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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"Hey, sister. Know the water's sweet but blood is thicker."
~Hey Brother, Avicii
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"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather around the clan rock for a meeting!"
Yellowfang stuck her head out of the medicine cat den at the sound of the voice echoing through the camp. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Runningnose was following. He had a troubled expression. A heartbeat later, Yellowfang realized why. That was Brokentail, not Raggedstar.
Runningnose locked eyes with Yellowfang for a moment before pushing past her to pad out into the camp. Yellowfang trailed after them and the two took their seats near the head of the clan. As the rest of their clanmates trickled out of their dens and dropped their fresh-kill, Yellowfang realized something was wrong.
The first thing she noticed was that Raggedstar was nowhere in sight. Once Nightpelt and Stumpypaw came to sit with her and Runningnose, Yellowfang bumped her shoulder against Nightpelt's, silently asking if he knew what was going on. He shook his head but the look in his eyes was more alarmed than Yellowfang expected. He knew something she didn't.
The second thing she noticed was the blood stains on Brokentail's paws and the gashes along his shoulders, chest, and flank. Clearly, he had just seen battle. Yellowfang felt Runningnose stiffen next to her. She closed her eyes for a few moments. I'm sure everything is fine.
Brokentail's gaze swept over the clan from where he sat atop the clan rock. His expression was unreadable but emotion swamped in his eyes. "ShadowClan, I'm afraid I have some very grave news. Raggedstar is dead."
Yellowfang felt her blood run cold. What?
The clan was silent for a few heartbeats before breaking into noise.
"What? How can he be dead?"
"He was gifted nine lives from StarClan!"
"Raggedstar was so young."
"How? What happened?"
"Was it WindClan? Badgers?"
It all became background noise for the aging medicine cat. The world around her blurred. Raggedstar… She loved him once. Not anymore, not really. She knew that she wasn't his anymore. Still, it hurt. It felt like a cat ran his claws down her heart, shattering the already broken halves. Raggedstar broke my heart and I named Brokentail for it. Now my son's… This is so much worse. Raggedstar, I'll miss you. I hope your journey to StarClan wasn't too painful.
A voice in the back of her mind reminded her that Raggedstar had not previously lost a single life. That same voice was telling her that the journey was undoubtedly painful. But she ignored it. She needed to cling to the last of her hope, no matter how little was left.
Brokentail lashed his tail once, ending the commotion in a single motion. "During dawn patrol this morning, Nightpelt and I found WindClan scents on our side of the border."
"It's true," Nightpelt confirmed, voice ringing in the quiet. "They wandered pretty deep, past the treeline. This was no accident."
"My thoughts exactly," Brokentail went on. His tail tip twitched. "When Nightpelt and I returned, I reported to Raggedstar and the two of us went to investigate."
"And you were attacked?" some cat asked. Yellowfang couldn't tell who it was.
Brokentail nodded. "We were attacked by a WindClan patrol. Raggedstar got a nasty wound on the throat, just like Cloudpelt, and bled out in my paws. I tried to save him but the wound was too deep."
"Raggedstar had nine lives," Runningnose spoke up. His voice was hoarse with disbelief and shock, cracking halfway through his statement. Yellowfang realized that most of the clan could use some thyme just about now. "I know for certain he wasn't on the last one. Couldn't StarClan save him?"
Brokentail shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not a medicine cat. Now, I'm ShadowClan's leader."
Yellowfang knew it was coming but hearing it with her own two ears was jarring in an inexplicable way. No… StarClan warned me so many moons ago and now Brokentail- no. Brokenstar's reign has begun. May StarClan help us all.
"We need to attack WindClan immediately!" Mudclaw growled, sinking his claws into the ground. "First they kill our deputy then they kill our leader? This cannot go unavenged!"
"I couldn't agree more," Brokentail said. His gaze cut over to the pair of medicine cats. Yellowfang couldn't help but flinch under it. His orange eyes glowed like a low moon. "Tonight, you will take me to the Moonstone and I will recieve my nine lives from StarClan."
Yellowfang opened her mouth but her tongue immediately went dry. She wanted to argue. By Silverpelt, StarClan itself told her of the terror Brokenstar would bring. She knew she couldn't do anything though. Yellowfang closed her eyes and hung her head. This is my fault. When he was born, I saw that anger in him and I knew he would be everything StarClan said he would. I let my heart get the better of me.
Brokentail seemed to take her silence as submission. He nodded his head once before leaping off the clanrock. "We will leave at once. I need my nine lives as soon as possible to make WindClan pay for taking my father from me."
