I am the Last Thing You'll Ever See....

[Hopper]

Summary-
Many of us already know Lastsight, the brave and loyal warrior to SnowClan, and we think that we know her past. That is, we know that she was trained harshly in the cold streets of TwolegPlace, but none of the living actually know about her, and her life. For instance, how many of us knew that, in the beginnings of her journey of life, she was a small little kit called Rose, with a brother who knew how to change the world . . . . ?

Note: This'll be updated as it is written, and hopefully by-the-chapter. I'm also writing it for English class as an allegory to the Odyssey, so it will contain some characteristics of epic literature. You have been warned XP

Prologue-
A white cat stalked into a moonlight clearing. The falling rays of light lit up her fur, clearly defining the grey tabby spots on it. Her amber eyes gleamed, and as she looked up to the starry sky she thought back upon her life. She had a home now, living free with cats in the forest, but she could easily remember the earliest days in her life, when she had fought for her very living.

Even now, in this new world that she lived in, everyone thought that they knew about her. Oh how wrong they were. She felt a smirk come to her otherwise stoic face, and shook her head in a bemused fashion.

“Fools, the lot of them,” She muttered. “They're all fools. They need to pay for this.”

She looked away from the sky, towards the shadows, and a mad gleam danced on her amber iris.

“They don't know about my past. How are they supposed to know? I never told them,” She said, calmer than before.

She swung her head around again, glaring at the sky. “They shouldn't have to know!” She yowled, her anger and pain getting to her.

Tears began to make their way out, and she hissed as she blinked them away. “They shouldn't have to know, to pay for this! They should accept punishment as it comes, and die with honor in their hearts!”

The cat looked to the shadows again. “There is no reason to kill the innocent, or the ignorant,” She said, voice calm again. “My brother, Simon, knew that. He knew the real way of the world.”

Without a second thought, the cat was glaring at the stars again. “Simon is dead!” She yowled, furious as ever as she remembered the pain of her past. “He didn't know the true way of the world, so he died! I, too, died on that day, with my brother, and now I have no meaning in life! Why do I even exist?”

She looked to the shadows, but this time remained silent. She raised her muzzle to the sky.

“But there is a reason for my existence,” She said, her voice as if she had suddenly stumbled across some great idea. “My reason for living, is to experience pain, and give that pain to everyone else in the world! Soon enough, everyone will feel my pain! There is no such thing as innocence or ignorance! Never, not even for a single moment, will anyone feel happiness anymore! For every heartbeat that everyone has, they will feel the pain that lives in my heart! For years upon years, everyone will feel as I feel, hate as I hate, burn as I burn. Then, no-one will even remember what it is like to live without pain! And they will thank me!” Tears came to the she-cat's eyes again as she said this. “I will be great, hailed for my genius! For I brought pain to them, and they became stronger! No-one will be weak anymore!”

She suddenly dropped her head, and her shoulders drooped. The cat stared at the ground, swaying side to side like a storm-tossed ocean as she did so.

“Please, someone, take away my memories of that place,” She pleaded, voice different than it was before. It was, frankly, more normal. “I don't want to remember the Society anymore.”

The cat bit her lip, silence overtaking the forest as she concluded her plead. She waited, ears alert for any sound, then sighed in a defeated fashion. What was she thinking, anyway? That she'd suddenly forget her entire past? There was no way that that'd ever happen, she already knew that. Again she sighed, angry at herself for letting her feelings get out. This war had raged on inside of her mind, ever since she left the Society. Part of her wanted to make everyone pay, for not feeling like she felt, and another part of her was calm and cool, not letting her get ahead of herself. Before now, that war had been contained, limited to the she-cat's mind. She'd never let it escape like this before. It was a state of confusion and misguided thoughts, and she hated it.

The she-cat flicked an ear, and turned, about to leave the clearing. She had the war under control for now, so she had no reason to be here anymore. However, before she could take another pawstep, the she-cat was consumed by memory, and she gasped as she relived her life, from the very beginning.

Chapter 1-
The young kit opened her amber eyes, blinking away the fogginess that blocked her vision. Her white fur had splotches of grey tabby, and stuck up all over the place. She gazed up at the tom-cat who towered over her, and a smile came to her mouth. It only lasted for half a second, however, as the tom spoke.

“Do not smile,” He hissed in a deep voice. “There is no time for such things in this place.”

That was the beginning of her life, with that one sentence, the kit could imagine what hardships awaited her. That day was when she came into the world, and that day was when her training began. That day, the day that she would remember for all her life, was the day her war against the world began, and when she learned some of the most important rules a cat can ever know.

The tom's amber eyes, very much like her own, glanced from side to side, as if he expected troubles, then looked back to the kit. He began to pace, keeping his gaze fixed on her.

“There are rules to life,” The tom began. “You will memorize them and always stay to them. There are also consequences. Stay to the rules, and you stay alive. If you disobey them, or me, you will die in the most terrible way.”

The kit nodded to show that she was following what he said, but she didn't completely understand. Who was this tom, anyway, and why was he telling her all this?

