Greysight ran swiftly through the woods, fully focused on the vibrations she was feeling in the earth while Lostheart, Darkpelt, Browneyes, and Moonfur followed behind her. While it was true that she had picked up on a large group of unknown cats on their territory, she hadn't been completely honest. In actuality, Thistleprick and Raggedear were heading in the same direction as the group, but they didn't actually have any type of confrontation. It was her hope that they would reach Thistleprick and Raggedear before that happened, who knew who these unknown cats were?

It would make sense for them to be TreeClan warriors, but it was strange because they were far from the TreeClan border. Surely it couldn't be OceanClan? Brisingstar had just helped them, why would he attack now? Did he feel threatened by Willowstar and want to get rid of DarkClan to keep the peace?

Greysight gritted her teeth and pushed herself forward in a burst of speed. If it was OceanClan, they would be sorry. They were almost there, and Greysight could practically 'see' the figures of Thistleprick and Raggedear up ahead. "Here!" she cried.

All at once, the five cats leapt through the brush, causing both Raggedear and Thistleprick to leap back in surprise, already taking fighting positions. Thistleprick looked dumbfounded for a moment before his whiskers twitched in frustration. "What? Trying to stop us? I told you, we don't want any part-"

"You!"

Their attention was suddenly distracted as a group of four large toms stepped out from the trees. A large gray tabby led from the front and was eyeing the cats with furious hatred. Lostheart was surprised to see the strangers, she had certainly never seen any cats like these around here. What really caught her eye were the colorful bands they wore across their necks. Collars were the mark of the twolegs, but these toms definitely did not look like kittypets, and embedded in their collars were several teeth and claws.

'Are those supposed to be trophies?'

Darkpelt, Moonfur, Browneyes, and Greysight followed her gaze and eyed the strange newcomers with curiosity, which quickly turned to rage in Greysight and Darkpelt's eyes. But before either of the warriors could question the gray tabby, he spoke again.

"We've finally found you! Did you really think we would let you get away from us so easily! You brats will pay," he growled, unsheathing his claws, "with your lives."

Thistleprick blinked at the tom's words and let out a small chuckle, taking a step backwards, "Let's not be too hasty now." he stuttered with a forced smile on his face. Darkpelt narrowed his eyes at Thistleprick, recognizing the tom's behavior. It was just like the time when he had fought the two brothers, and he had seen it in his eyes as they had left as well.

The tabby's blue eyes flashed in rage, "You little-"

"Hey!"

The toms were halted in their effort to step forward as they finally noticed the other group of cats standing across from them. "This is our territory, so you better get off it!" Greysight hissed.

The tabby snorted, and the toms behind him laughed in amusement, arrogant smirks drawn on their faces. "I don't care." he drawled, turning back towards Thistleprick and Raggedear with fury in his eyes. "Those two must pay!"

Lostheart moved forward, quickly followed by Greysight, Moonfur, Darkpelt, and Browneyes and stepped in front of the two tortoiseshell brothers. "These are our clanmates, we won't let you hurt them." she meowed, her voice darker than usual.

The rogue toms looked slightly taken aback, but quickly regained their composure, "How dare you-" he began.

"Shut your mouth!"

The cold, scratchy voice took all the cats in the clearing by surprise and the DarkClan cats turned to see Raggedear step past them and stand between the two groups. Moonfur's eyes widened as she heard his voice and watched as he stepped past, completely taken aback by the anger in his voice.

"I'm sick of listening to your pathetic sniveling you overgrown kit!" he growled menacingly. "I'll snap you in two!"

The gray tabby blinked in shock, but quickly became overcome by rage. A sort of fire lit up his eyes and his claws flashed dangerously. "Attack!"

"No!" a voice shrieked, but it was too late. The DarkClan cats leapt forward at the same time as the rogues, meeting in a flash of fur and claws.

Roseclaw leapt forward, pushing Moonfur into a bush and landing ungracefully on top of her. Moonfur huffed and rolled to the side, shoving Roseclaw off of her. "Roseclaw?!" she growled in surprise, "What are you doing here?!"

"Moonfur, you can't-"

Moonfur turned quickly away from the white she-cat, eyes focused on the ground as she tried not to listen to the sound of her clanmates fighting. "I know!" she hissed.

Roseclaw sighed in relief, "Good. Just stay here with me, we'll wait until the fighting is over."

The four rogues were clearly outnumbered, but it didn't stop them from trying to fight. Even Greysight had to hand it to them, the toms were ferocious. She was fighting one-on-one with one of the gray tabby's goons now and she laughed at his increasing frustration as he tried to land a hit on her. He would never be able to catch her, the tom was far too slow.

Greysight listened as another swiped whizzed by her ear, and she smirked as she prepared for a counterattack. Greysight was about to leap onto the larger tom when she suddenly felt a tickle in her ear. It was only a small feeling, but it felt like she had heard it somewhere before.

While she was distracted, Greysight wasn't able to regain herself quickly enough to avoid the tom's attack and winced painfully as a large, clawed paw slammed down onto her head.

