Calming down? Nope. It's not happening. I'm not calming down. Not after all of this. I'm going to work my flank off if I have to! I'm not going to calm down or settle down until the cats in The Valley of Lost Echoes have all been obliterated! No matter what...

The sun was shining high in the sky and a cold breeze began to pick up. The seasons were changing to Fall. These cats call it 'leaf-fall'. I arrived during the end of leaf-bare (winter) so, it was basically 'new-leaf' (or spring) and I've been here through 'green-leaf' (or summer). It's only going to get colder from here. Everything is going to freeze other than the Running Life River and The Lake of the Lost. Emeraldpaw's been peachy about the whole season change. I honestly don't care. Blazepelt finally had those kits after all this time! The she-kits are named Deerkit and Swankit. The young, tawny tom is named Robinkit. Silverflight was proud, but something seemed to pierce him in the heart. Probably because he was remembering his father, Shadowstrike, and his rejection. Now, all there is to do is train. I've got hunting, fighting, and climbing down. There are just a few more things I need to learn before taking my assessment. I'm still a long way away from becoming a warrior. However, the thought of an assessment does make me feel more energized...

"Shadowpaw!!" yelled Sonicwind from the clearing. His tail was twitching and his legs were trembling. Knucklestar was standing next to his freaked-out deputy as if he was trying to give Sonicwind some support. It wasn't really doing much if that was the case.

"Sonicwind, why are you trembling?" asked Shadowpaw as he gawked at the deputy's fearful eyes.

"We've decided that it is time to teach you how to swim. I'm sure that it'll come in handy at some point and it'll be good practice for the deputy," Knucklestar explained trying not to smirk at his deputy as he spoke. "Fishing techniques will also be taught during your swim lesson. I shall send another warrior with you other than this cowardly being standing here beside me."

"Who shall be coming with me? Can Emeraldpaw come too?" asked Shadowpaw.

"Actually, I was planning on sending Doubletail with you. He's really smart and is a good mentor. He actually helped Cheesepaw the other day when he fell into Running Life River. I'm sure that you all will have a great time...," Knucklestar said giving Sonicwind another glance. He then burst out laughing. "REALLY SURE!!!"

Swimming was easy. Paw, kick, paw, kick, paw, kick. It was basically doggy paddling. The two apprentices got it right away. Sonicwind started yelling about being sick and begged Doubletail to let him go see Cosmicleaf. The warrior obviously disagreed because he was enjoying his old mentor's fear. It soon got annoying and we told him to shut his big mouth and go for a walk. Sure enough, the deputy shuts up and went for a walk. Fishing was a little more complicated. Why? Because it was all sitting, watching, waiting. Once you see the fish, don't let your shadow fall on it. Once you're sure that you can hook the fish, you claw it out of the water! It is satisfying to catch a fish. It's just really time-consuming.

"Our clan doesn't usually eat fish. However, we tend to rely on fish more during no-leaf because the water in Running Life River will still be flowing all throughout no-leaf in some places. It's really convenient. Don't you think?" asked Doubletail.

Shadowpaw and Emeraldpaw both nodded. Shadow was kind of relieved to know that the fish tasted exactly the same to him as a cat as it did when he was a hedgehog. In his dreams, he was becoming a cat. He no longer thought of himself as a hedgehog. Each time he thinks Shadow, he thinks of a black tom. It didn't matter. He might as well be what he was now.

They strolled back to the camp. Nothing interesting was happening. Nothing. Just cats preparing for the cold weather. Shadowpaw completed every task that was given to him. Evening came in a flash and Shadowpaw found himself sitting under the Skyrock. He was gazing at the stars. Starclan was looking back at him from the stars, but they had no control over what he did. Over what was happening. Over anything.

"Shadowpaw, what are you doing over here?" asked Goldenheart sitting down next to him.

"Looking at the sky. I don't know what I'm supposed to do about everything that's happening. The changing of the season, me progressing to warrior status, and all the visits with the medicine cats to the MoonCliff," Shadowpaw explained.

Goldenheart nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I can see how that might be stressful for you. I still don't see why you're so special. The leader is constantly watching you, Sonicwind wanted you to be his apprentice, and Cosmicleaf has made you into another medicine cat. Although, I guess you are a tom cat to be reckoned with. You beat Roseheart and Sonicwind in a fight. How much better of an apprentice can you get?"

