This is my take on what happened between the events of Sunset and The Sight. You can also find it on my AO3 account. Enjoy!

Warriors © Erin Hunter and HarperCollins Publishers

Prologue

The full moon and stars glimmered in the night sky, reflected in the lake below. The Clans were clustered on the Island, some exchanging conversations between one another. The ground was illuminated by the ashen moonlight.

Leafpool sat beside Squirrelflight. Her green eyes were devoid of emotion as she gazed out at their Clanmates and the other cats around them. Sitting several fox-lengths away from them were Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Jayfeather.

The tabby she-cat had watched her three kits grow into loyal cats under the care of her sister and Brambleclaw. She had felt a great sense of pride when Lionblaze and Hollyleaf became warriors and when she had given Jayfeather his medicine cat name.

"Let the Gathering begin!" Onestar declared.

"RiverClan will start. Prey is running well," Leopardstar said. "We chased a fox off our territory. Icewing's kits have become apprentices, and we have two new warriors: Minnowtail and Pebblefoot. ShadowClan?" She turned her head to look at Blackstar.

"Minnowtail! Pebblefoot!"

As the black warrior sat next to her brothers, the tip of her tail twitched with trepidation and her claws began to tear at the grass. She stared up at the sky overhead.

"ShadowClan is thriving this leaf-bare." The white tom announced. "Flamepaw has become Littlecloud's apprentice."

That was Jayfeather once… Leafpool thought. She briefly looked over her shoulder at Hollyleaf, noticing her anxiety.

What's ruffled her fur?

"We found a dead sheep in the border stream," Onestar stated. ''We dragged it out to keep the water clean.''

The medicine cat felt her heart skip a beat. She recalled the time when she and Jayfeather were preparing Ashfur's corpse for his vigil, and she had pulled out a tuft of dark fur from between his claws. The scent was uncannily familiar to her.

It couldn't have been Hollyleaf who murdered him. My daughter is a loyal warrior. She would never think about killing another cat, especially her own Clanmate!

Had one of Onestar's warriors been responsible for the gray tom's demise? He seemed to deny Ashfur's death beside the stream.

"Sol has left," Firestar began. "We-" He was interrupted by Hollyleaf.

"Wait!" Hollyleaf said. She was standing up now, and her eyes gleamed with an expression Leafpool couldn't make out. "There's something I must say that all the Clans must hear!"

"Hollyleaf, warriors don't speak here!" Lionblaze snapped.

She whipped around to face him, the fur on her back bristling. "This one does!"

Leafpool was shocked by her daughter's tone. It was true that she had quarreled with her brother a few times, but her hostility was surprising.

"What does she want to say?" Blackstar inquired. "Does ThunderClan have secrets they're hiding?"

The cats began to whisper among one another. Others growled and hissed, glaring at ThunderClan.

StarClan help us! Leafpool felt Squirrelflight's anxiousness resonating off her, threatening to suffocate her like smoke from a blazing fire. She pressed up against her side as she tried to maintain her composure.

"Yes, let her speak," Leopardstar said. "I would like to hear what she has to say."

"So do I," Onestar replied.

There wasn't a single cloud in the night sky. The stars flickered. Normally, StarClan would have sent clouds to cover the moon. Did they approve of Hollyleaf's actions?

"Enough!" The ginger tom yowled. "Hollyleaf, if you have something say, it should have been discussed with me first. Now is not the time for it."

"No!" Hollyleaf retorted sharply. "I will speak now!"

Across the clearing, Leafpool spotted Crowfeather. There was an angry gleam in his blue eyes and his tail lashed back and forth. She had never seen him like this. It was a far cry from the tom she had eloped with seasons ago, who gazed at her warmly.

Firestar's words did little to pacify the cats below him from his perch on the Great Oak. Every cat 's eyes were trained on Hollyleaf as if she were prey. They watched her ravenously, awaiting her next words.

The ThunderClan leader sighed. "Very well, Hollyleaf. You may speak."

No! They can't know!

"You think you know me and my brothers, Lionblaze and Jayfeather of ThunderClan," the black warrior began. "You think you know us, but everything you know is a lie! We are not the kits of Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight!"

"What?" Brambleclaw exclaimed. "Squirrelflight, why is she talking such nonsense?"

The ginger she-cat dipped her head. "I'm sorry Brambleclaw, but it's true. I'm not their mother, and you're not their father."

"Then who is?" the tabby tom demanded.

Squirrelflight looked at Hollyleaf. "Tell them, Hollyleaf. I've kept the secret for seasons. I'm not going to reveal it now."

"Coward!" she snarled. "I'm not afraid of the truth! Leafpool is our mother, and Crowfeather of WindClan is our father!"

