Dark Angels Falling

 DARK ANGELS FALLING

Episode Seven, Season Six, of Rise.

Enjoy <3

Dark Angels Falling
''“Bryce! Look at me!” Ruby was balancing on her hindlegs, her front legs flashing through the air, her claws out. She looked like a fierce lion with her orange fur blazing in the sunlight. I purred at the fierce look in her amber eyes.''

''She fell backwards, nearly knocking Emerald over, who was watching her sister in awe. “That’s good, Ruby,” I encouraged. “What else did Cloud teach you?” I myself didn’t know how to fight but Ruby had pestered Cloud to teach her something.''

''My sister glowed with the praise and I touched my nose briefly to the top of her head. I knew that I didn’t pay much attention to the orange she-cat, but I loved her all the same. I hoped she knew that.''

''Emerald coughed feebly from where she was crouched behind Ruby. Immediately I turned to the little gray she-cat, concern contorting my face. “Emerald? Are you catching a cold?”''

I couldn’t help but remember with a chill how my mother, Aura, had fallen ill and I hadn’t been able to cure her.

“She’s fine,” Ruby snapped.

''I blinked, surprised by Ruby’s fierceness. Usually she loved to play with Emerald, but I tended to notice how fierce and brutal she was with Emerald whenever the tiny kit couldn’t keep up.''

''At that moment, Jewel hobbled into the den, carrying leaves in her mouth. She eyed her littermates for a moment before turning away. I caught the disgust in Ruby’s eyes as she glared at the black kit.''

''“Ruby,” I said carefully. “Be nice when you talk about your sisters.”''

''“Emerald’s always complaining!” Ruby flattened her ears, disregarding the fact that she was the one complaining about Emerald. “Why can’t she just realize that she has to be tougher?”''

''“Is that what you tell her when you bully her?” I couldn’t help the coldness that entered in my voice. “Be nice, Ruby.”''

''Ruby bared her teeth at me and stalked to their nest, curling up so tightly that even Emerald’s prodding couldn’t get her up. I sighed and tried to apologize to my younger sister but she wouldn’t budge.''

“It’s okay,” Emerald told me, “I don’t mind what Ruby says.”

No, she didn’t…but I did.

~

My heart aches at the memory. If only I had paid more attention to Ruby. She was always bullying Emerald but instead of realizing that Ruby had wanted my love and attention, I had pushed her away.

It’s hard to accept that the fact that Ruby had been the healthiest and the most normal, she had been pushed aside for her weaker and smarter siblings.

Korin’s words make my heart hurt more. I feel guilty for not remembering Ruby in those moons I had stayed at the Coalition, trying to fight back against the Vipers and the Blood Army. In the midst of my concerns, I had forgotten I had a third sister.

But she hadn’t given up on me. I hadn’t been able to save her in the end, with Vicky’s cunning planning, but I can still save my friends. I can still save my other sisters.

The battle continues to go on around us and I bare my teeth at Korin. “You couldn’t get to her heart because you’re a brutal savage. Ruby was never yours. She is my sister and I will make you pay back what you took from me.”

I lunge for Korin but he turns and disappears into the fray. I land on some unfortunate Viper that gets the brunt of my claws. She shrieks but I’m so angry that I don’t even care if she’s not my intended target. My claws shred through her pelt and suddenly there’s so much red that I reel back.

The red looks so much like the blood that had surrounded Ruby when she had died. I hadn’t even gotten to see the light disappear from her eyes.

I couldn’t even say good bye.

Suddenly it’s so hard to breathe that I don’t even notice as Terran screams my name, knocking me aside. I spin, staggering in my hurry and see Terran grappling with a tom who had almost landed a death blow on me.

“Pay attention,” Terran snarls as he beats back the Viper. “You can’t let the memories overwhelm now.”

I know he’s right so I take a deep breath and with some reluctance, I shove the memories of Ruby out of my head for now. After the battle—after the war is over—I can properly mourn my sister.

The battle is getting out of hand. The Vipers are good—too good. Thankfully, I don’t see any of those terrible wolves that had once terrorized us. But even without those ferocious animals, the Vipers are still vicious. The Coalition is losing badly.

My thoughts fly to the dark brown tom still in the Twolegplace. “If only Aleric would hurry up and get here,” I mutter as I claw a Viper cat’s flank. He snarls and bowls into me, overtaking me easily with his size.

But before he can do any serious damage, a small but lithe shape rams into the Viper tom, taking him aside and claws flash. In seconds, the Viper is dead.

“Speaking of the devil,” the words are out of my mouth before I can think them over.

Aleric laughs. “The devil? Oh come on, Bryce, you know I’m not that evil.” His eyes are bright, so bright compared to the last time I had seen him.

