Alright so here is CHAPTER TWELVE!

For some reason I thought I posted this chapter already, but it didn't show up. So I had to post it. Again.

I bet nobody reads these BUT I HAVE AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

I want to add SkyClan to my stories. So, this is your last chance to have your OC be SkyClan leader, medicine cat, or deputy. Submissions for these roles will end November 20th. If OCs for these roles aren't submitted by then, I'll add SkyClan into the stories with my own random OCs as leader, deputy, or medicine cat.

Name submissions for Sunstar and Halftail will end November 10th. If names aren't submitted by then, their names will stay the same.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN WARRIORS. All of Warrior Cats belongs to Erin Hunter.

Onto the chapter...

STILL REDPAW'S POV:

At the medicine cat Gathering that happened days later, Redpaw sat down, Shadowedpaw's words ringing in his ears. Redpaw had nobody else to look to for guidance or help. Redpaw was the only one who knew about the prophecy, the truth behind the fox attack, and that Shadowedpaw was going to die. Just like his father had.

Yet the dangerous glimmer in Shadowedpaw's eyes when he said that: "Go ahead, let him kill me, unless you do it first…"

Redpaw shuddered as he sat down at the edge of the Moonpool. Suddenly his older brother seemed scary, as if he were evil, as if he were with the Dark Forest.

As the medicine cats lapped up drops of water and fell asleep, Redpaw stopped Moonpaw from touching the Moonpool and turned to face her. "Look, I'm sorry." he meowed.

"For what?"

"For well… you know."

"I don't know."

Redpaw sighed. "I was rude to you and Emberpaw at the first Gathering and thought you were annoying, stupid, and lazy like all RiverClan cats. But I was wrong. So I'm sorry for being such a mouse-brain."

"It's true you're a mouse-brain."

Redpaw opened his mouth to retort but Moonpaw splashed him with water, giggling, and he yelped, almost waking up the others.

"Alright, I accept your apology." Moonpaw smiled. "But what do you say, want to be friends?"

Redpaw tensed. "Friends?.."

"What? Are you not used to friends?"

"No, it's just you're from a different Clan." Redpaw muttered.

"Well we're medicine cats, so it doesn't matter, does it?" Moonpaw asked.

Redpaw thought for a moment.

"Alright, friends."

"Meet me at the WindClan border tomorrow at midnight, then." Moonpaw told him. Redpaw nodded.

They soon touched their noses to the water and fell deep into their own dreams...

"Hello?"

Redpaw walked through the star-lit fields of unknown territory. Stars lit the sky in this strange place, the grass greener than it was in Newleaf and Greenleaf and the trees and ferns and plants as lush as ever with the flowers in full bloom.

The stars in midair swirled around him as if carried by a breeze, then they collided and assembled together into the shape of a cat, glowing brighter, brighter- until a cat glowing like the stars and moon itself stood in front of Redpaw. The same process happened around him, stars turning into cats or cats walking from the bushes and ferns and into the light.

"StarClan…" he whispered.

The cats nodded. Redpaw didn't know why the whole of StarClan had to appear at once and not just one cat but he assumed it was to make a point or warn him about something.

"Oakpelt is evil, he's going to kill Shadowedpaw!" Redpaw told them. "You're StarClan! Surely you can do somethi-" his voice trailed off.

He looked over to see Darksky in the ranks of StarClan, his yellow glare staring down at Redpaw. Seeing him made the ghosts suddenly seem real. Redpaw felt the pressure of his ancestors before him, looking down at him as if there'd been a mistake.

Their eyes didn't shine with fear, or joy, or anything.

They shone with hatred.

"A shadow of red will destroy ThunderClan." a cat hissed.

And with that, they vanished into the night.

In his nest back home in camp, Redpaw curled up into a tight ball in his nest.

I'm not evil, I'm not evil, I am not evil, his mind whispered again and again.

He'd cried until he could cry no more, he tore at his nest in fury until it was almost nothing more than scraps. He didn't know what time it was, if he was asleep or awake, or if he was imagining the taunts of the Dark Forest and StarClan or not.

"Please, I'm not evil, I'm not this…" he choked silently.

Then Redpaw heard pawsteps, and turned to see Shadowedpaw's sharp yellow glare fixed on him.

"Goldensun says you've been asleep all day." he said. "So I came to check on you."

"Leave me alone..." Redpaw mumbled, turning away from him. "I know, you think I'm evil. But the prophecy is wrong, Shadowedpaw. It has to be!"

Shadowedpaw loomed over Redpaw and whispered in his ear: "And yet... why is there a prophecy that you'll destroy us... if you aren't evil?"

He turned and walked off.

