Edit: It was pointed out that Darkstripe was actually a dark tabby, so this chapter has been edited.

When Cloudpaw arrived back at the camp, just as he'd expected, Bluestar was nowhere to be seen. He curled his lip in disdain, imagining his so-called leader curled up in her nest, probably sleeping the day away. If she wasn't there, then she was most likely hovering over Fireheart, moaning about how terrible she felt about her deputy's suffering. While Cloudpaw could certainly appreciate the fact that Bluestar at least cared for his uncle, he would have liked it more if she would do something to rectify her mistakes.

Oh well, no sense dwelling on it now, the fluffy white apprentice thought.

He began to walk over towards the fresh-kill pile, then, deciding he wasn't hungry, turned abruptly and headed towards Cinderpelt's den instead. It was the fourth time Cloudpaw had been to visit Fireheart since the battle with WindClan, and he often ran into Sandstorm, Whitestorm, and even Bluestar on occasion. Cinderpelt was usually present as well–which was to be expected, considering it was her den–and sometimes told Cloudpaw stories about her short time as Fireheart's apprentice.

But when Cloudpaw reached the entrance to the medicine den, he froze as a new scent wafted towards him from beyond the fern tunnel. For whatever reason, Darkstripe was inside with Fireheart–whether or not Cinderpelt was there as well, Cloudpaw couldn't say for sure–and the white cat felt his fur bristle in apprehension. He didn't know much about the tabby warrior except for the fact that he hated kittypets and had once been friends with Tigerstar, but Cloudpaw didn't like the thought of him being with Fireheart when the deputy was in such a vulnerable state. There was no telling if Darkstripe would be bold enough to try harming Fireheart directly, but one thing for sure was that he wasn't there to pay him a friendly visit.

His fur tingling with the sense of danger, Cloudpaw crept forward until he could get a better view of the inside of the den while making sure to keep himself out of anyone's line of sight. He felt the familiar pang of sorrow as his gaze passed over Fireheart's body, then tensed as he saw Darkstripe unroll a leaf bundle onto the den floor. Slowly, the dark tabby forced Fireheart's jaw open with one paw; with the other, he picked up a bright, red berry between his claws and began to lower it into the ginger tom's mouth.

"No!" Cloudpaw screeched, bursting forward through the fern tunnel. His sudden appearance caught Darkstripe off guard, and Cloudpaw easily knocked him off balance. The two warriors writhed and twisted about on the floor of Cinderpelt's den, their claws scoring over and over across each others' flanks.

"Kittypet!" Darkstripe taunted, his face leering unpleasantly up at the younger warrior. "Come to save your precious mentor, have you?"

"Yes, I have," Cloudpaw snarled, biting down hard on the treacherous warrior's shoulder. Darkstripe yowled in pain and tried to knock Cloudpaw away, but the kittypet-born apprentice held on tight, strengthened by his fury over the fact that Tigerstar's most loyal follower had tried to murder his kin.

"Cloudpaw! Darkstripe!" Bluestar's voice sounded from the entrance, ringing with shock and fury. "What is the meaning of this?"

For the first time in what felt like forever, Cloudpaw found himself glad to hear his leader's voice. Almost instantly, he released his hold on Darkstripe and turned to face the blue-furred she-cat. Darkstripe scrambled back to his feet, blood trickling down his fur from where Cloudpaw had bitten and scratched him. The two warriors glared at each other, their hostility far from spent.

"What happened here?" Bluestar repeated.

"See for yourself," Cloudpaw replied shortly. He still wasn't in the mood to be friendly with his Clan leader.

Angry as he was with Bluestar, however, Cloudpaw had to admire her deductive reasoning capabilities in this situation. Her cloudy blue eyes scanned the floor of the medicine den, taking in the crushed leaf bundle, the deathberries, and the telltale red stains on Darkstripe's paws that were much too bright to be passed off as blood.

Cloudpaw had seen Bluestar angry before, on several different occasions. He thought he'd seen the worst of her fury when he and his foster siblings went hunting in the middle of leaf-bare as kits, putting themselves in mortal danger in the process. Then, he became convinced that her worst episode was when she cursed StarClan for the destruction of their camp in the fire. And not long after that, he believed that he'd seen Bluestar at her worst when she found out that Tigerstar, the former ThunderClan deputy, exiled for trying to murder her, had been granted nine lives by StarClan and became the leader of ShadowClan.

However, none of that compared to the look of utter fury and hatred that crossed her face now. The clouded expression that had been present in her eyes for so many moons disappeared abruptly, to be replaced by the familiar icy blue gaze that Cloudpaw had once known her to possess. He knew that look all too well; it was the look of the formidable leader who had once been ready to sacrifice everything to protect her Clan, and it could not have been a better time to make a reappearance.

