The Tests: Test 5

The Tests: Test 5

### Important Events

Rosica and Ambi meet, Mandelia, Ami, Fringe, Ifu, and Loki die, Scweiz and Marie return home

**Test 5** is an episode in *The Tests*.

## **The Tests: Test 5 (The Vine Monster)**

Harnor flicked into existence, his wings spread out wide.

Cats stood and slowly backed away.

The Forgotten stood their ground, hissing and spitting at the god who had cursed them, trapped them, ruined their lives.

“I see you’re getting alongside well without your new friends,” Harnor scoffed.

Schweiz stepped forward. “Let me go back, you piece of fox-dung. My family might be dying while I’m trapped here doing nothing but playing your stupid mind games.”

Harnor let out a backing laugh. Then his face returned to seriousness. “These are more than mind games.” He lashed out at Schweiz, his razor-sharp claws tearing into the tom’s face and over one eye.

Schweiz screamed in pain as blood dripped down his eye.

Cats with healing powers rushed to help Schweiz.

Schweiz was left with a large scratch down his face, all healed, but his eye wouldn’t open.

“I suppose I was a bit harsh on you,” Harnor pondered. “I’ll give you one last chance to leave the Tests.” Then a massive tunnel creaked open the other side of the cave filled with long, thick vines. At the end of the tunnel, behind a wall of foliage, was a glowing blue portal. “If you can pass through there, then you may return home. But remember, only the Forgotten can use the portal. If anyone else tries, they’ll die.”

Schweiz sprinted towards the portal.

Ami was hot on his heels.

Suddenly, Schweiz tripped over a vine.

With a hiss, the plants began to move. The vines stood up before him and knife-sharp thorns appeared.

“Welcome to Test Five.” Harnor’s voice boomed before the entrance to the tunnel smashed down, trapping the cats in with the plant.

Maya screeched. “Harnor, I assume. Why am I here? Who am I?” she yowled. “Harnor, you coward! Come down here and face me!” She shrank into a corner. She didn’t know what was happening, but she wasn’t getting near that monster thing. Hiding in the shadows, she wished she could just disappear.

Bear shook his head and looked to the side. Was . . . was he taller? Was he bigger? The tom stopped and looked at a she-cat who had once been one to look up upon and saw him at her neck. *Why?* He blinked and turned the other way. He was small? The thorns had originally seemed only mildly large, while they were massive. Deciding he would rather be huge in this situation, he concentrated on being larger than his mind, though that was only the size of a large cat. The tom attacked the plant, not planning on keeping it up, but at least holding it off the injured cats.

Frost looked at the thing. *Monster.* She ran towards it and scratched it, but it didn’t do much. Then she realized that she had electricity powers, so she tried to do that. Sparks happened at her paws and she tried to hit it. She hit the monster, and that seemed to work better. She could see her side swirl glowing furiously. She looked over towards Flame to look for his help and to make sure he was okay — and for him to tell her that she was okay.

Flame looked over at Frost. He knew he had to help destroy this monster thing. He looked around for a puddle or a water source and saw a little puddle. He picked up some water in a bubble, and splashed it over its face near its eyes to distract it, so that some cats with other powers could defeat it. He looked for the cats he knew. He saw Storm and Jaoien and checked to see that they were okay.

Nest stared at the plant thing in dismay. So *this* was what Harnor had been doing! As she stared, frozen, at the blue portal that it was guarding, she wondered if it was worth it. Would it really transport her back? Did she really want to leave? At the moment, only one thing was certain. The plant needed to die.

*Uh.* Jinx looked around for that weird cat she had been speaking to.

“W-what?” Shard blinked.

Clover looked up, her ear with the leafy pink flower twitching.

Azure’s purple eyes blinked. “Oh my God. Ik haat verdomde onverslaanbare wezens!” she muttered in Dutch.

Panther, for once, knew that he could do this. He had fire powers! They were the strongest against plants. He fired fireballs at the monster. He kept this up, hoping it would actually hit something. He was getting tired. His powers were weak compared to most of the other cats. But he kept at it. This was his chance to prove himself. He wasn’t going to give up. He moved quickly, dodging vines and thorns. When he wasn’t focused, the plant lashed out and whipped him in the flank. He staggered back, blood trailing from his wound. He noticed almost every cat had someone else to fight with. *Is this how it’s going to be? Alone?*

Rattlesnake stared at the vine in pure terror. No way would he be able to fight it! But he sighed, knowing there was no other option, and ran to the thorny vine. He immediately dodged a thorn coming down on his flank, but not the one aiming for his paw. He squealed in pain, but bit the plant before running back. He didn’t exactly know how to fight a plant, but he did. Not well, but he did. He bit and scratched at the plant as it scratched his flank and legs, and the sour taste of plant echoed through his mouth. So he just ran back.

Robin looked around. “We have to all fight together at once.” No one would listen to her, so she made her attack. She sprinted around. She turned invisible and launched herself at the vines. She had nothing to live for anyway, so being hurt didn’t matter. . . Three vines ripped off and flew to the ground. No longer having the strength to stay unseen, she fell to the floor and had reached the maximum power she could use on her powers. She looked up just before she closed her eyes and gave in. Two thick, long vines were headed straight her way. Eyes closed and barely able to move, she suddenly felt an excruciating pain across her left front and back paw. The pain spread through her body until she was physically dying. She laid there for a while, incapable of doing anything as she heard the carnage around slowly getting quieter. She was about to give up — and then she thought of her long-gone family and found the power to crawl to the safety behind a nearby rock. She lay there, wondering if this was the end. . .

Iyda had started to run to the portal, started to run back to Freyda and her family, when she ran into a blue ball of fur.

Iyda and Heidi gasped at the same time.

“Iyda!” Heidi said.

“Heidi!” Iyda said.

Iyda and Heidi embraced each other, though Iyda not as enthusiastic. The sisters held that position until something stabbed Iyda.

Iyda screeched and she stumbled to one side.

Heidi pushed her back away. “You’re not leaving! I can’t, and I’m not letting you go without me!”

“Okay, okay,” Iyda agreed reluctantly.

Aquanetta was officially dumbfounded for the first time in her life. She was faced with a choice that at the beginning of the previous Wait would have been obvious, but now was unclear . . . could she really do it? Leave Yedda, a friend? And the other cats who had been nothing but nice to her? But then again, if Yedda wanted to leave too, perhaps they could still see each other . . . but she highly doubted Yedda leaving. Yedda would stay for Quintessa. *This should be easy. You’re here against your own free will, and it’s been what, a year, since you set off for Mom and Dad and Rainy?* she scolded herself silently. *Go back to them!* Then another part of her brain replied, *But what about your friends? And didn’t someone mention that even if you passed the Tests, you wouldn’t necessarily become a god? There’s no way I’m going to become a god even if I pass, so why not stay with my friends until they become gods and can communicate with me no matter what? And then I’ll be able to go  back. . .* She was stuck, and there was no proper answer to her dilemma. She knew that she had made her choice. It was a win-win . . . sort of. For now, she would fight. *Battle plan, battle plan, battle plan. . .* her mind hummed. *Alright, Aquanetta. The monster looks defeatable, but we’re going to have to try hard. The best plan seems to be to dodge and attack or attack and a quick retreat. It’d be impossible to even try defeating it without avoiding it.* She squared her shoulders and sprang into the fray of fighting cats right at a vine that hadn’t been touched yet, but was nevertheless hissing and thrashing around. Staring the danger straight in the eye, she started regretting attacking here . . . maybe it would be safer to go to an almost-defeated vine. . . *Too late now, Aquanetta. It’s time to fight.* The silver tabby sized up the vine, racked up some courage, and focused on her power a bit. The power would help, even if it was only at level two. *Focus, Aquanetta! No more stalling. Go fight. No more time to think.* Bracing herself for attack, she charged forwards. The vine she charged at seemed to sense her and immediately began trashing its knife-thorns at her. She just barely avoided getting stabbed in the stomach just as she bit into the vine. *Ouch.* Biting was no longer an option, and as another knife-sharp thorn came at her, this time at her eye, she jumped back from the vine in a temporary retreat like she had planned to do . . . just later, not so soon. *There has to be an easier way! Think, Aquanetta! Think! Wait. What did I think as I charged at the vine? The vine seemed to . . . sense me coming. And the vine has been pretty clever. Like it has . . . a mind of its own. A brain. Wait! That’s it! If I suddenly saw a glowing skeleton charging at me, I would be scared and stall for a few seconds before regaining my senses to attack. Maybe . . . just maybe it would work on this vicious vine.* She focused harder than she had ever done before, concentrating on every bone in her body, willing her flesh, skin, fur, and muscles to disappear for as long as she willed them to. She tried her absolute hardest to send some sort of nerve-message to her bones, to tell them to appear and glow. Something must have happened, because she saw a flash of pure white light for five seconds before her vision cleared. She looked at her body. Bones. White bones formed her body, everything else gone. She didn’t even think she had eyes now, probably just eye sockets. It was a bit freaky to think of, but she calmed herself. She was in the middle of battle. She couldn’t let silly fear get in her way. The next thing she noticed was a glow, the golden of soft candlelight, and the pure, aqua-blue of the brightest streams threading together to create a beautiful but also slightly unearthly glow. *Stop thinking so much again, Aquanetta! Attack.* And attack she did, her eyes narrowing on the monster vine. At least it felt like her eyes narrowed, but the monster vine probably didn’t see anything but eye sockets. She charged. She looked around. She had defeated this vine, but what else could she do? All around her, cats were shooting flames to wither the vines, breaking them with icicles, killing them with poison, electrifying them into shock for an easy kill, or floating into the air to attack. Meanwhile, she could turn into a skeleton and move around an orb of pureness. *Great.* She sighed. No one interacted with her anyway. No one seemed to care. But she would still fight just to let others get a chance of freedom. She reared up, deciding to try a different tactic this time. With a bit of concentration, she formed a glowing orb of pureness and hesitantly started moving it around. The movements were small, however. She sighed and slowly became a skeleton — at least to eyes. This time it didn’t take quite so much concentration. Equipped with a bone body and an orb of pureness, she charged at another unattacked vine. As with the last vine, this vine froze at the sight of the skeleton, giving her a few split seconds to sprint and sear near its roots with her orb of pureness, concentrating as hard as possible to move the orb around the vine quickly. The vine withered and she finished it with a swipe of her claws. The silver tabby she-cat looked around, distinctly aware of the fighting cats around her. Pretty much all of the remaining vines were occupied, and she didn’t know whether or not the cats would mind if she helped . . . Suddenly a glowing, soft yellow-and-aqua-blue light surrounded her and her eyes seemed to turn silver. She floated a foot above the ground, her body still shedding the light until she was gently lowered to the ground. She got up. *What the heck was that?*

Yin was terrified. What was going on? Everyone was fighting the plant monster with powers, and she didn’t even know if she had powers! She dove behind a rock to seek shelter. *Coward.*

Orchid was freaking out. She loved nature, and couldn’t believe that a plant would actually attack. She ran to the closest rock and hid.

Yin helped.

“Wha—” Orchid started.

“Oh, it’s a cat,” Yin said, relieved. “Such chaos, don’t you think?” she asked the other she-cat.

Orchid nodded grimly. “Who are you?” she asked the new cat.

“I’m Yin,” Yin said in a lilting Chinese accent. “Who are you?”

“Orchid,” Orchid said.

“Well, let’s hope we stay alive,” Yin said. She stood up, stretching her legs. “I think we should go help them,” she said thoughtfully.

“How? We don’t have powers!” Orchid said, lashing her tail in frustration.

“But we have teeth and claws!” Yin growled, now equally frustrated.

“I know, bu—” Orchid gasped. “Yin! You’re glowing with a golden and red light!”

The ground beneath them shook. “I think I did that,” Yin said softly.

Orchid concentrated, trying to cause a quake like Yin.

*“Orchid!* You’re glowing green and pink!” Yin said. This time, the ground shook even harder, combining her and Orchid’s powers.

“We can help them now, can’t we?” Orchid said cheerfully.

*Какво the cган?!* Rosica hissed. *Как да побеждаваме това нещо? Иска ми се просто да стана партньор на Ивайло!* She shook her head. *No. Ivajlo was horrible. I would rather be* here*.*

Ambi slowly got up and sparked flames. He knew he was weak. Why did anyone care anyway? He was nothing. *How nice it would be to die. . .*

Lantern was trying to help by putting a paw on a vine, freezing it, then slamming on it with both forepaws to shatter it. Which wasn’t very successful.

