Of course, almost all of MidnightClan had woken up by then, and the ferocious warriors and even apprentices were snarling, outraged at the RainClan cats.

Cherrynose couldn't back away from Tawnyspot or else she'd collapse onto the hard stone ground. She stayed were she was, glaring up at the blood-thirsty black leader. Spottedpaw cast an anxious glance at her before mimicking her mentor and leering up at Midnightstar.

"I said," Midnightstar growled, "set her down."

"Never."

Cherrynose flicked her head over her shoulder to see Creamfur padding coolly over from the nursery. The four squirming kits were huddled together, safe in Earthback's brown-and-white fur. Blackstorm and Oakleaf had stopped fighting, and were batting unsheathed paws at each other.

"Creamfur?" Midnightstar growled, his eyes widening at the sight of his traitorous medicine cat. "Why are you helping these cats?"

Creamfur gazed up at her leader, hatred shining in her eyes. "Why keep these cats, Midnightstar?" she snapped. "You're starving them. Why keep them here if they're to certainly die?"

Midnightstar hissed at the dappled she-cat. "You have no right to question a leader!"

"Not true, actually," came the voice of Earthback, thick with authority. "Medicine cats have even more responsibility than leaders. They're respected with the same amount of respect leaders get."

Cherrynose spotted Creamfur's eyes gleaming with pride as she heard Earthback's words, almost as if she'd already known this fact.

Midnightstar was furious. "That can't be true!"

"It is, Midnightstar," Creamfur meowed clearly. "Medicine cats have every right to give their Clan leaders orders."

Midnightstar seemed to shrink away from the new overpowering authority of the medicine cat. "You mean, you're more important than me?"

Cherrynose snorted. This cat really was vain and selfish, wanting all the power for himself.

Creamfur chuckled in amusement. "In ways, yes."

Midnightstar suddenly regained composure and turned to the RainClan cats. "Cherrynose is it?"

Cherrynose dipped her head.

"I am a Clan leader, and you surely are not, along with a medicine cat," the black tom meowed defiantly. "I can give you orders to leave those cats with us."

Cherrynose flicked her tail dismissively. She was already angry at herself for thinking this, but she knew that it was the right thing to do. "You're not my leader," she spat and motioned to Spottedpaw to help her get Tawnyspot out of the camp.

"Stop!" Midnightstar yowled, but the RainClan cats wouldn't cease. In a move of desperation, he turned to his deputy and growled, "Stop them."

Fear seeped through Cherrynose's wall of confidence. Blackstorm was fierce, and would surely do some damage.

A sudden cry of rage sounded and Cherrynose felt something hard and forceful wham into her side. Spottedpaw stumbled as Tawnyspot dropped to the ground, unsupported.

Cherrynose squirmed underneath Blackstorm's weight. She remembered that this was the cat whom had dragged Tawnyspot and Wolfkit from their own home, and adrenaline coursed through her. She kicked up fiercely with her hind legs and watched as Blackstorm was hurled away, straight into Midnightstar's trashcan.

"Cherrynose!" Earthback called.

"Go, Earthback!" Cherrynose yelped, and Earthback stormed over to Tawnyspot and helped her up again. Oakleaf limped over to the cats and followed them out of the MidnightClan camp. MidnightClan warriors were bounding toward them, but Creamfur remained where she was.

Eager to battle off the warriors, Cherrynose leaped onto the back of the ginger warrior, Flamepelt. She raked her claws down his fur, producing yowls of pain from the warrior beneath her.

Soon, she'd sent Flamepelt hurtling into the warriors' den and she leaped for another warrior. By then, many of the apprentices and warriors had chickened out at the sight of Cherrynose's fierce determination, and there were only a few more warriors blocking the cats from the camp entrance.

Creamfur hurried up beside Cherrynose and thrust Wolfkit at her. "There's no time to fight! Let's go!"

Cherrynose nodded and scooped up Wolfkit. The cats slammed through the blockade of MidnightClan warriors, allowing Tawnyspot some time to make it through safely.

"Mr-ow-ow!"

Cherrynose looked around to see a strange, unfamiliar she-cat pelting toward the MidnightClan camp at full speed. Through Wolfkit's thick MidnightClan scent, she could tell that the she-cat was a kittypet.

And to her slight amazement, more kittypets pelted along beside her.

"Run!" she hollered through a mouthful of fur to the other cats and bounded down the side of the Thunderpath, a few MidnightClan cats hard on their heels. But to Cherrynose's relief, the kittypets all launched at the MidnightClan cats, giving the rescuing cats time to make it over the mesh-like fence and onto the thin strip of WindClan's old territory.

Cherrynose set Wolfkit down and flopped onto her side.

"We can't stop here!" Spottedpaw yowled, her voice shrill with hatred for MidnightClan. "Cherrynose, we have to keep going! Midnightstar will chase us!"

Cherrynose looked up, but Oakleaf answered for her. "Don't worry," he meowed confidently through pants. "Midnightstar wouldn't dare venture into territory that isn't his yet. All of the Clans despise him. I wouldn't do it if I was insane. Besides, it looked like those kittypets could do some fierce damage to the MidnightClan warriors."

