A/N: Thanks for coming back for another chapter! I'm really writing like crazy on this guy, and I hope to get it done soon, before Christmas. I'm also juggling with the idea of making a sequel: good idea, or no? There's a lot more story to get into, and it's too much for one story. Opions? :)

Chapter Thirty-One: The Forgotten

Lionpaw swayed in shock. Pebbleheart was... dead?

The whole Clan seemed to freeze, and suffocate in their silence.

"You murdered her!" Dustleg, Brightpaw's mentor, screeched.

Shocked, furious roars immediately rung out. They surged at Coldstar and his four muscled warriors. They dropped Pebbleheart's dead body, but to Lionpaw's surprise, did not bare their teeth, or even flinch. They simply stood, staring coldly at the surrounding Clan.

"What is this, Coldstar?" Snowstar asked, staring at Pebbleheart's body with icy horror creeping into his eyes. He looked up to meet Coldstar's fierce gaze.

A tense silence followed, broken by the agonized cries of a few lionesses, staring at the medicine-lion's dead, dirty body.

"We discovered Pebbleheart's body on our territory," Coldstar said quietly. "She was dumped on the every edge of our line, right next to yours."

Amberpaw was trembling violently next to Lionpaw. His head buzzing, he turned, and tried to comfort his sister- that was her dead mentor there, he realized slowly. Everything seemed to be going in slow-motion, and nothing made sense anymore.

"Who killed her?" Snowstar asked hoarsely.

Curlclaw and Bluefur shouldered their way through the crowd to stand by Snowstar. A ways off, Lionpaw noticed Buzzardflight sitting with Brightpaw and Cricketpaw. Behind them,

Rowanpaw was standing next to Frostpaw, his eyes round with shock. Frostpaw touched her tail to her brother's flank, somewhat shakily, as if trying to comfort him, when really she couldn't even comfort herself.

"The scent on her body was... unmistakeable," Coldstar replied, voice now empty of any coldness, and full of his own confusion. "It was your deputy's scent... Longfang."

A choked silence was thrust upon LightningClan. Horror spiked in Lionpaw's heart. His enemy. Longfang was still out there. Pebbleheart must have gone out in the morning, and he'd found her... Fury burned in his stomach. Pebbleheart had been the root of a confusing, dark secret buried deep in the Clan's past, but Lionpaw hadn't wanted her to die for it. And now,

LightningClan was without a medicine-lion.

Longfang had claimed another victim.

"Why would your deputy want to hurt your medicine-lion?" Coldstar asked shakily.

The Clan stiffened; the air was so thick with shooting emotions, Lionpaw could practically taste the tenseness.

"It is a long story," Snowstar answered heavily, looking, to Lionpaw's fear, defeated. "Longfang is no longer LightningClan's deputy, nor even a part of my Clan. He had been Banished."

Coldstar kept his face carefully arranged, but his surprise showed clearly through the panther's gleaming eyes. His four warriors looked shocked as well. "But why? Longfang was a great warrior!"

"He was a killer!" came a sudden voice. All eyes turned for yet another surprise- Blackscar, slinking from the depths of his Clanmates. The scrawny lion approached Coldstar, and as soon as the DarkClan leader recognized who it was, a sneer fell upon his face.

"If it isn't the little rule-breaker himself, Blackscar," he taunted, tail lashing. "Who are you to speak for your Clan, little lion?"

"Do not talk to my brother that way," Snowstar said in a soft growl.

The tension, if possible, had risen, and Lionpaw saw teeth finally being bared, and wondered if a struggle would erupt right in camp. The blood roaring in his ears, he stared at Pebbleheart's
body, still lying limp at the paws of the DarkClan panthers, and felt a shocking wave of sadness crash over him. He remembered the times when she'd been his friend... before everything had been revealed... and suddenly, all the anger he felt at Pebbleheart was gone.

She had been brilliant. Trained in healing and medicine, Pebbleheart had served the Clan with an unshakable pride. And yes, she made mistakes; greatest of all, she fell in love with Firerunner. And no matter how the dead lion had tried to convince Lionpaw of otherwise, he knew it must be true. Pebbleheart had fallen in love, and it had ruined her. She'd gotten hurt, and her brilliance gone, she'd pulled into herself, becoming less sane as the moons went by, but all carefully hidden under her calm mask. She'd done well, keeping herself together for a long, long time after the murder of her beloved. Pebbleheart had lived for LightningClan... and no matter how many mistakes she made, Lionpaw knew she deserved more than to die, and simply be forgotten in a fight between Clans.

