A/N: Sorry for the late update!

Jayfeather padded towards Firestar's den.

Firestar sat up immediately. "Jayfeather? What's wrong?"

"It's Jadeheart." Jayfeather was breathless. "I… I don't know what's going to happen… I think…" He swallowed. "I think she's going to do something. Something horrible."

"What…?" Firestar asked hesitantly.

Jayfeather's heart skipped. "I think she's going to kill her sister."


Jadeheart's claws dug into the ground, working at the dirt. How could her own mother ask her to kill her sister? And how could Jadeheart be expected to do what was asked...?

For a single, fleeting moment, she wished she had gone with her brothers to visit her sister. Perhaps she would have been more capable to end her sister's life if she knew what real hatred Lightningscar still held in her heart.

And would that make it easier to murder her? A small voice inside her questioned. Would seeing her face one more time help you to destroy the spark of life in her eyes? Would you rather see the one you must kill?

Was she really that cold-blooded, as to watch mercilessly as she took the life of her own sister?

Her claws dug even further into the dirt as an unnamable pain stabbed at her heart. Of course not. But if Lightningscar still hated her, if she could still be seen as an enemy instead of as family…

Jadeheart silently raged against Silver Flame for putting her in this situation. The quiet battle fought within her was becoming too much to bear.

As she looked around, she noticed the complete and utter lack of the chaos and hurt she felt. What was wrong with them? Didn't they understand that the world had ended? Didn't they understand what horrible thoughts were going on inside her mind? Didn't they understand that she would have to kill her own sister?

She suddenly streaked out of the camp, catching a few stares and a few mutters, but she didn't care. She raced into the forest, barely dodging trees, her claws digging into the dirt and propelling her forward.

The instant she reached the WindClan border, she stopped, then yowled out a loud, horrible lament for the lost opportunity. She would never have the chance to tell her sister how sorry she was for what must be. She would never have the chance to speak to Lightningscar just one more time, to apologize for her betrayal, both in the past and the future.

Jadeheart paced around the border, sincerely contemplating dashing across it and through to the other side. She expected to see her sister waiting across the grass, the smile on her face, the deep sadness in her amber eyes.

Something burst from her throat; another yowl of terrible fury and pain.

And she ran. She ran around the clan border, never seeming to run fast enough, feeling suddenly confined. Why hadn't anyone else noticed how irritating it was to have their movements confined in such a way? There would never be any escape; beautiful prison it may be, but it was a prison nonetheless, and they could never break free, could never run outside of it for fear of being killed or having their whole Clan involved in a war.

She ran into border patrols at least twice, but she never stopped to talk to them, she simply kept running, never halting, never hesitating. She wanted out. She wanted out of this place, out of this Clan, out of this situation that forced her to destroy her family. She was held back, kept inside these borders and the future that they sped towards, a future she could not fight.

"Jadeheart."

The single word made her halt, simply because of the tone behind it. It was not urgent, commanding, or angry. It was calm, and almost cold. She whipped around to face the source of the voice, her fur ruffled on her shoulders and the back of her neck. Her tail was bushy and wild, and her eyes glinted with the look of one long trapped.

This was all unseen by the speaker, though he could feel her tension, fury, and pain very well. He blinked once, calmly.

"Jayfeather." She replied, trying to be polite but somehow failing, taking out her misery on the medicine cat.

"You realize it's sunhigh already. The others are worried about you."

"And you're not?"

"No."

This took Jadeheart off guard. She felt her fur flattening through the shock.

Jayfeather sighed very heavily and sat down. Jadeheart followed his example.

"Jadeheart… last night, I had a dream. A dream about you, and your mother."

Jadeheart felt her heart speed up. She was shaking, nervous at the very mention of the dream. It was bad enough when only she had known about it. And though she had just been wondering why no one else felt the same as she did, she didn't truly want them to feel the way she did, because she did not want them to know of the murder she must commit.

"Her name was Silver Flame." Jayfeather continued. "She told you that you were going to be the one to stop Lightningscar. Even if that meant you had to kill her."

"She was wrong." Jadeheart felt the words slip through her lips and out of her control. "I can't kill her, I can't stop her, I can't do anything!"

