Shadowblaze looked around in amazement, her mother had brought her and Hawkclaw into a huge glittering cavern.
"Welcome to the meeting place all cats who are dead." a light brown tom with my mother's orangey-amber eyes says, "I am Flicker, I was one of the three cats who founded the ROMC. I also happen to be your ancestor." he says with a slight smile.
"My name is Zalal," said a tortoiseshell with the same bright blue eyes that were on Shadowblaze's own face, "I too was a founder of the ROMC, but I fell in love with Warrin," she said, pointing toward a gray and white tom who was sitting in a corner of the cavern.
"Because he was a founder of the Legion we weren't supposed to become mates, but we disobeyed and were banished from our groups. I sent my kits to the clans, hoping that no one with founder blood would find them."
"That obviously failed, and that mistake created you." Shadowblaze stared at Zalal in shock.
"We have chosen two very special cats to give you the exact prophecy," Warrin said as he stepped up next to Zalal. They moved aside to reveal two cats standing in a doorway.
Shadowblaze's jaw dropped as she recognized one of the cats, "Thorn! She yowled in joy, running toward her brother whose death was still fresh in her memory.
"I'm sorry" she whispered to Thorn.
"For what?" Thorn asked confusedly, "I dropped you at the mountain, remember?"
Realization dawned on Thorn's face, but to Shadowblaze's confusion he shook his head.
"You didn't drop me, I bit your paw so you would release me." Shadowblaze glanced up sharply, "What?! Did you want to die?! Do you have any clue how much pain I felt when you died?!" Shadowblaze shouted.
Thorn looked at her with sorrow in his eyes, "I'm sorry, but if you had kept trying to help me, you would've been pulled over with me!"
"Wouldn't that have been better for everyone? Then the destructive kit wouldn't be born!"
"That would be even worse! The twolegs are going to create a new sort of twoleg product that would be released into the air and it would kill all the cats!"
"So you're saying that there's only a one in three chance that all the cats would keep living their normal lives?"
"Exactly." Thorn confirmed, "Great." Shadowblaze sighed. A cough coming from behind them made Thorn step back, along with light brown she-cat with sandy colored markings, they paused, and then their eyes turned white and they began to recite the prophecy.
"Beware the founder blood, beware the snake, be warned, he who has the blood, never can fate be changed. The forest, the army and the guards, seek the same one, find the one before the one destroys our kind."
Their eyes returned to their usual colors and everyone looked at Shadowblaze and Hawkclaw.
"If I had to guess, I'd say that we will have one kit and that kit will have something to do with a snake, and if we aren't careful they'll destroy everything, correct?"
Every cat in the room nodded, Shadowblaze sighed.
"We'll give you a little family time." Flicker said, then he and every cat in the room except for the brown she-cat and Thorn faded into mist and vanished.
Thorn beckoned Shadowblaze into a corner and meowed, "When you return to your clan you will pass by the wolves territory, there's a high chance that you won't get caught by them, but knowing you, you'll somehow attract one of them."
"You're point is?" Shadowblaze asked, confused, "Any creature that doesn't have founder or Legion blood in them can't learn or defend themselves against the founderblood moves! What I'm trying to say is if you get caught by a wolf, act weak at first. Then when they let their guard down, use the powers to overpower them."
"And force them to take you to their camp, find their leader and ask about a wolf named Hunter Moon. When you find out where he is, go up to him, claw his side and leave a mark like this," he turned and showed a strange scar that looked like, 'HM',
"Tell him that Thorn sends his greetings." Thorn spits out the last part so venomously that Shadowblaze knew that the grudge was a lot deeper than just a scar.
"Thorn. Why do you hate this Hunter Moon wolf so much?" she asked. He turned to her and just pressed his nose to her forehead. Immediately she faded into, a memory?
She saw a large giger colored tom chasing after a small ginger kit, the kit was squealing in happiness and the tom's eyes shone with happiness too, although there was a hint of sadness behind the wall of happiness.
The kit dove into a bush and the tom pretended to not know where the kit was. He walked around saying, "Hmm I wonder where Thorn went." Shadowblaze just stared. This happy little kit was Thorn.
What had happened to make him have that scar and become the closed off cat that he was to every cat except her and Hawkclaw?
Soon the kit grew bored of waiting for the tom to find him and began to explore the forest.
Young Thorn was happily walking along, stalking a bug when a wolf with a brown pelt jumps out of the bushes and says, "Well, well, well, it looks like there's an intruder."
