Chapter 25

So here's another chapter…updated slightly quicker than usual. ;D Bit short though. :l Sorry. I hope you like it…it might not be all that good…anyways, please remember to review! Thank you!

Bubblestar's whole body tensed, and then she let out a loud yowl and the cats charged back at the oncoming animals. She jumped down off the rock she was perched on and dashed through the crowd of slashing claws and biting jaws to get to Coyotefur, who was still struggling against the massive, ugly tom who held him down.

Bubblestar crept up from behind and was about to jump on the tom when a twig snapped beneath her feet and he swung around, growling. Bubblestar bared her teeth in a defiant hiss back, and quickly slashed out. Her claws scraped his face and blood trickled down his cheek fur, but he was unfazed and snapped at her with his overly large, overly sharp teeth. She jumped back and then jumped forward again, kicking out with her back legs and then grabbing a hold of his thick neck and holding on, suffocating him.

His grip on Coyotefur loosened, and the WindClan warrior wiggled away from his grasp and turned back on him, hissing and spitting. His jaws clamped down on the tom's tail, making him howl in pain with what little breath he had left, and surprised Bubblestar by ripping it off entirely.

Blood leaking onto the packed dirt from the stump where the tom's tail had been, Bubblestar unwrapped herself from him and he collapsed, unconscious, with a deep thud. She could hear his weak, rasping breaths, notifying them that he was still alive.

Their eyes met, and they shared a short, silent conversation before nodding and running off to join the battle.

A large group of cats were teaming up against a large, grey dog with a pointed snout and a fierce, snarling face. It was more than twice the size of the cats, but with all of them together they were able to overwhelm it. Dragonheart from WindClan whispered a plan to Batwing, the ShadowClan deputy, and he nodded. A moment later they raced around the dog and attacked from the side and the back; seeing what they were doing, Dreamfur jumped up onto its shoulder and bit down with his teeth and sank his claws deep into its fur. All three cats' back claws dug into the dog's legs and eventually they buckled and it fell to the ground with a growl. The rest of the cats pounced on it and moments later it lay motionless.

Bubblestar, despite the overall situation, felt a small flutter of happiness at the willingness to work together and help each other the cats from all the Clans were showing as she passed by another group fending off two creatures similar to the ones that twisted Sapphirestone's paw. Except these ones were grey and, Bubblestar regarded with disgust, they had round, pink bottoms that they seemed to enjoy slapping when they screeched.

Bubblestar would have stopped to help the cats scattered around, but she knew that Vixenpelt and Chipmunkstripe were the ringleaders and if they were stopped, so would the other animals.

She scanned to crowd of blood and furious, screaming creatures—including the Clan cats—to find the two evil cats. With a small stroke of luck she saw the flash of copper as they tried to slink away from the battle. Bubblestar hissed fiercely and charged after them, blood pounding in her ears. She saw a shadow coming over her and realized with dread that a big creature had jumped over her in an attack. But before it could lay a paw on her, Runningsky intercepted it, pulling it to the ground headily. Bubblestar breathed a thanks and her friend winked back at her, smiling. "Anything for you. Now go on."

She nodded and charged off again. Before she even knew the RiverClan cat was there, Bubblestar had pounced onto Vixenpelt and pinned her to the ground. Chipmunkstripe wheeled around, startled.

"You little brat!" Vixenpelt growled, clawing at Bubblestar's legs, though she wouldn't budge.

"I know you can control these beasts," Bubblestar panted, glowering down at the vile cat beneath her. "Now put a stop to this nonsense."

Vixenpelt's mouth curved crookedly, dark humour glittering in her eyes. "What nonsense? I see no such thing."

A rumble erupted from Bubblestar's throat. "You know what I'm talking about."

"If you knew what it's like to love someone you know you can never be with," she mewed harshly, "then you'd realize that this"—she flicked her ears toward the battle—"is perfectly sensible."

Bubblestar's heart twisted. I do know what that's like, she wanted to say, but bit it back. "I don't think anything could make this look reasonable."

Vixenpelt let out a dry laugh. "Then you must not have a very open mind."

Bubblestar growled and then looked at Chipmunkstripe. "And you? What do you have to do with this?"

Chipmunkstripe's tail curled up in amusement. "I like bloodshed and battle. Others don't." She let out a laugh.

Bubblestar was confused. "I don't understand…weren't you both—"

"Clan cats? Yes. In WindClan," Vixenpelt replied.