*Suddenly, everything turned black for Lantern. Slowly, a picture began to fade into his vision. He couldn’t tell what was in the background, but he could see a body. Ambi’s dead body.*

 Then, just as suddenly, Lantern snapped back into the present. And he knew he needed to find Ambi in case he had died. A pesty vine had crept onto his leg while he was distracted, and he quickly immobilized it with ice before untangling himself from it. He then turned, frantically searching for Ambi amidst the chaos, and found him alone, lighting a fire at his paws. *Oh, good.*

Rosica saw a cat with sparking flames around them. He looked depressed. Very depressed. She slowly padded up to him. Slowly, she blinked. She just stared into his eyes. She knew how horrible it was for some cat to ask if you were okay when clearly you weren’t. “Let’s do this.” She sparked her shadow and invisibility powers and ran towards the plant, flickering in the light. She attacked it and waited for the cat to come up beside her.

Ambi ran up to the she-cat. “Who are you?” he asked miserably. He started attacking the plant alongside the she-cat. He threw fireballs, each one carrying his resentment for everyone. He threw the fireballs while he was beside her, each fireball getting bigger and bigger. He hated the Tests, he hated everyone, everyone hated him. While he wasn’t paying attention, a vine lashed at him and he was thrown backwards. “You’ll pay for that,” he growled. He threw the fireballs with astonishing speed. He was done being weak.

“Rosica,” Rosica said, attacking the plant. “I’m from Bulgaria. You?” she meowed. “Hey, don’t sound so miserable. I know what it’s like, but it doesn’t help. Oh, I bet you wonder why I care,” she said, guessing the cat’s thoughts. She could do that sometimes, just judging by what she would be thinking at this exact moment. “I care because I was like this once.” She turned to him and stopped attacking. She opened her mouth to speak, but something dragged her up into the air. *O, щеколда. Сега ще трябва да разчитам на тази депресирана, мрачна котка, за да ме свали!* She kicked and flailed in the air, her helpless paws doing nothing. The plant monster’s vines tightened around her and she struggled to breath. Her tail flicked. “Stupid plant monster — uh — help!” Even though she felt some of her last breaths leaving her, she felt proud. This cat was becoming stronger. However, she was becoming weaker. She knew she would die if someone didn’t do something — quick.

Rosica tried to attack the plant cleverly by leaping over a vine and making a harder hit, but instead misjudged her jump and the vine hit her in the face, sending her flying to the ground, unconscious.

“Rosica!” Ambi cried, running over to his friend. “Are you okay? Come on. Get up!” he said frantically. When Rosica didn’t budge, he quickly hauled her by the scruff to a safe, enclosed corner. He put a small plant barrier around her to protect her from harm. Then he went back to fight.

Rosica’s eyes fluttered open, but closed again. She breathed slowly and shakily tried to get to her paws. Once she had regained confidence, she hissed and flicked her tail. She leaped over a plant wall of protection — probably made by the tom. “Uh, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” she said over her shoulder as she fought. “But why were you so . . . *un-open* before?”

“I felt like there was no reason to live, and I wanted to die,” Ambi said simply, turning to Rosica.

Lantern knew he should be helping Ambi. That tom was *suicidal*. *And you’re letting him go? Alone? Against this Harnor monster? Coward.* Trying to push his emotions away, he started freezing the vines, then shattering them with his paws. He continued to bash at the monster, feeling weak and useless. He ran away from the monster just to breathe a little bit. As he lay down, huffing, he spotted Ambi with a dark brown she-cat. And they were smiling. *Good,* he thought. *He’s fine. He has a friend with him. And he’s smiling.* He felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders, something that had been there ever since he went to talk to him the first time. Ambi was alive and he had someone to take care of him. He ran back towards the vines and started breaking them again. He stepped back from the plant and focused on using his powers to look forward in time.

*Lantern replayed the seconds when the monster attacked him, memorizing it.*

Snapping back to the present, Lantern charged at the plant. The vine approached him like he had seen it done. He lifted his right forepaw and brought it across the vine, ripping. He knew exactly what angle to slash it on, exactly how much strength. The next vine would come from behind. Whipping around just in time, he ripped the vine with his left forepaw. A vine would creep up on him in a few seconds, slithering across the ground and trying to grab his right hind leg. He sent a spike of ice to pierce through it and hold it in place without turning. Two vines at once, this time from the front. Two huge, fat, thorny vines preparing to rip him into pieces. But that would never happen. He jumped on one, landing precisely in between four thorns. One of the thorns caught some of his black-and-white fur as he crouched. He dug his hind legs into the vine, tearing it, and jumped at the other vine precisely at that moment, precisely at that angle, speed, and force. The vine behind him fell limp. He dug his teeth into the one he was standing on, and at the same time pushed down with his forelegs and pulled up with his head, successfully tearing the vine. He jumped off the vine, knowing that was what his future had done. As he walked away, he stepped on one last skinny vine, squashing it so hard the pieces flew to exactly the right places. As soon as he had gotten far enough away from the plant so that it couldn’t reach him, he plopped down to take a break. He found a little dip in the ground in front of him and summoned some ice to fill it. Then he started to lick at the ice, melting it slowly, then drinking the water. Not the best, but it was water. Once he had finished his ice-puddle, he closed his eyes to focus into the future again. *Around that stone, towards that vine. . .* His eyes snapped open as he returned to the present. Only mere seconds had passed when he had sped through the next few minutes. He stood and ran around the stone, every pawstep planned. He knew exactly how everything would turn out. He didn’t need to find the vine he would run towards — he already knew. The vine grew, twisting into a giant monster. He raced to the stem of the vine and froze time. He knew he did this from his vision, because in the future, it seemed as though he had teleported from one place to another. He started slashing through the vine, chunk by chunk. This part, however, had not been predicted. But even though what he did during this period of frozen time wasn’t seen, he knew that each and every one one of his moves were destined to be that way. Every time a chunk left his claws, it froze in the air. Only he and the things he touched could move in this pocket of time. As he ripped the last chunk of plant meat off of the vine, the vine that was touching his forepaw started to fall. He quickly got out of the way and the vine stopped midair. He then proceeded to the spot he knew he had to be — carefully maneuvering around the chunks in the air. He let time flow again and the noises came back. The chunk of vine behind him fell with a resonating thud, because as time froze the sound waves froze with it. He suddenly felt so much more powerful. Maybe these time powers weren’t as scary as he thought they were. This was his path to becoming a god.

Arc looked at the plant, trying to decide the best way to harm it. Trying to scratch it wouldn’t do much, but his powers could. He withered a vine and finished it off with fire. Pleased with how well it worked, he tried again. He suddenly had an idea. He lit his paws on fire and grew the flames as much as he could. Then he charged at the plant thing, shrinking the vines and cutting them down in one quick move. He continued to lash out at the plant’s many vines until his front paws were black from the fire. His attacks were starting to become weaker and less frequent, and he felt like the world was spinning around him, but he continued to fight. He was on the brink of exhaustion. He took down a few more vines, costing him his remaining strength, and collapsed. The flames on his paws went out and he dragged himself away from the plant monster.

Mist watched the fighting with interest, wondering how long it would take to kill the plant monster. He wasn’t joining in, however much he wanted to, because of a more pressing matter. Inside of the cave containing the blue emerald, there had been a clue — emerald thorn. He was hoping to find an emerald in a thorn on one of these vines. But not for himself. His gaze drifted to the injured white cat with black paws laying on the ground. It was for him.

When Arc opened his eye, there was a cat standing over him. He couldn’t tell who it was or understand what they were saying, but their tone was urgent. He could also make out a light blue blur moving towards his paw and a muffled voice told him to stay away from them. Then everything went black.

*Arc felt like he was floating. He tried opening his eye, but he couldn’t. Behind the curtain of darkness, however, he could see glimpses of his past.*

*First, Arc saw his father telling him to stay close, that it wouldn’t be much longer.*

*The scene switched to the battle with Wren, where Arc had lost an eye and gained an emerald.*

*Then Arc was climbing out of the split in the earth with Palm on the ground above him.*

*The scene switched to . . . the future? That couldn’t be right; Arc only had four emeralds! Here, he could see himself with six. Then he noticed something horrifying. He was floating away from himself. Almost like he was dead.*

Mist stared down at him with a worried expression on his face. The white tom had only gotten worse since he had been given two more emeralds. Arc didn’t show any sign of waking up any time soon, and his chances of survival weren’t high. The six emeralds were rotating around Arc’s paw very fast now. It was funny, really, how his life was left in the nonexistent paws of a bunch of shiny rocks. Soon they would decide if Arc could live with them on his paw. Or if they would kill him.

Arc opened his eye, but the image was so blurry that it didn’t matter much. As the cave around him came into view, he noticed that the plant monster looked considerably less strong. He stood up slowly and almost immediately saw the seven emeralds floating around him. He had no idea how the green one had ended up with him, but the light blue and orange emeralds could be explained. The gems closed in, eventually circling his left paw again. For the first time in his life, he had no goal to chase after. And he was alive.

Kousuke’s eyes shot back and forth between the vines. “Nol!” he yelled.

Nol raced past his brother.

Bonita was hot on his heels.

“We have to fight it!” Nol slashed at a tendril, jumping back from the thorns.

Bonita faltered slightly. *He . . . wants to leave. Well, o-of course he does! Why would anyone stay here? But he’s going to leave me. . .* Growling, she snatched Nol back.

“What?! Let me go!” Nol said.

Bonita dragged Nol back to his brother.

“Are you trying to get killed?!” Nol and Kousuke both snapped.

“Rushing in there like a fool!” Kousuke was furious and the ground split underneath him.

“I’m trying to go home!” Nol thrust his muzzle in Kousuke’s face. The ground was cracking and shaking as the two brothers stood off.

Kousuke’s eyes flashed to the ground, momentarily shocked at the cracks, but chalked it up the vines.

“You two, cut it out!” Bonita snapped, pushing between them. “We just need to kill the vines! Whatever happens after that happens. Alright?”

Nol nodded, glaring at Kousuke.

“. . . Fine,” Kousuke snapped. “We’ll fight.”

Bonita raced towards the vines.

Nol and Kousuke were at her sides.

Bonita leapt and sunk her teeth into a vine, catching her lip and cheek on a thorn. Hissing in slight pain, she spat poison into the bite.

Kousuke tried to claw at the plant, but darted back in fear.

Nol was viciously clawing at the vine and got skimmed.

Anger filling Kousuke, he bit the end of the vine.

Bonita, Nol, and Kousuke were thrown back when the vine shook and panted, catching their breath.

Nol noticed Bonita’s bleeding. “Are you okay?!” he worried.

Bonita shook her head, scattering blood droplets. “I’m fine. Now come on. We aren’t done yet.”

Frostsong was scared. Quintessa was hurt, there was some creepy plant monster attacking everybody, and no one, *no one* was ever going to help her defeat the plant monster. *Guess I’ll have to do this alone, then.* “It’s not like anyone would come help you anyway. They have their own friends,” she muttered bitterly. She summoned up her energy and focused it into her powers. She shot small but lethal ice spikes from the ice rink she was creating. *I wonder if it’s working.* This was heavily draining her energy. She wouldn’t be able to keep this up. *I have to. For . . . for . . . what do I have? I’m alone.* The thought made her angry. A burst of energy flew through her and she glowed a bright silver-white. She shot even bigger ice spikes at the monster. *I never should have come. Never.* She was seriously angry. She was tired of being ignored, being helpless and lonely. How many cats actually knew her? *Too bad I can’t leave the Tests.* The plant’s vines lashed out at her. She froze each one in turn, stopping them just inches from hurting her. When the vines were frozen, the frozen part crumbled and turned into ice shards. Her energy was wearing out. She kept freezing the vines, but it was too tiring.

Quintessa gasped. *Aw, heck.* She let out a string of loud curses. “How am I supposed to fight with this?!” She turned to her leg. “Why did you have to start the fifth Test now, you stupid piece of fox-dung?” She looked for Wildflower, Frostsong, Marina, Dune, *anyone*. *I can’t be alone, not with Yedda. She can’t fight. I can’t protect her. Please, someone.*

Yedda gasped at Quintessa’s language. Then the reality set in. She can’t defend herself against the monster. Her chest puffed out. Guess I’ll have to protect her. She shrunk as the creature hissed. *Ew.* She huddled towards Quintessa. “I’ll help you,” she whispered to Quintessa. “You saved me; now I can repay that debt.” She looked poised for action.

Quintessa whimpered, a rare sound she made. She cast a grateful look at Yedda, but knew the blue-gray she-cat couldn’t defend herself, much less her. Someone. Anyone.

