AN; Alright! I was orignally planning on updating The End right now, but I'm stuck. Writer's Block sucks. So I'm updating Fawnshade instead. I hope you all enjoyed last chapter, and my little trolling episode there. ;) Don't worry. I'll probably do it again sometime. I also just cleaned out my story thing. All the stories that were annoying me are gone. Now I can focus on finishing these two, and then working on the others that I have! See you all at the end.

Chapter 12

Fawnpaw followed Acornpaw into the apprentices' den when they got back into the camp. They had just finished looking at one of the ShadowClan tunnels and its main-frame, which almost all of the tunnels that ran beneath their territory connected to.

The reddish brown apprentice flattened out a new nest for her, right next to his own. The other tunnel runner apprentice, Copperpaw, was sitting in her nest next to Acornpaw's grooming her stained white tail-tip. She looked up and nodded her head at Fawnpaw when the brown she-cat sat down in her nest beside them both. Fawnpaw didn't know why all the tunnel runner apprentices slept together. Maybe it was because they would end up being closer to their fellow ranks than the others, in the end.

She curled up between Copperpaw and Acornpaw and tucked her nose under her tail. Tomorrow, Stonedrift was going to give her a tour of some of the other tunnels with Copperpaw and her mentor, Wingshine. Fawnpaw hoped that she got to learn some tunnel fighting moves. Acornpaw and Copperpaw talked about them all the time. Every apprentice learned them when they reached three moons in apprenticeship, but only a few if they were ground dashers. All the tunnel runner apprentices already knew a bunch. And Fawnpaw couldn't wait.

She closed her green eyes and drifted off to sleep.

When she finally opened her eyes, Acornpaw was shaking her awake. His soft brown eyes didn't look sleep-begging at all, unlike Riverpaw's. The gray tabby's river-blue eyes were droopy, but today, he seemed less upset about Smallpaw's change of heart. The gray apprentice had been so upset lately when Smallpaw had decided to become Maplewhisker's apprentice.

The black and white medicine apprentice was sorting through herbs in the clearing when Fawnpaw followed the other two apprentices out of their den. She gave her former denmates a nod before getting back to work. Fawnpaw turned toward the entrance to a tunnel where she had watched tunnel patrols leave with tunnel runners. Only ground dashers of at least nine moons of age got to go on a tunnel patrol. That's why Fawnpaw had never been on one before.

Snowheart, Stonedrift, and Tallwhisker were waiting by the tunnel entrance. Tallwhisker nodded to his apprentice, Riverpaw, as they approached, and when they entered the dark tunnel, the black warrior seemed undaunted by its blackness. Fawnpaw blinked a few times before she could see her paws on the dirty ground in front of her and followed her mentor into the main-frame. She followed Stonedrift down the tunnel that Acornpaw said led out onto the middle of the moor.

"We'll be checking in with Snakebite and Featherpaw to see if Icestar is giving them anymore trouble," Snowheart explained as they pushed through a tunnel that went underneath the Thunderpath between the two Clans. "Featherpaw is the WindClan deputy's apprentice, so she's usually with Snakebite. And I must say, she's been trained pretty darn fast." Fawnpaw nodded as she listened to Acornpaw's mentor explain.

"Why, thank you, Snowheart!"

The voice came from about a tail-length down the tunnel. Fawnpaw looked over Stonedrift's shoulder to see two cats she recognized from the Gathering. The larger cat was a pale brown she-cat. Her extremely bright amber eyes made her stand out from most amber-eyed cats, whose eyes were much, much duller. She seemed nice enough once ou got to know her, but Snakebite's shapr tongue was what got her her name.

The second was an only slightly smaller gray and white she-cat whom Fawnpaw recognized as Snakebite's tunnel runner apprentice, Featherpaw. She was the strongest apprentice in WindClan. Most of the other Clans said it was because Snakebite was so strict with her apprentics. Fawnpaw thought it was because Snakebite knew how to train young, foolish apprentices such as Featherpaw when she first started.

