"Blackstar, we need to talk."
The ShadowClan leader looked up from his nest. Russetfur blinked down at him with a look he recongized all too clearly. He stood slowly, stretching each joint. "What is it, Russetfur?"
"It's about them being here."
"Goku and Vegeta?"
Russetfur gave him a what-do-you-think look. "When will they leave?"
Blackstar sighed. This again? He swiped a tongue over a paw. "Russetfur, you know they won't leave until we're finished the lessons."
Russetfur made a face. "How much more training does ShadowClan need?" she demanded. "Pinepaw and Toadfoot know how to fly. And all of us already know how to create light with our paws and most of us can sense another creature's lifeform. We don't need them anymore-"
"Russetfur," Blackstar cut her of. "You already know what I'm going to say. As if that didn't stop the she-cat from trying. "These are gifts ShadowClan should treasure, not avoid. The longer they're here, the better."
"But we don't need this!" At this the russet-colored she-cat held up her paw and sparked a reddish hue of light from her pads. It pulsed with her own power and rage. She cast it an ugly look before dispersing it with a wave of her paw. "We never needed this! ShadowClan were doing just fine before they came along."
"Really?" Blackstar felt a cold draft enter the den. He expanded his energy a bit to keep himself warm. In the process he sensed neither Goku nor Vegeta anywhere in camp. That explained why the she-cat found the courage to come talk to him about them now. "Try telling that to our warriors, after they've defeated ThunderClan flawlessly over our territory. Or managed to keep themselves comfortably full during Leaf-bare, without Goku's teleporting assistances anymore."
"We could have done that without them," Russetur muttered. Out loud, she said "So why are they still here?"
Blackstar felt his patience slipping. "Because we still have much to learn." He stood. "I will not continue with this debate anymore." He walked past the she-cat. "This is the best thing to happen to us. Now hurry up and gather a hunting patrol. The stock is not low, but it couldn't hurt to have an extra pile ready."
Russetfur lowered her head. "Sometimes I wonder if we're losing our faith in StarClan," she muttered to herself.
((_endpage_))
Goku sat patiently before a wide, flat rock. Or, as patient as the tom could make himself, twitching his whiskers and flicking the tip of his tail. In front of him sat four cats. Their pelts sparkled like stars, their eyes bright as the sun. At the moment they had their heads down, muttering and twitching their own whiskers. Every now and then they'd shoot Goku a look before returning to their quiet discussion.
What they did not realize was Goku could hear them clearly.
He was surrounded by many cats. Each who sparkled like the cats on the flat rock. And each who regarded the lone and star-less tom with curiosity, suspicion, hostility. And fear.
Goku's black eyes fell on an old dark gray she-cat with knotted fur. The StarClan cat made contact with his eyes and glared. Yellowfang, if Goku remembered correctly. One of the cats who attacked him when he first arrived in StarClan. Beside the she-cat was a large and muscular dark brown tom; the same tom who also attacked Goku: Raggedstar.
He was not looking at Goku at the moment. He was conversing quietly with a dark brown mottled tom. He could tell they, like everyone else here, were scared.
Scared of what he told them.
Goku turned back to the flat rock. The muttering had ceased. The four cats regarded the tom for a moment. They let the quiet settle before one of them, an old black tom with fierce amber eyes, stepped forward.
"Goku," he meowed with a voice clawed with age. "We have come to an argeement."
Goku held his breathe.
"We do not believe you."
What? This not what Goku expected. He jerked to his paws. "Cat-I mean, Nightstar! I know this sounds crazy. But you HAVE to trust me!"
"Why?" Challenged another cat. Bluestar stepped foward. "Why should we listen to anything you're telling us? For all we know, you could be a spy sent by the Dark Forest themselves!" The cats surrounding the rock fluffed their pelts and bared their teeth at the mention of Dark Forest.
"Are you serious Bluestar?" Tallstar meowed. "If he is a Dark Forest cat, how could he live with ShadowClan?"
