A/N: And we have... suspense! On time, too!

Reviews: (Thanks guys!)

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There might be a possible early update this week... we'll just see how many reviews I get...

Onto the story! I loved the way this chapter turned out!

Chapter Fifteen: A Friend in Trouble

There's a wreckage, there's a fire, there's a weakness in my love. There's a hunger I can't , I falter, and I fall down, and I hold on to the chains you broke. When you came and saved my soul. Hallelujah, we are free to struggle, we're not struggling to be free. –The Struggle, Tenth Avenue North

"Akain, prince of this land where you live, has been convicted of treason, of conspiracy, and of helping a prisoner escape. Upon this conviction his titles have been stripped away and he will be executed at dawn by order of the king."

His paws slammed on the solid flooring of the twoleg den as he paced back and forth. A snarl was etched on his face, his claws were unsheathed, and his ears were pinned back as flat as they could be against his head. He was the perfect picture of pure rage and anger.

"And it appears that we will have need of the army after all. The loner, Nadia's daughter, will be executed at dawn as well due to her mother's inability to come back and instead associate herself as an ally of the clan cats, which has now been confirmed from various reports."

"Settle down, there's no reason to spend your last hours like this," his father mocked him, earning another snarl from the cat.

"Is it your mission in life to kill everybody I love? First mother, than sister, and now her? I will no longer call you my father. You… you're a monster!" He hissed as the tom began to pad away.

"Oh, I've been called by that name so many times it doesn't seem to make a difference to me no longer," the tom smiled, "And it would be good for you not to struggle at the execution… it would look bad for the family name."

He hissed as his father turned his head away from him and left. He left; left him alone in the dark. Scared.

"Akain!" a hushed whisper sounded nearby.

Akain turned; his tail lashing. He wasn't thinking clearly, blinded by his rage.

"What do you want?" he spat, lashing out at the darkness.

"Akain! It's me!"

"Russell?" Akain forced his claws in.

"Look, I can't do much for you but I can let your friends know what's going to happen," the russet tom offered.

"Thank you."

Russell turned away, "No, thank me if you see another evening."

They had been talking for ages. The moon was high overhead, a beacon waiting for the clan to sleep. But the clan was waiting, waiting to see what the rogue wanted. Ravenheart and Stormdance were with the others, they seemed to have… recognized the rogue.

"Who y-you thin-nk it is?" Snowpaw asked from beside her.

She shrugged, speaking slowly so that her brother could read her lips, "Maybe he knows Nimble?"

Snowpaw nodded, "Yes… G-Gold-denpaw do you k-know?"

The older tom shook his head with a wide yawn, "Sorry Snowpaw, no idea. Have you seen him before, Rabbitpaw, since you already had that little run in with the rogues?"

Rabbitpaw hissed, "I already said I didn't know, didn't I?"

"Sorry," Goldenpaw snorted.

Rabbitpaw's ears perked up as Stormdance leaped down from the pillar, followed by Ravenheart, Forestpath, Dovetalon, Cloudwhisker, and Breezeheart. Blizzardstar, Feathersky, and the rogue remained, still talking.

"What's happening?" Rabbitpaw bounded over to her mentor, forgetting what had happened between them the past half moon.

Apparently Ravenheart had forgotten, too, because he opened his mouth to speak to her.

Dovetalon interrupted, "Tell Goldenpaw to go over to the training clearing. I want to do a quick assessment of both of you."

Rabbitpaw opened her mouth to protest but when Dovetalon shot her a glare she thought better of it and raced off to fetch Goldenpaw.

He ran them through all the normal drills, finally nodding, "Both of your fighting skills have improved. I sure hope that both of you have energy right now, because you're going to need it."

"What's happening?" Rabbitpaw finally got up enough courage to ask.

