Dedicated to Kat in Socks, for the LawlClan Secret Santa oneshot event!. Happy holidays (as I am told that 'Merry Christmas' is politically incorrect)! I hope you, as well as others, enjoy this.

This takes place in the Twolegplace in the old forest territory, somewhere in the beginning of The New Prophecy (second series) just before the Clans relocate to the lake. That means BloodClan has fallen—or has it? Hrm. And important: There are two Cody's in this story. One is the Cody from Dawn; the other is... well, you'll see. It shall all be made clear.

Or so I hope.

Re: Dawn

"It's time for me to leave."

"But—but I thought you were settling here, with Birchkit and Ferncloud!"

I try to smile, but I can't ignore the tugging of my heart back towards the Twolegplace I was born and raised in. I had cats waiting for me. "I'm just a kittypet," I lie, "not a Clan cat. I can't stay. I'm just a useless mouth, and you know it."

Leafpaw knows it's true—even I can hear what the other ThunderClan cats say about my temporary stay with them in their fragile, dying home. "Thank you," Leafpaw whispers, "for everything. I'll miss you, Cody."

It's strange how easily I've grown used to being called by that name. "And I'll miss you too. Bye, Leafpaw," I whisper. "Good luck."

So that's what a real Clan is like...

Behold and witness, our brightest dawn!

Cody opened his eyes to the warm glow of the sun, its rays transforming dark night blue into the welcoming bright yellow-orange of dawn. Beautiful, he thought—just as he did every morning he woke to the coming of day. He could almost forget the strange dreams that tormented his sleep every night—the strangely familiar female voice, speaking of a brightest dawn.

Dawn. Something about the dawn fascinated him. It was—important, somehow. He couldn't quite explain it. Not that Cody needed to something to explain it. It just was.

His owners weren't awake yet, and according to past experience, they wouldn't be up until the sun was higher in the morning sky—so he stretched from the comfort of his nest, and silently slipped out of the home through the door-flap that let him in and out of the house as he pleased. The dew-laden grass and the wet soil of his yard soothed his paws. The crisp air was filled with the scents of—of other cats?

Cody froze, his yellow eyes darting from side to side. The strange scents in the air didn't belong to the other house cats in the neighborhood. Besides, the others didn't smell like this. It smelled like the dark alleyways where his owners and other two-legged beings threw their garbage. And—"My my," a voice drawled out lazily, "you've changed, Ashclaw!"

There—a ragged ginger tom, his fur kinked and unkempt, perched arrogantly atop his yard's fence. Cody had never seen him before. "Who are you?" he challenged, bristling. "And what's an ash claw?"

"Ha! Hey, Snow, didja hear that?" Cody took a hasty step backwards when another cat joined the stranger, a hulking white tom whose pelt was criss-crossed with numerous scars. "He doesn't rememberus—or even his own name, for that matter. What's wrong, Ashclaw? Think you can fool BloodClan, eh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

With a snort of disbelief, Snow turned to his partner. "We're wasting time, Reno. We have a job to do."

Cody took a quick glance backwards. I can make it back inside the house, he reasoned. But something rooted his paws, to stand his ground. Something was so familiar about these strange words. BloodClan. Ashclaw.

"Right." The ginger tom slid down from the fence, his small frame padded with lean muscle. "Shion wants you dead, Ashclaw," he snarled. "'About time that traitor paid for his crimes', she says to me. So me 'n Snow here, we need you dead." He paused to raise a single paw up for casual inspection, and Cody saw that his claws were larger than any cat's claws had right to be. Reinforced with teeth—the teeth of other cats. "You can come quietly, or... not so quietly."

Shion. Shion, that name meant something. I can't remember!Cody gritted his teeth. He was sure he was Cody, not Ashclaw. So why did the name sound so familiar?

His thoughts shattered as Reno's claws flashed towards his face. He jerked back at the last moment, the reinforced claws slashing through empty air where his eyes had just been. Some instinct seized Cody's body and forced him to duck before those claws came again, swiping—and before he knew what his body was doing, he was lunging in with jaws open wide to rip open a gash in Reno's soft, unprotected chest.

Reno backpedaled furiously, blood dripping from the wound—blood that Cody was tasting on his own tongue. What am I doing? His body, it—it just reacted. He didn't want to kill the scrawny ginger tom; he had never seen a fight in his life—

"Ha! I knew you were lying," Reno hissed, still adding distance between himself and Cody. "Once a killer, always a killer—isn't that right, Ashclaw?"

"I... I..."

"You're weak," Ashclaw snarled at the young ginger tom, "too weak to even live. What's wrong, Reno? Thinking of going back to your Twolegs? Think again. You're part of BloodClan now. Once a killer, always a killer."

