Chapter 17

I am really, really, really, really, really sorry for not updating for such an insanely long time. If my math is correct (which it probably isn't) I haven't updated for more than 10 months. That's nearly a year. Do you know how terrible I feel about that? I wouldn't be surprised if everyone has completely forgotten about this story. I don't blame you if you have. I was about halfway through the writing of the chapter before I discontinued, and I haven't written a word since. Then, 10 f-cking months later, I reread the story, and decided to start writing it again. Hopefully, I'll finish it this time around. If it will make you all a little less angry at me for not updating, I'll go jump off a cliff. (:

No review replies this time, because there are way too many.

The hot greenleaf sun beat down upon the TigerClan camp, having risen much higher since Blackpaw, Nightpaw and Firepaw had set out for the meeting. It's smoggy heat slowed nearly every cat down to a sluggish pace, and few cats dared to venture outside the camp for risk of being completely fried.

Blackpaw lay underneath a large tree, glad of the shade it's leafy branches provided. Laying sprawled on his back, his eyes closed, he fervently wished his coat wasn't as dark and thick as it was, but there was nothing he could do about it. Dustpelt didn't seem very eager to teach him how to swim, so the only way to relieve himself of the dreadful heat was to stay where he was and hope it didn't get any hotter.

"Blackpaw?"

At the sound of Firepaw's voice, the young apprentice reluctantly opened his eyes and turned to look at his smaller brother. "What?" he muttered groggily.

Firepaw shifted his weight uncomfortably and looked down at his paws for a moment, before looking back up at Blackpaw. "Have you noticed that Nightpaw's been acting strange ever since we got back from the meeting?" he asked slowly.

Blackpaw shook his head, confused. "Not really," he replied, wondering if he had missed something important. Though fiercely loyal, he could be a bit of an airhead sometimes - probably how he managed to eat death berries without realizing it, back when Bramblestar was still alive.

"Oh," Firepaw meowed quietly. "Maybe I was just imagining it then."

The black tom raised an eyebrow doubtfully. Though extremely shy and non-talkative, even around those he knew and trusted, Firepaw could be much more observant than a cat his age should be. It seemed for every word he actually said, there were a million more thoughts behind it.

"She's probably just sick or something," Blackpaw meowed encouragingly. "After all, she did faint in front of all those cats."

"Maybe," Firepaw muttered. The ginger apprentice sat down in the shade without another word, staring off into space. Blackpaw eyed his brother thoughtfully before speaking again.

"Do you think we should go see Leafpool today? If we get it off our backs quickly, then we won't be pestered by the other cats to go," he suggested, slightly excited at the thought of seeing the former medicine cat again. It would also be pretty interesting to see Stormfur, Brook and Millie, and to talk with them too.

"I guess," Firepaw meowed, his voice distant, as if he hadn't really heard what Blackpaw had said.

"Great!" Blackpaw exclaimed enthusiastically. "I'll go tell Nightpaw now," he continued, spotting his sister out of the corner of his eye. She didn't appear to be doing anything interesting. Just lazing around and watching their Clanmates as they padded past.

"Nightpaw!" he called bounding towards her. She looked up in interest at his voice, her ear twitching slightly. He skidded to stop in front of her, and grinned. "Firepaw and I are going to see Leafpool now," he meowed. "You want to come?"

She nodded earnestly. "Of course!" she replied in a cheery voice. Her tone freaked Blackpaw out. It was very rare for her to be as happy as she was now, and there always had to be a reason. He saw no reason at all now.

"You okay?" he asked warily, as if she were about to jump at him at any second. She blinked innocently.

"I'm perfectly fine," she meowed. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Blackpaw muttered. He glanced back at Firepaw, who raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say 'I-told-you-so'. He sighed, then turned to Nightpaw. "Let's go."

Without another word, the black apprentice began to head back towards his brother, and they met underneath the large tree. All three siblings sat down in the shade in an attempt to escape the blistering heat for the moment.

"So, do we ask someone if we can go out, or what?" Nightpaw asked, her tail-tip twitching slightly. Firepaw shrugged, but stayed silent, as usual.

"Maybe we should just leave without telling anybody," Blackpaw suggested slowly. "It's not like we'll be missed for a few hours. They probably won't send us out anywhere in this heat."

"But what if we get caught?" Nightpaw cried anxiously, her dark blue eyes widening. Both Blackpaw and Firepaw turned to stare at her suspiciously.

"When have you ever cared about getting caught?" Blackpaw accused, his eyes narrowing. His sister was the rebel of their little group, and usually wouldn't take any punishment without a fight. His statement seemed to make her freeze for a moment before she replied.

"I know I usually don't," she retorted falsely. "It's just, Hawkstar's been much more strict lately. The tiniest little thing will send you to the elder's den for a week. And I, for one, don't exactly enjoy cleaning ticks off those old stinkbags."

"How do you know that?" Blackpaw asked, his voice full with contempt. "Have you been secretly plotting with your precious leader?"

