Chapter Nine

I opened my eyes.

The darkness was total. Complete. There was no light, nothing. I twitched my fingers. Claws.

Wait a minute…

I looked down at my body and let out a surprised yell – I was human. And yet I was a cat. What in StarClan's name…?

My ears were on the sides of my head, and yet they were pointed, and on the top. I had a tail, and still I didn't. My knees were bent, and yet they weren't.

It was the scariest thing I had experienced since first being transformed into a cat. I looked up and gasped. I was surrounded by about a dozen cats. The first cat – a she-cat, by the size and smell of it – stepped out of the crowd. She was a blue-gray one with a battle-scarred muzzle.

"Hello, Glacierclaw, Cathan," she mewed. I leapt back in surprise. She knew what I was! What I had been!

And wasn't this the cat from my dream as a human?

"Glacierclaw, we are giving you a choice, Cathan," began the cat. "StarClan is giving you a choice."

"Yeah?" I mewed, or said, or whatever, trying to act tough. "Like what?"

"Do you wish to be human? Or a cat?"

I stared at her. What a horrible decision! I can't believe that StarClan had left me with this.

"We need your answer soon, Cathan," added the blue-gray she-cat.

"Who are you?" I snapped. "I don't remember you from ThunderClan, or at the Gathering."

"I am Bluestar, the old leader of ThunderClan."

"Really?" I said, amazed. I looked around the darkness. "And where am I?"

Bluestar shrugged. "You are dead, Glacierclaw," she mewed. "You can be anywhere."

Well, that was a nice answer.

"I need your response," prodded Bluestar.

I sighed and began to think. As a human, what was there? Parents that barely noticed me? Had me work like a dog, doing every chore in the house? But as a cat, I felt so free. I had the eyes of an eagle, the claws of a predator, the quickness of a cheetah. It was awesome. Even better, I had friends. Whitepaw. Dragonheart. Especially Spiderpaw, I thought, a smile creeping up on my face. Especially Spiderpaw.

"I've decided," I said, looking up, "that I want to be a cat."

Bluestar nodded. "As I thought you would," she mewed.

FLASH!

Blinding light! I put my arms in front of my face to block it out. I suddenly found myself standing in a grassy field close to where Flamestorm had killed me. Even worse, the arms covering my face were human.

"Hey!" I shouted to the sky. "StarClan, I chose to be a cat, not a human."

"Save your Clan, Glacierclaw," echoed Bluestar's voice in my mind. "Then we will give you what you wish."

"I get it," I whispered. "I have to be human in order to save ThunderClan, eh?"

There was no response. I walked hastily forward, then broke into a run.

Right, I thought. What was I supposed to do to save them? Could I break into someone's house and steal their gun? No, that would be stupid; even if I managed to steal a gun, there was always a chance that I would hit someone from my own Clan.

As I ran across the Thunderpath, I realized that I was running so much faster than I would have originally as a human. I was clumsy, sure, from not having two legs in so long, but my legs seemed incredibly powerful.

It's the cat, I thought. The cat in me. StarClan let me keep my cat abilities for the time being. If I could run fast, like this, what else could I do?

A sudden idea came to me. I ran as fast as I could into town, tripping over my own feet. I had to hurry! The two Clans could have killed each other by now. I froze, panting, sweating, in front of a payphone. I ran forward, preparing to dial a number, when I remembered that I didn't have any money. I swore angrily and banged my head against the side of the payphone.

You idiot, use the cat! I thought wildly. The cat eyes. I looked up and searched furiously around the little sidewalk that I was standing on. There! (a/n: I don't know what kind of money they have in England, work with me here- - ;) I stuffed it into the money slot.

Hastily, I dialed the animal control number. I remembered it so well. Mom had made me call them when a rat had gotten in the house. Strange that I should remember it, though.

"Hello?"

I gripped the phone tightly, breathing hard.

"I…hi," I panted. "I'm on (a/n: Sigh…since I don't have the Warriors books here I don't know the Twoleg name of the street…again, work with me…), and there is a huge crowd of fighting cats in the fields. There are so many of them! I'm afraid they might really hurt each other."

"Right. Okay. Animal control will be there very soon."

"Hurry," I added, "thank you."

They hung up. As did I.

All there was to do now was wait.

For the first time, I looked down at my clothes. Surprisingly, they were in perfect shape, and for some reason weren't even the pajamas I had worn to bed the night I had turned into Glacierclaw. I was wearing a simple pair of shorts and a t-shirt, with running shoes. Obviously StarClan had wanted me to get here incredibly fast, and if I was barefoot and wearing pajamas, it would have been difficult.

"Thank you," I whispered. It was incredible was StarClan could do. When I first came to the Clan, I was skeptical about StarClan, but now…it was so amazing.

I looked up suddenly when I spotted a large white van with 'animal control' labeled on it hurtling up the road. It stopped when it came to me. A window rolled down.

"Are you the one that called?" asked a guy.

"Yes," I answered.

"What's your name, girlie?"

"I…" Think, Glacierclaw, think! It couldn't be my old human name; people were searching for me, no doubt. "Brianna Crawford," I stammered, saying the first name that came to mind.

