Please read my A/N at the end of the chapter; it's important.

Bullet For My Valentine – Breaking Out, Breaking Down

She couldn't sleep.

Hollyleaf still wouldn't say anything, and it had been a whole day.

That and when she had woken up that morning, Cherrypaw had been awake and glaring at her. Sleep had now become a safety issue for her.

She sighed lightly and got to her feet, careful not to wake up Petalpaw, and double-checking to see if Cherrypaw was awake. When she was sure she wasn't, Hollypaw quickly padded out of the den.

Ivypool, who was guarding the entrance, glanced over at her, nodded silently, and turned back to stare into the forest.

"Why are you up?" A voice hissed next to her, and she turned to Rainkit quickly.

"Why are you? She countered. "You should be asleep, 'kit."

He bristled defiantly. "I don't need sleep."

"You do if you want to live."

He huffed, "Frostkit's paws keep twitching in his sleep. It's irritating." He gazed at her tiredly. "Your turn."

"It's too quiet."

He stared at her. "Too quiet to sleep? That's ridiculous."

"When I wake up, Cherrypaw's glaring at me. It's freaky."

There was comfortable silence for a moment, before Rainkit spoke up, "Tell her off."

"What? No."

"Yeah. Tell her to get over the fight. She challenged you and just because you won doesn't mean she should be such a dirt-bag about it."

She swallowed back an amused laugh. "I'm already on her bad side, no need to make it worse."

"Why? She can't do anything about it – you're clan mates."

That doesn't mean she can't do anything, Hollypaw thought, mind flicking to a story Hollyleaf had told her about a cat named Ashfur, who had threatened Squirrelflight's family because she hadn't become his mate. Hollyleaf had refused to give all the details of what happened, suddenly sounding half-crazed, and the topic had dropped. "I don't want anymore enemies than I already have."

"Enemies? You only have Cherrypaw and the other clans. Everyone has one cat in the same clan as them that they don't like."

"Do you?"

"Yeah, I don't like you."

Hollypaw didn't reply.

"But in all seriousness, I don't like Cherrypaw either."

"Why?"

"She attacked you," he replied simply. "She challenged you, you accepted, you won, and she tried to kill you. That's unacceptable on many levels. You are my friend and attacking a clan mate is wrong."

She mulled this over. "You suddenly sound mature," she decided at last. "I saw you eating with Cherrypaw at sun-high, you know."

"Don't twist your tail with jealousy," he scoffed. "She only sat by me and Dawnkit and tried to talk to us. I ignored her."

"Oh."

Another silent moment.

This time, Hollypaw broke it with an awkward cough. "I'm going to go for a midnight walk."

She started to walk away from him, but he piped up with, "I'll join you."

She paused. "You can't. Kits aren't allowed out of camp."

Rainkit smirked. "Scared to get in trouble?" he challenged.

"Never!" she snapped quickly. "But I'd like to be alone."

He glared at her as she walked away from him.

"I'm going for a walk," she muttered to Ivypool. "I can't sleep."

"Be careful, apprentices shouldn't go out by themselves." Came the bored reply. In a quieter tone, she added something that sounded like, "Sometimes it's good not to sleep . . ."

She glanced back at Rainkit, who was still scowling at her, then padded out quickly, well aware that he was going to try and follow her.

As soon as she was sure Ivypool wouldn't be able to see her, she started running toward the lake. Talk to me, Hollyleaf!

There was nothing but silence in her head, and it was driving her insane.

She started to slow as she reached the lake, stopping at the edge of it, waiting.

"Hollypaw!" Hollyleaf's voice suddenly cried.

Not expecting this, she jumped a foot into the air and splashed into the water ungracefully. I hate you, she seethed mentally when she heard Hollyleaf laugh.

"Try something for me."

"What?" She asked aloud.

"Find an object of any sort. A leaf, rock, twig, anything."

Walking out of the water and shaking her wet fur, she located a rock and stood in front of it patiently, glad Hollyleaf had snapped out of her weird trance.

