As WindClan began tearing itself apart, Smokepaw sprang to his paws. He could see through the mass of cats his clanmates shredding each other to pieces. It didn't matter if it was friends or family - they were the enemy now and that's all the justification some cats needed. Others would hesitate, locking eyes with the other before simultaneously turning their attention away from one another.
The grey apprentice could also see Shade along with Hawkfrost. The two cats outmatched any enemies that were foolish enough to approach them. He cringed as he watched the black cat brutally slam poor Ashfoot's face into the ground, his expression dark.
The WindClan tom knew he had to do something, something other than just stand around and watch the carnage unfold. He had power, yes, but he wasn't as nearly as strong as his friends. He could 'throw' smoke but it wasn't strong enough to do any real damage, he had knocked that she-cat out cold with it back in that alley in Chelford but only after Sparkclaw had electrocuted her so badly she couldn't let go of him. His smoke just wasn't strong enough. Smokepaw felt frustration build up inside him, out of every power that could have manifest inside him, why couldn't it be something useful? Like superhuman strength? Why did he get something useless?
On top of that, he didn't actually like fighting. He hated it. Just being threatened with physical harm twisted his stomach in knots. Knowing that Shade was here only made that feeling that much more intense. Even with his sub-par ability - which he couldn't even use unless he wanted to be ran out of WindClan - he was left less than powerless. Smokepaw just wanted to run and hide; come back when the whole ordeal was done and pretend he had been fighting alongside the winners.
"What do we do?" Nightcloud asked quietly, looking up at Smokepaw with amber eyes full of hope. Hope that he knew what to do.
The tom looked down at her, his own eyes filled with uncertainty. But he realised something; Nightcloud was just as scared and as confused and as uncertain as he was. She needed him to know what to do to keep herself together. The she-cat was a brave, fierce warrior - but she wasn't trained to fight her own clan.
Smokepaw pushed his cowardly thoughts into a dark corner of his mind, where they belonged. Nightcloud needed him. She believed that Mudclaw deserved to be leader, but she wasn't following the ex-deputy.
She was following him.
The grey tom's expression darkened and his claws unsheathed themselves, digging into the ground beneath them. "Nightcloud, go get ThunderClan, make sure a cat named Sunblaze gets here," he ordered. Smokepaw didn't enjoy undermining his own clan, but with Shade here he needed a specific cat from the other clan, Sunblaze, to even things out. If Nightcloud could get a patrol with him on it to come here, the odds would be in their favour.
"What? But we need every cat fighting here!" Nightcloud protested.
"If Mudclaw gets to pull cats from other clans in, then we get to do it," Smokepaw replied. The she-cat did not object further, only nodding her head before sprinting off into the direction of ThunderClan. The apprentice joined the fray as she left.
Mudclaw caught Nightcloud fleeing out of the corner of his eye, "coward!" he yowled. He knew that he had the she-cat's support, yet she decided to run when he took the steps necessary to secure his own leadership.
The ex-deputy wasn't aware of the warriors leaping for him, too focused on boring holes into the fleeting she-cat's back. He was saved by Shade - now known as Shadepaw. The black cat easily overpowered the opposing cat, sending them running soon after. "Focus, Mudclaw," the ShadowClan apprentice mewed.
"You're forgetting who you're talking to, freak!" Mudclaw spat. The dark brown tabby was fully aware of Shadepaw's unique abilities. The only reason that the black cat was allowed to be anywhere near him was because he guaranteed victory. But he didn't like Shadepaw, all he was to Mudclaw was a monster wearing the skin of a cat and he wasn't afraid to let him know just what he thought.
"You should take your own advice," Hawkfrost warned after sending a WindClan apprentice running with their tail between their legs, "Shadepaw, isn't a cat you want to talk down to," he added. The tabby didn't necessarily disagree with Mudclaw's stance, but he knew better than to say it out loud.
"You're telling me this...thing is a cat?" The ex-deputy snorted.
The ShadowClan cat's ear twitched, but he didn't reply. Annoyance was building up inside the tom, he didn't appreciate the comments nor the arrogance. The only reason that he was helping the ex-deputy was because he was instructed to.
