Sorry for the delay with the chapter, everyone. I've just been ridiculously busy with college lately, and as such haven't had much time for fanfiction. 9

Shoutout to WolflexZ for reviewing almost every chapter I've written of this story so far. Your support is amazing. (I realize this sounds incredibly sarcastic, but really, it does mean a lot to me.)

draconic skysong: I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Arcantos the Storyteller: This has been sitting in the back of my mind for a while, so I'm glad you like the idea! I see what you mean about the pacing, and I have a tentative plan for how to deal with that. As for the rest of your points, first of all, the main reason I didn't have Cloudpaw confront Bluestar was that although he's not one to hide his feelings, as you said, I don't recall him ever outright attacking her in the canon series. I remember him protesting that Lostface's name was cruel, but I don't remember him ever saying anything that could be considered disrespectful to her face.

The reason there haven't been many scenes of the rest of the Clan's reaction to Fireheart's injury is that most of the chapters have been from Bluestar's point of view, and she isn't having much to do with her Clan right now. I do plan to add a chapter or two focused on the rest of ThunderClan later, and hopefully, then I'll be able to clear up Cloudpaw's issue as well.

Sandstorm was a bit of an odd point for me when I was writing those two chapters. In the canon series, Sandstorm still respected Bluestar as Clan leader, as evidenced by the fact that she was upset by Fireheart's decision to go behind her back and warn Tallstar of Bluestar's planned attack. Her reaction in that chapter was meant to be purely out of stress–she'd just come back from a battle she knew was unjust, and the cat Sandstorm loved was critically injured, so she let her anger get the best of her. I agree that it probably seemed like she got over it a little too quickly, and I have a plan for how to fix that, so bear with me. Everything that I've written so far has been written this way for a reason.

Anyway, with all that out of the way, let's get into the chapter.

When Bluestar opened her eyes, she found herself surrounded by several achingly familiar cats. Her mother, Moonflower, was standing over her, as well as her sister, Snowfur. Mosskit was seated beside Snowfur, with Oakheart placed protectively beside their daughter. Spottedleaf, Yellowfang, Redtail, Lionheart, and even Stormtail were there as well. Bluestar couldn't help feeling surprised at the sight of her father; he had never shown much interest in her while he was alive.

As Bluestar rose to her feet, Moonflower stepped forward and rested her muzzle against her daughter's head. Bluestar closed her eyes, allowing her mother's touch to comfort her for a fraction of a heartbeat before stepping back and looking at her family in the eye. She was pleased to see them, of course, but she had a purpose here and didn't have time for reunions. There would be enough time for that when her turn came to join StarClan, after all.

"Please, I–" the blue-gray warrior began, but Snowfur laid her tail-tip over her mouth, effectively cutting off the rest of her plea.

"We know why you have come, dear sister," Snowfur meowed solemnly. "And we're sorry to tell you, but we cannot give you what you seek."

Bluestar froze, her heart suddenly cold. "And why is that?"

"You know why, Bluestar. StarClan does not control the fate of every cat in the forest," Redtail, her former deputy, meowed gently. Any other time, Bluestar would have apologized to him for letting his death go unavenged for so long. Now, however, she was too angry to care.

"Don't give me that heap of fox dung!" she snarled, her fur bristling with rage. "You can grant a cat such as Tigerstar nine lives to become Clan leader, but you can't do anything to save my deputy? Where is your loyalty? I have dedicated my life to following your way, and this is what I get in return? I get to watch the cat who tried to murder me receive the honor of becoming ShadowClan's leader? I get to watch Fireheart, one of the only cats left in ThunderClan that I can trust, die because I made a mistake and you won't do anything to help?"

"Bluestar–" Lionheart began, but the ThunderClan leader just cut him off.

"You told me that fire would save my Clan, but it almost destroyed us!" she spat. "You allowed WindClan to deny me safe passage to Highstones to speak with you, even after all Fireheart did for them! I gave up everything to become Clan leader because you said it was my destiny, and still, you insist on taking more away from me! Why? What have I done to warrant such cruelty from you?"

Her voice had risen to a wail by the end of her tirade. Bluestar dug her claws into the ground as tears began rolling down her face, angry–livid–that her warrior ancestors were turning their backs on her when she needed them the most. She had long believed that StarClan had turned away from her and ThunderClan, and now, here was the final proof. Perhaps she didn't deserve their mercy, but the fact that they wouldn't lift a paw to save Fireheart, who had served them more faithfully than almost any forest-born cat, spoke volumes.

"Bluestar, please..." Snowfur pleaded.

"Don't you dare say anything, because, for all I know, they're just empty words. In fact, I know they are," Bluestar snarled, turning away from her sister. "But fine! If you don't want to do anything to save Fireheart, then I will. Well, Cinderpelt and I will. We'll save him together, so he doesn't have to be cursed into living among ancestors that don't care for him!"

