A/N:

Hey guys! I'm back for Book 2! This story will feature action, drama, and maybe a little romance, too! We'll get to see the kits' lives as apprentices, and how it ties into Firepaw's story. At the beginning of each chapter, I will put something like compare to chapter ... For this book, this refers to Into the Wild, so if you want to, you can actually read that part in Into the Wild and see how it connects to the story. I'm going to try and use exact quotes and situations from the book.

Another thing that's new is that this is a non-edited version of my writing. The first book had been edited several times before being posted, whereas this one is pretty much just spell checked and checked for grammar errors before I post it. So, if there's major differences in plot or something, that's probably why. I want to be able to update as soon as possible, so I can move on to the next books. I do have a story-line this time, though, so I shouldn't be getting Writer's Block too often. :)

Anyway, that's pretty much it. :D Thank you so much for reading and I hope you love this story as much as I do!

~Snowstar

Meet the Characters:

ThunderClan

Leader

Bluestar: blue-gray she-cat, tinged with silver around her muzzle. (Bluetail's older sister.)

Deputy

Tigerclaw: big dark brown tabby tom with unusually long front claws. (Bluetail and Snowy's son.)

Medicine Cat:

Spottedleaf: beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with a distinctive dapple coat.

Warriors:

Bluetail: blue-gray tom with blue eyes. Also some silver around his muzzle, but not near as much as his much, much older sister.

Whitestorm: big white tom.

Apprentice, Sandpaw

Longtail: pale tabby tom with dark black stripes.

Apprentice, Icepaw

Runningwind: swift tabby tom

Apprentice, Blackpaw

Willowpelt: very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes. (Graypaw's Mom.)

Apprentice, Brokenpaw

Mousefur: small dusky brown she-cat.

Apprentice, Snowpaw

Apprentices:

Blackpaw: white tom with black paws, tail-tip and , stormy-blue eyes. (Storm powers.)

Brokenpaw: orange tom with green eyes. (Fire powers.)

Dustpaw: dark brown tabby tom.

Firepaw: handsome ginger tom with bright green eyes.

Graypaw: long-haired solid gray tom.

Hawkpaw: light orange tom with sky-blue eyes.

Icepaw: white she-cat with silver tabby markings, blue eyes. (Shape-shifting powers.)

Sandpaw: pale ginger she-cat.

Snowpaw: white she-cat with ice-blue eyes. (Snow powers.)

ShadowClan

Leader

Brokenstar: long-haired dark brown tabby.

Deputy

Blackfoot: large white tom with huge jet-black paws.

Medicine Cat

Runningnose: small gray and white tom.

Warriors

Earthclaw:Tan tom with black and gray stripes. Dark blue eyes.(Earth powers.)

Guides

Harry: white tom with black paws, tail-tip and ears.

Blackpaw

Snow-that-Falls-From-Mountain: light gray/white she-cat with green eyes.

Earthclaw

Chapter 1

Brokenkit Compare chapter 20-21

"Brokenpaw! Blackpaw! Snowpaw! Icepaw!"

I stood tall, head and tail held high. This was exactly what we'd all be waiting for, well, for our whole lives.

I exchanged excited glances with my sisters, Snowpaw and Icepaw, to my right and then with my brother Blackpaw on my left. The whole clan was cheering for us.

When we'd entered the camp with Bluetail, Blackpaw had been waiting there for us and practically knocked me to the ground, he was so happy. I was happy to see him too, and we'd talked and talked about what had happened until Bluetail almost had to yell to get out attention. I'd stayed next to him after that, and hadn't left his side. I didn't ever want to be away from Blackpaw again.

After we'd entered the camp, Bluetail had gone to find Bluestar. She seemed shocked to see us, but instantly herded us to the center of the camp and called a clan meeting for our apprentice ceremonies.