Subsequently, the clearing erupted in a cacophony of yowls and hisses. Cats were experiencing a variety of emotions: from anger, to disgust, to horror. They glared disdainfully at ThunderClan.

"How can the Clans live when there are liars and cowards at the very heart of them?" The black molly demanded. She glared at Leafpool, her eyes blazing with rage. "It's all her fault!"

Leafpool was horrified by the venom in her voice. How could my own daughter disgrace her mother and Clan like this? Her mind went back to the time when she was a tiny newborn kit, kneading her stomach for milk. She felt a pang of despair as she looked at her.

"It's not true!" Crowfeather shouted. "She's the one who's lying!"

She padded towards him, her amber eyes meeting his cerulean ones. "It's true, Crowfeather. I wanted to tell you, but there was never a right time."

"You mean nothing to me, Leafpool," He said callously. "That moon has passed. My loyalty is only to WindClan now, and I have no other kits but Breezepelt."

Breezepelt hissed at them, while Nightcloud stared at them maliciously.

Leafpool couldn't believe that this was the same cat who had saved her from falling to her death from the stone hollow. Memories began to race through her mind.

"You walk in my dreams, Leafpool."

The light brown tabby walked to the center of the clearing. "I know I cannot be ThunderClan's medicine cat any longer," She glanced up at her father. "I'm very sorry to you, Firestar, and to all my Clanmates. Please know I tried my best, and regretted what I had done with every single breath."

She rested her gaze on her children. Lionblaze had a pained gleam in his eyes, while Hollyleaf had transformed into a vicious beast, showing nothing but hatred and fury. Jayfeather was silent.

Leafpool swallowed nervously. "But I could never regret having my kits. They are fine cats, and I will always be proud of them."

She turned around and padded away from the other cats, some parting to let her through the crowd. The medicine cat climbed onto the tree bridge, leaving her Clanmates behind. She crossed the tree bridge and didn't look back.

Eventually, Leafpool found herself near the horseplace. Memories flooded her of that leaf-bare night, when she and Squirrelflight had traveled there, and she had bore her kits inside the barn. She had laid on her side as the contractions rippled through her body.

She fixed her eyes on the night sky above. StarClan, what have I done to deserve this?

Prior to her, Yellowfang had been the only medicine cat to have kits, sired by Raggedstar. Brokenstar was the sole surviving kit of their litter, after his sisters died.

She had heard tales of the ruthless ShadowClan leader, who forced kits to train as warriors at a very young age. He was blinded and killed by his mother Yellowfang, who fed him deathberries.

Would Hollyleaf kill me? Leafpool recalled the hatred in her voice as her eyes burned with green fire. Not wanting to dwell on that question, she stood up and began to make her way back to camp.

Leafpool and Hollyleaf stood face to face with each other in the medicine cat's den. Between them was a cluster of blood-red berries. The sable molly's tail lashed from side to side, her eyes narrowed. She looked calmly at her daughter.

"I forgive you, Hollyleaf," Leafpool said.

Hollyleaf's eyes dilated. "What?" she exclaimed. "You forgive me? Traitors don't deserve forgiveness! The warrior code might be broken forever because of your stupid, selfish actions!"

She glanced down at the crimson berries on the ground. "And you expect me to forgive you? You abandoned your kits and made us grow up in a web of lies! Do you see those deathberries? You're going to eat them! Or I'll make you..."

"Hollyleaf, listen to-" The tabby she-cat was abruptly cut off.

"You deserve to die!" Hollyleaf snarled. "I've killed once, and I can do it again!"

Leafpool felt her blood freeze. Her mind once again returned to the time where she found the tuft of fur between Ashfur's claws. Within her gut, a storm of emotions was stirring.

So she killed Ashfur…

"Hollyleaf," Leafpool said. "I have lost my kits, the one cat I loved, and my calling as a medicine cat. Which do you think would be easier for me? To die, or to go on living?"

The black warrior didn't respond. She stepped aside, gazing blankly at her mother. Leafpool subsequently left the den. When she came outside, she spotted Squirrelflight.

Hollyleaf raced out of the den with the speed of a fox. She was a blur across the clearing, vanishing within the thorn tunnel.

"Hollyleaf!" the orange she-cat cried.

Lionblaze and Jayfeather chased after her. Leafpool pressed up against Squirrelflight, closing her eyes. Her daughter had murdered her own Clanmate, and now had threatened to kill her mother.

Nothing would ever be the same. This day would taint ThunderClan for moons, and perhaps seasons to come. The light brown tabby felt that she couldn't live anymore, her optimism fading like dew in the sun.

"I'll help you with your warrior training," her sister mewed.

Leafpool said nothing in reply. She was engrossed in her own thoughts. Once again, her life would take a drastic turn.