Sorry for the late update, but I was having Internet issues and my teachers have been overloading on homework...anywho, here's Chapter 17!

Chapter Seventeen

I paced behind Brackenfoot at by the side of the river, the cool wind blowing off its glassy surface making my fur fluff. I glanced down at my reflection and sighed – I was already short, so when my fur stood on end, it made me look like a puffball on legs. Or a pincushion, if I was angry. Oh well, it made for good intimidation, right?

Thinking of intimidation and battling…

When RiverClan attacked, the fist cats they'd take out would be the patrols. Knock out the early warning system. I pitied the poor guys who'd be stuck out here when that happened, but yet I was half- hopeful that I'd be one of those guys. I wanted to fight, show what I was made of, prove to the other Clans – not just my own – that I wasn't some kittypet with dandelion fluff for brain. And I'd been battle training for ages…I wanted one chance to use it for real. I wanted to fight.

My chances were pretty good; it had already been a few days since Ripplestar's threat, and that trigger-happy psycho had to be prepping an attack. And everyone was expecting an attack at night, which meant he might attack during the middle of the day – when everyone was sleepy and sluggish and the patrols were hungry and getting ready to switch – just to throw us off.

Well, that thought cleared my brain. No way was I gonna be caught in an ambush by that psychopath. That would be just plain humiliating.

I kept a sharp lookout, focusing on the river. No other cats could swim like RiverClan, and plus they'd be slippery from the water and hard to grip during a fight and the water would hide their scent. I bet a whole moon's worth of fresh-kill that's where they'd come from, and soon.

Turns out, I was a whole lot more right than I figured.

Brindlepaw (who was a patrol member along with Barkfang, her mentor, and Lionclaw) had gotten a thorn stuck in her pad, so I stayed behind to help her get it out while Brackenfoot and the others continued the patrol. Once I'd yanked it out, I used my awesome skills of medicine-cat-ness to find some dock to help soothe the scratch. The patrol was almost over, but I didn't want her to be in pain for the rest of it.

"Lick it clean," I instructed her, and padded down to the riverbank. I found the dock quickly enough, and when I bent down to strip leaves off the stem, I glanced across the bank and froze.

Lots of cats were slinking along the opposite side of the river. The whole of RiverClan had to have come, I realized with horror. It was a good tactic – they'd overwhelm our tiny patrol and take Sunningrocks easily, and when the rest of ThunderClan came to attack, they'd have the high ground and be rested and waiting. They'd crush us like a grape.

Good for them, way bad for us.

I stayed perfectly still, praying they wouldn't notice me. The smallest flicker of movement could draw their attention to me, and I'd be the first grape to be crushed. Gulp.

But you know how my luck is. Of course some hulking monster warrior had to spot me and alert all the rest of his "little" friends to my presence. No use staying still now, I thought grimly. Icy adrenaline flooded my veins, and I dropped the dock I'd gathered into a pile, acting like I hadn't seen them yet.

Dock…Oh, snap, Brindlepaw! She was still waiting for me, totally unaware. I glanced over my shoulder anxiously, the most I could do without letting RiverClan know she was there.

Well, maybe Brindlepaw wasn't totally unaware. She was peering through some ferns at me, eyes huge with terror.

Go get help, I mouthed. She nodded and silently backed away. I turned back to the opposite bank, pretending I'd just been licking my shoulder, and made a big show of blinking in shock and dropping my jaw. My blood burned in anticipation for the fight, but even I wasn't that stupid. Fighting would be suicide, so I had to think of something else.

Stall, stall, how to stall them, I thought frantically. Come on, girl!

The RiverClan cats had stopped, and seemed to waiting for me to make a move, probably something along the lines of screaming and running for the hills. It was kind of insulting. That wasn't me in any way, shape, or form; besides, I had to stall long enough for Brindlepaw to get back with help.

So I simply stared at them back unblinkingly.

They fidgeted uneasily after a few moments under my gaze, and I gave myself a mental pat on the back. Stall Tactic #1 was working good – for one thing, I'd turned their original plan of a surprise attack on its head. For another, I was probably freaking them out – here I was, a tiny she-cat apprentice, silently staring them down during their ambush. Plus, they couldn't really hurt me under the Code. They weren't sure what to do now.

For that matter, neither was I. What did I do now…?

Finally, Ripplestar stepped out of the throng and faced me arrogantly. "Who are you?"

I didn't bother to give him an answer, just looking at him distastefully. One doesn't talk to the gum on one's shoe.

Ripplestar got tired of waiting for a reply. "Step aside, little kit," he demanded impatiently.

I didn't move a muscle, although my claws sank deep into the mud. How dare he call me a kit! Did I call him Grandpa? No! 'Kit' was completely unjustified.

Ripplestar snarled angrily. "Fine, I'll make you! Seedfur, Tallfoot!" he snapped out.

