Okay, decision made. The prophecy will continue on into the next book. I will have one more chapter from Scarletspirit's point of view (this one), and then begin the next book. The first chapter will be from Redpaw's point of view. But I'm not there yet.

Pinefur of DragonClan: Right. I forgot. The next book will be from Redpaw, Stripepaw, Mistypaw, and Pinepaw's point of views. My bad.

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"Scarletspirit, come here," Lionstar meowed. His voice was quiet, almost sad. Scarletspirit rose to her feet, her ruby coat dappled by sunlight. Lionstar sat at the foot of the Highledge, his expression unreadable.

"What is it?" she asked slowly, padding toward him. Her ears were pricked forward, listening.

"There is something I need to discuss with you."

Scarletspirit paused, her whiskers quivering. Lionstar's amber eyes were grave.

"Of course," she mewed, wary.

"About Stripepaw."

Scarletspirit drew in a long breath. The ground beneath her lurched, the motion almost throwing her off her feet. Her head spun, and she bit back a wave of nausea. "What happened?" she gasped quickly, her claws digging into the ground.

"Bluefall has reported that a scent trail of his led into ShadowClan territory. Mingled with it was the scent of a ShadowClan she-cat. Your son is seeing a cat from another Clan."

Scarletspirit exhaled slowly, frozen in place. She couldn't decide whether to be relieved or angry. Stripepaw was alive and uninjured, but he was breaking the warrior code.

"I understand, Lionstar," she mewed hoarsely, her heart slowly returning to its normal rhythm.

"He must be stopped, Scarletspirit. Because you were my apprentice, are my deputy, and are my friend, I will not punish Stripepaw now. But if this behavior continues, there will be consequences."

Scarletspirit nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Lionstar let out a long sigh. "I cannot bring myself to be angry, Scarletspirit, and it scares me. Stripepaw is deliberately disregarding the warrior code, and yet I feel no resentment against him. It is love that drives him, as it was love that drove Cardinalbelly out of her Clan. And how can I discipline an apprentice, when I too have fallen in love?" Lionstar blinked at her once, then slipped away, into the shadows of his den.

Scarletspirit stood beneath the Highledge for a long moment. She wasn't really thinking, just staring at nothing, until Sunblaze appeared at her side.

"So he told you too," the golden tom mewed softly.

Scarletspirit nodded, her sapphire eyes blank.

"I have to say, there's not much I can bring myself to do about it. I know I couldn't change Stripepaw's ways even if I tied him to a rock."

Scarletspirit nodded again, still not moving.

"It's a funny feeling, actually. I remember when we were apprentices and I was head-over-heels in love with you. Seems like yesterday. Now my son is head-over-heels in love with someone else. As it happens, I don't care who it is. I was so happy, Scarletspirit. I just want to see Stripepaw happy too."

With an affectionate nuzzle, Sunblaze strode away, his pelt shimmering.

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"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey please gather here beneath the Highledge!" Lionstar's customary call rang out across the clearing. Scarletspirit emerged from the warrior's den, blinking away the sleep in her eyes.

"Great StarClan!" growled Sunblaze, appearing beside her. "I just feel asleep!"

Scarletspirit laughed, making her way to the center of the clearing. The cats of ThunderClan streamed from their dens all around her, murmuring excitedly. Scarletspirit could feel anticipation coursing through her veins as well. This was the day.

"We gather here to name three new warriors!" yowled Lionstar. "And three new apprentices."

The Clan was silent, waiting with baited breath.

"Pinepaw, please step forward!"

The tabby tom rose to his paws and padded to the base of the Highledge. He was thin and long-legged, with glittering green eyes. Scarletspirit clenched her teeth, staying as still as possible.

"Pinepaw, you have trained hard with your mentor to earn your warrior name. From this day on, you shall be known as Pinenose. May you serve your Clan well. I commend you to StarClan as a warrior in your turn."

"Pinenose! Pinenose!" cried Scarletspirit, gazing at her son fondly. The tabby warrior stood tall and proud as Lionstar bent to rest his great golden head on Pinenose's shoulder.

"Stripepaw, please step forward." The striped tom streaked to the front of the crowd, his handsome coat ruffled.

"Stripepaw, your energy has made you an excellent apprentice, and I am sure that it will continue to make you an excellent warrior in the future. From this day on, you shall be known as Stripethroat. May you serve your Clan well. I commend you to StarClan as a warrior in your turn."

Again, ThunderClan chanted the name of the new warrior. Stripethroat smiled widely and dipped his head to the Clan. Lionstar bent and rested his head on the warrior's shoulder, and Stripethroat backed into the crowd once more.

"Redpaw, please step forward."

Scarletspirit flexed her claws. Redpaw stepped majestically out in front of Lionstar, his coat rippling. He turned once to look back at the Clan, as if reassuring them that he was as strong as they needed him to be as a warrior. His amber eyes were alight with flame.