"I'm having an assessment right now," Featherpaw continued; it had been her who'd spoken to Snowheart. "We were wondering if you wouldn't mind allowing us to use some of your tunnels? Our tunnel that leads to the Sunningrocks collapsed, and that tunnel has always been a big part of WindClan's tunnel runner assessments."

Stonedrift nodded, as if the apprentice were merely asking if she could check the ShadowClan elders for ticks. Featherpaw's mentor meowed a thank you, and the two skinny WindClan cats slipped past the tunnel patrol.

Fawnpaw turned around and watched Snakebite as she led her apprentice down the dark tunnel. She remembered at a Gathering how brown and stained Featherpaw's pale fur had been. Fawnpaw couldn't even imagine how pretty it had been before the young apprentice had become a tunnel runner.

The brown she-cat turned back around and kept padding down the tunnel. Here and there, small tunnel entrances let in shafts of sunlight. A dark gray tabby tom, at one point, stuck his head in to say hello to the passing patrol, only to be pulled out by his mentor, a creamy-red she-cat with green eyes. Her name was Rosefade, and she was very popular among the Clans.

Eventually, the patrol came to an entrance the went out straight. On the other side, Fawnpaw could see another tunnel with other cats. Three, to be exact. The first one, a pale gray she-cat, was talking to a much smaller dark brown she-cat with creamy ears. The last cat was a black and white she-cat caled Berrystorm. She waved her tail happily at the ShadowClan cats.

"Morning, Stonedrift!" Berrystorm called over the rumbling of the river. They were in the gorge tunnels. "How's that elder of yours that them two loners saved? Quiettongue!"

"Dead!" Stonedrift called back. "She was Gingerwhisker's mother, too. And Ravenstar's daughter. Stumpyfoot just passed away from greencough, as well."

The black and white she-cat blinked her brilliantly shiny blue eyes at the deputy. "Oh! Poor thing! I sure wish we could've helped. Bobtailpaw here always liked 'em. Stumpyfoot was the best storyteller of these here Clans, and I don't think we'll get the chance to have another on of 'em eround for a while now!"

Stonedrift nodded before pushing Fawnpaw in front of him with his nose. "Hi Berrystorm!" she called over, hoping the black and white RiverClan queen would remember her. Berrystorm looked delightted that Fawnpaw had remembered her.

"Well, howdy-do there, Fawnpaw!" she called back over. "Well, we'd best be going now. Got a lot more ground to cover, and Icestar's been mighty hostile by the Sunningrocks! He even blocked it off on purpose so that those nice WindClan cats couldn't patrol there any longer. I reckon he's off to block yours right now! See you around, ShadowClanners!"

Icestar was blocking off their tunnel? Snakebite and Featherpaw were down there! Her mentor seemed to know as well. "Acornpaw, take Fawnpaw down the Sunningrocks tunnel to warn Snakebite and her apprentice about the ThunderClan patrol," he told them quickly. "Then head back to the main-frame. We'll meet you there."

The reddish brown tom nodded, and took off. Fawnpaw pelted after him. She remembered the way back to the main-frame already. They took a tight right turn and headed down tunnel to where the Sunningrocks lay at the end. When they reach the patrol, the ground had been rumbling for a while, and dirt had started falling in. Acornpaw gripped Snakebite's paw between his teethh and pulled her out. Featherpaw was waiting beside them.

Dirt started showering the four tunnel runners, and they turned to run back. They had just reached the end of the tunnel when a scream erupted from behind them. Fawnpaw turned just in time to see Nightpaw, the ThunderClan medicine apprentice. She had come to stop Icestar.

Mud had engulfed most of the black and white apprentice's body. Fawnpaw didn't know what to do. She started digging frantically at the dirt, but it didn't budge, just covered Nightpaw more deeply with the dirt.

"She's being burried alive!" Snakebite gasped from behind Fawnpaw. The tunnel runner started digging beside Fawnpaw, but it didn't work. Nightpaw was only becoming more and more burried in the tunnels.

A call sounded from farther back. "Fawnpaw! Snakebite! We have to go!" It was Riverpaw. The dark gray tabby had come to help them!

