Sorry for the delay! Chapter Eight is HEREEEE!
Two important events shall happen in this chapter.
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Alright so I found out that there IS a glitch that makes it so people can't find this story in the search. The story is able to be found half the time and the other half it just disappears for a few hours or more. So yes, it's readable, but only at certain times. I might move this fic to a different fan-fiction website... but this is the best website I have found so far.
In case you didn't know, bold font means author's note.
You can still submit OCs! Leader, medicine cat, medicine cat apprentice, and deputy roles are still open in SkyClan! ShadowClan also needs more kitties! No- there's seriously only like three warriors and two apprentices.
Onto the chapter!
"Shadowedpaw, I don't know what your problem with Oakpelt is. He is a loyal warrior." Redpaw huffed. It was nighttime as Shadowedpaw and Redpaw walked around camp.
"LOYAL?! You think he's loyal?!" hissed Shadowedpaw. "He led a fox attack here to kill our father, then he drowned Breezewind, hoping to become deputy, only to have Blackstripe take his place. He'll probably kill Blackstripe, too!"
"All of that isn't true." Redpaw snapped back.
Shadowedpaw and Redpaw stopped in their tracks to see Oakpelt looming over them. He gave them one last glare of warning and stalked off.
"S-see?! He wants to kill us, too!" yelled Shadowedpaw when Oakpelt vanished.
Redpaw and his brother Shadowedpaw were soon sitting down near the elders' den. Shadowedpaw was eating a mouse and Redpaw eating a squirrel, they would talk between bites of prey and when Shadowedpaw started talking about how evil Oakpelt was, well then this argument had been started.
"How do you even know Oakpelt killed our father, he died before we were born. And it's not like you overheard some cats who did know talking about it. If other cats did know, then wouldn't Oakpelt be exiled already?" Redpaw meowed, loud enough for Oakpelt to hear.
Shadowedpaw covered Redpaw's mouth with his paw. "Keep your voice down-" but Oakpelt was already walking over again.
"What did you say about me?" Oakpelt hissed at Shadowedpaw.
"Oh, I know who's side your on, I know what you did, I saw you and the Dark Forest, I know you killed Silentshadow, you 'loyal' warrior." Shadowedpaw snarled. Some of the warriors and elders noticed this.
The terribly old elder named Shatteredgaze started chanting: "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Before Halftail quieted him: "You want two warriors of the same Clan to fight? That's against the code!"
"I thought it was a warrior and an evil rogue?" muttered Shatteredgaze. Both Oakpelt and Shadowedpaw didn't know who he was talking about, but they did not ask, instead, they kept fighting.
"Oh so you think I'm not loyal? What have I done?" Oakpelt stepped forward.
"Y-YOU PUSHED BREEZEWIND INTO THE LAKE, KILLED OUR FATHER, AND ARE TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE CLAN! YOU ARE WORKING WITH THE DARK FOREST! I SAW IT MYSELF! YOU DIRTY, ROTTEN, LYING FOX-HEARTED PILE OF MOUSE DUNG!" Shadowedpaw practically screeched-
Both Halftail and Shatteredgaze were placing bets as to who was lying or telling the truth already. Soon, Firepaw and Windpaw had joined them, all four whispering in low voices and pointing at Redpaw, Oakpelt, and Shadowedpaw.
Redpaw looked around anxiously. Where was the leader?! Sunstar was nowhere in sight. Neither was Blackstripe. And Goldensun was either out collecting herbs or visiting Nightshadow of WindClan like the fool she was-
We're on our own, Redpaw realized.
Redpaw jumped between Oakpelt and Shadowedpaw. "Stop fighting!" he yelled. Only to have Oakpelt push him over. Causing more whispers from the elders' den. Soon the whole Clan was watching.
"Look! This is nonsense, we know Oakpelt would never ever do such a thing! Shadowedpaw, tell them the truth. The real truth. Tell them why you hate Oakpelt. Tell them why you think he's evil. Tell us what you truly saw." Redpaw yelled again. He glared at Oakpelt, Shadowedpaw, and the cats in the elders' den. "Are you all kits?! Fighting over nonsense instead of trying to stop it?"
The Clan was silent. Listening to the medicine cat apprentice. But Redpaw was still glaring at Shadowedpaw. "Don't tell them the truth. At least not yet. At midnight, meet me in the medicine den, and tell me what you saw." he whispered to him, low enough for Oakpelt to not hear.
Shadowedpaw nodded, then the two finished their food and Firepaw and Windpaw walked out of the elders' den. All cats heading back to their own dens.
Midnight came quicker than thought.
