"Berrybush! Berrybush, please answer me!" Poundpaw wailed as Wolfpaw shoved of the last piece of rock from the tan warrior's body. "Berrybush, you can't be dead! You just can't!"

"You were going to be our deputy one day!" Meadowpaw cried, burying her face in Berrybush's fur.

Wolfpaw looked down at the limp body of the young respected warrior. She was going to do great things and she had to go and get crushed trying to save them. He realized it was his fault, he never should have brought the younger apprentices down to the caves. If he hadn't, Berrybush would still be alive! Why didn't StarClan take him instead. It was all Wolfpaw's fault and he couldn't take it back!

As if having another warrior die in front of Wolfpaw wasn't enough, the water suddenly began to rise. Meadowpaw and Poundpaw jumped away and pressed themselves close to the older apprentice. Wolfpaw quickly grabbed Berrybush's body and swung it to where the rest of the rubble sat.

The water was rising! They'd have to leave with out Berrybush. They couldn't drag her away from the water. Wolfpaw held back a frustrated yowl and pushed Meadowpaw and Poundpaw toward some ledges. Meadowpaw wanted to stay and bring Berrybush, but Wolfpaw shoved her on. He then pushed past the brother and sister and began running to one of the tunnels. He felt Poundpaw and Meadowpaw hot behind him as he used his senses to find a way out.

Then he saw the grey tabby at one tunnel. Wolfpaw quickly bolted toward him with Meadowpaw and Poundpaw close by. Poundpaw and Meadowpaw didn't seem to see the small StarClan cat. Wolfpaw continued looking back to see the water was rising faster than he thought. Meadowpaw was kicking some drops in the air with her back legs as she ran.

When Wolfpaw looked back, the grey tabby tom was standing at a tunnel high above the water. He ran to where the tabby stood and waited for Poundpaw and Meadowpaw to run ahead. He followed after and looked back to see the StarClan tom was gone. Water was beginning to flow up the tunnel. Wolfpaw looked back and saw the tunnel lead to a small den. Wolfpaw began to panic when he saw the way out lead to a Twoleg nest. If they went out, Twolegs would catch them, or a band of kittypets. Wolfpaw stood over the younger apprentices, preparing for water to overcome the den.

When nothing happened, the silver tom turned to see the water stopped at where they came in. Rain poured outside as Wolfpaw moved away from Meadowpaw and Poundpaw, who cowered close to each other. Wolfpaw lowered his ears and his tail dropped. He had to get back to camp. Glaregaze would have his tail and Adderstar would probably be so angry he'd postpone his warrior ceremony!

The rain fell hard and Wolfpaw rolled his eyes when he saw Twoleg kits playing outside. Twolegs were crazy!

"We're going to have to stay here until the rain stops..." Wolfpaw finally told the younger cats. "Those Twolegs could catch us and I think the rain is responsible for flooding the tunnels."

"But I don't want to stay here too long!" Meadowpaw wailed. "I want to go back to camp and feel Lambpelt's soft pelt!"

"Stop complaining!" Poundpaw hissed. "There's no other way out! We're stuck here until that water goes down!" The brown tom's amber eyes glared down at the hole where the water rippled, but, thankfully didn't rise any more.

Wolfpaw wrapped his tail around himself as he lied down, putting his paws underneath him. Poundpaw and Meadowpaw sat on two different sides of the small den. They didn't seem to pleased with one another at the moment. If anyone was to be unpleased with, it was Wolfpaw. He's the one who got them all in to this mess! If he hadn't shown them the tunnels, Berrybush would still be alive, Poundpaw and Meadowpaw would be safe, and Wolfpaw wouldn't be in this predicament.

Was StarClan showing him what would happen when he became leader? Did Adderstar have to go through tests like these as a warrior? How many cats had the leader lost? How many lives did he have left? What was Wolfpaw's leader going to use his last life on?

Memories of being in the nursery returned to the silver tom's head. Bramblestripe and Berrybush had been made apprentices. During the ceremony Sparrowwing watched Bramblestripe with amusement and administration in her eyes. Hazeleyes was watching Adderstar. She didn't seem to remember that Bramblestripe and Berrybush were the main cats of the entire ceremony. Her amber eyes shone as Adderstar called out the warriors that would train the new apprentices. His loud powerful voice made the cream colored she-cat's fur rise.

Then when she was made a warrior, Wolfpaw noticed how thrilled she looked when Adderstar put his head on her muzzle. Would Adderstar act the same way if he didn't think so much of ThunderClan. Wolfpaw cared for ThunderClan as much as the next cat, but he wanted some car by his side. One that wasn't a deputy. A beautiful she-cat that loved him just because she loved him. Not because he was leader.