“Sunflower,” Wildflower said, “I can’t go past the portal. You’ll have to go — I need to take care of these cats here.”

“But won’t that mean I have to leave?” Sunflower asked.

“No. You’re helping the others leave. Harnor would be more than happy to keep you here. I know it. I love you. Stay safe,” Wildflower said.

“Love you too,” Sunflower said.

Wildflower turned away from their brother, searching frantically for Quintessa. They had never gotten a chance to see if she survived the rockfall after they blacked out. Thankfully, they found her beside Yedda, but she was on her side. *What if she has a limp for life? Is her leg still unstable? Is she paralyzed?*  “Quintessa,” they huffed. “Did you get hurt badly? I’m sorry I missed it — and Yedda! Are you hurt? I’ll stay here with you guys since I can’t go past the portal. Oh, Yedda — do you want to go through the portal and go home?”

Quintessa waved her paw at Wildflower. “I’m fine, I’m fine. I don’t know how long I’ll be like this, but. . .” She looked at the ground. She didn’t like her current condition. She looked over at Yedda. “Do you want to go? I mean, to the portal?” *Another cat who leaves my life.*

Yedda was stiff. *Should I? Could I? Would I? I would like to, but . . . I don’t want to go, but at the same time. . .* She buried herself in Quintessa’s fur and murmured indistinguishable words.

“What?” Quintessa couldn’t comprehend Yedda’s words under her coat.

Yedda lifted her head so that her mouth was uncovered. “I don’t want to go.” She looked down again.

Quintessa prodded her with her paw. “But. . .”

Yedda squirmed. “No,” she muttered.

Or at least she sounded like she muttered. Quintessa couldn’t be certain.

“I want to stay with you and Palm and Aquanetta and Wildflower and all your other friends. This is my home now,” Yedda said.

Quintessa looked at Wildflower helplessly.

“Luana! Quick, over here. I’ve found Quintessa!” Dune sprinted over to Quintessa, but caught a thorn as he ran, and it tore into his flesh. He buried his nose in Quintessa’s fur, then pulled his head up again. Glaring at Wildflower and Yedda, his gaze softened slightly when he saw Quintessa’s leg. “Me and Luana are going to fight, but I need you to stay here and rest. Not that I dislike your company, but I don’t want you getting hurt any more then you are already.” He made sure that her company heard exactly what he was saying. “I’ll be back. I promise.” With that, he sprinted towards the plant with his claws out. He felt something wrap around his leg. Was that the plant or some unsuspecting cat’s tail that he had brushed past? Crash! He was pulled to the floor by a plant tendril that was wrapped around his leg. He hauled a rock up off the floor and plunged it downwards at the plant, smashing it through and sending sap spraying out in all directions.

Luana nodded at Dune before charging. She froze part of the plant and slammed into it, breaking the ice and weakening the plant. She snapped her teeth through the plant and ripped it off. She repeatedly flung herself at the vine, scrabbling to claw it and sap sticking to her. She narrowly avoided one of the thorns, but it was getting harder. *Dune and Quintessa are protecting right now, so I have to fight!* She was extremely tired and her small size wasn’t helping. She caught her breath again before glaring at the vine and launching herself towards it. She missed. She had miscalculated and the thorn had sliced across her cheek. She yowled abruptly and staggered back in pain. *“Heck—”* she growled, clenching her teeth against the pain. “Ugh, come on!” She shook her head hard, scattering the blood droplets to clear them. Then she crouched back down and formed an ice path in front of her. She tensed her muscles and got ready to attack.

Dune floated up above the plant, using his height and brute strength to slash at it. This was his kind of Test. No tedious pebble-moving, no running and jumping across gorges, and no fighting his past. He liked this Test. Bringing rocks up from the ground, he flung them at the plant, ripping the vines in half, sending them crashing to the ground.

Quintessa glared at Dune. She raked her claws at the floor, wanting to be out there and fighting alongside him and Luana.

Yedda shivered. She didn’t exactly like Dune — not right now, at least. He seemed . . . mean. But if he was a friend of Quintessa, then he was a friend to her. *However, she thought, my current concern should be Quintessa.* She glanced at her dark-coated friend, who was currently looking at her leg and sighing. She decided to sing.

*“You know the bed feels warmer*

*sleeping here alone.*

*You know I dream in color*

*and do the things I want.*

*You think you got the best of me*

*think you had the last laugh.*

*Bet you think that everything good is gone.*

*Think you left me broken down*

*think that I’d come running back.*

*Baby, you don’t know me, ’cause you’re dead wrong.*

*What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.*

*Stand a little taller.*

*Doesn’t mean I’m lonely when I’m alone.*

*What doesn’t kill you makes a fighter*

*footsteps even lighter.*

*Doesn’t mean I’m over ’cause you’re gone! What doesn’t kill makes you stronger, stronger — just me, myself, and I!”*

 Quintessa started at Yedda. She thumped her paws in applause.

Yedda bowed.

Wildflower smiled at Yedda. “You know, I think I can get used to having you around.”

Quintessa grumbled. Everyone was out there; she was in here. She needed to be out there. She wondered if she could sneak away while everyone was looking the other way. *No,* she chided herself. *You’re not in a stable condition to fight. Stay.* Her instincts, however, were starting to boil over her rational self. Her paws were thumping against the floor, ready for anything. Unfortunately, she didn’t see the vine creeping up on her. Too late, she saw it grab her injured hind leg and swiftly pull her away. “My leg!”

Yedda saw Quintessa. Her eyes started clouding over. “Quintessa! No, no, no! Stupid monster, you’ll pay for that!” She clawed the vine grabbing Quintessa, eager to get her back. She burned bright and used her spotlight to cut through the smaller vines. She was a ball of rage, and nothing was stopping her — until a vine grabbed at her foot. She shrieked, causing a stalactite to fall onto the vine. It also cut off some of her tail. She didn’t notice, though. She continued attacking. She was rapidly losing energy. She needed to rest soon, but she pushed herself. She couldn’t be weak when Quintessa needed her.

Wildflower didn’t know what to do, and they seemed frozen to the spot as Quintessa ran towards the plant monster. When the monster grabbed Quintessa’s leg, though, they sprinted towards it. They used their magic to create a long whip made of fire, and tried to get to the part of the plant that was holding Quintessa, and now Yedda too, but a new part of monster grew in front of them, blocking their way.

Quintessa tried calming her mind. She concentrated her mind. *Come on. Come on. Come on.* She started glowing. She felt her strength increase. Her pain evaporated temporarily as she reverberated pink and orange, her eyes glowing white. She sent a blast of wind around herself, creating a shield and effectively removing the vile creature from her pelt. She floated down, her pain returning and her body weakening. Her paws couldn’t hold her, and her legs crumpled underneath her. She felt tired, but happy. Why happy? Because she had done something.

Yedda saw Quintessa crumble. She pulled her away, bringing her to a safe little crevice in the wall. Then she felt herself slump against Quintessa and fall into a deep sleep.

Distinguishing their whip, Wildflower summoned a ring of fire around them, burning off the tips of the vines closest instantly. They slowly made their way through the vines, setting them alight and burning them to where the roots hopefully were. Yedda and Quintessa were struggling; they could tell. What they didn’t notice was the plant monster growing behind them, and when Quintessa released a blast of wind and cut through the monster, they were about to turn around to help Yedda carry her back. But they were stuck in between the vines of the monster.

Sunflower had gone off without his remaining sibling. Which he thought was stupid, really. They had *just* reunited for about a couple of minutes, not including when Wildflower was all blacked out and everything. Now he was summoning a ball of floating light where the vines were to cut through them. Which also seemed stupid. He had refused the Tests. Now he was here. Where was the consent? He stayed to the edges, not wanting to risk himself like some of the others were doing, knowing he was nowhere near as strong as the others. A brown she-cat running towards the plant slightly got his attention. A fire whip, though, got all of it. And the cat behind it was none other than his siste. . . sibling, Wildflower. He noticed the plant monster trapping Wildflower while they were focused on making a fire ring around themselves. “Wildflower!” he called out. But it was no use; their attention was somewhere else, and it was impossible to get their attention above all the noise. The fires his sibling was starting spread through some of the vines around him, and he realized that the monster had grown around him too, and now he and Wildflower were trapped. Wildflower seemed to be able to hold on their own with their magic, and he had found a way to move their ball of power to cut faster. But it didn’t seem fast enough, and soon, his fur was pressed against the sticky vines. *What do I do? Do I have another power I can use? What if I could turn into a bird? Wouldn’t that be nice?* And turn into a bird he did. His muzzle morphed into a beak, his shoulders grew wings, and his fur turned to feathers. The vines around him loosened and he flew — unsure and unsteady at first, but he flew. He flew above the vines that had imprisoned him and to the other side of Wildflower. He needed to free them. His ball of pure light swung wildly through the vines.

Wildflower hissed when they realized that they were trapped. Forgetting about getting to where Quintessa and Yedda just were, they started burning the vines to get to where they were now. They noticed a falcon flying in the air in front of them and were confused for a moment.

Sunflower landed and turned back into a cat.

Now Wildflower was even more confused.

Together with Wildflower’s withering and fire and Sunflower’s ball of light, the two cut through the vines easily. When they reached each other, they touched muzzles briefly and parted ways again — Sunflower to the plant monster and Wildflower to Yedda and Quintessa.

Sunflower slashed at the monster over and over again with his ball of light. He was so confused. Wildflower wasn’t dead. They weren’t the sister he had known before. There was something new in them, a fire that hadn’t been there before. They were so much older than him. They had grown so much. Three seasons, they said it was. It had been three seasons since Starshine had died. But it had only been two days ago for him. He kept on vigorously slashing at the monster with his ball of light and morphed into a tiger, tearing down the vines mercilessly. He wasn’t aware of how much using his powers would drain his energy. Exhausted, he stopped slashing at the vines and morphed back into his normal cat form. He knew that going to Wildflower was his safest bet right now. He turned around to run, but a few vines had crept up behind him and he was trapped. Again. Sighing, he tried transforming into a falcon again, but ran out of energy after his wings appeared, which only took about a second. And he once again wished he had more energy. He morphed his bones so they would be hollow and took flight. And it worked. He reached the force field and squinted to try and find Wildflower from the outside.

Wildflower found Yedda and Quintessa in a crook in the wall, asleep on top of each other. They carefully pushed Yedda’s tail away so that they could reach Quintessa’s injured leg. They grew the strongest vine they could, but it didn’t seem strong enough. They would have to take some from the monster. It seemed dangerous, but they found a stray vine off to the side. They concentrated on withering just the end and it worked, leaving them a strong vine that they brought to Quintessa. They gingerly placed it against her leg and grew a sticky vine to wrap around the vine. Once they were sure that the vine would stay in place, they nipped off the stem and leaned against the wall, exhausted.

Dune saw a vine heading right towards him. It had caught on that he was above the plant and its thorns were spread out, aimed right at his face. There was no time to stop it. He lifted up his paw to cover his eyes and braced for impact. It never came. Around him, rocks formed a shield, and as he looked down, the gray-and-white tom saw the crumpled remains of the vine curled up on the floor. Then he looked over his shoulder and saw Quintessa, blood pouring from wounds on her leg. “Quintessa!” The tom ran through the sky, his heart beating loudly in his chest. As he landed on the ground, he stumbled in the rush to get to his friend, tripping over every little rock and stone. He immediately pressed his paws to the wound, trying to stop the blood. “I thought you were staying back. This is all my fault. This is all my fault.”

Quintessa groaned, feeling someone over her. She tried opening her eyes, but they were covered in blood. She heard Dune talk and opened her mouth, trying to say something, but her voice was hoarse and rough and cracked. Her leg felt out of place and she figured the plant monster had dislocated it. She lifted her top paw and licked it, then brought it over her eyes in order to clear away the blood. *Better.*

*Darkness. Everything was darkness. Quintessa was floating in there somewhere. She heard voices. Then, all in a moment, immeasurable pain filled her body. It rocked her to her core and deeper still. It took over her body; it wanted to be free at last. She tried to control it, but it hardly bothered with being controlled. She wouldn’t give easily, however. She struggled, gasping for air, though air did not exist, and finally captured it. Her power was hers now. She heard the voices again, stronger and louder this time. She turned to the light, ready for anything. She glowed a bright pink-orange. She was in perfect sync with her magic, her powers, her whatever you called them. She felt free at last as she stepped out.*

Quintessa opened her eyes. She felt herself regain energy and looked at herself. Her body was covered in scabbed-over scratches, her leg was in a splint, and her paws hurt like heck. *But I don’t need to walk,* she thought with a smile. She lifted herself with ease, floating a little over Yedda’s head. The aforementioned bluish-gray she cat had fallen asleep — she could tell by her slow but steady breathing. She also noticed Dune was there and quickly floated down. She looked around. Everyone was battling the giant plant — either that or die. She hated it. “Stupid Harnor,” she spat. She sat gently beside Yedda, careful not to wake her or disturb her leg, and concentrated. She used her newly mastered powers to make a shield around Dune, Yedda, and herself, keeping them safe.

