"So…what about this MoonClan?" Icepaw shifted; staring down at her paws.
"Well, the place you keep visiting, is not called MoonClan." Mintfur mewed, "It's the F.O.I"
"What does F.O.I stand for?" Icepaw cocked her head.
"It stands for the Fields of Insanity. It's where DumbClan traitors go when they die. It was known as the Dark Forest before the Death Cough." Mintfur explained, "In that place, the cats there are evil. They are trying to use you to create chaos in the Clans and restore their power of breaking into the real world. Their leader is Tigerstar. Though it was thought Firestar killed him in the Great Battle long ago, Tigerstar somehow managed to survive and return to the Dark Forest, or the Fields of Insanity."
"R...really?" Icepaw gasped, "How do you know?"
"MoonClan came to me in a dream, telling me to warn you!" Mintfur nodded, "They told me, you should be aware of who you trust. Especially Leafkit."
"Why can't I trust Leafkit?" Icepaw growled, "He won't become evil! He's a good friend!" Without another reply, Icepaw stomped away.
Mintfur sighed. MoonClan, please just tell her yourselves.
Icepaw caught up to Breezefur.
"Those Clans seemed really angry." Icepaw mewed, not looking at her mentor.
"Of course, they were insulted." Breezefur replied.
"I'm just glad Nightstar didn't announce that Flamecloud is now warrior. Serves him right for being a hare-brain!" Icepaw grinned, glancing at Flamecloud who was sulking next to Finchwing.
"I'm just worried that OwlClan and StormClan are working together." Breezefur sighed, "When they are in alliance, they create the biggest Clan together. It'll be hard beating them in battle."
"A bunch of OwlClan and StormClan cowards are no big deal." Icepaw mewed, swiping her claws in the air, "We'll drive them off in a couple of seconds! We can have LakeClan as an alliance too!"
"Yes, but LakeClan will also see us as liars after the Gathering." Breezefur shook her head, "Besides, Lichenstar is not a coward. He's not afraid to let his Clanmates die just for the victory in battle. But he still cares for them. He's not evil or anything."
Icepaw shrugged. She felt like someone was watching her, or at least, walking behind her. She whipped around, nothing. She caught a whiff of StormClan scent near her. Maybe even on her. Mistpaw trotted over, then scrunched up her nose.
"Yuck!" Mistpaw growled, "Icepaw, you've got StormClan scent all over you! Have you been talking to StormClan this Gathering?"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Icepaw shook her head, "Why would I talk to a bunch a prey stealers! I just noticed I had StormClan scent lingering on me, but I don't know how."
"Well, you'll smell just like a MeadowClan cat when you get back in the nest and get some rest!" Mistpaw yawned, "I just hope I'm not on dawn patrol…"
And I need to go and visit Tigerstar. Icepaw thought. There's a few questions I want to ask him.
Icepaw found herself curled up into her nest a few heartbeats later. Her eyes were sore and she was very tired. She closed her eyes and slept. Hoping that she would see Tigerstar, or some cat from that mysterious place.
Green, damp mist surrounded her in her dream. She had reached the place where she'd been visiting Tigerstar. A shadow loomed over her. Icepaw looked up to find Tigerstar looking down at her.
"Hi Tigerstar!" Icepaw yelped with surprise "Didn't see you there!"
"Greetings Icepaw." Tigerstar's lips curled into a smile, "I know why you've come. To ask me some questions about this place. And whether the cats here are evil or not. And don't ask why I know how, let's just say I know because I'm smart."
"Yeah, but you forgot one thing." Icepaw added, "I wanted to ask you, are you from StormClan, OwlClan, or LakeClan?"
"Oh! That…" Tigerstar looked away, "You know… when cats pass away, they form one Clan."
"Yeah I know! But I just want to know which Clan you're from!" Icepaw snapped.
"Well then." Tigerstar mewed cooly, "If you really want to know, I'm from ThunderClan."
"Don't be silly! ThunderClan is not a real Clan!" Icepaw laughed.
"It was!" Tigerstar slammed his paw on the muddy ground. "Until Swallowstar destroyed it!"