"I think I can get much better. However, I can't help but wonder what kind of warrior I'll be. What my new name will be. If I'll be exactly like Shadowstrike is another thing I've wondered," Shadowpaw stated.

"Shadowstrike?"

NO! I didn't say that!

Shadowpaw's fur prickled, but he tried to keep it under control. Goldenheart couldn't know about him. She also couldn't know about herself. Just because they were mates in a previous life didn't mean that it was supposed to happen in this one. Then again, the possibility was still there. If something were to happen to Emeraldpaw, them becoming mates was a possibility. "Um... I heard about him from Knucklestar. He told me that he was a very strong and honorable deputy."

"He probably was. I don't know. I've never met him. He probably was very handsome, though. Have you met him in Starclan?!" she asked excitedly.

"Um... I'm not allowed to talk about my visits to the MoonCliff."

Goldenheart sighed with disappointment. "Right... I suppose that you're right. I don't know what I was thinking. You have your secrets and I have mine. I guess, in some ways, we're the same. I feel like I know you from somewhere. For the very first time I saw you, I felt like we were meant to be best friends. I just... don't know why you seem so familiar...," Goldenheart said. As Shadowpaw stared into her eyes, he thought he saw pain... The pain of losing Shadowstrike in a past life. Why did he feel like he should be there to comfort her? Say something that'll make all the pain go away.

"Let me tell you something. You're like a leaf. A leaf that reflects the light of the sun to all the other dull and boring leaves. We all are the other leaves. You're the light... You always make us feel better... I can understand why they named you Goldenheart. However..., I think that Brightleaf suits you better," Shadowpaw told her.

Like the gleam of a rainbow, her eyes shimmered. More beautiful than the cat claw moon. There wasn't a word in the world that could possibly describe what she was feeling.

"That was the first time someone had ever said something so nice... Yet, it feels like I've heard that a million times before...," she said. There wasn't a second that went by before she turned with a half sad and half sentimental emotion. Shadowpaw wasn't sure of what he had done. What feelings had he created?

He realized he loved her as a friend. He would die for her a million times. She would never meet the cats within the Lake of the Lost. She was too pure and innocent. Why did StarClan have to bring her back?

When love is blind

and 9 lives to find.

12 predicts it's closer in time

and none learned of the hero so fine.

This time, the voice sang out like the prophecy was supposed to be a song. The song echoed in Shadowpaw's head and this time, it didn't hurt. When love is blind...

Like a million angels...

That flew from the sky.

That didn't want to die.

Where did they go...?

They'll never know...

"I'll never know...," Shadowpaw repeated as he headed back towards the apprentice's den. The song didn't go away until he was well asleep with Emeraldpaw within close eyesight. Emeraldpaw... Goldenheart...

Sonic's voice didn't appear tonight. He rested peacefully as he remembered all the delicious fish he had caught. The tangy scent of fish was heavy on his whiskers as he trotted back to the camp in his dream. Dropping the fish onto the fresh-kill pile, he glanced over towards the warrior's den.

A warrior...

Suddenly, a dark figure arose silently and subtly from behind Shadowpaw. "Who's there?!" Shadowpaw demanded as he flipped around to be greeted by a shadow cat with red, fiery eyes. It bowed its head.

"I mean no harm, Shadowpaw. I was sent by StarClan. They call me... No. It's not important what they call me," the dark cat-like shadow explained. Each time he spoke, the fire in his eyes flickered and danced in a wild fashion, before calming down when he stopped speaking. Shadowpaw sat onto the stony ground, intrigued.

Shadowpaw bowed his head to the warrior. "What is it that StarClan requests of me?"

"A noble warrior you shall be, young one. Your respect for StarClan is truly admirable. However, I don't come bringing good news. I never come bringing good news. StarClan created me to be neither pure nor corrupt. I was a messenger for both the evil and the good. The cats the dwell within the Lake of the Lost crave your life and blood more than any other. They're requesting more blood from MoonClan. Scourgestar met an undeniably terrible fate, but he was the one who chose it," the dark messenger explained with a dark tone. A shiver ran down Shadowpaw's pelt.

"What are you saying...?"

"Scourgestar is dead."

Shadowpaw stepped back with a look of terror and shook his head. Scourgestar was dead? It couldn't be! He was too smart! Too proud to possibly-! But then again, if The Valley of Lost Echoes required it, it was it that they'd get.

"How many lives did he have?" Shadowpaw asked.

