Hi, everyone, I'm back! I hope you all liked the last chapter. Congratulations to Cloudsplash3 on being the 50th reviewer!

Reviews!

Hollyclaw: Thanks! Ashpaw's about the same age, but he's slightly older, probably by a moon or so. I don't really know for sure :)

Callie the Cat Goddess: Yeah, it was definitely about time. He's not really going to be too mysterious once you get to know him. He's more of the teasing, hilarious type... well, you'll see. It definitely would not have been fun for him, especially with Snowstar being the only cat who knows about him being alive. Thanks!

DragonFrost9000: I checked out your story! It's pretty good, too!

Archangel of ShadowClan: Wow, lol. But I feel the same, though, about Snowstar. Yes, there's more :) Thanks for reviewing!

Kittykat from US: I've never thought of her name and broken it up like that before, but yeah... I guess that works :)

Guest: Brightshadow's father is dead, and she doesn't have any siblings... or does she *wink*. No, I'm just being ridiculous. I'm thinking of writing an extra one or two chapters about Snowstar's past, so you'll see all that then.

CrazedbyAnimals: Lol, thanks! Yes, but I don't think Brightshadow will be seeing too much of Redfire any more, since Redfire's the deputy and Brightshadow's basically a criminal who will be executed soon.

Cloudsplash3: I don't have a prophecy in mind, as of now. Congratulations on being the 50th reviewer!

Sootfire: Yep, she's just that good, lol. No, he's not. They're just close friends. Thank you so much!

Back to the story...

Chapter 8

"All this is wonderful," Brightshadow mewed, quietly so that Rainclaw and Shadestorm wouldn't hear. They were probably asleep, anyway, she reflected, but she wasn't going to take any chances. "But do you have a plan on how to get us up through the top? It's a little too high, don't you think?"

Ashflame snorted. "I thought you already had something in mind."

Brightshadow glared. Mouse-brained tom.

"All right, all right," Ashflame muttered. "I didn't think of anything. So let's try and come up with something together, now. In the short time we have." Brightshadow rolled her eyes and looked around, thoughtfully, her breath catching. Ashflame was right.

They didn't have much time left.

Brightshadow shrugged. "I think the best option we have is doing the same thing that we did to create the hole in the first place." Ashflame stared blankly at her. "Oh, for StarClan's sake. The pile of branches that we used. I'm not sure it's big enough, though."

"We can jump, can't we?"

"Do you have any idea how unstable those branches are?" Brightshadow huffed, exasperated. "All right, it's the best we've got."

Ashflame purred. "I knew that sooner or later, you'd have to admit that I'm always right." Brightshadow snorted and turned away. The gray tom padded after her. "Er... do you want to try it first? Considering... you're the one who wants to escape-"

"Don't use that excuse on me," Brightshadow growled. "But I'll go first, all the same."

Brightshadow drew in a shaking breath. Here goes. She cast one quick glance back at the ShadowClan camp, though the silhouettes of Rainclaw and Shadestorm covered a good portion of it - probably for the last time. She would miss some, but not others.

Redfire... why can't you help me here? I thought you would always be at my side. Brightshadow felt a slight twinge in her heart as the familiar red-furred face popped into her mind. Redfire blinked at her, his face expressionless, before he disappeared.

Snowstar... good riddance. The silver she-cat shook her head quickly, as if it would rid her mind of all the terrible memories she had with her mother. The scars would never leave her, though... so neither would the memories.

But what would Snowstar do to Redfire once she was gone? Nothing, Brightshadow told herself. She won't risk killing Redfire just like that. She was always cautious when she was treading over there... she won't break the ice now.

A cough.

"Any moment now, Brightshadow?" Brightshadow whipped around and glared at Ashflame before springing onto the pile of twigs.

She breathed in. And out. And in again. She bunched her muscles, feeling them tighten almost painfully beneath her pelt. Brightshadow closed her eyes for a heartbeat, then gave a flying leap upward, visualizing herself on top, waiting for Ashflame.

She had underestimated it. Her claws latched onto the dirt, but it crumbled slightly, and she slipped, her jaws open in a wordless yowl as she fell through and hit the hard ground. Fox-dung! She glimpsed Ashflame staring down incredulously at her.

Brightshadow jumped to her paws awkwardly, flinching slightly as her paw pressed to the ground. She clambered onto the pile of branches once more, and sprang again, pushing off hard. It was easier, this time. She wasn't shaking as much.

