Chapter 8
The stars illuminated the sky above ShadowClan. Kirito took a bite of his mouse and pushed it over to Asuna as the two sat together to share their final meal of the day. Lately, more injured cats began returning to camp, the latest being Pouncestep, the she-cat falling from a tree as she was hunting earlier in the day.
"This is the most injuries that I've seen in the span of a few days." The black tom meowed.
"Tell me about it. I just hope that Antfur's death is the only injury-related fatality that happens." Asuna responded. "Kirito?"
"What's up?"
"The other day at the Moonpool, I spoke with Alderheart and Jayfeather. Alderheart thinks that whoever is allied with the cat controlling Bramblestar is sending Shadowsight those messages."
"What? You mean there's actually a whole group that this cat is a part of?"
"It's just a theory Alderheart had, but it has to be a possibility." Asuna meowed. "All of Shadowsight's visions line up with furthering Bramblestar's motive of punishing codebreakers."
"Yeah, you're right. But how did they form a connection with Shadowsight?"
"The same way they reached Bramblestar and were able to control him, most likely. Now if only we could figure out how that happened…" As Kirito was about to take another bite of his mouse, his menu screen appeared in front of his face. He answered the video call and saw that it was Futaba, along with Foxstripe and Honeyfur.
"We didn't call you at a bad time, right?" Futaba asked.
"You're good. Most of the Clan is just getting into their dens right now." Kirito told her. "Are you three out hunting right now?"
"We just snuck out of camp to talk with you." Foxstripe meowed. "Earlier today, Bramblestar sent Sparkpelt out to pick out catmint to punish her for trying to look for Lionblaze, but she was attacked by dogs. Honeyfur and I think Bramblestar placed a trap to lead the dogs there."
"Oh no! Sparkpelt's okay, right?" Asuna meowed, her voice shaky.
"She's recovering in the medicine cat's den." Honeyfur assured her, Asuna letting out a sigh of relief.
"How could he do something like that?" Kirito said in disbelief. "This imposter's gone too far."
"Right, but the second we act, we give away that we know the truth about Bramblestar. There's still some cats in ThunderClan who are loyal to him." The violet-eyed tom told them. "Kirito, Asuna, do you know any cats in ShadowClan who are against what Bramblestar's doing?"
"Well, most of them are, right Asuna?" The she-cat nodded.
"We've never explicitly asked any cat. Why?"
"Spotfur and Stemleaf have planned a secret meeting two days from now and they need as many cats as they can get from all the Clans. Do you think you could recruit some for us?" Futaba asked.
"We'll try."
"Great. The meeting will be at the Greenleaf Twolegplace. You two should come along with Suguha." Foxstripe told him.
"We'll be there. Thanks for telling us you three." Kirito ended the video call and looked over at Asuna. "We can't just go and ask cats if they'd come. If the wrong cat hears, who knows what could happen."
"Hears about what?" The two cats jumped and turned around to see that it was Cloverfoot. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you both!"
"W-What are you still doing up anyway, Cloverfoot?" Kirito asked the she-cat.
"I'm watching over camp until everyone goes to sleep." She replied.
"So we're the ones keeping you away from your nest in the warriors' den, huh?"
"I didn't mean to rush you two or anything!" The deputy apologized. "I just…I saw that thing in front of Kirito and was curious because it seemed like you both were talking to someone." Cloverfoot let out a sigh. "I shouldn't lie to you both. I was…eavesdropping, b-but I promise that I won't tell Tigerstar or anyone!"
"Thank you, Cloverfoot." Asuna meowed. "What did you hear?"
"Only about the secret meeting regarding Bramblestar." She meowed. "Are you both going with Suguha?" They nodded. "Do you think that…I could go along with you three?"
"Seriously?" Kirito asked the deputy, the she-cat nodding.
"Bramblestar's starting to sound like he's trying to take advantage of the Clans and boss them around. I want to try and stop him from going any further." Cloverfoot explained.
"We're more than happy to have you join us, Cloverfoot." Asuna said with a smile.
"Yeah. You'll be an awesome addition to the group when we go." Kirito added. "Do you think you could help us tomorrow morning to find other ShadowClan cats who might want to attend the meeting?" The deputy nodded. "Nice. Thanks, Cloverfoot. Oh, and we'll finish this mouse already so you can get some sleep."
"You both take as long as you need." She assured them with a small laugh before walking back to the camp entrance.
"Well, at least we have someone else going with us, and she's the deputy, too." Asuna meowed. "I just hope we'll be able to find more cats to join us."
"I'm sure we will." As Kirito went to take another bite, he looked over at Asuna. "You want the rest?" The she-cat shook her head.
"It's all yours. Try to get rid of it quick so Cloverfoot can sleep." She stood up and gave the tom a lick to the ear. "I'll be in the warriors' den. Goodnight, Kirito."
"Night." Kirito meowed before he finished off the rest of the mouse. As he was burying the bones, he noticed Cloverfoot approach him. "Sorry for keeping you up a bit longer, Cloverfoot."
"Oh, I knew I shouldn't have said anything! I ruined you and Asuna's time together, didn't I?"
"You're good, Cloverfoot, really." The black tom assured her. He noticed that something still seemed to be bothering her. "You don't believe me, huh?"
