hello hello hello!
uhhh, grab your popcorn for this one boys. we're in the endgame, now.
review replies:
minty: heheheh sorry! cliffhanger is explained in this chapter. and yes, that is 100% something he does. and thank you so so much!
somestormleaf: special surprise goldpaw in this chapter! and i would neverrr touch rustpaw dw.
dragon: yeah, so she doesn't see the point in hiding it anymore because he knows what she's up to.
really hope u enjoy this chapter! as always, feel free to review and pm me :)
"Rustpaw, what does that mean?" Goldpaw asked Rustpaw, his tail flicking. Rustpaw shrugged. He'd just spent practically the entire night trying to explain his encounter with Brambleswipe to Goldpaw. His friend had taken particular interest to her parting message - but they were struggling to come up with theories for what it could actually mean for Riverclan.
They were cramped into a small nest next to the warrior's den. It was usually used if the clan had to be put under quarantine because of an illness. Instead, Rustpaw and Goldpaw were using it to scheme against the undead. Rustpaw secretly thought it was a better purpose.
"I mean, it doesn't sound good, does it?" He mused, budging further into the cramped den. It really wasn't meant for two cats, he was crammed up against Goldpaw. Goldpaw didn't seem to mind, but Rustpaw felt really… tense, for some reason. His fur was standing on edge. Still, Goldpaw was warm, and the night was cool. If he had to look slightly undignified, and cuddle up to Goldpaw, he would so he didn't freeze to death.
Goldpaw sighed. "Did she… did she say anything else?" He asked.
"I think that she'll make her move, whatever it is, soon. She kept talking about Rosestar and Beebounce." Rustpaw explained. Her rants had been getting more and more angry, he reflected. Just… picking apart everything wrong with the cats she wanted 'revenge' on. Somehow, she'd managed to convince herself that Beebounce had helped mastermind her downfall. Rustpaw was beginning to think that he should have maybe picked up on the signs sooner.
"Man, what does she have against Beebounce? Didn't she only know him when he was like, three moons?" Goldpaw asked. Rustpaw shrugged.
"Maybe she doesn't like the fact he likes toms." He said, watching closely for Goldpaw's reaction. (For no real reason. Beebounce's preferences were pretty much common knowledge amongst the apprentices.)
"That wouldn't surprise me. Hey - she wouldn't like me very much." Goldpaw joked, and Rustpaw blinked. He could feel his ear tips turning red, which was completely irrational.
"Oh-you-okay." He mumbled. Goldpaw flicked him in the side with his tail, and Rustpaw jolted. Goldpaw looked at him curiously, but didn't say anything.
"Yeah." He grunted. "Anyways, we should tell one of the older warriors soon." He mewed.
"Who?" Rustpaw said miserably. "Beebounce doesn't trust me, and because of that no-one else will." He sighed.
"Why doesn't he like you?" Goldpaw asked. Rustpaw really didn't want to explain it, but he supposed he'd have to.
He looked away. "Oh. I kinda- I might have blackmailed him a little bit?"
"Dude."
"I should probably apologise for that." Rustpaw said, slouching slightly.
Goldpaw nudged him, and Rustpaw sat up straight again. "Let's try and stop Brambleswipe first." He said. Rustpaw thought he was half-joking.
"Good plan, good plan." Rustpaw mewed.
"Maybe if we try and talk to them with me, they'll listen." Goldpaw said, and Rustpaw narrowed his blue eyes.
"Why would that make them listen?" He questioned. Goldpaw looked at him like it was obvious, and Rustpaw shifted his paws.
"I'm the medicine cat apprentice." Goldpaw said.
"That would make sense, yeah." Rustpaw said with a chuckle. "How are you going to get out of training then?" He asked.
Goldpaw flicked his ears back, and tilted his head. "I'll tell Duckspark that Beebounce wanted me to learn some basic defensive moves. She won't question it." He decided. Rustpaw nodded.
"Oh, has she not taught you any yet? She used to be a warrior, you know." He asked, curious.
"She tried, but she kept apologising when she hit me too hard." Goldpaw snorted. Rustpaw didn't laugh. Goldpaw looked at him, and stopped smiling. There was a reason that Duckspark had become a medicine cat.
