Chapter 26:

Pop Goes the Twinkle: Haha it's fine, I was just giving you a hard time (: and as for the cover… I'm not sure why I made that my cover to be quite honest. I think since I called it 'Insanity' at first, I thought that a crown of thorns would fit the bill, but now that I think about it… I think I'm going to replace it with a picture of Fallenflame. What do you think? By the way, I like your new user name (:

Moonbeam141: And it only goes downhill from there…

EmberskyofShadowClan: Yeah… Thrushkit does remind me of Falkenkit! XD And thanks, I actually surprised myself with that little twist!

Stuffed Watermelon: Yay! I'm glad I didn't lose too many readers! And yeah, Thrushkit can come across as heartless, but it'll come into play in the sequel, so just bear with him for now (:

GreekGeronimo: Aw! I'm flattered, thank you! I actually do want to be an author, that or a doctor with writing as a side-dish sort of thing. But seriously, that was the sweetest review I've gotten in a while! :D

Forestclaw: Don't worry about Thrushkit's personality! It'll all come into play in the sequel (:

Mcreed1000: Hm… an evil Thrushkit? *rubs hands together* Just maybe…

All the lies match your pace…

Fallenflame felt utterly useless. Cats were already swelling into the clearing, anxious about who would mentor each kit. Darkstar was already perched high up on the tall pine tree, scanning the area with a calculating gaze.

Stormeye was still beside her, looking concerned as Fallenflame's complexion slowly wore down and began to shatter. "Are you sure you're alright?" He asked again, his mismatched eyes trying to catch her cerulean ones.

The pale gray she-cat dismissed him with a curt nod; she was far too distressed to talk to him. She made sure to keep her face away from his sight.

Rowanheart was grooming the two ThunderClan kits while Shadespots stood beside them, his jaws parting as he said something; likely giving advice. As much as it pained Fallenflame to admit, the two would make good parents if they ever had kits of their own. There was genuine love, adoration, and pride shining shamelessly in their gazes as they doted on the two kits. All four of the cats looked very similar as well; had Fallenflame been new to the clan, she wouldn't have ever questioned Cloverkit and Thrushkit were their actual kits. Thrushkit especially resembled the tom and she-cat.

Finally, after putting up with Rowanheart excessively grooming his slicked back dark fur, Thrushkit snapped at her and stormed off. As soon as Thrushkit left, Cloverkit went to follow, but was stopped by Shadespots. The white and gray tom murmured something to her, sending the she-kit back to Rowanheart.

Fallenflame nervously looked at the sky. It had gotten dimmer since Stormeye broke the news to her about the unexpected ceremony.

The ShadowClan she-cat had never heard of apprentice ceremonies just before a gathering; something just wasn't right.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather around the Great Pine for a clan meeting!" Darkstar yowled, forcing Fallenflame out of her thoughts.

All eyes landed on Darkstar's authoritive figure, paving the way for a satisfied smirk. "ShadowClan," he began, "Shadespots and Rowanheart's kits, Darkkit and Duskkit, have finally reached the age of six moons."

Fallenflame's clanmates shared excited glances; it didn't matter that the two cats weren't Cloverkit's and Thrushkit's real parents. An apprentice ceremony was an apprentice ceremony.

Darkstar's sharp gaze fell on Thrushkit first. The dark furred tom-kit quickly took note of it, locking eyes with ShadowClan's leader. "Darkkit," he barked, "come here."

Thrushkit dipped his head in response, shooting Yarrowtail, who was still in the mouth of her den, a hopeful glance. He stood at the base of the tree, the emotion in his eyes dead now, buried and forgotten.

"Darkkit," Darkstar said firmly, looking down from his perch at the young cat. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your medicine cat title," he said, ignoring the yowls of shock that erupted from the clan, "You will be known as Darkpaw. Your mentor will be Yarrowtail. I hope Yarrowtail will pass down all she knows on to you."

Darkpaw nodded, his amber eyes glittering with excitement as he looked expectantly at Yarrowtail. The older pale she-cat strode towards them, looking solely at Darkstar. "Darkstar, none of this works this way!" She snapped, her blue irises ablaze with fury as she stopped beside Darkpaw. "You didn't ask for my permission, and I didn't participate in the ceremony! This cat's ceremony wasn't even a ceremony in the eyes of StarClan!"

