Amberstorm nosed her way through the ferns and into the clearing where Forestgaze's den was. She blinked in mild surprise when she saw other members of her Clan sitting around Echostar. Upon further inspection, she was pleased to see Blacktail sitting next to Minnowstream. Both cats gave her a friendly nod when she approached. The tabby looked around and saw Gingerfur and Sunwhisker. "What is this all about?" she murmured to Blacktail.

"Beats me," Blacktail replied. "All I know is it better be something worthwhile. Of course, knowing the crazy mouse-heart, it isn't."

Minnowstream softly nudged him. "Be respectful," she said quietly. "You may not like him, but he's your leader nonetheless."

Blacktail snorted, but said nothing else.

Echostar stood up. "You all are most likely wondering why I asked you to come here." Before any warrior could reply, he continued. "As you all know, the Place of No Stars has fought and defeated StarClan, thus banishing them from our skies. I had a dream last night; our ancestors need our help if they are to win this war. Crystalheart told me in my dream that I must pick a few of my warriors that I believe will be useful in this battle."

"Crystalheart?" Blacktail whispered. "Why would she speak to him? He's the one who practically let her die." Amberstorm wasn't quite sure who he was talking to, or if he was talking to anyone at all.

"That's all fine and dandy," Gingerfur mewed from in between Sunwhisker and Minnowstream, "but how are we going to reach StarClan? We're all very much alive, in case you haven't noticed."

"We could drink the water from the Starlake," Sunwhisker suggested. "That way we can help them in our dreams."

At that moment, Forestgaze stepped out of her den, her bright green eyes sparkling in the night. Behind her, Mousepaw poked his head out of the entrance, his curious gaze staring at the older cats. The she-cat dipped her head towards Echostar. "I apologize for eavesdropping; I know that only warriors are going, but I thought I could at least give a bit of assistance." She then faced Sunwhisker. "That is a good idea, but the only problem is that when you visit the spirits of StarClan via the Starlake, they have the power to dismiss you back to the waking world. I don't see any reason why these evil cats wouldn't have the same power. "

Echostar nodded. "I agree with you. Besides," his gaze grew distant, "Crystalheart didn't say that that's the route we were to take."

"Well then what did she say?" Amberstorm asked.

"Well she said we had to die-

Blacktail jumped up, his tail fluffed up. "You want us to die?" he hissed. "There's no way I'm agreeing to that!"

Echostar narrowed his eyes. "Are you saying you're not willing to risk your life for StarClan?"

"Of course not; all I'm saying is what if we lose? Then not only will our deaths have been in vain, but we'll be banished along with StarClan and WillowClan will lose five warriors. LeafClan will have no problem taking this territory back with our numbers reduced like that."

"Blacktail's right," Minnowstream mewed, looking afraid that she would be reprimanded for speaking against her leader.

"She couldn't have been serious, right?" Sunwhisker glanced at the older warriors. "I mean, StarClan wouldn't ask healthy warriors to go and kill themselves." Amberstorm blinked as the golden tom looked at her. "Say, where are those two warriors you traveled with? They would know the answer."

Amberstorm merely shrugged. She hadn't seen Squirrelflight or Bramblestar for a while. "Beats me. Forestgaze?" A medicine cat would obviously know where two dead warriors would be.

"They went into the forest," the she-cat glanced towards the trees. "I'm assuming that they wanted to discuss something in private. They should return soon."

"Are we sure that risking their lives like this is wise?"

Bramblestar focused his amber eyes on his companion. "Squirrelflight, this is the only way. Tigerstar and Brokenstar will only lead these cats into chaos; I realize that now."

The ginger she-cat snorted. "I wish you had realized that sooner."

"As do I. And I'm sure the others feel the same way."

Squirrelflight paused, her hackles rising. "If they feel the same way, then why not rebel like you did?" she hissed. "I didn't know that cat from RiverClan very well, but Tawnypelt and Crowfeather? They never were hostile before!" Her mew quieted. "Crowfeather killed his son of all cats."

