Batchaser could feel himself fading in and out of consciousness. His eyelids crackled open every few moments, but his strength would dissipate and he would fall back into a warm, black world. He didn't know where he was, what was happening, how long he'd been out...it felt like his head had been stuffed with cotton and he couldn't think, could only feel.

⠀⠀When he was finally able to completely open his eyes, Batchaser found he was tucked in the back of a brown cave. Outside, showers of white snow formed a foggy curtain he could hardly see through. Batchaser could vaguely hear a stream somewhere far away, and with his senses returning, so did the memories.

⠀⠀Batchaser completely crumpled. His breathing stopped and his paws began to shake, horrors flashing behind his eyelids. Doestar, Spiderstar, Cypressfall, Bramblevine, Hivestripe..... Batchaser's whole body began to ache and then he remembered what he'd done to Doestar, and what she'd done to him in turn.

⠀⠀He absolutely didn't want to, but knew he needed to feel the top of his head and figure out how injured he was. Batchaser screwed his eyes shut, heart beating rapidly, and lifted a shaking paw to the top of his head. He felt for where his right ear should've been, except it was empty air. Batchaser felt his breath stop and he patted his paw to the area and felt the scar curling over his fur, closing up the hole where his ear had been.

⠀⠀"Oh, StarClan," he whispered, and tears involuntarily leaked out of his eyes. Batchaser couldn't breathe, it felt like he was dying, his heart began to beat faster and faster until he started to wheeze, crying hopelessly. "No, no, no, no...." Cypressfall was dead and now he was scarred for the rest of time, physically and emotionally.

⠀⠀And now he was alone.

⠀⠀Batchaser had never minded solitude, but this was something else. He was in a cave he didn't recognize, snow building up outside, injured, freezing, and completely, utterly alone. If he died, no one would be here to see him off. No one would even know.

⠀⠀"You deserve to die alone!" Cedartuft spat, whirling around to face Batpaw. "And you're going to, because even StarClan can see how pathetic you are."

⠀⠀Batchaser began to cry hysterically. His vision was blurred by tears and he grasped at his chest, trying to breathe but completely unable to. His father had been right. He was next, just like Cypressfall. He hadn't even been able to protect her.

⠀⠀"I'm sorry," he sobbed, face contorted into a look of pure agony. Batchaser wasn't sure he wanted to move now. Wasn't sure he wanted to get up, stand, do anything. He deserved to die. He'd let Cypressfall and Spiderstar die. He hadn't even been able to save his own mate, his kits...

⠀⠀Sudden movement at the mouth of the den caused Batchaser to stiffen. His fur bristled slightly but he was  too weak to move, hardly able to even shift his paws. His throat was dry, voice rough and grating. "Who- who's there?"

⠀⠀A shape moved through the snow. Batchaser tried to move, but the hot, flashing pain completely immobilized him. Doestar. It's her. She's come back to kill me or torture me. He began to shake his head and closed his eyes, terrified. "No, no, no," he whispered. "Please don't."

⠀⠀"Batchaser."

⠀⠀He stopped. The voice caught him off guard. It was a tom, for one, but not one he recognized well. Additionally, the voice was low and muffled, but Batchaser realized it was because of his new injury. The black tom's breath rattled in his chest and he forced his eyes to open, staring back at a brown tom, deep green gaze checking over his wound.

⠀⠀Batchaser narrowed his eyes, confused. "Thymeclaw?" he croaked. Somewhere deep in his mind registered the memory of the ThunderClan deputy allowing he and Rushingpaw to pass without a word. He's good...I think.... "What are you doing here?"

⠀⠀Thymeclaw frowned, shuffling his paws anxiously. Batchaser watched as the brown tom dropped a bundle of herbs. "I...I couldn't leave you there to die..." He trailed off.

⠀⠀Something worked harshly in Batchaser's gut. He wanted to cry, wanted to scream, wanted to yell...but he couldn't. "And Cypressfall?" His voice came out as a raspy whimper.

