Hey guys! So I'm back with another update! Here we meet a character from waaaay back in the prologue; I'm not telling who it is! No spoilers for you, you'll just have to read to find out. C; anyways, also in this chapter we get to see a side of Ace and Scarlet that…well hopefully it'll surprise you a little :P I might add some Jayfeather Pov but who knows! Hehe –derp-

And Thank you all for the kind reviews! I really appreciate it! And also: HOLY SH** OVER 3,000 VIEWS?! THANKS YOU GUYS SO MUCH OMG CAN WE MAKE IT TO 4,000?

By the way I noticed that we are at 62 reviews, ovo omg-I can't guys-it's too much, I don't deserve your awesome praises (/u\) Oh Oh! By the way, I've decided to host a contest~ the 100th reviewer to this story will get a one-shot of any warrior pairing they desire, it can be crack or cannon, and I don't mind a little yaoi either ^u^ no OCs though! Sorry :P

Thanks again guys for all the support!

I love you all~

…..

Chapter 9

Ace growled as he stumbled along the street, he was littered in scratches and bites after being jumped by the Slades. His left ear was torn and bleeding rapidly, blood ran down his face from the wound as he stumbled again. Jack and the rest of the Slades had all attacked him while Grit and some other tom dragged Coal off somewhere. He gritted his teeth, the image of Coal being dragged away against his will flashed in his mind. The poor young toms terrified face.

He squinted his eyes as rain began to sprinkle over the city, making it hard to see. He finally caught sight of a small human house a few feet away and quickened his pace. The rain was getting heavier by the minute and he soon found himself soaked as he approached the gate to the human house. He bunched his muscles before giving a strained leap onto the fence. He hissed in surprise as his paws slipped from under him on the slippery fence and he tumbled onto the other side.

A small 'thud' was made as his body hit the grass, winding him. He lay still for a few moments to catch his breath before shakily getting to his paws. He gritted his teeth as he slowly staggered to the back door of the house. Every step hurt as he walked, feeling a stab of pain with every step he took but he forced himself up the steps. When he got to the top he raised his head to see a cat flap at the bottom of the door and slowly stepped towards it. As the tabby approached it, he saw a shadow flicker behind the cat flap before a familiar face poked her head out. "Ace? Is that you?"

He gave a weak smile and mewed shakily, "H-heh…Hey Silver…" The silver she-cats bright green eyes widened at his state, "Oh my gosh! Ace, what happened to you? Come on, my owner isn't home, let me treat your wounds." She hurried outside and pressed herself into soaking pelt, urging him forward into the house. Once he was inside the house, Silver led him over to a fireplace before running off to get some supplies.

As he sat there he felt a faint purr rise in his throat as the fire warmed his pelt. He sat up and leaned over to lick his brown fur dry. His green eyes flicked around the house as he cleaned his pelt, it was silent despite the soft pattering of rain against the window. He flicked his ear as Silver returned; the gray she-cat was soaked as she held some herbs in her mouth. "Here." She mewed setting them down in front of him. "Eat." He nodded before leaning down and lapping up the herbs, scrunching his nose at the taste.

"I don't have anything to wrap your wounds with, so the best thing to do is to clean them and hope those herbs work." She said firmly. Ace nodded mutely and got to licking his wounds. The room was suddenly filled with silence; the fire flickered as a loud boom of thunder sounded outside.

"Ace, what happened to you?" she asked quietly. Ace stopped, his tongue still hanging out of his mouth slightly before sighing and sitting up. He lowered his head so that he was staring at his paws. "Ace?" she mewed again.

"It was the Slades." He said softly.

"What? What do you-?"

"They took him, they took Coal."

Silence.

Silver stared at him as realization dawned upon her. "You mean, that red she-cat; Scarlet-her little brother…" she trailed off as her eyes widened. He nodded. "But, what happened? Why did they take him? Where is Scarlet?" He lifted his head a bit so he could look at her, his eyes held guilt.

So much guilt…

"After you helped Coal a month ago, the Slades came to my den, they were going to try to kidnap Scarlet, and kill Coal…She…She distracted them long enough for me and Coal to escape…but…the only way to escape was...the forest…" He lowered his head some more before continuing. "She escaped into the forest and led them away…She-she didn't come back, I've been watching Coal for her, until she came back. But she still hasn't. The Slades found us, a group of them, they-they jumped me and took Coal."