I decided it was time to break the silence. "Stop!" I commanded, just to see what would happen. They faltered a step, surprised, but continued.

On to tall Tactic #2: Confuse and insult them. Make them do something they'd regret later.

"Must I spell everything out for you dimwits?" I asked with irritation. "I mean, seriously, if you don't know what 'stop' means, you must have the brain capacity of a teaspoon! A chair is more creative than you! A pencil would know what 'stop' means! How many grades did you miss in school? Frozen broccoli had better thinking skills than you do!"

Human words/phrases did confusing well. For Seedfur and Tallfoot, my school comment probably had as much meaning as "Snarkle boogle schnitzel thrope!"

All part of the plan.

Which, I had to admit, was working out well. Seedfur and Tallfoot had stopped. "I think she's crazy," Tallfoot called.

I rolled my eyes. "Crazy? Who are you calling crazy? I think you're the crazy one, you mangy monkey!"

"I don't care if she's crazy," Ripplestar hissed. "I want you to get rid of her!"

"Ripplestar," Tallfoot said, trying to reason with his leader. I wanted to tell him it was a lost cause, but he probably wouldn't have listened anyway. "She's no threat. And she might have a sickness."

"Why do I need to do everything myself?" Ripplestar raged. He lunged into the river and swept past Tallfoot, paddled through the middle and deepest part of the river, and stomped up to me, thrusting his face close to mine.

I backed up. "Whoa, dude, personal space! You're invading my bubble here!"

He blinked, but decided to ignore that comment. "Shut up, idiot," he snapped. "Move – wait. Aren't you that ThunderClan kittypet?"

"That's an oxymoron," I protested. "How can I be a member of ThunderClan and be a kittypet? I mean, it's like calling you a good bad guy!"

Ripplestar frowned in confusion for a moment, then shook himself. "It doesn't matter. I remember you from that last Gathering."

"You know, I seem to recall seeing you there, too," I said seriously.

He gaped at me.

I smiled back.

That, more than anything, seemed to infuriate him. He spat at me and raised a paw, extended claws curved wickedly. "If you are ThunderClan, then you must be taken care of," he stated matter-of-factly.

Please, Brindlepaw, get here soon! I prayed. I backed up. "That seems little harsh," I noted. "And I was gathering herbs. I could be the medicine cat apprentice, for all you know, and medicine cats can't be harmed," I pointed out.

Ripplestar paused for a second, thinking. It looked like hard work. "…You're not," he decided finally. "The apprentice is that little gray mouse-brain. And StarClan wouldn't accept an idiot kittypet."

Okay. That did it.

"First of all," I hissed, baring my needle-sharp teeth and narrowing my eyes. My hackles rose. "My friend is not a mouse-brain. That, stupid, would be you. Second of all, how do you know they wouldn't accept a kittypet? Are you one yourself? And thirdly, I am not a kittypet! I'm a loyal warrior of my Clan, which is a whole lot more than you could say! So, unless you really want to make me angry, shut your fishy-smelling mouth."

Ripplestar looked taken aback. His warriors on the riverbank seemed to be holding their breath. Then, behind me, a tiny pebble hit one of my hind feet and rolled to a stop.

I was taking a gamble here, but I was 99.9% sure I was right. "And you can kiss Sunningrocks goodbye," I told Ripplestar coldly. "Not that you even had it in the first place. Your surprise attack just flew out the window."

I backed up slowly and felt my flanks brush against warm fur. The familiar scents of my friends hit my nose, and I gave a vampire-ish grin that exposed my sharp canines.

Ripplestar's eyes snapped back to me. "You – you little -"

Lighteningstar stepped in front of me. "That's quite enough," he interrupted, voice colder than the dead of winter. "I suggest you take your warriors home and leave now."

Ripplestar considered that, then bared his fangs in a predatory smile that had my fur crawling like a thousand ants were on a death march through it.

"No, I don't think I will," Ripplestar answered pleasantly, then, blue eyes blazing madly, pounced with an inhuman screech on my leader.

I shrieked with rage and jumped forward, digging my claws into Ripplestar's scruff, but with my tiny body weight I only succeeded in dragging the gray monster off balance. Thankfully, it was enough – Lighteningstar thrust with his long hind legs and flung Ripplestar into the air and into the river.

The RiverClaners didn't like that very much. They leaped forward, screaming battle-cries to the sky, and plunged into the river, flinging sparkling droplets high into the air. ThunderClan answered with eager yowls of their own and swept forward to meet them, tails streaming out behind like battle flags. Larchpaw, Brindlepaw and I raced side by side, our shoulders touching.

The one thing in my sights was the dripping wet, coughing gray leader, and I pumped my legs faster, only to be swept aside by Lighteningstar as he sprung off the ground and onto Ripplestar's back. They tumbled into the river with ferocious cries, claws flashing.