The wolf jumps at young Thorn who is frozen in place. Only when the wolf begins to carve the mark into Thorn's side does the kit cry out, "DADDY! DADDY HELP!" young Thorn shrieks.
Far away a voice calls back, "THORN! THORN STAY WHERE YOU ARE! I'LL FIND YOU!"
The wolf grinned, "So, your name is Thorn huh?" Thorn just tries to squirm out of the wolf's grasp, but he just sinks his claws in deeper.
A loud crashing is heard and a moment later the ginger tom, who must be Russell, leaps out of the undergrowth and knocks the wolf off of Thorn. They face off and the wolf leaps straight at Russell who puts up a huge fight, but in the end the wolf has him pinned,
"Y-you wouldn't kill a father would you?" Russell chokes out, the wolf doesn't even respond, he just casually slit Russell's throat.
Then he turns to a terrified Thorn, "May the name 'Hunter Moon' plague your nightmare, kit." then he turns and walks away. Leaving Thorn with his dead father.
Shadowblaze gasped as she emerged from Thorn's memory. The real Thorn still sat in front of her. "He killed my father, and gave me this scar. I was three moons old! THREE MOONS OLD! WHAT KIND OF EVIL CREATURE WOULD DO THAT TO A KIT!" Thorn's voice lowers into a scary low voice,
"My mother left me when I was a moon old, because she thought her sister was dead, because of her, I was still getting over not having a mother, when this Hunter Moon goes and destroys the rest of my family."
His eyes darken, "Ever since that day, I swore that if I had the chance, I would give him a mark just like mine."
Shadowblaze leaned forward and pressed her muzzle to Thorn's, "I, Shadowblaze of Thunderclan, swear on the truth-seekers that I will give HUnter Moon that scar."
Thorn's eyes widen, "Thank you, but you didn't have to use that oath! Now you could die because of it!" Shadowblaze grinned slightly, "I'll get that revenge for you." she promised.
Thorn stood, "It's time to take you guys back to the bottom of the mountain." he meowed, "Finchpaw, let your brother go, you can talk later, maybe get a dreamer to help you with that."
The she-cat nods and gently shoves Hawkclaw towards us. Then Thorn opens a portal and says, "Go through it, tell Storm that his best friend misses him and tell Star to go dig up the corner where I usually sit during truth or dare, tell her to keep what's there, it's my present to her."
Shadowblaze nods and then Thorn shoves her and Hawkclaw into the portal.
Shadowblaze stumbled on a rock as soon as she appeared at the bottom of the mountain. Hawkclaw appeared next to her. A voice goes through her head,
"Hey sis, I gave you a final gift. You can communicate with Hawkclaw in your mind now. Not with me though… but whatever! As soon as this message ends you won't hear anything else from me. Goodbye Shadowblaze."
Shadowblaze glanced at Hawkclaw and thought a quick message to him,
'Hi.' 'What the heck? Who is it? No no no I'm just going crazy.' Shadowblaze sniggered, 'Hawkclaw it's me, Shadowblaze, Thorn gave us mind communication'
'Cool' 'lets go to ROMC, we have to tell them.' HAwkclaw nodded and as one, the two of them ran towards the ROMC.
When they got there Stom was already there waiting for them, "Hey Storm!" SHadowblaze called, "You're banished, along with Thorn." he said emotionlessly. Shadowblaze gasped, "Wh-why?" "You have more than one power." he stated.
"Fine" Shadowblaze said, "I just have to tell Star something, then I'll leave." when Star came she looked excited, Argo and Sia were with her. "Where's Thorn?" she asked as she came up to them.
"He wants you to go to his truth or dare corner and dig it up, he says there's something there for you. Also… he died on the journey."
Star just stood there for a moment and then she just lost it, she raced away. Argo looked at them sadly and ran after her. Sia just looked shocked.
"It's time for you to go." Storm said emotionlessly. Shadowblaze nodded and motioned for Hawkclaw to go. She follows on his heels.
It only takes two days for Shadowblaze and Hawkclaw to return to the twoleg dens. They spend a night there and when Shadowblaze woke up she knew that she had to find a wolf.
She turned over in her nest and found Hawkclaw curled beside her, unlike the first time that happened, she didn't shove him off the ledge. Instead she nudged him until he woke and then she began a mental conversation with him, 'We have to find a wolf.' 'What?!' 'We have to get Thorn's revenge for him, for me it's a matter of life or death, I truth-seeker promised.' 'Seriously Shadowblaze?' 'let me show you.' she sent him her memory of Thorn's memory.
