Blackstar padded through the moonlit marshy, pine forests of Shadowclan territory. The night was peaceful, but full of the voices of singing frogs and chirping crickets. A nightingale called from a branch not to far off, singing into the night in hopes of attracting a mate. The ground was cool and soft under Blackstar's paws, and he relished the rustling sound he heard every so often as he stepped on a clump of fallen pine needles. Blackstar enjoyed the night, for it reminded him so much of himself. The patches of moonlight resembled his white coat, while the dark shadows were the same shade as his black paws. The night gave the impression of calm stillness, but did not show mercy to those who did not heed the possible dangers. He made his way down to the small pool near the clan's camp to quench his dry throat.
He bent down to lap up the refreshing water when a small thought came to him. I don't remember waking up… He paused for a moment, not remembering when he went to sleep either. But his thought was cut off by the rustle of a small creature moving under a clump of pine needles. Blackstar steadied his twitching tail and crept forward on silent paws. He guessed the prey to be a shrew, common in Shadowclan territory. In a flash, he pounced on his prey and sank his teeth into before it could even think of escape. He felt the small flash of triumph every cat did when they caught prey, until the shrew began to wail.
Blackstar dropped the shrew in shock and disgust as a vile taste began to fill his mouth. The prey's blood was not the normal mouth-watering taste of food, but the bitter tang of cat's blood. He looked down as the shrew wriggled and cried on the ground. But in the sliver of moonlight he saw it wasn't a shrew at all. But a kitten. He bent down as the kitten cried for its mother, lost and wounded. He inhaled sharply as blood trickled out of the bite marks on the she-kit's neck. He smelled the thick, forest rich scent of Thunderclan on the dark gray kitten and his mind began to race. Why is a Thunderclan kit here? Where's her mother? Where's Firestar? Is this an ambush? He began to backpedal, but jumped again when another wail erupted as his foot came down on the soft body of another kit.
Blackstar winced as he saw the golden-brown tom kit's leg bent at an odd angle from being stepped on. It was another Thunderclan kit! Blackstar looked around in a frenzy in search of hostile Thunderclan eyes, but found only the darkness of the night staring back at him. He angled his ears to the right as another shriek of pain joined in. This one was obviously a she-cat, and she seemed a good ways off. He looked down at the two wounded kits at his paws and decided the she-cat must be their mother. He hid them under a clump of pine needles and bolted in the direction of the new voice. He skidded to a stop in front of a quivering bush, chilled to the bone as the screaming had reached a fever pitch.
He moved some of the branches to find a gray Thunderclan tabby writhing in pain. Her pelt was patchy and torn and bloody, and her bushy, red tail lashed in spasms of pain. Her eyes swiveled to meet his and he was taken aback as they widened in fearful recognition. Her voice became even more frenzied as she began to uselessly flail her paws in defense. The sound of pawsteps behind him made Blackstar whirl around and bristle. A blue-gray tom lurched towards him on unsteady paws. His eyes were wild, and his mouth was parted in a wounded and crazed yowl.
The fur on the underside of his neck was stained with blood, the stench almost hiding his Riverclan scent. The screech of an owl made Blackstar rip his gaze away from the Riverclan warrior. He saw the bird's silhouette as it perched on a branch two fox-lengths above him. It stared down at him with bright orange eyes. Blackstar hissed in shock as the body around the eyes began to change. The feathers changed to gray fur, its wings and talons into legs and paws, its round head into ears, and its beak turned into a broad face. But the eyes never changed. In a matter of seconds the owl had transformed into the old Shadowclan medicine cat Blackstar had grown up with.
"Yellowfang…" He breathed the name. She blinked at him, but said nothing. Her expression was full of anger, sorrow, and disdain. She lashed her tail as her orange eyes bore into Blackstar's amber ones.
"Hello, old friend." A dark brown tabby said from the shadows. Blackstar curled his lip as Brokenstar stalked forward. The previous Shadowclan leader flashed his teeth in a grin, reminding Blackstar of a fox. "It's been too, too long."
"I'd say he doesn't seem happy to see us, Brokenstar." Tigerstar dropped to the ground from above, his long claws outstretched and looking as sinister as ever. "Now, how could that be?"
"What do you want?" Blackstar hissed, his ears flattened and his fur on end. "Why are you here?" His mind was in shambles, the sight of his previous leaders and the sound of all the wounded cats prevented him from thinking straight.
"To remind you of who you are, Blackstar. And," Brokenstar paused to sweep aside a clump of pine needles with his bent tail, "to remind you of what you've done." He revealed four kittens huddled together, their mews making it clear they were frightened. "The kits you stole for me." Blackstar's eyes widened as he saw the two kits he had hidden were among the group.