The dark, shadow warrior looked to the ground. That usually wasn't a good thing. He mumbled the sentence. "The young leader had seven lives left... There are only four more lives to be lost within the lake. There is only one thing I know for sure about the prophecy. It won't be fulfilled until you're a warrior," he stated. Shadowpaw felt a mild gust of relief. Metalclaw was going to become the new leader, then. Metalstar. The cat who tried to kill him.

Shadowpaw only glanced away for a second. As soon as he had done even that, the warrior had vanished. A screeching sound dragged Shadowpaw from that dream right into a next and he screamed in terror. Scourgestar roared in his ears. Once... Twice... Swatting at Shadowpaw's soul. Four lives needed... Four lives needed... Shadowpaw cried to the nonexistent sky.

"Someone! Someone! StarClan! HELP ME!!"

Almost as if someone pressed the pause button, it jerked to a stop. Shadowpaw stumbled from the dream and into yet another. The faded echo of Scourgestar's seventh eerie yowl faded away. It was over. Earthstar sat before him and she focussed her gaze on Shadowpaw intently. Then, she began to cry. Before Shadowpaw could ask, she explained. "Young toms like you should never be burdened by such a fate. Even though you're a hedgehog from another world, you're still just a kit..."

Letting his fur lie down, he approached Earthstar and buried his face in her fur. She rested her tail on his flank for a moment as if to tell him that things would be alright if he stayed patient. Staying nonmoving, he had to wonder where this element of her being like a mother to him was coming from. Probably because at one point she was. She looked to the sky above the sky and he looked too. Rather than stars, he saw galaxies to other worlds. He thought for a moment that he saw his.

"Kit from another world, the time for you to become a warrior is soon. However, a great injustice must first be done...," Earthstar explained.

"Great injustice?"

"Indeed... This cursed prophecy will only bring more heartbreak. With the seasons of cold comes the seasons... of death...," she pointed out. Shadowpaw nodded sadly. She looked down from the galaxies and she gazed into his eyes. "You'll see all in good time. Although, I'm not sure if your clan will be ready when the moment comes... Sonicwind, though strong and courageous, is also, in many ways, still a young kit. He doesn't understand the gravity of this situation..."

"Sonicwind is involved? How?"

"The skies only told us that he's included somehow. This could mean anything. It could mean that he's destined to die, it could mean that he'll become the leader of SunClan, it could also mean that he could turn on you...," she stated bluntly.

Shadowpaw fluffed up his fur and shook his head. He let a growl come from his throat. "Sonicwind is a noble and loyal warrior!"

Earthstar nodded and raised her tail for silence. "I just said that I didn't know what the skies were telling me. Galaxyfern hasn't heard anything serious about the future, but nothing is certain. Stay on your guard. If you should act carelessly, the darkness may swallow you up. It may not be a prophecy, but they're words of a friend. I say these to keep you safe..."

Shadowpaw looked to the ground and nodded. He turned and as if it were magic, he became a hedgehog for a brief moment. He looked to the sky and he saw his world. The world he once knew... "I wasn't brought to this place to fail. When I'm done... you'll be so proud that you won't even remember that I was once a kit."

Earthstar smiled slightly and her eyes warmly gazed into his. All of the other cats within StarClan watched him leave. Their battle cries filled the air and Shadow thought about what he meant to them. He was leading them into battle. And they followed.

Waking up in his nest, he yawned and glanced over to see if Emeraldpaw was awake yet. He saw her sitting outside of the medicine den with an annoyed look. That could mean two things. One, she had the dream too and was going to tell Earthstar. Two, she had a thorn in her paw. Based on her face, she had a thorn in her paw.

Trotting across the clearing after snagging a mouse from the fresh-kill pile, he playful stepped on her paw and she hissed. Shadowpaw looked at her with this amused look. "Oh-no! I stepped on your paw! I hope I didn't hurt you or anything..."

"You know how they say that curiosity killed the cat? It wasn't curiosity. It was sarcasm," she retorted as she licked her paw. Sure enough, there was a bleeding wound in her paw. Within the bleeding wound was a thorn. She hissed when her tongue came into contact with the thorn. "COSMICLEAF!!"

Creampaw dashed outside and looked over to Emeraldpaw. When she saw the blood, she raced back into the den frantically. "Cosmicleaf! Emeraldpaw's bleeding!"