"No, it's not that. I just…don't want to pester you about whatever that thing in front of you was…but I'm really curious." The tom let out a small laugh.
"It's just a way for Asuna, Suguha, and I to keep in touch with some of our friends from ThunderClan. We never really needed to use it until now, y'know, with Bramblestar exiling us and all." He explained.
"And it's like you're talking as if they were right in front of you?"
"Yeah. I'm sure Twolegs here can do the same thing, too. It's similar to a way of communication we have in our world, I mean."
"Fascinating. I can't imagine how simple everything would be if our leaders could talk to each other without having to set paw out of camp."
"There could definitely be some fights stopped, that's for sure." Kirito meowed before letting out a yawn. "Sorry, I think my bedding's calling for me." The deputy let out a small laugh.
"Let's both go get some rest. We never know what could happen tomorrow, after all."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Lelouch slowly opened his violet eyes in the middle of his sleep when he felt a paw shake him. He looked over and saw that it was Makoto.
"I'm sorry for waking you, but I think Ren's trying to call us."
"I guess it'd be safer to call while everyone's asleep." The tom meowed, wiping his violet eyes with a paw. The two carefully left the warriors' den, making sure not to disturb any of the sleeping SkyClan warriors. Once they were out, they moved to a vacant area in camp away from any of the dens before Makoto swiped a paw down and began to call Ren. When the tom answered, they saw that it was both him and Nightheart. "Is something wrong you two?"
"It's horrible! Bramblestar sent Sparkpelt out to punish her and she was attacked by dogs!"
"Nightheart, I know it's bad, but we can't be so loud." Ren reminded her.
"Is Sparkpelt okay?" Lelouch asked, concern in his voice.
"She's in the medicine cat's den recovering now…but there's something else." The brown-and-cream tom meowed. "Foxstripe and Honeyfur went to check out the place where Sparkpelt was attacked. They both think that Bramblestar laid out the trap for her."
"What!" Makoto and Lelouch both were in shock.
"It's just a coincidence, right? It just has to be." The red-eyed she-cat hoped, but Nightheart shook her head.
"Bramblestar specifically told her to go pick catmint at the abandoned Twoleg den. There's never been dogs around there." The violet-eyed she-cat replied.
"They think Bramblestar placed the trap there days ago to punish the next cat who disobeyed him." Ren added. "We need to start taking action soon before someone gets killed."
"Right, but we should probably do so after the meeting, at least."
"Meeting?" Lelouch looked over at his daughter.
"Stemleaf and Spotfur are holding a meeting for any cats against what Bramblestar is doing. It'll be two nights from now." Nightheart explained. "Father, can you and Makoto find some cats in SkyClan to join you both? We can use all the support we can get, after all."
"We'll try our best, Nightheart." Makoto told the she-cat. "Is there anything else you wanted to tell us?"
"That's all for now. We'll call again if anything comes up." Makoto ended the call, Lelouch hitting the ground with a paw seconds later.
"Damn it!" Concerned filled the brown she-cat's red eyes as she saw the tom's irritation. "How can we reveal the truth about Bramblestar without putting anyone in danger? Sparkpelt, Bramblestar's own daughter could've died at this imposter's paws!"
"Lelouch, I know you're upset, but waiting is our best option. If the cats in ThunderClan at least play along and stay subservient to him, no cat will get hurt there." Lelouch let out a sigh.
"You're right. I apologize for my outburst. It's just that I've known Sparkpelt ever since she was an apprentice; I was even her mentor with Cherryfall at one point. I'm more than a bit fond of her."
"You must really care for her then?" The tom nodded. "We'll find a way to stop this fake Bramblestar's reign of terror. I hate waiting as much as you and the others do, but it's all we can do. I know you know that more than anyone else, being a master tactician in your past life and all."
"Right. Like you said, we can just hope that everyone in ThunderClan that doesn't know their leader's true identity obeys him." The tom meowed. "Hopefully something fruitful comes from this meeting in a few days."
Two nights had passed since Ren and Nightheart sent Lelouch and Makoto the message regarding the meeting at the Greenleaf Twolegplace. They knew that Tree and Rootpaw were going with them, but they were able to find two other cats to join them: Frecklewish and Blossomheart. Both she-cats believed that punishing the codebreakers was wrong, and was out of line with how they always knew StarClan acted. Once the rest of the Clan was sound asleep, the six cats quietly made their escape from camp and made their way to the Greenleaf Twolegplace, Lelouch leading the group.
"So, what exactly is a Greenleaf Twolegplace? I know Twolegs are humans, but that's about it." Makoto meowed.
"The one we're going to is a campsite, but they're just any place humans usually go to in the summertime." Lelouch explained. "Luckily we don't need to walk far. It's pretty close by." The tom looked over at Frecklewish and Blossomheart. "I'm grateful that you both joined us. Thank you."
"I can't speak for Frecklewish, but after hearing Bramblestar exile you and the others, I knew something was wrong. The way he's been wanting to punish codebreakers just adds to my suspicion." Blossomheart meowed.
"Right. I disagree with what he wants to do with the codebreakers. They don't deserve to be hurt in any sort of way." The medicine cat meowed. "I do feel a bit bad going behind Leafstar's back, but if this meeting could lead to stopping Bramblestar, I'd like to be there."
