Hey everyone! Wow, I'm finally getting better at updating. I've found new interest in this series, and I would really like to get it done quickly. Well, not too quickly, otherwise readers might loose interest. Hopefully they won't :)

Stormikat: lol I suppose I should have described it better. They were near ThunderClan camp, and Flamepaw is the fastest in his litter ;) I love to improvise though...

Icethroat21: Thanks!

Shiningspirit: Found out what? That I'm finally updating?

Chapter 8

"Speckledface, what in the name of StarClan are you doing?" Ashstorm cried. Mistsong tried to get up, but she didn't dare, not when she was surrounded by so many WindClan cats. She saw her deputy, standing beside Lightningstar. To her surprise, Lightningstar didn't look shocked. She just looked very sad to know that one of her warriors had turned traitor.

"What should have been done moons ago," Speckledface snarled. She pressed a paw against Mistsong's neck, where scars from when Cinderfoot had attacked remained. Out of jealousy and rage, Cinderfoot had ambushed Mistsong several moons ago in an effort to keep her quiet. But when Mistsong made a full recovery, the two she-cats made up after Lightsnow admitted he loved Cinderfoot. "It's time this...creature was put out of her misery." Speckledface emphasized the word 'creature', which only made Mistsong even more furious.

But Speckledface was twice her size, and more powerfully built. The WindClan cats just sneered at her while Speckledface's claws began to unsheathe. Mistsong writhed underneath her attacker, but she found no chance of escaping.

Mistsong gasped when she realized that a warrior was running towards Speckledface. She saw that it was Jayflight. His eyes were narrowed with rage as he rammed into Speckledface, who yowled in surprise. Her eyes blazed with untold fury as she swiped a claw across his face. Gasping for breath, Mistsong rose slowly to her paws and tried to help Jayflight. But the WindClan cats stopped her from helping. They blocked her path, staring at her mockingly.

"ThunderClan, attack!" Lightningstar's battle cry was taken up by all of the ThunderClan warriors. The WindClan cats tensed, but it was too late.

Snowstorm was the first to meet a WindClan cat. His fangs buried into the fur of Milkweed, a cream-colored warrior. Mistsong was already on her paws, swiping her claws across a scrawny she-cat's muzzle. The she-cat wailed in pain as her claws scored their mark.

She tried to look for Speckledface and Jayflight, but they were no where to be seen. Lightningstar was already biting into the neck of Foxstar, who had tried to shove her to the side. But Lightningstar was quick, and had already seen the move coming. The ThunderClan leader dodged to the side and bit down on Foxstar's paw, causing him to yowl in pain.

Where are Jayflight and Speckledface? Mistsong thought desperately. There were too many writhing bodies for her to make them out.

Then she spotted them. They were rolling towards Snakerocks. To her horror, she saw that an adder had been sunning itself. Its beady eyes blinked when it saw what was rolling towards it.

Every limb in her body told her to cry out and stop them. But Mistsong remained glued to the ground, watching in utter horror as they spat at each other. The adder hardly had time to think as it struck both of their shoulders.

Mistsong wanted to cry out Jayflight's name, but she was stopped by another WindClan tom. Without hesitating, she lunged forward and struck his muzzle hard with her paw. The tom looked around in confusion when he realized that she had disappeared in the snow again. She spun around, meeting his tail. With one sharp bite, she bit down as hard as she could until the WindClan warrior cried for mercy.

It took her several moments to realize that ThunderClan was winning. Lightningstar had Foxstar firmly in her jaws, while the other warriors were starting to flee. Foxstar writhed madly under Lightningstar's fangs, until he suddenly stopped moving at all.

There was a cry of outrage from a tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat. Mistsong recognized her as the deputy, Deerleap. "You've killed him!" she cried.

Lightningstar stepped back and shook her head. Mistsong followed her gaze and saw that he was still breathing, but barely. "He is losing a life," she meowed.