I'd stared in shock at all the cats that had gathered. There were so many. I had no idea the clan would be this big. None of the faces were familiar, but after Bluestar gave us our new names, everyone cheered like they knew us.

I thought that I'd like clan life. A lot.

"Brokenpaw, you ready to go?"

I turned around and looked up. It was my new mentor, Willowpelt. I glanced around again and saw that the cheering had died down, and the group was beginning to disperse. The meeting was over.

I looked back up at Willowpelt. "Yeah." I looked at my littermates. "Are they coming,too?"

Willowpelt exchanged glances with the other mentors, and then nodded. "Yeah. You all got back together a few minutes ago. Let's not separate you just yet."

"Awesome!" Blackpaw said, tail twitching. "Are we going to see the territory?"

His mentor, Runningwind nodded. "You think you can walk around the whole territory?"

Blackpaw nodded. "I've been ready for this for the past moon!"

I sighed. I didn't feel near as ready as he did. I was exhausted. Today had been long, and it was barely Sunhigh. Right now all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep for the next five moons.

Willowpelt seemed to see my weariness, and she glanced at my sisters to see them looking just as tired.

"Maybe we should take them to get their nests in the apprentice den first," she said gently. "They've had a long day."

Snowpaw, Icepaw and I all nodded tiredly. Snowpaw and Icepaw's mentors, Mousefur and Longtail exchanged a glance and gave Willowpelt a small nod.

"But I already have a nest in there," Blackpaw complained. "Can't I just go with Runningwind?"

I looked at my brother, hurt. I'd thought he would want us to do everything together, now that we weren't separated and we were apprentices.

Runningwind nodded. "Let's do that," he said, looking at Willowpelt. "The others are tired. Let them rest and get used to the clan a little. I'll take Blackpaw out now."

After a moment, Willowpelt nodded and Runningwind and Blackpaw headed out of camp. I sighed. So much for doing things together. He hadn't even looked back!

We went to the apprentice den, where I could scent Blackpaw and find which nest was his. Our mentors helped us gather some moss from a storage area and we began constructing our nests. I squeezed mine in towards the back, near Blackpaw's. He couldn't get away from me that easily.

By that time, Bluetail came around to see what we were doing. He was practically glowing with pride.

"All four of you with nests in the apprentice den," he said. "And training soon ,too."

We all smiled up at him sleepily, happy from his praise.

"We're going to let these three rest a little," Willowpelt explained.

Bluetail nodded. "Good idea. I don't think it'd be very fair to make them leave the camp, not after they've just gotten here. Alright kits,-I mean...apprentices? That doesn't quite have the same ring to it...Anyway, have a good rest. I'm off to go hunting with Bluestar."

We watched him go, and then settled down into our nests.I was just about to slip to sleep, when suddenly I jolted awake.

"Guys, where's Earthpaw?"

Snowpaw and Icepaw jumped up.

"He said he was going to find the camp earlier," Icepaw said, a shadow of worry crossing her face.

"Yeah, but I haven't seen him here," Snowpaw added.

"So where did he go?" I asked them.

"Did...did he leave us?" Snowpaw asked, her eyes widening.

Icepaw glanced over at her, the worry on her face darkening. "He...he wouldn't."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Because he's not here."

Icepaw glanced outside of the den. "Well, Bluetail's gone. What do we do?"

I yawned. "Find him ourselves?"

Icepaw shook her head. "No, Earthpaw definitely could've found the camp by himself. If he's not here...I don't think he wanted to be in the first place."

"What?" Snowpaw asked. "But...he's our brother. He wouldn't just leave us." She paused. "Would he?"

"I don't know," Icepaw replied after a moment. "But he's not here. And I'm tired. Can we worry about this later?"

Snowpaw sighed and rested her chin on her paws. "Okay. See you guys later."

Icepaw settled down, too. I turned towards the leaf wall of the den and closed my eyes.

Where are you Earthpaw? And what did we do wrong?

