The leaf-bare sun sent dapples of golden light over the moorland as Brambledusk pulled himself out of camp, letting out a yawn. He was being sent to the ThunderClan camp to request help from Rootstar, for reinforcements against the RiverClan attacks on their border. I might as well make ThunderClan's camp my second home, Brambledusk thought as he crossed the moorland. His ears were pricked for any sign of Peartuft – or RiverClan cats straying too far from their battle camp. But there was no scent of any of them when Brambledusk crossed the stream to ThunderClan's camp. He picked his way through the forest and into the stone hollow.

When he walked into camp, he was sure to receive a hostile welcome. But instead, he was greeted kindly by Goldensky, Rootstar's son as the golden tabby tom walked over to him, a gentle smile on his face. "Brambledusk," the ThunderClan warrior said. "How can we help you?"

Brambledusk's eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of the sight of Nightfire's jet-black pelt, talking to Rootstar in the corner of the hollow. "Wha…? He's alive?"

"Nightfire, you mean?" Goldensky looked over his shoulder at the black tom, who was talking to Sunfire. "Physically, yes. Emotionally, no."

"I heard ShadowClan was torched," Brambledusk said. "That there weren't any survivors."

"Yes and no." Goldensky sat down. "There were a few survivors, Nightfire one of them. He asked if he could shelter in the forest with the rest of the cats that made it, and Rootstar said yes. They're in tatters, they'll need some time to recover."

"Is it true, though?" Brambledusk asked. "That they targeted the kits, apprentices, queens, and elders?"

Goldensky nodded. "Yes."

Brambledusk's blood turned cold as he looked at Nightfire. It's horrible, he sighed. "Well, thank the gods Nightfire is alive, then," Brambledusk said. "Even if it's only physically. Listen, Goldensky, can I talk to Rootstar? I need his help."

"Sure, my father would be glad to help you." Goldensky waved his tail as he led Brambledusk towards Rootstar. "This way."

Rootstar was talking to Nightfire, his amber eyes soft, until Goldensky cleared his throat and turned to look at Brambledusk. "Ah." Rootstar smiled softly. "What brings you to our camp, little one?"

Brambledusk lowered his head and gazed at Nightfire. "First, Nightfire, I need to tell you how sorry I am for what you and your Clan went through."

Nightfire sniffed but said nothing.

"And, Rootstar, I wanted to tell you that Dapplestar is now attacking our lands," Brambledusk said, turning his head to face the black-and-white tom. "Every day. Morning, afternoon, and night. Whatever patrol goes out doesn't come home unscathed. It's like they've built their own camp there and attack whenever anyone moves."

"That is a dilemma, isn't it." Genuine sorrow shadowed Rootstar's eyes. "First she destroys the lovely pine forest, and now she has her sights on the moor. "What do you need, little one?"

"One of your Dragon Cats," Brambledusk confessed.

"Unfortunately…" Rootstar pressed his lips tight together. "I can't."

"Why?" Brambledusk gasped.

Rootstar twitched his tail. "One of theirs were killed – Lord Artemis. RiverClan is much stronger than we thought, especially with FierceClan. Our attacks are barely working, and it's because of the Dragon Cats. I don't want to put them in any more danger than they already are. They're tired as it is."

"Damn…" Brambledusk clicked his tongue. So, even Dapplestar was able to defeat the Dragon Cats. He sighed. "Thanks anyway, Rootstar."

"I am so sorry." Rootstar walked over to Brambledusk. "I wish I could help more, but I do not wish to injure the Dragon Cats more than they already are."

"I understand," Brambledusk said. "I don't want to hurt them, either." He lowered his head to Rootstar. Guilt swarmed in Rootstar's eyes, but Brambledusk didn't have anything to say. He turned on his heel, waving goodbye with his tail to ThunderClan before bounding away through the forest and back to WindClan's camp.

Well, that was useless, Brambledusk thought as he carved through the moorland and entered WindClan's camp. I really thought I was going to get some help, but if the Dragon Cats can be defeated by Dapplestar, then we've got a super big problem on our paws. He wasn't quite keen on reporting it to Scorchstar, but he had no other choice. He slipped into the clearing and looked around, shocked to see a nearly almost empty camp. Huh…?

"What's going on?" Brambledusk asked Harewhisker, who was one of the only cats in camp.

"Laying for a siege," Harewhisker said. "We've sent hunting and border patrols out to gather as much as we can to hole up. No luck with ThunderClan, I take it?" he added, looking Brambledusk up and down.

"None." Brambledusk sighed. "You won't believe it, but RiverClan got the guardian cats. One of them died, and I guess that they're going to be down for some time. They're recovering in Frostcloud's den but aren't fit for duty yet."

"Damn." Harewhisker's tail twitched in slight irritation. "So they can get the dragon cats, too." Fear shadowed his pale-yellow eyes. "What do we do?"

