A/N: This is my longest chapter yet - 1936 words. It's mainly about signs from StarClan and other, not as important, but still metionable, prophecies. Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

Tigerheart gasped. MountainClaws? Could it be?

"Do the MountainClaws have any prisoners?" Hollyfur demanded.

"We were getting to that," Commander meowed. "Collision is able to speak the language of the prey-birds. (A/N: Think how Midnight could speak the languages of other animals.) He uses them to capture small groups of cats traveling by themselves. He keeps them prisoners until they agree to join the MountainClaws."

"Our plan," Deserter meowed, "is to rescue the trapped cats from the Prison Cave and then form a new Claw group."

"Are you friends of the kidnapped cats?" Confederate purred. "Your names sound similar."

"Yes, we are," Sootclaw meowed. "We're here to rescue them. Perhaps you could help us."

"I don't see why not," Commander purred. "But can you all be battle-ready by sun high tomorrow?"

"We are battle-ready now," Cloudface meowed. "But we will wait, if you think it will increase our chances of succeeding."

Minutes Later… (A/N: Discard -an evil MountainClaw tom- heard Commander's and Deserter's plan and is telling Dominance)

"Are you sure, Discard?" Dominance meowed to a brown tabby tom. "We must be careful not to make too many false accusations."

"Yes, I'm sure," Discard hissed. "Commander and Deserter have banded together with all the cats in their cave. Tomorrow at sun high they will fight to free the prisoners, and then they will break away from your rule."

"Then we must begin the fight, since we are sure it will happen," Dominance thought out loud.

"You are right," Collision meowed. "We should rally every combatant and knight still on our side. We will wake before sun rise and attack when the first beams of light are upon us. It would be mouse-brained to wait until sun high, when they'll be ready for us."

"See to it that such is done," Dominance ordered. "They want a battle? We'll give them a war!"

Meanwhile… (A/N: This is a conversation between the kits of the group of cats who are breaking away from the MountainClaws)

"Come on! We're only kits!" complained a grey tom. "There's no way we can help. We'll just be in the way."

"Nonsense," purred a ginger she-cat with a white throat and white paws. "We can be plenty of help, Storm Fury."

"We're not all as brave as you, Aviation," Storm Fury told the ginger she-cat.

"Fine," Aviation meowed. "But I want at least six other kits to help. Volunteers?"

(A/N: A couple of minutes later…)

"OK, so we've got Spice, Flame, Whirlwind, Typhoon, Hallucination, Cyclone, and me," Aviation purred. "Seven kits, only three moons old. But that doesn't mean we can't fight."

"We'd be beaten easily if the MountainClaw combatants and knights knew we were going go fight," Whirlwind meowed.

"That's why we're going to surprise them, right Aviation?" Cyclone asked.

"Right," the ginger she-cat purred in approval. "Does anyone have any ideas on how we could do that?" The kit spoke as if she had a foolproof plan and just wanted the others to feel included.

"No one? Well, tell me how you could add to this: We could spy on them to see what they are doing and ruin their plans. How can you make that plan better?" Aviation meowed.

"I have an idea," came a voice from near the back.

"Yes, Flame?" Aviation asked anxiously.

"Well…here's what we should do…"

That night… (A/N: Here's a dream the medicine cat Euphoria has from StarClan, and yes, Commander's followers believe in StarClan)

"Euphoria?" purred a voice. "Wake up. There is a prophecy I must deliver to you."

Euphoria awoke to find a dark brown and light grey tom staring at her. "Are you from StarClan? Who are you?" the medicine cat asked.

"I'm Runningstripe. I was the WindClan deputy before I died trying to save three kits from a pair of kidnapping hawks. But that's beside the point."

The grey tom's white paws padded silently across the cave. "Your new group will fail if not led next by a young cat who now lies in the nursery."

"Who?" Euphoria asked, confused. "Aviation?" Aviation was the strongest and the bravest of any of the kits, and her close friends, Flame, Spice, Whirlwind, Cyclone, Hallucination and Typhoon, were sure to make good combatants and knights. Cyclone, though, seemed most at home in the caves.

"No, not Aviation," Runningstripe meowed. "She and five other kits were never truly a part any Claw group. They belong in ThunderClan. The cat that will save you is a great windy storm - no typhoon, but rather son of a Hazardous cliff and a patrolling Sentry. Good luck."

Just as suddenly as he'd come, Runningstripe was gone, his ice blue eyes disappearing into the mist.

"Hey, who's that?" Euphoria asked. Four cats standing nearby disappeared as soon as they were noticed.

(A/N: There's a reason Hazard and Sentry aren't Italic in the prophecy. You'll know why soon…)

In StarClan…

"Did you deliver the prophecy, Runningstripe?" Snowpool asked.

"Yes, I did," the grey and white tom meowed. "One thing troubles me, though-ThunderClan doesn't have a medicine cat apprentice and Stonefoot is growing old.

"True, true," Snowpool meowed. "Perhaps…Mistyleaf? She would make a good medicine cat, and she's young enough. She doesn't seem to ever have had any lovers, so it shouldn't be too difficult for her to keep away from ever having a mate or kits."

"I agree, Mistyleaf is a fine choice, Snowpool," purred a white tom with odd black stripes, his amber gaze confident. "But perhaps we should select a cat to be Mistyleaf's apprentice as well. I have an idea..."

Snowpool purred happily. "What did you have in mind, Treeshadow?"