Redpaw went back into his sleepless trance. Goldensun was a traitor to her Clan. Shadowedpaw thought him evil. Oakpelt wanted to kill him and Shadowedpaw. And Redpaw had nobody to look to for guidance.

No cat except…

Moonpaw.

She knew about Emberpaw, the prophecy, and she trusted Redpaw. Surely she'd understand? How many days had passed since the medicine cat Gathering?! Had he missed their meeting entirely?

He jumped up, alert, and stormed out of the den, past his sister Owlpaw.

"I found some herbs! Y'know, cobwebs and juniper leaves like Goldensun asked for!" she shouted, but Redpaw had already run off.

"Goldensun?" he skidded to a halt in front of the medicine cat, who was busily meowing with

Blackstripe. "How many days have passed since the medicine cat Gathering?"

"Uhm, this is the day after it. Why?" Goldensun asked. "Oh, whatever. Go collect some herbs and get some fresh air, you were in the den all day! What we need is daisy, perhaps, no, marigold I mean, and…"

Redpaw didn't listen to the rest as he sighed with relief. An hour had seemed like a whole day to him while in the medicine cat den. He ran off through the thorn barrier, only to crash into Oakpelt.

"Sorry!" he squeaked.

Oakpelt glared dangerously at him as he stalked off.

Redpaw stiffened. Goldensun, Owlpaw, and no other cat could help him. Shadowedpaw and Oakpelt surely wanted him dead. He needed to ask Moonpaw for help! But what if Moonpaw thought him evil like Shadowedpaw did?

He pushed the thought away as he began to collect herbs, trying to distract himself from his buzzing mind. He walked through the forest, grabbing poppy seeds instead of marigold and cobwebs instead of dock by mistake. Yet he didn't care as he trotted back to camp, trying not to look scared as he passed Shadowedpaw.

He set the herbs in the medicine den, ignoring Goldensun's scowl as she murmured: "Those are not the herbs I asked for, but whatever." Redpaw plopped down on the ground near Owlpaw as he grabbed a bird from the pile.

"You alright?" Owlpaw asked.

"Huh?"

"You seem… excited."

"What would I be excited about?" Redpaw snapped a little too sharply, bird feathers flying from his mouth. Owlpaw sneezed when one of these black feathers landed on her nose.

"Dunno. Excited about something." she muttered.

Owlpaw was right, though. Redpaw didn't know if he was alright. At least Owlpaw didn't have to get involved in this, with Shadowedpaw rude and mean to Redpaw and Oakpelt evil and wanting them both dead and Redpaw possibly going to destroy the Clan.

He growled and shoved the bird away. I'm not evil. He said in his head. Not. Evil.

He stalked back to the medicine cat den as Owlpaw sat there in the clearing, utterly confused by his behavior.

Midnight came quickly.

Redpaw crept past Goldensun, out of the medicine den, and into the cold night air of leafbare. Clouds hovered ominously in the sky, the air was surprisingly cold, a sign that it may snow soon.

He went through the thorn barrier out of camp, cold pricking at his fur as he ran through the night. He skidded to a halt by the river border, then leapt across the stepping stones.

Redpaw yelped when he slipped, falling into the water.

Thrashing and flailing in the water, he choked as he was dragged under by the currents.

"Help!" he bashed into rocks in the river, slamming hard into boulders. He sank down, down, down...

A paw grabbed him and pulled him out of the water.

He wheezed for breath on the shore, coughing up water. Slowly, he looked up at his rescuer.

Moonpaw.

They could only stare at each other in the bright moonlight. Finally, Moonpaw spoke first.

"If you need me to keep saving your life, then might as well do something in return." she said.

"Like what?"

Moonpaw sighed. "I help you, you help me. What I need your help with is this strange prophecy that Silentsky had."

"Prophecy?..." Redpaw meowed, confused. "What prophecy?"

"He said he heard the prophecy from StarClan, it went like this." she cleared her throat. "'Among the Clan of the River, a traitor rises who'll go against the code.'"

"Clan of the River… well of course it's RiverClan." Redpaw muttered.

"We know that, but who is this traitor?" Moonpaw mulled. "Whatever. What did StarClan tell you, though?"

Redpaw tensed. Now or never.

"They looked down at me, all saying the same thing: 'A Shadow of Red will destroy ThunderClan…'" Redpaw told her.

"Still, that doesn't make sense. A shadow is black. Unless maybe the 'Red' means 'Blood' because blood is red." Moonpaw added. "A Shadow of Blood, a shadow of death, perhaps? Will many cats die

in ThunderClan and that's how the Clan will be destroyed?"

"No…" Redpaw shook his head. "That's not it…"

"You know the true meaning of the prophecy?"

