Yeah! Yeah! Kick-ass! Kick-ass! School's out, people! And to celebrate, here's chapter thirteen! A little shorter than the others, but who cares? This one's sad, too, so watch out! Weeee! School's out! XD

Chapter Thirteen

"TigerClan! Enemies!"

A small white she-cat streamed into the clearing. It was Windpelt, and her fur was fluffed up in fear. I stopped eating my piece of fresh-kill and looked up. Windpelt waited, her eyes wide.

The rest of the Clan didn't have much time to prepare before a number of fierce, angry cats burst through the tunnel. I instinctively leapt to my feet, forgetting about my dinner, and gazed at the enemy warriors around me.

These warriors looked much different than the TigerClan cats I lived with now – they were much bigger, sure, but they carried the stench of crowfood. Their pelts were dull and I could count their ribs – these cats were starving. It was no wonder why they wanted to take over TigerClan territory.

Wolfstar appeared out of his den, swishing his tail angrily. The TigerClan leader advanced toward the group of cats and called out,

"Cobaltstar."

A massive blue-gray tom emerged out of the crowd. Like his warriors, he looked thin and his fur unkept, but he was even larger than Wolfstar. Cobaltstar watched the TigerClan leader with piercing eyes, and hissed,

"Cats of the night, this territory is no longer yours."

TigerClan let out yowls of anger. I saw Reefpaw swishing her tail furiously. Pantherclaw, who was nearby, sneered something at her. The smaller she-cat flattened her ears and stepped back.

"You can't have our territory, Cobaltstar!" snarled Wolfstar. "This has belonged to TigerClan for ages. We will never give it up!"

His warriors yowled their agreement. The LeopardClan leader narrowed his eyes dangerously, and called over his shoulders, "Attack!"

"Attack!" cried Wolfstar, and leaped into the battle.

Determined to prove that I was loyal to this new Clan, I launched after him. A massive brown tabby knocked me aside and I hissed angrily, batting at his ear with unsheathed claws. He growled, with a glint in his amber eyes that was both frightened and confident, and sailed through the air at me. I jumped nimbly to the side and spat at him, swiping my claws. One of them caught the his back foot. He screeched and ran into the bushes.

All around me, cats were fighting, screaming in TigerClan camp. Our Clan was stronger than LeopardClan's, but, the enemy had more members. I spotted Crystalpaw and Dartpaw two-one-three with LeopardClan warriors.

A ferocious yowl sounded next to me. I spotted Yarrowflower, a sleek gray she-cat, furiously clawing at a tabby she-cat. Blood was flowing into Yarrowflower's eyes and she couldn't see properly. I leapt onto the back of her attacker and pulled her off, giving the cat a firm bite on her neck. Like the tom, she ran away, yowling in anger.

I checked to see if Yarrowflower was all right, but she was already attacking another cat who was tusseling with Windpelt.

Wham! A huge blow collided with me, knocking the air out of my lungs. Gasping for breath, I saw the fierce blue eyes of the LeopardClan deputy, Shadefoot, above me. He ripped me to shreds. Since I couldn't move, the tom had me pinned. I yowled for help as my flank was scratched again and again.

Then…I felt him get off of me. I looked up and saw Diamondpaw holding the scruff of Shadefoot's neck in his mouth, his amber eyes gleaming. With incredible strength, Diamondpaw flung him away, into the bushes. I was so impressed. With a nod to show my thanks, I rushed to help my other Clanmates.

I spotted Cobaltstar and Wolfstar fighting fiercely with each other, rolling on the ground and yowling, claws flashing. I rushed forward to help them, but Cobaltstar bared his teeth.

"Don't waste your time!" he snarled.

I rushed to help Wolfstar anyway. I bolted toward them and leaped on Cobaltstar's back, but the huge leader delivered a kick to my stomach. I tumbled backward and felt my head hit a rock.

Bam!

Blackness.

Slowly, slowly, I felt my mind returning. I was waking up. I scrambled to my feet and looked for Flamestorm, but the only thing around me was Silverpelt.

"Flamestorm!" I cried. "Where are you?"

She didn't answer. Usually, she visited me in my dreams, every time I lost touch with the world. But not now; she was gone. I felt a pang of worry. What if she was hurting ThunderClan?

The eyes of the familiar StarClan cats came into view. I rushed forward to meet Bramblestar.

"I lost a life, didn't I?" I whispered.

