A/N:

All support including reviews/favs/alerts is must appreciated. It all means so much to me! Thank you! :)

Long breaks in-between updates seem to be a theme with most of my fanfic stories, so you really shouldn't be surprised by now ;) All the same though, I do apologize for the long delay. Life, work, friends….yeah.

In all the fanfics I'm currently writing, I have to admit, this is one of my favourites to write. I think the reason is due to the amount of creativity and passion I have for the Warrior series. Plus, I really like how everything is slowly, gradually, but surly, coming together.

Read Key:

Talking: "Talking"

Thoughts: Thoughts

Voice: Voice

Well, nothing more to say but…

Read and Enjoy! :)

Sorry for bad spelling and grammar!

Disclaimer: Otherwise stated, the characters in this fanfiction belong to the author of "The Warrior Cats" book series Erin Hunter. The Character of John Mew, and any other OCs of my creation, belongs to me, mpkio2.

Warrior Cats:
The TwoLeg Priosner
Written by mpkio2

Chapter 7
The Forest Where Clan Cats Dwell

Shadow's POV

"The boarder patrol is back!"

"What's that Brackenfur and Ashfur are carrying between them?"

"A kit! And…is it hurt?"

"A kittypet? But why bring him back here? He could be a spy!"

"Spy or not, show some compassion! It's injured!"

"If he's from ShadowClan, I'll rip his tail off!"

"Stay back, Berrykit!"

An ocean of unfamiliar voices hit Shadow's ears like a tidal wave crashing down on him, his right ear just barely twitching, the only part of his body that moved subconsciously and didn't cause a ripple of pain spread through his bones.

Eyes still not open, Shadow was aware that someone…no, there was two of them…were slowly carrying him, lifted off the ground and taking him to a destination he had no knowledge of. And though Shadow had no idea who these…cats? (The scent in the air around him was familiar; like his friend's Fritz's scent only one hundredth times the size in intensity), Shadow took note of how careful they were being with his body as they carried him.

Maybe they won't hurt me, the young kit thought, hope, like a small light illuminating within a dark cave. Maybe they're nice…I mean, they helped me, didn't they?

Despite his horrid condition, Shadow noted, after sometime he had finally regained consciousness, of how better his fur felt, which at one point ,wounds inflicted with dry blood, were now replaced with a sticky substance ( One of which Shadow had no recollection of,) that kept his wounds healed and protected. Instantly feeling that the strange cats they were carrying him now were the ones who had helped heal his wounds, he immediately felt a lot calmer, the panic that spread through his veins, his once throbbing heart, now all but soothed and subdued.

However, calm as he may be, doubtful thoughts still raged inside his head, which only caused the small kit to fell panic rise within him once more, an uncontrollable shiver convulsed up his spine.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, feeling the dull pain through his body, the black-furred tom-kit, slowly opened his eyes, sunlight, accompanied by a huge ominous shadow that stood tall and daunting in front of him, greeted him. A blurred figure, Shadow could just make out, stood on top of the shadow…

Leafpool's POV

Leafpool felt as though the end of her clan was but at the precedence of occurring, as if the ground beneath her and her surrounding clanmates would open up and gobble them up at any moment, or lightning would descended from the sky and attack them or another clan was about to crash through the gorse tunnel, clambering down the side of the camp's walls with teeth bearing, claws unsheathed, tails fluffed, eyes wide with nothing but ferocity.

Fur fluffed, eyes wide, heart racing as fast as any warrior from Lion Clan, Leafpool stared in horror at the scene before her; her clanmates together, whispering in pairs and between each other at a small black kit that lay, unmoving, in front of Highledge.

She wanted to look away, believing that she couldn't withstand seeing her beloved clanmates dying right there in front of her, but courage too, however slight, roared in her racing heart, wanting to drag her paws towards them, to warn them, to yowl and tell them to flee, to run as far as away from here, that this very small, helpless, injured kit was going to destroy everything she held dear too! All these emotions whirled inside the medicine cat's body, and she stood, rooted to the spot like a growing forest tree, unable to act on her emotions.

Puzzlement crossed her mind as she tried desperately to do something, to move at least, but found that her attempts where futile, she wouldn't budge an inch. She opened her mouth, hoping her words would fall out and her meaning, her emotions would reach them in time, but all that came out was a dry cough.

The time had come and the time had passed; she had made her decision, one which would most likely shape the future of her beloved clan and the others around the lake.