“Rule #1: Do not trust any cat you meet, as they could be an enemy. Challenge any and all cats you meet, unless I tell you otherwise,” The tom continued. “Rule #2: If you have the chance to choose between giving your own life or someone else's, give the other's life. Staying alive at the cost of another's life is always preferable. Rule #3: Do not love. It is a weakness that will always lead to your downfall. Rule #4: Show no pity to anyone when you fight them. Ever. Pity, as well, is a terrible thing. Rule #5: Do not have any emotion for the cat you fight, but anger. Never love them, never feel pity for them, never envy them, nor have them as your friend. Do not care for them in any way, or feel anything for them, in any way. The only emotion you should feel when you fight is anger. Rule #6: There is no such thing as a friend, or an ally. There are only those loyal to you, me, and your enemies. You are loyal to me, and me alone. Those loyal to you must remain so, and if they dare to stray they are to be killed, immediately. It does not matter how loyal they were before, what matters is how far they have betrayed you. If they betray you, they are your enemies. Enemies, are the world. Everyone who isn't loyal to you and isn't me is your enemy. Enemies are to be killed whenever you have the chance. Kill them in the most painful way, and make sure that they know it was you who killed them. Rule #7: Always listen to me. My word is the law. Rule #8: You are no-one. Your name does not exist. Ever. Even if I say so, you have no name. You never will. You are like a tool for me, and so you will never be known by a name other than 'you' or 'kit'. Always remember this. Of the rules, this is one of the most important.”

The kit blinked her amber eyes, taking in the words that this tom spoke. After a pause, which seemed to signal that he had finished speaking, she tilted her head to one side.

“So-if I am no-one, and I always obey you, who are you?” The kit asked curiously.

The tom turned, and his scarred tabby face frowned for a moment as he thought about her question. The kit sneezed, and she raised a red paw up to her face.

'That's odd,' She thought. 'I thought my fur was white and grey...' She looked from her paw to the ground, and saw there was a red liquid on the cold stone, and the sticky stuff was now on her paws. 'I wonder what that is. Maybe I'll ask him...'

The tom cleared his throat, and the kit looked back to him again. She flicked one ear back awkwardly, realizing that she'd had a momentary digression.

“I am-” The tom began, but suddenly he stopped, muscles tensing under his dark grey tabby fur. His amber eyes flicked to the side again, from where a low hiss was emanating. The kit took a step back, and her hind leg bumped into something furry and wet. Without looking to see what it was, she crouched down near it, staying hidden. She didn't know what was going on here, and she had the horrible suspicion that she was about to find out. The furry wet thing close to her was much larger than her, and felt sort of solid. For a moment, the kit thought that it was alive, before she realized that it was cold, and there was no reassuring heartbeat. Nope. This thing, whatever it was, was certainly dead.

The grey tom turned slowly around, and the kit saw another tom appear from behind three large shiny canisters. However, this tom's fur was as red as the liquid that now covered the kit, and his eyes held a type of hatred that challenged the grey cat's.

“So, Lex, what are you doing here? I don't usually see your scrawny hide over on this side of the city,” The red cat sneered.

The grey tom bared his teeth, exposing fatally sharp fangs, and a hiss escaped him.

“Rosco,” The dark grey cat, apparently Lex, hissed. “Remember last time, when I clawed you so bad that you couldn't eat properly for a week? Think about that for a moment, and then dare to take another step.”

Rosco, the red tom, rolled his eyes. “There must be some reason, as you don't come out to this side without a fair reason,” He said. His voice was strange to the kit's ears, as if there were shards of metal stuck in his throat. Rosco's gaze wandered, and went straight over the kit without realizing that she was there. Instead, he looked at the wet furry thing that she was hiding near. A smile came to Rosco's lips, and Lex looked like he was about to attack the other tom. The kit shifted slightly, wondering what was going on.

“Well, it seems that she is the reason,” Rosco said, a sparkle of triumph in his eyes. “I always knew that you'd break the rules sooner or later.”

The kit blinked, not sure if she heard that right. Didn't Lex just say the rules to her? Was Rosco saying that Lex himself had broken those rules? The kit shuddered. How was she supposed to trust and obey a cat who broke the rules that were life?

Lex yowled and leaped at Rosco, catching the red tom off guard. His claws unsheathed faster than the kit would have thought possible, and the sharp exterior bones tore through the flesh of Rosco's shoulder. The red tom winced, but didn't show any other signs of pain. The kit watched as the fight went on, her eyes wide. The red liquid now covered the entire alleyway, pooling on the hard ground and seeping down through the cracks. The kit didn't know what the sticky stuff was, but she had the suspicion that it wasn't good.

However, she was covered in it, and nothing was going to change that any time soon.

Lex's forepaws on Rosco's shoulders slammed the smaller tom to the ground, and the grey cat's fangs hovered over the intruder's throat. The kit knew that Lex said something to the other, but she couldn't be sure of what exactly. Rosco's eyes widened, and his breath quickened, the red liquid spreading on the hard ground around him. The kit could see, even from this distance, that Lex was smirking. The dark grey tabby's fangs flashed, and a squeal echoed throughout the alleyway before silence fell.

The kit watched as Lex went away from Rosco's body, and back towards her. The tom looked down at her for a moment, as if measuring her up, then nodded sharply to himself.

“Today is your first day of life,” Lex said. “So today is the day you will come moments away from death. Come with me. Your first duty awaits.”

With that, the dark tabby began to stalk down the alleyway, into the darkness. The kit hesitated, then bounded after him. That decision, the choice to chase after Lex, was what sealed her fate. She didn't know it, but as she entered the shadows, she wasn't just going into the land with no light. She was stepping away from a world that could have been happy and carefree. She was stepping into a life of hatred, a life of pain, and a life where she could never live like anyone else. She was going into a life of darkness, and the kit glanced over her shoulder only once before disappearing into the shadows.

With that glance, she saw the last light she'd ever see. The last ray of hope, the last happy moment, the last chance at joy. With that glance, she inadvertently threw away all her dreams, and all her aspirations. From that glance onwards, she saw the world in a different way. She saw the darkness for what it truly was, and never saw any good again. The world was her enemy from then on. From that glance onwards, she would never forget to see everything. She would never forget that she was never to love. She would always remember what it is like to see death, and to feel the rush of satisfaction as life ebbed away from a body. Because in that glance, she saw what the cold, wet, furry thing was.

