The Dark Forest Arises

Author's note: Again, as with Life is a Battle, these characters are from NightClan Roleplaying Wiki, and as before, permission was given. The Dark Forest is NightClan's as well. I'm taking a much, much darker approach with my second songfic and plummeting into the Dark Forest in order to show what can happen when death is involved...

Original version (Magna-Fi): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH5lfz-lvEk

New version (Crush 40): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EitqJPdS7A

All hail Shadow

Heroes rise again

Obliterating everything

That's not your friend

''Blackfur stalked through the Dark Forest, recalling his life. He'd tried to kill his leader many, many times in his life, always trying to keep it secret and clever. He'd hated his leader, always pretending to follow her orders... but always secretly plotting her death. He'd killed his own family to get closer to Stormstar.''

Nothing can stop you now

No ghost to bring you down

When there's nothing left to lose

You win

''Blackfur had been unstoppable. Scheming, evil... He'd even managed to get a couple cats on his side temporarily; he'd killed them when he was finished with them. He'd been a black shadow of death, soon feared indirectly among the Clan as the Walking Shadow of Death. He was never known to be the killer...''

Bow your heads down low

All hail Shadow

Bow your heads down low

All hail Shadow

''Blackfur's aim was the deputyship; he had never managed to kill the deputy, never given the opportunity. But he was always ready for it, planning it all. He was always there, always ready...''

Suffer long and it will set you free

Only through trial do we

Find the strength we need

It's never over, just another day

All hope and tragedies

And everything that comes our way

''Through all, the shadowed tom had always thought that Stormstar kept a closer eye on him than the other cats in the Clan. This was to be expected, of course, what with the rumors about the shadow of death. The only pure black cat in NightClan was him. In his life, he'd more than doubled the ranks of StarClan... Setting every cat free from their lives.''

It was him who had attempted to kill Stormstar, but the Clan, by this point, had caught on; Stormstar was ready for his attack, and the ensuing battle between him and Stormstar left both wounded, Blackfur mortally so.

Determination of the strong

Found the meaning that you

Searched for so long

''Determined to kill his leader, he was sent out to exile; he left the Clan, free to plot the deaths of every cat he met. EVERY cat would die by his claws.''

''Keeping his name, he had been responsible for the deaths of more cats by this point. He took a while to heal up, with no medicine cat to help him anymore, but he managed it with what little he knew.''

Though he kept on fighting for his former leader's death.

All hail Shadow

Heroes rise again

Obliterating everything

That's not your friend

Nothing can stop you now

No ghost to bring you down

When there's nothing left to lose

You win

''He couldn't manage to gather up rogues, as most of them feared him even without knowing him; this slowed progress for him. This was why he mainly remained alone.''

''So he eventually attacked the Clan camp under the cover of night, entering the leader's den without being seen or scented, and he began to attack Stormstar, who retaliated once she awoke; she was awakened fast. Once she realized who it was, she raised the alarm.''

Bow your heads low

All hail Shadow

Bow your heads low

All hail Shadow

''The Clan surrounded the leader's den, preventing Blackfur from escaping. The shadowed tom backed towards the far wall and sprang for his leader, his unnaturally long claws unsheathed.''

If the Clan hadn't been there, he would have made that.

Somewhere in chaos

We all find ourselves

This destruction is the

Only tale we tell

White is black and black is white

Right is wrong and wrong is right

Nothing ever fills this

Hole inside your heart

Blackfur was blown out of his trajectory by his former Clanmates and knocked right where Stormstar was waiting; she had her claws unsheathed and she was ready to kill him...

''This was the last moment of his life, and his eyes were filled with hate and revenge. He'd get her back for this sooner or later... and both of the cats knew it.''

Determination of the strong

Found the meaning that you

Searched for so long

''After his death, he walked the Dark Forest alone, denied access to StarClan because of his actions through life. He was already plotting his revenge...''