Ignoring a protest from Oakheart, Bluestar turned tail and fled. She didn't stop running, even as her lungs began to burn. No amount of physical exhaustion could ever compare to the pain her warrior ancestors had inflicted upon her today. Her assumptions had been right all along; StarClan no longer cared anything for her, and now they were going to sit back and let fate take Fireheart from her.

But I won't let that happen! Bluestar thought defiantly. I might not be a medicine cat, but StarClan is mistaken if they think I'm going to sit back and let one of my only trustworthy warriors die. They've taken everything from me, but they won't succeed this time!

"Bluestar!"

Bluestar growled, lashing her tail as a voice called out to her. Did StarClan not get the message when she ran away from them? Why were they still insisting on plaguing her dreams?

"Bluestar, wake up!"

Suddenly, the blue-furred queen jolted awake in her nest, inside her den underneath the Highrock. Blinking her eyes to clear the sleep from them, she looked up to see Whitestorm standing over her with a concerned expression in his eyes.

"You were thrashing about in your sleep," the great white warrior meowed worriedly. "What on earth happened?"

Instead of answering directly, Bluestar struggled to her paws. "I'm going to go see Fireheart," she muttered.

Whitestorm blinked, then followed his Clan leader as she made her way towards the medicine den. "What happened?" he repeated, pausing to see if Bluestar would respond. If she had even heard him, however, she gave no indication. "Did you have a dream?"

Bluestar almost rolled her eyes at that–obviously, she'd had a dream. Didn't Whitestorm say she had been thrashing about in her sleep? Why would she be moving at all if she wasn't dreaming? The more logical part of Bluestar's mind reasoned that her nephew was probably wondering if she had spoken with StarClan, but she chose not to tell him that. He would never believe that their ancestors had turned their backs on them, and besides, it wouldn't do any good to bring it up now.

When they arrived at Cinderpelt's den, the dark gray medicine cat was hovering over her patient, checking his wounds with a troubled look in her eyes. Bluestar tensed with anxiety, wondering if something had happened to Fireheart while she was asleep. But no, a closer look told her that the ThunderClan deputy was still in the same state she'd last seen him, no better but certainly no worse.

"Oh, hello Bluestar," Cinderpelt greeted her Clan leader. There was a slight edge to her voice, though whether it was due to stress or anger towards her, Bluestar couldn't be sure.

"Cinderpelt," Bluestar meowed politely. She looked down at Fireheart's body and asked softly, "How is he?"

The ThunderClan medicine cat let out a sigh. "I don't know," she admitted. "He's not getting worse, but he hasn't gotten better at all, and I don't know what to do. I don't want to lose another cat the same way I lost Silverstream."

Bluestar blinked. That was right, Cinderpelt had been the one to help deliver Graystripe's kits all those moons ago. The kittens had survived, but their mother, a RiverClan warrior, named Silverstream, had died from blood loss. Although Fireheart hadn't delivered any children and certainly wouldn't be doing so anytime soon, the fact that his life was hanging in the balance due to blood loss couldn't be sparking any happy memories for Cinderpelt.

"He was pretty badly hurt," Whitestorm reasoned. "And it's only been a few days. Maybe he needs a little more time."

"You're probably right," Cinderpelt sighed. "I'll just keep doing what I can to make sure he stays alive if nothing else."

Sorrow flooded Bluestar's heart as she bowed her head, licking Fireheart between the ears as Moonflower had done to her so many times as a kit. She could feel Whitestorm and Cinderpelt watching her, but didn't look up, instead choosing to continue her steady, rhythmic licks to the young flame-pelted cat's fur.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Bluestar or anyone else in ThunderClan, Darkstripe was waiting alongside the ShadowClan border. It was nearly dawn, and the pale tabby was waiting for Tigerstar to meet him. The two had arranged to meet with each other the day before, but now his friend was late, and Darkstripe was growing restless. If a ThunderClan patrol happened to come by and catch him, he doubted that he would be allowed to explain himself. They already didn't trust him due to his old comradery with the ShadowClan leader.

Fortunately, Darkstripe didn't have anything to worry about, for less than a heartbeat later Tigerstar finally made his appearance. He was carrying something wrapped up in leaves, and as he drew closer, he placed the bundle down in front of Darkstripe.

"I brought them, as I promised," the great dark tabby meowed. "Be sure to put them to good use."

"I will, Tigerstar. Thank you," Darkstripe mewed, bowing to his former Clanmate.

Tigerstar nodded. "Now go, before anyone catches you here."

Darkstripe didn't need any more encouragement. Picking up the bundle of leaves, the tabby warrior turned around and padded deeper into ThunderClan territory. Once he was sure that he was safe from prying eyes, Darkstripe placed the package on the ground and unfurled the leaves, feeling his lip curl into a triumphant sneer when he saw what was inside. There, placed inside the leaf bundle with absolute precision, were three bright red berries.