Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors

Author's Note: Whenever it's Brokentail or Hopeheart's POV, all other cats think that they are speaking to Brokentail. When it is another cat's POV, they think that they are speaking to Brokentail so it will say Brokentail but it might not be Brokentail. Two minds, one body. They take turns inhabiting Brokentail's body in the real world.

When it is Runningnose's POV, Runningnose will call the cat he sees Brokentail until he knows which one it is and will refer to Hopeheart as female due to knowing she is a she-cat.

Nightpelt knows that Brokentail is two cats. He knows their names and genders so he will refer to them by the correct names and pronouns.

I understand this is confusing but this is narrator unreliability and necessary to the story.

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"Betrayal is the only truth that sticks."

~Arthur Miller

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He was back in the dark place but he didn't mind anymore. Ever since the shadows reached out for him, Brokentail embraced the darkness and the voices that the breeze carried.

He found that he rather liked it.

"Well done," a voice said. Brokentail whipped around to see a scrawny black tom slinking out of the shadows.

Brokentail blinked a few times. "Who are you?"

"The name's Houndleap," the tom introduced. "I'm going to be the one guiding your pawsteps from now on. Your paws in the Dark Forest, if you will."

Brokentail's eyes glowed. "You're one of the ones helping me take ShadowClan."

Houndleap nodded. "That's right. And now that you're deputy, there are only two things standing in your way."

"Hopeheart and Raggedstar."

Houndleap lifted his head so their eyes met. "Your kin. Your blood. I want to know that your ambition outweighs your loyalty."

"Of course it does," Brokentail growled. "I took care of Wishvine, didn't I?"

"We took care of Wishvine," Houndleap corrected. "It was the Dark Forest that gave you the power to… extract her soul from your body and it's the Dark Forest that will give you the strength to do the same with Hopeheart."

"How do we start?" Brokentail asked.

Houndleap beckoned him with his tail. "Come with me. There are some cats I want you to meet."

"Runningnose!" Hopeheart hissed quietly as she stuck her head into the medicine den. "Oh. Hi Yellowfang."

"Nice to see you," Yellowfang said with a dip of her head as she got to her paws and walked out.

Hopeheart watched her leave for a moment before scurrying across the medicine den to talk to Runningnose. "Runningnose! Brokentail's doing something again!"

"Yeah, he became deputy," Runningnose said, looking up from where he was sorting herbs. I feel like we've had this conversation before. Actually, I feel like we have it all the time.

"What?" Hopeheart looked surprised. "Fox dung. That actually makes a lot of sense."

"Did Nightpelt not tell you when you two went out for dawn patrol this morning?" Runningnose asked.

Hopeheart shook her head. "We both woke up really early and left and when we got back Raggedstar was angry. I guess I was supposed to organize patrols. Nightpelt was really embarrassed."

"We all really need to get on a better communication system. There's always at least one cat who doesn't know what's going on with all of this," Runningnose said, gesturing loosely with his tail. "So what were you going to tell me about Brokentail?"

"Oh right. Do you remember when I told you about running into Brokentail in that forest with all the shadows?" Hopeheart asked, sitting down next to Runningnose. The medicine cat wasn't sorting herbs anymore but he was moving them away from his paws. There talks were always far from calming and he didn't want to accidentally crush anything with nervous pacing or anxious shuffling. When Runningnose nodded, Hopeheart went on. "The shadows, they were moving. It felt like they were going to swallow me."

"Did it happen again?" Runningnose asked, concerned. He wasn't ready to lose his friend. He knew it was almost inevitable but it was too soon.

To his relief, Hopeheart shook her head. "No. I haven't been back to the Dark Forest yet. Something did happen though."

"What?"

"You know when I'm not here I'm in the dream realm. Just like when Brokentail's not here, he's in the Dark Forest," Hopeheart told him. "The place I go is the complete opposite of the Dark Forest. It's a field and there's always a lot of light. The field stretches forever. I've never wandered far but it goes on for as far as you can see."

"Did it change?" Runningnose asked. "Is it… I don't know, starting to turn into Brokentail's domain?"