Dune smiled at Quintessa, making his own shield around hers. He shuffled closer to her. “Are you okay? I was so worried about you.”

Quintessa nodded silently. “I remember that place,” she whispered. “It was where my powers strengthened, and just now where I gained full control of them. It felt horrible, the immense pain filling my entire existence, but it was worth it. I feel better than ever now.” She rested her head on her paws, gazing at the ceiling. She felt herself want to be free again. She hated the caves, hated not being able to see the sun. “I miss the sky,” she murmured.

“I miss the sky as well. I’m more used to this, though — the caves, the small spaces. I grew up in a ruined city with Wren. We had to shelter inside a building each night. I hated it, but it was what we had to do to survive,” Dune said.

Quintessa noticed her stomach grumbling. She got up, remembering to keep off her weak leg, and padded outside of the big shield, a forcefield around her that protected her from the vines and cats’ shrieks. She found a mouse and quickly caught it with her powers, then began padding back to her little crook with Dune, Wildflower, and Yedda.

Yedda was just now waking up, unsure of where she was or what was happening. All she knew was her body felt bruised and beat and she could hardly move without feeling pain. She glanced at Quintessa, who was with Dune and what appeared to be a shield around them. She pulled herself up a little, wondering what song would fit this situation. Then she saw a group of cats, a few of them she knew. She wondered what they were doing, where they were going. Were they going to be okay? She started grooming herself, trying to calm herself like Quintessa was. She padded up to Dune. “So . . . you’re Quintessa’s, ah, *friend*, I’m guessing?” She said the word friend with extra umph.

Dune looked straight forward as he addressed Yedda. “Yes, I’m Quintessa’s friend, but that doesn’t make me yours as well. I make a point not to be friends with cats who are slightly loony.” He hissed at Yedda under his breath, “And don’t get on my bad side.” He saw a vine creep through the shield, so he lashed at it, breaking it off. He ripped it to shreds. “I may be sitting this one out, but that’s only to protect Quintessa. I once fought a whole group of cats because they refused to help my sister, so fighting you if you even slightly hurt any of my friends isn’t a stretch of the imagination.”

Yedda smiled. “Yes. Mhm. I promise not to get on your bad side, Mr. Quintessa’s Friend. But I’ll have you know just because you aren’t my friend doesn’t mean I’m not yours.” She shrugged amicably.

Quintessa walked inside the shield again, smiling warmly. She sat down again, ready to eat, when she thought of the others. She glanced up at Yedda, Dune, and the currently dormant Wildflower, then looked down at her mouse. *Hmm.* She raised her foreclaw and sliced it, once, twice, three times, until there was a decent-sized amount for each of them. She nosed a piece towards Dune, then grabbed another piece and gave it to a very reluctant Yedda.

Yedda made a face, but eventually ate it in nibbles.

Quintessa put one piece near Wildflower, then padded back to Dune and started eating her own piece. “Maybe I should’ve hunted more,” she muttered under her breath. A vine struck her shield, startling her. “Or maybe this will have to do.” She ate her mouse and felt sleepy.

Wildflower woke up. Had they been dozing? In this type of situation? Honestly. They noticed part of a mouse in front of them and noticed the others had some too. They gratefully gobbled it up and stood. They felt like their energy had replenished, and they were ready to go and fight that monster.

Quintessa saw Wildflower wake up. “You’re awake!” She padded over cheerfully, purring. “I was really worried about you. Would you like some mouse?” She nosed a piece of mouse to them.

“No thanks. I just had a piece. It was laying in front of me. I assume it was meant for me to eat, right?” Wildflower asked.

Quintessa nodded.

Moon was angry. *How dare this stupid plant invade my peace?* She was so angry sparks flew around her paws and small lighting started flickering around her. *You’ll pay, Harnor!*

Frostsong backed away from the plant. She turned around and saw Quintessa, Dune, Wildflower, and some other cats sharing prey behind a shield. She smiled sadly. *Of course they forgot me.* She caught a mouse for herself and slunk into the shadows to eat.

“Hey! This is my space!” Moon growled.

Frostsong startled and dropped the mouse. “S-sorry. I didn’t see you,” she muttered. “Here. Have this mouse.”

Moon took the mouse and tore off half of it. “You can have the other half,” she said.

“Who are you?” Frostsong asked.

“Moon,” Moon said.

“You were also watching those cats, right?” Frostsong said.

“Yeah,” Moon admitted. “They’re lucky they have cats to depend on. I’m alone. I miss my brother.”

“I’m alone too. I guess we can be loners together,” Frostsong said sadly. Finishing her mouse, she stood up and said to Moon, “I’m going back to attack the plant. Want to help?”

Moon nodded ever so slightly and followed Frostsong.

Together, Moon and Frostsong attacked the plant like a tornado.

Frostsong used her powers.

Moon channeled her anger into her claws, which were sparking with electricity.

Moon and Frostsong leapt at the plant like a hurricane. They let all their anger and hate for Harnor and everything else spill out through their claws and their powers.

Frostsong slashed and bit at the vines, not slowing when the thorns scraped her pelt. She froze vines too, crushing them as they were about to hit Moon.

“Thanks,” Moon panted heavily. Meanwhile, she, who had little control and knowledge of her powers, just claws at the plant. Her claws sparked with electricity, doing more harm than usual as she scratched at the plant.

Dune got up. “I’m going to drop the shield now. We need to get this over and done with!” He let his shield drop and a few rocks clattered to the ground. Charging towards the plant, he unsheathed his claws and leapt, slashing at the tough green stems. He grabbed on with his back feet, digging them deep into the monster, tearing away at the plant with his front claws. The plant flung him off, but he kept his claws in it and pulled out the stem, bringing a small section of the plant crashing to the ground. Lifting up some of the rocks he had used as a shield, he threw them at the plant, tearing gashes in the thick stem and beating back some of the thorns. A stem fell towards the white-and-gray tom and he jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being squashed. He lifted himself up in the air and sent nearly boiling-hot air currents towards the plant, and it began to shrivel up slightly.

Luana moved back towards Dune, remembering their plan. “Dune! I think I might have an idea!” Her green eyes sparkled as she got excited thinking about the plan. “I don’t really know if it would work, but I could try and freeze the vine while you guys attack!”

Wildflower felt full of energy. “I’m going to help get rid of this monster so the others can return home,” they said to Quintessa and Yedda and everyone else in the forcefield. “Do you need any more healing herbs? Do you want to come with me?”

Quintessa nodded. “I’m coming.” She padded to Wildflower’s side.

Yedda shook her head. “I’m just gonna stay here, thanks . . . I’ll just slow you down anyway.”

Quintessa looked as though she would say something, but closed her mouth. She took down her part of the shield, ready for battle.

Wildflower nodded goodbye to Yedda and left, hoping Quintessa would follow. They raced to the nearest part of a vine and started to summon fire to throw at the plant. “Quintessa, if you feed my fire with your wind, it'll grow!” they yelled.

“Okay!” Quintessa used her wind to fuel the flames while running over to Wildflower.

Wildflower could feel the energy surging through their veins like liquid fire. They focused on making the fire grow, which was much easier now that Quintessa was helping. The fire grew to twice or three times the size that they had ever seen. They stopped trying to increase the size of the fire — Quintessa had made sure it was huge. Now they had to sustain it. They could only barely feel the heat, but they felt their lungs tightening — the fire was taking up their oxygen. But it didn’t really matter. They almost cackled out loud from all of this energy.

Quintessa felt exhilaration as she blasted the wind around, making sure to heat it up and fuel the flames. Her eyes burned brightly as she twisted and turned, not letting any vines get near her or Wildflower. *Wildflower.* She had never known it until she met them, but she needed them. Ever since they became friends, Wildflower had comforted her whenever she was going through pain or emotions. Just like Frostsong did. *Frostsong!* She realized with a jolt she hadn’t seen Frostsong since . . . she couldn’t even remember. . . She cursed in her mind, redirecting flames at an incoming vine. As it shriveled and turned to ashes, she turned to Wildflower, shouting over the fire’s crackles and the vines whipping, “Have you seen Frostsong?!” An undertone of panic was hidden in her voice.

Wildflower couldn’t comprehend what Quintessa had said for a second —perhaps it was the lack of oxygen — but then they realized that they hadn’t seen Frostsong in a long time. “Should we go look for her?” they asked over the roar of the flames.

“Okay, plant! You asked for it!” Frostsong growled. She summoned her energy, bursting into battle. She sent surges of ice and also clawed at the plant as well. She dropped the freezing and just went over and clawed at it. She dodged the vines, but one she didn’t see scratched her flank. She froze the wound and kept fighting.

Wildflower picked themselves off the wall to find Frostsong, who seemed to be struggling. Knowing they had already exhausted most of their energy, and Frostsong too, they concentrated on growing an energy-regaining herb, ragwort. They ate some and picked the rest for Frostsong. Bounding up to her, they set the sorrel down and started withering the vines beside a fiery Frostsong.

Yedda pawed at the ground. She felt as if she should be doing something, anything. Her mind wandered as she looked around. Maybe I could hunt. She went out, dodging vines with her slender body clumsily until she reached a crevice. She swiped around until she felt something. A tail. “Gotcha!” She pulled out a big, fat rat. She internally squirmed, forgetting how to kill it. “Uh. . .” She sheepishly scratched its chest, drawing blood. “OhnoI’msosorrypleasepleasepleasegoaway!” She dropped the rat, who scampered away with what sounded to be a cackle. She sighed. *I’m not good for anything.* She went back to the little shelter, only a scratch on her back that barely scratched her. She curled up into a ball and hoped for it all to be over.

*What to do, what to do, what to do. . .* The only good thing about this Test was that it would break apart Marina and *the creepy tom trying to entice her. Ahem.* At any rate, Storm was slightly confused and a bit worried . . . how many cats would be leaving them? Chaos. There was no other way to describe what was happening in this Test. *Harnor must be laughing his head off watching his little play-cats running around defeating this . . . monster vine that he could easily destroy with two swipes of his claws.* She shook her head. She had to stay focused on the task. Her eyes narrowed, focusing on the monster plant. It seemed exceptionally strong, but there was no doubt that with the collection of cats around her, each gifted with a power, most of them almost at the point of mastering it, they could defeat it. She squared her shoulders and glared at the vines as she would had it been a cat. Snarling, she leapt at it, claws unsheathed as her nimble figure darted between the thrashing knife-vines. Unfortunately with all her darting, there was no time to claw it. *If I get injured, there are healers. And plus, the wound will go away eventually, right? A bit of pain for damage on this monster sounds like a good trade.* She braced herself to attack. Bracing herself, she dodged straight at a vine that was coming to her face, leaping up and clawing it before using her powers to keep her up in the air for longer than normal, so that she could twist in midair, so that the uninjured part of the vine hit her side. Luckily, it only grazed her slightly — a sink and pull, but the pain was immediate. Sharp pain came first, then the realization that blood was seeping into her jet-black pelt. She skidded away from the plant as fast as she could, clenching her teeth against the pain. It wasn’t a bad wound, but it was enough to hurt her. “I need a healer!” she cried out loud, squeezing her eyes shut.

Frost heard a she-cat call for help from a healer. She walked over to where the noise came from and saw the cat laying on the ground. “Are you okay? I’ll try to help. My powers aren’t too strong yet, but I can still help,” she said to the cat.

Storm simply nodded.

Ollie flexed his claws. “Tess, I think your fighting lessons are about to pay off.”

Tess put her paw on his. “Wait. Don’t just charge into battle. We don’t know how dangerous this thing is. . .”

Ollie gave her a glance, but backed off. He didn’t like the idea of other cats risking their lives, but Tess had more experience than him. He should probably listen to her.

Tess had one thought floating through her mind. *Where’s Palm? Is he okay?* She hissed. “Alright. Let’s do this.” She leapt at the plant, clawing at the vines and weaving in and out of the snapping fronds. She felt thorns ripping through her fur, but she ignored it, her claws outstretched towards the creature.

