Disclaimer: I don't own the Warriors. Erin Hunter does.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, ShastamaeFirepool and SmokeyStorm! ^^ They mean a lot to me. :D

Chapter 6: The Battle

The sun was climbing higher and higher into the sky as the warriors of ShadowClan waited for the rats to stream through the camp entrance. A pair of warriors were at either side of the entrance, poised to snatch and kill as many rats as possible before they got too far into the clearing.

When no rats came forward after a while, some of the warriors looked back and forth from Nettlestar and Redfur uncertainly. "Where are the rats?" Featherclaw asked as she gripped the dirt with unsheathed claws.

"They're out there. I can smell them," Ashlight mewed softly. "But what are they waiting for?" Murmuring from the cats assembled in the clearing talked among themselves as they speculated.

"I think the better question is why would they come attack us?" Foxstripe, the inquisitive elder, asked more to himself than the rest of the Clan. "Rats are scavengers, they don't hunt live prey."

"They got sick of eating crow-food all the time," Russetfoot replied dryly. "Why do we care why they are attacking? They are somewhere outside of our camp. They're a threat that needs to be taken care of." But at the mention of getting sick of crow-food, understanding dawned in Foxstripe's eyes.

As the Clan speculated why the rats weren't attacking, Redfur walked through the camp entrance tentatively, leaving Sootcloud and Brightnose at their original position at one side of the entrance. He scanned the field beyond and was dumbfounded when he didn't see any rats. As he walked further out with more confidence, he tasted the air and searched for their distinctive scent.

Suddenly, with a loud squeak, several of the rats surged forward out of nowhere, or so Redfur thought, and attacked him. He yowled in surprise as some of the rats managed to climb up his leg and cling to his red brown fur, leaving scratches and bites along the way.

He pelted back through the entrance and into the clearing. The Clan had been alerted by Redfur's yowl of surprise, so they had stopped chatting and lowered their bodies into a crouch, getting ready for the rats. But when they saw the four rats clinging to Redfur's fur, they hissed in astonishment at the size of them. They weren't just big, they were huge.

Redfur was snarling and trying to get them off him. He unsheathed his claws and tried to aim for the rat on his bushy brown tail, but the rat on his back distracted him by biting down hard into his flesh. He gave another yowl and rolled onto his back, trying to crush it under his weight in the process. Sootcloud and Brightnose, rushed forward from their position and came to Redfur's aid.

Redfur continued to attack the rats with his companion's help, but he could feel his body grow weak with pain and exhaustion. He let out another snarl in frustration. How can I be exhausted already? I trained hard to keep my strength and endurance at its peak.

By the time they were able to kill the third rat, which was hanging onto Redfur's shoulder, Redfur's attack had become wild and uncoordinated as his vision blurred and his whole body ached. Sootcloud and Brightnose had to avoid his paws or teeth as they continued to assault the final rat.

As the last rat fell away, dead, Redfur collapsed in a heap on the hard dirt without any strength to get up again. He could feel the sharp sting of every single rat bite that he had sustained. He sucked in a shallow breath as his claws feebly scrabbled the ground, searching for release from the intense pain.

"Redfur!" he distantly heard Sootcloud's cry of anguish as he felt someone licking his fur. That's weird. But he couldn't pinpoint why. His mind wouldn't focus and was wandering all over the place. He felt his body being dragged and, after a while, no movement at all. At this point, he didn't care what was happening around him. His vision was darkening and growing faint around the edges. At least the some pain was receding.

At the moment Sootcloud and Brightnose went to help Redfur, more rats had surged into the clearing. Ashlight and Featherclaw, who were on the other side of the camp entrance, snatched and killed as many rats as they went by. The other warriors ran and intercepted them from moving even further.

But there were too many and some moved around the warriors, going straight for the nursery, or so it seemed. Willowtail watched in horror as the rats continued heading toward her. Nettlestar jumped in front of Willowtail with a protective growl rumbling in his throat.

