Long Shadows/Chapter 9

==Chapter description==
:Lionblaze and Jaypaw crouch together in a clump of grass, ready to fake a sign from StarClan in order to have Blackstar's faith restored, and Jaypaw scolds Dawnpaw, telling her to stay still. Dawnpaw complains that the grass is sticking into her, and she wants to see if any cat is coming. Lionblaze assures her that they'll see and hear the cats before they come, but she needs to stay still or she'll give them all away. They scent ShadowClan, and Jaypaw orders them to get into the trees. They believe it's Blackfoot, and Flamepaw hisses that it's not. Dawnpaw recognizes the cat as Toadfoot. Jaypaw is exasperated, and Flamepaw is dismayed, asking what they should do now. Lionblaze feels helpless, worrying over possible scenarios. He gives himself a mental shake, telling himself that this was no time to panic. Lionblaze orders Flamepaw to creep around the marsh on one side, and to make sure Toadfoot doesn't see him. Lionblaze says he will go the other way, and when he leaps on Toadfoot, Flamepaw needs to come and help. Flamepaw obeys, and Lionblaze takes cover in a clump of bracken. Toadfoot calls out, saying he knows someone is there. Lionblaze jumps out from the bracken and leaps onto Toadfoot. Flamepaw comes to his aid, and working together, the two cats get Toadfoot into cover. Toadfoot screeches with fury, but they are cut off as Flamepaw puts a paw on his mouth.
:Littlecloud, Tigerpaw and Blackfoot appear, hearing the commotion. Blackfoot growls, saying he heard something. Tigerpaw lies, saying it might be some cat hunting. He tells Blackfoot that Dawnpaw and Flamepaw are waiting besides the border. As Toadfoot hears Blackfoot's voice, he tries to get up again, but Lionblaze thrusts him down, ordering him to stay quiet if he wants to save his Clan. Toadfoot glares at him, but cannot move. Jaypaw and Dawnpaw slip besides some saplings they loosened in order for their sign to work. Lionblaze sees Hollyleaf plunging into the mud to help Dawnpaw, and together, all four cats push down the loosened saplings so the trees fall. The trees fall, barely avoiding Blackfoot and Littlecloud. For a moment, Lionblaze is afraid that one of them is hurt, but he hears Littlecloud's voice, asking if Blackfoot is okay. Blackfoot growls, saying that he's not and he feels like his pelt was torn off. Blackfoot asks where Tigerpaw is, and Littlecloud replies that he can't see him. Jaypaw, pretending to be a StarClan warrior, balances himself on a tree root, out of the ShadowClan's cats sight and says that Tigerpaw had vanished. Blackfoot demands to know who that is, and Jaypaw says that he is one of the spirits Blackfoot had denied. He states that more cats than Tigerpaw will be lost if they continue to reject their warrior ancestors. He becomes more intense, saying that the forest will fall.
:Blackfoot snarls, asking what they mean, and Littlecloud replies that a StarClan warrior is speaking to them. Toadfoot starts to struggle, but Flamepaw keeps him pinned down. Blackfoot claws at the branch, stating that it's "superstitious nonsense". Littlecloud insists that they must listen, stating that StarClan has a message for them. He wonders if StarClan had taken Tigerpaw from them and if they will ever see him again. Blackfoot snorts, saying if the cat speaking was a StarClan warrior, then he must show himself. Lionblaze clenches, noting that Jaypaw isn't a StarClan warrior, just a tabby apprentice with mud stained fur. He knows that if Blackfoot doesn't believe them, their plan will fail. Jaypaw continues to repeat that the forest will fall. He explains that the trees will die, and his warriors will be scattered when they die and will not find a place among the stars.
:Two other voices join Jaypaw in stating that the forest will fall. Lionblaze makes out two starlit cats - one a dark tabby, the other a gray and white tom. Littlecloud gasps, greeting them as Raggedstar and Runningnose. Blackfoot stares at the StarClan cats, his mouth dropping. Raggedstar tells Blackfoot that Sol's time in ShadowClan must come to an end, referring to him as the darkness that covered the sun. Runningnose adds that he had seemed to taken over his Clan, but he will pass and be forgotten in the brightness that follows, and will shine over ShadowClan for countless moons. Blackfoot says that he hears them, and will do what they say. Littlecloud dips his head respectfully, telling them that ShadowClan will return to their warrior ancestors. He asks what they had done with Tigerpaw, and Raggedstar replies that he is safe. The StarClan cats look at Jaypaw, Hollyleaf, and Lionblaze, and for a moment, Lionblaze believes they are angry at them. But the StarClan cats give them a respectful nod, and they start to fade. Lionblaze notices blood dripping from one of Blackfoot's ears, and both cats are muddy and their fur are clumped with debris. Littlecloud states that StarClan hadn't abandoned them.
