-months earlier-

The white she-cat looked right, then left, in all directions, not knowing where she was. A minute ago she was surrounded by her clan back home, now she was in a mysterious, different place... she sensed something about this forest she had never sensed before, not necessarily good or bad, but a mix of... two things, two ways of life mixed as one.

"M-mom..." The soft, weak voice made her head whip around. And the sight of her burned kit, blood everywhere, spilling out of her little mouth... her heart felt like it would stab her. "SNOWKIT!" She sobbed, tears soaking her face. She didn't care if others saw. Didn't matter to her if she was alerting predators. She ran over to her kit, collapsing to the ground, her black ear against her child's burnt chest, listening to her cold, fading heartbeat...

"S-Snowkit... I'm so sorry-y..." She was shaking so hard, her voice cracking and quivering every few seconds, her face like she had fallen into a pond. "I...I failed. I've failed you, my Snowkit. When you were born, I promised I would be a better mother than mine was. I promised that I would never let anyone hurt you. And now look... I'm a terrible mother! A monster! My mother was right, I don't belong in this world to let this happen!"

She watched in pain as her daughter's sapphire blue eyes began to fade away, and she had to close her own eyes because she couldn't take this. She opened when she heard her mumble something, trying to speak, blood spilling out. Waterstar was reminded of her kithood, when her mother would beat her until she couldn't even speak. Her heart felt like it exploded into a million pieces, her emotions were so deep words couldn't describe her sadness at that moment, at any moment.

"M-mom... you aren't horrible... everyone just thinks that because they were at once beaten down, forced to fight. And they keep fighting because they think they'll be beaten down if they don't, and they become monsters and beat down other people. You can fight back, mom, but please, don't go overboard... you... you aren't horrible..."Waterstar wasn't sure how Snowkit got all this wise, but it didn't matter now. Her quiet mew fading away with every word, she struggled to say a few last words.

"You... you're a good mom... please... kill me..." She said, and closed her eyes, as if expecting her own mother to kill her at any minute. But Waterstar couldn't do it. Shocked, the tears stopped, and looked at her as if she were crazy. "No... I can't. You're my daughter. I can't kill my daughter. I can't beat you down like my mother did..."

"Please... mom... you were beat for no reason. I want you to kill me because I hurt... everywhere..."

Silence for what seemed like hours, Snowkit's body slowly rising up and down. Waterstar breathed in for a moment, closed her eye, then opened. A tear falling, she sunk her teeth deep into Snowkit's neck, instantly killing her.

And for the next few minutes, all there was was the sound of crying, grieving, repeating "I'm so sorry"s.

Waterstar stopped her crying, buried her, reassuring herself she did the right thing. She then remembered when she was a kit, how she begged her mother to kill her... at least this time she actually did it.

She walked away to discover the Endless Forest, leaving the burial place behind...

-----

-months later-

Using her big blue wings Waterstar flew and perched on top of a tall tree. The cool winds blowing her long fur, she closed her eyes, letting the refreshing winds blow all her worries. She opened and looked up at the full moon, brighter than the blazing sun.

Waterstar stood for a moment, staring, and suddenly her life replayed. Her mother, beating her everyday, being washed away in the river, living as a kittypet, running away and living in Thunderclan, becoming leader, and meeting Redfoot.

Tears ran down her face. Redfoot, a warrior from Shadowclan. A spy. But he wanted to leave Shadowclan, to live in Thunderclan, to be with her... and all she had was his daughter, Snowkit, and even she couldn't stay. And now she was stuck in this land full of creepy deer... Why did all the bad things have to happen to her? Why did she have to be the unlucky one? All those smiles and laughter... fake, not real, a lie... not once had she ever been happy in her life.

Starclan was her friend now... Starclan... No, Waterstar didn't believe in the Twin Gods. Starclan was her friend, not them. Two deer, a buck and a doe, how could they be powerful gods that created an endless forest?

The moon was shining it's brightest now, the brightest moon Waterstar had ever saw. The moon was now a pure white color, blinding her one eye, but she didn't care. It reminded her of Snowkit, and the image of the small, fluffy, snow white kit did not make her shed one tear. It was like... she wasn't gone, she was the moon, watching everyone at night while they slept. And Waterstar didn't burst into tears, her body shaking, she was calm and relaxed.

Her jet black ears perked up when she heard a sound below, the soft, slow clop clop of a sauntering deer. She perched on a lower branch and watched a peacock buck gloomily walking down the forest path. Waterstar assumed he had just been at the pond, as his hooves and chest were dipping wet. He stopped nearby the tree, and, prepared to go to sleep when Waterstar almost slipped off her branch. His ears perked up, and his head whipped up to where the sound came from.

"I know you're there," he said, very quietly. His green eyes weren't blazing in anger, and in fact the buck was smiling. It quickly changed to a frown. "You seem sad..." He said.

Waterstar sighed. "You don't look that good either." She wasn't sure if that was an insult or just a response to the slightly gray buck. His black hair dangling in front of his green eyes, he also sighed. "Yeah, I've had a lot going on. But we should all be happy. It is the Endless Forest, a place of peace and happiness."

"Ugh, you're one of those optimistic deer! The world isn't always as happy as you think, you know!" She spat, and prepared to take off to fly off when he heard his voice.

"i'm not trying to be optimistic! This world is full of hate and anger and the Endless Forest was supposed to be a place of peace, and yet somehow violence struck here, too! We can never run away from the sad and dark things this world gives us!" The stag was angered and annoyed, but not by Waterstar.

And she understood. No matter where she ran, where she hid and lived, violence would find a way to break in and ruin anything. But something just really ticked her off about what the buck said.