"Don't tell me you belive this rubbish about a Twoleg becoming a cat Tallstar!" Bluestar growled. "Indeed, not even a Twoleg he tells us," she snorted, jabbing a tail in Goku's direction. "But a creature born from a place father than even the stars? And from a completely different "Universe" he calls it? The cat's insane!"
"He's probably not a Dark Forest cat, but he might still be working for them like the others," Leopardstar pointed out.
Again with this Dark Forest accusation?
Goku whisked his tail nervously from side to side. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never heard of this Dark Forest before. But you have to agree that at least some of what I've told you are true."
As an example, Goku held up a paw and lightning bolts sparked and popped. They surrounded his paw like strings, twisting and twining with his claws. The StarClan cats jumped and hissed. With a flick of his wrist the lighting bolts popped and vanished.
Nightstar frowned, struggling to flatten his fur. "He does have a point..." Doubt still clouded his eyes.
Goku noded quickly. "If Vegeta and I ended up here, there's no telling who else may come to our exact spot as well from our... home." Or what.
"Do you have proof of this?" Tallstar asked quietly.
Goku shook his head. "But it's better to be safe than sorry, isn't it? At least in ShadowClan, we can learn how to fight in these bodies while we watch over them."
"StarClan can watch over our own Clans without help," Leopardstar said sharply.
Goku dipped his head. "I get it, but you must set your pride aside for once. You don't know the danger you all might be in-"
"So now you're threatening us?"
"No!" Goku placed a tail to his forehead. Diplomacy was not his profession. "Look, I don't know what's going on either. All I know is, Vegeta and I didn't come here for no reason. Or come here as cats. I've been told you can see the future-"
"We can't 'see' the future," Bluestar interrupted. "We can only predict and fathom."
"Still, that's something," Goku meowed, struggling to hold back his annoyance. "If you have any sort of prediction that shows mortal peril for the Clans, PLEASE tell me. I can't do this on my own, and it wouldn't hurt if we worked together."
The StarClan cats looked at each other doubtfully. "Alright, fine," Bluestar meowed. "If we have any interpretations about the future, we'll share them with you." Goku couldn't help but notice the way the she-cat looked away when she said this.
"But, know that after this is over, our ties with you are done," Leopardstar added. "You will leave us for good. Understand?"
Goku still felt unsure. But he nodded all the same.
He had to take their word for it. There was no other way he could do this on his own. And his Instant Transmission was not as safe for him to use anymore to see for himself. He would have been happier if he had contact with King Kai instead. The fat creature could locate anything in the entire Universe. But he would have to settle for this for now.
Goku could not help but feel lonely at the thought that he and Vegeta might actually be stuck here forever.
He dipped his head to StarClan. "That's all I ask. Thank you."
Before the deceased StarClan leaders could say another word, Goku wordlessly he placed a paw to his forehead and vanished.
((_endpage_))
Tawnypelt waved her sore paw. "I think I'll try and skip today's lesson," she muttered.
Snowbird looked up from her intense private thoughts with her own paw. She touched pelts with her friend comfortably. "But you're doing so much better," she pointed out.
Through the few weeks of intense mental training, Tawnypelt finally managed to mold a bright purple light with her paws, and to better control it so it didn't feel like her paws would fall right off from exhaustion. But while she managed to control her power, Pinepaw had gone as far as to produce pawfuls of light that she could control easily, and even float off the ground for long periods of time!
"I still don't see why we have to do this," she muttered, her eyes following a floating Pinepaw. Kinkfur's kits squealed and followed after the apprentice from below, trying to grab her tail.
"I thought you liked to learn about kai," Snowbird meowed, stunned.
Tawnypelt nodded. "I do. What I don't like is that Goku's looking for a fox for us to train with." She lowered her head to her paws. "Or why Blackstar agrees."
"Well, yes, that part does sound a bit crazy," Snowbird agreed. She bit her lower lip worridly. "But Goku said he'll be watching us, in case anything happens. And he said the only way for us to improve is to take on more difficult tasks."
