The dark clouds were low around the snake-monster's resting area. It contributed black smoke to them, feeding them from a large hole near the front. The Twoleg symbol, red, white, and black, clear and new adorned the all-black monster. It began to hiss, and a loud whistling sound blew from the top of it.

Fleetheart leaped inside one of the boxes it dragged behind it before it lurched into motion. It let out another whistling cry. A few Twoleg warriors scrambled onto it as it picked up speed.

But the group of cats was alone in their massive box, surrounded only by the supplies the Twolegs had been loading onto it all night. The area around them was cool, thanks to the supplies. Fleetheart opened her mouth wide and took a deep breath, scenting the cleaner air inside the monster's containers.

Each was marked with the traditional Twoleg symbol. More glyphs adorned them, but Fleetheart did not bother with them. She was busy looking outside the massive wood entrance, left open by the Twolegs, watching the black-coated Twolegplace grow more distant.

She held her nose as they passed the river that the rouges had warned about, so toxic that a cat could die just touching its waters. The water's stench quickly faded, however, as the snake-monster finished dragging them over the bridge and officially out of the limits of the Twolegplace.

They moved through closely packed structures, hollowed out by the lighting of the sky-monsters. Their charred remains stood a reminder of the Achse's defeat. A testament to their war effort. Just as Fleetheart felt about the collar in her medicine pouch.

She opened the pouch and dropped the collar to the wood floor. Staring at it for a little while, she slung the collar around her neck and turned back to the group of several cats behind her.

"Can one of you help me with this?"

"You can't be serious about that, right?" A stout, grey tom leaped from his resting place on one of the supply containers, sitting next to the rest of the group. Flaum stretched his hind legs as far as he could. "I thought the point of being clan cats was to avoid wearing things like that."

Fleetheart nodded her head, as several more cats gathered around her.

"I know, I know. But I can't be traveling into the unknown like this." She pointed at the fresh, white wraps around her neck that they had found before they left. "The wraps could get dirty or slide out of place when I'm running around... also..."

"I understand," he said reluctantly, and returned to his stretches. "If anything else, the scent will keep other cats away."

"I'll help you," said a grey and brown-spotted cat. Her paw also had fresh bandages around it, and, for the first time since she had arrived, her fur was clean and groomed.

"Thanks, Christa," Fleetheart responded.

Both cats looked uneasily at the blood-stained collar. The entire inside of it was red and brown, and still reeked of blood. The color had long faded, mulled over by the smoky winds and dried fluids. The trinket was freshly cleaned though, the Twoleg symbol more prominent than ever, jingling with the steady rocking of the snake-monster.

She snapped each notch in the collar where it needed to be, and it was quickly secured around Fleetheart's neck. She scratched at it immediately.

"The inside," she said, vigorously scratching with her forepaw, "is all torn up and stiff. It'll take a while to get used to."

"I don't think it suits you," a tall, black cat said. Karl strode past Flaum, who was still stretching, and sat near the opening. "It's like the one I used to wear. Except the trinket in the center was bigger. But all that blood just doesn't look right on you."

"I think she looks a lot younger when she has it on," said a light voice, fresh wraps covering a missing left ear. Shortfang was resting near another tom, larger and older. "It reminds me of Wolfgang's collar."

"I hated that thing," Wolfgang responded. "It was smooth and it kept falling off. So my Twolegs made it tighter... didn't solve the problem."

"But it was the best looking one," Shortfang responded, nuzzling under his chin. "Did you take it with you?"

"Not a chance in the Dark Forest would I take that thing with me," he responded. "The wildcats are probably tearing it to pieces right now, if they've gotten to the stuff in the second-floor dens."

His voice trailed off with the last part of his speech. The rest of the cats fell silent upon remembering their fallen camp, and clan. Each of them thought about their lives within, never to return to them.

Flaum, finished with his stretches, broke the silence. "So... who's in charge of us now?"

"You two are the oldest, right?" Christa said, looking towards Karl and Flaum.

"You don't have to be the oldest to be in charge in clans," Shortfang said back. "Fleetheart's a medicine cat. So she ranks higher than all of us warriors."

"Yeah," Karl said, "I thought as much... have you decided where we're going?"

Fleetheart, turning towards the rest of the group, shook her fur before speaking. "Panzer used to live in a Twolegplace they called Berlin. It's much bigger than Hamburg, and she learned much of her Twoleg words there. Hopefully their war hasn't reached that place."

"I swear, you're the only one who uses those names for Twolegplaces," Wolfgang said.