"All right, Brianna," said the guy, "mind telling us where these cats are?"

"Over there," I shouted, pointing. "And please, please hurry!"

The driver gave me a skeptical look. "Is one of those cats yours?"

"No," I said, "but I'm just so afraid that those cats will really hurt each other, you know?"

The guy nodded and yelled something to the people in the back of the van. Instantly, at least twenty of them came out, carrying tranquilizers. I swallowed nervously. Oh, man. Oh man…

I ran after them.

"Hey, Brianna, you'd better go back," said the guy.

I shook my head. "Sorry. I'd like to come with you, and stay with them when you take them to the…er…wherever you take them."

The guy glanced at his partner, then shrugged.

We moved quickly forward, and into a clearing. I was relieved to see that the cats were still fighting ferociously. I breathed in the scent of my Clan and couldn't tell if there were any missing. The guys aimed their tranquilizers and fired at each of the cats. More of them entered the clearing and shot at them from inside.

I looked away, unable to look at what was happening to my Clan.

All of the cats were rounded up into the back of the van. They would stay asleep for several hours. I rode in the front of the van, all the way to the building where they kept all the animals. Inside, it was quite depressing. Barking dogs were inside the hundreds of cages in the building, and cats were separated from one another in tiny compartments. Each of the forest cats were put in their own little compartment by themselves.

"Can I stay with them for a while?" I asked. "Make sure they're okay?"

Again, the guys glanced at each other, then shrugged. "All right, sure." They didn't really care. I was just a kid concerned for animals. They left inside another room.

I sighed. They had taken the keys with them. I searched quickly along the shelves, scanning for Firestar. The cats were just starting to wake up after being put in the compartments. There! I found the large ginger tom barely awake. I put my fingers on his cage and mewed,

"Don't worry, Firestar. I'm going to get you out of there."

He leapt back in surprise, his eyes very wide. I smiled.

"It's me, Glacierclaw," I hissed.

"Glacierclaw?" he repeated. "How…? What is…?"

"I'll tell you later. Now…" I looked down at my hand. At my fingernails. They were slowly becoming pointed, curving around, becoming a cat's claw. "I have to get you out of this place."

I stuck my claw into the lock and turned it. The door clicked open.

"It's best if you stay in here, with the door open, until I can let the others out," I suggested. "I'll give the call, don't worry."

Firestar nodded, though his fur was still bristling.

I went to each of the cages and unlocked them, one by one. I stopped when I came to Spiderpaw's.

"Spiderpaw, hello," I whispered.

"Glacierclaw," he mewed, greeting me. "This has got to be the weirdest thing that has ever happened."

I laughed quietly and nodded. "You said it." I slowly unlocked his door with my claw.

"I didn't really believe you when you told me you were a Twoleg," mewed Spiderpaw. "Sorry. I guess I have to believe you now."

I smiled and scratched his ears. "I guess you have to."

I unlocked all of the locks, one at a time. But just as I was finishing up Sootfur's lock, the door to the room the guys were in opened, and they stepped out.

"All right, girlie," said the first guy. "I guess it's time for you to go home."

I glanced casually around the hall. All of the cages looked as though they were locked. None of the doors were hanging open. I looked back at the guys. How was I going to get past them?

I felt my claws unsheathe. No! I couldn't fight them, couldn't hurt them. But could I just knock them unconscious?

I felt adrenaline rush through me. Oh, yes, I could.

I leapt through the air. Ten feet! It was incredible. The guys let out yells of surprise and amazement. I kicked them in the heads with my foot, and as tall as they were, my foot met its mark. They slumped unconscious.

"Oh, yeah," I whispered. "I am so Catwoman."

I ran to the other door and yowled out, "Now!"

ThunderClan pushed the doors open and sprang into the floor. I picked up Spiderpaw as he rushed past me and hurtled out the door. And as I ran, I felt myself shrink. Shrink, to cat size. Yes! I felt unbelievable joy course through me. I was Glacierclaw again!

And I left the BloodClan cats where they were. Maybe, some how, they would become good, decent house cats. Maybe.

My Clan made it back to camp. We were exhausted little kitties, but Firestar and Graystripe stepped forward.

"Glacierclaw, I think we need to know a bit more about you," began Firestar. "And the entire Clan needs to hear."

I nodded nervously and leapt upon the Highrock with Firestar. I had not stood here since my warrior ceremony.

"Okay," I mewed. "You want to know what a human is?" I asked them. "It's a Twoleg."

Graystripe nodded. "And that was you, back there. The real you."

"Yes." I nodded slowly.

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" demanded Firestar, glaring at me.

I did not back down. "Because, Rusty," I answered, anger filling my voice, "I am your old Twoleg owner, which is the reason I was chosen to turn into a cat. You made my parents go berserk on me. They didn't even notice me anymore, since you left." I glared at him now. "I had a grudge against you."

Firestar looked stunned and hurt. "I…I had no idea…"

"Of course you didn't," I mewed reluctantly. "I forgive you, Firestar."

Firestar said nothing, but looked at his paws.

