| abstract | - Shard of Ice's eyes were glancing at the setting sun. Roanfur... The arrogant she-cat had just sacrificed her own life to save the rebellion. The rest of the refugees had fought off Snarl's army, but there was still one cat missing. Roanfur. Tornclaw scooted closer, and whispered to Shard. "It's okay, we'll get Roanfur back." She glanced at him, and murmured. "Thanks, Tornclaw." "For what?" "For always being here for me." Tornclaw nodded to me, did a little salute, and padded away. I gazed after him, feeling a little twinge in my heart as he left. I'll talk to him later. Pathway to Frozen Star, my mentor, and now my fellow deputy, padded over. "Shard, we need to find a different path. We can't just dwell on this one." Shard stared in anguish at Star. "But we can't. Roanfur's stuck there. And we should rescue all those cats who are suffering." Star only shook her head. "There are other ways to solve something, Shard. Think about it." As all the cats scattered around, desperate for a plan, Scatterleaf came over. "Thank you for saving us." Shard of Ice looked up. "You're welcome..." Just after the battle with Snarl, Shard had taken some of the cats to rescue the recently captured prisoners. They had lost a few, and Shard had tried to save them all. She had managed to save Scatterleaf, Nightfire, and Hawkflight. Hawkflight wasn't a Clan cat, but a Tribe cat. She had hated Tribe life that Snarl had formed, and Shard had heard that she left her sister, Flying Eagle at Sunrise, to live as a Clan cat. Scatterleaf bowed her head to Shard, and whispered. "I think you're very brave, and I'm thankful that you saved the three of us. Snarl had so many plans for us." "How did you turn up there?" Shard asked. "Well," Scatterlead started. "I was originally a rogue, and then met up with the Clans. I thought about it, and joined the Clan. But soon after, the Spy Army came in and swept the Clan completely. So many of them were killed, but he captured me and Nightfire." "Oh..." Shard mewed. "I'm so sorry that you're Clan had to fall." Scatterleaf smiled sadly, and dipped her head again, and then she turned around, and went off to talk to Nightfire. "You know, you're a very sad figure here." Shard started, and turned around in surprise. Hawkflight was standing there, looking quite angry. "You don't do much talking do you?" Shard only glanced at her in utter surprise. "What do you mean?" Shard asked, bewildered. "I'm saying that everyone's just around you, and your duty is only to save everyone. What about those encouraging speeches? What about those fights against Snarl?" Hawkflight mewed sharply. "I've seen you before, Shard. When you were in the Spy Army, you led your faction without fear, with a voice that scattered the Clan cats. What happened to you now?" Shard glanced down. "It... happened all too quick." "Go on." Hawkflight mewed, sitting down. "When I led that group of cats, Mystery of the Falling Feather, Pathway to Frozen Star, Lash of Heart, Heart of Love, and Slip and Fall, I hadn't felt the fear of fighting against my enemies. All the Clan cats were my enemies, the cats I was born to fight." "What changed your mind?" Hawkflight murmured. "Because I know what changed mine." Shard continued. "I changed my mind when I saw the prisoners, and when my sister died. Even though I still hate StoneClan for killing her, I realized what the Clans were facing because of us. Because of what we've done. "We showed as a threat to the Clans, you know that right? And that's why they kept coming back, slaughtering us like we slaughtered them. And the one thing that changed me was the actions I did when I was in the Spy Army." Hawkflight nodded. "Is that all?" "Mostly that," Shard mewed, feeling guilty now that she had confessed her problems. "But also because I wanted to stop all this. But I didn't want to speak up, be the she-cat who's name showed in the stars, the worst enemy of any cat. I didn't want that." "No matter what, you'll always be the hero, Shard of Ice." Then Hawkflight was gone, padding away to mingle with someone else. Mingle! Something went through Shard, and she thought about the old stories about the Peace. She had heard Dark of Night talk about it when she had first joined Shard's faction. "The Clans blamed us for the deaths