Chapter 1

Lightfur was filled with dread as he stared up at the half-moon. The sky was clear, so there was no way he could get out of going to the Moonpool. It wasn't that he disliked sharing tongues with his warrior ancestors, it was just that he was scared of what they were going to tell him. As a medicine cat he was skilled in interpreting the omens the stars sent him. A few nights ago he had received an omen foretelling dark events in the moons to come. He knew the cats of StarClan wouldn't tell him what the events were going be, but they were sure to give him some sort of dark warning. He knew something terrible was on the horizon.

He went to the edge of his territory and waited by the roots of an old oak tree. The oak tree was near the edge of his territory and very close to the LightningClan border. It was just far enough away from the border that a passing NightClan patrol wouldn't think to check it regularly unless something seemed wrong. He usually met Silverflower, the LightningClan medicine cat, there when it was time to visit the Moonpool. Silverflower had been his best friend since they were both just young medicine cat apprentices. It was then, while they were still apprentices, that they would sneak out to the oak tree to play. When they were both named full medicine cats they had stopped meeting, because they both became busy carrying out duties for their clans and knew that it wasn't quite right to keep meeting. Neither of them regretted their secret meetings though. Lightfur recalled the last of these meetings as he was waiting. They had met just before sunset on a warm Greenleaf day.

"Ok, ok you win!" Silverflower had squealed as they were play fighting. "If you were a warrior the other Clans would be in a lot of trouble," she said as she and Lightfur got up off the ground.

"I don't know. I'm not that good at fighting. You beat me most of the time," Lightfur replied dejectedly.

"You're too negative. Stop trying to weasel your way out of compliments. They're good things, you know," Silverflower teased.

"You're right. It's just that things keep getting harder for me." Lightfur stared at his paws.

"Hey, we'll always have each other, right?"

"I don't know. What if we drift apart as we get more responsibility for our clans? It can't be long before we get our full names."

Silverflower leaned in towards Lightfur and pressed her pelt against his. "Our friendship is strong enough to survive even the worst of battles. You worry too much Lightpaw."

"I know I do. I just can't help but wonder about the future," Lightfur confessed. "It scares me more than the present, especially with all the things StarClan reveals to us and the warnings they give."

"Lightpaw, focus on the present. You can't control the future, only prepare for it. Focus on doing the best you can and you will go on to do great things."

"Thanks Silverpaw. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Lightfur looked back on the memory wistfully. "Things were so much easier back then," he thought.

He realized he had been waiting for her for quite some time now and was beginning to get very nervous. "Maybe she just went ahead." he thought. As he was about to leave for the Moonpool he noticed a cat approaching him. He could tell it wasn't Silverflower or one of his clanmates. He started to panic. He was about to climb up the oak to hide when the cat called out to him.

"Lightfur! I need to speak with you. Now!" Lightfur realized who the cat was now. He tried to suppress his dread. It was Firestorm, the LightningClan deputy. She had always scared him, more so than the other Clan deputies. Her temper was legendary in the forest. The name Firestorm didn't just come from her wild ginger and white fur.

"Is something wrong in LightningClan? Where's Silverflower?" Lightfur asked trying to mask the fear in his voice.

"I think you know the answer to both questions," Firestorm said, narrowing her eyes.

"I don't," Lightfur said, looking down to avoid her glare.

"Silverflower was brutally murdered by a warrior of NightClan." There was no attempt to mask the absolute disgust in Firestorm's voice.

Lightfur went into a state of shock. "No," he whispered. His best friend, murdered? He wanted to yowl in anguish. He wanted to claw at her murderer and get vengeance. He wanted to… see her one last time. He could do none of these things. Not with Firestorm staring at him. Not when he didn't know who her murderer was. Not when she had already passed on to StarClan.

"The look of shock on your face tells me you knew nothing about this."

"No, I didn't. No one in our Clan did. The murderer couldn't have been a NightClan cat."

