Disclaimer: I own only what was not in the books.

Chapter 15: Ice and Fire

Windheart yawned and looked around at the sleeping cats.

The barking of the coyotes had vanished, but the leaders had decided that they may as well rest. Beside her Thunderfoot, Windheart, and the Medicine Cats sat, all unable to sleep. Having awoken earlier, at the same time, and they had kep eachother company. They had been sleeping near the tunnel entrance, but, in silent agreement, had moved to the Moonstone moments ago.

Windheart yawned again. "I'm…" her voice was cut off my another yawn, "so," her eyelids began to flicker shut, "tired." She collapsed against the stone, asleep.

She awoke in a clearing surrounded by four towering oak trees. Beside her, Thunderfoot and Windheart blinked, as if they were just waking up. The Medicine Cats were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are we?" she whispered.

Riverstripe murmured, "StarClan," at the same time that Thunderfoot breathed, "Look up."

His siblings complied, and Windheart gaped. The stars were writhing and twisting in the sky, steadily growing larger. As they approached, the strange shapes took form.

Cats. All cats. Cats with coats of ice and fire.Windheart gasped, and felt the others stiffen. She recognized cats from her old clan, who had been killed by wolves. The old Generals and deputies, the other Elites, soldiers and hunter and sentries. And there was Whitefoot, and the apprentice killed in the Valley of Thorns. The cat that drowned in the river. She saw the cat from her vision in the mountain, who had sacrificed herself to save Nena.

My mother, Windheart thought.

Suddenly, another cat stepped forward and Windheart gasped. It was none other than her mother.

She looked confused. "There are only three of you. There should be four. What has happened to Shadowpelt?"

Windheart bowed her head, and Riverstripe looked away. Thunderfoot answered. "He… died. In the Valley of Thorns. We needed time and he gave it to us." Then he, too, bowed his head.

Nena and another cat exchanged glances, but didn't reply.

Suddenly, none other than General Mora stepped forward. "Death and Hate work their way to the forest. They will be here soon. But your time of running is over. You must fight. If you win, you will prove to all that you truly deserve to be here. We will help as best we can, but in the end, it all lies on your courage and strength."

The cats were beginning to fade.

"How?" Thunderfoot yowled, "How do we defeat something so powerful?"

The voice sounded far away. "Use what you have learned. Return here when there are again four, and you will be given life."

"Wait!" Riverstripe cried, "Shadowpelt is dead! Do you mean Sheba? And what have we learned? We haven't been taught any new fighting skills"
The voice was a mere echo. "You have learned much. Not all fighting means causing another pain.."

Riverstripe awoke with a start. It was dawn. Beside her, Thunderfoot and Windheart blinked slowly.

"Did you have a dream?" an excited voice asked. She turned. The Medicine Cats were standing beside them.

Riverstripe blinked. "You had a dream too?

Bristle nodded. "There were all the cats I have ever known there, that have passed on. Their fur was like ice and fire."

Thunderfoot nodded. "What did they say?"

Fernpelt shook her head. "That we sacrificed our lives, not literally of course, for you. We could have had families of our own, but we chose to raise you. Because of that, we will have the power to speak with them. As for the rest, we are forbidden to speak of it to anyone but Medicine Cats."

Windheart blinked. "You wanted to have families?"

Moren purred. "Of course we did. But you needed us more."

Riverstripe loped beside Thunderfoot. Windheart, excited by the smell of moor, was racing ahead with her Clan.

Suddenly, they vanished behind a hill. Riverstripe sighed. They could have waited.

She topped the rise, and gasped. Before her lay moor and meadow, stretching for as far as the eye could see. Below her, the RunningClan cats were galloping, full speed, through the grass

Windheart laughed out loud as the wind blew into her face, and the ground pounded beneath her paws. This was where she belonged. For so many moons, she had fled from the wolves, but not since her last day on her old land, had she truly run.
This was her home now.

A few weeks later:

"Run!" A skinny white she-cat yowled. The wavering line broke, and the cats scattered, leaving dead and dyeing behind.

Snarling, the wolves and lunged at stragglers, biting off tails and hind paws with snaps of their powerful jaws.

The she-cat glanced once over her shoulder, and saw the hulking, slavering wolf stained with old and new blood, straining at his harness. She shuddered and disappeared into the alley.

Her cats had no chance but to hide. They new these alleys and streets like the back of their paw.

She new who these wolves and cats were. Thunderfoot, Riverstripe, and Windheart had warned her about them. And now they were here. It the plans had changed, the cats still had a two moons march on them. If the cats had been headed for the forest as the plan, then the wolves would be there in a few weeks.

She had to warn them.

Twist would take care of her Gang in her absence. It wouldn't be the first time she had disappeared for a few weeks.

Turning, Sally Bones headed for the forest.

Short, I know. And there's probably spelling mistakes, but at least it's a chapter. Funny. I thought the break would give me more time to type, but I've been really busy with my friends. Oh well, R&R please.