Chapter Eight: The Poisionous Battle

Hehe, I was soooo creative with the name. Thanks for the reviews! I'll wrap things up here and then you guys can go to the sequel or one of my other stories... please. -puss-in-boots eyes- I like how Rebuilding a Lost Friendship is coming. It's an Apple x Birch... but don't worry. It's not one of those fics where they're already in love as kits. No- this one is very action packed and exciting. More on friendship than romance, though. I guess more of the romance will come if I make a sequel on that... OFF TRACK. Whooops, k. Her's the chappie...

Ambermask laid lazily infront of camp. Her belly showed no signs of kits, but Ambermask was sure it was only a matter of time. Meanwhile, she had been sulking around camp with nothing better to do. Wolfstrike was keeping far away from Rosewish, to Ambermask's interest. He seemed if not more upset than her.

"Hey, Ambermask, patrol!" called Cloverface. She was standing with Redscar's brother Larkwing and they looked ready to go. Groaning just a bit, Ambermask rose to her paws and gave herself a brisk shake. Then she set off in a quick pace behind the brilliant red tortoiseshell and white-and- tortoiseshell delicate she-cat. What a patrol. Cloverface and Larkwing would be mushy with each other the whole patrol. It was so obvious they liked each other. (A/N... reminds me of a Sorrel x Bracken pairing if you know what I mean.)

Up ahead there was the smell of think rogues. Really, Ambermask wasn't bothered. It smelled like rogues in half the territory now. But obviously, Larkwing and Cloverface felt the need to investigate. So Ambermask took up the back at the two sniffed around.

"Ahhh-taaaack!" The loud, farmiliar yowl came from a large gray tom who was flanked by his followers; Venom, Moonlight, Eclipse, Owlpaw, Snowflake, and Milkweed. All had a fierce look in their eyes. Stone, their leader, lead a full drive into Larkwing and Cloverface. Ambermask, however, was left to deal with Venom and his brother Owlpaw.

"What's going on?" snapped Ambermask, her insides gathering a nervous tingly feeling. Would she have to fight Venom? "I-I... what about me? Did you mean what you said? I thought you loved me!"

"I do," Venom confessed with a chilling voice. He stepped closer and beckoned Eclipse to join him. "I love you... not enough, though."

"You'd rather dedicate yourself to a group of rogues?" spat Ambermask.

"I would!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

And Venom lept, Eclipse darted, and Owlpaw slashed. Ambermask let out a yowl and turned to flee. She raced stright into a thick bush of brambles then out the otherside, thorns stinging her pelt. The whole group of cats followed. She burst into camp with little energy left, her sides heaving with effort.

"Stone, you and Milkweed to the nursery, Owlpaw, Moonlight, and Snowflake to the medicine cats' den, and me and Eclipse... go to the leader's den." Venom's voice had just as much venom as his name... his malicious eyes glowed as he stared at Ambermask. "Leave her." He flicked his tail across Ambermask's face but it stung like poision. Yet she wouldn't bring herself to lunge at him...

"Rogues in camp!" called Larkwing as he streaked to the nursery with Cloverface. Spottedstar came hurtling out of his den as he too looked for the nursery with Redscar. Rosewish and Wolfstrike were snapping at each other like badgers... it made Ambermask want to smile but it wasn't the time. Venom, Venompaw was attacking their camp. And yet she had trusted him with her heart. And he broke it.

Suddenly, a crashing weight hit the unaware, love-dazed she-cat. Ambermask was pelted down by Owlpaw. Venom's brother; if she could sink her claws into him instead of Venom himself, at least she would be helping.

"Owlpaw," she grunted but was shoved down again.

"I'm not Owlpaw, Ambermask," spat the brown tom. Ambermask peered up to see new scars on his pelt and a skinny body. "I'm Owlvenom. It may not make much sense to you but we all take on the name venom when Venom accepts us. The she-cats take on the name eclipse like Snoweclipse instead of Snowflake. Stone is Stonevenom even though he's our leader still. It's part of our new Clan... VenomClan will be accepted by StarClan."

"You wish," panted Ambermask. Her heart pounded. With her muscuals weak from her run, there was no way she would escape this one. A flash of white passed her. Frostclaw was fighting? No! She should be in the nursery! A flash of brown indicated that indeed so was Eaglefur.

