Warriors: Air (Warrior Cats Fan Fiction Book Three)

Chapter Four

"Okay," Weatherfall said at last, taking a deep breath and facing Cloudyfang head-on. "How are the Clans in trouble, and what can I do to help save them?"

He was staring at Cloudyfang in his dream, the gray tom standing a few feet away. They were surrounded by lush green grass, in contrast to the frosted forest floor in the living world.

"Thank you!" Cloudyfang said. The light gray tom looked relieved. "I'm so glad you decided to help! Now listen carefully... as I said before, a great Darkness is coming. And the only way to save the Clans is to harness the power of the Clans."

"What do you mean by that?" Weatherfall asked.

"Each Clan is named after an element," Cloudyfang continued. "The Clans were created a long time ago when they broke away from four other Clans in a forest far away. When they came here, they brought that energy with them. The essence of each element."

"I thought they were named after the cats who created them?" Weatherfall asked.

"You only know the history you were told," Cloudyfang replied. "But there is more to it than that, more magic involved..."

"Magic?" Weatherfall questioned. "Magic isn't real..."

"Then how am I talking to you now?" Cloudyfang challenged. "Is it so hard to believe in magic when the Clans all worship Starclan? Besides, in the other Clans I mentioned, there are cats, or there will be cats, anyway... who have magic. The power to time travel, to see inside other cats' dreams and minds. Invincibility, the power to fight against a tide of Warriors. To see and hear things far away... is that all so hard to believe?"

"Kinda!" Weatherfall replied, trying to take in this mind-boggling information, all of which had come out of nowhere and as a complete shock. "But what does this all have to do with me?"

"The Clans all have energy, essence, magic, whatever you want to call it... and in order to defeat the coming Darkness, you will have to harness that magic. Only the combined power of all the Clans can defeat the Darkness."

"But what is this Darkness?" Weatherfall cried. "Is it the Dark Forest?"

"There is other Dark magic besides where evil cats go to die," Cloudyfang replied coolly. "Where they go when they die, anyway. No, it's something else, something rising inside the Clans themselves... it will destroy the Clans from within if they don't fight against it."

"Then tell me what it is!" Weatherfall cried, lashing his tail in frustration. "I can't fight against it if I don't know what it is!"

"That is beside the point!" Cloudyfang hissed, annoyed. "I don't even know what the Darkness is, only that it is coming, and how to stop it. I can help prepare you to fight it, if you will help me by using the power I offer you. Only a living cat can harness it. If you accept, you can save the Clans."

"Okay, fine," Weatherfall sighed. "Just tell me what the magic is and how I can wield it."

"At last," Cloudyfang sighed. He looked relieved that someone had agreed to help him, and he also looked so tired. "I've been trying to warn the Clans for so long," the ghost continued. "Now, listen carefully: each Clan has the magic of its element at its core. For example, Snowclan has frost and ice. And in order to get the element of each individual Clan," he paused, then continued, "you must kill a cat from that Clan to get its respective power and access its magic".

Weatherfall's heart skipped a beat and he gaped at Cloudyfang.

"Are you insane?!" He hissed. "I can't kill cats from other Clans! I've already killed my sister, and no one knows that! If I go on a murder spree, someone will surely notice! I would be killed! Besides, I don't want to kill anyone else!"