"That's right," Cody meowed, his voice cold and fraught with danger. "It's been a while, Reno. Send Shion my regards."

The only reply was a hiss, weak and cowardly, as both Reno and Snow turned tail and slunk away from whence they came. Cody watched them go. Only when the two street cats had disappeared completely did he allow his body to tremble.

Who was he? Cody, who lived in this yard with his owners. He had been living here for as long as he could remember, after his owners discovered him nearly dead after being hit from one of their monsters, the things called 'cars'. It had never occurred to him that he had actually been a different cat, before the memories faded away into the darknesses of time.

He did remember something, though. His name had been Ashclaw. A warrior's name. Yes, he remembered he was something called a 'warrior', whatever thatwas. But there was something else: Shion. The name filled him with dread and longing at the same time. He remembered her pointed fur, her white pelt and black legs. It was Shion who haunted his dreams and always spoke of some brightest dawn.

"Cody!" His ear twitched at the call of one of his owners, accompanied by the familiar rattle of dry food pellets against his dish. Inside the house, his warm nest and plenty of food was waiting—but a part of him rebelled. The part that still remembered who he was: Ashclaw. Ashclaw had to know who he was, how he had become a mere house cat—or, as he once called them, kittypets. Reno had called him a traitor, and what little Ashclaw remembered told him that it was true—he and Reno had been comrades once. Mentor and apprentice, perhaps. Something had changed—had turned Ashclaw into Cody.

I have to know more.

He turned his back on the life he had been content with for so long. There would be no turning back.

Daddy, I want to be just like you.

Daddy, save me.

Cody was wandering down the trash-strewn alleyways as he picked out familiar landmarks: the largest garbage heap in Twolegplace—where cats were only outnumbered by the number of fleas—and one particular alley where Ashclaw distinctively remembered speaking to a young she-kit who called him Daddy.

He had a daughter?

"A-Ashclaw, is that you?" He turned to see a small silver tabby tom, his blue eyes wide in surprise. Ashclaw knew him—yes, his name was Ed, or something like that. "Everyone thought you were dead!"

"E-Ed?"

"You remember me," the tom crowed happily. "BloodClan's been edgy all day today! So I knew something was up—and knowing BloodClan, only youwould be able to ruffle their fur like that." Edgar didn't look like Reno or Snow, Cody noted; his fur was slick and neatly groomed, and he wore no cat-fangs as trinkets around his collar or to reinforce his claws. This one was just a house cat, a kittypet who stuck his inquisitive nose into places where it didn't belong. "So are you finally going to take down Shion?"

That name again. Until he recovered all of his memories, he'd have to adopt the persona of Ashclaw—and perhaps find out more about his past as well. "I haven't decided yet," he replied, playing along as casually as he could. "I've been out of the loop for a while."

"An entire year is more than just 'a while'." That was useful to know—he had been gone for a year. Twelve moons. "Shion told everyone you were dead, though."

"You know better than to listen to Shion." Edgar's response was a dry chuckle of agreement. "So what's been going on with BloodClan?"

"I heard that Shion's been going on about some 'dawn' or whatever. The guys don't tell me much about it, but apparently Shion's preparing to take over the forest soon—y'know, where youcame from."

Cody nodded, as if he actually understood what Edgar was saying. Inside, he summarized the information he had just received: He, Ashclaw, had been a forest cat. Shion seemed to be the leader of BloodClan, and she wanted to take over the forest outside the Twolegplace—"You mean, like Scourge?" The words came from nowhere, from the small part of him that still remembered.

"Of course. You were the one who suggested it to Shion, weren't you?" Edgar shrugged, as if the detail didn't matter. "Although, since she chased you out, I'm guessing things have... changed." The tabby fidgeted a little, his blue eyes suddenly wary of the shadows they were standing in. "Hey, Ashclaw. I-I think I should be getting back now, you know—"

A cold chuckle echoed in the narrow alleyway, setting Cody's fur on end and startling Edgar. "When will you learn to keep that ridiculous mouth of yours shut, Ed? You were always two-faced."

"Ah—well, it was nice speaking to you again, Ash," Edgar stammered, stepping back. "See you later!" He fled, scaling a nearby fence and speeding out of view.

The source of the voice paid Edgar no mind. "Some cats never learn," the newcomer sighed, stepping closer to reveal white fur and black face. "Ed's always talked too much. One day I just might have to teach him a thing or two." Cody narrowed his eyes—thiswas Shion; all his instincts told him so. "I hear you hurt poor Reno," Shion continued, her voice calm and even conversational. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?"