Yellowfang tried to protest but she still couldn't find the words. Thankfully Runningnose, StarClan bless his soul, spoke up.
"You're still bleeding!" Runningnose exclaimed. "And you haven't even washed the blood off your paws. Where's Raggedstar's body? We must sit a vigil for him."
"Nightpelt, Blackfoot," Brokentail barked. "You two will help Runningnose with the vigil preparations. Nightpelt, you remember where we found those scents. Take some cats with you to help you carry my father back to camp. Blackfoot, make sure everyone sits the vigil tonight. Yellowfang and I won't be here."
Alarm flashed in Yellowfang's chest. "Wait, we're not staying?"
Brokentail's gaze locked on her again. Yellowfang didn't flinch but the pain in her heart only grew when she saw her own eyes in his. Oh StarClan… He may have his father's fur but he's got my eyes. He inherited more than just the color. Yellowfang swallowed and drew her tail in close. He's hurting just like me. He's just not letting himself show it. My poor son. I wish life had not been so harsh. I wish you didn't have to walk this path.
"Are you questioning your leader?" Brokentail demanded.
Yellowfang shook her head. Brokentail didn't react. He just turned tail and began heading out of camp. Yellowfang halfheartedly took a step after him before stopping and glancing back at Runningnose. The young tom looked sympathetic. He was the only cat who knew she was feeling this pain. I just wanted to say goodbye to Raggedstar…
It was almost as if Runningnose read her mind. He bounded up to her and pressed his forehead against her shoulder before lifting his muzzle to whisper into her ear. "Don't worry. I'll tell him goodbye for you. I'll make sure he knows how much you meant to him."
"Thank you," Yellowfang breathed. She cast one last look at her friends and was slightly saddened to see that Cloudpelt and Raggedstar didn't stand among the cats she called friends- the cats she could call kin- anymore. It comforted her to know that Runningnose, Nightpelt, and even Stumpypaw were still with her. But for how long? a voice in the back of her mind asked. We know what Brokentail will bring. None of them are safe in ShadowClan.
"Hurry it up," Brokentail snapped before Yellowfang could get lost in thought. "We have a lot of land to cover between here and the Highstones and not a lot of time before moonhigh."
For once, Yellowfang was too distracted and anxious to focus on the mysteriousness and beauty of Mothermouth and the Moonstone. It felt like a lifetime's worth of thoughts were storming through her mind. StarClan warned me about Brokentail's destiny. Would they really share their power with him and gift him the nine lives and name of a leader?
She didn't know. Even after all these seasons, Yellowfang felt like she knew nothing of the ways of StarClan.
Brokentail stalked down the long, dark tunnel with sharp pawsteps. He seemed hurried. Yellowfang didn't know why, the moon was barely out. Still, the Moonstone shone brilliantly when they entered the main part of the cave.
Through all the emotions swamping her being, Yellowfang managed to speak. "Touch the Moonstone and StarClan will bring you to Silverpelt."
Brokentail nodded wordlessly and approached the Moonstone. Wasting no time, he settled next to it and pressed his muzzle against it. Within moments, the tabby fell into a deep sleep.
Yellowfang moved to his side and took a moment to watch him lie there peacefully. Once again, she was reminded of the first time she laid eyes on him. He had looked so angry and ferocious yet vulnerable at the same time. Standing here beside him like this, Yellowfang knew that those old feelings still lingered. Brokentail was her son and would soon be her clan leader. She would follow and support him no matter what. She had to.
Sighing, Yellowfang settled beside him. She closed her eyes and touched her nose to the stone. When she blinked her eyes open, she was standing in the same field in StarClan where Raggedstar received his nine lives. Desperately, she looked around for him but he was nowhere in sight.
Yellowfang heard a deep, sharp breath sound from beside her. Without turning, she said, "Don't worry, Brokentail. Paralysis is normal. You're old life is being stripped away so that StarClan can-"
"Brokentail?" an unfamiliar voice mewed. Yellowfang was confused for a moment. The mew was distinctly female. Yellowfang whipped around. What she saw made her gasp.
StarClan's hunting grounds, normally so light and bright, were tainted with darkness. The field of healthy grass and leafy trees harshly broke into barren dirt and trees as dark as shadows. That wasn't even the most jarring thing. Beside Brokentail stood a cream grey she-cat.
"Hopeheart?" Brokentail questioned. He sounded dazed. Almost like he didn't know what happened. "Where… Oh. We're between the dream realm and the dark place again."