It was a cat.

And not just any cat.

A cat that looked exactly like her.

It was her mother.

Chapter 2-
The kit panted heavily, crouching down again. Her muscles ached, and the same red liquid that had been on the ground in the alley was now spreading from cuts in her flesh. On the way here, she had asked Lex what the liquid was, and he explained that it was 'blood', and that all cats needed it to live. It existed in everyone's body, and it wasn't a good thing if it came out of her. Or, that's what she'd been told. She also learned that it was a good thing if she could get it to come out of her enemy. What a strange world.

Another swipe of claws came towards her, and the kit ducked, fearing the pain that would come with the blood. She dodged to the side as the cat came barreling towards her again, and she looked around for any advantage that she could find. In the other six battles she'd fought, the kit had eventually won by stamina, and the ability to dodge. She saw Lex, and silently pleaded for help from him. The grey tabby recognized this in her eyes, and looked away.

The kit was devastated, and wondered what she was going to do. The point of the battle, she was told, was to find a sibling. She had to fight countless others until she found one that either overpowered her, or was equal to her in strength. There were three ways to finish a battle: kill, be killed, or find your sibling.

She gritted her teeth, and dodged to the side again. The kit thought back, over what Lex had said, trying to find anything that would help her in this instance. She hid behind a metal cylinder, when an idea hit her with the force of a million rampaging hounds. She felt a shiver run down her spine, the let out a breath. This fighting, this entire battle to 'find her sibling' was just a way to see how much anger she had. She had to prove to these cats, Lex and all these others, that she had enough anger to live. She knew it, not because there was a disappointed air to the watching cats, and not because of the hatred that burned in her opponent's gaze. The kit knew this because of Lex's words, the fifth rule that he spoke to her.

Until now, the kit had been afraid of her opponents. However, with this acquired knowledge in mind, she stepped out from behind the cylinder, amber eyes ablaze, and leaped at the other cat with a snarl. Her claws slashed through the surprised enemy's fur, and pierced the throat. The kit leaped atop the body, and looked around the ring of watchers for her next opponent.

A young tom, about a month older than her, stepped forward, and crouched down, leaping at her. The kit dodged to the side, then leaped at him, slicing her claws down his side. She thought that she saw a glimmer of amusement in the tom's eyes, and she hissed at him as they passed through the air. She landed, and spun around in time to see the tom leaping at her again. She raised a paw, claws unsheathed, and swung at the tom.

She suddenly stopped breathing, surprised, as her paw smacked into that of the tom's. The kit blinked. So, what did this mean? What happened now? Lex was padding out of the shadows towards them, so she assumed that this meant something, and the young tom was smirking. The kit gulped, and fell forward as her opponent dropped his paw to the ground. She quickly sat up again, and looked meekly up at Lex.

The dark tabby watched them, amber eyes narrowed to slits, then opened his maw to speak. The kit winced, expecting to her an earful about something or other.

“You two,” Lex began, and the kit shrunk down, still expecting something bad. “Are now siblings.” The kit blinked, surprised, and straightened her spine once more. Lex looked to the young tom, “Simon, you are this kit's brother.” and then he turned to the kit. “And you, are Simon's sister. You will serve Simon and me. There is no debate on this matter. Simon, you will call her 'kit', or 'you', as I do. This is our way.”

Lex then turned and slunk back into the shadows, leaving two vaguely confused kits behind. The other cats, apparently, had also left, slipping into the darkness after the action ended. Simon turned to the kit, a smile now on his brown-tabby-and-white face. The kit wasn't sure of it at first, but then saw that her new brother's smile was sincere and full of warmth.

“Well, I know that father already introduced us, but I'm Simon!” He said in a chipper voice.

The she-kit blinked, unsure of what to make of Simon. He was...unusual, for lack of a better word. She tilted her head to one side as she looked him up and down, inspecting him. His fur was pale brown, and was covered in tabby stripes. He also had white paws and a white muzzle. She blinked. 'He even looks a little like me,' She thought. After a few moments of analyzing her brother, she decided to speak.

“I don't have a name,” She said. “Lex said that it was against the rules for me to have a name.”

Simon sighed. “I wish not every kit who was told that actually believed it,” He muttered.

The she-kit felt her neck fur rise as Simon began to disrespect the rules. “What did you say?”

Her brother rolled his green eyes. “Are you seriously going to pick a fight with me, over something that is undebatable?”

The kit relaxed again. “Well,” She said, getting an idea. “You're right. It is an undebatable subject. Because I am right, you are wrong, and that is life.”

Simon sighed, muttering something along the lines of, “Stupid kit doesn't know what she's talking about.”

The tom-kit looked to her, a smile coming to his face again. “I can't just call you 'kit' all the time, it just sounds wrong.”

“But I can't have a na-”

“Then you'll have a nick-name,” Simon interrupted. He continued to look at his sister with a bemused expression, thinking as he did so. “I won't be able to call you it when other cats are around, though.”

The kit looked up at her brother, a smile coming to her face. She could remember Lex's first words to her, but right now that alley seemed like a lifetime away. Her whiskers quivered in excitement, and she sat up a little straighter than before.

“From this day on, you're going to be more than 'kit',” Simon promised. “You're going to be my little sister, Rose, named after a flower both beautiful and full of thorns.”

Chapter 3-
The she-kit leaped forward, snarling, and trapped a mouse in between her claws. The mouse had fear spread across its small face, and the emotion stayed etched there as she killed it. The white-and-grey-tabby kit looked down at the dead rodent, fascinated at how it could portray such emotion, and still be such a stupid creature. The dull grey fur of the mouse was coated with grit and grime, and the damp black substance rubbed off on the kit's paws and mouth as she picked it up.