"Focus on it and nothing else. Nothing."

She stared at it in confusion, not exactly sure why she was told to look at a rock.

And then it lifted into the air and floated.

It floated. The rock was floating. Rocks were not supposed to do that.

When Hollypaw stumbled backwards with shock, the rock fell back to the earth, clattering loudly on another, bigger, rock.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes! You have the power!"

What just happened?

"You made the rock float, genius. You have the same power I had! Do it again."

"No," she answered, once again out loud.

"Who's there?" A voice cut through the air threateningly.

"Oh snap."

Hollypaw hadn't realized she gotten dangerously close to the ShadowClan border.

"I know you're there," the voice hissed.

A small rush of relief washed through her as she recognized the voice. "It's just me – Hollypaw." She stepped through some bushes and faced Rockpaw.

"Oh. You," he said simply, turning to a black cat behind him. "This is that cat that got our mothers name."

"My kits!" Hollyleaf howled, and Hollypaw ignored her awkwardly.

"This is my sister, Rosepaw," Rockpaw said, waving his tail at the black cat with green eyes hovering behind him. "Why are you here?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a walk."

"Us too," Rosepaw murmured. "But why are you at the border?"

"Just went where my paws took me. Why are you at the border?"

The siblings glanced at each other, then said at the same time, "Just went where our paws took us."

She narrowed her eyes. "Right. Funny. Hilarious. Ha-ha." She plopped down.

"So . . ." Rosepaw started awkwardly, "why were you talking to yourself?"

"Oh, that?" A nod. "The voices in my head were telling me to kill you and I was saying no."

"I was not telling you that!"

"Okay. Should we run?"

"No. I was kidding."

"Ah," Rosepaw paused. "Good then."

Awkward silence.

"So wait. Then why were you talking to yourself?" Rosepaw questioned.

Rockpaw stared at her through narrowed eyes.

"Nice going you idiot. You should've kept it the way it was – you sounding completely mental."

Before Hollypaw could make a witty retort, Rockpaw tackled her over, green eyes shining with anger. "Why can you hear our mother?"

Hollypaw looked at him through wide, terrified eyes.

"Rockpaw!" Rosepaw yelped, jumping at him quickly. "He . . . he doesn't know what he's talking about!" She yanked him away from her violently, looking mortified.

Hollypaw scrambled to her feet and away from the siblings. "How did you know that?" she demanded.

"He didn't!"

"Really?" Hollypaw sneered at Rosepaw. "He just heard what was in my head. How did he? Care to explain?"

"Our mothers voice was talking to you!" Rockpaw countered, "Care to explain?"

She and Rockpaw glared at each other, ignoring Rosepaw, who was trembling with terror.

"Rockpaw can read minds!" Rosepaw blurted at last then looked down guiltily.

"Rosepaw!" Rockpaw hissed, bristling.

"I can talk through my mind!" She added, either not hearing or ignoring Rockpaw. "Don't tell anyone, please."

Rockpaw curled his lip at her. "Your turn to explain, 'kit." He hissed tauntingly.

Yes, lovely, I have to explain my schizophrenia-buddy.

"I can hear you, you stupid piece of-"

"There! She talked to you again!" Rockpaw snapped, looking torn between being hurt and excited.

"Insulted, actually," Hollypaw corrected blankly.

"Tell us why our mother is talking to you now or will kill you," he hissed.

A wave a sorrow washed over her, courtesy of Hollyleaf. "What happened to him? He used to be so sweet and sensitive."

Rockpaw's ear twitched. "She can hear us, too?"

Hollypaw glanced around nervously. She had no idea how she was going to explain this – and running clearly wasn't a choice by the gleam in Rockpaw's eyes.

"Run and I will kill you."

Exactly.

Now's the time to help, Hollyleaf.

"What, you think I know what I'm doing?"

YOU DON'T?

"I- err. Kind of? I mean, I think I'm doing my job right."

That's reassuring.

"Hey! We're waiting!"