As her heart swirled with guilt, her head finally bowed to the ground, body shaking. "I'm sorry," she whispered to her clan. "Please forgive me…"

"What's the meaning of this?!" A snarl interrupted the ThunderClan medicine cat's whirling thoughts, head up, seeing the owner of said voice approach the kit which would surely be their destruction.

Dustpelt! No!

"Why have you brought it here?" The dark tabby tom asked, his head turning on Leafpool's sister, Squirrelflight, with a snarl.

No, don't touch him!, Leafpool asked, her ears pulled back, her mouth agape. I have to do something! I can't let it end like this! Not here, not now! Move, Leafpool!

"Isn't it obvious, mouse-brain?!" Squirrelflight, who had been sitting close by to the kit, rounded on Dustpelt with a snarl, slowly approaching him. "He's injured! We couldn't leave him out there!"

With a pang to her heart, Leafpool realized what Squirrelflight was doing. That stance! Her body language! She's protecting him! As if she was his…

"You don't even know who he is!" Dustpelt retorted. "Where he came from!"

Upon hearing this, Squirrelflight's back arched, her fur stood on end, muzzle pulled back in a snarl. "Are you suggesting we should have left him to die?" The ginger warrior asked in an almost whispered voice.

"Kittypets are not our concern," Dustpelt replied, though the anger in his voice had died down somewhat, his fur too, like Squirrelflight's, on end.

"I wouldn't say that," Came the unmistakable, gentle voice of Leafpool's father and leader of ThunderClan, FireStar, who slowly emerged from his den and clambered down the rocks of Highledge, accompanied by his mate, Sandstrom in his wake. "Some clanmates, whom you live with now, were once kittypets too, Dustpelt…"

Muffled murmurings quietly spoke around the group of cats.

"I-I'm only thinking of the clan," Dustpelt murmured, his eyes downcast, taking very tentative paw steps back to his original position.

"And I'm sure Squirrelflight was too," Sandstrom meowed, padding up and sitting beside FireStar. "In the moment, she must have had a difficult predicament in her paws…"

"I didn't," Squirrelflight mewed back in a strong voice. "It wasn't difficult to choose. I knew exactly what had to be done…"

"She was adamant," Spiderleg meowed with a scoff. "She wouldn't take no for an answer, the mouse-brain,"

"I wasn't going to let an innocent die!" Squirrelflight turned and faced the long-legged warrior with a snarl, fur on end again. "Look at him!" Her tail swished to the kit on the ground. "Who knows what would have happened if Leafpool-?"

"So that's why you fetched for your sister," The unmistakable calm voice of the grey-warrior and deputy of ThunderClan, Brambleclaw said as he approached the crowding cats. "Any cat could see something was up so, naturally, I reported it to FireStar,"

Appreciation and affection lit up in her sister's eyes upon hearing the tabby-tom's words, but these emotions, Leafpool noted, were quickly replaced with what she felt now coursing through her veins; guilt and sorrow. Any cat would have missed it if not paying attention, but Leafpool could see it all too well, how quickly her sister's depths of green swirled with a deep pain, switched back and covered, the medicine cat familiar with the emotions she too had to hide from all her Clan, emotions switching quickly and opting for others that held no question of connotation.

"Thank you, Brambleclaw," Squirrelflight breathed, "But…I don't deserve all the praise. It was Leafpool who saved the kit…"

Leafpool stood rooted to the spot as her sister's and clanmates all turned their attention on her, all staring with a mixture of emotions; anger, approval, mild curiosity, aloof and shock were but to name a few. Thinking that now the unprecedented destruction of her clan was about to unfold before her, Leafpool felt the fur on her spine rise, felt the pressure growing within the pit of her stomach, the guilt that tugged and gnawed at her heart. After what felt like fox-length moments later and nothing happened at all, the ThunderClan medicine cat slowly opened her muzzle to speak:

"I….I…" As much strength as she could muster, Leafpool's voice came out weak and hoarse , instead of strong and loud as she most needed it to be now most of all.

"I think Leafpool is tired," Came FireStar's voice, strong and intentful. Not realizing her eyes had closed, she opened them, slowly raised her head and stared at her father. "It must have been difficult healing this little one…"

"Please FireStar," Squirrelflight's voice was of one hardly any warrior let alone Leafpool herself had ever heard her sister use; desperation. "We need to let him recover fully…to stay here in the ThunderClan camp. Look at him!" And FireStar did just that; his green eyes looked down at the kit before him, his gaze intense. It was momentarily, but Leafpool saw it; the same dread and distraught that now swirled within her very own eyes was there in her father's. He looked to her for a second, his gaze searching as if asking for confirmation. Leafpool replied in a small nod to which FireStar slowly closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"FireStar!" Squirrelflight yowled. "Father, please!"

