Some generally Ivypool badassery for this longer chapter. Also, we're still focusing at the RiverClan conflict, but I think you will find that this Gathering incident has a bigger ripple effect than we figured at first...

Bonus points if you can figure out who appears to Ivypool and of whom they're discussing.

Chapter 3: When Enemies Conspire

Ivypool did not dream of the dark trees and the starry meadows that she once would have, back when things existed in black and white – except for her, for she had always existed in grey. Now she dreamed of the place where black and white crossed, merged all together into grey. Ivypool never thought she would want the Dark Forest to exist so badly, but when she dreamed of the border, she wished with all her heart that they could go back to before all of this had gone wrong.

She sat there nearly every night, sitting barely out-of-the-way, where she could watch the flock of fascinated StarClan warriors probing the fizzling wave of smoke that crackled with distant thunder. Until they found her, or until she felt it to be morning. Usually, it was the latter – for some reason, they didn't take much interest in her. It wasn't as if she said or did anything.

The border was thinner than ever. Ivypool sat on her usual hill and watched it, her tail moving back and forth along the grass. She had never felt at home in StarClan, but now she felt it to be her duty to keep coming back. As a sentinel.

"Ivypool!" She jumped at the sound of her name and whirled, but it wasn't a StarClan warrior she recognized. She bristled nonetheless, ready to wake up at the first sign of a threat. The cat that stood before her was the most concrete StarClan cat she had ever seen. He had a ginger-and-white patched pelt and dark green eyes, and he seemed eager to see her. Ivypool was sure she had never seen him before.

"I have been running for days to find you," said the cat. "You are watching the border, isn't that so?"

"Yes," said Ivypool. "Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter now," said the cat. "Do you know which of the Five is the leader?"

"The leader?" said Ivypool. She blinked a few times. "Lionstar and Doveheart are training Littlefalcon…don't you know the answer?"

"I have no answers," said the cat, averting his green eyes. "If I did, I wouldn't need to risk my pelt talking to you."

"Why are you, then?" said Ivypool. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"I'm looking for someone that can help us," said the tom. "We all have to account for what happens when that border comes down, right?" His eyes glowed. "New StarClan is seeking fairer skies to avoid the blow. It will not be a permanent solution, but it at least keeps us out of the cross-fire."

"New StarClan? You mean the part of you we can trust? You're leaving us?" said Ivypool.

"We have no power anymore," said the tom. "We must get out of the way, so that if things go wrong, we have at least a chance of survival."

A shiver ran up Ivypool's spine.

"If things go wrong?" she said. The cat blinked a few times at her, making Ivypool feel like she had missed something.

"You must have noticed what the Five are capable of," he said. "Do you honestly believe that there isn't a way for things to go wrong?" He shook his head. "The others tell me that Old StarClan - the other half - has invested their time in gaining WindClan and RiverClan as allies."

"Both of them?" said Ivypool. "How is that possible?"

"They rely on their medicine cats," said the cat. "Their medicine cats rely on StarClan. If you do not act quickly, ShadowClan will be lost, too. I was not born in your Clans, but I understand well enough how they work. Everything is connected."

"Who is this cat that can help us?" said Ivypool. "Can I look for them, too?"

"She doesn't walk anywhere that you can reach," said the cat. He sighed. "You say that Lionstar is training Littlefalcon?" He tilted his head up, as if searching the empty curtain of a sky above. "I will do my best."

"Are you a member of New StarClan?" said Ivypool. "How could that be?"

"I'm not a member of StarClan, new or old," said the cat. "I have allied with New StarClan to save the state of the world of the living and dead." His eyes shifted down the hill, and Ivypool turned down to wards the border again, fearing what she would see.

StarClan warriors still clustered around the border, although there was more urgency to their actions than before.

"They sense my presence," said the mysterious tom. "I hope we will speak again, Ivypool."

Ivypool looked back up, but he had vanished, quick as shadow. The air around her stirred with a foreign scent, something akin to darkness and hope, though she hadn't thought hope could have a smell at all. She fixed her attention back on the border, the tom's words churning in her belly. WindClan and RiverClan, on the side of the cats that now clawed at a foggy border like savages? How could that be – how could it be that New StarClan would abandon the other Clans in order to rest its saviors in ThunderClan? Was it always to be ThunderClan hauling the others out of danger?

"Everything is connected," Ivypool told herself. There was a reason for all of this. A glimmer in the back of her mind that felt like morning light made Ivypool, too, lift her eyes to the empty curtain of sky that hung above StarClan's hunting grounds. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, or what the tom had been looking for, but she didn't find it.

XXXX

When Ivypool padded into the late morning light, she winced at the way everything had been turned. This was what wartime felt like, what it was for cats to suspect the other Clans and become so defensive of their own they forgot for a moment to listen to reason.

