Warriors #3 - Revenge of Darkhaven

A darkness lives inside him

"Come on, Skyfire. I know you're better than this." Lightningstrike meowed calmly.

Skyfire winced at the burning cuts the Darkhavener had left on his skin, pushing himself back to his paws and facing his opponent again.

It had been a week since Hazeldusk went to chase after Grievous, and him training secretly with the Darkhavener's spirit.

He thought he'd been strong before, yet whenever he trained with Lightningstrike, he would always find himself out of breath and bleeding.

'I have so much to learn to prevent anything from harming Heathersun.'

The Darkhavener stared at him expressionlessly, waiting patiently for him to resume their training again. Unlike his battle-scarred form, the white cat did not have a single scratch on him. Well, unless you count the huge scar ripping across his face.

Skyfire, shaking drops of blood from his muzzle, leaped at Lightningstrike again, hissing.

The bone-white cat moved with lightning speed, dodging his slashing claws effortlessly and ripping a deeper cut in one of his raw, roughly healing wounds.

"Really. You need to work on your defensive moves." Lightningstrike meowed calmly, ignoring Skyfire's pained shrieks.

"Djem So is good for attacking, but it leaves you too exposed when a foe uses Ataru." the white cat threw the young knight into the dark, murky water. Skyfire thrashed wildly in response, clamping his jaws shut to prevent the foul liquid from entering his mouth.

"You want to be the most powerful knight in history?" Lightningstrike's voice echoed clearly in his ears.

"Then you must master every single form of combat and Force abilities."

Without warning, Skyfire lunged at the white cat, biting into his forepaw with all his might.

Lightningstrike screeched with surprise, his grip on Skyfire's throat loosening. It gave the chance for him to break free and leap for the shores.

"Are you trying to kill me or train me?" Skyfire snarled at Lightningstrike, who rasped at his bleeding forepaw.

"You would have your tongue ripped off for saying such a thing back in the Old Republic." the Darkhavener hissed. "Knights and Darkhaveners both went through brutal training that makes this session seem like a joke."

"Again!" Lightningstrike unsheathed his claws, blood red against the blackened ground.

Skyfire sprang back to his paws, lunging for the Darkhavener, never knowing this was another one of the crafty white cat's tricks.

If he wanted to make him his apprentice, he would have to learn every advantage, every weak point, everything, to control him later.

Lightningstrike grinned when he saw the Dark Forest water blacken the young knight's pelt.

'He's accepting the dark side, little by little... not knowing it would take control of him someday.'

'Fine by me. He'll be very useful to me that way.'

"Skyfire!" Heathersun's mew jerked him awake.

"W-What?"

The queen's expression looked horrified as she stared at him. Fresh cuts etched his skin, dark red blood staining the moss and the stone floor.

From what he could tell, his time in the Dark Forest affected his dreams a lot... resulting in him wreaking havoc every night.

'Oh no. She mustn't find out who I'm training with every night.' Skyfire tried to keep a straight face as he faced Heathersun, who stared back at him worryingly.

At least the outside of the guest room was quiet, so no cat except his mate would have heard his violent scuffles.

Plus, he shouldn't be training where Dawnclan claimed it was forbidden, but the Darkhaveners were all wiped out, and it seemed a shame to abandon their knowledge.

The very knowledge that could prevent him from losing another loved one ever again.

Hazeldusk will be back, announcing General Grievous's demise, and the war will end.

Everything will be normal again, a life of peace will chase away the dark shadow of war. Their children will spend a happy kithood with both of them to protect them at all costs, never having to experience the dark side of the world.

Perhaps he would leave Dawnclan and live in the quiet outskirts of Mossflower, with Heathersun.

Perhaps Hazeldusk would be able to visit him sometimes, or even Rex and his battalion... and maybe even Tawnyrain, if he could contact her.

They would all be happy together.

As a loving, caring family...

"Sky, I know you're getting stressed lately," Heathersun's mew brought him back to reality. "But you can tell me, okay? We're supposed to help each other."

"I'm fine. Everything's fine-" Skyfire forced a grin. "See? I'm smiling-"

"No! It's not!" the she-cat hissed at him. "Your stress makes you hurt yourself in your sleep, Sky. This is serious!"

The walls securing his mentality began to shatter, a wave of emotions crashing into his heart; the Council alienating him, all of his friends dying in the war, Hazeldusk gone for another mission... and most of all, the visions of another lifeless body, screaming in pain as she faded away into dust...

He could have said many things, but, could she truly ever understand the agony he's in?

His confessions would only be harmful to her condition, even more so when she's in a delicate state carrying their kits.

Everybody expected so much of him, everybody kept pushing him to his limits, all under the title of the Chosen One.

But Chosen Ones didn't feel like they were losing control of everything, didn't feel lonely whenever a close friend left him for missions, and most of all, they were supposed to be flawless.

"I don't want to lose you." Skyfire burst into tears, burying his face into Heathersun's shoulder.

"Lose me?" the Senator sounded confused. "Sky, I'm not going anywhere."

"I won't let another nightmare come true."

"What nightmare?" Heathersun coaxed, twining her tail with his.

"You die during kitting, but I won't let that happen, okay?" Skyfire whispered.

"Skyfire, that's ridiculous," the she-cat sounded faintly amused and astonished at the same time. "Queens rarely die of kitting these days."

"I promise, our family will all be fine." Heathersun meowed. "Me and you, and all of our kits."

"The healer says they would be born soon."

"No, I promise you," Skyfire growled softly. "I won't let this omen take you away from my life, okay?"

'I will never let anything take my last piece of light from me, because I'll be unstoppable.'

'I'll be able to shape the Galaxy into what I desire, and give my loved ones the peaceful world they deserve.'

'I promise you, Heathersun...'

'When my training is complete, nothing will ever hurt us again.'

'Never.'