IN EDITING

The next morning, Icetail woke up to a rush of cold wind entering through crevices of the den he slept in. He looked around, wondering. Where am I? Where's Silverleaf? Then, he remembered what had happened the previous day.

I was captured by Dewstar—I'm in DarkClan.

He glanced at his surroundings. The other cats in the prison den, Mudface, Grassheart and Windcloud, were fast asleep, with the two CloudClan warriors pressing close together for warmth and comfort. Then his eyes landed on the exit of the den, the only spot that offered a bit of dim light in the darkness, and he stood up, not bothering to stretch as he padded up close to take a look outside. The cats of DarkClan assembled together, leaving to their patrols in large groups as if readying for battle.

His fur bristled at the thought of being in the enemy camp.

"Get back in the den," growled the cat who was guarding them. He knew this she-cat to be Lizardpelt whom he'd met before at a gathering. "Based on Dewstar's orders, you are not allow to leave."

Icetail hissed. "I'm not even outside of the den!" he growled in return. "Why don't you go—"

Dewstar was padding up, making Icetail hold back any insult he was about to say. Lizardpelt dipped her head in respect to the Clan leader. "Good morning, Dewstar."

"To you too, Lizardpelt," he said gruffly. "Icetail, come with me. We are going to speak in my den." He narrowed his eyes. "I know you have only so much to tell me."

"I have nothing to say to you," he growled to the DarkClan leader, easily biting back his lie. Ever since losing Dewstar, endless questions had indeed aroused within his mind. But now that he faced his brother again, eyes watching each other carefully, he the felt anger and betrayal once more.

Lizardpelt bared her fangs. "Don't growl at the Clan leader like that! What disrespect," she scoffed. "Now do as he says!"

"Thank you, Lizardpelt," Dewstar said. "Let's go, Icetail." He turned away, and began walking up to his den. Icetail hesitated, wondering what was happening. But he decided to follow anyways, since he had no other choice. Dewstar was always unpredictable—that was something he and Icetail had in common, so it wasn't safe to be around the DarkClan leader unguarded.

Yet again, righg now I'm in a Clan full of unpredictable and dangerous cats, he thought with unease, the muscles underneath his pelt tensing.

They traveled up a tall slope to the highest point of the camp, where he felt the stares of every cat of DarkClan. Cats muttered insults under their breaths, twitching their whiskers at his capture as they spoke down on MoonClan. Icetail almost slipped on a rock as he climbed the slope and into the leader's den, and his face began burning with embarrassment. When he entered, he saw that this den was surprisingly no bigger than Brightstar's den, except it was harder to see from the lack of light.

Dewstar sat down on his nest, and wrapped his tail around his paws. "Good to see you again, brother." The white tom's eyes gleamed with fake pleasure.

Icetail tried to shake off the feeling of exposure from being so deep in DarkClan territory and sucked in a deep breath. He couldn't lose his composure now. "Why did you want to speak with me?"

"Don't be so dry," Dewstar responded, flicking his tail. "I only wanted a hello."

"Then hello," Icetail snapped. "Now let me go. I told you; I have nothing to say to you, Dewstar." His eyes narrowed. "You betrayed MoonClan—you betrayed our father!"

"I wasn't the one to kill Sparrowheart, it was my Clanmates," Dewstar pointed out. "Blaming me will only make you angry. Remember that time when Featherbreeze was killed in battle, and you became mean to everyone around you? It's all because you blamed Shadowheart all your life."

Anger bubbled inside Icetail. "Don't bring Featherbreeze or my Clanmates into this!" he yelled. "And for your information, you watched your Clanmates kill Sparrowheart with your very eyes! He's our father, and you watched him die without trying to stop it from happening!"

"He only got what he deserved," Dewstar meowed with a shrug.

"He didn't deserve to die," Icetail snarled, unsheathing his claws. "Neither did Softpelt or Vinetail or those other cats from the other Clans you killed."

Dewstar narrowed his own eyes. "You've killed cats too, Icetail. Don't forget that."

Icetail sat back down, knowing that it wouldn't be smart to attack no matter how much he wanted to. "I have, but to defend myself and my Clan," he said, his voice growing lower. "But Dewstar . . . you killed cats for no reason. You told me once that it was a dream that drove you into doing it."

"Exactly. A dream drove me to do it," Dewstar meowed calmly. "I'm sure you had a dream too. But we both have had different dreams. That proved something to me, that our destinies were already shaped out. I want to let you know . . . that MoonClan won't be a Clan for much longer."

Icetail tensed. "What do you mean?"

