SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING! School, pets going ballistic, my dad drunk all the time, and my brother fighting in the war as well, I haven't been able to update ANY of my stories!I THANK MY REVIEWERS!Anyway, here we go!


Chapter 2: The Battle

Icepaw, Tigerpaw, and Singepaw all scuffled about the clearing. The older apprentices, Runningpaw, Leopardpaw, and Darkpaw, sat licking their chest fur. Brokenwind, Russetcloud, and Oakfur had returned with fresh-kill, and the queens sat washing their kits in the sun. As the elder Dapplefur spat at Mossclaw for not changing her bedding, Fallenstar spoke with the mentors and other warriors. It seemed like a normal day for ShadowClan, until, that is, Ravenshadow burst into camp, yowling about ThunderClan warriors in the territory.

"Fernstar is leading the strongest warriors to Twisted Glade!" he yowled.

The apprentices stopped. The warriors and queens stared at him. Dapplefur went silent.

"Then we must not let them have it!" hissed Fallenstar. "Brokenwind, gather every warrior and apprentice, we will need all we have to drive them away!"

The leader nodded to Icepaw, who came right over. "Now is your chance to prove that you are ready to be a warrior," he whispered.

"I'm ready, Fallenstar!" called Brokenwind.

"Then come on! We must get there!" Fallenstar meowed.

The warriors and apprentices nodded. Fallenstar assumed his place beside Brokenwind, then shot off. They traveled painstakingly far. Icepaw's paws were sore by the time they reached the most beautiful place in any Clan. Fernstar and Fallenstar skidded to a halt a few fox-lengths away from each other.

Fernstar turned and yowled to her Clan, "Today, we will finally take Twisted Glade away from these monsters!"

Icepaw heard caterwauls of glee, then warriors from both Clans collided in the middle of the glade. Tigerpaw attacked an apprentice she recognized as Mousepaw. Dragonpaw went straight for her, grabbing and twisting her ear. Swiftpaw joined in, raking his claws along her exposed belly.

"LET ME GO!" Icepaw snarled.

"Just like Fernstar said, you're all monsters!" spat Dragonpaw.

The three young apprentices rolled, hissing curses at each other. Wildtail batted the ThunderClan apprentices off hers. "You okay?" Icepaw nodded. "Yeah." She gasped, "LOOK OUT!" Tigerbelly latched onto her mentor's back, spitting. Wildtail immediately went limp; Tigerbelly hit her spine.

"HA! You thought that would help, puny apprentice?" the warrior snarled.

"D-d-don't k-k-k-kill me," Icepaw whimpered.

"Too bad!"

He raised one massive paw above her head, but stopped. Fallenstar bowled him over. Icepaw jumped out of the way.

"RUN!"

"No! I'm not leaving until we win!"

"NOW!"

"NO!

Icepaw watched as he killed Tigerbelly, then turned to her, blood flowing freely from a gash in his neck.

"This is my last life, so I need you to let them win." Fallenstar coughed up blood. "I'm dying, Icepaw! Just go!"

"But father—"

"Now!" Fallenstar sighed, and closed his eyes. "I'll be here, don't you cry."

"Father, don't die, please! The Clan needs you! I need you!" Icepaw cried.

"Be strong, find your destiny, be strong. I may not be with you, but you've got to hold on."

"NO! DON'T LEAVE!"

"I'll be there, always." Fallenstar lay down, his blood pooling around him. "Just look over your shoulder." He died.

Icepaw cried out again, this time of anger. She was angry at herself for being born, angry that Tigerbelly attacked her, and angry that she had not helped her leader. Her father.

"STOP!" she yowled.

Everyone did. They were looking at the young apprentice, who had closed her eyes.

"Fallenstar is dead, ThunderClan wins."

She heard yowls of glee and happiness. But for her Clan, there were cries of anger and sadness. She opened her eyes, and saw that Brokenwind, Russetcloud, and Leopardpaw were all dead. Her legs gave out, and she blacked out.


Icepaw woke up in the medicine cat's den, her eyes closed slightly.

"Icepaw, are you awake?" Silverwind asked.

"Yes," Icepaw mewed.

"Good. Raise your left forepaw."

Icepaw did as she was told, but slowly. She opened her eyes all the way, and recognized the den not as the medicine cat's, but as her father's.

"No…" she murmured.

"Hmm?"

"No! Get me out of here! I don't want to be here!" She began to have a spasm. Her whole body jerked around.

"Icepaw! Icepaw, calm down!" Silverwind gasped. The medicine cat pressed an herb to her head. "You have a bad injury. You need to just calm down."

Icepaw generally stopped. Her breathing slowed. Silverwind stepped back and sighed. "Oh, Icepaw, I cannot imagine." She stepped out of the den. Tigerpaw padded over. "Can I go see her?" Silverwind shook her head. "I'm sorry, no, Tigerpaw." He nodded, eyes lowering.

Silverwind walked over to the other warriors.

"Hey, Silverwind!" Singepaw called. "Is Icepaw okay?"

The medicine cat sighed. She trotted over to High Rock, and jumped onto it. She yowled for the Clan. As the remaining warriors assembled, she could sense their fear. She noticed Tigerpaw and the other apprentices speaking together. She began to speak.

"Today, a very tragic thing happened. Twisted Glade was claimed by ThunderClan, and our leader was killed along with many of our warriors. Icepaw, the Clan leader's daughter, was terribly injured. I suspect you are thinking about that. But one thing is for sure, her wounds will heal with time. And for the next leader, there will be none for a very long time. That is all."


Gasp! CLIFFY! Oh, no! Next chapter preview:

Chapter 3: New Warriors

Tigerpaw, Singepaw, Runningpaw, Darkpaw, and the cute she-cat Icepaw become warriors. It also takes place two moons after this.