After passing through a few more rows of bushes, they reached the hollow where the meeting was going to take place. There, they already saw cats all gathered for the meeting. When Lelouch saw where the ThunderClan cats were, he broke away from the group and walked over to them.
"Lelouch!" Ivypool pressed her head into her mate's chestfur when she saw him. She stepped away from him a few seconds later, a small blush on her face. "Sorry, I know we saw each other days ago…but I still miss you."
"You're not the only one. I miss you too, Ivypool." He looked back at the group of ThunderClan cats and let out a smile at the sight of his three kits being there as well. "And you three, too." Foxstripe and Nightheart walked over to Lelouch, Futaba behind them both. After greeting the other two, Futaba walked up to Lelouch, avoiding his violet gaze in embarrassment. "Is something wrong, Futaba?"
"N-No, it's just that…I'm not sure if I should come up to you like Foxstripe and Nightheart did." Lelouch let out a smile and pushed the she-cat close to him with his tail, pressing his chin lightly on her head. "I'm glad you're okay, dad." Lelouch looked down at Futaba, who began to blush. "T-That was Swiftfrost talking! I swear!"
"She might be telling the truth, you know." Ren told him. "Molewhisker's done the same thing to me before."
"Really? Either way, I'm glad you're still okay, Futaba." The black tom meowed before he looked at the other ThunderClan cats. "Honeyfur, Twigbranch, Finleap, it's great to see you here."
"How do you think we feel? I'm glad to see that you and the others are okay." Twigbranch meowed. "We miss you all in ThunderClan."
"Speaking of the others, where are they?"
"We're right here, thanks for asking." The tom turned around and saw Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha. "How's SkyClan treating you?"
"Good. I can assume ShadowClan's been good to you three as well?" The three nodded.
"Suguha!" Nightheart ran over to the black she-cat and the two touched noses. "Thank StarClan you're alright."
"I should be the worried one. You're so close to that scoundrel of a leader, after all." The gray-eyed she-cat replied. She looked over at Foxstripe and walked over to the tom, greeting him with a lick to the ear, causing him to blush. "I'm glad you're okay, too, Foxstripe. I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, Suguha. You were my mentor, after all." The black-and-gray tabby meowed. "When this is all over and you come back to ThunderClan…I'd like to be Foxpaw again. I want you to be the one giving me my warrior assessment."
"Foxstripe…are you sure?" The tom nodded.
"My warrior name means nothing if I was given it by this imposter." The she-cat let out a smile.
"I wouldn't expect anything less from my apprentice." Suguha pressed close to the tom, but stepped away when she saw Honeyfur behind him watching the two. "Oh! Foxstripe, you didn't tell me you and Honeyfur—."
"W-We're not mates!" Both Foxstripe and Honeyfur meowed. "First father, and now you, Suguha?"
"S-Sorry, I just thought that…well, since she's standing right there…"
"T-That doesn't mean anything!" Honeyfur exclaimed. "Foxstripe's just the one I feel I'm friends with the most here. Plus, I'm thankful that he trusted me enough to let me in on everything that's been going on with Bramblestar."
"Aw, well it's still cute nonetheless."
"C-Can we not call it cute, either?" The yellow-spotted she-cat asked.
As Lelouch was talking with Ivypool, he felt a tail touch his shoulder. He turned around and saw that it was Stemleaf and Spotfur.
"We don't mean to break up your reunion or anything, but can we talk to you for a second, Lelouch?" Stemleaf asked.
"Sure. What's wrong?"
"It's just that…we didn't expect so many cats to be here!" Spotfur meowed.
"To be honest…we set this up, but neither of us really know how to lead. We were hoping that you could lead this meeting?" Stemleaf hoped. "Hopefully my broken relationship with Swiftfrost doesn't play a role in your choice."
"Nothing like that would change how Lelouch sees the two of you." Ivypool assured them. "Right?" The tom nodded.
"I'll gladly lead this meeting."
"Great! Everyone!" Stemleaf called out. "I want to thank you all for coming. I really didn't expect so many cats to be here…and I'm not really sure how to start this whole meeting, but Lelouch here has offered to lead it." The cats all looked at the violet-eyed tom as he moved to the center of the hollow.
"Thank you, Stemleaf." The tom looked around the clearing. "We're all here for the exact same reason: Bramblestar's misuse of power with this talk of the code-breakers." The tom began. "What we need to do is stand up to his reign before he takes over the entire forest."
"Yes, but…we'll be going up against StarClan."
"That's what Bramblestar wants you to believe." Lelouch responded. "Would StarClan want the Clans to bring back terror after we've just been settled only moons ago? We've been living peacefully until now, so why would they suddenly want such a horrific change?"
"But then why have they gone silent?" Sneezecloud, a RiverClan tom, asked.
"I can't say for sure. However, wouldn't you all agree that their silence would be the perfect time to manipulate the wishes of StarClan?" The violet-eyed tom asked. "I'll get straight to the point: We have reason to believe that the message about the codebreakers wasn't from StarClan at all, but from an entirely different faction intent to destroy the Clans."
"How do you know? What proof do you have?" Breezepelt wondered.
"Foxstripe?" Lelouch looked over at his son and motioned him to come forward with his tail.
"Your own son?" Slightfoot, a WindClan tom, questioned.