Cody guessed—no, he knew—that Shion was not Edgar. Playing to gain information would not work with her. "Where is she?" he snarled challengingly.

He had struck home; Shion stiffened, her bright blue eyes narrowing. "Dawn is none of your concern, not anymore."

'Dawn' had to be the little kit of his memories, the one who called him Daddy. "A father has the right to know."

From Shion's expression, Cody immediately regretted uttering that sentence.

"You—oh, that's right. Reno said you put up an act—that you didn't know who he was, or your own name for that matter. He thinks you were bluffing, but I know the truth of it now." Shion drew closer, her blue eyes impossible to look away from. "Ashclaw is dead. A Twoleg monster ran him over."

"Are you blind? I'm standing right here."

"Ashclaw is dead," Shion repeated, "because you aren't him. Otherwise you'd never lay claim to Dawn like you did just now. Tell me, who was her mother?"

He knew there was a trap here; the sneaky she-cat was onto him. He grasped around for an answer, a name, anything—but his memories came up empty. "Can't remember, can you?" Shion whispered knowingly. "I am her mother. Scourge was her father. You were nothing. You arenothing."

Cody didn't know how to respond—so he decided to take a gamble. Trusting that his body still remembered what it was like to be the killer Ashclaw, he lunged for her throat just as he had with Reno. To his shock the slender she-cat moved faster than his eyes could follow, whipping to the side just in time to escape his fangs. Before he could react her razor-sharp claws connected with his soft muzzle, and her deadly teeth found the meat of his shoulder. He shook her off easily—she was much smaller than he was—but not before she left another gouge in his flank, weeping red tears.

"You've grown soft," Shion goaded as his blood stained her muzzle and paws. Cody backed away, feeling the terror that Reno must have felt when he ripped his chest open. "Twelve moons have passed, and you've only gotten fat. Where were you hiding, Ashclaw? At a Twoleg's nest? Don't bother answering; I already know. You're not a warrior anymore—just a kittypet, like the ones you despised so long ago." Pairs of eyes lit up in the blackness of the alleyway behind Shion; all of them saw Cody, and they blazed with hostility. "Afraid? You should be. With Dawn as its leader, BloodClan shall pick up where Scourge left off and conquer the forest cats. All of these cats, with me, will fight to cut down anything standing in the way. Even you, dear Ashclaw; even you."

Daddy, save me.

"You're just a bloody fool," Cody retaliated angrily, his strength returning as memories flooded back to him. "The forest defeated Scourge once, and they'll defeat you."

"We'll just have to see how their precious Firestar will fare against Dawn." Daddy. "You remember, don't you? She is more than Scourge ever was. And she has no time for you. You are dead." Shion flicked her tail, and at the signal all the gathered cats crouched behind her crept forward, their glowing eyes unblinking as they approached. "Goodbye, Ashclaw."

With that the cats sprung, and Cody ran—ran for his life. Teeth snapped at his tail as he barely stayed a single leap ahead of the rogues. He whipped his head around frantically, trying to find out where he was, and where he should go—but at every corner a BloodClan cat lay in wait. He was doomed, doomed for a life he had previously led—a life he could hardly even remember. They were catching up, his legs were tired, his muscles screamed at him to stop, collapse, give up—

The last thing he felt was claws, sinking themselves into his throat...

Dawn.

Shion blinked at the single kit nursing at her belly—a fluffy little thing, still blind and deaf. "Scourge wants me to name her. He's busy plotting with Bone—that silly plan of his, you know, to take over the forest from the wildcats."

"Let him. I left ShadowClan for a reason. There's nothing in the forest but trees, squirrels, and more trees. Maddening, really."

"It's a grudge, dear Ashclaw. Some forest cat offended him a while back, apparently."

"So what will you name her?"

Shion didn't answer—only stared off into the warm glow of the sun, peeking just above the horizon. "One day Scourge will take over the forest," she murmured, "and begin BloodClan anew. A whole new world for our daughter to grow up in—a new dawn."

"That's a name, isn't it? Dawn."

The queen purred, her tail whipping at Ashclaw playfully. "Not 'Dawnkit', or however you forest cats might name your kits?" Chuckles. Shion and Ashclaw looked out from atop the Twoleg nest's roof, their eyes—Shion's bright blue, Ashclaw's dark yellow—hued with the orange of the coming dawn. A new day had begun.

"Are you alright?"

When he blinked open his eyes, for a heartbeat he expected to see the bright dawn greeting his eyes—but no, it was a brown tabby she-cat. Confusion swamped him—until he remembered.