Hopeheart started to shake her head then stopped. "Not quite. The borders… Well, there are borders now. They look just like the shadows from the Dark Forest. When I saw Brokentail there, he stood in a clearing surrounded by them and then they consumed him. I think the same thing's going to happen to me."

"Whatever that dark stuff is changed Brokentail," Runningnose said, putting a paw on hers and looking into her orange eyes. "You're strong though. The same thing won't happen."

"I don't think I'll change like Brokentail," Hopeheart said. "I think I'll just disappear like Wishvine."

"I know," Runningnose whispered, leaning his forehead against her shoulder. "I wish you wouldn't though. Even having you change would be better than that."

Hopeheart lapped his ear. "No it wouldn't. Even if I disappear, I'll die as myself, not another cat. And I think… I think I'll be okay with that. I just don't want to leave you and everyone else."

"Last time we had this talk you said you were going to try to live your best life before you couldn't anymore," Runningnose said. "How is that going?"

"Well, I'm deputy now so I guess I have the chance to do more for the clan now," Hopeheart told him, forcing cheerfulness into her voice. "I don't think I have much more time though."

"Again," Houndleap instructed. Brokentail gritted his teeth and reared up onto his hindpaws, lashing out his forepaws at an imaginary enemy. Once he finished, he returned to all four paws and looked at Houndleap. The tom's eyes were glowing with pride. "Well done. It's only been a moon but you are growing stronger."

"Strong enough to take out Hopeheart and Raggedstar?" Brokentail asked.

"I believe so. I did teach you the move Reedfeather used to kill Cloudpelt, yes?" Houndleap asked. Brokentail nodded. "Show me."

Brokentail did as he was told. The battlemove Houndleap had described wasn't a particularly complex one. It was rather simple, really, but it required a great deal of skill to execute. The power and accuracy had to be perfect to deal the maximum amount of damage to the most vulnerable of areas.

Houndleap gave a nod of approval once he had finished. "Well done. Did you know this move can take all the lives from a leader?"

"Really?" Clan leaders had nine lives. Brokentail knew even a monster couldn't take more than one life from a clan leader. He never would have imagined a cat could.

"The throat is vulnerable," Houndleap explained, "and no cat is immortal. If the wound is deep enough, even StarClan can't save them. Oh, they will try but those star-pelts only have so much power. They can't heal the entire wound."

"So when the leader is revived, he'll just die again," Brokentail realized.

Houndleap nodded. "Exactly."

"Which means I can kill Raggedstar."

"Provided you time it right, yes," Houndleap said. "You can't have your clanmates knowing. They would never accept you if they did and StarClan wouldn't share their power with you."

"I know what to do," Brokentail promised, "provided you and the rest of the Dark Forest is playing their part."

"We did," Houndleap responded. "Now it's time for you to wake up and end this."

"Hey, wake up," Nightpelt said, shaking Brokentail with one paw. The tabby tom opened one eye and glared at him as he pushed himself out of his nest.

"You don't have to wake me up every morning like you did when I was an apprentice," Brokentail grumbled as he got to his paws.

"Some cat needs to keep you in line," Nightpelt said goodnaturedly.

"I've been waking up at dawn for the entirety of my life since I was a kit," Brokentail deadpanned. "I've been deputy for a moon."

Nightpelt flicked his ear. "And you need to go organize dawn patrol so quit complaining."

Brokentail was still muttering as he walked out of the warriors' den. Nightpelt curled his tail in amusement. At times like these, it was easy to forget the cat Brokentail had become and remember the good old days. Deep down, Nightpelt still thought of Brokentail as the apprentice who he would race during dawn patrol and tease about messy fur. He knew that cat was long gone now. Brokentail wasn't his friend. If anything, he was an enemy who he shared a den with. He wasn't ready to give up on him yet though. Hopeheart was threatened by him but she hadn't declared Brokentail evil yet so Nightpelt allowed himself to have some hope. He doubted that Brokentail was going to change his ways and Nightpelt didn't know what he was planning to do next but he was sure there was a chance his paws would follow a different path. He was still young, barely a season cycle old. He had his whole future. He could change.

