"Hail's fall," Treeleaper screeched. "This isn't right!"

Fernstalk didn't see the battle that had happened between the two she-cats as she was having a battle of her own. Light against dark. Which side would win was completely random. But not that random.

The more powerful and stronger side would win, but will was hard to take. The gray warrior used all her will and consciousness to fight back, moving her paws and trying to break free.

Don't let the darkness corrupt you completely, Fernstalk.

You can fight.

You are not afraid.

You can win.

The she-cat struggled against the darkness, and had to stop fighting a few times. The darkness never stopped, never left, and might have won. But if it did, Fernstalk didn't know.

She could see now, blood circulating much calmer and smoother than before.

Thank you, Stars.

Fernstalk rolled over to see Treeleaper very upset and distressed and the lifeless and motionless body of the leader of KestrelClan.

"H- hail's fall?" Treeleaper croaked.

"I didn't want it... to end like this."

Fernstalk could see the enraged soul of Hailfall traveling up to the No Stars.

"T- ree- eleeper? What are y- you doing here?" Fernstalk whispered.

Treeleaper shook her head. "Gorsesky is watching the kits and I guess now I'm the leader and I want you to be my deputy and Gorsesky to be my Co-deputy."

Fernstalk nearly choked for the... fifth time this moon? Her? Deputy?

"M.. me? Your deputy?" Fernstalk strained her voice.

"Yes, Fernstalk. You. I want you to be my deputy and take my place when I... when I pass and go to the Stars."

This was one of the greatest horrors of everything alive and dead alike.