Chapter Text
Chapter Text
》 SCENE 1. SHININGCLAN TERRITORY. DAY, FALL.
[Note: Use Deadpaw's apprentice/Deadpaw design in this episode. Also, use Salad's young design.]
Pick up shortly where the last episode left off. Loyalstar is already gone. Longstep and Tremortail are herding Deadpaw and Breadheart toward the twolegplace. Breadheart's head is low, his expression sorrowful. Then, he gasps.
BREADHEART
I need something from my nest!
Longstep and Tremortail exchange glances, silently asking each other what they should do.
LONGSTEP
What is it?
BREADHEART
Please just let me go get it.
Tremortail flicks her ear.
TREMORTAIL
No. Traitors aren't allowed to return to camp.
BREADHEART
Please! I need it to go back to twolegplace.
Longstep makes a noise that contains a mixture of irritation and disgust.
LONGSTEP
Fine. Tell me what it is, and I'll go get it.
Breadheart fidgets.
BREADHEART
My collar. It's in my nest. You'll... know it when you see it.
Longstep harrumphs and heads back toward camp. Tremortail watches Breadheart and Deadpaw with a stern expression.
Deadpaw taps Breadheart with her paw. He turns to look at her.
DEADPAW
I see that cat again.
BREADHEART
(whispering)
What cat?
DEADPAW
The one that looks just like Loyalstar.
Breadheart scrunches up his face and looks around. It's just forest.
Then, pawsteps crunch quietly through the area. Longstep arrives, holding the collar in his jaws. Loyalstar is with him.
BREADHEART
Did you change your mind?
LOYALSTAR
No.
Longstep comes forward and drops the collar in front of Breadheart and Deadpaw.
LOYALSTAR
Did you mean what you said about going to twolegplace?
BREADHEART
(confused)
Yes.
LOYALSTAR
Good. Stay there. If you return, Deadpaw's name will match her state of life.
BREADHEART
She's your daughter.
LOYALSTAR
She's not. Goodbye forever, Breadheart.
He leaves before Breadheart can respond.
TWOLEGPLACE BORDER. DAY, FALL.
Cut to Breadheart, Deadpaw, Longstep, and Tremortail arriving at the edge of twolegplace. Longstep shoves Deadpaw. She stumbles, nearly dropping Breadheart's collar, and Breadheart catches her.
They leap over the fence and land on the other side. Deadpaw places Breadheart's collar on the ground.
DEADPAW
Did Loyalstar smell like blood to you?
BREADHEART
No. Do you think he was injured?
DEADPAW
Not if you couldn't smell it.
Breadheart sighs.
BREADHEART
Well, he'll have to take care of himself from now on—just like we will.
DEADPAW
Himself? He's the leader of ShiningClan.
BREADHEART
Maybe we should just find a place to sleep.
They sniff around for a bit. Deadpaw spends more time watching Breadheart than searching.
Breadheart makes a joyful exclamation as he finds a bench. They both crawl under it. Deadpaw settles beside Breadheart and closes her eyes.
Fade out, then cut back in.
TIME CHANGE: NIGHT.
BORIS
What do we have here?
Deadpaw's eyes snap open. Boris, Buster, and Bruce stand at the base of the bench.
BUSTER
Looks like a couple of strays to me.
Bruce sniffs them.
BRUCE
Gross! They smell like dead rats!
BORIS
And what do we do with dead rats?
BRUCE
Eat them?
Deadpaw and Breadheart exchange glances, unamused.
BUSTER
Throw them out?
BORIS
Yes!
BREADHEART
We'll be gone soon.
BRUCE
Uh, yeah. No shit. We just said you're leaving.
BREADHEART
It'll only be a few sunrises—
BORIS
Yeah, no. Get up right now.
BREADHEART
Why?
BUSTER
We sit on this bench every day! If you're there, we can't sit on it!
DEADPAW
But we're under it.
BRUCE
Yeah! You are!
DEADPAW
You can sit on top while we're under it.
BORIS
No!
BREADHEART
Why not?
BORIS
Because we just can't!
BUSTER
We don't want you here!
BRUCE
You reek!
BORIS
So get up right now and—
Soup rises up from behind Boris, Buster, and Bruce. They turn toward her slowly.
SOUP
What's going on?
BORIS
These stinky, no-good forest bastards are sleeping underneath our bench!
Breadheart picks up his collar, which was buried underneath some leaves between him and Deadpaw.
BUSTER
We're just telling them to fuck off!
BRUCE
Yeah!
Soup pushes through them with an unamused expression. Then, she recognizes the collar.
SOUP
Bread?
Soup steps closer. She and Breadheart sniff each other. The collar falls from Breadheart's mouth when he opens it to speak.
BREADHEART
Soup?
SOUP
It is you! Where did you go?
BREADHEART
The forest.
Soup blinks.
SOUP
The forest? And the wild cats didn't eat you alive?
BREADHEART
I was friends with one of them. He wanted me to join his Clan.
SOUP
Was he hot?
Boris and Bruce snicker.
BREADHEART
What?
SOUP
You heard me.
Breadheart blushes.
SOUP
Any cat you'd abandon your housefolk for had better be hot.
She finally notices Deadpaw. Her eyes widen.
SOUP
Is this your kitten? If he kicked you out after you had his kit, he'll regret ever talking to you!
Breadheart flinches.
BREADHEART
Uh, no. She's not mine. But she's kinda his. He's her father, but her mother died. I took her in.
SOUP
So, he had a kitten, didn't want her cause mama died, and sent you off with her?
BREADHEART
(awkwardly)
Yes...
SOUP
I'm gonna kill him!
BREADHEART
Please don't.
SOUP
You're right. It's not worth my time.
She paces a couple of times, then stops in the middle of a third.