A moment, which felt like an eternity to Leafpool, dragged by, every cat silent and waiting for FireStar's answer…

"Spiderleg, Ashfur," Finally, the ginger tom opened his eyes. "Take this kit to the medicine den, immediately," Both tom's nodded their heads in acknowledgment and slowly picked up the injured kit, carrying him between them.

"Squirrelflight, Brackenfur," FireStar turned to the ginger tom and his daughter. "Will you both please meet me in my den and tell me exactly what happened? I would like to know more about this kit and where you found him,"

"Of course," Brackenfur bowed in respect, turning on his heel and trotting over to the base of Highledge.

"Thank you," Squirrelflight mewed softly, giving FireStar a quick lick on the shoulder before turning and joining Brackenfur.

"Brambleclaw," FireStar addressed the tabby tom and Squirrelflight's mate. "Would you look after the clan in my absence for a while?"

"I will, FireStar," Brambleclaw replied confidently with a bow of his head.

FireStar gave a nod of the head in acknowledgment. "I will debrief you in due time,"

"As for the rest of you," FireStar announced loudly, addressing his clan of cats. "I suggest you all go on as normal. Once the details have been conveyed, I will speak to you all soon and tell you everything I know. There is still much to do and clan duties must still be followed,"

With the majority satisfied with that announcement, the group of cats separated ways, all going off to resume clan duties. Some, Leafpool could tell, were not too happy with the situation and she couldn't but help feeling that she had to include herself in that group. But who was she to include herself in that? After all, if she hadn't of…

Finally, seeing her father approach her, she found her voice to speak at last;

"F-FireStar," Still, like before at her attempt to speak, it came out hoarse and dry, but she was thankful that it had returned nonetheless. "I…I'm s-sorry," she choked out, and finally felt the ocean of fear, anguish, guilt and despair that had plagued and oppressed within her since she trotted back to camp, escape out her body however they could; whether through her eyes in the form of tears, or her skin and how it clammed up, her fur rising, her tail dropping…her heart aching with it all…

A comforting soft scent filled her nostrils, feeling it somewhat subside the intense emotions that sprawled out of control from within her. "Like Sandstrom said, it was a difficult predicament…" Comforting licks washed over between her ears and Leafpool suddenly felt like a kit again, her father protecting her, making sure nothing would ever hurt her. "You did what you had to do…"

"But this is the end!" Leafpool yowled out in reply, feeling the panic ebb away at her, seeing the vision in her mind's eye play out before her in a whirlwind of blood and death. "I choose destruction…I choose to kill us all,"

"Stay calm," A ginger tail whipped over her muzzle and FireStar jerked to the side with her head. Leafpool looked in the gestured direction and realized the golden brown tabby, Thornclaw and the white warrior, Cloudtail, were both looking over with curious expressions across their faces. "We mustn't cause a panic. We can't let them know…not yet,"

"I'm terrible," Leafpool whispered, keeping the volume of her voice under control as best she could. "What have I done?"

"Don't worry," FireStar mewed in a gentle voice, his tail caressing the medicine cat's spine. "We'll work this out,"

"But what should I do, FireStar?" Leafpool asked, genuinely lost, trapped within her own predicament, not knowing if there was a way out. "I can't just go and….help him…"

"Leafpool, I-"

"FireStar!" A new voice interrupted the conversation between father and daughter; Ashfur scampering up to the pair, his fur on end, eyes wide with urgency. "We need, Leafpool, urgently! The kit is…"

"Of course!" FireStar faced the tom for a moment and nodded his head in acknowledgement before facing Leafpool and stared at her with so much conviction, with so much emotion in his eyes, Leafpool was sure she heard his voice murmuring in her ear:

I know you'll do the right thing…

Blinking in surprise, Leafpool stared at her father, who smiled back, Leafpool feeling his tail swish her spine. "Go, Leafpool," he announced, loudly. "Do what you must…" He dipped his head, turned and left Leafpool staring at where he had only sat just a few seconds ago…

Shadow's POV

I…I can't…breathe…,

Panic once again flared up as the young black kit desperately fought for breathe, heart racing, sweat pouring his fur, eyes open, unmoving, images and shadows in front of him but unable to focus and make out anything properly.