His entire body ached as he tried to get to his paws, but what hurt most was his head—and his heart. Cody was dead. It was still hazy, but his fever dreams—dreams of his time with Shion, before she had become his enemy—had returned to him his memories.

He was Ashclaw, former warrior of ShadowClan. He had left his birth Clan to join the cats of Twolegplace, the cats controlled by Scourge: BloodClan. He had fought with BloodClan in that final battle against the four Clans—the battle for control of the forest, where Scourge had wanted BloodClan to live in. In the end Scourge fell, but not because BloodClan was weak. It was because of StarClan, and the nine lives that they had given to that kittypet-turned-leader Firestar. If Scourge had had nine lives, the forest would have been theirs. Realizing that gave Shion an idea: What if BloodClan's new leader were to have nine lives, would they not be able to accomplish what Scourge had failed to do?

So Shion turned to her already-close friend, Ashclaw, who suggested that they train up a young cat to take over leadership of a Clan and receive the nine lives. Both agreed that Scourge's and Shion's daughter Dawn was the perfect candidate. Ashclaw taught Dawn all he knew of the warrior code, so that one day she would be able to take over leadership of a Clan with little problem. Shion taught her how to fight—Shion, one of the best fighters in BloodClan, second only to Scourge and perhaps Bone.

All that changed when Ashclaw dared raise complaint, when he saw scars from Shion's claws covering Dawn's tiny body.

At that point, Shion decided that he was a bad influence. She wanted to raise Dawn herway—and to Shion, Ashclaw was too soft on BloodClan's key to victory. Dawn was a weapon, not a daughter to adopt. So Shion had gathered BloodClan together, and chased him out—and somehow, somewhere along the endless chase, he had stumbled. He streaked across a Thunderpath, just in time for a monster to hit and rob him of his memories—

"Hello? I asked if you're alright." Ashclaw blinked. Right, he had somehow been rescued. The she-cat stared at him as if he were crazy. "Well, are you?"

"Sort of." He inspected his wounds, surprised to see that all his cuts and gashes were smothered in cobwebs. As far as he knew, BloodClan had no medicine cats, nor did they use any of the very basic herbs and such that the Clans' medicine cats did. "Are you a Clan cat?"

"No. I've lived here all my life. My father taught me." Ashclaw waited for her to explain, although it was apparent that that was all the she-cat would say on the matter. She leaped onto a nearby trash bin, casting her gaze all around—keeping watch for any BloodClan cats, probably. "I've heard about them, though. They live in the forest and follow a code, right?"

"I'm surprised you know that much." Ashclaw struggled to rise, failed, and collapsed. "Who are you? How am I still alive?"

"I found you. I was watching them attack—BloodClan, that is. They didn't finish you off." The she-cat paused to rasp her tongue over a thick-furred paw. "And I'm Princess."

None of it made any sense—but Ashclaw valued his life, and for some strange reason Shion allowed him to keep it. Yet something was wrong here. "Why'd you help me? You could have let me die."

"I'm not part of BloodClan, but I hear from them. Reno and Snow come around often. I've heard a lot about you, Ashclaw."

"Ashclaw is dead." This time Ashclaw was able to pick himself up from the ground, although pain lanced up the leg that Shion had slashed open. "I should be leaving," he muttered, clenching his teeth against the urge to yowl. "I shouldn't even be alive."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know. The forest, maybe."

"Nothing left for you here, huh?"

That gave him pause. There wasn't any reason for him to stay here. He couldn't go back to his Twolegs; amnesia allowed him to accept their caresses and food, but it was too late to turn back to his stint as a kittypet. He wondered how he had endured it, living as Cody, for twelve long moons. Fighting Shion was useless as well; BloodClan may not be as powerful as it was underneath Scourge, but it was a match for any single cat.

"It's time to move on." And he knew he was out of his league. Twelve moons of growing fat as a kittypet, while Shion only grew faster and stronger. Perhaps it was time to kill Ashclaw himself—kill that identity and create a new one. Perhaps he could go find ShadowClan and join them. He was no match for Shion, but he could still fight, maybe even hunt.

What about Dawn? The whisper came from the back of his head, the part of him that had been Cody.

She means nothing to me. She's not even my daughter.

So? His conscious was insistent, and agonizingly naïve. Can't you hear her voice? Dawn's asking for help. She misses you, Ashclaw.

What voice? Ashclaw ignored Princess as he closed his eyes, and tried to summon that voice again—the voice that called him Daddy. That small little kitten, so weak and innocent, who trusted him as her father. Not Scourge, the dead cat she had never known. Ashclaw.

Save me.

