Tears for Our Loved Ones

 TEARS FOR OUR LOVED ONES

Episode Five, Season Four, of Rise.

Enjoy <3

Tears for Our Loved Ones
The blow never came for Terran. When he opened his eyes, he was lying flat on his back but nobody was on top of him. He quickly scrambled upright. Karina was wrestling with Vicky, her golden eyes fierce.

“Don’t touch my brother,” she snarled.

“Or what?” Vicky sneered, “How do you plan on stopping me?”

Fear ran through Terran for his sister. “Karina!” He barreled over to the two she-cats, making them both pause in their struggle to kill each other. “Why are you here? I told you to stay away.”

Vicky actually looked bitter at this. “You mean because I’ll control her?” She laughed scornfully, “I can’t control Karina. I don’t know when the plant will take control and how long it’ll last. That’s not for me to decide.”

For a moment, both Terran and Karina stared at Vicky, shocked.

The brown she-cat took this moment to knock Karina away and lunge for Terran’s sister. Terran saw it coming and stepped in front of his sister, grunting when Vicky’s sharp claws dug into his pelt.

He stumbled back from the blow, cursing slightly. Karina jumped up to fend off Vicky and Terran shook off the blood, trying to ignore the pain in his side.

Karina was the better fighter though, and Terran knew she had a better chance at defeating Vicky.

He was still worried about Karina’s condition but he was in no position to tell her to stop attacking Vicky. Terran was certain he would lose the fight if Karina left.

Karina was trying to corner Vicky but the brown she-cat evaded her with still some ease. Terran lurched forward, catching Vicky by the shoulder and throwing her to the ground with a push.

His sister took this opportunity to lunge for Vicky but at the last moment the brown she-cat rolled out of the way and Karina ended up smacking into the ground.

She groaned and Terran stepped in front of her to let her recover. Vicky sneered at both of them. “Even together you won’t defeat me.” She said triumphantly, “You’re both too weak-hearted to kill.”

Her claws glinted in the air. Terran knew that even if he didn’t want to kill Vicky she would kill him.

“Should I kill you first?” She directed her question at Terran, “Or let you suffer by watching your more competent sister die?”

“Try and kill either or us,” Karina growled, her golden eyes furious.

Vicky crouched low and lashed her tail. “This will be easy,” she hissed.

She moved at a speed that Terran’s eyes didn’t follow. Not even a moment later, he was knocked backwards onto the ground, Vicky’s poisonous amber eyes bore down on him.

“You know one thing I always liked about you?” Vicky ignored the blows from Karina. “I liked how loyal you were to your sister because I thought you would apply the same loyalty to me.”

“You assumed too much,” Terran dismissed, “You saw me a few times with Bryce—who was my prisoner so I had to be there—and mistook it for me having feelings for her instead.”

“I was right in the end,” Vicky snapped.

Karina finally wrenched Vicky off Terran and the white tom brushed away the scarlet red droplets of his own blood.

“So?” Terran stared at where Karina was pinning Vicky down. “What did you gain from being right?”

“I gained the right to kill you,” Vicky bared her teeth, “and to brand you both as traitors so that you can never return home.”

“Home is where my heart lies,” Terran said honestly, “and that is with the Coalition and Bryce.”

He made the mistake of including the black she-cat in the topic. Vicky let loose a shriek of anger and she surged up, pushing Karina off of her. In one swift moment, she lunged for Terran, who barely managed to duck out of the way.

“That she-cat is going to destroy you one day,” Vicky promised, “She is destined to try to be a hero, but in the end that will kill her instead!”

“Bryce is stronger than that,” Terran countered, meeting Vicky’s attack head on. “I know her.”

“Like you didn’t know me?” Vicky asked, almost too softly for Terran to hear.

In the blink of an eye, Terran saw the raw emotion hidden within Vicky. The hurt she felt in not being able to connect with Terran, the betrayal she felt when she was tossed aside like prey.