Ollie looked on, knowing he couldn’t fight such a monster. But he could help — with his powers. He felt the power course through him and ice started forming at his paws. He directed the ice towards the plant, freezing off a few of the vines in the process. The vines started pulling towards him, but he kept freezing them over and over again until he was drained.

While Tess was looking back at Ollie using his powers, she had become distracted, and the vine wrapped her up until she was trapped. She squirmed and hissed, but she couldn’t get out. The last thing she would *ever* do would be to call for help . . . but this called for it. “Help!” she screeched.

Marina glanced around, a bit frustrated as well. Leave it to Harnor to disrupt a perfectly good dance and singing class. With a glance at Palm and a nod, she mewed, “Can we finish in the next Wait? I assume that this monster will take up our time and paws most of the time. . .”

Palm smiled. He nodded and looked for Tess. “I can help them fight! I’m actually quite good.” He thought back to Alex and the blood pouring from the tom’s throat. He shook away the thought. He saw Tess trapped in the plant and sprinted towards her. “Tess! I’ll get you out. I promise!” He clawed and clawed at the plant, ripping his claws deep into the vines. The plants began to snake around his paws as well as he hissed and spat, trying to send electric shocks through the plant, but nothing seemed to work. He collapsed onto Tess, nearly fainting. He quickly set to work healing Tess, but as the plants began to creep closer again, he grabbed her scruff and dragged her away towards Marina. Burying his nose in Tess’s fur, he cried into her pelt, “Marina, do you have any herbs? I can’t let her die. Ollie, come here. I don’t want you being in the same situation as Tess!” As Storm was nearby, he quickly reached over and touched the she-cat’s pelt, sending a healing blast through her fur. He hoped it would help. Storm seemed to hate him, and he wasn’t sure why.

Ollie hurried over, his eyes wide with fear. “Tess!” he wailed. “Please be okay.” He shot streams of ice at any approaching vines, knowing he wouldn’t let them get near his friend.

Marina glanced at the tom. “She won’t die; she’s just unconscious right now.” Shooting a glance at the small tom — Ollie — she mewed, “And stop shooting those vines right now. We need to get her to a space away from them. Your subarctic temperatures aren’t exactly helping her,” she snarked.

*Humph. I hate owing someone,* Storm thought grumpily. *But I guess I owe him for healing me, so I’ll help him with this . . . other she-cat. Wait. Other she-cat? Maybe he’s leading Marina on . . . he’ll hurt her! That’s even worse! I’ll talk to him after this Test,* she decided. She looked at Tess. “She’s not dying literally; she’s just unconscious. Loss of air from being squeezed, I think. Marina is right — we have to get her away from these vines to a safe spot. I know one, but we’ll have to move her. Look. Drape her over my back, and one of you two can help me support her.”

Ollie ducked his head, retracting his ice. He nosed Tess onto Storm’s back, staying near her in case something happened.

Palm glanced at Ollie. “I’ll help carry Tess. Ollie, you make sure the vines don’t follow us. My power isn’t very useful against the vines.” He caught the rest of Tess’s body on his. The height difference was a bit awkward, but seemed to work. “I’m Palm, by the way,” the tiny tom mewed to Storm. “I don’t think I properly introduced myself.”

“Palm,” Storm repeated, looking him straight in the eyes; not in a threatening manner, in a way that would make a subtle statement. “Good to meet you. I’m Storm, Marina’s older sister.”

“Nice to meet you, Storm. Now do you have any idea where we could let Shad. . . Tess recover without the plant attacking her?” Ollie asked.

Marina shook her head at Ollie. “Stop using your arctic powers near Tess. She’ll get cold.”

Storm rolled her eyes. These cats sure had thick skulls and ears in need of help. “I literally just said that I knew a place.”

Ollie hissed, protecting the small group of cats from any attacking vines, shooting streams of ice at the monster. He groaned. “If I don’t use my powers, the plant could hurt her! But if I do, then *I* might hurt her.”

“Go use your powers farther out. Storm and I probably won’t need you. If you’re insistent on staying by this she-cat’s side, or maybe it’s because you’re jealous of seeing Palm with her instead, then walk farther out where she can’t feel the cold,” Marina sighed.

Ollie backed away from Tess, the other she-cat’s words caught in his mind. If you’re jealous of Palm or something. . . He wasn’t jealous of Palm! Palm was his friend! So was Tess . . . and so what if he didn’t want Palm hanging around Tess all the time? She needed her space! And Palm was a little too clingy anyway. He shook his head, clearing away the thoughts, and made sure he was at least five feet away from Tess so he wouldn’t hurt her.

Marina looked at the tom and snorted. Silly little thing. . . But maybe he was just jealous. She sighed. She felt something in her stomach. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling. She felt nauseated. There was too much blood . . . fighting . . . the horrible scents. . .

Tess groaned. Was she on some cat’s back? She didn’t have time to think on it, because she immediately slipped back into unconsciousness.

Palm saw Ollie staring off into space and slowly and quietly padded over. He didn’t do quiet very well, but he knew exactly what Ollie was thinking. “Look, I know you really like Tess — and I do too. But can we just promise each other that we’ll never let anything get in the way of our friendship? I’ve been through a lot, and I’m sure you have as well. It would be stupid to, after all our struggles, let a she-cat ruin the friendship we’ve created. I don’t need another friendship to end.” He reached instinctively to his earring and then drew his paw back awkwardly. He started to cry. “Because every time I lose someone, it never heals! It’s meant to, I know, with time.” He let himself cry. It was no use trying to stop it. “I remember the first cat I lost. She was called Dragon. I was only two moons old. We would play in the oasis together. She was quite a bit older than me, but we were amazing friends until one day. She went missing. I asked every cat I saw until one told me she had been killed by vultures, and then he threw the body off a cliff edge.” He glanced up at Ollie quickly and then back down at his paws. “I got into a fight with that tom. He put this palm branch through my ear and I ran. I scratched a mark on that earring to remember Dragon, and since that day, I’ve added a mark for every loss.” He brushed the scratches with his paw, feeling the indents. “I can’t handle another of my friends dying. I think I’m cursed to lose all my friends for stupid reasons that could have been prevented.” He slapped his paw to the ground and dragged his claws across the rock. “I know I seem clingy sometimes, but that’s just because. . .” He paused. “I never know how much time I have left with a friend. I want to spend every minute with friends I make, so hopefully I’ll be able to save them.” He shuffled slightly closer to Ollie. “You’re like a best friend to me. I don’t want to lose you or Tess.” He touched Ollie’s nose briefly.

Ollie looked at Palm deeply in the eyes and gave him a nod, showing that he understood. This was part of why he liked Palm. Palm didn’t start drama for stupid reasons, and he understood that friendship was one of the most important things in the world.

Palm then padded back over to Tess, checking she was still okay. He noticed Storm kept looking at him weirdly. “Do you want to talk to me about something?” he asked her.

Storm looked at the conversation going on between the two toms, slowly beginning to glare at Palm. *So he does like this she-cat. He’d better not break Marina’s heart.* “I’ll talk to you about something once it’s the time to talk to you about it,” she replied. “For now, let’s move her to the place I had in mind. And please don’t ask me pointless questions that waste my time. I told you about thirty seconds before you asked if I knew a safe place that I did know one,” she snarked. “Now get here and help me carry her. You’ll break my back before I even start fighting!”

Palm didn’t know why the she-cat was being so horrible, but she reminded him of someone from his past. And he didn’t like it. He helped pick up Tess again, but didn’t really talk to Storm apart from one sentence once they were carrying Tess again. “You remind me of Yrweya.” Storm didn’t know it, but he had just offended her. He usually hated being mean to cats, but this time, he knew she deserved it.

Storm smiled at Palm openly. “You don’t like that cat very much, do you?” It wasn’t a question. “Well, don’t be so secretive. It’s alright if you don’t like me. I’m just protecting my sister. But we can start over if you would like. Hello, I’m Stormy Skies. But call me Storm.”

Palm kind of liked the idea of starting over. “I’m Palm, and I’m not named after the branch through my ear. Why do you need to protect your sister?”

Storm sighed at Palm. “You don’t have a younger sibling. You wouldn’t understand.”

Palm stopped, trying to make sure Tess didn’t fall from his back. He didn’t understand! He didn’t understand! How wrong could Storm have been? “You know nothing that I’ve been through, so don’t assume anything. You say you have reason to be protective, but that’s nothing.” He hated it when cats assumed his life was perfect. It was as broken and damaged as any other cat’s here. “Hey, there’s a telekinetic cat’s shield over there. Let’s go and shelter!” He started to nudge Storm forward so that Tess remained balanced.

Tess opened one eye, noticing she was on top of some other cats. Everything hurt. “What’s going on?” she hissed, trying to scramble off but finding that she could barely move. What was happening? She, now completely awake but unable to move, hissed. “It’s not that bad — *oww!”*

“Tess! You’re awake! Me and Storm just need to get you towards those cats. Don’t worry. You’ll be fine,” Palm said.

“Actually, we’re taking her to a secluded nook,” Storm sighed.

*“Wherever* you’re going,” Tess hissed, “can you hurry up? I’m pretty sure the sooner I recover, the sooner we can all help fight that plant thing.”

Storm looked Tess in the eye. “I’m sorry, but you’re not lugging another cat on your back, so please be quiet. Your talking won’t help you get better. You need rest; and plus, the less you talk, the less pain I’ll feel. So if you don’t talk, it’s a win-win. Now shut it.”

Tess growled but said nothing.

Ollie snickered.

Tess cut him short with a glare.

Storm huffed at the small tom — Palm. “Would you mind? Helping me? I may be strong, but I’m not going to stand around and break my back.”

Palm nodded, and tried to stand on the tips of his paws so there wasn’t such a massive height difference between him and Storm. It made carrying Tess easier.

Tess let herself slide off of Palm, hissing quietly at the pain. “Are any of you actual healers?”

“I have healing and electricity powers!” Palm set his paw down on Tess’s side. “If you don’t mind, I’ll have to have my paw on your side.” He sent a bit of healing power into Tess, hoping it helped.

“That…” Tess gasped, “feels . . . so much better!”

Marina glanced at her sister. “Do you mind if I go ahead and clear out this space?”

Storm nodded.

Marina quickly dashed off to the little nook. Storm had only shown her it a few days ago, but it was a very nice place. A small cavern of sorts formed against the side of the cave furthest from the vines. Two very large boulders leaned against this side of the cave, as well as leaned against each other, with only one small crack in between them allowing a small entrance. There were two sources of light — one was from the entrance, the other from a small opening that was created by the two boulders not quite closing at the top and therefore letting in a circle of light from the top of the nook. She glanced around. Her sister had done some nice work in here — it was clean, there were three nests of surprisingly dry moss and leaves, there were a few fresh herbs stored in nooks and crannies around the sides of the area. There was definitely enough space; everything seemed good. *Except.* Concentrating on a puddle of water outside, she drained it and made it form instead inside of the small cave near the nests. Now it was ready.

Eclipse hissed and guarded her kits closely. Her one open eye scanned the cavern quickly, and she suddenly wished Black Bird were there. With her. Where he could protect her. She was stronger than that. She didn’t need him. She didn’t need anyone except Meignick and her kits. No one was about to hurt Meignick or her kits. *I’ll do anything to protect them!* Her eyes shot daggers. *Anything!*

Midnight whimpered. She sensed something was wrong with her mother, but she didn’t know what. She mewed loudly, trying to figure it out.

“It’s okay, honey. Nothing is wrong,” Eclipse comforted her daughter. “Just don’t leave my side.”

Midnight nodded silently, understanding. Her instincts tugged at her, wanting her to go and play with those weird vines, but she knew that today wasn’t a good day to goof off.

Feather rushed to Eclipse’s side, lashing out at any vines who came near. She used her nature powers to wither a vine so she could bite it off. She sunk her claws into a vine.  It thrashed and threw her against a rock. More vines started to close in on her. She screeched as vines wrapped around her legs. She bit down on one. Her available paw slashed out at a vine. She screeched again, but it was cut off as a vine went around her neck. Her paw slashed out. She used her fire powers to burn a hole. She bit down on the vines, which were around her legs. She ran behind a rock and scanned the battle.

A she-cat was passed out. Feather saw Eclipse and went back over. “I found a rock where you and the kits could hide behind. If you just slip through the shadows. . . ” She gently placed Kinkaroy on his mother’s back. Then she put Midnight and Onyx beside him. “We’ll carry the other two in our mouths. You stay closest to the walk and I’ll be beside you.” She picked up Ash.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Eclipse murmured once again. She carefully picked up Violet and followed Feather closely.