⠀⠀Thymeclaw stared at him in sympathy. Batchaser hated it. "I buried her near the hill."

⠀⠀He closed his eyes, forcing himself to keep the tears in this time. The kindness was horribly overwhelming. "Thank you," he croaked.

⠀⠀There was no response. When Batchaser reopened his eyes, Thymeclaw was pushing the herbs toward him. "Dawnsky helped me patch up your....well." When Batchaser said nothing, Thymeclaw's tail anxiously twitched back and forth. "The herbs- it's nothing bad. Chervil, feverfew, chickweed..."

⠀⠀Batchaser narrowed his eyes. "Chickweed? Don't you...need that for ThunderClan?"

⠀⠀Thymeclaw sighed. "Yes, but Dawnsky insisted. When we found you, you had a severe case of Greencough, half-dead in the snow...you're lucky to be alive."

⠀⠀The black tom scoffed. "Yeah. Lucky."

⠀⠀"You are. Not many cats survive leaf-bare, especially after catching Greencough."

⠀⠀Unlike my father. Batchaser's heart constricted and he sighed, lapping up the foul-tasting herbs in a matter of seconds. "No food?"

⠀⠀"Sorry." Thymeclaw sat down and began to wash his pelt, bushy tail wrapping around his feet. It was freezing outside. "You ate yesterday, that's the best I could do for now."

⠀⠀Batchaser muttered something unintelligible and grunted, laying his chin on his paws. The pain was starting to throb away, slowly but surely. Questions buzzed on the outer edges of his mind. What was happening? Where was Spiderstar? Was Doestar enacting her plan to unite the Clans? Was Jackalstar safe?

⠀⠀He could only start with one at a time, though. "So..." Batchaser frowned. "What happened...after..." His voice died. He couldn't say it.

⠀⠀Thankfully, Thymeclaw understood what he was trying to say. "We returned to camp and left Spiderstar to be guarded by our senior warriors," he said gravely. "After, we.....we ambushed WindClan."

⠀⠀Batchaser stilled. WindClan. Jackalstar is in WindClan. "A-and... what happened?" he prompted.

⠀⠀Thymeclaw looked away. "Half of them ran, half stayed, a few were killed..."

⠀⠀The black tom's breath caught in his throat. Please, let Jackalstar be safe. "Who- who was killed?"

⠀⠀The deputy just shook his head. "I don't know, I didn't stay for the entirety of the siege. Doestar wanted me to take a patrol back to camp and check up on the elders, senior warriors, and Spiderstar. She still wasn't awake. That's when Dawnsky talked to me and said....said she couldn't bear to leave you and Cypressfall out, alone, especially not leave you to die. We found the clearing and your heart was hardly beating. I buried Cypressfall while Dawnsky tended to your... wound..." Thymeclaw trailed off.

⠀⠀Batchaser shook his head. "I'm....confused," he said. Was Thymeclaw playing both sides? Why had he saved Batchaser and buried Cypressfall? Did he approve of what Doestar was doing? "Why are you telling me all of this?"

⠀⠀The brown tom stopped between licks, ears twitching. "Because I...I want this to stop."

⠀⠀Batchaser stared at the ThunderClan deputy, silently willing him to continue.

⠀⠀"Sunpaw told me," Thymeclaw anxiously went on.

⠀⠀Batchaser's eyes widened. "About- about me?"

⠀⠀"Yes." He looked up and met Batchaser's gaze.

⠀⠀"And you believed her?"

⠀⠀"Of course I did." Thymeclaw narrowed his eyes. "She's my daughter, and I know she's never held faith in StarClan before..."

⠀⠀"Wait, Sunpaw is your daughter? I didn't know that." Batchaser shook his head. This was getting more and more confusing.

⠀⠀"Yes. She was in my second litter, a while after Bumbletongue...." Thymeclaw trailed off. "I wanted to stop Doestar, Batchaser. I did. But....I'm trying to keep my family safe."

⠀⠀"So am I," Batchaser growled, muscles aching as he slowly lifted himself to his paws. "But the difference between us is I've already died. Twice. I know what's going to happen if Doestar succeeds in 'uniting' all of the Clans."

