I love this chapter. I feel so inspired by it... I was thinking of a song by Shania Twain called "I Ain't Goin' Down" the whole time I was writing this...

Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors.

"Flamepaw! What in the…" Rainpaw gasped. She knew it would sound lame, but she couldn't help but to ask, "What do you want?"

"Let me start from the beginning," he purred. Rainpaw gulped. "Listen. You know how every action has an opposite reaction? This is kind of like that. To keep balance in the world, Demonclan gave me powers similar to yours because Starclan gave you the powers you have. It's Tigerstar, not me. He wants you… eliminated."

Rainpaw was taken aback. She tried to draw back as he took a step towards her, but she was now pressed against a wall, trembling. "Why?" she stuttered.

"You know the prophecy?" Rainpaw shook her head. "What? No one told you? Fine. It went something like this: a single drop of rain will awaken an ancient darkness. I think that was it. But Tigerstar didn't want you to discover us, because he knew that then Starclan would figure out where we were and try… try to ruin his plans to destroy them. So he wanted me to gain your trust so I could learn your weaknesses and have an easier time… finishing you off, to put it lightly. But at the same time that happened, I you gained my trust." Flamepaw sighed, then looked sheepishly at Rainpaw. "I will never harm you, Rainpaw. I love you."

Rainpaw gasped. "I don't… can't…I can't say if I love you back or not. I… did… but…" she stammered. "And Starclan already knows…"

Flamepaw sighed again. "Darn it," he growled.

Rainpaw's head shot toward him. "What?" she asked.

"Tigerstar wanted you gone before this happened. If he finds out that Starclan knows, he'll kill me…"

"Flamepaw, you can't die!"

"I don't know what to do. I don't want to turn you in, but that may be the only way we can both live… and I can't help but come here sometimes. He wants me, I come. Or else he'd kill my spirit in my sleep. Basically, he finds out, hunts me, and kills me. The other option is… well, there really isn't another one. If I turn you in, I live, but I can't guarantee he won't kill you. I say I killed you, he'll find out I lied at some point or another… Starclan curse that Tigerstar."

"Flamepaw, you could maybe come to Starclan with me. They might relent. Actually, they probably would."

"Tigerstar would still find me. Then Starclan would get more involved in this. I really don't want war among the heavens, Rainpaw. That would be horrid. I don't want to know what happens to spirits if they get killed…" then Flamepaw cursed again. Before Rainpaw could scold him, the two heard voices that weren't their echoes. "Quick, over here," Flamepaw beckoned to the she-cat.

Suddenly, three Demonclan cats came padding up. They had obviously heard something going on, and were sniffing the two apprentices out. It must've been Rainpaw's overpowering fear-scent—one soon yelled, "Aha!"

But Flamepaw was ready. He wouldn't let himself be thought of as a traitor. He was intent on living. It was one thing if your body died on earth; it was another if your spirit died before your body. The latter was irreversible. "Ah… Riptide. I found… the one in the prophecy…" he mewed with an attempt at an evil smugness. It seemed to work.

"Really? Good. I'm sorry if we interrupted her death," growled Riptide.

"Actually, I was just going to turn her in to Tigerstar…"

"Well, then, go do that!"

Flamepaw looked at me with sorrow. "Don't worry," he whispered. "I'll try my best… for you…" Then he went back to his act. "Get up, you," he growled at me. Rainpaw understood what he was doing and got up, letting him shove her with his nose. Just keep your cool, Rainpaw, she thought, keep calm.

Soon the five cats got to the camp. Flamepaw was obviously making an effort to look like he was shoving Rainpaw brutally, when he was only gently nosing her, urging her onward. The next thing she knew, she was before Tigerstar. It was easy to act like she was cowering—she would've done it anyways.

"What do you have here, Flamepaw?" Tigerstar asked. His voice was cold like ice and smooth like a lake on a day when the air is still.

"The one in the prophecy," he said, then forced himself to finish with, "your highness."

"And just why did you bring her here rather than kill her? I wanted her dead!"

Poor Flamepaw wasn't prepared for this. "I… wasn't sure if you'd want to do the honors… or do something else with her," he stammered.

Tigerstar gave the apprentice an odd look, then led Flamepaw and his "captive" to a small alcove in the back of the cave. "Until I decide what to do with her or when to kill her, she will remain here, guarded by you and some others of your choice," Tigerstar told Riptide. "And you, Flamepaw, thank you for bringing her to me. But you did not do as I told you. So you can stay here too." Then he and Riptide herded the two apprentices into the alcove, then Riptide and a few others took some sticks and rock slabs and barred the mouth of the alcove. Tigerstar walked off laughing evilly.

The bars didn't block off any light, but they did keep the two from getting out. But even though the alcove was dim, Rainpaw knew she didn't need a fire. There was already flame in the alcove, and it alone was enough to keep the sparks of hope and love in her heart ignited. That flame, she knew, was all she would need to get out alive.

Yay! See, I'm not all evil. They were too perfect for each other...