"Thank you for bringing her body," came a new voice. Lionpaw blinked, and it took him a moment to realize: he was the one speaking now. Suddenly, many pairs of narrowed eyes swiveled to see his frame walk carefully towards the two leaders, and, as if guided by quiet forces, felt himself talk again.

"Please... do not start a fight now, of all times. A beloved medicine-lion is dead. We must honor her... and we must stop this fighting," Lionpaw urged his father, and Coldstar. Everyone stared at him in awe, torn between his bravery at speaking up and his stupidity at talking like an equal to Clan leaders.

"What is this, Snowstar?" Coldstar asked at last, sizing up Lionpaw's muscled frame through cool eyes. "A future leader, no doubt?" he went on, a hint of mockery in his tone.

Lionpaw stared at Coldstar, refusing to be touched by his words.

"Lionpaw is right," Bluefur murmured, gazing at her mate, then at her son. "Pebbleheart is dead. It's foolish to fight in such a dark time, when we need to work together to ward off worse forces."

"What "worse forces"?" Coldstar asked softly.

"That is not your business right now," Snowstar rumbled. "All you need to know is that Longfang is out there, and... is dangerous." He swallowed hard. "Thank you for bringing her body," he added, voice cracking.

Coldstar's eyes flashed, and then he backed up, clearly displeased. "Farewell, Snowstar. I hope all your problems..." His eyes rested briefly on Blackscar and Brightpaw, then on Pebbleheart's dead body, "... go away. We shall talk soon," he snarled, and with that, bounded away into the jungle. His four warriors followed, and in seconds, the DarkClan panthers were gone.
As soon as they were out of sight, the Clan erupted into noise.

"Did Longfang really murder Pebbleheart?"

"What are we going to do about a medicine-lion?"

"We must send out a patrol to hunt him down!"

"What has LightningClan done to deserve this?"

"Silence!" Snowstar roared, his voice echoing furiously around the camp. They all fell silent at once. Lionpaw slipped away from his parents and stood with Brightpaw and Frostpaw, who both looked equally alarmed.

"That was brave," Frostpaw managed softly.

"You're a complete idiot. Did you forget you're not a leader?" Brightpaw asked, but not a trace of humor in his dead eyes. His jaw was clenched, and he looked angry for some reason.

Lionpaw realized it was because Coldstar had taunted Blackscar about "breaking the rules"... pertaining to moons ago, when he had an affair with Littlecloud, which resulted in Brightpaw's birth.

"Pebbleheart was murdered by Longfang," Snowstar called out to his Clan, pacing now, his huge, muscled frame rippling with anger, and his eyes glittering. "And he will pay for his sins. Before another lion is killed, from any Clan, we must stop him."

Roars of agreement surged from all around them. Frostpaw looked panicked, and Lionpaw's head was spinning.
"No... they can't go searching for him... it's surely a trap!" he gasped.

"Longfang killed Pebbleheart so that we'd go looking for him," Brightpaw snarled. "Of course..."

"They're walking into a trap if they go out there now. Longfang can't be alone... he must have followers of some sort. It'll become a battle, and we can't sustain any more loss," Lionpaw whispered, stomach lurching as he thought of Pebbleheart again.

"Snowstar!" he called out, tail lashing. Everyone fell quiet as they looked at him. Ears burning under their critical gazes, Lionpaw shakily spoke up. "If you lead a patrol out to find Longfang, you're only sending them to their deaths. Longfang has set a trap, and Pebbleheart was the prey!"

Snowstar stared at Lionpaw; his wise eyes burning, he looked nothing like the gentle, strong father Lionpaw always looked up to. He was a defeated, angry lion, eager for only revenge. This scared Lionpaw.

"Lionpaw, we have to take a chance. We cannot sit around for another lion to be hurt," he hissed.

"But you can't do this!" Lionpaw shouted.

"You forget your place, Lionpaw. I am the leader of LightningClan, not you," Snowstar answered quietly.

"But-"

"Lions are dying, Lionpaw," Snowstar said, voice shivering with barely-suppressed anger. "What would you have me do?"

"Sit, and wait for the proper time to attack!" Lionpaw cried desperately. "Snowstar, please-"

"Curlclaw, assemble a patrol. We're going to find Longfang, and make him pay," Snowstar rumbled, turning to face his deputy. "We leave at once."

Eager cries broke out like lightning in a dark sky among the crowd of lions. Lionpaw shakily stepped back, staring at the wave of faces. They were angry, and bent on revenge. Now, he knew, the true danger of the Lions had awoken. They were not warriors, willing to fight by law and respect; but ready to torture and kill.

