Welcome back! A big thanks to my two reviewers, Dragontama9511 and Nightclaw. Nightclaw raised a very good question: How big are the kittypets compared to the clan cats?

The kittypets are only as big as Tigerclaw and Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost in the books, with a lot of bulk and muscule. They're well cared for and fed all year long and so they seem immpossibly large compared to the Clan cats, even though they're growing plump on the greenleaf prey. Oh, and I actually have measured Manks's claws at a little less than half an inch. Scary, no?

With that piece said, enjoy the newest chapter!

The Clan cats padded through the forest, subdued. Shock shone in their eyes. Their tails dragged against the ground. There was no sign of their ShadowClan pride. As they entered the camp, Petitefire ran up to them.

"Did you…" her voice trailed off. The answer to her question was all too obvious in their postures.

"What happened?" demanded Smallstream, looking anxious. "Did the twolegs chase you out?"

"Bugpaw was right!" wailed Tumbleweed suddenly. "Those kittypets… We should have listened."

The cats that had stayed behind to guard the camp began to inch forward, gathering around the cats that had led the patrols.

"Don't be ridiculous," growled Fiercepaw. "It was the twoleg who stood between us and the nest, not the kittypets! We could have taken them on!"

"Those kittypets fetched the twoleg!" whispered Tumbleweed.

It was true. Bugpaw closed her eyes and remembered. Only four other cats had joined Manks. Bugpaw was beginning to think that they may be able to save her mentor after all, but then Jackie had rounded the corner, yowling, a twoleg right behind her. At first Bugpaw thought the twoleg had been chasing Jackie, but the young black cat had stopped and pressed herself against Boneleg, and the twoleg passed right by, heading straight for the Clan cats! The twoleg landed mere inches from Steadystep. What could they do? Bugpaw and the others had no choice. They ran, but Bugpaw had caught a glimpse of the look on Manks's face. He watched the Clan go with a satisfied twitch of his whiskers. He had known the twoleg would come all along!


The next day Bugpaw followed Darkscar and Shortwhisker on a patrol to the ThunderClan border. The older warriors started refreshing the border markers, while Bugpaw went ahead. She sniffed the border. The ThunderClan markers were fresh. They had just missed a patrol, she guessed. She looked up into ThunderClan territory. Did her rival Clans have the same problems as ShadowClan? Were any of their warriors missing? She shuddered to think that ShadowClan was the only Clan under attack by the twolegs.

The two toms joined Bugpaw and they turned towards camp, casting a wary glance around as they did so.

How did the twolegs capture Sunriser and Spottedlilly, anyway? wondered Bugpaw. Had they crept up on them and grabbed them? Of course not, twolegs didn't creep! She tried to imagine how else the twolegs could do it. And then she paused. The ThunderClan scent hadn't faded, though they were far from the border now. Bugpaw put her nose close to a fern plant and sniffed.

"Darkscar!" she gasped. "There are ThunderClan cats on our territory! They came this way!"

Both toms stopped. Shortwhisker scented the air. "They're heading for camp!" he growled.

They ran towards camp. Bugpaw's long legs carried her faster than the two warriors, and she burst into camp before her Clanmates. She blinked. The ThunderClan medicine cat, Littlewing and his leader, Quickstar, were standing in camp, talking to Stonestar.

"I knew we smelled ThunderClan," growled Darkscar, glaring at the ThunderClan cats. Bugpaw felt irritation prickle her spine. Darkscar made it sound like he had been the one to scent the intruders! But she ignored it. Sierrapaw slunk over to the patrol, her lovely green eyes dark with worry.

"They've come to talk to Stonestar," she said in a hushed tone. "They've lost cats, too."

"You can't trust ThunderClan cats," growled Darkscar, loud enough for the whole camp to hear. "Not one mouselength."

On the other side of camp, Quickstar met Darkscar's gaze without flinching. Stonestar meowed something and the three of them padded to Fadedfur's den to talk. The ShadowClan cats began whispering as soon as they were out of sight. Sierrapaw beckoned with her tail and Bugpaw followed her to the fresh-kill pile.

"Have the elders been fed?" asked Bugpaw when Sierrapaw picked up a thrush. The tan she-cat nodded. "Fiercepaw's taking them something now," she meowed.

"When did the ThunderClan cats arrive?" Bugpaw chose a plump mouse to eat.

"Just before you guys," replied Sierrapaw. "At first they seemed to think that ShadowClan had something to do with their warrior's disappearances… I hope Stonestar's setting them straight."

"More than that, I hope they see sense!" growled Fiercepaw, making Bugpaw jump. He dropped a mouse next to them and paused, looking from one she-cat to the other.

"Erm… well, can I eat with you guys?" he asked.

"Oh… sure," mewed Sierrapaw, sounding rather bewildered. Bugpaw just shrugged. Fiercepaw crouched down and began to munch, and for a few minutes the three apprentices shared a meal in comfortable silence.

"Good thing the twolegs haven't scared away much of the prey," mused Bugpaw when she had finished eating. She licked her paw and began cleaning her whiskers, wondering what Stonestar was talking to the ThunderClan cats about.

At that moment a crashing noise sounded from just outside the camp. Foxwhisker burst in the entrance, his eyes wide.

"Where's Stonestar?" he meowed breathlessly.

"In Fadedfur's den, talking to the ThunderClan cats," meowed Sierrapaw, rising to her paws. The reddish colored tom gazed blankly at Sierrapaw.