Lostheart had fended off one of the toms, sending him running into the woods while Darkpelt and Browneyes took on the other rogue and Raggedear fought with the gray tabby. When Greysight had been slammed into the ground from her peripheral, Lostheart could barely believe her eyes. She reacted quickly before the tom could go in for another blow and leapt over, digging her claws into his back and pulling him away from Greysight.

The tom's body skidded across the ground before he pulled himself up, spitting onto the dirt. "Hey boss-" he meowed, turning towards where the gray tabby fought with Raggedear in the center of the clearing.

All cats eyes turned toward the center of the clearing when a sickening crack rang throughout the air and drops of blood lightly spattered the ground. Raggedear stood in front of the gray tabby with an eerie kind of grin spread across his face.

The two remaining followers of the tabby gasped in shock. Slowly, the tabby raised his head and stumbled back up to his full height, the lower half of his jaw now hanging limply from his mouth dripping blood onto the earth.

The tom's eyes were clenched tightly in pain and he turned away from Raggedear, struggling to escape the clearing. The DarkClan cats watched as the other toms ran off into the woods and the tabby made his way towards the swamp. No cat moved to go after them.

They were all too focused on Raggedear as the tom stared blankly at the ground, paws stained with blood. Thistleprick quickly ran to his brother's side, catching his attention and gently brushing their sides together.

Lostheart leaned down to grab the scruff of Greysight's neck and pulled her up. Roseclaw flew from the bushes to Lostheart's side, immediately taking hold of Greysight. "We need to get her to camp." Roseclaw meowed urgently.

Lostheart nodded and waved Darkpelt over with her tail, the large tom said nothing and complied, heaving Greysight onto his back. Roseclaw nodded to the Darkpelt and they quickly disappeared into the woods, planning to meet back up with the others later.

After Greysight was taken care of, Lostheart walked over to where Browneyes, Thistleprick, Raggedear, and now Moonfur were standing. "You guys saved us." Thistleprick meowed, a slight hint of surprise evident in his voice.

"Well, duh." Moonfur meowed, "That's what clanmates do."

Both Thistleprick and Raggedear blinked at her, and Thistleprick averted his eyes awkwardly. "I guess I should apologize for what I said before..." he meowed.

Thistleprick shuffled his paws, "I guess we owe you one."

"We're sorry we withheld information from you, it wasn't right. You don't have to, but I know I speak for everyone when I say we'd miss you if you left, you've become a part of DarkClan. I don't suppose you'd reconsider coming back?" Browneyes meowed hesitantly, hope in his large, brown eyes.

Thistleprick and Raggedear exchanged glances before turning back to the DarkClan cats. "We do owe you." Raggedear meowed, "For saving us."

Thistleprick nodded in agreement, "Yeah. I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay, but you guys have to tell us everything that's going on."

"It's a deal." Moonfur replied, however, her smile faded as she noticed the blood dripping from Raggedear's pelt. "You're hurt." she meowed.

Lostheart and Browneyes followed her gaze and saw where the deep cuts on Raggedear's pelt were bleeding heavily. Thistleprick's eyes widened in alarm, "Oh man, they're right! Raggedear, we need to get you to Roseclaw!"

Raggedear looked down to where his blood was now beginning to drip onto the ground and nodded passively.

Back in camp; Thistleprick, Darkpelt, Moonfur, Browneyes and Lostheart gathered in the clearing while Roseclaw and Mintpaw took care of Greysight and Raggedear in the medicine cat den.

Thistleprick let out a breath of air as he flopped onto a patch of grass while the others sat around him. Lostheart had been silent since the fight, having been deep in thought. The other cats were surprised when she actually turned towards Thistleprick.

"Thistleprick, why were those cats after you and Raggedear?"

Darkpelt snorted and turned his focus towards the spotted tom as well. "Yes, why?"

Darkpelt, Moonfur, Browneyes, and Lostheart all watched the tom expectantly and caused him to laugh awkwardly under their gaze.

"Well ya see-it's a funny story actually." Thistleprick meowed.

"Thistleprick." Moonfur growled.

"Hey, it's not easy living in twolegplace! A cat's got to eat doesn't he? There isn't exactly a surplus of food there you know."

Moonfur blinked and quickly shook her head, "Don't tell me you two stole their food."

"We were hungry!" Thistleprick protested. "Besides, they weren't exactly the nicest group around those parts, it serves them right!"

Darkpelt snorted. "Why am I not surprised."

Thistleprick pouted and turned his head away from the DarkClan cats. "You guys wouldn't understand anyway."

"There's something else." Lostheart meowed.

"What?" Thistleprick replied, shifting awkwardly under the she-cat's frightening gaze.

"It's about your brother."

Thistleprick was quiet for a second and shrugged, "Raggedear? What about him?"

Lostheart eyed Thistleprick silently, clearly deep in thought. Moonfur watched the exchange with growing curiosity, she herself had been curious about Raggedear. The tom was extremely passive and mysterious, she had never seen him so aggressive before. Had Lostheart picked up on something she hadn't?

