A/N: School has started, my Biology teacher's given me a 15 page outline the first week, and I started out by forgetting to turn in a signed slip, meaning I have like an F in Biology for the first week. In other words, I can't read the fanfics I want to read and I can't update in only a few days or so. ;; Oh, and I JUST noticed I accidentally spelled 'scrap of fur' in Chapter 15 as 'crap of fur'. Argh.

Chapter 16 – Ambush

"Duskshadow. Duskshadow!" Ravenwing's urgent mew brought him to the waking world. The thing that woke him up was not just her voice, but why she was here, back in the medicine cat's den. Wasn't she supposed to stay out of sight of the rogues? Ravenwing prodded him in the side this time. "Hurry up! The rogues, they're all gone!"

That made him sit up with shock. "G-gone? To where? What about Dawnstar?"

"I came to you before following their trail. It looks like they're heading towards WindClan! Dawnstar isn't in her den, either…" Ravenwing's blue eyes were wide with fear. "Do you think she knew what we were—"

Duskshadow's mind was racing as well. The first thing to do was not to panic—and the hardest part of that was to make Ravenwing stop panicking as well. "Calm down," he commanded sternly. "We shouldn't wake up the entire Clan. Okay, let's think this over. I talked to Dawnstar and told her to back down in this madness, and she refused. You told the Clans that the battle is to be at dawn. That's a little away from now. The Clans should already be awake, and ready to move out. If they're battle-ready, WindClan should be ready…"

Ravenwing looked away guiltily. Something's wrong. "About that, Duskshadow… I convinced WindClan to join us by giving them our herbs to cure their whitecough. Even with RiverClan running out of prey, WindClan is the most vulnerable Clan. But how could Dawnstar know…?"

"A spy. A leak. I don't know and I don't care for it at the moment." He paced back and forth, and finally limped out of the den with Ravenwing following close behind. "What matters is what's happening now. I don't think you can make another run around the lake, and we don't have time to send another one to even WindClan. Was your scent trail fresh?"

Ravenwing nodded. "I was outside the camp and saw Dawnstar leading the rogues out. I couldn't stop them and I wouldn't be able to do anything alone, so…"

"If we run, we may catch up. Assuming Dawnstar knows about WindClan's condition, she may be trying to ambush them. We don't know yet if she knows that they're coming to us." Duskshadow concluded the conversation with that and let out a yowl that echoed in the hollow, awakening cranky elders and surprised warriors. What he was counting on, though, was not only the warriors, but the apprentices. As he had hoped, the apprentices marched out of their den in single file, with eagerness mixed with dead seriousness: this was what they had been prepared for, in the short time it took Ravenwing to deliver Duskshadow's message to the Clans.

Duskshadow leaped to the top of the Highledge, where Foxstar himself once stood upon to deliver messages to the Clan. The warriors and elders were asking why he had woken them up, but for once the apprentices acted like warriors: they lined up in no apparent order or hierarchy, and unlike the whispering warriors, they were the warriors. They knew what was going to happen, and it didn't seem to bother them as much as it did their mentors.

"You're wondering why I'm addressing you here before dawn. Dawnstar and the rogues are gone, and their trail leads to WindClan!" As he expected, there were nervous mutters from the elders and the warriors yowled out questions. Ignoring them, he continued, "We can assume Dawnstar is going to take over WindClan first. As proud ThunderClan warriors, we cannot let WindClan fight alone. We must leave now to catch up with the rogues!"

There were a few calls, and one warrior shouted out loudest. It was Rowanheart—a face he had not contemplated for moons. "The rogues outnumber all the four Clans! The smart choice is to support the rogues, isn't it? If we fight Dawnstar we might lose, but with our forces together—"

Duskshadow stopped him with a chilling glare. Their eyes locked, the green with the blue, and as he held his gaze Duskshadow was raging inside, You coward, do you still insist on running and hiding? For once Duskshadow wasn't glaring or smiling to cow an enemy. It had a purpose completely different: He had to have all the warriors' support, with the apprentices, to win this war. If Rowanheart was feeling rebellious, he would wipe that cocky, lying smile off his face and make him join in. "Feel free to join the rogues, Rowanheart," Duskshadow finally meowed when Rowanheart eventually looked away. "All of you are free to turn against the warrior code. And then we'll be free to kill you for an oathbreaker. ThunderClan needs all its warriors, but it can also use one less enemy."

Rowanheart wasn't completely beaten, however. "You talk bravely for a cripple who can't beat a Twoleg in a race," he threw back. "Why don't you back your words like a warrior? We know you can't fight with three legs!"

The dark golden tom on the Highledge had a glimmer of amusement in his sharp green eyes as he laughed. "You have me there, Rowanheart. But surely there's some way to prove myself? That's why I'll be leading our forces to WindClan."