Bramblestar's eyes closed. "We were all promised power, power that any cat would have wanted while they were alive. None of us received that power, but part of our hearts remained loyal to those evil cats, as if still hoping they would keep their promises of course. Obviously, they didn't, and the first chance I got, I left."

"But what about Tawnypelt and Crowfeather?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." The broad-shouldered tabby opened his eyes and watched a mouse scurry by, his claws flexing instinctively. "Perhaps they stay out of fear. Or maybe they believe more in the darker side of their warrior ancestors."

"You never asked them?" Squirrelflight meowed disbelievingly as she sat down. "Crowfeather I can understand, but Tawnypelt? She's your sister."

He sighed. "Even the bonds of kin can be broken. We grew distant, and the more I agreed with StarClan, the less I wanted to be near even her."

The two sat there in silence, listening to the life of the forest that they would never truly be a part of. Bramblestar cut a sideways glance towards Squirrelflight, watching her as she stared up at the darkening sky. Her normally bright green eyes were dull and her gaze distant. Bramblestar knew that look; something was worrying her. "What's wrong?" he meowed, startling the she-cat.

" I'm just curious out how everyone else is doing," she replied. "I know we never received any word about an attack, but still. Our warriors are still recovering. And…" Squirrelflight looked at him, sorrow lighting up her eyes. "Lionblaze fought Hollyleaf last time, Bramblestar! It had hurt him enough when she conspired with Ashstar; do you realize what fighting her must've done to him? Then there's Jayfeather… If that fight had taken place when he was still alive, he wouldn't have lived."

Bramblestar nodded solemnly, but his ears twitched with mild amusement. "You sound like a mother fretting over her kits."

"For a while," Squirrelflight murmured, "they were my kits."

"I know. You were a wonderful mother, even after the truth had been revealed." Bramblestar looked away from the she-cat, who had been surprised from his comment, and his mind traveled back. He pictured the days sitting outside the nursery wrestling with the three kits he had loved for so long. He remembered all the patrols they had gone on together, the times he watched Jayfeather patch up his wounds, and even the many times he had scolded them. Even after that fateful night, after he severed his ties with Squirrelflight, faced the news of his once thought daughter's assumed death, and convinced himself to treat those two young toms no differently than he treated the other Clan members, Bramblestar still found himself watching them live their daily lives, longing to be the father that Crowfeather had refused to be.

"If I was such a wonderful mother, then why did I let Jayfeather die?" Squirrelflight whispered.

When Bramblestar spoke, his mew was sharp. "Squirrelflight, no one could have prevented that, not even StarClan. You know that as well as I do."

"But why him is all I want to know. I thought that he was a member of a prophecy."

"The prophecy had been fulfilled." Bramblestar felt a wave of sorrow wash over him as he remembered the day he watched from the dark forest he had condemned himself to as the small gray medicine cat had been brutally attacked by rouges as he walked home alone from gathering herbs at night. By the time any cat had found him, it had been too late.

Squirrelflight sat beside him for a moment before standing up and shaking herself off. "That's enough reminiscing for today," she meowed briskly. "We have to go meet with those young warriors. Let's go."

Amberstorm watched as Bramblestar and Squirrelflight walked into the clearing side by side. She snorted; when she had first met them, they seemed as though they would've enjoyed watching the other die a second time. Now, they almost looked like mates. "About time," she meowed. "Now, how are we supposed to die to get to StarClan?"

Squirrelflight rolled her eyes. "It's not technically dying. Well, it is, but you'll come back."

"Your souls will travel to the skies," Bramblestar explained, "while your bodies remain down here. I trust that Forestgaze will watch over them." When the she-cat nodded, he continued. "Once your mission is complete, we will be able to send you back to the waking world. But be careful; with a paw in both worlds, if you were to receive a fatal wound, you will disappear, your spirit reaching neither StarClan nor the Place of No Stars."

Amberstorm looked over at Minnowstream to see her shudder. The tabby was surprised when Blacktail wrapped his tail around her in a gesture of comfort. Since when had those two been so close? She thought. Shaking her head, she looked back at the starry cats in front of her. "I'm ready if everyone else is," she meowed.

Echostar stood up, his chin raised high. "Let's go. StarClan needs our help."