WindClan raced forward.

At the same time, Tadpolepaw desperately turned her body trying to get in the right shape for a sprint.

After Thornleap's yowl, there was a split second of utter silence as both waves of cats raced toward each other.

But that silence was only for one heart beat.

Carnage than ensued between the numerous WindClan and out-numbered ShadowClan. Yowls of pain, the dull thunk of claws, the screams of fury all echoed across WindClan territory.

Tadpolepaw could not spare the thought, or energy to focus on what was happening to her clan mates. She had gotten herself into a position where she could sprint towards ShadowClan territory, towards Gorsewater, towards, at the very least, temporary safety. She was running fast, and could have made it to ShadowClan territory had she not been caught. But, she had only been going for one or two heart beats when she felt a leg, with it's claws out sweep under her belly, and hit her leg, causing her to trip and fall, with an agonizing thump. In the split moment between her landing on the ground and her attempt to get back up, she noticed that she was only a whisker length from the thunderpath, and the rest of the fighting cats were around just one fox-length.

After this revelation, Tadpolepaw jumped up. Immediately she realized that she was staring at Thornleap. Terror shot through her, but she didn't have time to think, only time to react, as Thornleap rammed into her. Tadpolepaw struggled to deal with the wall of muscle hitting her, and was knocked onto the ground. Pain tore through her as she felt Thornleap's claws slash through her leg, making her yowl in pain.

Dazed, Tadpolepaw felt a savage kick hit her side, making her roll. Strangely, there were no claws in this kick. As Thornleap loomed over her again, she realized what he had done. She was now lying on her back, leaving the soft skin of her belly open. She saw the glimmer of satisfaction in Thornleap's eyes, and his head shot down, and sharp teeth clenched down on her belly, making her let out a large yowl of pain. Thornleap let go and brought his head back, with it, a tuft of fur, spotted with blood. Her blood. The blood which was now running from the place where Thornleap had bit her. Weakly, she hit Thornleap's muzzle and saw a single red dot of blood there. But if Thornleap noticed or cared, he didn't show it.

Terror once again began to pulse through Tadpolepaw's veins, panicking her as her breaths became short and sharp. Thornleap clearly had the upper hand, and there was very little she could do to stop him? Was this the end? Was Thornleap going to finish the job that was started when she sneaked out of camp as a kit? Tadpolepaw could see that Thornleap knew that he had the power over her. She was helpless.

Suddenly, a brown blur slammed into Thornleap, knocking into the ground and away from Tadpolepaw. Tadpolepaw took the opportunity to get up, wincing as pain coursed through her injured leg. She turned to see Seedstar and Thornleap tussling on the ground.

"Pick on someone your own size!" the angry ShadowClan leader growled.

Was that to me or Thornleap? Wondered Tadpolepaw,

"Tadpolepaw!" called out Marshstep "Can you still run to Gorsewater's patrol?"

Tadpolepaw was only hobbling as it was, and she knew that she had no chance if she tried to get to Gorsewater's patrol.

"I'm sorry, I can't!" she called back.

"Flightpaw!" cried Marshstep. "You need to get to Gorsewater's patrol!"
Tadpolepaw saw Flightpaw nod, and the dark-gray she cat disengaged from her battle with Runningpaw, the WindClan apprentice that had been on the original patrol that had met them, and ran across the thunderpath. Two blurry WindClan warriors immediately followed her.

Tadpolepaw hobbled to Runningpaw, who ran at her. Tadpolepaw slashed at Runningpaw's ear and blood streamed out. Runningpaw let out an angry growl, and slashed at Tadpolepaw's front, non-injured leg. Tadpolepaw rolled out of the way, before letting out a yowl as her weight pressed down on her injured leg. As Tadpolepaw got up, she saw a glimmer in Runningpaw's eye. She had noticed her injured leg. Runningpaw then flashed a claw, and Tadpolepaw's injured leg flashed more pain, and she began to wobble, as her leg struggled to support her. She flashed with her own claw and sent a scratch down Runningpaw's side. But Runningpaw wasn't giving up. She reared up and slammed her weight into Tadpolepaw' s injured leg again. This was too much for it. Tadpolepaw fell onto the ground a dull thump as her leg stopped working. It had taken too much punishment. Shakily, Tadpolepaw got up, holding her injured leg above the ground, desperately trying to keep her balance on just three legs.

"Give up?" hissed Runningpaw

Tadpolepaw shivered? What could she do? She couldn't fight on three legs. But if she was to surrender, she might end up with Ashenpaw. And what would Thornleap do if she was held prisoner?

Suddenly a yowl from the other side of the battle field caught both of their attention. Tadpolepaw looked, and saw Thornleap get up, from where he and Seedstar had been tussling on the ground. Next him, blood leaked from Seedstar's neck. She wasn't moving, not even a twitch.

Tadpolepaw's eyes widened. She's a clan leader. Thought Tadpolepaw desperately. She has nine lives. But.. what if this was her last? What if she dies? What if StarClan won't send her back?