The old Ashclaw would have brushed off the calls as madness—some production of a tired mind, perhaps. But the thought of life as the old Ashclaw filled his mouth with some bitter taste worse than mouse bile. He wasn't a killer, not anymore. Whatever he had done in his previous life was over. All he could do was hope to find a new one. But before he could do that, there was unfinished business. He had a daughter to save, didn't he? Perhaps StarClan, if they were still watching him, had sent Dawn's voice to him—to set him on the right track.

"No," he meowed, opening his eyes. Princess stared at him curiously; her intrigued expression urged him to continue. "I still have business here."

"Shion and BloodClan will kill you," Princess told him matter-of-factly. "You have your life now. You've recovered. Why would you throw your life away?"

That's what I want to know."Someone's waiting for me." He looked up at the night sky; the stars were just beginning to twinkle into view. "She's been waiting for twelve moons. I have to save her from Shion." It would be suicide. BloodClan, no matter how strong, would never be able to win; he knew that for a fact. Shion was just too stubborn to see it—and she'd kill Dawn in her training.

Princess stared at him, her icy blue eyes irresistible. "Is she really worth it?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "It's strange. I wasn't all that pious back in ShadowClan, but... I feel like StarClan has been watching over me. Telling me that this is right."

"StarClan?"

With a gaze skywards he replied, "Ancestors that live in the stars."

"I heard that they give nine lives to the strongest cats."

Ashclaw managed a weak chuckle. "Not exactly. Nothing is that simple."

The she-cat only smiled sadly. "I see." From her perch she leaped, her claws snagging onto a nearby fence. "Go on," she called over her shoulder. "Good luck, Ashclaw."

He still remembered where Edgar lived—the old Ashclaw had visited him often. It was close to the alleyway where Shion had ambushed him, but he knew: there was business to settle with Edgar as well.

"Edgar!" No sound came from his yard, although Ashclaw knew very well that the silver tabby was listening. "Don't do anything you might regret, Edgar." The chill in his voice drew the kittypet out, albeit warily. Ashclaw narrowed his eyes as the full extent of his memories reminded him: Edgar had played quite the role in his downfall. Now he knew why the kittypet had seemed so friendly yet wary during their meeting, before Shion had entered the scene.

"W-Wow. I thought Shion would kill you for sure," Edgar stammered. Fear controlled this cat; his skinny legs were shaking, and his eyes darted to and fro—as if something would pop out of the shadows, screaming for his blood. Traitor."S-So why are you back here, Ashclaw?" When no reply came, Edgar shivered and added, "You know, don't you? That I... I..."

He sold you, the old Ashclaw whispered, and you know it. He told Shion where you were, so that she could ambush you.

He was afraid, the old Cody argued. He's innocent—a victim of BloodClan. Like you. Like Dawn.

"I, I'm really sorry, Ash," Edgar went on, his mew high-pitched and pitiful. "BloodClan, they-they know everything. They made me—"

"I'm not here to hurt you," Ashclaw sighed angrily, saying it if only to shut his groveling. "I don't care; that's all in the past. I'm here because as I recall, you know some of BloodClan's cats—rather well, if I may add."

Edgar was still wary. "Yeah, I have friends in BloodClan. Why?"

"So you'd know where Shion keeps Dawn." Edgar's face was blank; 'dawn' meant nothing to him other than a time of day. "I mean, where is their... camp? Where is Shion when she's not patrolling?"

"Oh! Reno told me," Edgar blurted. Ashclaw must have shown some hint of confusion on his face, for the small tabby immediately added, "He's really not a bad guy, you know. He talks a lot—too much, sometimes. I thought you two were pretty close."

"I remember." Reno, the mischievous little tom who, like Edgar, stuck his nose into places he shouldn't; Reno, the cat who was forced to join BloodClan by Ashclaw himself. He swallowed the bitterness and continued, "So what did Reno say?"

"He was complaining about how Shion keeps moving BloodClan's base so often—to confuse her enemies, or something. Not that BloodClan can be threatened or anything. Anyways, I'm sure right now they're at that Twoleg park—you know, that weird playground where Twoleg kits play in?" Ashclaw nodded. "At night, when the Twolegs are gone, BloodClan gathers there. That's when Shion gives one of her big fancy speeches—I guess that's what you meant, when you asked for dawn."

The playground.Ashclaw had been there more than once; he'd be able to find it again. "That's all I needed."

"A-Alrighty, then." Edgar cringed again, as if he were waiting for some underhand blow. "I-You really aren't mad, Ashclaw?"

"No."

"The Ashclaw I know would have ripped my throat out for betraying him."

"You're probably right," Ashclaw agreed. And he left it at that.

The last thing he heard from Edgar was, "Thank you, Ashclaw!"

