So... I'm glad there were some new reviews! I expect you to keep it up! (or I won't publish again)

This is my LONGEST chapter so far... SO PROUD OF MYSELF! (2875 words without the A/N)

Brightpaw?

Brightpaw: I hate HIM!

me: ehm... i was asking about the disclaimer actually...

Brightpaw: ~BrightSun~ does not claim nor own Warriors. Erin Hunter does!

Chapter 17

"That cat is our dear leader, Acornstar." mewed Brightpaw, spitting the name. That stupid traitor!

Wetpaw jaws dropped while Moonpaw murmured something under her breath. Both looked stunned, and Brightpaw couldn't blame them. She pictured him in her mind. A powerful brown tabby tom with amber eyes and ragged ears. Even though many cats had scars, his made him look even more evil –if it was possible.

"He is the one behind all of this?" asked Wetpaw, after finally recovering his voice. Wetpaw if you only knew how much strings he pulled in the recent conflicts between the Clans. she wanted to say, but kept quiet. I've told them too much! If Acornstar knew that… Well they probably wouldn't live much longer. She swallowed at the thought.

Moonpaw also kept quiet, probably thinking about all she had learnt. Brightpaw locked her gaze with hers. "Moonpaw. If you treasure living, act as if you don't know anything." warned Brightpaw. She brushed against her foster sister. "I wouldn't be able to live on if something were to happen to you. You too, Wetpaw."

The tom cuffed her ears with one of his paw. "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen to us. I promise."

Brightpaw wanted to believe him, but somehow she wasn't so sure. You know nothing about that cat! she wanted to say. Acornstar is not a cat that can be messed with.

There was still something bugging her. "Who was that StarClan cat?" she asked, changing the subject.

It was Moonpaw who answered. "Her name is Dawnfeather, a former warrior of ThunderClan. She appeared to me in a couples of dreams and always apologize for what's happening."

Brightpaw closed her eyes, remembering what Dawnfeather had whispered in her ear after she had faded. I'm sorry… I wish I could be forgiven one day. Brightpaw wished she could understand the meaning of those words. Forgiven for what?

"Did she appear to both of you in a dream?"

Moonpaw nodded while Wetpaw looked away, seeming uncomfortable but also nodding. Stupid furball, thinking a would be upset.

"We should get going, dawn is approaching." observed Moonpaw. It was true, the sky was beginning to lighten.

Wetpaw brushed against her, whispering in her ears: "Be safe, I love you." I love you too. she thought as she watched him leave. And please, also be safe. She shivered again. If that's possible.

Moonpaw turned to face her. "You look as if the world is coming to an end… cheer up."

Brightpaw snorted. "You don't know what you are up against."

They began padding toward the camp.

"So… Are we really in such a dramatic situation?" asked Moonpaw, after a moment of awkward silence.

Brightpaw nodded.

"You shouldn't think like that." scolded gently Moonpaw. "After all, Dawnfeather told us there was hope. 'Save? Destroy? Only the bright light can make the right choices… She is not alone on the slippery wet path of her future. The moon's shine will guide her to her destiny.' And for once it's easy to understand what StarClan meant."

Brightpaw didn't know what to say. Hope? she wanted to believe it, so much it was almost hurting her. Deep within her she understood what StarClan meant. Moonpaw was right, it was easy to interpret the words. But she couldn't believe them, she couldn't accept it. She felt like a lost kit. Alone in the darkness, every hope of seeing the light already vanished. All the fault of one single cat.

"You should take a nap before training today." advised Moonpaw as they reached the camp.

"I know." was all she said before hurrying to the apprentice den and back to her nest. I know. The words echoes in her head. She knew many things, too many. She knew she cared deeply for ThunderClan. She knew her love for Wetpaw. She knew she was breaking the warrior code. She also knew the traitor and his plan. However, there was one question that she had no answer for: was there a way to put a stop to the coming events?

Brightpaw moaned quietly as she settled down in her nest. Cloudwhisker was training her until past exhaustion so she could catch up the time she'd spend in the medicine cat den.