Would any cat love such a short time, who didn't even know what he was doing? Wolfpaw's heart ached beyond what he had been through. If Wolfpaw couldn't have a sister, mother, or a friend who sacrificed her life for him... Then there was no one to love him enough to have kits with him. He wanted to do everything he and Foxkit would have done if she had been here by his side. He was going to train twice as hard, hunt twice as hard, and love ThunderClan twice as hard for the both of them. Wolfpaw felt it in his gut that Foxkit wanted to be more than just a warrior. She would have been a good mother. She was Hazelnose's daughter after all.

Speaking of the two she-cat's. What were they doing in StarClan? Were they trying to reach him right now? His heart yerned to see them in his dreams. But, he had to stay awake in case the rain stopped and the water lowered down. The sooner they got out of the den the better. Bellowvoice would be furious if his kits weren't brought back soon.

After a while, Wolfpaw opened his eyes and realized he had been sleeping. He quickly turned to see Poundpaw and Meadowpaw were fast asleep, snoring up the den. The silver apprentice then turned his green gaze to the entrance of the small den. The sun was rising over the Twoleg nest! They spent the whole night there! Wolfpaw was going to have to wake the others up now if he wanted to get them to ThunderClan safely.

As he got up, two older cats came up to the entrance to the small den. Their happy looks turned dark and full of hate. One was a beautiful tortoise-shell she-cat with eyes that seemed to pierce right through Wolfpaw. The other was a sandy tom with much normal looking blue eyes. Wolfpaw's fur rose when he saw the two unsheathed their claws.

"Clan cats!" The she-cat spat with such anger, it made Wolfpaw want to run away and never look back. But, he couldn't leave Meadowpaw and Poundpaw. They hadn't had much battle training yet. The younger apprentices woke with a jolt at the sound of the angry yowl.

"What are you three doing here?" the sandy tom growled.

"We were in the tunnels!" Wolfpaw answered quickly. "And the entrance crumbled down, we couldn't get out, and then the water from the rivers was rising, so we had to escape a different way. We couldn't leave her because Twolegs were out there! We'll leave now, we didn't catch any prey!"

"You Clan cats are all the same!" The tortoise-shell hissed. "Lying, thieving, and Caniving!"

"We're not lying!" Poundpaw shot.

"Alright," the sandy tom lifted his head and eyed the apprentices skeptically, "I'm going to ask a question, answer truthfully and we'll let you go, answer with a lie and we'll rip your tails off!"

"What's the question?" Meadowpaw asked, shakily.

"There's a she-cat in ShadowClan, her name is Mimi" The tortoise-shell started, "Marshstar took her away there and is keeping her hostage, she has a kit now. Tell us, does she wish to leave, stay with ShadowClan? Does she love Marshstar? Does Marshstar love her? Is her kit like her, or him? And-"

"You said you wanted a question!" Poundpaw interrupted. The sandy tom lashed his claws at the brown apprentice, making Poundpaw fall back and yowl on agony.

"And, does ShadowClan treat her like one of their own?" The tortoise-shell finished.

Wolfpaw tried to think. How was he supposed to answer those? He hadn't shared two words with the black she-cat. The apprentice took a short breath, closed his eyes, and thought. A cold leaf-bare filled his memories. The barn that sat between RiverClan and WindClan was covered in snow. Six cats stood just outside the huge entrance. Three were playing in the snow. Wolfpaw recognized the tortoise-shell she-cat, Mimi, and the muscular black tom that looked like her.

"I wonder what the forest is like?" Mimi asked. Wolfpaw realized that the ShadowClan queen wasn't covered in scars. Her eyes were full of hope and cheer. A much older she-cat called Mimi down and all of them headed back inside the den.

Wolfpaw blinked and found himself in ShadowClan. He turned to see a younger looking Marshstar looking worryingly down at an older she-cat. She was coughing and her fur was matted. Marshstar shook his head as he walked out the leader's den and out to where Darkvines, the medicine cat, was standing.

"She's getting worse, Marshclaw," the grey and black tom meowed sadly, "there are two more lives left, after that... Maplestar will die... And you'll be leader."

"I know..." Marshstar, lowered his ears.

Wolfpaw's eyes widened when he realized that this was when Marshstar was deputy! This must have been when he took Mimi in too. He seemed too loyal to be mates with a kittypet.

The ShadowClan medicine cat turned and went to what Wolfpaw guessed was the medicine den. Marshstar shook his head and looked up at Silverpelt. It had grown darker since Wolfpaw saw Mimi's memory.

With another blink, Wolfpaw found himself in a warm new leaf. Marshstar and Mimi were sitting on a rock, their pelts pressed close together. Their tails were intertwined and hanging from the rock. Had Mimi really fallen in love with Marshstar?

"Mimi, I want you to live with me in ShadowClan." Marshstar spoke.