Something was wrong; Shion would feel it. It was in the way that Dawn moved, how she dove in for the kill a fraction of a heartbeat slower than she normally did. Something was bothering her daughter—but what? "Dawn, stop. Training is over." Her daughter looked surprised—as she should have been. Shion never ended training early, and they had only just begun sparring. "Now tell me: what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Mother."

Shion didn't know whether to sigh or scream. She had birthed and trained Dawn; she knewwhen her daughter was telling a lie. "The truth, now."

"It's just... How do you know this will even work?"

"What do you mean?"

"Training to be the strongest fighter in the forest. Will one of the Clans really take me for leader just because I can fight?"

"Don't talk such nonsense." Shion's fur bristled ever-so-slightly, as she suspected where this conversation was going. "Where did you get that idea, Dawn?"

"You told me that StarClan, they give nine lives to whoever is the strongest cat of the Clan. Me. But what if there's more to it than that, Mother?"

It can't be. "I don't know where you heard such tripe," Shion meowed as calmly as she could. "But listen to your mother when she tells you that you willbe leader, of the forest and BloodClan, as long as you dedicate yourself to training—"

"But—"

"Enough!" Shion snarled, anger getting the better of her. Dawn's eyes—the icy blue ones she received from Scourge—were flickering with the telltale shards of weakness. How dare she? How dare she mock her father's legacy by wavering now, when they were so close to fulfilling what Scourge could not? "Who talked to you of StarClan, Dawn? Who?"

From weakness to burning flame in an instant. "Father told me, Mother. The father you murdered."

For a few heartbeats Shion couldn't breathe. "Your father," she managed carefully, "was murdered by Firestar. A forest cat. Have you forgotten that?"

"I never knew Scourge. I'm talking about him. Ashclaw."

I knew it. Some idiot had gone and spoken to her daughter about that traitor. "Who was it?" Shion spat. "Was it Reno? That fool's too talkative for his own good. Or was it his little friend, Snow? Who told you about him?" She'd tear their mangy throats out for this, those flea-ridden—

"I heard it from you. I heard you talking to the others." Shion couldn't believe it—her daughter was spying on her? The daughter that she had so painstakingly raised for the greater good of BloodClan? "I—I saved Father from your cats. I was watching, Mother. I watched you torture Reno and Snow, and all the others—just to bend them to your will. And I was watching Father, too. He didn't punish Edgar like you did. He—he was good."

What has he done?

"You're not feeling well," Shion decided. "To bed, Dawn. I'll have to straighten these rumors out myself." Ashclaw, still alive?So those fools had let him escape, and Dawn had something to do with it. But it wouldn't do to panic now; she had to—to keep her composure, as Scourge always had. "It seems you've forgotten your duty to BloodClan, Dawn—"

A screech interrupted her, and both Shion and Dawn turned their heads to the noise. Someone was approaching. They waited—and Shion could do nothing but beg fate that it would not be Ashclaw who stepped forward.

It was. Battered and mangled, with wounds still not yet healed—but it was him.

"Princess?"

It took a while for her to register the confusion in Ashclaw's voice. "Is that who she claimed to be?" Shion laughed, bitterly. "You can't even recognize her, Ashclaw. How can you ever claim her?"

Ashclaw ignored it. "Let her go," he rasped. "You can still end this folly."

"It was never folly. Youcame up with the plan, didn't you?"

"Yes. It was a stupid plan, even back then. Think, Shion! Do you really think ShadowClan or WindClan will welcome her? Do you really think getting nine lives is that easy?"

"If they won't, BloodClan will destroy them."

"You're just a sad fool, Shion. I told you—they defeated BloodClan once before, and they can do it again. You're telling your own cats to commit suicide—even your own daughter." Ashclaw drew himself up, and for a heartbeat he was no longer the broken and battered amnesiac; he was what the Clan cats called a warrior. "Scourge is dead. Let it go."

She stared at Dawn out of the corners of her eyes. Her daughter, the one she had raised to grow up to be as strong as Scourge, was faltering.She was smitten with this cat that she had only known for three short moons, turning away the mother who had raised her for her entire life. She thought that she could die happy, if Scourge's dreams—such wonderful dreams they were—could be fulfilled. All that, gone to ashes.

She hated him.

With a yowl she aimed for his tired yellow eyes—eyes she had once respected. He saw the attack coming and ducked, but she wasn't a fool; with her teeth she grabbed hold of his ear and bit till the familiar taste of blood washed over her tongue. She wore no dog-teeth on her claws as Scourge did, but as Scourge's successor she'd destroy Ashclaw.