Nightpelt padded out of the den and hung at the edge of the cats who had woken up to listen for the schedule. Brokentail had become a natural at giving orders and organized the patrols flawlessly with an authority that Cloudpelt and Foxheart had always lacked. He's so much like his father, Nightpelt thought. I'm sure that's why Raggedstar holds him in such high regard. Partially at least.

Once he was finished, Brokentail moved away from the clanrock and approached his former mentor. "Ready?"

Nightpelt could help but feel warmed by the fact that Brokentail was so willing to keep going on dawn patrol with him like this. It's about time too. He's been fighting me for seasons. "Where to?"

"The WindClan border," Brokentail said. "I want to make sure WindClan isn't stirring up anymore trouble."

Nightpelt still had his suspicions about what went on a moon ago but he said nothing. "Alright. I don't think that there will be anything there though. But I suppose refreshing the scent markers won't do any harm."

Brokentail responded with a wordless nod and took off in the direction of WindClan territory with Nightpelt not far behind.

The pair crossed the territory and hadn't even broken the edge of the forest when Nightpelt's nose was flooded with WindClan scent. At first, he thought he was mistaken but he soon was certain of it. WindClan? What are they doing so far over the border?

Brokentail growled and broken into a run. Nightpelt lingered for a few seconds, taking in the scent, before joining him. When he caught up, Brokentail's nose was pressed to the ground and he was furiously clawing the ground.

"How dare they?" Brokentail growled. "Crossing our border…"

"This far too," Nightpelt said, glancing over his shoulder to look into the pine forest. "There's no way they would have gone that far without stealing prey."

Brokentail flexed his claws. "WindClan will pay."

"I'm sure they will," Nightpelt said, turning back in the direction of camp. "Come on. We need to go report this to Raggedstar."

"WindClan? Crossing our border?" Raggedstar repeated, looking between Nightpelt and Brokentail. The three cats were sitting outside Raggedstar's den. The leader hadn't expected anything to happen today and had been surprised when the two approached him. This is not good news. It hasn't been that long since WindClan's deputy killed Cloudpelt. The clan is still recovering. We can afford another battle but I wanted to avoid one. WindClan might not be giving me a choice though.

Nightpelt nodded in confirmation. "Their scent was deep into the pine forest. It was no accident."

"Did you talk with them? Did you find any prey?"

Nightpelt shook his head. "No. We came here to report as soon as we could. We didn't wait for another patrol or stop to check for prey scents."

"I thought the two of us could go check it out," Brokentail suggested. "We need to decide the best course of action and I think we could best do that if we both knew exactly what was going on."

That's my son, Raggedstar thought with pride. "Good idea. Nightpelt, you're in charge while we're gone."

Nightpelt dipped his head. "Thank you, Raggedstar. May StarClan light your path."

"We're just scenting the border, not invading WindClan," Raggedstar huffed with a roll of his eyes. "You do not need to worry, Nightpelt."

"Anything can happen, even to the clan leader and deputy," Nightpelt said ominously. "Especially the clan leader and deputy. Just be careful."

Raggedstar had to admit that the warrior's concern was comforting. "Of course. Let the clan know if anyone asks, will you?"

Nightpelt nodded and Raggedstar trotted out of camp, Brokentail close behind. "Where was it that you found the WindClan scent?"

"This way," Brokentail told him, pointing with his tail before taking the lead. "It's all over the forest. You can't miss it."

It did not take long to reach the place that Brokentail had described. The warrior was right. The area was drowned in WindClan scent. Raggedstar growled and dug his claws into the earth. WindClan… How dare they? They steal prey from ShadowClan territory and kill the ShadowClan deputy and now have the nerve to walk all over our land like it's theirs? I wanted to settle this peacefully but it seems Harestar is leaving me little choice.

"Over here," Brokentail said, beckoning his father with his tail. "There's this strange scent over here by the border. I want to know what you think of it."

Raggedtstar made his way over and leaned down to smell the spot Brokentail had asked him to sniff. "I don't smell anything out of the ordin-"

Raggedstar was cut off by a searing pain in his neck. His eyes went wide, almost the entire sclera of his eyes becoming visible, as he let out a strangled choke. He felt his legs go weak and give out under him but he barely felt his body hit the ground. The pain in his neck was sharp and overwhelming. He couldn't feel much else. Why does it hurt so much? Where did it come from?