"I'm sure that you're all familiar with the power of Geass that I used to possess? The same power has manifested in Foxstripe's eyes, however, his works differently than mine."
"R-Right. My Geass has the ability to sense darkness inside of cats. Whenever I look at Bramblestar, I notice this dark, shadowy figure looming over him. This darkness strengthened after he was brought back to us from StarClan, or so he wants us to believe."
"Are you saying Bramblestar coming back to life isn't StarClan's doing?" Finleap asked.
"Yes. Based on what we've all seen, we believe that right now, a different cat is controlling our leader's body and trying to destroy the Clans." Cats began to talk amongst each other around the hollow. As expected, Bramblestar suddenly being possessed was too hard for any normal cats to believe.
"And you believe this because of the shadow you've seen around him?" Frecklewish asked, Foxstripe nodding.
"I can add on to this." Tree meowed. "Lately, I've been seeing Bramblestar's ghost around SkyClan. I'm the only cat he can speak to, and some of the others not from this world can see him as well."
"Is he here now?" One cat asked.
"He's not, but I swear that I've seen him before! He's so spooky!" Futaba said.
"Wait, Swiftfrost is able to see Bramblestar's ghost, too?" Breezepelt asked.
"Oh no! Me and my big mouth!"
"It's okay, Futaba, don't worry." Lelouch assured her.
"Futaba? That's the first time you've referred to Swiftfrost that way, Lelouch." Twigbranch realized.
"That's because Swiftfrost is being controlled by someone not from the forest. The same can be said for Molewhisker as well. Like Bramblestar, these two are being possessed, but to save the Clans."
"Really?" All eyes fell on Ren and Futaba, the she-cat sulking closer to the ground.
"So many eyes…" Ivypool placed her tail on the she-cat's shoulder to comfort her. "Ah, thanks, mom." The she-cat let out a small smile.
"May I explain these two?" Makoto asked. "Molewhisker and Swiftfrost are being controlled by my friends Ren and Futaba." The brown she-cat explained. "When we were brought to this world, Spottedleaf explained to us that Bramblestar might not let me stay in ThunderClan, so Molewhisker and Swiftfrost volunteered as disguises for Ren and Futaba to keep an eye on him. Bramblestar did just that, but he doesn't know that there are still cats not from this world in his camp."
"It's the truth." Ren stated. "I don't really know how to prove it, but you'll have to take my word for it."
"That would explain Swiftfrost acting strange that day." Stemleaf realized, looking over at Futaba.
"W-Well no cat told me Swiftfrost liked you! J-Just stop looking at me, Stemleaf!" She told the tom before she looked at him in surprise. "T-That wasn't me talking. I-It was Swiftfrost!" The tom let out a sigh.
"Wait, so Swiftfrost is still in her body then?" Twigbranch asked.
"In a way, yes. Molewhisker and Swiftfrost aren't like Bramblestar in that their spirits are wandering the forest. Futaba and I are in control of their bodies at the moment, but their emotions can still come through at times." Ren explained.
"That explains that weird 'acting' thing when Molewhisker was all lovey-dovey towards Nightheart!" Finleap realized.
"So, it really is true then? Bramblestar's body has been stolen from him." Stemleaf meowed.
"You've all seen it yourselves. Bramblestar would never do something like order him and Squirrelflight to be fed first. That's nothing like the leader we've grown up to know." Foxstripe said.
"He ordered something like that? What a fox-heart!" Cloverfoot spat. "What can we do now?"
"We can speak with Shadowsight." Asuna suggested. "Everything that's happened so far to Bramblestar may be due to his visions."
"Asuna's right. At the last Gathering, I noticed a shadow around Shadowsight, but I know for certain that he isn't being possessed by some cat. I think the shadow represents whoever is manipulating him with those visions he's been having." Foxstripe stated. "Asuna, do you think you can talk to him about this?" The she-cat nodded.
"You should go as well, Foxstripe." Lelouch suggested. "Maybe telling him what you've seen with your Geass can persuade him that his visions aren't from StarClan." The tom nodded.
"But what about Bramblestar?" From the crowd, Honeyfur spoke. "The other day, Foxstripe and I found clues that made us believe that he tried to kill Sparkpelt."
"What?! You mean the dog attack?" Twigbranch meowed in shock.
"Yes. We found out that some cat was placing fresh-kill there to lure dogs. Why else would Bramblestar choose specifically to punish Sparkpelt by picking catmint, even when it wasn't ready to be harvested?"
"This is…surreal." Frecklewish said, the she-cat almost speechless.
"All I'm saying is that I don't want any more cats getting hurt from this imposter. We need to expose his true identity as soon as possible."
"Honeyfur's right. When I heard the news about what happened to Sparkpelt, I couldn't believe it. I do think I have an idea, though." Lelouch meowed.
"What is it?" Breezepelt asked.
"Squirrelflight. She knows the truth about Bramblestar. If we can get her to persuade the other Clan leaders about Bramblestar, we can all band together against him."
"Lelouch, are you sure about that?" Ivypool asked her mate. "If it comes to fighting, we'll be fighting our own Clanmates."