Silver was looking at him with pity in her eyes, "Oh Ace I'm so sorry…" She didn't know Scarlet or her brother well, but she did know that Ace cared for them. He gritted his teeth and unsheathed his claws, digging them into the carpet. "Before she left, she told me to protect her little brother, to take care of him, but I…" he closed his eyes tight. "But I didn't! I let him be taken away! I couldn't protect him!"

He slowly opened his eyes and whispered, "I failed, and Scarlet…She didn't come back…she promised she would come back!" he hated how childish he sounded but he couldn't help it. He was breathing heavily now, his sides heaving. Silver looked at him with pity, she didn't know what she could say to him. The two of them had been friends for a while now but she never had seen this side of the brown and black tabby. She sighed and scooted closer to the tom and pressed her pelt into his comfortingly. "Ace, it's not your fault, you know the Slades just as much as I do that once they set their sights on something, it is impossible to stop them from getting it." Ace didn't answer and she went on.

"Look, the last you saw of her, she ran escaped into the forest right? Well…" Ace turned to her, his leaf green eyes confused. "What if you go look for her?" Ace stared at her with an open mouth before turning away, as if in thought. "I mean, if you find her, you can bring her back to help you find her little brother…its worth a shot isn't it?"

Ace's green eyes suddenly lit up and mewed, "Yeah…okay, I'll do it."

"Not right now though, wait a few days, your wounds look bad, wait until they close up." She meowed firmly, pushing him back down with a paw. Ace sighed, 'what if Coal doesn't have a few day?' he thought worriedly. The small tom had grown on him, like the little brother he never had. He sighed again but thanked Silver before curling up beside the fire. He watched the flames dance for a while before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

…..linelinelinelineline…..

Back in the forest….

"We will now begin the gathering!"

Jayfeather flicked his ear at Bramblestar's yowl before turning back to his fellow medicine cats. "So Jayfeather, how has Thunderclan been coping?" He heard Littlecloud ask politely. He turned his head in the Shadowclan medicine cat's direction before replying, "Thunderclan has been faring well, Greenleaf has brought us a flourish of herbs and the prey is running freely." Littlecloud nodded.

"Snowbird's been having some stomach pains, and I've run out of poppy seeds." Littlecloud mewed.

"Why don't you try using Chervil root?" Krestelflight suggested. Littlecloud nodded thoughtfully and blinked at Mothwing. "Mothwing, where is Willowshine?" The pretty golden she-cat shook her head, sighing. "I don't know, I think she's talking to some Thunderclan apprentices." Jayfeather flicked his ear as he heard paw-steps approaching them. "Sorry Mothwing! I was just talking to Seedpaw," he felt her eyes land on him. "Oh, hey Jayfeather!" he nodded a response as she sat down.

"So Seedpaw was just telling me that Thunderclan took in a loner!" all eyes immediately swerved in his direction. "A loner? Why would Thunderclan take in a loner?" Littlecloud asked curiously. He opened his mouth to answer but Willowshine beat him to it. "The apprentices were saying something about her having an oddly colored pelt, what color was it….hm…Oh! Yeah, red. Blood red right?"

"Blood red?" Krestelflight said incredulously.

"That's impossible." Littlecloud said equally astonished.

"I've never heard of a blood red pelted cat before, are you sure Willowshine?" Mothwing asked her apprentice.

The she-cat nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! The apprentices wouldn't shut up about it, it makes me curious though, I would love to see her in person."

The other medicine cats agreed, all of them having confused and shocked expressions on their faces. "Which brings me to ask, why did you take her in Jayfeather?" Willowshine asked curiously. The silver tabby growled inwardly, he came to the gathering to get away from the annoying stray, and as it seemed rumors were spreading fast.

"It wasn't my idea if that's what you're asking." He growled. "I was out picking herbs with Lionblaze and Foxleap when we found her, she was all cut up and bleeding heavily. Lionblaze was the mouse-brain to come up with the idea to bring her back to camp. She would've died if we hadn't."

"How long has she been in Thunderclan?" Krestelflight mewed.

"Over a moon." He replied.

"Why so long? Her wounds should have healed by now." Littlecloud asked.

