Oh hey guyz.

Recap: While walking to the Moonpool, Nightfall thinks about her mother and Ross. She soon finds the pool, up in the hills beyond WindClan territory. Falling asleep, she wakes up to find herself in StarClan's forest. Firestar talks to her about Whitepaw and why she sent her here, and soon Brightheart comes in. They talk for a bit before they leave, and Brackenfur enters. They argue briefly before he tells her that her band originated from the four Clans. He leaves, and Nightfall collapses, opening her eyes to find herself in ThunderClan's territory, unable to control her body. She soon realizes that she's seeing events from Scarlet's point of view, before she died. Dire approaches and they argue, and the tom kills Scarlet. Nightfall wakes up, furious and shocked by what she learned, and quickly goes back to camp, to see that the whole band had been waiting for her.

Word.

Chapter 29

Ever Again

I stood there at the top of the hollow, wanting to move. But I couldn't. My paws were glued to the ground, and I was practically paralyzed by the endless stares upon me. I swallowed, my heart racing. Just what was going on?

After a few moments of silence, I flicked my tail, my ears flattened as I slowly made my way down the hollow. I lifted my head up high, trying to appear confident. I took a deep breath, letting it out as cats began to make way for me, moving to the edges of camp. I glanced to my left, seeing a few look at me quietly, some with distrust and others with anger. The pregnant she-cat even spit at my feet as I walked past her. As much as I wanted to claw her ears off, I didn't do anything. I noticed that at the entrance of the medicine den, Leafpool sat with Thornclaw and Cloudtail. The medicine she-cat blinked slowly, looking emotionless as she watched me. Cloudtail watched me with worry, and Thornclaw was frantically trying to push through the crowd, but he couldn't. Even Tawnypelt had come out of the elders' den, and now sat by herself at its entrance, observing quietly.

I spotted Mourn and Badger sitting together, frowning as we caught each other's glances. My brother's eyes were huge, and after a moment he quickly looked away, staring at the ground instead. His mate wrapped her tail around him comfortingly and gave me a small nod. I nodded back.

Once I reached the center of the hollow, I looked up at Dire, standing at the top of the stones. I noticed that Ross wasn't standing beside him, and when I glanced around, I saw that he stood at the bottom of the Highledge, turning his face away from me. I frowned a bit before gazing back up at my leader.

"What's going on?" I asked, taking a moment to look at the cats surrounding me. Their mumblings had stopped.

Dire lashed his tail, and I looked at him steadily, anger already building up inside of me when I thought about Scarlet and what he did to her.

"Last night, it came to our attention that you were gone," he said. "After several hours, you still had not returned. You know the rules about going out by yourself." I stared at him. Was that what this was about?

"S-Sorry," I said, actually a bit puzzled. I'd expected much worse. "I was taking a walk around the lake, and got lost-"

"Why hadn't you told anyone?" my leader suddenly snarled, his amber eyes narrowing to slits. I flinched just the slightest bit, but only out of surprise. I tried to think of what to say, but I was suddenly at a loss for words.

"She told me," came a voice. I pricked my ears, and the attention of the whole band turned to the foot of the Highledge, where Dire's brother and deputy sat. I stared at him; what was he doing? I hadn't told him anything. I found that I was smiling just the slightest bit, but I quickly caught myself. He was protecting me. I heard a few cats around me begin to chatter quietly again.

Dire looked down at him, a look of pure surprise on his face. Two seconds later, it was replaced with irritation. "And you let her go?"

"Yes," growled Ross, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked at him. "I did." Everyone was shocked- especially Dire, who would never think that his brother would go against anything he said. I swallowed, trying to keep a straight face.

Dire sneered, but shook his head, letting out a quiet cough before turning his attention back to me.

"No matter," he muttered. "That's not why you're here." I didn't move. I simply waited to hear what he had to say, trying to keep calm and ignoring the uneasy stares. My leader shifted his weight, waiting a few moments before he continued to speak. "...Last night, a meeting was held here. About you, Nightfall. And about Scarlet." I winced, actually hearing a few cats growl quietly. That's what this was about. I glanced around, my mouth hanging open slightly. Was there no way out of this? I looked over at Ross, who was avoiding my gaze.

Dire narrowed his eyes, lashing his tail for silence. He slowly turned to look at me before saying, "This band, including myself, has accused you of killing her."

