Two sunrises had passed since Dapplefur's accident. Since then, the cobwebs and dock leaves improved her state, but still kept her locked up in the medicine den, where Spottedtail treated now resided. Darkfire and Jadepaw were also stuck in there, so I had to name Icestorm my deputy until Darkfire got better. Brookpaw, of course, had not returned, and was shortly forgotten in the clan in th wake of Spottedtail finding out that Dapplefur held Sunstripe's kits. Spottedtail became a fully-fledged medicine cat.

Runningpaw had moved on to battle training, where he constantly improved with every passing day, wearing himself out.

Hunting was good. The fresh-kill pile was filled everyday. Our new warriors were strong.

More loners were found on the river border. WingClan had three new warriors and six new members. Sandpaw, Blazepaw, and Hawkpaw were all as old as me, but will trained by full warriors until they know everything about the clan. Moonsong moved to the nursery with her three kits: Reedkit, Frostkit, and Mosskit.

I climbed to the top of the Boulder the day after they joined WingClan.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey must gather under the Boulder!" I yowled.

Within minuted, the cats of WingClan gathered under the huge boulder we chose as the clan meeting spot.

"Yesterday," I started, addressing everyone in the clan, "we found some loners ready to join our clan. They all became apprentices, except for Moonsong, who has kits to nuture in the nursery. Now it is time to officially start their training.

"Blazepaw, it is time for you to recieve a mentor. Darkfire, you have lost two apprentices. I think you'll make a great mentor for Blazepaw. Teach him bravery, something he will need for the clan. But only after you've healed."

Darkfire grumbled his argument.

"Sandpaw, come up here. You have shown great interest in being a medicine cat. Spottedtail will teach you everything she'll know.

"And finally, Hawkpaw. You'll my apprentice for two reasons. The first is how we don't have enough warriors in the clan. The second is because I've never mentored anyone. It should be fun. Now time for the final part in the apprentice ceremony. Hawkpaw! Sandpaw! Blazepaw!"

The clan echoed in my wake. At least they were okay with these loners becoming clan cats, unlike how ThunderClan was so cross with it.

ThunderClan. I barely remember anything from my previous life there. Only names flash by as I remember. Blossomfall, Foxleap, Brambleclaw, Bluekit, Jayfeather.

A sunrise later, I was in the medicine den with Spottedtail, Jadepaw, and an unconcious Dapplefur.

"I don't think Dapplefur can made it through," Spottedtail whisped sadly in my ear.

A sad glance at the medicine cat told her all my feelings. "What about Jadepaw and Sunstripe? And her kits?"

"The dog was too powerful for her. I suggest putting her misery to an end right now."

"Deathberries?"

"Deathberries."

Jadepaw limped over to us. "Hey, Doublewing?"

"Yes, Jadepaw?"

"I feel kinda useless stuck in the medicine den," he confided quietly. "When can I get back to my training?"

I looked to Spottedtail for an answer. The she-cat sighed loudly and looked at Jadepaw's ankle. "Can I talk to you privately about that, Doublewing?"

She climbed out of the den, to a point where Jadepaw couldn't hear us. I trailed behind.

"Jadepaw can't be a warrior," she said bluntly.

"What?"

"Jadepaw's leg is going to be like that forever. She isn't going to be able to complete any of her warrior duties with that leg. I think it's best if we build an Elders' Den, and send her in there."

"There's got to be some other way!"

"There isn't."

I took a step back. "Why can't you save them? You're a medicine cat!"

"Dapplefur will die, even with the help of the herbs. And Jadepaw is a lost cause."

"I demand you to keep trying everything you know!" I growled.

"Fine! But they'll still die!"

I stormed away, fuming. I couldn't let Jadepaw down, not when she was such a great warrior.

"Doublewing," a voice called as I was about to enter my den. It was Darkfire.

"Yes?"

"We have good and bad news," he said, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"Good first."

"Moonsong is leaving the clan with her kits."

"How is that good?"

"No more soft mouths to feed."

I sighed. "Bad news?"

"The border patrol thinks there might be foxes in the area."

I jumped down. "We'll organize a patrol to drive the foxes away. Call Sunstripe, Icestorm, Stripedpaw, and Hawkpaw. I'll go with them. You can stay here with the others and teach them how to fight off foxes."

Darkfire nodded. "Very well. Hey! You two! Overgrown apprentices!" He stalked off.