"If you're found in different pieces in the other clans' territories, don't say I didn't warn you," the RiverClan cat shrugged. 'You better make me deputy of WindClan after this or I'm the one whose going to leave you in pieces.' He added viciously in his mind.
Mudclaw suddenly spotted Onestar, "you!" the tom screeched, speeding over to the WindClan leader.
Hawkfrost watched him go, "he's like a kit," he muttered. A grey she-cat attempted to bowl him over, but he sidestepped the attempt and leaped onto the WindClan warrior, shredding at her pelt. She squealed in response, kicking him off and fleeing. "Remember not to kill anyone, Shadepaw - not that I care - but it's too much of a hassle for us to deal with right now," he reminded.
"You make it sound like I enjoy murder," Shadepaw commented, swiping his claws across a grey-black cat's face.
"Then why is there so much blood on your paws?" The RiverClan warrior challenged. He didn't believe that the ShadowClan cat didn't enjoy or take pleasure in taking the lives of others.
"Orders are orders - I didn't have a choice," The black cat responded. The cat came at him a second time, he took his frustrations out on the cat by slamming his head into the dirt.
"Oh, so Coldpaw and the others were just orders too?"
Shadepaw froze, turning to Hawkfrost. His usually calm green eyes were brimming with cold fury, "you're going down a dangerous road, Hawkfrost," he growled.
Hawkfrost didn't respond, squirming under the cat's gaze. He had crossed a line he shouldn't have and he actually felt fear. But he also felt hate - how dare he threaten him, the son of Tigerstar, and how dare he make him feel intimidated even though he was calling the shots. The dark tabby turned, focusing on the fight and hoping to take his emotions out on some poor soul.
The ShadowClan cat suddenly felt something crash into him, causing him to stumble and letting the WindClan cat he had pinned escape. He turned, finding Smokepaw crouched with his claws unsheathed. "You." he mewed coldly.
"Me." Smokepaw responded.
"Thanks, Smokepaw," the cat whom had been pinned praised, "the piece of fox-dung caught me by surprise,"
"Whatever you say, Crowclaw," the apprentice snorted.
"He did!" Crowclaw protested.
Their conversion was cut short as Shadepaw leapt at Smokepaw. The apprentice jumped back in response but the ShadowClan cat followed up by swiping at him, barely missing Smokepaw's cheek. He was faster than the WindClan cat had initially thought. He retaliated by swiping at the cat, catching him on his muzzle.
Crowclaw jumped onto Shadepaw's back, sinking his claws and teeth into the larger tom's pelt. The WindClan warrior suddenly felt something wrap around him, painfully squeezing him before tossing him aside. As Crowclaw lay crumpled on the ground, he looked over to Shadepaw. He saw shadowy tendrils snake into the ShadowClan cat's shadow. "What the..." he shook his head, "careful, Smokepaw! There's something not right about this fox-heart!" he warned.
"I know - gah!" The WindClan apprentice grunted as the other apprentice bowled him over. In response, he used his hind legs to land blow after blow into the ShadowClan apprentice's stomach. Yet he never budged.
"You're starting to annoy me," Shadepaw mewed.
The WindClan warrior froze for a second, watching as more shadow-like tendrils formed and snaked across the ground and towards his friend's head. He feared this 'cat', he had never heard nor seen anything like him - he was a monster. Crowclaw willed himself to move and forced his fear down, yowling as he crashed into the black tom.
Smokepaw scrambled to his paws as both Crowclaw and Shadepaw tussled on the ground. The smokey grey tom was being overpowered and he knew it, his eyes showing the fear he felt for the monster who was winning. Smoke partially enveloped the WindClan apprentice's paw as he tossed one of his smoke-bullets. He couldn't win against him in a fair fight - so he would play dirty.
The projectile barrelled though the air, crashing into the black tom's throat. He stumbled back, hacking and coughing. The scent of smoke burned in his nostrils, reminding him of places he never wanted to remember, of things he never remember. Images flashed in his mind's eye, he could almost feel the terrain of these places underneath his paws. He didn't know where he was. The tom began frantically looking around, an intense confusion gripping him. Where was he again? Afghanistan? Iraq? Was he in Area 52? He didn't know and not knowing was bringing forth a flurry of emotions.