Midnight mewed again, this time softer. *Where are we going? Who’s this she-cat?* She wriggled a little, trying to stay calm.

Ash squirmed, annoyed to be woken up.

Eclipse felt a new form of power surge through her as she decided to try to see what she could do now. The black she-cat closed her eyes and concentrated, and when she opened them again, she saw that water, out of nowhere, was being created. Taking a wild guess, she decided it was the water vapor on the air. She created a small shield around herself and her kits, though knowing that the water could easily be broken. She kept it there, though she knew no one would try to break it, and she could easily see the plant coming towards her. She realized she could help one last time and broke the water shield. Today was not the day to be a coward. She had to protect her kits! She ran through, slicing at the vines with her claws. She dodged each thorn that came her way — or at least she tried. The plant skinned her flank as she clawed and bit and stabbed one paw. It would heal. It had to heal. She shook off the feeling and heard the blood roaring in her ears. With another last claw, she retreated to her kits to make sure they were all okay. Without really examining them, she ran back into the action. As she clawed, black goo, much like what she had spit earlier, was seeping out of her claws. Probably not the best for while fighting a plant, but it was noted so she could remember it when fighting a cat. Her paws glowed aquamarine as they took the lead. She couldn’t exactly stop the poison; but she couldn’t stop fighting. As an extremely painful thorn landed on her tail, she backed up to breath. Another vine basically slammed down very close to her legs, but she dodged it. She kept attacking, no longer caring about herself. It was her kits. She needed to get them out of here! And the only way to do that was to kill the plant. She stood fighting, her tail and paws starting to ache, but she wouldn’t give up. Her claws matched the plant as if she already knew what it was doing, but she had no idea. Her eyes darted between the plant and the rock, and as she left one last bite she darted behind it. She curled around her kits and hoped for the best. An involuntary water shield surrounded them.

Mieginck stood in front of Eclipse, batting at the plants with his claws. His powers were so weak he couldn’t do anything with them — but he just knew he had to help Eclipse and the kits. Angry, he flung himself at the plant, biting down hard. He felt sticky sap flow into his mouth, tasting worse than the poison he could create. He pulled his teeth away and grasped the plant with his front paws, pummelling it with his strong back legs. Thrones caught his pelt, ripping through, and the black tom screamed in pain. A massive vine swung at his tail and he was only just able to move out of the way; yet it caught one of his rings, knocking it off and onto the ground. He couldn’t help but smile. There were two rings left, but it still felt like he was pulling away from the group at last. He pulled back for a few seconds, furiously cleaning his wounds. Luckily, the plant had left a clear cut and the wounds didn’t look infected. After stopping for breath, he was ready to fight again, his purple eyes narrowed towards the plant as he crept towards it, as if stalking his prey. He pounced. All he could think was claws, teeth, and fighting. The monster would die at his paws if it meant that Eclipse and the kits would be safe.

Natrix charged in beside a tom, clawing with the same ferocity.

In a flash, a stem shot out at Meiginck and Natrix. In a flash, blood coated the floor.

Natrix fell to the ground, a huge wound in her head soaking the ground with blood.

With one last slash at the plant, Mieginck pulled away and dragged the calico she-cat away. Blood stained the calico fur of the she-cat, and her eyes were so barely open that he could only just make out a slither of green. Pressing his paws to the wound, he whispered in her ear, “It’s going to be okay. What’s your name?”

“Natrix.” Natrix sputtered as she spoke, coughing a little bit of blood.

“Natrix, it’s going to be alright. It’s going to be okay. I’ll save you.” Mei scanned the cave for cobwebs and saw some. Hooking them with his tail, he pressed them onto the wound. The plant-monster was creeping forward, and he kicked out his back leg, ripping a bit off the plant and causing it to retreat.

Little rocks quivered around Natrix.

Mieginck smiled.

Natrix began to float.

Mieginck pressed her to the ground again. “Try and stay still. I’ll be back in a second.” It hurt him leaving Natrix, but he knew that she was going to die if he didn’t try and kill the plant. With renewed energy, he sprung at it, angry at Harnor for causing this much pain. Natrix had most likely just been a normal — if not slightly ambitious — cat who had thought that the Tests sounded fun. And now she was dying on a stone floor surrounded by no one but a stranger. His claws dug deep into the plant, ripping out chunks. After he was sure the plant was retreating, he returned to Natrix. “My name is Mieginck, but you can call me Mei. Most cats can’t pronounce my name.” He padded closer to Natrix to check her wound, but he slipped over and fell on a small, round pebble.

Natrix gave out a huff that sounded like a laugh, floating the pebble back towards her and revealing a stash of pebbles under her leg.

Mieginck smiled at her little prank. Maybe she was getting better. But her head still lolled to the side, her front paw was still bleeding and mangled, and there were rips in her ear that he knew would never heal. But most of all, her head wound was still steadily bleeding, although slightly slowed by the cobwebs and pressure.

Tears of pain filled Natrix’s eyes, although she was smiling. Pain. So much pain. Everything hurt as she lay on her back, breathing hard. She tried to move her head, but it hurt so, so, so much. She couldn’t remember anything that had happened. She knew she was in the Tests, she knew she had accepted Harnor’s offer, but anything before that was a mystery. That tom — Miegingt, was it? No, that didn’t sound right. He had said for her to call him Mei. She could say that. What were her powers? She knew other cats had them, but she couldn’t remember hers. Trying to lift her paw, she managed to slightly open her eyes, only to close them quickly in shock. Her front paw was completely mangled; there was no way it could be healed. She would never be able to walk on it again.

Mieginck charged at the plant again, desperate to protect his kits, Eclipse, and the injured she-cat. Suddenly, one of the stems seemed to collapse and he tugged at it, trying to break it. *Snap!* The vine pulled off easily and the plant was oozing goo. *It must have been the dirt on my claws!* he thought, and rubbed his foot in the dirt before charging at the plant again. He would beat this monster!

Ami saw what was happening and sprinted towards the cats, ready to fight. What they had seen in Jinx’s past had shocked them, and although they weren’t ready to accept their “powers,” they obviously had a gift that could help these cats. With precision, they shot blades of ice up through the plant’s stem and it split in half, breaking the stems. They fought harder than they ever had before. They didn’t know why they were crying or fighting, but they just knew they had to.

Schweiz was slowly getting used to his injured eye. It hurt more than anything he had ever felt, but he could bare it. The portal was his last chance to see his siblings again, if they were still alive. But what about Ami? His half-sibling, Lilian and Stolz’s kit. He couldn’t abandon them! Not when they could die here without anyone knowing. He caught sight of Ami still attacking the plant. Sprinting towards them, he unsheathed his claws and leapt into battle with them. Ami seemed to be using ice to fight, and it confused him. Did he have powers like that as well? Suddenly a glowing orb appeared by him, and he smiled before flinging it and himself at the plant.

Tawny just stared with no idea what to do.

Jay looked around. This *wasn’t* his type of thing.

Zero looked around, terrified. He didn’t want to be here. He had told Harnor he didn’t want to be a part of this — Harnor’s game. In his confusion, he didn’t even notice the tom next to him.

“Watch where you’re going!” Thunder hissed.

“I’m sorry. I-I’m just a bit distracted,” Zero replied.

Thunder’s expression softened. “You’re one of the Forgotten, aren’t you?”

“The what!?” Zero asked.

“Forgotten — those who refused Harnor’s offer were trapped in stone. They have powers that are different than ours," Thunder said.

Zero panicked. “I have powers! Okay, let’s get this straight. I was trapped in stone, and now I have powers?” he asked.

“Yes. I know how you feel; I was confused at first too,” Thunder replied

“Confused!? I’m not confused, I’m angry. I wanted to live my life as a normal cat!” Zero said.

“Calm down!” Thunder said, looking at the cracks around Zero’s feet. “You're going to have to learn how to control your powers if you want to survive.”

“Okay, you’re right. I learn, but I won’t be happy about it!” replied Zero.

“Good,” said Thunder, glancing over at Tawny.

“How do we . . . Th—” Tawny flicked her tail over her mouth to stop her from shouting out Thunder’s name. She didn’t need him! But as she watched him comfort a tom about his fossil and rock powers, she felt like she *did* need him. She did, and she knew it. Only she knew it. Because something was about to change. “Jay!” she shouted, trying to forget Thunder. “Jay!” No. That cat was an idiot. She would rather kill him. But he was the most annoying cat here, so that would annoy Thunder the most. *Oh, screw it.* She leapt over vines and felt her electricity powers spark. Just as she was about to conjure them fully, she saw a black she-cat — Eclipse — with her kits. She didn’t know why, but she felt . . . *jealous*. Shaking the thoughts angrily from her head, she hissed and felt sparks fly slightly from her paws. She hit a vine and jumped back as it sparked. She glared at the monster, but turned to Thunder helping the weird cat. She felt a gaze on her. She turned to see Thunder. She hissed in his direction, hoping he would hear, but felt pain at it. Angrily, she flung at the monster. What would she do? Her feelings were now confirmed, but he had been avoiding her. What would she do. . .?

Zero saw Thunder looking at the she-cat. “Who’s that?” he asked.

“Tawny. We’re friends. She’s angry at me, so I’m giving her space,” Thunder said. “But that’s not important now. From my experience, you need to accept your powers to control them,” he explained.

Zero simply nodded.“How did you feel when you discovered your powers?” he asked.

“Excited, confused, maybe even a little scared,” Thunder answered. “Now let’s go get that monster!”

Zero charged arbitrary the plant monster. He felt his body tingle and he was dizzy — then, as quickly as it started, it stopped. “What was that?” he muttered, shaking his head. He realized that there was an identical copy of himself. “What the h—? Never mind!” He continued to run, and the clone followed. He and his clone attacked the plant monster, scratching and biting at the roots, shooting small energy orbs at it and dogging vines. He scratched and attacked relentlessly. Suddenly, his clone was speared by a vine. He cried out in pain as his clone vaporized. When he regained control of his breathing, he continued his attack. He was getting the hang of his powers. He split in half every time a vine would try and hit him, then he would fuse with his clone. After a bit, he started to tire. *I can’t stop now!* he thought.

Thunder padded over to Tawny. “What did I do? I’ve been giving you space to calm down, but it’s not working!” he said, choking back tears.

Tawny blinked, trying to seem angry. But it wasn’t working. He really was upset. There was a long hesitation. Then she lunged forward and rested her muzzle on his shoulder. She cried. “I’m sorry!” she choked. “I’m sorry. . .” She looked at him, tears blurring her vision. “I’m never going to leave you again! Never!” She shook her head and cried into his shoulder. She choked on her tears and sat down, coughing. “I’ve — missed you — so much. . .” she coughed out. “We’re never going to be apart, right? Never.”

Suddenly Jay’s shadow fell over them.

Tawny turned. “Oh, no. . .” she whispered.

“What are you doing?!” Jay yelled at her. “I thought he left you! I thought you hated him!”

Tawny paused, shaking her head. “I love him,” she whispered, barely audible.

Then the weirdest thing happened. Jay lunged at her, his claws unsheathed.

Thunder was so happy. He was reunited with his best friend — no, she was more than that. When she touched his shoulder, he felt as though he was going to melt. He wished the moment would last forever — it didn’t. “I lo—!” He was interrupted by a flash of the tom he had seen Tawny with — Jay — lunging at them. Knowing what would happen, he jumped in the way, tackling Jay to the ground. Almost instantly, the temperature of the air dropped significantly. Glowing blue stripes appeared on his pelt. He knew this tom was stronger than him, but he also knew that Tawny was here, and she would help.

Tawny opened her eyes. A long scar down her face was bleeding heavily on the ground. She saw Thunder and Jay fighting. At first, she felt depressed, as she thought she was fighting on Jay’s side. Then she remembered the scene. Weakly, she got to her shaking paws. Then she lunged at Jay.

Jay turned around, hissing. “You’re weak! You can’t fight me!” he hissed, angrily knocking her to the ground again.

A new wound opened down Tawny’s side. She closed her eyes, breathing heavily, and wondered if she would make it.

Thunder glared angrily at Jay, glowing blue stripes appearing on his pelt. The temperature around him dropped significantly. Ice spread out from under his paw. He gestured up with his head and the ice encased Jay’s paws. “And this is not the time or the place for this fighting!” he hissed. “There’s a huge monster over there and it’s going to hurt someone permanently if we don’t kill it!”