All hail Shadow

Heroes rise again

Obliterating everything

That's not your friend

Nothing can stop you now

No ghost to bring you down

When there's nothing left to lose

You win

*Guitar solo (Original)*

All hail Shadow

Heroes rise again

Obliterating everything

That's not your friend

Nothing can stop you now

No ghost to bring you down

When there's nothing left to lose

You win

''Blackfur's plan was simple. He was going to rally the Dark Forest cats, whenever they arrived, and have them train NightClan warriors and kits... and have the OutClanners annihilate NightClan for him. He knew it was a risky gamble, but he also knew it was the only sure-fire way of destroying NightClan once and for all.''

Bow your heads low

All hail Shadow

Bow your heads low

All hail Shadow

''If NightClan wanted a war against him, they'd get a war. The kits would revolt... and attempt to kill the warriors. Blackfur would always be known as the Black Shadow of Death to NightClan from then on...''

Lyrics-less version
''Blackfur stalked through the Dark Forest, recalling his life. He'd tried to kill his leader many, many times in his life, always trying to keep it secret and clever. He'd hated his leader, always pretending to follow her orders... but always secretly plotting her death. He'd killed his own family to get closer to Stormstar.''

''Blackfur had been unstoppable. Scheming, evil... He'd even managed to get a couple cats on his side temporarily; he'd killed them when he was finished with them. He'd been a black shadow of death, soon feared indirectly among the Clan as the Walking Shadow of Death. He was never known to be the killer...''

''Blackfur's aim was the deputyship; he had never managed to kill the deputy, never given the opportunity. But he was always ready for it, planning it all. He was always there, always ready...''

''Through all, the shadowed tom had always thought that Stormstar kept a closer eye on him than the other cats in the Clan. This was to be expected, of course, what with the rumors about the shadow of death. The only pure black cat in NightClan was him. In his life, he'd more than doubled the ranks of StarClan... Setting every cat free from their lives.''

It was him who had attempted to kill Stormstar, but the Clan, by this point, had caught on; Stormstar was ready for his attack, and the ensuing battle between him and Stormstar left both wounded, Blackfur mortally so. ''Determined to kill his leader, he was sent out to exile; he left the Clan, free to plot the deaths of every cat he met. EVERY cat would die by his claws.''

''Keeping his name, he had been responsible for the deaths of more cats by this point. He took a while to heal up, with no medicine cat to help him anymore, but he managed it with what little he knew.''

Though he kept on fighting for his former leader's death. ''He couldn't manage to gather up rogues, as most of them feared him even without knowing him; this slowed progress for him. This was why he mainly remained alone.''

''So he eventually attacked the Clan camp under the cover of night, entering the leader's den without being seen or scented, and he began to attack Stormstar, who retaliated once she awoke; she was awakened fast. Once she realized who it was, she raised the alarm.''

''The Clan surrounded the leader's den, preventing Blackfur from escaping. The shadowed tom backed towards the far wall and sprang for his leader, his unnaturally long claws unsheathed.''

If the Clan hadn't been there, he would have made that. Blackfur was blown out of his trajectory by his former Clanmates and knocked right where Stormstar was waiting; she had her claws unsheathed and she was ready to kill him...

''This was the last moment of his life, and his eyes were filled with hate and revenge. He'd get her back for this sooner or later... and both of the cats knew it.'' ''After his death, he walked the Dark Forest alone, denied access to StarClan because of his actions through life. He was already plotting his revenge...''

''Blackfur's plan was simple. He was going to rally the Dark Forest cats, whenever they arrived, and have them train NightClan warriors and kits... and have the OutClanners annihilate NightClan for him. He knew it was a risky gamble, but he also knew it was the only sure-fire way of destroying NightClan once and for all.''

''If NightClan wanted a war against him, they'd get a war. The kits would revolt... and attempt to kill the warriors. Blackfur would always be known as the Black Shadow of Death to NightClan from then on...''