And we're back, for the beginning of a battle, no, THE battle...

Iceleaf: --eats all the enchilada--yummmmmy... I luffle enchilada. xD

Cinnamonpool: sometimes I wish I was a mini Erin Hunter, because then I could write without confusing anyone and forgetting random details, but then, lots of times I'm glad I'm not Erin Hunter because their stories are starting to make me mad. ;) I've always been indecisive like that.

Rockclaw: well I was going to do it anyways, and you guessed... good job. Or not, because it means it was obvious. Dang. x.x And I really can't promise that no one'll die... --hides--

Shandril Wielder of Spellfire: You're right, it is about time someone noticed. :P Happy (belated) 4th of July!

The Fallen Ringmistress: I know what you mean about the environment. It was bugging me a bit when I reread last chapter. It's one of those things that's difficult as a writer because I know in my head what everything looks like and what everyone's doing, so there are things that I forget to tell you guys, who unfortunately can't see inside my head. It's just something else to the list of things I've got to work on. And yeah, I'd be happy to crit your stories, but you're not going to write them till next year? o.o why not? Might as well start now... :)

Minty: aww, thanks! Hope you enjoyed. :)

Lakeshadow: cliffies are too fun to stop! --giggles like a four-year-old--

Spottedleafluver: sorry you're confused. Look to the end responses, before the chapter stars, for help.

Loup D'Amour: poor Wood, he is depressed... but hopefully he'll get over it... --hugs plushie--

Shadow of the Nights: Sorry about the name confusion. I know, I know, lots of cats, lots of names. I tried not to make too many, and I think the ones that are actually important (and not minor characters, for example) stand out, but I'll try to help out with the confusion... look to the end of the responses. And sorry about not dragging the Wood and Smoke scene out... it was supposed to be sad, but I guess I didn't want to drag it out too long and leave it at everyone crying all over the place... I dunno. --hugs Earthroot plushie--

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Okay. Sorry people are confused. I never originally planned to have so many cats and so many names, but... they all wanted to be a part of the action. --shrugs-- So, in a measly five paragraphs, here is the story thus far. (you can skip it if you've managed to follow my bizarre thinking/writing and aren't confused at all):

Smokepaw was a ShadowClan apprentice who fell off a cliff on the journey to the new territory. We've all got that, I think. So he lands in the middle of a war between to cat Tribes, and is rescued from the owl's nest by Wood, a member of Water Tribe. He discovers a snowy, icy world - that is the climate, it is always cold and there is always snow on the ground. He goes to Water Tribe, befriends Wood, discovers that everyone thinks he's the Falling Smoke from their prophecy. But when he lies to the leader of Water Tribe, Whitewater, trying too hard to fit into the prophecy, they think he's actually the Shaded Talons of the prophecy and run him out of the Tribe. (They interpret Falling Smoke to be the savior of Water Tribe and the Shaded Talons to be Ice Tribe's cat). Wood, meanwhile, has pulled a prank on fellow trainee Leaf that almost gets her killed, and coupled with being friends with Smokepaw, makes him look rather guilty. So he gets chased out with Smokepaw, and they hide out in the middle of nowhere not knowing what to do... until they get captured.

They're taken to Ice Tribe, where Smokepaw convinces their leader, Stoneice, that he is the Shaded Talons. Meanwhile, three trainees from Water Tribe - Willow, Frost and Leaf - decide to try and save Wood and Smokepaw. But Leaf and Willow also get caught while on patrol, and Frost gets attacked by his trainee, Yellowroot, who's recieved a prophecy that he is going to kill her. He does end up killing her, then tries to save Leaf and Willow, but doesn't succeed. They all end up with Wood and Smokepaw in Ice Tribe.