"Say good-bye, unless you wish to join us and become... Ambereclipse instead," breathed Owlvenom. And for a second, Ambermask considered it. She thought of what if would be like to live with her father, her enemies turned good, Venom at her side... and then she thought of Wolfstrike and Eaglefur... and even Rosewish.

"No!" yowled a ginger mass of fur as it hurled itself onto Owlvenom. Scrambling up, Ambermask turned to face Rosewish in a tussle with Owlvenom. Her heart almost stopped for Owlvenom was ready to- no! Ebonyclaw joined in and pulled Owlvenom off Rosewish and soon the two were driving him back. Almost sick with relief and anger, Ambermask let herself be pulled over to a nearby scene; but then scene made her want to cry out.

Throught the clamour, Spottedstar was standing ragged infront of Eaglefur and Frostclaw. Both were faced with Venom and Eclipse. Redscar already looked beat as Softwing tended preciously to him unconcious body.

"You're over," snarled Eclipse, her voice beautiful like her pelt but poisionous like herself.

Venom fake-swiped and knocked Spottedstar off his paws in one small movement. Ambermask stared in amazement; what a different fighting skill! She couldn't help admire it at the same time. Eclipse then rounded on Eaglefur in the same move. The queen was knocked off her paw; the kits! Ambermask lept onto Eclipse but was easily knocked away.

"How dare you!" hissed Venom. He seemed shocked but Ambermask couldn't take time to care. She snarled back at Venom and he lunged. It was over... all over... Ambermask wouldn't raise a claw... she couldn't. And then there was another boom like a crash with monsters. It rung in her ears and she looked up to see Frostclaw standing before Venom with a weaken stare, sides heaving with blood. She looked at the last of her battles. Venom was ready to strike but then Ambermask attacked. She struck with all her power which wasn't enough. Venom, still fresh, shook her aside... And made his way over to Frostclaw who gave her last blow as a warrior. Her claws met Venom's throat as his claws met her side. The great ThunderClan warrior fell, a breath still in her, maybe two. While she gasped, Softwing managed to join her. The two sisters sat together, Softwing running a paw across her sister's couragious pelt. She went into early labor; no sooner had they been joined by two kits. Frostclaw managed to blink once at her kits and sister before collapsing back without a word. Pain etched on her face and Ambermask knew it was the hardest pain of all. Pain from Venom, pain from her kits, pain from dying, pain from leaving her kits, pain from leaving her sister, mate, Clan...

"No! Frostclaw! No! No! No!" Ambermask was the first to rush past the barely moving body of Venom where Eclipse crouched over to Frostclaw. "No! Frostclaw, I'm sorry, so sorry, I should have been able to fight him! You shouldn't have risked yourself... no, no, no! Frostclaw!" And for the first time, Ambermask broke down. The unusually strong apprentice broke to tears next to Frostclaw, the senior warriors, the queen, who had risked everything for her filthy self. And this time, there was no Wolfstrike, no Eaglefur (who was breathing heavily in the corner), and no mother or father. She was... alone.

"Ambermask, I'm sorry." The voice beside Ambermask was barely reconizable. It was quiet and pure. Almost not willing to bring her head up, Ambermask saw Rosewish beside her. The ginger she-cat's pelt was glimmering with blood and light and she looked exausted. Ambermask just stared back up at her sister until Rosewish settled down beside her.

It was all over. Frostclaw was dead, leaving behind two kits; one not breathing. Eaglefur was wounded, Venom was either dead or close enough. Eclipse was broken down and so were the rogues. ThunderClan had proven them too much at a too high price. They lost Frostclaw.

And Ambermask had paid one of the biggest prices of all.

To Be Continued... in the Sequel: A Chance to Live

Mwahaha. The ending was pretty bad but I can't give away too much now, can I? I promise you the next book will be 10x better. Yes, it will. Join Jadepaw! squeal Mythpaw squeal Stonepaw squeal and Darkpaw silence... erm squeal in their journey... as kits of Ambermask and Venom!!! Haha. I'm evil. No, just hyper. Annnnyways. Yeaah. Check out my Apple x Birch fic if you already haven't. My Jocelyn: A Chance to See the Stars is also coming along well. Its kind of along the lines of the first warriors book but completely different. So I'm tired and I've got homework. Thanks for the reviews... everyone's awesome. ) I'll try to write back to reviews more. Anyways;; my first story that's fiiiiniiished! OMG!