Hisses and mews filled the air, with the stench of both fear and hope which hurtled past Dawnstrike like a river of silver fish. Her mind was hazy, and she couldn't feel anything around her but the scent of her own fear.

Where am I? What happened?

Not her tail, or paws seemed to be on solid ground. Dawnstrike tried to open her eyes, and as she wrenched them open, she stared at a familiar sight of silver fur.

"Silverpaw?" Dawnstrike asked, senses still deadened and asleep. Fighting to keep her eyes open, she tried to sit up, but could only manage propping herself up with her paws. No! She thought desperately. Was I too late? 

The she-cat took a step towards Dawnstrike, fur glowing like all of the Silverpelt had clung to her.

"Not Silverpool," she mewed, with a slight purr that filled the entire world with light. "I am Ivypool."

Dawnstrike gasped. "I've heard stories about you! The elders told me and Silverpaw all—" she looked alarmed, and her whiskers trembled. "Wait— did you say Silverpool?" The stricken warrior looked up at Ivypool, blue eyes filled with fear. "Where am I?" She looked at Ivypool once more and than dropped her head to her paws. Ivypool stared back at the younger cat, as if they were looking into her soul. Dawnstrike shivered.

"StarClan." If Ivypool's mew was a sharp ray of sunshine, then the quiet mew of Dawnstrike was like a moonless night.

Then am I...Oh...

Ivypool wound her starry tail around Dawnstrike's shoulders. "I'm afraid so."

"What's going to happen to the prophecy?" she whimpered, still staring at her orange and white fur. "Did I ruin it?"

The other cat stiffened, hard as a rock. "Well," Ivypool said hesitantly. "It seems that StarClan may have... misinterpreted the prophecy." She looked back at Dawnstrike. "Rest assured, all is not lost. We even think that this was meant to be— one sister by the lake, and the other in StarClan."

Dawnstrike took in a deep breath and looked at Ivypool. "Good. Um... now that I'm in StarClan— can you tell me what the prophecy means?"

Ivypool looked at her. "We should not be talking about this," she meowed softly. She unwrapped her tail from around Dawnstrike's shoulders and licked her ear. "You're spirit has not entirely traveled to StarClan yet. Rest." She nodded once to the orange and white warrior, than turned and walked towards something that Dawnstrike could not see.

"Wait!" Dawnstrike said, trying to keep her eyes open.

But she couldn't. The world seemed to grow blurry and blurrier, with swirls of clouds and stars gathering in whirls and spinning faster and faster. Dawnstrike's vision was plunged into darkness, and clouds turned grey, preparing for a storm.

For the battle had just begun.