"All cats come and gather around me!" Mapleshade yowled. Snowdapple growled, but rushed to gather around Mapleshade. She stood next to Skyeye.

"Hey Skyeye!" she meowed, greeting her sister. Skyeye nodded her hello.

"Okay, the chosen cats are Mothwing-" Mapleshade started.

"But you can't! She's a medicine cat!" Willowshine yowled.

"I can do what I please." Mapleshade replied, her gaze scorching. Snowdapple winced, Willowshine was definitely not going to win this fight.

Willowshine stared back with the same intensity at Mapleshade.

"Let's add you to the Preyless Games instead." Mapleshade snarled.

"I am a medicine cat apprentice Mapleshade. You can't put me into the Games. StarClan would be angered." Willowshine growled.

"StarClan? Do you want me to kill you now? For mentioning 'StarClan'?" Mapleshade growled.

"StarClan is where Mossyfoot, my best friend is. I don't care if you kill me. I'll just go to her." Willowshine meowed, gaze defiant.

"StarClan is no more." Mapleshade growled.

"Don't bother arguing with that mouse-brain. Just add two more tributes to the games. We'll add Willowshine and Mintfur." Maggottail meowed.

"There you have it. You and Mintfur are added to the games as a result of your stupidity and stubbornness." Mapleshade meowed.

Willowshine's face showed guilt, and frustration.

"No! Leave Mintfur out, it's my fault." Willowshine meowed, her voice filling with desperation. She probably didn't want an innocent cat to be sacrificed for the Games.

"Too late. You probably should have thought of that before you started accusing me and talking about StarClan." Mapleshade meowed, stalking away.

"Anyways, the cats reaped are Mothwing, Icewing, Sneezecloud, Copperpaw, Beechfur, Beetlenose, Mintfur and Willowshine!" Maggottail yowled. Groans went throughout the clearing.

Mintfur glared at Willowshine, eyes full of anger, hatred, and accusation. Willowshine returned with a look of pleading. But Mintfur did not soften.

"As for the Clan cats, they may stay in the territory for half a moon, but no more. Each cat must pay a tax of one piece of prey every day of living here and in the twolegplace. Even elders. Or else." Tigerstar meowed.

"Or else what?" Willowshine challenged. Snowdapple sighed. Hadn't Willowshine learned her lesson? The Dark Forest was not to be challenged unless you have everybody in on your plan.

"Or else your family and friends will die." Tigerstar meowed.

"But that isn't fair! The cats who forget to bring the prey to the Dark Forest that they should never have to bring there in the first place shouldn't make their family and friends suffer!" Willowshine exclaimed.

"Well too bad." Tigerstar growled.

"Icewing can't go! She's expecting kits!" Willowshine growled.

"Let one of her other kits volunteer." Clawface sneered in response.

"For your information, you killed off Beetlewhisker in the Dark Forest, and Grasspelt was murdered in the recent Preyless Games!" Willowshine meowed

"Okay, that's it! We're putting Icewing's whole family in. Including her mate's family, you obviously haven't learned the lesson of why we threw Mintfur in." Mapleshade yowled, enraged.

"But we haven't done anything!" Mallownose meowed.

"And neither did Icewing!" Petalfur yowled.

"Ah, but Willowshine did." Tigerstar meowed, his voice laced with hidden threats. A hush fell throughout the clearing.

Even the other clans, who were gathered there, glared at the young medicine cat apprentice. Anger flaring in their eyes.

"Why are you accusing me right now?" Willowshine sputtered.

"Because you have literally just killed my family! Daughter of a gun!" Mintfur yowled, his anger blasting throughout the clearing.

"Yeah! Willowshine should be killed slowly and gruesomely!" Petalfur agreed.

"Without any doubts we should." Graymist declared. Every cat started cheering for the idea.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to wait until the Preyless Games." Mapleshade meowed.

"Could we please kill her now?" Mallownose asked.

"Yeah, we should be able to." Petalfur agreed, malice glistening in her eyes.

"Hey, what's the sudden hate on me?" Willowshine asked, her eyes clueless.

Snowdapple growled. Was the medicine cat this clueless? Or was it pretend innocence?

Beside her, Pebblefoot was bristling. Pebblefoot ran up to Mapleshade, and whispered something. Mapleshade was nodding.

"Okay. We're not going to throw in Icewing and her family. But we are going to throw Willowshine and her family in." Mapleshade meowed. Mewls of relief and distress broke out.

"What did you say to her?" Snowdapple whispered to Pebblefoot.

"I told her that Willowshine was trying to deprive us of warriors for the next Preyless Games." Pebblefoot answered. His eyes were hard, clearly hiding emotion.

"It must have been a hard choice." Snowdapple meowed.

Pebblefoot nodded.

"But I couldn't let them all go to their death. I had to chose. I couldn't save both, or Mapleshade wouldn't believe me." he growled. Pebblefoot looked on the verge of breaking down.