"Cinderkit, Brightkit, Brackenkit, and Thornkit." Tigerstar listed.
"The elder you killed for me." Brokenstar dragged the wailing she cat from beneath the shrub, reminding Blackstar of the way he had savagely dragged her from the nursery during Shadowclan's attack on Thunderclan.
"Poor, poor Rosetail." Tigerstar said as he shook his head. Brokenstar flung the gray tabby at Blackstar's feet.
"Let's not forget the deeds you did for me. Eh, Stonefur?" Tigerstar flicked an ear at the previous Riverclan deputy. Blackstar backed away as Stonefur lunged at him, his spilling blood leaving red flecks along Blackstar's fur. He remembered how he had killed the warrior without hesitation after Darkstripe's failure. Brokenstar and Tigerstar began to stalk forward.
"It seems to me, Blackstar, that you enjoy working for cats like us." Brokenstar hissed as he came closer.
"No!" Blackstar spat. "I followed you because you were the leaders of Shadowclan. I was following The Warrior Code!"
"The Warrior Code?!" Brokenstar gave a sinister and disbelieving burst of laughter. "What part of the Warrior Code says it's acceptable to kill other cats in battle?"
"I haven't reviewed the code in quite a long time, but doesn't state that killing other cats in battle is outside the code?" Tigerstar narrowed his eyes at Blackstar. "Stealing kits? Killing other warriors for not following orders?" He took a menacing step forward. "You seem to have a conflict of interests, Blackstar."
"I did it because my leaders told me to do it! I was following your orders!" Blackstar stole a quick glance up at Yellowfang, but her expression had not changed.
"I think," Tigerstar began, "that you committed those crimes because you're just like us."
"You enjoy the power it gives you. To take another warrior's life. You think the blood spilled by your paws makes you stronger." Brokenstar fixed Blackstar with his gaze, his orange eyes looking hauntingly similar to Yellowfang's. "And now that you're leader of Shadowclan, you think you've reached your final goal. But Blackstar, we can help you get much, much further."
"Stick with us, and we'll lead Shadowclan to glory." Tigerstar purred menacingly.
"We'll lead you to glory, Blackstar." Brokenstar said. "All you have to do, is join us." Blackstar's fear gave way to anger, and he let out a growl.
"No." He said firmly and squared his shoulders. "You'll never get your paws on this clan again." Blackstar watched as Tigerstar and Brokenstar exchanged a glance.
"A storm is brewing, Blackstar." Brokenstar growled.
"And turning down this offer...will be a fatal mistake." Tigerstar and Brokenstar lunged for his throat.
Blackstar reared up and fell backwards, his claws tearing at the open air.
"Blackstar!" A voice yelled. He looked up and found Russetfur staring at him in shock and confusion. "Are you alright?" He looked around frantically for the two Shadowclan leaders. But he was in his den, not surrounded by cats he had followed and harmed.
Blackstar quickly rose to his paws, indignant and embarrassed. "I'm fine! Just a...vivid dream. That's all."
"Are you sure?" Russetfur twitched her tail. "I can go get Littlecloud or Flametail to check you."
"No!" He spat irritably, "I don't need our medicine cats looking over me like I'm some frail old elder." Blackstar shook himself, still feeling the damp flecks from Stonefur's blood covering him.
"Well, I came here to ask who you want to bring to the Gathering. Ferretpaw was begging me to convince Oakfur he could go, but the decision is really up to you."
"I'll be out in a moment, just let me groom myself." Blackstar said. Russetfur nodded and exited his den. Blackstar began to scratch his bedding out of his pelt and flatten his ruffled fur with his tongue. He took a deep breath as the dream played over in his head. He'd have a hard time speaking to Mistystar tonight, she was Stonefur's littermate and they looked almost identical… And he knew at least three of the kits were still alive as Thunderclan warriors. A storm is brewing… He shivered as he remembered Brokenstar's voice.
A fatal mistake… His unsettlement gave way to a flash of annoyment. They were threatening him with death when he had outlived them both by many, many moons? Ha! He snorted at the dream. Tigerstar and Brokenstar were a thing of the past. And Shadowclan had grown stronger than ever from Blackstar's leadership. He rose up, giving his chest one final lick, before proudly stepping out into the camp to address his clan. There was nothing Brokenstar or Tigerstar could do to harm Shadowclan anymore. Nothing at all.
A/N: Well, this was a short little story that popped into my head just this week. With Senior year of high school kicking my butt, I thought it'd be nice to at least post something, if not another chapter to my other stories. Hope you enjoyed this little thing about the Shadowclan leader forgiven for all his war crimes... :\