Suddenly, a white blur shot past Shadowpaw and went straight to Emeraldpaw. Cosmicleaf bit down on the thorn and yanked it out. She pressed a cobweb to the wound and ignored Emeraldpaw's screaming in agony. Shadowpaw snickered at her pain. She growled at him when she wasn't screaming.

"Creampaw, please bring me something to prevent it from being infected," Cosmicleaf commanded.

Creampaw nodded and retreated back to the medicine den. She came back with a mouthful of marigold. Cosmicleaf nodded her praise to Creampaw. Shadowpaw also looked impressed with Creampaw. "She's about to become a full-fledged medicine cat, right? It's about time for her to get her full name from StarClan?" he asked as he gazed at the cream-colored she-cat.

Creampaw nodded proudly. She tried to act calm, but her excitement was easily detected through her swishing tail of excitement. Shadowpaw smiled.

"My little apprentice isn't so little anymore! She's got amazing skills. However, there's still more she has to learn," Cosmicleaf explained.

Creampaw sat up with her ear pointed to the tunnel. "I smell fear... I hear frantic footsteps... Camoflight! Diamondwing!" she cried as she bounded towards the scent and sound.

"What's wrong?!" Emeraldpaw demanded.

Before an answer could come, Camoflight barged into the clearing and looked frantically around. He sprang to the top of the Skyrock and shouted to every cat to gather. Even Robinkit, Swankit, and Deerkit weren't stopped as they ran out to see what was going on. Diamondwing was next to burst out from beneath the bush. She ran up next to Camoflight. Knucklestar approached the Skyrock with Sonicwind.

"Camoflight! Diamondwing! What's the raucous all about?!" Knucklestar demanded with a loud, booming voice. Every single living soul in the camp fell silent.

Camoflight swallowed down the fear that had created a huge lump in his throat. With all the force he could muster, he cried three words. "Scourgestar is dead!"

Gasps of horror and fear rippled through the clan. Knucklestar shooed them off of his rock and took their place. He looked to the sky and then slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them, he turned to Diamondwing. "How was this fate brought upon the leader of MoonClan?"

"The Lake of the Lost cats! It was horrifying!" she cried.

More gasps and cries were heard among the clan. Shadowpaw heard Goldenheart try to get the kits back into the nursery with Blazepelt. Silverflight quivered in terror because somehow, he knew. He remembered something... It was clear in his eyes. He mumbled something inaudible under his breath. Shadowpaw saw. Shadowpaw saw his older counterpart. His yowl of terror and pain as he was dragged into the Lake. Shadowstrike...

Knucklestar regained control. His booming voice silenced the clan once more. "Describe to us what happened. I'm quite certain there's more to this story... Plenty more...," he said.

Camoflight nodded. He stepped forward. "He didn't touch the water..."

Alarm shot through my fur. What? That's never happened before. A cat from The Valley of Lost Echoes couldn't cross over into the living world. A voice rang in his ears.

Unless if the barrier keeping them within the lake is getting weaker...

The prophecy! It was close enough to be fulfilled, that they could easily swipe at anyone who got too close. The clan began shouting at each other. How it was impossible and what it could mean. Silverflight's lip quivered.

Diamondwing silenced everyone this time. "Scourgestar was giving thanks to that evil tribe... He got too close to the water... A bloodstained claw rose out of the water and slashed at his muzzle! It clawed almost half of his face off in one swipe!!" Diamondwing screamed. But it didn't end... It just got worse... "He stumbled away from the pool. He screamed and cried! The MoonClan cats panicked and abandoned their leader! They ran far off into the woods! Scourgestar stayed... A dark cat rose from the pool and said... 'A deal's a deal and a war is a war... You promised your loyalty, so give us your life!' Frightened, Scourgestar crawled away from the sound. But, it was everywhere. Because he was blind from his own blood, he slipped and fell... And... that was it...," Diamondwing finally finished.

The scent of fear was strong on the rest of the clan cats. They trembled and huddled close together. Sonicwind slowly exhaled. "Anything else?"

Camoflight decided that the wait for the truly bad news was over. "They knew we were still watching. The dark warrior called to us. It said that its next and last victim would be of SunClan blood and no other..."

The first and with last...

And our lust for blood...

Will drown in the past...

And the Lake will flood.

A mighty paw from Shadowpaw struck the ground. He raised his voice above the crowd of terrified cats who were racing around with Sonicwind trying to calm them with Knucklestar. "THEY CAN CROSS TO THE LIVING WORLD!!"