"Never!" Nightpaw hissed. Though she spoke the same words, she sounded nothing like the Nightpaw from before the meeting, the one who hated Hawkstar with every fibre of her heart.

"Well, then stop arguing and just let us go!"

From somewhere in the background, Firepaw sighed impatiently. "Can both of you just calm down?" he mewed quietly. "I agree with Blackpaw. If we ask anybody to go out in this heat, it'll probably just make them suspicious."

"Fine," Nightpaw growled. Blackpaw could have sworn he heard her let out a hiss of frustration, as if some plan had been foiled. But why hadn't she told her brothers what this plan was? Were they keeping secrets from each other now? Or did this have something to do with her odd transformation since the meeting? Blackpaw shook his head. Whatever it was, his sister obviously wasn't going to tell them. It was like she had turned into a completely different cat.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The big barn loomed on the horizon as the three apprentices padded towards it, a welcome sight to each and every one of them. The sun beat down on their pelts as they padded across the marshy land that was RiverClan's former territory, their muscles tight with excitement.

"Coming to see us, are you?" meowed a deep voice behind them, a slight chuckle behind the mysterious tone. The siblings turned slowly, afraid that one of Hawkstar's supporters had come looking for them after all.

"Hi, Stormfur," Firepaw meowed, making Blackpaw relax considerably. As he took in the big gray tom, he couldn't help but feel slightly awestruck. He had known he would be meeting the storied loner, but it was still a little hard to take in.

"Hello, Firepaw, Blackpaw, Nightpaw," Stormfur replied, a smile on his face. "Why are you back so soon? It was only yesterday that we last saw you, Firepaw."

"Do you remember the group of rebel cats against Hawkstar?" Blackpaw asked. Stormfur turned to him, suddenly tense.

"Yes, I do," he meowed. "Those cats are brave, standing up like they are. If I were still among the Clans, I would have joined them. How is Mosspelt?"

Blackpaw and Firepaw stiffened - Nightpaw didn't seem to care, as if death were an everyday thing. Nowadays, he wouldn't be surprised if it was. "Mosspelt is dead, Stormfur," Blackpaw muttered solemnly.

Stormfur's eyes widened with sudden grief, and he bowed his head quietly. "Mosspelt was a good cat. Strong. Bold," he meowed. The gray tom sighed, and looked back up at the siblings. "You still haven't told me why you've come."

"We went to one of their meetings today, and they said they found the prophesized cats - it was pretty obvious they meant us - and they asked us to come back here, and figure out how to kill Hawkstar with you."

"Okay," he meowed. "But if you three really are the prophesized cats, then you probably won't need my help that much."

Blackpaw eyed him doubtfully as he turned and began to pad towards the Horseplace. Shrugging his shoulders slightly, the black apprentice and his two siblings began to follow the large gray tom.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Leafpool!" Blackpaw cried happily as he padded into the draughty barn and spotted the tabby she-cat sitting beside Millie, Brook and the kits. He rushed forward and pressed himself up against her, remembering when she had healed him the moon before. Though it had only been a month since he had last seen her, it seemed much, much longer - another time entirely.

"I'm glad to see you, Blackpaw," the former medicine cat purred, smiling. "And you, Nightpaw."

Nightpaw gave her a half-hearted smile, then turned away, almost as if she were trying to hide something from the she-cat.

She pulled back, then surveyed all three apprentices with sharp amber eyes. "So, what brings you here so soon since Firepaw's last visit?"

"The rebel group sent them," Stormfur meowed, settling into place beside her.

"Of course," she meowed, nodding solemnly. "I knew this day would come eventually."

All three siblings stared at her with curiosity in their eyes, then glanced at each other. Well, Firepaw and Blackpaw did. Both of them were angry with their sister at the moment.

"What do you mean?" Blackpaw asked the medicine cat tentatively, afraid of her answer. Leafpool was silent for a long moment before heaving a deep sigh and looking each apprentice straight in the eye.

"It is time for you to learn the truth about Firestar's fall," she meowed, her voice cracking on the last word. Her amber eyes filled with grief, though she managed to blink away the tears that sprang to their surface.

Blackpaw's eyes went wide at her words, remembering that fateful night after he had eaten the death berries and seen Bramblestar and Leafpool's fight. The terrible tabby leader had spoken of a "truth." It was the reason why he had murdered Squirrelflight and turned the entire Clan against their medicine cat.

"Squirrelflight and I were the only cats to know this truth, other than Ashfur - if he hadn't hated Bramblestar as much as he did, none of this would have happened." Blackpaw's eyes went even wider, if that were possible, and Firepaw let out a gasp. Nightpaw was the only one who remained unfazed.

"What… what do you mean?" Blackpaw finally managed to stutter out. Leafpool stared at him solemnly.

"Long before you were born, Bramblestar and Squirrelflight were in love. It seemed to everyone around them that they were meant for each other, until the arguments started. They fought over the tiniest things. Your mother turned to Ashfur for support, and he fell in love with her as well. She was even beginning to return these feelings.