"Right. What I meant is that we at least need to hope that they believe that Bramblestar is being possessed and will stand their ground against anything he says. Fighting is the last thing any cat wants…but I can't promise that it won't escalate that far." He meowed. "Having Squirrelflight convince the other leaders will be our first step in taking away Bramblestar's power. From there, we'll discuss everything further. Does everyone understand?"
"Yeah! We'll stop Bramblestar before any harm comes to the Clans!" Kirito exclaimed, causing the other around to cheer as well.
"Of course, the only thing you say all night is a rallying cry." Suguha said with a sigh.
"C'mon Sugu, I'm great at planning too, but I'm not as great as Lelouch is. I have to do something to help." In the middle of the hollow, Lelouch turned his attention towards Foxstripe.
"Foxstripe, can I rely on you to tell Squirrelflight our plan?" The black-and-gray tabby nodded. "Thank you. You've been taking your responsibility for the Clans well. I'm proud of you, more than you may believe."
"T-Thank you, father. I won't let you or the Clans down."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The dawn light slowly began to break through the trees as Foxstripe and the others made their way back to camp from the meeting. They were lucky enough to return while the Clan was still asleep, but while the others went back to their nests, the tom had to stay awake to set up the first patrols of the day. From Highledge, Squirrelflight made her way down into the clearing towards Foxstripe.
"Good morning, Foxstripe. Did you set up a dawn patrol yet?" The tom shook his head.
"Not yet. No cat has woken up yet." He responded.
"Let's hope one does. It'd be in the Clan's best interest to set up a patrol before Bramblestar wakes up." She meowed, Foxstripe nodding his head in agreement.
"Squirrelflight, I need to tell you something." The deputy turned her attention towards the tom. "Me and the others just came back from a meeting regarding Bramblestar. We told everyone the truth and they now know he's an impostor."
"And they all believed you?"
"It helped that Ren and Futaba were there to show that cats could actually be possessed."
"That's a relief. So, what's next? What are they going to do?"
"We can't do anything yet without support, yours, specifically."
"Me?"
"You're the only one with a high enough position who can possibly persuade the other leaders about Bramblestar being possessed." The violet-eyed tom explained. "It'll be risky, but we really need more cats to support our cause, and getting the leaders to be on our side would be a huge help." Squirrelflight stood there in thought for a moment, until she nodded.
"I'll do it. After what that twisted fox-heart possibly did to our daughter, I want him out of Bramblestar's body as soon as possible."
"Thank you. I was thinking that maybe you could see Leafstar first. With Makoto and my father there, you might have an easier time persuading her. But…there's no way Bramblestar will keep his eyes off of you."
"I think I might have an idea. Time for his talk of codebreakers to work in our favor." The deputy said with confidence. As if on cue, Bramblestar left his den and approached the two.
"What are you doing out here, Squirrelflight?"
"I was just talking with Foxstripe before I left."
"Left?"
"To atone for being a codebreaker."
"What? You already spoke with StarClan recently, remember? They've already forgiven you." The leader assured her.
"Yes, but would we want the other Clans to see that ThunderClan is making exceptions? We need to set an example for the rest of the Clans, after all."
"Right…so then why not take the same oath the others did?"
"Well, Lionblaze still had to leave. I should do the same. It's only fair." She meowed. "I'll be gone for only a couple of days. It'll show the Clan that even their deputy isn't excused from StarClan's wishes."
"She's got a point, Lionblaze." Foxstripe told the leader. "If we want the others to follow, you can't make exceptions, especially for your mate."
"You have a point there, Foxstripe." The ThunderClan leader let out a sigh. "Are you sure about this, Squirrelflight?" The she-cat nodded. "Very well then. Stay safe out there." Before leaving, Squirrelflight pressed her head against the tom's chest and let out a purr.
"I'll miss you." She meowed before she made her way towards the camp exit. Foxstripe was surprised. It must've been so awkward to feign love for the cat controlling her mate's body. Foxstripe looked over at Bramblestar, the leader still watching as Squirrelflight left.
"I'm sure she'll be okay, Bramblestar. For now, why don't you go back to sleep? I haven't really set up any patrols yet, and you deserve the freshest prey. I'll take care of the camp for now."
"Alright. Thank you, Foxstripe." As he scaled back up Highledge, Foxstripe let out a devious grin. No, thank you for falling for it, 'Bramblestar'.
Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, and Cloverfoot snuck through the pine forest of ShadowClan as they made their way back to camp from the meeting. The sun had just begun to rise, so they hoped that no cat would notice their disappearance. When they reached the entrance, Kirito let out a sigh of relief.
"We should be good." He meowed as he entered camp, the three she-cats following behind him. "We just need to slip back into our nests and—." Kirito stopped when he saw that Tigerstar and Shadowsight were looking at him. "Oh! Uh…h-hey you two!"
"Kirito? What were you doing out?" Tigerstar asked. He then watched as Suguha, Asuna, and Cloverfoot now entered behind the fretted tom. "Cloverfoot? Asuna? Suguha? Where did you four go?"
"W-We just went out to try hunting at night!" Cloverfoot quickly meowed. "We haven't been lucky finding prey in the morning, after all."
"I'm guessing you four didn't catch anything?"
"If Kazuto didn't, none of us really could." Suguha said.
"Hey!" The black tom looked at his cousin.