It worried her that Sorreltail appeared to be giving some sort of speech to a group of five or six of her Clan-mates, so she padded over to investigate. Greyheart hovered at the fringes.

"What's going on?" asked Ivypool.

"Sorreltail is worried about what the cats at the Gathering said," said Greyheart. "She, Hazeltail, and Molewhisker are of the opinion that we should confront Lionstar about what's going on."

"But nothing's going on," said Ivypool. It felt as though a ShadowClan cat had dug its claws into Ivypool's chest. Greyheart shrugged, not looking at her.

"Sorreltail has a point," said Greyheart. "Maybe the other Clans are just pointing some accusation at us, or maybe there's something deeper."

Sorreltail noticed Ivypool and gave a welcoming-yet-concerned smile.

"Ivypool, what do you think?" Honeypaw bounced over to Ivypool's paws, her big eyes sparkling. "Isn't it weird?"

"I don't think we have anything to worry about," said Ivypool. "Lionstar would tell us if something really was going on."

"Would he?" said Berrynose in a grumble. "As far as I'm concerned, Lionstar has been secretive about everything that happened at the Gathering.

"Lionstar is good for ThunderClan," said Foxleap. "I've never had any reason to worry."

"Well, he's half WindClan – do you think that has anything to do with it?" Stealthstep's words, seemingly innocent, sucked up all life from the conversation.

"That's not what I'm saying at all!" Sorreltail said this in a heated voice. Stealthstep flinched away from the usually docile she-cat's rage.

"We've long ago put that sort of thing behind us," said Blossomfall.

"Why bring this up now, Sorreltail?" asked Ivypool. Of all the cats in the Clan, Sorreltail was the last she would expect to lash out like this. It took a moment for Sorreltail to look up and meet Ivypool's eyes, and she shivered at the conviction in the tortoiseshell cat's amber eyes.

"I've had lots of questions lately," said Sorreltail. "Nothing has made sense, and I think Lionstar's job as our leader is to help us make sense of it all."

Flashes of images piled into Ivypool's head – Brackenfur's body being dragged into the center of camp, Sorreltail poking her nose into her mate's fur and shivering at the sudden touch of cold, Willowleaf flinching away from Sorreltail when she finally returned to the Clan. All of it made Ivypool's insides twinge, this time with guilt. She had forgotten that Sorreltail, too, had a part to play. They all did. Everything was connected.

The reminder of the cat in her dreams made Ivypool step back and dip her head.

"If I see Lionstar, I'll bring it up to him," she said.

"I know you place great trust in Lionstar, Ivypool," said Sorreltail softly. "I don't want this to seem like an accusation."

"I get what you're saying. A lot is going on," said Ivypool, nodding. Greyheart glanced at Ivypool for the first time, thoughtful. Ivypool met her son's eyes, and wondered if he, too, had questions for her.

She turned away and pushed into Jayfeather's den before she could think anymore on the subject.

"I feel fine, honestly," muttered Mouseclaw. Birdpaw and Willowleaf stood on either side of the young warrior. Birdpaw smiled upon seeing Ivypool.

"Jayfeather is pouting," said Birdpaw. "He had a bad dream, and he's upset about RiverClan and the Gathering."

"Aren't we all," said Ivypool. "Can I complain at him anyways?"

"Good luck," said Willowleaf with a wink. Gritting her teeth, Ivypool pushed past the trio and back into the back of the den. She found Jayfeather sulking in a darker corner of the den.

"Birdpaw is supposed to be telling everyone to leave me alone," said Jayfeather. "I have thinking to do."

"An ally spoke to me last night, when I was watching the border," said Ivypool. "I didn't recognize him, but he said that the other Clans are listening to Old StarClan."

"Yes, I know," said Jayfeather. He lashed his tail. "Willowshine severed our connection for good."

"By speaking up at the Gathering?"

"Willowshine and I share dreams in times of great stress," said Jayfeather. "She thinks that we are holding secrets."

"Everyone thinks that at this point," said Ivypool. She couldn't bother to be surprised by the information on Willowshine.

"It's becoming a problem," said Jayfeather. "And with Willowshine gone, I can no longer monitor the other Clans."

"We could always just trek across the territory," said Ivypool. She lashed her tail. "It wouldn't be that hard."

Jayfeather's ears perked, and for the first time, he looked a little bit alive.

"Are you implying spying on RiverClan?"

Ivypool shrugged.

"I'm worried, too," she said. "If the StarClan we can't trust - he called it Old StarClan - is getting in the minds of the other Clans, we should know for sure what they're saying."

Jayfeather gave a snarky smile.

"I knew there was a reason I liked having you on our side," he said. He lashed his tail. "It will be hard to eavesdrop without Doveheart, and you know you can't bring her."