"Speak of the devil," Earthback mumbled between licks of Tawnyspot and her kits. She tipped her nose slightly beyond the mesh-like fence.

Cherrynose glanced at the MidnightClan territory. Creamfur and the kittypets were all bounding toward them. They leaped the fence with ease, and Cherrynose envied their strong ability to do that. How could kittypets be so strong and willed to battle other cats?

"Cherrynose?" Creamfur mewed anxiously. "Are you all okay?"

Cherrynose nodded. "I think we'll live."

"I don't know," Earthback mumbled. "Tawnyspot and her kits don't seem to be doing a good job."

Creamfur instantly made her way over to the huddled RainClan cats while the first she-cat that Cherrynose saw padded lightly over to Cherrynose.

The tortoiseshell dipped her head in respect. "Greetings," she murmured. "I am Ellie, a kittypet of the Twolegplace."

Cherrynose's ears prickled. How did this kittypet know the Clan cats' terms?

The ginger warrior sat up and dipped her head in return. "I am Cherrynose of RainClan. I see you helped us escape from MidnightClan. I couldn't thank you more. But please excuse me for asking; how do you know that you're a kittypet? Don't you call yourselves housecats?"

Ellie chuckled in laughter. "I used to. But it wasn't long before I discovered that a Clan of cats, MidnightClan, was living in my territory," she explained. "I met Midnightstar and realized just how cruel a leader he is. Trust me—I am not against you. I can see why you were trying to escape."

Cherrynose nodded. "Did Midnightstar do anything to you?" she couldn't help asking.

Ellie looked down at her dark paws. "Two of my closest friends, Chester and Wolfgang, grew fond of Clan life. I was okay with them leaving, I just didn't want to leave my Twolegs, as you call them," she meowed. She paused and looked up, hatred gleaming in her eyes. "They both died under Midnightstar's rule."

Cherrynose inhaled a small gasp. How could any cat be so horrid?

"I devoted the rest of my kittypet life to getting revenge on Midnightstar," Ellie continued, inspecting a torn claw from climbing the metal-web fence. "He told me of other Clans, and I realized that he was the leader of a Clan that wasn't supposed to be existent. My friends here and I decided to get rid of Midnightstar and Blackstorm and right the wrongs they've corrupted."

Cherrynose blinked in astonishment. "You mean you want to join in Clan life?"

"It seemed sturdy enough," Ellie replied, setting her paw down. "But we'll need a stronger leader"—she paused—"scratch that last. We'll need a less blood-thirsty leader, and a much better deputy. Blackstorm is ferocious when it comes to MidnightClan."

"And maybe a different Clan name," Spottedpaw joined in, licking her fur in annoyance. "Midnightstar is so selfish that he named his Clan after himself. Maybe a name that more resembles 'wind.'"

Ellie tipped her head to one side. "Why's that?" she asked.

Cherrynose took the pleasure in explaining the Clans of ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan to the selfless kittypet and her friends. She explained how LightClan and EmberClan took ThunderClan and ShadowClan's places, and how RainClan made up RiverClan. MidnightClan had nothing to do with WindClan, and all the Clans thought there should be a more airy name attached to the Twolegplace.

Ellie looked down thoughtfully and murmured to her friends behind her. Cherrynose spotted two identical cats next to her, but their scents were different. They weren't brothers or anything, but they looked almost exactly the same.

Finally, Ellie turned to Cherrynose. "How does FeatherClan sound?"

Cherrynose instantly brightened at the light-hearted name. MidnightClan sounded too menacing anyway.

"It's perfect," she mewed.

Ellie nodded and turned to her friend kittypets. "By the way, the two identical toms are Hercules and Kody," she introduced. "They aren't brothers, but they live together in the same Twoleg nest. The black tom is Sylvester. He lives with Kody and Hercules as well."

Cherrynose nodded to the three toms. They all had strangely long fur, and the two identical cats were white with tan-brown streaks.

"The long-furred greyish tom is Pharaoh," Ellie mewed. "He lives with Mel and Richie, who are the two orange-and-white tabbies over there."

Ellie nodded to the toms once more, realizing that Ellie was the only she-cat.

Sylvester came up to the Clan cats. "Cherrynose," he meowed, dipping his head. "You are of RainClan, correct?"

Cherrynose nodded.

Sylvester nodded as well. "Please," he started, "when you get back to your camp, tell Stormstar, Skyfeather, Littlepaw, and Bluepaw I said hello."

Cherrynose's pricked her ears in interest. Did this kittypet know Bluetail and Littlerock when they were kittypets?

"Tawnyspot here told me their warrior names, but forgive me for forgetting them," Sylvester mumbled.

Cherrynose purred in laughter. "Bluepaw is Bluetail, and Littlepaw is Littlerock," she responded. "I will tell everyone you said hello."

Sylvester nodded as Kody piped in, "Tell them me and Hercules said hello as well."

Cherrynose nodded. She was beginning to like these kittypets, and thought that they would do well in a Clan of their own.

A/N: KITTYPETS:

Ellie: Charlotte's kitty!

Kody, Hercules, and Sylvester: You know them! xD Isabelle's kitties!

Pharaoh, Mel, and Richie: Alexa's kitties.

Chester and Wolfgang: Melanie's kitties!