I breathe in his scent and give him a thankful smile as he helps me up. “How are you back so fast?”

“It turns out there isn’t much left of the Blood Army in the Twolegplace. Prey wasn’t too hard to find, though I needed the help of some…acquaintances.”

Aleric dips his head to two she-cats and a tom fighting for us. I don’t know who any of them are, but Aleric just shrugs. “Analese, the light brown tabby, was Elena’s best friend. She and I have…tenuous ties. That tom is Elena’s brother—he hates my guts but hey, who doesn’t? And the other she-cat is Gemma, Lucien’s—Elena’s brother—mate.”

The light in his eyes makes me laugh. “Glad you’re back, Aleric.”

His eyes flash over our friends and they linger on a dark gray she-cat. “Glad to be back too,” he says softly, “Allow me to help you end this war.”

And even though I had wanted to spare Aleric from killing, he’s truly magnificent, like a dark angel himself as he whirls through the Vipers, besting them quickly and efficiently. He’s a brilliant fighter; there’s no doubt about it. It isn’t until he’s halfway across the battle field, a number of Vipers already dead around him, that I realize that I hadn’t asked who Elena was.

The tide has been turned.

Aleric and his friends—are they his friends?—easily take down the Vipers and slowly the Coalition cats regain their strength.

I join in the battle but a flash of golden catches my eye. I turn, barely finished digging my claws into a Viper’s pelt when I realize Karina’s left flank is exposed and nobody is there to protect her.

Korin is already sailing through the air and my breath catches in my throat. I’m already running, her name ready on the tip of my tongue but I know I won’t make it in time.

Terran turns, screaming his sister’s name, but he’s too far away too.

Karina spins around, her golden eyes wide, her paws too slow to catch up as she tries to raise them to defend herself. I’m sprinting as fast as I can but I still have so much distance to cover. Korin is too close to Karina and I almost squeeze my eyes shut, unwilling to watch her die.

Because my eyes are open, I don’t miss the moment when Aleric shoots out of the battlefield into Karina, shoving her aside.

Korin’s claws slide into Aleric’s pelt before Karina can even recover her balance.

~

Karina let out a scream when she saw Aleric hit the ground. She was up on her paws in an instant and running towards the tom. She didn’t glance around her; she didn’t check to see if anyone was going to attack her.

She reached his side in no time and crouched next to him. Tears blurred her vision and she frantically brushed them away, desperate to look at Aleric with clear eyes.

“Why?” She sobbed. “Why did you save me again?”

Aleric’s eyes were sad, just like they had been when he had confessed all his crimes to her. Karina held back another sob. “I love you,” he whispered, his eyes full of the one emotion. “I really do love you, Karina.” She finally heard the words from his mouth but she wished the situation could be different.

There was pain in his voice. They both knew why. “I love you too,” she began to cry again, “please stay with me.”

He smiled a little, breaking Karina’s heart even more. Karina touched her nose to him and begged. “Please,” she cried, “you can’t go now. I won’t let you. I almost lost you once; I refuse to lose you again.”

“Let me go,” Aleric’s voice was too soft. “If you love me, let me go.”

“No,” Karina rocked on her paws, “I love you.” She said desperately. She said it over and over.

“It’s okay,” Aleric’s voice was a soft whisper. “I’m not afraid this time.”

Karina couldn’t breathe properly. “Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go!” She was shaking and she couldn’t do anything but stare at Aleric as he lay there. She pressed her paws into his wounds, desperate to stop the bleeding but Aleric just shuddered.

“I can go get Flameshadow,” she said desperately. She looked around. Bryce and Terran were already fending off anyone who could get close to her. “I can go get him and he’ll save you and--”

“I love you,” Aleric repeated, ignoring her words.

Darkness yawned wide open and threatened to sweep her into oblivion. She was crying so hard she couldn’t think straight. She had thought that all this time she would need to save Aleric from himself but instead he had saved her.

Karina had seen wounds like this. She knew it was too late but she didn’t want to accept it.

Aleric took a ragged breath. He was shaking from the pain. There was blood everywhere—his blood. “This is a repayment for my sins,” he murmured, his eyes half-closing. “I’m glad I saved you.”

“No, no, no,” Karina saw his eyes completely close. “Aleric!”

He was still fighting. He took a few more gulps of air before she saw his chest still. Karina stared at his body for the longest time, not comprehending.

He was gone, just like that.

I’m glad I saved you.

Karina didn’t know how long she stayed there but she stood up. She touched her nose briefly to Aleric’s one last time. If she stayed any longer, she would never be able to move on.

“I love you,” she said softly, even though she felt like she was talking to empty air. “I promise to avenge you.”