Dovetalon pointedly flicked his ears over to where Blizzardstar and the rogue now were stationed on top of the pillar. They had stopped talking and the clan had turned their attention once again to the two cats. In the shadows Rabbitpaw was barely able to pick out Nadia's black pelt, dulled by grief over her daughter. Yet hope shined in her eyes as she gazed up at Blizzardstar.

"Join your mentor," Dovetalon ordered Rabbitpaw.

Rabbitpaw jerked her head over to stare at him in shock, "But the moon's not up…"

"Who said that it was supposed to be a moon?" Dovetalon smiled, "Blizzardstar agreed that you both learned your lesson. You're a talented apprentice, Rabbitpaw, you'll do fine."

"Thank you!" Rabbitpaw raced forward, skidding to a stop at Ravenheart's side.

Ravenheart pulled back a laugh, "Glad to have you back."

Rabbitpaw grinned, "Eh, everybody says he's a grump, but he's alright. But you're better."

"That's… good."

Blizzardstar began to speak and immediately everybody's attention was drawn back to her, "The events in the past couple moons have confirmed that the clan is in grave danger. You have all heard the name Rezkin before," she paused for a moment, letting it sink it, "Nadia's daughter, Nimble, was taken by him in an attempt to destroy the clan," she nodded to the rogue, "Russell has informed me that an execution will be taking place at dawn."

"No!" Nadia yowled frantically, "You have to save her!"

Blizzardstar waved her tail for silence, "We will. Russell knows where the place will be and he will help us. But we will still need a large force. Everybody will be going except for Moonfall- of course- Dovetalon, Stormdance, Mosspaw, Snowpaw, and… me. I'm putting Breezeheart in charge."

"Her kits will be here before Stormdance's," Ravenheart whispered to Rabbitpaw, "Forestpath convinced her not to go."

"So… you and Storm really are 'together' now?" her comment earned her a cuff over the ears.

"Start being serious," Ravenheart growled, waiting for Blizzardstar to speak once again in nervous apprehension.

Rabbitpaw narrowed her eyes, "What does she have left to say?"

Ravenheart quickly slapped his tail across her mouth as Blizzardstar spoke, "There is one other cat at this execution that needs our help. Keep an eye out for him- according to Russell he has ice blue eyes and a dark gray and black tabby pelt and is an exceptional fighter.

"That's-" Rabbitpaw began, only to be silenced once again by Ravenheart's glare.

"His name is known by some of the clan cats that would like to have his throat slit right now," Ravenheart whispered, "For now he is just Russell's friend, nothing else."

Rabbitpaw hissed, "He's not just this 'Russell' guy's friend. He's mine."

"For now he's not," He growled back, "Just don't get us into more trouble, okay?"

She stalked off without replying and he quickly lost sight of her in the crowd. Ravenheart sighed and turned to find Stormdance.

The gray she-cat was busy tidying up the nursery with Blizzardstar's help when Ravenheart entered.

"You're both going to be in here?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah," Blizzardstar grunted, pushing a mound of moss over one of the rare sharper edges of stone. "At least until one of our litters of kits grow out of it, and then I can always move over to my den."

Ravenheart nodded and pressed up against Stormdance, "You're going to be okay while I'm gone, right?"

"We'll be fine," she purred, "I'm more worried about you and Nimble… and Akain, as much as I hate to admit it."

"Don't worry; we're all going to come home safe. The clan will be fine," he briefly closed his eyes, breathing in her scent; "We'll all be perfectly fine."

A/N: Ohhh... but will they be fine? We shall see indeed.

Poor Akian, I gave him a bad share of life... I say he lives... or..., what do you guys say? (Chapter Question)

IMPORTANT: Ok, so if I get... let's say five reviews by Tuesday I'll post a chapter early that will finish up this part (the battle chapter) otherwise you won't be seeing another chapter from me until the Saturday after June 11th. I have exams from the 9th-11th so I will be very busy from now on. So get me FIVE REVIEWS OR WAIT!

Thank you all,

~Willow