"That still doesn't explain what you were doing out, Shadowsight." Tigerstar meowed. The four of them looked over at the medicine cat, who seemed to shrink in his father's presence. As his son stayed silent, he looked over at the others. "Did you four see Dovewing while you were out?"
"Dovewing? Has she gone missing?" Asuna asked, the leader shaking his head.
"She left camp to atone."
"What!? Tigerstar, we have to bring her back!" The cream she-cat stated.
"Asuna's right! She could get hurt out there!" Shadowsight added.
"StarClan will watch over her. This is what they've asked for, after all." Tigerstar meowed.
"But it isn't!" Shadowsight exclaimed. Asuna looked at the tom in surprise. Does Shadowsight realize his visions aren't from StarClan? The she-cat wondered, curious as to how the tom realized the fact. "I…I went to the Moonpool and spoke with StarClan…at least, that's what I was hoping. I found out there it wasn't them at all."
"What?" Tigerstar looked at his son in surprise. "But you've been talking to them, you said so yourself."
"But I was wrong! This entire time I was wrong!"
"Shadowsight?" From the medicine cat's den, Puddleshine walked over to them. "I was wondering where you went. You're up pretty early."
"He went to the Moonpool." Tigerstar meowed.
"By yourself? You know better!"
"I know, and I'm sorry, but this is important!"
"Kirito, Suguha, Cloverfoot, do you mind letting us speak with Shadowsight for a moment?" The ShadowClan leader requested.
"It's okay, Tigerstar. We all know what's going on with Shadowsight, at least, we think we have an idea." Asuna looked over at the gray tabby tom. "The voices that you've been hearing have been manipulating you, Shadowsight. Ever since they first spoke to you about Bramblestar."
"I-I think so. Everything that's happened up until now is my fault. I-I'm really sorry."
"Hey, you didn't know. We can still try and fix all of this." Kirito assured the tom.
"Wait…how do you all know about this?" Tigerstar asked.
"The truth is that we weren't really out hunting." Asuna explained. "We were at a meeting discussing about what to do with Bramblestar. He's being controlled by an evil cat and our guess is that he wants to destroy the Clans."
"He's being controlled?" Puddleshine said with disbelief.
"It's true! We've lived in ThunderClan for most of our time in this world. We know that Bramblestar would never act the way he has been." Suguha responded. "Kirito, Asuna, and I have known ever since we were exiled here, but we didn't think any cat would believe us."
"What Sugu said." Kirito meowed. "Foxstripe's been seeing a shadow looming over Bramblestar even before he lost a life in the clearing. That shadow represents the cat that's now controlling Bramblestar. He even saw one above Shadowsight, too."
"M-Me?"
"He thinks that it represents the evil cat trying to manipulate you." Asuna explained. "You do believe us Tigerstar, right?" Asuna's hazel gaze touched the ShadowClan leader's amber eyes. She had to hope that he did.
"I don't know…"
"You have to, father!" Shadowsight pleaded. "Foxstripe told me about the shadow around Bramblestar before back when we were still apprentices at the Gathering." Guilt now filled the tom as he reminisced about his last encounter with his cousin. "…and I didn't listen to him when he suggested that StarClan might not be the ones talking to me."
"It's not your fault." Puddleshine placed his tail on the tom's shoulder. "You're still a young medicine cat, after all, and no cat has even had something like this happen to them."
"Does that mean that you believe them, Puddleshine?" Tigerstar asked.
"It would explain everything that's going on with Bramblestar. We've thought he's been acting strange this whole time, after all. Now we have a reason, albeit one that's very peculiar."
"Right, and knowing who Foxstripe's parents are, I'm sure he's telling the truth about all of this." The ShadowClan leader said, causing Asuna to smile.
"Thank you, Tigerstar."
"My only question is why is this just coming up now? If Foxstripe knows the truth, why doesn't he say anything?"
"Because the cat controlling Bramblestar has every cat there filled with fear. There are more cats that know the truth, but with the power he has, if they reveal it at the wrong time, they could be in trouble." Kirito explained. "We're trying to convince the other leaders that the Bramblestar leading ThunderClan at the moment is fake. We could use the extra power against him."
"This really is serious. Whoever's controlling Bramblestar must be stopped before he gains any more power." The ShadowClan leader stated. "Wait…Dovewing! If this talk about codebreakers is fake, she doesn't need to atone at all! Cloverfoot, Puddleshine, you both stay here. We're going out to bring Dovewing back."
"Okay. Just be safe out there!" The deputy meowed as they left to bring the ShadowClan leader's mate back to camp.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Lelouch and Makoto made their way back into camp after going out on a hunting patrol with Blossomheart and Rabbitleap. As they dropped their prey off at the fresh-kill pile, Makoto let out a yawn.
"I wish I could be like Rootpaw and still be asleep right now. I'm exhausted." The red-eyed she-cat meowed.
"Well, maybe you could go take a nap now. There's not really much to do around camp." Blossomheart told her.
"No, no, I'll be okay." The she-cat assured her. The scent of ThunderClan suddenly touched their noses and they turned towards the entrance to see Squirrelflight enter SkyClan's camp.
"What's she doing here?" Rabbitleap wondered, he and Blossomheart watching as Lelouch and Makoto walked towards the she-cat. "I'm guessing they might have an idea."
