Chapter 25: The threat of war...

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOO

NEON UPDATED THE STORY!? WHAT THE?!

SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY

IVE BEEN GONE FOR SOOO LONG!

ONE WORD: Exams... ive been revising for 2 weeks for my end of year maths tests, but THEY ARE DONE! GOSH THEY WERE EVIL!

AND THE DREADED WRITTING BLOCK!

SO as a result of this I haven't been able to plan, or even think about writing. :'( But now I can!

We've only got about 5 more chapters in this book, then onto the next one!

So, I need to think how I'm going to finish this one off, I know what will be the final chapter, and it's going to be a major cliffie! Whereas the other chapters I'm not sure what I'm going to do...

Ideally this series will be six books long, if I can think of enough plots to keep it going.. BRAIN STORM TIME!

IMPORTANT!

On the subject of your oc being in the story I can do that, except asking for me to do so in a guest review which I can't reply to is a bit of a pain. :D I can't answer guest reviews sorry :'( fanfiction won't let me :D

So do this:

Name (warrior one too please) :

Clan:

Appearance:

Personality:

Thanking you :D

So on with the story, are any of you Whovians out there? Is anyone else sharing pain about Matt Smith's departure as the doctor :'( Him and David Tennant are my joint favs :D I wonder who the next one will be? O.O O_O o.O who do you think will be the next one?! :D ;D

Ravenpaw scrambled in her sleep, her paws kicking messy moss high into the air. She whimpered pitifully, her tail twitching as her nightmare unfolded. Her head ached, her surroundings changing every second, blurring then swirling and finally taking form once again, for Ravenpaw to realise her location was different. Her head was a constant moan of pain, with sudden larger jolts of agony when her location changed yet again.

She was now in a forest, it was always the thunderclan forest, or well tonight at least. But the constant image was of cats fighting, she would feel drawn to one cat, (they changed whenever the surroundings changed) she felt like she was viewing it as a ghost. She was watching the battle with Darkclan from a range of thunderclan cat's perspectives. She was looking through her own eyes, but would follow one cat.

The true agony was her head, filled with the cat's pain and anguish every time they were given a bad blow. Their thoughts screaming in her head, their fear exploding in her heart, and their pain making her skin burn like fire, and the most agonising, her head boiling with the pain of all of thunderclan. Sometimes her vision would fade, and she would find she would open her eyes to look down and see different paws. She occasionally saw through the cat's eyes, and that was when their pain was made more explosive.

Ravenpaw didn't know how many minds she was feeling or seeing that night, she had lost count. But she couldn't feel time passing, it was like reality through frozen ice, and Ravenpaw was left to drown slowly under the ice in the bottom of a cold riverbed.

Suddenly she found herself flung into a different perspective, she was staring at Wolfpaw. His amber eyes glinted brightly despite his clearly bloodstained fur, they challenged his opponent, a large brown tom who was obviously a warrior. The warrior grinned and leapt for Wolfpaw, slamming his claws into his neck, and draining the light from the grey tom's bright eyes. Wolfpaw struggled, pitifully clawing at the warrior's legs, but to no advantage. He was far too small.

Ravenpaw felt Wolfpaw's fear rise higher than the moon, his blood sticking on her fur and his pain throbbing in her head. She closed her eyes and shook her head, sticking her claws in the ground, trying to focus on the pain and push it out her mind. It didn't work. She looked down at her faded form and knew she couldn't help Wolfpaw.

Then, her heart froze and a single tear crawled down her cheek and splattered on the ground as Wolfpaw's eyes locked with hers as the warrior tore out his throat, sending blood high into the air and a droplet like her tear, landed on the tip of her nose.

...