Her paws stood on solid dirt.

Brightshadow looked around in surprise, ignoring the small flash of pain in one of her paws as she landed. The camp looked beautiful from up here - beautiful and silent. There weren't any cats out; it was blissfully silent, except for the early morning wind ruffling her fur.

There was another thud as Ashflame landed gracefully beside her, shaking out his fur. "I never thought I'd feel the fresh air against my fur, again," he mewed quietly, and for once, he seemed actually serene. It had probably never happened before.

"It's beautiful," Brightshadow murmured, staring out into the wide expanse of territory. True, they weren't that high up, but anything made a difference. She'd never looked from this angle.

It was Ashflame who broke away first. "All right," he mewed, flicking his tail. He turned to Brightshadow. This is it. "Ready?"

Brightshadow nodded, meeting his excited gaze with her own. "Ready."

oO0Oo

Redfire's POV:

"You wanted to see me, Snowstar?" Redfire padded into the leader's den, his head bowed respectfully, as usual, waiting for the white leader, quite beautiful - though he hated to admit it - to emerge from the shadows of her den.

But her beauty was nothing compared to Brightshadow's. Sure, Snowstar might be pretty, but there was always that genuine spark in Brightshadow. He hated himself for doubting her. He hated bowing his head to Snowstar.

Something flashed before his vision, and there was a dull thud resounding in his ears. The next moment, he was pinned down almost effortlessly, Rainclaw glaring down at him.

He had never seen so much anger in Snowstar eyes, from where she stood behind Rainclaw.

Redfire discovered, shocked, that he was unable to move at all. Impossible.Rainclaw had pinned him down with effortless ease, as if he were nothing more than a cowering apprentice. Or a frightened kit. Like Foxkit.

What were his last moments like, Snowstar? he wanted to ask. Did he die in fear?

Anger continued to sizzle in Snowstar's dark blue eyes - so much hatred that it seemed to warp her features. Redfire stared up at her, past Rainclaw, wide-eyed. What happened to her this time? "Uh... are you all right, Snowstar? You seem-"

Snowstar cut him off with a furious growl, her claws unsheathed. "Don't pretend like you don't know anything that happened, Redfire."

"What?" Redfire couldn't help but gape at her.

Snowstar flicked her tail. "Rainclaw." The name itself must have been a command, because Rainclaw, who had been pinning him down, tore out tufts of Redfire's fur. The red deputy flinched, but he didn't make a sound. Rainclaw was Snowstar's tool to torture cats... but what had he done?

"You let her go!" Snowstar hissed, shaking her head from side to side. Her fur bristled along her spine. "Don't act as though you had nothing to do with it! I know of the so-called love you felt. You probably helped her along the way, too."

"Who?" Redfire's mew came out as a gasp, as Rainclaw was pressing down hard on his throat.

Snowstar growled. "Brightshadow. There is a hole in the den roof through which we assume she escaped. Don't tell me you had nothing to do with it!"

Escaped? "I swear by StarClan, Snowstar," Redfire mewed, struggling under Rainclaw's crushing weight. "I didn't even know about this until now."

Brightshadow escaped?

"Rainclaw, release him," Snowstar growled, and the dark gray tom obligingly sprang off of Redfire, leaving the red-furred deputy to jump to his paws, shaking out his fur. "Their trail vanishes into a clump of ferns, where they masked their scent."

"They?"

Snowstar flicked her tail. "I must make an announcement to the clan at once. You'll see what I mean, then, deputy." She beckoned with her tail - Redfire couldn't tell if she meant it for him or for Rainclaw - and vanished out of the den.

Moments later, as Rainclaw left him, Redfire heard her commanding yowl summon the clan together.

Redfire shook his head dizzily. His flank still hurt where Rainclaw had torn his fur, but thoughts were whirling in his mind too fast for him to care. Had he heard right? Had Brightshadow really... escaped? It wasn't possible, was it? The den had held her for less than a day.

When Redfire joined the crowd of ShadowClan cats outside, Snowstar was already speaking. "...the cat we deemed a traitor the previous afternoon has escaped. She would have been killed at dawn tomorrow, but she escaped before that could happen. I have another piece of news, related to this," she mewed, "and it may surprise most of you."

Redfire pricked his ears, staring at the white she-cat as she continued. "Ashpaw, the apprentice we assumed had been killed, is alive. He seems to have escaped with Brightshadow. Right now, we find him harmless, with Brightshadow as our main target."