⠀⠀Thymeclaw stared at him, wide-eyed. "Wh-what.... will happen?"

⠀⠀"StarClan will fade from existence."

⠀⠀The brown tom sunk his claws into the damp soil, terrified. "No," he whispered. "They can't. They can't leave us."

⠀⠀Batchaser flicked his tail, looking pained. "I know. I'm trying to stop this, Thymeclaw, but I need more help. I need you."

⠀⠀Thymeclaw looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "Me? What could I possibly do?"

⠀⠀"You're ThunderClan's deputy!" Batchaser exclaimed. Was this cat stupid? "Don't you understand? You can tell me what's going on. You can help me- can help us- win StarClan back."

⠀⠀The brown tom was shaking his head. "No, no, no....I....I.. I can't, I can't put my family in danger, if I do this-"

⠀⠀"You're putting your family in danger by not doing anything!" Batchaser snapped. Pain writhed in his chest and his breath came out as a rattled wheeze. He dropped to the ground, darkness flicking at the sides of his vision.

⠀⠀"Oh, no," Thymeclaw said, rushing forward. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, it was my fault, my fault...."

⠀⠀Batchaser's head spun for a moment. He flinched back from Thymeclaw's touch, seeing the look of pain in the other tom's eyes. "I'm fine," he managed, voice softening. How did he go about this? "Thymeclaw....listen to me.. you're a good cat. You helped me when you didn't have to. You buried a cat you didn't even know. There's something inside of you that wants to fight back, I can see it. Don't you want to keep your family safe? Doestar's Clan- this LakeClan- will do no such thing. This war will only put them in danger. Thymeclaw." Batchaser closed his eyes, thought about Jackalstar, and reopened them. "Do the right thing. You've saved my life, and I'm eternally grateful for that. Now you need to save other lives."

⠀⠀Thymeclaw was staring at him. He looked away momentarily, clearly contemplating his options. "What do I do?" he finally croaked out.

⠀⠀Batchaser forced back a relieved breath. "You just tell me what's going on in ThunderClan, okay? It's simple."

⠀⠀The brown tom nodded slowly. "Okay, I- I can do that..."

⠀⠀"Good. Can you tell me what's going on now? What's her next course of action?"

⠀⠀Thymeclaw frowned. "I...I don't know, like I said, I haven't returned yet...in fact if I don't return to camp soon my patrol will get suspicious."

⠀⠀Batchaser shook his head. "Are you already going back to WindClan?"

⠀⠀"Yes, Doestar...." He frowned. "She wants Spiderstar and the senior warriors to come back with me..."

⠀⠀"What about the apprentices? The queens? The kits, the elders?"

⠀⠀"The apprentices are in the battlefield," Thymeclaw said, tail nervously flicking back and forth. "I....she... she said to leave the rest there... take only the senior warriors.."

⠀⠀"StarClan," Batchaser whispered, thinking hard. Okay. Maybe he could get to ShadowClan - they're probably freaking out as we speak - and convince them to come with him to ThunderClan, keep the rest of the cats left behind safe... "Where is Doestar planning to hit next?"

⠀⠀"RiverClan," Thymeclaw said grimly.

⠀⠀Rushingpaw, Pearlsnap, Applestar, Timberfall, Beetlepaw.... Batchaser couldn't let that happen. Besides, Applestar only had one life left. "When?"

⠀⠀"She wanted to let the warriors heal before we strike...so not for a couple of days at least.."

⠀⠀Okay, a few days is better than one. Still, I wish I could spare more time. Batchaser sighed heavily. "How long have I been out? I need to get back to ShadowClan, who knows what's going on over there.."

⠀⠀Thymeclaw shuffled his paws. "A few days at least, maybe four...this is the first time you've really woken up, I can't imagine you'll be able to walk far."

⠀⠀Batchaser shook his head. "Okay, that's fine, I can get to ShadowClan, you need to return to ThunderClan and-"

⠀⠀"Wait, by yourself?" Thymeclaw shook his head, green eyes widening. "No, I can't let you do that, you'll die!"