"What we always do," Brambledusk said. "Stick it out. Fight." Even if we don't have the dragon cats, WindClan is still strong. Harewhisker gazed at him, his yellow eyes glittering. Just as Harewhisker opened his mouth to speak again, a thick stench of blood wafted in the clearing, metallic and nauseating, and Brambledusk turned his head over to see Scorchstar leading a battered patrol through the camp entrance into the clearing.

"Scorchstar!" Harewhisker exclaimed as blood fell from Scorchstar's wounds. The Clan leader staggered into clearing, breathing heavily while the rest of the patrol collapsed around him. Wildheart bounded over to her mate with wide yellow eyes as she buried her head into his side. "What happened?"

"Moonshade and Shellfall happened," Scorchstar growled.

"Shimmerwing to us, too," Heathercloud groaned from behind Scorchstar.

"They're barbaric!" Cinderfall cried out. "No honor." He sighed, pulling himself to his paws. Brambledusk walked over to his younger brother, the need to protect him burning his resolve. I lost two brothers, I won't lose another one.

"Are you all right?" Brambledusk asked him gently.

Cinderfall huffed. "I'm fine." His gaze was full of worry when he looked at Seedberry and Turtledove, who stared at the patrol with their jaw gaping. "I thought the world wouldn't be at war when my kits were full grown warriors. Turns out I was wrong." He let out a dry chuckle. "Dapplestar says she'll unite the realm, but how does this work?"

"It doesn't," Brambledusk said. "There must be another way to unite the realm."

Scorchstar arched his claws and dug them into the ground. "I can't believe this. We can't even leave our own camp without being attacked. I hope the hunting patrol had better luck than we did."

"That was led by Songbreeze, right?" Brambledusk asked.

"Yeah." Scorchstar nodded, gazing around camp, as if searching for the silver she-cat. But there was no sign of her in camp.

"I guess we're going to have to get comfortable," Harewhisker complained, "because this camp is all we're gonna see for a while."

Scorchstar sighed. "It's for the best," he said, "to keep everyone safe."

Brambledusk nodded in agreement. He didn't love the idea of being cooped up in a siege for moons on end, but he also didn't want to risk his Clan being totally annihilated by Dapplestar. Her power was growing more by the day, and so was her strength. They couldn't risk being attacked by a powerful patrol of hers. If they have nothing to fight against, they'll stop fighting, he thought, although he knew it was a naïve way of thinking. Appeasing dictators never worked.

He looked up as the entrance rustled and saw Songbreeze leading the hunting patrol with Lilystream next to her, many cats behind them. Some of them were holding rabbits, but not all of them. They all were injured, and Brambledusk bit back a howl of frustration as Songbreeze walked over to Scorchstar, her torn ears twitching in irritation. Scorchstar looked at her.

"You were attacked, too?" Scorchstar asked tiredly.

"Of course we were." Songbreeze's tail lashed in blatant irritation. "But we brought back something, at least." She looked over her shoulder towards Frostpetal and Redmoon, who held rabbits in their mouths. Scorchstar pressed his lips tightly together and looked around.

"We'll need to increase security on camp," Scorchstar decided. "We need to reinforce the medicine den, the nursery, and the elders' den. Iceheart, Nick, and Waspberry have to be protected, at any cost."

"I'll go check on Iceheart," Brambledusk offered. "See if she needs anything."

"Yeah." Scorchstar nodded as Brambledusk turned on his heel and bounded over towards the gorse bush. He nosed his way through the gorse, the flowers falling at his feet, until he could see Iceheart's soft silver-and-white figure, dappled by the shadows. At her stomach were Cloudkit, Rainkit, and Brightkit. Soft affection for his kin swelled in Brambledusk's heart, and the troubles they went through to protect them.

Iceheart blinked twice as Brambledusk padded over to her. He rested his chin on her forehead. "Are you all right?" he asked her. "Do you need anything?"

"Why does every cat keep asking me that?" Iceheart asked, laying back down.

"Because you just got back from a really rough road trip with three kits after giving birth in the middle of a battle?" Brambledusk quipped dryly.

A smile cracked on Iceheart's face. "I'm fine." She shifted her weight. "I'll be better when this RiverClan nonsense is over."

"Brambledusk!" Brightkit squealed, tripping over her paws to climb to the pale tabby. "Hi! I missed you."

"I think they love you more than they love me," Iceheart remarked as Rainkit climbed on top of Brambledusk's back, while Cloudkit pulled at Brambledusk's tail. "Cloudkit! Stop that, right now!"

"It's all right," Brambledusk said. "I've been through this. Before. With Lightningtalon, with you, with Seedberry. It's nothing new."

"What's nothing new?" Rainkit asked as he hung onto Brambledusk's back. Brambledusk winced at the sharpness of the tiny kit's claws into his skin. Kits' claws were always sharper than an adult's claws. The pale tabby allowed the kit to ride on his back as Brambledusk explained the current situation to Iceheart. He was thankful that it seemed to go over the kits' heads, but he couldn't escape the prying questions.

