Here's chapter three! I forgot to say that Warriors is (c) to Erin Hunter, but all characters and plot are (c) to me. Please enjoy and R&R!

Chapter Three

Skypaw was vaguely aware of Longstar shouting something, but her eyes and ears were trained on her sister, searching for some kind of reaction. Where she thought she'd seen fear was only sheer disappointment. Dawnpaw stood rigidly and watched her mate fight Longstar. Something brushed against Skypaw's flank, and she turned to see Sandpaw, frowning deeply at her.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered hurriedly.

Skypaw blinked lethargically. She couldn't find the words to respond.

"Owlmoon, get a hold of yourself!" Longstar yowled. "If you wanted to protect your apprentice so badly, why didn't you volunteer yourself at the beginning of the Selection?" Warriors were allowed to volunteer to be chosen before their leader stepped forward. The elders said it happened every few years, but not tonight. Not in time anyway. "What's done is done now, Owlmoon. You have to let her go."

Surprisingly, Skypaw searched the crowd and found her mother a long ways away, sitting there, frozen. Whiteblossom nudged her shoulder, and she came to life, letting out a hollow wail. She raced over to where her daughter was.

"Sh-Should I go too?" Skypaw murmured.

"Do you want to?" Sandpaw asked.

"No."

He pressed against her again. "Then don't. Stay right here. I've got you."

They watched as Bluestorm herded a distraught Owlmoon aside to allow Dawnpaw to step up to the puddle.

"Do you accept your fate as a sacrifice to save your Clan?"

Dawnpaw stood silently for a pause. Would Longstar appeal? Every once and a while, a leader could appeal to have the choice changed, but it often had bad side effects for the rest of the Clan. For example, a WindClan leader appealed to have his mate saved, and another warrior was chosen. When the leader's mate had their three kits, the Dark Forest took them as well, to punish him for his selfishness.

"I-I…" Dawnpaw swallowed. "I do."

Longstar reached forward and touched her nose. Skypaw saw him whispering to her and wondered what he said. Then Dawnpaw turned, her head low, and stood in line with the other cats. All five of them straightened under the gazes of so many cats. Skypaw scanned them all and mentally willed them to protect her sister, to let her die painlessly. She wished she could say something to them, but all too soon they parted, and the Clans began to trudge back to their camps. Sandpaw nudged her.

"The Clan is leaving," he mumbled. "Come on."

Skypaw remained still. She stared blankly at the moon, anger burning within her. Why didn't you pick me? she growled to StarClan. We're enough alike as it is! Take me and let her live!

"Skypaw," she faintly heard Sandpaw meow. "Skypaw, everyone's left. Hurry up."

"Oh." She looked around to find them alone in the clearing. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he whispered. "I understand. We'll walk slow."

"No." Skypaw leaped to her feet. "I need to be with her!"

She started running and heard Sandpaw yelling after her. The forest blurred as she raced as fast as her legs could take her towards the camp. She ran faster and faster until she thought her limbs would snap. All the while, she heard Sandpaw yelling, heard Sandpaw crashing behind her, and knew that she would need him if she was going to survive the coming days.

At last she burst into the camp to find her Clan in chaos. Owlmoon was still shouting at Longstar, Bluestorm was crouched over a sobbing Dawnpaw, the elders were whipped up in a frenzy muttering something about a prophecy, the kits were bouncing around from cat to cat and asking questions, and Leopardclaw was darting about trying to get Dawnpaw to take some poppy seeds to calm her down. Skypaw ignored Sandpaw's insisting that she stop and raced over to her sister.

"Dawnpaw!" she gasped. "I—"

"Don't," her sister growled. "I don't want to hear it! I don't want to be around you!"

"It's going to be okay, it will!" Skypaw told her. "You'll be fine!"

"I'm going to die!" Dawnpaw howled. It was loud enough that every cat, even Owlmoon, stopped whatever they were doing and stared. "Stop telling me it'll be fine! I wish it were you instead of me! You always told me how you wanted to fight, but I just want to live! I don't want to die like this!"

"Dawnpaw…" Skypaw began.

A blur of blue was Skypaw's only warning before her sister's claws tore right through her right cheek. She shrieked in surprise and leapt back. Blood began to pour down the side of her face. Dawnpaw raised her head and narrowed her eyes at her. "Get away from me!" she shouted. "Get her away from me!"