"Squirrelflight, what are you doing here?" Leafstar wondered, Hawkwing next to her.
"I'm here to warn you about Bramblestar." She meowed.
"Warn us? You're his deputy, and his mate, are you not?" The SkyClan deputy said suspiciously.
"Yes, but…the cat leading ThunderClan isn't my mate." Leafstar and Hawkwing both looked at each other. "Makoto and Lelouch can explain." The two turned their attention to them.
"This will seem hard to believe, but I swear that it's the truth." Lelouch stated. "When Bramblestar lost a life in the clearing, it allowed for a cat to control his body. That cat is now leading ThunderClan, and we're sure that he's plotting to destroy the Clans."
"And hedgehogs will fly!" Leafstar scoffed.
"But we're not lying!" Makoto meowed. "My friends are proof that cats are able to be possessed."
"Friends?" Hawkwing tilted his head in confusion.
"Molewhisker and Swiftfrost are currently being controlled by Makoto's friends, Ren and Futaba. They were sent here in their bodies to be able to stay close to Bramblestar. He exiled every cat not from this world, after all." Squirrelflight explained.
"I know you've seen Makoto and I take special interest in Rootpaw, and that's because he showed us that he could see Bramblestar's ghost." Lelouch told them. "Makoto and I are able to see him as well. Right now, we're trying to get the support of as much Clan leaders as we can so we can stand up to Bramblestar."
"Hawkwing, wake Rootpaw up." The leader commanded, the deputy making his way over to the apprentice's den. In a few seconds, he came out, Rootpaw following behind him. "Tell me, can you really see Bramblestar's ghost?" The leader asked straightforwardly.
"Y-Yes. I've been trying to help him get back to his body. We still don't know who's controlling him, but I know what I've seen. The Bramblestar in ThunderClan isn't the one we've known."
"It sounds like they're telling the truth, Leafstar."
"Yes…but being possessed? I've never heard of such a predicament happening ever." Leafstar stated before turning her gaze towards Squirrelflight. "So, what can we do to help?"
"Don't listen to anything he says at all. We need to stay vigilant against him if we're to stop his reign."
"Very well. It's not exactly as if we haven't been doing that already, but I'll make sure to not let his dissuade us of that conviction."
"Thank you, Leafstar." Squirrelflight bowed her head in thanks.
"Are you heading back to ThunderClan?" Lelouch asked her.
"I've convinced Bramblestar to exile me. I'm going to speak with the other leaders and try to convince them as well. ShadowClan might be easy since Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha are there, so I'll go there next."
"Good luck." Makoto said with a smile before Squirrelflight left SkyClan's camp.
"So…you three never said anything until now. Why?" Hawkwing asked.
"Because we needed support first before we went into action." Lelouch replied. "We've learned that there are other cats in other Clans who are against what this fake Bramblestar has been preaching. That strength alone is enough to allow us to start our fight against him, but the support of Clan leaders is what we need to actually start doing something about him."
"Plus, you both didn't seem to believe us when we started explaining it. We just needed to wait for the right time to tell you the truth. We didn't hold this information back just for our sake." Makoto added.
"I apologize for not believing you at first. Even still, I find this all hard to believe, but having ThunderClan's own deputy come here to warn my Clan about Bramblestar must mean this has to be true." The SkyClan leader meowed. "But what about the talk of the codebreakers?"
"We think that the cat controlling Bramblestar may be a part of a bigger group and has been feeding these commands to Shadowsight." Lelouch said. "He's the most inexperienced medicine cat, so it would've been easy for them to manipulate him."
"So, the codebreakers are just a bridge for him to command the Clans? How fox-hearted." Hawkwing growled.
"Indeed. If this cat is going this far to destroy the Clans, we must stop them while we still can." The SkyClan leader looked over at Lelouch. "Do you have a plan for when you've gained the support you need?" The violet-eyed tom shook his head.
"This is a situation unlike any I've seen. All I know, is that we can't reveal to him that we know the truth. For now, we keep this information between the five of us, Tree, Frecklewish, and Blossomheart."
"The three of them know what's going on as well?" The deputy asked.
"We went to a meeting last night to talk with other cats concerned about Bramblestar." Makoto meowed.
"I see, Well, there's no harm done. If anything comes up, please keep me informed."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
A few days had passed ever since Squirrelflight went on her journey to warn the other Clans about the danger of Bramblestar. Now, she was finally back in camp. She was able to warn Leafstar, and when she went to ShadowClan, Tigerstar was already aware of the situation, thanks to Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, and Cloverfoot. Unfortunately, WindClan and RiverClan couldn't be persuaded. Foxstripe sat near the warriors' den with Futaba, the two sharing a mouse.
"I still can't believe mouse actually tastes this good!" Futaba meowed as she took a bite of the prey. "Oh, sorry Inari, I forgot we were sharing. Here you go!"
"Thanks." The tom took a bite of prey and placed in between them both. "Do I remind you of someone you know, Futaba? Is that why you call me Inari?"
"Oh! Ren, Makoto, and I have a friend back home whose code name is Fox. I called him Inari all the time. Since you're Foxstripe, I call you Inari!" She explained. "If it's gotten annoying, I can call you Foxstripe instead."
"No, I'm fine with it. I've just been a bit curious." He assured her.