Wolfpaw paced outside the apprentice den, Songpaw had been released from the den in the morning, with advice of no activity and plenty of sleep, Swiftpaw was still sleeping, under the influence of the poppy seeds to take away the pain of her neck wound. Stormpaw was out on a walk with his mentor to keep him active, when he was banned from any training or patrols due to a large scratch over his eye. Then there was Ravenpaw. Who had been unconscious since the battle. That was two days ago, it was now the third sunrise since the battle. The shadowclan warriors had left at dawn but Littlecloud had refused to leave and stayed behind to help Jayfeather, insisting his apprentice would be able to care for Shadowclan in his absence.

Thunderclan had been won but only with the help of Shadowclan, without the dark warriors Thunderclan would have been beaten and half their territory would be owned by Darkclan. Wolfpaw found the circumstances fairly embarrassing but he was relived his clan had even survived. He closed his amber eyes, the image of Dustpelt's mangled body being hauled into camp flashed in his head, followed by Swiftpaw being attacked and almost murdered by Nightpaw. He opened his eyes again as he remembered his dramatic discovery on the night of the battle.

He looked at his paws, where scars or healed wounds should have been his fur was still there and the skin underneath completely untouched and intact. When he discovered this madness that his body could heal at a remarkable and unexplainable rate he was excited, he heat of the battle and the new found knowledge of every battle move ever made on him imprinted in his mind made him confident, he used his power to his advantage, learning moves and copying them perfectly when he only needed to see them once, and then being able to heal so he could keep fighting, he saved his sister.

But now was different.

His head was swarming with the knowledge he had, he was terrified he wasn't normal. Finally stopping pacing he sat down, finding his paws had taken him outside the camp he decided no one could see him and hung his head in despair and hopelessness.

...

Mysticpaw padded into his nest, his bones aching and pelt oozing blood. His ears were bleeding and his head was throbbing from a painful clawing. Apart from that he was ok. Of course thunderclan had shocked him slightly, they didn't seem to be the mouse hearted cowards he was taught they were. In fact, they fought fair and with honour, they seemed quite powerful at one point. However, Darkclan's unfair moves had beaten the courageous clan until Shadowclan had come to their aid and had sent Mysticpaw's clan screeching back into Darkclan's forest.

He drew a small paw over his ear, feeling the blood dampen his fur. Oh well. Minnowtail has enough on her paws... he shrugged as he sank into his nest. He silently prayed the Darkforest wouldn't call on him tonight. He wanted to have a chance to sleep.

The mentors as they were also referred to had called on him much more than they used to. He frequently was called to the Darkforest for extra training being told it was a privilege and he should be honoured.

But he wasn't.

Mysticpaw was glad the Darkforest couldn't read his mind, or he would have been reduced to a pile of bones by now. He gulped as he remembered the danger in his situation. He was becoming very close to the dark forest warriors. His father has informed him that he should expect to be recruited into a higher training program along with Nightpaw and Redpaw.

He had been doing everything the Darkforest had told him, in the hope he could find out information and possibly stay alive. Darkclan was trapped within Tigerstar's claws. The clan's warriors were sworn to loyalty to the dead cats and if any order was disobeyed they would be killed without question. Mysticpaw wanted to know what murders and traitors were planning. They seemed more secretive than usual, and with the constant battle training he couldn't help but anticipate something terrible was coming.

He was at war with himself though. His entire life he had been taught to be loyal to the Darkforest, and he knew nothing different from the satisfaction of ripping a cat's throat out. But after watching thunderclan fight, and meeting Ravenpaw, his conscience was waking up and he felt a tug towards the more honourable warriors of thunderclan.

There was more to life than killing.

After thinking about Ravenpaw, his mind stuck to the slender thunderclan apprentice. Mysticpaw often thought about her, and tried to catch a peek of her on patrols, but unfortunately he never did. He saw her today, twisting and leaping. Outsmarting his clanmates quickly and with a cunning grin. Mysticpaw grinned picturing her smirk as she raced around Redpaw and slashed his ears. He closed his eyes hoping her bright green eyes would keep the monsters of the Darkforest away.