⠀⠀"More cats will die if I don't try!" Batchaser snapped back, fire lapping in his chest. Thymeclaw shrunk back. "Leave the heavy thinking to me. I'm fine, I'm awake, I'm not going to die. How far out are we?"

⠀⠀Thymeclaw looked at him and eventually sighed. He wasn't going to change Batchaser's mind. "Only a few tree-lengths, you should be back to ShadowClan by... well, not long."

⠀⠀"Splendid." The black tom forced his aching joints to move and heaved himself up beside the wall, trying to keep his footing. "Let's go."

⠀⠀"Batchaser..." Thymeclaw frowned and looked outside. "A bad snowstorm rolled in the night we took you to this cave. I'm afraid you're not going to make it!"

⠀⠀"Didn't I say to leave that up to me?" Batchaser could hardly see, vision flashing with multicolored spots. Thymeclaw didn't need to know that, though. "I'm fine. Get back to ThunderClan and make sure you know what Doestar's next course of action is. If you can, meet me on the outer edges of RiverClan territory in two days at moonhigh."

⠀⠀Thymeclaw blinked at him and physically deflated. "Okay," he muttered, slowly turning away and facing the curtain of snow outside. Batchaser hobbled up beside him, pain flashing angrily in his ear — or lack thereof. He quickly hid it, shoulder muscles rippling with each step. "I....I guess this is goodbye, for now."

⠀⠀"Don't worry," Batchaser said, looking at the ThunderClan deputy. "You're going to be fine, as is your family. Okay?"

⠀⠀Thymeclaw nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Batchaser....if...if you're really able to stop Doestar, my life will be in your debt."

⠀⠀"Consider it paid for saving me and burying—" The black tom's voice died. "Burying my friend."

⠀⠀Thymeclaw didn't respond. "I'll see you in two nights." He flicked his bushy tail and stepped out into the cold, pushing through the thick mounds of snow until the fog building up around the forest covered him completely.

⠀⠀Batchaser squinted through the haze but saw no sign of Thymeclaw anywhere. Looks like it's just me. He breathed in harshly. Show time. The black tom walked out into the snow, cold immediately bowling over his entire body. Batchaser cried out in pain as it stung his eyes, thin fur fluffing out to try and warm himself slightly. The snowstorm was relentless, spirals of wind pushing hard on his body. And I have to go against the wind. StarClan.

⠀⠀He began his trek through the snow, taking Thymeclaw's directions and trying to recognize any sort of ShadowClan scent or marking. Batchaser had no idea where he was — everything was white, pounding against the ground, and all he could see were the tees towering around him.

⠀⠀There. Nature began to clump together, oak trees thinning into pines. He was in ShadowClan. The webs of branches above stopped some of the snow from falling, but the wind was still unbroken, clawing at Batchaser's face. He turned his head away and clamped his eyes shut, trying not to let the snow get in his eyes. Come on. You're close. You have to be.

⠀⠀The thing that set Batchaser on edge was the silence of the forest. He knew it was because of the snow, as he'd seen it before, but with the loss of an ear brought only half of that limited hearing in the current weather. If someone sneaks up on me, I'll be dead before I realize what happened. Shivering, Batchaser tried not to think too hard on that and continued on, shoving his paws through the snow like it was sludge.

⠀⠀Movement in his peripheral vision caused Batchaser to freeze. His blue eyes widened and he sunk his claws into the dirt, grounding himself. Doestar. It's her. She's back, she's come to kill me! But that was impossible. She was out fighting a war in WindClan, preparing for a siege on RiverClan....Shaking his head, Batchaser curled his tail in on himself. "Come out."

⠀⠀A white pelt slid out of the undergrowth. Yellow eyes stared back, wide and shocked and pained. "Batchaser," Cloudflame whispered brokenly.

⠀⠀"Hi," he said, voice wrenching from his throat.