"You," she hissed, her hackles raised as she advanced on Darkstripe. "You tried to murder my apprentice? Tried to kill Fireheart while he was helpless and unable to defend himself? I don't believe you, Darkstripe. Even Tigerstar wasn't cowardly enough to do something like that."

"He deserved it," the dark warrior sneered. "He's nothing but a worthless, pathetic kittypet and he deserves to die. ThunderClan needs strong, pureblood warriors to lead it, not soft, weak–"

Bluestar let out a yowl of rage and launched herself at Darkstripe. As he watched the blue-gray queen, Cloudpaw made a mental note not to underestimate her strength just because she'd been spending the last few moons in her den. Although not quite at the same level he had once known her to be, she was still a formidable battler nonetheless, and she seemed to be fighting with a strength beyond what was mortal. Her eyes glowed with anger, but there was something more in them as well. A light had grown in her eyes, and while it wasn't quite the expression of paranoia she had worn lately, it still sent a chill down Cloudpaw's spine. Somehow, the white apprentice knew that Darkstripe wouldn't make it out of this battle alive.

"W-what are you doing?" Darkstripe yelped as Bluestar pinned him down on the floor of the den. For the first time in his life, Cloudpaw heard fear enter the senior warrior's voice.

"What I should have done to the last traitor in my Clan," the old she-cat hissed. Cloudpaw closed his eyes, not wanting to watch as she delivered a killing bite to Darkstripe's neck. When he opened them again, he saw his Clanmate lying at Bluestar's paws, his flank utterly still and a look of abject terror in his eyes.

Cloudpaw's immediate reaction was one of relief. If Bluestar's first decision was to kill Darkstripe, that meant that Fireheart was safe. Then, he realized that his Clan leader was looking at him as though she were expecting him to say something. What that was, however, Cloudpaw had no idea, so an awkward silence lingered for a few heartbeats before Bluestar finally broke it.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I–yeah, I'm fine," Cloudpaw mewed, glancing down at himself. It was true; apart from a few scratches, he was relatively unharmed. "What about you?"

"I'm well, thank you," Bluestar replied. There was a small trickle of blood coming down her left shoulder, but it didn't appear to be anything serious, so Cloudpaw decided she was telling the truth.

"How did you know what was happening?" the white-furred cat asked. "Did you know that Darkstripe was here?"

"Not at first," Bluestar answered. "I came here to see Fireheart, and I heard fighting from outside."

Cloudpaw nodded. It made sense, after all. "Are you going to tell the rest of the Clan what happened?"

Bluestar pondered the question for a moment, then nodded. "It would be for the best," she decided. She turned and started to walk out of the medicine den, then paused briefly and turned her head around again. "One more thing, Cloudpaw. I believe it's time for your warrior ceremony."

"R-really?" Cloudpaw stammered, staring at Bluestar in shock. Maybe she was going to start taking her duties seriously again. "You mean it?"

"Of course. You did well saving Fireheart's life, especially when there was no one else around," Bluestar meowed.

"In that case, yes. I'd like that more than anything!" Cloudpaw mewed enthusiastically. More hesitantly, he added, "Just–just one more thing. Can my denmates have their warrior names too? I mean, all of them have been apprenticed longer than I have, and shouldn't they have received their names a while ago? Swiftpaw was apprenticed before Brackenfur, and he's been a full warrior for moons."

He fully expected Bluestar to refuse, but to his astonishment, the blue-gray she-cat meowed, "I suppose it is time for their ceremonies. Fireheart's been saying the same thing for the past moon."

Cloudpaw felt his tail curl in delight. "Great! Thank you, Bluestar!"

"You're quite welcome," Bluestar meowed kindly. "Now, run along and tell your friends the news. I'll wait here for Cinderpelt, and then I'll decide what your warrior names should be."

Cloudpaw didn't need any more encouragement. Tail held high, he raced out of Cinderpelt's den in search of his friends, eager to inform them of Bluestar's decision to give them their warrior names at long last. His only regret was that Fireheart wouldn't be at the ceremony with him, but he knew the flame-pelted warrior would be proud of him whenever he woke up. Best of all, Bluestar finally seemed as if she were going to start caring for her warriors again. It was somewhat ironic that Darkstripe had been the one to cause her turnaround, but Cloudpaw wasn't about to complain.

Finally, things are starting to look up for once, the white-furred apprentice thought. And it only took Darkstripe trying to kill Fireheart to make it happen.

Well, it looks as if Bluestar's finally back to her old self! The next chapter will be the naming ceremony, and then Fireheart will wake up in the chapter after that. Either that or I might switch the two chapters around and have Fireheart wake up before the ceremony. Regardless, however, don't worry; the story isn't going to end anytime soon. Fireheart might be awake soon, but his road to recovery is far from over.

On another note, I haven't decided what Swiftpaw's warrior name should be, so leave a review with a suggestion and I'll pick which one I like the best.

Thanks for reading,

TheShadowedWarrior