"How did he destroy it?" Icepaw cocked her head.
Tigerstar explained, "Swallowstar thought it would be a great idea to go on some mouse-brained quest to 'save the clans'! But instead, he found rogues who had the deadly Death Cough! He brought it back to the Clans!"
"Save the Clans? What do you mean by that?" Icepaw asked.
"This conversation is not important." Tigerstar growled, "In the meantime there is another cat I'd like you to meet."
On cue, Mapleshade slid out from one of the caves they were nearby. Icepaw gave a little squeak of shock and suddenly felt small and weak. Her pelt was almost transparent, and patches of fur were torn off from her pelt. One of her ears were missing, like Noear, but it was as if only her eyes were visible.
"This is Mapleshade, the oldest Dar- I mean MoonClan warrior around. She died long before the Death Cough." Tigerstar introduced.
"Greetings Icepaw." Mapleshade rasped. Her voice was so distant, your could barely hear it, "I heard a lot of wonderful things about you. You are destined to restore the Dar- I mean MoonClan's power into helping the Clans once again."
"Really?!" Icepaw leaped to her paws, "I knew I was important! But not that important!"
"Yes, you are the most important cat in all the Clans. I can see your future." Mapleshade smirked, "Once you help us restore our power, we will reward you by making you leader of all the Clans! That way, we- I mean you, will be unstoppable!"
Icepaw gaped. Unstoppable. She could be unstoppable. No cat could get in her way and bully her or tell her what to do. She could make all the rules to every cat in the moors, swamps, lake, and forest. She could send any cat away to DumbClan if wanted.
"How do I achieve this award?" Icepaw murmured.
"Simple, just cause chaos in the Clan. Have some fun! Some drama!" Tigerstar nodded, "You like fun, don't you?"
"Um.. yeah…" Icepaw cocked her head, "But why chaos?"
"Not chaos, drama." Mapleshade corrected, "It's fun seeing your clanmates argue once a awhile. Otherwise, the Clan would be boring."
A faint voice sounded in the distant. Mapleshade gasped and whipped around.
"Icepaw." Mapleshade growled, her voice frantic, "You must leave immediately!"
"Why?" Icepaw shrinked into her pelt.
"You have your assignment." Tigerstar's voice faded, "Cause chaos in the Clans…"
A blast of light blinded Icepaw and she was sucked into the real MoonClan. The stars shimmered across the colorless sky and a starry cat stood above Icepaw. Icepaw gazed up, she stared right through the starry cat.
"Who are you?" Icepaw whispered, the she-cat looked a lot like Icepaw, except much older.
"I am Icepaw. I am you in the future." Older Icepaw dipped her head, "Walk with me."
Older Icepaw nudged Icepaw onto her paws. Older Icepaw beckoned Icepaw to follow. Together, the two Icepaws strolled down a peaceful river. A minnow leaped out of the water as Icepaw walked by. It was soon scared by the fallen leaves that scattered across the water. Older Icepaw took no notice of the river, so Icepaw decided not to as well.
"Why have you brought me here? What is this place?" Icepaw questioned.
"This is MoonClan." Older Icepaw introduced.
"What? But I thought you had bland, grey skies and endless fields of bloodstained grass! How could there be two MoonClans?" Icepaw cocked her head.
"Because the place you just visited was not MoonClan." Older Icepaw growled, "It was the Dark Forest. Or the Fields of Insanity. MoonClan came to Mintfur in a dream, telling her to warn you. Or me. Well, you get the point. And, having a shallow mind, you didn't think about it clearly."
"Hey!" Icepaw lashed her tail indignantly, "We're the same cat, you know!"
"I know." Older Icepaw's whiskers twitched. "I need to show you something. Come."
Older Icepaw led Icepaw to a silvery pool that reflected nothing. All you could see of that pool was blinding light. Older Icepaw bent over the pool.
"Take a look inside." Older Icepaw instructed, "Then you will see what the Fields of Insanity really is."
Icepaw dipped her head into the pool. A red light caught her attention.
"Hello?" Icepaw tried to yowl, but no sound came out.