"Well good, cause I wasn't gonna stop anyway." Foxstripe let out a small chuckle. Futaba really did remind him of Swiftfrost. She had always been the more playful one between them both. "How's all the responsibility Bramblestar's been giving you. I can imagine you don't like it." He nodded.
"I know it's all for the mission in the end, but I hate having to do everything while he just stays in his den. I'm getting sick of pretending to be on his side, too. I just want to save Bramblestar already." He told her. "Do you think we could use the MetaNav to at least just see what his dream world looks like?"
"I don't think so. Nightheart was able to recall her dream when we went. We'd need to be super careful to stay hidden if we wanted to invade Bramblestar's dreams." She told him. As they were eating, Berrynose approached the two.
"Did you send a hunting patrol out yet?" He asked Foxstripe.
"Yes. I also sent a border patrol out as well." The tom retorted.
"I see. Still, what does Bramblestar see in you, anyway? You've only been a warrior for about a moon or two." He scoffed. "It's a miracle that you've been this capable so far."
"Hey, just leave us alone. We're trying to have a meal here." Futaba told the tom.
"You better watch your mouth." Berrynose responded, unsheathing his claws. The she-cat began to shake.
"And you better watch what you do next. I know you'd care if Bramblestar found out that you harmed a Clanmate, but I'd have no problem if he found out that I hurt you."
"Oh really? Then do it!" Foxstripe let out a small laugh.
"You're really picking on two young warriors right now? Just leave us alone."
"You better listen to him, Berrynose." The cream tom turned around and saw that it was Ivypool, the she-cat letting out a snarl. "Or else you'll join the other StarClan cats staying silent." Without another word, the tom left, Ivypool letting out a sigh. "Why are some cats being so mouse-brained?"
"Are you okay, Futaba?" Foxstripe asked the she-cat, placing his tail on her shoulder to comfort her.
"I'm fine. I thought I'd be a bit brave, but you're really the brave one, Foxstripe. "Oh, and mom's really scary!" The silver-and-white she-cat let out a small laugh as she sat next to Foxstripe.
"I'm only scary when someone tries to lay a paw on my kits, Clanmates or not." She meowed. "Someone here seems to have gotten the tongue of their father, though. Lucky for him, he got his mother's bravery, too." Ivypool gave Foxstripe a lick to the ear. "Just don't let the mixture of those two get you into trouble."
"Yes, mother…although, I think you just implied that father isn't brave."
"W-Well I just meant to say you got traits for both of us! There's no doubt some of your bravery came from him as well, and I was sort of a sassy she-cat myself." Foxstripe let out a smile. It had been a while ever since he even felt a moment of normalcy in ThunderClan. Spending time with his mother and sister, in a way, made him wish things would go back to normal. All we need is father to come back home and our family will be together again.
"Liar!" The sudden peace was cut short when they heard Bramblestar yell from the leader's den. From the den, they watched as Bramblestar had grabbed Squirrelflight by her scruff and dragged her out, the she-cat breaking free and making her way down Highledge, the ThunderClan leader following behind her. "We have a codebreaker among us! My own deputy! My own mate!" Cats began to talk amongst each other at the sudden news. "Now, where did you go for your exile?"
"I told you, I went to the horseplace!" The she-cat retorted.
"You're still lying! And I know because I had a cat follow you!" Foxstripe's eyes widened in shock. Who could he have sent to spy on Squirrelflight? And how was he unaware about it? He followed the leader's gaze as it fell on Bumblestripe. The black-striped tom stepped forward.
"I saw where she went. She went to SkyClan."
"SkyClan? Why would she go there?" Thornclaw wondered.
"She went to SkyClan to persuade them to rise up against ThunderClan." The tom meowed, disdain and scorn in his voice as he looked at the deputy.
"Traitor!" Berrynose spat, some of his other Clanmates doing the same. Foxstripe looked around in horror. How could they not realize that what Squirrelflight did was for the best interest of the Clan? Were they really that daft? He wanted to do something to help her, but what? The ThunderClan deputy looked around at her Clanmates.
"I'll leave…but just know that this cat standing in front of you isn't my mate. He's not the Bramblestar that we've all known for so long. He's am impostor!" The she-cat's words seemed to fall on deaf ears, almost as if she was only saying these things due to Bramblestar's sudden treatment of her. If Squirrelflight can't convince some of our Clanmates, what can any of us do?
"Foxstripe!" The tom quickly got to his paws and walked over to the ThunderClan leader. "I want you, Lionblaze, and Twigbranch to escort this traitor off of our land. The three cats now trailed behind Squirrelflight as she left camp. "ThunderClan will need a new deputy now." The four of them heard Bramblestar speak as they crossed the thorn tunnel.
"This is all my fault. I should've realized I was being followed." The deputy apologized.
"This is horrible! How could a cat so evil have support from our Clanmates?" Twigbranch fretted.
"Because they're all scared of Bramblestar now." Lionblaze stated. "They just saw what he did to his own mate. Now, they'll be as subservient as ever. We need to plan something already!"
"I know…but we need to be careful now more than ever." Foxstripe responded. What can we even do now? Bramblestar seems to have so much support in ThunderClan, and some cats in other Clans are in favor of him as well. How can we plan anything if we're possibly being spied on everywhere we go?