.. … …

Snowpaw

I woke up when someone stepped on my face.

"Hey!" I screeched, pushing the paw away and bristling a little.

"Oh, sorry-" the apprentice bent down and looked me straight in the eyes. Bright, emerald green eyes. Where had I seen eyes like that before? "-Snowkit?"

"Snowpaw," I replied and stood slowly. "R-rusty?" My voice was trembling like crazy.

The apprentice nodded slowly. "Firepaw, now."

"Rusty!" I screamed suddenly, reaching my paws out and tackling him. We tumbled outside of the apprentice den and out into the camp. He landed with an oof on the ground, and I scrambled to my paws, a little embarrassed.

"Sorry," I mumbled. Rusty stood and shook dirt from his pelt. "I guess I just missed you a lot, and-" suddenly Rusty's nose was on mine and I shut up pretty touch sent shivers up my spine.

"I missed you, too," he said, his whiskers twitching.

"Wait, did you say Firepaw?" I asked, stepping away. "You're an apprentice?"

He nodded. "But since when were you guys here?"

"Since this morning," I told him. "Where were you during our naming ceremony?"

"Oh, I must've been out hunting," Rusty- I mean, Firepaw- said. "I completely missed it. Sorry."

"No big deal," I told him. "But now we can train together!"

He flicked his ears excitedly. "Yeah! Hey, you should meet my friend, Graypaw." He turned towards the fresh-kill pile, where two toms were beckoned them over.

"You remember my brother, Tiny," Firepaw said, flicking his tail towards the large light orange tom who look nothing like I remembered. He'd practically tripled in size. He was bigger than Firepaw now!

"Hawkpaw now," he said, nodding at me.

"And this is Graypaw," Firepaw said, nodding at the fluffy gray tom.

He looked at me strangely, almost suspiciously. "So this is the Snowpaw you kept going on and on about for months."

I looked at him questionably. "On and on?"

Brokenpaw, now awake from all of the talk, passed behind me. "It's not like you never talked about him, Snowpaw."

I gave them a meek smile, "Let's talk about something else now."

Firepaw gave me a sly wink before turning to Graypaw and Hawkpaw.

Suddenly from across the camp came a voice. "Snowpaw! Brokenpaw! Icepaw! Are you three ready to go now?"

Brokenpaw raced towards the mentors. Behind me, Icepaw was just emerging from the yawned and stretched and tiredly walked past us.

"Icepaw," I said excitedly, "did you see? It's Rusty and Tiny!"
Icepaw gazed over Firepaw indifferently, but when her eyes' met Hawkpaw's they widened with realization.

"Tiny!" she exclaimed. "You're huge!"

"What can I say?" Hawkpaw said, "I hit a growth spurt."

"I'll say," Icepaw said.

"Icepaw! Snowpaw! Come on!"

"We've got to go," I told Firepaw. "Can I catch up with you later?"

He nodded. "Of course. We can share a mouse."

"Well I'll share a rabbit with Icepaw," Hawkpaw said,winking at her.

Icepaw tilted her head. "Is that so? I'd be surprised if either of you could catch a rabbit."

"We'll see about that," Hawkpaw returned, flicking his tail back and forth.

We both giggled a little and joined Brokenpaw and our mentors.

Just as we made it to the entrance, Blackpaw and Runningwind appeared through the gorse tunnel. We all paused, confused for a moment, before moving on again.

Brokenpaw sighed. "We finally get to see him, and then he's off again."
"Don't worry, Brokenpaw," Icepaw said brightly. "We'll all get to eat together around sunset." Brokenpaw nodded slightly, as if trying to convince himself everything would be okay.

"Yes, don't you worry, Brokenpaw," Willowpelt said as we neared the ravine, "you'll see your brother again."

…

" ." Brokenpaw's eyes were bright.

Icepaw sighed. "You've said that already. Four times."

"But it's true!" Brokenpaw said as we entered the gorse tunnel again. "We have the best territory out of all the Clans."