The four prisoners - Wood, Leaf, Frost and Willow (Smokepaw isn't a prisoner, because he's their prophecy cat, remember) - meet the rebels of Ice Tribe. Lead by Dark, Stoneice's second in command, they fight for peace and to overthrow their leader. They are: Dark, Leopard, Reed, Flake, Raccoon, Creek, Adder, and Tawny. Tawny is Dark's trainee, Adder is Duskroot's trainee, Creek is Raccoon's trainee, and everyone else is a full-fledged fighter. When they hear that Yellowroot is dead, Dark sends five of them - Reed, Flake, Raccoon, Creek, and Tawny - to Water Tribe to try and persuade them to help their cause (peace) and kill Whitewater. He gets a strange cat with a mysterious past to lead them. Tawny later discovers, when she finds that he has murdered a she-cat (Amber) and one of her kits, as well as angrily killing Whitewater, that he is Smoke.

Smoke is Wood's brother. Smoke, Amber and Wood are a litter. When Amber was very young she fell in love with Mud, an evil, cruel fighter, and when her brothers didn't approve she turned her back on them. She never spoke much to Wood after that. But Smoke was captured in battle shortly after, and Wood had the opportunity to save him, but froze up. Dark rescued him from Stoneice and hid him away - and in the process of saving Smoke, one of the rebels (Silver) got killed covering up for Dark. Smoke blamed Wood for his capture, and -- well, the rest of the Smoke bio is in this chapter, so I'll stop.

Smoke managed to get Smokepaw framed for killing Amber and her kit. The two of them fight outside Water Tribe camp, and then Smoke slips away. Smokepaw runs off to follow him and meets up with Leaf - who believes it wasn't him - and then Wood, who's too depressed to listen to him and chases him off. Awhile back, Mud has betrayed Water Tribe and gone to Stoneice. Reed, Flake, Raccoon, Creek and Tawny (Dark's patrol) convince Water Tribe to help overthrow Stoneice. Mud has the tribe divided, however... --clamps mouth shut to avoid giving stuff away-- anyways. Water Tribe leaves for battle, and Ice Tribe leaves for battle.

Hope that cleared things up a bit. If it didn't, don't be afraid to ask questions. :)

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Chapter 37

The battle hit them head on, and before he could blink, Flake found himself claw to claw with a fellow Ice Tribe fighter, Oak. The other young fighter gave him a strange look as they fought.

"Flake?" he questioned. "Switched sides, have you?"

"No," Flake growled as he ducked under a blow aimed towards his head. He lunged low at Oak and sent him spinning to the ground. "I was never on your side."

Oak merely went cross-eyed, dazed by the hit he'd taken, and Flake darted off to where Leopard was pinned beneath Mud's claws. He slammed into the mottled brown fighter from the side, rolling with him into the snow.

"I knew it," Mud snarled. "Ice Tribe scum. You never wanted to help Water Tribe."

"No," Leopard hissed from Flake's side. "He just doesn't want to help you." She drove a claw into his face, tearing at one of his eyes. He yowled in pain, but the older she-cat moved in for the kill, Flake stepped in front of her.

"Please, I don't want to be a part of killing another cat," he whispered. "He's out for now."

Leopard shot an angry glare at Mud, wishing with every fiber in her body she could kill the scheming traitor, but held back for the young fighter's sake. "Come on, we need to find our allies," she growled, and dashed away to where she thought she saw Reed disappear into a throng of cats.

Flake could understand why, he thought, as he sprinted after her. The battle was utter chaos. Water Tribe was divided right down the middle, between Mud's supporters and their own, and they weren't sure who they were supposed to be fighting. He and his friends, meanwhile, were on no one's side, and in desperate need of Dark's guidance, but the muscular tom was nowhere to be found.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Stoneice tearing out a Water Tribe fighter's throat. The bloodied chestnut-furred she-cat went limp in his grasp, and he let out a yowl of triumph. Flake felt his blood run cold. No one deserved a death like that, except maybe Stoneice himself.