:Blackfoot realizes that they indeed have spoken to them, and tells Littlecloud that he is right. He says that they cannot ignore the spirit of their warrior ancestors, not while they are still watching over them. Littlecloud asks what Blackfoot will do now, and Blackfoot replies that he will get rid of Sol, ashamed that he let himself believe that trickster. He states that he will make sure ShadowClan is never led astray by Sol again, and asks Littlecloud if he thinks he left ShadowClan alone for too long. Littlecloud says that the warrior code lives in every single cat in ShadowClan, and one cat cannot alone quench that flame. Blackfoot turns, ready to go back to the ShadowClan camp. Littlecloud stops, and asks if Tigerpaw is there. Tigerpaw emerges, and Littlecloud queries if he is okay. Tigerpaw replies that he is, but says that he never thought he would get to see real StarClan warriors. Lionblaze agrees silently. Tigerpaw asks Blackfoot if they can come back home now, and Blackfoot accepts, saying that ShadowClan needs them. Tigerpaw says that he'll go find Dawnpaw and Flamepaw. Blackfoot orders them to get back to camp as soon as they can, and tells Littlecloud to go to camp as well. He says that he can't wait to tell his Clan that they can look to their warrior ancestors once more. Littlecloud tells Blackfoot that they will be grateful to hear it, and Blackfoot corrects Littlecloud, saying his name is Blackstar. Blackstar and Littlecloud leave, and Lionblaze lets Toadfoot get to his paws. Toadfoot is perplexed, asking if they were really cats from StarClan. Flamepaw replies that they were. He tells Toadfoot that their warrior ancestors are still watching over them, and they want the warrior code to be preserved. Toadfoot is still stunned, and Lionblaze asks what he'll do now. Toadfoot brings up that they faked the sign, and Flamepaw points out that they faked it to start with. He adds that they didn't make the StarClan cats appear - that they appeared out of their own free will, and that made it a true sign.
:Toadfoot tells him they're lucky that StarClan cats did come, or ShadowClan would've torn ThunderClan apart for interfering and lying. Lionblaze says that he can try. Flamepaw convinces Toadfoot that StarClan really did come, saying that they proved they are still watching over them and that the warriors still need to listen to them and follow the warrior code. He states that the StarClan cats have the Clans' best interests at heart, and they need to believe what they say for the Clans' old sake. Lionblaze demands if that's what Toadfoot wants. Toadfoot nods, and adds grudgingly that he supposes he should thank them. Lionblaze tells him it's StarClan who he should thank. Hollyleaf asks Lionblaze what they should do with Toadfoot now. Toadfoot promises that he won't tell any cat what he saw, and Hollyleaf wonders if they should trust him. Jaypaw replies that they either trust him or kill him, and he adds that he didn't go through all this trouble just to start killing ShadowClan cats. Lionblaze states that they need to trust him, and tells Toadfoot to swear by StarClan that he will keep this secret. Toadfoot tells him he swears he will, unless keeping the secret will harm his Clan. Lionblaze tells him it won't, and dismisses him. Toadfoot departs, and Tigerpaw says that they need to leave as well. Flamepaw tells the ThunderClan cats that they'll never be able to thank them enough, and Lionblaze replies that they did it for ThunderClan as well, but they couldn't have pulled it off if it weren't for the apprentices. Dawnpaw asks her siblings what they should do about their mother, Tawnypelt, and Lionblaze assures them not to worry about that, as they will explain everything to her. He does add that they need to get off ThunderClan territory, though. Tigerpaw playfully tells Lionblaze not to cross their territory once they renew their scent marks.
:Hollyleaf exclaims that she can't believe their fake sign turned real. She asks Jaypaw if he thinks that StarClan needed them to set the trap before they could interfere, and Jaypaw doubts it. Lionblaze suggests that he thinks StarClan wanted the apprentices to show how desperate they were to save their Clan, reminding his siblings that Tigerpaw and the others wouldn't go through so much trouble if they didn't want to help ShadowClan go back to the warrior code and restore their faith in StarClan. Hollyleaf adds that they were desperate as well, and nothing matters more than the warrior code. Jaypaw asks what they are going to tell Tawnypelt - saying that telling her the truth would be a really bad idea. Hollyleaf admits that she doesn't know, and says that she doesn't want Firestar knowing what they did either. She adds that he would put her and Lionblaze on apprentice duties before they could say "mouse". Lionblaze stops listening, wondering what Sol would do after Blackstar orders him to leave ShadowClan. He ponders if Sol will truly keep his promise, mentoring the Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Jaypaw to their destiny. 
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Notes and references==
fr:Pénombre/Chapitre 9nl:Lange schaduwen/Hoofdstuk 9
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:Long Shadows
Category:Power of Three arc