"I come from a place where four clans fight almost everyday. Step into another clan's territory and good luck coming back where you came from. I watched as my father was brutally murdered and watched as my left eye fell from my eye socket. I've watched young, innocent cats get slaughtered, beaten, hit, starved, and then forgotten and abandoned as their bodies rot into the ground. I watched my own kit suffer! And now she's gone, and she was the only one who actually cared about me! I've seen plenty of bloodier fights then the ones I see in this forest. What about you? Have you seen pure violence and horror?"

Her fur rising up in annoyance, she looked down at the young stag, who seemed to be struggling to find words.

"I... I haven't really seen any bloodier battles than that... but my mother told me that she would always watch as many people suffered... and... I watched her get killed by an assassin that was supposed to kill me. I've been beaten down and nearly killed by my friends, even my first love. I've even seen war break out in this place..."

He knew his experiences weren't as bloody as hers, but he still shared the same pain that she has...

Waterstar studied the young stag, his huge, curved antlers and the black hair and mane, even noticed a scar on his belly. "What's your name?" She asked.

"I am Pierce. Yours?" The young buck asked, his green eyes twinkling, almost like a fawn's.

"Waterstar. Leader of Thunderclan." She flew down to where the buck was laying and sat down with him.

"So... your kit died?" Pierce assumed that a kit was her child. "I'm... i'm so sorry. I don't know what it's like to lose a kit, but I do know what it's like to lose someone important to you."

"Yes, but... I had to kill her. It's different. But I only killed her because she was suffering... she would've died anyways, just slower and more painful, so I just killed her as quick as possible." She tried hard not to cry. She was an adult she-cat, she was supposed to be tough and strong.

They had a long conservation about their pains and troubles, their past, the ones they had lost, and how horrible the world was. It was weird how they both fell asleep, with all their stressful thoughts swimming around their heads. Pierce's warmth calmed her, and the cat's presence comforted Pierce, and they both felt something they hadn't felt in a long time...

-----

Two light blue eyes pierced into Waterstar's dream. They glowed in the dark, their pupils scanning Waterstar's body ears to paw. She didn't dare move, as if she was locked in a trance with the mysterious eyes. Too light to be Snowkit's eyes, she wondered who the eyes belonged too. Waterstar's heart began to tremble, and screeched in realization. She stepped back as her mother jumped out of the darkness, huge claws sheathed and fur bristling. Her hiss was more like a roar, and suddenly memories of her kithood came back to Waterstar in a flash.

She had began to run when she heard a soft, weak hiss that could only belong to a kit's. She watched in amazement as Snowkit, who seemed to have no wounds or burns, jump in front of her gigantic mother, hissing. Waterstar expected for her mother to laugh and kill Snowkit, but instead she hissed and fear and zoomed far away.

Waterstar was speechless, trying to digest all that she had seen. Snowkit slowly turned around. "Wake up, mom. Come to the Twin Gods statue as soon as you can." She then run away.

"No! Come back!" Waterstar yelled after her. She was about to bound after her when suddenly she jolted herself awake. It was still dark out, somewhere around Midnight. Pierce was still asleep.

Wake up, mom. Come to the Twin Gods statue as soon as you can. She wondered if this was a true message or if her mind was playing tricks. She looked up and saw stars in the sky. Starclan. Of course, it made perfect sense! Starclan was sending her a message.

Waterstar got up and looked at Pierce. She said a silent goodbye and promised they would meet again. She then ran off to the Twin Gods statue. It was unusually glowing very brightly, like the moon. She quietly walk up to hill and kept sauntering to the statue until her nose was almost touching the statue.

Nothing happened at first. Tired, Waterstar had dozed off next to the statues, and had another dream.

This time she was in the darkness again, and saw a bright light- like the moon's and statue's light. She watched as two deer- one a doe and the other a buck- approached her. She wondered who they were, but then it came to her...

The Twin Gods!

The Twin Gods were real! But did that mean... was Starclan not real?

She pondered on this until the buck's voice interrupted her. "I am Micheal." He said. "And I am Auriea." The doe said. "We are the Twin Gods, the ones who made the Endless Forest." The said both at once.

"You and Pierce are very right. Violence will always find a way." Auriea said.

"But it doesn't ruin us when we know there's a light on the other side of the tunnel." Micheal said. The light got brighter and brighter, and Waterstar could see the silhouette of a young cat.

"You must keep walking along the tunnel, and you can break the force of evil with the force of good." They said both at once.

Then, Snowkit ran out of the light, her wounds and burns healed. She looked just like the kit Waterstar had known before.

Snowkit stopped and hid between Auriea's front legs, mewing quietly.

"See Waterstar, Starclan is real, and so are us Twin Gods. Heaven and Hell is real, too. There is no separate place we all go when we die. We just call them by different names. When you die, you will indeed spend eternity in starclan, running with loved ones of every species." Auriea explained.

And slowly, Waterstar understood.

"This is your child, Waterstar. We will bring her back to life as our gift to you. She has no memory of her life before death, but we hope you will be a great mother to her like you were before you walked into the forest. When she is no longer considered a kit you shall be her mentor and train her to become a warrior, and to use her wings and fly." And as if Micheal's words were a cue, Snowkit quickly ran to her mother, now hiding between her front legs playfully. Waterstar's heart started to beat with joy as a tear slid down her cheek. "You mean she's... she's..." Her legs trembled in happiness as she began to nuzzle her kit. Her kit almost looked newborn now, and she was sure she couldn't talk.

"I... I don't know what to say... Thank you, oh, thank you!" Waterstar's voice quivered. "How can I ever repay you?"

"Just pray to us everyday, that is all we need." They said both at once, and galloped away...

-----

Waterstar woke up by the Twin Gods statue, Snowkit curled up in a ball next to her. Waterstar gently tounched her forehead with her nose. "Sweet dreams," She whispered, and fell asleep again.