Fallenflames stared flabbergasted at the medicine cat, shocked that she would have the courage to say that to such a cat in front of the whole clan. Darkpaw looked the most shocked of all, his eyes rounding with uncertainty.

"Yarrowtail," Darkstar said calmly, "you can speak to me about this after the gathering. Now, moving on, Duskkit. Come here."

Yarrowtail snarled and grimaced at her leader, but didn't retaliate. She reluctantly stood beside the newly named Darkpaw as she awaited Cloverkit's ceremony.

The brindle and white she-kit watched Yarrowtail warily, her body shaking a little as she moved to the base of the tree. Her bright eyes never lost their luster as she stared up at Darkstar from his perch.

"Duskkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name," He said, looking back and forth from the clan to the she-kit, "You will be known as Duskpaw-"

"No!" Cloverkit cried suddenly, interrupting Darkstar midsentence. When the attention fell on her, she looked meekly around, but held her ground nonetheless. "No." She repeated, her voice soft and quiet.

Darkstar narrowed his eyes at Cloverkit, "what do you mean, 'no'?"

Cloverkit glanced in Fallenflame's direction, but her gaze didn't linger. She met Darkstar's eyes once more, "my name isn't Duskkit." She said, "It's Cloverkit. I am Cloverpaw, not Duskkit or Duskpaw."

The clan was silent for was felt like an eternity until Darkstar broke the silence. He had since recovered from Cloverkit's statement. He straightened his posture and regained the proud, confident look in his eyes. "ShadowClan, I don't normally do this, but if Duskkit truly hates her name, I will allow the change in her name." Darkstar said, barely masking the distaste and bitterness in his tone. "Duskkit," Darkstar started once more, "you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Cloverpaw. Your mentor will be Golddust. I hope he passes down all he knows onto you." Darkstar concluded.

Fallenflame's jaws parted slightly, stunned. Although she had mostly forgotten her rivalry with the half kittypet warrior, she couldn't help but feel resentment; her life plans were crumbling. She was supposed to get an apprentice before him and surpass him in everything. Now, the handsome gold tom had the upper-paw, being one step closer to deputyship than she was. Her ears laid back on her head at the thought of him leading her clan.

"Golddust, come forward." Darkstar commanded, singling him out of the sea of cats.

Golddust, who was sitting beside Forestclaw on the outskirts of the hoard, quickly got to his paws and scrambled to greet his new apprentice. Cloverpaw looked just as excited as he did.

"Golddust, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from the Fogfur and the late Redfang, and you have shown yourself to be brave and determined. You will be the mentor of Cloverpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Cloverpaw." Darkstar said firmly, giving him a nod.

"Thank you, Darkstar. I promise I will make you proud." Golddust told him before touching noses with the newly named Cloverpaw.

To Fallenflame's surprise, Darkstar didn't leave his perch; he wasn't done yet.

One by one, the chorus of applause and congratulations died down as the ShadowClan cats began to realize this as well. Darkstar nodded at his clan before speaking once more.

"ShadowClan, before I let you go, I will announce the gathering attendants." He meowed, "Golddust, Redpool, Mottleface, Rosepaw, Lillypaw, Yarrowtail, Tawnyfern, Stormeye, Pinewhisker, Heathertail, Fogfur, Dustclaw, and Forestclaw will be accompanying me. The rest of you will remain behind and guard the camp."

Satisfied, Darkstar deftly leapt from branch to branch, making a near-perfect landing on the soft earth.

Still stunned, Fallenflame stood dumbfounded as Forestclaw bounded to Golddust's and Cloverpaw's sides, her tail curled with delight as she purred her congratulations to the gold tom.

"Fallenflame, are you okay? You look a little shaken." Stormeye observed from her right, craning his neck to get a better view of Fallenflame.

She shook her head, blinking the fogginess out of her glassed over eyes. "I'm fine," the she-cat assured, forcing a light purr. Stormeye didn't look convinced, and Fallenflame was in no mood to be answering his questions.

"Are you sure-"

"Don't you have a gathering to attend?" Fallenflame hissed, getting to her paws and stalking away towards the nursery; she needed to get away from the cats clustering around the new mentors and apprentices.

Much to her disappointment, Stormeye didn't leave her alone. He easily matched her pace as he trotted at her side. "Is that what you're mad about? Not getting to go to the gathering?"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Fallenflame muttered.

"Fallenflame," he growled warningly, his eyes flashing when Fallenflame ignored him.

