Vineripple paced, her tail lashing behind her as her mind raced. Where was Sheepstep, and more importantly, what was he doing? She was 70% sure that it wasn't anything good for her. The tabby she-cat squeezed her eyes shut, cursing herself. She was so /stupid/! How did she not realize that Sheepstep was going to betray her? Of course he was, he was so shifty when he joined, how did she not see this before? Just then, she heard pawsteps racing into camp and turned to see Thornstar, Nightshade, and Sparrowcall burst into camp. Vineripple whipped around, her eyes flashing maliciously as their eyes widened in shock. She grinned. "You didn't think that first small battle was the real thing, did you?" She sneered, approaching as Bluetooth and Stonebite stepped behind them, blocking the exit. "Vineripple!" Nightshade screeched, leaping towards her with unsheathed claws. A ball of gray fur barrelled into her, and in a moment Eagledash was standing over the black she-cat. Vineripple slowly approaching, grinning maniacally. “Nightshade.” She purred silkily, standing over her enemy. “How many times do you have to betray the Clan to satisfy your greed?” The tabby she-cat threw her head back and laughed. “Only once only once, Nightshade. Don’t you get it? This was the plan all along. Have a small, insignificant battle and then a big one. And you were /dumb/ enough to believe the first one was real. We were /winning/ in the first battle, Nightshade. And you all /fell/ for it.” “W-What?” Nightshade breathed, her eyes wide. Vineripple snickered, turning her back on the black she-cat. “Oh, Nightshade. Don’t act so surprised, I’ve always been smarter than you.” “Vineripple..” She stopped at the sound of Thornstar’s voice, smiling sadly with her back to her love. “Don’t-Don’t do this. Please... don’t you want your old life back?” “The thing is... no. I don’t anymore. I’ve finally become the monster this Clan has made me to be, and I won’t be ignored any longer.” She finally turned around to see pain in Thornstar’s eyes as he stared at her. “Take them to the Apprentice’s Den. And make sure they aren’t planning anything.” The ShadowClan cats nodded and did what she said, escorting the patrol to the den with the next narrowest entrance. Only one cat could go in or out at a time. “The only cat we don’t have now is Puddlestep.” She announced, sitting down and wrapping her tail around her paws neatly. “But I think he’ll be here very soon.” —————————— Vineripple’s head jerked up from where she sat with her kits in the Nursery when she heard a screech. She was at her paws in a heartbeat. “Stay inside.” She ordered her kits, her kind, playful tone of voice gone. “Whatever you do, do /not/ leave this den. Do you understand?” Her children nodded their heads hurriedly, eyes wide. Vineripple flashed them a small, comforting smile before slipping into the clearing. Immediately Firefly rushes up to her, Spiderfall close on her heels. “What’s going on?” She snapped, heart hammering in her chest. “The entirety of RiverClan is coming for us.” Vineripple could’ve sworn her heart stopped. /Sheepstep./ —————————— “Everyone, block the entrance. I want two thirds at the main entrance and the rest at the dirtplace entrance. Don’t let them get to the prisoners, no matter what!” Cats began to shuffle around, but not quick enough. In less than three heartbeats RiverClan cats began pouring in, their claws unsheathed and eyes hungry for battle. The lines they had only barely began to form were immediately brought down, and in moments fighting broke out. Cats were clawing cats and blood was starting to spill. Vineripple cursed loudly before turning and finding a RiverClan pelt to latch onto. She saw a brown tabby tom and leapt at him, digging her claws into his back with a snarl. He whipped around, his orange eyes flashing at he clawed at her face. She ducked down, feeling a sting as his claws connected with her ear. Vineripple hissed and dug her teeth deep into his shoulder. The tom screeched, trying to shake her off but to no avail. The tabby she-cat felt blood pool in her mouth and she was reminded of her cough, making a mental note to not yell or scream and trigger her coughing attacks. Finally the tom gave one last jerk and threw Vineripple off. She hit the ground with a thud and when she got to her paws, he was already gone.
Vineripple whipped around, heart sinking when she saw ThunderClan cats pouring out of the dens, the ShadowClan cats that once guarded them now busy fighting others. She saw Honeypool and a RiverClan cat ganging up on Russettail, who was only barely managing to hold them off. Then there was Firefly, fighting a tom two times her size. A terrible realization dawned on Vineripple. They were outnumbered. Just then, a cat barrelled into her, knocking Vineripple off her paws. She looked up to see two midnight blue eyes glaring daggers at her. Nightshade pressed a single white paw to Vineripple's throat. Vineripple kicked her off, scrambling to her paws just in time to dodge her enemy's claws. The tabby reared up to smash Nightshade beneath her, but the black she-cat was faster, butting Vineripple's chest with her had and sending her flying backwards. Vineripple was still on the ground for just a moment as Nightshade leapt at her. Then at the last moment she rolled out of the way with a smirk, biting down hard on Nightshade's paw. The she-cat screeched in pain, yanking her paw away to claw at Vineripple's face. Vineripple hissed as her claws made contact with her forehead, jumping to her paws. "You thought I'd never be heard again." Vineripple panted, her sides heaving as they circled each other. "You were so, so wrong." Then, Vineripple slipped past her enemy-not without feeling a last gash form on her haunch-and leapt onto Highrock. Her eyes flashed with anger as she saw ShadowClan slowly beginning to fall back. But, they were still putting up a good fight. Blood was everywhere. On her paws, covering the ground, spraying on cat's fur.. She didn't mind the blood. But then she saw something that made her heart stop. Thornstar was fighting two large ShadowClan cats, his lips pulled back in a snarl. He was holding them off well, but he didn't seem to notice Mossleap creeping up behind him, her claws unsheathed and a deadly glint in her eyes. Without thinking, Vineripple's paws spurred her off the rock and through the cats. An orange RiverClan she-cat raked her claws along Vineripple's side, drawing blood. But, she didn't even look at her. The tabby she-cat got there just in time to see the tortoiseshell ShadowClan she-cat leap at the exposed throat of cat she once called her mate, her teeth flashing in preparation of taking one of Thornstar's lives. Vineripple barrelled into her with a screech, pinning the she-cat beneath her. Both their eyes blazed with fury, while Thornstar stared at the two in shock, almost costing him a bite to the tail, though he dodged just in time. "We are /not/ here to kill, Mossleap." Vineripple growled, her tail tip twitching. "They were going to kill you when you were defenseless!" The tortoiseshell spat. "There was no /way/ you would've survived, at least he had a chance! They're all code breakers!" Vineripple narrowed her eyes, lowering her head down so there was less than a whisker length between them. Her ears were flat as she spoke. "Exactly. And we're /not/ code breakers, right?" Mossleap bared her teeth at Vineripple for a moment before giving up and looking away. The tabby she-cat raised her head, eyes flashing. "That's what I thought." Chapters 62 and 63 were supposed to be only one chapter, but it was too long so I had to cut it in half. I apologize for the choppy ending! Written by @Stormstar1515 ;P Vineripple~ @Stormstar1515 Nightshade~ @FnafMangleTime Thornpad~ @Blacklist_Rogue Creekfrost~ @Endercat-uwu Skyfall~ @DJDoritoCO Honeypool~ @WarriorsSilverstream Chapter 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/383248637/ Next Chapter: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/413756957/