"Look. It wasn't your fault. If you hadn't spoken, Mintfur and Icewing's families would've all been killed. Or at least the majority of them." Snowdapple meowed. 'Mintfur' seemed to send a spark through Pebblefoot.

"Wait, Mintfur! Was he included?" Pebblefoot meowed, panicking.

"Wait, what?" Snowdapple meowed. What was the tom saying.

Pebblefoot didn't calm down. Snowdapple decided to take matters into her own paws.

"Excuse me, Mapleshade. I'm very sorry for interrupting." Snowdapple meowed, dipping her head.

For once, Mapleshade didn't growl.

"Go right on ahead." Mapleshade meowed. Was that respect Snowdapple saw in Mapleshade's eyes? It flashed away too quickly to tell.

"Is Mintfur included?" she asked.

"Yes, he won't be killed in addition to Icewing's family." Mapleshade answered. Pebblefoot sighed in relief.

"So is that what you were fussing over?" Snowdapple asked.

"Yes." Pebblefoot meowed.

Pebblefoot's POV

"Hang on a moment, Mapleshade." Mothwing meowed. Mapleshade turned around and glared at Mothwing.

"What do you want, make it snappy." Mapleshade growled.

"Willowshine is expecting kits. Thornclaw's kits." Mothwing meowed, eyes serious. Mapleshade's gaze hardened at the sound of the word 'kits', her expression becoming guarded. Pebblefoot gazed confusedly at the she-cat. What had provoked her? Though his thoughts about Mapleshade's sudden reaction, he felt shocked. He never suspected anything between the two cats.

"Please, Bramblestar. Please let me into ThunderClan." Willowshine begged. Mapleshade's eyes betrayed a flash of grief, but then hardened again to an emotionless gaze.

"Let her have her kits. We'll take care of them when we need to. And we're delaying the Preyless Games until the kits are at least two moons old." Mapleshade meowed, voice achingly neutral. Pebblefoot glanced at the she-cat. Had she just softened for the first time ever? Pebblefoot's eyes widened as Mapleshade stumbled off the rock she was standing on, fleeing into the forest. Stunned, Pebblefoot wondered if he should follow the she-cat into the forest.

Probably not, she'd kill me if I did.

Pebblefoot glanced around the clearing, everyone was watching the spot Mapleshade had left from, eyes glued.

Clawface quickly scrambled on top of the rock. "We will deal with Mapleshade later. As for Willowshine, follow Mapleshade's orders." Stoatfur glanced uneasily at Pebblefoot. The ginger tom weaved around the crowd to him.

"What happened to her?" Stoatfur asked.

"I- I don't know." Pebblefoot meowed.

"Maybe she has a soft-spot for kits." Snowdapple suggested. The pretty she-cat seemed just as puzzled as the rest of the clan.

"I honestly wonder what just happened." Skyeye meowed, appearing next to Stoatfur.

"But if she had a soft spot for kits, why did she kill apprentices, and injure them? Apprentices are basically kits." Blazepetal meowed. Stoatfur greeted Blazepetal warmly, while Pebblefoot noticed Skyeye glaring sharply at Blazepetal. Snowdapple was also nodding her welcome to her sister.

"Hi Blazepetal." Pebblefoot meowed. Cats had started to break into small groups, gossiping about Mapleshade's breakdown.

Stoatfur turned around to glance at Skyeye. All of Skyeye's malice in her eyes, directed at her sister Blazepetal melted as they met gazes. Stoatfur had definitely noticed that Skyeye was angry at her sister for taking him. Snowdapple's mew interrupted his thoughts.

"Shh! Tigerstar is on the rock." Snowdapple meowed, successfully hushing the group. Blazepetal's attention turned to Tigerstar, Skyeye glaring at the back of Blazepetal's head.

"Okay. Stoatfur, and Pebblefoot, would you please come up here?" Tigerstar meowed.

He glanced at Stoatfur, who looked equally confused. They walked up, side by side. "The Dark Forest has decided to let you have flying powers, so you can be an equivalent of us." Tigerstar meowed.

He placed his muzzle on top of Stoatfur's head, and then Pebblefoot's. Pebblefoot tried not to flinch away as the scarred tom neared him.

Pebblefoot began to feel light-footed, and found he was floating. He could fly! Tigerstar dismissed everyone with a curt flick of his tail, swishing into the ferns where the rest of the Dark Forest was sitting.

As soon as Tigerstar left, Blazepetal let out a yowl of pain.

Blood!

Stoatfur's head whipped around, seeing a slash on Blazepetal's back. Inflicted by Skyeye. Pebblefoot realized. Snowdapple was huddled near her sister, a crowd began to form. Reedwhisker was yowling for Mothwing, which the crowd parted for. Mothwing was carrying herbs.

"Who did this?" Stoatfur demanded. The whole clearing was silent.

Dun-Dun-Dunnnnnnnnn!

Who did do it?
Review and guess, you'll get a special mention in my next chapter if you guess.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter :D

~Waterfall