"Echopaw, let's go! The warriors should be close! We need to get going to the big twolegplace already."

   The sun had rose, shining brightly across the farm. Everyone had woken at the same time except for Echopaw, still weary from last night's conversation, but Dawnpaw was too excited to be tired. Echopaw could understand her excitement. He really wanted to meet the warriors as soon as he could too. But he was too sleepy to get up with the rest.

   Mudpaw, Crowpaw, and Gingerpaw had already gone outside, Echopaw was still in his nest, and Dawnpaw was pushing him out of his nest, telling him to get ready to leave. Echopaw was very nervous though. He was going to meet living warrior cat. Would they be the same as the ones in StarClan, or would they be even tougher? Echopaw had thought up a thousand questions, and none of them had been answered. When will he ever discover the answers? Another question to add to the list.

   "Echopaw, please. The warriors may already be at the meeting spot. We need to go!" Dawnpaw kept nudging him out of his nest.

   Echopaw finally listened to her and got up. He felt invigorated, but at the same time timid. He stretched his legs and walked to the barn clearing. "So when are we leaving?"

   "Now." Dawnpaw hurried to the entrance and slipped through. Echopaw took his time, either out of the laziness he was having or out of the annoyance of Dawnpaw. He couldn't decide which one was the reason, so he considered that both were causing his sluggish movement.

   As he crawled out of the barn, he smelled the fresh scent of mice hit his nostrils first. He then heard Gingerpaw in the distance shouting. "Echopaw, everyone's waiting on you!"

   "I'm coming." Echopaw ran towards the voice. He was able to see the group, the whole family, eating some mice they must have caught this morning before he woke up. Surprisingly, he just noticed that the sun was almost all the way into the sky. He'd slept for a long time.

   Mudpaw grabbed a mouse with his claws and tossed it at Echopaw's face. "Here you go sleepy-one. Eat up." Mudpaw laughed as the mouse hit Echopaw directly on the nose and fell to the ground. His laughing ceased when Crowpaw looked at him.

   Dawnpaw hid a giggle behind a paw. She looked along the thunderpath leading into the trees that separated the old clan territories from the Big Twolegplace. "We have a long walk and Echopaw has already used up some of the sunlight. Let's get going as soon as possible."

   "First, I want to say something." Crowpaw sat up straight after finishing his mouse. His expression was very stern. "We must treat these cats with respect. They are very honorable and very proud of their skills with the clans. We must be grateful that they came all the way from their home to train us." He stood and walked towards the trees, starting the journey.

   Echopaw saw Dawnpaw roll her eyes and tilt her head in the direction Crowpaw went. Echopaw laughed and chased after Crowpaw. Mudpaw came next, the Gingerpaw, and finally Dawnpaw at the back of the group. They were going to travel a long way

   "Oh my goodness. I'm getting very tired sweety."

   They were nearing a cross of thunderpaths. The monsters blazed across the reeking grond of the thunderpath. The field beyond was close to the entrance to the Big Twolegplace. The grass was filled with flowers and plenty of brush, perfect for the cats to get through. They were close, but they still had a long walk ahead of them. There was also the case that they couldn't be seen by any twolegs that made it really difficult to trek across open spaces. The sun was starting to fall out of the sky as well, so time was getting short. It would be even more difficult to find the warriors at night.

   Gingerpaw was talking with Crowpaw. Crowpaw stayed silent.

   It felt like Crowpaw had been acting strange ever since Echopaw told him about his dream. Crowpaw had the same solid eyes and strong stance he had last night. Something in Echopaw told him that he should talk to Crowpaw, until Mudpaw walked beside Echopaw. Mudpaw slightly bumped him and whispered, "Talk with my dad. He needs assurance that we'll be able to get our names back into the clans."

   Echopaw kept walking, but looked at Mudpaw. "All your dad wants is to get back into the clans? That explains a lot. I've been noticing he's being very... I don't know the word. Independent? Self-reliant?"