Shadowedpaw peeked in the medicine den to see his brother: Redpaw alone.
"Where's Goldensun?" Shadowedpaw asked.
"Collecting herbs." Redpaw replied as he sorted the herbs in the storage. Totally not betraying her Clan by visiting a WindClan warrior… Redpaw added silently.
"'Collecting herbs'?... This late? Well whatever it is, you have your secrets and I have mine. So if I tell you the story of what I saw, then you must tell me what Goldensun is always sneaking off to at night and why you seem so… distracted." Shadowedpaw meowed. "Best make your decision quick, before Goldensun returns."
Redpaw growled and turned to face him. "Well, then, what insane story do you have to tell me?"
Shadowedpaw took a deep breath. "Last night, I fell asleep, only to find myself in StarClan. I saw four cats, arguing about something the leaders' and medicine cats call the Dark Forest. One said that the Shadow of Red and Ember of Fire will come together, destroying the Clans. Another said that the 'Ember' and 'Shadow' must be killed for this reason, that they were no doubt controlled by the Dark Forest. I was confused, I knew that a 'shadow of red' would destroy the Clan after what Sunstar and Goldensun said. But what's an ember of fire?" Shadowedpaw paused for a moment. "After that, I found myself in a shadowy woods. At first, I thought it was ShadowClan territory. Then I saw the evil-looking ghosts. Then the fact there were no stars or moon. I thought it was the Dark Forest. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw Oakpelt and Nightbreeze…" he tensed. "And our father. But an evil warrior of the Dark Forest…"
"I told myself to not believe it. But after seeing what StarClan had said, I thought that if I spied on the Dark Forest, I could tell you about what they're doing so you could warn StarClan. So I will tell you, Nightbreeze, the medicine cat of ShadowClan is evil and is actually our aunt, she is allies with our father: Silentshadow, and Oakpelt. Nightbreeze asked why Silentshadow and Oakpelt were friends when they hated each other. They replied by saying that with two prophecies threatening to destroy StarClan and the forest, then why not become allies to ensure this destruction to take over the forest with and destroy StarClan, then rule the Clans? A forest of evil. Yes, that was their goal…" he shuddered. "Oakpelt and our father are evil. And Nightbreeze, the most trusted cat of both ShadowClan and the forest, is on their side. We must come together if we are to defeat the Dark Forest, Redpaw. We don't know who this 'ember of fire' and 'shadow of red' are. Might you have any idea, Redpaw? Remember. I tell you my secret and you tell me yours."
Redpaw was silent, slowly he looked up at Shadowedpaw, eyes full of tears... "The Shadow of Red…" he shivered. "I-it's m-me…"
The medicine cat den was dead-silent.
"H-how?..." Shadowedpaw finally whispered.
Redpaw took a deep breath. "I noticed Goldensun acting all weird last night. I followed her into the forest and into WindClan territory. I saw her and a warrior from WindClan in love. It's why she was acting so weird. Not just is it against the warrior code, but also the medicine cat code. Goldensun said she knew about the prophecy. That StarClan told her to make me her medicine cat apprentice way before the Shadow of Red prophecy and to name me as a warrior: Redshadow. Later, when the prophecy did come, they told her to keep a close eye on me, and that I was the Shadow of Red that would destroy the Clan." he quieted. Letting Shadowedpaw take in this information.
When Shadowedpaw finally looked up at Redpaw, his face darkened and he was eerily quiet.
"I'm going to head to bed. Goodnight." Shadowedpaw sneered. His tone was sharp and cold, it made Redpaw flinch. As if Shadowedpaw thought his brother evil and with the Dark Forest after the prophecy. As he stalked out of the den, his dark pelt vanishing into the night, Redpaw felt that his brother would never think him good again.
He didn't know how many days passed since that one night where Shadowedpaw now thought him evil, Goldensun's secret exposed to another cat in ThunderClan, and where they both found out their father was evil, so was their ShadowClan aunt, and Oakpelt was evil and most likely did drown Breezewind and send a fox attack for ThunderClan when Redpaw was a young kit, not only did the fox attack kill Silentshadow, but also other cats.
The next Gathering had come quicker than Redpaw thought. With the full moon shining high in the sky like a nighttime sun. Small clouds drifted past it, but not over it. Showing that StarClan didn't want the Clans' truce to end. If some cat caused a argument or fight between the Clan during a Gathering, almost causing a battle, then clouds would obscure the moon completely. A sign that the truce was broken and that StarClan wanted to send the Clans home.
ThunderClan arrived to see RiverClan, while WindClan and ShadowClan surprisingly late.
