Hey, everyone. Man, It's been a long time. Since it's Super Bowl Sunday, I've decided to stay at home and goof off instead of going over to freaking Kerman with my parents. Guess what! My old computer died! I'm using my brothers' cruddy computer that is so freaking slow it takes 20 mins to load a page of pure text! (okay, not really, but you get the idea). But here's the good news: we sold the mini van! It was in terrible condition and it actually sold for $1,500! And part of that money goes to buying me a new laptop! WAHOO!

In other news, I had an amazing report card last semester. Like, it was astonishing. And I'm taking accelerated classes. Next year I'm going to take AP classes too! Best news is, I'm taking debate in sophomore year! I love debating in my Journalism and AVID classes, so I decided just to ditch J2 and take debate instead. I mean, I'd rather take Journalism 2, Avid 10, and Debate, but I gotta take Spanish.

Anyway, on with ch. 26 (if anyone still reads this, anyway).

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Chapter 26

This was the day. After deciding not to tell Bluestar what was going to happen, Leafpool felt very scared and kind of guilty. Had she done the right thing, advising Squirrelflight and Stormfur not to tell Bluestar that kits would be stolen, and that either an apprentice or the medicine cat would die? It was too late now, the night was about to fall, and that would be it.

Firepaw was called into Bluestar's den. Leafpool remembered that this was the moment when Bluestar admitted to Firepaw that she had lost her seventh life, and not her fifth. Of course, being a medicine cat, she already knew that, but she needed to keep quiet for the good of the Clan. Even Squirrelflight didn't know unless she remembered the old stories. Leafpool and Squirrelflight lingered next to the den and listened to their conversation.

"Thank you for sharing this with me, Bluestar," Firepaw mewed.

"I am tired now," Bluestar rasped. "Off you go. And Firepaw, I don't expect you to repeat this conversation to anyone."

"Of course, Bluestar," Firepaw replied. The lichen curtain moved, and Squirrelflight and Leafpool hid before he could see them eavesdropping. Firepaw started heading towards the apprentice den.

"Three, two, one," Leafpool whispered to Squirrelflight, remembering exactly how her father had told the story.

"My kits! Someone has taken my kits!" Frostfur yowled in pain as she sprinted into the clearing, her tail bristling and her eyes wide with alarm.

Tigerclaw bounded over to her. "Quick, everyone search the camp! Whitestorm, stay where you are. Warriors, patrol the camp boundary. Apprentices, search every den!"

Everyone began breaking up to their assigned places. Leafpool watched, frozen in panic, as Firepaw ran into a den, stayed for a few seconds, then ran into his own. He darted out of his den and went over to a far part of the camp, just to see Yellowfang disappear. I can't believe I'm watching this. This is all happening just as Firestar described it to me. It's the most incredible thing in the world.

Oh, no! Now was the time Spottedleaf was supposed to be found dead. Leafpool paused, waiting for Tigerclaw to yowl behind the nurserey, but it didn't happen.

Then, Leafpool's eyes shot to the medicine den. Cinderkit was waddling towards there, and Leafpool bounded up to her. "Cinderkit, why are you going that way?" Leafpool asked.

"My brother and sister are gone, and my mommy's upset. I need to talk to Spottedleaf," Cinderkit wailed.

"Just a minute, okay Cinderkit?" Leafpool said. "Stay right here, I need to go in there."

Just then, Squirrelflight ran up beside Leafpool. They exchanged a look, and quietly crept through the tunnel that was the entrace to the medicine den.

They peeked out through the tunnel. Spottedleaf had Sandpaw in a corner, and was stalking back and forth in front of her. Spottedleaf's back was turned to them, and Sandpaw took no notice.

"You've humiliated me. You've embarrassed me. You've taken Firepaw, the only cat I've ever loved, from me. And now you, Sandpaw, will pay the price," Spottedleaf said in a threatening voice.

"Spottedleaf, please. It doesn't have to be this way!" Sandpaw yowled.

Then, Spottedleaf lept at Sandpaw. They tussled around the den, but eventually Spottedleaf came out on top. She held Sandpaw down with her forepaw and hooked a yew berry onto a claw on her other forepaw.

"And now, you die!" Spottedleaf pried Sandpaw's mouth open and had a bloody fire in her eyes as she dangled her paw over, about to shove it into Sandpaw's little mouth.

"NO!" Squirrelflight lept into the den triumphantly, and Spottedleaf looked on in fear. She lept at Spottedleaf, and the two of them kept rolling over and over in the fight. Sandpaw sprang in after. Leafpool sat back and watched. Then, a rustling in the bushes caught Leafpool's attention. Clawface had entered the den through the camp wall!

"Stop fighting!" Leafpool demanded at once. Once the fighting ceased and the three she-cats broke apart, Leafpool walked up to Clawface. "Clawface, what were you sent here to do?" she asked him.

"U-um... I was told to kill the medicine cat, but take it easy, okay? I... I don't have to. I can go to another Clan, and kill their medicine cat instead. Just don't hurt me!" Clawface shrank back in fear and whimpered.

"Okay," Leafpool said. Clawface straightened up. "You can kill her, just don't tell anyone we had any involvement."

"Really?" Clawface asked.

"Really."

"And I won't get suddenly ambushed?" Clawface asked.

"Yes. We'll even leave before you end it," Leafpool said.

"Thanks! I would have gotten in so much trouble from Brokenstar if I didn't kill her. But it looked like your two friends were already going to do that for me," Clawface breathed a sigh of relief.

"We'll be going now," Leafpool said, and she, Sandpaw, and Squirrelflight left the den in a hurry and snuck far across camp.

"Wow, Leafpool, that was pretty cold-blooded of you. Maybe you are my kit after all," Sandpaw flicked Leafpool's ear with her tail affectionately.

"I can't believe you were able to do that without cracking," Squirrelflight commented.

"I feel horrible," Leafpool said. "Spottedleaf has helped us so much, Squirrelflight, and we betrayed her trust. I just wagered the death of a medicine cat with a ShadowClan warrior!"

"Shh!" Squirrelflight cut Leafpool off. "There's no time to worry about that now, we can pay our respects to her later, when people find out she's dead."

Tigerclaw's yowl sounded from the bushed behind the nursery. All the cats raced over to him, headed by Frostfur. Tigerclaw was standing over a motionless Spottedleaf.

Bluestar stepped forward, and nosed Spottedleaf's body. "She has been killed by a warrior blow," she mewed softly. Sottedleaf was pretty scratched up from the fight, but there was a deep wound at the back of her neck. That must have been the wound that Clawface made.

Suddenly, at the back of the crowd someone yowled, "Yellowfang is gone!"

Leafpool and Squirrelflight knew what would happen next. They knew that Yellowfang would be blamed for all of this. But it didn't matter. All would be sorted out. They had done their job, and that's all that mattered.

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Sorry if it was a little short. Wordpad doesn't count pages like Word does. And sorry if I spelled things wrong. It also doesn't have spellcheck. I really need that laptop soon. Maybe it'll drive me to do more writing!

Love you all, I'm glad to be back.

Golden Ice