Icepaw stared around at the darkness. The red light became bigger and bigger. It was chasing Icepaw. Frightened, Icepaw ran. She ran across the darkness that had no end. The light had now taken the shape as a cat. Icepaw looked over her shoulder and whipped her head back around. The cat was covered in blood. Icepaw shut her eyes and kept running. Come on! Go faster Icepaw! The blood cat soon caught up to the white cat. The blood cat bowled Icepaw over. Yelping with surprise, Icepaw stumbled backwards. The blood cat turned into the red light and got bigger and bigger. Until it swallowed Icepaw whole. When the light swallowed Icepaw, Icepaw felt as if she was falling and there was nothing underneath her. She was falling under the darkness. No! Icepaw thought opening her eyes. I will not lose to this battle! Twisting her body, Icepaw jumped back onto her four paws. The darkness was replaced by the setting of the Fields of Insanity. Tigerstar was looming over a young cat.
"Do it again! Or else you will be killed!" Tigerstar ordered, "You are here to train to be warriors! Not soft kittypets!" He swiped at the young cat's throat, which was matted with blood.
"I'm sorry… Tigerstar…" the young cat staggered up, "But I'm merely a Clan cat… please… let me go back to ShadowClan…"
"No!" Tigerstar lunged at the weak tom, battering him with unsheathed claws until he lay motionless in the black mud.
The she-cat next to Tigerstar snorted. It was Mapleshade.
"He wasn't a good use of a Clan cat anyway. Too soft I tell you." Mapleshade snarled; she was less faded than when Icepaw met her, "Besides, we have enough recruits already. We barely have any more Dark Forest warriors left to train them!"
"Not enough." Tigerstar shook his head, "It must enough to kill every single soul in the Clans. We must overrun them."
"We will see what Brokenstar thinks about this." Mapleshade swung her head around and stalked away into the black trees.
Icepaw narrowed her eyes. So Mintfur was right, they were evil. But what were they doing with a Clan cat? Icepaw gasped. They must be recruiting Clan cats from the earlier Clans to help the Dark Forest grow! Once they had enough cats, they could out number the Clans! They must be planning to do that again! A very good guess Icepaw. Tigerstar's voice rang in her ears. Now you know that we can kill cats in their sleep.
"No!" Icepaw shouted, "You don't have enough power to kill me!"
We don't dream of killing you. Well, once we are finished… Tigerstar laughed evilly, then his echoes disappeared.
Icepaw squeezed her eyes shut.
"SOME CAT HELP!" Icepaw screamed, "Wake me up! Wake me up RIGHT NOW!"
Some cat shook Icepaw awake. Icepaw shot her head up and looked around frantically.
"I...Is he here?" Icepaw stammered.
"Who's here?" Mistpaw tilted her head, "You were squirming and yowling in your sleep. Yelling 'wake me up', so I did."
"Thank MoonClan…" Icepaw sighed. How could they lie to me! I trusted them, thinking I could be a better warrior alongside them, but they lied. I don't want to ever go there again! It is too late to change your mind. Tigerstar's voice echoed in her head. You have already sworn your allegiance to us. We do not wish to hurt you but only to make you stronger. That ShadowClan cat was a traitor to his Clan, so we tortured him as his punishment. Making him train all night.
Icepaw thought about this for a moment. Did Tigerstar only wish to make her stronger? Or did he only wish for her to bring them back to power? She shook her thought away, she'll have to ask Mintfur about her decision.
"Well, are you going to stay up all night or are you going to get some rest?" Mistpaw flicked her tail, "It's not even dawn yet."
"I...I don't want to go back to sleep." Icepaw admitted, "I can't…"
"Who said?" Mistpaw yawned.
"I can't say…" Icepaw sighed; she wished she could.
"Well, suit yourself." Mistpaw lay her head down.
The warm fur on Mistpaw comforted Icepaw. She wanted to sleep, she had to. Maybe I won't visit the Dark Forest anyway… Icepaw thought. I already visited them today. Maybe I can only visit them once a night. Hopefully. Icepaw's thoughts drifted and she lay her head down, just as she started to droop her eyelids, some cat yowled.
"OwlClan and StormClan! Attack!"