"Your name is Twoleg-speak," Shortfang said. "I'm surprised you didn't pick any up from your owners."

"That reminds me," Flaum said, moving closer to the resting cats, "why didn't you take on a clan name? I thought clan cats hated the names of pets?"

Wolfgang rested his head on Shortfang's paw. "I have my reasons. But that's a story for another night. Right now, I just want to lounge in the first bit of cold I've been near in moons."

Flaum sighed, deciding to drop the matter. "Yes, I suppose we could all use some rest. We did wait up all night, and we hardly slept before we initially left camp."

Fleetheart looked out the opening of the box once more. The charred remains of trees were moving past her. But the land was no longer completely burned away. The snake-monster was beginning to exit the limits of the sky-monster attacks.

Across the fields of dead grass, she saw several Tigers. Only one was rolling and appeared undamaged. It was dragging one of the dead ones towards the Twolegplace. The massive thunderstick was aimed forward, and a Twoleg had its head out of the top.

Across the side, it adorned the symbol she had known her whole life, and now wore around her neck. It was the first Twoleg she had seen since the night of the massive attack. She could not tell its condition over the bouncing of the snake-monster, and she looked away from the Tigers.

"Hey," she said loudly as she backed away from the opening.

"Yes?" Shortfang asked.

"Thank you all... you know, for waiting for me. It really means a lot to me. I don't know if I could've made it on my own."

"We weren't just about to leave you and Littlestar behind," Shortfang said. "The whole clan wanted to stay and wait, but Blueclaw and Heavyclaw wouldn't let them."

Fleetheart, a few tail-lengths away from the opening, sat and rested. She moved the pouches on her sides lower down her back and off her shoulders.

"Panzer told me all the snake-monsters used by the Twoleg warriors eventually go to the same place. I believe her; we will see our clanmates again."

"That's good to know," Shortfang said, nuzzling closer to Wolfgang and quickly falling asleep.

Karl and Flaum, a good distance from each other, were also asleep. Christa had leaped onto one of the supply containers and fallen asleep, her wrapped paw and tail hanging over the side.

Fleetheart decided to take one last look at the fields, the life seeming to return to them the further they moved from their old home. She rested her head on her paws, careful of the wraps on her body, and closed her eyes.

I have missed so much, she thought, So much of our clanmate's lives. How is it that only three pets survived? And when did Wolfgang and Shortfang get so close? That I really want to know... but for now, sleep.

Littlestar, I'll never be back to this place. But I can sleep easy knowing you will be walking to StarClan in a clear, open field instead of that desolate ruin we lived in. Not that I hated it. Not with you there...

Sudden warmth hit Fleetheart's muzzle. It was much warmer than the contents of the supplies they were around. Her eyes shot open, and the warmth spread to her chest in a pleasant way.

She gazed up at the sky. For the first time in a quarter-moon, sunlight had warmed her pelt instead of ashes. It was brilliant, the bright, orange morning light hovering over the black smoke clouds. She realized the clouds went up far. They could easily be mistaken for storm clouds, had they been lighter. She knew they were much worse.

Those in Hamburg would have never seen this. It's go good to see the sun again. To feel it's warmth on my fur instead of the heat of fires and soot. To rest under the—"

The blare of the air attack sirens cut into her thoughts. But they were quieter, as they were quite far from their old home, only able to make out the structures in the distance along the close river, which was no longer a pool of vile sludge. It had overflowed its banks.

There were only a few sirens out in the fields, but enough to alert the Twolegs she saw in them to run for the closest nests. Some ran towards massive thundersticks that towered over the plants. She knew they would begin counterattacking on sight of the sky-monsters.

Eventually you'll get to see the sun, Littlestar, she thought as she closed her eyes. It'll be bright and warm and everything you need... no, you're probably enjoying it right now, up in StarClan. I bet you can even get a good look at those sky-monsters, since they're up so high.

I hope you tell me about them. I want to listen. Just like I want to listen to my clanmates, I especially want to listen to you. I hope you speak to me. Break the silence I've had from StarClan all my life. Or at least visit me in my dreams.

The thought of you watching over me is enough to lead these cats though anything. Even if I have to lead them through the Place of No Stars itself, it would not matter if I knew you were up there, watching me.

Fleetheart felt her mind drift away from her as she began falling asleep.

We will meet again, Littlestar... once my work is done, we will be together again.

She fell asleep, her head resting gracefully on the hard wood floor.

In the distance, sirens still wailed, the deep blasts of thundersticks still tore through the black sky, and the monsters began dropping their deadly lightning strikes. But for her that fight was over.