He watches it and gasps, 'ok I'm helping you get his revenge.' Shadowblaze grinned, "HOw do you feel like a drop by the creek?" Hawkclaw groaned, "Fine, whatever."
Shadowblaze pretended that she was watching Hawkclaw try to fish, but in reality she was watching the trees surrounding them. Then she saw it, a flash of fur on the corner of her eye. She quickly shoved Hawkclaw into the creek and told him, 'act weak'
He climbed out out the creek and immediately the wolf pounced on him, "Shadowblaze!" Thorn told her that the wolves knew every cat move except the undefeatable founderblood moves so she know that the she-wolf will know that she was pouncing. She did it anyways and the wolf pinned her easily.
"GET OFF MY TERRITORY!" she yells, arrogant furball, she asks Hawkclaw why we are here and he tells her. Shadowblaze on the other paw was fantasizing the different moves she could use to slowly kill this wolf's huge ego.
Slowly she lets Shadowblaze go and she hops up. She tells them to follow her to something called Lightningclan, 'Great now we're dealing with arrogant, murdering, heartless copycats also known as wolves.' Shadowblaze thinks before she remembered that Hawkclaw could hear.
He sniggers and the wolf yells, "If you don't come you're gonna die." Shadowblaze rolled her eyes and as soon as the wolf turned back around she leapt straight onto the wolf's back, calling up all her powers.
She grinned as the wolf narrowed her eyes, due to the bright blue light. Shadowblaze whispered into the wolf's ear, "Don't move or else I'll paralyze you." the wolf scoffs and tries to get Shadowblaze off her back.
Shadowblaze immediately bit down on the pressure point in the wolf's neck and she collapsed. Shadowblaze hopped down neatly and just for fun, flashed in and out of invisibility to mess with the wolf. It works, the wolf stared at Shadowblaze with shock, "How'd you do that?" "Founderblood moves." she replied casually,
"Take us to Lightningclan." she ordered the wolf once she was unparalyzed, "Why should I do that?" the wolf asked cockily, Shadowblaze bared her teeth and replied smoothly, "Because I can bite that paralyzation pressure point a little harder and you'll be paralyzed forever."
The wolf looks at Shadowblaze with a hint of fear in her eyes and nods. "Well, let's go." Shadowblaze says.
When they reached the camp, the wolves immediately went quiet. "Did Lunastar get beaten by a cat?" one of the whispered to another. "Go to the middle." Shadowblaze hissed into Lunastar's ear.
When they stood they the middle of the camp Shadowblaze shouted, "If you're here Hunter Moon! Come out!" a brown wolf who fit the wolf from Thorn's memories slipped out of the crowd.
"I am Hunter Moon." he said proudly. Shadowblaze hopped off of Lunastar after telling her to stay still unless she wanted to die.
Shadowblaze turned on her speed and strength and darted over to Hunter Moon's side and deeply clawed the 'HM' into his side. Then for good measure she pushed him over and hissed, "Tell your clan what you did. Tell them that you're a murderer."
He looked at her confusedly, so she bent down and hissed, "Thorn says 'hello'" she snarled. His eyes widen. "Tell them!" she snarled at him. He flinched but took a deep breath, "One day I saw a kit on our territory, I pinned it and gave it a scar to remember us. That's not so wrong now is it?"
The other wolves muttered amongst themselves and shook their heads. Hunter Moon looked smug.
Until a mist filled the clearing and Thorn appeared in it, "Hello, Hunter Moon, or should I say 'Murderer'" Hunter Moon paled, "Th-Th-Thorn." "Yes it's me." he snarled. Hunter Moon backed up a little.
Thorn turned to the awed wolves, "Let me show you what he actually did." then he went and touched his nose to the mist and it began showing his memory.
Once the memory finished playing the wolves sat in surprise. Then on of them, an extremely pregnant female, stood and shouted, "How could you! We are over Hunter Moon! These pups will not know of you!"
Hunter Moon seems shocked, "But Starfire! I love you!" "You took a kit's last family member! I can't trust a killer!"
"Yes!" "Exile him!" "Kill him!" "Get out!" "Scram!" the other wolves began to push Hunter Moon towards the exit, Lunastar stepped forward, her eyes sad, "Look at what you have done, father, now leave! If you come back, we'll show you as much mercy as you showed Thorn and his father!" and with that, Thorn's nemesis was gone.
Shadowblaze turned toward Thorn and he smiles as he disappears.