Wow, look at this being here and all. I haven't updated this story since like September, because of junior year (feel the hell descend upon your shoulders) at my ridiculously rigorous school and because I reached that really awkward point where I wasn't sure how much War of Shadows stuff I was going to spoil in this chapter. Ugh.

Anyways, have this Mountainpaw chapter. It's pretty cool. Following the trend of the last chapter, it's supernatural as hell. Enjoy it!

As always, I don't own Warriors, but these plot elements are kind of sort of mine...so...I like them...

~Elsi

Chapter 11: The Dust of Shadows

Rock will knock at the door of balance. But what did that mean?

Mountainpaw shifted back and forth, trying to focus on Snowpaw and Honeypaw, who waited patiently for Ivypool to finish giving instructions for their task. It was so hard, with the prophecy banging around in his head. The land will shake to end it all… Didn't that mean the earthquakes? It had to mean the earthquakes. Which meant that he would have to do some knocking on the door of balance – whatever that meant.

Focus, Mountainpaw! All of his senses, supernaturally heightened, sharpened instantly when Honeypaw and Snowpaw dropped into identical clumsy fighting stances. Mountainpaw faced off with the two smaller apprentices, flicking his tail back and forth in a vague attempt to find peace and prepare. He was bigger, he was smarter, he was quicker. It wouldn't exactly be a difficult battle, but then again, it wasn't supposed to be. Here, Mountainpaw was the mentor.

Honeypaw lunged first, a ball of ginger fur and hissing, and Mountainpaw expertly stepped out of the way so that she went flying. Seizing his brief distraction, Snowpaw leaped then in silence, and managed to land a hit on Mountainpaw's shoulder. A quick swat of his paw, and the she-cat went flying, leaving Mountainpaw opportunity to whirl around and meet a growling Honeypaw head on. They rolled over twice, Mountainpaw flexing his muscles precisely in order to nail her to the ground. Honeypaw squirmed, but could not get up. Then Snowpaw barreled into Mountainpaw's side, knocking him over, and he slammed into the ground with the breath kicked out of his lungs. As if given by StarClan, all of his energy doubled, and as both apprentices went for him, Mountainpaw snapped into true warrior mode. Writhing and growling, a monstrous ball of grey fur, he spun and slapped to get the littler cats off of him. Their method of working together was well-thought-out, but it still wasn't enough. Soon, Honeypaw was shaken off, and one quick kick sent her flying across the clearing. That left Snowpaw, and a moment passed before Mountainpaw found the angle that would serve best to catapault her into the tree-

No. This exercise was about control. Letting the moment slide, Mountainpaw left his left side open for Snowpaw to land another hit, but that was all he allowed her. Butting his head into her flank, Mountainpaw sent Snowpaw skidding.

"Enough," said Ivypool quietly. Mountainpaw looked up, breathing heavily, to his mentor. Across the clearing, Snowpaw sat up and shook her head, while Honeypaw caught her breath across the hollow. "That was good. Very good."

"But we didn't win," said Honeypaw sadly. Molewhisker chuckled, his eyes bright with amusement.

"You weren't supposed to win," he said. "We wanted to test out your endurance, your teamwork, and your determination. You both fought passionately."

Passion won't win you any battles, Mountainpaw noted silently, but he respected what Molewhisker, Ivypool, and Sorreltail were getting at with this exercise.

"How will passion help us in battle?" asked Snowpaw snidely.

"It's what marks the difference between a new apprentice that dies and a new apprentice that lives," said Molewhisker, making the light fade from the two she-cats' eyes. Then he laughed a bit. "No, but it does give you the advantage over other apprentices."

"Yeah?" Snowpaw urged.

"Why don't you explain, Mountainpaw?" Sorreltail inquired. Ivypool's eyes narrowed in on Mountainpaw, giving him an opportunity to give his mentor a chance to mark his progress. He sucked in a deep breath while preparing his answer, and then turned instead to look at the two apprentices.

"In your first battle, you're afraid," he said. "You've never been more afraid in your whole life. But there are apprentices on the other side that feel that way, too, and if you're…passion…allows you to overcome your fear, then you have the advantage."

"Excellent," said Sorreltail, and Mountainpaw turned back to Ivypool. "Thank you for helping us prove our point, Mountainpaw, Ivypool. I understand you want to do some other training, but thank you. Now we may be able to get somewhere." Her whiskers twitched in amusement as she regarded the apprentices.

"What does that mean?" whined Snowpaw.

"It means your technique needs work," said Molewhisker, his eyes glinting. As he began to launch into a detailed report of how the two apprentices had done in the battle, Ivypool flicked her tail towards Mountainpaw. Dipping his head to the four other cats, Mountainpaw followed his mentor into the trees.

"I'm impressed with how you have progressed," said Ivypool once they were out of earshot. "I saw how you controlled yourself with the two apprentices. You're becoming more masterful with your powers."

Mountainpaw nodded, eager to get on with the discussion. His mentor did not disappoint.

"As always, you must work on being so arrogant in battle," said Ivypool, flicking his muzzle fondly. "Had I been fighting you, that fight may have gone differently."

"I had my guard down," said Mountainpaw.

"Exactly," said Ivypool with a smirk. "But you're definitely improving. I'm starting to believe that you may be the best warrior in the forest."

"I am the best warrior in the forest," said Mountainpaw, flicking his paw in order to send a pebble flying next to her ear.

"I just didn't believe it before," said Ivypool teasingly. Mountainpaw wasn't getting anywhere with the conversation then, so he took a deep breath – that gained her attention.

"I was wondering if you would help me break into the Place of No Stars," said Mountainpaw in a quiet voice. "I know it's risky, I know…but I need to know everything there is to know about what's going on with these earthquakes. Bramblestar said that Tigerstar's revival was important, so…don't you think we should know about it?"