She took a (very) short nap and slipped out of the forest. Like usual she hid her scent and padded to the abandoned Twoleg nest.

"There you are." mewed Acornstar as he saw her. "We have the honor of training with your rogues friends tonight."

They are not my friends! wanted to hiss Brightpaw. Fortunately, she knew when to keep her mouth shut. She followed him as they raced outside of ThunderClan's territory. The last thing she wanted to do was to see them. She hated her mother for wanting to crush ThunderClan –and the other Clans.

Brightpaw suspected that Flsah was part of a larger group of cats, as Acornstar wouldn't have asked a single she-cat for help. She frowned at the thought, wondering how many rogues they were. Is there hope? asked a small voice deep inside her. She shut it up instantly. I've got no time to worry about this when I may not even come back alive!

Finally they arrived at the clearing, and it wasn't even moonhigh. More time for training she commented. She saw her mother and her siblings padding toward them.

"Flash." greeted Acornstar. "How nice to see you." He stopped on the 'nice', making sure everyone understood it was sarcastic.

Flash didn't seemed troubled. "Very nice indeed." she mewed back with the same sarcastic tone.

"Let's not waste our time." he suggested.

She grinned. "What a good idea." She turned to look at all her kits. "I hope you are ready with some battle training. If you are not… too bad for you."

What a surprise! commented Brightpaw, while carefully studying her siblings.

Ice was the smallest, and Brightpaw already disliked her. Her –real- sister would most probably count on her speed during a battle, though she had certainly trained to deliver stronger blows as firm muscles could also be seen underneath her pure white fur. She also had a look in her eyes that Brightpaw couldn't stand. The same blue eyes as Flash, with nearly the same emotions in it: hunger for power and battle, though a lot of arrogance could also be seen. And most of all: hatred, all directed at Brightpaw. Very nice indeed she observed and realized –with horror- that Flash had used the exact same words just some moments ago.

Ghost was bigger than her. He had powerful shoulders and hard muscles were also visible beneath his fur. Brightpaw made a mental note to watch out for his blows, they could probably easily knocked her. He seemed kinder than Ice. He had the same blue eyes as Flash but with curiosity reflected in them, as if all he wanted to do was to get to know Brightpaw better.

The both of them were also studying her. Brightpaw wondered what they thought of her –well she was sure that Ice was already hating her. She still had scars from the fox: a ragged left ear and fangs' marks on her shoulders, near her throat. All messed up she recalled the words Acronstar used to describe her. A stupid question then came into her mind: If all three of them have blue eyes, does that mean that my father has green eyes? She pushed the question away.

Flash, who had been watching her kits glare at each other, announced: "Let's begin… A simple match: one against one. Rules? None as long as you don't kill each other." In other words: use claws, fangs, dirty moves to beat your opponent at any costs. "Bright will begin against Ghost."

Brightpaw flicked her ear out of annoyance. My name is Brightpaw! she wanted to say. Brightpaw is a Clan name. But aren't you just a rogue? She pushed the thought away as she got into position, Ghost facing her a couple of foxtails away.

"Begin." mewed Flash.

Brightpaw gathered her paws under her, but waited to see what Ghost was going to do. As suspected, he was letting her do the first move. She jumped but landed on the ground as he had moved side way. Brightpaw was surprised by his speed, though she didn't let herself be bothered by it. She ducked to avoid a blow, launching forward at him. Then she knocked his frontpaw with her muzzle, unbalancing him and making him roll on the ground. Before he could scramble on his paws again, she leaped on him.

Ghost definitely was expecting that so as she landed on him, he gave her a powerful kick with his hindpaws that sent her flying. Brightpaw winced as she hit the hard ground. She scrambled to her paws as quickly as she could.

They glared at each other, both analyzing the situation and their next move. They jumped at the same time and met in the air. Brightpaw gave him a deep scratch on his shoulder while he grabbed her by the scruff and landed on her, knocking the air out of her. She tried to wriggle free but Ghost pressed her to the ground, sinking his fangs in her scruff.

