"Ravenscorch, this is your mission, do you accept?" the shadowed cat said in a sickly purr.

Ravenscorch bowed his tabby head."Yes ma'am, I do..." he trailed off.

"What is it?" the cat hissed.

"Are you sure it is wise to... reveal ourselves like this? The Lake cats have just finished with their own war... I'm asking, is it wise to start one so soon?"

The shadowed cat blinked her white eyes in annoyance. "Are you questioning my actions? You are striking now because it is the best time. They are not expecting more battle, therefore, they will be off their guard. And with so many of their warriors injured and out of action, they will be easy to push over with a few attacks. Now go!"

Ravenscorch winced, and sprang away at his leader's harsh roaring growl. His paws hit the dirt path rapidly as he sped through the dark ways of the Camp. Soon, four other black and gray patterned cats joined him, running in a tight formation behind. One loped to his side.

"Which to strike first?" she murmured.

"Novastar says the Fiery Ones, the ones who call themselves ThunderClan. If we can silence a few throats, and still a few hearts, we may just be able to start war for them."

"Sabotage? I like it," she purred before melting back again.

-O-

Ravenscorch padded swiftly up the path, his group in tow. Their claws were already sticky and red with the lifeblood of the border patrol they had met. There would be no relay or news today.

"Siege-ear, the left guard, Biteswift, the right. Gorseshiver, Dawnshadow, with me," the tabby ordered.

The cats nodded, and followed in silence.

They made their way up the trail, Siege-ear and Biteswift breaking off. When the entrance guards spotted them, a large black tabby stepped forward. "Hey, what do you think you're-" He fell as Biteswift launched herself onto his back, and sank her fangs into his neck. The other guard suffered the same fate, his ripped open.

"Good, this way," Ravenscorch said. They wound into the camp, slinking around in the shadows. Ravenscorch could hear the mewling of kits. Their targets.

He hunkered down, watching. He opened his mouth, and scented the air. There was only one queen inside at the moment. Her soft voice reached his ears.

"Shush, little ones. I'm going to go get a bite of fresh kill, then I'll be right back," she said.

The queen strolled out, making a beeline to the center of the Camp. Ravenscorch waited until the queen's back was turned, and led his group into the den.

The kits, seven to be exact, all stood up, expecting their mother to be back. "Brightfeather?"

Ravenscorch chuckled softly, and bared his fangs."No, me," he growled.

He bore down on them, he and the other four making quick work of the kits. Within seconds, the kittens were nothing but lumps of bloodstained fur.

"Come on, we'd best get out of here, don't want to be-" something touched his hind leg softly, snagging the fur just above his paw.

Ravenscorch looked back. One of the kits was still alive. She had a pleading expression on her face."Why?" she choked, blood sputtering out of her mouth."Why?" her paw dropped, and her head lolled, small eyes rolling into the back of her head. She was dead.

"It had to be, I'm sorry," he said, then slunk out of the den. It had all taken less than a minute.

The group of five made a trail of bloodied paw prints, running swiftly to the ShadowClan border. They stopped at the stream and washed their paws, the trail they had created disappearing into the ThunderClan territory.

The plan was set in motion, and they could go home.

Dawnshadow shuddered at her spot next to him, her black and gray tortoise-shell coat rippling."Ugh, I hate killing kits," she hissed.

"Her Deadliness demanded it," he said simply, stepping around a log. They were nearing the pines of their home.

"So? They were kits... you're too loyal to her, you know," Dawnshadow growled in a hushed tone, carefully making sure the others didn't hear.

"Loyalty gets you placed," Ravenscorch shot at her.

"So does false loyalty. I don't know, Scorch, this feels like prickly business that's going bite me in the tail one of these days. The prickly part being Novastar."

Ravenscorch fixed her with a shocked stare. "Novastar is fixed on taking over the Clans. There must be sacrificed for this to happen. All I can see is that it will come out good in the end, even if the Lake cats hate it."

"That's not the point! They were kits. They didn't do anything wrong in their lives! I wouldn't be so sour if it had been only one, but all seven?"

He sighed, "We needed to get them riled up, start war again. While their warriors are away, the assassins will take their territory by force. Then, we go over to the ShadowClan home, and repeat what we did here. It works at every place we've tried it."

The group stopped in front of the entrance to the huge camp. Dawnshadow shook her head in disbelief. "How can you be so heartless?" she ased, then dashed into the camp after the rest of the squad.

The tabby shrugged to himself. It wasn't him doing the work. It was their leader. Can one really blame the weapon when it was the handler that misused it? He was just a tool, something that could be used several times, then thrown away when the job was done. Not that he minded at all, it was the way he had been raised. You grow up. You fight. You serve the leader. You do missions. You get too old to fight. You get thrown out and die.

It was how AssassinClan worked, and its secret to survival.