"Which sounds crazy," Tawnypelt shot back.
Snowbird didn't answer. She had her attention to her paw again. That too also happened a lot lately around the Clan. A dark shadow cloaked the she-cats. Russetfur stalked past their small group, a frog clutched in her jaws. She sat beside the nursery alone and tore viciously into her meal.
"Do you think she's doing bad on purpose?" Tawnypelt meowed quietly. Her eyes strayed to the russet-colored she-cat. The deputy had her head down, focused entirely on her meal as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Though every now and then she'd shoot dirty looks at Blackstar and Vegeta.
The ShadowClan leader was beside the high Branch, talking quietly with Vegeta with his head bowed. Though why the deputy wasn't included in the conversation was beyond Tawnypelt. She could see Russetfur was clearly annoyed she was left out.
"What?" Snowbird looked up, her eyes sparkled with confusion. "Russetfur? I heard she already knows how to make light. But she doesn't like to 'show-off.' I don't know what she means by that." She stared at her own paw. "But I wouldn't mind doing that too. I can't even make a spark!" she fretted.
Tawnypelt struggled not to roll her eyes.
((_endpage_))
"Foxdung! I'm late!"
Tawnypelt bolted out of the Warriors den, shaking sleep from her eyes. Today was her lessons with Goku and the others. The sleepy she-cat washed herself as she passed Vegeta, who was teaching Applefur to shape her light into different forms, almost collided with a floating Pinepaw ("watch it!" Tawnypelt nearly snarled) and ran the rest of the way to the Training grounds. By the time she got there the sun was already struggling to peak over windClan's hills.
Tawnypelt slid out in the open of their small clearing free of pine needles. Long Pine trees towered above them, casting long and dark shadows in the small bare and chilly Training grounds. Except it was not as dark here as it usually was. It was bright and... blue?
Tawnypelt looked up for the source of the light. A bright blue energy ball was floating a fox-length above the she-cat's head. It cast a blueish light around their surroundings. Too bright, she thought irritably. And it smelled... odorless.
"Tawnypelt!
The she-cat looked around. The rest of the group were in the middle of the clearing, standing attentive in front of Goku. Their normally dark pelts looked bright and unnatural in the light. Eyes glinted as they waited for the she-cat, standing just a little aways from a large black tom. She blinked spots away and quickly suantered over to the group.
She squeezed herself between Ratscar and Sparrowpaw just when Goku meowed, "Now, split up and practice!"
"Huh?" Tawnypelt looked around wildly as her clan-mates immediately paired and began doing whatever it was Goku explained. The black tom immediately saw that she was partnerless and beckoned her over to him.
"Late again?" Goku meowed when she got within hearing distance. His eyes looked a bit disappointed as they gazed into her amber orbs. "This was not the first time you didn't show up to a lesson either."
Tawnypelt lowered her eyes. "I overslept."
Goku raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. "Tawnypelt," He lowered his voice. "If you don't want to do this, no one's forcing you-"
"No!" She looked up quickly. How could Goku say that? She was quite interested in learning more about how to produce light ever since she saw her other Clan-mates do it and realized it wasn't just a hoax. Though some of Goku's teaching did go a bit too far for the she-cat's taste, like with the fox, she thought most of them were quite fun. "I want to do this! It's just... very hard, that's all," she explained lamely. An image of Pinepaw flying flashed through her mind. "I just... don't think I have what it takes to go further beyond," she muttered.
Goku stared at her for a moment. He placed a paw on her shoulder sympathetically. "If you need the extra help, you could always ask Vegeta... or, just me," he added quickly and removed his pse from her shoulder, noting the incredulous look on Tawnypelt's face when he mentioned Vegeta's name. "Don't get so worked up over this. You all have the potential to be ten times as strong. Some may develop their abilities faster than others."
Tawnypelt felt suspicion claw her pelt. Was Goku refering to Pinepaw? It was rumored that Goku had asked Blackstar if he could train Pinepaw himself, after the she-cat succesfully flew after only a few attempts. She really did look like the type of cat to have the potential to go farther than others.
