"Come," said Doom. "Let's go find some shelter."
"I know of a good place," said Ice. "This way." She lead them to one of the gardens that Slashpaw remembered exploring earlier that day. Near the back was a mini Twoleg nest. At the front were two large doors big enough for a Twoleg to walk through. One was open slightly, providing enough room for the cats to slip in.
It was warmer inside the building which Doom explained was called a 'tool shed'. There were many strange (and some dangerous-looking) objects inside that Slashpaw could not imagine the use for.
Once all three cats were seated comfortably, Doom spoke.
"My worst suspicions have been confirmed," he said, his voice grave and his blood-red eyes glinting dangerously.
"And what suspicions would those be?" Slashpaw asked tentatively when Doom did not continue.
"My brother has returned," Doom growled.
"...Your brother Chester?" asked Slashpaw.
Slashpaw was surprised when his father's whiskers twitched with amusement.
"Yes, my brother Chester,"he said. "Ah... how he hates that name...."
"So he calls himself Blood, doesn't he?" asked Ice suddenly, head tilted, eyes calculating.
"Why, yes he does!" Doom said, looking surprised. "How did you know?"
"Easy. Slashpaw told me about your conversation with Ringo – the loner that lives in the goat barn on the farm. He thought you were a cat called Blood. And then, when you were talking to Whiskers, you almost asked if he had seen Blood, but you caught yourself and said Chester instead."
"Very nice," said Doom. "You're one sharp cat, Ice."
"Anyway," Slashpaw cut in, "your brother is back. Why is that so awful?"
Doom sighed, and the hard, unreadable look came back on his face. After a moment, he spoke. "My mother was a loner," he said. "Her name was Princess. She raised us – my siblings and I – as loners in an alley not far from here. There was three of us: me, the oldest; then Blood, named Chester back then; and Lily, the youngest. Lily and I were always very close. She was this pretty little calico: very dainty, very sweet. She was everything to me, and I was her big brother, her protector.
"When Princess disappeared, I had to take care of both of them. We couldn't have been much older than you two are now. Blood and I had never really gotten along that well, but after Princess vanished, it got worse. I don't know why. Maybe he was just having a hard time coping with it all. I'm not sure. He was angry all the time, and took it all out on me, mostly. Lily hated it when we argued. Once we were having a really bad fight. Both of us were yelling. Blood's claws were out, and it took all the self-control I had to keep mine sheathed. And then ..."He paused and took a deep breath. "And then Lily was begging us to stop, and then Blood screamed .... He screamed and screamed at her to be quiet because this wasn't her business." Doom's voice was shaking. "But she wouldn't .... That silly little she-cat wouldn't be quiet, and then ...." His voice broke, and there was silence. Slashpaw stared at his father. He had never seen him so upset.
"What happened then, Slash?" asked Ice gently. Doom seemed to take heart at her use of his real name, and he continued.
"Blood broke," he said. "He just snapped. He lashed out at her with his claws.... And then she was dead, lying there in a pool of blood." Slashpaw gasped. Ice was watching Doom with an expression of utmost pity mingled with horror on her face.
"I couldn't believe it," Doom went on, spitting angrily. "His first murder. We both just stared at her for a moment in shock, and then I couldn't take it anymore. I leaped at Blood and we fought. I was so angry, and I was powered by my grief and rage, so of course I won. I wanted to kill him, but I couldn't bring myself to slay the dirty coward. No matter how much I hated him, he was still my brother, my own kin. So I drove him away. I told him that if I ever saw his face again, I would kill him, and I meant it. I had never been so angry, or so sad. The only time that ever compared was when Silvertail died." Doom broke off and stared into space, lost in these bittersweet memories.
"I'm sorry," Slashpaw said quietly.
"Oh, Doom," Ice sighed. "I didn't know. That's terrible."
Doom shook his head vigorously. "Don't mind me," he growled. "It just makes me so mad.... Lily didn't deserve to die. She was so sweet and so innocent... never hurt anything if she could help it...."
Slashpaw let him sit in silence a while before asking, "So why did you tell us this?"
"Blood is back," Doom said, eyes burning. "He must pay for his crimes. But, Slashpaw, you know very well another reason that this is important."
"Wha–? I do?"
"I was accused of murdering Graystar and those other warriors," Doom said. "We both know it wasn't me. But that one cat... what's his name...."
"Bluepaw?"