Commander's Dream…

Commander awoke to find a grey she-cat staring at him. "Sky of No Clouds!" he exclaimed. Sky of No Clouds, or Sky, had been a kit in the Tribe of Rushing Water, another group of warrior cats who lived in the East Mountains. She'd been carried of by a falcon when she wasn't even a moon old. An old kit-mother whose kit had just become a student took her in. Sky had been Commander's mate, but she, along with their first and only litter of kits, perished in a giant rock slide.

"You will be the first leader of a new group of Claw cats," the beautiful white she-cat meowed. "You will lead the VolcanoClaws into battle time and time again, and be victorious every time, for Volcanoes are the beginnings of Mountains," she purred.

"So we will be called the VolcanoClaws," the big brown tom meowed decidedly. "But must you go so soon?"

"Don't worry," Sky purred as she began to fade. "We will meet again…"

Stonefoot's Dream…

Stonefoot lay fretting. He knew that he was getting old, and yet none of the cats in the camp seemed like they would make good medicine cats.

What about the questing cats? Hollyfur? No, he'd offered her the option when she'd been recovering from her encounter with the giant rats. She'd reluctantly turned him down and looked in the direction of the warriors' den, where a group of young toms sat bickering.

"Stonefoot…"purred a voice from outside his den. Stonefoot padded out. Misty air hung everywhere and the only thing he could see was a single leaf. Mistyleaf! She was perfect! Mistyleaf would be his apprentice!

Back in the Cave…

Tigerheart lay with Mistyleaf, Sootclaw, and Hollyfur, pondering what he'd just heard. Six kits coming to ThunderClan? One of them was Aviation. That was good. Tigerheart had seen the little she-cat a few minutes ago. She would certainly make a good warrior.

"I don't get it," Sootclaw meowed. "It doesn't make sense-the wind part, I mean."

"I get it," Mistyleaf purred. "The wind part. Here's my reasoning. It could mean Typhoon, but the prophecy distinctly said it was not. That leaves Whirlwind and Cyclone. Son of a hazardous cliff? Remember how we met Hazard on the cliff? If Hazard was the hazardous cliff, that would make the patrolling sentry Hazard's mate, Sentry, and Cyclone is their son. So the chosen cat is Cyclone."

"You're good at that," Hollyfur meowed.

"Thank you," Mistyleaf purred. "When we get back, I'm going to ask Stonefoot if I can be a medicine cat."

"Really?" Tigerheart meowed. "You'd make a good one."

"Well, goodnight. We have a busy day tomorrow."

Mistyleaf's Dream…

Mistyleaf awoke to the words of another cat. "Mistyleaf…Mistyleaf…I'm Leafstream. I was the RiverClan medicine cat before Snowpool."

Mistyleaf sat up straight. Leafstream was mostly ginger with grey spots. "Yes, Leafstream?" the young cat purred.

"I have come to you for many reasons. One is to confirm your belief that you are to be the next ThunderClan medicine cat. Another is to tell you that six kits from the new Claw group, the VolcanoClaws, will join ThunderClan, but that is not the most important news. Come with me."

The ginger and grey she-cat ran out of the cave, and when Mistyleaf followed her, she found herself not in the MountainClaw camp but in a grassy meadow.

"Look at the sky and you will see something that is to come," Leafstream meowed. Mistyleaf looked up.

A single cloud, shaped like a cat's face, was in the sky. It was blown near a chain of mountains. That's funny, Mistyleaf thought. Those mountains look like cat claws.

As the cloud passed over the claw-like mountains, it was torn apart, leaving not a single trace.

"A cloud like a cat's face…" Mistyleaf thought. "Cloudface! Torn apart by mountain claws!"

"That is correct, young one," Leafstream purred. "There is no way to stop this horrible event from taking place."

"But she is deputy," Mistyleaf meowed. "Who will take her place?"

"That is the other reason I am here," Leafstream said. "Look to the sky once more and you will see the name of the next leader of ThunderClan."

This time, when Mistyleaf looked up, night had fallen. Silverpelt stretched above them. One star was gigantic. Right in its center was a holly berry.

"Hollyfur," Mistyleaf purred. She was glad that her friend would be deputy. But there was still a problem. "Hollyfur hasn't had an apprentice."

When Mistyleaf looked around for Leafstream, she couldn't find her. But in the middle of the field, right under the giant star, was a tiny pool of water and in it swam a fish. A rose grew nearby, right next to a leaf Mistyleaf could barely see because of the mist.

"Of course!" Mistyleaf meowed in satisfaction. "Rosepaw is Cloudface's apprentice now, and when Cloudface dies, she'll need a new mentor. Maybe...oh well, someone else can decide. But once she's a warrior, I'll probably be medicine cat and I can take her as my apprentice. But when I become a medicine cat apprentice, Fishpaw will need a new mentor. So she could by Hollyfur's apprentice. That's perfect!"(A/N: Simply put, Fishpaw will be Hollyfur's apprentice so she can become deputy, and Rosepaw will be Mistyleaf's apprentice after Mistyleaf is medicine cat.)

"Exactly," Leafstream murmured. Her starry pelt became visible for a few seconds, and then it was gone.

A/N: This chapter was kind of long, but it wasn't TOO boring, was it? Anyway, there's a battle in the next chapter, so don't stop reading! I'm going to Wolf Ridge, which is this one camp, tomorrow, and I won't have computer access for three days. I'm gonna bring my notebook and write new chapter for all three of my stories, though. I want at least three new reviews before I get back, then I'll update. R&R!