With this story, I prove my insanity. I had no mention of this in my poll. And yet I write it. Don't ask.

Anyway, basically an AU of Sign of the Moon, since I wasn't thrilled with how it turned out.

Deception

By: Coqui's Song

Prologue

The tunnel collapsed, leaving his sister crushed under the weight of the stones and dirt. The ground swirled under his paws, and the gray tabby darted forward and began to claw at the dirt frantically, not thinking about what he was doing, trying to get to his poor sister who was now undoubtedly being suffocated under all the weight of the collapsed tunnel.

In his panic he heard his brother meow soothingly, trying to calm him, although his tone carried his grief. "Stop, Jayfeather. She's gone. She's dead."

"No!" Jayfeather refused to believe it, even as Lionblaze echoed his more logical thoughts. He needed to save his sister. There was no way she could have died. He continued to dig, ignoring Lionblaze's warnings that if he dug anymore, he might cause another collapse and if by the slim chance Hollyleaf was alive, she wouldn't survive the second.

"Jayfeather," pleaded Lionblaze, and his brother gently pressed his pelt against his for comfort. "I know it's hard to believe she was just standing here, talking to us, but she's gone now."

Suddenly shocked out of his mindless scramble to find his sister under all those tons of rock, the medicine cat stumbled back, shaking. His claws throbbed with pain and he lifted them, although unable to inspect them because of his blindness. He took a quick swipe at them with his tongue; the taste of his blood and mud intermixed in his mouth, and his claws had been reduced to stubs because of his dig.

Still shuddering, Jayfeather set his paw down and lifted his head up. He could almost see the swirl of stars in the sky.

A heavy despair, as crushing as the rocks above his sister, entered him. There was nothing he could do to save his sister. "She's dead," Jayfeather whispered, just coming to this realization. "I'll never see her again, not even in StarClan. Hollyleaf's dead."

He choked on his words, and the two brothers stood there, staring at Hollyleaf's grave for what seemed like seasons. Then Jayfeather felt his brother move away.

"Come on," said Lionblaze quietly. "Let's get back to camp and tell Firestar that Hollyleaf's dead."

Jayfeather blinked miserably. "We can say she died hunting a squirrel. She'll be remembered as a brave hunter, feeding her Clan. They don't need to know the truth about her death –that she was trying to escape."

The still night air stirred as Lionblaze nodded in agreement. The two cats padded slowly toward camp.

Ω Ω Ω

A blue-gray she-cat gazed into the crystalline pool of water, watching over her Clan as she had done in life. She turned to the dark gray she-cat at her right, who was busily cracking fleas. "Dead, one of the Three is dead."

"The darkness has not yet come. Hollyleaf was not part of the Three," stated the dark gray she-cat, her orange eyes flashing. "I think she knew. Why else risk going into the tunnels? She was torn apart by secrets and lies. Perhaps she meant to kill herself, Bluestar."

The former leader of ThunderClan shook her head. "Perhaps. Either way, I fear this is only the beginning of the Three's journey."

So, just a random prologue to a random story. I would highly appreciate reviews to see if this story's worth continuing. XD

~Coqui's Song