⠀⠀"StarClan." She rushed up to him, scrutinizing his scar. "What- what happened? You were gone for days, Spiderstar disappeared, I thought you were going to talk to me but-" Cloudflame shook her head. "I came back to camp and there was no sign of either of you. But seriously, Batchaser, your ear- I- you shouldn't even be able to walk."

⠀⠀"You should see the other cat," he muttered, leaning on the medicine cat for support.

⠀⠀Usually, Cloudflame would've swatted his ear, but....well. Y'know. "This isn't the time for jokes. Let's get to camp and you can tell me everything."

⠀⠀They reached it quickly, bramble walls blocking out the torrents of snow building in the forest outside. Heads turned and voices cried out. Batchaser ducked his head and tried to stay as small as possible. He hated this — hated the sympathy, the concern. I killed my friend. Because of me, she's dead. Because of me, an innocent — annoying, maybe, but innocent — young warrior is dead. And now look what I've done to myself. I'm basically crippled, Doestar is starting her war....it's over. The hope had drained and Batchaser was sure he'd never feel right again.

⠀⠀Cloudflame rushed him inside the medicine den and Gorsebrush's head snapped up, eyes widening. "Dear StarClan, what happened?"

⠀⠀Batchaser grunted.

⠀⠀The medicine cat set him down in a warm nest, quickly checking him over for any other wounds. She turned and rolled two poppy seeds toward him. "Eat. You need to rest while I properly treat your ear. StarClan..." She scowled and leaned forward, eyes narrowing as she observed the wound on his head. "Whoever did this is an amateur at best, it couldn't have been you though...you're too dumb to know and you wouldn't be able to reach it anyway."

⠀⠀Batchaser bristled. "Dawnsky helped me," he growled.

⠀⠀Cloudflame stilled, looking at him. "Dawnsky?" she said. "Dawnsky, as in the ThunderClan medicine cat?"

⠀⠀Gorsebrush silently watched, glancing between the two.

⠀⠀"Yes." Batchaser's voice dropped due to his exhaustion. He felt starved and weak, like he'd been run over by a car several times.

⠀⠀"Then if Dawnsky helped you, that means you were in ThunderClan. So why don't you start talking and tell me what happened and where my leader is," Cloudflame snarled.

⠀⠀"Don't be dramatic." Batchaser wrenched himself out of the medicine cat's grasp, heart straining. His expression crumpled and the anger was gone, replaced by grief and shame. "I....I talked to Spiderstar and learned some stuff. But my friend who'd been spying on ThunderClan-"

⠀⠀"You didn't tell me this before?" Cloudflame snapped.

⠀⠀"Cloudflame," Gorsebrush said softly, garnering both cats' attention. "Let him speak."

⠀⠀The medicine cat's bristling fur flattened slightly, but she was still on guard. "Fine. Go on."

⠀⠀Batchaser frowned deeply. "As I was saying, my friend- you know, the one from StarClan- had been spying on ThunderClan, trying to distract them while we came up with a plan."

⠀⠀Cloudflame raised a brow.

⠀⠀He sighed impatiently. "Me, Jackalstar, Rushingpaw, Cypr- Cypressfall, Galewhisker, and Shellstar. Anyway, Cypressfall was supposed to meet up with me a few days ago and I got caught up with Spiderstar. She still found us but told us to run." His brows furrowed. "ThunderClan was coming. They'd seen her, I think, hurt her...she was terrified. I don't know what happened, but before we could run they were surrounding us, we couldn't leave..." He trailed off.

⠀⠀"Go on," Gorsebrush prompted gently.

⠀⠀Batchaser shivered. "Doestar wanted Cypressfall. I said no. Spiderstar was angry and-" He closed his eyes and saw the horrors behind there. "Doestar took one of her lives."

⠀⠀Cloudflame bitterly shook her head. "And?"

⠀⠀"And," he snapped, glaring at the medicine cat, "she killed one of her warriors, k-" It hurt to say. Truly. "Killed my friend, and took Spiderstar. I got angry. I- I lashed out, I blinded Doestar, so she decided to take my ear. If I could go back and do it again I would, even knowing what would happen."