“Vicky--”

“Don’t give me that look,” she spat out, “the past is the past. I’m over that now! But I did vow to never let you get away with that and I will keep my promise.”

“By the way,” her eyes glinted, “I’ll let you know that there’s a cure for Karina’s condition and I have that cure!”

“A cure?” Terran immediately forgot about their past feuds and relationship. “What cure?”

“You’ll never get that out of me,” Vicky laughed, “I have no intentions of letting the two of you win!”

Terran gritted his teeth and lunged forward. “I’ll wrench it out of you if I have to!” He threatened.

“With me as his back up!” Karina defended.

“I’d rather die,” Vicky hissed, “sooner or later, you’ll run out of luck and Karina will get possessed again. When I knocked her out last time, I made a mixture out of your blood, Terran, and a specific plant that would use your blood to make Karina want to attack and kill you! Wouldn’t it just be terrible if Karina ended up killing her own brother?”

''That’s why she knocked Karina out in the last battle! To bribe Bryce to believe that she meant no harm and so she could give Karina the leaves.''

“We’ll make you tell us--!” Karina suddenly jerked up, her body stiffening.

Vicky let loose a laugh that made Terran shiver. She shot him a fanged smile and waved her tail. “I think this is goodbye for now, Terran, dear. I’ll see you if you survive this.”

Terran barely had time to realize what had happened when Karina turned mechanically and lunged for him.

~

“Bryce!” I glance up in surprise just as Calypso comes running into camp.

Cats surround her immediately and she yelps from their sharp claws. “I’m just here to speak to Bryce, I swear!”

I walk over to them and blink at the gray she-cat. “Calypso? What are you doing here?”

“Is this she-cat telling the truth?” Amberstar interrupts.

“Yes,” I nod to the leaders, “I’ll bring her to my den and talk to her there.” With Amberstar and Whitestar’s approval, I lead Calypso to my den where my sisters are waiting.

“Jewel, Emerald, can you go find Apple—I mean Nightshadow and Feathershine? And then you can go play with the other kits if you want.”

My sisters haven’t left the den much since Ruby’s death but they understand the urgency in my voice and scurry out.

“Cute,” Calypso says softly, “I remember those little kits. They’re growing up fast, aren’t they?”

“In some ways they are,” I agree, staring after my sisters, “but in other ways they’re not.” I think of Ruby.

“Are we waiting for Nightshadow and Feathershine?” Calypso looks edgy, and she’s shifting from paw to paw, obviously impatient to tell me her news.

“Yes.” I continue to wait.

Nightshadow and Feathershine don’t take long to come in and they give a little start when they see Calypso. “What’s going on?” Nightshadow asks, looked bemused.

“I have news for all of you,” Calypso declares, “Presidia is part of the High Committee!”

“What?” I flatten my ears, “Of all the cats to get involved, I never knew she would be apart of this whole deal!”

“I just found out recently and Presidia caught on. She said I had to leave immediately or else she’d have to turn me in—something she said she didn’t want to do. I don’t know what I should do, however, because I don’t want Presidia to be involved with the Blood Army like that! I…” she pauses, looking kind of embarrassed, “I love her.”

I twitch my ear at that, and an image of Terran flashes across my mind for a reason I don’t know. Nightshadow and Feathershine also look at each other and I notice they loop their tails around each other. (It makes me wonder when they’ll actually become mates.)

“What can we do to help?” Feathershine finally says, “We don’t know much about the Blood Army and how this High Committee works.”

“Fortunately, I think I know a bit about it,” Calypso leans forward, “before Presidia found out that I knew, she used to come home muttering to herself about missions and who she should talk to about them. Of course, she didn’t know I overheard her, but sometimes I’d hear some familiar names, like Aleric--”

“Aleric?” I blurt out, “We’ve met him.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard about your encounter with him,” Calypso narrows her eyes, “he’s rather infamous within the Twolegplace. Cats either fear him greatly or hold him with high respect.”

