AN: This chapter was super hard to write, but I finally got it down. Anyways here's the leader ceremony you've all been waiting for :)

Chapter Twelve

The journey to the Mooncave had taken them longer than Dustyhead expected. Brownleaf led him across the undergrowth as branches and twigs snapped across his face. He swerved to the left to avoid a boulder sticking out from the ground. Moss grew on one side of the boulder and Dustyhead reminded himself that this would be a good spot to collect it for nests.

"The cave is just a mouselength ahead," Brownleaf meowed as she came to a halt.

Dustyhead looked around curiously. By now dusk had fallen upon the forest. Soon it would be time to see whether or not Brownleaf was telling the truth. Doubt had clouded his thoughts earlier in the day when he was sharing tongues with Sageleaf. But she had told him to have faith in the medicine cat. Brownleaf had followed them this far, why would she betray them now?

Brownleaf suddenly moved forward as the sun was swallowed by the mountains that loomed ahead of them. Dustyhead glanced at the sky cautiously before following her. There were no clouds in the sky. The stars were beginning to appear just as a faint mark of the moon began to glow. Dustyhead took a deep breath before he padded forward into what looked like the opening of a cave.

Worry clawed at Dustyhead's belly when he heard voices whispering around them. Rock walls brushed against his fur as he followed Brownleaf's scent. Darkness had overwhelmed him after a few pawsteps of entering the cave. Dustyhead was about to say something when a faint light suddenly gleamed ahead. His eyes widened in disbelief when Brownleaf had led him to a larger cave with a stone standing in front of them.

"Touch the stone, and StarClan will do the rest," Brownleaf meowed in a calm voice. Her eyes were glowing with warmth as she looked at the smooth stone.

Dustyhead swallowed back his fear and stepped forward. Almost as soon as his nose touched the stone a chill swept down his spine. The fur along his neck stood on end before his body fell to the ground. The last thing Dustyhead noticed was how the stone seemed to glow with an eerie light.

. . .

His eyes snapped open when the sound of wind howled around him. Dustyhead looked around warily to find himself standing alone in what appeared to be an empty field. No trees could be seen for foxlengths. As far as Dustyhead could tell this could be a nightmare rather than a dream sent by StarClan. The howling wind buffeted against his fur as he struggled to maintain his composure.

Suddenly the wind had died down just as nerve began to creep over Dustyhead. His eyes widened in surprise when the field was replaced with dark green grass. Trees had begun to surround him as the mist cleared. The stars in the sky seemed to dance when he looked up. Dustyhead's mouth dropped open when the stars suddenly began spiraling down towards him. He took a startled step back when one of the sparks of light changed into the appearance of a cat.

The first cat Dustyhead noticed was a tortoiseshell she-cat with piercing amber eyes. The starlight that gleamed within her fur seemed out of place in the forest. Beside her were eight other cats. Dustyhead tilted his head to one side until the tortoiseshell nodded.

"Welcome, Dustyhead," she purred. "We have been waiting for a cat who was brave enough to oppose this rule of the warrior code," she added as other cats greeted him.

"What do you mean?" Dustyhead asked warily.

Shouldn't StarClan be angry with him? Brownleaf had only given a vague description of how StarClan had felt when she'd spoken to them.

"We have been watching you for some time now," meowed the cat standing beside the tortoiseshell. His fur was gray and white. The tip of his tail was blotched white while his face was a dark shade of gray. "The decision you made shows that the Clans need to move on. Too many lives have been taken because of forbidden love."

"It is time for you to receive your nine lives," the tortoiseshell murmured. She was the first to approach Dustyhead. He eyed her warily before she touched his forehead with her muzzle. "My kits were taken from me far too early," she rasped. "With this life I give you protection, so that you may protect the Clan with every ounce of your strength."

Pain erupted on the spot as energy flashed through Dustyhead. His teeth ground together as he struggled to remain standing. Images flashed before his mind of a younger version of the tortoiseshell. Standing beside her was a handsome looking dark brown tabby, and beside him were two tiny looking copies of their parents. Dustyhead's claws kneaded the ground when a dark gray cat suddenly appeared before the image. The kits had disappeared, and the ground before him looked as though it had been freshly churned. The kits had been killed because of love.

