Chapter Twenty: You Had to Let Him Go

As time passed, and there was still no word from Campionstripe, Fivefur was beginning to feel that he and his visions were a curse. Poppywing, observant even without her sight, noticed this, and she tried to think of some way to cheer her secret love up. In the end, she decided that maybe he just needed to relax for a while.

"Fivefur," she mewed, trotting over to where she could hear the medicine cat fiddling with something, "Would you like to go for a walk with me?"

"All right," Fivefur agreed distractedly.

The two cats left the medicine den and headed for the entrance to the camp, but before they got there, Hazelstar emerged from his den.

"Fivefur, where are you going?" he asked.

"We're just…um…going to look for herbs," Fivefur said quickly.

"Well, be careful," Hazelstar said, "Remember what happened last time."

"We will," Fivefur assured him.

"Are you sure you don't want to bring Kehaar along?" Hazelstar pressed.

"We're fine, Hazelstar. We can look after ourselves."

"All right…but be very careful."

Meanwhile, in StoneClan territory, Pinepaw was watching in rather horrified silence as his mentor 'questioned' Campionstripe. This had been happening a lot lately.

"For the eighty-fifth time, Campionstripe, why did you resist arrest when Bloodstar had obviously ordered it?" Weaselheart snapped.

Campionstripe sighed tiredly.

"I don't know about you, Weaselheart, but I'm rather bored. You've been asking me the same questions for days now."

"Answer the question!" Bloodstar growled from his rock.

"My Clan leader was going into battle," Campionstripe sighed, "My place was with him."

"How did you know about the fox traps in TorrentClan?"

"I told you. I met a cat from there at a Gathering. He told me."

"Where is FlameClan's camp?" Weaselheart snapped irately.

"I wish you'd get it into your thick head, Weaselheart! I have no idea."

"You, Campionstripe, are the most difficult cat ever!" Weaselheart screeched, "I'm going on patrol."

The coal-colored cat stomped off, calling impatiently to Pinepaw.

"Come on, you stupid apprentice! Let's see who's going on patrol now."

"Okay, there's some tansy, marigold, and burdock," Fivefur said, "That will convince them we really did find some herbs. Now what?"

"Walk with me," Poppywing mewed simply. The pretty she-cat and the brown-furred tom walked quietly for a while, talking softly. Then, Fivefur had an idea.

"Poppywing, do you want to play?"

"Play?" Poppywing asked, "We aren't kits."

"I know, but…you've never played, have you?"

"No one plays in StoneClan," Poppywing said softly.

"I'll teach you," Fivefur mewed, licking her cheek.

"All right," Poppywing agreed, "But I'm blind, Fivefur. What can I play?"

"You hide, and I'll find you," Fivefur suggested, "Then we'll switch. You'll be good at that game, since you hear tiny noises no one else can."

The she-cat nodded, then moved off into the trees. Fivefur closed his eyes and waited, wanting to give her plenty of time to find a hiding place.

They played for a long time, through the silent woods, where they knew no one would see them. Poppywing was great at hiding and at seeking, and Fivefur loved it when she sprang at him and knocked him into the dry leaves on the forest floor. It was so perfect. But one time, he couldn't find Poppywing. He looked and looked, and just when he thought she might have gone home without him, he heard the scream.

"Poppywing?" he cried, "Where are you?"

His paws moved without his bidding, taking him toward where the sound had come from. When he got there, he realized just how bad their situation was.

Weaselheart had her pinned down. She was frightened, he could see it. She was hurt…

"Poppywing!" he screamed.

Everyone present, including the rest of Weaselheart's patrol, turned to stare at him. Weaselheart smiled.

"Well, look, I found the one and only Fivefur. Bloodstar will be pleased."

"You leave Poppywing alone!" Fivefur cried, charging at the black warrior and knocking him off of Poppywing.

"Run!" he called, and then they were off, with the StoneClan patrol close behind them. As they ran, Fivefur knew how hopeless the situation was. They were two small cats, one of them blind, against an entire patrol of trained warriors.

As he had feared, they soon encountered an obstacle. A small gorge, not very wide, bur wide enough he knew they could never jump it alone.

"Fivefur, what's wrong?" Poppywing mewed.

"Do exactly what I say," he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking, and not quite succeeding. "You have to jump up on my legs, and I'm sure I can get you across this gorge."

"But you'll be left behind," Poppywing gasped, "I can't leave you."

"You must go and get help, or we'll both die," Fivefur replied, amazingly calm. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay," Poppywing said shakily, "But…how do I know where to jump?"

"StarClan will help you," Fivefur said, and he knew they would. He could see her; the StarClan warrior known as Violetleaf, who had once led him to his brother after Hazelstar had been shot, and the young tom, Acornpaw, who had been killed by rats on the journey to FlameClan.

"All right," Poppywing said, and her voice was steady. "I feel them watching us. Are they from StarClan?"

"Their names are Violetleaf and Acornpaw," Fivefur said, "Now jump!"

