This time I did not slow my pace for Mudpaw, Ravenpaw and Tigerclaw, I was beside Bluestar, moving at the same pace, maybe even a few steps faster.

"Wait up!" Mudpaw called to me, but my worries for the clan drove me onward, desperate to return home.

Tigerclaw was a few paces behind and Mudpaw and Ravenpaw had to trot to keep up.

We crossed the Thunderpath together, it was quiet enough to cross safely. We reached the Twoleg farm just as the sun began to rise and we had no intentions of worrying about the dogs.

But a black and white cat jumped out of the bushes and we stopped. I recognized Barley.

"Good to see you again," he meowed. "Everything is okay I hope." He saw the concerned expression on Bluestar's face.

"I just do not like to be away from my clan for too long," Bluestar answered smoothly.

"Ah, like always. You are tied to your clan like a queen to her kits," he purred.

"We're in a bit of a hurry though," I whispered to him so the others wouldn't hear me besides Bluestar. "We have to return to our camp."

He nodded. "Well, you'd be best headed back the other way, there are dogs further on."

"Thank you, Barley," Bluestar nodded in return and the Loner disappeared. Bluestar turned back and I matched her step for step.

"We're going by the word of a Loner?" Tigerclaw growled. "We already knew about the dogs!"

"They might be untied now," Bluestar answered and squeezed under a fence. "We're going this way."

I scrambled after her, fitting through the small hole better. Mudpaw came next, then Ravenpaw and lastly Tigerclaw who brought up the rear.

Bluestar kept up her brisk pace and so did I, Bluestar knew more than I did about why we needed to return home as quickly as possible, but I knew that something was wrong, and that was why I was able to keep up with her so well.

"But what about rats!?" Tigerclaw growled, and as if on a signal, we were all surrounded by huge, hungry looking, brown-furred rats from the ditches beside us.

"Not good," Bluestar hissed under her breath.

"Fox-dung!" I snarled at the closest rat.

In a matter of heartbeats, the rats leaped and me and my clanmates were struggling against them.

One rat leaped onto my shoulder and sank its teeth in. I yowled in defiance and went to pull it off but one more had attached itself on my tail. I spun around and my front paws squashed the smaller rat, it let go of my tail and I gave it a quick bite to the neck to kill it. I turned back to the rat on my shoulder and sunk my teeth into it, feeling my strong teeth digging deep. The rat let go of my shoulder and I flung it into the ditch.

I looked around, seeing Mudpaw wrestling with a rat the same size as her, Ravenpaw was being attacked from both sides by two smaller rats. I leaped at the nearest one and quickly took its life. Ravenpaw finished off the other one. I left him to it and I saw Tigerclaw fighting with rats all over him, but he would most likely not thank me for entering this fight. Instead, I looked around for Bluestar. I barely recognized her blood-soaked tail because the rest of her body was covered in rats.

Before I could jump forward to help her, a rat bit down on my hind leg, and another dangerously close to my throat.

I twisted and turned but I couldn't reach the rat near my neck, blood was dripping down from where it had fastened itself, as well as my shoulder, my tail, and where the other rat clung onto my leg.

In a flash of black and white, the rat was pulled from my neck and flung away into the ditch. I quickly finished off the rat on my leg and I looked up at Barley. "Thank you," I breathed.

He nodded once before looking around and dashing to Bluestar's side, beginning to pluck the rats off her with practiced ease.

As quickly as the battle had started, it was over and I saw the rats retreating back into the ditches.

I saw Ravenpaw being dragged down into one of the ditches by a rat clinging onto his tail and Mudpaw was trying to pull him back up by his paw. I quickly bounded over and killed the rat, letting Mudpaw heave the black apprentice back up.

I looked around and the first thing I saw was Tigerclaw leap onto Barley, the scared Loner did nothing to defend himself.

"You led us into a trap!" Tigerclaw hissed at him.

"I didn't know the rats were here!" Barley meowed. "Honest!"

