OMG the last chapter…how sad! It's kind of bad, but I still don't have a name for the next book. I'm working on it, though. Shout-out to Silverstone of Thunderclan for favorite-ing and following this fanfic! Thank you so much! (: Replies to your reviews:

WyldClaw: Thanks a ton for reviewing! Just keep on reading :D

Nayeli Kigaliss: Yep, tough times! LOL thanks for reviewing!

Here it is! Chapter 24!

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

For the first time in a while, Nightpaw awoke in a good mood. It had been three days since the Gathering, and the Clan was slowly recovering. Patrols were sent out constantly, tiring out every cat and making it hard to squeeze in training and hunting. Yet, Nightpaw feeling much better than before that morning. She hadn't had any nightmares in a while, leading her to think that everything was going to be okay.

She gave herself a quick grooming and emerged from the apprentices' den. Brackenclaw was just sending out a patrol, while Blazepaw and Emberpaw were getting ready to head out to train.

Nightpaw quickly made her way to the medicine den and poked her head inside. Pebblefur was rewrapping Stormpaw's injured paw with cobweb.

"How is he doing?" Nightpaw whispered. Pebblefur glanced up and smiled at her. "He's doing well. I think he's going to be just fine."

Nightpaw gazed at her friend, who was still asleep, and longed to talk to him again, longed to thank him. Sighing, she dipped her head to Pebblefur and headed back into the clearing. Snowstorm was grabbing a piece of fresh-kill from the pile and waved his tail when he saw her. "Nightpaw, get something to eat and then we'll head out training."

Nightpaw nodded eagerly; this was her first training session with her new mentor! Although he'd just finished mentoring Rainpool, Smokestar had asked him to finish her training where Dustclaw and Oakfoot had left off. She grabbed a starling, small enough for one cat, from the pile and settled beside the warriors' den to eat.

Streampaw emerged from the apprentices' den, looking like she was in a great mood as well.

"Streampaw!" Nightpaw called to her sister. The gray she-cat turned and trotted up to her, sitting down beside her. "Good morning, Nightpaw. It feels a bit warmer today, doesn't it?"

Nightpaw nodded. "It does, I think. Haven't had any nightmares lately?"

"No, actually." Streampaw arched her back in a stretch. "It's been nice having normal dreams, for once. Did you know that what happened at the Gathering has a name now? Every cat is calling it the Island Massacre."

"Wow. That name is certainly fitting." Nightpaw didn't really want to talk about it. She quickly finished off her starling and rose to her paws. "Well, I'm off to my first training session with Snowstorm."

"Good luck!" Streampaw purred. "I'm sure he'll be impressed."

Nightpaw licked her sister on the cheek. "Thanks. See you later!" She turned and bounded over to the large white tom, who was standing at the entrance to the thorn tunnel. He glanced down at her with sparkling blue eyes. "Ready?"

"Yes!" Nightpaw nodded. "Let's go!"

The two took off together into the forest.

xxx

"Whew, I'm bushed!" Nightpaw flopped to the ground beside Shadepaw and Streampaw. "After battle training all day, I had to go on a border patrol."

Shadepaw nodded, sighing. "I'm exhausted, too! I was on the moonhigh patrol all last night. Then I had to go hunting at sunhigh!"

Streampaw purred in amusement. "At least we know that the Clan is recovering and getting even stronger."

A few squeaks from the nursery made Nightpaw prick her ears. "Hey, I haven't seen Berrywhisker's kits yet. Why don't we bring her some fresh-kill and meet them?"

Shadepaw leapt to her paws and darted over to the fresh-kill pile, returning with a squirrel in her jaws. "She loves squirrels!"

Nightpaw and Streampaw twitched their whiskers, following their sister into the nursery.

The scent of milk hung thickly in the warm air, and Nightpaw remembered what it was like being a kit in the nursery.

"Hi, Berrywhisker," Shadepaw mewed, placing the squirrel at the queen's paws. "We brought you some fresh-kill."

Berrywhisker glanced up from grooming herself. "Oh, thank you! I love squirrel."

"What did I tell you?" Shadepaw murmured to her sisters, making them chuckle. Streampaw gazed at the three kits beside her belly. "How are they doing?"

"Wonderfully, thanks to you and Pebblefur," Berrywhisker replied warmly. Nightpaw smiled as one of them yawned and nestled its tiny muzzle back into the crook of its mother's belly. "What are their names?"

Berrywhisker glanced down at them lovingly. "The cream-colored tom is Rowankit, the gray-and-white tom is Drizzlekit, and the gray tabby she-cat is Mintkit."