She hurried away to the shadows behind the garbage cylinders, and crouched down, devouring the mouse within seconds. She licked her paws, cleaning her face as well, and her thoughts began to wander.

She knew that she shouldn't be slacking off in her duties, but in her thoughts now she didn't bother to remember that she had to be getting on with other stuff. She tilted her head to one side, gazing up at the dirty clouds that scuttled across the sky. They always looked like that. Always dark, heavy, and filling up most of the blue yonder. As her thoughts wandered more, she realized that she rarely thought of herself by Rose, the nick-name that Simon had given her. It just seemed wrong.

Not that she meant any disrespect to her brother. She had to serve him, after all. It was just that she didn't think that Simon had the right to give her a name if Lex had said not to.

Speaking of the striped devil of darkness, Lex came stalking around a corner, amber eyes narrowed at the kit. She backed up one step, lowering her head and flicking her ears back in submission. She had never experienced the full extent of Lex's anger, but even a mild irritation was to be feared when it came to this cat. She opened her maw, contemplating on whether to say something, then closed it again, thinking that she should see if he really was going to tell her off or not.

Lex's claws came all of a sudden out of the air to her left, and swiped down her face, his striped face twisted in a snarl. The kit was thrown to the side by the force of the impact, and skidded to a halt on the ground, skinning part of her right foreleg in the process. She picked herself up again, and Lex leaped at her, swinging another blow at her, hitting her full in the stomach and whacking her against the brick wall that sided the alleyway. For less than a second, she stayed pressed against the wall, the force of the attack keeping her pinned there to defy gravity, before she fell to the ground again. Lex stepped forward, muscles rippling under his dark striped fur, and the kit truly understood why he was called 'the striped devil of darkness'. She tried to shuffle away, fearing more pain.

Already, blood was slithering down the side of her face like a crimson snake. The dark red scales shimmered as the dim alley light came down from amongst the tightly knit clouds. The snake's eyes are as maroon as its skin, and as it moves down along through a field of white and grey. Blades of grass flick along the sides of the snake, but are then dampened and stick down in the trail of the reptile. The snake comes to the end of its path, and falls off the side of the field, becoming a droplet again and falling apart as it hit the ground.

The kit looked down at the blood that was now splattering the ground, then to Lex again, ears pinned back against her skull in fear. Her paws were covered in blood as well, and she was finding it hard to breathe. She stumbled over a small pebble as she shuffled away, and fell to the ground. The kit winced as pain shook her body. She twisted her head around to look at what had caused the pain in her side, and saw that there was something white and solid sticking out of her chest. She gulped, and felt light-headed at the sight of it. She felt a strong paw bat her cheek, and felt fire explode there. She turned, however, and saw Lex glaring down at her small form with distain in his eyes.

“You disappoint me,” The dark tabby said, voice clearly reflecting what he said. He turned, and began to stalk away from the kit. “If you don't improve, you'll have to be sent away from the Society.”

The kit gulped fearfully, amber eyes wide. 'S-sent away from the Society?' She thought, attempting to stand up. She was no fool. She knew that, if she spent even a day outside of the Society, she'd die. Granted, not many cats here lived long either, but she was going to live longer here than out there. The kit twisted her head around once more, and looked at the white thing sticking out of her chest. She picked a paw off the blood-splattered ground, and prodded the white thing.

She immediately regretted it, however, as another flash of pain made her head spin and vision flicker. The kit gasped, and bared her fangs. Whatever this was, it was causing her pain, and was thus bad for her. It had to be removed, and the sooner the better. She bent so that she could reach the white thing with her muzzle, and caught ahold of it with her teeth. She ignored the pain as she grabbed it, and began to pull it away from her flesh. Blood was exiting her body freely, staining her fur and dripping off her belly.

Whatever it was, it was long, curved, and smooth under the kit's tongue. She cried out many times, and felt like she was going to die more than that, as she pulled it out, and eventually she had pulled out a length equivalent to that of her foreleg. The kit gritted her teeth against the pain, and finally she had taken out whatever it was. She threw it away from her, but all her strength was gone and it clattered on the ground at her paws. She glared down at it, laughing weakly at her victory, then her knees gave way and she fell to the ground as well. She coughed, and more blood came out of her mouth, adding to what was already on the hard, dirty ground. The kit's chest heaved, but her breathing was becoming weaker and weaker.

'Why—is it so—hard—to breathe?' She thought. Pain had engulfed her in a wave, and now her body felt numb. 'Why—does it hurt—so much?'

The kit's vision flickered, and the world seemed to spin. She coughed once more, and a small spurt of blood came out of her throat again. She gasped in a breath, but the world was getting further and further away from her. She could hardly see anything, nor feel the hard wet ground that she was pressed against. She couldn't hear anything, and the pounding of blood in her head was distant. She had blood in her mouth for so long, that the metallic taste was somehow all that her tongue could remember. The smell of the crimson liquid, too, had somehow gotten to the level that her nose hurt and she almost didn't want to breathe.

Finally, the kit's body couldn't handle the stress. She suddenly felt a burst of energy, as if she were going to be somehow better, but it was quickly extinguished, and she was delved into a world darker than that in which she lived.

Chapter 4-
Simon trotted along the alleyways of the Society. Since he was the 'son' of Lex, who was leader of this place, and since he was a tom, the young cat held a high rank and hardly ever had to do any sort of work. It was all done by the lesser cats and the females. Simon frowned, turning a corner and seeing the cats ahead of him immediately skitter away. He hated the way that the Society worked. It was so stupid. He knew that one day, he'd be able to lead the Society into a better way, to lead them on the right path. For now, though, he'd just have to bid his time and pretend to go along with it all.