"Her paw is broken." He said shortly. They all nodded in understanding.

"How long she be staying with you in Thunderclan?" Mothwing asked softly. Jayfeather inwardly sighed with frustration, not wanting to talk about the she-cat. "She'll stay for another two moons, her paw is nearly half way healed, and soon she'll be able to walk properly with only a slight limp." He said stiffly. He turned to Willowshine, "Now, I don't know how you managed to sneak that information out from our apprentice's but-"

"It wasn't only the apprentices!" Willowshine protested. "Lionblaze was talking about her too, though not as loudly as the apprentices, I think he likes your little rogue friend." Her eyes shined with amusement and Jayfeather snorted. "Lionblaze liking her? Her of all cats? Don't waste my time, who would ever like that annoying, stupid stray!" The medicine cats looked at him with surprise at his tone, except for Willowshine who was looking at him mischievously.

"Oh really now? Sounds to me that someone's a little jealous." She giggled. Mothwing sent her an exasperated glance. "Willowshine! How rude!" She stopped at Jayfeather's furious face, his fur was bristling and his eyes were narrowed. "I would never in a million years, be jealous of her. She's an annoying, inconsiderate, stupid mouse-brain, and a waste of herbs." He spat.

There was silence before a familiar yowl was heard. Littlecloud was the first to speak. "Well…I'll see you all at the next half-moon." Krestelflight nodded and stood up, shaking off his pelt before turning to them. "May Starclan light your paths." Mothwing gave a silent goodbye before padding away, Willowshine following her.

He stood there alone. Still bristling under the full moon before he felt a tail touch on his shoulder. "Jayfeather, it's time to go." Leafpool. He wrenched himself away from her and stiffly stalked, following the rest of his clan. He could feel the she-cats eyes on his back but did his best to ignore it. He felt someone fall into step beside him and scented Lionblaze.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly. He nodded curtly and kept walking, Lionblaze following quietly concerned.

…Random Pov Switch…

Lionblaze's Pov

When they got back to camp, the moon was still high in the sky. The camp was silent except for the slight snoring coming from some of the dens. Jayfeather flicked an ear before slowly padding towards the medicine cat den. Not feeling that tired, Lionblaze followed him. The golden tabby's large paws made no sound against the ground as he followed his brother, but he knew that the silver tom knew he was following.

He looked around and saw cats gradually retreating to their dens, yawning and stumbling gratefully to their dens. He saw Cinderheart enter the warriors den along with Toadstep and Dovewing and blinked before turning back to his brother.

They approached the Medicine cat den slowly; the moonlight cast a gloomy shadow inside the den that made it look eerie. He calmly padded inside, blinking as Jayfeather went over to his nest, near the herb supply. He looked over as he heard a rustle and saw Scarlet lying at the far end of the den. He walked past Jayfeather, over to her sleeping form.

He approached the blood red she-cat quietly, noticing that she kept twitching in her sleep, as if having a nightmare. She didn't move for a moment, before her eyes bolted open and she gasped. He winced, "Sorry if I woke you…are you okay?" She regained herself before slowly sitting up.

"I-I'm fine, just a bad dream." She looked at him and he swore he saw a faint trace of fear in her blue-green eyes. "What are you doing up?" She asked blearily, yawning. He shrugged his broad shoulders and mewed, "Not tired." She stood up and stretched her hind legs, letting out another yawn. She sent a glance over in Jayfeather's direction and suddenly whispered, "Hey is he awake?" He looked over his shoulder at his brothers sleeping form, seeing his flank slowly rising and falling. "I think so why?" He questioned just as softly. She looked at him mischievously before mewing, "I'm going for a walk."

"What? Now? But it's nearly Moon-high!" he protested, she sent him a glare and he lowered his voice, "What about your paw?" He mewed, eyeing her paw which was wrapped in cobwebs. She rolled her eyes, "I'll be fine! It doesn't hurt much, besides the idiot gave me some poppy seeds to numb the pain." He was still hesitant to letting her go out by herself, what if she hurt herself even more?

He sighed, "Fine, but I'm coming with you." He said firmly, but feeling a déjà vu of the situation. She smirked and nodded before padding past him, flicking her tail at his face. He blinked but followed her, careful not to awaken Jayfeather as he passed him. As they left the den they didn't notice the silver tabby watching them leave.