Tadpolepaw then noticed that a semi-circle was forming around her, and was closing in on her. She walked backwards, suddenly finding herself pressed against Weaselfoot and Marshstep. The WindClan warriors were all around them, leaving a wall of snarling claw, teeth, and muscle between the three ShadowClan cats and the thunderpath and ShadowClan border.

"So," hissed Thornleap, staring at Tadpolepaw. "It appears we now have five ShadowClan hostages."

Tadpolepaw glanced at Seedstar. Her clan leader was breathing again, though her breaths were shallow. It wasn't her ninth life that she had lost.

"I wonder what ShadowClan will be willing to give to get them back," said Thornleap, his voice as slippery as a snake.

"A FIGHT!" Tadpolepaw watched Gorsewater fly into Thornleap, knocking him into the ground. All around her, ShadowClan warriors sprung into action. Flightpaw had made it back to ShadowClan territory, and she had found Gorsewater's patrol! Her eyes locked on one member of the patrol in particular. Owlpaw. He had taken over the battle she had been having with Runningpaw, and the two cats were now exchanging blow for blow. Runningpaw's back was turned to Tadpolepaw. Seizing her opportunity, Tadpolepaw limped forward as fast as she could on three legs, came up behind Runningpaw, and slammed her teeth into her back. Runningpaw let out a yowl of agony, and Owlpaw used the distraction to slash her muzzle. The two cats now faced off with Runningpaw, making her back away. As the two of them moved forward, Runningpaw closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"Fine. You win." she practically spat, and turned tail, and fled across the moor to her camp.

Tadpolepaw turned to Owlpaw.

"Good to see you." She mewed, awkwardly shifting her weight between her three usable legs.

"Glad I could be of assistance," Owlpaw purred. "We make a good team."

"I think it was mostly me." Tadpolepaw weakly joked, feeling the rush of adrenaline wear off, and bubbles of relief beginning to spread through her.

"So..." mewed Owlpaw.

"Yeah." Tadpolepaw agreed. "Uh.. So."

Suddenly, Thornleap's voice interrupted them. Almost all of the independent skirmishes that made up the battle had died down, as ShadowClan overpowered WindClan. Only one battle was still being fought. Thornleap and the rest of WindClan had stopped fighting, but, with their tails being pressed right up against the thunderpath, Sparkstone continued to duel Weaselfoot and Sunfoot.

"Sparkstone," called Thornleap, his voice etched with the inevitable disdain of defeat. "We've lost. Come and retreat."

Sparkstone, however, did not seem to hear. Instead, she jumped up onto Sunfoot's back, who had stopped fighting to let her pass, and dug her claws in. Sunfoot screeched in pain. Weaselfoot crashed into her, helping his clan mate. Sparkstone was knocked of Sunfoot and landed on the thunderpath, head first, with a sickening thud.

"Sparkstone!" called a WindClan cat.

"Get up!" hissed Weaselfoot. Sparkstone wriggled slightly, but otherwise made no move. Meanwhile, Tadpolepaw could hear the roar of a monster getting closer.

"Sparkstone!" Said Weaselfoot, his voice sharp with worry.

The monster was edged nearer…

Tadpolepaw saw Weaselfoot get desperate look in his eye, and ran onto the thunderpath, and grabbed Sparkstone's leg, and tried to haul her back to the moor, back to safety.

But Tadpolepaw could see that he'd never make it. The monster was on top of them.

There was a sickening crunch.


Guys, I'm so sorry about the delay in getting this to you. Life has been ultra busy lately, sorry. Will get the next one up shortly. Also, the cliffhanger at the end here was a very spur of the moment decision. The aftermath was originally intended to be in this chapter. But hey, I've got to be awful to you guys and make you agonize about what happened.

Reviews!

I-really-hope-not: I'll take that bet… Glad that my writing makes you want more!

SomeoneI'mSure: You're not half wrong…

A Sky of Blazing stars: Phew! If my cliffhangers didn't make you wonder, they wouldn't be good cliffhangers. I'm happy you enjoyed the cookies. I wonder how long I can drag out Ashenpaw's saga… You're welcome for the follow!

Aviray: You're welcome! Thanks for the review, and glad to hear that you like the chapter!

ASJ7: Yeah… I can't mention a lot of OC's because it just wouldn't fit in with the plot… I can confirm that at least one of everyone's OC will appear though!

ExplodingQuasar: Well, with two reviews on this chapter, you're certainly on the right track! And well, at least according to Thornleap, she was trespassing.

ExplodingQuasar: (2) OMG YES PLEASE! It would be great to see them appear. You're amazing! Thank you so much! And you're welcome for Ashenpaw. And you're fine as well, you've been one of the most devoted followers of this story. So yes please, and thank you so much! I can't wait to read your story!

That's it guys! Thanks for the reviews, they keep me going, and I guess I'll see you next time!

Thanks!

- Willowstorm