Yes, this is a story I deleted. I decided to rewrite it.

Prologue

The bloodcurdling scream of an agonized she-cat ripped through the air. Whispers echoed through the forest. A huge white tom stood motionlessly in the center of a patch of trees, his cruel yellow eyes fixed on the shadows ahead of him. The fresh, lifeless body of a she-cat still twitched at his paws, her delicate silver eyes glazed over. Slowly, the white tom lifted a paw in front of his face, nonchalantly examining his shining, razor-sharp claws. Dark blood gleamed, reflecting the moonlight. Something was brewing in the Dark Forest.

A twig cracked, somewhere in the bushes behind the tom. His fur bristled aggressively as he whipped around, his eyes transfixed on the patch of shrubbery that had produced the noise. He raised a bloodstained paw as if to take a step forward, his ears pinned back and his teeth bared in a snarl. The bush let out a small squeak, and the tom made to lunge-

"Whiteclaw?" A dappled tortoiseshell she-cat had silently emerged from behind a mossy tree, her eyes passing over the dead body oozing red without a second glance. She flicked her tail impatiently. Whiteclaw's eyes lost their violent shine, and he turned to face the tortoiseshell, sighing in frustration.

She cocked her head. "Is there something over there?" she asked coolly, raising her head to peer into the bushes behind Whiteclaw. He shifted uncomfortably, digging his claws into the ground.

"What do you want, Dappletooth?" he snapped, ignoring her question.

"I know you're planning something," she confessed, "And I want in."

Whiteclaw looked back at the bush, obviously still curious. Dappletooth raised her eyebrows. "Well?" she persisted.

Whiteclaw huffed, and admitted, "I have chosen a Clan cat to be our savior. The defeat we suffered twenty leaf-bares ago was- crushing. We haven't been strong enough yet to retake the Clans."

"I'm interested," Dappletooth smiled, flashing yellow teeth.

"This cat… they are stronger than any I have ever seen. I've waited so long for a chance to harness raw power like this," Whiteclaw trailed on, his voice edged with excitement. "With this cat on our side- we can defeat the Clans once and for all."

Dappletooth looked unconvinced. "How could one cat be strong enough to defeat the Clans?" she scoffed, lifting her chin saucily.

Whiteclaw growled viciously, pinning the she-cat to the ground by her throat. Dappletooth spluttered, choking under the massive weight of the tom. "How dare you question me," he said in a low voice.

"Please, I-" gasped Dappletooth. Whiteclaw appeared to want to kill her then and there, but instead pulled back his paw and released her. She lay trembling pitifully on the mossy ground, blood dripping slowly from the thin gashes in her neck. She was breathing heavily.

"GET UP," he roared. The she-cat scrambled to her feet, forgetting the pain in her terror. "Go tell the others of our plan," he commanded threateningly. Dappletooth nodded swiftly and scampered away, stumbling.

As soon as she was out of sight, Whiteclaw padded menacingly to the bush he had heard a noise from minutes earlier. He smiled strangely as he inhaled the scent of warriors. StarClan warriors. He sprang into the bush, tackling a thin black tom. Another silver and white tabby warrior sprang from the bush, her eyes glazed with terror. Whiteclaw yanked the tom out of the bush and slammed him into a nearby tree. The tom's head nodded limply, and blood slowly began to trickle from his nose and mouth.

The tabby she-cat screamed, looking back and forth between her unconscious friend and their attacker. Whiteclaw ignored her, knocking the tom into the ground with a dull thud. The tabby she-cat watched, frozen and terrified as Whiteclaw placed his huge paw on the black tom's head. Tears began to stream down her face as she helplessly mouthed the words "Please, no…"

With a slow crunch, Whiteclaw crushed the tom's head. Blood pooled from the tom's body. The tabby just stared at her dead friend, watching the blood and brains pool around his broken skull. Her breath came in panicked gasps, and without warning she puked, paws trembling beneath her.