Ami ran over to them, slashing at plants as they went. “Stop fighting each other and fight the plant instead! Look — if you have any chance of living, you need to fight!” They charged towards the plant and leapt, claws outstretched. For Schweiz, for their mother, for Iciclefur. *Heck!* The tabby cat had misjudged their leap and went crashing down into the plant. Thorns circled them like a prison, not even giving way after their claws dug deep into the plant’s stem. More and more tendrils took the place of the fallen ones. *I’m done for,* they thought. *Might as well go down fighting,* they decided. Teeth bared, they flung themselves with all their strength at a thinner spot in the plant. The thorns from that vine shrunk back and retreated. They watched as another slowly crept forward. Instinct took over and they sent a column of ice out in front of them. They didn’t even know what they were doing as they charged through the gap between plants, slashing viciously at the plant as they went. Thorns crashed to the ground. Their pelt was coated in scratches and blood stained their fur. But they kept fighting, even as their eyes watered in pain. Their teeth sunk deep into the plant. Tangy, horrible tastes filled their mouth and they spat them out immediately. A thorn slashed towards their ear, cutting free the yellow tag that reminded them so vividly of their previous life and foster father. Lashing out at the plant in anger, they reached into the stems and hooked out the tag. Their ear was bleeding heavily, but they managed to hook the tag back around their ear. It had never been comfortable, but any link to their past was welcome. Striking out at the plant, they stood their ground with ice and claws. They avoided using their teeth, remembering the sour, rank taste of the sap. Breath shaky and heart fast, they were forced to step down and away from the plant. With shaking legs, they collapsed far enough away from the plant to be safe. They tried to slow their breathing and rest. They charged into battle again. Their energy was back and they were ready to fight. Claws out, the plant would never stop them. This time, they landed perfectly and dragged some of the plant down with them. It broke easier now! All they could think about was fighting and saving Schweiz. The scar over his eye had shocked them. They didn’t want to be here any longer. Tears started to run down their face from the pain. Thorns headed towards them and they braced for their death. There was nowhere to run. One last time, they stuck out at the plants around them.

Mandi saw the cat struggling and charged towards them, dragging them away from the plant, breaking off the stem that had attacked them. She stood over the cat and raised her paw. This was a good chance to kill.

Ami opened their eyes. They were away from the plant, but then they saw the evil intention in the cat’s eyes. They tried to rise to their paws, but the cat was holding them down. They didn’t scream for help; they just sat there.

Schweiz saw Ami and charged towards them, crashing into the plant and pulling out a few stems in his desperation. He knocked the she-cat off Ami and grabbed her scruff, flinging her away in any direction.

Mandi screamed and tried to land herself. She crashed to the floor in the middle of the plant stems.

Screaming, Ami looked on at Schweiz in shock. Yes, that cat was trying to kill her, but what cat would do that to save themselves or a friend? *They* certainly wouldn’t. They started to tear at the plant with claws and ice, even teeth, although they ignored the foul taste.

the plant with claws and ice, even teeth, although they ignored the foul taste.

Mandi was beaten and bruised. She couldn’t fend off all the vines.

Ami was getting closer. They could nearly see the she-cat behind the many plants. Suddenly, they broke through and grabbed her scruff.  Pulling away the plants that tried to attack them, they managed to get her out.

Mandi’s breath was fast, her wounds were deep, but her beads had remained intact.

“Who are you? Why did you do that to me?” Ami begged.

“My name is Empress Mandelia, or Mandi for short.” Mandi coughed up some blood, her eyes beginning to cloud. “I just wanted to get home, but now I just want to win. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Ami felt sorry for this cat, who had obviously been caught under Harnor’s spell. “I’ll get you back through that portal. You can go back.”

Mandi was hurt by this. “No. I’m a bad cat. I tried to kill you and that white-and-gray tom. I should just die here.”

A white-and-gray tom. Who could that be? *Oh,* Ami thought. *Dune.* “You tried to kill Dune? He’s notoriously one of the grumpiest cats here. Good luck with that!”

Mandi vaguely smiled, but then pulled herself to her paws. “I just want to die! I don’t deserve to live!” She charged at Ami, knocking them both into the plant. She was sure to just damage the plant, not the cat who had saved her. Hopefully this plan would work.

Schweiz charged at Mandi, knocking her off Ami.

Mandi pretended to fight him, but kept her claws sheathed.

Finally Schweiz fought back, slashing viciously at her pelt.

Mandi fell to the floor, her wounds bleeding very heavily now. She took a breath, and closed her eyes for the last time with a smile.

Tears rolled down Ami’s cheeks. “You killed her! You killed her!” Their breath was fast. They lashed out a paw at Schweiz, which missed. They ran from him, but the only way they could go was the plant, so they charged back into battle. For every stem they broke, they remembered her. Mandi was burned into their vision. Her purple beads, her turquoise eyes. They attacked more viscously than they ever had. They bit down into the plant, forgetting the horrible taste. Mandi had tried to kill her, but that didn’t mean that she had to die! If only she had been able to return home — she might have acted better! They were beginning to tire from using their ice and claws so much. They slipped on the ice and crashed into the plant, pulling out the stems as they went. They felt as if Iciclefur was fighting with them, telling them to dodge or strike or bite. The ice grew around their paws and they welcomed it. They didn’t know whether they believed it anymore. They grabbed a massive vine in their jaws and tugged, clawing and pulling at it at the same time. Goo seemed to come out of the cuts. The plant looked unwell. The vine broke and they were flung back, smiling in triumph. They had broken that. Maybe they could get all the way through and get Schweiz as far away from them as possible.

Fringe snarled at the plant monster, clawing at the rising vines. “Loki! Ifu! Where are you?” They had been separated by the huge plant. Vines reached for her, and she ran. She sprinted around the side of the cave.

Loki and Ifu were fending off vines that had backed them into a corner.

Fringe leaped, biting down on the vine so that it retreated. More vines took its place, crowding the three cats towards the wall. She hissed, lashing out with both paws. Her claws dug into a vine and caught. The vine dragged her forwards, closer to the rest of the plant creature. It lifted her into the air, thrashing around, trying to shake her off. She dug her claws in harder, hanging on for dear life. Then the plant got smarter. Another vine wrapped around her torso, tugging her in one direction while the vine she was holding pulled in the other. She freed her claws quickly so she didn’t get torn in half. She dug her claws into the vine wrapped around her. The vine flailed, knocking her against the rock wall. She yowled. The vine threw her, dislodging her claws. She flew across the cave, hitting her head on the wall and falling to the ground. Her left hind leg snapped. Howling with pain, she collapsed.

Loki and Ifu ran towards her, battling through the many vines to reach her.

Just before Fringe blacked out, she saw them. Then shadows overtook her vision and she tumbled into infinite darkness.

Loki and Ifu crouched over Fringe, occasionally fending off thrashing vines from the plant creature. Most of the other cats had joined in trying to fight it by then.

“I can’t stand this,” Ifu groaned. “I want to help you guys fight it, but . . . something won’t let me.”

“I think it’s because you refused the Tests. You’re here, but you can’t participate. Besides, you’re a healer, not a fighter,” Loki reasoned.

“But I can’t heal Fringe,” Ifu said sadly. After they had dragged Loki’s mother into a shadowed alcove, he had attempted to heal her leg and head wound. The leg had set easily and appeared healed, though Fringe would probably limp. The head wound, though . . . his energy had been drained after healing Fringe’s leg. He hadn’t been able to do more than close the wound.

Loki and Ifu knew there was probably internal damage. Fringe hovered between life and death, and both knew that they wouldn’t be the ones to decide if she survived.

Loki came to a decision. “Protect Fringe. Keep trying to heal her. I’m going to fight.” With that he charged into battle, swiping at the vines.

*“Duck!”*

Trixy’s voice jolted Loki, but he obeyed, ducking under a swinging vine.

*“Quick. To your left!”* Trixy said.

Loki leaped to the right, dodging another vine. As it whipped past, he latched on with his claws. The vine carried him up, high enough that a fall would prove fatal. He dug his claws in, causing the vine to thrash back and forth. He jumped to another vine, slicing off about three feet of the end. The plant creature shrieked with pain and thrashed harder. He leapt and dodged, clawing at the vines whenever he could.

As Loki attacked the plant creature, both Dodge and Trixy spoke in his mind, guiding him through the fight.

Loki clawed severed vines, but more seemed to grow in their place. The monster was far from defeated, but with everyone fighting . . . maybe, just maybe they would all come out alive. He finally reached the ground again, batting at vines that attacked him.

*“Set your paws or you’re going to get knocked over,”* a familiar voice purred.

Loki froze. “Father?” he whispered. “Perch?”

*“Yes,”* Perch answered. *“Crow! Look out!”*

Loki leaped backwards, barely avoiding a thick vine that swiped at him.

*“Good job. Get on your hind legs. Balance with your tail. Quick! Grab on!”* Perch said.

Loki reared up, tail thrashing so he didn’t fall over, and latched onto another vine.

*“Ride it to the top!”* Perch crowed.

Loki gripped the vine with all four paws, claws digging into it. The vine rose, taking him higher in the air than he had been the whole fight. As the vine carried him higher, he sawed at it with his claws. Finally, it gave, and at least seven feet of vine fell — with him attached. He shrieked, realizing his mistake. He tumbled through the air, grasping for vines, but they all moved out of the way, letting him fall. “No,” he gasped. Wind whipped through his fur. At the last second, he stretched out a paw and telekinetically grabbed a vine. Hovering in the air nearly ten feet above the ground, he lashed out, grabbing for any vines close to him. His telekinic grip failed and he dropped like a stone. Desperately, he twisted in the air, flicking his tail so he landed on his feet. He hit the ground with a thump, stumbling a few steps. His paws ached, but nothing was broken.

“Loki! You’re okay!” Ifu called from the alcove where Fringe lay. “I think I healed her a little more, but she’s still unconscious.”

“At least she’s alive,” Loki panted, padding over. He was exhausted from his efforts of attacking the plant and using his powers.

Ifu gave him a grim look. “For now,” he murmured.

Loki and Ifu both knew that could change any time.

Loki watched the battle, crouched over his mother’s unconscious form.

Ifu huddled next to him.  The tiny alcove was barely big enough for the three cats.

Loki’s eyes flitted back and forth as he followed the cats fighting the plant creature. “How long will this go on?” he murmured.

“Loki,” Ifu whispered.

Loki didn’t respond, still watching the other cats.

“Loki!” Ifu’s voice became urgent. “Loki. It’s Fringe.”

Loki’s gaze snapped to his mother. At first glance, nothing had changed, but. . .

“Is she breathing?” Ifu asked, almost to himself.

Loki backed out of the alcove to get a better look. Fringe’s body was still. Too still. He placed a shaking paw against her flank. She was cold. Colder than a cat should be. He shook his head. “No,” he whispered. “Fringe.” He placed his other paw on her flank, shaking her. “Fringe! Mother! Wake up! Please!” He stopped shaking her, collapsing with his muzzle buried in her pelt. “Please.”

Ifu watched, eyes wide. “Loki. . .”

“Why didn’t you do something?!” Loki leapt at Ifu, tackling him to the ground. “Why didn’t you help her? You could have healed her! Why didn’t you?!”

“Loki, I—” Ifu protested, distraught.

Loki interrupted him. “Shut up! Just — go away! Get out of here! Never come near me again!” he roared.

Ifu took a step back, hitting rock. Then he dodged around Loki and ran to the opposite end of the cave, ducking under flailing vines. He cowered in a shadowed corner of the cave, shaking. “I’m useless,” he moaned. *My powers are useless.*

Loki glared after him, then lay down next to his mother, huddling close to her body. She was still. Still. Cold. And dead. The plant creature roared its triumph. He got up. “We have to finish this,” he growled. It was time to leave the past behind. Fringe was dead. There was nothing he could do to change that. “Stupid plant creature. You’re going to pay!” With a roar, he launched himself into the vines once again, clawing at anything within reach. He clawed at the creature, taking out chunks of the fleshy plant and tearing the tips off of the vines. He poured out his anger into his attacks, trying to do as much damage as possible. Channeling his anger, he lifted rocks off of the ground and threw them at the creature. The rocks battered the vines until the creature was dripping green, bloodlike fluid. He stood. His mother’s body had grown stiff and cold. Padding a few steps away, he spotted a pile of small rocks. Using his telekinesis, he lifted a few of them into the air. With every rock he placed around his mother’s body to bury it, he thought a name. *Fringe. Perch. Trixy. Dangle. Sparrow. Stick. Sigyn.* The cats he cared about. Most of them dead. The rest, who knew? All he knew was that he couldn’t let them drag him back any longer. The pile of rocks marking his mother’s burial was complete. He turned and walked away. And as he did, he let every name he had thought slip away. He wouldn’t hold onto them anymore.