"Yeah," Hopeheart whispered. "We are."
"Go before they get you again," Brokentail said. His voice sounded distant. Yellowfang took a few steps towards him and saw that his orange eyes were glazed over. "Like they got Wishvine."
"They've already got you," Hopeheart whispered, her voice hardly more than a breath. She lapped his ear. To Yellowfang's surprise, he purred. Brokentail sounded genuinely happy. Hopeheart kept grooming him and broke into a purr but despite the rumble, sadness shone in her eyes.
"What's going to happen?" Brokentail whispered. His eyes were round with kit-like fear.
"You're here to get your nine lives," Yellowfang said. "Brokentail, you-"
The two cats ignored her. They seemed to be in their own world. My son and daughter. I'm here, with them, and I don't even want to talk to them, Yellowfang realized. She wanted to let them have this moment. This is precious.
"Last time I was here, the voices in the breeze pulled me in," Brokentail told her quietly, leaning his head against his sister's neck. "It… It felt good. I could always hear them and finally giving into them… It was what killed Wishvine."
"I know," Hopeheart responded. "It's not your fault."
"I'm broken," Brokentail murmured. "I'm broken- we're broken- right down the middle. It's in our nature. You're our hope and happiness. You're the one who helps us make friends and makes sure that we all keep our heads held high. Wishvine is- was- our caring side. All she wanted to do was help others. She couldn't hurt a moth if she tried. You two are the good side of us. Me, I'm our anger. I'm the fighter. I've got… I'm our ambition. And without a friendly or caring spirit to guide that…"
"You're misguided. Vulnerable, gullible," Hopeheart said. Her gaze lifted and she stared out into the forest of shadows. "It makes you listen to them."
"When I hear them, I listen," Brokentail told her. "I can't help it. It feels good. Even though I'm doing bad things. Like… Like killing our father. Hopeheart, I'm a bad cat."
Hopeheart wrapped her tail around the two of them. Yellowfang couldn't help but feel like she shouldn't be watching this tender moment between littermates but she couldn't find the willpower to step away.
"You're not a bad cat," Hopeheart promised. "I know you. Yes, your a grumpy old badger but so any cat. Wishvine and I know the real you. We know the brother that was so excited to make friends and hunt for the clan or just relax in the sunlight with his kin."
"I haven't been that cat in a long time," Brokentail sighed. He cast his gaze over his shoulder. "And I've got a feeling that cat is going to be gone forever. One of us is dying here today and either way, whichever cat walks out of here won't return to the clan as the same cat."
"I know. Whatever happens, I love you, brother, and I'm sorry."
"Me too. I love you and Wishvine more than anything and I'm sorry I wasn't the best brother and I'm sorry that I can't resist listening to Mapleshade and Houndleap."
Mapleshade and Houndleap? Yellowfang tilted her head. Who are they?
As if on cue, a voice was carried by in the breeze.
"Get away from her," the voice growled. "Her presence corrupts you with kindness. Step away and give into the darkness within you."
"Together, we are a balanced cat. Our natures influence each other," Hopeheart said, drawing her tail around the two tighter. "But it's time to let go of each other."
"You make me a kit again and I make you a warrior," Brokentail murmured. He lapped her ear one last time. "But it's time for us to let go. We are our own cats."
"For better…"
"... Or for worse."
Yellowfang didn't think her heart could break any more but she felt it all over again. Hopeheart and Brokentail are better together but alone they are different. They're all the other has. And now they're going to leave each other.
Yellowfang got to her paws as Hopeheart uncurled her tail. The medicine cat tried to take a step forward but the feeling of a tail tip on her shoulder stopped her.
Yellowfang glanced over only to be met with faded grey eyes. A pale ginger she-cat stood at her side. She too looked like her heart had just been torn apart.
"The three of us can't coexist," the she-cat told her. "There needs to be balance between the light of Silverpelt and the dark of the void in every cat. After I was thrown out, the Dark Forest began calling Brokentail and Silverpelt began calling for Hopeheart. A cat can't walk in with a paw in both places."
"Why now?" Yellowfang whispered. "Wishvine, I've only now been reunited with my kits. Why now?"
"You've seen the signs," Wishvine told her gently. "Both of them are being driven to their extremes. Brokentail is angry and destructive while Hopeheart is loving and cheerful. They've been like this for moons, no balance. The balance is finally going to be broken."
"They're going to fight each other," Yellowfang realized.
Wishvine nodded solemnly. "They're going to fight each other. And one of them is going to die."