And out of nowhere, his wish seemed to come true. From behind Stoneice, a shadow lunged out of the snowdrift, knocking the Ice Tribe leader to the ground and sending the dead she-cat flying from his jaws. Stoneice was quick to recover, and turned the tables on his sudden assailant with a swipe at his chest. The shadow didn't stumble backwards, but hesitated for the split second it took Stoneice to recover, and within a blink the two were both on their paws, facing each other down with murder in their eyes.

"Dark!" Leopard cried, and moved forward to his aid, but Flake stopped her.

"No, this is his fight," Flake mewed quietly. "He'll want to finish Stoneice himself."

All around them, one by one, cats were noticing the event that was taking place. Individual battles were put on hold, frozen in time, as the cats turned to the showdown taking place in the center of the battlefield.

"No one in the Snowlands can beat Stoneice in single combat," Sand meowed confidently.

"No one except Dark," growled her trainer from her side. The trainee's eyes darkened, because she knew he was right. Stoneice was widely regarded as the best fighter in the history of Ice Tribe, if not the entire Snowlands, while Dark was rumored to be his equal. If there was anyone who could beat the Ice Tribe leader, Dark was the cat.

They circled each other slowly, oblivious to the oval of spectators forming around them. "Traitor," Stoneice snarled. "You, of all cats betrayed me. I'll show you what happens to those who betray me."

"I didn't betray anyone," Dark hissed in reply, his dark blue gaze never leaving Stoneice's slow stepping form. "I stayed true to the rebels of Ice Tribe."

At this, many cats gasped - who would have thought that Stoneice's right paw cat was a traitor, and an advocate for peace at that? It was either an act, which was quite unlikely, or a very well disguised secret.

"I'll kill you," Dark continued with pure hate in his voice. "For all the cats you've killed and all the lives you've ruined."

Stoneice paused, then his features broke into a malevolent smirk. "I see how it is," he snickered. "Still bitter about the weak little she-cat I killed?"

Dark almost lost it, but he forced his temper in check just enough to retain control of himself as he lunged at his former leader. "Don't you dare talk about Silver like that!" he yowled. "She was a better cat than you ever were in your wildest dreams!"

He wrestled Stoneice to the ground, but the Ice Tribe leader was still talking confidently. "It was you, wasn't it. You really were the one who released the Falling Smoke, not her." Dark seethed as he swiped at Stoneice's throat. He rolled his head side to side, narrowly evading his former fighter's strikes. "Some lover-tom you were, letting her take the fall," Stoneice continued. "She didn't have to die. You let her die instead of you."

Dark hesitated; his grip went slack on Stoneice's scruff, and it was all the opportunity the Ice Tribe leader needed. He shoved a claw upwards, catching Dark in the jaw, and sending him reeling back. Not wasting a second for him to catch is breath, Stoneice sprang to his paws and slammed into his adversary head-on. Dark flew backwards and tumbled to the snow in a tangle of limbs, with blood trickling from his lips.

"Dark!" Reed, Flake and Raccoon screamed all at once, all standing stiff on their paws and leaning forward with narrowed eyes, straining for a better view.

Stoneice strutted up to his opponent, who was lying with his back to him, and placed a claw at the back of his neck. "Did you really think you could beat me?" he taunted as his claw drew blood. "You could probably beat every other cat here, but not me. I should know, I taught you myself." He drove his claws deeper into the back of Dark's neck, watching in satisfaction as the blood streamed forth. "I hope you've learned your lesson, my trainee. Enjoy Sky Tribe."

To Stoneice's surprise, Dark leaned backwards into his claw, then to his utter astonishment, leapt forward and out of his grasp. Blood leaked down both is shoulders from the gash at the back of his neck, but he was still standing.

"If I go to Sky Tribe, I'm taking you with me. Though I doubt they have a place in their ranks for the likes of you," he snarled. "And that's a promise."

"We'll see," Stoneice replied icily, and again leapt at Dark.