"Well, it at least beat's ShadowClan's," I said, winking at them.

Icepaw's eyes sparkled in amusement as we entered the camp.

"Race you to the fresh-kill-" Brokenpaw stopped mid-sentence, his mouth still hanging open. "What's going on?"

There was a big group of cats behind the Nursery, swarming around. I exchanged a glance with Icepaw, who only shrugged. The three of us were moving closer, when Blackpaw was suddenly in front of us, blocking our way.

"Don't," he said, eyes big with sadness.

"What's wrong?" Icepaw asked.

"It's Spottedleaf," Blackpaw mewed softly, eyeing the ground. "She's dead."

"What?" I shrieked, making him look up. "What happened?"

"Nobody knows," Blackpaw replied. "But that's not even the worst part. Frostfur's kits are missing, too!"

"What?" I asked, exasperated.

"Who's that?" Brokenpaw asked at the same time.

I gave him an annoyed look. "Does that matter? They're still kits!"

Brokenpaw shrugged and opened his mouth to reply, but that's when someone suddenly shouted, "Yellowfang is gone!"

I looked to Blackpaw. "Who's Yellowfang?"
Near the Nursery, a white queen broke from the group and wailed, "Yellowfang has killed Spottedleaf and taken my kits!"

Blackpaw and I exchanged a worried sky darkened above us, and suddenly I felt a cold wind sweep through the camp. I saw Bluetail, who was standing next to Bluestar in the group of worried cats, turn and look up at the sky, and then to us suspiciously.

Icepaw watched him, then glanced at us. "You guys," she hissed, "control yourselves."

"What?" I asked.

"Darkening sky. Cold winds," Icepaw said,blinking deliberately."You guys are making that happen."

I looked to Blackpaw, who shrugged. "She's right."

A dark tabby tom broke from the group, hissing, "Yellowfang! I always knew she was a traitor! This was a setup the whole time, coming into our Clan!"

Lightning suddenly cracked overhead. I glanced at Blackpaw and saw that his eyes were wide and blazing.

"What's wrong?" I whispered.

"That's Tigerclaw," Blackpaw told us. "You know, our brother."

I glanced over at the tom again, unbelieving. Could it be? I hardly remembered what our brother looked like, not to mention who he was. Was that Tigerpaw standing in front of me?

"Not lying," Blackpaw told me. "That's him. I asked."

"And Bluetail told the truth?" Icepaw asked.

"Well, he didn't have much of a choice," Blackpaw explained, "I was almost sure without asking, what with him yelling his opinion all over and becoming deputy and all."

"Deputy?" Brokenpaw asked. "Wow."

Blackpaw nodded. "But that's not necessarily a good thing. His apprentice, Ravenpaw, is practically scared out of his pelt. I feel bad for him."

I nodded. "I wouldn't want Tigerclaw as my mentor."

"Me either," Brokenpaw agreed. Icepaw merely nodded in agreement.

Someone from the crowd, a silver tom with black stripes, shouted, "Bluestar! What do you say?"

Bluestar stepped from the crowd to face everyone. Everyone else stopped talking as they watched her move forward serenely. Next to me, Blackpaw gasped out, as if he'd been holding his breath. My ears twitched as a drop of rain fell on my head. Icepaw gave Blackpaw an angry look, but he wasn't paying attention.

Bluestar lowered her head and closed her eyes for a moment. Everyone else bowed their heads mournfully, assuming Bluestar was going to let it be. But suddenly her head snapped up again,and her eyes were fierce. "If Yellowfang has killed Spottedleaf and stolen Frostfur's kits, then she will be hunted without mercy."

I looked at Blackpaw, who looked like this news was frightening.

"Who's Yellowfang?" Brokenpaw asked.