But Pinepaw was still apprenticed to Ratscar, the latter whom resulted to giving Goku glares every time they met after he found out the Rouge was trying to take his apprentice. Tawnypelt suspected Pinepaw was disappointed she was not given a say in the matter; the apprentice was always the one excited to take these lessons as much as anyone else.
"Tawnypelt?" Goku prodded when the she-cat didn't answer.
Tawnypelt broke off from her thoughts and nodded sligthly. It wasn't her problem. Goku briefly explained their lesson for today. They already knew how to conjure light with their paws. Except instead of produce the light, they had to concentrate and spread the energy to their paws, without releasing it. Then transfer that energy to another body.
"It's not easy," Goku warned after he finished explaining. Like any of this was easy from the start, Tawnypelt thought. "But you guys have been practicing and developing your abilities so well in such a short time that I didn't think it'd hurt to try." He reached out a hind leg and scratched behind his ear. "But don't try to over-due it," he meowed. "You don't want to give up all your energy and exhaust yourself unconscious."
A horrible feeling choked Tawnypelt's throat. "Can cats die doing this?" she meowed quietly.
"I doubt it." Goku lowered his hing leg and studied his his claws. "You would be too tired to try to get THAT far. Most likely they'll knock themselves out from energy loss before it can get that far.
Tawnypelt still wasn't convinced. She looked around. Pinepaw had a paw to Ratscar's shoulder, her yellow eyes tightly closed. Ratscar's body was tensed for the power he may not receive from his apprentice. The she-cat might as well try pushing a tree. Olivenose was doing no better. Sparrowpaw stared blankly at the she-cat without a hint of any foreign power. Spiderfoot and Rowanclaw were not doing any better either; it almost looked like the tom's had to made dirt badly from the look on their faces.
Tawnypelt bit back a laugh and looked back when Goku meowed, "Now, I'll transfer a bit of my own energy to you. You may feel a bit... hyperactive. But remember, it also feel different because it's not your power. Think of it like tasting a new type of food."
Tawnypelt found out quickly enough that the tom was not lying. Goku only gave what he called a "tiny" bit of his power. He had to be lying. When the black tom placed a paw on the she-cat's shoulder, the energy Tawnypelt felt was anything but "tiny." She felt a mysterious and abundance amount of energy travel from her shoulder, slip through her entire body, molding and forming with her own.
She felt so... powerful! And so hyper. Tawnypelt's eyes widened. Was this what true power felt like? I feel like I can run ten times around the lake without a problem! The sleepyness she felt disappeared in a flash, and she twitched uncontrollably, struggling to attain the sudden power. It was like being a kit all over again!
Tawnypelt absently jumped, hoping to expel some of the abundance of energy. But this also brought a surprise to the she-cat. She was leaping twice as high!. Tawnypelt yowled in surprise as she landed none-too-gently, and immediatly leaped again. In no time the she-cat was bouncing all over the training gounds like a rabbit. Much to her Clan-mates' amusements, who stopped their lessons to watch the she-cat's antics.
The she-cat felt so alive! So free! So... tired.
Ten minutes later Tawnypelt was lying exhausted by a rock, too tired to even lift her head.
Goku placed a tail to his jaws, struggling not to laugh. "Well-"
"Don't," she muttered. Her voice slurred. "I don't like this lesson." She covered her eyes with a paw to wipe the silly smirk of the tom's face. He did this on purpose. "I'll skip this lesson."
"If you say so," Goku's voice sounded disappointed again. But she didn't care. Tawnypelt kept her eyes closed, listening as her Clan-mates continue their studies. After the lesson, they gathered around the tom for a last minute speech, and to ask any questions they might have.
"Goku?"
"Mmh?"
"I've been wondering, why do all of our magic lights look different?" Spiderfoot crinkled his eyes in confusion. "I don't get it. Mine is purple, but Ratscar's is yellow."