He nodded gravely. "You now have seven left."

I shuddered. Seven more times, and I'd be gone for good. I looked at Bramblestar and meowed, "Where is Flamestorm?"

Bramblestar exchanged an uneasy glance with Graystar. "All will work out," murmured the gray warrior. "Do not fear, Glacierstar."

Another gray shape came into view. It was Mistycloud. She nodded to me respectfully and meowed, "Remember, Glacierstar. Be sure to watch the dragon."

And I was back.

Back in the TigerClan camp that had turned into a battlefield. I scrambled to my paws, and swayed, uneasy at first. But when I remembered Mistycloud's warning, I bolted into the medicine cat's den and saw Dragonheart inside, her green eyes frustrated that she was too injured to help. I nodded to her and backed outside. At least she was safe.

I looked around the clearing and was so relieved to see that the number of LeopardClan cats were thinning greatly, until the last of them disappeared into the hollow. I had a good look around the camp. Nests were spread out everywhere and the fresh-kill pile was destroyed. Wounded cats lay everywhere.

I padded over to Reefpaw and touched her flank. "You fought well," I murmured, even though I hadn't seen her.

"Thanks," she panted.

I spotted Diamondpaw a few rabbit-leaps away. He was staring emptily into space, a bloody scratch above his right eye.

"He's amazing," I meowed, nodding toward Diamondpaw. "He saved me from Shadefoot. Threw him into the bushes with his own strength."

Reefpaw's eyes dimmed. "He…he's my brother."

I whipped around and stared at her in shock. "What? But he's older than you!"

"I know. Our mother, Scarletflower, had had a single kit, Diamondpaw, first. Then she died bearing me a moon later." Slowly, Reefpaw turned to look at me. "Perhaps that is why Pantherclaw hates me so much."

In the short time I had known Reefpaw, she had already grown to be a friend. I nuzzled her shoulder comfortingly and shot another glance at Diamondpaw. Now that I looked at them both, their fierce amber eyes shone identically in the dim light, and were similar to Pantherclaw's, their father. But then I was surprised when I felt her stiffen beside me.

"StarClan, no!" she wailed, rushing forward. I climbed to my feet, confused. What had happened?

Reefpaw rushed forward, pushing past the crowd of cats. I noticed that some of them gave her dirty looks as she passed, but Reefpaw didn't care. I followed her, and froze in shock and sadness when a huge ginger-pelted body appeared in front of me.

"No…" whispered Reefpaw, settling herself next to him.

"Foxheart," I murmured. He was dead. A nasty bite to the neck had saw to that. My heart ached with sadness and pity for Reefpaw, and I wished I had gotten to know Foxheart better before he died. I didn't think he had even spoken to me during the time I had spent with TigerClan.

Wolfstar padded forward, his eyes rimmed with sadness. He pressed his nose against Foxheart's flank and murmured, "He hunts with StarClan now."

From behind Wolfstar, I spotted Pantherclaw whispering something to Thymefoot. I was horrified to see that they were both staring at me, and I felt my blood turn to ice. Had they seen me go into the losing a life trance?

Wolfstar sat down, his tail curled around his paws. His deep voice addressed the whole Clan. "Cats of TigerClan," he meowed, "Foxheart was a noble warrior, but it is time he left us. His spirit belongs in StarClan now." He closed his eyes for a brief second. "But now, we must focus on repairing the camp. The apprentices must repair the wall. Pantherclaw, organize a hunting party."

"Hey!" It was Crystalpaw, glaring at Wolfstar from behind me. "What about Reefpaw's new mentor?"

The blue-gray she-cat hadn't moved from her position beside Foxheart's body.

"Oh." For a moment, Wolfstar seemed confused. Like he had completely forgotten about Reefpaw. "Yes," he added quickly. "I shall appoint Reefpaw's new mentor immediately." He paused, considering. Then, "Pantherclaw, you are my wise and loyal deputy. Please teach young Reefpaw everything you know."

"Of course," purred Pantherclaw, a horrible glint in his eyes. He waited for Reefpaw to come and touch noses with him, in the traditional way.

But Reefpaw hadn't moved. Her blue-gray fur was fluffed up in fear. Normally, Reefpaw was a bold she-cat who loved facing challenges, but now she looked terrified. I was stunned when she turned around and bolted out of the camp. Crystalpaw called after her, but Diamondpaw rushed after his sister. He too disappeared.

