Who decides what justice and revenge are? Most of the time when we're wronged, all we want is someone else to pay because that satisfies that monster inside us all. We're naturally selfish and feel the need that our rights and emotions should be taken accounted for first, meaning we will step on others just to achieve our goals or just to get that sweet taste of victory. Everyone has experienced it and if you claim you've never once taken acts of revenge against someone, you're wrong. How about that time when you've secretly spread a lie about one person? Or you actually try to make their life miserable? Maybe it was that time when you did step on them to reach a higher podium? 

We've all done it but was that really the right thing to do? In our views, we see it as justified because we can only see one side of the argument. We're blinded by anger and can't see the other side and their defenses. Who decides what is just and what isn't just? Is it just because you have a certain rule or hold a simple hammer and slam it on a desk? There will never be a real answer to what is just and what isn't because even if you go with the majority, what happens to the others? 

Can you call yourself a good person when you're the one who might be wrong? 

X X X 

Just getting to the leader's den proved a struggle, even if she didn't clash heads with any rogues. 

The first thing that flew in her direction was an injured Breezepaw who had been caught before she could reach her next patient. The striped she-cat looked relieved to see Mothpaw out of the ditch, but she had to get out of the way as her attacker pursued her relentlessly. She dove under the rogue's underbelly and tripped him, giving her friend a few more seconds to flee. Then she raced away before the tom could turn on her and attack. Cats tripped and fell over their own paws as snow flew in the air like a wave. 

She scrambled with her own paws, forcing them to work against the raging tide. Yowls rang in her ears and howls of pain struck the air in jagged chords. The smell and taste of blood lay everywhere and drenched the camp in an endless sea. Mothpaw shrieked just as Goldenpaw went flying, the apprentice's circle broken. Three rogues advanced and chased after the apprentice, his pelt a massive target in the white and red field. She skipped to the side, pulling her tail close, rolling herself in a tiny paw, heart pounding like a drum. 

I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die! her mind cried and screamed with the voice of a mocking crow. Mothpaw snapped her eyes open, her fur spiked out in a silver bush. A rogue flew in the air and crashed beside her just as Lakestalk sprang back into the air, hitting the rogue on the side. The warrior spotted her and curled his lips back, demanding that she return to the fight. She shook her head and crawled out of danger, scanning the field for the leader's den. 

Her heart fell after she noticed she was on the opposite side of camp. 

"I need help... I need help..." she pleaded, looking for a warrior. Swiftbranch had a she-cat over him that was trying to reach his neck and a pesky apprentice rushing toward them at full speed, screaming and shouting. Leopardpaw flung herself at the rogue, causing her mentor to let out a grunt as her body collided into the enemy. Bramblethorn covered a frightened Dovewhisker, handling three rogues on his own as the skittish warrior cowered, the wound on her shoulder draining her strength. An invisible cat crept up from behind, Whitepaw's eyes flashing with concern as she dropped a small leaf at their side, tending to the wound as the CinderClan warrior dealt with the rogues. 

Runningpaw let out a scream and her heart jumped. Mothpaw snapped her head sharply to the side just to see her friend being cornered by a massive tom. He bared his teeth and unleashed his tiny claws, shackles rising as he quivered like a bird stuck in the wind. The rogue crept closer, letting the fear that enveloped the apprentice do most of the work. She scanned for the closest and safest path but each time an opening revealed itself, another cat would step in and block her view. Her heart twisted into a knot and her stomach flipped, adrenaline surging through her body. 

She broke out and slipped through attacks, her pelt slipping by open claws and cats. As she reached Runningpaw, Mothpaw found her mind freezing and time slowing around her, her legs struggling to move. There was another yowl from her friend, causing her to scream. Then she skidded to a halt, watching as the rogue rose on his backlegs, ready to come down on the apprentice. The brown tom lashed out with a paw, nicking the rogue in the chest, tearing fur. The attacker sneered, bringing another wave of terror over the MeadowClan tom. 

Fast as lightning, Mothpaw stumbled on her own paws as a black pelt shot forward like a rocket. The rogue let out a strangled cry just as a black cat threw themselves on him, her claws digging into his shoulders painfully. Like a leech, Olivepaw began to suck and drain the rogue's energy away as she applied pressure, her face hardening. Runningpaw let out a gasp and jumped back to his senses and jumped, wrapping himself around the rogue. With combined effort and strength, the two siblings brought the rogue to the ground. The black she-cat slipped around and stood on the rogue's head, keeping her claws positioned on his neck carefully. 

The two shared a look before Runningpaw leaned over and whispered something in the tom's ear. When Olivepaw released him, the tom got to his paws and broke into a run, slipping back to the forest, defeated. Mothpaw's smile spread, seeing some kind of warmth flooding through her lost friend's face. The black apprentice returned to her stoic look, paying no acknowledgment to her brother. While the tom looked disappointed, he shook it off and gave the she-cat a nudge on the shoulder before they ran in different directions for their next target. 