Crowclaw wearily eyed the black cat, "should we...help him?" he inquired. He didn't know what was happening to the ShadowClan apprentice, he seemed to be experiencing something, but the tom didn't know what. It disturbed him.
"No..." Smokepaw said cautiously, "let's...leave him for now," he said.
"...Smokepaw,"
"What?"
"Are you like him too?" The WindClan warrior inquired.
The apprentice froze for second, feeling his stomach drop, "...y-yes, but we can deal with this later," he moved away from his friend quickly to continue fighting. Anxiety bubbled inside of him. He should've been more careful, now Crowclaw most likely thought he was some freak.
"Smokepaw!" He heard a voice call. The tom turned into direction of the voice, seeing Nightcloud.
Smokepaw opened his mouth to ask her if she had brought a ThunderClan patrol with her, but he was knocked over by a RiverClan warrior. The two cats began writhing on the ground, clawing at one another. The WindClan apprentice suddenly saw the opposing cat being flung to the side, Nightcloud chasing him off.
The black she-cat bounded over to him, "are you okay?" she asked with concern.
"I'm fine," the tom grunted, getting to his paws, "did you get a ThunderClan patrol?"
Nightcloud nodded, "I did," she smiled, "look around,"
Smokepaw did as he was instructed, seeing ThunderClan warriors fight alongside Onestar's WindClan. He could make out Sunblaze and Squirrelflight teaming up against a broad-shouldered tabby, and Brambleclaw fighting with Hawkfrost.
"Great job." Smokepaw praised, a hint of relief in his voice. This put the fight in Onestar's favour, and it was all thanks to Nightcloud.
"Traitor!" A voice screeched, full of rage. A dark brown blur suddenly slammed into Nightcloud. It was Mudclaw, "you told me you believed I deserve to be leader, yet you run away like a coward!" he spat, tearing into the she-cat's pelt.
"Get off her!" Smokepaw yowled, bowling over the ex-deputy. The two toms rolled in the dirt before the dark brown tabby launched the apprentice off of him using his hind legs. He scrambled to his paws just as Mudclaw raked his claws across the tom's cheek.
"I thought you were on my side, Smokepaw!" Mudclaw spat, delivering another blow. The apprentice attempted to hit him, but the ex-deputy dodged and retaliated, "both of you are less than crowfood!"
"Says the one who-"
"-Shut it!" The ex-deputy growled, landing a vicious blow on the apprentice. Out of the corner of his eye, he could the opposing cat's paws were covered in a haze. Mudclaw bowled Smokepaw over before he could do anything. "Were you about to try something, you freak of nature?" the brown tabby taunted.
Smokepaw's eyes widened, "h-how do you know?" he demanded.
Mudclaw let out a dry chuckle, "how?" he echoed, suddenly slamming his claws into the apprentice's face. "You didn't do much to hide it," he brought his claws down again, "Webfoot always talked about how fast you were - you were like a grey blur, he said," and again, "it made sense how you were doing it after I saw Shade," and again, "you're vermin like him!" he spat as he brought his claws down once more - harder this time.
Mudclaw kept going, repeatedly bringing his claws down, "and you're not going to take the leadership I worked so hard for no matter what you are!" he spat, "do you hear me?! I will be WindClan's leader, it is StarClan's will!" he roared.
Nightcloud shakily got to her feet, gasping as she saw the ex-deputy, "Mudclaw, stop it! You're killing him!" she shrieked. The WindClan warrior wasted no more time before forcing Mudclaw off of her friend, raking her claws down him as she did so.
Mudclaw growled as he stumbled back, "you-" his words died down as he realised the fighting had stopped. There was no sounds of battle, only the sounds of rain. He looked around and found cats from all four clans staring and glaring at him, even his own followers. "What are you all doing?!" he demanded. Why were his followers standing around? Why weren't they tearing Onestar apart?
"We've realised what kind of cat you really are, Mudclaw," Hawkfrost stated, feigning disgust and outrage in his voice and expression, "you've shown us you're not fit to lead WindClan,"
The ex-deputy then realised he had lost all the support he had and that he had been betrayed by all of them, causing a searing anger to boil inside him. "I promised to make you my deputy, Hawkfrost! And this is how you repay me?!" he cried in outrage.
