Chapter 12* Enjoy! And in case I haven't done this already, I don't own Warriors. (If I did, a lot of things would be VERRY different…)


When they returned to RiverClan territory, Tigerstar announced that they would be setting up camp not in RiverClan's own camp, but farther down beside the river.

"Go fetch your Clan." He rumbled, flicking his tail at Leopardstar. As the dappled she-cat moved to take her kits back to camp with her though, the great tabby stopped her. "Ah-ah, Leopardstar." His eyes had a dangerous glint. "I'll be keeping your kits as prisoners until I can be sure of your loyalty."

Sure of her loyalty?! Graystripe though with dismay. Who could ever be loyal to a cat like you?!

Leopardstar bowed her head, licking each of her kits between the ears in turn. "Very well, Tigerstar…" She growled. "But the second any harm comes to them…"

Tigerstar scoffed lightly. "Now, now, Leopardstar, as long as you do as I say, that won't be a problem." Then more loudly, "Leaf, they're in your care." That same lithe brown tabby reappeared, gently herding the kits away from their parents while they objected with startled squeaks and whimpers.

"Don't worry, Leopardstar…" Graystripe could hear Stonefur murmuring in his mate's ear. "We'll make sure they're kept safe."

With a faint nod, Leopardstar turned and summoned her patrol with a flick of her tail, leading them back to camp. Graystripe fell into step naturally behind Stonefur, but every step he took his instincts were screaming at him to not bring Shadefrost and his kits anywhere near that fox-hearted traitor. They trudged silently through the reeds that formed the entrance, and Leopardstar tipped back her head and summoned her clan from there. They emerged slowly and cautiously, obviously still shaken up pretty badly from their camp being attacked for the first time ever.

"Cats of RiverClan…!" Leopardstar rasped. "We have been to ShadowClan and spoken to Tigerstar. The kits are a safe, but he's holding them as prisoners to ensure that we listen to him. RiverClan has surrendered. We are now a part of what Tigerstar is calling 'TigerClan', and we must move to the camp he is forming farther down the river." Mews of shock and outrage rippled through the crowd of cats, and Mosspelt piped up,

"What about Shadefrost's kits? They're only a few day old, they can't make that journey…!"

Leopardstar blinked, before dipping her head in a slight nod. "Then she will stay here, with a warrior to guard her all day every day, and through the night."

"I'll do it." Graystripe offered immediately.

Leopardstar, however, shook her head. "No, Graystripe, I need your strength. You may take a shift, and you'll still need to provide for her, but you cannot stay up all the time. We'll have shifts. Mosspelt, Mistyfoot, Heavystep, and you, Graystripe. Work out a schedule." The warriors named nodded, and Mosspelt and Mistyfoot immediately began speaking in hushed voices, their head close together.

"We must go now, my clan… And just remember…" Her eyes flashed with the first bit of strength Graystripe had seen since she had allowed Tigerstar to take over her clan. "As soon as we are strong again…" She didn't finish, but by the light in their eyes, Graystripe could tell that very warrior and apprentice was thinking the same thing.

As soon as we are strong again, Tigerstar will be finished!


Graystripe crouched low on the smooth stone, his pelt ruffled by the bitter leaf-bare wind. He had been waiting since sunhigh for a ThunderClan patrol, knowing that the RiverClan border encircled Sunningrocks. Now the sun was setting, and the cool shadows did nothing to improve the chilled air.

A faint sound reached his ear, and he sat up, feeling his shoulders ache in protest. 3 moons already, under that traitor, edging on four. RiverClan had hoped to grow strong under his ambitious rule, in order to defeat him when the time came. But either he knew their plan, or they were sorely mistaken, because they had seen nothing but misfortune since Tigerstar overtook their hunting grounds.

Graystripe saw a flash of brown tabby fur, and with a start he realized that he was looking at Tigerstar's kit, Bramblepaw. Then the less haunting pelts of Whitestorm, Longtail, and Mousefur.

"Whitestorm…!" He called out hoarsely, and the senior warrior whirled around, his eyes flashing first in defense and then softening into recognition.

"Graystripe." He rumbled, padding forward to the edge of the border. "Firestar said we might be seeing you. OF course we never assumed it would take this long…" He wise eyes were troubled, and Graystripe stopped to take a moment and wonder how he must look to his old clan-mates. The ShadowClan warriors did nothing but stuff their faces and order the rogues they had taken in around, and RiverClan, under Tigerstar's cold threat of killing not only the kits, but any cat that dared to defy him, were trying to provide for the whole of TigerClan. Their condition, if anything, was worsening, and Leopardstar was losing faith in her plan.

"It's bad on the other side of the river." He mewed darkly, glancing back towards his home. Then he stopped, his eyes widening. "Wait, Firestar…? He's the leader now?!"

"Yes, what of it…?" His flame colored pelt caught the dying beams of sunlight as he weaved through the trees to join them, his eyes shooting wide as he saw his friend. "Graystripe, you look awful…!"

The big gray tom let out a rusty purr. "Gee, thanks. Good to see you, too." He trailed off, his amber eyes clouding. "What happened to Bluestar…?"