Mothpaw yelped as Deerleaf's tiny body went soaring into the air, the two crashing into each other. The warrior let out a grunt and despite the lumpy surface she landed on, her claws dug painfully into the apprentice's back and sides as she twisted to face her enemy. Through one eye, she could pick out a gray she-cat coming straight for them, eyes planted on the warrior with bloodlust controlling her actions. 

Not wasting any time, Deerleaf sprang and snatched the silver she-cat by the paw, forcing her to her paws. "Come on! You know how to fight, right? Just help me out and don't get in my way!" barked the tiny cat, hurling herself at the incoming rogue. Mothpaw's head spun for a few seconds before she spotted the two cats, the rogue pushing her kin to the ground. 

Growling, Deerleaf slipped under like a snake and grabbed the rogue by the neck. Mothpaw bared her teeth and jumped, hitting the gray cat on the side as the tiny warrior climbed on her back. Locking claws, the apprentice held tight, hoping her weight would slow the rogue down and give enough time to attack. She blinked and then sunk her paws into the rogue's sides, pulling clumps of fur out as she let herself fall back. A yowl and the rogue fell, squashing her. 

Stop this now...! She thought, unleashing her claws, digging them into the chest of the rogue. I'm sick of getting buried and squashed like... prey! With that thought, Mothpaw summoned the strength to throw the cat off. Deerleaf caught the rogue like she was a bird and threw her enemy to the ground, gloating as she stared at the cat, dealing fatal blows and lashes across the face and underbelly, her backlegs shredding into the she-cat's underbelly as if she was running. 

Her eyes widened with fear and she flinched, reeling back at the sight of the friendly Deerleaf mercilessly slaughtering a rogue. 

"Deerleaf, don't kill her!" shouted Mothpaw, hoping her voice could be heard. "I'm serious! Killing isn't going to get us anywhere at all! Let her run! She's already lost!"

"How do you not understand..." Deerleaf growled. "There has to be some kind of justice for all of our missing cats! Don't you understand?!"

"Just listen to me!" Mothpaw cried, "I don't want to see you turn into something that thinks killing is the answer! Yes, they stole our cats and they might be here, but killing them will only make stealing happen even more! It's just an endless cycle!" 

"It is, isn't it?" A new voice taunted. Mothpaw didn't have enough time to scream or cry out just as a calico pelt sprang out from the snow, taking the apprentice with her.

"Mothpaw!" Deerleaf cried, unable to do anything. She released the rogue and ran after the two, but Cedarsky whirled around, momentarily dropping Mothpaw to snatch another rogue, who yelped just as the calico threw them in the way of the enraged warrior. Alderfang noticed them and his eyes lit with rage at the rogue's betrayal. He hurtled over a pile of rogues and pursued them. 

Cedarsky wasted no time and kicked a pile of snow in the tom's face and grabbed her victim, taking them into a nearby den for a moment. Thrown against the wall, the rogue blocked the exit, her eyes no longer sleepy and lackadaisical. Her demeanor grew like wildfire as she absorbed the strength of fallen warriors into her body, the hostility returning to her, turning her into the rogues Mothpaw heard and feared. 

This is where I'm going to die...? she thought, fearing her chances of escape were low. 

"The thing I live for the most is sleep," Cedarsky started. "But I also need some kind of excitement in my life. Sleep can only really help me when trouble happens, such as this battle. At least... it can provide some kind of comfort. With Nightfall dead and gone, I can finally do what I want; not listen to him all the time."

"T-then what are you going to do with me?" she asked, swallowing the lump in her throat. "If you want to kill me, why haven't you? You've had every chance to..."

"You act as if killing is the only thing I'm good at." Cedarsky licked her paw and began to clean herself. "There's so much I can and can't do in this world, but for the longest time... I've dreamed of killing Nightfall myself. Too bad Shatteredstar and Nettlestar did it in secret. Their excuse of someone as great as him falling victim to a fox attack was dumb. The most I could ever do for them was drag an actual group of foxes to our old camp."

"Whose side are you even on?!" demanded Mothpaw, lashing her tail. "You don't act like you're on our side yet you'll throw your own clanmates in danger. For what? Proof?"

"For excitement," she answered. "And if you want answers, I'll guide you through this battle and fight anyone that tries to stop me. Whether it be a rogue or Clan cat, I'll make sure to end their life. We get to the leader's den that you so desperately want to see and then I can go and take a long nap."

"Why are you doing this? Excitement can't be the answer."  

Cedarsky turned her back to her and she could feel a smirk cross the rogue's face. Mothpaw gulped, unsure what to say. 

Silently, Mothpaw heard the she-cat answer the question so softly she thought it was her imagination. 

"Because Shatteredstar and Nettlestar weren't the only cats that wanted nothing to do with this plan."