Already the gray tabby was slowing down in his retaliations; the wounds from earlier were taking their toll. And finally, an easy opening: Shion darted in, faster than any snake, ready to end this by drawing Ashclaw's lifeblood—

Pain was such an odd feeling. She was too fast, too quick for even the nimblest of rogues to lay their filthy claws on her. Strange, then, to feel it snaking down the entire length of her back. But it wasn't Ashclaw; Ashclaw was already half-dead before her. So who—

"Enough." Dawn's beautiful thick brown tabby fur, splashed with the red of blood—herblood. "Mother, enough."

With a screech Shion turned, threw herself at her daughter—but Dawn was as merciless as Shion had always taught her to be. Her face was ripped open by relentless crimson claws, and she couldn't see through all the blood. I can't lose, Shion despaired, thinking of Scourge. I can't fail him. "You were supposed to be our dawn," she rasped, her voice hardly above a whisper. "Why can't you accept that? I'm your mother."

Dawn's face grimaced. "I know."

She was in front of her now, and her eyes—Scourge's eyes—were filled with... what? Rage? I deserve it, she sighed inwardly. All that training. All those scars.

"I-I loved you."

"I do too." Dawn raised a paw, the claws still stained from her blood, and brought it down.

Father. Father.

Was that StarClan speaking to him again? Perhaps he really was delusional.

Father, you can't leave me now!

Or perhaps not. Ashclaw forced his eyes open—not to a bright orange dawn, but to Dawn. "I-I'm still alive? How?" He couldn't even move his legs; the only feeling in his body was pain. He could feel the cobwebs swathed on his cuts, but something—perhaps StarClan again?—told him that it was futile. He was dying.

"You taught me, remember? Before Mother ran you out of BloodClan." At Dawn's paws were some plants, distinctly yellow. "Marigold and cobwebs. You weren't a medicine cat, though, so that's all you could teach me."

"I remember." Yes... Before he had cut ties with BloodClan, he had taught her that. Marigold was a simple enough herb to remember, even for a warrior like him; and cobwebs as well. He had passed on his knowledge after seeing the cuts that Shion had given Dawn in one of their training sessions. Well, maybe even the old Ashclaw could be compassionate."You said your father taught you—when you said your name was Princess."

Dawn let out an uncertain laugh. "Princess is another kittypet. I don't think you know her." Her voice was strangely soothing; conversation reassured Ashclaw: she wasn't trapped by Scourge's legacy. Not anymore. "Fath—Ashclaw. You never really finished explaining StarClan."

"You already know everything. Warriors live on as stars after they die. They watch over their Clanmates, even after death."

"Will you be part of StarClan after you..." She struggled to find the word, unable to say it.

"...after I die?" Ashclaw adjusted his body, weighed down by poultices, so he could see the blue sky. Only then did his fevered mind realize that they weren't in the Twolegplace; they were at its very edge—where forest met brick, green clashing against gray. "Probably not. I left my Clan, forsook the warrior code..."

"But you—"

"But nothing," he snapped. "Ashclaw can't be forgiven. Cody wasn't even a warrior."

"Cody?"

Nothing made sense anymore. "Cody—me. I was Cody, a fat little kittypet for twelve moons. While Shion raised you, I was just a pampered house cat." Regret. "StarClan wouldn't take me." He coughed, and wasn't surprised to see blood pinking his white spittle. "No one would."

She had nothing to say to that, it seemed. "I'm lost," she whispered. "I don't know what to do, I'm not a medicine cat. I—I'm not even a Clan cat, as Mother always wanted me to be. I don't know how to save you." She was looking down at him, weak and immobilized as he was, yet she looked as if shewere the one fading away. "What will I do, when you're gone?"

StarClan, he didn't know. He didn't know anything. He was just a warrior who betrayed his Clanmates more than once, and now he was dying from wounds that would never heal. He didn't know how to be a father to this daughter that he never asked for. But...

"Live." Dawn looked up. "You're free. Take a step forward, Dawn, and then another. Whatever you do, don't look back."

"But—"

"Maybe we can't run from our pasts. I don't think I was able to, anyways. But everything—Shion, BloodClan, Scourge—it's in the past. Don't let the past control you, Dawn. Youcontrol the present, and your future."

All this philosophy was too much for him; it was ridiculous. Hopefully she understood it. But then, he reasoned, a dying cat should have the right to say whatever he wants to say."I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"For making you wait for so long."

Dawn smiled sadly—just as Shion had, on that one beautiful morning. "I love you."

And finally, at that moment, Ashclaw—formerly of ShadowClan, formerly of BloodClan, formerly Cody the kittypet—could close his eyes, and let everything go.

A new day was waiting.