"I'll bring Mountainstone," said Ivypool. "You think there's something we need to know now?"

"I'm worried that a war is approaching faster than we would like," said Jayfeather. He closed his eyes for a few seconds. "I need to be sure of what's going on."

"I don't mind going at all," said Ivypool. She unsheathed her claws and dug them into the loose terrain. "It feels good to break the rules every once in a while."

XXXX

Mountainstone and Ivypool slunk through the tall reeds, two specks of grey on the thick-brushed riverbanks. Neither said a word. Mountainstone took the lead, with Ivypool half a pawstep behind. Ivypool could nearly read the intense concentration on her former apprentice's face, in every sweep of his eyes and the gentle intake of his breath. He was on, in full mission mode. Ivypool would trust him to get them to RiverClan camp without detection.

The smell of musky river intensified, and then they were crouching behind a clump of bushes and peering into the small strip of land where the curves of the river nearly came together, where RiverClan gathered.

There was nothing unusual about the way the cats moved around camp, intermingling laughs and scents and the slight argument in a corner. Ivypool narrowed her eyes. It was too ordinary – was Mistystar acting alone, then? Wouldn't her Clan be more concerned? She sought out Willowshine, sitting in front of her den and watching her Clan with thoughtful eyes. A normal medicine cat pose, although Jayfeather mostly used his when he was thinking something over that involved the entire Clan. So, was Willowshine the one acting alone? No…

Mountainstone bristled, pressing Ivypool further into the ground without so much as a word. She complied, ducking low and keeping her entire body still. The adrenaline in her felt as though she was back in the Dark Forest, spying along the bushes moments before Hawkfrost or Tigerstar called her out for coming without being called. Then a rather distinctive scent drifted her direction, and her nose wrinkled. ShadowClan?

The laughs and arguments stilled as Oakfur strode into the camp, flanked by a pair of ShadowClan warriors. One was Tigerheart. Ivypool's chest constricted at the sight of the only tom Doveheart had ever loved. Tigerstar's former apprentice, who claimed to be a spy, but Ivypool wasn't sure anymore. Lionstar said that he had been talking to Kestrelflight at the Gathering, inventing information. Doveheart reported seeing him several times, and though he appeared to know about the prophecy, his intentions hadn't been clear.

"Why are they here?" asked Mountainstone. His blue eyes glowed. "I thought they were uninvolved."

"Mistystar will want them involved," said Ivypool. Sure enough, Mistystar hopped down to greet her visitors.

"We've come to discuss this fox you saw on our borders," said Oakfur. "Blackstar believes that you may have chased it farther than was necessary."

"The fox is trivial," said Mistystar. "It's gone."

"Why was RiverClan so deep in ShadowClan territory?" said Oakfur. "It seems deliberate. An invasion?"

"No," said Mistystar. She smiled. "An invitation to talk."

Ivypool stiffened.

"Why couldn't they just go to ShadowClan?" Mountainstone wondered. Ivypool shook her head, although her mind was racing through the possibilities. They wanted ShadowClan in RiverClan territory to surround them. They were about to be hostile. They needed ShadowClan to listen. They didn't want to tell Blackstar.

"This is far too calculated a move to invite us to talk," said Oakfur, although he didn't seem surprised. He flicked his tail. "Flametail thinks this behavior is aggressive. Tell me honestly, Mistystar – what is RiverClan intending to do?"

"StarClan is pointing us in only one direction," said Reedwhisker, materializing at Mistystar's side. "You have noted ThunderClan's distance."

"ThunderClan is behaving no differently than usual," said Oakfur, sounding irritated. "Even if they were, it would be no reason to act so accusing."

"StarClan has given out judgment, not RiverClan," said Mistystar. She took a step closer to Oakfur. "Would you deny StarClan?"

Oakfur glared at her for several long seconds, his jaw set, but there was no aggression quite yet. Mountainstone and Ivypool hesitated, both hanging in the balance of Oakfur's pointed silence. Then, the ShadowClan deputy took a hasty step back.

"StarClan has not spoken in this way to ShadowClan," said Oakfur. "I have no reason to trust you."

"StarClan has entrusted RiverClan with this task," said Reedwhisker. He ushered to Willowshine, who still sat without moving at the edge of the clearing. "Willowshine has had a vision."

"Why her?" said Ivypool as all eyes turned towards the RiverClan medicine cat.

"I've always suspected that ThunderClan has something to hide," said Willowshine calmly. "StarClan points my eyes towards Lionstar and his brood."

Mountainstone shook softly beside her.

"All the leaders saw me leading the quest over the mountains," he said. "It's suspicious."

"Enough of this," said Oakfur, shaking his head as if shaking off a flea. "Are your intentions to harm ThunderClan or not? If they are, I would advise against a RiverClan-ThunderClan war. In the aftermath of these earthquakes, we need to stand united, not divided."