The tom rounded a corner again, and the scent of blood immediately came to the scent glands in the roof of his open mouth. Simon bounded forward, concern growing with every pawstep as he recognized the unmoving form ahead of him. He skidded on the puddle of blood, and fell down next to the smaller cat, accidentally bumping into her side. Simon winced, and stood up, carefully stepping around to look down at the cat's face. He immediately was hit by conflicting feelings on whether he should have come here or not. His sister, his dear little Rose, was bleeding her heart out and covered in wounds that would undoubtedly leave scars for life.

Simon looked around for anyone that would help him, then looked to his sister again. He saw that a curved bone lay next to her, and he began to shake his head in horrified silence.

“No,” He said, noting the rib that Rose had torn out of her own chest and the near lack of breath in the younger kit. “No-no-no-no-no. You're not dead yet. You're not going to die.”

He nudged Rose with his paw, and was faintly joyous when she twitched away from him. Though it was weak, it was a sign that she was definitely still alive. Simon gritted his teeth, and began to pace, thinking of something he could do. If she stayed here, she'd die. If Simon took her to the Society for help, they'd kill her without a second thought. If she was taken to the cats in the Outer World, there was only a slim chance of her survival. Simon stopped, nodding now to himself, and grabbed Rose's scruff, dragging her off as a hunter does his prey.

“Come on,” He muttered around her bloody, tattered fur. “We're going to get help for you.”

Chapter 5-
The she-kit's head spun, and her eyes fluttered open to immediately close at the sudden light all around her. Slowly this time, she opened the doorways to her soul, and looked around at her surroundings. She tried to stand up, shocked at the amount of color that was everywhere, and the light, but her paws couldn't support her and she collapsed back onto the ground.

She blinked, and looked at the ground. This, too, was peculiar. It was soft, like pigeons' feathers, and fluffy, like her own fur. She prodded it with her paw, and the pressure made a little indent in the green stuff. The kit was confused, and prodded it again, harder this time, and making another impression. She trusted that this stuff wasn't going to harm her, so she began to prod it again and again, amusing herself with the way it would make little patterns.

“You're finally awake, it would seem,” A voice behind her said, and the kit tried to turn around. A shudder of pain rippled through her spine, though, and she bit the inside of her cheek as she looked around. She started to smile when she saw her brother, but then dropped it. This place, whatever it was, wasn't the Society. She couldn't stay here. This place would kill her. And now that she knew that Simon was here, she knew that they could escape.

The kit sat up, despite the concerned glare that Simon sent her, and looked to her brother.

“W-what is this place?” She asked nervously.

“This is the Outer World,” Simon replied calmly, sitting down and curling his tail over his paws. The kit blinked. How could he be so calm when they were away from the Society? Didn't the Society mean life? Wasn't this the place where cats died within a day? Weren't all cats who stepped out of the Society considered trash? What was Simon thinking, sitting here calmly and bringing her here? Didn't he know that they'd be punished and killed when they returned?

“The Outer World?” The kit echoed, neck fur rising at the mere mention of this place. She got a bad feeling about here. This was not where she was meant to be. She didn't belong here, and neither did any cat from the Society.

Simon nodded. “Yes, and this is where you'll be living now,” He said. The she-kit gaped at her brother, shocked at the prideful expression he wore. When she finally worked up the courage, she decided that she'd give her superior an earful.

“Are you insane?” The kit snapped, standing up and wincing at the pain that immediately skittered through her chest like a swarm of rats. “I can't live here! I live in the Society! That's my home! And yours, too! What are we even doing here? Why'd you bring me here? This is a bad place! We'll die if we stay here for any longer! We have to get back to the Society, and the sooner the better!”

Simon flicked an ear, and spoke. “You have it the wrong way around. The Society is the terrible place! This, on the other paw, is the place where life flourishes! Were we can be free, away from the reign of power in the Society!” He paused, then added. “And since you left, you'd be killed on sight when you returned. You have no other choice.”

The she-kit hissed, anger boiling beneath her fur. “It's not my fault that I was taken away from the Society!” She yowled. “You were the one who just took me here! It's like you're telling me to die! Is that it, do you want me to die? Do you want me out of your life? Because that can be arranged! I'm defenseless right now! You can kill me without even trying!” The kit bowed down her head to Simon. “Go ahead, kill me! I know you want to! Why are you just standing there?” She looked up at the tom again. “What's your problem? Or do you not want to kill me? You want to watch as Lex kills me, is that it? You want to see the pain on my face as I'm killed by my father?”

The kit gasped for breath, but she couldn't take a full breath and collapsed again. She hissed at Simon, but before she could get up again she was beginning to feel tired. 'This is going to be irritating,' She thought, already irritated with the wounds. The kit felt her brother's breath stir the fur on her face, and heard his voice before she was overtaken with sleep.

“Don't worry, little Rose,” Simon purred. “If when you awaken you still want to go back, I won't try and stop you.” She was asleep, however, and didn't hear it when he added the last part. “I won't need to try. You'll not be able to get far anyway.”

Chapter 6-
The she-kit hissed, and whacked the mouse far away from her. It rolled to a stop at the edge of this forest clearing, and she continued to glare at it as if it had done something to offend her. She muttered something colorful, then turned away and shifted her glare to her brother.

“Can we leave now?” She asked, irritation clear in her voice. She had been stuck in this strange place for at least twelve days, and Simon had said that she'd slept for at least another. If he was speaking the truth, then this was the kit's thirteenth day here, and she was hating it more and more by the day.

Simon, who's green gaze had been on the dead rodent, turned to his sister again.

“If you can get up and walk back to the Society by yourself, you can go,” He admitted. “But it would be better to stay here. There's more food here, and it's safer. You won't be killed for standing up.”