"Yes, that's it. Bluepaw is sure that he saw me leading the rogues that attacked them. Slashpaw, no one but Lily and our mother could tell me and Blood apart. That's how much alike we looked."
"I..." Slashpaw was confused. Then, very suddenly, it hit him. "Wait, you're saying that Blood killed Graystar and the others?"
"Exactly. And now, Slashpaw, you must decide what we do next."
"What do you mean?"
"What should we do now that we have this knowledge? Do we move on in search of a new home for the two of us to settle down in?"
Slashpaw shook his head. "No, we can't do that. We have to go back to PineClan and clear your name. And then, maybe, you could help us catch Blood and punish him for what he did."
Doom looked at his son warmly. "That's exactly what I thought you'd say." he turned to the she-cat, who was sitting quietly next to Slashpaw. "And what about you, Ice?" he asked. "How are you going to get back to your farm?"
"I'm not," she said. "I'm coming with you."
"Coming with us?" Doom asked, caught off-guard. Slashpaw wasn't surprised. I knew she wouldn't want to abandon us, he thought with a rush of affection for her.
"Of course I'm coming along!" Ice said indignantly. "I'm not going back to that boring old farm. Life is more of an adventure with you two. Plus, you're my friends. I'm not leaving you."
Doom looked at her for a moment. Slashpaw couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"All right then," he said after a while. "We leave tomorrow. Let's go find something to eat."
Doom lead the way out the tool shed, followed by Ice. The she-cat flicked Slashpaw's shoulder companionably with her tail as she passed.
The trio managed to catch a scrawny mouse and a thin, tiny rat between the three of them. As they began to eat, Ice looked up at the eldest cat.
"Doom," she said slowly, "can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"I was just wondering... From what Slashpaw's told me, Blood has been a problem in PineClan for quite some time now. Why didn't you think that it was him before now?"
Doom chewed thoughtfully for a moment, and then replied. "I'm not sure, exactly. I guess I had tried to forget about him for so long that it eventually worked. I guess I didn't want to accept that he was back in my life."
Ice sized him up for a moment, that intelligent, calculating look back on her face.
"Look!" Slashpaw said suddenly. A very plump mouse was scurrying around the outside of the alley where the cats were eating.
"I'll get it," said Ice, spotting the prey. She began creeping forward. When she reached the end of the alley, she sprang forward, claws outstretched. Her timing was a bit off, and the mouse spotted her and had a chance to dart away. With an angry hiss, Ice propelled herself after it, disappearing from Slashpaw's sight around the corner of the alley.
Doom purred with amusement. "You can't say she doesn't have enthusiasm," he chuckled. Slashpaw purred in agreement, and the two resumed their meal.
Slashpaw suddenly bolted to his paws, fur standing on end. He had just heard a terrified screech sound from the direction the their companion had disappeared to.
"Ice!" he cried, and sprinted toward the sound, Doom close behind. As he skidded around the corner, he saw in horror what had happened. A Twoleg had Ice wrapped in his arms. Ice was struggling, but the Twoleg was holding her tightly, and she was unable to claw at or bite him. The Twoleg forced her into a plastic box with a metallic, web-like door and placed it inside the back of his monster, which was parked on the road nearby. He got inside as well and the monster roared to life.
"Hurry!" Doom cried, dashing toward the car. "We can't let it get away!" Slashpaw followed, not caring that the rough pavement was tearing at his pads, making them bleed. Ice had said herself that they were friends, and no friend of his was going to be abducted by Twolegs if he could help it.
This monster was different than most that Slashpaw had seen so far. It was larger, and the back was flat and open to the sky. The two cats reached the back end of the monster just as it began to move. Doom leaped upwards, into the back of the monster.
"Slashpaw!" he cried. "Jump! Quickly!" Slashpaw obeyed, although he was certain that he would not make it, that it was too high up....
Yet his few, short weeks of training – leaping onto low tree branches and springing across streams and fallen logs – had paid off. Slashpaw's two forepaws made contact with the cold, hard metal of the monster, and Doom lunged forward, grabbing Slashpaw's scruff and dragging him onto the safety of the monster.
"Phew," Slashpaw sighed, flopping down onto the freezing metal. "I made it."
"Yes, you did," Doom said, purring slightly.
"Now what?"
"Now we wait for the monster to stop so that we can bust Ice out."
"Okay," Slashpaw said. "Sounds like a plan."