Author Note: Hey there! Sorry that I haven't updated for such a looooooong time. I've just been really busy. And also tired. (School does that to ya.) Hope this chapter makes up for it...

Chapter 21: Night of Anguish/The First Attack

A lone warrior padded warily towards the barricade, his pelt coated with the unmistakable stench of ShadowClan.

Sorreltongue bolted up, fur bristling. The russet tom scampered towards the other cats to alert them of the intruder, but the ShadowClan scent had clearly already brushed their noses.

"Here comes a ShadowClan cat!" hissed Sorreltongue.

The intruder stopped immediately, the moonrise shadows masking his features.

"What brings you to this place?" yowled Sorreltonge from atop the barricade.

The old tom blinked slowly. "I come here as a volunteer," he rasped.

Sorreltongue narrowed his eyes. "Approach and show your face."

The intruder slowly padded forward, the moonlight gradually revealing his aging face.

"You reek of ShadowClan," growled Cloudheart.

The old tom paused for a moment. "That's why they let me in."

Sorreltongue turned to the other warriors, then spoke to the older tom. "You look like you have many seasons behind you."

"There's much that I can do," the intruder mewed.

"You see that warrior over there?" snapped Sorreltongue, motioning with his tail towards Stoneheart. The deputy was surrounded by cats keeping him under guard.

"A volunteer like you!" yowled Berryfur.

"Our deputy had been spying," added Sagepelt.

Berryfur flexed his claws. "He's going to get it too!"

Suddenly, Eagletail scampered up the barricade, nearly knocking the other cats over.

"Kestrelstar and his warriors!" hissed the black tom. "They're getting ready to attack!"

Redstorm quickly led the older tom behind the barricade. "We trust your experience," the ginger meowed. "But if you hurt one of my friends, you'll never live to tell!"

Sunblaze stuck his head behind the barricade. "Kestrelstar and his cats are advancing towards the camp!"

"More behind them!" yowled Cloudheart. "At least five!"

"Attack!"

The young warriors whipped around to find Kestrelstar and his cats in front of them.

Redstorm had thought Kestrelstar had retreated…but there, right behind the senior ThunderClan warriors, was every warrior in ShadowClan.

"Warriors!" yowled Redstorm. "Attack!"

The barricade exploded in whirls of flying fur and splattered blood.

Suddenly, Redstorm's agonizing wail rang out over the chaos. Just in time, the old tom shoved aside a ShadowClan warrior who was about to pounce on the ginger warrior. Whitefeather promptly jumped in to claw the ShadowClan cat to shreds.

Meanwhile, Sunblaze had leapt onto Kestrelstar and was tearing viciously at his pelt. The old leader screeched in pain. "Retreat!" yowled Kestrelstar. "Retreat!"

The other cats obediently sheathed their claws and followed their leader out of the clearing.

Eagletail panted breathlessly as the warrior he was battling slinked away to join Kestrelstar. "See how they run away!" sneered the black tom.

"Great StarClan, we've won the battle!" cried Berryfur.

"They will be back again," Redstorm warned solemnly. "They'll make an attack again."

Redstorm turned gratefully to the old tom. "For your presence of mind and the deed you have done, I will thank you when the battle is won."

The old tabby only nodded. "Give me no thanks," he rasped. "There is something you can do."

"If it is in my power," Redstorm promised.

The tabby hesitated. "Give me the spy, Stoneheart. Let me take care of him."

Redstorm turned to his battle-weary friends. Two of the young warriors came forward with the deputy, who slumped to the ground in defeat.

The ginger warrior nodded to the old tom. "Do what you have to do. The cat belongs to you."

As the old tom marched of with the deputy, Redstorm scurried back up the barricade. "The enemy may be regrouping! Hold yourself in readiness. Come, my friends, back to your positions. The night is falling fast!"

And with that, the elder and his prisoner slipped into the shadows.

It wasn't until the two toms were nearing the Thunderpath before either spoke.

"We meet again," the old tabby mewed simply.

"You've hungered for this all your life," croaked Stoneheart. "Take your revenge…"

The old tom slowly backed away from the fierce deputy. "You talk too much. Your life is safe in my care."

The deputy's eyes narrowed into dull yellow slits. "Don't understand…"

"Get out of here!" the old convict hissed.

"Thrushclaw, take care!" Stoneheart snarled. "I'm warning you…"

"Clear out of here!" Thrushclaw growled fiercely.

The old deputy turned to leave, but suddenly whipped back around to face his former prisoner. "Once a thief, forever a thief! What you want, you always steal! You would trade your life for mine. Yes, Thrushclaw, you want a deal!"

Stoneheart bared his teeth menacingly in the convict's old, weary face. "Kill me now, for all I care. If you let me go, beware! You'll still answer to Stoneheart!"

Thrushclaw took a long, deep, breath before answering to Stoneheart's bewildered scowl.

"You are wrong, and always have been wrong. I'm a cat, no worse than any cat. You are free, and there are no conditions. No bargains or petitions."

The old convict took a step backwards. "There's nothing that I blame you for," he purred. "You've done your duty, nothing more."

The aged deputy heaved a long, deep sigh, and with one last resentful glare, bounded swiftly out of Thrushclaw's sight.

. . .

Whitefeather's head sprang up from his paws as he detected a familiar scent. "The elder's back!"

The young warriors glanced eagerly at the old tom, whose claws were washed with blood. "Done," the tabby mewed.

Redstorm, standing smugly at the head of the barricade, nodded to the elder.

The older tom purred as he licked the remnants of his meal from his long, pure, claws.

Author Note: Teehee! It's time for a game of spot the book reference!