The she-kit grumbled, and took a step forward. She'd been able to hold a standing position for quite a while now, and when she stepped now she could feel more power than before. Another step, then another, and soon she was able to walk around the clearing without too much difficulty. She smiled, pleased with herself, and then looked back at Simon.

“Which way is the Society?” She asked, determined to make it this time.

Her brother sighed, and decided that it wouldn't cause too much trouble to tell her where it was. He nodded off in the direction that the city was.

“Not too far in that direction,” He said. “But you won't be able to make it there. You really shouldn't leave.”

The she-kit shook her head, turning to face the way back home. She set off in search of the Society, and passed many strange sights in the Outer World. As Simon said, however, she soon came upon the dark hard ground of the Society. She sighed, and collapsed behind a large dumpster, accidentally bumping her head on the bottom of it as she fell. She curled up in a ball on the ground, ignoring the dull pain, and pondered what to do now. She was home, and this was good, because now she could serve punishment, but she did not want to die. For the first time since she set out, she felt her heart quaver, and she felt afraid of coming back home. The kit didn't think of it for long, though, before sleep's dark wing overtook her.

Shadows shifted in the alleyway that the kit slept in, and one tore apart from the others. The dark tawny pelt of a muscular young tom was seen in the muted light, and his claws glimmered dully. He stalked towards the she-kit, ears perked forward as if he were expecting something, and a glint of evil danced in his amber eyes. He paced around the small sleeping form once, glaring down at her disdainfully. He raised his claws to the throat of the kit, and paused when he heard a voice.

“Don't get ahead of yourself, Fang,” The striped devil said, appearing out of the shadows in a similar fashion that the young tom had. Lex struck forward, cuffing Fang over the head with his powerful paws. The tawny tom quickly retracted away from the kit, sheathing his claws once more. He ducked his head respectfully to Lex, and murmured his deepest apologies.

Lex nodded briskly. “Good,” He said. “At least you know your place. Now, the real problem is how we are going to deal with this. Simon has turned out to be most disappointing. You would be a better son, and leader after me, but for now I am stuck with that lame excuse for a Society cat.”

Fang tilted his head to one side, thinking for a moment, then spoke. “I have an idea,” He started, then continued when Lex blinked. “Simon will surely come to check if his precious Rose-” He spat the name like it was foul in his mouth, “-has made it here. When he comes, we will be waiting. I will challenge him as to why he left, and then I'll kill him. Then, you'll be rid of him, and he will be punished for betraying the Society.”

Lex's eyes sparkled as he was enlightened, and a smirk came to his striped face. “Very good, Fang,” He praised. “You will stay here and wait for Simon to come. I will watch from atop the dumpster, and claim you as my son when the battle is over.” The striped devil leaped up to the top of said metal box, when an idea hit him. “Make sure that the kit is awake,” He added, flicking his tail to indicate the sleeping form. “I want to give her the pain in her eyes as Simon dies. It will be most satisfactory.”

Chapter 7-
The kit suddenly jolted awake as she heard a low hiss, and jumped up onto her paws. She looked around for the source of the noise, and saw two toms circling each other. She frowned, and blinked to clear the fogginess out of her eyes. The she-kit gasped, realizing that one of the cats was Simon, and leaped forward, trying to help him. She smacked into something, however, and fell back on her haunches. The kit winced at the dull pain now in her face, and looked around her. She seemed to be trapped in something smooth and clear. She could see straight through it, and at first she hadn't thought that there was anything there to stop her. The she-kit pressed her face to the clear barrier, and her breath fogged it up. She hissed, and stepped away from it again, watching as her brother fought the other tom.

Simon leaped forward, claws unsheathed, and struck out at the tawny tom. He struck down on the hard ground, however, as the other tom darted away. Simon gritted his teeth, and opened his maw to speak.

“Who are you, and why do you attack me?” He asked.

The dark tawny tom stayed in his crouched position, ready to leap at Simon again, but first spoke his answer.

“My name is Fang. You left the Society and must face punishment. Prepare to die.”

Fang leaped at Simon, claws unsheathed, and he easily pinned the smaller tom. Simon struggled under his strong grip, and Fang's claws tore at the skin on his white chest, tearing it to ribbons of thin flesh and fur. Fang was caught off guard as Simon's hind paws pushed up on his guts, and the tawny tom leaped away. Simon took the advantage, and charged at Fang, launching into the air at the last second and grabbing ahold of Fang's ears with his claws, tearing at them. Fang shook the smaller cat away easily, and Simon was thrown to where the she-kit was stuck. Simon bumped into the clear barrier, and turned. The she-kit saw her brother's green eyes widen as he saw her stuck in there, and she gasped as she saw Fang flying through the air towards Simon.

Simon spun around, shreds of skin and fur on his chest flapping in the slight breeze, and his skull was smacked against the clear barrier as Fang slammed into him. The she-kit winced as she heard something snap, and saw a crack appear in the barrier as her brother was whacked into it. She saw blood appear against the barrier, and saw it coating the back of Simon's head now.

The small tom felt breathing become harder as Fang pressed his forepaw against his throat, and white dots appeared before his flickering vision. Simon struck out with his claws, but missed by a mile.

“There's no point in trying to win against me,” Fang whispered, leaning forward to speak only to Simon in the cat's ear. “You are going to lose, and after I've killed you, I'm going to kill your sister. Oh, I think I'm going to enjoy watching the life drain away from her weak little body.”

Simon's anger flared. “You – will not – lay a claw on – her,” He rasped, muscles in his belly contracting as if he were going to retch. The small tom felt Fang's other paw swing forward, hitting his forehead, and he felt as the blood escaped his body, seeping down into his eye. “Sh – She's going to be – free.”

