Daylight

Prologue

The dark warrior's amber eyes flash, at once back in the heat of the battle. His short mane of tabby fur around his neck bristles in rage, and the large tabby swipes his long claws at his opponent.

The vapor-like flame colored tom is cheeky and a goody-two-shoes. He is handsome; all the she-cats want him, and above all, he has taken the tabby's rightful place as leader of ThunderClan. Leader of ShadowClan. Of all the Clans.

He is going to die.

With a fearsome yowl, the tabby Dark Forest warrior leaps forward, cherishing the feeling of flesh beneath his claws, the scent of victory pouring from his opponent's wounds... and then it is over.

With a snarl, the tabby warrior slams his paws down, the tom disappearing. A mrrow of laughter sounds behind him and he whirls around, claws unsheathed still.

"Fighting your demons, I see," the calico she-cat mrrows silkily.

"If I could get my claws on that fox-heart," the tabby growls in his deep baritone voice, kneading the hard earth beneath him.

The she-cat flicks her tail, thick fur as impeccably groomed as ever. "Of course. Wouldn't we all."

The tabby eyes her suspiciously. "Why are you here, Mapleshade?"

"No reason. I just thought you could use... an offer."

"An offer."

The she-cat's amber-gold eyes flash with impatience, and the tabby knows she will not be able to keep her secrets forever. She begins to draw herself forward, not breaking eye contact with the other warrior. "What would you do... if you could rewrite your story? Make another choice... perhaps change time?"

The large warrior's ear flicks. He does not reply. His mind is on the flame-colored apparition of a leader from before. The she-cat continues.

"Perhaps... kill a cat, take the throne, be the rightful leader you know you should've been?"

"What are you asking, Mapleshade," he hisses, spitting out the she-cat's name as an after-thought. The calico purrs, taking in the moment, knowing that she knows something the tabby does not.

"I've discovered an option—I can't do it myself, it's much too late... but you could. Turn back time. Take what was meant to be yours. Show the fox-heart who's the real leader."

The tabby growls at the thought of the young fiery leader. How arrogant. How idealistic. How abhorrently perfect.

"What will it take?" he asks, eyeing the she-cat, who is now laying out in a patch of moonlight. She shrugs.

"There's a pool over there; jump into it, hold your breath... you'll go back in time."

"Really."

"But of course. I'm a good cat; I don't kill," a sickly jubiliant grin of glee reaches up to her eyes, maw parting into a sneer of a smile.

The tabby rolls his eyes. "Fine. If I die, I will come back and kill you." With that, he trots off in the direction she had gestured.

If she's tricking me, she will die, he thinks, coming up to a silent, dark, pool. Scenting the air, he knows it is not blood; it is one of the few pools of water in the Dark Forest.

Taking a deep breath, he does not hesitate; into the water he dives. Quickly reaching the bottom, thanks to his excess of thick fur, he claws at the brambles. In his mind, he runs through a list of cats he hates. Pinestar. Bluestar. Redtail. Lionheart. Whitestorm. And... last of all, Firestar, the arrogantly annoying kittypet who is now ruler ThunderClan.

With a great snarl, he smashes a hole through the vines at the bottom of the pool, and finds himself running out of breath; he takes no time in his escape. He slithers through the opening, hauling himself into the ethereal sky. His head. His shoulders. His body. And he is falling.

The great tabby finds himself hurtling down to earth from a dark patch of the sky, starless and devoid of light. As he falls at a break-neck speed, he feels himself growing smaller. Smaller than he has been in moons, possibly a decade. His shoulders become weak and small, his senses begin to dim.

As his amber eyes become blue and close, the familiar scent of ThunderClan wafts up to his nose. His last sound thought before he loses consciousness is evil in its most simplistic form.

I'm back, kittypet.