"They're going for the fresh kill pile," Foxstripe stated to the cats around him. "They were indeed sick of crow-food, it seems." Nettlestar looked at him, but didn't relax. He knew that there was a possibility that Foxstripe was wrong.

"Well, I'm not waiting to see if that's their real destination or here," Willowtail lashed her tail and ran forward with her claws unsheathed. Nettlestar followed and the two took down as many rats as they could, being careful to avoid having rats climb onto him. He had seen what happened to Redfur and hoped desperately that his deputy was okay. For a moment, a pained look flashed in his eyes, but cleared as he returned his attention to the battle in front of him. Foxstripe and Softpelt joined the fray.

But as the four cats launched their attacks, one group diverged and headed towards the fresh kill pile. The rest swarmed at the cats and some headed towards the nursery. Willowtail screeched in horror and renewed her attacks as she broke away from the one she was currently fighting. By the time Nettlestar finished off the rat, Willowtail was already in front of the nursery, warding them off.

But there were too many and some went inside."No!" Willowtail screeched viciously and fought even harder.

In her den, Swiftfeather could hear the sounds of battle raging outside. Her heart sank as she heard Sootcloud's anxious yowl. Not too soon later, Sootcloud and Brightnose appeared at her den, dragging in Redfur, who looked dead besides the shallow rise and fall of his flank.

"Thank you, you two," Swiftfeather said to the two warriors. They dipped their head and returned to the battle. Swiftfeather looked Redfur over, focusing on his face and then slowly down his flank. As she continued accessing his injuries, her golden eyes grew tighter and she let out a small hiss of pain as her heart ached. StarClan couldn't take him away yet! But then, she saw the slight relaxation of Redfur's muscles. Hope glimmered in her eyes.

She moved quickly to her store of supplies and took out the fresh burdock root that she had Heatherpaw get for her yesterday. A small glint of triumph appeared in her eyes. So grateful that I sorted through all my supplies yesterday.

And she quickly started chewing up the burdock root to treat Redfur's injury, all the while wishing that he would be okay.

Inside the nursery, the three kits were cowering in the corner furthest away from the entrance. Heatherpaw and Mudpaw was standing in front of them as the first of the rats entered. The two apprentices used the few techniques they had learned from their mentors about paired fighting.

Mudpaw had a wild look in his eyes as he swiped at the rats. His skill at fighting was much less developed than Heatherpaw's since he was slower at learning and loathed fighting, but he still did his best. I can't let Heatherpaw or the kits down!

The two apprentices fought valiantly as they killed a couple rats, but each rat was taking too long and soon, they were overwhelmed. The kits whimpered in fright as the rats started swarming up to them. Heatherpaw looked on in horror and let out the loudest shriek she could manage.

"Someone help!"

Nettlestar had seen Willowtail head towards the nursery and he dashed off after her. Along the way, he saw Softpelt and Foxstripe struggling with two rats and went to help them. Together, they killed the two rats as swiftly as he could. Then, he returned his attention back to Willowtail, who was fighting several rats outside the nursery alone, all the while screeching incoherent words. And then, he heard Heatherpaw's screech for help.

As he passed Willowtail, he tried to get his claws on as many rats as possible, but Willowtail shoved him away and pointed urgently with her tail to the nursery entrance. Nettlestar's heart twisted as he understood what Willowtail wanted him to do. With a last couple slashes, he ducked into the nursery.

He quickly took did a wide sweep and took in the situation in the nursery. The two apprentices were breathing heavily as they continued to fight the rats, though both were bleeding from their bites. His kits were behind them, but the rats had gotten past the apprentices and were attacking them.

Nettlestar snarled in rage as he saw his kits crying out in pain but still trying to claw the gigantic rats with their paws unsheathed. "No, you don't!" he growled. And ignoring his exhaustion and soreness, he hurled himself onto the big gray enemies. The apprentices with renewed faith upon seeing their leader, fought harder than before and, together, they gave the best they've got.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Heatherpaw saw a group of rats break off and headed to the opposite corner of the nursery. She didn't stop her attacks, but thought that it was weird. Then, understanding dawned in her young mind. There was a half eaten mouse and a blackbird over there. It was the kits' breakfast before they got distracted when Nettlestar ran into the clearing, yowling about the battle.