Fang laughed, and pressed harder on Simon's throat. He grinned in the other tom's face.
“You really think that she's going to be free?” He sneered. “Why do you even care for her? She's nothing. So are you, if you think that she's something great. I will kill her easier than I am going to kill you.”

Simon was now gasping in his breaths, unable to take in proper ones, and he had lost feeling on most of his blood-soaked body. He suddenly felt the weight of Fang's paw release him, however, and he dropped to the ground. Before he could take a breath, Fang's claws darted forward, ripping the windpipe straight out of Simon's neck. Simon's green eyes widened in shock, and he heard Fang's calm words.

“If you have anything else to say before you die, speak now,” The tawny tom said, lazily inspecting his blood-stained claws. “You don't have much breath left.”

Simon looked to where his sister was trapped, and tried to smile once more, for her sake.

“I hope you can get out of the Society,” He said, trying to use as little breath as possible so that he could speak. Blood bubbled in his mouth as his words came out, and red foam gathered at the corners of his lips. “It's a better world out there. You can be free out there. You won't have to be tethered by the rules, like here.” Simon's eyes were beginning to become glassy, and he couldn't feel anything anymore. He finally succeeded in making a grin form on his face, but then his head dropped forward, muscles relaxing, as he left.

The she-kit felt hot tears slipping down her cheeks, and she didn't bother to try and stop them. There was no point. As Fang had said, she was going to die now anyway.

“B-brother,” She sniffed. She bent her head down, letting the tears fall to the ground, and waited a long time before coming on a decision on what to say next. “You are a terrible liar.”

Fang watched the kit for a while, then looked up as Lex leaped down from the dumpster. The striped devil stalked towards Fang, muscles rippling, and nodded.

“An excellent idea,” Lex said again, and glanced to the trapped she-kit. “I especially like how you trapped her.”

“Well, humans throw away so many things, and this just conveniently happened to be able to trap her.”

“You are now my son,” Lex said. He looked to the trapped kit once more. “Release her, but don't kill her. That will have to wait for another day.”

The striped devil turned and slunk away, leaving Fang, the dead body of Simon, and the crying kit in the dark alleyway. Fang glared at the kit.

“Listen, kit,” He spat. “It may be Lex's orders to not kill you, and you may be my sister now, but I am still going to try and kill you at any chance I have. Got it?”

The she-kit nodded dully, amber eyes fixed on Simon's body. “What's going to happen to him?” She asked in a meek voice.

Fang smirked, and kicked Simon with a forepaw. “He's dead. Nothing more will really happen to him, except he'll be tossed about by the cars a bit.”

The kit gasped, and watched, eyes full of sadness and shock, as her new brother picked up her old one, and dragged Simon to the nearby road, depositing the body on the asphalt. Fang came back to the trapped kit, Simon's blood still dripping down his chin. The she-kit backed away from him, but hit the other side of the barrier. It was all around her, and she began to breathe quicker and quicker as fear began to pulse through her veins. She heard her heartbeat pound in her head, and she blacked out.

Chapter 8-
The white-and-grey-tabby she-cat stood tall at the edge of the Society land, gazing out at the other streets that wound all over the city. She could still remember Simon's last words, even though two years had passed, and every time she thought of him she found that her throat became tight. Though she could fight battle after battle without displaying emotion, whenever she thought about her first brother she always felt saddened and tears would begin to form.

The cat flicked an ear, hearing another approaching, and her neck fur rose. This cat, whoever it was, was not meant to be here. She pinpointed the intruder by scent and sound, then leaped forward and pinned him down, snarling.

“What are you doing here?” She hissed, amber eyes narrowed.

“I wanted to know what it was like to live out here,” The cat, obviously a house-cat, shook his head, uncomprehending and confused. The she-cat sniffed, faintly amused at how this cat had no idea what the Society was like. “I wondered if I could live out here, with you cats. I thought it would be fun!”

“Fun?” The she-cat echoed in scorn. She put on a fake smile, and continued in a voice dripping with sarcasm. “You want to come and join us? Oh, don't worry. We're going to take you in, give you food and shelter, and teach you in our ways. You won't have to worry about dying, or killing other cats. We're just going to welcome you in, like any other stranger that comes along.”

The house-cat nodded enthusiastically, obviously not catching on. “Yes, yes!” He said, smiling. “That'd be great! Oh, this'll be great!”

Baring her teeth, the she-cat swiped forward with her claws and sliced open the tom's windpipe.

“Sorry, but we don't welcome visitors as much as you may think,” She said, rolling her amber eyes at the shocked expression the tom gave her. “And don't be shocked that I killed you. That's just how I live.” She hesitated, then added. “Oh, and how you die.”

The she-cat turned and padded away, knowing that the house-cat was already dead. She turned the corner of an alley, and perked her ears up as she saw Lex. She leaped up onto the dumpster next to him, and dipped her head respectfully.

“Lex,” She said. “Another intruder came to our land. They were dealt with adequately.”

The striped devil nodded. “That's four that you've taken care of today,” He noted. He turned his amber eyes to his daughter, ears flicking, and began to get irritated when she didn't leave immediately. “What else do you want?”

The she-cat hesitated, then spoke. “Why do all the intruders expect to be welcomed? They all want to come here and have food and shelter, but why? Don't they know what our life is like?”

Lex's gaze gained a dangerous glint. “I don't let you stay here to think about such foolish things!” He spat, claws beginning to unsheathe. “If you have enough time to think about that, focus more on your duties!”

The she-cat bowed her head. “Yes, Lex. I am sorry, Lex,” She said, backing away. “It won't happen again, Lex.”