There it was.

There was suddenly an eruption of noises, of growls and snarls and name-calling, shouts telling me to leave, that I was a traitor, that I was a ThunderClanner- everything imaginable. I took a tiny step back, clenching my teeth together as I looked around, flexing my claws and scraping them against the stone. I couldn't possibly just say that Dire did it. No one would believe me.

"Traitor!" Tin suddenly screamed in an ear-piercing manner. I whirled around, trying so hard not to leap at him at that moment, because that would only make things much, much worse.

"Murderer!" called another, followed by a few more. I wanted to yell at them that they were the ones that caused the deaths of so many others. I wanted them to know the truth, that I wasn't the one they were looking for. But what could I do?

"Wait!" cried a she-cat, and I caught a glimpse of silver as someone was trying to push their way through the crowd. Sapphire then appeared, running into the center of the group, panting as she stood by my side and looking around frantically. I smiled slightly, though I wondered if she really knew what she was doing. I didn't want her to put herself into danger just because of me. I'd done that to plenty of other cats already.

"Stop!" she screeched, lowering the noise slightly. She looked up at the dark brown tabby at the top of the Highledge, her blue eyes huge. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I was with Nightfall that night. Why are you accusing her, and not me?"

"Your name is still not completely cleared," answered Dire. "But you have no reason to have done it."

"Oh, yeah?" challenged the she-cat. I glanced over at her, holding my breath. "What reason does Nightfall have to have done it? She was the one that was worried about her, that's the whole reason we went out to look for her-"

"Silence!" snarled Dire, causing Sapphire to shrink down and whimper slightly. "You want to know why she would have done it? Because she grew attached to ThunderClan, and in the end, she decided on them over us!"

"That's not even true!" exclaimed Sapphire.

Our leader looked down at her, obviously aggravated with the bold cat, but after a moment, a smirk slowly appeared on his face.

"Sapphire, do you know about the relationship between Nightfall and one of the ThunderClan prisoners?" My eyes widened, and I quickly looked over to where Thornclaw was standing beside Cloudtail and Leafpool. He was staring at Dire, open-mouthed.

I scanned the clearing, and saw quite a number of confused looks- including Sapphire's. I was sure that some cats had grown suspicious because Thornclaw and I had spent a fair amount of time together recently, but was Dire really going to expose our feelings for each other? Here, on the Highledge, before his entire band? It made me sick, and the hatred in my stomach boiled even stronger than before. I swallowed, bending my head down slightly.

Sapphire stared at him. "Wh-What do you..."

Dire lashed his tail, suddenly looking over at Thornclaw, who met his gaze with a visible flinch. The whole gang turned their eyes to him, some standing tall on their paws in order to see. A few growled and snarled in his direction.

"Get back in the den!" hissed Ruby, and a few others yelled in agreement.

"You've got it wrong!" exclaimed Thornclaw quite suddenly. I looked over at him, silent. "We became friends when she was part of ThunderClan, but nothing more."

"Really?" Dire said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow and baring his teeth slightly. "That's not the impression I got when I found you two sneaking out of camp, talking about running away together."

Shocked gasps were heard all around me, appalled mutters and growls. Thornclaw looked around at the crowd with wide eyes, backing up a few steps. Cloudtail stood there, not knowing what to do, while Leafpool glared at any cat who came close, pulling her lips back.

"Stop!" I yowled, the fur rising from my neck. Cats turned back to me, their eyes narrowed as they shifted about restlessly. Dire glared down at me, amber eyes narrowed. I met his eyes in the same manner, my tail swishing. "If you want to announce the details of my personal life to the whole band, fine. But you know as well as I do this doesn't mean that I killed Scarlet."

"Yeah!" shouted Sapphire, standing tall, a frown on her face. "I was there with her! We didn't find her, let alone touch her! I of all cats would know."

"And aren't you quite good friends with Nightfall?" the leader challenged. "How can we trust your word and believe you aren't just protecting her?"

"You can't trust her!" shouted Ember. "None of us can! Either of them!"

"Y-Yeah," mewed Vivi timidly. "I-I mean, we don't know if they're telling the truth, or not, o-or..."

"Please!" yelled a voice, and I looked over to see Thornclaw, looking desperate. "I know Nightfall, better than most of you. She isn't the kind of cat who would kill!" I held my breath, my heart nearly stopping. He just had to say that, didn't he?