of Hazelstar, Flameheart, and Breezefur. Then we never had a Peace again. And that was when the war started." Shard had heard all those Peace stories, and she felt that they were very insignificent. Suddenly, a yowl sounded from far away. "Stonehaven!" A shout came. "Brightsong!" Came another. Shard of Ice leaped to her paws, summoning the following cats. "Dark of Night, Hawkflight, Nightfire, Scatterleaf, Creamheart, Rush of the Howling Winds, Ananta! Come with me!" Leaping into action, the cats scurried after Shard. "Brightsong, dat to the left! We have to secure these cats!" "Stonehaven, they're on us! You remember what Snarl wanted!" And then a flying ginger and white she-cat barreled into Rush, making the once fearsome she-cat snarl. "What in StarClan are you doing?" Hawkflight exclaimed. "Brightsong, why are you here?" The she-cat looked up. "Oh, Hawkflight! They're after us! Stonehaven, are they here yet?" The gray tom nodded. "Yeah, they're here, hiding over there I think." His azure eyes glared at the bushes around them. "Who's here?" Dark of Night mewed, "Snarl? The Spy Army?" "Yes." Brightsong mewed, "And possibly the best trackers, Moon that Glows in Water's faction." Hawkflight breathed out silently. "We have to watch for them. Snarl must know that the rest of the Rebellion is here. He wouldn't dare try to defeat us now." Brightsong collapsed. "He had me confined for so long, I thought I'd never see sunlight again. He probably already executed the two guards who were guarding me." Before Brightsong could reply, and mew sounded. "Thank StarClan we found you!" Everyone froze, every pair of eyes were on the two emerging cats. Shard leaned over. "Were they tracking you?" Brightsong shook her head. "Never seen them before." "I'm Eagle that Hunts at Night, and this is Pebbles on Bottom of Stream. We're escaping from the Spy Army, and came to find Shard of Ice's faction and Rebellion." "That's me." Shard said quickly. "Unless you're a spy, then you're in the right place." "We aren't spies." Pebbles mewed, eyes shining in the dim light. "We wanted to find you, and Moon's faction were after us." "They were?" Stonehaven mewed, shocked. Brightsong glanced at them, wide-eyed. "But her faction was chasing us!" Pebbles mewed. "They must have been doing both. Why did they chase you in the first place?" "We're runaways. I was confined in the safe prison. Deepest one." Brightsong shuddered. Stonehaven settled her and rested his tail on her back. "How about you?" Eagle sighed. "We ran from our duty, and Snarl almost caught us. We've been running for days. You guys hid your trails well." "But now it's too late." Moon stepped out, her eyes glimmering with hate. "If it wasn't for you, Shard of Ice, then my faction would be at the top." Shard raised an eyebrow. "What do you want." "I want to bring everyone back." She hissed with her ears flat. "Then I will get my reward!" Stonehaven let out a caterwaul and launched himself at Moon that Glows in Water. "I'm getting my reward right now! And that's my revenge." Brightsong joined in, and soon, the whole Rebellion emerged behind them. Moon's eyes glowed with hatred, and she launched herself into battle. "It's hopeless." Shard hissed in Moon's ear as she pinned her down. "You aren't going to win like this." Moon's eyes were blood-shot, and she panted. "I'm going to find you, and when I do, you're going to die." Then she whirled around and dashed out. Her faction leaped after her, scared of what had scared their fearless leader away. "Roanfur!" Shard screeched as she saw the red-furred she-cat fly out. Moon leaped and grabbed the she-cat out of mid-air. "So you escaped too." Moon hissed. Roanfur was pinned down, her flanks heaving. Shard sobbed, her paws rooted to the ground. Moon smiled cruelly, and her paw came up. But her faction-mate came over and hissed something in Moon's ear. The w[pale she-cat glared at us, then shoved Roanfur forward, taking her away again. "Roanfur!" Shard screamed, dashing after them. But Hawkflight held her back. "When it's time, we'll get her back. But not now..." Shard collapsed, and the Rebellion watched as their hot-headed Clan leader was dragged away. Tornclaw padded over, and whispered. "We will get her back."
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