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Why were they all looking at him like that?

Bearpaw shifted nervously. Peregrinestar was studying him silently, the old tomcat's eyes traveling carefully over his pelt, face, and paws. A faint buzzing filled his head, and his stomach gave a few flips.

"Sit down, my friends," Peregrinestar ordered, his voice vibrating in Bearpaw's ears. The cats moved over so there was room for him, Littlemink, and Ferretstripe. Littlemink put her tail across Bearpaw's shoulders and let him down to the slab. It was raised slightly by stones beneath it, making a smooth platform.

For a heartbeat, nobody spoke. Then, Melonfrost cleared her throat and sat up straighter. "I think what we need to discuss is Valleystar. From what Martineye has gathered, he is possessed, correct?" She looked around the gathered cats, but nobody spoke up. She sighed. "It seems the demons and phantoms of the -" she paused, looking around again, "- other world? The Dark Forest? The Realm of Broken Shadows? Where did they come from? We need to pinpoint the source. That is the priority here."

Peregrinestar gritted his teeth. "What we need to do is to warn ValleyClan of this! Valleystar will have been taken over completely by the phantom now. The demons can fight well and wreak havoc, but they are not the main problem here. Phantoms are evil. They will possess cats and control them to do horrible things without fearing anything."

Ocelotstar's bengal pelt bristled. Bearpaw was wrenched back to him and Sablepaw play fighting together. But this time, it wasn't a play fight. "That is not responsible," he hissed at Melonfrost. "What do you mean?!"

"We could find the source of demons or phantoms and stop it before they can get to the mortal world," the she-cat meowed, her voice trembling. "I didn't say warning the Clans wasn't important, but this might save the lives of cats."

The sharp voice of Slatestar cut into the discussion. "You fools!" she snarled, springing to her paws. Her eyes were alight with anger. She gasped for breath, her eyes wide. "We are looking at this in the wrong way! Maybe we should persuade Lust."

Bearpaw pricked his ears. Who's Lust?

Peregrinestar let out a short bark of laughter. "Lust can't and won't be persuaded," he snorted, closing his eyes briefly.

Ferretstripe narrowed his eyes. "Who's Lust?" he asked swiftly before the discussion could continue. Bearpaw let loose a sigh of relief. He hadn't wanted to interrupt and ask the question, but all three of them - Littlemink, Ferretstripe, and Bearpaw - gazed curiously at the leaders of Past.

Jaguarstar blinked in surprise. "Lust is a monster. She had a demon father and a phantom mother. She is, without a doubt, the strongest evil creature that has ever made the mistake of being brought into this land. She is a murderer, but we were able to keep her and her demon followers in a dark place for a while. A place worse than the Dark Forest. . . ." His body gave a convulsive shudder and he said no more.

Shorestar's beautiful eyes, round with worry, were darting back and forth between Peregrinestar and Melonfrost. "Bearpaw should warn the Clans," she mewed in a hushed voice. It was extremely quiet, but it made everyone stop and listen. Shorestar's face flushed at the attention, but she glanced around and hurried on. "Bearpaw should try access his sister. Sablepaw."

Dismissing at the moment the prickling Bearpaw felt in his pelt because of how much they knew about his life, Bearpaw lowered his eyes to his paws. "I don't know how." The words were forced, and he blushed like Shorestar.

Ferretstripe let out a strained hiss. "Then this -" he glared around the cats - this - this meeting should be over." He lashed his tail and rose to his paws.

"Wait!" Melonfrost called, her voice commanding. It left no room for questions. "Bearpaw, can you at least try? Try to reach deep into your mind and think of your sister. You want to think of her every feature, and how much you want to see her and tell her of what's going on up here in StarClan. You . . . you seem to be our only . . . only hope. I just wish -" Her voice faltered and she looked away, her eyes filling with tears she could not hide.

Bearpaw nodded and closed his eyes.

He imagined Sablepaw. The gentle curve of her back; the sharp bengal markings; her small paws; her slanted jaw; her pointed muzzle; her amber eyes that seemed to burn right though his soul.

He thought of how much he wanted to see her. But for his own selfish reasons, not the reasons Shorestar had advised him on.

It was hard to know what happened next. Everything suddenly was . . . gone. The gentle crash of salty waves died away, and the cawing birds had become mute. It was finally peaceful. Bearpaw's eyes were still closed. Maybe he had fallen asleep. Whatever happened, he felt good.

Then his eyes jumped open, and he tried to screech, but not a single muscle in his body could move. The only thing that was actively moving was his heart, thumping painfully against his rib cage.

Stars.

So many stars.

It was a black sky, and he was floating in a curled position. Stars shined all around him, glowing and twinkling.

Bearpaw sensed a silent panic attack. Tears blurred his vision, but they couldn't fall. Everything was falling apart. He wished he would just die a second time. This wasn't worth it. He was stuck.

Help - help - help. HELP. PLEASE. Anyone, anyone, anyone. . . .

His wails were unheard. Everything was starting to slip away. His eyes were unseeing. His heart clenched. No. No. No. He was stuck forever. His heart gave one last jolt before everything finally faded into nothingness. He had no dreams. No visions.

Only darkness.