I finally finished Chapter 5! This was the most exciting & longest chapter I have written yet! *sighs out of triednezz* Please R&R! Your feedback is supported! ;D

~NOTE~ Sorry for the long length of the chapter. it was just very fun to write! Thankiez! :P

Approximate words in Chapter 5: (2,694)

Chapter 5

"My kits!" Swiftpelt screamed in alarm. "No! My kits! StarClan, no!" Swiftpelt yowled, disdained and broken.

Dawnpaw was still at the entrance of the nursery, tears running down his cheeks. Dawnpaw wondered if these tears were from sadness, or him trying to contain his anger. He was shaking, breathing heavily as he heard Swiftpelt mourn. Dawnpaw's ambition transposed, all his mind was focused on getting revenge on the assassin who did this all for cold blood.

Dawnpaw turned to trot away when he heard a yowl of hope behind him. It was Swiftpelt. "Shadekit is still alive!"

As soon as the words hit his ears, he spun around quickly and raced inside the nursery. Dawnpaw didn't have time for words, all he wanted to do was rub his muzzle against her silky black fur. Dawnpaw turned to see the twitching black shape, wounds gushing blood. Dawnpaw stared in horror.

Swiftpelt swung her head toward Dawnpaw. "Go get Eclipsefoot, the medicine cat!" she yelled.

Dawnpaw flinched at her harsh tone, but knew she was wanting to save Shadekit's life as much as he did. Dawnpaw raced out of the nursery and across the clearing. He seen Eclipsefoot sharing tongues with Dustheart. As Dawnpaw was closing in on her, she quickly turned away from Dustheart and started to sprint toward Dawnpaw.

"What is it?" Eclipsefoot mewed with distress.

"All the kits are dead," he muttered sadly, "Shadekit was the only one found alive but she's losing too much blood; she needs your help!"

Eclipsefoot nodded, grabbing all her herbs. Dawnpaw and her darted toward the nursery entrance, all hopes still lifting. Eclipsefoot gasped in horror at the sight of the blood-spattered kits laying motionless in the nursery. She turned to Swiftpelt, who was next to Shadekit covering her in licks. Eclipsefoot raced toward Shadekit, pressing cobwebs on the open flesh that layed upon her blood-stained coat

Dawnpaw lifted his paw, ready to pace toward them until he felt pain clinch onto his back. Claws? Wha-, Dawnpaw didn't have time to finish his thoughts as he spun around to see a huge ginger tom hanging over him, having Dawnpaw helplessly pinned by his heavyweight.

"Heh-heh," he heard the bright ginger tom convulse before he felt huge claws rake across his face.

Dawnpaw let out a loud wail, alarming Eclipsefoot and Swiftpelt. Swiftpelt shot up from her position beside Shadekit and sprang in front the invader, her lips drew back in a snarl.

Pain burnt Dawnpaw like fire in his heart. Where is everyone? Where's Jadepaw? Where's Ashstar? Where's Snowtail? Why aren't they here, saving me? He thought with sorrow, This may be my fate, my destiny... What about Bluefeather and the prophecy she had given me? Dawnpaw's desirable ambition burnt through him more than the acrimonious pain. Dawnpaw kicked the tom's belly, unsheathing his claws, remembering Jadepaw's advice and his cheerful tone when they were still little kits: I just do what my body tells me to do! Just do what you think is best; it'll work!

The attacker seemed to not have felt Dawnpaw's blows. Dawnpaw flailed his limbs, scraping his claws across the ginger tom's belly. The invader snarled, "I could flail you right here, right now. But lucky for you, Flare wants you alive."

The ginger tom began to bend down to hook his fangs around the young apprentice's scruff.

Fear ran through Dawnpaw's scraggy body. Flare? What's he talking abo-, he couldn't finish his thoughts as the weight on him began to fade away. He could see Ashstar and Swiftpelt pinning down and attacking the murderer. Thank StarClan! He thought with relief.

Dawnpaw turned to observe all that was going on. Eclipsefoot had Shadekit's scruff clinched in her jaws and was taking her to the safety of the medicine cat's den. Dawnpaw sighed with relief, turning his head toward the murderer with burning rage. He lunged forward, ready to rake his sharp claws across the blood-thirsty murderer's face. We'll see who will flail who! He thought as he sprang toward the ginger tom, claws getting ready to rake across the assassin's face.

The tom flung Ashstar and Swiftpelt off of him, and turned to face Dawnpaw as he leaped. Dawnpaw scraped his claws across the enemy's flank.