"Um . . . your mom lives in my head?"

"What in StarClan's name are you talking about?" Rosepaw frowned.

" . . . I . . . don't know?" She struggled for words momentarily. "Um . . . your mom . . . was sent into me when I was born . . . because . . . I'm supposed to kill the cat that killed her."

They both stared at her silently.

After another moment, Rosepaw piped up with, "That doesn't make sense."

"You're telling me," Hollypaw sighed.

"So that's why your attitude is like hers," Rockpaw said thoughtfully.

"Sarcastic, witty comments are contagious," she said dryly.

"Apparently."

"So, let me get this straight," Rosepaw started, frowning. "Our mom . . . is in you?"

"Yup."

"And you, an apprentice, are going to kill a trained, successful killer?"

" . . . That's the plan."

" . . . Are you stupid?"

"Yeah, but that isn't relevant to the situation."

"Yes it is," Rosepaw argued. "How can you possibly think you could kill a murderer?" She paused. "Wait, so . . . you know who killed my mom?"

Don't think about you-know-who.

"Crowfrost?" Rockpaw blurted, terrified.

I am such a failure.

"Agreed."

"I also agree," Rockpaw added. "Our own deputy killed my mom?"

Rosepaw trembled fearfully.

Rockpaw scowled. "What's so special about you? I could kill him. Why do you get my mom?"

"Because of your new found power, probably . . ." Hollyleaf mused.

"Power?" Rockpaw questioned.

Somehow Rosepaw was following this conversation with ease.

"I-uh. Yeah."

"What is it?" Rosepaw asked excitedly. "I bet it's not as cool as mind-talking. I can only talk one-sidedly though. I talk to the mind, and Rockpaw reads it to get the reply."

"How many cats know about your powers?" Hollypaw asked, frowning.

"Just our mentors – Redwillow and Blackstar. So, what's your power?"

She let her eyes wander back over to the stone, and, concentrating hard, she made it rise into the air, and flung it at Rockpaw, who stepped back with a growl.

"Our moms power. Well, why don't you just take everything from her," Rockpaw snarled.

"It's not like I asked for this!" Hollypaw snapped back, fed up. "I would give anything to be normal, to not have this fate, to have-" A brother that loves me, a healthy sister; a father that trusts me, a mother that notices how confused I am.

Rockpaw's facial expression didn't change, so she decided he hadn't read her thoughts at that moment, thankfully.

She paused for a long moment, then continued with a deep breath, "If you can read minds, then you should have already known that he was the killer. You could have killed him a long time ago."

"Cats can barrier their minds," he explained. "Just a moment ago, I couldn't read your thoughts because a barrier went around them."

"Um . . ." Rosepaw interrupted. "I think . . ." she trailed off.

"Spit it out, moron," Rockpaw sighed.

"That we should work together," she finished quietly.

"That's actually a good idea," Hollyleaf said thoughtfully. "It would be safer."

"Hollyleaf approves," Rockpaw mewed.

"Hey, shut up, she's my voice, I get to say what she says," Hollypaw meowed sharply.

"She's our mom," Rosepaw countered defensively.

"Hmph," Hollypaw sniffed. "I guess I could work with you two; Hollyleaf knows what she's doing." She paused. "Wait, not really. But if you two are willing, I'll team up with you."

Rockpaw scowled and avoided looking at the two she-cats, before finally growling a rueful, "Fine."

"So what should we do? We have powers, so we were obviously picked for something," Rosepaw mewed.

She heard Hollyleaf take in a sharp breath, then laugh lightly. "There will be three kin of your kin who hold the power of the stars in their paws." She was silent for a moment, before she started laughing loudly.

"What is she talking about?" Rockpaw asked, shaking his head exasperatedly.

Hollypaw shrugged while Hollyleaf continued to laugh insanely at her own inside joke.

"How confusing," Hollyleaf mused when she calmed down. "Confusing indeed. Don't worry about it, I was just thinking of something. I'm sure it isn't relevant to this."