"Hey, Stormeye! You coming?" Dustclaw called from across the clearing.

At this, Stormeye let out an exasperated sigh, slowing his trot. He looked over his shoulder towards the senior warrior, and Fallenflame couldn't help but follow his gaze. Dustclaw's gaze was flickering between Stormeye and the group of cats that were to accompany Darkstar to the gathering.

The black and white tom "We will revisit this later, Fallenflame." He said sternly, the familiar stern tone he used so many times with her lacing his voice.

Fallenflame rolled her eyes, but didn't object. It would've been futile anyway; Stormeye didn't take no for an answer.

The pale warrior watched her former mentor slink out of camp along with the other gathering participants before turning away from the nursery. She didn't have time to get sucked into a conversation with her mother and sister.

Instead, Fallenflame went towards the Darkstar's den, where Darkpaw and Cloverpaw still stood. Cloverpaw looked elated, while Darkpaw looked disappointed. Fallenflame couldn't blame Darkpaw; Yarrowtail practically rejected him as her apprentice in front of the entire clan.

As she approached, neither of them took notice of Fallenflame; it was like they were lost in their own worlds. A light smirk dusted her face as she remembered when she first became an apprentice. She flat out told Stormeye that she hated him and asked Darkstar for a new mentor. What was happening to the former ThunderClan cats was entirely different; for Darkpaw, it was the opposite of Fallenflame's apprenticeship, and for Cloverpaw, it was like Golddust's apprenticeship. In some ways, it felt like history was repeating itself.

"Fallenflame." An anxious voice asked, cutting the gray she-cat off.

Fallenflame stopped and looked in the direction of the voice. It was Runningstream, Crookedclaw's and Tawnyfern's mother. She blinked in surprise; the brown tabby hadn't spoken to her since Crookedclaw's untimely death. "Yes…?" She responded, giving Runningstream a quizzical look.

"Fallenflame," Runningstream repeated, "can I talk to you for a moment?"

She glanced hesitantly at Cloverpaw and Darkpaw, knowing she only had so much time to get them to the ThunderClan border. "Sure, what do you need?" Fallenflame asked somewhat harshly, her gaze resting on the two apprentices.

Runningstream flinched, but continued anyway. "It's just about Tawnyfern. Lately she's seemed more… detached; distant, you know? She barely talks to me anymore, she eats her prey outside of camp by herself now, she never seems happy anymore, and at night she's never in her nest anymore. I know that you two aren't very close anymore, but I just wanted to ask if you knew anything that might be upsetting her."

Fallenflame twitched her ear in annoyance; she didn't really care for Tawnyfern anymore. She had lost most of her respect towards the she-cat after she had accused her of not caring about Crookedclaw. After that incident, the two hadn't really spoken. If they went on patrol together, they kept at least a fox-tail length away from each other and avoided eye contact. It was just easier that way.

"Runningstream, I haven't spoken to your daughter since your… your son joined StarClan," Fallenflame stated, staring at her paws, "we haven't even made eye-contact."

The sleek tabby she-cat bowed her head, her gaze clouded at the mention of her son. She regained her composure and dipped her head in appreciation, "I understand. Just please, if you know anything, tell me. I… I… I can't lose my last kit." She choked the last words out before trotting away from Fallenflame with her head hung low.

A pang of grief struck her, but it wasn't enough to compel her to chase after Runningstream.

Fallenflame's gaze settled back on where she'd just seen Cloverpaw and Darkpaw, but the two were gone now. Her eyes flickered to the apprentices' den, her paws guiding her toward the smaller space. She knew they were inside; both of their scents wafted strongly from the mouth of the den. Carefully, she stuck her head inside the den, heaving an irate sigh when she saw they were both asleep. Despite her disappointment, Fallenflame couldn't help but notice that Darkpaw was sleeping inside the apprentices' den rather than Yarrowtail's den. It was a shame this all had to happen to him.

She gritted her teeth, feeling obligated to let them sleep now that they'd settled down for the night. A nagging feeling gnawed away at Fallenflame's insides, urging her to go to the boarder and explain everything to ThunderClan. A low growl squeezed its way out of her chest when she gave in, deciding to contact ThunderClan the following night instead.

Feeling defeated, Fallenflame stalked away from the two sleeping apprentices and to the warriors' den; her nest was calling her name after such a long day.