And suddenly, everything she had thought, everything she had been feeling, all her anger, all her hatred, all her misery and woe, all her pain was suddenly released into her words.

"I can't do this, Jayfeather!" She cried. "Bushface or Stormcloud, they could have stopped her! They could stop her still! They could! They should! Not me! It shouldn't be me; it can't be me, because she hates me! And if I tried to explain things rationally, she would never listen! I'd have to kill her, Jayfeather, don't you see?"

She began to tremble, her words becoming more and more tense and pained.

Jayfeather kept still while she let out her frustration, only his tail twitching in thought. After she had steadied somewhat, he spoke again, "Jadeheart… I can speak to Lightningscar, if you need me to."

Jadeheart stared. "What?"

He sighed deeply. "I've… I'm not really supposed to talk about it… but it's something I can do. I can cross into the dreams of others, talk to them. And, if you need to speak to her, I think I can arrange it."

Jadeheart's heart raced at the idea. "You would really do that?"

Jayfeather nodded. "Yes."

"When?"

"Tonight." He promised firmly. "We can do it tonight."


Lightningscar ran.

She ran across the grass, across a Thunderpath, across into the kittypet nests, and out into the grass once more. She laughed.

A grouchy kittypet, a friend of her father's Clan, hissed at her as she ran by. "What's the rush, rouge?"

She whirled, turning to face the kittypet. "No rush." She said, her amber eyes bright and wild with the idea of her own freedom. She'd become used to the words the kittypets used, words that never existed in the Clans, but were simple, everyday life here.

What was more, speaking with a kittypet was no longer such a bad thing. In fact, it was encouraged. Darkblood knew that many would have been rejected by the Clans, but could be made into great warriors, if only the right kindness was shown to them.

George, the kittypet in question, always had a soft spot for Lightningscar, since they day they'd met. He stretched lazily, then hopped off the fence and onto the grass next to her.

"That's what I don't get about you Clan cats." He said, shaking his head. "You're always running. Getting ready for battles and what have you. You can't just lie down and enjoy a summer day." He unleashed a massive yawn, then shook his head as though to clear it.

"That's the fun of it." Lightningscar replied, somewhat breathlessly. "Haven't you ever wondered if you could outrun the sun?"

"Outrun the sun?" George purred. "No, can't say that I have."

"Think about it!" Lightningscar said enthusiastically. "What if, just what if, we could run fast enough that even the sun could not catch us? What if we could race against it and win?"

George purred again. "You really are one strange little kit."

Lightningscar purred back. The term 'strange little kit' would have infuriated her back in her days with ThunderClan, but when George said it, the words were a much kinder, gentler form.

He only called her 'kit' because he himself was older, old enough to spend the rest of his life in the elder's den. But he was a kind cat, with a good heart, and he truly cared about Lightningscar, unlike those who had treated her with scorn and contempt.

She pressed her cheek to his and took off running again.


Jadeheart was instructed to sleep in the warrior's den, as usual. She struggled to sleep, but it was nearly impossible. Her thoughts were racing, and she was growing more nervous with every heartbeat that passed.

She stared at the moon above, sighing heavily, listening to the gentle snores of the warriors beside her. She tried to match her own breathing with theirs, but found it increasingly difficult.

"Jadeheart?" A voice whispered.

She jumped, thinking it was Jayfeather, but when she turned to face him she found bright amber eyes staring back at her.

"Oh." She couldn't keep the disappointment from her voice; every thought she had was concentrated on the medicine cat and his promise. "Hi, Bushface."

"You ok, Jade?" He asked softly, perhaps using her old name on purpose.

"Fine." She replied, her voice harsh.

Bushface looked at her for a long time, his head tilted in curiosity. "What's wrong?" He asked at last.

"Nothing." She mumbled, burying her nose in the moss bedding and closing her eyes again.

"I don't think so." Bushface persisted.

Jadeheart let out a malicious hiss. "Let it go, Thunder."

Bushface sighed deeply and lay down again. "I don't know what's wrong, Jadeheart, but if you need me…" he closed his eyes. "I'm here."

She didn't reply. She simply returned to her struggle for sleep.


Jayfeather waited in the mist. The forest around him was cold and dark. The grass beneath his paws felt wet and freezing, and he felt a shiver run through him.