"This can't happen," he hissed under his breath.

Curlclaw, his powerful frame weaving among the warriors, passed Lionpaw as he recruited lions quickly. Lionpaw, seeing his last chance slip past him like fish in a creek, leapt towards his new deputy. "Curlclaw!" he growled.

The tall warrior turned his gaze upon Lionpaw. "What is it, Lionpaw?" he murmured.

Lionpaw stared earnestly into the deputy's eyes. "You have to understand. If you send out a patrol, lions are going to get hurt," he said urgently.

There was a pause, where the buzzing noises of the nervous Clan seemed to fade for a heartbeat. Lionpaw saw sadness pool in Curlclaw's eyes, and his breath caught.

"I believe we must take action now, Lionpaw. But I understand how torn you feel," he added softly. "I'm sorry... but Snowstar is my leader. His word is law."

With that, the great lion turned away, and Lionpaw's last hope was dead.

Anger gripped Lionpaw. Why was nobody listening? He snarled softly to himself and turned away. Brightpaw and Frostpaw seemed to materialize before him, amidst the confusion of the swirling, moving Clan and their raised voices. Their eyes gleamed unhappily in the darkness.

"There's nothing we can do to stop them, Lionpaw. They want revenge. Pebbleheart is now dead because of Longfang; don't you want to make sure her death was not in vain?" Frostpaw whispered quickly, tail lashing.

A strange crash of grief hit Lionpaw at once, as he thought again of the wasted talent and loyalty now dead. It was the end of Pebbleheart's story, a long, tangled story that Lionpaw wasn't ready to give up on. Surely this wasn't how it ended? After the struggle of Firerunner and Longfang all those moons ago... after the many, many moons of dreaded silence Pebbleheart kept to save her own life... did it all add up to this? A simple murder and a war? It wasn't right.

"I'm staying here," Lionpaw said quietly.

Brightpaw touched a striped tail to his friend's shoulder. "We're right beside you, Lionpaw."

Lionpaw stared at him, and sighed. "Thanks," he murmured.

Around them, the crowd of lions had split. Curlclaw was rounding up a small group that Lionpaw assumed, bitterly, was meant to go hunt for Longfang. Snowstar had jumped down from the High Rock, and was now muttering something into Curlclaw's ear. A ways off, a small throng of lions were grouped together, talking urgently.
"I'll bet my tail that's the group who's off to fight," Brightpaw muttered darkly, jabbing a claw in the direction of the group Curlclaw and Snowstar were now talking to. Lionpaw knew all the faces there... Dustmane, Redflower, Shiverpelt, Sunpelt, Ivytail, Emberfoot, and finally, Dustleg, Brightpaw's cold-tongued mentor. Even Rowanpaw was sidling towards the group, eyes hungry for war. Brightpaw eyed him with mild dislike.

"The leader and deputy are leaving?" Frostpaw said in shock, eyes wide as she observed the group. "That's dangerous... Lionpaw, Snowstar is wrong..."
Both Brightpaw and Lionpaw looked round at her, outright startled. She'd never accused Snowstar of anything before, being religiously loyal about her Clan. The fact that even Frostpaw thought something was up convinced Lionpaw that he wasn't alone on this.

Cricketpaw and Buzzardflight passed, apparently arguing. "Buzzardflight, don't do this. Lionpaw is my brother, and I believe him when he says it's too dangerous."

"He's your brother," Buzzardflight answered, somewhat frostily, "not mine, and therefore his logic doesn't pertain to me. I have been asked to join the hunt, and I will honor my Clan."

"Then if not for Lionpaw, do it for me," Cricketpaw begged. "Buzzardflight, I'm scared. Don't go out there."

Buzzardflight stared at her, expression unfathomable. Lionpaw saw the slightest hint of a struggle in his eyes, and he knew the lion was battling between his longing to listen to Cricketpaw, and his urge to obey the Clan. Finally, he sighed, and broke away.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I have to do this."

He turned away then, and Cricketpaw stared after him, fury mounting in her gaze.

"Then don't bother coming back!" she snarled. "I won't be waiting for you!"

Frostpaw made a soft sound of dismay and hurtled toward her friend, to comfort her. Brightpaw was watching with unease, glancing at Lionpaw. "This is terrible," he muttered. "The Clan's dividing because of some stupid idea to go hunt a killer... and they've all forgotten about Pebbleheart," he added sadly.