In the meantime, while they waited for WindClan and ShadowClan, the Clans were talking. Of course, the medicine cats talked in low voices about the prophecy to one another, while Goldensun was whispering to that WindClan warrior: Nightshadow.
"Hello!" a voice yelled.
Redpaw yelped to see Moonpaw behind him.
"C-can you not sneak up behind me!?" Redpaw hissed.
"You mean stalk you? No no no no no… I was just wondering if you saw my sister Ember anywhere. She was captured by twolegs. She might be dead, but… rumor is she's in ShadowClan. Speaking of which, where is ShadowClan?" Moonpaw asked, seeing WindClan arrive.
"We found rogues on the border, had to deal with them before we came." explained Longstar, the WindClan leader.
Minutes passed. No sign of ShadowClan. Redpaw wanted to see Ember and Nightbreeze after hearing the 'Ember of Fire' prophecy from Shadowedpaw and Goldensun.
The full moon was thankfully still high in the sky, they had a long time till dawn. Impatient, the leaders began whispering to one another. ShadowClan still nowhere in sight.
Finally, Smokestar and his Clan came across the log. Each cat seemed filled with hope and joy, whispering to one another. As if they were never the grumpy, grim, rude weak Clan they'd once been.
Every last ShadowClan cat had reached the island. Yet they looked around, impatient, as if looking for somebody. Then, an orange and gold apprentice-aged she-cat with black stripes and orange eyes appeared. Seeing she smelled of loner, the Clans started whispering.
The leaders finally leaped onto their branches on the Gathering tree and looked down at the Clans.
"Sunstar, you speak first!" Howlstar, the leader of RiverClan hollered, making the cats cover their ears.
Sunstar cleared her throat. "Goldensun and Redpaw have warned us of a prophecy about foxes attacking. Yet we don't know which border. So they could be in WindClan or ShadowClan territory at the moment, so be wary. Other than that, prey is running well and the chances of surviving this Leafbare are high."
Then Howlstar spoke, then Longstar, and finally Smokestar.
"StarClan brought us a prophecy that we all know of: 'A Ember of Fire will come to ShadowClan' this ember stands before you." Smokestar looked down at the loner. "A loner named Ember came onto our territory a week ago. StarClan proved to us that she is the one who will either save or destroy the Clan."
"A loner? Brought into ShadowClan?" hissed Howlstar. "Is ShadowClan becoming ThunderClan? A group of rogues?!"
"A group of rogues?! We are ThunderClan! A Clan! How dare you accuse us of- of-" Sunstar stammered for words, snarling at Howlstar.
Redpaw's eyes widened, he looked up at the moon. A single cloud that seemed more like a piece of fog only drifted over it. He then looked around, failing to make eye contact with Ember, who didn't know what was happening, and Moonpaw, who was trying to get Ember's attention, not noticing the clouds.
"ThunderClan isn't a bunch of rogues. Neither is ShadowClan. ShadowClan is desperate and dependent, so of course they'll bring in a loner, especially if they are part of a promised prophecy from StarClan." meowed Longstar, standing up tall.
"Desperate and dependent?! Longstar, are you saying we are like kits in need of a mother?!" yelled Nightbreeze, as if trying to fuel the argument, Redpaw noticed.
"Technically, he is." growled Smokestar.
"I DID NOT SAY THAT!" screeched Longstar.
"Stop! StarClan will be mad!" yelled Sunstar, but the leaders ignored her.
"THE PROPHECY SAID EMBER MIGHT DESTROY US! WE SHOULD EXILE HER- KILL HER, EVEN!" hollered Frostshadow, the ShadowClan deputy. "STARCLAN HATES SHADOWCLAN AFTER WHAT THE OLD LEADER DID TO US!"
Some of the ShadowClan cats snarled agreement. Ember's eyes widened and she stepped away from the mob.
"STOP! DON'T!" Moonpaw yelled. Yet RiverClan held her back.
As the ShadowClan cats neared her, Ember was left dangerously close to the edge of the island, about to fall off the cliff and into the lake.
The leaders started yelling angrily at each other as Smokestar yelled at his Clan to "back off". Moonpaw tried rushing to save her sister, but ShadowClan stopped her. Redpaw backed up. He needed this to stop! The medicine cats were even fighting now!
He looked up at the sky, clouds obscured the moon and stars yet nobody noticed.
"S-stop fighting!" Redpaw yelled, rushing over to the leaders, but the crowd held him away.
"STARCLAN IS ANGRY! STOP FIGHTING!" Redpaw pointed at the clouds, but his yells were impossible to hear over the roar of the wind and crowd. Rain poured onto the cats, soaking them.