Blackpaw looked over to us. "Yellowfang was the old ShadowClan Medicine Cat. Firepaw found her when she was running away- I guess she'd been exiled. Anyway, Bluestar let her stay, why I have no idea. I guess she just had mercy on Yellowfang, since she's old and all. But she still doesn't do much to help the clan- all she does is eat our prey and act like the old grumpy bag of bones she is."

"So why are you so upset?" I asked him. "Why do you care if the Clan hunts her down?"

Blackpaw swallowed. "Because. There's no way she could've killed Spottedleaf or taken the kits. She loves kits. I mean, she'd never let anybody know that, but I've see her watch them play. And she's never been mean to me. Grumpy, maybe, but never mean."

"So...she's your friend," Icepaw concluded.

"What? No. I just said she's not evil. Not that she was my friend," Blackpaw said defensively.

"You've watched her without you knowing," I said.

"And talked to her," Brokenpaw added.

"So?" Blackpaw asked. "Okay, fine, but that isn't the point. We've got to save her!"

The rain thickened from a sprinkle into a real downpour. Blackpaw was obviously distressed.

Icepaw sighed. "Shouldn't we let Bluestar take care of this?" She looked over to her.

"As soon as the storm has passed, a patrol will follow Yellowfang and bring back our kits," Bluestar was saying.

"No!" Blackpaw hissed. "She believes Yellowfang stole the kits! I know the truth. We need to help her!"

"Okay, okay, fine,"Icepaw said. "We can help. But we're going to need more than just the four of us." She glanced over to where Firepaw was sitting, Graypaw, Hawkpaw, and another apprentice I didn't recognize near him.

Bluestar finished speaking, and Tigerclaw headed towards her den. Bluestar stood and looked at Firepaw, and he seemed to acknowledge something I couldn't understand. They headed into the Medicine Cat den.

"Now what?" Brokenpaw asked.

"Hold on," Icepaw said. "I've got this." She trotted over towards Hawkpaw, who glanced over at us and nodded. He turned to the other apprentices, and the whole group came back over.

Hawkpaw looked stern. "We can't let them kill Yellowfang. Firepaw's become good friends with her. I know her. She wouldn't do this."

"The Clan wants justice, though," Icepaw said. "And we all know that Tigerclaw would be more than happy to supply them with it."

"So...what do we do?" Brokenpaw asked.

"We go after her now," suddenly Firepaw was there, his eyes dark.

"N-now? In the rain?" I asked.

"Bluestar asked me to," Firepaw replied. "So I'm going, with or without you."

"With or without you," Brokenpaw hummed.

"What?" Blackpaw asked.

"Oh, sorry, something I heard in the Twoleg nest," Brokenpaw replied.

Firepaw shook his head, "That's not important now. Who's coming with me?"

Before anyone could reply, we heard Frostfur hissing. When we all looked to see what was happening, we saw that the black tom I hadn't recognized from before had wandered over to the Nursery, and was now being chased away.

"What's that all about?" Graypaw asked.

"We need to get Ravenpaw out of here, too," Firepaw said. "He's in danger here."

"Why?" I asked, my heart sinking. I thought I already knew the answer. "Tigerclaw."

Firepaw nodded solemnly. "He's spread the rumors that Ravenpaw helped Yellowfang. He's not safe here anymore."

"But where can he go?" Icepaw asked.

Graypaw's eyes lit up. "Barley."

"That's genius!" Firepaw exclaimed. He looked around, eyeing the clouds. "But we don't have much time. Bluestar said she can only keep the patrol in until the rain stops."

"I think we can do it," Blackpaw replied, eyes shining mischievously.

Firepaw nodded,not realizing the true meaning behind his words. "If we 'll take Ravenpaw first."

"No, Firepaw, let's do two separate groups," Icepaw suggested. "You and Graypaw take Ravenpaw. The rest of us will head out and search for Yellowfang."

Firepaw didn't reply for a moment. He frowned at Icepaw before replying slowly. "Okay. But you guys don't know Yellowfang. How will you find her?"