He could see his son standing over him when he looked up at the sky. The sky is so blue… Brokentail's eyes are so orange… Just like his mother's. Don't miss me when I'm gone… Mentally, he paused. Wait. I have nine lives. I'll be fine. I hope the pain just stops soon so StarClan can hurry up and heal me.

Black spots began to enter his vision. Despite the pain, Raggedstar could feel a paw on his shoulder. He tried to tell Brokentail that everything was going to be okay but thanks to the wound on his neck, that was impossible. The only sound that left his lips was a gurgle wet with blood.

The darkness slowly overtook his entire sense of sight and Raggedstar felt his body relax. He slipped into a painless bliss and felt a strange sensation as his life left him. When he opened his eyes, he was standing in StarClan.

"Cedarstar," he greeted when he saw the dark grey tom standing in StarClan hunting grounds. "It's good to see you."

"No it's not," Cedarstar responded. "The only time we see each other is when you die."

"True," Raggedstar hummed. "I do wish we could see each other under better circumstances."

"I do as well," the former ShadowClan leader told him. "I was going to warn you of this last night but another force stopped you. I'm sorry. I have failed you."

Raggedstar blinked in confusion. What kind of force is powerful enough to stop StarClan? "Don't be sorry. You have never failed me. It's the life you gave me that's going to allow me to return to my clan."

"I gave you a life for judgement," Cedarstar reminded him. "It seems I've failed you."

"What?" Raggedstar blinked and tilted his head in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Wake up and you will," Cedarstar told him.

Raggedstar was suddenly thrown back into the real world again. As his eyes snapped open, he felt his neck explode with pain. He tried to yowl but his voice was still garbled. Why does it hurt so much? Why is the wound still there? Didn't StarClan heal it?

Raggedstar's amber eyes roamed the area and fell on Brokentail. His son was the only cat there. What was it that hurt me then? I was almost certain that a WindClan cat had attacked or that I had fallen on a sharp stone but there's nothing here that could have hurt me like that. Raggedstar was still lying on the flat ground with Brokentail crouched over him. He wheezed and reached out with one paw helplessly. Please… Help me.

Black flooded his vision again and Raggedpelt found himself back in StarClan facing Cedarstar once more. The old tom looked sad.

"Why am I back here?" Raggedstar demanded. "Can't StarClan heal me?"

"We're trying," Cedarstar promised. "Some wounds are more difficult to heal than others. In your time as clan leader, you haven't lost any lives so there's hope. You just lost your second. You still have seven more. Just stay strong, Raggedstar. You will make it through this."

Wounds so bad that StarClan can't heal them? Raggedstar couldn't believe it. "What was it that hurt me? Why was it so bad?"

"Go back and see for yourself," Cedarstar told him.

Raggedstar was suddenly back in his body on that moorland ground. He struggled to sit up and look around only to fall back down as a wave of pain radiated from his neck. As his legs forced him to collapse again, he felt his paws slide in something. His eyes rolled downward and he saw that he had slipped in his own blood.

Brokentail was still at his side. "Just lie down. Don't fight it. It will all be over soon."

Raggedstar's senses were disoriented, his vision was blurry and everything didn't quite sound right, but his son's words cut through it all clearly and it comforted him. He's right. It hurts now, it hurts so bad, but StarClan can save me.

Everything blurred into black again and Raggedstar was back on StarClan's hunting grounds with Cedarstar. "This is getting repetitive. Everytime I go back, it doesn't feel like anything's happening. Are you sure you're healing me?"

"Yes," Cedarstar told him. "I would take you to see the place that StarClan is drawing its power to save you but the process mustn't be interrupted. Have faith and stay strong."

That's what you told me last time, Raggedstar mentally grumbled. "I still don't know why I'm dying."

"Go back and see for yourself," Cedarstar told him again.