Dewstar purred. "I remember telling you that I had a dream of leading four Clans. Four, not five. And I decided that the fifth Clan that won't be under my rulership will be MoonClan." Dewstar stood up. "I am going to destroy MoonClan. It's too late for them now."

"No, you won't be able to!" Icetail's fur bristled. "I won't let you, Dewstar!"

"I'm already many steps ahead of your Clan!" Dewstar said, standing up. "DarkClan will overrun MoonClan. You won't be able to stop me."

"Then why are you telling me this?" Icetail whispered to Dewstar.

"Because I want you to see things through my perspective," Dewstar said, his dark blue eyes triumphant. "You know, you have DarkClan blood running through your body too. You have the blood of all the previous DarkClan leaders within you."

"That may be so, but I will always be a MoonClan cat!" he spat, beginning to back away.

Dewstar slowly padded forward to him, making him feel closed in. "DarkClan secretly respects you because of your bloodline, Icetail," the leader went on. "You could always join my Clan . . . as my deputy."

"I will never leave MoonClan," Icetail growled softly. "You have no right to question my loyalty like that."

Dewstar shrugged. "Okay, then. Within four days, you will be dead. You know that, right?" Without another word and his heart burning with anger, Icetail bolted out of the leader's den, straight into the clearing. "Get him back to the prisoner's den!" yowled Dewstar to his Clan.

Fear gripped Icetail's chest. There's nowhere I can run! he thought. In an instant, a heavy weight was brought to his back, and he collapsed onto the ground. Two cats were pinning him down. One got off of him, growling with rage. It was Toadskip. The other cat, Yellowpaw, gave him a threatening glare.

"Go back to the prison den!" growled Toadskip. "We don't want to see you out here again!"

"Go back, or else," added Yellowpaw with a snarl.

Icetail spat a hiss at the apprentice but went on to the prison den anyways. From the far side of the clearing, he spotted his sister, Lilyclaw, staring at him with worry. He simply fixed his gaze ahead of himself. She shouldn't worry herself over me. We barely know each other, he thought sadly.

As he entered the den, Lizardfang shoved him inside. "I knew you shouldn't of gone to talk to Dewstar," she snarled. "Know your place, Icetail!"

"You should know your place!" he shot back.

Lizardfang gave a grunt and fixed her post outside the den as guard. Windcloud stared at him with wide eyes. "What happened, Icetail? Did you try to escape?"

"Of course I didn't. I knew I didn't stand a chance in plain daylight," Icetail murmured. "Dewstar said he wanted to speak with me . . . my paws started moving before my head began to think."

"Must've given you a big scare, then," laughed Mudface bitterly.

Icetail sighed and sat down on his nest, observing the small scratch that Yellowpaw had given him on his front paw. He began to lick it. "Dewstar would never scare me," he murmured. "I wasn't thinking, that's all."

Grassheart's eyes dimmed, and he curled up to his nest, pressing his cold nose on his fur.

"What happened with him?" Icetail asked.

Windcloud sighed. "Tomorrow is our execution," she whispered with sadness. "Grassheart is in disbelief. CloudClan never came . . ."

"Don't think like that," Icetail encouraged. "They can still come."

"I know," Windcloud meowed. "I'm keeping my hopes up. But at the same time, I don't want my Clanmates to get hurt."

Icetail understood, turning his gaze to the outside world. The camp was still dark despite the time of day due of to the tree branches that hung overhead. A figure blocked his view from outside, and his eyes widened when Lilyclaw slowly enter the den.

"Dewstar ordered for me to deliver you all prey," she meowed, dropping down a vole. "I'm sorry, but that's all I can give you."

He nodded. "Thank you."

He waited as Lilyclaw left. Windcloud and Mudface immediately took a few bites from the prey, obviously starved. Grassheart remained in his nest, not in the mood to eat. Icetail decided to let them have the prey. He sighed, and lied down in his own nest.

He was hoping deep down that CloudClan will come to save Windcloud and Grassheart. They did nothing to deserve being imprisoned. Slowly, he fell asleep. Someone was calling him to a dream.

Icetail woke up once more, in a moon-bathed clearing. He looked around, knowing deep down that he was in StarClan. He wondered why he was here. Then, a cat padded out to him, his pelt as bright as the stars. Icetail recognized this cat.

"Sparrowheart!" he gasped.

Sparrowheart purred. "Greetings, my son," he meowed, dipping his head. "You are such a good deputy in my place. I'm glad it was you."

Sadness filtered his heart. "I wish it were you," he murmured, touching noses with Sparrowheart. "Why did you summon me here?"