"Well it was. The den had NightClan scent in it. Come and take a sniff around if you want. You'd see," Firestorm didn't seem to want to discuss this further. The tone of her voice told Lightfur nothing could change her mind.

Lightfur had a disturbing thought, "What if it was a NightClan cat? The warrior code has never been observed by ever warrior in the forest. Sneak attacks are not unheard of."

"Lightfur, the real reason I'm here is because LightningClan isn't sure what to do without a medicine cat. So what do we do?" Lightfur knew very well what Lightning had to do and what he had to do. He just didn't want to face up to it at the moment. The shock of losing his best friend and now this?

"Let's go talk to the others about this. They need to know too."

"Fine, but don't send me into a trap." Lightfur wondered if he really seemed that untrustworthy or if the deputy was just overly paranoid. A true medicine cat would never stoop to such a low.

"Follow me. Keep your tail down and try to stay in the cover of the forest. I think it would be better for my clanmates not to know that you're here." Lightfur began to carefully pick his way across NightClan territory. Firestorm just narrowed her eyes at him and slowly did as he said.

Their trek through NightClan territory was a silent one. Lightfur imagined Firestorm didn't particularly fancy his company and he could say the same thing about her. When they were on WaterClan territory Firestorm looked a bit uneasy.

"It's ok, we're almost to the point where we meet the others." Lightfur was trying to be reassuring. If any WaterClan warrior saw her, she could be in trouble. Lightfur knew he could explain if they did see a patrol, but he could also guess LightningClan didn't want the news of their vulnerability to spread.

"I'm not scared, mouse-brain. I know we're fine," Firestorm said defiantly.

"Either you're an incredible liar, or incredibly stupid," thought Lightfur. He wanted to say it out loud, but he was scared of what her reaction would be. He didn't want to provoke anything, especially with the increasing tension between both of their clans. They walked on in silence until they reached a young sapling near a river. The river cut through WaterClan territory and it flowed into the waters of the Moonpool.

Four cats were already sitting by the sapling. The WaterClan medicine cats, Yellownose and Greenpaw, were waiting with the BreezeClan medicine cats, Snowfoot and Amberpaw. Yellownose was the first to notice the strange duo.

"Where is Silverflower? Why is the LightningClan deputy with you, Lightfur?" Yellownose asked with a note of worry in her voice. Lightfur glanced at Firestorm. The news of Silverflower's death should come from her.

"Silverflower is dead." The four cats collectively gasped, while Lightfur looked down miserably. The news of her death hadn't subsided from his mind at all. He would probably be in the stars by the time he had gotten over his grief. "She was killed by a NightClan cat." she cast a glance at Lightfur. Lightfur knew he had to speak up before the other cats could get a word in. He had to attempt to defend the honor of his clan.

"There was no plan made to kill any cats of LightningClan! Icestar would never order an attack like that." The shock on the faces of the others slowly subsided. Firestorm looked at Lightfur in disgust, but held her tongue. She knew that the medicine cats would not turn against Lightfur and as much as it pained her; she needed their help.

"So LightningClan is without a medicine cat…" Yellownose trailed off.

"Yes, we need to know what to do," Firestorm snapped impatiently.

"When a medicine cat dies, and leaves no apprentice, the new apprentice is to be trained by a medicine cat of another Clan." Yellownose turned from Firestorm to look at Lightfur, "Since you are the only medicine cat without an apprentice, the duty of training the next LightningClan medicine cat falls on you."

"What!" cried Firestorm. "This cannot be right! A different medicine cat must train our medicine cat! NightClan is what killed our first medicine cat and you expect us to send an apprentice there to be trained! No this won't work! I won't allow it!" she cried stubbornly. Lightfur could sense the anguish in her voice. Silverflower had told him that Firestorm was one of her good friends. He knew that she must be more upset about Silverflower's death than she let on. It must be hard for her to come and ask for help from cats of other clans, even if they were medicine cats.