Snowstar's cold eyes scanned the crowd. "I want warriors searching every pawstep of our territory. Rainclaw, take Shadestorm and Darkfoot and search near the Fallen Boulders. Bluefang, Honeyfoot, and Blacksky - near the lake. Longstorm, Graypaw, Dustfang, Lizardpaw - near the Carrionplace. Everyone else, make yourselves useful."

She flicked her tail and sprang down, stalking across to her den. Redfire watched the search patrols leave.

Whatever happens, I hope they don't find Brightshadow.

Brightshadow's POV:

"Here we are," Ashflame announced, turning to Brightshadow.

The silver she-cat glared. "Do you have any idea where we really are?"

Ashflame snorted. "Of course I do! We're in an abandoned Twoleg den in the middle of the Twolegplace. Come on. Let's go inside." Muttering a string of curses, Brightshadow padded after Ashflame, feeling the sudden warmth hit her fur.

The ground was startlingly soft beneath her paws. Brightshadow let out a shocked yowl as she blinked, adjusting to the dim light. Ashflame's eyes met hers, silently challenging her to tell him that this place wasn't good enough.

"What do you think?" Ashflame mewed, and his voice seemed to echo, in a strange, eerie way.

Brightshadow's eyes began to adjust to the dimness. "This... well... I expected something different." Ashflame shot her a quick glance. "Okay, well done, Ashflame." She rolled her eyes and flicked her tail.

"This is the start of something brilliant between us, isn't it?" Ashflame mewed, and Brightshadow thought back to Redfire. She realized that he was teasing, only when she looked at his face. Brightshadow shrugged, rolling her eyes, and padded ahead.

"It's not bad."

"Well, aren't you hard to please." Ashflame pushed past her. "I've been here only once before, and I think it's large enough, definitely, and it should be good for bit. We can rest, and then move out of here. I hope you know where we're going."

Brightshadow stared after Ashflame. He was so familiar, but still so far away. Had he changed, or had she changed?

A memory plunged into her mind.

"Ashpaw, Ashpaw!"

Brightpaw bounded up to the leader, staring up into her cold blue eyes. Snowstar inclined her head. "Hello, Brightpaw. Are you looking for something?" Brightpaw was pretty sure that Snowstar knew exactly who she was looking for, but she answered anyway.

"I'm looking for Ashpaw. I haven't gotten to talk to him since the day he was... well... sent off to the extra den." Brightpaw's tail-tip twitched.

Snowstar stared down at her. "Haven't you heard, Brightpaw?" Her voice sounded strange. "Ashpaw is dead."

It hadn't hit her immediately, but it did, in a few moments. "What do you mean, dead? How did he die before he was sentenced?" Brightpaw's eyes grew round with shock. "Why is he dead?" Her voice rose to a wail of horror, and she wanted to just collapse to the ground, then and there.

"I don't know. A patrol found his body near the lake," Snowstar mewed, and Brightpaw thought she sounded almost indifferent.

"Where is his body, then?"

Snowstar shrugged. "I buried it where we usually do."

I didn't get to say goodbye. The thought struck Brightpaw, painful and unrelenting. Oh, Ashpaw... what have you done? You didn't deserve to die. You were too kind, too nice, and I can't ever find another friend like you. Brightpaw closed her eyes for a heartbeat, letting all her memories with Ashpaw wash over her.

Quietly, she dipped her head to Snowstar and padded away.

StarClan is cruel to take you away, Brightpaw thought, staring up into the darkening sky, where the first stars were beaming down at her.

She hoped he was up there, too, watching over her.

"You rest for a bit," Ashflame mewed, and Brightshadow found that her paws had carried her after Ashflame. "I'll take first watch, and let you know if there's any danger coming. Yes, that includes ShadowClan cats."

Brightshadow found that she actually had started to trust Ashflame, again.

Just like she had before.

"They'll be off searching for two warriors," Ashflame mewed. "But they don't even know what one of them - me - looks like."

Brightshadow snorted. "We only have one warrior here," she teased, "and one apprentice, Ashpaw." The name rolled off her tongue so familiarly. Ashflame stepped back with mock hurt, but both of them were purring, amused.

Here we are! I hope you all liked the eighth chapter!

There's more coming up! Leave a review as you go, please :)

~ Stormy