Lionblaze eyed Scarlet's paws as they walked; she was lifting her broken paw as she walked, careful to not trip. As they reached the camp entrance he noticed Ivypool guarding it. He quickened his pace so that he was in front of Scarlet, hearing her huff behind him. Ivypool turned at the noise, "Lionblaze? what are you-?" She started to only be cut off.

"I'm taking Scarlet for a walk, we can't sleep." She looked at him with confusion but stopped as she noticed Scarlet standing behind him. Ivypool's eyes widened a portion at the sight of her but before she could say anything, Lionblaze shot her a warning glance and she shut her mouth. They walked past her and continued on through the forest. He slowed his pace so that he was walking along side Scarlet. The she-cat was silent as they walked, but he could tell she was relieved to be out of camp after being stuck there for a moon.

He stopped, not wanting to go too far from camp, and also not wanting Scarlet to strain her paw. He flicked his ear as he heard something rustle in the bushes, but dismissed it as nothing. She stopped as well before sighing and sitting down. He sat down beside her, looking concerned. "Scarlet?" She didn't answer at first and stared at the ground. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

She lifted her head to the sky and raised her eyes to stare at the stars, watching them twinkle. "It was nothing, just a-"

"Nightmare?"

She turned to look at him, before turning away. "Yeah."

They sat in Silence for a while, Lionblaze realizing that he really didn't know Scarlet that well. He just knew her as a sassy, independent alley cat that just happened to stumble upon his clan. "What was it about?" he asked quietly. She didn't turn to face him.

"….My brother." Oh.

"The one back in the city…" He murmured turning away. She nodded.

"Something's happened to him, I know it." She mewed.

He turned to her in confusion, "What do you mean?"

She stared at the sky for a while longer before replying, "Coal and I…We've been together ever since my parents disappeared. I've always been there for him, protecting him, taking care of him, but…"

She lowered her head and turned to face him, "But I'm not there to protect him anymore…Lionblaze, what if they got him? What if they killed him?" Her voice dropped to a whisper at her last words. He looked at her with sympathy. He knew the feeling all too well.

He looked into her eyes, "Scarlet, I know how you feel okay? If Coal's anything like you, I'm sure he can handle himself." She shook her head and looked away.

"How do you know that? You have no idea what it's like." He felt a spark of anger light inside him but forced it down. "I know the feeling all too well." She turned to him in confusion, her mouth slightly opened. "How?"

He turned away from her, "I had a sister." She stared at him.

"Had-?"

"She's dead."

She closed her mouth and looked at him with shock before letting pity enter her gaze. He looked at her finally, his eyes holding deep sorrow and grief. She didn't know what to say, "I-I'm sorry…" He gave her a small smile. "It's okay." She nodded and turned away.

They sat in silence once again. She was silent as she felt her eye lids droop before she fell sideways, her head landing on his shoulder. He stiffened and looked down at her in shock, realizing that the poppy seeds must've had an effect. She looked peaceful for once as she leaned on her shoulder, breathing slowly. He felt his own eyes droop, her warmth was making him drowsy as he lowered his head and rested his chin on her head. He felt a faint purr rise in his throat as he slowly fell asleep…

…..

Yelp I just did that.

Let the ships sail~ C;

ANYWAYS TO ANSWER ALL YOUR "WTF WHAT JUST HAPPENED" QUESTIONS:

Facts:

-Scarlet doesn't have a crush on Lionblaze, She thinks of him like a best friend since she grew up with pretty much none.

-Lionblaze still likes Cinderheart, but he's slowly gaining feeling for Scarlet

-This wasn't random at the end, Scarlet was feeling freaked out and wanted to take a walk to clear her mind, Lionblaze was the one who offered to go. They both have similar feelings about their siblings so I felt that they kind of understood each other.

-Ace was freaking out because he felt like he failed to protect coal, who he had grown a brother like relationship with (don't you yaoi shippers get all creh creh ;3) and he has a small crush on scarlet so of course he feels ashamed.

-Ace and silver met a while back and have been friends ever since.

The next update will be in a week or so, my big sis is coming down from Washington so I'm going to hang with her for a bit :P

Thanks again for all the kind reviews!

Love you all~

Darkness out.