Bubblestar's eyes widened, and she turned her head around to look at Coyotefur, whom she had temporarily forgotten about. He was being awfully quiet, and his eyes held hatred so strong she thought he might be able to kill a cat just by gazing at them.

"Coyotefur…" she began, but he cut her off.

"They were in WindClan. Vixenpelt was—"

A violent hiss stopped him, and he and Bubblestar whipped around to see what had happened. Wreathpaw was struggling to stand, her front shoulder bleeding heavily. Though she was injured, she had killed the ugly creature that had attacked her.

Suddenly, Vixenpelt let out a strange cry, and Chipmunkstripe soon joined in. Bubblestar's fur bristled as a new fear set in her stomach. Both she-cats were grinning maniacally. She could soon hear a new sound—a heavy thud that sounded like gigantic pawsteps.

And they were gigantic paws making the sound. Bubblestar let out a startled hiss as a huge mound of beige and brown fur appeared at the top of the hill. It was a giant cat, with thick, muscular legs, a large, tattered mane and an enormous muzzle with teeth larger and sharper than anything she'd ever seen. It opened its jaw wide and her fur ruffled with the force of the roar. When she looked into its eyes, she saw that it was angry—very angry.

"Do you like it?" Vixenpelt asked.

Chipmunkstripe added, "It's called a 'lion.'"

Forcing her voice to remain steady, Bubblestar called, "Lightpaw, take Chipmunkstripe, Vixenpelt and Wreathpaw back to the camp. Get Wreathpaw help and don't let those two out of your sight for a second." Coyotefur joined them. As they left, Chipmunkstripe turned around and shot Bubblestar a truly twisted, evil and amused look that sent a shiver down her spine. Vixenpelt cried out once more as they left the clearing, and the lion leapt at Bubblestar. She hissed and, on a whim, jumped back at it, claws unsheathed. She landed safely on its chest and dug her claws in, drawing blood. It shook around, and Bubblestar struggled to stay latched on, sinking her claws further into the lion.

Runningsky bounded over and hissed fiercely at it, spitting and baring his teeth. Narrowly dodging a huge paw slamming into him, he jumped onto the foot and then onto the lion's head. He brought a claw down into its eye, causing it to howl with pain. Runningsky bit into its ear and nearly tore the whole thing off. Instead, it lay hanging in its now bloodied mane.

The lion was even angrier now, but not as quick as before. Its movements were slow and slurred. It batted Bubblestar away heavily, and she landed on her back with a dull crash, but got right back up again. As it shook its head, Runningsky tangled himself into its mane so he wouldn't fall off.

She jumped up and raked her claws down its flank deeply, and the other cats seemed to register what was happening. Some stayed with the alien animals they were fighting, intent on killing the beasts, while the others flooded over to the lion and started attacking.

"Bubblestar!" She heard Runningsky calling her name, and looked up. "At the other end of the clearing, the hill is more of a cliff! If we can push the beast off it will surely die!"

She took a moment to register, and then she nodded. "To the cliff! Push it off!" she yelled to the other cats, and her deputy joined in. Soon enough, they were edging the behemoth cat towards the ledge. Blood pouring down its face blinded its one good eye, and it got even sloppier, making it easier to take it over to the cliff.

After a while of fighting and struggling that seemed to all blur together, the lion was close enough to push over the edge. Its back leg dropped off, and it quickly hopped back to solid ground, pushing its feet into the dirt for a better stance, making it harder to push off. It suddenly seemed to know what was going on and stared over them almost knowingly.

"You push, and I'll pull!" Runningsky screamed out. Bubblestar hesitated.

"How will you get down?" she asked.

"Don't worry about that!"

"No, I—"

"Just do it!" he demanded fiercely, piercing her with a gaze that seemed to automatically make her paws move. She heaved herself against its legs, and other cats did the same while Runningsky gripped its mane and dragged it backwards. With one final pull, the lion lost its balance and toppled backwards over the ledge. Bubblestar rushed over in a panic.

"Runningsky!" she shrieked. The RiverClan deputy was tangled in the fur of the lion's mane and couldn't get free. He'd known he wouldn't get free when he'd suggested his plan.

Runningsky looked back up at her with a sad smile, love and pain in his eyes.

"Goodbye," he meowed softly, his voice carrying up to her on the wind. And they hit the hard ground beneath them with a thud and a sickening crunch.

LES GASP! NO! RUNNINGSKY!

…Nuff said, please review! What do you think!