Ratscar POV

I tackled Harespring, who snarled furiously at me. The brown-and-white tom struggled against my grip as I kept him pinned to the ground. I managed to deal a few blows to his side before I was pulled off of him by another WindClan warrior. As I was dragged backwards, I was able to catch a glimpse of the battlefield. A few of the WindClan warriors had formed a protective circle around their fallen leader while the others had proceeded to attack the other members of ShadowClan. Cats were engaged in vicious skirmishes across the clearing; the two Clans seemed to be deadlocked currently. It seemed that this would be a long and costly battle, but at least there was no sign of ThunderClan yet.

I was thrown to the ground and found myself staring up at a gray tom, who I recognized to be Emberfoot. With a hiss, I rolled out of the way of a blow aimed for my cheek. I scrambled to my paws and turned to face the WindClan warrior, but was knocked back over again by Harespring, who I had ignored. Pain surged through my body as Harespring's claws dug into my stomach. I attempted to throw him off of me a few times, but that proved to be fruitless. Thinking quickly, I fell limp in his grasp, and then, after a few moments, tried to slither out of it. Harespring must've been expecting this, as his grip tightened. I struggled to breathe as his paw pressed down on my chest. Emberfoot, seeing that his clanmate had me pinned, launched himself at Sedgewhisker, who was already struggling to defeat another ShadowClan warrior.

Harespring chuckled and traced his claw slowly across my stomach, reopening many of the wounds that I had received from Bumblestar in the recent battle at ThunderClan's camp. "You cats are pathetic. You're fighting a losing battle, and yet you cannot be sensible and surrender. WindClan is bet..."

Starlingwing barreled into his side, sending the brown-and-white WindClan warrior tumbling to the ground. "You were saying?" the ShadowClan warrior spat.

I wearily rose to my paws and gave the ginger tom a nod. "Thanks."

"Well, it looks like ShadowClan does not wish to comply!" I glanced over my shoulder in the direction of the loud voice to see a weak-looking Ashstar rising to her paws from inside of her protective circle. "This is an interesting battle, isn't it? Well, rest assured, this is only the beginning! Let the real fun begin!"

Foxleap bounded into the camp, followed by a group of about 10 cats. Some of them were ThunderClan warriors, but half of them appeared to be rogues, because I did not recognize them and they had a disheveled appearance. I curled my lip in disgust. Had Bumblestar resorted to manipulating and allying with rogues?! He truly had no respect for the warrior code or his ancestors in StarClan!

The battle had momentarily halted, and the ThunderClan cats were not showing any signs of attacking. What were they waiting for?

Foxleap lifted his chin with pride and took a few steps forward. "WindClan, form a blockade in front of the entrance. Okay, so, basically ShadowClan, you're not worth our energy or time. We're just going to keep you confined in here until you all starve to death or agree to surrender. If anyone tries to leave, we will kill you without hesitation."

"Why, Foxleap?!" Rowanstar hissed. "Why are you doing this?!"

Foxleap stared at him indifferently. "More land for us and WindClan, and one of Bumblestar's main enemies will be gone. It's a no-lose situation!"

Bumblestar POV

I watched with amusement as Nightpaw leapt at Redpaw, who rolled out of the way. The two apprentices were young and loyal, and it seemed that they would do anything to please me. It was best that they learned now that only the strongest survive in this world, and that claws were the only true sign of strength. It was also good that they had never learned the foolish morality that StarClan demanded; diplomacy and kindness were for weak cats. My favorite apprentices had to learn to never hesitate to inflict pain on an enemy or to obey an order. I would turn these apprentices into ruthless, loyal servants who would do my bidding.

Nightpaw ducked under a clumsy blow that Redpaw aimed at his head, and the reddish-brown she-cat staggered backwards as Nightpaw's claws sliced across her nose. As Nightpaw was preparing for another attack, a wide-eyed Spiderleg appeared through the bushes on the opposite side of the clearing, sprinting towards me. With an irritated sigh, I ordered the apprentices to pause the skirmish. "What is so important that you thought it was acceptable to interrupt a valuable training session?!" I demanded.

Spiderleg looked at me, gasping for breath. "Foxleap...took a...patrol...to ShadowClan..w-with Ash..."

I did not wait for the black-furred warrior to finish his sentence, as I had already figured out what he was trying to tell me. "HE DID WHAT?! Nightpaw, Redpaw, return back to camp. Spiderleg, accompany them; they probably don't remember which trail to take."

Nightpaw stared at me in confusion. "What about you? Where are you going?"

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm taking a little trip to the ShadowClan camp."

Ratscar POV

Rowanstar glared at the ThunderClan deputy. "So ThunderClan is working with rogues now? And also, this doesn't seem like one of Bumblestar's moves. Bumblestar has always sent massive battle patrols, and he usually attacks when he visits another Clan's camp. Keeping us trapped in our own camp doesn't seem like something he would plan. Speaking of that; where is Bumblestar? He never stays behind for things like this!"

The complacent gleam in Foxleap's eyes vanished momentarily, but returned almost as quickly as it had disappeared. "I am here without Bumblestar's consent."

I gasped in shock. Foxleap, the loyal ThunderClan deputy, was giving orders and initiating attacks without Bumblestar's permission?! Why would he decide to do this? Had his loyalty been to himself and his own ambition all along rather than to Bumblestar?

Ashstar shot a questioning look at the reddish-brown tom. "I thought you said Bumblestar had changed his mind, Foxleap?"

Foxleap tilted his head awkwardly, but did not respond.

"So you're going against Bumblestar's wishes? What do you think he'll think when he finds out about this?" Rowanstar asked.

Foxleap chuckled. "Bumblestar will appreciate it eventually. He's not aggressive enough; I had to take the initiative. There's no time to be wasted letting our warriors recover when we could be ruling all of the Clan territories!"

"I'll decide what I appreciate and what actions are appropriate," said a familiar, cold voice.

Bumblestar strolled in through the camp entrance, glowering at Foxleap. The ThunderClan deputy returned his glare with an apathetic, unwavering stare. This seemed to infuriate the ThunderClan leader even more. Bumblestar marched towards the deputy, drawing himself up to his full height so that he towered over Foxleap. "What do you have to say for yourself?!" Bumblestar snarled.

Foxleap didn't flinch or seem the least bit concerned. "We were going to take the land eventually anyways. There was no need to wait; now was the perfect time."

Bumblestar's glare intensified. "I said that we were not going to go with Ashstar to attack ShadowClan today! Our cats are still wounded; it's not the time for claiming this land yet! And I don't even know who these rogues are that you've brought with you! Regardless, you are not the leader of ThunderClan, and you don't get to circumvent my wishes!"

"I make choices that will benefit ThunderClan in the end, and I will continue to do so," Foxleap replied calmly.

Bumblestar, with a crazed look in his eyes, tackled the ThunderClan deputy and prepared for the death blow. "Nobody disobeys me and gets away with it!"

Before anyone could say another word, Bumblestar's paw had swung down and his claws had sliced across Foxleap's throat.

A/N 2: I hope you guys enjoyed! Please comment with your thoughts; I always love to know what you guys think!