"Come with me," Sandpaw whispered into Skypaw's ear. She nodded and followed him into Leopardclaw's den, where Skypaw broke down on the ground and started to sob. Sandpaw stood over her with his tail on her shoulders. He knew better than to try and calm her down with words.

The plants around the entrance rustled and Robinpelt entered, her eyes wide. "What's happened?" she asked her son, who stared at her with a blank expression. "Sandpaw? What's happened? Who was chosen?" She became frantic when he didn't reply. "Sandpaw! Was it you?"

"No," he mumbled. "It…It was Dawnpaw."

"Great StarClan…" Robinpelt looked around him. "What's this?! How'd she get hurt?"

"This is Skypaw, Mother," Sandpaw hissed.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I know the difference, thank you," she retorted. "What's happened to Skypaw?"

"Dawnpaw hit her," he replied. "She yowled something about how she wished it was Skypaw who'd been chosen instead of her. Then she hit her. She kept screaming about how she wanted Skypaw gone, so I led her in here. Is Leopardclaw still out there?"

"I'm here, I'm here," Leopardclaw meowed as he jogged into the den. "Ah. There she is. I saw Dawnpaw hit her, and then I lost her when Lionpelt said something. He…" He stopped and shook his head. "Never mind. I'll get some cobwebs to stop the bleeding."

He squeezed into the crack in the rock and emerged with a paw swathed in cobwebs. "Skypaw," he meowed softly. "Let me see your face."

Skypaw gingerly lifted her head. The entire right side of her face was covered in blood, including areas where she'd smeared it onto her muzzle and forehead. Leopardclaw let out a sigh. He gently began to smother the wound in the cobwebs. Skypaw staid still and let him work. Every few moments she sniffed loudly and shut her eyes. Robinpelt motioned to her son and led him outside. Once there, she stopped him.

"You love her, don't you?" she asked outright.

Sandpaw blinked. "Mother…"

"Don't lie to me."

"Okay…uh, then yes, yes I do. This is sudden. Why ask me like this?"

"Because I want you to be there for her in the next few months, to take care of her. She'll need that of you. She'll need a shoulder to cry on."

Sandpaw narrowed his eyes. "Like you needed Pinefrost?"

"Yes," Robinpelt mumbled, unashamed. "Like I needed Pinefrost."

Sandpaw looked over his mother's shoulder to see that Bluestorm had led Dawnpaw out of the center of the camp. Owlmoon was missing too, and Longstar was standing at the base of the Highrock. He flicked his tail to call the Clan together. There was no real reason to call to them, as every cat was gathered already. Sandpaw padded over to sit beside Sableclaw and Molewhisker.

"What's this all about?" he asked.

"The elders keep saying that this is the prophecy," Sableclaw replied.

"Prophecy?" Sandpaw echoed. "What prophecy?"

"On the fated day, Dawn will break, and tears will fall from the sky to wash away the curse," Molewhisker recited. "It's been passed down from medicine cat to medicine cat every since the day the Selection started. The elders think that the 'dawn' means Dawnpaw, thus they won't allow Longstar to repeal the choice."

"Does that mean that Dawnpaw is the cat that's going to live?" Sandpaw asked hopefully.

"Maybe," Sableclaw meowed. "That's what we all hope."

"Cats of ThunderClan, I understand your sorrow over such a young cat being chosen for the Selection. However, as Reddapple said, there is hope. It is possible that Dawnpaw is the cat of the prophecy. If so, she will be spared."

Whiteblossom leaped to her feet. "And what if she'd not!"

"What if she dies like the rest of them?!" shouted Pinefrost. "She's too young!"

"She's old enough to be a warrior!" Longstar snapped back. "Thus, she's old enough to fight like one. I-I…I don't want Dawnpaw to die." He shook his head lightly. "I think this is awful, and I don't want to go through with it. But I can't deny the possibility. I want Dawnpaw to be the cat of the prophecy. Don't the rest of you?"

The cats began to murmur amongst themselves as Longstar slid down from the rock. He searched the crowd and found Sandpaw. He padded over. "Where is Skypaw? I saw you leading her off."

"She's in Leopardclaw's den."

"Tell her that her warrior ceremony will be tomorrow," the black-and-white tom said. "I don't want to make them sit vigil, seeing as Dawnpaw will be needing her strength to…to survive."