Father had given me so much. I owed it to him to meet the Clans myself, and I had. I took up the name of Cody—and when I first met Leafpaw, I went with her back to her home in ThunderClan. Not to exact revenge on Firestar for Scourge's death—but to see, with my own eyes, what a true Clan is like.

And now it is time for me to take my leave—for the cats at home, the old BloodClan, need me. Not because I want BloodClan to rule the forest, or even Twolegplace—as Mother wished to believe—but because Father taught me: we can't let BloodClan's past drag us down. We can always look towards the future—one filled with peace, free of Scourge's rage. What I learned at ThunderClan will only help us get back on our feet again as the proud cats we all are at heart.

The stars are my only company as I make my way back through a ravaged forest—the forest that Scourge once dreamed of conquering, as did Mother after him. I remember what you told me about stars, Father. I remember all you said of StarClan, how the spirits of our dead live on in the little lights in the night sky. I even remember how you told me that you had done too much evil to join the stars after death. I remember it all.

So I look up, my eyes catching on the bright lights above me. And I can't help but wonder: Are you watching me? Did StarClan, in the end, allow you into their hallowed ranks? Are you there, Father?

Are you there?

Ending note, perhaps to address a few concerns that may have risen from reading this holycrapsolong oneshot:

Yes, Dawn temporarily adopts the identity of 'Cody'. She is the Cody that Leafpaw meets in Dawn. Gasp.

Due to time constraints and my antisocial tendencies (both my fault entirely), non sequiturs might be present. I'm sorry for those too. I still can't figure out how human beings (somewhat anthropomorphized cats, in this case) interact, and I didn't have the time to read and reread this so that all the conversations actually made sense, or whether the plot was rushing too quickly. Yeah yeah, yell at me in a review or something. I've just totally been out of it for this entire oneshot.

To Kat: I'm sorry this was so long. I told myself I'd not let this stretch too far so that you'd be lulled to sleep by this humble Christmas gift of mine, but... well, let's just say I'm prone to rambling. :/ I mean, I know one-shots should be short and sweet. And to be honest, my first draft didn't require so many words. Most of the wordcount here comes from trying to build the foundation of the plot: a cat who thinks he remembers something but isn't quite sure. My first draft didn't require such foundation-building, since it was heavily based on the canon series—but lo and behold, I soon learned that you didn't read past book three of the first series. Even if the first draft had a better idea (to me) and could have been executed with a much smaller wordcount, it would all be pointless if you didn't know who the characters were. (In this case, it was Brightheart. Much of the draft depended on a reader's previous knowledge of what happens to Brightheart in the canon.)

Well, enough of my complaining. For the heck of it I'll ramble a little more, just because... I can. I'll ramble some about how this came to be.

The third prompt was definitely the most specific, so I worked on including that part first. My first impression of the third prompt gave me an image of someone looking up at the sky, their eyes searching for something in those bright lights. So from the beginning I knew that somewhere, preferably at the ending, a character would look up at the stars—and given that stars mean something important to the cats of the Clans, I knew that this character would have to be looking for someone who had passed away.

The first and second prompts were more vague, and therefore easier to incorporate. Ashclaw wants to recover his memories. Dawn/Cody spends much of her time waiting, waiting for Ashclaw. Could be applied to other things, but... not important, I guess.

I'll probably end with the whole 'Cody' thing. Yes, Cody is a canon character so you (Kat) probably wouldn't know her—but I thought it would be a rather neat twist, for other people who have encountered Cody in their reading of The New Prophecy. Was it coincidence that Cody appears in the third entry of the second series, titled Dawn? The world may never know. (I like to believe that it was my stroke of genius. But it was probably just my desire to insert some 'Dawnhat' reference in somewhere, though.) Besides, I like it when you discover that a seemingly helpless character actually turns out to be the not so helpless—and so I gave Cody another identity and past. Ha. ...I should have made her more BAMF than I did. Ah well. Let us accept the sad truth that the coolest characters never get screentime.

I don't know where Shion's name came from. A little reference to Kingdom Hearts (which no one here, I'm sure, knows about! *shifty eyes*), besides the use of 'Re:' in the title. Long story short: I thought 'Xion' was pronounced 'Zion', but discovered that it's actually pronounced 'Shion'. I laughed. And then made her a character. (And I'm a Xenosaga fangirl. Ah, I so old.)

Anyways.

Again, sorry if this was too long-winded. Knowing me, I probably rushed some details and may have disoriented you somewhere in the oodles of text. Given that you live in the future, it might not be Christmas day anymore when you read this—but hey. Merry Christmas, Kat in Socks. Merry Christmas to you all. Or happy holidays; whichever you prefer.

Thanks for reading.