Chapter 4

I am soooooo sorry it has taken me such a long time to update, but I've been extremely busy. My 13th birthday was last week, so I was really too excited to write anything, and then we switched semesters, so I've also been busy adjusting to new teachers, and I've had to practice playing my clarinet, which I got only two days ago when we started music. Wow, talk about a run-on sentence…

Pinkpelt the Crack Butterfly - Well, do you really expect Dustpelt to let them fight when they don't even know how to yet? XD

Tigerstar-Demon - o.o, Bramblestar rape Nightpaw? You're the most evil person I've ever heard of in my life. :P Perhaps I'll let HawkClan win the battle just for you and your evilness. And don't worry, someone dies in this chapter.

Gladewing - Thanks! Maybe I'll check out your story and give it some reviews myself

Cloudfire - Well, mostly because they just keep getting more and more ambitious. Bramblestar wants Hawkstar's territory, Hawkstar wants Bramblestar's territory, and both of them want to rule over all four Clans instead of just two.

"Hello, Nightpaw."

The she-cat whipped around in astonishment at the voice, which sounded so familiar, yet so strange. Standing before her was a huge dark tabby tom with amber eyes that glittered ambitiously - just like Bramblestar. Nightpaw felt a shiver run down her spine.

The sky above her was black, but it had no stars, nor a moon. The forest floor was barren of any undergrowth, although large patches of eerie glowing moss clung to the rocks and the trees, the only source of light in this dark territory.

"Wh-who are you?" she stuttered in fear. "Where am I?"

The tom smiled coldly, making Nightpaw's entire body tremble.

"This is the Place of No Stars - the opposite of StarClan, where you walk your own path in the darkness for eternity. I am Tigerstar."

Her dark blue eyes stretched wide. Tigerstar died before my mother was even born, she reassured herself. This can't be him. He's lying. Unless…

Even Nightpaw's thoughts trailed of in fright. This cat who claimed to be Tigerstar wasn't lying at all. This was a dream, and anything could happen in dreams.

"I am very proud of you, Nightpaw. You fought like a warrior in that battle."

The grey she-cat sat up proudly at the dark tom's words. It didn't matter to her that she was receiving praise from Tigerstar, a cat who she had associated with pure evil for her entire life. She was just glad that, unlike Dustpelt, someone thought she could fight.

"I could teach you much," Tigerstar continued, his amber eyes unblinking as he watched her. "But first you must promise me something."

Nightpaw nodded immediately. If the former leader of ShadowClan taught her how to fight, she could become the greatest warrior in BrambleClan - no, not just BrambleClan. The greatest warrior around the lake.

"Promise me this. Promise me you will always be loyal to Bramblestar, no matter what he does, no matter who he kills. And promise me that if either of your brothers speak a single foul word about him, you will teach them that he is great," Tigerstar hissed.

"But what about Morningflower?" Nightpaw protested. "What about Daisy and her kits?"

Tigerstar smiled that same cold smile.

"It was for the good of the Clan," he meowed. "Morningflower was old - older than I. Daisy was a kittypet, and did nothing but lie in the nursery and waste fresh-kill. They both deserved to die." The young she-cat nodded slowly.

"It was for the good of the Clan," she repeated in agreement. She understood what Tigerstar meant. Both she-cats had been a burden to the Clan, and so they had to die. Pushing away the doubt that flickered in her mind, she looked up at the dark tom expectantly.

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An eerie wail of grief jolted Nightpaw unceremoniously from her sleep. The grey she-cat blinked open her eyes anxiously. What about Tigerstar? What about the things he had said he would teach her?

I will educate you tonight, the dead leader's voice echoed in her ear. For now you must attend to your mother.

"My mother?" Nightpaw asked the voice, but Tigerstar was gone.

"Have you decided to start talking to yourself, Nightpaw?" snorted an ungracious voice from the other side of the apprentice's den.

"Shut your mouse-hole, Breezepaw," she snapped at the black apprentice, who glared at her.

"I don't suppose you know what that horrible noise was, do you?" he hissed mockingly, although Nightpaw knew that he had no idea what it had been either.

"No, in fact, I don't," she retorted, before turning away from the grumpy apprentice and stalking outside. What she saw made her freeze in her tracks.

In the center of camp lay the mangled body of Squirrelflight, blood seeping out of a wound on the back of her neck. The foul stench of death reached Nightpaw's nostrils, and she saw that her father, Leafpool, Sandstorm, and her brothers were already crouched around her.

"Well, what's going on?" Breezepaw hissed in her ear before pushing past. As he saw the warrior's body, he too stopped dead.

"Squirrelflight!" the grey she-cat screeched, shaking off the shock and rushing forward to join her family in their vigil.

"Go safely, mother," she whispered, her muzzle buried in the blood-stained ginger fur. She then realized what Tigerstar had meant when he had told her to attend to her mother.

"Squirrelflight was a great warrior. We will never forget her," Bramblestar meowed simply from somewhere nearby, and Nightpaw thought she heard a hint of malice in his voice. What could have possibly happened between Bramblestar and Squirrelflight that made them hate each other as much as they had, she wondered through all her grief.

Nightpaw looked up sullenly as she felt a nudge in her side, and saw that Breezepaw was standing over her.

"You have to let the rest of the Clan share tongues with her," he meowed quietly. Was that sympathy she saw in his eyes? No, it wasn't possible for Breezepaw to feel anything but stubborn arrogance. She knew that at least.

Getting shakily to her paws, she stared at him for a moment before moving herself about a tail-length from her mother's body.

Oh, Tigerstar, she thought. How am I ever supposed to keep your promise if Squirrelflight is dead?

A/N: I realize that this is a really short and crappy chapter. You must all be mad at me, for giving you this monstrosity after not updating for so long. Well, all I can say is, feel free to throw darts at a poster of my face, as long as it isn't my actual face.