Whiteclaw looked up, seeming to have forgotten she was there, and examined her from a distance, chuckling darkly. The she-cat began to back away slowly. Whiteclaw seemed unphased by this- he knew he could catch up to the small she-cat if she began running. And run she did, grief and extreme fear driving her forward. Whiteclaw frowned and sprinted after her, leaving the bodies of the she-cat and the black tom to rot. To his surprise, he was unable to catch the she-cat, though he stayed close on her tail all the way up to the StarClan border. He spat on the ground. "WindClan. I should have known." If this she-cat told the others in StarClan about his plans to overtake the Clans, he would be facing some difficulties down the road.

Skyflight ran until her lungs burned and her chest ached. When she could run no more, she collapsed in a miserable heap on the grass, wailing and screaming Raventail's name. Heaving sobs wracked her body. Her mate, the love of her life… gone… just like that. She lay there for what felt like days, but must have been only a few hours, before pushing herself to get up. The council had to be made aware of Whiteclaw's plan as soon as possible so they could think of a way to counter it. Her legs trembled beneath her, and silver tear stains streaked her soft fur. Under her breath she murmured, "You'll pay for this. Just you wait."

"Skyflight? What happened?!" The council's leader, Leafspot, implored urgently the moment Skyflight staggered into the Council's meeting area. It was filled with around a dozen cats, all perched on rock ledges of varying heights. Their eyes glinted with concern and curiosity.

Skyflight tried to swallow the lump in her throat, struggling to speak. "I-" she spluttered, fresh tears welling her eyes.

Skyflight's best friend, Cloudedpelt, ran to her side. "What's wrong? Wait," she paused and looked around. "Where's Raventail?" Skyflight began to sob even louder, and realization set in amongst the council.

"D-dead," Skyflight managed. "Whiteclaw…"

The council gasped at the confirmation of what they had already assumed to be true. "Whiteclaw will not get away with this," choked Cloudedpelt indignantly. "I am going to kill him- I'm GOING TO KILL HIM!"

"Cloudedpelt, please-" Skyflight begged. "We have to stop him, I know, but trying to kill him is a suicide mission."

Leafspot was pacing restlessly. "We should never have agreed to let you two spy on him," she muttered, her voice pained. "I should have known this would happen."
"It's my fault!" sobbed Skyflight. "I made a noise- he heard me. He just got to Raventail first. It should've been me!" She broke down again, and Cloudedpelt pressed herself against her friend.

"It shouldn't have been either of you," Cloudedpelt meowed firmly. "Don't blame yourself, Skyflight."

"Unfortunately, the time for grief must come later," another council member, Lionstorm, pointed out. "Skyflight, we need to know what you overheard."

Skyflight nodded, attempting to be brave. "Of course," she said weakly. "Whiteclaw has discovered incredible power in one of the Clan cats, and plans to use it to his advantage and retake the Clans."

The council was silent for a heartbeat, the gravity of what they had just heard sinking in. When Whiteclaw had controlled the Clans twenty years ago… a shudder went through each and every cat at the mere thought of it happening again.

"We can't allow that," Lionstorm meowed in an anxious voice.

"Obviously, mousebrain," Cloudedpelt snapped. Leafspot shot her a quelling look, and the patched black and white she-cat sighed heavily. "But what can we do to stop him?"

Lionstorm's tail lashed back and forth. "Simple. Kill the cat, whoever they are."

"No!" Skyflight exclaimed, astonished. "We all know the cat he's talking about- we've been keeping an eye on her for moons- she's an apprentice! We're not going to kill her! She's innocent."

"I don't know, Skyflight," Cloudedpelt began hesitantly. "He has a point."

Skyflight growled under her breath. "We are not killing an innocent apprentice. An action like that would make us murderers- no better than Whiteclaw."

"Fine. Then what should we do?" Leafspot asked.

"Simple," Skyflight mewed, "We fight fire with fire. We choose our own 'champion' and guide them. Through this cat we can prevent Whiteclaw from getting to his chosen champion. When Whiteclaw forms a connection with this cat, it will be extremely difficult for us to connect with her. Instead, we must connect with her and guide her through a champion of our own."

"Makes sense to me," Leafspot agreed. "All in favor?"

Every cat raised their paw, even Lionstorm, though he did so grudgingly.

"We are decided then," Skyflight said with determination.

The council gradually dispersed, Skyflight and Cloudedpelt remaining behind to select a champion for later council approval. "We can do this," Cloudedpelt whispered.

"I know."

Please review and let me know what you think :)