"THAT'S SO NOBLE of you. But this isn't our Clan anymore. We are MoonClan now," Spottedsong snarled from inside the prison. Ashbreeze and Mousetail listened intently. If they listened hard enough, maybe they would get information that they needed to keep the Clan safe. "You wouldn't want to die a traitor of two Clans, now, would you?"

     An offensive gasp came from Dawnsplash. "You don't talk to a senior warrior like that!"

     Is Spottedsong loyal to MoonClan? Mousetail thought with shock. How long has this been happening? She looked at Ashbreeze with alarm.

     Ashbreeze's green eyes flashed with fear. She flicked her ears toward the camp as if to say Go.

     Mousetail nodded and raced toward the camp. When she came in, she saw Hollyfern in a lively conversation with Gorseberry. "Hollyfern!" she gasped. "Go help guard the prison. Hurry!"

     Hollyfern glanced at Gorseberry swiftly before hastily hurrying out of the camp, her tail streaming behind her as she turned the corner. "What is this all about?"

     "No time. I'll tell you later." Mousetail flicked her tail hastily. She raced toward the waterfall and burst into the den where Lynxstar was. "Lynxstar!"

     Lynxstar looked up quickly. "Don't you know to ask before you come in?" she asked.

     "This is important. Important enough to ignore rules like that," Mousetail informed her as Lynxstar sat in front of her, her tail curled over her paws. "Ashbreeze and I heard Spottedsong and Dawnsplash talking about MoonClan."

     "Predictable. They were obviously working with MoonClan like the other traitors that left us," Lynxstar muttered under her breath. "What about MoonClan?"

     "Spottedsong was saying something about not being loyal to FrostClan anymore. Dawnsplash wasn't agreeing, though," Mousetail explained quickly.

     "Why? She's a traitor, too," Lynxstar queried.

     "Spottedsong was saying something about a voice. Something that is related to what's happening . . . I don't really know how to explain what she said." Mousetail shifted her paws from under her uncomfortably at the mention of Moonclaw. She hadn't met the RiverClan medicine cat, but from what she knew from Dovepaw, she wasn't a normal cat.

     "Just say what she said." Lynxstar sounded more careful and relaxed now.

     "Okay. She said, 'You know from your own experience that there's no way to resist going because of that voice.'" Mousetail gazed at Lynxstar with uncertainty, feeling a shiver run down her spine as she spoke. What if this happened to her? It already happened to five cats that she knew of, and maybe even more.

     Lynxstar looked uncomfortable, too. She didn't talk for what seemed like moons. Her eyes were wide with fear. Her fur bristled a bit. "Are you sure that's what you heard?"

     "Surer than ever," Mousetail assured her. "That's what I heard."

     Lynxstar fell silent again. She looked at her paws for a moment and then back at Mousetail. "I'll make sure I at least attempt to figure out more. Did you hear anything else?"

     "Well, I heard Dawnsplash saying that she never meant to try and kill Frozenfang. She said that after she hesitated to hurt her, she didn't feel like herself anymore," Mousetail explained. "I was thinking that it sounded a lot like what Foxclaw said before he left. That he never had the intention to kill Frostfeather. I was thinking that he really wasn't lying."

     Lynxstar looked thoughtful. "Do you think it's related to the voices that Spottedsong and Dawnsplash mentioned?" she asked.

     "Maybe. I mean, if Foxclaw and Spottedsong and Dawnsplash all experienced the same thing, then it would only make sense. The only thing we need to find out now is where Moonclaw is and how she can do this," Mousetail added with a soft growl.

     "Wait—what? Moonclaw is involved? Explain to me how you know this."

     "I heard Spottedsong say that Moonclaw has a way of getting into her victim's heads. And I'm guessing that's how Dawnsplash and Foxclaw attempted or succeeded in killing their Clanmates even though they didn't want to," Mousetail replied.

     "Is that what you heard? Hm." Every time Lynxstar answered, she looked more and more uncomfortable. Mousetail felt sympathy for her leader and guilt for bringing up such a sensitive subject. But it would determine the life or death of the Clans. This will be over soon. "Okay. Let's go to the prison and see if we can get some more information out of them."

     Is that really what you want? Or do you just want to punish them some more? Instead of protesting, Mousetail followed Lynxstar out of the den and toward the prison. When they approached, Hollyfern and Ashbreeze looked nervous. "Why the nervous faces?" Mousetail questioned.

