Mousepaw looked at her clanmates in horror, mouth gaping, then shut it firmly. Without a word, she turned around, and strode out of the barn. Peartail followed her.

Once the two she-cats were gone, Almondfall and Bullheart looked at each other. Then, they grinned. Bullheart leapt up and let out a joyous whoop, while Almondfall laughed happily and ran around.

"We did it!" Bullheart yowled, leaping into the air again. "When the remnants of the regime return, they'll think that everyone died!" The two best friends bumped each other in celebration.

"Let's go wait with the others in the woods until the regime comes and inspects the barn," Almondfall suggested. He bumped Bullheart's shoulder with his own. "Great acting, by the way. Those sobs seemed very genuine."

Bullheart grinned back at Almondfall. "You did great too! I mean, that whole thing with being betrayed by Mousepaw? Totally would have bought it." The two toms padded out of the barn, leaving it behind as they headed into the trees.

After a trek that took about as long as a hunting patrol, they reached a hidden clearing in the trees. As soon as they broke the tree line, Curlypaw's head popped out from behind a tree. He let out a squeal of excitement, and darted directly toward Almondfall. His uncle happily embraced him, laughing.

"Almondfall, you're back!" he cried happily. "Did it work, you think? Will the regime cats think we're dead?"

"Oh, it worked very well, Curlypaw. They were very convincing," Wheatflower purred, padding out of the trees. Almondfall's face visibly brightened at the sight of the she-cat. She padded up to him, and he buried his face in her fur.

"I'm sorry about everything, Wheatflower. I didn't know what would happen when Horsefrost came into power, or that he was just as bad as the kittypets," the tabby tom murmured. Wheatflower shook her head, and twined her tail with his.

"No, Almondfall, don't blame yourself. Horsefrost was your brother. There was no way you could have known," she replied. She glanced at Bullheart, who was waiting patiently with Curlypaw. She flicked her tail at a cluster of rocks on the edge of the clearing. "Cherrypool is with everyone else underground. You can go too, Curlypaw. Tell Peartail that I'll be up here until she comes up to take watch."

The two toms headed for the cluster of rocks, and soon disappeared through a practically invisible hole, descending below the soil. Once Almondfall and Wheatflower were out of view, Curlypaw looked up at Bullheart with confusion.

"Bullheart, why were Almondfall and Wheatflower acting the way you and Cherrypool do when you're together?" the apprentice asked. Bullheart looked down at Curlypaw, then back up at the dirt tunnel.

"Well, before Horsefrost took over, Wheatflower and Almondfall were mates, but then Horsefrost forced Wheatflower to be his mate instead," Bullheart replied. Curlypaw frowned, then looked back up at the ginger tom with wide eyes.

"Bullheart, does that mean that Almondfall is my real father?" he asked, eyes glimmering hopefully. Bullheart shook his head, and Curlypaw's face fell. The apprentice looked back down at his paws. "So Horsefrost is my real father, then?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, Curlypaw," Bullheart replied, placing his tail comfortingly on the young tom's shoulder, "but in a way, it is sort of like Almondfall is your father. Horsefrost is only biologically your father. After all, it was Almondfall who played with you when you were a kit, and who was there for you when you were sick, not Horsefrost."

Curlypaw nodded, and tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "Horsefrost really only took an interest in Seedpaw. But it wasn't like Seedpaw was my brother, really. He bullied Mousepaw. He would have bullied me too, if I wasn't so much bigger than him. I know he's dead now, and I should be sad, but he only ever caused pain to other cats."

Bullheart was surprised at the maturity of the apprentice. Seedpaw was, in fact, actually dead. He had been a spy for Horsefrost, and had been brainwashed to follow the beliefs of the regime, unlike his siblings. He had expected Curlypaw to not understand why Seedpaw had had to die for their freedom, because unlike Wheatflower, he hadn't expected the tom to be mature enough to realize that Seedpaw wasn't actually a good cat, despite the fact that he had been family.

The two cats rounded a corner, and they were first met with the sight of Sheepwatcher and Woollytuft playing with Mousepaw, their grandkit. Curlypaw bounded to his sister, while Bullheart continued around the corner to look for Cherrypool.

"Mousepaw, Almondfall's going to be our father now!" Curlypaw exclaimed, fur puffed up excitedly. "Apparently, he's Wheatflower's mate! She never really loved Horsefrost!"

Mousepaw gaped at her brother, then sat down, whiskers twitching with anticipation. "Tell me all about it!" she squealed. Sheepwatcher twined his tail with Woollytuft's as they listened to Curlypaw share what Bullheart had told him.

"Almondfall and Wheatflower are back together, then," Sheepwatcher mewed, his voice a deep rumble. Woollytuft purred in response.