~

Aleric wasn’t afraid of death. No, because in that moment, Aleric hadn’t thought about himself, all he could think about was living his life without the she-cat who had saved his soul. For his whole life, he had been afraid to die but when he saw the Viper leader aiming for Karina, he found that he was willing to throw away his life for her.

It wasn’t like when Aleric had fallen in love with Elena. Back then, he would have run away with her, he would have fought every cat to save her, but in the end, he hadn’t been able to die for her. He had killed her instead.

With Karina, Aleric couldn’t do it. He couldn’t watch her die and stand on the side, realizing that for all of his skill, he couldn’t save the she-cat he loved. This time, he knew he had to do it right.

So when the Viper leader’s claws had sunk into Aleric’s pelt, he hadn’t even felt the pain. It wasn’t until Karina had come into focus that Aleric had felt everything. There was such fire in his body, from the wound that caused him to bleed out. But his heart hurt the most. Watching the anguish take over Karina’s face almost made Aleric regret saving her life. But he knew that he would rather be dying than watching her die.

And in the face of death, Aleric had finally forced those three words to Karina. He couldn’t say it to Elena when he killed her but with Karina, Aleric had been able to let go. It was his time; he knew that even assassins one day would die. His time just came faster than others.

When the pain had almost become unbearable, Aleric saw two cats step down from the sky. One was a beautiful cream colored she-cat with matching cream colored eyes. She licked the top of his head like she had when he was a small kit.

The other was a large blue-gray tom with strong silver eyes that had helped Aleric be strong in the first moons after their deaths.

He hadn’t seen them in so long but Aleric would know his parents anywhere.

“Aleric,” his mother murmured. “It’s time to go.”

He murmured his last goodbye to Karina and when Aleric accepted his mother’s outstretched tail, he could feel his last breath expel out of him. And even though Aleric didn’t want to leave Karina’s side, he wasn’t afraid as he followed his parents up the stars.

I’ll wait for you, he silently promised Karina, just like I said I would.

~

Karina found Korin easily. The huge golden brute was fighting Applewhisker. The young warrior was fierce, lashing out with precision but Karina didn’t think about anything as she barreled into Korin, taking him off the warrior.

“Karina--” Applewhisker began, no doubt wanting to take the Viper leader for herself.

“He’s mine,” Karina snarled.

There was so much blood over her. All of it was Aleric’s. Karina forced herself not to think about Aleric’s body still laying there on the battlefield, his beautiful green eyes glassy and blank. She had to avenge him.

Korin just smirked and cocked his head. “Come crawling back for once, Karina?”

“I’ve come to kill you,” Karina’s voice was dead.

Korin shook his head, still smiling. “You don’t have the guts to do that, after what happened to Ruby.”

Karina didn’t even flinch. There would be time later for her to wince at the remembrance of killing Bryce’s sister. “You’re about to find out how wrong you are about that,” she told him coldly. “I’m going to skin you alive for killing Aleric.”

“A pity about him,” Korin shrugged. “He wasn’t supposed to get in my way.”

Rage filled Karina and she lunged for him, faster than his eye could follow. He managed to try to bat her away but Karina barely felt the sting of his blow as she drove her claws deep into his stomach.

He snarled and doubled over, a stream of blood gushing out of him.

Karina bared her teeth at him. If Aleric hadn’t been saving her life, he would have killed Korin so easily. His skill couldn’t be matched by anyone, not even the other High Committee members of the Blood Army.

He was also the only cat who had truly understood her other than Terran and he was gone.

There was no mercy as Karina stared down at Korin. “I would take my time with you but I know that he wouldn’t have wanted me to indulge in my bloodlust. So I’ll grant you the mercy of having a quick death.”

She buried her claws into his neck without another thought.

~

The war ended quickly after I watched Karina kill Korin.

The dark gray she-cat had stumbled off the Viper leader and Terran had caught her, whispering words in her ear. All I could do was watch as Karina staggered to Aleric’s dead body and started to cry again.

I feel so numb right now. I’m still watching Karina cry over Aleric’s still body and I can’t move as Terran brushes against me, touching his nose to mine.

“Are you all right?” He asks softly.

“I don’t know,” I whisper.

“The war is over.”

“I know.”

Terran touches his nose to mine again. His eyes linger on his sister too. “We still have a long road ahead of us,” he murmurs, “but I’m here, Bryce. I’m here to help.”

“I know.” I say again.

“I love you,” he tells me.

I turn and fully face him. The weight of the realization of the war being over hits me. I want to start crying and laughing at the same time but instead I just stare into my mate’s eyes, grateful that he is here.

“I love you too.” I say back to him, because he deserves to hear it every single time.

The End.