Redpaw nodded slowly.

"What?" Moonpaw blurted.

"I-I can't tell you…" Redpaw whispered. Any plan to get help from Moonpaw evaporated.

"Why not?" Moonpaw asked again.

Redpaw was silent.

"Ah, I see." Moonpaw nodded with understanding. "You don't trust RiverClan, you think if you tell us who or what the Shadow of Red is, RiverClan might attack ThunderClan. It's true that ThunderClan is enemies with every Clan, especially yours."

"T-that's not it." Redpaw shook his head. "I found out… that the prophecy stated I was the shadow of red. Who'd destroy ThunderClan." Redpaw turned away from Moonpaw. "I-I don't want to be evil, I am trying, surely you know that. I don't want to destroy ThunderClan! And I found out that Oakpelt's the one who sent the fox attack and he wants to kill me and Shadowedpaw! I tried warning Shadowedpaw, but he thinks I'm evil and he hates me!"

When he looked back at her, Moonpaw's expression didn't show hatred, fear, or anger like Shadowedpaw's. Instead, her eyes shone with sadness and sympathy.

"I understand, Redpaw." she told him. "But I can't believe you, I can't trust the prophecy."

"Why?" Redpaw asked.

"I…" her voice trailed off. "I don't believe in StarClan."

Silence.

"Yes, I heard about StarClan and all that from stories our father and mother told us. But from what I heard, StarClan was a bunch of ghosts who only saw a tiny glimpse of the future and turned it into a puzzle that they call a prophecy. This 'prophecy' didn't bring peace among Clans, it led to chaos. War. Betrayal. And most of all, death. This prophecy will bring nothing more than hatred among the Clans, like how your own brother thinks you're evil because of the prophecy. Also from what I remember, StarClan doesn't do anything! They choose some cats for a prophecy who end up killing or loving each other or causing destruction or peace among the Clans. And then in the end everyone is like: 'Thank StarClan we survived!' Why thank StarClan when our 'ancestors' do nothing more than give us a puzzle that leads us to doomsday? The warriors see their dead loved ones heading to a better place, all I see is StarClan leading more cats to their death with their warnings and prophecies. I'm surprised ShadowClan hasn't become one with StarClan, yet, after what Shadowedstar did to them. Do you think I wanted to become a medicine cat because of StarClan and their prophecies, Redpaw? No, no, no. I wanted to help the Clan. Only then I saw the medicine cat can't have love or be a normal apprentice and they must believe in StarClan. I would give up this burden if I could, I would give up being an actress, but Silentsky made his decision. And I can't abandon my Clan."

"I'm trying to be as good as you, Redpaw." Moonpaw told him. "I don't want to be evil, but I can't believe in StarClan. Not that I don't think they exist, I know they are real after the Gathering where ShadowClan tried attacking Emberpaw. I don't think we can trust StarClan. I don't think we can put our faith in them. I don't think we can worship them. When they do nothing for us. I know you'll disagree with me, Redpaw. But all StarClan does is say that one cat or more will do something that will bring peace, death, or war. Usually it's the first two. Peace caused by death, death so there's peace. Somebody always dies to bring peace. So StarClan can grow and the forest can thrive. A sacrifice. Who was forced to die to save their Clan, always against their own will. StarClan isn't evil, they are good, but I'm saying they're cruel. I'm not saying the Dark Forest is good, the Dark Forest is evil. So, Redpaw, hear my warning, a warning from not StarClan, but from me: If a shadow of red will destroy ThunderClan, if an ember of fire will come to destroy or save ShadowClan, and if when the ember of fire and shadow of red unite and the forest falls, then, Redpaw. Somebody will die. Too many cats will die. ShadowClan thinks Emberpaw will save them, but I don't think so. Emberpaw's loyalty can easily be changed, the Dark Forest could easily take her. And if so, then ShadowClan and the forest are doomed."

Redpaw was quiet, taking this in.

"I better leave." Moonpaw finally sighed. "If Oakpelt show any signs of trying to kill you or doing anything evil, let me know."

"Uhm." Redpaw's voice trailed off. Moonpaw stopped walking and turned to face him. "S-should we come here tomorrow night, maybe?" he stammered.

Moonpaw smiled. "Alright, at midnight again."

The two walked back down the borders to their own Clans.

I seriously don't know what to put here. My author's notes have gotten boring.

Shadowedpaw thinks Redpaw's evil. Oakpelt wants to kill them both. Moonpaw doesn't trust StarClan. Bet nobody saw the last part coming.

Chapter Thirteen will be about Emberpaw's not-so-easy Dark Forest training.

Bye-bye.

-Moon