     "S-Spottedsong is missing," Ashbreeeze responded nervously, her eyes flitting from Lynxstar, the prison, and back. "We have no idea where she went. There seems to be a hole in the ground, though. She might have gotten away that way. But we didn't follow any trail or anything because we, well, we couldn't leave our post."

     "Good idea. Where is Dawnsplash?" Lynxstar stepped forward to peer into the den. Mousetail stepped up behind her. Dawnsplash was curled up in the corner of the den, resting. But Mousetail could tell from her restless fidgeting that she couldn't sleep. "Dawnsplash," Lynxstar meowed.

     Dawnsplash looked up, her blue eyes glinting in the darkness. Her ginger-and-white fur was ruffled with restlessness and her eyes were dark with weariness. "What is it?" She even sounded tired.

     "Where did Spottedsong go?" Lynxstar demanded, obviously ignoring the fact that Dawnsplash looked like she hadn't slept in days.

     "I don't know." Dawnsplash sounded scared. She gazed at Mousetail with an especially scared expression. Mousetail wondered why. "I was sleeping after an argument we had, and then when I woke up, she was gone. I'm sorry; I wish I could help."

     Lynxstar growled low in her throat. "Of course you don't know. We will find her without your help, I guess." She turned with an annoyed flick of her tail.

     "Wait!"

     Lynxstar and Mousetail turned back around, blinking at Dawnsplash curiously. "What is it? Do you know where she went?" Mousetail asked hopefully.

     "I-I don't know where she went, but when we had our argument . . . i-it was about a lot more than just b-being in here." Dawnsplash took a deep breath to steady her shaking voice. "It was about MoonClan. MoonClan has been doing this to us. The RiverClan medicine cat, Moonclaw, is the cause. She puts these voices in our heads that sometimes control what we do, and we can't stop it. She might have gone to MoonClan. Mousetail, I know you know where it is. Can you find her?" Dawnsplash blinked hopefully at Mousetail.

     Mousetail shifted her paws from under her uncomfortably. "I don't know about that." Last time she was almost caught trying to eavesdrop on Snowtail's conversation with some of the MoonClan cats. What if she wasn't as lucky this time? Would Spottedsong even be there?

     "Please. You have to find her and bring her back," Dawnsplash begged. "I don't want her to die as a MoonClan warrior."

     Mousetail felt a twinge of pity for the ginger-and-white she-cat. She looked genuinely worried.

     "I make the orders here. I will decide what we need to do," Lynxstar snarled at Dawnsplash, making the ginger-and-white she-cat flinch. "Mousetail, you will go find Spottedsong."

     Despair washed over Mousetail like a flood. "Can't I bring a warrior? Just in case?"

     "This is a solo mission," Lynxstar reminded her. "Another warrior would make it difficult."

     "I can go with her!" Hollyfern chipped in. "I promise I won't get in the way—I swear on my life."

     "I know you won't get in the way," Lynxstar answered. Hollyfern and Mousetail exchanged hopefully glances. "But this is a solo mission. She must go alone. Even if you don't get in the way, an extra warrior might make it difficult."

     "Not when we're fighting!" Mousetail argued. Immediately she regretted talking back to her mother.

     "Do not talk back to me," Lynxstar snapped. "You are going alone. That is final."

     Mousetail looked at Hollyfern and Dawnsplash despairingly. I'm going to die. Oh, StarClan, please don't let me die. "Fine. I'll go," she muttered, trying not to show her defeat. "Wish me luck." She turned to the direction of the MoonClan camp and ran as fast as she could. She tried to push away the feelings of dislike toward her mother. She should have let me bring a warrior! Now there's a bigger chance of me dying out there.

     The MoonClan camp was not hard to spot among the brambles and leaves. The rocks that surrounded it made it very easy to spot; they marked the exact spot of the MoonClan camp because there were no other rocks in the forest. Mousetail slowed down and crouched behind the rocks, looking through the cracks in the rocks. She couldn't see Spottedsong anywhere. Great. So she's either hiding or not here. What a great situation to be in. Mousetail sat there for a few heartbeats before she made her way to the forest. Perhaps she was there, hiding out in the forest like Foxclaw.

     "A FrostClan spy!" Mousetail jumped when she heard the harsh voice of Crookedfang behind her. She had encountered the dangerous warrior before in battles; she knew he wasn't a very easy enemy to get rid of. She turned around slowly to face him. Her heart pounded in her chest. She felt the fur on her neck begin to stand on end. "What are you doing here?"

     "I-I—" Is this what prey feels like? It feels terrible! Next time I'll be more sympathetic.

     "What are you doing here?" Crookedfang repeated, this time more harshly.