"Tigerclaw, Bluestar is injured!" I called and the dark warrior looked over to me as I padded to Bluestar's side. He let go of Barley and rushed over to stand beside me. Bluestar's body was limp and blood soaked her fur, her eyes were closed and I couldn't see the rising and falling of her flank.

Tigerclaw turned to Barley. "You should leave us now," he snarled.

The Loner looked at me and I gave a tiny nod. I wanted to thank him, but I had to remember my status; an apprentice. He understood and nodded back before disappearing under the fence.

Tigerclaw and I turned back to Bluestar, Mudpaw and Ravenpaw followed.

"She's not dead, is she?" Mudpaw asked.

"I don't know," Tigerclaw replied. "All we can do is wait and see."

We waited and waited, the dark warrior seated beside me, Mudpaw and Ravenpaw sitting on the other side.

Then, I saw the rise and fall of her flank and my leader's eyes opened slowly.

"Bluestar," I meowed quietly and the other cats looked to see. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," her voice was rough with exhaustion. "I have lost a life, but it wasn't my ninth."

I had forgotten that Bluestar had the nine lives of a Clan Leader. Either way, I was pleased.

"Okay," Tigerclaw's expression was unreadable. "We need to collect herbs to treat her wounds-"

"Mudpaw, you will need to collect some cobwebs to stop the bleeding. We'll need heaps," I cut in and Tigerclaw looked at me. "Ravenpaw, if you can find any Goldenrod or Horsetail, bring it back. And some Coltsfoot if you can find any."

Mudpaw dashed away immediately and Ravenpaw looked more than happy to take order from me instead of his mentor. He hurried away to look for either herb, as well as the Coltsfoot.

I looked up at Tigerclaw. "Will you watch out for more rats?"

"Why should I take orders from an apprentice?" he growled to me.

"There's no time to question that," I growled back at him. "You're a strong warrior, if any rats return we'll need you to fight them off so we can treat Bluestar's injuries!"

The dark warrior seemed taken aback but he snorted and padded away to the ditches to watch out for rats.

I looked down at Bluestar, her breathing was shallow. "If it wasn't for Tigerclaw, I might have been eaten alive..." she rasped.

"It wasn't Tigerclaw who saved you," I meowed quietly. "It was Barley."

"Barley? Is he still here?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Tigerclaw sent him away. He thinks Barley led us into a trap."

"And what do you think?"

I thought for a moment. "Barley is a Loner, what would he gain by leading us into a trap only to save us from it?" Besides, he's a friend, not a traitor, I added silently.

Bluestar let out a rusty purr, satisfied by my answer. Mudpaw and Ravenpaw returned soon after, Mudpaw's front paw wrapped in thick layers of cobwebs. Ravenpaw carried two types of herbs in his mouth.

"I think these are the right ones..." Ravenpaw put them at my paws, sniffing them. Tigerclaw returned a heartbeat later.

I looked at the two herbs and nodded. "Those are the right ones. Thank you, Ravenpaw. Well done." He seemed to glow with pleasure at my praise. Tigerclaw eyed me suspiciously. It didn't look like Ravenpaw was praised very often by his own mentor.

I divided the two herbs that Ravenpaw had found, putting the dandelion-looking plant with white flowers in front of Bluestar's muzzle. "Bluestar, you need to eat the leaves of this Coltsfoot to help your breathing. It'll distract you while I put the Goldenrod on your wounds."

Bluestar nodded lightly before beginning to chew up the leaves of the Coltsfoot. I turned to the tall plant with bright yellow flowers and started chewing them up into a poultice. Goldenrod was terrific for healing wounds.

When I was sure that the poultice would be suitable to put on Bluestar's wounds, I spat it out on each injury and began to rub it in with my front paws. Bluestar winced from the sting but continued chewing the leaves.

"How do you know what to do?" Mudpaw asked me.

I shrugged. "I guess I must have picked it up from Spottedleaf at one stag," I risked a glance at Tigerclaw, he was watching me curiously, his eyes dark.

When I had finished with the Goldenrod, I began taking the cobwebs from Mudpaw and putting them on the wounds to stop the bleeding. When I had finished, Bluestar pushed herself to her paws.