And she jumped, and her claws caught onto the edge of the cliff. She almost thought she felt two cats pulling her up, and she was sure she heard the voice of a young tom whisper in her ear.

"Run to your camp. Find Hazelstar."

"I don't know the way."

"We will guide you," a she-cat's voice whispered, "We are StarClan."

And as Poppywing ran, Fivefur faced the StoneClan cats alone. He scratched at them when they came too close, but he couldn't kill them, even if he'd wanted to. Until Weaselheart finally realized that the little cat that was trapped and alone between the patrol and the gorge was really no threat. Until the black tom darted forward and bit into the back of Fivefur's neck. The medicine cat cried out in pain, and he saw a little bit of blood fall to the earth. It took him a moment before he realized it was his own.

Back at camp, Hazelstar was trying to comfort a distraught Poppywing.

"It's all right," he soothed, "You're safe. What happened, Poppywing? Where's Fivefur?"

Between sobs, the she-cat explained, leaving out the bit about hide and seek, and saying they had split up to look for herbs and get home faster.

When she had finished, Hazelstar was silent, but he was mentally cursing his own stupidity.

"Why did I let them go alone? I should never have left them; any time I leave anyone, they die. Like Violetleaf…like Nutfur…"

"Bigstorm!" he screamed, "Get out here!"

The grey warrior came on the run, his eyes wide.

"What in StarClan…"

"Get somebody and come with us!" Hazelstar commanded, "We have to save Fivefur!"

Bigstorm looked confused, but he nodded, and a moment later they were racing off with Poppywing in the lead, and Bigstorm, Hazelstar, Hawkfang, and Lionpelt close behind.

When they reached the gorge-the side Fivefur and Poppywing had been on originally, thanks to the guidance of the two StarClan cats that Poppywing felt guiding her-the FlameClan patrol were shocked to find that Fivefur was not there, nor was the StoneClan patrol. However, upon looking around, to Hazelstar's horror, they found blood, which he could tell was Fivefur's.

"No!" Hazelstar screeched, completely losing control over his emotions, "No! Fivefur, where are you?"

The red-fawn-furred warrior looked around wildly, then dashed off in the direction of StoneClan.

"Hazelstar, come back!" Bigstorm yelled, and then broke into a run, trying to catch up to his friend before he did something stupid. Hawkfang, Lionpelt, and Poppywing followed.

Then, below them, they saw a bridge that spanned the gorge. And on that bridge were several StoneClan cats…and Fivefur. The StoneClan warriors were trying to force the little cat to cross the bridge, and although Fivefur was making an effort to resist, it was clear that they were overpowering him.

Hazelstar was about to leap down to the bridge, charge the StoneClan cats…anything to save his little brother. But just as he was about to jump down, he felt something very large pin him to the ground.

"Let me go!" he screeched, "I have to save him!"

"You can't save him; they'll only get you too," Bigstorm said steadily, "We can't lose you both."

"You have to let me save him!" Hazelstar cried, "He's my little brother, and I told my mother I would protect him!"

"I promised myself I would not let this Clan be destroyed like DarkClan was," Bigstorm said, "If we lose you, we lose our Clan. I can't lead us…I can't do it. Not without you, old friend. You can't save Fivefur now."

"Hey, guys, look," Hawkfang said, attracting Hazelstar and Bigstorm's attention.

Down on the bridge, Fivefur was dodging around the legs of the much larger guards, confusing them, and throwing them into chaos. Then, the little cat bit one of the cats' legs, and raced off down the bridge toward his friends. But he wasn't fast enough. Two of the other guards were on him in a second, and Weaselheart, leaping forward angrily, struck Fivefur across the face with his claws. The little brown cat screamed in pain, and it was all Bigstorm could do to keep Hazelstar from dashing out onto the bridge to save his brother. Poppywing was crying, her sightless green eyes clouded with sadness.

Fivefur began to struggle again, and Weaselheart, having had enough, grabbed the small cat and dangled him out over a hole in the bridge. As Fivefur looked down at the churning waters, he thought for a moment whether he could survive the fall and the raging current. But he knew he could not.

"How dare you hurt him?" Hazelstar cried, "You little..."

"Stay where you are or I'll throw him in the river," Weaselheart said smugly, "That's how we deal with troublesome kits in StoneClan."

Bigstorm bristled, remembering all too well his own faked death in the gorge as a kit, but he knew Weaselheart had the upper hand. The FlameClan cats could only watch helplessly as Fivefur was taken away.

When they could no longer see the little medicine cat, Hazelstar let out a cry of pure anguish, still held down beneath his deputy.

"Hazelstar, you can't help him that way," Bigstorm said, although he himself wanted to scream, "Come on, it's all right. We'll go home and find some way to free him."

"I made a promise," Hazelstar whispered.

"I know. We'll get him back."

And that, my friends, is the first of a few episodes that Fivers11 came up with. (Might as well declare him official co-writer of these stories, he helps enough) So, credit goes to him, I just wrote it out.