Deerleap's eyes were wide with panic as the rest of WindClan passed her by. Foxstar suddenly coughed and struggled to his paws. His eyes glittered with rage when he opened them. He had a long wound around his neck, where Lightningstar had bitten down. It reminded Mistsong of her own scar, and she felt a shudder run down her spine.

"This isn't over," Foxstar spat. He limped towards Deerleap, who took careful precautions towards her bleeding leader.

"Make sure they are all gone," Lightningstar meowed to Lightsnow and Snowstorm.

The two warriors nodded and took off. Mistsong slowly rose to her paws and padded towards where Speckledface and Jayflight had been. They were still, bodies cold from the frost. She pressed her paw against Jayflight's fur. It felt raw and stiff, cold and lifeless.

"Two more warriors, gone because of the Eclipse." Mistsong whirled around. It was Ashstorm who had spoken. His eyes were dark with grief. Jayflight had been his younger brother. She couldn't bare to stand the grief that would be felt tonight, after the betrayal of Speckledface and the death of Jayflight.

"He was a brave warrior, ready to defend himself," Lightningstar added as she joined them. "Applepaw will need a new mentor."

Ashstorm's eyes narrowed, while Mistsong bowed her head. Applepaw had only just gotten over the loss of her brother, Flickerkit. How would she cope with knowing that her mentor was dead? She hadn't been in the battle, but Mistsong knew that she would soon find out what had happened. She shook her head at the horrible thought. The Clan was loosing far too many cats. At this rate, they would hardly have any warriors left for the worst of leafbare.

When Snowstorm and Lightsnow returned to tell Lightningstar that Foxstar and the rest of WindClan were gone, the rest of the warriors returned to camp. Mistsong helped Lightningstar and Ashstorm drag Jayflight's body back to camp. It felt strange to ignore Speckledface. But when Mistsong glanced back at the cream-furred body, she saw that her face was twisted in a scowl.

Mistsong's limbs were heavy with exhaustion after fighting so long. She had hoped that this day would bring peace to ThunderClan. But the battle with WindClan left her shaken. She knew that her day was far from over though. She would have to watch Applepaw's reaction when the young apprentice learned Jayflight was dead.

"Let all cats old enough gather around the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Lightningstar had already launched herself onto the Highrock. Most of the Clan was already out. Whiskerpaw and Oakpaw were sitting beside Hawkpaw and Applepaw. Mistsong watched Applepaw's expression as Jayflight's body was laid out on the ground in the clearing. The reddish tabby didn't seem to show any emotion as she watched.

"After the battle with WindClan, we have found a tragic loss," Lightningstar explained when there were several shocked expressions. By now, most warriors had noticed Jayflight. "Speckledface has betrayed us, and is now dead. But her death came with a price. Jayflight died valiantly, fighting her."

Wails of grief and outrage followed Lightningstar's words. Mistsong had already known what Speckledface was up to. She guessed that Speckledface had disappeared into WindClan territory to inform Foxstar about what had happened with Roseleaf. She wondered what the tortoiseshell queen thought of it all, but Roseleaf had ducked inside. Chillgaze was with her though, providing comfort.

"Jayflight also had an apprentice," Lightningstar continued. "Swiftclaw, you are young, but you are also ready for an apprentice. Fallstripe was your mentor, and I expect you to pass on what you have learned to Applepaw."

Applepaw's eyes narrowed as Swiftclaw's widened. Mistsong blinked in surprise.

Swiftclaw had been one of the cats to make fun of her during her first days as an apprentice. He had even been good friends with Eclipse before her brother joined EclipseClan. She knew that he was arrogant and boastful, but he might make a good mentor. But Mistsong had a bad feeling that Applepaw wasn't going to make life easy for Swiftclaw.

Eh, sorry for the crappy ending. I'm watching Big Cat Week right now and I'm a little distracted while typing, but I'm glad this was done. Please review!