Dustyhead stared at the tortoiseshell in shock, but she had already disappeared into the crowd of cats. The gray and white tom was up next. His yellow eyes glowed when he touched Dustyhead's forehead. This time Dustyhead braced himself for the pain that would come.

"With this life I give you energy, so that you may run farther than your Clanmates and never tire," the gray and white tom meowed. Again energy flashed through Dustyhead. This time images of the gray and white tom appeared before him. The WindClan cat was trying to protect his new-found love - a mottled gray she-cat who was crouched before a crowd of angry looking warriors. Without warning one of the cats from the crowd had leapt. The mottled gray she-cat didn't stand a chance as she was slaughtered for something she couldn't fight. Dustyhead couldn't close his eyes as he heard the distant wailing of the gray and white tom who had fought so hard to keep her alive. "She lives in StarClan now," the tom simply murmured.

He was about to say something when another cat replaced the gray and white tom. This time it was a mottled ginger she-cat with dark green eyes. Her ears flicked from side to side as she watched Dustyhead. "With this life I give you the love of a mother defending her kits. Defend your Clanmates as though they are your kits."

He half expected this life to be filled with warmth and love. Instead claws began dragging down Dustyhead's back. He restrained a screech of agony as he realized that this was what the she-cat would have felt defending her kits. They had been murdered by her leader because her mate was from ShadowClan. She had later been killed in battle by the same tom she once loved. Dustyhead gasped as the pain suddenly ebbed away.

"Love can blind you sometimes," she murmured. "Remember those words." She slipped back into the crowd, only to be replaced by a dark brown tom with paler brown paws.

Dustyhead bowed his head as the dark brown tom touched his forehead. "With this life I give you courage so that you may never show fear to your Clan," he announced.

This time Dustyhead was prepared for the images that would follow. At once he was faced with the dark brown tom's memories. A young she-cat, the tom's daughter, had fallen in love with a ThunderClan tom. The RiverClan apprentice had planned to run away with her mate, but in the end she had been caught and killed for meeting with an enemy warrior. The father of the apprentice had never forgiven his leader for what she had done to the apprentice.

Things moved quickly for Dustyhead as a fifth cat approached him. This time it was a familiar looking cat. A dark tabby with lighter gray stripes along his tail stood before him.

Longstripe! The name stuck with Dustyhead when he gaped at the former medicine cat. Longstripe had been an elder when Dustyhead became an apprentice. Just moons before Dustyhead became a warrior the old cat had died from greencough. Brownleaf had been devastated to find that her mentor was gone. Amusement gleamed within Longstripe's eyes when he looked at Dustyhead.

"This is your destiny," he rasped. He moved forward and touched Dustyhead's forehead with his muzzle. "With this life I give you knowledge, so that you may use it to serve your Clan to the utmost." Dustyhead braced himself for the pain that would follow. To his surprise he felt no pain this time. He only felt the warmth and sadness Longstripe had felt after leaving Brownleaf to serve her Clan. The medicine cat had cared deeply for his apprentice. Leaving her behind was the hardest thing he had ever done.

Longstripe was replaced the next heartbeat after by a tabby she-cat with white paws and blue eyes. She touched his forehead with her muzzle before whispering, "With this life I give you justice, so that you may serve the Clan and judge those who have been wronged by the Clans."

Dustyhead's teeth ground together once more as images of the tabby's life washed over him. She had been fighting for her life ever since she was a kit. Her mother was from ThunderClan while her father was from WindClan. The Clans had looked at her with disdain throughout her life. Finally when she had the chance to prove herself with an apprentice her own apprentice turned on her. The tabby had been killed by her own apprentice because of the rumors and lies that spread throughout the Clan.

Sympathy clenched at Dustyhead's heart when he watched her leave. She didn't need to die because of pointless rumors. She had been determined to prove that she was a trustworthy warrior of ThunderClan. Yet they would have never trusted her, even with an apprentice she could train.