"Icestorm, Sunstripe, and Hawkpaw!" I yowled. The three cats came bounding.

"Yes, Doublewing?" Sunstripe asked, at front of the other two much to Icestorm's annoyance.

"We have a fox patrol to get to."

"Finally!" Icestorm said. "A real challenge!"

"Oh?" Sunstripe asked playfully. "So trying to fight me isn't a challenge?"

"Of course not!" Icestorm boasted.

"Liar!"

"Am not!"

"Can you both shut up?" Hawkpaw asked, feigning cheerfulness. "Don't worry, Doublewing. I'll shred that fox to pieces myself!"

"The fox has a life itself," I mewed to Hawkpaw. "We don't mean to kill it, just to drive it off."

"But what if it attacks one of us?" I knew from Hawkpaw's tone that he just wanted a fight.

"Then, but only then, do you fight it."

Hawkpaw smiled from ear to ear.

We trekked out of camp, the two warriors behind me, my apprentice beside me.

"So what would we do if we had to fight a dog?" Hawkpaw asked maliciously.

"You wouldn't," I answered bluntly.

"Oh, but there must be something we'll do to fight them, or else we'll all end up like Dapplefur!"

My silence answered his question.

"What's it like being leader?" he said instead.

"Great," I answered. "You get to look after your clanmates, caring for them, living with them."

Then, suddenly, Icestorm and Sunstripe looked to their left, noses sniffing loudly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, forgetting about Hawkpaw.

"I smell two things that should not be mixed," Sunstripe said with worry.

"What?"

Icestorm's expression was glazed over with sadness. "I smell foxes and Moonsong's kits."

The second the words touched my ears, I dashed ahead, the others only trailing behind. As I got closer, the concoction of Fox and kit smashing into my nose. It got stronger and stronger, until we got to the Blueberry Clearing, an area surrounded by dozens of blueberry bushes.

Inside, we saw the dead body of Moonsong's she-kit, Reedkit, and the other two backing away from the vicious brown fox.

Hawkpaw immediately jumped at the fox, scratching, clawing, and kicking.

"Icestorm, Sunstripe, get the kits to safety!" I yowled over the sound of the fox's cries. The two warriors did as they were told, even taking Reedkit's limp body as they exited the clearing and headed back to camp.

Meanwhile, the fox was on top of Hawkpaw as the apprentice kicked its belly over and over again.

"Not so fast!" I yowled, jumping down onto the fox and putting all my strength into ripping off a bit of it's flesh.

The fox turned around, forgetting about Hawkpaw and attacking me. It jumped on top of my and made a long cut against my flank with it's claw.

I yowled at the top of my lungs.

Dark spots danced in front of my eyes. The pain blinded me, and it made me collapseonto the ground.

I faintly saw Hawkpaw attack the fox again as I lied on the clearing floor, breathing heavily.

"Doublewing, I won't let you die!"

The voice came from the entrance of the clearing, and I brought my strength to get up again, despite the pain. And then, I saw three cats who I'd never thought to see alive again.

Dapplefur and Crowwing ran at the fox at top speed. When they got close, they both jumped, making the fox go flying.

Meanwhile, Redtail ran at me, holding a bundle of cobwebs in her mouth. Without speaking, she started dressing my wound.

"You're back," I weakly marveled.

Redtail smiled. "I guess I am."

"What took you so long?"

"We found-" But Redtail was cut off by Dapplefur's yowl. Redtail and I turned to see Dapplefur on the ground, her mouth and flank bleeding heavily.

"Go help her!" I urged Redtail.

"You're more important!"

"You're supposed to save your clanmates!"

"Dapplefur is a lost cause! She has been chosen by StarClan to be the one to sacrifice her life for you!"

I stayed silent as she kept putting cobwebs all over me.

Another one of Dapplefur's yowls split the air, but then, a pitiful yipping from the fox, who then finally started running away.

I slowly got to my feet, and started walking to the three brave warriors: Dapplefur, Hawkpaw, and Crowwing.

"Nice to have you guys back," I chuckled to the warriors.

"Nice to be back," Crowwing returned.

Dapplefur then suddenly fell to the ground, yowling.

"What's happening?" I asked Redtail.

"She's giving birth."

"Now?"

"Yes, now!"

"Do something!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!"

Redtail put down the bundle of other herbs she was holding, and started calming Dapplefur.

"It's time for the birth already. Dapplefur, do what you have to!"