   "Yeah, he gets that way when he hears news involving the clans. But this time it isn't only about the clans." Mudpaw raised his chin and watched Crowpaw stop near the thunderpath. Echopaw stared at Mudpaw questionably. Mudpaw blinked and continued. "Your dream. Are you sure that it wasn't from StarClan?"

   Echopaw nodded. "The fear and horror in it was not very StarClan-like. It felt like it was coming from something much darker."

   "Pfft, that doesn't make anything better, does it?" Mudpaw ran ahead, catching up to Crowpaw. Echopaw chased him closely behind.

   The monsters were a bit slower here, but it didn't give them any sense of relief. All the cats still knew if they made one wrong move here, it could cost them a life. Crowpaw waited until he saw an opening and signaled for all of them to run. Echopaw was able to keep pace with them unlike the first time with Dawnpaw. His speed had doubled after training with Mudpaw to catch mice. He was much more agile and swift, like Dawnpaw. They all reached the other side safely. Gingerpaw didn't look like the prettiest of flowers though. She looked extremely exhausted.

   "Crowpaw, I need to rest. I haven't traveled far in a long time." Gingerpaw was pleading to Crowpaw now. It seemed so... wrong.

   Crowpaw almost would have ignored her again if it wasn't for the push by Dawnpaw. Crowpaw didn't fall, but quietly announced, "We'll split up then. Dawnpaw, stay with Gingerpaw. Mudpaw and Echopaw, come with me." Crowpaw has changed. In a horrible way. What was causing this? Was it really Echopaw's story that did this to him?

   Crowpaw started up the hill, but no one followed. Mudpaw and Echopaw stayed right next to Dawnpaw and Gingerpaw. When Crowpaw approached the halfway point up the hill, he looked back to see if they were following him. They weren't.

   "Echopaw, save my mate from himself." Gingerpaw quietly whispered into his ear. "He's not himself. Please do something to change him back to the cat I used to know."

   Echopaw gazed toward Crowpaw again, watching him turn around and sit. He was far away from the group. It took a moment, but Echopaw drummed up the guts to talk to Crowpaw. He began to walk to Crowpaw.

   Then, Echopaw froze. His eyes widened as he saw eyes appear in the brush behind Crowpaw. At least 4 pairs of eyes were staring at Crowpaw. Echopaw yelled, "Crowpaw! Behind you!"

   Suddenly, four cats leaped out of the bush in different directions, all covering half of Crowpaw's escape directions. Crowpaw may have been quick to turn, but he wasn't prepared as the big gray tom tackled him. The tussled down the hill, swiping at each other furiously. The other three cats followed, getting prepared to jump at the rest of them. Mudpaw ran at the tall brown tom, Dawnpaw set her sights on the small pale she-cat, and Echopaw faced the large tabby tom. It was hard for them to hold their ground when the toms crash into them, almost making them fall onto the thunderpath. The major danger of this fight was going to be the thunderpath, for if they accidently back up onto it, a monster could kill them instantly.

   "Gingerpaw, run. Hide somewhere in the brush across the field." Mudpaw yelled at the top of his lungs while he slashed at the toms paws. He fought valiantly against the big cat, not letting anything distract him. Within every second, Mudpaw was sliding under the tom, scratching his legs from underneath. The tom tried to attack, but Mudpaw was too small for him to get a grip onto.

   Dawnpaw fought with ravagness, clawing the she-cat across the flank. However, no matter how bad the injury was, the she-cat continued to retaliate with heavy force. She kept on tripping Dawnpaw and making her stumble to her paws, leaving Dawnpaw wide open for hits to the face.