“Loki,” Ifu said.

A familiar and unwanted voice. Loki whirled on Ifu, glaring and growling, showing his sharp teeth.

Ifu flinched, ears laid flat, fur bristling in fear.

“I told you to stay away from me,” Loki growled, his voice dangerously quiet.

“Loki, please. Hear me out,” Ifu begged.

“No!” Loki snarled. “I won’t let you drag me down anymore!” His claws dug into the dirt. “One more chance. Leave, and never, ever, ever come near me again!”

“Is this how Fringe would have wanted you to act?” Ifu reprimanded.

Dead silence.

Ifu’s eyes widened. “I — I didn’t — I just meant—”

Loki and the plant creature roared as one. As he leapt, claws outstretched, a vine slammed into the ground he had been standing on seconds before. The vine lifted back into the air as he landed on Ifu, claws digging into his white pelt, and bit down on the young tom’s neck. The plant creature’s next noise resembled laughter. It wasn’t hard to imagine Harnor pulling the strings, controlling the creature’s every move, watching through its eyes. He walked away with innocent blood on his paws and ice in his heart. *Harnor wants a champion? Well, here I am.* He attacked the plant, clawing at the vines. He leapt onto a thick vine and raced up it, towards the body of the creature. Vines whipped around him, but he used telekinetically lifted rocks to block the blows. As he raced higher, he saw a patch of sand-sized pebbles on the cave floor. He reached out with his telekinesis and lifted the tiny grains into the air. They followed him up the vines. When the cloud of sand grains reached him, he jumped onto it. Under his command, the grains solidified into a thin platform of sand that carried him up. He strained to keep the grains together as he shot skyward. The platform carried him higher, the tiny sand grains shredding any vines that came too close. Finally, he was high out of reach of the creature. The sand platform wavered and his vision blurred. He shook his head to clear it. Surveying the scene, he saw many cats battling against the plant. He zeroed in on one of them lying unconscious on the ground. “She must have been hit by a vine,” he murmured. At that moment, the platform dissolved, the grains of sand falling away. He shrieked, plummeting towards the ground. He flailed, reaching for vines. One whipped past, and he dug his claws in. Dangling from a vine hundreds of tail-lengths above the ground, he was suddenly filled with anger. At the plant creature, at Harnor, at everything and everyone. Digging his claws harder into the vine, he pulled himself on top of it. The vine thrashed and he was jerked back and forth. He let himself slide, his claws forming deep grooves in the vines that seeped pale, green-ish honeylike fluid. He sniffed at the strange liquid. *What on earth?* He made sure he had a good grip with three paws, then pressed a forepaw into the sticky plant-blood. When he pressed his paw back to the vine . . . it stuck. He pulled it off, then stuck it again. *Hmm.* He repeated the process with all four paws until he balanced on the vine, claws sheathed, stuck with the strange fluid. Anger charged through him again. “Harnor,” he growled. “You’re going to pay for what you’ve done.” With that, he leapt back into the fray, using the sticky plant-blood on his paws to keep hold of the thrashing vines as he clawed his way through them. To the heart of the plant-creature.

Ami charged towards the plant, running from Schweiz, running from their past and running from Mandi’s dead, cold body. Her beads hung around their neck — the ones that hadn’t been destroyed by Schweiz, that was. The thorns headed towards them, but they sent a massive spike of ice towards them, breaking it in half. They saw a tom disappearing into the heart of the vines and cried out. They wouldn’t let any more cats die today. Charging in after him, they used ice to skid along the rock, every pawstep sped up. Claws and teeth at the ready, they fought side-by-side with the tom as he continued on fighting. They didn’t know whether he had noticed them or not, but they didn’t care. They could save him without him knowing it. A vine began to snake its way towards them, heading right for the tom. Jumping in the way, they managed to pull out the vine, sticky sap leaking out everywhere. They began to put more spikes around, scrapping the stems before they even got to the two cats. More roots began to head for the tom, and they fought them off while he kept fighting the rest of the plant. When it happened, the world seemed to slow down. A vine snaked towards the tom as quick as an adder through the grass. It cut through the rest of the plant, locked onto its target. They stared at it in shock. They had to make a choice. It would kill the tom if it reached him, but they could possibly make it out alive. The decision took less than a split second. They leapt.

*On the other side of the stem, Iciclefur’s spirit stood, crying out. His blue eyes pleaded.*

Ami saw Iciclefur and smiled just as the plant hit them. Thorns went straight through their throat and they fell to the ground. Blood coated the floor, frozen by their powers’ last attempt at saving them.

*Iciclefur’s spirit fell to the ground, burying his head in their still-warm body.*

A slight twitch. Maybe Ami would make it.

Harnor looked down on them. He mouthed the words, with a smirk on his face, *You’ve won.*

It was Ami’s last sight before they died. They knew he was right, in a twisted way. They hadn’t killed the plant, or finished the Tests, or become a god, but they would be with Iciclefur again. They didn’t know whether the tom would notice the body at his paws, so caught up in anger, but they didn’t care. He had never known them and never would. Their body lay stone-cold on the ground, surrounded by a ring of frozen blood, ice, and broken tendrils of plant.

Schweiz ran after Ami into the plant, fighting as he went. Then he saw the body. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he let out a scream, sprinting out of the plant. Ami was dead, Lilian was dead, Stolz was probably dead. The only family he might possibly have left were his brothers. So that was it. He would return home.

Loki charged into the heart of the plant monster, clawing and biting until he was covered in green plant blood. The monster, sensing his intents, lashed at him with vines thicker than his body. The vines broke his ribs as they wrapped around him, but the movements were sluggish. Like the creature was running out of juice. He dug his claws into the vines and they fell limp. Other vines were still thrashing about, but many of them still attacked the other cats. He fell to the ground, felt more bones snapping. He dragged himself to his feet. His tail and left foreleg dragged behind him as he forced himself forwards. His claws dug into the plant’s body, letting green blood seep into his already-soaked fur. The plant was lagging. *Almost dead.* He collapsed against the creature’s body, pain like lightning shooting through him. All his ribs broken, his left foreleg twisted and near useless, his tail bent wrong in three places. He was dying. But as he felt his final breaths leaving him . . . he knew. Even if he hadn’t killed the monster. Even if he hadn’t made it out of the Tests alive. He had won.

The plant crashed to the ground, suddenly withering away. Dead bodies littered the floor.

Harnor simply stepped over them, paying no attention to the deaths which had taken place. Ami. Loki. Fringe. Mandelia. Ifu. All dead. Never coming back. He laughed and gestured towards the portal. “If you want to leave, do it now.”

Schweiz slowly padded forward. His head hung low, eyes wet with tears. As he passed Ami’s body, he lifted up their ear-tag in his jaws and carried it to the portal. Slipping through it wasn’t hard; it was probably the easiest choice he had ever made. Gently, he set his paws down on the other side of the portal. He was in the fields around his home.

Afrika was running towards him. “Schweiz! Schweiz! You’re back! Oh, I’ve missed you so much! Did you find Lilian?”

Schweiz looked at his sister. “Afrika, I’ve missed you more than you could know. I didn’t find Lilian. A god, Harnor, came and tracked me down. He trapped me and forced me to do this horrible task.” He shook his head “I didn’t find Lilian, but I know what happened to her. She was taken to a Twoleg lab. She died in childbirth.”

Afrika looked shocked, her eyes wide and damp with tears. “Did any kits survive?”

“Just one,” Schweiz replied. “A cat called Ami. They were beautiful. They looked nearly exactly like Lilian, but a bit like Stolz as well. In the Test, they were killed. They fought braver than I could have ever imagined. How is everyone?”

Afrika dipped her head. “You’ve been gone so long now. Pferd is sick and I think he’s dying. I don’t have long left either. And Stolz — it was too much for him to lose Lilian.”

Schweiz comforted his sister, letting her cry. He would outlive everyone, but at least Harnor had given him a chance at life again.

Marie gasped, though she hadn’t worked to get there. She sprinted through the portal, not caring anymore.

A tall ginger tabby tom was then in front of her.

A familiar sight. Marie snuggled into her father, smiling. “I didn’t wish to leave, Papa!” she cried. “I miss Paris. Please tell me we’re here!”

The orange tabby nodded, directing her head to many lights in a large tower.

Marie sighed as she gazed at her long-lost home and gazed as she remembered Paris. She would never leave. After all, who would leave a sight this good? The Eiffel Tower, right there in view!

Back in the cave, another portal opened. Harnor gestured to that as well. “If you choose to join the Tests — or don’t want to leave — go through here.”

Maya looked for a moment at the way out of the Tests — the way back to her old life. Cats had died. And she had witnessed it like a coward. But if she had a home to go back to, she didn’t know of it. She still didn’t know anything. So she sat down, gave Harnor a glare, and said nothing. She would stay.

This was it. The end. Or the beginning. It was Nest’s choice. She had spent the entire Test thinking it over. She walked over to the portal that would lead back to a miserable place in a miserable time where no sane cat felt safe. The choice was obvious, really. So she turned around and left everything behind.

*What do I do? I don’t want to go back to that world of sadness . . . without my sister. . .* “I’m staying,” Meadow said to herself. And it was decided. She was part of the Tests.

Jinx had done literally nothing in her first Test. Nothing, and she knew it. As she was stepping by the bodies, she realized someone in particular that made her heart stop. “A-Ami?” Her mew was barely a whisper. She shook her head. The one cat she had befriended . . . the one cat . . . she couldn’t take it anymore! She felt her fur sparking purple. On, then off again. On, then off. Then her body flickered in the light, her shadow and invisibility powers now active. She was going to win this. *For Ami.*

“Ambi!” Rosica yelled, looking around. “Where are you?!” She had decided to go — only if Ambi was. If he wasn’t. . . *Will I ever see him again?* “Ambi! Къде си?” she repeated desperately.

Ambi slowly rose, staggering as reality dawned on him. He heard Rosica calling for him and stood up. “I’m here,” he said weakly.

“Good,” Rosica panted.

Dune looked back for Feather and his kits, then sprinted through the portal into the Wait.

Wildflower’s flames distinguished as they listened to Harnor. “I have to find my brother,” they told Quintessa, and left.

Sunflower ran up. “I’m staying with you,” he told them.

Wildflower turned back to Quintessa. “Let’s go find Yedda and Frostsong.”

Yedda had decided. She was staying.

*And what’s the worst you take*

*from every heart you break?*

*And like the blade you stain*

*well, I’ve been holding on tonight.*

Natrix was trying to get up. Was this all a risk? Would she never see her friend, who she loved as a brother, again? Or was she going to die not finding him? She threw her thoughts away. She had to live, with her paw or not. *I’ll be there, Hibiscus. . .* Where were her powers? And where was her friend?

*What’s the worst that I can say?*

*Things are better if I stay.*

*So long and goodnight.*

*So long, not goodnight.*

*And if you carry on this way*

*things are better if I stay.*

*So long and goodnight.*

*So long, not goodnight.*

Arc looked at the plant monster suspiciously. Something . . . didn’t seem right to him. He carefully walked closer to see what was off. As he made it near the fighting, all the cats disappeared, leaving him alone with an oversized killer plant. Too late, he realized that all the vines were targeting him. And yet he felt nothing. Every time a vine swung at him, it would catch on fire and wither away. The strangest thing was he wasn’t using his powers.

Then the plant spoke. “Hello, Arc.” Its voice rang around the cave like thunder. “I didn’t think you would make it.”

Then the plant monster burned down, and in the wreckage stood a cat with a blue pelt with silver and gold flecks.

The aqua eyes of Arc’s father stared into his own, and he knew now what he had begun to guess. He was dying. “Mile?” He looked, dumbfounded, at his father. “What’s going on?”

“You’ve found all the chaos emeralds.” There was a glint of pride in Millie’s eyes. “That’s what’s going on.” Then Arc’s father’s expression turned serious. “But what will you do with them? Use their powers to rule the world? Scatter them across the galaxy? Destroy them? The choice is yours.” He looked at Arc meaningfully. “I can only hope that you make the right decision.”

Arc had made up his mind as soon as he had learned that the emeralds existed. “I don’t need their power,” he began carefully. “Someone else can have that.”

Mile grinned. “You haven’t changed your mind about this, I see. So who do you want me to give them to?”

Arc smiled back at his father. “I think you already know. . .”