Sorry! This chapter is so short it's shameful. But I had to end it where I did…you'll see.

I squared my shoulders, bracing myself for a barrage of shock and disbelief. I had just admitted to being the third of the prophecy that I wasn't even supposed to know about!

One of Lionblaze's eyebrows rose, but it was barely perceptible. He turned to face his brother, an 'I told you so' look scrawled across his features.

Jayfeather grumbled something under his breath and turned to me with a cross expression. "How do you know?" He growled.

"I…I…" This was totally unexpected. I had expected shock, and disbelief, yes, but not like this. I hadn't expected any hostility!

"How do you know?" He repeated, eyes narrowed.

"Erm…" I didn't know what to say. I certainly couldn't tell them everything that had happened to me, they would write me off as insane, or worse, an imposter.

Lionblaze shouldered his brother aside with a glare. "Don't mind him," he meowed to me. "We already knew you were the One."

"How?" I gasped.

"Lionblaze had a hunch," Jayfeather cut in. "He didn't know for sure. I still don't know for sure," he growled. Lionblaze flicked him sharply with his tail.

"I did have a hunch, but it was well based. When you healed so quickly from the fox attack, that was highly unusual. 'Highly unusual' sets my brother and I apart as well. Ivypaw hadn't displayed any signs of any sort of power, so I figured you must be the One. And now you have confirmed that." He looked at me encouragingly. "So, how did you realize you were the One?"

"A…dream," I said weakly. "A Starclan cat came to me in my dreams and, uh, told me about the prophecy. Well, a little bit about it, anyway. And then she told me I was the third member of the prophecy." I was lying, even though there was some truth in it. I felt miserable; surely the prophecy wasn't meant to be shrouded in secrets?

Lionblaze seemed to buy it. He nodded, looking pointedly at Jayfeather.

"Who came to you?" Jayfeather demanded.

"I don't know," I replied. Erm, the cat who's body I'm living in came to me, actually. I'm not even the cat you think I am!

Jayfeather shook his head. "Whatever you say, Dovepaw." His light blue eyes pierced into mine through the shroud of their blindness.

Lionblaze watched his brother storm out of the medicine cat den in dismay. "I have no idea why he's acting like this," he apologized to me. "I believe you, and he should, too."

I nodded silently, fear pricking at my heart. Could Jayfeather somehow see that I wasn't what I appeared to be?

"I have to go talk to him," Lionblaze meowed. "You can go. I guess we'll talk to you more about the prophecy later." He hurried out, tail swishing as he disappeared beyond the entrance to the den.

I sighed and padded out as well. That hadn't gone anything like I had thought it would, and it had left me more baffled and lost than before.

Dovekit, where are you? And why can't you speak to me?

I wandered over to the fresh kill pile, but Ivypaw and Briarpaw were already gone. I was alone and confused, lost in a prophecy. I sighed, my head drooping and tail dragging in the dust, and for once I actually wished I was back in Starclan, where everything was so much simpler.

"Hey!" I heard an indignant cry coupled with a thumping noise. There were a few screeches and the sound of scuffling. I raised my head, surprised, to see Bumblepaw fleeing from the apprentice's den, moss balls snared in his fur.

"Run!" He meowed with a mock expression of horror as he came to a stop near me, panting. "Your sister, she's pelting us all with moss balls!" He dashed away, and Ivypaw burst out of the den.

"Get back here!" She yowled, moss balls that were hooked to her claws dragging in the dirt. She launched herself after him, hurling her last few moss balls at him. Bumblepaw cried out and pitched forward, finally landing in a pile of fur on the ground.

"Ha!" Ivypaw crowed triumphantly. She trotted away from him and came to sit by me. "Hey, Dovepaw. Want to join in the war?"

"Those are kit games," I grumbled, looking away. "I think I'm going to go sleep." I stalked away, and Ivypaw stared after me, looking hurt.

"Well, fine," I heard her mutter, but I didn't reply. I padded into the nest and curled into a ball, covering my ears to drown out my friends' laughter.

Blackness. It seeped over everything like poison, deadly and thick. The field laid desolate, thousands of flowers crumpled to the ground, their stems thin and broken. A thin wail pierced the air, like each tiny flower was surrendering with a final cry. Once-white petals lay scattered in the dead grass, their pristine glow violated by tendrils of shadow creeping along their soft surface. A heavy black haze hung in the air, blurring the clarity and sharp beauty of what the field had once been. Fallen tree trunks circled the clearing in an eerie border, forming a perfect circle. Every log was the exact same size, connecting smoothly from one to another. Dull gray stones formed a circle at the very center of the clearing, each stone jagged and broken. Water still lay in the small pool, though it was murky and blackened. Everything was destroyed, as if the field had been broken into pieces and then tossed to the dark of evil.

But no—a dim light glinted from the pool. A single flower seemed to be blooming right then, from the center of the pool. It unfurled slowly, its petals spreading. Each blindingly white petal was almost transparent, with iridescent light sparkling from every gleaming fiber of the plant. It grew up from the water, as if it was a defiant, last stand for the field. Light burst vibrantly from it suddenly, and a desperate scream rang through the air. Pristine white shot through the black of the water, and it churned violently before shining dully with light. The light's strength grew…slowly…

A howl split the air, grating and unearthly. A tremor shook the earth, and a terrible crack rent the field in two. The fallen trees' gray leaves rustled wildly, and the whole field trembled violently. Waves tossed through the pool and crashed over the delicate flower. The flower crumpled slowly, sinking to the bottom of the pool. Deeper…deeper…the light in the pool retreated as the flower, lost beneath the now-murky depths, glowed one final time before being overcome by shadow.

A grating laugh echoed over the field before everything stilled suddenly, and the field lapsed into finally defeated silence. The water in the pool quivered one final time before slowly disappearing, evaporating, until only a crumpled and blackened flower stem remained at the stone pool's base.

Starclan. That was Starclan. That was my field, with the Echopool standing, now drained, at its center. That was my sanction, rent in half by some demon wail and blackened by some evil. That was my home, destroyed.

Oh no!!!! What's going on here! And we finally delve into my convoluted plot…and this is nowhere near the least of it!