"Anyway, during a hunting mission as an apprentice, our new cat – Hershey – found me in the woods and planned to rip me to shreds. She also asked me why I had told my dad – after I had been turned into a cat – that I was, well, a cat. And that was when Spiderpaw appeared."

"Spiderpaw knew?" demanded Graystripe.

"He was keeping a secret for me," I mewed. "He was being a friend."

Firestar and Graystripe glanced at each other, but said nothing.

"And now, I think that I need some answers," I added.

Firestar nodded. "Cinderpelt told me two days before you came here about a prophecy from StarClan that said, 'The human warrior comes to the Clan soon.'"

I nodded thoughtfully. "That explains Graystripe's questioning."

"But there was another prophecy after that," added Firestar. "One that said: 'The silver and white cat will enter ThunderClan. She is destined to join the Clan, and will lead it through times of trouble. But beware of the secret she holds.' I'm guessing the last warning was about the large Twoleg nest we were put inside. If we had not made it out safely…" He shuddered.

"So Glacierclaw is a Twoleg?" demanded Speckletail.

I nodded.

"She cannot stay! It is against the laws of the forest!"

"Glacierclaw has proved herself a loyal warrior," mewed Firestar. He paused. "By the way, what happened to Flamestorm?"

Flamestorm. I shuddered. The cat that had killed me. I would have to tell them about that, as well…

"It was I," called out a cat. I glanced at the crowd. Dragonheart! "I killed her."
A terrible silence. I stared at her in shock. Dragonheart had killed her own sister?

"I killed her just after the Twolegs came," she mewed. "She was distracted…" Whitepaw nudged her comfortingly. "But she had killed Glacierclaw!"

Whitepaw nodded. "Yeah. I'd like to know why Glacierclaw is still alive."

"What?" demanded Firestar. "Flamestorm killed Glacierclaw? But you're standing next to me." He stared at me as though I might just be a hologram.

"True," I mewed. "Flamestorm did kill me. But when I died, I…I saw StarClan." I decided not to give away much of StarClan's secrets. "They gave me a choice between being human, or being a cat." I looked up at the sky. "I chose to be a cat. And that was when I appeared on the field, a human. Apparently StarClan knew that I could only save the Clan in that form. And so I did." I decided not to tell the Clan about the complicated parts like a telephone. That would confuse them.

"Incredible," whispered Ravenfur.

"Impossible," snapped Dustpelt. "It can't happen. She's lying."

I shrugged. "Believe what you will."

After that, life in ThunderClan was incredibly peaceful. No one even questioned me about my Twoleg heritage. Everything was perfect…

--FIVE MOONS LATER---

SPIDERPELT'S POV (a/n: Please forgive me for keep switching POVs…)

I padded through the tunnel into ThunderClan, with my apprentice, Hollypaw, at my side. She was a white she-cat with small brown patches and bright blue eyes, and certainly a handful.

"Good," I mewed. "Now, put your catch in the fresh-kill pile, okay?"

"Sure, Spiderpelt!" exclaimed my apprentice, and hurried over to the pile.

Cloudtail and his apprentice, Birchpaw, were there. Birchpaw was a light brown tabby tom with black stripes. Hollypaw nudged her brother affectionately.

Ferncloud and her friend Squirreltail padded through the tunnel, both carrying prey. Since her kits had become apprentices, Ferncloud had carried on with her warrior duties.

I saw Leafstorm go to check on Mousefur. The senior warrior had caught a bit of whitecough, but would be all right. Leafstorm was still considered Cinderpelt's apprentice, but had been given her warrior name recently because she was a true medicine cat.

I have to check on the kits, I thought, and headed toward the nursery.

There were four queens inside the nursery now. Goldenflower was still there, watching over the kits, and Sorreltail had fallen in love with Ashfur, and her two kits, Barkkit and Powderkit, were five moons old and would soon be apprenticed. Then there was Whiteflower, who had become a warrior at the same time I had. Her mate was Shrewclaw, and she had a single kit: Branchkit, at three moons.

And then, sitting next to Dragonheart, was Glacierclaw. My mate. She had three kits that had been born a moon ago: Spiralkit, Nightkit, and Ashenkit. Two she-cats and a tom. Glacierclaw had had an apprentice, Larchpaw, but it had been given to Rainwhisker because she had given birth.

I padded over to her and pressed my nose against her flank.

"Hello, Glacierclaw," I mewed to her.

Yes! Finished!

Sucky ending, but ah well.

Sorry, no Squirreltail x Brambleclaw in this fic, I don't really like that pairing. Oh yeah, and Whitepaw became Whiteflower because I keep forgetting that Whitepaw is a she-cat. –-;;

Sigh…Ashfur and Sorreltail? Sorry, I was kind of running out of ideas…

Oh yeah, and Leafstorm: I thought I should make Leafpaw a warrior even though Cinderpelt is still alive. I decided on a 'storm' because of Sandstorm, you know, and Brambleclaw and Tigerclaw – I thought it would work that way.

Anyway, I haven't a clue what I will write next. I think it will be a sequel to this one, about their kits and all, like the New Prophecy. And God, it will be more than nine chapters.

Review!