   Echopaw was like a shadow, completely relying on the orange toms movements for attack. He copied his opponents moves, imitating all his jukes and slashes. It seemed to work at first, but the tom started to observe what Echopaw was doing and started to throw him off with different patterns. Echopaw lost his balance and started to accidentally back up closer to the edge of the thunderpath. He didn't have much space left to dodge anymore. The tom ran at him one more time, trying to force Echopaw onto the thunderpath, until Echopaw swiftly avoided the charge and turned the tables. Now the tom was in between him and the thunderpath.

   Crowpaw looked intense but horribly injured. The huge om he faced was too strong, even for him to fight. After breaking from the tussle, the tom had put so many scratches on Crowpaw, blood was streaming all over him. Crowpaw repeated all of his movements and attacks, but the tom was too smart to be tricked by anything. Any move Crowpaw made, the tom found an opening and swiped his claws at him. Then, the tom started to jump all over the place, flying over Crowpaw and leaping onto him. Blood began to stain the grass around Crowpaw. He was going to die if someone didn't save him, but Dawnpaw was blocked by the she-cat, Mudpaw was tussling the tom again, and Echopaw couldn't turn away from his enemy or he might be killed as well. Gingerpaw had already left the battlefield, so Crowpaw was on his own.

   "There! There's the cat!" A shout rose above the fight. Echopaw looked for the source of the voice and saw a pale gray she-cat across the field. She was running towards them with other cats behind her. Each one was huge and looked ready to fight at any moment, and that moment was hopefully right now. If they were on Echopaw's side.

   They absolutely were. The big golden tabby tom with ruffled fur that was in front attacked the tom that was on top of Crowpaw. The other three aided Echopaw and the others. The gray tom helped fight with Dawnpaw against the pale she-cat. The cat had very decisive moves that flustered the she-cat. It took no time for him to pin the she-cat to the ground.

   Another newcomer with dark ginger fur and a bushy tail helped Mudpaw. She was great at fighting as well. The tall tom didn't know what was coming when she took him down with her strong blows. The sheer force of the hit knocked the tom fox-lengths away from Mudpaw.

   The final cat was a she-cat with smokey gray fur and a dappled pelt. She helped Echopaw fight off the last tom he was facing. Echopaw saw this as a chance and turned to aid the golden tom fight the gigantic tom off of Crowpaw. This she-cat looked tough enough to him to finish off the tabby tom he had been fighting.

   Echopaw sighted Crowpaw on the ground near the flurry of the two toms, fighting for thier lives. He rushed up to Crowpaw and saw that he was on the verge of death, just like Henry. He needed to keep Crowpaw alive, for Gingerpaw's sake. Echopaw quickly grabbed Crowpaw's neck fur and dragged him to the nearest brush to hide. He then began to grab leaves off the brush to cover the wounds. It was difficult to stop him from bleeding.

   Then suddenly, the other she-cat from before that was fighting the tom appeared next to me. She quickly said, "Don't worry, the other cat has been handled. Just go get some berries from the brushes a bit farther from here. I'll take care of him."

   Echopaw trusted she knew what she was doing and sprinted out of the brush towards the trees where the newcomers came from. In the shade of the trees, the brush underneath hid berries that looked sky blue. They looked like the berries from his old home, but they were a bit bigger. Echopaw picked as many as he could and carried them in a leaf wrap Dawnpaw taught him to make on the farm. Echopaw started to think about who these new cats were. They looked like the warrior cats. They must be the warriors that were sent here to train them. His hopes were starting to rise. Maybe they could save Crowpaw this time, unlike the last time where Echopaw could do nothing to save his friend.

   Echopaw hurried back to the she-cat and Crowpaw. He saw her wrapping the leaves in strange ways to make them cover the wounds more easily. She was trying to cover the wounds as quickly as she could when she saw him come close. "Thanks.  Now chew up half of those and give the rest to me."