When the kit felt himself being engulfed in a shadow, warmth and many unrecognizable smells hitting his nostrils at once, he suddenly felt as if his windpipe was being clenched tight together, as if a cat had its claw around his throat, tightly. The kit coughed and struggled, attempting with all his might to gain some type of control over his body, fighting to regain the very substance that was only a mouse-tail away, back into his body. But as much as he tried, it ended to no avail, for the tightening around his neck only gained and strengthened the harder Shadow resisted.

Please…someone…help me,

Eyesight blurring, hearing fading, strength draining, Shadow almost felt as if he was drowning in a huge lake, falling and falling into the deep, dark depth. His paws flailed as he tried to pull himself up to the surface, but found that the water around him was all too strong for him to overcome. Slowly but surely, Shadow submitted himself to his fate, knowing that nothing could possibly help him now…

I thought I talked to you about this, kit…

Who are you?

A familiar dark answer rumbled within the darkness…

Kits…they'll forget their tails if it wasn't stuck to their back sides…

Who…please…you can help me, can't you? Please…

If you wanna save yourself…

Do it my….self?

Exactly!

A pain so strong that Shadow had never felt in his life, ran through his body, reaching all parts, all organs, everything that made the black tom-kit who he was. Panic ever rising, heart thumping at an alarming rate, as if he was running away from something that was just barely behind him, wanting nothing more than to be out of its reach, Shadow slowly fell further and further deep within the lake. Hope in the form of a voice had come to him, but turned out to be nothing more than a fleeting rescue that would never come…

It was all over, and Shadow, now that he felt himself continue to fall in the depths of darkness, unfeeling and unwelcoming, he knew know that there was nothing more that he could do to stop what was to come. He didn't even have enough time…he wasted it all…

I…wanted…to be th-the…best….

It was all for him…the teenage boy who was at home, properly unaware that he had left home…

John's POV

"Please….save me….John…"

"Dude…you still there?"

Silence.

"Say something!"

But all John could hear was the pathetic, fearful, weak and heartbroken whimper of the other, slowly fading away.

"Stay with me!" But all John could say had no effect of the inevitable of what was occurring in front of him. No matter how much he tried to desperately reach out and help, the other would not respond, which only made John's desperation and determination all that much more probable. "Whoever you are, you can't quit on me!"

Like a flash within his mind's eye, John saw the blood trickling from her mouth and pouring onto the hard, cold concrete road below her, creating a small pool of red and death. Her body, no longer moving, not even trembling from the shock of impact, it too, cold, like the road below her. John could feel himself shaking, shaking, shaking her, shaking her, willing her…no, forcing her to be alive, because if he shakes her awake, everything would be OK and he told himself that over and over and over.

But he knew it was too late.

She was dead to the world…and she had left him, alone in this cold, empty world.

"I won't let you die! Not you!" He felt his hands stretch out as if trying to grab hold of the other, wanting nothing more but to will back to full health, that, he theorized, if he had some kind of grip on them, they could avoid passing that point of no return.

But it was dark, empty, and no matter how much he tried to see, how hard he tried to look, John could not fathom where the other currently was, let alone himself. It was as if he was in a dimension void of anything that one could hold a concept of. John didn't fully understand it, everything around him feeling foreign and alien to him, but he knew he just had to find the other…that he couldn't let it all end here…in nothingness.

"Not again!" John screamed, though no sound was emitted, despite the volume John had used in his voice. ""Not again!"

Feeble, weaker and further away the other seemed to be.

"Someone…please…"

"No…"

It was as if John could see the blood, the gashes that covered the other's body, feel the pain that ebbed at their skin, hear the thumping of their own hear fading away, slowly…

"Flower!"

All went quiet, and with it a brilliant, dazzling, blinding white light filled John's vision, shielding his eyes? with his hands?. And as soon as it came, it disappeared all too quickly, John unshielded his eyes, shock greeting him, to find a familiar face staring back at him with glowing yellow eyes and an expression filled with worry, concern and love.

"You can't save him…" She spoke quietly, like a weight was holding her down on her shoulders, her face falling slightly. "You can't save any of them…"

"Fl-Flower?..."

It couldn't be her! Not again! Not again! Only when….that dream before…but that means….I'm dreaming again? But…why is she…how is she..?

"I warned you John," she continued, using the same quiet tone of voice.. "And now I must warn you again…."

As if floating in front of him, her body outline glowing with glitter….no, not glitter….stars!...she glided right up to his ear and whispered in a deeper tone of voice…

"Stay away from the forest where clan cats dwell…"

"Flo-Flower…what do you mean-?"