"I know her," Blackpaw piped up. "Don't worry, Firepaw. We'll find her."

Firepaw still didn't look convinced. "Guys, Bluestar told me to do this. I can let-"

"Yes you can," I told him. "We've got this, right guys?" I asked, looking over at my littermates.

Icepaw and Blackpaw nodded. Brokenpaw shrugged. I glared at him for a moment, but gave up. Sometimes he wasn't worth the trouble.

"Trust us," I told him. "Blackpaw knows her scent; we've seen the territory. You do know we can do it, right?"

"It's not that," Firepaw admitted. "It's...what if you get hurt and it's all my fault?"

Oh.

Everything inside of me felt warm. He was concerned about me!

Icepaw was glancing back and forth between me and Firepaw, her mouth a thin line.

"What if Graypaw just took Ravenpaw?" she suggested. "Then you could stay with us and find Yellowfang."

Firepaw shook his head. "I can't do that...I was the one asked to do it." He glanced at me worriedly before continuing on. "You-you're all staying here. Graypaw and I will take care of it." With that, he stood, looked over at Graypaw, and then beckoned for Ravenpaw.

Then they left.

I looked to Icepaw. "What just happened?"

"I...think Firepaw just told you 'no,'" Icepaw said blankly.

"Oh well," Brokenpaw said, stretching and yawning. "Too bad."

"But...we were going to help!" Blackpaw looked worried. Lighting cracked in the sky.

Icepaw gazed upward, blinking the rain out of her face. "Yes, but Firepaw had a point. Bluestar asked him to help. Not us."

"But we still could've helped. We could be out there looking for Yellowfang right now. The whole thing could've taken half as long!" I said, lashing my tail.

"Snowpaw, calm down. You know Firepaw; he has a way of figuring things out. It'll be okay," Icepaw's gaze was warm and certain. I wanted to believe her. But it was hard for me to just stay here and do nothing.

"Wait, did he say that Bluestar would hold the patrol back until the storm stops?" Blackpaw had a mischievous gleam in in his, one that I realized reminded me of Bluetail.

Icepaw nodded. "Yeah, that's what Firepaw said."

"Then let the storm rage," Blackpaw replied. "I'll keep it going as long as I can."

I scowled. "At least you've got a way to help. The rest of us are stuck here."

Suddenly I heard my name being called from across the camp. I looked over and saw Firepaw, Graypaw, Ravenpaw...and Tigerclaw. Apparently he was giving them some trouble leaving the camp. I scampered over to them, and Firepaw met me halfway.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Oh, Tigerclaw's just suspicious, but that's not why I need you. Listen, I need you to get some coltsfoot, okay?" Firepaw said quickly.

"What? What for?"

"Look, it doesn't matter why, just get some, and then leave it for me outside of camp, okay?" he said.

"How do I get out?" I asked.

Firepaw glanced around hopelessly, realizing the hole in his plan. "I…" he closed his eyes in defeat. "Fine, Snowpaw, you can come."

"Really?"

He nodded. "You can leave with us, and we'll take Ravenpaw, and you will find the coltsfoot."

And then find Yellowfang for you.

I nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

Firepaw led me back over the group, where Tigerclaw squinted at me suspiciously. "Why's she here?"

Firepaw looked up. "Snowpaw knows how to find herbs better than the rest of us."

Tigerclaw didn't reply, and we took that as meaning we could go. We raced out of camp before he could stop us.

Once outside, Firepaw looked to me. "Okay, you find the Coltsfoot. We'll take Ravenpaw."

I nodded sharply, and they raced off. I turned around happily, glad that I was wanted. Maybe Firepaw trusted me more than I thought. Now, to find that Coltsfoot.

Just at that moment, I realized I knew nothing about herbs, including what Coltsfoot looked like, did, or even was.

Great. Now Firepaw's depending on me! What am I gonna do?