"Oh." Rustpaw mewed.
Goldpaw, quite smartly, decided to change the topic. "So, I'll come to training with you. We'll have to get Beebounce to separate from Rushstorm so we can speak to him." He smiled at that. Rustpaw returned it weakly.
"That'd be quite hard, they're joined at the hip." He joked with a smile.
Goldpaw nodded, chewing his lip. "Then, we'll tell Beebounce about Brambleswipe. He can choose whether to tell Rosestar or not." He mewed.
Rustpaw suddenly felt a tight lump in his throat. Something has just occurred to him, and he really didn't like it. "Um… Goldpaw?" He mumbled.
"Yeah?" Goldpaw said, tensing up.
"You… you don't think I'll get kicked out of Riverclan?" Rustpaw whispered.
"Why would you get exiled? You haven't done anything wrong." Yet. Rustpaw added on, unspoken. He would have. He knew it.
"Yeah…but Brambleswipe is evil. Was evil. And I was ready to do anything for her!" Rustpaw exclaimed.
Goldpaw shook his head, and gently nudged him. "No, you wouldn't have. Rustpaw, you like to make out that you're this emotionless warrior. I know better than that. I know you better than that. You wouldn't do anything." He mewed, and Rustpaw wilted.
"Y-you think?" He whispered.
"I'll vouch for you myself." Goldpaw mewed, straightening out again.
"Thanks, Goldpaw. I- I appreciate it." Rustpaw stuttered, trying to get his words out. His throat still felt clogged.
"Anytime. Now, let's take down that fox-heart."
Time skip, Goldpaw POV.
"For the love of Starclan, Rustpaw, what are you doing?" Goldpaw hissed. It had been a day since him and Rustpaw had shared a nest, and discussed what to do with Brambleswipe. Today, if everything went to plan, Beebounce would know about her. But for some reason, his friend (they were friends, whatever Rustpaw said.) was flailing around, curled up on the floor.
"I-" Rustpaw managed to get out. Goldpaw panicked. What if he was choking? Duckspark hadn't taught him how to fix that yet.
"Stop jerking around like that, we're supposed to be acting natural." Goldpaw said, padding over to Rustpaw. Rustpaw stared up at him with wide eyes, and Goldpaw took a step back.
"Revenge." Rustpaw hissed, in a voice nothing like his own.
"Rustpaw? Rustpaw, you're scaring me-" Goldpaw was cut off by Rustpaw leaping up and batting him across the face. "What the fuck was that for?" He exclaimed, stopping in his tracks. He raised a paw to his face, and pulled it away, staring at the blood.
Rustpaw just looked at him, and Goldpaw had to resist the urge to shake him. Finally, his eyes seemed to focus. "Goldpaw, where are we?" He asked.
"I- we're on the way to the training clearing, so keep your voice down, and why did you just claw me?" Goldpaw questioned.
"I clawed you?" Rustpaw looked at Goldpaw's face, and as if in a trance, he reached out a paw for the cut. Goldpaw just looked at him, trying not to blush. (It was embarrassing enough that he had a small crush on his friend. He didn't want Rustpaw finding out.) "Oh. I did claw you. I-I don't remember doing that." Rustpaw murmured.
Goldpaw blinked at him. He wanted to say something reassuring, but the entire experience of the ghost-cat was making him short-tempered. "Dude, I'll let you off because I know I'm like, your first friend, but it's not socially acceptable to start bugging out and then attack others. Really not cool." He pouted at Rustpaw, who started swaying from side to side.
"I-I'm- I'm sorry." Rustpaw choked out. Goldpaw headed to his side, trying to work out his
"You're… you're twitching again. Are you alright? I don't know how to deal with seizures, Duckspark hasn't taught me yet." He explained hurriedly.
"This isn't a seizure, Goldypaw." It was that voice, that high-pitched, cruel voice. Goldpaw shivered, and met his friend's gaze.
"Rustpaw. Are you okay?" He asked, hoping he was hallucinating the voice.
"Rustpaw can't hear you." Whoever was speaking said. They sounded like a she-cat.
With that, Rustpaw, or whoever it was, launched into Goldpaw, muffling his mouth as they did so. They tumbled into the brambles together, and Goldpaw tried desperately to free himself.