She turned and leaped away, bounding into the shadows. She looked over her shoulder, and saw that Lex was already engaged in another conversation with Erik, a 'friend' of Fang's. She sat down out of their sight to watch them for a while. The she-cat's thoughts wandered, but suddenly she saw Erik leap at Lex, pushing the older tom off the dumpster, and she blinked. Had she seen that straight? Now intent on what was going on, the she-cat watched as Erik pinned Lex down, pummeling the striped devil.

Lex pushed Erik away, but the dark tom was intent on something, and leaped again at the leader of the Society, aiming for his throat. The striped devil reared onto his hind legs to meet the attack with his own, and claws locked as Lex was pushed down again.

“You're losing your edge, old man,” Erik said with a smirk. “No wonder Fang told me that it'd be easy to kill you.”

The watching she-cat felt her blood run cold. Fang had ordered Lex dead? She began to snarl, anger rising at her brother's cold-heartedness, and prepared to leap into the fray at the right moment.

Lex slashed at Erik, swiping his claws clean across the other tom's face, and blood spat out of the wound. Erik let Lex up, thrashing his head about in an attempt to whisk the blood away so that he could see, and the striped devil took his chance, darting forward to swipe again at Erik's neck. The younger tom was faster, though, and as soon as he saw Lex coming towards him, he dove down and snapped his fangs into Lex's throat. For a moment, the two cats were still, unmoving, then Erik dropped Lex as the she-cat came racing out of the shadows, leaping at Erik.

She bared her teeth, ears back, and crashed into the tom, sinking her claws into his back as he tried to scuttle away. Erik's claws dug into the hard ground, and the she-cat dragged him backwards, to where her claws and fangs were waiting. The tom felt pain snap in his forepaws as claws by claw was ripped away from the paw, and he yowled out. The she-cat let Erik up, then darted forward and hit him hard on the back of the neck. She felt a satisfactory snap beneath her paw as the spine cracked, and the dark tom slumped to the ground, already-glassy-gaze looking up to her.

The she-cat nodded at her victory, but it wasn't much. She spun around, and looked at Lex, who surprisingly wasn't dead yet. She dashed to his side, but hung back somewhat. Last time she had seen a cat die like this, it had been Simon. At that time, it had been Fang and Lex who had killed her brother. Now, she was watching her father die before her eyes. It was almost as if a nightmare was mixing with a dream and coming true.

“You,” Lex said. “I thank you for killing Erik.” The she-cat blinked, wary now. Lex had never thanked her for anything. He must be delusional because of lack of air to his brain. “And – I think I shall give you a name, as proof that you did me a good deed.” The she-cat took a step back. Yes, definitely delusional. “From now onwards, you will be called by the name of Lastsight, because you are the last thing that any cat will ever see. You-”

But he never finished his sentence, because at that point, the she-cat plunged her claws into his throat, killing him completely.

“I never did like long emotional speeches,” She muttered, emotionless about her father's death. “And yes, you are right. I am the last thing that you ever saw.” She took her claws out of Lex's throat, and licked the blood off of them. “I will honor the name, and call myself by it, but it is not my name. I don't have a name. I never will. You said so yourself, father.”

Lastsight then turned and sauntered away, flies already beginning to gather around the bodies of the two toms. She looked up at the sky, which was now stained with the blood of the setting sun, and in between two buildings she could see the horizon. A thin cloud pierced the sun in its heart, and as Lex's blood had flowed, spilling over the hard ground of the alleyway, forming rivers that then cascaded down into the sewers, now did the sun's blood spill into the sky, streaming in between the clouds and fading away into the darkness that would soon become night.

The she-cat flicked an ear, and padded towards the Outer World, towards the dying sun. As she took step after step away from the death that had occurred in the Society, she felt the breeze rustle her fur, the ground begin to get softer underneath her paws, and the sounds of life began to get louder. Lastsight felt as if something had been let out of her chest, and for the first time in her life she felt....free. She heard whispers of Simon's voice on the breeze, and she finally understood what he had meant by being tethered in the Society. She finally understood what he had been talking about all the time. She finally knew, beyond any doubt, that this was the right thing to do. Simon had wanted this freedom for her, had even died so that she could live free, and now, she was achieving what he had lived for.

'How poetic,' Lastsight thought, resting when she came to the first tree of the Outer World. The ground was softer, and bright grass sprung out of the dirt. She also finally realized that maybe Simon had succeeded in his own efforts, as well. In a way, with his death, he escaped the Society in a way that Lastsight never could. She would always be haunted with memories of the dark alleyways, and nightmares of the dark realm would keep her awake, while her brother would never again have to think about the Society. He was freed, in a way that Lastsight never would. She sighed. 'To think, that all that time he'd been working so hard for something that would only come, for him, through death. It's almost ironic, perhaps, that I should gain this wisdom through the death of my father. But I suppose that is the only constant in this world, the only thing that will ever stay the same for all of us. Words have close to no power when it comes to making decisions, whereas death will always make us think. It will always move us, in some way or another, and we will always change when someone dies. When we hurt another, we learn to kill, and when we kill another, we learn to be alive. It is a barbaric world, but it is my world, and that is life. My life. I will continue to kill, and therefore I will continue to live. This circle of life truly is, in all sense of the world, poetic.'

[Hopper]

Chapt. 3 is up!

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Chapt. 4 is up!

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Chapt. 5 is up!

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Note: Okay, so I finished this novelette, but I haven't uploaded it yet because I'm too lazy to and my browser keeps re-loading every time I go back to it. So, yeah. The last chapters (6,7,8) will be uploaded either today or tomorrow....

[Hopper]

...So now Chapter 6 is here!

[Hopper]

...As is Chapter 7!

((Only one chapter left!))

[Hopper]

Chapter 8 is up, which means that the novelette is now done! I'll still be updating this thread, though, when the anime comes out!