"Liar!" Hawkfrost spat fiercely, "you promised me nothing!"
Mudclaw again realised he couldn't win here. Hawkfrost was too good of an actor to convince the other cats he was lying through his teeth. He had lost. "This isn't over, Onestar," he growled, turning tail and fleeing.
All the cats' attention turned to the heavily wounded apprentice, both ThunderClan and WindClan's respective medicine cats rushed to his side along with Smokepaw's friends. The apprentice's face was covered in his own blood and deep cuts. His right eye looked beyond repair.
"O-oh my god..." Sunblaze grimaced.
"I-is he...is he-" Nightcloud inquired with a shaky voice.
"Shut up! H-he's fine!" Crowclaw snapped, the panic in his voice evident. He turned to the medicine cats, "...R-right?"
"He'll live," Barkface spoke, "but he needs to be taken to the medicine den - quickly," he added grimly. He turned to the three warriors, "you three need to carry him," he commanded. Sunblaze, Nightcloud, and Crowclaw wasted no time in heaving the WindClan apprentice onto their backs, taking the injured tom over to the medicine den as fast as they could.
"Poor Smokepaw..." Squirrelflight said solemnly.
Brambleclaw frowned. Mudclaw needed to answer for what he did, "I'm going to find Mudclaw and-" Firestar placed his tail in front on him as he tried to leave.
"Brambleclaw, you can't go out yourself; there's too much ground to cover," The ThunderClan leader mewed. He turned to Onestar, "Onestar, we can-"
"Leave." Onestar spat.
"...Excuse me?" The ginger tom replied, bewildered.
"I didn't give you permission to be here. You're trespassing. Leave. Now." The WindClan leader demanded.
Firestar was lost for words. He and Onestar were friends since he had helped WindClan many moons ago. Why was he being hostile? "I...understand," he said finally, though his words rang hollow. The ginger tom gathered his clan, then left without another word.
Mudclaw had run through the rain. His lungs were burning, his heart was beating quickly, his muscles were aching. The dark tabby couldn't run for much longer, eventually stopping at the island the clans had decided to use for gatherings.
Even in his tired state, he had enough energy to tear away at tufts of grass beneath his claws in frustration. He didn't understand why is own clan was against him. Mudclaw had done so much for them when he was deputy. Yet they followed Onestar, a cat who hadn't done nearly half as much as he had. He deserved to be leader, not Onestar. Why couldn't they see that?
He deserved to be leader...right?
"Mudclaw." He heard a voice call to him.
The ex-deputy spun around, finding both Hawkfrost and Shadepaw standing before him. The RiverClan cat gave him a cold glare while the ShadowClan apprentice had a dark expression, like he was troubled by something.
"What do you want?!" Mudclaw demanded, "was betraying me not enough?!"
"We need to 'tie up loose ends', as Shadepaw put it," Hawkfrost responded, "you know too much - you almost gave me away," he stated. "We can't have you running around,"
The ex-deputy opened his mouth to reply, but only cried out in pain instead. One of Shadepaw's shadows had impaled him, lifting him up into the air. The ghastly tendril embedded itself into a nearby tree along with the dark brown tabby. "W-why?" he croaked.
"To tie up loose ends." Hawkfrost repeated.
But he ShadowClan cat didn't respond and his dark expression never changed. Instead, the shadow-like tendril Mudclaw was impaled on burst though the other end of the tree before wrapping itself around it and Mudclaw. The tree began groaning and the sound of roots being lifted out of the soil filled the air.
Mudclaw's eyes widened as he realised what was happening - they were going to flatten him and crush him so he was unrecognisable. He couldn't cry out for them to stop, either because he was too scared or because of the agony he was experiencing. The tree began falling forward and Mudclaw finally found his voice to let out one last terrified, blood-curdling wail until he was suddenly silenced as the tree impacted the ground.
"That was...violent," Hawkfrost commented.
"Never liked him." Shadepaw mumbled, turning away and heading for ShadowClan territory.
The RiverClan cat watched him leave, there was something strange about that cat. He wasn't his usual cold and quiet self. Instead, he seemed troubled and upset. The tom ignored the thought, turning away and heading for his own territory.
Shadepaw was fine; monsters didn't have feelings.