A few moments later, a small, black she-kit came out. Later, two more she-kits, this time a brown tabby and reddish one, and finally, a black tom.

"What do you want to name them?" Redtail asked the exausted Dapplefur.

"The black she-kit will be Darkkit. The brown tabby and red one will be Leafkit and Foxkit. The tom will be Nightkit." After she said all that, Dapplefur closed her eyes.

"She's dead," Redtail announced.

"But what about the kits?" Crowwing asked.

"Moonsong will have to take care of them," Hawkpaw said.

By the time we had goten back to camp, there had been a lot of greetings to the new kits and lost members.

Moonsong had agreed to take care of the new kits in honor of Reedkit's death.

Redtail agreed to become Medicine cat along with Spottedtail and Sandpaw. Crowwing once again became a warrior.

I climbed on top of the Boulder the very next sunrise.

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the Boulder!"

A few moments later, I started talking: "Yesterday, during a fox attack, a few kits were born. Foxkit, Leafkit, Nightkit, and Shadowkit are all under the care of Moonsong now. But let us mourn the loss of Dapplefur and Reedkit. Crowwing and Redtail have joined us once more, but there are two things I must do.

"Icestorm, is Stripedpaw ready to become a warrior?"

"Of course he is! He shows great strategy and understanding, something he'll need as a warrior."

"Then come up here Stripedpaw. From this moment on, I name you Stripedpelt. Honor your clan.

"And also Hawkpaw. Come up here. You have shown great bravery and courage fighting the fox today. If not for you, I would have been dead. From this moment on, I name you Hawkheart. Honor your clan."

"Hawkheart! Stripedpelt!" the clan shouted.

But at that moment, everything turned dark, and I found myself in a field where the grass shined with stars. Around me were nine small boulders, each of them with a cat on top of them. There seemed to be a leader, the one with the tallest boulder. He was a fuzzy, golden yellow tom with eyes the color of the brightest stars on Silverpelt.

"Welcome to StarClan, Doublewing, leader of WingClan!" the cat called out, his voice echoing throughout the entire clearing of stars.

I looked at all the other cats in the clearing. I only recognized some of them, though I was still overjoyed at the sight of them. I saw Bluekit, Dapplefur, Brookpaw, and Reedkit.

"Am I dead?" I asked numbly.

"Not at all," Bluekit answered with a chuckle. "You are here to recieve your nine lives."

"Bluekit, you're alive!" I marveled.

Bluekit laughed. "Oh no. I've been dead for a very long time. Even before you founded the clan."

"How?"

"I fainted as we were running away from the clans. I couldn't take the pressure of the exaustion we were going under. A dog came later and got me.

"And besides, my name isn't Bluekit anymore. My new StarClan name is Bluefeather."

"Anyway," the golden tom said, cutting in, "My name is Star, the essence of StarClan. All around you are those who have been chosen to give you your nine lives."

Star jumped down from his boulder, and touched his nose to the top of my head. "With this life, I give you strength. Use it well to protect your clan." The tom jumped back to the boulder and dispersed into stars.

Next, a tawny she-cat jumped down.

"My name is Leafstar, first leader of the second SkyClan. With this life, I give you compassion."

"My name is Rockstar, the only leader of RockClan, the clan that crashed into bits without the help of StarClan to guide them. With this life, I give you courage."

"My name is Cloudstar, the last leader of the first SkyClan. With this life, I give you justice."

"My name is Larkstar, leader of the only other clan who has survived. But you must find out the rest about my clan later. With this life, I give you love."

"Hey, Doublewing." It was Dapplefur now. Despite her death, she had a wide smile. "With this life, I give you energy. Use it to sacrifice yourself for your clan."

"So you're Doublewing?" asked Reedkit, jumping down.

"Yes. And you're Reedkit."

"That I am. With this life, I give you protection. Use it to protect your clan."

"I am Bluefeather, and with this life, I give you loyalty. Use it to put your clan beyond everything else."

"I'm Brookpaw. With this life, I give you nobility and faith."

And then, I suddenly was back in the clan. All around me were my warriors. Mosskit and Frostkit had even sneaked away from the nursery to see me.

A/N: I had originally planned on killing off Dapplefur's kits so two other warriors could get together. Instead, I decided on making Hawkpaw a warrior and killing Reedkit. But I'm still going to kill off some kits for the greater good of the story. So review. Tell me what you liked and didn't like.