"I'm sure that this is the end of it," Sableclaw affirmed. "It has to be."

"Don't worry about what Whiteblossum and the others say," Molewhisker went on. "We trust you, Longstar. I'm sure Dawnpaw does to. There's no need for you to repeal. We support you."

He waved their words away with a flick of his tail. He vanished back into the crowd, confronting Lionpelt and Pinefrost who had stepped up to speak to him. Sandpaw snorted loudly.

"I'm…I'm going to see Tawnyfur and Plumkit," Molewhisker mumbled. "Give Skypaw my condulances."

"I'm sure she doesn't want them," Sandpaw replied with a weak smile.

The tabby smiled back before he trotted over to the nursery. Sableclaw turned to her apprentice and was about to say something when they were interrupted by some cat calling Sandpaw's name. He turned to see Leopardclaw coming towards them.

"Skypaw asked for you," he explained. "You ought to go lie down with her. She's pretty upset."

The tawny tom nodded.

Sableclaw touched her nose to his flank as he left. He let out a purr at his mentor's show of affection and hurried to the medicine cat's den with Leopardclaw lagging behind him. He entered to find Skypaw curled up in a blue-gray ball, her face hidden by her paws and tail. He inched closer.

"Skypaw?" he whispered. She uncurled and looked up. Her face was covered in cobwebs, and her eyes were swollen with tears. "Hey. It's me. Don't worry: I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay right here."

"I don't want her to die," Skypaw murmured. "I don't want her to die!"

"She's not going to," Sandpaw replied. He wrapped his body around hers and began to lick her good cheek. "StarClan are going to protect her. She's going to come back to us."

Skypaw sniffed. "How do you…how do you just know things sometimes?" she mumbled. "It's kinda…kinda freaky."

He purred. "I don't know," he replied. "I just do. I get really strong feelings about things, and I have a good feeling that the curse is ending soon."

"Really?"

"Yup. In fact, I'm willing to bet three rabbits that this is the last Selection—ever."

Skypaw smiled. Rabbits were her favorite. Dawnpaw often teased her that she must be from WindClan. "Okay," Skypaw whispered. She yawned as Leopardclaw entered. He saw the two apprentices lying close together and smiled at them. He nodded to them both and went into his den to get a good night's rest.

"Go to sleep, Skypaw," Sandpaw whispered. "Everything will be better in the morning."

----

Leopardclaw awoke early that morning, as he often did, and stretched before he left his nest. His first thoughts were of the new cold cure he tried before he went to bed, and that it seemed to be working. The second he stepped into the dim sunlight, he began to think of Dawnpaw, and the upcoming perils she would face. He lifted his eyes to the sky.

Please, StarClan, he prayed. Please end the curse soon.

He looked around and stopped in his tracks. There was Sandpaw, eyes wide and hollow as if he hadn't slept all night. He was pacing back and forth furiously, his tail lashing back and forth. Great StarClan, Leopardclaw thought. Has he been pacing since I left him?

A jolt raced down the medicine cat's spine a hearbeat later. He suddenly had a vision of a tawny brown shape standing on the Highrock, and then he saw the same figure leading an impressive-looking Clan into battle. Lastly, he watched as the tawny cat walked through the darkness, lighting the way as he went. Leopardclaw blinked and the vision was over. He was left staring at Sandpaw with a deep respect. He's got a great future ahead of him, Leopardclaw thought. The medicine cat sank to his haunches. Now, do I tell him and let him get a swelled head, or do I let him go on not knowing? Leopardclaw shrugged. I'll just keep it to myself for now. No use making him believe he's invincible.

"Good morning, Sandpaw," Leopardclaw called.

The apprentice jumped slightly. He shook his head and adjusted his sight. "Oh," he mumbled. "You're real."

"I'm real? What does that mean?"

"I couldn't sleep last night. I kept hearing all these cats whispering, and I got up to see who was awake, but I didn't find anyone. I tried going back to sleep, but they kept whispering. So I started pacing like this, and every once and a while, a cat would appear in the corner of my eye, then disappear. I dunno what to make of it."

Leopardclaw let out a purr. "StarClan are calling you," he told the apprentice. "They're calling you to do great things."

Sandpaw cocked his head. "Like what?"

"Not even I know, but I'm sure that you're going to be ready when the moment comes."