Sparrowheart looked up. "First, I wanted you to know that I am proud of your decision to stay with MoonClan. I could never have had a better kit," he began. "Secondly . . . I want you to save Grassheart and Windcloud."

"Save them?" Icetail couldn't comprehend fighting with all those DarkClan cats to ensure the two CloudClan warrior's escape. "How?"

"You need to escape DarkClan," Sparrowheart said. "Both MoonClan and CloudClan have low herb supplies on catmint that can't be spared. It will be best if you could escape, and bring along the other two with you." His gaze saddened. "I don't want to see you or those innocent cats dead."

"What about Mudface?" Icetail asked, instantly remembering the DarkClan warrior.

Sparrowheart's gaze saddened. "There's nothing that we can do about Mudface. His destiny is not with StarClan—he is a DarkClan cat by heart. I don't think he is willing to give that up."

Icetail nodded, and pressed his head against his father's. "I'll miss you, Sparrowheart. Thank you."

His father gave him a lick behind his ear. "Bye, Icetail. Featherbreeze said that she loves you."

Icetail purred. But Sparrowheart and the moon-bathed clearing disappeared before he could reply. He woke back up in his uncomfortable nest in the prison den with a start and looked around, eyes adjusting to what was happening. It was night time.

This may work.

He looked down to Grassheart and Windcloud, and nudged them gently until they woke. Sleepily, Grassheart stood up, while Windcloud's eyes opened.

"What's happening?" murmured Windcloud.

Grassheart yawned.

"We're escaping," Icetail whispered back. "I'm getting you two back to CloudClan."

Windcloud's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"We won't make it," Grassheart said bitterly. "How in StarClan's name are we going to get passed the den guards—yet alone past the camp guards?"

Because StarClan said that we could, he though, knowing it would be wrong to reveal that secret.

"Grassheart is right," Mudface meowed, revealing that he was awake. "There's no way. DarkClan is going to get you all and not only will Grassheart and Windcloud face their trials, but you will as well, Icetail."

Icetail bristled. "Since when were you awake?" he growled. "You won't tell Dewstar, will you?" Fear gripped his heart. Sparrowheart and the rest of StarClan trusted Icetail in escaping with the CloudClan cats.

Mudface shrugged. "I would dig my way out, but ever since that incident moons ago when the prisoners found out that they can do that, thistles have been placed on the other side. You'd be caught before you could get through them."

"I wouldn't want to go there," Icetail murmured. "We'll go another way."

"You can leap onto the branches and climb your way out," Mudface meowed. "Now let me go back to sleep." He curled back in his own nest, covering his eyes with his bushy tail.

I can't believe Mudface just helped us! he thought with surprise. He thought that all DarkClan cats were bad, but he was wrong. After all, Flameheart was always a good cat. He just chose to live his destiny with MoonClan instead of his birth Clan. And he didn't think Lilyclaw was all that bad either.

"Icetail, we don't know how to climb," Windcloud finally meowed. "We were raised on open fields, not in a forest full of trees."

Grassheart nodded in agreement. "And how will we get passed the guard?" he asked.

Icetail snapped his head in their direction. "Stop pointing out the obvious, it's not making anything better," he growled. He sighed, and looked outside the den. "Climbing is easy, by the way. Use your tails for balance, and your claws for grip."

"How about the guard?"

"When Lizardfang is not looking, we're going to make a run for it," Icetail said. Quietly, he crept toward the entrance, and peeked out. His eyes widened. Lizardfang was asleep! StarClan must be helping us. He beckoned his tail for the two warriors to come.

They both crept after Icetail, and looked at Lizardfang with astonishment. He crawled out of the den, and once he saw that no cat was in the clearing, he made a run for it. He ran toward the overhanging branches, and leaped for one that looked sturdy enough to hold him. His claws gripped on the soft bark, and he hauled himself up.

He reached down, helping Grassheart up by the scruff, and next, Windcloud. When the two were safe on the branch, he whispered, "Let's get out of here!"

He leaped from one branch to another, the two warriors following close behind. Finally, he landed down on the ground just outside the DarkClan camp. He crept from his spot as soon as he made sure that Grassheart and Windcloud were following close behind him.

That was easier than I thought it would be!

"Let's go to our Clan!" Windcloud declared, running up ahead to scan the area. Icetail followed her, and Grassheart padded behind the two, keeping watch out in the back.

But suddenly, he heard an alarming yowl. The apprentice, Yellowpaw, had spotted them. She must've been a camp guard!

"Run for it!" Icetail yowled, bolting from his spot. "DarkClan is big, follow me so that we don't get lost!"

