Slatefur was silent for an overly long period of time. Then, he started shaking, either with rage or fear. They couldn't tell. He let out an unwilling giggle, and shook his head.

"I told her! I told her that you would figure it out! But she didn't listen! She made me keep on killing!" Briarthorn flicked her tail towards the entrance to the camp. Eagletail and Cloverwing drifted around Slatefur to block it.

"Who is she, Slatefur? Tell us," Briarthorn demanded. Slatefur shook his head again, pawing at his ear as if he was hearing something.

Tawnyclaw stepped towards him threateningly, and he sat down as he began to frantically explain. "She controls me! I didn't want to do these things! She calls herself Mossleap . . . I hear her in my mind. I'm not the first cat she's forced to kill before. Batwhisker, whoever he was, killed kits. KITS! She talks to another cat, a loner, that calls herself Mack". Tawnyclaw scoffed, and turned around. Slatefur continued. "We're all being controlled! Can't you see? WE ARE ALL BEING CONTROLLED! Even Bearfoot was controlled, by a loner called Talon! I could hear them, always talking, talking, TALKING!"

Swiftstep nudged Sunpaw and Skypaw behind her, in case Slatefur attacked someone. "You're crazy. Bearfoot was a hero! Can't you just let him be a hero without dragging his name through the mud?"

Slatefur turned toward her, eyes wide. "That's not Swiftstep talking. That's Emerald!" He whirled around, and stared up at the sky angrily. "I see you up there, Mack! Plotting, pulling strings . . . this is all just a game to you! WELL, I AM NOT A PAWN! Tell Mossleap that I won't kill any more for her! And tell Jay, who I'm sure is just watching, to get out of here and never return! The game is over! MountainClan is done with you!"

Everything in Slatefur's world froze, except for him. The birds stopped in mid-air, Tawnyclaw was in the process of taking a step, and none of the clouds were moving. He heard a bitter laugh.

"You shouldn't have done that, Slatefur" The grey tom began to shake with fear. That was Mack's voice. He tried to run, but found himself frozen, too.

Everything unfroze. Tawnyclaw continued padding towards him. "He's completely crazy!" she mewed. Slatefur shook even more, noticing the spark in her eyes. That meant that either Mack or Skystorm was controlling her.

"Go ahead and end it, Tawnyclaw," Briarthorn mewed. Slatefur shrieked in terror, as the tortoiseshell brought her claws down towards him. He felt a sharp pain in his throat, then fell to the ground. His surroundings faded to black. The last thing he saw was the blood pooling at his paws.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mudwhisker woke up to Hawknose and Littlepaw standing over him. Hawknose flicked his tail towards the cave entrance, where Eagletail cheerfully waited.

"Eagletail came to bring us back. Slatefur was the other murderer," Hawknose informed him. Mudwhisker shook his head with disappointment. He wasn't surprised. The tom was crazy, after all.

"We better hurry if you want to make it in time for the election," Eagletail called. He seemed to notice Mudwhisker's look of confusion, so he continued to explain. "Both Lightstar and Sprucefang are dead, so we have to pick our new leader".

The group of toms left as quickly as they could. Mudwhisker helped Littlepaw as they headed down the mountain. Littlepaw leaned against him gratefully.

They arrived to find the rest of the clan already milling about the center of the camp. Briarthorn was spending time with Cloverwing. Tawnyclaw and Swiftstep were discussing the future of the clan. Skypaw and Sunpaw were playing with a ball of moss.

Skypaw and Sunpaw looked at Littlepaw, glanced at each other, then looked back at Littlepaw. They rushed over to him, and quickly began to inform him of everything that he had missed.

Swiftstep padded up to Mudwhisker, still a bit injured from Slatefur's attack. "It's good to have you back, Mudwhisker. I'm sorry that you were even exiled in the first place". Mudwhisker dipped his head in response.

"Thank you, Swiftstep. And I'm glad that Littlepaw healed you before things turned worse," he replied. His attention was pulled away from Swiftstep as Tawnyclaw leapt onto a rock, and all of the cats looked up at her.

She swept her gaze across the gathered cats, eyes sparkling. "As you all know, we need to elect a new leader. The rules, as previously decided, are that nominees cannot nominate themselves. For that reason, I would like to nominate Briarthorn. She has remained a calm presence throughout this crisis, and I believe that she would be a good leader," she declared. She stepped off of the rock, and Littlepaw immediately went up to it. With he help of Sunpaw and Skypaw, he managed to scramble up it.

He looked at the cats, focusing his gaze on Mudwhisker with his usual, Littlepaw fieriness. "I nominate Mudwhisker! He never judged Hawknose or I for being exiled, and always contributed while we were in the cave. He has been dependable throughout his time as a warrior, and I am proud to have him as a father". Littlepaw looked at his father emotionally, who returned the look. Then, the brown apprentice got off of the rock.

No one else was nominated, and the voting began. As nominees, Briarthorn and Mudwhisker weren't allowed to vote. Mudwhisker's shock grew, as one after another, Hawknose, Swiftstep, Sunpaw, and Skypaw voted for him as well. Cloverwing and Eagletail were the only other cats who voted Briarthorn. He was going to become the leader, after being exiled?

The brown tom stepped forward, humbly staying on the ground. "I'm honored to have been chosen as your leader," he began, a bit hesitantly. He took a deep breath, and managed to sound more confident. "I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of MountainClan is Briarthorn".