"You would say that, when your Clan suffered so much," said Mistystar. "ShadowClan cannot afford a war, is that it?"

"ShadowClan sees no need for useless violence," said Oakfur.

"Nor does RiverClan," said Mistystar. "We will not battle ThunderClan – why would we? The Clans have seen too much destruction."

"Then what is the meaning of all of this?" said Oakfur. He glanced around the RiverClan camp warily. A shiver rushed up Ivypool's spine. All of RiverClan was watching this exchange in silence, an undivided group. Were they all so set on this goal? Surely there were some cats among them who still wished for peace, who still trusted ThunderClan?

"A warning," said Mistystar. "Nothing more. And some advice."

"Which is what, exactly?" said Oakfur.

"That if a battle does start up," said Mistystar in a measured tone, "that ShadowClan is too weak to take part in it."

Mountainstone stiffened as Oakfur hissed in protest, and he nudged Ivypool away from the bushes.

"Warriors nearby," said Mountainstone. "Hurry."

Nodding, Ivypool ducked back into the reeds, sticking to the river bank. Mountainstone gasped, standing up quick and tall. Ivypool scented the air.

"They knew we were here," he said. "They've closed us in."

Ivypool glanced backwards, at the river, and then at all sides. She did not see an exit. She could smell the RiverClan patrol, pressing in from all sides. But it was only when Graymist and Blackclaw stepped into the clearing before them did she truly unsheathe her claws. It was a mistake.

"Two ThunderClan warriors, headed away from RiverClan's camp," said Blackclaw. "That's odd. I didn't think there was a negotiation party."

"We came to speak to Mistystar," said Ivypool, stepping in front of Mountainstone. She was the liar here. This was her terrain.

"Then why are you leaving camp?" said Graymist, her eyes flashing. He growled, low in his throat. "It sounds to me that ThunderClan came here to spy."

"Why would we do that?" said Mountainstone, although Ivypool cursed how hostile his voice was.

"The deputy's littermate and the leader's kit," said Blackclaw in a biting tone. Three more RiverClan warriors appeared to their left. Ivypool cursed silently. She didn't want to have to fight through. "Can you get any more official?"

"We came to speak to Mistystar," said Ivypool again. "We smelled ShadowClan and turned back. It is not our business to interfere in two-Clan conflicts. We will return later."

"Oh, but you came all the way here," said Graymist. "Surely you don't want to have to come back?"

"It's not a problem at all," said Ivypool.

"I insist," said Graymist. "Mistystar would like to hear what you have to say, in any case."

Ivypool gritted her teeth as they came closer.

"What is this mission about, anyways?" said Blackclaw.

"A message," said Ivypool. "I won't share it with every RiverClan warrior that passes through."

"In RiverClan, there is no hierarchy," said Blackclaw savagely. "Every warrior has right to know his leader's secrets."

Those words weren't right. Ivypool resisted the urge to stiffen, but Mountainstone puffing up into full battle mode didn't help her case. At last, she gritted her teeth.

"Fine," she said. "Fine, you win. We wanted to ask Mistystar about the Gathering. Lionstar didn't send us."

"No?" said Graymist. "You're close to Lionstar."

"He doesn't know we're here," said Ivypool.

"Who does, then?" said Blackclaw. "Two warriors, on their own? Has ThunderClan gone to nonsense?"

"I will defend my Clan's honor," said Ivypool. "Through any means necessary."

"Honor has left you," said Blackclaw. "Let's go to camp."

Mountainstone shot Ivypool a despairing look, sliding his claws out slowly. The sandy apprentice shadowing Graymist shrank back, but Ivypool hissed a warning, and the well-built silver warrior relaxed.

"There's no need to fight," said Ivypool. "We'll go with you."

They walked the last few paces to RiverClan's camp in a tense silence.

"ThunderClan!" said Reedwhisker at once. Ivypool held her head high. "Ivypool and Mountainstone. What business do you have here?"

"They're spying for 'the honor of ThunderClan,'" sneered Graymist. "They claim that no one sent them."

"Just instinct," said Ivypool. "And worry about what will happen. I had a tip off that the connection between our Clans was fading." She couldn't help but glance over at Willowshine as she said so.

The medicine cat held Ivypool's eyes for several tense seconds, and then she turned into her den, tail lashing.

God, RiverClan is cray. I really hope it makes sense why Willowshine is so angry - I mean, Jayfeather has been withholding information from her since War of Shadows, and no, she isn't happy about it. I feel her pain. Plus, she's the type of cat to trust StarClan with everything.

We're finally using the terms Old and New StarClan. FINALLY. It makes things SO much easier.

Next chapter coming soon. Don't forget to review, favorite, and follow! Thanks, everyone!

~Elsi