A LOT of thanks to Snowfang and Lilyheart! You two rock!

Chapter 51

Emberfoot's POV

The rage of battle was wailing in the sky as cats from every Clan and Tribe were fighting against the new BloodClan cats, lead by Jenny. Emberfoot was fighting with all his might against two BloodClan cats. He was trying to land blows on a black tom and a cream and white she-cat. They were both closing in on him.

"What's wrong? I thought you forest cats were tough," the tom said, mocking him. "You look thin, seems like you didn't get enough prey on your journey. Don't look so tough to bat us, do you now? Right, Frost?"

"Of course, Smoke," the she-cat replied. Emberfoot backed up until he felt huge rocks behind him. He was trapped.

"Oh look, Frost, he has nowhere to go. Maybe I should give him a good swipe before he runs away." Emberfoot saw Smoke raise a paw as he braced himself for pain. All of a sudden, a bright flash hit him and he saw three scenes in front of him, and the cry of battle dimmed out of his ears in an eerie sky. Emberfoot looked around.

"Hello?" he meowed, an echo followed it. Shrugging, Emberfoot padded closer to the scenes that had appeared when the bright flash of light came. The first one showed Smoke about to strike him. Rain That Passes Quickly, the Tribe's cave-guard, suddenly tried to lunge for the two cats, but missing them, which caused Emberfoot to get vicious, bleeding claw marks across his face. The next one showed the same, except Rain landed on top of Smoke, and the claws raked Rain's underbelly and missed Emberfoot. The last one showed Emberfoot batting Smoke's paw down and Rain headbutting Smoke and Frost. "What is this?" Emberfoot asks, studying the scenes closer.

"Well, looking at them won't help," a new voice croaked. Emberfoot turned around as mist gathered into a starry form. It was a pinkish-gray she-cat.

"Who are you?" Emberfoot asked, more curious than afraid.

"You may not know me, but I am Heatherstar, former leader of WindClan. I am here to tell you something, but I am sure you want to know where you are first. This may sound confusing, but you are in your mind. What you are seeing are futures, possible futures, and some of them are ones that you can influence, like the last one," Heatherstar pointed out. "I am here to tell you that you are special. You have been given this power for a reason, so use it wisely. You enter and exit by focusing on the scene you wish to choose."

Heatherstar looked back. "I'm sorry, but my time here is limited. Good luck." The image of Heatherstar slowly dissolved.

"Wait, what? I have questions I wanted to ask!" he exclaimed.

He was answered with silence, once again greeted with the glare of the three scenes. Slowly, he walked toward the third scene, and the sounds of battle arose again in his eardrums, and soon he was staring at Smoke again.

"You look like you've seen a badger. What, too scared of my paw?" Smoke said with a menacing smile.

Emberfoot's eyes narrowed. "No, and by the way, I live on the moor, and there are muscles under this thin pelt," he said, batting Smoke's paw down. Emberfoot heard a yowl through all the battle cries, and Rain tumbled onto Smoke and Frost. Emberfoot got up and lashed at them with the cave-guard at his side until they turned and ran. His blood rushed with the thrill of battle.

"Now let's get the rest of them," Rain yowled. Emberfoot yowled along with her as he plunged into the heat of battle. He ran into the middle of the clearing, and he saw Dovewing getting lashed by two other BloodClan cats. He quickly ran over to Dovewing's side and started to battle a BloodClan cat. Suddenly they both got knocked over by something he couldn't see. Emberfoot could see that Dovewing was okay, so he glanced around, looking for any attackers. A shriek pierced the air. Emberfoot turned around and saw Rain being clawed by a bulky gray tom.

"I'm coming!" he exclaimed and ran to Rain's side. Emberfoot barged into the tom and started lashing him. The tom quickly saw that the odds were against him and ran away.

"Thanks," said Rain as she caught her breath. "I really needed your help," she said, looking up. Then suddenly the moonlight shone in Rain's eyes. They twinkled in the light, and Emberfoot was dazed by the sight. She looks so pretty...

No! This can't happen! Emberfoot thought. My only love is for Sedgewhisker and my daughters, Larkwing and Ferntail.

He was suddenly brought back to reality as a black and red she-cat pounced on him. Emberfoot dodged the attack and turned around to find Jenny. Rain shrieked at the surprise. She tried to help, but Jenny was too strong and she clenched Emberfoot's throat between her paws

"Now is the time to win!" Jenny yowled. Every cat stopped fighting. Jenny showed her sharp fangs and sank them in his throat. Emberfoot shrieked at the pain. It felt like poison in his body.

"No! Stop!" Rain screeched. She pounced on Jenny and ripped her fangs out of Emberfoot's throat. Jenny, injured badly, was knocked to the floor.

Jenny got up slowly, bloodied. Every BloodClan cat was shocked to see Jenny hurt so badly. Rain was hissing menacingly. Emberfoot never seen her so angry. "We don't want to hurt you, but if you want to go killing everyone for no viable reason, then we will make sure you regret it with your life," Rain hissed. The other traveling cats started hissing too and everybody was in battle position.

Jenny looked around at the angry cats. "Fine, but this isn't the last time you'll see BloodClan," she snarled. "Keep your eyes open, fellow strangers. Keep your ears pricked. Keep looking behind you. Because one day BloodClan will find you, and then you'll be sorry," Jenny hissed. She turned her back, signaling her cats to follow and soon they were gone.

"Well, we won, but it looks like some of us still have battles to fight," Onestar said, glancing at Emberfoot with concern in his gaze. Emberfoot could feel heat pulsing on his throat. He closed his eyes and felt soft fur against his. Is it you, Sedgewhisker? he thought. Am I dead? Has StarClan finally come for me?

"Don't worry, you will be all right. Stoneteller is looking for herbs right now," he heard Rain's soft, soothing voice in his ear. Emberfoot opened his eyes and saw Rain looking down on him. She looked so pretty in the moonlight, even if her fur was a bit disheveled. She… Stop! I can't betray Sedgewhisker like this!

"I… I can't do this," Emberfoot croaked weakly. "I have a mate."

He looked at her surprised and sad face for one last time before his vision blurred out of sight.