"However, after the badger attack, Squirrelflight rejected your father for Bramblestar once more. It seemed their quarrels were finally over, and they were getting along perfectly. One thing they didn't know was that Ashfur was becoming increasingly angry. He wanted Squirrelflight to feel the same pain that he had felt after she left him. So, he and Hawkstar began making plans. They were going to lure Firestar into a fox trap, where Bramblestar would find him on his way to meet Hawkstar by the lakeside. Bramblestar would then kill Firestar and achieve his ambitions of becoming Clan leader, with Squirrelflight and myself as witnesses."

Leafpool's eyes darkened. "As you might have imagined, the plan worked perfectly. The two brothers lived to conquer the Clans, turning four into two, and the forest was sent into an age of darkness."

There came a low, dark chuckle from the barn entrance before anyone could say anything else. All four loners and the apprentices spun around to see a small HawkClan patrol standing in the doorway, their eyes gleaming with dark humour.

Rowanclaw headed the patrol of four, followed by Smokefoot, Voletooth and Oakfur. The huge ginger tom smirked at the loners and lashed his tail from side to side. "That's quite an interesting story Leafpool, but I'm afraid we're going to have to cut it short."

Beside Rownaclaw, Smokefoot snickered, and Blackpaw could see his claws flash in the sun as he unsheathed them.

"Brook, Leafpool, Millie, take the kits and run," Stormfur hissed, unsheathing his own claws and baring his teeth. The three apprentices did the same.

"But, Stormfur-" Brook cried.

"Go! I'll be fine. I swear it."

The three she-cats glanced at each other, obvious reluctance in their eyes, but they knew they had to listen to the gray tom. In a flash, Millie and Brook had picked up Swiftkit and Thrushkit by the scuff, and all three of them darted towards the back entrance.

"Oh no you don't!" Rowanclaw roared, lunging forward. What he didn't realize was that Stormfur was standing in the way. The two muscular toms met in a flurry of teeth and claws and began wrestling on the barn floor, hay and dust flying out from underneath their struggling bodies.

At the same time, the rest of the patrol leaped at the apprentices. Blackpaw found himself facing off against Voletooth, one of the smaller cats in the Clan, but also one of the fiercest.

Blackpaw let out a yowl and charged straight at Voletooth, head lowered, with the intention of crashing straight into the other tom's chest - one of the advantages of being the smaller opponent. However, this advantage didn't work this time around. With a snicker, the HawkClan leisurely lifted a paw and batted Blackpaw away with a blow to the head.

Blackpaw flew to the side, crashing into a nearby hay bale. The young tom's head spun, and his vision went blurry. He lay on the ground for a few moments, stunned, before Voletooth pounced on him again and he was forced to keep fighting.

However, the young tom's movements were sluggish, and he was still disoriented from the blow to his head. As well, as he fought, he could feel an acute pain in his front right leg that prevented him from attacking properly. He didn't stand a chance against the older warrior. He only managed to get in a few feeble swipes before he was pinned against the barn floor, the straw pressing into his back. Before he could even try to get away, Voletooth's fangs were at his throat.

Here I come, StarClan, the black apprentice thought, closing his eyes tightly and bracing himself for death. At least I came out fighting like a warrior.

But instead of sinking down into his throat, Voletooth's fangs only pierced his skin lightly, only drawing two tiny pinpricks of blood from his flesh.

"Don't move," Voletooth hissed through the fur in his mouth. Filled with relief, Blackpaw obeyed. He was so thankful to be alive that he would do anything anyone said right then - even though after Hawkstar got to him, he wouldn't be breathing for much longer.

As he lay there with the warrior's teeth placed threateningly against his throat, he heard a hiss of pain from the other side of the barn, followed by a loud yowl of triumph. "We've got them all!"

Blackpaw slowly craned his head around to see that Firepaw, Nightpaw and even Stormfur had been pinned down as well. The apprentice slumped. There was no hope now. They were all going to die, and there was nothing they could do about it. Stormfur doesn't deserve this, at least, he thought angrily. It's our fault he was captured. If we hadn't come today…

"Get up," Voletooth hissed, interrupting Blackpaw's thoughts. The tom obliged, knowing any disobedience now would mean an even sooner death. The other prisoners did the same without disagreement, though Blackpaw could see Nightpaw muttering something in her captor's ears that was making him smile.

Rowanclaw stepped to the head of the grim patrol, shoving an exhausted Stormfur along with him, and faced the row of captured cats.

"You are now prisoners of Hawkstar, the all-powerful leader of TigerClan" he declared with all the authority of the elite warrior that he was. "Any rights that you previously had have been stripped, and you will be treated no better than a hedgehog." Blackpaw gulped audibly at the last sentence. "All elite warriors have the right to kill you at the first sign of disobedience until Hawkstar decides your punishment."

His speech over, Rowanclaw turned towards the barn entrance, shoved Stormfur forward once again, and meowed, "Let's go."