"Bluestar, you should rest," Mudpaw meowed.

"No, I will rest once we get back to camp," Bluestar replied hoarsely. "There's no time to waste." She started moving forward, stumbling a few steps and we all followed. The fear that I saw in her eyes, and the determination reflected there, told me that something was definitely wrong. And if we delayed for too long, we might be too late to save whatever danger was threatening Thunderclan!

We traveled slower than before and barely any words were spoken. Ravenpaw began limping on three legs, one of his back legs painfully wounded from the rat attack. Spottedleaf would need to see to him when we got back.

It was past sunhigh and we had just passed Fourtrees, we were all tired from our home trek, but none of us complained.

"We're close to home," Mudpaw broke the silent tension among us. We were in the forest, close to home and I couldn't wait to see the clan again.

"But what's that sound?" Ravenpaw asked, stopping, straining his ears to listen.

We all stopped and I swiveled my ears forward to listen. I only heard the song of birds in the trees and the scuttle of a squirrel chewing on a nut. But then my blood ran cold when I detected the faint sound of screeching cats.

"It's just as Starclan warned me," Bluestar breathed. "Our camp is under attack!" She leaped forward but stumbled. I streaked past her, Tigerclaw racing beside me. Mudpaw and Ravenpaw came scrambling after us and Bluestar even found the strength to run.

I raced beside the dark warrior that I was never able to trust, but somehow glad to have his strength in this battle to face our enemies, no matter how much I doubted his loyalty to Thunderclan.

As we neared the camp I heard the screeching louder than before and I pushed myself forward, forgetting the pain of my injuries. I past Tigerclaw as we ran down the ravine and I exploded through the gorse tunnel and into the camp.

All around me I saw the cats of Thunderclan fighting for their lives against bigger, stronger looking cats. I sniffed the scent and my eyes blazed when I recognized the musky odor of Shadowclan!

In less than a heartbeat, my blood boiled and my fury rose. I ran forward and launched myself onto the nearest Shadowclan warrior, a tortoiseshell she-cat.

I took her by surprise and she spun around to retaliate, but I gave her no chance. I raked my claws up her shoulder and bowled her over onto her back. In that split second, my back claws raked against her soft belly fur. I gave no mercy to this Shadowclan cat, her and her clan had invaded our territory and now they would suffer the full consequences!

The she-cat struggled free of me and raced for the gorse tunnel, there she ran into Tigerclaw who gave her a few more injuries to remember us.

I looked around for the nearest warrior and I saw him, his snow white fur with his huge, jet black paws. It was the former Shadowclan deputy, Blackfoot. He was reaching a paw into the nursery to scoop out the kits. And there was no one to defend the nursery because they were all fighting.

I was about to call out that Blackfoot was invading the nursery, but another cat knocked me off my paws and I stared into the golden eyes of Scarpelt, the new deputy of Shadowclan.

He hissed in my face and his claws scored up my side. I yowled in pain before lunging for his neck. He was prepared for it and he jumped back. There was no doubt, he wasn't made deputy for nothing.

Regardless, I jumped forward and he was ready to dodge, but I leaped to the side of him and threw myself against him, knocking him to the ground. I rolled before jumping up and fastening my teeth into his hind leg. He was the enemy here, and it was time that he left Thunderclan territory.

I bit down harder and he screeched in pain. When he went to score his claws across my face, I let him go, stepped back and lunged for his neck again. This time my teeth fastened into his throat, digging deep.

In his shock, he realized he was defeated. He ripped free and pelted for the camp entrance.

I shook myself before turning back to the nursery, I saw Blackfoot there, two kits had been scooped out of the nursery and were crying for help.

There was no one else that would be able to get to them, every cat was fighting. I hissed and ran forward, dodging out of the way of Redtail and a Shadowclan tom that were wrestling, claws flashing, teeth bared. I didn't stop to watch. Just as Blackfoot had his attention turned back to the nursery to grab another kit, I jumped and landed squarely on his back.