"I'm glad. They deserve to be together after what Horsefrost put them through. And Curlypaw and Mousepaw deserve a real father," she told him. Sheepwatcher nodded, and they continued to watch the two apprentices.

Meanwhile, back at the FarmClan barn, the regime had decided to gather their forces, and search for any remnants of the cats who had killed their leaders. With Horsefrost, Boarstorm, Rabbitflight, and Hayshade dead, power fell to Plumsong, accompanied by the physical force of Ryeblaze and Oatstrike.

The three cats split up and methodically scanned the hay, trying to find anyone hiding amongst it. Eventually, Plumsong threw a clump of hay angrily through the air, and yowled.

"They're all gone! It was down to Almondfall, Bullheart, Peartail, and Mousepaw when I was forced to leave. Almondfall and Bullheart must have killed the other two, then fled!" Ryeblaze looked at him with disapproval, but didn't say anything. Oatstrike ignored the small tantrum, in favor of asking a question.

"Well, three cats can't begin the Regime anew. What's your plan, Plumsong?" The ginger tom stopped his tantrum, breathing heavily to calm himself down. When his breathing had returned to normal, and he had had enough time to think, he spoke.

"We leave FarmClan. It's worthless now. I believe that RanchClan is still under the rule of the kittypets. We go there, begin an uprising. They'll be so grateful to us that they put us in power," he replied. Oatstrike nodded with approval, a sign for him to continue. "Of course, we need a plan to get in. As a medicine cat, my skills will be needed, and you are both good fighters. After the successful rebellion, you, Oatstrike, will become leader, and Ryeblaze will be your deputy."

"Us?" Ryeblaze asked, shocked. Plumsong outranked them. If anyone was going to be the leader of the regime, it was supposed to be Plumsong. But the ginger tom nodded to confirm it.

"Yes, you. I'm a medicine cat. We don't fight, and RanchClan needs to rally behind strong fighters. Of course, as medicine cat, my opinion will be strongly valued," Plumsong declared. Ryeblaze and Oatstrike nodded. With their plan confirmed, the three cats padded out of the barn, intent on starting the Regime anew. They never even looked up in the rafters to see that Honeyshine, far above them on a beam that would have been extremely difficult to get to, was listening to their every word. When they had left, the she-cat carefully descended to the ground, and raced for the FarmClan base.

When she arrived, Peartail, who was on guard, was there to greet her. She saw the speed with which Honeyshine was approaching, and stopped her.

"Honeyshine, what is it?" the elder asked, concerned. The tabby she-cat seemed torn on whether or not to keep going until she reached the others, but eventually spoke.

"The regime is leaving FarmClan, for good. They plan to take over RanchClan," she replied, a sense of urgency in her voice, "I was instructed to go hide in the rafters of the barn to see if they returned, and they did." Peartail's eyes widened, and she quickly ushered Honeyshine into the base.

Once inside, Honeyshine ran to the first cats she saw, Cherrypool and Bullheart. The calico she-cat was the first to speak, as she saw the urgency in Honeyshine's expression.

"They're moving, aren't they? Who are they going after?" Cherrypool asked. Honeyshine gulped, then responded.

"RanchClan. They're going to take over RanchClan."

With the declaration audible to everyone in the cavern, the cats immediately began rushing around and preparing. With five elders and two apprentices, FarmClan only had five warriors: Bullheart, Almondfall, Cherrypool, Honeyshine, and Wheatflower.

The five cats gathered near the exit, with little time to say their goodbyes.

"It's okay Wheatflower, we'll take care of Curlypaw and Mousepaw while you're gone, and make sure that they don't follow you," Goatleap assured the dilute tortoiseshell. Wheatflower dipped her head gratefully at the elder, ignoring the protests of Curlypaw and Mousepaw.

"Make sure you get those foxhearts," Barleythorn mewed to Almondfall, his eyes glowing with a pent up rage that could have only been formed through moons. Almondfall nodded, and with that, the five warriors left the cavern to chase down the remnants of the regime.

They raced through the trees, keeping a good, fast pace that they could sustain for a while. As they approached the RanchClan border, they slowed, and Almondfall sniffed the air.

"They're coming. We need to ambush them. Bullheart, you and Honeyshine take Oatstrike. Wheatflower and I will take Ryeblaze. Cherrypool, you take Plumsong," the tabby tom ordered. The other four nodded, and immediately hid, just as the sounds of the three regime members became audible.

"Remember, you two must try to get apprentices. The only way we get our ideals to spread is by teaching the younger cats. The older warriors will be too stuck in their ways to recognize the power of the Regime!" Plumsong declared, as he broke into view. Oatstrike and Ryeblaze padded into view soon after him, and the FarmClan cats struck.