Now that he was expecting to return to his body and feel the pain, it wasn't quite so jarring but Raggedpelt still wanted to yowl his heart out. He couldn't explain how excruciating it was. Waves of it rippled through his body, coming from the open wound in his throat. He could feel blood gushing out of it like a river. Raggedstar almost wished StarClan would just stop and let him die. It hurt so much.

He blacked out again and faced Cedarstar once again. "It's not working!"

"I know!" Cedarstar snapped. "Your wound is too deep. We're working on it. Just try to relax."

"How in the name of StarClan can you expect me to be relaxed at a time like this?" I'm dying for Siverpelt's sake!

"We are StarClan," Cedarstar sighed. "Do you know why you're dying?"

"No."

"Well then quit complaining and look harder!" Cedarstar snapped. Raggedstar wanted to take a step back in shock but even the projection of his spirit couldn't move. Cedarstar is losing his cool. It has to be bad if he's this stressed about it. I've died four times. I only have five more chances and I'll be up here in Silverpelt permanently.

In a heartbeat, Raggedstar was back in his body. He was getting tired of this. The grass felt sticky under his pelt and it was incredibly disgusting as well as alarming knowing that it was because of his own blood. Raggedstar remained still this time. He didn't want to make the wound worse. His eyes looked up at Brokentail. The tabby was still with him.

Raggedstar opened his maw but didn't try to speak. He wanted to more than anything save perhaps for the wound to be healed or to finally die but he didn't. Cedarstar told him to let StarClan do their work so that was what he was going to do.

"Five more chances," Brokentail whispered as Raggedstar was tossed back into Silverpelt.

"It's not working!" Raggedpelt exclaimed.

"By the stars, don't you think I know that? Stop saying it!" Cedarstar snapped. "Make yourself useful and figure out what did this to you."

"You mean you don't know?"

"Of course I know! I'm StarClan but you wouldn't believe me if I told you. You have to see it with your own eyes," Cedarstar told him. "You just lost your fifth life. You have four more. Make good use of them."

That sounds so optimistic, Raggedstar snarked sarcastically in his mind as he opened his eyes in the field for the fifth time. He tried to lift his head but it only made it half a mouse-length off the ground before pain shot back up from his throat and forced him to rest it on the grass again.

Raggedstar's eyes fell on his son. Even now after waking up to the pain so many times already, his son was all he could focus on. He opened his mouth again but this time, he tried to speak. "Brokentail…"

He coughed, blood coming up and splattering onto the grass. His eyes rolled back and he struggled for breath but he quickly he realized he wouldn't be able to find it so he kept trying.

"What…" he croaked before the black smudges swimming in his vision overtook him once more.

"Try harder," Cedarstar said when Raggedstar looked at him.

"You try harder!" Raggedstar retorted. "I only have three lives left!"

Cedarstar didn't respond this time. He merely flicked his tail and Raggedstar was back on the ground. Raggedstar let out a low, broken noise and began thrashing. I'm going to die!

Brokentail leaned over him, orange eyes meeting amber. He hovered hardly a whisker away from his face. "It's almost over, father."

Don't you think I know that? Raggedstar wanted to yowl. Go find whatever did this to me! Raggedstar blinked. He has to know. Come on Brokentail. Tell me what killed me.

If Brokentail said anything, Raggedstar didn't hear since he was back in StarClan. "Cedarstar!"

"Quit panicking," Cedarstar snapped. "How many times do I have to tell you this? Geez. Young cats. It's like they stuff moss into their ears every morning."

"I think my reaction is perfectly reasonable," Raggedstar said coolly. "How close are you?"

"Close," Cedarstar promised. "I think you will survive this."

"Oh thank StarClan," Raggedstar exhaled.

"One more time should do it."

"Mouse dung!"

"Don't worry, it'll give you a chance to figure it out before you fix things."

Raggedstar wanted to claw Cedarstar in the face. This repetitiveness was long since tiring. I guess dying this many times is a gift in its own painful way. If I only died once, I never would figure out how I was dying. I need to figure it out this time.

Raggedstar's eyes roamed the area. Once again, they landed on Brokentail. Thank StarClan he's still here. I don't know if I'd be able to handle this without him.