He remembered the way where the warriors of DarkClan had led him to the camp. He began to run, whipping past trees. Turning around, and saw Windcloud and Grassheart struggling.

"We can't keep up with the trees!" yowled Grassheart. "We aren't use to the forest!"

"Keep close behind me," Icetail called, slowing down for them. He turned fully behind him, and noticed three DarkClan cats chasing after them. "Never mind—no time to slow down!"

He ran faster once more, and could feel both the CloudClan warrior's breath on his flank. As long as they kept close to him, they could use their speed as an advantage and easily whip past the trees without crashing.

The scents back were clear and fresh, and the memory of the route back was becoming clearer in his mind. Since he wasn't lost, he knew that he was getting closer to the MoonClan border.

Icetail quickened his pace and forced himself to keep his head high. He felt weak from the lack of food and poor treatment from the DarkClan cats, and he could tell that Windcloud and Grassheart felt the same way, if not worse, for being there longer than he was. If they were caught, they wouldn't stand a chance!

Finally, he could scent the MoonClan border markers. "We're almost there!" he called over his shoulder. "We can make it!"

He quickened his pace, and so did the other two cats. With long strides, he ran down the path, until finally, he crossed the border to MoonClan. Panting, he turned around to see the DarkClan cats cross over the border with him. In a swift moment, Yellowpaw leaped at him, but he dodged her easily.

Windcloud was being tackled by Lizardpelt, and Grassheart was pinned down by Toadskip. Icetail turned back to his opponent, Yellowpaw, who lunged herself at him once more, spitting with rage. She's just an apprentice! he thought, knocking her down to the ground with a kick. He nipped her ear and gave her a blow to her side, which made her yowl with pain.

"Get out of here!" Icetail snarled, "or I'll give you scars you'll never forget!"

With fear, Yellowpaw raced across the border and back onto her own territory. Without thinking, Icetail ran to Grassheart's aid, forcing Toadskip to fall off of him.

"Thanks!" Grassheart rasped, and he leaped to his paws.

Side by side, Icetail and Grassheart drove Toadskip across the border, each smoothly landing blows on the DarkClan tom. He turned to Windcloud, who had just sent Lizardfang running off.

"We did it!" gasped Icetail. "I never thought I'd make it back to MoonClan!"

"I've missed being out in the open," agreed Windcloud with a nod. "We have to go back to CloudClan at once!"

"Wait!" Grassheart yowled. "More cats are coming!" He angled his ears toward the forest, and three more cats ran out. "We'll never make it back!"

"We can drive them off," Icetail encouraged. He leaped at the first cat in reach, but he was knocked out of the air by another DarkClan cat. A she-cat bit down at his torn ear, making Icetail yowl with pain. The other cat, Greenpaw, was forcing him to the ground while the she-cat landed blows to his pelt.

He felt like his fur was being ripped off. He struggled to fight away the stings, but could do no more than fight to keep the two cats off his neck with all his strength.

Windcloud fought off a DarkClan tom while Grassheart was laying on the ground, clearly injured. He struggled harder against the two cats who were pinning him down. I have to help Grassheart! he thought with worry.

"Say hello to those StarClan fools for me," growled the she-cat. She was about to land the death blow on Icetail's neck with outstretched claws, but instantly, she and the apprentice were flung off of him. His eyes widened. Three MoonClan cats ran out of the bushes. Icetail immediately noticed Brightstar, Silverleaf and Redsky.

Silverleaf was fighting off Greenpaw, growling with rage. "Get off our territory, you mouse-hearts!"

He looked at her, admiring her courage before staggering up and onto his paws. His legs wobbled from the blows he received and his pelt stung as if he were on fire. Turning, he saw Redsky helping Grassheart back onto his paws, and Brightstar pinned down the she-cat who had Icetail trapped. "Don't mess with my deputy, you scum," she snarled.

"Then his little apprentice should watch where she puts her paws!" retorted the DarkClan cat. Instantly, Brightstar and the warrior clashed, gripping each other around the neck as they raked each other's bellies with their back claws.

Silverleaf chased Greenpaw over the border, a long but faint scratch on her right flank. As soon as she made sure the apprentice had gone, she raced toward Icetail, worry in her eyes. "You reckless idiot!" she gasped, licking the wound on his pelt. "Your always getting yourself into these kinds of messes!"

Icetail steadied himself on his paws. "I have to look out for my Clan," he responded weakly. "We have to help Beightstar . . ."

"No, you lost all your energy," Silverleaf meowed.

"But she's on her last life!" Icetail insisted, glancing toward Brightstar's direction. The two warriors were still fighting. Blood and fur flew everywhere. He couldn't tell who was winning.

