A/N: And some action in this chapter! Whooo! Finally!

Read ahead to find out! (No, exit out of Fanfiction to find out, DUH) XD

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Dawnfeather woke to Firestar yowling orders to the warriors already awake. She sighed, standing slowly and stretching. Her mate, Mudpelt, slept soundly beside her. A bit of mud remained caked behind his ear from yesterday, and she licked it away softly.

"Come, it's time to go see what Firestar has planned for us, my love." Mudpelt moaned, tucking his muzzle under his tail.

"Tell Firestar to stuff a mouse in it. It's-Mouse dung!" Mudpelt spat, sitting up tall. "Did I really just say that?!" (1)

Dawnfeather chuckled. "Yes, you just did."

She licked his whiskers back, then exited the warriors' den, joining the quickly diminishing crowd of cats at the base of Highrock.

"Icestrike, you and Greystripe, Longtail, (2) Brackenfur, Skysong, and Cloudtail go patrol the border."

Cloudtail waved his tail. "May Sunpaw go with me? With all the preparations, I haven't been able to spend much time with him."

"Of course. Ashfur, you take Thornpaw, Dawnfeather, Frogspot, and Frostfur on a hunting patrol."

As the cats raced off to do their duty, Dawnfeather stopped Icestrike at the camp's entrance. "Be careful out there. I can't lose you to, like I've lost Storm..."

Icestrike nodded, licking his mother reassuringly on the head. "I will."

He bounded off, slim white tail waving behind him. Dawnfeather joined her hunting patrol, following Ashfur deep into their territory.

Though they didn't say it, Dawnfeather could see the quiet judgement in their gazes. "Okay, Thornpaw, come with me, there's some good voles over here..."

Ashfur split off the group, his apprentice tagging along behind him. Dawnfeather stopped and sniffed under some bracken. The thick smell of rodent greeted her, and she prowled after the trail.

Dinner, here I come!

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Icestrike breathed in the air that blew over from ShadowClan. The sharp smell of the ShadowClan patrol made him wrinkle his nose in disgust. As Greystripe finished marking their territory, Sunpaw yelped in astonishment as a young rouge darted out from under his paws, slashing a gash on his side.

Sunpaw tumbled away, nearly knocking over Cloudtail who was running to his apprentice's rescue.

Longtail hissed as he leaped at the rouge, but it slipped neatly under him, racing for the Thunderpath that seperated the two Clans.

A deep rumbling in the ground alerted Icestrike to the coming of a monster, and alarm filled him with coldness. "No! Stop! A monster's coming!" He yowled at the rouge and its pursuers.

The ThunderClan cats skidded to a stop, watching as the rouge ignored Icestrike's warning, continueing on its path to death.

I'm the only one close enough to save him! Icestrike thought, his paws already moving before he thought it through.

"No, stop Icestrike! You're gonna get killed!" Sunpaw yelled, noticing the white tom streaking toward the Thunderpath.

The monster roared closer, not slowing or swerving as the two cats ran into its path. "Move!" Yowled Icestrike, shoving the young cat back across the road.

He bunched his legs to leap back across, glancing up as he did so. He gasped, heart thudding in his throat. The monster was right on top of him...

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Cloudtail watched, horrified, as Icestrike ran after the rouge. "They're both gonna get themselves killed!" He said to himself, running after them.

Icestrike's longer legs ate up the ground quickly, and the tom leaped in the rouge's way, muscling him off the Thunderpath in a amazing show of both speed and strength.

The rouge made Cloudtail trip, and he looked up, helpless to stop. The monster slammed into Icestrike with a sickening crunch.

The white tom's body had already begun to leap, and was thrown off the Thunderpath. Blood flowed from a huge gash that ran down his head, along the side of his neck, and curved under his shoulder blade.

Cloudtail scrambled to his feet, racing over to the tom. "Get Cinderpelt! Hurry!" He screeched at the cats gathering close. Sunpaw spun, dirt flying out from under his paws as he ran for ThunderClan's camp.

"Get me some cobwebs, dead leaves, anything to stop the blood!" He rasped, licking furiously at the wound. Skysong and Brackenfur both disappeared into the underbrush. "Longtail, come here and help me."

Both toms pressed their paws against the wound, applying the dead leaves and cobwebs that Skysong and Brackenfur had brought.

Please... please, StarClan... if you are really up there... save this tom's life!

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Dawnfeather had just placed her three pieces of prey onto the freshkill pile when Sunpaw burst into the camp, light cream fur fluffed up and full of brambles, stickers, and... blood.

"Get Cinderpelt!" He screeched. "A cat's been hit by a monster!"

Several gasps rang out, and Flamelight let out a low wail. Cinderpelt immediatly burst from the medecine cat den, mouth full of herbs. Birdpaw followed close behind, mouth full as well.

"Who was it!?" Dawnfeather raced up to Sunpaw, eyes wide. "I-I... can't..." The apprentice collapsed, chest heaving as he tried to gulp in air from his long run.

"Hey, hey, Dawn, calm down. Step back and let him breath." Flamelight instructed, herding the white-and-black she-cat away. Dustpelt hurried over to his son, smoothing his fur down and cleaning it of brambles with his tongue.

"I have to go see!" Dawnfeather gasped, whirling and heading for the entrance. "Dawnfeather! I'm sure Icestrike's fine. He's a grown tom now, he will be fine." Mudpelt soothed, whispering to Flamelight to get a poppyseed or two.

"Can you promise me that? Can you promise me that Icestrike will be fine?" Dawnfeather asked, tears in her eyes.

Mudpelt sighed, wrapping his tail around Dawnfeather. "No. No I can't promise that. But just so you know; if it is Icestrike, I will be here for you, I promise."

Dawnfeather shivered, twining her tail with his. "Dawnfeather."

She looked over to Sunpaw. "Yes?"

"I can tell you what happened."

"Do you remember who it was though?"

"Yes. It was Icestrike."

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A/N: SUPRISE! DIDN'T THINK I'D KILL OFF ONE OF MY OCS NOW, DID YOU?! :D Well, with him being actually dead or not... you'll just have to wait and see... Muhahahahaa...

1: Mudpelt being slightly confused and grouchy when he wakes up is actually in reference to me. When I wake up I am grouchy and REALLY confused. One time, I looked at my alarm clock, and thought I was late for school, but my mind had just switched the numbers around. I had actually woken up early. XD

2: Longtail's blindness really confused me at first. I hadn't read Firestar's Quest yet, so when they started out the next series with him being blind, I was like, WUTT?! So after much research, I found out how; so here's how if you don't already know; He was chasing a rabbit, but it turned around and clawed his eyes with its dirty claws. They became infected, and he lost his sight. The End. Jk. But that was how he became blind.

So, hope you've enjoyed this rather upsetting chapter! :D

Also, whenever I right my stories, I listen to this:: 4 hours Peaceful & Relaxing Instrumental Music-Long Playlist

It really helps. It helps me focus, and kinda fits the story. When I was writing Icestrike's accident, it was playing that sad-but-inspiring music. Ya know?

'Till next time, and may StarClan guide your path!