⠀⠀The den was silent after that.

⠀⠀Gorsebrush shifted forward and laid his tail on Batchaser's flank. He flinched from the touch. "You did what you had to do. I'm truly sorry for your loss, and sorry for Spiderstar...."

⠀⠀"This still doesn't explain how you're alive," Cloudflame grunted, placing a poultice on his ear wound. "Why did Dawnsky help you? She doesn't even know who you are."

⠀⠀"Because Thymeclaw saw everything. He didn't want me to die, so...he got her to help me. Buried C-Cypressfall."

⠀⠀She raised a brow. "The ThunderClan deputy? Wow, you have friends everywhere..."

⠀⠀Batchaser jerked away from Cloudflame's grasp. "Why are you being such a fox-heart?" he snarled. "I have done nothing wrong and yet you treat me like dirt for absolutely no reason. Why does any of this matter, anyway? I know Doestar's plan, she's already taken over WindClan, RiverClan is next-"

⠀⠀"WindClan was attacked?" Gorsebrush whispered, horrified.

⠀⠀Cloudflame actually looked like she felt guilty. "Look, you need to rest." Her tone became softer. "We can talk about all of these plans later."

⠀⠀Batchaser quickly shook his head. "There's no time. I have to meet Thymeclaw in two days and we need to talk to Applestar before then and come up with a plan. WindClan is taken. Doestar is on the move, and before long...." He turned away. "The Clans will be united as one."

⠀⠀"United as one?" Cloudflame echoed, outraged. "That's impossible. StarClan won't let this happen."

⠀⠀"They can't do anything!" Batchaser exploded, fur bristling. Cloudflame flinched back. "We're the only ones that can control what happens. We have to stop Doestar so the threat of LakeClan doesn't turn into something unstoppable. Will you help me or not?"

⠀⠀Gorsebrush was silent for a moment but eventually nodded, standing on wobbling paws. "I may be old, but I can help. You're right. We must help RiverClan."

⠀⠀Cloudflame sighed, clearly stressed. "We don't have nearly enough warriors to stop Doestar. If WindClan is already taken over, we might as well be too."

⠀⠀Batchaser shook his head. "Thymeclaw said some WindClan cats ran to RiverClan, we may still have time. But we have to hurry."

⠀⠀Cloudflame narrowed her eyes. "And you trust Thymeclaw?"

⠀⠀"No question," he said. "First, we need a patrol to get to ThunderClan and help the elders, queens, and kits Doestar left behind to die. We can take them with us and head to RiverClan tomorrow."

⠀⠀The white she-cat looked like she was going to say something, but clamped her jaws shut. "Fine. Gorsebrush, can you organize a patrol?"

⠀⠀"Of course." The old tom nodded and exited the den, voice ringing across the camp.

⠀⠀Cloudflame's ears twitched and she looked at Batchaser. "You think we can do this?"

⠀⠀He looked away. "I don't know. I hope so, Cloudflame."

⠀⠀She sighed and moved past him, tail resting on his shoulder for a moment. "I'm sorry about your friend," the medicine cat murmured. "Rest. We can take care of everything for now." She exited the den and ducked into the flurry of snow, fur blowing back from the wind.

⠀⠀Batchaser watched her go, claws sheathing and unsheathing as he scored the cave ground. We have to be able to do this. If we don't....

⠀⠀He craned his head to the roof of the den, imagining Silverpelt spreading across the navy sky. Then StarClan is already lost.

A/N: Pretty quick update you guys! This is one of my longer chapters, despite being filler it's still important and I'm really excited for the upcoming chapters. A lot is going to be happening, some plot twists, battles, negotiation, cliffhangers.... I can't wait for you guys to see this story finally unfold with me.

Anywho, what'd y'all think of this chapter? Are the rest of the gang okay? Is Batchaser going to be able to stop Doestar? You'll seeee~! I'd love to hear your theories though.

Thanks so much for reading. Please vote and comment your thoughts, and may StarClan light your path!