"But I keep getting this bad feeling." The tom frowned at Skypaw, who was still sound asleep. "I think it has something to do with Skypaw. No, I know it does. Something's wrong. Something bad is going to happen."

"Skypaw and Dawnpaw are both strong she-cats," Leopardclaw replied, hoping he wasn't lying. "They'll get through whatever it is."

A soft meowing split the air, and both toms looked down at Skypaw as she rose slowly. "Is…" She stopped, yawned, blinked several times, and then lowered her head onto her paws. "Is Dawnpaw awake?"

"I've got no idea," Leopardclaw said. "I only just got up myself. Sandpaw here has been awake all night."

"You have?" Skypaw mumbled. "What for?"

"I'll tell you later. How about right now we go get something to eat, huh? After all, your warrior ceremony is today. I'm sure no one's going to mind if you sneak a bit of extra food."

Skypaw nodded and yawned once more. "Okay."

She rose stiffly and followed her fellow apprentice out. Leopardclaw stared after them as his limbs were seized in another vision. He was in the body of another cat. He was running, running for his life, and all the while he felt tears streaming down his cheeks. A light burned ahead, and he realized he was heading for the light. He ran faster and faster and then—

Leopardclaw shuddered into consciousness. Two visions in one day? he thought frowning. StarClan haven't been this active in seasons. The first was so clearly for Sandpaw, but the second? Could it be Dawnpaw? He began to shake. Does this mean that Dawnpaw is going to die?

Outside by the freshkill pile, Skypaw chose a shrew and padded over to the apprentices' den. "My last time eating here," she mumbled. Sandpaw wasn't hungry. He sat next to her and began grooming himself. "What do you think my warrior name will be?"

Sandpaw shrugged. "Something pretty, I'm sure."

"I want it to be strong," Skypaw replied. "Like Skyclaw or something."

Sandpaw laughed. "That's a terrible name."

"I know, but I'm not very creative, and Longstar is."

"Oh? Is he? Name one cat that has a creative name."

Skypaw thought, and thought, and thought, but when she couldn't find anything, she let out a sigh. "I guess you're right. I'm doomed to something like Skyfur or Skycloud for the rest of my life."

"At least it beats Sandfur or Sandpelt," her friend chuckled. "I have a boring name."

The two apprentices laughed while Nightpaw and Ravenpaw crawled out of the den, both yawning and blinking to adjust to the light. "You're up early," Ravenpaw mumbled. He sat down in front of them and stared at Skypaw's shrew. "You're allowed to eat? That's not fair."

Skypaw took one last bite and pushed it over to him. "Take it. I'm not that hungry." She stared into the darkness of the den. "Hey, is Dawnpaw still asleep?"

Nightpaw shrugged. "I haven't seen her since last night. She didn't sleep in our den."

Skypaw frowned. "Did she sleep in the warriors' den or something?"

The black tom shrugged a second time. "I don't know."

She exchanged glance with Sandpaw. "Why in StarClan's name would she sleep anywhere but the apprentices' den?"

"Maybe she's off with that Owlmoon or something," Ravenpaw suggested. He licked his lips. "He sure seemed desperate to spend time with her last night."

"Maybe," Skypaw echoed. I hope not.

"She'll turn up," Sandpaw replied. "Where could she run off to anyway?"

He knew he'd said the wrong thing. Skypaw lowered her head and looked away.

"Well, why don't we go look for her?" he suggested. "You can apologize and make up before…before she leaves. That way, there's no bad blood between the two of you."

"Alright," Skypaw meowed. She got up and stretched. "Where should we start looking?"

Sandpaw flicked his tail towards the Highrock where Tigerheart, Longstar, Lionpelt, and Owlmoon were standing about. "We can ask them if they've seen her. It looks like they've just gotten back from the dawn patrol. Plus, Owlmoon ought to know where she is anyway. Let's give it a shot."

They bade fairwell to the brothers and padded over to the patrol. The closer they got, the more Skypaw worried. They were talking about her sister, she could tell. By the look on Owlmoon's face, it wasn't good.

"Good morning," Sandpaw greeted for her. The warriors spun around to look at them. Not a single one looked friendly. Sandpaw frowned. "What's the trouble?"

Tigerheart and Longstar exchanged glances. "That depends," Longstar replied. He turned his green eyes on Skypaw. "Do you know where Dawnpaw is?"