"Yeah! Go Dark!" Willow cheered in support, earning him a sideways glance from Leopard. But she and his fellow rebels shared his enthusiasm, and watched the following movements in utter fascination.

It was hard to follow Dark and Stoneice as their claws met, as they dodged, leapt, swiped and tore. They were both so quick and so deadly, and Reed shuddered at the thought of them on the same side. They could completely decimate the ranks of all opposition as just the two of them. But right before his eyes, arguably the two greatest fighters ever to walk to Snowlands were pitted against each other, and the fate of every cat present seemed to rest on the outcome.

Stoneice leapt for the wound on Dark's neck, and succeeded in knocking his former fighter to the ground. Dark struggled up and leapt back at him, amidst calls from his supporters.

"That was dirty!" Reed protested loudly.

"Going for his injury," Flake agreed. "The no good -"

"What, you expected Stoneice to fight fair?" Leopard deadpanned. She felt the glares of her young allies on her, but they all knew it was true. Eventually everyone set their eyes back on the whirlwind of claws and fur that was the future of the Snowlands.

The blur of dark blue-gray and stony fur froze for a split second, and the blue-gray figure was on top; and then the flurry of motion resumed, only to freeze again for a steel gray paw to swipe at a blue-gray ear; and then it went on, an almost untraceable blur of breakneck motion and a fiery fight. The scuffle kicked up dust and flakes of ice, forming what Flake thought of as a cloud of battle around the two fighters.

And then a dusty, bloodied figure flew out from cloud. Reed, Raccoon and Flake squinted to see which of the two cats it was, praying with all their hearts. Raccoon found his tail entwined tightly with Creek's, the trainee inching closer to him and trembling violently.

The figure coughed and raised his head to unveil bloodshot yellow eyes. The rebels exhaled loudly, finding extreme relief in each other's eyes as the cloud cleared to reveal the cat left standing. Blood flowed freely from the gash in his neck and from other various cuts, dirt caked around the tips of his fur, and he had a mad look in his intense blue eyes, but standing he was.

Stoneice looked equally worse for wear. He had one particular wound across his left flank that seemed to keep him on the ground, as well as blood dripping into his eyes from a gash that cut across his forehead. He tried to struggle to his paws, but a choked cough escaped him, and he fell back to the ground.

Dark walked up to him on shaking paws and shook the dirt free from his fur. "And now, Stoneice; for Silver and all the other cats you've killed and caused pain to, you must die." And he bent down and mercilessly bit the life out of the Ice Tribe leader's throat, and his followers watched in joyful yet sick and repulsed horror as the tyrant went still.

There was a pause, as if the warring cats had been frozen in time; and then Dark's eyes rolled back, and he fell face first into the snow. Leopard sprinted forward in a vain attempt to catch her companion, but she was too far away, and he fainted to the ground before she could reach him.

"Dark, Dark, speak to me..." she turned around to the stunned cats of the Tribes. "Adder, Frost, a little help here!" The two herb apprentices numbly stepped forward and made their way to her side.

Leopard's eyes locked with Reed's, and Silver's former trainee suddenly realized what she meant him to do. The battle was far, far from over, and it was up to him to finish it. He ran up to her and faced the assembled cats.

"Dark fights with us for peace!" He declared. "And there are cats here who would like to see the death and bloodshed in the Snowlands come to an end. All for peace, rally to us!"

Flake, Raccoon and Creek had made their way to him, as well as many of their supporters from Water Tribe and, to their surprise, a few from Ice Tribe, who had either hated Stoneice or admired Dark. But, as expected, it was never that easy.

"How could you rally behind some kits new from the nursery?" Mud challenged, mocking Reed's phrasing. "Look at them! Two kits who can barely call themselves herb cats in training. A bunch of wet-behind the ears kits who call themselves our saviors. Who are they to pull apart our Tribes and families?"

"The great Stoneice is dead!" Duskroot added. "Dead at a traitor's paws! Would you side with those murderers, those hypocrites?"