"What are you doing?" He spat, staring up at Rustpaw. His eyes were a strange green colour, quite unlike Rustpaw's dark blue eyes.
Rustpaw smirked. "You know… it's a real shame that Beebounce won't get to hear about Brambleswipe."
"We're going to tell him about her, you mouse-brain." He huffed, trying to get up. Rustpaw kept his paws pressed down on Goldpaw's shoulders, pinning him to the ground. (In any other circumstance, Goldpaw would have been probably enjoying this, but the glint in Rustpaw's eyes told him otherwise.)
"You and Rustpaw might be. I'm not." Rustpaw mewed. Goldpaw stopped struggling.
"You are Rustpaw." He spat.
"Am I really?" The voice said. Rustpaw's eyes were unmistakably green. "Or am I your worst nightmare?" Goldpaw stared in horror at what should have been his friend.
But it wasn't Rustpaw.
It was Brambleswipe.
"How are you doing this?" He asked, his voice shaking.
Rustpaw - no, it wasn't Rustpaw, his friend wasn't speaking to him - Brambleswipe smiled. "Your theory was right, Goldypaw." She said. Goldpaw winced.
"It's… it's just Goldpaw." He said, immediately feeling stupid that that was the first thing he said.
"Dark forest cats can't return from the dead. But with enough will power, and enough thirst for vengeance, they can… they can take over weak bodies." Brambleswipe explained, still smirking.
"Rustpaw isn't weak." Goldpaw spat, defending his friend.
"No need to get so defensive. What, you really think he cares about you? None of my sister's spawn ever will. They care only about themself." Brambleswipe teased, unsheathing her claws. Goldpaw scrunched his eyes shut.
He managed to kick his legs upwards, and throw Brambleswipe off him."Shut up, and get out of my friends' body." He hissed, before pausing. Rustpaw was being sliced at by invisible claws, his pelt specking with blood quickly. "What are you doing to him? He's- he's bleeding!" He cried.
Brambleswipe stood up, smiling. "He's doing that to himself. He thinks he's attacking me." She sounded… amused.
"Stop it. Rustpaw, if you can hear me, stop it." Goldpaw decided to ignore Brambleswipe's taunts, and spoke to his friend directly.
"He can't hear you." Brambleswipe said, advancing on him again. "You'll see him soon enough."
Goldpaw decided to ignore his impending doom, and went on. "Rustpaw, that's not her. You're hurting you. I know that doesn't make any sense, but you have to believe me."
"There's no use, Goldpaw." Brambleswipe said, in a sing-song voice.
Goldpaw shook his head, trying to block her out. "Rustpaw, it's Brambleswipe, she's in your body."
"G-goldpaw?" It was Rustpaw, his voice coming out of his mouth. Goldpaw grinned in triumph.
"Yes!" He exclaimed. "Just concentrate on my voice."
"Goldpaw. Give up. He'll die, you'll die, and then I'll finally get my revenge." Brambleswipe said dully.
"Nobody is going to die but you." Goldpaw snapped, turning his attention back to Rustpaw's situation. His eyes were flashing different colours, the blue occasionally overpowering the green.
"Goldpaw? Wh-what's going on?" Rustpaw's voice again. Weak, and trembly, but it was Rustpaw's voice. His eyes turned blue, focused, unfocused. When they focused again, they were green.
"Give. Up." Hissed Brambleswipe. Goldpaw shook his head, and turned his attention back to Rustpaw.
"No. Rustpaw, you need to snap out of it. You need to wake up." He pleaded. The eyes flashed blue again, and Goldpaw's heart leaped to his throat.
Rustpaw's voice sounded stronger. "Wake up?" He whispered. Goldpaw nodded.
"Yeah. Focus." Rustpaw looked like he was about to step forward, towards Goldpaw, but his eyes turned green again. His lost expression was switched to a cruel sneer.
"Like I said, quite pointless." Brambleswipe mewed. Goldpaw flicked his tail in frustration.
"Can you shut up, for the love of Starclan. Rustpaw, you're alright." He half growled. The slight aggression seemed to have worked, because Rustpaw's eyes became that familiar blue again.
