A/N: I'm not homophobic, nor am I accusing anyone else of being homophobic. Just because I'm not writing a gay ship in this story doesn't mean I don't support them or others writing about them.

Chapter 24. The Price of Disobedience

My paws hardly touch the ground as I run up the tunnel. Mama, StarClan, anyone, please let Nightwhisper be okay. Don't let it be too late. Like it was too late for Coal, for Mama, for Jerry.

It don't take long to reach the entrance of the prison and jump out, but time slows down grotesquely, lettin' me imagine all the ways my brother could've been killed while I wasn't there to fight beside him. So when I see Nightwhisper pinned down by Russetfur and Darkstripe, I think all my worst fears have come true. I actually see a pool of blood on the ground for a heartbeat, but it's all in my head. My brother is still alive, writhing desperately.

A white-hot pain shoots through my right hindpaw as teeth bite through fur, flesh, and muscle. I yowl and bat my attacker away with my uninjured leg.

"Traitor!" the cat snarls. I stop, mid-lunge, because I recognize that voice.

"Jaggedtooth!" I gasp. But there ain't nothin' left of the cat I used to know in his amber eyes, slitted with hate and malice.

I only hesitate for a few heartbeats, but it's enough. Teeth sink into my neck as some other cat hauls me back. I try to wrench myself away, but my injured paw gives out on me. The second attacker springs on top of me, pinning me down with massive paws and raking claws sharper than glass across my belly. I close my eyes, but that don't help against this kind of pain. I never been hurt this bad in my life, not even on our worst days with Bone.

"You fool," Tigerstar sneers, glaring down at me. "You had no idea I was having you watched, did you?" So Nightwhisper wasn't being paranoid when he said he thought he heard some cat creepin' around during my first trip into the prison.

"Darkstripe overheard every word you two said. He saw you bring back prey for those half-clan traitors. I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed us where your loyalties really lie. TigerClan has no use for a cat who can't follow orders. I made you a warrior despite your inferior blood, you ungrateful little piece of mouse dung.

Hot words bubble out of my mouth like blood from my wounds. "The disobedient part I'll grant you, but Mama's blood ain't inferior. No cat's better than me on account of being born in this stupid for-"

I stop dead when I feel the tip of a long claw press against my eyelid. "Go on," Tigerstar says in his dangerously quiet voice. "I can still return you to BloodClan after I blind you."

I can't breathe. I wait for more pain, for the world to turn black as Tigerstar takes my eye. But he just stays like that, his claw prickin' my eyelid almost gently. Being blind is worse than being dead. A blind cat can't look after herself. So I just lay there, completely frozen, smellin' my own fear. A deep purr rumbles through Tigerstar's chest as my defiance flickers out like a dyin' flame.

"Are you gonna send us away?" Nightwhisper asks in a tiny, shaky voice.

"Send you away?" Tigerstar asks, his whiskers twitching with amusement. "No, I don't think so. There's still hope for you, Nightwhisper. I believe that you're basically loyal to TigerClan. Your problem is, as it has always been, that you let your sister make all your decisions for you. Last time I checked, she isn't your clan leader or deputy." I let out a slow, slow breath as he moves his paw away from my eyes.

"Of course not, Tigerstar. I swear, I'm still loyal," Nightwhisper meows, flattening his ears submissively. I look over at my brother, my heart shriveling. Is he really going to abandon me? But then he adds, "But what about Nettlethorn? She's loyal too, I promise. She just… don't think before she acts sometimes."

"Her punishment will fit her crime," Tigerstar meows. "Darkstripe, Russetfur, take Nightwhisper back to camp. I'll decide on his punishment after I deal with this worthless excuse for a she-cat."

The two other warriors force my brother to his paws. "Let me say goodbye to her," Nightwhisper pleads, takin' a few steps in my direction.

"No," Tigerstar growls. "You'll see her at her trial."

Darkstripe nips his shoulder hard and hisses, "Get moving, traitor." I'd happily rip his fur off just for that, but all I can do is watch as Nightwhisper staggers away, flanked by his two escorts.

"You gonna kill me now?" I ask Tigerstar when they're gone. "If so, I'd rather you just get it over with."

I'm glad my voice is steady, but the truth is, I'm terrified. Where will I go when I die? To StarClan? To the verdant garden with Mama and Coal? Will dying hurt? I was too late and too weak to stop this evil. Ain't nothin' else I can do, outnumbered, pinned down, and wounded like I am. Maybe if I'd have woken up sooner, Nightwhisper and I could have gotten away, maybe even warned others.

"I could kill you, easily. I could rip you open like prey and leave you here to die. But traitors don't deserve quick deaths."

Strugglin' to get the words out past the rock that's stuck in my throat, I ask, "Will you send me back to BloodClan?"