"Weirdo," she and Rockpaw both scoffed at the same time, then proceeded to glare at each other again.

"We could, um . . ." Rosepaw started, and then trailed off again.

"You just seem to be full of suggestions this lovely night," Rockpaw snipped.

Rosepaw looked around uncomfortably. "Um. If . . . Crowfrost tries anything, or we notice anything suspicious . . . I could message Hollypaw . . . and Rockpaw, you could get her reply so we know she heard . . . for safety reasons . . ." she cut herself off again, shuffling uncomfortably.

Hollypaw nodded slowly. "That could work. If you notice him looking at anyone funny, going out with only one cat, anything suspicious, tell me instantly, and . . . I'll do my best to help."

"Your best might not be enough," Rockpaw meowed pessimistically. "Make sure to train hard. I don't want you to die," he paused and she stared at him wonderingly. "Because you're my only connection to my mom, that is," he added hastily, sounding embarrassed at the slip-up.

"Um, yeah," Hollypaw mumbled. "I should get back to camp now . . ."

They both mumbled out things that sounded like goodbyes, and she quickly turned and started back to camp.

"This is awesome," Hollyleaf decided quickly. "Awe. Some."

Yes, wonderful. Dandy. There are no words to describe how amazingly . . . amazing this is. Hollypaw thought sarcastically. I'm teamed up with a nervous, stuttering she-cat and her jerk of a brother.

"Excuse me?" Hollyleaf snarled.

Just telling the truth.

"Just you wait until you fall asleep," she threatened. " . . . They've become the complete opposites of what they used to be. Rosepaw used to be everywhere at once and rude beyond belief, and Rockpaw was quiet and shy."

Well that has certainly changed!

"Hey! Shut up."

Hollypaw smirked to herself before lying down in some long grass. You don't think anyone would miss me for the night, do you?

"Maybe Rainkit," Hollyleaf teased. "But you should be fine. Gonna sleep out here?"

Yeah . . . she curled into a tight ball. Cherrypaw's a freak.

Hollyleaf laughed. "You have a way with words. 'Night."

"GOODNIGHT HOLLYPAW!" A loud voice screamed in her head, and she flinched violently before realizing it was Rosepaw's telepathy.

-Morning-

"Hollypaw, there you are!" An alarmed voice woke her up the next morning.

She blinked and sat up quickly, facing her worried parents' faces. "Sorry, I couldn't sleep in the apprentices den," she explained, sitting up.

"It doesn't matter right now!" Cinderheart meowed breathlessly. "We've been looking for you!"

Hollypaw blinked. "I'm sorry, like I said-"

"Something's wrong with Petalpaw!" Lionblaze interrupted. "She's getting worse, and she really needs her sister with her."

A flicker of alarm spread through her. "What happened to her?"

Her parents glanced at each other. "When she woke up," Lionblaze started slowly. "She started coughing again. But . . . she coughed blood, Hollypaw."

At once, Hollypaw was racing back to camp, her baffled parents left to get back to camp on their own.

So. Next chapter will be in Petalpaw's POV and will have the song 'Hospital' by The Used because… I listen to them far more than I should. Anyway, it's half written, so hopefully not a long wait. Hopefully.

Please review, it won't take to long and… like I've said, I like knowing your opinion on what's happening and if you are still reading this. I'm updating regularly now…

Also, for warning, pretty much from this chapter on, this trilogy is going to get rather angst-y.

IMPORTANT: Okay, so I've had this written for some time. Why didn't I post it until now? Well, first I couldn't find a song. But then some family issues got in the way. Let me make this short: My abusive stepfather is getting kicked out finally. He's saving some money, and then he will be gone. Until then I'm kind of scared to leave my room, cause, well, note the word above 'abusive'. So yeah. Life is complicated, but I'm going to do my best to continue updating. But with the complications, it may be harder to. Sorry in advance.

Edit: Took the lyrics out because they were against the rules. Please take the time to listen to the song or search it up.