Cats loyal to Stoneice and others who didn't quite trust the young allies moved towards Mud and Duskroot. There appeared to be some cats reluctant to choose, and were stuck in the middle, but they could be on no one's side, now could they? The indecisive ones split in half, some moving for Reed and others for Mud. The sides were about even, if not a few extra cats in their favor, Reed observed astutely.

"Do we really have to fight?" the voice came from behind Reed, and out stepped Wood, seeming fully the trainee he'd been before everything began. Poor naive, kind-hearted Wood. "We don't need to kill each other and shed the blood of our fellow cats! We can talk, we can reach an agreement -"

"Shut up, kit," snarled Mud. "You think we would just ­hand over a victory?" Yowls of agreement echoed amongst his hard-core supporters.

"You're one to talk," hissed Wood. "Especially about 'tearing apart our Tribes and families'. I'll bet you don't even know that your mate and one of your kits are lying dead in your den."

Shock flashed on Mud's face, but only for a split second before he masked it. "What difference does it make, kit? Why should I care?"

"Because she was your mate!" Wood cried. "She loved you! She left me and Smoke, never spoke to us, to be with you, and you didn't even care about her? And now she's dead! I'll show you!" And without warning he leapt at Mud, rolling over and with him into the snow. And on their cue, the renewed battle began.

ooo ooo ooo

Smoke watched from a distance with narrowed eyes as the mottled brown fighter began to get the best of his brother. Wood's words about Amber had stung him - he remembered their sister turning her back on them, even as a young trainee.

They were sitting around the fresh kill pile, sharing an abnormally plump vole between them. Amber was up on her paws, speaking passionately about her choice. "I want to be with Mud," she told them fiercely. "He's so bold, so strong, one day he'll be leader of Water Tribe even, and I want to be with him forever, to have his kits -"

"Amber, stop that," Wood meowed with his mouth full. He swallowed loudly and continued, "You've only been a trainee for two moons! Aren't you a little young to be deciding these things?"

"You're just jealous because you'll never have a mate," Amber snorted snidely. "Right, Smoke?" She looked to their prodigy of a brother for approval.

Smoke rolled his dark gray eyes. "Honestly, Amber, I couldn't care less about how you throw your life away." He and Wood shared a knowing look, and she stamped her foot in petty frustration with their silent communication. Personally, he hated watching his sister give up her proper training and hence her life for a greedy, mean, cruel fighter, but she was only more likely to do it if he criticized her.

He remembered her running away from them in tears after Wood had insulted Mud with words he didn't care to remember, and she never spoke to her amber-eyed brother again. In retrospect, Smoke thought that she may have continued talking with him, had he not been captured. Which was the fault of that certain amber-eyed brother. He grit his teeth in anger and anticipation. He was so close, so close to finishing what he'd started.

Why? Wood's voice demanded in his mind. Why do you have to be so... so evil? Killing in cold blood is wrong!

Smoke's mind wandered back to the day he'd pledged to kill them, to kill them all.

He looked up at Dark with tired eyes. He had almost, almost gotten the best of his trainer. He had learned fast, and after some moons Dark had stopped teaching him, per se, and his visits had become slightly less frequent. When he came, they would spar, to keep up Smoke's skills. Smoke knew that he was no match for Dark, but he was a quick, natural fighter. Today their fight had gone on longer than usual, and for a split second, Smoke's keen eyes picked up an opening that Dark had left through his claws.

He shoved a sheathed claw straight forward. His paw was supposed to "penetrate" his chest, making him the victor for the first time. But Dark moved to the side just in time, and Smoke found himself pinned to the ground. Again.

"Good job," Dark praised him, and Smoke drank in the praise proudly. Dark didn't just throw around compliments, and he only received praise when he truly deserved it. "But one thing. You saw the opening I left through my springing paws, right?"