"I know your grief troubles you, Firestorm. The loss of a medicine cat is always hard, and the loss of a great friend is harder, but Lightfur is an honest cat. Like so many medicine cats before him, he is loyal to StarClan before his own clan. He'll do a great job of training his apprentice," Snowfoot said, trying to comfort the deputy.

Firestorm fell silent after this. The medicine cats all waited for her to speak. "I see we have no choice. How will we know who the new apprentice will be?"

"StarClan will tell Lightfur," Yellownose explained. "They should tell him tonight unless they have a reason not to."

"Lightfur, I want you to come to LightningClan territory tomorrow. Bring Icestar if you can. If he won't come, tell him Moonstar and I will pay him a visit. We need to know who the next apprentice is and make arrangements for their training to work," Firestorm said in a soft voice. The resignation in her voice was apparent. Her anger had finally subsided because of the harsh reality that she had to face. She turned to walk away.

"Wait, Firestorm, would you like an escort home? It isn't wise to walk through hostile territory on your own," Snowfoot said with genuine concern in her voice.

Firestorm may not have been as angry as she was before, but her pride had not completely deserted her. "I'll be careful. I'm not a foolish kit sneaking out of camp."

"Ok, but if you do get hurt, go to the WaterClan camp. Tell them I said you should come. I don't want any cats getting hurt needlessly."

She looked like she would have said more, but thought better of it. It was obvious she didn't want to stick around much longer. Firestorm gave Snowfoot a small nod and walked off into the night. Lightfur guessed if she did get hurt she would do no such thing. Pride was Firestorm's main downfall. He had to wonder why so may warriors fell victim to this type of pride. It prevented them from getting the help they really needed. If Firestorm died because she refused treatment from any medicine cat that was not of her own clan, would it really be worth her pride?

After Firestorm had left, the medicine cats stood there silently for a minute. They were all feeling grief over Silverflower. Finally the silence was broken when Yellownose said, "We need to go. We've spent too much time here." The five medicine cats began to walk towards their destination.

It was only after they had begun walking that Lightfur remembered his omen. He shivered as he realized the darkness was coming. Silverflower's death was the start.

On the same day, at an earlier time, a young apprentice in the LightningClan camp was on a mission.

"Stonepaw! I've caught 3 voles and 2 mice! What do you have?" a fluffy apprentice with a white pelt asked another apprentice with a smoother gray pelt.

"I have a rabbit, 2 birds, and a mouse! I'm going to complete my hunting mission and I'm going to finally beat you at hunting, Frostpaw!" Stonepaw called to his friend.

"I've caught more prey than you. You'll never beat me!"

"You know rabbits are worth more than mice," Stonepaw said.

"They are not!" Frostpaw jumped on Stonepaw and they began to play fight on the ground. Just as she thought she was about to overtake Stonepaw, Rocktail, who was Stonepaw's mentor, found them wrestling on the ground.

"I expect that your mission is complete," Rocktail said, glaring at them both. Obviously they weren't finished with their task yet.

Stonepaw looked down feeling slightly embarrassed. "No, Rocktail. I know Frostpaw and I are supposed to hunt together until sunset. We were just having fun." Stonepaw had a bad habit of trying to justify his misdeeds, especially when it wasn't until later he found out that they actually were misdeeds.

"Fun won't fill your clanmates bellies. If you two want to be warriors, then you must stop acting like kits," Rocktail said gruffly and walked away.

Stonepaw sighed after he thought Rocktail was gone. He like being an apprentice well enough, but something about it never felt quite right. Hunting was fun, sure, but it never gave him a thrill like it did the other apprentices. Fighting was a different story altogether. He was an above average fighter, perhaps one day he'd be looked upon as a threat in battle, but he certainly wasn't going to be the best warrior the forest had ever known. All the other apprentices in LightningClan were convinced that title was reserved for them, but he knew that it wasn't for him and probably not for them either. Beside his lack of ambition, he truly did not enjoy battle training. He saw it's importance for self defense and being able to take down a traitorous cat, but he would rather be doing something more constructive. He never shared those thoughts with anyone, though. He supposed he'd get the thrill of being a warrior eventually.