Skypaw shook her head, eyes widening. "No! What happened to her?! Where is she?!"

"We don't know," Tigerheart replied. She nodded to Owlmoon. "He says he spent the night with her, and when he woke up, she was gone. Bluestorm, Whiteblossom, and Pinefrost are out in the forest looking for her now. We were hoping she was in Leopardclaw's den, apologizing to you."

"No, and why didn't you tell me?" Skypaw meowed. "This is serious! What if we don't find her? Every cat knows what happened to Barktail!"

Barktail was a SkyClan cat that was chosen at the Selection, but died that night due to a bad outbreak of greencough. When the SkyClan leader and medicine cat appeared without him, the entrance to the cave shook with the Dark Forest's anger. They returned the next day to find that five of their cats who had been sick had died, and the medicine cat told them that it was the Dark Forest's way of punishing them for not providing the sacrifice.

"Don't worry, we'll find her," Lionpelt said. "We can't let that happen."

Skypaw narrowed her eyes. StarClan knows he's worried about his own skin, she thought angrily. He'd much rather have Dawnpaw die than have something bad happen to him.

They heard a yowl, and the cats looked up to see Bluestorm, Pinefrost, and Whiteblossom returning. Skypaw searched for her sister but was disappointed when she didn't see her. The three cats padded over to their leader.

"No sign of her," panted Whiteblossom. "We ran all over the place!"

"Where did you two sleep last night?" Longstar asked Owlmoon. "Somewhere near camp?"

The tabby nodded. "Ye-Yeah. Not far. I've looked there, but we can check again."

"We can pick up her scent from there," Bluestorm said. Skypaw saw her mother's worried expression. "She couldn't have gone far."

"Okay, then Tigerheart, Bluestorm, Pinefrost, Lionpelt, and Owlmoon, you go and see if you can track her," Longstar said. "I'll stay in camp and make sure no cat raises the alarm about her being gone."

"Can I go too?" Skypaw asked. "Please. She's my sister."

Longstar considered this. "Fine," he said. "But you have to keep up."

"I will," she replied.

"May I go as well?" Sandpaw asked. "I want to stay with Skypaw, just in case."

In case of what? Skypaw thought, but Longstar nodded.

"Alright. Consider this your last assessment."

The tom puffed out his chest and nodded. Tigerheart led the way up the ravine and into the forest. Then Owlmoon took over and led them to a tree with its base hollowed out. Skypaw recognized her sister's scent along with another pungent scent that made her crinkle up her nose.

She wasn't kidding about having kits as early as possible, Skypaw thought with a snort.

Bluestorm lowered her nose to the ground and sniffed deeply. She was the best tracker in the Clan. If anyone could find Dawnpaw, it was her. It didn't take her long to pick up the scent, and soon they were crashing through the brush again, the brambles slicing at Skypaw's already sore cheek. She bit back the pain and struggled to keep up with the warriors. Sandpaw raced ahead of her, suddenly filled with new life. He ran alongside Bluestorm and the two cats led them towards the river.

Why would Dawnpaw go towards RiverClan territory? Skypaw thought.

"She's somewhere near here!" Sandpaw shouted.

"Spread out and find her!" Tigerheart ordered. Skypaw darted away and began searching through every bush, every hole, and every inch of forest floor. Where on earth could her sister be? And why on earth had she run off in the first place?

Just as she was about to call out to the group, Skypaw heard a high-pitched wail. She bounded over to where Bluestorm, Sandpaw, and Tigerheart were standing over something small, lying on the ground.

She skidded to a halt. "What's…"

Sandpaw stepped aside. "I'm so sorry, Skypaw," he murmured as she stepped up to have a better look.

Dawnpaw looked like she was asleep. Her eyes were cracked open a tiny bit. They were staring up with no light in them. A small smile tugged at her lips. Surely she was asleep, right? That's what Skypaw prayed she was until she saw bits and pieces of red lying around her sister's mouth, and then spied a red berry she knew all too well from lessons taught to her as a kit.

"Deathberries," Tigerheart mumbled. "Great StarClan…"

Dawnpaw had killed herself.

Yup. You guessed it. (or not. I dunno how predictable the story is) Chapter four should be up soon. I'm purposefully blowing through these as the goal is to finish the story, so forgive me for grammatical/detail errors!