"But we can't just leave her here!" Fawnpaw cried over the rumbling of the tunnels as she continued to scrabble at the dirt beside the WindClan deputy.

Riverpaw continued to call out to them. "You'll all die if you don't come back now!" he cried. "Please, Fawnpaw! I've already lost Smallpaw. Don't make me lose you too."

Fawnpaw let his words sink in. Lose her too? Was it probable that maybe Riverpaw liked her? She looked down at Nightpaw as the medicine apprentice's head dissapeared into the soil.

"Go."

Nightpaw had wanted them to live. Fawnpaw sent a silent prayer to StarClan for the young apprentice before turning and sprinting down the tunnel toward the sound of Riverpaw's voice. Snakebite ran after her.

When they reached the main-frame, Fawnpaw turned around to see the tunnel blocked off completely by dirt. There was a hiss and a snarl as Stonedrift entered the cave with Toothgrowl. The black warrior wasn't fighting back, just sat there in the middle.

"He pushed her. Icestar pushed her in."

"But that can't be possible!" Ravenstar argued as she spoke to the ThunderClan ground dasher at the Clan meeting. "Alright, then. Tell me everything. From the beginning."

Toothgrowl took a deep breath. "Icestar had said that the other Clans were giving us too much trouble," he meowed. "He knew that Snakebite and Featherpaw were doing their assessments in the tunnels today. And he didn't want them around on our territory today, what with the prey-stealing patrols and all. So he blocked off the first tunnel, the tunnel with WindClan. Nightpaw and I were looking for herbs, well, I was helping her. There was some burdock growing on top of your Sunningrocks tunnel. We saw the WindClan cats in it. Nightpaw and I knew that Icestar would kill them if he blocked that tunnel. So I sent her off to Sunningrocks. I followed, and when I got there, Icestar was snapping at her. She tried to stop him, honest. He swiped at her. Icestar said worthless apprentices like her who disobeyed their leaders didn't deserve to live. And he, pushed her into the tunnel and he burried her alive!"

The Clan gasped when Toothgrowl finished his story. Ravenstar especially looked horrified. "What kind of a StarClan forbidden leader is he?" Acornpaw hissed. "Killing off a medicine apprentice is horrible!"

Fawnpaw nodded in agreement. She trusted Toothgrowl now. He had defied his leader for the sake of a Clan that they knew they were stealing from. "I do not wish for him to be leader anymore," he growled, showing his teeth. "I wish to overthrow him."

Again, gasps fluttered throughout the Clan. Overthrow his own leader? "You've seen what he will do to egt what he wants!" the black warrior snarled, standing up and adressing the rest of the Clan now, and no longer just Ravenstar. "If he gets strong enough, he can and will destroy you all! Do you want to be led by that kind of monetser? He killed my sister!"

Ravenstar leapt down from the Long Branch, turning to face Toothgrowl. "Won't you at least let me stay here?" he begged.

The black leader stared at him through her eyes, now chips of hating green eyes. "No," she hissed. "But we will join you. That rat will die. We will save ThunderClan!" She stood up from her battle crouch and raked her claws across the air.

Toothgrowl followed suit, along with the rest of the Clan. Fawnpaw wasn't sure how, but he knew in her heart one thing: Icestar was going down, and he was never, ever going to stand back up.

AN; Aww, yeah! Icestar's going down! Sorry for killing Nightpaw. I had to! Also, I was thinking; want me to make this a series? Not updating anymore today. Alright, so all day long today, I'll have a vote up on my profile. Anybody who reads this, vote. Seriously. If nobody votes, then I'll choose. I want to know what you guys think. It's very, very important to how this story ends. Alrighty then, Shimmernose needs some kits, so please send in OCs! Also, I've got something not evil planned for Berrystorm. I promise, she's not going to die or get hurt. It's for her hapiness. :) I hope you guys don't absolutely hate Toothgrowl. Blah blah, I'm rambling, huh? Leave reviews, OCs, and remember to please vote! I'll update later. Until then, flame Icestar! And happy Lithuanian Monday!

~GreecexCats527