"Stonepaw, stop staring out into space. We have to keep going." Frostpaw had interrupted his thoughts. He realized this wasn't the right time to worry or wonder about being a warrior.

"Ok, I'm still going to win!"

"No, you're not!" With that, they both raced off.

A gentle breeze was moving the waters of the Moonpool. Lightfur slowly walked to his place, enjoying the breeze and trying to put off getting there until the last second possible. He looked down into the pool and sighed. He couldn't avoid reality forever. He drank a few drops of water from the pool. His dreams overtook him and he found himself in a meadow near the forest of StarClan.

"Dawnpelt!" Lightfur called in greeting to a cat with light and dark orange fur. Dawnpelt, his former mentor, seemed to have been waiting for him. "What darkness is coming? Can you tell me the events of the future?" Lightfur asked, wanting to get the question over with. He suspected she wouldn't tell him, but it never hurt any cat to ask.

"Lightfur, it's not your place to know the future. You must prepare for the hard times to come and have faith."

"You still think you can control the future, don't you Lightfur?" a voice asked him from behind. Lightfur felt like leaping with joy. He knew that voice!

"Silverflower! I'm so sorry about what happened," he said turning around to face her, not sure what he could say to express his grief.

"It's ok. I'm alright. Death is destined to take us all sometime. Just focus on the present."

"It's going to be so different without you," Lightfur began.

Silverflower interrupted him. "I'll still be here," she said, smiling.

Lightfur was comforted by this. As long as he walked among the stars, he would see Silverflower.

Lightfur realized that now he had to take care of some unpleasant business. "Silverflower, there's something important I need to ask you. Was your killer a NightClan cat? Do you know who it was?"

Silverflower remained silent for some time. She glanced at Dawnpelt. "It was very dark. I couldn't recognize the cat."

"Surely the cats of the stars witnessed this act. They must have told you. Who was it, Dawnpelt?"

"Lightfur, it's not for me to tell you these things. The killer will be revealed in time, but not now. The stars can't tell you how to fix your problems. That is your responsibility."

"Well at least tell me if it was a NightClan cat." Dawnpelt and Silverflower exchanged a long glance. Lightfur didn't even have to hear their reply. He could already tell.

"Is there nothing I can do?" he asked.

"Be patient. The stars won't abandon you," Dawnpelt said. This made Lightfur feel a little better, but with a killer on the loose in his Clan; he wasn't sure if he could have too much patience.

"Now we have something else to take care of," Silverflower said, eyes shining.

"Lightfur, it's time to pass on everything I taught you to your own apprentice." Dawnpelt looked at him expectantly

"I'll never be as good of mentor as you, Dawnpelt."

"You will be. You're a good medicine cat and I taught almost all of the skills you needed to learn. Trust yourself, or else your apprentice will never be able to trust you." Lightfur knew his mentor was right. He told himself to remember those words and hoped he could teach his apprentice the ways of a medicine cat.

"So who will my apprentice be?" Lightfur asked. He had to know who it was, or else this whole ordeal would be rendered pointless.

"There is an apprentice in LightningClan our ancestors have taken an interest in. He seems to have the heart of a medicine cat, but we must put him through a final test before we're sure. We are sending him an omen telling him what he must do. If he interprets the meaning correctly we'll know we have made the right choice," Silverflower explained.

"What omen are you sending him?" Lightfur's curiosity got the better of him.

"See for yourself," Dawnpelt said. She got up and ran off into the forest with Silverflower behind her. Lightfur followed them until they stopped at the forest's edge. He looked out past it.

Lightfur smiled. He saw the omen. It was obvious to him what it meant, but an apprentice who could interpret it with no training must have quite some talent. "Perhaps training this cat won't be so hard." Yet in interpreting the omen he caught a glimpse at the hard things to come for this apprentice. He realized that the path they were both following would be covered in darkness and he didn't know if they could emerge from it in light.

A/N What did you think? Please review and tell me! I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for reading. :D