He waited as patiently as he could manage. It was bound to be difficult for Jadeheart to fall asleep while imagining the night ahead, but still, it would be easier if she could hurry up…

Eventually, the figure of a cat came padding up to him. Her striped brown and black pelt almost blended into the forest surrounding her.

Her wide eyes looked around in amazement. "What… what is this place?"

Jayfeather was feeling short-tempered. "Come on." He said curtly. "I'll explain later; right now, we have to talk to Lightningscar."

Jadeheart nodded solemnly and padded after him as he started walking.

Jayfeather tasted the air, searching for any sign of Lightningscar. After a moment, he faintly caught her scent and started in that direction.

They moved in absolute silence for a long time. Jadeheart's pace was becoming increasingly erratic as she followed him, her thoughts almost seeming to penetrate through the silence around them.

Finally, Jayfeather halted, motioning with his tail for her to do the same. She did so, her heart pounding loudly.

"Go ahead." He whispered. He stepped aside.

Jadeheart padded forward, her breath catching in her throat as she looked at the she-cat in front of her.

Lightningscar's black pelt blended in with the shadows as she purred, tearing around the clearing, practicing battle moves in thin air.

A small part of Jadeheart, a part that she hated, considered staying there and watching, to know the moves that Lightningscar would use when the day came.

But she ignored these thoughts and stepped carefully into the clearing. "L-Lightningscar?"

The black she-cat whipped around, her amber eyes wide.


Lightningscar had been in this dream before, many times. A beautiful forest, surrounded in mist. Most times she practiced her battle strategies, though whenever she did, she would have the strangest feeling, as though someone was watching what she did, and looking down upon her with disappointment.

"L-Lightningscar?"

She whirled, shock gripping her as she saw a face she had known once and hated another time.

"Jadeheart?" The meow escaped her without her permission in her absolute shock. "What… What are you doing here?" Her claws unsheathed, digging into the soft ground below.

"I…" Jadeheart's eyes drifted down to her sister's claws. "I wanted to see you again. To say I was sorry for… for not coming to see you with Bushface and Stormcloud. And for… for everything."

"But you… how did you…?" Lightningscar looked at her, puzzled.

"There's a Clan cat... he can enter dreams." Jadeheart replied solemnly.

Lightningscar's fur bristled. "Enter dreams?" She hissed. "Who?"

"It doesn't matter!" Jadeheart replied, growing frustrated with her sister's inability to focus. "All that matters is that we can talk, and I can tell you…"

"No, Jade." Lightningscar's lip curled above her teeth. "We can't talk, since I'm not prepared to listen."

"Lightningscar…"

"ENOUGH!" The sky crackled with thunder suddenly. Lightning streaked across the moon, and the scar on her face shone with it.

"Prepare yourself, Jadeheart of ThunderClan." Lightningscar's voice exploded around the clearing, deafening and thunderous. "Because there will be war."

Around her, a group of shadows formed into the figures of cats, more and more of them, until a mighty army was built up behind her.

Jadeheart's legs trembled, and she almost turned to Jayfeather, but realized it would not be a good idea. A cold, gentle touch to the side of her cheek nudged her encouragingly, and she was surprised to find a misty, icy form of a silver cat standing next to her. And behind this cat was many more, an army of stars behind her, backing her against the army of shadows.

"Very well, Lightningscar." She said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "If that is how it must be."

Jadeheart woke up in the warrior's den, shivering in the cold and the fear.

She instantly padded out of the den and across the camp. Halfway to the medicine den, Jayfeather met her. His blind eyes were wide and staring, true terror within them.

Jadeheart swallowed. She felt weak and vulnerable. Her fur was on end, and she was shaking.

"I'm scared, Jayfeather." She whispered.

"I know." He replied. "Me too."

For a moment the two just sat in the silence.

"I'm going to have to kill her." Jadeheart whispered. "My own sister."

"It's for the best." Jayfeather replied sadly.

"She can't be reasoned with." Jadeheart continued.

"Reason no longer has anything to do with it." Jayfeather intervened. "Don't you understand? This isn't just a war between Clans anymore." He took a deep, shuddering breath. "This is a war between StarClan and someone else." His blind eyes locked on hers, amazingly accurate. "And whoever survives in your battle with Lightningscar will determine the winner."