Amber eyes locked on the twisted roots of a tree. With a sniff which was hastily followed by a tiny gag, Mysticpaw realised he had been dragged into the shadows of the Darkforest. He groaned before leaping to his paws, being careful to keep his act up, which possibly was the only thing keeping him alive. Following a familiar path he silently stalked through the sticky ferns and leech like mud. The smell might have been the worst thing, the constant smell of death and decay and the tide of salty blood. Mysticpaw bit back the threat of throwing up and continued. I hate this place..

Voices up ahead made his sliced ears prick. Pinpointing on the source he shifted into a stealthy crouch, sliding across the muddy floor like a snake. He reached the edge of a clearing, one he had never been to. His amber eyes sharpened with interest, as he realised this was a place the warriors had tried to keep a secret. Tigerstar sat on top of a small rock, but one large enough to show he was the one with the authority. Stupid tom, always reminding them he's their leader.. I wonder if they'll ever tire of it..

The other cats sat in a circle, Mapleshade, Thistleclaw, Hawkfrost, Snowtuft, Darkstripe and NIGHTPAW!?

Mysticpaw gaped at his brother, two different coloured eyes gleamed, green and orange glinting brightly. He sat next to Hawkfrost, and he was only a few mouse lengths shorter than the large tom. Mysticpaw looked at his own paws and realised he had grown too, he was only a few moons away from being a adult size. He frowned at his brother, wondering why he had become so close to the warriors.

"The training must become more intense if we are to ever gain control. We need Darkclan to be the strongest it can be. That means more cats Nightpaw." Tigerstar frowned at the black apprentice. "I will tell my father." Nightpaw bowed his head.

Tigerstar grinned. "Excellent. We will need to train more. And I want an elite group." He commanded.

"huh?" Darkstripe grunted.

Hawkfrost rolled his eyes, while Tigerstar fluffed up his pelt in annoyance. "You idiot. Why did I even bring you here? Your head is too full of mouse dung for you to even keep this secret! I want an elite group, a group of the best fighters in Darkclan, they will be my strongest warriors. I want Redpaw, Nightpaw and Mysticpaw to be in there especially."

Why me?

"When are you going to tell us your plan anyway Tigerstar?" growled Snowtuft.

Tigerstar silenced him with a glare of fire. "The time is too far away, we need our adopted sons to grow. I want to train those three apprentices, until they do whatever I say, and then when the time is right, they will be my most powerful warriors." Tigerstar ended with a purr that sent shivers down Mysticpaw's spine.

"What if they don't cooperate?" Hawkfrost mewed.

"Then they, and everything they care about will be tortured, crushed and fade away from this disgusting world." Tigerstar spat.

Mysticpaw gasped quietly, but with a thudding heart saw Mapleshade's ear lock on him.

Holding his breath he slithered back to where he came from, once he was far enough away he sprinted along a well used track, putting as much distance from him and the deadly warriors as he could. He remembered Antpelt's warning, that the Darkforest could never be trusted, now that he had heard a slight leak in Tigerstar's plot, his trust n them was falling deeper down a hole and he doubted it would ever come back. And the whole death threat wasn't helping either.

After running for a long time his ragged breathing eventually took hold and he settled down in the shadows of a fallen tree. His legs shook as exhaustion took over, beginning to ache after the long sprint. But he didn't care that much, his head was too full of the betrayal he had just faced. He had grown up with the knowledge that the Darkforest were the ones to follow, the path of greatness and strength, but now they seemed to be only cold hearted murderers. Mysticpaw knew he had to do what they wanted though, Tigerstar had made his threat. At first he only thought it was more training, but with all the suspicion lurking in the shadows, Mysticpaw now knew it was going to go to a far further extent.

DOONNNNEEEE

GOSH IM HAVING THE BIGGEST WRITTING BLOCK THAT EVER EXSISTED! Its soooo hard!

Ok I have no idea what to say now except when my writing block is gone you can expect my usual updates, till then i will slowly write the next chapter, don't worry I'm sure it will pass :D

Till next time!
Neon xxxx