Smoke nodded. "I tried to penetrate -"

"Don't. An opening like that is tempting to use, but can close up all too quickly, and pouncing on it like you did leaves you prone to counter attack." He lifted himself off of Smoke, releasing him from the strong grip. "As was demonstrated."

Smoke nodded obediently. "Thank you, Dark." He bowed his head. Stoneice's right paw cat bowed in turn, and spun around to leave, but something suddenly occurred to Smoke.

"Wait," he called after him. Dark paused and looked over his shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Have they... have they come yet?"

Dark gave him his rare soft look. "You haven't asked in awhile..."

"Stop stalling."

"No... no, they haven't," Dark meowed quietly.

"Not a single rescue attempt?"

Much as he wanted to, Dark would never lie to his informal trainee. "No."

Smoke looked away, trying to hide the incredibly hurt look in his eyes from his ever-stoic mentor. "That's alright. Thanks for telling me." And he retreated slowly into his icy den to curl up and bury his face in his paws. He barely registered Dark bounding off into the night.

He remembered asking why - demanding why. Demanding of anyone he thought was listening; bugs, ghosts, his ancestors in Sky Tribe - why? Why didn't they come for him? Why didn't they even try? Sure, he didn't really expect anything out of Whitewater, who either expected him to get out on his own or simply didn't care. But somewhere deep down inside him, much as he hated and despised each of his siblings, he wished they would come for him. Every day he was sure that Amber or Wood, or both, would arrive out of the snow bounding up to him telling him all about how they'd searched for him, how long they'd been looking for him, how much they'd missed him, and how happy they were to bring him home.

Of course, he didn't want to go home on his own. He knew he always could if he wanted, but he didn't. Especially if no one back in Water Tribe cared enough to even look for him. He had no friends; Whitewater hadn't allowed such a break from training. Amber and Wood were all he had, but Amber had followed Mud into a parallel universe, and Wood... Wood had betrayed him. Hadn't the betrayal shown him? He was obviously nothing more to Wood than a kit-hood idol and a tool, easily replaced and forgotten. That little brat would never come looking for him.

And then it had occurred to him. He'd grown strong, stronger than Whitewater could have ever imagined. It would be easy to sneak up on her in the middle of the night and kill her. And why not kill Wood and Amber too? They deserved to die and suffer for what they had done to him. It only seemed fair. And if anyone got in the way? They'd be killed too, and it'd be their own fault. No one could or should try and stop him.

And for the first time in a long while, Smoke slept a good night's sleep. He was satisfied and felt right again with a purpose in life. A purpose he swore to fulfill.

So as Mud moved in to pin Wood down, obviously intending to end his life, Smoke chose to intervene.

ooo o ooo

As Smoke observed his unsuspecting targets, Smokepaw observed his. He couldn't see the battle from his vantage point, but he could sure see Smoke. He was preparing to spring, almost ready to make his leap at his enemy's throat, when Smoke leapt into the fray. Now why would he do that? Smokepaw was incredibly confused. He'd been counting on Smoke showing up for the simple amusement, not to fight, and had hoped for an element of surprise.

And then it hit him. Wood. He hadn't killed Wood. If he'd killed the rest of Wood's family, and hated Wood so much, it stood to reason he'd go after his brother as well. Smokepaw's blood ran cold. It didn't matter if his friend - no, former friend - thought he was a heartless killer, he would still try with all his heart and soul to save him.

And besides, Smokepaw thought, I run the risk of someone else killing that furball, now can I? He smirked cynically as he darted after his target. Ah, cynicism, the one constant in my life. The one thing I can manage. He gritted his teeth, and dove into battle.

--

Eek!

Next chapter: Smoke and Wood! Smoke vs. Smokepaw! (finally... agh.)

And note: Next chapter is written. FULLY WRITTEN. I think that's the first time that's actually happened before. xD Point being, I'll post it when I feel like it, but it'll be up in the next few days. --gasp--

Moonstar