Brindlepaw nudged my shoulder, trying to turn me back. "Lighteningstar's got it covered," she yelled.

No matter how much I wanted to take down the leader myself, Lighteningstar had first dibs, and I had to respect that. I nodded in agreement, and the three of us swung back around and headed back into the thick of the battle.

I knew it would be chaotic, but this was beyond anything I could've imagined. Keens of pain mixed with triumphant shrieks as warriors scored hits. On every side we were buffeted by cats trying to flee, writhing balls of teeth and fangs, or single-mindedly pursing an enemy. I saw Brackenfoot take down a tabby RiverClan cat, yowl her victory, then plunge back into the fray.

The water dripping off the RiverClan cats and made the ground slippery, and my paws started to skid. I yelped and tumbled into the side of a gray RiverClan cat who was in the process of mauling Graystorm and didn't look happy at my interruption. He turned away and lunged downward towards my neck, and I instinctively copied Lighteningstar's move, thrusting upwards with my hind legs. I caught the RiverClan right under his chin, and he fell backwards with a choked gurgle. I took full advantage and pounced on his back, raking his fur with my claws until he screeched for mercy. Toppling off, I let him run away. You shouldn't ever kill a warrior, even if he deserved it.

Graystorm shook blood out of his eyes and gave me a grim smile, painstakingly getting to his feet. "Thanks," he panted.

I shook tufts of gray fur out of my claws. "Don't mention it," I replied. Graystorm nodded and limped to Brightsong, who was ready and waiting with herbs on the fringes of the battlefield.

Brindlepaw suddenly flew out of the crowd, leaping from someone's back to the ground. Larchpaw followed just as quickly, slashing unmercifully at cats to fight his way though.

"There's too many," Brindlepaw yelled in terror. "I brought Lighteningstar and Lightfur and the cats who were in camp, but a lot of them were patrolling or out hunting!" She paused to snap at the legs and tail of a RiverClan warrior attacking Lionclaw. "RiverClan's gonna win!"

"No they're not," I retorted fiercely, but Brindlepaw was right. There was way too many RiverClaners –Cherryspots, blood streaming from a side wound, pelted for the trees at the highest speed a mangled leg would allow, and Graystorm and who knows who else was out of commission.

"We can't just let them take Sunningrocks," I protested.

"Yeah, but I don't want to die just so we can keep -!" Brindlepaw was bowled over by a huge tom that cut and sliced at her stomach.

"NO!" I roared, and tackled him with as much force as I could muster. He was taken by surprise, and the both of us flipped over Brindlepaw and tumbled to the ground. I bit and clawed every inch of him that I could reach.

"Stop – hurting – my – friends!" I screamed into his ear. His face twisted in pain, but he was stubborn and gave as good as he got, scoring my flanks and belly and snapping at my ears. Then one of his flailing claws whipped across my face.

Agony flamed hotter than any fire, bursting across my face. My lungs squeezed, and I gave a tiny gasp of pain – the only sound I could make. The RiverClaner rolled over and pinned me down, claws piercing my skin.

Black dots swarmed my vision until I finally gulped in oxygen. I saw him raise his claw and in a purely instinctive urge to escape twisted out from under his claws, probably leaving half my fur behind.

I staggered to my feet just as a familiar voice shouted in fear. Blindly, I plunged straight towards Brackenfoot's voice, barreling over anyone that was in my way and not even feeling them slice at me. I jumped at her enemy, the blood trickling into my eyes preventing me from seeing anything more than bits and pieces, and attacked like a swarm of bees, everywhere at once, clawing, biting, kicking until the RiverClan cat retreated.

Then Lighteningstar yowled something, but I was on a battle-high, barely even registering him speaking. I ignored his call and launched myself at another enemy, face screwed up in pain and totally operating on just scent and sound. Then who I guessed was Brackenfoot, judging by her smell, barreled into me, ripped me off the cat I was attacking, and herded me in the opposite direction. I kept trying to turn back - why were we running? Heck, where were we even running to? - until Lighteningstar repeated his call from where I guessed was right next to me.

"Fall back to the camp!"

His deep, commanding baritone shook me to my senses, and I beat back the battle-rage coursing hot through my blood and dashed out of the fight with Brackenfoot pressed up against my side to help guide me. We somehow met up with Larchpaw, then Brindlepaw and Pouncetail, and we bolted for the trees with the rest of our Clan.

The blood kept streaming into to my eyes, and I couldn't see anything. I relied on Larchpaw and Brindlepaw, who were now on either side and guided me. But I didn't need eyesight to know that this wasn't over yet.

RiverClan was right behind us, following us right to our camp.

Like/Don't like? I'm about halfway done with the next chapter, so hopefully I'll update again soon. Please review!