He reared up in surprise and I dug my claws into his back. He looked over his shoulder at me and our eyes locked together. "Brambleclaw!?"

"It's Bramblepaw to you, fox-dung!" I snarled at him.

He growled and rolled onto his back, squashing me under his weight. I hissed and bit down onto his shoulder.

He winced and ripped his shoulder from my jaws. He got to his paws and raked his claws across my flank. I screeched in pain but I decided that a move that Fireheart taught me would come in handy.

I crouched down, my body going limp and I looked defeated. But of course Blackfoot, being a bully with no brains, fell for my trick and yowled with triumph, biting down on the back of my neck. In that heartbeat, I bunched my muscles and surged upwards, flinging the huge warrior away from me.

He howled with shock and I ran over to him, scoring my claws across his shoulder and up to his face, getting him across the eye.

He reared up and howled again, blood pouring out from his eye injury. He turned and raced across the clearing to the gorse tunnel, he was defeated.

I ran back to the kits and looked down at them. "Go back into the nursery," I told them. They were about three moons old. "Stay in there and keep quiet. You'll be safe for now."

They looked at me and nodded, scampering off into the safety of the nursery, their fur fluffed up in fear.

I breathed and turned, my eyes seeking out one warrior in particular, the one I hated the most. I saw him, his long brown fur was unmistakable. He was standing over Bluestar, she was badly injured again, a gash on her shoulder with blood staining her fur and dripping down onto the ground.

The Shadowclan tom hissed with delight and was about to deliver one final blow to end another of Bluestar's lives but I found my paws and I tore across the clearing towards them. I dodged out of the way of Mudpaw wrestling a Shadowclan tom twice her size, and Lionheart giving a Shadowclan she-cat one final nip on the hind leg to get her racing out of the camp.

I reached my leader and just as the Shadowclan tom was about to swipe a claw across Bluestar's throat, I jumped forward and barreled into him, throwing him away from my leader. I pinned him down with my front paws and his eyes blazed up at me. "It's you!"

"Yes, it's me, Brokenstar," I snarled at him. "I'm not the cowardly apprentice you met at the last gathering. And this is not your territory, so get out!"

"Who's going to make me?" Brokenstar let out a mrrow of laughter. "You? You're nothing more than an apprentice! If Brambleclaw was still alive, she would have been able to drive me off. But not you."

I bent down, my muzzle beside his ear. "This, Brambleclaw, that you speak of," I purred. "You may have brought her down. But not again." His eyes flashed and I rose up to my full height. "This is Thunderclan territory. You're not of Thunderclan so it's time to leave."

"You can't be..." he murmured.

"There's a lot for you to learn, Brokenstar," I hissed. "And no matter how many times you come into our territory, I will drive you off and keep you off our territory!"

He growled at me but I bit down on his shoulder with all the strength I could muster. He howled in pain and my teeth sank deeper. Blood bubbled up from the wound I was inflicting but I refused to let go.

Suddenly, the Shadowclan Leader jumped up, throwing me to the side. He leaped at me but I was ready. I rolled onto my back and put my paws up, they dug into his belly and I continued to roll, throwing him away from me.

I leaped to my paws and lunged forward, my teeth sinking into his hind leg. He howled again before ripping his leg free. He turned and I saw the fury and disbelief in his eyes.

"We will leave now," he hissed. "But you can't stop us from coming back and taking your territory!" he turned and ran out of the camp, his warriors following closely behind.

I sighed and padded over to Bluestar, ignoring the pain from my bleeding injuries.

"Are you alright, Bluestar?" I asked my leader and she forced herself to her paws. She breathed quickly.

"I am fine," she let out a rusty purr. "You did well, Bramblepaw. There's no doubt that you are Brambleclaw..."

I bowed my head. "Thank you, Bluestar."

Suddenly, there was a high-pitched wail and my heart raced. Was Shadowclan back? No, that cry wasn't of warning... it was a cry of grief and loss. I spun around and saw Graystripe crouched in front of a golden, unmoving body.

"No..." I choked out as I recognized the huge golden pelt that shone like the rays of the sun.