Tigerstar smirks. "I considered it, but this is your lucky night. Since you're so attached to the half-clan scum, you can spend a few days in their prison with them. Then, you'll have a chance to earn back your place in TigerClan. After some time in that hole, I wager you'll be willing to do anything I tell you. Why would I kill or banish you when I can break you instead?" That trial he mentioned. Don't know what it is, but it ain't gonna be nothin' nice.

The TigerClan leader rakes his claws once over my muzzle, quick and vicious. Then he releases me and commands, "Jaggedtooth, get her out of my sight. She stinks of that half-clan filth."

"Yes, Tigerstar," Jaggedtooth says.

Knowing that resisting will only bring more pain, I force myself to my paws. My eyes fall to the pool of blood on the ground where Tigerstar pinned me. So much blood. I sway unsteadily, worried I'm fixin' to be sick.

Jaggedtooth grabs me by the scruff and drags me toward the gaping wound in the earth. Behind us, Tigerstar stalks down the slope and vanishes into the reeds. I search my old friend's face for any sign of the warm, compassionate cat I thought I knew. But his eyes are compleffely blank and cold. Is there somethin' I could've said or done to stop Jaggedtooth from turning into this cruel monster who takes such obvious pleasure in other cats' pain? Or did he never love me as much as he craved strength and power?

He lets me go at the edge of the hole. "I reckon you know your way," he sneers. "I'll be on watch, and if I hear so much as a squeak from you or your half-clan friends, I'll come down there and rip your tongues out."

"You don't have to do this, Snag," I croak. "We can get my brother out, go beyond the forest and find a new home." Most of me knows this be a dream so impossible not even the most fluff-brained kit would believe in it. And even if the three of us could just start fresh somewhere, the thought of leavin' Boulder and Lightningpaw behind tears my heart into pieces. But a tiny, daft part of me still hopes he'll say yes.

Jaggedtooth's face twists in contempt, and his tail whips back and forth as he lets out an ugly, jeering laugh. "You were always one for nursery tales, but this is ridiculous even for you. Where would we be without TigerClan? Livin' as kittypets? In a strange town scavenging in trash for the rest of our lives? I'd rather be one of TigerClan's elite and rule over the whole forest, thanks anyway. You may have thrown away what Tigerstar offered you, but I ain't goin' down with you."

Ain't no more to say after that. I fall more than jump into the tunnel. I don't let myself look back at the moonlit world above as I limp into the blackness. My injured leg screams every step of the way, and I'm worried to death for Nightwhisper, but at least he's not down here with me. And it's freeing, in a weird kind of way, not havin' to pretend to agree with Tigerstar no more.

"Nettlethorn!" Mistyfoot gasps. "What in the Dark Forest happened to you?"

"Whole thing was a setup," I meow quietly, sinking gratefully onto my back, the least painful position, not that that's sayin' much. "Darkstripe saw me bringin' y'all prey and ran off to Tigerstar like the little mouse turd he is."

"What about your brother? Why isn't he down here?" Stormpaw asks.

"Tigerstar knows Nightwhisper was only protectin' me. They've taken him back to camp."

Stonefur squeezes his way past his sister and sniffs at my injured paw. "Looks dislocated to me. I did that once."

"Can you fix it?" Featherpaw asks.

"I think so," Stonefur says, his tail-tip twitchin' anxiously. "I'm no medicine cat, but I remember what Mudfur did for me. This will hurt, Nettlethorn, but your leg will feel better when it's done."

"It hurts now," I say through clenched teeth.

Mistyfoot licks my ears soothingly as, with a grunt of effort, Stonefur shoves my paw back into place. The bolt of pain shoots from my nose to my tail, but the RiverClan tom is right. When my paw snaps back into position, the pain eases somewhat. Without their mentors tellin' 'em, Stormpaw and Featherpaw grab the cobwebs and herbs I brought down earlier and use 'em to cover the worst of my wounds.

"Thank you," I murmur. I've never been more sincerely grateful in my life.

"It would almost be funny if it weren't so horrible," Mistyfoot says. "It's like we really are one clan down here."

"We have to work together to survive this. If you ask me, Nettlethorn, you're too good for ShadowClan anyway," Stonefur says.

I get where he's comin' from, but his comment don't sit well with me. Surely not all ShadowClan cats are as cruel as Tigerstar, Darkstripe, and Jaggedtooth. I remember all the times I hunted and trained and shared tongues with Fernshade, Tangleburr, Wetfoot, Flintfang, and all the others. Lightningpaw ain't cruel. All she wants is to do good for her clan. We've just had terrible luck with leaders lately. Bad things come in threes, Mama always said, and I ain't seen no better example of that than Brokenstar, Nightstar, and Tigerstar. But can I still say "we?" Am I even a part of ShadowClan anymore? Do I want to be?

Mama, I ain't never needed you more than now, I think. I reach for her like a drowning kit. But all I get is the slightest whiff of her scent, and given the stench of this place, it's probably no more than a ghost of a memory. Huddled with the four RiverClan prisoners, I fall into a tattered, fitful sleep. All my dreams are of claws, darkness, and blood.