Silverleaf studied them for a second, and nodded. "Wait by Redsky and the CloudClan warriors. I'll help Brightstar." She dashed from her spot before Icetail could protest, leaping back into battle. The DarkClan cat was biting down hard on Brightstar's neck. Icetail's heart almost leaped with fear. Let her go! You'll kill her! he thought with dread.

But before anything, Silverleaf landed on the warrior, knocking her off of Brightstar. The MoonClan leader gasped and sputtered, taking a deep breath as Silverleaf engaged in battle.

"I'm coming!" Icetail meowed, running up to the MoonClan leader. He let her lean on his shoulder. "We have to go soon. More warriors are going to come!"

Brightstar weakly turned to Silverleaf. "Help her . . ." she rasped. "That warrior is tough."

Icetail nodded, and let Brightstar lean on Windcloud. The CloudClan warrior had already had driven away the cat she was fighting against, but she was left with two scratches on her muzzle.

Icetail forced himself to steady on his paws before leaping by Silverleaf's side in battle, allowing energy to flow through his blood as he growled angrily to the DarkClan she-cat.

"So you're back on your paws," the enemy laughed.

Both Silverleaf and Icetail tackled the her simultaneously. Silverleaf bit down on her ear, hard enough to cause a tear, while Icetail scratched her hindlegs with fully outstretched claws. The two of them fought the cat in unison until the DarkClan cat was visibly weakened.

She struggled under Icetail, breaking free and running across the border. Panting, Icetail turned to his mate. "We did it!" he exclaimed.

She nodded. "Fighting with you was like fighting with ai—you work perfectly with my moves," she purred.

Redsky ran up to them. "This is no time to be talking," said the she-cat. "More DarkClan cats are going to come soon. We have to get back to camp!"

"They really want to kill us!" Icetail growled to himself with frustration. "Let's go, Redsky."

Brightstar weakly turned to Icetail's direction. "Y-you are a good deputy, Icetail," she murmured.

"Save your strength, Brightstar," Icetail advised. "You need it for MoonClan."

He began to lead the cats back to camp, keeping at a steady pace. Brightstar and Grassheart were injured deeply, and he didn't want to pressure them.

We have to get them to camp, fast! he thought. Those wounds could kill a cat!

* * *

Once Icetail got to the MoonClan camp, he rushed the Clan leader and Grassheart to the medicine den with the help of Silverleaf, Windcloud and Redsky. Sweetheart looked at him, surprise and worry in her eyes. "You're back!"

"I am," Icetail meowed with a nod. "Can you please see to them? They got very injured in a fight between DarkClan."

Sweetheart set them down. "You all need to get your scratches checked later. I have to see to Grassheart and Brightstar first," she murmured.

Icetail dipped his head and left the den. He was immediately met by a crowd of cats. Amberpaw was the first to greet him. "Icetail!" she cried. "I thought you'd of died because of me!" She buried her face in his fur. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's not your fault," he reassured his apprentice, giving her a lick behind her ear. "I only stayed there for a night. It was not too bad."

"Not too bad? You were in DarkClan territory!" she protested.

Squirreltail padded up. "Who are the CloudClan cats? Why are they here?" he asked.

"CloudClan is raiding MoonClan!" Shadekit cried. "MoonClan, attack!" He leaped onto Berrykit.

Berrykit clawed at Shadekit. "Never, you Clan of weaklings!" the kit squeaked back.

Sagepelt growled of disapproval. "Both of you, get back to the nursery! This is warrior business," she scolded her kits, herding them away.

Icetail turned to Squirreltail and the rest of the Clan. Now that the kits were gone, he was able to tell the story. "I escaped with them. All three of us were under the same situation, so I knew that we all had to get out of it." His eyes dimmed. "And DarkClan planned to kill them tomorrow . . ."

"We're glad your back, Icetail," purred Dropeyes. "I thought I'd never see you again." She touched his nose to his, and he returned the favor.

Before any of his Clanmates could say anything else, Sweetheart immediately ran from her den and to Icetail's side. "Icetail! It's urgent!"

Icetail whipped his head in her direction. "What is it?" he demanded.

Grief welled into her eyes. "I-it's Brightstar!" the medicine cat wailed. "She told me to tell you to lead well . . . a-and then she stopped breathing."

Icetail's eyes widened. "You don't mean that she . . ."

Sweetheart buried her face in his pelt. "She's dead, Icetail! Brightstar is dead! I couldn't save her—the wounds on her neck were too deep!"

Silence consumed the camp.

Brightstar was . . . dead?!