"All right, enough." annouced Flash. "Ghost wins."

Brightpaw felt the weight of her brother disappear and breathed deeply before scrambling to her paws.

"Are you ok?" he asked her. It was strange hearing him talk for the first time.

Brightpaw washed some dirt of her fur, feeling some blood oozing from the wound of her neck. "Of course." she snapped, harsher that she wanted to sound. Though he didn't seem bothered, as if he was often snapped at.

"Congratulations Ghost." mewed Flash "I must say that it wasn't that bad, Bright. At least you have some battle training, more than what I believe you would."

Is that supposed to be compliment? Or merely a comment to ridicule Acronstar? she still wondered why the two of them hated each other so much. The only explanation she could come up with was that Flash was a rogue who didn't like Clan cats and Acornstar wasn't very fond of her either.

"Now let's see how you will do against Ice, Bright." said Flash, looking proudly at her daughter –Ice. And that quite annoyed Brightpaw.

Ice and Brightpaw padded into positions, glaring at each other.

"If my brother beat you so easily, then I will have no problem." announced Ice, curling her lips to show her fangs.

Brightpaw shrugged. "Only time will tell." She was losing her temper whenever she looked at Ice. I definitely want to rip her fur now. She took a deep breath to calm herself and prepare mentally for the fight.

"Begin." said Acornstar –much to Flash annoyance.

Ice was already on top of her. Brightpaw her avoided at the last moment, rolling on her side. Before she had any time to get to her paws again, Ice hold her to the ground. How fast is she!?

"This is too easy." taunted the pure white she-cat.

Brightpaw smirked. "Think again." Ice held her to the ground, but belly up which meant that her hindpaws were free to move. Before her opponent got any time to realize what she meant, Brighpaw somehow managed to twist herself and scratch her flank. Ice let out a screech of pain, letting her go.

Brightpaw jumped on her paws and put a safe distance between them –about three foxtails. She needed a couple of moments to analyze the situation. Her opponent was small and very fast, but also a little bit dumb which meant easy to trick. Brightpaw wasn't nor very fast, nor very powerful. She was more an average cat, good at both. Her true strength laid with her strategies.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Ice. "Hey! Are you daydreaming or what?"

She barely managed to calm the urge to leap blindly at the white she-cat. If what she wants is to get me angry and annoyed, then she succeeded. "I'm just enjoying the night scenery! If you want to fight so badly, come." she snorted. Well at least Ice was as annoyed as her, that was sure.

Her temper taking the better of her, she launched herself at Brightpaw. Officially dumb and easy to trick. Brightpaw was waiting for her and jumped at the last moment. Before Ice could turned around, she landed on her back –not without happily delivering her some scratches- and pinned her to the ground. Ice struggled to get free but didn't succeed.

"Let me go!" hissed Ice.

Brightpaw snorted. "When hedgehogs fly, or when you beg me to."

"Bright is the winner." announced –almost proudly- Acornstar.

Brightpaw released –very- slowly her grip, just to annoy Ice, and let her scramble to her paws. She was most pleased when she saw Ice shot her an angry glance.

"What was that you were saying about me losing?" asked Brightpaw, taking an innocent air.

Brightpaw was safely in her nest in the apprentice den. She had just come back from that training session. Grooming her fur to cover her injuries, she thought of her true family. It hurt her to think that Ice was her sister and not Moonpaw. Before long, she fell asleep, exhausted of her training with Cloudwhisker and most of all because of the fights with her littermates.

Brightpaw woke up near a small pool, with clear water from a waterfall falling in it. She blinked, wondering why the dream felt so… real. Suddenly a cat appeared from the shadow of the waterfall. Brightpaw crouched to face the stranger: a black long-furred she-cat with a white dash on her chest and piercing blue eyes.

"Who are you?" hissed Brightpaw.