"ThunderClan cats?" he echoed. Bugpaw caught a whiff of twoleg scent. Had Foxwhisker been by the twoleg nest?

"Yes," she mewed, padding up to her mentor. "Foxwhisker, what happened?"

At that moment, another cat padded into the ShadowClan camp. Bugpaw heard a collective gasp from all the cats who had gathered. The tortoiseshell-and-white cat strode up to stand next to Foxwhisker. Her coat gleamed in the sunlight, and her amber eyes were filled with relief.

It was Spottedlilly, escaped from the twolegs.

Bugpaw was stunned. The gorgeous she-cat looked almost exactly as she had when she had been captured. Bugpaw wasn't sure what she expected, but it was almost like Spottedlilly hadn't left at all! Then another cat slid through the entrance. Bugpaw squealed.

"Sunriser!" she cried, flinging herself across the clearing towards her mentor. She stopped a few feet from him, unsure if he was okay or not. Last time she saw him, he had barely been able to stand. But now he purred.

"Bugpaw!" he meowed. "It sure is good to see you!"

Bugpaw padded over and buried her muzzle in his soft fur. The scent of twolegs still clung to him, and under that, the sickly smell that made Bugpaw's stomach turn. She pulled away and gazed into Sunriser's eyes. They were the same, yet… different. Bugpaw felt unease prick her paws. Sunriser was back, but he was changed.

"What's going on?" Stonestar had joined the rest of ShadowClan in the clearing. He saw Spottedlilly and stopped in his tracks. The rest of Foxwhisker's patrol had arrived, and for some reason a young ThunderClan she was with them.

"Goldenpaw!" gasped Quickstar when he saw her. Her face showed relief when she saw him.

"She was with the others," reported Smallstream, nudging the ThunderClan cat.

"She was one of our missing cats," said Quickstar.

"I don't understand," meowed Whiteriver, touching his nose to Spottedlilly's. "How did you get away?"

"They let us go!" replied the she-cat. Bugpaw shared a glance with Sierrapaw as the Clan broke out into mutterings.

"We saw it happen!" meowed Foxwhisker. "We were patrolling a safe distance from the twoleg nest when they came trampling through the forest with these large shiny dens. They set the dens on the ground and unfolded part of them and these guys came out!" He indicated the rescued cats with his tail. "And then the twolegs left."

A stunned silence greeted this revelation.

"So, what's the point of taking them at all?" demanded Fiercepaw, bristling angrily.

"What does it matter?" hissed Fadedfur softly, pressing forward to reach the returned cats. She sniffed them warily and Bugpaw thought she saw a flash of apprehension in her eyes. She looked at Sunriser. Her mentor's usual smile was absent, and his eyes were dull. She shivered. Could Fadedfur fix whatever damage had been done to her friends?

"Come on, you two," she meowed, leading them to her den. She hesitated, looking at Goldenpaw.

"She'll be coming home with us," mewed Littlewing quietly. The apprentice looked relieved as her Clanmates joined her. She shrank against Quickstar, and almost disappeared. Their pelt colors were exactly the same. She must be his daughter, thought Bugpaw.

Quickstar paused as he was leaving and looked back at Stonestar. The ShadowClan leader's face was expressionless, but he nodded to Quickstar. The pale orange cat's eyes narrowed and he nodded back. Then they left.

"Shouldn't we send a patrol to make sure they get off our territory?" growled Darkscar, glaring after the ThunderClan cats. Foxwhisker snarled.

"Do you really think they'll be attacking us in the state they're in? Not all their cats have been returned, you know!" he growled.

"How do you know?" meowed Sierrapaw, sounding puzzled. Foxwhisker flinched. "Quickstar said that Goldenpaw was only one of their missing cats," he mumbled.

"Bugpaw!"

Bugpaw looked up at the sound of Fadedfur's voice. "Fetch Spottedlilly and Sunriser some fresh-kill!" The medicine cat turned and disappeared back in her den. Bugpaw trotted across the clearing to the fresh-kill pile.

"Stonestar, are we going to let Sunriser and Spottedlilly stay?" meowed Petitefire. Bugpaw froze.

"What do you mean?" Sierrapaw sounded horrified. "They're our Clanmates!"

"Didn't you smell them?" snorted the short-legged calico. "They've changed. The twolegs have done something to them. They're not the same cats they were!"

"How dare you!" Whiteriver launched himself at Petitefire, but Stonestar intercepted, knocking Whiteriver out of the air with a flick of his paw.

"Enough!" growled the gray-black cat. Whiteriver hissed, but didn't look at Stonestar.

"There will be no more talk on this subject," commanded Stonestar. "Now, I want a patrol on the ThunderClan border and a hunting patrol out, now. Steadystep, will you see to that?"

Without waiting for an answer, Stonestar strode to Fadedfur's den. Bugpaw sat crouched at the fresh-kill pile, shocked. Surely the Clan wouldn't kick out Sunriser and Spottedlilly? She remembered the sweet, sweet smell coming from the newly returned cats and shuddered.

"Bugpaw!" yowled Fadedfur. Quickly she picked out a water vole and a plump mouse. She paused and grabbed a frog as well, remembering that they were Sunriser's favorite. But even as she strode across the clearing with her tail held high, Bugpaw felt a sinking sensation, sensing that the twolegs had done more to the missing warriors then hold them captive…

-Bribes reviewers with Sunriser shaped lollipops-