The murderer drew back and snarled. "I'll be back, don't you forget it. You better watch your back." With the words spat out, he turned to retreat into the bushes.

Jadepaw and Pinestripe just made their way through the gorse tunnel right after the rogue cat had fled. A shocked emphasis jumped into Jadepaw's body as he ran toward Dustheart's body, then turned to see Dawnpaw's scarred face and fur. "What happened to you?" he asked with worry.

"I'm okay," he muttered with anger, "but the kits aren't and neither is Dustheart. They all have gone to hunt with StarClan..." A tear rolled down Dawnpaw after telling him. "Shadekit is the only one still living. She's badly injured."

Jadepaw's expression changed from shock to horror. "Who did all this!" he demanded with anger.

Dawnpaw sighed. "I don't know..." he trailed off, looking away with frustration. He turned back to Jadepaw, who seemed to look more worried about him than anyone else. "The assassin attacked me. He told me that his leader, Flare, want's me alive." Dawnpaw didn't know if he could go on. He forced himself to continue: "He said he'll be back."

Jadepaw's eyes were wide with terror. "I'm going to go check on Shadekit," Jadepaw mewed, "I'm sorry Dawnpaw, if only I was here sooner, maybe we could have preven--"

"It wouldn't have mattered!" he broke out, losing control of his fury. "We couldn't have stopped him from coming if we were still at camp. If we were here at the camp, he would have captured me or even murder me. . ." he trailed off. Part of him wished he was at camp, so he could have turned himself in to save his clan from all this bloodshed. The other half was glad he'd been out, unharmed and safe.

"This is my fault," he muttered, "I caused my clan death... if I never came to the clan, no lives would have been claimed but mine. They're after me, no other cat," Fury burned though him. I have no reason to be here. All I've caused was murder and bloodshed, he thought with dismay.

"It's not your fault!" Jadepaw retorted, nudging him on his side, "you didn't know they were going to attack the camp!" Jadepaw mewed, trying his best to cheer up his friend.

Dawnpaw looked up at Jadepaw. I know it's my fault; they're after me. If I turn myself in, I can save my clan from further bloodshed, he thought bitterly. Dawnpaw didn't want to think about it anymore. Now all he wanted to do was curl up in his den and rest for a moon.

"Thanks," he mewed, not meeting Jadepaw's eyes. Dawnpaw remembered about his first prey he had caught earlier that day, before all this. "Jadepaw, follow me. I have to show something to you," he mewed trying to change the subject.

Jadepaw nodded and followed Dawnpaw toward the spot where he had left the vole he had caught. "I caught this while I was learning how to hunt!" he boasted cheerfully, suddenly forgetting about all that had happened that day.

"Holy StarClan!" he applauded, "that things huge!"

Dawnpaw found himself smiling, enraptured by Jadepaw's compliments; always adding hilarity in his voice.

Ashstar padded toward them, with an unreadable emotion on his face. "Dawnpaw, Jadepaw," his voice cracked with sadness, "would you like to be the first ones to share tongues with Dustheart for the last time?"

They both nodded and meandered toward the motionless dark-brown body. They shared tongues with him together with disdain.

Why couldn't I have been here to stop all this, he surmised as he finished sharing tongues with his fellow friend.

Moving shapes began to appear in the gorse tunnel at the side of Dawnpaw's vision. His muscles tensed violently, getting ready to defend himself, but he released his muscles as he realized it was Emberpelt and Lightpaw returning from their training with Ferntail and Twilightpaw closely behind them.

Dawnpaw seen Twilightpaw turn to glance at Dawnpaw in bewilderment, observing all his wounds. Twilightpaw became puzzled as she noticed that Dustheart and three kits laid motionless in the middle of the clearing. Twilightpaw and Lightpaw broke away from their mentors to gaze down upon the now dead cats.

Guilt overwhelmed Dawnpaw. Why? Why could this happen all because of me? He thought in dismay. He began to start panting angrily while gazing down on his paws.

Twilightpaw and Lightpaw began to rush toward Jadepaw and Dawnpaw with shock. "What happened!" Twilightpaw constrained while looking at Dawnpaw with puzzlement in both Lightpaw's and Twilightpaw's eyes.

Dawnpaw struggled to break free from the grips of his guilt. Dawnpaw drew his head up, his guilt exchanged with anger. "Nothing! That's what I am! I'm the reas-" Dawnpaw stopped the words spilling from his mouth when he realized he was speaking outloud.

"Wha-what?" Twilightpaw mewed with discomfort.