SOUP
Come home with me. Right now.
》 SCENE 2. SOUP'S HOUSE. NIGHT, FALL.
Breadheart, Deadpaw, and Soup stand in front of Soup's house.
SOUP
Here we are! The door should still be open, so—
She pokes her head through the cat door to confirm it's actually open, then pulls it back to look at Breadheart and Deadpaw.
SOUP
Enjoy!
She heads inside. Breadheart nudges Deadpaw forward. Deadpaw shows an obvious hesitancy while using the door, since she's never used nor seen one before. After her, Breadheart enters quickly and without discomfort.
BREADHEART
Earlier, How were you able to get the three Bs to back off so quickly?
Soup snorts.
SOUP
If you call anyone a little bitch loud enough, they'll do whatever you say.
Breadheart is uncomfortable with what was just said, but doesn't make a big deal out of it.
SOUP
Y'know, after you disappeared, I had a lot of time to think. I figured maybe the forest cats had something right after all. Working together is a great deal—it keeps the strays off the street.
BREADHEART
(hesitantly)
That's... great.
SOUP
We call ourselves WaterClan, cause we aren't all related by blood. You could stay with us.
BREADHEART
I'd like that.
SOUP
There's just one thing—
SALAD
Get out of here!
Soup and Breadheart turn to the sound. Nearby, Deadpaw has been tackled by Salad.
BREADHEART
I'm assuming that's the thing.
Soup runs over while Breadheart approaches at a leisurely pace.
SOUP
Salad! Get off her right now!
Salad angrily complies.
SALAD
Who is she? Who is he?
SOUP
This is Breadheart. That's Deadpaw. Breadheart, Deadpaw, this is Salad. He's my son.
SALAD
(staring straight at Deadpaw)
A displeasure to meet you.
DEADPAW
(without any malice whatsoever)
You too.
Salad is mortified. Deadpaw has no idea what she just said.
》 SCENE 3. TWOLEGPLACE BORDER. DAY, FALL.
Soup, Salad, Breadheart, and Deadpaw are near the bench again. Soup and Salad are next to each other, Breadheart is next to Soup, and Deadpaw is next to Breadheart. Boris, Buster, and Bruce are sitting on top of the bench. All of the cats are grooming each other to some degree.
They sit in silence for a moment.
BORIS
It's too quiet in here. Got any stories, forest cats?
Breadheart yawns.
BREADHEART
Well, what do you want to know about?
BORIS
Well, I've got a theory—
BUSTER
Oh, not this again!
BORIS
I've got a theory. We all go somewhere when we die—
BUSTER
No, we don't—
BORIS
We all go somewhere when we die. So, if we all go somewhere, somebody's gotta run it, right? Out there somewhere is the guy in charge.
DEADPAW
Guy?
BORIS
Or girl. Or thing. That part doesn't matter—
DEADPAW
You think there's only one?
BORIS
Look—
BUSTER
I don't think there's any. When we die, we get reused!
DEADPAW
Reused?
BUSTER
Yeah! How else can so many new things be born all the time? Water rises to the sky as clouds and falls down as rain. So do we.
A brief silence passes as all of the cats process this.
BREADHEART
Well, we believe in StarClan.
BRUCE
StarClan?
BREADHEART
Our ancestors linger in their own territory to watch over us. They give us visions and omens.
BUSTER
(skeptically)
Really?
BREADHEART
I've seen them. Our medicine cat sees them.
BUSTER
Are you sure you aren't just imagining things? I've never seen a ghost cat.
BORIS
Neither have I!
SOUP
It does seem funky. If all of your ancestors are watching over you, that'd be a lot of cats.
BREADHEART
I've seen them. I've talked to them. They're real. Have any of you seen Boris's cat in the sky?
SOUP
Well, no, but—
BREADHEART
Then, he can't be real, because I've seen StarClan and they're real.
Boris opens his mouth to speak, but Soup glares at him. He makes a disgruntled noise.
BORIS
Agree to disagree.
》 SCENE 4. SHININGCLAN BURIAL GROUNDS.
[Note: Use Loyalstar's regular design for this scene, not GS Loyalstar.]
Loyalstar sits in front of two marked graves. He closes his eyes and lowers his head, taking in a deep breath. Then, he gets up.
LOYALSTAR
StarClan give me strength, if nothing else.
He walks away from the graves, passing Grasstuft as she carries a feather toward them. She doesn't acknowledge him. He watches her as she places the feather at the base of one of the graves.
LOYALSTAR
I'll find a way.
DARK FOREST.
Gourdstar stands in front of a crowd of Dark Warriors. Each dark warrior is missing facial features or is otherwise distorted.
GOURDSTAR
You're all going to die.
They ignore him and head down a tunnel. He follows them.
GOURDSTAR
This is foolish! Stop.
They turn down a corner. When he turns the same one, they're gone. He runs down the tunnel and through it to the surface.
SHININGCLAN CAMP.
He emerges in ShiningClan camp. Coalstar (in living post color change form) stands in front of him. Coalstar leaps at him and the two exchange blows before Gourdstar pins him. He puts a paw on Coalstar's neck.
GOURDSTAR
Stop.
Coalstar snarls at him. Gourdstar starts choking, blood dripping from his lips. He staggers away from Coalstar. Coalstar rises to his paws. A sharp stone protrudes from Gourdstar's neck.
GOURDSTAR
Please! Brother…
Coalstar steps forward, suddenly changing from his post color change design to his pre color change design. He brings a paw down on Gourdstar's head.
DARK FOREST.
Gourdstar opens his eyes in the Dark Forest.
STAR
Have you made your choice?
GOURDSTAR
Just let me out.
Star grins. Against the darkness of the forest, it's the only thing visible on his face.