Firestar bowed his head. "She died saving ThunderClan from a dog pack that Tigerstar had been feeding. He left a trail of dead rabbits to lead them straight to the camp, but we stole the trail and led them over the gorge." He shook his head. "But never mind that! What's going on over there?"

It was Graystripe's turn to shake his head. "It's bad. Worse than I ever imagined… Tigerstar has been holding Leopardstar's kits hostage, and our strength is dwindling. He plans to attack WindClan, but the only fighting power we have is numbers. Numbers and scrawny, crow-food eating rogues!" He spat the last word out with contemptuous flick of his tail. "They eat all but one piece of everything and leave it to rot beside the river…!"

Outraged exclamations came from the ThunderClan warriors, and Firestar's fur bristled. "When does Leopardstar plan to attack…?" He asked, his eyes wide with urgency.

"That's just it…!" Graystripe looked down, scraping his claws against the stone in frustration. "She doesn't…!"

Silence filled the forest for a moment, until Firestar growled. "That wasn't the plan!"

"The plan changed, Firestar." Graystripe answered bitterly. "Tigerstar has her kits hostage, and now he's started a rant about half-clan cats, so he's taken Stonefur, Mistyfoot, and my kits as prisoners, too…! I'm afraid that he'll go after Shadefrost, next, and the kits that we had, even though I was in RiverClan at the time…" He shook his head, sheathing and unsheathing his claws. "Firestar, we need help."

The rest of the patrol seemed to be in shock, and Graystripe bowed his head. "That's all I came here for…" He admitted. "Leopardstar thinks I'm hunting, and Mosspelt is guarding Shadefrost. I need to get going…"

He turned around, his tail dragging the ground as he padded back to the river, feeling like nothing could help his clan now.

"Graystripe, wait…!"

He froze, but didn't turn.

"Of course we'll help you." Firestar joined him on the rocks, pressing his ginger pelt comfortingly against Graystripe"s matted gray flank. "We just can't lead an attack now. And we can't do it alone."

"Let's talk to WindClan, then!" This mew came from Longtail, and Graystripe blinked in surprise. Mousefur was nodding beside the black-striped warrior, and Bramblepaw was shifting his weight from paw to paw as if already looking forward to a battle.

"Yes." Whitestorm nodded. "That would be good. They're as shaken up from Tigerstar trying to claim the whole forest as we are."

"That's great." Firestar nodded, then gave Graystripe a nudge. "I'll do what I can, Graystripe, but for now it's not safe for you to be seen with us. I need you to talk to Leopardstar. If we're going to take down Tigerstar, we're going to need all three of us other Clans."

Graystripe nodded. "I'm on it." He paused, touching his nose to Firestar's shoulder. "Thank-you, Firestar."

With that, he raced back down to the river, diving in and paddling strongly to the other side, where he didn't even pause to shake the water from his fur before disappearing into the reeds. He had to talk to Leopardstar, and remind her just how much was at stake!


He found his leader at the base of the Bone-hill, the giant hill of prey bones that Tigerstar had mounded up so that he could look down on his clan when he called a meeting. The huge tabby was nowhere to be found, so Graystripe took his opportunity.

"Leopardstar…!" He hissed, padding forward to stand in front of her. "I need to talk to you."

She looked up at him through wary, haunted eyes. "About what…?"

He shook his head. "Not here. Come with me."

She just gave a tired sigh, getting up slowly before surprising Graystripe and taking the lead as they padded down the riverside. "I already know what you're going to say, Graystripe." She meowed tiredly. "We have to fight them. We can't let this go on. I snuck away to visit Stonefur and Mistyfoot, and my kits, as well as Stormpaw and Featherpaw. Stonefur says the same thing."

"Then-"

She cut him off. "But what if he sees it coming? What if he knows, and his first reaction is to kill the prisoners?"

Graystripe shook his head furiously. "If this keeps up, they're going to die anyways!"

Leopardstar blinked, looking taken aback by his outburst.

"We're all going to die, and Tigerstar will be the cause. He wants to kill them, I can see it in his eyes when he talks about half-clans and cleansing the forest. Not even just them. He just wants to kill. To control. And if this keeps up, he's going to!" By this point, Graystripe's tail was lashing, his claws sinking into the pebbly shore.

Leopardstar was quiet for a few minutes as sunset turned into dusk, and dusk began creeping into evening. "…You're right…" She finally admitted, looking down. "I need you to talk to Fireheart."

Graystripe realized with a start that the dappled she-cat was beginning to sound more like herself, her voice gaining strength the more she used it. "Firestar, now. And I will."

"Tell him that we're ready when he is, and start spreading around to our warriors to hunt for themselves. Tell them to eat as much as possible when no one's looking. We must regain at least a little bit of our strength."

Graystripe nodded. "Yes, Leopardstar." Then he touched his tail-tip to her shoulder. "We'll save your kits, Leopardstar." He promised her quietly. "And in doing so, we'll save the whole forest."


End of Chapter 12! This one seems… a little… I don't know, maybe just not my best chapter. (It was written at 3 in the morning, so… lol) Thanks to Cinderstar377 and Cap'n Jade Sparrow for reviewing! Lots of love~!