"It's sort of hard to explain." Goku blinked thoughtfully. "The color doesn't really matter, but they can still vary. It depends how you concentrate that energy, the power behind it, and how you manipulate it. Such as my kameha wave."
He waved his paw. " It's blue, while an attack such as Vegeta's Gallik gun is purple."
"Even pink?" Crowfrost snickered.
"Or rainbow," Pinepaw meowed.
Sparrowpaw jumped "How'd you get here?" She squeaked.
"Flew," Pinepaw answered as if it was simple. Interest crept in her eyes. "Hey! Maybe we can learn to make black light attacks, for ShadowClan's color!"
"Or Purple."
"Dark blue?"
"Nah, that's more for RiverClan."
Tawnypelt opened her eyes. She was going to suggest they give it the color of Who-gives-a-fox-dung? But she kept her jaws closed when she saw the look on Goku's face. It was strickened. His eyes had a faraway look, filled with a rare pain the she-cat saw him display. Tawnypelt suddenly felt a powerful force blast her face.
She stumbled back a couple of paces. Her paws still felt heavy as rock. The rest of her Clan mates looked around, eyes wild. They felt it too. What was that?
Goku hissed, long and soft, through gritted teeth. His pelt stood on end. Another wave of of invisible energy pushed Tawnypelt and the others back.
What as going on? Tawnypelt struggled to control the force of invisible waves that rocked her entire body. It was all coming rom Goku. The tom's face was contorted in fury. His black eyes slitted with rage, his eyelids nearly shut. He twitched and uttered a low growl. For a moment, Tawnypelt thought she saw his pelt flash gold. The wind picked up. She felt her face grow hot, as if the temperature suddenly increased. It burned and seered her face that she had to squint her eyes.
The grass singed under the tom. Small wisps of smoke rose from his paws, sizzling the ground beneath him. Tawnypelt back away. He heard fluttered to her throat. She never saw Goku like this. And it was scaring her terribly. Was he trying to pull a joke on them? Somehow she didn't think so.
"Goku!" Olivenose yowled. She had her head down against the pulsing heat. "Goku, what are you doing?"
The black tom's ears twitched. Goku looked up. Tawnypelt nearly reared back in surprise.
His eyes were green.
Goku gazed at Olivenose blankly.
"Kakarot!"
Out of no where Vegeta landed beside Goku. His ruffled, waving back and forth violently at this close proximity to Goku's torental release of power. He reached out and shook Goku violently with both his paws.
"Kakarot, control yourself!"
Goku blinked. Realization slowly clawed its way to his eyes. He blinked again. When he opened them Tawnypelt saw they were back to their original warmth. With a hint of confused. Gradually the air cooled.
"Vegeta?" Goku mumbled. He shook his head. "What are you doing here?"
Vegeta narrowed his eyes. The rest of the cats hung back hesitantly. "You mean to tell me you don't know?"
"Know what?"
"That you almost killed everyone with that stupid stunt!" Vegeta exploded. "What the hell's wrong with you?"
Goku placed a paw to his forehead. "I'm not sure," he mumbled.
While Tawnypelt walked away with the rest of her Clan-mates, she couldn't help but look back at the two toms. They were still talking quietly together in the middle of the Training Grounds.
She did not know why. But at that moment the she-cat felt more afraid of Goku than she did of Vegeta.
This took a while to update. Some of you are probably impatient, but you sometimes can't rush these things. I've been having many different ideas about how to make this that it took a while ^^"
Good news everyone! You can now vote for your which Dragonball character you'd like to see in this Fanfic. It's located on my profile. The character who wins will play an important key in the storyline, but even if no one votes (Which I hope's not the case, I would like to know what the readers like D= ) I already have a character in mind for who will show up.
But, yeah, get voting. And the Dragonball Character to win will also be a cat too, of course! =3
NOTE: This is my first time putting a poll on the Profile Page. So I don't know if I did it right. If you guys can't see a poll at all, let me know please. Thanks!