Dawnpaw turned away, trotting away. Dawnpaw felt Twilightpaw's bright blue gaze still fixed on him. He turned his head around to see that Jadepaw began to explain. Yeah, you do that Jadepaw, he thought rancorously. Dawnpaw noticed that his paws were bringing him to Eclipsefoot's den. I'll see how Shadekit is doing, he decided in his head.

Dawnpaw padded through the den, noticing Eclipsefoot leaning over Shadekit with a worried look spread on her face.

"Will she be okay?" he asked, afraid of the answer that laid ahead.

"I don't know," she admitted, "she lost a lot of blood. I put cobwebs over her wounds and fed her poppy seeds to reduce pain. It's up to StarClan now."

StarClan! Has StarClan done this to us? He thought scornfully. "I hope she will live..." he mewed with a pang of hope in his voice.

"I do too," she agreed, "she's a strong and healthy kit. I have high hopes for her."

Dawnpaw heard Ashstar's familiar call. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting."

Eclipsefoot shot Dawnpaw a look when she had noticed he was ignoring the call. "You're not a kit anymore, you know." Eclipsefoot reminded.

Dawnpaw had forgotten; all this happening at one time had made him stupid. "Sorry," he mewed embarrassingly, "are you coming?" he asked as he was about to depart from the den.

"No," she replied, "I have to continue to look after Shadekit."

"Alright," he mewed, "I'll come back to check on her."

The medicine cat nodded as Dawnpaw made his way out of the den and positioned himself into the crowd of cats. Dawnpaw was scanning through every cat to find Jadepaw. He finally spotted him next to the other apprentices', still exchanging words with each other. I'll leave them be. After all, they need to know "everything" about what happened, he thought in his mind sarcastically.

Instead of joining them, he turned to head toward to where Snowtail was so he could seek comfort from Snowtail's comforting words; like she always does.

Disappointment grasped and choked him when he noticed she was in a deep conversation with Ferntail and Maplefeather, the ones who rejected Dawnpaw when he was first arriving into the clan. I wish Ashstar would have listened to them, he thought feeling destroyed.

Dawnpaw turned away, feeling neglected. So this is what it's like to be alone? To have nobody comfort you, he thought, memories from his past flashing through his mind.

Dawnpaw found a spot at the back of the crowd to sit and listen to Ashstar.

"As you know, a rogue cat has attacked our camp; killing Swiftpelt's kits and a noble warrior, Dustheart," Ashstar rasped with dismay.

Cats began to break out into shocked breaths, with disbelief in their eyes.

All because of me, Dawnpaw added silently to himself.

"Shadekit was the only kit to survive from the attack and was badly injured. She is in the medicine cat's den, hanging onto her life," he announced, "Eclipsefoot has done everything to help her. It's up to StarClan to take her from us."

Exasperated meows from the crowd had built up, but vanished as Ashstar began to speak once more.

"All the cats who died today are now with StarClan," he continued, "they deserve the proper death ceremony."

The word death rang in Dawnpaw's ears in silent whispers. Dawnpaw shook his head to get rid of all the things that were going on in his mind. He returned to listen to Ashstar carefully.

"Dawnpaw and Jadepaw have already done their vigil and shared tongues with Dustheart," Ashstar's gaze turn to Jadepaw and then to Dawnpaw. "They will be the first ones to share tongues with their adopted brothers and sisters," he meowed, flicking with his tail for them to come forward and share tongues with them.

Dawnpaw obeyed reluctantly. He didn't want to look at the results that he'd caused, but he had no choice.

Jadepaw strode toward the motionless bodies, along with Dawnpaw. When their bodies were right in front of him, he began to share tongues with them one last time before he said farewell forever.

When they had finished, Ashstar allowed the rest of the cats to share tongues with both the kits and Dustheart. All the cats seemed to be lost in darkening thoughts as they padded up to them.

It didn't take long for every cat to get their turn to share tongues with the dead cats who died before the rogue cat. They all finished their mourning. Pathetic, every cat in this clan are worthless, Dawnpaw's mind muttered softly. The apprentice realized his anger was getting to his head, and he pushed his painful thoughts away.

Ashstar dismissed the clan after ordering a patrol of cats to bury the slaughtered bodies. Dawnpaw radiantly padded to the apprentices' den, awaiting a long rest. Maybe a good night's rest would cheer me up, he thought hopefully as he trotted toward the apprentices' den sleepily. He entered the den quietly and found moss-bedding to lay down on.

Today flashed by in his mind. Then he remembered the murderer's cold words: I'll be back, don't you forget it. You better watch your back.

=OOOOOOOOOOOOOO; I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it and don't forget to review! :3