Standing in the field of green with the blue sky and moor ridges behind him, Brokentail's brown tabby pelt was stark. Maybe that was why Raggedstar kept focusing on him. It stands out against all the other colors… The red on his paws does too… Wait. Wait…. Oh StarClan! How could I have been so blind?

Realization overtook Raggedstar as he was thrown back into Silverpelt.

"I think we've healed you this time," Cedarstar reported.

"That's not important!" Raggedstar exploded. He paused. "Well, it is. Thank you. But-"

"Brokentail tried to kill you," Cedarstar interupted. "He failed and he now must face the consequences."

"My own son," Raggedstar said. "I can't believe this…"

"StarClan sent many warnings," Cedarstar told him, "but I suppose that they didn't reach the right cats nor did those cats listen."

"Warnings?" Raggedstar questioned.

"Your medicine cats know of the terror that Brokentail will bring," Cedarstar told him. "Now it's time for you to go back and prevent it."

Raggedpelt was suddenly back in the field and he knew it was the last time. He squeezed his eyes shut, expecting to feel that pain in his neck, but it was gone, reduced to a mere ache. Slowly, he opened his eyes and blinked. Cedarstar was right. They saved me.

Raggedstar rose to his paws. He turned his head swiftly, eyes falling on Brokentail. The tabby tom looked clearly surprised. Raggedstar's eyes narrowed lividly as anger erupted in his chest and echoed in his bones. The betrayal stung deep but the rage overpowered it. "Thought you could kill me, did you?"

Brokentail took a step back and shook his head. He blinked innocently. "It wasn't me. It was a fox. I chased it off."

"There is blood on your paws," Raggedstar growled. It made his throat hurt but he could feel that the wound was closed. Raw but closed. Speaking wouldn't cause more damage, he was certain of it.

"I tried to stop the bleeding," Brokentail told him. "It just wouldn't stop so I thought I would leave it in the paws of StarClan. It looked like it was a hard wound to heal. Your body kept convulsing and you kept losing consciousness. I was so scared you wouldn't wake up."

Normally, Raggedstar's heart would reach out for his son. But not this time. "Cedarstar confirmed the truth. You're a liar, Brokentail. You didn't learn that from being my son. What or who is making you do this?"

"Nothing is making me do this more than my own ambition," Brokentail said, demeanor suddenly changing into something darker. "I will admit that I had some help. The Dark Forest has a cat in WindClan who convinced a patrol to cross the border so I could take you here to investigate it but even without them, I would have found a way to dispose of you. I'm just disappointed that Houndleap's move wasn't enough to take all of your lives."

Dark Forest? A WindClan cat? Houndleap? Raggedstar's mind whirled. "What are you up to, Brokentail?"

"Nothing," Brokentail responded. "The Dark Forest just wants to make the clans what they could have been and I'm willing to work with them to make ShadowClan they greatest clan it can be. Unfortunately for you, you're in the way of that."

Raggedstar was on guard so when Brokentail's paws came flying at his vulnerable throat again, he managed to react quickly enough to block the blow but he wasn't expecting a hind paw to rake down his soft underbelly. Raggedstar yowled in pain. That's no ShadowClan move. He's only balanced on one paw! That's closer to a ThunderClan move if anything. Only ThunderClan cats know how to use their tails to balance like that.

Raggedstar stumbled back and tried to strie back but Brokentail was too quick for him. He weaved between his raised paws and butted him in the chest, sending him tumbling. Raggedstar tried to get back up but he was still weak and couldn't avoid getting pinned by Brokentail.

"I'll finish you this time," Brokentail growled in his face, sinking his claws into his father's chest.

Raggedstar's face screwed up in pain but he forced himself to glare right back at Brokentail defiantly. "ShadowClan will never welcome you as their leader and StarClan will never accept you as a cat worthy of their power. You won't get your leader name or your nine lives, Brokentail."

"Really?" Brokentail questioned before leaning forward to speak quietly into Raggedstar's ear. "Watch me."

And then bolt of pain shot through Raggedstar's throat for a ninth and final time. ShadowClan's leader was dead within heartbeats.