"Those are great names," Nightpaw purred. "They're going to be great warriors, I bet."

Streampaw grinned. "Aren't they so cute?"

"Oh, that's right. This was the first litter of kits that you helped deliver!" Shadepaw mewed. "These kits must be very special to you, then."

Berrywhisker's pale green eyes twinkled. "I bet you two will be warriors by the time they're apprentices. Maybe you'll be chosen to mentor one."

"Really?" Nightpaw beamed. "I would love to. They look so strong already."

Berrywhisker nodded. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to eat this delicious-looking squirrel."

"Bye!" Shadepaw waved her tail. "Thank you for letting us see the kits!"

"Thank you for bringing me fresh-kill," she purred.

The three apprentices padded out of the nursery, Nightpaw's mind buzzing with excitement. What if she really did get to mentor one of them? She couldn't imagine herself training an apprentice!

"Nightpaw!"

She glanced up to see Pebblefur's head sticking out of the medicine den, his eyes wide. Her belly lurched; was something wrong with Stormpaw? She darted across the clearing into his den. "What's going on?"

"Hey, Nightpaw," came a croaking voice in reply. She glanced down and gasped. Stormpaw's eyes were cracked open and his head was just barely lifted out of his nest.

"Stormpaw!" she choked out. "How…how are you feeling?"

Stormpaw licked his lips. "Thirsty."

"I'll get you some water!" Nightpaw grabbed a ball of moss, soaked it in the small pool near the herb stacks, and held it above his muzzle, squeezing it. Stormpaw opened his mouth and let the water slip onto his tongue. "Thank you."

"Thank you, Stormpaw." Nightpaw's chest tightened with gratitude. "You saved my life at the Gathering."

Stormpaw narrowed his eyes as if thinking. "I did? I don't really remember much about it. Pebblefur told me I was injured pretty badly, but…"

Nightpaw nodded. "Yeah. You sprained your paw."

"What if this delays my warrior ceremony?" Stormpaw sighed. "Whatever I did must've been pretty mousebrained, huh?"

"No!" Nightpaw shook her head furiously. "You saved my life! I don't know about you, but I don't consider that to be mousebrained. I think it's more like…brave."

"Were any other cats injured?"

Nightpaw tensed. "Well yes, lots of cats were injured. Cats of all Clans. It's been named The Island Massacre. But we…we lost three cats."

Stormpaw widened his eyes. "Great StarClan. Who?"

"Mistysong, Oakfoot, and Sharpclaw." Nightpaw felt grief crash over her as she remembered the fallen cats. "And we almost lost you."

Stormpaw gave a weak grin. "But you didn't. I'm right here."

"No thanks to me." Nightpaw frowned. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm going to be all right, I think." Stormpaw lifted his head, stretching his neck up, and licked her on the cheek.

Pebblefur pushed his way into the den. "He needs to rest now. Sorry, Nightpaw."

"Thank you." Nightpaw dipped her head to the medicine cat and left the den, her heart thudding in her chest.

xxx

Nightpaw gazed over the lake, peace washing over her like a gentle breeze. Its surface was still and black like the night sky. Cricket song surrounded her and she even heard a few frogs croaking nearby. The reeds and cattails bobbed in the warm breeze and the surface of the lake rippled slightly.

A normal dream, she thought happily, but in the back of her mind Nightpaw knew that whenever a dream of hers started out at the lake, it didn't end well.

But nothing was happening. The moon was bright and smooth, a thousand warrior ancestors glimmered in Silverpelt overhead, and there weren't any strange scents around her.

Perhaps StarClan is telling me that everything is over, Nightpaw thought. Perhaps the rogues got their revenge. She jolted. But what about the prophecy? Surely it hasn't been fulfilled yet.

Dread swept over Nightpaw with the next gentle breeze, and she turned to face the forest. It was so dark that she could barely make out the bushes and trees. An all-too-familiar scent hit her nose—rogue scent.

Suddenly, a pair of yellow eyes blinked at her through the darkness. Nightpaw longed to leap out at this cat invading her territory. Then, to her surprise a second pair of eyes appeared beside the yellow ones, this time icy blue.

Another breeze ruffled her fur and she shivered as a low murmur graced her ears: "It's not over yet. We've only just begun."

xxx

WOW pretty intense, hm? Sorry for the EXTREMELY short chapter. I was literally all out of things to say and I didn't want to start any new ideas because, of course, being the last chapter, it had to have a sense of resolution. But I just had to slip that little suspenseful cliffie at the end there x] sooo what did you guys think? The epilogue is up next and I'm pretty excited for it. Hope you guys enjoyed and don't forget to REVIEW! Have a great day! (: