So I'm a lotta late on updating here (and I totally had chapters 14-25 already finished a long time ago wth) but better late than never! :"D I'll be posting three chapters each day just so I don't spam people with too much to read. ouo Enjoy!

The light of the new day licked at the outside of an old barn that sat close to the edge of the twolegplace, in a large clearing. The paintjob of the outside, worn away by the elements, was now a tannish-pink color, and holes could be seen scattered about the building's exterior. Long abandoned by its owners, the only use it ever had was as storage for hay and whatever other junk the twolegs could fit in there. Barely anyone ever entered the building, save for those who housed their junk in it.

Outside the building, two burly toms stood guard in front of a large hole, near the base of the barn. They were ordered to stand watch, by their leader, while he was absent from the premises. Though it was their job to watch out for intruders, and protect their leader, they were not used to the early morning shifts. However, their leader had not wanted to take any chance of some cat getting the jump on them while he was away.

It was now sunhigh, and their leader was not back yet, which irritated the toms, instead of worry them. One of the toms, a brown one with dark blue eyes, hissed his annoyance, "What's taking him so long?"

His smoky grey companion flexed his long claws, picking up dirt. "Patience Everest, we'll get to sleep when Bloodstorm gets back." He was a bit amused by his companion's display of irritation. Even though he himself was also irritated, he would never willingly show it to any other cat, save for his sister or their companion Scream.

Everest rolled his eyes at the other cat, "Crack, when has Bloodstorm ever let any of us have our allotted time of sleep after doing extra shifts?" He looked at the cat beside him, but turned away after getting a glimpse at the other cat's unmoving milky eye.

Crack chuckled, "Good point. Maybe he'll give us leniency this time. After all, we did bring him that snoop that was hanging around the barn, yesterday."

Everest gave Crack a skeptical look. "Bloodstorm doesn't even give Gold or Havoc those kinds of privileges. We're stuck out here doing morning-to-sunhigh shifts, while he prances around doing who-knows-what."

"If you don't like it Everest, then I can give you morning-to-night shifts instead."

Both toms were suddenly aware of their leader's presence. They had been in such deep conversation, that neither of them had noticed that Bloodstorm, and the few Peace Reapers he took with him, had come back. They snapped their eyes back to the expanse in front of them, which was now full with the bodies of cats.

Everest stammered, "Oh, um, Bloodstorm sir- no I didn't- I was just-"

Bloodstorm flicked an ear, and looked at the tom with cold lavender eyes, "Save it. I'm not in the mood right now. Both of you get inside. Tell Scream and Snow that it's their shift now." With that said the misty tom padded past both guards and disappeared inside the dark hole. Most of the punishers went in after him.

"Nice job Everest," said the spiky-furred black she-cat that had stayed with the toms, "Are you trying to get your pelt skinned? I'm sure Bloodstorm could get Crimson to do it."

"Wow Hiss, I didn't think that you cared so much," Everest shot back jokingly at the cat.

"Oh, I couldn't care less about your disgusting pelt!" the she-cat hissed through her teeth.

Crack shook his head, and muttered, "Why do I even bother being around you two?" He suddenly realized that two other punishers had stayed behind, and were standing a distance away, near a corner of the barn; they seemed to be talking.

He called out to them, "Gem, Bronze, you two should get inside. Bloodstorm will have a fit if he finds you two aren't there."

Both cats seemed to suddenly realize that there were others still outside.

Bronze looked over at Crack, and forced a light smile on his face, "Sorry Crack. We didn't notice that everyone had already gone inside. We'll hurry along now." The brown tabby nudged his young friend, signaling her to move. Both cats walked past the other three cats, not daring to look them in the eyes, and padded inside the wooden complex.

Everest stared after the younger cats in wonder, "What's up with them?"

Hiss rolled her eyes, "Who knows. Those two are always sneaking off somewhere, probably planning on how to escape. It's a wonder that Bloodstorm doesn't confine them to the barn."

"Maybe they're sneaking off because they want some alone time," Everest snickered. The tom stopped, when a thought came to mind. "You know all Bloodstorm wants from the younger ones that he forces to join, are kits. If both parents have a tolerable fighting status, then their kits will obviously be good fighters too. Then it's goodbye to mommy and daddy, if they don't live up to his expectations," he added gravely.

"Well good riddance to those two then. I can't stand their sniveling any longer," Hiss pushed passed Everest and went into the barn.

Everest scoffed, "Your sister is a real piece of fur, you know that?"

Crack shook his head and sighed, "Yes sadly. Come on, before Bloodstorm gets Havoc after us." Both toms then disappeared inside.

Halfway in, Crack took the time to stop and think about the two young cats. He knew that his sister was right about them planning an escape, and most likely she would tell Bloodstorm about them. Crack made a note to himself to warn both of the cats, that they would be watched from now on.

It was wrong, he knew, to interfere with his leader's orders, but he felt that it was unfair to the young cats. Unlike him, his sister, and Scream, who had found sanctuary with the Peace Reapers, both of the young cats had been forced to join.

Crack, like his sister and Scream, were extremely loyal to Bloodstorm, because he had saved them, and gave them a home because of their potential. Gem and Bronze had not been saved, merely swiped away from their lives, and Crack couldn't blame them for planning an escape.

The smoky tom took note that the possibility of escape was higher, now that a few of the loners and kittypets had teamed up with a strange cat that knew how to fight. He hadn't heard much, but from what his sister had told him last night, the strange cat had weird eyes like Bloodstorm, but red. The cat could apparently fight well too.

Bronze, Gem, anyone really who didn't want to be here. They'd most likely try and leave if they thought they'd have a chance.

Crack sighed, and continued on inside, passing by Snow. The white and grey she-cat had most likely been told by Everest that it was her shift. He didn't see Scream with her, so obviously it was up to him to fetch her.

"Snow," he called behind him.

The she-cat stopped in her tracks and turned her poisonous gaze upon him. "Yes Crack?"

The large tom didn't flinch at the other guard's tone. He wouldn't be intimidated by the prickly cat. "Have you seen Scream?"

"The last time I saw her, she was fighting against Split for stealing her food. Havoc told them to stop yelling at each other, and to use the gifts that cats are born with to settle it," Snow said dispassionately.

Crack scoffed, "Split's getting her tail handed to her isn't she?"

Snow blinked a few times, and instead of answering the question, simply turned around and headed back outside to her post.

"Nice talking to you too," Crack muttered under his breath, and he padded off to try and find his friend.

Crack found the pale ginger and white she-cat, in the center of a circle of yowling and cheering cats. Her pelt was a bit bloody in a few places, but it was her opponent that looked far worse. Both Scream and Split looked tired however, despite the extreme difference in blood loss.

Scream stood her ground against her opponent though, not wanting to be the first to back down.

Crack didn't see any of the older guards around, so he took it upon himself to intervene before both cats dropped from exhaustion. "I think that's enough both of you," he made his way past the circling cats, to stand in between the fighting she-cats.

Scream hissed her annoyance, "Crack get out of my way, so I can finish this."

Crack stared at her with his unblinking eyes, "No." He looked from bloodied cat to bloodied cat, "You both have had enough, and I think that this can be ended with the knowledge that Split will never steal your food again, lest she be confronted later by Crimson or Quill. Does that sound fair, Split?"

He gave the ginger cat a long glance, his milky eye sending shivers down the cat's spine.

Split visibly gulped, "Um I- oh yes, yes I shall be more careful in the future Crack- I mean sir."

Crack gave a nod, "Good." He turned to Scream, "You have my shift with Snow, right now."

Scream was about to yell at him for interfering in her fight, but he turned around and fled to the area of the barn in which the food was kept. The tom didn't feel like dealing with his friend's constant problem that he really didn't care about.

Along his way to the food pile, Crack took notice of Gem and Bronze, talking behind a hay bale. At first, he thought that he would go over and give the cats his warning. That's when he noticed Chance, walk over to them.

Crack paused for a moment, watching the half-tailed dark brown tom, as he joined in the hushed conversation. It lasted for a mere couple of minutes, but that's all it took, for Crack to know that the three cats were definitely up to something.

When Chance turned around, Crack made sure that all three cats knew that he had been watching. He sat, motionless and unblinking, causing the secretive cats to freeze in place. Shock and fear flickered across the cats' eyes; something that Crack made sure was the point of his silent accusations.

None of them moved, until Crack finally blinked his one good eye. With a slight motion of his head, he gave them a silent message that he knew they would understand. This would be their one and only warning.

The cats quietly sped off in different directions, leaving Crack to sit and wonder what the cats had talked about.

"Gem, come and join us won't you?"

The misty furred she-cat gazed up from the rat that she was eating, and looked over at the white she-cat that had called to her. "A-Are you sure, Blitz?"

Gem looked around unsurely, as if she might be jumped at any moment. She was tense now more than ever, after she and the others had been discovered by Crack.

Blitz rolled her green eyes, "Yes I'm sure. Bloodstorm hasn't forbidden guards and punishers to interact."

"Yeah, so come on," said the white tom, who was sharing an unidentifiable piece of food with Blitz. "You're always so tense. You know it's safe here, at least, as long as you don't get in Gold, or Havoc, or Bloodstorm's way."

"Gee, that makes me feel so much better Blizzard," Gem mumbled too low for any cat to hear. She couldn't blame them though, for being so casual about being here. They had been taken in when they were young and their parents had abandoned them. But she had been forced to be a Peace Reaper, to be Bloodstorm's tool. If she didn't join, then her best friend and her friend's family would have been killed.

The blue-eyed cat looked around until she spotted the misty grey pelt of Bloodstorm, sitting upon a ladder overlooking his followers. It made her sick, knowing what Bloodstorm's twisted mind might be thinking at that moment. What he had in store for the cat known as Rainbowheart, if he got his claws on her.

If only she could run away, and never look back, she would do it. There would be no greater day, than when she could be free of the Peace Reapers. But deep down, she knew that she couldn't just leave, not without her friends safe. Not without bringing down Bloodstorm.

"Gem?" The she-cat looked up, to stare into the yellow eyes of her only real friend within the Peace Reapers. The brown tom was looking at her with a worried expression, "Is everything ok?"

Gem blinked, and gave a faked smile, "Yeah, sure Bronze."

The older tom wasn't buying it though. He'd known her since she was a kit, running from whatever she had left behind. Bronze normally wasn't one to pry, but he had a sneaking feeling that he knew what was on the young cat's mind.

"It's Hazel, isn't it? You miss her too?" he asked in a whisper.

Gem glanced at her paws, "Yes, but it isn't just that. I'm worried that Crack might tell on us. Oh, things would be so much easier if we had gone out instead of Hazel. I miss how things used to be, with all of us. When Gold wasn't one of these dictators, Silver was wiser and not a pushover, and you and Hazel were there to protect me."

"To think, it only took a moment of you finally standing up to someone more powerful," Bronze muttered.

Gem's eye's snapped up in anger at her friend. She couldn't believe what he had just said. "Are you saying that this is all my fault?" Her blue eyes narrowed suddenly, with a malice that had not been there before. When her claws slid out, she took a step forward.

Bronze immediately regretted what he had just said, and tried to calm down the young cat, "No, I'm not saying that it's your fault. I'm just saying that it was bad timing. If it hadn't been a Peace Reaper, then we might not have gotten in this mess in the first place." The tom was slightly confused by the she-cat's change in demeanor. "Gem? C-calm down."

"Gem!" Bloodstorm called from his place above the other cats. The misty tom carefully made his way down to ground level, and was accompanied by a scarred gold tom and a huge black tom with a white ring of fur around his neck.

Though the leader loved watching his most valuable cats shred the pelts off of others, he couldn't have Bronze killed off just yet. He was an exceptional fighter. "Gold, get ahold of your punisher, before she kills your brother," he ordered the scarred tom. "Havoc, help him. Both of you bring her to me once she's tired out."

"Yes sir," both toms said in unison, and they padded away to try and calm down the enraged cat.

As Blue padded into the barn, he could hear the yowls and struggles of a confrontation. He hesitated for a moment, wanting to play it safe just in case it was Bloodstorm who was in a rage.

After a moment, though, he identified the raging voice as a she-cat, and he hurried along. He turned a corner around some hay bales, to see Havoc and Gold trying to restrain a cat that he couldn't identify.

"Hmm, is Dusk going on a rampage again?" Blue muttered as he squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at just who the she-cat was, that was giving the two strongest Peace Reapers a hard time. He then noticed the grey-eyed dark brown she-cat, sitting next to Quill. Both cats were looking on at the struggle with Quill enjoying the sight, and Dusk watching impassively. That ruled out the two most psychotic she-cats.

A screech of pain rang out through the barn. Only its familiarity caused Blue to pad a bit closer. It was then that he got a good look at just who the raging cat was. He also saw who had just yowled in pain.

It was Gem, and she had just killed Blue's mate.

It took a moment to register, but a grin spread across Blue's face.

Even though it was his mate who's neck the young, misty cat had bitten into, Blue didn't care at all. Knowing that such a small cat could have such power. It thrilled him. He thought about how such powerful blood could be combined with his, to create even stronger offspring that would be under his influence. If that could happen, then he would be the leader of the Peace Reapers.

Oh ambition, how beautiful it was. Blue had been waiting so long for a chance at power.

Deep inside Blue's head, a plan was forming; a plan that he would set in motion, as soon as possible. Finally he could get moving with what he had always wanted. He scoffed at the idiots who all thought him a nice, simple, kittypet.

All he needed were the right cats to set his plans into motion.

Briefly he thought of the red-eyed cat, Rainbowheart, and thought of how all her efforts were set on teaching the rebel cats. She wasn't going to fight against Bloodstorm though; that had to change. If he could find a way to enrage the she-cat, then it might give him the chance to get rid of Bloodstorm.

When the blue-grey tom suddenly felt like he was being watched, he got ready for a scolding from one of Bloodstorm's loyal "slaves". His muscles tensed, and he forced his face to become unreadable.

"Heh, what do we have here, plotting again are we Blue?" said a pelt-chillingly sweet voice. It was coming from behind Blue, in the shadows away from the other cats' prying eyes.

The voice was familiar to Blue, and a good sign that no one else would be suspecting him at the moment. He allowed his muscles to relax, and slowly turned his head, only allowing one amber eye to glance at the cat that hid in the shadows.

"Why whatever do you mean Crimson? I'm just simply observing our… surprisingly talented comrade," Blue let snicker escape his jaws.

"Oh, well in that case, might I partake in your thoughts on the she-cat?" Bright yellow eyes gleamed from the shadows with a cruel curiosity.

Blue shrugged his shoulders and smiled welcomingly, "I don't see why not. After all, we are both comrades under our great leader, Bloodstorm."

The shadows shifted. A tom manifested from them and, padding over, sat next to Blue. His pelt was red-brown, with unusual red splotches scattered about his fur. Upon closer inspection, one could easily identify them as dried blood.

Crimson smiled a full-fanged grin, a sharpened rat bone stuck out from between his teeth. "But soon, it shall be us that are in control, and we will rule."

Blue chuckled in his mind, loving the way that his companion thought. However, for now it was the tiny steps that they would take, until it was time to plan Bloodstorm's fall. Until then, he pushed those plans aside for later. Right now, the most important thing was getting closer to Gem while she was still young, and easy to bend. Then, when she was older, his first step of taking over would be set into motion.

He watched closely, as Havoc and Crack pinned the smaller cat down, while Gold dragged the lifeless body of Blue's dead mate away. He wouldn't miss her, she had been weak and he needed strong kits if he was to take over.

There was no more struggling for the misty she-cat. She was tired, and covered in blood.

Blue looked up to the second floor of the barn, and saw Bloodstorm gazing down at her. Deep down, he knew that his leader had a soft spot for the she-cat, and knew why.

That reason, he surmised, would be Bloodstorm's fall.

"Had enough have we now?" Bloodstorm glanced down at the tired and bloodied cat, from his perch atop a hay bale. He took in the fact that it was not her blood, but a couple of other cat's blood, that riddled her pelt and claws. One single she-cat had been killed from the confrontation, but Bloodstorm felt no need to care.

These beasts were beneath him, especially the weaker ones. Besides, there had been much less carnage then when he brought Quill or Dusk in to prove themselves. Bloodstorm merely counted himself lucky that Gem hadn't killed any of his good fighters.

Gem however, felt like she would be sick. She hadn't wanted to ever kill anyone, but it had happened anyway. All because she hadn't been in control. Tears were now pouring down from her eyes, and her body convulsed. "I-I don't know what happened."

Bloodstorm noted the cat's actions with a less than sympathetic look, but he knew that she wouldn't stop, unless he gave her what she needed. "Crying won't help, Gem. It never does. Think of this power as not a curse, but an accidental blessing."

Gem glared up at the cruel cat, "How can killing be deemed as a blessing?"

Bloodstorm considered her question, "I do not deem it to be killing, but the power, that is the blessing. I have high hopes for you, as well as that warrior cat when she joins. We are the more superior ones, Gem."

"But my friends-"

"They are not your friends," Bloodstorm stated calmly. "They may seem kind, and understanding, but deep down, you are nothing but a threat to them now. Eventually they will try and kill you, just because you're stronger than them- different. You cannot trust them Gem."

The tom leapt down from the hay bale and circled the young cat. His tail touched the tip of her ear. "But you can trust me. I'm your family, and I will protect you."

Gem took in Bloodstorm's words, "But Hazel and Bronze..."

"Hazel; if she cared about you, then she would have come for you by now don't you think?" Bloodstorm continued in a hushed tone. "And Bronze, he accused you of getting them into this mess didn't he?"

Shock flashed across Gem's eyes.

"Well what else could have set you off? After all, you've been trying so hard to keep your emotions and stress in check. You knew you would snap, and he goes and causes you to end up killing someone."

Gem looked down at her flexing claws digging into wood. Her brain was battling between what she thought and what Bloodstorm said. Deep down she knew that his words were a lure, but the other side of her was saying that he was right.

"They aren't your real friends. They will abandon you because of what you've done," Bloodstorm whispered. "But I am your friend Gem, and I will never let anyone ever hurt you."