Dire sniggered, peering down at the ThunderClan tom. He flicked his tail before simply stating, "So I suppose she hasn't told you about your deputy?" Thornclaw answered with a puzzled look, and I looked around quickly before lifting my head.

"Dire, stop," I begged, my claws scraping against the ground. He ignored me, and continued.

"Nightfall killed your deputy."

There was silence. No, that's... not quite right. In fact, more chatter began around me. But I could only hear silence. I knew that many of my band mates had already known about this, and I didn't care about that. But I'd never told Thornclaw. Or Cloudtail, or any of them.

Sapphire looked over at me, but I avoided her glance. Instead, I forced myself to glance over at where the ThunderClanners sat, swallowing.

Cloudtail was staring quietly at Dire, not moving. Leafpool peered over, catching my gaze and narrowing her eyes a bit before she turned, heading back into the medicine den. Thornclaw was still looking at my leader, open-mouthed and wide-eyed. Then, slowly, he looked over at me, and we stared at each other for a long time. A look of shock and almost hurt was in his expression, and I wanted to say something- anything- but I couldn't. Finally, he flattened his ears, turning his gaze away to stare at the ground. I took a step towards him, but Sapphire lay her tail on my back.

"But if she killed their deputy," a voice rang out, "then doesn't that prove her loyalty to the band?" I blinked, watching as Ross took a few steps towards me. Turning, he looked up at his brother, a few taillengths from where Sapphire and I stood.

"Yeah, it does!" chimed Sapphire. "If anything, you're only helping prove her innocence!"

Then, I heard a few muffled "Excuse me"s as through the crowd pushed Mourn. A few seconds later, Badger followed, staring at the ground with a worried look on her face. My brother ran up to me and Sapphire, looking almost as if he would just topple to the floor. "Ross is right!" he squeaked, a bit timidly. He shrank back a little before continuing. "If she was loyal to ThunderClan, she never would have gone through with the plan so willingly!" I don't know if anyone was really listening to him, but I appreciated what he did.

"Quiet!" the leader snarled again. Suddenly, he looked down at Ross, his amber eyes nearly blazing. "You of all cats should know your place," he growled in a low voice. "Stand back and let me handle this."

Ross let out a small, half-hearted chuckle. The commotion around us began to quiet down as everyone's attention was turned to the argument that was beginning to rise between the leader and his deputy.

"My 'place' for me has always been to listen to you, to agree with you, and to do what you say," muttered Ross. "Ever since I've been named 'deputy.'"

I stared in amazement. He didn't have to be doing this. Not for me. Then again, maybe it wasn't just for me. Maybe it was for him, too.

"You should be grateful to me you're even here!" hissed Dire, his fur beginning to rise. "I'm the one who made this all happen!"

"You're not the one who killed their leader," Ross steadily retorted, not moving an inch.

There was a dead silence, now. No one dared speak. Everyone simply watched to see what would happen. Even I was slightly shocked. I'd never seen Ross speak out against his brother like that. Or at least, not in front of the whole gang. And not during a meeting regarding the murder of one of their own.

"...Well?" Dire said after an uncomfortably long silence. "Who do you choose- me or Nightfall? Because this time, you can't defend both."

"Nightfall didn't kill Scarlet," Ross growled, his eyes narrowing as his tail began to lash. I heard a few surprised voices around me; maybe now that their deputy was defending me, they'd change their minds. Maybe.

"Really?" Dire asked with mock surprise, obviously growing annoyed. "Then who did, Ross?"

They stared at each other for a long time, matching amber eyes unmoving, lips pulled back. I sucked in my breath. Ross had to have known the truth. But standing before the whole band, would anyone believe him if he said it? And Dire wouldn't have gone down that easily, anyway. He never did.

For a moment, I thought I could see the smallest of smirks cross Dire's face, though I could have just been imagining it. He straightened up, flicking his tail at once.

"Enough," he mumbled. "This foolishness ends now." He lifted his head up, puffing out his chest as he gazed over his cats. He seemed to look at each individual, one by one, until his eyes finally rested on me. I looked back at him silently. "Nightfall," he said slowly. "I believe the band has come to a decision."

The group began to roar, once again spitting out insults now that they'd seen Ross hesitate against Dire.