XXX

Fallenflame was back in the eerie grove once again, the thick fog still stubbornly staying in place. It was determined not to let the she-cat see past the grove.

She sighed, glancing back at the elephantine oak tree that sat right in the middle. She expected Wolfkit to come bounding out of hiding any second now, begging to play like he always did. So she waited patiently, staying at the base of the tree.

No Wolfkit.

"Wolfkit?" Fallenflame finally asked, her voice diving into the foggy curtain, never to return. "Wolfkit, are you here?" She repeated, her tone growing firmer now; it was her dream, she should control what happened. If she wanted to see the kit, then she would see the kit. She just had to think hard enough.

When nothing happened, Fallenflame grew frustrated; about ready to cry out to leave the grove. If no one was coming, then she had no reason to be there.

"Why are you here?" A voice asked lowly, a small snarl following suit.

The voice peaked Fallenflame's interest, her ears swiveling eagerly towards the holder of the sound. She got to her paws when a stale pine needle type scent assaulted her senses. It smelled like a cat who'd been in ShadowClan territory, rolled around in a pile of pine needles, then left. "Hello?" She said again.

A familiar black figure stalked out of the fog, his bright irises flashing with a mixture of disappointment and fury. "I thought I told you to stay away from Wolfkit." He growled.

"I thought I asked you who 'she' was, you never answered me, so why would I listen to you!" Fallenflame spat back, her hackles rising as she arched her back threateningly.

The tom gnashed his chipped, yellow fangs at her, warning her to stop.

"Do you think you scare me?" Fallenflame growled darkly, stepping closer to the bigger cat.

He shook his head in disbelief, "it's amazing how similar you are to my son's killer." The cat muttered, taking in her stature.

"You think I'm like that monster?" She asked, giving a humorless purr, "because I'm not. I'm trying to get rid of him, if anything, I'm the opposite of him. I am nothing like that kit-killer."

"You'd be surprised how much he's rubbed off on you." The tom said eerily, "I've watched you from up here the moment I died, Fallenflame. You weren't like this when I was around-"

"Who are you?" Fallenflame demanded suddenly, taking another pace toward him, "stop talking about me like you know me, I've never met you. If I knew a cat as… putrid as you, I'm sure I would've remembered."

Fallenflame's eyes widened in surprise when the tom pinned her, suddenly appearing three times larger than he had seconds before. He leaned in close to her muzzle, "you're weak." He murmured, "You hide behind that arrogance because you are weak, unable to comprehend things without parts of you shutting down. If you can't handle the fact that your clanmate, Thornstep, wasn't it? Killed his clan's deputy, then you can't handle knowing who I am. You can't handle who Wolfkit is and why Darkstar slaughtered him. You can't handle knowing who 'she' is. You can't handle knowing who you really are."

Finally, Fallenflame snapped out of her daze and shoved him off of her, shaking her pelt free from non-existent dust and debris. She shot him a harsh glare, "I am strong. I know who I am, I always have. And lastly, I am not arrogant."

The tom looked partially amused by her defenses. "Not arrogant? Not arrogant! You are arrogant! You've always held yourself above your clanmates! And if you think you've changed, well you're sorely mistaken. Sure, you use that brain of yours every so often now, but you are far from being who you claim to be. Every last bit the world throws at you, it breaks you." He hissed darkly, his gaze hard and icy.

"Little by little, you shatter. You always manage to pick up the pieces though, only you don't put them where they're meant to be. No, you shove them wherever's most convenient for you at the time. Yes, you break over and over again, but you pull yourself back together. Barely, but you manage," he continued, pacing in short, angry strides in front of a horrified Fallenflame.

"But this truth, this truth you want so badly, it will be the one to shatter you completely. And believe me, you won't be able to pick up the pieces again."

Fallenflame feverishly shook her head, "No! You're lying! I can handle it! I can handle anything and everything! Tell me, please!"

The tom shook his head, starting back towards the swirling mists. He glanced over his shoulder at him when he was a mere paw-step away from disappearing. "Your insanity's going to be the death of you, Fallenflame. Stop trying now."

Uck, I feel like I butchered this chapter… I mean, I like what I did with the ending, but… meh. But on the bright side of things, I made it slightly longer than usual, didn't I? Wait… did I? Well, I guess that's just how the cookie crumbles (for now). Gosh I'm so weird, this note barely makes sense!

~Spotty