She killed the rat they were fighting and headed over to the prey, where she proceeded to toss it out of the nursery. She had heard Foxstripe state that they were only here for the fresh kill. She watched in awe as the rats stopped their attacks and followed the pieces of prey. And soon, the nursery was free of rats.

"No, StarClan! Please no!" Nettlestar whimpered, his voice slightly shaking. Heatherpaw, who had never heard Nettlestar's voice in this state, looked over to where he and Mudpaw were crouching, shocked. She padded over slowly and saw Nettlestar rapidly licking and nuzzling Whitekit and Graykit's fur. Heatherpaw looked over to Dapplekit and saw that the little kit's blue eyes were full of grief as she understood the situation. Whitekit and Graykit had gone to hunt with StarClan.

"Willowtail needs you, Nettlestar," Heatherpaw gently prodded him. She could hear her struggling with the rats outside along with Foxstripe. "There's nothing more you can do for them for now. Me and Mudpaw will stay here and look after them."

At the sound of Willowtail's name, Nettlestar looked up at the apprentice, his usual bright green eyes were dull with grief. She seemed to have grown several moons in the past few moments. "Thank you, Heatherpaw, Mudpaw," Nettlestar said as he looked from one apprentice to another, but his voice was filled with gratitude.

He got up from his position, shook himself out, and took a deep breath. The transformation from a broken father back to the confident leader was startling, though his eyes remained dull. He pushed his way out of the nursery.

"Wait, Nettlestar," Nettlestar stopped in his tracks and looked back at the dusty brown apprentice. "Tell the Clan to clear our fresh kill pile, the rats will follow. It's what I did with the prey that was in here." Nettlestar nodded and headed out of the nursery.

Immediately, he jumped into action as rats continue to assault Willowtail and Foxstripe. Once the immediate danger was over, Nettlestar whispered Heatherpaw's plan to her and she nodded. Together, Nettletsar and Willowtail dashed to what was left of the fresh kill pile and each took half of the measly fresh kill pile.

As they exited the camp, the ShadowClan warriors looked on with confusion, but the rats followed them out. They started attacking Willowtail and Nettlestar more viciously. Seeing the turn of events, Willowtail and Nettlestar sprinted towards the Carrionplace.

Nettlestar noticed that he had a stowaway on his shoulder and tried to shake it off, but the rat clung on. He then decided to ignored it and continue running, but when they were about half way to the Carrionplace, he collapsed.

"Nettlestar!" Willowtail screeched, effectively dropping all the fresh kill clamped in her mouth, and turned back to see what happened. The rat had found its way to Nettlestar's throat and had bit hard and deep into it. Blood was already staining the surrounding grass.

"Don't stop, Willowtail," Nettlestar rasped faintly. "Take all the prey to the Carrionplace. The rats will follow and the Clan will be safe." Willowtail shook her head fiercely.

"I won't leave you!" Willowtail cried out in distress.

"Yes, you will. That's an order," Nettlestar said as loudly as he could, his eyes hardening, knowing that Willowtail would continue to argue. "I'll be fine. I'll just lose a life, that's all." Indecision flashed across Willowtail's expression, torn between the loyalty to love and loyalty to the Clan and the warrior code. "Go, Willowtail!" he urged when she still didn't move. Sighing, Willowtail nodded and picked up the pieces of prey. After all, Nettlestar would still be there when she got back. She would be quick.

As Nettlestar watched her go, his heart shattered and he closed his eyes. I'm so sorry, Willowtail.

A/N: Thank you for reading! ^^ This chapter was much longer than the other ones, but I hope you guys didn't find it too bad. I kinda got carried away with writing all the action. xD Anyways, lemme know what you guys think. I'll really appreciate it. :D