Twentieth chapter… I hope I don't disappoint!

Peaklog3727- thanks for your encouragement and criticism! I do try to check every chapter I post, I just sometimes… don't. Also, thanks for your name ideas, but I already chose some for Lilypaw and Flamepaw. How about one of Waterwish's kits, as she/he will be rather important later in the story…

Team Riptide- Thanks! Sunheart has had an apprentice (sort of? Does Graydust count?), so he could become the deputy… but then what will happen to the clan? Hmm...

Kuroimori- Another review? Thank you so, so much! I was sad to see Ambereye off, but yes, I agree. And also keep in mind she was trying to distract them from Flamepaw, so she wouldn't have fought as hard.

WildKat12- Thank you for your opinion, and sorry I killed Goldberry off. I had to, though, because otherwise there wouldn't be the fight for the deputy position. (oops, revealing too much, perhaps?). I'm glad you like Sweetbreeze!

Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Willowfeather slowly got up, her eyes never leaving the surface where Ambereye's body had sunk. Graydust and Dustfoot killed her, she thought, her mind clouded with bitterness and fury. They have gone too far this time. They've chosen the wrong cat to fight.

She wobbled back to camp, unable to see through all of her feelings. She even thought she heard Brightcloud, Stoneshade, Darkshadow and Ambereye, but she was too bitter to listen to them.

Willowfeather, her teeth clenched, saw that Dustfoot had taken her comfortable nest, obviously thinking she was dead. She had taken so long collecting the best moss, deciding on the best place to put the nest and lining the nest with rare eagle feathers she had spent all day trying to find. Dustfoot wouldn't get away with such laziness, not today. Fury curling up in her stomach as she saw a bit of Ambereye's fur stuck in his claws, she hurled him across the den and threw him into his own nest. He jumped up and let out a hiss, his eyes clouded with sleep.

"You," Dustfoot hissed. "You survived? How did you return?"

"WindClan helped me," Willowfeather replied coolly. "You see, WindClan has feelings, unlike you. Are you really saying the clan thought two warriors were dead and didn't stay up to honour them?"

"Why would we?" Dustfoot returned, his eyes glittering with malice. "Anyway, if you looked outside properly you would see Snowcloud and Sweetbreeze, hoping you will come home. Now, we give them something to truly grieve for."

"No," Willowfeather stammered. "No, no. Please don't do what I think you're going to do."

Dustfoot attacked. He clawed viciously at Willowfeather's already scratched pelt and bit down into her broken leg. Willowfeather crumpled, yowling with agony. Just get to Snowcloud and Sweetbreeze, she thought. Just get to safety. The noise was masked by the howling breeze and dampened by the thick layers of moss and bracken, so the two warriors couldn't hear the fight. The other warriors were tranquilly ignoring the argument. Except for Wildwind, who had woken up and was watching with interest.

Suddenly, Dustfoot's weight was thrown off Willowfeather, and she looked up gasping. Had Sweetbreeze and Snowcloud heard?

No. Stoneshade looked at Dustfoot stonily, the living cat writhing beneath the claws of the StarClan warrior.

"I thought Brightcloud told you to stop this," He scowled. "This patrolling is a waste of our time. Why do you keep attacking? Ambereye joined us today because of a clan-mate. That clan-mate was you."

"Brightcloud also told us she wouldn't follow us. She also broke a promise," Dustfoot defended. "She broke her promise, so we could break ours."

"No, she didn't," Stoneshade was unimpressed by Dustfoot's arguments. "She said she wouldn't be watching you, and Brightcloud is not, she's too busy watching over the apprentices. I'm not Brightcloud, and neither is Darkshadow or Ambereye. So we're allowed to stalk you."

Dustfoot didn't say anything, but he shrank under Stoneshade's cold gaze. "Well, bring Darkshadow out then," He finally managed, trying to sneer but failing miserably. "She'll back us up. She hated Willowfeather, didn't she?"

"Then you are in for a rude awakening," Darkshadow said softly, walking out from the shadows. Willowfeather hadn't seen her there.

"I told Willowfeather I was sorry. What we are doing is wrong. We must stop, and ThunderClan must be a full clan again," She continued. "Continue, and you will be banished to the Dark Forest forever."

Darkshadow padded back into the darkness, fading away once again. Only Stoneshade remained.

"W-well, that didn't prove anything," Dustfoot whimpered, whiskers quivering.

"We are only having our revenge for Sunheart," Wildwind grumped. "We are allowed. Willowfeather did so much-"

"I did nothing!" Willowfeather bellowed, and she was shouting so loud she thought her lungs would burst. "For the last time, Sunheart dumped me! I've done nothing but try to survive."

"You've done so much to us," Wildwind growled, and Willowfeather realized they all looked rather skinny. "We stopped hurting you, so why do you steal food from us now?"

"What do you mean?" Willowfeather asked, confused. "We've done nothing to hurt you. What do you mean, steal food-"

She paused when she realized that she hadn't spotted Sunheart's group eating at all for the last couple of days, while Finchcry gave Sweetbreeze cold looks instead of food.

"S-someone has been taking our food?" Willowfeather rasped, just as everyone else came to the same conclusion. "W-we thought it was you-"

"And we thought it was you," Sunheart returned, finally joining the conversation."

"We were stealing food away for a while," Finchcry admitted. "But we thought you started fighting back and I thought Sweetbreeze liked me, but she wouldn't give me food, so I realized-"

"No one gives a hoot what you've learnt," Willowfeather flashed. "The bigger problem is, who has been taking our prey?"

"Maybe one of the clans?" Finchcry suggested. Suddenly, in this time of fear, it seemed like they had become one clan again.

"Not WindClan, since they didn't have much forest prey and the prey they did have was probably from the trees near the RiverClan border," Willowfeather reported. "Wildwind, maybe go and get Sweetbreeze and Snowcloud?"

The she-cat scowled and stood up, throwing Willowfeather a horrible look before stalking out. Oh well. Perhaps not a clan yet.

"It is not a clan, yet," Stoneshade growled, his amber eyes glinting with danger. "But who wants this clan to be torn apart? Who wants this clan gone?"

Stoneshade looked over them harshly and walked out of the den.

Unknown Perspective

My plan is going well enough. Soon, ThunderClan will be split sufficiently for me to carry out my project... My team has helped me develop the perfect plan, and it will not fail, it cannot.

I have planned this since I was chased away. I have recruited cats with the same bitter feelings as me. My kits were accidentally killed by foxes, but now I realize I do not have them in my way anymore, so I can go on with my plan. I cannot leave any evidence, or else my leadership of ThunderClan will be threatened. I will need to plan this out... but I will also need to move fast.

Who do you think this is? Is this a new cat, or a cat in ThunderClan, a cat in a different clan or a completely separate one?

This should be sort of obvious if you paid close attention earlier in the story, I think. Well, I hope you can figure it out...

Don't forget to leave a review!