     Mousetail tried to think of a lie quickly. "I was chasing a r-rabbit, and I didn't realize it l-led me here," she stammered.

     Crookedfang narrowed his eyes. "I doubt it. FrostClan territory is all the way over there." He flicked his tail toward FrostClan's territory. "Tell me the truth. I know you're lying."

     "I-I'm not lying!" Mousetail exclaimed desperately.

     "Then why were you here, looking into the camp? It looked a lot like you were spying," Crookedfang informed her. He stepped closer, baring his teeth. "Tell the truth."

     I can't tell him the truth! He'll know I'm looking for Spottedsong. Unless I tell him a version of the truth. "I was looking for a Clanmate. I suspected she might have gone this direction."

     Crookedfang growled low in his throat. "Spottedsong isn't your Clanmate anymore, and she's not here!" He slashed at her muzzle with his thorn-sharp claws. "Get away from here, or I'll get rid of you myself."

     Mousetail winced at the throbbing pain in her muzzle. She looked at Crookedfang bravely. "At least tell me where she went."

     "How should I know? She left quickly. And she better have, or one of us would have clawed her ears off," Crookedfang replied. "Now leave."

     So she was here. She mustn't be far. "Fine! Fine, I'll leave. Thanks for nothing." Mousetail pelted off toward the forest in the direction of her territory with an irritated twitch of her ear. Perhaps if Crookedfang thought she was going back to camp he wouldn't bother her.

     When she was far enough away from the MoonClan camp, she turned around and headed toward the deeper forest where Spottedsong must have been. She kept low to the ground so that she could get a scent and so that no MoonClan cat or even a rogue would see her. As she walked through the forest, she heard hushed voices in the brambles beside her. They were both extremely familiar. She turned to the brambles and looked through them.

     She gasped at what she saw. Foxclaw and Spottedsong were both sitting beside the river, a mouse-length in between them. But Spottedsong seemed to inch closer once or twice. Mousetail could hear them gently whispering to each other. Mousetail couldn't help but think What would Dovepaw think if she saw this? She was immediately ashamed of the thought; Foxclaw and Spottedsong were just friends. They always had been since they opened their eyes as kits. And Dovepaw didn't even mention Foxclaw anymore as if he never existed.

     Mousetail stayed in her spot for a little bit, watching. What if I go and tell her to come back? Would she be angry? Should I even ruin the moment? She pictured herself coming back to camp and telling Lynxstar that she found Spottedsong but didn't talk to her. She summoned up the courage to walk out onto the clearing and talk to the runaway she-cat, then she walked out onto the clearing. "Spottedsong!"

     Both of the cats turned around. Both of them looked confused, but Spottedsong looked angry. "If you're here to tell me to come back, I'm not! I'll fight you if I have to." She unsheathed her claws and flattened her ears on top of her head. Foxclaw was clearly trying to prevent a fight, but Spottedsong ignored him.

     "Calm down. It's not like I'm going to force you to come. I just want to tell you that if you don't come, it's only a matter of time until a FrostClan patrol finds you," Mousetail informed her. She looked at Foxclaw, too. "Both of you. And they'll definitely kill you, Foxclaw, if they find you. And judging from the mood that Lynxstar's in, she might kill you, too, Spottedsong." And Dovepaw will be devastated to lose two cats she cares about in one day.

     Spottedsong and Foxclaw glanced at each other, looking alarmed. Then Spottedsong looked at Mousetail, a determined and angry glitter in her amber eyes. "I'll stay here. This is where I belong. In a Clan, I don't feel accepted. And now, if I go back, I'll be imprisoned again or worse, killed. So, no, I'm not going with you."

     Mousetail was taken aback. Is that really why she ran away? She doesn't feel like she belongs in a Clan? "If you come back, I promise I'll make sure you feel like you belong. There are many in the Clan that think you're a great cat."

     "I know. And as much as I try to convince myself of that, I can't. I feel free without a Clan. I feel like I finally found where I belong." Spottedsong took a step back from Mousetail as if she wanted nothing to do with her.

     "In a Clan, we're like kin. We care for each other and we fight for each other in hard times. There's nothing better. Why would you want to leave now?" Mousetail questioned.

     Spottedsong glanced at Foxclaw and then back at Mousetail. "Because I've found my happy place." There was a glimmer in her eyes.

     Mousetail felt a rush of joy for the young warrior. At least she was happy. It even looked like she might have found someone she loved. "Okay. Just be careful in case a patrol comes after you two." She dipped her head in farewell and left the two cats to be alone.