"There's something you two aren't telling us. If you want us to be honest with you, I'd expect you to do the same for us. You certainly never told us those cats were after you."

Thistleprick blinked and glanced back towards the medicine cat den. Moonfur was surprised to see the sudden drop in Thistleprick's expression, his smile gone and his eyes filled with some unknown emotion.

Thistleprick turned back to them, but his eyes remained focused on the ground, as if he trying to decide something in his head. By now, all four of the DarkClan cats were extremely curious and waiting silently for Thistleprick to speak.

"...Raggedear," he began before pausing for a moment, trying to find the right words. "That cat you saw in the clearing wasn't him, well it was, but it wasn't." Thistleprick meowed, his eyes narrowed slightly in thought.

"What do you mean?" Moonfur meowed, worry and confusion clear in her voice. Lostheart remained silent, watching the tom with her impassive expression.

"It happened when we were young. You see, we came from a strict family, but I guess ya kinda had to be to survive in twolegplace. There were many different groups, and we all had to compete for food and territory. There were constant fights, and only the strongest families survived. When you became a certain age, you were expected to engage one of the other groups, and bring honor to your family by winning..."

Thistleprick's voice had become hollow and his eyes clouded by distant memories. "Raggedear was always the best at fighting, and it wasn't long before our father gave him his task. If he could defeat one of the nearby groups we competed with for food, he would prove himself as a true member of our family and be recognized as an adult. Failure...well, let's just say failure was unacceptable. That is, if you lived. So he was sent to chase off that group...we were only about five moons old at the time."

Moonfur's eyes widened in shock, "That's crazy!" 'To be sent out like that, and at such a young age...'

Thistleprick let out a small, bitter laugh. "That's what I thought too."

Moonfur watched Thistleprick through sympathetic eyes, and glanced back towards the medicine cat. "It must have been alright, because Raggedear is here now."

Thistleprick's eyes remained fixed on his paws. "When I got there, it was horrible. Blood was everywhere, and I saw Raggedear standing in the center of the ally. He was covered in scratches and his ear had gotten completely torn up, but that wasn't the only thing about him that had changed. His eyes were different, and he lashed out at me, something Raggedear would never do. I got him to calm down, but after a moment, he told me he had no idea what had just happened."

Moonfur still felt confused, "I still don't understand."

"It happened again, and again. When he would snap like that. He doesn't mean to do it." Thistleprick meowed, "I know it's hard to understand, but ever since that day he's been like this. I've managed to talk to him, both of him. I have to take care of him because I'm the only one who can stop that Raggedear."

"He has a split personality."

All eyes turned to Lostheart as the she-cat spoke. Thistleprick blinked warily, "Yes."

"He hates it you know." Thistleprick meowed, "He told me he hates it when the other Raggedear takes over. Normally, Raggedear can block him out, but when the other takes over, he can do the same. Sometimes, he doesn't, and Raggedear says he can see what's happening, but he can't do anything about it. Just watch."

Darkpelt and Browneyes both looked mildly shocked, a cat so unstable surely couldn't be safe for the clan.

Thistleprick eyes suddenly became desperate and pleading, "Please, you can't tell him I told you. It would really upset him." Thistleprick sighed, "He was angry with me when we made that deal, I thought we would win honestly...He doesn't want to stay around large groups of cats because he's afraid of hurting somebody. That's why we move around so much..."

"We won't." Lostheart meowed. "Raggedear will be treated no differently from before."

Thistleprick smiled fondly, "Good. I think...it's good for him here." After a short moment, he rose to his paws. "I only told you because it's fair, I would never betray my brother willingly."

After his final words, Thistleprick padded away towards the medicine cat den.

Roseclaw was sitting beside the Raggedear and Greysight's nests when Thistleprick walked into the den. "Hey, Rosie!" he meowed, cheerfully with a wide grin on his face.

Roseclaw whirled around angrily at the sound of the obnoxious voice, "Be quiet! They're sleeping!" she hissed.

Thistleprick chuckled and padded up beside her and looked down at his brother's sleeping form. "You've done good." he meowed.

Roseclaw rolled her eyes, "Maybe he wouldn't have gotten so badly injured if you had used that special move of yours." she retorted. "You know, I bet if you had done it against Darkpelt you would have won, too late now though. Knowing Darkpelt, he 's already come up with some sort of way to counter it."

"Maybe." Thistleprick meowed, a small smile on his face. "Unfortunately, I've never been able to do it."

Roseclaw blinked, surprised by his answer. "I thought you said it was part of your bloodline."

Thistleprick shrugged, "It is. I just never could."

Roseclaw turned away from the tom and focused her eyes on Raggedear, instantly feeling guilty. She hoped she didn't make him feel bad. Thankfully for her, Mintpaw padded out from the back of their herb storage, "I think Greysight's waking up!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Leave any questions or comments in reviews, /i am too tired to think up a good AN right now.

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