"Get out of here!" growled Tin, and Sapphire pulled back her lips, glaring at her brother, who, in turn, quieted down slightly.

"Traitor!" another screamed.

"We don't want you here!"

"I didn't do it!" I yelled, but no one listened. It wasn't even worth the effort.

Sapphire brushed up against me, as did Mourn. Badger stood beside him, and Ross turned to look at me for a brief instant. His eyes were glowing, a small frown on his face. He seemed to be telling me that he was sorry. I managed the smallest of smiles before Dire suddenly cut everyone off.

"Silence!" he growled, growing tired and impatient. He looked down at me, and finally, I allowed myself to narrow my eyes. I told myself that he wouldn't get away with this, but part of me knew he would. Part of me knew that he'd won, and at this point, I couldn't do anything. I swallowed, but I stood tall and straight, waiting for whatever my "punishment" was going to be.

"Nightfall," Dire said again with a lash of his tail. "I hereby banish you from my band, and from the lake territory. You are now an enemy to us, and we will treat you as such if you ever return."

I stood there, stiff, unable to move for a few moments. The crowd shouted and cheered, continuing to hurl names at me, but I could barely hear them. My claws involuntarily flexed and scraped against the rock, and I grew almost dizzy. This cat, who everyone admired and obeyed, had just exiled the one he'd made look guilty for his own crime. A sudden burst of hatred came over me; I couldn't even look at him anymore.

"No!" Sapphire cried, her ears flattened against her skull. "You can't!" No one payed attention.

Mourn looked at me, his expression like a little lost puppy's. His eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open, his whiskers quivering. He couldn't even say anything.

"Get out!" Ruby snarled, taking a few steps towards me. I took a step back, baring my teeth, but knowing that it was best not to start a fight now. I just needed to get out of this place.

I began running, pushing through the crowd and avoiding a few blows.

"Nightfall!" cried Sapphire, and a few seconds later I leaped up onto the slope, quickly scampering uphill and out of reach of the others. I managed to get to the top, making myself look back. Sapphire and Mourn were trying to push through the crowd after me, Dire yelling at his gang to hold them back. I didn't even pay attention to the rest of the band. I didn't care anymore. I looked over at where Thornclaw was standing, but he wasn't even looking my way. He was hunched over, staring at the floor, his shoulders sagging. Cloudtail looked up at me, a frown on his face, his expression hard to read from where I stood, though I could sense some sorrow. But before I turned away, I caught Ross's gaze. He took a few steps forward, his mouth open slightly. I frowned, flattening my ears and clenching my eyes shut for a moment. He'd tried to help me, I knew he had. And even if he couldn't do anything in the end, it touched me.

Opening my eyes and sucking in my breath, I looked one last time at my "leader," and before I could even think about what I was doing, I yelled, "I know you killed her, Dire." I could see, from the corner of my eye, Ross lifting his head to look at me, but I kept my gaze steady on his brother.

While a few cats spat and scoffed a this, a few quieted down, tilting their heads slightly. Dire stared at me, eyes narrowed, unmoving. He didn't say anything, and I quickly added, "I went to the Moonpool and talked to StarClan."

"The Moonpool?" Dire growled, lashing his tail. But, for some reason, I thought I could sense some surprise in his tone. As if he knew about the place. Brackenfur's words flashed through my mind, when he was telling me about my band's origins- could Dire have known about the Moonpool, and everything else?

I continued. "They let me witness Scarlet's death, from her point of view. And you were the only other one there."

A few cats now talked to each other with confusion, as if they were actually thinking over what I'd just said.

But Dire quickly stomped his foot, a sneer on his face. "That's enough of your desperate attempts to throw the murder onto somebody else's shoulders. The band has spoken. Get out."

Quickly refueled with energy by Dire's words, the cats turned to me again, growling and hissing and shouting. Though I could swear that a few of them had a look of uncertainty on their faces. And that was enough. Pulling my lips back at the leader, I finally turned away, suddenly wondering if I'd ever see any of these cats ever again. Mourn, Sapphire, the Clan cats, Dire... Ross. Quickly shaking my head and pushing those thoughts away, I turned, dashing through the bramble entrance and running through the trees until their shouts became distant.

I don't have anything to say loooolll. I'm really tired.

Reviewers get a... uh. Dire plushie? Sure.

Till next time (:

Pearly