"It's too dangerous."

Mountainpaw had known that this was coming, so he mustered up all of his courage and took a step closer to his mentor.

"It won't be like last time," he promised.

"How are you so sure of that?" asked Ivypool. "I won't take you."

"Wouldn't you rather risk your own life than let our Clan-mates die?" asked Mountainpaw. At once, his mentor looked up, betrayal clear on her face.

"Giving your life for the Clan is not the glory you think it is," said Ivypool viciously. "Having put myself in that position, I can tell you that you stop thinking of glory, and of how the Clan will respect you. All you can think about – all you can imagine – is how you can protect them, and how afraid you are. Don't question me on risking my life for ThunderClan."

Mountainpaw recoiled in shock, almost alarmed and ashamed at the direction in which his own thoughts had gone. He had been considering glory, hadn't he? Ivypool's eyes were hard as stone, but at the look on his face, she relaxed.

"I can't expect so much of you all the time," said Ivypool meditatively. "You're just a kit."

His chance open, Mountainpaw held his head up high and looked at her in a new light.

"I'm a kit whose responsibility it is to save ThunderClan from this threat," he said in a low voice. "Don't you think that I deserve to be allowed the choice?"

Ivypool regarded him for a long time, unable to respond, but unable to give in. At last, she turned away with a huff, but Mountainpaw knew that he had won.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Into the darkness they stepped, Mountainpaw following Ivypool closely so as not to lose sight of her. Now that he was here…everything seemed so much closer to how Ivypool had described it. Maybe he wasn't quite as ready for this as he had thought earlier…but he couldn't give up now. If doing this gave him some sort of edge, or new information, then it would be worth it.

Each pawstep grew slower as Mountainpaw began to hear the distinctive rise and fall of voices. A shiver ran through him as he identified those voices – Tigerstar and Hawkfrost. It had to be them. Suddenly, Ivypool pressed herself to the ground, and Mountainpaw followed suit. They were close. His heart pounding madly, he crept forward so that he was crouched beside Ivypool.

And good thing, too, for the scents of cats overpowered the smell of mold for the first time. In the darkness, Mountainpaw's eyes could make out three pairs of eyes, which meant three cats. Hawkfrost. Tigerstar. And a she-cat?

"It's going to get you noticed before long," said the she-cat in a voice like water trickling over stones. "Might as well have fun with it while you can."

"It will all be over soon." Tigerstar. "Even if our earthquakes are stopped."

"Your earthquakes?" laughed the she-cat. "So pompous, aren't you? You know very well that those earthquakes don't come from this place."

"No," said Tigerstar. "They come from the jaws of our warriors."

A pregnant silence filled the space, and then Hawkfrost spoke.

"Those forces were destroyed," said Hawkfrost. "Are you meaning to tell me that we managed to salvage something from the wreckage?" He sounded irritated. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Waiting to see if you'd catch on," said Tigerstar gruffly. "How have your attempts in crossing the border been?"

"Our warriors are struggling still," said Hawkfrost with a sigh. "The shadow dust may make StarClan make vulnerable, but it weakens us as well."

"Does it, though?" asked the she-cat, moving slightly and making Hawkfrost hiss. "Perhaps you haven't bathed in the glory of shadows long enough." Her words were a twisted whisper.

"And end up like you? No, thank you," said Hawkfrost.

"Enough." That was Tigerstar, and he sounded both in charge and weary. "Continue your efforts. The longer those fools try and deny their demise, the weaker they become. Their numbers are finite, but they still have enough power to overcome the belligerent youths that try to overcome them. I believe that, before long, they will let us in willingly."

"Or they condemn us further," said the she-cat quietly. "These shadows exaggerate the darkness within you, nothing more. They will not make your rivals love you any more than they have in the past."

"They will learn to, as you so aptly put it, bathe in the darkness," said Tigerstar mockingly. He sniffed the air suddenly. "Hawkfrost, I thought you believed that the kit was done with your meetings."

Large amber eyes revolved around, and Mountainpaw's heart became Willowpaw's ice as those eyes locked onto him. He saw teeth glint in the darkness, and claws rush towards him.

"No!" roared Ivypool, and she suddenly barreled into him, and Mountainpaw was sure that someone had thrown him off a cliff. His paws gave out from under him, and he collapsed as everything went dark for a precious few seconds.

When he opened his eyes, he only saw Ivypool's face.

"I'm sorry," she said, sounding exhausted. "I haven't had to focus my powers like that in a long time, and I've never seen what happened with a passenger."

"Where are we?" asked Mountainpaw slowly, sitting up and trying to adjust to his surroundings. They were in what had probably once been a lush green field, but now the grass was shriveled and brown. Trees loomed off in the distance, and a harsh orange sun lingered in the sky, burning down like fire on the world around them. Ivypool blinked, turning around as if just having noticed their surroundings.

"This should be StarClan's hunting grounds," she said, her voice disbelieving. "It's a paradise."

"This is no paradise," said Mountainpaw. Ivypool nodded blankly, and for a moment, they just stared at the land before them. "What happened?"

"StarClan denies its demise," said Ivypool quietly in an echo of Tigerstar.

"Does that mean that StarClan is…dying?" asked Mountainpaw. For a moment, mentor and apprentice stared at each other, and hope began to fade from view.

I've begun to struggle with the varying amount of knowledge between characters. Ugh. It was such a problem in this chapter and the next one, but I think I'm just going to have to list out all the knowledge-gaining points each character receives. That sounds like an obnoxious project. For tomorrow? For tomorrow.

So, if you liked this chapter, or if you have any critiques to make, please let me know of them by leaving a review! Also please favorite or follow this story or me if you like my work, and be sure to check out my other stories! Thanks, everyone!

~Elsi