"Redpaw, you are a strong cat. The blood of the great Firestar flows thickly in your veins. From this day on, you shall be known as Redstorm. May you serve your Clan well. I commend you to StarClan as a warrior in your turn."

Lionstar bent and laid his head on Redstorm's shoulder lightly. The great red tom dipped his head to his leader, and then flowed back into the crowd. Just for an instant, his shadow grew huge and terrifying, and as he disappeared, Scarletspirit could hear the roar of a lion ringing in her ears. She shivered. Redstorm had a grand future ahead of him.

The rest of the ceremony went past like a blur. Pondkit, Ratkit, and Bentkit were apprenticed, and Lionstar passed on the instructions to the new warriors for their vigil.

After the ceremony, Scarletspirit made her way to the medicine cats' den. Mistypaw sat inside, sorting through herbs intently.

"Were you at the ceremony?" mewed Scarletspirit, padding into the dim cave. Mistypaw looked up, her eyes clear and wide.

"Yes. It was amazing. Redstorm looks like a leader already." Mistypaw blinked, as if remembering the ceremony. Scarletspirit sat down beside her.

"I just wanted to make sure that you don't feel left out. Your brothers are warriors now, and you are not."

Mistypaw stopped sorting herbs and sighed. "I'm very happy for them, of course. I loved, er, love my brothers very much. It is a little hard though. I sometimes wish that I could be with them, learning how to fight and hunting for the Clan. But then Fadedpelt comes in asking for something, and I remember that this is exactly where I want be, helping cats that need my skills as a medicine cat. I understand that I have much more to learn from Bloomfrost, more than any of my brothers could learn from their mentors, and I don't really mind."

Scarletspirit nodded, pride for her daughter welling up in her throat.

"Well that's good. I'm glad," meowed Scarletspirit, fighting to keep her voice steady. Mistypaw flashed a brief smile.

"I really do love this, mother," mewed the pretty silver she-cat softly, gently rubbing her nose against her mother's cheek. "Really."

Scarletspirit purred warmly, then rose to her paws and slipped away. She padded through the night air toward the warrior's den. A moment before she slid inside, she turned to look back at the clearing. Stripethroat, Pinenose, and Redstorm sat beside each other in the center of camp, all of their heads turned towards the stars.

Stripethroat's white fur glowed in the dim moonlight, like a fallen star. Pinepaw's bright green eyes were like emeralds, ablaze in the darkness. And Redstorm sat with is paws curled beneath him, his great head held proud above his shoulders.

All of a sudden, Scarletspirit could no longer see the sky, or the grass beneath her, and she knew that she was in the hollow of Silverpelt. Only, she was not alone. Redstorm stood beside her, his powerful shoulders rigid. He glanced across at her and dipped his head, but said nothing. Soon, stars appeared above them, and they clustered together to form the shape of a cat. The creature descended gracefully to stand before them.

"Firestar," Scarletspirit meowed, awed. The great leader nodded.

"I have come to greet you Scarletspirit, and you Redstorm, and to warn you of coming danger."

The figure spun, and Firestar's image disappeared, to give way to a new landscape, this one of barren trees and vast, deserted plains. Redstorm lashed his tail, but said nothing.

"In the darkness there is fear, and before the red dawn, when light may shine, all must be brave," came the hiss of many voices. Scarletspirit looked wildly around, but there was nothing.

Suddenly, like a gust of wind, a wave of shadow-furred cats came crashing through the dry undergrowth, and an earsplitting yowl rent the night air.

Redstorm immediately jumped into action and hurled himself at one of the shadow cats. The cat screamed with fury and raked its black claws across Redstorm's face. The warrior stumbled, blood streaming from a gash across his brow.

And just as soon as they had appeared, the cats were gone; leaving Redstorm sprawled on the ground in their wake.

Scarletspirit sprang forward, fear clawing at her belly. Redstorm had to be alive! He couldn't die in Silverpelt, could he? She raced towards his body, but came to a shuddering stop as she noticed another cat standing over Redstorm's stiff form. At first she thought it was one of the shadow-cats, left behind to finish him off. But the cat looked up, and let out an agonized wail, as if keening for the death of a beloved friend. Scarletspirit jerked forward again, and sprinted to Redstorm's unmoving body.

"There was nothing I could do," moaned the black cat, bent over the red warrior's body. Suddenly the cat looked up, and mewed, "I was afraid."

Scarletspirit tried to open her mouth, tried to yowl at the black cat, tried to reach for her son's body, but all around her the land was spinning, and she was falling, falling…but before she lost sight of everything around her, her gaze locked with that of the black cat.

His eyes were icy blue.

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MAJOR cliffie! Muahahahahaha! You probably have figured it out, unless you weren't paying attention. Anyhow…end of Book One! Yay! In case you were wondering, Redstorm obviously isn't dead. Obviously. He is practically the main character, anyway. So…on to the next book. Hope you enjoyed this one!

-Darkstorm Mistystar's Legacy