Lionpaw shivered as cold realization trickled over him. This what what Longfang wanted to do to the Clan. He wanted to rip them apart, destroy trust and love, and make them angry, suspicious, fast to attack and slow to forgive. It was chaos. Lionpaw licked his lips, heart racing uncomfortably in his chest.

"We leave at once," Snowstar called to the Clan. "I leave Bluefur in charge, as Curlclaw and I will both be part of the hunt. Keep a look out, and protect the camp while we are gone. The true danger lies not here, but where we are going," he said grimly. "I trust you all, and... I know this is for the greater good." His eyes came to a stop on the grubby body of Pebbleheart, lying forever motionless in the heart of the camp. "Longfang must pay."

A swell of agreement rose from the warriors, and Lionpaw, hunched together with Brightpaw, Cricketpaw, and Frostpaw, watched as Snowstar gave his whole Clan a final, quiet nod, before leaping down, and slowly leading the thick of warriors into the stinging bush surrounding the camp. Eyes gleamed and pelts moved, paws racing over the hard ground, but at long last, they all faded into the shadows. And the camp was left achingly empty.

Lionpaw stood, body rigid. They were alone, and for some reason, he felt bracingly exposed and vulnerable. Without the powerful figures of Snowstar or the new deputy, Curlclaw, it was like the moon was empty from the sky, leaving the stars alone to glitter sadly.

"They can't be long," Rainheart murmured from behind them. The four apprentices turned to see the pretty lioness gazing at the camp entrance with mingled sadness and longing in her eyes. Lionpaw's eyes swept over the remaining warriors who were left to guard the camp; and, to his unease, realized the forces were minimal.

Leafstorm, Rainheart, and Foxsong, the three queens, were gathered by the nursery. A ways off, Grasstail stood by the camp entrance, his eyes nervous slits. And the only other male warrior in the camp was Blackscar, looking beaten and sunken as he slunk into the shadows of the warrior den.

Bluefur sat on top of the High Rock, her posture excellent, and her tail wrapped around her bluish paws. Her eyes gleamed out at the night, and Lionpaw gazed up at his mother, feeling a weak flame of pride in his chest. She would guard the camp well, he knew.

A ways off, Amberpaw was slumped by Pebbleheart's dead body. An uncomfortable lump growing in his throat, Lionpaw moved away from his friends to approach his sister and her dead mentor. When he touched his tail to her flank, she twitched involuntarily, and turned her dull eyes to face Lionpaw.
"She's really gone," she murmured after a moment.

Lionpaw held her gaze sadly. "Yeah... she's really gone," he muttered, scuffing the ground with his paw. He didn't look directly at the dead body placed carefully before him, swathed in a curtain of silver moonlight. She could have been sleeping.

Trembling, Amberpaw moved forward, and began rasping her tongue over Pebbleheart's grubby fur, clumped in spots with blood and dirt. And there, by her delicate throat, was a single slash, like claws had ripped their way through her skin. Lionpaw looked away quickly, feeling a sickening blend of anger and revulsion rise in him.

"These are dark times," came a quiet voice beside them. Lionpaw peered up, surprised to see Blackscar there, gazing at Pebbleheart with an unreadable expression. "So much grief for the Clans lately... so much blood spilled..." His voice trailed off, and Lionpaw got the peculiar feeling that Blackscar was talking more to himself than he was to Lionpaw.
"Why didn't you join the hunt?" Lionpaw asked Brightpaw's father softly.

Blackscar's eyes refocused and flashed uncertainly as he looked at Lionpaw, as if seeing him for the first time. "Oh... the hunt?" He paused, as if asking himself this very question. "It's not my place to join them. I am not welcome, in any case," he added, but there was no trace of regret or scorn in his tone. Just pure truth. Blackscar was forever an outsider in his Clan, and even now, moons after his choice to take a mate from another Clan, there were lions who felt he didn't deserve to live with them.

But before Lionpaw could reply to Blackscar, there came a terrified snarl from Grasstail a ways off. Bluefur, sitting watchfully on the huge rock that overlooked the camp, sat straighter and her fur bristled uneasily. Without warning, eight huge cats smashed through the bristles and snags of the camp entrance, and landed powerfully, tails lashing, mouths drawn in ugly snarls. And there, slipping from the back of the group, came the largest cat of the them all, his dark pelt blurring with the shadows around him, and his unusually long fangs bared in a delighted sneer.

"So you are the only warriors left?" Longfang asked in a high, cold voice. "Well... this will certainly be easier than I thought."

Dang... ANOTHER cliffhanger? This guy... haha, I'll try to update soon, pinkie promise. Until then, review?