The cat looked at her, and Brightpaw couldn't tell if the stranger was amused or annoyed. "Relax, I'm not an enemy."

"Really? How would I know?"

"Because I'm from StarClan." Only then did Brightpaw noticed the stars in the she-cat's fur.

"From StarClan? Like Dawnfeather?"

"Yes, I'm an acquaintance of her. Actually, she is my descendant but that's not the point right now." mewed the she-cat.

"What's your name?" asked Brightpaw.

"You sure ask a lot of question." answered the she-cat, amused. "I have many names… But around here I'm known as: Shade of the Thunder, though you can call me Shade."

"You?!" Brightpaw could hardly believe it. In front of her was a cat who was very popular in elders stories. The Shade of the Thunder, as everyone called her, had been a ThunderClan warrior who had helped the Clan during darks times. "But why are you appearing in my dream?"

Shade looked at her as if Brightpaw had asked a –very- stupid question. "Because you are lost." was the answer.

Brightpaw titled her head one side. Lost? "What do you mean?"

"In other words: take back your destiny into your own paws. Accept it: 'Save? Destroy? Only the bright light can make the right choices…' Accept that the choices you make may save or destroy the Clans!"

Brightpaw was now trembling like a kit. "I don't want to! I don't know how to make the right choices!"

"Don't worry, you are not alone." mewed a soothing and gentle voice beside Brightpaw. For one moment she thought it was Dawnfeather but next to her was another StarClan she-cat, looking strangely alike to Shade –expect that this new cat had amber eyes and she was pure black. "'She is not alone on the slippery wet path of her future. The moon's shine will guide her to her destiny.' You definitely aren't alone."

"But the choices are still mine alone… isn't it?" asked Brightpaw.

"Yes. So deal with it."

Brightpaw almost winced at Shade's hard tone, though she saw the truth of the StarClan she-cat's word.

"Don't be so harsh on her, she's young." scolded the other StarClan she-cat, looking warmly at Shade.

"Don't tell me what to do, Smokeheart." snapped Shade, though she didn't seem angry at all.

"Of course, after all you shouldn't listen to your daughter advise." Smokeheart flicked her ears, though not of anger and annoyance, just of sheer amusement. "As your medicine cat then?"

So that's why the two of them looked so alike commented Brightpaw to herself Shade is Smokeheart's mother. She felt out of place, listening to the two of them teasing each other.

"If you are bickering like birds, allow your other daughter to get into the conversation at least." purred another cat. Brightpaw was surprised to see another she-cat padding over to Shade and sitting beside her. She was a golden brown she-cat, with beautiful and familiar amber eyes.

"Emberwing, it's been a long time." greeted Smokeheart.

"I don't want to interrupt… But I kind of want to rest." murmured Brightpaw, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Shade turned to look at her with her deep blue eyes, this time very serious again. "Of course. Rest young one… Follow the path you are destined to take, and make your choice."

Brightpaw suddenly felt very sleepy. She closed her eyes and had one of the best sleep she'd ever had in moons.

A few more A/N:

First:

Hope you like the training sessions... i mean the fighting... Wait I mean how I write it! I suck at those things!

Oh and I love writing about sister love between Ice and Brightpaw... I had this planned from the beginning!

Second:

Shade of the Thunder... Strange name, isn't it? She is the main character for the second story that im gonna write in summer! You'll found out more about it then! Well I can tell you that is not her real name, it's her 'nickname' from a prophecy.

I am sooo excited about it! It should have been completely two different stories but... I thought I needed some more Starclan cats and then ALL the connections came together! (for example: Dawnfeather being one of Shade's descendant) Well I won't give anything else away :P you'll have to wait and see!

Third:

PLEASE REVIEW! And I'll gladly have some more rogues names by the way! (big thanks for those who gave some already!)

~BrightSun~

(random talk but have you seen the last Star Trek movie? In my country it's on screens... I think it's GREAT!)

Oh and LAST thing:

Whose POV should I do in the next chapter? I'm STUCK and haven't writen a single word...