“Respect?” I snort, a bit disgusted by that idea, “Who in the right mind would respect someone like him? He’s dangerous, too dangerous for that matter.”

Calypso shrugs. “Depends on how you view him and your own morals are.”

“How come I’ve never heard of Aleric before then?” I frown, “If he’s so infamous, why did I never know about him?”

“Your parents, Sara, and Cloud probably sheltered you a lot. I’m sure you heard of murders or crimes, right?” I nod. “Most were Blood Army crimes, and rumor says that the best recruit they have is Aleric, who has never lost a battle before.”

I shudder. “Thank the stars he’s never been sent after me before.”

Calypso gives me a strange look. “Now that you mention it, you’re lucky they never sent him after you. Not to be mean, but you’d probably be dead.”

Nightshadow leans in. “Let’s not get off track. Aleric isn’t related to this topic, is he?”

“I wish he wasn’t,” Calypso says grimly, “but lately he’s been showing up at our den and talking to Presidia. I mean he keeps a low profile as to not attract attention—not many cats really know what Aleric looks like—but I could tell by his sense of strength that he was dangerous.”

Feathershine draws back in fear, leaning into Nightshadow. “This is bad; if Aleric knows Presidia sent you away then he might come after you.”

“I’m not concerned about me,” Calypso shakes her head, “Presidia’s life might be in danger. Aleric might view her as a traitor instead and first kill her.”

“Let’s bring this up to the leaders,” I decide, “this is too big to ignore.”

I ask Nightshadow and Feathershine to stay here and wait for more news. I lead Calypso to the leaders’ den and bring her inside.

“Bryce, what can we do for you and…?” Amberstar lingers on Calypso.

“This is Calypso,” I say hastily, “she’s a friend from the Twolegplace who has been helping us a great deal in figuring out how the Blood Army works. She has dire news though.”

I flick my tail to indicate that Calypso can explain her situation.

The gray she-cat tells the leaders about Presidia but leave out their romance. She describes the position she’s in and how Aleric—we had to explain to the leaders in more detail on who he was—is probably after Presidia.

“I need your help,” Calypso finally says.

“No.” Whitestar doesn’t even hesitate.

I blink in surprise. “Why not?” Calypso’s voice wavers.

Even Amberstar seems to be pondering over this. “The Coalition has no needs to interfere with Twolegplace problems. If she’s part of the High Committee, she must be a danger to us, as they are the brain power behind the Blood Army. She is an enemy unless she proves otherwise.”

Amberstar starts to nod along. “I’m sorry but Whitestar is right. We cannot risk our forces to save someone who could be our enemy.”

“I know Presidia,” Calypso argues, “she’ll see the truth when I explain it to her!”

“Then why are you here while she is still there?” Amberstar asks softly, “I know it’s hard to hear this but we cannot give you our help. You are welcome to stay here and rest as long as you need.”

Calypso seems speechless so I decide to thank the leaders for their consideration and lead Calypso back to my den where Nightshadow and Feathershine are still waiting.

“They don’t want to lift a paw to help!” Calypso finally hisses, lashing her tail, “I can’t believe this!”

“They don’t know Presidia,” I say gently, “but I do.”

Nightshadow flicks an ear. “Let me guess; we’re going to be the saviors?”

I smile. “It’s good to know we’re all on the same leaf. We’ll plan later today and tomorrow we can start seeing if we can execute any parts of our plan. Of course it’ll have to be in secret, as the leaders don’t really want us involved.”

Calypso breaks into a grin. “Thank you so much!”

I open my mouth to say it’s no problem when Applepaw rushes into the den, her sobs filling the air.

“H-he’s dead!”

“Who?” I ask urgently, crouching in front of Applepaw, dread filling my stomach. I already know the answer but I don’t want it to be true.

Applepaw whimpers.

“Firepaw.”

The End.