   Echopaw did as she told, grinding the berries to a pulp. The she-cat tried to feed the other berries to Crowpaw. He was starting to regain consciousness after eating them. Crowpaw was starting to look better until Echopaw noticed Crowpaw's hind legs. They weren't broken, but looked like they had been misshapen. Echopaw could see that they had been scratched the most. The she-cat noticed this soon after and frowned. "I'm sorry, but I think he won't be able to fight for a long time." She picked up the leaf with the pulped berries and set it down in front of her. She rubbed the pulp in her paws and then applied it to Crowpaw's major wounds.

   Echopaw ran back to the battlefield and saw that two of the cats that attacked had already fled back towards the twolegplace. Only the big gray tom and tall brown tom remained fighting against the golden tom warrior, the smokey fur she-cat warrior, and Mudpaw. The other warrior and Dawnpaw were hiding behind the tall grass inspecting their wounds. They didn't have many, but they had enough to stop fighting. Echopaw charged straight at the gray tom who had almost killed Crowpaw. He was ready to fight.

   Echopaw had the upper hand with the tom too overwhelmed to notice him. Echopaw was able to knock the tom away and leap onto him with his claws outstretched. Before the tom got up, Echopaw piled on top of him, scratching at his face and neck until he slipped away. The gray tom became clumsy with his attacks after he had been temporarily blinded with the blood dripping across his face. The golden warrior finished the tom with a strong slash and grip of his claws. Finally, after the tom was almost completely covered in blood, he retreated with the scarred brown tom close behind. The other warrior and Mudpaw had gave him a few scratches that he won't forget. The battle had finally ended, and it seemed to Echopaw that he had gained much experience.

   All of them were breathing heavily. They all gathered together near the brush where Crowpaw was being treated. Dawnpaw and Mudpaw stood next to their father, almost in tears. Their father was still alive, but just barely. The she-cat who was treating him said that he wouldn't die, but he wouldn't be able to run, ever. Crowpaw overheard this while he was still conscious, but he fell back to sleep after he did. He was no longer able to become a warrior.
   The golden tom came up to Echopaw and nodded. "You did well for your first fight."

   "Actually, it wasn't my first." Echopaw tried to smile.

   The tom smiled back. "Well, it seemed like your first battle you got to fight heroically in." He sat down. "I am Lionblaze, warrior of ThunderClan."

   Echopaw sat and raised his chin to look him in the eyes. "I'm Echopaw, apprentice of StoneClan."
  
   Lionblaze tilted his head to the other she-cat warrior Echopaw helped. "That's my mate, Cinderheart, and the other gray cat next to her is Dovewing."

   "And I'm Squirrelflight." The big dark ginger warrior approached Echopaw. She looked older up close. "Nice to meet the future leader of StoneClan in such a brave way."

   "I'm not that brave." Echopaw shifted his paws.

   "And a humble one at that." She walked past them and introduced herself to Mudpaw and Dawnpaw.

   Lionblaze looked at where Crowpaw was sleeping. "I'm sorry Cinderheart couldn't completely fix Crowpaw's injuries. She's not a medicine cat, but she was taught a lot of the techniques of being one." He gazed around at where they were. The sun was setting and the battlefield had been covered in the blood of both the enemies and thiers. The monsters on the thunderpath had all but disappeared. Lionblaze looked at Echopaw again. "So, is this all of you?"

   Oh no, Echopaw thought. Gingerpaw! Where was she? "No, there is still one more cat somewhere! We told her to flee away from the battle because she was too weak to fight. Where is she?"

   "That's not good." Dovewing interrupted. "I saw a ginger furred cat fleeing from the battlefield when we came."

   Echopaw stood up. "Do you know where she went?"

   Dawnpaw and Mudpaw turned and faced Dovewing, thinking the same question. Dovewing sighed. "That's the problem. I know exactly where she went. Another group of loners took her."

   Dawnpaw and Mudpaw were shocked. They both stared at each other. Echopaw stood motionless. Gingerpaw had been stolen right under their paws. If she had only stayed with them, would she have not gotten killed in the fight? Gingerpaw, stay alive.