But like the dream before, he felt his feet slipping away, being pulled by an invisible force in a backwards momentum.

"Flower…what do you mean?!"

But she did nothing; she just floated there in the same position, staring back at John with a soft, worried, pained expression, her eyes glowing as a single tear dropped, her body outline slowly fading, stars billowing in her wake into emptiness…

"Tell me! Please!"

Her body cold under his touch, her eyes still open, starring in horror at what had unfolded before her…the road cold beneath her…

"Don't leave!"

Hands covered in her blood, John tried as hard as he could to hold on to her, body disappearing into nothing, eyes staring into his, unto the last…

"Please, not again!"

Two golden, horror-filled eyes stared unblinkingly at John, the teenager felling the familiarity within them, seeing the desperation and weakness that stared back at him…

"Save me…"

And just when John felt himself about to break into a million pieces of grief and sorrow, he finally saw the form of the other, who had so desperately reached out to him to save them, their health weakening to an intermediate state…

The small form was there in front of him and it looked beaten, almost to death, breathing shallow breathes, whimpering slightly…

It's tail still…

"John…" the kitten whimpered.

"Sh-Shaadow?"

Shadow's POV

Darkness engulfed him, and with it, a new sense of life poured into the young tom-kit. He finally felt his body again, his head moving slightly, wind brushing against his fur, paws, one, two, three, all four of them, twitching, nostrils filled with a horrid and unpleasant smell that Shadow couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, eyes slowly opening, ominous shadows greeting him all around him…

Was he alive?

Or perhaps he was in the place that Fritz once told him about; a place where bad cats go to when they pass on..?

Feeling the cold wind hitting his fur, Shadow crouched down into a small ball, shivering; but no due to the wind. The small kit stared around, terrified, mist and gloom abstracted his vision but just barely making out the shadows of dead trees, their branches bare of leaves and life, rattling within the wind. And although it appeared to be a forest Shadow found himself in, it was empty…eerily empty, void of any life; no creatures nor foliage inhabited the area, and that above all made Shadow feel more lonely than he had ever felt in his life.

"I…I wanna…go home," the young kit, whimpered, miserably. "I…I don't want…this,"

Feeling nothing but the cold mist against his fur, Shadow pressed into himself tighter.

"I just…wanted you…to love…me…"

A dark snigger erupted nearby, echoing against the dead trees. Shadow jumped slightly, startled by the sudden sound. "Who…whose th-there?"

"Don't tell me you've already forgotten about me, kit…" came a familiar, dark, brooding, growling voice which, like the laugh, echoed around the forest trees. "I've been helping you for the last few days now, and you've already forgotten me? I'm disappointed…"

"I-It's you!" Shadow exclaimed, hope rising in his heart once again, a fleeting emotion he expected to leave almost at once, but found that he was all too glad that he had not lost it all together. "The voice I've been hearing! You're to help me, right?"

Finally, the mist that clenched to the forest floor slowly began to lift and disaperate, leaving in its wake the forest, and in its centre a boulder of rocks, where the shadow of cat sat perched upon, its glowing yellow eyes gleaming within the darkness.

"Hello there, young Shadow-paw," The tom greeted in his rumbling growl. "My name is Hawkfrost and I'm gonna make you the best warrior the clans have ever seen!"

-TO BE CONTINUED -

A/N:

And that, my dear readers, is the end of this chapter!

A little smaller than the last, but quality over quantity and all that.

Again, not exactly how I had it originally in my head, but I think it came out a lot better. I had some trouble re-arrange some important plot points (Which is one of the reasons why this chapter is out late,) and how things were going to progress. But I think I've got it mostly worked out…for now lol.

So the main goal of this chapter was to get Shadow into the ThunderClan camp and how the clan would react to him; some would be against it, some for it, and etc. Another point was Leafpool and the turmoil knowing that she might have just sent her clan to destruction. Don't worry; more Leafpool and Shadow development to come!

So what happened to Shadow in the end there? I think you all know where he is. And yeah, that reveal at the end! The owner of the voice, Hawkfrost! Originally, I wasn't going to reveal this information not for some time, but I thought better of it and revealed it now for I decided to change how Shadow will be trained.

So, what the hell is going on? And what about John? His reaction to seeing Shadow injured and speaking no less…more to come!

Please leave a review telling me what you thought of this chapter. As always, I am most appreciated of all reviews/alerts/favs. Thank you in advance! :)

Next chapter to come soon! :)

Until next time, guys!

~mpkio2~