"I can't..." Mimi spoke sadly, moving her head away from his. "Angel has gotten sick... The more time I leave the barn, the more sad she gets... If I leave for good...."  the black she-cat trailed off. Wolfpaw lowered his ears, knowing full well what was around the corner.

"She can come too!" Marshstar pleaded. "Once I'm leader, you both will be welcomed!"

"Marcus doesn't like you..." Mimi turned to look at her mate. "He says that if we keep seeing each order... We'll just end up hurting each other..."

"Mimi, the only thing, in this world, that could possibly hurt me is never being with you, every paw step of the way!" Marshstar sat up.

"I'm sorry... But I can't leave Marcus to care for Angel alone..." Mimi lowered her head, followed by Marshstar.

Wolf closed his eyes. What would happen next? What happened to her to make Mimi go live in ShadowClan. Very carefully, Wolfpaw opened his eyes to see Mimi, the black tom, the sandy tom, the tortoise-shell, the older cat, and a white tom with black stripes sitting in the barn. All of them were asleep, except Mimi, who looked out the barn longingly.

That's when seven cats came from the shadows, making Mimi stand up in surprise. The cats attacked her and the other barn cats. Mimi was trying to help her brother, but the blows she was receiving were making her weak. The other cats were doing their best, unfortunately they were all pinned down and wounded. They spoke to Mimi, who lowered her head, said her good byes, and left the barn with the Clan cats. They went all the way to ShadowClan through the tunnels, where Marshstar waited. He was furious when he saw the scars on Mimi. He forced the other cats away from her and called in Darkvines to tend to her wounds.

Wolfpaw suddenly felt joy and sorrow when he found himself in another Sen, where Mimi was lying with a small sandy and brown kit. She wrapped her tail around the mewling bundle and kicked it happily. Darkvines let out an irritated sigh before walking out and getting Marshstar. The brown tom pushed past the medicine cat to run  in to the nursery. His eyes shined with pride as he looked down at his new born son.

"You may pick any name you want, my love!" Marshstar finally told the black she-cat. Wolfpaw almost thought he saw a grateful look on Mimi before she looked back down and curled her tail around the kit.

"Snarl... I want to name him Snarl..." Mimi answered.

"Here in the Clans, his name will be Snarlthroat!" Wolfpaw turned to see Tortoisepelt with two kits glaring at Snarlkit and keeping close to their mother.

"If Mimi wants to name it just Snarl, then his name will be Snarl!" Marshstar spat.

"No... I'll name him Snarlkit," Mimi spoke, "I want Snarlkit to be a warrior and I want to stay in ShadowClan to see him become the greatest warrior in the lake."

When Wolfpaw blinked the last time, he found himself in the small den, where the two barn cats were waiting or their answer patiently. The silver Clan cat told them that Mimi and Marshstar were very much in love, but they were just having minor complications. She wanted to stay in ShadowClan for Snarlpaw, so she could see her son become  a great warrior. The barn cats looked at each other with mixed emotions of anger, confusion, sadness, pain, and worry. Wolfpaw wondered what they planned on doing, not that he had told them about Mimi being a permanent ShadowClan cat.

Finally, the two hissed angrily and stormed off, leaving Wolfpaw, Meadowpaw, and Poundpaw alone. He turned to his Clanmates and then went to the tunnel.

As they trekked through the drying ground of the cave, Wolfpaw kept his mouth open in hope of finding another tunnel back to ThunderClan. He could smell other Clans and other places that seemed far from home, but none that smelled even close to ThunderClan. If they could get to WindClan territory, maybe they could escape to ThunderClan before any cat noticed.

"When are we going to get out of here, I'm hungry!" Poundpaw snapped. Meadowpaw looked back and glared at her brother before turning her head away and following Wolfpaw. "Isn't there anything in this place we can eat?"

"I don't think so," Wolfpaw flicked his tail.

"I can feel my stomach eating itself!" Poundpaw complained.

"Would you shut up?" Meadowpaw yowled, spinning around to face her littermate.

"I haven't eaten all morning!" Poundpaw hissed.

"Just grin and bare it!" Meadowpaw flicked her tail before turning back to Wolfpaw.

"But, I-" the brown tom stopped and looked around the cave excitingly. "Do you smell that?"

Wolfpaw tasted the air and the smell of a freshly caught black bird filled his senses. Poundpaw pushed past him toward a tunnel and Wolfpaw quickly followed him, so that he could stop him. They had no idea what was on the other side of the tunnel! What if the foolish apprentice ran in to a fox den?

When the reached the end Wolfpaw skidded to a stop with Meadowpaw bumping in to him. A RiverClan warrior was glaring straight down at them while another held Poundpaw by the scruff. Wolfpaw lowered his ears as he looked at the patrol. They were caught.