The clan quickly congratulated Mudwhisker and Briarthorn on their new positions, while Littlepaw prepared the traveling herbs for him and his father. Mudwhisker and Littlepaw said their final goodbyes, then headed for the top of the mountain.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mudwhisker and Littlepaw arrived at he Moonstone as the moon grew closer to its peak. Littlepaw directed Mudwhisker to hurry before the Moonstone was no longer illuminated. They pressed their noses to the bright rock, and fell into StarClan.

Mudwhisker looked at the starry scene with awe. He hadn't seen StarClan since he was an apprentice.

Cats with shining pelts descended from the sky, some of which he recognized, some of which he didn't. He did, however, recognize the first cat to step forward. It was Ashpaw.

The grey tabby looked at him with a mixture of sadness and satisfaction. Oh, Ashpaw. The apprentice had died too young. But so had his parents. Only his sister was left.

Ashpaw sat down patiently to wait. Mudwhisker tried to step forward, but found that he couldn't move. Eventually, Ashpaw stepped closer. He touched his nose to he top of Mudwhisker's head. "With this life, I give you hope. Use it well, in order to drag the clan out of the darkest of times" Mudwhisker let out a gasp, as an icy cold blew over his pelt. It didn't go away. And yet, he hoped. The unbearable cold disappeared, and Ashpaw padded away.

Breezeflight came next. He gave Mudwhisker the life of optimism. Breezeflight was followed by Dapplepelt, with a life for pride, Squirrelfrost, with a life for confidence, Bearfoot, with a life for bravery, Dustpool, with a life for curiosity, and Sprucefang, with a life for strength. But the second-to-last cat caused him to let out a choked sob.

"Branchsong?" he asked, unsure if it was actually her. His dead mate smiled, and he knew. He rushed towards her, and touched his nose to hers.

"I'm glad to see you too, Mudwhisker. But I have to give you a life now," she murmured. She touched her nose to the top of his head. "With this life, I give you love. Don't let your past experiences make you fearful of it. Although it can hurt at times, love is the greatest emotion any cat can experience". Branchsong pulled away, and lowered her voice. "Take care of Littlepaw, Mudwhisker. I'll see you in the afterlife". Then she rejoined the crowd of cats.

Lightstar stepped forward in order to give him his next life. But Mudwhisker knew that Branchsong's life had been more than that. It had been her way of telling him that she didn't want him to be alone for the rest of his life. She knew that he would spend his afterlife with her. But she didn't want that to mean that he was unhappy, in order to avoid stepping on her memory.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The following moons were hectic, to say the least. Dustpool hadn't finished Littlepaw's training, so the medicine cat had decided to go to ValleyClan in order to complete it. With Littlepaw gone, Skypaw and Sunpaw became best friends. They even insisted on having their final assessments together.

When Eagletail could no longer train Sunpaw with Cloverwing, he realized just how much he depended on her being there. Sure, they had been best friends for as long as he could remember. But he found himself wanting more than that.

As it turned out, Eagletail refused to tell Cloverwing. He didn't want to ruin their friendship. So Hawknose told her instead. Cloverwing had immediately confronted Eagletail about it, and he had admitted it. A few moons later, they became mates.

Cloverwing and Eagletail weren't the only new pair of mates. Mudstar had taken Branchsong's message to heart. He and Swiftstep had grown closer, bonding over their shared experiences and the loneliness they had felt after losing their mates. They had asked each other at the same time, under the condition that when they went to StarClan, Mudstar would return to Branchsong, and Swiftstep would return to Sprucefang. Swiftstep later had two kits, named Breezekit and Sprucekit.

Littlepaw had eventually returned from ValleyClan. He had grown too. He was no longer bitter about becoming a medicine cat due to an accident; instead, he saw it as destiny. He came back with the name Littlehawk, now a full medicine cat and adult.

Littlehawk had been shocked by the changes in the camp. He returned home to find that his father had a new mate and kits, Cloverwing was pregnant with kits, and Skypaw and Sunpaw had become Skyblaze and Sunpath. He was surprisingly calm about all of this, however.

He helped deliver Cloverwing's kits moons later. She had three kits as well, named Lightkit, Squirrelkit, and Dapplekit.

Mudstar looked down at the clan from the Tallstone, proud of them. There was Hawknose, playing like a kit with his apprentice, Sprucepaw. Sprucepaw was innocent and clumsy, and her childish attitude affected Hawknose sometimes.

Breezepaw was very fierce and determined, completely different from his namesake. He was more like his mentor, Tawnyclaw. He was a great fighter like her, too.

Then came the day of Lightkit, Squirrelkit, and Dapplekit's warrior ceremony. Mudstar had already picked out who their mentors would be.

Lightkit, an adventurous, daring tom, would be given Skyblaze as a mentor. The she-cat had been like him as an apprentice, so Mudstar figured that she could handle him.

Squirrelkit, a shy, intelligent tom, would be given Sunpath as a mentor. Sunpath deserved an apprentice, but he needed an apprentice who would listen to directions without arguing.

Finally, Swiftstep would get Dapplekit. Dapplekit was dark and moody, so Mudstar had had trouble choosing her mentor. However, he figured that Swiftstep would be able to handle Dapplekit well enough.

Eventually, the clan would grow further, taking in a loner and her kits. Mudstar, in honor of their lost friends, had given her the name Ashstorm. Ashstorm was happy to do the same for her kits, and named them Dustkit and Bearkit.

The clan had grown back, as good as it had been before the crisis. It had a good leader in Mudstar. Littlehawk, although lacking natural skill, was extremely dedicated. Briarthorn continued to be a responsible deputy. And as the new generations became warriors, they forgot about Slatefur.

That was exactly how Mack had wanted it. She wanted him to fade into oblivion. And she had succeeded. She leaned back on her couch, watching her phone after she hit publish. As the comments rolled in, she smiled.