Almondfall dropped down on top of Ryeblaze, as Bullheart charged Oatstrike from the side and Cherrypool bowled Plumsong over. Wheatflower and Honeyshine soon joined in the battle.

Severely outnumbered, the regime cats never stood a chance. When the FarmClan cats padded away with nothing but a few deep scratches and Bullheart's torn ear, they left behind three shallow graves that would never be visited again.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Moons later, FarmClan had resettled in the barn, and things were going well, much better than they had under Horsefrost's regime. Almondfall, now Almondstar, had agreed to become leader, only if they returned to the former naming conventions that Horsefrost had rejected. Almondstar had made Bullheart his deputy, and given Curlypaw's training over to the ginger tom.

While Bullheart had trained Curlypaw to become an impressive warrior, Mousepaw followed a different path. With the way of the medicine cat lost to FarmClan, it had been decided that one cat would go to RanchClan to learn all of the knowledge that had been lost, and take the mantle previously held by Rabbitflight. The only one to volunteer was Mousepaw.

The small she-cat, while she had liked being a warrior, knew that she would be happy in either role. Most importantly, of the five warriors, four of them had mates, and none of them would be willing to give that up. Honeyshine was a great hunter, and Mousepaw knew that Curlypaw would make a far better warrior than she ever could. Besides, she had never wanted kits, so she was the best fit for the job.

Mousepaw had returned from RanchClan with an impressive amount of herbs, as well as a new name, Mouseleaf. Throughout her time at RanchClan, Curlypaw had worked just as hard as she had during his apprenticeship, and earned the name Curlysplash.

Curlysplash and Mouseleaf's names weren't the only things to change, however. About a moon or two after the regime had been defeated, Cherrypool and Bullheart had announced that they were going to have kits. Mouseleaf arrived just in time to help Cherrypool give birth to three kits, named after three of the cats murdered by Horsefrost and Boarstorm for speaking out against the regime. Chickenkit, Roosterkit, and Henkit were all told the story of their namesakes, a story that warned against the perils of power-hungry cats.

Only a few moons after Horsefrost had taken over FarmClan, three warriors and siblings had realized that the tom was just as bad as the kittypets had been, if not worse. They were named Chickenfoot, Roosterclaw, and Henfeather, and were Peartail's kits. Chickenfoot was the mate of Honeyshine, and the father of Ryeblaze and Oatstrike, although his kits would never get to know him. The fourth cat of the group had been Roosterclaw's apprentice, Grasspaw. When Horsefrost had harshly punished Grasspaw for an honest mistake, Roosterclaw had gone off on the tom, loudly yelling about how they had overthrown the kittypets to get a democracy, not a dictator.

Horsefrost and Boarstorm had been furious, overtaken by a cold anger and ready to attack the hotheaded tom. But Chickenfoot and Henfeather has stepped forward to defend their brother, so they couldn't kill him in public.

The next morning, the clan had awoken to find Chickenfoot, Henfeather, Roosterclaw, and Grasspaw all missing. Boarstorm fed the clan lies about the group being dissatisfied and leaving on their own, but everyone knew the truth. The four cats had been murdered.

Now that the regime was gone, FarmClan could acknowledge the truth and honor their fallen friends. Roosterkit, a ginger and white patched tom, was just as large and athletic as his namesake, although with a bit more intelligence. Henkit, a light calico she-cat, was fiery and hotheaded. Chickenkit, a dark grey and white tom, was very cunning, and the most intelligent of the siblings.

The three siblings weren't the only kits in the nursery, however. Wheatflower had given birth to a kit around the same time that Cherrypool had given birth to hers, a grey tabby she-cat with a penchant for hiding and sneaking around. Almondstar and Wheatflower had decided to name their daughter Grasskit.

Soon, it was time for the kits to be apprenticed. Sheepwatcher, Woollytuft, Barleythorn, Goatleap, and Peartail were very proud of the kits, and were ready to watch the next generation enter apprenticeship. The five elders didn't really do much, as old as they were, but they knew that the clan would be just fine.

"It is time to gather amongst the bales!" Almondstar yowled, announcing the start of the apprenticeship ceremonies. The four kits waited eagerly underneath the bales, as their leader looked down at them.

As he looked down at the four kits, he patiently smiled. Then, he looked at the rest of the clan. "It is my great honor to announce the apprenticeships of these four kits. They are ready to begin the steps of becoming warriors, a fact we have all known for a while. Grasskit, now Grasspaw, will be apprenticed to Cherrypool! Roosterkit, now Roosterpaw, will be apprenticed to Curlysplash! Chickenkit, now Chickenpaw, will be apprenticed to Honeyshine! And Henkit, now Henpaw, will become my apprentice!"

The members of the clan cheered. These were the first apprentices who hadn't lived under the regime. And there would be more to come, indeed.