"I-I can see you now." He stuttered, reaching a paw forward.
Goldpaw swallowed. "Your eyes are blue again…" He said, trailing off when he noticed the flash of green.
"What are you doing?" Snapped Brambleswipe. She sounded suddenly unsure. Panicked. Goldpaw grinned. It's working. He thought.
Rustpaw sat down heavily. "I can hear her. Brambleswipe."
"And I can hear you, you pathetic apprentice. Do you really think that I needed you? That's laughable. You're weak." Teased Brambleswipe with a grin, her cockiness returning. Goldpaw torn his claws into the grass out of sheer frustration.
"Weak?" He spat. "He's not weak."
Brambleswipe paused, and Goldpaw felt his heart plummet to his stomach. "Weak enough to not realise that he was a murderer." She said smugly, and Goldpaw blinked at her wordlessly.
"W-what?" Rustpaw asked.
"Petal? Firepaw? That was you, dear nephew." Brambleswipe's voice was louder, stronger.
Rustpaw's eyes returned, but they were wide with panic. "It… it wasn't. I would never."
"R-rustpaw? You killed those cats?" Goldpaw had to ask, even if he didn't believe it, not for one heart-beat. Rustpaw wasn't a killer. Rustpaw was an emotionally unstable apprentice, who had been unintentionally neglected by every cat he needed to be loved by.
"I mean, he may not have been entirely conscious while he was doing it." Brambleswipe mused. Goldpaw blinked, and narrowed his eyes. He'd connected the dots.
"You've been possessing him for moons, haven't you." He said. It wasn't a question. Brambleswipe smiled, her teeth showing.
"Where did you find this one, Rustpaw? He's sharp." She asked.
When Rustpaw next spoke, his voice was as sharp as ice. "Get out of my head." He snapped.
"No, I think I'll stay." Brambleswipe said, her mew smooth.
"I said, get out of my head." Rustpaw hissed, and Goldpaw's mouth fell open. A shadowy shape slipped out from behind Rustpaw, and met his gaze. His mouth dry, Goldpaw could only gape at it. The figure stared at him for a moment longer, before gliding away.
"Woah." He muttered, turning to Rustpaw. His friend was hunched over on the floor, wheezing. "Are you alright?" He asked, concerned. He padded to Rustpaw's side, and placed a comforting paw on his shoulder.
Rustpaw shook his head violently, and sat up. "I-I think so. She's - has she gone?" He managed to get out. Goldpaw nodded.
"She's gone. She's not in your head anymore." He reassured Rustpaw, carefully checking his eyes for any leftover traces of green. Thankfully, his eyes were blue, a peaceful, midnight blue. Goldpaw sighed in relief. (He'd be a pretty shocking medicine cat if he didn't check over his patients.)
"Did you see her?" Rustpaw asked. Goldpaw nodded.
He paused, and mulled over what he had seen. "She was… weak. I could see through her. I don't think she'll be worrying us for a while." He decided on saying. Rustpaw smiled weakly.
"Good." He mewed, knocking his shoulder against Goldpaw's.
"Rustpaw?" Goldpaw asked quietly.
Rustpaw turned to look at him, and yes, those were definitely his eyes. "Yeah?" He asked.
"Are… are you sure you're alright?" Goldpaw said hesitantly.
Rustpaw blinked at him, and let his head fall onto Goldpaw's shoulder. He's just tired, Goldpaw. "You're here. I'm fine." He sighed.
Goldpaw narrowed his eyes. "I thought you didn't need friends?" He teased.
Rustpaw chuckled. He flicked Goldpaw in the side with his tail, a soft smile fixed on his face. Goldpaw. He's tired. "You're not going to let me forget that, are you?"
"Nope." Goldpaw replied. Rustpaw looked down at the floor.
"I- I want to speak to Emberstar. Tell her what happened to her kit. And track down that kittypet, Holly. Explain why her friend died." Rustpaw said quietly.
Goldpaw huffed, exasperated. "See? This is what I mean. You've never been a bad cat, Rustpaw." He chided gently.
Rustpaw's eyes widened. "You think?" He asked. Goldpaw sighed.
"I know." He said, simply, and Rustpaw smiled.
hope u guys enjoyed :)