The alarm flooding Yellowfang's body broke into sheer panic. No! I just lost Raggedstar, I haven't even had the chance to grieve him yet. I can't lose one of my kits too.
Yellowfang turned to face Wishvine, eyes wide. "You're in StarClan. Can't you stop them?"
Wishvine shook her head. "We're not even supposed to be here."
"What do you mean?"
"Before a leader receives his or her nine lives, the old life is stripped away," Wishvine reminded. "StarClan can't interfere with the process and with Brokentail being connected to the Dark Forest, they can't watch either. This is all out of our paws."
"Then how are you here?"
"I am one of them."
Yellowfang frowned. I don't understand.
Amusement momentarily flashed through Wishvine's apparent sorrow. "Like Brokentail said, the three of us are one. We balance each other. When that balance was upset, I was banished and the balance was even more offset. I am tied to them. If they're here, I'm here."
"Then why am I here?" Yellowfang asked.
Wishvine shrugged. "There are some things that even StarClan does not understand. Anyway, we wouldn't be able to step in if we wanted to. We can only watch."
Yellowfang didn't know if she could watch. For StarClan's sake, she was about to watch a fight knowing one of her kin was going to die at his or her littermate's paw. Hopeheart and Brokentail had only been parted for a few heartbeats and already their personas had changed drastically. The mere sight of them made Yellowfang's heart pound against her chest and echo in her ribcage. This is too much.
Brokentail was the first to drop into a battle stance. Whole body tense, his rippling muscles were visible under his healthy tabby pelt. His tail lashed behind him. In preparation for the fight or just for balance, Yellowfang did not know but it looked angry. He crouched forward, pushing his weight down to the front of his body and pressing against the ground, ready to spring forward.
Brokentail's eyes were narrowed into thin orange slits. He wasn't facing Yellowfang but the old medicine cat could see the sheer emotion in them. He was angry, angry as the day he was born, and he wasn't willing to take defeat as an answer.
To Yellowfang's surprise, Hopeheart had just as much fire in her eyes, if not more. She wasn't angry though. No, her kind-hearted daughter had the spitfire spirit that only came from love and loyalty. Hopeheart was a cat with something to fight for and she would fight to the death for it.
The grey she-cat was smaller than the brown tabby tom. Hopeheart was lean and sleeker than her bulky, well-muscled brother but it was clear by the way she held herself that she had more control. Hopeheart moved her paws with nimble precision and the battle crouch she chose was far more calculated than Brokentail's. Still, Brokentail had power on his side.
"I won't die tonight," Hopeheart vowed. Her brown eyes held a warmth that Brokentail's orange ones never could and that made her emotion a lot easier to read. Truly, she was a warrior through and through and she would not give up on what was important. "I have so much to live for."
"Me too," Brokentail growled. He dug his claws into the ground before sheathing them again. "I've sacrificed so much, survived so much, and I've promised myself and my allies that I would become ShadowClan's leader. I've come too far to lose now."
"The clan is important but the individuals are even more special," Hopeheart responded. "I can never leave Nightpelt. He's my friend and he's already lost one of us. I'm the only cat he's got left to remind him of Wishvine. I need to stay with Stumpypaw until he grows into the best warrior the clans have ever seen. Yellowfang, she's always supported me and been willing to protect me. She's been the mother to me that I never had as a kit. And Runningnose… Runningnose is my best friend and I love him. For him, I would fight to the ends of the earth."
"You speak with strength but your words are weak," Brokentail spat. He suddenly lunged. "The truly strong fight for themselves and take what they want!"
Hopeheart reared up to block Brokentail's attack. Using her forepaws, she managed to hit Brokentail square in the chest just as he was about to make contact. Twisting him around, she slammed him into the ground but that did little to slow him. Lying on his flank, Brokentail lashed out with one paw and swiped Hopeheart's hindleg. She hissed in pain as a gash formed. She retreated a few steps, getting away from Brokentail before he could attack again, and craned her neck to inspect the wound.
It's not deep, Yellowfang observed. Just a surface scratch. Still, Brokentail had drawn first blood and Hopeheart's fighting spirit was fired up enough to counter. Yellowfang was just an observer but the other she-cat's words had shaken her. She's fighting for her friends. She has no kin, they're all she has. And even though Runningnose never told her of her heritage, she thinks of me as her kin. Hopeheart… Please, win this battle and save yourself and the clans.
