Robinpaw came forward, her fluffy coat bristling in shock. Clearly she hadn't expected this of all things to come from who she thought to be her mother. Though she had suspected something was up, it was far different then this.

Rubblepaw just stared eyes wide in shock at Maplewish who hung her head. Duskflurry looked humiliated and guilty behind her, and did not step forward to comfort the calico. There was grief is the black tom's eyes, and he did his best to hide it.

Nightpaw, however, felt broken. His legs quivered and he felt himself drop to the ground. Thoughts... More thoughts then he had ever had swirled around his mind, overwhelming him until he felt as if he was drowning in them. All he ever knew of his kithood, and most of his apprenticeship, was all a lie.

A lie. A lie that had broken Nightpaw's very being.

But then... Anger overtook him, as it should. Maplewish and Duskflurry had lied to him. To their own son. His real mother was dead and her sister had taken over. Acornfall had nursed himself and his siblings. All those memories where he had curled in the warmth of Maplewish's soft body no longer felt right.

Loyalty to the calico she-cat broke, and he felt an unexpected strong bond with Acornfall for a brief moment. He was about to get up and challenge his aunt before Robinpaw did it for him. "You StarClan forsaken rat!" Robinpaw hissed. Her tail lashed and she got down in a protective stance in front of her brothers.

Maplewish flinched as if Robinpaw had struck a blow to her. And soon enough, Robinpaw tackled her so called mother and struck her unsheathed claws swiftly across Maplewish's shoulder. Nightpaw made no effort to move. Maplewish deserved some sort of punishment.

Nightpaw's hotheaded and aggressive sister was quickly pulled off by Witheredstar, who had joined the rest of the Clan in the dramatic commotion. The Clan leader set her gently down, and held the struggling she-cat back from attacking her foster mother once more.

Rubblepaw bounded a short distance to his sister, and reluctantly, Nightpaw did as well. Together the two helped Robinpaw calm herself as Witheredstar assessed the situation.

"Acornfall, I was told you have started this mess?" Witheredstar's voice was very low in tone. Lower then Nightpaw had ever heard. It was grave, and the trainee felt a bit scared of what his leader was going to do. When the brown cat nodded, he continued with publicly shaming the young warrior.

"All those moons ago, when these young kits were born, a decision was made," Witheredstar lashed his tail furiously. "We agreed that these young apprentices were never to find out who their mother truly was, yet you disobeyed. And now, you have ruined what they all had believed in, even if there was some suspicion." He cast a glance at Robinpaw.

"The truth always comes out anyways. They would know sooner or later! Why ruin their lives when they are elders, and have them die in grief in pain? Why not give them more time to get over it?" Acornfall's voice was calm and tactful, though her fur was sticking up at all ends, giving her the appearance of a hedgehog.

"Acornfall, Maplewish, Duskflurry and Sparrowsight, to my den now." Witheredstar bared his teeth aggressively. "The water will run red this night."

Gasps from the apprentices and young warriors sounded. The older warriors were not surprised what so ever, but shook their heads in guilt. Confusion and curiousness overtook Nightpaw again. Tatteredleaf noticed this and came up to him. "It means one of them... Most likely Acornfall or Maplewish... Will be killed tonight. It is tradition when an order from the leader is disobeyed. You were not executed for this because Witheredstar believes you have much potential... That you are special and will do something great one day."

"W-what?" Nightpaw stared disbelievingly at Tatteredleaf. "Thats... That isn't true... It can't be true," Tatteredleaf shook his head. "No, no... No cat deserves that." Nightpaw, confused, hurt, and trembling ran out of camp followed closely by Robinpaw, Rubblepaw, Finchpaw and Hollypaw. A little farther behind was Rainheart.

The black tom finally skidded to a halt at the lake shore. There was a thin sheet of ice over the water, and the pebbles were cold beneath his paws. Despite the sun beating down on his black pelt, he felt cold and helpless. As the others came up, they sat beside him. Finchpaw and Hollypaw both tried comforting the three littermates while Rainheart sat in silence.

Suddenly, the blue-gray tom lightened and spoke for the first time in many long moments. "I have an idea," he stated, looking around at his companions.

Nightpaw looked curiously over. "And what may that be?" His tone was grim and he narrowed his eyes.

"We've got to save them. And then run away... Far away... Where no cat will ever find us." Rainheart's voice grew more confident as he spoke. "We just need a plan... And where are we going to run to?"

Nightpaw's brain began swirling with ideas again. Suddenly, it clicked. "I know where we can go! I met a cat named Marion out in the moor beside WindClan territory. He spoke of the old WindClan. They aren't completely destroyed... I know where they went, too! That's where we'll go."

Rainheart nodded in approval. "What about rescuing those cats..?"

Robinpaw hissed. "Acornfall is the only one who deserves to be rescued. The other two can die for all I care!" The she-cat lashed her tail, and stalked off. "I'm going to find some prey so we can eat before we rescue Acornfall."

Rubblepaw followed his sister as he usually did, leaving Hollypaw, Finchpaw, Nightpaw, and Rainheart. "Well?" Rainheart tilted his head.

"I say we come in at the last second and save them. All of them." Finchpaw looked at Nightpaw, awaiting a protest, but he didn't argue. No cat deserved death.

"If that's the only plan, then we'll just have to make it work," Hollypaw got to her paws and ambled across the pebbly shore. The sun was beginning to set, and the three set off to find Rubblepaw and Robinpaw to tell them the plan. Nightpaw had a bad feeling however, and willed to go ahead and see what was happening at camp.