As a ShadowClan cat lunged for Ember, a strike of lightning hit a tree. Sending it uprooted and tipping into the lake near Ember. Ember jumped onto the trunk of the tree as more thunder and lightning struck. Ember leaped off the trunk and onto the branches of a tree that wasn't uprooted as the leaders tried pushing each other off their own tree.
"STOP! LOOK!" Redpaw screamed. ShadowClan and the other Clans kept fighting. Soon cats were scratching each other and rushing to save their leaders.
The downpour was worse, making Ember and the leaders starting to slip off the trees.
"ENOUGH!" roared a voice.
Not from any of the Clans, or Ember, or Moonpaw, or the medicine cats, or the leaders, or Redpaw. But from the bushes.
The lightning ceased and the rain started to soften as five cats walked out of the bush. Their fur glowed brightly and stars shone in it.
"StarClan…" whispered Moonpaw.
Hearing Moonpaw, the RiverClan cats and soon the other Clans turned to face the ghosts. But their eyes were blank.
"I see nothing." a random cat snarled.
Only the medicine cats could see the StarClan ghosts.
"You didn't notice the moon, the storm, the lightning." hissed the orange-colored ghost.
"Flamestar?" Doepelt- medicine cat of WindClan- yelped, seeing the former leader of WindClan. The WindClan warriors started whispering, still having not seen anything.
"Enough!" yelled Snowstar, the former leader of ThunderClan. "The Gathering has turned to chaos, the truce is broken. Usually us ghosts appear before only medicine cats and leaders, but it seems you all ignore all our signs that the Gathering must come to an end enough that we ourselves have to come and yell at you- you kits!"
"This isn't the only reason we have come." added Nightwing. Former medicine cat of ThunderClan. "There is a traitor amongst each of your Clans. Two who have a forbidden love, one who is siding with the Dark Forest, and another who chooses to abandon StarClan. Not only that, but when the Ember of Fire and Shadow of Red come together, the four Clans shall fall if the Dark Forest is to take them over. Hatred. Disobedience. Ignorance. That is what's happening to the four Clans right now. You attack each other at a Gathering. You try breaking the prophecy and the truce. This'll no doubt lead your Clans to a sticky end."
"If you all really must destroy each other, then not at a Gathering over nonsense." said Shatteredoak. "And the prophecy of ShadowClan was interpreted by the medicine cat wrong on purpose. Because of this, ShadowClan might fall. But as long as they keep Ember away from the Dark Forest, then yes, they will survive."
"What is StarClan saying?" Longstar asked. And the medicine cats explained what StarClan had said.
"Oh, and she's not Ember anymore, she's Emberpaw." added Snowstar.
"Emberpaw?!" Moonpaw and Redpaw yelled at the same time.
Emberpaw nodded. "If I was chosen by StarClan to save ShadowClan, then yes, I shall do such. It's why I wanted to come to the Gathering, too. To say goodbye to you, sister and brother." she looked down at Moonpaw and Stonepaw from the tree, her tears and the rain streaming down her face.
Moonpaw and Stonepaw took this in, staring at the ground.
"Nightbreeze said the prophecy wrong?!" yelled Smokestar, breaking the silence after the medicine cats finished explaining.
"I…" Nightbreeze shook her head. "I had to. You wouldn't understand. If I said the truth, then ShadowClan would be killed. If I said the prophecy wrong, then maybe our Clan would be saved…"
Redpaw saw Shadowedpaw snort. As if he knew the truth.
"Whatever, you mouse-brains." meowed Snowstar, rolling her eyes. "The Gathering is over. You heard us." they then faded away, the rain ceased and the moon full and bright once more as the medicine cats and leaders took the Clans back home...
StarClan said "Whatever." Omg that NEVER happens in the books. Ever. Until now.
The two important events that happened in this chapter were Shadowedpaw hearing of the prophecy and Emberpaw being revealed to have joined ShadowClan.
So we all know that Nightbreeze said the prophecy for ShadowClan was: "A Ember of Fire will come to ShadowClan" but that prophecy was fake. So what's the real prophecy? HMMM...
Chapter Nine is when two apprentices become warriors, a fox attack happens, and somebody dies. *sniffle* R.I.P. Character who dies! (Not gonna say who died or else chapter shall be spoiled)
You can still submit OCs and new names for Sunstar.
Sunstar name submissions will end November 20th.
OC submissions will last for a long time. Don't know when to end it because I need a lot of new cats for this story.
QUESTION: So far, who do you like better? Emberpaw or Redpaw?
Over and out. Please review. Favorite and or follow if you liked the story.
-Moonstar