Pantherclaw hissed and dug his claws into the ground. "When I get my claws on her –"

"Don't, Pantherclaw," interrupted Wolfstar. "Reefpaw and Diamondpaw will come back. They can't stay away forever." He actually looked concerned, but I couldn't help wondering if he was worried about Diamondpaw, not Reefpaw. "Carry out the orders," added Wolfstar to his deputy. "We need to rebuild." And Wolfstar entered the nursery to check on the kits.

I watched Pantherclaw assign each cat a job, feeling horrible about Reefpaw. How could Wolfstar had done that? Make Pantherclaw, the cat Reefpaw hated the most, her mentor? I wanted to go find Reefpaw and quickly as possible, but the look in Pantherclaw's eyes told me to stay right where I was.

I stiffened as Pantherclaw padded over to me. The much larger tom fixed me with a cool amber gaze and I was reminded of an old Diamondpaw, except with darker fur.

"So, Glacierclaw," he sneered, "or should I call you Glacierstar?"

I swallowed nervously. This was just what I had been afraid of. I avoided Pantherclaw's gaze and mumbled, "I don't know what you're takling about."

He snorted. "Don't lie! I saw you go into the nine lives trance when Cobaltstar kicked you, Glacierstar. You lost a life. You are a leader. I know you are!"

I raised my blue eyes into his amber ones. "So what if I am? What difference does it make? I'm still going to help you defeat LeopardClan." Without waiting for an answer, I padded over to sit next to Crystalpaw, who was still staring emptily at the place Reefpaw had disappeared into.

Crystalpaw shot a glance at me and mewed, "She's coming back, isn't she? I mean, it isn't safe out there, not when LeopardClan's…" She trailed off and shuddered. I didn't think I had ever seen Crystalpaw look anything but cheerful and happy-go-lucky. Now she looked sad and terribly worried. "And Diamondpaw…"

Oh, so Crystalpaw liked Diamondpaw. It wasn't only Reefpaw she was worried about.

"They'll be back," I told her, trying to convince myself. "Don't worry about it." I paused, trying to think of something to say. Then, "Crystalpaw, there is another Clan besides just TigerClan and LeopardClan, right?"

She stirred and looked at me. "Yes, of course. There's LionClan. They live on the northern moorland."

"Really? Who's there leader?"

Crystalpaw looked a bit confused. "Snowystar. He's old, but wise and fair. Why?"

I swallowed hard, and then meowed, "Has Wolfstar even considered asking Snowystar for help?"

The white she-cat stared. "No! Wolfstar is much too proud to ask another Clan to help his. He would rather do things on his own."

"Sometimes, that is the only way to win – to ask for help." I thought of Iciclestar. "Anything to win a war. I want to talk to Wolfstar."

"What? Wait, Glacierclaw –"

I ignored her and padded over to his den, mewing a quiet greeting inside. Wolfstar's voice sounded inside. "Glacierclaw, come in."

I walked inside. I had never been in this den before. It looked very different from my den, back in ThunderClan, which was stone carved out by an ancient stream. This one didn't look all that special. It was just ferns and other shrubbery strung together to make shelter.

I dipped my head to Wolfstar and meowed, "Wolfstar, I have a suggestion for you to make to win the war against LeopardClan."

The silver tom perked up and faced me. "I'm listening, Glacierclaw."

I winced at the name. I'd have to tell him the truth sooner or later. "I think you should ask LionClan for help."

Wolfstar bristled. "What? Are you mad? Snowystar would never help me."

"I am friends with a Clan leader back in my old home. We have faced many challenges together."

"Then you come from a strange place, Glacierclaw," he snapped. He flicked his tail in annoyance.

I swallowed. "Then at least let me talk to him, Wolfstar. I mean, it's worth a try, right?"

The gray tom hesitated. Then, "All right, Glacierclaw. You can go. But take a cat with you – Crystalpaw, perhaps." Good, Crystalpaw, I thought. I got along well with her. Again, Wolfstar paused. "And Glacierclaw…" He looked up at me. "Do look out for Reefpaw and Diamondpaw, won't you? In fact, please find out where they are."

"Yes, of course, Wolfstar," I meowed, feeling my stomach tighten. I wondered how difficult it would be to find a couple of apprentices. "I'll take Crystalpaw and leave right now."

Bit of a cliffy, I'm sorry. Please review!