"Who's Dapplestar?" Brightkit asked. "Why do we need to defend our camp from her?"

"Dapplestar is a cat you never want to meet," Iceheart meowed, reaching her paw out to bring Brightkit towards her as she licked her kit's head. Brightkit squealed in her mother's grip, clearly not enjoying being groomed. Iceheart let her go as Brightkit huffed, and then flopped down next to her mother. "Thanks for letting me know, Brambledusk. It would really make me feel a lot safer if the nursery was reinforced."

"Yeah, I'll get a few cats on that job," Brambledusk said.

"I can help!" Cloudkit exclaimed. "No, really, I can!"

"Hmm, all right." Brambledusk nodded slowly. "So, you three are tough enough to pull brambles?"

"No!" Iceheart exclaimed. "They'll get hurt!"

"We won't, Mom!" Cloudkit meowed, jumping around her. "We can help Brambledusk. We want to work for the Clan, too!"

"Why don't you go to Waspberry and ask her for a story?" Iceheart was nearly begging her own kits. "That's much less dangerous."

"I'll admit, I think hearing stories is better than grueling manual labor," Brambledusk added, examining his sharp claws.

Brightkit exchanged a glance with Rainkit. Then the two kits were off towards the elder's den, their tails lashing excitedly behind them. Cloudkit stayed though, looking up at Brambledusk. His blue eyes were wide with excitement.

"Let me help!" Cloudkit exclaimed.

Brambledusk looked over at Iceheart. Iceheart let out a sigh and said, "If he gets hurt, Brambledusk, I'll never forgive you."

"Ahaha." Brambledusk picked up Cloudkit and dropped him on his back. When he left nursery, he noticed Harewhisker helping Frostpetal drape brambles over the gorse bush. "Ah, they've already started working." He crouched his shoulders, letting Cloudkit scramble onto the ground. Cloudkit looked up at Harewhisker and Frostpetal, his blue eyes round.

"Oh? Are we having help?" Harewhisker looked over his shoulder.

"Cloudkit, what are you doing?" Frostpetal asked.

"Helping!" Cloudkit reached up on his tiny back paws to grab one of the brambles in his mouth. Brambledusk picked him up again, resting him on his back so the tom could successfully rest the brambles on top of the gorse bush. Joy glittered in Cloudkit's eyes when he saw the brambles draping over the bush. "I did it!"

"You got that done quicker than Frostpetal or I did," Harewhisker remarked. "You're a great little worker."

"Another one!" Cloudkit demanded. Brambledusk shrugged and crouched down so Cloudkit could pick up one of the brambles. When the small kit had it firmly in his jaws, Brambledusk lifted himself up again so the kit could drop it on the roof of the den. Cloudkit let out an excited mewl at a job well done.

"Great job, Cloudkit!" Frostpetal exclaimed. Then, in a hushed voice, she said to Brambledusk, "How in all the gods did Iceheart agree to this?"

"She said she'd never forgive me if he hurt himself," Brambledusk said, feeling his whiskers twitch in amusement.

"Sounds like her." Frostpetal's long, plumy tail twitched as she looked over the gorse bush. "We'll have to make sure that this is impenetrable."

"You really think that, if Dapplestar got into camp, she'd attack the nursery?" Brambledusk asked, frowning.

"To be honest with you, I don't know what Dapplestar is capable of anymore," Harewhisker meowed, answering for Frostpetal. "Now that we've learned she exterminated an entire Clan…" He sighed.

"Actually, when I went to ThunderClan, I saw Nightfire," Brambledusk meowed as Cloudkit continued to work meticulously, paying no mind to their conversation. "Goldensky told me that it's true that RiverClan nearly killed them all, but there were a few survivors. Nightfire was one of them – he and the rest of the survivors are living in ThunderClan territory."

"In their camp?" Harewhisker asked.

"I don't think so," Brambledusk replied. "Just in their territory."

"Considering the rivalry Rootstar and Talonstar had, I'm surprised," Harewhisker remarked dryly as he continued to build a barricade of brambles over the gorse bush. He sighed. "I didn't think Dapplestar could get any crueler, after I heard what happened with Mistsong and her Clanmates."

Brambledusk narrowed his eyes. He remembered the rumors drifting from the last Gathering – a cat by the name of Mistsong had apparently rebelled against Dapplestar and had paid the ultimate price with her life. He shook his head – he didn't want to think about Dapplestar. Over his years, he'd dealt with a lot of frightening cats. But Dapplestar surpassed all of them – even Swiftstar. Maybe that's why Swiftstar liked her so much, Brambledusk thought dryly. Because she reminded him of himself, when he was that age.

"Right…" Brambledusk said. "Let's just move on."

Although he wasn't sure if any cat would really be able to, not with the threats at their border. Brambledusk had thought that Iga would be their biggest threat, but he had solely been proven wrong by Dapplestar's lust for power.