A golden tabby tom had replaced the tabby she-cat. His amber eyes glowed with what Dustyhead thought was envy. "With this life I give you loyalty to know what is right. Use it to guide your Clan for moons to come." As he touched Dustyhead's forehead a sense of peace had suddenly overwhelmed him. The golden tabby had died serving his Clan and mate. She was from another Clan like the other cats, but instead of dying because of what they had done they had lived in secret. The golden tabby remained loyal to both his Clan and his mate.

The eight cat to approach Dustyhead was a hauntingly familiar copy of Foxear. Only this cat was smaller looking, maybe a moon old at best. Yet despite the small appearance of this kit, she seemed to be full of wisdom and age as she looked at Dustyhead.

"With this life I give you compassion, so that you may understand the problems of others and help them." Dustyhead had to bow his head as the kit struggled to reach him.

At once pain emanated on the spot. Dustyhead was prepared for it though as images of what had happened to Foxear flashed before him. The kit's name was Lightkit. She had been with her mother for only a moon when she was taken away. Smokestar's image suddenly appeared before the tiny kit. The dark gray tom's menacing appearance frightened poor Lightkit to no end. And after that, everything was a blur. Her life had been taken before she could feel any pain. The only real pain she had felt was hearing the distant wails of her mother as Foxear was held to the ground, forced to watch her own daughter die.

Dustyhead couldn't help but feel pity for Foxear. She had been forced to watch her own daughter die at the claws of Smokestar. All because she had loved. Why was love such a complicated thing? Why couldn't the Clans see that it was wrong to oppose such a thing? He shook his head and tried to clear it as the final cat approached him.

It was a gray-blue she-cat with dark blue eyes and a silver-tinged muzzle. Dustyhead's eyes widened in shock when he remembered hearing about this cat from elder's tales. This was Bluestar, the famous leader before Firestar's time. Dustyhead's mouth gaped open, but before he could say anything Bluestar touched his forehead with her muzzle.

"Normally I would not follow the rash actions of a young warrior, but in this case I must agree with my Clanmates," she meowed. "With this life I give you faith and certainty. Use these gifts to lead your Clan for moons to come." At once pain flashed through Dustyhead. He gasped when he saw images of Bluestar in the old forest, or what he guessed was the old forest where the Clans had come from. He saw a younger looking Bluestar approaching a bracken-colored cat who was waiting for her at the edge of a river. At her paws were two tiny kits who were mewling pitifully for the warmth of their mother. Sorrow gleamed within Bluestar's eyes as she watched her kits leave. She had given them up so that she would become ThunderClan's leader.

"I hail you by your new name, Dustystar. Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine live of a leader and StarClan grants you the guardianship of DustClan. Defend it well, care for young and old, honor your ancestors and the warrior code. Live each life with pride and dignity." Bluestar had stepped back and watched Dustystar carefully.

"Dustystar! Dustystar!" The cats cheered his new name, and embarrassment washed over him.

I'm leader now, and DustClan has been born, he realized. Now Sageleaf and the apprentices could live on in peace without having to worry about what the Clans would do to them. A new beginning had started for the exiled warriors.

AN: Like I said, that was hard to write. Especially the tabby's life, because of what happened to her. I'll explain their names in later chapters when I get the chance.

Obssesive Bookworm - just you wait :P But yeah, Foxear is definitely a fun character to write about because she is so unpredictable!

Mallowfeather of EarthClan - glad it was fast enough. Hopefully this one was just as quick (though it has been a week). And don't worry, there will be more drama later down the road :P

roseheart - thanks!

Oci Oceana - I've already got the kit's description written down and their names picked out. You'll just have to wait and see what they'll be like :)

Xelaric the Nobody - another Kingdom Hearts fan! I'm glad you're enjoying this :) And maybe when I get the chance I'll check out your story.

BoogietheKing - lol thanks. I was trying to go with something bland and boring, because everyone else seems to go with popular names like Redstar or Darkstar. I thought Dustystar was appropriate for this story.