Brokentail was almost back on his paws within a heartbeat but this time Hopeheart took the initiative. She was on him before his paws found their balance, ramming her weight into him and trying to pin him. However, Brokentail was a sturdy cat. When Hopeheart slammed into his flank, Brokentail stumbled back a couple tail lengths but didn't fall and managed to find his footing before taking a tumble into the barren battlefield by lashing his tail for balance and spreading his hind paws to widen his stance.
Despite his efforts, Hopeheart was relentless. She was in his face the whole time, somehow managing to balance on her back legs long and well enough to land several blows on his face. By the time Brokentail stopped himself, Hopeheart had her paws wrapped around his neck and her teeth were clamped down on his ear.
Brokentail yowled in pain. The ears were sensitive, no cat liked being bit on the ear. Brokentail bucked, loosening her grip, and butted her in the belly with the top of his head. Hopeheart fell back but managed to twist around to keep the spill from turning into a fatal mistake. Still, she couldn't move in time to dodge Brokentail's counterattack. Brokentail threw himself on her, crushing her under his weight, and began slashing at her with his claws on all four paws, leaving dozens of scratches on her flank, chest, and shoulders.
They're really trying to kill each other, Yellowfang thought. They're both strong warriors but one of them is going to come out on top.
The problem was that she didn't know who.
Hopeheart yowled and thrust her paws into the air, freeing them from Brokentail's move. She grappled at him but Brokentail kept up his attack. Hopeheart kept struggling but Brokentail didn't stop. Slowly, her movements slowed and she went limp.
Yellowfang's eyes widened. Is she… No. She can't be…
Brokentail rose, preparing to take a step back when Hopeheart exploded upward. Brokentail hadn't even moved away from her when her head shot up and her sharp, white teeth fastened around his throat.
Brokentail made a choking sound. "I can't believe I fell for that trick a second time…"
"And I bet you can't believe I'm going to kill you with the same move you used to kill our father," Hopeheart growled through a mouthful of fur. Yellowfang saw her jaw muscles clench, increasing the pressure. Blood trickled out of Brokentail's throat and down Hopeheart's chin, staining her grey chest fur.
Part of Yellowfang wanted to yowl and beg her to stop. She had to admit deep down she knew that Hopeheart had to win this fight but weather the cat be a power-hungry future tyrant or a loving, loyal warrior, these cats were her kits. She couldn't bear to see anything happen to them, even if they were inflicting it on each other. I have to do something.
She would have stepped in. She really would have. Moons from now, she was certain she tried. But she couldn't. It was as if an unseen force was holding her paws down. Try as she might, she couldn't move them.
A heartbeat later, she realized that even if she did move she would have been too late.
"No," Brokentail growled, voice garbled from the wound on the soft part of his neck. "This is the move I used to kill our father."
Brokentail jerked his own body. For a moment, Yellowfang couldn't fathom why. He was only driving Hopeheart's teeth deeper into his neck. Then she remembered her old warrior training. Movement built up power and Brokentail was priming his paws to strike.
If Hopeheart had let go, she probably would have been able to dodge it but there was no way she could see the attack coming. She hardly blinked and there was suddenly a paw jabbed deep into her throat.
Hopeheart didn't let go of Brokentail but her eyes went wide and it was clear she was in pain. How ironic that the two siblings were holding each other in a death grip like this but Yellowfang didn't find the irony amusing. No, instead it made her feel sick to the stomach. What lead to this? My poor, poor kits…
Brokentail and Hopeheart stood locked like that for a few heartbeats before Brokentail's eyes became foggy and his legs began to give out. Hopeheart collapsed an instant prior to the moment Brokentail's head hit the ground. This time, neither cat got up. Blood spilled from their wounds and pooled around them, seeping into the loose dirt covering the forest floor.
"Hopeheart! Brokentail!" Yellowfang yowled. She tried to run to them but the scene around them suddenly changed. Or rather, part of it changed.
She was still standing in the field where Raggedstar had received his nine lives but the border between the Dark Forest and StarClan was gone, leaving only the meadow of Silverpelt stretching as far as the eye could see. Brokentail was standing beside her, completely uninjured.
"What happened?" Yellowfang demanded. Where is Hopeheart?
"The old life has been stripped away," a voice said.
Yellowfang whipped around and saw nine cats with stars in their fur standing around them, watching them keenly.
A grey furred she-cat stepped out from the group. She walked with neat pawsteps that didn't make a sound in the soil. She paused a couple fox lengths before Brokentail and leaned her head back, tilting her muzzle to the sky.
"It's time to start the ceremony," Hopeheart declared.
Author's Note: I am sorry. This made me really sad.